6 Ways That Blogging Can Save You Money
by Tinu AbayomiPaul.
Even though I've had several personal blogs for years, I’ve only been officially business blogging since 2003. So in going back over expenses for the last quarter, you can imagine my shock when I realized that my overall business costs were down about 19%. What saved me so much money? Surprisingly, blogging.
How can you save money with your blog? It's pretty simple, so I'll be brief.
Attract search engine traffic without paying the big bucks
If you want Google, Yahoo and MSN to pay attention to you, blog.
It doesn't have to be a whole new site, just add a directory to your existing site and start blogging. Most blog software solutions are either cheap or free.
And you can find out most basic blog information online for free (really, sometimes just typing your question into Google will do it.) by people who've actually done it. For less than $100, you can build a small library of blog tips and secrets, written by successful business bloggers.
Instead of buying links, get one-way links from blog search engines and directories, as well as getting your RSS feed content displayed at other sites.
Linking is a great way to get search engine attention and click traffic. Some people get links by trading; others by including their links at the end of freely distributed articles. Others pay to be listed, or to get linked.
In each of these scenarios, some type of trade takes place, money, free content, or a link back.
When you blog, you'll find plenty of search engines and directories that are willing to list you free of charge. For the most part you won't need to link back - you'll get a one-way link from site favored by search engines, often using text that you select yourself.
If 90 or more of these free, legitimate links back to your site is worth your time, then get you blog in motion.
Not only that, if you update frequently, other sites may want to display your RSS feed content on their sites. To encourage them to do so, put a link on your page with instructions on how to do so. Ever since I put one on the front of my site, various feeds from my main site have turned up in the most unexpected places.
Cheaper way to study your audience.
As your blog gets more popular, you may start to find that on any given day, you have a representative cross-section of prospects and clients at your site. If you have a question for them, you can just... ask.
True, you can post a link to a survey in your newsletter or on your site, but these are not as interactive as the ability for your audience to comment. They will comment, and you can reply to ask them to expand, or clarify. Conversation gets going and before you know it, a bond is formed, a much stronger bond than occurs in a one-way conversation.
Cheaper (and faster) way to start a resource or authority site.
Five years ago, if you wanted to start an authority site, your best bet was to build a portal with a specialized directory at its core. Three years ago, you were better off starting a forum with a resource section attached to it. Last year, your top bet was a feed-enabled content management system, especially as more parts of content management systems began to have content feeds related to them. (I have 12 feeds for each of my PHP-Nuke based sites, though they don't work as well with Google Tap.)
Now, if you want to be the expert, you want to start a blog.
If you're blogging consistently, you have a hub of information collected that will inspire return traffic. You have a collection of links to articles, sites, and tools. You can constantly write up your own opinion editorials on each of these items, as well as fact-based analysis of news and events that can help your audience make better choices.
As blog software matures you can now categorize, and alphabetize your links, and with the ability to ping multiple sources as well as leave trackback links to other sites, you can send your readers through a ring of related, freshly updated information that ultimately leads back to you.
Spend less money on advertising as your blog becomes more popular
I can't promise you that you’ll never spend another red cent on advertising costs. However, the amount of free advertising you get from having your blog link or RSS feed listed in dozens of search engines and directories, and popping up in feed readers is not to be underestimated.
You’ll probably still want to do some ezine advertising when your new ebook or software release is debuted. But you may not need to buy as much advertising or purchase as often.
Then there is the fact that many newsletters that are also published to RSS feeds have wider reach. I’ve found that it’s worth the extra money to appear in both versions ask your favorite publisher for details. For publications that allow this, it’s normally only 20% extra
Save money by retaining visitors
You’ve probably heard a thousand times that it is easier to sell repeatedly to an existing client than it is to find a new one. So how do you get that visitor to come back, and possibly buy again?
A constant stream of new information on a particular topic work is enough to keep people buying a daily newspaper, subscribing to a magazine or viewing a television series.
Frequent updates can work the same way for your site.
With bloggers being named People of the Year by Time magazine last year, if you’re not blogging in 2005, you’re going to be left in the dust by other sites in your industry that do. It doesn’t have to take up a lot of extra time, and the time it does takes is made up for in the money you can save
Welcom to Internet Marketing Basic-Course contents
Saturday, December 12, 2009
4 Steps To Selling More With Your Web Site
4 Steps To Selling More With Your Web Site
By Charlie Cook. www.marketingforsuccess.com.
Is your web site helping you get attention for your business?
Does it prompt prospects to contact you?
Is it helping you build long-term relationships?
Does it generate the volume of sales you want?
Building a web site that works should be more like building your dream home than constructing a stage set. You want to build a solid structure to support the growth of your business, not a flashy facade. First, you'd talk with your partner about what kind of house you want and how it fits into your long-term plans. You'd discuss your budget and the location, style and size of the house, as well as the functions of the rooms and the flow between them. When you were in agreement, you'd seek out an architect to help you plan your home.
The architect would consider your ideas and objectives, create a coherent plan to meet your objectives. You'd review these and then she'd produce drawings and blueprints to guide the construction. You'd need a contractor to build your house, and the contractor would hire specialists to complete the job; carpenters, electricians, masons, roofers, etc. Once your home was completed, you'd need to maintain it; even a brand new house needs periodic attention.
Building or Renovating Your Dream Web Site
Can you imagine building your dream home without careful planning, or a clear sense of how the rooms would work together, or a blueprint?
Before you build your web site, did you define how it would function, how it would get attention, and how it would generate leads and build profitable relationships?
Did you have a web marketing blueprint?
A web designer is like your building contractor. They will assemble your web site, but they can't tell you what the site is supposed to accomplish or how it fits into your overall marketing plan. Before you use a web designer you first need to understand what you want your site to do and how to structure it to convert prospects to clients.
Diane Varner, a successful web designer in El Granada, California, asks prospective clients a series of questions about their marketing before she starts work for them. She wants to find out what their overall marketing strategy is and how their web site fits into it. Her expertise is web design; if a prospect needs help defining their web-marketing plan, she refers them to me.
4 Steps to A Web Site that Sells
1. Create Your Web Plan and Marketing Content
Before building or renovating your web site, you, too, should identify how your web site fits into your marketing strategy. Clarify and delineate the actions you want visitors to take and how to structure your site to get prospects to contact you and buy your products and services.
Organize site content and pages to mirror prospects' decision-making process, moving them step-by-step towards a sale. Write content that motivates prospects to continue reading and browsing your site and includes appropriate use of keywords to help boost your search engine rankings.
2. Hire a Web Designer/ General Contractor
Once you have a plan and the supporting marketing copy ready, find a web designer who can put these elements together to create an easy-to-navigate site whose overall look and feel supports your positioning objectives. Many web designers function as general contractors and will sub-contract the programming required to create forms, manage databases, email or online shopping cart systems.
3. Market Your Web Site
Most people make the mistake of waiting until their site is built to think about marketing it. If you started with the previously defined web plan, you will have avoided this m0ney-losing blunder. But don't assume that people will find your web site on their own.
Use free promotional activities such as distributing your articles to get attention. Consider advertising in newsletters and/or using pay-per-click advertising.
4. Maintain Your Web Site
Just like that dream house, a web site needs regular upkeep and updating. Allocate the time and m0ney to see that the site is well maintained, whether you learn to update text yourself, have someone in your company do it, or give the job to an outside professional.
The beautiful home you carefully planned and built creates the physical context for you to eat, sleep, relax and enjoy family and friends. Your web site should create the marketing context to help you get prospects' attention, build relationships, and generate leads and s.ales. Use the four steps above to build or renovate your web site and you'll have a site that is more than a flimsy stage set; you'll have a web site that will help grow your business.
By Charlie Cook. www.marketingforsuccess.com.
Is your web site helping you get attention for your business?
Does it prompt prospects to contact you?
Is it helping you build long-term relationships?
Does it generate the volume of sales you want?
Building a web site that works should be more like building your dream home than constructing a stage set. You want to build a solid structure to support the growth of your business, not a flashy facade. First, you'd talk with your partner about what kind of house you want and how it fits into your long-term plans. You'd discuss your budget and the location, style and size of the house, as well as the functions of the rooms and the flow between them. When you were in agreement, you'd seek out an architect to help you plan your home.
The architect would consider your ideas and objectives, create a coherent plan to meet your objectives. You'd review these and then she'd produce drawings and blueprints to guide the construction. You'd need a contractor to build your house, and the contractor would hire specialists to complete the job; carpenters, electricians, masons, roofers, etc. Once your home was completed, you'd need to maintain it; even a brand new house needs periodic attention.
Building or Renovating Your Dream Web Site
Can you imagine building your dream home without careful planning, or a clear sense of how the rooms would work together, or a blueprint?
Before you build your web site, did you define how it would function, how it would get attention, and how it would generate leads and build profitable relationships?
Did you have a web marketing blueprint?
A web designer is like your building contractor. They will assemble your web site, but they can't tell you what the site is supposed to accomplish or how it fits into your overall marketing plan. Before you use a web designer you first need to understand what you want your site to do and how to structure it to convert prospects to clients.
Diane Varner, a successful web designer in El Granada, California, asks prospective clients a series of questions about their marketing before she starts work for them. She wants to find out what their overall marketing strategy is and how their web site fits into it. Her expertise is web design; if a prospect needs help defining their web-marketing plan, she refers them to me.
4 Steps to A Web Site that Sells
1. Create Your Web Plan and Marketing Content
Before building or renovating your web site, you, too, should identify how your web site fits into your marketing strategy. Clarify and delineate the actions you want visitors to take and how to structure your site to get prospects to contact you and buy your products and services.
Organize site content and pages to mirror prospects' decision-making process, moving them step-by-step towards a sale. Write content that motivates prospects to continue reading and browsing your site and includes appropriate use of keywords to help boost your search engine rankings.
2. Hire a Web Designer/ General Contractor
Once you have a plan and the supporting marketing copy ready, find a web designer who can put these elements together to create an easy-to-navigate site whose overall look and feel supports your positioning objectives. Many web designers function as general contractors and will sub-contract the programming required to create forms, manage databases, email or online shopping cart systems.
3. Market Your Web Site
Most people make the mistake of waiting until their site is built to think about marketing it. If you started with the previously defined web plan, you will have avoided this m0ney-losing blunder. But don't assume that people will find your web site on their own.
Use free promotional activities such as distributing your articles to get attention. Consider advertising in newsletters and/or using pay-per-click advertising.
4. Maintain Your Web Site
Just like that dream house, a web site needs regular upkeep and updating. Allocate the time and m0ney to see that the site is well maintained, whether you learn to update text yourself, have someone in your company do it, or give the job to an outside professional.
The beautiful home you carefully planned and built creates the physical context for you to eat, sleep, relax and enjoy family and friends. Your web site should create the marketing context to help you get prospects' attention, build relationships, and generate leads and s.ales. Use the four steps above to build or renovate your web site and you'll have a site that is more than a flimsy stage set; you'll have a web site that will help grow your business.
8 Ways To Get People To Visit Your Web Site Again and Again
8 Ways To Get People To Visit Your Web Site Again and Again
by Bina Omar. Copyright 2005.
Getting visitors to your web site is not one of the easiest things to do especially if you've only just set up your web site. The trick here is to find as many ways as possible to get the visitors, that do visit your site, to come back again and again.
Here are 8 ways you can achieve this:
Start a blog
Yes, everyone else, including my grandmother, has a blog. You should start one too. A blog is a great way to get your visitors to return to your web site. Especially if you frequently update it with entries that are relevant to your visitors' needs. And also that occasional odd entry on what's happening in your personal life. A blog can greatly increase the personal touch of your web site. And your visitors are more likely to come back.
Start a forum
An active discussion forum may be all that you need to attract repeat visitors to your web site. You'll generally get two types of visitors to your active forum. a) One who seeks help and b) one who provides help. If your forum is active with these two types of visitors, you can almost guarantee repeat (as well as new) visits for many times to come.
Provide a free online tool
Every one loves free stuffs. Try and provide a free online tool, that's hosted on your web site of course.If your tool is very useful to your visitors, they will come again and again to use this tool. Example of tools include a banner creator, web site popularity checker, or html generator etc.
Free Stuff
Don't just stop there. People really love to get free stuff. List free stuff on your web site. It could be software, services, sample products, e-books etc. The freebies should be related to your web site topic. Keep the freebies coming and your visitors will return regulary. You could maybe add a monthly freebie to your site.
Encourage feedback
Have a section on your web site or open a forum especially for visitor and subscriber feedback. You could write a small line at the bottom of the articles on your page to invite readers to leave feedback about the article. Or get your subscribers to leave feedback on your ezine topic for that month. Make sure you reply to their feedback. Not only will this increase repeat visitors to your site, but you'll also have happy subscribers.
Publish an online version of your ezine
Though email ezines are popular and wide spread, you should also publish an online version of your ezine at your web site. There are bound to be some subscribers who would prefer the online version. This would bring them back to your web site.
Original Content
This is by far the best way to get your visitors to come back for more. Give your visitors content they can't read anywhere else. I'm not saying all your content has to be 100% original, but a portion of your web site should have original information. People will usually read information they haven't read before.
Prize Drawings
Hold an ongoing prize drawing on your web site. The prizes should be something of interest or value to your subscribers. Most people who enter will continually revisit your web site to get the results.
There you go. 8 ways to get your web site visitors coming back for more.
by Bina Omar. Copyright 2005.
Getting visitors to your web site is not one of the easiest things to do especially if you've only just set up your web site. The trick here is to find as many ways as possible to get the visitors, that do visit your site, to come back again and again.
Here are 8 ways you can achieve this:
Start a blog
Yes, everyone else, including my grandmother, has a blog. You should start one too. A blog is a great way to get your visitors to return to your web site. Especially if you frequently update it with entries that are relevant to your visitors' needs. And also that occasional odd entry on what's happening in your personal life. A blog can greatly increase the personal touch of your web site. And your visitors are more likely to come back.
Start a forum
An active discussion forum may be all that you need to attract repeat visitors to your web site. You'll generally get two types of visitors to your active forum. a) One who seeks help and b) one who provides help. If your forum is active with these two types of visitors, you can almost guarantee repeat (as well as new) visits for many times to come.
Provide a free online tool
Every one loves free stuffs. Try and provide a free online tool, that's hosted on your web site of course.If your tool is very useful to your visitors, they will come again and again to use this tool. Example of tools include a banner creator, web site popularity checker, or html generator etc.
Free Stuff
Don't just stop there. People really love to get free stuff. List free stuff on your web site. It could be software, services, sample products, e-books etc. The freebies should be related to your web site topic. Keep the freebies coming and your visitors will return regulary. You could maybe add a monthly freebie to your site.
Encourage feedback
Have a section on your web site or open a forum especially for visitor and subscriber feedback. You could write a small line at the bottom of the articles on your page to invite readers to leave feedback about the article. Or get your subscribers to leave feedback on your ezine topic for that month. Make sure you reply to their feedback. Not only will this increase repeat visitors to your site, but you'll also have happy subscribers.
Publish an online version of your ezine
Though email ezines are popular and wide spread, you should also publish an online version of your ezine at your web site. There are bound to be some subscribers who would prefer the online version. This would bring them back to your web site.
Original Content
This is by far the best way to get your visitors to come back for more. Give your visitors content they can't read anywhere else. I'm not saying all your content has to be 100% original, but a portion of your web site should have original information. People will usually read information they haven't read before.
Prize Drawings
Hold an ongoing prize drawing on your web site. The prizes should be something of interest or value to your subscribers. Most people who enter will continually revisit your web site to get the results.
There you go. 8 ways to get your web site visitors coming back for more.
How Does Your Website Make Me Feel?
How Does Your Website Make Me Feel?
By Philippa Gamse.
When people think about the Internet, they think about technology. When people hear that I am a Website strategy expert, they see me as a "techy type".
But for me, the most intriguing aspect of your online business isn't about the technology. It's about human connections, and how you can create these in a virtual environment.
It's commonly understood that "people buy emotionally, not intellectually." Even when people think they're making a rational decision, powerful subconscious factors come into play. To sell effectively, we're told to anticipate our customers' needs, to demonstrate that we "feel their pain", and to respond to clues in their body language and tone of voice.
In the "real world" we do this very well. And we know that if we can have a direct, in-person conversation, there's a pretty good chance that we'll close the sale or keep a happy customer.
For the online visitor, your Website is the next best thing to that in-person conversation with you, your colleagues or employees. And since so many people are researching products and services on the Web, it's critical that your site has maximum impact in persuading them to take the next step with you.
So how does your Website connect emotionally with your visitors? Do they feel listened to, understood and appreciated by your Internet presence? Are you instinctively meeting their real needs? Do your existing customers feel supported and valued when interacting with you online?
Or are you failing to evoke the crucial emotional responses which can significantly enhance your response rates, sales and ongoing return on your Web investment?
