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When you change the way you look at things – the things you look at change!
Thanks to all of you for all the great questions. I understand how you guys feel.
Part of the secret to success, at least for me, is to think POSITIVE!
May I please ask you guys to consider a quote by the great Wayne Dyer.
“When you change the way you look at things – the things you look at change.”
I’d like to ask you guys to consider all the wonderful possibilities that 400 keyword stuffed articles would provide a member.
On the surface it may seem like 350 people will use the articles exactly the same way, however a big part of the Article Underground membership is showing and encouraging members how to use the articles to build tightly themed sites of all shapes and sizes by hand. I encourage members to add unique twists and make their web sites BETTER than the others out there!
There are a number of forum posts and videos for members showing how to make the articles “your own” by adding additional keywords, custom templates, resources, links, extra H1 tags and even breaking up the articles and much much more.
I could talk for an hour about this, but a short simple concise answer is that while a few members may submit the articles to directories (which they are encouraged to do ONLY if they modify the articles by the way), the majority of members use the articles as part of the ‘content toolbox”, not so much for submitting to directories.
If they do, they must modify the article significantly.
I like to think of the 400 articles as a “toolkit for SEOE’s (Search engine Optimization Experts)” that enable us to build web sites and pages about words that have been researched to get traffic and make money. (continued – read more of this article…)
Duplicate Content is an Urban Legend
Duplicate Content is an Urban Legend… kinda!
Do you have web pages that are IDENTICAL to other pages on the web??? Identical as in EXACT???
I hope not! IDENTICAL is NOT GOOD!
OK, I have had many conversations with some of the top people in the business of internet marketing and we have come to some conclusions about why “duplicate content” is an overblown concern that just has too many implications to answer with a yes or no or black or white answer.
First off – everybody has a different idea in their head when they ask about it…
When people ask me about duplicate content they usually frame it in questions such as:
“Your system sounds great BUT how can 350 people all rank #1 with the same article?”
or
“Won’t Google penalize me if I have duplicate content on my site”
or
“If everybody else is using the same articles as me won’t I get penalized for duplicate content???”
The short answer is NO! NO! NO NO NO!
And I will elaborate on this so we can get some things clear.
DUPLICATE CONTENT should be a concern if you are STEALING an exact web page or article that you do not own.
In that case the copyright owner can ask Google to remove you from their index and they will. Not because it is a duplicate, but because it is STOLEN CONTENT!
Look at the phrase “DUPLICATE CONTENT PENALTY” and tell me what that means to you???
Is there a penalty???
Will they ban you???
Well, if there is a penalty there should be a Google webmaster guideline somewhere that says something like “NEVER use any content that appears on another web page or we’ll hit you with a penalty or ban your ass.”
Whoaaaahhh…. he said “ass” Chuckle…
If that were the case all the big PR 7 – 8 and up newspaper web sites would be purged from Google’s index for using all the exact same syndicated articles! That’s just not going to happen!
Also, think about it conceptually… STOCK PHOTO LIBRARIES – ROYALTY FREE MUSIC LIBRARIES, ROYALTY FREE CLIP ART and on and on…
The web is founded on the principal that people share good things… they share clip art, pictures, music and WORDS!
How many times have you seen a blog that will reprint a newspaper article or press release??? Are they getting banned???
The nature of the web lends itself to sharing.
So, if that is the case, why would Google penalize a site just because a web site has a page that may have some of the same words… did you notice how I said SOME of the same words???
SOME because almost every web page on the net has OTHER words than the ARTICLE it is publishing.
My point is that pages in real life are almost never EXACT DUPLICATES! They all have different templates, different author boxes and links, different bios, different navigation links, different advertisements… I mean c’mon! The pages should have some identity of their OWN other than just copying and pasting an article. That isn’t smart. Add something!
If you are so concerned about other web pages having the same articles – add your own twist! Tweak the pages! Add your own words to make the page your own!
It’s so easy!
Simply add an INTRODUCTION – a middle COMMENTARY – a SUMMARY or CONCLUSION in your own words!
