It’s been about 5 months since Amazon launched it’s own Wikipedia-type site, where users could tag and submit their opinions and review.
So what’s happened since the launch?
In Jan, when WebProNews announced the Amapedia launch, early feedback was along the lines of:
The site looks pretty raw currently and has little info in it – it is after all brand new.
And now nearly half a year later, I find 15 product reviews on the site, none of which are particularly inspiring. Worst still, some product discussions haven’t had an update in 55 days.
Ghost town?
For sure.
Critics will question, Is it even a worthwhile exercise for the mammoth online retailer?
Let’s look at the demand for Wikipedias, or user-contributed content sites:
So there is high demand for online information reference sites.
And the chances are, once you’ve discovered wikipedia, you’re likely to bookmark or keep it in mind, and head over there to bone up on unfamiliar topics.
I’ve gone over there a number of times in the course of my blogging and site development efforts to fact check or build up my background knowledge.
So where has the story gone wrong for poor Amapedia?
The site design certainly looks polished and is consistent with Amazon’s branding and consistent sitewide design.
I do find the (more…)
Hands up if you find it easy to create content for your blog or website.
Not too many hands there.
But if you think about it, having original, quality content is vital critical to building long term sustainable traffic for your blog or website.
If you’re posting stale content on your site, you’ll turn off your readers.
Do it for extended periods of time, and you might as well sound the death knell.
It can however, be alleviated if you adhere to some guidelines.
Visit Wikipedia, article directories, forums, Yahoo Answers, Google News.
Look at existing content specific to your niche, whether it’s weight loss, scrapbooking, smoking cessation, birdwatching, affiliate marketing and the like.
What’re the topics that people asking and discussing?
What’re their biggest worries/problems/concerns?
- Find an angle and get answers
Compile questions that if answered, will give some insight, or better yet, a solution to their problems.
Look for high authority sites, contact high authority contacts, get the questions answered.
Sort out and organize your information. Arrange and present the information in a logical manner. If you’ve got differing opinions, sort them into pro and con stances. Present a balanced viewpoint.
A blog or website gives scope for you to present the information, using lists, bullets to arrange the information in an easy-to-understand manner. Use graphics, photos if available. Better yet, include (more…)
Rand Fishkin and the folks over at SEOmoz have launched their inaugural podcast discussion how dominant online user-edited encyclopedia resource Wikipedia should be on Googles SERPs (search engine results pages).
Doing a search for “affiliate marketing” shows the Wiki entry at the top position for the organic results.
Should Wiki entries be so dominant? Especially as the members of the SEOmoz team point out other high authority sites might provide more comprehensive and relevant information?
As Shoemoney pointed out (more…)
