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2007-04-10T14:17:00.000+08:00

How To Drive Traffíc Away From Your Website

Let's take a look at some of the reasons why your website visitors may be leaving your website before they've had a chance to hear what you have to say; or to put it another way, if you want to drive traffíc AWAY faster than you attract it, here are some of the things you should do.

1. Give Web-visitors Too Many Options and Choices

Social scientist and Swarthmore College professor, Barry Schwartz, has coined the phrase, "the paradox of choice." His studies have concluded the more choice you give people, the less likely they are to make a decision. Some choice is good, but too much choice creates confusion: it's a case of diminishing marginal utility.

A well designed website explains, directs, guides, and focuses visitor attention on the things that are of real benefit to your visitors and to your company.

Every business provides a variety of products, services, and information to their customers, but these things are not all of equal importance. Your website is a place to focus attention on your core marketing message, not a place to provide a shopping líst of everything you are able to do and every product or service you may be able to offër.

2. Give Web Visitors Too Much Information To Process

Architect, author, and information designer, Richard Saul Wurman, in his book, 'Information Anxiety' talks about, "the ever-widening gap between what we understand and what we think we should understand."

Good website design is about more than technology and aesthetics; it's about deciding what information needs to be presented and what information needs to be left out. If you are truly an expert in your field, you should know what information is important to your customers in order for them to make a decision. Too much information is like too much choice, it confuses rather than clarifies. Focus on delivering meaningful content or risk having your visitors hit the exit button.

3. Give Web Visitors Too Much Non-relevant Content

The only thing worse than overloading your website with more information than visitors can absorb is confusing them with useless and non-relevant content.

Non-relevant content is content that doesn't advance your major purpose: to deliver your marketing message in an informative, engaging, entertaining, and memorable manner. If it isn't relevant, dump it.

4. Give Web Visitors Too Many Irritating Distractions

Websites should be designed to direct visitors to the information they want and that information should be the content you want to deliver.

You cannot sell someone a product or service they do not want. A real prospect is one that needs the same information you want to provide; the art of salës is directing potential clients to relevant information, and presenting it in a way that visitors see your product or service as fulfilling their needs.

On the surface, third-party advertisements and banners may seem like a good way to make some extra cäsh from your traffíc, but these ads become so distracting, visitors either get fed-up or clíck on one of the links that takes them away from your site. Whatever few bucks you earn from these ads, you are loosing by chasing real customers away; this of course assumes you are a real business with something legitímate to sell and not a website that's an excuse to deliver advertisements.

Other nonsense like favorite links and silly fluff-content merely distracts visitors from investigating your site to find what they are looking for.

5. Give Web Visitors Too Many Red Flags

Website visitors are constantly looking for red flags that tell them that the site they are visiting should be skipped as soon as possible.

If you want to make sure visitors won't deal with you make sure you don't provide any contact information: no contact names, no telephone numbers, and no mailing address is a sure sign that you won't look after any problems that arise from a website transaction.

Your website must be designed to build trust and foster a relationship, not scare people away.

6. Give Web Visitors Too Many Decisions To Make

How many decisions do you demand from your visitors in order for them to do business with you?

Take for example the seemingly simple task of purchasing a new television. Do you purchase the inexpensive but old tube technology, the newer Plasma technology, or the LCD technology? How about all the various features to choose from like picture-in-picture, commercial skip-timers, and on and on? All you really want to do is relax with your spouse and enjoy a good movie - is that on a VSH, DVD, Blu-ray, or HD-DVD?

7. Give Web Visitors Too Many Stumbling Blocks

Do you make people go through the order processing system before they can find out how much something costs, or do you demand potential customers read a ridiculous amount of small print legalese that only a lawyer could understand?

If you want to drive traffíc away from your site make sure you build in as many stumbling blocks as possible.

8. Give Web Visitors Too Many Forms To Fill-in

Do you attract your visitors with special offers or free white papers and then demand that they fill-out complex forms, surveys, and questionnaires before you give them access to what they came for? If you do, you are probably losing a lot of people you attracted, and you are guaranteeing that your next email promotion will end up in the trash.

9. Give Web Visitors Incomprehensible Page Layouts

Good design, proper page layout, consistent navigation, and well organized information architecture that promotes serendipity, helps visitors find what they're looking for and provides a pleasant, efficient and rewarding experience for the website visitor.

Website designs that rely on technology, databases, and search engine optimization rather than focused content, coherent organization, articulate presentation, and a memorable, rewarding experience are designs designed to chase traffíc away.

10. Give Web Visitors Too Many Confusing Instructions

One of the most frustrating experiences website visitors encounter is confusing instructions and incoherent explanations of how your product or service works or how to order what you are selling.

11. Give Web Visitors Too Many Reason To Clíck-out

If you really are determined to fail, make sure you provide website visitors with as many reasons as possible to leave your site: irrelevant links to your favorite sites, links to your suppliers because you're too cheap to put their information on your own site, or any combination of the reasons mentioned above, all contribute to driving traffíc away from your site.

2006-12-25T17:47:00.000+08:00

My Top Website Traffic Generation Techniques

I recently conducted a 2 1/2 hour teleseminar that I entitled "Website Traffic Generation Techniques That Work." I conducted the teleseminar for two reasons:

1) I was partnering with two esteemed clients/friends in creating an in-demand product. Our combined knowledge and experience guaranteed a website traffic generation product better than any similar product that I'd seen recently!

2) I was tired of seeing so many people with websites getting practically ZERO traffic when it is so easy. I wanted to explain to my subscribers and clients, in a plain-English fashion, some very effective but simple methods of getting visitors to their websites.

My websites currently get so much traffic that, while we could always use more traffic, I no longer worry about getting website traffic. I've reached what my friend Jack Humphrey termed critical mass - that point at which one could actually stop promoting for a while and the traffic would continue.

When you look at website traffic generation - big picture - it's just a matter of identifying where your ideal traffic is, and "standing in front of it!" Here are just a few ways that I do that. We covered many more in the teleseminar.

These are all fast and easy to implement:

* Article Writing - Write 300 - 1000 word articles on topics that your market cares about. Make sure that the articles address a problem, worry or challenge that your market faces. In the article point them to solutions that they can find on your website. It's that simple.

* Affiliate Programs - With an affiliate program, you have others send you traffic, and you don't spend a penny until that traffic converts into sales. You can set up a simple affiliate program selling an ebook through Clickbank or PayDotCom.com and have an army of people working hard to send you customers in no time.

If you don't have a product, you can take private label products, and with a little effort, create products that your market will be clamoring for, and that affiliates will be thrilled to market for you. The best duplicable SYSTEM that I've seen for doing this was developed by Louis Burleson. You can learn all about Louis' easy to implement system at: http://NoHypeInternetMarketing.com/TheKey/

* Ebay Sales - With over 100 million registered users, Ebay is simply too big to ignore as a source of traffic. The most important thing about that incredible number of Ebay users is that they are buyers. They visit Ebay with credit card in hand, and all you need to do is be there with the products that they are looking for.

By some estimates that I've seen, Ebay gets MORE searches per day than Google!

There are dozens of ways for you to lure some of those millions of visitors to your website. Ebay even makes it easy for you to sift through their database and see WHAT the most common things are that people are searching for. What could be easier? You sift through their database, determine what lots of their users are searching for and then create simple information product that cater to those concerns. Then you advertise on Ebay, extremely inexpensively, letting people know that you have the solutions over at your website.

* Organic Search Engine Traffic - This seems mysterious or difficult to many people. However, if you understand that people visit the search engines seeking solutions to their problems, then it's as simple as determining what problems a lot of people are searching for solutions to, creating solutions to those problems, and then making people aware of the solutions through content on your site.

As an example, this article addresses the massive problem of most websites not having enough traffic. It tells them of the solutions offered on my site, and finally the article facilitates the search engines telling searchers that my site is where they'll find the solution. I'll feed this article to the search engines through my article distribution channels.

* Social Networking Sites - Sites such as MySpace, Youtube, and dozens of bookmarking sites, get millions of users every day. MySpace rapidly grew into the sixth most visited site on the Internet.

MySpace users set up accounts and conveniently categorize themselves into interest groups. Using very simple techniques, you can redirect massive traffic from MySpace to your website. You can also build your mailing list by interacting with targeted niches on MySpace. The other social networking sites function similarly.

* One of the easiest ways to get massive, extremely targeted traffic is through joint ventures. Through joint ventures, you get those who already have the attention, trust, and loyalty of the traffic, to send their traffic to your sales page. This is totally risk free and one of the easiest and fastest ways to grow a web business.

Through organizations such as The International Association Of Joint Venture Brokers (IAJVB), you find large list owners, product owners, or joint venture brokers. You set up huge, mutually beneficial partnerships, and leverage your combined assets. You can get more information on using IAJVB at: http://TheInternationalAssociationOfJointVentureBrokers.com

In the teleseminar, we also covered generating an endless flood of highly targeted visitors through methods such as publishing a newsletter, blogging, creating viral ebooks and software, creating educational or entertaining multi- media products, etc. We showed that there as so many ordinary, easily-implement traffic generation methods that there really is no reason for any website to suffer from a lack of traffic.

Actually, I'll retract that statement. Your website does have to be about something that people are interested in. There does have to be enough people in the world interested in your niche to offer you a pool of people that you can "stand in front of." I've just shared with you my top website traffic generation technique. Now all you need to do is implement them. You can discover many more by listening to the MP3 recordings or reading the PDF transcripts from my recent teleseminar at: http://TrafficGenerationTechniquesThatwork.com

2006-12-24T17:29:00.000+08:00

Book Giveaway!

Rachelle, from http://zyphe.blogspot.com shared a contest with me that I'd like to share here too. Thanks, Rache!

Katie Hart is holding a contest on her website where you can win huge prize packs. The packs include the following:

(1)
A Bride Most Begrudging by Deeanne Gist
The Cubicle Next Door by Siri Mitchell
Shivering World by Kathy Tyers
All She Ever Wanted by Lynn Austin
Beyond the Blue by Leslie Gould
CD - My Other Band - Volume One
Four selections from Katie Hart's ARC/galley pile

(2)
Comes a Horseman (hardcover) by Robert Liparulo
River Rising (hardcover) by Athol Dickson
Mark of the Cross by Judith Pella
Three selections from Katie Hart's ARC/galley pile

(3)
A Garden to Keep (hardcover) by Jamie Langston Turner
The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Caught by Neta Jackson
Paper Moon by Linda Windsor
Three selections from Katie Hart's ARC/galley pile

"But how do I win any of these packs?" you ask. Simple! Just tell others about her site, Waterfall Books and the huge book giveaway! You may email your friends, post the announcement on social/dating networks like Myspace and Hi5 or send out bulletins everywhere, etc. It's up to you. Pump out your creative juices to spread the word. Just know your limits so you may not be banned for spamming.

Whenever you've done something to promote Waterfall Books, email Katie (theloneislands@yahoo.com) to let her know. She is giving one point for each promotion you do - two points or more for creative or extra influential ways of promotion. At the end of January, there will be a tally of points and the top 3 highest point getters will receive the prize packs mentioned above respectively!

But there's more! Go to http://zyphe.blogspot.com/ and leave a comment informing Rachelle that you've subcribed to her yahoogroup and you've done what you ought to do (promotion, marketing, etc) and then you'll be entered to win a book from her!

The winner will get to choose any of these 7 brand-new books:

Lasher by Anne Rice
The Feast of All Saints by Anne Rice
Belinda by Anne Rampling
Lakota Dawn by Janelle Taylor
Savage Destiny by Rosanne Bittner
Miracle by Deborah Smith
Tempt Fortune by Hebby Roman

Don't forget to leave your contact info in your comment. She said, she's picking a name from all the entries and post the winner on January 15, 2007.

So, what are you waiting for? Start charming away and keep those subscribers comin'!

Links ideal to include:
http://reviewingchristiannovels.blogspot.com
christiannovels-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

2006-12-20T17:43:00.000+08:00

7 Characteristics of a Great Webpage

What makes for a great webpage?

Wouldn't you like to know the main ingredients for creating a superior webpage? What basic elements you must have if you want a solidly designed webpage? A webpage that will stand out and be noticed by your visitors. One that will keep those visitors returning to your site, again and again. An effective webpage that is 95% better than most of the other pages on the Net.

Follow these simple design features when creating your next webpage and you will have the answer:

1. Good Keywords

The nucleus. The conception. Good keywords are the very first building blocks you must consider before your webpage even becomes a dim notion in your head. Picking the right keyword or keyword phrase is the ultimate factor that will determine the success or failure of your webpage. You must do major research on the keyword or keyword phrases that will be the focal point and drawing card for your webpage.

You must get this right. It is vital. It is the single most important element of a webpage. You can use keyword research software and sites such as GoodKeywords, Wordtracker.com, Nichebot.com, or superior keyword research software such as Brad Callen's Keyword Elite.

Regardless of what process you favor, you must choose your keywords very carefully. You must chëck the competition for your chosen keywords or phrase. You must chëck the number of searches made each month for your keyword. You must also chëck the keyword density of your page to see if it will register in the search engines. You may have to adjust or fine-tune your keyword density at a later date.

