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By Peter Nisbet in Featured

If you know how to write articles effectively, so that they do the job you want them to do, then any time you have the need you will be able to write an article to achieve your objective. Article writing skills are learned, and how quickly you learn depends upon your teacher.

People write articles for a large number of reasons and those that do it well will generally achieve what they set out to achieve. In the world of internet marketing this will normally be to market or advertise a website or product. However, it is the ‘doing it well’ that is the problem for most people, and no matter how hard you try or how good a writer you believe yourself to be, internet article writing is more than simply putting a few words together in a sensible way.

However, before you think of using articles to promote or try to sell your products, or even attract visitors to your websites, you will have to stand back a bit and consider what it is you are doing, and what the purpose of the article is. Before you start writing you need a clear idea in your head of your objective. If you are writing an article for submission to article directories and ezines, you will not generally be permitted to promote any specific product, or provide a link to your website in the body of the article.

Your success, therefore, depends upon your ability to persuade readers to visit the website for which you provide a link in the ‘author’s resource’ that generally appears at the end of your article. Nobody will click on that link unless they believe that:

  • You really know what you are talking about and can help them with their problems or answer their questions, or
  • They believe that your website is going to give them the extra information they are seeking.

Like any other skill, knowing how to write articles effectively has to be learned – it doesn’t ‘come naturally’, and even the best novelists have no idea what is needed. Writing articles in the world of internet marketing is a totally different skill to writing professionally for public consumption. The use of language is different, and the semantic approach to content is totally divorced from the type of writing of which Tom Clancy or Agatha Christie were masters.

That is what you have to learn: article writing skills, and how to write articles effectively for submission to article directories and for content on your own website. In fact, your article could end up as content on somebody else’s website, and how cool is that! If you don’t understand what I mean by that, then you still have a lot to learn about writing articles to ensure your online success.

It is well beyond the scope of this article to teach how to write articles to meet Google’s needs, and to enable them to act as adverts for your websites, products and services. I mention Google specifically since it is by far the largest search engine on the internet, and most of the others use Google’s standards and methods of assessing web pages for publication in its listings.

In fact, Google have taken a very positive attitude to articles that are well written and used both as website content and published on article directories. Even duplicate content between a number of article directories appears to take a long time to be noticed by Google.

Once you have learned how to write articles effectively, and have the article writing skills needed for effective internet and article marketing, then you will have a tool in your hands that you will be able to use again and again to force your websites up the listings, attract masses of traffic and provide you with results that no other form of advertising could approach with the results you will achieve.

Pete is a master at writing articles in a way that will achieve whatever it is that you want your articles to achieve for you. Learn the secrets that he uses daily from Article Czar and get a free writing and SEO course simply for looking at what he can do for you.

By Paul Marshall in Featured

One of the newest and most talked about Internet marketing strategies these days is Landing Page Optimization. Your Landing Page Design can make or break your conversion rate.

All the search engine optimization (SEO) Internet marketing and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising isn’t going to create the sales you want with bad landing pages. You’d be just wasting your time and money.

And the truth is that almost EVERY page on your website is a landing page, except for your Privacy Policy, Terms of Use or Service, and possibly your About page.

I’ve seen websites more than DOUBLE their conversions with landing pages that are properly designed to convert traffic to conversions…those opt-in sign ups and direct sales.

Think about it — doubling your sales without increasing your PPC advertising or without increasing your SEO efforts! How much money could that put in your pocket?

When you take advantage of strategies like that, that’s when you start beating out your competition!

What’s Landing Page Optimization All About?

When searchers come to our websites from the search engines, they are in a path from one website to another.

We have to interrupt that process, drawing these searchers into our website and into our story.

We must balance the connection with our visitors and make an emotional connection, while offering them real substance, as well.

We MUST answer these questions:

  1. where am I?
  2. what can I do here (what is your offer)?
  3. Why should I look here and STAY rather than click away? This MUST be answered in the top 4 to 4/12 inches of your Web pages (above the fold)

How Do You Begin Optimizing Your Landing Page Design?

First, start by clearly explaining what you want your website visitors to do and WHY they should do it.

