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Elite TrueTrak Technology
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What is Elite TrueTrak Technology? |
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Elite TrueTrak Technology is a unique and complex algorithm that decides where Elite
Sites rank in the search results. TrueTrak Technology uses the Elite
Site Seal to measure each Elite Site based on the number of unique visitors
it receives. In short, this means the most popular sites appear at the top of the
search results, making it easier for you to find the best sites on the web.
There are several other considerations that go into making TrueTrak technology the
most reliable measure of the best sites on the web. If you’re a regular Internet
user, you really don’t need to worry about these. However, if you’re a tech-savvy
user, bound by incessant curiosity, read on to learn about the nitty-gritty of it
all.
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Exactly how does Elite TrueTrak Technology work? |
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TrueTrak Technology incorporates several measures into a complicated algorithm.
This real-time calculation determines a site’s relevancy
and total Elite Points, then ranks it accordingly. Here is the gist of how it all
breaks down:
- When a website is selected and approved as an Elite Site, it earns the right to
display the Elite Site Seal. The Seal has a dual purpose:
1. It acts as a symbol of quality and trust, so users know this site has been selected,
reviewed and approved through rigorous
criteria by a real person in the Elite Answers Team.
2. It acts as a tracker, keeping score of each unique visitor the site receives.
This data is kept strictly confidential and is made
available only to the owners of that site.
- Elite Sites that display the Seal receive 1 point per unique visitor to the site.
- Elite Sites that display the Seal also receive 50 bonus points each week for simply
displaying the Seal.
- Elite Sites that choose not to display the seal are ineligible to receive points
based on visitors or Seal display, but can still earn points in
several different ways.
- Each site is subtracted 1 point every time a unique user clicks on its listing from
the Elite Answers Search Results. However, as the site receives 1 point per unique
visitor, this calculation balances out to zero. This way, we really measure the
sites that are most well-liked by users, as opposed to the sites that always appear
first in search results and are therefore clicked most often.
- Elite Points are tracked on a monthly basis. At the end of each month, TrueTrak
Technology calculates a net balance for each site. This calculation equals the amount
of points a site earned that month, minus the amount of points it spent on
Elite Enhancements.
- Unused Elite Points expire after one year based on a monthly calculation. Basically,
if a site earns 1,000 points in June 2006 and uses 600 of them, the site has 400
unused points for that month. These 400 points remain in the site’s account for
one full year. In June 2007, the 400 points expire and are therefore subtracted
from that account. This ensures new Elite Sites have a fair chance of catching up
to older sites in terms of visitor-based and Seal-based points. Otherwise, veteran
Elite Sites would accumulate points and always guarantee their spot at the top,
undermining newer Elite Sites, which may be more popular and more relevant at that
time.
- Elite Sites can also purchase points and/or earn them in exclusive games available
to all Elite Site owners in Elite Answers’s
Webmaster Central.
- When a user conducts a search on Elite Answers, the search engine returns all matching
Elite Sites, as well as a compilation of matching sites from 8 of the web’s top
search engines. Elite TrueTrak Technology only applies to Elite Sites. TrueTrak
gathers the most relevant Elite Sites, then measures them and organizes the results
based on how many points each site has at that precise moment.
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What does ‘real-time’ calculation mean? |
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When Elite TrueTrak Technology calculates the points of an Elite Site, it considers
the exact amount of points the site has at that precise moment in time. That means
if the site has had 5 new visitors in the last 30 seconds, the 5 Elite Points the
site earned for those visitors are already taken into account when a user conducts
a search. We do this to ensure that you always get the most accurate and relevant
search results.
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How does an Elite Site earn Elite Points? |
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- Unique Site Visitors: Elite Sites that display the Elite Site Seal receive
1 point per unique visitor to the site.
- Display the Seal: All Elite Sites get 50 bonus points per week for simply
displaying the Elite Site Seal and showing their users they are Elite.
- Purchase Points: Elite Sites can purchase Elite Points in blocks. To visit
the Webmaster Central demo and learn more about this,
click here.
- Win Points: At Elite Answers, we believe there’s always room for some good
old-fashioned fun. Elite Site owners can win points by playing exclusive online
games like Webmaster Wager, Elite Dice and Elite Lotto. These games are available
to all Elite Sites in the Playground section of Elite Answers Webmaster Central.
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What are Elite Enhancements? |
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Elite Enhancements are exclusive search listing features available to all Elite
Sites. Site owners can use their Elite Points to jazz up their search engine listings
in several ways, including changing the listing color, adding their logo to the
listing, adding site links to the listing and much more. For a full list of Elite
Enhancements, visit the Webmaster Central demo
Points Studio.
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What is the Elite Site Seal? |
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The Elite Site Seal is a mark of prestige. It is awarded only to sites that excel
in Elite Answers’s rigorous evaluation process, on the basis of content, design,
navigation and utility. All sites that display the Elite Site Seal are hand-picked
Elite Sites and are members of the exclusive Elite Answers Search Directory. |
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The Elite Site Seal is also the core of Elite TrueTrak Technology. The Seal enables
Elite Answers to track a site’s real-time visitor statistics, which are kept strictly
confidential and made available exclusively to the owner of that site.
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How do I find out how many Elite Points a site has? |
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Unfortunately, general users cannot see how many points an Elite Site has. Elite
Answers takes the privacy of its users very seriously, so we keep site statistics
like Elite Points strictly confidential. Elite Site owners have exclusive access
to comprehensive statistics on their sites, including visitor tracking, search performance
and more. If you are an Elite Site owner and wish to access this information, login
to Webmaster Central at http://directory.eliteanswers.com
and click on the Statistics tab.
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How can my site become an Elite Site? |
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Applying to be Elite is quick and easy. To get started, click here.
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