Archive for October 31, 2008

31 Oct 2008
internet marketing • seo • small business

How Google Lists Sites


“I typed my name in and I’m nowhere on Google?”

Usually, a day or two after I begin marketing a new website, I get this question in an email or phone call. Even though on the proposal I sent out to the client and on the contract I have the client sign it clearly states that it takes 3-8 months to get listed and ranked in Google’s engine. But, the questions still come. So, to answer this question, here’s a quick little summary of how Google lists sites.

1) Contrary to what some people will tell you, it is not necessary to submit your website to Google, or any of the large search engines like Yahoo, MSN, AOL, etc. The reason is that these search engines find websites mainly by following links on other websites. So, if you launch a new website, the very first thing your SEO firm (or you) should do is to write an article or press release and submit that article or press release to a website that is already being crawled by Google. That usually means a website that is already on Google’s index. Of course, in your article or press release you want to add a link TO your website!

2) Google literally looks at over 200 different factors when they crawl your website. They look at everything from the age of the domain name, to the manner in which the website was created, to the words on the website pages, to the links to and from the website pages and oh so much more!! The score that your website page gets at the end of that crawl determines where the website will be for a particular set of keywords. In other words, if your trying to market your website page for the phrase “small business loans” but because of the content, the structure, the links on the website page, Google determines that the page is about “small business financing”. So, when a search is made for “small business loans” the website may come up as #35, but when a search is made for “small business financing” the website may come up as #3.

3) Basically, Google performs 3 functions that work to determine the ranking of your website page…

a) Crawling – when the Google robot finds your website page it “crawls” it. Basically, it scans the page for words, coding, etc.

b) Indexing – once the pages are crawled, the next step is that they get put into the index. Into the list, if you will. But this doesn’t mean it’ll be found on page one, two or three or maybe even page 100. It just means the website page is now part of massive list of pages.

c) Ranking – when Google reviews your website pages and puts your website through the over 200 rules it applies, it then ranks your website page by page. Not every page of your website will get into the first page of search results in Google, at least not right away.

4) Google receives over 5 million new websites every single day. There are literally billions of web pages on Google’s index and web pages are continuously scanned and crawled. That is, if they are being changed. If you create a website page and then don’t make any changes to it, after a few months, the ranking of that website page will decrease. Why? Because Google has determined that it’s an inactive page. So, when your SEO firm tells you that you need to add new information to your website pages, listen to them!

5) Obviously, all this takes a little bit of time. Mostly because one of the 200 factors that Google looks at are incoming links. It takes time to get other websites to link TO your website (and to use anchor text linking as well!). So, don’t despair. It truly is worth it! The average ROI is usually over 200% but you just have to give it time to work!


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29 Oct 2008
internet marketing • seo • small business

Does Your Website Have Goals?


Does your website have goals? I mean REALLY!

I bet you think it does. Some of you may be right. But, just to make sure, go and check.

The website goals I’m talking about are measurable goals. This means that when you look through your website stats you can measure if the goals are being met or not. After all, what’s the point of reviewing statistics on the website if you don’t even know if the campaign is working? But believe me, so many website owners just get a report of how many people have visited the site. There’s so much more to website stats than that!

But, to get back to the subject of website goals, here’s a cool little technique you can use to help build your Internet marketing campaing. But it only works if you have measurable goals set up on your website. Oh, by the way, I’m using Google Analytics as the statistical tool. If you’re not tracking your website logs, try Google Analytics, it’s free and it’s great!

1) Go to your stats program and look for the list of resources. Within that list you want the list of keyword phrases. This list basically tells you what keyword phrases were used by the visitors who found your website.

2) Website statistics are based on the pages that are being monitored on your website. So, if the website has a sale page, the visitor makes the purchase on the sales page and then once the purchase is made, the visitor is taken to a thankyou for your purchase page. That “thank you for your purchase” page is counted as a Sales goal. Let’s say the website also has a contact page and once a visitor fills out the form on the contact page they are then taken to a thankyou for contacting us page. That “thank you for contacting us” is counted as a Leads goal. Both the website owner and the SEO firm can then see how well (or not) the website is doing as far as conversions, sales and leads.

