Over at her blog, Laura's posted about content curators. Unlike content creators, content curators filter and organize the content others have created -- using their own passion and information to shape and give meaning to the resource (web directory, social media topic expert, "lens" editor, etc.) they are creating.

As Laura notes, "A content curator can shape public opinion with the choices they make, the content they choose to include or pass by." Placement in such curated resrouces affects not only individual readers, but systems such as search engines.

Have you identified which curated resources you, your blog, etc., must be in?

Have you contacted those curators which ought to know about you, your site, your business?

If there's not really a great resource, why not start one?

By Deanna

PageRank, or PR, is one of the most misunderstood metrics in the measurement of your website's success.

What PageRank Is

PageRank is a whole number between 0 and 10 (i.e. PR0, PR3, etc.), with the most popular pages having a PageRank of 10, the least having a rank of 0. The ranking reflects a page's popularity, primarily based on the number of links to it and the rank of those sites linking to it. (Words used in text links, the size of the page itself, the page's content and words used in headlines, number of outbound links etc. are said to factor in as well) This rank is per page, not the entire site. So your site's main page usually has a much higher rank than any other page or post on your site.

You can read the detailed history and description of PageRank, look at diagrams and calculations of Google's PageRank Algorithm, but the basic premise is that PageRank is roughly based upon the quantity and quality of inbound links.

What Can PR Do? What Can You Do With PR?

Like Alexa, PageRank remains a popular or useful measuring device primarily because it's free. It's available to anyone, and can be used when calculating and negotiating ad rates, etc., and it can be one (of many) ways to calculate your site's growth. You can check your site's PR here. (It should be noted that the Goggle Toolbar PageRank value displayed is not the actual value Google uses;for some reason there is a lag in the Toolbar reflecting the actual rank information.)

Many people confuse PageRank with SEO. While the two are related in the sense that a page with higher PR is weighted higher in search engine algorithms (and, in cases of text links, the words in the link itself may help with higher search return placement or SERP), and webmasters and bloggers try to manipulate or "beat" the system, they are not synonymous.

People who were once banking on PR and those who financially speculate on SEO are now complaining and making predictions about PR.

They complain about the difficulty in trying to increase PR today compared to "back in the day." But Google has always acknowledged the mathematical fact that increases in the number of websites and webpages (including blogs and blog posts) decreases the approximation of PageRank, creates resistance to climbing higher in rank. This is why older sites, even established sites that are no longer active, benefit from their age -- even if they no longer receive new links in to them. So the explosive growth of blogs alone has created more friction in the uphill push for higher PageRank.

Others believe that PageRank, or at least the public sharing of the value, is going to be discontinued. The fact that PageRank is not included in Google's Chrome browser confirms their suspicions. But Google has made a concerted effort to downplay RageRank. "[J]ust because it's easy doesn't mean it's useful for you as a site owner," pushing Google Analytics instead.

The Bottom Line

The truth is, the easy days of PR have been over for awhile now, but ignoring the importance of links to your site is done to the detriment of your own site. Not simply in terms of PR, but in terms of discovery by new readers.

Links coming into your site are votes of confidence and recommendations from other bloggers and websites. This was the basic principal behind PageRank, after all.

But perhaps even more importantly, links are access to your site. Every link is an open door. So even if you don't use PR to monitor your site's popularity, you should focus on getting links to your site.

By Deanna

Tumblr has a bad rep in the blogosphere; it's notorious for its members taking the content of others without crediting it. But clients have asked or stated that they should "be on it," and so to be fair, I spent some serious time (about 11 months) using Tumblr -- under various niches and topics.

These are some of the things I learned about the site.

Tumblr is far more social network or community oriented than a standard "blog"; or maybe it's more accurate to say that Tumblr is more of an intense microcosm of blogging. The posts are shorter, more rapid, more plentiful -- mainly because nothing is actually created there. Instead it's based on reposting what others have created around the Internet, and then reposted and reposted over at Tumblr, in and out of the interconnected social circles of followers.

