MARKETING STRATEGY: Social Media Sites As Marketing Tools!

Like every online marketer who has at least one
eye open to what is happening on the web, I have
been drawn into the whole Web 2.0 - User Generated
Content Sites. In my opinion, if you're not a part
of these sites in the future your marketing will
suffer.

Most people have heard of MySpace, Digg, Blogger
and YouTube... but here's my run-down on two sites
which will be just as important, especially for
webmasters and online marketers: FreeIQ and Squidoo.

You must become part of all of these 'User Generated
Content Sites'

Online Marketing Strategy

Four Reasons Google Adwords is Not Meant for Beginners

1) First, it can be very expensive and most new marketers will exhaust their ad budget before they can successfully bring in revenue. This is mainly because Google Adwords can be deceptively difficult to master. The basic formula is to identify keywords, write an ad that uses the keywords and have a landing page that completely delivers on what your ad promises.

2) Next, Google rewards advertisers who solve the problem their searchers are trying to solve. If you fail to do this you can expect high cost per click and low traffic.

3) Further, Google purposefully keeps the exact formula for success under wraps. If you are not getting the results you are seeking, the support you receive from Google will be general at best. Expect Google to suggest "improve your landing page" or "tips for writing ads." On top of that, Google periodically change their rules requiring you to change your campaign or face the prospect of high cost per click or low traffic.

4) Finally, the instant global reach of your Google Adwords campaign is accompanied by global competition with a wide variety of skill levels and budgets.

Keep your chin up though. There are many options that exist for the new marketer.

Initially most new marketers have more time than money and that can be a good thing (more on that later). There are many low-tech approaches that have worked for decades and still do. These alternatives allow you to learn how to market affordably which will allow for some trial and error without spending your whole ad budget.

Using some of the methods below will allow you to use several forms of marketing which is a more balanced and stable long-term approach. Here is the big bonus: your competitors are still online spending themselves out of business with Adwords!

8 Simple SEO Techniques Every Webmaster Should Know

Every webmaster should have some basic understanding
of these simple SEO techniques if they want to achieve
Top Rankings for their site. The more you know about
these Search Engine Optimization techniques; the better
your web pages will fare in the different search engines,
especially Google.


Optimizing your pages for the search engines should
be your main priority because conquering and dominating
your chosen keywords is often cited as one of the major
determining factors in the success of your online site
or business. You must have a rudimentary grasp of how
SEO can work for you and your site.


These simple SEO Tips will help you understand
the basics and help you reach your online goals.




1. Title Tag


The Title Tag is located at the top of your html page
and it tells the search engines what your page is about.
When you open your page in a browser these are the words
at the very top of the screen. Despite its simplicity,
the title tag is crucial to 'on-page optimization';
it should include your main keywords and it should be
63 characters or less if you want your title to appear
in full on Google.


Many SEO experts create web pages in a three-prong
approach. They place the title in:


- the title tag
- on the webpage itself
- and in the URL for that page


Sometimes they will just pick the main keywords from
the title and place them in the anchor url instead.
For example: www.yourwebsite.com/keywords.html



2. Meta Description Tag


The Meta Tag contains the description for your web page.
Your description will show up in all the search engines
so you have to be careful to write precisely and objectively.
It should be about 140 characters or around 20 words.
Make sure to include your keywords but don't spam - don't
repeat your keywords more than twice, using variations is
helpful.


Keep in mind, successful webmasters make their descriptions
stand out from the crowd and entice the surfer to click
their link. It is also the first contact with your potential
visitor or prospect so make a good first impression.




3. Anchor Tag or URL


The anchor tag is used to form links within websites
or from site to site. This tag should have your title
or the main keywords from your page title to be the most
effective.


Anchor text is also important to know, these are the
underlined, clickable text or words in a link.

anchor text

If you want to check Google for all web pages
containing your keywords in the anchor tags.


Just type into Google Search:

allinanchor:yourkeywords



4. Finding Backlinks


One of the keys to higher rankings is building quality
links from relevant related quality sites. The search
engines, especially Google, counts each link as a "vote"
for your site or content. Many experts suggest you include
your main keywords in the anchor text of these inbound
links in order to rank high.


If you want to find the number of backlinks your site
has.


Just type into Google Search:


link:yourURL


and it will give you the number of backlinks you have.


Google doesn't give you all your existing backlinks,
so you can try Yahoo! to find a more exact number.


Just open Yahoo! and type in:
linkdomain:yourURL



5. Checking Indexed Pages


If is very important for you to know what content
the search engines have indexed from your site.
You can also check to see how your links are
displayed and to see if any titles or descriptions
are missing from your pages.


You can see how many of your pages are indexed
in Google by using the site command.


Just type into Google Search:


site:yourURL


Another way to look at your pages in Google
is to type in "http://yoursite" and "www.yoursite"
with the quotation marks to see the exact number
of listings for each.


6. Checking Google Cache


You can also check to see the Google Cache
of your site by using the cache command.
You will also discover when it was last
retrieved.


