Some Basic Link Building Tips

December 29, 2009 at 11:07 pm · Filed under denver seo, Denver SEO Company, How to get your website noticed, link building, link building strategy ·Tagged , , , , ,

Link BuildingWhether you are just getting your Web site up for the first time or you are looking to improve your current Web site’s visibility among the search engines, you will want to take note of these important link building tips. Creating and finding quality one way links for your Web site is crucial to increasing your position among all the top search engines, yes, even the newest search engine, Bing. However, where do you find quality links and how does one create quality links for a Web site? These are the two most popular questions business owners and Web development companies alike ask Denver SEO companies. It does not matter whether your site has five pages or 1,000 pages, link building is paramount so your customers, clients and visitors come across your company’s Web site before your competitor’s site.

Use These 4 Link Building Tips to Improve a Web site’s Search Rankings

Link building tip 1 – build quality keyword heavy links within your web site. Have you noticed that some link URLs have extremely long addresses that contain a string of random numbers, letters and other characters? These links don’t contain keywords and they are not easily recognizable by the search website spiders that it belongs to your industry. Instead try adding a specific keyword for each page on your internet site, for example:  www.yourdomain.com/asdfa987987asd#%asd23S.html.

This option allows search engine spiders to associate a selected keyword to your company’s internet site, thus raising your importance or association with those keywords such as: www.yourdomain.com/link-building-strategies.html

Another on page link building tip is provide anchor links, which offer a link from one page to another by trying a specific phrase of word. These anchor text links usually appear in blue or bold in the content of your Web page. Anchor text links provide an alternate way for the search engine spiders to associate certain links to your web site to other pages in your site. However, don’t overdo this process because the search engines will think that you are a spam site and this may cause negative consequences. A good link building tip is to provide one to two anchor links on every individual page of your website depending on the amount and quality of the content you have.

Link building tip 2 – generate quality one way links from your web site, and one of the simplest methods to attain this feat is to submit to S.E.O friendly business link directories. An inventory of the Top 50 or Top 100 Business Link Directories can be discovered through Google, Yahoo or even Bing. Business link directories, whether you by hand submit or pay for a link building service, will undoubtedly increase not just your popularity online but also more folks will be ready to find your service or product because your web site will appear higher than your competitor’s site.

It’s best to examine the guidelines of a few of these business link directories as well as read the link descriptions provided, so you know what information they need and the way to format your submission. Google and other search engines wish to see quality links to your web site that aren’t related to adult sites, gambling or other adult oriented activities. Look for SEO friendly link directories to get the best quality link to your web site.

Link building tip 3 – submit your web site to the popular social book-marking websites including Digg, Stumbleupon, Bukmark, Delicious, Reddit & Mixx and make your bookmarks public so the search sites and other users can view them. The idea here is to use bookmarking sites to get backlinks and also to get reindexed by the search engines. While other users can add your website to their bookmarks helping you achieve online renown. With using social bookmarking websites, many have tags, classes and descriptions which you’ve got chance to include a popular keyword that is also located on your web site. Browse through several bookmarks created by other users to see how they have tagged their bookmarks and the descriptions they have written. You may even want to search for your competitors’ bookmarks to check out what and if they have done this as well.

Link building tip 4 – join more than one online social network such as Linked In, Facebook, or Twitter and provide a link to your site in your profile, discourse threads, group pages, and any other place where you can place a link. Setting up and maintaining a blog is also a good way to provide relevant links to your internet site, so the search engines see that you are building quality and ongoing links in several places online.

A few more tips would be to check that each Web page is working correctly because a 404 mistake is not good for providing quality links. By providing some sort of analytics on your internet site will also help with tracking where your backlinks are originating. Another helpful tool is the ‘What GoogleBot Sees’ report from Google because it shows the top 2 hundred phrases that other sites have used to link to your website as well as comparing the content on your site. Remember, these are basic link building tips. After you have done the easy work, start hunting for one way backlinks to your site.  If you are struggling with how to do this, consult a Denver SEO company or SEO Expert for some advice or consulting.

