Advertising

Check out the advertising on SearchKing.com/

Featured Site of the Month

Banner and Texts Ads

Discount if you list your URL in our directory

594 Prayer

Relax your mind and humble your heart to focus on Christ. Allow God to be the only person on your mind while you read this prayer. If we can take the time to read long jokes, stories, etc., we should give the same respect to this prayer. Friends, who pray together, stay together. 
If you pray this prayer, change the number. 



Dear Lord, I thank you for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.

Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over.. Let me conti

nue to see sin through God's eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrongdoing, and receive the forgiveness of God. And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example -- to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will. Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak.. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those who are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those who are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don't know You intimately. I pray for those who will delete this without sharing it with others. I pray for those who don't believe. But I thank you that I believe. I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met. I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly.. This is my prayer. In Jesus' Name,  Amen. Pass this  message on! Who knows who might need this today. DON'T FORGET TO CHANGE THE NUMBER IN THE SUBJECT BOX.  No one stands as tall as a Christian on his knees.

 

A.S.A.P.

The love of God is like the ocean, you can see its beginnings, but not its end... "In GOD We Trust!" "Put Prayer back in our Schools"

NEVER judge what you don't understand!

Hard to explain to someone who has no clue. Or doesn't believe you. It's a daily struggle being in pain or feeling sick on the inside while you look fine on the outside. Please put this as your status for at least 1 hour if you or someone you know has an invisible illness (Pancreatitis, Crohn's, PTSD, Anxiety, Bipolar, Depression, Diabetes, LUPUS, Fibromyalgia, MS,Lupus, ME, Arthritis, Cancer, Heart Disease, Epilepsy, Autism,M.D. Evan Syndrome,Kidney Disease etc.) " Never judge what you don't understand.

McAfee Error Message

what you have to do:

The message you posted looks like it comes from McAfee's Site Adviser and it doesn't show up if it isn't installed. Their site summary only has annoyances in bold and describes them as number of popups and cookies installed. As this is an issue with McAfee's security ratings we can't begin troubleshooting without more information from McAfee. 

You can start the dispute process and ask them what we can do to get your site taken care of with the contact information below . 

To begin, please submit your rating dispute via email at support@siteadvisor.com or support@siteadvisor.com

 online.

http://www.siteadvisor.com/userfeedback.html

During the evaluation of this dispute, McAfee communicates with site owners via e-mail.

Looking for a competitive edge?

Looking for a competitive edge?

Accept the Internet for what it truly is ..... A MARKETING TOOL!

Get More Sales!

Every client is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. This specialized attention is not only focused on generating traffic, but also heavily focused on conversions. You will have more than eight years experience in web site promotion working for you.

Don't Fear Success!

You CAN have the online success you have always wanted. Our methods have proven themselves effective many times over. All of the knowledge and resources we have acquired over the years will be put to work for you.

You can spend a lot of time and money trying to put your site in a top position and still not have a top placement. You have a business to run, what you need is someone who can deliver customers to you.

Aggressive internet marketing gets you what you are looking for .... more MONEY!. Hiring a service like ours let's you put your focus where it needs to be, on making more SALES.

Effective Techniques Get You Results

Give us a call, or eMail and let us evaluate your needs and devise a strategy geared for success.

Google's latest algorithm changes

With Google's latest algorithm changes, it's now more important than ever to secure High Quality back links to your website.

Google puts a heavy emphasis on back links to any website...but it's the type of links that the search engine is examining more closely now. Sure, you could have THOUSANDS of links pointing to your site from fly-by-night sources. Even legitimate links that only "appear" spammy can hurt your site's rankings!

That's why we at SearchKing help you focus on getting Permanent quality links to your site from some of the best web directories. Our Web Directory Submission Service delivers from 215 up to 5,000 directory submissions, depending on the package you choose. Build permanent links gradually with unique link text and manual submissions.

Ready to secure your linking strategy for better rankings? Click here to select an affordable Web Directory Submission package today:

web directory submission

SearchKing’s services over the years including: link building, targeted emailings, Mall link, targeted traffic, article marketing, press releases and others. The result? My website is at the top of all related Google and Bing searches along with the articles they wrote about my training way back in 1997. I find their services through, long lasting and they get results! When I have questions I talk to SearchKing who has been a great help in my online journey. I’m not sure how it all works but it has sure worked for me.

Get THOUSANDS of high quality links to your site from TOP Web Directories - you don't have a minute to lose when it comes to Google and other search engine rankings. So click below to enhance your link strategy affordably now:

web directory submission

Happy Marketing,

What Happened to SearchKing?

The Big Idea

The big idea actually had nothing to do with building a network of niche portals at first.

In the summer of 1997, I hung out a lot at the Warriors forums. Kind of the SEW of it's day, complete with it's own Googleguy of sorts. Only back then Infoseek was king.

Anyway, someone posted that they had been busted by Infoseek but that no one from the company would answer their emails and they wondered what they could do. Looked upon as a kind of resident SEO expert within the community, I replied that it may be easier to just get another domain and start over rather than begging for a response from a company notorious for their lack of responses. Well, some IS employee with an email address of spamassasin, emailed me that Infoseek did not like people recommending multiple domains to one person so they wiped out the placements of my domain and every client we had. You know how they knew who my clients were? Because like the naive, peace and love, ex-hippy I was, I listed all my clients right on my main website with contact details and urls as references.

I have always had a real problem with authority and my perception of the abuse of authority really gets me motivated. Motivated to get me suspended from school. Motivated to leave home at an early age. Motivated to sue huge tech companies and basically motivated to take a bad situation and usually make it much worse. I admit to being guilty of being bull-headed, tenacious, unwilling to listen and unshakeable in my convictions once filled with righteous indignation.

So, here was a company who had just tried and convicted me because I answered a question in an effort to assist someone who Infoseek could have answered themselves and the question would have never been asked in the first place. This company whose vice president at the time was dominating the 6 o'clock news for being arrested while trying to hook up with a 13 year old girl he had seduced in an internet chat room, and had now passed judgment on me without any semblance of due process. I was motivated.

Furthermore, this was a company that was putting fast meta refreshes to the top within 30 minutes of submitting. Their answer to fighting this problem was to disable the auto submit on weekends. I thought it was a poor excuse for a real search engine compared to Alta Vista, Excite, Lycos and HotBot and I didn't feel they would have ever gotten as big as fast as they did had it not been for SEO's talking them up. I thought I could do better with my limited tech knowledge and even more limited revenue stream. In hindsight, that was my first mistake.

The idea was simply to put more focus on human review. To me, Infoseek and the others main objective was to eliminate the expense of human involvement. To try to automate algorithmically, the process of cataloging huge volumes of data. I could see the profit potential in trying to get one machine to do the work of a lot of people, but I could also see the reality was far from actually doing it.

I wanted a way to do get Yahoo quality without the expense, (which I felt I couldn't afford at the time), of a staff of hundreds of editors. A way to use human intellect and opinion on an individual basis to improve relevancy and use the computer programs only to make the process scalable. Still motivated, I set out to find the people that could help me build it.

After a couple of feeble attempts with a few internet notables such as Dave Kelly and Jude Lacour,( before they became internet marketing icons), I wised up a little and sit down and actually drafted a business plan complete with objectives, strategies, cash flow studies and basic software design. I found a local company desperately wanting to get their development company off the ground and met a very smart young man who, using my basic design documents, put together a real one. I was impressed, made the deal and SearchKing was born.

To my knowledge, SearchKing was the first search engine to ever effectively use searcher responses in the form of votes as the backbone of a working algorithm. We had instant indexing. We allowed you to instantly edit your own titles and descriptions. We had a pretty sophisticated adult word filter that actually worked back in 98 and we had a philosophy born out of those Search Engine Forum discussions that Kira mentioned. We had no system for penalizing anything. We took the approach that we were not trying to penalize and filter out the bad stuff, rather we were focused on trying to reward and include the good stuff. A concept that I believe has merit even today.

I was now about $30,000 in the hole and a monthly cost of about $1500 to keep it maintained. We were plagued by Microsoft/Linux compatibility problems from starting out on a MS box and being limited by the features offered then starting to use the open source magic of Linux. Microsoft never has liked that much. I began learning about things like DNS, IP addresses, routers, networked servers, oh yeah and let's not forget about that, "show up unexpectedly and never leave while eating you out of house and home" buddy, ---- bandwidth.

Still, I saw the whole thing as a success. I actually had built something pretty neat and I was proud.

The idea for a network of portals came from the fact that after about 18 months we realized that people don't go to search engines to work harder. The purpose of a search engine is to SERVE a human searcher, not to expect that searcher to SERVE the search engine. This is why there are no well known voting search engines right now. There are plenty of "rate this site" buttons on small engines the world over, including the free SK portals, but so few people take the time to do the voting that it shoots scalability and predictability right out the window.

That's when we decided that expecting a few people to rate everything was not going to work. A better approach would be to provide the tools to people who wanted to review a lot of data that pertained to a specific subject and form a centralized location to direct the search traffic to a keyword specific "portal" as opposed to a website. In the beginning, our focus was on local portals. I think we even called the first offering Hometown portals or something like that. At the time, using a search engine to get a pizza delivered was still just a glimmer in the eye of a few tech start ups like City Search. Turns out it is much harder than it sounds.

By this time, my relationship with the people who had built the first SK engine was becoming strained. They had way underbid the deal from the beginning and it was becoming increasingly obvious with each passing day. I pitched my idea of making the SK software available as a shared program but they were able to convince me that it could not work. They were right as it turns out. Enter Hyperseek.

Not long afterward, we changed our company slogan to SearchKing is the foundation and traffic generating center of the world's largest network of independent niche directories.

I will stop here as I prepare the next post. Please bear with me as it is going to take me some time. In the meantime, I believe every article I wrote going into great detail just what the plan was, is archived in the portal partner press.com It may not be responding properly as I am still in server hell, but it is there.

The Money

In '97 and '98 the tech stock boom was just getting really hot. Anyone recall Webvan? The 200 million dollar venture capital deals were really throwing a monkey wrench in the conventional wisdom of evaluating start ups. Still, the internet was basically a small town in the old west that just had a railroad line go through it. I can't imagine the California gold rush of 1849 coming close to rivaling the rush to Silicon Valley. It seemed everyone was ready to make a deal.

I'm sure that environment had more than a little to do with my cost estimates being in the hundreds of thousands to get the search engine built. I realized even though I was being quoted prices in that range, that estimates rarely come in UNDER budget. I knew from the very beginning that what I was proposing would take more than a year and cost close to a million dollars. The problem was, I didn't have a million dollars.

