PROFIToCRACY: Common Sense Marketing Strategies

Google SERPS – Does Reality = Perception?

admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 05:28:39 +0000

First, thanks to the folks over at webmasterworld for planting the seed that prompted this post.

Perception: Google is by far the most advanced, most sophisticated, most relevant, and most accurate search engine.

Reality: Let’s find out…

Let’s compare the SERPS of the 3 major search players, Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

Let’s use a very simple single word search term. “Apples”

Now if I ask you for a defintion of “‘Apples”, do you think you will struggle to find an answer?

Let’s see how the big 3 fared.

First up, Google.

Google scores 6 correct results for the search term “Apples”
And only 1 in the top 3.

Let’s discount the map stuff, they only hit 1 out of 2 there, and the News, as I doubt anyone searching for Apples is looking for news on Apples.

Ok, Now let’s Look at Bing

Bing scores higher than Google getting 7 relevant results, including the top 3, plus their 4 recipes in the SERPS which we are not even counting are all dead on.

And finally, let’s take a look at Yahoo.

Well, what do you know, Yahoo nails 9 relevant results for the term “Apples”.

If you look at just the SERPS of the 3 major players, Yahoo comes out a clear #1, Bing # 2 and Google #3.

If you factor in the other related items on the page, it would be pretty difficult to argue against Bing having the most relevant first page, though a strong case can be made for Yahoo, based on 9 of 10 relevant SERPS. Google misses the top 2 SERPS completely, and just gives us results that are less relevant than either Bing or Yahoo.

One of the problems here is that Google thinks they know what you want, but it’s quite evident they aren’t really very good at it. They do a pretty poor job of trying to discern the difference between “Apple” and “Apples”.

Is this single search conclusive? Of course not, it’s one search. But try it on your own with other words. You might be really surprised at what you find.

In this one specific case, perception is a far cry from reality.

Your thoughts?

- Dave -

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Is Google’s Party Over? Fortune Magazine thinks So..

admin — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 15:01:44 +0000

For those of you search aficionados, there is a very interesting article in Fortune Magazine that is well worth a read..

Consider how many companies Google has acquired over the past many years.. and consider again, that they are unable to make money with any of them.

Despite their massive earnings over the past years, 99% of their profits are still driven by search, and they are having a very difficult time breaking out into other markets.

Can Google adapt? What are your thoughts?

Read the Fortune Magazine Article Here

- Dave -

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Bing/Yahoo Set to Merge SERPS By September

admin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:47:40 +0000

It looks like the long awaited merging of BING Search results into Yahoo is about to begin in the next few weeks, and be fully implemented by late summer.

For those of you who are well positioned in BING search results, this will be a very welcome change.

For those of you not well positioned in Bing, The Ultimate Search Engine Loophole which was released by Chris Rempel and myself back in late 2008, combined with LinkuMate , is more relevant than ever. If you don’t believe me just watch the second video on the Ultimate Search Engine Loohole sales page which I updated just a week or two ago.

This merging of SERPS will give Bing a market share of around 25%. While that is significantly below Google’s market share, it is nevertheless, significant.

Ignore it at your financial peril.

If you want more details, here is a Video from Microsoft/Yahoo that details things a bit better.

- Dave

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Have You Ever Heard of the FatCat BluePrint?

admin — Sat, 08 May 2010 03:45:16 +0000

As many of you know.. or maybe you don’t.. I own Super Apprentice -

There, now you know

Have you ever heard of the FatCat BluePrint?

What is the FatCat BluePrint?

Well, click the link and you’ll find out. But before you do…

I want you to know that every penny shown on their earnings screenshots is 100% true.

How do I know?

Because their entire business was built using Super Apprentice.

Yep, that individual is a long time Super Apprentice member.

Sure, the FatCat Blueprint’s sales page is filled with hype. But it’s also filled with facts.

Give it a read.

- Dave -

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A Super Easy Way to Find Secondary and LSI Keywords..

admin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:48:09 +0000

Keyword research is someting everyone reading this has done and needs to do on an ongoing basis.

Everyone has their favorite tools and techniques.

I’m going to share with you a super easy way to get some really good secondary and LSI keywords using Google.

