How can I market my business and get traffic WITHOUT the Google Gargoyle?

21 replies
  • SEO
  • |
Hi all - well, Google dropped BOTH of my my sites - AGAIN. No sooner had they started to index each of them and WHAMMO, they're gone, delisted.

I've worked so FKN hard to get several of my pages to the first page on Google and BAM, they knocked me down again.

So, I need some advice on how to bypass Google and get my traffic moving again because I am seriously LOSING BUSINESS. I haven't made a bookmarks sale in weeks because ... nobody finds my site anymore on their keyword searches, which was bringing me in over 100 uniques a day! Now I'm down to less than 40!!!

I'm talking about these two sites:
1. Bookmark Wedding Favors and Custom Laminated Bookmarks for All Occasions and
2. General Transcription & Home Business Information from Musselman's Online Publishing

Gone from the index for the third time. It's like, I no sooner start getting some solid gradual links, up to a PR2 on some pages, PR1 on others, between #1 and #5 for my main keywords and ....

I mean, it feels like one of my competitors is in Google's pocket and as soon as they see my sites passing theirs and making sales, my site's gone!!

I am really, completely LIVID right now, so I need a way to "stick it" to Google and start getting sales and traffic from other resources. And no, I can't afford to BUY into AdWords, which is probably what they want and I'm not going to give them the satisfaction. There has got to be another way besides Google this and Google that.

I'm open to suggestions. Google can't really be "all that and a bag o' chips" when it comes to succeeding online, can it? Are they really that much of a monopoly? The God of the Internet? If so, I'm FKN ruined!!!

Thanks for letting me vent...
#business #gargoyle #google #market #traffic
  • Profile picture of the author JR Consulting
    • Joint ventures with list owners in your niche
    • Guest blog posts on blogs in your niche
    • Social media

    Just to name a few. I'm sure others can chime in with more ideas. Might be a good idea to invest in a product about generating traffic too.
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    • Profile picture of the author ksmusselman
      Originally Posted by Jeffrey Reidy View Post

      • Joint ventures with list owners in your niche
      • Guest blog posts on blogs in your niche
      • Social media

      Just to name a few. I'm sure others can chime in with more ideas. Might be a good idea to invest in a product about generating traffic too.
      Thanks Jeff! I've been using freetrafficsystem.com that feeds my articles to other blogs as guest posts and I recently started using onlywire.com for bookmarking and sharing. I guess I need to give both of those ventures some time to kick in, huh.

      I don't know anything about JVs yet. I guess I need to learn that. :rolleyes:

      Right now I'm in that "desperate" hole whereby I have no money more to invest in anything else right now until I make something work with what two or three "cheap" things I've previously invested in, which is why I've started some more free advertising of my transcription services.
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      • Profile picture of the author JR Consulting
        Originally Posted by ksmusselman View Post

        Thanks Jeff! I've been using freetrafficsystem.com that feeds my articles to other blogs as guest posts and I recently started using onlywire.com for bookmarking and sharing. I guess I need to give both of those ventures some time to kick in, huh.

        I don't know anything about JVs yet. I guess I need to learn that. :rolleyes:

        Right now I'm in that "desperate" hole whereby I have no money more to invest in anything else right now until I make something work with what two or three "cheap" things I've previously invested in, which is why I've started some more free advertising of my transcription services.
        You're welcome.

        Search the forum, there are a ton of good threads about driving traffic.
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  • Profile picture of the author kindsvater
    Does not look like they are banned from the Google index. Sometimes rankings come and go. I have a site like that. 1st page of Google, then every once in a while it spends a week on vacation, then it's back.

    There's Bing/Yahoo.

    There's Wedding forums and sites specifically targeted to your potential customers.

    There's other domains (yours, others) that have rankings onto which you can put content that feeds into your site.

    .
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    • Profile picture of the author ksmusselman
      Originally Posted by kindsvater View Post

      Does not look like they are banned from the Google index. Sometimes rankings come and go. I have a site like that. 1st page of Google, then every once in a while it spends a week on vacation, then it's back.

      There's Bing/Yahoo.

      There's Wedding forums and sites specifically targeted to your potential customers.

      There's other domains (yours, others) that have rankings onto which you can put content that feeds into your site.

      .
      Well, when I do the site:Bookmark Wedding Favors and Custom Laminated Bookmarks for All Occasions -/support-files, there are only three results, none of which is even my main page. My blog pages are indexed but that's not where my products are listed.

      With site:General Transcription & Home Business Information from Musselman's Online Publishing -/support-files, only two pages are now listed, neither of which is my main page.

      So I'm only getting found in Google for really just two or three keywords per site. Dismal results...

      I ping my sitemap to Bing and Yahoo once a day when I ping it to Google. And even thought I haven't lost my positioning with Bing or Yahoo, I don't seem to get much traffic from either of those sources.