I also knew that venture capital was a definite probably not for me. I don't have a college degree and if I were going to invest in a company, I would expect more formal education than I could offer. I knew from the beginning that whatever it cost, I didn't have it, no one was going to give it to me and if I needed money, I would have to MAKE it.

In 1995, at the age of 41, I owned a printing shop specializing in business cards ready in an hour. I sold a lot of business cards. So many in fact that I soon found myself putting in more and more 14 hour days. I lived on coffee, cigarettes and fast food and as any sane person could expect, I had multiple heart attacks that summer. I lost just about everything and fell into a deep depression. The internet saved my life, and still, as much as I hate computers, I dearly love the internet and the promise it offers to all.

I never had any idea I would have a knack for thinking like a search engine and be able to understand what makes one document addressing the same question get put on top of another. Turns out I did. By the end of '97 I had actually rebuilt a life based on placing websites in the top of the results of Infoseek mainly, (I can actually kind of understand why they didn't like me much), under terms that made my clients money. Boy, was it easy pickins back then. Swear to goodness, in early '97 I don't think there were more than about 200 people in the world doing SEO. It wasn't even called that back then. Can you imagine. All that greed and desire divided up between only 200 people. Ahhh, those were the days my friend.

So, by March of '98 I planned on supporting SearchKing with the money I generated from Magic-city.net, the search engine placement service. More than a little ironic I know. That's what I did and that is part of why I'm in such dire straits today, technically speaking. I've always had to keep my eye on expenses rather than expansion. That is not the optimal situation for a business wanting to grow. Typical, just not optimal.

I have never had the luxury of being in a position to hire the best people for the job. I have been more inclined to hire the people willing to do the job for what I could afford to pay. I could very likely hold the world's record for getting the most benefit from employees for the least salary than anyone in history. I have had some really exceptional people do some incredible things for much less than they deserved.

That said, to date, I have spent a little over 1.2 million on building and maintaining SearchKing. Both as a search engine and as a portal network. I have had to adjust my projections almost quarterly since the beginning and I would say realistically, it is going to take another 5 million minimum to actually complete the "plan".

Motivational Quote

Empathy

Definition – What is empathy all about?

Being able to empathize means to be capable of identifying and understanding another person’s feelings, without experiencing them for yourself at that particular moment. It is – just as previously discussed – the ability to literally experience the world from another person’s perspective; to walk in their shoes, to view life from their living conditions and to feel what it feels like to be that person.

The noun em•pa•thy refers to

* the ability to comprehend another person’s actions and emotions
* the identification of thoughts and emotional states within others
* the capacity to understand a persons (emotional) reaction
* the awareness of another’s problems, without experiencing them
which can be – in general – understood as the ability of a person to understand others or to “see where they are coming from”. In contrast to this, the personality trait of a person that is incapable of empathizing with others would be defined as a sociopath.

Surprisingly, the ability to empathize with others is relative to a person’s capacity to identify, feel and understand his own feelings and thereby being able to project one’s feelings onto others. This means in turn that it becomes complicated at times to understand what a person is undergoing, if you haven’t undergone it for yourself – or at least felt similar feelings. The outcome of this can be seen in our day-to-day lives; it’s relatively easy to laugh about someone who is not as tall as you, or to rant about “the lazy unemployed” when you have never been unemployed in your life, or grown up in riches. But once you experience for yourself what it feels like to be teased about your body height or the difficulty to find a job, your point of view might change drastically and also how you feel about those who are facing a similar situation.

Another aspect that empathy depends on is emotional intelligence. This kind of intelligence has not so much to do with mental skills (intellect) or the intellectual ability to study an emotion, but a lot more with actually experiencing these emotions. A person that has experienced a variety of emotional states and feelings throughout its life – from the heights of victory, happiness and joy to the depths of defeat, sadness and anxiety – will find it easier to understand another person’s problems and feelings. Furthermore, emotional intelligence enables a person to empathize with someone, without the need to have felt likewise in the past. Basically, it’s the mental projection into the emotional state of mind of another person, allowing you to identify their feelings.

How to develop and increase empathy?

1. Walk a mile in someone’s shoes – figuratively

Now, if you think about the events of the last two weeks, I’m pretty sure that there was at least one person, a colleague, your boss or even a friend – whosoever – that has angered you for any reason. If you reflect what happened in this situation, angered emotions might stir up again, but this time try to recall the situation – if possible – as unemotional as possible. You can think about your standpoint, your argumentation and the reasoning behind YOUR behavior for a short while. But then, try to step into the shoes of your counterpart – the person that angered you so much. This might be difficult to begin with, but give your very best and slip into the role of that person and try to view the whole world from that person’s perspective, just for a couple of minutes. Attempt to leave your opinion of your counterpart aside for a while, no matter how arrogant, illogical or full of himself that person appears in your opinion. While in this state of unbiasedness it will hopefully be possible to identify and understand the reasoning behind your opponent’s behavior, whether you approve of it or not is not so important. By understanding the reasons behind your counterpart’s behavior you have mastered an important hurdle on your path towards compassion. Don’t be discouraged if you do not spot the reasoning immediately – every (sane) person has a reason for what they do, it’s just sometimes really difficult to discover and understand that particular reason.

Basically, it’s the switch in perspectives David Nichtern is speaking about in his article on the pursuit of happiness: developing empathy for others. He not only says that you should ask yourself what the situation looks like to the other person, but also that this kind of “switch in perspective is the basis for developing empathy.”

2. Developing empathy out of a person’s motive

I think that once you understand at least the motive behind a person’s action, it’s by far easier to empathize with them. (Please note that we are speaking of regular people you come into contact in your daily life, not criminals!). Your boss, for instance, might be very demanding at times, but maybe you’ll notice that his pressuring bosses could be the reason for this. Maybe, he hasn’t experienced any other management style than his own bosses are setting an example of. By realizing this, you could clearly see that your boss is just a product of his environment, unable to comprehend his misbehavior.

The very same holds true with a person’s background, personal circumstances, education and so on. In many cases, people will start an argument with an uninvolved third party just to let off steam, or because they are still lost in thoughts about an exasperating situation. Therefore, you should not only seek for the reasoning behind a person’s action, but also try to understand how it would FEEL like to be your counterpart. From that particular moment where you understand just a slight fraction of the problems and feelings your counterpart is facing in life, it will become easier for you to empathize with them.

3. Replace anger with compassion

Once you get a hang of stepping into another person’s shoes, you can try to implement this technique into your daily life – in real time. Make it an intention of yours to respond with understanding instead of anger. Thereby, you can avoid leaping to conclusions and hasty reactions you might regret later. For instance, the next time someone angrily hoots with his car horn at you, try to think for a moment what reason might have led this person to hoot at you, instead of reacting instantly by making gestures or screaming insults. That way, you might discover that your opponent was just offended or is in a rush – which is none of your business and not worth your attention at all.

At some point, you might automatically step into another’s shoes before responding emotionally, allowing you to come to a wiser conclusion than starting an argument or a fight, for instance.

4. Discover the similarities, not the differences

In this (often times) self-centered world, it seems that many have forgotten that not only they are on a pursuit of happiness, but everyone else is as well. Naturally, this is doomed to cause conflicts, as by centering the whole world on ourselves, we tend to forget about others, which is causing us to see by far more differences between ourselves and “them”. But in reality, we are all the same. No matter of our ethical background, skin color or religious orientation – we all are striving for happiness, peacefulness and love. Also, each of us is trying to avoid sadness and suffering at best. So, instead of being blinded by the differences that superficially separate you from another person, try to acknowledge the commonalities you share with this person.

5. Don’t judge too hastily

When we meet a person for the first time, we immediately put them into boxes, subconsciously, if we want it or not. The first impressions can have a long lasting effect on what we think about a person – until we really get to know them better. Often times, we don’t even think much about this process happening and allow our “intuition” guide us when forming an opinion about others. It is important that you realize that this is a natural process unfolding that unfortunately creates a lot of biases. In order to empathize with others, it’s crucial to set aside your biases and generalizations, in order to see behind the façade.

Before you judge someone, ask yourself if you know this person inside out and if you know what made them the person that they are today. If you can understand what they go through day after day, if you can relate to them and what it must feel like to be in their position, then you can form an opinion about them, without being biased. Notwithstanding, it should be noted that unless you really experienced the exact same situation as another person, with the same burdens, problems and suffers, you should ask yourself if you are in the proper position to judge or even criticize this person.

Also, it’s important to acknowledge the fact that others perceive their reality through biases, values and generalizations as well, which might highly influence their behavior.

6. Become aware of your emotional landscape

I’ve mentioned in the above that the ability to empathize with others largely depends on a person’s capacity to fully identify and understand his own feelings. Something many people are struggling with, as they give their best to numb themselves from unsolicited feelings by distracting themselves with work, TV or drugs and alcohol. Therefore, it can be tremendously helpful to keep an “emotions protocol” in order to discover the profundity of one’s emotional patterns, by keeping record of the various emotions we come across in our daily lives. This does not only encourage us to uncover the variety of our own emotions, but also helps us to acknowledge the fact that the emotional landscape of another person is similarly distinctive.

Writing an “emotions protocol” does neither require much effort nor time; simply write down – within the time span of five minutes – every emotion or feeling that you experienced during the day. For instance, if you experienced anger write down: “Sore anger: My colleague was promoted, instead of me.” Keep it plain and simple; the goal is to identify a huge variety of very different feelings and emotions.

7. Ask others about their perspective

The very last aspect on our list on how to develop skills in empathy describes a fantastic way that helps you to further increase and sharpen your empathic skills. Furthermore, it allows you to compare what you thought a person would feel like and how this person feels de facto. It’s as simple as the title of #7 reads; simply ask others about their perspective or even their feelings regarding a specific situation or occurrence. That way, you aren’t dependent on your sensitivity, but have a statement to compare your impressions with. Feel free to apply this technique wherever you feel fit, for instance, ask your colleagues about their opinion on the political development, and so on.

As closing remarks, let me point out that empathy is – luckily – a learned skill that can develop and grow through consistent practice. Therefore, if you are willing to increase your understanding of the behavior of others, it is never too late to learn it.

