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Increase Your Alexa Ranking with These Proven Methods! 2006-10-23 00:02:00
By Michael Fleischner
After spending two years building my own website (MarketingScoop), I was very disappointed that my Alexa
ranking was still higher than one million. Alexa ranks each website based on the number of visitors it receives. The top ranked website, Yahoo! has an Alexa rating of 1 or 2. Less popular sites could be ranked up to 5,000,000.
In order to improve my Alexa rating, I spent about three weeks combing the web to find tips, secrets, and proven strategies for increasing my Alexa ranking. Unfortunately, many of the sites offering advice didn't even have a high ranking themselves. Finally I discovered a number of sites ranked within the top 100,000 that were all applying the same "Alexa techniques" to improve their ranking. I've begun implementing a number of these techniques and have improved my Alexa ranking by 250,000 spots in just one week.
Here's what you need to know. The basis for many of these techniques is the fact that your Alexa ranking is based re Read more:Ranking
, Proven
, Methods
How To Skyrocket Your Website To The Top Of Google With Properly Planned Offpage Optimization! 2006-10-19 18:11:00 From Brad Callen
I don't know about you, but I get extremely excited when I see my new websites at the top of Google
for the very first time. Making big changes in ranking is primarily done by what is called offpage optimization.
Earlier I mentioned there were two types of search engine optimization.
Onpage Optimization
Offpage Optimization
We've gone over the onpage optimization, so let's move on to the offpage optimization which is what really makes a difference in your site's ranking.
Important: Properly planned offpage optimization will make the difference between your website ranking #900 on Google, to ranking #1.
So, what is offpage optimization anyway? Offpage optimization basically consists of all of the offpage ranking factors like:
Which websites link to you
The number of websites linking to you
The Google page rank of the website linking to you
The page title of the website linking to you
The anchor text used in the link linking Read more:Skyrocket
Create an RSS Feed for Your Website Step-by-Step 2006-10-25 05:49:00 Syndicating your own website content is a great way to provide informationto your readers with little or no effort. Using RSS, your updated content is delivered to individuals who have subscribed to your feed automatically. In this article, I'll briefly explain RSS and show you how to syndicate your own website content - even if you know very little about RSS feeds.RSS Defined According to Wikipedia, RSS is a simple XML-based system that allows users to subscribe to their favorite websites. Using RSS, webmasters can put their content into a standardized format, which can be viewed and organized through RSS-aware software or automatically conveyed as new content on another website.A program known as a feed reader or aggregator can check a list of feeds on behalf of a user and display any updated articles that it finds. It is common to find web feeds on major websites and many smaller ones. Some websites let people choose between RSS or Atom formatted web feeds.Feeds are typically link Read more:RSS Feed
7 Secrets Used by Top Bloggers 2006-10-27 18:39:00 By Michael Fleischner of the Marketing Blog Directory
Blogs are becoming more and more popular. If you don't already have a weblog of your own, you've at least posted a comment to one, read one, or heard the term used in everyday conversation.
You may also have noticed that only a small number of blogs are truly known in each industry. As is true with most major media, "the cream rises to the top". The best weblogs have a large following and are valuable sources of information for thousands of readers. There are five primary reasons why some blogs become popular and others don't:
1. Focusing on a Popular Content Area. One of the most important characteristics of a successful blog is appropriate content. In order to gain a large following your blog must cover a topical area that is broad enough to be of interest to a large number of individuals but specific enough to have meaning.
Weblogs that provide information on obscure topics can never have a sizeable audience because the topi Read more:Secrets
Google Webmaster Tools 2006-10-30 21:25:00 Google's suite of webmaster tools provides you with a free and easy way to make your site more Google-friendly. They can show you Google's view of your site, help you diagnose problems, and let you share info with us to help improve your site's visibility.Improve the functionality of your site, and your knowledge as a webmaster with these must have Google Tools
!Getting Google's view of your site, and diagnosing potential problems The first step to increasing your site's visibility on Google is learning how our robots crawl and index your site. Crawl info: You can make sure we have access to your site, and see when Googlebot last visited. You can also view URLs that we've had trouble crawling and why we couldn't crawl them. This way, you can fix any problems preventing us from indexing all of your pages. Robots.txt file validation: See if we're having trouble with your file, and test out changes to that file before you change it on your server. Website content: View Read more:Google
, Webmaster
, Google Webmaster Tools
Blog Directories... Should you Submit? 2006-11-02 18:34:00
Okay, so we all know about blog directories. The question is, "What are the advantages to having your site listed?". I asked myself this question when I started my own blog - not to mention MarketingScoop.com.
