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SEOnoob
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Joined: 6 May 2008
Posts: 6
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# Posted: 18 Jun 2008 22:52
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I'm collecting invaluable information from experts and newbies alike. Would you mind helping? If so, please do let me know your answer on this question -
If you ever had the chance to market your business online, which do you think is the most effective that you've used? Any tips on how to keep getting the best results from this method?
Any advice will be great help for me.
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jschuman
Member
Joined: 21 Jul 2007
Posts: 160
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# Posted: 18 Jun 2008 23:43 · Edited by: jschuman
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Article marketing can still pay off big. Learn how to write 250 word articles and submit them to Ezinearticles.com. Develop a good resource box to drive traffic to your website.
Then write and submit 10-20 articles a day. Stick with it and you will have all kinds of free traffic eventually! Your only investment being the time you spend writing. You should be able to do 5-6 articles an hour!
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mountainmom5
Joined: 30 Aug 2007
Posts: 1155
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# Posted: 19 Jun 2008 00:53
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jschuman: You should be able to do 5-6 articles an hour!
That is , if you are good at writing! I get lost for words after a few but I do agree that it is one of the best ways to not only get free traffic, but TARGETED traffic.
I'd rather have a 100 targeted traffic hits then a thousand hits that you have no idea where they are coming from .
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happywife
Joined: 14 Aug 2007
Posts: 894
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# Posted: 19 Jun 2008 01:36
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jschuman: Develop a good resource box to drive traffic to your website.
Hey Jeff,
I was just wondering something and you seem to be a good person to ask.
Can you use redirect links in your resource box? I know some article directories don't allow actual affiliate links, but do they consider a regular link that redirects to an affiliate site in the same category?
If you or anyone else knows for sure the answer to this question I would appreciate it. I've not actually done much in the way of article marketing, but have been considering it lately. Some of the time I would be interested in just driving traffic to my primary websites, but others I would like to promote an affiliate product outside of my niches and wondered if I could do that with redirects.
Thanks,
Angie
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SEOnoob
Member
Joined: 6 May 2008
Posts: 6
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# Posted: 20 Jun 2008 02:43
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Thanks for the suggestions! I'll take note of all of it.
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Newbie Shield
Joined: 22 Sep 2007
Posts: 1488
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# Posted: 20 Jun 2008 12:35
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happywife: ...Can you use redirect links in your resource box? I know some article directories don't allow actual affiliate links, but do they consider a regular link that redirects to an affiliate site in the same category?...
Angela Berg!!! ;)
Lol, me thinks someone's white robes are starting to gray around the edges. Actually, you're just considering, you haven't done it yet. Your robes are probably still white, hee.
Great that you are looking into additional ways to monetize and market. Gray, blue, and black tactics don't last but they do tend to cause more problems than they solve. For starters they harm your reputation, generate bad habits, and they aren't above board.
Usually when you get a quickie it is at the expense of the long-term plan. I can tell you off the bat that if you were the owner of an article directory, you would rather that folks wouldn't do this as it's both a "no affiliate links" loophole and it's deceptive to the person that clicks the link.
Not all redirects are harmful or even deceptive, but some are and many of us have been upset on more that one occasion when were were unceremoniously redirected to a site other than the one we thought we were going to visit once we clicked a link.
It seems that you may be at a marketing crossroads. While learning new and powerful ways to go about things is good, be careful of the roads you actually tread. As you have said many times before, there are no shortcuts - build a business and think long term.
I know this all sounds preachy and perhaps condescending. One of the things I like most about you is that you are extremely ethical. My advice is to stay on the White path as it's the one that will last and will help you sleep best at night.
All ethics aside, if a person clicks on the redirect link, will they go where they expect? If not, is this not a thing of deceit? If there is any deceit involved, regardless of level of harm, it can not be called a white hat tactic.
Be white hat in everything you do. Never betray, cheat, lie, or deceive in any way. Make sure that your readers can trust you completely.
Sorry if this puts a dent in our online friendship, I know it's bold. I just don't want you to start slipping down the wrong road. You're one of my top three favorites of this forum and for good reasons :)
Your Friend,
~Newbie Shield~
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Newbie Shield
Joined: 22 Sep 2007
Posts: 1488
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# Posted: 20 Jun 2008 12:41 · Edited by: Newbie Shield
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PS. I forgot to add that you'll be cheating yourself out of a valuable back link from the article directory.
Furthermore, if Google de-indexes your redirect domain (happens all the time as this is often considered a spammy tactic), your article will no longer be of any help in generating traffic.
It's better to send traffic to your site and then to the affiliate site. More traffic improves things such as your Alexa rating and creates repeat visitors to your site. They may buy more than one product. It helps in other ways but I'll stop here.
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A8ch
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
Posts: 357
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# Posted: 21 Jun 2008 01:35
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My best free marketing method is... Article Marketing.
The investment is time spent doing research and the
actual writing. I routinely submit my articles to about
a dozen distribution sites.
