Tanuu Blog

As a member of several search engine optimization forums, I
have frequently noticed (especially since Yahoo recently decided
to try their hand at competing with Google) that the stress level
of many webmasters has gone way up. This condition applies not
only to webmasters involved in Internet-based home businesses,
but to webmasters in general.

Additionally, it seems that many people that are in the business
of search engine optimization (SEO) are, with good reason, going
completely bonkers. As Google came on the scene in 1998 and
quickly dominated the search business, website optimization
became largely a game of shooting at a single target, namely,
pleasing Google…for all intents and purposes, Google became the
“800 pound gorilla” of the search engine business.

Since the advent of search engines (particularly Google) spawned
the whole SEO business, I guess its only fair that the search
engine industry can once again turn the SEO business on its ear,
and it seems now to be sort of a cat and mouse (not desktop)
relationship that can get really interesting as we move forward.

Not only are there now several viable players (most notably
Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Ask Jeeves) in the search engine
business, but they are all adopting different and frequently
changing algorithms for determining the ranking positions for
websites.

The current game is that webmasters are trying to
figure out how the various search engines perform their rankings
and, on the flip side, the search engines are striving to be
quite unpredictable to those webmasters and SEO firms.

For those people using websites to promote home-based businesses,
it can be stressful constantly trying to determine “what the
search engines want” and agonizing over every downward
fluctuation in rankings that their website may experience.

Looking forward in time, I think we can expect that rankings will
fluctuate frequently and will not be at all consistent from one
search engine to another. It will be quite common that for a
particular search term a website might suffer a drop in position
ranking for search engine “A” and an increase position ranking
for search engine “B” at essentially the same point in time.

Rather than stressing out over every position ranking “wiggle”, a
better approach might be to just focus on “what do visitors to
my site want?”. The search engines are striving to give their
users a quality (relevant) search experience and if you are
focused in giving visitors to your website what they are looking
for, these paths will meet somewhere down the road.

You can save yourself alot of consternation by focusing upon the
needs of the website visitors you are seeking to attract, rather
than chasing the frequently changing ranking algorithms of
several search engines. Focus on a single target instead of
chasing several moving targets at the same time.

This article pertains to natural searches only, as paid search
engine advertising is a completely different situation.

Kirk Bannerman operates his own successful home based business
and also coaches others seeking to start their own home based
business. For more information visit his website at
Proven Work At Home Business

More and more non-profit organizations are developing websites to help share information about their mission and programs. This involves strategic planning about the best way to present your image and message online. Once your site is up, your organization also has to be ready to keep information current and to maintain consistent outreach activities. If your group is planning a Web site, consider:

1. How does your organization plan to use your site? Is it for marketing your organization, raising funds, providing information, announcing events, attracting volunteers, starting a discussion group, or something else? Answering this question will help you to develop a site that best suits your group’s needs.

2. Who is your group trying to reach? Think strategically about the audience you are trying to target. Are they current or potential clients? Are they donors? Volunteers? A particular group in the community? Tailor your website to speak to that audience.

3. What information do you want to include? Some of the components you can incorporate on your site include: your mission, a list of programs and goals, contact information (staff list, e-mail addresses, mailing address, phone and fax numbers, and directions to your organization), list of special events and dates, organizational history, links to other websites, volunteer opportunities, and press releases.

4. If your NPO wants to engage in online fundraising (and you should!), then carefully consider the following: How will online giving be managed internally? What online forms will you use to gather donor information? How will you ensure security for donor information and credit cards? What offline options will donors have who do not want to give online? Which giving options will be included on the site (ex: planned giving, current campaigns, future projects, etc.)?

Once you’ve decided on your content, speak to a web designer about the “look” of the piece. The impression that you give offline should be carried into your online presence. Your website is an important tool to reinforce your identity, image, and credibility. In addition to text, you can include full-color photography, your logo, and graphic images. Keep the copy simple and include interesting visual images that show the work you are doing in the community and the audiences you serve.

Marketing your site is as important as designing it. There are many ways to promote your website, both online and offline. Most people who visit your site learn about it from printed material, not from looking it up on a search engine.

For offline marketing, add your URL address to business cards, stationery, newsletters, brochures, fax cover sheets, and so on. List your website on any materials that you hand out at conferences, seminars, and workshops. Put it next to your organization’s mailing address and phone number. Send out a card or letter to announce the launch of your site and include an article about it in your newsletter. Send press releases to the local newspapers and to professional publications announcing your website. Make sure that your staff, Board, and volunteers know the site address and can

I’m really, truly fed up with spam. Every day when the spam arrives and Norton Security moves it into the Norton Anti-spam folder of my Outlook email client, I wonder how anyone can be so incredibly stupid as to waste their time sending me such garbage.

Let’s face it; I never read it. I never buy anything from unsolicited sources or do anything as a result of spam. I detest it! And God knows I don’t need viagra, however many times it’s offered.

What fool would send anyone a message about a mortgage application approval when he has owned his house for years?

What fool would write offering me a peep at her new porn site? I’m not interested in porn … I prefer the real thing. Offer me something tangible and I may get excited.

I guess you probably feel the same.

Unfortunately, the plague of spam isn’t going to fade away any time soon, although authorities (at least in Australia) have started taking legal action and imposing hefty penalties for spamming. Hallelujah!

As a last resort, I decided to make my own small contribution to reducing the spam plague. If each of us does something, the cumulative effect will be damaging to the spammers. Here’s what I did. I’ve collected thousands of email addresses that arrived in spam messages and ended up in my blacklist. I decided I’d give those people using automatic harvesting software an opportunity to suck up all those addresses and reuse them.

I’ve dedicated quite a few pages on my site that have nothing but the email addresses from the blacklist. That is, the addresses of the spammers, most of which are false and don’t lead to anyone … at least not to anyone who can read (otherwise I’d include an obscene message).

When the spam harvesting software goes through my site, it won’t find a single working email address in my site proper, but it will stumble on a goldmine of addresses and load them into it’s database. It will be stuffed full of email addresses, none of which work. The spammers will pay to send them out and they’ll bounce somewhere, hopefully right back to them.

Imagine what would happen if we all did that? There would be so many dud addresses floating around that harvesting would be a waste of time. the spammers would all go away and do something legitimate … perhaps.

You and I would get some relief from these annoying intruders in our email inboxes.

If you are in a position to load your site with a few thousand dud email addresses, why not give it a go and Stuff the Spammers?

Published May 2005. Copyright Robin Henry 2005

Robin Henry is an educator, human resources specialist and Internet marketer whose firm, Desert Wave Enterprises, helps individuals and businesses improve their performance by using smart processes, smart technology and personal development. He has a number of tertiary qualifications including a Master of Education degree majoring in education technology and online learning. He lives at Alice Springs In Central Australia. Visit