This may be of interest to you.

The first Affiliate Summit West took place on June 13-14, 2005 at the long-gone Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. But we didn’t call it Affiliate Summit West back then because it was our only event that year.

Before arriving in Las Vegas for this show I’d never been there before, and we were still pretty new to organizing conferences. That plus not a whole lot of money in the bank meant we were handling everything ourselves – the outsourcing of things didn’t happen until later.

So the day before the conference check-in was opening we enlisted the help of a bunch of friends to stuff the bags for the 550 or so attendees. We were in a suite at the Riviera all day with drinks and an assembly line going.

One of my favorite pictures from that conference was Missy laying on the hundreds of bags after we’d finished up.

After the last bag was stuffed, I went on an odyssey in Las Vegas that included taking a nap on the Strip and various versions of how I ended up back in my room at some late hour. You can hear the gory details in my video recap of the conference.

The check-in process was way more primitive back then, but we had smaller crowds and it worked.

Affiliate Summit West 2005 was the first time we had an exhibit hall, but that may be too generous of a term for what was going on there – we had 15 booths in a room. You can see the “exhibit hall” and other entertaining Affiliate Summit relics in the Affiliate Summit West 2005 program, which was lovingly created in Microsoft Word.

While we were at the Riviera there was also a group of rugby fans, and one of the things many people remember from that conference was that a boozer from the rugby crowd threw up in the pool and it had to be closed.

Towards the end of Affiliate Summit West 2005, there was a big scare after a panel on blogging. One of the panelists, Wayne Porter, collapsed and had to be hospitalized shortly after the panel.

Thankfully, Wayne recovered from that fall and was later anointed as the first Affiliate Summit Legend.

It’s hard to believe Affiliate Summit West 2020 will be the 16th year in a row that Affiliate Summit is in Las Vegas. Looking forward to seeing lots of the old-timers who were there at the start, as well as the youngbloods.

Check out the pictures from Affiliate Summit West 2005.

The post The First Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas was a Little Bumpy appeared first on Affiliate Marketing Blog.

We hope you enjoyed this.

This may be of interest to you.

With more people diving into the world of ecommerce, dropshipping and selling on Amazon, the business of truck deliveries has been growing at a rapid pace as well.

In 2017, trucking revenues totaled $700 billion for medium and short distances. The transportation and logistics industry in the US has continued to thrive over the years. One of the shipping options that’s becoming prevalent is the Less-Than-Truckload shipping method, commonly referred to as LTL.

LTL is highly flexible and convenient. What’s more, the approach is cost-effective for medium and small-sized businesses. LTL allows you to ship in a trailer’s smaller space instead of using the entire container.

You ought to have insights on LTL rates and tariffs. When you need to partner up with an affordable and reliable LTL shipping company for your business needs, understand how rates are calculated.

Weight in Freight Calculation

The heavier your shipment is, the more affordable it gets. In shipping, this aspect is referred to as the hundredweight pricing. There’s a chart listing the prices as per the weight.

Freight carriers refer to this chart to determine the cost of shipping your items. Heavier freight is often subject to discounts, commonly known as weight breaks. Understanding the base rates is essential in cost-saving.

You can increase the size of your goods slightly and enjoy almost a 50% price reduction. Illustratively, a company might be charging $79.05 for freight weighing between 0-499 lbs. You might need to increase the weight of cargo if the price reduces to $39.53 for 500 to 999lbs.

Freight Class

In LTL shipping, freight is in a different classification. The density and value of products determine the shipping rates. The National Motor Freight Classification has grouped freight into eighteen groups. The groups are from 50 to 500, with 50 being the cheapest and 500 the most expensive.

These classes focus on stowability, density, liability, and handling. Products such as food snacks can have a higher rate regardless of the low weight. Such orders are prone to damage, which necessitates extra caution when transporting.

Besides, some items are not stackable. That means that such orders would require more space than other cargos with the same weight. Consequently, shippers will expect you to compensate for such variations.

Ensure that you provide adequate details about your shipments. You will get accurate pricing and avoid unanticipated billings. Undervaluing your products for cheaper rates might have more costly impacts at the end.

Density

Density is another factor affecting LTL shipping rates. Density refers to the space occupied by the shipment, which is in relation to the shipment’s weight. You get the density by dividing the item’s weight by the volume, which is in cubic feet.

The density of your shipment determines your freight class. Just like weight, the higher the density, the cheaper the freight charges. Products with lower density mostly fall in the 125 to 500 categories, which is more costly.

