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SearchReturn Discussion List
"Understanding Internet Search Technology"
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Moderator: Published by:
Disa Johnson SearchReturn
http://www.searchreturn.com
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December 18, 2007 SearchReturn Issue #142
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.....IN THIS DIGEST.....
// -- NEW DISCUSSION -- //
"Webcast"
~ SearchReturn
// -- CONTINUING DISCUSSION -- //
"Paid Links"
~ Dan Thies
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// -- NEW DISCUSSION -- //
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==> Webcast
Hello everyone,
For those of you who were unable to tune in to the webcast last
week, an archive will go up at www.searchmarketingnow.com at
anytime. There were some interesting points I brought up and I
will write about them here.
First, I talked a little about how the marketing spend has
changed and that there is still tremendous opportunity with
natural or organic SEO. As much as 85% of the search spend ends
up in PPC, while as many as 6 out of 7 ecommerce clicks originate
from natural rankings.
This is important for you when allocating budget. I ended the
presentation asking the audience whether they were taking
advantage of the search channel as a whole. Typically, the
budget breakdown shows that major advertisers spend a small
fraction of what they spend offline, online. And of that a
fraction, perhaps 40% goes to search. The numbers for search
keep increasing. Most of it ends up in PPC.
I also went through tips that include things written about here
in SearchReturn. I wanted to add value to natural SEO. If
you've subscribed for a good period of time, you will have those
same tips about title and meta data that I gave in the webcast.
I anticipate getting the SearchReturn issue archives up to date
shortly, so soon you can browse the issues to find the posts.
I was going to write about ranking reports today, a post about my
experience at PubCon on the last session of the last day. Then I
recalled a post from an savvy friend: Dan Thies. I want to
include his text in this issue to spark further discussion on
paid links. I plan to continue these topics since it appears to
be important enough as an idea that it's calling out some vets.
Enjoy!
Stay tuned,
-detlev
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// -- CONTINUING DISCUSSION -- //
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==> Paid Links
"Matt, using VPN, surfed into Google's network (without showing
the audience his screen) to come up with the internal number of
links the site was actually being credited for towards rankings.
The number? Three links."
From: Dan Thies
This is an extreme example of what has been the reality of paid
links for a long time. Google is very good at detecting and
filtering paid links.
When Matt said a while back that they were catching 95% of paid
links already, the text link industry and their flacks in the
blogosphere jumped all over it, accused Matt of lying, trying to
use FUD to control webmasters, etc.
Here's the truth: the paid text link industry has become nothing
but a big scam. Those who profit by it, and there are many,
don't want to admit that. They want to shift the discussion and
attention away from the truth.
Here's the truth: renting links has never been a "standard and
accepted SEO practice." Bob Massa remembers. Danny Sullivan
remembers. No amount of spin and noise on the part of the link
peddlers can change the reality of the situation.
If you want links, build something worth linking to and market
the hell out of it. It's easier, it's cheaper, and it works.
Dan Thies
http://www.seofaststart.com
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