3) Google Analytics has this great feature for their keywords – they provide a Goal Conversion feature. So, you can take a look at the keywords that visitors are using to find your website and you can then see from that list, which keyword phrases resulted in a sale or a lead. That’s pretty cool!

You want to compare the number of visitors the keyword phrase brought AND the percentage that converted into a sale or a lead. Here’s an example…

We have a client selling Name Tags.

His list of top 3 keyword phrases that converted into sales are…
name tags – 640 visitors used this phrase – 1.56% converted (9 visitors)
metal name tags – 133 visitors used this phrase – .75% converted (1 visitor)
magnetic name tags – 122 visitors used this phrase – 3.28% converted (4 visitors)

So for this website, “name tags” is a phrase that is converting into sales. The conclusion then is to add more pages with related phrases to “name tags”. You may be saying to yourself, “Well, of course name tags is the phrase!”. That’s what we sell! But what if you thought that the phrase “name badges” was more important? What if you wanted to emphasize “magnetic name tags” because you had a surplus of these items? This toll lets you know that “name tags” is much more profitable than “name badges” and that if you wanted to sell those surplus magnetic name tags, what you could expect as far as sales.

You could also work on increasing the conversion! If your goal was to reach a 10% conversion rate for your SEO Marketing, this tool also gives you the overall conversion rate for your keywords and listed goals. But, this only works if you have goals measured on your website. So, check with your web designer, your SEO firm or check into it yourself and make sure that you’re listing your goals, measuring your goals and tweaking your website in order to improve them and improve your bottom line!

Good luck!


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23 Oct 2008
internet marketing • seo • small business

Using Twitter In Business


Using the microblogging tool, Twitter in business is something that many businesses across the world are searching to do. After all, it seems to be the hot trend of the moment and any smart business owner will want to take advantage of it, if they can. But, as I speak to clients across the globe many are trying to figure out how to use this twitter thing in their business? Here’s how we, at Eckweb Designs, Inc. do it.

1) Joining Twitter is incredibly easy, but the key is to continuously use it. If you post several times a day, that’s great, once a day, that’s good, once every other day, it’s okay, once every few days or more, not so good.

If your company has a 15 minute staff meeting every morning (I know most medical teams do this every day) – and you attend these meetings 100%, you will be UP on the news and events, etc. But if you attend only 75% or 50% of the time or even less, how “up to date” are you on the news of the business? How does that reflect on the amount of respect you get from the other team members?

I know, you’re not in business with the folks you connect with at Twitter, or are you? Just like any social media program, the concept is the same as any networking group you attend. Meet people, get to know them, allow them to get to know you, join discussions and showcase your expertise. Business will come to you, not because you’re selling but because you’re trusted.

2) When I first joined Twitter, I searched for others in the group who were also interested in SEO and Internet Marketing. I began following them. So, initially, I was following ALOT of people. But, every week, I would go through my list and remove the ones who weren’t contributing or the ones who simply were just using Twitter to let me know they were having a cheese sandwich for lunch (What do I care?).

What I ended up with were Twitterers who talk about business. They enlighten me to new articles, new publications, new tools. They share their thoughts and ideas about the work we all do and Twitter has basically ended up as my own personal daily newspaper.

For more information, here’s a great article on 50 ideas on Using Twitter For Business. I’m sure you’ll find lots of great information there.

It’s only been a couple of months but traffic is absolutely coming to my website from Twitter. Time will tell if the traffic converts into leads or sales. But, like any social media group (and any business networking group), it simply takes time to gain the trust of others.

So, go ahead, if you’re considering using twitter in your business, get started today.


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22 Oct 2008
internet marketing • seo • small business

Social Media Planning


Social media planning is very important – here’s how you can plan your next exciting marketing campaign.

So many Internet Marketing firms are scrambling to offer social media marketing as part of their marketing campaigns. And who can blame them? It seems that social media programs like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter have taken over!

But before you plunk down your hard earned cash (and getting harder every day it seems) make sure to create a marketing plan for your social media campaign. Lewis Green wrote a great article discussing this very topic.

He outlines 6 questions that you should be able to answer BEFORE you enact any social media programs into your internet marketing campaign.

