Google’s Penguin Strikes Out

The other day I was in my webmasters tools area when I saw that I had a notification. I opened it up and read that one of my sites was “Flagged” due to having some links on “KNOWN” to be considered bad sites.

The fact was I have not even hardly blinked an eye at this site for over 2 years now.

And…

I resent the fact that links coming “in” to my site can damage my rankings. Anyone who is in the SEO business or people wanting to rank their sites high in Google can easily post links to their competitors websites on sites that are not approved of by Google.

And…

How the heck can any one gain control of the “world wide web” of links gone outta control?

Anyway… so after reading this message and feeling my face get hot as the tension between my eye-brows started to grow, I thought, “Hm… I wonder if my site is not even ranking” in Google’s search.

I surfed on over to Google and typed in the top keyword my site is focused on and Viola! There it was ranking on page one about the forth site down.

???

You know what?

I am sick and tired of SEO, Google, and don’t even get me started on the OXY-MORONIC way that the world wide web is Google’s playground and while they DO help us find what we’re searching for, I’m sorry, THEY have links pointing to their own search engine sitting on KNOWN bad sites. I’m SURE of that!

PLUS, I KNOW they have tons of sites that have violated the copyrights of millions of people’s work.

And… while every image they add to their image directory does link back to the website where it was snatched… the fact is that many of THOSE images are violating copyright laws and Google contines to rank those sites that have those copyright images. I guess now we call it, “Sharing”.

AND…

AND…

(((((SIGH)))))

Never mind… I need to get back to work.

Deep breath… in…. out…. relax…. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I LOVE and HATE Google.

While Google is seeking to be helpful, they themselves are very guilty of the very things they try to avoid, ban, and play around with in their cute and cuddly named algorithms.

Where would Google be without US? HM?

What do YOU think?

Breath in…. breath out…. relax…. (deeeeep breath)

Google Chrome OS (operating system)

Is Google Taking Over the WWW?

What is Google’s Chrome OS? What does it do? Why do we “need or want” it?

Basically, Googles new OS makes your life on the Internet much faster and safe.

Music, movies, interaction with friends, documents, games, and email all done where?

Not on your PC, but stored online.

It’s called “Stateless”, meaning, it’s in cyber-space, not stored on your PC, not stored on your cell phone, it’s stored in cyber-space online.

So, Chrome OS is like this massive “external” hard-drive that stores all YOUR data. That includes all the above stuff, you know, email, games, video etc…

So, if you install Chrome OS on your PC, what that means is that your computer no longer has to boot-up all the applications that it requires in order to actually “work” for you. Or rather, allow you to work “on it”.

The most appealing thing about Chrome OS is that you can work very fast. The second appealing aspect of this OS is that any virus that comes along is actually going to be attacking Google’s OS, not your PC or phone OS.

HUH?

Yah, it’s very cool.

Now let’s consider how this could be a sneaky “Darth Vader” approach to “owing” our minds, our hearts, our….

Souls!

Lol…

Or maybe I should say, “Mawahahahaha ha ha ha!!!!”

I’ve noticed a Trend, if you will.

You may have noticed it too. You see, I’m really quite computer and Internet savvy. My brain has been online since just about the birth of the Internet so some of these concepts are easy for me to follow.

However, I have many friends who can barely “text” and think the Internet is for playing games, watching videos, and sharing pictures with friends. Along with the occasional “annoyance” where they put my email in a group and send me some ridiculous hyper-forwarded sillyness that I have zero time and even less interest in reading.

Anyway, it’s these non-tech-savvy friends that I have noticed are adding me to their “Google+ Circles”. Yah, I know! What the heck?

My friends are happily uprooting themselves from Facebook and are now [hilight color="FFFF00"]finding tremendous bliss within the iCoud[/hilight] which includes – Google+, Chrome, Youtube, Gmail, and the list goes on and on and on…

This is why I am writing you today about this Trending Google+ thing. You may have noticed that a few posts back, maybe 5 or so, I wrote about how Google was going to over-take Facebook.

I mean, I have been keeping a very suspicious eye on Google and their cleverly-cloaked Darth-Vadar move on sucking the world into their user-friendly world-wide-web.