Tumblr is so based on the notion of regurgitating the posts and reposts of others, that the only real way to keep up is to stay logged in to Tumblr and sit at your dashboard, where you can see all the reposts of those you follow go by. For this reason, it has an addicting quality. But the price of such a glut of rehashed stuff is the need for more speed -- people clicking repost as fast as they can, more stuff flying at you.

That can be a time waster, but let's look at the more important things in terms of promoting your business, your site, your writing.

Tumblr is incredibly image oriented. Text posts and links are virtually ignored. Even when the photo you post has text or a link, these are seldom what makes a post popular i.e. reposted. In fact, your text and link have at least a 60% chance of being removed by the person reposting it. And link click-through rates, even when the link is the image credit (i.e. clicking the photo to get a larger version), are much lower than at regular blogs and websites -- including in the adult area.

That is the number on reason why using Tumblr to market your site or business is ineffective.

The popularity of a post is reposting. "Likes" do very little for you (since they are a one-click thing not requiring them to leave the dashboard, they are just a way for a user to more quickly add their "note" to a post).

Readers, followers, etc. are numbers that don't matter as much as the long string of "notes" (the list of people who reposted and liked the post). This is obviously increased by the number of people following you; but as long as your post is reposted by someone and reaches another circle of users, your post will go on and on, showing up on your dashboard over and over again. But, if no one is clicking the links, visiting your store etc., then so what?

Tumblr is also not the best way to have conversations with your customers or your target market either.

Comments are not actually built into the system (though you can add DISQUS) and conversations are discouraged in general. You can send a message via the "ask me" feature, but if you answer it, it's published at your Tumblr -- and the one who asked or commented does not get a notice of it. So unless they are logged in, are following you, and see it on their dashboard, how will they know you replied? And in order to continue the conversation, one of you will have to go back to the "ask" and start again. It's incredibly awkward.

Tumblr is also a rather closed community in the sense that anonymous (non-Tumblr users) are clearly second class citizens. In your Tumblr settings, you can allow or disallow anonymous to "ask" questions, but unless they say, "Hi, it's Susan," or otherwise identify themselves, you won't know who it is because Tumblr either recognizes a logged in user or labels them anonymous.

While the rest of the Internet is trying to engage readers across platforms, regardless of whether or not they are an official user/subscriber, Tumblr and, more importantly, Tumblr users deride and mock the "anons."

That's a closed community.

And now we get to the issue of what most irks people about Tumblr...

Contrary to what most of us were taught, having something unique to say or offer is not important at Tumblr. In fact, unless you are a big wig at Tumblr, your original content is likely to go completely unappreciated. People prefer to repost what the cool kids repost rather than be the person who finds unique or new things. These are the majority of the users at Tumblr.

The other group of users is a smaller group, but they are far too often those with larger followings. These are the folks who like to pose as the news makers, the creators, taking credit for what they found with the omission of where they found it, who owns it, etc. -- and they are to blame for Tumblr's poor reputation, even if the majority users are guilty of perpetuating it with all the reposts.

Some blame the ease of Tumblr's reposting and sharing widget are to blame for this, but if people were truly lazy and using Tumblr as it is, nearly every image raped from a site would have a link crediting where it was found (and, one hopes, more information on original source, etc.). But these people take great efforts to right-click-save an image, then upload it to Tumblr -- never crediting the photographer, scanner, or image owner.

This is a malicious act. It's done on purpose. It requires more effort than the one or two click of the Tumblr Bookmarklet sharing widget -- and it's done so they can act as if they put the time in on something they didn't. Often times, once they've saved the image on their computer, they'll even go so far as to remove copyright and URL information before uploading and posting to Tumblr.

The number of people who post that they're "going home to scan more photos of X" -- and then perform image searches for such photos and scans are astonishing. Those of us who spend the time scanning know what our scans look like -- where there's a wrinkle on the page, tanning, if we included text or not, etc.

