What Does SEO Do For You? Online Offline Comparison
Why do you need to consider SEO when devising a plan for online marketing? One way to describe the ultimate importance is to do a comparison to an offline business.
For this, consider someone who owns a dress shop. We’ll say it’s Nancy’s Dress Shop.
Imagine this. Nancy has a small little dress shop located in the midwest situated on the outskirts (terrible pun) of town. Nancy has just renovated an old building and her shop has just opened for business. It is on a road not well traveled. The shop is absolute stunning inside, she has a wide variety of offerings, and is fully stocked up. But who knows she exists?
In the offline world, Nancy is faced with the issue – how does she get traffic to her little dress store? How will anyone ever find her?
One of the first things she might consider doing is calling up her friend Joy to come by and see her new store. This of course would be considered “word of mouth” advertising. While Joy will buy something from Nancy, she will need to sell more than one or two dresses to stay in business. Nancy needs to get some permanent signs or advertising locally or in the neighboring towns to get the word out that she is open for business. Nancy might do well to get herself listed in the local yellow pages. She might have to put in some money for some highway signs in a more trafficed area. She may also have to give out some free samples to create a buzz.
Now imagine that Nancy has magically found a way to put up signs in all 50 states about her little dress shop and what kinds of things she has to offer. Everywhere you turn around, you see Nancy’s being advertised over and over again. Do you think she might get a few calls? You need a dress – and there you see immediately that Nancy has them.
Online is no different with the exception that advertising and the driving of traffic to you site can be much more cost effective. The more search engine optimization you create, the less and less you pay for advertising. Online, Nancy has the opportunity to associate her name with her products over and over again. The more she does it, the more visibility and traffic she can achieve. SEO is like putting up signs all over the place about what you have and where to find it.
So what does SEO entail?
Like Nancy, you need to create your list of items you have to offer or what it is you want to be known for. Your next step is to simply start dropping those signs all over.
- article marketing
- blogging
- web 2.0 properties
- video
- online directories
- social networking sites
These are all great places to drop your message which ultimately point back to your site. The more you do the more people you can reach.
In addition, the ultimate benefit is if your SEO is done correctly, search engines like Google and Yahoo will take notice and give you a boost in their general search engine rankings.
No matter what niche you pursue, it is imperative that SEO considerations be explored and implemented in your final marketing plan.
Originally posted 2009-09-21 14:01:30. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Affiliate Marketing to Start Your Business
So, you want to begin your journey into internet marketing, but need a place to start? When you don’t yet own a product or service to sell, affiliate marketing can be a great way to start your business.
Affiliates are basically the middle man between a product and the end user. Odds are if you want to go long term with your internet endeavors you will either become an affiliate or employ them at some part of your journey.
Many of the tasks you will need to perform as an affiliate will be carried into the plethora of other tasks associated with all IM fields.
Affiliate Marketing can be an entire IM business all on it’s own. Everyone has the opportunity to choose from physical or electronic products to promote. The theory is most lucrative of these two are the information digital downloads as they require no shipping, and offer instant delivery to the end user.
Most marketers are drawn to places like Clickbank, Paydotcom, or Ejunkie – but don’t be fooled. These are not the only places to find great quality digital products to promote.
With all internet marketing plans, the most important factor is finding that profitable niche. The same is true with affiliate marketing. To find programs related to your interest all one needs to do is google the name of the niche with the word “affiliate.” Some programs will appear through large vendors while other programs will be quite private. Should you find a private program, be sure to investigate a bit further to make sure the program is legit.
If you are beginning your online ventures with a modest budget, working as an affiliate is probably the only way to start your business with as little as zero investment and possibility of the greatest returns. Of course this will all be reliant on your creativity and ability to adapt quickly to the online world.
If you are still exploring all your possible options, consider diving in to get your feet wet by using affiliate marketing to start your business.
Originally posted 2009-09-18 09:28:42. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Multiple Streams of Internet Income
No matter which niche or business you are planning to pursue on the web, one thing to take into consideration when creating your marketing plan is a final goal which encompasses multiple streams of internet income. Each model will differ in the streams you decide to incorporate, and not all streams or paths will be appropriate for what you are peddling.
What are these multiple streams and possibilities? As an example, here’s a random yet profitable niche which could make a great business for anyone. The electric fireplace heater.
Now that a product has been revealed, what would be the plan for income streams?