1) Who are your ideal customers? The ones who deliver the most value? What do they look like? What do they want and need?
2) Where do those customers live online and how do we reach them, engage them in conversation?
3) What should be the focus of a blog (or a social networking presence)? What content will be of interest to those readers who make up our ideal customers?
4) How do we ensure that social media is seamlessly integrated with our other marketing tools?
5) How do we drive those readers to our blog and then to our web site, using the blog as a way to interest them in our expertise because of the great content (conversation starters) we create on the blog?
6) How do we create content that is not viewed as simply a marketing and sales vehicle?

The answers to these questions will tell you…

1) What social media programs to join. If your ideal customers are business people, LinkedIn is a great social media program to join. But if your ideal customers are musicians, then MySpace is a better social media program to join.

2) You can find out where your customers “live” online simply by asking them or adding a “link to me” button on your own website(s).

3) 90% of the reason people come to the Internet initially is for information. Be the source of that information and you will increase your sales. So make your blog and online articles a part of your social media program.

4) So often, programs are begun but not maintained. If you’re going to open a Facebook account or LinkedIn account, don’t just open them and walk away. That’s like spending $400.00 to join the Chamber of Commerce and then never going to the meetings.

5) Driving visitors to your blog and social media content is not that difficult. Add links to these in your email signature, in your website, in your printed material, etc.

6) Create content that answers questions your audience is asking. Do you sell name tags? Your audience are more than likely business owners and business employees. Supply information in your blog answering questions like “How To Get Through An Interview” – “How To Ask For A Raise” – etc. These are relevant to your audience.

Mr. Lewis finishes his excellent article with a great formula…

“X, with X being integrated planning, = Y, with Y being ROI. And in today’s lean times, those who fail to deliver Y will soon be victims of budget cuts. And without an objective, goals, strategies to meet those goals, and tactics (tools) to achieve the strategies, we shall perish, no matter the tools we use.”

The bottom line of ANY marketing campaign is the ROI (Return On Investment) – bring in traffic which then converts into sales. If the campaign does not do this, something went wrong. Plan ahead and the chances of getting a great ROI are much, much better! Social media planning is worth the time and effort.


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17 Oct 2008
internet marketing • seo • small business

Keeping Up On All The News


One of my favourite little tools to use to keep up with “news” is Google Alerts.

If you haven’t used it yet, I don’t know what you are waiting for. It’s one of the best ways to stay ahead and on top of anything that you are interested in.

I find the best way to use it is to type in my subject in quotes. That way Google only alerts me when any news comes up just for that particular phrase. Otherwise, I would get alerts for any news that comes up with any of the words in my phrase.

Anyway, the reason I’m even mentioning Google Alerts is because I have been receiving TONS of new information lately, it seems every hour I get more Alerts and this tells me two things.

1) There are many new websites coming onto the Internet (that’s nothing new)
2) Many more websites are continuously adding information!

AND that tells me that everything that I’m reading about Search Engine Optimization is true!

What I’m reading is that CONTENT truly is KING. All content, new content, continuously fresh content, data, data, data!!!!

Basically, the more information (relevant information of course) you have on your website, the higher your rankings will be, the more audience you’ll be attracting, the more sales you’ll receive, the more exposure you’ll get and the more links you’ll have.

Think about it, part of getting UP on the search engines is getting other websites to link TO you. That’s easy enough to do with search engines and directories. But it’s a bit harder to get other regular websites to link to you. So, many people participate in a link exchange type of program.
That’s good, but what’s even better is having other websites link to you because you have something GOOD to say! These are ONE WAY links, in other words you don’t have to reciprocate the link! These ONE WAY links score more points (to search engines).

I know I’ve been harping on this for a long time and I’ve opened many blogs for my clients and I give all my monthly marketing clients a new keyword phrase every month to help inspire them to write an article (about that keyword phrase) in their blogs and maybe even their websites.

But, I have to admit, it’s a losing battle. I wish I could sit and write articles for every one of my clients every week! I KNOW that would bring in more customers, more revenue, more, more, more!!
I KNOW because I’ve done it on my own website and it absolutely, 100% works, without a doubt.