The Critical Emotions for Website Success
I've been working with client Web strategies in a wide range of industries since 1995. Based on this experience, I've identified some key emotions that you need to evoke in your online visitors to create and sustain a profitable relationship.
How well your Website does this can have a major effect on the visceral, instinctive reactions of your visitors, and their propensity to buy from or connect with you.
In total, I have twenty criteria for emotional connectedness that I suggest for any Website. That's too many to discuss in this article, but let's look at a few highlights:
Do I Feel Recognized?
When we first meet in a business setting, we're introduced, or we introduce ourselves with some statement about what we do, and why we should connect with each other.
When we talk with customers or prospects, it's important to show very quickly that we understand their issues and needs, and that we have ideas and solutions to address these.
The most important task for your home page is to accomplish this initial introduction. You've heard the "ten-second" rule about how long a visitor will stay on a site that doesn't engage them.
So, does your home page really tell me what you do? Does it speak to me in specific terms that make very clear what services you provide, and what type of customers or clients you work with? Does it use language that I'll understand even if I don't know the jargon of your industry or specialization?
Sounds simple?
There are astounding numbers of Websites that fail to provide basic information on the home page.
If your goal is to get the customer to visit your store, does your home page clearly show your location, and how to get there? Every time you force the visitor to make a decision, such as "Do I click on the Contact Us page to find their address?", you open up the possibility that they'll make the wrong choice (from your viewpoint), or worse still, they'll just leave.
And is it clear to me whether you can - or would want to - help me? Are you geared towards corporate bulk buyers, or small businesses, or both? Do you operate nationally or only in your immediate location? Will your visitors know what you mean by generic terms such as "business systems" or "total business solutions" or should you be more specific as to what you offer?
Do I Feel Engaged?
As we continue our "real-world" conversation, we start to find common points of interest, whether personal or professional. We begin to feel that we can relate with each other, and this helps to build our business relationship.
So your Website has to make the visitor feel drawn in - that they want to know more about your business, your products and your services - but again, from the viewpoint of their needs and interests. And you have to give the visitor a clear sense that you want to find those points of connection, and to learn more about them.
If the visitor doesn't feel invited in, if they feel left to themselves to find their way around - if they're overwhelmed, confused, or simply not interested in your site, they'll leave.
Does your site present a bewildering array of manufacturers, products, or options without any guidance as to selecting from these? Think about the conversation that you'd have with a customer in your store. You'd find out what they were looking for, and then you'd ask a number of questions to help them find the right solution for their needs.
So how can you mirror this process online? You could offer a "Help Me" page that guides visitors through some Frequently Asked Questions or other choices and provides links to recommended products based on their answers. You could incorporate an interactive chat facility with a customer service agent during office hours, or access to a searchable knowledge base.
Do I Feel Convinced?
If the visitor is seeing your business for the first time, they need to be comfortable that you are who you say you are, and that you can deliver what you promise.
One of the most important elements in establishing this part of the connection is to show the "faces" of your business. Have you noticed how many Websites don't name any of their owners, or the people that customers will interact with? It's much easier to have a conversation when I know who I'm talking to!
Customer testimonials and other third-party endorsements are critical elements in establishing trust - they say far more about you than your own marketing statements. How many sites have we all seen that trumpet "nationally recognized" or "premier provider . . ."? Prove it!
Include client quotes and success stories right across your site where they're front and center as visitors are engaged in your content. If you win an award, tell the visitor what that means for them in terms of how you were evaluated.
Do I Feel Motivated?
Towards the end of our "real-world" conversation, we'll hopefully close a sale, or we'll talk about some next steps, or we might say "Let's stay in touch". To do that with our online visitor, we need to persuade them to buy something, or to tell us who they are, and give us permission to reconnect with them.
Too many Web pages tail off with no call to action or directions about where to go next. If you don't issue a clear invitation, you again leave it to the visitor to work out what to do - and you run a big risk of losing them.
So at every point on every page where the visitor might be thinking "Tell me more", or "How do I get this?", provide a clickable link to the next step, to your shopping cart, to your newsletter subscription page, or to whatever you want them to do. Don't wait until the end of the page - they may never get there! Look for the emotional "tipping points" on every page where they're ready to talk more with you and grab them in the moment!
Diluting the Connection
Of course, it's all too easy to undo all the good feeling that we create by frustrating or annoying the visitor, or simply by giving them a dead end.
One of my favorite bugbears is the site search engine that allows me to enter my query, and then tells me "No results found. Please try again with different search terms".
How is that supposed to make me feel? What was wrong with my keywords or my parameters if the search page allowed me to select them? Am I being stupid? Or do you really not want to help me?
Your visitor is clearly looking for something, and has taken a step towards connecting with you. So how about a results page that lets them know that you can't immediately answer their question, but offers a link to your contact form so that they can send a question, or some tips or suggestions on how to find more information.
The ultimate customer service feature is an opportunity to interact with a live assistant - if your site offers this utility, the search results page is a perfect place to maximize its visibility.
So how "Emotionally Connected" is your Website?
I hope that I've sparked your curiosity enough to take a fresh look at your Website.
Think about specifically why visitors are coming to your site, what might be on their minds, and review your copy and navigation accordingly. Think about new customers and existing ones, employees, media - everyone who might have a reason to visit. Are you doing everything that you can to create an "emotionally connected" experience for everyone?
The right mix will gain you significantly higher time spent on your site, more calls from pre-qualified leads, more signed contracts, happier repeat customers, attention from new markets, offers of strategic alliances and collaborations, and insights into creating successful new products and services.
(c) Philippa Gamse, 2005. All rights reserved.
By Philippa Gamse.
When people think about the Internet, they think about technology. When people hear that I am a Website strategy expert, they see me as a "techy type".
But for me, the most intriguing aspect of your online business isn't about the technology. It's about human connections, and how you can create these in a virtual environment.
It's commonly understood that "people buy emotionally, not intellectually." Even when people think they're making a rational decision, powerful subconscious factors come into play. To sell effectively, we're told to anticipate our customers' needs, to demonstrate that we "feel their pain", and to respond to clues in their body language and tone of voice.
In the "real world" we do this very well. And we know that if we can have a direct, in-person conversation, there's a pretty good chance that we'll close the sale or keep a happy customer.
For the online visitor, your Website is the next best thing to that in-person conversation with you, your colleagues or employees. And since so many people are researching products and services on the Web, it's critical that your site has maximum impact in persuading them to take the next step with you.
So how does your Website connect emotionally with your visitors? Do they feel listened to, understood and appreciated by your Internet presence? Are you instinctively meeting their real needs? Do your existing customers feel supported and valued when interacting with you online?
Or are you failing to evoke the crucial emotional responses which can significantly enhance your response rates, sales and ongoing return on your Web investment?
The Critical Emotions for Website Success
I've been working with client Web strategies in a wide range of industries since 1995. Based on this experience, I've identified some key emotions that you need to evoke in your online visitors to create and sustain a profitable relationship.
How well your Website does this can have a major effect on the visceral, instinctive reactions of your visitors, and their propensity to buy from or connect with you.
In total, I have twenty criteria for emotional connectedness that I suggest for any Website. That's too many to discuss in this article, but let's look at a few highlights:
Do I Feel Recognized?
When we first meet in a business setting, we're introduced, or we introduce ourselves with some statement about what we do, and why we should connect with each other.
When we talk with customers or prospects, it's important to show very quickly that we understand their issues and needs, and that we have ideas and solutions to address these.
The most important task for your home page is to accomplish this initial introduction. You've heard the "ten-second" rule about how long a visitor will stay on a site that doesn't engage them.
So, does your home page really tell me what you do? Does it speak to me in specific terms that make very clear what services you provide, and what type of customers or clients you work with? Does it use language that I'll understand even if I don't know the jargon of your industry or specialization?
Sounds simple?
There are astounding numbers of Websites that fail to provide basic information on the home page.
If your goal is to get the customer to visit your store, does your home page clearly show your location, and how to get there? Every time you force the visitor to make a decision, such as "Do I click on the Contact Us page to find their address?", you open up the possibility that they'll make the wrong choice (from your viewpoint), or worse still, they'll just leave.
And is it clear to me whether you can - or would want to - help me? Are you geared towards corporate bulk buyers, or small businesses, or both? Do you operate nationally or only in your immediate location? Will your visitors know what you mean by generic terms such as "business systems" or "total business solutions" or should you be more specific as to what you offer?
Do I Feel Engaged?
As we continue our "real-world" conversation, we start to find common points of interest, whether personal or professional. We begin to feel that we can relate with each other, and this helps to build our business relationship.
So your Website has to make the visitor feel drawn in - that they want to know more about your business, your products and your services - but again, from the viewpoint of their needs and interests. And you have to give the visitor a clear sense that you want to find those points of connection, and to learn more about them.
If the visitor doesn't feel invited in, if they feel left to themselves to find their way around - if they're overwhelmed, confused, or simply not interested in your site, they'll leave.
Does your site present a bewildering array of manufacturers, products, or options without any guidance as to selecting from these? Think about the conversation that you'd have with a customer in your store. You'd find out what they were looking for, and then you'd ask a number of questions to help them find the right solution for their needs.
So how can you mirror this process online? You could offer a "Help Me" page that guides visitors through some Frequently Asked Questions or other choices and provides links to recommended products based on their answers. You could incorporate an interactive chat facility with a customer service agent during office hours, or access to a searchable knowledge base.
Do I Feel Convinced?
If the visitor is seeing your business for the first time, they need to be comfortable that you are who you say you are, and that you can deliver what you promise.
One of the most important elements in establishing this part of the connection is to show the "faces" of your business. Have you noticed how many Websites don't name any of their owners, or the people that customers will interact with? It's much easier to have a conversation when I know who I'm talking to!
Customer testimonials and other third-party endorsements are critical elements in establishing trust - they say far more about you than your own marketing statements. How many sites have we all seen that trumpet "nationally recognized" or "premier provider . . ."? Prove it!
Include client quotes and success stories right across your site where they're front and center as visitors are engaged in your content. If you win an award, tell the visitor what that means for them in terms of how you were evaluated.
Do I Feel Motivated?
Towards the end of our "real-world" conversation, we'll hopefully close a sale, or we'll talk about some next steps, or we might say "Let's stay in touch". To do that with our online visitor, we need to persuade them to buy something, or to tell us who they are, and give us permission to reconnect with them.
Too many Web pages tail off with no call to action or directions about where to go next. If you don't issue a clear invitation, you again leave it to the visitor to work out what to do - and you run a big risk of losing them.
So at every point on every page where the visitor might be thinking "Tell me more", or "How do I get this?", provide a clickable link to the next step, to your shopping cart, to your newsletter subscription page, or to whatever you want them to do. Don't wait until the end of the page - they may never get there! Look for the emotional "tipping points" on every page where they're ready to talk more with you and grab them in the moment!
Diluting the Connection
Of course, it's all too easy to undo all the good feeling that we create by frustrating or annoying the visitor, or simply by giving them a dead end.
One of my favorite bugbears is the site search engine that allows me to enter my query, and then tells me "No results found. Please try again with different search terms".
How is that supposed to make me feel? What was wrong with my keywords or my parameters if the search page allowed me to select them? Am I being stupid? Or do you really not want to help me?
Your visitor is clearly looking for something, and has taken a step towards connecting with you. So how about a results page that lets them know that you can't immediately answer their question, but offers a link to your contact form so that they can send a question, or some tips or suggestions on how to find more information.
The ultimate customer service feature is an opportunity to interact with a live assistant - if your site offers this utility, the search results page is a perfect place to maximize its visibility.
So how "Emotionally Connected" is your Website?
I hope that I've sparked your curiosity enough to take a fresh look at your Website.
Think about specifically why visitors are coming to your site, what might be on their minds, and review your copy and navigation accordingly. Think about new customers and existing ones, employees, media - everyone who might have a reason to visit. Are you doing everything that you can to create an "emotionally connected" experience for everyone?
The right mix will gain you significantly higher time spent on your site, more calls from pre-qualified leads, more signed contracts, happier repeat customers, attention from new markets, offers of strategic alliances and collaborations, and insights into creating successful new products and services.
(c) Philippa Gamse, 2005. All rights reserved.
How To Build A Profitable Niche Site Within 27 Minutes
How To Build A Profitable Niche Site Within 27 Minutes
by John Taylor. Copyright 2005.
Building niche a portfolio of profitable niche sites is a great way of developing a recurring income stream. A typical niche mini site may only earn you $60 per week but at that rate, four such sites will generate a yearly income of over $12,000. I'll let you figure out the earnings potential of 100 mini sites!
The niche mini site strategy is very straightforward. First, find a niche market with profit potential that isn't already oversaturated with competitors. Identify a list of related keywords that people are searching on and then create keyword rich content pages that is optimised for each one of your keywords.
Traditionally, once you have your content pages, you would normally upload them to your site and monetize them with affiliate links and pay par click programmes such as Google's Adsense. However, why not make it easy on yourself and gain an added search engine advantage...
We now have access to an easy to use and versatile content management system that means that building a niche mini site can be done on the fly. Yes, that's right - The Blog!
At its very simplest, a blog is just a structure for managing web content. It's the backbone, or skeleton, of a web site on which to hang the flesh. A blog is simply an easy way to enter and publish your content online.
Blogs don't just have to be journals, rants, personal commentaries or diaries; blogs can take on a wide variety of forms and functions.
In fact you can just about build any kind of web site with a blog. Just think about it - a blog can be used very effectively to build a niche site. In fact, because they are so easy to use, blogs are one of the most effective niche mini site building tools.
More importantly, one of the most important reasons for choosing to use a blog is their attractiveness to the search engines and the effect that can have on attracting targeted traffic. According to a study released earlier this month by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, a full 27 percent of all online users now read blogs, a 58 percent increase from the early part of 2004.
So, how can you take advantage of blogging technology to build a successful niche mini site?
First, choose your niche, identify your primary keyword phrase and pick out about ten secondary keywords - the remaining keywords that you discover will be used later in the process.
The next step is to compile some relevant content based on your primary keyword phrase, just as you would when building a regular site. Then set up an account at http://www.Blog4Cash.com and publish your primary keyword content to your main category. Your niche mini site is already up and running.
Now create a new blog category for each of your 10 secondary keywords using each keyword as the name of a category. The next step is to compile content for each of the ten keywords and post that content in the appropriate category. You can then compile content for each of the remaining keywords and post that content in one of your ten categories.
The more keywords you find the more content you can add to your blog. I try to aim for at least ten keywords /pages per category. Eventually you could have hundreds of pages. Each of those pages will have a link to your 10 Categories. And each of those links will use the anchor text of your most important keywords. As a result of all those internal keyword-rich links, your site will end up ranking very well in the search engines for your Category names.
Your next step is to set up your traffic system. This is where using a blog to build sites gives you a real advantage. There are many special RSS/blog directories that are hungry for feeds. By submitting your new niche blog to these directories, you will begin getting traffic almost immediately. Quite often these feeds will result in a lot more traffic than all the major search engines combined. This is why it makes so much sense to build your niche site as a blog. You will enjoy much more traffic, and get it much faster than with a traditional HTML based site.
Here is a list of some of the top specialist directories you should submit your niche site to: http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55
As soon as you've submitted your site to the directories, it's time to get it indexed by Yahoo! by adding your RSS feed to your MyYahoo! page. If you don't have a MyYahoo! page, just go to http://www.yahoo.com. Now click on the MyYahoo! link at the top and set up your free account. Once you have your account set up, click on Add Content, then add the URL of your blog RSS feed into the Find Content box.
When you return to your MyYahoo! page, your first niche blog post should be shown. If you go look at your web stats for your site, you'll find that the Yahoo! spider has probably already made a visit. Your new site should be indexed in Yahoo! in just a couple of days.
Every time you add another content page to your blog, you can alert the RSS/blog directories by "pinging" them. There is a wonderful site at http://www.pingomatic.com that makes this very easy. You just have to enter the URL of your blog and Pingomatic will send your ping to Yahoo and about 15 other large directories. That will bring the spiders back to your site almost immediately!
I would recommend that you write and add a new keyword rich content page every day until you have between 40 to 60 pages. Blogs that are frequently updated tend to get the most traffic. After a couple of months, you'll have a 60 page niche site that will already be getting a lot of traffic. You will also discover that your regular updates will stimulate the major search engines to spider your site every day. And, if you've monetized your site with Google Adsense and relevant affiliate programs, you will also be making a healthy profit!
Once you learned how easy and profitable it is to build your niche sites with a blog, you'll soon be building more and more money making niche sites!
by John Taylor. Copyright 2005.
Building niche a portfolio of profitable niche sites is a great way of developing a recurring income stream. A typical niche mini site may only earn you $60 per week but at that rate, four such sites will generate a yearly income of over $12,000. I'll let you figure out the earnings potential of 100 mini sites!
