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Announcements

New team member

Georgia Simone Fakiolas has joined the Red Carpet Web Promotion team as a writer and search engine optimizer. Her writing skills, promotional experience, and internet proficiency, shine through in her work. Georgia's job includes writing and building sponsored sites, and will eventually encompass submitting and managing a portfolio of sites for search engines and directories.

New feature

You may have noticed a new feature in this edition of our newsletter: search engine statistics. Every issue, Shawn will review the statistics from various sources and publish them so that you can follow the ups and downs of the search engine industry. This month MSN is ahead of Yahoo by a hair, and Google is steadily gaining ground. What will happen next quarter?

Interesting fact

"Every day, AOL Instant Messenger users send about 1.4 billion instant messages. In contrast, all of the long-distance carriers in the country transmit a combined total of barely one billion long-distance phone calls a day."
from Fast Company issue 60, page 96 July 2002
See full article at: http://pf.fastcompany.com/magazine/60/aol.html

Search Engine Navigator

LookSmart: Get With the Program In early April of 2002, LookSmart changed its policy regarding listing fees. It used to cost $149 (Basic Submit) or $299 (Express Submit) to get your site reviewed and hopefully listed in the LookSmart directory. Recently however, they implemented a 15 cent per click-through fee, stating that any webmaster who didn't sign up with the new program by sending in their credit card numbers and activating their accounts, would have their sites removed from the listings in 90 days. To compensate people in the old programs, LookSmart offered them 100 free hits per month for twenty months. The caveat: users had to activate their new accounts first. In the proceeding weeks, LookSmart followed up by sending heavy-handed e-mails informing people that if they didn't join the new program they would lose their listings. These electronic scare tactics worked, and many customers were pressured into signing up. Is the program worth it? Many sites use up their 100 hits per month very quickly -- usually in less than a day. As a result, there are few sites left in the LookSmart directory. Since most of LookSmart's traffic comes from MSN, let's take a look at what happens when a search is done using MSN. On the MSN results page, we first get "Featured Sites". These are sites which have signed expensive agreements with MSN, or have been selected as "Top Picks" by the MSN staff. "Top Picks" would include sites such as Sony, Ford, and the Major Baseball League. The next three results are from Overture (pay-per-click bidding). After that we get LookSmart's results, followed by Inktomi's. Since LookSmart's new policy has been implemented, people have found that their Inktomi listings are getting a lot more traffic. This is because instead of getting a dozen LookSmart listings at MSN, we are seeing maybe three or four, thus the Inktomi listings have moved up quite a bit. Inktomi traffic has increased even more dramatically for keyphrases of two or more words. Many of these keyphrases are returning zero results in LookSmart's listings. Empty Threats? In late July, LookSmart backpedaled on its policy of de-listing sites. The deadline to activate the new accounts has passed, but LookSmart has decided to continue giving 100 free hits to everyone who signed up with the Express Submit program, every month until December 11th, 2003. What to do? Stay away from LookSmart! Its policies show a blatant disregard for business ethics, and a proposed class action lawsuit claiming breach of contract, fraudulent business practices and misleading advertising, has been filed against them. I will avoid mentioning LookSmart in future issues (any promotion is good promotion), but I felt it was important to warn people about this. If you want to do well in MSN, submit to Inktomi or start an advertising campaign in Overture. Red Carpet Web Promotion can take care of both for you. Search Engine Statistics Below are the most current statistics for each search engine. The numbers are the percentage of people that visit each search engine for "search related" purposes. Numbers overlap because one person could go to many sites. Statistics are taken from Jupiter Media Metrix and Nielsen/NetRatings

MSN 32.6% Yahoo 31.7% Google 27.1% AOL 21.4%

Ask Jeeves 12.9% InfoSpace 8.4% LookSmart 7.2% Netscape 6.6%

Overture 6.3% AltaVista 5.8% DirectHit 4.0% DogPile 3.5%

Next issue, I will update you on other changes in the industry.

