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2011 Marketing Changes You Should Make

Doug Williams @ 6:07 am

This blog entry was posted on December 31, 2010.

  1. Focus on Search: Search should be at the core of business marketing. We saw the use of search grow by almost 24% in 2010. November 2010 US web users performed over 17.8 billion core searches using search engines. This is up from 14.4 billion in November 2009. This growth trend will continue.
  2. Set-up /Improve Facebook Page: FaceBook is and will continue to be the #1 social networking website on the web. According to Alexa, it is the #2 most visited website in the World (after Google). The impact of this is that any business engaged in social media marketing, should have a presence on Facebook.
  3. Conversion Optimization: Getting visitor traffic to your site will not get cheaper. Focus on getting your visitor to take action once they arrive. The most obvious is to build up your email lists of past customers and potential prospects. Regularly (weekly or bi-weekly) email with helpful tips, sales or coupons.
  4. Local Places / Maps: Set-up your listings and make sure they are claimed. Spend time making sure your listing is complete and up to date. Encourage your customers to leave you reviews. The number of reviews is one of the factors that affect how high your listing will rank.
  5. Email Signature: Not only include your basic contact info, also include a link to your Twitter page, your FaceBook page and your Skype ID to make it easier for people to learn about you and reach you.

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Filed under: Internet Marketing



Start 2011 By Doing Your Own 5 Step Website Tune-up

Doug Williams @ 6:48 am

This blog entry was posted on December 29, 2010.

Your website should be reviewed and tuned up to maximize traffic and conversions at least once per year. Take into account those things that have changed in your business and in how SEO should be applied to your site.

  1. Keyword Phrases: Has there been a change in how people search for the services you provide? Has your business changed? What have you added or deleted? Redo your keyword research and prepare a new plan.
  2. Update website: Make changes to your website to reflect changes that have happened in your business. Add new pages and delete those that no longer apply. Your website appears more credible if you keep it updated and current.
  3. Conversions: When visitors arrive, are you asking them to take a specific action? This could be to sign up to your email list, to request a quote or request your free offer? Make it visible and prominent on your home page. Set-up your analytics to measure your conversion rate. Remember optimization of your website means getting more traffic and getting that traffic to take action.
  4. Update On-page SEO: One of the big changes that happened in 2010 was Yahoo is now displaying Bing results instead of their own. Search is now reduced to a 2-horse race. Yahoo-Bing SEO places a high priority on visibly using keywords on your pages. This means Title Tags, H1’s, body text and links to internal pages.
  5. Back Links: Getting inbound links from other websites is extremely important to getting good rankings from Google and important for Bing / Yahoo. Create a strategy for obtaining links or use a backlinking service. These backlinks should include keywords in the anchor text and you should have a steady flow of these new links… search engines monitor your link acquisition rate.

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Filed under: Blog Marketing



7 Ways to Promote Your Local Business on the Web

Doug Williams @ 2:51 pm

This blog entry was posted on December 27, 2010.

Your customers no longer use the Yellow Pages or Newspapers to find places to buy from. They use the web. If you need pizza for dinner, you will Google it… probably from your phone.

What should a small local business do to promote themselves on the Internet?

  1. Website: Every business today needs a website. Your website needs to answer the questions that your customers are searching for. What are your hours? Where are you located? If you are a restaurant, they will expect to see a copy of your menu. Use your website as your foundation for your Internet Marketing.
  2. Mobile site: Create a small screen version of your website that is easily viewed on a phone. The mobile web is the high growth area for local business web marketing. Use an automatic switcher script so the mobile version of your website is presented when viewed on a mobile phone.
  3. Google Places: Sometimes called the Google Map listing or Google 7-pack listing. Listings are free for any business; you will just need a local business address and local phone number. Fill out your listing completely including business hours. You can choose multiple business categories. You do not need a website in order to have a Google Places listing. More on 7-Pack optimization.
  4. Local Directory Listings: Submit your business to as many directory listings as possible. These should range from online yellow pages to hundreds of other directories. Some will be free and some will be paid. Find ones that are relevant to your market niche.
  5. Local SEO:”Localize” your website by combining broad keyword phrases such as “homes for sale” (if you are a realtor) and local geographic modifiers. These geographic modifiers are city, state, zip code or local land marks. Show cities or neighborhoods you serve, include local phone numbers and include your business address.
  6. Email: Build up your email list by including an email capture on your home page. Offer announcement of sale prices and coupons to people who register. Email marketing should always be opt-in subscribers.
  7. SMS Marketing: Market your business over the mobile web. Use SMS marketing (Short Message Service or texting) to reach interested prospects in your local area. More than 90% of mobile phone owners read all text messages they receive including those sent by businesses.

