Thursday 24 October 2013

Key Elements Of Good Backlink Profile To Your Website

Backlinks that point to your website play an integral role in ranking your website in search engines – having backlinks from relevant, credible and authoritative websites is really a value addition to your website. By having a good backlink profile, your website is likely to receive more visitors. Here are some key elements of a good backlink profile. Quality Earlier, people used to focus on quantity, not on quality – this used to ensure rankings in the past! Today these techniques do not work – Thanks to the recent algorithm updates. It is however better to have a few links from relevant authoritative sites than having hundreds of backlinks from low quality sites. When you're submitting links to other sites, make sure that those sites are authoritative in the niche. Continuous Link Velocity By continuous link velocity, we mean consistent, continuous and timely additions of good backlinks. If all of a sudden there is drop in link velocity, it may become a problem for the site. Monitor your site for continuous link building velocity, and see what issues are preventing continuous link velocity. Link velocity means gaining good quantity backlinks slowly and steadily. Gaining too many links within a short period of time, search engines may suspect that some unnatural activity is going in the site and they may think you are trying to manipulate the search algorithms. Relevancy and Quantity See that your website gains links from websites that are related to your niche. Here is an example to help you understand better. If yours is an automotive site and you sell automotive products, then links from sites that are related to automotive industry are good, rather than links coming from a gardening or home improvement site that is not related to your industry. The more links from relevant sites, the better it is for search engine rankings. Diversity It is good if a website has backlinks from different sources like directories, articles, press releases, forums, etc. Your focus should be on earning a wide variety of backlinks from different relevant sites. When a website has links from various websites related to their niche, search engines will consider that the site is a credible one. Diversity in links is very important. In conclusion, search engines will monitor the backlink profile of your sites to rank, and if they figure out that your website has relevant, quality backlinks, your websites ranking will improve over time. Make sure that you monitor these four elements of a great backlink profile for your website in order to rank high in search engines. All the best.

How To Get An Online Business System To Make Your Mortgage Payment

Do you have a mortgage or rent payment? Would you like an online business system to pay for that rent or mortgage payment. Most of us would... right! I'm sure that one of the parts of your month that you most dread is when you have to make that monthly payment. Doesn't it seem like those payments are always just a little more than we would like them to be and by the time we write that check there is less left that we had calculated? I always remember the story one of my mentors tells of how he could never seem to save more than $200 in his bank account between paycheck to paycheck. The idea of not having to make a house payment was really just a dream to him. Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck Did you realize that most bankruptcies could be avoided if people just could make an extra $200 to $300 a month? There are a lot of programs out there that teach you how to save money. These are all really good but there is one way that trumps all of these money-saving programs. Most people out there have allowed themselves to settle for getting that weekly or monthly paycheck and that 3% raise once a year that barely seems to keep up with inflation. Well, would you like to do something about that and put yourself in a better financial position? What if each month you could make some EXTRA money. Enough to cover your house payment? Would that make some sort of difference to your life? Take the Right Action My mentor has told me the story of how he had set himself the goal of making an extra $50 a month. This is the exact amount he needed to cover his house payment at that time. The one thing he was sure of was that money wasn't just going to magically appear out of nowhere. He was going to have to take some sort of action and do something for it. Then along came the world-wide-web and the internet opened up a new world of possibility for him. he started using an online business system and within just a few months he reached his goal of making $50 a day and his house payment was now essentially paid for! Like most of us he didn't like to pay interest so he next set himself the goal of making $100 a day. What he experienced was that making the next $100 was a lot easier than he had initially thought. In fact within 6 months he was making $500 a day and very soon after that he was hitting $1,000 a day. Changing Your Mindset Ok, so I know that a lot people have never done anything online before and have never used an online business system. So for them the idea of making money on the internet is hard to comprehend. In fact many people who now earn a living online had to re-program the way they thought about earning money. The Internet has really changed everything in a very big way. It's now a possibility for the stay-at-home mom to make extra income by using an online business system. This can be done by working flexibly that allows her to balance a busy schedule around the family. It's also possible for the busy Dad who always seems to be working and wishes he had more time to spend with the family. If he started an online business he would have the potential to earn some extra cash and even surpass the income he’s making at his current job. It's even now possible for people who have retired to actually HAVE a life of financial freedom and not one filled with anxiety and penny-pinching. The Internet has made it possible and there are multiple ways online to do it. You just have to start looking and find the right online business system to make that extra income and gain that lifestyle filled with time-freedom.