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Indexing Test

November 13, 2009 at 2:56 pm · Filed under google indexing test, twitter indexing ·Tagged , , ,

This is a test to see if Google will index links on Twitter!  I am publishing this at 7:56 am

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Avoiding Penalties from Google

November 9, 2009 at 9:36 pm · Filed under Denver SEO Company, google penalty, internet marketing, Nick Hantge, Search Engine Optimization, search engine penalties, seo company ·Tagged , , , , ,

Written by: Nick Hantge

Like any industry, there are many bad SEO’s in the internet marketing world and with the popularity of search engine optimization there appears to be more and more popping up everyday. When the internet opened the globe to world-wide communication, it opened it up to world-wide scams as well. Everyone with an email account will be familiar with the 419 email scam, those pitiful letters from an African Prince asking for help or the emails from your bank asking you for your checking and routing number.

If you don't know what you are doing, you may get penalized!

For entities like search engines, the world of the scam is so much bigger. Everyone on the net is out to manipulate the search engines and it’s impossible to tell the good from the bad. Search engines are constantly sorting through spam and spend a significant amount of time securing them from getting sucked in.

When it comes to rules, the internet is like the Wild West. Although there are undoubtedly rules in place, no-one’s written them down. The only thing that is clear is if you get caught, you get penalized.

The penalties imposed by search engines can vary. The common factor is a drop in the search engine results page (SERP) and ultimately less visibility of your site. More times than not, a drop in ranking is often the only sign you’ll have that you are being penalized. This is fine if you know what you did wrong, but terrible if you don not.

Many companies face penalties for things they had no idea they were doing because they do not know the ins and outs of the SEO world like an SEO company does. In the complicated world of search engine optimization, it is easy to make the wrong moves or take a wrong step. It’s also possible that the error was made by an outsider, a hacker or a less-than-trustworthy SEO company. The trouble is the error needs to be detected and fixed before you can even consider applying for re-inclusion in the search engine indexed pages.

Detecting when you have a problem may be difficult which is one of the reasons a continued relationship with your SEO consultant or internet marketing firm is a must! Having an expert eye on your site can save you a lot of time in several areas. They will help you to analyze your traffic flow, quash some problems before they become a major issue and spot the reasons behind a search engine penalty fast.

If you suspect your site is being penalized by Google, you will need to examine each of your SEO techniques carefully.  Did you acquire a link from a “link farm”?  Do you have links that lead to a bad community? Is your keyword density too high, to the point of keyword stuffing? Are you attempting to show the search engine spiders something different from the things your human viewers see? Anything that is on the verge of black hat seo techniques could have lead to you being penalized.

The best way to protect your site from penalties is communicating with your SEO Firm. Establishing clear communication with your SEO consultant will ensure you are aware of each step they make. Communicating clearly with search engines is particularly important as well if you are trying to optimize your website on your own. Communicating with others within the SEO community will ensure you are informed about changes as they happen and can help you select the best SEO company for your business.

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7 Ways to Know If Your SEO Company is BS

November 9, 2009 at 5:23 pm · Filed under denver seo, Denver SEO Company, Denver website design, Search Engine Optimization ·Tagged , , , ,

When a car salesman sells a car, the car buyer knows what a car is, what car dealers are, and how to drive. With SEO there are definitely knowledgeable buyers, but there are thousands who become clients in an industry they know little about.

sleazebag-salesman1

This means that they can become easy prey to SEO companies that don’t really know what they’re talking about. While there is a sense in which results can speak for themselves, and there’s a bottom line return on investment calculation, it still might help for small businesses to be able to protect themselves from self-appointed SEO experts looking to make a few bucks in an undersaturated and expensive marketplace. Here are some tips for someone new to SEO and who plans to work with an optimizer:

1.) Unclear or Poor Keyword Targets

You should know which keywords your SEO is targeting. You should know where you rank for these keywords, keeping in mind that the more obscure and long the keyword, the less point (traffic) there will be in achieving a ranking, for the most part. This is why SEOs that sell their services “by the keyword” are doing something strange. What keywords? How many people are trying to rank for these keywords, and what kind of traffic can you expect from success? That said, a good SEO company might be able to generate lots of traffic through a large list of longtail keywords that produce large traffic in accumulation.

Basically, specific rankings mean little without the traffic they bring, so make sure you evaluate on organic non-branded traffic. People that guarantee top ten rankings for your keywords should have you raise an eyebrow, and those that price based on number of keywords are even sketchier.

Also remember that keywords have to be useful for you. Check where the traffic’s coming from, and make sure the likely searcher’s intent is in line with your conversion hopes.