Make sure you place your keyword in the title of your page. Place it in the first Headline on the page and many marketers also place their keyword or phrase in the url. For example: www.yourdomain.com/keyword.html This will help the search engines and surfers to find your page quicker.

2. Simple Design

Keep it simple. You must keep your webpage simple and direct. Keep it professional. Make sure it is readable and clear to all your visitors. Do a spell chëck. Do a grammar chëck. You may also want to chëck how your webpage looks in all types of browsers (www.anybrowser.com). Better safe than sorry.

Keep your visitors in mind at all times when designing your webpage. Keep it on topic, keep it related to your keywords. Most marketing studies show that's it's best not to confuse your visitors with too many options. If you're selling a product or products, limit the number on each page to one product if you can.

If you have a comparison page, limit the number to three or four. Studies also show that if you present too many options or products, the conversion rate goes down, not up. Keep all your products related. If you have a page on laptops, don't start discussing the benefits of owning a SUV.

Keep your sentences short and the number of words on a page down to 200 to 300. Many sites break up longer articles into multi-pages, this will be of some inconvenience for your visitors but you will have more room for advertising - your call.

3. Optimized

Let's face it, the average webpage will get most of its traffíc from the search engines, mainly Google, although MSN and Yahoo are also worth considering. Optimize your page for Google. Use a simple hierarchy, keep your pages no more than three clicks away from the main page. Linking all your pages to your index page is a good practice, always do this. The search engines will find your page faster if it is linked directly from the main index page of your site.

Using blogging software/structure that comes with such free blogging software as Wordpress will optimize your pages for you. Blogging systems have a linking hierarchy (categories, archives, etc.) that are very search engine friendly. It's almost impossible not to optimize your pages if you're using a blogging system. Plus, you have an RSS feed that will syndicate your content and place it into the search engines very quickly.

Chëck factors such as Mega Tags, title description and content. Use a robots text file for the search engine robots.

If you're new to building webpages, you may want to chëck out Google's Webpage Creator, you can create your pages and have it hosted free by Google and they will be indexed immediately in Google. Big Plus!

4. Easy Navigation

A great webpage will have easy and simple navigation. Link your page to and from your main index page if you can. Make sure you link to it from your sitemap page. Many webmasters put all the main links on their site at the top or the bottom of all their webpages, so that a visitor can freely move around and find what they're looking for. Keep your visitors' comfort level in mind at all times.

Double chëck to see all links on your webpage work! You may be surprised how many don't work, especially if you link out to other sites. The search engines don't like broken links, neither will your visitors.

Also double chëck to see if all images on your page display properly. Nothing will bring down the quality of your page faster than images that don't load.

5. Fresh Content

A great webpage will always have fresh content. Make sure you update your webpage often. Our world's technology changes rapidly, make sure your material is current and still revelant.

Remember, 9 times out of 10, the only reason a visitor is on your page is for information. Make sure you deliver. Make sure that information is recent and accurate. Besides, there is nothing like fresh content to keep your visitors interested and coming back for more.

6. Bookmarkable

A great webpage will always be bookmarkable. Your visitor will want to bookmark your page and return to it for more information. Make sure you make it easy for your visitor to bookmark your page. Use a bookmark scrípt. Make sure you have a favicon, this is a small logo you place on your site and it will be automatically picked up and displayed in your visitor's bookmarks, drawing attention to your page. Consider a bookmark and favicon like bread crumbs, all leading the visitor back to your page.

7. Cool

Every great webpage should have a WOW factor! Try to make your page stand out from the crowd. Try to make it unique, try to make it cool. Just remember, a simple professional webpage with valuable information is always cool. And remember there is nothing like a little good 'word of mouth' to get some traffíc drawing PR for your page. Great buzz about your webpage is worth its worth in gold.

So the next time you're designing a webpage, go all out and try to create your webpage with all of the characteristics listed above. Start with your keywords, keep it simple, proof-read and test for coding errors, create good navigation and optimize for the search engines, make sure you provide valuable fresh content and information. Last but not least, try your hardest to make your webpage memorable and bookmarkable. Make it a professional webpage that will be superior to the majority of other pages on the web.

Aim high and you will reap the rewards.

2006-12-10T17:34:00.000+08:00

The Basics Of Podcasting
by Madison Lockwood

Podcasting in its simplest form is the uploading of MP3 files to the internet, where they can be accessed by the majority of the online universe with little more than a modern browser. You might consider a podcast to be an audio blog, although podcasts are basically standalone units of communication and not limited solely to “audio.” The term is also applied to short video pieces that are uploaded for general consumption; that is becoming more common, but the term was born as a reference to the audio format. Although the term stems from Apple’s iPod line of products it is generic in nature and refers to any MP3 (and increasingly, video) file provided via one Internet channel or another.

To that end, the number of channels that are now using podcasts is nothing short of phenomenal. They are used in educational formats (distance learning programs) and by the mainstream media. Business Week Online is an example of excellent utilization of the format. They provide professionally conducted interviews with both newsmakers in the business world and with experts on topics like developing technology. It is both an extension of their current events function and the features section of the magazine that focuses on broader industry analysis.

Every major news outlet online ABC, ESPN, Fox, CNN and so forth use podcasts to augment their print-and-graphics webpage formats. You can find them on political websites and blogs, often carrying the candidate’s message but more often carrying the opponent’s gaffe. This particular phenomenon has led to the practice of campaigns hiring “trackers” to trail their opponent from public event to public event with a video camera, hoping to catch a misstatement, a contradiction or some sort of unfortunate occurrence that can be distributed via the assortment of political websites and blogs that clog the web today.

You can now “subscribe” to podcasts that are delivered via an RSS application automatically to your computer. “Podcasters” are individuals or information distributors of some sort that provide an ongoing series of podcasts. Podcasts very quickly found their way to the marketing and advertising industry, which has adopted them for widespread use on the Internet. Video podcasts in particular have become the most recent form of “popup” advertising on the web. You can be clicking through a commercial site and suddenly you are watching a commercial.

The proliferation of podcasts that are webcasts of mistakes, poor behavior or just plain foolishness began with people in the public eye but now extends well beyond the currently and formerly famous. Because these snippets of audio and video are so widespread and move across the digital network so quickly, one begins to feel uneasy. What if someone catches me falling off a bicycle and thinks it looks funny enough to share?

When email entered our society, it provided a screening device to communication that was somehow comforting. Podcasts and to some degree the whole social networking phenomenon create the opposite effect. It’s easy to feel exposed, regardless of the fact that you’re still one person using one computer.

For a technical explanation of the various methods of podcast delivery, take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting. They provide an excellent and extended explanation of the various software options and delivery choices that you can make in allowing podcasts into your life. For a fairly comprehensive directory of podcast feeds and sources, try http://www.podcast.net/. As a good resource for news in the podcast universe and also for a directory, there’s http://www.podcastingnews.com/

About the Author:

Madison Lockwood is a customer relations associate for http://www.apollohosting.com. She helps clients understand how a website may benefit them both personally and professionally. Apollo Hosting provides website hosting, ecommerce hosting, & VPS hosting to a wide range of customers.

2006-11-16T12:48:00.000+08:00

Five Tools for Spying on Your Competition
by Kim Roach (c) 2006

Did you know that an ancient Chinese military document unlocks many of the secrets to your online success? This book is called "The Art of War" and was written during the 6th century by Sun Tzu. This famous document is one of the oldest and most famous studies of strategy and has had a huge influence on military planning as well as business tactics.
Sun Tzu wrote about the importance of knowing your competitors before competing. This wisdom is crucial to your online success. Here are some quotes that verify this truth in the art of war as well as business.

"If you know yourself, but not your enemy, for every battle won, you will suffer a loss."

"If you know your enemy and yourself, you will wín every battle."

Before you create your own marketing strategies, you must first know your competitors. By understanding your competitor's strategies, you can always stay a step ahead of them.

The key is knowing how to obtain all of this vital information without having to hire a PR firm, an FBI agent, or an undercover spy. Luckily for us, all we need are a few online tools to find out exactly how are competitors are running the show.

1. SpyFu.com

The first tool you should add to your arsenal can be found at SpyFu.com.

SpyFu.com is the long-awaited sequel to Googspy.com, a free competitive research tool that allows you to research your competitors marketing campaigns. SpyFu.com, however, stands head and shoulders above its predecessor, providing over twenty times more data.

This website monitors nearly 4.5 million domains, showing you exactly how much your competitors are paying for search advertising on a daily basis, the total number of clicks they are receiving, and their average ad position. SpyFu also reveals the exact keywords that your competitors are ranking for in organic search and who their top 100 competitors are.

2. Internet Archive

The next spy tool will enable you to explore a website's history and how it has changed over time. You can find all of this information at http://www.archive.org.

Many of you have probably heard of the Internet Archive. However, you may not realize that it is an extremely powerful tool for spying on your competition. Using this free and simple tool you can discover:

How often a website has changed their copy?
Whether or not a website is split testing? (This alone could show you years of data on what type of copy works best. Testing your own website copy is extremely important, but you should also be checking to see what your competitors are doing as well. You can learn volumes just by looking at what their salës page looks like over time.)
Find out if your competitors have made any big changes in their offer, including price, bonuses, guarantees, etc.
If you're just looking to have a little fun, then look up Google in the Internet Archive and see what their site looked like in 1998. You see, competitive intelligence can informative as well as amusing!

Next up is one of my favorite search tools.

3. Search Status

Search Status is one of the best SEO tools around. It is a plug-in for the Firefox browser so it comes completely free of charge.

You can use this tool to:

Highlight no-follow links
View any page in Archive.org
Show all Whois information. This is especially useful if you want to find out who the owner of a website is. (great for setting up a joint venture)
Show robots.txt file. This feature will show you exactly which pages and directories a website does not want listed because they want to keep them private. (can be quite informative.)
Show Indexed Pages. Find out exactly how many pages a website has listed in all 3 major search engines.
Show Backward Links. This feature will show you exactly which sites are linking to the current page or website that you are visiting. This is especially useful for finding link partners and affiliates.

The next tool will allow you to find out which web host a company is using. This information can be found at:

4. WhoIs.sc

Once you arrive at this site, you simply enter the domain name into the search box. You will then be taken to a page that will give you a wide variety of information on that domain. Scroll down to where it says "name servers". In this column you will often find the exact URL for the web hostíng company they use.

Our final spy tool comes straight from Google, allowing you to keep full-time tabs on the Internet without the hours of research it would normally require.

For many years, companies paid lots of monëy to PR firms to provide news items and updates on their competitors, often referred to as a "clipping service". With the onset of the Internet, these tools are now automated and free.

One such tool is:

5. Google Alerts

Using Google Alerts, you can easily monitor what is being said online about you, your company, your products, and your competition.

Google alerts shows results from the Web, Google News, and Google Blog search. All of this competitive intelligence can then be sent directly to your email inbox.

Simply enter the terms you want to track and Google will scour the Internet on a daily basis to keep you updated on your particular industry.

These alerts can notify you of when new links start pointing to your website, when someone uses one of your articles, or when the blogosphere mentions your name.

If you want to keep up with your competitor, simply enter the company name or their product and you can begin tracking what people are saying online about them.

Google Alerts is an indispensable tool for market research. Start creating your own Google Alerts at http://www.google.com/alerts.

Keep in mind, however, that these are only tools. Some of the most powerful competitive intelligence comes from actually surfing around your marketplace, visiting the forums, and buying your competitors' products. This is the only way to get a complete picture of what is happening in your industry.

If you want to wín in your marketplace, it's time you go undercover.

About The Author

Kim Roach is a staff writer and editor for the SiteProNews and SEO-News newsletters. You can also find additional tips and news on webmaster and SEO topics by Kim at the SiteProNews blog. Kim's email is: kim @ seo-news.com

2006-11-09T15:10:00.000+08:00

How To Write Google Adwords Ads That Get Clicks
by Ryan Cole

A typical AdWords newbie is often guilty of several profit-squashing mistakes when setting up his first campaign. There are dozens of no-nos, but perhaps none so egregious as writing ineffective ads.

An effective AdWords ad is one that gets lots of clicks — that's the only thing you should be concerned about when writing your ads (except, of course, Google’s editorial policy). If you’ve done your keyword research, you’ll get impressions; if you’ve got a page that converts to sales, you’ll get a return on your investment. But getting people to your landing page is the ad’s job, and there are some things you can do to pump up your clickthrough rate (CTR), which will improve your ads' positioning and lower your click costs.

First, some ad basics. Each AdWords ad comprises four lines of text: the first is the headline, which can contain up to 25 characters including spaces; the next two are the ad copy, 35 characters each; and the last is your display URL, also 35 characters. (There is actually a fifth line — the destination URL — but that won't display with your ad and shouldn't affect your CTRs). Obviously, the headline is most important, because it’s usually the first thing a searcher sees. If you can make your headline jump out from the rest, your ad will be more visible. Fortunately, Google makes this pretty easy.

You may have noticed that, when searching on Google, your search query is bolded when it appears in any of the search results. The same thing goes for sponsored search results: if you include the keywords you’re bidding on in your ad text, specifically the headline, your ad will stand out.

