Stompernet officially re-opens their doors today at 3pm EST to accept new members.
Since they first launched in October 2006, they have only re-opened for a total of 72 hours. If you'd like to get a sneak peak on the inside, click here.
Stompernet is not your everyday membership site. They have 30 full-time staff members, 15 faculty members, a portal with 125 forums, over 600 video tutorials - and they host 3 or 4 live seminar events for their members every year...
There are two things I'd like to share with you upfront. First, I attended the last live Stompernet event last month in Atlanta. The staff & faculty are nothing short of amazing. There were also over 400 incredibly happy Stompernet members at that event.
Second, I am an affiliate for Stompernet. As an affiliate, I'm less interested in whether you decide to become a member or not, and more in you simply checking it out. It may or may not be right for you. You have to be completely dedicated to the success of your online business to even consider it.
But if you do check it out (and watch the video linked to above) you'll see the option on the right side of that screen to get a free copy of SEO Site Seer. You'll also get access to the 4-part video series when you submit your details.
And that is what I would like for you to do.
There are 2 reasons. One is because they will send me a Macbook Air if 500 people check it out 😀 . And two is for you: Stomper Site Seer will rock your world!
Seer is an SEO optimization and competitive analysis tool. When you fill out the form you will:
- Discover what Google sees when they "think about" your website.
- Discover how "visible" you are in the Social Media world.
- Receive actionable steps from Stompernet Faculty and Training
Don't take my word for it - go let it evaluate YOUR site!
http://www.stompernet.net/jvp/aw.aspx?B=44&A=1107
Click on the link above for instant access to one of the most powerful automated SEO evaluation tools ever! Site Seer will evaluate: on-page SEO factors, off-page factors and keyword analysis. You'll also get a video with site-specific step-by-step instructions on how to improve your website traffic.
We're all in this together. The Stompernet team would love to give you a tour of their members portal. You'd like to get your hands on a super-powerful SEO tool at zero cost. And I'd love to win one of those Macbook Airs 😉
Here's the link: http://www.stompernet.net/jvp/aw.aspx?B=44&A=1107
Go evaluate your site... Enjoy!
About Lynn Terry
Lynne
Thanks for your email regarding the Free Customized SEO Profile Report - I have just submitted my url and eagerly awaiting the results.
You offer so much that I was only too pleased to do you a favour and hope you do receive a Macbook Air
Thanks
Cynthia
Hi Lynn,
I dumped my usual procrastination routine and signed up right away.
As Cynthia commented, thanks for all you do to help everyone out!
Susie
Does that make this a win-win-win situation, Lynn? LOL I wish you well on winning the Mac Air. Yeah, you need another computer around your house, don't you? What will this one make? #7? LOL
There are 3 desktops (one for each of us) and the laptop (for mobile work/play)... but it would make the very first Mac 😀 I've been eyeing the Macbook Air for awhile now, and thought it would be fun to see if we could pull together and make this happen!
I'll say this for you Lynn, you're better than most affiliates. You told us straight that you stand to benefit from the link, but made us feel like it was in our interest too! Good on ya.
Now, about the report. I tried it on my site, and I'm not impressed. Some of the info was interesting, but some was way inaccurate. For example, it reported that my home page didn't have any header tags. Given that I take great care to produce well-structured (X)HTML documents, I always use header tags in their correct (ie according to the original intention of the W3C) manner. The home page has one H1 at the top, four H2 at various points, and some H3 where appropriate. Technically, it is a very well structured document. I have no idea why StomperNet's analysis claims I didn't use heading tags, but it's plain wrong!
Also, they claimed to have found a site map. That's pretty impressive as I never added one (not worth it for a one-page sales letter that has a contact form and terms & conditions page). Clicking the link to see my site map returns a 404 - oddly enough, 'cos there isn't a site map!
So, based on what they've shown me, I wouldn't be inspired to sign up for StomerNet. I've heard enough about them from you to be convinced that there's more to it than this, but I was very disappointed with this free report.
Anyway, hopefully you'll get your laptop, so something positive will come out of this.
Ta ra
Alan
Lynn,
So, what changes will you be making?
😉 Robert
I watched a couple of videos Lynn (the free ones)...Absolutely fascinated - not just with the information but the whole production...Very impressive and wealth of information...
I always thought that you get what you pay for however I have found some very generous people in the online marketing community - Like Lynn!
I guess the Stomper Site Seer is okay for what it is but remember there is no magic bullet to SEO. It's more about connecting with your customers and designing sites for them rather than for the search engines.
I like the free videos they hold out as a carrot and I know of many of the people involved and have learned a lot from them...Leslie Rohde, Dan Thiess, Sherman Hu and others.
However I can't get myself to make the $9600 per year investment yet.
Can anyone convince me otherwise?
Best,
Martin
While I'm sure the information is valuable, I just can't justify spending $797 on this. Sorry, Lynn.
Hopefully you do get the MacBook Air though. 🙂
No apology necessary, Chris - as I said in the original post, Stompernet is NOT for everyone. You have to consider the time investment, alongside the financial investment.