The first and most obvious is the sale of the unit itself. This could be promoted on a store front site and drop shipped or delivered from a store. You may have a store that offers either several brands or one brand with several different models. Irregardless, you will need to decide if you want to just sell the units on your site, or if your primary site will offer adsense and banners. Your ultimate conversions can be affected by these simple choices. For instance, running adsense on your site may get you some out clicks to other products in the associated niche, but these clicks will detract from your real objective to sell your units you currently have. You may wind up making pennies compared to dollars.
Let’s say you’d like to experience adsense, but you really want the goal of your primary site to just sell electric fireplace units. How do you get to tap into this additional income stream?
Limitation on the placement of these ads can be done or you could choose to use your secondary sites for the collection of your adsense revenue. The same is true with banners. While there is money to be made by adding banners to your site, again it will detract from what you are selling on your site – that is unless you are careful to select a banner that is not a competing product but perhaps a complimentary product to the one you are offering.
Secondary sites like Blogger blogs and Hubpages will not only guide you how to get your adsense into place, but will aid in future SEO and can help to bring traffic to your primary site. It can be like getting the most bang for your buck – or in those two particular free solutions for your time. In addition, Adsense is not the only ad marketing network.
What other streams can be added to this niche? How about some Ebay auctions? Something as simple as adding an Ebay store can not only increase your visibility, but can also be used in ones pursuit of listbuilding. While we are at it, what about Amazon? They sell a lot more than just books. And what about that listbuilding thing?
List building basically is a way to collect information on interested consumers who have gained your trust. This list can be used as a future client base to promote many different products to. Of course when approaching this list, you’ll want to keep in mind the primary product this audience was interested in in the first place.
As you can see, there is more than one way to make money from your online efforts with even just one focused niche. Take some time to think outside the box and look for as many ways as you can to monetize and get the most from your efforts. When creating your plan, be sure to keep in mind the additional streams of internet income.
Originally posted 2009-09-15 20:06:31. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Ideas for DIY Market Research
Essentially, market research is the gathering of information on the potential consumer to determine their preferences and demand for the market you wish to sell in or promote.
Before selling anything on the web it is a smart idea to do some market research. What does this entail?
Assuming you have identified a niche you’d like to explore, the first step will require finding others who are buyers in that niche and getting their real opinions. If you are planning to create your own unique product this research can be even more crucial to your initial planning.
Hire Out
This is probably the easiest solution, but not the most cost effective for a small start up business. There are a plethora of companies on the web whose primary job is to conduct market research on demand. Some of these companies will already have stored information you may be looking for as well.
Do It Yourself
If you are looking to dip your toes in the water and get a general feel to see if a niche is one you’d like to pursue, there are some simple ways to conduct your own market research.
- Friends and Family – Is there anyone in your immediate circle who uses or needs the product or service you’d like to promote? Hold a meeting with them and get their thoughts.
- Online Polls – Are you on any social networking sites? Throw some questions out to those you are connected with and gather the responses. Twitter is one place you can get some really fast results using a 3rd party polling tool.
- Amazon and Google Trends – Is the product you are looking to promote already on the market? How is it received? Amazon and Google already carry some handy trend tools that can give you a better idea on what the demand will be. This can help you determine if the market will not only be profitable, but how much competition you may have
- Online Forums – Take some time to look for your topic of interest and how it is discussed in some online forums. Can’t find anyone talking about it? If not, you may be headed down the wrong path.
- Post a Question on Yahoo – Want to know who your competition is? Posting the right questions on Yahoo’s Q&A can provide you with answers of how others are currently resolving an issue your product or service promises to fix. You can also search their questions to see how this has been answered in the past.
Taking even just a few hours to conduct a little market research can save you hours or days of fixing a giant mishap in the future.
Don’t Stop There!
Keep in mind, market research is an ongoing process. To keep ahead of the competition and your business growing, include some regular scheduled data collection in your marketing plan. This will help keep your business fluid and growing in the right direction.
Originally posted 2009-09-11 08:50:43. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
At The Internet Marketing Hardware Store
Filed under: The Big Debate - Article vs Video Marketing, Web Tools
This past week has been spent looking for tools that will benefit me in saving time as well as make my efforts more efficient in general.
I have some exciting new discoveries to share soon – but do want to make sure I give these tools the full run through before letting you in on what is working and what does not. These tools include keyword research, article organization, plugins for blogs, and the list keeps growing.