The niche mini site strategy is very straightforward. First, find a niche market with profit potential that isn't already oversaturated with competitors. Identify a list of related keywords that people are searching on and then create keyword rich content pages that is optimised for each one of your keywords.
Traditionally, once you have your content pages, you would normally upload them to your site and monetize them with affiliate links and pay par click programmes such as Google's Adsense. However, why not make it easy on yourself and gain an added search engine advantage...
We now have access to an easy to use and versatile content management system that means that building a niche mini site can be done on the fly. Yes, that's right - The Blog!
At its very simplest, a blog is just a structure for managing web content. It's the backbone, or skeleton, of a web site on which to hang the flesh. A blog is simply an easy way to enter and publish your content online.
Blogs don't just have to be journals, rants, personal commentaries or diaries; blogs can take on a wide variety of forms and functions.
In fact you can just about build any kind of web site with a blog. Just think about it - a blog can be used very effectively to build a niche site. In fact, because they are so easy to use, blogs are one of the most effective niche mini site building tools.
More importantly, one of the most important reasons for choosing to use a blog is their attractiveness to the search engines and the effect that can have on attracting targeted traffic. According to a study released earlier this month by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, a full 27 percent of all online users now read blogs, a 58 percent increase from the early part of 2004.
So, how can you take advantage of blogging technology to build a successful niche mini site?
First, choose your niche, identify your primary keyword phrase and pick out about ten secondary keywords - the remaining keywords that you discover will be used later in the process.
The next step is to compile some relevant content based on your primary keyword phrase, just as you would when building a regular site. Then set up an account at http://www.Blog4Cash.com and publish your primary keyword content to your main category. Your niche mini site is already up and running.
Now create a new blog category for each of your 10 secondary keywords using each keyword as the name of a category. The next step is to compile content for each of the ten keywords and post that content in the appropriate category. You can then compile content for each of the remaining keywords and post that content in one of your ten categories.
The more keywords you find the more content you can add to your blog. I try to aim for at least ten keywords /pages per category. Eventually you could have hundreds of pages. Each of those pages will have a link to your 10 Categories. And each of those links will use the anchor text of your most important keywords. As a result of all those internal keyword-rich links, your site will end up ranking very well in the search engines for your Category names.
Your next step is to set up your traffic system. This is where using a blog to build sites gives you a real advantage. There are many special RSS/blog directories that are hungry for feeds. By submitting your new niche blog to these directories, you will begin getting traffic almost immediately. Quite often these feeds will result in a lot more traffic than all the major search engines combined. This is why it makes so much sense to build your niche site as a blog. You will enjoy much more traffic, and get it much faster than with a traditional HTML based site.
Here is a list of some of the top specialist directories you should submit your niche site to: http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55
As soon as you've submitted your site to the directories, it's time to get it indexed by Yahoo! by adding your RSS feed to your MyYahoo! page. If you don't have a MyYahoo! page, just go to http://www.yahoo.com. Now click on the MyYahoo! link at the top and set up your free account. Once you have your account set up, click on Add Content, then add the URL of your blog RSS feed into the Find Content box.
When you return to your MyYahoo! page, your first niche blog post should be shown. If you go look at your web stats for your site, you'll find that the Yahoo! spider has probably already made a visit. Your new site should be indexed in Yahoo! in just a couple of days.
Every time you add another content page to your blog, you can alert the RSS/blog directories by "pinging" them. There is a wonderful site at http://www.pingomatic.com that makes this very easy. You just have to enter the URL of your blog and Pingomatic will send your ping to Yahoo and about 15 other large directories. That will bring the spiders back to your site almost immediately!
I would recommend that you write and add a new keyword rich content page every day until you have between 40 to 60 pages. Blogs that are frequently updated tend to get the most traffic. After a couple of months, you'll have a 60 page niche site that will already be getting a lot of traffic. You will also discover that your regular updates will stimulate the major search engines to spider your site every day. And, if you've monetized your site with Google Adsense and relevant affiliate programs, you will also be making a healthy profit!
Once you learned how easy and profitable it is to build your niche sites with a blog, you'll soon be building more and more money making niche sites!
How To Design Your Web Site With CSS
How To Design Your Web Site With CSS
by Herman Drost.
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) allows you to create fast loading pages, increase your search engine rankings, and modify your whole site with one style sheet. So why don’t more people use them? This is because they got so used to html design and are afraid or too lazy to upgrade their skills. Some will also use ready made templates that contain flashy graphics, bloated code and sometimes even contains hidden code embedded in the page.
In this series of articles I will show you how to create a simple web site using CSS, so you will have no excuse to begin incorporating them into your future designs.
What are Cascading Style Sheets?
Cascading Style Sheets is the name of a simple language that allows you to add any style (font, colors, graphics, links, layouts) to your web pages.
Benefits of Cascading Style Sheets
1. Separate content from presentation you can separate your HTML markup, text, graphics and multimedia from presentation.
2. Consistent site wide look and feel consistency you can apply one style for 100s of web pages all at once. So if you had to change the color of all pages on your site, you only have to edit one style sheet. This saves you a huge amount of time, especially if you had to edit each page separately.
3. Web site maintenance - apart from being able to make site wide changes easily through one CSS file, the clean code it generates makes it easier to update. Properly marked up web pages permit them to be maintained by more than one person. It will also work in more browsers. Web site redesigns will take much less time.
4. Improve search engine rankings search engines generally spider the code at the top of your web page first. For most sites that means the navigation bar will be spidered first (resides at top of page code). CSS enables you to position the code for your content at the top making your page search engine friendly. Properly marked up HTML pages can easily found and properly categorized by search engines
5. Fast loading CSS reduces the amount of tags used therefore producing clean code. Tableless design can reduce your load time by 25% to 50%.
6. Reduce bandwidth compacting the amount of code used will reduce the amount of bandwidth needed to host your web pages. Therefore you won’t have to pay higher fees when adding more web documents to your site.
7. Accessibility - increasing accessibility with CSS means being able to serve web content to a larger audience, increasing web site usability, even for non-disabled people. Content can easily be formatted for projection as well as screen display. Tableless layouts display well on hand-helds.
8. Improve the printing of web pages most printers will only allow you to print a portion of the web page. With CSS your whole document can be printed.
When you use CSS it becomes quick and easy to apply new styles that can not only effect all styles on your web page but even your whole site.
In my next article you will learn how to build a basic CSS layout that you can use in the future design of your web sites.
by Herman Drost.
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) allows you to create fast loading pages, increase your search engine rankings, and modify your whole site with one style sheet. So why don’t more people use them? This is because they got so used to html design and are afraid or too lazy to upgrade their skills. Some will also use ready made templates that contain flashy graphics, bloated code and sometimes even contains hidden code embedded in the page.
In this series of articles I will show you how to create a simple web site using CSS, so you will have no excuse to begin incorporating them into your future designs.
What are Cascading Style Sheets?
Cascading Style Sheets is the name of a simple language that allows you to add any style (font, colors, graphics, links, layouts) to your web pages.
Benefits of Cascading Style Sheets
1. Separate content from presentation you can separate your HTML markup, text, graphics and multimedia from presentation.
2. Consistent site wide look and feel consistency you can apply one style for 100s of web pages all at once. So if you had to change the color of all pages on your site, you only have to edit one style sheet. This saves you a huge amount of time, especially if you had to edit each page separately.
3. Web site maintenance - apart from being able to make site wide changes easily through one CSS file, the clean code it generates makes it easier to update. Properly marked up web pages permit them to be maintained by more than one person. It will also work in more browsers. Web site redesigns will take much less time.
4. Improve search engine rankings search engines generally spider the code at the top of your web page first. For most sites that means the navigation bar will be spidered first (resides at top of page code). CSS enables you to position the code for your content at the top making your page search engine friendly. Properly marked up HTML pages can easily found and properly categorized by search engines
5. Fast loading CSS reduces the amount of tags used therefore producing clean code. Tableless design can reduce your load time by 25% to 50%.
6. Reduce bandwidth compacting the amount of code used will reduce the amount of bandwidth needed to host your web pages. Therefore you won’t have to pay higher fees when adding more web documents to your site.
7. Accessibility - increasing accessibility with CSS means being able to serve web content to a larger audience, increasing web site usability, even for non-disabled people. Content can easily be formatted for projection as well as screen display. Tableless layouts display well on hand-helds.
8. Improve the printing of web pages most printers will only allow you to print a portion of the web page. With CSS your whole document can be printed.
When you use CSS it becomes quick and easy to apply new styles that can not only effect all styles on your web page but even your whole site.
In my next article you will learn how to build a basic CSS layout that you can use in the future design of your web sites.
Creating A Search Engine Copywriting Plan
Creating A Search Engine Copywriting Plan
by Karon Thackston
http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword
Search engine copywriting has become an extremely important part of the overall search engine optimization process. However, in addition, search engine copywriting has developed into a misunderstood craft.
Shoving keywords in anywhere they can possibly go is not considered search engine copywriting. The process is more defined than that. Successful SEO copywriting takes planning. Any half-hearted efforts at writing copy geared strictly toward the engines will usually result in a decline in your customer's experience at your site.
What's the best way to write SEO copy? Starting with a plan is always a good idea. Keep in mind, these are guidelines of techniques that can be used *IF* they make sense for your site visitors. I never recommend writing solely for the search engines. In the case of search engine copywriting, the customer is truly #1.
1) Use Three Keyphrases Per Page - Not a carved-in-stone rule, the guideline of three keyphrases per page gives good variety and helps keep the copy from sounding too repetitive. I always choose keyphrases first - before I write - because they can have a direct impact on the focus of the page.
2) Have 250 or More Words of Copy - The length of your copy depends on several things: Your target customer's preferred communication style, whether the product is new to the marketplace, if a detailed explanation needs to be given, site design and many other factors. However, the 250-word minimum gives enough room to get your message across and offer an effective level of keyword support. Remember though, it's all about the customer. If your target customers prefer longer copy, write longer copy. If they like shorter copy, write shorter copy.
3) Write In Natural Language - "Natural language" is a term popular in SEO copywriting. It means that the reader should not be able to (or should barely be able to) detect what keyphrases the page is being optimized for. The copy should flow as if it were not written with the search engines in mind. You don’t want the copy to sound forced or stiff. When you generate ideas for the page copy, keep your keywords in mind. Ask yourself whether you can use them in the copy in such a way that they won't be obtrusive.
4) Use Keyword Phrases In Headlines and Sub-headlines - IF it makes sense to do so. You will not blow your rankings if you have no keyword-filled or other
by Karon Thackston
http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword
Search engine copywriting has become an extremely important part of the overall search engine optimization process. However, in addition, search engine copywriting has developed into a misunderstood craft.
Shoving keywords in anywhere they can possibly go is not considered search engine copywriting. The process is more defined than that. Successful SEO copywriting takes planning. Any half-hearted efforts at writing copy geared strictly toward the engines will usually result in a decline in your customer's experience at your site.
What's the best way to write SEO copy? Starting with a plan is always a good idea. Keep in mind, these are guidelines of techniques that can be used *IF* they make sense for your site visitors. I never recommend writing solely for the search engines. In the case of search engine copywriting, the customer is truly #1.
1) Use Three Keyphrases Per Page - Not a carved-in-stone rule, the guideline of three keyphrases per page gives good variety and helps keep the copy from sounding too repetitive. I always choose keyphrases first - before I write - because they can have a direct impact on the focus of the page.
2) Have 250 or More Words of Copy - The length of your copy depends on several things: Your target customer's preferred communication style, whether the product is new to the marketplace, if a detailed explanation needs to be given, site design and many other factors. However, the 250-word minimum gives enough room to get your message across and offer an effective level of keyword support. Remember though, it's all about the customer. If your target customers prefer longer copy, write longer copy. If they like shorter copy, write shorter copy.
3) Write In Natural Language - "Natural language" is a term popular in SEO copywriting. It means that the reader should not be able to (or should barely be able to) detect what keyphrases the page is being optimized for. The copy should flow as if it were not written with the search engines in mind. You don’t want the copy to sound forced or stiff. When you generate ideas for the page copy, keep your keywords in mind. Ask yourself whether you can use them in the copy in such a way that they won't be obtrusive.
4) Use Keyword Phrases In Headlines and Sub-headlines - IF it makes sense to do so. You will not blow your rankings if you have no keyword-filled
or other tags. If your headline sounds stupid with keywords in it, don't use them. There are countless sites online that rank highly which have no keywords in the headline.
5) Use Keyword Phrases Once or Twice Per Paragraph - Again IF it makes sense. Remember what I keep repeating? None of these guidelines are carved in stone. Read your copy out loud. If it sounds stupid or forced, take out some keywords or find ways to rework them so they flow more naturally.
6) Use Keyword Phrases In Bold, Italic or Bulleted Lists - IF it makes sense to do so. Don't automatically bold or italicize every instance of your keywords. It will make your page look stupid, and your visitors will wonder what kind of drugs you've been doing!
7) Do NOT Use Keyword Phrases As Substitutes For Generic Terms - For example, do not replace every instance of the generic word "cruise" with the keyphrase "Mexico cruise vacation." Your copy will sound ridiculous.
We offer Mexico cruise vacation packages on the most popular Mexico cruise vacation ships to the most breathtaking Mexico cruise vacation destinations. Oh please!!
8) Use Keyword Phrases As Anchor Text In Links - This is certainly not always possible. If your primary keyphrase is "Mexico Cruise Vacation," you absolutely should not write every link to include that phrase. However, if you can include keywords in anchor text within body copy or in text navigation links, you might score a little extra credit.
9) Test and Track - Lastly, and above all, please remember, it may take some tweaking to get your page to convert the way you want it to. All customers are not the same, and all sites are not the same. All keyphrases are not the same. There is no magic bullet. You'll have to test and track and see what works best for you.
5) Use Keyword Phrases Once or Twice Per Paragraph - Again IF it makes sense. Remember what I keep repeating? None of these guidelines are carved in stone. Read your copy out loud. If it sounds stupid or forced, take out some keywords or find ways to rework them so they flow more naturally.
6) Use Keyword Phrases In Bold, Italic or Bulleted Lists - IF it makes sense to do so. Don't automatically bold or italicize every instance of your keywords. It will make your page look stupid, and your visitors will wonder what kind of drugs you've been doing!
7) Do NOT Use Keyword Phrases As Substitutes For Generic Terms - For example, do not replace every instance of the generic word "cruise" with the keyphrase "Mexico cruise vacation." Your copy will sound ridiculous.
We offer Mexico cruise vacation packages on the most popular Mexico cruise vacation ships to the most breathtaking Mexico cruise vacation destinations. Oh please!!
8) Use Keyword Phrases As Anchor Text In Links - This is certainly not always possible. If your primary keyphrase is "Mexico Cruise Vacation," you absolutely should not write every link to include that phrase. However, if you can include keywords in anchor text within body copy or in text navigation links, you might score a little extra credit.
9) Test and Track - Lastly, and above all, please remember, it may take some tweaking to get your page to convert the way you want it to. All customers are not the same, and all sites are not the same. All keyphrases are not the same. There is no magic bullet. You'll have to test and track and see what works best for you.
How to Increase Visitor Value at Your Site
How to Increase Visitor Value at Your Site
By Loren Beckart
http://ClickTracs.com
When a new visitor clicks on a link and arrives at your site for the first time, what will you present to them? 1. Will you present something like a brochure that has a home page filled with information and links to products? 2. Will you show an online catalogue that offers a variety of products and services? 3. Or will you have a straightforward, focused sales page that promotes a single product or service?
Your answer to these questions strongly affects the profitability of your web site. Once you've got traffic coming to your site, here are some useful principles that will help make that traffic more valuable to you.
Numerous market studies make one thing very clear: when new site visitors are offered too many choices, they get confused and don't buy. They leave; most of the time they never return. Your objective is to make it easy for a new visitor to become your client. Keep it simple at the beginning.
You can accomplish this in one of two basic ways.
One method: using a brochure-type page to offer useful information, give the reader a compelling reason to opt-in to your email list. Perhaps offer something of value that they can get for fr~ee: a digital download, subscription to a newsletter, a special report, etc. This type of site is usually called a "capture page." You follow up via email with the visitor, giving additional information and making offers of products for sale. Remember always to include in your emails instructions for people to unsubscribe to your list, and in every other way, comply with CAN-SPAM Act requirements.
Method two: using a sales page with a compelling headline, offer a single item at a relatively low price point. This is the beginning of your marketing "funnel." The item could be one that has wide appeal among your target market. Whatever you offer, it should be a model of your high standard of quality regarding products and service. You will get repeat business because of the good value you provide. Once you've made your initial sale, then introduce your clients to the wider range of products, services, and price-points. You're no longer a total stranger. They know you're trustworthy. Now they are willing to sort through a more complex site to find additional products you have that they want. In addition, they are now in your data base, so you can market to them when you have a new product or something special to promote.
