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Bradford House Removals
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Friday, 19 March 2010
Is the Content Farm Strategy Just Misunderstood?
Demand Media CEO Richard Rosenblatt doesn't understand much of the criticism geared toward his company, which Time Magazine columnist Dan Fletcher refers to as "the Web's least understood and most vilified juggernaut." I attended a panel at SXSW this week in which Fletcher and Rosenblatt discussed Demand's content strategy that has become the basis of so much controversy (Read here for more background).
Rosenblatt thinks it's just a case of a new business model getting picked on because it's not understood yet. He compared it to the early days of other successful companies like Amazon and Netflix.
Is Demand Media's strategy just misunderstood? Share your thoughts.
Demand Media evidently gets more traffic than the digital properties of ESPN, Time, or Disney. They claim to have more videos on YouTube than anybody. This isn't spammy content though. It's content created based on what people are looking for, or what a combination of Demand's algorithms and staff determine people are looking for based on extensive data analysis.
An audience member referred to a video she came across that was simply not the type of quality Demand Media wants its content to be known for. Rosenblatt acknowledges that there may be some of this out there, simply because the company began with a different model, but they are working to eliminate this, and only implement content that has gone through the company's exhaustive editorial process.
One huge misconception that Rosenblatt went out of his way to clear up is that of Demand Media's content being taken as news. He doesn't see what Demand Media is doing as journalism. Journalism is news, and this isn't news, he says. It's stuff that makes you laugh, solves your problems, etc. "Only the journalists call us journalists."
A great deal of the criticism that has been aimed at Demand Media is based around the notion that the company is somehow taking advantage of Google's algorithms, to get its content placed higher than other sources (isn't this what SEO/SEM is all about anyway?). Rosenblatt basically made the point that if Google doesn't think it's good enough content to be there, than it won't be there. To change an algorithm to not give an answer just doesn't make sense, he says.
"If people aren't looking for it on search, we're not there," he added. Demand properties like eHow often appear in search results for queries about how to do things. Well, that's exactly the kind of content that appears on eHow, and the mantra of the industry has always been "content is king" right? Demand simply wants to wear that crown, and make money doing it.
"We are driven by an economic model," Rosenblatt said. The company is focused on "evergreen, longtail, commercial content." They're focused on stuff they will make money from.
Rosenblatt says a lot of people think their content is auto-generated. "That's just wrong," he says. One criticism that Rosenblatt does think is fair, is that some of the company's content "could feel mechanical." In other words, some may lack creativity. "We need to learn, and we're trying to," he says. A lack of creativity does not necessarily mean a lack of accuracy, though, and through Demand's editorial process, there is a lot of fact checking going on. At least that is the impression Rosenblatt gave.
He says they have different models for different categories. With something especially important to the world, like health, he says they make sure professionals are writing the articles. With health, fact checking would also go to doctors.
If you are searching for information on Google about effects of chemotherapy, and you are met with an article written by an expert on the subject, with facts checked by doctors, is there really anything wrong with that? Would you rather get a Wikipedia entry? Remember, we're not talking "news" here. We're talking information, and in other cases entertainment.
Demand media does use some Google ads, as iEntry CEO and WebProNews publisher Rich Ord pointed out in an article a while back. He wrote:
The problem as I see it is that while Google is highly ranking the content of these mass production publishers it also has a financial incentive to do so. Almost all content farms use Google Adwords for their revenue. So while Google on the one hand encourages publishers to make content for their readers and not just for search ranking, it is in partnership with sites that do just that.
This should make publishers wonder about their business models. Should they spend thousands paying reporters and editors to create quality content for their users or should they simply create a content farm that pays little for bulk quantities of articles and videos but gets lots of Google love?
I guess if you can make content for the purpose of ranking in searches ... but make it targeted, unique and not horrible, then you might find that Google well reward you quite well.
The issue of Google's own practices with regards to this are really a separate issue from Demand Media's practices. As far as Rosenblatt is concerned, they're just producing the content that people want, and will find that through either search or discovery. And they're making a killing doing it.
Bradford Web Design
Rosenblatt thinks it's just a case of a new business model getting picked on because it's not understood yet. He compared it to the early days of other successful companies like Amazon and Netflix.
