Owning a Tourism Business is awesome

31 May 2007

Both Parts of SEM: SEO and Paid Search

SEM breaks naturally into two steps.

The first step is to get your site into the search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, and Ask.com (formerly Ask Jeeves), so when people search on a term that's relevant to your site, you have a chance to show up on the search results page. Which is (need I point out?) free advertising for your site.

So SEO refers to the (complex, time-consuming, hair-tearing) process and art of organizing and architecting your site to make it as easy as possible for search engines to find and index, and then the even more arcane art of trying to get your site to show up on the first page of the search results. That's a topic we'll cover in another feature.

Optimization also shows up at the so-called "back end," meaning that when those Google or Yahoo! searchers click on your listing or your keyword advertisement and get to your site, what they see is what they expect to see, and they are able to get, or do, or become aware of whatever it is you want them to get, or do, or become aware of. You'll want to optimize your site in terms of the flow of customer action so they can buy that widget or sign up for that newsletter, rather than get lost or confused or driven away by poor design, lame architecture, and worse implementation. We'll point out this aspect of SEO where appropriate.

The second major step in SEM — and the main topic of this Scoop — is paid search.

Paid search lets you advertise to people who have searched on a term that is in some way relevant to your business. If somebody who works in an auto repair shop searches for Honda Bumper Pullers, and you sell Honda Bumper Pullers — you have a chance to have your ad show up on that search results page (maybe in addition to your site showing up in the regular search results listing).

Even better, if somebody searches not for Honda Bumper Pullers, but for something less specific but still relevant (like Honda Specialty Tools), you can pay to have your ad show up on those results pages too.

So paid search lets you actively reach out and grab traffic and potential customers rather than just waiting for them to enter a search term that brings your site onto the first search results page.

Now we're talking about those ads you see on the search results page — on Google, for example, when you perform a search, the results page shows you Web pages that have the term you want, and just above that might be one or two additional results with a blue background labeled "sponsored links." And on the right is another column of text ads, also labeled "sponsored links." Those are what you're bidding for. You aren't bidding to show up in the main results listing — that's generated by the search engine according to its own rules, and you can't buy that position. No, really, you can't. (Which doesn't mean someone won't claim to be able to sell it to you!)

In addition, Yahoo! and Google place paid ads on partner Web sites. This is called AdSense (in Google-ese), otherwise known as "contextual ads." You've seen these ad boxes on the Web, labeled "Ads by Goooooogle" and containing three or four text ads — we use them on various pages here at AllBusiness.com. Google decides the topic of the partner page and places your ads accordingly. So, for example, we go to one of David Carlick's expert columns on Internet Marketing on AllBusiness.com and scroll to the bottom where we find the Google text ads. Google figures that Carlick's column is a good place to put ads from search-engine marketing firms (duh!), so on the day I looked I found ads for "E Marketing Strategies," and for "Proven Direct Marketing," and for "Highly Targeted PPC."

You can bid to show up on editorial pages like this in the same way. In fact, it's just another check box on your bidding form. However, ads on editorial Web pages do perform a bit differently than they do on search results pages, so you'll want to test that when planning your various campaigns.

26 May 2007

Ten Key Steps to Successfully Marketing Your Business Online

More and more small businesses are finding it essential that they market their products and services online. Customers are increasingly turning to the Web to research companies, compare product features and prices, and to purchase online. A company that does not take advantage of the Web and email to market their business can lose valuable customers.

It has never been easier or more cost effective to market online. There are numerous Web sites, consultants, software packages, and other tools to help you implement a successful online presence.

Here are 10 key steps to successfully marketing your business online:

1. Obtain a Good Domain Name. Before you establish a Web site for your business, you need a domain name. A domain name is the internet address that allows computer users to find your Web site, such as www.Microsoft.com or www.BananaRepublic.com. Good domain names are difficult to obtain, as millions have already been purchased over the years. The most common domain names end in ".com" or ".net" and are seen as the most desirable.

It's easy to check whether a domain name is available. For example, GoDaddy.com has a domain name service check and you can do a check in under a minute. The cost on GoDaddy to purchase a domain name is under $10.



Go Daddy $1.99 Domains


A few key tips on domain names:

  • Make sure the domain name hasn't been trademarked by someone else (check www.uspto.gov);
  • Make sure it's easy to spell;
  • Make the name easy to remember. But simpler and descriptive may be better — you don't have to come up with something as catchy as "Google" — and non-descriptive names require more branding effort.

2. Build a Professional Looking Web Site. Your Web site is a reflection of your business. People who come to your Web site can be impressed or turned off by the professionalism of your site. There are several approaches to building a Web site. First, there are plenty of sites (including GoDaddy) that will give you templates for a site either for free or very cheaply. Second, there are professional site building consultants who will custom-build a site for you. (But see our Checklist of Issues for Web Site Development Contracts to see what you need to do to negotiate a contract with such a consultant). And, third, there are multiple software packages available to help you build your own site.

3. Make Your Web Site Easy to Navigate and Make it Easy to Find What You Are Trying to Sell. Don't get caught up in trying to come up with dazzling flash and color for your site. The key to a good site is to make sure the viewers can easily find what they are looking for. This means a clear navigation bar and a good "search" box. Take a look at some of the great sites out there, and sites from competitors. That can help you plan how your site should be designed.

4. Build up Your E-mail List. One of the best and cheapest ways to sell online is through e-mail marketing. It's a great way to communicate with customers and prospective customers. So it is very valuable to collect e-mail addresses from visitors to your Web site. Offer them something worthwhile for their e-mail address — such as a discount or a free newsletter.

Make it easy to get someone's e-mail address, but also be sure that you have set forth a Privacy Policy on your site describing how you will use any personal information. And be sure you are up-to-date on the laws affecting e-mail marketing, such as the CAN-SPAM Act. Be sure to read How Can I Make My E-Mail Newsletters CAN-SPAM Compliant?

5. Send Periodic Email Newsletters. Email newsletters can prove to be effective communication tools for existing customers, prospective customers, and other key audiences. What are the hallmarks of effective email newsletter programs? Here are 6 tips:
  • Keep it reasonably short. Nobody wants to read lengthy e-mails.
  • Make it well designed and visually interesting. Include photos and graphics. Provide multiple links back to your Web site.
  • Make it look professional. Don't have typos, a sloppy look, or broken links.
  • Include an easy way for the viewer to contact you and to unsubscribe from your e-mail list.
  • Constantly test and track how your newsletters are doing.