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Filed under: Blog Marketing,Local Search



You Need to Optimize Your Website Conversion Rate

Doug Williams @ 7:32 am

This blog entry was posted on December 25, 2010.

Most website owners understand search engine optimization or SEO. Many have not considered conversion optimization. Where SEO increases the number of visitors that arrive to your website… Conversion rate optimization is the process of increasing the rate at which your website converts visitors into buyers.

Conversion rate optimization is not about redesigning your site just to make it look better, although sometimes that can help. It is not about rewriting all your content so that it sounds better to you.

Conversion optimization is a focused methodology where you measure if improvements made to your website change the rate at which customers buy, sign-up or join. It is a process of experimentation where you keep the changes that make a positive improvement and you reject changes that lower conversions.

So where do you start?

Action: Start with deciding what action do you want visitors to take on your site? If you decide that your most important first step is to build up your email list… then this would be your first focus for conversion optimization. If you are after getting quote requests, then this becomes your focus.

Bounce Rate: What percent of your visitors arrive and then leave without looking deeper into your website? This percentage of people that leave without looking at additional web pages is called your bounce rate. Use your analytics package such as Google analytics to measure your bounce rate. If you improve your bounce rate you generally will improve your conversion rate.

Look at the bounce rate of individual pages. Select pages that are important to your core selling sequence. Focus on these pages and decide how you might improve these pages to answer the question that your visitors came looking for.

Testing: Design tests or experiments to see if your “improvements” really help your conversion rate. Compare your changed page to your original using AB split testing.

In addition to bounce rate, you will want to pay attention to “time on page” and the ultimate measure “conversion rate.”

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Filed under: Internet Marketing



What is Meant by SEO Copywriting?

Doug Williams @ 4:48 am

This blog entry was posted on December 23, 2010.

SEO Copywriting is writing content for web pages that is convincing to both website visitors the search engines. Targeted keyword phrases are weaved into marketing text so search engines take note of the important phrases. Your words need to grab a reader’s attention and direct them toward a specific action.

Effective SEO copywriting attracts targeted visitors and begins the selling process by attracting attention and building interest in what you have to offer. Website visitors come looking for answers to their questions or problems. Merely giving information or logically presenting your products is not enough.

SEO copywriting starts with a plan for each page you create. Write your page around your overall strategy.

  1. Purpose: What is the purpose of the page? How does it fit into your selling sequence?
  2. Action: What action do you want from your reader? It could be as simple as directing them into the next step in your conversion process.
  3. Keywords: Which keyword phrases are you integrating into the page? How can you craft a compelling message? It will need to address the purpose and action while still satisfying the search engines.

SEO copywriting is both an art form and a methodology. Writing for the web is brief and to the point with shorter paragraphs, shorter sentences and fewer words.

Good content writing entertains, educates and convinces your audience. People rarely read web copy. Instead they scan and pick out individual words and sentences. More copywriting tips

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Filed under: Internet Marketing,SEO Strategies



Insights Into Search Behavior: How People Use Search Engines

Doug Williams @ 6:35 am

This blog entry was posted on December 21, 2010.

First Page Results: According to a Cornell University study the first page of search engine results receive 87.5% of the total click distribution with the #1 result receiving 56% of the clicks.

Market Share: Google has a 66.2% market share according to ComScore Nov 2010. Yahoo has 16.4% and Bing has 11.8% market share.

