ê¿êspi20.com — watching and writing

Advertisers want value for their money. You can’t blame them for that. Yet, they are lazy. Especially web advertisers. Why? Because the web is SO big and SO diverse, its difficult (note I don’t say it’s impossible!) to research sites that you would WANT your ads to appear on.

So what do Advertisers do? They hire a company to market their ads. These companies of course vary in quality just like any other business where there is competition. One of the most “popular” methods of selling has been to sell text links on as many websites, blogs and forums as possible. The theory is that you get a lot of exposure on a lot of sites for a relatively small return on your advertising dollar.

However, Google (owner of AdSense and also PageRank which ranks webpages across the web) has come down hard on sites that sell these links, reducing PageRank on most if not all of them.

One of the dead giveaways to Google has been the total inappropriateness of certain links found on these sites. In other words, the links have NOTHING to do with what the site or page or blog or POST is about at all.

According to a SitePoint Blog post by Crispian Burkes, text links are on the way out, but I disagree with his prophecy. I think there will always be text links as long as there is marketing on the web. I think, however, that Advertisers will get smarter about WHERE they have those links placed, about the keywords used in the links and about who they buy from.

This means that marketing firms must in turn be more careful about where those ads go. They must research and monitor the blogs where the text links are placed. They must monitor closely the posts they are placed in. An eclectic blog such as this one where the blogger talks about a variety of subjects lends itself more to a variety of text links than does one that only talks about knitting, for example. Additionally, advertisers are going to have to decide what it is they most WANT from those text ads.

And, Google’s (and MSN’s AND Yahoo’s) demands that paid text links include a nofollow tag is totally being ignored by those marketers, too. Mainly because it negates the “link juice” aspect of the paid text link.

I think Advertisers have been sold more “link juice” (the result of having sites link to theirs which theoretically would drive up THEIR page rank) than the potential of that text link to drive an actual paying customer to their website. Which is better? Well, if you’re a new business, both fill a need of your business. You want to get your website “up there” in rankings so you show up in the search earlier, but you also would like that customer. If one correctly placed link can do both, then it’s a huge hit.

So, PPP, PU2B, Smorty and all you other text link marketers, you’re going to have to get smarter and work harder to make your business return the results your customers are looking for. Just building your own PageRank engine isn’t going to cut the mustard in the long run.

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My soul has a thirst that goes unquenched
and a hunger unsatisfied.
A Stygian dark lies over me
like a putrid and burning stench.

The pain reaches deep within
I cannot see beyond it
I cry out for help;
no one hears me for the din.

I must somehow break through
this foggy veil
that obscures the world
and blocks my view.

It keeps me focused within
instead of looking outward
to peace and hope and life
where happiness and love can begin.

Where life can flourish instead
of death and darkness,
pain and suffering
and keep dark thoughts from my head.

The site for the Golden Compass is compelling. Just my kind of movie - fantasy with a touch of sci-fi, but like many fantasy movies before it, the fanatics are calling it the “fall of mankind” and other such things.

I read an interesting article about the movie and it’s author, Phillip Pullman and the article talked a lot about Mr. Pullman’s supposed beliefs religion-wise. According to Adam Holtz (author of the article in question), Mr. Pullman is agnostic and has declared his books to be anti-religion.

I found no such statement on Mr. Pullman’s website and although I have not read the books, didn’t find their story line to be particuarly anti-religious.

The web is full of self-appointed authorities and I find Mr. Holtz no less egotistical in his writings about the Golden Compass. I’ll give him that he knows more than I do about movies in general. I don’t know how he knows so much about author, Phillip Pullman, though as he gives no sources away.

At any rate, Mr. Holtz’ diatribe has only served it pique my interest in both the books AND the movie; perhaps not quite the result he was looking for.

We shall see if I come to the same conclusions regarding Mr. Pullmans’ religious bent once I’ve read and watched.

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The movie the Golden Compass will be showing in theaters soon. This is just the type movie I love to go to.

This is my daemon. You can get one too!

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