How to Conduct Keyword Research for a New Blog
So, you have a blog. Now you need readers, right? Many people assume that writing a blog automatically means they will have readers, or that readers will somehow just stumble upon their blog. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. There are many blogs out there competing for attention. How do you ensure that someone searching the web for a topic relevant to your blog will be led to your site and not someone else’s? That is where keywords come in.
Why It Is Important To Optimize Images For Search Engines & How To Do It ?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is an important part of any website. Although Google, along with the other search engines most people do not care about, claims a website should be created with only the user in mind, it is downright impossible to have a website that ranks without some SEO. However great a website may be, it is safe to assume that it will not be very popular unless you actually take some time to implement a few SEO techniques. One of these techniques involves optimizing the website's images for search engines. While many webmasters may disregard this, it is actually extremely important to optimize such image properly as they play a direct role in a website's rankings.
How To Use Social Media As Your Future SEO Strategy?
Since the dawn of the new era, there are several people who have been hooked and spend most of their time in the social network. Some of the most visited social networking sites are Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and YouTube.
Social networking becomes a trend and a fashion nowadays. Almost every human being in the planet has accounts in these sites. This is one way of building friendship and acquaintances without the need of travelling to other places just to meet them. As a result, users can be able to share their opinions and ideas regarding on a particular topic. They can freely interact on these social networking sites.
Social media is one way on how to improve a search engine optimization in a website. However, you can utilize the advantages of using the social networking sites to become your schemes in SEO. This will aid you to increase internet traffic into your site and can acquire audience and viewers online. A social website can be a great tool to enhance your website’s SEO. Do you know why? Here’s how.
SEO gets smarter – Search engines have become smarter particularly in interpreting links and user data. It is because it uses advanced algorithms to use in the websites.
Fresh content – You must have to provide fresh content and if possible, update your posts from time to time. Viewers and visitors want to read fresh ideas and expect more from your posts. They will surely would love coming back to read more from your posts.
SEO loves frequent updates – You must have to update your websites through providing fresh content. Having fresh content will mean frequent visitors and can gain internet traffic. Update your site frequently to achieve greater audience.
Social web increase returns – Having a good reputation can be built up in the long run and can help you achieve more links and increase your returns.
Maintain social strategy – Being a valuable contributor in the World Wide Web, you can generate web traffic if you are certainly honest and interested in the subject matter. Application of this strategy is highly sustainable for your website.
Earn links and digital PR – Not all the time that links should be the main concern here but also helps build your digital reputation if you have been referred from prominent members in the community.
These are some of the reasons why social media can be a great tool for your SEO. Social media and SEO are surely linked because one cannot be successful without the other.
Ferdinand Lee is online marketing expert who know how to retrieve deleted files mac and increase blog traffic.
10 Tips To Get Repeat Web Traffic
1. Update the pages on your website frequently. Stagnant sites are dropped by some search engines. You can even put a date counter on the page to show when it was last updated.
2. Offer additional value on your website. For affiliates and partners you can place links to their sites and products and ask them to do the same for you. You can also advertise their books or videos, if these products relate to your industry and are not in competition with your own product.
3. You can allow customers to ‘opt in’ to get discounts and special offers. Place a link on your site to invite customers to ‘opt in’ to get a monthly newsletter or valuable coupons.
4. Add a link to your primary page with a script ‘Book Mark or Add this site to your Favorites’.
5. Add a link ‘Recommend this site to a Friend’ so that the visitor can email your website link, with a prewritten title, “Thought you might be interested in this”, just by clicking on it.
6. Brand your website so that visitors always know they are on your site. Use consistent colors, logos and slogans and always provide a ‘Contact Us’ link on each page.
7. Create a ‘Our Policies’ page that clearly defines your philosophy and principles in dealing with your customers. Also post your privacy policy as well so that clients know they are secure when they visit your site.
8. Create a FAQ page which addresses most of the doubts and clarifications about your product or your company that are likely to be asked. This helps to resolve most of the customers doubts in their first visit to your site.
9. Ensure that each page on your website has appropriate titles and keywords so that your customer can find their way back to your site if they lose the book mark.
10. Never spam a client, who has opted for newsletters, with unsolicited emails. Later if they decide they want to ‘opt out’ of the mailings, be sure you honor their request and take them off the mailing list. They may still come back if they like your products. But they will certainly not come back if you continue to flood their email box with mails they no longer wish to receive.
What Matters Most? Quantity Or Quality Of Opportunities
If you had to choose between quality vs volume, which one would you choose? Recently I have been reading a blog post about this and I would like to argue how this opposing view points would approach Lead Generation or Appointments.
