Out of all the Google updates I’ve seen over the years, this one seems to have caused more anger and frustration than the others. So I figured I’d weigh in on the issue.

What is the Penguin Update?

This post by Matt Cutts on the official Google Webmaster Central Blog explains it pretty well:

Another step to reward high-quality sites

I’ve read numerous complaints around the web regarding the vagueness of Google’s explanation. Those seem to mostly be from SEO marketers who are making excuses for why their (and their clients) sites have fallen in the rankings. They say Google isn’t being clear enough, and isn’t revealing the details of the algorithm… which “isn’t fair”.

However, I think Google has given us plenty of information over the years about what they like and don’t like.

They don’t like efforts to manipulate search results. They don’t like spam. They don’t like low quality content. Pretty basic stuff, right?

Therefore the Penguin update shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. It’s basically an enforcement of what Google has been preaching over the past several years.

Now, before anyone labels me as a Google-hugger, or a pious white-hat puritan, let me explain where I’m coming from.

The majority of my traffic for most of my websites does not come from SEO. I decided a long time ago that SEO was not going to be my primary traffic strategy. I didn’t want to be dependent on Google, and I didn’t want to invest my time in the ever-changing SEO game.

In my Internet marketing lessons, I teach five main categories of web traffic generation. SEO is just one of those categories. I don’t have any SEO clients, and I’ve never sold any SEO products (although I have promoted several as an affiliate).

I’ve always held the viewpoint that Google does not own the Internet, nor do they have the right to exclusively define morality. Google is not God. Therefore I’m not inherently anti-blackhat. If what you’re doing is LEGAL, and doesn’t hurt anyone, that’s your prerogative.

Google built their business in part by “scraping” the web. An argument can be made that they took everyone’s content (without permission) and used it to build a search engine. When you do a search on Google, you’re not actually searching the web. You’re searching stuff that has been stored on Google’s computers.

Business is a war of sorts, and if your opinion is that gaming Google constitutes fair competition, so be it.

At the same time, I’ve held the viewpoint that Google does own Google, and they DO have the right to define their own ethics and to dictate how their search engine is used.

For that reason alone, I’m not a proponent of blackhat. I figure if you want to get web traffic from Google, why not work with them instead of against them?

Perhaps equally important, I believe that Google is smarter than me. Not better. Not wiser. But smarter.

I’ve never written a single line of code for a search engine algorithm, let alone create the most sophisticated one on the planet. I’ve never built a car that can drive itself (as Google has done), or built a multi-billion dollar company.

So I’ve always had a feeling that Google would eventually outsmart the blackhatters. Perhaps the Penguin is a partial manifestation of that eventuality.

I say “partial” because clearly there’s still a lot of spam at the top of the rankings.

For example, my previous blog post was a product review of a product called “One Minute Commissions”. Since my review is one of only a handful of unbiased reviews that I’ve seen, I would have hoped to see it near the top of the results for the search term one minute commissions review.

However, the ENTIRE first page and most of the second page of results are populated by bogus reviews (ie. reviews intended only to promote the product).

On the other hand, I’ve seen mostly positive changes in my own results since the Penguin update.

For example, this Eric’s Tips website is currently ranking better for some of my keywords than it was before Penguin.

For example, I’m now ranking #2 for internet marketing lessons.

I’m also #5 for internet marketing tips, and #6 for free internet marketing tips. Certainly nothing to brag about, but those are all improvements by about 5-10 ranking positions. I see this as a successful implementation of Google’s attempt to “reward high quality sites”.

I’ve never done any spammy link building with this site, and have done a minimal amount of SEO. I believe the sites that were previously above mine have been penalized for spammy practices.

I’ve also seen some comments regarding Penguin penalizing sites for over-optimization. Some are saying that it’s now better to be a little more vague in your on-page optimization. Here’s a post-Penguin example from my site that would seem to support such a theory:

I’m ranked #1 for how to make a squeeze page, even though that particular phrase is NOT found anywhere on the page (the page is also ranked #1 for how to create a squeeze page, and #8 for squeeze page).

