Making Topical Pages Options

[Caissa]

Hi,

I tried something new and it worked brillantly. :wink: I wanted to share it because I think most sites could benefit from this.

Right now, there is a chess match going on between Man vs Machine. Kasparov (world's top rated player) vs X3D Fritz (a chess oftware program). I made 2 weeks in advance a page on my site to give the details of the match and I am posting the results.

I did this in enough time to get great placement in Google. So whenever anyone searched for the match they would see my page.

I just received the stats and I haev busted all unique visitor records! But that is not all, the sales WOW!

Does your site have anything that is related to a newsworthy event that you can tie into? Can you give visitors good content on that newsworthy story? Try it! I bet you will find that it not only brings in many visitors but also brands you as an expert in your field.

Much luck!

[sanity]

Thanks for sharing Caissa. What a great idea - well done!

[scottiecl]

That's the way to think ahead! :idea: Very creative.

[dragonlady7]

Hey, that's a great idea. So people can come to you for information, and they then view you as an authority and thus a good place to buy related stuff. ...
But, where do you get *your* information?

[Caissa]

Google

It is in the presentation. Putting it together. You find the bits and pieces all over the web, but no one puts it together in one cohesive presentation. That is the key. I found an oil painting of Kasparov and asked the artist if I could present it. He was overjoyed.

Make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Be creative!

[tam]

Often with an upcoming event everywhere has an identical press release, it you have something thats different because you've asked questions and done research then it makes you standout.

Good idea.

[bragadocchio]

Ouch! I'm wondering what your readership would be like if you started a chess related blog, Caissa. I'm guessing probably pretty phenomenal.

The idea of the topical page was a really good one. Keep those coming! I even saw some coverage of the match on ESPN earlier today.

Google news can be a great resource for something like that if you don't mind sorting through results on a regular basis.

[dragonlady7]

I read of someone in a thread somewhere on some forum (I am so staggeringly useful, I know) who said they had a whole bunch of saved Google News searches that they used to monitor their chosen field for new developments, and said it made all the difference in keeping their site on the cutting edge and winning traffic.
I guess you just enter your chosen keywords in the News tab at Google, and bookmark the result page, and just go back to it every morning or however often.

[Caissa]

Good Morning,

Bill, a blog is a terific idea, but I stink at writing! (Please note my Steinitz copy ) In business you must know your short-comings and accept them.

That is why I started the forum. You can go in and easily post your thoughts on chess subjects and get replies. No one expects you to be a Hemingway.

I understand blogging is very good for placement in Google, is that true? PhilCK optimized my forum and I get great placement on the forum topics and posts. If anyone needs dynamic pages optimized, I can not praise Phil's abilities enough!

DL, you can sign up for news emails on your favorite subjects at Google. I knew about the match early because of I am "in the industry". I had to wait for solid information to come out before I could start piecing it together. I was watching intensely for it. I try to keep abreast of all the newsworthy chess items. This includes "chatting" with distributors, partners, competitors, etc.

There are not enough hours in a day to do all I would like to make my business grow. I am maxed out now. But it is a lovely position to be in! This forum and the ideas generated here have taken a business that was on the verge of bankruptcy (really!) and in one year helped make it a thriving business.

[dragonlady7]

Not all blogs are like Bill's. Some are fairly brief, with just lists of intersting links for the day.
I wasn't up on the Google emailing thing... Hmm... I might think of a few things to sign up for myself. Eeeeenteresting.

But you're right-- a forum is a good idea. On another forum the founder was being needled for making her readers do all the work of writing the content. I thought it was pretty funny. And a good point.

[Ron Carnell]

Needled, Bridget? Sounds painful ...

[dragonlady7]

Needled. Teased. Good-naturedly harassed.

Is that not in common usage? :0
Oh dear! My idioms are failing me!

[Adrian]

Bit similar to the 'saved google search' idea, I stuck a list of rss feeds from sites I regularly look at on my site. I can use it 2 fold, one for me to have a quick check on some of the stuff going on, and maybe also attract a few other people having a look and stuff.

Whether theres may rss feeds on the topic of chess, I don't know, I guess having a site related to web design helps when it comes to using web tools, heh.

[Phil CK]

:oops: :oops: :oops: Oh thanks Caissa !

I've been away from Cre8te for a while, and I come back and see Tam's a regular ! Didn't know you hung out here as well as OH.

[Caissa]

I knew if I said your name enough times you would come back!

Phil CK Phil CK Phil CK.....

[bragadocchio]

Needled. Teased. Good-naturedly harassed.  

Is that not in common usage? :0  
Oh dear! My idioms are failing me!

I believe that Ron might have been the one doing the needling

I've been away from Cre8te for a while...

Good to see you back. (Nice job, Caissa!)

Bill, a blog is a terific idea, but I stink at writing!

Writing is one of those things that you really do get better at if you keep on doing it, and make a little bit of an effort. I know a few people who have confessed that after a year or two of blogging, they are much better writers than when they first started.

...they had a whole bunch of saved Google News searches that they used to monitor their chosen field for new developments...

I've done that, and it works quite well. Save them as a links on your browser link bar, and you can come up with some interesting stuff. I like to make sure that the link I save is also sorted by date. This is one search that I've saved to use for my blog: punk rock style. It yields some strange but fun articles occasionally.

Having Google email you when there's something new is great, but might result in a lot of emails.

I stuck a list of rss feeds from sites I regularly look at on my site

This is a really nice idea. There are also some pages that are set up for you to take advantage of some feeds. For instance, this one for legal blogs is highly recommended:

http://www.dailywhirl.com/

Notice that it's customizable, and you can add and remove the blogs that you want to read.

Topical blogs can be a really good place to find timely information on subjects. There are a number of usability and information architecture blogs that I like to read.

[Phil CK]

its like the classic Beetlejuice film

[tam]

Yep, I hang out in all the coolest places

[Caissa]

When do ya'll sleep???

They say you need less sleep as you get older... THEY LIED! (who iare "they" anyway?)

[bragadocchio]

Sleep?

Had to look that one up. I forget what sleep is sometimes

Sleepnet.com fhas a pretty good tagline:

Everything you wanted to know about sleep but were too tired to ask ™

I don't know who "they" are. heard of them, too.