Maybe even add an extra paragraph!
How about adding some personality to your pages and don’t just settle for copy and paste! It’s really easy! Add your own words and you will rise to the top!
OK, now that I got that out of the way… let me show you an EXAMPLE where DUPLICATE CONTENT can get you in trouble (maybe not a penalty or banned, but maybe points off…)
There is a trend among lazy webmasters out there to build these huge MONDO DIRECTORY sites that use articles from the PUBLICLY ABUSED article directories (such as goarticles.com etc.).
These webmasters have a program or use a script that simply takes the articles as they are and adds them to a web page. Usually their template is sparse at best, and usually has very few extra words other than category links… (NEAR Empty templates are not good – they leave footprints – especially when 100’s of other “button pushing” webmasters are making huge directories with the same sparse templates and publicly abused articles! Can you say FOOTPRINT? It’s like saying hey – look at me – I’m pushing a button too!)
Now this case is a problem… because the sites will have hundreds or even thousands of “me too pages” and they’ll all have many factors in COMMON – not just duplicate content.
Now, it isn’t really the CONTENT/ARTICLE that makes it so easy for Google to find these “machine generated sites” – it is the AUTHOR CREDIT BOX – ie BIO!
The AUTHOR CREDIT is required by the author of the article and may not be tampered with. It’s terms and conditions state that you can use the articles on your sites BUT you must leave the author box INTACT links and all.
So what happens???
Hundreds and even thousands of pages with the SAME WORDS all have the same IDENTICAL AUTHOR BOXES and same exact TEXT LINKS! Many of these text links even point at pages that are on domains banned by GOOGLE! (continued – read more of this article…)
How many web sites should you have?
Q: Article Underground articles are diverse and cover many different keyword phrases, therefor how many web sites should one get to use all of the articles properly???
I get this question a lot! Or some variation of it! Usually people will ask – do I need 400 web sites to use each article? Or I only have 1 site and domains are expensive – how many will I need?First off – domains are NOT expensive! They are dirt cheap! $8.95 a year works out to 75 cents a month! If you can’t afford to spend 75 cents a month for fear you will not make that back – this is not the business for you my friend :’>
Monkeys can make 75 cents a month with a web site. Yes, I know there are other expenses like hosting (which is also dirt cheap) but lets keep things in perspective here – Interent Marketing is one of the easiest businesses to start with hardly any major expenses. Hosting and domain names add up to hardly anything. Try that with any other startup business!!!
Ok, well enough of that… I suggest you stop thinking in terms of buying a domain or hosting as a negative. It’s an investment for you to make back 100 times over what you invest. Maybe even 1,000 times over! The sky really is the limit, so please don’t start nickeling and diming. If that’s what you gotta do – maybe this is not the right business for you at this time. Save up a few bucks and come back when you feel it is less of a risk.
So, how many domains??? Only a few… really! How about 5??? That’d be $44.75 a year or $3.79 per month.
I guess I owe you guys a bit of an explanation so we can put things in the proper perspective!
I understand why you might think you’ll need a lot of web sites to use all of the articles from an Article Underground membership. After all 400 each month is an obscene amount of content! And some members even buy TWO memebrships so they can have access to all 800 articles! (continued – read more of this article…)
Are you SKEPTICAL or OPTIMISTIC? Open or Closed?
Is your mind OPEN? Or is your mind CLOSED to possibilities???
Anthony Robbins says that people are motivated by ONLY TWO THINGS
1. Desire for Pleasure 2. Fear of Pain
Which are you motivated by more???
Which is greater??? Your fear of PAIN or your DESIRE for PLEASURE???
Looks like Article Underground is keeping Neil Shearing’s bloggers busy! And ruffling some feathers!
http://www.neilshearing.com/neil-shearing/2006/06/27/more-questions-about-article-underground/
What I don’t get (not just with Neil’s blog) is the huge level of skepticicsm about products with solutions to problems I see in blogs and in forums. There are so many haters out there!