One thing that is usually not a good idea is to present a first-time visitor with a big catalogue site. Lots of products and prices and other distractions might look impressive, but you've got less than 3 seconds to capture the attention of a first-time visitor following a link as they search on-line. A focused, compelling headline is the best way to keep their interest and encourage them to stay at your site.
If you've paid for the link the visitor clicked on to arrive at your site, you naturally want to make the most of the opportunity. You want to get your return on investment (ROI). Many online business owners believe that means making a sale immediately. However, the savvy online business-person understands that making the most of the opportunity really means beginning a relationship with a new prospect, usually via email follow-up contacts.
That is why you have the big beautiful catalogue site. It's for later, after the prospect has become your client. Once they know you provide good service and a high quality product and you've got a relationship underway, use your catalogue site for back-end sales aplenty.
All right. That's the story of why to use certain kinds of sites. Now, when you're ready to create your 'capture page' or your one-item sales page, you can find copy writing resources on-line. The resources could involve hiring a copy writer, using a copy writing product, or writing your own page from scratch, depending on your budget and skills. The following list contains nine essential elements of a good page.
A. Headline
B. Story
C. Credibility
D. Benefits
E. Features
F. Bonus gifts
G. Value
H. Ordering info
I. Summary
Search for several examples of the type of page you want to create. Then, use these nine items as a checklist to study the models you've found. Using the models you've selected for inspiration, you or your copy writer will create your unique way of saying it and applying it to your product. You'll find that copy writing is largely about using a formula. If you follow good models and use your own words, you'll enjoy and profit from the results.
By Loren Beckart
http://ClickTracs.com
When a new visitor clicks on a link and arrives at your site for the first time, what will you present to them? 1. Will you present something like a brochure that has a home page filled with information and links to products? 2. Will you show an online catalogue that offers a variety of products and services? 3. Or will you have a straightforward, focused sales page that promotes a single product or service?
Your answer to these questions strongly affects the profitability of your web site. Once you've got traffic coming to your site, here are some useful principles that will help make that traffic more valuable to you.
Numerous market studies make one thing very clear: when new site visitors are offered too many choices, they get confused and don't buy. They leave; most of the time they never return. Your objective is to make it easy for a new visitor to become your client. Keep it simple at the beginning.
You can accomplish this in one of two basic ways.
One method: using a brochure-type page to offer useful information, give the reader a compelling reason to opt-in to your email list. Perhaps offer something of value that they can get for fr~ee: a digital download, subscription to a newsletter, a special report, etc. This type of site is usually called a "capture page." You follow up via email with the visitor, giving additional information and making offers of products for sale. Remember always to include in your emails instructions for people to unsubscribe to your list, and in every other way, comply with CAN-SPAM Act requirements.
Method two: using a sales page with a compelling headline, offer a single item at a relatively low price point. This is the beginning of your marketing "funnel." The item could be one that has wide appeal among your target market. Whatever you offer, it should be a model of your high standard of quality regarding products and service. You will get repeat business because of the good value you provide. Once you've made your initial sale, then introduce your clients to the wider range of products, services, and price-points. You're no longer a total stranger. They know you're trustworthy. Now they are willing to sort through a more complex site to find additional products you have that they want. In addition, they are now in your data base, so you can market to them when you have a new product or something special to promote.
One thing that is usually not a good idea is to present a first-time visitor with a big catalogue site. Lots of products and prices and other distractions might look impressive, but you've got less than 3 seconds to capture the attention of a first-time visitor following a link as they search on-line. A focused, compelling headline is the best way to keep their interest and encourage them to stay at your site.
If you've paid for the link the visitor clicked on to arrive at your site, you naturally want to make the most of the opportunity. You want to get your return on investment (ROI). Many online business owners believe that means making a sale immediately. However, the savvy online business-person understands that making the most of the opportunity really means beginning a relationship with a new prospect, usually via email follow-up contacts.
That is why you have the big beautiful catalogue site. It's for later, after the prospect has become your client. Once they know you provide good service and a high quality product and you've got a relationship underway, use your catalogue site for back-end sales aplenty.
All right. That's the story of why to use certain kinds of sites. Now, when you're ready to create your 'capture page' or your one-item sales page, you can find copy writing resources on-line. The resources could involve hiring a copy writer, using a copy writing product, or writing your own page from scratch, depending on your budget and skills. The following list contains nine essential elements of a good page.
A. Headline
B. Story
C. Credibility
D. Benefits
E. Features
F. Bonus gifts
G. Value
H. Ordering info
I. Summary
Search for several examples of the type of page you want to create. Then, use these nine items as a checklist to study the models you've found. Using the models you've selected for inspiration, you or your copy writer will create your unique way of saying it and applying it to your product. You'll find that copy writing is largely about using a formula. If you follow good models and use your own words, you'll enjoy and profit from the results.
10 Innovative Ways To Use Your Auto responder
10 Innovative Ways To Use Your Auto responder
Keith Gloster
Sequential auto-responders have long been the tool of choice for capturing and managing email lists of subscribers or customers.
And while this is indeed its intended purpose, most inexperienced marketers fail to realize that a sequential auto-responder can be used for far more than just gathering leads.
Below are 10 effective ways to begin using your auto-responder to increase traffic, leads, visitor feedback and sales:
1. Collect leads with your auto responder. You will get an e-mail digest of everyone's e-mail addresses who requests information from your auto responder.
2. Publish a price list of all the products and services that you offer. You could also include order forms, product descriptions, and other sales material.
3. Publish free reports in auto responder format. The reports should be related to your business or web site. Giving away free stuff will quickly increase your traffic.
4. Collect vital customer satisfaction information by publishing a survey in auto responder format. This type of information will help you serve them better.
5. Instead of answering every customer question that's e-mailed to you, publish "Frequently Ask Questions" in auto responder format. This will save time and money.
6. You could publish your testimonials or endorsements in auto responder format if you don't have the room in your ad copy. It's more effective to include all of them.
7. Provide back issues of your e-zine archives in auto-responder format. This will give your subscribers and web site visitors easy access to them.
8. Publish your entire web site in auto responder format. Sometimes visitors don't have enough time to read your entire site. They could print it out and read it offline.
9. You could offer your ebook in auto responder format. Your visitors won't have to download it or have the software to read it right away.
10. You could publish the terms and conditions to any Business transactions in auto responder format. This could include return policies, purchases, refunds etc.
Keith Gloster
Sequential auto-responders have long been the tool of choice for capturing and managing email lists of subscribers or customers.
And while this is indeed its intended purpose, most inexperienced marketers fail to realize that a sequential auto-responder can be used for far more than just gathering leads.
Below are 10 effective ways to begin using your auto-responder to increase traffic, leads, visitor feedback and sales:
1. Collect leads with your auto responder. You will get an e-mail digest of everyone's e-mail addresses who requests information from your auto responder.
2. Publish a price list of all the products and services that you offer. You could also include order forms, product descriptions, and other sales material.
3. Publish free reports in auto responder format. The reports should be related to your business or web site. Giving away free stuff will quickly increase your traffic.
4. Collect vital customer satisfaction information by publishing a survey in auto responder format. This type of information will help you serve them better.
5. Instead of answering every customer question that's e-mailed to you, publish "Frequently Ask Questions" in auto responder format. This will save time and money.
6. You could publish your testimonials or endorsements in auto responder format if you don't have the room in your ad copy. It's more effective to include all of them.
7. Provide back issues of your e-zine archives in auto-responder format. This will give your subscribers and web site visitors easy access to them.
8. Publish your entire web site in auto responder format. Sometimes visitors don't have enough time to read your entire site. They could print it out and read it offline.
9. You could offer your ebook in auto responder format. Your visitors won't have to download it or have the software to read it right away.
10. You could publish the terms and conditions to any Business transactions in auto responder format. This could include return policies, purchases, refunds etc.
The 7 Steps to Promoting Your RSS Feeds on Your Website
The 7 Steps to Promoting Your RSS Feeds on Your Website
RSS gets 100% of your content delivered, but it’s no good if no one subscribes to your feeds.
So your first order of business after planning and creating your feeds has to be promoting them to your visitors.
The only problem is that most internet users still don’t know what RSS is, so you do have your work cut out for. But using the system outlined below you shouldn’t have any problems. Actually, after implementing this system, you should be achieving better results than the majority of publishers out there.
1. HOW RSS FEEDS ARE GENERALLY PROMOTED
RSS feeds are generally promoted using the orange XML or RSS buttons, and often also with buttons that enable visitors to subscribe directly to the feed with their RSS reader.
Usually, if clicking on the RSS button, the visitor only sees a lot of confusing XML code. They in fact need to copy & paste the link in to their RSS reader. But since most still don’t know what RSS is, using this approach will only waste potential subscribers.
To achieve success, you’ll need a different approach.
A] Create an RSS presentation page, on which you explain:
- What RSS is
- How the visitor will benefit from using RSS
- Where they can get a free RSS aggregator (recommend one yourself!)
- How they can install it (provide step-by-step instructions)
- How they can subscribe to your RSS feeds
- Why they should subscribe to your own RSS feeds
Then, on this same page, include the links to all of your RSS feeds.
In addition to the standard orange RSS button, also include direct links for subscriptions via MyYahoo! (get it here http://my.yahoo.com/s/button.html) and other relevant services, such as Bloglines (http://www.bloglines.com). There are about 5 RSS readers you should cover with these buttons.
B] Now promote this RSS presentation page as much as you can using all of your available channels.
2. LOCATION AND CONTENT
It’s all about location, just like with the subscription box for your e-zine. If they don’t see it, they won’t subscribe. And if you don’t motivate them enough to check-it out, they’ll just ignore it.
A] Promote your RSS feeds directly below your e-zine subscription box, and always 'above the fold'. Promote your RSS presentation page (telling your visitors that’s where they can subscribe to your feeds) on the most prominent locations of your site.
B] If you’re publishing more than one RSS feed, but rather a couple of focused topic feeds, promote each of them next to their topics. For instance, if you’re publishing an RSS feed on E-mail Marketing, promote the RSS feed at the top of the topic home page, and in every E-mail Marketing article you publish. These links should actually be direct subscriptions links to the feeds.
Use this service to cover all of the important readers using just one simple button: http://www.methodize.org/quicksub/
C] Promote your RSS feeds in all of your e-mail messages and e-zine issues.
D] As for the content, don’t just say 'Subscribe to receive news from my site', but rather prepare compelling copy to specifically show your visitors why they need to subscribe to your content in the first place and why they should subscribe specifically to your RSS feeds.
3. ENABLE AUTO-DISCOVERY
Some internet browsers, such as Firefox, make it easy for their users to subscribe to RSS feeds. The browser actually asks the user if he wants to subscribe to the feeds the browser finds on the site the user is currently on.
Yes, this is even more powerful than your e-mail subscription form, since the browser in a way 'pushes' the user with your RSS feed subscription.
But in order for the browser to do this, you need to help it out to find your RSS feed.
Just include the following piece of HTML code in the section of your webpages and you’ll be all set:
There are many more techniques and opportunities available to you, from 'direct subscribe' links to actually using opt-in forms, but these 7 steps should get you started in the shortest time possible, and help you achieve a better visitor-to-RSS-subscriber conversion rate than the huge majority of sites are achieving today.
RSS gets 100% of your content delivered, but it’s no good if no one subscribes to your feeds.
So your first order of business after planning and creating your feeds has to be promoting them to your visitors.
The only problem is that most internet users still don’t know what RSS is, so you do have your work cut out for. But using the system outlined below you shouldn’t have any problems. Actually, after implementing this system, you should be achieving better results than the majority of publishers out there.
1. HOW RSS FEEDS ARE GENERALLY PROMOTED
RSS feeds are generally promoted using the orange XML or RSS buttons, and often also with buttons that enable visitors to subscribe directly to the feed with their RSS reader.
Usually, if clicking on the RSS button, the visitor only sees a lot of confusing XML code. They in fact need to copy & paste the link in to their RSS reader. But since most still don’t know what RSS is, using this approach will only waste potential subscribers.
To achieve success, you’ll need a different approach.
A] Create an RSS presentation page, on which you explain:
- What RSS is
- How the visitor will benefit from using RSS
- Where they can get a free RSS aggregator (recommend one yourself!)
- How they can install it (provide step-by-step instructions)
- How they can subscribe to your RSS feeds
- Why they should subscribe to your own RSS feeds
Then, on this same page, include the links to all of your RSS feeds.
In addition to the standard orange RSS button, also include direct links for subscriptions via MyYahoo! (get it here http://my.yahoo.com/s/button.html) and other relevant services, such as Bloglines (http://www.bloglines.com). There are about 5 RSS readers you should cover with these buttons.
B] Now promote this RSS presentation page as much as you can using all of your available channels.
2. LOCATION AND CONTENT
It’s all about location, just like with the subscription box for your e-zine. If they don’t see it, they won’t subscribe. And if you don’t motivate them enough to check-it out, they’ll just ignore it.
A] Promote your RSS feeds directly below your e-zine subscription box, and always 'above the fold'. Promote your RSS presentation page (telling your visitors that’s where they can subscribe to your feeds) on the most prominent locations of your site.
B] If you’re publishing more than one RSS feed, but rather a couple of focused topic feeds, promote each of them next to their topics. For instance, if you’re publishing an RSS feed on E-mail Marketing, promote the RSS feed at the top of the topic home page, and in every E-mail Marketing article you publish. These links should actually be direct subscriptions links to the feeds.
Use this service to cover all of the important readers using just one simple button: http://www.methodize.org/quicksub/
C] Promote your RSS feeds in all of your e-mail messages and e-zine issues.
D] As for the content, don’t just say 'Subscribe to receive news from my site', but rather prepare compelling copy to specifically show your visitors why they need to subscribe to your content in the first place and why they should subscribe specifically to your RSS feeds.
3. ENABLE AUTO-DISCOVERY
Some internet browsers, such as Firefox, make it easy for their users to subscribe to RSS feeds. The browser actually asks the user if he wants to subscribe to the feeds the browser finds on the site the user is currently on.
Yes, this is even more powerful than your e-mail subscription form, since the browser in a way 'pushes' the user with your RSS feed subscription.
But in order for the browser to do this, you need to help it out to find your RSS feed.
Just include the following piece of HTML code in the section of your webpages and you’ll be all set:
There are many more techniques and opportunities available to you, from 'direct subscribe' links to actually using opt-in forms, but these 7 steps should get you started in the shortest time possible, and help you achieve a better visitor-to-RSS-subscriber conversion rate than the huge majority of sites are achieving today.
Five Questions Web Designers Don't Want You to Ask
Five Questions Web Designers Don't Want You to Ask
by Kristi Stangeland (c) 2005
http://www.mustangwebdesigns.com
It's obvious. Every time you search the Internet you see it for yourself: the huge difference in the designs of the sites you visit. Some look like they were created by million-dollar Madison Avenue agencies while others look like your 12-year-old nephew did it for his school project. And those are the visible elements. Look deeper, and you'll find other aspects of web design that affect everything from search engine optimization to visitor experience.
When it comes to *your* site, take the time to ensure your business will be well represented on the web. Sure, referrals from friends are great, and you should definitely get several referrals when you start your search. But you should also be armed with some carefully thought out questions to ask as well. When interviewing web designers, ask the following:
1. How do you incorporate search engine techniques when creating web sites?
Why You Care: It has recently been reported that only 30% of web sites are listed in the search engines. All web designers state that they care about search engine optimization when creating sites, but few really incorporate the techniques when your site is actually built.
Most Wanted Response: You want your web design firm to tell you they plan to determine keyphrases for your site at the beginning of the project and incorporate them into the title, content and META tags of your site. You also want them to create your site without the use of frames or 100% flash pages.
Bottom Line: There are other factors (besides web design) that impact search engine optimization, but these design elements will give you a giant boost up with your rankings. Oftentimes, high rankings are as much about what you don't include as what you do include.
2. What is your turnaround time?
Why You Care: You'll want your site finished in a reasonable amount of time. Unfortunately, I've come across many businesses that have waited over a year for their site to be completed.
Most Wanted Response: You'll want to hear your web designer offer a specific timeframe for site completion. While the web site designer will be dependent upon you for delivery of graphics and content, the designer should be able to discuss a typical schedule and the turnaround time, once you have provided the appropriate materials.
Bottom Line: Don't get stuck for months without a site while you wait for your designer. Make sure you feel comfortable with the designer's response.
3. Do you use Cascading Style Sheets?
Why You Care: A cascading style sheet works behind the scenes to create the look of your entire site. This is preferred to regular HTML formatting for three reasons:
1. Your site loads much faster because file sizes are smaller. 2. Lower maintenance fees. Your designer can update the look of your entire site with one single change to the style sheet. 3. It's the wave of the future. Embedded styles on your site could soon be obsolete.
Most Wanted Response: Yes!
Bottom Line: You work hard for your money. Don't waste it on unnecessary maintenance fees or risk having to recreate your site in the next year or two.
