It’s common knowledge - we all know that it is important to rank well in search engines. Doing so can bring qualified, interested visitors to the web site you create. And, those visitors come to you believing that you know what you are talking about, since you showed up in the search engine results.
All the time, people ask “How do I get my site to show up first when I type ‘whatever’ into the search engines?”.
Here’s the secret:
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September 2nd, 2006
Testing Pay-Per-Click To Build A Subscriber List Fast
by: Tom Beal
Every successful salesperson knows the value of owning a list of targeted potential customers. It’s a strategy I used to break sales records and also taught in my sale training sessions.
Coming from “real” world selling into virtual world selling presented some unique challenges.
How does one build a list online?
Research revealed many successful marketers recommend using Pay-Per-Click (PPC) search engines to quickly and effectively build your list.
Selecting targeted keyword to reach your ideal potential customer give PPC a distinct advantage over other list building methods.
I decided to put PPC list building method to the test. I choose to set up a advertising campaign at Google Adwords and the lesser known http://www.mpstrategiesfirm.com. The two companies can have your campaign up an running in a short time.
They display the ads differently. Google Adwords displays the ad on search engine results and mpstrategiesfirm.com uses contextual advertising showing the ads on keyword topic based pages within their network.
Every test needs an objective outcome to gauge the results. The objective of this test? Visitors sign up to receive a free health report from a new affiliate program I choose to promote.
The Test Results
Google Adwords
number of clicks 700
cost per click .23
total cost 161.00
MPStrategiesfirm.com
number of clicks 800
cost per click .20
total cost 160.00
Even though they used different methods to display the ad, both produced excellent traffic results for the investment.
Sending traffic was only one factor of the objective. Remember the ultimate goal is to gain subscribers to build the list.
Here is where PPC marketing provided a valuable lesson in online marketing.
1,500 people clicked for the free report, but only 89 put in their name and e-mail address. I receive 53 subscribers from mpstrategiesfirm.com and 36 from Google. Surprisingly
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About The Author
Tom Beal assist his clients at positioning themselves as the experts in their field and creating the law of attraction in their business. He is also the President and Founder of numerous successful companies and websites including the recently formed membership site for top performers at: http://www.nobossclub.com Contact Tom at tom@nobossclub.com or 585-748-5818
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September 2nd, 2006
Five Great News Stories You’re Sitting On Right Now
by: George Hopkin
Smaller companies don’t always have the budget - or inclination - to retain a PR hotshot to tell the world about their business success, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t a ready source of news.
The problem is it’s often dull news which is ignored by all except the industry press and quite rightly so in most cases. If you land a contract, you issue a press release. If you take on a new senior sales rep, you issue a press release. Attending an exhibition? Press release, natch. These are simply announcements that you are doing what you do, that it’s business as usual.
With a little lateral thinking, however, you could be issuing press releases throughout the year which present topics and subjects that’ll have editors from all disciplines chasing you for the full story. Below I’ve presented just five brainstormers to get the creative juices flowing.
• Your Survey Says…
Even though I know nothing about your company, the odds are that you have the time and resources to carry out a survey which could get you some coverage if it’s implemented and reported properly.
Concentrate on your niche, whether that’s your industry or expertise. Keep it relatively simple, but ensure the final results have the potential to grab headlines. For example, if you’re a butcher, you could ask 100 people if they would give up bacon if their partner issued an ultimatum. ‘4 Out of 10 Choose Bacon Over Marriage’ is going to get an editor’s attention!
But be honest about your methodology. If you’ve simply polled a handful of your colleagues, don’t try to pass it off as a six-month research project.
Some journalists won’t touch a survey story with a barge poll unless it’s been carried out with the kind of planning that goes into a Nasa shuttle launch, but others might find it useful, particularly if it’s a fun subject and doesn’t take itself too seriously.
• Your Opinion Counts
Surf the major news sites - try Google News for starters:
http://news.google.com/nwshp?hl=en&gl=us
Ask yourself what you or your boss would have to say about the main news stories of the day. Or perhaps a current event impacts directly on your industry. Pretty soon you’re going to have a story to tell.
A property solicitor in Scotland did this and the resulting story is great - here’s the intro:
“Scottish property solicitor criticises Gordon Brown’s tax U-turn.
A leading Scottish property solicitor has criticised Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown’s decision to abolish without notice the exemption for deprived areas from Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), saying that the measure would have an adverse impact upon the commercial property market in Scotland.”
Full story: http://www.clickpress.com/releases/Detailed/542005cp.shtml
• Your Opinion Counts 2 - Straight to the Editor’s Desk
While serving as editor of business magazines in the past, there have been times when PR companies have contacted me following publication with some kind of gripe regarding coverage of their company or client.
