Some websites make money by selling products.

Some websites make money by selling advertising.

Some websites make money by referring customers to other websites.

Some websites make money by collecting customer data which is sold on.

Buying UGG boots online? Read my Drapers blog first

Black hat, white hat, grey hat, whatever. Today’s SEO guru is a much more complex being.

The Content Colonel
Where’s the linkbait? The Content Colonel will ask.

Until he can see plans for sticky, engaging and constantly updating content on your website, The Content Colonel won’t touch yours with a barge pole.

Not only can this guy tell you in advance where an article on your website is going to rank, he can tell you how many visitors you’ll get from it and how many other websites will link to it.

The Submitter Tryer
The Submitter Tryer means absolutely no harm. Far from reading up on SEO, he’s invented it himself – this guy doesn’t need or want to learn.

After playing around with HTML, CSS and a bit of PHP here and there, he submits websites to search engines using those dreadful fast submission tools that you thought were out of circulation.

He doesn’t quite get why his efforts never work.

Why do so many online start-ups fall into the trap of thinking they have no competitors?

This week I was sent a link to a ‘SEO in 15 minutes’ chart. It’s great checklist for anyone who wants to understand on page SEO techniques. But a potentially dangerous tool for those who think studying these points makes them an SEO expert.

Visit the Glasses Direct blog to see my blog post ‘Will you join Glasses Direct’s online fan base?’.

Read my article ‘The future challenges of online retail - delivery’ on E-Consultancy.

Economic downturn = offline advertising (unmeasurable) spend down, online marketing (measurable) spend up?

That’s what a lot of people seem to be saying [here and here]. But not me.

Not entirely anyway. I can see online marketing spend increasing in line with the already forecasted increases, but in terms of a higher jump because of the downturn no.

This week on my Drapers blog you can find out how Jordan/Katie Price can market her equestrian clothing range online.

I’ve put together some tactics that businesses can do, without the help of an SEO team, to help their search engine rankings.

Read them here on the Score Communications website.

Internet business has changed to meet the demands and expectations of the growing numbers of online shoppers, shifting their pounds from the high street to the internet.

But with many high street stores now offering the same prices as their online counterparts, the internet is no longer always cheaper.

Let’s take a look at how online stores can launch an offline presence to continue the trend of growing numbers of online shoppers, now that price is no longer a stark differentiator.

Web to high street
Taking a successful online operation to the high street seems to be a key move for fashion websites. Other sectors must follow surely?

You’ve just embarked on a marketing campaign for your website, the visitor numbers are going up but you want these users to engage with you in the future too. So how do you sign up visitors to register on your site or newsletter?

See my article on the Enterprise Nation website.

Seth Godin thinks we should tip websites we like by clicking on adverts.

His heart may have been in the right place but the recommendation didn’t go down well with many in the online marketing world.

Here are some alternative ways you can tip a website that you like.

Bookmark it
Return
Digg/Delicio.us/Furl the link
Add it to your Facebook
Email/Send the link to a friend
Send the URL to your friend
Link to it from your own blog
Write about it on a forum/message board
Tell your friend about it
SMS is to your friend

Are adverts the new online tip jar? Seth Godin thinks so. Apparently if we read something online that we like we should say thank you by clicking on an ad.

On his blog Seth says…

“If you like what you’re reading, click an ad to say thanks.”

In the view that the company or blogger will pocket your click cost from the advertiser.

But LEON Bailey Green says…

“If you like what you’re reading, keep coming back. And click on an advert IF you like it.”

So what are the effects of the visitor, webmaster and advertiser?

Read my article ‘How else can Google ascertain relevancy?’ on E-Consultancy.