Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Bill Platt
I have been providing advertising services to online businesses since 2000. I have helped many people become successful online through the use of my services.
Too often, I only hear from people on the phone after they have lost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to launch their new online business ventures. They call me when they have just a few dollars left. I sometimes wish people would have found me first, so that I could have helped them find real success, instead of heartache.
Beware Of The Charlatans
Before you consider spending any large chunk of cash, please be aware of those who are preying upon the Internet newcomers.
I know companies selling cookie-cutter websites for tens of thousands of dollars, and those cookie-cutter websites have never helped anyone achieve any kind of success online.
If you are buying a website that is selling products available on thousands of websites, it will be extremely difficult for you to stand out among the crowd.
I know that these cookie-cutter sites are attractive, because they have the products, the shopping cart, and the fulfillment systems built in, but you are still one of thousands of sites displaying the exact same kind of products for the exact same prices. You are only one in a huge wilderness of sites that might look different, but are exactly the same under the hood.
In these cases, the only website owner who profits is the guy who is selling the cookie-cutter website and handling the product fulfillment for the customers.
The guy selling the site wins in three ways: 1. Selling the cookie-cutter website for 10 grand; 2. Filling the product orders and collecting his wholesale fees; and 3. He gets to capture the email and mailing addresses of people who buy products from the cookie-cutter sites.
Beware Of The Cost Cutters
If you are selling any kind of hard-product (a product that must be shipped to the customer), be aware of the price comparison websites, such as http://Nextag.com/ where consumers can find the product they want to buy, then compare prices on that particular product across hundreds of websites.
You might be the one providing the best information about the product, only to ensure that your lowest price competitor gets the sale.
It is tough selling hard products online for this very reason, unless you are an exclusive distributor of such a product or no other companies have shown an interest in selling that kind of product.
Beware Of Import/Export
Before diving off into buying products from China to resell in the United States, you need to be aware of the laws governing the importation of certain product types.
There are certain products that the Chinese Wholesale sites would be happy to sell to you. And at the same time, the U.S. Customs Office would be happy to seize those products at the border, due to import restrictions.
If the U.S. Customs seizes your shipment, your investment may be lost forever.
You should know what you can import and what you can export. Know the facts, before spending your money arranging large product shipments into the United States. http://Customs.gov/ is a good place to start to learn about importing products into the U.S.
Beware Of Bad Business Advice
If you have ever heard that online business is different than offline business, please take some time to understand what that actually means.
Primarily, it means that I do not have to have an office on Main Street USA in order to do business online. I can run my business out of my house, if I so desire.
Beyond that difference, both methods of doing business are exactly the same.
The rules that govern the profitability of a business are exactly the same.
You must earn more than you spend to make a profit, and what you pay yourself is an expense.
Beware of Those Who Are In The Business Of Selling Lies
There are tons of people online who prey on people like you.
The one that immediately comes to mind is the Internet Marketing guru who says that you can hire ghost writers for $5 an article, and that is all you should need to spend.
I provide ghost writing services, and I cannot get good content for anywhere near $5 per article.
What you usually get for $5 is stolen from someone else, or it looks like it was written by a second grader.
The thing that is so ironic about that claim is that the gurus saying that you should only pay $5 for an article are usually paying $250 to $500 to have their articles written. And they would never tell you WHO writes their articles, because finding and keeping good help is tough, even online.
I can get decent articles written for you, for well under $250, in fact, for under $100 and sometimes for under $50, depending on if I am doing the writing or my writers are doing the writing.
It is important for you to understand that awesome writers can typically earn you an awesome Return On Investment (ROI).
When you find those awesome writers, you need to pay them what they require to keep them on your payroll, and you certainly do not want to share their name with another, in the off-chance that they decide that they would prefer to work for the other guy instead of you.
It is just bizarre to me that the big Internet Marketing gurus are telling you that you should never pay more than $5 an article, when I know for a fact that many of them are paying $250 to $500 an article to have their own stuff written.
You know what this actually boils down to?
Those gurus are not telling you what you need to know. They are telling you what you want to know.
Shame on them.
Just Be Careful Out There
The Internet is full of fraudsters looking to get your money and steal your your dreams.
So be careful not to become a victim of the Internet Marketing dream.
Many of my customers have taken the time to learn how to be successful, and they are. I have several clients who earn 7-figures a year from their online marketing endeavors.
If you learn the necessary work processes that you will need to do, offer a product or service people actually want or need, and you follow through with good advertising and customer service, you can be successful too.
Unfortunately, most people will blow their bankroll, before they figure out what it was that they were doing wrong. And then it is too late, because they no longer have the resources to make anything happen.
About the Author:
Bill Platt has been providing article marketing services since 2001, including article ghost writing and article distribution services, through his website at: http://thePhantomWriters.com/ You can download Bill's free ebook titled, "Article Marketing: Beyond the Basics" on his blog. You can also listen to Article Marketing Tips and Tutorials at: http://ArticleMarketingConceptsRadio.com/
Follow Bill Platt on Twitter.
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I will seek to answer those questions here, as well as to provide a Day Planner to enable the new online entrepreneur to navigate the maze of building a successful online business. When I find great advice by other writers, I will include that information as well. --- Clinton Douglas IV, Founder of Vasrue.com |
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Sincerity: the 'Secret Sauce' for Effective Marketing
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Judy Murdoch
A couple years ago, I was talking with someone who was, for me, a very challenging client. I'm all about cultivating relationships that result in opportunities to sell.
This particular client seemed allergic to cultivating relationships for reasons I never really understood.
I remember one such meeting, I was trying to explain to my client the wisdom of first creating trust and credibility before trying to get a sale. And my client was blocking me at every turn with reasons why relationship development would not work for their business.
It was maddening.
Finally, I cried with exasperation, "Well, why the heck do you want to keep working with me since my approach doesn't work for you?"
"Because you're sincere," the client replied.
"Who cares" I thought to myself since it didn't seem to be to helping my client grow their business.
Since that time I've changed me mind about the quality of sincerity. I think it's impossible to have sustainably effective marketing without sincerity.
===============================
The Importance of Being Sincere
===============================
The word, "sincere" is derived from the Latin word, "sincerus," meaning whole, pure, genuine.
When you think about today's business climate, sincerity isn't a quality that comes to mind. But it's a quality human beings need to perceive to be willing and able to buy.
==============================================
The Place of Sincerity in Your Marketing
==============================================
First, it's important to remember the real role of marketing in your business.
Marketing is NOT about making a sale. Marketing is about creating a relationship based in trust and safety so that a sale can occur.
Regardless of public sentiment towards business, people and companies still have problems that need to be solved and stuff that has to get done. Your prospective customers still need to buy stuff.
They want to be able to trust you because they need to buy what you sell.
The marketing you do is all about establishing visibility and credibility so that there's enough trust for the purchase to happen.
For example, if you regularly keep in touch with prospects via an ezine, you're not doing it to "bug" your customers. You're sending out that ezine because:
You can remind them that "Hey, I help people just like you solve these kinds of problems."
You can offer examples and helpful information about the kind of problems you solve ("Here's an example of how I helped a customer")
Or you provide helpful information for your prospects to better understand what they need to do to improve their situation.
Once prospective customers feel accepted for where they're at and trust you can actually help, they can then take the next step.
==============================================
It's About Sustainable, Effective Marketing
==============================================
Now there are also some relatively good-hearted entrepreneurs out there who use hard-sell tactics in their marketing. You subscribe to their ezine and get barraged with multiple emails every day telling you about some amazing program you "just gotta check out."
Here's what's important: there is no rest with this kind of marketing. You must work very, very hard to generate this level of noise.
And if you're spending so much time and energy with your own marketing, it's tough to put much time or effort into where--in my opinion--we should be making the difference: helping clients and customers get results.
That, to me, is why hype-centered marketing with or without a good heart fails. If you want to market your business in a way that brings in a steady stream of ideal customers without burning yourself into a crispy critter, sincere, heart-centered marketing is the way to go.
==============================================
Keys to Developing Sincere, Effective, Sustainable Marketing
==============================================
#1. Ask yourself, "what's my highest intention for my business?"
What's the best possible outcome for you, for your business, and for your customer?
Example: the highest intention for Highly Contagious Marketing is when we help clients create marketing that grows their client base and their bottom line.
When that happens, satisfied clients send us referrals which helps Highly Contagious Marketing succeed financially and there are more successful businesses in the world making a positive difference.
#2. Look at how your intention is reflected in your marketing?
Thinking of the many different ways you market your business, how is your intention showing up?
Example: In all the activities to promote Highly Contagious Marketing, I want to:
(1.) Provide information, a how-to, or a resource that gives the person who gets the marketing a little added value
(2.) Provide an offer and a clear call to action for anyone wanting to take the next step and get more help from us.
#3. Ask what one change can you make to your marketing to express your sincere desire to serve customers and make a difference?
Some specific actions you can take to show more sincerity in your marketing include:
(1.) Make your marketing message truly focused on your customer and their current problem. The first half of your message should be about your customer and their situation. If you're talking about yourself--your solutions and qualifications, your marketing is not focused on the customer.
(2.) Look for ways to leave anyone who encounters your marketing a little better off than they were before the encounter. Marketing that informs, coaches, inspires, even entertains all leave recipients a little better off.
(3.) Make sure your marketing reflects your values and if not, make changes. If you loathe hype in other marketing but use hype because "that's what everyone says I have to do," stop using hype. Create marketing that gets results without making you feel like you sold your soul.
==============================================
Bottom Line
==============================================
Remember, marketing is all about cultivating trust-based relationships so prospects can buy. And sincerity is a critical factor which enables trust to grow.
Can you market your products and services without sincerity? Sure. But you will have to work a lot harder to sustain sales because you won't be creating the quality relationships that give your marketing real momentum.
To create marketing in which sincerity shines through, take some time to remember what your business is in service for and take action so that your marketing better reflects what matters to you.
About the Author:
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com
Follow Judy Murdoch on Twitter.
Copyright © 2009 Judy Murdoch
A couple years ago, I was talking with someone who was, for me, a very challenging client. I'm all about cultivating relationships that result in opportunities to sell.
This particular client seemed allergic to cultivating relationships for reasons I never really understood.
I remember one such meeting, I was trying to explain to my client the wisdom of first creating trust and credibility before trying to get a sale. And my client was blocking me at every turn with reasons why relationship development would not work for their business.
It was maddening.
Finally, I cried with exasperation, "Well, why the heck do you want to keep working with me since my approach doesn't work for you?"
"Because you're sincere," the client replied.
"Who cares" I thought to myself since it didn't seem to be to helping my client grow their business.
Since that time I've changed me mind about the quality of sincerity. I think it's impossible to have sustainably effective marketing without sincerity.
===============================
The Importance of Being Sincere
===============================
The word, "sincere" is derived from the Latin word, "sincerus," meaning whole, pure, genuine.
When you think about today's business climate, sincerity isn't a quality that comes to mind. But it's a quality human beings need to perceive to be willing and able to buy.
==============================================
The Place of Sincerity in Your Marketing
==============================================
First, it's important to remember the real role of marketing in your business.
Marketing is NOT about making a sale. Marketing is about creating a relationship based in trust and safety so that a sale can occur.
Regardless of public sentiment towards business, people and companies still have problems that need to be solved and stuff that has to get done. Your prospective customers still need to buy stuff.
They want to be able to trust you because they need to buy what you sell.
The marketing you do is all about establishing visibility and credibility so that there's enough trust for the purchase to happen.
For example, if you regularly keep in touch with prospects via an ezine, you're not doing it to "bug" your customers. You're sending out that ezine because:
Once prospective customers feel accepted for where they're at and trust you can actually help, they can then take the next step.
==============================================
It's About Sustainable, Effective Marketing
==============================================
Now there are also some relatively good-hearted entrepreneurs out there who use hard-sell tactics in their marketing. You subscribe to their ezine and get barraged with multiple emails every day telling you about some amazing program you "just gotta check out."
Here's what's important: there is no rest with this kind of marketing. You must work very, very hard to generate this level of noise.
And if you're spending so much time and energy with your own marketing, it's tough to put much time or effort into where--in my opinion--we should be making the difference: helping clients and customers get results.
That, to me, is why hype-centered marketing with or without a good heart fails. If you want to market your business in a way that brings in a steady stream of ideal customers without burning yourself into a crispy critter, sincere, heart-centered marketing is the way to go.
==============================================
Keys to Developing Sincere, Effective, Sustainable Marketing
==============================================
#1. Ask yourself, "what's my highest intention for my business?"
What's the best possible outcome for you, for your business, and for your customer?
Example: the highest intention for Highly Contagious Marketing is when we help clients create marketing that grows their client base and their bottom line.
When that happens, satisfied clients send us referrals which helps Highly Contagious Marketing succeed financially and there are more successful businesses in the world making a positive difference.
#2. Look at how your intention is reflected in your marketing?
Thinking of the many different ways you market your business, how is your intention showing up?
Example: In all the activities to promote Highly Contagious Marketing, I want to:
(1.) Provide information, a how-to, or a resource that gives the person who gets the marketing a little added value
(2.) Provide an offer and a clear call to action for anyone wanting to take the next step and get more help from us.
#3. Ask what one change can you make to your marketing to express your sincere desire to serve customers and make a difference?
Some specific actions you can take to show more sincerity in your marketing include:
(1.) Make your marketing message truly focused on your customer and their current problem. The first half of your message should be about your customer and their situation. If you're talking about yourself--your solutions and qualifications, your marketing is not focused on the customer.
(2.) Look for ways to leave anyone who encounters your marketing a little better off than they were before the encounter. Marketing that informs, coaches, inspires, even entertains all leave recipients a little better off.
(3.) Make sure your marketing reflects your values and if not, make changes. If you loathe hype in other marketing but use hype because "that's what everyone says I have to do," stop using hype. Create marketing that gets results without making you feel like you sold your soul.
==============================================
Bottom Line
==============================================
Remember, marketing is all about cultivating trust-based relationships so prospects can buy. And sincerity is a critical factor which enables trust to grow.
Can you market your products and services without sincerity? Sure. But you will have to work a lot harder to sustain sales because you won't be creating the quality relationships that give your marketing real momentum.
To create marketing in which sincerity shines through, take some time to remember what your business is in service for and take action so that your marketing better reflects what matters to you.
About the Author:
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com
Follow Judy Murdoch on Twitter.
Monday, November 9, 2009
3 Key Points in Online Marketing to Avoid Tanking Your Results
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Paul Marshall
With all the changes in Google AdWords and the increased competition these days, organic SEO looks more and more attractive to most of us.
The key is for your website optimization to out-perform your competition, without over spending with an online marketing consultant (or without taking up too much of your time if you're going the do-it-yourself route).
Remember, affordable Search Engine Optimization is about increasing quality traffic, thenconverting that traffic to a sale or a sales lead.
If you miss these points I describe below, your SEO goals of increased conversions will tank, even if you have a Number 1 Google Ranking.
I often notice these missed areas when I'm Coaching a business owner about their Web site and their need to increase sales and sales leads.
So, here are 3 points for you to review that I hope will help your SEO goals of increased conversions.
What's Above the Fold Counts Most, so Consider Monitor Resolutions
Living in the world of TV remote controls and browser back buttons, we have to capture our website visitors' attention ASAP. Our visitors aren't going to give us much time before making a decision to stay or to leave our website.
As much as this subject is discussed these days, it's amazing the number of sites I review that have critical information missing from "above the fold", in that area visible before your visitors scroll down.
This is the area to briefly summarize what people can do on your site and make your best case for your guests staying on your website and not clicking away. This may also be the area to place your contact information.
Keep in mind that what's above the fold on your monitor will likely be different from what's above the fold on the monitor for someone visiting your website. Browser resolution is set differently for various computers.
For instance, on my website, I know the top resolution of my visitors is 1280 by 1024 (53%) and the second most popular resolution is 1024 by 768 (37%). I get this information from my site's analytics script, although not all analytics programs provide this critical information.
Since I make sure my site looks great for these 90% of my visitors and make sure I communicate reasons to stay on my site above the fold (my value proposition), I draw more people into my site, encouraging them to scroll down.
Remember to cross test your site with recent versions of the most popular Web browsers: Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and maybe even Google's new Chrome.
