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Upgrading the Wordpress Template and Theme September 29, 2006

SEO Blackhat is going through a live revamp. We did some staging and are now down to ironing out the bugs. Of course I expect the full gambit of comments on the new theme. So please feel free to fire away in the comment section.

Muppets

“And of course, with the birth of the artist came the inevitable afterbirth - the critic.” - History of the World Part 1


Original Article syndicated via RSS from SEO BlackHat: Black Hat SEO Blog

The Google Honeymoon Period

I have no doubt this topic has been discussed on many SEO forums before but I’m going to give my take on it based on what I have experienced.

The “Google Honeymoon” as I call it, is the period 24-48 hours after producing a new web page where it first ranks in the Google search index. In my experience for the next 2-4 weeks the page will rank particularly highly and then drop back to whatever is normal for the website.

When I first publish a new article in this blog I generally receive a first page rank for the keywords in the title and possibly the tagged internal keywords too. Generally if the search term isn’t uber-popular I can hold the number 1, 2 or 3 position for a few weeks and then it drops to somewhere around positions 4-10. Bear in mind this blog has a high PageRank and good authority so it ranks quite well, what is considered normal for your blog or website might be pages 3-10 with a brief stint on the first or second page during the “honeymoon”.

For periods of time I’ve had top three rankings for terms related to the articles I have recently published, including keywords such as Mike Filsaime, Butterfly Marketing and Rich Schefren, clearly keywords that have some competition if not from the guys themselves than other Internet marketers.

You SEO fanatics can correct me if I am wrong but I believe the honeymoon period occurs so Google can collect data on how relevant your pages are for those keywords. If during the honey your pages are clicked often and the visitor hangs around for a while (doesn’t click back and choose another option from the search results) then your drop after the honeymoon isn’t significant. The logic being that your page offers a good answer to the question being asked. If your page doesn’t get many clicks or people don’t stay around then after the honeymoon you can expect your page to drop further in the index.

As I said I’m only speculating on this, but the pattern definitely occurs for me on this blog. It’s certainly fun to watch initially while the honeymoon is on and I’m happy with how well my site ranks in general, but it’s always a bit of a let down when you lose a first position ranking. By being aware of the honeymoon you can at least understand why you might suddenly lose your rankings, though of course it’s foolish to ever believe you can be 100% certain of what Google is doing.

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Original Article syndicated via RSS from Entrepreneur's Journey by Yaro Starak

Dude, You Stole My Idea! September 28, 2006

Cumhur manually comment spammed me three times with this. He must really want it read by everyone, so I figured I’d make it post all by itself:

This idea originally belongs to me,
I wrote an advisory about it a few weeks ago.
Here are some links for proof, you can also make a google search about
http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2006-07/0211.html

You could at least give a reference to my advisory..
Cumhur Onat
cumhuronat[at]php.net

 

One of his comments was on a post that I wrote more than a year ago:

http://seoblackhat.com/2005/09/26/inbound-link-authority-sites-exploit/

Notice the 2005 my URL. So, umm . . . Cumhur, you could at least give a reference to my advisory . . .

Disclaimer: The email used in the login was different from the one left in the post, so it’s possible that someone else dropped these comments.


Original Article syndicated via RSS from SEO BlackHat: Black Hat SEO Blog

The Google “PDA Hack” Was Great While it Lasted! September 27, 2006

About 4 weeks ago, one of the posts on the private SEO Black Hat Forum showed how to get your content indexed on a Google Domain AND have backlinks that counted from the big G.

Here was the original post:

I call this the Google PDA Hack as that is simply what it is. A small breach in Googlebot makes it index it’s own PDA search results.

This will probably not last for a whole lot longer as more and more people are starting to use it but anyhow here is a quick guide on how to.

1. Let’s first see it in action
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=round+and+brown&
btnG=Google+Search

Second listing
http://www.google.com/pda%3F&as_q%3DRound+N+Brown+site:
kimosabi.en.wanad oo.es&num%3D20

2. To get your site listed with the PDA hack its important that the site you want listed is already indexed by Googlebot otherwise it wont show and even more important it is that your domain don’t get banned. F.x last week some guy refspammed the [heck] out of this gimmick and he was 3rd on Viagra so his domain was listed under the PDA search pages but no pages was indexed as he was banned. Don’t make that mistake. Just get your pages indexed don’t get them ranking. The PDA hack will do that for you.

