Use Server Stats To Your Advantage and Exploit Keywords

This is not one of those posts about strange and obscure search terms that brought people to your blog, amusing as the first few hundred of them might have been.With unique monthly visits now exceeding ten thousand on this domain alone, and search terms in excess of one thousand, I wanted to talk about the importance of taking note of the data provided by your host. 

Due to the rise of analytics software, and its availability for free, many webmasters and bloggers tend to ignore the server stats as being far less accurate and informative. This is true to a certain degree, but the one set of statistics that I tend to focus on closely from my server are the search terms used to find me. I can analyze them in greater depth with my analytics program, but often, rather than get too bogged down in statistical minutiae, I just want to know what people are looking for, and if what they find when they get here is likely to be of help or interest to them.

Do you pay much attention to your visitor's search terms? If you're not, then perhaps you should look at the patterns more closely.

For me, some of the biggest and most rewarding searches are on very competitive and potentially lucrative terms such as "hosting", "web hosting", "hosting reviews" and other webhosting industry related phrases and words. This is as it should be, and I'd be worried if I wasn't getting traffic from these searches. What is of far more interest to me are the subjects that pop up quite frequently, often as a result of keyphrases I have not targeted or even thought of.

Why? Well, if people are finding me when looking for certain things, it gives me countless ideas for blog posts or for expanding the content on my hosting directory, just for starters.

Because I run a general article directory on this domain now, I get a large number of one off searches covering a very diverse range of subject matter. Some of the keyphrases are indeed a little weird, but these searches provide me with a lot of information regarding how the directory is performing in the SERPS.

It teaches me that prompt approval of submissions, the linking structure of my site and such, all affect my chances of outranking other directories and getting the traffic I want. It also demonstrates the subjects that bring me lots of visitors and which ones result in very little traffic. It can also be an alert to attempts at sneaking in links to undesirable neighborhoods. This all helps me focus on the strengths and weaknesses and where I need to improve things. This in turn gets me thinking about how to actually go about it.

After reading Josh Spaulding's excellent post about building minisites, optimized for Adsense click through ratios and revenue, (a highly recommended free report called The $5 A Day Minisite Formula) I realized that there are many more things I could be doing on my own sites to generate even better returns.

If you study your server stats carefully, there can often be some nice surprises and very exploitable traffic that you would otherwise have ignored, perhaps to your detriment. Let's just say you suddenly begin seeing a lot of visitors searching for Spyware and Adware but are a little baffled as to how they are landing somewhere on your site. Don't ignore it.

The first thing to do is conduct the search yourself, and find out what page is pulling in those visitors. Is the page monetized in any way? Is it running relevant targeted PPC ads or affiliate programs? If it isn't, maybe it's time to add one or both.

(That last link is an example of how just one tweak to your particular page could help if it wasn't there before - not in the context of this particular post. By adding that link, you have maybe given your visitor a chance to find just what he or she wants and perhaps make some money)

By editing the content in just a small way with a couple of recommended products, maybe some of those visitors who were looking to buy some software might do so, rather than leaving and spending their money elsewhere. If they are searching for a specific program, you should make sure you are doing all you can to convert them and make sure it's you who gets a commission and not some other Charlie.

You might be surprised to know how many people arrive on my pages every month after searching for "Kiosk.ws Scam" or similar. Lots of people carry out searches with that word tagged on - they are often looking for information or reassurance and if you happen to be the one that provides it, you have a good chance at making a sale or at least a good impression. Many marketers already know this of course and use the keywords cleverly to promote competing programs or to funnel the undecided buyer into their net!

On the other hand, maybe some well placed Adsense units would be your preference, particularly if you know that the keywords are high paying ones (go and download Josh's free report if you want to know more about that subject).

Maybe you're not concerned about making any money from your site, but this kind of information is still very useful, because presumably you are trying to cater to some kind of audience, even if you're not trying to open their wallets. You will still see chances to possibly increase, enhance and consolidate your visitor base.

If you run an analytics script on your sites, it's easy to see how long those visitors stay, what pages they navigate their way to, and where they leave from. From there, you do have a pretty good idea of what they probably wanted and what to provide for future guests. The aim being to keep them at your site longer, perhaps turn them into a subscriber, a potential link love giver, or maybe just to sell to.

