RSS Feeds: 99 Percent Perspiration
It was Thomas Alva Edison (or just Thomas Edison) who was quoted as saying "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration" in an issue of Harper's Monthly, September 1932. The point made is that being a genius includes a lot of hard work as well as a lot of trial and error. In contrast, it's very easy to be inspired.
My Inspiration
Using several online tools, I can answer the question of "What are they searching for?", for this blog as well as the Internet in general. Until yesterday, I wasn't putting that knowledge to good use. Oh, I tinkered and experimented a bit, but I didn't get serious about that knowledge. The time to put it to good use is now.
Today is my domain's birthday and it's 2-years old. Tomorrow, the blog itself will be 2-years old. I picked yesterday as a day off from writing completely in order to prepare for the biggest change in my blogging career to date. It was perfect timing since the traffic to my blog reflected people doing other things besides web surfing for the US Memorial Day holiday weekend. I'm sure the traffic won't pick up again until sometime tomorrow.
The actual inspiration came from Steve, who has screaming, strong and bold trade show displays (beware of the inside joke). His comments on "How to Get Screaming Traffic" and "Number One without a Bullet" cinched my decision to head into uncharted territory.
My Perspiration
Testing and experimenting pays off. I've learned a great deal in the past 5 months. I've learned about backlinks, using bold text for keywords, keyword density and other things I just can't think of right now.
Due to the knowledge I've gained by having unsuccessful results as well successful results, I'm prepared to sweat a lot more as I target keywords for niche sites that you'll never read. Well, maybe once. The advantage of having any kind Google PageRank is the weight it carries with it. I plan to throw that weight around a little bit as I establish the niche sites. There's always a debate going on about what effect a PageRank actually has on backlinks to other sites, but I'm pretty sure about my results.
I'm waiting for a new domain name to be processed and then I have to set up the initial site. I'll be presenting progress reports over time, so you can look forward to more information about those sites being bandied about in future articles. I plan to prove that "genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration."
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As usual, I await eagerly to see what you've come up with. Your experiments seem to have yielded results.
Seemed? That's an understatement if I ever read one. Go back and read "Number One without a Bullet" again. :mrgreen:
I would like to see more opinion pieces than "experimental" articles. Yes, I understand the need for them too, but what I really enjoy reading are your rants. :mrgreen:
hari’s last blog post… Babies banned from howling
Everyone needs to rant every now and then. The problem is that when I rant, no one really understands it but me.
Experimentation really works! You have to try something if how it works, if it's useful to you and if you get good results out of it. Then if it doesn't work, then try another until you will get what you expected.
hi RT, This post made me smile big time. I'm glad you saw my comments and that they had an effect. I agree that success almost always involves a lot of hard work (and a touch of luck). I look forward to following your project(s) closely. There is a lot of "conventional wisdoms" out there about what it takes to do well in the SERPS, but very little is backed up by actual experimentation and proven results. It's critical to know what matters. There are three types of people that try to rank. 1. Those that think they can do a few easy things and suddenly should be in the top ten. 2. Those that listen to conventional wisdom and work very hard. 3. Those that work very hard, figure out what actually yields results, and then work hard some more. I think it is usually the third group that makes it to the top. (Lesson to Group 1 – get to work and then talk to me) (Lesson to Group 2 – Hard work doesn't matter if it doesn't matter). One very important thing you say in your post is that you've learned just as much from your UNSUCCESSFUL results!)
Well, I haven't had my coffee yet and this is rambling… Suffice it to say, I can't wait to see what you do and what I can learn from it.
By the way, I have been checking screaming trade show displays for the past two days on the SERPS and nothing. Nada. Zip. I probably need to be patient, but something also tells me that would have been too easy. I'll continue to read, and to keep you updated.
PS. I noticed the help in you post and appreciate it.
Happy Memorial Day! Steve
The SERPS doesn't alway show what it should. When I plug in the phrase, the screaming traffic post shows up. :shock:
RT, by the way, speaking of Edison, you've probably heard this story as well. It is said that Edison tried and failed at creating the light bulb some 700 times (number varies depending on the source). Anyway, when asked about failing 700 times, he said:
"I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work." –Edison
PS. My apologies for not spell checking my post above better!
Yeah, I changed TR to RT a minute after you posted it, even though I didn't know it was only a minute!
Good words: "genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration!" SEO is a repetitive work – experiment, conclusion and execution.