Step 1) Go to Google and enter your primary search phrase

Step 2) Once the results appear, click ’show options’ which is near the top left

Step 3) Then click the link that says ‘Wonderwheel’

Step 4) You’ll see the first level of keyword results

Step 5) To keep digging deeper, click on any of the links in the wheel

That’s it. Google is giving you a LOT of LSI keywords. They are giving you ideas for categories if you’re sites are silo’d.
As I said this tool is super easy, something a little different than what many of you are probably using but it works.

Don’t worry about the numbers. They are giving you some really great keywords.

- Dave -

A Simple Trick to Allow Non US Searchers to View Google’s US SERPS

admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:43:50 +0000

I’d like to share with you a very simple little Google trick that will likely prove very helpful to those of you NOT located in the USA.

One of the obstacles many non US based marketers face is that while most of you are targeting the US market, when you do a search on Google, the results default to your country version of Google’s SERPS.

But there is a very easy way around this.

When you perform a Google search and you get your results, Let’s say you are in the UK and searching for Apple Ipod..

your result URL string will look something like this
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=apple=ipod

Now if you want to see the US Google results, it’s very simple to do so, simply add..

&GL=us

to the end of the search string and repeat:

In this case

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=apple=ipod&GL=us

and that will give you the US results.

- Dave -

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One of my Pet Peeves..

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:00:45 +0000

If you sell anything online, how often does this happen to you.

Someone buys one of your products, your system sends the buyer their login info etc..

Five hours later you receive an email from this person stating they never received their login details. fine, happens all the time.

So you rpely, with their login info again, then two hours later you get another email from the same person stating they still haven’t received their login details. You email them again. Three hours later the process repeats itself. This time they are accusing you of running some type of scam etc..

Well, then you take some time and do a little research, trying to figure out what is going on, and what do you discover? This individual is using a spam arrest or other similar service to protect themselves from junk mail.

And you’ve got a half dozen junk mails from spam arrest sitting in your junk folder requiring you authenticate yourself before the email can be delivered.

Now to a buyer, this may not seem like a big deal, but for the busines owner, who deals with volume it is a huge deal.

Here’s the bottom line. Those emails these services send out requiring someone to confirm who they are also end up in most junk bins.

To expect businesses to sort through junk mail and confirm who they are when you are the one that has purhcased a prooduct and needs to receive certain information, is a bit of a stretch.

There is nothing wrong with using these services for personal email. But if you’re conducting business online, either buying or selling, stop using these services because it’s not the business owner that is ignoring you.

- Dave

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spam mail! my pet peeves

Google Nexus One Phone Launched

admin — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:55:39 +0000

Google announced the launch of their ‘Nexus one’ phone today. The Nexus one runs on Google’s Android Mobile Technology Platform which features some cutting edge technology.

The question is, will you buy one?

The Nexus one will be available on two carries here in the United States. Verizon Wireless come spring 2010 and T-Mobile, (available now)

The cost to T-Mobile users is $179 for the phone plus a 2 year contract requirement.

For those of you in the UK it appears Google will work with Vodofone though it will not be an exclusive carrier

You can order the Google Nexus One phone here:
http://www.google.com/phone

You will need to login using your Google account and the only option for checkout is Google checkout.

You can also see a demo of the Nexus One Phone here.
http://www.google.com/googlephone/tour/

So what you think of Google’s venture into the phone world. Will it be an Iphone killer?

What are your thoughts?

- Dave

Which Is the More Likely Path to Success?

admin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:26:51 +0000

One of the biggest impediments to success in business is lack of focus.

So what do I mean specifically?

Consider this..

Which of these scenarios is likely to give you the best chance of success?

You have 10,000 projects and you repeat each 1 time

You have 10 projects and repeat each of those projects 1000 times.

I think the answer should be obvious..

Let’s see what you have to say?

- Dave -

Internet Marketing is Great But…

admin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:04:19 +0000

Ok, this is going to be a bit of a rant, well maybe it will be, we’ll see..

Having been in this business for over 14 years I have seen pretty much everything from every angle. I have dealt with all kinds of people and about 98% of those experiences have been positive.