Hermas
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getagrip
Joined: 20 Feb 2006
Posts: 1506
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# Posted: 21 Jun 2008 01:45
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I think participating in forums can be an extremely effective way to get traffic, because it gives you a chance to build trust with other members of the forum, as long as you provide value in your forum posts - or majority of them.
The only downside is that most non "work at home" or "internet marketing" related forums don't allow you to use a signature file that links to a website where you are promoting affiliate products - you can provide more value in your posts than any other members of the forum, but the forum owners will still ban you or ask you to remove your signature file in spite of the value you offer to the forum.
What you can do, however, is start your own forum...and you can actually start your own forum with the click of a few buttons if you know what you are doing...
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happywife
Joined: 14 Aug 2007
Posts: 894
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# Posted: 21 Jun 2008 06:44
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Newbie Shield: Angela Berg!!!  Lol, me thinks someone's white robes are starting to gray around the edges. Actually, you're just considering, you haven't done it yet. Your robes are probably still white, hee.
 You are a riot! Never fear, I'm not even slightly considering wandering off of the straight and narrow.
That's precisely the reason I've asked the question. I'm a strictly white hat kind of a gal. I've never actually submitted an article to a directory before (believe it or not) but was wondering if that was the general accepted practice that was ALLOWED by the article directories.
No, I wasn't referring to redirecting as to deceive where I was sending my 'guest.' It's just a lot neater and tidier to use a simple redirect than long drawn out affiliate links. I wasn't exactly clear on what the directories were objecting to.
I use redirects all the time, actually. I have a domain name homemade-success dot com. With unlimited subdomains, I redirect to a lot of my affiliate urls using that method. I really don't think it would be deceptive in the slightest.
For example, I promote a free ebook on network marketing called, The Seven Great Lies of Network Marketing. Instead of using the affiliate url I have a redirect called 7greatlies.homemade-success dot com.
When I offer that link I clearly state that they are going to get the free ebook by that name (and it is still somewhat visible in the link).
It's a whole lot easier for me to remember my affiliate urls when I'm recommending things to people because they are defined by the nickname I assign the sub domain.
I never even considered this to be a gray area.
As far as losing out on backlinks, etc., I was more interested in whether this was an accepted practice for products I might want to promote that are not on my niche sites.
Another question. Do most article directories consider replicated sites for NM companies as affiliate links (because they DO have a referal number in the url)? They CALL these sites our 'personal' sites, but they are not the same in my own mind as my own built sites, so I wondered how they were looked upon in their eyes. Does that even make sense?
I don't think you were being preachy nor condescending. I'm slightly insulted that you would think 'a word to the wise' would even put a ding in our friendship.
I also think you misunderstood me a bit, but that's to be expected from time to time when one is communicating through the written word. I wasn't asking if we could 'get away with it' but rather if the directories 'considered it to be the same.'
I think your post is full of great advice to anyone considering any form of online marketing. Doing things correctly and above board is always the best policy.
All is well,
Angie
P.S. My domain I use for redirects is not indexed by Google. I haven't and wouldn't ever submit it. It's actually against policy to do so.
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Newbie Shield
Joined: 22 Sep 2007
Posts: 1488
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# Posted: 21 Jun 2008 10:57 · Edited by: Newbie Shield
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Angie,
I figured that you would understand that I was trying to be helpful rather than patronizing. Still, someone overreacted to an innocent question I asked the other day. Pardon me if I'm a tad weary when it comes to discussing ethics or potentially sensitive topics.
I never want to come off as preachy but I do feel that the importance of ethics should be discussed within the realm of marketing as it usually gets ignored. Too many folks are far too focused on the profit aspects. I've actually seen several forums where they take it a step further in the wrong direction and outright mock ethical consideration or even scorn it.
I never had you pegged as a person that would use anything other than white hat methods. Still, it's natural to be curious. It's tempting to try a tactic or two out. From there it can be a slippery slope. Just didn't want you to start down that path.
From an engineer's point of view non-white hat tactics make for an interesting and often deviously entertaining read. Even so, I'd never use any of them. I find non-white hat forums to be disgusting - full of criminal minds and those who prey on the ignorant. I hang out here to avoid that sort of thing.
Ah, products not related to your niche, no need for back links - makes sense :)
Do you use the homemade-success domain for back-end metrics? Aren't you able to do that without an additional domain or does this have to do with those products that are unrelated to your main niche sites? Do you even mention them on your three main sites? Just curious.
Yes, the NM company affiliate qualifier question does in fact make sense. Hmmm, astute question and I don't know the answer for sure. I suppose that it may vary from site to site.
Some article directories may classify NM links as affiliate links and some may not. Then we have to also deal with those that charge a sign-on fee, which generates a "commission" (pay one up) for the sponsor verses the ones that do not.
It's clear that it's not quite the same as selling an eProduct, yet much of the permission logic would be about the same in some cases. Perhaps someone has tried this or you might contact a few of the directories that you would like to try out to ask them.
I understood your question but I also felt like expressing hesitancy and discussing a few other issues :)
I'm sure you're careful about your use of redirects. I know a few people that were using several perfectly SEO'd redirects to hog several slots on page one of the Google SERPs, which pointed to a single site. The domains were de-indexed and blacklisted from Google.
