How 100+ Diggs got Malathy Ranked #1 on Google
My friend from the SMC forum, Malathy, asked in her blog post how to get more Diggs and why she did not get Diggs on her blog. She was ready to give up and seriously doubted that social bookmarking sites would be of any use to her.
My response is pretty simple here, the same thing my ex-wife used to say: “It would work better if you did it right!”
“Oh poor me, I didn’t get any Diggs so I will put my tail between my legs and feel sorry for myself. I won’t buy Chris Lang’s book because no one likes me and the other kids at Digg don’t want to play with me” was pretty much how I saw her blog post.
So I decided to get her ranked #1 on one of my best search terms. Even out ranking my own blog for this term. WHY would I knock my self down the Google ladder under one of my favorite search terms? Just to prove I could do it!!!
Did Chris Lang succeed?
Day one June 19th, 2008. Malathy is submitted to Digg under “How to get more Diggs”
The problem is that she never used the phrase in the title tag or in the blog post body so I had quite a challenge. I LIKE a challenge. I got her submitted to Digg under the phrase and used some of my Wickedly Evil Social Marketing Tactics to try to get her 100+ Diggs.
Only whitehat, naturally occurring tactics were used and I did not spam Digg in any way. These are the same things I teach. I did not use social bookmarking submission software and different users submitted her to other networks after finding her posted on Digg.
This is the reason for building large friends lists on social sites and participating by leaving comments and sharing high end content that is not just from your own blog. It is HOW social sites are supposed to work. Then, when you want to get something ranked highly, your friends will help you. They do this because you are not a social site spammer, posting for only your own content for your own gain.
UPDATE: Day one: 9:14 AM Arizona USA time.
Right now, a Sphinn post for your blog Malathy, is #2 for “how to get more diggs” on Blogsearch. You are #1 in Websearch for “Think again before submitting to social bookmarks”, so we know that Google has been pinged and you are in the Google index.
I am doing what I do to get my content traffic. Watch what happens as the day progresses. Part of your problem is your title tag sucks, if you had used a term that is searched you would be getting traffic already. Instead I am now trying to get you ranked under a valid term that is not in your blog post. Just makes it more interesting!
UPDATE: #2 later the same day:
The Sphinn post is now #11 under Websearch for “how to get more diggs”. If you had researched your keywords and used a phrase that had traffic I could have ranked you well under that, but since you did not, I am having to wing it here.
UPDATE: #3 Day 2, June 20th, 2008
Malathy is now #3 under “how to get more diggs” in Websearch, with five blogs linking to the article and 108 Diggs, nothing more. Scott you asked how heavily Google weights Diggs? They must weight them fairly well for her to take to number 3 when I can’t even get there myself.
UPDATE: #4 Day 4, June 22nd, 2008.
111 Diggs and 11 Digg comments. Malathy is #1! The #2 and #3 listings are tired old articles that have been there forever. Both articles are from 2006. Now the Digg item about Malathy has moved into #5 and I am in #4. Below that at #7 is a Sphinn post about Malathy and then Digg Follies at #8 is a blog post about Malathy and the test ranking. 5 out of 10 results in the top 10 point to my blog in one way or another. That is what social sites can do for you in niche terms.
UPDATE: #4 Day 17, July 5th, 2008
Malathy’s post is STILL number one, beating out the two tired posts that won’t die, my own post at #4 and the Digg item at #5.
Considering the only thing that blog post has going for it is the voting habits of the readers: 19 comments on her post, 12 comments on the Digg post and 118 diggs, that’s it. Everyone below her has 00 to just a few diggs. Yes, I think Google gives weight to the number of comments on a post too. So far, I am the only one saying this, so don’t flame me, it is just an idea of mine.
Malathy did not even use the term in the page. I did. Look in the comments, I could not get her to rank under the term “how to get more diggs” and no other decent keywords were there either.
The Bottom Line
I finally contacted Malathy and asked her if she was able to buy a copy of Wickedly Evil Social Marketing Tactics and she replied that she lives in India, has a large family and was currently saving to buy it. I sent here a copy with my thanks for allowing me to use her blog post as a case study. It was the least I could do.
Before any of you complain that social bookmarking does not bring you traffic from the search engines you need to actually research keywords that you can rank under.
