Līve Ambitions

This is the age-old question that never seems to go away.  I think the answer depends on a number of factors.  I always try to do some preliminary research on the directory I’m thinking about submitting to, especially if I’m spending money on it.  Here are some questions to ask yourself before deciding to submit.

How old is the directory?  Websites are like fine wine, it gets better with age.

Is the directory banned or penalized in any search engines?  Run a simple check on all the major search engines.  Simply run a search on the domain name – if the site shows up in the results, it means that directory has been indexed by the search engine and is not banned.  If the directory isn’t ranked top 5 for it’s own domain name, then that’s a red flag for me.

Does the directory have a Google PageRank?  Having a greyed-out PR bar could mean that the directory is too new or it’s being penalized by Google.

Are the directory links “do-follow”?  Obviously if the links are “do-follow”, you’ll be getting the benefit of some link juice.  However, the amount of link juice you get will depend on the strength of the actual link page.

Does the directory have lots of backlinks?  The more backlinks it has, the stronger the directory it is.

Does the directory rank for popular keywords?  If the directory ranks for many popular keywords, it may be an indicator that it receives considerable organic traffic.

Does the directory have a good linking structure?  I look at the linking structure for 2 reasons:  One, to make sure that the directory is SEO-friendly.  And two, to make sure that your site can be found within a reasonable amount of clicks.  I think 1 to 3 clicks away from the homepage is good.  Although, some of the bigger directories like DMOZ or Yahoo will have deeper sub-categories.

Does the directory feature unique categories?  If you have experience with any of the popular directory scripts out there (such as php link directory), you would know that most of them come with pre-filled categories.  I’ve seen hundreds of directories using the same default categories.  This tells me that the directory owner is really not that serious about building a unique directory experience.

Is the directory using a dropped domain name?  Beware of directories that simply use dropped domain names.  Often times, these type of directories are put up overnight to make a quick buck.  Dropped domains normally have an existing PR from their previous website, so people are often fooled into thinking that the directory itself has the PR.

Does the directory have a unique custom design?  Seeing a unique design on a directory tells me that the directory owner is serious about his business, or at least investing money to promote his directory.  Not only that, it’s more appealing to the user.

Do you see a future for the directory?  If you get the sense that the directory was built to make a quick buck, don’t submit!  Try to target the directories that you feel will continually work to improve themselves and plan to hang around for long-term. 

Is the directory inundated with excessive advertising?  I think having moderate advertising is ok.  However, too much advertising can degrade the appearance of the directory and deter users from browsing. 

Are there recurring fees?  I usually try to avoid directories that have monthly or yearly recurring fees.  The only exception I make is for the bigger directories like Yahoo or Business.com.  For BOTW, I pay the extra for the permanent listing, so at least I won’t have to worry about recurring payments.

After weighing out the goods vs the bads, it’ll be easier for you to decide whether to submit or not.

Once logged in your Google account, you’ll notice that search results will look a little different vs when  you’re logged off.  This is because Google has long been working to provide a more personal search experience for the user.  This means that when you’re logged into your Google account, Google keeps track of your online activity, such as which sites you visit and which sites you visit most often.  Google will also manipulate your search results based on your search behavior – placing sites you visit more often nearer the top of the results.

This search feature provides a better personal experience for the user, while at the same time allowing Google to capture greater accuracy in their data.  However, how does this personal search feature affect SEO and Internet Marketing?

I think personal search is changing the dynamics of SEO.  Google is getting their way, and so are the users.  We all know that on-site optimization has always been an important factor of SEO, but never more than now.  Website content and structure is the undisputed king of SEO.  Although link popularity is still an important factor of SEO, off-site optimization services such as link building will probably hurt the most in the long run.  This is what Google has been fighting for all along – more quality content and less SERP manipulation through unnatural link building.

From the Paid Advertising standpoint, business can only get better.  Because Paid Advertising such as display ads, PPC and affiliate marketing are not affected by the natural search results, you can expect this market to grow.  There is some sense of ”you know what you’re paying for” with paid ad placement, so I think advertisers will be more receptive to this type of online marketing.

I been meaning to take the Google Professional Advertising Exam for a while now.  I finally decided to take it yesterday after having gone over some of the tutorials in the Adwords Learning Center.  Fortunately, I passed – barely.  I’m a little embarrassed to share my score, but it was less than 80% and higher than 75%. 

The exam was a bit trickier than I had anticipated.  I’m not sure which questions I missed, but there were quite a few questions I had 2nd thoughts on.  You really have to pay attention to the wording of each question.  Also, there were some multiple selection questions which were a bit iffy. 

Personally, I don’t think there should have been so many questions related to billing and account information.  Isn’t the whole point of the exam to test your knowledge in setting up and managing an ad campaign?  I don’t see how billing or general account questions would help you optimize your client’s campaign and ROI.

I guess the bottom line is I passed, and I can now show off the logo.

There were a couple of things that I wasn’t aware of before the exam:

1. They require you to take the exam every year to renew it.  With so many frequent changes going on at Google, it would make sense to keep up-to-date.
2. You don’t get to show off an Adwords Certified logo until you’ve managed an Adwords campaign for at least 90 days and have spent over $1,000 within that period.

My Advice to You on Taking the Google Professional Advertising Exam:

1. Before you take the exam, go over every topic in the Adwords Learning Center.
2. Take the quizzes for each topic.  Many of the questions in the exam are similar, if not the same as the questions in the quizzes. 
3. Make sure the information is fresh in your mind.  It’s easy to forget if you haven’t looked over the tutorials in a while.
4. Pay close attention to the wording of each question.  Don’t breeze through - you may make costly mistakes.
5. Take the exam in a quiet, comfortable setting.  When I took the exam, I was in a room full of co-workers and their conversations distracted me.

I often get into heated discussions about this topic with colleagues and others in my profession.  My stance is that meta tag titles, descriptions and keywords are not as important as many make it out to be. 

I mean, think about it.  Meta tags are way too easy to manipulate.  Spammers have used it to their advantage because algorithms of the past gave too much credit to this data.  But, search engines have gotten smarter and more complex.  Gone are the days when you could easily rank top 10 simply because you plug in a bunch of keywords into the meta tag data.

Could you imagine if meta tags were weighed heavier into the algo?  We’d have all kinds of spammy sites ruling the top 10 rankings – such as porn or gambling sites showing up for “pet supplies” or “computer store”. 

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying meta tags are obsolete.  I definitely think it helps to some degree.  For example, it would be the deciding factor where two similar sites are competing for the same spot, but the one with the search query matching meta tag would outrank the other.

I just read an article recently published by Microsoft which reveals a survey conducted through Adcenter on 400 small business owners.  The results of the survey showed that 73% of them would rather do their taxes than take a shot at managing their own search marketing campaign.

I’m not sure what to make of this.  I’ve only had experience doing my own personal taxes, but I would imagine that doing taxes for a small business would require some knowledge and a bit of paperwork.  I guess it’s like comparing apples to oranges, but apparently more people would feel comfortable crunching numbers vs. learning how to market their business through search.

What does this mean for the internet marketing industry?

It means that the majority of small businesses out there have not put any effort into search marketing or have no idea how to do it.  This opens up many doors for us in terms of finding new clients to offer our services.

This reminds me of ShoeMoney’s newsletter about local affiliate marketing.  I recommend you read it.  He shares a lot of good tips on how to acquire new small business clients on the local level.