Why Your Website Isn't Showing Up Organically On Google

Fooling the biggest search engine on the planet is almost impossible today. Websites with questionable content and suspect tactics may incur the wrath of Google with terrible Google search results and an outright ban by the internet titan. There are a few reasons why a business might fail to see its website within Google results, and some of those reasons are innocent while others aren't so blameless. Sometimes manipulative search tactics are in play (these methods attempt to bypass Google's rules for good website construction) while other problems stem from a website owner's failure to implement simple search requirements to gain standing in organic search results. Utilizing manipulative tactics was much easier just a few years ago, but attempting to use such methods today is definitely not recommended. What to Avoid with Website Design Google continuously refines how its spiders crawl and index the web, and website owners must remain knowledgeable about such changes and updates. A method that worked just fine a year ago could be something seen as subversive today by Google. Some habits, on the other hand, have always been bad news but haven't been so noticeable until very recently. For example, stuffing a website full of the same keyword so that every other sentence has a particular phrase is called "keyword stuffing,", and this is bad news when it comes to search engine rankings. Google appreciates well-written and valuable content, and paragraphs filled with the same repetitive phrases aren't going to encourage great search engine results. Using Simple Tactics for Better Results Some of the most common mistakes a website might display include issues like failing to describe the content featured in a page. Titles for each page in a website must be accurate and shouldn't sound like a default description. Furthermore, each page needs to have a unique set of descriptors, or "tags." Using the same tags on every page makes it seem like a website doesn't have that much going on and that all the content is similar or lacks uniqueness. Crafting a descriptive title that makes good use of keywords isn't difficult. Focusing on a brief and accurate title is all that Google requires. The process shouldn't take too much time. Additionally, creation of the page's description should be accurate and concise. Creating a set of "meta tags" for the page that tell readers exactly what the page contains without taking a ton of space to share such information will always result in a better reaction from Google regarding search engine standings. The meta tags aren't the place to put full content for the website. These tags are brief descriptions and are supposed to be helpful to the reader. And this accuracy should also extend to the URLs of each page. A URL that has an ending like "1234.html" isn't at all descriptive. Changing that URL to something that resembles "BlueWidgets.html" is a much better way to tell Google what content that page contains. Too Much of a Good Thing Isn't Good It's important not to get too carried away with the URL of a website as a URL that's too long may actually reduce the effectiveness of a description. In addition, creating simple names for the directory pages within the website also offers value for search engine rankings. For example, a page nested within a directory that looks like "12345/BlueWidgets.html" isn't going to be as valuable as a URL that reads, "Products/BlueWidgets.html." Finally, the overall navigation of a website should be simple and make sense. Creating a short and descriptive order for new pages makes it easy for visitors to know where they are within a website's architecture, and it also pleases Google's spiders when they crawl the website. Creating a "breadcrumb" style of pages within a website encourages visitors to stick around and explore. There are a number of additional tactics required for fully effective website design, and improving overall search rankings does take time even after a full suite of optimized practices are inserted into a website. The idea of improving organic search results should be thought of much like growing a garden. It takes some time for the "seeds" of good website practices to grow and produce fruit.

Using Mobile Devices To Advertise Your Local Business

More than four billion people around the world now use mobile devices every day. Instead of sitting at home and watching movies or playing games on a laptop or desktop, they can now do all the same things with a tablet or smartphone. As a local business owner, you can increase your sales, reach new customers and advertise your company through mobile advertising. Google and Facebook offer mobile ads, but you can also find private companies that will place your ads on its mobile websites and apps. Making mobile advertising work for you begins when you learn more about the process. Mobile Banners and Posters Mobile banners and posters, also known as impressions, are one method of mobile advertising. Mobile banners typically sit on the top of the page, while mobile posters run along the bottom or sides of the page. Banners are usually more expensive because those are the first ads that people see. Purchasing mobile posters can help you save money and still reach new customers. Those who read the entire article or mobile page have more interest in the topic, and those people with a higher level of interest are the ones more likely to click on ads. Views vs. Click Throughs When you decide to purchase ads, you can either pay for ads based on views or click throughs. With page views, you pay the advertiser based on how many impressions you buy. If you purchase 10,000 impressions, your ad will appear on 10,000 views of that page. The problem with buying page views is that the page might have a number of repeat viewers and fewer unique visitors with an interest in your local business. With click throughs, you pay advertisers based on the number of people who actually click the link and visit your page to learn more. Apps as Ads As more people begin using apps that they download to their tablets or smartphones, more companies find it helpful to choose apps over ads. While developing on your own is more expensive than running mobile ads, these apps have a higher return on your investment and function as free advertising. If you run a local restaurant, you might develop an app that lets diners make reservations, and if you own a hardware store, you can develop an app that shows shoppers what supplies they need for specific home improvement projects. If you have limited experience with apps, you can hire someone to develop it for you. Viral Marketing Viral marketing is a positive way to increase sales and get the word out about your local business. This type of marketing relies on word of mouth and asks your customers to tell others about your company. You need a great hook that gets people interested in your business. Coca-Cola increased its sales with a campaign that looked like footage captured by security cameras, while Paranormal Activity gained fans when it made viewers think the footage shown in the film was real. Anything funny or silly can serve as viral marketing, and customers will spread the videos you make with their friends and family. Return on Investment When choosing mobile marketing, you need to look at the return you receive on your initial investment. Google and Facebook let you target specific groups of people, and while this option is more expensive, you'll often find that it has a higher return on your investment. Targeting customers means that you can pick specific groups of people who will see your ads. You might select students attending colleges in your area, parents who live in your city or customers who previously purchased products from you or visited your website. Targeting customers lets you eliminate people in other cities and those who might view your website from another state. You can focus specifically on people who need the goods or services you provide and those living in your city. Mobile marketing is one of the hottest trends in the advertising world. Shoppers now rely primarily on tablets and smartphones when surfing the web, playing games and shopping. Mobile ads let you target people living near your local business and get those customers excited about working with your small business.