How can you say that you did not get any traffic from the search engines when you did not use a term THAT HAS TRAFFIC?
Do you think that Digg votes are going to magically bring your site out the the Google dungeon and ALL your search terms are going to move up? NO, you get credit for Diggs for the terms on the page that got the Diggs.
What got her there? 118 Diggs.
#1 for the term: 118 Diggs. (Malathy)
#2 for the term: 0 Diggs.
#3 for the term: 4 Diggs.
#4 for the term: (me) kicked off digg by the Digg mafia.
I am also theorizing that Google is going to buy Digg and is altering their algorithm to weight Digg more heavily. I also feel that Google is about to slapdown sites that are doing nothing but submitting their own content and then shouting it to their mutual friends. I am going out on a limb here, but I think we are going to see more and more of this.
Look at the bottom of a Digg page. There is a link UPDATED! Add Digg to Google. That is real new. I am seeing different results when blogs get more Diggs across the board.
I am currently working on a case study that may explain more about Digg and how it may or may not affect blog rankings so stay tuned to KeyWebData.com.
4 Comments
It’s 10:15 am on the 20th of June and Mala ought to have been ranked number 1 for 2 or 3 days now, somewhere is the recorded date of when she hit the number 1 slot and I am sure it was Tuesday afternoon sometime.
I saw where Mala said she isn’t sure of what to do next. After thinking on this I think she ought to post a new blog article, this time using a subject matter which relates to her social or internet marketing interests and she can utilize the tactics she has learned. She might as well put in use these things to further her own agenda.
Chris, there will always be “Idiots” and “Naysayers” out there, you have them in the so-called “Real World” and they seem to multiply on the Net. Maybe it’s the anonymity thing that causes them to procreate like rats or the mighty cockroach. LoL
The fact is that I don’t recall one of these people saying you are wrong making the comment of “I tried what you said and it doesn’t work!”. I find that highly interesting that your detractors never actually seemed to try your tactics to know if they work or not. On the other hand I have seen several people try what you said and claim it works.. including me. I used your tactics on that damn Paris Hilton Does Benji article and now I can’t get rid of it. lol It keeps coming up like a bad sausage. hehe
Malathy should get some real information on what she is trying to do. So many think that you just submit your stuff and you get Diggs. We both know that DON’T work. Many think it was easy for me to get her 108 Diggs. We both no NOT. Is was easy for you and me because we invented this stuff….
She has very little knowledge of what she is doing and is blindly groping her way through blogs and social bookmarking. I am contacting her now thru SMC John, I just can’t take on any more than I have going now, she needs to buy my book, print it out and read it two or three times.
That is the only thing she should be doing, nothing else.
Hi Chris
you give details of how to get 100 diggs yet you have been kicked off digg
surely someone who does what you say will have the same outcome,
and just recently you have been talking about Google buying Digg
doesn’t that put you outside the loop
@David Lee Venters…. Let’s get this straight once and for all.
My URL was banned from Digg three hours after writing about Digg’s privacy policy breach.
After the Digg mafia started burying my other site I decided to tell Digg, to DIGG THIS.
I was never kicked off Digg for any wrong actions and I was not kicked off Digg, I told Digg exactaly what they could do with their Digg mafia, or as I effectionately call them, the bitch brigades.
All of my tactics are whitehat and organically occuring scenarios, both to Google and ANY social site.
I would say that using social bookmarking submission software, multiple accounts and spamming social bookmarking sites like your guru teachers suggest is probably the WRONG way to do social bookmarking.
But then again, you already know all this David, so why waste your time and mine bringing this up so I have to waste my time reiterating it yet again?
All anyone has to to go search “why was chris lang kicked off digg” or “why is keywebdata not on digg” all very public and there for the taking. I have never tried to hide any of this and it has been ME that made it all public to begin with.
As any Internet marketing site worth a damn will tell you, they will have already been kicked off Digg. Most will tell you that it is a rite of passage for any in the business.
Warning: IF you are using social bookmarking software expect to be banned for a reason that you will not be able to talk about like I am right now.
It would be allot more embarrassing to be kicked off Digg and just about every social bookmarking site there is for spamming the living crap out of everyone there and not even have an interesting story to tell.
I am sure you will aggree David.