If your items are in pallets, calculate the density using the pallet’s dimensions, height, and weight of freight. Ensure that you consider any protrusions or overhangs when getting the dimensions. Once you determine the density of your shipment, get the LTL shipping quote and have your order delivered.

Distance

Distance has significant effects on shipping rates. If the distance is long, the price will go high. A longer distance translates to more fuel, equipment, and labor.

You’ll need to know the regions with specific carrier services. Some of these shipping companies don’t go beyond some geographic areas. Such information will save you from incurring more costs to have your shipment within your zip code.

Most companies result in interlining, which is the transfer of shipment to an LTL carrier servicing your area. The process ensures that your luggage will get to the specified address. However, you might need to dig deeper into your pockets to cover any extra costs resulting from the high minimum charges and low discounts.

Freight All Kinds

The freight all kinds, mostly referred to as FAK, refers to an arrangement where the carrier allows clients to ship different categories of items, with the billing being of one freight class. Multiple products can attract higher costs. But with this kind of arrangement, you can save some bucks.

If your commodities range between 100 and 200, you can negotiate with your career to rate your shipment as 150. This approach helps you to save, especially on high-ranking shipments.

A client should have substantial information on shipment classes to have the upper hand in negotiations. Know your shipment class before seeking for the shipping service. You will be able to negotiate for better terms based on the type of commodities.

Base Rates

The net profit of freight trucking companies grew by 6% by 2017. Despite the different base rates, LTL carriers have been growing steadily. You need to establish a carrier with a lower base rate for friendly LTL shipping rates.

The base rates are per hundredweight. Shipping companies determine the base rates based on gross costs, demands, and volume. With the notable variations between shippers, you need to get comprehensive quotes for companies you’ve identified.

Gross costs can increase if the lanes provide a stable balance between freight and trucks. Shipping Carriers can change their base rate to accommodate more volume. You need to understand some of these factors affecting the base rate.

Accessorial

LTL shipping goes beyond the typical services provided. A carrier can provide extra services, making you liable for freight accessorial charges. You need to incorporate these rates when calculating your shipping costs.

Accessorial services include residential delivery or pickup, liftgate service, and delivery to limited access areas, among other extras. Negotiate on these accessorials to reduce the overall shipping cost. Better still, provide all necessary information upfront to avoid getting invoices for services you hadn’t anticipated.

Information on LTL Shipping Can Enable You to Calculate Shipping Rates before Engaging Any Carrier

Get to understand all the factors affecting LTL shipping. With such insights, you’ll know how to save on shipping while still enjoying optimal services. Your carrier should provide all the information upfront for better negotiations.

Explore our site further to read more articles on business, SEO, and other informative content.

The post Understanding LTL Shipping Rates for Your Retail and eCommerce Business appeared first on Zac Johnson.

We hope you enjoyed this.

This may be of interest to you.

When it comes to copywriting, whether it's emails, articles, or even writing an ad, headlines are the single most important factor when creating great content.

Why?

Because headlines determine firstly whether or not your target will invest time in what you've got to say.

And second, how much time and attention they will invest.

Fail to get this right, and the rest of your content might as well be written by a cat playing with your keyboard.

So today, I'm going to share with you 7 simple secrets to writing like an elite copywriter TODAY, by focusing on how to write a killer headline.

Tip 1: KISS

You've probably heard of this before, and it's super important when it comes to writing headlines – Keep It Simple, Stupid.

In other words, simplify the message you're trying to convey, and try to avoid any confusing or superfluous language.

It's all about getting the reader interested, versus showing them something 'creative'. They might think creative is cool, but it usually won't get the click.

The main key when implementing the KISS strategy is this: Focus on ONE big idea.

Don't try to cram 5 different benefits/features into your headline, or it'll just overwhelm the reader.

Simply pick what you think is the most powerful aspect of what you're going to be showing them, and center everything around that.

Tip 2: Benefits

When you buy some new shoes, do you buy them purely because of the materials made to use them?

Do you buy them because you'll be able to get 5000 more steps out of them versus a different brand?

Or do you buy them because they will provide you benefits such as comfort, fashion, and perhaps even social status?

We don't buy things because of their features – we buy because of the benefits, which can be either be either pleasure-related, and/or solves a problem (or helps you run away from a problem…)

Most of the time, running away from pain or solving problems is the most powerful motivator, so try to keep that in mind when writing your headline, and see if you can work it in.