Lead Generation:
Volume: "As long as they are qualified, I’ll take leads that that will convert now or a year from now."
Appointments:
Quality: "I only attend appointments with prospects that I’ve diligently pre-qualified."
Volume:"There is no such thing as a bad appointment. I get in front of as many prospects as I can."
I’m a big believer in the concept of both… in other words I like to say that "We need to work on ‘Quality Volume.’ "
If I have to lean one way or the other,I lean toward volume!
Lead Generation- As long as the leads are qualified, meaning… they have an interest and a need… I’ll start working those leads whether they are going to convert now, or a year from now.
Appointments- I want to get in front of as many prospects as possible. If they are willing to meet with me, then they most likely have some level of interest.
In both cases, I always have a chance to close more deals when talking to more people than not talking to them at all.
Success Principle 1:
Train yourself to work at maximum volume. The bigger your pipeline, the bigger your results! Sales people must have an ability to filter. That means working through a lot of potential business and prioritizing opportunities that will close now along with deals that will close in the future. A strong pipeline is going to payoff now and it pays again later.
Need Them Either Way– If a deal closes now or in the future, I need that deal either way. The advantage of having lots of prospects is that I don’t get desperate with the ones that legitimately need more time. I have plenty of other potential deals to push through now, and I am building a list of prospects who will buy in the future.
Sometimes They Come Back – When I’m working on volume, I will close a lot of deals in the process. That’s ok… because sometimes they come back. We all have prospects that call out of the blue and unexpectedly say, “Can you please bring the paperwork… we are ready to sign!” The more people I have met with, the more potential surprise call backs.
New Products and Offers – There will be times during the year when your company comes up with a new product or offer. Salesreps who have the biggest pipeline have a strong foundation to start from. It is much better to call on prospects you already know and say, “Guess what… I have the solution you were looking for!”
Success Principle 2:
The more prospects you face, the better you get!
Volume Develops Quality- In most cases, a sales person’s closing ratio is the same… whether you have 100 prospects or 50 prospects. If you are closing at 30 percent the difference is staggering. Think of it this way. If a sales person can’t get in front of prospects, that is a bad place to be. On the other hand, if a sales person can get in front of a lot of people, then we have a foundation to work from. I would much rather work on improving the quality of my work rather than figuring out how to build up quantity. The best way to improve on quality is to get more practice. The more prospects you face, the better you get!
Volume Builds Momentum – Find a sales team who has a lot of activity and you’ll find a team with the power to build tremendous momentum. This team has great confidence, high morale, and puts up huge numbers!
Always remember, your pipeline determines your success. The next time you self-evaluate, ask yourself three questions. How strong is my pipeline? How many leads do I have in my database? How many daily scheduled actions do I have in my CRM?
(Acknowledgement: This article is an excerpt from Doyle Slayton’s eBook.)
How To Make Your Website Build Credibility For You?
Over the years many clients have come to me asking “how do I make my website generate warm leads that I can put into my sales cycle?” I tell them “make your website do three things: first, it must talk about their problem so that the reader identifies with the pain their problem is causing; second, build credibility for your company, thus building confidence; and third offer something that is virtually impossible for the ideal reader to pass up. In this article, I am going to touch briefly on the second item in my list: build credibility for your company. (Please note: descriptions and solutions outlined here are only a tiny portion of the ways in which you can make your website build credibility for you.)
In order for your website to build credibility for you, it must have some key elements, including:
A biography of yourself/your company (why you believe you are the ‘go-to’ person in your industry, your accomplishments, etc.)
- Company history & forecast
- A winning marketing letter home page
- Past clients’ experiences & testimonials (especially those who are high-profile or well-known)
- An irresistible risk-free or low-risk offer that compels people to take action
- References to anything you have written (articles, books, columns, etc.) and what medium the writing was for (e.g. internet article, newspaper, magazine, etc.)
Your biography is the place where you get to brag about your accomplishments; what makes you stand out from the crowd? What have you achieved that others in your industry have not? Have you gone above and beyond for a client? Have you done any writing about your industry that you were recognized for? Have you won any awards? Are you involved in any notable groups? Your company history and projected goals for the coming year(s) is a good place for you to tell your ideal readers what you have done and what you intend to do over the months and years to come that sets you apart from the crowd. Usually the “About Us” page is a good place to put this type of information, along with links or references to anything you have written (e.g. articles, books, columns, etc.) any reviews, rewards or interviews you may have received.