I mean, from where I sit I see Google actually taking over the Internet like it’s their own personal “INTERNET”.

Am I making sense here? Perhaps there are sounds of crickets in the background as I look into the cyber-crowd of eyes staring at their screens thinking, or “NOT” thinking, “Chrisi… what are you talking about?”

Think about this…

Google “OWNS” the search engine market. Yah, like well over 60%, perhaps as high as 80%.

Google “OWNS” the media market, you know, YOUTUBE.

And NOW, Google wants to “OWN” your PC and your PHONE by “allowing” you to store all your …. “everything” on their OS.

Make sense?

So, while I am in LOVE with this Google Chrome OS idea, I’m very suspicious of where we’re all heading. Perhaps Google is really not a company of happy earthlings, but rather a happy well-masked group of aliens who are slowly but surly burrowing their way into our “brains” brilliantly disguised as helpful, lovable, wonderfully fluffy-like Pooh-bear humans.

The question is not whether or not Google+ (yah, I know I took a while to get back to that) is going to take over Facebook. Perhaps the question we should truly be asking ourselves is…

When Google finally has finished planting us firmly in it’s Google-Kingdom, exactly what is it going to start REAPING from US?
What do YOU think it means?

Confused About SEO, Article Marketing

& Driving Traffic to Your Site?

Perhaps you’re confused about search engine traffic now that the big Panda (PA)  is watching your every move.

Do you find yourself wondering if article marketing still works or if it’s worth it to comment on other blogs.

What about paying for SEO? Is there an SEO service that you can trust? One that is not outdated?

These are questions that can be very confusing and basically you will find many different opinions on what works and what doesn’t.

If this is the case, what do you do to improve your traffic? You can download this FREE traffic guide – Click Here.

Here’s what I personally think about traffic.

==> I have learned that it’s not a good idea to rely on a single source for your traffic. Your traffic should be coming from Facebook, Twitter, Google, Youtube, other websites and from other peoples recommendations.

==> Do NOT fear the Panda algorithm. If you have fear of getting banned by Google, it’s time to go directly to Matt Cutts videos and take some time to see what Matt says about quality content.

Basically, you want quality content on YOUR SITE. You want to offer superb benefits to your visitors. And the first thing people should see on your site are a few of those benefits above the fold. That is pretty much at the top of your website.

When it comes to SEO, be sure to work with some basic on-page SEO guidelines. While you always want to put your visitor first, you also need to be sure that search engines can understand what your website niche is as well as what every page of your site is highlighting.

Stick to a single niche and don’t try to cover everything within that niche. It’s not only confusing for the search engines, it can be confusing to your visitors.

What About SEO and Backlinks?

Article marketing STILL works in helping improve your rankings. I know this is true as it’s been helping my clients move up in the rankings.

Press Releases are also helpful to drive traffic, but it is not long lasting. However, it still helps improve your overall rankings.

Forum backlinking… there is so much spamming via this method that I have to admit I really don’t know if it helps anymore. I would recommend caution here.

Blog commenting. Blog commenting can actually improve your traffic if the comments are good. This is time consuming but it can be quite helpful. Paying for spam blog comments has never shown me that it’s worth the money. I’d rather spend my money on article marketing.

Social Traffic

There are many ways to use social traffic. I think you can truly gain a huge benefit from both Facebook and Twitter regarding your traffic if you build it with a targeted market. Building this type of traffic using some types of auto-generated methods may not prove to be as successful.

However, there are wonderful WP plugins now that will help you generate great traffic and even have that traffic go viral if you use it well.

You can use plugins that require your visitors to LIKE your page, Tweet about it, or even join your list before they “get” something on that page. There is even a script that will “give” away a freebie if your visitors share your page with their friends via email.

As you can see there are many ways to drive traffic to your website. Relying on one method such as Google for all your traffic can truly create a huge financial disaster. Many people lost their entire means of income when Google turned on the big PA.

Lastly, it’s important to understand and really take a long look at a concept most people either ignore because they don’t entirely get it, or simply do not believe it it.