Disgruntled PR people are often being beaten hard with large sticks by CEOs and senior management who just don’t ‘get media’, so their persistence is somewhat understandable.
But 9.98 times out of 10 the PR exec is simply not going to get what they want - some kind of full-page, front-cover apology and glowing testimonial signed by the publisher himself printed with a photo of the editor’s public execution.
Every time I let them down I did say: “Write in - we’re always keen to receive letters to the editor.” I’d guess one in 20 actually went ahead and did so, but you know what? If every one of them wrote in I would almost certainly have printed them all. Good editors embrace transparency - if you disagree with them or their reporters they’re likely to print your letter.
• Happy Birthday
At the very most you’re 364 days away from some company milestone and if you put your mind to it you may find a few anniversaries just around the corner.
Don’t limit yourself to the xx years since the company was launched, how about the anniversary of the company’s first profit, a look back at the day the company took on its 10th employee, or the date a key contract was secured.
Then tell the tale of how your company has developed since this date. Be sure to include some drama, the good times and the bad, and plenty of meaty quotes from the most senior talking heads.
• Make a Date
Hunt for an angle based on some future date that is covered in one way or another by local and national press.
Browse some of these major online almanacs for inspiration:
What you’re doing here is following the Happy Birthday strategy, but looking for external hooks on which to hang your news release.
Local newspapers in particular like to keep an eye on the calendar, so if you can provide your neighbourhood newspaper with a story, photo opportunity or news release and photo package related to a particular event, celebration or holiday, you could get some great quality local coverage.
• Only Five?
Trawl the internet for reasons to write a press release and you’ll come up with dozens of lists. Some of them provide 30 plus reasons to issue a release, but the vast majority of them require you to have “done something”. They are reactive reasons, rather than proactive.
The reasons given above can be put into action today - you don’t have to wait to secure a new contract or make a high-level appointment to get ink.
You might not have known you were sitting on those news stories, but there’s no time like the present to tip off the press that you have them.
Copyright © 2005 George Hopkin
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About The Author
George Hopkin is a freelance journalist and CEO of ClickPress (http://www.clickpress.com), a free press release distribution service which distributes content to some of the world’s most influential news and web search engines. ClickPress is a property of Pressventures, a provider of free and fee-based services to PR professionals.
You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. If it is to be delivered via email it must be to your own opt-in list only. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.
george@pressventures.com
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Permanent link to this post (1077 words, estimated 4:18 reading time)
September 2nd, 2006
In order to tap the huge stream of targeted traffic an internet search engine can provide a website you need to master a few common sense principles when crafting your webpages.
You can rest assured no sites receive top search engine rankings by chance in competitive keyword markets. They spend time and money to acquire and maintain their search engine positioning. Targeting your keyword market precisely and applying the principles in this article will help you compete in any keyword marketplace.
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September 2nd, 2006
I am a Search Engine Optimization newbie. I have read a little on various forums, browsed a few articles, and read through The Affiliate Masters Course (Ken Evoy) a couple of times.
Eleven days ago I invested a little of my affiliate earnings in a new product that was being launched.
The Dowser Professional is a keyword research tool on steroids, and has allowed me to improve the returns from the few existing niche websites I already have, and find a number of new niches very quickly.
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September 2nd, 2006
It’s so simple! I wish I’d discovered it a year ago!
There are a few marketers that stand out from the crowd. One of the hippest guy’s on the internet scene these days is Yanik Silver.
He’s about to turn 30 and has already made a huge name for himself online. Since I am almost a year younger than Yanik, I find his success a tremendous motivator.
So what has Yanik Silver taught me?
Actually lots!
(664 words, estimated reading time: 2:39 ) read the full post...
September 2nd, 2006
Establishing & maintaining rapport with your online audience is perhaps the single most important ingredient in marketing online. Actually in marketing period, but even more so online because of the lack of personal contact. Rapport is at the core of selling, always has been, always will be.
Let me tell you a little story.
Earlier this week, I got a call from a salesman after leaving a message about getting my stereo repaired. My expensive, but aging Nakamichi CD player is on the fritz, & I’m virtually tuneless. Not good.
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September 2nd, 2006
Every business needs customers that’s axiomatic.
When you work on the net, the only way to get customers is to get them to your website.
There are many ways to do that.
You send send traffic to your site
You can link to other sites
You can exchange banners
You can adveritse by email
You can advertise by pop ups
you can advertise on Google
You can get listed in search engines
(447 words, estimated reading time: 1:47 ) read the full post...
September 2nd, 2006