Too many Startups and Ventures?

  By WebSqurlBlog | April 21, 2012 - 9:34 pm | blog Leave a comment

Websqurl (Web Squirrel) is just one of the business ventures I’ve been working on. Websqurl continues to show glimmers of promise as web URL submissions continue to trickle in, but it has not been the roaring success I hoped it would be (and could be).  I think there are two key factors holding Websqurl back.  First, too much established competition in the web directory space.  Second, unenthusiastic responses from most people I explained the current and future concepts to.

I still believe in one Websqurl principle:  Making it easier and faster for new websites to find the right audience.  It remains true that new websites, no matter how good their content, generally spend months in index limbo.  They simply don’t show up in search results.  And how can their great content be found and linked back to, if it does not show up in search?  Not easily.

So, for now, I’m going to focus my entrepreneurial energy on a business venture that has less competition and generates more enthusiasm.  Like Websqurl, it has a web interface and a database, but that is where the similarity ends.  Most of its software lives under the hood — the web front-end is just the tip of the iceberg.  My focus is now on portfolio-optimization software.

Websqurl will still stay live and function.  I will put enhancements and promotions on hold.  I’ve got bigger fish to fry.  Thanks to my early adopters!  Your links will remain active.  Cheers!

 

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Submit your URL — Just the Start of Website Success

  By WebSqurlBlog | February 29, 2012 - 10:20 pm | web directories, web keywords 1 Comment

Submit your URL here, submit it there, submit your URL everywhere — within reason.  This is guerrilla marketing for the web, and it is surprisingly easy to do.  Submitting your URL can be done without spamming;  it just takes more effort to put a little class into your URL submissions.  While search engines may (may!) not care about the quality of your link backs, webmasters and readers certainly do.  And, increasingly, readers are also writers in the social media sphere.  Do yourself, your website and your brands a favor and avoid inviting negative social media sentiment by using “classy” URL sharing techniques.

The easiest way I have found to share your URL to a high-profile website, is to start by finding websites with forums or groups that allow HTTP links to be included in posts.  Create an account, join a few groups, and read.  Then join or start a discussion by contributing thoughtful, unique, on-topic material in the body of your post.  Then casually add a link referencing a related blog post or page from your website.  Here’s an example of how I “submitted” a balhiser.com URL into a Wall Street Journal discussion of the economy.  Notice how this topical post sparked meaningful, thoughtful discussion?

I recommend this approach for up-and-coming sites with fewer than 100 sites linking to them.  You can find this link information from Google Webmaster tool’s “Links to your site” tab or  Marketing Grader‘s  “Here are X authoritative pages that are linking to you” section of its web marketing report.  [I am pleased to see that for my websites, links from WebSQURL show up as "top" and "authoritative" respectively.]

That is how classy, “white hat”,  guerrilla URL submission is done.  But that is just the beginning of successfully marketing a website.  Read more about 7 Website Visibility Basics.

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Squirrel away Web URLs

  By WebSqurlBlog | December 25, 2011 - 2:55 am | blog, web directories, web keywords Leave a comment

My mission for WebSqurl (Web Squirrel) is to revolutionize the web.  Small (Squirrel) versus big (Google, Bing, Yahoo!).  The story of the web is small wins against big.  There are so many small, upstart websites and the “Squirrel” is one of them.

The irony is that WebSqurl needs Google, Bing, Yahoo! and other big sites to help make this possible.  It’s about getting the word out… SEM, SEO and all that usual BS.  It is precisely this silly SEM/SEO biz that WebSqurl could reinvent.

So, here I am blogging for dollars, blogging for an audience.  Just like so many other bloggers and vloggers out there.  Fighting the system, reinventing the system, using the system.  Not via lawsuits and lobbyists, but with technology and passion and ideas.  Please join me in this exciting web journey.

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Keys and Keywords to Website Success

  By WebSqurlBlog | November 14, 2011 - 3:09 am | blog, web keywords Leave a comment

If there is a website in a forest but nobody sees it, is it really a website?  My answer: not really.   This is why I created webSQURL… to help websites, particularly, new websites find readers and viewers.  Meanwhile, I’m going through the same process with webSQURL.  For example I’m bummed that when I try searching for “Web Squrl” Google shows results for “web squirrel”.  Bing says “Do you mean web squirrel?”, shows two results for “web squirrel”, then shows results for “web squrl” with this site being #1 (or #3) depending how you look at things.

I’ve learned that getting your keywords to align with your website’s mission is critical.  If you have a deliberately misspelled or unusual name like sqURL or webSQURL, you have some SEO work to do.

Right now webSQURL is only getting about 3.3% of its traffic from search.  That is pretty weak.  However, this is typical for sites less than 6 months old.  My older “healthier” sites get greater than half of their web traffic from search.

