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Showing posts with label Marketing Tips for 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marketing Tips for 2008. Show all posts

16 June 2008





What To Do When Your Website
Does Not Rank Well In Google


Online marketers frequently struggle with the question of how to compete when Google fails to look positively upon a particular website. In this article, I will focus on how to build rankings and drive traffic to your website, using Google and the other search engines.

What Motivates Google's Algorithm

Over the years, many have tried to claim, even in court, that Google was unfairly keeping their website out of the top of Google's search results. But, the truth is that Google is not beholden to the needs and desires of the webmasters who want to be on page one of Google's natural search results.

Instead, Google is beholden to its stockholders and its need to earn profíts. Google has determined that the best way to keep profíts high is to keep Internet users flocking to its websites. Google accomplishes that by giving its users the kind of information they are looking to find, and Google weights its search algorithm towards what Google believes its search audience wants to see in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).

It is important for online marketers to understand that it is not always in Google's best interest for our websites to rank well in Google.

How Important Is Google In Search?

Worldwide, Google is currently providing 78% of all searches.

But in 2007, Google only provided 52% of my website's total search traffic. Yahoo, Windows Live, Ask, and MSN provided the next 42%. The remaining 6% of my website's search traffic came from another 55 smaller search engines.

On my website, only 48.8% of my 2007 traffic actually came from search engines. The remaining 51.2% of my website's quarter million visitors came directly from article placements on other websites, recommendations from other people, forum posts, and from people who have bookmarks for my website.

Tips For Ranking Well For Specific Keywords

It has been my experience that it is easier to rank in 1) MSN / Windows Live, 2) Yahoo, and then 3) Google, in that order. Quite frankly, I have always ignored the role of Ask in the search market. While MSN is the easiest search engine to rank in, it only delivered 4.6% of my total search traffic in 2007.

I read a question in a forum, where the poster was asking how he could get his website to rank well in Google for the search term, "software".

The truth is that it is nearly impossible in nearly every search engine to rank well in the natural results for such a singular keyword as "software". In a nutshell, if you want to rank well in Google, you need to build inbound links (IBLs) to your website with your targeted keywords in the links.

But, you don't want to put all of your links together with one keyword phrase. One of Google's red flags is when they notice a link to a particular website appearing more than 60% of the time with one specific keyword phrase.

Utilizing a variety of long-tail keywords will actually serve you better in the search-engine ranking puzzle, in more ways than one. After all, when I do a search for software, I don't type in the search word, "software". I type in search phrases like: "accounting software", "small business accounting software", "windows software accounting small business", "windows image editing software", "windows software image editor", "windows xp photo album manager", etc.

People searching the keyword "software" have yet to figure out that they are looking for specific kinds of software. Once they do an initial search, they are going to type in more specific search terms to find what they actually want. So, once you start targeting a variety of long-tail keyword phrases, then you will start seeing more success in your search marketing efforts.

How To Start Your Search Engine Optimization Journey

If you are wanting to get into the natural search results of Google and the other search engines, you must know before you dive into the project that getting good rankings in the search engines for your chosen keywords can take a really long time, before you begin seeing results.

While inbound links to your website, targeted to your chosen keywords, will help your website climb in the search results of your favorite search engines, it may be a frustrating journey.

Your competitors want to rank well for the same search terms you do. And since only ten of you can be on page one of the search results, you may have to work really hard to topple those guys already on page one of the results, and you will have to fight to keep your ranking once you get it.

There are some keyword phrases that are nearly impossible to rank for, even if you have really deep pockets. For example, most every keyword phrase for the financial industry will be extremely difficult to rank for in Google. Competition in this industry is fierce, so achieving top search rankings will be tough to say the least.

This is the reason why so many SEO experts encourage marketers to target "low-hanging fruit". It may be fairly easy to rank well for a four- or five-word search phrase, and extremely expensive to target a two- or three-word search phrase.

