via Selling SEO Projects Against PPC Campaigns – Search Engine Watch (SEW).

Of course, this really depends heaviy on your business model and sales funnel.  For some businesses that sell directly online, PPC is a fantastic option, since you have the ability to track ROI to the penny and can quickly coorelate keyword performance with sales to tweak your PPC strategy.

For more traditional selling models, PPC is great to get initial traffic coming in, but it’s SEO that will drive long-term organic rankings and search traffic.

Furthermore, SEO tactics, such as developing great content with RSS feeds, gives you the ability to increase inbound links, where PPC is a one-shot deal with no long term impact.  Once you stop paying the traffic stops.

Take an hour today to revisit your traffic generation plan.  Consider PPC and SEO among other strategies, specifically thinking about the short and long-term goals you hope to achieve with each.

It’s still shocking that many newbies don’t understand links. You don’t need to link to a lot of Web sites. You need a lot of good Web sites to link to you. And, it’s best if you can manage to get some of those links to include — in some fashion — the keywords that describe the page they’re linking to.

For example, if I’m linking to Search Engine Watch, I would want to link using the words “Search Engine Optimization News” within the anchor text of the link. If I wanted to “deep link” (that is to say, link deeper within the Search Engine Watch Web site), I would link to the Promotion & Link Building page using the words “Link Building Resources.”

via Top Signs Your Site Isn’t Ready for Prime Time, Part 2 – Search Engine Watch (SEW).

This strategy is so critical.  I would also add that not only do you want to use your keywords in this deep linking strategy, but you should also link from sites that have a high PageRank.

For example, you could generate dozens of inbound links from sites with a Google PageRank of zero and your efforts would yield very little in-terms of SEO.  Whereas one link from a .gov or .edu site with high PageRank could significantly improve your rank.

To lean more about PageRank, check out Wikipedia on PageRank

To check the PageRank of any site, check out prchecker.

While no one knows every element that each search engine includes in their algorithms, one thing that everyone can agree on is that a site needs to have quality content in order to rank. For many sites, one of the easiest ways to add that quality content on a consistent basis is by starting a blog.

via Blogs and Blogging 101, Part 1 – Search Engine Watch SEW.

This is pretty basic, but the fact remains that quality content with some sense of keyword research can drive quality traffic to your site.

Yet, so many website owners fail to create unique and compelling content.  Not you, of course, those other people.

It’s a task that’s often seen as a chore, but blogging must be central to your internet marketing strategy.  Using social media tools to drive traffic is great too, but in the long run it’s on-site content that will ultimately drive the most traffic from search engines.

For me, the best way to look at blogging is as a place to discuss topics within my niche that I’m truly interested in.  It shouldn’t be hard if your website is about a topic that you actually care about or spend time thinking about on a regular basis.

If you fear the idea of putting your thoughts out there, try writing a number of blog posts and just saving them as a draft.  That will help get you in the rythym without the risk of criticism.

Good luck and happy blogging!

It isn’t enough to just put your videos out there and hope people see them. Like anything online you need to pick the best keywords, do some promotion, and if you want viewers to do something in particular after watching your videos (instead of moving onto someone else’s video) there has to be a strong call to action and/or motivation for them to click away from YouTube.

The basic findings in a national phone survey that ended in December show:

• 48% of internet users said they had ever visited a video-sharing site such as YouTube. A year ago, in December 2006, 33% of internet users said they had ever visited such sites. That represents growth of more than 45% year-to-year.
• 15% of respondents said they had used a video-sharing site “yesterday” — the day before they were contacted for our survey. A year ago, 8% had visited such a site “yesterday.” Thus, on an average day, the number of users of video sites nearly doubled from the end of 2006 to the end of 2007.

This is valuable information that should be calculated in your efforts to promote your website.  If you aren’t using video in your advertising, based on these surveys, you are probably missing out on a lot of potential traffic.

1. Write each post title so it grabs the reader’s attention. It is the first thing someone reads, and it should get your reader’s attention right away. Your title should both pique the reader’s interest and be informative. Do not write “Business Writing Advice”; instead, say “The Best-Kept Secret to Reducing Your Business Writing Worries.” Longer titles have the advantage of describing in detail what your post is about; 8-12 words are a good range.

