Most people have limited knowledge when it comes to search engine ranking and the various
types of services on offer. We all know that having top 10 positions on some of the leading
engines can bring all the traffic we can handle, and then some. But how do we get those top
10 listings and what should we expect to pay to get them?
A simple way to approach this is to look at your competition. Do a quick search on one of the
leading engines like Google or AltaVista, using a search phrase that people might use when
looking for your products or services, and see what comes back.
As a basic 'rule of thumb' guide -
Between 100 and 5000 puts you in a 'low competition' category.
Between 5001 and 25000 puts you in a 'medium competition' category.
Between 25001 and 250,000 puts you in a 'high competition' category.
Over 250,000 puts you in a 'Extremely high competition' category.
Here are some examples we found on AltaVista:-
"detroit real estate" - 2.7M
"curtain fixtures" - 817,000
"auto parts" - 130,000
"mortgage loans" - 84,000
"coin collecting" - 14,000
"wedding accessories" - 9,000
"florida vacations" - 5,000
"model railways" - 5,000
Based on the above, determine the competitiveness of your category, then research the level
of service necessary for your site.
Once you have determined the level of competition for top positions in your business category,
use the following as a basic guide:
1 - Low to medium competition with no previous 'search engine optimization' - Locate a good
submission service who will give your home page a 'tune-up' then submit your site 'manually' to
all the leading engines and directories. Expect to pay around $25 to $65 per month.
2 - Medium to High competition on restricted budget - try to locate a service that will go
beyond basic Meta Tag revisions. Not all search engines pay much attention to what is in your
Meta tags, so look for someone who will make changes to the HTML on your key content
pages to give them a boost. Expect to pay around $55 to $95 per month.
3 - Sites with high or extremely high competition - you will encounter various approaches at
higher service levels. Most common is to use 'Doorway' pages and a separate 'Hallway'
domain. Think about Doorway/Hallway pages as pages that focus on a specific search phrase,
each targeting a specific search engine. It is common to have sites with over 100 custom
designed Doorway pages targeting multiple search phrases and multiple search engines.
Pricing varies greatly at these levels, and almost always include a setup fee then ongoing
monthly service fees.
Developing a better understanding of how it all works will help you decide the best approach for
your web site, and will help you make an informed decision based on realistic expectations.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
7 Steps to Make Your Website Your Client Attraction Magnet
By: Donna Gunter
When I started my online business in 1999, I had a website, but did very little with it, as it seemed impossible to get noticed by the search engines. My website simply served as my online brochure and I had no plan in place to drive any traffic there. Fast forward to 2007, and now almost all of my clients come to me from my website. In fact, my website has brought 5 clients to my door in the past week.
My website and my Internet marketing strategies do such a good job of promoting my business that when clients contact me, it's usually to say, "I've been to your site and I've been reading the great info you provide. I know you're the one to help me. When can we get started?" Consequently, I'm rarely in the position of having to "sell" someone on the benefits they'll gain by working with me, as my website takes care of most of that for me. I think that's very cool, as I absolutely hate trying to sell myself.
What can you do to make your website your client attraction magnet? There's so much information out there about online marketing and so many directions from which to choose that it's easy to become overwhelmed and confused Whether you have a website and have been online for awhile or are just getting started on creating your Internet presence, here are the most important first 7 steps you can take to get more clients from Internet marketing and create your own client attraction magnet:
1. Domain that reflects your brand. The domain name from which you transact all of your online business should reflect your brand in some way. You can accomplish this by purchasing a .com version of a domain name that is the same as the name of your business or by buying a domain containing keywords relevant to your business. Before buying your business domain, make a list of keywords that someone might use to find you online. This list could include your industry, your target market or niche, a problem your target market has, or a solution that you can offer. If you've been in business for awhile, it may make most sense to simply stick with the business name you have been using rather than trying to rebrand your business online. I highly recommend GoDaddy.com for all domain name purchases.
2. Basic website. In order to have a website and email addresses from your chosen domain, you need to purchase a reliable hosting account for your website. At a minimum, the services that you'll want in your hosting/design package include: hosting for 1 domain, 5 GB of space, 200 GB of monthly transfer volume (tied to how many visitors your site has), 10 email accounts, 10 MB storage per email account, 24/7 support, and basic website statistics. Resource: I highly recommend Aaces.com, HostMySite.com, and iPowerWeb.com for website hosting.