Finding the right tools for your marketing efforts can take time. There are so many softwares out on the market, and some will take care of one function while others can cover multiple tasks. Figuring out that perfect combination that will save you time, money, and give you the desired results is certainly a job in itself. Typically the type of tool you need will become obvious as your internet marketing journey takes course.
Once finding a tool you think will help you, it can be a whole new ball of wax to take the time to learn how to use it. Practice makes perfect, and giving yourself a reminder of what tools you have on hand when creating your plan can be a good idea.
While it is possible to do a lot of the things these tools do manually, my 300 Challenge I fear would not be possible within the alloted time frame.
Another side note, I use a Macintosh. The tools I will be sharing with you either will work for PC and Mac or just Mac or will run server side. In general, the majority of IM tools tend to run on PC only. This has always irked me. Mac users in particular may find this blog of great use in the future as you will not have to spend the time that I have in finding what will definitely work for you.
Finally Chose a Domain
Filed under: Article Marketing, Market Research, The Big Debate - Article vs Video Marketing, Video Marketing, internet marketing plan
The big deadline for the work of 300 articles and 300 videos will be here March 17th. I’ve had roughly 9 days to do some organizing and planning whilst running another business that is in desperate need of some viral marketing of its own.
I had been debating how to get the best results from my 100 articles about article marketing, and where I was going to point those links to.
If you don’t know it already, I’m actually not too keen on articles. I typically feel some restraint – but I am going full blast into becoming the best expert I can on the topic and sharing freely as much on the subject as I can. I am giving it my honest best go to soak up as much as I can.
At one point I was just going to do this with the topics of article marketing and video marketing, but now have some wild card topics for the last 100.
Someone in my hot poll thread at the WF asked,
So, you’d be making 75 videos and 75 articles for each product?
The problem I see with this is: How do you make 75 videos about video creation without already mentioning basically everything that matters for video creation?
I mention this because my reply to the concern was,
How do you make 75 articles about article creation without already mentioning basically everything that matters for article creation?
In actuality, there will be 100 articles about article creation/marketing, etc. – not sure what happened to the math that day.
Anyway, much of what is needed for video creation such as the answers is already on the web somewhere. And same with article marketing and article creation.
It boils down to a “time” factor.
People are willing to pay for information that is actually “free” if it has been assembled and collected nicely into a package that will save them time looking it all up. Time is that one thing we can never get back.
Back to the plan, I want to have a site to showcase all my articles and information about article marketing, and I want to have a site to showcase all my videos and information about video marketing. Makes sense right?
The real question then lies in the monetization plan. Initially I wanted to just promote a course on article marketing, and one on video marketing. I have access to BOTH – but I will be already exposing and sharing a lot of information on those topics. The sensible thing to do is to offer those things, but also offer things that are not just digital information. For instance, what would be a useful tool for an article marketer? What would speed up their process in creating articles? Just doing a Google search, there are all kinds of tools that can help you assemble and create articles quickly.
There is article creation software, article submission software, and other tools to assist.
The same is true with video. People need access to photos, video loops, music, and even video creation software for those who really want to get into it.
I would be silly to limit the number of products offered to just courses. At the same time, I need to investigate best I can anything I do recommend. And it would not be wise to sell something in every email sent by an autoresponder.
I will funnel traffic to two blogs. Each blog will have a sign up for something “free” that will help my new subscribers. I will be able to judge this contest partly with the number of sign-ups.
Here is where things get a little crazy, and some “creative” tracking needs to be done. Let me explain.
Lets take that 100 articles about article marketing. I need to track how many subscribers come in from my articles on Ezine, and how many are directed to the sites from Youtube. Keep in mind, there will be 100 articles about article marketing, and 100 videos about article marketing. I can either split this into two squeeze pages, or 2 blogs, or a squeeze page directed from youtube and perhaps just a link directly to the blog from ezine as they are very specific on landing pages offered int the links and really want to see valuable content on the sites.
To save myself some time and avoid duplicate content issues on the Articles blog (which will be located at http://articleparticles.com) I will be installing Steven Fullmans WP Unique, which makes the article appear as unique content in the eyes of google. I will also need there to be some unique content initially to get the blog approved by Ezine as a site worthy of linking to.
I would like to be able to display the articles and videos of each for each site. The videos will play at the top, with the option to scroll down to actually read the materials.
