Internet Generated

Google’s Collateral Damage

Jay Mcleod — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:57:18 +0000

One Awesome Landing Page Infographic…

3 Things Internet Marketers Need To Survive Online

Jay Mcleod — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:04:16 +0000

Every Internet Marketer is always looking for the successful market that gives the biggest paycheck. Sometimes they think it is a magic formula that is readily available for them. Actually, it is more complicated than that. It is just good marketing practices that have been proven over years of hard work and dedication.

There are tactics that have worked before with online marketing and is continuing to work in the online internet marketing world of today. With these top three marketing tips, you will be able to able to increase your sales and survive in the internet marketing online.

What are these three tactics?

1. Using unique web pages to promote each separate product you are marketing. Do not lump all of it together just to save some money on web hosting. It is best to have a site focusing on each and every product and nothing more.

Always include product reviews on the website so visitors will have an initial understanding on what the product can do to those who buys them. Also include testimonials from users who have already tried the product. Be sure that these customers are more than willing to allow you to use their names and photos on the site of the specific product you are marketing.

You can also write articles highlighting the uses of the product and include them on the website as an additional page. Make the pages attractive compelling and include calls to act on the information. Each headline should attract the readers to try and read more, even contact you. Highlight your special points. This will help your readers to learn what the page is about and will want to find out more.

2. Offer free reports to your readers. If possible position them at the very top side of your page so it they simply cannot be missed. Try to create autoresponder messages that will be mailed to those who input their personal information into your sign up box. According to research, a sale is closed usually on the seventh contact with a prospect.

Only two things can possibly happen with the web page alone: closed sale or the prospect leaving the page and never return again. By placing useful information into their inboxes at certain specified period, you will remind them of the product they thought they want later and will find out that the sale is closed. Be sure that the content is directed toward specific reasons to buy the product. Do not make it sound like a sales pitch.

Focus on important points like how your product can make life and things easier and more enjoyable. Include compelling subject lines in the email. As much as possible, avoid using the word “free” because there are still older spam filters that dumps those kind of contents into the junk before even anyone reading them first. Convince those who signed up for your free reports that they will be missing something big if they do not avail of your products and services.

3. Get the kind of traffic that is targeted to your product. Just think, if the person who visited your website has no interest whatsoever in what you are offering, they will be among those who move on and never come back. Write articles for publication in e-zines and e-reports. This way you can locate publications that is focusing on your target customers and what you have put up might just grab their interest.

Try to write a minimum of 2 articles per week, with at least 300-600 words in length. By continuously writing and maintaining these articles you can generate as many as 100 targeted readers to your site in a day.

Always remember that only 1 out of 100 people are likely to buy your product or get your services. If you can generate as much as 1,000 targeted hits for your website in a day, that means you can made 10 sales based on the average statistic.

The tactics given above does not really sound very difficult to do, if you think about it. It just requires a little time and an action plan on your part.

Try to use these tips for several affiliate marketing programs. You can end maintaining a good source of income and surviving in this business that not all marketers can do.

Besides, think of the huge paychecks you will be receiving…

Image Courtesy of Dalton Ghetti, Brazilian artist

How To Choose a Kick Butt Domain Name

Jay Mcleod — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:14:26 +0000

Choosing a Domain Name for SEO

Choosing the domain name is quite a tricky affair. It represents your business and unless you are as successful as Amazon.com where the title has nothing to do with e-commerce; you could be stuck with a loser. The people may not even visit your site if the domain name is complicated. The golden rule is keep it short, so that it is easy to remember.

What’s in a Name

Often catchy domain names stick out in the users memory and seem to be preferred with the users. But two very useful tips are

Try to keep the suffix as .com as it is widely accepted. Google has at times removed all .info domains from their results, but then brought them back. Using anything other than a .com or .net could give you these headaches in the future. Though depending upon the target country, you can have .uk or .in
The domain name should attract people when you broadcast it on offline marketing channels and when you are placing the domain links in certain items. Catchy, easy to read, and easy to remember.

Shorter is better

The shorter names stick out and they are easy to write down on the address bar.Keep it simple and short. No one wants to visit www.thelongestdomainnameintheworld.com to see your site. Though you have to be careful, the site name should not be too small, things like “My1.com” does not really measure up to anything.

At the same time, you might have domain names which are already taken. An Indian airline company could not use its name as it was already taken by an unrelated business; but the addition of the word fly in flykingfisher.com made the domain name perfect for an Airline. So a creative touch should never be ruled out.

Keyword Rich is Best

I do not believe that you should have your company name as the URL. Most websites do this, but there is no real need for it. A search engine will use the domain name as one of many calculations for ranking websites. Having a keyword rich url is much better than your company name.

If two websites have the exact same content, the exact same products, the exact amount of links, and the only differentiation between the two sites is the domain name, the site with the keyword rich url will rank higher.

The only major caveat to this is that a lot of the good domain names are taken. Use hyphens if you can, or other keywords you wish to rank, but make sure the url is relevant to your business as a whole. If you want, buy both a keyword rich url as well as your company name url, and redirect the company url to the website. The main url should be that keyword rich name.

