100% Organic traffic = Bots

[ckmarion]

Is anyone else having an issue with this!?

I read a post, and the reviews, and people write “Legit” and “100%” and it turns out to be the fakest bots ever. Which in turn, I have to delete my original content because it just makes me look super unprofessional. Am I the only one running into issues with this? And how can I see signs that their work is less than up to par before spending money on a gig that hurts my brand more than helps?

[uxreview]

You didn’t really explain what you purchased, but I’m guessing you bought backlinks. If you give someone your website’s link and ask them to promote it then it’s not organic traffic.

Anyway, before you buy anything you need to figure out who’s your target audience, how will you reach them and then your order a service you need. If you don’t know how to do market research then you should hire a consultant.

The goal is not to buy hits to your website, the goal is to get potential clients to your website. Did the seller even know or ask who’s your target audience?

[ckmarion]

You didn’t really explain what you purchased, but I’m guessing you bought backlinks. If you give someone your website’s link and ask them to promote it then it’s not organic traffic.

Anyway, before you buy anything you need to figure out who’s your target audience, how will you reach them and then your order a service you need. If you don’t know how to do market research then you should hire a consultant.

The goal is not to buy hits to your website, the goal is to get potential clients to your website. Did the seller even know or ask who’s your target audience?

Exactly…The point is to get REAL people. I’d rather a low number or potential customers/fans than a high number of bots. I used a service for Youtube views which were not organic. If was fake numbers & likes.

For instance, 3,000 views with x amount of likes 0 dislikes and no comments. There’s no way that’s real. Another one I tried, different user, was for soundcloud the repoost were from “users” with no followers, the comments were templates and many said the same thing, & they did like 15,000 in a day. Come on…why advertise a service as “organic growth,” or “real people” when they know for fact that’s not what they’re doing.

It’s not about looking “impressive” it’s about growing an audience; a real one. So It’s off putting that they advertise to having a following of real people when it’s fake bots.

[uxreview]

Exactly…The point is to get REAL people. I’d rather a low number or potential customers/fans than a high number of bots. I used a service for Youtube views which were not organic. If was fake numbers & likes.

For instance, 3,000 views with x amount of likes 0 dislikes and no comments. There’s no way that’s real. Another one I tried, different user, was for soundcloud the repoost were from “users” with no followers, the comments were templates and many said the same thing, & they did like 15,000 in a day. Come on…why advertise a service as “organic growth,” or “real people” when they know for fact that’s not what they’re doing.

It’s not about looking “impressive” it’s about growing an audience; a real one. So It’s off putting that they advertise to having a following of real people when it’s fake bots.

I would recommend hiring a marketing consultant who takes the time to learn about your business, outlines achievable goals and puts together a proper strategy. Buying traffic was a bad idea to begin with.

[eoinfinnegan]

Marketing, promoting, getting traffic, followers etc.
None of these things are easy and cannot be realistically achieved through a couple of gigs.
Imagine going to comicon looking for clients. With all the professional, attractive, well planned exhibitors, you run into the middle and start shouting that you are the best. You will get a few confused looks as people walk past you but you won’t get any clients/sales.
That’s what your current marketing is doing, if even that.

If you want to be successful with marketing you have to spend either a lot of money or a lot of time or a combination. You need to be focused on who your audience is and what you offer them. Trying to fake it JUST WONT WORK. I see it every week, people coming to me saying “but I spent $xxx on …” but when I ask them why they did that specific thing, they have no real idea. It seemed like a good idea is the general thing they say.

Let’s do a quick consult here as it might help others.
You are talking about a brand that you have. What is that brand aiming to be known for?
Who is your ideal client? Remember, when describing an ideal client, you need to almost picture someone in your mind, not say something like “everyone”.

[ckmarion]

Marketing, promoting, getting traffic, followers etc.

None of these things are easy and cannot be realistically achieved through a couple of gigs.

Imagine going to comicon looking for clients. With all the professional, attractive, well planned exhibitors, you run into the middle and start shouting that you are the best. You will get a few confused looks as people walk past you but you won’t get any clients/sales.

That’s what your current marketing is doing, if even that.

If you want to be successful with marketing you have to spend either a lot of money or a lot of time or a combination. You need to be focused on who your audience is and what you offer them. Trying to fake it JUST WONT WORK. I see it every week, people coming to me saying “but I spent $xxx on …” but when I ask them why they did that specific thing, they have no real idea. It seemed like a good idea is the general thing they say.

