Hi, it's Mike Levin here. I used to be a very active participant at SEF. Work keeps pulling me away (from ALL FORUMS, not just SEF). Anyway, I’m announcing the beta of a new tool, and this is the sort of post that’s normally pulled down for link-spam. But I’m looking for a few good beta testers for a new tool, and hoping the post will stay, given my track record here.

I’ve taken all my SEO philosophies and wrapped them into MyLongTail. The single, simple trick I’m teaching everyone how to do in MyLongTail is the reason I’ve gotten top results to survive for over half-a-decade and across nearly all the popular search engines. I’ve used this as a back-end tool for all those years, and now I’m making it public as a beta. For once, it’s something new in SEO.

Yeah, I do sound spammy. Well, anyway, check it out for as long as the post lasts:
http://www.mylongtail.com

Mercy please, Phil and Lewis. I need to collect some beta testers! All I ask is that you help spread the word by sending the demo link to someone you think needs to see it.

[ Message was edited by: bhartzer 06/01/2006 08:09 am ]


[ Message was edited by: Prowler 06/02/2006 10:25 pm ... Reason: Added the link to the tool ]

Hi Mike - long time no see.

>>Mercy please

I think you're confusing me with someone else

Looks like a very interesting tool - might have a go myself. I don't have any problem with link dropping if there is valuable info for our members.

Good luck with your project - and don't be a stranger here

that sounds ace Think I might sign up don't understand how you thought of the iceberg effect tho :s

[ Message was edited by: dudibob 06/01/2006 06:29 am ]

Great to see you again Mike. It is a pleasure.

So you have this AJAX based system for SEO. I am sure most of us here would love to take it for a spin.

I understand from a brief visit to the site that you garner the Referer information as a seed to your MyLongTail application. A bit of information here would kindle further interest here.

I'll give it a go Mike - curious to learn more.

Registered and the code is on one of my sites.

I'm assuming it'll be at least tomorrow before the data appears when I log into my account - correct? I mean, it'll take the system some time to watch the current traffic and develop the suggestions from there.

Duane

Mike - how can I find a copy of that "one pager" on the "getting your ducks in a row"? I looked around be was unable to locate anything more than the thumbnail.

Thanks! I think I'll do a longer post a little later today. But in short, this is the same addictive back-end tool that I've shared here from time to time in the past. Since it works a lot like analytics in how it collects data with a tracking gif, I had some hurdles to overcome to get it to be real-time and support a large number of sites. It basically skims off only the data it needs for applying its suggestion algorithm--instead of capturing every click as analytics has to do for click-path analysis and the like.

In other words, you put the JavaScript on your site, and it starts giving you suggestions of what to write about. It can do this, because effectively has access to your log file (not really--but that's how tracking gifs work), but is only recording what it needs for this one very unique and under-utilized approach to SEO. I know it's still a bit abstract, but post your questions, and I will answer particulars.

And if you like, refer your friends to this post. WMW has been deleting attempts to bring up the topic. I don't think that crowd knows my background (or cares), so I'm encouraged to discuss it here first.

I'm definitely interested in your opinion of whether this is truly something new in SEO, or if I'm being self-deluding. It's only beta, so it's never too late.

I know that SES New York this year, 'tail of the dragon" for paid search was all the rage in some sessions. How can we find more niche phrases, increase incremental revenue while bidding on obscure, low-cost phrases?

The concept, IMO, is nothing new - just seems liek folks are finally realizing it's time to roll up their sleeves and get down inot the dirty world of 10 clicks a day from a phrase - then finding and chasing a few hundred of those phrases.

Again, conceptually, it's a huge winner:

1 - you findunder-utlized phrases - phrases YOU are not currently targeting for organic listings.

2 - you end up creating content ot try to rank for them

3 - you rank well, incremental traffic increases

4 - your website's "weight" increases as it's a larger site, more pages, more cross-linking, etc.

5 - you stand a much better chance at "growing" into being an "authority" site as your size and content mass increase for a given subject - basically, folks find you useful and deeply knowledgable on a topic, they link to you - same old, same old.

For too long Webmasters tried to get away with doing as little content building as possible and run with tricks and scams - it's worked, but, today, with most phrases delivering traffic volumes large enough to support revenues, the competition is too much for many small folks.

I have always felt the "tail-end" or incremental stuff is worth pursuing - it just takes time and an understanding of what to target. I find oodles of opporunitites for my sites through basic keyword research - your tool , by the sounds of it, is a form of keyword research and I'm all for that - especially when applied directly against MY content on my pages.