SearchKing Offices

TimeLine of SearchKing Offices in United States and India

Honesty

It is difficult, but not impossible,
to conduct strictly honest business.
... Mahatma Gandhi

PORTAL PARTNER PRESS August 2003

===========Volume 5, Issue 11, August 1, 2003 
==========
Subject: Portal Partner Press
Volume 5, Issue 11, August 1, 2003 

Date: Sent: Monday, August 04, 2003 4:31 PM 
editor@portalpartnerpress.com
********************************************************************************

Portal Partner Press: Volume 5 Issue 11, August 1, 2003
ISSN 1545-3499
In this Issue:
Editor's Notes (Lynne Scott)
Hot in the Forums Ask Paynt (Debra Paynter) 
********************************************************************************


This week we have some great stuff from Debra Paynter. She's really rising to the challenge of answering your questions on portal building. Thanks Debra, we truly appreciate having you share your expertise with us!
Housekeeping: I forgot one tasty little tidbit last week. SearchKing is offering free, brandable games to portal partners. You can see the game server at http://www.searchking.com/games Contact kevin@searchking.com to ask for yours.
Coming Soon: watch for the launch of the Independent Niche Directory Network. INDN aims to "lay the foundation for a community dedicated to the advancement, promotion and profitability of human reviewed data presentation serving niche markets."
Hot in the Forums:
> Portals Get a Good Kick in the Pants: it seems some people think that portals are trying to do too much, instead of concentrating on their core product. What do you think? Should portals dump their community tools, or should they keep trying out "sticky stuff"?
Talk Back:
http://www.searchking.com/skboards/ikonboard.cgi?s=7bcb48413a47454e86f7e4555d93c4da;act=ST;f=4;t=380;st=10;&#entry13
Lynne Scott is a graphic designer and partner in Optical Resolution, a Winnipeg, MB design house. She runs the Graphic Design Portal, Eye on Winnipeg, and KidsEdLinks.com. as well as serving as editor for the PPP. 
**********

Ask Paynt
Debra Paynter
We received three questions this month, thanks for taking the time to write.

• What is the easiest way you've found to fill your database? Where do you get your sites when starting out? First create a content rich product. Make sure it's within a defined niche or theme. Present your linking policy in very clear terms and provide both a form and an email address for submissions or communication. Think about what you are going to offer your listings in return, and if there is a cost involved. Given you have a product to offer that is what your linking audience is interested in linking to; creating the appropriate bait is half the battle. 
The next step is to determine who the linking audience is. More often than not, people limit their options by not keeping an eye open to the peripheral markets. When I am marketing linking towards a body care product, such as hand lotion, I'm going to think of complimentary lines. I'm thinking about what else the person who is looking for hand lotion might also be looking for. Those are all open to linking possibilities if you have the content to support it. 
People are eager for opportunities to link. Those offering higher levels of linking opportunity, not just a link page, are in a better position to draw in link submissions. Create a hub or niche portal that offers information, resources and community and your product will be more likely than others to succeed. Success still comes down to the passion and drive behind the product. People can feel that. 
Make it personal. Ensure that you method of communication is clearly defined, encouraged and easy to follow. Communicate with your audience. Don't be afraid to change and adapt content to what you see your visitors wanting more of. Much of this information will come through your logs but you can establish other methods including chats, message boards, newsletters and even polls. 
Initially I attempt to seed each category with 5 links, the best I find for that category. I let the sites know I've listed them and then I make my plea or plug or sale as the case may be. Remember to personalize your initial contacts. Ask for input and feedback. See if they would like to contribute in other ways. You never know where one link can take you. 

• There seems to be a lot of negative comments about the ODP lately. Would you care to comment on what you see as the future of the ODP? I am not a mind reader and I have no inside scoop, but, if I were to put money on it, I don't see ODP going away and I do see the benefit of a link there continuing to hold an important rank. It's a link worth getting and worth waiting for. In the mean time you want to be hustling related industry and directory linking. When the ODP link finally comes through it's gravy. 
ODP has developed through trial and error and, with contributions from very talented volunteers, into quite a directory. We can learn from its example and use it as a guide for both structure and potential listings when developing a directory of our own. Look at the niches within the ODP and imagine what you could do to perfect them. 

• If you could create your own spider for building a niche directory, what features would you like it to have? Could you briefly describe your "dream" admin control panel for such a spider? This is a great question and warrants more space than available this month so I would like to carry it over to next month. Thank you for writing. I'd promised more on structuring the hub and we have three excellent questions as well this week. I don't want anyone of them to be slighted. 
To continue, as I promised, with last month's discussion on structuring the hub, I'll introduce channels for you to think about. Not everyone wants to or should use canonicals (subdomains) in their structuring, but I do. Canonicals make it very easy to structure content and organize information, giving each a potential boost in positioning. There are secrets wrapped up in my canonical strategy but it's not too hard to imagine they include content. 
I organize my hubs by channels of either related information, a related presentation of information such as a glossary or directory, sometimes even by product or manufacturer. Initially themes are what start the process, based on what content we have to support that channel's development. If the whole directory or hub strategy is to divide it into channels, then I break them into complete topics. Last month I introduced the skateboarder into punk music as a possible hub idea. That doesn't seem to threaten any of you and it's a current interest of mine so I'll continue to use it as an example. 
Let's assume I've done my research, I know who my audience is and I've decided to divide the information into individual sections of thought. One channel is for the artists, the musicians and bands. Once I have determined the topic of the channel itself there are still decisions. I need to consider the section in complete terms, brainstorming, filtering, sorting and then strategizing the sub categories. Will I divide the sub categories based on the alphabet, genre, bands, and location? What fluff do I need to support the channel beyond the listings? What bait can I offer to draw listings, attract search engines and build returning traffic? 
In structuring the site consider the housekeeping pages. I've followed different strategies and now just include robots noindex, follow in the Meta tags for pages that offer no content to convert traffic.
If you want me to share more on structuring please let me know. 
Debra Paynter
Send your questions and comments to Ask Paynt: mailto:editor@portalpartnerpress.com?subject=Ask_Paynt
Debra Paynter of www.promotion-strategies.com is now blogging daily. Contact Debra for an affordable Foundation Plan to structure your online promotional strategies. She is accepting new projects from small websites to larger portal development. 
**********************************************************************
Feedback: your comments, suggestions, beefs, bouquets, etc. are very welcome. 
**********************************************************************
Portal Partner Press Archives: http://www.portalpartnerpress.com 
**********************************************************************

PORTAL PARTNER PRESS July 2003

========Volume 5 Issue 9 July 11, 2003
========
Subject: Portal Partner Press: Volume 5 Issue 9, July 11, 2003

Date: Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2003 3:55 AM 
editor@portalpartnerpress.com
********************************************************************************

Portal Partner Press: Volume 5 Issue 9, July 11, 2003
ISSN 1545-3499
In this Issue:
Editor's Notes (Lynne Scott) Google v. SearchKing collateral damage
Ask Paynt (Debra Paynter) Establishing Directory Structure: initial research 
********************************************************************************


I hope that all of our American readers passed a wonderful 4th of July holiday, and that our Canadian readers had a great Canada Day. You'll notice that this issue is coming out a few days late. That's because I was waiting for some information that needed to be included. Two items that were to be included in this issue have been bumped to next issue in order to include this information.
If you've been to the PPP website recently, you will have noticed a note regarding the PPP's upcoming interview with Chris Ridings of SearchGuild ( http://www.searchguild.com ). That interview will be appearing early in August, but during the course of our discussion, Chris asked for some information on the Google v. SearchKing issue. Specifically, he would like information on any ongoing collateral damage being experienced by those either hosted by SearchKing or linking to it. Chris has generously offered to analyze this information in an effort to determine whether this damage is related to Google v. SK, and what course of action might be possible in the event that it is related.
If you feel that your site is experiencing ongoing collateral damage, please collect as much information as you can, and forward it to editor@portalpartnerpress.com with "collateral damage" in the subject line. Chris needs the following information:
• The url
• The PR before the difficulties
• Terms ranked for and where before the difficulties (or referrals per term)
• Google referrals before the difficulties
• The PR immediately after
• Terms ranked for and where immediately after (or referrals per term)
• Google referrals immediately after
• The PR now
• Terms ranked for and where now (or referrals per term)
• Google referrals now
• Whether the site sold inventory to pradnetwork or not
Some of you might not have all of this information, but collecting as much of it as you can will be a great help. I'll be forwarding the collected data to Chris for analysis. 
**********
Yahoo Acquires Overture 
http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=OVER&script=410&layout=0&item_id=430830 This is an interesting development in the whole SEO / SEM arena. Discussion is taking place in the Portal Network Forums, so why not pop in and share your thoughts on the issue. 
**********
ISSN Granted to the Portal Partner Press
If you take a look at the top and bottom of this issue, you'll notice a small change. The Portal Partner Press is now an internationally registered publication, with its own ISSN. This is a big step on the road to journalistic acceptance and recognition.
**********
This week Debra Paynter starts off her regular contributions with some great advice on doing initial research for a hub building project. I'm sure this will get all of you thinking, and generating questions about hub / portal building. Send them in to Ask Paynt.
Lynne Scott is a graphic designer and partner in Optical Resolution, a Winnipeg, MB design house. She runs the Graphic Design Portal, Eye on Winnipeg, and KidsEdLinks.com. as well as serving as editor for the PPP.
**********
Ask Paynt
Debra Paynter
The door is open on what to talk about this week so what I'd like to do is take you to beginning of establishing what the structure of your directory will be. Start easy with a niche portal on a topic that is close to your heart. In approaching the initial research time I start with a spreadsheet, a word processing document and a text pad. Next I open a browser to Google, one to www.dictionary.com, and my other is www.dnsstuff.com for the direct who is and such information. These are my basic research tools.
Knowing that I am approaching the research with a focus, a passion for the subject, or at least a general theme in mind, I can make a list of the general topics I want to use as a starting point to my research. Google directory is my first stop. I go to the top of my tree and check out how the ODP/Google directory approaches my theme/niche/industry. I take note of the 'related' categories and anything that appeals to me, including naming conventions and use of keywords. I visit sites included in the categories.
What I am doing with this first run through is getting a feel for how the 'organizers of the web' are dealing with my subject matter. There's no reason to recreate the wheel, so I look for clues to stimulate me to create something that totally encompasses what I can comfortably structure and provide content and listings for. If my goal is to make money from the hub, it is even more important that I take on only what I can comfortably handle and grow with.
While in the Google directory I look at what the industry has to offer by way of other directories. What's the competition like, what needs are they meeting, what topics are they covering along with all the same observations as when I'm looking at the upper level Google directory. Not only am I looking at what they offer but what is missing. It's very important to find the holes, especially if the goal is to bring in income. Every industry has them. My job is to find them so I can fill them with my content.
As this information starts coming in, I keep lists going. Usually there is one for category ideas, one for keywords, which I may break down into further themes, and one for sites I like. I list the competition and as I find the holes I list those. Often times I'll get ideas for articles, glossary terms or tip ideas, specific thoughts for developing content. If I find sites with communities, chats, message boards and so on I check those out for content. What are people posting about, what information are they looking for?
What I am trying to do is balance what the industry has to offer with what is missing. I am balancing what content people are looking for with what I can offer. These are the first steps, the initial feelers I send out. It's important at this point to gather in information. The only sorting is really the list making. Don't throw anything out yet, even if it seems impossible at this point. Research includes a bit of dreaming as well. Look outside the box and I know people are tired of that expression but it's the truth.
In the research-dreaming phase think about your audience. What might interest them, in addition to the main focus? Consider their peripheral interests and needs. Your original idea might be punk music but as you get into the research you find sites offering videos, clothing and poetry that you like as well. Maybe your original idea for a hub of punk music is too limited. Maybe what you have in you is a hub that's attractive to a larger audience. Maybe the theme will become more focused or completely open to a new direction, such as skateboarders who love punk music.
Until you start looking at these lists with an open mind, not limited by what every other site in your theme is doing or what they consider acceptable to offer from a similar hub, you don't have the edge. Hub building isn't reverse engineering a better page to rise in the ranks.
Next month I'll answer any questions that might come in and then carry through with this discussion tying in this initial research with the eventual structure. If anyone has an idea of a specific theme, niche or industry you'd like to explore as an example then let me know. Happy hubbing!
Debra Paynter of www.promotion-strategies.com is now blogging daily. Contact Debra for an affordable Foundation Plan to structure your online promotional strategies. She is accepting new projects from small websites to
Subject: Portal Partner Press: Volume 5 Issue 10, July 25, 2003
Date: Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2003 9:54 PM 
editor@portalpartnerpress.com
********************************************************************************