Why should they buy from you or opt-in for future contact? What’s in it for them?

Why should they choose you over other websites they can visit? What separates you from your competition?

Essentially, what’s your Value Proposition?

You should be able to clearly explain the advantage to your website visitors in 2 to 3 short sentences.

Right now, if you’re not sure exactly how to describe your Value Proposition, you’re surely NOT alone! The great majority of people I coach with their websites are in the same boat, when they start out.

My suggestion: Start brainstorming and making good notes. It also helps to have the input of a Internet marketing consulting coach outside your business, who can help you clearly define and explain what you offer your website visitors in a compelling manner, without using your industry jargon and lingo.

Reduce Anxiety from Your Purchase and Opt-in Processes

Anxiety can also be defined as fear or concern. Now, you can never have a anxiety-free website, if you sell a product or service or if you seek an opt-in email address.

Anxiety occurs in opt-in sign up processes, when providing an email address. When making a purchase, providing credit card information causes anxiety.

But how can you REDUCE the anxiety to the least level possible?

There are many techniques you can follow to accomplish this.

One of the best examples is to post your Privacy Policy page link right next to your sign up button, for your opt-in contact. This helps reassure your visitors you aren’t selling their email address and will generate a higher opt-in conversion rate than not posting your privacy policy, all other things equal.

Other anxiety reducing techniques are:

  1. emphasize credit card security when ordering
  2. offer pricing guarantees
  3. deal with product | service quality concerns with guarantees and third-party certifications, awards, etc.

These techniques must be used at the exact point where the anxiety occurs.

Next, Reducing Friction from Your Web Pages

Friction can also be defined as annoyance and irritation. To maximize your sales and opt-in conversion rate, you need to minimize the friction all across your website.

Friction occurs in the prospect’s MIND, not really on the page.

It is a Psychological resistance to a given element in the sales process.

So, how can you reduce friction?

One way is to limit fields to the minimum number needed for both purchase and opt-in forms. Friction = Length and Difficulty.

While space here limits a complete discussion of all the techniques you can take advantage of, another way to limit friction is to make your landing page design take advantage of natural eye movement, working with it, rather than against it. You’ve got to be careful with multi-column designs.

Wrapping it Up

Consider the value to you of an Internet marketing consulting coach, who can train you to maximize your landing page design, do-it-yourself and at an affordable cost.

Using Landing Page Optimization techniques will help you potentially DOUBLE your conversions…your direct sales and opt-in sign ups…without increasing your PPC advertising expenses and without requiring higher SEO rankings.

This is real money we’re talking about. :-)

This could turn out to be the KEY element missing from your Internet marketing plan.

Marketing online since 2004, Paul Marshall knows how to help you market on a budget. He’s an Internet Marketing Consulting Coach offering affordable Landing Page Optimization (LPO) services and d-i-y LPO Coaching. Receive your Free Introductory Consultation, just visit Strategic Web Marketing.net today!

By SEO Sapien in Featured

se-optimizationKeyword research is like getting into the minds of your prospects. If you use an analytic tool to find out exactly what people are searching for in your niche, you can use those keywords to create content that answers all of their questions and relates to their interests. By satisfying the needs of your website visitors with informative content, you improve your credibility and thus boost your online business. Here are the 5 most important factors you should consider when conducting keyword research.

By Jason Falls in Featured

Social networkingWe’re at a point in the evolution of the information age, the age of self-publishing, Web 2.0 or whatever we want to label where we are in our increasingly wired world, that, if we do not establish some parameters of behavior, we’ll lose it all. This notion struck me as I read an article by Maryclarie Dale of the Associated Press called, “Tweets Unwanted Twist At Trial.”

By Michael A Jones in Featured

How is your online shopping cart setup? Does it make the transition from interest to closing the sale slippery so the prospect just slides along and automatically hits the Pay button? Or are there catches along the way which frustrate the client so they end up abandoning the shopping cart?

It is obvious that ‘greasing the tube’ so the client effortlessly glides through the ordering and payment procedure can make a huge difference to your profits. If you just reduced shopping cart abandonment by 10-20%, what would that do for your business?

