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All posts for the month April, 2013

Do Your Own SEO Free

Posted by on April 29, 2013
Posted in: SEO.

Managing an online presence and building a website’s popularity can be challenging if you are not familiar with how Internet marketing works and how you can reach your intended audience with the use of a variety of platforms and tools. Understanding how to implement SEO, or search engine optimization, will allow you to ensure you are getting as much exposure as possible when it comes to your site, regardless of the industry you are working in or representing.

Why is SEO Important?

Search engine optimization is a key factor in determining success when you are trying to promote a blog, website or an entire corporate brand online. SEO helps to increase the amount of times your website appears within search results based on the keywords entered and the relevance to your own site. When SEO is implemented correctly, you can see a spike in traffic based on what other users are interested in and searching to find. When you want to do your own SEO free, it is possible with a clear understanding of your target audience, the products or services you have to offer and the keywords that directly reflect your brand or business. For details, you can visit http://www.seoscheduler.com.

Know Your Products and Services

Knowing what you have to offer to your users and potential customers will help you to better understand what they may be searching for to find your website. The more insight you have into your target market, the easier it will be to choose the right keywords to attract new visitors and clients.

Choosing the Right Keywords

When you are implementing SEO on your own for free, it is important to brainstorm for the best keywords you should be using based on your intended target demographic and search trends. Research search trends online with relevant keywords that are fitting for your business to understand the best keywords you should focus on to increase traffic while generating potential sales.

Implementing SEO Yourself

Once you have a clear understanding of the keywords you want to focus on, you have the ability to add SEO into your site for free by properly titling your content, changing the headers of your website and even adding in meta tags, keywords and descriptions that the search engines will pick up on when they are automatically scanning your site. The more relevant the titles of your content are, the more likely you are to find visitors on your site who are genuinely interested in the content, services or products you have to offer. Consistently researching the market you represent is another key factor in ensuring you are receiving the most visitors and page views possible by utilizing the right keywords within your site’s headers, content titles and meta tags.

The Benefits of Guest Blogging

Posted by on April 29, 2013
Posted in: SEO.

Why in the world would you want to spend your time writing content for someone else’s blog?

Well, we will give you four good reasons to start with.

Driving Traffic

There are more and more high profile blogs opening their doors to bloggers who want more exposure and can provide “good content” for their readers. The exchange is more than fair and it’s a win-win situation for all involved. Anyone with a new blog should really consider guest blogging as one way of stimulating traffic to their site.

Generating Backlinks

If you’re at all concerned about ranking in the search engines then this method is great for getting high quality backlinks.

With all the changes going on in the SEO world the need for high quality backlinks is at a premium. The key word here is “high quality.” Google has clamped down on the old traditional form of link building by shutting down most of the link farms. This was an acceptable practice for years, but now there’s a scramble to get backlinks that Google likes.

As you can imagine, sites that are reputable and offer high quality “link juice” are being swamped with requests from writers. If you’re going to approach one of these sites then be prepared to suggest a subject that really rings a bell with their readers. You will have to do a little homework and find out what the readers of that blog like.

Building Your Brand

If your guest post is accepted, then your stock goes up through association. Choose the site you want to write for carefully. Any article you write that ends up on that site will automatically link you to the reputation of that site.

Google will also use the connection for ranking your site, so it becomes even more imperative that you choose sites to write for that are trustworthy.

Social Recognition

It’s becoming more evident that social circles are not only a good way to attract new visitors, but for SEO purposes Google seems to pay attention to social activity for ranking sites.

Facebook and Twitter are the two main players in this space. If you are writing a guest post for a high traffic, high quality site, then you can expect your article will generate a lot of buzz – that is if it’s good.

Lets Recap – you want to look for sites that have:

1. Subject matter relevant to your blog 2. Good reputation 3. Trustworthy 4. High traffic 5. Good page rank

In return you will provide:

1. Unique topic 2. Relevant information 3. Well researched article 4. Well written article

When executed properly, taking a few hours of your time and writing an article for another blog can reap big benefits. It is truly a win-win situation for both parties.

For tips and advices on guest blogging, you can log on to http://postrunner.com.

Easy Ways To Make A Good Impression Upon Your Business Clients

Posted by on April 24, 2013
Posted in: Internet Marketing.

It is often said that if you want to get rich, you will need to think about making your own money rather than finding employment from someone else. This is true because when you decide to go down this road, the limit of how much you can make only depends on how hard you are willing to work. If you end up working very hard, chances are that you will make it, sometimes even more than you had expected.

