CUIL is not a big search engine

CUIL is a search engine that searches limited number of pages. Why?

Did anyone ever wanted to know how many pages Google or Yahoo searches? Or did a general user ever wanted to know the total number of searchable pages in the internet!

So why did you need to declare how many pages you search?

Whenever you are assigning a number you are making something quantifiable

Whenever you are assigning a number you are making something quantifiable. Moreover you are making someone conscious unnecessarily. All I need is good result – not the number of pages you search.

Did it really serve any purpose? If yes, why don’t you publish the percentage like search 20% of the searchable web! I would like to know.

A Late Note to Yahoo:
Hey Yahoo, mind the language when you publish a story in your site.

Something that works with PC Mag should not necessarily go with your image. I’m talking about the tone of the article – if you want to top as a reputed organization, you must think about these things. Don’t run after cheap publicity.

Commercial Copywriting - Part One

How do you define a great piece of commercial content?

Obviously, a great commercial content is something that forces the visitor to take a positive action. Is there anything to add to this line?

To me a great piece of content is something that a visitor reads, takes an action and was never conscious about what he or she had been reading for so long.

What are you thinking – what is the value of content in this situation?

What is more important – your car or the destination?

Now, let’s think on this line: what are the elements of a commercial piece of content?

1. Language – the tool
2. The idea (and/or product information) expressed by the language.
3. Packaging or design of the content

Now, in these three parts, which one is more important?

Obviously, the idea. Now, if the reader falls in love with the writing style, will it serve your purpose? Language is nothing but a tool that transports the idea. What is more important – your car or the destination? Just think about some great tips that you read recently. What did you think – how beautifully the writer wrote it or the core idea he or she presented – what bothered you more?

Now think about a novel by your favorite author – what do you like most about him or her? Or why do you buy his next novel? Or how do you recognize that this very paragraph is written by your favorite author (though you never read that novel)! Here comes the language – the style of presentation and pattern of words and imagery used – something that he has developed over time. Would you like him or her to write the sales copy of your website that sells rust cleaning products? What would you like to sell – the author or the rust cleaner?

So long I had been talking about commercial websites. What about blogs? Does the same rule apply to blogs?

Certainly not – A blogger is close to an author in this regard. A blogger actually sells all the three elements of content.

Any doubt?

Business 2.0 Scrapbook

This is a running commentary on Business 2.0 model – how they represent their business and earn money in the web 2.0 and SEO 2.0 environment. Sometimes these lines seem to be the About Us page of a business 2.0 website and that’s why I named it Scrapbook. Enjoy . 

NB. the article is still developing - help!

1. We use existing visitors to generate more visitors.
2. We ask you to create content and then sell them back to new and existing visitors.
3. We Partner client companies – we promote – we sell – we take a share of your business / profit volume. No business for clients = no profit for SEO companies.
4. We go offline to get content – we got a face – we communicate with real people in real time and face to face – we feel – we are human beings.
5. We prefer to talk to the sales team than the board of directors to know what people want from you to promote your business.
6. We are fast at closing a deal within two clicks in whichever way you want.
7. We are small but we are strong. We are the best at customer support. We are always online to talk to you – to give you a virtual tour of our office space where everyone is waving at you.
8. We think and engage you to think with us.
9. We ask what you want. We ask how you want and when you want. We know you are Adam and we would like to know more about you as if you are our only customer.
10. There is only one Adam – no Adam 2.0 or Adam 3.0 or Adam xyz.
11. We remember when you came last time – and we are pleased to let you know that you came here 6 moths back and that we remember.
12. Happy birthday Adam.
13. We know Adam is too busy to write an obituary – our friend have a solution for that too.
    
14. We ask you to promote us – we create smaller groups. You are our brand ambassador and you never knew about that.  
15. We participate in social causes and try to make a difference.
16. We do not ask for links – we ask if you liked our service or not. We ask how to improve our service. We admit that we are not perfect and ask your help and active support. 
17. Our website is slim, trim and it is always is the perfect shape – you call it sexy.
18. We design to communicate. If you don’t like our design, change it once and for all according to your choice.
19. We develop the website around your habit.
20. Our website loads faster than you expected.
21. We develop small extensions to make your life a lot easier.
22. We do not write newsletter – we can send you an SMS update if you wish.
23. You can also follow us at Twitter
24. We have a Google map in our contact page to guide you to our office (BTW, we have a real office space and may offer you some good quality coffee).
25. We develop ideas and turn them into platforms for you to develop.
26. We mostly sell ideas and make big bucks – sometimes we sell products too.
27. We are a combination of different micro companies and freelances from different parts of the world.
28. We do not have a CEO – we have an entrepreneur who may sell this to a big company and start something entirely different.
29. We promote our employees to promote our brand.
30. We publish a press release whenever we sign a new client or recruit a brand name for lots of money.
31. We participate at different seminars and wear our brands – we also carry gifts for others.
32. We have friends even in North Pole.
33. We run a corporate blog with a personal touch.
34. You are not an individual – you are a brand in the process of development.
35. We are geeks and sometimes we show it off.
36. We are happy and run a good business.