These steps raise my conversion rate and they will raise yours, too. And increasing traffic and conversions is the whole point of affordable search engine optimization, whether using an online marketing consultant or d-i-y, right?
So, don't miss this important step.
Carefully Select Your Type Size and Font and Remember that White Space is Your Friend
I'm astounded by the improper text choices made by so many website owners today. Is there really any good reason to make people squint at your website, struggling to get the information they need?
Consider reviewing The Easy to Read Standard at Information Architects (you can Google it). I would encourage you to review the size of your text, the white space between your letters and words and between your paragraphs and headings.
Designers often believe whitespace is your enemy; if you want people to understand your message and stay on your website, whitespace is in fact your friend. :-)
Also consider that fonts with serifs are easier to read than fonts without serifs.
If you want to successfully convey your message to as many of your site visitors as possible, then make it as easy for them as you can. When we're talking about increasing conversions, it's all about the numbers and appealing to the largest number of people possible.
Use Opt-in Email or Blog Postings to Maximize Your Sales
All website owners would like for people to buy from their website the first time they visit. But is that realistic?
Consider these statics from the National Sales Executive Association:
2% of sales are made on the 1st contact; 3% of sales are made on the 2nd contact; 5% of sales are made on the 3rd contact; 10% of sales are made on the 4th contact (and) 80% of sales are made on the 5th - 12th contact.
For most businesses, if you don't offer an opt-in contact, like a regular email newsletter or blog postings, you're missing out on most of your potential sales!
When setting up an opt-in Internet marketing campaign, you should offer incentives to subscribe. To entice people to opt-in, you can offer:
special pricing for email list members a first look at new products ability for customer to select subjects and emails they receive (controlling the frequency of contact by choosing which of your lists to be on) promise not to share email or other personal info with other companies
Using opt-in contact allows you to significantly increase conversions by introducing yourself over time to your potential customers, in a soft-sell manner.
Website optimization is important; the goal is increased Internet traffic, sales and sales leads. But whether you've hired an online marketing consultant or you're doing the process yourself, Affordable search engine optimization by itself doesn't accomplish those last points of increased sales and sales leads.
You've got to remember to design your website to alleviate visitors natural apprehensions and make buying from you as easy as possible.
Properly mapping out the above the fold area of your Web pages, using appropriate size text, using adequate whitespace and offering an opt-in process to nurture your buyers will all help you accomplish the real goals you have with SEO and website optimization: increased sales and more sales leads.
About the Author:
Marketing online since 2004, Paul Marshall can help you market on a budget. He's an Online Marketing Consultant and an Affordable Search Engine Optimization specialist offering marketing services (and d-i-y Coaching). You can learn more about Paul on his LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/paulmarshallwebmarketing and at Strategic Web Marketing.net.
Read more of Paul Marshall's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Paul Marshall
With all the changes in Google AdWords and the increased competition these days, organic SEO looks more and more attractive to most of us.
The key is for your website optimization to out-perform your competition, without over spending with an online marketing consultant (or without taking up too much of your time if you're going the do-it-yourself route).
Remember, affordable Search Engine Optimization is about increasing quality traffic, then
If you miss these points I describe below, your SEO goals of increased conversions will tank, even if you have a Number 1 Google Ranking.
I often notice these missed areas when I'm Coaching a business owner about their Web site and their need to increase sales and sales leads.
So, here are 3 points for you to review that I hope will help your SEO goals of increased conversions.
What's Above the Fold Counts Most, so Consider Monitor Resolutions
Living in the world of TV remote controls and browser back buttons, we have to capture our website visitors' attention ASAP. Our visitors aren't going to give us much time before making a decision to stay or to leave our website.
As much as this subject is discussed these days, it's amazing the number of sites I review that have critical information missing from "above the fold", in that area visible before your visitors scroll down.
This is the area to briefly summarize what people can do on your site and make your best case for your guests staying on your website and not clicking away. This may also be the area to place your contact information.
Keep in mind that what's above the fold on your monitor will likely be different from what's above the fold on the monitor for someone visiting your website. Browser resolution is set differently for various computers.
For instance, on my website, I know the top resolution of my visitors is 1280 by 1024 (53%) and the second most popular resolution is 1024 by 768 (37%). I get this information from my site's analytics script, although not all analytics programs provide this critical information.
Since I make sure my site looks great for these 90% of my visitors and make sure I communicate reasons to stay on my site above the fold (my value proposition), I draw more people into my site, encouraging them to scroll down.
Remember to cross test your site with recent versions of the most popular Web browsers: Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and maybe even Google's new Chrome.
These steps raise my conversion rate and they will raise yours, too. And increasing traffic and conversions is the whole point of affordable search engine optimization, whether using an online marketing consultant or d-i-y, right?
So, don't miss this important step.
Carefully Select Your Type Size and Font and Remember that White Space is Your Friend
I'm astounded by the improper text choices made by so many website owners today. Is there really any good reason to make people squint at your website, struggling to get the information they need?
Consider reviewing The Easy to Read Standard at Information Architects (you can Google it). I would encourage you to review the size of your text, the white space between your letters and words and between your paragraphs and headings.
Designers often believe whitespace is your enemy; if you want people to understand your message and stay on your website, whitespace is in fact your friend. :-)
Also consider that fonts with serifs are easier to read than fonts without serifs.
If you want to successfully convey your message to as many of your site visitors as possible, then make it as easy for them as you can. When we're talking about increasing conversions, it's all about the numbers and appealing to the largest number of people possible.
Use Opt-in Email or Blog Postings to Maximize Your Sales
All website owners would like for people to buy from their website the first time they visit. But is that realistic?
Consider these statics from the National Sales Executive Association:
For most businesses, if you don't offer an opt-in contact, like a regular email newsletter or blog postings, you're missing out on most of your potential sales!
When setting up an opt-in Internet marketing campaign, you should offer incentives to subscribe. To entice people to opt-in, you can offer:
Using opt-in contact allows you to significantly increase conversions by introducing yourself over time to your potential customers, in a soft-sell manner.
Website optimization is important; the goal is increased Internet traffic, sales and sales leads. But whether you've hired an online marketing consultant or you're doing the process yourself, Affordable search engine optimization by itself doesn't accomplish those last points of increased sales and sales leads.
You've got to remember to design your website to alleviate visitors natural apprehensions and make buying from you as easy as possible.
Properly mapping out the above the fold area of your Web pages, using appropriate size text, using adequate whitespace and offering an opt-in process to nurture your buyers will all help you accomplish the real goals you have with SEO and website optimization: increased sales and more sales leads.
About the Author:
Marketing online since 2004, Paul Marshall can help you market on a budget. He's an Online Marketing Consultant and an Affordable Search Engine Optimization specialist offering marketing services (and d-i-y Coaching). You can learn more about Paul on his LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/paulmarshallwebmarketing and at Strategic Web Marketing.net.
Read more of Paul Marshall's articles.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Social Media and SEO Myths
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Scott Bywater
I was reading this book the other day about the death of advertising.
It was a book written by a web 2.0 search engine fan and he was saying there was going to be a death of advertising and everything would be done via search engines, social media, etc. going forward.
Now that's partly true.
Things have shifted.
Twenty years ago the media was dominated by television and newspapers.
And that was the only way to get your name out there on a mass level.
And that's certainly all changed.
But I was thinking the other day about some of my larger clients.
There's an 80 / 20 rule in business that... 80% of your business comes from 20% of your clients.
Now I haven't crunched my numbers enough to know if this is absolutely true in my case, but here's what I've noticed about four of my top clients which generate a large percentage of my business.
One was generated by a referral.
And three were generated by picking up the phone or sending these guys letters / emails directly to get them on board.
And NOT because they suddenly fell across me online via search engines, blogs, social media, etc.
The message: Don't fall for all the hype.
If you know who your target market is then go after them.
Don't just rely on search.
Because with search you cannot control who you attract.
Sure, you can control via keyword.
But you cannot say I want a business who is turning over a minimum of a million dollars a year in the manufacturing industry for instance.
You can with direct mail.
Of course, you need to use the strategies you'll find in http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/cashflow to make sure you do it right and hit the nail on the head.
But once again, as with my last email you need to zig when they zag and not just follow along blindly according to what everyone else is saying and doing.
About the Author:
Scott Bywater is an advertising copywriting expert and the author of Cash-Flow Advertising. To gain access to all of his copywriting tips on how to get more customers via his eye opening "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter, simply head on over to his web site at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/
Follow @scottbywater on Twitter.
Copyright © 2009 Scott Bywater
I was reading this book the other day about the death of advertising.
It was a book written by a web 2.0 search engine fan and he was saying there was going to be a death of advertising and everything would be done via search engines, social media, etc. going forward.
Now that's partly true.
Things have shifted.
Twenty years ago the media was dominated by television and newspapers.
And that was the only way to get your name out there on a mass level.
And that's certainly all changed.
But I was thinking the other day about some of my larger clients.
There's an 80 / 20 rule in business that... 80% of your business comes from 20% of your clients.
Now I haven't crunched my numbers enough to know if this is absolutely true in my case, but here's what I've noticed about four of my top clients which generate a large percentage of my business.
One was generated by a referral.
And three were generated by picking up the phone or sending these guys letters / emails directly to get them on board.
And NOT because they suddenly fell across me online via search engines, blogs, social media, etc.
The message: Don't fall for all the hype.
If you know who your target market is then go after them.
Don't just rely on search.
Because with search you cannot control who you attract.
Sure, you can control via keyword.
But you cannot say I want a business who is turning over a minimum of a million dollars a year in the manufacturing industry for instance.
You can with direct mail.
Of course, you need to use the strategies you'll find in http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/cashflow to make sure you do it right and hit the nail on the head.
But once again, as with my last email you need to zig when they zag and not just follow along blindly according to what everyone else is saying and doing.
About the Author:
Scott Bywater is an advertising copywriting expert and the author of Cash-Flow Advertising. To gain access to all of his copywriting tips on how to get more customers via his eye opening "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter, simply head on over to his web site at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/
Follow @scottbywater on Twitter.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Social Media Marketing - Don’t Make These 3 Mistakes
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Enzo F. Cesario
The Cluetrain Manifesto asserts that "Markets are Conversations." The Manifesto is a document published in 1999 and 10 years later is still considered to be an outstanding treatise on the Internet phenomenon - in regards to the impact and opportunities of Internet and web technology on the modern businessman. Nowhere has this assertion been borne out more than in the complex, fascinating world of Social Media Marketing (SMM).
What is Social Media Marketing?
Any definition of SMM requires an understanding of social media networks. These are any community-oriented networks based on user-generated content. For example, YouTube's primary focus is the hosting of user-generated videos, not the promotion of the parent company's products. Social media networks include Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and many others.
SMM therefore is the use of these networks to promote and market products, services, or information to the promoter's intended audience. This could be a traditional product seeking a market, such as an author promoting a new novel. Or it could be something much bigger; the US Presidential campaign of 2008 brought Twitter into the spotlight as a way for the candidates to quickly transmit a message to their audience, keeping them updated on happenings on the trail. In the latter case, no tangible product was being promoted per se, but it was a means of marketing the candidates and their messages. Twitter exploded in popularity following the election, and remains a current topic of discussion.
The intelligent business strategy will seek to understand these opportunities, and reach out to the social media markets available, in order to directly reach their customers. SMM has as many pitfalls as opportunities, however. Several politicians have had their tweets made public, and have regretted it. Here are some easy mistakes to make and how to avoid them.
Mistake #1 - Not Having A Blog
Everyone has a blog. While this may not be true in fact, it certainly is true in perception. Free services such as Wordpress and Blogspot allow anyone with a connection to have a voice in an organized and attractive form. Twitter, Facebook, and other networks are useful, but they aren't directly under a user's control. A blog, however, is, and the savvy marketer will take advantage of that. In a blog, a user can post their thoughts, analysis, and arguments with very little restraint and go into greater detail than most social networks permit. For example, Twitter only allows posts of 140 characters, which is certainly too small for a product description or a dissection of a major political speech. However a short 'tweet' telling book fans that their favorite author has been interviewed by a blog will bring people flocking to the site where they will not only read the interview, but probably the many other articles on the site as well.
This of course means that good blogging is consistent blogging. A blog can't be neglected and only updated when big things happen - the modern attention span of Internet users is fairly short. Bloggers need to consistently post good content in order to keep drawing in their intended audience; not month by month but sometimes even day by day.
Mistake #2 - Not Branding Yourself
The web is an information explosion and getting anyone to notice a product or a company consistently is a challenge. The savvy web marketer must take advantage of the chance to brand their name with every networking opportunity. If a company has a blog and a product website, they must be connected. The blog must promote the site's main goal, and the site must refer visitors to their excellent blog content. Posts to social networking sites should refer to this 'brand' image, and keep the message consistent across them all. The successful SMM campaign will treat each element as a unified whole, and approach them systematically. Every Twitter message, every Facebook post should remind users who is posting the content, and where they can find more.
Mistake #3 - Not Being Nice
As mentioned above, "Markets are Conversations." The users on the Internet are not robots. They will respond with a pre-programmed action when a certain combination of criteria is applied. They are people with ideas who think critically, and who have become accustomed to having their say. While a marketer must take every opportunity to promote their message, this does not mean forcing it into every single conversation. Participants on social networking sites will quickly identify the more ham-fisted efforts of some marketers, and let their acquaintances know of their displeasure. A bad reputation can spread quickly on the Internet - a certain St. Louis police officer lost his job when a video of the officer abusing his authority was posted to Google.
So the proper tactic is not to view these markets as simple places to advertise, but places to converse. Simply popping onto Facebook and posting a new product to every available group is a quick way to get noticed, and disregarded as incompetent. On the other hand, a user could join several groups with discussions pertaining to the subject of their personal passions, and cultivate friendships and a reputation as a quality commentator. Then, when they refer folks to their blog, they are more likely to be taken seriously. Simple courtesy and respect for the groups can go a long way to securing a few more hits per post.
In essence, SMM requires thought, persistence, and critical thinking just as any other marketing campaign. It is not a short series of clever commercials that can be aired for several months at a time, but a means of consistently communicating, day in and day out, with a target audience. Good SMM must provide constant, consistent content for its target markets and be prepared to participate in a lot of give-and-take with an audience uniquely suited to making their voices heard.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is a Copywriter and co-founder of Brandsplat. Brandcasting uses informative content and state-of-the-art internet distribution and optimization to build links and drive the right kind of traffic to your website. Go to http://www.Brandsplat.com/ or visit our blog at: http://www.brandsplatblog.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Enzo F. Cesario
The Cluetrain Manifesto asserts that "Markets are Conversations." The Manifesto is a document published in 1999 and 10 years later is still considered to be an outstanding treatise on the Internet phenomenon - in regards to the impact and opportunities of Internet and web technology on the modern businessman. Nowhere has this assertion been borne out more than in the complex, fascinating world of Social Media Marketing (SMM).
What is Social Media Marketing?
Any definition of SMM requires an understanding of social media networks. These are any community-oriented networks based on user-generated content. For example, YouTube's primary focus is the hosting of user-generated videos, not the promotion of the parent company's products. Social media networks include Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and many others.
SMM therefore is the use of these networks to promote and market products, services, or information to the promoter's intended audience. This could be a traditional product seeking a market, such as an author promoting a new novel. Or it could be something much bigger; the US Presidential campaign of 2008 brought Twitter into the spotlight as a way for the candidates to quickly transmit a message to their audience, keeping them updated on happenings on the trail. In the latter case, no tangible product was being promoted per se, but it was a means of marketing the candidates and their messages. Twitter exploded in popularity following the election, and remains a current topic of discussion.
The intelligent business strategy will seek to understand these opportunities, and reach out to the social media markets available, in order to directly reach their customers. SMM has as many pitfalls as opportunities, however. Several politicians have had their tweets made public, and have regretted it. Here are some easy mistakes to make and how to avoid them.
Mistake #1 - Not Having A Blog
Everyone has a blog. While this may not be true in fact, it certainly is true in perception. Free services such as Wordpress and Blogspot allow anyone with a connection to have a voice in an organized and attractive form. Twitter, Facebook, and other networks are useful, but they aren't directly under a user's control. A blog, however, is, and the savvy marketer will take advantage of that. In a blog, a user can post their thoughts, analysis, and arguments with very little restraint and go into greater detail than most social networks permit. For example, Twitter only allows posts of 140 characters, which is certainly too small for a product description or a dissection of a major political speech. However a short 'tweet' telling book fans that their favorite author has been interviewed by a blog will bring people flocking to the site where they will not only read the interview, but probably the many other articles on the site as well.