There are a number of reasons why submitting your blog to blog directories is a good idea. Here are just a few.
1. Blog Directories
are often crawled by Search Engines. Blog directories are easily crawled by major search engines such as Yahoo!, MSN, and Google. The structure of these directories is perfect for search engines and search engine optimiation. As with many popular blog sites, search engines may not be able to crawl the entire site and therefore your blog may take some time to appear in search results.
2. Most blog directories see a lot of traffic. In addition to ranking high on search engine results, individuals like to see who else is listed in their category. This can create clicks and exposure that you otherwise wouldn't get. Don't underestimate the Read more:Submit
Top 10 Email Mistakes to Avoid. 2006-11-06 18:35:00 Creating effective emails takes more than a good idea. Be sure to avoid these top 10 email marketing mistakes.
Ignoring CAN-SPAM legislation. According to government regulations, there are email rules to be followed. The first and most important is only sending emails to individuals who have "opted-in" to receive your emails. By doing so, you're not only compliant, but Read more:Email
, Avoid
Create Direct Marketing Copy that Sells 2006-11-09 03:53:00 If you want to create direct marketing copy that sells, then tap into emotions. Done correctly, you can make significant strides towards creating a sense of urgency (and action) among your prospects. Add segmentation and a compelling offer and you're sure to win over your prospects.
Fear of Loss:
Nothing is more powerful than the fear of loss. Would you work harder to keep something important to you or get more of it? Chances are, if something you hold dear is threatened, you'd fight to keep it. The same is true when promoting your products or services.
A common example is insurance. When marketing insurance, marketers don't sell with probability tables, they tap into the fear of loss. "Who will pay your bills?", "What would happen to your house?" and so it goes. Stirring the potential of loss among your target market is the quickest way to get your prospect to take notice.
Scarcity:
Similar to the fea Read more:Direct
, Marketing
Benchmark of Email Open Rates 2006-11-14 16:25:00 What should your email open rates be? Depends on who you're marketing to.
Ever wondered what a good number is for your email open rates? A recent study by Silverpop indicates different email open rates based on the target markets of business-to-business and business-to-consumer. These different email types require different creative tactics too.
Silverpop found that B-to-B email recipients were much more likely to answer an all-text email than their B-to-C counterparts. Silverpop's study of 612 emails sent by 430 companies noted that image-rich messages to consumers generated a 7.1% click rate. All-text emails to the same audience only generated a click-through rate of 4.7%.
Business-to-Business emails generated a 5.4% click rate compared to 3.5% for emails containing an equal amount of text and images.
According to Bill Nussey, Silverpop's CEO, "Surprisingly, the location of the offer in B-to-C emails really didn't matter. In the B-to-B world, if that offer wasn't i Read more:Benchmark
, Email
, Rates
How to market to new customers 2006-11-17 18:16:00 Okay, so your marketing has paid off… you have new customers
. The key to growing your business is to effectively communicate and leverage these new customers into advocates for your products and services and purchasers of additional services. This can be done in a variety of ways. However, some basics steps must be followed to ensure retention. Here are a few tips you can use to develop long-term relationships with newly acquired customers.
1. Proactively shape impressions about your business. Whether you're sending a welcome message, making the first contact via phone, or sending a letter, be sure to position you company for the long-term. Often times, individuals buy products without knowing a whole lot about the company their buying from.
A popular tactic is sending a welcome kit or an overview letter that introduces your company, your values, and the additional resources you have available for your customers including a support email address, 1-800 number and so on.
