Forum Moderators: martinibuster
right?
Don't knock crappy spelling.
Right, there's gold in some of those spelling errors, as well as thesekindsoferrors.
Agreed.
"EFV is a former magazine editor (ask him where), so when he says "no writing or editorial skills", I interpret that to mean no special expertise."
My interpretation was "no writing or editorial skills". But it provides for some rip-roaring laughter and fun emails to friends.
The worst stuff, though, comes from from the "adsense, rewrite someone else's copy" crowd. Their text reads like someone who is either A. on crack, B. a victim of a closed-head injury, or C. writing from a country where they like their food very spicy (I'm a big fan of their cuisine and I love the culture but some of the colloquialisms and semantics are a dead giveaway, and when ripping others' content this can account for some oddly phrased translations).
I don't believe in content being too good or complete (I used to believe that) unless advertisers who are publishers are looking for traffic to the same or very similar content.
I know a publisher--let's call him Grant--who has received firsthand testimonials from:
- Readers who have bought luxury cruises after reading reviews by Grant;
- PR people from companies whose clients have mentioned a Web article by Grant when booking;
- Owners of small businesses (such as apartment-rental agencies) that Grant has recommended after using them, including one agent who said referrals from Grant's site converted better than referrals from other sources (such as search traffic).
I'm sure that the publisher of any reasonably well-established information site could tell similar stories. There's nothing new or brilliant about the observation that editorial context makes advertising more effective: It's the reason why trade magazines and special-interest publications can be extremely profitable, and it's why big companies promote their products and services with public relations as well as advertising.
This doesn't mean a publisher needs to (or should) presell products and services for AdSense advertisers. It does suggest that, for example, readers who click on a camera dealer's ad after reading a review of the new Canikon DSLR at a respected camera-review site are likely to be better-quality leads than people who are merely searching Google for information about a "canikon dslr."
readers who click on a camera dealer's ad after reading a review of the new Canikon DSLR at a respected camera-review site are likely to be better-quality leads
An example of pre-selling. Helps readers to make an informed decision and create awareness. Again my examples I posted do just that. I am not saying write a sales letter but simply creating awareness in context of your content.
I also was responding to a specific case:
When you don't need something (buy or consult) is very likely you won't click the ads
This is where pre-selling can have a huge effect. As my examples are a passive form of pre-selling. I am not saying every content writer should do this. It depends on who your visitors are, where they arrived from, etc.
Most here I would venture a guess that search engines supply them with up to 40% of their traffic. Not all that traffic comes in from the same keywords and not all are pre-qualified looking to purchase a product. They are looking for information generally. Because of this you could be passing up ALOT potential clickers and buyers if you don't plant that idea in their head with a reason to do so. If you have alot of passive SE traffic then the need to plant purchasing ideas rises. It is an individual case by case scenario.
Furthermore I am not saying just to write reviews or articles ABOUT a specific product. Write about anything and if there is a product or service to go along with it then mention it passively if you wish. Experiment.
I am also not saying that this should take the place of finding BETTER traffic sources. It was simply an idea.
I also think neither of us would put much stock in the canard (often repeated here at Webmaster World) that traffic from junk sites converts better than traffic from real sites because the junk sites' traffic is mostly flipped search traffic. I can see how someone who's searching on "widgetco faucet replacement cartridge wc-100-3000X" might be looking to conduct an e-commerce transaction at that specific moment in time, but why would anyone assume that the person who's searching Google for "volga raft cruise reviews" or "canikon cn-100 dslr" is more likely to be a sizzling-hot sales prospect than someone who's been prequalified (or presold, if you prefer) by a review, article, or user testimonial at a legitimate information site?
EFV is a former magazine editor (ask him where)
whoa... where?