This of course means that good blogging is consistent blogging. A blog can't be neglected and only updated when big things happen - the modern attention span of Internet users is fairly short. Bloggers need to consistently post good content in order to keep drawing in their intended audience; not month by month but sometimes even day by day.
Mistake #2 - Not Branding Yourself
The web is an information explosion and getting anyone to notice a product or a company consistently is a challenge. The savvy web marketer must take advantage of the chance to brand their name with every networking opportunity. If a company has a blog and a product website, they must be connected. The blog must promote the site's main goal, and the site must refer visitors to their excellent blog content. Posts to social networking sites should refer to this 'brand' image, and keep the message consistent across them all. The successful SMM campaign will treat each element as a unified whole, and approach them systematically. Every Twitter message, every Facebook post should remind users who is posting the content, and where they can find more.
Mistake #3 - Not Being Nice
As mentioned above, "Markets are Conversations." The users on the Internet are not robots. They will respond with a pre-programmed action when a certain combination of criteria is applied. They are people with ideas who think critically, and who have become accustomed to having their say. While a marketer must take every opportunity to promote their message, this does not mean forcing it into every single conversation. Participants on social networking sites will quickly identify the more ham-fisted efforts of some marketers, and let their acquaintances know of their displeasure. A bad reputation can spread quickly on the Internet - a certain St. Louis police officer lost his job when a video of the officer abusing his authority was posted to Google.
So the proper tactic is not to view these markets as simple places to advertise, but places to converse. Simply popping onto Facebook and posting a new product to every available group is a quick way to get noticed, and disregarded as incompetent. On the other hand, a user could join several groups with discussions pertaining to the subject of their personal passions, and cultivate friendships and a reputation as a quality commentator. Then, when they refer folks to their blog, they are more likely to be taken seriously. Simple courtesy and respect for the groups can go a long way to securing a few more hits per post.
In essence, SMM requires thought, persistence, and critical thinking just as any other marketing campaign. It is not a short series of clever commercials that can be aired for several months at a time, but a means of consistently communicating, day in and day out, with a target audience. Good SMM must provide constant, consistent content for its target markets and be prepared to participate in a lot of give-and-take with an audience uniquely suited to making their voices heard.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is a Copywriter and co-founder of Brandsplat. Brandcasting uses informative content and state-of-the-art internet distribution and optimization to build links and drive the right kind of traffic to your website. Go to http://www.Brandsplat.com/ or visit our blog at: http://www.brandsplatblog.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
The Ultimate Security
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Scott Bywater
I can remember times when I didn't feel very secure.
For instance, when I was dead broke after finishing up with the hairdressing salon and didn't have enough money to eat.
Or when I looked around at the people on the street and wondered "will that be me before too long."
Or when I went away for a retreat to a little town called Kiama and didn't know if I was going to be able to afford the accomodation (because I had no money in my bank account to afford the rent - which was only $20 a night. Thankfully somebody paid me within this time and I could).
There's no feeling quite like being on the edge. And trust me, it's not the sort of feeling I would ever want again.
In fact, I don't think it could ever happen again.
Why?
Because now I know without a doubt I have the ability to produce.
And that's the only real security there is.
After all, let's face it.
Your money can disappear overnight (it's happened to thousands of people before and will happen again).
Your house can be knocked down in a heartbeat (my parents knew this only too well when they lost everything in Cyclone Tracy).
And things can change in your industry which can leave your business obsolete (think of the big train companies from a century ago)
But if you've got the ability to produce... to market... to sell...to hustle... then you don't need to worry because you know in your heart that no matter what happens... no matter what disaster hits (they do and they will again)... your security lies in the knowledge you hold in your own mind... and your ability to take action on it.
That's why you should move heaven and earth to get your hands on http://www.morecustomersmadeeasy.com/
Because knowledge (and your ability to act on it) really is THE ULTIMATE SECURITY.
About the Author:
Scott Bywater is a direct response copywriter with extensive experience in B2B and B2C writing. Mr Bywater is the author of Cash-Flow Advertising and More Customers Made Easy. You can gain access to his copywriting and marketing tips via his entertaining and eye opening "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter available at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/
Read more of Scott Bywater's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Scott Bywater
I can remember times when I didn't feel very secure.
For instance, when I was dead broke after finishing up with the hairdressing salon and didn't have enough money to eat.
Or when I looked around at the people on the street and wondered "will that be me before too long."
Or when I went away for a retreat to a little town called Kiama and didn't know if I was going to be able to afford the accomodation (because I had no money in my bank account to afford the rent - which was only $20 a night. Thankfully somebody paid me within this time and I could).
There's no feeling quite like being on the edge. And trust me, it's not the sort of feeling I would ever want again.
In fact, I don't think it could ever happen again.
Why?
Because now I know without a doubt I have the ability to produce.
And that's the only real security there is.
After all, let's face it.
Your money can disappear overnight (it's happened to thousands of people before and will happen again).
Your house can be knocked down in a heartbeat (my parents knew this only too well when they lost everything in Cyclone Tracy).
And things can change in your industry which can leave your business obsolete (think of the big train companies from a century ago)
But if you've got the ability to produce... to market... to sell...to hustle... then you don't need to worry because you know in your heart that no matter what happens... no matter what disaster hits (they do and they will again)... your security lies in the knowledge you hold in your own mind... and your ability to take action on it.
That's why you should move heaven and earth to get your hands on http://www.morecustomersmadeeasy.com/
Because knowledge (and your ability to act on it) really is THE ULTIMATE SECURITY.
About the Author:
Scott Bywater is a direct response copywriter with extensive experience in B2B and B2C writing. Mr Bywater is the author of Cash-Flow Advertising and More Customers Made Easy. You can gain access to his copywriting and marketing tips via his entertaining and eye opening "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter available at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/
Read more of Scott Bywater's articles.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Don't Destroy Your Online Marketing Results with Bad Website Design
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Paul Marshall
So, you've embarked on a search engine advertising program, maybe even SEO. Whether you're doing this on your own or using an online marketing consulting firm, there are key points to become aware of.
If you miss these, you won't increase conversions.
What good is a Number 1 organic search engine ranking or AdWords ad listing, if you don't have increased sales or if you don't generate more sales leads?
Too often, we get all focused about the Internet marketing -- the ads, the offer -- that we don't think the whole process through step-by-step and consider the experience our website visitors will be having.
If we did, we'd be thinking "big picture" and we would head off some of these potential problems before they occur.
Overcoming Your Website Visitors Anxiety
When people come to our website it's natural for them to feel anxiety. After all, look at all the cr*p on the Internet today, all the too-good-to-be-true products and services.
But when you and I offer REAL products or services, we have to overcome that concern, even if we're treating our site visitors fairly and not making outrageous claims.
So, how can you overcome these anxieties?
1. Offer more than a 1-page website. Credible companies have multi-page websites, including Privacy Policy, Terms of Use | Service and About Us pages.
They also have more than 1 page about their products or services.
I'm surprised by the number of 1-page websites I see from companies using infomercials to advertise their products. Often, they have the purchase form right on their home page, their only page (and often their page isn't secured for credit card ordering).
Websites that are only 1-page don't seem credible. And having the purchase form right on the home page comes across as very pushy!
Doesn't this type of site seem all about the company and NOT about their customers? Why would we want to buy from that type of company?
What kind of online marketing consulting firm did these companies use...or did they use any??
2. Next to any sign up or contact form buttons clearly state that you don't sell your customers' private information and link to your Privacy Policy page.
3. Effectively communicate what your Value Proposition is, also called your Unique Selling Proposition. If you don't know why someone should buy your product or service versus your competitors', now is the time to figure it out. (And by the way, based on my experience, if you don't know this, you're not alone, by any means.)
But our websites have to be about more than just us. They have to be about our visitors. What's in it for THEM, to do business with us? What unique voids in the marketplace can we fill?
As a Small Business Owner, Personally Relate to Your Site Visitors and Communicate Directly with Them
People don't buy from websites, they buy from people! So, how can you apply this to your own website?
1. For many small businesses and solo proprietorships, their website text should speak to your visitors directly in first person.
This should be written from the voice of the Owner or President. They shouldn't use third person, institutional-sounding language, getting rid of "we" and "our", using "I" instead, speaking first person, in an actual conversation. Don't try to sound like you're Microsoft!
And while your at it, be careful about overuse of words about you...whether "I", or those words, "we", "our" or "us".
Check out the WeWe calculator (Google: wewe calculator). Make sure to focus on customer-focused words and NOT on words about you or your company.
2. Include your picture on your Web pages.
For a larger small business trying to make that personal connection with their website visitors, try the idea used by the nutritional supplement company Lumina. (Google: Lumina Health Contact Us)
In this execution, notice how Lumina gets you to relate to their customer service department. I still remember it was John I spoke with and that's been over 1 year ago that I called them!
Again, people buy from other people, not from websites.
For us as small businesses, why should we sound large, pretending to be something we aren't? And why should we run from our advantage of being small: low overhead, friendly, personal service and accountability, among other advantages.
Make Each Step in Your Marketing a Smooth Handoff from One Step to Another
Whether you're using AdWords, SEO, or both, make sure your title and description matches the experience your website visitor will have when they come to your landing page.
Quite often when I'm Coaching my small business owner clients or performing online marketing consulting, I find the wording for their organic listing or AdWords ad says one thing and their landing page says something that doesn't sound the same.
This causes confusion is the best case scenario. In the worst case, it causes a lack of trust. Dangerous!
We should understand our products or services. And we know what we want our visitors to do on our site.
Our potential customers may not understand either. We need to think like them, when we explain what we have to offer them and how to use our website to take advantage of what we have to offer.
And when "shifting" from one page to another, we need to hand-off from one page to another naturally and smoothly, like a car with a smooth automatic transmission.
Don't advertise one offer in AdWords or organic search, only to have your landing page sound like it was written for another advertising offer. I see this problem a lot!
Often times, having an affordable online marketing consulting firm reviewing what you're doing can offer easy, inexpensive fixes that can yield big improvements in your search engine advertising and SEO conversions.
Your Action Plan
Let's review what we've talked about.
First, overcome visitors anxieties by offering a multi-page website which answers questions about your company and your services or products, while inspiring confidence in your company. Effectively communicate your Value Proposition.
Second, personally relate to your site visitors. Avoid using the wrong words that may put off your site visitors. Use your picture on your Web pages.
Third, hand-off from one page on your website and one step in your selling process to another smoothly and naturally. We should understand what we want our site visitors to do, but they won't unless we make the process really clear.
Whether your using an online marketing consulting firm or doing the work yourself, if you take these steps, your search engine optimization | advertising plan will convert at a MUCH higher rate, when you take these steps.
About the Author:
Marketing online since 2004, Paul Marshall can help you market on a budget. He's an Online Marketing Consulting expert offering marketing services (and d-i-y Coaching). You can learn more about Paul on his Internet Marketing LinkedIn profile and at Strategic Web Marketing.net.
Read more Articles written by Paul Marshall.
Copyright © 2009 Paul Marshall
So, you've embarked on a search engine advertising program, maybe even SEO. Whether you're doing this on your own or using an online marketing consulting firm, there are key points to become aware of.
If you miss these, you won't increase conversions.
What good is a Number 1 organic search engine ranking or AdWords ad listing, if you don't have increased sales or if you don't generate more sales leads?
Too often, we get all focused about the Internet marketing -- the ads, the offer -- that we don't think the whole process through step-by-step and consider the experience our website visitors will be having.
If we did, we'd be thinking "big picture" and we would head off some of these potential problems before they occur.
Overcoming Your Website Visitors Anxiety
When people come to our website it's natural for them to feel anxiety. After all, look at all the cr*p on the Internet today, all the too-good-to-be-true products and services.
But when you and I offer REAL products or services, we have to overcome that concern, even if we're treating our site visitors fairly and not making outrageous claims.
So, how can you overcome these anxieties?
1. Offer more than a 1-page website. Credible companies have multi-page websites, including Privacy Policy, Terms of Use | Service and About Us pages.
They also have more than 1 page about their products or services.
I'm surprised by the number of 1-page websites I see from companies using infomercials to advertise their products. Often, they have the purchase form right on their home page, their only page (and often their page isn't secured for credit card ordering).
Websites that are only 1-page don't seem credible. And having the purchase form right on the home page comes across as very pushy!
Doesn't this type of site seem all about the company and NOT about their customers? Why would we want to buy from that type of company?
What kind of online marketing consulting firm did these companies use...or did they use any??
2. Next to any sign up or contact form buttons clearly state that you don't sell your customers' private information and link to your Privacy Policy page.
3. Effectively communicate what your Value Proposition is, also called your Unique Selling Proposition. If you don't know why someone should buy your product or service versus your competitors', now is the time to figure it out. (And by the way, based on my experience, if you don't know this, you're not alone, by any means.)
But our websites have to be about more than just us. They have to be about our visitors. What's in it for THEM, to do business with us? What unique voids in the marketplace can we fill?
As a Small Business Owner, Personally Relate to Your Site Visitors and Communicate Directly with Them
People don't buy from websites, they buy from people! So, how can you apply this to your own website?
1. For many small businesses and solo proprietorships, their website text should speak to your visitors directly in first person.
This should be written from the voice of the Owner or President. They shouldn't use third person, institutional-sounding language, getting rid of "we" and "our", using "I" instead, speaking first person, in an actual conversation. Don't try to sound like you're Microsoft!
And while your at it, be careful about overuse of words about you...whether "I", or those words, "we", "our" or "us".
Check out the WeWe calculator (Google: wewe calculator). Make sure to focus on customer-focused words and NOT on words about you or your company.
2. Include your picture on your Web pages.
For a larger small business trying to make that personal connection with their website visitors, try the idea used by the nutritional supplement company Lumina. (Google: Lumina Health Contact Us)
In this execution, notice how Lumina gets you to relate to their customer service department. I still remember it was John I spoke with and that's been over 1 year ago that I called them!
Again, people buy from other people, not from websites.
For us as small businesses, why should we sound large, pretending to be something we aren't? And why should we run from our advantage of being small: low overhead, friendly, personal service and accountability, among other advantages.
Make Each Step in Your Marketing a Smooth Handoff from One Step to Another
Whether you're using AdWords, SEO, or both, make sure your title and description matches the experience your website visitor will have when they come to your landing page.
Quite often when I'm Coaching my small business owner clients or performing online marketing consulting, I find the wording for their organic listing or AdWords ad says one thing and their landing page says something that doesn't sound the same.
This causes confusion is the best case scenario. In the worst case, it causes a lack of trust. Dangerous!
We should understand our products or services. And we know what we want our visitors to do on our site.
Our potential customers may not understand either. We need to think like them, when we explain what we have to offer them and how to use our website to take advantage of what we have to offer.
And when "shifting" from one page to another, we need to hand-off from one page to another naturally and smoothly, like a car with a smooth automatic transmission.
Don't advertise one offer in AdWords or organic search, only to have your landing page sound like it was written for another advertising offer. I see this problem a lot!
Often times, having an affordable online marketing consulting firm reviewing what you're doing can offer easy, inexpensive fixes that can yield big improvements in your search engine advertising and SEO conversions.
Your Action Plan
Let's review what we've talked about.
First, overcome visitors anxieties by offering a multi-page website which answers questions about your company and your services or products, while inspiring confidence in your company. Effectively communicate your Value Proposition.
Second, personally relate to your site visitors. Avoid using the wrong words that may put off your site visitors. Use your picture on your Web pages.
Third, hand-off from one page on your website and one step in your selling process to another smoothly and naturally. We should understand what we want our site visitors to do, but they won't unless we make the process really clear.
Whether your using an online marketing consulting firm or doing the work yourself, if you take these steps, your search engine optimization | advertising plan will convert at a MUCH higher rate, when you take these steps.
About the Author:
Marketing online since 2004, Paul Marshall can help you market on a budget. He's an Online Marketing Consulting expert offering marketing services (and d-i-y Coaching). You can learn more about Paul on his Internet Marketing LinkedIn profile and at Strategic Web Marketing.net.
Read more Articles written by Paul Marshall.