The Power of Free Trials 2006-11-22 17:07:00 Do free trials really work? Are they cost effective? Whether you're considering a free trial or sampling of some kind, keep in mind that many products are best "experienced". For example, its difficult to know whether or not you'll like the flavor of a new toothpaste without trying it. On the service side, you don't know if you'll like a new dry cleaner until you get your shirts pressed.
As a result, many marketers are using free trials to lure new customers. This is particularly effective when the lifetime customer value of a new customer is substantial.
Picking up on our dry cleaning example, once acquired, a customer may stay with the dry cleaner for many years to come. Therefore, offering a free trial for a few shirts equates to a low acquisition cost in relation to the total revenue that can be generated from the newly acquired customer.
Another example is Salesforce.com. A business-to-business company that specializes in online management solutions has been offering free tria Read more:Trials
5 Questions you should answer before beginning any email campaign. 2006-11-25 23:57:00
1. Do Have a Clear Strategy? Define your goals in writing. Do you want to:
Reinforce your brand
Cross-sell or up-sell your current customers
Educate and inform your customers
Develop customer loyalty
Convert confirmed "opt-in" prospects to customers
Once you decide what you want to accomplish, you can then assess whether you need to develop multiple e-mail campaigns or if a single integrated campaign is your best course of action. The highest response rates are often realized when an email campaign is combined with a direct mail campaign into one overall strategic marketing effort. Repetition is an effective tool in e-mail marketing just as it is in direct mail and space advertising. A follow up email message sent to non-respondents can provide a significant boost to a campaign's performance. E-mail surveys to customers about their usage of your products or as a way to solicit opinions on a wide variety of topics produce virtually instant results in a Read more:answer
Using Article Marketing to Generate Affiliate Traffic 2006-12-06 03:51:00
Are you running an affiliate program or trying to get more traffic to your affiliate products? There are many ways to increase traffic to your site. In this article, I'll provide some details on how to use article marketing in a very specific way to generate a steady stream of qualified prospects.
The first step is to develop an article that is clearly written, provides value, and builds credibility. A clearly written article ensures that readers do more than skim your article. It also provides an "easy read" resulting in a high level of engagement.
To keep your reader's attention, your article must provide something of value. An example might be an SEO related article that shows readers how to write an effective "Title" tag for their webpage. A valuable article would first explain the concept then follow with examples - giving readers something tangible to represent each concept.
A result of a clearly written article that provides valuable informati Read more:Marketing
, Article
, Affiliate
Promoting Products vs. Services at Trade Shows 2006-12-16 18:08:00 Question: Kathrin Hoesli askes, Products
vs. services- How do a company's goods and services influence it's trade show appearance? Can you provide some information concerning the difference of service and product presentation and how this influences appearance at trade shows?
Answer: When presenting at a tradeshow, there are a number of factors to consider. The first, and most important factor is, "How important is this tradeshow to your overall marketing strategy?".
If this is a key show, where many of your buying audience will be in attendance, then you must consider how much of your budget will be allocated to an overall show presense.
For example, many vendors of products or services will take advantage of sponsorship opportunities that include a large booth space (10 X 20 or 20 X 20 island), large overhead banners, advertisements in the tradeshow guidebook, inserts in conference bags, sponsorship of badges or conference bags, receptions, etc. The purpose of sponsorship is to dr Read more:Services
, Trade
Email Marketing - Developing an Effective Program 2006-12-22 04:02:00 If someone tells you that email marketing is dead, don't believe them. Email
is still one of the most productive marketing tools you can use to sell your products and services. Email in extremely valuable for developing a one-on-one relationships with existing customers, delivering valuable content, and up-selling your services. Those who don't believe in the efficacy of email are not using the email medium effectively. Chances are these are the same individuals who send out mass emails without segmentation or an understanding of the purchase decision process. Here are a number of key factors to keep in mind when engaging in email marketing.
1. Build your own email list.
Emails that receive the highest open and click-through rates are house-lists. Simply stated, a house list is a database of email addresses that you've collected from individuals exchanging information with you on your website.
The easiest and most efficient way to build your house list is to offer an Read more:Marketing
, Program
, Email Marketing
Additional Trade Show Questions... Did you know? 2006-12-26 16:57:00 Part II
Questions: 1) What makes a tradeshow so special (in what way is it different to events)? 2) What are the main marketing tools in trade shows marketing (next to the theater style)? 3) what are the main challenges in a trade shows and what are it's weeknesses (concerning products and services marketing)?