But what if you’ve got hundreds or thousands of keywords? You can’t be expected to write a different ad for each keyword, right? Of course not — and you don’t have to. In AdWords, your keywords can be separated into groups, aptly dubbed "ad groups." Each ad group should contain a set of keywords and phrases that all have a common thread. For example, if you’re bidding on the term “widgets,” you should place each phrase containing that term into one ad group. You then write an ad whose title contains the word “widgets” — for example, “Get Your Widgets Here.” You can even repeat this for terms within ad groups. For example, in your “widgets” group, you might have the terms “red widgets” and “green widgets.” You can take these out and place each in its own ad group, along with any other similar phrases. Then your ads will be even more focused — for example, “Get Red Widgets Here.” The more keywords that appear in your ad, the more relevant your ad becomes.

Chris McNeeney, author of "AdWords Miracle," has some great copywriting tips. Chris used to write classified ads for a living, and his mastery of the art is evident in the techniques he outlines in his book. For example, he talks about a method called "stop them in their tracks." To stop potential customers in their tracks, you've got to come up with ad copy that tells customers to do the opposite of what they're trying to do. In keeping with the widgets theme, you could write an ad whose headline says, "Don't Buy Any Widgets!" Follow that up with some relevant ad text that entices people to buy your widgets rather than someone else's, by including the benefits your widgets offer; e.g., "Check out ours first. Better, cheaper, and guaranteed." This kind of ad will get people's attention right away, and getting their attention is all you need to do.

And now, an experiment. Pretend you want to buy something online. Head over to Google and do a search for whatever it is. See the sponsored links? Look at the headlines. Which one jumps out at you first? I’m betting it’s the one that seemed most relevant to your search because it contained the exact information you searched for. What’s the headline look like? I bet at least one of the words is bolded (if not all of them), and I’ll bet the rest of the ad lets you know exactly what you’ll get when you click on it. This is the best way to figure out how to write ads. Put yourself in the place of your target market, and then actually do some searches and check out the ads. Which one makes you want to click? Ask people you know to do searches and tell you which ads grab their attention. You’ll probably find it’s the same kind of ad every time.

About the Author:

Find more articles by Ryan Cole at http://www.theinternetmarketingblog.org. Read more about Chris McNeeney's http://www.theinternetmarketingblog.org

2006-11-07T15:27:00.000+08:00

Using Ideal Words to Describe Your Products ... Adjectives really do matter
by Robin Nobles

When you create content, titles, and descriptions for your products and product lines, what descriptive words do you use? What descriptive words do your potential customers use? Have you even taken the time to think about it, or better yet, find out?

Let me give you a perfect example: watches.

I’ve been in the market for a watch lately, but not just any watch. I like unique and unusual things. But when I plugged in descriptive keywords into the search engines—words like unique, unusual, colorful, and funky—ladies watches, the organic results held nothing of interest.

In the organic results, I found collector sites, blogs, and sites in other languages. I found description tag spam. However, the watch sites were classic women’s watches like you’d find in any department store. There were absolutely nothing unique about them.

I actually went through six pages of search results under numerous keyword sets each and came up with nothing. Count them ... six pages.

So, I went to the PPC results. Again, most of those weren’t relevant to my search. However, I did find the most phenomenal watches made from safety pins. That’s what I call unique!

Look at Your Own Products

How are you describing your own products? What descriptive words would your customers use when searching for your products? The more accurately you describe your products, the more targeted your traffic will be.

How do you know how people are searching? Try Wordtracker (http://www.wordtracker.com), which is the best online resource for researching your customer’s behavior. Also, study your log files.

A Niche Within a Niche

If you’re selling classic ladies’ watches by Seiko, use those words to describe the watches. Don’t call them unique or unusual unless they are. Call them feminine, elegant, or classy. Or describe them as being bracelet watches, silver-tone, or with diamonds. Are they replica watches? Luxury watches? Fashion watches? Waterproof? Made of a particular material?

Men’s watches can be a certain brand as well as military watches, LED, dress, sports, diving, vintage, casual, bargain, pocket, pre-owned, and the list goes on.

Form a niche within a niche, and build content around the types of watches you sell. That way, if you sell vintage watches reminiscent of the 70’s, you can describe one of your unique watches like this:

Psychedelic orange orb ladies’ watch that brings back memories of the smell of patchouli and the sound of Janis Joplin

If you have a whole section on vintage watches, you’ll have a much better chance at ranking high for that keyword phrase. Use “vintage” in the title, description, and content on each page, but describe each watch differently. You certainly wouldn’t describe a watch like the one above as “classic” or “feminine.”

Plus, your visitors will be getting relevant results from the organic searches, and your site will be getting targeted traffic. Win/win situation.

Adjectives are Subjective

Yes, you’re right—they are. When searching for watches, I didn’t consider the majority of watches I found to be unique. I personally don’t consider classic ladies’ gold-toned watches that you can find in any department store to be unique. However, someone else might.

However, I also wasn’t after unique in the sense of a watch with Gene Autry in the center of it. Even I have my limits on unique!

Look for Keyword “Holes” in Your Niche Industry

In the case of watches, I definitely found some keyword holes that a good SEO needs to explore. The organic results are desperately lacking the long tail of marketing keywords that are well known for bringing in a steady stream of targeted traffic. The results may be there, but they’re pointing to irrelevant pages. How many people are going to go through the first six pages of results? This is a treasure mine for SEOs.

Do you have something similar in your industry? Study your industry and how people are searching. Again, Wordtracker is your best source for this type of information as well as your own log files.

Describing Versus Searching

Let’s visit the following Web site: http://www.monjiusa.com/

Click on products. Study the watches, and come up with five words to describe those watches. We know they’re unique, so let’s come up with other words.

We’ll do it together:

one of a kind
ingenious
extraordinary
safety pin
multicolored

Now, I want you to study the words above. If you were looking for a unique watch, would you type any of those words into a search box?

The answer is probably no. How you describe something and how buyers search for something are two totally different things. You have to use descriptive and accurate words to describe your products, but you have to use words in your title, description, and content that your potential buyers will use when searching for your products.

Make sense?

Useit.com ... an Excellent Resource

To me, Jakob Nielsen is and always has been synonymous with usability on the Internet, and I’ve been watching what he writes for years. His latest article couldn’t have been published at a better time.

“Summary: Familiar words spring to mind when users create their search queries. If your writing favors made-up terms over legacy words, users won't find your site.” http://www.useit.com/alertbox/search-keywords.html

In Conclusion ...

Describe your products and product lines accurately. Use descriptive words (adjectives) that your readers will type into the search engines in your title and description tags as well as in the content of your page.

Don’t deceive your potential customers. You want happy potential buyers, not disgruntled, deceived potential prospects that are ready to hit the back button.

About the Author:

Robin Nobles conducts live SEO workshops (http://www.searchengineworkshops.com) in locations across North America. Localized SEO training is now being offered through the Search Engine Academy. (http://www.searchengineacademy.com) Sign up for SEO tips of the day at mailto:seo-tip@aweber.com.

2006-11-06T15:23:00.000+08:00

Copywriting With Google's Dynamic Keyword Insertion Tool
by Karon Thackston

Automation is an odd creature. It usually seems, at first glance, that automating a process can make things easier, simpler and faster. But oftentimes, once an automated process is in place, trouble spots pop up. This is sometimes the case when looking at the copywriting aspect of Google's dynamic keyword insertion tool.

In case you're unfamiliar with dynamic keyword insertion (DKI), it's a feature of Google's AdWords program. It is often used for large campaigns in order to automatically insert the keyword into the headline of an ad. Truly, it's a lifesaver for many pay-per-click (PPC) ad managers who have to stay on top of thousands of ads every day. It's all done with a simple syntax command: {keyword:_______}.

From a timesaving standpoint, this is a wonder tool that has rescued PPC managers from the mind-numbing chore of typing the same keywords over and over. From an economic point-of-view, DKI *can* (not always) perform well enough to make it a viable option for larger campaigns. But what happens with regard to copywriting and eye tracking?

See It and Click It

The human eye is normally drawn to things that are unusual. Things that look out of place or different get noticed far more than things that blend in. For instance, on a page full of black text and black & white photographs, a small red square in the bottom corner will get focused on almost immediately. Why? Because it is completely different than everything else around it.

This same principle applies when considering your copywriting strategy for AdWords. When using DKI, you'll want to keep your eye on the results pages. Why? We've all heard that using the keyphrase in the headline pulls better. It does. most of the time. There is an exception, however. This exception is what you'll be watching.

In fact, a study done last year by Enquiro, Did-It and Eyetools tracked users' interactions with the Google search results page. It found that surfers normally reviewed the page in an F formation. They would scan vertically down the left side of the page and then over to the right (where paid ads are) *IF* something caught their attention. That's the point we'll explore in this article.

In order to get clicks, you first have to get seen. If your ad looks and reads like all the rest, you've completely lost your originality advantage.

See For Yourself

Copywriting using DKI is a balancing act. You have to consider several factors, including the character count of your longest keyphrase, your ability to add text to the keyword-rich headline and how the ad looks on the page.

Take a look at some examples below. Remember that AdWords results show differently at various points throughout the day (and in relation to individual account parameters), so you may not see exactly what I saw when doing this research. I'm sure it will be close enough for you to get the idea.

Go to Google and type in the phrase "cruise vacation center" (without using the quote marks). See how all the ads look different? They don't all have the same words bolded. They don't all use the same copy. The bold words stand out because they are different. In this case, your eye will usually go first to the ads with bolded words in the headline.

You see ads offering a 6-night cruise for $xx.xx and other ads promoting X% off on a cruise vacation, etc. There is diversity and that's a good thing.

Now, what if you type in "home improvement"? (Again, without the quotes.) If your results page looks like mine, practically every ad has the exact same headline: home improvement. Not only do most of the ads look the same, the headlines read the same. Your eye doesn't know where to go because everything seems identical. But wait! About four or five ads down, something catches your eye. It's an ad that has no bold in the headline. That stands out because it's different! As you scroll further down the page, more ads with no bold in the headlines pop out at you. In this case, because everyone else has opted for the DKI feature, their headlines are all very similar, making them less noticeable. But the ones who wrote custom headlines won out, thanks to diversity.

Tips for Writing With DKI

If you want or need to write using the DKI option, consider these tips:

1. Use a descriptive word along with your keyphrase. Instead of just inserting the phrase "airline tickets," place the word "discount" or "cheap" before your keyphrase to help it stand out.

2. For keyphrases that will take the entire 25-character limit, consider using one word of the keyphrase in the headline, instead of the entire phrase. Rather than "home improvement," try inserting just "home" or "improvement" along with other text you write yourself.

3. Keep it applicable. Your headline still has to convey a strong message about what the customer can expect at your site.

4. Test & Track! Everything in advertising is subject to change. Smart marketers always test and track to get the best results.

With a little forethought, you can develop a combination of DKI and custom-written AdWords ads that drive qualified visitors to your site.

About the Author:

Copy not getting results? Learn to write SEO and online copywriting that impresses the engines and your visitors at http://www.copywritingcourse.com. Be sure to also check out Karon's report "How To Increase Keyword Saturation (Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy)" at http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword.

2006-11-03T15:13:00.000+08:00

Google AdWords Optimization: Why You Must Increase Your Keyword Relevancy
by Simon Leung

Many Google AdWords advertisers are frustrated. Most are even confused.

Can you relate?

You've done your keyword research. You've compiled a long list of terms and implemented them into your AdWords account.

What happens next?

Half of the terms aren't even running. Why?

The AdWords system has given you a low quality score, which means that you don't have a very relevant keyword list.

What does the system want?

Answer: Improve your quality, or increase your bid.

Of course, you don't want to increase your bid. So, you must improve your quality score.

How? By increasing your keyword relevancy.

Indeed!

Keyword relevancy is the key to success with Google AdWords.

While it's tempting to include all the keywords you got your hands on, you should note that this is the #1 mistake advertisers make in their campaign.

Keyword relevancy qualifies the end user.

When this user searches on a relevant keyword term that activates your ad, you have qualified someone who is interested in your product/service.

For this reason, you need to increase your keyword relevancy as much as possible.

What is considered a relevant keyword?

The term must be exactly what you are advertising.

For example, if you are promoting AdWords tips, a relevant keyword list may be:

google adwords tips
google adwords help
google adwords advice

Although the following group of keywords is somewhat related, notice that they are targeting a totally different audience:

google adwords expert
google adwords consultant
google adwords professional

In the latter batch, AdWords will surely deem your keyword relevancy lower than former.

Even if you were to raise your bid so that you can appear on these terms, chances are that even if users do click on your ad, they will end up leaving your website without making a purchase.

Why?

The product/service you offer was not exactly what they were searching for.

This is precisely why keyword relevancy is so important.

You need to know who you are targeting, and your target audience needs to know how to find you.

Both sides of the fence are met when you find that relevant keyword term.

Follow these easy steps on keyword relevancy and you're on the road to AdWords success!