Six Simple Tips To Make Best Use Of Your Business Website

Today, the Internet is growing popular among people to find information and to buy products. Almost every business has a website, but only few are really leveraging the benefits the Internet offers. Conversely, many business owners are not making the best use of their business website. They own a website, but it neither helps them in their marketing efforts nor does it help their customers in their purchasing decisions. This article offers you six simple tips that can be used to improve your business website to attract, engage and turn visitors into loyal customers of your business. Tip#1: Maintain a great blog When was the last time you wrote a blog on your website? If it's been a while, then it's probably the time to start using your website blog as a marketing tool to share your expertise and ideas with your audience. Maintaining and regularly posting blogs in your website helps your visitors keep informed on the latest happenings in your business. Your readers will like if you regularly write articles on your blog. It shows that you are interested in your business and actively trying to help people by providing information regularly. Tip#2: Have great content on the website Offering content that is great and of quality is one of the best and effective ways to improve your business website. While writing for your blog, make sure you write content that is helpful for your users. A blog with informational/educational content helps your visitors, and they will keep coming back for information. Remember, content needs to be original and of good quality. It is not only for blogs, but also equally important that every page of your website has great content. Your website must focus on your audiences' interests and to execute this, great content should be created in the form of articles that speak about your products and services. Tip#3: Make it aesthetically appealing It is important that your website stands out in the competition and this can only be achieved if you make your website aesthetically appealing. The presentation of your website is as important as the content in your website. What makes a website aesthetically appealing? Choice of colors for text, background, links, navigation, headers and layouts. Consistency across all pages is important - make sure that the layout, colors and font are consistent throughout the website. Also make sure that you post real images of people or products. Your audiences may not appreciate graphic images of products or picture-perfect models. Images and the text content on your website should complement each other. Well-designed graphics make your site appealing and encourage audience to stay on your site for a longer time. Google's new algorithms are making sure they are not ranking the sites that are not well maintained. Tip#4: Make it easy to use (navigation and accessibility) Web users are usually impatient and if your website is not clear and pages are not easy to navigate, they will for sure leave your website. So, it is very important to make your website easier to use for your audience, so that they will find what they are looking for. Make sure you remove cluttered pages as they make it difficult for users to navigate. Tip#5: Focus on delivering value to the visitors This point may surprise many who think they can win online just by impressing the search engines. They ignore the basic and the most important thing – delivering value to visitors, not search engines. Your website should contain useful, reliable and interesting content that your visitors read and share. Through delivering value, you can build trust and authority in your niche. Even Google rewards sites that post content that is related to their own business. Tip#6: Proper assessment of website analytics Web analytics helps you know the visitors' activity on your website. You will get to know where visitors are coming from, for how long they are staying on your website, what they are doing on the website and on which pages they are staying longer. Based on these things, you can highlight the pages which your visitors like, and then optimize or enhance the pages that they are not spending time on. These tips may look simple, but they are the crux of every successful website online. So, why not use these tips to make the most out of it to promote your business and convert visitors into leads.