E-mail newsletter programs can be established through companies that provide turn-key solutions, such as Constant Contact.

6. Buy Banner Ads. You can enhance visibility and traffic to your site by buying banner ads. The keys to effective banner ad campaigns are:

  • Make the ad visually interesting with links to a particular offer or "landing" page on your site.
  • Place the ads on sites relevant to your business.
  • Constantly monitor and test the efficacy of the ads, measuring not only click-throughs from the ad to your site, but also the actual resulting sales and return on investment ("ROI").

7. Optimize Your Site for Search Engines. Hundreds of millions of searches a day are performed on the Web through Google, Yahoo, and other search engines. The search engines "spider" billions of Web pages. There is a fast growing area called "search engine optimization" that refers to efforts you can employ to get your Web site to show up higher in search results. For a good introduction to this topic, read What Is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

8. Buy Keyword Ads on Search Engines. Many businesses are finding that key word advertising on search engines can be quite beneficial. Here's how it works: If you sell computer books from your Web site, you might buy a small ad or listing on Google that would show up when someone types in the search box a term that you designate (such as "computer books" or "PC books"). If the searcher sees your paid ad and clicks on it, he is transported to your Web site and you pay on a "CPC" basis to Google (a cost per click, such as 30¢ a click). The goal is to get qualified prospective customers to your site.

The key elements of successful key word ad buying programs include:

  • Purchase the most relevant key words.
  • Write the ads in a way to compel qualified buyers to click on the ad.
  • Send the user from the ad to a landing page to your site that sets forth the precise product or service related to the keyword ad. Sending a viewer to your home page is generally not as effective as sending them to a specific product page.
  • Constantly review the amount you are paying per click, and the conversion of that click into buyers.
  • Constantly test different ad copy and different landing pages to determine what works best for your site.

9. Make it Easy to Buy From Your Shopping Cart. If you are selling products from your site, you will need a shopping cart system and a credit card authorization process. Many companies provide such systems off the shelf, such as Yahoo! Small Business. The key here is to make sure the shopping process is fast and efficient. Many Web sites have found that their checkout process was too cumbersome, and that they lost potential buyers who became frustrated with the amount of time and effort involved.

10. Provide Great Customer Service. A satisfied customer will return to your site. So go out of your way to give great customer support and service. And for those who are not happy with their experience, try to turn them around with an offer of a discount, a free product, or some other benefit.

25 May 2007

Google Goes Ctrl - Alt - Delete

Three major events took place on, at, or around Google last week any one of which could radically change the company and its relationships with its users, advertisers, and ad delivery partners. Two of the events will have long lasting effects - the first being Google's look and operation and the second directly affecting the public's perception of Google as a trustworthy company.

Chronologically, the events started last Monday with the introduction of the new-look and feel of Google Universal. The same day, Google began the process of cleaning up its paid advertising program AdWords by terminating thousands of poorly performing "Made For AdSense" sites, a process that seemed to pick up speed as the week progressed. The week closed with the premature leak of information from the Fair Isaac Corporation's ongoing study of billable clíck-fraud rates.

The last event, the leak of preliminary information from Fair Isaac, is likely the best place to begin an explanation because it (the tone of the report) is arguably the primary causal reason for the other two. It is as if Google suddenly understands the depth of the public relations problems it is going to be facing going into the second half of 2007 and is making very public moves to deal with the root causes of those problems.

Google's Greatest Problem

Early last Friday morning a press release left the offices of the Fair Isaac Corporation. The press release stated that Fair Isaac had been conducting a study on billable clíck fraud rates at Google and had found 10 – 15 % of all billed clicks to a small sampling of accounts had stemmed from invalid activity. Naturally both the tech and mainstream media made an enormous issue of the news with virtually every important business or tech section mentioning the story.

By Saturday, the dust had settled and writers began taking a second, less euphoric look at the story. As Kevin Newcomb in Search Engine Watch wrote,

"Media reports (including Search Engine Watch's) saying Fair Isaac Corp. (FIC) reported industry-wide clíck fraud at 10 to 15 percent are not accurate. FIC decided to put out a press release and speak at its user conference about data that was extremely preliminary, based on a small sample size, and not statistically significant."

What happened and why was it an important event?

The significance of the media's reaction to the Fair Isaac report is the media's reaction itself. Within minutes of the release being issued, stories began appearing in Associated Press, Information Week, the Wall St. Journal and in other major publications. Though Kevin is correct in chastising himself and his colleagues (including me) for jumping the gun on the story, that so many of us feel there is a story about clíck fraud is in itself the story.

Readers have to understand how difficult it is for reporters to write about clíck fraud as there is very little corroborating evidence outside the information we ferret out of advertisers who complain to us about their experiences. Google and Yahoo are not known to be forthcoming with information surrounding their pay-per-click programs. Journalists rely on third-parties such as Clíck Forensics, ClickFacts other analytic companies (in this case, Fair Isaac) to supply us with information which in turn we supply to you the readers.

The numbers that came out of the Fair Isaac press release generally jive with those of Clíck Forensics and the index maintained by the Clíck Fraud Network which estimated a 14.8% clíck fraud rate at the end of the first quarter of 2007. Hundreds of other writers simultaneously experienced the same low-watt, light-bulb moment I did, hoping that Fair Isaac had provided a solid set of numbers to speculate from.

Unfortunately, as Kevin wrote, it was simply speculation but, the event did point out a gaping hole in Google's corporate awning. The press is clearly prepared to expect a 10 – 15% clíck fraud rate, as evidenced by the breakneck speed the story made from wire to writing to print. Perhaps that is the biggest reason for the second important event from last week.

Google to Close Low-Yield MFA Accounts

Google is sending closure notices to owners of low conversion "Made For AdSense" (MFA) sites. On Friday afternoon, reports that Google issued polite emails informing several owners of MFA type sites that their AdSense accounts are going to be terminated on June 1 began surfacing at WebmasterWorld.

Google is targeting a large group of people who use the AdSense system to scam monëy from advertisers. Some reports have suggested Google is going after the paid-search arbitrage community though others point out that though many (if not most) arbitragers are going to be affected they themselves were not the actual issue Google is dealing with.

