The Serious Players' Webmaster Blog 2012-02-22T21:53:24+00:00 Zend_Feed_Writer http://leegilbert.co.uk

2011-12-10T16:50:12+00:00 2011-12-10T16:50:12+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=93 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk Social media for business; everyone talks about how you need to use social media for promoting your business, but the very thought sends some business owners into a panic as they sit in hopes that it will all go away. Well, it isn't likely that social media is going anywhere, not for a while anyway, so rather than beat them you'd best join them or you might miss out on some great marketing opportunities. Odd as it may sound, it is new businesses in the small to medium size range that have launched in the last two or three years who flock in larger numbers to sites such as Twitter as opposed to those of the same size who have been around for a decade or longer. If you are hesitating to use social media in promoting your business, here are some tips that may help. 1. Strategic Planning When operating a business, it is important to strategize and have reasons for the actions you take. Going the social media route should not be something you should do solely because so many others are doing it. Analyze first and do some research because social media may not be lucrative for every business. You must first determine if these types of platforms are where you will be able to market to potential customers. If your target market doesn't participate in a particular media platform, you won't find many, if any, customers there. It depends on who your market consists of and what you are selling. 2. A Reasonable Time Investment Even though some time is required to set up and maintain a presence on social media, it should not become a habit as is the case with many people because there are other things to do in a business besides post on Twitter or Facebook. So while time will be required to use the presence regularly to drive traffic to your website, the keyword is reasonable in that it must be a task performed alongside all the others required to successfully operate a business. Realize also that the job doesn't end after you set up your media presence. After you create a FaceBook page, it has to be maintained and posts created and kept current. But there are some who overdo it by posting on Twitter every 5 minutes, which doesn't allow them to focus on much of anything else. 3. Flexibility is Essential There is no set plan you can follow to guarantee success with social media. As with any other marketing strategy, you have to try it out and track results to see if it does actually boost traffic for your business. Sometimes tweaking your strategy can make a big difference in results, so you must be prepared to be flexible and adjust your plan when necessary. 4. Not the Only Plan Don't expect overnight results. Just as it takes time to optimize your website and climb in the search engines through your other marketing efforts, the same is true with social media sites like Twitter and FaceBook. Social media should not become the only marketing strategy you use, either. Any successful marketing plan should involve multiple strategies and then tracking results to single out which methods work best. Building relationships takes time, and that is what you are doing when you reach out to potential customers using social media.  

2011-12-10T16:49:20+00:00 2011-12-10T16:49:20+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=92 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk Because so many internet based businesses are pursuing affiliate marketing, it is easy to get pulled into some "opportunities" that aren't what they claim to be. There are many warning signs to be aware of when you find any entity offering to give you a piece of their pie. Here are some of the big red flags you should be aware of. What is Being Marketed? Those who have internet businesses that offer affiliate marketing opportunities may offer many different types of products, both intangible and tangible. If an ad does not clearly indicate what is being marketed, it may be a pyramid scheme that will prevent you from getting any profit from the experience. Those who want their products sold are very quick to let you know exactly what the products are; how else can they entice you to sell them? Know what you are selling before you participate. Your reputation is on the line. Pay Up Front Some schemes require money from you, and you'll want to shy away from an affiliate marketing plan requiring up front cash. It is a simple concept; you advertise a product, make a sale, and you receive a portion of the sale price as a profit. When you are asked to put money into software products to help you make sales, or invest in a product itself up front, it is a strong indicator of a scam. If the opportunity is an MLM, you might expect to invest, but not in an affiliate marketing situation. We'll Contact You Any legitimate company that has a product is going to have a way for customers and affiliate marketers to get in touch with them, and a dead giveaway that someone isn't legitimate is that they don't want you contacting them. If you only have an email address, send the company a message and see how long it takes before they get back to you. A business will have people ready to reply to inquiries; that's the way they get orders. If you cannot contact a company about their affiliate marketing plan, you won't be able to contact them for your commissions either. Pride in a Website If a company is successful enough for you to consider selling their wares, you can bet they have a decent if not great website. A little investigation into links on the website, the value of the printed word, and overall professionalism of the site are indicators of whether it is a legitimate business or not. Scammers will throw sites up hurriedly with the sole intent of making them look legitimate. Do Your Research If you want to be sure you are looking at a legitimate affiliate marketing program, you must be a bit of a detective and look behind the scenes. Don't feel pressured into joining something until you have checked out all the information you can find using Google. If it isn't legitimate, there are bound to be those who have already wasted their time and money on the ruse making comments to warn others. Checking out the success of any company you consider affiliating with is one of the first moves to make to assure that you know what you are getting into. Scammers have their ads right beside the legitimate companies making offers, so without running the checks, you stand to be the biggest loser.  

2011-12-10T16:48:04+00:00 2011-12-10T16:48:04+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=91 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk It is often said that it is impossible to be successful in an internet marketing endeavor without the services of an internet marketing consultant. This disregards the charlatans who claim that you can become a multi-millionaire by simply buying what it is they have to sell. Is there any reason to believe that you can develop your own internet based business and not need any assistance from someone else? This is a tricky question to answer because there have been people in the past, and continuing into the present, who have made and are making good livings almost completely without outside influence or assistance. You can read of many true success stories in which an enterprising individual has made it without the luxury of extensive education or professional guidance. What you don't always read into the story is that a person like that is most often an exception rather than the rule. First Come, First Success Many of the early pioneers of the internet were successful because they got there first. With everyone from corporate CEOs to your twelve year old neighbor vying for a piece of the pie, it isn't the same landscape it was even four or five years ago. Increased competition makes it harder to profit from business in any sector. The Internet on Any Given Day Whether you need an internet marketing consultant or not has a great deal to do with what CURRENT knowledge you have of the venue you are looking to pursue. The controlling players in the internet game are constantly changing the rules, and there is no single place where all this information can be found. Someone who keeps an ear to the ground can be very enlightening and save wasted time and effort on your part. An internet marketing consultant can provide pertinent information on not only how things are done but when they should be done, too. If you liken the internet to the stock market, you might comprehend that a window of opportunity often exists for just a short time. Whether you are buying a hot stock or selling a popular item, it matters at what point in a product's life you commit to support it. An education in the basics of marketing is helpful to have, but not necessarily a huge positive in how well you will do in business. A consultant is valuable to fill in the gaps of a business plan and to identify areas where existing plans are weak or address the wrong factors. Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way It is certain that everyone is not a teacher or a leader, but even followers must know who to follow and when. While the business you choose is mandated somewhat by the skills you possess and the knowledge you have acquired, the trunk of any tree has many branches. You might be just as happy in one phase of a career as another. Wouldn't it be helpful to understand which one is the most lucrative to follow? If a consultant only supplies one idea that proves to be a winner, he is worth his fee.  

2011-12-10T16:46:20+00:00 2011-12-10T16:46:20+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=90 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk Are you using FaceBook to your best advantage? Creating a page for your business is a start, but it does not end there; you want to keep the fans you have and also continue to expand your fan base. There are some businesses that make it look easy to surpass the million fan "mile marker," while others lag behind with only a few hundred. What's the magic formula? Engaging fans and making their experience worthwhile not only encourages those fans you have to visit your page often, but if done the right way it prompts them to invite others to participate as well. Here are three tips for internet marketers and other business owners to use to prompt their fan base expansion. 1. Contests and Content Having a contest is a way to gather some attention, but results can be maximized by taking it one step further. Instead of making a simple post about the contest itself, increase the sharing incentive with cleverly written content. Quizzes are great attention grabbers because they draw readers in to "test" their knowledge. By sharing the results on their wall, it sparks additional interest and increased Facebook impressions. Consider if a quiz drew in 5,000 participants; then if each of those quiz takers posted their results and each of them had 100 friends, there's a potential of 500,000 news feed impressions. Next consider the possibilities if that number jumped from 5,000 to 10,000; possible impressions would be one million. 2. Opinion Poll Many skilled bloggers engage visitors to comment by asking questions. People love to share their opinion on many different topics, and by choosing the content to post on your page carefully, you can prompt a viral distribution of your post, simply by asking people what they think. One company discovered that coupling videos along with questions increased video views by 10 times. Not only that, when FaceBook fans posted their answers to the questions on their wall, they posted the videos as well which increased impressions by 100 times. 3. Appreciate Your Fans Give fans something back, even if it is something small. Possibly a discount coupon, or hold a drawing once a month for something of value. You can find sponsors to donate the prize giveaways in exchange for the promotion they receive or you can give away a product or service of your own. This tactic has proven very successful for many companies. You can use your FaceBook page to engage fans regardless of the size or type of your business. Use your creativity to come up with innovative ideas that relate to your product or service. A restaurant might create a quiz about popular menu items at various fast food chains, offering a 15% dinner discount coupon to all participants with a sweepstakes drawing to be held at the end offering a larger prize such as a gift certificate for a free dinner. Think about what type of quiz would interest your users and tie to your content theme. These are just a few of the ways to engage your FaceBook fans and expand your fan base. Creating a page is just the beginning; it's what you do with it afterwards that makes the difference.  