Here is what I will have. A blog about article marketing that shows videos, and has article about article marketing, and I need to know what traffic was generated from ezine, and which from youtube. Let’s say I have 10 people visit from Ezine, and 10 visitors from Youtube – how do I really know which ones are “buying?” Do I just run this as a traffic experiment or traffic to conversions? The best way I can think to break this down is into 2 landing pages that are DIFFERENT lists. Through Aweber I can track the clicks on links in my autoresponders, and will need to have 2 affiliate codes for each product.
What a pickle eh?
My original poll question was:
If you had to choose between getting 300 videos, and 300 articles, which do you think would convert better and lead to more sales?
While some of this is obviously a traffic game, should I disregard conversions? Are article readers and clickers buyers? Are my video watchers going to click and ultimately buy something?
It is of no point for me to toot the benefits of video marketing if it brings traffic, but the traffic does not buy.
While I could just buy some cheap dot info’s and skip the whole list building thing, would I not just be throwing away traffic? It would be the easy path, but I’m not so sure it is the best for long term benefits of the work going into this challenge and plan.
I don’t even want to go into the mess of tracking and analyzing my results.
Fortunately some affiliate programs (IE clickbank) do allow you to create a unique tracking code for campaigns you put in place.
As you can see, there is a lot of pre-planning needed for this experiment aside from the creation of 300 articles and 300 videos. I dare say the creation of those is the “easy” part at this point.
I hope to be back soon with a nice method in place. I have only 91 days to my deadline.
Don’t Drink and GoDaddy
Starting a new business can be really exciting, and you never know when that big idea might strike. But before you get too excited, lock up that wallet until you are truly ready.
I’ve done it myself in the past, and I’m sure I wasn’t alone. Relaxing in the evening with friends, perhaps having an elixer and Boom! The idea strikes. “Wow, wouldn’t that make a great idea for a website?” A dash to GoDaddy to see if the domain names are available. “Eurika! This is going to be so cool…”
The next day’s hangover is overshadowed by the grand thoughts of the evening before. A year later it is time to renew the domain – and nothing was ever done with it. There was never any keyword research to begin with and it has no value what so ever.
No matter what your budget is, before you spend a dime there should always be a solid plan in place on what you intend to do with things. It is easy to be persuaded in sales copy by those savvy internet marketers who will convince you what they are selling is the best thing since sliced bread, and that urgency that tickles your inner being tells you if you don’t buy it now your whole business is in jeopardy. Don’t fall for it. At least, not unless it is something that will truly help your business.
Sometimes there are special sales at Godaddy where dot infos are an easy .99 cents. Those too can cause you to lose control – but don’t be misled. There is one reason of which you can forgive yourself. Typically at GoDaddy if you purchase 5 domains in one shot, you get free privacy for all of them. Otherwise that privacy is more expensive to order individually than adding on 4 more dot infos. This would be one reason to snatch some up, but keep in mind it is only free for the first year and when renewals come around you’ll probably want to drop those unnecessary domains as they will jump up to the 10 dollar price to renew.
Before spending anything, go over your internet marketing plan to make sure it is not only within your budget, but that what you are spending on has a real purpose.
Systems And The Pyramid – Simpleology
Filed under: Business Coach, The Big Debate - Article vs Video Marketing, Web Tools
A new course is about to launch called Simpleology 201 – but the subject of this course is yet to be revealed. Some videos currently reveal some clues, and there is a contest going on to see who can really name the course.
For those who may not be privy, Simpleology was founded by Mark Joyner, and 101 is a free online course which is geared toward helping people focus on their goals. Not to be confused with any religious groups, Simpleology 101 is actually the first offering, and is “The Simple Science of Getting What You Want.”
Knowing what you really want and your end goals is the first step to any marketing plan, be it online or off.
This latest course “201″ has something to do with pyramids, and what appears to be building. A free download is provided which assists in giving you a hand in analyzing your current systems.
Mr. Joyner reveals that most people build their business the wrong way. They are trying to start from the top of the Pyramid, and work their way down. When you go back to how the Egyptians did things, they of course had to start from the ground and build up.
Simple philosophy, yet quite true.
With online marketing, it is possible to create several funnels of income, which all build up to your primary site. There are additional benefits to putting several systems in place simultaneously. But these systems need to be congruent with that last stone that is at the top of your pyramid. You also need to set them up just one at a time.
When first starting out online, it can be confusing to see how all these things fit in to the picture, and the mistake most make is getting stones or bricks that ultimately won’t fit into the final pyramid.
There is information overload when you are trying to do it all yourself. It is easy to get sidetracked and lose focus on the ultimate goal.