2. Keep sentences short and clear. A little goes a long way. Readers are busy people and they will not spend hours detangling complex syntax or sifting through blocks of text. Also, use strong language. Start a new paragraph every few sentences, and limit each post to 250 words, if possible. If you cannot write it in under 250 words, split it into two entries.

3. Break up the text. Use numbered lists, bullet points, and subheadings to make your posts easy to scan. Lots of white space on the page is a good thing-it allows your reader to take mental breaks and let the knowledge soak in. In addition, with the inevitable clutter of banner ads and side text, this technique puts some distance between your writing and all those distractions.

4. Keep current. No one wants to read old news. Your job is to stay up-to-date so your readers do not have to themselves. Read newspapers. Scour the web for references. For example, if you write a blog about business communication, subscribe to Google News Alerts using keywords related to the field, such as blogs, podcasting, instant messaging, business letters, memos, and business reports, so you will always be well informed. Posting items from last month or last year will lose your reader’s interest faster than you can say “Enron.”

5. Be bold. Timidity is an easy path to anonymity. Do not be afraid to create and state your opinions. Of course, there are some situations in which objectivity rules-but you have to give people a reason to read this blog by you and not by the person next door.

6. Be accurate. If you make a statement, be prepared to back it up. Know what your sources are and quote them accurately. Misinformation spreads like wildfire online; do not be the spark that sets it off or the wind that fans it.

7. Contribute to the conversation. Links are great-but then what? Do not just post links to the same tired sites, offer your reader something new. Contribute to the conversation. Your goal is to be the site to which everyone else is linking-so you had better have something worth writing about.

8. Stay focused. Once you have defined the theme of your blog, stick to it. A blog about piggy banks has no business posting about the latest innovation in alternative energy. Such a deviance will only confuse your reader and chip away at your virtual authority.

9. Use key words liberally. Keywords are, well, key. Harness your blog’s search engine potential by dousing your title and post with effective keywords that will help interested parties find your page in the vast, muddled blogosphere. This is one of the most important elements of getting your blog read-go at it with gusto.

10. Be consistent. Keep a schedule and stick to it. Post frequently-at least several times per week if you want to increase your potential of attracting new readers. Let your blog languish for weeks without updates and your audience will move on to fresher ground.

Maintaining an informative blog that people want to read takes hard work and good writing skills. Find what makes your writing unique-and flaunt it for all it is worth.

In the last few years, blogging has emerged to become a much more meaningful activity than simply maintaining a personal diary. People use it to advertise their products and services, in fact, quite a number of companies even create their online presence by using a blog instead of a website.

Create Your Own Blog

Starting a blog is free. You can create one at http://www.blogger.com – a free service from Google Inc. You don’t need to register a domain name or buy hosting. When you sign up at Blogger, everything happens online. Your blog will be hosted by Blogger and you get an URL like http://yourdomain.blogspot.com. You simply log in to your account and start to write. This is much easier and cheaper than buying your own domain and hosting, then hiring someone to do the web design, writing and coding.

Another free blogging service available online is WordPress which is also very popular and easy to use. WordPress supports more features than Blogger while allowing you to customize your blog with various plug-in. You can check it out at http://wordpress.org.

Monetize Your Blog

While blogging for your own interest, you can in fact maximize the potential of your blog for many marketing or commercial purposes.

The quickest and easiest way to turn a blog into a money-making enterprise is to include advertising on your blog. This can be done with contextual ad programs like Adsense – an advertising program by Google. Basically, you get paid when people click on the ads displayed on your website or blog. Google Adsense program is free to sign up. You can visit http://www.google.com/adsense to learn more about the rules and guidelines of the program. Other Adsense type ads that you can use for blog monetizing are SearchFeed, AdBrite, and Yahoo’s Publisher’s Network (YPN).

Affiliate program is another potential way to make money blogging. By focusing on the subject of your blog post, you can promote relevant products from cost per sale affiliate programs like ClickBank and Amazon. You can write a review about the product or service with your affiliate links embedded inside so you get the commission whenever a sale is made.

