zehrila
msg:4549476 | 3:31 pm on Feb 27, 2013 (gmt 0) |
A lot of good stuff in there, very nice quick and concise guide. I was waiting for cost point to come up, i cannot agree more with this
-It isn't easy to launch a new site, it costs alot of time, money & resources. It is going to cost much more than you estimated.
I want to start a site, i know i can pull it through in 7 months time, but the only restraint i have is the amount of funds it requires to survive in that specific niche.
Companies are spending tens of thousands of pounds on acquiring links, it is not impossible but hard to compete in there.
I would also like to add one point, avoid niches where Google is expanding, also avoid niches where market is pretty much dominated by top brands and ppc ads, unless you have deep pockets.
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Shepherd
msg:4549483 | 3:54 pm on Feb 27, 2013 (gmt 0) |
| avoid niches where Google is expanding |
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This should be the absolute first thought when it comes to starting a new site/business.
And since it is getting harder every day to avoid a niche Google is in, if you do find yourself in competition with Google here's a couple of things to focus on:
1. Build your site/business as if Google did not exist.
2. Get your customers/traffic before Google does.
3. Become such a pain in Google's side that they have to acquire you.
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Dymero
msg:4549514 | 5:34 pm on Feb 27, 2013 (gmt 0) |
If your business plan is based on commissions from affiliate sales, plan on actually taking time to create real content for your site. If you don't do that then don't create the site, as you will be hit by Panda.
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Pjman
msg:4549636 | 1:14 am on Feb 28, 2013 (gmt 0) |
@goodroi
Super helpful post. Proving once again why I frequent no other forums, anymore.
The new SEO is being all about your users and less reliance (exploitation of) on technology.
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indyank
msg:4549663 | 4:51 am on Feb 28, 2013 (gmt 0) |
| The new SEO is being all about your users and less reliance (exploitation of) on technology. |
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A small correction. it is about users with more help from tech. You just can't do things for users without the help of technology :)
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arikgub
msg:4549674 | 5:05 am on Feb 28, 2013 (gmt 0) |
Good post.
But IMHO the following point is missing:
- if your strategy is built on Google being the main source of traffic, then either change you business model or do not bother at all
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tedster
msg:4549684 | 5:21 am on Feb 28, 2013 (gmt 0) |
How about this: start with a full business plan - ideally one that would be strong enough to attract an investor, even if you're not looking for one.
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TheOptimizationIdiot
msg:4549722 | 5:42 am on Feb 28, 2013 (gmt 0) |
Awesome Post goodroi!
And great addition tedster.
I think there are a Ton of things people miss and forget about in gooroi's post and tedster's addition should hopefully pack a punch for quite a few people, cause it seems like so many hear about "the net and how easy it is to make a mil" but don't realize that was 5 years ago and they seem to think it's still the wild west but "things are a' changin round these parts" and it's only going to get a little bit tougher to rank by the day.
Knowing what I do and knowing how much things have changed I would generally advise people to not even "hop in" with the idea of making money like so many did a few years ago, but if they really want to, I'd tell them to get in as a hobby and see if they can actually handle it and compete cause it's gettin really difficult to rank for anything meaningful and that can be well monetized these days.
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sbook
msg:4549813 | 12:16 pm on Feb 28, 2013 (gmt 0) |
Thanks for collecting all in once place, but actually nothing new
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Whitey
msg:4549828 | 12:31 pm on Feb 28, 2013 (gmt 0) |
| How about this: start with a full business plan - ideally one that would be strong enough to attract an investor, even if you're not looking for one. |
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Exactly. Sustainable business. Then enable it online. Ducks in a row. [idioms.thefreedictionary.com...]
Now back to the enablement and launch ...>
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netmeg
msg:4549875 | 3:52 pm on Feb 28, 2013 (gmt 0) |
| Ask yourself again what your new site offers that isn't already on 100 other sites and this time don't lie to yourself |
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I'd add this one a third time, cause nobody ever does it. All the SEO on the planet won't prop up a bad business model for very long.
Oh yea - DON'T FORGET MOBILE.
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randle
msg:4549922 | 6:14 pm on Feb 28, 2013 (gmt 0) |
Start with this -
| -Use a domain that is brandable and relates to your business, hyphens & keyword stuffed domains aren't ideal |
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If you ignore this, its going to be a continuous uphill battle.
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zehrila
msg:4550062 | 9:46 am on Mar 1, 2013 (gmt 0) |
| -Use a domain that is brandable and relates to your business, hyphens & keyword stuffed domains aren't ideal |
|
Selection of domain is a major challenge, specially after the EMD updates.
There are relatively 3 decent approaches towards selecting a domain name.
1. Absolute keyword. Even if you have an absolute keyword, build it as a brand.
2. Absolute Generic. Should be pronounceable, easy to spell and catchy, Bing!
3. Since most of the keywords are occupied and promoting absolute generic can get expensive, i think this approach goes well if you get a domain which is consisted of two words, one being your primary keyword second being some branded term for example KeywordBing.com! This option can also give you an option to have a domain which does not have TM issues, also allows you to register other cctlds and gtlds.