All of this would be the silly poser stuff of teenagers -- if it weren't so infuriating. Because the bottom line is, there are many big bloggers out there who are so popular because they find and credit the cool stuff; they are like antique dealers who are adored by collectors with less time.

As if this weren't bad enough, many Tumblr users take great pride in expressing their indifference and defiance regarding copyright and intellectual property. Sidebars and profiles are filled with "I find stuff lots of places and if you're one of the credit nazis, don't follow me" and similar statements that I gather are supposed to appear as cool non-conformist, punk-rebellious, barbs at The Man. Unfortunately, the Internet is not The Man; so the ones they hurt are the ones who create the content -- artists, photographers, dedicated folks who scan antique and vintage works, etc.

No, Tumblr is not a good way to market your product, your website, etc.

Yeah, this post is so not going to make me popular at Tumblr. But what am I going to miss? Even more of my content going out and about uncredited?

I have since deleted my old test accounts at Tumblr. But I do retain a personal account there for two reasons:

One, a few ethical people I met there only post at Tumblr and so I can keep up with them

Two, sometimes logging in and scrolling the Tumblr dashboard provides some good leads on cool stuff. Such a stream of photos can provide a quick way to see things -- but it's deceptive in the sense that once I spy something cool, I'll have to put a lot of work in to searching for the images. (For that I use TinEye; a detailed account of how and why to use it is here -- the site is NWS.)

And when I do use it, it can be a tremendously frustrating time suck because so much uncredited stuff is coming at you so fast.

So overall, I do not recommend Tumblr as an effective way to market yourself or your blog; but it has its entertainment value and can be useful if you don't invest too much time in it.

I was on Twitter, and Gabriella Sannino aka SEOCopy tweeted:

If we use our traditional values in this now-digital world, we're going to fall behind... faster. http://ht.ly/3KQh4

I replied that I disagreed; and that I'd need more than 140 characters to say why. So here I am. *wink*

The link she tweeted was to this article by Mitch Joel. And what I disagreed with this part:

We are not going to bend technology and innovation to our will. We are not going to bend technology and innovation to our traditional, good old fashioned values. We (the digital immigrants) have to change. We (the digital immigrants) have to accept that as the world does open up and as people do continue to share their information and find out about brands in new and interesting ways, our only hope for adaption is to open our eyes, ears and minds... and to stop shaking our heads in disbelief.

I get where Joel's is going with this, especially when he ends with positive sentiments about keeping an open mind; but I still have difficulties...

Not with accepting technology and the cultural changes that have come along with it; but with the notion that somehow "traditional values" are at odds with it all.

Technology is made by people, for people; it serves people, and therefore our values. The desire, the need, to communicate, is one of the oldest values humans have; the tools have just changed. The instantaneous-ness has created a hyper-drive in terms of consumption (although, one could argue the chicken-egg of that; perhaps our desire to consume drove the tools). But at the end of the day, a bunch of people simultaneously shouting "Look at me!" with technology doesn't have any more impact on human behavior (including website conversion and consumer actions) than if we all physically went outside and shouted with our natural voices; it's all just noise. Our "traditional values" still help us decide which voices we trust, which messages are of value, which actions, if any, we might take.

I firmly, fundamentally, believe that we are not any different in our virtual digital technology-enabled environments than we were in our most natural or primitive ones; we are still humans. Humans hunting for and searching through all that we can, the best that we can, to meet our needs. Yes, we make (and buy) tools to do so. But the primary needs of food, shelter, procreation have not changed... Even the so-called lesser needs of companionship, expression and entertainment have remained. They are delivered differently; but the values themselves are there, just the same.

Posted by: Deanna

I've just finished a round of website reviews, and I'm here to tell anyone listening (which includes contacting a slew of former clients with whom I remain in close contact) that you need to implement or update your About and/or FAQ pages.