I think of these things as happy accidents, and sometimes a few minor tweaks can work wonders.

We all know that getting traffic is every webmaster's and blogger's obsession, along with SERPS, Page Rank, commenting....OK so we're an obsessive bunch about lots of things :-) What I'm saying is that sometimes, having brought the visitors, we don't do enough to make the most of them. Such "accidental" visitors may not be targeted, but you can turn that around for those who arrive through the same door in the future.

Studying your stats is pointless if you don't act on the information they are giving you.

The strange and downright weird can be funny, but they are not the ones to waste your time and attention on. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

TCH

How Not To Run A Forum (Or Scrap The God Complex)

A couple of weeks back I visited a well known IM forum and decided, on the recommendation of several people who I respect, to sign up. Having set up my account and checked out the various guidelines and FAQ's I started reading a few of the posts and having a general browse around.

I was pleased to see a section where members could engage in a bit of self promotion by posting links to free ebooks - not free IM related ebooks or other restrictive definitions, it was an open invitation. It even stated that "This section is for listing every free ebook known to man. If you know where a free ebook is on the net please list it here for all the members to see.". (This is known as a hint BTW). There were, I saw, books on a wide range of subjects. 'Great', I thought, 'another excellent place to get the word out about An Absolute Beginner's Guide To Web Hosting'.

I checked the guidelines for adding my book, wrote a short description and provided my direct link as specified. After several days, the post was not approved and when I checked after about a week , it was only to find that the entry had been nuked. No notification of rejection was received, my post might as well never have existed. (They claim that if a post is rejected, you will be notified by email).

I tried again, thinking that I had probably screwed up somewhere along the line, this time being very careful to ensure there were no typos and the link was correct and functioning. I double checked my profile just to make sure my email address was correct too. Three days later, the same result. Baffled, I found the contact email address and politely asked if there was any reason why moderators were zapping the post.

After over a week, there has been nothing but a wall of silence, not even the courtesy of an acknowledgement. 

I have a strong suspicion that posting anything in that forum that might be viewed as competition to something that the owners/moderators promote themselves, will never see the light of day. Just a hunch, and their refusal to even demonstrate the good manners of a quick email reply suggests that they don't care who knows either. Perhaps if I had published the book with a link to Host4Profit as opposed to my own (and in IMHO superior) hosting affiliate program, I might have stood a chance. Probably an even greater one if I happened to be in the downline of one of the merry forum crew.

Is that any way to run a forum, or indeed any online business?

If they profess to exist in order to help their members, how do they justify censoring information that might well interest those members or benefit their online ventures? Could it be that their only real interest is in lining their own pockets? Could it be considered that they abuse their established position with such actions? Heaven forbid! Slap me and call me Mary, for even suggesting such a thing. Is it really any wonder that internet marketing is so often the butt of criticism and derision?

As you can gather they lost a member and I won't be returning despite the aforementioned recommendations. I have seen other negative indictments of the forum in question, accusing them of greed, spamming the membership base and taking advantage of the unwary. I'm inclined to agree with some of that negative publicity now, even though I know there are doubtless some decent members. 

I just don't care for, or need, that kind of regime thanks very much.

TCH

No More Ebook Sales On Ebay

I thought I should mention this as my inbox has been flooded with the news since it recently became public.

Ebay have finally decided to put a stop to the sale of downloadable digital information products on the world famous auction site. This is no doubt going to upset a lot of Ebay sellers who have been bringing in a tidy additional income running an ebook business and wipes out, in one fell swoop, a lot of informational products and membership sites that have focused on this type of online money making effort.

With effect from March 31st 2008 auctions of downloadable digital information products will be allowed on in the classified ad section of Ebay. You can read Ebay's Official Statement Here 

I guess that it all comes back down to a minority spoiling a good thing for the majority of honest ebook sellers. Whatever the thinking behind the move, it will have a lot of people scrabbling for new ways to make money or sell their digital products, so while some will be crestfallen, many will probably see new opportunities unfolding.

Some experienced bloggers and marketers are already offering suggestions and alternative paths for the ousted Ebay sellers. 

If you are an Ebay seller and are wondering just what to do, you may be interested to read this free PDF report entitled 'Don't Panic' - PDF - Ebay Stops Ebook Sales  

I have never dabbled greatly in Ebay myself and am certainly no authority on the subject. I'm guessing that some of these entrepreneurs will defect to other auction sites which on the plus side may cost them less, but all are some way behind the mighty Ebay in the traffic department.