3. Now we change the pda search string. It’s easy as ABC.
http://www.google.com/pda%3F&as_q%3DSearch+Term
+site:domain.com&num%3D20

4. Ok now you ready with your PDA search string. Simply take it and get it linked from somewhere and you should be in the SERPs in no time.

That’s all folks!

 

It’s funny, because a couple of people PM me saying they can’t find anything to use in the forum – while others tell me it’s far and away the best forum they’ve seen.

Most of us knew the Google PDA Hack was incredible; we also knew it would not be around forever. Alas! The exploit has been fixed — but it was great while it lasted! Several people IMed me about how they were raking in the cash on very competitive SERPs because of this Google PDA hack.

Indeed, Black Hat SEO is a constantly evolving art form. That’s why if you have the tools and knowledge to take advantage of an exploit when it becomes available, you want to be one of the first to know about it.

Is this kind of information worth paying money for? Well, not for everyone. Clearly my Grandmother would not have benefited from having this information 4 weeks ago. On the other hand, many of our members were able to abuse this exploit before it was patched up and made more than enough to pay for YEARS of membership to the Private SEO Black Hat Forum.

Will joining the forum be worthwhile for you? Maybe. Maybe not. It’s definiately not for everyone. However, your opportunity to “peek under the hood” for $100 will soon be coming to a close . . .


Original Article syndicated via RSS from SEO BlackHat: Black Hat SEO Blog

Is Click Flipping The Next Internet Business Craze?

Duncan Riley emailed me and made a post about two new eBooks by Scott Boulch, one titled The Death of AdSense and the other Life After AdSense both available by handing over the usual name and email opt-in. Duncan doesn’t hand out praise easily, especially when it comes to Internet marketing products, so I was intrigued.

The Death of AdSense

I spent one day on-and-off reading the two ebooks and I must say I was impressed. The first book about why AdSense is not so good anymore was okay. It is basically attempting to prove a point about AdSense but since I already share much of the opinion (although I wouldn’t use as absolute language to state it - but you need absolute language to create controversy and The Death of AdSense certainly succeeded in that regard, which I’m sure Scott Boulch is happy about), it was largely a quick read with some head nodding now and then.

If you are not a regular AdWords user you may learn something that partially explains why AdSense payouts are dropping. Recently AdWords advertisers were given the ability to have different bids for content and for search, meaning that for most advertisers what they pay for content placement dropped a lot (it did for me!). If you want more explanation of how this works, read The Death of AdSense.

I prefer to think of any lost AdSense revenues being a result of Google attempting to ensure they continue to deliver value to their AdWords customers, which are way more important than there AdSense customers, in my opinion. This change to AdWords simply meant that AdWords users pay for quality clicks, and not junk clicks from mass produced spam sites. Anyway, I digress, this is not the point of this post and I’m sure Scott’s eBook will entertain the AdSense debate enough without me dipping back into it. It’s the second book that I really want to discuss, so…

Life After AdSense

The second book, Life After AdSense, I was very impressed with. It covers Scott’s technique which he calls “Click Flipping”, which in a nutshell is using AdWords to send traffic to a landing page which is an opt-in form to a cost-per-action pay-off - in other words, you get paid for lead generation. This is not the first time I have heard lead generation pop-up this year, another well known Internet marketer did a product launch earlier in the year for an elite group course on setting up a lead generation business. Scott really impressed me because he outlined what he does in clear detail and charged nothing for it, so if you want the full spiel download the ebook.

The second ebook is certainly something he could have charged money for although I think he is smart giving it away free because it will reach more people and create more buzz and position him as an expert in this area. My initial reaction was to assume the two books were lead-ins to a product launch of some sorts, which I still think they are, except Scott hasn’t decided what he is going to launch (perhaps) and I believe he is using feedback from these two ebooks to base his decision on how to move forward. Sort of a protracted launch formula, which I like, it’s a good strategy to build some buzz and then refine your product so it closely matches what people want.