2011-12-10T16:44:27+00:00 2011-12-10T16:44:27+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=89 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk While the Google search engine is a useful tool for many things, it may not always be exactly what you need in your internet marketing business. Many times searches for information return very limited results, which is why a vertical search engine may be a more productive tool for finding more detailed information. Concentrated Data Gathering Because of the way general search engines retrieve search results, the information obtained can often be very limited. A vertical search engine is different in that it concentrates on very specific content. How a Vertical Search Engine Works Termed by the description of a vertical search engine, ZoomInfo focuses search results on a specific topic or industry. Search engines generally crawl and index large portions of the internet, but a vertical search engine seeks to only index content that relates to a specific industry, niche, topic, interest, geographical location, language, etc. Some examples of common verticals are shopping, medical, movies, sports, and travel. Some vertical engines focus on one single vertical, while there are others that offer results on multiple verticals for one search engine. So why is this type of search better in some circumstances than the general type of search engine? Well, for one reason, the scope limitation provides greater precision on the information returned. If you are having difficulty finding what you need on general search engines, or if your search query is very specific in regards to the type of content or topic, a vertical search engine may be the key to getting much better results. Have you ever done a general search for a topic only to have results returned that are widely spread across the board as far as their relevance to the original search? Sometimes results are not even related at all, which is why a vertical engine may be more on track for returning the results you are seeking. ZoomInfo is an example of a vertical search engine and is designed to avoid straying to unrelated topics. Those involved with internet marketing will find it much easier to obtain usable and relative contact information for specially targeted businesses using a vertical engine such as ZoomInfo. This type of search generally provides better results and also returns them faster. Not only can ZoomInfo help internet marketers find the contacts they seek, from an SEO standpoint it is important to have your business information show up in the results, too, just the same as it is with general types of search engines. Your SEO consultant can help you strategize your optimization efforts so this takes place. Specifically Designed Vertical search engines are not designed to perform the same as general search engines like Google. This makes using them for certain business tasks and strategies very valuable for affiliate marketers, job seekers, and business owners seeking others within the same industry or profession. This could be for networking or for purposes of checking out the competition. Knowing what a vertical search engine does, it is obvious to see that using it to retrieve information can offer many benefits to the user, and at the same time, it is important that you strategize your SEO efforts so that your business is found appropriately in search results as well.  

2011-11-14T16:06:11+00:00 2011-11-14T16:06:11+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=88 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk The buying public has become very disenchanted with spam emails, making it harder to build databases through the same means that worked only a few years back. Opt-in emails have to offer something of value for free, as you have often heard, but it might seem that you must give away the farm just to entice a few to sign up. Valuable and Affordable Providing something that people can really use and want is not always that easy to do, especially when you cannot sink a great deal of money into it. The best solution is often something you can produce yourself, which is entirely your own and in line with the products or services you are promoting. Prizes Give-a-ways are another way to solicit interest enough to receive a prospective customer's email. Even if you have only one prize, you will get takers when they think the prize is worthwhile enough. Problem Solving Giving solutions to problems is another way to build an email database. The clientele you are attempting to appeal to has issues, and if you study these and provide good sound answers, you can build a bond. You can also address their concerns and likes, which may not be problem related. Establishing yourself as an expert in a specific niche has proven advantageous to many internet marketers. Acceptance When people can identify with your business, they drop some of the safety barriers and allow you into their domain. Once you are there, you must maintain the relationship of trust by the way you conduct yourself and this is often called the 80/20 Rule. You should spend 80% of your email marketing on relationship building and only 20% promoting the services or products that you sell. People are squeamish about giving their email for fear of getting harassing junk mail not only from you, but from others they fear you will sell or circulate your mailing list to. For that reason, it is always good to have a footnote in your emails and a posting on your site of your Privacy Policy. Be sure it is spelled out very plainly that you will not sell or give emails to anyone else without permission. Database Maintenance As you begin to receive email addresses, be sure you tag them so you know all the pertinent information about each one. Don't wait until you have hundreds of email addresses to start managing your contact list or you will lose a great deal of valuable information. Keeping track of what customers buy from you makes it simpler to arrange them into email groups for future mailings based on interests. Always have an easy way for people to make their comments known, and solicit comments that will make you better able to fashion future products, services, and offerings to what the customers' needs are. It is work to categorize emails and manage a list, but your efforts will pay off if you go about it in the right way. You will be more accurate on emails so that those receiving them will be more receptive and sales will increase. Once databases are established, you still must keep them current with updates as needed. Remember, too, that building and having a list is only a part of the process. The next step is what you do with the information once you have it. There's no point in having a list if you do not use it.  

2011-11-14T16:02:44+00:00 2011-11-14T16:02:44+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=87 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk Using online surveys is nothing new, but it is being employed a lot more now than in times past, and more smaller organizations are starting to see the advantages of this inexpensive tool. Common sense dictates that getting input from our customers is the best way to understand where our products and services rate, as well as how we can improve them. It is also good to know the things customers appreciate about our products and services. Increasing the response rates to surveys is something SEO experts always stress. The higher the percentage of response, the quicker you can ascertain important pieces of information. Here are some things to keep in mind when asking for survey participation: When to Survey You might have a survey as part of the order process, a follow up after a customer makes a purchase, following a support or customer service call, or as a cold call to someone who has provided their email address. Each of these has some merit, so let's look at them objectively. 1. During an Order Information to request during an order is usually how the customer heard about you and how they feel about the pricing. Other information may include selected demographics without getting too personal. The survey still must be an optional part of the process and this should be made clear; you don't want to lose a sale or a customer because they do not want to answer questions. At the time of making a purchase for something they want, the customer is usually in a positive mood and willing to take part in the survey. 2. Follow Up on an Order Given time to use the product or service, a customer can have a great deal more information to offer, which can be very helpful. The survey should have direct questions, but also leave space for comments the customer feels are relevant. 3. Following a Support Call Many companies have a brief survey on the phone after a support call to gather information, but customers are less likely to want to participate because they have already spent what they consider to be enough time on the phone. Better responses come with a survey emailed soon after the call. The information gathered from this has to do with product satisfaction and how well your company responded in support. 4. Cold Call Requesting someone to complete your survey out of the blue generally means you have to offer something in return. This is an excellent time to offer a deep discount on products or services for answers to your questions, or you may prefer to give the survey taker a chance to win a prize. Someone is more apt to complete the survey if they are offered something in return for their time. Additionally, you must make it a point to identify the company, what the purpose of the survey is, and how long it will realistically take to complete. Keep the email and the survey short so that the recipient will be more obliged to participate. Be sure to include a Privacy Policy statement that makes the assurance that you will only use the information for specified purposes. Lastly, understand that not all news will be good news, but of course that is the purpose of the exercise anyway. In order to improve your product or service, you have to listen to what the surveys say, both good and bad. The information must then be evaluated to determine its validity, and steps taken based on the findings.  

2011-11-14T16:01:27+00:00 2011-11-14T16:01:27+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=86 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk Google Analytics is a useful tool to help you understand some important aspects about your website. It doesn't tell you everything you need to know, but it does help you draw some conclusions and hopefully improve your site's performance. The results mean more as your site matures and length of time online increases. Any SEO expert or SEO consultant will advise you that it isn't enough to have a search engine optimization plan. You must analyze the results of the plan to see which strategies are working and which ones should be modified or replaced. These are some main feature points regarding Google Analytics. 1. Site Visits Every individual visit to your site, whether the visitor goes to several pages or only the landing page, counts as a visit. Someone who leaves and comes back is counted for a visit each time they return. You assume two things occur as visits increase; 1) more new visitors are coming to your website, and 2) some of the previous visitors are returning. Of course, you want the numbers to increase as you continue your marketing efforts. 2. Number of Page Views Once someone lands on your home page, they may choose to navigate your site to obtain more information. A visitor may even visit several pages, and each one counts as a page view. An increase in page views indicates that visitors are finding your material either via the navigation on your website, landing there based on searches for a particular keyword, following links from other websites, or arriving as direct traffic. You want to have visitors to many of your pages, not just the home page. 3. Pages per Visit Simple math gives the average number of pages a site visitor views after arriving at your site. Page views divided by visits is the formula. What it tells you is whether your landing page was interesting to most visitors. Don't be too surprised that you have less than a 2-page average when you first launch a site. Actually, 1.5 is not a bad start even for an SEO expert. If you continually add interesting original content to your site, this number should increase as time passes. 4. Bounce Rate If your visitors don't go past the first page, they are considered to "bounce" off. There are several reasons why this happens. Some people may come to your site by accident. This can happen because of typing your URL instead of one they intended or selecting a link to your site because they think it is something else. Some may be totally unhappy with the site once they see it or they just take a quick look and decide they want to go somewhere else. 5. Percentage of New Visitors If your site's cookie is in a visitor's browser, they are not considered a new visitor, but many people clear their browsing history regularly so that they appear to be new visitors, and this obviously presents an error factor. If the number of new visitors tends to increase each month, it means something you are doing is attracting more people. 6. Average Time Spent on the Site As you might guess, if this number rises, people are finding reasons to stay on your site after they arrive there. It is hard for analytics to maintain great accuracy with this feature, so it can seem erratic from month to month. Hopefully it means visitors are finding useful content and products/services that interest them. 7. Source of Traffic The traffic sources overview section shows you where your traffic is coming from. You want a mixture of traffic sources and these include referring sites, direct traffic, and search engines. Referring sites are good meaning you have links coming to your website from other websites. This could be from article resource boxes you have in your content posted in articles directories, for example. Search engine traffic means people are finding you in their searches and clicking through to your site. These seven features indicate some valuable information about your website. Google Analytics is a useful tool and an SEO expert will use it in conjunction with other website monitoring resources. Knowing how your site is performing is the key to tweaking SEO efforts to maximize results.  