A very basic and attractive initial website of roughly 5 pages can be created by a web designer for as little as $350. Or, if you prefer to do it yourself, you can purchase Frontpage, Dreamweaver , or download a free HTML editor, Nvu, at Nvu.com and either build your site from scratch or customize a pre-made template. Another option is to use a hosting service that provides an online interface for website design, creation, and updates. This type of service enables anyone who's familiar with Microsoft Word to log in and create content, add images, and add pages to their very own website. The major providers of this type of service include GoDaddy.com, Yahoo Small Business, and 1and1 Web Hosting.
As you think about your site design and navigation, determine the look and feel you want to convey on your site, and make your content persuasive. Remember, people visit websites because they have a problem to solve. Visitors to your website will decide to hang around and browse through your site based on how well you answer the following:
* Who am I and why am I qualified to do what I do?
* Who is my target market? What are their problems?
* Do I fully understand and offer solutions to those problems?
You've got less than 10 seconds to capture a visitor's attention. So, it's imperative that your site speaks directly to your target market and that they get a good sense of who you are and what you offer so that they can get to know, like, and trust you and eventually buy from you. If you're not clear and confuse them, they'll be leave, so don't let them be distracted by pretty bells and whistles on your site. It's the content, call to action, and ease of navigation that ultimately matters in site design.
3. Call to action. Present a clear call to action that is clearly shown on every page of your site. Your primary call to action should be getting the visitor's name and primary email address by asking him subscribe to your ezine or by giving him access to a free information product like an ecourse, special report, audio/video recording, or ebook. In order to do this, you need to purchase and learn to use email marketing software that helps you capture visitor contact information. I highly recommend aWeber.com for this task, as it enables you to build, develop, and manage your online contact database.
4. Client-capturing device. The best way to obtain contact info from a visitor is to create an information product in which the content is so compelling that the visitor gladly parts with his/her name and primary email address to obtain the free giveaway. By giving you their contact information, they have become a warm lead and you can start to develop a relationship with them and begin to market to them.
The easiest way to create a client-capturing device is to simply make an electronic recording of you talking about a topic that helps your target market solve a problem, have the recording transcribed, edit it for readability and continuity, create a cover, save it as a PDF file, and you now have a client-capturing device you can give away.
5. Stay-in-touch mechanism. A regularly published ezine, or email newsletter, is one of the most effective ways you can keep in touch with your prospects. For the greatest success, publish your ezine consistently on a weekly basis.
Since you're developing a relationship with your prospects, the best way for them to get to know you is to let your "voice" permeate your newsletter. Demonstrate your expertise in your ezine by writing articles addressing relevant issues of your target market and how they can resolve the issues. Keep your newsletter short and to the point and create 3 columns for each issue -- a personal welcome and insight from you, a main article that provides useful information for your readers, and an invitation to buy a product, buy your services, or attend an event.
6. Your first product There are any number of types of information products you can sell online. The ones that are easiest to create and require little investment (other than your time to create them) are those sold as an electronic download. The quicker you can develop your first product, the closer you are developing both an effective marketing funnel and multiple streams of income for your business.
7. Traffic generating strategies. Once you've built it, will they come? Only if you start to implement some traffic generating strategies. My favorite traffic generating strategy is article marketing, in which I write a new article each week and submit it to online article directories through my article submission service, SubmitYourArticle.com . I've had my articles reprinted on blogs, in ezines, in professional association newsletters, and in print magazines. After reading my article from one of these sources, the reader goes to my website, signs up for my client-capturing device, and then receives my weekly ezine that I use to develop a relationship with that reader, who has now become a prospective client/customer.
Other effective traffic generating strategies include pay-per-click advertising, being a guest on someone's teleseminar, submitting online press releases, or creating a blog or a podcast. You don't have to do them all. Just pick one and implement it consistently.
Follow and work this 7-step plan and experience first-hand the joy of getting more clients online.
Copyright (c) 2007 Donna Gunter
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
Why Every Business Owner Needs To Operate A Blog
By: Gregg Hall
Are you familiar with blogging? If you are someone who spends a lot of time on the internet then you are very familiar with the term but if you are a regular brick and mortar type of business person then you may not know what it is all about. In a nutshell it is just another way of maintaining an internet presence but it is really much more than that since it can be used to generate traffic and keep in touch with your customers.
If you own or are running a small or large business then you may find that blogging is one of the best things you can do for your business. It is a very good way to get you and your business's name out to people and it will show all your employees that you believe in your business and they will believe that you can do it. If you are trying your home business or small business maybe even a big business to another level try blogging. It is just a good way to get your name and your businesses name out in cyber space.
