Jad Research Blog

If you have ever stumbled across a Website you thought was really interesting, spent hours reading through its pages, and then forgotten to bookmark the site, you might have struggled to find the site again. One of the problems of using search engines to find content is that they aren’t very helpful. You can turn on personal search and let the engine remember your search history but then when you want to find new content it prevents you from doing so because it keeps showing you the same old listings.

Instead of fighting with search engines, it may be better to build a list of good Web directories you can use to find interesting and helpful Websites. Directories are not nearly as volatile as search engines and they cannot be gamed as easily as search engines. Some Web directory listings may seem a little suspicious but usually you can be sure that a human editor has reviewed most if not all listings in a Web directory. Web directories are less likely to send you to malware-infested Websites.

Some older Web directories are more important and successful than others. You may find an old Web directory that has been around for years. Perhaps you used to use it regularly and then abandoned it gradually in favor of search engines. But as noted previously, search engines are not the panacea for search ills. Search engines can be deceived by tricksters. Web directories, being run by human editors, are often more trustworthy than search engines.

But not all Web directories are alike. People who use sites like Squidoo, Yahoo!, HubPages, and other free link listing sites often create peculiar link lists that are more important to them than to other people. These link lists may be nothing more than personal projects or the Websites created by friends and acquaintances. You should always be sure to research the background of a Web directory before submitting your site to it.

Spam filters are responsible for deleting a high
percentage of legitimate business emails from
people who have no wish to spam. Here are some
tips to avoid spam complaints in your emails or
ezine.

Avoid the following triggers in your emails.

1. Excessive use of ALL CAPITALS in the subject line and body of your email.

2. The use of words like “free”(used alone or in combination with words like “trial”,”money”, “quote”, “sample”, “membership”, “access” etc.) Other more obvious word to avoid include “sex”, “XXX”,”spam”, “$$$”, “checks”, “money”, “extra income”, “as seen on TV”. Even seemingly harmless word such as “search engine listings”, “cable converter”, and “reverses aging” will get you in trouble.

3. Excessive use of exclamation marks “!!!”

Tips for Staying on the Right Side of Spam Filters

1. Use words like “news”, “newsletter”, “list” in your subject line.

2. Say how often your ezine is published in the subject line – weekly, monthly.

3. Put date of newsletter in subject line.

4. Put issue number in the subject line.

5. Ensure your newsletter is a proper ezine with some substance in the text.

To help identify spam in your emails/ezines use the
following spam checker always before you send
anything out.

http://www.merchant-account-service.com/stop_spam_mail.html

Above all, use your common sense. We know what spam
looks like, so avoid anything that resembles it in
your ezine.

(C) John Lynch

For a free spam test on your emails or ezines go to:
http://www.merchant-account-service.com/stop_spam_mail.html