For those who were relying solely on the business model, this will no doubt be a huge blow, but as I always caution people, never put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to making money online. Changes can be swift and unexpected and you can go from hero to zero overnight when the rug is pulled out from under you.

Making money online should always be an excercise in diversification, without losing focus on any one aspect of your online ventures. Spread yourself too thin and you will struggle, but multiple streams of income are still the best way to go. Sounds like the theme for a new post.......

TCH 

A Domain's First Birthday And A Baby Cowboy or Cowgirl

I was shocked to notice the other day that this domain will soon be 12 months old which is as good a time for reflection as any and coincides with several thoughts and observations I have been having about blogging in the marketing/make money online arena recently.

I basically run three sites on this domain - the web hosting directory which runs on Wordpress, a free article directory and this blog on the Nucleus CMS platform.

I have learned a great deal during the past twelve months, the main lesson being that there is probably more to learn than I will ever fit into one lifetime! I have had highs and lows with all three of these sites, finding success in unusual places and at other times seeing none where I expected to find it.

I have watched other bloggers closely, some of whom have gone on to far greater things and others who have fallen by the wayside. I have engaged in various debates and tried to help rather than hinder the loyal readership and subscriber base that I have managed to engage and hold onto.

In recent months my blogging has become rather sporadic compared to the first eight months, although readers will know that juggling various online ventures often results in sacrifices being made elsewhere. I still wonder how some people manage to get so much done when they own multiple domains and websites. I cannot afford to hire employees to do the donkey work for me and am always looking at cost effective ways to try and streamline the work that needs doing.

Reflecting on this blog, I seem to have seen a reduction in interest and visitor numbers in recent months and I think this has been brought about by several factors. A lot of posts recently have discussed free marketing methods, tools, membership sites and the like and there has been very little in the way of links to other blogs and commenting has decreased to a worrying level. On the other hand email has increased and many people have given favorable feedback which is nice and always appreciated, even if it's not in the public eye so to speak.

As a long time supporter of the dofollow movement, I have received my fair share of spammy commenting of course, although it has not been overwhelming, but I have to admit to being disappointed in reader involvement of late and realize I need to address this somewhat urgently if the blog is to flourish in the months ahead.

Perhaps my aim of highlighting some of the marketing options available has been a factor, although the aim was to educate and honestly evaluate all of these things to help others decide if the programs were worthwhile or not.

Commenting on other blogs is something that fell by the wayside too, and I think my lack of participation has also had a negative effect. After all, blogging is a sociable activity as much as anything else and bloggers visit bloggers who visit them and contribute something from time to time. 

Don't think I'm ranting here, I'm just thinking aloud and evaluating all the things I seem to be learning from posting and maintaining the three sites in question.

On the positive side, traffic has continued to increase and income from the domain continues to improve too, so, from a personal perspective I'm happy with that. TheCaymanHost now receives on or around 10,000 uniques every month across the three main sites. Believe it or not you can still get in my Top Spots on this blog for a lowly dollar if it interests you :-)

There is one big change I am considering, and that is moving this blog from Nucleus over to Wordpress. I'm a fan of Nucleus and have got very comfortable with it, so if I do decide to move, it will be with some reluctance. I keep getting "blog envy" knowing how much more I could do to visually improve this site in particular, and thus the thinking that maybe it's time for a change. Ultimately I'm probably going to have to pay someone technical to achieve it however.

(If you find the look a little off in your browser, try reducing the text size down just a click - I find it looks better on some screens than others - it was fine on my laptop, not so neat on the larger monitor). 

During the past twelve months the wars over paid blog posts and the like have convinced me that for the amount of money involved, sponsored posting is not worth the effort. It's a big change of heart for me and I still support blogger's rights to do it, but it's not an avenue I have gone down and not one that I will pursue. There are no sponsored posts on any of my sites as I have always preferred the affiliate marketing route, but I did consider trying my hand in the past. I will be changing my disclaimer to reflect this permanent situation soon.

I think that a lot of the lessons learned have been valuable ones and it's been a lot of fun and hard work. I shall try to return my blogging subject matter to things that encourage more participation whilst staying with the established themes. How I'm going to do that is something to figure out.  