2.) Insufficient Reporting

Your SEO should be able to justify the expense for his or her services. Establish targets and make sure the SEO company you hire gets in touch at least on a quarterly basis, with ranking progress on the chosen keywords and corresponding traffic growth. Once your site is optimized, the number of links your site has should grow. Install Google Webmaster Tools to keep track. (Also, if your SEO has never mentioned Google Webmaster Tools, it’s not a disaster, but it’s not a good sign either)

3.) Information Hoarding

A good SEO should be confident in their expertise, and know that no matter how much they train you, they will still be of great use to you as a hire. The first SEO I met as a web developer would flat out answer any questions I had, which was impressive and encouraging. The company you decide to go with should be open with you, and comfortable with explaining whatever you want to know about. Being secretive about information is an indication that the person might not know that much. Plus, good SEOs want their clients to know as much as possible so that they can accomplish as much as possible together and deliver maximum results. For a good and honest SEO, a knowledgeable client is a good client.

4.) Keyword Density Emphasis

Given how much this matters (not much), SEOs that focus on this probably don’t really know how to best spend their time/your money. That said, it’s even worse if they’re keyword stuffing. If the sentence reads horribly, with the keyword used almost every sentence, find new help. Of course, this applies to content producers by trade as well.

5.) Directory Submission Emphasis

Links are valuable when they come from relevant sources, and directories are just about the least relevant set up possible. Your link is included with tons of others, from a page with little content, and a large chunk are for money, against Google link-buy guidelines. Ask to see the links pointing to your site, and if they all seem to be directories, something’s wrong. You’ll see at the end of the day when your rankings aren’t great, but you might as well catch it early. This doesn’t mean all directories are a bad idea (Yahoo’s has a history of being useful), but it shouldn’t be the focus. Niche-specific directories can be useful for SEO (added link value from relevance) and direct traffic, but are generally rare.

6.) Search Engine Submission Emphasis

Many SEO websites brag about submitting you to search engines, sometimes even with price structures that reflect how many they will submit to. This is problematic on many levels. It has minimal SEO effect, so any focus on this means they are neglecting more impotant things, or they think it sounds impressive so they pretend it’s actually important. There are only a couple of search engines that really count (Google-Yahoo-Bing). Traffic comes from people. How many search engines do you or anyone else you know use? On top of that, submitting is very different from ranking. If this is on the short list of “things they do” for you, you should probably find someone else.

7.) Retainer Abuse

While a by-the-hour system has its drawbacks, it has some very trackable advantages. There is time put in for the money. That said, to land a really great Denver SEO company or team and have them on-call when you need them does take a little extra on your part, incentive for them to stay with you and give you attention. Don’t run away from a retainer model, but you shouldn’t be paying very much for nothing. If you want to go retainer, make sure you give them all they need and move their suggestions forward, and it can be well worth your time and money. There is always something to do, though, and if you’re really paying someone to be there for emergencies and questions, you shouldn’t be paying a fortune. Retainers also give a peace of mind in asking for help and suggestions, when you know you’re not always on the clock, and can be great for helping you learn about SEO. You might want to suggest a retainer model based on performance and agreed upon expectations (controlling for seasonality). If the SEO is not against the idea, it could be a good sign. If they’re against it, it’s a bad sign. Remember, the goal is non-branded organic traffic, or conversions, if applicable.

Article Source: Simon Abramovitch

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How to Get Indexed by Google Fast

July 7, 2009 at 5:45 am · Filed under getting indexed by google, google algorithym, google webmaster tools, How to get your website noticed, submit sitemap ·Tagged , ,

Written by: Isaac Yasser

Brand new blogs / websites can take up to four weeks to get indexed by Google. After entering Google index, their updates can take up to five days before indexed. With search engine optimization (SEO), brand new blogs / websites can take only four days to enter the index, while later, their updates are indexed in five minutes.

How about yours? Do you want to get indexed by Google fast and faster? You will need SEO then. Unfortunately, SEO are an advanced science, and some people even consider it something more complicated, namely art. It takes time and energy to understand and master it, and later on apply it. If you don’t have the time to be an SEO expert, just follow these three steps:

Add SEO meta tags

Meta tags are the ID card of your website. It dramatically reduces the amount of time needed by the process of indexing. Meta tags must be placed in head section of a website (not body section). More specific, between and tags, usually in your template.

To view a complete list of meta tags for SEO, click here.

Submit your URL to Google

After submitted, Google will include your URL in a list for the Google-bot to crawl. The bot will then collect some information about your website, and submit it to Google index. If you have added the meta tags, relax.