Google is moving to close what are called "MFA" sites. Examples of MFA sites include parked domains, misspellings and faux-search engines, all of which tend to have AdSense advertising on them. When users go to or are somehow driven to those sites, those who clíck on the ads make the site owner (and Google) a little monëy. Though clicks on these sites might only be worth 5 – 10 cents, the Internet allows MFA site owners to run businesses based on huge volumes of purchased and misdirected visitors. On average, MFA site owners make a few hundred per month on their sites though in some cases, site owners can be making tens of thousands of dollars per month.

Obviously, this use of the AdWords and AdSense programs were far healthier for the MFA site owners (and Google's bottom line), than they were for advertisers or Internet users. For most, the halcyon days of MFA are over and those webmasters will have to adapt to the new rules surrounding ad distribution through the AdSense program.

As for Google, if cleaning up the system makes advertisers more comfortable over the long-run, it makes far more sense for Google to forgo what is to them a relatively minor revenue source in order to create a more stable advertising environment. Assuming Google successfully removes MFA sites from its system, it will have moved a long way towards cleaning up a highly lucrative arena for clíck fraud.

Google Universal

The third and perhaps most interesting thing Google did last week was the introduction of the Google Universal results. In a nutshell, Google Universal is about tying many of the multiple search indexes Google maintains into one coherent set of results.

Google literally has over a dozen types of search result available, depending on the type of search each user conducts. Google Universal is their first major attempt to bind all search types into an overarching set of results.

A good contemporary example might be the recent recall of pet foods across North America . This is a topic of extreme interest to pet owners, one that has received a high level of attention from news, governmental and consumer organizations. A search conducted for "pet food recall" might bring up results from general search, news, YouTube videos, radio reports, shopping search results, etc... Under Google's old system, a user would have to perform specialty searches to find information kept outside of Google's general search results. Google Universal should change that by bringing other file formats into what the user will perceive as the general search results.

Google Universal is probably the biggest change made to Google results since the introduction of paid advertising five years ago. The move was made by Google to present a wider array of file types to users. It is a logical change that will have sweeping effects throughout the search marketing industry. SiteProNews will carry fuller coverage of Google Universal later this week.

Last week was one of the most significant and startling weeks in Google's history. From an outsider's perspective, it appears Google is taking serious action to improve its services on several fronts. Its greatest weakness is the specter of clíck fraud, as evidenced by the speed at which the media bit the hook dangled by the Fair Isaac press release. It is prepared to forgo revenues in order to clean up its system and is working to integrate richer media into its general search results. Any one of the three stories could have provided months worth of material for writers in the search marketing space. Together, they provide a clearer indication of Google's greatest fears and best intentions. This is likely to be another interesting week watching Google.


About The Author
Search marketing expert Jim Hedger is one of the most prolific writers in the search sector with articles appearing in numerous search related websites and newsletters, including SiteProNews, Search Engine Journal, ISEDB.com, and Search Engine Guide.

He is currently Senior Editor for the Jayde Online news sources SEO-News and SiteProNews. You can also find additional tips and news on webmaster and SEO topics by Jim at the SiteProNews blog

Google Goes Ctrl - Alt - Delete

Three major events took place on, at, or around Google last week any one of which could radically change the company and its relationships with its users, advertisers, and ad delivery partners. Two of the events will have long lasting effects - the first being Google's look and operation and the second directly affecting the public's perception of Google as a trustworthy company.

Chronologically, the events started last Monday with the introduction of the new-look and feel of Google Universal. The same day, Google began the process of cleaning up its paid advertising program AdWords by terminating thousands of poorly performing "Made For AdSense" sites, a process that seemed to pick up speed as the week progressed. The week closed with the premature leak of information from the Fair Isaac Corporation's ongoing study of billable clíck-fraud rates.

The last event, the leak of preliminary information from Fair Isaac, is likely the best place to begin an explanation because it (the tone of the report) is arguably the primary causal reason for the other two. It is as if Google suddenly understands the depth of the public relations problems it is going to be facing going into the second half of 2007 and is making very public moves to deal with the root causes of those problems.

Google's Greatest Problem

Early last Friday morning a press release left the offices of the Fair Isaac Corporation. The press release stated that Fair Isaac had been conducting a study on billable clíck fraud rates at Google and had found 10 – 15 % of all billed clicks to a small sampling of accounts had stemmed from invalid activity. Naturally both the tech and mainstream media made an enormous issue of the news with virtually every important business or tech section mentioning the story.

By Saturday, the dust had settled and writers began taking a second, less euphoric look at the story. As Kevin Newcomb in Search Engine Watch wrote,

"Media reports (including Search Engine Watch's) saying Fair Isaac Corp. (FIC) reported industry-wide clíck fraud at 10 to 15 percent are not accurate. FIC decided to put out a press release and speak at its user conference about data that was extremely preliminary, based on a small sample size, and not statistically significant."

What happened and why was it an important event?

The significance of the media's reaction to the Fair Isaac report is the media's reaction itself. Within minutes of the release being issued, stories began appearing in Associated Press, Information Week, the Wall St. Journal and in other major publications. Though Kevin is correct in chastising himself and his colleagues (including me) for jumping the gun on the story, that so many of us feel there is a story about clíck fraud is in itself the story.

Readers have to understand how difficult it is for reporters to write about clíck fraud as there is very little corroborating evidence outside the information we ferret out of advertisers who complain to us about their experiences. Google and Yahoo are not known to be forthcoming with information surrounding their pay-per-click programs. Journalists rely on third-parties such as Clíck Forensics, ClickFacts other analytic companies (in this case, Fair Isaac) to supply us with information which in turn we supply to you the readers.

The numbers that came out of the Fair Isaac press release generally jive with those of Clíck Forensics and the index maintained by the Clíck Fraud Network which estimated a 14.8% clíck fraud rate at the end of the first quarter of 2007. Hundreds of other writers simultaneously experienced the same low-watt, light-bulb moment I did, hoping that Fair Isaac had provided a solid set of numbers to speculate from.

Unfortunately, as Kevin wrote, it was simply speculation but, the event did point out a gaping hole in Google's corporate awning. The press is clearly prepared to expect a 10 – 15% clíck fraud rate, as evidenced by the breakneck speed the story made from wire to writing to print. Perhaps that is the biggest reason for the second important event from last week.