I recently have had a few customers call and ask me “What else can I do?” — “I’ll spend more money but what can I do?” — my reply to them is WRITE!!!! If you can’t write an article, hire someone to write an article (my friend and article contributor Joel
Kweskin can help you). But however you do it, just do it!!


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16 Oct 2008
internet marketing • seo • small business

Marketing In A Recession


I know, only SOME people are saying we’re in a recession, but for heavens sake, what does it take to just admit it?

Anyway, many businesses today are scrambling trying to figure out what impact the current recession will have on their company. Some are even planning ahead and looking to “cut the fat” by reviewing their expenditures and seeing what can be done to reduce them.

If your company is looking ahead and considering some areas to reduce spending, and if marketing and advertising is on the “hit list”, then I strongly urge you to consider either getting Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services for your website or beefing up your SEO services. Why? Because it’s the cheapest form of advertising with an extremely high conversion rate, that’s why!

Just last month I received a call from one of my clients, Mickey Arledge, his company sells name tags and trophies and awards, etc. He has been with us at Eckweb Designs, Inc. for about 8 months now and in his conversation last month, he wanted me to know that the summer months are usually very slow for him but THIS summer, he was steady and never slowed down. Why? Because of the business he’s been getting from his website. And why is business booming from his website? Because we worked together on optimizing his website, that’s why! He is so pleased with the results that we’re working on several other websites for him to promote the other products and services that he sells. I call that a win-win.

Let me give you 3 ways that SEO can help with marketing in a recession.

1) SEO can help you re-tool your website TO the current demands. In other words, in today’s economy, I would think that most people are looking for ways to get things cheaper. So, words like “discounted”, “cheaper”, “low prices”, “sale”, come to mind. Do you have any website pages on your website marketing these phrases? The beauty of Internet marketing (and websites) is that you can make changes like this by adding and/or modifying pages on your website and make them available almost immediately.

2) SEO can help you search for an additional niche market to add to your list of products and services. How? Part of SEO work is looking at Internet trends, in other words, what are Internet searchers looking for? What words are being used on Internet searches? These words give you an insight into what’s happening “out there”. Let’s say you provide psychiatry services in Atlanta and you currently specialize in treatment for cocaine drug addiction. A consultation with your SEO firm reveals that in the Atlanta area, a trend in the last 12 months has shown an increase in the need for information about panic attacks. This would then help to direct this particular psychiatrist to add information to his website about panic attacks.

Basically, find out what your audience is looking for and then give it to them.

3) When your website is optimized, part of the ongoing maintenance from the SEO firm is analyzing the statistics from the website. This means looking at the numbers and the flow of visitors on your website. Are the majority of visitors coming to just one page and then leaving? Are people coming to the shopping cart but then abandoning it? What keyword phrases is the website being found for? How many visitors came to your site from that magazine advertisement you placed? The answers to these questions and many, many more help the SEO firm and you to make the necessary changes to your website in order to continue improving it and increasing the ROI.

Many website owners make the great mistake of believing that once their website is created and once it’s optimized, that’s it. They don’t have to do anything else. I can’t even begin to tell you how wrong that is. If companies like Google, Coca Cola, Health South, Aetna see the need to make changes to their websites on a constant basis, what makes you think that your website can just stay as it is? The truth is, websites are supposed to be fluid. They’re supposed to be changing with the seasons! Websites are not brochures so don’t treat them as such. Otherwise, you just wasted the money you spent on the website design.

So, there you have it. If you’re already receiving SEO services for your website, contact your SEO firm today and discuss these methods with them. If you’re not receiving SEO services, what are you waiting for? Contact us for affordable seo services today, we’ll be happy to answer your questions and give you a free quote on your website. The time to get ready is now!


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14 Oct 2008
internet marketing • seo • small business

Blogging Tip For Beginners


Here’s a blogging tip for beginners and seasons bloggers.

How many of you out there read blogs on a regular basis?

If you don’t and if you’re trying to work on writing in your blog…I have a suggestion…

Go to Google and type in…
“your favorite thing” + “blog”

Yep, type in your favorite thing, whatever it is, “football”, “champagne”, “fashion”, whatever, just type it in quotes. Follow that with the plus sign and then follow that with the word “blog” in quotes.