After reading Life After AdSense I must admit I would love to sit down with Scott and watch as he puts his system into place, some 1-on-1 time with this guy would be great. The only thing I felt I was lacking after reading the book was a practical example. A video that shows how he sets up everything including the landing pages, the AdWords campaigns and how he selects the CPA programs he promotes, would be a great start and no doubt given enough time he will provide something like this.

Is Click Flipping The Next Craze?

I’m not sure if I was just very “sold” on the whole click flipping idea, but overall it did seem quite easy, although I probably shouldn’t comment until I try it. Scott’s formula for making money makes a lot of sense and I’m eager to learn more about cost-per-lead and cost-per-action monetization. Scott presents a nice and simple breakdown of the Internet business “food chain”, which I really appreciated and was nodding my head in agreement the whole time (I’m a whale!). It clearly explained where everything fits in and I agree, his position is enviable. My criteria for an Internet business pretty much lines up with his, however he has executed it and I’m still working towards it.

Click flipping has some significant potential. I don’t like that it relies on AdWords for traffic, but that’s certainly a selling point too and of course strictly speaking you don’t have to use AdWords with CPA monetization, you can use any traffic generation strategy, just as Scott mentions. AdWords is instantaneous and reasonably stable and affordable (for the moment), and as long as you do your time optimizing your keywords and your landing page elements, success is almost guaranteed - again I want to try it myself before saying anything more about how effective it might be since I have no proof or experience.

What is great about click flipping, and what worries me, is that there is no barrier to entry. Based on what Scott describes the only potential barrier is knowledge - how to optimize AdWords and landing pages. Every single other business idea I have been excited about (distracted more likely!) includes some component that slows you down - whether it’s getting an eBook written, or developing content or attracting search traffic or researching a niche, or hiring people, or getting software developed etc etc - all amount to barriers. It’s because of these barriers that I have not run off and started every single business idea that’s come way, and I’m thankful for it otherwise I’d be no where (you gotta focus remember!). With click flipping you just need AdWords, an account with a CPA provider and a landing page. Only the landing page development presents any real time delay and it’s not a big thing - landing pages can be popped out pretty quickly once you have your basic template done.

Most business models promoted by Internet marketing gurus will only work for a handful of people who execute well. The knowledge as we all know, is not enough, and putting things into practice is what counts. Click Flipping seems almost too easy to action, which will see a lot of people give it a go and I suspect Scott feels that there are enough niches out there to satisfy all the people who decide to follow him into this business area. I hope that’s the case, it would be a great thing if nearly everyone who tries Click Flipping starts earning six figures - that would really be a success story and in that case, yes, I think Click Flipping would be the next Internet business craze. The signs are good but I’ll withhold judgement until I start earning six figures from it.

In my case this business idea goes on the backburner but sits atop as one of the most compelling future business models I’d like to try out post-BetterEdit and maybe even post blogging (or in tandem with). It will be interesting to see how other people go with it so please let me know if you give it a go or already make money from it. For the time being I’ll sit back and absorb everything Scott throws at us, which I hope is on par in terms of quality, based on what he has released so far. Thanks Scott!

Yaro Starak
Eager to flip some clicks

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Original Article syndicated via RSS from Entrepreneur's Journey by Yaro Starak

An SEOs Guide to Proxies - FAQ September 26, 2006

(Special thanks to Insomniac of Digital Cyber Soft for posting most of the following in our forum):

What is a proxy?

In it’s simplest form a proxy is a relay for data between two computers. A proxy can be anonymous, or not anonymous (transparent). As with most things one proxy does not fit all situations, so you will have to find the most appropriate proxy to the task you wish to complete.

What does that have to do with SEO?

This completely depends on what you wish to accomplish. The two most common purposes for proxies in the SEO industry are firstly to spoof (or fake) your country of origin, and secondly to get around various filters imposed on you by various websites.

Why would I want to fake my country?

There are many reasons, not all of which are Black Hat. In the past I have had a Right Media rep tell me to use a proxy to test geotargetting (serving diferent ad or content to diferent regions). From a Black Hat perspective, you might wish to artificially make it appear you receive a higher percentage of U.S. traffic (or any other region for that matter).

Why do websites filter by IP usage? Don’t they wan’t the traffic?