About the Author:

Simon Leung, AdWords Optimization Expert for Google, helps advertisers increase, improve, & expand results FAST! To get 10 of his most powerful strategies for explosive results & profits using AdWords for FREE, go to http://AdwordsOptimization.com

2006-10-28T15:06:00.000+08:00

4 Strategies To Help You To Make Money From Your Website
by Trey Pennewell

People always seem to be looking for new ways to make money online. There is nothing wrong with being innovative and trying new methods to make money online. The problem comes up when people, seeking new methods, forget to pay attention to the proven methods of making money online.

What has worked in the past for successful webmasters is still working today, and will likely continue to work into the foreseeable future. There are 4 primary areas that a webmaster must focus on to be successful. These four areas are important regardless of the type of website you run or the product or service that you sell.

Conversions

Conversions are critical. You can get a million visitors to your site, but that means nothing if none of them make a purchase at your site. Conversions are calculated as the percentage of people that make a purchase at your site, compared to the number of total visitors.

The higher your conversion rate, the less traffic that you need to your site. Many webmasters struggle with getting that all-important traffic to their site. So instead of exclusively chasing traffic, also work on increasing the amount of traffic that you can convert into sales. There are a number of ways that you can do this with your online business.

Many webmasters understand that having a compelling sales letter, or sales pitch, is crucial. If you do not have the best possible sales letter, then you are losing potential customers. If you do not feel comfortable writing your own sales letter, consider hiring a copywriter to do it for you. You could also ask the copywriter to develop a few sales letters for your business, and you can do a comparitive analysis to see which ones bring the best conversion results for your business.

You can also improve your conversion ratio by paying attention to the layout of your web pages. There are a lot of different opinions on the best layouts for selling your products or services. For me there are a couple of easy ways to determine web page layouts.

The first thing that I consider is what I like and dislike about other websites. Is it hard to find the product on the page? Is the price hidden? Is a description of the product easy to find? Is the ordering information easy to find?

The other factor that I look at is what successful webmasters before me have done with their layout. There is no need to reinvent the wheel here. Instead of spending weeks trying to develop my own perfect layout, I will start with a template similar to those that are known for making high conversions.

Linking For Traffic

Now that we have covered conversions, we can talk about linking for traffic. While your conversions may be very good, it will never be 100%. So what this means is that the more of that precious traffic you get (at whatever conversion rate you are getting) will result in more sales and more money. It is known that the more links you have to your website, the more traffic that you will get. The links to your site are critical in driving traffic.

First of all, people click those links. I value a link from a high traffic website as much or more than a link from a high PageRank site, because actual humans are likely to be clicking the link to my website. I also place a very high value on having articles published in ezines and newsletters, because it always results in a nice boost in my website's traffic. The amount of traffic that comes as a result of having an article published in an ezine or newsletter will of course vary depending on the number of subscribers on the list.

A certain percentage of readers will always click the links that I have in a webpage or an ezine. And, a certain percentage of those who visit my website will convert to sales. Having my link appear in some ezines or newsletters can literally translate to thousands or tens of thousands of visitors to my website in a single day!

If you utilize article distributions, you can often get your articles published on a variety of websites and ezines. These articles will have your link in the author box, and you will also have the opportunity to discuss your web site and the products or services that you offer in your author box. This being said, the more effort you put into writing a good article and author box, the more likely you are to get some traffic as a result.

Linking Popularity

Building links for search engine placement purposes is just as important as linking for traffic. The more relevant back links that you have coming into your site, the higher your website will rank in the major search engines for your keywords. Back links are one of the best ways that you can get your online business to rank near the top of the search engines for your niche.

Be sure to use an anchor text on those links that is the same or similar to the keywords that you are targeting. Also, try to get those back links from relevant sites as much as possible. By this, I mean try to get those links from sites and webpages that have something in common with your site. A link from a webpage about bird watching will have little in common with your website about automobiles.

To illustrate the importance of back links, look at Digg.com (http://www.google.com/search?q=link%3ahttp%3a%2f%2fdigg%2ecom). They have a whopping 131,000 back links, which is why they are one of the most popular social book marking sites on the Internet.

Link Baiting

Link baiting is a great way to get those important back links, both for traffic and for link popularity. But, what is link baiting? It is when you have something so interesting / amusing / informative / useful that people will want to link to you, without you asking them to do so. Having something on your site that people will blog about, tell their friends about, or to send emails to their contacts about, is what constitutes link baiting. Your bait is so powerful that the fish will basically jump into the boat, without you ever needing to ask!

What kind of things work as link bait? This will depend a lot on the audience that you are trying to reach. In the SEO world, good link bait is placing free webmaster tools on your site. This means that people will bookmark the site; refer to it on forums, and possibly blog about what they learned by using your free webmaster tools.

If you are able to grow a reputation among your niche market as an expert, people will cite you and your website because of the quality information that you offer. If you run a humor site, people will forward the URL to their friends and tell them to check out a certain page.

Link baiting is also why the social book marking is exploding in popularity. If you have an article that gets onto the front page of Digg.com via link baiting, you will have an explosion in traffic. The same can be said for all of the major social bookmarking sites.

Link baiting is all about offering something unique that people will want to tell their friends about and that they will want to talk about. Spend some serious time thinking about what you can offer to your customer base that will result in successful link baiting for your website.

In Conclusion...

If you spend your time focusing on these 4 ways to make money with your online business, you are sure to be well ahead of most of your competitors. Optimize your site for conversions, build links for traffic, create links for popularity, and dangle some link bait for others to share, and you will find your customer base beginning to grow, and you will see your sales will start to improve.

About the Author:

Trey Pennewell and his team specialize in the design and implementation of linking strategies to help their online business clients improve their inbound link building efforts. LinksAndTraffic.com, owned by Bill Platt, works with their clients to determine what keyword phrases they should target to bring targeted prospects and search traffic to their client's website. Then Trey and Bill work closely together to bring the link building plan to fruition. Reach Bill at 405-780-7327, 9am-6pm, Mon-Fri, or visit http://www.LinksAndTraffic.com

2006-10-15T14:55:00.000+08:00

Essential Programs For Your Virtual Toolbox
by Kim Roach

As an online marketer and webmaster, there are a number of tools that you will want in your virtual toolbox. To get you started, I have scoured the net to find some of the best programs to help webmasters improve their sites, their rankings, and their productivity. Best of all, each one of these tools is free. We'll start with one of my favorites.

Good Keywords
(http://www.goodkeywords.com)

Good Keywords is a program that allows you to quickly and easily create an extensive list of targeted keywords for your website using Yahoo, Ask, and Overture.

This free tool comes loaded with a link popularity meter, a keyword phrase builder, a misspelled word generator, and a web page explorer tool that will allow you to quickly see what keywords other sites are targeting.

Once you have found your desired keywords, you can group them into keyword sets, which can then be copied into your clipboard.

To find out more about this handy tool, go to http://www.goodkeywords.com.

BackLinks Master
(http://www.cleverstat.com/backlinks-software.htm)

It is a well-known fact that search engines use link popularity as one of their top ranking factors.

However, quality is much more important than quantity when obtaining inbound links. In addition, many of the search engines place importance on the use of relevant anchor text.

With a tool known as Backlinks Master, you can monitor your link popularity in Google, Yahoo, and MSN. This tool finds direct links, _JavaScript links, and others. In addition, you will be shown the anchor text and link type that others have used to link to you.

To start taking control of your link popularity, go to http://www.cleverstat.com/backlinks-software.htm

SEOpen
(http://seopen.com/firefox-extension/index.php)

SEOpen is a Firefox extension that provides numerous SEO tools at the click of a mouse. All of its features can be easily accessed by right-clicking on a web page.

Using this tool, you can examine your competitors:

* Yahoo Backlinks
* Pages in Yahoo Index
* Google Backlinks
* Google Cache
* Pages in Google index
* Google Related
* PageRank Check
* MSN Backlinks
* Pages in MSN Index
* Alexa Overview
* Alexa Traffic
* Alexa Related
* Alexa Backlinks
* "Mass Check" multiple sources at once
* Check DMOZ Inclusion
* Keyword Density
* Page Size Checker
* HTML Validator
* Server Header Viewer
* Wayback Machine
* Check robots.txt
* Whois Info

To quickly and easily perform competitor analysis, check out http://seopen.com/firefox-extension/index.php

Active Web Reader Customizer
(http://www.deskshare.com/awrc.aspx)

RSS is becoming one of the best ways to increase your online exposure. With the upcoming release of Windows Vista and Internet Explorer 7, RSS usage is expected to rise significantly. However, RSS is also new enough that you can use this technology to create an effective viral marketing campaign.

You can do this by distributing your own RSS aggregator. If your RSS aggregator becomes popular, your brand could become very well known on the Internet.

With the Active Web Reader Customizer, you can recommend and distribute an RSS reader that is preloaded with your feeds and web pages. By doing this, you are giving your visitor additional value and increasing your brand exposure at the same time.

Start creating your very own customized RSS reader at http://www.deskshare.com/awrc.aspx

RSS Wizard
(http://www.extralabs.net/rss-wizard.htm)

We've talked about the wonderful benefits of promoting an RSS feed, but how do you actually create one. Fortunately, you don't have to be a techie to create your very own RSS feed. All you need is a tool like RSS Wizard.

This tool will automatically convert almost any web page into an RSS feed. With the RSS Wizard, you can create, edit and publish an unlimited number of RSS channels.

To start creating your own RSS feeds, go to http://www.extralabs.net/rss-wizard.htm .

FeedDigest
(http://www.feeddigest.com)

Not only can you create RSS feeds for your own website, but you can also incorporate other peoples' RSS feeds into your site to increase your publishing power, deliver value to your readers, and ensure that your website is constantly up-to-date and changing.

In fact, with a tool called FeedDigest, you can mix multiple feeds into a single feed to post on your website.

By doing this, you will be able to deliver your visitors a unique mix of automatically updating content.

You could also create a news dashboard to syndicate the latest news on any topic. The possibilities are unlimited. You could create a feed that combined forum posts, news headlines, Ebay items, Digg posts, Flickr photos and even podcasts all rolled into one, constantly updating stream of related content.

To start creating your own customized RSS feeds, go to http://www.feeddigest.com.

MailWasher
(http://oss.firetrust.com/home/)

If you're like most online marketers, you are probably receiving a flood of spam in your inbox. Fortunately, there is a free tool that will help remedy your spam problems.

This software is known as MailWasher and it helps you eliminate your unwanted email, thus allowing you to have greater productivity. Best of all, this increased productivity ultimately leads to increased revenues.

Start increasing your own productivity at http://oss.firetrust.com/home/

Audacity
(http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)

Audacity is an open source program that allows you to record live audio, edit audio files, cut, copy, slice and mix sounds together.

Whether you are looking to record interviews, create your own podcasts, or edit your audio files, Audacity is a great solution.

Check it out at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

CamStudio
(http://www.camstudio.org)

CamStudio is a great piece of software for creating screen capture videos. This software records screen activity from the Windows desktop and then turns it into standard AVI movie files.

In fact, CamStudio can then convert these AVI files into bandwidth-friendly Streaming Flash Videos (SWFs) with its built-in SWF Producer.

These are great for creating info products, video tutorials, and software demonstrations. In terms of quality and price, there is simply no better solution for Screen Cam software.

Try it out at http://www.camstudio.org

About the Author:

Kim Roach is a staff writer and editor for the SiteProNews (http://www.sitepronews.com) & SEO-News (http://www.seo-news.com) newsletters. You can also find additional tips and news on webmaster and SEO topics by Kim at the SiteProNews blog (http://blog.sitepronews.com/). Kim's email is: kim @ seo-news.com

2006-10-01T15:21:00.000+08:00

Checking Out with Google's New "Checkout" Service
By Merle

After months of "buzz" online about Google's proposed "PayPal Killer," they've finally launched their new service, "Google Checkout." After all the hype that was floating around, you'd have thought this new creation would be the death of Paypal, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Online payment options are important, so it's always nice to have another way to accept payments from your web site. But Google's new service is also good news for consumers who are concerned about their privacy when shopping online.

We all know Google likes to do things their own way and put a little "Google Twist" on their work, so it comes as no surprise that they've added some integration with their Adwords program. You don't need to use Adwords to utilize Google Checkout, but if you do, Google gives you some other nice benefits.

If you are a seller who also uses Adwords, you'll love this: For every $1.00 you spend with Adwords, Google will allow you to process $10.00 in "Google Checkout" sales for free. So if you're already using Adwords and start using Checkout you'll save money on your transaction fees. What are the fees, you say? 2% and $.20 per transaction, which does beat Paypal's current fees of 2.9% and $.30 per transaction.

Another advantage to offering Checkout on your web site is that your Adwords ads will display a small graphic of a shopping cart next to them. This is called a "Google Checkout Badge," and will identify your site quickly to searchers as one who will take "Google Checkout" payments from shoppers. Some are wondering if this may help your Adwords ranking. This is something that still remains to be seen.

To sign up, you'll first need to have a Google account, which you can get at no charge by going to http://google.com/accounts. At this time, you must live in the U.S. and have a bank account if you wish to process payments as a merchant. If you're a merchant you'll also need to specify your return and shipping policies.

Merchants can accept payments by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. If you have an Adwords account you'll want to link it to your new Checkout account during the registration process in order to earn your free transaction credits.