What you’re telling Google here is to search for “your favorite thing” and a “blog”. What you’ll get in return is a list of the blogs related to your favorite thing.

Here are some samples…

“name tags” + “blog” – a top result is from www.officenmore.com
“personal injury” + “blog” – a top result from www.newyorkpersonalinjuryattorneyblog.com
“mens rights” + “blog” – a top result from www.mensrightsboard.com

What I want you to see is what people write in blogs. I read about 10 blogs a week. I mean, I read them daily, but there are 10 different ones that I read.

Anyway, I see some bloggers writing 2 sentences, I see others writing entire articles and mostly I see a mix of these two extremes. What almost all bloggers do though is write often. If they don’t write daily, they write at least every other day or every few days. It’s almost always less than 7 days, that’s for sure!

They write about an article they just read, about a commercial they just saw, about an experience they just had and how all of these affect or are related to their blog topic.

So, when you sit down to write your blog, don’t look at it as a chore. It’s not meant to be a chore. A blog is meant to showcase your knowledge base. It should be easy, fun and exciting to be teaching and talking to the world!

So, go ahead, go to Google and type in “your favorite thing” +”blog” and read. Subscribe to some of them, who knows, you may just like it! I hope this easy blogging tip works well for you.


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09 Oct 2008
internet marketing • seo • small business

Internet Marketing For Small Businesses


In these tough (and seemily getting tougher) economic times, small businesses are popping up everywhere! Internet marketing for small businesses is one of the (if not THE) cheapest form of advertising available. Well, I mean it’s not the CHEAPEST, printing and handing out flyers is cheaper BUT the return on investment is much greater. So, in the long run, it’s the cheapest!

But, you do have to do your homework. SEO pricing is all over the map. You can find Internet marketing firms that sell services anywhere from $100.00 all the way up $50,000. But be careful what you buy. I’m not saying you have to spend $50,000, far from it. Just be aware of what you’re getting for the price. As the SEO webmaster with Eckweb Designs, Inc., I can tell you that specializing in small business Internet marketing has focused us on low prices with maximum service. Meaning, our clients get the most bang for their bucks.

But, enough of that, let’s get down to some tips, ideas and advice that small businesses can use in their Internet marketing strategies.

1) Visibility – make sure your website is visible to the search engines. The majority of website designers do not know how to create websites for the search engines. Yes, they can create beautiful websites, no doubt. But search engines don’t look at the visual aspects of the website. They look at the coding. You can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on Internet marketing for your website, but the bottom line is, if you website is difficult for the search engines to read, it will be extremely difficult to get it indexed and placed on the first page.

2) Roam – your website is just one spot on the Internet. And with over 5 million new websites being submitted to search engines every single day, that spot gets smaller and smaller! How do you combat this? By making your spot larger! That means get yourself on as many different websites as possible! Today, just about anyone can be famous for a while. With all the reality shows and YouTube videos out there, it’s fairly easy! So, where can you roam to increase your Internet spot? Social media sites are excellent. Here are some places…

a) Facebook
b) LinkedIn
c) Twitter
d) Knolstuff
e) Ladies Who Launch
f) Geckoe
g) Ezine Articles
h) Promotion World
i) Flickr
j) MySpace

These are just a very few of so many places! The one thing to remember about roaming, is that you must keep up with them. Think of each of these as a networking group. You can spend your $400.00 (or whatever the fee is) to join a local networking group, and if you go a few times you’ll meet some people but you won’t necessarily get any businesses. But if you keep going, after a while you will begin seeing business. You get out of them what you put in! The same holds true for these types of programs.

3) Go Local – list your website in as many local search engines and directories as you can find, that includes Google Maps, Google Earth, etc. As gas prices continue to climb (or gas becomes scarce – as it did lately in Atlanta) more and more people use the Internet to search for local services BEFORE they get in their cars. So, take advantage of this by getting your website on as many local engines as possible.

