Between Stations » :)

Submissions: Snake Oil

Julie — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 15:47:52 +0000

One of the top questions I get from well-intentioned new site owners concerns search engine submissions.

“I got an e-mail from a company that says they will submit me to 181 search engines for $(small amount of money). Should I do it?”

Truly, these people mean well. They see a low price tag and think/hope there might be value in it.

I always end up having to crush them. Assuming a $35 submission fee, that’s between 8 and 10 delicious gourmet schmancy coffee drinks. Mmm, caffeine.

Submission to the top 3 search engines — Google, Yahoo, and MSN — is technically unnecessary, as they’re all crawler-based, but if it makes you feel good, it can be done while drinking one of the abovementioned caffeinated treats. Yum. I actually tend to recommend submitting to MSN, because they’ve been totally irregular about indexing some of the sites I’m associated with even when we submit. Ask only recently started allowing submission, rounding out the top 4 properties.

Then, let’s look at Nielsen’s list of the top 10 search referring properties in the US, June edition. Pretty much everything in the 6 remaining entrants in the top 10 have some relationship or data feed from the top 4. So, with the top 4, you’re really probably reaching into about 96.5% of households.

So, what to do with those other 7-9 coffee drinks? I typically recommend making a coffee date with your web traffic reports, once a week, for 7-9 weeks with the rest of the money you saved by not using a submissions service. Check your referring sites and URLs. See if you see any chances for inbound link building. Get all happy inside if your search referrals start going up. Be a coffee achiever.

Minneapolis Locals: SEO Event 7/11

Julie — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 14:30:22 +0000

The Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association is sponsoring a good session on the Future of Search on July 11 at the always-posh Calhoun Beach Club.

The events are always well-run, the crunchy snacks are always crunchy and snack-like, and the cash bars tend to be pretty reasonable. The socializing is as good as you’re willing to make it.

For anyone in the area, it’s a good event to attend. I plan on making it, unless the summer sunshine beckons me too strongly to ride my bike.

Missed Opportunities in Real Estate Development

Julie — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:34:29 +0000

How many ‘Maple Streets’ does any one county, state or country need? I saw no fewer than two in a 28-mile bicycle ride last night.

What makes a real estate developer say, “Let’s name all these streets for trees?”

And why do they always choose the same trees? Why not a round of ‘Black Locust Lane’ or ‘Poison Sumac Street?’

If I were to build a subdivision, I think I would name streets after exotic and tasty greens. ‘Take a left turn at Arugula Avenue and go up Endive Lane to the cul-se-sac, which is Escarole Court. I’m the green house, in the middle.’ If I wanted to really make a niche, all the houses would be ecologically friendly ‘green’ houses.

As it is, I think I may re-name my server namespace so that each machine and node is named for a leafy green. Yum.

Go, Peeps, Go!

Julie — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 02:22:09 +0000

A few shout-outs:

1. To Sarah Bernier, aka Sarita, for her debut at Search Engine Strategies Latino Edition. Her session was blogged over at Search Engine Roundtable.

2. To the legend known as David Temple, who has accepted a position as Region Head of Search, Asia Pacific Region, at Neo@Ogilvy. It seems like only yesterday when I was in a conference room wondering if David was nuts — toughest interviewer ever!

In a truly funny note, when David left his job at FindLaw the first time, Sarah took over his cube. I hope this doesn’t mean she’s going to move to Singapore next.

Out at SMX

Julie — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 22:09:41 +0000

I’m at SMX in Seattle this week, experiencing the magic of the Seattle weather and the oddities of my laptop’s battery. A few things I will expound on during my free time later:

why this conference’s food is currently winning the ‘conference prize’ for the recent past, excepting that of the MIMA Summit
Supplemental index
Duplicate content
Kneeling down to speak to Vanessa Fox
The complete weirdness of spending my weekend in a rustic northwoods cabin in Minnesota, followed by a stay in a faux-rustic Seattle hotel with ‘modern cabin’ themed furniture.

I am told that, at home, my little kitten is sad and lonely and is sleeping on my robe, as I now haven’t spent a night at home since Thursday.

Photos: Holland

Julie — Sat, 19 May 2007 19:36:02 +0000

Westerkerk
Originally uploaded by Days Between Stations.

I have uploaded the whole set of Holland photos.

Certification is Tiring

Julie — Thu, 17 May 2007 17:16:52 +0000

I give you David Temple, lord of the SEO/SEM Certification Blog, studying hard for his Google AdWords exam:

SEOing is hard. Good thing he’s a professional.

Meta-post: Wedding Picture

Julie — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 14:41:54 +0000

I did, in fact, get married Saturday. More digital mayhem to come.