Boost Your Blog Traffic

Blogs are quickly indexed by search engines, but you need to update it regularly. Search engines love fresh content and regular update will ensure that your website is indexed and ranked high up as well. The higher up it appears, the more traffic will come to your site, which means more sales. You can actively participate in forums discussion or post comments on other blogs to get more link back traffic.

Whether you use your blog for fun or for work, remember that it’s a highly potential tool any which way. So what are you waiting for? Start blogging away right now!

Press releases are used by all the major companies to inform the press about what is going on in the company. As you read on, you will discover the different parts that make up a press release, how to write them well and how to distribute press releases on-line including at the Free Press Release Center.

A press release is made up of different sections. It starts with a headline then there is a summary of the press release and then this is followed by the actual contents and finally the contact information. A well written press release can capture the attention of journalists and get you good exposure. In preparing your press release you need to consider several key things which are outlined below.

The first part of the press release is the headline. The headline is in title case. This Means You Capitalize Every Word Except for Prepositions and Articles of Three Words or Less and Short. Ideally the headline should not be more than 170 characters and it doesn’t end with the period (or a full stop as the British would say). Your headline needs to be sharp, to the point and eye catching. Some journalists see hundreds of press releases each day. Your one needs to stand out.

The summary paragraph is a synopsis of the press release in regular sentence form. It doesn’t merely repeat the headline or opening paragraph. It just tells the story in a different way.

Next comes the actual text of the press release. This is known as the body of the press release. The first paragraph, known as the “lead”, contains the most important information. After that you need to remember that in a press release you need to keep sentences and paragraphs short, about three or four lines per paragraph. The first couple of paragraphs should cover the who, what, when, where, why and how questions. The rest of the press release expounds on the information provided in the lead paragraph. It includes quotes from key staff, customers or subject matter experts. It contains more details about the news you have to tell.

At the end of the press release you need to include a short back ground paragraph about your organization. You then need to list the contact person’s name and phone number. You should include a phone number so that journalists can contact you easily without having to wait for your to reply to emails.

One very important thing to remember when writing a press release is that you are writing for journalists and not for potential clients, consumers or visitors to your web site. Journalists use press releases as a starting point for a larger story or feature. Press releases written as sales pieces will be completely ignored.

It can be very difficult to get your press release noticed by a journalist. It is a sad fact, but many press releases are quickly tossed in the trash without being studied. Journalists have deadlines and a job to do. Press releases help them do that job, but unless your press release stands out it will be in tomorrows garbage collection. You need to get the journalists attention. The press release needs to be good. It needs to contain news. And most of all it needs to be better than the other 200 press releases the journalist saw that day.

Once your press release is ready you need to distribute it. A good starting place is the Free Press Release Center (http://www.free-press-release-center.info). The power of FPRC is in its keyword linking. With each press release the you can choose a keyword and a URL (different to your main site URL) which will appear as a link (using the keyword as the anchor text) in your press release. This gives you free links to your site using the anchor text of your choice. Plus it is in a natural context, i.e. the text of their release.

A press release is a great way to get media attention for your web site. Used well your web site news can be tomorrows headlines.

For Web Hosting:

1) Start with keywords – Think about terms potential customers would use to find you in a search engine. What would you type in if you were looking for your business?

2) Use a keyword selector tool – Type your keywords into a keyword selector tool to see how many people have searched on the term in the last 30 days. Look for terms in the 2k-10k range that are relevant to your site.

3) Use domain names which match your keywords – My client advertises products that are geared toward leadership skills development. In addition to leadingonedge.com he also has leadership-skills.info and a handful of others.

4) Use keywords throughout your web pages – Put your keywords in the title, description, keywords, graphics, and written text.

5) Use a keyword density analyzer – Check your website against a keyword density analyzer to see how frequently a specific keyword is used. Shoot for 3-15% density.

6) Slick and sexy doesn’t get you traffic – Don’t waste your money on slick graphics or things that fly across your screen. Most visitors find them annoying and search engines don’t care for them.

