In a recent report for a new client, I wrote:
“Remember, a visitor’s search doesn’t end when they leave Google. Their search and the phrases associated with it continue right through to the completion of the task they have in mind.”
Many of us pay attention to the keywords and phrases being used by our visitors when they arrive via a search engine. It makes sense not only because it gets you higher rankings, but also because the use of the right search terms signals to your reader that your page is relevant to them. In other words, your heading and intros are directly relevant to their search.
But all too often, once those key phrases are in place, we think the job is done. Not so.
There are other key points on your homepage where getting the phrase right can make a big difference.
Here’s what I mean.
Let’s say you are working on two pages; the homepage and a second level page. Working with your site logs and a tool like WordTracker, you optimize the homepage with the best keywords and phrases you can find. And that’s great. You now have text that is relevant to your visitor’s search.
But here’s something else you can do…
Use the same process to identify the best words for the links from your homepage to the second level page.
Simply go through the same process with that second page. Use your logs and a keyword tool to find the most relevant terms for that page.
And then use one of those terms in the link from your homepage.
Do you get the idea? The core of this process is to recognize that your visitor hasn’t completed their ’search’ when they arrive at your homepage. The search is just the beginning. Part of your task is to understand how best to write the links that take people deeper into your site. And one way of maximizing that clickthrough is to use terms that are directly relevant to the visitor’s continuing search.
SEO helps us focus on writing in ways that are directly relevant to the task our visitors have in mind. My point is, don’t consider the job completed when you have optimized the homepage or any particular landing page. Use the same approach, the same way of writing, to help that visitor all the way through to the moment when they complete their task, whatever that may be.
Nick Usborne is a copywriter, author, speaker and advocat of good writing. You can access all his archived newsletter articles on copywriting and writing for the web at his Excess Voice site. You’ll find more articles and resources on how to make money as a freelance writer at his Freelance Writing Success site.
Written by SEO Tipster on June 13th, 2006 with no comments.
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Whenever someone new visits your website, your #1 goal is
to get them on your email list. That way you have a method
of keeping them up-to-date on your latest offerings, so
when they’re ready to hire you or buy your product, you’re
right there in their inbox.
And having a way for them to join your list that is both
simple and effective will dramatically increase both your
list numbers and your sales.
Here are the three biggest mistakes I see regularly on
business websites:
1. Not having a way to capture your visitors. Most people
don’t bite on the first pass, and once they click away,
it’s unlikely they’ll be back. Don’t lose them by not
having a way for them to sign up for your list.
2. The opt-in box is buried. If your visitor can’t find the
form to sign up, then how can they?
TIP: Testing shows that the upper right-hand corner of your
webpage is still the best spot for your opt-in box.
3. The sign-up form says something unenticing like “click
here for mailing list” - ugh!
So, here are 5 proven ways that you can instantly increase
your opt-in rates:
1. Give your visitor only one choice.
Some of you may have heard of a 1-banana or a single action
website, which is exactly that. You’re giving your visitor
only one option - sign up for your list via your free
ezine, special report, checklist, ebook, etc. They get
their freebie in exchange for giving you their email
address.
One of my clients recently implemented this idea for her
coaching business, which was a big leap of faith for her. I
just got a joyful email from her saying that she’s noticed
a substantial increase in her opt-ins since!
It works, so don’t be afraid to try it. And by the way, a
testimonial or two on your 1-banana website doesn’t hurt
either.
2. Write enticing copy.
Remember that people tend to skim what they read online, so
make sure you have an attention-getting headline and some
additional brief copy describing the benefits your visitor
will receive by signing up for your list. As always, make
sure it answers the most prominent question in your
visitor’s mind, “what’s in it for me?”
3. Have only two form fields: First Name and Primary Email
If you capture someone’s name along with their email
address, you can easily personalize any future
correspondence with them, which is proven to increase open
and response rates. In other words, if you address
something to someone individually, they feel more connected
and are more likely to respond well to your mailings.