>>> If they’d only put some of that nasty energy to good use, they’d be sucessful themsleves!
I realize that not everything deserves optimism, but why not focus on the good and the potential in things?
Is it wrong to be successul and make money? Isn’t that what we all want?
People who recognize problems and provide solutions are HELPING our fellow web publishers, not stealing from them… there is a reason so many people pay money for HELP!
They recognize value and appreciate being enlightened! But there are always going to be people who just don’t get it. They see the problems that will surely happen to them instead of the benefits.
These people FEAR PAIN more than they DESIRE PLEASURE!
No course in the world is going to help people who can’t believe in themselves! I mean, some people seem so eager to shoot down anything without really thinking rationally about it.
I guess a lot of people have bought products and feel ripped off because they never used the products or maybe even the products sucked.
9 times out of ten – people simply buy something and never use it.
I’m guilty of that and I bet you are too!
But I try to buy things with a more modest goal. I don’t expect products to change my life – I expect them to open up my eyes and help me think about things differently than I have before and help me with new ideas. If I can just have 1 or 2 really good ideas from buying a course or product – I am satisfied!
I say why not see the possibilities and potential in things instead of thinking negatively?
(continued – read more of this article…)
Q: How does a NOVICE like myself get started?
I was just asked this question:Q: How does a NOVICE like myself get started?
1st: You have to ask your self a question:
How committed am I to starting a business as a web publisher?
If you ARE committed to this new career you will need to do whatever it takes to do the basic things that web publishers do.
That includes setting up a brand new domain on a server and creating web pages that people will actually see.
Article Underground is NOT intended for beginners BUT it does save beginners LOTS OF TIME!
The good news is that Article Underground does most all of the complicated and time consuming stuff for you so you can focus on building web pages and getting links.
If it’s important to you to learn this stuff, don’t worry - it’s actually very easy.
Get a web editing software program to build you web pages.
An application like Dreamweaver or Xsitepro is a good choice (or any a number of other HTML editors).
Just learn the software from the ground up. Spend a day or two following the excellent tutorials and documentation and you should learn all you need to know to get started. (continued – read more of this article…)
Keep your eye on the prize!
Since I launched Article Underground back in February 2006 I have been getting a ton of emails from people who either downloaded the special report and have watched the videos, or simply people who have read the AU sales page or used the free content. Up until now I have answered each email personally, often with detailed responses.
Many of the emails are very complimentary and some are even “fan mail like”. That’s cool! Also most all of the emails indicate they are in agreement with my advice and suggestions, but every once in a while I will get an email that is more like a CHALLENGE to DUEL (gunfight) that says something like “you make a lot of sense BUT convince me why X and Y is _____.”
The other day I took one of these CHALLENGES and wrote up a little email which made me realize that there are so many products out there that do NOT deliver and so many guru people are just out to make a quick buck that there are a lot of people who despite being in agreement and being “sold” still need a personal invitation or acknowledgement.
In this particlular email the person was explaining how he was buying this program and that but thought he might need x and y and if I could tell him what else he needed before he signed up for Article Underground…
It made me realize how many people out there are information overload and have already bought solutions and still buying more products and info courses but at the risk of only fragmenting their efforts even more.
I took a somewhat stern approach and fortunately this guy got it and responded positively with many thanks…
Here is the response to his email. I thought it is worth sharing with you all.
“I realize that you do not know me and trust me yet. But you need to buy 1 product and stick with it. Too many things will distract you and stop you from focusing.
What I offer is a simple one stop solution that has everything you need to get started and maybe even for a long time.
Every extra thing you buy will steal time away from the simple process of putting words on web pages and getting links to them. Thats what makes $$$ (continued – read more of this article…)
The best place to start is at the beginning!
Getting Started Can Be A Bitch – BUT just do it!
This originated from the forum in the members section of Article Underground. While it was written to inspire members, it may serve to inspire you! Maybe even tip you over the edge and get you to invest in a membership to Article Underground!
