6 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
6 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Advice for a Newbie - Am I doing this right?

by clarktr2
5 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hey everyone - I've been lurking for awhile, but haven't posted until now. I've been involved with IM for about the past 8 months, although there were a few months in there where I wasn't very devoted to it and didn't do much.

I've hit a bit of a plateau, and I would just like to hear some opinions on whether I'm going about things the right way and if there is anything that I could do differently.

I'm currently bringing in around $500 a month, most of that from one site in the gaming niche. I spend the majority of that $500 on tools and outsourcing.

I'm focusing on a project right now that's bigger than anything I've done thus far - I'm trying to rank for a couple of search terms (again, in the gaming niche), one of which gets 10k a month, and another that gets 20k. I'm currently on page 2 for the 10k, and page 3 for the 20k - I've been at it for about 6 weeks.

My strategy for building backlinks has been primarily to write an article, spin it, and then submit different versions to tons of article directories and Web 2.0s. I then pay some freelancers to do UAW submissions on some of the articles and the Web 2.0s, as well as a couple a week to the money site. Additionally, I just started this past week buying gigs on Fiverr to have people do a couple of submissions in SEOLinkVine and Blog Blueprint.

I have to admit that I'm getting a little frustrated at the speed at which things are happening. Am I just expecting too much too soon? Or are there things that I should be doing differently? Or both?

I'm mainly concerned that the fact that I'm submitting versions of a spun article all over the place might mean that those links are being de-valued because they're not entirely unique. The problem there would be that I would somehow need to come up with a lot more original articles to submit, which would be pricey.

I also wonder if I should be focusing my efforts on creating additional sites rather than just hammering on a couple of these sites that I already have.

Any advice on how I can take things to the next level would be greatly appreciated!
#advice #newbie
  • Profile picture of the author Justin Hall
    A lot of times, if you can make a little bit of money, then there is a way to better your process and increase your income. Run with what you have and tweak it for more profits.

    As far as articles go, quality beats out quantity. There are some decent pointers in a thread titled "quickest ways to write an article" or something like that. I can't post the link because I haven't posted enough on here to earn the privilege.

    Unique, relevant content is worth way more than a bunch of spins.

    Try some other avenues of traffic as well. Try some forum marketing on gaming forums. Try making some youtube videos with clickable links. Get quality backlinks.

    Maybe get in the war room or check out some wso's about link building and seo.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3349081].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author InternetMarketingIQ
    Cut to the chase. Figure out where people go for the information you provide and then put yourself there.

    Relying on search is a wasted effort.

    Search is evolving fast. Google in particular is weighting results heavily towards Google places and cookies.

    Yesterday I was looking at some bikes online. I noticed when I hit a website that had nothing to do with bikes, but had Adsense on it the ads were for bikes. Then I cleared my cookies.

    What one person sees as a #1 result for a search phrase is likely different from another persons search. The day of being #1 for a specific phrase for all people searching is gone.

    If you look at search engine stats and believe the AOL study that 41% (or thereabouts) of people click on the first listing. Then number 2 listing is about half of that.

    Is that going to be enough traffic for your business model if you do get the majority of Searches for your intended phrase? And of those visitors what percentage can you convert.

    Most people would be better off doing the SEO basics, outsourcing linking with focus on targeted anchor text, buying links, doing PPC and paying very close attention to your target audience.

    The goal isn't FREE the goal is Profit... make your plan so you can make money.

    The big players buy their way to the top, but they know exactly how much they can spend to get there and be profitable.
    Signature
    Internet Marketing IQâ„¢
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3349425].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author hcl_23
    I think you are going in the right direction. Just repeat what works.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4077481].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author mrtrabajo
    You need to build backlinks from article submissions and posts to like websites also build links with many social networks also will help to get more traffic and higher page ranking. Rome wasn't built in a day!
    Signature

    EXTREME WEALTH MECHANISM-Real and unbiased reviews and updates on the latest internet marketing programs and affiliate programs http://www.aextremewealthmechanism.com

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4077497].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author RevSEO
    Quality over quantity, and keep going for search. Search is a great way to get traffic and has the ability to really bring a tremendous amount of 'free' traffic towards your website. SEO wouldn't be a billion dollar industry if it wasn't worthwhile.

    Keep building quality though, submitting spun articles to a ton of directories filled with nothing but spun content isn't very effective. Instead look at higher quality solutions for linkbuilding. There are many services available that offer just that, high quality link building. Try them out and outsource to those guys. Don't reinvent the wheel as far too many new guys attempt to do.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4077614].message }}

Trending Topics