If the name of your company is keyword rich, you are good to use a mixture of the keywords you are targeting and your company name, such as RichardsBlueBicycles.com. Using just the name of the business that doesn’t really explain or describe the business is not beneficial for you. Keywords in the domain name are just one small piece of the ranking puzzle, but every little bit counts, right?

Five Characteristics of a Strong Domain Name

Unique
Easy To Spell
Easy To Remember
Pronounceable
Short

Next week I will discuss the pros and cons of buying an existing domain name, and some places that offer these services.

One Awesome Landing Page Infographic…

Jay Mcleod — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 15:42:43 +0000

If you create landing pages for anything, Formstack has created a very thorough Landing Page infographic for you. It is the Anatomy of a Landing Page. Here is a very small version, but click the graphic for a much larger view.

Wednesday Internet Marketing Links – January 19th, 2011

Jay Mcleod — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 15:16:48 +0000

A few links this Wednesday morning. Seems that when you launch an eBook the amount of emails you get per day triples! I am slowly getting through the emails, and should have the last responses replied to by the end of the day. Now, onto the links!

How To Be Continuously Productive

This is a really great article by Robert Dempsey, an entrepreneur who really knows how to properly manage time. He explains how his work process is, no matter where he is. He always has his iPhone and pen and paper ready, and when inspiration hits him, he is always ready. This is kind of how I work. If you do not see me with my Moleskine, my iPad is an arms length away. I work whenever I can, when a great blog post hits me, or some keyword ideas for a client, I always work out the thoughts in these two devices wherever I am. Thanks Richard!

25 Important Search Engine Optimization Mistakes to Fix Right Now

No matter what website I am working on during the initial phase of SEO Consulting, I get at least one of the mistakes listed in the post on that website. Before you start seriously working on Internet Marketing, look at the site. Find this glaring mistakes and fix them first.

Off to my inbox now, then will post one of my accepted guest posts sometime today. If you have not yet, please download the Niche Blueprint eBook I launched today. It is an easy read, and a really good primer for getting more income from the Internet. Take a look!

My First Ever eBook!

Jay Mcleod — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:33:29 +0000

A few weeks ago, about 2 hours before the ball was about to drop and ring in the new year, I was laying in bed thinking about the future. I wasn’t so much thinking about what I wanted to do about my future; I was more curious about all of the other people in the world doing the same thing at the exact moment as I was right then. There has to be other individuals out there looking for another way to make money.

Let’s face it, the economy sucks right now. Unemployment is at one of the highest rates in years, and the prospect of things changing for the better soon are pretty slim. What does one do to overcome those odds and make more money?

New Years day I sat in my office and laid out the plan for my new eBook, and it is ready for release. The Niche Blueprint Internet Marketing Guide is available FREE to download right now. This is not your usual double spaced, huge font book of rhetoric. This is a 14 page JAM PACKED resource to show you just how easy it is to make money online. You do not need heavy knowledge of HTML, you do not even need a website. The guide shows you exactly what you will need and where to go to start a website, find the right niche markets, and start making money online.

Even better, the book has a discount code for my favorite hosting company saving you $25 off your first year of website hosting. Essentially, I am giving you $25 to read my ebook.

Go to the Niche Blueprint page and download your copy now, and please, tell your friends!

5 Essential Google Ranking Tips

Jay Mcleod — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 15:20:40 +0000

Most Google ranking tips deal with getting incoming links (or backlinks as they are also referred to) to your website. And for good reason. The more quality incoming links (determined by the rank of the site that the link originates from and the relevance of the keyword) you have, the higher your Google Page Rank will be and the more visible you will be to your prospects and/or customers. Here are some tricks to build your incoming links.

Submit your site to search engine directories. some directories charge a fee but many of them are free. If you’re on a tight budget, stick to the free ones. These can get you some free links back to your website. Sign up with as many as you can. The more links you have into your site, the better your page rank.

This is one of the most overlooked but best of Google ranking tips. Join forums that are relevant to your industry. When you participate in forums and include the link to your website in your signature, you will get links back to your website. This is a very effective way to establish your reputation in your industry and raise your page rank at the same time.

Take advantage of article marketing. If you can create (or hire someone to do it for you) articles that pertain to your business, with your website information at the bottom, and submit them to article directories, you will get more traffic and links.

Ask for links from other related sites’ webmasters. This is a rather “old-school” tactic but is still effective, albeit frustrating and time-consuming. Find sites that are related to your industry and write to their webmasters requesting that they link back to you. Some will not answer you. Some will say “no”. Some will ask you to link to them as well. And others will just link to you.

You have higher chances of getting the results you want with this if your site contains valuable information. While your ultimate goal is to have high-rank sites linking to yours, you can start out with any rank (as long as the content is valuable and relevant to what you have to offer). As you bring in more links, your rank will go up as well and you will be able to attract the higher ranking sites.

