Keywords rule the Internet.

Getting top rankings for profitable keywords will
make you king. Currently, there are countless kings
on the web ruling over massive listings of keywords
in some pretty obscure yet profitable niches. Since
there are millions upon millions of keyword phrases
out there - with more being born each day - anyone
with just a basic understanding of how keywords work
will be entitled to a crown.

How lucrative a kingdom you create will depend upon
your own work ethic and your knowledge of keyword
SEO techniques.

Basic Keyword Knowledge - Keys to the Kingdom

Keywords are the exact words someone types into a
search engine to find what they’re looking for on
the web. Obviously, there are millions, if not billions,
of possible keywords anyone can use. The trick for
the entrepreneurial webmaster is to find the profitable
keywords.

First, these webmasters need to check to see the
number of visitors any given keywords receives in
a month. A keyword getting four or five clicks a
month is not worth considering unless it’s something
like “buying beachfront property in Malibu,” where
one click or prospect could lead to a sale and a
handsome commission.

Here’s an excellent site where you can some helpful
keyword research tools - including how to find the
number of searches made each month for a particular
keyword:

http://tools.seobook.com

Next you have to check to see how competitive your
keyword is. One simple way is to type your keyword
into Google and see how many pages are returned with
your keyword. It is usually in the millions. A more
precise way is to see how many of those pages have
your keyword in the title.

In Google, if you want to find competing sites that
have your keywords in the title, just use the allintitle
command.

Just type into Google search:

allintitle:yourkeywords

Professional marketers will use keyword research
software that will make performing all these steps
much more easier - I personally use Brad Callen’s
Keyword Elite. Because most of my marketing is done
with organic SEO traffic, doing extensive keyword
research is essential for getting it right, plus it
saves me a lot of time.

Mainly Keyword Elite shows me what keywords I have
a chance of reaching with any one of my sites.
High-demand lucrative keywords are usually out of
my reach, unless I want to do months and months of
SEO work, and even then it will take deep pockets
to compete with large companies who can afford to
spend anything to get that top ranking.

Google may have cracked down on paid link buying
but anyone with enough resources can still buy
their way into any top spot for any keyword.
There are exceptions - I have been trying for
years to get top billing for “Google marketing”
- but all I could manage was second place.
Wonder why?

Finally, you have to consider how profitable the
keyword is? This can be the real breaking point
for most novice webmasters. You must be able to
turn your top keyword ranking into a profit. In
other words you must be able to convert your
keyword traffic into a sale. Get your visitor
to buy from your site or from an affiliate link
on your site.

This will usually require some serious testing
on your part. You must test to see if your
landing page or sales letter is converting.
I find one of the best tools for testing your
webpages is Google Analytics. It will give you
vital information on your site that you can use
to increase your conversions or tell what is
working and what is not working.

Like any professional marketer, I find and use
‘long tail keywords’ to make most of my income.
Long tail refers to keywords phrases that are well
long (three or more words), yet very profitable.
For example, someone searching for a particular
make or model of a product usually has their mind
made up and is seriously considering buying that
product. Someone searching for “2008 v-6 four-door
Honda Accord” is a more targeted visitor than someone
searching for “cars.”

The great beauty of Long Tail Marketing: there
is little competition for these keywords and
you can usually get a top ranking in Google
in a couple of days - make that hours if you’re
using blogging techniques.

Keyword Page Fundamentals - Jewels in the Crown

If you’re targeting certain keywords, it helps
if you create webpages that are search engine
friendly. Again, very simple stuff, but you would
be surprised how many webmasters don’t follow
these basic site elements when constructing
their sites.

Keywords 123 - Here are some things you should do:

1. Title Tag

The Title Tag is located at the top of your
HTML page and it tells all the search engines
what your page is about. When you open your
page in a browser these are the words at the
very top of the screen. Despite its simplicity,
the title tag is crucial to ‘on-page optimization’;
it should include your main keywords and it should
be 63 characters or less if you want your
title to appear in full on Google.

Many SEO experts create webpages in a three-prong
approach. They place the title (with the keywords)
in:

- The title tag - on the webpage itself - and
in the URL for that page.

Sometimes they will just pick the main keywords
from the title and place them in the anchor url
instead. For example: www. yourwebsite.com/keywords.html

2. Meta Description Tag

The Meta Tag contains the description for your
webpage. Your description will show up in all the
search engines so you must be careful to write
precisely and objectively. It should be about
140 characters or around 20 words. Make
sure to include your keywords but don’t spam
- don’t repeat your keywords more than twice,
using variations is helpful.

Keep in mind, successful webmasters make their
descriptions stand out from the pack and entice
the surfer to click their link. Remember this
is your first contact with your potential
prospect so make a good first impression.

3. Anchor Tag or URL

The anchor tag is used to form links within
websites or from site to site. Your tag should
have your title or the main keywords from your
page title to be the most effective.

Anchor text is also important to know, these
are the underlined, clickable text or words
in a link. anchor text

If you want to check Google for all webpages
containing your keywords in the anchor tags,
just type into Google Search:

allinanchor:yourkeywords

Of course, the best way to get high rankings
for your keywords is to build relevant quality
one-way links to the page that contains your
targeted keywords. Get enough of these quality
links with your keywords in the anchor text
and you will get top rankings. Again, provided
it is not an extremely competitive keyword.

Keyword Shortcuts - The Court Jesters

On the web, like in real life, there are always
shortcuts. No, I am not talking about any sneaky
“black hat” SEO tricks… the shortcuts here are
very legit and have to do with blogs.

Another way to crack the “keyword puzzle” is
simply to use a blog. I prefer the free blogging
software from WordPress since you can host these
blogs on your own site.

Blogs are perfect for keyword marketing. Only
with blogs, keywords are called “tags” but it
amounts to the same thing. With WordPress each
category will be considered a tag or keyword.
You can create a targeted page within your blog
for your chosen keyword or keywords within minutes.
Then you bookmark this page/tag/keyword in your
favorite bookmark sites like Digg, del.icio.us,
Furl, Propeller, Reddit, Slashdot, Stumbeupon…
don’t forget to ping/click your newly created
link to let all the search engines find your
keyworded page. WordPress will also automatically
ping your posts for you.

Blogging is a simple shortcut that can put you
on the fast track for earning on the web. The
great beauty of using blogs - you don’t need
to know anything about HTML or site design for
that matter, all of it is done for you. You can
pick out your template, edit your site heading,
side panels and your footer within a couple of
minutes… and you can have your blog/site up
and running in no time.

Simply tie in your blog with all these social
bookmark sites. Google likes these social media
sites; get a front page listing on Digg and your
keywords rankings will go to the top of Google’s
pages. I did manage to get on the front page of
Digg a little while back and my keywords instantly
rose to the top spot on Google. “Internet Facts”
but that’s another story for another time.

Online marketing can be as simple or as
complicated as you want to make it. I like
the complicated stuff myself, building numerous
sites, building links, building connections,
building patterns… but coming from an artist
background I am allowed to be more than a little
eccentric.

However, most people like to take the simple
route, so here’s a recent video I watched by
Nancy Andrews that explains how all this online
marketing stuff works… I hope you will notice
one important point that’s mentioned a couple
of times in the video… all this is so simple
yet there are still very few people doing it.
How true.

Always remember there are still a lot of crowns
out there going to waste. Why don’t you grab one?
Trust me, Kingdoms are so much fun to run.

http://www.liveblueprints.com/seotalk/

The solution to that problem is not just a matter of slapping
a few lines of Google Adsense code on your pages and hoping
for the best. Actually, the solution to earning income from
your online site or blog can be as complex or as simple as
you want to make it.

There are thousands of ways to earn money from your site
or blog… among the most common are selling advertising,
selling your own products, using affiliate programs,
drop-shipping, donations, Google Adsense, Azoogle…
and the list goes on.

But this is a rather superficial approach to this issue.
A more interesting way to tackle this rather lucrative
question is to define or make some distinctions between
what exactly you are monetizing - your website or your
traffic?

This may seem pragmatic to many, but any professional
webmaster or marketer who has dissected this issue will
have discovered how you approach this problem will greatly
affect how much income you will derive from your sites.

To the savvy professional marketer it is more an issue
of refinement than anything else. They make the distinction
between a general monetization of a website and a highly
targeted monetization of their site’s traffic. There is
a difference.

Any webmaster can place ads on their sites to get an income.
If you have a normal amount of traffic, you can monetize
your site with ads such as Adsense, Azoogle, Chitika…
and you will receive your monthly checks. But is this the
best way?

Any professional marketer knows you can easily get 100 times
what you can get from Google Adsense by using other means
of monetizing their sites. It comes down to a marketing
strategy that involves monetizing the traffic coming to
their sites, rather than just monetizing the sites themselves.

Not all the traffic to your site or blog is looking for
the same thing. You can have general traffic, searching
for information on a broad subject area, or you can have
someone looking for a specific product or service. Therefore,
you must closely monitor your traffic to find out exactly
what your visitors are looking for and then providing these
visitors with a solution.

Individually Monetizing Your Pageviews, Traffic…

Individually monetizing your pageviews, traffic and landing
pages is the key to deriving larger amounts of income from
your online sites. Just as “long tail keyword” marketing
can greatly increase your income, so too can constructing
income sources directly related to your long tail keyword
traffic.

Using affiliate products and services from third party
affiliate networks like Commission Junction LinkShare,
ClickBank… will earn you 10 times more income than you
would earn from using Adsense; most times it is much more.

The prudent professional marketer will closely examine
their site’s traffic logs to find out exactly the source
of the traffic and the keywords their visitors are using
to find their site. These marketers will closely examine
their traffic and then take steps to monetize it. It may
involve producing their own products or services to offer
to these visitors. It may be using an affiliate program to
offer a product.

They also know that “keywords,” the exact words someone
types into a search engine to find what they’re looking
for on the web, are the real main sources of targeted traffic
on the web. Quality traffic that’s worth its weight in gold.
Domination of the main keywords in your market or niche will
spell monetary success even for webmasters whose main goal
may not be making money from their sites… these strange
creatures do exist I am told!

Aggressive marketers will take a different route, especially
if they have gained domination in a niche area; many approach
other businesses in their niche with offers of partnerships
and independent deals… they supply the leads or customers
to these businesses in return for a percentage of the sale.

I personally go for “residual income deals” where I get a
percentage of the revenues generated for the life of the
clients I refer. Large multinational companies in your
targeted niches probably won’t give you the time of day,
but smaller, lesser known companies will give you lucrative
deals if it is a “win-win situation” for both parties.
This is my number ONE way to monetize my traffic.

Any professional marketer will also aggressively market
their traffic by collecting opt-in lists of interested
customers. These marketers will offer free product buying
guides, valuable information, deals/coupons, customer ratings…
all to capture leads because then instead of just having one
chance to market to their site’s traffic, they get many more
chances in follow-up emails. Studies have shown it make take
6 or 7 follow-ups before a sale is made.

ROT - Return On Traffic

These marketers “add value” or “pre-sell” to their site’s
traffic in order to increase their odds of producing more
income from this traffic. They never forget this traffic
is the real source of their site’s income; instead they
exploit it to their full advantage. No reason why you can’t
do the same.

Always keep in mind, you should develop different sources
of traffic: search engine traffic, article traffic, social
bookmark traffic, link traffic from related sites, viral
traffic with free PDF files, PPC advertising… if one traffic
source dries up, it won’t be a major problem for you.

Likewise, like most things to do with business, it is never
wise to just use one tactic or source of income. I have always
used a “multiple income streams” strategy. On any given site
I may use Google Adsense for general traffic, affiliate products
for my more targeted ‘long tail keyword’ traffic and, of course,
I give priority to special independent deals with long-term
residual income. Even higher PPC (Pay Per Click) bids are possible
with residual deals, as you will recoup your investment down
the road.

Similarly, it is a good business practice to find or promote
companies that will give you a “cookie for life,” which means
once you refer a customer - they are yours for life. Marlon
Sanders does this, so too does Ken Evoy’s Site Build It,
where your customers are yours for life. Also promoting
products like web hosting, marketing tools, and utility
services that have recurring income are very lucrative sales
to make. Believe me, getting a monthly payment for a sale you
made five years ago will put a slight smile on your face every time!

So the next time you’re trying to monetize your site or blog
- first take a real close look at the your site’s traffic,
monitor your site’s raw traffic logs to find out what your
visitors are looking for on each page of your site and supply
a solution for them. Be it your own products, affiliate offerings
or even Google Adsense ads… along the way make sure you offer
them valuable content to help them on their quest and help you
to collect their contact information for further follow-up.

Of course, savvy marketers will create or make the above scenario
happen from the get-go; they find a product, they target and
dominate the keywords for that product in all the search engines
and then harvest this traffic with killer landing pages, opt-in
forms and special bonuses if you buy from their links. They use
this traffic and this marketing strategy to sometimes obtain
obscene amounts of income from the web.

Your success or failure in obtaining the same results will
largely depend upon your own skill level, but mostly it will
depend on the amount of work you put in to earn this income.
This process is so simple, yet so complex to perfect, but with
a little work and some practice anyone can monetize their site’s
traffic to get the best returns.

…..

Affiliate Marketing Tips for Monetizing Your Traffic

Since I am a full-time affiliate marketer, most of the above
post is biased or geared towards affiliate marketing. It is
a simple way to derive income from your sites without having
to worry about handling sales, supply problems, customer complaints…
all you have to do is supply the lead or potential customer
to your promoted affiliate programs and let them do the rest.
All tracking, sales, product delivery… are handled by the
affiliate company, which lets you concentrate on marketing,
producing content, search engine optimization and promotion.

It’s a system that suits me to a T!

However, it is not the most profitable way to monetize your traffic.
Perhaps the most profitable way to monetize any traffic is to
produce your own products and/or services. But this usually takes
some time and skill level beyond the ordinary webmaster; and it
does create additional headaches like product delivery, support
issues, sales records, taxes… everything associated with running
a business or company.

If you’re like me and go the much easier affiliate route,
here are some tips for you:

1. Use well established affiliate networks like Commission Junction,
LinkShare, Shareasale, ClickBank… all these are professionally run,
which makes finding affiliate links/products extremely easy for you.
Besides, they will deliver your checks on time.

2. Aim for or promote affiliate products that have residual or recurring
income because these will be your most lucrative over the long haul.
Pick ones like web hosting, marketing products, utilities… or other
services, which once people sign up for, rarely change.

3. Concentrate your marketing on small, little known niches. Dominate
the main keywords in that niche with your sites and then create special
“residual” income with the main companies in that niche.

4. Pick affiliate products that have lifetime cookies and/or have high
payout rates. You can promote anything; why not promote high-ticket
items that pay the big commissions.

5. However, picking the highest paying products may not be your only
choice. For example, I have found promoting Amazon products usually
pays less than my other affiliate products, BUT the conversion rate
for Amazon products is much higher so you sell many more products and
earn many more (albeit smaller) commissions, which quickly add up to
a nice sum.

6. I have had success by concentrating on well-known products that
you can only purchase online. Smart tactic that pays off, especially
when those companies offer coupons/deals that are only available online.

7. Marketing in foreign markets has proven very lucrative for me.
Usually getting top ranking in these countries is much easier than
in the very competitive U.S. marketplace. For instance, marketing in
the UK is less competitive, and you get higher commissions when you
consider the pound is equal to two bucks in USD. I use Affiliate Window
for marketing in the UK.

8. PPC advertising is the fastest way to deliver targeted traffic
to your pages, but you have to know exactly what you’re doing or
you will lose money. Here, I concentrate on promoting products with
proven residual income so that I can make higher bids since my initial
investment will be returned to me, many times over in the coming years.

9. If you’re a one-marketer, one-person company, you will have to
choose your affiliate products very carefully. Pick only top quality
products to promote, preferably ones you use yourself. Your conviction
will come through in your content or writing.

10. Being a former teacher, I know knowledge is money. The more knowledge
you obtain about affiliate marketing the more income you will make.
But choose your learning sources very carefully, like that saying on
old maps: “here there be monsters”. Be careful. Choose your educators
wisely. Here are two sources I would recommend for further study on
Affiliate Marketing: try Ken Evoy’s free Affiliate Masters Course or
try one of top self-help guys Steve Pavlina - he has a very good page
here on how to make money from your blog.