Google to Close Low-Yield MFA Accounts

Google is sending closure notices to owners of low conversion "Made For AdSense" (MFA) sites. On Friday afternoon, reports that Google issued polite emails informing several owners of MFA type sites that their AdSense accounts are going to be terminated on June 1 began surfacing at WebmasterWorld.

Google is targeting a large group of people who use the AdSense system to scam monëy from advertisers. Some reports have suggested Google is going after the paid-search arbitrage community though others point out that though many (if not most) arbitragers are going to be affected they themselves were not the actual issue Google is dealing with.

Google is moving to close what are called "MFA" sites. Examples of MFA sites include parked domains, misspellings and faux-search engines, all of which tend to have AdSense advertising on them. When users go to or are somehow driven to those sites, those who clíck on the ads make the site owner (and Google) a little monëy. Though clicks on these sites might only be worth 5 – 10 cents, the Internet allows MFA site owners to run businesses based on huge volumes of purchased and misdirected visitors. On average, MFA site owners make a few hundred per month on their sites though in some cases, site owners can be making tens of thousands of dollars per month.

Obviously, this use of the AdWords and AdSense programs were far healthier for the MFA site owners (and Google's bottom line), than they were for advertisers or Internet users. For most, the halcyon days of MFA are over and those webmasters will have to adapt to the new rules surrounding ad distribution through the AdSense program.

As for Google, if cleaning up the system makes advertisers more comfortable over the long-run, it makes far more sense for Google to forgo what is to them a relatively minor revenue source in order to create a more stable advertising environment. Assuming Google successfully removes MFA sites from its system, it will have moved a long way towards cleaning up a highly lucrative arena for clíck fraud.

Google Universal

The third and perhaps most interesting thing Google did last week was the introduction of the Google Universal results. In a nutshell, Google Universal is about tying many of the multiple search indexes Google maintains into one coherent set of results.

Google literally has over a dozen types of search result available, depending on the type of search each user conducts. Google Universal is their first major attempt to bind all search types into an overarching set of results.

A good contemporary example might be the recent recall of pet foods across North America . This is a topic of extreme interest to pet owners, one that has received a high level of attention from news, governmental and consumer organizations. A search conducted for "pet food recall" might bring up results from general search, news, YouTube videos, radio reports, shopping search results, etc... Under Google's old system, a user would have to perform specialty searches to find information kept outside of Google's general search results. Google Universal should change that by bringing other file formats into what the user will perceive as the general search results.

Google Universal is probably the biggest change made to Google results since the introduction of paid advertising five years ago. The move was made by Google to present a wider array of file types to users. It is a logical change that will have sweeping effects throughout the search marketing industry. SiteProNews will carry fuller coverage of Google Universal later this week.

Last week was one of the most significant and startling weeks in Google's history. From an outsider's perspective, it appears Google is taking serious action to improve its services on several fronts. Its greatest weakness is the specter of clíck fraud, as evidenced by the speed at which the media bit the hook dangled by the Fair Isaac press release. It is prepared to forgo revenues in order to clean up its system and is working to integrate richer media into its general search results. Any one of the three stories could have provided months worth of material for writers in the search marketing space. Together, they provide a clearer indication of Google's greatest fears and best intentions. This is likely to be another interesting week watching Google.

23 May 2007

Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers

Seth Godin, one of the world's foremost online promoters, offers his best advice for advertising in Permission Marketing. Godin argues that businesses can no longer rely solely on traditional forms of "interruption advertising" in magazines, mailings, or radio and television commercials. He writes that today consumers are bombarded by marketing messages almost everywhere they go. If you want to grab someone's attention, you first need to get his or her permission with some kind of bait--a free sample, a big discount, a contest, an 800 number, or even just an opinion survey. Once a customer volunteers his or her time, you're on your way to establishing a long-term relationship and making a sale. "By talking only to volunteers, Permission Marketing guarantees that consumers pay more attention to the marketing message," he writes. "It serves both customers and marketers in a symbiotic exchange."

Godin knows his stuff. He created Internet marketer Yoyodyne and sold it in 1998 to Yahoo!, where he is a vice president. Godin delves into the strategies of several companies that successfully practice permission marketing, including Amazon.com, American Airlines, Bell Atlantic, and American Express. Permission marketing works best on the Internet, he writes, because the medium eliminates costs such as envelopes, printing, and stamps. Instead of advertising with a plain banner ad on the Internet, you should focus on discovering the customer's problem and getting permission to follow up with e-mail, he writes. Permission Marketing is an important and valuable book for businesses seeking better results from their advertising.



21 May 2007

Book Recommendation: Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

If you are going to write a guide to crafting sticky ideas, your book had better embody your principles. Authors Chip and Dan Heath succeed admirably. What I love about "Made to Stick" is that it is not merely entertaining (though it is), it provides practical, tangible strategies for creating sticky ideas. Once you understand these recommendations, you can boil them down to a set of touchstone points to evaluate your own work. This sets "Made to Stick" apart from the work of Malcolm Gladwell, whom the Heath brothers cite as an inspiration. I enjoyed Gladwell's books but could not necessarily apply his ideas to my own work.

My review copy of "Made to Stick" is covered with highlighter. I am reading the book once through for pure pleasure, and then I am going back again to apply the ideas to evaluate the communications of a non-profit organization I am working for. "Made to Stick" challenges you to distill the essence of your message, to get back to core principles and to communicate them in a memorable way. Chip and Dan point out that as we become experts, we tend to use abstraction to define our ideas, and we lose our ability to communicate with novices. They teach us how to bridge that gap so that our ideas are once again accessible by everyone.

"Made to Stick" gives you the tools you need to revamp your own messages. It provides "do it yourself" conuslting in book form, which will be appreciated by activists, entrepreneurs, and businesses of all sizes.


CopyScape

Unfortunately, there's not much that you can do to stop spammers from abusing your content. Use a tool such as CopyScape to find sites that have duplicated your content.

15 Most Common Errors in an AdWords Campaign

There can be no good commerce without proper marketing. Marketing campaigns are a must for businesses wishing to boost their sales. Online marketing has become more and more a distinctive and important aspect in the development and evolution of any company, big or small, which aims at reaching a specific range of potential customers.