To submit your URL to Google, click here.

Submit your sitemap to Google

Sitemap is very important for Google in indexing your update, once your site enters its index. After submitted, Google will use your sitemap to monitor the changes of your website. If it finds a change, its bot will collect the new information and add it to Google index.

To submit your sitemap to Google, you need to access Google Webmaster Tools (login). Add your website and verify it as soon as possible. Then choose the menu “Sitemaps” from “dashboard”, and then use the address box to submit your sitemap.

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Brits use SEO strategies to fight terrorism

June 27, 2009 at 4:50 pm · Filed under Search Engine Optimization

by Mark Rutherford (Cnet)

Islam is getting a little help from Britain’s Office of Security and Counter-Terrorism, which says it plans to train government-approved groups to “flood the Internet” with “positive” interpretations of that religion in an online fight against radicalization.

The OSCT plans to coach moderate Islamic groups on how to manipulate the Google rankings of their Web sites in order to boost the online profile of moderate voices in the Muslim community, reports The Register, a British online investigative newspaper.

(Credit: International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation )

It is widely understood that terrorists use the Web to radicalize and recruit the vulnerable and disaffected; search engine optimization, or SEO, training is part of the campaign to counter this, a Home Office representative confirmed to The Register. “In order to support mainstream voices, we work with local partners to help develop their communication, representational, and leadership skills.”

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith elaborated on the agency’s plans.

“We will host a core network of people, who will put forward positive messages from the British Muslim community on the Internet, directly challenging the extremists that set out to groom vulnerable individuals,” she said.

SEO strategies that push Web sites to the front of the Google ranking algorithm line are regularly employed by online retailers and news media outlets. How well they will work to divert tech-savvy, disgruntled Muslim youth from adopting a terrorist mentality is questionable, according to at least one think tank.

“Tweaking the results for supposedly extremist terms would be largely ineffectual, not least because it is unlikely that any but the most callow wannabe terrorist would use a mainstream search engine to find banned material,” according to a report (PDF) by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR).

Still, it may be a better approach than removing or blocking material altogether. “Any strategy that relies on reducing the availability of content alone is bound to be crude, expensive, and counterproductive,” the ICSR reported. “Radicalisation is largely a real-world phenomenon that cannot be dealt with simply by ‘pulling the plug.’”

More Articles : 10 Essential of A PayPerClick Campaign | Brand Your Business Online

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Step 1 of 9 on Video Production

June 26, 2009 at 6:26 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

Article by: www.righteous-productions.com

First and foremost is a budget … what is your budget to do your video production and what is your media format?

A large budget allows a production for a Hollywood movie with worldwide distribution capability and plans.  A small budget for  a novice or beginner is an internet clip on youtube.

Question: What is the typical budget for Hollywood?

Answer: Ranges of small production budgets can be hundreds with a pro-sumer video… it’s rare and it’s been done.  Large budgets can be in the multi-million category as much as a 200 million category… this is also rare.  Most range from 2 million to 40 million.   Internet clips are a marketing tool for these large budget productions.

Question: What is the typical budget for an Internet clip?

Answer: From free to around 300 dollars per minute, or they could be clips that are from a large budget production which were costly depending on the author.  The free video clips are by those getting started such as film students and beginning contractors to build client base and experience, or youtube beginners posting video.  The industry standard, not established yet for internet video, is fairly priced around 300 dollars per minute, which includes all steps involved to produce a clip. The internet video clip might be a marketing tool of free internet clips for a client’s project who has paid the industry standard that begins at 1000 dollars per minute of video for such things as corporate training videos and commercials.  The client that has paid 1000 dollars or more per minute of video has signed a contract with a video production company to do the nine steps of video production.

How many more types of budgets are there for different video productions? This question will be answered in future postings.

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What Makes A Website Design A Good One?

June 20, 2009 at 6:03 pm · Filed under Denver website design, How to get your website noticed, website development ·Tagged , , , ,

A lot of people can recognize good design when they see it on the web. But most people don’t really know what makes that design good.

How do you define “good design?” Is it subjective, like your favorite flavor of ice cream? Although there is some subjectivity within good design, there are artistic principles that good design is built from. Here are a few that form the foundation of good design.

1. Proximity

Because items that are in close proximity to one another become one visual unit, items that are related to one another should be grouped together. Laying out related items on a website page this way helps the eye associate the information and enables the viewer to mentally categorize the information easily. The flip side of this principle is that items that are not related should not be placed in close proximity to one another.

