Business Building Tips for Entrepreneurs

Have you ever heard the saying,

"I know that I waste half of my advertising budget.

The problem is I don't know which half!"

It's this very philosophy that is prompting me to strongly

inform you... advertising doesn't work!

Let me show you why: Get the Facts

There is no way to track effectiveness (or ineffectiveness)

It's impersonal

The target audience is too large

It's costly to redo or improve

There is no call to action

What surprises me is the number of small business owners that save their

marketing dollars just to waste them on ineffective advertising.

Then, they complain because nothing is working and they don't have any

customers..

I know what you're thinking,

"Isn't advertising and marketing the same thing?"

Well, not really. Let me explain the differences

.

Advertising includes: commercials, billboards, radio, and newspapers.

Marketing includes: emails, letters, postcards, and fax.

So how is follow-up marketing better than advertising?

You can track response rates

You can quickly change campaigns that aren't working

You can specifically target your audience

It leads prospects to an immediate sell

If you really want to attract more customers, you will learn to market

and leave the advertising to those gazillion dollar companies.

Get the Facts Today

SEO-Specialist-Online.Com

800-897-6458

Skype: jamiboy

Sustaining Top Ranking

Does Your site needs an Extreme Marketing Makeover? Now you can get exposure to 100's of thousands of new customers or prospects every month if you know what to do! Visit SEO Specialist Online for a Free Web Site Evaluation for your Business.

Managing Your Brand To Perform In Universal Search Results

Achieving and sustaining top ranking visibility for your brand on important organic terms is increasingly getting tougher.

This is because natural text listings no longer rule on the search result page. There are many other elements that appear

sometimes ahead of or intertwined with the natural results, including local listings with a map, shopping listings, latest news, top blogs, images, videos and even book reviews can appear.

Google calls these mixed result types Universal search; others call it blended search. These other elements can push what were once top performing organic listings into second or third page positions, as first reported by Lori Weiman from search engine land.

Consider these keyword examples:

“Desktop computers”. The natural listings are intertwined with three shopping listings. If you want your brand to show in the number one spot, you have to compete with the shopping listings that will appear above you.

“Pizza delivery”. Three natural listings on top, followed by seven map listings. If you are a pizza shop showing 4th in natural results, you are below the fold.

“Refrigerator deals”. You’ll see a forum with a description and four forum listings
intertwined in the SERPs before you even get to the organic listings.

“Ghost”. If you’re looking for a product named with a word with multiple meanings, such as “ghost,” you may find several videos and image listings beating you out.

Just as SEO has finally become a commonplace tactic in the online search marketing mix, we now find that the evolution of the layout of the SERP requires a new approach. As brand marketers, we need to re-think our strategy for how to achieve top visibility for our brand on our major terms on the free SERPs.

We think of this as a new opportunity to be found in a growing class of page elements.

We hope this information will help you develop your web-site to a more effective and profitable. Stop by for a Free Web Site Evaluation of your Business

Your Meta Keywords Tag is Dead!

EXTRA - EXTRA Just In - The Meta Keywords Tag is Dead!

Now what do I do?

At the SMX East recent gathering, Cris Pierry, the Senior Director of Yahoo! Search, surprised everyone by saying that Yahoo! had stopped supporting the Meta Keywords Tag several months ago as reported by Srarch Engine Watch.

Google has never supported the Meta Keywords Tag and Bing doesn't support it, either.

So, I think we can safely say, "The Meta Keywords Tag is dead."

Actually, the first to notice that it had died was Andrew Goodman of Traffick, who declared way back on my September 2, 2002, " An End to Metatags "If somebody would just declare the end of the metatag era, full stop, it would make it easier on everyone."Inktomi and then Yahoo! Search continued to support the meta keywords tag, so some search engine optimizers continued using it, although it didn't have significant impact.

Time passed, Sullivan left Search Engine Watch to start Search Engine Land and Search Marketing Expo, and way too many search engine optimizers continued using the Meta Keywords Tag because there's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead.

Even those who realized that top search keywords actually need to appear high up in very visible locations, had trouble dealing with the death of the Meta Keywords Tag.

They would go through the five stages of grief described in the book by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, "On Death and Dying." They are:

1. Denial (This isn't happening to me!)
2. Anger (Why is this happening to me?)
3. Bargaining (I promise I'll be a better person if...)
4. Depression (I don't care anymore.)
5. Acceptance (I'm ready for whatever comes.)

But, now we can say the meta keywords tag is dead, dead, dead.

Are you ready for 2010? DoesYour site needs an Extreme Marketing Makeover? Now you can get exposure to 100’s of thousands of new customers or prospects every month if you know what to do! Visit SEO Specialist Online for a Free Web Site Evaluation for your Business.

