Website Optimization: Bring More Traffic To Your Site the Right Way

by Donald Nelson Search engine optimization is not difficult to understand. You don’t have to be a mathematical wizard to get the basic idea. Website optimization is simply the art and science of building web pages that provide the most relevant answers to the various queries that people make when they use a search engine. The person who is making a query wants an answer to her question, and the search engine is trying to provide the bestanswer. Your job, as a website manager, is to provide web pages that will satisfy the person making the query and the search engine as well. Search engine optimization is not about tricking the search engines. You can get away with a trick for a short time, but if you are in business for the long run it is better to base your success on solid procedures. Here is what you can do to satisfy the end users and the search engines. 1. Find out how your would-be customers use a search engine. What terms do they use when they are searching for your products? This is the $64,000 question. If you target the right words you will get the kind of traffic you want, the people who will buy your product or service. If you target the wrong words you may not get any traffic at all. This part of Internet optimization is known as keyword research. Find out all the different combinations that people use when they look for a website such as yours. The overture.com search term suggestion tool will provide some help or you can use the paid service atwww.wordtracker.com 2. Build Web pages based on your keywords and Key Phrases. It is a mistake to think that you can just sprinkle your keywords in the meta tags of any old web page and then get a high position in the search engines. If your page is only tangentially related to the query it will not get a high ranking in the search engines. However if you have written a web page that provides solid information directly related to the search term, then any surfer who ends up there will be satisfied. And, if you present your information properly, this is the kind of page that the search engines want to deliver to their users. 3. The last step in optimization is to present your material properly. The best website promotion tip that anyone can give you is not to cheat in this process. Don’t stuff your keywords into your copy unnaturally or write them in invisible text on the bottom of your web page. If your copy is really about a particular keyword or key phrase, then simply place it in the title tag, the description tag , the headlines on the page and in text link on the page. You can use a keyword density checker to see if you have used your keyword enough. You can also just read your copy aloud to see how you are doing. If it doesn’t sound right, you may have overdone it. If you do your web page optimization in this three-step way everyone will end up satisfied: the web visitor, the search engines and you. About The Author: Donald Nelson is an editor, social worker and web developer. He has worked on the Internet since 1995 and presently runs A1-Optimization http://www.a1-optimization.com , a firm providing affordable search engine optimization, website copywriting, reciprocal linking and article publishing services. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Grand Daddy of all SEO Software! Get A Top 5 Google Ranking In Under 30 Days! Click Here to Find Out More>>>>>

Where to Post Your Business Ads for Free

When I first started my business on the internet, I pretty much had no budget for marketing. Fortunately, on the internet, there are dozens of places where you can submit your website or post an ad for free. To start off, it's good to know where your buyers are hanging out. There are many forums and groups all over the internet where you can share information with others. If you become involved with these groups, you are able to post and answer on topics that are discussed. For example, if you sell golf products, you can find groups on the internet that talk about golf. You can offer advice and opinions on golf-related topics. Doing this will establish yourself as an "expert" in the field and people will more likely visit your website. Most groups allow you to include a "signature" in which you include a link to your website. Yahoo! Groups and MSN Groups are great places to start finding groups to join. One website where I frequently post ads is Craigslist.com. This website is getting more popular by the minute. It's basically a free classifieds website with many categories to post your ad. You can also look for jobs and find things for sale. These are just a couple suggestions of where to post your business ads for free. Visit this blog often for more business resources!

Small Business Marketing: A Marketing Funnel Should Be Part of Your Recipe for Success

by Debbie LaChusa Your toughest job as a business owner and marketer is to get clients. It's also your most expensive job. So it stands to reason that you'd want to make the most of every single client you do get. The best way to do that, and one of the most cost-effective ways to market your business, is to use a marketing funnel. What's a marketing funnel? Well, you're probably familiar with what a funnel looks like. It's got a large opening at the top and a small opening at the bottom. It looks kind of like an inverted triangle. The idea of a marketing funnel is this ... You want to get as many prospects and potential clients into the top of the funnel - the part of the funnel with the widest opening. Ahhh ... the better to hold all those prospects and clients! So how do you get clients into your funnel? One way is with a free or low-cost, low-risk offer. Offering a free newsletter or ezine, a special report or even a complimentary consultation are all great ways to get prospects into your funnel. This lets potential clients "test drive" you before buying. Giving prospects a way to "try you on for size" and see how they like your style and your approach is a great way to entice them onto your list. They can "test drive" you and your business, without first investing a lot of time or money. And it gives you the chance to create a relationship with them over time. This is particularly important if you're selling higher-priced professional services. Odds are most people will not purchase from you the very first time they come in contact with you or see your marketing. They need to get to know you first, to see if you're a good fit for their needs. So what goes inside the funnel? Inside your funnel, you'll want to have a series of products and services, ideally increasing in value and price as you work your way down the funnel. My 10stepmarketing funnel starts with my Step-by-Step Guidebook and Resource Center, and is followed by several CD products, my telecourses and my Extreme Marketing Makeover Program. The value and price of these products and services increases as you go down the list. The idea is that most people will try you out by first purchasing a lower priced, lower involvement product or service. Then, if they are pleased with that product or service, they're very likely to come back to see what else you have to offer. And, they'll be more likely to spend more now that they know your products or services are high quality and deliver on your sales promise. Fill your funnel with a variety of products and services This gives you the opportunity to earn more from every client and helps you minimize the expensive and time-consuming task of always having to be looking and marketing for MORE clients. Plus, with the right "top of funnel" product, you'll ATTRACT more clients. So what's at the bottom of the funnel? This is where your very best clients end up. These are the people who love you and your products and services so much they'll buy anything and everything you make available to them. So, usually the product or service at the bottom of your funnel is your most expensive, most valuable one. Take a look at your business and make sure you're using a marketing funnel. If you're not, make it part of your marketing plan to create one. And you'll always have a pipeline full of prospects and clients. (C) Copyright 2005 Debbie LaChusa Debbie LaChusa created The 10stepmarketing System to make marketing your own business as simple as answering 10 questions. Learn more about this unique, step-by-step system and get a free 10-week Marketing E-Course when you subscribe to the free, weekly 10stepmarketing Ezine at http://www.10stepmarketing.com.