Is Demand Media's strategy just misunderstood? Share your thoughts.
Demand Media evidently gets more traffic than the digital properties of ESPN, Time, or Disney. They claim to have more videos on YouTube than anybody. This isn't spammy content though. It's content created based on what people are looking for, or what a combination of Demand's algorithms and staff determine people are looking for based on extensive data analysis.
An audience member referred to a video she came across that was simply not the type of quality Demand Media wants its content to be known for. Rosenblatt acknowledges that there may be some of this out there, simply because the company began with a different model, but they are working to eliminate this, and only implement content that has gone through the company's exhaustive editorial process.
One huge misconception that Rosenblatt went out of his way to clear up is that of Demand Media's content being taken as news. He doesn't see what Demand Media is doing as journalism. Journalism is news, and this isn't news, he says. It's stuff that makes you laugh, solves your problems, etc. "Only the journalists call us journalists."
A great deal of the criticism that has been aimed at Demand Media is based around the notion that the company is somehow taking advantage of Google's algorithms, to get its content placed higher than other sources (isn't this what SEO/SEM is all about anyway?). Rosenblatt basically made the point that if Google doesn't think it's good enough content to be there, than it won't be there. To change an algorithm to not give an answer just doesn't make sense, he says.
"If people aren't looking for it on search, we're not there," he added. Demand properties like eHow often appear in search results for queries about how to do things. Well, that's exactly the kind of content that appears on eHow, and the mantra of the industry has always been "content is king" right? Demand simply wants to wear that crown, and make money doing it.
"We are driven by an economic model," Rosenblatt said. The company is focused on "evergreen, longtail, commercial content." They're focused on stuff they will make money from.
Rosenblatt says a lot of people think their content is auto-generated. "That's just wrong," he says. One criticism that Rosenblatt does think is fair, is that some of the company's content "could feel mechanical." In other words, some may lack creativity. "We need to learn, and we're trying to," he says. A lack of creativity does not necessarily mean a lack of accuracy, though, and through Demand's editorial process, there is a lot of fact checking going on. At least that is the impression Rosenblatt gave.
He says they have different models for different categories. With something especially important to the world, like health, he says they make sure professionals are writing the articles. With health, fact checking would also go to doctors.
If you are searching for information on Google about effects of chemotherapy, and you are met with an article written by an expert on the subject, with facts checked by doctors, is there really anything wrong with that? Would you rather get a Wikipedia entry? Remember, we're not talking "news" here. We're talking information, and in other cases entertainment.
Demand media does use some Google ads, as iEntry CEO and WebProNews publisher Rich Ord pointed out in an article a while back. He wrote:
The problem as I see it is that while Google is highly ranking the content of these mass production publishers it also has a financial incentive to do so. Almost all content farms use Google Adwords for their revenue. So while Google on the one hand encourages publishers to make content for their readers and not just for search ranking, it is in partnership with sites that do just that.
This should make publishers wonder about their business models. Should they spend thousands paying reporters and editors to create quality content for their users or should they simply create a content farm that pays little for bulk quantities of articles and videos but gets lots of Google love?
I guess if you can make content for the purpose of ranking in searches ... but make it targeted, unique and not horrible, then you might find that Google well reward you quite well.
The issue of Google's own practices with regards to this are really a separate issue from Demand Media's practices. As far as Rosenblatt is concerned, they're just producing the content that people want, and will find that through either search or discovery. And they're making a killing doing it.
Bradford Web Design
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
Facebook Unseats Google As Most-Visited Site
Facebook Unseats Google As Most-Visited Site
Although the "thud" wasn't verified until this afternoon, it seems that an online giant fell a couple of days ago. According to new data from Hitwise, Facebook managed to beat Google in terms of visits between March 7th and March 13th, becoming the most visited website in the U.S. for the week.
The graph visible below makes the changeup pretty clear (blame the sloppy enlarged bit on us, not Hitwise). What's more, it doesn't look like Facebook's going to relinquish its lead anytime soon.
Heather Dougherty explained, "The market share of visits to Facebook.com increased 185% last week as compared to the same week in 2009, while visits to Google.com increased 9% during the same time frame."
