Webmaster Discussions

Search engine rankings are an important factor to consider when you have a website that needs more traffic. If your website doesn’t have a good position in the rankings then no-one will find it, so you need to make sure that your website is ranked highly enough to be seen. The other important quality to getting high traffic to your site is having a nice arsenal of links. The more links that you have to your site the more traffic you will get, but also, the more links to your site the more search engines like your site. Keeping a nice supply of links pointing at your site requires similar precautions and practices as getting high search engine listings.

Although no SEO company can guarantee a high ranking for your site, here are some tips for raising your search engine ranking. Using these tips will not get you to the top unless your site is the best out there, but they will at least put you into the positioning that you truly deserve. After all, the internet is basically a free market. You will naturally flow into the place that you deserve and many search engines try to insure that you do not rise above or fall below this position. This is why they are so strict, and this is why you must keep yourself on good terms with them.

1) Content is an important factor in high search engine rankings. Make sure that you have plenty of content throughout your site with your target keywords in the articles. It’s also worth doing a search for websites similar to yours and taking a look at their articles for ideas. The more content you have the better. It is generally a good idea to have between three hundred and five hundred words per page, but more important than a quantity of content is the quality of the content that you are providing. You cannot just put out three hundred words of jargon and expect your visitors to find it interesting and stick around for the long haul.

2) Your website’s URL can help you rank higher with the search engines if it contains your keywords. However, don’t think that naming your site after your keywords will always help your rankings ? you need to do more than just that.

3) Search terms should be written out in text, instead of graphics. If you do use pictures, be sure to give them alt tags. The alt tags in your pictures are almost as important as text. It’s also a good idea to put some of your key words in links to other pages. In the eyes of a search engine it is almost as good to have a link to a page full of the content that the visitor is looking for as it is to have the content that the visitor is looking for on your page. If a visitor is looking for something that you are linking to and he or she finds your page, they may look around your site on the way through.

4) The title of your page is very important, and making sure that you choose it wisely will make a big difference. Terms such ‘free article on safe children’s toys’, or ‘contact the children’s toy expert today’ are good to use as titles, for example ? they would get you a high ranking. The title area is the most important place to include your keyword phrases, so make sure that you put them all in.

5) The navigation menu that appears on each page of your website should include your page’s title.

6) Don’t just use the most popular keyword phrases ? the market is so competitive that you should be sure to include some niche keywords too.

7) Make sure that you don’t have a lot of irrelevant links on your site. The more closely related to your site your links are, the better your chances of being ranked in a higher position.

You need to periodically update the content of your website, even if it’s only a slight change, as websites like sites that are kept updated.

9) You need to consider the fact most search engines don’t like automatic submissions or multiple submissions ? submit once, manually.

10) Always be on the look out for SEO news ? staying up to date and using the latest techniques will help you stay one step ahead of your competition.

Do you know exactly why people don’t seem excited to buy your product? Have you ever wonder why your competitors make more sales even though they have a terrible product to offer? Even worse, why people couldn’t even be bothered to live their email address in your opt-in form and subscribe to your free newsletter?

You may wonder people just don’t feel interested to buy your product or maybe your price is too high. Or you’ve finally realized that your product is a pile of junk and decided to find another product to sell.

You’ve got to stop whatever you’re doing and think for a moment. It is not your product to be blame. Sometimes your own salesletter which is the one that kill your business. You’ve written some words that people don’t even want to hear and scare the hell out of them. Studied has shown using these words will decrease your sales up to 75%.

So, what are exactly the bad words you should never say in your newsletter?

1) Buy ? This specifically asking people to take out their wallet and spend some money. Bare in mind, most people surf the Internet searching certain information for free and sometimes they need more time before considering buying your product. Whatever business you’re doing, using this word alone can destroy your business in split second. Instead of using the word ‘buy’, change it to ‘claim’ or ‘invest’. Ask yourself, which one sound better, “Buy this amazing product” or “Claim this amazing product.”

2) Learn ? This will remind people back in the old days where they have to study and learn in 1st or 2nd Grade. Nobody wants to squeeze their brain out and learn something new on the Internet. Information on the Internet is just too huge. Nowadays, people want fast information and have no time to learn. Instead of using the word ‘learn’, it is better to use the word ‘discover’. Now we are giving somewhere. Does this word sounds a lot better, “Discover 10 Easy Tips To Improve Your Golf Swing.”

3) Tell ? You don’t have to use this word to explain the benefit of your product. People will not listen to you if they don’t recognize you. Study this two words carefully, “Let me tell you the secrets of becoming a millionaire” or “Let me reveal to you the secrets of becoming a millionaire.” Which one do you think that will make people keep on reading your newsletter?

