Shrouded behind the opaque layers of search engine algorithms and search engine marketing strategies lays a simple fact about local search engine marketing that too many talented businesspersons forget: marketing is about customers. And how to get them? Tell stories.
Importance
Stories are powerful. Every culture relays its heritage and social values through storytelling. The Native Americans had their wigwams and longhouses, the Victorian English had their stages and the Americans have their cinema theaters. Customer reviews and feedback, pioneered online by companies such as eBay, Amazon and Epinions, tell stories: tales of hospitable service, affordable rates and superb products. In today's online world, this is more important than ever. A new internet-savvy generation of shoppers, termed "social researchers," look to peer feedback to influence their decisions. According to a a recent study, 70 percent of online shoppers consider other customer feedback as either "important" or "very important." This, by extension, means the business should do so as well.
Talk
Appealing to a prospect is difficult; gaining a customer is a godsend. Trying to get their feedback sometimes might as well be a search for the Fountain of Youth. That is why the ever-resourceful local web marketing community has invented a new way to make customers talk. Give them every opportunity to share their opinions with other people. Let the customer talk. Filling out a template, complete with preformed questions and checkboxes, is an impersonal act, and makes the customer feel robotic and inanimate. Giving a customer free reign to speak his or her mind gets the powerful truth out. Forget the e-mail surveys in favor of consumer-friendly letter invitations, website forums and easy-to-use submission text boxes. Most importantly, companies who really want to know what their customers think can utilize customer relationship management (CRM). The business should make sure the customer knows he or she has an attentive listener.
Things Not Anticipated
A word of caution, however, is that the customer may say things the company does not necessarily want others to see or hear. There is always one bad apple. One may wonder how to keep the barrel unspoiled. Internet marketing firms and public relations agents have found a way to help with the rants of irate customers by creating online reputation management, which monitors and partially controls an internet reputation. Thankfully, most horror stories can be removed with a kind word and understanding apology. Low-ball tactics like copyright-infringement suits or tattle-tailing to webmasters are discouraged. When this does not work, search engine reputation management can be deployed, although it does take time to be effective.
Successful Integration
Qualitative customer feedback coupled with quantitative statistical analysis, such as bounce rates, keyword accuracy, time per page and conversion rates, is a potent one-two punch for local search engine marketing.
Get customers and get reviews, which gets more customers. That is one method of effective local internet marketing.
Author is a freelance writer. For more information on local search engine marketing please visit http://www.local-marketing.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Liz_T_Jones
Google has adapted once again to help combat the ever increasing amount of spam. In lieu of a surge of questions regarding whether or not a recent Google algorithm change has gone live, Google has officially launched the change earlier last week that will target spam websites. About 2% of queries change, with less than half of a percent where people will really notice anything. This change is aimed at increasing the quality of Google searches and will give websites that wrote original content better rankings, while websites that primarily copy the content will be ranked lower. It should be noted that websites which spin or rewrite original content are being specifically targeted in this algorithm change, giving sites with the original content more authority. This is all an effort to increase the quality of search queries in order to provide a better experience for users.
Google is there to make money, and they do that by giving users good, original information. It should be noted that spam websites are sites that try to cheat their way into higher rankings with practices deemed unethical, like hacking websites and copying content over and over. The Google Algorithm Change might include review websites, or sites that make their money by promoting products and using information straight from the retailer. Since these type of sites do not really provide any value, they will be penalized, leaving the website with whom they are promoting the better rankings. In order for sites like this to continue existing, they will have to provide original content and make themselves an authority on the subject instead of dishing out rehashed information.
If you have used search engines a decade ago, you might remember how hard it was trying to find information on certain subjects. The search results were just repeating the same thing over and over, with slight changes to the queries, and it was nearly impossible to find anything original. Since then, Google has refined anti-spam methods, resulting in an unprecedented level of freshness and uniqueness. Instead of spending 5 hours trying to find something, you now spend 5 seconds. It can be said that this will only get better with time, and spam may now be a thing of the past.
How Using Long Tail Keywords Can Rank You In The Top 3 Spots of Google!
Good keyword research is paramount in landing you on the first page of a Google search. Often times people choose keywords that are far too generic, leaving themselves no chance of being found on the first page of Google Search.
Long tail keywords are keywords that contain more than three or four words that someone would type in a Google search.
These longer tail keywords may not be as common or searched for as often as a single keyword, but long tail keywords will have a lot less competition, attract a more targeted audience, and give you a better chance of ranking on the first page of Google.