=============Volume 5 Issue 10 July 25, 2003==============
Portal Partner Press: Volume 5 Issue 10, July 25, 2003
ISSN 1545-3499
In this Issue:
Editor's Notes (Lynne Scott)
Announcements 
Don't Get Me Started! (Jane Ellen Carr) 
********************************************************************************


This week I've been thinking about linking strategies, and reading a few threads in various webmaster forums around the internet. I happened to come across one at Webmaster World that made my blood boil. The thread is titled "Pricing Text Ads for PR Purposes". http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/15476.htm
It seems that the owner of a very highly ranked website has been approached by a potential advertiser with a product relevant to the highly ranked site. The advertiser wants to purchase text advertising on multiple pages of the site. So far, so good. Now, if I received such an approach, I would set about determining the total value of those ads, based on my current rate card, and send a quotation off to the advertiser. The advertiser would agree with my quotation, disagree and end discussion, or try to negotiate a better price. Unfortunately, this is not what happened.
The site owner, unsure of how to price these text ads, asked an associate for some direction. The associate pointed out that the high PageRank of the owner's site meant that text advertisements would be worth substantially more than standard advertising rates, because PR would be passed to the advertiser, thus improving his search rankings and yielding far more traffic than the ads alone. NB: up to this point, neither the advertiser nor the site owner had mentioned PageRank as a factor in determining price. The advertiser might have been considering it, but we have no way of knowing that.
The associate made a post at WMW asking for some direction. In general, the advice he got was sound: price according to what the market will bear. What made me angry, though, was the suggestion that Google might penalize both sites for the buying and selling of PR, and that the links had better use some form of redirection so that Google could not follow them.
Think about it. Why should a search engine even enter into the discussion when neither the advertiser nor the site owner had ever expressed any concern over search rankings? Why should any webmaster have to worry about how a search engine might react to his having sold some of his ad inventory? Why should a webmaster have to think about hiding / cloaking / redirecting his advertisers' links? Am I the only one who thinks this is totally absurd? 
**********
Talk Back:
http://www.searchking.com/skboards/ikonboard.cgi?s=8fda23fbdecab2a9d635e185e503099f;act=ST;f=50;t=26;st=0;&#entry3
Lynne Scott is a graphic designer and partner in Optical Resolution, a Winnipeg, MB design house. She runs the Graphic Design Portal http://www.graphic-design-portal.com , Eye on Winnipeg http://www.eyeonwinnipeg.com , and KidsEdLinks.com http://www.kidsedlinks.com as well as serving as editor for the PPP. 
**********
Announcements Portal Plus owners will be happy to learn that SearchKing is now offering Pluses on top level domains. You can now have your portal plus at yourportal.com, instead of yourportal.searchking.com. Present portal plus owners can upgrade to a top level domain free. You will need to register a domain name. Details at http://www.searchking.com/portals/portal_plus.html
Talk Back:
http://www.searchking.com/skboards/ikonboard.cgi?s=8fda23fbdecab2a9d635e185e503099f;act=ST;f=1;t=99;st=0;&#entry3 
**********
Don't Get Me Started!
Jane Ellen Carr
Ok, I've had it! How many *experts* does it take to make enough recommendations to make you cut your nose off to spite your face? Let's talk about linking strategies. Years ago when the 'Net was young we all learned the value of adding links to our sites. Site visitors love them - that's what made the 'Net so interesting, go to one site, find something interesting, follow the links around and surf to your heart's content.
Then along came the big search engines that started adding value to your sites if they had lots of links out to other sites, making your site more valuable (ranking higher) simply because it was in fact more interesting to the user. Remember the killer link list pages in the old days? Those sites that gained huge recognition and traffic simply because they were an invaluable reference tool to find other sites on any given topic.
Now here we are 10 years later, with the likes of Google dominating the search engine traffic, and we are being told by all the experts to throw out all that old mentality (links are good) and devise a new strategy - only non-reciprocated links that you don't actively seek out are good. Just a few passive links (preferably from bloggers, of course), and a few links from a selected list of about 5 or 6 well-known directories are what you want, and heaven help you if you accidentally link to someone else who accidentally linked to someone else who accidentally did something that Google didn't like - but you don't know for sure who did something wrong, hence, be careful and don't link to too many outside sources (furthermore, this can harm you as it might dilute your own PR) and just to be on the safe side go through your linked sites with an axe and chop out anybody who has a PR0 showing on the Google toolbar, as you can't take any chances that they might just be a low rankin!
g site, or a new site, or a slow to rank site, but heaven forbid, you might get entangled up in a *bad neighborhood*, which nobody knows for sure exactly what that is, but its somebody who did something wrong that Google didn't like.
This is poppycock! The height of absurdity! Links are what bring you traffic for goodness sakes. Furthermore, links from other related sites bring you targeted traffic. Who in their right mind would want to trade highly targeted, interested traffic for the holy grail of moving up a notch or two in the Google result stack for some highly competitive keyword - big deal, now you come in position 42 instead of position 267? Lets face it not everybody is going to get in the coveted top 10 positions - there are thousands of good sites out there who will not rank well for their keywords, ever.
Now, I'm not suggesting that we all become link farms - we all know what one of those looks like, feels like, and does at a glance (despite the fact that Google can't seem to differentiate between a link farm and a valuable list of related links). I am suggesting that we use some common sense about all of this, and go back to freely linking, giving our recommendations of other good, related sites to visit, and not being afraid to give out a reciprocating link, regardless of the supposed *pitfalls and penalties* being imposed by the mighty Google.
See this thread for just one example of what I'm talking about (I see this same advice being given out all over the SE forums, time and time again):
http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=2210 And the site in question in that particular thread: http://www.littlefingerslittletoes.net/links_page.html which is a very nice site, btw, one who has taken a LOT of time and trouble to assemble two very long pages of links to other interesting sites.
Talk Back:
http://www.searchking.com/skboards/ikonboard.cgi?s=8fda23fbdecab2a9d635e185e503099f;act=ST;f=34;t=15;st=0;&#entry8
Jane Ellen Carr is the administrator of the SearchKing Forums. She runs Our World of Dolls http://www.our-world-of-dolls.com and Vortal Experts http://www.vortalexperts.com

PORTAL PARTNER PRESS June 2003

====== June 03, 2003 =========
Subject: PR AD Network Press 6-3-03

Date: Tuesday, June 03, 2003 3:40 PM 

From: bobking bobking@searchking.com
The NETWORK NEWS
Published by the PR Ad Network
This newsletter is published for the sole purpose of educating, entertaining and exchanging information with those who believe webmasters have as much right to legally profit from their own content as those who use that content without benefit of contract or compensation. It is sent only to those who are either advertisers, inventory partners or like-minded interested parties of the PR Ad Network and those people are known only to the publisher and staff of this newsletter and will not be disclosed to any third party for any reason. We are not anti anything. We are simply very pro ecommerce. 
************************************************

• Date 06-03-03
• IN THIS ISSUE
• What's All the Uproar About?
• A New Service Launched

****************************************

WHAT'S ALL THE UPROAR ABOUT
? For those of you who follow Google's updates or the Webmaster World Forums, you are well aware that this last update is very different from updates in the past. Most of the data being displayed, including backlinks, is from back in February. What a commotion this has caused! Some of the longest threads in the history of WMW have been born in the name of the "dominic update". Everything from, "this is the beginning of the end for Google", to the old tried and true, "let's all just be patient and it will be all right", posts.
As I've advised several times in the past, when evaluating information in those forums, remember to consider the source. As usual, both extremes are VERY likely wrong!
It is true that they are using more data centers than before. It is also true that the main database is displaying content that is as old as the Feb. update. Most importantly to you, it is also true that many backlinks aren't showing up as we would expect. So what does all this mean? It simply means that link popularity, page rank and anchor text is more important than ever.
Anyone notice the discussion about the "god" sites? There is not much point in putting a link to the Google search for God as they are known for changing things quickly when it is brought to the attention of the media. Furthermore, it is well-known that Goolge does manipulate the results whenever they like for any reason they like, but as of today, a search on G for the word God, brings back this page, http://www.phpnuke.org
This site has no mention of the word God anywhere! Not in the title. Not in the link titles. Nowhere. Nowhere except in the anchor text of incoming links and the html link titles of incoming links. With Google, as always, page rank is the key.
*******************************************************************************************************************************
SHAMELESS PLUG
Control your own domains! Running your own server is much cheaper and faster if you maintain more than just a few domains. More importantly, your server, your domains under your control. You decide how to set up MX records, designate sub-domains, manage re-directs and scripts. Get secure before you lose your placements or PR. Get control of your domains and your clients' domains now!
You can run your own hot rod server from just $299 per month with 10 unique IP#'s from 2 class C's.
We can manage and maintain it for you for just $149 For details, call 1-888-956-7672 and get secure today!
***********************************************************************************************
That is not to say that you can forget about all the other typical aspects of good SEO and good site design. The point is simply that page rank and having the right link from the right site with the right anchor text is the single most important factor to placing well under competitive keywords. Watch your P's and Q's but more importantly, watch your incoming links and your anchor text. As for my personal take on this latest Google update is that it actually has very little to do with SEO's as much as they would like to think that it does. It has more to do with the fact that Google is a business and their business is indexing as much of the web as possible. Contrary to popular opinion, I believe they see their core business as being NOT advertising, rather the collection and organization of the content on the web. The more content they can gather and organize, the more valuable they see their business as being.
The single biggest part of the web Google, (and every other search service for that matter), is missing is dynamic content. Dynamic content has always been the "nut to crack" so to speak. If you consider all the shtml, .asp, .php pages, all the flash pages and all the other dynamically generated stuff on the web, it leaves a big hole in anyone's 3 billion document database. My personal opinion is that all they are doing is trying and testing ways to gather and retrieve dynamic content and that it actually has nothing to do with Adwords or link popularity except of course in how to handle one page with thousands of versions of the one page being generated daily. Is that one link or thousands?
This too shall pass.
*********