Even though blogging can be useful to you and your business it can also be bad sometimes when you get negative feedback. Negative feedback will not make you and your business look and sound professional. The main thing that you need to remember in blogging is to always remember your business plan and your employees. Even though you are blogging you can still get off track when you blog, it's a whole other world when you blog. You will need to write a plan about how you will blog and what you will put in it. If you have no plan then you really don't need to blog because you will have nothing to talk about but if you have your business going you might be wanting to blog about your new business and what your business does.
Don't get wrapped up in the terminology. I know many people who are afraid of things just because they have never heard of them. Blogs are a good example of this. I have many friends in business in my local community that know I am a full time internet marketer and they often ask me for advice. One of the first things I tell them is to set up a blog. Their first reaction is to say they have never heard of it and have no idea how to do it but when I show them how easy it is they can't believe they didn't do it sooner.
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
Green web hosting company
By: Andy Tao
Ever consider how much electricity is use by a web hosting company or datacenter, and the CO2 emission from their diesel backup generator? Its huge, and its enough to power thousand of houses.
Now you know that your websites is not environment friendly. The web server that you are using now is located in datacenter with floored air-conditioning, secure environment with cctv, and with redundant routers and network backbones and backup by multiple backup power generator. Not to list out more, there is lots more that used up electricity and diesel fuel.
The society is moving toward less pollution, use less energy resources, and reduce wastage. That’s what you need to consider as well, because you are living in this world as well. So, try not to use what you don’t need.
Money can buy you the most powerful web server with four processor core and with fastest processing speed, and it used up the most power too. Consider that the next time you looking for a hosting plan or even a dedicated server.
If you are with me, then its better to look for green hosting company straight the way. Yes, there is few of this web hosting company exist among the thousand hosting company you found online. And they uses server that require far less power to operate, and uses solar panel to generate power for their datacenter utility, and they plant lots of tree to recycle back the CO2 emission. And that’s the web hosting company that you should take a look as well.
For example, dreamhost is one of the green hosting company. And they carry out lots of environmental friendly effort to make less pollution. With dreamhost coupon code ‘BigSaving’ you can order web hosting far less than what you are paying now. Green hosting can be cheaper than you thought.
You should think about this, the next time you pay your bills for the hosting plan. Is you uses too much resources or your hosting is wasting resources. Get the best hosting package for your website, not what you can paying for.
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
Book Marketing -- 4 Ways to Make More Money With Your Books
By: Alex Mandossian
Authors are always asking me how they can make more money. I'm here to tell you that it's not by writing a new book, it's by repurposing it.
Repurposing is the key to making one idea many-- it's the metamorphosis of one concept into many others that appeal to a wide range of different markets. (Repurposing can even help you with your online book marketing strategy.) It's so much easier to find a new market than it is to find or write a new book. Repurposing material is an ingenious way to make money from a book. With each repurposing there's more profit. And that's the name of the game. Here are four ways to repurpose your content and accelerate your profits:
Hard Cover Book
Creating a book out of repurposed content or a creating a compilation book is an inspired way to profit from a book. If you have anything that is collection-based, such as letters, articles, lectures, seminars or product reviews, you can create a compilation book. Compilations are created a lot in the music industry -think of your compilation book as your "greatest hits," no matter the topic.
Soft Cover Book
A soft cover or paperback book is the repurposing of you hard cover book. Know that a soft cover is nothing more than a repurposed message that is more affordable to a certain segment of the market. And I'll tell you something--many people who purchase hard covers also purchase soft covers.
Digital eBook
An eBook, or electronic book, is the digital equivalent of your printed book. eBooks are downloaded directly from the Internet as a PDF file and can be read on any computer or specialized eBook reading device. Many people prefer eBooks because they can pay, download the book and be reading it in moments. eBooks satisfy people's want for things "now." And for you--there is no cost to print, ship or store a printed book.
Audio
Audio is another powerful way to repurpose a physical or eBook. An audio CD is reading your book. Think of people driving in their cars on long trips. They obviously can't read a book, but they can listen to an audio book. People during a commute can listen to audio content and make the most of their time in the car. Other digital formats you might look at as well include an AudioGenerator or an MP3 download format. No matter what the format--read your book.
(As a side note to these four ways of repurposing, I think everyone should have at least three virtual book tours to promote their books--one before the hard cover is launched, one when it is launched and one for the launch of the soft cover. You can even have events to launch your eBook and audio book. This is a great Internet marketing strategy all authors should be taking advantage of.) Remember that your hard cover book, soft cover book, eBook and audio book are just a vehicle.
You are the message and that's what is most inspiring--no matter which way the content is repurposed.