With the emergence of Google's AdWords service, online marketing has changed. It is now possible to target potential customers more accurately than ever, taking into account that Web search is the second most used online application after e-mail.

What is AdWords?

AdWords is Google's tool, meant to help you advertise your business. It can be used to create simple, yet effective ads that will be displayed to people performing online searches for information related to businesses such as yours. Basically, a Google AdWords campaign is one way of doing online keyword-based advertising.

At the core of any pay-per-click campaign lays the commercial links (the ads) associated to keywords, displayed on the right side of the result page when a Google search is performed. What Google offers is actually placing certain Web sites on top of all the results for a specific search (i.e. keywords). Against a fee, naturally. These sites are placed systematically on the right on the right side of the result screen and marked as "commercial links" so that the user is not mislead, since Google's goal is, above all, to maintain the credibility of its search engine.

The AdWords ads are very simple. They come in a verity of formats, amongst which the most common are the text format and the image format. There can also be animated ads, video ads, mobile ads, etc. The text ads usually consist of:
  • An ad title (up to 25 characters, including spaces): must attract users that may have an interest in your products or services
  • Two description lines (up to 35 characters each, including spaces): should be clear and compelling enough to convince the user to visit your site
  • The display URL (up to 35 characters, including spaces): this is where the user will be directed when clicking on the ad.
15 Most Common Errors in an AdWords Campaign

Don't assume that this is an easy task. It's not. Remember that Google is a tough nut to crack, but with the right set of tools and a lot of hard work and dedication, it can be done. Therefore, it is good that before creating a pay per click campaign, you have a clearly established goal. According to this goal, begin creating your AdWords campaign.

As with Search Engine Optimization, AdWords campaign management is a must and must be done properly. There are many aspects that can be overlooked. Some of the most common AdWords campaign mistakes come from superficiality or insufficient knowledge about the targeted market and the way the Web works.

Among the worst mistakes being made in such cases are:
  1. Bidding too much in order to be placed on the top position
    Even if this seems like the best choice, being "Number One" in this case is not necessarily the best. Keep in mind that Web users are accustomed to searching, and they usually don't stop at the first ad.
    And, since they are first prospecting the market, it is highly possible that you only get an unqualified click. It seems that being no. 3 in paid search is one of the best (i.e. profitable) rank.
  2. No geo-targeting
    Try to relate to the potential customers in your area first. They are more likely to take their business to a local company. Add, for example, the name of the town or of the area where your company is in your ad and the effects will be noticeable.
  3. Bidding on broad keywords
    Broad keywords are very likely to take your CPC (cost-per-click) to a very high level. Therefore, try to brush the keyword list that you wish to use for your PPC campaign and retain only highly searched-for keywords. Those are worth bidding for.
  4. Boring content
    Don't say what others have already said. Be creative. Be fresh.
  5. Non-relevant landing pages
    Make sure that when the Web user clicks on the URL in the ad, it will take him/her to a relevant page. You don't want the user to get frustrated by not finding the desired product/service advertised in the ad.
  6. Directing users only to the home page
    Unless you have a really cool Web site that will captivate the users and make them browse through it for endless minutes, they will get frustrated if they have to search throughout the site for what the need, starting from your home page. You should send them directly where they will find what was advertised.
  7. No keywords in the ad text
    Do insert your keywords in the title and description of the ad. Nevertheless, remember to keep an eye on the clarity and relevance of the ad. The visitors must understand exactly what they will get when clicking on it.
  8. Not tracking the results
    You should monitor the keywords that you use in your Google AdWords marketing campaigns. The most at-hand tool is Google Analytics, built into the AdWords interface. You should be able to see and rule out the keywords that are not helping you get the desired ROI (return on investment).
  9. Same bids for the content network
    AdWords gives you the possibility to have two separate campaigns, one for the content network, and the other for the search network. You should set different bids for the content network. Otherwise, the CPC will be much higher than anticipated.
  10. Suggesting that what you offer is free
    Don't try to lure the visitors with false statements. All you'll get is irrelevant traffic, but no conversion (or not significant enough).
  11. Not identifying the uniqueness of your product/service
    Identify what makes you and your product/service unique, what makes you stand out from the large crowd of competitors. Find the keyword(s) that supports this uniqueness.
  12. Failure to create multiple ad groups and ad campaigns
    Don't fall into that trap. Unorganized campaigns will fail to produce the expected results. Group all the single ads that target related keywords. If you're advertising more than one product/service, it's best to have the ads grouped by category.
    Also, don't use just one campaign. Split your ads into separate campaigns. You will be able to see which of them gives you more satisfaction in terms of conversion rate.
  13. Failure to test with more that one ad
    Don't limit your advertising campaign to just one ad. It may not contain the best keywords. Create more ads and see which one works best.
  14. Not using targeting options for keywords
    Broad matches may or may not improve your conversion rate. But if you use the keyword targeting options, you may notice significant improvements. The targeting options are the square brackets - [blue tulip] - and the quotation marks - "blue tulip".
    Also, you can use the negative character (minus sign) in order to specify certain keywords for which you don't want your ads to be shown: -tulip. This will also prevent you from paying for such words. A penny saved is a penny earned, they say.
  15. Not using company/brand name keywords
    Don't leave out the name of your company or of a brand you've created. You wouldn't want the competition to make profitable use of it, would you?
So, when you plan on creating an AdWords campaign, try to keep an eye on the aspects mentioned above. There is too much at stake to afford bad internet marketing campaigns.

What's In It For You?

To make it short (taking into account that your Google AdWords campaign is a good one): an improved conversion rate. After all, this is what you were aiming for. If you only take a look at the possible AdWords campaign mistakes mentioned above, it is easy to figure out the disastrous consequences of a poorly managed advertising campaign.

Ultimately, it can put you out of business. On the other hand, a well-directed and properly instrumented pay-per-click campaign can go a long way. You gain notoriety and make a profit.

There are so many ways in which you can save money when creating an AdWords campaign. If you manage to avoid the above-mentioned mistakes, you will surely notice an increase in your sales or amount of contracts for your services.

10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed

10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed

"Having been a non-employee for about 14 years now, I’ve made my share of stupid business mistakes. I’ve also coached a number of people to start their own businesses, and I’ve seen many of them make similar mistakes. This advice is geared towards small business owners, particularly people who are just starting (or about to start) their own business."

