If you do any type of online marketing or SEO you’ve undoubtedly heard all of the rumblings about the “penguin update” from Google. So … now what? Well, none us “really” know yet what to do from here. Well, except to keep writing and posting since that’s the ONE thing we know pleases Google right?!

I don’t have much to report on this subject because it’s simply too soon to draw any real conclusions. There will be plenty of people testing out new ideas so I’ll leave it to them and wait to see what they say – after the dust has settled that is.

But my friend Michelle MacPhearson (From Idea to Impire) did a video stating my thoughts exactly so I thought I’d share it with you.

What do you think of the whole Google update? Were your sites hurt by this latest round or are you ranking better than ever? Let’s hear from you k? *huGs* Suzanne

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Until I did some research I had NO idea just how many poisonous toxins were right in my own home! Yikes! I’m so disgusted. Watch this video … where this doctor specializes in helping people get toxic and harmful products out of their homes. It’s bad enough to put yourself at risk … but imagine what we’re doing to our kids!

I am in the process of replacing all of the known toxic products in my home and I’ll be sharing all of the research I do and the ideas for replacing everything. If you want me to share it and update you as I go just put your name and email below and I’ll send you my findings and updates (I HATE SPAM … I will not share your info with anyone for any reason whatsoever – I promise).

This video is definitely worth the watch …

If you’d like to contact me about what products I’m using … or you’d like to learn anything specific … use my contact form here or call me on my call phone 210-867-9781 … and be sure to sign up for my updates. *SmiLes* Suzanne

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So Happy New Year!

Sorry I’ve been so quite on the blog here … I am sooo happy to have a New Year and a fresh start! I can honestly say that 2011 was not my most favorite year. I lost 6 friends and family members … and only one of the deaths was actually expected.  *sigh*

For this year … I, along with about 70% of the rest of the universe, have made the decision to get healthy and lose some unwanted weight. I am using products from a company named Isagenix and I couldn’t be happier with the results so far. I’ve lost at least 11 lbs. since New Year’s Day (I don’t weigh in again for another few days) and the difference in the way my clothes fit and in my energy levels are nothing short of amazing. So what are the products? They are based on nutritional cleansing and replenishing your body with very healthy nutrients (something that was very foreign to my body LOL).

I was so excited about my results that I’ve been sharing the news with friends and family members and many have decided to join me. It has been so easy to share with others … that I’ve decided to make a business of sharing the products with others. It turns out there’s very good money to be made! In fact, if all of my appointments stick for this week I will make well over $1,000! Pretty cool huh?

I am going to be working this as a professional business and I’m willing to help others do this as a business too … so if you or someone you know is open to hearing about a new income stream please contact me k?

Here’s a video about some women kicking ass with the company (I plan on joining them! And, yes, there are plenty of men tearing it up too LOL I just really like this video). *huGs* Suzanne

http://suzannefranco.isagenix.com/us/en/isavideos_enterprisingwomen.dhtml

Let me know if this is something you or someone you know might be interested in hearing more about ok?

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So … you wanna make some quick cash? I can show you how ok?

Just watch this video and let me know if I can answer any questions for you … I’m seriously looking for 3 people to personally work with on this … please contact me if you’re interested or would like to hear more! *SmiLes* Suzanne

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I can’t believe it! Austin just turned 16 and is now driving! Yikes!

One of us is super excited about this new chapter in our life *sigh* … LOL

So what does this have to do with my blog here at SuzanneFranco.com?

Well, as you may or may not know Austin has been learning online marketing alongside me for several years now and he’s … well … you could say very motivated right now to pay for his new “ride.” So we’ve teamed up to offer you some killer online deals:

Killer Offer #1:

FREE WordPress Site Setup:

We will set up your WordPress website/blog for free with our recommended configurations, plugins, widgets, etc. We simply request that you use the links we provide to our preferred hosting company (HostGator) to purchase your hosting service (they pay us a referral fee … you get a free website set up … win/win right?). *If you already have a hosting account please contact us here and we will still help you out.

Use this link and this code (hgc25) to get your first month for a penny!

P.S. If this is all new to you and purchasing a domain and hosting intimidates you please contact us and we will help you through the process … no problem at all …

Killer Offer #2:

Website Review and Consultation: Keyword Research, Onsite Optimization, and Monetization Methods – $197 ($395 Value)

Already have your site set up but don’t know how to make money online? We can help! We will review your site, help you with your keyword research, help with your onsite SEO, and look at your monetization methods (or lack thereof) and make suggestions and changes to help get you profitable.