...now, how about that "checklist" image of what do do, when...?

Duane

SportsGuy, ah, the one pager! I'm in a raging debate currently as to whether I can publish it or not. I'm going to adjust the site so I'm not promising it. Sorry.

My argument for publishing is that if you reduce ALL the mechanics of SEO down to a one-pager, then you never have to discuss it again, and it frees you to focus on site growth and the MyLongTail process. IT and Marketing people alike can understand it and pass it back and forth.

The argument of my associates go, that you should be at least $10K committed before we "reveal" what anyone can piece together from forums like this, anyway. I joked that it was like Scientology and played into the bad image of secretive SEO's. Let me work on them a little bit and get back to you on that one, SportsGuy.

LOL - thanks Mike. heck, just share it with only me if it'll make them happy...

Seriously, folks appreciate a check-list - inevitably, no matter how small the font, you couldn't possibly explain everything in layman's terms on one page - not enough to do the various topics justice, anyway.

Their fears are unfounded...well, sort of...

Indeed! The ducks are not explained on that page. Only the mechanics of why blogging software changed everything for SEO and the few factors that must not be overlooked.

The ducks alone are good, if you speak "Mallard"...

Agreed, the idea is not very new. The difference now is that there is an easy way now to frame the discussion, with Chris Anderson's concept of the long tail, and the coming book. I don't think a tool like this has much chance in the mainstream if there's not a popular notion supporting it. Otherwise, it can really only be back-room SEO secret weapon stuff.

What's new about MyLongTail is how it gathers its data (popular in analytics, but not popular in SEO). And once it has the data -- the very little that it actually considers worth recording -- then, it applies an algorithm to figure out which ones are most worth optimizing for natural search.

Some of us may have been doing this already, but I have to say, this simple keyword extraction trick is infuriatingly difficult off of log files or through analytics. And the "ready-to-perform" state of the suggestions is way beyond the general keyword suggestion tools, I think. But I'm interested in thoughts!

After only a few hours of this thing tracking data, here's what I think:

1 - it works - too many tools you try are busted out of the gate and the guy keeps saying, "Sorry about that - try it now..." This one works as explained.

2 - It makes me feel..........excited! There are some good keyword ideas here, Mike - nice job!

3 - Bit disappointed that only 3 items made it into the "suggested" pile - what is the criteria for that anyway (or is it buried in an algorithm?).

4 - Nice bit is I can click any phrases I see in any of the three main lists and add them to the next list, thereby graduating ones I think are interesting to the next level, and on into the To Do list.

5 - To Do list is a nice touch - saves me having to write keywords on the back of the first piece of paper I find on my desk - usually a piece of paper with something else needed on the opposite side...LOL

OK, now, my overall impression is this could very well become a useful too for me.

Question:

Is there a way to use this for multiple domains? I manage the SEO for about 6 sites right now, all of which would benefit from this type of deep keyword "looky-see" detail.

Help an SEO_Brutha out...

Thanks Mike,

Duane

[ Message was edited by: SportsGuy 06/01/2006 12:59 pm ]

Thanks for the awesome feedback. Fear not, more words will make it to the suggestions tab. It's great that a few already did in the first couple of hours. The alg will improve over time. Right now, it's doing a farily simple grab for the likliest candidates. I have some awesome criteria in mind for ferreting out the very best suggestions.

Managing multiple sites does right now require multiple logins, but you can use the same email address for all. Logging in and out is the pain there... login1, login2, lgoin3. But I'll put it on the list. You're not the first to ask!

Looks like Bill edited out the link per the forum rules. Sigh. I guess no one is above the rules. At least it's better than wholesale post removal ala that other place.

But for those interested, click on the "PROFILE" button under Mike's user name to see the URL in there.

Thanks for returning the link. The beta is going well so far. We've got some positive feedback, plus a few items to take care of. The issue of managing multiple sites and whether each should have its own login keeps coming up. Interested in any thoughts.

I feel like I'm missing out on getting to do this now! (I'm a right NOW kind of gal.) But I must focus on going to Chicago tomorrow.

I'll jump in the frey when I get back as I do believe this is a really cool way to do what I've been recommending and doing all along.

And a "To Do List" - great touch! I need a wall full of white boards (and plan to actually put more up) as my life is in hyper-drive and my memory isn't enough any more.

I don't have time to download and put the code on now Mike but you know I want it so don't shut me out - pretty please?

And I'm on your side in the great debate. I don't worry about secrecy or competition and I share my ideas and tips freely...because....

Most won't pay any attention...the maybe 10% that do may or may not understand how to apply it...and the few that CAN apply it make life more interesting.