Tip 3: Hooks

I always teach people to use hooks in their headlines wherever possible, as this is the thing that makes people super curious about reading more (or even more curious in the product itself).

It is the 'thing' designed to catch people's attention.

For example:

• How to Used 'Screwed Up Paper' To Stop Dogs Digging
• 3 Herbs That Balance Blood-Sugar
• 3 'Healthy' Foods That Make People Fat

In each of those examples, you can see there's a 'thing' that people can use to solve their problem.

You don't have to give away exactly what that thing is in the headline, but if you do, at least draw curiosity to it (eg. Why would 'screwed up paper' stop dogs digging? Now I need to read more and find out..)

Tip 4: Subheadline

The subheadline should be clear and direct, and strongly reinforce the value of the main headline.

For example:

Headline – How to Used 'Screwed Up Paper' To Stop Dogs Digging
Subheadline – Discover How This Simple Piece Of Paper Can Quickly And Permanently Stop Your Dog Digging In Just Minutes

You don't ALWAYS need a subheadline, but they can be perfect for squeezing in a little bit of extra information that you couldn't fit into the main headline…

… and they're also perfect in bridging the gap from Headline to Content.

Tip 5: Use A 'Style' Of Headline

There are a few different styles of headline which I'll explain below.

If you're stuck for ideas, just pick one of these 4 below to help get the ball rolling:

Ask A Question
What better way to get your readers attention than by asking them a burning question?

It’s a great way to make them sit up and pay attention, while making them feel as though you really understand how they are feeling.

Use Power Words
I've included a list of power words further down this article to help you get started, but I also wanted to mention it here because it's exceptionally effective.

Words such as “Warning, Special, Uncover, Success and Winning” are all positive words that evoke emotion. Sprinkle them throughout your copy and make sure you use at least one power word in your headline and sub-headlines.

Be Controversial (if it suits your audience)
Your job is to elicit a response from your reader. So, if you know your target audience and what makes them tick (and you better), you can get away with using controversy to capture attention.

One example of this I see all the time, which is done in a kind of sneaky way, is when a book/series is advertised on TV, and they say "Available at all good book retailers".

It's not exactly specific on where people can find the book, but it gets them thinking… Who are these good retailers? And who are the bad ones?

If they can't find the book at a particular store, it must be bad… and vice versa.

Cater to the "How-to" Crowd

How To styled headlines work extremely well, especially when they directly target a specific solution to a problem or task.

For example, “How to hit the New York Times bestsellers list with your first book!” targets the new author who is yearning to become a bestseller but doesn’t have a lengthy backlist (or any backlist at all).

Be very direct and targeted with how-to headlines!

Tip 6: The 4 U's Of Copywriting

If you've studied copywriting much in the past, the 4 U's is a term you might've already heard.

For those who haven't, let me explain what it means, and how it'll help you write better copy.

For your headlines to be engaging and effective, they should contain all of the following four points:

• Your headline should provide a sense of URGENCY.
• Your headline should be UNIQUE.
• Your headline should be USEFUL.
• Your headline should be ULTRA-SPECIFIC (direct).

Urgency persuades people to take immediate action, because they're aware that they'll lose an opportunity of some kind (eg. Cart closes in 24 hours).

Incorporating a sense of urgency into your headlines definitely helps to motivate people, but be careful – You must ensure that your urgency is REAL (at least as far as the reader will ever know), otherwise it could brand you as a dishonest marketer.

Unique is a critical component of a successful headline because it will provide your reader with something fresh and new, instead of the same thing they’ve seen countless times before (and likely become unresponsive to).

Customers are bombarded by sales messages every single day from multiple sources, so you need to work hard to capture their attention with a uniquely crafted headline that your readers haven’t seen before.

Don’t be afraid to be edgy, to take risks and to offer your customers something different. They’ll take notice!

Useful in your headlines gives people a reason to continue reading. This is where you highlight the most important benefit of your product, and persuade them to keep reading to find out more.

This is probably the most important of the 4 U's, and ties in perfectly with the use of Hooks I mentioned earlier.

Ultra-Specific ensures that you are being direct when targeting your market. It guides you so that your headline is effectively communicating your message to your audience and clarifying its benefit.

As I mentioned earlier, it's important to focus on one big idea, otherwise you'll risk losing your readers' focus and attention.

