Archive for September, 2009
Five Mistakes Most Business Owners Make On Their Website
http://www.womencandoanything.com/5mistakes Are you making these mistakes on your website? Watch as I explain what some of the most frequent mistakes are and some tips on how to fixed them. Learn to optimize your site properly to attract more customers.
Duration : 8 min 43 sec
Seo Tips – How to Sky Rocket your Website to the Top of Any Search Engine
Congratulations on building a fantastic looking Website. You’ve obviously spent a lot of time researching your Niche and constructing a site that you’re customers have been crying out for. You’ve uploaded your Website to your server and are eagerly waiting the arrival of the flood of visitors you know are just waiting.
Problem…Unless you’ve optimized your Website specifically for Search Engine placement then I’m afraid all your efforts are going to be in vain, because even though your Website may be the best thing since sliced bread, nobody will know it even exists.
This is a common problem that exists for any ‘wannabe’ Webmaster and one that will either make or brake your online success. Unfortunately, and unless your Website appears on the first page of any top-flight search engine any volume of real traffic will simply pass by and straight to your competitors.
So what can be done to achieve a higher Search Engine rank? Well, most SEO experts would have you believe that it’s extremely difficult to get your Website to the top of the most popular Search Engines like Google, MSN and Yahoo. However, this simply isn’t true, it just takes a little bit of time, patience and the willingness to optimize your Website so that any Search Engine will simply for in love with it.
You need to understand how to optimize your website both on page and off page to truly achieve Search Engine success. Only when you implement both of these factors will you start to notice an increase in your Websites popularity.
On Page Optimization:
These include your Website page title
Keyword selection
Header Tags
Meta Tags
Keyword Placement
Off Page Optimization:
These include link building
Anchor text wording
The good news is you don’t have to spend any money either to properly achieve any of the above. That said however, there are tools I personally use both free and paid that greatly speed up the process. Especially when it comes to targeting the right keywords to use on your Website. This alone is likely to either make your Website a highly visited site, or one that’s forgotten about due to it being ranked.
Don’t try to trick the Search Engines either. You’ll only be asking for trouble, by either getting penalised, or worse still, having your Website banned. Instead, take your time, implement the above and you’ll be ranked number one in know time…
Godrob
http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/seo-tips-how-to-sky-rocket-your-website-to-the-top-of-any-search-engine-74682.html
How to Create a Profitable Pay Per Click Campaign Management
Certain keywords or phrases that people type into a search engine lead to hundreds and hundreds of search results that pertain to that specific keyword. Businesses that want to advertise on the net using a PPC campaign have to come up with a plethora of keywords that is associated to the business that they are running; so when potential customers type in these keywords, it will lead them to their business site.
This is pretty much the whole concept that operates behind PPC. This is how a PPC campaign brings in traffic to your site, with the selection of the right keywords that people can search through the net.
Some keywords tend to be more expensive than others, especially popular ones. It is vital to select the right keywords, in order to get your money’s worth. This is why it is important to manage you PPC campaign wisely. Sometimes you are better off opting for the less popular keywords that are not so expensive, especially if you have a limited budget. Some businesses even hire the help of a consultant to manage their PPC campaigns.
There are a lot of experts that specialize in PPC campaign management. They come with strategic plans, and assess the need of their clients. They then come up with a PPC campaign that caters to their client’s specification.
This is why big online businesses seek the expertise of a professional to run their PPC ad campaign, because the right set of plans, can potentially bring in a large amount of profits. The more keywords you have, the more you increase the chances of customers clicking these keywords that would lead them to your website. There are also some software you can purchase, such as GoToast, or Bid Rank. These software programs track down your keywords listing.
If you are running a business online, and are planning to run a PPC campaign, it is advisable to purchase keywords that are extremely related to the theme of your business. This way, people know what they are getting, and don’t get confused about the content of your website. The secret is to use keywords or phrases that are searched frequently, but cost very little.
The chances are, the longer people stay in your site, the likelihood of these potential customers making a transaction.
But first thing’s first: you must lure them into your turf.
This is why a lot of entrepreneurs spend a large amount of their budget on advertising, because they know that the right advertising campaign can start the ball rolling.
Also, you should do some research before you start your PPC campaign. There are a lot of PPC search engines to choose from. Those who are less renowned charge less for the same keywords that you’d find in the bigger PPC search engines.
The great thing about PPC campaigns is that you can reach a worldwide audience. Advertising online means global marketing.
Most PPC search engines require a monthly payment in exchange for their services. But if you fail to make payments, they will automatically take your listings out of their search engines. So make sure that you pay your monthly bills, so all the efforts that you put into your PPC campaign don’t go to waste.