Alot of websites offer some great services which are useful to everyone. However if their server load is too high their costs increase. Or they could be in a situation where the data they provide is valuable, so they only provide small ammounts of it at a time. Most sites which filter traffic do so on a per IP basis, and only rarely filter by C block’s (the last digits of an IP 192.68.0.XXX).

I get it, proxies give me more IP’s to abuse, but why would I care about being anonymous?

Apart from the obvious situation where the service you are accessing is copyright, there are plenty more reasons. For example, if you are creating multiple accounts on a service such as Digg, your IP you use makes it very easy for moderators to locate your fake accounts and remove them. However if each account has diferent details and no logical link between them then you are far less likely to lose your accounts all at once.

Sounds dodgy, are proxies legal?

This is a rather touchy subject, most free countries have no laws against using proxies aslong as you don’t have to bypass any security to use it. This means, if the proxy requires a username and password to access it then unless the proxy owner has given it to you, you are not legally allowed to use it. Thankfully, Black Hat SEO techniques do not include illegal activities, but if one were to step over that border then a proxy is a must.

Is it ok to transfer sensitive information over proxies?

Unless you own and run it, absolutely not. People have been known to setup Honeypot (system activity monitor) proxies to do jut that, steal information.

Wow, proxies are great, but where do they come from?

A large ammount of the time proxies are setup by accident. System administrators intend to set one up for their network and accidentally forget to deny external traffic. Certain types of proxies such as Socks (not made for the feet) are more commonly spread by viruses for email spam purposes.

Ok, I got myself some proxies, but they none of them seem to do anything, whats the deal?

Quite simply, most people who provide proxies do not test them properly first. Due to the nature of proxies they regularly go down, and run under some odd parameters.

Your average proxy list goes through one stage checking against what is called a “proxy judge”. However, due to the nature of checks in the average standalone software — it’s not always possible to detect whether a proxy is truly active or not. This leads to many false positives about whether the proxy is active and even about its’ anontmity.

The system we use to build the proxy list for proxy.seoblackhat.com goes through a considerable ammount of tests and frequent rechecks. The entire list of public proxies is rechecked roughly once every two hours. Access to the proxy list is a new benefit availabe to forum members.

A script to fetch the proxies has already been created and posted on the boards.


Original Article syndicated via RSS from SEO BlackHat: Black Hat SEO Blog

Brainstorming for a Better, More Brandable Domain Name September 25, 2006

Normally, buying and using an aged domain with existing backlinks for a new project is the best option for a webmaster. However, if you already have a sizable network of sites and tons of great contacts in the industry, you should consider selecting a name that is brandable and fits with what you are doing.

This process can pay large dividends later on when your brand name becomes synonymous with the service you offer. Plus, brainstorming doesn’t have to be a painful process – you can have fun while being productive. After all, when the game stops being fun, it’s time to find something else to do.

Take the example of Levi from boogybonbon. About a month ago, we started talking about an incredible new Keyword service he was developing.

These excerpts from our ICQ conversations should help you when you’re brainstorming about a new project:

Session Start (L3vi): Tue Aug 15 18:09:04 2006
L3vi: I’m asking a handful of friends. Got any good ideas for a keyword search service domain name? The guy at searchables.com will not sell me the domain no matter what I offer so I’m now scratching my head on something that is marketable to the point that I could standup to wordtracker or better.
QuadsZilla: consider something brandable without kw
L3vi: yeah.. that’s what I been trying..
L3vi: looking for something with word or keyword.. or something that will feel like keywords stuff. lol seo, design, marketing is easy.. this is always the pain in the ass stuff.
QuadsZilla: keywordalizer
L3vi: hmm not bad how about wordalizer.com
QuadsZilla: you could also go with something like keywordromp
QuadsZilla: wordromp
QuadsZilla: if its avail
L3vi: that sounds like a sex site. ;p LOL
QuadsZilla: = more traffic!
L3vi: how about wordzar
L3vi: wordzar.com
QuadsZilla: is that how you spell zar?
QuadsZilla: isn’t there another letter in there?
L3vi: yeah
L3vi: its tzar or also spelled ZAR
L3vi: ref dictionary.com
QuadsZilla: wordbot?
L3vi: taken
L3vi: Zar may refer to: Alternative spelling of “Tsar” was the official title of the supreme ruler in the following states. ref wikipedia
QuadsZilla: that’s what i was thinking
L3vi: that one has come back around 3 times. Larry gives a B+. I’m middle ground about it, but been spitting out domain names all day so I’m getting run down on what sounds good and what is just another word. LOL
QuadsZilla: justanotherword.com
QuadsZilla: ;p
L3vi: lol
L3vi: “[16:55] l3vi: Thebestknownblackhatkeywords.com
[16:55] l3vi: lol
[16:55] l3vi: wordtrackertookalltheotherdomains-soimstuckwiththisshit.com
[16:56] Larry: lol”
QuadsZilla: i own yembi.com
QuadsZilla: if you want that
QuadsZilla: not too descriptive
QuadsZilla: but very “2.0″
QuadsZilla: you really going to start that on a fresh domain?
L3vi: don’t know if it feels right. Ill have to sleep on that..
QuadsZilla: that’s madness
L3vi: yeah. why not. LOL built my empire from fresh domains. ;p
QuadsZilla: back in the day
QuadsZilla: how about wordtacker?
QuadsZilla: wordtackler
L3vi: I could put it on boogybonbon.com, but I don’t know how well it will hold up on my blog for a service.
QuadsZilla: wordsmacker
L3vi: I don’t want to get in any wrangles with wordtracker of copyright and C&Ds
QuadsZilla: i know. i was kidding ;)
L3vi: bbl going to go play some 360 and drink a beer. ;p get my mind off of it till I get a better idea.
QuadsZilla: you’ll think of it when you’re half drunk
L3vi: yeah then forget it. LOL

Finally, after he decided to take a break and walk away from it - it hit him:

Session Start (L3vi): Tue Aug 15 19:32:39 2006
L3vi: I did not even get down the steps. LOL I think I found it.. wordze.com
QuadsZilla: that’s GOOD!
L3vi: cool that’s 3 thumbs up.. Ill go with that. now im taking that break..

We’ve had tons of other talks about Wordze since. I finally got to take it for a spin last week and was VERY impressed with the caliber of the product.

From today’s official release:

Unlike any other keyword research service available today, Wordze.com provides users access to a whole new level of keyword research by giving users up-to-date historical and sessional data on keywords that are being search for by internet users through ISP’s or Internet Portals.

 

It’s head and shoulders above the other keyword research products out there and can even give you an estimate on how competitive a search phrase is with its’ patent pending “Wordrank” technology.

Already, forum members have a great domain tool to work with and a 50% discount on the profession Cloaking software Kloakit. Levi and I are working out the details on how exactly to give access to members of the private SEO Black Hat forum. It will most likely be some sort of discount and the ability to test drive the product.

Look for an announcement on that in the next week or so.

We will be announcing yet another service that is only available to members of the Private SEO Black Hat Forums tomorrow . . .


Original Article syndicated via RSS from SEO BlackHat: Black Hat SEO Blog

8 Pitfalls To Avoid When Starting An Internet Business

Business PitfallsI’ve been thinking lately about starting another Internet business. I’m not actually going to (right now), but I was considering my future and also what I might do hypothetically if today I decided to dedicate myself to a new project.

Over the past years of running an Internet business and studying information marketing and strategic business development I’ve come to realize there are some important things I would not do again - some pitfalls I would avoid right from the get go if possible. I suggest if you are just about to start your own Internet business or are at the early stages of developing your plan, that you heed my advice and avoid these Internet business pitfalls.

1. Don’t start a business teaching how to make money online.

This is the number one rule. Unless you are currently making millions online using innovative techniques and you have plenty of built up credibility and contacts to leverage for testimonials and endorsements, you won’t succeed teaching how to make money online. There are too many Internet marketing gurus already and the marketplace is saturated. The only way to differentiate yourself is through personality and social proof, and only well established marketers who already have had Internet business success stand a chance.

I’m not saying it’s not possible to be the next Internet marketing guru, but if you do decide to chase that goal you are facing stiff competition and a very jaded consumer. It’s won’t be easy to prove that you are different or any better than the other thousands out there proclaiming to have the next guaranteed formula for success online.

