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SiteProNews Blogs

• Darren Dunner
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• Kalena Jordan
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Environmentally Friendly Web Site Marketing: Recycle Your Content!

By Kalena Jordan in Marketing

Do you ever hit a slump when you’re trying to come up with new content for your web site? Do you get blogger’s block on a regular basis? It happens to the best of us.

Yet it seems like everyone around you is a marketing genius. Search engine marketers are churning out articles and blog posts day after day and what about those multi-level marketing gurus promoting seemingly endless products and e-books? Do you ever think “How do they find the time to come up with all these new ideas?”.

The answer is simple: content recycling. Yes, the secret behind many of the Internet’s most successful marketers is the recycling of content in different ways to appeal to different audiences. Let me give you an example:

The original Search Engine Optimization 101 course that I created for Search Engine College was based on a brief training manual I wrote for web design staff of an ex-employer many years ago. When it came to writing a full course for the first time back in 2004, I took the original training manual content, checked it for accuracy, expanded on it to bring the content up to date and then divided it into logical lesson plans. Then I added case studies, examples, 3rd party references, diagrams and coding samples. Then I devised suitable assignments and quizzes for the lessons that would test a student’s knowledge of the material. Voila! I had my finished course.

But my use of the material didn’t stop there. I noticed that some of my lessons had sections that would make excellent stand-alone articles, so I pulled out the relevant sections and re-worked the content into suitable article context and added broader appeal for my target markets. These articles were then circulated using various article distribution channels and social media communities. The more popular ones became feature articles in our monthly newsletter and offline marketing magazines. Some became marketing tools for our Search Engine College affiliate network to help drive more sales.

When I receive comments and feedback on the articles, these in turn generate discussion and ideas for blog posts for my search engine advice column. But that’s not all! Occasionally I am asked to give in-house training or presentations on search engine marketing. Depending on the subject matter, I often take my original SEO lesson notes and my articles and rework the content into MS PowerPoint slides and handouts.

The marketing and affiliate gurus are expert content recyclers and they make a LOT of money using this system. But guess what? You can apply the same principle to your own web site content. Here are some ideas:

• Documentation such as training manuals and client case studies make great web page content.
• Web page content such as product reviews and descriptions make great fodder for “how to” articles.
• That silly staff Christmas video might make a terrific viral marketing tool.
• A set of FAQs would make for an interesting webinar or video blog.
• A group of case studies could be made into a free white paper or auto-responder email series.
• A collection of articles or bookmarked tools could easily be converted to a downloadable e-book or give-away CD.

Get the picture?

The more ways you can re-package your information, the wider audience you will reach because not everyone responds to the same medium in the same way. Some people like to read articles, while others prefer a structured training program. Some people absorb material better if it’s presented in-person and others like e-books and YouTube videos.

The more ways you make your content accessible, the better. The Internet’s current love affair with social media offers even more opportunities to get your content and brand circulated. But there’s an even bigger incentive to recycling your material: Google’s Universal Search.

The Universal Search Model that Google rolled out in May this year incorporates web search results with related results from Google Images, Google News, Google Video, Google News and Blogger in the one search interface. The new search model boosts the importance of non-text content within web sites so that image and video content have become major marketing channels in their own right, rather than tools to attract visitors to text content.

It makes sense then that if you offer your site information in a range of formats such as video, audio, news releases, PDF and images as well as general text or HTML content, you provide more potential channels for it to appear in Google search results.

So re-package your knowledge into articles, e-books, webinars, training courses, podcasts, white papers, CDs, videos, blog posts and web pages and recycle that content!

Author:  Article by Kalena Jordan, one of the first search engine optimization experts in Australia, who is well known and respected in the industry, particularly in the U.S. As well as running a daily Search Engine Advice Column, Kalena manages Search Engine College - an online training institution offering instructor-led short courses and downloadable self-study courses in Search Engine Optimization and other Search Engine Marketing subjects.

Article Marketing 101: Distributing Your Article

By Jessica Cox in Marketing

A well-written article generates 0 ROI if it doesn’t see the light of day. Hopefully you’ve crafted your article with best practices in mind. It’s focused, informative, and sales-free. Unfortunately writing is only half the battle. Now you have to find a market for your article.

Luckily, if you’ve written a good article, there are a number of places that might be interested in publishing it. With a little work, you can gain exposure far beyond the usual article directories.