4) Things ? Using this word will not make your salesletter sound astonishing. It makes the salesletter very boring to read. This will make people lost their confidence in whatever you’ve offered to them. Instead of using the word ‘things’, consider to revise it to ‘tips’, ‘tricks’ or ‘techniques’. “Get these 5 great techniques right away” is far better than “Get these 5 great things right away.”

5) Stuff ? This word is what most marketers used to describe how great the product is. If you change it to ‘Insider Secrets’, definitely this will give people an urge to act right away. Consider this two words, “Click here to download your 7 stuffs” or “Click here to download your 7 amazing insider secrets.” Which one would you like to click?

If you can avoid this 5 bad words, your sales will definitely boost up to the roof. Don’t neglect the power of these words. Now, it’s time for you to check all your salesletter and change it (if any) right away. You will be surprise of the outcome.

Search engine marketing can be a complex and scary topic. Endless opportunities to advertise and market, constantly changing trends and technologies, and overly complex solutions all come with the territory. So, what you don’t need when you’re evaluating or creating your search engine marketing strategy is lengthy explanations about how different techniques work. Instead, seek out advisors who can guide you with simple explanations and techniques based on real results. That’s exactly what following article is about. It’s a simple list of four things business owners can use in creating or evaluating their search engine marketing strategy.

1. Establish Your Internet Marketing Strategy Goal

Many consultants will tell you to set goals about what you want to achieve with your website. Forget it. Those are distractions from the real question you need to ask yourself, which is

“What is THE purpose of my website?”

Once you answer that question, all other aspects of search engine marketing strategy can be leveraged to help you achieve that purpose. Typically, people use their website for many different purposes. Regardless, you still need to answer this question. The focus you will get from it will help you create a more effective strategy.

Here are the top three most common answers to the question “What is THE purpose of my website?”

1. To sell things

2. To generate leads for my sales team

3. To educate my target audience

It can be this simple! Just decide which of the three answers above suits you best (or create your own) and then move on to step 2.

2. Establish a Search Engine Marketing Plan

There’s a reason why search engine marketing is so hot. It works. It consistent generates leads, sales, etc. at a lower cost-per-lead or cost-per-sale than traditional mediums like TV or direct mail advertising. It makes sense when you think about it: when people want to find something online, they go to Google, Yahoo!, MSN, etc. and search for it.

Search engine marketing is all about SHOWING UP when people search for what you sell, offer, or have on your website. There is a growing body of knowledge (books, articles, etc.) on how to do this. And like anything else, it has become over analyzed and too complex. To further complicate things, some search engine marketing techniques are ethical and legitimate, while some are not. The best approach is to create a search engine marketing plan that focuses on two aspects:

1. Search engine optimization – showing up in the “free” area of the search engine’s results

2. Pay-per click advertising – showing up in the “paid” area of the search engine’s results

For search engine optimization, first realize there is no “silver bullet.” There just isn’t a way to easily get ranked consistently high in the search engines. It is a combination of factors that always come down to one underlying truth: build your website according to web standards, with a focus on accessibility for all.

Just like search engine optimization, there is no “silver bullet” for pay-per click advertising, either. Instead, the formula for PPC success is in well-placed bids (what you will pay to have your ad show up) combined with meaningful landing pages (where people go when they click on your ad).

3. Conduct Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The goal of search engine optimization is to make changes to your website to get higher rankings in search engines. Yet, search engine optimization is a confusing sector. On one hand, there are “snake oil salesmen” ready to get you a #1 ranking with their latest trick. On the other hand, the things that actually do work are very simple, and frankly, just not very “sexy.”

The best strategy to take is a common-sense approach to SEO: develop standards for your website that ALL pages must adhere to. If you do this, and enforce it, you can then branch out to some of the other “niche” aspects of SEO.

Here’s a sample list of SEO standards to enforce on your website:

1. Write descriptive HTML page titles that really describe the page it is on (in 255 characters or less)

2. Write a summary sentence that really describes the page it is on (in 255 characters or less)

3. Write page content that is focused on

4. Write descriptive ALT text for all images that describes the concept the image illustrates and never use images for text

5. Build all pages to comply with current web standards observed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

Only once your web pages comply with the above standards should you start more advanced SEO techniques, including keyword targeting, 301 redirects, link building (getting more links to your site), RSS news feeds, blogs, and SEO-specific metrics and tracking.

4. Leverage Pay-Per Click Advertising

Pay-per click advertising helps you get more traffic from search engines through advertising in search engine results. You pick terms that people search on. You bid a price per click on your ad that you are willing to pay. You ad shows up when someone searches on that term, and, if you’re lucky, they click on your ad and come to your website.

