After my not so recent post on helping this site to reach 'contender' status on Marketleap's link popularity checker, the site's number of incoming links has continued to grow unabated. Despite a shameful absence of recent posts, the site has now gone over the 'magic' 2,000 links mark.
This has resulted in a noticable increase in traffic and no doubt readers concluding that the blogger has gone AWOL (ahem). Of particular fascination to my recent visitors has been the traffic banker that is Janet Jackson's breasts, despite this being one of my oldest and silliest posts.
While concluding that writing less posts has resulted in more traffic is really not healthy to the continued existance of this blog, it has been interesting to see how existing links proliferate over time. Much of this is due to this blog appearing on the blogroll of several long suffering bloggers. As they continue to post at a comparatively prolific rate, so the number of links has increased. No doubt this post will return the favour somewhat to those regulars on my blogroll.
Friday, October 14, 2005
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Spam bloggers
Blogger has a handy feature for exploring other blogs in the blogosphere. On the top right of the blogger navigation bar is a 'Next blog' function (see above).
I'm not aware of how scientific Blogger is in terms of whether the next blog is related or random. Certainly it looks random as you jump from business blogs to personnal blogs to the inevitable spam blogs.
Netcoms dot com truth no. 1: Wherever there is a communications tool, there is a spammer.
If you want to see what I'm talking about, a few clicks of 'Next blog' will reveal a spam blog stuffed to the gills with keywords. I fail to understand how the spammers believe this will yield them results. Judging by the pure repetition, many of the blogs look auto generated and are certain to set the search engines alarm bells ringing. The scale of keyword stuffing will most likely lead to an automatic ban and certainly to a manual ban if spotted.
Tellingly, I have yet to come across a spam blog in the search engines and have only stumbled across them through the random 'Next blog' function. A quick analysis of a couple of the spam blogs I found revealed no inbound links on the first and one inbound link on another from, guess what, another spam blog - talk about a bad neighbourhood (more SEO alarm bells).
Even if they manage to get someone to stumble across the spam blog, they are so obviously gibberish that any visitor would be very unlikely to click on a link and earn them some affiliate revenue.
So why bother? Please stop (I wish).
I'm not aware of how scientific Blogger is in terms of whether the next blog is related or random. Certainly it looks random as you jump from business blogs to personnal blogs to the inevitable spam blogs.
Netcoms dot com truth no. 1: Wherever there is a communications tool, there is a spammer.
If you want to see what I'm talking about, a few clicks of 'Next blog' will reveal a spam blog stuffed to the gills with keywords. I fail to understand how the spammers believe this will yield them results. Judging by the pure repetition, many of the blogs look auto generated and are certain to set the search engines alarm bells ringing. The scale of keyword stuffing will most likely lead to an automatic ban and certainly to a manual ban if spotted.
Tellingly, I have yet to come across a spam blog in the search engines and have only stumbled across them through the random 'Next blog' function. A quick analysis of a couple of the spam blogs I found revealed no inbound links on the first and one inbound link on another from, guess what, another spam blog - talk about a bad neighbourhood (more SEO alarm bells).
Even if they manage to get someone to stumble across the spam blog, they are so obviously gibberish that any visitor would be very unlikely to click on a link and earn them some affiliate revenue.
So why bother? Please stop (I wish).
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
When it comes to viral marketing, simple is often best
A campaign from Milwaekee's Best Light shows that a very simple idea well executed can make an effective viral.
While hardly the most PC of virals, 'Lust for Bust' is clearly targeted at its demographic and is curiously addictive (slap!).
While hardly the most PC of virals, 'Lust for Bust' is clearly targeted at its demographic and is curiously addictive (slap!).
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
"I coulda been a contender"
Cyberspace can be a big and lonely place, particularly for the humble blogger. This humble blog has been in existance for just over two years and started out as a tiny blip on an unknown server with not a single link to its name.
Links are the lifeblood of websites and a good source of traffic both direct and in terms of increasing search engine ranking.
Among the ways to investigate the number of links through to your site is Marketleap's link popularity checker (one more link for them then) which divides sites into broad categories based on the number of inbound links.
- Limted presence: 0-1,000
- Average: 1,001-5,000
- Above average: 5,001-20,000
- Contender: 20,001-100,000
- Player: 100,001-500,000
- 900lb Gorilla: 500,001 and up
Netcoms dot com has this year moved into the 'Average' category with around 1,500 links and rising. Much of these are through blog directories which I suspect carry little weight in terms of PageRank, but gradually over time, this blog has made it onto blogrolls, niche websites and the odd traffic-busting appearance on Fark.com which have been having a noticable effect on traffic.