When thinking about your shopping cart setup, it’s always helpful to compare your online shopping process with your own personal offline shopping experience. When you select items in a shop and make your way to the Pay Desk, what things irritate you or would irritate you? Have you ever selected a number of items and then had to look around for the Pay Desk. If it is hidden in some corner and you go round for 10 minutes trying to find it you know how you feel by the time you get there.

What if the cashier delayed your check out by trying to offer you other items, even trying a hard sell approach? Some may not mind, but I suggest that the vast majority would prefer to just take their items straight to the check out, pay for them, and leave the store to get on to other business.

Is a potential customer’s mindset any different online? Not really. Most people see what they want, and then just want to pay for it, and move on.

With the offline shopping experience in mind, here is a list of key points to bear in mind when considering your online shopping cart setup:

1. If you have “Add to Cart” buttons by each product, be sure to include a “Check Out” button beside it so the customer can easily go and pay for whatever they have selected quickly.

2. Let the customer check out easily with trying to push extra products on them. This is not to say you can’t try an upsell arrangement, but it has to be done gently and discreetly. One main domain registrar I use, mainly their prices are low, does irritate me with the number of options and extra bells and whistles they try to thrust on you before you can check out. At times I have a problem finding the checkout button because the page is so loaded with offers. I find that annoying and frustrating. Perhaps you do to.

On the other hand, Amazon have mastered the art of discreet upselling. Along the bottom of the screen once you have made your selection they gently tell you that other customers who were interested in ‘this’, were also interested in ‘that’. When I buy on Amazon, I don’t get the pressured feeling I do on the domain registrar site. The whole upsell process is carefully and discreetly woven into the shopping cart setup.

3. Make it easy for your customers to change their order. Your shopping cart should provide the option to delete or change the quantity of any item at any time with a convenient button in the cart.

4. Reassure, reassure, and reassure the customer that their ordering information is secure. Briefly explain the security measures you have in place or put badges and certificates alongside that indicate the whole procedure is going through a secure connection.

5. Minimize the number of steps to the final Pay button and make the buttons clear. Don’t confuse the issue with gawdy graphics and unnecessary steps. It’s a good idea to count how many times the user has to hit the enter key or mouse button from the time they add an item to the cart, to the click on the Pay button which actually processes the transaction. Your aim should be to eliminate any unnecessary steps. So within 2 to 4 clicks, the whole thing is finished and the payment is in your account.

If you’ve ever enjoyed a day at a water park with the family and taken a ride down the water chute, you know once you take that first step over the edge, there is no going back! You are on your way. Likewise with your shopping cart setup. Be sure to grease the tube by making the payment process, clean, simple, and as effortless as possible.

Scrutinize every step, familiarize yourself with all your shopping cart setup features, and utilize them fully. Rather than throwing money at more advertising, why not re-examine your shopping cart setup and add to your profits considerably.

For a free walk-through tutorial highlighting ways to customize your shopping cart for maximum sales, see how Michael A Jones has setup the shopping cart on his body care site: http://www.net-vault.com/online-shopping-cart

By Cory Threlfall in Featured

The benefits of finding the best free keyword research tools online today are plentiful for you. With so many popping up online you often ask yourself which one is worth using for my basic keyword research needs.

Well in this article I’m going to give you some great links to what I think are the best free keyword research tools on the web to help you with your keyword analysis. They’ll give you some great stats to work with and hopefully do the job you were hoping for.

There’s just one thing I want to mention about these free keyword research tools below and that is they only give you the amount of searches for that given keyword phrase. What they don’t give you is your competition for those given keyword phrases.

But what we’re really trying to do here is find out if there’s a market for your interests and passions before you start building and marketing your website.

So with that said here are the free keyword research tools I think are the best for you to get started with and are very easy to use.

Lets start with the first one.

1) Wordtracker

With this free keyword research tool all you need to do is enter a starting keyword to generate up to 100 related keywords and an estimate of their daily search volume.

Go to: http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com

2) Google Adwords

This keyword research tool I think is by far the best because it allows you to enter keywords for analysis or a website URL(Hint: Great for analysising your competitors sites).