Consider your audience

Think in terms of demographics. You’re looking for groups here, preferably groups with websites, newsletters, and knowledge bases dedicated to serving them. Soccer moms, chief information officers, mountain climbers, and plant managers all have publications catering to their needs. Make a list of people who are most likely to be interested in the topic you cover in your article (which should relate to your business).

Your name in print

Once you have identified your audience, you need to find out what they’re reading. Trade magazines, consumer magazines and other publications abound, reaching business and consumer audiences alike. Organizations publish journals or newsletters to reach their members. Online magazines and knowledge bases across the Internet are serving up articles just like yours every day. If you are having trouble finding publications that serve your audience, you may have to expand your sights to include larger groups.

Look beyond the traditional media outlets

The Internet has opened the floodgates on information tailored to specific groups. Writing for Internet audiences allows you to target niches that would have been extremely difficult to reach before. There are several unique areas that may accept articles.

Link partners could benefit from publishing helpful articles. An offer to submit helpful content to their website comes as a much more attractive offer than a traditional link-swap. Visitors are more likely to click the link at the bottom of your article if they enjoyed reading your piece as well.

Directories are another non-traditional distribution point. These can be an excellent target, as they are already favored by search engines and could be looking for a way to entice more visitors to their site with helpful content like yours. Your article

Ezines offer access to prospective clients via email, in a format they know and trust. This is a great way to build credibility and get your name in front of clients. Ezines often have online archives too, so you can get double the exposure for your article.

Read the writers’ guidelines

Many publications have writers’ guidelines available. These invaluable documents describe the kind of topics, tone and length the publication prefers for its submissions. These guidelines also let you know what format you should be taking with your article, and how to contact the appropriate editor.

Pitching editors: What’s in it for them?

Always, always, always send a query letter before sending your article. Explain your topic and several points you cover in your piece. If you have relevant credentials that make you an expert author, go ahead and mention them.

Depending on your audience, you can pitch your article to several publications. However, it is crucial to tailor your query letter to each editor.

You want to show the editors how your piece would benefit the specific audience of their publication. Look over the publication to get an idea of the kind of pieces they typically run. If your article seems like it would fit, then you have a good target. If not, you may need to tweak your piece to work more seamlessly.

Numbers game

Don’t distribute your article to only one publication, then sit back and congratulate yourself while you wait for the response email to grace your inbox. Editors are very busy people. It can take anywhere from several days to a month to hear back from them, maybe more, depending on how big the magazine is.

Send your article to several publications and see what response you get. If you get a response from more than one publication, see what their policy is about simultaneous submissions or if they require exclusive content.

For more information about article marketing, check out this article: Article Marketing 101: Writing Your Article (http://www.xeal.com/blog/index.php/Publicity/2007/11/29/article_marketing_101_writing_your_artic)

Article marketing done well can be challenging, but ultimately rewarding. If you’ve written a good piece and pitched it well, you have a good chance of getting your name into print. Follow these guidelines and your company could gain free publicity that paying advertisers could only dream of.

Author:  Jessica Cox and Michelle Pierce are graduates of the University of Oklahoma’s College of Journalism with a background in Internet marketing and writing for the Web. They currently provide PR services at Xeal Precision Marketing. Sign up to get crucial Internet marketing tips at Xeal’s free Thursday webinar at http://www.xeal.com/webinar.htm.

3 Quick And Easy Ways To Build A Profitable Opt In List

By Ontarian Hawkins in Marketing

You finally realize that you need a good opt-in list. After reading countless articles and sought expert advices and have read many success stories of people creating a small fortune with opt-in lists you finally decide to have one of your own. Then it happens, you think you have known everything there is to know about opt-in lists and have followed their advices to the T and you still weren’t able to make a profit.

In fact, you may be losing money. You maybe hiring writers to help you out, or there are some expenses incurred, even if you have a big list, but only a very small percentage actually buys from you, your still losing profit. You’ll realize that after a few months when you see your statistics and sales figures.

So what could have gone wrong? Why have others succeeded where you have failed? The most common mistake is that you dived straight right in. You chose a topic where you think could be quite popular and would earn you money. This just not the case. Just because you wrote people from the list doesn’t mean they are going to buy instantly.

Here I will offer more advice, for those who have started an opt-in list and have failed, you can rejuvenate your failed venture. For those who are starting, here are three quick and easy ways to build a profitable opt-in list.