The purpose of the principle of proximity is to organize information in a way that enables viewers to quickly and easily comprehend. When information is organized, people are more likely to read it and respond. People are also more likely to remember information that is organized.

How can you determine if items form a visual unit? Squint your eyes and look at the page on a website. Now count the number of times your eye stops as it views the page. On a page that is using the principle of proximity well, your eye will stop three to five times. In other words, there will be three to five groups of information for the eye to comprehend separately.

2. Alignment

You’ve seen website page layouts where the text and graphics are placed wherever there happens to be space. The effect is messy, with no impact. Nothing should be placed on a page arbitrarily. There should be a visual connection between each item and something other item on the page. When items are aligned, it creates a cohesiveness that the eye appreciates.

The purpose of alignment is to unify the website page. Imagine a well-organized kitchen. All the pots and pans are stored in the organizer, the fruit is nicely displayed in a basket on the counter, the spices are all on the rack-everything is in its place. A page layout needs the same thing.

Look at a website page that you feel is good design. Now focus on the main visual element. Where does your eye go from there? Do you see how other elements are aligned with that one main element both vertically and horizontally?

3. Repetition

Good web development repeats some aspect of the website design throughout the site. It’s this repetition that makes all the pages in a site look like they belong together. Color scheme, graphic elements, typefaces-all of these elements should be repeated-used consistently-throughout.

The purpose of repetition is to create consistency and to add visual interest. Repetition creates a professional, polished look that the eye is drawn to. When a website design uses repetition and is consistent, it is more likely to be viewed and read.

Here are some was you can create repetition beyond simple consistency in typefaces and colors: Use some element in your logo as a major graphic element in the design. If you are using a ruled line, make the line more interesting visually by perhaps making it with tiny dots or dashes, then repeating the line element throughout the design. Create patterns that are repeated throughout the design. Take a small element and place it somewhere on each page for a whimsical look. Just be careful not to overdo the repetition, or viewers will be annoyed rather than pleased.

4. Contrast

The principle of contrast states that if two items are not the same, then they should be different-very different. Contrast creates an organizational hierarchy of the information and graphics on a webpage. When using contrast, you can’t be a wimp! The contrast must be strong to be effective.

The purpose of contrast is two-fold: to create interest on the page, and to organize information. A page that is interesting to look at is more likely to be read. And contrasting elements will help a reader understand the way the information is organized.

Contrast can be created in many ways. You can contrast large type with small type, a serif font with a sans-serif font, bold with light, smooth texture with rough texture, a small graphic with a large one, a dark color with a light one.

A design that integrates these principles will automatically gain a professionalism and polish that it would otherwise lack. Next time you stumble across a website development that makes you say “wow”, cheek for these principles-you’ll find them quietly working to make that design a good one!

About the Author: Laura MacPherson – Creative director at Northstar Creative, a website design studio located in Greenville, SC. Her company, Northstar Creative Web Design, approaches website development differently than many web companies. Northstar Creative combines the use of marketing psychology with top-notch web development to create truly exceptional custom sites for its clients.

What Makes a Website Design a Good One?

A lot of people can recognize good design when they see it on the web. But most people don’t really know what makes that design good.

How do you define “good design?” Is it subjective, like your favorite flavor of ice cream? Although there is some subjectivity within good design, there are artistic principles that good design is built from. Here are a few that form the foundation of good design.

1. Proximity

Because items that are in close proximity to one another become one visual unit, items that are related to one another should be grouped together. Laying out related items on a website page this way helps the eye associate the information and enables the viewer to mentally categorize the information easily. The flip side of this principle is that items that are not related should not be placed in close proximity to one another.

The purpose of the principle of proximity is to organize information in a way that enables viewers to quickly and easily comprehend. When information is organized, people are more likely to read it and respond. People are also more likely to remember information that is organized.

How can you determine if items form a visual unit? Squint your eyes and look at the page on a website. Now count the number of times your eye stops as it views the page. On a page that is using the principle of proximity well, your eye will stop three to five times. In other words, there will be three to five groups of information for the eye to comprehend separately.

2. Alignment

You’ve seen website page layouts where the text and graphics are placed wherever there happens to be space. The effect is messy, with no impact. Nothing should be placed on a page arbitrarily. There should be a visual connection between each item and something other item on the page. When items are aligned, it creates a cohesiveness that the eye appreciates.

