My reaction was a loud WTF when I tried logging in to check my click stats. Click Audit, the link/click tracking tool I was using until very recently to track subscriber count to SEO ROI has just been turned into a parked domain! In other words, it just features a bunch of useless ads. It may be a temporary thing, because the site likely didn’t make the owner(s) much money, but I’m not waiting around to find out.

I’m not going to cave in and go to Feedburner. Or annoy you guys with ads from Pheedo. What I will do is set up my own click tracking script on my server and just run things that way. Anyone got a favourite free click tracking script that’s easy to install and easy to use? I’d like it to have a similar interface to Click Audit, preferably, if you know what that was like. Helpful suggestions for alternative scripts to track subscribers with in the comments will be rewarded with dofollow links in updates to this post.

Oh, FYI: I had 1300+ subscribers (or clicks on subscription links, which is how I was counting subscribership) as of yesterday. Feel free to subscribe (and let me know that you did in the comments, since I have no way of knowing now that Click Audit is gone..

Lesson to the wise: Be as independent of third party services as possible.

UPDATE: John of Z Scale Model Train Layouts (who sell PSW concrete abutment sets and a Blasted Rock abutment set) shared a free script that’s very easy to install and use. There’s almost all the functionality of Click Audit (there are no groups and no PPC cost measuring) and most importantly, you can install it on your own server! So I’m now using PHP Junkyard’s Free PHP Click Counter.

Update 2: In a further helpful comment, John highlights some problems with the database being text based,
such as it not being able to handle very high volume. Also, Click Audit appears to be back up for the moment. I’m sticking with the script for now. Also, for future reference, here’s a screenshot of where my sub stats stood as of May 12th, per Click Audit.

My understanding of total clicks is that it comprises those clicks coming from the same Ip within a given period of time (like 24 hours). So someone whose feedreader was slow to grab the click and turn it into a readable subscription might click a second time, for instance. That’s why I refer to the unique clicks count as my subs.

Subscribe to SEO ROI's RSS Feed
Curious why you should subscribe? Here's 20 reasons why. On a related note, if you need SEO services, here's where to get more information.

At the Domain Roundtable, Matt Cutts said that Google will cut down any sites that get sold back to zero ranking value. So after a site has built up SEO strength for a few years, the asset could be worthless on the search market because Google - which controls the overwhelming majority of North American and most Western search - makes the rules.

This is clearly unfair to webmasters. Not to mention that the Fortune 500 are again on a different playing field, because their purchases are just mergers and acquisitions, not “site purchases”…

Update: Apparently this treatment is reserved for sites that also change topics. The technique thus remains useful, but obviously the problem it resolves is narrowed to particular situations. Hat tip to Gustavo Cardial for pointing out the error.

Lady Justice, blindfolded with scales and sword by California Criminal Defense Lawyer Rob Miller.

In an effort to balance out the scales, I’m sharing a legal technique called “the trust.” My hope is that it will enable webmasters to buy sites and sell them without fear that their hard SEO work will go to naught.

Disclaimer: As I’m just a law student and not a lawyer, let alone an expert on trusts, please only take this as information, not legal advice, and (more…)

Want to find out competitors’ keywords? Want to avoid getting your keyword research ripped off? Here’s how to do competitive keyword intelligence for free. (more…)

I’ve been asked the question recently in connection to business blogs: Should I blog on the company’s official site/domain name, or should I blog on on a fresh domain name? Each approach has its advantages, but with current search engine algorithms, my advice is to have the blog on (more…)