4. Will my site be viewable by all users on all browsers?
Why You Care: Unfortunately, you cannot control what browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox, Mozilla, Opera, Web TV, etc) a visitor to your site will use. Some sites look great in one browser and horrible in another. A good web designer, however, can make sure your site looks the way it should when viewed in a variety of browsers.
Most Wanted Response: Your designer should use necessary techniques to ensure your site will appear, as it should, in several different browsers. This means your site should actually be viewed in several different browsers as well as several different versions of these browsers. In addition, the site should be checked to ensure that the code is correct. (Dr. HTML and W3C Validator are popular services.)
Bottom Line: Don't push visitors away with a web site that only looks good in one version of Internet Explorer!
5. How will my business/organization benefit from a web site?
Why You Care: If you're reading this article, you probably already know many of the benefits of having a site. In case you don't, I'll tell you that web sites can fulfill many different needs for a business or organization. For example, service professionals may want a site to generate qualified leads. Retail companies might want an online sales outlet to further increase revenues. Other businesses may not care about Internet traffic at all and just want a site for their existing customers.
Most Wanted Response: Your designer should explain her/his process to learn about your business and business model so s/he can create a site specifically to meet the needs of your organization.
Bottom Line: Your designer has to fully understand your business, or your site won't function in the capacity you intend for it to function.
In addition to asking these questions, get references and actually follow up with them. Creating a web site is a major investment, and you'll want to be sure you're working with someone who is as devoted to the success of your site as you are. Finding a good, competent web designer takes effort on your part, but will be well worth the time you spend.
by Kristi Stangeland (c) 2005
http://www.mustangwebdesigns.com
It's obvious. Every time you search the Internet you see it for yourself: the huge difference in the designs of the sites you visit. Some look like they were created by million-dollar Madison Avenue agencies while others look like your 12-year-old nephew did it for his school project. And those are the visible elements. Look deeper, and you'll find other aspects of web design that affect everything from search engine optimization to visitor experience.
When it comes to *your* site, take the time to ensure your business will be well represented on the web. Sure, referrals from friends are great, and you should definitely get several referrals when you start your search. But you should also be armed with some carefully thought out questions to ask as well. When interviewing web designers, ask the following:
1. How do you incorporate search engine techniques when creating web sites?
Why You Care: It has recently been reported that only 30% of web sites are listed in the search engines. All web designers state that they care about search engine optimization when creating sites, but few really incorporate the techniques when your site is actually built.
Most Wanted Response: You want your web design firm to tell you they plan to determine keyphrases for your site at the beginning of the project and incorporate them into the title, content and META tags of your site. You also want them to create your site without the use of frames or 100% flash pages.
Bottom Line: There are other factors (besides web design) that impact search engine optimization, but these design elements will give you a giant boost up with your rankings. Oftentimes, high rankings are as much about what you don't include as what you do include.
2. What is your turnaround time?
Why You Care: You'll want your site finished in a reasonable amount of time. Unfortunately, I've come across many businesses that have waited over a year for their site to be completed.
Most Wanted Response: You'll want to hear your web designer offer a specific timeframe for site completion. While the web site designer will be dependent upon you for delivery of graphics and content, the designer should be able to discuss a typical schedule and the turnaround time, once you have provided the appropriate materials.
Bottom Line: Don't get stuck for months without a site while you wait for your designer. Make sure you feel comfortable with the designer's response.
3. Do you use Cascading Style Sheets?
Why You Care: A cascading style sheet works behind the scenes to create the look of your entire site. This is preferred to regular HTML formatting for three reasons:
1. Your site loads much faster because file sizes are smaller. 2. Lower maintenance fees. Your designer can update the look of your entire site with one single change to the style sheet. 3. It's the wave of the future. Embedded styles on your site could soon be obsolete.
Most Wanted Response: Yes!
Bottom Line: You work hard for your money. Don't waste it on unnecessary maintenance fees or risk having to recreate your site in the next year or two.
4. Will my site be viewable by all users on all browsers?
Why You Care: Unfortunately, you cannot control what browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox, Mozilla, Opera, Web TV, etc) a visitor to your site will use. Some sites look great in one browser and horrible in another. A good web designer, however, can make sure your site looks the way it should when viewed in a variety of browsers.
Most Wanted Response: Your designer should use necessary techniques to ensure your site will appear, as it should, in several different browsers. This means your site should actually be viewed in several different browsers as well as several different versions of these browsers. In addition, the site should be checked to ensure that the code is correct. (Dr. HTML and W3C Validator are popular services.)
Bottom Line: Don't push visitors away with a web site that only looks good in one version of Internet Explorer!
5. How will my business/organization benefit from a web site?
Why You Care: If you're reading this article, you probably already know many of the benefits of having a site. In case you don't, I'll tell you that web sites can fulfill many different needs for a business or organization. For example, service professionals may want a site to generate qualified leads. Retail companies might want an online sales outlet to further increase revenues. Other businesses may not care about Internet traffic at all and just want a site for their existing customers.
Most Wanted Response: Your designer should explain her/his process to learn about your business and business model so s/he can create a site specifically to meet the needs of your organization.
Bottom Line: Your designer has to fully understand your business, or your site won't function in the capacity you intend for it to function.
In addition to asking these questions, get references and actually follow up with them. Creating a web site is a major investment, and you'll want to be sure you're working with someone who is as devoted to the success of your site as you are. Finding a good, competent web designer takes effort on your part, but will be well worth the time you spend.
Blog and Ping A Search Engine Traffic Bonanza
Blog and Ping A Search Engine Traffic Bonanza
Copyright 2005 John Jantsch
Everyone is talking about blogs these days as the magic money-making marketing tool. Some of the hype may actually be true, but I suggest you cut through most of what you read about blogs just long enough to understand why every business needs a blog.
Right now, that’s not to say this won't change, search engines are in love with real blogs. By real blogs I mean blogs that are set-up and run by businesses that offer useful content on them. Like every successful marketing method there are people out there setting up fake blogs and dumping garbage, but keyword rich, content into them in order to trick the search engines into ranking the content highly. [Please resist the urge to add to this form of search engine spam as it may actually get you banned by a search engine.]
When you understand a little about how blog software works you get a better understanding about why search engines love blogs. Here are the top reasons that business blogs and search engines go hand in hand.
Lots of Pages
Each blog entry is shown in chronological order on a blog’s homepage but, each entry is in reality its own web page, with its own unique URL and title. So, an active blogger can create hundreds of keyword rich web pages in a matter of months.
Change Is Good
In order to claim your place at the blogging table you must commit to making posts often - 4 or 5 times a week perhaps. This commitment means that you are creating, updating, changing some portion of your site several times a week. The typical small business web site is lucky to receive an update several times a year. Search engines like change.
Wake Up Call
Because search engines love changing content, they are ever ready to visit a site when it is updated. One feature unique to blog software is something called a pinging. Basically, what you are doing is sending out a message to various blog directories to come and visit you site because it has been updated. Once a search engine has located your site, this is like a personal invitation to come back and get the new stuff. I use a site called Ping-O-Matic to send pings to multiple services. Some blog software can be configured to do this automatically.
RSS Directories
Blogs also have a built in distribution method known as RSS. This allows you to push your updated content out to people who subscribe through an RSS reader such as Bloglines or FeedDemon as well as Yahoo and MSN. This ability allows you to communicate directly with subscribers but it can also help get your main site noticed and indexed by the major search engines. Yahoo, for example, allows people (including you) to subscribe to your blog’s RSS feed. On the day you create your blog, you can subscribe to it via a free MyYahoo account and Yahoo will visit and index your blog for free. It has no choice.
Linking Is Key
Part of the blogging culture is the predisposition to link to and from quality content that relates to the subject your are blogging about. In other words, bloggers like to link. Links from other high quality blogs will send traffic and get your blog and web site noticed.
So, your blog marketing strategy a little like this: Set-up a blog and start posting. Ping each time your make a new entry. Submit your blog to the major blog and RSS directories. Start looking for link partners. Repeat
In the last few weeks I set-up blogs for an attorney, a label manufacturer, and a remodeling contractor. In each case, the blogs were indexed and spidered by the major search engines within 48 hours. Traffic to the main web sites for these businesses (although a bit meager to start with) has already doubled or tripled. Traffic from each of the major search engines is now showing up for a large number of important search terms and phrases.
Who knows how long this blog traffic bonanza will last but at this moment a blog has never made more sense.
If you’re convinced that you need a blog but don’t want to hassle with setting it up and learning how to promote it properly, check out my basic blog coaching package. I do the work, you’re up and blogging and promoting your blog in a matter of days.
Copyright 2005 John Jantsch
Everyone is talking about blogs these days as the magic money-making marketing tool. Some of the hype may actually be true, but I suggest you cut through most of what you read about blogs just long enough to understand why every business needs a blog.
Right now, that’s not to say this won't change, search engines are in love with real blogs. By real blogs I mean blogs that are set-up and run by businesses that offer useful content on them. Like every successful marketing method there are people out there setting up fake blogs and dumping garbage, but keyword rich, content into them in order to trick the search engines into ranking the content highly. [Please resist the urge to add to this form of search engine spam as it may actually get you banned by a search engine.]
When you understand a little about how blog software works you get a better understanding about why search engines love blogs. Here are the top reasons that business blogs and search engines go hand in hand.
Lots of Pages
Each blog entry is shown in chronological order on a blog’s homepage but, each entry is in reality its own web page, with its own unique URL and title. So, an active blogger can create hundreds of keyword rich web pages in a matter of months.
Change Is Good
In order to claim your place at the blogging table you must commit to making posts often - 4 or 5 times a week perhaps. This commitment means that you are creating, updating, changing some portion of your site several times a week. The typical small business web site is lucky to receive an update several times a year. Search engines like change.
Wake Up Call
Because search engines love changing content, they are ever ready to visit a site when it is updated. One feature unique to blog software is something called a pinging. Basically, what you are doing is sending out a message to various blog directories to come and visit you site because it has been updated. Once a search engine has located your site, this is like a personal invitation to come back and get the new stuff. I use a site called Ping-O-Matic to send pings to multiple services. Some blog software can be configured to do this automatically.
RSS Directories
Blogs also have a built in distribution method known as RSS. This allows you to push your updated content out to people who subscribe through an RSS reader such as Bloglines or FeedDemon as well as Yahoo and MSN. This ability allows you to communicate directly with subscribers but it can also help get your main site noticed and indexed by the major search engines. Yahoo, for example, allows people (including you) to subscribe to your blog’s RSS feed. On the day you create your blog, you can subscribe to it via a free MyYahoo account and Yahoo will visit and index your blog for free. It has no choice.
Linking Is Key
Part of the blogging culture is the predisposition to link to and from quality content that relates to the subject your are blogging about. In other words, bloggers like to link. Links from other high quality blogs will send traffic and get your blog and web site noticed.
So, your blog marketing strategy a little like this: Set-up a blog and start posting. Ping each time your make a new entry. Submit your blog to the major blog and RSS directories. Start looking for link partners. Repeat
In the last few weeks I set-up blogs for an attorney, a label manufacturer, and a remodeling contractor. In each case, the blogs were indexed and spidered by the major search engines within 48 hours. Traffic to the main web sites for these businesses (although a bit meager to start with) has already doubled or tripled. Traffic from each of the major search engines is now showing up for a large number of important search terms and phrases.
Who knows how long this blog traffic bonanza will last but at this moment a blog has never made more sense.
If you’re convinced that you need a blog but don’t want to hassle with setting it up and learning how to promote it properly, check out my basic blog coaching package. I do the work, you’re up and blogging and promoting your blog in a matter of days.
The 7 key elements webmasters don't know about creating an outrageous profitable mini-site.
The 7 key elements webmasters don't know about creating an outrageous profitable mini-site.
by Emmanuel Segui
Copyright 2005 Emmanuel Segui
Let's be clear. You don't need to be a webmaster to create a money-making website. You don't even need to know how to do programming. However, you MUST be aware of these seven basic and essential elements to setting up an outrageously profitable mini-site that will create a nice stream of passive income for life.
1. Graphics
Your mini-site need graphics. But don't be caught up putting too many pictures and graphics. The key to creating a profitable website is to put yourself in the customer’s place. So be careful, you don't want your website to take more than 30 seconds to load. Having two or three graphics is enough. One header graphic, one representing the cover of your product if this is an info-product and you can add your picture as an introduction to your website.
2. Colours
One of the major mistake of beginners or so-called webmasters is that they want to impress people by putting a lot of colours or flashy banners in JavaScript. By doing this, you distract the potential customers that come to your site. You don't allow them to stay focused on your message, that is to sell or to subscribe to your newsletter. On the other hand, you should have two or three main colours. One for the background, one for the headlines and sub-headlines and one to underline important words or expressions. For example, yellow is often used to underline what you want to stress in your sales message.
3. Tables
When you market your product, you will need to gather testimonials and put them on your website. You select the best ones and you put them into what is called a table. A table is like a square box on your website that will contain your testimonials. You can even set up a light background colour for this table. This technique is used to direct the attention of the potential customer to a success story about your product.
4. Links
Links are words or expressions underlined in blue, in general and that are click-able. The two important kinds of links are internal links and external links. An internal link will redirect the potential customer to another page of your site, for example an "About Me" page. An external link will redirect him or her to another site, for example the site that will accept the payment. A mini-site will generally have one to four links: on or two order links throughout the sales message and an "About Me" page.
5. Headlines
The sales message of your mini-site will introduce your product. You do this by using headlines and sub-headlines. These headlines are attention-grabbers which entice your potential customers to go down further. You can have one big headline stressing benefits at the very beginning of your mini-site and sub-headlines under or throughout the website.
6. Accepting payments
Of course, your outrageous profitable website will need to accept payments and especially credits cards. If you sell an info-product you can't beat ClickBank for processing credit cards. For all products, you can easily use PayPal.com, global leader in online payments. Both companies use the world's most advanced proprietary fraud prevention systems to create a safe and real-time payment solution. You can set up two kinds of links to process online payments with ClickBank.com and PayPal.com
7. Subscription Box
The money is in the list of subscribers to your newsletter or mini-lesson. The bigger the list, the more chance you will have to close sales. Your list is your biggest asset because it represents the people who know you, your offers and who trust you. To build a list, you will need to set up a subscription box to allow people to request information from you. In exchange, you receive their name and email and put them into a database for future follow ups.
Creating a profitable mini-site is not only for webmasters. You can easily and painlessly create your own profitable mini-site by applying some simple principles. Be sure to include these seven basic and essential elements to set up your next money-making mini-site that will create a nice stream of passive income for life.
by Emmanuel Segui
Copyright 2005 Emmanuel Segui
Let's be clear. You don't need to be a webmaster to create a money-making website. You don't even need to know how to do programming. However, you MUST be aware of these seven basic and essential elements to setting up an outrageously profitable mini-site that will create a nice stream of passive income for life.
1. Graphics
Your mini-site need graphics. But don't be caught up putting too many pictures and graphics. The key to creating a profitable website is to put yourself in the customer’s place. So be careful, you don't want your website to take more than 30 seconds to load. Having two or three graphics is enough. One header graphic, one representing the cover of your product if this is an info-product and you can add your picture as an introduction to your website.
2. Colours
One of the major mistake of beginners or so-called webmasters is that they want to impress people by putting a lot of colours or flashy banners in JavaScript. By doing this, you distract the potential customers that come to your site. You don't allow them to stay focused on your message, that is to sell or to subscribe to your newsletter. On the other hand, you should have two or three main colours. One for the background, one for the headlines and sub-headlines and one to underline important words or expressions. For example, yellow is often used to underline what you want to stress in your sales message.
3. Tables
When you market your product, you will need to gather testimonials and put them on your website. You select the best ones and you put them into what is called a table. A table is like a square box on your website that will contain your testimonials. You can even set up a light background colour for this table. This technique is used to direct the attention of the potential customer to a success story about your product.
4. Links
Links are words or expressions underlined in blue, in general and that are click-able. The two important kinds of links are internal links and external links. An internal link will redirect the potential customer to another page of your site, for example an "About Me" page. An external link will redirect him or her to another site, for example the site that will accept the payment. A mini-site will generally have one to four links: on or two order links throughout the sales message and an "About Me" page.
5. Headlines
The sales message of your mini-site will introduce your product. You do this by using headlines and sub-headlines. These headlines are attention-grabbers which entice your potential customers to go down further. You can have one big headline stressing benefits at the very beginning of your mini-site and sub-headlines under or throughout the website.
6. Accepting payments
Of course, your outrageous profitable website will need to accept payments and especially credits cards. If you sell an info-product you can't beat ClickBank for processing credit cards. For all products, you can easily use PayPal.com, global leader in online payments. Both companies use the world's most advanced proprietary fraud prevention systems to create a safe and real-time payment solution. You can set up two kinds of links to process online payments with ClickBank.com and PayPal.com
7. Subscription Box
The money is in the list of subscribers to your newsletter or mini-lesson. The bigger the list, the more chance you will have to close sales. Your list is your biggest asset because it represents the people who know you, your offers and who trust you. To build a list, you will need to set up a subscription box to allow people to request information from you. In exchange, you receive their name and email and put them into a database for future follow ups.