I know a number of bloggers using Blogger (Blogspot blogs) either avoided creating such pages or simply made posts they linked to and have passed out of mind as they have passed from sight. But now that Blogger offers "pages," you're out of excuses.

I know a number of people who said their site was so new no questions had been asked, let alone any questions frequently asked, so they put it off for another day... Those days have rolled into how many seasons or even years now? *wink*

Even those of you who took great efforts to create such information pages should really take another look at them...

The truth is About pages and FAQs are quite popular and important pages. They are where people look to make contact with you, where they look for more information to evaluate if and how to do business with you. That business may be buying ad space, arranging a link swap, or finding additional information needed in order to commit to buying your widget. In any case, every time that page isn't found, you've likely lost that sale.

After the round of such poor and just plain missing pages, I'm almost certain your site's About and FAQ pages would benefit from a critical update. I'd bet my reputation on it.

Would you bet your reputation on them? Because you are, you know.

If you aren't sure that your primary information pages are up to snuff, get them (and the rest of your site) evaluated by us with a website review.

If you're not sure just what information is necessary, which questions and answers should be on your FAQ, contact us about a consultation. We can assist you with a simple list of what you need, write it for you -- even code it for you, if necessary. Contact us with your needs and budget.

Posted by: Deanna

There's no such thing as a free lunch, or passive income; but there are ways to make some money with affiliate programs, AdSense, and more traditional forms of online advertising. Heck, you can even make money off the links of others who are targeting that sort of income themselves.

How?

Well, you can educate yourself in various ways... By reading all you can about selling, advertising, marketing, and making money -- online and off. And then investing some serious time in the real world of virtual knocks, giving what you've read those gold old fashioned trial and error tests.

Or you can get a good head start learning from my 14 years of working on and with the Internet with my white paper on advertising and affiliate programs.

For just $7 you'll get more than the fundamentals, but a rich overview of the sublime intricacies involved making money online via advertising and affiliate programs, and information on how to evaluate which programs would be best for your site.

This white paper is written mainly for bloggers & website owners, to assist them in evaluating affiliate and advertising programs. However, it will also help those looking to purchase advertising &/or promote their own affiliate programs by helping them to understand the sorts of concerns they may encounter along the way.

Even those who've been working online a long time have learned a new trick or two in this guide. (I'm pretty proud of that!)

Posted by: Deanna

We believe search engine optimization (SEO) is best and primarily served via the content you write. If you believe that, you may stop reading; but if you aren't convinced...

People seek entertainment and information the same way online as they do in the real world: by asking questions. The only real difference is that a lack of complete sentence structure and punctuation won't get in your way online. *wink*

You and I may differ wildly in terms of our demographics, interests, and needs (for example, perhaps you are a 20-something male interested in the latest tech gadget while I'm a 40-something female who may be looking up some obscure silent film actress), but we each end up doing the same thing. We each find ourselves at some search box, be it at a search engine, sales marketplace, or favored site, typing in text and clicking to get the results. Those words we typed are the questions we have; on the Internet, these queries are called "keywords."

What Google and other search engines, including internal search engines on individual websites, try to do is provide the best possible answers to our questions, the most relevant information that matches our query. Search engines are based on programs or algorithms which do their best to interpret what a searcher wants and, attempting to replicate human understanding, gives it to them based on the text or written content it can find.

In trying to take the search as question and help the person find the answer, Google et al employs not just what you say about your site (meta tags, descriptions, folksonomy, etc.), but what your site actually says. In other words, it 'reads' your site.

Every word in every post and page.

Including your links out to other sites (because if you're not having conversations with others, you might just be a mad mumbling fool talking to himself).

To check how much of authority or credibility a possible answer has, search engines also look to see not only who links to that page or post -- but for what. And just how do those links get there? By people who read your content!

Ah, the power of the written word.

But it doesn't end there.

Back to you and I as question seekers on the Internet...

After we've posed our questions and received a list of possible answers, we evaluate the responses to our questions.