When people "get it" that you don't have to fight over a limited pie - you can just keep making MORE and BIGGER pies - THEN the world will be a far better place.

Well thank you, Rose. I won't be shutting anyone out of the beta if I can help it. I want to collect feedback, especially from active members, moderators and opinion makers.

The beta has really only been announced since Thursday last week, so it's still way-early. I haven't done anything like talked about it at an SES conference or anything yet, so for the time being it's all insiders and forum folks.

And you just summarized Chris Anderson's long tail notion about unlimited supply reveals to us that there is somehow unlimited demand... whether it's cause/effect or latent demand that was always there, no one knows yet.

ok, I've had it on our company's site since I said I'd have a go, so far no results, i'm presuming it's because our site is crap (to put it nicely), has there been any errors in it collecting code?

The way you can test it is the old quoted-search test. Find a relatively unique phrase in your site, and search on it with double-quotes around it. It should show up at least under the search hits tab.

One nuance is that you you have to close out of all your web browsers and open a new browser before you search to make sure you its considered a new session.

strange, done what you said, I'm guessing it doesn't pick up in real time because it hasn't found it. I've cross referenced it with analytics and that says we've received X amounts hits under Y but nothing on mylongtail

just to clarify I have inserted the JS correctly

Hey Mike, dunno if you can see over peoples account info but if you can I'm originally called Dudibob

I am running behind my schedule for the last one month. I will dive right in and make a test run soon. I might discuss some technical aspects here - subject to your approval.

you don't have to fight over a limited pie - you can just keep making MORE and BIGGER pies - THEN the world will be a far better place.

flyingrose - Nicely put.

Heads up Mike - this is about to get a real testing on a couple of mysites form work - big traffic.

Drop me a note if there'sa vloume problem and we'll sort it out.

After a few days of data form one of my own websites, I can easily say this is the missing link type stuff for keyword research.

Let me re-phrase that:

This data is available through pretty much any GOOD analytics package, but even then, it's tough to sort through and find it quickly.

My results so far have given me an almost endless number of new content topics or ideas for addition to my website - in fact, there' sno possible way for me outpace the "suggestions" with "content creation".

True, we're only going after incremental stuff here, but it all ads up and I'd rather OWN the results for truly niche searches than fight for the first two pages on popular terms.

PM me if you need a private e-mail address to continue any specific talks.

Duane

I love the more & bigger pie image, Rose! It's a very strange thing that makes this all work. Is it really true that the pie is potentially unlimited? Maybe...

Thanks, Prowler. Looking forward to your feedback.

Thanks for the heads-up Duane ! One of the biggest "features" of this thing are the techniques I used to let it scale really large. Hopefully, your sites will put that to the test.

Also, I'd love to use your missing link quote with your permission. Wow... in fact, you have quote after quote I'd love to use.

Also, even though this is beta, I could use any spreading-the-word you want to do, if you don't mind sharing a competitive edge

And the final note, maybe delving into MyLongTail issues could be a way to infuse even more energy and excitement here. SEF always had a special place in my heart.

I want to be careful about sharing too much of the secret sauce behind MyLongTail, as it looks so darned simple. But yes, any GOOD analytics package has this data. But notice how no keyword shows up TWICE for the same engine. Think about it. You've got a radar system for the first time ANY keyword EVER led to your site from a particular engine... whoops, I've said too much.

Quote away Mike - I'll hit you up at an SES for the royalty cheques... LOL I'll officially request a link back to my website if you're so inclined, but I won't beat you up if you use the quotes and there's never a link posted...

The last 30 days saw 161,324 visits referred from searches according to WebTrends - that's one of the 5 main sites we operate - will that test things? (I've registered them all... )

I think it will be fine, Duane. I'll keep a close watch on the performance. Right now, I'm very pleased with how we're handling the intital round of accounts.

Welcome back Mike. Hope you stick around.

Hi, thanks g1smd. I was just slowing down as you were just becoming active. Wow, 7710 posts. If you added all my posts under the miklevin username, I'd almost have half that.

Any follow-on questions?

The wonderful and cute name MyLongTail has served it's purpose, and we're positioning the tool to grow up fast, and join the ranks of Google and eBay, as a noun, verb and present participle. You can go to Google, be a Googler and engage in Googling. Similarly now, you can go to HitTail, be a HitTailor and engage in HitTailing.

We particularly like this new name, because in Retail, shelf space is limited. In HitTailing, shelf space is unlimited! As much as we like MyLongTail, we think with HitTail, we've got a name that will withstand the test of time and work its way into everyday language.