Your home page is the place you should spend the most time and effort on. Why? Because you only have three seconds to capture your ideal reader’s attention and compel them to take an action. The home page is the place where you take the reader through a review of the problem, get them to feel the pain the problem is causing, and then give them an easy way to try your solution. The home page is where you include the prior clients’ testimonials and irresistible risk-free or low-risk offer that compels people to take action and try your solution.
Alison Silbert is the author of Boost Your Revenues by Turning People Away. When not running her business Passionate Web Creations, she is a mentor, coach, and teacher, supporting individuals in living their dream of having a successful online business. For more details about the book or to learn other ways to use your website, email us; to order copies of the book go from Amazon.com, Barnes & Nobile and from http://idealvisitor.com/idealsite/book-2/
If you are also interested in writing on this website, kindly read our Guest Posting Guidelines.
If You Have A Blog, You Must Ask Yourself These Questions
For professionals in every discipline be it IT or not, blogs are not uncommon or unknown. Blogs are —a simple way of carrying a message, be it a piece of interesting news, some pictures of interest, or a video. They are easily set up on any number of platforms and provide individuals and companies with an official voice, albeit in a more casual and conversational tone.
“A well-written blog, kept up-to-date with regular and informative posts, is in fact a gold mine…”
Whether you have been blogging for a while or setting up a new blog, there are a few things you have to do before you start a blog or you can do now to improve your blogging experience and outcome:
- Ask yourself what your aims are. Is it about just PR and news, or are you going to provide help and support?
- Be careful your readers don’t bounce off the page thinking “so what?” They’ve taken the time to come to your site, so make sure there’s some kind of action involved or they feel enriched in some way for having spent time reading your words.
- It becomes harder to keep up the blogging spirit after sometime of blogging. So decide “Who is going to manage the blog? “ It must be kept current. If you cannot write daily or on tight schedules, you should write 3-4 posts at a time and publish them later, but keep your posting on schedule.
If you can’t be bothered to keep your readers interested, how can you keep your customers happy?
Once you’ve set your blogging mantra, it is important to set up goals. It helps to have goals as they keep you focused, and help tell your story internally. Ask yourself:
- How will you measure success?
- Increased traffic?
- More comments?
- How do you define your ROI? What’s the return on investment or the return on inaction?
No matter you are newbie or a veteran, you can always improve your blog by considering these questions. I have found these questions apparently basic yet powerful enough to bring an overnight change in your blogging experience. I suggest you to write these key questions on simple sheet of paper and hang them besides your writing desk. This will not only help you keep focused but also provide you enthusiasm and passion by constantly reminding you the goals, you had in your mind the day you started blogging.
So what is your blogging mantra? share in the comments below.
Understanding Customer Experience
Understanding customer value and experience is vital in online business strategy. Companies that focus on short term sales rather than long term customer relations tend to loose their market share quickly. Gone are days of short sales cycles and quick purchases on e-commerce sites, customers are more conscious than ever. Here are some quick facts about customer behaviour online:
• 77% of online shoppers in the US actively seek out reviews before they buy*
• 92% of shoppers find customer reviews “extremely helpful” or “very helpful” in making their decisions**
• 97% said they trusted recommendations from peers*
Source: Forrester, ** eTailing Group and JC Williams Consultancy
With this scenario in focus, we should try to influence the optimal customer behavior that will lead to win-win outcomes for your company and your customers.
Let us take an example of a software company that provides both a basic and a professional version of their product. Now it is upto their marketing strategy that what value and position they want to place in the mind of their customers about their product. It is possible that they can make more money in the short term if the customer buys Professional today. But our job as site owners is for us to help customers figure out right version of the product for a particular need and if it is the basic version then we should help the customer buy basic version not the Professional edition !
The reason behind this methodology is that it is possible that if customer will buy Profes-sional, use it, get frustrated because it is too advanced for them, and we’ll never see them again (and they will share their suboptimal experience with others). But if we help them buy the right version, Basic, then next year they’ll be back for Professional !
Conclusion:
Understand the needs and wants of your customers and solve for that.
How To Write A Press Release?
How to write a Press Release?
The use of a press release is common in the field of public relations, the aim of which is to attract favorable media attention to public relations professional's client and/or provide publicity for products or events marketed by those clients. A press release provides reporters with the basics they need to develop a news story. Press releases can announce a range of news items such as: scheduled events, personal promotions, awards, news products and services, sales and other financial data, accomplishments, etc. Source: Wikipedia
While preparing the press releases and while researching for this article, I have found numerous examples of poorly written press releases that not only create headache but also serve as a barrier between you and your possible audience in your future press release. So choose your steps wisely and think well before sending out your press releases.