Tip 7: Power Words

To help you get started, here are some power words commonly used in successful headlines and ad copy.

Most high-converting headlines will incorporate at least one of the following words:

Mystery Words: Secrets, Insider, Proven, Expert, Revealing, Unlock, Uncover, Announcing, Rare, Unusual, Explore, Discover, Exclusive, Private.

Excitement Triggers: Savings, Save, Bonus, Instant, Lifetime, Special, Unleash, Ultimate, Maximum, Exceptional, Powerful.

Urgency Words: Rush, Immediately, Instant, Limited-Time, Temporary, Last Minute, Urgent.

Power Words: Boost, Grow, Succeed, Accelerate, Turbo Charge, Guaranteed, Tested, Profitable, Trusted, Amazing, Stunning, Phenomenal, Incredible, Unbelievable, Jaw-Dropping, Sensational.

Simplify Words: Easy, Simple, Fail Proof, Foolproof, Effortless, Child’s Play, Easier, Stress-Free, Easy Going, Laid Back.

Remember, when it comes to writing great copy, practice makes perfect.

But by simply employing even just a few of the tips I've mentioned today, you'll significantly improve your copy skills in no time.

Good luck, and I can't wait to start reading some of your amazing headlines out in the wild as I go about my day 🙂

We hope you enjoyed this.

This may be of interest to you.

The first Affiliate Summit West took place on June 13-14, 2005 at the long-gone Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. But we didn’t call it Affiliate Summit West back then because it was our only event that year.

Before arriving in Las Vegas for this show I’d never been there before, and we were still pretty new to organizing conferences. That plus not a whole lot of money in the bank meant we were handling everything ourselves – the outsourcing of things didn’t happen until later.

So the day before the conference check-in was opening we enlisted the help of a bunch of friends to stuff the bags for the 550 or so attendees. We were in a suite at the Riviera all day with drinks and an assembly line going.

One of my favorite pictures from that conference was Missy laying on the hundreds of bags after we’d finished up.

After the last bag was stuffed, I went on an odyssey in Las Vegas that included taking a nap on the Strip and various versions of how I ended up back in my room at some late hour. You can hear the gory details in my video recap of the conference.

The check-in process was way more primitive back then, but we had smaller crowds and it worked.

Affiliate Summit West 2005 was the first time we had an exhibit hall, but that may be too generous of a term for what was going on there – we had 15 booths in a room. You can see the “exhibit hall” and other entertaining Affiliate Summit relics in the Affiliate Summit West 2005 program, which was lovingly created in Microsoft Word.

While we were at the Riviera there was also a group of rugby fans, and one of the things many people remember from that conference was that a boozer from the rugby crowd threw up in the pool and it had to be closed.

Towards the end of Affiliate Summit West 2005, there was a big scare after a panel on blogging. One of the panelists, Wayne Porter, collapsed and had to be hospitalized shortly after the panel.

Thankfully, Wayne recovered from that fall and was later anointed as the first Affiliate Summit Legend.

It’s hard to believe Affiliate Summit West 2020 will be the 16th year in a row that Affiliate Summit is in Las Vegas. Looking forward to seeing lots of the old-timers who were there at the start, as well as the youngbloods.

Check out the pictures from Affiliate Summit West 2005.

The post The First Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas was a Little Bumpy appeared first on Affiliate Marketing Blog.

We hope you enjoyed this.

This may be of interest to you.

With more people diving into the world of ecommerce, dropshipping and selling on Amazon, the business of truck deliveries has been growing at a rapid pace as well.

In 2017, trucking revenues totaled $700 billion for medium and short distances. The transportation and logistics industry in the US has continued to thrive over the years. One of the shipping options that’s becoming prevalent is the Less-Than-Truckload shipping method, commonly referred to as LTL.

LTL is highly flexible and convenient. What’s more, the approach is cost-effective for medium and small-sized businesses. LTL allows you to ship in a trailer’s smaller space instead of using the entire container.

You ought to have insights on LTL rates and tariffs. When you need to partner up with an affordable and reliable LTL shipping company for your business needs, understand how rates are calculated.

Weight in Freight Calculation

The heavier your shipment is, the more affordable it gets. In shipping, this aspect is referred to as the hundredweight pricing. There’s a chart listing the prices as per the weight.

Freight carriers refer to this chart to determine the cost of shipping your items. Heavier freight is often subject to discounts, commonly known as weight breaks. Understanding the base rates is essential in cost-saving.