The rise in links has led to a rise in search engine traffic on terms from the logical Netcoms to the bizarre Janet Jackson's breasts. This has also coincided with a steady rise in PageRank from the white bar of anonymity to a respectably green varying 4-5/10.
Feel free to link to this article at the usual address and help me reach Contender status!
Links are the lifeblood of websites and a good source of traffic both direct and in terms of increasing search engine ranking.
Among the ways to investigate the number of links through to your site is Marketleap's link popularity checker (one more link for them then) which divides sites into broad categories based on the number of inbound links.
- Limted presence: 0-1,000
- Average: 1,001-5,000
- Above average: 5,001-20,000
- Contender: 20,001-100,000
- Player: 100,001-500,000
- 900lb Gorilla: 500,001 and up
Netcoms dot com has this year moved into the 'Average' category with around 1,500 links and rising. Much of these are through blog directories which I suspect carry little weight in terms of PageRank, but gradually over time, this blog has made it onto blogrolls, niche websites and the odd traffic-busting appearance on Fark.com which have been having a noticable effect on traffic.
The rise in links has led to a rise in search engine traffic on terms from the logical Netcoms to the bizarre Janet Jackson's breasts. This has also coincided with a steady rise in PageRank from the white bar of anonymity to a respectably green varying 4-5/10.
Feel free to link to this article at the usual address and help me reach Contender status!
Thursday, July 14, 2005
London stands in silence
It has been quite a few weeks since my last post. The birth of my first child has diverted resources from all non-essential activity and this has taken its toll on this blog which recently celebrated (or not) it's two year anniversary.
I am moved to post again after the terrible events of last week in London. Today marks a week since the suicide bombings turned the highs of winning the Olympics into such lows. London (and other parts of the world) observed a two-minute silence at 12pm.
We left our office and found a space among the crowds in Soho Square. I looked around me waiting for the bells to chime 12 and was met by the curious sight of an awkward looking Sir Trevor Brooking being filmed by a lone cameraman. The crowds were so packed in that the cameraman could not turn to film other people, making Sir Trevor and indeed the cameraman increasingly uncomfortable.
Despite the strange sight, the silence was impeccably observed by those around me, no doubt reflecting on the 'what if's' and the stories of friends, colleagues and strangers.
While the bells announced the start of the silence, there were no bells to announce its finish. After the two minutes were clearly up, there was an awkward shuffling as no one dared to be the first to break the silence. It was finally broken by a spontaneous round of applause that spread around the square to mark the shared experience.
We milled back to our offices unsure of what to say. Sir Trevor's bizarre cameo seemed the easiest thing to talk about. Life, in all its strangeness, goes on.
I am moved to post again after the terrible events of last week in London. Today marks a week since the suicide bombings turned the highs of winning the Olympics into such lows. London (and other parts of the world) observed a two-minute silence at 12pm.
We left our office and found a space among the crowds in Soho Square. I looked around me waiting for the bells to chime 12 and was met by the curious sight of an awkward looking Sir Trevor Brooking being filmed by a lone cameraman. The crowds were so packed in that the cameraman could not turn to film other people, making Sir Trevor and indeed the cameraman increasingly uncomfortable.
Despite the strange sight, the silence was impeccably observed by those around me, no doubt reflecting on the 'what if's' and the stories of friends, colleagues and strangers.
While the bells announced the start of the silence, there were no bells to announce its finish. After the two minutes were clearly up, there was an awkward shuffling as no one dared to be the first to break the silence. It was finally broken by a spontaneous round of applause that spread around the square to mark the shared experience.
We milled back to our offices unsure of what to say. Sir Trevor's bizarre cameo seemed the easiest thing to talk about. Life, in all its strangeness, goes on.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Coldplaying a blinder
Coldplay have achieved the kind of success that breeds envy. With the launch of their new album, the amount of sour grapes in the UK media has hardly been surprising (international readers, how was it for you? Let me know in the comments section).
A fitting album title may have been 'Damned if you do, Damned if you don't' rather than the obscure chromosone reference of 'X&Y'. No wonder it took them nigh on two years to release the thing.
Perhaps the boys need a little praise to stem the flow of bad press.
