Need your advice about SEO alternatives...

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Hello Warrior Forum! I am new here, this is my first post, I love this forum!

I need some advice from you more experienced marketers. I am just starting out for the first time, and after looking at the competition levels in my niche, it is clear I won't make to the front page of google on any topic even vaguely related to my market for a year at least. (I have been using Market Samurai.)

My first question is this; how much success have you guys had with alternate marketing methods then just SEO? What methods have been the most effective for you? In other words, if you have built an email list, how did you generate traffic to your sign up page?

My second question: Is it better to have a site oriented at a small niche and miss out on the big traffic of a larger market, or orient the site towards a large market but write articles about specific topics that have low competition levels in google, etc?

(By the way, I am selling a video series, I am not looking to affiliate market at this time.)

Thanks so much for any leads/links/advice you might have!

cheers,

Ben
#advice #alternatives #seo
  • Profile picture of the author MisterBen
    Just to clarify, I mean I am not looking to make $ just through affiliate promotion of others products only, I am selling an original product. (I am open to affiliate with others though.)
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  • Profile picture of the author TopKat22
    Many people don't get their traffic at all or don't depend on SEO to get traffic.

    I do article syndication
    forum posting
    social networking
    video posting
    have started doing ads
    joint ventures
    offer an affiliate commission and get affiliates
    adswaps
    and the list goes on and on...
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    44 days in and we broke the $10K a month recurring bench mark.

    Guaranteed 60% Opt In Rate Traffic-Real People-Fresh Today-High Quality Biz Opp traffic![/URL]
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  • Profile picture of the author stephenwaldo
    Hey there Ben...Before you totally dismiss SEO, I highly recommend you take some time to learn about "long tail keywords"; they are a gold mine.

    Basically, these are the millions of phrases that will never come up in Market Samurai or GKWT because they're too long, too specific, or too infrequent all on their own. However, these long tail phrases also make up an estimated 60% to 75% of all Internet searches, and are generally very easy to rank for very quickly. Think about what this means for just a moment...It represents another side of SEO that very few people are taking advantage of, even your competitors!

    It's hard to go over everything about long-tail SEO in just one forum post, but I hope that you will look into it.

    Outside of SEO I personally enjoy article marketing as my preferred promotional tool of choice, however there are plenty of other options:

    • Forum Marketing
    • Blog Commenting
    • Press Releases
    • Web 2.0 sites (Squidoo, Hubpages, etc)
    • Social Networks
    • Video Marketing (you said you were doing a video series, right? Could be very relevant...)

    ...Not to mention the plethora of paid advertising opportunities available online. If you got seed money you can look into ad swaps, pay per click, banner advertising and more.

    I hope that helps!
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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
    Banned
    My business model (along with a lot of other successful marketers on here) is based on article marketing. It effectively allows you to bypass the need to depend on SEO, while still getting residual benefits from it.

    Read this thread front to back, I think it covers almost all of the bases: Article Writing & Syndication Explained

    Any lingering questions can be answered through the search function or by asking one of the many article marketers here. They'll find you.
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    • Profile picture of the author Sean Doody
      Hey man.

      F**k SEO.

      I think with the way the web is going the biggest thing you are going to need to help make you money online is social proof.

      Anyone can learn seo tricks and try manipulate the search engines but you can't really fake what everyone thinks of you and what everyone is saying about you. Think about it. People buy, usually, based on who's selling, not what there selling!

      You should check out this girl, Kim Roach. She gets a s**tload of traffic and makes a ton of $$$$$ and doesn't bother with seo.

      You should also check out a book called, "how to win friends and influence people"

      Best of luck with everything mate,
      Sean
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      • Profile picture of the author ibmethatswhoib
        Yup,

        SEO is Dead! Spread the word and move along.

        Originally Posted by seanthewebguy View Post

        Hey man.

        F**k SEO.

        I think with the way the web is going the biggest thing you are going to need to help make you money online is social proof.

        Anyone can learn seo tricks and try manipulate the search engines but you can't really fake what everyone thinks of you and what everyone is saying about you. Think about it. People buy, usually, based on who's selling, not what there selling!

        You should check out this girl, Kim Roach. She gets a s**tload of traffic and makes a ton of $$$$$ and doesn't bother with seo.

        You should also check out a book called, "how to win friends and influence people"

        Best of luck with everything mate,
        Sean
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        • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
          Banned
          Originally Posted by ibmethatswhoib View Post

          Yup,

          SEO is Dead! Spread the word and move along.
          Santa Cruz SEO
          Search Engine Optimization, Web Design, Social, Marketing and More.
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    • Profile picture of the author myob
      By far the most powerful marketing method for me has been article syndication. Just a few articles leveraged over a wide swath of niche publications generates a combined readership of over 30 million, with daily subscribers now hovering at 42,000. My niches are in some of the most hotly competitive arenas where deep-pocketed SEO professionals and entrenched keywords make it prohibitively impracticable to rank above the murky depths in the SERPs. Over 90% of my traffic and sales are the direct result of this "old school" marketing model, which effectively by-passes nearly all competition. SEO in general and Google in particular are insignificant or even irrelevant in comparison to the virtually unlimited leveraging potential of article syndication.
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      • Profile picture of the author Sean Doody
        Originally Posted by myob View Post

        By far the most powerful marketing method for me has been article syndication. Just a few articles leveraged over a wide swath of niche publications generates a combined readership of over 30 million, with daily subscribers now hovering at 42,000. My niches are in some of the most hotly competitive arenas where deep-pocketed SEO professionals and entrenched keywords make it prohibitively impracticable to rank above the murky depths in the SERPs. Over 90% of my traffic and sales are the direct result of this "old school" marketing model, which effectively by-passes nearly all competition. SEO in general and Google in particular are insignificant or even irrelevant in comparison to the virtually unlimited leveraging potential of article syndication.
        This sounds interesting.