Go to: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

3) SEO Book

SEO Books keyword research tool is powered by Wordtracker’s API, plus it cross references Google and Yahoo search results to give you a detailed view of your keyword analysis.

Go to: http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/seobook/

4) NicheBot Classic

With NicheBot Classic which also uses Wordtracker’s API allows you to insert your keyword and will give you the TOP 50 keywords and there daily search count and competing pages in Google, MSN and Yahoo.

Go to: http://www.nichebotclassic.com

5) Good Keywords

Good Keywords is a free Windows software for finding the perfect set of keywords for your web pages. Good Keywords is completely free. No registration, no payments and no nag screens.

Go to: http://www.goodkeywords.com

So there you have it, 5 of the TOP free keyword research tools available to you on the web for free to get you started with your keyword research.

There are of course paid services and software that give you more detailed keyword analysis but if you don’t have the money to spend these are a great starting point for you.

It all starts here with your keyword research because what’s the point of starting a website or paid advertising campaign without this valuable information in your hands.

I hope this list of free keyword research tools helps you and the best of luck with your websites and advertising campaigns.

Cory Threlfall owns and operates a blog called The Web Development Central BLOG. Here you’ll receive Expert How-To Articles, Video Tutorials and Recommended Resources for getting your first website up and generating traffic. Visit today and subscribe to his Free RSS feed or Twitter feed so you’ll be the first to receive his latest blog updates. Go now to: Free Keyword Research Tools

By SEO Sapien in Featured

twitterIncreasing your Twitter following allows you to drive traffic to your website(s), build your online presence, and network with people from around the world. So how do you get more Twitter followers? Some may argue that it requires posting good tweets at a particular frequency or following good tweet etiquette while others say that it all boils down to driving traffic to your Twitter page and following people so they in turn follow you. Let’s explore those two arguments.

By B Hopkins in Featured

More and more website owners are realizing that article marketing is a valid and effective way to get targeted traffic to their website. When one is using it as a means to get traffic to their website, it is best to remember that there are 2 components to making article marketing successful, and most people don’t realize the importance of having both of these things in your article. If you don’t have these things, you may get traffic, but you won’t get traffic that does anything.

The first key component is to have your readers become interested in your article. There are different ways to build interest in your article. The first way is to have a catchy title that draws the reader in to read the article in the first place. Remember, your title is competing with hundreds if not thousands of other articles out there in the different article directories, so it really has to capture the attention of the visitor who is on the site. Once people click on the title to read your article, does it keep them reading? Your first paragraph should be very enticing and clearly state a benefit as to why they should keep reading. Each paragraph of your article should sell the reader into reading more of your article. The whole purpose of your article is to get the reader to the end of your article and want to, not only find out more information, but to take an action.

This is where many authors stop short. You don’t want your readers coming to your web site to find out whatever they can on your web site and leave, but you want them to find out what they are looking for through the product/service that you offer. Your article should give them value and also let them know what they would be missing if they don’t have the rest of the information. For example, your article should focus on the WHAT your readers need, and your product or service should focus on the HOW your audience can get it done. If you make the WHAT enticing enough, your readers will want to know the HOW.

The second key component you need to have in your article marketing efforts is a landing page that supports the content of the article. The bridge to your web site is your resource box, so your resource box has to be enticing and give the reader a reason to click to your website. Your resource box and landing page is part of the 1-2 punch that needs to be used with article marketing. I can’t tell you how many articles I have seen that have a resource box that didn’t entice the reader, or have sent people to a site that was just the home page and really didn’t have a good follow-up, or they have sent people to a site that was not even closely related to the subject matter of the article. If you just want to increase traffic to your website because you are selling ad space on your website, then it won’t matter as much. If you are using article marketing to sell more of your products and services, then it does make a big difference as to how the follow-up landing page is presented to the reader. Does the landing page complement the article and entice the reader even more with wanting to take an action?

Article marketing is a strategy, that when followed well, will produce results that bring in the income. In learning that you need powerful titles, article flow and resource boxes, you can get resources that show you how to create a powerful title and what some of the most successful article structures are that will keep your readers locked into your article. Once you learn how to implement these valuable components, you will see rise in your earnings, because your articles are working harder for you.