The purpose of alignment is to unify the website page. Imagine a well-organized kitchen. All the pots and pans are stored in the organizer, the fruit is nicely displayed in a basket on the counter, the spices are all on the rack-everything is in its place. A page layout needs the same thing.

Look at a website page that you feel is good design. Now focus on the main visual element. Where does your eye go from there? Do you see how other elements are aligned with that one main element both vertically and horizontally?

3. Repetition

Good design repeats some aspect of the website design throughout the site. It’s this repetition that makes all the pages in a site look like they belong together. Color scheme, graphic elements, typefaces-all of these elements should be repeated-used consistently-throughout.

The purpose of repetition is to create consistency and to add visual interest. Repetition creates a professional, polished look that the eye is drawn to. When a website design uses repetition and is consistent, it is more likely to be viewed and read.

Here are some was you can create repetition beyond simple consistency in typefaces and colors: Use some element in your logo as a major graphic element in the design. If you are using a ruled line, make the line more interesting visually by perhaps making it with tiny dots or dashes, then repeating the line element throughout the design. Create patterns that are repeated throughout the design. Take a small element and place it somewhere on each page for a whimsical look. Just be careful not to overdo the repetition, or viewers will be annoyed rather than pleased.

4. Contrast

The principle of contrast states that if two items are not the same, then they should be different-very different. Contrast creates an organizational hierarchy of the information and graphics on a webpage. When using contrast, you can’t be a wimp! The contrast must be strong to be effective.

The purpose of contrast is two-fold: to create interest on the page, and to organize information. A page that is interesting to look at is more likely to be read. And contrasting elements will help a reader understand the way the information is organized.

Contrast can be created in many ways. You can contrast large type with small type, a serif font with a sans-serif font, bold with light, smooth texture with rough texture, a small graphic with a large one, a dark color with a light one.

A design that integrates these principles will automatically gain a professionalism and polish that it would otherwise lack. Next time you stumble across a website design that makes you say “wow”, cheek for these principles-you’ll find them quietly working to make that design a good one!

About the Author: Laura MacPherson – Creative director at Northstar Creative, a website design studio located in Greenville, SC. Her company, Northstar Creative Web Design, approaches website development differently than many web companies. Northstar Creative combines the use of marketing psychology with top-notch web development to create truly exceptional custom sites for its clients.

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The Top 10 Essentials for Your Pay Per Click (PPC) Success

June 4, 2009 at 5:54 pm · Filed under paid search campaign, ppc, PPC campaign ·Tagged , , ,

Whether you’re looking to do Paid Search Advertising yourself or to hire someone to do that for you – you should know what makes a Pay Per Click campaign successful – or you will end up suffering.

Paid search advertising may look deceptively easy to do. Countless times small business owners decide (and correctly so) that PPC is going to do wonders for their business and ‘dive’ right into it…

Unfortunately most of them don’t really educate themselves enough on what to do and how to do it, and then they end up spending a helluva lot of money, with little to no results. Next they declare that Paid Search Marketing doesn’t work and then they’re out!

Alternatively, the small business owner hires an overpaid, over-promising PPC management firm, and lets them do whatever they like – not knowing what to be aware of in order to make sure he’s getting the best possible results for the best price…

Well – despite the doom and gloom scenarios above, I’m here to tell you that PPC works for most businesses!

It works very well, and can be one of the best, quickest, most cost effective and best tracked medium of advertising/promotion there ever was… Sure, there are other ways you can market your business, but if you know how to, and if you want almost immediate results that are fully tracked – then PPC can’t be beaten.

OK, let’s get to the top 10 essentials of Pay Per Click marketing:

1. Know your market place

It’s as obvious as daylight, but people still go into PPC without doing their research. Bear in mind that you may know your market place offline, but when you consider the internet – it may be a whole different environment. So make sure you look into it – even if you have to pay for professional research – it will be worth your while.

If you’re letting an agency manage your paid search, then make sure you ask them about your market – make sure they have done their homework thoroughly.

 2. Know your target audience

Again an obvious one – and yet again people don’t do this step properly. Don’t just list out a bunch of demographics about your prospective customers. Get into character – engineer ‘real-life’ people profiles (avatars), describing everything about them.

Creating about 3 customer avatars for your business, will help you understand your customers, and thus you’ll be able to anticipate how they behave. Knowing how they are likely to behave, will allow you to setup a VERY effective PPC campaign process, that will guarantee you success.

