It's very late, and I need to be up very early, but the blog - she's a harsh mistress, so let's dive right in.
- Guide to Viral Marketing & Linkbait on the Web
I edited this 40+ page guide just before we left for Pubcon last week and remarked to Jane (the primary author, though we all chipped in) that it was possibly our best written and most thorough guide to date. Not only has she put together a comprehensive plan for how linkbait and viral content can help businesses and sites achieve their goals, she's listed dozens of unique tactics for how to craft compelling content and how to best promote it. There are examples of linkbait of every kind and if I go on any further, I'm going to sound like a self-promotional dolt, when all I'm really trying to do is heap praise where it's well deserved. Bravo, Jane! - I Can Get Your Kid into an Ivy
Reading this article on a woman whose business is to "game the admissions systems" for hard-to-reach universities, I couldn't help but draw parallels with the SEO world. The marketing system she's built, the use of her background and book as promotional tools, and the fascination and debate that her personality and profession engender are fascinating examples of a one woman marketing supershow. There are definite lessons to be taken away here, even though it's not the kind of way I'd like to run my company. - Good Experience Games
I like the entire concept behind the Good Experience site - showcase great user experiences from all walks of life. This list of games, though, is just begging to waste all my time - and now yours. Mu ah ha ha ha! - What I've Learned from Sales
The experienced viewpoint of the author, explaining exactly how the human mind operates during the sales process, is extremely rewarding. It's enough to make you question your entire conversion process - maybe you don't really need to answer the questions your audience claims to have? - The Google Subdomains Changes Fully Explained
Thank goodness Vanessa's around to present all of this in clear, concise, parse-able fashion. This post pretty much cleared up every question I had on the topic (though there's still a couple items I'd like to ping Matt about). - Is Google a CryBaby About Paid Links
Or, as Danny notes in the comments, is Michael stretching the argument a bit. Either way, you can't help but love the controversy. I've always said that SEOs need a regular injection of drama, so until I out some paid links again, this is the place to go for your fix :) - Google's Killing 'Em
Wonder why 85% of your search traffic is from Google? Even Hitwise is reporting that Google's now at 65% market share, and back when they were reporting 50%, the rest of the web was wondering why they got 70% of their traffic from Google. - Search Rankings Are More than Traffic - They're Branding
I think savvy search marketers have known this for a long time, but now you've got data to bring to the boss and share around the cubicles. We might even see the branding-obsessed creative agencies looking at search a little more seriously (ah, who am I kidding, that'll never happen). - Top 10 Public Relations Blunders of 2007
You've gotta love this one from Bill Hartzer. It should really be on all the social media sites. Bill breaks down 10 great examples of public relations and press campaigns gone completely wrong - great fodder when you need to remind your executives of what not to do :)
Just one quick rant, then I'm off to sleep - why is it that this Lifehacker guide to gifts (which is really not that great at all - honestly) gets on Digg, Del.icio.us/Popular and every other list on the web, but the gift guide I made (which had totally rockin' stuff) goes nowhere? Seriously... Someone should build a graveyard site for failed linkbait - it would probably be twice as good as the stuff that actually gets popular.
p.s. Happy Hanukkah! I know it's the last night, but I wish you all a good one.
Speaking of premium articles, the recent changes to Facebook's advertising options mean that a lot of the advertising information in our recently-released guide to social media marketing is now out of date. I'll be working on revising the article over the next few days so that it's accurate again!
I suspect you'll be updating that guide quite a bit in the future if it's going to stay current. Have you added anything on Mixx yet?
I haven't - and I should. I have not really explored Mixx yet due to working on the Linkbait Guide and then spending the week at Pubcon! Another thing for the growing To Do list.
Yay! Go Jane, go :) I think it would be awesome to update that guide. Let me know if you want some input (not that I have any free time or anything)...
Updated: I've added information about Social Ads, Facebook Beacon and the new format of Facebook polls to the article. However, since Facebook are constantly changing their advertising model, I'm sure to be going back in and editing this new information in the near future!
Wow, that was fast, Jane.