Just type into Google Search:


cache:yourURL



7. Finding Associated Keywords


Keywords are the heart of the Internet,
you must dominate the search engines for
your chosen keywords if you are to succeed
online. So make sure you have your main
keywords in the Meta Keyword Tag on your
page. Many experts suggest you place your
page's main keywords in the first and last
25 words on that page.


You must also be able to find and use
variations of your keywords to completely
conquer your targeted niche. To find what
other keywords Google has associated with
your main keywords, just use the tilde
~ command to find associated phrases
in Google.


Just type into Google search:


~keywords


Variations will be highlighted in bold print.



8. Finding Titled Keywords


If you want to find competing sites that have
your keywords in the title just use the allintitle
command.


Just type into Google search:


allintitle:yourkeywords



In summary, if used consistently, these basic SEO
techniques should help improve your rankings and
keep you in the picture with regards to your standings
in the search engines. Your site's stats or raw traffic
logs will also confirm the rise or fall of your keyword
rankings. You must have complete knowledge of both your
site and your keywords in the search engines, especially
Google. Since Google will deliver most of your quality
traffic, you must optimize for it and be aware of what
is happening to your site and keywords within Google.
This is yet another example where knowledge equals
success.

10 Ways to Help Your Visitors Trust You

Trust is a key usability issue when it comes to running a
successful online business. Most people automatically view web businesses with
a bias against them compared to their brick and mortar counterparts. Your ability
to convince your visitors that yours is a trustworthy business is one of the
key components to getting visitors to convert into customers.

Creating a website that conveys trust can be tricky. There
are rarely any answers that are always “right” for every visitor.
There are, however, several factors that have universal appeal to the weary
shopper.

Company
info

Provide your visitors information about your company and its
primary owners and operators. Treat your shoppers with a company history and
links to frequently asked questions, policies and physical location. The more
information you provide the better satisfied any concerned shopper will tend to
be.

Prompt
responses

Shoppers want to know that they can rely on a company to
meet their needs and concerns quickly once contacted. Be sure to respond
promptly and professionally to all customer inquiries. Don’t let email or phone
messages go unanswered for more than a couple of hours, especially if requests
are urgent.

Feedback
options

Create ways for visitors to provide user feedback regarding
your products or services and encourage them to do so. Be sure to follow up
with feedback and use it to better your services.

Transaction
security

Emphasize that online transactions will be handled securely
and that privacy is a top priority. Using secure logos and links to privacy
policies page is a must.

Offer
discounts

Sometimes discounts can be a negative, making you appear
desperate. However when implemented properly and professionally, percent-off
discounts and coupons can be effective and giving visitors an added desire to
move forward.

Delivery
options

Be sure to provide low cost and/or varied delivery options. Having
more options available allow visitors to select the delivery method they prefer
and trust the most, which will then lend additional trust to you.

Brand
and product quality

If you sell brand-name products, be sure to emphasis this as
your customers will be more likely to purchase a product brand they recognize.
If you don’t have brand name products, create a brand and emphasize that. An
unknown brand name product is still better than a no-name brand product.

Off-line
retailer comparison

Provide your visitors compelling reasons why they should
purchase products from you rather than an offline competitor. Highlight free
shipping, lower prices, easy access customer support, etc.

Return
policy

Adding a no-hassle return policy can clinch a sale. Be sure
to have return policy information easily available and spell out exactly what
is required to return a product and/or get a refund.

Minimal
/ clearly distinguishable ads

Don’t clutter up your space with ads. Keep your visitors
focused on purchasing your products. If you have ads in informational areas of
the site keep them to a minimum and make sure they don’t overpower your own
information.

In an anonymous world where customers cannot examine a
product or meet with company reps face to face, trust is much harder to come
by. Online businesses have many more hurdles than offline businesses when it
comes to establishing trust with their customer base. This means that as an
online business, you have to do more than just create a compelling reason to
convince people “why you” rather than a competitor. Establishing
trust is the key. Your shoppers need to believe without a doubt that, as a
business, you’re not just in it for yourself, but that you care and will take
care of the customer. Without having established any sort of trust there really
is no sale.

125 Social Bookmarking Sites :

The positive effects of social bookmarking for publishers of news sites, blogs and other web sites is outstanding. Social bookmarking can introduce the sites that you own or you like to others with relevant tastes, can drive traffic to your site, and valuable backlinks.

Some social bookmark sites like Propeller.com pass on link juice, while some use the NoFollow attribute. But do not let the use of NoFollow fool you, the search engines are looking beyond the incoming links from social bookmarking sites to gauge their value to their search indexes. The external metadata compiled via user generated descriptions, tags, titles and categorization is incredibly valued by the search engines, as in the same philosophy as anchored backlinks, descriptive content about a web site defined by the users of that site who are not associated with the marketing or coding of that site, can be extremely powerful in gauging the importance and relevance of the content and tags which are used on that site.

Bookmarks show how a site is perceived, and when these sites allow voting, they also show the engines or whatever classification system which monitors voting, how people feel about the quality of the site. Furthermore, social bookmarking can introduce a site to the search engines, as in some cases, people may find and bookmark a site or a site’s internal pages before a search engine can find those pages via another form of inbound link.

