Is It Shareable?

If you truly want to become an authority over time on an authoritative niche you might have, you need to ask yourself if the content you write is shareable or if people will share it. That is hard to explain until you see it in action and it is in action every day on Twitter and Facebook for starters. There are groups and followers of every imaginable niche out there, you just need to find them. They do exist. Some bigger than others, some smaller. Once you have a handle on your niche and research done, you can build the product pages. I must admit that these are not shared as much as articles and blog post are, but keep the reader in mind when building them. When adding articles and blog post later, make sure they fit a need, a search need and the content is the quality that others would share it. You can post this on Twitter and Facebook your self, perhaps on some group pages in Facebook even, but the true magic happens over time as others share it naturally. It does happen. Watch what type of content others are sharing in the niche? Videos? Toplist? Pictures? How to? You should get the drift by now. Sure you can build automated sites. I do, but my big, big money comes from several, several niches I am high in authority on and the content is VERY shareable. Look around. What is being shared in your niche on Twitter or Facebook?

Rand On Improving Share-ability Of Your Content

I am a little under the weather today as it feels like the flu bug might be coming on. I wanted to point you to the SEO Moz Whiteboard Friday video and post today in which Rand goes over Improving Content "Share-ability". Another well put together segment and very informative as well.

SEOmoz - SEO Software

Always Room To Outsource More

If there is one thing that I have learned this past year is how to outsource more. Some things I can not automate like some types of directory submissions and certain social bookmark submissions so those are easily outsourced. It goes without saying that I have firmly embraced outsourcing a ton of my article writing and product reviews/descriptions. All of this has freed me up to concentrate on the little things like keyword research, and traffic research. I have also found a great graphics guy that knocks out any custom work I need for headers or banners on a day turn around. On any new review/product site I build all I need to do is the initial market research and install and put it together. That is pretty much it. If it is a niche I know a ton about, I will still knock out the articles that get written and spun with The Best Spinner that go out to article sites and places like SEO Link Vine. I plan on outsourcing the spinning too in 2011. Also next year, I hope to continue to try to build only one great site a month as I have a very full stable of sites that is already earning very well and mostly just needs better managing to squeeze even more income out of them. Do not be afraid to outsource anything that will free you up to do the more important task. It has worked great for me.

Keywords To Websites Plugin Adds Content Spinner

I forget to write about the most recent update to the Keywords To Websites Wordpress plugin. Hopefully you own this, but if not you should get it now before Black Friday starts. you might be able to get a niche or two or three up very quickly and take advantage of some quick indexing. The latest update features an added content spinner.

Per the directions:

Directions:
Anything between { and } and seperated with a | will be randomly selected. Anytime the plugin finds **keyword** it will replace with your actual keyword.

Here's an example:
{Information about|Our page about|Details for|Learn about} the **keyword**. We {looked high and low|searched|hunted|scanned|browsed} for {information|details|pictures|facts|prices|content} on the **keyword** and {put it all together on this page|compiled it here|organized it for you}.

The example will generate results like this using the keyword **monkey tv**:
-Learn about the monkey tv. We scanned for details on the monkey tv and organized it for you.
-Our page about the monkey tv. We scanned for content on the monkey tv and organized it for you.
-Details for the monkey tv. We searched for pictures on the monkey tv and compiled it here.
-Our page about the monkey tv. We scanned for prices on the monkey tv and compiled it here.

The more complex you make your template the more unique and awesome your spun text becomes.

I also want to thank everyone that took advantage of the Auto Blog Blueprint coupon code yesterday. I see most know a deal when they see it.

Do Not Ignore The Trust Factor

I think what I have learned most with building niche sites over the years is not to ignore the trust factor of a surfer. It is very important as they must trust in order to buy. That is most of the time mind you. I have broken down 4 areas on your site that the trust factor must not be ignored on.

Look - Does your site look trust worthy? Does it look like a 5th grader built it? Sometimes less is more and it is a trap we all fall into. A simple clean layout with a small professional logo is more than enough. Also stick to just two or 3 colors. Black, white and one primary is perfect. I have gotten over creative before. You likely have as well.

Content - Does your content make sense? Does it read right? Is it factual? I love the Best Spinner, but it can be used to the wrong way very easily to create plain crap that is unreadable. Also make sure the facts are right about a product or an article. Surfers pick up on inconsistencies very easily. You do not need to be a Pulitzer Prize winner to create simple, to the point, factual content. Use your content to paint a pretty picture and sell the product. It is not hard to do.