What is it?

It is understanding the value of outsourcing.

Think of it this way. How many people do you think it takes to run a MacDonalds Restaurant?

One? That’s absurd isn’t it?

The best way to build a business online is to take every dollar earned and invest it into “growing” your business by outsourcing.

The best business to build is the one that can be built by getting paid to provide a service.

The best service to provide is one that you can make money paying someone else to do the work.

Get paid $100.00 to provide a service where you can pay someone else $25.00 to do the work.

Make sense?

Hope so.

[arrow style="3.gif" alignment="center"]

This is a simple post here. A lot of people spend quite a bit of time on Facebook. There are some people who spend most of their time on FB playing games like FarmVille or other such games.

How about YOU? Click this link or the image above and take the survey. Submit your email and see if you can qualify for a $150.00 gift certificate.

I personally use FB for business and every now and then I check in on my personal FB page to read a message or two but I think it’s been over a month since I’ve visited that site.

Click here and check out how other people are feeling about FB.

[font family="Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif" size="20" color="DE0202" textshadow="0" alignment="center" weight="bold" style="italic" lineheight="110"]What If  Google REALLY Shut Down Tomorrow?[/font]

In fact, Google  blocked out it’s logo and Wikipedia, and the Warrior Forum plus other popular sites shut down for an entire day during the SOPA protest.

Basically what these sites were saying – IMO – is this…

[font family="Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif" size="24" color="DE0202" textshadow="0" alignment="center" weight="bold" style="italic" lineheight="110"]WE HAVE P O W E R!!! DON’T MESS WITH US![/font]

Let’s take a peek at Google for a minute here. Last year Google had a 1% loss in their earnings. Perhaps that doesn’t seem like a lot but it created some type of panic because their stock dropped by $55.00 a share!

This tiny income loss could have been due to the algorithm changes or something else. I’m really not savvy in that area. But I do know that even little errors can create a big bang all around the world. We live in a world that is so connected, these big companies really can’t make too many mistakes before people start to panic or stop using them.

A few days ago there was the SOPA protest. Google was smart in that they did not shut down their search engine, they simply blocked out their logo to show their protest. If they had shut down for just a single day who knows what would have happened. People may have gone to Yahoo or Bing for their searches. Perhaps deciding not to return to Google.

Remember when the Netflix CEO made the mistake of trying to separate their mailing DVD option with their Streaming online option? Whoa! That CEO did a lot of back peddling trying to overcome the huge protesting that went on for that mistake.

Next… let’s look at the Warrior Forum. A lot of people spent money on solo ads and other advertising that was totally wasted due to the Warrior Forum protesting SOPA by shutting down. Oh the screaming and pounding of the keyboards that happened that day!

What impact did this have on YOU?

Perhaps not much. In fact, it really didn’t effect me personally at all. However, it did make me think.

Never place ALL your financial eggs in one basket. We really should have learned this last year when Google made some serious changes to their algorithm calling it the Panda. These changes actually had a huge impact as many people lost their entire source of income overnight.

There are several lessons to be learned here.

1. Do NOT rely on Google or any ONE source for your traffic. At any time this traffic can be taken away should that source be taken offline or worse, totally eliminated.

2. Do NOT rely on a single asset for your financial successes.

Those of us who work offline have little choices when it comes to how we grow our financial assets. Yet, there are a few options. One of them is to build assets online. Or, use the Internet as a way to build an offline business that melds the two together.

For instance, building mobile websites or creating videos, writing articles etc…

In the beginning you will want to focus on one thing. If you don’t you’ll end up in a cycle of always searching, never doing.

However, once you have something worth while going. Be sure to save your money and then continue to build more assets. That way if one fails, another can take it’s place.

]]> http://netwoozy.com/google-sopa-shut-down.html/feed 0 http://netwoozy.com/internet-tools-and-surprizes.html http://netwoozy.com/internet-tools-and-surprizes.html#comments Sat, 17 Dec 2011 14:22:51 +0000 smuigal http://netwoozy.com/?p=938 Google Plus Video and Step by Step Training Guide]]>

Bending the Web – Our Minds – Reality

I really enjoy keeping a close watch on Google and all the improvements they are making. The apps they have developed are a great help for all Internet users. I’ve been so busy that I have not been able to give Netwoozy anything new lately, but I’ve been taking notes.