4) Gain Trust – there are SO many websites out there that are just fancy brochures. Attorney and physician websites are great examples. These sites are usually so predictable. They show who the attorney or doctor is, what their credentials are and what specialties they service. Oh yeah, and how to get to their office. That’s pretty much it. Now, these doctors and lawyers may THINK that just by providing this information they can get sales from the site. But the truth is, this information will only bring visitors to the site. In other words, the website can get indexed in the search engines, but once visitors come to the website, they need to trust you to convert from visitor to a client. Conversions are the REAL measure of a website’s success, not the number of visitors. There are 2 ways to gain trust via websites…

a) Be useful – don’t just give a brochure of who, what and where you are. Let people know your expertise. Showcase it. Are you a bankruptcy attorney? Then answer questions on your website about bankruptcy. Have detailed, easy to read information on your website explaining the bankruptcy laws. Be useful to the viewers who are coming to your website and you will gain their trust. Don’t just sell your services, educate others about your services.

b) Reviews – testimonials and reviews from others is a great way to earn trust. Encourage your clients to write in reviews on your Google Map and other local directories. Put testimonials from clients on your website. They will pay off.

I know, all this seems overwhelming, it’s alot of work, that’s for sure. But you don’t have to do it all yourself. As a website owner and small business owner, you don’t have the time to do it all. That’s where you look for Internet marketing firms that can help you. The ROI (return on investment) is very high and it truly can be the cheapest form of advertising. At Eckweb Designs, Inc. we keep our monthly fees very low. For the complete marketing package, the monthly fee is only $270.00 per month. You can go as low as $135.00 / month for the basic package. Our services have helped many, many small businesses. Just ask Mickey Arledge of Name-Tags.net or Jim Kelderhause of CertifiedWindowsandDoors.com or Carmela Smith of CoastalClosings.com or Sam Assini of SamAssini.com or Jeff Blum of MagicalSongWriter.com or Ben Cranor of Cranor-Roofing.com, or many others.

Internet marketing for small businesses is the best way to get your business up and running!


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07 Oct 2008
internet marketing • seo • small business

Secret Internet Marketing Tip


So, ready to learn (or be reminded of) a secret Internet marketing tip? Ready to increase the amount of targeted traffic to your website? Ready to increase your conversion rates and your sales? Ok! So, let me tell you about this great online marketing tip.

Let me set the stage…

1) On average, the first time someone goes to the Internet to look for something (be it a service or a product), what they are looking for is information. In other words, they begin the process of gathering information about that service or product. That’s the beauty of the Internet. The information is all right there at your fingertips.

2) Part of this first step is to read reviews, testimonials, etc. about that product or service. Basically, learning about it’s reputation. After all, that’s how trust is created online.

3) The next step the Internet searcher then takes is to look through the top 2 or 3 websites that he kept finding in his research. Let’s say he searched 10 different sources. And in those 10 different sources he kept seeing the same 2 websites mentioned with positive comments. With that kind of reputation, he’s going to go to those websites and research further. More than likely, his purchase will be from one of those 2 websites.

What’s The Secret Internet Marketing Tip?

Setting your website up to gather that online reputation.

Here’s how you can do it.

1) Testimonials on your website – this is actually one of the least effective methods because it’s perceived as being controlled by you. Of course, every business owner will only put positive testimonials on their website! But, it doesn’t hurt to have them on there, either. And it’s easy enough to get positive testimonials from your clients to put on the website.

2) Blogs – when you write an article and post it on your blog – others have the opportunity to comment on that post. Those comments, and your responses help to build your reputation. Viewers will see how you respond to questions, statements, criticism, etc.

3) Google Map Reviews – when you’re listed on Google Maps, viewers can write a review about you, your product, your service. It’s free, and I would encourage you to ask your clients to write those reviews!

4) Social Media – use the groups at social media programs like Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. Connect with your clients via those programs and they can provide you with recommendations, reviews, etc.

By creating a space on your website for testimonials and reviews from your clients, AND creating other spots online for viewers to find information ABOUT you, your product, your service, you begin to build that very valuable online reputation.

Secret Internet marketing tip? Not really a secret, just an underused method! So, give it a try! You’ll like it!