It is suggested that people follow the 101 course before taking on 201.
IMP is busy laying some foundations this weekend with the 300 Videos vs. 300 Articles challenge.
The articles must be written first, as the subject of the videos is what is covered in the articles.
While some preliminary quick video tests have been conducted, this official new challenge has not yet commenced.
Foundations need to be laid. Systems are being analyzed, and put into place. All with good speed as well.
What do these systems consist of?
It is the plumbing of the pyramid. Landing pages, giveaways, direction of traffic to specified offers, and the installation of gauges to track and test results.
300 Videos and 300 Articles in a hundred days time can be done, provided the computer doesn’t have a melt down. The possibilities of the traffic are quite wonderful to consider.
I will admit, if I hadn’t taken the initial Simpleology course a couple of years ago, I might be skeptical of this feat.
Please feel free to follow us here on IMP for updates on progress.
You can also sign up to our RSS feed, or follow me here.
Internet Marketing Plan Overview
The term internet marketing covers a wide of variety of online opportunities for entreprenuers and established businesses to explore in the sale and or development of old and new ideas using the world wide web.
Just as it’s done in the offline world, an online plan or strategy can be the difference between success or failure. With so many ways to tap into the online market it is advisable to investigate as many options as possible before jumping into a project.
One of the first obstacles that must be understood is the overall navigation of the web and the habits of the search engines. No matter which plan or strategy you choose, a brief understanding of SEO will enable you to set the proper foundations for a long term profitable successful business.
Another consideration when deciding on how to proceed with an online business is selection of a niche. Brave entreprenuers planning to venture in with unique idea are wise to conduct some preliminary market research to see if their contribution will be well received by the public. At the same time, some things you would never expect to work or happen can become an overnight success when properly advertised and presented to the public. Ever hear of the pet rock or mood rings?
With niche selection and SEO comprehension behind, there are still many considerations to follow and each idea will have a slightly different plan of attack – although there are in place some general formulas that can get anyone going in the right direction. Once you are able do decipher the formula best suited for your business, it is a simple matter of filling in the smaller details and seeing a project to completion.
A proper internet marketing plan can keep you on track and your ultimate goals in sight.
Originally posted 2009-06-15 09:37:38. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
The Role of Niche Selection
The role of niche selection is the first and foremost important decision to creating your internet marketing plan. Simply defined, the niche is your area of expertise. Defining your area will be necessary whether you are planning to sell your own services or the services of others. When deciding a niche, further consideration will be needed to refine into a sub-niche. These initial considerations should be completed before purchasing your domain name.
For example we’ll consider something some may not associate much with the internet – the farming niche. We’ll assume the planner has an interest in farming or owns a farm. Farming would be a valid niche. It is an extremely necessary service that will always be in demand. Someone who owns a farm may want a website to provide information on what their farm sells, while someone with a simple interest in farming may be interested in promoting more of a sub-niche such as farming equipment or seeds, or product produced by the farm.
For the farm owner, the plan will begin with the choice of using branding for the website name. Branding can be given an extra defining factor as well. Instead of “Bob’s Farm” one better thought would be “Bob’s Honey Farm” and even better defined might read “Bob’s Organic Honey Farm.” Keywords within this niche will be important to incorporate into the final selection of a domain name.
As someone who does not own a honey farm but perhaps has an interest in promotion of the honey farm niche, a choice will need to be made as to how far you’ll need to expand within the niche and if this is the only product and or niche you’ll be promoting. If you’re planning to promote organic honey it stands to reason you will want to be the best organic honey promoter there is. You may wish to explore how many ways you’ll be able to promote the organic honey, ie: will you be selling honey available world wide or just within a specific state? If you are promoting a saturated niche, you may be better off concentrating on one geographical area. At the same time, this one area may not be enough to monetize on to full potential. You may decide you will need to add honey related products such as honey spoons, straws, and bears. These considerations should affect your branding and domain choices as well. Instead of branding as “Joys Organic Honey” better considerations may be along the lines of “Joys Honey Spoon” or to even drop the personalization to “New York Organic Honey Suppliers” which could encompass a wider variety of products targeting a specific region.
When deciding a niche, be sure to take the time to research the possibilities within the niche. Your efforts can make the difference in your niche domination and ultimate long term success in your marketing plan. This preliminary work will make the next step into domain selection and keyword research an easier task to accomplish.
Originally posted 2009-06-28 05:58:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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