Be Nice To The Internet And It Will Be Nice To You
Yesterday I wrote an update to the Niche Site Challenge. You can read it here.
One of the random thoughts I included in that article was that if you are nice to Google, it will be nice to you. I thought I’d expand upon that in this article because it’s an interesting point to make amongst internet marketers and other people who like to make money online.
It’s probably not the most interesting article I’ve ever written, but think of me as a moralistic old grandpa giving you young ones advice.
Content Based Marketing
There are a million different pieces of software that try and get you ahead of the game in terms of building websites and ranking them on Google. This past Friday was Black Friday, and I got inundated with emails telling me that I should either buy this article spinning product, or be an affiliate for another product which allows you to create websites on autopilot and fill them with content from who knows where.
These get rich quick offers are bad for you. Not only do they not work, but they are also of dubious legality and a very quick way to get your website and your business in trouble in the long run.
Also, tricks are never going to outwork actual work.
My writing for this site is a bit whimsical in both my language and my approach. I’ll write about random things and not really edit my work in any particular way, shape or form.
However, my site outranks sites that are older, bigger and definitely spend more money on their marketing than this one does. (I don’t spend any money on marketing this site.)
That is all due to my approach;  I don’t blast my website everywhere, and I don’t deliberately try and game the system. I also don’t try and make money at the expense of my reader – which is good for the reader and doesn’t hurt in terms of the technical stuff either.
Every website I run goes with a content-first strategy. Essentially, if you are nice to your readers, then they will reward you for it.
Let’s forget about the readers for a second and talk about technical things. Let’s talk with reference to SEO.
Search Engine Optimisation
Google is considered the big evil corporation when it comes to Internet marketing.
They’re considered to be evil overlords trying to stop the little man from getting ahead and profiting online.
I disagree. I think that Google are very clear about what it is they want and don’t want online and they’re very clear-as clear as they can be-about what goes into their search algorithms.
The reason Google is so opaque about their algorithm is that it’s impossible to understand. It’s designed to mimic human behaviour. What this means is that there is no single formula that will work on every website that is repeatable every time.
Google are quite clear about this.
Google are also quite clear about the fact that they want high quality content that readers enjoy. If you create high-quality content that readers enjoy, then you will get ahead in Google.
What this ultimately means is that you shouldn’t game the system.
Some websites suggest that everything that you do online is gaming the system. They are wrong. At no point has Google said that you can’t build backlinks to your website, it hasn’t said that you can’t share your website and it hasn’t said that you can’t make money from your website.
People that think that just have poor reading comprehension.
Luckily, the people reading my site are smart and know that if you build quality website, then you don’t really have to worry about search engine optimisation problems.
Social Media
The same basically applies for all of the social media websites. I see people getting banned on Twitter quite a lot. That tends to be because they’re either spamming to a ridiculous extent, or they have particular social/political views that they express in an inappropriate manner.
Amongst some of the websites I follow, this is a contentious issue.
Whether it’s right or wrong, I think that if you want to partake in a particular forum, you have to abide by the rules. Nobody has a message which is inalterable to the point where they can’t speak it. You just have to moderate the language so it is appropriate to the venue.
If you are interested in copywriting and writing in general, then you must understand this and it’s probably not news to you.
Again, if you play by the rules of the various platforms, then you won’t have a problem. If you have a particular viewpoint which is too extreme for a platform, then find a platform which is okay with the message or the delivery.
If in doubt, create your own website and write whatever you want on it.
Customer Support
People tend to have customer support issues, either when they are customers themselves or when they have their own customers.
In general, the calmer and more rational you are, the better the outcome.
Don’t get me wrong, there are times that I have wanted to scream at my clients because they seem to hate me and I can’t do anything right. There are also times when I have wanted to scream at customer support because they don’t know what they’re doing and I feel like a monkey could do their job better than them.
But, it’s very rare where you can get exceptionally angry and still win.
When you have a difficult customer, act without emotion but still compassionately. Most customers do not want all trouble… they want their problem fixed.
Similarly, when you are in need of technical support, remember that the person who is trying to help you probably gets paid minimum wage, they might not even be a native speaker of your language, and they are probably doing the best they can. Obviously you have to be persistent enough to get your problems fixed, but other than that don’t push them too hard. Normally, support isn’t the reason your problem is occurring, there just the ones that have to deal with it.
If in doubt, buy yourself a stress ball or punching bag.
Final Thoughts
This is another weird topic-but it’s one of those crucial little details that nobody tells you about being in business for yourself.
I’ve written on this site numerous times before about how when you are self-employed, you bear all the responsibility.
If your software doesn’t work, then it is your problem. It might be somebody else’s fault, but it is your duty and responsibility to fix it.
If your website is doing poorly in the search engine rankings, then again, it is your problem and responsibility to deal with.
These issues all tie into a greater point-if you behave rationally and you don’t try and screw other people or otherwise use tricks to get ahead, then chances are everything runs smoothly.
If you behave in a calm and collected manner when trouble arises, then chances are you’ll be able to resolve your problems quickly and easily.
You’ll certainly achieve more if you remain calm and positive than you will if you get angry and despondent.
Business can be tough. When you allow yourself to get angry you start to make poor decisions, and this makes business even tougher.
Try to avoid doing that and you will find that your business and your personal life are better for it.