In the aforementioned blog post by Matt Cutts, he says, “We want people doing white hat search engine optimization (or even no search engine optimization at all) to be free to focus on creating amazing, compelling web sites.”

That’s right, Google is implying that it’s OK if you don’t do any SEO. Here is a post-Penguin example from one of my sites that would seem to support this claim:

It’s a relatively new site, on which I’ve done no SEO, and I’m ranked #1 out of 439,000,000 results for clean movies.

Link Building…

For a long time, those who teach SEO (including myself) and those who practice it have said that off-page SEO is synonymous with link building.

Indeed, links are the measure of authority. However, Google never said to go out and GET a bunch of links, or to MAKE a bunch of links.

I don’t mean for this to sound like “I told you so”, but even while I was teaching about link building I was warning that Google COULD at any time negate the value of entire genres of back links.

Remember, Google is smart. And really it doesn’t take much intelligence to see what Internet marketers have done with article marketing, social bookmarking, blog networks, directories, etc.

If your back links look “unnatural” or if they look like they were built by YOU, then it’s likely that the Penguin is penalizing you. Which brings us to the most controversial point of all…

Negative SEO.

There has been much speculation that Google is now penalizing links that they deem to be spammy. Not just discounting those links, but actually penalizing them.

Whether it’s true, I don’t know, but the potential ramifications are huge. If it’s true, you could literally take out your competitors by spamming on their behalf. Those spammy links are so easy to acquire that this would absolutely become a reality.

IF it’s true, I’d also be willing to bet that there will be more big changes in the future for Google’s algorithm. Remember, Google is smart. If backhatters start sniping their competitors websites by spamming, Google will figure out a way to combat it.

Many prolific SEO experts are actually recommending that you seek to remove all questionable back links. An un-back-linking campaign if you will. In my opinion, that may be a waste of time. I really hope Google will give us a confirmation of whether “bad” links are merely being discounted (in which case you can ignore them), or if they’re truly being penalized (in which case you would need to get them removed).

Going forward, I would recommend the following if you care about SEO:

- Avoid spammy back links.
- Avoid link farms.
- Avoid keyword stuffing.
- Avoid over-optimization.
- Avoid spun content & other low quality content.
- Do get legitimate back links from methods like guest blogging.
- Do make sure back links seem natural. (Realistic anchor text, not overly optimized, etc)
- Do use Google+
- Do use author tags and claim your sites in Google+
- Do create great content.

If you would like some additional opinions about the Google Penguin update, I found a very good blog post from two days ago in which Razvan Gavrilas interviewed 13 SEO experts:

Link Building Experts talk about Google Penguin

He asked some very pertinent questions about link building, and the variety of answers gives a nice balance of viewpoints.

As always, you are welcome to leave your comments below. Be sure to let us know how the Penguin is treating YOU

Have a great day!

I don’t blame anyone for creating a persuasive video. I make them for my products, and I teach others to do the same. The problem is when they’re misleading (or if they’re so ambiguous that you can’t figure out what the product’s really about).

The product I am reviewing today is called One Minute Commissions, by Mike Auton. The name on the product is Rebecca Roberts, but from what I understand from the JV invitations I’ve seen, that’s basically a pen name for the actress/spokeswoman.

The product pitch made some very bold income claims, but what appealed to me the most was its apparent ease of use. It sounded exactly like the type of product that would be useful to many of my subscribers. So I went ahead and bought it for $46.00 so I could review it.

The payment processor is ClickSure, and it was my first time encountering them. It appears that they are attempting to compete with ClickBank, so I went ahead and signed up for an affiliate account too; perhaps I can report more about them later. It seems they are UK-based, and just entering the business. My credit card company called me within one minute of placing my order, to ask if it was fraudulent.

After ordering, I was taken into the upsell flow (aka One Time Offer), which is to be expected. Again, I have no problem with upsells. I do them myself, and I teach it as an effective marketing strategy. One of my recent launches contained the most aggressive upsell flow I’ve ever attempted, with multiple upsells, and it worked very well.

One Minute Commissions had a total of 5 upsell/downsell pages. My only problem with them was that the “No Thanks” link was hidden for a period of time to force you to watch part of the video on 3 of the pages. Other than that, the upsells seemed pretty typical and they did seem to be fitting with the main product (upsale for “Pro” version, etc.). I did not purchase any of the upsells.