For better or worse the solutions to the web search traffic problems can be solved with two techniques 1) time, 2) having a keyword strategy.  Time takes patience.  Keywords take attention.  Google Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics (and Google search queries) help me piece together a keyword strategy.  When people hear and remember “web squirrel” they are unlikely to spell it “web squrl”… at least not a first.   So even if they are looking for my site specifically they are likely to have difficulty finding it.  That is why I am featuring the words web, squirrel, and web squirrel heavily in this post.  You can use similar techniques to help fix SEO and search issues for your website.  Just remember that overnight results don’t occur in search.  It is a long road.

Fret not, because web “squirrel” is here to find ways to shorten that road to website search nirvana.  We have plans that start with web URL (web site) aggregation, then progress to web directory services, then to featured web placements.  Our new moto is “David versus Googliath”.   In the same way that a start up named Google took on the giant Yahoo!, webSQURL will try to take on Google.  It’s really not web “squirrel” versus Google, but web “squirrel” engaging in coopetition with Google (and Bing).

 

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The Challenge of Blogging

  By WebSqurlBlog | October 28, 2011 - 11:57 pm | blog, web directories Leave a comment

SEO, SEM and social media folks repeatedly advise that websites have a blog and blog daily.  I find that difficult, and try to blog weekly.  But even blogging once a week can be challenging.

When my web traffic is increasing, I get energized and find it easy to blog.  My traffic has been pretty flat for a couple weeks, so I’ve been lazy and haven’t blogged.  A recent spike in traffic has me blogging away again.

It would be much better for my website if I would blog consistently, but there is a danger: blogging just for the sake of blogging — resulting in a bunch of poorly-written blog posts.

I created webSqURL because I saw an unfulfilled business need.  I am hopeful that the site will hit the big time and take off exponentially.  However, I know that start ups have perhaps on a 10% chance of succeeding financially.  These are daunting odds.  I’ve been involved with 8 start-up ventures at various phases of completion and only 2 have resulted in net profits.  And only one that has exceeded $10,000 in net profit so far.  And the profitable one is not internet-based.

Nonetheless my entrepreneurial spirit drives me on… looking to create that next great business.  Hopefully webSqURL will be *that* business.

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7 Website Visibility Basics

  By WebSqurlBlog | October 2, 2011 - 8:18 pm | blog, web directories, web keywords 1 Comment

If a tree falls in the wood and no one hears it does it make a sound? If your website is on the web but no one ever reads it, do you really have a website? A website without an audience is far less fun and useful than a website with a big audience.

Luckily, there are several free and easy steps that will help audiences find your website.  I’ll walk through the details of each step:

  1. Google Webmaster Tools
  2. Google Analytics
  3. Twitter
  4. Forums, etc.
  5. Web Directories
  6. Analysis tools (like Website Grader)
  7. Insight for search keywords

Google Webmaster Tools

Setting up Webmaster Tools is as easy a following the instructions.  You first verify that you own or control your website buy using a Google-supplied key.  Once your website is verified, you will be able to submit a sitemap which will help Google find and explore your website content.  You can also submit a robots.txt that will tell Google what not to “spider”.

After a couple weeks you’ll start getting some useful data about searchs and search keywords.  Webmaster Tools will also identify problems that limit website SEO potential.  The keyword data provides insight into how search is seeing and sharing your website with the world.  Use that data to emphasize trends you like, and reduce effort creating content that isn’t getting traction.

Google Analytics

Setting up Google Analytics is similar to setting up Webmaster Tools.  Once it’s had some time to collect data you’ll be able to see how much web traffic your site is getting and where it is coming from.  There is a ton of data from Google Analytics, and rather than blog about it, I’ll let you discover it for yourself.

Twitter

Create a twitter account that matches your website as closely as possible.  For example @websqurl is the twitter account associated with this website.  Then tweet a little bit.  Don’t just spam your site, simply talk about it.  And talk about related topics that you find interesting.  Try and find like-minded people and follow them.  Engage and have dialogs. You’ll promote your site (subtly) and build your social media presence.

Forums

Find forums, websites and discussion groups that relate to your site and post to them.  For example on of my other websites, Balhiser.com, is about investing.  I signed up on a couple free investing sites, fool.com and seekingAlpha.com and started posting.  It wasn’t long before Google Analytics was showing traffic to my website from these forums.

Web Directories

Getting listed on a web directory can be a powerful way to 1) get direct traffic from the web directory, 2) establish links to your website which boost “organic” search traffic.   Many web directories charge a fee or collect personal information (like phone numbers) to sell you on SEM/SEO services.  But there are a few decent ones still out there, like DMOZ and WebSqurl.