Create a newsletter. Taking the time to create a newsletter that you can send out to subscribers is definitely worth it. This keeps your visitors up to date with what you are doing and brings them back to visit your website on a consistent basis. You can also submit your newsletter to an ezine directory which will link back to your website and give you more free incoming links.

Hopefully these five Google ranking tips will help you achieve the ranking and traffic you’re aiming for.

A/B Testing To Help Sell and Convert More

Jay Mcleod — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 17:02:25 +0000

A/B testing has been around for quite some time, and it is really a great tool. It was a tool used to determine market trends by comparing data with other data to observe and record possible outcomes. Market research companies all over the world have done it. There are of course many ways to look at A/B testing, in fact some people have even compared it to a baseball match where you put your slugger against many pitchers and then see how he fares against each one of them.

But now it has been given an online makeover as many websites, large and small, use this form of data for their marketing. Big name websites such as Amazon.com, Google and even eBay have known to use this service, and you should too.

Online Makeover – The Use of AB Testing Online

A lot of sites have started to use this testing procedure because it allows them to make educated decisions on everything from banner advertising, page design and functionality, site branding and so on. For example if you have an eCommerce website that typically deals with online purchases – this form of testing can be very useful. You can test out functionality of a site by comparing two versions of a particular page, which is an important page in the process and chose the most effective one.

When a user selects several items into his cart but leaves the site because he cannot properly click on Proceed to Checkout because of its location or the way the page is design; in this scenario, you can create two versions of the cart page and serve up the new version to certain select users while continuing the old version with the rest of the users. One can easily look at statistics which functionality allowed users for a faster and more appropriate check out procedure. This is a classic example of AB testing.

The advantages of having this form of testing are that it is a low risk approach. In case we look at our example, if the second version does not fare well with the selected group of users, other solutions can be looked into, rather than making expensive changes. Therefore it is more cost effective and certainly gives the right data to make informed decisions.

Google offers their own A/B testing method with their Website Optimizer. This is a great starter tool because the coding involved is very basic. If you have installed Google Analytics on your website, or even a small widget, you will have ZERO problems running an A/B test.

Now, once you have a good test set up, and start tracking the data, start putting that data to action. If you do nothing with the information you get from these tests, you have failed. This is a valuable tool to increase conversions, sales, and readership.

Wednesday Internet Marketing Links – January 5th, 2011

Jay Mcleod — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 16:08:53 +0000

Hey all, some really good links today. I will get right to it, as I am finishing up some last minute edits on the eBook I hope to launch this week. If you are one of the subscribers to my newsletter, you get advance look at the eBook, as well as some pretty sweet bonuses that WILL save you some money if you do not have any hosting plans yet. Stay tuned, as I will be posting more information on the site throughout the week! Happy blogging!

7 Questions Small Businesses Should Be Asking

If you have a small business, these Internet Marketing questions are essential. This should be the top of the list questions for anyone trying to gauge their place on the Internet. Great read!

Battle of The Business Cards

PrintingChoice.com has a really good write-up of some of the online business card printers handled the same business card design. This is great to see the side-by-side comparison on quality, ship times, etc.

Busting the Top 3 Blogging Myths

This article explains the top three blogging myths, including guest posting on blogs. Guest posting is one of the major items on my list of things to focus on this year. I already started writing some articles specifically for guest posting opportunities.

How to Write For the Web

Jay Mcleod — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:08:52 +0000

There are some basic rules of writing for the web to make your website appealing to readers. After all, the goal of a successful website or blog is consistent readership. It is more difficult today to make your web presence known among million of writers and a gazillion blogs on the Internet. Therefore, you need to follow the right approach to write for the web.

Offer Valuable And Accurate Information To Your Readers

Take some time to research about the particular topic you choose to write on. Treat yourself as a reader first; this will enable you to know what exactly the readers are searching for and better prepare you for finding the right information to add to your article. Once you gain the credibility of providing your readership accurate information, you will gain the attention of more readers, and those readers will tell their friends.

Use Accurate Grammar

You don’t have to use high level English to be noticeable! All you need to know is the right usage of the language. You can only gain a grip of the readers if you have a hold on the grammar of the language you choose to write on. Just remember that readers want simple and precise content.

The Look Of The Article

There are a few simple tips that can make the article look easy to read. Use a catchy title to grab the attention of the reader. The size of the font should not be too big or too small, bold the lines that need attention, put various headings and subheadings and don’t hesitate to use graphs or diagrams if the need is required to illustrate some useful points.

Write Small Paragraphs And Short Sentences

Usages of long paragraphs make the whole article look boring and can make the reader feel lost. Keep it precise and simple in order to create interest among the readers.

Be There To Be Contacted

Feel free to direct your readers to know your personal information like email and your personal blog. It will not only help you to be interactive with your readers but also facilitate the process of getting feedback from them.

Don’t Use Technical Jargon

If you are using technical terms then do provide a link for readers to understand the term in a simple form. Otherwise, readers might as well switch over to a different website which offers reader friendly content. If you specifically are speaking from a technical nature, than by all means use the jargon!

These are just some simple tips on how to successfully write for the web. Explore your writing style in the most assessable way!