You can increase the size of your goods slightly and enjoy almost a 50% price reduction. Illustratively, a company might be charging $79.05 for freight weighing between 0-499 lbs. You might need to increase the weight of cargo if the price reduces to $39.53 for 500 to 999lbs.

Freight Class

In LTL shipping, freight is in a different classification. The density and value of products determine the shipping rates. The National Motor Freight Classification has grouped freight into eighteen groups. The groups are from 50 to 500, with 50 being the cheapest and 500 the most expensive.

These classes focus on stowability, density, liability, and handling. Products such as food snacks can have a higher rate regardless of the low weight. Such orders are prone to damage, which necessitates extra caution when transporting.

Besides, some items are not stackable. That means that such orders would require more space than other cargos with the same weight. Consequently, shippers will expect you to compensate for such variations.

Ensure that you provide adequate details about your shipments. You will get accurate pricing and avoid unanticipated billings. Undervaluing your products for cheaper rates might have more costly impacts at the end.

Density

Density is another factor affecting LTL shipping rates. Density refers to the space occupied by the shipment, which is in relation to the shipment’s weight. You get the density by dividing the item’s weight by the volume, which is in cubic feet.

The density of your shipment determines your freight class. Just like weight, the higher the density, the cheaper the freight charges. Products with lower density mostly fall in the 125 to 500 categories, which is more costly.

If your items are in pallets, calculate the density using the pallet’s dimensions, height, and weight of freight. Ensure that you consider any protrusions or overhangs when getting the dimensions. Once you determine the density of your shipment, get the LTL shipping quote and have your order delivered.

Distance

Distance has significant effects on shipping rates. If the distance is long, the price will go high. A longer distance translates to more fuel, equipment, and labor.

You’ll need to know the regions with specific carrier services. Some of these shipping companies don’t go beyond some geographic areas. Such information will save you from incurring more costs to have your shipment within your zip code.

Most companies result in interlining, which is the transfer of shipment to an LTL carrier servicing your area. The process ensures that your luggage will get to the specified address. However, you might need to dig deeper into your pockets to cover any extra costs resulting from the high minimum charges and low discounts.

Freight All Kinds

The freight all kinds, mostly referred to as FAK, refers to an arrangement where the carrier allows clients to ship different categories of items, with the billing being of one freight class. Multiple products can attract higher costs. But with this kind of arrangement, you can save some bucks.

If your commodities range between 100 and 200, you can negotiate with your career to rate your shipment as 150. This approach helps you to save, especially on high-ranking shipments.

A client should have substantial information on shipment classes to have the upper hand in negotiations. Know your shipment class before seeking for the shipping service. You will be able to negotiate for better terms based on the type of commodities.

Base Rates

The net profit of freight trucking companies grew by 6% by 2017. Despite the different base rates, LTL carriers have been growing steadily. You need to establish a carrier with a lower base rate for friendly LTL shipping rates.

The base rates are per hundredweight. Shipping companies determine the base rates based on gross costs, demands, and volume. With the notable variations between shippers, you need to get comprehensive quotes for companies you’ve identified.

Gross costs can increase if the lanes provide a stable balance between freight and trucks. Shipping Carriers can change their base rate to accommodate more volume. You need to understand some of these factors affecting the base rate.

Accessorial

LTL shipping goes beyond the typical services provided. A carrier can provide extra services, making you liable for freight accessorial charges. You need to incorporate these rates when calculating your shipping costs.

Accessorial services include residential delivery or pickup, liftgate service, and delivery to limited access areas, among other extras. Negotiate on these accessorials to reduce the overall shipping cost. Better still, provide all necessary information upfront to avoid getting invoices for services you hadn’t anticipated.

Information on LTL Shipping Can Enable You to Calculate Shipping Rates before Engaging Any Carrier

Get to understand all the factors affecting LTL shipping. With such insights, you’ll know how to save on shipping while still enjoying optimal services. Your carrier should provide all the information upfront for better negotiations.

Explore our site further to read more articles on business, SEO, and other informative content.

The post Understanding LTL Shipping Rates for Your Retail and eCommerce Business appeared first on Zac Johnson.

We hope you enjoyed this.

This may be of interest to you.