        What is the basic plan, as such, for doing what you spoke about above?

        I'm with you as far as:
        Write a really good article -> ( then what are the next steps? )
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        • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
          Banned
          Originally Posted by seanthewebguy View Post

          This sounds interesting.

          What is the basic plan, as such, for doing what you spoke about above?

          I'm with you as far as:
          Write a really good article -> ( then what are the next steps? )
          This thread covers the process very thoroughly:

          Article Writing & Syndication Explained.

          MYOB usually recommends the book "Turn Words Into Traffic" as well.
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          • Profile picture of the author Sean Doody
            Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

            This thread covers the process very thoroughly:

            Article Writing & Syndication Explained.

            MYOB usually recommends the book "Turn Words Into Traffic" as well.
            That's pretty cool of you Joe,

            Thanks buddy,
            Sean
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        • Profile picture of the author TopKat22
          Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

          My business model (along with a lot of other successful marketers on here) is based on article marketing. It effectively allows you to bypass the need to depend on SEO, while still getting residual benefits from it.

          Read this thread front to back, I think it covers almost all of the bases: Article Writing & Syndication Explained

          Any lingering questions can be answered through the search function or by asking one of the many article marketers here. They'll find you.
          Originally Posted by seanthewebguy View Post

          This sounds interesting.

          What is the basic plan, as such, for doing what you spoke about above?

          I'm with you as far as:
          Write a really good article -> ( then what are the next steps? )

          Question was already answered above.

          I do article syndication, too for most of my traffic and my method is shorter and different.

          It is in that post, too.
          Signature
          44 days in and we broke the $10K a month recurring bench mark.

          Guaranteed 60% Opt In Rate Traffic-Real People-Fresh Today-High Quality Biz Opp traffic![/URL]
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          • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
            Banned
            Originally Posted by TopKat22 View Post

            Question was already answered above.


            Originally Posted by TopKat22 View Post

            I do article syndication, too for most of my traffic and my method is shorter and different.

            It is in that post, too.
            Wait, wait, wait. So are you saying I'm reposting the same thing you said, or something different :rolleyes:.

            But seriously, for people that don't know of the method (as Sean revealed himself to be, the OP probably as well), just saying "I do article syndication" isn't enough.
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          • Profile picture of the author Sean Doody
            Originally Posted by TopKat22 View Post

            I do article syndication, too for most of my traffic and my method is shorter and different.

            It is in that post, too.
            I just looked through that thread and couldn't see your name anywhere.

            You said your method is in that post?
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            • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
              Banned
              Originally Posted by seanthewebguy View Post

              I just looked through that thread and couldn't see your name anywhere.

              You said your method is in that post?
              He meant his post in this thread, Sean.
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            • Profile picture of the author TopKat22
              Originally Posted by seanthewebguy View Post

              I just looked through that thread and couldn't see your name anywhere.

              You said your method is in that post?
              I thought it was. It must be in a few other thread about article syndication.

              Here is what I do (you, of course, will have to set up your free accounts and stuff at these sites but that is easy).

              Write a totally unique, original, never been posted anywhere on the internet before article worthy of syndication that really teaches or informs your target market about something they would really be interested in.

              Post it on Qondio.com (make sure to understand and follow ALL their rules, you get no second chance there. You break a rule and you are banned. But you get a following and you will get tons of syndication.)

              Once it is screened on Qondio, Ping the Qondio link to the article.

              Then, post the same original article on ideamarketers.com

              Once live, ping that link.

              After 3 days on ideamarketers, post on your own blog/site.

              Ping that link.

              Then post your blog link all over your social networks several
              times using different statements about it and make sure to post other
              posts with no links between all link posts.

              I do this once a week.

              Once you have a reputation and get syndicated, then every time you write something new that fits that syndicated niche, they will be notified.

              Ideamarketers even has widgets and I've gotten over 2000 or more people
              who have big followings and lists who are syndicating my stuff.

              You want to stay within one main niche though for this to work so that you become an authority/expert on those sites for that niche.

              There you go.

              Good luck.
              Signature
              44 days in and we broke the $10K a month recurring bench mark.