2011-11-14T15:59:05+00:00 2011-11-14T15:59:05+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=85 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk Everyone in business is looking for the best use of social media because of the huge potential it has for sales and promotion. Unfortunately, many go about it in all the wrong ways. Here are 10 of the top things to do right if you want to maximize the benefits from your online social circles: 1. Be personable - If people don't like you, why will they want you in their social environment in the first place? Having a winning attitude and pleasant disposition gives you a much better opportunity to reach more people and in a positive way. 2. Show concern for the individual - Your contacts are important to your business and you should treat them as such. Personal issues come up all the time in social media, and you should be quick with joy for accomplishments and sympathy for strife. 3. Stay focused on the big picture - Don't get carried away with elements outside of the primary areas where you want to be involved. While you don't want to wear blinders, you cannot spend large volumes of time going in the wrong direction or focusing on the wrong things. 4. Use information to your advantage - If it serves you best, make notes about contacts so you remember who likes what or probably has information you can use. If you have more than one group of contacts, be sure to have each one in the proper niche. 5. Provide materials that interest - Social and sharing are both give and take when it comes to social media. Offer quality information and materials that will be useful to your contacts. When you provide, others will do likewise. 6. Be consistent, but don't overdo it - Don't become the contact who doesn't know when to be quiet. Plan a regular time when you hit the social circuit, but don't bombard people so much that they grow weary of you. The person who comments all day long and does nothing else is spending too much time on the wrong things and they become tiresome (and often ignored). 7. Listen, listen, listen - You can be sure that people do have ideas and they want to express them. It is reasonable to assume you won't agree with everything you hear, but your real purpose is to learn how to provide what others want. 8. Use videos intelligently - If you use videos to interest others, group them in understandable ways so friends and contacts don't have to hunt to find what they want. 9. Have a plan for using your media - You want to be free flowing enough that you don't lose spontaneity, but you also want to have a system of expression so your contacts know when to expect something from you, either in content, pictures, or videos. 10. Promote yourself - You must be subliminal with the message, but you will never realize much from your social circle if you don't attempt to a get a return on your investment. There is a fine line you must tread to comply with each specific network's guidelines. Also, you should build a relationship before you begin to push yourself to the forefront. Take marketing slow and don't overdo it when it comes to social media networking for business.  

2011-11-14T15:56:02+00:00 2011-11-14T15:56:02+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=84 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk When you begin with a strong platform for social networking, you have an edge in that media. Professionally, you can't begin any better than with LinkedIn. Over 100 million members around the world from a wide variety of professions use LinkedIn as a contact network, and they develop an influence through two way communications with other career minded individuals. For Job Seekers and Employers Social media is fast becoming the way businesses solicit and even interview prospective employees. The value of the platform is that whether you are looking for employment or seeking someone to employ, the opportunities are in the same place. Unlike the standard job boards where an intermediary accepts resumes and sends them to likely employers, LinkedIn allows for free information flow between parties interested in one another. That is why the amount of influence you have is directly related to how well you succeed at whatever you attempt to do through the media. Influential People Frequent LinkedIn More people in decision making positions use LinkedIn than any other social media. That means the contacts you make are often those seeking services within your profession. To gain influence on LinkedIn requires giving and assisting others so you are viewed as a contributor. As with any social media, contributions are what build your reputation on LinkedIn. No Boundaries for Contacts The universal appeal of LinkedIn provides a much larger audience to play to within your field of expertise, and strong bonds can be formed with people from other countries as well as your own. Sharing thoughts and ideas encourages others to do the same, which can be a great aid to you in business. Other members may introduce methods that work better than the standard ones you regularly incorporate. Participation is the Key The more time spent providing input on LinkedIn, the more valued you will become in the eyes of the local community as well as the extended one. Opportunities for advancement, enlightenment, and sharing work hand in hand within the LinkedIn framework, and you don't have to be an internet marketing expert to make the experience beneficial. Influence is based more on a steady stream of helpful information, questions, and professional concern than it is a blitz of comments to attract attention. You build a following by listening as much as you speak. You should never be forceful or opinionated to the point of using argumentative and non-professional communication. Accuracy of Information Make certain information or opinions you do give are accurate to the best of your knowledge. FaceBook and other mediums have contributors who often provide untrue and attention getting stories for a moment of glory, but these types of statements will stay with you for a long time and won't influence other members in a positive way. Using LinkedIn is a commitment to providing quality data and building professional relationships with like minded people. You will become more influential with a steady flow of information both to and from others seeking professional relationships on LinkedIn. For more internet expert advice read my other blog posts

2011-09-19T19:35:03+00:00 2011-09-19T19:35:03+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=82 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk Before social networking became popular, you were pretty much on your own when you went to find a product or information on the web. You could type in the keywords and get plenty of results, and from there you could click and click until you got to the exact place you wanted to be. The thing is, sometimes you might surf for hours and never get to a selection that really filled your needs. When we began to have better interconnectivity with our friends, we were able to hear more opinions from people whose judgment we valued, and this shortened some of that search time. This also set the stage for little additions like Google +1. Voiced Opinions from Trusted Sources In Google's words, this service is like "a tip from someone you trust about things you care about." You might liken this to the bookmark feature you have while surfing, only it is much more powerful. When you +1 a product, article, or anything else, you are making it public that you think it is important, interesting, a quality item, or something that others will want to judge for themselves. It simplifies things somewhat because you don't have to stop what you're doing and email someone who might benefit from it. While in your Google account, if you place your cursor over the +1 you will get a tool tip box telling you that by clicking, you will make this a number 1 associated to your email. It will appear as a recommendation in your Google profile. Of course, you are going to make some bonehead decisions about what's important to you and what is not, but never fear, you can remove something from a +1 standing. You can either go back to the same place where you clicked to add it and click again to remove it, or you can delete it from your profile. Google +1 and Business Credibility This is a bit of self-promotion, because you will show as a supporter of anything you plug as a +1. A popular item may get you some good recognition, but one that is not received favorably can get you the wrong kind of attention. From a business standpoint, you want to put the +1 on things that bolster your credibility in the community and add value to the opinion others have of you. You can add some script in your WordPress blog so you can use +1 there, too. Google infers that marking sites or pages +1 will have some affect on search results. According to Google, more and more sites will have their own little button so that they can be added by visitors. While this may not prove to be a defining feature in the future, it is certainly worth your consideration. You can establish a little button right beside FaceBook and Twitter to provide the choice for each of your visitors. Just keep in mind that when you click a +1, you are giving a public opinion of your approval of something, and while that can be beneficial to your business, it can be detrimental as well depending on the circumstances. An SEO Expert will be able to help you here  

