The Fraud Social Media is for Web Traffic, SEO

 


A lot is said in web optimizing websites, blogs, and in the news about the importance of social media to website traffic and over all SEO (search engine optimization).

While I cannot address businesses outside the fish keeping world; what I can say is I've have found social media plays a very small role in our website traffic and SEO rankings, especially in Google.

The FACTS are in an average 24 hour window, my website with the most traffic (about 4000 visits per day), American Aquarium Products receives 3-6 hits from Facebook or Google Plus.
This is .09% of traffic!!!
See: "American Aquarium Products"



One might argue that we have no presence on Facebook, etc... but that would not be true. We have a Facebook page and many of our pages, such as Aquarium Lighting Information and Aquarium/Pond UV Sterilization have many likes and shares.
Recommended References:
*Aquarium Light Facts & Information
*Ultraviolet Sterilization, facts and information

Now I will admit that websites such as this one (My Opinions) obtains more traffic from Facebook, but still less than 1%.

So where does traffic come from?

HERE IS A LIST IN ORDER OF NUMBER OF VISITS:

1. Search Engines (34.4%)-
   Google, Bing, Yahoo, Blekko, Dogpile, Ask, etc.
   This should come as no surprise to anyone.


2. Book Marked (31.25%)-
   These, I do not know how they originally found the website, but however they found it, they liked the content and re-visit regularly.


3. Other Websites/Blogs (7.81%)-
   Whether it be websites I created with related content or even semi related content (such as this website), this this the third largest generator of traffic.


4. Aquarium, Pond and Other Forums (3.13%)- This is where Google and so-called gurus of social media and SEO really screws up in their algorithm.
   The FACTS are forums are a clear 4th, far more than social media, yet little attention is paid to these forums.
   
   WHY? In my opinion we have become such a ME society and that is what social media is all about is selfishness.
   
   However many forums are about helping others in a community of support. Admittedly some forums can be rather mean and dishonest with clear anecdotal agendas, but even the "bad" forums still post links to articles, which is helpful even if it's only to bash them with "straw man" arguments.
   Either way, good or bad, forums are a major way readers find my most popular web site.
   Recommended Forum: Aquarium Fish Forum
   
   Sadly Google's search algorithm gives little credit to forum posts. This makes little sense when you consider the reasons many visit, post, & answer questions.


5. Yahoo Answers (1.5%)-
   While I am not a fan of many of the answers given there, especially in the Fish/Aquarium category, the fact remains that questions with links to my article answered about 1-2 years ago or further back often come up in searches which brings in vistors.


6. Social Media (.09%)-
   Social Media comes in dead last with .09% of traffic.
   Even when activity is high on our Facebook page (including when we experimented with the disastrous Facebook advertising), few if any persons will actually come over from Facebook or Google Plus.
   
   

   What do I think is the problem with Social Media? As I noted earlier, part of the problem of social media is that its is "me centric". As an example, I can post contests, pictures, articles, etc. about my business on my personal Facebook, and even persons such as my niece will NEVER even give these a like or share. Most persons I know post everything about themselves or what they think is important, and never bother to think maybe I can look at someone else's stuff (my wife quite Facebook for this reason after no one even cared to comment after a family tragedy). Personally I take the time to read or at least look at many others posts when I visit Google + or Facebook, but VERY FEW return this favor.

   
   
   Interesting I have other websites which have no Facebook "like" buttons or little presence on Facebook, Google Plus, or other social media sites, yet these websites often come up ahead of my main website for search terms they compete heavily for.
   
   An example would be "uv sterilization" which has copious amounts of Facebook activity, likes, promotions, etc...but still does poorly on searches. Yet on the other hand, I have a website that I do not promote in social media at all and even have less content, but still does MUCH better in Google Search.
   So much for Google giving credit for Social Media.
   Recommended Reference: UV Sterilization
   
   Of coarse this also does not say much for Google's spam ridden search engine either. There is a problem when a minor blog style website comes up ahead of a major research/content website!
   
   REFERENCES:
   *Google IS Evil, Content Plagiarism
   *GooGle Search, DMOZ, Aquarium Lighting
   *Testing Google new Penguin & Panda, Farmer Algorithm; Verdict, FAIL


7. Other (21.82%)-
   This would other sources, and undiscernable visits, which I doubt any are stealth Facebook or other social media since these are easy to track with my software.

IN CONCLUSION:

Do not believe any of these people sending emails telling you your lack presence in social media is hurting your website or blog traffic. THIS IS A BIG LIE TO SEPARATE YOU FROM YOUR MONEY!

As well be wary of many well intentioned blogs that place too much emphasis on social media, take what they say with a grain of salt.

Also keep in mind this social media phenomenon is just a fad, and hopefully someday we as a society will wake up and realize that life is NOT all about ourselves!!

anecdotal aquarium information

Yahoo Answers and other anecdotal aquarium information for aquarium hobbyists.

I have been in the aquarium trade in a professional capacity for over 28 years and as a hobbyist for almost 40 (as of the time of writing this blog entry). I also have been conducting research both hands on and via internet and books for a long time too.