              Guaranteed 60% Opt In Rate Traffic-Real People-Fresh Today-High Quality Biz Opp traffic![/URL]
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      • Profile picture of the author Jeffery
        Originally Posted by myob View Post

        By far the most powerful marketing method for me has been article syndication. Just a few articles leveraged over a wide swath of niche publications generates a combined readership of over 30 million, with daily subscribers now hovering at 42,000. My niches are in some of the most hotly competitive arenas where deep-pocketed SEO professionals and entrenched keywords make it prohibitively impracticable to rank above the murky depths in the SERPs. Over 90% of my traffic and sales are the direct result of this "old school" marketing model, which effectively by-passes nearly all competition. SEO in general and Google in particular are insignificant or even irrelevant in comparison to the virtually unlimited leveraging potential of article syndication.
        Agreed. Just one question please.. are any of your articles pointed at common niche websites such as dog training, horse training, etc. ? Would you advise MLM? Seriously, I value your opinions.

        Thanks,

        Jeffery 100% :-)
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        • Profile picture of the author myob
          Originally Posted by Jeffery View Post

          Agreed. Just one question please.. are any of your articles pointed at common niche websites such as dog training, horse training, etc. ? Would you advise MLM? Seriously, I value your opinions.

          Thanks,

          Jeffery 100% :-)
          Those are in none of my niches specifically, but there is no reason why you should not give it a go yourself. In its highest (and most lucrative) form, article syndication is about developing a network of publishers who will regularly convey your articles to their reading audience. The implications of having your articles accepted for publication is far more powerful than merely having them distributed or appearing on a website/blog. It's a perceived endorsement particularly by subscribers of ezines, newsletters, magazines, etc, and if the publication is effectively targeted by niche, the resulting traffic will be highly convertible to any relevant call to action.

          This is an asset-based marketing model; similar to the offline brick and mortar marketing concept of retail chain stores. Establishing a network of regular publishers, or "building" a growing consortium of virtual outlets is no less real than physically building a new retail chain outlet in a targeted neighborhood. Each new outlet adds more "customers", or as with article syndication, it adds more readers at a rate beyond imagination. Since every new publisher may have hundreds or even hundreds of thousands of subscribers, the rate of expanding reach is exponential.
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          • Profile picture of the author Jeffery
            Originally Posted by myob View Post

            Those are in none of my niches specifically, but there is no reason why you should not give it a go yourself. In its highest (and most lucrative) form, article syndication is about developing a network of publishers who will regularly convey your articles to their reading audience. The implications of having your articles accepted for publication is far more powerful than merely having it distributed or appearing on a website/blog. It's a perceived endorsement particularly by subscribers of ezines, newsletters, magazines, etc, and if the publication is effectively targeted by niche, the resulting traffic will be highly convertible to any relevant call to action.

            This is an asset-based marketing model; similar to the offline brick and mortar marketing concept of retail chain stores. Establishing a network of regular publishers, or "building" a growing consortium of virtual outlets is no less real than physically building a new retail chain outlet in a targeted neighborhood. Each new outlet adds more "customers", or as with article syndication, it adds more readers at a rate beyond imagination. Since every new publisher may have hundreds or even hundreds of thousands of subscribers, the rate of expanding reach is exponential.

            Gotcha. Appreciate your time and explanation.

            I thank you kindly,
            Jeffery 100% :-)
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          • Profile picture of the author MattCatania
            Originally Posted by myob View Post

            Since every new publisher may have hundreds or even hundreds of thousands of subscribers, the rate of expanding reach is exponential.
            Also, some of those subscribers may have their own publications, too.
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            Logic outweighs all.

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  • Profile picture of the author MisterBen
    Thanks so much for your advice guys, you are a smart bunch. This gives me a better idea of what the SEO alternatives are. (And long tail keywords seem like an important approach as well.)
    Seems like article writing is really an important key, which seems like a good way to give away a lot of value and attract the right kind of focused traffic. Social proof I understand in terms of in person social dynamics, but it is interesting how the entire internet has now been organized around this idea now. (Authority ranking, etc.)

    Thanks again guys for the terrific information that I will put to use!

    Ben
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    • Profile picture of the author TopKat22
      Originally Posted by MisterBen View Post

      Thanks so much for your advice guys, you are a smart bunch. This gives me a better idea of what the SEO alternatives are. (And long tail keywords seem like an important approach as well.)
      Seems like article writing is really an important key, which seems like a good way to give away a lot of value and attract the right kind of focused traffic. Social proof I understand in terms of in person social dynamics, but it is interesting how the entire internet has now been organized around this idea now. (Authority ranking, etc.)

      Thanks again guys for the terrific information that I will put to use!

      Ben
      Yes, but just don't rely on one method, like long tail keywords, or one site for article syndication.

      You do not want your entire business to rest of a single method or site than can change anything and everything without notice.

      Do article syndication on a few long standing sites.

      Do some long tail SEO.

      So some videos.

      Post in forums, blog comment, guest blog.

      Write a blog.

      When you've made some money and know what you are doing, do some paid ads.

      You really want diversity so if one method goes down, you don't lose all your income.

      It seems like a lot but it you systemize it to do something every day or every other day or once a week, after a while, doing all those steps doesn't really seem like much at all.

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      44 days in and we broke the $10K a month recurring bench mark.

      Guaranteed 60% Opt In Rate Traffic-Real People-Fresh Today-High Quality Biz Opp traffic![/URL]
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