Newsletter ArchiveSUBJECTs:Bad Subject Line - The Envelope Please.... The Internet 800 Directory - http://www.inter800.com The Internet 800 Directory Newsletter This issue is for Friday, January 25, 2002 Table of Contents 01. Bad Subject Line 02. The Envelope Please.... *01 Bad Subject Line Welcome to The Internet 800 Directory Newsletter. Last week I sent out a warning on a scam that corrupt individuals were running to collect credit card numbers. An error in the program we use to send the newsletter, changed the subject for this newsletter To "Confirmation email". Unfortunately this caused confusion with several of our readers. Fortunately, the ISP hosting the fake eBay page had removed it from their server or my warning could have caused a couple of our readers to send in their card numbers. Also based on the response, it seems that many of you have received the “Nigerian Scam Spam”. This week alone, I have been sent four different variations of this scam. That got me to wondering how many different stories could they plug into the same basic plot. After a couple of searches I found this site, which lists more than 100 of these stories. http://www.quatloos.com/cm-niger/cm-niger.htm Sometimes it’s hard to express how something like spam can manipulate our lives. However, Gary Monson, in describing his battle to stop spam, hit the mark when he wrote, “I feel like the Sorcerer's Apprentice”. One last news item I want to make you aware of this week. Two weeks ago I stated that someone must pay the cost of running a search engine, the end users or advertisers. Yahoo announced on Wednesday that they are launching premium search content, offering customers access to reference reports, news, and authoritative content for a fee. There are no ads in the site or returns that I could see. It costs the users 5 dollars a month for access up to 50 documents or you can choose to pay per document. You will find the site at: http://premium.search.yahoo.com/ Thanks for taking the time to read our newsletter. If you have any thought or ideas you would like to share with me, please send them to Chuck Arning at chuck@inter800.com We’re Talkin’ Serious” Bone Suckin’ Sauce ! Winner: “Battle Of The Sauces.” Created in true western North Carolina style. Tomato based all-natural, sweetened with honey and molasses. Order your Box of six today for $39.99 +s/h. Toll-Free 1-800-446-0947 or online http://www.BoneSuckin.com *02 The Envelope Please.... Last week, I put forth a contest. The basis of this contest was, "What does your site offer, besides a chance to buy your product?" I received many entries and I thought the task of picking only one winner would be difficult. As it turns out, the winner made it easy for me. So, without further ado, I give you.... http://www.deerfarmer.com According to Russell Sawchuk, the Webmaster and Editor, this site features: free classified ads (more deer and elk are sold through here than any other means), several very active discussion forums, and a free monthly newsletter (the only kind of its type in this industry). The layout is well organized and thus the site is easy to navigate. Because this is the Internet 800 Directory, I would be remiss if I did not list his toll free number: 800-267-9997. Good job Richard. Contact me via email in regards to your free month of advertising. Thanks to everybody who sent in an entry. In previous issues of this newsletter Chuck has discussed putting together a budget for your web site and its promotion. Things have changed quite a bit since then. Specifically, as I've discussed here, search engines have changed quite a bit. Many of the more prominent search engines now charge just for inclusion. If you are about to launch a new web site, here are some factors to include in the budget. First, two of the most important web directories now charge submission fees. Yahoo charges $299 and Looksmart charges the same if you're in a rush and $149 if you can wait 8 weeks. Yahoo's importance is pretty well known. Looksmart.com is nowhere near as popular a site, but the Looksmart listings are also returned on searches conducted at MSN.com, Iwon.com, AltaVista, CNN.com and Juno. Both of these sites are directories, which means you will create your listing within their site when you submit it. Neither Yahoo nor Looksmart is offering prioritized placement in search results for this fee. This fee is only for inclusion. If your site is rejected, the fee will not be refunded. Assuming you want to be listed right away, your search engine budget is now $598. Some of the crawler-based search engines also accept money for quick inclusion. Inktomi provides results for AOL, iWon, MSN, HotBot and NBCi. Pricing for their Search Submit program is on a per URL basis. The first URL is $39/year and each subsequent URL is $25/year. AltaVista charges $39 for the first URL, $29 each for 2-10 and $19 each for 11-500. AltaVista's fees cover a six month period rather than a year. I see that Lycos is about to implement a pay for inclusion model as well, but there isn't any pricing information listed yet. Assuming we are submitting just the main or entry page, our budget is now up to $676. You may also choose to create accounts with Overture (formerly goto.com) and FindWhat. These are pay-per-click sites that allow you to bid on specific key words. You decide exactly where your listing will appear on their results page, based on how much you are willing to pay for a click through. Depending on your key words, $50 is enough to get you started on Overture and $25 is usually enough for your first month on FindWhat. Our budget is now about $750. The good news is, unlike a lot of folks who established web sites prior to 2000, you can be relatively sure that your site will appear in these search engines and usually within a week. Prior to the introduction of these pay-for-inclusion models, search engine submission was about an inexact science, with submissions taking as long as 8 weeks to be processed, if at all. If you are considering launching a new web site, feel free to call me. I would be happy to provide advice and guidance. Do not be surprised if I offer to host and or build the site as well. George Paul The Internet 800 Directory 800-299-1879 george@gotollfree.com Vegas Vacation has the best rates on Las Vegas Hotel Rooms. Don't make a reservation without calling us first! Call 800-637-6442 or visit our ad in the Internet 800 Directory: http://inter800.com/02281174.htm Banners? Pay-per-click? Why not target your market with links or information placed in relevant content? The Internet 800 Directory Newsletter offers direct access to business people who are interested buyers. Advertising: Information on how to sponsor this publication: Call 800-299-1879 Thanks for taking to time to review our newsletter for this week. If you know of anyone that might benefit from receiving this newsletter, send them to (http://www.inter800.com/news800/ ) where they can subscribe. All Contents Copyright ©1995-2001 The Internet 800 Directory Subscribe To The Newsletter: |