Curing Versus Healing
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Scott Bywater
On Thursday night, I had some really bad back pain. So on Friday I went to my chiropractor.
No big deal she said... cracked me a few times... and sent me on my way with the thoughts...
"Just come more often to get your maintenance."
Now while I was there I picked up an article about healing and curing.
And here are their definitions as laid out by Natural Wisdom Australia
"Curing" involves removing symptoms, treating a part of the body, or controlling a process.
"Healing" involves helping people to become more whole and function at a higher level.
The problem with most businesses that I see is that they only do something when they need a cure (just like me with the chiropractor).
For instance, when they are short on customers they decide they need to advertise.
Or when they have a slow month they call in a consultant.
Or whatever.
It's all emergency based marketing.
But why not decide today to heal your business so that the emergencies don't pop up all of the time?
Why not make your business more whole so you can function at a higher level?
Why not set up some systems today which will ensure you'll NEVER have to worry about where your next lead is coming from.
It could be a flyer.
It could be a lead generation web site.
It could be an advertisement.
It could be a telemarketing system to follow up existing customers.
It could be a strategy to get bigger customers.
It could be a social networking strategy.
But do it now. Because just like I had to suffer through pain because I didn't focus on healing my back and staying on top of things before I needed to... if you don't take action and develop a lead generation strategy which virtually guarantees your phone will be ringing all of the time... your business is going to suffer some pain as well.
About the Author:
For quick results, you'll want to get your hands on this leading direct response copywriter's ebook "7 Ways To Get More Customers" at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/ Scott Bywater shows you how to get all the customers you need in just 60 days. This popular ebook has been downloaded by over 8,247 business owners over the past five years. Packed with information, this ebook will show you copywriting and marketing strategies which could have you getting new clients within just a couple of days.
Read more of Scott Bywater's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Scott Bywater
On Thursday night, I had some really bad back pain. So on Friday I went to my chiropractor.
No big deal she said... cracked me a few times... and sent me on my way with the thoughts...
"Just come more often to get your maintenance."
Now while I was there I picked up an article about healing and curing.
And here are their definitions as laid out by Natural Wisdom Australia
"Curing" involves removing symptoms, treating a part of the body, or controlling a process.
"Healing" involves helping people to become more whole and function at a higher level.
The problem with most businesses that I see is that they only do something when they need a cure (just like me with the chiropractor).
For instance, when they are short on customers they decide they need to advertise.
Or when they have a slow month they call in a consultant.
Or whatever.
It's all emergency based marketing.
But why not decide today to heal your business so that the emergencies don't pop up all of the time?
Why not make your business more whole so you can function at a higher level?
Why not set up some systems today which will ensure you'll NEVER have to worry about where your next lead is coming from.
It could be a flyer.
It could be a lead generation web site.
It could be an advertisement.
It could be a telemarketing system to follow up existing customers.
It could be a strategy to get bigger customers.
It could be a social networking strategy.
But do it now. Because just like I had to suffer through pain because I didn't focus on healing my back and staying on top of things before I needed to... if you don't take action and develop a lead generation strategy which virtually guarantees your phone will be ringing all of the time... your business is going to suffer some pain as well.
About the Author:
For quick results, you'll want to get your hands on this leading direct response copywriter's ebook "7 Ways To Get More Customers" at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/ Scott Bywater shows you how to get all the customers you need in just 60 days. This popular ebook has been downloaded by over 8,247 business owners over the past five years. Packed with information, this ebook will show you copywriting and marketing strategies which could have you getting new clients within just a couple of days.
Read more of Scott Bywater's articles.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
How Is Your Reputation Holding Up In Google's Search Results?
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Bill Platt
You know, if there are listings in Google's search results that are hurting your business, you might think that there is nothing you can do about that. But let me assure you that given the will and the desire, there is plenty you can do about those search engine results that may be hurting your business.
So many people look at Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as a game of influencing the keywords that are important to their business, but they don't realize that SEO can also be used to diminish the negatives in the search results.
Are You Losing Business As Result Of A Bad Review In Google?
Remember that guy who bought your product 3 years ago, and he did not follow the instructions for use, and then complained about how your product let him down? He could be hurting your business right now.
How do you measure the sales that your business is losing, because some guy complained on some website about how your product or service is "crap".
A Real World Example
Ah... I remember when I was selling TV's for a living.
There was this fellow who came into the store and bought a 52-inch projection screen TV. We had a bonded delivery crew on hand to help people get their purchases home, but although this guy had just spent $2400 on a television set, he decided that he did not want to pay $40 for delivery of his new TV set. I bet you can see where this story is going...
So, we loaded his new TV in the back of his pickup, and he proceeded to tie down his TV in the back of his pickup truck.
He thanked us for his TV and started the drive home.
45 minutes later, our most recent happy customer pulled into the parking lot, toting a big-screen TV box.
As we went to meet him at the door, we could hear the glass falling as the box moved across the floor.
He was pissed! And to our surprise, we were at fault!
You might be asking yourself why we were at fault. That is a good question, one I even posed at the time.
We were at fault, because we did not offer free delivery!
A gust of wind had caught his box, snapping the twine that he had used to tie it down, blowing his $2400 Phillips Big-Screen TV onto the highway.
He said it was our fault, because we should have given him free delivery. Never mind that we had already given him a $300 discount on the purchase of his TV.
We had offered him bonded delivery, but he refused, and now it was our fault that his TV was broken.
The store where we worked was one of those chains that keep all of the power to make things right at the home office. We could not simply exchange his TV, without permission from our superiors. If we had authorized the exchange with the guy, without the District Manager's permission, the company would have taken the cost of the Television out of the salesperson's and the manager's paycheck.
I was the assistant manager, and I was NOT going to pay for this guy's broken television. The company did not pay me enough to fix this problem for them, out of my own pocket.
We called the DM. Of course, even though we worked until 10 at night, the DM went home at 6pm. So, we kept dialing his cell phone number, until he answered the phone. ;-)
He was pissed, but that was okay. We were already dealing with "pissed", so we did not mind two people pissed at the same time.
Thank God I was not the manager in charge that night. Thank God for small favors...
Our District Manager said the guy was tough out of luck. I am glad I don't work for those clowns anymore.
I agree that it should not have been our responsibility, but surely we could find a solution for this guy. After all, he just spent $2400 with us.
Nope. The District Manager said No, then he said No, and he said No again.
So, the DM hung up telling us not to call him again that evening. And we were left with the poor guy who had just signed a two-year finance contract on a TV that was busted to hell.
Yes, I bet the guy pays for delivery next time. But the story does not end here...
It Wasn't Your Fault, But It Is Your Problem...
The story now moves online. It moves into the newspaper. It moves onto our sales floor for more than a week. It goes ballistic...
The customer went home that night, and turned to the power of the Internet with his complaint. A few days later, he followed his Internet complaints with a paid advert in the local newspaper. Our store was getting skewered.
The guy was in the store every day, throwing a tantrum. And he was spending his money and his time to skewer us for letting him make a foolish decision.
It just worked out well for him. On about his tenth trip to the store, throwing his daily tantrum in front of people who were looking to buy a TV, he just happened to arrive on a day that the DM was in the building. Ah... A new face behind the counter. The customer picked out the new face in the building as being someone over us. And wham, he let the District Manager have it, with both barrels...
Persistence paid off in this case.
He overwhelmed the District Manager with his complaints.
The District Manager broke down and did only what the District Manager could do for our customer. He used his privileged status to type in the appropriate commands into the computer and make things right for this guy.
In the end, we got him a new television for the price of delivery to his house.
The store ate the cost of the new television. (I ended up paying a portion of the TV anyway, because the bookkeeping department deducted the price of the television from the sales sheets for the month, so some of my monthly bonus was lost when that man's television was cut from the store's profits.)
The victory that we received was that the guy was not in the store every day scaring away our customers.
But that victory came only after we took a serious hit in our Reputation Management. Every person that guy talked to for the ten days after his purchase, up until he got his replacement, knew that he had a bad experience with us. What is more, everyone who read his paid advert in the newspaper knew that he had a problem with our store. Even more, who knows how long his complaint survived online...
You know what they say, "What is posted online, stays online."
I left my job at that store in 2005. That store closed in 2008.
I am not going to say that the store closed on account of that guy's complaints. But I am willing to say that the store was hurt by the guy's complaints. He did manage to drive a lot of prospective customers out of our store, during his daily rants. (I just checked and could not find his complaints online anymore.)
I am willing to bet that the store closed due to the recession. It closed about the same time that Circuit City bit the dust.
I think this story clearly illustrates that a problem does not have to be your fault, in order for your business to pay a high price, as a result of the problem.
Does Applebee's Really Suck?
To help illustrate the extent of this problem, I just typed into Google the name of my favorite restaurant, Applebee's, the name of my town, and the word "sucks".
I saw dozens of Google search results that were in effect saying that my favorite restaurant "sucks". Many of them went to describe this restaurant as having the "worst food ever."
Wow!
Now to be sure, restaurants everywhere suffer from this treatment. And the big name brand restaurants can survive, because their large customer base has a different opinion.
But what if you are a local restaurant or an obscure Internet company?
As an permanent online fixture, I tend to be jaded about the complaints I read about others. But I have to admit, while one or two complaints will not sway me, several complaints in the search results will even cause "me" to hesitate.
Can you afford for jaded internet marketers like myself to hesitate?
You can bet that if we "jaded internet marketers" are hesitating to purchase what you sell, those "who are not internet marketers by profession" are running away from you!
Fixing The Problem...
You are already aware that by utilizing SEO techniques that you can help your website rank better for some keywords in Google and the other search engines.
But did you know that you can also create a wealth of positive reviews for your business on a variety of web pages, and to get those positive reviews to rank higher in the search engines than the negative reviews?
This is how we help our customers.
We use our SEO expertise to get the positive reviews of our client's website to outrank the negative reviews of our client's website.
If we get enough positive reviews to occupy the top of the search results for the target keywords, then those negative reviews of our client's website will be buried on page two, three, four, five or six of Google's search results.
If people will NEVER SEE the negative reviews of your website, product or service, then as far as most people are aware, there ARE NOT ANY negative reviews. If there are no negatives about your business, then everything must be positive.
You are in control of your business' reputation online, if only you are willing take the reins and force the negatives down in Google's search results.
We know that not everything in the search results is true or honest. After all, the guy with the broken TV was blaming us for his bad judgment. We know that you may not deserve what is in Google's search results that is affecting your online reputation in a negative way.
If you don't let us help you get the negatives out of the sight of your prospective customers, then do it yourself or hire another company to do it for you. Because as long as those negative reviews exist in Google's search results, there is a good chance that someone is going to let those negative comments prevent them from buying from you!
About the Author:
Bill Platt has provided SEO services since 2004. In 2009, he transformed his SEO service, into one that helps people defeat negative search results in Google. By improving the rank of positive website reviews in the search results, negative search listings begin to disappear from the public eye. If you would like to learn more about how Bill's Reputation Management SEO service can help your business, visit: http://911reputation.com/ Bill has also owned http://thePhantomWriters.com/ since 2001.
Read more of Bill Platt's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Bill Platt
You know, if there are listings in Google's search results that are hurting your business, you might think that there is nothing you can do about that. But let me assure you that given the will and the desire, there is plenty you can do about those search engine results that may be hurting your business.
So many people look at Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as a game of influencing the keywords that are important to their business, but they don't realize that SEO can also be used to diminish the negatives in the search results.
Are You Losing Business As Result Of A Bad Review In Google?
Remember that guy who bought your product 3 years ago, and he did not follow the instructions for use, and then complained about how your product let him down? He could be hurting your business right now.
How do you measure the sales that your business is losing, because some guy complained on some website about how your product or service is "crap".
A Real World Example
Ah... I remember when I was selling TV's for a living.
There was this fellow who came into the store and bought a 52-inch projection screen TV. We had a bonded delivery crew on hand to help people get their purchases home, but although this guy had just spent $2400 on a television set, he decided that he did not want to pay $40 for delivery of his new TV set. I bet you can see where this story is going...
So, we loaded his new TV in the back of his pickup, and he proceeded to tie down his TV in the back of his pickup truck.
He thanked us for his TV and started the drive home.
45 minutes later, our most recent happy customer pulled into the parking lot, toting a big-screen TV box.
As we went to meet him at the door, we could hear the glass falling as the box moved across the floor.
He was pissed! And to our surprise, we were at fault!
You might be asking yourself why we were at fault. That is a good question, one I even posed at the time.
We were at fault, because we did not offer free delivery!
A gust of wind had caught his box, snapping the twine that he had used to tie it down, blowing his $2400 Phillips Big-Screen TV onto the highway.
He said it was our fault, because we should have given him free delivery. Never mind that we had already given him a $300 discount on the purchase of his TV.
We had offered him bonded delivery, but he refused, and now it was our fault that his TV was broken.
The store where we worked was one of those chains that keep all of the power to make things right at the home office. We could not simply exchange his TV, without permission from our superiors. If we had authorized the exchange with the guy, without the District Manager's permission, the company would have taken the cost of the Television out of the salesperson's and the manager's paycheck.
I was the assistant manager, and I was NOT going to pay for this guy's broken television. The company did not pay me enough to fix this problem for them, out of my own pocket.
We called the DM. Of course, even though we worked until 10 at night, the DM went home at 6pm. So, we kept dialing his cell phone number, until he answered the phone. ;-)
He was pissed, but that was okay. We were already dealing with "pissed", so we did not mind two people pissed at the same time.
Thank God I was not the manager in charge that night. Thank God for small favors...
Our District Manager said the guy was tough out of luck. I am glad I don't work for those clowns anymore.
I agree that it should not have been our responsibility, but surely we could find a solution for this guy. After all, he just spent $2400 with us.
Nope. The District Manager said No, then he said No, and he said No again.
So, the DM hung up telling us not to call him again that evening. And we were left with the poor guy who had just signed a two-year finance contract on a TV that was busted to hell.
Yes, I bet the guy pays for delivery next time. But the story does not end here...
It Wasn't Your Fault, But It Is Your Problem...
The story now moves online. It moves into the newspaper. It moves onto our sales floor for more than a week. It goes ballistic...
The customer went home that night, and turned to the power of the Internet with his complaint. A few days later, he followed his Internet complaints with a paid advert in the local newspaper. Our store was getting skewered.
The guy was in the store every day, throwing a tantrum. And he was spending his money and his time to skewer us for letting him make a foolish decision.
It just worked out well for him. On about his tenth trip to the store, throwing his daily tantrum in front of people who were looking to buy a TV, he just happened to arrive on a day that the DM was in the building. Ah... A new face behind the counter. The customer picked out the new face in the building as being someone over us. And wham, he let the District Manager have it, with both barrels...
Persistence paid off in this case.
He overwhelmed the District Manager with his complaints.
The District Manager broke down and did only what the District Manager could do for our customer. He used his privileged status to type in the appropriate commands into the computer and make things right for this guy.
In the end, we got him a new television for the price of delivery to his house.
The store ate the cost of the new television. (I ended up paying a portion of the TV anyway, because the bookkeeping department deducted the price of the television from the sales sheets for the month, so some of my monthly bonus was lost when that man's television was cut from the store's profits.)
The victory that we received was that the guy was not in the store every day scaring away our customers.
But that victory came only after we took a serious hit in our Reputation Management. Every person that guy talked to for the ten days after his purchase, up until he got his replacement, knew that he had a bad experience with us. What is more, everyone who read his paid advert in the newspaper knew that he had a problem with our store. Even more, who knows how long his complaint survived online...
I left my job at that store in 2005. That store closed in 2008.
I am not going to say that the store closed on account of that guy's complaints. But I am willing to say that the store was hurt by the guy's complaints. He did manage to drive a lot of prospective customers out of our store, during his daily rants. (I just checked and could not find his complaints online anymore.)
I am willing to bet that the store closed due to the recession. It closed about the same time that Circuit City bit the dust.
I think this story clearly illustrates that a problem does not have to be your fault, in order for your business to pay a high price, as a result of the problem.
Does Applebee's Really Suck?
To help illustrate the extent of this problem, I just typed into Google the name of my favorite restaurant, Applebee's, the name of my town, and the word "sucks".
I saw dozens of Google search results that were in effect saying that my favorite restaurant "sucks". Many of them went to describe this restaurant as having the "worst food ever."
