10 Mar 2008 10:53:48 | Dean Phillips
If you go strictly by the numbers, Yahoo, MSN and Google are
the "Big 3" of search engines and directories. Between them,
they index millions and millions of pages in their directories.
Although Google claims to index over 4 billion.
However, that's a subject for another day. The point is, out of
all those millions and millions of pages, there's room for only
a very few websites at the top of the results pages.
That means, if you go strictly by the number of indexed web
pages in their directories, you have a better chance of winning
the lottery, than getting high enough in the results pages to
where it's going to make a significant difference in your
traffic. That's not my opinion, it's a fact!
You're simply playing a game YOU CANNOT WIN!
So what can you do about it? The first thing you need to do is
forget about the search engines--period! Just forget about them!
Why? Because even if you're one of the fortunate few to get a
high enough ranking to where it's making a significant
difference in your traffic, there's no guarantee you'll get to
keep it. Since the search engines are constantly changing the
rules of the game (AKA) their algorithms, you could be number
one in the search engines today and totally off the results
pages tomorrow. Again, that's not my opinion, it's a fact!
If you don't believe me, just ask those thousands of devastated
and bankrupt business owners whose websites disappeared off of
the results pages altogether, when a category 5 hurricane named
"Florida" swept through the Gulf of Google on November 16, 2003.
But that's exactly what happens when you put all of your eggs
into one basket. And just like it's wise to have "multiple
streams of income," it's also wise to use a variety of ways to
promote your website.
It's sort of like all of those millions of people who flock to
Las Vegas every year hoping to get lucky. There's only one
problem. The system was not designed for you to win. It was
designed to make you think you could win. That's the allure of
Las Vegas and that's the allure of the search engines--they make
you think you can win. You can't!
Oh sure, just like in Vegas, you'll have your lucky few who hit
the jackpot and snare a top ranking on the results pages, at
least until the search engines change their rules again. But the
vast majority are left on the outside looking in, and at the
mercy of so-called SEO experts who are only too happy to take
your money and continue to make you think you can win the game.
You can't!
What you have to do is forget about the search engines. Just
forget about them! I realize it's difficult, especially with all
thats been written said over the years about how critical the
search engines are to your business. Believe me when I tell you,
it's all a bunch of bull! Businesses were doing just fine, when
there weren't any search engines. Just fine.
In fact, I'm earning a very comfortable living on the Internet,
without any significant search engine presence whatsoever.
What's my secret? I don't depend on the search engines! I never
have. I refuse to play the game. That's my secret in a nutshell!
My traffic comes from the dozens of articles I've written that
have been picked up and published on popular websites all over
the Internet. I also get traffic via word of mouth, newsletters
and ezines that my articles are published in, and a few other
secret methods that I use.
And you can do the same thing. You just have to get out of that
search engine mindset.
Now I realize writing articles may not be a desirable option for
many of you. That's fine. However, there are many other proven
and effective ways to market your website. Here are just a few:
ezines, newsletters, forums, online magazines, sponsor listings
on other websites, exchanging links.
Here are a few offline options: magazines, direct mail, shopper
newspapers, cable television, radio, flyers, hospital
newsletters, card decks, trade journals and directories,
bulletin boards, tabloid newspapers.
In addition, do yourself a favor and buy the book, "Guerrilla
Marketing," by Jay Conrad Levison. It's loaded with low-cost
ways to promote your business!
As you can see, you have plenty of other options available to
you, besides the search engines. All you have to do is use
them--and a little imagination.
It's time to stop playing a game you can't win, and start
playing a few that you can!
About Author :
Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher
and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at
mailto: dean@lets-make-money.net