@Rand: Give that girl a raise!
See, it wasn't that hard!
;)
:(
I had to translate "Facebook jargon, marketing and PR-speak" into plain English and then decode their lies about their opt-out options. So it wasn't fun, either!
And you do it so well!
"...why is it that this Lifehacker guide to gifts (which is really not that great at all - honestly) gets on Digg, Del.icio.us/Popular and every other list on the web, but the gift guide I made (which had totally rockin' stuff) goes nowhere?"
You could point to things like readership, the article title, mainstream relevance and average cost of the gifts, comparative length and formatting of the article, etc., but I don't think that's it.
It certainly isn't uniqueness of content. I mean, jeez - what's more interesting - Goo Gone (no kidding, they had that on there), or The Tokidoki Mozzarella Moofia Gang Leader? Hey now...
No, I think you can point to the same reason that a 7/11 store can be empty for two hours straight and then all of a sudden 20 people walk in. There's no real reason. The moons just align at the right time and the right place for some things. I guarantee that another time and another place that article is released and it could go wildly popular, just the same way some artists and authors re-release material years after it first failed and BOOM! Takes off like a rocket.
On a separate note, I enjoyed the "What I've Learned From Sales" article. I've read stuff like it a million times, but somehow I never seem to tire of it.
Also, you're right about the Guide To Viral Marketing and Linkbait. It's top notch. Well done, Jane and co.
uhh..I would say that LifeHacker just has a lot more sheep following it than does seomoz. So it's not necessarily a bad thing that the gift guide didn't get so big :)
Thank you for good links. I gonna check them all!
as a university web person i'm getting ready to go on winter break. this post was great because it provided a wonderful list of new online games to add to my list for domination. i'll be one game playing fool over my break. of course, these new online games might make my over-played wii jealous but who cares. thanks for the tip!
The last one (pr blunders) was pretty good ;p. Especially the one on there about the fake FEMA press conference ... ;)
Um... We're a branding-obsessed creative agency and we take search very seriously. But I totally know what you mean. Now to convince the client that 10% of what they're spending on ineffective print ads is worth investing into search....No really. it is....
Now that one is an uphill battle.
I read that article about getting kids in Ivy league schools. Everything is big business now. With certain colleges that can make or break a new graduates career this does not surprise me one bit.
-Dal
Wow! That article on getting kids into Ivy league school is crazy! People paying up 10 $18K just for coaching advice...and she made around $1 million last year. That is a BIG business!
Spending $18K to spend $200K on tuition is a bargain. Or something like that.
-OT
I preferred the "free" model. And it's worked out quite well for me :P
I worked my way through school.
Everytime someone says "college degree" my parents do a shot.
-OT
This leads ever so well into the post I'm putting up in about five minutes...
I definitely second that, Jane. What happened to getting your foot in the door with your own hard work?
Where I went to "university" I met several people who openly admitted that the only reason they got in was because their parents made a "significant donation." I believed it, too - they were not the brightest people I'd ever met.
There's a college 80 miles north of where I went to school where you had to be either very smart or very rich to get in. The smart kids were great. The rich kids didn't know that they weren't the smart kids. I love it when we beat them at basketball.
/snarky rant
Nice post, Rand. This is going to keep me busy. They all look like great links, but I'm definitely going to tackle the Guide to Viral Marketing & Linkbait on the Web first. I'm expecting huge value out of that.
I don't know how you stay up until 1 AM and still get up early. You're inhuman.
Also, I think your gift guide is super nifty.
Mozzers: Need some last-minute gift ideas? Check out Rand's SUPERIOR 50 Perfect Gifts for Webophiles, Bloggers, & Internet Marketer
Thanks, Rand ;) First I followed the link, wasted some time on Good Experience site, found nothing useful, returned and read the extract up to the end: "This list of games, though, is just begging to waste all my time - and now yours".
Guide to Viral Marketing & Linkbait on the Web
Now this story is the 1 i didnt read this week or previous week untill today. And surely the best among the 9 stories.
Thanks, Rand. :)