My personal approach has always been to rotate through a líst of more than 100 target keyword phrases, over a longer period of time. In doing so, I capture a lot of low-hanging fruit quickly, and at the end of the loop, I am a bit closer to snagging the fruit in the upper branches of the tree. At the end of my líst, I analyze my keywords again to see where I am strong and to see where I am still weak, and then I begin the process again. (According to SEOdigger.com, I have better than 950 keyword phrases in the top twenty results of Google.)

How To Get Links

The challenge most people face when they begin building links to a website is where to get those essential links.

Article marketing is my chosen method for getting inbound links.

Because of Google's news feed strategy, the initial placement of your article might appear immediately in the SERPs, but then it will disappear. During the news cycle phase of the Google algorithm, new materials are given an added boost in ranking. Once the news cycle is done, any new pages will sink back down to where they would be based on the general Google algorithm.

If you are honest with yourself, you know that every page on the Internet started life with a PageRank Zero, but given enough time, many pages will gain in PageRank, as they begin to be linked. For a more detailed look at the process of how reprint articles gain value for a website in Google's search index, see my article about "Fishing for Links in Google".

Utilizing article marketing as a link building method, I have put one website on the map in as little as eight weeks, with only three articles. This website has one #1, one #2, eight results on page one, and twelve results in the top twenty listings of Google. Most of those keywords also rank well in Yahoo and MSN.

On the other hand, on my main website, I started looking at the keyword phrase "article marketing" just eighteen months ago, when my website sat at #79. Today, my website sits at #12 in Google for that keyword phrase.

I believe that given enough time, investment and commitment, I can use article marketing to elevate any web page on the Internet to multiple page-one listings in Google. But, not everyone is willing to make the kind of investment and commitment one needs to get to the top of Google's search results...

What To Do When You Need Results Now

If you simply cannot wait as long as it takes to build top rankings naturally, then you need to look seriously at Pay-Per-Click advertising models, such those offered through Google Adwords and Yahoo Search Marketing .

About The Author
Bill Platt offers Article Distribution and Article Ghost Writing services through his website at: thephantomwriters.com. He has written an ebook that has been designed to help people create more effective articles. One customer said of his ebook, "I've read almost every ebook out there on article writing and article marketing and this one tops it all." To learn more about Bill's ebook or to get your copy, please visit: http://thephantomwriters.com/ebooks/article-marketing-traffic.html.


3 June 2008

Article Marketing Exposed - The Truth About Articles

Since article marketing became popular a few years ago, many people concern about its end. Such a great marketing strategy seems like too good to be true. How could this be free? Those who have been using it for years regret why some marketers revealed their secrets. Competitions can only mean bad things. Is it true?

Article marketing is still a very powerful marketing strategy nowadays. In fact, people who are doing it for some time should not worry about competitions, for the reasons I'll explain below.

First and foremost, you should not believe about the myth. If you think the sky is falling on article marketing, it may just be true for you. After all, anything could be true if you believe in it.

In order to get article marketing to work for you or your business, you must do it correctly nowadays. It is just how things should work after going through the hype. People realized that perhaps their expectations were too high. Some gave up. Those who do it right knows how it works and how to make this works every time.

Article marketing is no different. After the dust settles down, now is the time to really understand how it works and stand out from the crowd.

In summary, the strategy revolves around publishing high-quality articles. You should also offer valuable information and strong call to action in the resource box to have the readers click through your site. Once they're on your site, do what it takes to have them subscribe to your e-newsletter or buy the product you offer.

Even if in the future Internet turns to another format entirely for content besides text, they are all content. Article is just another basic type of content.

Articles can be repurposed into any format. As long as people still appreciate information, articles will always work. The strategy and method behind article marketing may change, but the underlying principles will not.

Understand these basic principles, and you should be able to adapt to any changes in the future.

Do you want to learn the secrets about article marketing and how I drive 5,238 unique visitors to my site each month?