If you have any comments on this article, please respond to news@redcarpetweb.com.
Shawn Campbell is the co-founder and Chief Search Engine Optimizer at Red Carpet Web Promotion, Inc.
Shawn shares search engine news in each issue.

Feature: Link popularity to increase your ranking

Link popularity is one of the many factors that can alter your position in search engine results pages. The basic assumption by search engines is that if more sites are linking to your site, then it must be good. This is essentially why Google, MSN, Hotbot, Altavista, Inktomi and other search engines use link popularity as a factor in their ranking algorithms.

The Basics
Links are like votes. The search engines treat a link from one site to another as a recommendation that the second site is worthwhile and of interest to web surfers. When search engines are not trying to increase their income with paid results, their goal is still to actually provide users with the most relevant results. Search engines will take all the help they can get in determining which sites are the most relevant. Therefore, if many webmasters in your industry link to your site, search engines take notice, and use those links as votes towards increasing your search engine rank.

Keep in mind that search engines are becoming very sophisticated in their ranking algorithms. For example, they not only factor in the quantity of incoming links, but also the quality of those links. Below are the main factors that determine a quality link, followed by a step-by-step guide to increase your link popularity.

Authority
A link to your site from an "authorative site" is worth more than a link from a site with less "authority." An " authoritative site" is one with a clear and focused theme, with many visitors, and with many incoming links from other sites. The search engines factor in both the relevance and the popularity of the site that is linking to you.

Exclusivity
If a friend tells you "this is my favorite movie" or "this movie is among my top one hundred favorites" which statement makes a stronger recommendation for the film? The first one of course, because the film is a clear winner.

Search engines use the same logic. Basically, if a site has one outgoing link, that vote will be worth more than if it is one among a hundred other outgoing links on the same page. In fact, on Free-For-All (FFA) links pages and link farms, the link to your site is so diluted with other links that it is worthless. This is one of the reasons why you should avoid using such services. Another is that search engines try their best to exclude such pages from their databases.
Besides, you will never get a qualified visitor who discovers your site from such a page.

Recognition
For a link to count, search engines have to know it exists. Consequently, only links from pages that are in search engine databases increase your link popularity. A link from a site that the search engines do not know about, may still be advantageous however, because you may get actual visitors who discover your site via that link, and because search engines may find and index the site in the future.

It is easier to secure incoming links from sites that are less popular than your own if you are willing to do a link exchange, because the recipient will benefit more than you will. My advice is to choose sites that are relevant to your site, and then solicit them all regardless of their popularity.

Tip #1
If you offer good resources and useful content on your site, people will visit it and other sites will endorse it by linking to it.

Tip #2
Use the reverse link search feature in search engines to discover other sites that have linked to yours. Most search engines have instructions in their "advanced search" or "search tips" pages.

Tip #3
If there are many links to a site using a specific keyword in the hyperlink, it will raise that site's ranking for the keyword. This is how keyword rich domain names can make a difference, because sites often use the domain name as the link button. Keep this in mind when providing others with text links to your site.

Apart from link popularity, you should also keep in mind that following links is a common way in which web sites are found. By getting more incoming links to your site, you will be directly increasing your traffic from visitors clicking on those links.