Subject: Portal Partner Press Volume 5, Issue 7, June 20, 2003 
Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2003 10:19 AM 
From: "Portal Partner Press" editor@portalpartnerpress.com
********************************************************************************
In this Issue:
Editor's Notes (Lynne Scott)
Ask Paynt (Debra Paynter)
Some of you will have received this issue twice. I apologize for that. Unfortunately, I discovered a URL error part way through the send, and had to correct it before I could restart. I'll try to make certain that it doesn't happen too often ;-)
Those of you who are keeping track will have noticed that it's been several weeks since the last PPP went out. The fact that this one is making out, more or less as it should have gone out 3 weeks ago, is due to a very good technician who managed to retrieve the vast majority of the data hiding on a burnt out hard drive. It took him the better part of 2 weeks to do it, but do it he did, thank goodness. That will teach me to go more than a week without backing up to a CD! Any of you who are wondering whether or not that CD burner would be a good investment can rest assured it will be. A recent backup would have had me back up and running within 2 days. Waiting 2 weeks between backups cost me 2 weeks of downtime and several days of reorganizing data. No contest there!
This issue marks several milestones for the PPP:
For the first time we are sending out both a text and an html version. I'm counting on those of you receiving the html version to send in some feedback on what you like or don't like about it! Please post your comments in the forums at http://www.searchking.com/skboards/ikonboard.cgi or send them to me at editor@portalpartnerpress.com
The PPP website (http://www.portalpartnerpress.com ) is also open, and the archives will be indexed over the next few weeks. This year's issues will be the first indexed, with previous years following close behind.
Chat is back! Bob will be hosting an hour or so of chat Wednesday mornings at 10 am, central time. See you there. http://www.searchking.com/chat/okchat/client/index.html
I saved the best for last. This week we welcome Debra Paynter of Promotional-Strategies.com ( http://www.promotion-strategies.com ) as a regular contributor to the PPP. Her bi-line will appear in the first issue of each month. Debra is well known as an authority on a number of issues related to niche or hub site building, and we look forward to her contributions. This week Debra answers the questions you sent in following our 2 part interview with her. Welcome aboard Debra!
Lynne Scott is a graphic designer and partner in Optical Resolution, a Winnipeg, MB design house. She runs the Graphic Design Portal ( http://www.graphic-design-portal.com ), Eye on Winnipeg, and KidsEdLinks.com. as well as serving as editor for the PPP.
********************************************************************************
Ask Paynt
Debra Paynter
I want to start with two questions Lynne passed to me that came in from the interview. The first is from Brad,
"What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of redirected listings vs. direct URLs in regards to a SEO standpoint? And which do you think is better?"
Well Brad, there's a purpose for almost every tool, if we look at it that way there may be instances where a redirected URL is important to an overall strategy. I would rather turn the tables and ask why you want to use a redirected link? The most important reason for me to not suggest redirected links is in respect to the sites I am linking to. They deserve a straight static link, unless I've agreed to a redirected link for the purpose of an affiliate program, or at the request of a link partner. There are tracking reasons for redirects and alternative solutions that make a static link possible.
I suggest looking for alternative solutions to the use of redirects. Ask yourself what is the purpose of the portal in the first place and then consider the needs of the sites listed and if how they want their links presented is important to your overall strategy.
For the most part Brad, in my experience even the search engines like it simple. I'm all for keep it simple SEO. The pure nature of a portal puts it leagues ahead of a standard site for built in optimization benefits.
Diane asked, "Is there a guideline for creating a portal?"
Very good question, Diane, and the simple answer is yes there is a guideline. The more difficult answer, though, is you are the architect. Development experts know you need a plan to start with and that will act as your guide. The first phase is in the form of research and analysis into your industry and niche. Looking for what are both an industry standard and then the holes in existing information will give you an edge, ultimately, for the traffic, if you are smart in building out the content of your site. Mix that with the passion that drives the topic and you'll find your key to success.
If I were take on a new hub project, I would first sit down and figure out what the ultimate goal is and break that into all the supporting goals. I would list what content, tools, resources I had to offer through the portal. My focus would be on my strengths, but I would also look for the holes in the industry and do what I could to fill them. My next list includes the support features, tools and services I need to contract out to build my hub. This may include software, design and programming, even copywriting.
One of the most important items to consider is the structure. Along with that are the policies including about the linking/submission policy, privacy, copyright and communication. I have to consider the financial aspects, how the site will pay for itself. Will I sell advertising, PPC or enhanced listings? Equal to this are how the responsibilities will be divided. There are editing, communications, advertising, content development and link checking tasks that require ongoing attention. Add a forum or chat feature and the responsibilities multiply quickly.
I am happy to discuss in more detail any of these specific aspects of portal building. I think my greatest contribution though is help in the development/planning aspects so I'll tend to leave the technical aspects to those more qualified. Perhaps we can spend time on developing a working guideline for creating a portal.

PORTAL PARTNER PRESS April 2003

========April 03, 2003===================
Subject: PR AD Network Newsletter 4-3-03

Date: Thursday, April 03, 2003 11:48 AM

From: bobking bobking@searchking.com



THE PR AD NETWORK PRESS
This newsletter is published for the sole purpose of educating, entertaining and exchanging information with those who believe webmasters have as much right to legally profit from their own content as those who use that content without benefit of contract or compensation. It is sent only to those who are either advertisers, inventory partners or like-minded interested parties of the PR Ad Network and those people are known only to the publisher and staff of this newsletter and will not be disclosed to any third party for any reason.
We are not anti-google or anti anything. We are simply very PRO- Ecommerce.

Date 4-2-03
IN THIS ISSUE
• My take on the short term future of SEO
• Ask Bob

MY TAKE ON THE SHORT TERM FUTURE OF SEO
First, let me start by saying that what I tell you now is nothing more than my own opinion. I have no control over anything any search service, (other than SearchKing of course), may do at any time. What I tell you is visible to me today could very possibly be gone by the time you go look for yourself. What works today may stop working tomorrow. Always remember that we all have the right to choose what and whom to believe and the smart business person will develop a sense of just the right mix of reading, listening and considering the words of others, but will put their faith in experience. Their own experience! My best advice is to accept that there may be those who will gladly tell you where they think the gold lies, but it is always up to you to do the digging.
There was a thread recently a popular webmaster forum where a person known as googleguy haunts. The thread was about PR for sale. It went to 13 pages long with more and more people accepting that PR is a currency and it is was made that way by Google. Once the tone seemed to be shifting to a little of a disgruntled with Google feel, the management of that site decided it had no further use and closed it.
Like always, there is more to be learned from what is NOT being said as opposed to what is. If you notice GG's response was nothing more than a thinly veiled threat of possible impending doom, (without saying what he was specifically referring to), and a plea for help with a spam report. He is telling you one thing above all others. Google has a real problem!
PageRank is Google's crowning glory. It is the essence of their marketing hype. It is the foundation of their oft-touted algorithm. It is the backbone of everything they claim to be.
It is also their Achilles' heel. PageRank, as an algorithm, is very good, but it is not perfect. Google seems bent on not having to admit that. In many ways, they simply can not admit that.
With each new filter, with each new algorithm or policy change, they are telling everyone just how important PR is. Naturally, google feels like Page Rank belongs to them and they want to feel like they are smart enough to control it. Maybe they are smart enough to control PR, but they have created a market for a product that does not belong to them and that opens the door to free enterprise. As I've said so many times before, if there is a market for something and it is not illegal to provide a service to satisfy that market, that is free enterprise and there will be those who will attempt to legally capitalize on that market and there isn't anything Google, or anyone else, can do to stop it.
Link popularity does not belong to Google. The system for measuring that link popularity may belong to Google, (personally I believe that could be challenged as well), but you measuring the thing does not make that thing belong to you. Link popularity from your web site is yours to do with what you will. Google may be able to penalize you for doing something they don't like, but that does not alter the truth of the statement or the concept and penalizing you for doing anything legal with your own property is a mistake on their part and they will, at some point, be forced to deal with the fact and the consequences of the actions and decisions they make in an attempt to control the legal practices of others.
Obviously, I can be called a spammer and everything I have worked to build be brought into question because I had the audacity to speak those beliefs, but history is proving me right as we speak. Just because it is the internet, the laws of supply and demand are not changed, only hidden behind a veil of technology and that can only go so far.

SHAMELESS PLUG
Control your own domains! Running your own server is much cheaper and faster if you maintain more than just a few domains. More importantly, your server, your domains under your control. You decide how to set up MX records, designate sub-domains, manage re-directs and scripts. Get secure before you lose your placements or PR. Get control of your domains and your clients' domains now!
You can run your own hot rod server from just $299 per month with 10 unique IP#'s from 2 class C's. We can manage and maintain it for you for just $149
For details, call Ronnie K at 1-888-956-7672 and get secure today!