This reminds me a lot of the naming evolution and return to roots that occured here at SEF. Search Engine Forums hits a fundamental and calls it what it is. It also has the wonderful abbreviation, SEF. We went through various iterations, JimWorld, VirtualPromote. But calling it what it is won out in the end (and I'm glad). I'm trying to learn from that lesson.

The new activity is building hits in the tail. We are HitTailing. We are HitTailers. What do you think?

Glad you like the decision to go with SEF. Many of us were in favor of keeping it as the primary site for the forums for a lot of reasons.

HitTailing...catchy...shorter...good idea.

Thank you, Rose. When I was there, I also advocated SEF. It just rolls off the tongue so easily, and positioned you in the path of the tornado, so to speak.

That's the same thing we're trying to do with this name. When the honeymoon is over with PPC, we want everyone to discover HitTailing. It's even catchier than AdWords in my opinion. I love the three forms, just like eBay, eBayer and eBaying.

Well I'm into HitTail now for three weeks and I'm loving it!

Excellent tool Mike - thanks for sharing

Thanks Phil. Staying-power is one of the things I'm now trying to gauge. Also, we just launched a hot new demo at [Demo]. I'm in the process of updating the homepage to reflect it. Also working through the feature requests (happily, not a lot of debugging--which was a major coup for a beta). The feature requests basically cluster around managing multiple accounts, and getting the data in/out through Excel.

Thanks for the update Mike. I'm still loving this thing across multiple domains, though I got an internal e-mail there migth be a snag developing between htis and some Webtrends code we have on one of our sites. I'll hit you with some details as I get them offline.

Given everything else seems fine so far, I suspect WebTrends is being grumpy...no news there...LOL

I talked with Duane at length on the phone today. Cleared up the issue. It has to do with exact domain name usage. HitTail only tracks hits on the domain that was used at registration. If the non-www version resolves to the site, those won't get tracked. And conversely, if you registered without the www, then the www pages don't get tracked. We're working on it, understanding that many domains sometimes resolve to the same site.

Anyway, check out the new demo and send it on to a friend...
HitTail Demo

Just teething problems - excellent tool - opened my eyes - please dont make it too expensive...

...whoops, didn't notice I had already mentioned the new site name. Edited post.

Here is my 2 cents:

I have added the tracking code to one of my client's site and after nearly 20 days, I get a heap of information.
The site's raw log files had been processed by our own tools and HitTail results match them point by point. Great Work Mike.

HitTail saves a ton of tedium. The site has about 500 pages and HitTail has successfully tracked 350 unique keyword phrases and ends with this -" The Tail continues, but we have to stop somewhere !". It spits out a Javascript error on the chart page though.

At the moment it appears to process only the major search engines - Google, Yahoo and MSN. There are smaller search engines which have been left out of the purview. They add up to a small but significant part of the overall traffic.

One caveat is it takes a long time to load the first page - probably owing to the fact the server is busy keeping track of hundreds - possibly thousands of sites now.

The bottomline is summed up by the blurb at the home page - "This could be (is) the killer SEO app of the year!".

But then Mike, when it comes from you, it is no surprise.

great tool! It's giving me good suggestions but I'm not quite clear on how to utilize the tool. I've got the code on my pages and the process is working.

Do i add content to existing pages using the suggested keywords? Do i create a blog that links to my site or to a specific page on my site? I'm not understanding from the site on what specific steps to take. I could really use some help.

Take a look through the data it's collecting.

use the suggested keywords to build new pages.

So, if it's saying you were found under a search for "red delicious apples", and you don't already have a page targeted specifically at that keyword phrase, get cracking.

In effect, you could create as many pages as needed to target all the suggested keywords. You'll still have to develop the unique content for each page, but if it's related to your site already, the hard part about trying to figure out what users are looking for is done!

Just get cracking on 200 - 300 words of unique content about that keyword's topic.

If you have a blog running, you could use the keyword ideas to writine articles to post on the blog - it's still creating a new page, either way.

HTH

so this is what i'm hearing:
add pages with unique content to my site optimized for the keywords the program finds and link these pages in the sitemap.

I don't currently have a blog running on my site. Is it a good idea to add one for this and also generally for SEO?

I don't currently have a blog running on my site. Is it a good idea to add one for this and also generally for SEO?

Um, how can I put this: Hell yes!

...and I'll suggest, if you want to pursue this topic further, start another thread rather than us all hi-jacking Mike's thread here.

...and yep, your assement of what has been suggested as far as how to use the info this tool provides is spot on.