Answer:
1. Trade
shows are unique for a number of reasons. First and foremost, they attract the decision makers in a particular industry or industry segment. Each industry offers trade shows throughout the year where industry professionals go to learn about their vocation, new technologies, products, and so on.
Additionally, trade shows afford vendors the opportunity to put their products and services in front of their desired audience. When key prospects and customers are in a single location, it increases the opportunity for marketing, sales, and brand building.
2. The key marketing tools, in today's trade show environment include booth related marketing tools, and
Don't underestimate what people don't know about SEO 2007-01-05 00:22:00 Okay, so I'll admit it - I'm not the brightest guy on the planet when it comes to Search Engine Optimization. However, I have been around a while and know some basics that go a real long way. I've also worked with people
much more intelligent than I who can talk about SEO
in the most esoteric terms.
The reality is that you don't know what you have until you look at a webpage, take a look under the covers (view code), and evaluate search result rankings. I recently took a look at a website that was ranking in the top 50 for specific keywords. Not bad you might say. However, recent studies show that about 80% of people never make it past the first 3 search results and of those who do, only 16% make it to the second page.
I guess what I'm saying is that if your Search Engine Optimization results don't have you on the first page of Google, Yahoo!, and MSN, then you're not doing enough. So what did I find when I analyzed this website (which will remain anonymous)? Where to beg Read more:underestimate
Getting Started - SEO Basics 2007-01-08 18:21:00 If you're a small business trying to make it on the Internet you need to understand some of the basics of SEO
. You may be advertising online or using Google adwords, but increasing your success is best when you don't have to pay for it. Increasing your organic placement is simple - but its not easy. In this post, I'll highlight a few things that can get you started.
1. Focus on On-page optimization tactics. When you boil it down, this means that you select a keyword phrase that you will optimize for and placing this phrase appropriately in your meta tags, body copy and anchor text.
Make sure you are using keywords with a high KEI. This measure takes into consideration both the popularity and competitiveness of your keywords. By focusing on keywords with a higher KEI, you can optimize your chance for search engines to select your site for keywords at little or no expense.
For more detailed information on on-page optimization techniques, visit the post entitled, "How Changing One Sing Read more:Basics
What's In a Name? 2007-01-12 04:06:00 These Guys Are Good!
So we started a new project at work today - trying to rename a product. Sounds like a pretty simple task but I've got to say there's a pretty significant learning curve. We're using a company called NameStormers. This company has worked with many of the heavy consumer hitters like AOL, CarMax, and others to name new products, companies and the like.
I was so impressed with our contact who is one of the principals and founders of NameStormers, and he personally contributes to every naming project. Mike has over 30 years of experience in marketing and marketing research, including more than 20 years of experience in the branding and naming business.