If you ask for a Primary Email address, many people will
give it to you, as opposed to a back-up email address that
they hardly ever check. And You’ll get higher quality email
addresses simply by asking them to give you their primary
one, which means you’ll have less bounce-backs and your
emails will actually get through to the people who asked to
receive them.
Only having these two form fields makes it a snap for
someone to sign up, and you want to make it as simple as
possible for your visitor to do so.
4. Have a clear submit button.
Like having a 1-banana website, you want to make it very
clear what it is that you want your visitor to do. Have
your submit button say something like, “subscribe” or “sign
me up now” or “send me the ecourse” (that’s what mine says).
5. Share your privacy policy.
Share your privacy policy on the same page, and keep it
simple. Something like, “We will never share your email
address, period.” will work wonders for alleviating your
visitors’ fears of getting lots of spam.
Follow these 5 easy-to-implement strategies and you will
dramatically increase the number of websites visitors who
sign up for your list!
—————————————————-
Alicia M Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Queen & CoachT,
founder of http://www.ClientAbundance.com , and creator of
21 Easy & Essential Steps to Online Success SystemT,
teaches self-employed service professionals how to attract
more clients, create profit-making products and services,
make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire
and deserve.
For FREE tips on how to create abundance in your business,
visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com
Written by SEO Tipster on June 13th, 2006 with no comments.
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If you own or manage a business Website, chances are you are at least somewhat familiar with the concept of search engine optimization (SEO). You may have read any number of books and articles on the subject and possibly given it a try yourself. Or perhaps, after exhaustive research, you decided that your time is better spent in your area of expertise. If that’s the case, I have some good news for you. There is such a thing as affordable search engine optimization. In fact, when you know what to look for, it can be a real bargain.
Step One ? 3 Simple Questions:
The first step is estimating some target market information. Just ask a few simple questions and write down the answers that you come up with. You’ll need this information later:
1. How many people do you think are looking for what you offer?
2. What keywords are they using in search engine searches?
3. Which keywords are the most popular to meet your needs?
Step Two - Verify:
Now that you have your initial estimates, let’s validate the information. Visit Overture.com’s Advertiser Center and try their Search Term Suggestion Tool located at: http://www.content.overture.com/d/USm/ac/index.jhtml
Type in any term that you think is close to what your potential visitors are looking for. You will see how many searches were performed, on the Overture search system, for the previous month. TIP ? Use a general search term to start with.
Now you have the single most important advantage when dealing with any trained business professional ? you are informed!
Step Three ? Make it Happen:
Now that you have this great information, you want to see it implemented. This is the best part. I recommend a visit to SEO Partner. SEO Partner (www.SEOPartner.com) really lives up to its slogan “search engine optimization on your terms”.
They have assembled an enormous talent pool of SEO developers, who actually compete to work on your project. It does not cost you anything to post your optimization projects. To operate the service, they accept a small commission from the SEO developers (which is only a fraction of what developers would normally spend on marketing efforts alone).
Finally, there’s one of my favorite features. SEO Partner protects you from those less scrupulous SEO ‘experts’ you read about more and more with their protective escrow payment system.
Step Four ? Track Your Progress:
Finally, once you have your campaign underway, you really need to track your progress. There are some great tools available for that purpose. Here are links to some of the better products that I have worked with:
www.webposition.com
www.axandra.com
www.searchenginecommando.com
There are a lot of products out there - all at varying costs. I recommend you visit your favorite search engine and look for ’seo tools’ and see what you get for a response. Then I would definitely test each one’s demo version thoroughly before investing in any one of them. A good tool is worth the investment but there are so many great options out there that it’s best to shop around and try before you buy.
I wish you the best of luck in your campaign!
Scott Jason is a search engine optimization project manager with SEOpm.com. With five years in the industry he specializes in assisting small to medium sized companies attain their SEO goals. Feel free to contact Scott, or his associates, at www.SEOpm.com.