The potential earnings that can be generated by starting a pay per click campaign is significant. That’s why a lot of online businesses now are trying to get in on the act. Now, with the right set of keywords, and a smart PPC campaign management plan, more than ever, online businesses are bringing in the big bucks.
Jo Han Mok
http://www.articlesbase.com/online-promotion-articles/how-to-create-a-profitable-pay-per-click-campaign-management-92384.html
How Search Engines Work And Why Search Engine Optimization Is Important
What is a search engine? A search engine is a different type of site on the web which is created to find information that is stored in individual websites for people who type in a keyword or group of keywords seeking information on that topic. Some examples of search engines are Google, MSN, Yahoo, to mention a few. Search engine optimization is a very important process to get your website to the top ten in the search engines.
Search engines usually work a little different from each other but they have a few basic tasks they perform. They search the internet based on the important keywords. They store and index the words they find on the internet and where they find them, such as websites. They allow people to search for the important information they have stored in their index.
Search engines use to have only maybe a few hundred thousand pages indexed as there weren’t many computer users. Today a large search engine may have hundreds of millions of web pages indexed as they now have many computer users and a lot of inquiries. Again I need to mention how important it is to get your website optimized to rank well in the search engines.
What are spiders? A search engine indexes files or documents by using special software robots called spiders. These spiders search the internet and so called “crawl” websites searching for information and building lists of important words found on websites.
Spiders usually start at busy sites where there is a lot of activity and crawl through every link on pages of those websites. This crawling quickly spreads out through links. That’s why it is good to have reciprocal links with websites with a high page rank.
What is indexing? After the spiders have finished finding information on Web pages, the search engine must store the information in a way that makes it useful. Most search engines store more than just the word and URL. An engine might store the number of times that the word appears on a page. The engine might assign a weight to each entry, with increasing values assigned to words as they appear near the top of the document, in sub-headings, in links, in the meta tags or in the title of the page. Most search engines have a different formula for assigning weight to the words in its index. This is one of the reasons that a search for the same word on different search engines will produce different lists, with the pages presented in different orders. With so many websites on the internet, knowing website optimization is very important.
What happens when you type a keyword into a search engine? The search engine software or program is the final part. When a person requests a search on a keyword or phrase, the search engine software searches the index for relevant information. The software then provides a report back to the searcher with the most relevant web pages listed first. If you have your website optimized well, you will have an advantage over your competition. All rights reserved You have the author’s permission to use this article but you must include the author’s bio and it’s link.
Ken Bishop
http://www.articlesbase.com/seo-articles/how-search-engines-work-and-why-search-engine-optimization-is-important-103115.html
Increase your Sales, Profits, and Client Base, By Optimizing your Website
Let me start off by telling you that I am by no means anything close to a techie. In fact I’m probably the furthest thing from one. It wasn’t that long ago that I didn’t know the difference between a keyword and a keystroke or a link and a website…but over the last couple of years I’ve managed to learn a few techniques that have raised my internet profile to the point where people contact me to become my clients.
Actually all it takes is some time to read, work on some simple steps, read some more, and listen. While the process is never ending it does have its rewards each step of the way.
Back in ’97 when I, along with a young fellow who kept calling my office offering to help construct my original site, posted my dangoldberg.com to the world, I looked at my site as an online brochure. It saved me the hassle of carrying around lots of paper and mailing out “stuff” that would probably wind up in the trash. All I had to say was, “Do you have a computer?” After the usual “yes,” I’d tell them to get on the internet and go to my site and they’d find out everything relevant to their needs (of course that went along with me finding out what their needs were).
My website optimization awakening started when a gentleman called me wondering if I’d mind being a link on his site. I said, “not at all.” Within a few months I received an e-mail asking if I could conduct a sales training seminar for the sender’s company. When I inquired where they had heard about me that responded that they had been to my website. With a little more probing I found out that they had been directed there from the link on the previously mentioned site. Hmmm…my little brain went into action and I realized that it wouldn’t be a bad idea if I began to try to get links on other sites as well as find out additional ways to gain exposure for my company through my web presence.
First, I began writing articles for other sites. Next, I realized that search engines looked for all kinds of items that helped in getting higher page ranks: meta name descriptions (phrases that describe how you want people to know about your site) and meta name keywords (words that people search for in search engines that put your site in the rankings). Then I learned how to craft the corresponding descriptions and keywords.
I also learned how content was so important and how the spiders (those search devises that go over your site and send the information back to the search engines so they can rank you)…read from upper left to lower right.