Mike discussed the marketing process of developing a new name. Once we created a brief and identified our goals, he explained additional details about the process. Before I knew it, he was asking marketing related questions that few ever ask and really delved into our business, our objectives and the sale
7 Proven Strategies for Improving Your Alexa Ranking 1970-01-01 00:59:59 After spending two years building my own website, I was very disappointed that my Alexa
ranking was still higher than one million. Alexa ranks each website based on the number of visitors it receives. The top ranked website, Yahoo! has an Alexa rating of 1 or 2. Less popular sites could be ranked up to 5,000,000. In order to improve my Alexa rating, I spent about three weeks combing the web to find tips, secrets, and proven strategies for increasing my Alexa ranking. Unfortunately, many of the sites offering advice didn't even have a high ranking themselves. Finally I discovered a number of sites ranked within the top 100,000 that were all applying the same Alexa techniques to improve their ranking. I’ve begun implementing a number of these techniques and have improved my Alexa ranking by 250,000 spots in just one week. Here's what you need to know. The basis for many of these techniques is the fact that your Alexa ranking is based reach and page views. However it only counts Read more:Proven
, Strategies
, Ranking
The Wonderful World of Marketing 1970-01-01 00:59:59 "Marketing
is everything and everything is marketing". When I sat down to lunch with the former chairman of BBDO, this is what he had to say. Although I think the comment is pretty grandiose - its valuable, especially with all of the challenges facing major brands today.I interpret this to mean that at every customer interaction, you need to deliver a consistent brand experience. By doing so, you reinforce your brand and everything it means.I just finished my new website MarketingScoop.com. I know it's just the beginning, but my hope is that I'm able to communicate the values of MarketingScoop.com, my passion for everything marketing, at each and every browser, visitor, or customer interaction. I'll provide updates on this theme as I continue to develop the site!For more free marketing advice, visit the marketing experts at Internet marketing expert at http://www.MarketingScoop.com. Read more:Wonderful
, World
Start Blogging in 3 Easy Steps 1970-01-01 00:59:59 By now you've probably heard of blogs or even considered starting one of your own. Weblogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. Most blogs are primarily textual although many focus on photograph (photoblog), videos (vlog), or audio (podcasting). Blogs are a popular communication vehicle that are simple to create and maintain.You can start your very own blog in as little as 3 easy steps. After hearing about the popularity of blogs and learning about the multiple benefits of creating a blog, I set out to start my own. After doing some additional research, I found a number of popular sites that actually let you create and host your own blog at no charge. What's even better is that the process of creating your blog is incredibly fast and simple. I suppose this is why blogging h Read more:Start
, Blogging
Link Partners 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Article directoryOnline article directory, containing free reprint articles on all topics.Being Reasonable BlogMarketing fropm the ground floor.Business CardsAt Last! How To Use Your Business Cards To Pull In More Leads and More Sales! Mark helps you understand how to design effective business cards and teaches you how get the most from your business cards marketing efforts.Business Wholesale Distributors Products ForumBusiness wholesale source--- the best wholesale free source forum on the net.Exercise equipment ratings Find the machine you're looking for rated here.Free Classified Ads DirectoryExtensive directory of free classified ad sitesInternet Marketing Learn Internet marketing from an expert for FREE!Jmcweb.org free resourcesFree resources for webmasters and users in generalLegal Marketing BlogMarketing Writing - How to Write Copy that SellsQuick, digestible tips and pointers that help you write better,persuade more people to buy your stuff, and close business.Online Futures T Read more:Partners
, Link Partners
How to Increase Web Traffic 1970-01-01 00:59:59 By Michael Fleischner Marketing Expert, Internet Marketing Secrets* To succeed on the Internet, you must learn how to increase web traffic. Without getting targeted visitors to your website, you don't stand a chance of selling your products or services to any large degree. There are a variety of tactics, tools, and resources you can use to increase web traffic. In this article, I'll share with you the specific resources I've used to increase my website traffic and generate a large annual income online. More specifically, I'll tell you some of the secret tools I've used to drive targeted web traffic. Google AdwordsIf you want to know how to increase web traffic instantly, then learn about Google Adwords. This is the most targeted form of marking on the Internet. However, it requires that you have a marketing budget and can realize a positive return on your investment. Google Adwords allow you to drive traffic to your website using a specific keyword or phrase. Your ad appears acros
What's More Important - Traffic or Conversion? 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Today's debate is about the importance of traffic or conversion. When trying to grow your online business, its vital to consider where your efforts should be focused. Assuming that your resources are fixed, would you rather spend your time increasing traffic to your site or simply focusing on the number of individuals who convert?For those of you who have been reading my blog, you know that I love to reference the success of others. The answer to the question is BOTH! Successful companies are incredibly proficient at doing this AND doing that... focusing on conversions and driving traffic.Each area of focus requires individuals who own and are accountable for outcomes - but as a business, especially an online business, you must always be aware of and concerned for driving traffic to your site and improving the percentage of browsers to paying customers.From a sales and marketing perspective, one of the best ways to improve conversion is to break down the purchase decision process into Read more:Conversion