Remember – your customer just wants to feel understood, then if your product/service is good – they will buy.

3. Know what you want your visitor to do

In other words decide – do you want a prospect visiting your site to:

- call you to make an appointment?

- email you with more info about themselves, before setting up a consultation?

- click on the “Buy Now” button on your landing page?

- sign up to your membership site?

- sign up to your free newsletter?

- download a free report?

The clearer you are about what you want visitors to do, the easier it will be to entice them to do just that. If you don’t tell your prospects what it is they need to do to progress this visit to something that is of benefit to them, they will click away, most likely to never be seen again…

4. Know how they look for you & your product – i.e. understand searcher intent

This one’s not so obvious. Only very good paid search marketers know that keywords have different intent behind them. In other words, if a searcher on Google types in “running shoes” they are highly likely to be doing some preliminary research on what types of running shoes there are.

If the same searcher typed in “running shoes reviews” – then they are likely to be still researching – but they now know that they will buy – when they find the shoe that appeals to them.

A prospect with ‘buying’ intent, however, will likely type in “buy asics gel kayano running shoes” or “asics gel kayano stockists”. You get the idea…

5. Start small – grow big later

This simply means that it is better to find the most suitable keyword phrases for your business, and run with that small group first. This will allow you to test the ‘waters’ and it will help you keep control of your budget.

Later on, when you know what works and what doesn’t you can add other phrases to your heart’s content.

6. Split test your ads

It is amazing how many people don’t take advantage of this feature on Google AdWords. Split – testing will give you a constant way of improving on your ads. Your ad is the ‘window’ to your sales… so you cannot afford not to be constantly trying to make it better converting than before.

 7. Use landing pages (LP)

Landing pages are powerful when using them correctly. They allow you complete control of what your visitor experiences. I always recommend that if you are only wanting one result from your prospect you should use LPs. But if your resources and knowledge are limited, then at least make sure you are leading the searcher to the most search-relevant page you have on your site.

8. Track everything

This says it all – even if you don’t know how to, or with what – find someone that can help you. Outsource this job, or simply head over to Google and read all there is on their Analytics service. In some cases this is perfectly sufficient.

9. Listen to your stats

Once you have your tracking working, make sure you look at your stats to see the results. I recommend you look at them once a day in the beginning – depending on the size of your campaign, the amount of traffic your keywords are getting, and the amount of money you’ve budgeted to spend.

Once your campaign is working and making you profit, you can start looking at it less often, but at least once a week. Also make sure to optimize it regularly on the basis of your stats.

10. Learn consistently and constantly

Learn from your successes, your failures, your competitors’ successes and their failures too… I have a document template that I use for all my campaigns called – Lessons Learned. It’s only through experience that you will be able to progress and optimize any paid search campaign.

Well – hopefully you’ll find the above list of PPC essentials very useful. Of course there are a lot of other important points to consider, like daily budget, competitive research, and return on investment requirements, but the above 10 will be able to start you off in a very strong way.

Bear in mind that whether you’re managing your own PPC campaigns, or you’re hiring a professional to do it – you can use the list above to make sure you’re getting the best out of your campaigns.

 About the Author: Anita Chaperon is an experienced Paid Search Marketing professional who has managed multi-national campaigns with large budgets for a variety of small and medium businesses. For more information on how to make paid search work for your business, visit Consultjing.com..

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How to brand your business and launch your brand online . . .

June 2, 2009 at 5:08 pm · Filed under branding strategies, online branding, Search Engine Optimization, website development ·Tagged , , , , ,

. . . without losing your money or your mind

By Karen Saunders

A great idea can hit you anywhere. It can wake you at 2:00 a.m., so compelling that you jump out of bed, put on a pot of coffee, and begin outlining your business plan.

Remember, though, in the heady rush of dreaming up the business, to build a launching pad for it. In other words, a presence on the Internet. Because in today’s buzzword search-engine climate, a website is the most powerful marketing and sales tool available to any company, large or small, cottage industry or inspired solopreneur.

You don’t need to be a cyber-genius to go online and get results. But unless you have a clear business objective and message, you could waste a lot of time and money without accomplishing much. Here are seven steps to guide you in developing your website. Use this system as a clear roadmap, so you don’t find yourself wandering in circles. Don’t lose your mind — just grab a grande latte, sit down and think things through; ask yourself questions you probably already know the answers to.