Creating a profitable mini-site is not only for webmasters. You can easily and painlessly create your own profitable mini-site by applying some simple principles. Be sure to include these seven basic and essential elements to set up your next money-making mini-site that will create a nice stream of passive income for life.
You Can Have Graphics And Good SEO!
You Can Have Graphics And Good SEO!
by Robert Loyst
You Can Have Graphics And Good SEO!
As webmasters and online internet marketers, we sometimes loose sight of what the real goal in marketing is – to sell products/services. It often happens that we end up writing most of our content to please the search engines. Let me tell you, search engines do not buy shoes! Where am I going with this?
Simple, let us talk about using more graphics on your site!
Graphics placed in webpage’s are frowned upon because search engine spiders cannot “read” graphics, therefore the thought being – graphics have no SEO value. To an extent that can be true but there are several ways in which a graphic can be represented with good keywords and keyword phrases. In addition, there are several techniques that can be utilized that will somewhat offset the negative effects of having graphics on your website.
1. Make sure to provide alternate text representations for every single graphic on your website including horizontal lines, bullets and background images. You can do this by manipulating the ALT tags. Make sure you use short descriptions for the graphics on your webpage. Many people abuse ALT tags and actually “stuff” 10 – 20 keywords and keyword phrases behind graphics. This is not only bad SEO technique, but it may get your website banned when it comes time to submit it to the search engines!
2. You can insert a small 8pt or so keyword rich description just below your main graphics. For example, if you have a picture of an ebook on your website, you can put a small sentence below the picture saying “Website Marketing Bible – Get Years of Internet Marketing Experience in One Ebook!” As you can see you get the keywords; Website, Marketing x2 and Internet.
To “offset” the negative effects a graphic can have you should implement some of the following techniques:
1. Many copywriters think that they must have all of their keywords written in the copy to be effective and end up with a full page of text. Remember people like a sense of things being “real”, they like to be part of something. That is the benefit of graphics. I often think of graphics to have the same effect of having an office with a window. It gives you a “break” from work. Well, graphics give the customer a “break” from the text.
What you can do is break up your copy and insert keywords in other areas of your website. This will please the search engines as well as give your readers a “break” from seeing a full page of text.
For example, you can delete maybe a whole paragraph of “filler” and just add the keywords from that paragraph to a sub-heading below the main heading of your page. You may want to move some of your keywords to table headers or page footers. Either way the search engine will find your keywords.
2. Add keywords to regular phrases! This is my favorite. Adding your keywords to regular phrases that may be table headers, footers, categories, departments etc can add up to huge keyword targeting. Here are two examples:
Instead of saying “Sign up for our newsletter”, you can say; Sign up for our affiliate-marketing newsletter.”
Instead of having the table header for your navigation say “Navigation”, you can change it to say “Marketing Navigation.”
As webmasters and online internet marketers, we sometimes loose sight of what the real goal in marketing is – to sell products and services.
We must remember that we are here to provide the best products and the best services to the best customers. Let us not drown them in sheets and sheets of text. Break up your text with images and give them a break!
A happy browser may become a happy customer!
About the Author
Affiliate & Web Marketing Your Affiliate Resource!
An Entire Site Devoted to Affiliate Marketing Tips, Tricks and Expert Advice.
Learn From The Professionals and Get Professional Results!
Author: Robert Loyst
Website: RCLWebMarketing.com (http://www.rclwebmarketing.com)
I know it can be hard starting out with affiliate marketing. Sometimes it seems as though you are never going to make it work. Well, there is good news. RCLWebMarketing has created an online resource for you. If that is not enough - you can log on to the website and personally contact me any time for live one on one tutoring.
by Robert Loyst
You Can Have Graphics And Good SEO!
As webmasters and online internet marketers, we sometimes loose sight of what the real goal in marketing is – to sell products/services. It often happens that we end up writing most of our content to please the search engines. Let me tell you, search engines do not buy shoes! Where am I going with this?
Simple, let us talk about using more graphics on your site!
Graphics placed in webpage’s are frowned upon because search engine spiders cannot “read” graphics, therefore the thought being – graphics have no SEO value. To an extent that can be true but there are several ways in which a graphic can be represented with good keywords and keyword phrases. In addition, there are several techniques that can be utilized that will somewhat offset the negative effects of having graphics on your website.
1. Make sure to provide alternate text representations for every single graphic on your website including horizontal lines, bullets and background images. You can do this by manipulating the ALT tags. Make sure you use short descriptions for the graphics on your webpage. Many people abuse ALT tags and actually “stuff” 10 – 20 keywords and keyword phrases behind graphics. This is not only bad SEO technique, but it may get your website banned when it comes time to submit it to the search engines!
2. You can insert a small 8pt or so keyword rich description just below your main graphics. For example, if you have a picture of an ebook on your website, you can put a small sentence below the picture saying “Website Marketing Bible – Get Years of Internet Marketing Experience in One Ebook!” As you can see you get the keywords; Website, Marketing x2 and Internet.
To “offset” the negative effects a graphic can have you should implement some of the following techniques:
1. Many copywriters think that they must have all of their keywords written in the copy to be effective and end up with a full page of text. Remember people like a sense of things being “real”, they like to be part of something. That is the benefit of graphics. I often think of graphics to have the same effect of having an office with a window. It gives you a “break” from work. Well, graphics give the customer a “break” from the text.
What you can do is break up your copy and insert keywords in other areas of your website. This will please the search engines as well as give your readers a “break” from seeing a full page of text.
For example, you can delete maybe a whole paragraph of “filler” and just add the keywords from that paragraph to a sub-heading below the main heading of your page. You may want to move some of your keywords to table headers or page footers. Either way the search engine will find your keywords.
2. Add keywords to regular phrases! This is my favorite. Adding your keywords to regular phrases that may be table headers, footers, categories, departments etc can add up to huge keyword targeting. Here are two examples:
Instead of saying “Sign up for our newsletter”, you can say; Sign up for our affiliate-marketing newsletter.”
Instead of having the table header for your navigation say “Navigation”, you can change it to say “Marketing Navigation.”
As webmasters and online internet marketers, we sometimes loose sight of what the real goal in marketing is – to sell products and services.
We must remember that we are here to provide the best products and the best services to the best customers. Let us not drown them in sheets and sheets of text. Break up your text with images and give them a break!
A happy browser may become a happy customer!
About the Author
Affiliate & Web Marketing Your Affiliate Resource!
An Entire Site Devoted to Affiliate Marketing Tips, Tricks and Expert Advice.
Learn From The Professionals and Get Professional Results!
Author: Robert Loyst
Website: RCLWebMarketing.com (http://www.rclwebmarketing.com)
I know it can be hard starting out with affiliate marketing. Sometimes it seems as though you are never going to make it work. Well, there is good news. RCLWebMarketing has created an online resource for you. If that is not enough - you can log on to the website and personally contact me any time for live one on one tutoring.
Write Website Copy That Sells - Try a Little Flesh with Your Flash
Write Website Copy That Sells - Try a Little Flesh with Your Flash
by Paul Matthews
Your website looks great: solid words, easy navigation, graphics just so, and maybe even a bit of flash with some multimedia.
But customers are not buying.
You wonder if it’s the writing. How can that be? You remembered the two key mantras for website content - “write for the search engines” and “write for the medium.” You used appropriate keywords to help search engines find you and traffic is up. Surely, customers enjoy reading your content because you laid it out with the internet in mind using short sentences, brief paragraphs, and bullets to list your key points. Customers might be reading, but they still are not buying.
Chances are your site copy has been optimized for technology not people.
Even on the internet, selling is still about connecting to people. So how do you press the flesh across broadband? Start where brick and mortar relationships do – trust. Why not become the trusted provider in your marketspace? You can use words to raise your credibility in at least 25 different ways.
Here are two of them:
1) write the way customers speak and
2) replace your pitch with a theme.
People instinctively trust strangers who speak like them. If you find this article useful, how would you tell someone? Are you really going to say, “I read an unusually amazing article that fundamentally increased my sagging sales”? Not likely. Weak copywriters, not people, use too many modifiers. “Amazing,” “fundamentally,” and “sagging” weaken trust. How’s your site for modifiers?
Give it the finger test.
You might not want fingerprints on your screen, so I suggest printing a copy of your homepage content. Now, put your baby finger on the first modifier you can find. Put your ring finger on the next adjective or adverb. Repeat until you run out of modifiers or fingers. If your page is a handful, you’ve got too many modifiers and your copy is hype heavy, not trustworthy. In addition to giving readers copy that matches how they speak, it helps to give them time to get to know you.
Customers need time before they trust.
They will get used to your site in tiny steps, so hold off selling; buy some time. Have a theme for your site, introducing your offer only after your customer feels comfortable. Themes are a subtle form of repetition because they continually reinforce a single concept. Repeated exposure to an idea usually makes it familiar and safe. Remember the first time you used instant messaging or the family car - not so scary now.
Let’s say your site is selling dental floss.
Instead of listing the benefits of DentaThread, you could tie the presentation together under the central idea “Some people have nothing to smile about.” The opening section could point out how the discomfort of gingivitis wipes the grin off a person’s face. Another segment would show how ugly cavities make someone too self- conscious to smile. Yet another piece would reveal how the high cost of root canal causes an individual to frown. In this way, three versions of one idea help the site grow on the visitor: one idea, three versions. Does your homepage have a theme? How many chances does your site give visitors to get comfortable with you?
In this article, I tried to use the language of my readers and hang it on a central idea, trust. Did it work? Did it help? If yes, I guess I proved my point. If no, I have 23 more ideas to go.
by Paul Matthews
Your website looks great: solid words, easy navigation, graphics just so, and maybe even a bit of flash with some multimedia.
But customers are not buying.
You wonder if it’s the writing. How can that be? You remembered the two key mantras for website content - “write for the search engines” and “write for the medium.” You used appropriate keywords to help search engines find you and traffic is up. Surely, customers enjoy reading your content because you laid it out with the internet in mind using short sentences, brief paragraphs, and bullets to list your key points. Customers might be reading, but they still are not buying.
Chances are your site copy has been optimized for technology not people.
Even on the internet, selling is still about connecting to people. So how do you press the flesh across broadband? Start where brick and mortar relationships do – trust. Why not become the trusted provider in your marketspace? You can use words to raise your credibility in at least 25 different ways.
Here are two of them:
1) write the way customers speak and
2) replace your pitch with a theme.
People instinctively trust strangers who speak like them. If you find this article useful, how would you tell someone? Are you really going to say, “I read an unusually amazing article that fundamentally increased my sagging sales”? Not likely. Weak copywriters, not people, use too many modifiers. “Amazing,” “fundamentally,” and “sagging” weaken trust. How’s your site for modifiers?
Give it the finger test.
You might not want fingerprints on your screen, so I suggest printing a copy of your homepage content. Now, put your baby finger on the first modifier you can find. Put your ring finger on the next adjective or adverb. Repeat until you run out of modifiers or fingers. If your page is a handful, you’ve got too many modifiers and your copy is hype heavy, not trustworthy. In addition to giving readers copy that matches how they speak, it helps to give them time to get to know you.
Customers need time before they trust.
They will get used to your site in tiny steps, so hold off selling; buy some time. Have a theme for your site, introducing your offer only after your customer feels comfortable. Themes are a subtle form of repetition because they continually reinforce a single concept. Repeated exposure to an idea usually makes it familiar and safe. Remember the first time you used instant messaging or the family car - not so scary now.
Let’s say your site is selling dental floss.
Instead of listing the benefits of DentaThread, you could tie the presentation together under the central idea “Some people have nothing to smile about.” The opening section could point out how the discomfort of gingivitis wipes the grin off a person’s face. Another segment would show how ugly cavities make someone too self- conscious to smile. Yet another piece would reveal how the high cost of root canal causes an individual to frown. In this way, three versions of one idea help the site grow on the visitor: one idea, three versions. Does your homepage have a theme? How many chances does your site give visitors to get comfortable with you?
In this article, I tried to use the language of my readers and hang it on a central idea, trust. Did it work? Did it help? If yes, I guess I proved my point. If no, I have 23 more ideas to go.
Understanding Google Adsense
Understanding Google Adsense
Google AdSense is certainly the most popular Pay Per Click or PPC program in our industry today. All you have to do is enroll your site under the Google AdSense program and add some code to your web site to display ads on your web pages. You earn each time a visitor to your site clicks on one of these ads.
Visitors don’t have to buy anything. After all, this is a pay per click program and not a pay per action or CPA program. They just have to click on the ads and nothing more but the advertisers hope visitors do more than just click and look The advertisements on Adsense come from advertisers using Google’s Adwords program.
Ads are definitely not random, but instead are selected to be contextually relevant, meaning, that they are selected based on their relevancy to the subject of your site.
By providing high quality content and careful use of keywords, you provide an excellent base for individuals looking for information about specific products and services, and an excellent vehicle for advertisers targeting those individuals.
There are three determinative factors for the revenue of a site enrolled under the AdSense program.
1. The Cost Per Click or CPC of the ads appearing to your site.
2. The number of page impressions, or simply put, the amount of traffic that passes through your site. If you have a lot of page impressions, you have a better chance of getting a lot of clicks.
3. The Clickthrough Rate or CTR, which is the percentage of viewers who click on your Adsense ads. The higher your CTR, the more you should earn.
Getting more Impressions!
Here are some ways to increase traffic at your web site.
You can create more web pages adding with relevant and focused content.
You can create more internal links to your web pages by cross-linking topics.
List your web site under relevant categories in more directories.
Set up a directory of relevant sites on your website and accept relevant reciprocal links
Write relevant articles. Ensure that your site information in the resource box at the end of each article. Submit to article directory site.
Advertise with pay per click search engines.
Getting more Clicks!
Clickthrough rates are the percentage of viewers who click on your Adsense ads. You can increase Clickthroughs by increasing the relevance of Adsense ads on your site, and by tweaking the format and placement of your ads.
You cannot choose which ads Adsense shows on your site, but you can influence the relevance of the ads through your choice of content on each web page and across your web site.
If every page on your site focuses on the site topic, it is more likely that the Adsense ads will too. For example, if the focus of your web site is all about books, and the word “book” appears several times on every page, it is likely that your Adsense ads will relate to books.
The best placement for Google ads varies from page to page, depending on content. Some locations tend to be more successful than others. Wider ad formats tend to outperform their taller counterparts. Google has a "heat map" at http://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/static.py?page=tips.html that shows how the placement of ads affects the clickthroughs. The colors of the ads also has an effect.
The best way to optimize your web site is to use the Adsense channels feature to track your ad formats and placements. It then becomes all about testing and tracking to see what performs best for you.
What is Effective CPM?
Effective CPM is a measure of your average earnings per thousand impressions. You can increase your Effective CPM by selecting topics that might attract higher bids from advertisers, and building pages and whole websites based on higher paying topics.
Even though Google does not release much information about the value of Adsense bids, you can get a good idea of top paying topics by looking at information tools on Adwords and other pay-per-click search engines. There are also many keyword research tools available, both free and paid, that can help you find high paying topics.
Succeeding with Adsense!
It is a really simple set of rules to help increase your Adsense income.
Build pages and websites with focused content for the best Effective CPM.
Place and format your Adsense ads to maximize clickthroughs.
Promote your sites. Drive targeted traffic to your web pages for maximum impressions.
Google AdSense is certainly the most popular Pay Per Click or PPC program in our industry today. All you have to do is enroll your site under the Google AdSense program and add some code to your web site to display ads on your web pages. You earn each time a visitor to your site clicks on one of these ads.
Visitors don’t have to buy anything. After all, this is a pay per click program and not a pay per action or CPA program. They just have to click on the ads and nothing more but the advertisers hope visitors do more than just click and look The advertisements on Adsense come from advertisers using Google’s Adwords program.
Ads are definitely not random, but instead are selected to be contextually relevant, meaning, that they are selected based on their relevancy to the subject of your site.
By providing high quality content and careful use of keywords, you provide an excellent base for individuals looking for information about specific products and services, and an excellent vehicle for advertisers targeting those individuals.
There are three determinative factors for the revenue of a site enrolled under the AdSense program.
1. The Cost Per Click or CPC of the ads appearing to your site.
2. The number of page impressions, or simply put, the amount of traffic that passes through your site. If you have a lot of page impressions, you have a better chance of getting a lot of clicks.
3. The Clickthrough Rate or CTR, which is the percentage of viewers who click on your Adsense ads. The higher your CTR, the more you should earn.
Getting more Impressions!
Here are some ways to increase traffic at your web site.
You can create more web pages adding with relevant and focused content.
You can create more internal links to your web pages by cross-linking topics.
List your web site under relevant categories in more directories.
