Search Engine Marketing: Traffic Generation & Content Distribution
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Welcome to the first in a series of posts about Search Engine Marketing and content distribution. There will be three posts in this series, and over the course of those posts, you’ll discover what Search Engine Marketing is, why you need to do it, what it entails, and what your different options are for handling it. There’s a lot involved here, but I’m going to try to make this as simple as possible so that we can all share some really good information … and we can all have a lot of fun.
So … let’s get to it right at the very beginning …
Traffic Generation vs. Worthwhile Traffic Generation
So here we are at the very beginning. You’ve got your own domain name and your first web site is all set up. You’ve got a form on your site to start collecting names and building a really good online mailing list. Now … let’s get going and do …
What? What do we need to do now? This is really where most people get into trouble.
Obviously, we need to encourage and invite visitors to our website! We need TRAFFIC! And … there are many different ways to get visitors to your site.
However, I’m here to tell you that not all visitors are the same. There’s traffic … and then there’s targeted traffic … and then there’s highly targeted traffic.
What’s the difference? The difference is that simple traffic … untargeted but easy to obtain … is useless and a waste of time. There are TONS of sources of untargeted or barely targeted traffic. If you’ve been around online for any length of time you’ve probably used many of them. Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of un-targeted traffic. I believe it’s a total waste of time!
Look, simple traffic is easy. I could go to a “traffic company” right now and buy a “package” of “traffic” made up of “guaranteed visitors” to my website. In fact, I could go order 1,000,000 visitors to my site right now, and do it for somewhere under $200. I could also take that money and flush it down the toilet … and I wouldn’t have to fill out any forms to get rid of the cash that way.
I think I’ll take the toilet choice there, because I know just how useless that type of un-targeted traffic is. It’s completely pointless and a waste of your time, money and resources. If you opt in for something like that … sure … you’ll get a million visitors to your site. They’ll pop on … and pop off within 30 seconds. Why? Because they have no interest in what you have to offer … they were incentivized somehow by the “traffic company” to visit your site for some kind of credit. They are absolutely worthless to you.
So what else can I do here? Well, I could also buy a ton of “Leads” and dump them into my autoresponders! WHEEEE!
Well, again we have problems. First off you run the very great danger of being labeled a “spammer” and having your business shut down. Secondly, you’ve got just about the same quality prospect as with the buying traffic strategy. Leads you purchase have not expressed ANY interest in YOU or what YOU have to offer. They’ve simply responded … somewhere and sometime … that yes, they might like to look at something somewhat similar to what you offer. They also might have been incentivized somehow to make that response.
In both cases you’re simply not dealing with YOUR true buyers or prospects. You’re dealing with massive amounts of people that might contain one or two that are right for you, but that’s all. This kind of strategy to develop traffic and build your list is a useless waste of time, money, and resources.
Dont’ do it.
Remember this: It’s much better to have a very active list of 500 contacts than to have a list of 500,000 people who couldn’t care less.
Search Engine Marketing
So … how do we make contact with the folks online who are actually looking for what WE have to offer?
Search Engine Marketing. This is a simple concept and a simple process that most people never really master. It involves strategies designed to make something like this happen:
Joe is in need of a podsnap. Now don’t worry about what a podsnap is … all that matters is that Joe needs one. 
So … Joe goes to Google and does some research. First he asks Google, “What is a podsnap?”. And he finds his answer.
Then he asks Google, “Where can I find the best podsnap?”
Now this is where it gets interesting … because if you’re a podsnap dealer, and you have a really good podsnap available … it’s fairly simple for YOUR website to pop up right on the first page when Joe asks Google his final, BUYING question.
Now what happens? What kind of visitor is Joe when he reaches your website? Joe is a highly targeted prospect … one who is ready to buy, or join, and who has his credit card sitting next to him while he’s on your site.
This is the type of visitor … and the type of traffic … we want to create. And make no mistakes, you don’t have to generate tens of thousands of hits to your site … if the hits you DO generate are highly targeted and the result of someone searching specifically for what YOU have. Twenty or thirty visits daily from really qualified people coming from search engines is GREAT Traffic!
So, let’s say we agree we want to do search engine marketing. How do we make that happen? How do we get our site to pop up on Google’s first page?
Content Distribution
Search engine marketing and search engine ranking all depend on content distribution. If you want to get your site highly ranked on Google or Yahoo … and dominating the search pages for your chosen keywords (the words that tie Joe’s Google search to your particular product or opportunity) … you need to do two simple things:
1- Create content in the form of articles, videos, blog posts, podcasts, etc., and do it in massive amounts on a regular basis.