Now, more on topic, PR is more valuable than ever, but NOT just the number in the toolbar. The RIGHT PR is the key. The question has been asked over and over why a lower PR page can outrank a higher PR page in the Google search results. That answer is now easily visible to those who care to look and see.
I told you all several months ago that off site criteria was getting to be far more important than on site in regards to top search engine placement. Off site criteria, for all intents and purposes, IS the SEO of 2003 and beyond.
I'm telling you now, as I told you then, don't take my word for it. Prove it to yourself. Do a search for just about any keyword and then look through the top 10 sites for the number of times that keyword/phrase shows up on the page. Do it with all top ten sites. The smart SEO will quickly realize that the title on your page isn't nearly as important as the title on the page you want a link from.
Now, search the backlinks for the same sites and see the difference in how many references to the keyword/phrase there are on those pages and see for yourself what sites gets what site placed under what keyword. >From this day forward, SEO has much more to do with PR planning, procuring and maintenance, than all the meta tags and keyword density for on-site optimizing put together.
The next clue is checking the backlinks for how many of those links come from domains that are not affiliated. That does not mean domains that sell something as an affiliate of someone else. That means sites that have different domain names that can be easily associated with each other. As usual, when googleguy announced on WMW that PR was no longer being passed from expired domains, he was telling us a lot more than just that Google was trying to improve their search results.
He was telling us that
• , anyone who was in the business of brokering, finding or selling/leasing expired domains was having to face the possibility of extinction virtually overnight at Google's whim. Not that I'm defending the selling of expired domains. I agree that most were of low quality and the purpose of buying these domains was questionable at best. However, not all expired domain purchases were dubious and none of them were illegal. Google has shown before how easily they can accept the consequences of collateral damage.
• , They were telling us that they are now able to adjust the value of PR based on Whois records. All of us who own, or control multiple domains, now know that the PR value of crosslinking our own domains is not long for this world.
THEY WERE NOT TELLING ANYONE THAT PR IS NOT THAT IMPORTANT!! They are telling us that PR from AFFILIATED sites is not that important but that PR still is the key.
As always, you are free to believe whatever you like, but my advice is to stop hunting for PR and start hunting for "the right" PR. An on topic PR is worth more than a general topic PR. Also, you don't need hundreds or thousands of links. In fact that is a very easy way for anyone to flag your site. The quantity of links has virtually nothing to do with anything.
Need more money from your site? Like to get some paid ads on your site to help defray the expense of doing net marketing? If you have a PR 4 or higher, start looking for available ad money from people who need the link from your topic.
The days of begging people for links is fast coming to an end. PR Ad Network pretty much put the last nail in that coffin. The open marketplace of links is here and it is here to stay until such time as Google either loses dominant market share of finds something to replace PR. I believe that text links have more value than the vast majority of affiliate programs out there. Not many affiliate programs can pay you a minimum of $500 a month for 10 text ads! I predict over the next few months you are going to see everyone and their dog offering every kind of PR generation program you can imagine and the more Google tries to control it, the deeper the hole they will dig themselves into.
I find the whole thing more than a little ironic. All I ever wanted from the very beginning was a way that webmasters could expect to be compensated for their efforts if they built a quality niche directory. Google has done more to make that happen than I ever did. As I have said so many times in the past, they are creating the very beast they claim to be fighting.
Life is good!

SHAMELESS PLUG #2
Secure hosting for your promotional domains. Unique Class C IP#. We help you with your domain registration. Set up on an anonymous server. Unique DNS. Unique MX records. All the whistles and bells with 150 megs of space and 10 gigs of burstable bandwidth.
$25 a month or $199 a year
For details call Ronda at 1-888-956-7672 and get secure today!

ASK BOB
Some of you probably knew of me before the PR Ad Network through my Ask Bob columns I wrote for Terry Dean's Web Gold and The Internet Marketing Chronicles as well as few other lesser known ezines and newsletters. I wrote those columns for almost 4 years, (still do write one for Terry Dean), until I just no longer had the time to devote to it.
Basically, I was kind of a Dear Abbey of SEO. People would write in with their questions, they would be sent to me, I would answer them and those answers would get published in the next issue.
There seems to be as many questions about PR these days as there ever was about SEO in general so in spite of the fact that I don't relish the idea of giving up yet more of my time, I do think there is a need.
I can't guarantee you that I can answer every question. I can't guarantee that I will always tell you what you want to hear. Hell, I can't even guarantee you that anything I would tell you would even be right. What I will guarantee is that I will tell you the truth. At least the truth as I see it.
You can ask me anything you like by sending your questions to bobking@searchking.com and putting PR Question in the subject line. I will never disclose your identity unless you give me explicit permission to do so. I will post the question as you send it to me without any information about you personally. I will then answer your question as best I can, or ask the readership of this newsletter, in the next issue of the PR Ad Network Press.
Remember though, no matter what I say, if you act on my advice or answers and it doesn't do what you expected or even if it has some negative effects, I accept no responsibility whatsoever. BUT, if you do something on my advice or recommendation and it works, I expect to be given full and unconditional credit.
That should do it for now. Thanks for taking the time and thanks for your support.
See You at the Top Bob

SHAMELESS PLUG #3
Did you know that we build and maintain promotional domains, hosted on our servers or yours, for as little as $689 set up for up to 5 pages, including any and all secure pages or scripts, and maintain the site for as little as $249 per month. This includes a complete objective and strategy based on your own goals that YOU approve and at least two pr 5's to the site to get your toolbar glowing.
Our maintenance covers up to two hours a month for anything you need. We will build keyword targeted interior pages. We will consult with you in regards to marketing strategy. We will secure and maintain links until we reach our PR objectives. We will research your keywords and/or your competition. We will manage your PPC campaigns. Most importantly, we will monitor and review with you monthly, the logs and stats to ensure that we hit our numbers and MAKE MONEY with the site.
We have multiple hot rod servers, full time programmers on staff and 7 full time employees. We can install cgi scripts. We can locate, evaluate and install off-the-shelf software for you. We can even write custom scripts. When it comes to internet marketing and website development, we are a one-stop shopping source! Also, we pay $200 for referrals and offer a reseller plan.
Details ? You know who to call.

==========Vol. 5, Iss. 5 April 21, 2003=======================
Subject: PR AD Network Newsletter 4-21-03

Date: Monday, April 21, 2003 6:01 PM

From: bobking bobking@searchking.com



**********************************************************************
Portal Partner Press Vol. 5, Iss. 5, April 18, 2003
**********************************************************************
Inside this issue:

• Editor's Message (Lynne Scott)
• Product Review: Turbo Seek
• Interview with Debra Paynter, pt 1

**********************************************************************

Editor's Message
I hope everyone had a blessed Easter, or Pass Over, or whichever holiday you celebrated this weekend, and that nobody has over-dosed on the droppings left by that rotten Easter Bunny.
Housekeeping: There have been many requests to restart the Portal Partner Chat. A simple php chat room has been installed at http://portalpartnerpress.com/chat/phpMyChat.php3 This room will be available for scheduled chat on Thursdays, at 7 pm central time.
Thanks to Portal Partner Planet Doom for suggesting this week's product review. You can find him hanging around the Portal Network Forums, where he moderates several topics or in the forums on his sci-fi portal, Planet Doom. ( http://planetdoomportal.searchking.com )
As promised last week, today we start a series of articles and interviews on the subject of niche portals, building and running them, making money with them, using them to build a related business, and a whole slew of related topics. 
**********************************************************************
Portal Network Forums: pop in and say hello, read up on what's happening, tell us what you think, or just lurk and learn http://www.searchking.com/skboards/ikonboard.cgi 
**********************************************************************

Product Review: Turbo Seek
• FocalMedia.net
• Price: Shareware License: $169
• Minimum Requirements
• System: Unix / Linux
• Access: Telnet or SSH, CGI bin, sendmail
• Language: Perl 5.002 or better
• Optional: MySQL
• (source: http://www.focalmedia.net )
Turbo Seek appears to be a big step up from other directory programs in its price range, with features usually not found until you reach the over $500 level of software pricing. It includes banner rotation software, the ability to generate html directory pages, and a fairly complex online admin panel.
Documentation for Turbo Seek is relatively easy to follow, with full tutorials available on the FocalMedia.net website. Although Telnet or SSH access are specified in the system requirements for this program, documentation and tutorials don't mention anything where these are absolute musts. It appears that full ftp access is sufficient. If there are problems with the install, Turbo Seek includes an online troubleshooter that can help get any bugs resolved.
According to FocalMedia.net, Turbo Seek is a set of 40 complex scripts that will allow you to build a complete Yahoo-like directory / search engine. Online documentation supports this contention, and installation should be relatively straight forward for anyone comfortable with ftp and setting file permissions. For those who prefer to take over after the install is done, FocalMedia.net offers full installation for an additional fee of $25. Registration (payment for the shareware license) includes free email support, patches and upgrades for the life of the version registered, 1 hour of template customization, etc.
Details at: http://www.focalmedia.net/index_tb.html
**********************************************************************
Lynne Scott is a graphic designer and partner in Optical Resolution, a Winnipeg, MB design house. She runs the Graphic Design Portal ( http://www.graphic-design-portal.com ), Eye on Winnipeg, and KidsEdLinks.com. as well as serving as editor for the PPP. You can reach her at graphicdesign@opticalresolution.com
**********************************************************************
Portal Partner Ad
Webmasterbids - Online Auction for Banner Ads
http://www.webmasterbids.com
**********************************************************************

Debra Paynter on Niche Portals
**********************************************************************
This week we talk to someone very well known in webmaster circles, who has some strong opinions on the subject of niche portals, or hubs as she likes to call them. Many of you will be familiar with paynt, from the Webmaster World forums ( http://www.webmasterworld.com ), where she moderates the 'link development' and 'content and copywriting' topics. Read on for part one of an interesting interview with Debra Paynter, of Strategic Web Ventures ( http://www.strategicwebventures.com ).
PPP: You have been known to express strong opinions on the subject of niche portals. Do you believe they make a contribution to the internet? What is that contribution?
D.P.: First, it doesn't surprise me that I have a reputation for strong opinions. I've often commented at Webmasterworld on my obsession with niche portals. Generally I format them in terms of a hub but the fundamental principles I express are the basically the same. The question of whether I believe niche portals contribute, of course [they do]. There are several reasons, each a full article, so I'll attempt to summarize starting with the obvious enormity of the web. Combine that with more people, searching daily for specific information. As good as Google is for bringing up relevant results, with the growing impact of new visitors to the web looking for information, interpreting those needs takes more than what a list of even a hundred sites in a row can offer. With the vying for placement in those positions daily captured through intense strategizing, the actual searcher is often confused, and a comfortable niche portal or topical hub can be seen as a safe harbor in the storm of information.
If you give me that point then I'll suggest even a great search engine like Google respects the fact and results are littered with examples of hubs and niche portals. I believe on multiple levels [that] niche portals serve a vital purpose on the web. Of course, that's my take from the searcher and the engine perspective. What also attracts me are the promotional benefits for the marketer, the corporate benefits for the multifaceted business enterprise, not forgetting the educational opportunities for presenting focused information. Anyone entering the web today must consider the pros and cons of announcing their online presence with their own portal, if only to organize their own operations.
A niche portal can be a tool. Any organization can use it to manage their empire, from its feeble beginnings on through domination. At some point in time maybe all the ideas will be used up, but for now the way I see it I guess I don't understand controversy surrounding niche portal development. It seems to me this can be the core to build from, with even the simplest niches. There are so many untapped opportunities on the web today. Soon everyone will need a website, like we need business cards at the very least. If you are a part of a niche then it makes sense you'll be draw to that when your time comes to jump online.
One of the ultimate appeals of the web is community building. A niche portal is the perfect foundation to build a community around. Many communities start from a hobby heavy with bookmarks. A normal progression from that is to develop a small directory. Add communication to the mix and you have the start of a community. Is community building a contribution which niche portals can make to the web? I believe so.
PPP: Given the current trend to centralization of search technology and massive general databases, how do you see the future for small niche portals?
D.P: Like wants to draw together, a possible key to niche portal success. That and how you organize information. Niche portals don't succeed because of the software or the bells and whistles; often they survive in spite of it. What a massive general database can't offer is the specialization, unless they channel information, which, in a sense, creates a niche portal within a mega structure. Even with that we will always find a place for a niche within a niche.
A beautiful thing about niche portals is that you can have several within an industry, run by different businesses or hobbyists. They can dance around each other in that same industry and still find success. It takes creativity, certainly, to find your place in an industry where niche portals abound. Take the financial industry or the health/medical online industries. Probably those, more than any besides hobby sites (who have had it figured out forever), make use of the niche portal as a means within their strategy. The Real Estate industry tries but it's ugly, really pitiful and needs a good shaking clean up.
What is the future of a niche portal? I think it's like the two car garage. Everyone will have one. I see them as the standard not the future. The future is here now. This newsletter will be popular, for standard operating information about website development. There is room for discussion.
**********************************************************************
Be sure to read next week's issue for part 2 of this interview, and your opportunity to talk back to paynt.
**********************************************************************
**********************************************************************
Feedback: your comments, suggestions, beefs, bouquets, etc. are very welcome. **********************************************************************
Ask Bob: send your questions about search engine positioning, community building, etc. 
**********************************************************************

