Newsletter Archive

Issue 1-2 Contents:

The future of Search engine submissions
January 2001 Contest Winners!
AddWeb Success Story (by WINNER James Turner)
SEP Tips and Advice (by WINNER Tom Garz)
Message from our CEO, Michael Kovnick
Yahoo! Sponsored Sites Program
Content Means Everything
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Other Issues

The future of Search engine submissions

Over the past year, we have seen major search engines consolidate, switch to pay service, disappear, etc. The big question these days is: What does the future hold?

While we don't have a crystal ball, we have had enough information passed down that give us a clue. As the web expands, and billions of pages are indexed, the add url model is going bye bye as a desperate measure to take control. We believe most major engines will simply stop accepting submissions, and rely strictly on spidered content, new domain registrations, etc.

At this point, you are probably saying to yourself that such news spells the end of products like AddWeb. Our answer is that it is quite the contrary. While AddWeb started out in 1997 as a search engine submission program, it has evolved into much more. It is a comprehensive website promotion program that *also* submits to search engines.

There are more ways than one to skin a cat. You have seen new optimization, page building and other features in AddWeb 4.0, but our ideas hardly end there. We are already in the design phase of some very new and exciting additions to the AddWeb arsenal, and when it is all said and done, we will make one simple claim: You don't need to submit to get added to a search engine. While the submission module will still be there for all of the sites that do accept submissions, we will be unveiling a new set of features that will take website promotion software to a new level... maintaining optimization, listing and positioning... even for large engines that do not offer an 'Add URL' feature.

Vague and ambiguous? Maybe so. But at this stage, we are not ready to clearly announce our plans. Nonetheless, rest assured that there are some pretty killer things coming down the line!

Cyberspace HQ Winners!

If you read the premiere issue, you may have been one of those exceptional individuals that sent in contest entries for the Palm m100 PDA's. In case you did not get to read the premiere issue, I will tell you that we asked our subscribers to submit AddWeb success stories and SEP (search engine positioning) tips. Well we got so many good contest submissions that it was honestly very hard to choose winners. We finally settled on some excellent entries, and we have included them in this, our second issue. Read their winning entries below. They are very informative. Kudos to James Turner, Tom Garz and Steve Walker. You guys are the best.

Again, We would like to shout out a resounding THANK YOU to all of our customers

AddWeb Success Story (by WINNER James Turner)

Here is James' winning entry:

Dear Cyberspace HQ,
I would like to thank you for developing a submission software program that is not only easy to use, but very effective. For almost a year I struggled to increase traffic to my site (http://www.freebizsites.com/) and the results were 2,186 unique visitors in February of 2000. I bought AddWeb March 10th of 2000 and by May 2000 (less than two months!) my unique visitor total had risen to 14,252 and I had 3,874 RETURN visitors, with hundreds of them returning 10 times or more in one month. Since ordering AddWeb my traffic has increased every month, and I have recently purchased the professional version of AddWeb 4. Since ordering AddWeb 4 I have learned a lot about how search engines rank sites, how to use keywords and phrases more effectively and much more (thanks to the tutorials and page advisor additions to the program). The newly optimized site rolls out soon and I am positive it will be a huge success, thanks in large part to AddWeb 4 Professional, without a doubt the best investment I have made in my Internet business.

James Turner
http://www.freebizsites.com/

SEP Tips and Advice (by WINNER Tom Garz)

Here is Tom's winning entry. Note that some of the tips may seem obvious to you, but we selected this because it was so comprehensive, and what seems obvious to some is not to others Here it is:

Great job on your newsletter! Wonderful Idea. I can see how you became Number One.

Here's some things I've learned -

1.) Use spelling variations in metatags - for me idea, ideas, ideation, etc. - taking into account global spelling variations like color and colour. Check a thesaurus on what synonyms are possible.

2.) Change around my website now and then to show it is alive and well.

3.) Answer e-mail promptly to again show I am here.

4.) Don't put too much effort into graphics that are slow to load. A typical user will only wait several seconds before moving on.

5.) Use spell check - it's there and it shows you do a good thorough job. Test out all your hyperlinks to make sure they work. Also check out the e-mail hyperlinks too. Don't defeat the skip rules in AddWeb. They're there for a reason and they keep me out of spam trouble.

6.) Dropping down the number of threads increases success rate, and it doesn't take that much longer.

7.) Don't get too wordy in the summary section. Short and concise is the guideline.

8.) Use the book or help screens in AddWeb.

9.) The support staff is very helpful, especially in startup. FAQ take care of most of it and for other questions only an e-mail away.

10.) Important - clean out your spam mailbox dump monthly or they will close you out because they don't think you're there anymore. This is the e-mail you list on your AddWeb profile.

11.) Type in the most important keywords for your site and see what metatags you're competitors use. Use those metatags too if common words. Don't use their names though - illegal.

Ideas for Products or Services
by Tom Garz
Hortonville, WI
http://www.athenet.net/~ideas

Message from our CEO, Michael Kovnick

WOW! What a ride it has been. Cyberspace HQ has grown quite a bit since I fired it up on that 386 DX/40 seven years ago with a 14.4K modem and a phone line. Well, last month we did a survey to see what you felt we were doing right, and where we could improve. While the results were very positive overall, they did outline areas in which we can improve our operation to give you the best possible service you deserve. As a result, we are making some really big changes around here in our sales and tech support initiatives.

If you would like to read more about the issues we have discovered and our solution rollout plan, please visit http://www.cyberspacehq.com/cybnews/ceo/0201/ for my full article.

Yahoo! Sponsored Sites Program

Thursday saw the rollout of Yahoo!'s new Sponsored Sites Program. These sites will not appear as results on normal keyword searches. Rather, they will appear at the top of the search results in a clearly defined Sponsored Sites area at the top of the page, on certain keyword searches within commercial category listings. This now makes Excite the only major search engine that does not have sponsored listings. The cost of service is anywhere between $25.00 to $300.00 depending on the category. You may want to take advantage of this if you have a commercial and want a listing on Yahoo!. As you may or may not know, Yahoo! is no longer accepting free submissions for commercial websites. It may be a viable alternative to the paid priority submissions that Yahoo! also solicits.

Content Means Everything

A very frequent question that we hear from our users goes like this: "If there were just one thing I could do to improve the ranking of my website, what would that be?" Well, the you are about to hear may sound may sound so simple as to be ridiculous but it is true; Make sure that your website has plenty of good content, and that content is updated regularly. No amount of smart SEP work can compensate for a website that is lacking in content. While you may achieve a top ranking for a short while using little content, you can't maintain that position without good changing content. Top ranking websites with staying power typically make it a point to provide fresh updated content and lots of it.

Offering any free information to your visitors can help make your site "stickier" to your users and boost your site's image to the Search Engines. If you own a website for your realty business for example, you should offer things like advice for first time home buyers, tips for finding a good mortgage, and guidelines to qualify for a HUD or FHA home. While this information is not immediately "selling" your service, it creates rapport between the visitor and you. You have become a source of advice and answers to difficult questions. Perhaps the next time they have a question about real estate, they will think about visiting your site again. To put the cherry on it, the search engine will rank you better. Not all "content" has to be articles or tips. If for instance, you sell real estate, you might want to add a free mortgage payment calculator to your site, as well as links to other informative for home buyers, such as lending institutions or government subsidy information.

While constantly adding new content can present a challenge, the end result is truly worthwhile. Everyone wins in the end. How often does that happen? The search engines rank you better because they have more confidence in the value of your site. You get more traffic and return visitors. Finally, your visitors win by getting the valuable information they were searching for, (and perhaps new real estate agent too!)