I can’t even begin to guess how many emails I have answered in those 14 years but it is a lot.

The one thing that most of the emails I receive have in common is the intense desire the person writing has to succeed in online marketing.

But we all know that there is a ton of garbage online, products where the person doing the selling knows full well the claims made are complete and total B.S.

The bottom line is if someone promises you riches and especially quick riches, run, just get the hell away, and move on. It’s not going to happen unless you win the lottery.

I’ve always had one primary mission with any business I’ve been involved in, and that is to help people succeed.

Now I’m not going to in any way try and make the case that everyone I have tried to help has succeeded, many have not.

And it’s not for lack of me trying and it’s often not from the lack of the other person not trying. Sometimes an individuals skill set is not suited to a specific task or career, as well as another person’s might be. Not everyone is good at everything.

I can ski. I’ve tried to teach a lot of people to ski. Most never achieve anywhere near the degree of skill that I have. Not everyone is born to be a good skier. Bottom line.

But let me get to the point I want to make, and this is where the rant comes in..

We all know that the economies in most of the western countries have not been great this past year or two.

In that time I have received quite a number of emails from customers or potential customers who have told me a very similar story. That they need quick money, they lost their job, they need to make this work or they are going to lose their house, they are looking for some kind of guarantee that I can solve their problems with some product or service that I am offering.

They want a guarantee that such and such a product will get them out of their dilemma.

Let’s look at a couple realities.

If you are in need of quick cash, or on the verge of losing your home, or something that falls into the really awful category, do not, I said DO NOT even think about online marketing as your salvation. It is not. Online marketing is a career, a business, it is not a means of getting quick cash in your pocket.

Do not, I repeat DO NOT spend any money with me or anyone else if you are down to your last dime. It’s not that you can’t make money online, but that is not your immediate problem if you happen to need a quick infusion of cash. You need to resolve the immediate problem before thinking long term.

Once you get things under control, then you can consider other options for building a business but when you are down to your last few pennies and are on the verge of losing your home, please don’t look at the online world as your way of getting out of the hole you are in. Your hole will only get deeper.

But I think it’s so easy to understand why people naturally turn to the Internet as a way out of serious financial problems, and it has to do with all the B.S. hype surrounding far too many products. And let me be specific, I’m not talking about a sales letter that tries to get you to buy a product, that is advertising, what I’m talking about are the hucksters who prey on the newbies or those very people needing quick cash, making claims of fortunes to be made in a very short time, telling you how you can make tens of thousands each month. It’s all B.S. And the sooner most people accept that the better off everyone will be.

My goal is to teach people how to make $500 not $50,000 in a month. Believe me. For most people earning $500 in a month in what could be considered extra income is in fact, life changing money.

But here’s the really sad part of how the promises of get rich quick schemes have hurt people in ways most people never consider.

In the past year alone, I have received a lot of emails stating all the things I mentioned above.

I own several businesses, and in 21 of those cases, I have actually offered people a chance to work for one of my businesses. In other words, I would pay them for work they do. It costs the person nothing. Yes it does involve real work, and while the pay may not earn you 50K per year it certainly can earn you 4 figures per month, plus the offer allowed people to work on their time and work as much or as little as they wanted, but the key word here is work. it required people to work.

Guess how many of those 21 offers I made were accepted?

ZERO.

And you know what? I don’t blame the people who did not take my offer. I don’t think these people are lazy or are people that really don’t want to succeed, quite the contrary. I feel the problem is in most cases, that they have fallen victim to the hype, that they can make a lot more, a lot faster with a lot less work if they just find the right ‘program’ online.

The even more amazing thing is that many of these very same people have probably already been around the block so to speak, with quite a number of over hyped products that promised the very things they are still searching for without success. And they still don’t realize, it doesn’t work that way.

I really hope that none of you falls into this category but if you do, a reality check is in order.

What I do is not a hobby, it’s a business, and most people fail to understand that making money online involves creating and running a real business.

As the title of this post states, internet marketing is great but… it’s a career choice, a real business, not a get rich quick scheme.

There’s a lot of really good people in this business, but also a lot of hucksters. Remember the old adage, if it sounds to good to be true… it probably is.

- Dave -