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newsnshop
msg:4550071 | 10:27 am on Mar 1, 2013 (gmt 0) |
| -Google doesn't really care that your domain is old, they care more about long term inbound links |
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We heard that domain age can be a trust factor for rankings
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HuskyPup
msg:4550086 | 10:44 am on Mar 1, 2013 (gmt 0) |
Watermark all exclusive images
Have as strong as possible hotlink protection
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TheOptimizationIdiot
msg:4550128 | 2:27 pm on Mar 1, 2013 (gmt 0) |
| -Google doesn't really care that your domain is old, they care more about long term inbound links |
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We heard that domain age can be a trust factor for rankings |
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-Don't believe everything you hear
--Test test retest test again instead
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tedster
msg:4550141 | 2:55 pm on Mar 1, 2013 (gmt 0) |
Right - that's extremely important advice. Domain age as a trust factor was mentioned has one of those "may be used" things in the historical factors patent. A lot of the patents use "may" language - and you can't go running with any of that unless you test and verify.
A trust factor that "may" be in place is long time ownership by the same person or business - but that's not so easy to test, and it is even harder to fake it when launching a new site.
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Zivush
msg:4550355 | 7:07 am on Mar 2, 2013 (gmt 0) |
| -Better to have 100 great content pages than 10,000 auto generated pages |
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That's the point.
Since I realized long time ago that poor pages are making more harm than any good, I find many creative ways to isolate, improve, merge and remove them.
Better not having them at the first place.
Another important thing is to make the site profitable enough and versatile enough for potential buyers.
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Sgt_Kickaxe
msg:4550400 | 12:53 pm on Mar 2, 2013 (gmt 0) |
| -Launching a new site today is a much more weird process with many more anomalies than in the past |
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Not sure I agree with that one, to me it's become more simple. e.g. the more simple my site the better.
I'd add choice of host into the mix, since 2011 Google downgrades sites just because of the host they are on if that host offers free/cheap hosting that has become a haven for spam. Don't start out in that crowd.
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blend27
msg:4550404 | 1:30 pm on Mar 2, 2013 (gmt 0) |
Watermark all exclusive images
Have as strong as possible hotlink protection |
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Amen to that!
In fact, it would be even better if the site launched with scraper protection installed. There is a TON of info here: [webmasterworld.com...] .
All that content that one writes is up for grabs before the new site`s reputation is established.
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mack
msg:4550448 | 2:48 pm on Mar 2, 2013 (gmt 0) |
Great post!
It's all in the planning, create a business plan, spend time on it, ensure you cover all bases stick to it. When things need to change, do it in the plan, and emend it. All to often designers.developers work blind.
Mack.
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Lorel
msg:4550533 | 8:23 pm on Mar 2, 2013 (gmt 0) |
Another items to add to a checklist:
A lot of web designers load the site on their own server for the owner to view before it goes online. They protect the site from search engines seeing it by adding the meta NoIndex. I've also seen websites where they forgot to take it back off once it goes online and this prevents indexing of the new site.
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EdgarF76
msg:4550539 | 8:54 pm on Mar 2, 2013 (gmt 0) |
I have a question, If I find a fourm or blog that is relevant to my niche and it is a good pagerank; is there a way to check to see if the site is listed as a spam site?
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Leosghost
msg:4550543 | 9:50 pm on Mar 2, 2013 (gmt 0) |
| I have a question, If I find a fourm or blog that is relevant to my niche and it is a good pagerank; is there a way to check to see if the site is listed as a spam site? |
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No..
But whilst we are on the same subject.. Block Blekko*..
From a webmaster point of view..
Blekko is all "take" and no "give"..why make it easy for the competition ? ..
If you are the "competition"..sites that don't block Blekko..make Blekko useful..
*applies to all sites of it's ilk..
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keyplyr
msg:4550615 | 10:13 am on Mar 3, 2013 (gmt 0) |
But whilst we are on the same subject.. Block Blekko*..
From a webmaster point of view..
Blekko is all "take" and no "give"..why make it easy for the competition ? ..
If you are the "competition"..sites that don't block Blekko..make Blekko useful..
*applies to all sites of it's ilk.. |
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Amen to that! I had to block their IP ranges, UAs, headers, etc and then send Cease and Desist notices to finally get all my property off their servers.
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IanCP
msg:4550734 | 10:10 pm on Mar 3, 2013 (gmt 0) |
I'll put my $0.02 on two points.
| Start with a good CMS (content management system) that can grow without compatibility issues |
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To which I would add, make extensive use of include files to be able to instantly make site wide changes if your particular CMS doesn't make use of it.
| Use a domain that is brandable and relates to your business, hyphens & keyword stuffed domains aren't ideal |
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I disagree and have never seen any evidence to support that theory. I absolutely see nothing wrong with:
Blue-Widgets.com
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drhowarddrfine
msg:4550742 | 10:53 pm on Mar 3, 2013 (gmt 0) |
I was going to say what @sbook said. If this is supposed to be new advice for 2013 as the title says, I must be from the future cause all of those things my company has been doing for years.
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tedster
msg:4550759 | 1:08 am on Mar 4, 2013 (gmt 0) |
I disagree and have never seen any evidence to support that theory. I absolutely see nothing wrong with:
Blue-Widgets.com |
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I agree - there never was anything wrong with it. However, you might want to avoid Cheap-Blue-Widgets-Cityname.com
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ken_b
msg:4550927 | 2:13 pm on Mar 4, 2013 (gmt 0) |
| If this is supposed to be new advice for 2013 as the title says, |
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That isn't what the title says. As of 03/04/13 the title still says:
| Advice for launching new websites in 2013 |
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It says new websites not new advice.
.
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