Download your free article marketing strategy guide plus 2 free article templates and other goodies in the "Net Marketing Start-Up Kit" from http://successloop.com/templates.html

To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.AutoPilotKings.com

Coach Donohugh Magnus helps beginners and the advanced marketer. Claim your FREE newsletter with hundreds of "killer" promotional tips and tricks from http://www.pluginprofitsite.com/main-19887/specialoffer.html

24 April 2008

How To Market A Business Using Search Engines

By Akintayo Binuyo

In order to successfully market your online business with search engines you first have to understand how they work, search engines primary purpose is to provide useful information to users doing searches.

Search engines such as Google and yahoo want to give a user the most relevant result when he/she types in the words "refinancing an investment property". The Search engines want the 1st result on the 1st page to educate the searcher about "refinancing an investment property".

You have to understand that the reason Google is so successful is because their customers (people doing searches) are very happy and continue to come back for more! Now that you understand this principle I am going to talk about how to market your online business using search engines.

The next question you should be asking is "How do I get my website on the first page of Google?". Your first step would be to gather your content; content is the relevant information users will be searching for in your market. They could be articles, reports, videos, audio files etc.

The idea is to deliver your content to Google so that they can in turn deliver it to your customers in the form of results from searches. You can either put all your content into a website you create or you can distribute it to other sites that Google already trust. This would be the much faster way! This is known as article marketing.

Another way to use the search engines to market your business is by using pay per click. In this instance you are paying Google to have your ad show up on the right side of searches where users can click on them. You only pay when someone clicks on your ad, what you pay per click depends on how many other people are bidding on the same "keyword" that triggers your ad.

I wasted 17months trying to market my business using search engines, but you should not do the same. Instead click here to get a copy of my "Quality Traffic Report". In it I will show you my results after testing article marketing vs. google pay per click, you can use the results to market your business effectively by using the search engines. You can also visit http://www.qualitytrafficbuilder.com/trafficbuilding

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Akintayo_Binuyo

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10 April 2008

HOW YOU CAN GET FREE RADIO ADVERTISING

The greatest expense you're going to incur in conducting a

successful business is advertising.


Copyright © AutoPilotKings
http://www.AutoPilotKings.com

You have to advertise. Your business cannot grow and flourish

unless you advertise. Advertising is the "life-blood" of any

profitable business. And regardless of where or how you

advertise, it's going to cost you in some form or another.


Every successful business is built upon, and continues to thrive,

primarily, on good advertising. The top companies in the world

allocate millions of dollars annually to their advertising

budget. of course, when starting from a garage, basement or

kitchen table, you can't quite match their advertising

efforts---at least not in the beginning. But there is a way you

can approximate their maneuvers without actually spending their

kind of money. And that's through "P.I" Advertising.

"P.I." stands for per inquiry. This kind of advertising is most

generally associated with broadcasting, where you pay only for

the responses you get to your advertising message. It's very

popular--somewhat akin to bartering--and is used by many more

advertisers than most people realize. The advantages of PI

Advertising are all in favor of the advertiser because with this

kind of an advertising arrangement, you can pay only for the

results the advertising produces.


To get in on this "free" advertising, start with a loose leaf

notebook, and about 100 sheets of filler paper. Next, either

visit your public library and start poring through the Broadcast

Yearbook on radio stations in the U.S., or Standard Rate and Data

Services Directory on Spot Radio. Both these publications will

give you just about all the information you could ever want about

licensed stations.


An easier way might be to call or visit one of your local radio

stations, and ask to borrow (and take home with you) their

current copy of either of these volumes. To purchase them

outright will cost $50 to $75.


Once you have a copy of either of these publications, select the

state or states you want to work first. It's generally best to

begin in your own state and work outward from there. If you have

a moneymaking manual, you might want to start first with those

states reporting the most unemployment.


Use some old fashioned common sense. Who are the people most

likely to be interested in your offer, and where are the largest

concentrations of these people? You wouldn't attempt to sell

windshield de-ice canisters in Florida, or suntan lotion in

Minnesota during the winter months, would you?