The same goes for bloggers too - don’t try and teach how to make money blogging unless you already make good money from it and can teach something new and different from the many other bloggers out there teaching how to make money from blogging. Earning your first $100 AdSense cheque does not qualify you as an expert. Sure you no doubt have some value to contribute, but if you want to base your business around your skill you better be really good at it or at least be very honest with what you are proclaiming to be or to offer.

2. Choose non-Internet related niches

This is not a hard rule but you will definitely make your life easier if you choose a niche that isn’t Internet related. Like point one, if people already do it online chances are the market is saturated. The markets that have untapped potential are those were the existing offline successful businesses don’t leverage the web…yet…or the opportunity lies in taking an offline business model and enhancing it by using the web as a distribution method or marketing channel.

If you come across a high-demand offline business model that has yet to be marketed online you can jump in and be first to market and establish yourself as the online expert. The best part - your prospects won’t have already been bombarded by online marketing techniques so even the most basic marketing efforts will likely result in tremendous rewards simply because you are first in to a virgin marketplace. These markets are not jaded from over exposure to Internet marketing so you don’t face as much sceptical resistance.

Of course if you do pick non-Internet related niches there better be a reason you can succeed at it. You need to be leveraging your strengths and for some of us (me included) it’s often difficult to find strengths that are not Internet related. Which leads me to point three…

3. Don’t focus on making money

In the past I’ve confused the enjoyment gained from building a business with the rush of making money. If the only thing you look forward to about your business is the money you will make or currently earn, it won’t last. It won’t last because you will only succeed until a better competitor enters the market and takes your money away (and takes your enjoyment as a result) or your business won’t grow because you are not actually leveraging anything you are good at. Making money is not a skill - it’s an outcome as a result of a skill.

You must base your business on two factors - market potential (a hungry consumer) and your strengths. If you don’t do this you will fail, or at best be mediocre.

4. Don’t enter a tiny market

One major pitfall is finding a hungry market but then realizing it’s tiny. There is nothing worse than fighting with competitors for the small handful of customers available. You can try and stick it out and hope you will be the last business standing or be bought out by one of your competitors (or the other way round) but this is not the best premise to be in business for. Be wary of fooling yourself that the market will grow and your business will grow along with it. That might happen, but don’t struggle for too long living for tomorrow’s growth potential if it’s not really there.

5. Watch out for tiny margins

Equally dangerous as a tiny market are tiny margins. If you study pricing and market differentiation you will learn all about premium pricing and discount volume pricing. I’ve discussed pricing and perception points before and no doubt your pricing structure will be one of the most difficult areas to formulate as you go into business. It’s a sticking point for me that I tend to develop and change over time, as hazardous as that may be (see this article for my pricing story).

The one pitfall you have to watch out for is basing a business on a margin that is tight or misunderstood. Ultimately you don’t know how much a margin you can make until you start selling something, so don’t plan too heavily upon making a specific margin, plan for variations. Long term efficiencies and changes to your market positioning can help increase your margins, but there are no guarantees. Early on be especially wary of margins as you will have an inclination to blow a lot of money on marketing and if you marketing costs outweigh your margins, and you can’t sustain your business growth without the marketing, you don’t have a formula for success. Creative marketing can help you through this of course, but just make sure the numbers eventually go to positive given a spread of potential margins (standard deviation anyone? - I can’t believe I’m thinking of my old business statistics class - I hated that subject).

6. Look for leverage points

If you want big time success and explosive business growth you need to find points of leverage. You won’t be successful on any grand scale without leverage because your output will be limited to how much you can do yourself.

Leverage can be a way of using the marketplace to magnify the size of your business (for example many to many business models or user generated content) or through joint ventures or host beneficiary relationships. Leverage is about thinking beyond a solo-mentality and finding ways to use other resources to meet your goals quickly.

Although not strictly leverage by definition, just the act of taking on outsourcers or employees to increase your output is a great start and is the path to a leverage mentality, which leads me to point seven…

7. Avoid self-employment thinking

Most people who leave a day job to start a business begin with a self-employment model. This means you create a job for yourself and add all the other responsibilities that come with business ownership, and lose the benefits that come from employment at a company (remember this article? - Do You Want to Run Your Own Business?). This is fine as a starting point (although you can avoid it from day one) but you must learn to start thinking about business building, which means separating yourself from roles that don’t build your business.

