YouTube and Amazon SLAP downs.
 

Almost 2 years ago I commissioned a couple of writers to become experts on the development of the Google software which could read videos. It was about 90% developed then.

My group accurately predicted it would be a game changer for YouTube and all video content sites as far as indexing and getting good search engine results were concerned. I also warned people (and still do) that Google has a vested interest in the search results and they have covert technologies that benefit GOOGLE.

If you have built a business on the sands of Google searches, including YouTube content or your income comes from Amazon affiliates, or you are 100% Internet reliant on your income...be aware of the shifting tides and the storms about to hit your business.

See, you have relied upon a 3rd party. An entity which is all about itself, despite what it tells you. Google is about becoming a bigger company. The famed Google Slap really upset those who depended upon SEO for their incomes.

All I'm saying is: Get Diversified as Fast as you can.

NEW Software in development and soon to hit the markets will once again be a game changer for IM.

Develop a PORTFOLIO of income sources which will allow you to turn quickly away from a Google punishment, such as taking down your videos on YouTube because the software is set to "punish, or disable" any keywords that it doesn't like...such as make money.

Continue to extract as much income as you can from your IM, BUT, protect yourself from having the rug pulled out from underneath of you NOW...before your beautiful castle on the Google/Amazon beach gets wiped out from a storm created by those in control.

Look to keep some of your income eggs into off line activity, perhaps as an absentee business owner, and to build solid businesses which are not dependent totally on IM to succeed.

Still do your thing which has been successful, but don't get lulled into a false sense of securtiy when you have built an income stream upon someone else's shore.

Be prepared for More of the Same and STUDY what Google likes on YouTube and create products and services which HELP Google/Amazon and other 600 pound Gorillas grow to 800 pound Gorillas. That's business security, so to speak.

And get some offline activity going too.

We're just starting to see the horror stories with YouTube videos...so prepare yourself.

gjabiz

PS. My team's recommendation was (and is) IF you want to remain a YouTube/Video Marketer, get in synch with the software and get a good grasp of what it likes and doesn't like. Got some kitty videos? Use them smartly (sign in background?).

Ideas.
 

I like these off line real businesses:

Parade of Life Businesses. I owned a Specialized Messenger Service; The OFF KEY SINGING TELEGRAM business. See, everyday thousands of people have birthdays, anniversaries, graduations from something...weddings, etc.

A good evergreen type business is one that has superior products/superior marketing and can include photographers, cake decorators, balloon delivery, specialized messengers and other such "Parade of Life" type businesses.

Car repair isn't going away any time soon.
Home repair.
Job finding services. I operated a Resume Writing business which made me over $1,000.00 a day at it's peak...in fact, I'm getting back into the Resume/Job Finding Business because the demand is so great right now...and if you know what you're doing, that is, if you offer a superior product and do superior marketing, you can't lose.

I like buying and selling stuff on Craigslist. Unlimited supply, unlimited demand and no limits to how much you make, totally depends on your efforts. Sell higher priced items to people who can afford them and you never worry about what google or amazon do.

TEACHING is still a good model. Tutoring, specialized teaching, sports or hobby instruction, even computer training and IM can be sold offline to eager students.

Membership sites with targeted content has withstood the test of time as good models.

Any of these activities can be Joint Ventured/Partnered/Absentee Owned and can produce a substantial stream of income for you.

And even IM can be a good and steady source as long as you are NOT dependent upon a third party to make it happen.

Still scores of opportunities available which do NOT rely on what a behemoth, monstrous, souless company... like... well, pick one... does. Build a business/money stream that YOU control.

gjabiz

PS. A quality service business which helps other people solve their problems is always going to find a market.

The horror (and pleasure) of a Google slap!
 

Hi Gordon,

A very, very wise post! It is advice well worth noting (and tattooing across your forehead - well, nobody should take that literally :) )...

Being on the wrong end of a "Google slap" could really hurt your business, if you're dependent on your Google rankings for all your customers...

(A "Google slap" is when Google changes their search engine ranking algorithm, so your site which was in the top 10 for your keywords, suddenly can't be found in the top 100, for example.)