Wow!
Now to be sure, restaurants everywhere suffer from this treatment. And the big name brand restaurants can survive, because their large customer base has a different opinion.
But what if you are a local restaurant or an obscure Internet company?
As an permanent online fixture, I tend to be jaded about the complaints I read about others. But I have to admit, while one or two complaints will not sway me, several complaints in the search results will even cause "me" to hesitate.
Can you afford for jaded internet marketers like myself to hesitate?
You can bet that if we "jaded internet marketers" are hesitating to purchase what you sell, those "who are not internet marketers by profession" are running away from you!
Fixing The Problem...
You are already aware that by utilizing SEO techniques that you can help your website rank better for some keywords in Google and the other search engines.
But did you know that you can also create a wealth of positive reviews for your business on a variety of web pages, and to get those positive reviews to rank higher in the search engines than the negative reviews?
This is how we help our customers.
We use our SEO expertise to get the positive reviews of our client's website to outrank the negative reviews of our client's website.
If we get enough positive reviews to occupy the top of the search results for the target keywords, then those negative reviews of our client's website will be buried on page two, three, four, five or six of Google's search results.
You are in control of your business' reputation online, if only you are willing take the reins and force the negatives down in Google's search results.
We know that not everything in the search results is true or honest. After all, the guy with the broken TV was blaming us for his bad judgment. We know that you may not deserve what is in Google's search results that is affecting your online reputation in a negative way.
If you don't let us help you get the negatives out of the sight of your prospective customers, then do it yourself or hire another company to do it for you. Because as long as those negative reviews exist in Google's search results, there is a good chance that someone is going to let those negative comments prevent them from buying from you!
About the Author:
Bill Platt has provided SEO services since 2004. In 2009, he transformed his SEO service, into one that helps people defeat negative search results in Google. By improving the rank of positive website reviews in the search results, negative search listings begin to disappear from the public eye. If you would like to learn more about how Bill's Reputation Management SEO service can help your business, visit: http://911reputation.com/ Bill has also owned http://thePhantomWriters.com/ since 2001.
Read more of Bill Platt's articles.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
List Building - 5 Steps To Generate Viral Traffic To Your Website
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Alan Cheng
If you can create viral traffic then you've won the battle for traffic generation. Driving traffic is a continuous task, so viral traffic which grows on its own is a dream for all online business owners. But not many online business owners know or even try to implement it. Here are 5 steps to creating viral traffic so that your traffic building efforts produces the most amount of visitors and subscribers.
1. Create A Squeeze Page
Get a landing page which does nothing but offer some free gifts in exchange for the visitor's email. This is where you start to build your list.
Hire a good graphics designer and come up with attractive gifts such as valuable reports and/or free software.
2. Create A Report To Sell
Your next task is to create a report which you're going to sell. Again, make sure the graphics are eye-catching and pay a good graphics designer to create your website.
Your report has to look fantastic and the information needs to be good. Do the required research and put as much information as possible into this report.
With your website, sell the report for $97. This is a steep price for a report but your objective is not to sell many copies of it. Do the necessary promotion and get the word out about your report. And don't forget to put links in the report to your website.
3. Free Gift
When people sign up to your list via your squeeze page, send them to a page where you will offer your $97 report as a gift. To claim the gift, the subscriber needs to refer at least 3 of their friends to your squeeze page.
Now when your subscribers see that your gift is worth $97 and that you are currently selling it for that price, it will drive conversions through the roof.
No one can resist a true free gift that is currently selling for $97. This can help you generate viral traffic. Your subscribers' friends might sign up to your list and repeat the whole process by referring their friends to your squeeze page.
4. Email To List
Now while your squeeze page is building your list virally, you can create a report and continue to send it to your list for free. Of course, they would have to refer 3 or more of their friends to download the free gift.
Using this technique you are training your list to refer their friends in order to get your free reports. You are also testing to see which kind of offers create the best responses.
5. Contest
When you know which type of offers send you the most amount of referrals, you can create a contest and announce it to your list.
For the contest you will need to provide something which is perceived to be a high priced item otherwise it won't work. The best type of offers are video training with personal coaching from you based on the offer with the most responses.
Offer your prize to 3 winners only. Since you are offering personal coaching and video training, you can set a high price for the prize. Pricing it at $1,000 is not unreasonable.
To win the contest, your list needs to send you traffic to your squeeze page. The top 3 who sends the most subscribers will win the $1000 prize. This is very attractive.
Once they spread the news by telling people about your contest, more and more people will join your list and promote the contest.. This is the viral effect you're looking for. You can even issue a press release to inform more people about your contest.
Carrying out these 5 steps will ensure unstoppable viral traffic to your website. It needs planning and setting up the system for it to work and creation of the reports, but you are sure to get an avalanche of traffic. Using this viral traffic to get people subscribed to your list, you can promote your information products to them and push those sales figures through the roof.
About the Author:
For more tips on how to promote your online business and increase sales, visit information product creation. To hire professionals to create your own best selling information products, visit http://www.eliteghostwriters.com/infoproducts.html - Alan Cheng, Elite Ghostwriters.
Read more Articles written by Alan Cheng.
Copyright © 2009 Alan Cheng
If you can create viral traffic then you've won the battle for traffic generation. Driving traffic is a continuous task, so viral traffic which grows on its own is a dream for all online business owners. But not many online business owners know or even try to implement it. Here are 5 steps to creating viral traffic so that your traffic building efforts produces the most amount of visitors and subscribers.
1. Create A Squeeze Page
Get a landing page which does nothing but offer some free gifts in exchange for the visitor's email. This is where you start to build your list.
Hire a good graphics designer and come up with attractive gifts such as valuable reports and/or free software.
2. Create A Report To Sell
Your next task is to create a report which you're going to sell. Again, make sure the graphics are eye-catching and pay a good graphics designer to create your website.
Your report has to look fantastic and the information needs to be good. Do the required research and put as much information as possible into this report.
With your website, sell the report for $97. This is a steep price for a report but your objective is not to sell many copies of it. Do the necessary promotion and get the word out about your report. And don't forget to put links in the report to your website.
3. Free Gift
When people sign up to your list via your squeeze page, send them to a page where you will offer your $97 report as a gift. To claim the gift, the subscriber needs to refer at least 3 of their friends to your squeeze page.
Now when your subscribers see that your gift is worth $97 and that you are currently selling it for that price, it will drive conversions through the roof.
No one can resist a true free gift that is currently selling for $97. This can help you generate viral traffic. Your subscribers' friends might sign up to your list and repeat the whole process by referring their friends to your squeeze page.
4. Email To List
Now while your squeeze page is building your list virally, you can create a report and continue to send it to your list for free. Of course, they would have to refer 3 or more of their friends to download the free gift.
Using this technique you are training your list to refer their friends in order to get your free reports. You are also testing to see which kind of offers create the best responses.
5. Contest
When you know which type of offers send you the most amount of referrals, you can create a contest and announce it to your list.
For the contest you will need to provide something which is perceived to be a high priced item otherwise it won't work. The best type of offers are video training with personal coaching from you based on the offer with the most responses.
Offer your prize to 3 winners only. Since you are offering personal coaching and video training, you can set a high price for the prize. Pricing it at $1,000 is not unreasonable.
To win the contest, your list needs to send you traffic to your squeeze page. The top 3 who sends the most subscribers will win the $1000 prize. This is very attractive.
Once they spread the news by telling people about your contest, more and more people will join your list and promote the contest.. This is the viral effect you're looking for. You can even issue a press release to inform more people about your contest.
Carrying out these 5 steps will ensure unstoppable viral traffic to your website. It needs planning and setting up the system for it to work and creation of the reports, but you are sure to get an avalanche of traffic. Using this viral traffic to get people subscribed to your list, you can promote your information products to them and push those sales figures through the roof.
About the Author:
For more tips on how to promote your online business and increase sales, visit information product creation. To hire professionals to create your own best selling information products, visit http://www.eliteghostwriters.com/infoproducts.html - Alan Cheng, Elite Ghostwriters.
Read more Articles written by Alan Cheng.
Teach To Learn
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Scott Bywater
Years ago, when I was in my teens I flicked through a book by Stephen Covey that you have probably heard of.
It's called "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People."
That was a long time ago and I must go and revisit that book.
However there is one idea I learnt that I believe applies to virtually every business.
The best way to learn something is to teach something.
Unfortunately, most people don't start teaching anything until they believe they are an expert. As a result, they hinder their progress.
So why does the concept of "teach to learn" work so well.
It's really quite simple.
When you teach, you are forced to think about what you know... to crystallize your knowledge... to answer your unanswered questions.
You get questions thrown back at you... and this really internalizes the knowledge.
So let's see how this could apply to the average person in business.
For instance, if you're a chiropractor or health practitioner.
Here's what I would do to implement the "teach to learn" concept and turn it into a profit.
I'd start a regular newsletter.
An offline newsletter once a month and an online newsletter once a month so your readers end up with a newsletter every couple of weeks.
And as a part of that newsletter I would include research and information on how chiropractic has been able to help with a number of ailments.
Everything from back pain to headaches to the common cold.
In doing so, I would dig up information on that topic... I would be forced to think about what really matters to my readers... and it would give me time to internalize what I knew and how I could better help my patients.
It would also put money in the bank.
Think about it: you would be "in the face" of your most interested prospects - your clients - encouraging them to come into your practice more and more often.
This would also stimulate more referrals.
The newsletter would be passed around (mail) or forwarded on (email).
You could use that content and throw it up on a blog somewhere to encourage traffic from the search engines.
And you'd learn a heck of a lot at the same time.
So if you want to learn more - teach more.
If you want to be respected as an authority in your field and have prospective customers chasing you rather than the other way around - teach more.
And if you want to make greater profits - then teach more.
Now there is no easier way than creating more customers from your teachings than learning how to create killer emails. And that's the topic I cover on lesson #18 of http://www.morecustomersmadeeasy.com/
I show you how to write them... which auto responders to look at... how to get more names onto your list... and much, much more.
About the Author:
As a direct response copywriter, Scott Bywater strives to educate business owners on how to generate more leads, get more of the "right type" of customers, differentiate themselves from their competition, and convert their leads into sales via his underground and "outside of the box" strategies. You can get his copywriting and marketing tips delivered to your inbox via his eye opening "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter available at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/
Read more Articles written by Scott Bywater.
Copyright © 2009 Scott Bywater
Years ago, when I was in my teens I flicked through a book by Stephen Covey that you have probably heard of.
It's called "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People."
That was a long time ago and I must go and revisit that book.
However there is one idea I learnt that I believe applies to virtually every business.
The best way to learn something is to teach something.
Unfortunately, most people don't start teaching anything until they believe they are an expert. As a result, they hinder their progress.
So why does the concept of "teach to learn" work so well.
It's really quite simple.
When you teach, you are forced to think about what you know... to crystallize your knowledge... to answer your unanswered questions.
You get questions thrown back at you... and this really internalizes the knowledge.
So let's see how this could apply to the average person in business.
For instance, if you're a chiropractor or health practitioner.
Here's what I would do to implement the "teach to learn" concept and turn it into a profit.
I'd start a regular newsletter.
An offline newsletter once a month and an online newsletter once a month so your readers end up with a newsletter every couple of weeks.
And as a part of that newsletter I would include research and information on how chiropractic has been able to help with a number of ailments.
Everything from back pain to headaches to the common cold.
In doing so, I would dig up information on that topic... I would be forced to think about what really matters to my readers... and it would give me time to internalize what I knew and how I could better help my patients.
It would also put money in the bank.
Think about it: you would be "in the face" of your most interested prospects - your clients - encouraging them to come into your practice more and more often.
This would also stimulate more referrals.
The newsletter would be passed around (mail) or forwarded on (email).
You could use that content and throw it up on a blog somewhere to encourage traffic from the search engines.
And you'd learn a heck of a lot at the same time.
So if you want to learn more - teach more.
If you want to be respected as an authority in your field and have prospective customers chasing you rather than the other way around - teach more.
And if you want to make greater profits - then teach more.
Now there is no easier way than creating more customers from your teachings than learning how to create killer emails. And that's the topic I cover on lesson #18 of http://www.morecustomersmadeeasy.com/
I show you how to write them... which auto responders to look at... how to get more names onto your list... and much, much more.
About the Author:
As a direct response copywriter, Scott Bywater strives to educate business owners on how to generate more leads, get more of the "right type" of customers, differentiate themselves from their competition, and convert their leads into sales via his underground and "outside of the box" strategies. You can get his copywriting and marketing tips delivered to your inbox via his eye opening "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter available at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/
Read more Articles written by Scott Bywater.
Monday, November 2, 2009
How Many Links Does It Take To Get To The Middle Of Google Page One?
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Bill Platt
Everyday it seems, people are asking me the optimum numbers of inbound links they need to acquire for their website in order to rank well in Google.
My answer is going to seem a little flip, but it is the honest, best answer.
Answer: You need more inbound links - of equal or higher quality - than what your competitors have.
Albert Einstein argued that any mathematical formula that required pages of calculations did not contain within it "the mind of God".
So when Albert Einstein developed E=mc2, then Einstein had fulfilled the promise of a simple formula that could encompass the brilliance of God.
When people wonder as to how many inbound links they might need to acquire in order to rank in the Top 4 of Google's search results or even the Top 10 of Google's SERPs, they are generally hoping that someone will be able to give them a numeric answer, so that they know whether they can afford to undertake the process or not.
I understand the WHY of the question, but there is no canned answer that will work for everyone.
Remember, your competitor may be asking the same question and undertaking the same processes as you are, trying to accomplish the same goal.
No one can truly begin to understand the answer to this question, until one has take the time to do an Inbound Link Comparison Analysis of all of your competitors in the Top 10 spots of Google's SERPs.
You need to look at the Top 10 listings in Google for a particular keyword.
You need to do backlink checks for all ten URLs in Google's search listings, and you need to check those numbers across a variety of sources, including Google, Yahoo and any other tool you can find to do a check. (Google and Yahoo both tend to understate the actual link counts. While Yahoo will show you more than what Google does, they also show a number of "no consequence" links in their results.)
You need to look at the quality of a few of the pages that offer links to the URLs in the search results.
This is not an easy process to undertake. I have done it before, but the best you can hope for is a "snapshot" of what is out there, and therefore, what you need to accomplish.
Note: If Wikipedia turns up in your search query, few people with small budgets will ever be able to dislodge Wikipedia in the search results. What they make up for in a small number of inbound links, they more than make up for with links from dozens or hundreds of PR4, PR5 and PR6 pages. Wikipedia is the king of Internal Linking, and they use that to a great degree to rank extraordinarily high in Google's search listings.
Your analysis should seek to uncover how many links a page has to it.
As a general rule of thumb, Google will show you less than 1% of the existing number of links for a web page. Yahoo will sometimes show closer to 5% of the existing number of links for a web page, but they will not show you the highest quality of those links.
So, as you strive to gain a "snapshot" picture of the playing field, you want to take Google's Inbound Links number and multiply that by at least 100. Then you want to take Yahoo's Inbound Links number and multiply that by at least 20, then cut the number in half to acknowledge the number of worthless crap links they have in their database. Once you have achieved these two numbers, then I tend to call the truth "somewhere in the middle".
With your "somewhere in the middle" number in hand, then you need to look at the quality of links to a few of those search listings, to get an idea of whether those links exist on higher quality pages or simply junk pages.
If those links are on junk pages, then the goal could be achieved by just working the numbers. But if there are a lot of high PageRank pages in the mix, then whatever number is in your hand, should be multiplied, perhaps 100-fold, to overcome the quality of pages that link to your competitors.
If you get the idea that my simple formula leads to a complicated answer, then you are right.
All of the numbers that I have included in my sample formula are based on rough speculation, as the "snapshot" offers you your best hope of understanding the challenge in front of you.
While the number of inbound links may be relatively easy to determine, the link quality is a factor that is really hard to pin down.
If you determine that you only need 300 inbound links to rank with the big boys, you may be right.
Your 300 inbound links number should also be quantified against the number of links that Google will count worthy, so you may need 1200 links to get 300 links that Google will deem worthy. This calculation depends more on the "quality of your content", rather than the "quantity of your content".
When all is said and done and your 300 Google-worthy links have not yet put you on page one, then you know that the quality of the links pointing at your competitors is greater than the quality of the links pointing to you.