As a subscriber to their 'In my Place' newsletter, I have been impressed of late with their understanding of how to operate in the digital age. Their website has been the epitome of talking directly with their fans and contains valuable lessons for those seeking to market on the internet:
Remember people like to buy, they don't like to be sold.
A fitting album title may have been 'Damned if you do, Damned if you don't' rather than the obscure chromosone reference of 'X&Y'. No wonder it took them nigh on two years to release the thing.
Perhaps the boys need a little praise to stem the flow of bad press.
As a subscriber to their 'In my Place' newsletter, I have been impressed of late with their understanding of how to operate in the digital age. Their website has been the epitome of talking directly with their fans and contains valuable lessons for those seeking to market on the internet:
- Early bird concert ticket deals for subscribers, so the fans get there before the e-bay touts
- Exclusive audio of the new single 'Speed of Sound'
- Exclusive video of 'Speed of Sound'
- Teasers for the album tracks
- Backstage concert footage
- 'What the band are listening to' featured on the 'Coldplayer'
Remember people like to buy, they don't like to be sold.
Friday, June 03, 2005
Sipping Google Bourbon with GoogleGuy
No, not another Google Gulp drinks launch, but instead the latest algorithm update.
Within the search engine community the mysterious, yet knowledgable, GoogleGuy provides the kind of positive PR that Scoble has been doing for Microsoft. He demonstrates a degree of openness that can only benefit the SEO community and the perception of Google within it.
He has been commenting on the recent Google Bourbon update advising the SEO community that the update is not yet complete:
"Take a break from checking ranks for several more days. Bourbon includes something like 3.5 improvements in search quality, and I believe that only a couple are out so far. The 0.5 will go out in a day or so, and the last major change should roll out over the next week or so. Then there will still be some minor changes after that as well."
GoogleGuy has also demonstrated his openness in a new Questions for GoogleGuy thread with interesting responses on topics such as reinclusions (suggests allowing 4-6 weeks) and why they are not planning on going down the pay-for-inclusion route anytime soon (avoidance of conflict of interest).
After a mammoth Q&A session on the boards, he hints that maybe there's something in this blogging thing after all:
Maybe I ought to get me one of these blog things; I hear they're really popular with the kids these days. :)
Within the search engine community the mysterious, yet knowledgable, GoogleGuy provides the kind of positive PR that Scoble has been doing for Microsoft. He demonstrates a degree of openness that can only benefit the SEO community and the perception of Google within it.
He has been commenting on the recent Google Bourbon update advising the SEO community that the update is not yet complete:
"Take a break from checking ranks for several more days. Bourbon includes something like 3.5 improvements in search quality, and I believe that only a couple are out so far. The 0.5 will go out in a day or so, and the last major change should roll out over the next week or so. Then there will still be some minor changes after that as well."
GoogleGuy has also demonstrated his openness in a new Questions for GoogleGuy thread with interesting responses on topics such as reinclusions (suggests allowing 4-6 weeks) and why they are not planning on going down the pay-for-inclusion route anytime soon (avoidance of conflict of interest).
After a mammoth Q&A session on the boards, he hints that maybe there's something in this blogging thing after all:
Maybe I ought to get me one of these blog things; I hear they're really popular with the kids these days. :)
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
No follow, no fair!
If I am discussing a point raised in another blog, I will try and be a good netizen and set up a trackback. These are by no means automatic for a Blogger.com user and require you to make the effort to perform a manual ping from the Haloscan website.
If blogs do indeed drive 'global conversation', then a blogger should use the tools available to them, such as enabling comments, trackbacks and maintaining a blogroll.
I have also noticed that depending on the calibre of the site you are linking to, trackbacks provide reasonable levels of quality visitors who generally contribute more than the average search engine visitor.
However, on a recent link popularity check of my inbound links, I was surprised to see that the trackbacks do not appear, even though the direct link to my blog appears in the source code.
A quick search of the source code on some of my blogroll revealed that the majority of trackbacks (including those on this site) contain a 'nofollow' tag which will prevent the search engines from following that link. Clearly, this is done to prevent people abusing the system to obtain 'free' links from high PageRank websites.
Trackbacks are a diluted form of link exchange and the 'nofollow' barrier doesn't exactly encourage you to link to others. The problem is that setting up a trackback whitelist would be more trouble than it's worth and the hassle of comment spam is worse than the joys of interlinking.
Perhaps it is better to give than to receive.