Generic keywords such as: Home Based Business and Work At Home are going to produce a larger number of searches each month and at the same time, there will be millions of websites competing for that same keyword.
Work At Home for instance has 1,900,000,000 results, or nearly two billion websites competing for that keyword. Yes, you read that right, billion with a B. Your chances of landing on page 157, let alone the first page are pretty bleak when the competition is that stiff.
Long tail keywords properly chosen should yield search results of 30,000 or less, a much more manageable competitive number to deal with.
Keyword research requires you to dig deep when choosing your keywords. As an example I would like to breakdown the long tail keyword research I used for a previous article about Forwarding and Masking a Domain. Google offers a free keyword tool that will assist you in your keyword research called, Google Keyword Tool.
This tool will breakdown monthly global searches as well as local searches done each month on a particular keyword. It also lists other relevant words and their stats, giving you a choice of keywords that you may not have thought of.
I started my research with Forwarding a domain which produced about 5 million search results. Meaning there are 5 million websites talking about forwarding a domain.
Forwarding and masking a domain produced 250,000 results, still more competition than I care to go up against. In digging a bit deeper I tried, forwarding and masking your domain, which produced 47,000 results. Digging deeper still I tried, How To Set Up Forwarding and Masking Your Domain which produced only 26,300 results. Bingo, I found the long tail keyword to build my article around.
After just a couple of weeks I now have the second and third spot on the first page of Google for the long tail keyword, how to set up forwarding and masking your domain.
To illustrate this process I created a video that is posted on my blog which is listed below.
In closing, long tail keywords will reach a far more targeted audience than generic keywords. You won't generate as much traffic to your site using a them, but you will generate quality people looking for what you have to offer.
Labels: effective SEO approach
* Branding: You are going to be branding yourself whether you like it or not. Your brand (your name that you use on the articles) is going to be seen by large amounts of people. Take the time to think about you brand and how you are perceived by others. This is one step lots of people fail on, they skip there personal brand and forget that you need to build trust with your readers.
* Your Author Stats: Your author stats will determine your online presence. If you take the time to write good and consistent content you will get higher stats, expert author or a similar description will appear on your article profile. Your readers will know who you are, what your about and if your good and have made the right impressions they will come back consistently.
* Traffic to your website:This is an extremely important point that you must make you you cover properly. The more people that vies your sites the more likelihood there is that they will visit your website. In most articles submitting sites there will be a resources box which will allow you to put your link in. In this resource box you can anchor text your main keyword to your website. So in a short sense, if you write an article that appeal to someone they can then click on your link and visit your site gaining access to more of the similar information.
* Backlinks: Everywhere you post your articles will results building backlinks to your site. These backlinks are one way links that are essential for good search engine rankings, in addition to the visitors you will get from the article readers to your website.
* Free Marketing: The final point I want to touch on is free marketing. Article marketing is free! It is a great way to market you product effectively and productively. You can expect to get visitors to your site for months or years, it is a long term strategies that works! If you don't have the time to do it, make time or look in to article submission software. The point I'm trying to make is if you're in a position where you can't afford to do paid advertising then article marketing will work for you. You will be surprised by its results.
I hope this article has given you some kind of rough guidance and stressed the importance and benefits of article marketing.
Article marketing in my opinion in one of the most effective free marketing strategies. You can get your content and interesting topics out to thousands of people. You do need to structure it and take on board the points above, they will help you become more successfully in your article marketing process. If you want to find out more about article marketing or have any questions then visit:
http://sixfigurementorreview.com/introduction/
http://intrepreneurs.thesixfigurementors.com/blog
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charlie_Lauste
Labels: Search engine optimization
Many business owners spend a small fortune building new websites to replace old ones that don't perform well only to discover that even though they have an awesome product and a spectacular new website; the flow of traffic remains pretty much the same as before the demolition.
WHAT WEB DESIGNERS WON'T TELL YOU is that they are not Search Engine Optimization experts and most wouldn't even be considered novices. Seriously, if you were to hire a building contractor to erect your place of business would you also expect him to advertise and promote your product? That said; let the record state that website designers should NEVER BE CONFUSED with Search Engine Optimization experts or marketing specialists.
This week I'll be writing about noninvasive techniques that will help you jump start a consistent flow of traffic regardless if you are in the process of building a new website or if you already have an existing website.
Website Content
Well it's time to sit down and write the content and while the idea of filling an entire website with content can be overwhelming who knows your business better than you? Without wanting to sound like I have a vendetta against web designers THIS IS NOT THE PERSON you want creating your content.