At any rate, once you've got your beginning "target" area decided

upon, go through the radio listings for the cities and towns in

that area, and jot down in your notebook the names of general

mangers, the station call letters, and addresses. be sure to list

the telephone numbers as well.


On the first try, list only one radio station per city. Pick out

the station people most interested in your product would be

listening to. This can be determined by the programming

description contained within the date block about the station in

the Broadcasting Yearbook or the SRDS Directory.


The first contact should be in the way of introducing yourself,

and inquiring if they would consider a PI Advertising campaign.

You tell the station manger that you have a product you feel will

sell very well in his market, and would like to test it before

going ahead with a paid advertising program. You must quickly

point out that your product sells for, say $5, and that during

this test, you would allow him 50% of that for each response his

station pulls for you. Explain that you will handle everything for

him: the writing of the commercials, all accounting and

bookkeeping, plus any refunds or complaints that come in. In

other words, all he has to do is schedule your commercials on his

log, and give them his "best shot." When the responses come in,

he counts them, and forwards them on to you for fulfillment. You

make out a check for payment to him, and everybody is happy.


If you've contacted him by phone, and he agrees to look over your

material, tell him thank you and promise to get a complete

"package" in the mail to him immediately. Then do just that.

Write a short cover letter, place it on top of your "ready-to-go"

PI Advertising Package, and get it in the mail to him without

delay.


If you're turned down, and he is not interested in "taking on"

any PI Advertising, just tell him thanks, make a notation in your

notebook by his name, and go to your next call. Contacting these

people by phone is by far the quickest, least expensive and most

productive method of "exploring" for those stations willing to

consider your PI proposal. In some cases though, circumstances

will deem it to be less expensive to make this initial contact by

letter or postcard.


In that case, simply address you card or letter to the person you

are trying to contact. Your letter should be positive in tone,

straight forward and complete. Present all the details in logical

order on one page, perfectly typed on letterhead paper, and sent

in a letterhead envelope. (Rubber-stamped letterheads just won't

get past a first glance.) Ideally, you should include a

self-addressed and stamped postcard with spaces for positive or

negative check marks in answer to your questions: Will you or

won't you over my material and consider a mutually profitable

"Per Inquiry" advertising campaign on your station?


Once you have an agreement from your contact at the radio station

that they will look over your materials and give serious

consideration for a PI program, move quickly, getting your cover

letter and package off by First Class mail, perhaps even Special

Delivery.


What this means is at the same time you organize your "radio

station notebook," you'll also want to organize your advertising

package. Have it all put together and ready to mail just as soon

as you have a positive response. Don't allow time for that

interest in your program to cool down.


You'll need a follow-up letter. Write one to fit all situations;

have 250 copies printed, and then when you're ready to send out a

package, all you'll have to do is fill in the business salutation

and sign it. If you spoke of different arrangements or a specific

matter was discussed in your initial contact, however, type a

different letter incorporating comments or answers to the points

discussed. This personal touch won't take long, and could pay

dividends!


You'll also need at least two thirty-second commercials and two

sixty-second commercials. You could write these up, and have 250

copies printed and organized as a part of your PI Advertising

Package.


You should also have some sort of advertising contract written

up, detailing everything about your program, and how everything

is to be handled; how and when payment to the radio station is to

be made, plus special paragraphs relative to refunds, complaints,

and liabilities. All this can be very quickly written up and

printed in lots of 250 or more on carbonless multi-part snap-out

business forms.


Finally, you should include a self-addressed and stamped postcard

the radio station can use to let you know that they are going to

use your PI Advertising program, when they will start running

your commercials on the air, and how often, during which time

periods. Again, you simply type out the wording in the form you

want to use on these "reply postcards", and have copies printed

for your use in these mailings.


To review this program: Your first step is the initial contact

after searching through the SRDS or Broadcasting Yearbook. Actual

contact with the stations is by phone or mail. When turned down,

simply say thanks, and go to the nest station on the list. For

those who want to know more about your proposal, you immediately

get a PI Advertising Package off to them via the fastest way

possible. Don't let the interest wane.