There is one VITAL bit of news you NEED to really have sink into your brain. . .

Google Plus is on the raise and it is a smashing way to increase traffic to your websites, blogs etc… and it is a seriously great way to start making money online. Check out the step by step guide and video tutorials here — > Google Plus Video and Step by Step Training Guide

This year in 2011, Google’s Chrome browser jumps ahead of Firefox as the most used web browser 25.69% to Firefoxes 25.23.

Here’s some of the highlights:

The Google Toolbar with a Drop Down Menu

This is a great little addition to your web browser. The new toolbar just takes up the space of an icon instead of an entire row.  You can snag this Google Toolbar here.

Google and Yahoo – Tablet Friendly

Both of these search engines have adapted to the Smart Phone and Tablet. I recently purchased an iPad 2 during Black Friday and was really happy to see Google had done this.

What is shocking to me is that a lot of people in business today have not had a mobile website created for their business. With people using the Internet for local searches it is vital that you have a mobile friendly website as well as basic website for all Internet users.

Bending Technology – TV Becomes Reality

“Samsung has released a video showcasing the potential future look and feel of computer technology, using an ultra-thin and flexible screen technology.”  Read the full story.

It’s hard to believe but Samsung has a flexible OLED touchscreen technology that people will be jumping through hoops as high as the moon to get. I mean who wouldn’t want to own a bendable phone, tablet or PC that you can roll up and toss in a smaller bag. A computer that weights… well, hardly anything.

If you’ve watched the TV show Terra Nova you’ve seen these futuristic looking tablets on TV. I don’t know if those are the real deal or just some special effects, but it looks like it is now a real deal.

Years ago I used to build websites using a WISIWYG html editor like FrontPage or Dreamweaver. It was a pain even with the WISIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor.

Then somewhere along the line I was introduced to WordPress and I have to say that with all the wonderful plugins that you can get with this program, WordPress is in my opinion one of the best ways to build a website or blog.

The most recent plugins that I have purchased are CommentLuv Premium, and Google Plus Poster. I have been busy so have yet to install the GPPoster, but I will get to it soon.

Anyway, there are some very important plugins that you should have installed if you are a blogger. I decided to list a few of them in this post today. You can watch a video that really brings out the importance and reasons for installing social plugins like CommentLuv, click here to watch the video now.

This list is not in any particular order of importance.

1. CommentLuv Premium – There is a free version, but there are just so many great benefits to the paid version it’s well worth the price to get it.  One of the more specific reasons to get this plugin is due to the increase in comments and the community spirit for the thousands of blogs that have installed it. Andy created many great videos to help us understand the real power of this plugin. I highly recommend you watch them to get a clear idea of why it is truly one of the top plugins for WordPress to own.

2. Google Analytics – The Google Analytics for WordPress plugin allows you to track your blog easily and with lots of metadata.

3. All In One SEO – This plugin helps you create a SEO friendly post. Includes adding in your meta description, tags,  and keywords. There is actually a more powerful SEO plugin called, HeadSpace -, which I have not had time yet to fully grasp all that it can do, but if you have a techi spirit, I believe this is a far better plugin than All In One SEO.

4. TweetMeme – There are many ways to add in a Twitter button, this is a nice and quick way for your readers to retweet your post.

5.  SuperCache – (Updated) This is the recommended WP Plugin for this chore over W3 Total Cache and QuickCache.

This WordPress plugin  makes your pages load  faster and stores static versions of your site which means it requires much less CPU processing than using WordPress all by itself.

There are plenty more great WP plugins, but this is my short list of must-haves.  In addition to these I would recommend you get to know Google+ the new social network online. It’s very much like Facebook and not like Facebook. That’s where the learning more about it comes in.

I believe a really good WP plugin to have is the Google+Poster which will automatically add a little snippet of your posted articles to your Google+ account. It also ads in a link to your post as well. Google+ is going to really be “THE Social Network of 2012″.

