Thursday, November 3, 2011

Top Misc Content on Internet

Top Misc Content on Internet

Three Reasons why Small Businesses need SEO

Posted: 28 Aug 2011 05:03 PM PDT

Search Engine Optimization is essential for Small Businesses marketing
(Inbound Marketing University, Class 2: SEO Crash Course)

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is an essential component of modern web marketing–it’s how you help Google index your website so you appear high in the search results for given keywords.

So what are these magic keywords? In a simplified sense, they’re the words and phrases that best describe the goal of your blog. For example, I could list “social media marketing” as a keyword of this blog, but because it’s so general, there’s grat competition to appear high in the search results for that term; “marketing” would be even more competitive. So what I might target is a phrase like “romance author marketing”or “romance author social media strategy.”

When determining your keywords, start by thinking like a client. If you were looking for the kind of content you provide, what words would you use to search Google? From there, you can employ tools like the Google Keyword Tool. You want to pick the “low-hanging fruit,” i.e. the RELEVANT search terms that have less competition. As your website grow in popularity and rank, you could expand to target more competitive keywords.

But how does all this work truly help you?

1. For any given search term, websites that appear on page one of the Google search results get almost 100% of the search traffic.

2. Relevant keywords (meaning the keyword actually matches the content offered on your page) keep visitors on your site for longer. If you’ve properly matched your content to your keywords, and visitors linger and explore your page, that boosts your visibility, credibility, and…your Google search ranking for those terms.

3. A great blog post or article that has little search visibility is a waste of all the time you put into composing it, especially given that adding SEO is a fairly painless process: include a post-specific keyword (a longer-tail version of one of the keywords for the rest of your site) in the title of your post, within the text, and then tag the post with 5-10 relevant keywords and variations–all words that are found in your post.

Don’t overdo it (keyword stuffing) because it will feel artificial and semi-relevant keywords won’t help your SEO. Besides, a keyword-stuffed article probably won’t capture a reader’s attention, and that’s the most important part of blogging–provide something of value to your reader.

Remember, while SEO is important, it’s also intuitive: Write quality, frequent content that keeps with the theme of your website. Write engaging titles that capture the theme of your blog post. And never, ever think your SEO efforts are “done”–it’s an ongoing effort, kind of like blogging.

http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/73409567001?isVid=1

SEO Crash Course to Get Found (GF102)

Why Bad Writers are Eating Your Lunch and What To Do About It

Posted: 03 Nov 2011 04:00 AM PDT

image of yin and yang

Why do some bloggers succeed while others fail?

Why do mediocre writers sometimes beat out the really gifted ones?

Why does talent ultimately not win?

You see it all the time, certain authors get published while others wait years without any luck.

Superior businesses struggle, while sub-par ventures take off.

These days, it’s not enough to be a good writer. In fact, it never was. You need more.

So what’s the answer?

The answer is marketing.

You need more than good content

A lot of talented writers fall into the trap of thinking that all it takes to succeed online is great content. That if the writing is good enough, they’ll magically get found by a huge audience.

They’re wrong.

There’s more to good copywriting than just writing.

“Bad” writers know something you don’t — namely, how to sell. And while they’re out there making bank, you’re still trying to figure out this whole “writing is a business” thing.

There’s a lesson to be learned here: even an average writer can build a dedicated following and sell a lot, if she understands the basics of online marketing.

This, of course, is scary and extremely dangerous (especially in the wrong hands). But it’s true. And the dirtbags already know this. They’re using it to their advantage.

It’s time you did the same.

What about “product first”?

We’ve all heard the following business equation:

BAD PRODUCT + GOOD MARKETING = FASTER FAILURE

But the reality is that this is also true:

DECENT PRODUCT + GOOD MARKETING = SUCCESS

And so is this:

GREAT PRODUCT + TERRIBLE MARKETING = “WHAT DID YOU SAY YOUR NAME WAS?”

Yes, your product is important. But it’s not the only element that’s essential. Not when we’re talking about getting the word out.

Forget “product first.” It’s now “promotion first”

If your product isn’t tweetable, it’s irrelevant.

If it’s not worthy of a Facebook “like” or an email forward, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Why start at the bottom of the hill? You don’t have to.

If you’re smart, marketing becomes part of your product design. You’ll start to only build what you can profitably sell.

Doing this will give you a better product — something remarkable that people can’t help but share.

And if you don’t, you’ll be three steps behind the competition, unable to ever catch up.

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em

It’s time for you to stop making excuses. Time to step up and become a better marketer.

Time to start making what you’re worth.

Sure, write compelling content, but also make the time to improve your marketing chops.

Sign up for the free Internet Marketing for Smart People course and get the basics under your belt.

Learn how to attract an audience, convert visitors to followers, and grow your blog into a reliable source of income.

Of course this isn’t about becoming a bad writer yourself, or selling anything that isn’t valuable.

It’s about learning the skills necessary to get your product (even if it’s simply the writing itself) the attention it deserves.

It’s time for bad writers to stop passing you by. The opportunity has arrived.

Do with it what you will.

About the Author: Jeff Goins is a writer, idea guy, and marketing consultant. You can follow him on Twitter @jeffgoins and download a copy of his eBook The Writer’s Manifesto for free.

Share
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)