This publication is edited and distributed by Optical Resolution http://www.opticalresolution.com

=========April 21, 2003=========================
Subject: PR AD Network Newsletter 4-21-03

Date: Monday, April 21, 2003 6:01 PM

From: bobking bobking@searchking.com



**********************************************************************
Portal Partner Press Vol. 5, Iss. 5, April 18, 2003
**********************************************************************
Inside this issue:

Editor's Message (Lynne Scott)
Subject: PR AD Network Newsletter 4-21-03
Date: Monday, April 21, 2003 6:01 PM
From: bobking bobking@searchking.com



**********************************************************************
Portal Partner Press Vol. 5, Iss. 5, April 18, 2003
**********************************************************************
Inside this issue:

• Editor's Message (Lynne Scott)
• Product Review: Turbo Seek
• Interview with Debra Paynter, pt 1

**********************************************************************

Editor's Message
I hope everyone had a blessed Easter, or Pass Over, or whichever holiday you celebrated this weekend, and that nobody has over-dosed on the droppings left by that rotten Easter Bunny.
Housekeeping: There have been many requests to restart the Portal Partner Chat. A simple php chat room has been installed at http://portalpartnerpress.com/chat/phpMyChat.php3 This room will be available for scheduled chat on Thursdays, at 7 pm central time.
Thanks to Portal Partner Planet Doom for suggesting this week's product review. You can find him hanging around the Portal Network Forums, where he moderates several topics or in the forums on his sci-fi portal, Planet Doom. ( http://planetdoomportal.searchking.com )
As promised last week, today we start a series of articles and interviews on the subject of niche portals, building and running them, making money with them, using them to build a related business, and a whole slew of related topics. 
**********************************************************************
Portal Network Forums: pop in and say hello, read up on what's happening, tell us what you think, or just lurk and learn 
**********************************************************************

Product Review: Turbo Seek
• FocalMedia.net
• Price: Shareware License: $169
• Minimum Requirements
• System: Unix / Linux
• Access: Telnet or SSH, CGI bin, sendmail
• Language: Perl 5.002 or better
• Optional: MySQL
• (source: http://www.focalmedia.net )
Turbo Seek appears to be a big step up from other directory programs in its price range, with features usually not found until you reach the over $500 level of software pricing. It includes banner rotation software, the ability to generate html directory pages, and a fairly complex online admin panel.
Documentation for Turbo Seek is relatively easy to follow, with full tutorials available on the FocalMedia.net website. Although Telnet or SSH access are specified in the system requirements for this program, documentation and tutorials don't mention anything where these are absolute musts. It appears that full ftp access is sufficient. If there are problems with the install, Turbo Seek includes an online troubleshooter that can help get any bugs resolved.
According to FocalMedia.net, Turbo Seek is a set of 40 complex scripts that will allow you to build a complete Yahoo-like directory / search engine. Online documentation supports this contention, and installation should be relatively straight forward for anyone comfortable with ftp and setting file permissions. For those who prefer to take over after the install is done, FocalMedia.net offers full installation for an additional fee of $25. Registration (payment for the shareware license) includes free email support, patches and upgrades for the life of the version registered, 1 hour of template customization, etc.
Details at: http://www.focalmedia.net/index_tb.html
**********************************************************************
Lynne Scott is a graphic designer and partner in Optical Resolution, a Winnipeg, MB design house. She runs the Graphic Design Portal ( http://www.graphic-design-portal.com ), Eye on Winnipeg, and KidsEdLinks.com. as well as serving as editor for the PPP. You can reach her at graphicdesign@opticalresolution.com
**********************************************************************
Portal Partner Ad
Webmasterbids - Online Auction for Banner Ads
http://www.webmasterbids.com
**********************************************************************

Debra Paynter on Niche Portals
**********************************************************************
This week we talk to someone very well known in webmaster circles, who has some strong opinions on the subject of niche portals, or hubs as she likes to call them. Many of you will be familiar with paynt, from the Webmaster World forums ( http://www.webmasterworld.com ), where she moderates the 'link development' and 'content and copywriting' topics. Read on for part one of an interesting interview with Debra Paynter, of Strategic Web Ventures ( http://www.strategicwebventures.com ).
PPP: You have been known to express strong opinions on the subject of niche portals. Do you believe they make a contribution to the internet? What is that contribution?
D.P.: First, it doesn't surprise me that I have a reputation for strong opinions. I've often commented at Webmasterworld on my obsession with niche portals. Generally I format them in terms of a hub but the fundamental principles I express are the basically the same. The question of whether I believe niche portals contribute, of course [they do]. There are several reasons, each a full article, so I'll attempt to summarize starting with the obvious enormity of the web. Combine that with more people, searching daily for specific information. As good as Google is for bringing up relevant results, with the growing impact of new visitors to the web looking for information, interpreting those needs takes more than what a list of even a hundred sites in a row can offer. With the vying for placement in those positions daily captured through intense strategizing, the actual searcher is often confused, and a comfortable niche portal or topical hub can be seen as a safe harbor in the storm of information.
If you give me that point then I'll suggest even a great search engine like Google respects the fact and results are littered with examples of hubs and niche portals. I believe on multiple levels [that] niche portals serve a vital purpose on the web. Of course, that's my take from the searcher and the engine perspective. What also attracts me are the promotional benefits for the marketer, the corporate benefits for the multifaceted business enterprise, not forgetting the educational opportunities for presenting focused information. Anyone entering the web today must consider the pros and cons of announcing their online presence with their own portal, if only to organize their own operations.
A niche portal can be a tool. Any organization can use it to manage their empire, from its feeble beginnings on through domination. At some point in time maybe all the ideas will be used up, but for now the way I see it I guess I don't understand controversy surrounding niche portal development. It seems to me this can be the core to build from, with even the simplest niches. There are so many untapped opportunities on the web today. Soon everyone will need a website, like we need business cards at the very least. If you are a part of a niche then it makes sense you'll be draw to that when your time comes to jump online.
One of the ultimate appeals of the web is community building. A niche portal is the perfect foundation to build a community around. Many communities start from a hobby heavy with bookmarks. A normal progression from that is to develop a small directory. Add communication to the mix and you have the start of a community. Is community building a contribution which niche portals can make to the web? I believe so.
PPP: Given the current trend to centralization of search technology and massive general databases, how do you see the future for small niche portals?
D.P: Like wants to draw together, a possible key to niche portal success. That and how you organize information. Niche portals don't succeed because of the software or the bells and whistles; often they survive in spite of it. What a massive general database can't offer is the specialization, unless they channel information, which, in a sense, creates a niche portal within a mega structure. Even with that we will always find a place for a niche within a niche.
A beautiful thing about niche portals is that you can have several within an industry, run by different businesses or hobbyists. They can dance around each other in that same industry and still find success. It takes creativity, certainly, to find your place in an industry where niche portals abound. Take the financial industry or the health/medical online industries. Probably those, more than any besides hobby sites (who have had it figured out forever), make use of the niche portal as a means within their strategy. The Real Estate industry tries but it's ugly, really pitiful and needs a good shaking clean up.
What is the future of a niche portal? I think it's like the two car garage. Everyone will have one. I see them as the standard not the future. The future is here now. This newsletter will be popular, for standard operating information about website development. There is room for discussion.
**********************************************************************
Be sure to read next week's issue for part 2 of this interview, and your opportunity to talk back to paynt.
**********************************************************************

=====April 29, 2003=======
Sent: Subject: PR AD Network Press

Date: Tuesday, April 29, 2003 3:23 PM

From: bobking bobking@searchking.com

THE PR AD NETWORK PRESS
This newsletter is published for the sole purpose of educating, entertaining and exchanging information with those who believe webmasters have as much right to legally profit from their own content as those who use that content without benefit of contract or compensation. It is sent only to those who are either advertisers, inventory partners or like-minded interested parties of the PR Ad Network and those people are known only to the publisher and staff of this newsletter and will not be disclosed to any third party for any reason. We are not anti-google or anti anything. We are simply very pro ecommerce.
*************************************************************************
Goodbye April '03 Issue
Date 4-28-03
IN THIS ISSUE
• The Trouble with PR 9's
• Embedded Links
• Good News

*******************************************************************************************************************************

