Liz Taylor Murdered: The power of SPAM going too far

Today's #4 highest search term at Google Trends is "Liz Taylor Murdered". Out of curiosity, I clicked on it, as this is quite a shocking story.

From Google: Hot Trends (USA)

Aug 14, 2008 - change date Updated 25 minutes ago 1. electric vehicles of... 2. beijing 2008 olympic... 3. julia child 4. liz taylor murdered

Guess what: the story about "Liz Taylor murdered" is a FAKE!

Don't you hate when you chase a story to learn what's happening, only to find out you've been duped by EMAIL SPAM? It happens to the best of us. However, I figured this one must be a fake because the Today show hadn't mentioned it, and "Liz Taylor murdered" would be one of those national stories to hit ALL the airwaves very quickly. As of last time I checked, Liz Taylor is now 76 and is still making appearances in glittery gowns with that wonderful smile of hers.

Frankly, I think it is a sick tactic by email spammers to use a celebrity murder to draw more traffic to their site. Worse than that, this email purportedly contains a VIRUS. Icky, huh?

So, why am I writing about it?

The first reason I'm writing about Liz Taylor murdered: To illustrate the power of EMAIL MARKETING If you're not yet dialed into ETHICAL email marketing, you might consider it. I help people design email campaigns and also offer a powerful email marketing software solution for anyone who is serious about doing massive email campaigns without SPAMMING people.

The second reason I'm discussing Liz Taylor murdered: To illustrate the power of KEY WORD PHRASES. If you haven't optimized your website key word phrases you might consider hiring an expert (hint, hint) to help you optimize your website for more traffic.

The third reason I'm talking about Liz Taylor murdered: Because I'm running a simple article marketing test to see if this article draws traffic just by discussing the email spam of a fake story. How crazy is that? I thought it made for an interesting research angle, so that's how I'm approaching it.

We'll see what happens and I'll report back to you on my findings soon.
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Liz Taylor "Cleopatra" photo from Wikipedia.
Article Copyright © 2008 by ARRiiVE Business Solutions. All Rights Reserved. SUBSCRIBE.

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Leaving Keywords as FROM on Blog Posts?

I recently reviewed comments on a debate whether or not to leave keywords on blog posts over at ProBlogger. As someone who cares about methods to help clients grow their traffic, link back strategies are a vital component to that strategy. And, leaving comments on other blogs are a method to create link backs.

Have you noticed how some people will leave their site name, name and site name, or just name (see image - left).

Now, there are different reasons for each. Many people get ticked off when you just leave a keyword phrase. Such as "top chinaware" as your name. It is considered SPAM by many bloggers and they might edit out your post.

Therefore, I recommend against this strategy, even though it does give you a keyword link to your site.

Regarding the name, a poster, Tim B from Wordjot Newsletters, had this tip, which I recommend highly:

Use "Scott from AspireNow" as the name.

• Gives a name so you know who it is
• It indicates where the link will go, so it’s not such a mystery meat experience.
• Gives a hint of your experience.
• More memorable than just a full name.
• Links the name with a website.
• You can still reply to just the name. eg Scott@

I believe the best strategy is to put your name first, and site name second, or just your name. If you feel you MUST post a keyword, I would at least list my name first.

So, that's my feelings around this sensitive topic. Try not to SPAM people without adding any value to your post. I learned that lesson the hard way when I posted into a very active comment forum on a web design blog. Comment SPAM will get your traffic, but it might backfire into very negative traffic that will do nothing for your site. It is better to get specific traffic from a well-written post.

Take the high road when posting on other blogs, remember that content of your posting is STILL king when it comes to this type of activity.

Note: We provide a service at www.ARRiiVE.com helping companies gain organic search position in search engines. We include strategies for keyword phrases, backlinks and utilize a combination of old-school and new-world tools and strategies to accomplish our objectives.

If you're seeking help to get more traffic and convert more of that traffic, we can help. Contact a representative at ARRiiVE for more details.

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