Ads - Are the ads you are showing trustworthy looking? Do the banners look good? Do the ads match what you are selling? No obnoxious clams? Any stats you can look at for the banner conversions inside your affiliate admin panel? This is often overlooked. Too many times we head for a banner we like and fail to look if there is one that has been converting better. It draws clicks because the surfer trust it.

Exit - Are you sending the surfer to a trustworthy site. Did you trick them to go there? Are they going to where they think they are going? Will where they are going have what they need or are looking for?

Interactive Photos With Phlook

I came across Phlook today which is a service that makes photos interactive and more engaging in the process. I have not tried it, but I have it on my list to get to by this weekend. First you take a photo and upload it to Phlook and then you get an embeddable piece of code which is then entered into your content or blog post and the photo shows up with several interactive options. Surfers will have the ability to leave a note on the photo, vote on the picture along with having zoom functions and the ability to email the photos. Of course this will not be a fit for ever site you build, but my wheels are already turning on how to best implement this. You can see a demo here.

SEO Moz On Turning Product Pages Into Great Content

What a treat this week's SEO Moz Whiteboard Friday is as Rand Fishkin goes over how to convert product pages into great money producing content. A lot of these tips I try to implement myself on my newer sites or rebuilt niche sites loaded with content. Really good stuff here.

Tags, Tags, Everywhere Tags

One of the most under done task in video, picture or other 2.0 type sites is the tags section. You have seen these before and they are to be filled out much like a Wordpress blog post would be. If there is a description area, that goes hand in hand as well. Not only will filling these tags out help searches on those particular sites find you easier, it also helps the autoblog sites find you easier as well. When filling out these tags, some will have minimum words or characters so I go from specific to broad with my tag words. I will use every space allowed. With the desrcption area, treat it like you would a description meta tag on a web page. If allowed, throw in your site URL as well. You never know where these pictures, videos, documents or widgets will show up or who will find them, so do it right the first time on upload and you are covered. Little things like this add up over time.

Free PDF On How To Create Compelling Content

Copyblogger founder Brian Clark recently put out a free PDF on How to Create Compelling Content That Ranks Well in Search Engines and it is available without even having to give an email address. It is not earth shattering stuff, but a great primer for those new to niche site building or a great refresher copurse for veterans. Best of all, it is free. I have been reading his blog for years and have learned quite a bit from Brian over the years as far as creating compelling original content that not only ranks well, but draws backlinks in addition. It has also helped me convey what I am looking for to my writers I employ as well. There is no better way to draw good buying traffic than great original content. Sure, autoblogs work as do aggregated sites, but all of my sites that make use of great original content, are the ones that earn the most every month and I never worry about them under performing. The age old phrase, content is king, has never been truer.

Rand Fishkin On Outsourcing Content Creation

It has been a little while since I have pointed to a Whiteboard Friday video by Rand Fishkin, but in the most recent episode, Rand goes over the methods he recommends for outsourcing content creation. Good stuff.

I outsource to many writers for content including Need An Article. I have a few writers there I like.

Whiteboard Friday - Outsourcing Content Creation

Writing Great Product Descriptions & Sales Copy

We will do a complete 180 from turnkey keyword sites talked about yesterday and go back to thick product review, store like niche sites. Karon Thackston has an excellent article on Webmaster World entitled Seven Steps To Writing Enticing Product Descriptions where she covers the art of e-commerce copywriting. Now I farm out a ton of my writing to a few writers and specifically have trained them to the type reviews and descriptions I want. My ideal stuff is 200-300 words, any more is just too long in my opinion. You can pick up several tips to use yourself or hold your own writers to as well as how to display it on site. If need be, forward the link above to your writers. When it comes to keyword phrases in the 5th tip, don't let your writers stuff the same phrase in order to meet a word count. Over time you can train your writers to know exactly what is acceptable and what is not. Remember, they work for you. Karon has a new ebook on the way as well that looks to be a winner. You can pre order it now. Good stuff.