2- Distribute that content to as many highly ranked authority sites as you can all over the Internet.
Now, that process is called “backlinking”, and it is the most effective way of creating traffic to your site … and having it be the kind of traffic you want.
There are many different areas of this process we could discuss. We could get into the creation of your content, different ways to maximize your output of content, the pros and cons of various types of content, and … a really important one here … the ins and outs of keyword research. However, that is not going to be the focus of this particular series of posts. We’ll get into all of those eventually, but right now I want to focus on one thing: content distribution.
There’s something you need to understand about content distribution: It’s tedious, mind-numbing, and BOOOOORRRRRING!
That’s it. That’s the truth, and there’s nothing more to say about it. BUT … and this is one of those BIG BUTS … it has to be done.
Over the course of this series of posts, we will discuss various means of maximizing your content distribution efforts and minimizing the boredom and time involved. But, for today we’re going to conclude here by handling the most basic of questions: Just where do I distribute my stuff?
Content Distribution Sites
All right. Without going into too find a detail here, this is a list of sites that I recommend you should use as content distribution points for your various types of content. The list is long, and I could have made it a downloadable file, I suppose, but I think it’s better this way although it makes the post rather long.
At any rate … here ya go. If you take every piece of content … every article, video, blog post, podcast, etc. … and post them at their respective sites … all of their respective sites … and then CROSS-post those sites to other sites on the list … you’ll be building a huge web of links and backlinks … and you’ll see your Alexsa rankings increase while you jump onto the first page of Google for your chosen keywords.
==============================================================
Content Submission Sites
Article Marketing
Ezine Articles: http://ezinearticles.com/
iSnare: http://www.isnare.com/
Articles Base: http://www.articlesbase.com/
Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/
Search Warp: http://searchwarp.com/
ArticleAlley.com: http://articlealley.com/
GoArticles.com: http://goarticles.com/
Web-Source.net: http://web-source.net/
Article Set.com: http://www.articleset.com/
WebProNews.com: http://www.webpronews.com/
Articles Dashboard: http://www.articledashboard.com/
Knol: http://knol.google.com/
eHow: http://eHow.com
Micro Blogging
Twitter: http://twitter.com
Plurk: http://www.plurk.com/
Jaiku: http://www.jaiku.com/
Plinky: http://www.plinky.com/
Yonkly: http://yonkly.com
Koornk: http://koornk.com/
Social Bookmarking
Digg: http://digg.com
StumbleUpon: http://StumbleUpon.com
Mixx.com: http://Mixx.com
Yahoo Buzz: http://buzz.yahoo.com/
Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/
Technorati: http://www.technorati.com/
Delicious: http://delicious.com/
Kaboodle: http://www.kaboodle.com/
Propeller: http://www.propeller.com/
NewsVine: http://www.newsvine.com/
2collab.2collab.com: http://www.2collab.com/
A1-Webmarks.com: http://www.a1-webmarks.com/
Ambedo.com: http://ambedo.com/
Bibsonomy.org: http://www.bibsonomy.org/
Blinklist.com: http://blinklist.com/
Bookmarks.yahoo.com: http://bookmarks.yahoo.com
Chipmark.com: http://chipmark.com
Cloudytags.com: http://cloudytags.com
Connotea.org: http://connotea.org
Diigo.com: http://Diigo.com
Dzone.com: http://Dzone.com
Fark.com: http://fark.com
Faves.com: http://faves.com
Google Bookmarks: http://www.google.com/bookmarks/
Mylinkvault.com: http://mylinkvault.com
Netvouz.com: http://netvouz.com
Searchles.com: http://searchles.com
Simpy.com: http://simpy.com
Folkd.com: http://www.folkd.com/
Clipmarks.com: http://www.clipmarks.com/
Buddymarks.com: http://buddymarks.com/
Spurl.net: http://www.spurl.net/
Bookmark Tracker.com: http://www.bookmarktracker.com/
Bookmarksync: http://www.bookmarksync.com/
Fleck.com: http://fleck.com/
Sphinn.com: http://sphinn.com/
Linkagogo.com: http://www.linkagogo.com/go/Home
BookKit.com: http://bookkit.com/
JumpTags.com: http://www.jumptags.com/
BookMax.net: http://www.bookmax.net/
MyPip.co : http://www.mypip.com/index.html
