jmcgready’s misc universe

I made a post a couple of days ago about Real-TimeReferrers.com
and how it was a good alternative for getting better SERP rank,
especially for the known good keywords actually used in the searches.

After a few days, the situation has changed,
mostly due to my newfound use of Google Analytics.

I’ve returned from my straying to the
SEO-licious SERP-enhancing keyword goodness that is HitTail.

I’ve returned to HitTail for a few compelling reasons.

First reason:
HitTail (the free version) saves more than the last 20 referrals
(unlike Real-TimeReferrers.com), which helps since I’m not always
at the site grabbing referrals as they’re generated.

Second reason:
Being able to export the reports to a .csv file -
not that I do it that much but it’s a great option to have.

The link rating (which shows up in the .csv file) also helps to
assess the link’s SERP ranking. I mostly do manual checks for unusual
search terms to check SERP ratings.

Third reason: The to-do list is just icing on the cake.
It’s great to have something on the site that makes applying
your keyword strategy an on-site option and not offline.

Technorati Tags: csv file, free version, google, google analytics, hittail, hittail scam, keyword strategy, manual checks, real time referrals, real time traffic, referrals, referrers, SERP

Edit: my initial take on this was misguided, pretty much as
my apology email to Mike Levin of HitTail put it:

mr. levin,

sorry that my first email to you has to consist
mostly of apologies for my screwing up an post about your company.

I’ve excised the most offensive (and inaccurate) phrase in particular
and have edited the post in general to more accurately reflect
the advantages of HitTail, i.e. the increased intelligence supplied with the raw results.

I will also be including the text of this email at the head of the post.

Again, my apologies for screwing up the facts in this case.

John

jmcgready.com

Edit: Edited for accuracy - apologies to HitTail

Like everyone else, I was turned on to the goodness that is HitTail,
the web 2.0 service which allows you to see the search terms
people use to access your site, as well as a link to the search engine results page (SERP).

The SERP link is the true genius here, because you can
see where you rank for each term.

Checking the SERP ratings along with the list of search terms,
allows you to refine your posts or articles to score higher
in the search results and get more traffic.

To do this on an unlimited basis, you’d have to pay HitTail
$9.95 a month for the privilege - not exactly my cup of tea…

I’ve found an alternative (Edit:albeit without the added intelligence of HitTail)- real-time-referrers.com.

From their site:

What’s happening on your website right now?
This tool shows you the live incoming clicks, and where each visitor came from.
It’s useful when tweaking your marketing campaigns, or simply satisfying your curiosity

Just add some Javascript to your site, click on the button
that shows up on your page, bookmark it and you’re ready to go.

Technorati Tags: hittail, long tail, marketing campaigns, real time traffic, referrals, search engine hits, search engine results, search terms, SERP, true genius