THE TROUBLE WITH PR 9'S
• There aren't enough of them. 
In our daily net excursions around the PR jungle, we are not seeing any new PR 9's being awarded. This would indicate that the ones that are there are kind of grandfathered in. Google can't just reduce the PR of these sites without having to face a possible devastating backlash due to extreme collateral damage. Try to imagine the number of sites that would be effected if just 50 PR 9's all of a sudden went to 8's. I don't recall where right now, but I do remember reading something in a newsletter about three years ago, (long before the toolbar), about every website on the planet being no more than 16 clicks away from anywhere. At first I was very skeptical until I realized it's kind of like the 6 degrees of separation thing. No matter how you look at it, we are all connected by links. You may not link to me but I bet a dollar to do-nut, that you could get to me from your site within 16 clicks or less. Probably a lot less. 
The point is that very few sites, VERY FEW, have a tremendous amount of perceived power. With so few PR 9's, identifying them, scrutinizing them and watching them closely is very easy. 
If I can't afford it or don't understand how to use it, obviously anyone that can afford it or does understand it must be a spammer and I should snitch. 
You've heard the old adage, "those that can do and those that can't teach"?. 
In the world of website promotion, a new axiom has arisen. Those that can do and those that can't run to WebMasterWorld to snitch to google guy. 
It is too easy for so called SEO's to find PR9's and if they can't afford the links or don't have the marketing skills to know what a return on investment means, then obviously, anyone who can afford it or does understand it, must be spamming. By telling google about competitors, they don't have to accept that they aren't a marketer or an SEO at all, they can keep on telling themselves they are "ethical SEO's" just trying to help google. What a joke! I have little respect for those who claim that people in the same business they are in, are not as ethical as they are and I don't care how many forums they moderate or how many "tips" newsletters they write. Anyone charging a client money for placement and snitching on someone else doing the exact same thing is a hypocrite. Anyone claiming to be promoting their own site and their idea of success is to get everyone above them busted as a spammer is an loser. Just my opinion. 
Google seems to like this type of character as they acknowledge those who make these stupid posts. Does anyone really think google has respect for these people? That does not alter the fact that they will act on some of the information passed on by these people. As I said, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to find the 9's. You don't have to know anything about the difference between java and php. You don't have to know anything about reverse engineering anything. All you have to know is how to post in a forum and you have the power to alter perception. That is validation and that makes it OK to tattle.
• Who do these PR 9's think they are? $5,000 a month for any reason, including PR, without having the targeted traffic to justify it is absurd. Who set these prices???? It isn't hard to see how this over-valued asset came to be. Everyone wants to get rich the fastest, easiest way possible. If a PR 7 is good, then an 8 is better and a 9 must be GREAT! The fact is, the fastest, easiest way to get rich is to develop an objective and a strategy, set your goal and hit your numbers. It actually has nothing to do with PR other than just a means to an end. 
When we first launched the PR Ad Network, we established a value on those links of $600 a month because we felt that was a fair price for the inventory and the advertiser alike. Quickly, greed set in and it wasn't long before a one-eyed monkey could easily spot the sites that had gone crazy. One, now famous, site with a PR9 had over 80 links at a rate of $2,000 a month on the front page alone. 
I'm the first to admit that $160,000 a month is going to tempt just about anybody short of Jesus himself, but that doesn't change the fact that over 80 unrelated links on your front page is just a little stand-outish in anybody's book. As soon as it became the hot topic among the "if you're on top of me you must be a spammer" gang, google had little choice but to do something. 
That is not to say that those 9's aren't still EXTREMELY valuable. For those of you who like wasting your days, (and nights), reverse engineering backlinks and then checking the sites to find target keywords and then checking the SERPS for placement, you will find the same as I did, there is still a lot of power in placement for those PR9's. Almost every link was an 8 just two weeks ago. Now they are 6's and a few 7's. Coincidence? 
When checking the backlinks and discounting the interior links, maybe the one 9 is what got them the PR of 6. Also, and more importantly, check the target keywords in the anchor text and the metas of the target site and then check out the placements. Right there on the first page! I'm not saying every webmaster paying for the link picked the right keywords for anchor text, but all the ones I checked were right where you'd think they would be. When you are talking about keywords like New Orleans hotel reservation, maybe 2 grand is a bargain. 
Remember kids, the harder google tries to dominate and control PR links, the more they validate the importance of PR in the SERPS ! 
Who do these PR 9's think they are? Maybe they think they are a very small group of members in one hell of an exclusive club. A club that really can change the lives of the people they choose to lend their support to. So, what kind of a price do we put on that? The price I put on it was $600 a month, but it would appear the sites that have that coveted 9 think the price should be much higher. In this game, they pretty much have the ball. 
As always you are free to make up your own minds, but my advice is to cherish that what makes you money and cast off that what does not. Just be sure which it is first.

*************************************************************************************

SHAMELESS PLUG #1
Did you know that we build and maintain promotional domains, hosted on our servers or yours, for as little as $689 set up for up to 5 pages, including any and all secure pages or scripts, and maintain the site for as little as $249 per month. This includes a complete objective and strategy based on your own goals that YOU approve and at least two pr 5's to the site to get your toolbar glowing.
Our maintenance covers up to two hours a month for anything you need. We will build keyword targeted interior pages. We will consult with you in regards to marketing strategy. We will secure and maintain links until we reach our PR objectives. We will research your keywords and/or your competition. We will manage your PPC campaigns. Most importantly, we will monitor and review with you monthly, the logs and stats to ensure that we hit our numbers and MAKE MONEY with the site.
We have multiple hot rod servers, full time programmers on staff and 7 full time employees. We can install cgi scripts. We can locate, evaluate and install off-the-shelf software for you. We can even write custom scripts. When it comes to internet marketing and website development, we are a one-stop shopping source! Also, we pay $200 for referrals and offer a reseller plan. Details ? You know who to call. 1-888-956-7672
******************************************************************************************

EMBEDDED LINKS
It simply means links that are embedded within the text of a web document. Instead of just seeing a page with a list of short text links, you would see an optimized content page with links inside the text.
I personally feel that optimized PAGES with links to one or more target sites are going to accomplish two objectives. Better placement for the target sites and less likelihood of being the subject of the next ethics debate at WebmasterWorld.
As I've mentioned in past issues, we are finding more and more that the site you find in the top 10 results for a keyword search seem to have very few, if any, of what we would all consider the basic optimization techniques employed on the site. You can do a lot of searches for some of the most competitive terms and find many sites in the first 10 that don't have any reference of the keyword in the title, H tags, or even any mention of the keyword anywhere on the site !!! How can that be??? Well, the answer, (there is always an answer. We are not dealing with fairy dust or some magic potion. We are dealing with only a computer program.), lies not with the target page in the SERPs, but it lies in the anchor text and the optimization of the pages linking to that target page in the SERPs. Don't take my word for it, check for your self. I could be wrong ---------- but I'm not.
This little discovery certainly makes a guy go HMMMMMM.
Google has made it very clear that they have every intention of trying to dominate and control page rank. They have also made it clear that their concern for so-called collateral damage is not that great. They may discount the value of PR from expired domains, the may program filters to catch affiliated sites, they may even figure in percentages for too many incoming links or too few outgoing links and on and on. When it comes to hunting fleas with elephant guns, google seems to have the biggest guns of them all.
The one thing that no one, even the mightiest flea hunter of them all, can ever do is start discounting source documents within a domain. If the page is graphically, aesthetically and conceptually integrated into the look, feel and theme of a site, this, above all other strategies would be the most effective online advertising vehicle making the least amount of noise. The only downside is the length of time to get indexed may be longer depending on exactly when the index updating began. It would require two dances to get the target site updated and placed. This means it could take two or three months to start producing the desired results. In my opinion, a small price to pay if I'm right.
I'm looking for a few advertisers and a few inventory partners to participate in this experiment. If you have a gambling nature and feel I have proven to you over these past months that odds are I do know what I'm talking about, then I will run these ads for half price for up to 90 days. If you feel the results are not producing EXACTLY what you expected within the 90 days you may cancel and not have lost more than the half price for the PR you chose. If you realize it really is doing what we think it will do, I'll only charge full price from then on.
As for the optimizing part. You may or may not know this, but I happen to be one of the best at the old search engine game. If you are not confident of your own SEO skills, I'll have my people do it for you for $250 a page of up to 200 words including up to two graphics. If you make your own page, it has to have no more than two graphics and no more than 300 words and no less than 150. It has to load fast and still be subject to all the other rules of the PR Ad Network.
Whether you make the page or have us do it, we will then send the page and one interior link with the anchor text in it to go on the inventory's main page as well as the url for the inventory link. So, ----- anybody game?
*******************************************************************************************************************************

SHAMELESS PLUG #2
Control your own domains! Running your own server is much cheaper and faster if you maintain more than just a few domains. More importantly, your server, your domains under your control. You decide how to set up MX records, designate sub-domains, manage re-directs and scripts. Get secure before you lose your placements or PR. Get control of your domains and your clients' domains now!
You can run your own hot rod server from just $299 per month with 10 unique IP#'s from 2 class C's.
We can manage and maintain it for you for just $149
For details, call 1-888-956-7672 and get secure today!
*******************************************************************************************************************************

GOOD NEWS!
The good news is that as much as I hate seeing so-called SEO's run and discuss every thing they don't understand or can't afford with google guy, it still amounts to little more than word of mouth advertising for the network. We just keep growing.
This past three weeks, we have picked up three great new PR 8's and over 40 7's covering a wide variety of themes including the pharmaceuticals. These are some very nice sites we are very happy to have as inventory partners.
We have not picked up any new 9's and don't count on that changing. We can still get you 9's just not for the $600 a month we started out getting them for. I honestly feel a site would place better with less risk by spending the money on a mixture of lower PR's with the proper anchor text.
Oh yeah, one other thing in closing.
You know how we all keep hearing about on theme links? Well we agree with the concept, it is just common sense not to put monoxidil ads on kids clothing sites, BUT, we see NO evidence of that making any difference at all to google at this time. It looks to me, (just like it has from the beginning), a link is a link and the more you have coming into your site the better. The higher PR of the incoming link, the better. Get every link you can get anyway you can get it and if it you don't have to give a link back that's even better!
See You at the Top!
Bob 
*******************************************************************************************************************************

SHAMELESS PLUG #3
The good news is that as much as I hate seeing so-called SEO's run and discuss every thing they don't understand or can't afford with google guy, it still amounts to little more than word of mouth advertising for the network. We just keep growing.
This past three weeks, we have picked up three great new PR 8's and over 40 7's covering a wide variety of themes including the pharmaceuticals. These are some very nice sites we are very happy to have as inventory partners.
We have not picked up any new 9's and don't count on that changing. We can still get you 9's just not for the $600 a month we started out getting them for. I honestly feel a site would place better with less risk by spending the money on a mixture of lower PR's with the proper anchor text.
Oh yeah, one other thing in closing.
You know how we all keep hearing about on theme links? Well we agree with the concept, it is just common sense not to put monoxidil ads on kids clothing sites, BUT, we see NO evidence of that making any difference at all to google at this time. It looks to me, (just like it has from the beginning), a link is a link and the more you have coming into your site the better. The higher PR of the incoming link, the better. Get every link you can get anyway you can get it and if it you don't have to give a link back that's even better!
See You at the Top!
Bob 
*******************************************************************************************************************************

SHAMELESS PLUG #3
Secure hosting for your promotional domains. Unique Class C IP#. We help you with your domain registration. Set up on an anonymous server. Unique DNS. Unique MX records. All the whistles and bells with 150 megs of space and 10 gigs of burstable bandwidth.
$25 a month or $199 a year
For details call 1-888-956-7672 and get secure today!
****************************