Then here's one more interesting fact, courtesy of Dougherty: "Together Facebook.com and Google.com accounted for 14% of all US Internet visits last week."
Anyway, this development represents a major win for Facebook. The ability to represent the social network as the number one site should count for a lot as corporate representatives talk to advertisers and investors, and could result in a direct boost in revenue. A further snowball effect in terms of user interest might occur, too, since most people like to be part of something that's popular.
Need A Website? Bradford Web Design
Although the "thud" wasn't verified until this afternoon, it seems that an online giant fell a couple of days ago. According to new data from Hitwise, Facebook managed to beat Google in terms of visits between March 7th and March 13th, becoming the most visited website in the U.S. for the week.
The graph visible below makes the changeup pretty clear (blame the sloppy enlarged bit on us, not Hitwise). What's more, it doesn't look like Facebook's going to relinquish its lead anytime soon.
Heather Dougherty explained, "The market share of visits to Facebook.com increased 185% last week as compared to the same week in 2009, while visits to Google.com increased 9% during the same time frame."
Then here's one more interesting fact, courtesy of Dougherty: "Together Facebook.com and Google.com accounted for 14% of all US Internet visits last week."
Anyway, this development represents a major win for Facebook. The ability to represent the social network as the number one site should count for a lot as corporate representatives talk to advertisers and investors, and could result in a direct boost in revenue. A further snowball effect in terms of user interest might occur, too, since most people like to be part of something that's popular.
Need A Website? Bradford Web Design
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Advertising on Social Networks: Worth it?
Can Social Ads Deliver as Well as Search?
Social media is about conversations. That's the line we've been fed time and time again. There's nothing wrong with it. It's the truth. For marketers and businesses looking to utilize the tools and social networks out there, it will probably serve them well to remember that, but it has often been suggested that directly marketing and trying to sell your product through social networks is in bad taste. That is a topic that probably isn't so cut and dry.
It's going to largely depend on not only your goals, but your audience. It's a different thing altogether when you talk about simply purchasing ads with social networks.
Michael Kahn, SVP, Marketing at Performics says one of the biggest misconceptions people have about social media is that you can't use it to market or sell.
Facebook has offered advertising for quite some time, and it has over 400 million users. Twitter is expected to launch an ad platform of its own at the upcoming SXSW (from which WebProNews will be providing live coverage), and Twitter has grown greatly over the last couple years.
Kahn says social is better for selling than many people think. He says Facebook CPC buys can perform really well, at the same ROI as search. Its just that the way Facebook delivers its ads is different than the way Google does. With Google, ads are delivered based on search behavior. With Facebook, ads are delivered based on information that users have chosen to share with Facebook
Facebook recently began testing a new "promote your post" feature with Facebook Pages. This presents page admins with the option to turn any status update into an ad to run across the social network, as the update is created. If this gets a full roll-out, it could go a long way in boosting advertiser enthusiasm for advertising with Facebook.
We don't know yet how Twitter's ads are going to be delivered, but hopefully we will soon. There are other networks that sell advertising on Twitter, however.
Bradford Web Design - Packages from £50.00
Social media is about conversations. That's the line we've been fed time and time again. There's nothing wrong with it. It's the truth. For marketers and businesses looking to utilize the tools and social networks out there, it will probably serve them well to remember that, but it has often been suggested that directly marketing and trying to sell your product through social networks is in bad taste. That is a topic that probably isn't so cut and dry.
It's going to largely depend on not only your goals, but your audience. It's a different thing altogether when you talk about simply purchasing ads with social networks.
Michael Kahn, SVP, Marketing at Performics says one of the biggest misconceptions people have about social media is that you can't use it to market or sell.
Facebook has offered advertising for quite some time, and it has over 400 million users. Twitter is expected to launch an ad platform of its own at the upcoming SXSW (from which WebProNews will be providing live coverage), and Twitter has grown greatly over the last couple years.
Kahn says social is better for selling than many people think. He says Facebook CPC buys can perform really well, at the same ROI as search. Its just that the way Facebook delivers its ads is different than the way Google does. With Google, ads are delivered based on search behavior. With Facebook, ads are delivered based on information that users have chosen to share with Facebook
Facebook recently began testing a new "promote your post" feature with Facebook Pages. This presents page admins with the option to turn any status update into an ad to run across the social network, as the update is created. If this gets a full roll-out, it could go a long way in boosting advertiser enthusiasm for advertising with Facebook.