Before you get too excited, be aware there are some things not allowed to be sold using this new service. They include:

* Adult Goods
* Alcohol
* Body Parts (don't you need to keep those?)
* Buyers Clubs offering goods at wholesale
* Credit and Collection Services
* Drugs
* MLM and
* Gambling

For a complete list, see http://tinyurl.com/hmujh

There are three ways for sellers to accept payments:

1) Buy/Now Buttons: These are similar to Paypal buttons. You just copy and paste some HTML code and you're done.

2) E-Commerce Partners: For use with Google's approved partners' shopping cart systems. Some of them are: Channell/Advision, Infopedia, Mercantec, Monster Commerce, ShopSite, Volusion.

3) API: A more complex way to integrate more options. This involves a programmer to setup.

One disadvantage to the cut and paste button method is you cannot specify tax or shipping rates. You'll need to use the API checkout method in order to do that. Another shortcoming is the inability to specify your own return page after a customer completes the purchase process. They get taken back to a "Google Thank You Page."

All orders are placed into Google's Merchant Center inside your in box. To view your orders you'll need to log into Checkout and go to the "orders tab." If the order can be fulfilled you then click the "charge button" that's located next to each order. After the order is sent you'll need to let the buyer know by clicking on the "ship button" next to it.

If you're worried about chargebacks, don't. They're all evaluated by Google and they will go to bat on your behalf. If the transaction is covered by their "Payment Guarantee Policy" and you supply Google with all of the documentation they request within 10 days, they will reimburse you within one week.

If you sell on Ebay and want to use Checkout, you might want to review their current approved payment types. There's been talk on the Net that they are not currently allowing sellers to offer this payment option. For more, see http://tinyurl.com/gowgy

Checkout's privacy features are great for your buyers.Google handles all of their personal information -- instead of entering a credit card with each transaction, all they have to supply is a user name and password to complete a purchase. All credit card details are maintained by Google with complete details of all transactions.

With the rise in identity theft and people more nervous then ever about sharing their personal information, this should make everyone happy. There's also the added benefit of a faster check out experience which is to be appreciated if you've ever been put through page after page of a badly put together shopping cart.

Buyers can also click a box during the purchase process to specify if they would like to receive future promotional emails from this seller. This should help some with their already "too full" in boxes.

No matter if you're a merchant or a consumer there are advantages on both sides when it comes to Google Checkout. I'm sure with time Google will add more benefits and features that will make their Checkout process even more impressive. And who knows, maybe someday they will give PayPal a run for their money. For more information see:

https://checkout.google.com and
https://checkout.google.com/sell

About the Author:

Merle has been "working" the Net for over 8 years and has a Special Gift just for you. Download her FREE E-book "50 Easy Ways to Promote Your Website." Get your copy now at www.WebSiteTrafficPlan.com

2006-09-19T14:46:00.000+08:00

E-books: Fountain Of Wealth And Information
by Danny Wirken

The Internet offers a wealth of information. However, for people who are looking for specific information it can be a double-edge sword. In today’s fast-paced society, not everyone has the time to go through countless pages just to look for a certain piece of information. Although there are a lot of search engines that could aid you in your search, browsing through the pages upon pages of results still eats too much time. Not to mention quite -- tedious. So what do you do? You get yourself an e-book.

Just what is an e-book? An e-book or electronic book is generally defined as a book in digital format. Readers have the option to either download it to their own computer, handheld or any other reader device. It can be read with the use of a software program, such as Adobe or Microsoft Word.

E-books are gaining popularity and the demand for it is consistently growing. Why you ask? Well, simply because it provides readers with various information of a particular niche at their own convenient time. What’s more, online businesses as well as land based ones have come to realize the vital role that e-books plays in expanding their businesses.

Another great thing about e-books is that aside from being a fountain of information, it also offers tremendous opportunity to increase ones income. Selling e-books is one way of effectively making money over the Internet. Most e-books sellers are known to buy good quality e-books at an affordable price along with their resell rights and then gain profit by reselling them at auction sites, such as eBay for a substantial sum.

One of e-books many advantages as a product is that the reproduction costs almost next to nothing. Moreover, there is no need to ship it so your customers get free delivery. The expenses you will make doing this type of business is considerably low, since web site hosting and payment collection made through 3rd party operators is quite cheap. Therefore, just about every sale made can be considered a profit already.

Another advantage to selling e-books is that there are no ongoing manufacturing costs, unlike in other tangible products. Once you have an e-book, you need not worry about losing profits due to expenditures that are normally associated with ongoing manufacturing. Compare to a tangible product, an e-book can be downloaded indefinitely and since it’s downloadable there is no the shipping. Furthermore, payments are made almost immediately since the transactions are normally done through a credit card merchant. Most importantly, customer complaints are next to none.

Selling e-Books is also very convenient and since it is mostly automaton, you can simply have it at the comfort of your own home. Since it’s mostly automaton, it can operate 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. You can even indulge in leisure activities without the worry of disrupting your business. E-book selling takes little time and effort because it does not entail the concerns normally associated with those of tangible goods. Thus, you have more time to focus on making up ways to strategically expand your business.

As for the e-book itself, you have the option to write your own or simply join an affiliate program and sell an e-book written by somebody else. Joining an affiliate program needs considerable though. One of the first things you need to do is to look for e-books with high demand. The next step is to hunt for e-books that are written by a reputable author, this is to ensure that the e-book is indeed of good quality. You also need to ensure that the e-books you pick are relevant to your web site. Another good idea is to pick e-books with resell rights, so that your customers can resell them too.

On the other hand, if you think that you’re competent enough to come up with a decent e-book then selling your own e-book is the way for you. Just make sure that your e-book’s niche has a high demand as well. It might also be a good idea to write something that you have a passion on. Writing about something that interests you can be quite enjoyable, not to mention less taxing. However, keep in mind that the main purpose of your e-book is to provide people with specific information. Thus, it is also imperative to know what sort of information you potential customers really need.

The so-called “How to do books” are quite high in demand. This is mainly due to the fact that a lot of people need simple clear and concise information about a certain subject and are quite willing to pay for it. Interviewing expert regarding a certain topic is a good way to start. Who knows, it might give you an idea for a great e-book.

But most importantly, remember that your e-book is first and foremost a fountain of information before it’s a sales tool. Thus, it must be easy to read, organized, and enjoyable to read. Selling your own e-book is cheaper and less time consuming. After just a couple of hours of research you can have an e-book ready to be sold online.

Yet another great thing about e-books is that you can make a profit even if you are simply giving them away for free! How so? By giving away free e-books is an effective way of getting people to sign up to your list as well as to keep people to subscribe to your site.

Moreover, it can also help you to get more affiliates to promote your own product or services. You can offer free e-books as some sort of incentive for signing up in your affiliate program. Another idea is to go viral. Give away free e-books to increase awareness about your product.

Another way to make profit from giving away free e-books is that it can help boost your web site traffic. This is a very good idea especially if you wrote the e-book yourself. You can simply insert links so that your readers could easily visit your website, whether to look up for more resources or to get invite for more e-books.

Now, is it any wonder why e-books are all over the Internet today? So do not miss out on this opportunity to embark on a path to online prosperity.

About the Author:

Danny Wirken is the owner of TheInternetOne (http://www.theinternetone.net) - an internet marketing website that primarily focuses on the many aspects, methodologies and processes that are used in internet marketing in order to aid a website achieve its goals and ensure its success.

2006-09-14T12:17:00.000+08:00

Is Your Web Site Missing These Crucial Conversion Factors?
By Kim Roach

Smart online marketers never guess. They base their decisions on precise testing. Unfortunately, 90% of online marketers never test at all. However, for those that take the time to test properly, they can quickly rise above the competition.

Want to know how to increase your profits without increasing your web site traffic? Proper testing and tracking is the key.

You should test all of your sales letters, landing pages, order forms, and web designs. Here are some of the crucial elements that you should test on every page along with some advice on the best practices.

Keep in mind that nothing beats your own testing because different market segments will respond differently to your sales copy.

Headline

Simple changes to the headline have been known to produce up to 1,900% increase in conversion rates. The headline is the single most important part of your sales letter. If they don’t read past your headline, they will never reach the order button.

An effective headline will capture your visitors’ attention and draw them into your sales copy.

You only have about 8 - 10 seconds to capture your visitors attention. To do so, your headline must hit your visitors deepest needs and desires.

One of the most powerful headlines is a question. Why? Because questions irritate the brain and make your grey cells go haywire. Psychologically, questions are extremely powerful.

Here are 3 quick tips for writing effective headlines:

- Ask a question that begs to be answered.
- Create curiosity. ( Our brains our naturally curious)
- Embellish your visitors deepest problem.

If you are not testing your headline, you are most likely leaving lots of money on the table.

DropCaps

Many people ignore the possiblity of including a dropcap on their sales page. However, through testing, it has shown to increase conversion rates.

As online marketers, we have been left in the dark. Many offline advertisers and marketers have been using dropcaps for years.

One of the first people to confirm this technique was David Ogilvy. David Ogilvy wrote “Ogilvy On Advertising” and also produced advertising for brands such as American Express, Sears, Ford, Shell, Barbie, Dove, Maxwell, IBM, and Kodak.

Ogilvy is quoted as saying, “The drop capital increases readership of your body copy by an average of 13%.”

This one simple change could boost your bottom line.

Colors

Psychologists have suggested that color impression can account for up to 60% of the acceptance or rejection of a product or service.

Changing a few colors on your web site can instantly increase your conversion rate. When color is used correctly, it can send a number of messages to your readers. It can also highlight important points.

Color triggers a variety of emotions. To know which colors will appeal to your visitors, you must know your audience very well. This is where market research comes in.

McDonalds has already done much of the testing for you. It is certainly no coincidence that McDonalds uses the colors red and yellow. They did intensive research before determining that those were the colors that would attract the eye. Take a look as you are driving down the street. There are now countless numbers of businesses who use red and yellow in their advertising.

Red is one of the most effective colors to use for your headlines and sub-headlines. Blue has proven to be the best color for links. However, like all of the other elements of your web page, you will need to perform your own testing.

To view an example of an effective landing page, go to http://www.unleashthetraffic.com/traffic/

As a web master, color is definitely something you will want to research and test on your web site. It could mean the difference between a sale and a lost customer.

Offer a Strong Guarantee

Guarantees help to alleviate any anxiety that your potential customers may have.

Give your customers a risk-free guarantee . Let them know that they can take their time consuming your product and that if it doesn’t work out for them, they can quickly return it, no questions asked. This may sound contradictory, but it’s good business for you and for them.

Guarantees will increase sales. However, many people do not know that guarantees will reduce return rates as well. Therefore, they are a vital component of your sales letter.

A longer guarantee creates fewer returns than a shorter guarantee. A 90-day guarantee will produce fewer returns than a 30-day guarantee.

If you are truly marketing a quality product or service, then you should not be afraid to back it up with a 100%, no questions asked, lifetime money-back guarantee.

In addition, it has often been found that people return a product less when they are allowed to keep some bonus items even if the product is returned.

Here are a few techniques that have often been found to be successful in creating a guarantee:

- Circle the guarantee
- Use a guarantee icon
- Write your guarantee in your own handwriting

P.S.

Believe it or not, the P.S is the second most important element of your sales page. Many of your visitors may not read your entire sales letter, but they will read your P.S. It is second only to the headline.

In fact, did you know that P.P.S. is the most important postscript.

Many successful online marketers use three postscripts. So, what do you say in a postscript?

Listed below are some important topics to cover in a P.S. Use one that identifies your risk reversal guarantee. Use another to remind them of the urgency to take action now. Use another to inform them on how life will be without your product and what life will be improved with your product

Images of Your Product

No matter what you are selling online, you can increase your conversion rates by using pictures of your products. This is especially true for e-books. So much of the online world is intangible. However, whenever you create a 3-d image of your product, you turn the intangible into tangible.

If you decide to do this, make sure you have your images created professionally. Nothing can kill sales like poor graphic design.

Bullets

Bullets are captivating, short, sweet, and pleasing to the eye. Not to mention, all of the top marketers, historic and present-day, use bullets. Clustered bullets offer a burst of benefits.

In your bullets, be sure to use the words, “you,” “your,”, and “yours,” rather than “I,” “us,” “our,” or “we.” By using possessive words, you transfer ownership and allow them to visualize owning your product.

Here are some phrases you can use to transfer ownership:

“Your widget will be delivered in 5 days…”
“You will receive…”
“You will learn…”
“You will discover…”

Background Color

The color of your background is a very simple change that can instantly increase your conversion rate. The most effective background colors include white, dark blue, grey, and black. Of course, you will want to test this out for yourself to see which works best for you.

The optimal background color can change depending on your target market. Remember, nothing beats your own testing.

Once you have implemented some of these strategies, test your sales copy on a small scale. Optimize your copy to it’s fullest potential and then begin your major campaign.

Many online businesses do not test at all. They never optimize their sales letter, landing pages, or order forms. As a result, they are leaving money on the table.

I do not want you to make the same mistake!

Test Everything…. Never Assume

About the Author:

Kim Roach is the hip marketing gal at http://www.unleashthetraffic.com/traffic/, where you can learn how to drive tons of targeted traffic to your web site for free.