2011-09-19T19:36:03+00:00 2011-09-19T19:36:03+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=81 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk Playing on the word "tribe" to give the impression of a banding together within the blogging community, Triberr is making a splash, but is that a good thing or not? The underlying concept of this RSS system is to get more exposure for the small blogger, and that might be a good reason to try it. The scenario is that you can join as many as four tribes. Members of your tribe tweet you, you tweet each of them, and it is all automatic. Triberr controls when you send and receive. A recent feature has been added to allow you to control somewhat the content you tweet, but the main heart of Triberr is the autopilot. Is Triberr Reaching the Right Audience? There is little reason to believe that Triberr doesn't get more exposure for bloggers. The main question is if links are to the right audience. The entire concept of blogging is to put content in front of the people receptive to it. Most dedicated bloggers try to direct and use the content of others based on the goals and direction of their blogs. Is that being jeopardized by allowing someone to control what content is representing the blogger? If you have other bloggers with whom you share material, you probably don't share all their content. As you may have seen from other blogs, not every post has relativity to what the intent of the blog was. People can tend to ramble and go toward some other interest of theirs. So choosing what comments you would like to use is better than a service that blasts every post of someone else out to those who value your opinion. Blog Control and Triberr The value of the blog can become diminished when content is no longer controlled by the blog host. More information is not necessarily better when it becomes information you don't want to get. The internet is full of counter-information already. This is apparent by the number of emails that serve little more purpose other than the use of the time to send them to the wastebasket. Nice Tweet, Short and Sweet The days when recipients were so glad to get correspondence are over. People are more particular about the things they spend their time reading nowadays. They are much more interested in seeing a short tweet that lets them know something about a subject that might stir their interest than in reading an entire article to start with. This is why surfers and regular bloggers find places they are comfortable with so they can devote their reading time to those posts. They don't need to filter through a lot of irrelevant content just to find a few small gems. Whether Triberr maintains popularity or not will have a great deal to do with its ability to develop screening so that bloggers won't be concerned that they are represented in a different light than what they want to be. The more credible bloggers will be tentative in giving up the power of selection to someone who may not understand the purpose of their blogs. Every business is different, and everyone uses social media in many numerous ways, which means while Triberr might be a great resource tool for some, it may not produce the same results for others, any more than social media does. A company needs to set its business objectives and then implement tools and resources that meet those goals.  

2011-09-19T19:36:53+00:00 2011-09-19T19:36:53+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=80 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk Businesses often use social media because it is reported to be a necessity of modern techniques, but they don't always have a good idea of what they are accomplishing by their efforts. It is best to set goals and check back to see how you are doing on any of the social media networks that you use. This is one reason you see the question "How did you hear about us" in almost every form you fill out online. Once you have at least set short-term goals for your business, look into using the following platforms to promote your product/service. FaceBook Often the first network thought about, FaceBook has over 300 million users, so you can't ignore it. When you first sign up, you should try to acquire your company as a user name. This might be better put to a business fan page, which you won't be able to do if you use it for the personal account. Be careful to follow the rules closely with your personal account. Check out how your primary competitors are doing with their FaceBook pages, including the number of fans they have. Take time to review what they have posted and what tools they are utilizing to market themselves. Use similar ideas that you feel will be helpful to your FaceBook presence, but vary some so as not to appear as a copycat. Twitter Unlike FaceBook, with Twitter you should probably go right for an account in your business name. You want to get your business's name before someone else does. Twitter has made it easy to understand what it can do for your business through a guide, but you will find some other good sources such as Mashable's Twitter Guide. Take the time to search for relevant key word phrases that will let you know what is already on Twitter that would be competition to your own business. Look for competitors to see if they are on Twitter, and if they are how they are utilizing it. You can look for your own company to see if any customers are commenting about it, too. Company Blog Reserve a domain name for a future blog if you aren't getting ready to do one immediately. It is better to host your own WordPress blog rather than set it up within the WordPress.com community. You have more control when you host it yourself. A WordPress blog is fairly simple to set up, and there are many ready to load templates available. If you aren't confident that you can manage the blog with your current skills, consider Posterous, a simple blog platform that will allow you to upload videos, photos, stories, comments, and MP3s. Consider the options carefully because you want to get the most from the time you will need to spend on a blog. Managing more than a couple of blogs can dilute the time you have for other business tasks. These are only three of the ways you can get your business name and product out to the masses, but successful campaigns in these areas can have a great deal of impact for your company. Speak to an Internet Marketing Expert for further help.  

2011-09-19T19:38:13+00:00 2011-09-19T19:38:13+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=79 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk Your squeeze page requires a great deal of work to present a finished document that will grab and pull the clients in, but it needs substantial support to get people there to begin with. A great actor can give the best performance of their career in rehearsal, but if they have no audience, who's going to know about it? Here are some pointers and tips on how you can steer the traffic to your squeeze page. 1. Article Marketing - The cornerstone of any campaign is to have interesting content that can get some exposure and back link to your squeeze page. It is the one tactic that every internet marketer will agree works. 2. Blogging - Participating on blogs that have something in common with the services and/or products you are selling is always a good way to invoke interest. You can't expect one blog to do all the work, but several can up your traffic immensely if you furnish good blog content. Creating your own blog is another way to steer comments and keep the readers linking to your squeeze page. 3. Create Other Sites - It is inexpensive to get a domain name and create web pages that offer information that is beneficial to what you are marketing. By placing articles or comments on a regular basis, you let people know the site is active. Don't make the site a sales page; just furnish good information and knowledge that is relevant to your venture. The quality of the site is obviously important to its success and the draw to link to your squeeze page. Consider using Squidoo as a platform because of its name recognition. 4. Social Bookmarking - No one in internet marketing can pass up the social sites because the traffic is already there. FaceBook isn't the only place to make contacts and form groups. Consider others like Digg, StumbleUpon, and Reddit. 5. Give Away - Most marketers offer to give something away free on their squeeze pages, and you should do that too, but that is after prospective clients reach the squeeze page. You can also find quality stuff to give others for free on your other web pages that link to the squeeze page. This builds confidence so they will be more receptive to parting with their email when they land at the squeeze page. 6. Form Relationships - Don't believe for a moment that internet marketers don't use each other. It's a simple concept. If you know someone who is marketing something similar to what you have but different enough that you both have some market share, then help each other. You both have something to gain from this type of joint venture. The more successful or moderately successful marketers you have in your group, the better for all of you. It requires a great deal of work to get people to your squeeze page. Keeping them there long enough to get what you want is an important part of that process. Remember to keep your page short enough so those landing won't get tired and elect to leave. Getting interest is one thing; keeping it is another. Having a call to action means nothing if no one ever acts on it. Most Internet Marketing Consultant you meet will advise on this.  

2011-09-19T19:39:55+00:00 2011-09-19T19:39:55+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=78 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk Digg may not be as well known as FaceBook to most people, but it is a relevant social network that has some advantages for your website or blog. You should first realize that the top users at Digg are the ones calling the shots, and they can allow content or make sure that it is never seen. The largest complaint about Digg is that the site is controlled by such a small percentage of the seven million who access the service per month. Additionally, many users don't like it that only a limited number of sites get the top spots, and the amount of spam bothers them, too. Although Digg does offer some positives, it is difficult to get blog posts to the main page, and much of the traffic generated from Digg has a short lifespan. The primary reason why your posts have a hard time getting to page one is that paying customers get the top users to generate Diggs with content that they want and move it to page one. The powers that be at Digg do not want bloggers submitting their own material. They allow this to some extent, but they will also penalize anyone who does so regularly. Everything is not negative about this social network. It is rated very highly in traffic so it is possible to get some interest in your site when you do things in the right way. If you develop a social group of your own within Digg, you can have those friends submit your content and you can do the same for them. If your blog post gets to page one, you have the potential for heavy volume linking back to your site. Digg is a good place to find helpful and interesting blogs and posts, and this can lead to your networking with others who have the same likes as you. Sharing submissions with each other and making comments makes for a strong connection with those in your network. You expect friends to Digg your post, but they must also Digg others, too. Users are monitored to find if they only Digg one item at a time. This is a tactic of spammers who are paid to Digg specific content or stories. You and your friends will appear to be spammers if you don't Digg some of the stories on page one or other locations. If you are to be successful, you will need to be active on Digg. The more Diggs you do, the more you will be noticed by users. Make sure to submit content on breaking news items that will give you a better chance to hit page one. The more interest you generate for yourself, the more people will eventually end up on your blog. This should be a key part of your internet marketing strategy What Digg really represents is a spoke in the wheel of your social network. It has its place, but it isn't the only thing making the carriage roll.  