The members area is well laid out, and easy to navigate. No problems there.

The training videos were very basic, but adequate. I had some problems playing the MP4 videos in my browser, so if you do purchase the product, I’d recommend doing a right-click and downloading the videos rather than streaming them in your browser.

The software itself (web based) is simple to use. It takes only a few minutes to employ the method, and I did not encounter any real problems while using it.

Here is a demo of me actually using this product (allow a moment for the video to load):

The software generates videos to promote ClickBank products (or Amazon products using their bonus software).

Those videos are then to be uploaded to YouTube, and traffic is to be obtained from organic Google results.

In theory, it’s a good idea. YouTube videos CAN be a great way to obtain Google rankings.

Unfortunately, the videos generated by this software are very spammy. They’re about 20 seconds long, and consist of one static image, with a random bit of background music.

This provides absolutely ZERO value to the end user, which means users of this software are basically spamming YouTube with these videos, and thus spamming Google with useless search results.

I’d be willing to bet that YouTube/Google will crack down on this practice, thus ensuring that it’s not a good long term strategy.

Therefore I do not recommend this product.

Here’s the good news…

With just a LITTLE more effort, you can use this strategy in an ethical and effective manner. Instead of using this auto-generator software, just get yourself some screen capture software (I recommend Camtasia, but there are free options like Camstudio).

Then for each product you want to promote, create a short review or commentary while you peruse the product and/or sales letter for that product. This way you’re actually providing something of value to the people who are searching for those products.

As always, you are welcome to leave your comments below.

Have a great day!

I’ve been meaning to post a “personal” update for awhile, and I think this would be an appropriate time to share a little of what I’ve been up to lately.

It’s been about a year since I came down with some health issues, which I reported in a blog post last year. I’ve been largely focused on my recovery over the past year, and I’m happy to report that I’ve experienced much improvement.

Today we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, and I believe that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to us today! I am very thankful for that.

I had the priviledge of painting a couple of pictures for an Easter-themed presentation at my church. I was given some Bible verses, and painted the pictures based on those verses…

“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. (Matthew 27: 22-26)

As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. (Luke 23:26)

I’ve also had the opportunity to paint during some live worship services and healing services. It’s been a real blessing, and fun to see what God gives me (these are painted quickly and spontaneously). I hope you don’t mind me sharing a few of them, as they kind of fit in with the Easter theme too. Some of them have been more abstract, such as these…

Spiritual Warfare

Reborn Identity

New Life in Christ

Fire and Water Falling

We’ve had a lot of other stuff going on in our house lately too. As you can imagine, it’s always an adventure when you’ve got 5 kids. Still on the theme of NEW LIFE, one of our cats just had a batch of kittens…

We also got a dozen baby chickens, which we will raise for eggs…

Lastly, I know y’all always like pictures of smiling babies, like my little girl

I suppose all of this explains why I haven’t been posting many lessons lately (Don’t worry I’ll post more soon!). In case you’re wondering, my Internet business is alive and well, and bringing in plenty of passive income every month. In fact, my income has not dropped, even though I’ve been working less. The things I teach in the lessons and in my coaching club DO work

So here’s today’s action step: As you build your business, remember your true priorities.

Have a blessed day!

In this lesson I hope to dispel some of those myths, and clarify mobile marketing for you.

(Watch this video - it may take a minute to load after clicking it…)

Outline:

I’ll be focusing on four main areas of mobile marketing…

1) Paid Mobile Traffic
2) Mobile Applications
3) SMS Marketing
4) Mobile Optimization, Compatibility, and Targeting

Target mobile users with content that is especially applicable to mobile devices:

- QR Codes
- Social Media, like Facebook and twitter
- Use video
- Coupons
- Ringtones
- Travel information
- Games and puzzles
- Mobile ebooks
- Restaurant and business reviews
- Local business info
- Weather

Action steps:

1) Decide whether mobile marketing should be a priority for your business.

2) If it’s not a priority, consider implementing some of the easier steps, such as a WordPress plugin to make sure your site is easily visible for mobile users.