As I have time I’m going to be making a greater effort to learn more about this new network. There is in fact so many different apps that are intertwined within the Google network it’s almost it’s own Internet all by itself

How to Build Your Success Online

The Yo-Yo is a No-No

It is hard to know what works and what doesn’t until you jump in and try a few things. It’s understandable that you will most likely make several attempts at building your online business and fail to follow through. This does not mean you are a failure. It can take time to find the path to success you are most comfortable following.

The problem is many people get into a habit of this. They simply jump from one program to the next without ever taking action or following through with any particular game plan. If you never take action, or follow through with any particular plan, you will never find a successful plan to follow.

I found success with Adsense, but I failed to really see what I had and sold it. I have another site that has the same potential as the one I sold for $1400.00, however, right now, I do not have time to work on it. However, I am not abandoning it. I am setting it aside for the time when I have the money to outsource the work to building it up.

Reinvesting into Your Business

Every dollar you earn online can be spent or saved. It is up to you to decide how much of it you can afford to reinvest into your online business. However, it is vital that you do not reinvest your money into learning.

If you have a successful business, reinvest your money into that business. Outsourcing is one way to reinvest into your business.

Treating Our Online Business Like a Real Business Not a Hobby

Imagine going into work one day and saying to your boss, “Hey Boss, I’m going to just hang out and chat with my buddies on Facebook for about 20 minutes, then maybe kick back and watch a few YouTube videos on last nights game. Maybe around noon I’ll get to that report you need. How’s that sound?”

Sounds like you’re about to be fired.

It’s really important that we consider our online business as a real business. Since we are our own boss, we can be far too lenient. This is why it is so important to have a SMART game plan.

To be successful online requires focus, determination, and discipline. They key is to realize that while it can be simple, it is not always easy because it is truly up to us to make it work.

Read this series from the beginning

Part 1 – How to Be Successful Online

Part 2 - How to Build Success

Part 3 – Where to Focus Your Time and Money

Has this series prompted any thoughts? Share your thoughts below. We’ve all been there and done that!

Where to Focus Your Time & Money

100% Guaranteed to Work or Your Money Back

I have YET to see an offer online through Clickbank or the Warrior Forum that is not guaranteed to work or you get your money back. If there is not at least a 30 day money back guarantee, avoid it. Typically you will get your money back if you are not satisfied if you spend your money on any programs delivered via Paypal, Clickbank, and the Warrior Forum.

So, 3 rules of thumb here.

1. Follow the plan, if it doesn’t work, get your money back.
2. Follow the plan, if you quit or don’t even try, don’t ask for your money back.
3. Don’t request a refund after reading the guide and deciding you’re too lazy to take action.

So don’t be afraid to jump in and try something new. Just be sure you’re ready to take action on this new thing you’re about ready to learn.

Where to Focus Your Time

This is really a question of where is your time best spent. The most important thing is to have a clear idea of where your focus should be. You don’t want to be jumping all over the place. Work on one project at a time.
Getting to Attached to a Failing Niche or Program

Another thing we can do is really grow attached to our blog or websites to the point where even when they are clearly not working, we continue to try and force the square peg into the round hole. Sometimes the niche we selected just isn’t working and we just have to call it quits.

Are You Wasting Time Online?

The Internet can take us down two paths. One of them is just like the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. We can get lost reading blog posts, forum threads, watching videos, or chatting with friends. That rabbit hole is deep, dark, and can suck up your time with the power of a jet engine.

Your resistant is futile!

Allowing yourself a few minutes of distraction can lead you down that hole very fast. Avoid it. Set time aside for this rabbit hole. And that time really should be set aside for when you are finished with your daily goals that lead to profits, not pleasurable distraction.

On the other hand, the Internet can take you down a highly profitable path if you pay attention, set goals and stick to your goals. Some people have 1 hour a day to devote to their new Internet business. That’s just 7 hours a week. What can you really accomplish in 7 hours?

Option One – You can learn a new skill.
Option Two – You can work for 7 hours and get paid for your time. Then invest your money where it will have the most ROI. Perhaps you could spend $10.00 on the guide, then take your money you earned and hire someone else to do the work.