B. Hopkins writes articles on how to increase your revenue through article marketing. Read more about an article submission service that will cut your efforts down to a fraction of the time with this review of an article submission service.

By Mario Carini in Featured

With today’s technology, selling has taken a new meaning. The door-to-door salesman is a thing of the past. Though the method of selling a product or service may be different, the basic rules are still the same and need to be reflected on your web site.

The Internet makes it possible to sell your product worldwide, but it lacks the personal touch that a face-to-face meeting could do. Your site has to work a lot harder if you hope to convince a viewer to buy your product.

A flashy website won’t always lead to lots of sales. Unless you have something positive and informative, most viewers will move on.

In order to keep your customer at your site, you need to entice the reader to read every sentence until he reaches the end of the page and wants to order. Your first page is the most important part of your website.

So what should your first page of your site contain? Preparing a website means doing more than throwing up a flashy page. There is to be some kind of organization to the site. A professional site is easy to navigate. If you are selling something of value get a professional to design a site for you. Consider yourself as a teacher educating your customer about your product and service.

It should show your product clearly. Your customer wants to see product not clever graphics or advertisements that have nothing to do with what he’s looking for. The customer wants to see what you have on that first page, not on page 20. Customers buy solutions, not the products or services.

A simple presentation. Your site can’t be cluttered up with banners, text ads and graphics. White space is important. Links should be clearly placed. The door-to-door salesman of the past sold only one item, whether that item was a hair brush, cosmetics or a vacuum cleaner. Keep your site simple, direct and easy to understand.

Persuasion. Your product or service should provide a solution to the customer. It should demonstrate to the customer that he is better off with your product than he would be if he just saved his money. Position your site as the low-risk provider of your product and service. The customer always looks for the lowest price for whatever he wants to buy. Persuasion addressees the customer’s fear of making the wrong decision when buying your item. This should come across in your web page. Overcoming the customer’s fear means placing a money-back guarantee if he isn’t satisfied.

Establishing trust online isn’t easy to do, but the one way of getting around this problem is to make yourself available. That means posting your email address, phone number and even your address as necessary. It’s a good way to establish a good relationship with a faceless customer. Remember that trust does not end after the first sale is made. Your are not just selling a product, you are working for your customer. That after-sales service should make up a part of your first page. Offer incentives that keep him from forgetting you and coming back to buy from you again and again.

Provide some incentives. You want your customer to buy from you and not surf over to the competition. You should offer up some kind of freebie or offer up a special discount if he responds immediately.

Take the time to design your front page. It’s the first thing people see before they make the decision to view the rest of your site. Your front page is like the outside of your home. If it isn’t attractive, no one will want to know what the inside looks like.

Mario Carini is a freelance writer who has had many of his articles published at Helium, Suite 101, eHow, Constant Content and his blog at Word Press. For more info on his work send an email to: MrMaGca@gmail.com Among his interests are running an affiliate business where you can both buy and sell your own products. You can find more about this at: http://www.tripleclicks,com/71130/go

By Mel Strocen in Featured

A few months ago we launched a Twitter clone for webmasters that had more bugs than a Canadian summer and more security holes than Swiss cheese. As a result, we had to re-create the site using the  open source Laconica microblogging software platform, the same platform used by the  growing http://identi.ca/ community. The Laconica platform appears to be on rapid upgrade path with new features and functionality being added on a fairly frequent basis. In addition, we’ve added a few improvements of our own.

For anyone using Twitter, Friendfeed or Facebook, SPNbabble is meant to be a time-saver. The site has been specifically set up for working web professionals – marketers, entrepreneurs, designers, developers, webmasters, site owners, etc.  It enables anyone with a member account on Twitter, Facebook, Friendfeed, Tumblr or Plurk to post to these sites automatically as they are posting on SPNbabble.

SPNbabble also offers SMS and IM messaging, direct messaging, hash tag usage, search and groups. If there is an interest, we may tie into other micro blogging communities as well. In the meantime, we’d like to invite any avid micro bloggers to sign up and provide some feedback. Click the SPNbabble link in the nav bar at the top of any SPN page or visit: http://spnbabble.sitepronews.com

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