To get there, however, you will need to go through a number of things. The most important of these is knowing how to relate with your customers in such a manner that they can trust you more. When you are going into business for the first time, you will be going up against a lot of competition, which means that if you don’t try to make yourself look presentable in the eyes of your customers you may end up losing out. Some of the things you will need to think about in doing this include:

How professional you look

When you are going into business, you need to remember that most people heavily rely on looks when making decisions on whether to work with others or not. This means that you may need to invest money into making yourself look more professional than the other businessmen out there. This can be done using simple measures such as getting high quality business cards and investing in a number of good suits so that you can look like a pro when you go for meetings. These things may seem very simple, but they normally have tremendous effects on your customers’ psyche.

The way you interact with your customers

When you need to make a new business successful, you will need to keep an eye on how you interact with your customers. This include things such as making sure that you keep your deadlines and that you also make sure that you communicate with them in a professional manner. The benefit of doing this is that it increases the confidence that they have in you, which means that they will be more likely to do business with you again in future or even refer other people to you.

In summary, if you are keen on making your new business more successful, you should not only concentrate on issues to do with the quality of your goods or services. You also need to make sure that you create the right impression with your customers as well.

Professional Networking: The Easiest Way To Boost A Startup Firm

Posted by on April 24, 2013
Posted in: Online Services.

When you are just starting out in the world of business, it is normally very difficult to get a grip on things. For instance, the fact that you may be new to the field means that you may not know how to do things such as growing your business effectively. Of course, you may have gone through a business course to try and help facilitate this, but this does not guarantee that you will be instantly successful.

Fortunately, there are a number of very simple rules that you can live by and which can help you grow your business during the initial days when you start it. One of the most important of these is making sure that you learn how to network.

The benefits of extensive networking

You will find that the best way to get more clients is by having them referred to you. This means that when you are just starting out the business, you need to do your best to ensure that you network with a lot of people. For instance, you could decide to go to a number of business conferences, and simply get to know some of the other professionals in the field. In addition to referring other customers to you, they may also provide invaluable advice that will propel your business to success much earlier than you had anticipated.

What you need to do and know before you start networking

For this to be successful, there are a number of things you will need to keep in mind. For one, you have to learn how to network in the relevant niche. For instance, if you are in the medical supplies business, the best way for you to network would be to get in touch with people in the medical world, since they are more likely to be your clients in future.

You also need to invest in things such as business cards. Remember, when you go networking, you may need to leave the prospective clients with such cards so that they can reach you later on. Fortunately, it’s not very difficult to get the business cards these days; there are many ways of getting them cheaply. For instance, you could decide to create business cards online since this is cheap and very convenient.

All in all, making an effort to network is very important for a young business, and in some cases it may even be a more powerful marketing tool compared to the conventional methods of marketing.

Convert visitors into customers – 5 areas not to overlook

Posted by on April 24, 2013
Posted in: Internet Marketing.

Do you sell online?

You may have hired an SEO consultant or invested in a PPC campaign to drive traffic to your web site. Turning those visits into sales is critical and many web sites fail to do so or they do it at a very poor rate.

While you may have spent time refining your page titles and your copy, here are 5 more important areas not to overlook:

1. Security Concerns

If you’ve got a potential customer to your web site and even convinced them to add a product to their cart, you still have to close the deal and complete the sale. “Shopping cart abandonment” is a big issue for the e-commerce industry and is something which is analyzed heavily by all the big online retailers. To convince the customer to hand over his/her personal details and card information requires trust. You can help engender that trust by making it clear that your site is secure – invest in an SSL Certificate, display any logos or badges issued by your SSL provider and place a statement on the site confirming your commitment to data security and data privacy. It will go a long way in creating trust with your audience.

2. No Phone, Address or Social Media activity visible

Similar to number 5, its essential to create trust with your visitors. Display your phone number and address prominently. Get a proper business address and a business phone number. Most visitors won’t call, but they will be reassured that there is a number advertised just in case they need it. It shows you are real and not trying to hide. Similarly, social media connections are also a great way to establish trust – they show you are real and in a way provide live testimonials about your product or service (don’t forget to keep on top of comments posted!).

3. Checkout process

Simplify your checkout process as much as possible. Users lose patience very quickly these days. Time is money as the old saying goes. Add a “guest checkout” if this is supported by your shopping cart software. Anything which makes it easier for the user to hand over their card details and complete the transaction will boost your conversion rate.

4. Mobile traffic

Mobile traffic is growing at a phenomenal rate. If your site doesn’t work well on a smartphone and your checkout isn’t mobile friendly, you won’t convert a thing. Don’t waste mobile traffic. Use a mobile theme if your shopping cart support it or redesign your site so it’s mobile friendly. Find a web design agency with mobile development experience and don’t miss out on mobile traffic.

5. Testimonials

Testimonials, references and even comments from existing customers on social media can make or break a sale. Testimonials should of course be real and prominently placed. Don’t forget to keep on top of your social media pages and carefully manage any negative comments or unhappy customers who might drop in on your page, you can still turn it into a winner for your business.