Your Advertising Package should contain the following:

1. Cover letter

2. Sample brochure, product literature

3. Thirty-second and sixty-second commercials

4. PI Advertising Contract

5. Self-addressed, stamped postcard for station acknowledgment and

acceptance of your program.


Before you ask why you need an acknowledgment postcard when you

have already given them a contact, remember that everything about

business changes from day to day---conditions change, people get

busy, and other things come up. the station manager may sign a

contract with your advertising to begin the 1st of March. The

contract is signed on the 1st of January, but when March 1 rolls

around, he may have forgotten, been replaced, or even decided

against running your program. A lot of paper seemingly "covering

all the minute details" can be very impressive to many radio

station managers, and convince them that your company is a good

one to do business with.


Let's say that right now you're impatient to get started with

your own PI Advertising campaign. Before you "jump off the deep

end," remember this: Radio station people are just as

professional and dedicated as anyone else in business---even more

so in some instances--so be sure you have a product or service

that lends itself well to selling via radio inquiry system.


Anything can be sold, and sold easily with any method you decide

upon, providing you present it from the right angle. "hello out

there! Who wants to buy a mailing list for 10 cents a thousand names?"

wouldn't even be allowed on the air. However, if you have the

addresses of the top 100 movie stars, and you put together an

idea enabling the people to write to them direct, you might have

a winner, and sell a lot of mailing lists of the stars.


At the bottom line, a lot is riding on the content of your

commercial---the benefits you suggest to the listener, and how

easy it is for him to enjoy those benefits. For instance, if you

have a new book on how to find jobs when there aren't any jobs.

You want to talk to people who are desperately searching for

employment. You have to appeal to them in words that not only

"perk up" their ears, but cause them to feel that whatever it is

that you're offering will solve their problems. It's the product,

and in writing of the advertising message about that product are

going to bring in those responses.


Radio station managers are sales people, and sales people the

world over will be sold on your idea if you put your selling

package together properly. And if the responses come in your

first offer, you have set yourself up for an entire series of

successes. Success has a "ripple effect," but you have to start

on that first one. We wish you success!


About the Author:
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To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.AutoPilotKings.com

Coach Donohugh Magnus helps beginners and the advanced marketer. Claim your FREE newsletter with hundreds of "killer" promotional tips and tricks from http://www.pluginprofitsite.com/main-19887/specialoffer.html
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1 February 2008

Behavior-Based Internet

Behavior-Based Internet
Advertising: Who Is Watching You?

Have you ever been surfing the web and come upon Internet advertising that provides a direct solution for something that you've been researching lately? Did you think that it might be related to your computer cookies, or did you chalk it up to serendipity?

Copyright © Donohugh Magnus
http://www.autopilotkings.com/


The fact is, it almost certainly wasn't a coincidence. Behavior-based Internet advertising is a relatively new and very powerful way for advertisers to get their message in front of potential buyers that they know to be qualified. The question is, how do they know that the surfer is qualified?

The advertisers know this because the Internet advertising network is tracking the surfers' online activity. With tracking, advertisers know what sites you like. They know what searches you make. They have profiled you, and, unlike in real life, profiling on the web is AOK -- so far.

Check Your Computer for Cookies

Before we get into the legal issues involved, perhaps a further definition of the technology is in order. Most (but not all) behavioral Internet advertising is based on computer "cookies." These computer cookies are tiny files that are placed on your machine when you visit certain websites. In the simplest form, you go to a web page. An advertiser has a blank spot, or placeholder, for a banner ad. But instead of serving up just any banner ad, the advertiser parses through your computer for cookies to discover your likes and dislikes, and then you are fed Internet advertising based on your online behavior.

For some people, this is no big deal. They like Internet advertising to be targeted toward them, and they don't mind computer cookies. For others, it's a little Orwellian and creepy. This leads us to the great debate.

Opt-in or Opt-out?

