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I do not know how long this has been going on for because this is all new to me. However, I will share what info I have.
when I first started my little side business, I noticed a few of my competitors on the top of a many search engines. I became interested in SEO and began researching SEO techniques and solutions.
I must have redesigned my site 100 times or more. I used a program to help find better key words with less competition. I used a SEO page analyzer to make sure that I was not spamming any keywords. To make sure that my title and description were not to short or long. And to make sure that I was Using my keywords effectively within my title, description and body.
After many hours of this, I was finally able to get in AV. I use Top dog to search for my site. But I am so deep in there, well, no one will find me unless they use my URL as a keyword.
But, my competitor who shows up #1 on AV and many others search engines is not SEO as well as My site, I believe. How does he/she do it? $$GOTO$$
Should I continue to invest the many hours into designing a web site that is SEO, or should I just through any web site junk, with a few bucks at GOTO? I am trying to calculate the time that I lose to SEO designing. Figuring out what my time is worth and I wonder if it would be more cost effective to just pay GOTO. I could just pay GOTO and not have to lose time. And I could jump in front of everyone.
Its like working at a job with 1100 teamsters. Everyone has been there for years. seniority prevails. And then one day, I new guy gets hired and pays management to go to the top of the seniority list. Now he gets the best bids.
Also, what about producing great results for the surfer. Are sites that pay to get on top really what the surfer is looking for? Are they the most relevant search results? I wonder If I made a web site with no META TAGS, a site with just one page. No links and nothing but a picture of a Cow on the index.html and went over to GOTO and paid $5.00 per click for the search words CGI SCRIPTS Would I be the top dog on AV, AOL and anyone else who is a partner with GOTO.
GOTO will pay $00.02 to any one in the affiliate program, for every referral from your site to them. And AV, AOL and other SE's must get a cut as well. AV will capitalize on the $$% with the amount of traffic that AV generates. So were is the best place for AV to show the money making GOTO listings?.....On top. Right there in your face for you to see first. The top is the most productive and will surely generate some quality revenue for AV and all of the other search engines who jump on the GOTO bandwagon.
I hope that this does not offend anyone or conflict with the interest of this site.
KG2RG
If you choose to PWL [pay while learning] there is one part of PPC bidding you must keep in mind. The site must convert to sales in order to contribute to the ROI you have as a goal.
Goto can definitely be part of both short term and long term traffic strategies. Where it doesn't work as well for the site owner is when keywords have been bid to the stratosphere, either by deep-pockets competitors or by others who can benefit from the keyword in question. Some keywords have settled down into more reasonable levels, but I still see some that are so high it doesn't look like anyone can make money.
Goto also doesn't isn't good for complex and unpredictable keyword combination, e.g., a four-word search with one misspelling. A well-optimized page will turn up for these kind of searches, but Goto won't help.
There's little doubt that Goto has increased in importance though.
What would happen if corporations start buying out all of the search engines and make every site pay for clicks. They would increase the fee's for listing and small online businesses would be out and the big corporations would only be able to afford to be listed.
The pay for clicks scares me when I think about the negative impact that can evolve from the pay for click. The search Engine business is looking to increase there revenue, money is in the air and the fortune 500 companies, like wolfs, can smell the money in the air. If these pay for click business practices continue, then they will soon dominate the search industry, moving in on all SE like a cancer.
GGROT, I agree with you 110%
KG2RG
Try as I might, I can't get excited over GoTo or any PFP. I confess that I put $500 in an account there, and I know I should be working the ROI numbers but I haven't even opened the reports in 6 weeks. I guess it all boils down to the fact that I still prefer to own rather than rent, and as long as there's a spidering engine out there I can own position.
Also, I have some indication that JohnQ is getting savvy about paid rankings. For example, Dogpile used to be a good referrer for me but it died when they fed in the paid SERPs. Now it's slowly starting to resurface in the referrals.
Cheating? Cheating whom? Its advertising. Is paying for commercials on television cheating?
Is paying an SEO to "manipulate" rankings also cheating, or is that sacred?
TopText, Smart Tags,Kazaa, Gator, now THAT's cheating. Cheating the publisher of the web site of his revenue stream.
I don't understand the cheating aspect.. I do understand business, and the search engines need to monetize what was formerly given away for free. I also think that charging the people who benefit from listing well is good business. If it forces little guys out, or forces them to move faster, and think smarter, well, thats called natural selection / competition. <Please note, I am a little guy, sort of.>
On the other hand, maybe the search engines should charge the USER for using their search tools. Guess what? Whoever is NOT charging gets new visitors.
The internet is not immune from the forces of a free market, and capitalism.
They appear to be domain name scavengers that are increasing my click charges while reducing my click to sales ratio.
These no name web sites are becoming my highest GoTo refers. Yuk!
I don't know about you but not many people using the search engine on JimmyCrackedCornAndIdontCare.com have not made any purchases from my sites lately.
. . . URL is not real, just an example.
minnapple