Suggested process for a link popularity campaign

1. Make sure that your site has useful and original content. Give people a good reason to link to your site based on the content you provide. Create credibility with quality content and writing.
2. Create an outgoing "links" page. One way to get incoming links is to offer reciprocal link exchanges.
3. Create a "link instructions" page on your site. Provide instructions to other webmasters on how to link to your site. Provide URLs, banners, text links and code to link to the most relevant pages on your site. Also provide the means and linking criteria for other sites to submit a request for a reciprocal link.
4. Submit your site to search engines and directories. A link from a directory category can make a big difference in your traffic and link popularity because such sites have "authority."
5. Create lists of sites that are relevant to the theme or subject of your site but are not in direct competition with your business. Search for your keyphrases then pick out sites to add to your list. Keep track of the URL, keyphrase, phone number and email address on a spreadsheet.
6. Include the people you already know. This includes professional organizations, industry partners, suppliers and customers who can also link to your site.
7. See who is linking to your competitors. Use the reverse link search feature with your competitors' URLs then add those sites to your list of companies to contact.
8. Contact the person who is in charge of online marketing. For small companies it will be the webmaster. For larger companies it will be the marketing director.
   1. Avoid form letters. You can write them, but others do not like to receive them. So start with a base letter that you personalize and send separately to each company.
   2. Each letter should include:
      1. the URL of the page that you are requesting the link from,
      2. the text for the link (it should fit within the context of the site),
      3. your URL,
      4. your contact information,
      5. a concise reason why they should link to you. This reason should be related to the content of your site or to some other benefit that you are offering. Be creative yet realistic.
   3. Make it easy for them to link to you. You may know how to add a link on your site, but you cannot assume that everyone whom you contact has the authority and skills to add a link on theirs. Provide code, be available for calls, be patient and be convincing.
   4. Follow up. Do not be discouraged if no one responds to your initial e-mail. Remember that it is unsolicited, and that most people throw out unsolicited e-mail. It is essential to follow up with another e-mail one or two weeks later, as well as additional phone calls. Do not risk ruining an existing or potentially important relationship by being too bothersome.
   5. Document the process. Keep track of when and how each company was contacted and keep close track of responses. Also note the name of the contact person whom you are dealing with. I recommend adding this information to the same spreadsheet as your original list of sites.
   6. Follow up on the follow up. Getting quality incoming links is an ongoing task.
   7. Keep adding sites to your list.
   8. Thank others for linking to your site.

Jason Campbell

If you have any comments on this article, please respond to news@redcarpetweb.com.
Jason Campbell is the co-founder and President at Red Carpet Web Promotion, Inc.

Stay on Top

Each month we review articles from leading industry magazines and newsletters. Click on the headline to view the article.

Google Tops 'Search Hours' Ratings www.clickz.com/search/opt/print.php/1277181 June 2002 - "The total number of "search hours" spent at a site shows Google in the lead followed by Yahoo! then MSN Search." The Mixed Message of Paid Inclusion www.clickz.com/search/opt/article.php/1182991 June 2002 - Read about how the various search engines attempt to justify their paid inclusion programs. Search Engine Optimization Takes Time www.searchengineguide.com/orbidex/2002/0301_orb1.html March 2002 - "There is no quick fix that will allow you to capitalize on all of the Internet traffic within a particular market." How Search Engines Look at Links www.searchenginewatch.com/searchday/02/sd0613-links.html June 2002 - "...you should be associated with reputable sites, making sure those sites have keywords related to yours. It's also crucial to use targeted keywords throughout your site, and have relevant explanatory text around your keywords and links." The Value Of Professional Search Engine Marketing Services www.pandia.com/features/professionals.html April 2002 -"The cost of trying search engine positioning in house is multiplied significantly in lost time, lost sales and lost exposure on the Internet" SEO Best Practices for Web Site Design www.searchengineguide.com/wi/2002/0620_wi1.html June 2002 - By consulting with SEO specialists early on, you can avoid expensive re-design costs that might be needed to improve search engine visibility. More Americans shopping online at work www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358078&rel=true June 2002 - "The number of American consumers who make online purchases at work has risen by 10 percent since 1999..." Internet users still not buying online www.nua.com/surveys/?f=VS&art_id=905358100&rel=true June 2002 - "The proportion of Internet users buying products and services online has failed to grow in the last 12 months..." Worldwide B2B revenues to rise dramatically www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358058&rel=true June 2002 - "worldwide business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce revenues will grow by almost 74 percent in 2002."

Letters to the Editor

Send your questions or comments for our next issue to news@redcarpetweb.com. Be as specific or general as you want - other subscribers are probably wondering the same things as you are. You should also let us know of any promotions, sales or new products on your website.

Next Issue

- More on how Search Engines work
- Stay on top: Articles from industry newsletters and magazines
- And more...

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