Switch Search Engines: 89% of searchers will try a different search engine if they can’t find what they are searching for according to Performics.

First 3 Pages: 92.5% of searchers don’t explore beyond the third page of search results according to search engine optimization studies.

Google: The search engine with the highest loyalty is Google. Even Google users will use an alternate search engine occasionally according to the Performics study.

Use of Search: According to a 2010 Pew study, 87% of all US adults who use the Internet also use search engines.

Search is Growing: In November 2010 US web users performed over 17.8 billion core searches using search engines. This is up from 14.4 billion in November 2009. This is a 23.6% increase in 12 months.

Yahoo: Beginners or those new to search are more likely to use Yahoo as their search engine according to Performics.

Purchase: 80% of people will do an online informational search before doing an online purchase. 76% of people will do an online search before doing an offline purchase according to a study.

Exact Phrase: 88% of respondents to a study said that they tend to click on a result that has the exact phrase that they used in their search.

Online Classifieds: 53% of online adults have used a classified ads website such as Craigslist according to Pew Internet.

Mobile: Gen Y or  Milliennials, (ages 18-33) are the most likely age group to access the internet wirelessly with a laptop or mobile phone than other age groups according to Pew internet. Marketing to this group should include a mobile web strategy.

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Filed under: SEO Strategies



7 Back Linking Strategies That Will Improve Website Rankings

Doug Williams @ 5:11 am

This blog entry was posted on December 19, 2010.

Creating inbound links with keywords in the anchor text is one of the most powerful SEO methods you can employ. Google puts tremendous value in these back links in determining your website rankings. Here are 7 methods of creating these keyword rich links.

  1. Blog comments: Find relevant, high page rank blogs and post comments. Provide insightful and original comments that apply to the blog post or your comment will be treated as spam and be rejected. Include a link to your website URL in your comment.
  2. Web directories: Submitting your site to directories is still a valid and cost effective link building method that should be part of developing your portfolio of back links. You just have to be selective on which directories you use. Find directories that are focused on your market niche.
  3. Article marketing: Writing articles promotes yourself and your company as a respected expert by providing solutions and insights for problems in your market niche. These articles should be placed onto article syndication websites. By publishing articles that are highly keyword focused and providing a keyword based link back to your website.
  4. Forum posting: Join and participate in forums that are part of your market niche. In looking for a forum, make sure to find ones that allow signatures that include website URLs. Join the conversations, share and answer questions. Be part of the community. Your answers should be keyword rich. Include a link back to your website.
  5. Social networking: Create profiles on social networking sites. Most of these sites allow you to link to your website in your profile. Build-up your online public profile that includes a link to your website.
  6. Social bookmarking: Social bookmarking leads to more folks reading your articles, posts etc, and over time this could create further credibility for you. The content on your website must be good. You will use bookmarking sites such as Digg, Delicious, Yahoo Buzz, Stumble Upon etc. To bookmark, you simply bookmark pages into your social book marking account.
  7. Press release: Publicity is one of the most important success factors for almost any website or business. There are a number of free press release services and low cost PR services where you can post company announcements, new product releases or other company news. These sites give a low cost way to promote your company and a good way to increase the link popularity of your website.

You can also use a quality backlinking service to get this job done.

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Filed under: Link Popularity



SEO Scams: 7 Warning Signs of a Scammer

Doug Williams @ 4:54 am

This blog entry was posted on December 17, 2010.

Search engine optimization itself is not a scam. There are many talented professionals out there that have mastered the art and that can truly help you get top rankings and bring you interested visitors. Unfortunately there are also scam artists out who will just take your money.