Read the whole article here...

15 May 2007

Is It Worth Optimizing for MSN?

Whenever you need to find something on the Web, you “Google” it. Most of the Web surfers do this, and the percentage of those who “Yahoo” or “MSN” for information is considerably lower.

Google has imposed itself as the “top-notch” search engine on the market, leaving little room for others. Little, but enough, some would say. Among the search engines, Microsoft’s MSN comes third, after Google and Yahoo. So, how do you approach SEO nowadays? Where should your site rank better?

Ideally, optimization for the Web should satisfy all major search engines, but each and every one of them has its own likes and dislikes. Most of the SEO is done for Google, because what they advertise is quality, relevance and low spam content. Given that Google’s brand is so strong, is MSN search engine optimization worth the effort?

MSN vs. Google

Opinions vary. Everybody knows that it’s rather hard to get Google to rank your site high in the search results. Most of the SEO techniques used nowadays are meant to be relevant almost exclusively for Google. Every Webmaster is concerned with code structure, sitemaps, keyword density, anchor texts, links and so on. Google is rather hard to please, especially when it comes to newly created sites.

The much-feared “sandbox” is a side-product of Google, where the new pages end up until Google considers them mature enough to be ranked in the search results. It’s a drawback, and there’s not much anybody can do about it, because one of the things that are valued by Google is the age of a Web page.

What about MSN? In this case, things tend to be a little smoother. MSN seems to really like new pages, and it has no sandbox. It doesn’t use an “age filter” and classifies sites much faster. Therefore, it is highly probable that the amount of results that a Web user might get for a given search to be significantly higher than the one obtained from Google. Also, it appears that the search speed is higher with MSN than with Google. This may be because their index is considerably smaller than Google’s.

Reports show that Google is already a saturated search engine. Its users see so many websites that they don’t have the patience to spend much time on any given site, but still want to visit others as quickly as possible. On the other hand, it appears that MSN users are more likely to produce conversions (sales). This probability is 48% higher for MSN users than for any other Internet users.

This can be a factor that might influence the adoption of some MSN marketing strategies. The conversion ratio is paramount for any commercial website, and such indicators could most probably lead to actions meant to improve the MSN ranking for this type of sites.

MSN Optimization – How?

It is almost impossible to get it right from the start. Much of the SEO process is based on trial and error. There are no precise criteria for each search engine. Basically, what is good for one might be good (or better, or even worse) for the other. Experts say that, in order to get as much MSN traffic as possible, it’s enough to follow the basic guidelines with, of course, some adjustments that will differentiate your MSN marketing strategies from the ones you might use for Google ranking.

MSN is dedicated to satisfying the visitors. Therefore, MSN wants to make sure that they can offer web surfers a high probability of finding what they want on your site. A well-developed site, with many pages and homogenous content will rank much better than a smaller site with poorly organized content (supposing that these two sites apply the ranking factors in a similar manner).

Creating a good, easy-to-navigate site map will not only help the search engine’s spiders crawl your site, but it will also add to its value for the visitors.

Microsoft’s search engine has a great response to an increased keyword density (as opposed to Google, which is quite quick at identifying and penalizing sites that, according to its algorithm, are clearly spamming – and sometimes it is not far from the truth).

This orientation towards quantity rather than quality makes MSN more spam oriented. But the criteria for your site remain, basically, the same.

Therefore, the more back-links you have, the better. Bear in mind though that the quality of the links is a plus, as well as their relevance to the optimization aiming website. This will help spiders to completely index the website, thus leading to an improved visibility among search results.

The logical approach is to focus on building high-quality links towards the site and its content, which will eventually help you rank well in other search engines too. MSN will give credit to the new content and to the inbound links quite quickly.

You should not forget about clean code. It is a major factor for site indexing, and even MSN, which is not as demanding as Google, will rank poorly sites with badly written code.

The are among the most important code elements which you can rely on if you want to improve your MSN traffic. They occupy a top position in the algorithm used by MSN. Consider it your exhibition room. When somebody is looking at the SERP (Search Engine Results Page), the first thing they see is the title of your page. In order to encourage a web user to click on it, it has to be as descriptive and as “appealing” as possible. But don’t exaggerate; about 80 characters should be more than enough.

One of MSN’s drawbacks is represented by its robots, used for page indexing, so keep them in mind. They have difficulties in indexing pages that contain frames, pictures, flash elements, Java script or dynamic URLs. If your site uses image or script based navigation, it is advisable to use text links as well, both within the content and at the bottom of the page. Text links are easier to follow and, more importantly, they give you the opportunity to link to your home page thanks to the anchor texts.

So…Should We?

To make a long story short, MSN is more permissive than Google. Adopt the right tactics, and you can be riding the MSN wave in no time (as compared to Google, where you have to wait in the sandbox for a painfully large – for your business, mostly – amount of time). But there is the risk of dropping from that high position in the MSN ranking as quickly as you got there. This is because your MSN SEO techniques can be overthrown by those newly arrived sites that MSN likes so much to welcome. Such an inconvenience can be quite easily avoided by keeping the content constantly fresh.

There can’t be a “Yes” or “No” answer to the question above. Yet, there could be a “Why not?” MSN does what Google avoids, and likes what Google frowns upon or regards with suspicion. And then there’s also Microsoft’s potential marketing power that they can bring to the search engine business. So, the value of MSN should not be underestimated. Of course, it is a rather feeble match for Google now, but this situation can change dramatically overnight. Similar situations have been seen before, and Microsoft has the financial power to make enough changes and adjustments relatively quickly so as to turn the tables in MSN’s favor.

Bottom line, if you have already optimized your site for Google, it can’t hurt to do some MSN optimization as well.

14 May 2007

Blog Tip #8: Stick with your blog

Once you start posting on your blog, stick with the same domain or you could end up losing a lot of your traffic and regular readers.

Also stick with the topic you selected for your blog. If it’s about diving don’t suddenly switch to another topic such as fishing because you will loose traffic.

If you have a number of subjects you want to blog about, start a number of blogs. For example if you have a resort with fishing and diving, start a blog for each. Chances are their are 2 staff members who run each of these activities.