I caution anyone who is searching for reliable aquarium and pond information to be very careful in what they read and believe as much of what is passed around as fact is often tired old information that might sound good in theory but in reality is nothing more than someone’s often misguided opinion.
Much of the research I perform is outside the aquarium and pond keeping hobby/industry as there is often much better, well researched and funded information to be had elsewhere (and without the constant recirculation of poor information).
Reference for ACCURATE Aquarium Information:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Information.html

The internet and Yahoo Answers in particular can be poor places for aquatic information if one is not careful. I will especially tell readers to be wary of Yahoo Answers as the format is very poor for allowing truly good information to get passed.
I used to be a Top Contributor there, but since I needed to go back to research and other aspects of my aquatics occupation, I lost this so called credibility.
Another problem is that many persons there get multiple aliases so that they can reward themselves with “best answer” when it goes to voting.
The communication is poor there and there is a competition to get answers out fast regardless of the fact. Also I have noticed that the vast majority of resources cited are very poor with little relevance to the question asked and most persons who answer questions never read others resources to see if they should even bother answering the question, rather they often will try and out do the other.

Also be wary of blog posts that are nothing more than ways to sell drugs like Viagra and even sites such as about.com that may have some good information are still in the end often anecdotal.

Here are a few aquatic subjects for which anecdotal information abounds followed by a link to RESEARCHED information:

*Redox Potential,
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Redox_Potential.html

*Aquarium or Pond UV Sterilization
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/UVSterilizers.html

*Bio Wheels
http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2006/12/do-bio-wheels-really-work.html

*Aquarium Medications and Treatments
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Medication.html

*The Nitrogen Cycle (such as the use of raw shrimp to cycle aquariums)
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.html

*Aquarium Lighting (this subject has gotten even more anecdotal in recent years):
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Lighting.html
In particular the subject of Aquarium LED Lights:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/LEDLights.html

Please visit the aquarium keeping forum below for better information and help:
Everything Aquatic

Aquarium help, articles, answers and misinformation

 

Updated 6-26-13

There is lot of information available about so many subjects on the internet today and this information grows by the hour. When it comes to Aquarium Information this can be both a blessing and a curse. For the average aquarist it is easy to get fooled by the anecdotal misinformation that is extremely prevalent. This is compounded by the popularity of pasting others posts (or down right plagiarizing) that have no real basis in research or even real world practical experience.
What then happens is a snow ball effect whereby the same anecdotal stories get copied over and over to the point that a new aquarist has a hard time believing a correct article when everything else they read says something else (and unfortunately this happens with many long time aquarists that are either too lazy or arrogant to check the facts).

I have seen this with Aquarium Filters where many will pass around statements about bio wheels, Fluvals and more that are not true. No one ever bothers to run head to head comparisons of say a sponge filter and a bio wheel filter or look at the poor head pressure of the Fluval and proprietary tubing these require that makes them difficult to adapt to other devices such as UV Sterilizers.

When it comes to reef keeping, Aquarium lighting, aquarium Heaters, plants, and even Aquarium and pond pumps it often gets worse. But in my opinion chemistry (such as pH, GH, KH), and medications is where poor "Aquarium Answers" anecdotal information gets really passed around. Examples would be about the carcinogenic properties of Malachite Green (which scientific studies show are only possible in mega doses beyond what an aquarist is going to use).
This article deals with some of this:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Medication.html.

I recently found an answer (picked best too!) on Yahoo Answers about KH that was about as correct as the world is flat! I deal with some of these in my blog "Fish as Pets".

My point here (besides the obvious frustration on my part) is that this is a hobby and trade I have in some capacity spent 40 years of my life in (much of it running a large aquarium maintenance company while reading and performing research on the side) and I do not want to see all this misinformation destroy the hobby or at the least hold down its potential for better aquarium and pond husbandry which can result in less fish and aquatic deaths.

Please read everything with an open mind and experiment, be wary when told ‘everyone’ does something one way. This is common advice with Protein Skimmers, not that they do not work all the while making false statements about UV Sterilizers killing all your ‘good’ bacteria as well as ‘bad’ (as well be careful of those recommending cheap cold cathode UV Replacement Bulbs when in fact these albeit easy starting UV Bulbs only have 20% of the essential 254 nm output of a quality hot cathode UV Bulb).
Product Resource References:
*For true UVC Bulbs:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/UVCReplacementLamp.html
*For True UV Sterilizers:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/UVSterilizers.html

When in forums, please read references (one of my pet peeves as I will often site references that get read less than 5% of the time), if the references check out, this persons comments might be worth considering rather than just believing the leader or most popular person on the forum.
Finally, sometimes ask for more explanations and keep in mind that the science of the day may be proven wrong tomorrow, that is why I reread and re-research my aquarium information articles on a regular basis, and believe me I have had to correct myself many times!
Reference: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Information.html

Recommended Forum:
Everything Aquatic Aquarium Forum

OTHER RECOMMENDED INFORMATION WEBSITES:
*For a library of "Aquarium Answers"
http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/

*For Aquarium Chemistry (GH, pH, KH):
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumKH.html

*For the BEST Aquarium Lighting Information ANYWHERE:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Lighting.html

*For Aquarium Filter Information: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Filtration.html

Copyright; Carl S