Outsourcing Ecommerce Social Campaigns to Movers and Shakers

Posted by on April 24, 2013
Posted in: Social Networks.

Social media is a full time job, and time is a luxury most ecommerce marketers and brand operators don’t have. Another ugly truth? Five minutes a day of social media a day isn’t going to accomplish much, will it? How can you get active consumers and brand evangelists to “work” for you? There are a few more ways, outside of the traditional social box, to get more social content without spending (much) of your own time.

Pinterest

When you’re posting great content with even greater photos on your ecommerce site’s blog, you’ll get pinned. This is basic. But how do you encourage more engagement and kick your pins’ visibility into overdrive? Invite other users to pin to boards with you. Finding pinners active in your vertical is as easy as a Pinterest search. Few pinners are likely to accept, but if your board is interesting enough, you’ll see pins popping up every once in a while.

The key is in your boards, though. You can’t expect to stimulate a bunch of fashion consumers into pinning for you when your board is something as painfully boring as “Cashmere”. Yawn much? Lets kick it up a notch. “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Real Fur”, “Cold Weather Couture”, and “Plaiddicts Anonymous” (get it?) are all titles that can get someone’s attention, play to their sensibilities, and might self-sustain by attracting new users.

Tip: joining a group board is a great way to increase your sprawl! Just make sure you aren’t posting duplicate photos or over-pinning.

Reddit

Within each community are sub-communities, sub-communities of sub-communities and so on. There is always an untapped niche and an unspoken community. Why not start a subreddit that relates to your ecommerce product line? Reddit for marketers essentially requires that you don’t take yourself too seriously. Some of the best nichey subreddits have been:

Fashion: /r/ABraThatFits “because everyone that wants one deserves a bra that fits.”

Toys & Gaming: /r/GreenDawn “taking over the world, one little green soldier at a time.”

Gadgets: /r/TechSupportMacGuyver hacking your gadgets and tech in true MacGuyver style.

Appliances: /r/ToasterRights it’s exactly what it sounds like, but better.

All of the above subreddits are active communities that have been given the covetous “subreddit of the day” award. They also all have over 3,000 subscribers. That’s a lot of engagement potential. How many of these subreddits seem like gold mines for link drop opportunities? Answer: all of them.

When momentum picks up, try to appoint new moderators to your subreddit. This is how you know you’ve proverbially “made it” as it will save you a lot of time and keep your community in control.

Creating a subreddit as a brand is not recommended. Redditors do not tolerate this kind of thing. Rather, craft a persona that will be active in your subreddit, as well as other relevant subs. This will give more credibility to your username and your brand new community by association.

For more tips of the trade, check out the entire ebook, Mastering Social Media: The Guide to Boosting Ecommerce Profits for Indie Retailers.

Katie Patkowski manages all things social media for Retail Packaging.

Video Creation Beginner Tips – 4 Ways To Creating A Professional Looking Video

Posted by on April 15, 2013
Posted in: Video Editing.

Maintaining a strong social media presence can help you to expand your customer base and it has a direct effect on your sales and profit margin. One of the best ways to ensure that you have this presence is by creating and uploading a video on a social media site and on your blog. It is important to choose the site where your target market frequent. The art of online video production requires some skill to create a good quality video. If you are a beginner, a few basic tips can help you to create a professional looking video.

  • The right equipment

Shooting the video using the right equipment goes a long way in enhancing the quality of the video. Before buying or hiring equipment, you need to decide the type of video you want to create. If you are creating a home video for your personal blog, a simple Flip camera will suffice. If, on the other hand, you want to enhance the viewing experience for your audience, a more professional camera, and a tripod is necessary.

  • Do not ignore the audio

Make sure that you pay attention to the quality of the audio. It is very important to choose the location of the shoot carefully to avoid distractions. Something as simple as the wind blowing or background noise can ruin a great video. Use a headphone jack to determine what the audience will hear and carry out proper sound checks.

  • Lighting is very important

You need to make sure that you consider the lighting when shooting the video. Do not have a window in the background or have the person in the video standing directly in front of the window. To avoid shadows or poor looking shots, make sure that the lighting is not too bright or too dark. If you are unsure about the best lighting, talk to a professional photographer.

  • Proper editing

When editing your video, remember that your audience does not want to spend a lot of time watching the clip. Edit for an audience with a short attention span by keeping the video short and yet interesting and full of relevant content. The video should be able to connect with the audience immediately to keep them from moving to something else.

Once you have created your video, upload it through different social networks. Wide distribution will help to ensure that you reach a large audience. Send the link to the video to your social media followers and anyone else you think would be interested.