So, pay-per click advertising really boils down to 3 components:

1. Picking keywords to advertise on (i.e. target keywords)

2. Determining what to bid for those target keywords

3. Writing copy for the ads that show up when people search

Picking keywords is all about knowing what terms your customers, clients, etc. would use when searching for your product or service. There are several tools to help you generate ideas. The best tools also check to see how many searches-per-month your target keywords receive. You typically want to find keywords that generate a lot of searches every month, but are focused enough for your business. For example, a company that sells Keen high-performance outdoor sandals probably would be best served bidding on “keen sandals” versus “sandals” which could include searches for the all-inclusive resort, Sandals.

Determining what to bid for your keywords can be a highly-scientific process, sometimes managed by complex software and several key metrics. To keep it simple, let a tool like Google Adwords Traffic Estimator recommend to you what to bid at first. Start there, and start small. Your best bet is to lock-in a low daily budget limit until you are comfortable with the impressions your ads are getting, the flow of traffic from the ads to your website, and what those people do once they get to your website.

Writing ad copy comes down to writing a headline that people will click on, and creating compelling copy below that headline/link that will get people to click.

Headlines are best created by following what magazine covers do: focus on getting attention through eye-catching, short phrases. Using words like best (i.e. “Best Tips for a Summer Barbeque”), ultimate (i.e. “Ultimate National Park Vacations”) and number-based lists (i.e. “Top 5 Hybrid Cars for 2006″) have all been proven to work.

Writing effective ad copy below the title/link is really about reinforcing the term(s) search for. This means using the keywords in the ad copy, and starting the copy with an action verb.

By following the approach above, you can create or evaluate your search engine marketing strategy, focus on what matters most when executing your plans, and more effectively achieve your goals.

Coupon clipping is one of the most commonly used forms of saving money. From clipping coupons out of the local newspaper to getting coupons from your favorite retailer as a reward for being a customer, the benefits of coupons can apply to anybody. And while clipping and saving coupons for your next shopping excursion can be time consuming, the benefit of saving money is a positive aspect for any consumer.

Many stores offer coupons on their most popular items as a way to drive customer traffic into the establishment. Still other stores offer coupons on discount merchandise as a way to get rid of the old stuff and make way for new items. Either way, the benefits of coupons works for the customer in that the store, in their effort to bring you into their establishment, is trying to save you money. Following are four major reasons why the benefits of coupons cannot be discounted. With a little thought and effort, the benefits of coupons can easily be applied to your grocery list, resulting in lots of dollars worth of savings.

1. Savings: This is perhaps the biggest reason for clipping coupons. Most people are always looking to save a buck and coupons can help do just that. Shoppers who clip coupons diligently are usually the ones who can save the most. A lot of little coupons can add up to more than 50% of your overall bill, particularly at a grocery store. Most coupons offer more than just a percentage off of the item; they offer dollar amounts, which in the consumer’s mind, leads them to believe they are saving more money than if the coupon simply touted a percentage. Coupons are meant to have a two-fold purpose. They are meant to drive customers into certain stores and as a reward for shopping and spending their money in that store, the store offers the coupon both as a reward for coming in and as an incentive to return.

2. Try Something New: A lot of times, people find coupons for savings on things they don’t normally use. This is a great opportunity to really get the most out of the benefits of coupons. Try something new. This is especially beneficial if the coupon makes this item less expensive than the brand you normally buy. So, go ahead and try that new cereal or laundry detergent. There’s really nothing to lose, because if it doesn’t work out, you can always switch back to your staple brand and you managed to save a little extra money this time around.

3. Buy in Bulk: Most coupons have a buy two, get three free or they advertise special prices for items in bulk. The benefits of coupons is that they provide a reason to stock up on the items you use the most at a time when you can save money doing it. This encourages you to buy more items from the store because you are saving money on each item bought.

4. Marketing: This is where the benefits of coupons come in handy for the retail store. Particularly if the store is the one issuing the coupons, it is a form of marketing. Not only does it contribute to the positive image of the store because of the discount and savings, but it also makes the name of the store more prominent on the shopper’s radar. They know to shop at Store X because that’s where their coupons are issued from and they know that’s where they can save money.

The benefits of coupons are numerous, but there are some things to keep in mind. Most coupons have an expiration date and there are usually stipulations for their use. You are often limited to a quantity of products you can purchase with the coupon and some coupons do not work in conjunction with any others. There are also many coupons that only work at specific stores, which is where the marketing advantage of coupons works best.