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
Making Sense of Adsense
By: Bill Kernodle
Just what is adsense and how does it apply to me? If you are new to the internet marketing world, you must surely be wondering what everyone is talking about. Here we will attempt to give you the basic introduction to the world of ad sense.
On almost every web page that you visit you will see small ads that say in small type around them "ads by google". This is what is known as "adsense." These ads are placed by publishers, people like you and me with websites, as advertisements to bring people to their websites and hopefully keep them there to buy or opt-in etc. The website owner or publisher, again you or me, pay each time someone clicks on the ad and hence the name "pay-per-click" or "ppc". You will see this name or abbreviation everywhere and you will soon wonder how it was that you did not know it! The website owner pays an amount that can vary considerably form a few cents to several dollars, depending on the popularity of the subject matter and the competition.
You may pay several dollars for a particular word or only a few cents if you are more specific. If you bid on say "automobiles" you may pay several dollars, but if you bid on "1965 Corvettes" you may pay less and have more targeted traffic; that is people that are looking for 1965 Corvettes. Keywords You can certainly buy as much traffic to your site as you want with a term like "cars" but that will not help you much if you are selling accessories for 1965 Corvettes. If you choose the shotgun method of advertising, you will get a lot of traffic but you will go broke sooner rather than later doing so.
So let’s say you are selling accessories for 1965 Corvettes or corvettes in general. You would design an ad "campaign" around the words "Corvettes","Corvette accessories","1965 Corvettes" etc. You see what I mean? In this way you will be drawing only the people that are looking for what you have to offer, not the ones who are just looking. This is what is known as "targeted traffic" and is what you are after if you have a site and do not want to pay exorbitantly for the people that come to your site.
Now you know what the term "adsense" means and what are its general implications and ways of using it. Go and make some ads of your own and see what you can do with the wonderful world of adsense.
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
Google Adsense: How to Write Great Blogs
By: Edward Simon
The best thing about blogging is that there are no rules. You can write about anything you want. A self-publisher’s dream! There are some things you can do though to maximize your Google Adsense profits. Narrow your subject. Don’t just write about shopping. Write about shopping for antique dresser drawer pulls. Write every day. Have a blog at more than one site. If you develop a readership, you’re more likely to increase your profits.
Write about something you know or want to know or at the very least care about. If you try to write a great blog based on a “hot keyword” yet it’s something you could care less about, you’ll likely not stay with it long. Experiment and see what works for you. You can write based on your own opinion or something factual. You can review a product or service or a movie. Read other people’s blogs and notice how many reads they’re getting. Above all, have fun. After all, it’s free and if you’re persistent you’ll see your Google Adsense dollars adding up.
Google Adsense: Learning About the Program and the Most Important Rule
How Does Google Adsense Program Work For Webmasters Wanting to Earn Income?
Advertisers pay Google when someone clicks on their ads which are placed on pages that contain text. For example, if you write content about lawn mowers, you will likely see ads from lawn mower manufacturers and/or retailers on that page. When someone clicks on those ads, the advertiser pays Google and Google pays you. Of course, the advertiser is hoping the person that clicked on the add will actually purchase the lawn mower or whatever they’re offering. Most people can make their AdSense sites veritable cash cows! Free $97 Secret Adsense Book at http://www.honestreview.info/adsense/index.htm
In fact, Google is very strict about the integrity of this process. You are forbidden to click on your own ads. If you do, your Adsense account will be terminated and you might never get it back. You are also prohibited from asking others to click on “your ads”. It makes sense. Why would advertisers want to pay just so your friends and family could click on your ads when no one is really interested in purchasing the lawn mower or subject of the ad.
The good news is that it’s not necessary to “cheat.” Google Adsense is so easy you’ll make more money just going by the rules. Have or write interesting content that will turn up in search engines and you have “targeted” the right people to read those ads. Just think, somebody in Indiana buys a lawn mower and you get a commission!
What Not to Tell Others About the Google Adsense Program – The Most Important Rule
Sympathy only goes so far. Not only is it against the Google Adsense Program Policies but if you rely on friends and family members to click on your ads instead of diligently working the program, you’re cheating yourself – and the Google Adsense Program.
The “help me out” wail may work when your kid is selling outrageously expensive candles for the end of the year school party but it has no place in the Google Adsense Program.
Besides, if you’re asking people to click on your ads, that means you’re not optimizing your site for valid clicks as well as referrals. Use that same energy to polish your content and your site. When family and friends ask what you’ve been up to, you can proudly show them your hard work. When they see how excited you are, you’ll see your referral revenue go up.
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
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