Northern Light.

[Brett_Tabke]

(just thought I'd mention the name and put it back in our minds for awhile).

With SE's doing the big sellout left and right, I think it is wise to remember that Northern Light still hasn't sold out.

[Mike_Mackin]

I'm #1 on NL for my core KW.
*NOTHING*
:(

[drbill]

guys,

I have some listings in NL but I only get about 20-30 uniques from it.. I wish they would do an advertising spree.:)

[rcjordan]

Mike, I've just started snagging a tiny, tiny number of referrals from them... something like 2 or 3 per week on a page that still has 4500 uniques/week in the off season. Same for Fast.

Maybe there's hope?

[Mike_Mackin]

We sell stuff.
I just don't think the NL surfer is searching to buy stuff.

[DaveAtIFG]

Agreed, NL = not much traffic and less revenue.

Lately, I've been seeing 4 sites in and out, almost a monthly cycle for last 2-3 months, submit, 2-3 weeks later, site is prominent. Ranking declines over next 3-4 weeks until it drops of the radar... resubmit...

Anyone else? Any rumors about Direct Hit or click pop newly into the algo?

[rcjordan]

Hey, I finally glimpsed an ever-elusive NL banner [graphics.boston.com] on the Boston Globe site.

[tedster]

I visited NL in Cambridge MA for a writing interview last year -- nice people, relatively mellow place [!], and they were just not into selling consumer goods.

The interviewer told me that their main focus -- at least at that time -- was the paying research customer. Their major hustle was around writing summaries of magazine and newspaper articles.

[Brett_Tabke]

And Ted, that is why I have some hope that NL will not go ppc and will be around for the long term. They are the only SE to make a go of it in the selling of pure information. However, I think when they lost the US Gov search engine endorsement, they felt they lost a huge investment of resources with zero return.

I look at NL as a sort of poor mans Ne x u s Le x u s (obfuscation intentional).