Let’s do a quick consult here as it might help others.

You are talking about a brand that you have. What is that brand aiming to be known for?

Who is your ideal client? Remember, when describing an ideal client, you need to almost picture someone in your mind, not say something like “everyone”.

I am an artist. My following, fans, demographic, connections, etc… are on a slow steady growth & with certain sites like Instagram, Soundcloud, & Reverbnation I have hired a company to market it for me. As I already wear a ton of hats. And ever just hiring a team for those 3 sites were expensive. I simply can not hire a team to manage every single social media site I have, because as an Artist -still having to work & pay bills- I simple don’t have the financial resources to spend $1500-$2000 a month on hiring a team. If artist could afford that then there would be WAY better music out on large platforms. Point is, when there’s a release it’s on Spotify, itunes, Amazon, Youtube, Soundcloud, and various outlets. Some of the sites you’re more popular on than others; thus, sometimes it’s good to have a gig that gives it a little push. As much as we say you can’t “fake it til you make it” people/audiences are more prone to click that link when they see it has higher views and/or engagement. That does not mean I want a ton of views from bots for looks. It means if someone advertises a gig as sharing content with their audience of real people then I expect lower views but real engagement. Not what I’ve experienced thus far on the site.

[eoinfinnegan]

I am an artist. My following, fans, demographic, connections, etc… are on a slow steady growth & with certain sites like Instagram, Soundcloud, & Reverbnation I have hired a company to market it for me. As I already wear a ton of hats. And ever just hiring a team for those 3 sites were expensive. I simply can not hire a team to manage every single social media site I have, because as an Artist -still having to work & pay bills- I simple don’t have the financial resources to spend $1500-$2000 a month on hiring a team. If artist could afford that then there would be WAY better music out on large platforms. Point is, when there’s a release it’s on Spotify, itunes, Amazon, Youtube, Soundcloud, and various outlets. Some of the sites you’re more popular on than others; thus, sometimes it’s good to have a gig that gives it a little push. As much as we say you can’t “fake it til you make it” people/audiences are more prone to click that link when they see it has higher views and/or engagement. That does not mean I want a ton of views from bots for looks. It means if someone advertises a gig as sharing content with their audience of real people then I expect lower views but real engagement. Not what I’ve experienced thus far on the site.

Ok, good start. Now I know a little about you and what you have been doing.

However, I know nothing about your “clients”. I know artists don’t like to think about their following as clients but the bottom line is that is what they are, or at least they act, think, choose, love and hate you in a similar way to how a client thinks of a brand or company.

Let’s take xxxtentacion (RIP) as an example.

This is a guy who went viral suddenly after one song he put on Soundcloud really connected with some people. People connected with it because of how it made them feel, they identified with it and so they identified with him. Right now there are people out there crying because of his death yesterday. That is how much they connected with him, his music and what he represented.

These people would generally be young - 12-25, mainly male, into hip-hop that has a bit more meaning to it. His “target audience” was people like my son.

• Now, who is it that would connect in a similar way with what you do?
• Who would appreciate it?

Regarding the marketing people you have hired.

• What do they do to promote your work?
• How much do they do?
• How often do you connect with them to update them on where you are at?

[ckmarion]

Ok, good start. Now I know a little about you and what you have been doing.

However, I know nothing about your “clients”. I know artists don’t like to think about their following as clients but the bottom line is that is what they are, or at least they act, think, choose, love and hate you in a similar way to how a client thinks of a brand or company.

Let’s take xxxtentacion (RIP) as an example.

This is a guy who went viral suddenly after one song he put on Soundcloud really connected with some people. People connected with it because of how it made them feel, they identified with it and so they identified with him. Right now there are people out there crying because of his death yesterday. That is how much they connected with him, his music and what he represented.

These people would generally be young - 12-25, mainly male, into hip-hop that has a bit more meaning to it. His “target audience” was people like my son.

• Now, who is it that would connect in a similar way with what you do?
• Who would appreciate it?

Regarding the marketing people you have hired.

• What do they do to promote your work?
• How much do they do?
• How often do you connect with them to update them on where you are at?

I appreciate your words, truly helpful. I’d say my demographic is the same 12-25 mostly male but some female. I know it’s not 30’s or beyond because I’ve done testing and older white people are not fans of my music lol. Well they are but when I make rock or pop music not the Hip Hop.

The marketing people engage with other users on the site, but it’s up to be to continue a connection with them through content and communication.