On a personal level, much has been happening in my life (yes, I really do have one, honestly).

The biggest news is that Nikki and I are pregnant. After 44 years of avoiding the responsibility I'm finally going to be a dad. As the doctors and specialists had all told my wife that it would be impossible for her to conceive it has been a worrying time and she has been dealing with many complications. Fortunately she has prevailed so far but nonetheless, anxiety has been a big part of life recently for both of us. We are praying now that the little mite will make it into this world OK because he or she has sure been making a big impact on our lives already and we're getting used to having the blighter around! So, life is set to change for us in 2008 and we figure the man upstairs must have been chuckling at us on New Year's Eve as we sat and said our thanks for 2007 and aired our hopes for 2008 - how far off the mark we were! More lessons learned.

I'm not asking for parenting tips just yet, but I'm probably going to need a few "mature student" lessons in the months and years ahead! 

For those who are not on Facebook, I'm listing below some links to my personal photo albums for a little more insight into the person behind the Cayman Host Websites - those of a delicate disposition be warned :-) 

Album 1 - Rollin' With The Flow

Album 2 - Some Beach, Somewhere

Album 3 - Views Of Cayman

Album 4 - Fine Art By Nickola McCoy (Mrs CaymanHost) 

There's a lot more I could say in this post but I think I'll save it for future discussion. For everyone who has read, subscribed or supported The CaymanHost in its first twelve months I offer sincere thanks. I hope that it has brought at least something useful to your online hours and ventures and look forward to our continued relationships and friendships.

TCH 

List Building With No Autoresponder

UPDATE October 2008

Since writing this post and referring hundreds of members to this listbuilding site, the whole thing seems to have collapsed. I started noticing about six months ago that my signups were not being recorded, that the product rebranding facility was not functioning and that I was unable to email anybody at all. I contacted the site owner about the problems and he explained to me that he had been trying for some time to resolve the issues with MVS, the script that powers the site, without success and that all the problems had begun after an upgrade to the MVS software. To date it would appear that the problems have still not been sorted out.

I have also noticed that other sites using MVS are having problems too with all kinds of MySQL errors and other server errors.

What was once a great system seems to have fallen apart somewhat and until a fix is found for the site owners who are running the software there seems little point in promoting it. I apologize to everyone who signed up on my recommendation and who have subsequently been unable to build much of anything. The last time I spoke to the owner of the site I was using was back in May of this year and he was seriously considering withdrawing and cancelling his monthly billing. Five months on and the problems are still very apparent, and the only logical conclusion is that the system is broken and a repair has not been forthcoming. 

For the moment at least, I have to withdraw my recommendation of the site and apologize to anyone who signed up after reading my review. It was a great system when it worked, but if the people behind the engine that drives it are unable to maintain that engine in working condition, it isn't going anywhere.  

---------------------

Since publishing a few thoughts and suggestions on listbuilding with free services a short while ago, several people have emailed me and asked if there is anything that is more effective than others, and whether it's really possible to build and use a list without the services of a professional autoresponder.

I've been testing various systems for a while now and there is definitely one system that stands head and shoulders above the rest.

The system utilizes the power of My Viral Spiral which, if you can afford the price tag, is an awesome viral listbuilding tool. Having said that, it's probably not within reach of many. 

However, the way MVS works can still benefit you, even if you can't justify buying the system for yourself. How? Well, the MVS system works on the basis of helping others to build lists while you build your own, and you can pass on the list love as a means of growing your own list. It is viral marketing taken to another level in effect.

So, how can you benefit? Well, if you are prepared to join my list, all will be revealed!

Sorry, just kidding, I'll tell you how it works. If you join the mailing list by filling in your details in my right sidebar (The $47 dollar value offer which is well well worth reading in any case), you will become a member of the viral listbuilding machine and have access to various free products to aid you in your own list building. Or you can sign up by clicking on the link below if you prefer

Get your Free Listbuilding System Here 

Whenever anybody signs up to your list, they in turn become part of the viral list building process and will be helping you to build a list ten levels deep.

You don't need an autoresponder for this to work for you, as you an email your list every five days through an online mailer. However, if you do have an account with Aweber, Get Response or Email Aces, you can fully integrate your autoresponder with this system.