I have some friends who are totally dependent on their Google rankings for their business. This is their only livelihood, so they're very dependent on that. Hopefully, they've survived the latest "Google slap" (called "Panda" - people name them, the same way they name hurricanes because of how destructive they can be)...

However, one thing about their business is they do not cultivate repeat business in any way. They require a constant stream of new customers, who often may just buy once. They have no email list, or anything like that - so they can't even contact a customer once they have bought (they mostly sell other people's products).

One way to be less dependent is instead to focus your business on repeat customers. People who will buy from you over and over again. And make sure you can contact those customers (e.g. via email). That is some of the best business advice I know.

By the way, keeping your website high on the Google rankings requires constant work. You're always tweaking, rewriting, creating new web pages, etc., because Google loves "fresh" content. Any "stale" content (i.e. which hasn't changed for a while) goes lower and lower in the rankings.

I used to focus on Google search engine positioning a few years ago - but once I realized that it would be constant work, which would never end - I gave up. There are other ways to get traffic!

However, there is another side to the coin. I also know some people who make good money by creating a good search engine position for other people. For them, these "Google slaps" are probably a gold mine!

Imagine if you're one of their customers, and you've paid them to get you good search engine positioning - and they've done their part. Your website(s) now rank highly for the keywords you're interested in. You're happy with their work. Then suddenly...

A "Google slap" arrives! Your website is nowhere to be seen on Google!

You go running back to the search engine positioning experts... and pay them to again improve your website positioning, based on the NEW Google algorithms!

For them, it's a gold mine. I'm sure each "Google slap" brings in a lot more work, and a lot more money!

So... maybe it's all a matter of perspective, and which side of the fence you're sitting on? :)

Best wishes,

Dien

A tested and proven BETTER way for some.
 

I've had some people buying my Lottery Hotsheet for over a decade, and at 15 bux a month pop, it is as close to guaranteed as I've found.

My conscious choice several years ago was to have SMALL lists of people who would buy whenever I created something new...it is a strategy which has withstood the test of time.

Several other SowPubbers have developed this low cost, small list of buyers strategy to various degrees of success over the years too. It depends on what you want to do.

I don't need thousands, a couple hundred sendimg me 15 bux a month helps feed the bulldog. It is a doable, workable "Fly Low and Collect the Dough" strategy which has withstood the test of time.

Speaking of TIME Dien, I clearly remember our meeting with Rick Smith, the Net Guerrilla, at the Cuyahoga Falls Sheraton Hotel...and where the idea for SowPub came out. We discussed low cost information products, thus the Publishing part of it all...and automation.

10 years later, I think we are still selling some of those original products, all on auto-pilot, often making sales without promotion, and doing pretty much what we talked about that day.

Gold in this forum you started Dien, I'm glad to have been able to share along the way.

It doesn't take that many people, YOU don't need tens of thousands, just a few hundred loyal buyers to keep things alive.

These posts get pretty well ranked and quickly too, because we have provided quality content to our readers and Google appreciates quality.

I feel you have built your business and this forum on very solid ground and a good foundation, and never a worry about what Google or anyone else is going to do.

Gordon Jay Alexander

Re: The horror (and pleasure) of a Google slap!
 

Being on the wrong end of a "Google slap" could really hurt your business, if you're dependent on your Google rankings for all your customers...

Re: YouTube and Amazon SLAP downs.
 

But also, I agree with what you are saying about the pleasure. Gave me a good laugh.

Re: Ideas.
 

This was my favorite and the most concise part of this post....
TEACHING is still a good model. Tutoring, specialized teaching, sports or hobby instruction, even computer training and IM can be sold offline to eager students.

Re: A tested and proven BETTER way for some.
 

THIS IS KEY!

"One way to be less dependent is instead to focus your business on repeat customers.

People who will buy from you over and over again. "

Re: A tested and proven BETTER way for some.
 

I feel like I am posting a lot, so my apologies, but I do also want to say that I agree with this post wholeheartedly. Repeat customers are key.