Analysis tools (like Website Grader)

I recommend using Website Grader to get an overview of you website from an SEO perspective.  It is free and easy to use.  You can also use Klout to analyze your twitter web presence.

Insight for search keywords

As you become more familiar with keywords, you’ll want to explore more keywords.  A great way to evaluate keywords before you even use them is to look them up on Google Insight.  You might find that “website directory” has a bit more popularity that “web directory”… I just learned that!  Time to start using the term “website directory” more often!

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Web Directory Nirvana

  By WebSqurlBlog | September 19, 2011 - 7:00 pm | blog, web directories, web keywords Leave a comment

Web Directory nirvana is quick finding for searchers and quick submitting for URL submitters. WebSqurl is halfway to web directory nirvana because quick URL submission is a reality. Quick search is not coded yet, but it is on the road map. Websqurl categories are part submitting a URL and these category keywords will provide the first level of web content organization. Secondary categories will also be used to help web searchers find content.

Building a Keyword Database

As more URLs, categories, and subcategories are added to the database patterns of keyword usage, keyword frequency and keyword adjacency will emerge. Keywords that keep the web directory as flat as possible are desirable because they mean fewer clicks to find the right web content. As more URLs are submitted to the database the need for smart organization is key. The web directory structure will get deeper and additional organization techniques will be required.

Ranking, SERP and SEO

As searchers search down the web directory they will ultimately land at a SERP or Search Engine Results Page. A SERP could also be called a search engine ranking page. Initial SERP rankings will be based on a first-come-first-SERP basis However, after I add user logins, users will be able to rank URLs. I eventually want to add keyword relevancy to the rankings. I might as well recast the term SEO to mean “search engine organization” for this paragraph rather than “search engine optimization”. I plan to use keyword SEO as well as user rankings to organize SERP content.

Back to Web Directory Nirvana

The web directory game is that of chicken and egg. Web directories need content to draw both searchers and search results. Searchers provide rankings, and well-ranked content brings searchers back. And of course, searchers provide traffic, which makes the web directory more attractive to searchers, search engines and full circle to URL submitters. Searchers are looking for SEO in the form of “search engine organization” and URL marketers are looking for SEO and SEM in the traditional sense. That’s web directory nirvana.

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Better Web Directory

  By WebSqurlBlog | September 7, 2011 - 3:28 am | blog, web directories Leave a comment

What does a Web Directory do?

Web directories serve two groups 1) Web content creators, 2) Web content consumers. In some cases (e.g. retail) consumers and producers are distinct. Bloggers for instance are often both web producers and consumers.

A Web directory uses categorization and prioritization to help link both groups. Category is a required field on WebSqurl because it will be used to help organize the web directory’s links. Submitter-supplied secondary categories can be used to further organize submitted link content.

Web content submitters (whether creators or consumers) for a particular category are likely well-suited to help rank and prioritize the web directory content. Web site and blog submitters are more likely to help separate the good from the bad.

Why create yet another Web Directory?

Frankly because DMOZ is dead or at least a zombie. WebSqurl believes that directories (like search) should have a free web URL submission option. The web is supposed to be fast… but personal experience shows new site “organic” search to be slow. This is the current irony of the web: fast search, fast computers, but slow uptake of new content. Twitter is one of the few counterexamples. WebSqurl, like Twitter, believes that web visibility should be free and fast!

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Alternative Web Directories

  By WebSqurlBlog | August 28, 2011 - 8:57 pm | blog, web directories Leave a comment

Free Web Directory?

The two largest web directories have some cons WebSqurl avoids.  DMOZ is free but URL submissions can take over a year to be accepted.  Yahoo! Directory is expensive — $299 to submit plus $299 per year!  The initial $299 is non-refundable and does not even guarantee inclusion.

Fast Web Directory?

Site submissions to WebSqurl are free and are promptly reviewed.  Most URLs are indexed in less than 24 hours.  Yup, WebSqurl is a free web directory and pretty fast.  The plan is to keep “basic” site submission free, always free.

No-Spam Web Directory?

Most of the other web directories I’ve found are not free, and those that are “free” want extraneous information like home or business (physical) addresses and phone number.

Alternative Web Directories

If there are other free web directories out that don’t ask for addresses and phone numbers, I’d like to hear about them.  I’ll use them for my other sites, even for WebSqurl.  If you know of quality free web directories, submit them, and I’ll list them.

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WordPress Theme Update, ugh

  By WebSqurlBlog | August 25, 2011 - 11:24 pm | blog Leave a comment

By the time you read this I hope my theme issues are resolved.  I just updated my WordPress theme to a new version.  It chopped my Squirrel (Squrl) picture in half, and makes my blog page look less than optimal.

Update:  Mostly fixed.  Probably will be forced to use a smaller version of the Squirrel (Squrl) picture, but otherwise an improved WordPress Theme.

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