Bookmarking tools
Only Wire: http://onlywire.com
Social Marker: http://socialmarker.com
Social Networking
Facebook: http://facebook.com
MySpace: http://myspace.com
Hi5: http://hi5.com/
43Things.com: http://www.43things.com/
Xanga: http://xanga.com
Classmates.com: http://classmates.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/home
Plaxo: http://plaxo.com
CafeMom: http://cafemom.com
Friendster: http://friendster.com
Reunion.com: http://reunion.com
Bebo: http://bebo.com
Orkut: http://orkut.com
Ryze: http://www.ryze.com/
Snapvine: http://www.snapvine.com/
Social Content
HubPages: http://hubpages.com
Ning: http://ning.com
Gather: http://gather.com
Squidoo: http://squidoo.com
Tumblr: http://tumblr.com
Scribd: http://scribd.com
Zimbio: http://zimbio.com
9Rules: http://9rules.com
eHow: http://www.ehow.com/
Yahoo answers: http://answers.yahoo.com/
AnswerBag: http://www.answerbag.com/
MyEbook.com: http://myebook.com
Press Releases
PRLog: http://prlog.com
1888 Press Release.com: http://www.1888pressrelease.com/
24/7 Press Release: http://www.24]7pressrelease.com/index.php
BizEurope.com : http://www.bizeurope.com/pressrelease.htm
eCommWire.com : http://ecommwire.com/
Express Press Release.com: http://express-press-release.net
Free News Release.com: http://www.free-news-release.com/
Free Press Release.com: http://www.free-press-release.com/
Free Press Release Center: http://www.free-press-release-center.info/
FreePressIndex.com : http://freepressindex.com/
FreePressRelease.co.cc : No prescription cialis target=”_blank”>http://www.freepressrelease.com.au/index.asp
FreePressReleases.co.uk : http://www.freepressreleases.co.uk/
Newswire.com: http://www.newswire.com
IndiaPRWire.com : http://www.indiaprwire.com/
MediaSyndicate.com : http://www.newswiretoday.com/index.php
MyFreePR.com : http://www.myfreepr.com/
NewswireToday.com : http://www.newswiretoday.com/index.php
PageRelease.com : http://www.pagerelease.com/
PR.com : http://www.pr.com/
PR9.net : http://www.pr9.net/
PRCompass.com : http://www.prcompass.com/
PRlog.com : http://www.prlog.org/
PRurgent.com : http://prurgent.com/
PRzoom.com : http://www.przoom.com/index.php
PressAbout.com : http://www.pressabout.com/
PressBox.co.uk: http://www.pressbox.co.uk/
PressFlow.co.uk : http://www.pressflow.co.uk./
PressReleasePoint.com : http://www.pressreleasepoint.com/prpage
TechPRSpider.com : http://www.techprspider.com/AddFeed.aspx
TheOpenPress.com : http://theopenpress.com/index.php?a=index
Podcast Directories
http://video.search.yahoo.com/mrss/submit
http://everypodcast.com/add.php
http://getapodcast.com/AddFeed.aspx
http://www.mirpod.com/rubrique.php?id_rubrique=2&lang=en
http://www.podblaze.com/directory_submit.php
http://www.thepodlounge.com/add_podcast
http://www.allpodcasts.com/PingAll/Default.aspx
http://www.plazoo.com/en/addrss.asp
http://podcastpup.com/addpodcastform.asp
http://podcastlikethat.com/ping
http://www.podcastblaster.com/directory/add-podcast/
http://www.podcastfusion.com/fs/addPodcast.asp
http://www.podcasting-station.com/submitrss.php
http://www.podfeed.net/add_podcast.asp
http://www.rss-network.com/submitrss.php
Video Hosting/Sharing
YouTube: http://youtube.com
Google Video: http://www.google.com/video/
VidLife: http://www.vidilife.com/
510Video: http://www.510video.com/
BoFunk: http://www.bofunk.com/
Clipser: http://www.clipser.com/
DailyMotion: http://www.dailymotion.com/
Esnips: http://www.esnips.com/
Kewego: http://www.kewego.com/
LiveVideo: http://www.livevideo.com/
MegaVideo: http://megavideo.com/
Metacafe: http://www.metacafe.com/
MotionBox: http://www.motionbox.com/
Revver: http://revver.com/
Veoh: http://www.veoh.com/
Yahoo video: http://video.yahoo.com/
Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/
SeverLoad.com: http://en.sevenload.com/
(Uploading) Tube Mogul: http://tubemogul.com
Photo Sharing
Flickr: http://flickr.com
PhotoBucket: http://photobucket.com/
My Photo Album: http://myphotoalbum.com
Picassa: http://picassa.google.com
PhotoApe: http://photoape.com
WebShots: http://webshots.com
Document Hosting/Sharing
Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/
Docstoc: http://www.docstoc.com/
Classified Ads
USFreeAds: http://www.usfreeads.com/
Free Advertising Forum: http://www.freeadvertisingforum.com/
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Well, there you have it.