2011-09-19T19:41:58+00:00 2011-09-19T19:41:58+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=77 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk A few years back, pay per click was the choice of companies vying for a large share of the market in its classification. Popular brands are still heavily into PPC because location is everything in internet business the same as it is for retail brick and mortar stores. What transpired to cast a shadow on pay per click was the rampant click fraud that ensued from its use. Google AdWords is the top PPC on the internet, as you might well guess, but it is certainly not the only service out there. Any PPC service you consider should be researched completely before you invest your money. So, why should you consider PPC in the first place? Here are the top reasons why others have gone this route: Fast Response - Site traffic results can often be seen almost immediately when your ads appear in the proper places. Increased Traffic - A campaign can produce many potential clients. The Right Traffic - Because you specify the keywords used in your campaign, only the people searching for what you are offering (targeted prospects) will be visiting your site. Obviously, you will make more sales to shoppers interested in your product. Control the Cost - You call the shots as to how much you will spend per day on pay per click and how much you are willing to pay for each click. Starting with a low daily amount is best for testing the waters. If you decide to try another service other than Google AdWords, you may find your results are comparable or even better. There are many factors that will influence both how well your campaign works and how expensive it is. Listed below are some companies that offer PPC advertising: * Google AdWords * Microsoft Ad Centre * Adbrite * Yahoo Publisher Network * Chitika * Obeus Here are some things to be aware of regarding pay per click: 1. Pick the Right Keywords - You may find that the words you consider the most searched for are not the ones that will bring the most results. Most of the PPC services have simple html code to place on your site that will track which phrases bring the most traffic. All you do is adjust accordingly. 2. Categorize Keywords - Depending on the size of your campaign, you may have a great many keyword phrases. You will get more traffic if you categorize and place like keyword phrases in one ad campaign and make different ads for each category. 3. Competition in Keywords - The competition for share may be hotter under one PPC service than it is for another. This is harder to pinpoint unless ads are running under two companies at the same time. 4. Ad Positioning - Everyone wants to be on the first page of a search and at the top of the list. It costs more money to do this because that position is based on who will pay the most. You will have to weigh your options based on your budget. 5. Target Your Countries - Don't waste money running English ads in countries where only a small percentage of the people will be able to read them. A small pay per click campaign may prove to be all that you need, but be prepared to adjust based on the results of sales and the traffic generated by your service company. Hire an Internet Marketing Expert to help you plan this.  

2011-09-19T19:43:26+00:00 2011-09-19T19:43:26+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=76 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk Quality unique content is what every legitimate and knowledgeable internet marketer seeks to post on their websites, blogs, and in their articles. You only have to do a quick look to see that there are many people placing content on servers that shouldn't be. It's a sure way to ruin a reputation. Writing requires talent, not just the ability to punch letter keys on a keyboard. Many fine writers do exist, and they spend long hours researching and putting together information that they want to use to promote their sites or those of their freelance clients. Content Scrapers - A Separate Breed of Internet Marketer Another breed of internet marketer thinks it is better to steal the content that others have spent the time and energy to create and use it for their own gain. They feel they are beyond the law when they cut and paste the results of the hard work that belongs to others. The excuses offered when they are caught are about as creative as these people ever get. It is understandable why content scraping is so popular. A gifted writer has plenty of copy out there usually, and it is so simple to snag it and paste it somewhere else. It is no different than a thief who steals money. It's morally wrong, but thieves have a way of justifying what they do. Blog Content via Back Linking Blogs need a great deal of content to keep them going. Even talented bloggers try to find other content to use besides their own. Of course, they go about it the legal way by asking permission and offering back linking. That's the way the system is supposed to work, but it doesn't take as long to steal as it does to seek permission. A Weakness in the Search Engine System I was reading where one author had been plagiarized from his blog and the material had been pasted on three other blogs. When he searched for the article title on Google, the copied version ranked higher than his original. Adding to the insult, the copied articles hot linked back to the owner's blog for images so they were stealing from both his resources and bandwidth. Of course, it is no problem to get the stolen content taken down. It is an easy process to find which came first, at least for now. But it shouldn't be there in the FIRST place. Internet etiquette says to email the thief and ask nicely that the content be removed, which is saying that you should beg (politely!) for your own material from the person who stole it! The Lamest Excuses Content thieves can be arrogant and may wiggle a great deal before they give in and remove what they stole. Many offer lame excuses such as someone who was employed by them must have done the dirty deed, or they didn't know it was there, or they have no clue how it got there. If it happens to you, never fall for these excuses. They knew it was yours all along. Some thieves attempt to change a little of the content so it is not so easy to catch, but Copyscape is hard to fool. Altering the title or rearranging a few words doesn't make your material undetectable as a copy. Even a poor job of spinning content can be seen for what it is. Has someone stolen your content? There are steps you can take, so don't sit idly by while thieves profit from your hard work and business investment. Here are two helpful web pages to help you respond to plagiarism and content scrapers:   http://copyscape.com/resources.php http://copyscape.com/respond.php What you publish should be your own or it should give credit to whom it belongs, and there aren't any gray lines about content scraping. It is stealing, pure and simple. Hopefully in the near future, advanced preventative measures will be introduced to bring online thievery to an end or at least make it more difficult to do. Algorithms become more advanced all the time, and eventually the search engines will find a way to do justice to the legitimate internet marketers and harshly penalize scrapers and content thieves.

2011-09-20T08:28:55+00:00 2011-09-20T08:28:55+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=75 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk The presence we create on the internet should follow some decorum that is respectful of other people. Too often, internet marketers forget the simple teachings of "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." Some of the kindergarten wisdom from Robert Fulghum includes: * Play fair. * Don't hit people. * Clean up your own mess. * Don't take things that aren't yours. * Say you're sorry when you hurt someone. * Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some. Many people behave on the web the same way they do in public (and the way they behaved/misbehaved in kindergarten). Think of the person in the group that is always loud and offensive. He/she is never difficult to identify, and it is usually the desire of the majority to remain separated from them to avoid there being an assumed association. In social media marketing, take on the mindset you are going to be involved in it for the long haul if you have an online business; it makes it much more important to put your best face on each day. Most of the get-rich-quick schemes have already been tried and subsequently have failed. You will need to work with others continuously to be successful. FaceBook can be a profitable lead generator, but you cannot run a personal page as a business, at least not at this time. You must interact as an individual and not a business entity. These are some of the primary things you should or should not do if you hope to get the most from your FaceBook page. The Don'ts 1. Don't bombard your contacts with too many emails. This doesn't make you important in their eyes. It makes you appear overly eager and pushy. Instead, have a regular time to send your messages allowing some time in between. 2. Don't post irrelevant links on your friends' walls that have nothing to do with anything except making a sale. It's fine if it is relevant to something that may be of interest to them but outright pitch isn't looked on favorably. 3. Don't invite everyone to be a fan. You won't get leads from everyone, so check out the possibilities and make decisions based on how good a fit there is regarding services offered and potential client need. 4. Don't sell; listen. Everyone wants to say something, and you will find more leads by listening rather than talking. The Dos 1. Do join groups that are relevant to your business venture and personal likes. Contribute useful things to the group and build contacts. 2. Do have a fan page that is based on friendly social interaction. 3. Do put forth an image that is professional, not cute and/or juvenile. 4. Do find ways to create enthusiasm and keep your fans and friends interested in your FaceBook page. Always recognize FaceBook for what it is; it's a personal space for people to interact with one another. Be interesting in what you say and never pressure friends or fans to do anything. There are many tools such as polls, photos, discussion boards, and more that will give you the opportunity to create awareness of products or services without directly soliciting. If you always give value to your friends and fans, the leads will come. If you talk too much about the same subject or pitch sales excessively, you will turn people away. One last thing; don't be tempted to spend all your time on FaceBook. You need to market your business in many other ways, too. Now, go out into the internet marketing world and remember: play fair, don't hit people, and don't take things that aren't yours.

2011-09-19T19:44:37+00:00 2011-09-19T19:44:37+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=74 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk Seems like every business has a blog these days, but all blogs are not created equal. Even the most dedicated blog owner religiously making posts gains nothing if no one is visiting and/or commenting. How does a business owner increase their blog popularity so their efforts are not all in vain? Proven Ways to Increase Your Blog's Popularity 1. Give something away. It doesn't have to be a widescreen television or anything so elaborate, but make it something worth wanting. Initiate a contest with the giveaway as the prize to attract interest. If you do hold a contest, be sure to have a start and end date, and post a winner. Follow through; otherwise it is considered fraudulent. 2. Reward loyal visitors and top commentators. Again, the reward need not be costly; just a way to let your blog fans know they are appreciated. 3. Have opinion polls. Blog visitors enjoy putting in their two cents worth, so give them a reason to participate. The topic of the poll should be related to the theme of your blog. 4. Offer a weekly or bi-weekly newsletter. It doesn't have to be lengthy but it does need to contain interesting content that will attract reader interest. Be consistent with its delivery. 5. Post videos; blog visitors love visual content. This does not mean to forego all written text and substitute with only video. A blog looks empty when it contains little or no text, plus search engines frown on sites with no textual content. 6. A controversy, similar to an opinion poll, can be a good draw as long as it doesn't get out of hand; there are lines that must not be crossed. A good healthy discussion on a controversial topic, however, attracts many readers and sometimes draws people into commenting who aren't usually blog participants. 7. Ask questions of your readers. At the end of a post, invite comments by asking, "What do you think?" Keep in mind when they tell you what they think, you did ask. You may not agree with every comment received, but as noted in item 6 above, controversy draws attention. Any sensible blog owner knows that its reader base is not going to agree with everything they say 100% of the time; if they did what a boring blog that would be. 8. Brand your blog. A unique logo helps visitors identify with your blog and after repeat visits it becomes a permanent association. A catch phrase is another good method of blog branding. 9. Share links; when you are willing to show "link love" to your visitors, it will be returned to you. This doesn't mean every trackback should be accepted as a link; you must selectively choose links because there are many spammers out there that devalue the links. Always research where a link is going and what the destination contains before approving it. These are just a few of the ways to increase your blog's popularity. You want a blog people actually want to read and tell others about. So post regularly, keep it interesting, and be creative in how you catch and hold the interest of your readers. Your internet marketing strategy needs to consider all