Earlier this year, while discussing the best practices for the creation of an affiliate program agreement, we emphasized the importance of dedicating a portion of it to “Paid Search Campaigns”. Affiliates do use paid search, together with other online marketing channels, as they promote the businesses they work with and …

7 Aspects to Consider While Formulating Affiliate Paid Search Policy Read More »

The post 7 Aspects to Consider While Formulating Affiliate Paid Search Policy appeared first on Affiliate Marketing Blog by Geno Prussakov.

We hope you enjoyed this.

This may be of interest to you.

Did you know that 88% of customers won’t return to a website if they have a bad experience? Whether your site continually crashes or your media won’t load, bad user experience can result in decreased website and app traffic and even sales loss. But user experience encompasses more factors than just the general performance of your website and app. With technology increasing every year, it’s important to implement some of these tech advances toward your website and app. These technology advances improve your user’s experience and inspire them to come back to your website. Here are 9 UX trends and

We hope you enjoyed this.

This may be of interest to you.

Neil Patel and SEO go together like peanut butter and jelly. Search for anything related to SEO, content marketing or affiliate marketing in Google… and you are sure to find one of Neil’s articles, companies or interviews ranking right at the top of the search results.

Millions of site owners, brands, and entrepreneurs end up on Neil’s site every month seeking his latest expertise and wisdom on everything from how to start a business, ranking higher in Google, or creating content on websites and social media that gets attention. It’s also not just his own site, but plenty of others where Neil Patel has been featured, cited as an expert, or even listed as a speaker or influencer to follow.

With all of this in mind, Google has recently been coming out with some changes and new site owner recommendations of their own – which Neil Patel also reviewed, documented and broken down into his own working protocol, making it easier for the rest of us to understand as well.

Let’s take a look at what’s making headlines in the world of SEO, what Neil has to say about it, and how I believe today’s marketers should adjust their activities accordingly.

The Landscape or SEO Today and How Google Looks at Links

Flash back a couple of decades ago to the days of Yahoo Search, Altavista and even Excite – everyone was trying to game the system and figure out how to rank their sites at the top of the search engines for big money keywords that would send them floods of traffic. Jump back to today, and nothing has really changed – except that pretty much all of the focus is on Google now, and Google has gotten better and better at out-gaming the games.

In 2019, Google pretty much controls the internet, making them the gatekeepers of information that people find when they search online. It’s been documented that there are hundreds of different data points, methods, factors and algorithms that go into determining where a given site’s pages rank for keywords – but for the most part, it’s usually a mixture of content quality and backlinks that have the most influence.

Neil Patel, for one, is of the belief that when done right, link building is more or less a future-proof SEO practice, and I’m inclined to agree. As he puts it in his review, “links will always be hard to come by, so they will be part of their algorithm for the foreseeable future.”

It’s just that compared to yesteryear, today there are also a ton of other factors that influence when, where and how a site ranks. Also, don’t forget to throw into the mix that there are now more than a billion active sites online, which are all competing for those same beloved search results.

Google Wants All Links Marked As What They Are

As Neil points out in his review of the latest SEO changes, the biggest adjustment that we need to know about today is Google requesting that everyone start labeling the type of links on their sites.

While this type of transparency is “good practice,” I’m predicting that it’s really not something you are going to come across on most websites. Unless, as Neil notes, “if Google starts placing some value on these user-generated links, it can help boost your rankings,” in which case there could be a bit of a gold rush.

Factor in that most site owners don’t want to put in the time and effort to label their links, and then another half of the internet (general bloggers) have no idea what SEO is or how to label links… often times it just seems like banter to throw something like this out there for the top SEO agencies and gurus to fight over.

And as for Neil Patel’s business interests… well, no matter what happens with Google and SEO in the future, he will be fine. As more site owners, bloggers, and brands continue to share his content on social media and publish reviews of the Neil Patel Digital agency, he will still have a virtually endless supply of traffic coming to his various media properties and presences from all directions.

You can see Neil’s breakdown of each of these new link policies and html “attributes” in the screenshot below.

Neil’s article also went into more details on what these link commands individually mean, and why Google even put them in place. Which was summed up by Google in the following:

All the link attributes — sponsored, UGC and nofollow — are treated as hints about which links to consider or exclude within Search. We’ll use these hints — along with other signals — as a way to better understand how to appropriately analyze and use links within our systems. – Google

With Google advancing their technology all the time, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had already collecting signals based on all of these html attributes in order to run ranking algorithm experiments that are already underway.