The portal contains enough training for anyone to get a full-time education on Internet Marketing so its very powerful and worth every penny - considering what you can earn with what you learn. But you have to make time to learn the strategies, and then also implement them to see that ROI.
So obviously it depends on where you are in your business.
To give you an update, there were only 123 optins through my link. That still qualifies me for a prize of some sort (not named), so it will be interesting to see what that is.
Thank you for your participation! 😀
For me, this was less about the Macbook Air - or any prize - and more about the value of community. A test, if you will, to see if I could reach out to ~20,000 people and see if at least 2-3% would respond to such a personal message.
It was a stretch, considering that I didnt put several mailings into it and also considering the reach of this particular campaign. There are other factors involved too that I have noted.
All said and done, I'm still overwhelmed with the positive response. In addition to the supportive comments here, I received a number of emails from SSWT members & readers that were more than happy to 'pay it forward'.
I have some work to do as a community leader, no doubt. But I'm very pleased at the type of people that SSWT has attracted over the years. A very cool group - and some of the most genuine, and most dedicated self-starters on the 'net...
As I said earlier Lynn, one of the things that impressed me was that you were completely honest about what you stood to gain from it, so we didn't feel like we were being used for your benefit.
When you phrase it in the way you did, you make us feel happy to be able to help. I don't know why it is, but there's a subconcious resentment to clicking an affiliate link. Why? I have no idea, because it doesn't make the slightest bit of difference to me if I click an affiliate link or a normal one, but somehow there's a resistance.
When you're as open and honest as you were, it makes us (me at least) feel happy to go through your affiliate link.
As for your role as a community leader, I would say you do pretty well actually. I think the subject matter was against you here. Sure, StomperNet is probably amazing for the right people, but for the most of us, it's far too high a cost to be able to justify, and the amount of work you'd need to put in to benefit would be more than many of us can spare.
Maybe you should reserve judgement on your abilities to convert until you try it on something a little more within the reach and interest of us ordinary folk!
Apologies to anyone who considers themselves not in the normal folk, I obviously wasn't referring to you!
Ta ra
Alan
Thank you Alan!
That is exactly the reason that I didnt do a direct promotion of the actual membership. I know my readers pretty well, and didnt feel like it was a good match (in general).
That said, Stompernet is planning to offer some products outside of their membership, and I'll be keeping my eye on those for possible review.
I certainly dont discourage anyone from checking it out - its a powerful program. But as I said in a comment above and even in the original post, its not for everyone.
I'm with Alan on the quality of the "report".
Lynn, you've disappointed me. As an "expert SEO" you should have realised that a lot of the Stompernet stuff was rubbish (just like their program - a lot of gristle and very little meat)
It found a sitemap for my site that I don't have.
It provides no more information that the info provided by a lot of free tools (try http://www.seomoz.org/tools/page-strength.php , http://www.experienced-people.co.uk/1058-due-diligence/tools.htm etc), and it provides a lot of incorrect information.
It regurgitates a lot of old tripe about SEO that we've heard a million times before but doesn't actually provide much by the way of real analysis of the domain provided.
Sandy Naidu, if you watched that one hour video telling you how three specific Stompernet members made huge profits/improvements.... have another look at it. It promises to tell you HOW they made those profits. It ends up being just one huge ad for Stompernet with parrot-like repetitions of how they owe all their success to Stompernet.
Newbies would be rightly impressed ... as Stompernet has a formidable PR machinery and can sell turds. But, what's YOUR excuse, Lynn?
And, Stompernet fools, it's not the title TAG. The title is an ELEMENT: http://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/TITLE.html
If they can't get even that right....!
Hi oddsod,
I'm certainly not an expert SEO, nor do I play one online *grin*. In fact, I have always called the Title element a "title tag" too...
I'll agree that the report wasnt complete, or even entirely accurate. I saw some of the same questionable results that you guys reported. But I also picked up some interesting facts as well - and am digging into those a bit further.
All that aside, I'm curious if you have reviewed Stompernet from the inside (in the last year)? Or are your comments about 'rubbish' and 'lack of meat' based on their promotional material alone?
I ask because I was impressed with them when I attended their last live event. They have an incredible line-up for faculty members, and there is tons of content and ongoing personal help on the inside.
Lynn, don't believe all those *facts*. They've had a look at some of the best free tools, tried to emulate some of the functionality of those tools, botched it up worse than my demented terrier on crack cocaine would, painted it a lurid shade of green (yucks!), and are trying to pass it off as something of value.
>>I'm not an expert SEO.
If I may quote your email: "I consider myself to be pretty decent at SEO... I do know what I am doing"
The more proficient you claim to be as SEO the more likely people are to believe your claim that this "SEO tool" is a God's gift to webmasters. I think God just crapped on us and he's having one hell of a laugh.