Set up a directory of relevant sites on your website and accept relevant reciprocal links
Write relevant articles. Ensure that your site information in the resource box at the end of each article. Submit to article directory site.
Advertise with pay per click search engines.
Getting more Clicks!
Clickthrough rates are the percentage of viewers who click on your Adsense ads. You can increase Clickthroughs by increasing the relevance of Adsense ads on your site, and by tweaking the format and placement of your ads.
You cannot choose which ads Adsense shows on your site, but you can influence the relevance of the ads through your choice of content on each web page and across your web site.
If every page on your site focuses on the site topic, it is more likely that the Adsense ads will too. For example, if the focus of your web site is all about books, and the word “book” appears several times on every page, it is likely that your Adsense ads will relate to books.
The best placement for Google ads varies from page to page, depending on content. Some locations tend to be more successful than others. Wider ad formats tend to outperform their taller counterparts. Google has a "heat map" at http://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/static.py?page=tips.html that shows how the placement of ads affects the clickthroughs. The colors of the ads also has an effect.
The best way to optimize your web site is to use the Adsense channels feature to track your ad formats and placements. It then becomes all about testing and tracking to see what performs best for you.
What is Effective CPM?
Effective CPM is a measure of your average earnings per thousand impressions. You can increase your Effective CPM by selecting topics that might attract higher bids from advertisers, and building pages and whole websites based on higher paying topics.
Even though Google does not release much information about the value of Adsense bids, you can get a good idea of top paying topics by looking at information tools on Adwords and other pay-per-click search engines. There are also many keyword research tools available, both free and paid, that can help you find high paying topics.
Succeeding with Adsense!
It is a really simple set of rules to help increase your Adsense income.
Build pages and websites with focused content for the best Effective CPM.
Place and format your Adsense ads to maximize clickthroughs.
Promote your sites. Drive targeted traffic to your web pages for maximum impressions.
Key points to Successful and Consistent Revenue Generation
Key points to Successful and Consistent Revenue Generation
Key points to Successful and Consistent Revenue Generation
By Brad Trupp
1. Multiple Streams of Income
Is it better to have one large business or 100 small businesses?
Think about risk and opportunity - one business generating 10,000 per month or 100 mini-businesses each generating $100 per month. The total is the same -- $10,000 per month -- but the risks are different.
Imagine if something new and exciting comes along and supercedes your single large business and earnings drop 90%. Suddenly, you are making $1,000 and not $10,000.
Now if 5 of your 100 mini-businesses take the same drop but 5 more of your 100 mini-businesses double in revenue, you are still making $10,000 per month. Spreading out the risk and opportunities is a good thing.
Of course, if one of those mini-business turns into a $10,000 per month monster on its own then all the better yet.
2. Set a Goal
A difficult but achievable goal is 100 streams -- just create a new stream every second week and after 2 years, you will have 100 streams.
Some will make consistent revenue, some will have peaked, and some will have failed. Let the old streams pass on and create new ones.
3. Passive and Active Income
Passive is always good. Set it up. Turn it loose. Deposit the profits.
Active is good too but remember that you only have so much time each week to work on things.
One example is a business topic forum that I decided to start. It started and grew slowly. I then hired some paid posters and the pace picked up. Eventually I found I was spending an hour a day on moderator tasks.
Now forums are one of the harder things to monetize. Some people will occasionally click on a banner ad but the regular members ignore the ads -- a "been there, done it" mentality. So is one hour a day a good way to make one dollar a day? I think not!
That forum is now closed.
4. Regular Promotion.
While your businesses may be passive, promotion is not. Get into a regular routine of promoting yourself and your businesses.
There are thousands of ways to promote your web sites and businesses but that is another topic for another day.
5. Not just the Internet...
There are more ways to create revenue than selling things on the Internet.
You have a business -- likely a home-based business -- and have services you can offer -- for example: web site design, home office organization, or personal shopper.
Place an occasion ad in the newspaper. Get an ad in your telephone yellow pages. Advertise for free in locally targeted web sites like Craigslist or kijiji.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this will give you some focus to start you along the path to successful and consistent revenue generation.
Key points to Successful and Consistent Revenue Generation
By Brad Trupp
1. Multiple Streams of Income
Is it better to have one large business or 100 small businesses?
Think about risk and opportunity - one business generating 10,000 per month or 100 mini-businesses each generating $100 per month. The total is the same -- $10,000 per month -- but the risks are different.
Imagine if something new and exciting comes along and supercedes your single large business and earnings drop 90%. Suddenly, you are making $1,000 and not $10,000.
Now if 5 of your 100 mini-businesses take the same drop but 5 more of your 100 mini-businesses double in revenue, you are still making $10,000 per month. Spreading out the risk and opportunities is a good thing.
Of course, if one of those mini-business turns into a $10,000 per month monster on its own then all the better yet.
2. Set a Goal
A difficult but achievable goal is 100 streams -- just create a new stream every second week and after 2 years, you will have 100 streams.
Some will make consistent revenue, some will have peaked, and some will have failed. Let the old streams pass on and create new ones.
3. Passive and Active Income
Passive is always good. Set it up. Turn it loose. Deposit the profits.
Active is good too but remember that you only have so much time each week to work on things.
One example is a business topic forum that I decided to start. It started and grew slowly. I then hired some paid posters and the pace picked up. Eventually I found I was spending an hour a day on moderator tasks.
Now forums are one of the harder things to monetize. Some people will occasionally click on a banner ad but the regular members ignore the ads -- a "been there, done it" mentality. So is one hour a day a good way to make one dollar a day? I think not!
That forum is now closed.
4. Regular Promotion.
While your businesses may be passive, promotion is not. Get into a regular routine of promoting yourself and your businesses.
There are thousands of ways to promote your web sites and businesses but that is another topic for another day.
5. Not just the Internet...
There are more ways to create revenue than selling things on the Internet.
You have a business -- likely a home-based business -- and have services you can offer -- for example: web site design, home office organization, or personal shopper.
Place an occasion ad in the newspaper. Get an ad in your telephone yellow pages. Advertise for free in locally targeted web sites like Craigslist or kijiji.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this will give you some focus to start you along the path to successful and consistent revenue generation.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Affiliate Marketing: Succeed Online
Affiliate Marketing: Succeed Online
Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular ways for website owners to earn some extra cash. Millions of products are sold each and everyday online, and with each transaction, many individuals earn a commission.
So how can you get a piece of this ever-increasing affiliate product pie?
Simply stick to the tried-and-tested methods that have worked for many years and still continue to work well in the affiliate marketing world of today - you'll be sure to win! With the top three affiliate marketing strategies given here, you will be in a very good position to increase your sales and be successful in the amazingly profitable sphere of today's affiliate marketing programs online.
1. Having unique web pages to promote each separate product you are marketing. Do not just throw them all in 'en masse' to save a little money on web hosting.It is desirable to have a site focusing on each and every product and nothing more.
Actually, having said that, there are quite a few web hosting companies that will allow you to host Unlimited Domains on your account - so hosting charges should not be a problem if you go down that road.Always include product reviews on the website so visitors will have an initial appreciation on what the products can do for those who purchase them.
Try to include testimonials from users who have already tried the product. Be sure, however, that these customers are willing to allow you to use their names and photos on the site of the specific product you are marketing.
You can also write articles displaying the uses of the product and include them on the website as additional pages. Try to make the pages attractive and compelling. Also, don't forget to include a few requests for them to act on the information.
Each headline should attract the readers and encourage them to try and discover more, possibly even to contact you. Draw attention to your product's special points. This will help your readers to learn what your page is about and will possibly make them want to find out more.
2. Offer free reports to your readers. If possible, locate them at the very top of your page so they simply cannot be missed.Try to create personal-type auto responder messages that will be mailed to those who input their personal information into your sign-up box.
According to research, a sale is closed usually on the seventh contact with a prospective client.Only one of two things can possibly happen with the web page alone: a) a closed sale or b) the prospect leaving the web page never to return again.By placing useful information into their in-boxes at certain specified periods, you will later remind them of the product they were interested in and may find out that the sale is soon closed.
Do make sure that the content of your messages is directed toward specific reasons for buying the product. Never ever make it sound like a sales pitch.Focus on important points showing how your product can make life easier and more enjoyable. Include compelling subject lines in the email.
As much as possible, avoid having the word "free" in there because some of the earlier spam filters dump those kind of contents straight into the junk so no-one even gets the chance to read them beforehand.Convince those who signed up for your free reports that they will be missing out on something big if they do not take advantage of your products and services.
3. Get the kind of traffic that is targeted to your product. Just think, if the person who visited your website has no interest whatsoever in what you are promoting, they will be among those who move on and never come again.
Write articles for publication in e-zines and e-reports. This way you can locate publications that are focusing on your target customers and what you have put up might just grab their interest. Try to write a minimum of 2 articles per week, with at least 300-600 words in length. By continuously writing and maintaining these articles you can generate as many as 100 targeted readers to your site in a day.
Always try to remember that only 1 out of 100 people are likely to buy your product or subscribe to your services. If you can generate as many as 1,000 targeted hits for your website in a day, this means that you can make 10 sales, based on the average statistics.
The methods defined above are not really difficult at all to do, if you think about it. It just involves a small amount of time and a definite plan of action on your part.Try to use these tips for several affiliate marketing programs. You can end up doing something that not every affiliate marketer can do and that is, maintaining a really good source of income and being successful in this business. Besides, when you become successful, think of those regular massive pay-checks you will be receiving!
About the Author
Michael Fleischner is an Internet marketing expert and owner of The Marketing Blog. Learn how to improve search engine rankings with The Webmaster's Book of Secrets.
Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular ways for website owners to earn some extra cash. Millions of products are sold each and everyday online, and with each transaction, many individuals earn a commission.
So how can you get a piece of this ever-increasing affiliate product pie?
Simply stick to the tried-and-tested methods that have worked for many years and still continue to work well in the affiliate marketing world of today - you'll be sure to win! With the top three affiliate marketing strategies given here, you will be in a very good position to increase your sales and be successful in the amazingly profitable sphere of today's affiliate marketing programs online.
1. Having unique web pages to promote each separate product you are marketing. Do not just throw them all in 'en masse' to save a little money on web hosting.It is desirable to have a site focusing on each and every product and nothing more.
Actually, having said that, there are quite a few web hosting companies that will allow you to host Unlimited Domains on your account - so hosting charges should not be a problem if you go down that road.Always include product reviews on the website so visitors will have an initial appreciation on what the products can do for those who purchase them.
Try to include testimonials from users who have already tried the product. Be sure, however, that these customers are willing to allow you to use their names and photos on the site of the specific product you are marketing.
You can also write articles displaying the uses of the product and include them on the website as additional pages. Try to make the pages attractive and compelling. Also, don't forget to include a few requests for them to act on the information.
Each headline should attract the readers and encourage them to try and discover more, possibly even to contact you. Draw attention to your product's special points. This will help your readers to learn what your page is about and will possibly make them want to find out more.
2. Offer free reports to your readers. If possible, locate them at the very top of your page so they simply cannot be missed.Try to create personal-type auto responder messages that will be mailed to those who input their personal information into your sign-up box.
According to research, a sale is closed usually on the seventh contact with a prospective client.Only one of two things can possibly happen with the web page alone: a) a closed sale or b) the prospect leaving the web page never to return again.By placing useful information into their in-boxes at certain specified periods, you will later remind them of the product they were interested in and may find out that the sale is soon closed.
Do make sure that the content of your messages is directed toward specific reasons for buying the product. Never ever make it sound like a sales pitch.Focus on important points showing how your product can make life easier and more enjoyable. Include compelling subject lines in the email.
As much as possible, avoid having the word "free" in there because some of the earlier spam filters dump those kind of contents straight into the junk so no-one even gets the chance to read them beforehand.Convince those who signed up for your free reports that they will be missing out on something big if they do not take advantage of your products and services.
3. Get the kind of traffic that is targeted to your product. Just think, if the person who visited your website has no interest whatsoever in what you are promoting, they will be among those who move on and never come again.
Write articles for publication in e-zines and e-reports. This way you can locate publications that are focusing on your target customers and what you have put up might just grab their interest. Try to write a minimum of 2 articles per week, with at least 300-600 words in length. By continuously writing and maintaining these articles you can generate as many as 100 targeted readers to your site in a day.
Always try to remember that only 1 out of 100 people are likely to buy your product or subscribe to your services. If you can generate as many as 1,000 targeted hits for your website in a day, this means that you can make 10 sales, based on the average statistics.
The methods defined above are not really difficult at all to do, if you think about it. It just involves a small amount of time and a definite plan of action on your part.Try to use these tips for several affiliate marketing programs. You can end up doing something that not every affiliate marketer can do and that is, maintaining a really good source of income and being successful in this business. Besides, when you become successful, think of those regular massive pay-checks you will be receiving!
About the Author
Michael Fleischner is an Internet marketing expert and owner of The Marketing Blog. Learn how to improve search engine rankings with The Webmaster's Book of Secrets.
Improve Your Marketing With Social Bookmarks
Improve Your Marketing With Social Bookmarks
Generate word of mouth with powerful social marketing tools.
As an Internet marketing professional, I try to keep on top of new marketing avenues and opportunities for leveraging word-of-mouth. In recent years, the method by which individuals get their information has evolved and so have the tools for sharing information from one individual to another. Social bookmarking is now a popular method of communicating among younger audiences and is proving to be an effective marketing tool for increased exposure of products, services, and brands.
Imagine telling your friend about a recent story you just heard. That story could be newsworthy, provide information about a given topic of interest, or perhaps an online video you watched that had you rolling around in laughter. Once you communicated that to your friend, he went ahead and sent an email out to 4 of his friends who then forwarded that email to dozens more – and so the story goes.
Word of mouth is one of the most powerful forms of marketing. With the help of the Internet, this type of marketing has grown in importance and has been accelerated with the advent of social bookmarks.
Popular bookmarking sites allow users to identify, with just the click of a mouse, online content that they deem worthy of sharing. As more and more individuals identify the same content, it receives a higher priority on social bookmarking sites and continues to grow in importance. Social bookmarking sites are like a multi-level marketer’s dream!
The most popular social bookmarking site is Digg.com which has an Alexa ranking of 98 and boasts more than 8 million monthly visitors. Other popular sites like Technorati (1.4M monthly visitors), and Del.icio.us (1.3M montly visitors) illustrate just how big social bookmarking has become. Taken collectively, these sites are continuing to garner more supporters and changing the way consumers share information they deem valuable.
From a marketing perspective, this creates an opportunity for improving the effectiveness of our marketing practices. Word of mouth has always been an effective means of marketing but has been difficult to initiate and manage. Today, with the help of social bookmarks there is now an easier way to encourage and promote the sharing of your information.
Recently, I added a footer on my blog to encourage users to “share” information they deem valuable. This has created an opportunity for users to interact with content and start the viral marketing effect all online marketers seek. When considering the merits of social bookmarking, there are a few guidelines to consider.
Your content needs to provide value or be unique. Social bookmarking doesn’t happen on its own. You need to provide content that’s worth sharing. Whether that content is helpful to someone seeking guidance, unique, funny, or just plain novel, it needs to provide value in order to be shared.
Make bookmarking easy. Have you placed the appropriate social bookmark icons on your webpage in a place that’s closely aligned with the content you wish to share? Are the bookmarks easy to identify? Make sure your customers and prospects don’t need to work all that hard in order to share your information.
Encourage communication. Don’t just paste some social bookmarking icons on your website, ask for support. Common phrases like, “Share this” or “Bookmark us” are a great way to get the wheels of social media moving.
If you’re not leveraging social bookmarking tools then you’re word-of-mouth campaigns aren’t being optimized. Reach more people, more quickly, by leveraging your website’s visitors, prospect, and customers. Ask them to share your information and create valuable content that encourages viral marketing. Utilizing social bookmarking as a preferred marketing medium can help improve awareness of your products and develop a preference for your brand..
*Michael Fleischner is an Internet marketing expert, search engine optimization specialist, and the President of MarketingScoop.com. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and had appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit MarketingScoop.com for further details and more marketing articles.
Generate word of mouth with powerful social marketing tools.
As an Internet marketing professional, I try to keep on top of new marketing avenues and opportunities for leveraging word-of-mouth. In recent years, the method by which individuals get their information has evolved and so have the tools for sharing information from one individual to another. Social bookmarking is now a popular method of communicating among younger audiences and is proving to be an effective marketing tool for increased exposure of products, services, and brands.
Imagine telling your friend about a recent story you just heard. That story could be newsworthy, provide information about a given topic of interest, or perhaps an online video you watched that had you rolling around in laughter. Once you communicated that to your friend, he went ahead and sent an email out to 4 of his friends who then forwarded that email to dozens more – and so the story goes.
Word of mouth is one of the most powerful forms of marketing. With the help of the Internet, this type of marketing has grown in importance and has been accelerated with the advent of social bookmarks.