The biggest culprit to blame for self employment thinking is cash flow, or lack of it, since most new businesses have limited financial resources and as such the owner must do everything since they can’t afford to bring in other people. It’s important when deciding what business to start that you see how it is possible for you to stop doing the day-to-day business fulfillment roles (delivery of services/products, support, sales, etc) in the future. If you can’t automate, outsource, or hire people to do these roles, then you don’t have a business model, you have a job model.

8. Be aware of your own limitations

As sad as it might sound, most of us are only truly good at a few things. We can be sufficient at many things, but generally each of us only have a few gifts that can translate into business success. Before starting a business make sure you know what your talents are and how they translate into skills you can use to build a business.

Most of the things I do every day to manage my business leverage skills I have that I would call sufficient. I’m not great at them but I can spend some time and get the job done. This includes things like writing copy, technical jobs like server management, software installation and basic graphic design. Then there are other jobs I do that are routine, areas where you really can’t excel at, they just need to be done and I have to do it.

All of these activities take me away from what I should be doing - leveraging my time on the high value activities that use my talents - things like writing this article now. It’s taken me a while to realize that an important goal in my business is to set up systems and people to do the things that for me are largely a waste of time. These activities are important still - my business wouldn’t succeed without them being completed - but they don’t leverage my talents and I need to have people with talents in those areas handle them.

Don’t worry if right now you are not sure what your talents are but be aware that your goal eventually is to distinguish what you are exceptionally good at and stop doing what you are not good at. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you are the best at everything because A) it’s not true and B) this will lead to solo-minded thinking, which I’ve already mentioned will stifle your business growth.

Yaro Starak Leveraging Coffee Shops

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Original Article syndicated via RSS from Entrepreneur's Journey by Yaro Starak

Google: “Checking Backlinks = Spammy Requests” September 24, 2006

Many of you might have seen that Google is given SEO advice to government agencies. The Google Cache is reporting that at one of those events, Adam Lasnik of Google gave a speech/session where he let out this little tidbit:

Google doesn’t improve the link: command because they don’t want spammy requests.

 

Adam then went on to say that if you want to check your backlinks that Yahoo Site Explorer was a good place to look.

Now, we’ve known forever that the link command was horrible in Google. What is interesting if that they consider backlink checking to be “Spammy Requests.” So all you “white hat SEOs” out there, do you make “Spammy Requests?” or would you rather just err on the side of not being seen as “Spammy?”


Original Article syndicated via RSS from SEO BlackHat: Black Hat SEO Blog

Please Resend Emails Sent To Me In The Last 48 Hours September 23, 2006

If you sent me any email over the past 24-48 hours and you require a response please resend your email again.

The longer version…

During the server move I have been doing this week I made a boo-boo. I won’t go into the boring technical details but as a result of what I did over a 24 hour period my server sent out one email to me almost every second.

This is what I woke up to during my email check yesterday morning:

40,000 Emails

Yes, I had over 40,000 emails. The problem was that within that 40,000+ email there were about 30 or so real emails I needed to keep.

My plan was to log in and somehow delete the mail I didn’t want and leave just what I wanted. Obviously wading through 40,000 email manually was not going to be a short job so I wanted to use a server shortcut somehow and delete most of the junk server messages I didn’t need all at once. Even after a trip down memory lane going back to my university days playing with SSH access to my server and using the PINE email program I just couldn’t do it. There were too many emails and the server was chugging along trying to work through them.

In the end the server did a delete routine at the end of the day and moved most of the mail into an old messages folder automatically. The result of this is that I could access my current mail but I lost everything over the past 24-48 hours. I know at least 20 or so real emails were lost because I was able to scan the headers of them early yesterday, including a few emails I would like to see again.

The DNS re-delegation for the server move is still not quite over yet either so my domains and email are not quite working right so you may get a bounced mail message. If that is the case please try again tomorrow.

If you sent me any mail over the past 24-48 hours and you require a response please resend your email again.

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Original Article syndicated via RSS from Entrepreneur's Journey by Yaro Starak | older posts »