Written by SEO Tipster on June 13th, 2006 with no comments.
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If you have any interest in getting high search engine rankings for your website (and who doesn’t) you’ve probably been sold the idea that writing and publishing your own articles will do it for you.
Here’s why that’s not entirely true.
Imagine the following scenario…
You write an article around a keyword or keyphrase you want to rank well for.
You submit that article to all the article submission sites and directories and ezines you can find.
Your article gets published in hundreds of places.
You now have hundreds of links pointing back to your main site…
But your own site never shows up in the top ten results for that particular keyword or keyphrase.
Instead you find that there are lots of other sites carrying your article that rank better than yours.
You’ve completely missed out on an excellent opportunity to get high rankings for your keyword or keyphrase.
Even worse… you just handed your precious keyword-rich content on a platter to possible competitors who happened to publish your article on their website, and may have lost some of your most targeted visitors and sales to them.
So where did you go wrong?
Your mistake lay in using your precious article - the keyword-rich content you toiled for hours to write - for entirely the wrong purpose.
You failed to use the power of the medium of article publishing to give your site an unbeatable advantage over others.
Here’s how to use your articles the right way to boost your search engine rankings.
1. Publish Unique Content On Your Website
When you make an article available for reprint, the article, by virtue of it being published on hundreds of other sites, now no longer qualifies as unique content.
In the eyes of search engines, those pages with higher Pagerank (and hence greater importance) than yours will now rank better than you for the keywords your article is optimized for.
Instead of making your article the main course, use it as an appetizer to direct search engines and readers to a UNIQUE, keyword-rich, well-optimized report or white paper on your website, and you’ll see dramatically different results.
2. Use Your Article As Spider Bait
Think of your articles as simply the conduit that leads search engines to your website.
Publishing your articles all over the web is like leaving scraps for a puppy (a.k.a. the search engines) that follows them all the way back to the kennel (a.k.a. your website) where it can feast on the main course - your UNIQUE content.
3. Use Keyword-Rich Anchor Text In Your Resource Box
Use your main keyword or keyphrase in the anchor text of the article resource box that contains a link pointing back to your unique content.
This will create hundreds of keyword-rich links pointing back to the well-optimized report on your website, and give your pages a powerful edge over other websites.
Often this factor alone is sufficient to take your website to the top of the search results, especially with search engines like Google and MSN.
The guidelines above include few of the steps you need to take to get high rankings for the keywords of your choice.
?/P>
Copyright 2004 Priya Shah
Priya Shah is author of the search engine optimization ebook, Number One In Your Niche, that shows how to use your articles and content to get long-term, top ten rankings for your website.
Written by SEO Tipster on June 13th, 2006 with no comments.
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Keywords aren’t just some words that allow search engines, like Google, to find your web site. They are also key elements for creating attractive language to use in your marketing or advertising material. For instance places such as: brochures, business cards, flyers, and ads. Keywords can also fit well into speaking engagements scripts or audiotapes scripts as well as audience handouts.
It is important to create a keyword list for each product or service you have. The keyword list might even change slightly if there are various groups or audiences for that product or service.
For simplicity, I have omitted the word service and for the word product to reflect both.
Creating your keyword list can begin after you have clearly identified the buyer or audience for a particular product or service. You will need to know as much about the buyer’s demographic and charactertics as possible. I also recommend including their descriptive qualities and personalities. Here is a list to kick start your brainstorming process:
?Communicative
?Competent
?Dedicated
?Enthusiastic
?Expert
?Hardworking
?Improved
?Positive
?Negative
?Professional
?Relationship-driven
?Self-confident
?Successful
?Tranquil
?Spiritual
?Understanding
?Socially conscious
?Early adaptor
?Later buyer
?Has to see it to believe it
?Guarantee a must.
The list of keywords will describe the product and target the specific quality you have isolated as most important to those buyers. No grabbing out of midair. Take the time and research, this will help you save money and reduce costly marketing experiences.