A Theory of Success

"Success or failure depends more upon attitude than upon capacity. Successful men/women act as though they have accomplished or are enjoying something. Soon it becomes a reality. Act, look, feel successful, conduct yourself accordingly, and you will be amazed at the positive results." ~ Dupree Jordan Success, in the dictionary, is defined as, "The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted." So why is success in our society defined by the balance in your bank account, the car you drive, or how big your house is? You are successful if you are a lawyer, doctor, or movie actor with a six figure income. You should be able to be called a "success" when you have been able to do anything and everything you have wanted to do in your life. Shouldn't success be defined as being able to do what your passion is in life? Shouldn't you be successful when you have achieved complete happiness? Besides money, wealth should include your spiritual, physical and mental well-being. There are six disciplines I learned during my life which motivated and helped create a well-balanced and successful life for me. These disciplines include: self, spiritual, physical, time, money, and growth. Self discipline means making decisions regarding your life and having the mind set to follow through with what you want to accomplish. It also means staying focused with the task at hand and holding yourself accountable for your actions. Become proactive in your life, persist, and persevere! You can have everything in your life, but without spirituality everything can go out the door. God is there to help solve your problems and be your Authority in life. Just five to ten minutes a day meditating and praying in silence can be the difference between a serene life and a chaotic life. Being thankful and grateful for what God has given you can open up more doors, more opportunities, and ultimately, more prosperity in your life. Something most of us struggle with is physical discipline. I read somewhere that it takes 21 days to turn an action into a habit. Eating right and exercising on a consistent basis not only boosts your energy and helps you live longer, it helps relieve the stresses that everyday life brings. Time management is important in accomplishing any goal in life. It seems that we never have enough time to do what we want to do. Remember that there is a time and place for everything. There is a time for play and a time for work. Prioritizing tasks and taking small steps each day will lead to success in whatever goals you want to achieve. You must also take time each day to organize your life. Whether it's cleaning that cluttered bathroom counter, or filing bills, being organized can save you time in the long run. Sometimes I wish that money did not exist. But it looks like it's here to stay and we do need it to pay rent and buy food. It took awhile to become disciplined with money. Now I have come to understand the value of the dollar and control excess spending. I have learned to be accountable for every dollar I spend. I have learned to give to charity no matter what my paycheck looks like. Life is about learning and growing. Growth is developing relationships and lasting bonds with our family and friends and learning from each other. Growth is realizing that we are not perfect, but striving to become the best that we can be. Growth is also realizing that we are capable of doing anything we set our mind to and achieving our goals. God has given us all unique abilities. It's what we do with those abilities that will determine whether or not we will be successful. God has blessed me with the opportunities and the talents to do what I have always wanted. Although some of the things I have done did not pay very well, there was the intrinsic reward of being able to make a difference in another person's life. I felt I was successful in helping another human being and someday they may return the favor. To become successful requires a little patience. Creating wealth and success in your life can take some time, maybe months or even years. Sweat, tears and agony are part of the process, but well worth it.

Have Passion for Your Business

Some of us start a particular business because we see it as a way to make alot of money. This is especially true with many online businesses. There is so much information out there and every other person claims that their business is "the one" that will make all our dreams come true. So we sign up and begin the marketing process. Soon we find out that it takes a little more than just having a website to have a successful online business. Many online businesses begin and then fail because people don't have a passion for what they are selling. There must be a motivation, a goal, and a desire to help people. If these qualities are lacking, the business owner will lose sight of the bigger picture. Before you start an online business, it's important to make a list of your interests and what is important to you. This list should form a basis of what type of business to start. You must be able to stand behind what you sell and enjoy doing it. The desire to help people with the product you are selling will keep you motivated and will keep you in business for the long run. When I started my art website, my mission was to be able to provide original artwork at affordable prices. I believe that beautiful art should be available to everyone. I enjoy bringing beauty to the lives of my clients. I have a passion for my art and it has kept me in business for the past five years. When you find passion for your business, it's like being married. Through sickness and health, richer or poorer, you'll end up sticking around. That's when you know that you are successful.