For example see Matava in Fiji's blogs on fishing and diving (note anchor text here):

  • Diving in Fiji, http://gamefishingfiji.blogspot.com/

11 May 2007

Google Webmaster Tools

One of the easiest and most looked over ways to make your site Google friendly is using Google's Webmaster Tools, a free service offered by Google. If used correctly, it can generate some really positive results when it comes to search rankings.

https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/docs/en/about.html

An example of some of the tools offered:

Crawl info: Make sure Google has access to your site and see when Googlebot last visited. View URLs that Google has had trouble crawling and why.
Robots.txt file validation: See if Google is having trouble with your file, and test out changes to that file before you change it on your server.
Website content: View top content from your site and see the words that other sites use to link to it.

If you haven't already, you owe it to your site to check out Google Webmaster Tools.

9 May 2007

Backlinks from Amazon.com

Thinking of outsourcing your reciprocal linking? Don't bother. There are many more benefits to linking than just getting links. Consider doing at least some work yourself.

One of the simplest I have come across is writing reviews for products on Amazon.com for example. People click over to Amazon with their credit cards ready to spend money. They are discerning shoppers and they are often repeat customers; they read reviews, they follow links to "what else purchasers of [a particular product] bought".

So write reviews of products that relate to your tourism product. Book reviews are the easiest; follow your nose to the bestsellers or new books in your category at the library.

e.g. for dive centres, write reviews for underwater digital photo books...

Of course you will have to make sure that your website link is embedded into your signature as in one of my earlier posts on this blog!

8 May 2007

Create a Viral Marketing Strategy to Drive Traffic to Your Website

Viral marketing can best be described as a marketing campaign that permits you to reach a large number of people quickly online, much in the same way a human cold virus might spread throughout an office complex. The online equivalent of word-of-mouth marketing, viral marketing permits people to pass along marketing material to friends, customers, and colleagues so that the marketing campaign catches on and spreads like wildfire. Because many online distribution channels are free or low cost, viral marketing is possibly the most cost-effective Internet marketing technique out there. Once you've launched your viral marketing campaign, it has the capability grow and spread automatically for years.

With a well-thought out and implemented viral marketing campaign, you can:

--increase targeted traffic to your site

--build brand recognition

--increase your link popularity

--collect contact information from targeted prospects

Two of the most common viral marketing strategies I've seen implemented are viral movies and viral ebooks/ebrochures. Movies can be quite costly to produce, but with the increasing popularity of video viewing sites like YouTube, your ROI (return on investment) may be the highest from this form of viral marketing. TheTimeMovie.com was the movie that introduced me to the concept of video viral marketing. It's short, compelling, and evokes an emotional response from the viewer -- all important attributes to ensure that people pass it along to each other.

One of the best viral ebook creators is Seth Godin, who had over 1,000,000 people download his ebook, Unleashing the Ideavirus. It's still one of the most discussed marketing books around, and Seth has had similar success and gained a great following by giving away other ebooks he wrote, as well. Most of these ebooks are now for sale as paperbacks, and I'm sure this viral marketing strategy led to very high sales of his printed books. At the very least, the strategy has pushed him to the top of the list of marketing experts.

How can you create a viral marketing strategy to drive traffic to your website? Here's a step-by-step process:

1. Determine what you're giving away. Will you make a movie, write an ebook or eguide, create an ecourse, or have a special piece of software written for you? The key to success in picking your product is to make sure that it solves a big problem experienced by your target market. You may also locate your giveaway by using something that someone else has created that permits you to brand it with your company information.

2. Brand the product. Make sure that your logo, your website URL, and/or your tagline is on the viral marketing piece. You want anyone who downloads this viral marketing product to be able to link back to your website, just as you would want someone to be able to contact your brick-and-mortal store when you provide a promotional giveaway like a pen, coffee cup, mousepad, etc.

3. Set up delivery process. Will visitors be able to download the software directly from your site, or will they have to provide their contact information? The best option is to give it away with no strings attached. However, on the page in which you offer the download, you can offer visitors yet another gift, one that requires their contact info to receive.

4. Give away the rights. If you'd like to really jump start the viral marketing process, give people the rights to give away your viral marketing piece to their own customers.

5. Rebrand the item. If you permit people to rebrand the giveaway with some of their contact info or affiliate links, as well, they will really be motivated to pass along your viral marketing piece.

6. Announce the availability of the item. Write an article or a press release about your viral marketing item. Announce its availability to your contact database or ezine list. Ask your readers or visitors to your blog to announce it to their lists or just simply give it away.

Capturing the power of viral marketing is a simple and cost-effective strategy to drive traffic to your website. If implemented properly, who knows how much fame and fortune this technique could bring you?

7 May 2007

Scuba Webmasters banner exchange





http://www.scubawebmasters.com/


Increase your traffic today with the Scuba Webmasters banner exchange. Display banners on your website and earn credits for your banner displays.

How It Works
Simply join the exchange and place your personalized linking code into your site. When you display banners on your website, you will earn credits for your banner being shown on other websites. You will only exchange banners with other members in your category.

Exchange Details
3,000 Free Credits - Just For Signing Up!
Exchange Ratio: 1:1 (Display 1 banner, get 1 credit)
Complete (Real-Time) Statistics
Purchase Additional Credits Using PayPal! Click here to GET TRAFFIC NOW!!!!

Flickr Score

I found this fun little site that calculates what your 'flickr score' is based on # of phots, faves, comments, etc....

>> www.netomer.de/flickrtools/inspector

go here and let us know what your score is!!! :) no fighting... just for fun guys...haha!

Mine was only 943

50 Press Release Submission Websites

A list where you can submit a press release

This is Avangate Top 50 press release submission list, most trustful sites where you can publish a press release, most of them free of charge.

These list is ordered by Google PageRank and the links lead to "Add/Submit a Press Release" or "Register" page.