One big question to be resolved is whether ultimately this type of Internet advertising will be "opt-in" (meaning that a user has to sign up in order to receive targeted ads) or "opt-out" (meaning that a user will receive targeted ads unless they specifically ask not to).

It shouldn't surprise anyone to know which side the advertisers are on. If governmental regulators eventually require that all Internet advertising be "opt-in", the industry will be severely restricted. My guess is that it would relegate behavior-based Internet advertising to a fringe player in the online marketing world.


The privacy advocates, naturally, are on the other side of the fence. The vast majority of people assume that their online activity is not being tracked, they say. Why should they have to take a specific action in order to remove computer cookies and to not be tracked and profiled?

A Do Not Track List?

Recently, a group of nine consumer advocate groups proposed the idea of a "Do Not Track" list for Internet advertising, which would work in a similar fashion as the "Do Not Call" list works today. Naturally, this is an "Opt-out" scenario, but because of the attention that the formation of such a list would bring, it may be a suitable compromise between advertiser and advocate.

How to Prevent Being Tracked

It is fairly easy to prevent being tracked by advertisers. You simply prevent your machine from accepting computer cookies. Go to START, SETTINGS, CONTROL PANEL and click on INTERNET OPTIONS then the PRIVACY tab. (Note that these instructions assume you are working with a Windows XP system. The procedure will be similar, however, for other operating systems.) Slide the bar all the way to the top to where it says "Block All Cookies."

However, you should be aware that this change may limit your Internet experience. Some websites will not display properly (or at all) if you do not accept computer cookies. In my experience, at least one of the top five search engines will not work at all. Other engines have limited functionality when you block Internet advertising.

Even if you do manage to turn off your computer cookies, don't rest easy just yet.

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To find the best home based business ideas and
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Coach Donohugh Magnus helps beginners and the advanced marketer. Claim your FREE newsletter with hundreds of "killer" promotional tips and tricks from http://www.pluginprofitsite.com/main-19887/specialoffer.html
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9 January 2008

Marketing Tips for 2008

Top 10 Internet
Marketing Tips for 2008

http://www.autopilotkings.com/

Internet Marketing has grown phenomenally over the last few years but the shift has quite clearly moved to a market that is driven by the consumer and that is no longer dictated by journalists and corporates. Online consumers are responding more favourably to non-intrusive, relevant and socially attractive campaigns and have quite frankly had enough of intrusive, forced online advertising campaigns.

The top 10 internet marketing tips for 2008 are:

1. Optimize your website's content
2. Create a content development strategy for your website
3. Invest in a paid search (pay-per-click) campaign
4. Publicize your website through article marketing
5. Develop a social media marketing strategy
6. Create a Company Blog
7. Experiment with video marketing
8. Engage your audiences with web widget marketing
9. Discover the benefits of mobile marketing
10. Create an effective email marketíng strategy

Let's look at each of these in more detail:-

1. Optimize Your Website's Content:

First and foremost, get your website content right. Make sure it is easily read by both humans and search engines. An essential variable applied by Search Engines in the way in which they rank websites is based on the relevancy of the content that the search engine is indexing.

2. Create a Content Development Strategy for Your Website:

In addition to optimizing the existing content on your website, it is essential that you develop a strategy to continuously grow your website's content on an ongoing basis. All new content should be written specifically with the web reader in mind and should also be optimized for the search engines.

3. Invest in a Paid Search (Pay-Per-Click) Campaign:

When you pay for traffic (visitors) that click on your advertisements that are being advertised on search engines, this is called pay-per-click or search engine advertising. Paid search allows you to quickly leverage search engine traffic by bidding for keywords that are related to the products or services that you promote and sell on your website. Paid search advertising is particularly beneficial to companies who are not yet well ranked on search engines through natural search.

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To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.autopilotkings.com/

Coach Donohugh Magnus helps beginners and the advanced marketer. Claim your FREE newsletter with hundreds of "killer" promotional tips and tricks from http://www.pluginprofitsite.com/main-19887/specialoffer.html
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