1) Get your customers to trust you and your products first. Just launching your opt-in list would not make you an expert and a believable seller. Put many articles first before you start an opt-in list. Write about the topic you know and have started and used for your site. Try to put forums first to gain knowledge about your customers about their wants and needs and target those wants and needs.

Join forums from other sites as well. Provide expert advices and recommendations. When you feel that people trust you already, you will be able to start your own opt-in list. You can build a base as well with other forum users. You can ask them to join your list. Friends are always good customers. Put up a link to your site so that they may be able to see what you’re business is all about.

The certain truth is, the money will only come in when the consumers and subscribers believe and trust in you. They want a product or service that could be a good exchange for their money. People are not going to buy something out of your recommendation if they don’t know you.

2) Find a product or service that people want and need. Although it may not be your forte, if you provide a service and product that you have researched and learned about well, you can carry it on forward. Invest your time, effort and money that you could sell as well as the buyers or subscribers of your opt-in list can use.

While it is true that it is best to sell something that you have interest in, there are not many people who have the same interest as you if you decide to sell something that is not entirely popular or profitable. Do your research well and you would see the profits come in. Also provide your subscribers with promotional material that they could actually use and spread around.

3) Make friends with other opt-in list users. This is basically beneficial especially if it is someone who has already launched a successful opt-in list. These are people that have the experience in this venture and experience is still the best teacher. While there are many articles available for you in the internet to use, there is nothing like getting a first hand account from someone you trust.

Experienced opt-in list users will be able to tell you what to do and what not to do because they have gone through it. While different situations occur for different people, the general concept can still be very helpful. There are many things to avoid and these people will be able to tell you which ones.

Building a profitable opt-in list don’t just happen overnight. There are many preparations and effort to do. Opt-in lists are built from scratch, as your list grows, you should also maintain the quality of your list. Keep it organized and manageable. Get or hire help if need be, just make sure that your subscribers are happy and satisfied and they will be willing to buy from you.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? Make sure you pick up your FREE REPORT on how to build your opt-in list by attracting them to you.

Author:  Ontarian Hawkins is a marketer and business coach that teaches entrepreneurs how to build a list with the use of branding techniques. He also teaches how to attract customers and quality business partners to any business. Download your free report here => List Building Techniques

Email Marketing: 95% rules and 5% creativity

By Bjorn Brands in Marketing

Do you hesitate to send email to your subscribers and customers?

If you’re one of the people who worries that your customers will think you’re spamming if you send them email, no matter HOW useful the information is, I urge you to reconsider.

The truth is, when you do your email marketing right, not only is it an excellent source of income for you, but your subscribers and customers will actually appreciate hearing from you!

Here are three tried and tested ideas for successful email promotions:

Damaged or returned stock promotions: Offer damaged or returned stock for 50% off! Everyone gets returns, it’s a part of doing business. And of course damaged stock is unavoidable.

Why not take advantage of email to clear out your stock that’s otherwise going to take up space, while at the same time offering your customers deals that they’re sure to appreciate?

Limited time offer: By offering a great discount on your products for a limited amount of time, people who receive the email feel like it’s urgent they respond, so there’s less chance they’ll close the email to “think about it” and never come back.

Limited quantity offer: Similar to the limited time offer, the people who receive this email will also feel a sense of urgency.

If you go with “limited time or quantity offer” stick with the offer. If you write in your email that a product is available for a …. time, stick to it.

Sometimes you see that a product is available till midnight, 14 days later it’s still available till midnight. Doesn’t look right to me.

And those are just a few to get you started. Use your imagination, and I’m sure you’ll come up with all kinds of things to send your list that they’ll really ENJOY having.

Do you panic at the thought of writing your own promotional email?

Here’s something you should know: writing an email is 95% rules, and only 5% creativity.

So as long as you stick to the rules, you’ll write an email that’s suitable for sending to your customers every time!

Hypnotize the reader with compelling benefits: The most effective email promotions grab readers’ attention with compelling benefits that speak directly to the readers’ deepest desires and greatest fears.

Benefits build the value you need to drive people to act when presented with your call to action.

Write your email like you were talking to a friend.

Be informal, use contractions, and don’t be afraid to start a sentence with “and” or “but.”To transfer ownership, you want to make sure your reader can actually picture themselves using your product.

Use automation to create personalized offers: Nothing is more appealing to people than the ’sound’ of their own names, and nothing grabs someone’s attention faster than something that affects them directly!