It's All About Story Telling 1970-01-01 00:59:59 This evening I attended an event where a speaker captivated the audience. It wasn't because of his title, his looks, or even his clothing - it was about the story he told. It made me realize the importance of the stories marketers tell about their product or service. And it got me thinking...The brands that stand out and achieve the most are the brands built on powerful stories and descriptions about their history, their mission, or their founding. Think of Starbucks which started as a little coffee house in Seattle and a big dream to learn more about coffee than any other coffee retailer. Or what about L.L.Bean, Inc. which was founded in 1912 by avid hunter and fisherman Leon Leonwood? Whether you know the stories in great detail or not, there's always a story behind these brands.I think that as marketers, it is our responsibility to market our products and define our services through stories that touch the hearts and minds of our prospects and is relished by our customers. It m Read more:Telling
DMOZ is Open For Business! 1970-01-01 00:59:59 If you're like me, you many have been wondering what has happened to DMOZ these last few months? For those of you who don't know about DMOZ, you should familiarize yourself with the site as it drives search results for tons of influential sites. The Open Directory Project (ODP), also known as dmoz (from directory.mozilla.org, its original domain name), is a multilingual open directory of World Wide Web links owned by Netscape that is constructed and maintained by a community of volunteer editors. Launched in 1998, DMOZ is used by millions of websites - including some very popular ones, to provide link information.When doing link analysis, I've noticed that a number of competitive sites appear on affiliate or related sites simply because those site have integrated DMOZ listings into their pages. The end result is that your competitors may recieve higher seach engine results placement becase their website (via DMOZ) are appearing on more websites than you are. The simple remedy is to Read more:Business
Direct Marketing Employment Plans Hold Steady 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Good news for direct marketers!According to a recent survey by Bernhart Associates Executive Sear, Direct
marketing job seekers have reason to be hopeful this new year. "The new hiring indicator is holding up well," said Jerry Bernhart, President of the Owatonna, MN-based search firm which has been tracking direct marketing hiring activity in the U.S. for the past six years. "We're seeing practically no change from the fourth quarter, which also was a good quarter for hiring."According to the survey, 66% of respondents said they plan to add to staff during the first quarter of 2007, down 1 percentage point from the fourth quarter of 2006. The number of companies planning staff reductions remained at 10% while the percentage with hiring freezes dropped to 13% compared with 15% last quarter."On the recruitment side we're off to a very strong start so far this year," said Bernhart. "Direct marketing employers are competing for the best talent, with recruitment and retention efforts a Read more:Marketing
, Direct Marketing
Search Engine Optimization - It's in the Writing 1970-01-01 00:59:59 by Pat Quinn I now propose to go right out on a limb and say that design has very little to do with search engine optimization. This is a sweeping generalization, I admit, and one to which my designer friends will take Ãnstant umbrage. But it is true to all intents and purposes. Design can certainly assist in achieving good optimization. By that I mean it will assist if it doesn't hinder the process with acres of code that the robots need to wade through in order to find the potatoes and gravy. Or if the navigation throughout the site is logical and easy to achieve. Or if the pages are designed to load quickly. Other than that, optimization is all in the writing. Now, I am a copywriter with around 40 years' experience in the advertising business; and there can be few people in the world who know less about design than I do. But my entire working life seems to have been spent arguing with designers about the length of copy in relation to the size of the pic in any given piece Read more:Search
, Engine
, Optimization
, Search Engine
, Search Engine Optimization
Reciprocal Linking - Pluses and Minuses 1970-01-01 00:59:59 If you're like me, reciprocal linking is a key component to your online marketing campaign. Although I believe in the importance of reciprocal linking, there are positives and negatives to this approach. If done correctly, reciprocal linking and generate results. Here are a few things to consider.The negatives...1. Most of the Requests are AutomatedIt used to be flattering to get a link request, knowing that someone had visited your site and wanted to exchange a link. These days most of the requests are done with software and it means that no one has really visited your site. Automation in itself is not bad, but it leads to all kinds of abuses, and it prevents you from picking out the good links from the bad. Even if you have an automated directory to handle link requests, which is what I installed, you will still be swamped with tons of link requests.2. Most Link Requests are of Extremely Low QualityThe original idea of linking was to provide your own visitors with quality sites w Read more:Reciprocal
, Linking
Recommend Site To A Friend