The more I worked on my site the more business I received and the more prospect inquiries came my way. The more content I put up (on my site and others), the more links I had on other sites, and the more e-mails (and potential business) I had waiting for me in my e-mail “in” box.
As you can tell, I certainly don’t know all the terms. But I do know how to read, listen, and apply the techniques…most of the time. Those times that I don’t, I call on an expert.
There’s plenty more to learn about optimization and lots more I want to do with my website, but I have turned my little brainstorm into an avocation and its actually fun watching the applications I’ve learned and applied get results.
For an entrepreneur like me it’s just another way to use that energy and knowledge to help my business grow. A couple of the tools I used were a website optimization e-book, by an expert I really admire, along with a e-book that has helped me make some money with my site (aside from the clients I gained) both were e-mailed to me by a friend. If you’d like a copy of both books I’d be happy to send them to anyone reading this article. Don’t worry, there’s no charge for either. I got it for free and so will you. All you need to do is send me an e-mail at the address below with the words “Dan Send Books” in the subject line (helps with knowing it’s not spam) and I’ll send them to you. If not, that’s ok too. Just make sure that you find some reference material and/or classes that will help you improve your web presence and increase your business.
See you on the internet!
Dan Goldberg, MBA, is President of Dan Goldberg Consulting L.L.C. a training, coaching and business development firm located in the Philadelphia, PA area. He is the founder and former owner of “For Eyes” the highly successful international optical company and an internationally recognized keynote speaker. Dan is the author of the book “Stand Back A Second, Just don’t fall off the edge,” and of “The Six Steps To Solid Sales Success” and “The Seven Elements Of Successful Management” programs. He is Executive-In-Residence at Kutztown University and has been the subject of stories in Newsweek, Business Week, Playboy, Successful Business, Investor’s Business Daily, major newspapers in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Boston, Baltimore, Miami, San Francisco, Oakland, St. Louis, Chicago, Los Angeles and many other national and local publications. In addition, Dan has appeared on Good Morning America and other national and local television and radio programs. You can contact him at dg@dangoldberg.com, visit his website at http://www.dangoldberg.com or reach him at (215) 233-5352
Dan Goldberg
http://www.articlesbase.com/online-business-articles/increase-your-sales-profits-and-client-base-by-optimizing-your-website-72240.html
Local Business Website Promotion – How to Skyrocket Your Business with Area Specific Traffic
If you are a local business that gets most of your business from local traffic, it is obviously important to target in on those visitors search for your product locally. This is a vital part of your marketing campaign because you get your business from those who live locally, this is your target market. Now that you know who your target market is, you need to decide how you are going to reach them. Fortunately, it is not too difficult and should not take you too long to build up your local traffic using the following website promotion techniques.
Tip #1 – Local Web Directory
A great suggestion to immediately boost your area specific traffic is to get your website listed with as many local web directories as possible. Of course you want to focus on those industry specific web directories, however, if you put your information in others you might get a small amount of traffic from those as well. Submitting your information to local web directories is as easy as going online and finding them, then submitting your website’s information.
Tip #2 – Local Advertisements
Local advertisements, whether through television, radio, billboards, magnets, or pencils, are great ways to attract local traffic. This can generally be done on a shoestring budget and is very effective. It is a lot easier to develop brand recognition in a small local market than it is worldwide. Try it out, you’ll be surprised with your success.
Tip #3 – ISP Providers and Advertisements
Many local businesses and individuals have the same ISP provider if they use cable. Consider buying advertisements on your local ISP’s homepage that automatically pops up when someone logs onto their computer. Doing this will allow you to target individuals who might be interested in your services and are also online and can visit your website immediately. This is a great way to market and should certainly be considered.
Tip #4 – Keywords
Also on your web page you should utilize keywords regarding your services and your area. That way, when individuals are online and searching for services or products similar to yours in your particular area, your website will be returned as a result. Don’t underestimate the importance of marketing to the entire web though even if your focus is a small area.
Now that you know some tips for marketing to your local area and building traffic, you’ll be able to make more people aware of your products and services and generate more business as a result. Start marketing your business in your area today and realize the success you can experience through the Internet
Michael Turner
http://www.articlesbase.com/advertising-articles/local-business-website-promotion-how-to-skyrocket-your-business-with-area-specific-traffic-324.html
How Can a Small Business Get Top Search Engine Placement and Compete with the Big Companies?
Getting found in the search engines is a top priority for any small business owner that is looking to increase their presence and find new customers. While going up against hundreds of millions of different websites is certainly daunting, it’s actually an easier challenge on a more level playing field than in any other medium. Therefore, by learning how to maximize your online presence and improve your search engine rankings, you can quickly gain a leg up on your competition, no matter how big or small they are.