If you were hoping for an easy answer, I am sorry that I could not help you with that.
But with this explanation of the challenge, you may be better prepared to answer the big question, the question that is really on your mind:
=== Are my hopes of achieving good rankings in Google within my reach?
I tend to throw "worry" to the wind and just start working. I don't worry if I can afford to do it or not. I simply start doing, and I know that in one month, one year or five, I will have built enough value in my website that my competitors are going to be the ones who are trying to figure out if they can unseat me!
About the Author:
Bill Platt has provided SEO services since 2004. In 2009, he transformed his SEO service, into one that helps people defeat negative search results in Google. By improving the rank of positive website reviews in the search results, negative search listings begin to disappear from the public eye. If you would like to learn more about how Bill's Reputation Management SEO service can help your business, visit: http://911reputation.com/ Bill has also owned http://thePhantomWriters.com/ since 2001.
Read more of Bill Platt's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Bill Platt
Everyday it seems, people are asking me the optimum numbers of inbound links they need to acquire for their website in order to rank well in Google.
My answer is going to seem a little flip, but it is the honest, best answer.
Answer: You need more inbound links - of equal or higher quality - than what your competitors have.
Albert Einstein argued that any mathematical formula that required pages of calculations did not contain within it "the mind of God".
So when Albert Einstein developed E=mc2, then Einstein had fulfilled the promise of a simple formula that could encompass the brilliance of God.
When people wonder as to how many inbound links they might need to acquire in order to rank in the Top 4 of Google's search results or even the Top 10 of Google's SERPs, they are generally hoping that someone will be able to give them a numeric answer, so that they know whether they can afford to undertake the process or not.
I understand the WHY of the question, but there is no canned answer that will work for everyone.
Remember, your competitor may be asking the same question and undertaking the same processes as you are, trying to accomplish the same goal.
No one can truly begin to understand the answer to this question, until one has take the time to do an Inbound Link Comparison Analysis of all of your competitors in the Top 10 spots of Google's SERPs.
This is not an easy process to undertake. I have done it before, but the best you can hope for is a "snapshot" of what is out there, and therefore, what you need to accomplish.
Note: If Wikipedia turns up in your search query, few people with small budgets will ever be able to dislodge Wikipedia in the search results. What they make up for in a small number of inbound links, they more than make up for with links from dozens or hundreds of PR4, PR5 and PR6 pages. Wikipedia is the king of Internal Linking, and they use that to a great degree to rank extraordinarily high in Google's search listings.
Your analysis should seek to uncover how many links a page has to it.
As a general rule of thumb, Google will show you less than 1% of the existing number of links for a web page. Yahoo will sometimes show closer to 5% of the existing number of links for a web page, but they will not show you the highest quality of those links.
So, as you strive to gain a "snapshot" picture of the playing field, you want to take Google's Inbound Links number and multiply that by at least 100. Then you want to take Yahoo's Inbound Links number and multiply that by at least 20, then cut the number in half to acknowledge the number of worthless crap links they have in their database. Once you have achieved these two numbers, then I tend to call the truth "somewhere in the middle".
With your "somewhere in the middle" number in hand, then you need to look at the quality of links to a few of those search listings, to get an idea of whether those links exist on higher quality pages or simply junk pages.
If those links are on junk pages, then the goal could be achieved by just working the numbers. But if there are a lot of high PageRank pages in the mix, then whatever number is in your hand, should be multiplied, perhaps 100-fold, to overcome the quality of pages that link to your competitors.
If you get the idea that my simple formula leads to a complicated answer, then you are right.
All of the numbers that I have included in my sample formula are based on rough speculation, as the "snapshot" offers you your best hope of understanding the challenge in front of you.
While the number of inbound links may be relatively easy to determine, the link quality is a factor that is really hard to pin down.
If you were hoping for an easy answer, I am sorry that I could not help you with that.
But with this explanation of the challenge, you may be better prepared to answer the big question, the question that is really on your mind:
=== Are my hopes of achieving good rankings in Google within my reach?
I tend to throw "worry" to the wind and just start working. I don't worry if I can afford to do it or not. I simply start doing, and I know that in one month, one year or five, I will have built enough value in my website that my competitors are going to be the ones who are trying to figure out if they can unseat me!
About the Author:
Bill Platt has provided SEO services since 2004. In 2009, he transformed his SEO service, into one that helps people defeat negative search results in Google. By improving the rank of positive website reviews in the search results, negative search listings begin to disappear from the public eye. If you would like to learn more about how Bill's Reputation Management SEO service can help your business, visit: http://911reputation.com/ Bill has also owned http://thePhantomWriters.com/ since 2001.
Read more of Bill Platt's articles.
Sell Yourself Like A Papaya Tree
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Scott Bywater
Before we go any further, I want you to take a look at the image below...
http://img24.yfrog.com/i/c1sv.jpg/
What you can see is a photo of the papaya fruit which I enjoyed last weekend.
But why on earth would I take a photo of a papaya fruit?
It's really quite simple. The papaya fruit got me thinking about a few things.
You see, in the middle of that luscious piece of fruit there are literally dozens of little seeds.
But they all started from one tiny little seed. In fact, the whole papaya tree which contains hundreds of papaya fruit which contain hundreds of seeds, all started from one tiny little seed.
It's really quite mind blowing, isn't it.
One seed creates a tree. One tree creates hundreds of papaya's. And those papaya's go on to create hundreds of trees.
But let's consider something else.
Probably 99% of those seeds fail to germinate... get washed away by the rain... die before they live their full potential.
And isn't the marketing world the same?
You have to send hundreds of letters in many cases to get a response.
You have to talk to a number of people to generate a sale.
Hundreds of people need to click on your google adwords to get a handful of people to your site... and many people need to see your site before a sale or quote is generated.
But here's something to keep in mind.
You cannot force a seed to germinate.
It either does or it doesn't.
And you cannot force someone to purchase your product or service.
They either will or they won't.
You can nurture a seed. You can give it the environment it needs to grow, the same way as you nurture a client.
But you cannot force.
However you can decide to place more seeds.
And when you join http://www.morecustomersmadeeasy.com I'll show you over a dozen ways to plant thousands of seeds including fax marketing, newspaper advertising, social media, article marketing, the "frame" mailer to get big clients, public relations, affiliate programs, joint ventures and much, much more.
Remember, the more seeds you plant and the better you are at planting them, the more abundant your harvest will be...
About the Author:
Scott Bywater is a successful direct response copywriter and heads up Copywriting That Sells, a direct response advertising firm. Want to learn how to get more customers - then get your hands on his popular 17 page ebook "7 ways To Increase Your Turnover... No Matter What The State Of The Economy." It's been downloaded by over 8,247 business owners over the past five years and you can get your hands on it now at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/
Read more Articles written by Scott Bywater.
Copyright © 2009 Scott Bywater
Before we go any further, I want you to take a look at the image below...
http://img24.yfrog.com/i/c1sv.jpg/
What you can see is a photo of the papaya fruit which I enjoyed last weekend.
But why on earth would I take a photo of a papaya fruit?
It's really quite simple. The papaya fruit got me thinking about a few things.
You see, in the middle of that luscious piece of fruit there are literally dozens of little seeds.
But they all started from one tiny little seed. In fact, the whole papaya tree which contains hundreds of papaya fruit which contain hundreds of seeds, all started from one tiny little seed.
It's really quite mind blowing, isn't it.
One seed creates a tree. One tree creates hundreds of papaya's. And those papaya's go on to create hundreds of trees.
But let's consider something else.
Probably 99% of those seeds fail to germinate... get washed away by the rain... die before they live their full potential.
And isn't the marketing world the same?
You have to send hundreds of letters in many cases to get a response.
You have to talk to a number of people to generate a sale.
Hundreds of people need to click on your google adwords to get a handful of people to your site... and many people need to see your site before a sale or quote is generated.
But here's something to keep in mind.
You cannot force a seed to germinate.
It either does or it doesn't.
And you cannot force someone to purchase your product or service.
They either will or they won't.
You can nurture a seed. You can give it the environment it needs to grow, the same way as you nurture a client.
But you cannot force.
However you can decide to place more seeds.
And when you join http://www.morecustomersmadeeasy.com I'll show you over a dozen ways to plant thousands of seeds including fax marketing, newspaper advertising, social media, article marketing, the "frame" mailer to get big clients, public relations, affiliate programs, joint ventures and much, much more.
Remember, the more seeds you plant and the better you are at planting them, the more abundant your harvest will be...
About the Author:
Scott Bywater is a successful direct response copywriter and heads up Copywriting That Sells, a direct response advertising firm. Want to learn how to get more customers - then get your hands on his popular 17 page ebook "7 ways To Increase Your Turnover... No Matter What The State Of The Economy." It's been downloaded by over 8,247 business owners over the past five years and you can get your hands on it now at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/
Read more Articles written by Scott Bywater.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
SEO Vs Pay Per Click Advertising
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Enzo F. Cesario
In the world of modern business, the key to success is getting your product seen and understood by your target audience. Simple numbers don't always accomplish the goal - it doesn't matter how many millions of vegetarians see your commercial for Grade-A double-plus chuck steak, after all. The key is advertising to a targeted audience, the ones who need or at least want the goods or service being offered. The best way to accomplish this goal of course will vary among different media, however, having a target market strategy is a must on the Internet.
In particular, the Internet has embraced this truth and virtually exploded with a variety of means toward the end of successful, specific advertising. Internet advertising campaigns range from the obvious and the notorious (tasteful banner advertising versus badly-worded spam emails) to the clever and the outrageous (Amazon's 'Still not big enough' television campaign from the late 90s, and Halo 2's legendary 'I Heart Bees' viral marketing alternate reality game).
Obviously, some of these efforts are more successful than others, and some are successful in all the wrong ways. The exiled Nigerian prince who wants to share his vast wealth with lucky, lucky you has become a pop-culture meme and in-joke, practically an obligatory reference in any discussion of modern marketing or Internet spam.
However, a great deal of web advertising is quite a bit less flashy than the aforementioned efforts, yet is seen by every user who runs a request through a search engine. When engines return a search, they generally include two sections in the result. The first is the target of the search itself, which is the Organic SEO result, the second is a series of advertisements off to the side of or above the organic result, known as Pay Per Click advertisements.
SEO
For those who don't know what SEO is, this acronym stands for Search Engine Optimization. In short and simple terms, every search engine provides results based on a series of criteria, generally keyword and content related. The engine compares the search request to its index of websites and their descriptions, and provides the most relevant answers it can, ranked in order of precedence.
The first sites to come up are the most closely related to the search terms as the engine understands them. This is why different engines may rank sites differently - Yahoo, Google and Bing have different indexing and keyword criteria, so their responses to a particular search may vary. It is termed Organic SEO because the results are returned organically, or naturally - there is no external interference or override changing the results, they simply return per the standard operating practices of the search engine.
Organic SEO has the advantage of having no inherent costs associated with it. Proper search engines don't charge businesses for their ranking in the list, so the only required investment is building a noteworthy site that generates the traffic and keyword results that will bring a high ranking. The downside is that it requires a great deal of research to properly take advantage of this strategy. Craigslist alone abounds with writing jobs catering to experienced SEO writers, and entire websites exist discussing the ins and outs of the practice. In addition, it relies entirely on users searching for terms that relate to your site, leaving the situation far less in your business's hands than some owners may be comfortable with.
PPC
In pay per click advertising, businesses contact a search engine and bid on certain keywords they feel are particularly relevant to their website. For example, a company making horse saddles might bid on keywords pertaining to horses, riding events, and saddles. Then, when someone searches these terms, the search engine provides a link to this business in the form of a pay per click advertisement. The name pay per click comes from the fact that the company must pay the website a fee every time a user clicks the advertisement.
Pay per click advertising is attractive because it increases the odds of really snagging a targeted audience. Rather than having one result possibly come up in a search, there's another result just off to the side, increasing the chances of gaining user attention. On the flip side, PPC can quickly become a cost burden. Every single click must be paid for, and there's no guarantee that every click will result in a sale, meaning costs could skyrocket before a business is prepared to deal with them.
Making the Choice
Often times, the best choice is to strike a balanced approach between SEO and PPC style advertising. Just where that balance lies depends entirely on the business in question. The savvy web advertiser will carefully consider keyword popularity before choosing a PPC campaign, and perhaps even set aside an actual budget to account for those users who will click through but are not looking to buy.
Additionally, there are literally thousands of experienced SEO writers available for employ at inexpensive rates for short term work, meaning the organic SEO standing of a page can be improved with relatively little investment. As ever, the keys are research and understanding, both of the target audience and the means with which you intend to reach them.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is a Copywriter and co-founder of Brandsplat. Brandcasting uses informative content and state-of-the-art internet distribution and optimization to build links and drive the right kind of traffic to your website. Go to http://www.Brandsplat.com/ or visit our blog at: http://www.brandsplatblog.com/
Read more Articles written by Enzo F. Cesario.
Copyright © 2009 Enzo F. Cesario
In the world of modern business, the key to success is getting your product seen and understood by your target audience. Simple numbers don't always accomplish the goal - it doesn't matter how many millions of vegetarians see your commercial for Grade-A double-plus chuck steak, after all. The key is advertising to a targeted audience, the ones who need or at least want the goods or service being offered. The best way to accomplish this goal of course will vary among different media, however, having a target market strategy is a must on the Internet.
In particular, the Internet has embraced this truth and virtually exploded with a variety of means toward the end of successful, specific advertising. Internet advertising campaigns range from the obvious and the notorious (tasteful banner advertising versus badly-worded spam emails) to the clever and the outrageous (Amazon's 'Still not big enough' television campaign from the late 90s, and Halo 2's legendary 'I Heart Bees' viral marketing alternate reality game).
Obviously, some of these efforts are more successful than others, and some are successful in all the wrong ways. The exiled Nigerian prince who wants to share his vast wealth with lucky, lucky you has become a pop-culture meme and in-joke, practically an obligatory reference in any discussion of modern marketing or Internet spam.
However, a great deal of web advertising is quite a bit less flashy than the aforementioned efforts, yet is seen by every user who runs a request through a search engine. When engines return a search, they generally include two sections in the result. The first is the target of the search itself, which is the Organic SEO result, the second is a series of advertisements off to the side of or above the organic result, known as Pay Per Click advertisements.
SEO
For those who don't know what SEO is, this acronym stands for Search Engine Optimization. In short and simple terms, every search engine provides results based on a series of criteria, generally keyword and content related. The engine compares the search request to its index of websites and their descriptions, and provides the most relevant answers it can, ranked in order of precedence.
The first sites to come up are the most closely related to the search terms as the engine understands them. This is why different engines may rank sites differently - Yahoo, Google and Bing have different indexing and keyword criteria, so their responses to a particular search may vary. It is termed Organic SEO because the results are returned organically, or naturally - there is no external interference or override changing the results, they simply return per the standard operating practices of the search engine.
Organic SEO has the advantage of having no inherent costs associated with it. Proper search engines don't charge businesses for their ranking in the list, so the only required investment is building a noteworthy site that generates the traffic and keyword results that will bring a high ranking. The downside is that it requires a great deal of research to properly take advantage of this strategy. Craigslist alone abounds with writing jobs catering to experienced SEO writers, and entire websites exist discussing the ins and outs of the practice. In addition, it relies entirely on users searching for terms that relate to your site, leaving the situation far less in your business's hands than some owners may be comfortable with.
PPC
In pay per click advertising, businesses contact a search engine and bid on certain keywords they feel are particularly relevant to their website. For example, a company making horse saddles might bid on keywords pertaining to horses, riding events, and saddles. Then, when someone searches these terms, the search engine provides a link to this business in the form of a pay per click advertisement. The name pay per click comes from the fact that the company must pay the website a fee every time a user clicks the advertisement.
Pay per click advertising is attractive because it increases the odds of really snagging a targeted audience. Rather than having one result possibly come up in a search, there's another result just off to the side, increasing the chances of gaining user attention. On the flip side, PPC can quickly become a cost burden. Every single click must be paid for, and there's no guarantee that every click will result in a sale, meaning costs could skyrocket before a business is prepared to deal with them.