We don’t recommend you try to get yours subscriber to purchase directly from your email. Instead, you should ask them to “click here now to learn more,” or something similar.

How it LOOKS makes a big impact on readers, too. Here is how to format your email.

Width: Be sure to format your email message in a table that is not over 60/65 characters wide. If you exceed that, your message may be cut off on the right side of the screen or, at the very least, not print properly

Images: Try to avoid using graphics whenever possible. People with slow connections will have trouble downloading them, and people reading your message offline won’t see them at all.

Bolding: Use bolding just to emphasize the biggest and best benefits in the offer. You should be able to scan the message and instantly understand the biggest benefits

Bullets: Using bulleted points is one of the best ways to break up your copy and make some of your key points really stand out. As will all formatting techniques, make sure to don’t swamp your email with bullet points.

Finally, once you’ve written the letter, give it a final “scan test.” Set it aside for an hour, then return to it with fresh eyes BUT don’t read it word for word. Scan over the letter and see which sections jump out at you. Make sure that those sections contain the key benefits.

Stick to these few simple rules, and you’ll have no trouble turning out emails that get a response, because your customers actually WANT to receive them!

Author:  Scott Oliver offers free video coaching to help you build a profitable home business FAST. Get an hour of “Website Traffic Secrets” and “Minisite Creation Tactics” for FREE — immediate access here: http://www.InstantWebsiteBusiness.com

Using Your Site for Local Marketing: Eight Tips for Drawing in the Local Market

By Tony D. Baker in Marketing

Having a website puts your business out there for all the world to see, but any savvy business owner knows that the best customers are going to come from your own city. As expansive as the Internet is, there’s been a marked increase in the use of local search, and even big search engines are branching out into local guides.

Integrate your local offline efforts with your online marketing to help draw in the people around you. Here are eight tips to start you on your way with local marketing.

1) Optimize for local SEO.

Recent studies have shown that people are turning to the Internet rather than the phone book when they need to find something local. Optimize your site by having a page that has a map and driving directions, as well as a physical address. This way, you’ll make it easy for the people doing local search to find you.

2) Promote in-store events via email.

Don’t just leave the promotion of your in-store events to fliers and newspaper ads. If you’ve been collecting customers’ email addresses on your site, such as in a newsletter sign-up, send them an email detailing the upcoming event. You’re guaranteed that your promotional efforts will at least hit those people on the mailing list. Plus, you’re practically inviting them to step off the Web and become in-person customers.

3) Printable coupons on website

Give the people who visit your website a good excuse to come into your store. What better way to do that than offer them a coupon that gives them a discount on the very product that they’re searching for? Printable coupons that are redeemable in-store will encourage site visitors to make an offline visit.

4) Link exchange with other local businesses

If you know of other local businesses that you trust and respect for their work, why not do a link exchange with them? Both of you get an extra link for the search engines, and your customers get a recommended local resource for whatever they may need. It’s best to partner up with businesses that are in a similar industry as you. For example, if you’re a bakery that specializes in wedding cakes, link to local florists and formal wear shops.

5) Include website on all marketing materials.

Business cards, offline ads, brochures: no matter what your other marketing materials are, make certain that your URL is on every single one. A simple URL will be easier for people to remember than a phone number, and they can check out your business via the Internet at their convenience.

6) Collect email addresses at in-store events for a mailing list.

In-store events are great. You’ve got a lot of people coming in, including a lot of people who may not have been to your store or your website before. Even if you’ve got a newsletter or mailing list sign-up on your site, have a sheet at your in-store events where people can leave their email addresses for more information. You’ll be able to add a lot to your mailing list, and hopefully keep some of those people who showed up to the event as repeat customers.

7) Get into local directories and city guides.

Find out if your city has local directories and city guides online and make sure your business gets listed on them. You’ll not only have tourists or new people who’ve moved to town searching those to find businesses they need, but also local residents who’d rather use a city guide as opposed to using a regular search engine and getting results from Anywhere, Michigan, instead of Anywhere, Montana.

Get into national local guides.

Major search engines are branching into the local industry. Yahoo! Local, Insiderpages.com and Citysearch.com are just a few. With the sudden upsurge in local search, local guides like this will likely become more and more popular. Make sure your business gets listed in them to ensure that your online marketing fingers are stretching into as many pies as is prudent.