We don't know yet how Twitter's ads are going to be delivered, but hopefully we will soon. There are other networks that sell advertising on Twitter, however.
Bradford Web Design - Packages from £50.00
Sunday, 7 March 2010
New venture PC Repai
New venture PC Repairs in Bradford West Yorkshire. 2D's www.bradford-pc-repairs.co.uk
Friday, 5 March 2010
Google Spills its Secret Sauce (Well . . . Sorta)
So Google’s facing an inquiry from the European Commission after accusations of anti-trust. Naturally, Google’s not taking this lying down. On the European Public Policy blog, Matt Cutts responds to allegations of anti-competitive practices by sharing their secret sauce, PageRank. But are they transparent enough?
(Yeah, the link is just the original Stanford paper on Google that discusses the basic principles of PageRank as defined 10 years ago.)
Google outlines all its efforts to help webmasters and increase its transparency, including:
■“Google has continued to publish literally hundreds of research papers over the years. Those papers reveal many of the “secret formulas” for how Google works and document essential infrastructure that Google uses.”
■“In 1999, Sergey Brin participated in the first Search Engine Strategies conference for webmasters.”
■“In 2001, Google became one of the first search engines to engage online at a publisher forum called WebmasterWorld. One representative (GoogleGuy) has posted over 2800 times, while another (AdWordsAdvisor) has posted almost 5000 times.”
■“Google now has over 70 official blogs, including an official webmaster blog specifically to help site owners understand how Google works and help them rank appropriately in our search results.”
■Live webmaster chats and in-person conferences
■Webmaster Tools
Although lots of lawsuits and disgruntled individuals claim that Google is an evil black box, the list of things they’ve done to reach out and help webmasters is impressive (even if a lot of webmasters don’t know about it)—and I just listed things till I got bored.
What do you think? Has Google made enough of an effort to be transparent and helpful? Is this an adequate defense against anti-trust allegations?
Killerwebs Web Design Studio, web sites from £50.00, Logo's, SEO & PC Repairs
(Yeah, the link is just the original Stanford paper on Google that discusses the basic principles of PageRank as defined 10 years ago.)
Google outlines all its efforts to help webmasters and increase its transparency, including:
■“Google has continued to publish literally hundreds of research papers over the years. Those papers reveal many of the “secret formulas” for how Google works and document essential infrastructure that Google uses.”
■“In 1999, Sergey Brin participated in the first Search Engine Strategies conference for webmasters.”
■“In 2001, Google became one of the first search engines to engage online at a publisher forum called WebmasterWorld. One representative (GoogleGuy) has posted over 2800 times, while another (AdWordsAdvisor) has posted almost 5000 times.”
■“Google now has over 70 official blogs, including an official webmaster blog specifically to help site owners understand how Google works and help them rank appropriately in our search results.”
■Live webmaster chats and in-person conferences
■Webmaster Tools
Although lots of lawsuits and disgruntled individuals claim that Google is an evil black box, the list of things they’ve done to reach out and help webmasters is impressive (even if a lot of webmasters don’t know about it)—and I just listed things till I got bored.
What do you think? Has Google made enough of an effort to be transparent and helpful? Is this an adequate defense against anti-trust allegations?
Killerwebs Web Design Studio, web sites from £50.00, Logo's, SEO & PC Repairs
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
New Logo Designed for The A2Z Freight Directory http://htxt.it/jw2a
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Small Business Starting to Use Social Media Successfully
small business Internet marketing more than anything else since a lot of people that I know are small business people. That’s why I blog about their experiences and their issues because these people are often viewed as the backbone of any true economic recovery that might take place. While big business still use the “bad economy” as an excuse to cut jobs at record pace the little guy is trying to make it happen. Heck, as a result of the continued layoffs from the big boys more small businesses are being born every day. As a result, social media adoption by SMB’s has increased as well.