Below we will summarize not only the contents of a Good Press Release and the factors that make up the one; but also we will mention some basic questions or points, you should ask, before writing a press release for yourself or for your clients.
Following are the essential elements of a typical press release:
- Headline:
Remember the aim of a press release is to motivate others (journalists) to get excited and write about you, your company or services. So the press release should not be over promotional in itself. Write catchy, attractive and meaningful headings in the least possible words. Your headings should be good enough to get eye balls attracted to your press release. Adding keywords to your press release is also a good idea, it will help your press release get found not only through internal site search but also through search engines. So bottom line: Write good, attractive headings, can include keywords but do not stuff them.
- Summary:
After the heading, it is the second most critical area to put your effort. If you have gained attention by a good heading, you can lose it fairly quickly by using bad summary. To make your summary attractive identify a unique feature about your product or service and then write how it is going to revolutionize the world.
The summary should be a single paragraph with about three to five lines. Can have keywords but the most important thing is to retain attention.
- Body:
This is you main playground to express what you have got to say? It is always a best to keep that attention that you have managed to get through your heading and summary and make your press releases descriptive, informative and noteworthy. Remember there is a big difference in normal article writing/marketing and press release writing. The body part is divided into following main areas.
1. Dateline:
The dateline contains the release date of the press release and usually also the originating city of the press release. For online press release services , the date stamp is automatic and need not be entered usually.
2. Introduction:
The introduction is where the press release body starts. It is the first paragraph in a press release, that generally gives basic answers to the questions of who, what, when, where and why.
3. Details:
The details come after the introduction. It gives further explanation, statistics, background, or other details relevant to the news and also serves to back up whatever claims were made in the introductory paragraph.
The body is typically 500 words long, depending upon the service you are using. The body should have a minimum of two paragraphs. All paragraphs should be ideally between 5 to 8 lines each. There should be a blank line after each paragraph for good visibility.
- About
The about section is also called the "boilerplate" as it used over and over again. It is generally a short section providing background information on the press release issuing company or organization.
- Contact Information
This section contains the contact information like name, phone number, email address, mailing address, etc for the media relations contact person. For good credibility, the email address should be the same as the organization the press release is about. For example, if the press release is about an organization with a website called abcd.com, then the email address should be email_address@abcd.com.
Note:
A press release should be written in third person. Instead of using we, us and ours, you should be using they, them and theirs. It is very useful to look at other people's press releases, outside your industry and market also, and note down the points that inspire you most while reading these press releases.
Before Your Write A Press Release, Question to Ask?
Below are the most important questions to ask yourself or client, before you begin your press release campaign. Although some might not be needed in your niche but these have found to be useful for all nearly everyone.
- What is the subject of your announcement?
- Who is your audience?
- What important dates are associated with your announcement?
- Who will be affected by the news?
- How will this news affect your business? (Please include pertinent numbers, dollar amounts or percent increases you plan to achieve)
- Where did key events related to your story take place?
- How does this news affect your overall business strategy?
- What obstacles did you / will you have to overcome to achieve those goals?
- Who are the key players in this story?
- Who would you like to quote in the release? (usually this is the President/CEO or top executive involved in this story)
- If the announcement is about a promotion or appointment, can you provide a bio or resume of the featured person?
- Do you have a website and if so, what is the address?
- Please provide a brief (1 paragraph) description of your company.
- Who is the key contact for this press release and what is that person’s contact information and title?
- On what date do you want to make the announcement?
If you follow the above mentioned steps, I am sure your will be able to write much better press releases. I will appreciate your in suggestions the comments below.
Do Not Build A Website, Build An Online Business
Ever since the burst of Dot-Com bubble, everyone is rushing towards creating a website, blog or any other sort of online presence like social media profiles. It is seems to be virtually impossible to count the number of these online profiles being created with every passing second. Although it has helped people and business in many ways but the most successful ones are ones who have planned themselves well ahead of their peers. Building an online portfolio with services listed is not the best strategy today, because only just creating a website do not pay the bills nor do blogging about pets, hobbies etc. works well enough. If your online presence is going to be limited to a bunch of friends (which I do not think is a good planning nowadays) then it does not matter what you write on your blog or put on your website. But if you are seriously after a business to earn a living then I have a single piece of advice for you “Do not build a website” rather focus on building an “online business presence”, when you think that way I am sure you are going to create a difference.