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06 Oct 2008
internet marketing • seo • small business

Free Internet Marketing Tips


The free Internet marketing tips are based on my own Internet marketing of my websites. As an SEO webmaster at Eckweb Designs, Inc, it’s natural that I would own and operate several websites and of course, I experiment all the Internet marketing and SEO techniques on my own websites before I attempt them on my clients’ dime!

So, without further ado, here are some marketing tips to help you with your online marketing campaigns…

1) Articles – although pay per click (PPC) and for pay directories (like Yellow Pages) help bring in traffic, once I stop paying the fees, these services stop. So, for effective, long term Internet marketing awareness, I have found that the combination of SEO (search engine optimization) and article marketing have given me the best ROI. If you can’t or don’t have the time to write articles for your own business, hire someone to do it for you. Believe me, the investment will pay off in the long run. But you must understand, it’s not a one shot deal, or even a short term deal. Writing is constant. You don’t write 5 articles and then call it quits. It takes many articles, continuously being written. After all, even print journalists spend years writing before they’re recognized.

To give you an example, I’ve been writing daily for about 4 months now and I’m just beginning to see the ROI!

Write your articles and submit them to free article submission sites (there are hundreds),

2) Social Media – your name, your company needs a following. Every brand does. So, create that following by joining and participating in social media programs. I’m talking about Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Knolstuff, etc. Submit your articles to these places, engage in conversations with others, find others in your niche or in your target audience. The #1 rule I can tell you about social media programs is do not become a salesman. Do not join these programs with the intention of just selling. You won’t gain ground. The point of these programs is to showcase your expertise. Let others know who and what you are and why your product/service is valuable for them.

You know, these social media programs are SO much like business networking groups. I remember years ago when I attended these types of groups at chamber of commerce meetings, BNI, women’s business groups, etc. it was easy to notice that the business folks who came to the meetings and immediately began selling, pitching their business, they never lasted long. Why? Because they didn’t sell. Why didn’t they sell? Because they didn’t give anyone a chance to learn who they were. They didn’t give others the opportunity to build trust in them. My goal at these meetings was to educate. Not many people know about SEO and the ones who do, know very little or have been given falsehoods about it. So, my goal was to educate everyone I met about what I did. If they so chose to purchase my services, great. If not, that was great also. I never went to a meeting with the intention of coming out with a sale. And you know what? It’s been 4-5 years since I’ve gone to any of these meetings (yes, business is doing well) but I still get calls and emails from people I met all those years ago looking for SEO work.

The online social media programs are the same, except you can do it in your pajamas. The purpose and intent of the social media programs is for you to showcase yourself, your business. Who are you? What do you do? Why do you do it better than others? How can you help? etc.

Four months ago I began submitting my articles to Ladies Who Launch, a social media program. Today, I checked my website statistics and guess what? The #1 website (other than search engines) that refers clients to me is Ladies Who Launch and better than that, the conversion rate (the percentage of visitors who come from that website and then contact me) is 12%. That’s a very good ROI! The proof is in the pudding.

3) SEO – I just can’t say enough about the importance of getting your website optimized for the search engines. And no, I don’t mean just tweaking the meta tags. I mean really optimized. Some websites have to be taken apart, literally and rebuilt so that their structure is easy for the engines to read. Keyword research needs to be conducted, page optimization needs to be implemented. That means placing those important keyword phrases in all the right places. Making sure that the pages link to each other the way they’re supposed to, ensuring the site has a 301 re-direct, there’s a robots.txt file, there’s a sitemap.xml, and so much more!

As the website owner you don’t have to know all the details of SEO (you bring the car to the mechanic because he’s the expert, not you). BUT, you do need to know enough to know if you’re getting your money’s worth. So make sure that your SEO firm keeps up with the latest trends, that they’re investing their time in your business (and not just theirs) and always, always look at your ROI. The average ROI is 1% – 3%. If you fall within that range your site is doing well. If you are above that range, your SEO firm deserves a bonus. If you fall below that range, something needs to be changed. I’ll leave it up to you to decide what to change.

So, I do hope these free Internet marketing tips will help your website gain ground in the extremely competitive world of the Internet. The returns are absolutely worth the effort so don’t be shy, plunge in!

If you have any questions about these Internet marketing tips or SEO services, please feel free to contact us at Eckweb Designs, Inc.


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