This is about as easy as listbuilding gets, trust me. I can't guarantee that it will bring you thousands of subscribers, but it's a great place to start if you're thinking of doing so. It's very easy to implement as you'll see when you sign up. There are lots of bonus benefits such as integration of your own product or affiliate landing pages, easy to use sign up forms and squeeze pages, rebrandable viral digital products and it's all free.

Yes, that's right, you can use this system entirely free of charge. You don't have to have an autoresponder.  I think you will be very pleasantly surprised :-)

It's never too early to start building your list!

TCH

PayPal In The Cayman islands

A lot of people remark on how fortunate I am to live in the Cayman Islands - and they are right. However, as with so many things, living in paradise does have its downsides - hurricane season springs to mind, oh and the high cost of living and the lack of any real subsidized healthcare, blah blah blah. On the whole however, I'm happy to trade all that for being an islander.

The latest annoyance however is one that affects me and my online ventures and I find it really irritating. Since my wife and I returned to the island, I had to reorganize a lot of things and one of my little tasks was to open a new PayPal account.

Despite the fact that we are a spit away from the US by plane, a British Dependent Territory and really very civilized with all the modern amenities of a 21st century western society, including a place as one of the top financial and banking centers in the world, I find that as far as PayPal are concerned, a lot of restrictions have to be enforced.

Now, at present, I have to face the hassle of using a UK Paypal account to receive commissions and payments, and then asking someone back in the old country to forward my cash to me here in paradise. This takes time and eats into profits with more extra fees than are desirable.

I thought that opening a new account would solve all these problems, so I went ahead and filled out another online application and was duly accepted. Problem solved I thought.

I now find out that despite having a premier and verified account here in Cayman, I cannot recieve money and can only send money "within my local market". What?!!!! I wouldn't be so miffed if this was mentioned at the time of signing up, but there was nary a word. I've now had to spend a couple of days going through countless affiliate programs and changing my PayPal email address back to the old one, sorting through various problems with companies who were trying to pay me, and wondering what the point of an online payment account that onkly works on an island 20 mile by eight miles long really is!

So, my public plea to PayPal is this....please help us folks out and take a serious look at altering your policies in relation to Cayman. The widespread use of your company's services makes doing business online without you a real pain in the butt - and I like you, I really do!

TCH

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Beginners Guide To Web Hosting - Free Ebook

Beginners to web hosting or those thinking about becoming a webmaster or blogger for the first time will be interested in the latest ebook from the CaymanHost - An Absolute Beginners Guide To Web Hosting.

The ebook covers all the basics from gettting a domain name, choosing a hosting provider, and building your first blog or website. There are some great free resources and bonuses too.

The book is 47 pages of no nonsense guidance for those new to the world of hosting showing just what to look for and expect before jumping into the world of building your first presence online.

The best part - it's absolutely free! 

Downloading the ebook gives you full giveaway or resell rights. You can package it with other products or give it away as a bonus to your readers or list members, or any other way you feel it may benefit you.

The file is guaranteed virus and malware free. Please enjoy it whether it is just for personal use or as a list building tool.  

Download Your Free Copy Of Web Hosting For Absolute Beginners 

Caymanhost Blog Update

It's been quiet here on the blog for the past week or so for several reasons, the main one being that I've been in the middle of a house move. Loss of internet access occurred about a week or so before the move.

The good news is that I have ousted my old provider and now have state of the art connectivity through a clever little box of tricks that requires no phone line. In actual fact it requres very little of anything - I can plug it into any desktop or laptop, anywhere on the island, and I have a working connection. That is pretty awesome when I think back to my early days online and the hassle and expense involved. The other bonus is that it's even cheaper and faster than my previous setup!! (I'm actually still waiting for my own box of tricks but a friendly neighbor has lent me his (thanks Steve!)

Anyway, enough excuses for my absence. I mentioned a few posts back that I was planning on launching a newsletter and probably spoke too soon, as I have had a rethink on the whole thing and probably won't go ahead with it for the time being due to other projects.

If you read this post a soon as it went up you will have noticed that it's been edited and I have removed the offer of a stock trading newsletter - it's a long story but I have decided not to go ahead with the original plan.

Hopefully, I will be back to a regular posting schedule and back to providing some useful information very soon! 

TCH