3) If it is a priority, implement multiple mobile strategies to attract as much mobile traffic as possible.

In the next lesson we’ll be looking at some more free web traffic sources and strategies.

As always, you are welcome to post your questions and comments below

Have a great day!

]]> http://www.ericstips.com/tips/lesson83/feed/ http://www.ericstips.com/tips/persistenceandluck/ http://www.ericstips.com/tips/persistenceandluck/#comments Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:32:37 +0000 Eric http://www.ericstips.com/?p=455 I recently had an experience that seemed to epitomize many things in life, including business.

A couple months ago, the leaves were changing. The showing of fall colors tends to be short-lived here in Colorado, because the cold air and strong winds quickly come and whisk them away.

There is a particular horse pasture less than two miles from my house, that I wanted to photograph in it’s autumnal glory. A stand of tall Cottonwood trees lines the far edge of the pasture, and I wanted to capture an image of the horses in front of those trees.

The first time I stopped by to take pictures, the horses were in the pasture, but I had missed the prime light. It was too late in the evening, and the sun had sunk below the horizon. The trees were no longer illuminated, and they cast dark shadows upon the field.

I knew I needed to arrive earlier, so I tried again. This time I got there just as the magic hour was beginning. The light was great, but the horses were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps they were in the part of the field not visible from the road, or perhaps they were in the stable. I took a few pictures, but they were dull; simply lacking the subject that my artistic vision demanded.

So I continued the quest, driving by the field several more times with no luck. Each time, either the horses were not out, or the lighting was all wrong.

I really wanted to capture the late afternoon sun filtering through the golden leaves of the Cottonwoods, creating a backlight effect, and rendering a warm glow upon the horses in the foreground.

Finally I was faced with the possibility of making a final attempt to get the picture that I was after. It was the evening before I was due to leave for a trip to Israel. I was short on time, yet I knew this would be my last chance this year.

The leaves were at their prime, and sure enough… the day after we left for Israel, our neighborhood experienced its first snow storm of the season… and the colors were gone.

I’m glad that I seized that final opportunity, as it proved to be the one that paid off.

The horses were out, the lighting was perfect, and the leaves were aglow.

I got the shots I had envisioned, including these…

I was already happy with the results, but then something “magical” happened. Three bears arrived to the scene, sauntering along the creek that runs behind the horse pasture.

At first when I took this picture, I didn’t even notice the mama bear and her two cubs in the background…

Suddenly what had already been a good photo shoot turned into something really unique!

I was in the right place at the right time, and I had the opportunity to capture images that no one else was there to capture.

(View more photos and full size here on Google+)

So was it my persistence that paid off? Or was it pure luck that I showed up at the same time as three bears… something the neighbors hadn’t seen in decades?

I propose that it was a combination of both.

Now, before I explain what I mean… it’s important to note that I don’t really believe in “luck” in the traditional sense of the word. I don’t think that everything is just random, or determined by chance.

You might be surprised to know that the words “blessed are those” in the beatitudes (from the Sermon on the Mount given by Jesus in Matthew 5-7) can be alternately translated as “lucky are those.”

In other words, luck could also be defined as an appropriation of divine blessing.

In my years of studying sales and marketing, I’ve read countless stories of highly successful entrepreneurs who considered luck to be one of the keys to their success. Hard work? Yes. Determination? Absolutely. But at some point along the way, they got lucky.

The Roman philosopher Seneca (ca. 4 BC – 65 AD) is credited with the quote: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

In the example of my photo shoot with the horses, I had prepared to take those photos. I then persisted, when the opportunity failed to present itself.

Finally, when the opportunity materialized, I was able to sieze the lucky moment, because I had prepared and positioned myself to do so.

The same principle applies to your business. In The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship, William D. Bygraves wrote:

“In entrepreneurship, it is a question of recognizing a good opportunity when you see one and having the skills to convert that opportunity into a thriving business. To do that, you must be prepared.”

Where the opportunity actually comes from, I’ll leave it up to you to decide. In the case of three bears showing up to my photo shoot, it seems like more than a coincidence.

As always, you are welcome to leave your comments below.

Have a great day!

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