2006-08-21T14:06:00.000+08:00

Top Ten Grammar Errors that Haunt Web Pages ... Since content is crucial, isn’t it time to introduce a few grammar tips?
by Robin Nobles

(Part 1)

With all of this talk about content, don’t you think it’s time to have a frank discussion about grammar? Our Web sites are our online store fronts—our online images. If our sites are full of grammar errors, what does that say about the professionalism of our businesses?

The Internet tends to be a more relaxed atmosphere, so should we expect to see a more relaxed use of grammar on the Net?

No. Just because the Internet is a different publishing medium, and just because we’ve gotten a little lax in our editing or forgotten some of our grammar rules, that doesn’t make it correct.

It’s time to pay attention to our own Web pages and relearn some of the basic grammar rules that we may have forgotten along the way.

Let’s look at what I consider to be some of the top grammar errors that haunt Web pages:

1. it’s = it is

Example: It’s perfectly okay to bring your dog to work at Google. (correct)
Example: It’s goal is to increase productivity by 100 percent by the year 2007. (incorrect)

In example #2, replace “it’s” with “it is.” It is goal is to increase productivity ...

Doesn’t work, so you know it’s wrong. This is one of the most common errors I see, so comb through your Web pages for this one.

2. Web site (or page) vs. web site/page vs. Website/website (page)

"The Chicago Manual of Style" states that Web sites and Web pages are correct. After all, we’re referring to the World Wide Web, so Web should always be capitalized. The book uses Web pages (sites) as two words.

"Webster’s New Dictionary of the English Language" published in 2006 agrees with Chicago.

However, the online version of Chicago states, “But generally, I would recommend 'Web site' for formal writing, but 'website' for informal writing or friendly writing. Unless, of course, you prefer 'Web site' even when you’re being friendly.”

Now let’s look at it from a different slant. How do people search?

Capitalization doesn’t matter, because the major engines aren’t case sensitive at this point in time. However, if you’re in an industry where your keywords contain “Web site” or “Web page,” you may want to use both variations (one and two words) on your pages, because people certainly search in both ways, no matter which is correct.

Think about your target audience and how they’re searching. After all, you want a professional Web site, but your ultimate goal is to sell your goods and services.

TIP: The titles of books should be italicized. If the titles are set off by quotation marks here, it’s because I have to turn in my articles in text format. Also, all of the examples should technically be italicized as opposed to being in quotes.

3. Periods and commas: do they go inside or outside of quotation marks, or does it depend on the sentence?

Example: She said, “Periods and commas always go inside quotation marks, just like this.” (correct)
Example: This is “incorrect”, because the comma is outside of the quotation marks. (incorrect) It should be: This is “correct,” because the comma is ...

4. E-mail vs. email, plus what is the plural of e-mail?

E-mail stands for electronic mail. According to Chicago, e-mail should contain the hyphen, and it doesn’t have to be capitalized (E-mail).

Here’s where it gets interesting. "The American Heritage Dictionary" considers e-mails to be the plural version of e-mail.

Chicago says that either is correct. After all, the plural version of “mail” is “mail.” Here are some examples straight from their Web site:

“How much e-mail do you get each month?”
“Send me some e-mails when you get a chance.”

If e-mail is a keyword for you, you may want to include “email” on your pages as well. Again, remember your target audience and the words they will be using when searching for your products and services.

Honestly, if I could make a prediction based on being an Internet person, it would be that e-mail evolves into email due to popular usage. Do you know anyone who uses “e-mails”? I sure don’t!

5. SEOs or SEO’s

This is one of those rules where I ran into some contradictory information. In "The Wordwatcher’s Guide to Good Writing & Grammar" by Morgan S. Freeman, he states:

“How to form the plural of letters and numbers is a stylistic decision. There are no rights and wrongs, merely eye appeal. Some writers would write the plural of O.K. with no apostrophe, and follow suit with the plural of letters (the three Rs) and numbers (the 1930s). Others think the apostrophe makes for clarity (the three R’s, the 1930’s). Consider ‘Hooray for the YMCAs.’ Take your pick.”

Chicago thinks differently. They believe that capital letters used as words that contain no interior periods can be made plural by simply adding an “s.” However, lowercase letters do require an apostrophe and an “s.”

However, every source agrees that if interior periods are used, an apostrophe is required, like Ph.D.’s.

My recommendation? Do whatever works for you and be consistent. Personally, my choice is SEOs.

2006-08-15T13:13:00.000+08:00

Increase Your Profits With a Marketing Calendar
by Marty Foley

Here's a tip for systemizing and increasing the profits of virtually any business: Create and use a marketing calendar.

As P.T. Barnum reportedly said, "Without promotion something terrible happens: Nothing." Since marketing is one of the most critical components of business success, a marketing calendar helps ensure that time is regularly set aside for it.

Just as with money, if time isn't budgeted properly it's more likely to be wasted or spent on less important things.

Without advance planning and preparation, marketing opportunities are more likely overlooked, less time is available to take advantage of them, and quality decreases as mistakes increase, according to the adage, Haste makes waste.

A marketing calendar helps systemize planning and preparation, minimizing such problems.

How To Create Your Marketing Calendar

Some develop their annual marketing calendars near the end of the year, in preparation for the next. Regardless of the time of year, if you're not currently using one now is a good time to start.

To create your marketing calendar you can use an Excel sheet (my preference), a desk or wall calendar, a day planner, or any other tool or system you're comfortable with. How you set it up is less important than that you set it up, and that you use it.

What you might record on your marketing calendar:

1) Specific day, week, or month assigned to each marketing project.

2) Project description.

3) Project cost.

4) Project notes or comments.

5) A rating of the results of each project (A = Excellent, B = Good, C = Fair, and D = Poor).

You don't have to list each task of multi-step projects on your calendar. Instead, you can describe projects briefly on the calendar and list the individual tasks comprising each one on a To-Do list (which you probably keep anyway if you're a productivity minded person).

Or you may assign different tasks of a project to separate consecutive calendar dates.

Give priority to proven marketing avenues that pay off best for you, allowing them ample time for completion.

Periodically add projects related to marketing avenues you haven't tried before. You may discover some that yield dramatically better results.

What's more, marketing diversification reduces risk. Just ask those whose businesses have nosedived as a result of adverse changes in an advertising medium they've relied too heavily upon.

For best results, include projects related to testing new approaches to marketing avenues you're now using, or have used before. Small changes can yield substantial response increases at little or no extra cost, possibly turning C- and D-rated projects into A- and B-rated ones.

Locate your marketing calendar for easy access. Consult and update it regularly, as needed.

When creating next year's calendar, recycle winning elements of your current one, especially A- and B-rated projects. Expand on what works, and test and tweak, or eliminate, what doesn't. As you develop, improve, and use your calendar it will become an increasingly valuable business asset.

Now that you understand the value of a marketing calendar, create and implement one right away and start enjoying better business results from it.

2006-08-06T15:16:00.000+08:00

DNS Explained
by Jamie Macy

To your computer, everything is a number. After all, computers are much better at processing numbers than anything else. Unfortunately, we aren't quite as good at numbers and we prefer words. When it comes to website addresses, DNS helps bridge that gap.

Every computer on the internet has a unique number, called an IP address. When you visit a website, you are connecting to the IP address of the website’s server and you are receiving information from that website's server through that connection. In order to request a web page, you need to know the IP address of the website’s server. More specifically, your computer needs to know the IP address so that it will know what website you want to connect with. DNS to the rescue!

DNS stands for Domain Name Server and is a collection of servers that act like a phone book, storing an extraordinarily long list of domain names and their corresponding IP addresses, When you type "www.bravenet.com" into your web browser, it connects first to your Internet Service Provider's DNS server and asks it for the IP address that corresponds to the domain name "bravenet.com". If everything goes well, the DNS server replies with 65.39.176.94, and your web browser will then communicate with the Bravenet web servers and you will be able to exchange information.

If you were to call your long lost friend, you would take out your phone book and look up their name (Bravenet.com) to find the associated number (65.39.176.94). When you call the number, you are connected through to their house (server), where you finally talk to your friend (exchange information).

A phone book is updated yearly, while a DNS server is updated every 24-72 hours and this is why there is a wait period of 72 hours before your domain name will start pointing to the website that you are pointing it to.

2006-07-19T17:02:00.000+08:00

25 Ways to Add Quality Content to Your Web Site . . . Using ideas that cover at least 25 different industries! (Part 2)
by Robin Nobles © 2006

13. Content that solves a problem. Why do people visit the Web? To look for information or to comparison shop. If you can solve problems for your visitors, you’re giving them just what they’re looking for online. For example, let’s say that you sell Oriental rugs. Your potential customer might be looking for decorating ideas for her office. Her office is very small, and she’s trying to think of a way to add color. Most of the wall space is taken up with windows and metal bookcases. You’ve created a series of content that shows pictures of problems/solutions that your oriental rugs have solved, including one with an Oriental runner. Not only does the content have pictures, it also has text describing each problem and the corresponding solution. Your potential customer found your page in the search engine results.

14. Historical data. Let’s say that you sell steel pipes. What’s the history of steel pipes? Creating a page outlining its history is quite appropriate. In fact, taking it a step further, creating pages that compare steel to copper and other types of piping; what causes rust; how strong is steel; how valuable steel piping really is (how steel piping is used in almost every building, etc.); how long will steel last; and on and on and on will create a whole section of extremely valuable content to a Web site. Here’s the catch. Is this valuable to the target audience of the steel pipe company? Think of one target audience: vocational education classes all over the US. This would be a great resource for them. If they linked to this site, all of them being .edu’s, wouldn’t this be a great link popularity builder for the site? Think about that for a minute. We’re talking about quality content and quality link building. Another example of historical data would be a hotel on St. Simons Island. The hotel could certainly provide historical data about the island on its Web site as well as tour information, etc. How could a site that sells mustang parts use this strategy? A site that sells wedding dresses?

15. Interviews the easiest way of building content yet! Interview an expert in your industry. Send the expert a list of questions and let the expert answer in his/her own words. Don’t change any of the expert’s answers, except to correct misspellings or grammatical errors. Always be upfront with the expert, and always maintain the integrity of the article and yourself. Write a series of interview articles, and highlight them on the main page of your site.

16. Seasonal articles. Is your industry “seasonal” in any respect? If so, seasonal articles are always extremely popular.

17. Statistics. Offering stats on your site is also another way of adding content to a Web site. If the stats aren’t your own, always indicate where you’re getting them. Quote the source! How could financial or mortgage sites use this strategy?

18. An advice column. This can be used for a dating site, or it can be used for other sites as well. How could an SEO site use this strategy? How could a decorating site? What about a plastic surgery site?

19. Winners of the month. Let’s say you have a site where you sell cut flowers. Get your Web audience to send in pictures of bouquets and arrangements they’ve made with your flowers. Post the pictures online. Pick a winner of the month, and have that winner’s picture posted on the main page of your site. Give the winner a $25 gift certificate.

20. Using the flower example, create video tutorials for creating flower arrangements. Make sure you sell all of the materials they’ll need to create the flower arrangements they can make if they follow the video tutorials.

21. Again with the flower example, have customers send in an outline of how they created their flower arrangement, the materials they used, as well as the picture. Provide this information on your Web site. Link to all of those materials in your online store. Be creative. Can you do something similar with your own Web site in your own industry? What if you had a costume site? An art site? Give it a few twists and use it on a hunting or fishing site.

22. Send out a monthly newsletter offering your own tips, tips from customers, sale items, holiday ideas, the winner of the month, etc. Encourage readers to post their ideas to the blog. Post past newsletters on your site for more content.

23. A biography about someone’s life, if it relates to your industry. You can see how this would work well if you have a Civil War site or a used book store.

24. News events pertaining to your particular industry.

25. Community-related page, if this is a local Web site. For example, you could discuss local restaurants, little league baseball, school openings, etc., on community-related pages or a blog.

We’ve only just begun with ideas. It all depends on the industry you’re in and the products or services you sell. Put your creativity hat on and brainstorm.

In Conclusion . . .

Remember to think “quality” when it comes to creating content. These ideas should help get you started.

And think about this point as well. If you start creating quality content, what is certain to follow? Quality links. Sites will begin linking to your content, because you’re doing what you should be doing: giving your customers what they want to see when they visit your Web site. They want to see new and exciting “quality” information that’s updated on a constant basis. You become the trusted source of that information.

Don’t try to take the easy way out. Success isn’t dished out in soup lines. Success comes with hard work.

About the Author:

Robin Nobles conducts live SEO workshops (http://www.searchengineworkshops.com) in locations across North America. She also teaches online SEO training (http://www.onlinewebtraining.com). Localized SEO training is now being offered through the Search Engine Academy. http://www.searchengineacademy.com Sign up for SEO tips of the day at mailto:seo-tip@aweber.com.

2006-07-07T19:35:00.000+08:00

25 Ways to Add Quality Content to Your Web Site . . . Using ideas that cover at least 25 different industries! (Part 1)
by Robin Nobles © 2006

We’ve known for a long time that quality matters to Google. In a post Senior Google Engineer Matt Cutts made to his blog (http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/google-press-day-2006/), “quality” was mentioned several times as being important to Google. Quality matters when it comes to content, and it matters when it comes to links.