The benefits of coupons also works best when you carefully clip coupons to complement your shopping list and then go through each coupon to read through the individual stipulations to be sure you are able to use the coupon in conjunction with the other ones before you get the checkout line at the your local retailer. It also helps to match up coupons with what you have on your shopping list to save time at the grocery store and avoid unnecessary spending. After all, the benefits of coupons are meant to work as a money-saving factor for the consumer. If you are not prepared or haven’t figured out what you need, you will only end up spending more money in the end, therefore negating the entire benefits of the coupons.

Search engine optimization is increasingly being accepted as a powerful and critical component of the marketing plan. With the costs involved in other forms of online marketing growing significantly, it has become almost a necessity for companies to include SEO in their overall marketing mix.

It’s thus no surprise to know that professional SEO today is big business and this industry is growing at a fast pace. There are however many different types of SEO firms out there and finding a reliable service can be a daunting task.

Search engine optimization firms employ varying methods to get high rankings for websites and not all of these techniques are considered ethical. With the increasing number of ‘black hat’ SEO firms, (companies using unethical and unfair methods and techniques to manipulate search engines), and the thin line between actual ‘black hat’ and ‘white hat’ SEO practices, it is crucial to be well informed of the methodology the company plans to use for your website before you decide to hire them.

Here are 8 simple tips to help you in your evaluation and selection of a trustworthy and professional search engine optimization service:

1.Educate yourself with the basics
Make sure to do your homework carefully before you venture out to hire a SEO service. It’s imperative you understand in advance exactly what a firm can and will do for you to enable you to evaluate them. There are several resources online dedicated to search engine marketing and search engine optimization and taking the time to understand and learn the basics will go a long way.

2.Fee structures and your budget
There are no standardized fee structures and most companies offer a range of packages instead. A package may in itself contain a variety of services like keyword research, optimization of a certain number of pages, directory submissions etc. Selecting a company should not be only about cost. A firm that charges more may not necessarily be better at SEO and likewise a firm that charges less may not necessarily be providing you the same services. Use prudence while understanding pricing models and the risks behind them. One way to go about deciding what your budget should be is to first identify your website’s and business’ unique needs, tailor a package to meet these requirements and then compare firms’ pricing models to decide a realistic baseline budget.

3.Size and specialty of the firm
Depending on the size of your website and requirements of your company, it might be a good idea to check out whether the firm is adequately staffed and what their customer to SEO team ratio is.

Another important thing is to ensure that the company specializes in all areas of SEO and has a team of professionals experienced and accomplished in each of the areas including design, development and actual coding.

4.Location
The location of the firm largely depends on your comfort level. You may favor a local company or one at least within your country or prefer to outsource completely to another country to benefit from their lower costs. There are also few companies using a blended offshore delivery model with marketing and client services offices in one country and the actual design and development work being done in another. With the combination of lower costs plus client servicing available within reach, this upcoming balanced model may be a good option to consider.

5.Client testimonials and references
References are a great way to start and should be freely available. If they haven’t been provided, ask and make sure to use them to find out exactly how credible and trustworthy the company really is based on their past client’s experiences.

6.Guarantees
Most firms won’t guarantee top position results and shouldn’t. It is justifiable for a company to guarantee increasing your traffic or rankings from its current positions; however if any SEO service is guaranteeing you a specific position/ranking in any search engine, make sure you read the fine print of the agreement.

7.Ethics / Spam
Ethics is of paramount importance when it comes to selecting a search engine optimization company. There are a variety of unethical practices a firm can use right from while selling their services to you, to, the actual methods they employ while optimizing your site (keyword stuffing, cloaking, etc to name a few). Make sure to ask as many questions as possible and specifically about the methodology they use. If the firm does not offer you ready explanations of the process they undertake to optimize websites, you probably need to look elsewhere.

8.Reporting and success measurement
Some of the key questions to ask ? How long will it take to see results? What type of reports will the SEO firm furnish and how often? How will success be measured? Will a maintenance plan be included?

It is largely up to you to define the goal and success level of your SEO campaign. It may be an increase in the traffic to your site, potential leads from a mailing list subscription, or an increase from last years sales. Make it a point to discuss and articulate your goals with the SEO firm and come to an agreement before you hire them. It is however important to set realistic expectations. Unlike PPC and other forms of paid advertising, SEO is a time consuming process, both in terms of implementation as well as results.

To conclude, hiring a SEO services firm can have a significant impact on your company’s bottom line, however the decision to partner with a particular SEO firm should only ensue after a careful evaluation of the firm and after you have done the groundwork necessary to help you decide your own goals for the program.