For more information about local marketing online and off, check out this Work.com article: http://www.work.com/marketing-in-your-local-community-497/

Making the most of local marketing isn’t hard. You’ll find just as much local business online as you would in offline marketing efforts, as long as you know what to do and where to look. Integrate your online and offline marketing today to give customers the best chance at finding you.

Author:  President and founder of Xeal Inc., Tony D. Baker is Oklahoma’s leading Internet marketing expert with more than 10 years of Internet marketing experience. You can catch Tony on the Xeal Radio Show on Sunday nights on 1170 KFAQ Tulsa. Sign up for a free 25-point website evaluation and pick up crucial tips at Xeal’s free Thursday webinar at http://www.xeal.com/webinar.

How To Build Your Business with an Opt-in Mailing List

By Kaare Pedersen in Marketing

Before we reveal some of the tricks of the trade, here are a few myths and fallacies that need to be cleared up first. Many of these marketing misconceptions could be an obstacle towards your profiting from your internet marketing business. Not a lot of people use email marketing correctly. But the simple fact is that email marketing is one of the most effective marketing methods there is simply because virtually almost everyone uses email.

If you check out the email fields or blanks required to be filled up on various forms used in processing different transactions, you will see a person without an email address is basically a person without an online home. Email marketing campaigns can sometimes offend some people. The simple way to get around this problem is through permission-based, or opt-in email.

So here’s the real story with building an opt-in mailing list. After clearing the fog regarding email marketing myths, here’s how one can benefit from utilizing the power of your email marketing campaigns - building your own opt-in list.

However, building an opt-in list is not all that easy, particularly for the newbie. Here are some valuable tips on how you can succeed in this kind of marketing environment.

1. Strategic Data Collection

Knowing the right information about your prospects will help you to lower your expenses and make sales jump through the roof. Design a tactic generation strategy that will make people voluntarily provide you the information you need to create higher conversion rate.

An overload of data is never good. Ask only people for the opt-in, with their first names and email addresses. Then you can always get the profiles later once they make a purchase from you.

2. Implementation

There is an age old adage that says it all - ‘action speaks louder than words’. This can easily relate to the problems you have with email marketing efforts. It’s a good idea to use various strategies and methods that are often low-cost, in building your opt-in database.

Tracking the results of your email marketing campaigns is the best possible thing you can do. There is plenty of low cost and even free technology that you can use to make this part of your marketing a lot easier..

Here are some of the most widely used methods to generate leads and get traffic without overspending:

1. Use lead capture or squeeze pages.

It is an excellent tool for data collation and providing you with relevant info regarding your email offers. Use opt-in forms that collect your visitor’s email address.

2. Use of print ads, brochures, TV, radio and direct mail.

These are the more popular ways of marketing aiming to lead traffic to your site. You may want to ask for sign ups for email services. Make your web site more visible through these media. Offering a free newsletter and or some other rewards like a free report works for getting people to opt-in.

3. Use Customer Service

Good customer service can help a lot and you will benefit more from your email marketing. Support people with proper education can assist you in this and contribute to higher ROI. Techniques like offering account updates and special programs through email can easily land you those lists of valuable visitors.

4. Make your point of sale work for you

Forms for signup located at cash registers and other high-traffic and highly visible spots can be very excellent venues for your business to collect email addresses. Notification of upcoming sales through their email addresses and names can coax them to supply you with the information you need.

5. Conferences and trade shows can work well

Giveaway offers and other promotions are great for opt-in to volunteer their contact details.

These tactics and strategies will help you gain the trust of your opt-in list members. Instead of simply collating data for your own benefit, offer something of value to your list members. Now armed with this information, you can’t go wrong with building your own opt-in list.

Wishing You The Best In Online Success!

Author:  Kaare Pedersen is an author, seminar speaker and Internet entrepreneur. Get your copy of my Free 14 day Internet Marketing course NOW! http://www.joecongoattraction.com

The Genesis for a Successful Online Marketing Campaign - Part 2

By Bill Stroll in Marketing

The canvas I have outlined for successful web marketing is taking shape. The first article looked at the necessary stages we need to develop. We started with market research and analysis of our competitors and now armed with this information we can proceed to perhaps the most critical component of all, developing our keyword targets and creating supporting text for them.

What’s In a Word?