After all it's you who built your business from the ground up and it's you who've personally nurtured and massaged the relationships that grew the business to its current level.
A hired pen will most likely have to research established companies similar to yours which will not only incur additional cost for you but at the end of the day you will find that they lack your experience and passion which can ultimately translate into the writer completely missing the mark on exactly what it is YOU WANT TO CONVEY TO YOUR AUDIENCE.
Don't get hung up on implementing ideal keywords - at least not just yet. At this point you simply want to write what it is that you want to communicate in a way that adds meaning and value to both prospective and existing customers visiting your website.
Your Value Proposition What is your niche? What makes you superior to competitors? Why should this matter to your visitors? What support can you offer to prove your statements true?
It's best if you can express these points in just a sentence or two. Position your value prop near the beginning of your writing and place it on your home page as well as you're about us page. Make what you do and who you are STAND APART FROM YOUR COMPETITORS IMMEDIATELY because at the end of the day it's your value proposition that will make visitors choose you over your competitors. So be careful not to position this message too far down on your web page or bury it within the layers of your website.
Press Releases
After you've established your value proposition and you are satisfied with your content it will be TIME TO SPREAD THE NEWS. If you already have an existing website you may want write a press release reintroducing your website. You can also publish press releases about your company, staff or upcoming event such as webinars and speaking engagements.
Creating Inbound Links
Inbound linking stated simply is when a link to your website appears on another website. Now let's discuss more specifically how you can achieve this and how you will benefit from this strategy.
Personally I view inbound linking as another form of networking. As an example let's say I am a regular visitor at website XYZ.com and one day I notice that XYZ.com has an interesting article written by you and link leading back to your website.
Chances are pretty good that because:
1. I like website XYZ.com 2. I trust website XYZ.com 3. I'm pretty confident the website XYZ.com knows what I like
I'll probably click on the link to your website to check it out. Writing articles and getting them posted on trusted industry related websites is a good way to setup inbound links back to your website. This particular technique will not only increase the flow of traffic to your website but it can also be used as an instrument to ESTABLISH YOU AS AN AUTHORITY IN YOUR PARTICULAR FIELD.
Blogging
Blogging is a great way to:
1. Add fresh content to your website keeping it fresh and interesting. Nobody wants to revisit a stale website. There's no reason to return if you already know everything that's going to be there.
2. Keep in touch with existing and prospective clients. Businesses are always looking for additional reasons to reach out to prospective and existing clients in ways that don't come across as spam
3. Establish you, your team or company as a leader or expert in your field. Excellent platform to present your value proposition, product, service, knowledge, your team, etc.
4. Keep everyone posted on upcoming events, interesting articles and breaking news. Provides another reason to reach out to prospective and existing clients while establishing you as a good source for current and valuable information
Another great way to make use of blogging is to drop your current headline onto social networking sites with a link pointing back to your website to read the full article. THE RESULT WILL YIELD TRAFFIC COMING BACK TO YOUR WEBSITE.
Sharing Strive to write and distribute valuable and meaningful content and make it easy for your readers to share your articles and blog by adding "share this" buttons. By making it easy for your readers to share your content you allow them to become PROACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF YOUR MARKETING MATERIAL.
Capturing Lead Information Now that you've got a consistent flow of traffic coming through your website how do you capture their contact information? This can be done by strategically placing simple "calls to action" throughout your website. Make sure the action buttons are bold enough in color or shape to standout and catch the attention of the reader but take care not to compromise the total appearance and balance of the web page itself.
Your unique product or service will dictate precisely how your call to action buttons will prompt readers. Below I've listed just a few as examples of what the verbiage may look like.
• GET IT NOW
• Sign Up Today!
• Call for plans and pricing today
• Click here for today's website specials! Lastly, a much overlooked vehicle for adding calls to action is in your daily emails। Business owners and employees send a lot of emails throughout the course of a day and by adding a call to action at the bottom of your emails you create yet ANOTHER WAY TO IMPACT THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE. It can be something as simple as check out our website changes or a short excerpt from your blog with a click here to read the full article.
SEOKATZ is a Search Engine Optimization and Marketing Consulting firm that uses cutting edge, guerrilla marketing techniques to help small to medium sized businesses increase Internet exposure, drive traffic and capture qualified lead information without the need for a huge marketing expense.
About the company
SEO Katz is a proactive marketing and search engine optimization consulting firm that applies a guerrilla marketing approach to help small and medium sized businesses maximize their presence on the web.