You can complete your research with any combination of methods. Here are eight methods to help you build from:
?Brainstorming
?Yellow Pages or other indexes for services or products.
?Reviewing your company literature already created
?Checking out the competitor’s literature
?Surveying key customers
?Searching through trade publications (articles and ads), and contacting them or visiting their web site looking for their buyer statistics/demographics.
?Use a general dictionary and thesaurus
?Use a specialized dictionary like the, Flip Dictionary.
You can use resources like the yellow pages or other catalogue-type indexes listing grouping to discover keywords your product or service would be listed under.
Let’s move through an example. If you were selling a professional development product ? you could be in any one of the following professions: professional speaker, life, business, or executive coach, consultant or trainer. Your buyer or audience is somewhat successful you’re your product will help them add additional success. Here is a list of keywords that could describe their characteristics or qualities:
?Able to motivate others
?Clearheaded
?Clear-sighted
?Committed to achieving excellence
?Demands excellence
?Full of character
?Has good judgment
?Has a wonderful stress-free life already
?Highly perceptive
?Lives up to her or her potential
?Life-long learner
?Sts high standards for themselves
?Stays on track
?Strives for perfection
?Strives to excel
?Takes the initiative
?Motivated to achieve
Okay, good start. Now, let’s begin to put all this together. Let’s zoom in on one of these: strives to excel. Let’s narrow down further to one word: excel.
Look up the word excel in a synonym finder, thesaurus or my preference, the Flip Dictionary and you find the following keywords that you can add to your keyword list: best, better, exceed, outclass, outdo, out rival, outstrip, shine, star, superior, surpass, take the cake, transcend, dominate, tower above, be head and shoulders above, stand out in the crowd, hold sway, lead, take the lead, lead the pack.
The list can go on, however, will stop here because the point is made.
After this, you could let your fingers travel through the thesaurus and then add those words.
Alternatively, you could continue your list by visiting a few of your competitor’s web sites and see what keywords they use. You do this by visiting their home page, right clicking the mouse on the page, and select “view source.” In the HTML code look for “keywords.” These are the keywords they use for the search engines to find them.
You will want to specifically focus on the competitor web sites that appear in first ten spots on one or two major search engines, like Google.
Next, select another method from your list of resources and continue until you feel you have enough right words.
After completing your list, you will want to review and place the keywords in priority order as best possible and eliminate any words that might be misleading. If you market globally, make sure none of the keywords mean something offensive in their language.
Catherine Franz, a Certified Professional Marketing & Writing Coach, specializes in product development, Internet writing and marketing, nonfiction, training. Newsletters and articles available at: http://www.abundancecenter.com
blog: http://abundance.blogs.com
Written by SEO Tipster on June 13th, 2006 with no comments.
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Adding fresh, updated content to your website is the surest way to get search engines engines to spider your site more often. Search engines are known to index sites updated on a regular basis more frequently.
Updating and adding to the content on your website frequently will give you an advantage in the search results and also help you expand the number of search terms or key phrases you can get found for.
There are many tools and resources you can use to automate the process of adding fresh, updated content and creating more spider-food on your website.
Here are six ways to add fresh content to your site:
- Weblogs or Blogs
A blog is an online diary or journal. Setting up a blog is easy and the many free blogging services make it possible for just about anyone to get started.
Several blog programs allow your users to create an account and post their comments to your blog, thereby adding more fresh content for you.
I use Blogger.com to create my own blogs like the Number One In Your Niche Blog.
- Newsletters or Ezines
Publishing a regular newsletter or ezine is an excellent way to add content at regular intervals and get repeat traffic to your site. Archiving your newsletters online is one way of automatically updating your pages and adding new content.
As an example see the archives of my newsletter online
- Content Management Systems
Content Management Systems (CMS) allow you or your website visitors to add, edit or delete content to your website without having to create and format the pages manually.