It has been often said that content is king. The choice and expression of these words is what makes the connection to the visitors and helps determine user behaviour. If the message is clear the visitor will know if they are at the website they want (or need) to be at and start the exploring process. Visitor attraction is influenced by a myriad of aspects such as site design, choice of colour, and ease of navigation. Visitor confidence is bolstered in large part through your use of words. Similarly much the same can be said for the search engine spiders; the higher their confidence rating of your website the higher your visibility in their index. And this rating of confidence all begins with how you choose your keyword targets.

According to Keyword Discovery over 80% of all online transactions begin with a keyword search. In a spreadsheet write down all choices of words you think your prospects will type into the search bar. It is important to consider not what you would type in but rather what your prospect will. Next you need to determine which search terms will be the most effective for your site and which you need to be found under. Two variables must be considered: the search frequency of a keyword phrase and its competitiveness on the net. This is to say, how many times is a particular keyword phrase being typed into a search bar and how many web pages are competing for that particular phrase.

The number of searches will indicate the amount of traffic you will get from top placement. Generally speaking, any phrase with more than 100 – 150 searches per day is considered relatively highly searched. That said, one must also consider how targeted a phrase is. An untargeted or general phrase with 200 searches per day may be less valuable than a targeted phrase with only 30 searches per day. Armed with this information we must then look at the competition. If a phrase with 150 searches per day has a very high competition level but a phrase with only 10 searches per day has a low competition it will be less costly to target the less competitive phrase and MAY produce a better return on investment.

To determine keyword search frequency select one of the following Keyword Research Tools listed on the StepForth site and put in your keywords. Enter the resultant search values on the spreadsheet. Take this opportunity to look for other keyword targets that the software will present in addition to your search term. Can these other keyword targets be of benefit to you? Next enter each term in the Google search bar and enter the number of pages competing for that term. The number of competing pages shows in the upper right corner of the screen.

From this data one can determine a universe of potential keyword phrases. Discard phrases that have a low search frequency; why bother spending time and effort for terms that people are not typing in or searching for.

Determine your list of words that offer a reasonable number of searches and have lower number of web pages competing for that term. Establish your primary and secondary phrases and it is this list from which you can create or modify your web pages and write textual support for these keywords. The primary phrase is the one that gets threaded throughout the whole site and the secondary ones are those that are category or page specific. Keeping a focus on the primary and secondary targets is critical. Tile tag and unique page descriptions, as well as keyword enriched internal links can be developed from this list. Consider using keywords with descriptive or geographic modifiers.

The importance of relevant text cannot be overestimated. Oftentimes additional body text content is necessary for the search engine spiders to obtain a qualitative snapshot of the topical content of the individual documents within your site and in order to make an overall assessment of what the site is about.

One simple way to keep spiders happy is to provide them with great ‘food’. Relevant, keyword enriched content will substantially increase the prospect of the site achieving better placements. For example, text used in the Home or Index page should be very descriptive of the business and its products or services. A paragraph or two (100 – 250 words) using keyword enhanced wording would be sufficient. On each page the message must be relevant to the overall theme of the site. Refine what message each and every page is to project, and write your content in the same manner you would speak it. Remember to keep the language simple. As Einstein wisely stated,

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

As search engine spiders can only read text with 100% efficiency and tend to miss important information phrased in images, java scripts and Flash, the body text of the website is by far the most important element examined by a search engine. Further, keep in mind that search engine spiders cannot read the text within images or frames. This would include text in graphic menus, company logos, Flash animations, as well as what is in most header and footer sections.

Web Design and SEO

Now that you have looked at your competition, chosen your keyword targets and written your content it is time to give thought to the best way to present it visually. Key considerations for a search friendly web design include: an easy to read menu structure that remains consistent throughout the site and a nicely weighted balance of text to images. The navigation format should be textual and no more than a few levels deep. Spiders value the content more highly if it is placed in the higher directory levels. If you have an image based menu ensure you make a footer section on each page that is textual so search engines can read it. Avoid full pages composed of graphics or flash. Your web design should offer the ability to create unique title and description tags. Check for possible broken links and repair or delete them, and add a sitemap as well as an XML sitemap. For information on creating an XML sitemap see our XML Sitemap Creation Tools article.

Avoid having a Splash page at the beginning of the site as search engine spiders can not read the information. The Home (or Index page) is the most important page in the site for spiders to read, record, and index. As well the use of pop-ups in place of internal pages should be avoided as search spiders will not read information contained in pop-ups.

Some worthwhile reading suggestions follow. To decide if you are in need of a website redesign read our SEO Friendly Redesign article. If you are still unsure if your web design is SEO friendly consider investing in a few hours of consulting time. Also, I highly recommend looking over Correcting Common Usability Mistakes . These observations and suggestions can save you time and money.

The stage is now set. Market research and competitor analysis have given way to keyword identification, textual creation and a search friendly web design. The next phase to be discussed in our online marketing campaign is search engine optimization techniques.

Author:  Bill Stroll is a sales and marketing manager at StepForth Web Marketing Inc.

Is Mobile Marketing A Fix For A Service Problem?

By Terry Detty in Marketing

Lets look at 2 forms of Mobile Marketing. The more traditional form involves marketing on the move like moving billboards and road shows. The second type refers to marketing on a mobile phone like cell phone. Since the onset of millennium, mobile marketing though cell phone has become very popular. Short message service popularly known as SMS has made marketing by this method a lot easier.

There were some problems in the beginning as unwanted information was being sent to people. Most of the SMS that was passed around was spam and it received negative media response in all parts of the world. This was because a sector of the advertisers bought list of mobile users and began sending them unsolicited messages. They were later stopped due to strict security measures and laws passed. The marketing industry recognized the potential of mobile marketing and utilized it to the full extent.

The mobile service providers coded guidelines and laws. It then became a legal advertising channel. The Mobile Marketing Association and Interactive Advertising Bureau also have laid down guidelines for the proper functioning of mobile marketing.

Mobile marketing has become popular in Asia and Europe as it is a novel idea and in Europe alone hundreds of millions of pounds have been investing in SMS advertising. Now SMS has become the most famous part of mobile marketing. Because of the popularity of short codes, SMSing has become a lot easier. This has created a new approach to reach out to potential customers. Now mobile short codes are looked upon as mobile domain name, by many of the brands around the world, when the customers message the brand at any occasion.

In America, the first SMS short code campaign was started in 2002. SMS containing short codes are easier to send a message with complete information. Short codes are usually numbers that are assigned to mobile operators of a particular location, which they use for brand campaigning and other purposes. They are very small, like they contain only four to five words. These numbers are always under scrutiny by the service provider and each and every message is monitored to see that they do not go against the original service description.

Like opt-in emails, customers have to opt for SMSes. This is the biggest criterion, which the advertiser has to follow in order to send a promotional SMS. Some of the mobile operators ask for double opt-in form from the receiver. At the same time opting out is made easy for the customer. When the customer wishes to terminate receiving messages, they have to send the word ‘STOP’ via SMS. All these guidelines have been laid by the Mobile Marketing Association consumer best practice guidelines and it’s a compulsion to follow those by all the marketers who wish to do mobile marketing in America.

Now, service providers have started to provide the option of sending SMS to email addresses. Other than this, other services provided are mobile games, mobile tones etc., which are used for promotional purposes. This has lead to the invention of MMS or Multi-media Message Service, through which short promotional videos and animations can be send. Bluetooth is another good technology. It started in 2003, and many companies in Europe have found it useful. When a message is send via Bluetooth, the receiver should accept request from the sender. So, sending messages by this method is legitimate. The message transfer speed is high and is also a free service as it is a radio-based technology.

The method of sending SMS advertisement to mobile phone users based on their geographical location is known as Location based service. The customer is tracked via a GPS chip which is built-in the phone. Radiolocation signals from the nearest cell phone towers are used for this purpose.

Mobile marketing follows a very safe marketing strategy, as it is customer opted. The short message sent through this method is known as mobile originated or MO message. If the advertisement is done through a call, the call is known as mobile terminated or MT message. As there is a phenomenal increase in the number of mobile phone users, this kind of marketing is a sure hit.

Author:  Terry Detty finds Internet Marketing Services and Internet Marketing Software his passion. In addition to marketing, he enjoys reading and occasionally goes out for a short walk.  His latest interest is a newFix Credit program he’s been using.

What To Look For When Buying Email Leads

By Alex Edevane in Marketing

If you are still trying to build up your own opt-in list but need to start marketing your products then you may look at buying leads. Buying leads however can become very costly and in some cases may not be worth the return on investment so what do you look for when buying leads?

1. How Were Your Leads Collected?

The first thing you should know when you look at buying leads is how these leads were collected. The best way is if leads were collected by means of a double opt-in system. Do not buy leads that were simply drawn from the internet without the lead’s consent as you will probably be accused of spamming if you use these leads.

2. How Fresh Are the Leads?

Another consideration to look at when buying leads is how fresh they are – how recently were they collected and how many times have they been sold? Leads that are old or that have been sold to many other buyers will probably not be worth the investment you spend in buying them.

3. Are These Leads Targeted?

Targeting is important for the success of your internet marketing business so before buying leads consider how targeted these leads are. If you find leads that are targeted to the group of people you are trying to reach you will have a lot greater success than simply buying leads that are not targeted.

4. How Often Do They Clean These Lists?

You do not want to buy leads that no longer work and so it is important to know how often the leads you are buying get cleaned up and how gaps in the lead list are filled.

5. Do They Have Testimonials and What Are These Like?

Does the company you are looking at buying leads from have testimonials on their web page? What do these testimonials have to say about the company and the results they are getting from the leads they bought? If a lead company does not have testimonials then be very cautious about doing business with it.

6. Seek Referrals First

If you know of other website owners who are also buying leads and have had some success with their leads then ask them to suggest a lead company to you. If you know and trust someone then they will be more likely to be honest with you about what works and what doesn’t.

7. Find out What Advertising Methods They Use to Get Leads

This may be similar to the first point but before buying leads find out what advertising methods the lead company used to get their leads. If they are using advertising methods that appeal to your target market then you will be more likely to have success with the leads that they provide. Also consider how effective their advertising methods are – if the people they are advertising to are just interested in getting something for free then you will probably not make any money from them. If they are using spam methods to get leads then you could find yourself in serious trouble.

In conclusion, when buying leads there are a number of important factors that you should consider – how were the leads collected and how did the company advertise to get these leads? How fresh are the leads? Is the list you buying clean and how were the gaps filled? Is the list targeted? Can you get referrals and testimonials for the lead company? Although it is always best to create your own double opt-in lists, if you are just starting out then you may find success with buying leads if you find a good lead company to buy from.

Author:  Alex Edevane is an accomplished internet marketer and educator focusing on innovative and unique techniques for building a successful online home-based business. To learn more about Alex’s revolutionary techniques please visit http://www.alexedevane.com

Tips for converting prospects through Search Engine Marketing

By Lucas Adamsk in Marketing

Search engine marketing hinges on a basic process that involves the following simple procedure:

• The prospect wants to search for some thing. He or she needs some information on a particular topic or they are actually looking to buy some thing off the internet.
• The prospect opens up the search page of a popular search engine suited to his or her purpose.
• The Prospect types the keyword into the search bar of the search engine and clicks the go button.
• The prospect receives the search engines results and on the right hand side is your advertisement that he or she will be enticed to click and thereby complete the search engine marketing chain.

This is where most merchants go wrong. They believe that the process ends at this stage and that simply driving the traffic to the site is the prime goal of the search engine marketing cycle. The rest is going to happen automatically.

As Phillip Kotler once famously remarked, the marketing process does not end with the customer walking into the store, the process is only over once the customer has duly walked out having purchased your product and then truly the marketing process gets over.

The same thing applies to search engine marketing. The prospect must convert his show of interest into a purchase to ensure that the cycle is truly over.

Here are some tips to ensure that the prospect converts his interest into a purchase:-

In order for them to buy something, make sure you have a landing page that is convincing and that will encourage them to click on the “Buy Now” button.

The landing page is the first page that the prospect will come across once he or she clicks on the Buy Now Icon. So it should be well designed with a good layout and must be aesthetically appealing.

The beauty of landing pages is that they don’t even have to be a part of your site to begin with. If your company is currently running a temporary offer on sex toys, you can simply build a temporary page and call it “sex toys”, with a link that states: sex toys. After your temporary offer is over, you can always remove that page from your site.

A landing page that sells needs to be designed in a way that needs a minimal amount of clicks to get what they are looking for. Build your landing pages to show them the product or service you are selling, and then show them the “Buy Now” button.

Even if your organization doesn’t sell anything tangible and the purpose of all your search engine marketing is to ask the prospects communicate with you or sign up for your free newsletter, the landing page needs to be compelling and must sell them on your company.

Remember that the first impression is the last impression and this rings true even in today’s day and age. So before you start blaming your affiliates for the lack of prospects and the low conversion rate take a good hard look at your landing page. It just might tell you the reason for your slow growth.

Author:  FIND NOW more useful Search Engine Marketing tips on my blog Work From Home and DISCOVER FULL POTENTIAL of Search Engine Optimatization!