2011-09-19T19:45:24+00:00 2011-09-19T19:45:24+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=73 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk There are different ways to approach article marketing, and every business needs to evaluate what they hope to get out of what they put into their article marketing efforts. Some are just in it for the backlinks, while others seek to add quality content to their websites, and some have a well rounded plan designed to accomplish multiple goals. If a business is going to invest the time and effort to create articles to promote their site, they should consider all the ways they can maximize the effect of the articles. Early in 2011, article directory "giant" Ezine Articles took a hard slap to their rankings as a result of algorithm changes in Google's Panda update. Ezine responded quickly in an effort to adapt and regain their lost footing, and this caused reactionary changes to their editorial guidelines. Some of the changes were: * Increase of minimum article word count from 250 to 400. Well content is king, after all, so a 250 word "blurb" won't cut it at Ezine Articles anymore. * Longer article review time so editors can focus on spelling, grammar, and punctuation; the article rejection rate will increase in an effort to demand higher quality submissions. * Decrease in allotted submissions (25 to 10) at the basic membership level; if a writer does not earn Platinum after those initial 10, they go to Basic Plus with 10 more submissions. Failure to improve, learn, and develop based on the feedback provided will result in account suspension (no more submissions allowed). Ezine's quality has been compromised over time due to some of the less than acceptable material it allowed to pass through, much of which was targeted for the backlink value only. Everyone suspected the piper (Google) would have to be "paid" at some point. Hopefully the changes Ezine has made will improve the directory's reputation and help it regain its ranking position. In article marketing, multiple goals can be accomplished with all content that is created and posted on the web. It is better to write one good article and take 3 days to do it right than to take one day to write 3 articles that sacrifice some of their success potential. Think in terms of these simple "3's." 1. Don't add fluff and/or off subject content to stretch an article into Ezine's minimum word count. If it is a subject worth writing about, there are 400 words to say about it. If you don't have 400 words, rethink the topic and/or do more research. 2. Don't write lousy content just for the backlinks. Your articles should not just drive traffic; they should also build your reputation and get your brand out there and noticed (in a positive way). If you don't deliver what the traffic came there for (useful content and information), your visitors will leave. They'll also feel cheated, and the impression made will be that you don't care about the customer, just your precious backlinks, which have now served to do what? Drive the traffic away? 3. Writing takes time; research takes time. You are running a business; that means it requires work. The time worn statements about making huge profits on the internet while doing absolutely nothing are pure hype. Also proof your work carefully; it is a reflection of your business. Error riddled content will a) get rejected; b) appear as you don't care; c) make you appear illiterate and/or lazy. In article marketing, you won't get more out of it than you put in. This method of promoting a business isn't going anywhere; that is because it works, but only if it is done right.  

2011-09-19T19:47:00+00:00 2011-09-19T19:47:00+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=72 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk For website marketing, you've heard that external links to your website are good, and this is true in part. There are important things to consider about link building, and knowing what these are will help website owners market their content more effectively. Organic Link Building - What Is It? An organic link is a link from another website, social media website, or blog that is placed on the site without requesting the owner to place it there. Because you provided some great content that they thought would be useful for their readers, they chose to link to it. In order to receive organic links, you need to keep your content current and add high quality unique information on a regular basis. Benefits of Organic Links So how do organic links actually help your website? Here are some of the advantages: * They promote your popularity and expertise in a particular niche * Organic links from trustworthy sites in time help identify yours as a trusted site also * Organic links steer targeted traffic to your website * Search bots follow organic links; links found on sites related in topic to yours result in a positive vote by the bots for your website Link Quality Here is where many online marketers make a mistake; they think all links are good links, but that is a fallacy. The power of the links lies in where they are coming from; are they from reputable and trustworthy websites? The more links you have from trusted and reputable sources, the greater value and power the link carries for your site's importance in the search engines. On the flip side of the coin, however, links generated from link farms or link schemes labeled as "bad neighborhoods" by the search engines can actually have a negative effect on your ranking. Community Participation A good way to get links is to participate in forums and on blogs that are relative to your site's theme or niche. One good strategy is to establish yourself as an authority in your niche. This can be done by submitting instructional or how to content, or little known facts about your theme topics. Offering expert advice indicates you know your subject well, and that will lead to the creation of back links that will increase your website's popularity. Link Building Ideas Here are some ideas you might consider when it comes to ways to build links to your website: * Provide unique quality content that your targeted visitors will benefit from * Participate in theme related forums and online communities * Show your niche expertise with advice, videos, instructional articles, and how to content * Have a blog and keep it up to date * Offer unique and useful products and/or services relative to your niche theme No Quick Strategy There is no doubt about it; organic link building takes time. It should be an ongoing part of your website marketing strategy, and is not to be considered a one time activity you accomplish in a single day. You will not see instant results when you start link building. If you stay with it and do it properly, however, when you do start to realize the benefits and the results, you will see it is all worth the effort you put into it.  

2011-09-19T19:46:10+00:00 2011-09-19T19:46:10+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=71 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk It is no secret that in order to be successful online, you need a good solid SEO ranking. The best search engine optimization strategy is to create sites that are search engine friendly. So how do you go about doing that? Here are a few tips and guidelines to help you design a Google friendly website. Coding Accuracy and ALT Tags Check all HTML coding for accuracy, and make certain that all URL links work. The Google crawler does not recognize the text in your images, so it is important to take advantage of the ALT attributes, adding descriptive and relevant information. It is also recommended to offer visitors a site map containing links that take them to the various important areas of your website. Search Phrases and Keyword Density Take time when writing website content so that it contains keywords and search phrases users would enter to find your site's pages. Don't overdo it with overuse of keywords; a good rule of thumb is 1-1.5% keyword density. The keywords need to be relevant to the site's theme or topic, not irrelevant words used in an attempt to deceive users into visiting your site. Web Browser Compatibility Not everyone uses the same web browser, so it is important to check your website to make sure it appears as it should in as many different browsers as possible. It is not uncommon to have a site display fine in Mozilla Firefox and have issues in Internet Explorer or vice versa. Deceptive Tactics Do not implement tactics that are deceptive or intended to manipulate visitor behavior. Google favors site designs that provide an enhanced user experience rather than attempting to deceive and trick visitors. Visitor Site Design It is good practice to design site content for visitors, not the search engines. The same content your visitors see should be the same content the spiders crawl. For example, do not add large blocks of invisible text on site pages using the same font color as the site's background. Relevant, Useful, and Duplicate Content Don't skimp on content, and this means useful, beneficial, and relevant content. A web page selling an affiliate or other product should offer value to the site visitor in the way of content. The content should be unique and relevant to the topic or site theme. Don't place duplicate content on your website. If you are selling an affiliate product, for example, don't just cut and paste the information from the source site. Another bad strategy is to place duplicate content on more than one page on your site, and this includes placing it in other domains or sub-domains. Redirects and Link Schemes Avoid using tricky site redirects, cloaking techniques, and hidden URL links. Doorway pages are another no-no if you want to create a Google friendly site. Link schemes are another strategy to avoid. If your website contains links to what Google considers bad neighborhoods, it may negatively affect your website ranking. You do want other websites to link to you, but they should be natural links from websites that consider your web content valuable and of benefit to their users. Natural links will improve the ranking and indexing of your website with Google. In Summary A thought to keep in mind when implementing search engine optimization is if it seems to be tricky, malicious, sneaky, or deceptive, it most likely is. If you are not sure, you will find an abundance of useful information at Google in their section entitled "Webmaster Tools Help." * Stick to writing unique high quality content * Avoid overuse of keywords - stick to around 1-1.5% keyword density * Implement a plan to get more natural links to your web content Make it your design goal to create a Google friendly site early on, and it will definitely pay off in the long run. A good SEO Consultant can advise on these matters.  