The issue of managing multiple sites and whether each should have its own login keeps coming up. Interested in any thoughts.

Based on my experiences, I would lean towards the capability for an account to have one or multiple domains. My reasoning is a good percentage of your 'core users' will have more than one site (i.e. web developers). That said the ability for a additional usernames to be assigned for single domains would be helpful (i.e. clients). The best of both worlds imo, if you can program it.

It will remain free for all sites whose traffic is under a certain threshhold. We have yet to encounter a site whose traffic goes over that threshhold. There will be premium services and other creative additions that will be paid. But everything we're showing today will remain free.

[Whoops, just answered Phil's comment from page 2... catching up on page 3 now.]

OK, a few things to answer.

Prowler:

1. Even though the long tail diagram stops at 350 words, the new Excel download feature lets you download the whole list. Mostly useful when you have your own mining techniques you'd like to apply, or want to feed the list to a PPC campaign.

2. It actually works on all search engines--both known and undiscovered. When a new one comes along, if it uses the same parameters (usually q=), then it automatically works. If it's a strange parameter, then we add it when we spot it.

3. The occasional long time to load the first page will be fixed. We get on-and-off delays based on heavy usage periods. That's a pitfall of real-time systems. We've got a good plan in place to accomodate demand and get rid of the occasional slow first pages.

4. Thanks for the kind words.

mmmvelour: SportsGuy answered it very well. Nothing to add.

Logan: Multiple accounts is about ready to launch. If you already have multiple accounts under one email address, you will be able to log in with your email address and switch between Usernames. We will have to change the language a bit, but the multi-account functionality appears to work well. Email will have to become "username" and username will have to become website nickname.

Great work Mike. Still loving it.

Found a new use for the data, too:

After noticing an uptick in traffic on one of my sites, I went looking through the logs - sure enough, inbound search traffic is going up nicely.

Over to Hittail and I'm thumbing through my list of words shown on the main page - the "split" section (39% of your traffic is from this group of terms, 61% is from these long-tail terms) - and it occurs to me, "What an easy way to check up on yourself in the rankings".

Hittail is giving me what users found me under when they searched.

I open the Big 3 in their own windows and commence searching - sure enough, there I am, plastered all over the first two pages of results in the engines.

Nothing Earth-shattering, but a great way to double check your own stats and log reports with real-world data. Perfect for folks like me who tend not to just run on blind faith that "things are growing" - I like to know why and where.

August 3, 2006 article on AJAX Vulnterabilities. Any concerns we need to know about in this tool? (Just checking.)

[ Restrict your message to the topic ]

[ Message was edited by: Prowler 04/25/2007 02:12 am ... Reason: Self promotion deleted ]

Do you put the code in the body or the header ?? I am not getting any suggestions here...

Also, what is the 10 rating means and what is 1 ? Thanks

I put mine in the body and it works just fine. If your not getting any suggestions its because no one is either clicking on your site in a search result on a search engine or your site isn't even showing up in any search results.

try it out, do a search for your site on google, click on your site in that result, and then see if it shows up in your hittail report.

it does show up on hittail and searchengines but no suggestions. i see a 10 rank there for most key words - which i dont know what it means..?!?!?

Hi, let me know if there are any follow-up questions about HitTail that I can help answer for you.

Good morning Mike,
First off, I am very pleasantly surprised with your Registration Page.

It tells you what must be filled in, with real words, not just some dingbat symbol (the meaning of which I am left only to guess).
Once I manage to fill in a box, the form gives me both text, "OK", AND color - green - feedback that I did something correctly.
Or, if I manage to mess up filling in the form, it tells me, with both words that tell me what I did wrong, and color - red - so I can see what and where in this form I goofed.

Mike, this simple form, simply done well, speaks HUGE volumes about the quality of your work. Real forms, built for non computer geeks, that effectively communicate intent, reason and needed corrections.

Maybe I have just spent too much time tripping over curbs without curb cuts, pulling slippery polished round door knobs, attempting to open hermetically sealed hard plastic packaging (wrapped around cheap disposable products) and squinting at indecipherable tiny grey text on grey backgrounds in crappy little Web forms. Simple good design makes my day. Thanks.

Oh, HitTail is not too bad.

Thanks ClickIt! That made me smile. I think we may have been one of the first to implement that sort of form (last May?). Since then, I see it popping up more and more, but it's nice to see it recognized.

We actually had someone slam us for that form on CNET, and I had to explain to my higher ups why our form was actually good.

Anyway, enjoy the service. I hope you like it as much as the registration form

If any of the editors are reading this, could you update the original link to the new URL