However, building content and links doesn’t have to be painful. Web site owners tend to think of content in a very limited way.

So, let’s open up our creative minds and think of all sorts of ways of adding quality content to a Web site.

A few things to remember:

* You’re only confined by the boundaries you set for yourself and your Web site. Allow yourself to think in a totally different way than you’ve thought before.

* Your Web site content should be written for your buying customers . . . not for you. Your Web site content should not be written for the search engines. The search engines are not your target audience.

* Think of the overall picture of your site, as if it were a living, breathing entity. After all, Web sites should continue to grow on a constant basis and never be stale or stagnant.

Let’s Get into the Fun Stuff: Quality Content for Your Target Audience

1. A calendar of events. This is ideal for sites like real estate sites to show upcoming open houses; book stores to promote upcoming book signings or writers’ meetings; collectors’ sites to show meetings across the country, etc. Be sure to allow visitors to send in their own event to be posted to the calendar.

2. Maps. Consider real estate sites, hunting or fishing sites, camping sites, hotels, or any outdoor recreational sites for maps. Be sure to add content at the bottom of the map that describes the map and outlines its purpose as it relates to your site.

3. Before/after experiences. This is perfect for products or services you’re selling where customers can write in and discuss how this particular product or service helped them. These could turn out to be mini articles, or use them as testimonials.

4. Pictures from your customers. You could set up a special place where past customers could post their pictures and journal entries on your site. This is ideal for vacation sites, recreational sites, wedding sites, baby sites, photography studios, etc. How could you use this idea on a Halloween site? On a flower site?

5. Online coloring sheets. Use your imagination here. If you set up some coloring sheets about your vacation property, kids could color those sheets and post them online before their trip in their own special online area. After the trip, their parents could post pictures and a journal of their trip. This is their “Web site” about their trip, all hosted on your site as a perk for booking through your vacation site. What are they going to do with this information? They’re going to tell their friends, Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Edna, etc. They’re going to link to it. You can use this perk as part of your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) when differentiating yourself from your competition. You’ll be building one-way links from your past customers, plus visibility for future customers. Win/win situation. You’ll think of many ways of adding coloring sheets (or similar creative activities for kids) to your site, if your site is the type that would work for kids.

6. Blogs or forums certainly add fresh content to a site.

7. Articles or new pages of interest to your target audience. Write new content on a regular basis once or twice a week should be your goal.

8. An expert Q&A on the main page of your site. Get an expert to answer questions, and post one question/answer a week (or a day whatever you can handle) on the main page of your site. Have past Q&A’s in a searchable archive on your site.

9. Product reviews. If your industry has products or software to review, consider writing candid reviews of those products. Publish the reviews on your Web site as well as publish them in a few of the online publications. Readers are always interested in totally candid reviews, where the writer lists the positive as well as the negative aspects of a product. If you have a landscaping business, how could you use this idea? What products do you, as an expert, prefer to use, and why?

10. Short tips. If your product or service lends itself to short tips, write up a series and publish them on your Web site. Send them out in your newsletter. Get your readers to send in tips as they use the product. Offer a discount off additional products if they submit tips.

11. FAQ’s. FAQ’s are content content that your target audience wants to know. As you get questions from your readers, add additional Q&A’s to your FAQ’s to keep them current.

12. How-to guides. People love “how to” guides. If you sell online plumbing parts, why not have a “how to” guide on installing a new toilet? Make it easy on your customers, and they’ll come back to you again and again. Create a series of “how to” guides. Be The Toilet Guy on the Net. May not sound too glamorous, but if you’re highly visible on the Net and are converting traffic to sales, you can afford to be glamorous OFF the Net!

(Continued in Part 2, which will be published in the next post)

About the Author:

Robin Nobles conducts live SEO workshops (http://www.searchengineworkshops.com) in locations across North America. She also teaches online SEO training (http://www.onlinewebtraining.com). Localized SEO training is now being offered through the Search Engine Academy. (http://www.searchengineacademy.com) Sign up for SEO tips of the day at mailto:seo-tip@aweber.com.

2006-06-21T15:15:00.000+08:00

Why You Aren't Making The Money You Want To On The Internet And What To Do About It!
by Quick Turn Marketing International, Ltd.

Many clients come to me with problems…

The most common problem I hear from people is they aren't making the kind of money they want to make with their Internet business. They don't know what the problem is and they want me to help.

I'll tell you what the problem is. Most of these people are what I like to call opportunity seekers. These are people that have too many sites and don't spend any time focusing on ONE business. They may have 20 or 30 websites, with each site only breaking even or making a few hundred dollars every month.

Most opportunity seekers are not making the money they want or achieving their financial goals. Why?

They are making a common mistake. They have too many sites, too many interests. This prevents them from focusing their efforts and creating the six figure income they dream of.

Focus Is The Key To Long-Term Success

If you want to succeed on the Internet, you are much better-off staying focused. That means starting off with one site or idea and perfecting it before moving on to the next Internet adventure. Far too many people have a get rich quick mind-set. In fact, I'd say almost all opportunity seekers have this mind-set.

They jump from one program to another hoping one of them will lead to success.

Opportunity seekers are always the first to jump on the next big moneymaking bandwagon. It may be one thing one month, another the next month.
They may try to concentrate on affiliate marketing then switch dramatically to e-book marketing the next.

Whatever seems to be working for others they jump into with wild abandon, without considering their true talents, abilities and interests.

These people are looking for some easy way to make money. They think they can make money with Google AdSense or just a web page, or even with a multilevel marketing program. This is NOT how an entrepreneur thinks! However, this is exactly how an opportunist thinks.

They always are looking for shortcuts, and then wonder why it isn't working.

It isn't working because you have no focus. You must have focus. You must think like an entrepreneur. Focus is one of the most vital aspects of your success. My advice to these newbies is shut down 29 of your sites and focus on one site, the one that best represents your interests.

Optimize it. Work on refining it. Refine your sales process and your back end on this single site and make it successful BEFORE you move on to the next site.

Yes, I have many sites. But I am Dan Lok. You're not there yet. Perfect your one site. THEN you can think about moving on to other moneymaking ventures.

Horizontal Vs. Vertical Business

Many people have what I call a horizontal business. A horizontal business has many sites in many different niches, like hobby niches.

People who own horizontal businesses have 20 or more separate business ventures. I recommend having a vertical business instead. A vertical business is a business that has depth and focus.

Having a vertical business means if you have a product in a particular niche, like stock trading, focus on selling products related to that and that only. Put all your eggs in one basket and create a funnel effect. This way you'll have one group of customers and you can become a big fish in a small pond.

You'll have all your eggs in one place yes… but you'll become an expert egg layer and watch all your eggs hatch with great success.

Make sense?

What is the problem with a horizontal business? You aren't specialized.

It's almost impossible to make a six-figure income with this kind of business because you don't spend enough time on any ONE business.

When you have a vertical business, you have fine-tuned your business so well competitors have a hard time keeping up with you. People can't compete. You also build a strong client base with satisfied customers.

Think Like An Entrepreneur

So, the biggest problem people have is they are opportunity seekers.

The key is thinking like a true Internet entrepreneur. Don't jump on the trend bandwagon. Don't ask what the shortcuts are. An entrepreneur has a long-term vision. You have to have a one-year, five year and ten year vision. Find out what you want your business to look like in the long-term.

Ask yourself, What do I want to accomplish ultimately? Then decide whether your activities fit with your goals. Stop jumping from one program to another. Focus on one program, one site, and one great idea. This is what you have to do if you want to make six figures. It has nothing to do with your knowledge, skill set experience etc. It has to do more with your focus.

Sit down. Think about it.

Stop jumping from one program to another and stop getting sucked into false moneymaking schemes. Find out what your goals are, what you want to accomplish.

This is a far superior approach. Yes, it takes a lot of energy. But its worth it. In the long-term it's much less tiring than diversifying your business.

Once you are an expert in your industry or niche, THEN you can think about diversifying your business.

About the Author:

A former college dropout, Dan Lok transformed himself from a grocery bagger in a local supermarket to a multi-millionaire. Today, Dan is one of the most sought-after business mentors on the Web, as well as a best-selling author. His reputation includes his title as the World's #1 Website Conversion Expert. To find out what Dan is up to now, visit him at: http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=wsce

2006-05-24T13:02:00.000+08:00

The A to Z Guide to Getting Website Traffic
by Shawn Campbell © 2006

In September of 1999, Brett Tabke wrote "26 Steps to 15k a Day" in the Webmaster World forum. A lot has changed since then, and now is the time to consider a new 26-step plan that meets the current needs of webmasters in 2006. Some of the old ones still apply (writing new content everyday, for example), and some don't (submitting to the search engines is no longer necessary), and we're here to tell you which is which! As you probably already know, bringing in traffic is not easy - it takes hard work, determination and lots of elbow grease. So if you're ready, roll up your sleeves and follow these 26 simple steps, and within just one year you will generate enough traffic to keep you busy for a long, long time!

A) Keyword research

Before you do anything else, use a keyword research tool and do an extensive job researching the right keyphrases to use for your site. What keyphrases are your direct competitors using? Are there any keyphrases that create a potential for market entry? Are there any that you can put a spin on and create a whole new niche with?

B) Domain name

If you want to brand your company name, then choose a domain name that reflects it. If your company is Kawunga, then get www.kawunga.com. If it's taken, then get www.kawungawidgets.com. No dashes, and no more than two words in the domain if appropriate.

C) Avoid the sandbox

Buy your domain name early, as soon as you have chosen your keyphrases and your company name. Get it hosted right away and put up a quick one page site saying a little about who you are, what you sell, and that there will be more to come soon. Make sure it gets crawled by Google and Yahoo (either submit it or link to it from another site).

D) Create content

Create over 30 pages of real, original content on your site. This will give the spiders something to chew on. It will also give you more opportunities to be seen in the search engine results for a wide variety of keyphrases.

E) Site design

Use the "Keep It Simple" principle. Employ an external CSS file, clean up any Java Scripts by referring to them off the page in an external file, don't use frames, use flash the way you would an image, and no matter what, do not create a flash site. Do not offer a busy site with lots of bells and whistles to your visitors. Keep things nice and simple. Make it easy for them to find what they are looking for and they'll have no reason to look anywhere else.

F) Page size

The less kilobytes your page uses, the better - especially for the home page. Optimize your images and make sure the page loads quickly. Most people and businesses in the Western world may have high speed, but cell phones and other countries might not. If your site loads slowly, you may have already lost your visitor before they've even had a chance to browse around.

G) Usability

Make sure that your site follows good usability rules. Remember that people spend more time on other sites, so don't violate design conventions. Don't use PDF files for online reading. Change the colours for visited links, and use good headers. Look up usability for more tips and tricks, it will be worth your while.

H) On site optimization

Use the keyphrase you have chosen in your title (most important), your headers (when appropriate), and within the text. Make sure that your page/content is ABOUT your keyphrase. If you are selling widgets, than write about widgets. Don't just stick the word widgets into the text.

I) Globals

Globals are the links that remain the same on every page. They are the reference for new visitors to keep them from getting lost. Sometimes they are on the left of the page, sometimes they consist of tabs at the top. Often they are in the footer of the page as well. Make sure that you have an old style text version of your globals on every page. I usually create tabs at the top, and put the text versions in the footer at the bottom of the page. Find out what works best for you.

J) Headers

Use bold headers. On the Internet, people scan they don't read. So initially, all they will see are the headers. If your headers don't address their concerns, they won't stick around long enough to read your content. Use appropriate keyphrases when you can.

K) Site map

Build a site map with a link to each of your pages. Keep it up to date. This will allow the spiders to get to every page. Put a text link to the site map on the main pages.

L) Content

Add a page every 2-3 days: 200-500 words. Create original content, don't copy others. The more original and useful it is, the more people will read it, link to it, and most importantly of all - like it enough to keep coming back for more.

M) White hat only

Stay away from black hat optimizing techniques. Black hat optimization consists of using any method to get higher rankings that the search engines would disapprove of, such as keyword stuffing, doorway pages, invisible text, cloaking and more. Stick to white hat methods for long-term success. People who use black hat optimization are usually there for the short-term, such as in porn, gambling, and Viagra markets (just look at your email spam for more black hat markets). These black hat industry sites are usually around just long enough to make a quick buck.

N) Competition analysis

Who is linking to your competition? Use Yahoo's "link:" service to see the back links of your competition. For example, type in "link:http://www.yourdomain.com" into Yahoo search without the quotes). Try to get links from the same sites as your direct competitors. Better yet, see if you can replace them!

O) Submit

Submit to five groups of directories:

1. Dmoz.org and Yahoo (local, such as Yahoo.co.uk, or Yahoo.ca, etc... if you can).

2. Find directories in your field and get into them. Pay if you must, but only if the price is reasonable.

3. Local directories that relate to your country or region.

4. Any other directories that would be appropriate.

5. If you are targeting the local market, make sure that you are in the Yellow Pages and Superpages (because search engines use these listings to power local searches)

P) Blog

Start a blog about your industry and write a new entry at least once a week. Allow your visitors to comment or, better yet, write their own entries. This will create even more content on your site and will keep people coming back regularly to see what is new.