Keyword Research – User Intention In Using Keywords

Keyword research involves generating, analyzing and using the historical data of keywords used by Web surfers to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Internet marketing. Approximately 5.134 billion searches are conducted per day by users on Google alone to find information, products and services they need. Good keyword research helps potential audiences find what they are looking for, using keywords related to a particular type of product, service or business. It brings qualified traffic to a website. Importance of choosing relevant keywords The goal of Internet marketing strategy is that your potential customers should be able to find your website using keywords most relevant to your product/service/business. Selection of keywords relevant to your business is the first step in a successful Internet marketing campaign. The goal of Internet marketing is not about directing huge traffic to your website, but to draw potential customers who are interested in purchasing your products and services. Using keywords that are used by your prospective customers will help you achieve your marketing objectives even if your overall website traffic is low. The ultimate aim is to increase your sales and not to attract visitors who are not likely to become buyers. Think like your target customers while choosing relevant keywords for your website While choosing target keywords, it is very important to keep yourself in the shoes of your prospective customers and think the keywords they would search to find a business like yours. Make sure to target keywords that are relevant to your website. From the recent algorithm updates, it is very clear that Google’s aim is to display more relevant and quality websites on the top of the SERP. Know the user intention and shape your online strategy: An important element of the keyword strategy is to identify your prospective customers using the keywords entered by them while searching online. Then further, you can identify someone who is more likely to buy using the words in the key phrase. The words in the key-phrase can communicate the intention of the user for an action like purchase, get a quote, etc. Broadly we can classify user intentions into three categories 1. Action intent: Some words in the key-phrase used for search communicate an action intention of the user i.e., to do some activity in the website like purchase a product or service, download, play, etc. Examples: • Purchase – Buy iPhone online • Download – Firefox download • Play – Play free online games 2. Information intent: The user is seeking information and wants to know more about something. For example: the user uses keywords like ‘Samsung galaxy s4 review, ‘adobe reader mobile app features’ to acquire some information about the product. 3. Navigation intent: The user wants to reach to a particular website or page. The intention of the user is to navigate to a particular website or web page by using keywords like, ‘YouTube’, ‘Twitter', ‘Gmail login’, 'Facebook', etc. The user expects to find websites URL that is relevant to their search. It is very important to choose keywords that are relevant to your website to find people most likely to buy or use your service. It is important to identify keywords that most of your customers use in order to get online marketing success. An analysis of the words in the key-phrase can communicate user intention, and will further help you identify keywords that have the ability to generate warm leads, i.e. customers are more likely to buy as well as buy more quickly. Using these simple steps can improve the effectiveness of your online marketing campaign.

Interactive Marketing: Changing The Way We Sell

Unlike traditional marketing and advertising channels, such as print and television, interactive marketing works by reacting and changing to the customer's experience. Interactive marketing has advantages over stagnant advertising because it’s able to utilize things like search engine optimization, social media, and email marketing to both generate leads for a company, while interacting with different types of customers. Although it’s possible to manage an interactive marketing campaign internally, outsourcing to a reputable interactive marketing agency can yield much better results, and ultimately bring in a higher ROI. Primarily, interactive marketing agencies first analyze where customers are finding and interacting with a brand as well as any potential places that a brand could position itself. These places could include social media platforms or search results for certain keywords relating to the company’s operations. They then develop campaigns that optimize customer interaction on these platforms and continually adapt to changing customer patterns and interaction levels. Part of any effective marketing plan is thinking outside the box to engage a consumer. For their most recent Super Bowl ad spot, Pepsi hired an interactive marketing agency to develop a campaign that would help them give back to the community. Pepsi implemented a voting platform where Pepsi drinkers and non-Pepsi drinkers could vote for the best community outreach programs on Pepsi’s website; with the highest voted ideas receiving a sponsorship from the company. Because of the variety of causes propositioned, as well as the interaction users could have when they shared their favorite causes on Facebook and Twitter, Pepsi was able to generate over 75 million votes in their campaign. The interactivity in a campaign like this may not have been possible within Pepsi’s internal marketing team, as the HUGE marketing team in charge of the project was able to not only orchestrate a Super Bowl ad buy, they were also able to implement an easy to use website for site visitors to vote on the philanthropic cause of their choice. It’s estimated that by 2014, companies will spend approximately $55 billion on interactive marketing projects, eventually eliminating traditional advertising and marketing platforms altogether. This will account for over one fifth of total marketing expenditures for the year. Things like direct mail and newspaper advertising are being thrown out in favor of search engine marketing and interacting directly with customers on social media platforms. Brands in the 21st century have more control over their brand image and customer perception than ever before. Having an interactive marketing agency by your side to aid in not only developing effective marketing campaigns but help manage search engine optimization and social media strategies can yield higher sales numbers than with traditional marketing platforms. Customers want direct connections with the brands they give their money to; understanding what customers’ personalities are and adapting to their ever changing brand perceptions can ultimately make or break a sale.