SEO Link-building Mistakes

7 Deadly SEO Link-building Mistakes

We hope this information will help you develop your web-site to a more effective and profitable. Stop by for a Free Web Site Evaluation of your Business

SEO link-building has become one of the main high leverage activities in any online business. The simple fact is that back-links will give you a high page rank and a high page rank will rank you higher in the S.E.R.P's. Obviously this means more traffic and more money, as reported by VodaHost General & Forum Administrator

Back-links make up 90% of your Google rank and because of this, link-building has taken on a life of its own. Most people seem to misunderstand it completely. For starters you should know that not all back links are good links. They can actually hurt you more than help you.

SEO Link-building is all about building links that are natural. Google did not design their ranking system to be manipulated. It was designed to reward good sites that get linked to it naturally. That's why getting the right links can be incredibly difficult if you try and do it manually.

Unfortunately, you have to build in links these days otherwise you will not be competitive. If you sit around and wait for sites to link to you, you might wait forever. The good thing is that this also give the "small guy" a fair shake to get good rankings in Google, Yahoo and M.S.N.

Most guys build Back-links kamikaze style; that is they go in there and just get as many links they can from wherever they can and at whatever cost. This is a recipe for disaster. Once your site gets marked by Google, you might as well start over again.

Rogue link-building techniques can render months of hard work useless, so be very careful when building Back-links. Here are the 7 deadly S.E.O link-building mistakes. Avoid them at all costs.

Mistake #1: Mass Link Packages

Obviously, some sleazy and unscrupulous people are out there selling link packages that are not even worth a mention. Most of the time they blast ads out to classified directories or other spam filled networks. These links are the equivalent of buying spam email lists. Don't do it. Your links might end up on banned sites that can really hurt your Google image.

Mistake #2: Link Exchanges

Back in the day, exchanging links was the main S.E.O link-building strategy. You link to me, I link to you and we both win. Right? Wrong! Google caught on to this when hundreds of link farms opened up. Google can easily trace reciprocal links and they simply don't count for much anymore. Getting links from big link exchange networks can actually hurt your business.

Mistake #3: Linking From Non-Indexed Sites

Most people who spend hours building those free Back-links make the mistake of building links on non-indexed sites. For your back links to count, the page on which you have your link has to be indexed. Having links on non-indexed pages means nothing. It's a waste of time.

Mistake #4: Not Using Anchor Text

At first this probably won't sound too scary, but if you build 2,000 links without relevant anchor text your site can easily pass for a spam site that just gets random links. By using anchor text that is related to your site, it gives your links link-juice; meaning it makes your links relevant and increases the perceived value of each link.

Mistake #5: Not Being Relevant

Google is getting smarter by the day. After all it is their business to provide the most relevant information for each and every search that is conducted. If they don't, people will stop using Google. That's why they protect it so vigorously. When you get Back-links from relevant and related sites that would naturally link to you, then the link will count for a lot. Unrelated and random links from any old site really does not make Google see your site as being important.

Mistake #6: Inorganic links

As I mentioned earlier, Google designed the page rank system to work organically. They are looking for links to come to your site naturally. For the most part that means, slowly and consistently over time from a variety of related sites. If you go and get 1000 links overnight from the same site then Google's alarms will go off and you might land yourself in some Back-linking trouble with the big G. Slow and steady wins the race - especially if you have a new site.

Mistake #7: Buying Links

High PR Back-links are worth gold. Quite literally. I've seen a single PR7 link sell for as much as $250 per month. There are a lot of link networks out there that make it their business to sell links on high PR sites. These links have become quite expensive, but the lure of instant results have people buying links like it's going out of fashion.

Google is catching on and there has been widespread reports of Google slapping page rank. If links are publicly traded then Google can probably trace them and penalize you.

SEO link-building is all about being as natural and as organic as possible. Always go after links that are 1-way, relevant and on sites with a high page rank. If you can get links on pages with a high page rank, even better. Don't fall for the quick-fix promise of so many link building services. In the long run, slow and steady links that look natural will keep sending more and more traffic your way.

I hope this information will help you develop your web-site to a more effective and profitable.

Stop by for a Free Web Site Evaluation of your Business

 

 

 

Paid Search Is About Process, Not Planning

Search engine optimization could be a tiring task but with time it sure helps you get better traffic. Take the Free SEO Preparedness Quiz Visit SEO-Specialist-Online.com

Paid Search Is About Process, Not Planning

Many times we’re asked to present a plan for the next 30 – 60 – 90 days of a paid search program. This makes a great deal of sense when we bring a new client on board and have to fix or re-build their program. It takes time to build out a program comprehensively and laying out the priorities helps manage expectations. After that point that request for a “vision” or “plan” reveals a fundamental misunderstanding about the nature of paid search marketing as reported by George Michie .

Paid search is an amazingly powerful channel for capturing existing demand. It is not a demand generating channel. Like the yellow pages people only see the ads when they’re in the market for the advertiser’s products or services. Yellow page ads don’t make people interested in taking yoga; they convince people who are interested in yoga to try the advertiser’s studio. Paid search plays the same role, but it’s easy for marketers steeped in traditional channels to miss the implications of this fact.