A study reported by the Center for Media Research which was done by Network Solutions and the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business tells us
….social media adoption by small businesses has doubled from 12% to 24% in the last year. Small businesses are increasingly investing in applications including blogs, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.
It’s good to see the little guy get more involved with social media. Unlike search marketing (in particular paid search) social media allows for some true creativity and because of its relatively low cost (notice I didn’t say free) the small business has less of a chance of getting burned. I can’t tell you how many times I speak to SMB’s who bemoan how much money they have spent on paid search and have seen no return. Social media opportunities are a breath of fresh air to these people.
This kind of activity is something that will reinvigorate a struggling SMB and can even lead to cost savings as they learn what is really working with their advertising.
Dr. Alan Glazier, CEO and Founder of an eye and vision care center, said “… I was forced to consider alternative options to keep my business visible… with a very small investment in social media marketing, I was able to generate new business opportunities… (and) most importantly, my marketing budget has been reduced by more than 80%… “
Maybe Dr. Glazier’s sense of humor is helping as well (needing to find alternatives to keep his vision care center visible…Good one, doc).
Of course, as with anything it’s not all party hats and celebration. SMB’s struggle more with some of the downsides of the social media “effect” because they are often not able to spread the work out over other team members because they may not have them. Also, there is fear around social media as to whether it can open a can of worms that they are not ready to handle.
50% of small business social media users say it takes more time than expected. While social media adoption has doubled in the last year, there are still some roadblocks to small businesses fully exploiting its potential. Another 17% feel that social media gives people a chance to criticize their business on the Internet. Related to this, only 6% feel that social media use has hurt the image of the business more than helped it.
While it is never the silver bullet or the “automatic win” that many SMB social media hucksters proclaim it to be there is a lot of opportunity for the SMB to be promoting their business and finding more business than ever before. The odds are not stacked against the SMB in social media as they can be with other marketing options but the old adage “you gotta be in it, to win it” is more real than ever.
Tell us a good SMB social media story or encounter you had. Some really creative ideas never get outside of the towns they are hatched in unless we tell someone else. Let’s hear it.
Web Design by Killerwebs from £50.00
A study reported by the Center for Media Research which was done by Network Solutions and the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business tells us
….social media adoption by small businesses has doubled from 12% to 24% in the last year. Small businesses are increasingly investing in applications including blogs, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.
It’s good to see the little guy get more involved with social media. Unlike search marketing (in particular paid search) social media allows for some true creativity and because of its relatively low cost (notice I didn’t say free) the small business has less of a chance of getting burned. I can’t tell you how many times I speak to SMB’s who bemoan how much money they have spent on paid search and have seen no return. Social media opportunities are a breath of fresh air to these people.
This kind of activity is something that will reinvigorate a struggling SMB and can even lead to cost savings as they learn what is really working with their advertising.
Dr. Alan Glazier, CEO and Founder of an eye and vision care center, said “… I was forced to consider alternative options to keep my business visible… with a very small investment in social media marketing, I was able to generate new business opportunities… (and) most importantly, my marketing budget has been reduced by more than 80%… “
Maybe Dr. Glazier’s sense of humor is helping as well (needing to find alternatives to keep his vision care center visible…Good one, doc).
Of course, as with anything it’s not all party hats and celebration. SMB’s struggle more with some of the downsides of the social media “effect” because they are often not able to spread the work out over other team members because they may not have them. Also, there is fear around social media as to whether it can open a can of worms that they are not ready to handle.
50% of small business social media users say it takes more time than expected. While social media adoption has doubled in the last year, there are still some roadblocks to small businesses fully exploiting its potential. Another 17% feel that social media gives people a chance to criticize their business on the Internet. Related to this, only 6% feel that social media use has hurt the image of the business more than helped it.
While it is never the silver bullet or the “automatic win” that many SMB social media hucksters proclaim it to be there is a lot of opportunity for the SMB to be promoting their business and finding more business than ever before. The odds are not stacked against the SMB in social media as they can be with other marketing options but the old adage “you gotta be in it, to win it” is more real than ever.
Tell us a good SMB social media story or encounter you had. Some really creative ideas never get outside of the towns they are hatched in unless we tell someone else. Let’s hear it.
Web Design by Killerwebs from £50.00