I often get emails asking me for specific answers to exact questions and they often come from a beginner, aka someone who hasn’t gotten started yet. They haven’t gotten started yet because they are so caught up and overwhelmed by all the possibilities.
I like to let people know there isn’t JUST one way to do this internet thing, but many MILLIONS of ways to do it.
Don’t let the MILLIONS overwhelm you – you only need 1 way out of the many millions of ways – just ONE WAY – and I have shown you the simple things you need to do (have you watched all the Article Underground videos, especially the getting started with articles video?).
*** Free Videos available with the 19 Page PDF Special Report ***
All the other stuff is just academic discussion. Worry about the details once you have done your baby steps.
Now the biggest baby step you need to do is get a web page up and indexed by Google. Not the perfect web page – any web page! JUST DO IT! NOW!
If you are a beginner then you should focus on the basics. As you go you’ll apply the other tricks, but I have news for you – THE BASICS STILL WORK!
It’s like the first time you use a new digital camera. Your baby is taking her first steps… Do you read every page of the manual before you try to take a picture??? Or do you turn the camera on and start taking pictures using the automatic settings??? The first few times you use the camera you don’t expect great pictures. You just want the pictures before that moment in time disappears. YOU would be happy to settle for less than perfect pictures just so you could remember that special moment… But often you will STILL get some good pics and they get better – right???
Same with internet marketing.. start off with basics and try new things as you go. You’ll get better at it. But don’t lose that moment in time trying to read the whole manual and getting it perfect from your first step. You could be making money sooner if you start doing it now!
You don’t have to start off PERFECTLY or JUST RIGHT or EXACTLY the best way. In fact, you’ll make more money if you start off and it is SHITTY and wrong because you can still make money putting out crap.
I am in no way suggesting you put out crap but what I am suggesting is that you can make a lot of money during all the time you would have been planning and formulating EXACTLY how you are going to start.
You don’t make money PLANNING – you make money DOING!
Do you wanna be a PLANNER or a DOER?
Get the momentum going as fast as you can – you’ll have lots of time to plan but you need to get that important stuff done – sooner than later.
If I would have waited till everything was perfect before starting Article Underground – it still would be in development, At some point you just have to start doing! Even if you aren’t certain everything is perfect!
YOU WILL NOT get one single click IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A WEB PAGE UP AND INDEXDED. That should be your number 1 priority. Think about putting stuff on the pages after that.
You gotta get past that first hurdle. Put up a site. Put something on the home page. Get it indexed by Google. (continued – read more of this article…)
Article Marketing Newsletter
Are you interested in making money online?
If you haven’t already subscribed to my Article Marketing Newsletter I invite you sign up as it’s free! You’ll also get my 20 page PDF called “Ban Proofing Your Web Sites (and making long term money with articles)” which contains over 60 minutes of video.
About every 10 days or so I will be mailing out to subscribers info on new products, recent news and trends as it effects article and internet marketing plus special subscriber only videos!
Are you intersted in making money online?
It’s simple:
Get on the list! It’s the one that really matters!
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Internet Marketing and Article Resources:
Build Pages Get Links Make Money – video about how putting words on your pages (with articles) will get you more traffic and make you more money!
Wordpress Theme Tweaks
Wordpress Theme Tweaks for Internet Marketing
As I learn more about using wordpress blogs I have been spending more time on tweaks to the themes. As far as SEO and Internet Marketing are concerned, most blog themes need some adjustments to make them search engine friendly. It’s not always fun but I must say I now have some bitchin’ modified themes to use whenever I set up a new Wordpress blog for Internet Marketing purposes.
Usually I just upload the blog, try a few of the many availble themes and then I start tweaking away! Usually I figure things out by trial and error but I am sure there has to be a better way… but in the end it works and I have some nice blogs to show for it!
I just modified a free theme Wuhan and put my own little touches on it. It’s at Topica Articles if ya wanna see it in action.
If you are really fond of it and wanna use it on one of your sites, simply drop me a line and ask for the Topica Wordpress theme & I’ll send the theme to ya in a zip. Since I didn’t code it from the ground up I am not sure about whether I can freely distribute it, but hey, if my friends ask for it – what am I supposted to do??