For demand generating channels planning is of paramount importance. Television ads seek to 1) create awareness of a brand; 2) infuse that brand awareness with positive connotations; and 3) catapult that positive awareness into action. Marketers must plan the proper messaging and imagery for each phase, and plan the timing and budgets. Even direct marketers like catalogers must plan contact strategies, page counts and formats, circulation counts and frequency of touches. Planning is required because the marketer must generate interest and action, and the time lag between marketing investment and eventual payoff is both long and not guaranteed.

Paid search is different in every respect. Budgets don’t make sense for advertisers with shopping carts on their sites because the sales happen before they pay for the ads. We don’t have to plan what products to push or when; the ads will be served to the right audience at the right time and in the right volume to respond to consumer demand.

This is not to suggest that paid search requires no work. Paid search demands well honed processes for dealing with product turnover, landing page changes, promotional offers, seasonal shifts and more. Skilled analysts study data six-ways-to-Sunday to find nuggets of gold in search logs, in click-to-order intervals, and in new classification schemes that feed statistically meaningful differentiators to our algorithms. Reacting to shifts in consumer behavior and anticipating them whenever possible takes knowledge, skill and mountains of well-organized data.

However, it doesn’t really require a plan. Indeed, predicting what projects will be most valuable 30 days from now, or 60 is both impossible and unwise. The priorities change depending on all kinds of factors outside of the analyst’s control. Locking an analyst into an arbitrary schedule prevents them from adjusting to the priorities of the moment and thereby squancders opportunities.

Asking an analyst for a long range plan for a paid search campaign is like asking your stock broker what stocks you should buy and which you should sell 6 months from now. They can make those recommendations if you really want them, but usually you’d be wise not follow them.

Absence of “a plan” is unsettling, particularly when you’re working with an agency. You can’t see them hard at work at their desks every day, so it’s natural to wonder whether they’re asleep at the switch. This fear is compounded by the reality of PPC agencies that all too often are asleep at the switch.

Trust comes from results, and in PPC results come from smart people with great tools and great processes. Anticipating and reacting to changes in the landscape requires hard work, knowledge, skills and the flexibility to follow one’s nose.

Search engine optimization could be a tiring task but with time it sure helps you get better traffic. Take the Free SEO Preparedness Quiz Visit SEO-Specialist-Online.com

SEO | Search Engine Optimization Specialist | SEO Consultant | SEO Expert | Google SEO | Organic SEO | Improve Web Site Search Engine Rankings | Top 10 Search Engines | How Does Search Engine Optimization Work | Small and Large Business Website Content Writing

Put Down the Remote.. That's right, put it down. Get focused here.

I want to show you something that could very well change your life drastically.

But here's the deal, I won't show you unless you're giving this news 100% of your attention.

Okay, are you ready? Are you sure?

I really want you to be totally focused when you read this.

Shut the door, turn the TV off. Make sure you're ready!

Okay....

Now, if you're even remotely serious about becoming massively successful on the internet, is to know what separates the struggling, heartbroken and cash-poor online entrepreneurs and small business owners…

From the confident, clued-in marketers pulling down huge numbers and results (yeah, even in this chaotic, soul-sucking economy)?

No, wait — ESPECIALLY in this chaotic, soul-sucking economy.

While average business owners are cowering in bed with the covers pulled over their head……

The top marketers are still fearlessly bringing home the bacon, even as everyone else panics and freaks out.

Not sure if you know the answer?

Then you’re in luck.

Here’s what’s available right now:

Are You Prepared For The Future of Search?

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Take this quiz to determine if you are positioned to get the most out of the search engines, and find out how prepared you are for the future of SEO.

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SEO Preparedness Quiz

Take the SEO Preparedness Quiz

Do you know what separates the struggling, heartbroken and cash-poor online entrepreneurs and small business owners… from the confident, clued-in marketers pulling down huge numbers and results (yeah, even in this chaotic, soul-sucking economy)?

(No, wait — ESPECIALLY in this chaotic, soul-sucking economy. While “average” business owners are cowering in bed with the covers pulled over their head……

The top marketers are still fearlessly bringing home the bacon, even as everyone else panics and freaks out.)

Not sure if you know the answer?

Then you’re in luck.



Take the SEO Preparedness Quiz Today!

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Let go of activities that take time away from your priorities and do it right!

Search engine optimization could be a tiring task but with time it sure helps you get better traffic. Contact http://www.seo-specialist-online.com for all your SEO needs.

SEO | Search Engine Optimization Specialist | SEO Consultant | SEO Expert | Google SEO | Organic SEO | Improve Web Site Search Engine Rankings | Top 10 Search Engines | How Does Search Engine Optimization Work | Small and Large Business Website Content Writing