Look how old this is! I post at SearchCommander.com now, and this post was published 16 years 11 months 11 days ago. This industry changes FAST, so blindly following the advice here *may not* be a good idea! If you're at all unsure, feel free to hit me up on Twitter and ask.
Someone e-mailed me today, asking me what Stompernet really is, besides another Seo forum and a lot of hype about making millions. Since I had a post half completed that I started two months ago, I figured I would answer here…
Stomper Educational DVD’s
Within a week of joining I received a monster 16 DVD set, called “Stomping The Search Engines” that I had heard of before. It was made by Andy Jenkins and Brad Fallon, and released in January of 2006.
I think it originally sold for $2000, and it was designed to teach nearly everything from the ground up. I confess to seeing only the advanced ones in my areas of interest, and they were very detailed. A beginner could learn everything needed to work for tomorrow from these DVDs.
Conference DVD’s Sent Quarterly
As a member of Stompernet you are entitled to attend their quarterly conferences at no charge. I missed the first one in December and also the one this past February, but I got over a dozen DVDs of each session right after each the conferences. I’ve watched every one of those, and 80% of the speakers have been riveting.
There have been experts ranginf from usability and behavior, like Kara Perniece Coyne, from the Nielson Norman Group, to others like the Brandleys, a father & son team explaining their content and links exchange strategy for uh, more… aggressive internet marketers.
The production quality of the last set wasn’t great, but If I got DVDs like this for every session at Webmaster world or the upcoming SMX show I would be ecstatic amd amazed. I get a new set every quarter.
The Forums
Poking around inside the Stomper portal, it’s organized into several sections, not the least of which is forums. The nice thing about these forums is that you can trust the answers are accurate and usually plentiful, with faculty and moderators commenting.
Admittedly, the forums have grown noisier and more crowded than I would like, but the knowledge there is unsurpassed.
I subscribe to the Stomper WordPress forum, the Joomla forum, and 8 to 10 others that are on specific topics that I really need to stay on top of, and follow threads by email (RSS would be nice).
There are technical forums on site building, competition research, niches, keyword research, graphics, audio, video, ecommerce platforms etc. that I rarely go in unless I’m looking for something specific.
The also have some big picture forums too, like outsourcing, business strategies, business growth and services etc. that I wish I could spend more time in.
A recent forum post got me the solution to an annoying .htaccess problem, and in another, the Joomla forum pointed me to the right line of code, in the right file that was giving my developer grief. Those two answers alone were worth a mint to me at the time.
Stomper Library
There is a GIANT library that includes all of the teaching .pdf’s, audio and video material that the individual faculty (over 15 members now) have created about their own specialties.
For example, Dan Theis, (founder of SeoResearchlabs.com) has his session link building weekly clinic online,and has 20+ videos on Adwords, from basic fundamentals to split A/B testing using Google analytics. This way beyond anything else out there.
They have over a dozen comparable experts like Dan, and while not all members have full libraries, they are all adding to them fairly regularly.
Conference Calls
There are twice weekly conference calls you can download, and you can listen live t ocurrent ones. Not all the presenters will interact with the callers, but many do as they answer member questions.
Before each call they post enough in the forum, and you just write your question. Have an algorithm question that you need answered by Leslie Rhodes? Do you have wordpress issues that Sherman Hu’ didn’t provide in his 20+ videos? Affiliate or business strategy questions for Jerry West? it’s pretty neat to hear them answer you personally, and it’s a far cry from reading Webmaster world theories.
The main reason I joined was because I needed direct access to my own experts. The fact that there are specific instructions for all stages of learning beanie aspect of search is just a bonus.
What sucks about Stomper?
The fact that the world doesn’t seem to revolve around me, even though I pay that larger monthly fee. The faculty members do not immediately read and answer everything I say, and implement all of my suggestions for improvement immediately… (but then again, neither does my wife)
Sometimes questions can go unanswered unless you’re persistent, but too much persistence can draw fire, just like any forum. I actually got a personal phone call from Andy Jenkins after one of my rants. (Their search feature was non functional for too long IMO)
Overall, I’m thrilled with the value, and I only regret not having more time to spend there. I’ve called myself a search expert for quite a while now, but I feel like I’m getting my master’s degree from Stomper.
Try out the Stompernet Membership and devote the next 90 days to the best search education you can get, or, check out the 1$ trial offer for Stomper Simple.