Content Distribution Software and Outsourcing
Now, there’s lots of ways you can mitigate what, I do realize, is a huge list of places to go and mount content … and then turn around and interconnect that content. I know that lots of you reading this now have your eyes crossed and are saying to yourselves, “OMG! I can’t see myself doing all that!”.
Well, that’s fine. In future posts in this series we’ll talk about what your options are. We’ll go into great depths about the do’s and don’ts of automation and the pro’s and con’s of outsourcing. However, we’ve covered enough for one day and one post. This is supposed to be simple, friendly information … not War and Peace … LOL.
So … inclosing for today … I invite you to do two things:
1: If you’re interested in just how I automate my distribution process and want to cut right to the chase … CLICK HERE FOR TRAFFIC MAGNET.
2: If you’re interested in finding out about Outsourcing your website creation, content creation, content distribution, or keyword research needs, please use the Contact Me page on this website. Provide me with your email and phone number or SKYPE id, and I’ll contact you. I’m just in the process … along with a couple of other folks … of establishing a company devoted to providing just those services. Our company will be called Online Techniques, and I’d be glad to talk with you about it.
So … that’s it for now. This brings to a close the first in this Series. In Part 2 we’ll discuss the pro’s and con’s of automation: how much is too much? So please, stay tuned and re-visit us in a couple of days when that post is up. If you haven’t yet subscribed to my mailing list, please do so. That way you’re always informed of a new post.
Hope this has been useful and helpful. As always, if you have any questions, contact me at any time. I’m here to help if I can!
Have a GREAT Day!
Steve Gaghagen
Internet Marketing Expert and Trainer
Big Bear Lake, California
steve@stevegaghagen.com
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Your blog is nice traffic lots traffic.
Hey Fern … Thanks for visiting and the nice comment. Always good to see you here.
Howdy Steve,
Another great post as usual! This is a true reality check for anyone who is struggling to generate quality traffic to their site. It does take work and persistence, and it can be quite boring, but that’s why it is called “Working Online”… someone must do the work that is needed to make things happen! Keep up the great work Steve!
Thanks again,
Doug Casady
Hey Doug! Thanks! Great to see you here … and glad you like the post!
Steve I think this time you have outdone yourself. The video was ingenious, the illustration really hit home and the blog put things in perspective. You have thrown the ball, now we just have to catch it and run with it and keep the bases loaded if we want success. Lots of work but worth the effort if we want results in online marketing. Can’t wait for part 2.
Hey thanks Joan. It was really nice to hear your comment on Skype earlier about how you were connecting with this stuff. I know that a short while ago if I started talking like this … SEO … keywords … content distribution … I could see your eyes glaze over and ust feel it when I lost you.
That’s the way it is for all of us on this learning curve. But … and you said this yourself this afternoon … as long as you keep at it and DEMAND to understand … actually EXPECT to “get it” eventually … then that is what will happen.
Really glad to hear I’m finally making sense to someone … hahahaha.
Thanks, Joan!
Great blog post and important information. People have a misconception about traffic and you clarified it nicely.
Looking forward to the rest of the series!
Janet Legere
Internet Training Expert
Hey … thanks J. Actually, this seried has a bit to do with why I’ve been sort of “incommunocado” for the last few days. Turned out to be a LOT more complicated than I thought … go figure. LOL.
Anywho … thanks so much for the kind words and the visit!
Hey Steve,
Looks good and the video is well done. Grabbing people’s attention is what it is all about. I wish I had your lack of road traffic where I live,
I think you are doing a great job informing others of what it takes to get the results they want. Traffic is ABSOLUTELY number 1 when it comes to making sales.
Keep it up, you are doing everyone a service by providing this information.
JQ
Hey! Hihi JQ! I’m honored! Thanks for the nice comment and thanks much for visiting!