2011-09-19T19:47:41+00:00 2011-09-19T19:47:41+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=70 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk More businesses are coming to realize the power of blogging and how it can help promote their products and/or services. When creating a blogging strategy or internet marketing strategy for your business, there are a few important key points to keep in mind. Blogging Strategy Tips 1. Blog Regularly - When you have regular followers on your blog, they are going to look for new posts on a regular basis. They chose to follow your blog because they were interested in the content it contained, and if you stop adding new content, they will lose interest. Set aside a block of time each week to create blog content, or hire a freelance writer to create blog content for you. 2. Catchy Titles - Successful bloggers know that an eye catching headline on a blog post draws readers in. The title should attract the reader to want to read the content, and the post needs to provide them with something useful and beneficial. Of course, the title should also not be misleading; the blog post should deliver on what is promised in the title. Take adequate time when creating blog headlines so readers will flock to read your posts. 3. Visual Appeal - It is not always possible to include videos or photos on every blog post, but visuals should be used periodically. For example, if you are writing a recipe post, include a picture of the dish. Readers like pictures, especially if posts are of a how to or instructional nature. 4. Don't Digress - Stay on the blog post topic. If you start wandering off to another topic, it will confuse readers. They are reading the post because of what the title promised, so don't mislead them onto another subject. Besides, the off topic material may be just what you need for another blog post idea. 5. The Right Length - If you want to keep the reader's attention, make the content interesting and provide useful information. There is no set length a blog post has to be, but it should be long enough to provide what is promised in the headline and short enough that the reader will read through to the end. A good rule of thumb is 250 - 400 words. 6. Format the Posts - A quality blog will be well laid out and post content will be readable and easy for the reader to skim. Use sub-headers, bullet points, short paragraphs, and bolded text where appropriate to call attention to key points. 7. Edit for Errors - The quality of the content reflects on the blog owner, so proofread content prior to posting it. Blog posts full of grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors are difficult to read and give a sloppy impression. A blog writer is basically an "authority" on a topic, and you don't appear very authoritative if you don't care enough about your work to check it for errors. 8. Invite Opinion - It is fine to express your opinion in your blog posts, but don't expect everyone who comments to agree with you. A well written blog post invites commentary, and that includes comments both "for" and "against" a topic. This does not always apply depending on the nature of the blog, but if it does, don't take differing opinion comments personally.  

2011-09-19T19:48:57+00:00 2011-09-19T19:48:57+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=69 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk If you are even moderately familiar with SEO, you have most likely heard the terms black hat and white hat regarding search engine optimisation techniques. These are used to describe the strategies web designers and business owners use to attract traffic to their online content. Black hat, as you might have guessed, is the "bad guy" way to try to attract visitors, and although some people have had some measure of success with a few black hat strategies, the search engine algorithms are updated all the time to reflect their disfavor of these techniques. Some black hat strategies include: * keyword stuffing - overuse of keywords in attempts to rank higher for them in the search engines * hidden or invisible text in the page content - text is added in the content in a color that matches the site background so search engines "see" it but site visitors do not; typically the text consists of excessive keywords * doorway pages - these are intended to trick the engines into giving a site a higher rank; spiders can see the pages, but site visitors cannot Other black hat strategies include 301 redirects, link cloaking, duplicate content, link farms, false news releases, blog comment spam, misleading headlines, and invisible links. Disadvantages of Black Hat Strategies * Surfers find it very irritating to type in a specific keyword or search phrase and get directed to pages of content or other links that have absolutely nothing to do with what they are seeking and provide basically useless content. * Search engines are smart and growing smarter every day; eventually they'll spot the black hat content and eliminate it from the search results. At one time, the slap on the wrist was a decrease in page rank; it is becoming increasingly more the case of websites being banned and permanently eliminated from search engine results. * How a business markets themselves has a lot to do with how they are viewed by potential customers; using black hat strategies to try and "fool" prospects is not a very positive brand builder. Actually it is a huge turn off to the majority of people. There is also a middle of the road technique that falls somewhere between white and black hat techniques known as "grey" hat marketing. Site developers and owners who implement grey strategies don't take as great a risk as the black hatters, but they do stray away from the white hat methods by breaking a few rules here and there such as using a higher keyword density than normal but not so high as to get flagged for black hat keyword stuffing. Site owners using gray hat methods might escape having their sites banned, but even so, if caught by the search engine spiders there are usually associated penalties such as decreased page rank. The black and grey hat strategies most always only work temporarily anyway, if at all, so the best search engine optimisation plan is simply to start out using white hat strategies and stay with them. It builds trust between your business and the search engines, and a favorable business reputation with the internet surfing public. Hire an SEO consultant so you ensure you say on the right side of the line

2011-07-19T19:54:26+00:00 2011-07-19T19:54:26+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=68 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk There are many ways to market a business; some methods are free and some require monetary investment. Most anyone who has been doing business online for any length of time has heard the term PPC or pay-per-click. So what are the advantages and disadvantages of pay per click advertising? Advantages Pay Per Click - Just as the name implies, the pay is per click, not per ad view or impression. You only pay when a prospects clicks on the ad and is directed to your website. This means that even though many do not click on your ad, you still have advertising exposure to a large number of people that you do not have to pay for. Targeted Traffic - A great benefit of pay-per-click is that it is search term based. This means a large portion of the traffic that views your ad is interested in your product or service, which equates to more targeted traffic to your website and a higher chance of converting prospects into buying customers. Quick Rewards - Unlike some other marketing techniques that take time to have any effect, pay per click ads are displayed immediately after they are set up. Article marketing and website content can take weeks or months to produce any results, but PPC goes to work right away. Disadvantages Bidding Competition - PPC advertising requires that you bid on the keywords you want to target in your campaign. This is fine until one of your competitors bids a higher amount than your bid, which pushes your campaign results to a lower position. To move your position up again, you will have to in turn outbid them which can turn into an expensive campaign, especially if you are targeting popular search terms and keywords. Bigger Budgets Better Campaigns - How successful a campaign is depends on several factors, such as how competitive the keywords are and how big a budget a business has for PPC. Larger companies usually have the advantage because they have the funds available to outbid the smaller budget companies and dominate important search phrases and keywords. Inexperience Hurts - Anything new has a learning curve, and this includes pay per click advertising. Setting up the ads initially is a simple process, but it may take some time to strategize and know what works best for a particular campaign. Depending on how long this takes, the education and experience can be quite costly and possibly not even produce very good results. Is Pay Per Click Worth It? It depends on how you use it. It is essential to target the right keywords in order to obtain targeted traffic. It is also important to research and learn about PPC strategies up front, before investing a lot of money into a campaign. It is simple to set up ads, and PPC does produce fast results. Monitoring and tracking results is also important, and you don't want to spend more on a pay per click campaign than you make as a result of it. PPC can be a very successful advertising method and bring a business a lot of profit if it is set up and managed properly.

2011-07-17T18:24:03+00:00 2011-07-17T18:24:03+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=67 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk Wise business owners have realized the marketing power possible using social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you want to find the same success highly profitable online entrepreneurs are enjoying, you need to invest more of your time on the LinkedIn website. Many business owners utilize multiple social networking sites in the marketing strategy, and that is fine to keep all the bases covered. LinkedIn is, however, a website you want to pay special attention to if you are serious about promoting your business. Market Your Business Using LinkedIn Groups One way to get true results marketing your business using LinkedIn is by creating LinkedIn groups. This is a great way to generate leads, and not just any leads. Using LinkedIn groups to generate leads steers you toward prospects who are company decision makers. It is important to keep in mind when creating a group that you want to generate targeted leads, which means your group needs to meet a need of the audience in your industry. Here are some tips to use when creating LinkedIn groups to generate leads: 1. Stay in touch with group members on a weekly basis. A routinely sent value added message will drive group member traffic to your website. 2. Connect group members who might benefit by doing business with one another. 3. Add an RSS feed of your blog to the group news section so that every group member is aware of new article postings. 4. Make your group easier to find in Google by placing relevant keywords in the title. 5. Increase your LinkedIn search engine ranking by adding relevant keywords to the group description. 6. Be sure to include the link to your website in the group profile. 7. Create discussions and include a link to your website. Take Advantage of LinkedIn's Target Market Search There is an advanced search feature in LinkedIn to help you drill down specifics to find the exact target market you are after. You can access this feature by clicking on the "advanced" link next to the search entry box on the home page. You can search by company, title, school, industry, keywords, location, and more. Auto Responder Sales Funnel Every time someone joins one of your groups, you don't want to have to manually send out a welcome message as that would be very time intensive. Group managers can instead take advantage of LinkedIn's welcome message feature. When a new member joins, an automatic message can be sent to their email address. This feature allows you to automate contact and inform new members where they can find more useful information and telling them more about how the group might be of benefit to them. You can also generate more sales by prompting members to opt in to your newsletter and connect with you on more social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. If you are not using LinkedIn to promote your business, you are missing out on a great lead generating opportunity. There are both free and paid accounts, with the paid option offering more features, but either way you should make LinkedIn a part of your online marketing strategy.  