Step 1: Strategize

Talk strategy with your website designer — clarify how your business goals and objectives translate to a website. You can’t create an effective website design if you don’t know what you want the website to do for you.

Step 2: Define Your Target Market and Niche

What overall customer base do you serve? — that’s your target market. Who are they? Any particular field or industry? What characteristics, interests, or needs do they have in common? Within that customer base, find a smaller group that’s a more specific fit for your product or service, and which may not be served by your competitors; or both — that’s your niche. If your target market is people in job search, for instance, your niche might be people in job search, over 50, who don’t just want to change jobs, they want to change careers.

Why do you need to define your target market and niche? Because: (1) you can’t be all things to all people; (2) you and your customer base need to find one another; and (3) the more specific you get, the more your niche will feel you understand them and can serve their specific needs.

Step 3: Position Yourself

If you’ve done your homework, then you’ve researched the competition. Who are they? What sets you apart in terms of customer base, quality, service, and other aspects? What makes you unique? Look for gaps in the market that aren’t being served – those gaps will help you position yourself and define your niche. Plus, it’ll help you hone your offerings, making you the expert who is sought out for your know-how.

Step 4: Describe “What” and “How”

Whether you’re selling a product or a service, what you’re offering has to solve something or offer something for your customers. How it does that is key to making them choose you — delivering the goods. If you can’t describe the “what” element, your customers won’t know you have a product or service that might benefit them. If you can’t describe the “how” element, your customers won’t be clear that it is doable, usable, and of value. The “how” element also gives, in precise terms, the ways in which the product or service will provide the results customers want. It is a descriptive roadmap from Point A (their need or want) to Point B (the results or benefits).

Step 5: Brand Yourself

Let’s say you’ve already named your business. Now you need images, words, feelings, to make it distinctive. To make it a brand. Branding involves several elements:

· Perception — How do you want your customers/clients to think about your business? How would your customers describe you and your business? What value do your products/services provide, and how do you want the world to perceive that value?

· Logo — Clarify your message based upon the perception you want your customers to have about your business, your niche, and how you want to position yourself. Distill that into an image that will be the visual representation of your company: your logo.

· Tagline — Then translate that into a powerful, compelling tagline. Keep it brief (3-7 words). Make it memorable. Be sure it fits your business. The best taglines are evocative, meaning they conjure images, thoughts, and feelings.

· Graphics — Choose visuals that best express and integrate with your logo and tagline. Support your message with every visible aspect: colors, typeface, styles, and other graphic elements.

Step 6: Create Your Website

The nature of your business will drive and designate your website by topic — e.g., content, features, directions, contact info, blogs, links, biography, photos, itineraries. Then start writing your copy, making sure its tone fits the website design. State the key benefits clients will receive, the key values you deliver, the key concerns you share.

What topics your does website needs to cover? — use that list to create your website pages. For example, a lecturer or public speaker may need a:

* Home page

* About page

* Who We Serve page

* Presentations/Keynotes page

* Workshops, Classes, and/or Retreats page

* Products (books, CDs, DVDs) page; Shopping Cart

* Meeting Planners page; Contact page

* Blog page; Resources page; E-zine; Special Reports

* Media page/Press room

Design and develop your site using your visual branding elements (logo, color). Review and test it before going live, to make sure everything works, error-free. Offer a free report or e-zine that provides value to website visitors, while building your list at the same time.

Subscribe to an auto-responder program, to make it easy to follow up with prospects and send out broadcasts to your clients. Then go live and do a final testing to ensure accuracy on all platforms.

Step 7: Optimize, Market, and Network

First, identify your search engine optimization (SEO) goals and your return on investment targets. Hire a specialist to do foundational search engine optimization with meta-tags and images. With your specialist, set up monthly, robust search engine optimization strategies, driven by your specific goals.

Next, establish search engine marketing (SEM). Set up pages on and participate in social networking sites. Post comments on blogs that relate to your business, customer base, and overall market. Write and publish articles offline and online for inbound links.

These seven steps aren’t simple, and they take work, but they generate results and this year you just might watch your business take off. With a powerful brand, backed up by a website that delivers.

Are YOU ready to create a powerful brand and produce a website that delivers? Karen Saunders leads an outstanding team of professionals who can lead you through her integrated 7-step branding and website launch system. Visit her website to receive a FREE 60-minute audio “Put the Bling Into Your Brand” and to learn more about her extraordinary branding, graphics, and website design services: www.BrandingAndWebsiteDesign.com

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