Steve! WOWEEEE!!!! You are spot on! BORING BORING stuff that needs to be done. Really and truly NEEDS to be done. JQ was right to but it’s not traffic like you said, it TARGETED traffic! Search Engine Marketing is like having to brush your teeth, Comb your hair ect. Easy, NECESSARY but boring. I am so looking forward to part 2 and part 3. Thank you for what you do!
Keith
Wow Keith right back! What a nice comment … thanks muchly! And thanks for visiting!
Woow, what an awesome post Steve, helpful as always! I didn’t know of so many websites we could distribute content.
And what a lovely neighborhood you have there! I wish I can live somewhere like that one day, away from the city rush.
I am looking forward for the next posts…
Have a great day and keep up the GREAT job!!
Hey Anderson … great to see you here and thanks for the comment.
Yeah … distribution sites are like lizards and snakes: if you keep turning over rocks you keep finding them … LOL. Glad you found it helpful.
I forgot to mention. I heard a rumor that you put up a road block so no cars would come through… That was smart! LOL
Hahahaha …. actually I was a few hundred feet from the end of a canyon road that turns into a dirt National Forest road. Because of the snow still in the higher elevations that road is gated off … so actually there was no place to go if you went past me … LOL. That is why I love Big Bear though. It’s usually like that all week long … ust us locals up here. Then … on the weekend … it goes NUTZ with tourists and visitors. So you get the quiet and the excitement of crowds both. I love it.
Wondered where you were hiding for a few days. Excellent post, tell it like it is!
I got carpal tunnel scrolling through the list of resources. Great job Mr. Gaghagan!
Hey Paul! Thanks for visiting! Yeah … sometimes I just kinda have to turn off the skype and the email machine and get stuff DONE! LOL. Glad you like the post … and sorry about the carpel tunnel … LOL.
Hi Steve
I enjoyed your video so much. How beautiful it is there.
I’m a bit overwelmed, but I’m sure in time I can learn all that stuff. I sure hope I don’t have to submit to ALL those sites haha!
Lokking forward to the rest of the series.
Thanks
Hey Linda … Thanks for the nice comment … and yup! Big Bear is GORGEOUS! I love it here.
BTW … the truth is … if you want good, taergeted traffic to your website … you DO have to submit to ALL of those sites. That’s why I put them there. You don’t have to do it all at once … you can start with some until you get used to them … and then add and expand … but the truth is that targeted traffic in large amounts requires MASSIVE distribution and cross-distribution of ALL your content … hopefully spun so it’s not flagged a duplication.
Yeah … I know it sounds intimidating … but that’s why they have software programs that mitigate it somewhat.
Hi Steve, Thanks for the invite. I listen to your traffic video and browsed the blog, Good Show Steve. Helpful content to the point and once you take action and do it right should work. Looking forward to the results. I will let you know. Thanks for showing the way.
Hey David! Good to see you here.
OK … no modesty now, and it’s really not “bragging” anyway … but here’s what I know: If someone does their Keyword research correctly, and designes their content around those keywords … correctly … with simple content distribution done the right way … to the right sources … I can put them on Page 1 of Google for their keywords within a few days at most. I know this. I’ve dont it. I’m doing it for myself … and a few others right now. AND … it’s FUN! … hahahahaha.
NE WAYZ … thanks for the nice comment. Glad you dropped by … and let’s talk some more soon.
Great Post… love the intro, set in the mind vividly traffic concepts. Creative, and simple,(I’ve seen some parallels that lose people) I can really tell you love what you do my friend.
Josh Andrus
Hey Josh! thanks for the visit and the great comment. Glad you could drop by!
Super post Steve, a reality check for the uninitiated,(like me). It creates interest in your next posts about how in the !@#$%^&^& does one distribute content to all of those places you listed and creates value in a service that would do that for you. You are marketing your content while teaching people how to market their content. Back to your ‘Bear’ cave so we can read the next post!!! Terry
Incredible. Keep Up The Good Work Steve. Robert
Hey Thanks Robert!
hay steve Gr8it Video i love it cann i do the same one plz it not going to harm you my freand: john papa
Hey John … thanks for the nice comment. Sure … use anything you like of mine. I’m flattered!
I love the post Steve..so many people just think getting traffic is their problem..they forget it needs to be the RIGHT traffic…BTW..love the creative video w/out the traffic..that is awesome!!
Hey Thanks Karen! Funny thing about that video is that the “no traffic” thing really didn’t cross my mind until I was in the middle of doing it and realized there was NOTHING GOING ON behind me … LOL. Serendipity! Thanks again!