Making the Choice
Often times, the best choice is to strike a balanced approach between SEO and PPC style advertising. Just where that balance lies depends entirely on the business in question. The savvy web advertiser will carefully consider keyword popularity before choosing a PPC campaign, and perhaps even set aside an actual budget to account for those users who will click through but are not looking to buy.
Additionally, there are literally thousands of experienced SEO writers available for employ at inexpensive rates for short term work, meaning the organic SEO standing of a page can be improved with relatively little investment. As ever, the keys are research and understanding, both of the target audience and the means with which you intend to reach them.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is a Copywriter and co-founder of Brandsplat. Brandcasting uses informative content and state-of-the-art internet distribution and optimization to build links and drive the right kind of traffic to your website. Go to http://www.Brandsplat.com/ or visit our blog at: http://www.brandsplatblog.com/
Read more Articles written by Enzo F. Cesario.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Government Grant Writing: Doing It Yourself
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Brendon Turner
Chances are, if you're looking for a grant to start up your small business or not-for-profit organization, you don't have the money to hire grant writers. A few will work with the promise of payment once the grant money comes in, but these are few and far between. The alternative? Do the government grant writing yourself.
Benefits of DIY Government Grant Writing
You'll find that there are a number of reasons to learn how to apply for grants yourself. Obviously, you can save quite a bit of money during the startup period when most businesses are looking to save money. Often, it's best for the business owner or one of the partners to take on as much of the grunt work as possible until the funding comes through. This will allow you to spend nothing, apart from time.
In addition, you can tailor each application to the government grant that you are applying for. With grant writers, this would be extra. Doing the writing yourself lets you make changes quickly and easily, based on which funding option you are doing the grant proposal for.
How to Write a Grant Proposal
There's a reason grant writers are expensive. It can be difficult to figure out how to write a great proposal if you don't know what you're doing. There are many areas that need to be covered, including budgets, timelines and project descriptions. It can be very confusing at first glance, but it is also very important that you include all the information needed or you could lose out on a chance to get grant money for your business or organization.
The best way to ensure that you are doing everything correctly is to get some help. Government grant writing isn't like writing an article or a letter, you need to include very specific, very detailed information so the decision makers have everything they need in order to choose you to receive the money. Most people prefer to keep their tips for success a secret, but you can still learn how to write a successful proposal and get the most out of your application.
Looking at sample applications can be a huge help and will let you style your own paperwork after something that has already been successful. While you certainly don't want to copy, you should get a feel for what is required when it comes to government grants. Writing your own proposals can save you a lot of time and money, so it is certainly worth looking into.
About the Author:
If you need more help with government grants writing, then you should check out Government Grants Source. The site features a full database of government grants, as well as tutorials and samples to help you write the best proposal possible. Written by Brendon Turner for http://www.governmentgrantsource.net/
Copyright © 2009 Brendon Turner
Chances are, if you're looking for a grant to start up your small business or not-for-profit organization, you don't have the money to hire grant writers. A few will work with the promise of payment once the grant money comes in, but these are few and far between. The alternative? Do the government grant writing yourself.
Benefits of DIY Government Grant Writing
You'll find that there are a number of reasons to learn how to apply for grants yourself. Obviously, you can save quite a bit of money during the startup period when most businesses are looking to save money. Often, it's best for the business owner or one of the partners to take on as much of the grunt work as possible until the funding comes through. This will allow you to spend nothing, apart from time.
In addition, you can tailor each application to the government grant that you are applying for. With grant writers, this would be extra. Doing the writing yourself lets you make changes quickly and easily, based on which funding option you are doing the grant proposal for.
How to Write a Grant Proposal
There's a reason grant writers are expensive. It can be difficult to figure out how to write a great proposal if you don't know what you're doing. There are many areas that need to be covered, including budgets, timelines and project descriptions. It can be very confusing at first glance, but it is also very important that you include all the information needed or you could lose out on a chance to get grant money for your business or organization.
The best way to ensure that you are doing everything correctly is to get some help. Government grant writing isn't like writing an article or a letter, you need to include very specific, very detailed information so the decision makers have everything they need in order to choose you to receive the money. Most people prefer to keep their tips for success a secret, but you can still learn how to write a successful proposal and get the most out of your application.
Looking at sample applications can be a huge help and will let you style your own paperwork after something that has already been successful. While you certainly don't want to copy, you should get a feel for what is required when it comes to government grants. Writing your own proposals can save you a lot of time and money, so it is certainly worth looking into.
About the Author:
If you need more help with government grants writing, then you should check out Government Grants Source. The site features a full database of government grants, as well as tutorials and samples to help you write the best proposal possible. Written by Brendon Turner for http://www.governmentgrantsource.net/
Thursday, October 29, 2009
How to Use a Good Domain Name Suggestion Tool
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 John Khu
Domain name is an important part of your online business. Without a good and meaningful domain name, you can never expect to make your business a success. You can choose a good domain name by using a number of online domain-name suggestion tools. Here are some simple tips to choosing a domain name by using one of the domain-name suggestion utilities.
Choose your theme: Theme and subject of the domain name form an important part of a domain name. You may wish to decide on the main theme of your web site. Once you choose the theme of the web site, pick a domain name that relates and works well with the main theme. Let us say that you are dealing with selling flowers online. Then, you may wish to pick up a domain that reflects this glower selling theme. For example, choosing a theme enriched domain name like onlineflowerselling.com will work very good.
Find the domain name: Experts prefer and recommend .com as your preferred domain name. Most successful online entrepreneurs like to find a domain name based on the keywords. These keywords always relate to the main theme of the web site. If you are selling red flowers, then you must choose domain keywords that reflect the flower-selling theme. For example, you can choose a keyword like red flowers, online flowers or virtual flowers.
If you do not own a domain name then you can make use of a number of online domain tools to find your name of choice. Before buying a domain name, you may also wish to use a keyword search tool to check the availability of good keywords. Let us say that you want to find keywords that relate to orchid flowers. Then, you will need to find all keywords that connect to orchid flowers and online sales of orchid flowers. This means that your keywords will be a combination of themes like orchid flowers that you want to sell online to your virtual customers. For example, you can choose keywords like online orchid flowers.
Tip: Most popular keyword search tools are:
http://www.keywordtracker.com and
http://www.keyword.adwords.com
Now that you have your preferred keywords, you can use free online domain name tools like:
http://www.nameboy.com/
http://www.domaininformer.com/tools
Enter your keywords plus domain extension in the search bar and find out the availability of the domain names. If it is available, then you can place an order for it almost immediately as someone may pick up that name before you.
Registering domains: You can register your domain name only when it is available. To find whether the domain name of your choice is available or not, you can make use of a free online utility called Whois database. Just enter the keywords Whois on the search-engine address field and enter the web portal. Now, you can type the domain name of your choice in the Whois search data entry box and hit Find button. Now, the database will inform whether the domain name is available or not. If it is available, you can buy the name immediately by paying the required registration fees.
About the Author:
John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain names business. He is also the owner of the path breaking web sites called http://www.expireddomainsecret.com and http://www.expireddomaingains.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.
Read more of John Khu's articles.
Copyright © 2009 John Khu
Domain name is an important part of your online business. Without a good and meaningful domain name, you can never expect to make your business a success. You can choose a good domain name by using a number of online domain-name suggestion tools. Here are some simple tips to choosing a domain name by using one of the domain-name suggestion utilities.
Choose your theme: Theme and subject of the domain name form an important part of a domain name. You may wish to decide on the main theme of your web site. Once you choose the theme of the web site, pick a domain name that relates and works well with the main theme. Let us say that you are dealing with selling flowers online. Then, you may wish to pick up a domain that reflects this glower selling theme. For example, choosing a theme enriched domain name like onlineflowerselling.com will work very good.
Find the domain name: Experts prefer and recommend .com as your preferred domain name. Most successful online entrepreneurs like to find a domain name based on the keywords. These keywords always relate to the main theme of the web site. If you are selling red flowers, then you must choose domain keywords that reflect the flower-selling theme. For example, you can choose a keyword like red flowers, online flowers or virtual flowers.
If you do not own a domain name then you can make use of a number of online domain tools to find your name of choice. Before buying a domain name, you may also wish to use a keyword search tool to check the availability of good keywords. Let us say that you want to find keywords that relate to orchid flowers. Then, you will need to find all keywords that connect to orchid flowers and online sales of orchid flowers. This means that your keywords will be a combination of themes like orchid flowers that you want to sell online to your virtual customers. For example, you can choose keywords like online orchid flowers.
Tip: Most popular keyword search tools are:
Now that you have your preferred keywords, you can use free online domain name tools like:
Enter your keywords plus domain extension in the search bar and find out the availability of the domain names. If it is available, then you can place an order for it almost immediately as someone may pick up that name before you.
Registering domains: You can register your domain name only when it is available. To find whether the domain name of your choice is available or not, you can make use of a free online utility called Whois database. Just enter the keywords Whois on the search-engine address field and enter the web portal. Now, you can type the domain name of your choice in the Whois search data entry box and hit Find button. Now, the database will inform whether the domain name is available or not. If it is available, you can buy the name immediately by paying the required registration fees.
About the Author:
John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain names business. He is also the owner of the path breaking web sites called http://www.expireddomainsecret.com and http://www.expireddomaingains.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.
Read more of John Khu's articles.
List Building - 9 Steps to Creating a High Converting Squeeze Page
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Alan Cheng
With a high converting squeeze page, an online business will make more use of the traffic they drive to their website. With more email leads an online business can promote to, there are more chances of buyers for your products and services. Generating traffic is hard work so you want to capture as many of the visitors' emails as you can when they visit your website.
Here are 9 steps to creating a high converting squeeze page:
1. Determine Type Of Traffic
Decide what type of prospect you want to attract with your squeeze page. Then create your squeeze page to attract that particular type of prospect only. Don't create a squeeze page which caters for everyone. Your conversions of visitors to leads will suffer.
2. Professional Graphics
Create the best graphics you can for your squeeze page. Eye-grabbing graphics have proven in my tests to increase conversion rates. So hire a good graphics designer if you can't design good graphics yourself.
3. Keywords
Make sure your squeeze page shows the keywords which the visitor is looking for. If your ad promises that they will receive an insurance review report when they visit your squeeze page, make sure your squeeze page shows the words "insurance review".
This will confirm to the visitor that they are on the right page and they should find the information they are looking for.
4. Attention
Get your visitor's attention right away when they visit your website.
You can do this by showing a headline that raises curiosity and promises benefits.
Once you have their attention, they will read more of your squeeze page.
5. Benefits
With your squeeze page, explain the benefits for the visitor if they sign up to your list.
Explain the benefits using words or video. Make sure that when you read the message on the squeeze page, you actually emotionally feel how signing up will benefit your visitors.
6. Graphics - Video/Report
If you are offering a free report or video on your squeeze page, create a graphic (called an ecover) for it.
This will make your intangible product seem tangible. Visitors will want their hands on your free offer. It's all about packaging your offer.
7. Call To Action
In your squeeze page, make it very clear what you want the subscriber to do. Don't make them guess that they should enter their name and email address to sign up to your list. Tell them directly in simple terms. Command them on what they need to do.
People react to commands. Telling them to enter their name and email and then click on the submit button is needed. This may sound silly, but tests have shown this to increase response rates.
8. Split Testing
With every squeeze page you create, you need to create another one with a slight variation such as a different headline, different benefits or place your sign up box in another place.
All squeeze pages can be improved. Use the tool at http://www.google.com/websiteoptimizer to test which 2 versions of your squeeze page has the better response rate.
Remove the low performing squeeze page and try to create another one to achieve better response rates. This is how you create squeeze pages that have 50% sign up rates.
9. Drive Traffic
At the end of the day, you need to drive traffic to the squeeze page and see what type of prospects react to your squeeze page. If you notice that a certain source of traffic has good sign up rates then market your squeeze page more in that area.
The more traffic you drive to your squeeze page, the quicker you will be able to create a high converting squeeze page.
All these steps are not rocket science, yet not many people follow them. Improve your squeeze page one step at a time following the advice above and you'll be able to convert a high percentage of your visitors to subscribers. This list building component of your online business is essential if you want to increase sales. If you want your online business to succeed, a high converting squeeze page is mandatory.
About the Author:
For more tips on how to promote your online business and increase sales, visit information product creation. To hire professionals to create your own best selling information products, visit http://www.eliteghostwriters.com/infoproducts.html - Alan Cheng, Elite Ghostwriters.
Read more of Alan Cheng's articles.
Copyright © 2009 Alan Cheng
With a high converting squeeze page, an online business will make more use of the traffic they drive to their website. With more email leads an online business can promote to, there are more chances of buyers for your products and services. Generating traffic is hard work so you want to capture as many of the visitors' emails as you can when they visit your website.
Here are 9 steps to creating a high converting squeeze page:
1. Determine Type Of Traffic
Decide what type of prospect you want to attract with your squeeze page. Then create your squeeze page to attract that particular type of prospect only. Don't create a squeeze page which caters for everyone. Your conversions of visitors to leads will suffer.
2. Professional Graphics
Create the best graphics you can for your squeeze page. Eye-grabbing graphics have proven in my tests to increase conversion rates. So hire a good graphics designer if you can't design good graphics yourself.
3. Keywords
Make sure your squeeze page shows the keywords which the visitor is looking for. If your ad promises that they will receive an insurance review report when they visit your squeeze page, make sure your squeeze page shows the words "insurance review".
This will confirm to the visitor that they are on the right page and they should find the information they are looking for.
4. Attention
Get your visitor's attention right away when they visit your website.
You can do this by showing a headline that raises curiosity and promises benefits.
Once you have their attention, they will read more of your squeeze page.
5. Benefits
With your squeeze page, explain the benefits for the visitor if they sign up to your list.
Explain the benefits using words or video. Make sure that when you read the message on the squeeze page, you actually emotionally feel how signing up will benefit your visitors.
6. Graphics - Video/Report
If you are offering a free report or video on your squeeze page, create a graphic (called an ecover) for it.
This will make your intangible product seem tangible. Visitors will want their hands on your free offer. It's all about packaging your offer.
7. Call To Action
In your squeeze page, make it very clear what you want the subscriber to do. Don't make them guess that they should enter their name and email address to sign up to your list. Tell them directly in simple terms. Command them on what they need to do.
People react to commands. Telling them to enter their name and email and then click on the submit button is needed. This may sound silly, but tests have shown this to increase response rates.
8. Split Testing
With every squeeze page you create, you need to create another one with a slight variation such as a different headline, different benefits or place your sign up box in another place.
All squeeze pages can be improved. Use the tool at http://www.google.com/websiteoptimizer to test which 2 versions of your squeeze page has the better response rate.
Remove the low performing squeeze page and try to create another one to achieve better response rates. This is how you create squeeze pages that have 50% sign up rates.
9. Drive Traffic
At the end of the day, you need to drive traffic to the squeeze page and see what type of prospects react to your squeeze page. If you notice that a certain source of traffic has good sign up rates then market your squeeze page more in that area.
The more traffic you drive to your squeeze page, the quicker you will be able to create a high converting squeeze page.
All these steps are not rocket science, yet not many people follow them. Improve your squeeze page one step at a time following the advice above and you'll be able to convert a high percentage of your visitors to subscribers. This list building component of your online business is essential if you want to increase sales. If you want your online business to succeed, a high converting squeeze page is mandatory.
About the Author:
For more tips on how to promote your online business and increase sales, visit information product creation. To hire professionals to create your own best selling information products, visit http://www.eliteghostwriters.com/infoproducts.html - Alan Cheng, Elite Ghostwriters.
Read more of Alan Cheng's articles.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
My Super-Effective Article Writing Formula
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Willie Crawford
Here's the formula that I use to quickly write informative articles that get results. For many of the articles that I write my goal is to get visitors to a website where they take some action related to the topic of the article. Often the action that they take is to buy some product that I recommend.
Here is the formula that I use to write articles almost in an assembly line fashion. The reason that I write so many articles is that in some niches you need dozens, even hundreds of articles, to break through the clutter.
I begin with keyword research. You want to know what keyword phrases your ideal customers are using when searching online. They come online searching for solutions to their problems, and when they come across your articles offering a solution, they become raving fans.
To do keyword research, I often use the "Google External Keyword Tool." You can find it by googling that term. This tool shows you how many searches are made on a given term in a month, plus how many webpages there are out there already targeting that phrase. The tool also suggests related terms that you might want to target. You can use this tool to compile a list of suitable keywords and then download your research results in an Excel spreadsheet.