Article exchange scripts are a type of content management system. There are many zero-cost or open-source content management systems like PHP-Nuke or Post-Nuke, that are often included with hosting packages and require no set up.
Xongoo! CMS is a search engine friendly and zero-cost content management system
Other open-source CMS include PHP-Nuke and Drupal
- Forums/Bulletin Boards
A forum or bulletin board is an excellent tool for building content and creating an online community that will bring repeat traffic. Many web hosts now provide packages that include bulletin board scripts on your server.
The best part about a forum is that it allows your visitors to build your content for you. However, it does require time and energy, and some technical knowledge to moderate and maintain forums.
phpBB is a popular open-source bulletin system
- Reviews/Interviews
Reviewing and publishing a write-up on new products or resources in your field is becoming a favourite technique with affiliate marketers looking to boost their commissions.
It is also an excellent way to get found for the keywords related to the product you review. You can also do regular interviews of experts in your industry and put up the transcript on your site.
My product reviews have allowed me to get high rankings for specific keywords of my choice
- RSS or Newsfeeds
RSS is the latest craze in online publishing because it allows syndication of *expert* news and content that is regularly updated at the source.
Using RSS feeds you can enhance your site content without the need to write a single line on your own. Search engines love RSS feeds and are known to spider pages with such feeds more often.
Express RSS is a tool that allows you to add RSS feeds to your site in under a minute
Copyright 2004 Priya Shah
Priya Shah is the author of the search engine optimization guide, Number One In Your Niche and edits the newsletters Be a Whiz at eBiz! and The Glutathione Report
Written by SEO Tipster on June 13th, 2006 with no comments.
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Incorporating writing as a means of boosting your link popularity can be a turnoff for many webmasters, when in fact it can lead to a wealth of links.
I first learnt about link popularity while researching about many different methods that I could use to market a Geocities site I had. After emailing countless webmasters and receiving some dismal results, I realized that it was hopeless to get people to exchange links with my freebie website.
Then I discovered writing. At first I was skeptical at using this concept but after trying it for some time, the results began to show. What was wonderful is that it only cost me some of my time.
With the help of article writing I was able to achieve a Pagerank of 4 for my Geocities website. The more webmasters that archived my articles the more links I had pointing to my site. As a result of my growing link popularity I began to see my site show up on the first or second page for some relatively competitive search terms.
Using writing as a marketing tool can save you thousands in advertising dollars. Imagine a website or ezine that costs hundreds to advertise in and you have the feature article which didn’t cost you a dime to produce. You can easily see which generates more profit in the long run.
Through the power of the written word you can be able to get free publicity for your business. Providing quality and profitable and sometimes inspiring information can help you to achieve that goal. Many top marketers have used writing to good effect.
Developing your own writing style is important. As there are many others doing the same thing you what to differ from them. How can you stand out in a crowd if you are just like everyone else.
Practicing and researching helped me to put pen to paper for my first articles. Some of your first creations maybe a bit tacky but as long as you keep going you can improve.
Writing can be a task at times. There are moments when I have written the first two paragraphs and just get stuck. The inevitable writer’s block can be a challenge to overcome. Taking a break and getting into the right frame of mind can be helpful.
Can anyone become a writer? Well the answer depends on how much effort you put into it. I have had some wonderful experiences since I became a writer. At times when there are criticisms and negative feedback, they can help you to better your skills if you use them the right way.
Many people don’t like writing. But sometimes it is the things that we don’t enjoy doing that are most beneficial to us. Try your hand at writing, if a guy from a Caribbean island can do it then so can you.
Copyright ?Nicholas Dixon
*****************************************************
Nicholas Dixon is a Jamaican webmaster, writer and affiliate marketer. Find out
how you too can create an online income with our list of highly recommended
programs by visiting http://WWW.Oceanroc.com/affiliate-directory
Written by SEO Tipster on June 13th, 2006 with no comments.
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