Get Article Content Ideas With Wordtracker Keyword Questions Tool

A great way to brain storm ideas for article content for your niche site is to use the Wordtracker Keyword Questions Tool as a starting point for your research. You will be both filling a need and targeting long tail keyword phrases in the process. This tool works great as a starting point and I would not get too hung up with the volume of searches it returns. What I do is to use it in conjunction with either Micro Niche Finder or Market Samurai to dig a bit deeper into both competition and volume. The type articles you produce that answer common questions in a niche, the more likely they will get linked to naturally. These types of backlinks are gold. Often times you can address several of the questions in just one article as well and target the phrases SEO wise by using h2 header tags. You do not have to limit your self to one question per article. Often times several of these phrases are commonly linked together in a way that just one article can address several of them as well as open your site up to several other longer tail organic keyword phrases on top of it. Give it a whirl and run some through either MNF or MS tools as well.

You Can't Put A Price On A Great Content Writer

I hated to write. I never dreamed one day I would have a blog with almost 1000 post that I would post almost daily on for almost 3 years. I found I like to write, no matter how bad it might be, about things I like, in niches I like. Does that mean I write 100% of my own content for my huge stable of sites? Absolutely not. I pay great writers. I have 4 solid writers I use at a moments notice now. It all depends on the niche and the content I need written. 250 word product blurbs? I have a great writer on Textbroker and an independent I found on a forum. Articles? I have 2 great ones I use on Need An Article. It took me a little while to find these writers that fit my style that I look for and I just can't put a price on them. They are indeed worth every penny I outsource to them. Do I still write some of my own stuff? Sure I do, but I find myself trusting my writers more and more plus money is not an issue. I am coming out of period of revamping 20 older thin sites into power packed niche authoritative sites. It was time consuming keyword and product research on my end, but translated well into easily outsourcing most of the writing. 12 of the completed revamped sites are already producing eye popping conversions on Amazon and 4 of the other 8 have seen their organic long tail traffic increase almost daily as the backlink building is taking hold.

When working out writers of your own, make sure you clarify the rules up front of what you are looking for. It will save tons of time and communication. Explain you do not want keyword stuffed generic articles or product descriptions just trying to meet the word quota. Provide them links to other works when you can for research and factual info. With product descriptions, I look for 250 or so words full of features, benefits and specs. Yes, it can be done in less than 300 words and not cost you an arm or a leg. These type of works only run you around 5 bucks each. What? 5 bucks for a page that can easily earn 20 times that in month? Yes. It is true. Now are my 4 writers the only 4 writers out there? No, it may take you some time to find a few that meet your own needs, but when you do, you can't put a price on them. Make sure to treat them good and keep them busy.

Only So Many Ways To Say Some Things

The old duplicate content argument is starting to resurface again in relation to ranking in the SERPS. When dealing with product descriptions, you will often see the same stock description show up on several retailer sites. It is not uncommon to even see them on Amazon. Is it OK to use this duplicate content on your site? Sure, I guess, as long as the original source is allowing it. Which most do. If you were to build a complete site though with all duplicate content, it will be very hard to stand out in the SERPS ranking wise. I know there are only so many ways to say something is black and goes 55 mph. If you must use stock product descriptions, try to add something else unique to the page as well. Perhaps also a video or some product ratings. Try to make the full contents of the page be different than any other page out there. Yes. Even if it all is duplicate content. Tons of sites make a living off of aggregating content. Take Mahalo.com for example. I will say though, you stand a better chance the more unique you are. Even if this means spinning something with the Best Spinner. Try to put together pages of content that can not be found elsewhere and yet give the surfer what they are looking for. It is not so much the duplicate content that kills you, than it is the fact that no pages on your domain have uniqueness. Get creative, even if you are using SOME duplicate content. In all honesty though, the more original content you have on site, the better it is for all involved.

Great Content Still Gets The Best Kind Of Backlinks

It is a lesson that needs repeating often. So many try to avoid it, but the fact remains that great content will get your site the best backlinks in the shortest amount of time. Through the revamping of several of my own websites recently, I have focused on thickening up thin sites from the early days with great original content. Of course after adding this great content I promote the hell out of it through whatever social media I can in order to try to get it in front of as many eyes as possible. Many times it results in backlinks given unconditionally on like sites. Not all the time mind you, but more times than not. I target low hanging keyword fruit as well, which makes MOST of the articles easy to rank.

