A Report from COBOLdinosaur
When we started ERT, it was our intention to deliver high quality technical support through well written and accurate content supported by a Mentor population in the forum. How did we do in our first year? The numbers are impressive.
We delivered 354,043 content pages across 188,568 visits. The quality of the content has resulted in a return visitor rate (monthly averages) of 20-25%.
We have been successful in defining our niche and we continue to grow.
We had a couple of large hits on Digg that created huge spikes (over 10,000 one day) and we continue to get a steady flow from them. On StumbleUpon we get steady traffic from about 15 of the groups and occasional spikes when one of the pages turns "hot" for a few hours. On Dzone we hit the front page with almost every link posted. Del.icio.us has over 2000 bookmarks to ERT content and that is growing daily. The users of these sites like the content well enough to give us numbers like those.
On qoolsqool 15 of our articles have been submitted for their academic evaluation and all 15 have been promoted to the permanent course collection by their members.
Links to ERT content shows up around the world on both English and non-English sites. It is safe to say ERT, ERT content, and the ERT information delivery format has been widely accepted and we have successfully established ourselves as a primary resource in the support and education niche that we targeted.
Just a little look back using the Waybackmachine... The announcement of ERT going live and the original home page
Back then we were unknown: PR0; backlinks zip; traffic a trickle;... but we had the right stuff and started showing up on the radar within a month when Google did the dance and noticed the new kid on the block.
The first sign of recognition was when we got a PR3 from Google after only being live for a month. Then we got an early boost from Batalf. The link on DHTMLgoodies gave us a bunch of traffic and introduced us when it went front page on Digg.
However, it was the growth of the search engine traffic that let us build up a following. The spikes from news sites and community bookmark sites are nice and the steady traffic from links on other sites gives a nice warm feeling... BUT Google is the key to growth over the long term; and Google likes us. We get more daily traffic on average from Google than any other source. Many days they deliver 70% of our traffic.
Now Yahoo, finally, is also coming on and we are seeing them in the top-5 traffic sources most days. Virtually all search engines with any market share are bringing up ERT content as top-10 for our keyword (even defective engines like MSN). Our Google PR is now 6. Just for comparison; in the Google dance just finished we held our PR6 and most of the pages moved up 1 to 3 positions. Our friends over at EE took another hit by dropping from PR7 to PR6. Google has said they want quality to rise to the top above quantity and they encourage quality, accessibility and standards compliance with PRs that put quality high in the SERPs.
When we started last January we were unknown. After we got to PR3, a search for the term EXPERTS ROUND TABLE left us out for at least the first 20 pages (it returns over 18 million hits, so I quit looking after 20 pages). With a little concentrated effort to optimize our preferred title, we were up to page 5 by June. Today? We are not just on page 1 we are NUMBER 1 for that very competitive keyword term... not just on Google but on all 4 of the largest search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN, ASK). Among the 18,000,000+ competing page we own the term "Experts Round Table". That seems right because it IS who we are; what we are; and what we are about.
We didn't just get lucky. We worked for it. It was not just the content that did it. It is, was, and will continue to be about the Mentor/authors of ERT. There have been many positive things said to and about ERT Mentors. I am only going to quote one. It comes from one of our members, "preacher" addressed to Mentors in the forum:
"Thanks a lot I will go through the links you have provided. I thank you all so much. Your answers always carry a genuine and true feeling that you want to see the likes of us get better."
For a Mentor (a teacher by definition) what greater compliment can there be? I will reply with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson:
"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself."
That was 2006. For 2007 we will see some new technology rolled out, interface changes, and enhanced communication channels. More quality content? Absolutely! More Mentors contributing to the body of work? That looks to be the case.
When we started out it was our intention to provide a learning center. We've done that. The next step is to expand it and make it more widely available. The road ahead is straight and newly paved. There is no speed limit, and we have a full tank of fuel. Hang on tight!
© Copyright Experts Round Table and participating Mentors 2005-2007
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Got a technical article or tutorial you want to publish on the Internet? Join in the Round Table Forum and let the Mentors know what you have. If it meets ERT standards, is factual and can help ERT visitors, then ERT Mentors and Editors can help you (without charge) polish your offering so it can be published and promoted by ERT. An article published on ERT may be read by as many as 10,000 visitors a week; promoting you, your site, and your ideas. Please note ERT does not publish re-prints; promotional handouts, or pieces consisting mainly of links. So original technical content only please. If you prefer you can email the Editor