In looking at keywords, what you're trying to identify, in addition to search volume, is "What problems are these searchers try to solve." People come online looking for solutions to their problems. You identify those problems and then let them know (via your articles) that you have the perfect solution.
In crafting my article titles, I use my keywords but also work in a promised benefit. My titles promise to show them the solution to a nagging problem. When they see that title listed in the search engines, this is what entices them to click through to your target site.
In crafting the body of my articles, I use the "problem, agitate, solution" formula. I describe the problem to let the reader know that I understand their problems. I then go into excruciating details explaining the problem, and how it's not going to get any better unless they do something about it. Finally, I point out the obvious solution, which is my recommended product.
Sometimes I only point them to a website to read more about the problem. On that website, they'll also find my recommended solution. This is a less-threatening, soft-sell approach.
When I do my keyword research, I sometimes identify hundreds of related keywords that are being searched on a lot. At the same time, I identify several different painful problems (or variations of the same problem). This is what allows me to write articles in almost an assembly line fashion.
After the articles are written, I use an automated submission service to submit them to the top article directories. I use automated submissions because otherwise I'd spend countless hours submitting each article (not a very good use of our time).
In the resource box of these articles, I point readers to a target site. Where permitted I use anchor text in the links in these resource boxes. That anchor text is generally the keyword that I'm targeting (the same keyword that I used in my title).
I also post these articles to my blogs or maybe to a static page on one of my sites.
Since I like to leverage my time, I also turn many of my articles into videos, and podcasts. I generally create the videos by putting the main points of the articles on PowerPoint slides. Then I read the article as I go through the slides - recording then using Camtasia (screen capture software).
Alternatively, I sometimes simply turn the text of an article into a PDF. Then I scroll down my computer screen reading the article, and again, recording it using Camtasia.
To create the podcast you can use recording software probably already on your computer, or you can download one many free pieces of software such as Audacity. Simply read the article as you record it. I generally save it as an MP3.
Submit the videos to video sharing sites, and submit the audio to podcast sites. I use an automated submission service for this, submitting to numerous sites!
Here's one final tactic that I use to get my articles to rank higher for a target keyword and get noticed more readily in the search engines. I look for ways to create external links pointing to my article in one location - generally my main blog. I do this by bookmarking the blog post that contains the article. This is perhaps the easiest way to give the article a search engine boost.
There you have it, my super-effective article writing formula. It generates a steady stream of high quality website traffic for me, and a steady stream of orders too. Feel free to use it.
About the Author:
Willie Crawford has been marketing online for 13 years, and used article marketing most of that time (writing over 1500 articles). His favorite tools for automatically distributing his articles, videos, podcasts, and press releases is the automated submission site: http://EasyPushButtonTraffic.com/
Follow Willie Crawford on Twitter.
Copyright © 2009 Willie Crawford
Here's the formula that I use to quickly write informative articles that get results. For many of the articles that I write my goal is to get visitors to a website where they take some action related to the topic of the article. Often the action that they take is to buy some product that I recommend.
Here is the formula that I use to write articles almost in an assembly line fashion. The reason that I write so many articles is that in some niches you need dozens, even hundreds of articles, to break through the clutter.
I begin with keyword research. You want to know what keyword phrases your ideal customers are using when searching online. They come online searching for solutions to their problems, and when they come across your articles offering a solution, they become raving fans.
To do keyword research, I often use the "Google External Keyword Tool." You can find it by googling that term. This tool shows you how many searches are made on a given term in a month, plus how many webpages there are out there already targeting that phrase. The tool also suggests related terms that you might want to target. You can use this tool to compile a list of suitable keywords and then download your research results in an Excel spreadsheet.
In looking at keywords, what you're trying to identify, in addition to search volume, is "What problems are these searchers try to solve." People come online looking for solutions to their problems. You identify those problems and then let them know (via your articles) that you have the perfect solution.
In crafting my article titles, I use my keywords but also work in a promised benefit. My titles promise to show them the solution to a nagging problem. When they see that title listed in the search engines, this is what entices them to click through to your target site.
In crafting the body of my articles, I use the "problem, agitate, solution" formula. I describe the problem to let the reader know that I understand their problems. I then go into excruciating details explaining the problem, and how it's not going to get any better unless they do something about it. Finally, I point out the obvious solution, which is my recommended product.
Sometimes I only point them to a website to read more about the problem. On that website, they'll also find my recommended solution. This is a less-threatening, soft-sell approach.
When I do my keyword research, I sometimes identify hundreds of related keywords that are being searched on a lot. At the same time, I identify several different painful problems (or variations of the same problem). This is what allows me to write articles in almost an assembly line fashion.
After the articles are written, I use an automated submission service to submit them to the top article directories. I use automated submissions because otherwise I'd spend countless hours submitting each article (not a very good use of our time).
In the resource box of these articles, I point readers to a target site. Where permitted I use anchor text in the links in these resource boxes. That anchor text is generally the keyword that I'm targeting (the same keyword that I used in my title).
I also post these articles to my blogs or maybe to a static page on one of my sites.
Since I like to leverage my time, I also turn many of my articles into videos, and podcasts. I generally create the videos by putting the main points of the articles on PowerPoint slides. Then I read the article as I go through the slides - recording then using Camtasia (screen capture software).
Alternatively, I sometimes simply turn the text of an article into a PDF. Then I scroll down my computer screen reading the article, and again, recording it using Camtasia.
To create the podcast you can use recording software probably already on your computer, or you can download one many free pieces of software such as Audacity. Simply read the article as you record it. I generally save it as an MP3.
Submit the videos to video sharing sites, and submit the audio to podcast sites. I use an automated submission service for this, submitting to numerous sites!
Here's one final tactic that I use to get my articles to rank higher for a target keyword and get noticed more readily in the search engines. I look for ways to create external links pointing to my article in one location - generally my main blog. I do this by bookmarking the blog post that contains the article. This is perhaps the easiest way to give the article a search engine boost.
There you have it, my super-effective article writing formula. It generates a steady stream of high quality website traffic for me, and a steady stream of orders too. Feel free to use it.
About the Author:
Willie Crawford has been marketing online for 13 years, and used article marketing most of that time (writing over 1500 articles). His favorite tools for automatically distributing his articles, videos, podcasts, and press releases is the automated submission site: http://EasyPushButtonTraffic.com/
Follow Willie Crawford on Twitter.
Monday, October 26, 2009
How A Blog Can Seriously Help Your Business
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2009 Jason OConnor
If your business website doesn't have a blog, get one. A blog, if done right, can act as a direct and indirect mechanism that brings large amounts of qualified visitors to your site, many of whom may become customers.
This is mostly related to the way blogs interact with search engines and the traffic I am speaking of will come from search engines, mostly Google.
Before I explain how you can do this to help your website, let me first give some background on how search engines work, Google in particular.
When it comes to optimizing your website (or blog for that matter) for search engines you must always keep in mind two things: on-page optimization and off-page optimization.
On-page optimization is the elements of a Web page that better optimizes it to be found and ranked well in the search engines. These elements can include on-page content such as the actual sentences and paragraphs on the page, the headlines (or headers or Hx tags), the links, the links' text, the title tag and much more.
Off-page optimization means the things that are done on sites besides your own, namely link-building. Off-page optimization is the process of creating links (or causing others to create links) on other websites that point to your site. Inbound links as these are often called have a major impact on how well you rank in search engines. Generally speaking, the more inbound links, the better. But the quality of the sites with these inbound links, or the way the search engines perceive the sites, is even more important.
To rank on the first couple of pages on the search engines requires work on both on-page and off-page optimization.
Two additional and important pieces of information that you'll need to understand are related to site content and internal links.
Search engines also very much love new, original and quality content, and they like to see your website regularly adding this kind of new content. You don't need to add pages every day, just add pages at the same rate over time. So if you add a page a week to your site, keep it at around that same pace, or increase or decrease gradually.
A website can be considered a living entity in a sense. It certainly shouldn't be static. It should grow over time. And the fantastic thing about content is that the more of it there is on your site, the more chances you have getting found in the search engines.
The idea that inbound links help your search engine rankings that I explained above can be extended to your own internal pages as well. In other words, the more links to a particular page coming from other pages within the same site will boost that page's rank as well.
Think of it this way. If you had a ten-page site, including a product page and every page on the site contained a link to your product page. If all other things were equal, your product page would rank higher than the rest of your site's pages (besides the home page which is given a little extra weight).
Now let's consider what would happen if there were only you and your competitor in your industry (only if that could be true!) and your site still had those ten pages while your competitor's site contained one hundred pages. Furthermore, your competitor set it up the same way as you where he added a link to every page on his site that pointed to his product page. If all other things were equal his product page would outrank your product page every time. Why? Because he had 100 internal links pointing to his product page and you only had 10.
If you put all these pieces together now, on-page optimization, off-page optimization or link building, content creation and internal linking, can you begin to see why a blog may be a good thing? A blog helps with all of these.
A blog that is regularly updated is providing a mechanism for adding fresh content on a regular basis. Plus, it's so easy to use a blog that anyone can use them, so even if you or your employees don't know a thing about Web pages and HTML, you'll still be able to add new content to your site.
Consider this. If you add fresh, quality content to your blog on a regular basis by writing posts, something the search engines love, and within each post you link to an important page within your site, let's say your product page for instance, you're now building links to help your rankings using your blog. With this additional link your product page gets that much more boost in the search engines.
Remember how I explained that links from within your own site help your rankings? Adding links within your blog posts pointing back to your other important pages of yours that you want to rank well is a great way to help your rankings.
And every time you publish a new post, you're giving the search engines one more entry point into your site. Your site will quickly get bigger, and with each new page your site gets more visible.
Keep in mind that the links you make within your blog posts should be relevant. Only link to your product page from a post that has to do with your products. And also, blog posts ought to be useful to your site visitors. The less you talk about your products and instead offer useful, free information that people can use, the more traffic and repeat visitors you'll get.
Remember that people really don't care about you, your website or your products, they only care about how you can help them. If you sell furniture, a blog post about how to find the best deals on furniture would be far better than a post about how your chairs are the best in the world.
One important thing to remember is that if you plan on creating a new blog for your business as a way to augment your website be sure you put the blog on your actual domain. This means that you would not use a remote service like Blogger.com. Instead, you must have the blog on your business website's address (or domain). For example, if your website address is http://www.yoursite.com/ then your blog should be located at http://www.yoursite.com/blog or http://blog.yoursite.com/
By adding a blog to your business website you are creating a way to get more traffic. You'll get direct traffic from your posts, which get indexed by the search engines and drive traffic to your site from searches. And you'll get indirect traffic from your other site's pages ranking well in the search engines because they have links pointing to them from your blog posts.
You'll be regularly adding fresh content to your site, which search engines love, thereby creating more ways to be found in the search engines at the same time. And each post provides a new opportunity to create a link or two to other pages and blog posts on your site, thereby boosting those pages' rankings.
Like I suggested at the beginning, if your business website doesn't have a blog, go get one.
Copyright 2009 TheNetGazette.net
About the Author:
Jason O'Connor is a Web business and marketing professional who produces The Net Gazette, a free online Web business and marketing periodical. The Net Gazette covers topics that range from blogging for business to Twitter. Read the September edition here or here: http://www.thenetgazette.net/
Read more Articles written by Jason OConnor.
Copyright © 2009 Jason OConnor
If your business website doesn't have a blog, get one. A blog, if done right, can act as a direct and indirect mechanism that brings large amounts of qualified visitors to your site, many of whom may become customers.
This is mostly related to the way blogs interact with search engines and the traffic I am speaking of will come from search engines, mostly Google.
Before I explain how you can do this to help your website, let me first give some background on how search engines work, Google in particular.
When it comes to optimizing your website (or blog for that matter) for search engines you must always keep in mind two things: on-page optimization and off-page optimization.
On-page optimization is the elements of a Web page that better optimizes it to be found and ranked well in the search engines. These elements can include on-page content such as the actual sentences and paragraphs on the page, the headlines (or headers or Hx tags), the links, the links' text, the title tag and much more.
Off-page optimization means the things that are done on sites besides your own, namely link-building. Off-page optimization is the process of creating links (or causing others to create links) on other websites that point to your site. Inbound links as these are often called have a major impact on how well you rank in search engines. Generally speaking, the more inbound links, the better. But the quality of the sites with these inbound links, or the way the search engines perceive the sites, is even more important.
To rank on the first couple of pages on the search engines requires work on both on-page and off-page optimization.
Two additional and important pieces of information that you'll need to understand are related to site content and internal links.
Search engines also very much love new, original and quality content, and they like to see your website regularly adding this kind of new content. You don't need to add pages every day, just add pages at the same rate over time. So if you add a page a week to your site, keep it at around that same pace, or increase or decrease gradually.
A website can be considered a living entity in a sense. It certainly shouldn't be static. It should grow over time. And the fantastic thing about content is that the more of it there is on your site, the more chances you have getting found in the search engines.
The idea that inbound links help your search engine rankings that I explained above can be extended to your own internal pages as well. In other words, the more links to a particular page coming from other pages within the same site will boost that page's rank as well.
Think of it this way. If you had a ten-page site, including a product page and every page on the site contained a link to your product page. If all other things were equal, your product page would rank higher than the rest of your site's pages (besides the home page which is given a little extra weight).
Now let's consider what would happen if there were only you and your competitor in your industry (only if that could be true!) and your site still had those ten pages while your competitor's site contained one hundred pages. Furthermore, your competitor set it up the same way as you where he added a link to every page on his site that pointed to his product page. If all other things were equal his product page would outrank your product page every time. Why? Because he had 100 internal links pointing to his product page and you only had 10.
If you put all these pieces together now, on-page optimization, off-page optimization or link building, content creation and internal linking, can you begin to see why a blog may be a good thing? A blog helps with all of these.
A blog that is regularly updated is providing a mechanism for adding fresh content on a regular basis. Plus, it's so easy to use a blog that anyone can use them, so even if you or your employees don't know a thing about Web pages and HTML, you'll still be able to add new content to your site.
Consider this. If you add fresh, quality content to your blog on a regular basis by writing posts, something the search engines love, and within each post you link to an important page within your site, let's say your product page for instance, you're now building links to help your rankings using your blog. With this additional link your product page gets that much more boost in the search engines.
Remember how I explained that links from within your own site help your rankings? Adding links within your blog posts pointing back to your other important pages of yours that you want to rank well is a great way to help your rankings.
And every time you publish a new post, you're giving the search engines one more entry point into your site. Your site will quickly get bigger, and with each new page your site gets more visible.
Keep in mind that the links you make within your blog posts should be relevant. Only link to your product page from a post that has to do with your products. And also, blog posts ought to be useful to your site visitors. The less you talk about your products and instead offer useful, free information that people can use, the more traffic and repeat visitors you'll get.
Remember that people really don't care about you, your website or your products, they only care about how you can help them. If you sell furniture, a blog post about how to find the best deals on furniture would be far better than a post about how your chairs are the best in the world.
One important thing to remember is that if you plan on creating a new blog for your business as a way to augment your website be sure you put the blog on your actual domain. This means that you would not use a remote service like Blogger.com. Instead, you must have the blog on your business website's address (or domain). For example, if your website address is http://www.yoursite.com/ then your blog should be located at http://www.yoursite.com/blog or http://blog.yoursite.com/
By adding a blog to your business website you are creating a way to get more traffic. You'll get direct traffic from your posts, which get indexed by the search engines and drive traffic to your site from searches. And you'll get indirect traffic from your other site's pages ranking well in the search engines because they have links pointing to them from your blog posts.
You'll be regularly adding fresh content to your site, which search engines love, thereby creating more ways to be found in the search engines at the same time. And each post provides a new opportunity to create a link or two to other pages and blog posts on your site, thereby boosting those pages' rankings.
Like I suggested at the beginning, if your business website doesn't have a blog, go get one.
Copyright 2009 TheNetGazette.net
About the Author:
Jason O'Connor is a Web business and marketing professional who produces The Net Gazette, a free online Web business and marketing periodical. The Net Gazette covers topics that range from blogging for business to Twitter. Read the September edition here or here: http://www.thenetgazette.net/
Read more Articles written by Jason OConnor.
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