Outsourcing Offers an ROI of Endless Possibilities

This is by far one of the most valuable ways to spend your money. It offers a huge ROI if you invest wisely. It may take some time to work your way into affording it, but it is well worth it. As an example,  last year I had two SEO clients who paid me a total of $1,000 a month. I spent $200.00 a month in software and outsourcing the work. I personally spent two hours per client managing those accounts. That’s $800.00 for 4 total hours of work.

This is just an example of how outsourcing can work for you.

Read Part 1 – How to Build Success, Start With Specific goals

Read Part 2 – How to Manage your Time Money & Procrastination

How to Build Success – Part 2

Today we’ll talk about managing our time. SMART – Specific we covered in Part 1, today we will cover the “M” in the SMART system, so managing our time. If you missed Part 1, you can read it by clicking here.

Training and Research

My research is divided into several time zones. I call them zones because they are separated and I don’t want them to mix. Some of the research I do is vital to my work, other research I do is non essential to my success.

1. Researching a new article I want to write for a new post to my blog or for guest posting. This is something that is part of my workday. But I have to be very careful as it can lead me down the rabbit hole. I have to really focus to avoid that hole.
2. Researching a new idea for a product I want to sell. This type of research is not allowed unless my work for the day is done.
3. Researching for fun. This is almost never an option. If I want to have fun, it’s pretty much not happening via the Internet. I’d rather play racquetball, hike, watch TV, or go to the movies. So, I avoid YouTube because there are just too many cute, funny, and amazing videos on YouTube.

Those are some examples of how I divide up my time and prioritize my day.

The point is, set goals and stick to your goals. When you work without goals, it’s like sailing without a compass in the fog. You will never have a clear direction of where you are going or how you will get there. Failure loves to hang out in the fog.

It Takes Money to Make It

This is a true statement. But you can manage the way you work with this issue. You can either save a little money from your offline work or work online where the opportunity to get paid for your time is 100% guaranteed.

Avoid getting into debt to make money online as there are no guarantees you will be able to pay it back before things get out of hand.

You can make money online by doing simple chores that generate enough money to buy a How-To guide within your budget. Be selective when choosing how to make your first dollar online. There are many excellent tutorials that teach you how to make money online are less than $10.00.

You can earn $10.00 within an hour to pay for these inexpensive guides that you want to buy. There are three websites online dedicated to paying you for doing specific chores online.

• Fiverr.com – You decide what you’re willing to do for five bucks ($4.00 after Fiverr fees) and you get paid after you have done the job. Some of these jobs are incredibly easy to do or learn. There are plenty of Fiverr YouTube videos to help you get started.
• iWriter.com – This site pays you to write articles. It takes about 15 or so articles to earn about $20.00. It may take you 5 or more hours to generate your first $20.00, but it’s not a loan, it’s money you can spend on your first guide.
• Mturk.com – Mechanical Turk is a site run by Amazon.com. You will need to visit that site to really understand how it works, but people pay for all sorts of things that they need done. Some of these jobs are stupidly simple like clicking on a Facebook Like button for .05 cents. But if it’s something you can do and watch TV at the same time, it’s a far better idea of how to pay for that $9.00 guide, than using your credit card.

No Excuses – Work & Get Paid

There are so many people who become insanely upset and frustrated because of not earning a dime from all of their hard work and time put into trying to make money online. However, you can be a total newb, without any skills on creating a website, blog, or product, and visit any of those 3 websites I mentioned above and start making money.

Yes, it’s work. But the pay is almost 100% guaranteed. You simply cannot fail if you do the work you promise to do. I think anyone can click on a few LIKE buttons, write 20 blog comments, or watch a free video and learn how to do a simple chore that someone needs done on Fiverr.

Think of it this way. You could spend 10 hours learning how to set up a WordPress blog to make money in Adsense. Or you could spend 10 hours in Fiverr doing a variety of Gig’s that generate a few hundred dollars. 100% ROI on your time. Learning has a 0% ROI on your time.

Read Part 1