      I guess I'll have to spend more time doing forums, which I really hate doing but I guess I'll have to bite the bullet. :rolleyes:
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      • Profile picture of the author GeorgeJoel
        Go after the low hanging fruit! Find niche keywords that are 2-3 words (NO HYPHENS), buy one of the dot com, net org, then put 5 articles on the site and have those articles re-written and placed in the article engines. Make sure that the keyword domains have at least 800 local monthly searches in google's keyword tool.

        Build traffic organically, put links off the sit on to yours or have an optin on the mini-site page.

        Simple and works!

        -George
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        • Profile picture of the author ksmusselman
          Originally Posted by GeorgeJoel View Post

          Go after the low hanging fruit! Find niche keywords that are 2-3 words (NO HYPHENS), buy one of the dot com, net org, then put 5 articles on the site and have those articles re-written and placed in the article engines. Make sure that the keyword domains have at least 800 local monthly searches in google's keyword tool.

          Build traffic organically, put links off the sit on to yours or have an optin on the mini-site page.

          Simple and works!

          -George
          Sort of on that theme, I'm thinking that maybe I should convert my ksmusselman.com site completely over to the WP blog and do away with the static site altogether. That site is for my transcription services but it's also pretty broad as far as other business stuff, so I could have the articles categorized on the blog instead of the static site.

          Just a thought...

          Right now I don't have the funds to keep buying different domain names. I need to work within what I already own.
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  • Profile picture of the author alcymart
    Google here accounts for about 5% of my total traffic flow. It could just be that you relied too much on Google like so many have and still do. Diversify your traffic sources from now onwards, and don't let the Big G get to you.

    In 5 years from now, Google won't be #1 anymore if that's of any consolation. How do I know? Intuition simply, and I am rarely wrong when it comes to projected future business or marketing events.

    Sure, you can call it a guess if you prefer but let me tell you and others that it is time to look into alternative more reliable traffic sources.

    As someone posted, there is Yahoo and Bing and keep an eye especially on Bing in the next few years! But then again, don't rely only on Bing. Only 2% of my traffic flow is a result of Bing here.

    I have over 100 SE traffic sources here and another 50 alternative sources aka (Traffic Exchanges) so if one drops off, I simply replace it without hurting my business much.

    Bernard St-Pierre
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Some of the most successful and highest-earning article marketers here have business models that exclude Google completely from their planning and activities. (I'm not actually one of them, myself - I don't like being too dependent on Google but my sites do rank very highly for long-tail keywords and I do get some business that way).

      It's certainly possible, though, to build up a huge, asset-based business without needing any SEO at all, if you write for syndication and simply get quality articles in front of highly targeted traffic.
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    • Profile picture of the author ksmusselman
      Originally Posted by alcymart View Post

      Google here accounts for about 5% of my total traffic flow. It could just be that you relied too much on Google like so many have and still do. Diversify your traffic sources from now onwards, and don't let the Big G get to you.

      In 5 years from now, Google won't be #1 anymore if that's of any consolation. How do I know? Intuition simply, and I am rarely wrong when it comes to projected future business or marketing events.

      Sure, you can call it a guess if you prefer but let me tell you and others that it is time to look into alternative more reliable traffic sources.

      As someone posted, there is Yahoo and Bing and keep an eye especially on Bing in the next few years! But then again, don't rely only on Bing. Only 2% of my traffic flow is a result of Bing here.

      I have over 100 SE traffic sources here and another 50 alternative sources aka (Traffic Exchanges) so if one drops off, I simply replace it without hurting my business much.

      Bernard St-Pierre
      This is actually encouraging news, Bernard! Yes, I believe that's what's been happening since I launched my sites. Need to get to Google #1; need to get to the first page of Google, Google here-Google there-Google-Google Everywhere! Say what?

      Back when I built my first website in the 90s, everything was Get #1 on Yahoo! And look what happened to that! Yahoo used to be powered BY Google!

      So yes, now it's time to get serious about getting away from the Big G. I guess someone needs to come up with a brand new "Marketing 101" course where G doesn't even enter the picture; no mention of them at all, because they are just too damned hard to please and I'm tired of trying to figure out what the next Google Dance is anymore.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kevin AKA Hubcap
      Originally Posted by alcymart View Post

      In 5 years from now, Google won't be #1 anymore if that's of any consolation. How do I know? Intuition simply, and I am rarely wrong when it comes to projected future business or marketing events.
      Please let us mere mortals in on your intuition.

      I'm sure you forecast the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear plant disaster in Japan and its resultant impact on Japanese automobile production.

      These questions should be child play for a man of your renowned abilities.

      1. What will GroupOn's revenues and profits be in five years?

      2. What new TLDs will be authorized by ICANN through 2016?

      3. Will Living Social's marketing strategy be a success? Please include an explanation.

      4. What new services will Google offer in 2016? Which will be successful and which won't?

      That's all I got and that can't really be too difficult for someone who possesses your amazing intuition.