But there's little doubt that the Web is a popular venue with short-term money-grabbing cheapskates. :-)
i'm insulted. i am NOT s-h-o-r-t! ;)
The worst stuff, though, comes from from the "adsense, rewrite someone else's copy" crowd. Their text reads like someone who is either A. on crack, B. a victim of a closed-head injury, or C. writing from a country where they like their food very spicy (I'm a big fan of their cuisine and I love the culture but some of the colloquialisms and semantics are a dead giveaway, and when ripping others' content this can account for some oddly phrased translations).
you mean like this :
"The ungood material, though, is originating from the "adsense, writing other people's duplicate" large gathering. Their letters always sounding like peoples who are either A. on broken, B. a victim of a shut-head accident, or C. written from a country where their food is very hot (I'm a big air-conditioner of their type of food and I love the style of the country but some of the speaking styles and ways have passed-away, and when tearing other's innards, this can sum up to lots of queer pieces of changes."
? ;) ;)
articles with almost no info so they clickety click the ads.
"The ungood material, though, is originating from the "adsense, writing other people's duplicate" large gathering. Their letters always sounding like peoples who are either A. on broken, B. a victim of a shut-head accident, or C. written from a country where their food is very hot (I'm a big air-conditioner of their type of food and I love the style of the country but some of the speaking styles and ways have passed-away, and when tearing other's innards, this can sum up to lots of queer pieces of changes."
Exactimundo!
Hmmm... Did you run that through a Markov engine? If not, it's really clever.
i didn't... hmmm... does that make me clever?
Hence I do videos now, big logos in it, that are hard to crop out. Very popular, but I estimate in about 20 years I can live from it, as the people look at the videos and not the ads :(. But then I am 61 and Wikiyoutubepedia will probably be on my second life toilet paper .. where I can watch those unmissable moments as see a Panda sneeze while listening to Paris Hiltons middle aged songs .. and they promised me quality and that content was king ..
Extremely thrilling now my license fee pays the BBC to earn advertising on YouTube. :\
"Because of the advertising, these clips can be seen outside the UK only. Any UK users clicking on a link to one of the news clips on YouTube will get a message that they have no access to this clip."
and then I can't watch them
The world went mad .. yes why would I want to write content as there is certainly somewhere on this planet a News station that gives it away for free ... while in end effect charging me for it .. argh
MFA?
No, most call it a search engine.
So why write good articles?...
Ah, one can tell from this remark that we are in the same field (as already discuseed via sticky once). I don't think it's too common in other areas, though - but definitely a good example why question as the one that started the thread come up in the first place.
I think that the question of sustainability will come up with the sites EfV and me have in mind at some point - wiki-based "please add content" type of pages are a fairly recent phenomenon and I hope that the big G will figure out how useful the content really is at some point.
Yup, you may want to look up the concept of "slippy sites". Note that the stick vs slippy debate needs to be solved on a case-by-case basis. Soemtimes one is appropriate / more effective, sometimes the other is
World class content which you sweat over for days and days will result in you getting links from sites like the BBC, which will flood your site with traffic, as we have experienced. World class content will have advertisers clamouring to offer you advertising on a tenancy or CPM basis which is far more lucrative than Google Adsense ads.
Most importantly, you are providing something worthwhile to the planet and benefiting humanity, rather than just wasting people's time - not that some people on WW seem to care about ethics it seems.
[edited by: 1Lit at 11:29 pm (utc) on Mar. 4, 2007]
If you have poor or dupe content, the visitors are most likely not going to return.
[That is, until Google penalizes your site for unknown reasons.]
Plus by being white-hat you can then use other ads like CPM.
- Best clients are people with the wallet ready and looking for solutions to problems/needs they have.
- This people find your article on their problem/need.
- It's written in a clear and concise wat, wit the content well structurated. Let's say that after 2-5 minutes reading, the user will have a very solid understanding of their trouble/need and how to solve it.
- It just happens that they see Adsense units in your page with content-related products.
Are they prone to click and, what is more, to buy?
That is an ideal situation with no one losing as everyone is served his own interests.
Will you be linked from other sites and so receive new prospective clients?
But I may be wrong, of course (people is so strange sometimes).