2011-07-16T09:19:37+00:00 2011-07-16T09:19:37+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=66 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk Social media has become a key element in any well thought out marketing strategy. The growth of social media networking sites and membership participation has been phenomenal, and it does not appear that the growth will subside anytime soon. Social media networking is here to stay, for a while anyway, and for any online entrepreneur to succeed, they'll have to explore and research to discover ways to fit it into their marketing scheme. Social Media Automation There are some so called "purists" who think any type of automation regarding social media is bad. However, there is nothing wrong with social media automation if it is done properly and it can save you lots of time. HootSuite is a tool that works within your web browser, and many people use it for automating social media. This tool is useful for scheduling tweets, creating keyword and list streams, monitoring Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, and much more. HootSuite offers statistics so you can monitor trackbacks and click throughs right from the dashboard. HootSuite Streams The keyword and list streams are two important features of HootSuite that many business owners swear by. A keyword stream allows you to view tweets people make on specific keywords. The tweets include comments made by people you may or may not already be following. For example, let's say you sell designer cell phone covers, so you would set up a keyword stream for that keyword, "designer phone covers" or "phone covers." Then you follow the stream, and you come across a tweet someone made who is looking for phone covers. This is an opportunity to reply to a sales prospect and tell them about your cell phone covers in a tweet comment. You do not have to actively monitor Twitter either. You can check the keyword stream when it is convenient for you and reply to tweets as you have time. Another feature of HootSuite is the list stream, which allows you to keep up with your important Twitter contacts. You can easily import your Twitter lists into HootSuite, and see them in easy to view columns. It also offers drag and drop functionality. You can organize people into groups, including both those you are following and those you aren't. You can then view the tweets these people make in the tweet stream on the list's page. RSS Feeds You can also feed content from your blog to your streams in HootSuite using RSS integration. Updated blog content can be sent to multiple social media accounts; however, there is a limit to the number of RSS feeds that can be created in the standard account so many people choose to use an RSS mixing service to combine the feeds. At the present time, HootSuite is free to use for the standard account which includes 5 social networking profiles and 2 RSS feeds. The free account is ad supported so you will see ads when logged in. They offer a pro account for $5.99 a month which includes unlimited social profiles, unlimited RSS feeds, and enhanced analytics. The pro account also integrates with Google Analytics and Facebook Insights and it is advertisement free. HootSuite is very simple to use and can save you a great deal of time in your social media marketing campaign.  

2011-07-14T17:24:37+00:00 2011-07-14T17:24:37+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=65 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk Experienced internet marketers know what a squeeze page is, and if not, it is high time they did. Part of any successful online marketing strategy should include a well written squeeze page. Hand in hand with squeeze pages goes list building, and both are very important components in the world of online publishing. What Is a Squeeze Page? Squeeze pages are web pages where visitors can provide contact information as in their name and email address in exchange for something useful or beneficial to them. Common types of giveaways include free eBooks, brochures, or information on a topic of interest to the visitor. When the visitor provides you with their contact information, they are "opting" into your list. Squeeze Page Technique There are some variations on how a squeeze page is laid out and designed, and much of this is a matter of preference, but many entrepreneurs are adamant about one thing in particular. The squeeze page has one primary focus, and that is to get visitors to opt in to your mailing list. Until they complete that task, there is nothing else for them to do on that page or on your website. Site access anywhere else is not granted until the visitor has provided their contact information. Auto Responders When you build and launch a squeeze page, you want to have an auto responder already set up and pre-loaded with carefully crafted email messages that will be sent out to your list members automatically. The squeeze page simply gets you the contact information from the site visitor. The salesmanship of a product or service to the prospect follows afterwards. If you have only the squeeze page set up but no automated emails to go out to your new list members, you have only completed half of the marketing process. Squeeze Page Focus Unfortunately, many internet marketers don't spend enough time on their squeeze pages, under the impression the squeeze page isn't really doing any marketing, it is just attempting to retrieve visitor contact information. This is the wrong approach. The squeeze page must capture the audience's focus and let the prospects know what your list is going to do for them. If it does not capture their interest to fill a desire or need they have, they will click away from the page. The content should be interesting and build trust. It should also be to the point quickly and not drag on with a long worded overdone sales pitch. Sufficient time should be spent on the content; it should not be hashed out in mere minutes without much forethought or research. The attention of the visitor must be captured quickly; otherwise they'll become bored and leave. Clearly state what you are offering to them, define what you have that can help them. Most importantly, follow the proper auto responder guidelines. You do not want to be labeled a spammer. Allowing prospects to opt in, and double opt in is even better, builds much more trust in your company and that will pay off to your advantage in the long run.  

2011-07-07T19:40:34+00:00 2011-07-07T19:40:34+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=64 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk When it comes to driving targeted traffic to your website, a key element in your strategy should be that of using the right keywords. You'd be surprised how many experienced online marketers don't spend a sufficient amount of time doing keyword research. Here are a few important things to know when it comes to doing keyword research for your website marketing plan. Targeted Traffic You hear this word all the time and may not stop and give a lot of thought to what it means. In order to be successful at sales, the product or service you offer has to be "targeted" to the right market. For example, it is doubtful you will sell cat food and cat accessories to someone who does not own a cat. You can have 100's or even 1000's of visitors to your website every day, but if they have no interest in what you are selling, it is all for naught. You do want traffic and lots of it, but it needs to be "targeted" traffic. This is where keyword research comes in. You need to research to find the keywords that will attract prospects actually searching for what you sell. Competitor Comparison One good place to start your keyword research is by looking at your competition. Find the companies that rank highest in the search engines for what you sell. What keywords are they using? This is a great basis for further research; here's why. Many of the high ranking businesses pay a great deal of money to hold those top search engine spots. Trying to rank for a very common keyword phrase can be not only difficult but costly. Starting with those short and generic keyword phrases, find long tail versions of them that get a good number of searches each month but are not so heavily competitive. The Google keyword tool is a great place to start with this deeper level research. You can view how many searches keywords get each month along with an idea of the competition for those words/phrases. Website Optimization Your website needs content, and lots of it. New content should be added on a regular basis and contain the keywords you are targeting. The search engines are adapting all the time and the days of writing senseless content using the same keyword over and over will soon be a thing of the past. The engines favor meaningful content without overuse or abuse of keywords. Offsite Linking In addition to adding new content to your website, it is important to build links to your website from other sources. These sources can include article directories, blogs, and forums just to name a few. The source of the link does carry some weight. For example, linking to or from a link farm is a good way to have your Page Rank lowered by the search engines. Take notice of the Page Rank of a website before you link to or from it. Try to stick with higher value sites in your linking strategy. Keep in mind that a website may be new and not have had time to earn a Page Rank yet. You just have to use your best judgment when it comes to choosing your link building sources. Use keywords as your link text and link to relevant website pages for the best results. Also, don't always link to the same page of your website. It is important to link to different pages instead of the main or same page every time.  

2011-07-07T16:46:51+00:00 2011-07-07T16:46:51+00:00 http://www.leegilbert.co.uk/blog-details.php?a_id=63 Lee Gilbert http://leeglbert.co.uk Most any business that is involved online is aware of the concept of email marketing. It is easy to view a marketing strategy as one intended to draw in new customers. However, highly successful entrepreneurs know it is much more than that. Not only is it important to constantly try to gain new prospects and convert them into buyers, it is also essential to continue to sell to your existing customer base. A successful email marketing campaign will include both new and existing customers. An example of this is a business that has an actual storefront, a brick and mortar location where people come to shop. A prospect comes in, who is not yet a customer because he has not purchased anything, and is very interested in a specific product. A properly trained salesperson will approach the prospect with a goal in mind to obtain contact information (email address). In exchange, the prospect is offered a printed brochure and detailed information on the product being considered. When the prospect leaves the store, the salesperson enters the contact information into the email marketing system. An email is automatically generated and sent to the prospect, thanking them for visiting the store. Another follow up email might include a special offer or coupon on the product they were thinking of purchasing. This process of follow up email marketing to the prospect might be the very motivation that brings this prospect back to your specific business to make the purchase as opposed to visiting one of your competitors. There is also the marketing strategy of selling to existing customers. Even though they have not visited the store recently, follow up emails might notify them of new products that have recently arrived, upcoming sales and specials, or upgrades or updated replacements for products they already own. To get the best results out of an email marketing campaign, it is important to target both prospective and existing customers. This approach will bring the best results. Many businesses have an email marketing list, but they don't have a campaign or system in place to use the list to its fullest potential. A list that is not being used for marketing purposes is nothing more than just, well, a list that is not producing anything. There are still other companies that aren't taking any action toward building an email marketing list. Either way, a lot of potential revenue is being lost if both prospects and existing customers are not being marketed to on a regular basis. An important thing to note about email marketing; it can be overdone. You don't want to bombard your list members with constant annoying email messages that prompt them to opt out of your list. The strategy is to space the emails apart so they don't resemble spam or overload their mailbox constantly with messages. Make the messages count. Structure them to offer the recipient something they consider useful. Free coupons and discounts are a great sales strategy for email marketing because the recipient feels the message is providing them with something of value. This builds trust in your brand and your business. Definitely use email marketing to increase sales and promote your business, but also be certain to use it wisely.