How to host a blog with custom domain name at blogger

I am always pushing non-bloggers to start a blog. They ask how to do that! Next time I would just send them this link… lol

Everybody says, BlogSpot is not a good blogging platform and you actually donate your content to Google if you host it in blogger. And if you look at the common trend, you would find almost all SEO experts are hosting their blogs on WordPress platform. Don’t I know that WordPress is more SEO friendly than Blogger? Everybody knows about that.

And my decision to host a blog (with custom domain) at Blogger was well planned.

Here are the reasons:

1. My strength and focus area is content – my thoughts, ideas, initiatives etc. I want people to go straight into the content – nothing else.
2. I do not want to make this blog another ‘Make Money Online’ blog and neither have I wanted to fully concentrate on affiliate marketing. I believe money is a byproduct that everybody earns.
3. Let’s see how we can improve on blogger.
4. I don’t want to implement any traditional SEO rule in this blog but I would like to talk about it. This blog would be reader-centric. And this is the best SEO technique that I have learnt in last couple of years.
5. People always say that if you are a serious blogger you must host your blog in your own domain (+ WordPress is understood). But I believe if content is good, platform does not matter at all.
6. I am not publishing any objectionable material like p0rn so I should not worry about Google banning me. Google may be an information monster but it must respect individual identity to remain in the business (simple) – so I do not have anything to worry.

Give it a try – Blogger is not so bad either to start your blog.



How to start your blog under custom domain at blogger (it would cost you $10/year)? 



Step: 1. Go to http://www.blogger.com/start and click the link create your blog now and follow three simple steps to start a blog.

Step: 2. Go to your blogger dashboard and click on the Settings > Publishing.

Step: 3. Click on the link called Switch to Custom Domain

Step: 4. Enter the domain name you want and check availability. If the domain is available continue the registration process and pay Google via Google Checkout.

Alternatively you can buy a domain from registrars like Godaddy.com or any other place you like. In that case you would need to change the CNAME record (ghs.google.com) and move to advance settings (if you are not too confident about these technicalities, book your domain via Google).

That’s it – within 3 days you will get your blog ready and hosted at blogger.

Suggested Reading for more help:

1. How do I use a custom domain name on my blog?
2. How do I buy a custom domain through Blogger?
3. Where can I buy a custom domain name for my blog?
4. How do I create a CNAME record for my custom domain?

If you need any help, write to me – I would try my best to help.

How to Promote your Blog Offline

Write your tips as a comment. I would pick up comments into the post and link to your blog or website. Link for Tips...

Let's collaborate – let's find out the easiest or craziest or funniest ways to promote our blogs or websites in the offline market:Why this?The nature of online market is changing very fast. For a long time the promotional plan had been online to online. However, as participations are growing, plans are moving in different directions – online to offline, offline to online or even offline to offline (word of mouth promotion).

As I mentioned in my earlier post, advertisers are showing off their web addresses in the commercials and even asking for direct participations. They can afford it – but what about those small bloggers that do not have enough budgets to run advertisements in TV or Newspaper?How they can promote their blogs offline?Here are some of the most common tips:

1. Business Card: Print your business card and drop one wherever you find an opportunity.
2. Stickers: Stick them in…
3. Press Releases in Local Newspaper: Create a bigger bubble around you. Call them and tell them what a great job (if not revolutionary) you are doing.
4. Advertisements: if you can afford it. Otherwise, you can always go for flyers or calendars – put them in cafes and wait for visitors.
5. Caps and T-shirts: Just print or paint your blog name with a punch line and move around in style. (Better than promoting others)
6. Talk about it: I hope you have got some friends to talk about your blog.
7. Presentations and Discussion group – Be creative to promote your blog.
8. Local fair, meet up and Collaborations: Participate, Talk and Promote (we are planning one)
9. Cars and bikes: Let your blog move in a sticker with you.

My Tips:

1. FM Channels: There are lots of live phone in programs running all day long in local FM channels. Simply phone in, talk and leave your blog name while signing out.
2. SMS: Use the URL as a signature :)
3. Participate in a Social Cause: … and promote your blog
4. One Blogger Every Week: You are a blogger and you know so many things about blogging - find out those in your group who are masters of something. Influence them to blog on their subject of expertise and help them in the process. Soon you would become a Guru. (I do it continuously and the latest addition is a photo journalist from India's highest circulating newspaper.)

