Now writing for SEOmoz

One of the frustrations with Platinax is the general business coverage.
As a SEO I want to talk more in depth about SEO issues, but often feel I’d simply be writing above the head of many readers.
Anyway, still continuing here, but I’ve also started writing more specialised SEO commentary at the SEOmoz SEO blog - starting […]

When companies listen to the internet

The Cluetrain Manifesto makes one thing clear - the internet empowers communication, and it’s up to business to listen. The days of dictating consumer opinion is over.
The interesting point to watch for is how many companies are listening.
I’ve had a couple of incidents recently where I’ve been contacted by a company responding to comments I’ve […]

Google -30 filter

There’s been a lot of chatter recently about a so-called “30 filter” or “-30 penalty”.
At it’s heart it sounds like an advanced feature of Google Sandboxing - ie, a website that can only rank low, not simply for it’s own keywords, but even domain name.
The interesting point about this filter/penalty is that it’s very specific […]

Trolls and hackers can kill

Suzi Pritchard went through two failed marriages before she pushed on her talent for writing.
She became a freelance journalist and was published in many national publications - she had articles published in every section of the Guardian newspaper.
When MSN was launching their communities in the 1990’s, she was personally asked if she would run […]

Taking internet marketing offline

Often as a SEO/Internet Marketer the focus remains directly on - the internet.
Recently, however, I’ve been changing my promotional focus to - offline.
Point being, the internet has become such an integral part of life for many people, that by generating conversations offline, it translates into conversations - and links - online.
One way to do this […]

Platinax re-opens comments without requiring registration

After reading up further on Wordpress Plugins I’ve been applying a couple of key plugins.
The first is Did you pass math? installed across Platinax.
This means I can feel confident about re-opening comments to guests without requiring registration, after a pretty severe attack of spam a few months ago meant I had to close them off.
Hopefully […]

In business, attitude is everything

I recently posted a somewhat short and trite article on Platinax called How to Succeed in Business.
Point 7 raises the issue of attitude, and I’ve got to admit I’ve been very acutely aware of this as late.
I recently moved house - bought my first property. The size of the mortgage is scary. So is the […]

Tips on fighting spam on communities

One of my big admin jobs of late has been simply removing forum spam.
Although my larger communities usually have protection, I’ve been developing a whole load of newer forums recently that have tried to be friendly to new users - and with that, unfortunately, forum spam.
I’ve posted a fairly intensive list of tips on how […]

Essential plugins for Wordpress

Michael Gray posts a great list of SEO plugins for Wordpress.
I’ve been referencing this over the past week to look for plugins I really should be using.
Namely because so far I haven’t been using any Wordpress plugins.
As I use Wordpress a lot as a Content Management Solution (including for Platinax) I definitely need use […]

Marketing money lost is wasted? Not at all

Steven Silvers posts that marketing campaigns that don’t deliver immediate returns are a waste of cash:

Research firm Blackfriars Communications estimates that U.S. business will spend around $615 billion on marketing this year.
That’s more than two thousand bucks per every living man, woman and child in the U.S. going toward online and offline advertising, direct mail, […]

Traditional print publishing is dying

I was at FantasyCon a couple of weekends ago, and got to meet up and chat with writers such as Neil Gaiman, Raymond E. Fiest, Ramsey Campbell, Amanda Hemmingway, and Storm Constantine.
One of the most interesting conversations I had was with some very charming marketing staff from HarperCollins.
In conversation we mentioned Amazon, and that HarperCollins […]

What to do with a PR7 website?

So Peter was right - Platinax is now PageRank 7.
I’m surprised - firstly because there’s no special link building program in play to try and increase the site’s PR value, and secondly, because I don’t think the site has done anything particular to warrant a PR7.
A couple of years ago I would have been overjoyed […]