Last Updated: April 23, 2007

No.
Directory
PR
Free
Comments
1
www.prndirect.prnewswire.com
8
Yes
* Register
2
www.i-newswire.com
7
Yes

3
www.betanews.com
7
Yes

4
www.npr.org
7
Yes

5
www.usnewswire.com
7
No
** Fee
6
www.console.prweb.com
7
No
** Fee
7
www.24-7pressrelease.com
6
No
** Fee
8
www.clickpress.com
6
No
** Fee
9
www.efytimes.com
6
Yes

10
www.free-news-release.com
6
Yes

11
www.free-press-release.com
6
Yes

12
www.freshnews.com
6
Yes

13
www.nanotech-now.com
6
Yes

14
www.openpr.com
6
Yes

15
www.powerhomebiz.com
6
Yes

16
www.programmersheaven.com
6
Yes

17
www.pr.com
6
Yes
* Register
18
www.prleap.com
6
No
** Fee
19
www.express-press-release.com
5
Yes

20
www.1888pressrelease.com
5
Yes
* Register
21
www.directionsmag.com
5
Yes
* Register
22
www.downloadjunction.com
5
Yes

23
www.fibre2fashion.com
5
Yes

24
www.media-press-release.com
5
Yes
* Register
25
www.nationalhomelandsecurityknowledgebase.com
5
Yes

26
www.newswiretoday.com
5
Yes
* Register
27
www.pr9.net
5
Yes
* Register
28
www.pressbox.co.uk
5
Yes

29
www.pressmethod.com
5
Yes
* Register
30
www.pressreleasespider.com
5
Yes

31
www.przoom.com
5
Yes
* Register
32
www.theopenpress.com
5
Yes

33
www.prfree.com
5
Yes
* Register
34
www.sbwire.com
5
Yes
* Register
35
www.addpr.com
4
Yes
* Register
36
www.afreego.com
4
Yes

37
www.bizeurope.com
4
Yes

38
www.epressreleases.org
4
Yes

39
www.malebits.com
4
Yes
* Register
40
www.pocketpcwire.com
4
Yes

41
www.press411.com
4
Yes

42
www.pressblaster.net
4
Yes

43
www.prnuke.com
4
Yes

44
www.afly.com
3
Yes
* Register
45
www.geek.com
3
Yes

46
www.baygo.com
2
Yes

47
www.fastpitchnetworking.com
0
Yes
* Register
48
www.press-base.com
0
Yes

49
www.press-library.com
0
Yes

50
www.press-world.com
0
Yes
* Register


*You need to create an account in order to submit a press release.

**You need to pay a fee in order to get your press release published.

Copyright © 2007, http://www.avangate.com all rights reserved.

6 May 2007

5 Things Google Don't Want You to Know

Google Adwords, the beginner internet marketer's best friend! But is it really?

4 May 2007

The Web-based RSS Feed Readers

Syndication is undoubtedly the heartbeat of the whole Web 2.0 arena and lifestyle. An RSS feed reader, the most common solution to consuming syndicated content, saves you time by monitoring many, many sites and sources and providing damn near real-time updates to one place.

There are plenty of different types of readers: web-based, desktop, Outlook based, etc. I will focus solely on web-based RSS feed readers. I’ve included the big guns, plus some new readers with great new features or performance like Gritwire, FeedLounge, Attensa and News Alloy.

All the web-based RSS feed readers reviewed are free except for FeedLounge, which charges US$5 per month.

The Web-based Feed Readers

I had a look at nine web-based feed readers :

IN addition I think MyYahoo! is a great option for a quick read of your RSS feeds or for on the go RSS feed readers viewing the Internet via cell phone or mobile, but it does not have the feature set for a heavy information consumer.

Researching these readers further highlights the extremely competitive arena surrounding this industry’s development. On a feature-set basis only, two companies stood out: Rojo and Bloglines.

Google Reader and FeedLounge won the subjective feed-load test, which determines how well the application pulls up a particular feed. The test consisted of loading five feeds and taking the average of the load times and rating the reader on a five-point scale. Interestingly, FeedLounge is the only premium service of the group at $5 a month. Aside from the exceptional performance rating, I wonder what else sets FeedLounge apart from its free competitors. However, many users are religious about readers with a three pane display that FeedLounge, Attensa and Gritwire all offer.

Web 2.0 Features

Rojo, a San Francisco-based company which was reviewed previously on TechCrunch, has the most prominent web 2.0 swagger. News Alloy offers a close second though with itís tagging, rating and other content repositioning (i.e. add to Digg, add to del.icio.us).

User Ratings: Several of the readers offer rating systems, but I think Rojo’s “Mojo” is the most appealing. Mojo, a term reflecting user-generated reviews, mirrors a feature on the popular social news aggregator digg. After entering an item in the feed you can Mojo it to boost its relevance. NewsGator Online also offers a user generated content feature called “Latest Buzz,” which determines and displays the number of people linking to items in NewsGator. News Alloy employs a rating system similar to Rojo that tallies the number of times someone rates an item.

Tagging: Rojo generates a tag cloud from user-generated tags. Google Reader offers the same feature under a different name, “labels.” It seems FeedLounge uses tagging as the sole search and discovery mechanism. News Alloy also allows tagging of posts.

Social Aspects: Rojo and Gritwire feature “contacts,” which adds a social aspect to the reader, allowing a user to share information within a network of contacts.

Feed Discovery & Recommendations: Pluck, a Texas-based social media company, built a feature called FeedFinder into its Web Edition, which improves feed discovery. Rojo recommendations feeds in the top right corner of the layout while you browse.




Up and Coming Readers

Attensa, a Portland-based company, offers a reader that has a very professional and clean interface. While lacking many features the rest of the pack has, it pulls feeds up very quickly. In talking with Matthew Bookspan, Attensa’s Director of Product, I learned Attensa will be launching a new and improved version of the web-based reader that should fare better on the comparison chart. Additionally, Attensa will soon offer a mobile-enabled view of its reader, rendering nicely in handheld devices or cell phones.

Gritwire, a company based just north of Chicago, boasts a Flash-based feed reader that performs very well and offers integrated social networking features similar to Rojo. Gritwire uses a contact-list approach that allows you to share feeds among friends. I spoke with Ian Carswell, Gritwire’s co-founder and COO, who said Gritwire has more web 2.0 features in store, and I am curious to see them in action.

News Alloy, offers an Ajax driven reader with lots of power user bells and whistles. Though it underperformed in the subjective feed-load test others have found it to be extremely fast in other operations.

Blog Tip #7: Update your blog frequently

Update your blog frequently using all the rules mentioned in the other tips.

Keeping it fresh, relevant and up to date is critical and will surely get top rankings in a short time.

Feed Shark


Ping your blog, feed, or podcast for free!

How can you not use this tool with a name like this!

Push this link: Feed Shark