Monitoring social bookmarking services like Del.icio.us, StumbleUpon and Ma.gnolia can help search engines in multiple ways by:

Facebook Is Now the Fourth Largest Site In The World

The global rise of Facebook is nothing less than astounding. In the month of June alone it gained 24 million unique visitors worldwide, compared to the month before, for a total of 340 million unique visitors worldwide. It is now the fourth largest site in the world, trailing only Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo sites, according to comScore (see table below). Facebook itself only officially acknowledges 250 million active registered users (but you don’t have to be a registered user to visit some Facebook pages).

In the past year, it has grown 157 percent, gaining 208 million visitors. It long ago passed its rival MySpace on a global basis, way back in April, 2008. Since then, it has passing even bigger sites on its way up. In the chart above, the blue line is Facebook. It passed Amazon back in August, 2008. eBay fell by the wayside in January, 2009. It surged past AOL sometime in February, 2009, and just last month it finally passed the Wikimedia Foundation sites (which includes Wikipedia).

So there it stands at No. 4. It will be a while, if ever, before it catches up to the three world leaders: Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo. They each have between 240 million and 500 million more monthly global unique visitors than Facebook (see chart below). But it’s always good for a company to have stretch goals.

Worldwide unique visitors

Worldwide unique visitors

1. Google Sites: 844 million
2. Microsoft Sites: 691 million
3. Yahoo! Sites: 581 million
4. Facebook: 340 million
5. Wikimedia Foundation sites: 303 million
6. AOL: 280 million
7. eBay: 233 million
8. CBS Interactive: 186 million
9. Amazon: 183 million
10. Ask Network: 174 million

Worldwide unique visitors

Worldwide unique visitors

1. Google Sites: 844 million
2. Microsoft Sites: 691 million
3. Yahoo! Sites: 581 million
4. Facebook: 340 million
5. Wikimedia Foundation sites: 303 million
6. AOL: 280 million
7. eBay: 233 million
8. CBS Interactive: 186 million
9. Amazon: 183 million
10. Ask Network: 174 million

Google search results to include 'real-time' data

Fresh information from blogs, news sites, Twitter and other popular hangouts will appear in Google's search results more quickly as the company aims to give people a more comprehensive look at what's happening on the Web.

The feature unveiled Monday represents Google Inc.'s most significant step yet in the field of "real-time" search - a catch phrase for the torrent of information constantly being shared on blogs and the personal pages of social-networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

As those destinations have turned into increasingly popular forums for swapping opinions, offering news tips and highlighting interesting stories, Google, Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. all have been scrambling to retool their search engines so they reel in and showcase real-time data more rapidly.

Google reached a deal in October to blend Twitter updates, or "tweets," into its results, but hadn't explained how its system would work until Monday.

Microsoft's search engine, Bing, has included a section for tweets since late October. Yahoo began relying on tweets to point out hot news stories in its results last month.

Twitter's own search engine doesn't attempt to identify which tweets are the most relevant to each request; it simply provides a chronological list of the updates containing a specified word or phrase.

In Google's version of real-time search, a section of its main results page will include a capsule that automatically scrolls relevant information within a few seconds after it pops up in the Web index.
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Normally, a new search request was the only way to see the blog posts, status updates and other information that Google had collected since the previous query.

With the change, a person requesting information about President Obama, for instance, will see the usual set of static links, photos and video, as well as the capsule with pertinent tweets, blog posts and news stories.

The real-time data won't show up right away for everyone because it will take Google's computer centers a few days to make it work everywhere.

Google's real-time information eventually will be expanded to include some of the chatter on Facebook and MySpace, the world's two largest social networks.

Although Google announced its partnerships with the sites Monday, the feeds from Facebook and MySpace won't start appearing in the real-time results until early next year, said Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president for search products and user experience.

As with Google's Twitter alliance, Mayer declined to say how much the company is paying Facebook and MySpace for better access to their users' musings. The contributions from Facebook and MySpace will be limited to commentary that already can be read by anyone logged into the sites.

Microsoft and Yahoo also have worked out deals so their visitors can see some Facebook material.

Google is trying to provide better real-time results to maintain its huge lead in search as Microsoft and Yahoo prepare to team up in a partnership that still needs regulatory approval. Google processes about two-thirds of the search requests worldwide while Yahoo and Microsoft handle a combined 10 percent.

"People expect search engines to make all kinds of information available to them," said Amit Singhal, a Google engineer who oversaw the development of the real-time tool.

Google relies on its dominance of search to drive the bulk of more than $21 billion in advertising sales annually.

Besides introducing real-time search, Google also showed off several other new tools in an auditorium down the block from its Mountain View headquarters.

The company added a voice recognition to process mobile search requests in Japanese on phones running its operating system, Android (Google already does this in English and in Mandarin Chinese). It also provided a preview of a test product, called "Google Goggles," that will enable people to send a picture taken on a mobile phone and get search results about the photographed object.

Google Business Channel

http://www.youtube.com/user/GoogleBusiness