If blogs do indeed drive 'global conversation', then a blogger should use the tools available to them, such as enabling comments, trackbacks and maintaining a blogroll.
I have also noticed that depending on the calibre of the site you are linking to, trackbacks provide reasonable levels of quality visitors who generally contribute more than the average search engine visitor.
However, on a recent link popularity check of my inbound links, I was surprised to see that the trackbacks do not appear, even though the direct link to my blog appears in the source code.
A quick search of the source code on some of my blogroll revealed that the majority of trackbacks (including those on this site) contain a 'nofollow' tag which will prevent the search engines from following that link. Clearly, this is done to prevent people abusing the system to obtain 'free' links from high PageRank websites.
Trackbacks are a diluted form of link exchange and the 'nofollow' barrier doesn't exactly encourage you to link to others. The problem is that setting up a trackback whitelist would be more trouble than it's worth and the hassle of comment spam is worse than the joys of interlinking.
Perhaps it is better to give than to receive.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
It's what you do with it that counts
Interesting statistics on Steve Rubel's blog about how many of those with a blog actually blog. These are the blogs that are not just for Christmas with figures from Technorati showing 800-900k daily posts and BlogPulse between 350-450k - quite a discrepancy and indicative of the need of more coordinated metrics (as well as their differing measurement methodology).
Irony aside given the recent squirrel posts, I would argue that it's not that you blog, it's what you do with it that counts (I'm looking forward to seeing the searches I get through on that phrase).
The real metrics of interest are those of conversation - both talking and listening: trackbacks, comments, RSS subscribers and, let's face it, recognition from the offline world. Now there's a combined metric I'd like to see...
Irony aside given the recent squirrel posts, I would argue that it's not that you blog, it's what you do with it that counts (I'm looking forward to seeing the searches I get through on that phrase).
The real metrics of interest are those of conversation - both talking and listening: trackbacks, comments, RSS subscribers and, let's face it, recognition from the offline world. Now there's a combined metric I'd like to see...
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
May the Farm be with you
Someone mentioned something about a new Star Wars film being released...?
As ever with any major event, this provides the cue for individuals and brands to launch their own viral to try and piggyback the event.
Among the lettuces are a couple of gems:
As ever with any major event, this provides the cue for individuals and brands to launch their own viral to try and piggyback the event.
Among the lettuces are a couple of gems:
- A surprisingly well produced Store Wars movie from The Organic Trade Association, featuring the likes of 'Ham-Solo' and 'Chew-broccoli'
- Burger King's latest viral smash the Sith Sense where a hilarious Darth Vader taunts you as he tries to read your mind
Friday, May 20, 2005
A guide for London's pedestrians
As someone who regularly scoots through London's West End, I am amazed on a daily basis by quite how little the average pedestrian values their limbs and lives.
So, in the interests of the public good, here's my green cross code for next time you cross the road:
1) When you're on your mobile phone, the world of cars and bikes goes on. I've lost time of the amount of times I've nearly ran into pedestrians staring vacantly into the distance as they waft across the busy roads.
2) Road users do not just consist of cars and buses. Bicycles are shooting up the inside lane and motorbikes and scooters shooting down the middle lane (most of the time). At least on a scooter you'd think people could hear you coming. Nope; they stride confidently through the traffic looking in the opposite direction leaving you with 3 options:
4) Note for our American cousins: we drive on the left, guys. Keep an eye out for those little arrows they paint on our roads and that's the way we're coming. Better yet, let's just all drive on the left, OK?
Friday rant over. I decided to get the train in today.
So, in the interests of the public good, here's my green cross code for next time you cross the road:
1) When you're on your mobile phone, the world of cars and bikes goes on. I've lost time of the amount of times I've nearly ran into pedestrians staring vacantly into the distance as they waft across the busy roads.
2) Road users do not just consist of cars and buses. Bicycles are shooting up the inside lane and motorbikes and scooters shooting down the middle lane (most of the time). At least on a scooter you'd think people could hear you coming. Nope; they stride confidently through the traffic looking in the opposite direction leaving you with 3 options:
- Emergency stop and hope you can keep upright
- Plough into the oncoming bus at 30 mph. Ouch.
- Pedestrian meets scooter. Ouch all round.
4) Note for our American cousins: we drive on the left, guys. Keep an eye out for those little arrows they paint on our roads and that's the way we're coming. Better yet, let's just all drive on the left, OK?
Friday rant over. I decided to get the train in today.
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