      I look forward to your reply.
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      • Profile picture of the author Kevin AKA Hubcap
        Karen,

        I gotta ask.

        How big is the market for wedding bookmarks?

        How many sales did you make on a weekly basis and what are your sales now?

        What's the average size (number of pieces) of your orders?

        I ask because I wonder how big the demand is for what you're selling. I'm not in the market and no little about it but FWIW that's the first thought I had.

        You don't need to rely on Google to get sales. Be visible where your customers are whether that's online or offline.

        There are a number of wedding forums. There are sites dedicated to wedding planning, wedding cakes and wedding dresses. Your customers frequent these sites. Get in front of them. Offer site owners cash for every customer they refer. This way you don't need to pay upfront advertising costs.

        You can do the same offline. Recruit wedding planners, photographers, videographers, florists, dress makers etc. Offer them a finder's fee for any customers they send your way.

        Just a few thoughts.

        Kevin
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  • Profile picture of the author rockyonfire
    PPC, Media buying
    Facebook, Twitter
    Youtube
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    • Social Media

      Newsletters

      Conduct Webinars

      Document Publishing Sites ( like scribd)

      Video Marketing

      Press Releases

      Yahoo Answers

      find some IM traffic course, there should be plenty of free ones.
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      • Profile picture of the author ksmusselman
        Originally Posted by unlimitedmarketing View Post

        Social Media

        Newsletters

        Conduct Webinars

        Document Publishing Sites ( like scribd)

        Video Marketing

        Press Releases

        Yahoo Answers

        find some IM traffic course, there should be plenty of free ones.
        Thanks!

        I've done a bit of the Yahoo Answers so I'm going to add that back into a schedule. I also have a couple of my own original videos that I'm going to rework (add an intro, title, website name, etc.) and get them marketable.

        Then I'll do a press release for each re-issued video and new videos that I do. I'm watching Andy Jenkins' video tutorial on making viral videos and I'm getting some cool ideas with that.

        I think I need to simply refocus away from Google and look at other avenues more closely to get my sites where I need them to be.
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    • Profile picture of the author ksmusselman
      Originally Posted by PPC-Coach View Post

      Paid traffic works well.

      Not when you don't have the money to invest it doesn't. ROFLMAO!!!
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      • Profile picture of the author Yogini
        Have you thought of making a some customized bookmarks for local places near you that might get a lot of traffic or be good referral sources? For instance, you could make some for the chamber of commerce and if they distributed to members they might be interested in purchasing for their own promotions. Also, if you donate some to a local charity that can be another avenue. A local press release can also be a nice way to get exposure and this could be tied in to a giveaway for a local charity or festival .

        Debbie
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        • Profile picture of the author ksmusselman
          Originally Posted by Yogini View Post

          Have you thought of making a some customized bookmarks for local places near you that might get a lot of traffic or be good referral sources? For instance, you could make some for the chamber of commerce and if they distributed to members they might be interested in purchasing for their own promotions. Also, if you donate some to a local charity that can be another avenue. A local press release can also be a nice way to get exposure and this could be tied in to a giveaway for a local charity or festival .

          Debbie
          Hi Debbie; yeah, very dismal results. Locally, no interest. At all. I designed fliers and posted them all over the place; I paid out $100 in two different ad campaigns - I even paid the publication to design the ad for me! Nothing. No calls, no emails, no nothing.

          With every eBay shipment that went out, I added a bookmark and postcard. With every book trade through swap.com, I added a bookmark and postcard. It's been very discouraging lately, online and off.

          But thanks for the idea!
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  • Profile picture of the author KamauAustin
    If you really use social media like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn you can drive a lot of traffic not dependent on Google. You have to remember 25% of all web pages viewed online now are Facebook pages (1 out of 4).

    Google alone gets over 2 Billion searches a month for Facebook. The average user spends at least 7 hours a month on the platform. Also promote on YouTube. About 8 billion (very conservative estimates) people watch videos on YouTube.

    If you do short videos on your keywords and expertise you'll show up very high on Google in the video section. Twitter drives traffic too and 6 times the people will click on a Twitter link over against a link on Facebook.

    These stats aren't from my head they are from Net IQ, Neilson Net ratings and other organizations. But I notice from my web site stats and analytics programs I get almost as much traffic from Social Media sites as search engines and Google now.
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    Kamau Austin, helps emerging businesses vibe, survive, and thrive online. He is a Dadpreneur and Publisher of: eINFoNews . Austin is also a author of Raise Cash Fast and a SEO and Social Media Professional. Contact him at: Search Engine Plan

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  • Profile picture of the author teerak
    You tube,Yahoo Answers,Forums,Newsletters,Social media
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