As the owner of a small business, certainly you have a limited advertising, marketing and promotion budget. You won’t be able to win the battles for TV commercials, newspaper flyers or circulars or even radio advertisements. Larger companies with deeper pockets can overwhelm you and your efforts, no matter how careful you are. However, with online marketing, you don’t need to have a huge budget to succeed.
The beauty of search engine optimization is that any company, no matter how large or small, can utilize the same strategies and find great success in the search engines. The key for a small, local business is that you have to learn how to research and target your marketplace. By doing so, you can quickly soar up the search engine rankings for the most important phrases related to your industry or niche. The result will be a steady stream of traffic to your website, and an increased customer base.
The trick lies in aligning your website and your company with a local or niche market. The big companies will never have a chance to drill down and focus their efforts as you can on specific segments of the marketplace. By using long-tail keywords related to your niche and by establishing yourself as a local company by using free tools such as the Google Local Business service you can find great success in exploiting small, lucrative online niches. In addition to working on your search engine optimization with the above techniques you can also look into the world of PPC, or pay-per-click advertising. With PPC you bid on keywords and phrases for the right to be displayed as the sponsored listings at the top of the page. Through careful research and targeting, small businesses can find reasonably popular but only moderately competitive terms, and instantly get shown at the top of the search engine results for that phrase.
The benefits of PPC are that it is an instant solution, it can provide great leads and prospects, it increases your online presence and much more. You just have to be careful with your bidding and targeting strategies, and be aware that PPC takes some trial and error to get used to.
Small businesses can not only compete with the big companies online, but they can win out. You can combine solid SEO skills to target small, untouched niches with a PPC campaign that gets you instantly boosted to the top of the rankings for an amazingly effective and efficient online marketing strategy.
Choosing the Right Search Engine Keywords for Your Small Business
As a small business trying to make a dent in the online marketplace, how can you succeed? The competition is fierce, filled with literally millions of potential challengers. Included in this mix are mega retailers such as Amazon, Target and Wal-Mart. So is investing in online marketing really worth the time, effort and money?
If you want to succeed with online marketing, as a small business you have to spend your time conducting some very important research. You can use free tools such as the Google Adwords keyword tool to help you gain a better understanding of what’s being searched for by actual Internet users related to a particular term, niche or market. By doing so, you’ll be able to receive a clear picture of what the market landscape is actually like.
With this kind of research you can gain a basic understanding of how strong the competition is for a particular phrase as well as determine which phrases are the most popular and which ones aren’t that common. You can then combine this knowledge with a survey in Google of the number and quality of websites that gets displayed for one of those same phrases.
After taking a look at both the keywords returned from Google Adwords and the competition that shows up in Google, you should be able to pinpoint potential openings in the marketplace where your small business can succeed. Hopefully you will have also uncovered some long-tail keywords as well. Long-tail keywords are typically described as keyword phrases that consist of at least three words, and many times extend upwards to five or six words, but the concept was first described by Chris Anderson in his book, The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More, in which he describes an almost infinite marketplace of goods and services described by increasingly small niches – the long tail of a distribution graph that gradually approaches zero on a curve. In short, these are the exact phrases that individual users are searching for, as opposed to the broad categories that smaller keywords represent.
One of the best ways to market your website and small business online is by targeting some of these long-tail keywords. For example, a local mechanic might find that ranking in Google for the word “mechanic” is extremely difficult. After all, such a general term is sure to be filled with competition. Additionally, when someone searches for “mechanic” they may be interested in finding a local mechanic, becoming a mechanic, questions to ask a mechanic, reviews for mechanics or other topics of interest.
Therefore, long-tail keywords not only give you a better chance to be ranked because the competition is lower, but they also give you more targeted traffic that matches the specific needs of an individual web surfer. As a small business you have an advantage over mega-corporations. You can seek out small, untouched niches in the massive market, and then fill the needs of that space. You’ll never have the size or scope of one of those massive operations, so why bother trying? Instead, refocus your efforts towards fitting smaller niche gaps in the online marketplace. Don’t be a “mechanic,” be a “cheap mechanic in East Lansing Michigan” or a “Harley Davidson Mechanic in Carlsbad.”
Choosing the right search engine keywords is the best way to get the most from your time and effort with online marketing, and it opens up the doors of opportunity for any small business to succeed. By establishing your small business in the online marketplace related to your local area, and by researching and deploying long-tail keywords with low competition that produce highly targeted traffic, you’re well on your way to Internet success.
How Search Engine Spiders Work
Duration : 1 min 11 sec