Crackers Aren't Just For Cheese Spread!

I'd like to warn you that the POLYMERCLAYLAND blog is a content thief! I'm starting with this line because this is the line that will show up on Google searches and the "spiders" out searching for info will "crawl" this line first. I want everyone to know there is another kind of "thief" out there. Read on....

According to Associated Content, quote: ' "Crackers", in the computer world, are those who use their hacking knowledge for malicious purposes.' I'm going to use this definition because some "crackers" are stealing SEO. And whether or not SEO is a tangible item, it's still stealing.

In the handmade world we work doubly hard to earn our Google ranking in the SEO world. It takes a lot of time and effort. People selling handmade are trying to make a living doing what they love, and the work they do is very personal and close to their hearts. And to have someone come in and STEAL their hard earned SEO by stealing blog posts and such is just wrong and unethical.

Learn more from Tina Holden who found out her hard earned SEO was stolen by a cracker who is now making money off their clicks by reposting her blog posts. Surfers think they're going to her blog, but they're really going to a bogus blog who is stealing her blog posts word for word, and only replacing the pictures. Not cool!

I think it's always a good idea to Google yourself now and then. It's fun to see where you show up, but now that there are cracker thieves out there, you can also see who's stealing your SEO!

Please go visit Tina's blog and show your support. At the bottom she has a link to help fight off SEO thieves.

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WHERE ARE YOU IN THE SEARCH ENGINES?

That was what I asked myself today. So, let's go find me. Well, how do I do that? If I didn't know me, how would I find me, especially if I didn't know I wanted to find me. See what I'm getting at? No?

If you want to bring someone to your shop, how would you do that? They don't know you exist, or what you do. So how would they know how to find you, especially if you're not paying to show up at the top of search engines?

Well, here's what I did...a google search. Well, if I put in Glasstastic Treasures, I show up all over the place. So, you do that, see what pops up. EVERYTHING! My shops, my networking sites, my forum posts! Yay! 685 listings for Glasstastic Treasures.

But, I know my name, I searched just for that, it was easy. So then I search for what I sell, "handmade lampwork beads". Hmm, 149,000 hits, and I was not on any of the first 10 pages. I'm not looking any more, are you? Let's try "handmade lampwork". 281,000. What do you think the odds are that I'm on any of the first 15 pages? NO! Now what? What about getting the attention of those who don't know my name, but I want them to SEE me?

Did you know that the SHOP TITLE in your appearance section of Etsy is more important then anything you have listed in your shop? For search engines, that is. I had "Unique and Fun Lampwork Beads" in there. So, let's search for that. WOW, I'm number TWO!!

That worked out pretty well, but my search was pretty specific. I need to generalize just a little more, but not too much. So I changed it to " Handmade Quality Lampwork, Stained and Fused Glass". We'll just have to see where that brings us!

Interesting? I think so. It's painfully obviously that Etsy is not paying for any Internet searches for anything specific. And why should they, that's up to us to bring them to our shops. Etsy just wants them to get to Etsy, after all.

So, what does your shop title say about you? Feel free top comment with any tips you might have!

**please note, clicking on the photos will bring you to the search page, however, the searches may have changed since I posted these pics.

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Please leave POLL comments here!

Feel free to comment and elaborate on any of my polls or my Etsy webiste! I'd love to hear from you! Don't forget to take the polls on the right side of the screen!

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