Popular bookmarking sites allow users to identify, with just the click of a mouse, online content that they deem worthy of sharing. As more and more individuals identify the same content, it receives a higher priority on social bookmarking sites and continues to grow in importance. Social bookmarking sites are like a multi-level marketer’s dream!
The most popular social bookmarking site is Digg.com which has an Alexa ranking of 98 and boasts more than 8 million monthly visitors. Other popular sites like Technorati (1.4M monthly visitors), and Del.icio.us (1.3M montly visitors) illustrate just how big social bookmarking has become. Taken collectively, these sites are continuing to garner more supporters and changing the way consumers share information they deem valuable.
From a marketing perspective, this creates an opportunity for improving the effectiveness of our marketing practices. Word of mouth has always been an effective means of marketing but has been difficult to initiate and manage. Today, with the help of social bookmarks there is now an easier way to encourage and promote the sharing of your information.
Recently, I added a footer on my blog to encourage users to “share” information they deem valuable. This has created an opportunity for users to interact with content and start the viral marketing effect all online marketers seek. When considering the merits of social bookmarking, there are a few guidelines to consider.
Your content needs to provide value or be unique. Social bookmarking doesn’t happen on its own. You need to provide content that’s worth sharing. Whether that content is helpful to someone seeking guidance, unique, funny, or just plain novel, it needs to provide value in order to be shared.
Make bookmarking easy. Have you placed the appropriate social bookmark icons on your webpage in a place that’s closely aligned with the content you wish to share? Are the bookmarks easy to identify? Make sure your customers and prospects don’t need to work all that hard in order to share your information.
Encourage communication. Don’t just paste some social bookmarking icons on your website, ask for support. Common phrases like, “Share this” or “Bookmark us” are a great way to get the wheels of social media moving.
If you’re not leveraging social bookmarking tools then you’re word-of-mouth campaigns aren’t being optimized. Reach more people, more quickly, by leveraging your website’s visitors, prospect, and customers. Ask them to share your information and create valuable content that encourages viral marketing. Utilizing social bookmarking as a preferred marketing medium can help improve awareness of your products and develop a preference for your brand..
*Michael Fleischner is an Internet marketing expert, search engine optimization specialist, and the President of MarketingScoop.com. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and had appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit MarketingScoop.com for further details and more marketing articles.
Banned From Google Pay Per Click Advertising
Banned From Google Pay Per Click Advertising
Webmaster's Book of Secrets Banned From Google!
A funny thing happened the other day. I logged into my Google Adwords account and found that many of the keyword phrases I use to promote my ebook The Webmaster's Book of Secrets had been banned! By banned I mean that Google had included a special message on my account that said my minimum bid had to be raised to $10 per click in order for my keywords to be active.
The only phrase that was not impacted was [The Webmaster's Book of Secrets], a direct match to the URL of my website. All of my other phrases such as "improve search engine rankings", etc. were hit with this elusive change in policy.
Being an Internet marketing expert, I'm seeing through Google's pronouncement of their Quality Ad Score. Not only are my ads and keywords relevant, they are within the bounds of Google's rules and regulations.
So What's Going on With Google
My ebook reveals some very powerful techniques for improving Google rankings. In fact, many my customers have achieved #1 Google rankings using the techniques I reveal in this guide. Because Google is Google, I would argue that they have "banned" my ability to actively promote this guide using Google Adwords. Obviously they have the power and they're using it.
Having worked with PPC for some time, Google has always outperformed Yahoo! and MSN. However, as Google flexes their muscle, and more and more online marketers are impacted, I believe that Yahoo and MSN are going to have to become more effective - as more of us are moving over.
Michael Fleischner is an Internet marketing expert and the President of MarketingScoop.com. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and had appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit MarketingScoop.com for further details and more marketing articles including tips on how to improve search engine rankings for your web site.
Webmaster's Book of Secrets Banned From Google!
A funny thing happened the other day. I logged into my Google Adwords account and found that many of the keyword phrases I use to promote my ebook The Webmaster's Book of Secrets had been banned! By banned I mean that Google had included a special message on my account that said my minimum bid had to be raised to $10 per click in order for my keywords to be active.
The only phrase that was not impacted was [The Webmaster's Book of Secrets], a direct match to the URL of my website. All of my other phrases such as "improve search engine rankings", etc. were hit with this elusive change in policy.
Being an Internet marketing expert, I'm seeing through Google's pronouncement of their Quality Ad Score. Not only are my ads and keywords relevant, they are within the bounds of Google's rules and regulations.
So What's Going on With Google
My ebook reveals some very powerful techniques for improving Google rankings. In fact, many my customers have achieved #1 Google rankings using the techniques I reveal in this guide. Because Google is Google, I would argue that they have "banned" my ability to actively promote this guide using Google Adwords. Obviously they have the power and they're using it.
Having worked with PPC for some time, Google has always outperformed Yahoo! and MSN. However, as Google flexes their muscle, and more and more online marketers are impacted, I believe that Yahoo and MSN are going to have to become more effective - as more of us are moving over.
Michael Fleischner is an Internet marketing expert and the President of MarketingScoop.com. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and had appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit MarketingScoop.com for further details and more marketing articles including tips on how to improve search engine rankings for your web site.
7 Ways to Improve The Stickiness Of Your Website
7 Ways to Improve The Stickiness Of Your Website
Today more than ever, consumers are overwhelmed with choices, and distractions. The cost of attracting users to your website continues to increase and keeping them engaged is more important than ever.
Engagement doesn’t end with an individual browser reading content or clicking on an ad. Rather, engagement is an ongoing process that results in loyal customers who come back again and again, becoming more vested in your web site.
How can you make sure you’re engaging and keeping customers?
In order to create a loyal following, there are some basic principles you need to consider. From first impressions to life-long membership, put yourself in the shoes of your browsers and make their experience a valuable one.
Reduce Clutter. How many times have you visited a website only to be overwhelmed and confused? What is this site about you may have asked yourself. Or perhaps you found yourself asking, ‘Where is the information I’m looking for?’
Don’t ask your browsers or potential customers to figure this out. Make your site clutter free and create a visual priority that emphasizes the information, resources, or actions your browsers want. By reducing obstacles you build trust among new web site visitors and allow for simple decision making – which benefits everyone.
Make Navigation Intuitive. There are many ways to navigate a web page but intuition rules the day. Don’t try to get fancy with your navigation or overuse java script. Basic navigation that follows current convention is the best way to lead individuals through your web site to the information they’re looking for.
Make The Initial Site Interaction Relevant. When a browser reaches your web site, you have less than seven seconds to get them engaged. Making your initial site interaction relevant to what individuals are looking for is essential for keeping them interacting long term.
If you are promoting your web site with Google Adwords, or any pay per click advertising for that matter, be sure to create customer landing pages that are truly relevant to the individual who clicks-through your ad. Once you’ve established relevancy, you can move them deeper into your content, tools, and resources.
Ensure That Your Content Is Up-to-date. Web site content that isn’t up to date does not serve your audience and browsers are likely to move on. One way to ensure that information is timely is by providing a feed of relevant news or information. If including static text on your web pages, try not to include specific dates. However, if you must publish dates, be sure to update this information on a regular basis.
Start An Interaction With Your Users. Each time a browser views your web page, you have an opportunity to interact with them. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. One great way to interact is to offer something of value at no cost. This can be a white paper, access to an exclusive list, or simply a 30 day free trial. Be sure to capture an individual’s valid email address and include them on your mailing list. An auto-responder is best if you wish to engage these individuals on an ongoing basis.
Provide Plenty Of Support. Don’t hesitate to offer support right from your home page. Prominently display your 800 number, support email address, and additional information for your prospects and customers such as mailing address. This information is viewed favorably by search engines and also creates a sense of legitimacy. Contact information builds trust among prospects and elicits interest in your company.
Make Sharing Easy. Once you’ve made your web site easy to use, don’t hesitate to offer browsers the ability to share your web site with others. This can be in the form of a simple widget that allows users to bookmark your page, subscribe to an Rss feed, or submit your content to popular news sites like Digg.com.
Individuals are much more likely to visit a web site based on a friend’s recommendation versus some other type of marketing initiative. Leverage the power of viral marketing with easy sharing tools.
Your web site can be your greatest asset. Unfortunately, many marketers and website owners are so focused on increasing traffic that they lose site of the audience that’s already visiting their web pages but are simply not converting.
Don’t make the same mistake. Improve the quality of you site through relevant content that is up-to-date and easy to find. Once you’ve engaged users, encourage them to share. Doing so will make your site perform better, increase conversions, and deliver value for all involved.
Michael Fleischner is an Internet marketing expert and the President of MarketingScoop.com. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and had appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit MarketingScoop.com for further details and more marketing articles including tips on how to improve search engine rankings for your web site.
Today more than ever, consumers are overwhelmed with choices, and distractions. The cost of attracting users to your website continues to increase and keeping them engaged is more important than ever.
Engagement doesn’t end with an individual browser reading content or clicking on an ad. Rather, engagement is an ongoing process that results in loyal customers who come back again and again, becoming more vested in your web site.
How can you make sure you’re engaging and keeping customers?
In order to create a loyal following, there are some basic principles you need to consider. From first impressions to life-long membership, put yourself in the shoes of your browsers and make their experience a valuable one.
Reduce Clutter. How many times have you visited a website only to be overwhelmed and confused? What is this site about you may have asked yourself. Or perhaps you found yourself asking, ‘Where is the information I’m looking for?’
Don’t ask your browsers or potential customers to figure this out. Make your site clutter free and create a visual priority that emphasizes the information, resources, or actions your browsers want. By reducing obstacles you build trust among new web site visitors and allow for simple decision making – which benefits everyone.
Make Navigation Intuitive. There are many ways to navigate a web page but intuition rules the day. Don’t try to get fancy with your navigation or overuse java script. Basic navigation that follows current convention is the best way to lead individuals through your web site to the information they’re looking for.
Make The Initial Site Interaction Relevant. When a browser reaches your web site, you have less than seven seconds to get them engaged. Making your initial site interaction relevant to what individuals are looking for is essential for keeping them interacting long term.
If you are promoting your web site with Google Adwords, or any pay per click advertising for that matter, be sure to create customer landing pages that are truly relevant to the individual who clicks-through your ad. Once you’ve established relevancy, you can move them deeper into your content, tools, and resources.
Ensure That Your Content Is Up-to-date. Web site content that isn’t up to date does not serve your audience and browsers are likely to move on. One way to ensure that information is timely is by providing a feed of relevant news or information. If including static text on your web pages, try not to include specific dates. However, if you must publish dates, be sure to update this information on a regular basis.
Start An Interaction With Your Users. Each time a browser views your web page, you have an opportunity to interact with them. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. One great way to interact is to offer something of value at no cost. This can be a white paper, access to an exclusive list, or simply a 30 day free trial. Be sure to capture an individual’s valid email address and include them on your mailing list. An auto-responder is best if you wish to engage these individuals on an ongoing basis.
Provide Plenty Of Support. Don’t hesitate to offer support right from your home page. Prominently display your 800 number, support email address, and additional information for your prospects and customers such as mailing address. This information is viewed favorably by search engines and also creates a sense of legitimacy. Contact information builds trust among prospects and elicits interest in your company.
Make Sharing Easy. Once you’ve made your web site easy to use, don’t hesitate to offer browsers the ability to share your web site with others. This can be in the form of a simple widget that allows users to bookmark your page, subscribe to an Rss feed, or submit your content to popular news sites like Digg.com.
Individuals are much more likely to visit a web site based on a friend’s recommendation versus some other type of marketing initiative. Leverage the power of viral marketing with easy sharing tools.
Your web site can be your greatest asset. Unfortunately, many marketers and website owners are so focused on increasing traffic that they lose site of the audience that’s already visiting their web pages but are simply not converting.
Don’t make the same mistake. Improve the quality of you site through relevant content that is up-to-date and easy to find. Once you’ve engaged users, encourage them to share. Doing so will make your site perform better, increase conversions, and deliver value for all involved.
Michael Fleischner is an Internet marketing expert and the President of MarketingScoop.com. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and had appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit MarketingScoop.com for further details and more marketing articles including tips on how to improve search engine rankings for your web site.
Thinking About SEO For A New Website
Thinking About SEO For A New Website
Are you launching a new website? There's no better time to think about search engine optimization than prior to launching a new site. By giving consideration to your on-page optimization factors, you can increase your chances of achieving top organic search results.
To prepare your site for easy indexing, be sure to follow these basis guidelines:
1. Design your site in html or similar format that minimizes the use of java script and flash. The more complex you make your code, the more difficult it becomes for the search engine spiders to read your content and prescribe the appropriate Google PR to your web page.
2. Make sure that your meta tags are coded properly and include the Robots.txt tag. Many individuals downplay the importance of meta tags. Although meta tags themselves won't drastically change the organic ranking of your site, they do create the display text users will see when your site appears in search results. If your meta tags are search engine optimized and compelling, you increase the changes of improving click-throughs.
3. Apply the proper tags to your page. H1, H2, and H3 tags are a great wall to call attention to your content and promote your keywords and keyword phrases. Try to use each tag at least once, but don't force the issues. You want your text to flow and appear normal.
In addition to ensuring that you've made your page easy to access and presented text that is optimized, you also want to consider other factors that can help long-term with your SEO efforts. So often, web designers get caught up with on page factors, that they overlook the requirements for establishing a foundation that supports long-term initiatives.
In particular, consider adding pages that you can add to over time that support link building and accessibility for search engine spiders. Be sure to include:
1. An html sitemap and an xml sitemap. Including a sitemap on you site makes it easy for search engines to access all of your website pages and index your site accordingly. Your sitemap should be in both html as well as xml. Although users would not access the xml sitemap, search engine spiders use this version to crawl websites. Additionally, key search engine submission resources like Google's Webmasters Tools require xml site map versions.
2. Include a partners page. Previously referred to as a links page, the partners page is essential for reciprocal linking. This strategy isn't as powerful as developing one-way links, but until your site has been assigned a Google PR, one-way links can be difficult to acquire. So begin your link exchange program with a partners page that allows you add or remove link quickly and easily.
3. Submission pages that encourage new content. One of the most powerful seo techniques is the addition of new content. Make it easy for your users to add or submit content to your website. When search engines see new content, they rejoice. Don't underestimate how important it is to make it simple for your browsers to add or submit content.
When focusing on search engine optimization, especially with a new website, follow the basic ideas outlined above. There are a number of other factors to consider as well. However, you should always start with a strong foundation - a site design that meets basic SEO standards but one that also supports your long range search engine optimization goals.
Are you launching a new website? There's no better time to think about search engine optimization than prior to launching a new site. By giving consideration to your on-page optimization factors, you can increase your chances of achieving top organic search results.
To prepare your site for easy indexing, be sure to follow these basis guidelines:
1. Design your site in html or similar format that minimizes the use of java script and flash. The more complex you make your code, the more difficult it becomes for the search engine spiders to read your content and prescribe the appropriate Google PR to your web page.
2. Make sure that your meta tags are coded properly and include the Robots.txt tag. Many individuals downplay the importance of meta tags. Although meta tags themselves won't drastically change the organic ranking of your site, they do create the display text users will see when your site appears in search results. If your meta tags are search engine optimized and compelling, you increase the changes of improving click-throughs.
3. Apply the proper tags to your page. H1, H2, and H3 tags are a great wall to call attention to your content and promote your keywords and keyword phrases. Try to use each tag at least once, but don't force the issues. You want your text to flow and appear normal.
In addition to ensuring that you've made your page easy to access and presented text that is optimized, you also want to consider other factors that can help long-term with your SEO efforts. So often, web designers get caught up with on page factors, that they overlook the requirements for establishing a foundation that supports long-term initiatives.
In particular, consider adding pages that you can add to over time that support link building and accessibility for search engine spiders. Be sure to include:
1. An html sitemap and an xml sitemap. Including a sitemap on you site makes it easy for search engines to access all of your website pages and index your site accordingly. Your sitemap should be in both html as well as xml. Although users would not access the xml sitemap, search engine spiders use this version to crawl websites. Additionally, key search engine submission resources like Google's Webmasters Tools require xml site map versions.
2. Include a partners page. Previously referred to as a links page, the partners page is essential for reciprocal linking. This strategy isn't as powerful as developing one-way links, but until your site has been assigned a Google PR, one-way links can be difficult to acquire. So begin your link exchange program with a partners page that allows you add or remove link quickly and easily.
3. Submission pages that encourage new content. One of the most powerful seo techniques is the addition of new content. Make it easy for your users to add or submit content to your website. When search engines see new content, they rejoice. Don't underestimate how important it is to make it simple for your browsers to add or submit content.
When focusing on search engine optimization, especially with a new website, follow the basic ideas outlined above. There are a number of other factors to consider as well. However, you should always start with a strong foundation - a site design that meets basic SEO standards but one that also supports your long range search engine optimization goals.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments