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Are you frustrated with Clickbank? For years now they have been the “reigning champion” when it comes to payment processing with a built in affiliate network. Clickbank makes it easy to sell your digital products and take advantage of their affiliate army, numbering over 100,000. It’s simple really - you let others sell your products and they earn commission.
Tags: click2sell, clickbank, Ecommerce, internet marketing
Everybody’s talking about web 2.0 or how to use new traffic strategies to drive more people-rather, buyers to your web sites.
And today, I’m going to show you a very powerful to do just that, without spending a dime (well, maybe a few dollars).
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Tags: internet marketing, videos, Website Promotion, youtube
SEO should never be an afterthought, there are essentially two ways to rank (1) as a result of clear planning with deliberate intent and a master game plan developed over time or (2) hey is it too late to fix this site and eek some performance out of it?
How many times have you ever thought, if I only knew what I know now years ago (when you first started your website) and wished you could simply turn back the clock and start fresh, then you are not alone.In case you ever wondered how to essentially rank for everything in your niche, then you could take a few pages from the SEO play book of the site we stumbled across earlier today. In fact, it was so inspiring, I had to write about it to commend them on a job well done.
Search engine optimization is constantly evolving and with it the semblance of design, content and site architecture are fusing into “the ideal delivery system” to entice traffic, user engagement, viral marketing and conversion.
This mutation / new generation of hybrid sites (part e-commerce, part blog, part affiliate site) are emerging frequently and blazing a trail to the top 10 of multiple industries. Webmasters (much like scientists) understand that when you properly combine the right elements and streamline content, links and information architecture for a common goal, the result is an authority site designed with a distinct purpose that gains momentum daily.
You can learn a great deal from looking beneath the hood of other websites (to see which layers are worthy of emulating or modifying from other SEO’s or web developers). Here is an example of a site that is truly a masterpiece built to virtually dominate its industry through layers of overlapping optimization, content development and site architecture.
The site, www.like.com
holds top ranking positions for thousands of brands, has millions of pages indexed, hundreds of thousands of links and yet has a cool demeanor and impeccable design with a strong visual call to action. All of the components were so balanced, that I simply could not shake the sites blueprint after observing the amount of thoughtful planning and advanced SEO tactics that went into developing and maintaining such a pristine web creation.
This is clearly an example of SEO done right. If anyone ever told you that a theme cannot be modified to encapsulate multiple product lines within a broad market category, then this site is an excellent case study, not to mention, it has style to boot.
The fact is, acquiring positioning for each and every keyword is a task unto itself. Each page should be treated as its own site (then again you never know how many sites were 301 redirected into this one). In any case, it is important for a site to constantly utilize the mechanisms of self-referral (internal linking) to cement relevance from within.
This when combined with an optimized CMS (content management system), the proper use of titles and tags and links results in a ranking juggernaut that expresses itself like a dynamic time-released capsule through SERP (search engine result page) domination.
Each page that is created is another asset to the site as a whole, over time when each page ages, it gains its own authority which then reciprocates back to strengthen the whole, which strengthens the page again and so on and so fourth. This cyclical momentum is the secret to ranking for multiple keywords.
The real challenge is, to get over the hump and systematically create relevance through the proper balance of (1) chronology of content through themed content development, (2) the appropriate balance of internal to external links per page and to the root domain (3) the proper use of interlinking the sub folders to create dynamism as a whole for all of the topical categories.
The whole reason this rant about SEO being the starting point rather than an afterthought is, if you have a clear objective, understand the amount of work involved and can scale the workload, then it is possible to rank for any competitive term with the right tactic, link popularity, structure and proper content. Hats’ off to the team who put that site together as well as those who maintain and keep such a finely-tuned machine in perfect working order.
Jeffrey Smith is an active internet marketing optimization strategist, consultant and the founder of Seo Design Solutions Seo Company http://www.seodesignsolutions.com. He has actively been involved in internet marketing since 1995 and brings a wealth of collective experiences and fresh marketing strategies to individuals involved in online business.
Tags: Advertising, internet marketing, seo
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I’m not sure whether or not to pay attention to all the negative news reports about the state of the economy. For the most part, I’ve discovered that virtual businesses don’t quite suffer the same economic highs and lows in the same way as the rest of the country (or the world). However, in the life span of every business, there is a “recession”, or a point in which there’s a downturn or a decline of income. Typically, this recession period is short and cyclical, which puts the service business owner on an income roller coaster at times, especially if the business owner hasn’t developed multiple streams of income.
In order to succeed on the web you need the proper tools.
It doesn’t matter if your goal is to operate a website just
for a hobby or whether you’re trying to earn a part-time
or full-time income.
You need the right marketing tools.
These tools can be very simple or very complicated; it will
mainly depend on the kind of online marketing you’re doing.
Someone running a simple website can get by with very few
tools; whereas someone operating a PPC enterprise or a SEO
consulting firm may need more sophisticated software programs
to effectively run their businesses.
Internet marketing tools is a subject I know something about
for I have been studying, testing and using countless marketing
tools for over 8 years now. I run two websites devoted to
online marketing tools. If you search Google for “internet
marketing tools” you will find my two sites on the first page.
Google Screenshot
Although I am always wary of pointing out my sites in Google,
mainly because they can move off the first page overnight…
and you end up with egg on your face. The only reason I point
out these Google listings is to prove that I at least know
how to get my pages and keywords on the front pages in Google.
Frankly, when you’re talking about Internet marketing, what
other benchmark or measurement do we really have to show
that any marketer or SEO expert knows what they’re talking
about? Not counting sales stats of course, which is really
the ultimate benchmark for online marketing.
In this blog post, I thought it would be fun to use my acquired
knowledge to discuss and list those important tools I have
found most effective and most useful in my marketing. Never
know, they may also prove helpful to you and your marketing.
Let’s start at the very beginning. I am assuming you have a
reliable PC or laptop with an Internet connection or service.
Obviously, you need these if you’re going to work on the
Internet.
Now here are some marketing tools you will need:
1. Domain
This is your online calling card and the name of your site
or business. This is your URL or your address on the web.
Most SEO experts suggest you place your main “keyword” or
“keyword phrase” in your domain name. If you are doing a
site on “engagement rings,” you should place this phrase
in your domain name. I have found using your site’s main
keywords in your domain will give you higher rankings faster
- especially in Google.
There are many domain sellers on the web; since I have
numerous domains I use GoDaddy mainly because I manage
most of my online purchases thru Paypal, which GoDaddy
accepts. I also use GoDaddy because it has a proxy service.
I have never had a problem with them and I even host 5 or
6 of my sites thru GoDaddy.
2. Website
Your need a website to go with your newly created domain.
If you can afford it, get a professionally designed site
from a professional website designer. I am purposely using
the word “professional” because that is exactly what you want
your site looking and feeling like from visitor one. In that
split second of arrival at your site there must be no doubt
in your visitor’s mind about the quality of your site.
Besides, if you’re new to online marketing, you will want
your site designed by a website designer because they will
optimize your site for all the search engines.
You can get away with using templates, but I would suggest
you at least invest some funds in a professionally designed
logo or header for your site. This will at least give your
visitor a good first impression. Even though I have an art
background, I personally use Ryan Jackson (aka designgururyan)
for my important graphics, mainly because he’s very good and
because he caters to the Internet marketing crowd.
3. Hosting
Once you have your website created, you will need somewhere
to host it. I have only used shared hosting for my sites
(shared hosting is as it sounds, you will share your site
IP address with around 200 - 300 other sites). The other
alternative is to get dedicated hosting, which is more
expensive, but you have your own IP address and faster
download times. My advice, go with shared hosting first;
if your site becomes extremely popular, you will have to
upgrade to a dedicated server just to handle all that
traffic.
There are countless hosting companies to choose from on the
web. Keep in mind, the cheapest may NOT be the best choice.
What you’re really looking for is good quality service with
support that you can contact at any time of the day or night.
Do some research of your own before you pick your web host.
A little homework done now will save you major headaches down
the road.
I have used many web hosts over the years and the ones I
find good, I have kept. Moving a site from one web host to
another is a major hassle if you have a large site. As for
web hosts, I would recommend Bluehost and even GoDaddy
- these have worked out nicely for me, but keep in mind
I only have simple sites which need very little maintenance.
4. Autoresponder
One key element you must have if you’re into online marketing
is an autoresponder service. The money is in the follow-up.
You must collect the contact information of your site’s
visitor and get them subscribed to your ezine or newsletter.
You need an autoresponder service so that you can automatically
follow-up or send emails/information to the people interested
in your site or product.
Again, I have used many AR services over the years, including
those that are usually included in your hosting packages.
However, I would recommend you invest in a more robust
unlimited autoresponder service like those offered by
GetResponse or Aweber. I have used both and found them to
be very professional and very effective.
5. Credibility
Might sound a bit strange but without a doubt your main
marketing tool on the web will be credibility. You and
your site must establish credibility with your visitor
or it’s game over.
The web is still a very untrustworthy place; you must
build and establish credibility with your visitors.
You must establish trust. You or your site must be seen
as the place to go for information on your site’s area
of interest.
Many webmasters and online marketers solve this problem
by becoming an expert on their site’s topic. Actually,
this is something that happens quite naturally. If you
keep and run a site on “engagement rings” for 7 or 8 years
- chances are you will become an expert on that subject.
Of course, nothing establishes your credibility more than
writing articles and books on your subject area. Spread
these well-informed and helpful articles/books around the
web and people will be calling you an expert faster than
Tom Cruise can jump on a couch.
Only added that last comment to remind you to be careful
of what you do on the web, credibility usually takes some
time to build, but it can be lost in one careless moment.
………………….
Internet Marketing - Tools of The Trade - Part Two
Now here are some Internet marketing tools that will make
your job and life much easier.
1. Keyword Research Software
Without a doubt, one of the most important online marketing
software I have used deals with keyword research. The core
foundation of any online site or business will be picking
and targeting the profitable keywords related to your industry
or subject matter. It is vital to choose the right keywords
if you target free organic traffic from the search engines,
and it is just as important if you’re going the much faster
PPC (Pay Per Click) route.
You must do your keyword research in order to place high
in the search engine rankings. You must know your competition.
You must know how to optimize your pages for your chosen
keywords. I find Brad Callen’s Keyword Elite to be very
helpful in finding the right keywords and getting those
keywords to the first page in Google. I mainly concentrate
my SEO efforts towards Google simply because it delivers
the most quality traffic. Good software makes a tedious
job simple and easy. Keyword Elite fills that bill.
2. HTML Editor
You need a good HTML editor or program to create your
web pages. I use the free version of Note Tab Light and
it suits my needs nicely. I have never upgraded my version
and have been using if for years. There are probably more
robust editors out there… but this one has made creating
my websites a breeze. If you want a WYSIWYG (What You See
Is What You Get) editor, try Adobe Dreamweaver.
3. FTP Software
Around a year ago, I heard of this FTP client or software
from Marlon Sanders, and it has saved me the most time/money
of any software I have ever used. You see, I have countless
sites on many different servers/webhosts and keeping track
of these different sites, multiple passwords, and uploading
files was a real pain. I had to go to the web hosts or open
up the control panel for each site… then find the page
in the directory on my computer and upload the file.
Real Hassle.
All this took up an enormous amount of my time. I didn’t
realize how much time until I bought 3D FTP and started
using it. From this one FTP software I can login to all
my sites and upload files quickly and easily. It keeps
track of all my sites and passwords. Updating 10 or 20
sites can be done within minutes!
The feature that I really like is that it will queue up
the last file I have been working on so it is at the top
of the list when I upload. I don’t have to search thru
files to find the last file I updated… it finds all
these files and puts them at the top of the list for me,
ready for uploading. Another cool feature, it tests in
3D the download speed of your site’s server.
4. WordPress/Blogging Software
For now, blogs and blogging is it. You must be taking
advantage of this keyword rich way of placing content
on the web. I find the free WordPress blogging software
to be very effective for keyword positioning. Keywords
are called tags in the blogging world. I have at least
one blog on all my sites, and I find Wordpress is very
easy to install even if setting up server side scripts
scares the BeJesus out of you!
Your online marketing will be much more effective if you
use the whole blogging networks. And don’t forget all
the social bookmark sites that will greatly increase your
web presence; I have found simply placing the Addthis.com
button on your pages will get your site book marked for
you by your visitors. Simple marketing tool that works.
5. Knowledge
You can have all the carpenter’s tools on the planet,
but if you don’t know how to use them you will never be
able to build a house. The same goes for marketing tools.
You must have some knowledge of how Internet marketing
works to really use any tools effectively.
But where to find this knowledge can prove more of a
minefield than it ought to be. There are plenty would-be
teachers and info-products to get you started, but usually
newly christened or beginning online marketers are bombarded
with so many learning options it all becomes a blur. Who do
you believe? Who do you trust?
In over eight years online, the best online marketing
training I have found would have to be the whole Sitesell
products created by Ken Evoy. Granted, he is trying to
sell you a hosting product by offering all these free
training manuals, but that doesn’t negate the fact that,
in my opinion, these “Sitesell Products” are the most
comprehensive Internet marketing knowledge you will
ever find.
Ken has just made “Make Your Words Sell” a free product,
a book he used to sell for $30 bucks. Still one of the
best sources of Internet marketing knowledge - regardless
of the price!
………………….
Internet Marketing - Tools of The Trade - Part Three
Now here are the free Internet marketing tools and/or
sites that give me the most joy. In my shallow world
joy and money are synonymous.
1. Google Analytics
Google Analytics gives you an overall picture of what
is happening with your site or sites. It tracks your
visitors and tells you where they are coming from and
what they do on your site. It simply shows how to improve
your site to get higher conversions.
Simply put: this free service from Google is a MUST HAVE
for any online marketer. The more information you have
about your site and how well it is performing is vital
to increasing your sign-ups and sales.
2. Microsoft’s Online Commercial Intention Tool
If you’re into online marketing, you want visitors coming
to your site with their wallets/purses open and ready to buy.
You want to mostly attract buying customers to your sales
pages and online content.
Microsoft, as part of their adCenter system, has a great
little tool that lets you check the “Commercial Intention”
of a URL or search query. In other words, you can type in
a phrase or keyword and it will tell if the person making
that search is likely to buy or not.
For example, if you type in “Corporate Business Gifts”
the probability for commercial query is 0.96604 or around
96 per cent, which is very high and it’s likely that
person has intentions of buying something.
How cool is that?
If you’re designing a website or doing PPC advertising,
it is vital you pick the keywords where people have
commercial intention - likely to buy something.
Online-Commercial-Intention-Tool
3. SEO Book Keyword Suggestion Tool
As you’ve probably gathered by now, choosing the right
keywords is vital to your online success. If you go the
free organic traffic route, then the keywords you target
are essential to your site’s success. SEO Book has a
handy keyword suggestion tool that you can use to find
out how many searches are made each day for your keywords.
This site also has many other handy search engine
optimization tools you can use to improve your site.
4. iWebtool Visual Pagerank
When I first discovered this little tool, I couldn’t
believe my luck. It gives you the “Visual Google Pagerank”
of every link on a URL or web page at one glance, both
internal and external links. Now the jury is still out
on the importance of Google Pagerank, but I believe it
is still important in the whole scheme of things as a
matter of perception if nothing else; what people perceive
about your site can have positive benefits.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing, this tool was
not functioning properly - maybe due to Google constant
Algorithm updates). However, this site also has many
helpful marketing tools you can use.
5. Gurus
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the big name online marketing gurus
are the most effective marketing tools on the web. These
marketing powerhouses have the large contact and customer
lists necessary to turn any product into an instant best
seller. They operate vast multi-million dollar marketing
networks that would make the average webmaster blush
with envy.
Creating a JV (joint venture) with these gurus can
instantly put any product or site on the Internet map.
However, be warned, all the marketing hype and promotion
surrounding many of these gurus have turned a lot of
people off - especially those who have payed an arm or
leg for the latest info-product that’s supposed to give
them the keys to online wealth. In many cases, these
products are too advanced or require additional skills
that the buyer simply doesn’t have… resulting in
negative feelings and bad press.
From my own experiences, when I was first starting out,
I did have a few bad experiences and wasted more than
a little cash on products that didn’t work out as planned.
However, I quickly discovered solid online marketers like
Ken Evoy, Marlon Sanders, Neil Shearing… which as that
old poem says, “And that has made all the difference.”
Hooking up with the right online marketing expert can
be the best marketing tool and move you will ever find
and make on the web - the ultimate fast forward!
Where to find these gurus?
Here’s a nice hunting ground: www.gurudaq.com
Tags: internet marketing, internet marketing tools, online marketing, webmaster tools
Google Webmaster Tools is a suite of tools designed to assist the web marketer and website owner in ensuring their website is optimized for Google to access and crawl it properly. The tools are surprisingly beneficial and if you haven’t checked them out before, or it’s been a while since you last looked, you’ll probably be more than a little surprised.
Part 1 looks at the Overview, Diagnostics, and Statistics sections, while in part 2 next week, we look at Links, Sitemaps, and Tools and discuss how to use various aspects of Google Webmaster Tools to improve your marketing and site maintenance.
The quickest way to learn? Get in and get your hands dirty – you can’t damage anything by doing so.
The Overview tab displays a summarized report detailing when your site was last crawled, whether pages from your site have been indexed, and whether there were any errors when Googlobot attempted to crawl your site. It’s good information, and can give you an indication of how attractive your site is to Googlebot but it doesn’t contain the real meat of the Webmaster Tools.
The Diagnostics tab gives a list of crawl types that Google may or may not have attempted on your site. Clicking on each of these will subsequently display a list of errors and problems that were encountered in the process. This can include links to your other pages that Google wasn’t able to follow so do check the errors and repair any broken links, pages that return errors, and so on.
Fixing problems doesn’t just improve the experience for Googlebot it may mean more of your pages get indexed and ranked for your important keywords. One broken link can lead to a handful of other broken links although if you’ve submitted a Google sitemap then this should be less of a problem.
For a true insight of how Google is viewing the elements on your pages, pay particular interest to the Content Analysis section. The non-indexable content issues lists elements or pages that can’t be indexed largely due to the fact that Googlebot is predominantly a text crawler. Look at the pages highlighted and make sure that there is ample alternative text for the crawlers and for the sake accessibility – some users disable Flash in their browsers and they will fail to see these elements as well.
Every page should contain a reasonable amount of text for the crawlers and those that can’t view Flash, images, or other non-indexable items.
The Statistics section is an Internet marketer’s heaven. You can view crawl data, index stats, link stats, feed stats, and your top Google search queries. We’re going to ignore the PageRank display that is offered in the Crawl Stats, because PageRank should not be your main consideration or a cause for concern – concentrate on your SERP ranking, your traffic, your conversions, and your profits. Don’t concentrate on a little green bar or other representation of a figure that bears no significant relevance to the performance of your online business (so much for ignoring it, huh?).
The Top Search Queries displays the search terms that were used on Google and resulted in a visitor coming to your site. This is genuinely good stuff. No matter how much keyword research you do, no matter how well you optimize your pages, and no matter how many links you generate using keywords as anchor text, you will never optimize for some of the phrases that people use to find your site. This section lets you view those phrases and see just how well the long tail is performing for you. It should also prompt you into writing or adding more content to your site when you realize how effective the long tail of search can be.
Subscriber stats specifically shows you the number of visitors that have subscribed to your RSS feed using any of the Google owned feed readers. These figures can be used to show a rise or drop in the general popularity of a blog, but remember that Google readers aren’t the only readers that surfers use.
What Googlebot Sees – this section gets special mention at the end of Part 2 because when it comes to improving your link profile, this offers some of the most invaluable information available about any existing links you have. Rather than just see the pages that link to you, using the Googlebot stats lets you see the anchor text that those links use – vital in SEO.
WebWiseWords is a web content writer that specializes in SEO copy writing that also appeals to your visitors.
Tags: Google, internet marketing, seo, tools, webmaster
“Product Launch Formula” is the current hot topic in the world of “internet marketing.” Jeff Walker is on the verge of releasing his much awaited “Product Launch Formula 2.0.
Those who own the original Product Launch Formula wonder “what’s different in version 2.0″ and those who didn’t get the original, wonder if it’s right for them. On March 25th, the noise level will reach a peak, and thousands will decide that the new Product Launch Formula is right for them.
Strangely, it’s at that point that many will make a HUGE mistake, when that mistake has never been easier to avoid.
The mistake they’ll make is that they’ll buy Product Launch Formula 2.0 on emotion rather than logic. They’ll buy it on impulse rather than taking a few minutes to actually shop around.
I’ve known Jeff Walker for many years. I think that we first met in 2003 at a Joel Christopher workshop. I use Jeff Walker’s teachings almost every day. I’ve so steeped myself in his tactics that I often use them without conscious thought.
So, to me the decision of whether or not anyone launching or relaunching a product over the internet can be
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Tags: internet marketing
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