I know this because I owned the sites first and was using them for legitimate purposes. I had the top slots in Google by doing it the right way. These folks bought my domains from me and abused them. Google found out and gave them the axe. That's part of why I yapped about it, hee.
happywife: ...I don't think you were being preachy nor condescending. I'm slightly insulted that you would think 'a word to the wise' would even put a ding in our friendship. I think your post is full of great advice to anyone considering any form of online marketing. Doing things correctly and above board is always the best policy...
You're such a cutie :)
*pinch*
~Newbie Shield~
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happywife
Joined: 14 Aug 2007
Posts: 894
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# Posted: 22 Jun 2008 00:19
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Newbie Shield: Do you use the homemade-success domain for back-end metrics?
Hi Shield,
I have no idea what that means. So I guess the answer is probably not.
It will be interesting to find out the position of someplace like ezinearticles regarding the the NM replicated sites.
I do have some products that I promote on my sites, but there's about a dozen or so that don't 'fit' on any of my sites. I'd still like to promote them because they are good and there's a market for them.
It's no big drama at this point since I haven't gotten around to it yet, and I'm about to take a nice long holiday. It's getting pushed back AGAIN.
Still, there's a weight loss product I'm going to try this month. If it is good as reported, I will want to promote it. I can send visitors to "my" replicated site, but a redirect to that site would be a 'cleaner' url. The site itself charges no fee beyond the cost of purchasing the product and shipping fee so that isn't a problem. I suppose I'll have to ask the right people when the time comes.
Thanks for your insights,
Angie
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proson
Member
Joined: 3 Jun 2008
Posts: 22
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# Posted: 29 Jun 2008 09:15
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seoboob, to me best traffic strategies join some jv giveaway and
drive a lot of traffic in a short period of time....
but i think you want people to say article marketing..?
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ibuzzmentor
Member
Joined: 23 Jun 2008
Posts: 60
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# Posted: 30 Jun 2008 10:41
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Yes the best way to create free leads is JV. JV's though dont have to be always online. They can be local, radio, tv, etc. It is a win win relationship as so many advertising outlets struggle for revenue. Get out there!
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crabtree13
Member
Joined: 17 Jul 2008
Posts: 1
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2008 15:29
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Hi,
I use different advertising methods to get traffic to my website. One advertising source I found to be good is Trafficquest. It's a viral marketing system that is design to get millions of visitors to your website for FREE!
Regards,
Yvonne
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website for FREE!
http://www.trafficquest.net/mem_page.php?=61
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marperrr
Member
Joined: 4 Jun 2008
Posts: 43
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2008 21:02
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The best free way I have found is Myspace. 10,000 friends on 2 sites...get to sell myself before my biz ops and products...make real friends...by far, the best free advertising I have found 
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LordAlan
Member
Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Posts: 13
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# Posted: 30 Jul 2008 03:47
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i dont know i was never one to like Myspace.
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BillChechel
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Joined: 8 Jan 2008
Posts: 159
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# Posted: 30 Jul 2008 10:51
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The best free traffic methods I use are Craigslist and forum marketing.
I am assuming by free you mean no monetary cost. These methods cost me a lot of my time though!
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LauraLicata
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Joined: 1 Jan 2008
Posts: 273
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# Posted: 31 Jul 2008 11:37
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I would definitely say article marketing and forum marketing! You are creating more and more backlinks and on forums people get a feel for who you are and learn to trust you (or not).
Take care,
Laura
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LauraLicata
Member
Joined: 1 Jan 2008
Posts: 273
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# Posted: 31 Jul 2008 14:37
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jschuman: Then write and submit 10-20 articles a day. Stick with it and you will have all kinds of free traffic eventually! Your only investment being the time you spend writing. You should be able to do 5-6 articles an hour!
You are definitely the expert Jeff but how do you write that many articles a day??? I can barely do 2 and that is on a good day.
Another question is don't most of the ezines want a minimum of 500 words or am I confusing that with the max???
Take care,
Laura
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web20mentor
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Joined: 20 Jan 2008
Posts: 73
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# Posted: 31 Jul 2008 15:57 · Edited by: web20mentor
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Myspace, Facebook, Videos...I have created a six figure business with that right there. Never spent a DIME on leads and I have not picked up the phone and chased a single prospect into my businesses.
Of course, the SCIENCE behind marketing on these sites is why I have done so well with them. And no, I don't have anywhere near 10,000 friends. I spend less time adding friends and more time inspiring, empowering and building the RIGHT relationships.
Hope that helps!
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gradyp
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Joined: 10 Jul 2008
Posts: 35
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# Posted: 31 Jul 2008 15:58
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Laura,
I think that the 500 is just a rule of thumb target, but most of the article sites recommend a minimum of 100 quality words.
I could be wrong, but that is my understanding
Grady
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De La Mente
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Joined: 7 Apr 2008
Posts: 39
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# Posted: 31 Jul 2008 16:15
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Rent-a-List is a great email marketing tool, if it fits within your budget.
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