Q) Links from other sites

Simply submit your website to appropriate sites, asking that they link to your site as a reference because it will benefit their visitors. Don't spend too much time on this, if your content is good and original, they will find you and link to you naturally. Remember that Linking is Queen (www.redcarpetweb.com/promotion/0409.html#feature). Stay away from reciprocal linking, links farms, link scams, and any other unnatural links. They may not necessarily hurt you, but Google tracks when you get a link, how long you have had a link, who links to the site that links to you, where you live, what you had for breakfast, and more (not really... but kind of).

R) Statistics

Make sure your server has a good statistics program. Use it! If you don't have access to a good program, then pay for one. Without the knowledge of who is coming to your site, from where, and how often, you will be missing out on some essential tools to improve your site.

S) Pay-per-click (PPC)

Sign up for Google AdWords and Yahoo Search Marketing. Spend money getting people to your site. Use it for branding too. This will create a steady flow of visitors to your site, and will make your site more accessible to your potential clients. You don't have to be #1, you don't even have to be #5... just make sure you are on the first page of search results for most of your keyphrases, when the cost is right.

T) Look ahead

Stay informed of what is coming up in your market. If a new product will be out next season, write about it now. Take advantage of being a first mover. The search engines, and linkers, will reward you.

U) Articles

Write an article once every week and get it published in as many online publications as you can (with a link back to your site). Include the article on your site. Not only will this create many links to your site, but it will also get people to click to your site, and most importantly you will become an expert in the eyes of your visitors. They may even begin looking for your site by querying your name!

V) Study your traffic

After 30 to 90 days you will have enough results to analyze in your statistics program. Go over them with a fine toothed comb. Get the answers to these questions:

- Where are your visitors coming from? - Which search engines do they use? - What queries do they type in? - What pages on your site do they visit the most? - What are the entry pages on your site? - What are the exit pages? - What path do they follow when they browse your site?

Use this information to tweak your site.

- Use the most popular page to encourage the visitors to make you money.
- Adjust the paths they use to send them where you want them.
- Figure out why they leave from the exit pages.

Also, see what search terms people use to find you, and fine tune your keyphrases. If you targeted "green widgets", but your visitors are finding you with the query "green leather widgets," then start creating content about "leather widgets!"

W) Verify your submissions

After 3-4 months, check that you got into Dmoz.org and all of the other directories that you submitted to. If you have not been included, then submit again, or better yet, write a polite email to the editor and ask why. Also, find any new directories that would be worthy of your submittal time and submit to them.

X) RSS feeds

RSS (Real Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary) is becoming a powerful tool for Internet marketers. You can quickly and easily add fresh content to your website. Article feeds are updated frequently, so you can give your visitors (and the search engines) what they want - fresh content! You can use RSS to promote any new content, such as new pages, articles, blogs, press releases, and more!

Y) Press releases

A press release is a written communication that you submit to journalists in the media (newspapers, radio, television, magazines) which are used to make announcements that are newsworthy. Create press releases announcing publication of any new articles or new company information or products. If it is interesting/original enough, a journalist may pick it up and write an article about it. Before you know it, your website address may get published in the NY Times.

Z) Keep your content fresh

Remember to write a new page every 2-3 days. I only mentioned it briefly, but it is probably the most important point in this article. Keep writing! Without fresh content, your site will gradually drop in the search engine results. To stay on top, your content has to be the most up-to-date, freshest, and most interesting and original content in your field.

Follow these 26 simple steps and I assure you that within one year you will call your site a success. You will bring in a massive amount of traffic from within your industry and watch as your business grows!

So start writing, and write yourself to the top!

About the Author:

Shawn Campbell is an enthusiastic player in the ecommerce marketplace, and co-founded Red Carpet Web Promotion, Inc. He has been researching and developing marketing strategies to achieve more prominent listings in search engine results since 1998. Shawn is one of the earliest pioneers in the search engine optimization field. http://www.redcarpetweb.com

2006-05-02T16:54:00.000+08:00

Top 10 AdSense Tricks To Boost Your Commission
By Kalena Jordan

Google AdSense - http://www.google.com/adsense - is fast becoming the preferred way for people to earn an income online. Forget eBay and multiple affïliate programs. Whether you are a work-at-home mom trying to make a little extra cäsh or an Internet entrepreneur with hundreds of monetized websites, AdSense is truly the easiest way to earn monëy.

Simply sign up for a frëe account, grab your ad code and paste it in your site. But here's the amazing thing - no matter how much monëy AdSense is making for you right now, a few simple tweaks can increase that amount considerably. And I should know, after learning about these tricks, I more than doubled my AdSense commissions!

The self-proclaimed AdSense gurus and experts are sharing this insider knowledge, for a fee.

Editorial Note: Some of the website AdSense examples provided below by the author may have changed since the article was written.

You can learn all these secrets from them, as long as you buy their e-book, sign up for their seminar or purchase their newsletter. But I'm going to share all their AdSense tricks for frëe. Here they are:

1) Color code your ads to match your web site palette *exactly*. Don't use frames around your ads. Instead, in the AdSense code generation interface, make sure you choose the same color as your page background for the ad frame and the ad background.

When choosing the ad heading colors, match them to the *exact* color of your page headings. Use the exact same ad background shade as your page background. Use the exact same ad text font and color as the text on your pages. You can see an example of this color-matching on my Search Engine Advice Blog - notice the 4 link ad unit at the top and the skyscraper text ad unit on the left hand side under the heading Ads by Google as you scroll down the page? The link and text colors are identical to the color palette used throughout the rest of the page.

Near enough is NOT good enough. If you can't quite get the color matching right, use Google's built in color palette together with the RGB to HEX or vice versa color converter on this page - http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Guide/Style. That handy little tool was a life saver for me.

This is probably the one single tweak that made the most difference to my commission levels.

2) Try not to use the traditional horizontal banner style or leaderboard image ads because people are blind to them.

3) Use Google's own AdSense optimization tips and visual heat map to assist you in deciding where on your page to place your AdSense ad code.

4) Research competitive keywords using a keyword research tool such as Keyword Discovery or grab a list of the most popular keywords from various sources and use them in your web site pages where relevant. This article - http://searchenginewatch.com/facts/article.php/2156041 - is a good source of frequently searched keywords. Targeting popular keywords should trigger AdSense ads on your pages that utilize those keywords. The more popular the keyword or phrase, the higher AdWords advertisers are generally willing to pay-per-click for it so the higher your commission on those clicks.

5) Incorporate the AdSense code into your page so that the ads look like a regular part of your site. You can see an example on this Internet Dating Stories site - http://www.lovestory.com.au - where link ads are incorporated within the regular left hand navigation of the site under the heading "Sponsor Links". 6) Use Google's new 4 and 5 link ad units wherever possible. They seem to have a much higher Click-Through-Rate (CTR) than regular ad styles. You can view all the AdSense ad formats at https://www.google.com/adsense/adformats.

7) Place arrows or images next to your ads to draw attention to them. You can see two different versions on this search engine article library page - http://www.searchenginecollege.com/articles/article-library.htm - at the top (where a pointing hand directs your eye to the ad) and the bottom where 3 images draw your attention to each of the three AdSense ads.

8) Use the full allowance of multiple AdSense ads on each of your pages - 3 regular AdSense ads, plus 1 link unit. Use careful placement of these ads so they blend into your site and don't distract from your content. Clever use of this allowance can be seen on this page about bad Internet dating stories - http://www.lovestory.com.au/bad-stories.htm - where you see:

horizontal 4 link ad unit towards the top of the page under the first paragraph.
vertical skyscraper text ad unit about halfway down the left hand side under "Sponsor Links".
vertical skyscraper image ad unit down the left hand side under "Sponsor Links".
horizontal text banner unit at the bottom of the page with images above each ad to draw attention to them.

You can also include 1 AdSense referral button in addition to the 3 other units.

9) Tailor your page content to a particular niche or focus. Page content that is tailored towards a specific theme is more likely to trigger AdWords ads that closely match the content and are therefore more likely to interest your visitors and inspire them to clíck.

Don't create pages merely for the sake of placing AdSense ads. Visitors (and search engines) can see through this ruse in an instänt.

10) Use custom Ad Channels for each of your ad placements, for example, "Top 5 Link Unit Blue Palette" or "Left Side Navigation Image Skyscraper" etc. Tweak, track and measure the success of each of these custom channels so you know what gives you the highest CTR. Some ad formats and colors will work better than others, but you won't know which until you test, test and test some more!

About The Author:
Article by Kalena Jordan, one of the first search engine optimization experts in Australia, who is well known and respected in the industry, particularly in the U.S. As well as running her own SEO business, Kalena manages Search Engine College - an online training institution offering instructor-led short courses and downloadable self-study courses in Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing subjects.

2006-04-10T18:13:00.000+08:00

Blogging to Help Boost Your Adsense Revenue

With the absolute explosion of blogs and the tools to create and maintain them, it's a pretty safe to say this trend is here to stay. So, let's examine what they are and what you can do with them.

What is a blog? Well, the word blog us a contraction of two words, web and log. In it's purest functional sense, a blog is a combination of an online journal and guest book. In a blog, the system administrator creates dynamic web pages using a web form. If allowed by the blog owner, visitors may add comments to blog entries.

How are blogs created? Basically, there are two options for creating blogs. First, you can create a blog one else's site. This is; by far, the easiest way to start blogging. The most popular blog creation service is Blogger.com, owned by Google. While this option is the easiest, you are constrained in many aspects of customizing your blog. Your second option is to host the blog on your own server. The most popular blogs include well known names; such as, WordPress, pMachine, and Movable Type. A list of open source blogs and a demo of the major ones is found at http://www.opensourcecms.com . When compared to the first option, these are little more difficult to setup, but as blog administrator, you have absolute control of every aspect of your blog. You can add different color schemes, known as, themes or you can add functionality to your blow through the installation of plugins or modules. In most cases, these themes or plugins are copied onto your server, and activated through the administration control panel. Viola! You have completed adding functionality or colors to your blog.

What can you do with a blog? While may personal or club blogs have the goal of simply relaying information to family or members, the humble blog has been thrust into many limelights. Internet marketers are using blogs as niche sites for: adsense income, membership sites, newsletter administration, shopping carts, forums, email list building - just to name a few. Political campaigns are using blog with their party members. Corporations are using blogs to keep customers, partners, and shareholders armed with new information. Universities are using blogs for capturing research data. All without the hassles of building and maintaining static web sites.

Why start a blog? Probably the biggest single reason for starting a blog is sharing your specialized information with like-minded individuals. There are secondary reasons; such as, compiling your storehouse of knowledge into a single location. With a blog, you can add an entry per day or an entry per week. It's all up to you - after you setup your blog.

So what are you waiting for, let's go blogging!

2006-04-10T18:08:00.000+08:00

Adsense Tips from the Experts

So you want to increase your Adsense income? Log into your Adsense account, and look at your last month's stats. There are three key areas that contribute to your earnings: Impressions, Clickthroughs and Effective CPM. Improving your stats in any, or preferably, all of these three key areas will increase your Adsense earnings.

Impressions

Impressions are the number of times your webpages with Adsense ads have been viewed. You can increase Impressions by increasing traffic (preferably targeted traffic) to your webpages. Some of the best ways to increase targeted traffic to your webpages include:

-create more webpages, with relevant, focused content
-create more links to your webpages
-list your website/s under relevant categories in more directories
-set up a directory of relevant sites on your website and accept relevant reciprocal links
-write relevant articles, with your site information in the 'resource box' at the end of each article, and submit them to article directories

Clickthroughs

Clickthroughs are the percentage of viewers who click on your Adsense ads. You can increase Clickthroughs by increasing the relevance of Adsense ads on your site, and by tweaking the format and placing of your ads.

Although you can't dictat which Adsense ads show on your site, you can influence the relevance of the ads by maintaining a tighrly focused website. If every page on your site focuses tightly on the site topic, its more likely that the Adsense ads will too. For example, if every page of your site is about fishing, and the word 'fishing' appears several times on every page, its likely that your Adsense ads will relate to fishing.

The best way to tweak your ad format and placement is to invest in an Adsense Tracker, and test, test, test! People who have done this tend to suggest that the best format is the large rectangle, with background and border the same color as the page behind it, so that the ad blends into the page. The best placement is towards the center or top left of the first screen of the page. Try these suggestions first, and then track and test, to be sure of what works best for your pages.

Effective CPM

Effective CPM is a measure of your average earnings, per thousand clicks. You can increase your Effective CPM by selecting topics that attract high bids from Adsense advertisers, and building pages and whole websites on higher paying topics.

Although Google doesn't release information on Adsense bids, you can get a good idea of the top paying topics by looking at information on Adwords bids, or, for that matter, bids on pay-per-click search engines like Overture. There are a number of keyword research tools available, both free and paid, that can help you find high paying topics.

The Formula

So now you have the basics of increasing your Adsense income. Its a deceptively simple formula:

-Build pages and websites on high paying topics for the best Effective CPM.
-Format and place your Adsense ads for maximum Clickthroughs.
-Promote your sites to drive targeted traffic to your Adsense webpages for maximum impressions.