7 warning signs of an SEO scammer

  1. Promise #1 Rankings: Do not do business with anyone that promises a guaranteed ranking or fast results. No one can manipulate rankings and Google warns against using the services of any company that makes these kinds of promises. Instead have them show you actual SEO results they have obtained and then call these companies and check their references.
  2. “No-traffic” Keyword Phrases: They will offer to optimize your site for your company name or a string of 5-word phrases. These worthless phrases have no real competition and are very easy to get rankings for. Have them show you the daily search volume of each phrase they plan on optimizing for.
  3. Insider information: Beware of someone that insists they have insider information to the Google algorithm because they know someone at Google. These people generally suggest that they have super secret methods. Don’t fall for this.
  4. Copyright: Some will want you to sign a contract that states that they own all copyrights for your META data and all SEO work that they may do for you. If you ever stop using their services, they can legally force you to remove all META tags and SEO work from your website.
  5. Unsolicited SEO Offers: You receive an email that states “We noticed that you are not at the top of the search engines for a number of your key terms.” Don’t believe this. They send out tens of thousands of these spam emails to domain name owners. I get emails like this several times a week for my top ranked site. They have not looked at your site; they are trying to scare you into doing business with them.
  6. Evasive Answers: They will either purposely talk over your head making you feel dumb or tell you what they do is brand new and it is a trade secret. Either way, they are working hard not engage you in a meaningful conversation about your site. They are trying to create a cloud of secrecy that will keep you guessing.
  7. Search Engine Submissions: “we will submit your site to 1500 search engine.” How many search engines do you use? Besides submitting your site may have worked 8 years ago, but definitely not today.

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Filed under: Myth Busters,SEO Strategies



Use SEO As a Vital Part of Your Branding Strategy

Doug Williams @ 4:21 am

This blog entry was posted on December 15, 2010.

Search engine optimization not only brings in interested targeted prospects, it is also shapes your brand. Having a top ranking on Google helps brand your company as a leader in your market. The initial impression people have is that the top positions in their Google search are the market leaders.

Branding and SEO are two strategies that seem to act in opposition. Branding is about creating a unique and memorable name that is distinct that can be trademarked. Descriptive phrases cannot be protected with a trademark. It is the uniqueness that makes a brand name work. Brand names build trust and credibility because of their uniqueness.

SEO works by focusing on common descriptive phrases that people think of when they are searching for a product or service.

The strongest results come from combining branding strategies with SEO. Use branding to create the unique identity for your product or company. Use the SEO phrases to support and describe your brand. Use SEO phrases in your benefits and feature descriptions. The power comes in combining both strategies.

Inbound Links: Using incoming links that include keyword anchor text is the single most powerful way to boost your Google rankings. This produces links to your brand description pages that include your most important keyword phrases. This moves part of the optimization off your physical page and still creates the association between your brand and the phrases that make up the common use.

The key is to use a quality backlinking service that allows you to implement keyword rich links back to your website.

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Filed under: Internet Marketing



5 Ways to Make Your Website More SEO Friendly

Doug Williams @ 4:45 am

This blog entry was posted on December 13, 2010.

Take steps to make your website visible on the search engines. The term search engine friendly websites are used to describe a website that can be easily crawled and indexed by the search engines.

Always start by identifying your most important keywords. Keywords are what your customers think of when they search for what you provide. These are what people type in when they do a search. Select keywords that are highly relevant to your web page. Google provides a free keyword tool for research.

  1. Page URLs: Name pages with keywords phrases that describe the page. Separate keywords with hyphens. Avoid using dynamic database generated queries that have a “?” in them.
  2. Title Tags: The Title tag which is the most valuable of the META tags because it is considered visible text. Make the Title Tag unique for each page. Use your most important phrase at the beginning of the Title tag and then the company name at the end.
  3. Text Navigation: Providing HTML navigation links so that search engines can easily crawl the website. JavaScript or image based links are more difficult for search engines. Include text links to the primary pages at the bottom of each page.
  4. Page Text: Unique, original, keyword rich content is the key to make your website search engine friendly. 400-600 words of text is ideal. Use your keyword phrases in the visible body text 1-2 times, in the page headlines, in hyperlinks and in emphasized text.
  5. Add a blog: Adding a blog to your website is a great way to attract search engine spiders. Each post should be enriched with keywords that are focused on your topics. Each posting adds one more page to your website.

Plan and build your website for two audiences. Create a website that will convince prospects and one that will be understood and easily indexed by search engines.

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Filed under: SEO Strategies



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