And at the same time, when you think about the “rel=sponsored” tag, you aren’t going to see many brands requesting this type of link on your site. Some of the largest brands in the world might, if they are running an obvious campaign through a large SEO or outreach company – but most of these brands want the SEO juice, and don’t want to be seen as buying “sponsored” links either.

In any event, if this is something you are currently freaking out about and trying to implement overnight, no worries. Google says this implementation won’t go into effect immediately, and site owners will have until March 1, 2020 to start setting the link attributes throughout their content.

“It will probably take another year before they really catch on,” says Neil, “which means for now you will just have to focus your efforts on dofollow links.”

Just Backlinks and Articles? Throw in Social Media as Well…

And regardless, as much as we would all like to think SEO and ranking in Google is just a matter of writing super high quality and long form content, along with getting as many quality links as possible… that’s no longer the case.

One thing that Neil does not point out in his article, in my opinion, social media is going to play an increasingly important role in all of this as well.

Without getting into too many technical specifics, Google loves social media, and they want to see more social shares, clicks coming from Facebook and Twitter back to your site, and also for content on your site to have social sharing buttons and embedded content as well.

After all, it’s all about user experience right?

You can even throw the case out there that “bounce rates” play a big role in the SEO process, and if you are going to run ads on social media to your existing audiences and fans… they would likely spend more time on your site than a random visitor, right?

These are all fine things to consider for now, but who knows when and how Google will change their perspective on these link factors in the future.

The Business of SEO and Where We Are Headed

In the world of SEO, all eyes are on Google. They are the king of search traffic – whether it’s desktop, tablet, or mobile browsing.

They are also the beginning and end of all decisions as to who ranks at the top of the search engine, and why.

This all helps the “business of SEO” as well. With such madness happening on a daily basis, and businesses of all sizes fighting for position, this just leads to more money being spent in an extremely competitive industry.

As I noted above, Neil and the enterprise companies that hire his agency will likely continue to see great rankings indefinitely. The bigger concern for everyone else, is the question of what will happen to your blog, business or brand if Google changes up their search algorithms and your site is no longer to be found?

The post Neil Patel Reviews Google’s New Link Building Guidelines appeared first on Zac Johnson.

We hope you enjoyed this.

This may be of interest to you.

I thought I was good for a long time. Over ten years. But as the days went by, I realized I wasn’t.

One of the biggest catalysts in my entrepreneur journey was also my greatest burden… the memories of working in New York City on 9/11.

I didn’t die. I was only really scared that day, so I had a hard time accepting that it brought me pain and sadness and anxiety. It made me feel guilty. When I brought up what happened that day it seemed to make people uncomfortable. I got that, and it also made me wary of mentioning it. So I bottled it up.

It was around six years ago that I finally got to a point where I thought I needed some help. It was my first visit to the 9/11 Memorial Museum, and I was overcome. I felt really irritable and claustrophobic.

It really bothered me how jovial some people were in what I thought should be a very solemn place. And then I saw a bunch of people mugging for the camera in front of a destroyed fire truck. I had to get out of there.

I verbalized to myself shortly after that I was going to find somebody to talk to about it. I went to Yelp to look up therapists who dealt with PTSD.

My choice was a psychotherapist because I just wanted someone to talk to about things vs. a psychiatrist, who could also prescribe medications.

It felt so good to have somebody to talk to about things I felt like nobody wanted to hear, or I wasn’t comfortable talking about. As I worked through lingering 9/11 feelings, I also began to talk to a lot about work and the toll it took on me.

That whole entrepreneurial story that people idealize, but that can be isolating and scary more often. The failures and self-doubt, while putting on a brave face, and the tricky balance of being an entrepreneur with healthy relationships and outlets.

As I spoke to a therapist about personal and professional struggles, I found it beneficial in a number of ways.

First, there was having a safe and private place to talk about sensitive issues. No judgment, nobody taking offense. It was a foreign feeling to have somebody just listen and share their perspective without their feelings or biases intruding.

Second, it was an avenue to discuss how to improve sleep, nutrition, and physical activity patterns. These new, healthy behaviors and habits all had quick impacts on my physical and mental well-being.

Third, my relationships became more satisfying with an understanding of the need for better communication and fewer assumptions.

Finally, I became more mindful, less stressed, and more relaxed. I always heard the phrase “stop and smell the roses,” and I finally started doing it.

Our toughest struggles are just that – they are ours and the toughest things we are dealing with. Don’t worry about measuring them against others or worrying yourself about the stigma of getting some help. We all need somebody who will listen.

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