I can speak from experience that it does not take long for these type of backlinks to boost you tremendously in the rankings as these links usually come from more authoritative types of sites and carry heavy weight. It could be a forum post link or blog post. Regardless these links can juice a whole site inside and out. If you struggle with building backlinks unnaturally, concentrate on adding more great targeted content to your site. I promise it will not hurt you and only help in more ways than one. It has been proven time and time again, but many choose to ignore it as fact.

Value Of Great Content Debate

I am a bit under the weather this evening after a busy day at the doctors office. I wanted to point you to a post or debate so to speak on SEOMoz, regarding the value of content in relation to ranking well. Rand is now sharing a debate that occurred between a number of CEOs in the search marketing industry and himself in regards to debunking some SEO myths. The CEO's are Stephan Spencer, Gord Hotchkiss, Thad Kahlow, Eric Enge, Chris Baggott, Richard Zwicky, Lawrence Coburn and Will Critchlow. Hotchkiss has a view point that intrigues me. More of a popularity measure and "human" based signals in future rankings. Of course we will never know the true thinking of Google, spamming comes in every shape and size. Every time you or I manufacture a backlink that does not happen naturally, it really can be regarded as spam. As always, the best type of backlink is the one that is giving naturally because of someone linking to you because they think the site is worthy. This though usually is because of great content. You can see the chicken and the egg argument going on forever with great content and ranking.

Free Textbroker Unique Content Verifier

Got an email the other day from Textbroker announcing their new Unique Content Verifier desktop application for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Not only is it free, but it offers multiple layers of web checking as well. You have the ability to check straight text without a URL by copy-pasting an article into application. to make sure that your content is unique. You can also check posted articles with a single URL or an entire site. The program has a mapping function that automatically creates a full sitemap based on your criteria, allowing you to check an entire site. You now have the ability to protect your own websites from content thieves with the automatic daily plagiarism check function. Watch the video on the site for more clarification.

Textbroker also has great writers as well and I use them in addition to Need An Article for getting articles and product reviews written for my sites. Like all article writing services, it takes a little searching to find the right writer that fits your style, but Textbroker has been around I while and I trust my work to them.

Link Wheel In Action

A reader emailed me recently in regards to a Link Wheel. A link wheel is often better explained when seen in action. If you start here. You can follow the links and get a better idea of how a link wheel works. You can get as creative as you want with the hub and spokes or get as basic as the one you are about to follow. I would try to make each spoke be as unique as possible. This is easily done with the Best Spinner or a simple rewrite. 250-300 words is perfect. You can bring them online slowly as well if you want and go back and slowly link the spokes and hub if you so desire. There is no hard and fast rule. As I mentioned as well in an earlier post, do not be afraid to monetize these either. I do not care which direction the money comes from. Having a wheel with many spokes, makes it possible for several monetization outlets.

Google Product Reviews Program & Bazaarvoice

Ok, this will be hard for me to put into words so I am going to point you to the post on Google Merchant Blog as well as this post on Webmaster Magazine. Even though most of us sell through affiliate links, we really can learn from what Google is rewarding in the way of product reviews. Bazaar Voice will play a huge role in this as well. I would read up on a ton of this as I am right now. I still have not fully absorbed it all yet, but the model will certainly be something to learn from. The web becomes more competitive everyday. People are learning to better search and shop the web everyday. We must give them what they are looking for if we want them to buy the products we are trying to sell them.

You Can't Rank For It If It Ain't On Your Site

One of the things I have learned over the years is that I can't rank for words that are not on my site. What? Did I just say that? Yes a very duh statement, but so true. We get so tied up trying to rank for the term "Cheap Ipod Reviews" that we forget other term that associated with Ipod. Colors, features, model numbers, batteries, chargers, how to hack them, etc., etc. Instead each pages content is generic except for the keyword phrase we are targeting. This makes the page so narrow in focus that it gives you no shot at ranking organically for other phrases that you are not fully targeting. Make your content include specific terms, model #s, or words specific to the item you are selling and you will open yourself up to broader organic searches. I recently purchased some articles from a new writer and while they were written good grammatically, they were generic. Watch out for this if you are having content written for you. If you are having an article written around the phrase "Cheap Ipod Reviews", make sure the writer knows to mix in some some words related to Ipods or whatever it is you are targeting as the seed word. Understand? Is your article just your keyword phrase with 400 other generic, non industry specific words? Does the article stand a chance at ranking for any thing else organically? You should know very quickly.