>>I’m curious if you have reviewed Stompernet from the inside
Lynn, on the inside it's worse. They encourage you to boast about every small achievement, they then bundle those threads into huge promotional videos. It's more a cult than a university (They've got "Faculty"?!). But they do have good customer service, they do give refunds.
Don't get me wrong. If you've got all the time in the world then go over and spend the rest of your life listening to Andy Jenkins go on and on and on in his videos.
They've got some great guys on the staff. Knowledgable and really nice chaps, but the program is more hot air than new info. I decided not to attend their live event.
They're so hot at SEO that they don't rank #1 in Google for stompernet siteseer at present. Gee, how did you do THAT, guys? No, no, don't tell us... do a two hour video! And demonstrate that it's something you really intended all along.
>>I’ll agree that the report wasnt complete, or even entirely accurate.
You're too kind. It's a pile of horse shit.
I wouldnt go that far... but then I suppose its all relative. It was more valuable than horse shit to me. But then I dont know what kind of value I would expect from horse shit.
I should say too, that I dont use any SEO tools to speak of. Outside of keyword research, and I just use the basics there. So I'm not in a good position to make a fair comparison between the SEO Site Seer and any other evaluation tool on the market.
So that said, I did pick up a few interesting points from the report about my blog - and made some changes based on those results. So was it worth the 5 minutes to review the report? For me, yes.
Lynn, getting wrong information is often worse than not getting any information at all. Horse shit has one major advantage over the stompernet message: properly rotted it nourises plant life.
Based on my trust in you, I followed your link and tried Siteseer. It wasn't because I was bored, it wasn't because I loved Stompernet. It was because I respect you and trusted your opinion and when you say you know your SEO and the tool still opened your eyes... I kinda, you know, believed that A) You know your SEO and B) The tool opened your eyes. In reality, it's provides no more insight than what any third-rate SEO will show you is available from free tools. Worse, it provides wrong information!
I also accept that you may not have set out to deceive your readers. If you're guilty of anything it's using that same "cult" language that Stompernet uses. OMG, drop everything, I've got the most amazing tool to share with you. Ever!!
OK, it didn't take hours of my time. But, did I feel deceived? Sure I did.
You and I first spoke years ago, and we've exchanged a couple of emails today. If you really are inside SMARTS/Stompernet drop me an email with your user name - you've got my email address - and you'll get a useful PM . If you're not inside, may I ask why? It would seem strange if you recommended it to everyone else but didn't join yourself.
>>one of the most powerful automated SEO evaluation tools ever
Seriously, I'm disappointed in you. How can it be "one of the most powerful" if you have never used any other SEO tools before?! Or are you just repeating the cult claims?
Okay oddsod we get your point...now you are beating the shit out of that horse.
Let's move on.
Much of the copy was actually re-used, so you are correct on that. Point taken.
I said "I dont use SEO tools to speak of", not that I have *never* used any other SEO tools *before*.
I also didnt recommend Stompernet membership to 'everyone else'. I stated I was less interested in anyone joining - and why it may not be for everyone. I made that comment again in a reply above.
For the record, I am not a paying member. I have friends that are, I know much of the faculty personally, and I attended their last live event. But I am not their target market, and I am busy doing the things that they are teaching.
I also never did an outright promotion for the membership, nor did I try to compel or encourage anyone to join.
I thought the report was pretty cool. I passed it along. There was full disclosure on the affiliate link. End of story.
I hope that clears up any confusion or questions - not just yours oddsod, but anyone else reading along as well.
Martin, you're right. Before you start talking about high horses or bolting stable doors or horses for courses, I'll drop the dead... donkey. But one last thing before I go. Remember all that hype about how popular Stompernet was and how you had to act REAL quick if you wanted to get in? They made it sound like the Messiah had arrived. If you were one of the skeptical ones and suspected that such a hugely popular course wouldn't be giving away hefty affiliate commissions, your suspicion was well placed. The course that was so over-subscribed and now closed says this today: "After all the post-launch dust settled and we tallied up our numbers, we've determined that we have enough room in StomperNet for a few more dedicated members."
Yeah, sure! 🙂
But this has all given me an idea for a REAL tool that DOES do what this siteseer was supposed to do in the first place. I've started a contractor on it today! It will be free but I won't mention any URLs here ... all good SEOs will discover it in due course during their travels online.
Lynn wasn't my original target and I should have stuck with addressing the deception and crooked marketing from Stompernet. So, Lynn, my apologies and an email is on the way.
No problem Oddsod. I was out much of the week, but I havent seen your email yet. I'll double check on that.
Update! For those that recall the original purpose of this post, I have a prize update. I didnt win a Macbook Air... but I did win a Samsung 50" 1080p HD Television and a Westinghouse Digital Picture Frame! 😀
I didnt promote the membership, and I didnt win either of those prizes as a result of selling StomperNet memberships. In fact, I didnt even sell one. That was simply from those of you that took the time to check out the tool - period.
Thank you Not just for the prizes, which are super cool, but for all of the supportive emails and comments, and for going out of your way to participate in the contest on my behalf. You rock! 😉