7) Use Google AdSense on your website – Whenever someone clicks on a Google ad in your website, you get revenue. And the ads are relevant to your content. My websites now pay for themselves with ad revenue alone.

Advertise Amazon books and products on your website – Set up an Amazon Associates account and put relevant books and products on your website. When someone buys a product you get referral revenue.

9) Consider using a website starter package – If going it on your own, think about using a website starter package which can have you up and running quickly.

10) Decide where you want to spend your time – In any business, time is money! Small business web hosting is very doable, but it does take time. Decide if you want to do it yourself or have a professional help you.

For Marketing:

1) Get an automated eCommerce system – These can be really good, very comprehensive and very inexpensive. The good ones can do everything from customer base management to product management to shopping cart to newsletter broadcasts.

2) Get a cheap and reliable merchant account provider – You can get merchant account providers that do both the merchant account and internet gateway for you.

3) Put a link back to your website in your email autosignature – This doesn’t need to be obnoxious, just a simple link that email recipients can click on to reference your website.

4) Do selective link trading – Link trade, but make sure the content on the other websites is similar to your own. Don’t touch “link farms” with a ten-foot pole; search engines hate them.

5) Write articles and include your website address – Every business owner has something to say that someone would love to read about! There are a number of article databases out there that are researched for website content. Find some article databases which house content similar to yours and write a few articles. You’d be amazed at where your articles show up!

6) Write newsletters – Allow for customers and visitors to subscribe to a newsletter to get regular visibility to you and your company. This is also a great way to compile a customer email data base for your business.

7) Consider using a search engine submission services – These services submit your site to multiple search engines & directories. This can be helpful particularly if your website is new.

Set up an affiliates program – Allow for others to promote your products on a commission basis. Again a good eCommerce system should already have this built in.

9) Download the Google Toolbar – I am a Google toolbar fanatic! The Google Toolbar has a nifty feature which shows you the page rank (0-10 scale) of every site you visit; the higher your page ranking the higher your placement in search engines.

10) Set up multiple websites – Got three services you perform? Set up three different websites with domain names that match your keywords. Super cheap to do and can be very effective.

Since online businesses are starting to discover the complexity of marketing online, employing certain means can ensure the success of your attempts to market a certain product or Web content online, one of which is by keyword optimization.

Keyword Optimization In Online Marketing

Strategically placing keywords and phrases within your site’s content can help boost your site’s traffic immensely, thereby improving your site’s ranking in search engine results. The choice of keywords that you use, and how you optimize them, can play a role in how well you will be able to promote your website in your online marketing campaign.

Also, the places where you may situate these keywords can also affect how your site will be able to rank high on search engine results since search engines give higher relevance to keywords that are in the correct places within the web page.

Keyword optimization is such an important part of online marketing due to the fact that using the appropriate keyword in describing your site’s content helps inform online users, and potential clients, about your Web content. People will have an idea of what your site is offering them even before they actually access your site by merely reading the keywords used to describe it.

Your keywords should be relevant to the product or Web content that your site is offering, and these keywords should be prominently featured on the web page to give focus and importance to these keywords, in order to improve your search engine ranking since this will help your site receive consistent web searches over time, thereby increasing your site’s traffic.

Another reason as to why keyword optimization is such an important part of online marketing is so that you will be able to find your target potential customers online without having to exert that much effort. If you can improve your site’s ranking position in search engines, then prospective clients will be able to find your site much faster and in a more efficient manner, thereby increasing your chances of closing a sale with them.

By using appropriate keywords to improve your site’s search engine result, you can expose your site on the Internet better since your site is able to achieve omnipresence. Also, by making sure that your site is able to hit the top keywords that you aim to optimize, you can help make it easier for online users to find your site in almost all types of browsers.

Optimizing keywords will also help provide relevant information to some of your potential clients, giving them a clear idea as to what product you are selling, and making it easier for search engines to pinpoint what your site is all about. This helps avoid the problem of confusion, especially if you want to target a specific market to your site, by making sure that your site offers them with only the appropriate information and relevant links that can help them understand more about your site’s Web content.