What else? Write your tips as a comment. I would pick up comments into the post and link to your blog or website. Link for Tips :) You Said:

1. Nishant Jain: avoid impressions of arrogance, promote it as this great new blog you ran across. Talk of it as someone else's. That increases the chances of someone visiting it.

A suggestion to Blogger blogs on usability

I know I always have some problems in understanding – I ask unnecessary questions. I have one more.

I have been using Blogspot for a long time and like most of the new bloggers this had been my first blogging platform. And since 3rd day I could not understand what this button is doing there in the Navbar! Oops, I am talking about the Next Blog button in the Navbar!

What is the logic behind its function?

Chaos must have its own logic.

I know that it would show me a random blog when I click on this button (Wordpress too have a similar button). So what is the point?

In our theatre workshop, we used to teach people that “confusions among characters on stage are preplanned”. You just can’t say that “in that scene of creating confusion we will just move in a random order and do whatever we want – that is enough to create confusion”. If you do this, it would simply spoil the dramatic atmosphere and settings and everything. You cannot develop confusion by doing whatever you want.

So, when you are showing me a random blog, it should have some logic – it should have some similarity with the one I am visiting now. Chaos must have its own logic.

Have you ever found any similarity? I didn’t.

Ok let’s try this:

Try a Google search for SEO like this “seo inurl:.blogspot.com” so that we get only the seo blogs hosted on blogspot. Now click on any link and go to any blog and click on the ‘next blog’ button.

Where are you now?

Does this blog have any similarity with SEO! I am surprised – but I am poorly surprised. Sometimes there is no similarity in terms of language too.

Now take a look at Stumble Upon’s toolbar. I often click on the stumble button to find new websites in a category of my choice. I know what you would be saying right now – Blogger is not human tagged and do not offer you such category list. I know that – but why not!

Google have the biggest pool of user data – it knows which website ranks where and for which keywords - so why doesn’t Google use it here!

What I am saying is simple:

Let there be a ‘blog a’ that ranks top for the keyword seo and there is a ‘blog b’ that ranks second for the same keyword and than there are blog c, d, e, … in the same chronology for the same keyword. Google knows it very well at any given point of time. So why doesn’t Google show one blog from b, c, d, e… rather than showing one from nowhere!

It can do one more thing – blogspot blogs have a category section where people write their post category. Blogger can easily use that database to group similar blogs. I would be saying the same thing to Wordpress – you must guess why the visitor is in that blog and what would be the best next blog for him or her. You may even ask the visitor to decide on what he wants to view!

However, all these depend on how many people actually use this button (Google knows it better than us). These minor changes can make this thing fun – real fun and interesting.

And last but not the least: you could easily find a better position for “Flag Blog” button. Why are you keeping it beside next blog?

Keyword Research for Indian Website

For last couple of months I have been working to develop two websites for Indian market. One is in the financial sector and the other is in the real estate classified sector. And both of them are intended for local Indian market.

Just imagine the number of Indian web users that we are going to have very soon!

The one, in the real estate classified sector had been live for quite a few years. We knew the potential of this service but as we are mainly a SEO and Web Development Company, we could not manage enough time to concentrate on that.

But now when we are fully into it, we are facing some basic problems.

We do not have any keyword research tool for Indian market. This is a big problem not for Indian market alone. We do not have enough data for a lot of countries. What can you do if you do not have proper set of keywords! It seems like we are working in some prehistoric era where we need to depend on stars to navigate thorough the sea – and the mapping process is still in the primary stage.

I would really like to know how other webmasters are working to develop websites for Indian market.

What we did:

1. Brainstorming: Yuppp, we did that a lot to create a big list of key phrases (the list was huge and our primary source was keywords used for UK market).
2. Grouping: We created different sets of key phrases for each page.
3. Market Research: I talked to around 50 people in our target market to understand their habit.
4. Back link and content study: We did some extensive studies on our competitors to find out which key words they are using.
5. The plan: we are developing and twigging the content around these different key phrases to see the result. Soon we can grow a genuine list of key phrases to run the website smoothly with better ROI.

What alternatives did we have?

1. Extensive advertisement in other offline media like TV, newspaper etc. so that people can directly get into our website. But this would be too expensive although less time consuming to grow business. But this would not solve our problem in the long run as this would not help us to build a key phrases list.
2. Go for AdWords to find out which keywords are giving us better ROI and optimize our website around them.

Anyways, we tried to do it the harder way and this is going to be a big experience for us.

But, is there anyone, who would come forward to build a keyword research tool for Indian Market (a million dollar business idea for free – consider a link back…lol)? Would Google come forward and share their data on the growing Indian market?

Just imagine the number of Indian web users that we are going to have very soon!