We each use our own individual criteria for trustworthiness, we have different ideas of what’s funny or entertaining, etc., but we each sort through the options or answers provided to us and make determinations about what we find. And what do we questioning searchers use to evaluate the possible answers? We read the content.

First, we read the brief snippet of content shown with the link, as grabbed by the search engine; if that passes the mustard, we click and go on to read more of that page or post. If that's what we seek, we likely read the whole post or page -- maybe even reading more pages at the site, clicking what's recommended there, etc. If it's still not the answer we are seeking, we go back to the list of possible answers or try phrasing our question differently and begin our search for the truth all over again.

This is why written content is so important; what you write is how you are found and how your site is evaluated.

Believe it or not, search engines are our friends and partners in our quests, so there's no point in trying to "beat" Google or any search engine with SEO tactics.

What's the point in trying to divert those seeking information on silent film stars over to a site dedicated to tech gadgets -- or vice versa? Annoyance?

You can give yourself a little nudge with some basic use of technology to assist in SEO; but frankly, your time is best spent on creating unique content that will address the needs and interests of the question seekers.

Posted by: Deanna

The success of your virtual promotional tour is dependent upon several factors which you influence:

• The number of books, products, gift certificates that you can provide for reviews, contests, etc.
• The amount of your participation in the events (interviews, offers, comments you post, Tweets you make, etc.), communication with U.P. to the D.L. and hosts, as requested.
• The strength and appeal of your book, product, service, brand, etc.
• The performance and appeal of your website, blog, etc.
• The number of response options you offer (newsletters to subscribe to, social sites you belong to for "following," number and quality of sales outlets, etc.).
• Your efforts in promoting the tour, via your own site, BookTour.com, etc..

Authors who have traditional publishers (i.e. not self-published works) should check with the publisher, as they may pay for the Blog Tour fee, all or in part, &/or copies of the book out of the book's promotional or PR budget.

(In fact, authors who are shopping their books should take heed; many publishers, large and small, require authors to include a marketing plan of the author's promotional efforts and budget along with their manuscript submission.)

We also provide tips for our clients on how to make the most of a tour once it has officially ended.

Posted by: Deanna

Blogging is a form of self-publishing -- and it's a beautiful thing; but it comes with its own set of responsibilities.

I personally don't abide Paid Posts and proudly proclaim my No Payola status, but as those posts rather cover my sentiments, today I'll focus on the ethics involved in Blog Tours -- specifically in terms of the rules of our Blog Tour Services.

These rules are based not only on the experiences we've had hosting blog tours, posting reviews, receiving pitches to promote this or that, but on fundamental ethics -- good ol' common sense. And these rules are designed to protect the integrity of bloggers, blog readers, consumers, and promoters alike.

Rule #1 It is not ethical to review something you've never used, read or otherwise employed; that's fraud. Therefore, asking a person to commit a fraudulent act is unethical, at best.

Rule #2 It is unethical, to say the least, to insist a reviewer not publish or share a review that is not flattering. Such "reviews" are not reviews at all; reviews are to be thoughtful opinions, educated critiques, and, above all, honest. Individual hosts may, after reviewing the item and honestly disliking it, post their negative (but not hate-filled or personally attacking) review as they wish; or, they may wish to contact us for help regarding their conflicted responses and uncomfortable situations.

Rule #3 Follow-through on what you promise. Send your review copies, samples, contest prizes on time; publish your blog tour event as promised; get back to people as promised. In the rare cases where "life happens," please contact U.P. to the D.L. as soon as possible to communicate and problem solve the situation.

Any and all persons who break these rules, are found to be guilty of such unethical behavior, will not be allowed to participate in any U.P. to the D.L. projects of any kind. Offenders may also find themselves the subject of unwanted press, with a public disclosure of their behavior.

I know these rules may sound more stern or even scary rather than inviting, but practicing these principles protects and respects the integrity of all involved! It is our expectation that everyone upholds these values and has a commitment to the rights of consumers and brands.

Posted by: Deanna