I nabbed a great little feature and dropped it on the sidebar and that’s the “latest posts” command which I rarely see included in a theme, yet it is such an obvious choice, especially if you want a little SEO power in your blogs as it will show the latest 10 posts on each page of your site, instead of how the stock themes just show them on the front page. That means each category page (usally higher PageRank) and each individual pots page will now send a little love to the newest posts on your blog! Pretty cool, eeh?
Of course I also dumped the Blogroll thang and replaced it with my own “on the net” links which you can add by tweaking the sidebar.php file. Simply replace one of my links (or keep them there and add you own). (continued – read more of this article…)
Article Undergound is unique! The Secret’s In The Sauce!
The Article Underground content & traffic system is a big success! I’m thrilled that as of today over 440 forward thinking people have had enough faith to part with their hard earned cash and invest in my system! Thank you!
While it may be successful, from time to time I get emails from people asking questions. Sometimes even challenging me to a duel! I’ll share them with you when I have time. I do always welcome a good debate and enjoy when people ask me questions about the product and/or questions about SEO in general. It gives me a chance to crank up the ole brain and wrangle out some good ideas – often even inspiring me! Here is one that asked if I had articles about X and how many would they get each month in that niche.I deliver a system that does almost everything to get you traffic. All you need to do is personalize the articles and add your own touch. Members are already reporting top tens in all search engines with success stories posted in the forum.
Design articles…
I’ll say this – the keyword research I use is the best of it’s kind and unique to Aticle Underground.
I run hundreds of missions where I let the software run loose and IT TELLS ME which words should have articles about.
If design or acne or whatever is on the list – that is what I give to the 18 writers who each write from their own area of interest.
So what happens in general is that there are clusters of themes and niches… They aren’t truly random as they are found and filtered based on a startinbg point, but they aren’t categorized for you in niches.
It all depends on how you look at the list of 400 articles.
Some people like me see the beauty in the profit potential of money words that nobody else is writing articles about.
Others may feel safer having a folder with 20 kayaking artciles, even though 1,000 other people will have the same exact sites with the same articles.
That’s ok if you prefer the other route. But I’d rather have a large list with100% money making words than hope a few of the TIGHT niche artciles are really profitable and easy to get traffic with.
I must not be alone! 440 others agree! (continued – read more of this article…)
RSS Underground is here!
I just put up a new site called RSS Underground that will also be a membership site, similar to Article Underground.
It will offer many ways to utilize RSS content and show examples of web sites with high quality dynamic content from our blog network.
The details and the plans are a bit rough, but it will be a low cost simple no frills membership site that offers solid value. Stay tuned!
Content includes articles on dynamic content, feed aggregators, Webmaster tools and more!
Article Marketing News
I just set up a new site to help promote my Article Marketing News Newsletter!
The site is called Article Marketing News
If you sign up for my newsletter you’ll receive my 19 page free report “Ban Proof Your Web Sites (and make long term money with article marketing)” which contains over 60 minutes of video.
I’ve had a lot of positive feedback on the video and the free report. It’s been said the report is like a full product on it’s own.
If you haven’t checked it out you can get it at my new site Article Marketing News or also at Article Underground Special Reports.
Note: We’ve since added 3 hours plus of brand new multimedia including videos and mp3 files! Some of the greatest minds in internet marketing have contributed videos! sign up now and you’ll get instant access to all the free videos!
Hello ya’ll – Mike Liebner here!
Welcome to my blog! It’s about time I purchased that mikeliebner.com domain before all the other Mike Liebners run to try and buy it!
I’d buy MichaelLiebner.com but I never liked being called Michael. I was always amazed how some people would always call me Michael. I guess that name is magical. I won’t disown it but let’s just say I left an open for the other Michael Liebners out there to grab their own name as a domain!
So, which Mike Liebner am I???
I am the internet marketing Mike Liebner! (continued – read more of this article…)