Killer Offer #3:

Google Local Places Page Setup and Optimization – $397 ($595 Value)

If you have a local business you don’t want to miss this amazing offer! What would it mean to your bottom line if you were beating all of your competitors in Google for the search terms that your potential customers were typing into the search engines? We will claim, setup and optimize your Google Places Page (you know those pages you see on Google where the results show a map with the little red markers with “A” “B” “C” results listed?) We can’t “promise” you an “A” placement … this is Google we’re talking about LOL … but I will say we’re VERY good at this service and we will use all of our “ninja” tricks to get your business pushed to the top!

Client: Pilot Heating & Cooling

OK … if you need help online … let us know a.s.a.p. and we’ll hook you up! You’ll get a killer deal on some great services … and you’ll help an amazing young man earn his first vehicle (never mind mom’s mixed feelings on this subject LOL).

Use the contact us page to place your orders and to ask any questions you have about these offers.

*SmiLes* Suzanne

P.S. I’m not sure how long we’ll be offereing these discounted rates so if you’re interested contact us TODAY to lock in these rates!

P.P.S. We’re are also willing to negotiate discounted rates on our other services so just ask (i.e. backlink building, video marketing, graphics, social media consulting/management, content creation, and more!)

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Niche Store Earnings January, February, and March 2011

It’s that time … time for me to update you on the progress and profits from my niche stores. Since I last wrote, I have built a handful of new stores (with the help of an outsourcer) and I’m really glad I did. They are all indexed nicely and starting to perform well.

If you recall in my last niche store update I mentioned that I was going to basically duplicate my existing niches and stores and that’s what I decided to do. There were some stores that Google just did not like so most all of the traffic was from Yahoo and Bing. With these new stores it seems almost the opposite – I’m doing great in Google and not so well with Yahoo and Bing *sigh* So goes the story of trying to figure out what the search engines really want right?!

I also decided to try some classified advertising (I’ve use USFree Ads in the past) and that seems to have produced some nice traffic too.

So on to my profits: 

January 2011: $608.68

February 2011: $495.96

March 2011: $1,188.16

In my next niche store update I will tell you about some issues I’ve run into in my SEO/backlinking efforts … it’s always a learning experience isn’t it? LOL *SmiLes* Suzanne 

P.S. Do you have niche stores? If so, how do you monetize them? How have they been performing? Do you wish you had niche stores but don’t know where to start? I can help … shoot me an email k?

P.P.S. I’m asked daily what tools I’m using to make this kind of money on my niche stores … I personally use this plugin and this theme … and I’m willing tutor you to success up if you purchase one or both of these products

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This week I took a challenge from online friend, Dani, on her Dani Nir-McGrath | Home Business Success Tips & Motivation, FB page to make a live video recording and post it to her page. Some participants did a business video (business as usual), some did a tour of their site as an introduction, and I chose to talk (vlog) about how we can avoid doing video by coming up with excuses – most of which are just insecurities and quite honestly unfounded and petty.

So that got me wondering … how many of you actually use video online? Is it live video or more of a screen capture video? Do you have your own insecurities that keep you from creating videos more often (or even EVER)? I for one know that if I’m looking to learn from someone online who’s “been there done that” and is even willing to take the time to record how to do something … I’m not terribly concerned about whether or not they’re having a “bad hair day” or if they’ve taken the time and energy to put on some makeup. What about you? Would that ruin your viewing experience or are you just happy to have the video to watch?

I’d love to hear your thoughts are on doing live video so please participate by posting a comment below … have you done them? Do you enjoy it? Do you feel insecure? If so, about what? Please, please, please … let us hear from you on this one ok? *SmiLes* Suzanne

P.S. And if you haven’t joined us over on my Facebook Page …. please do so (and invite me to your page too) http://www.facebook.com/suzannefrancodotcom

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OK … I’m a bit behind on posting my niche store earnings so here we go.

I’ll jump right in to the figures and then discuss some of my discoveries and share some of the changes I’ve made.

September $466.05

October $452.42

November $866.10

December $839.88

There is usually an increase in my income during the holidays so I wasn’t surprised at that … and there is usually a decrease in the couple months to follow so I won’t be too surprised by that either. One of my top performers is in the water sports industry and that usually picks up in the Spring and Summer so I have that to look forward to as well.

You know how many blessings are disguised as problems? Well, I can say that did happen to me with my niche sites. I got a friendly email from HostGator letting me know that I needed to upgrade all of my WordPress installations *sigh* (yea, like over 40 of them – don’t ask LOL … well … let’s just say I tend to hoard websites LOL … and I still have a fear of upgrading from back when I started and it all had to be done manually). Unfortunately, in doing the upgrade, I broke a few of my BANS sites (Build a Niche Site – for those who aren’t familiar). I had to contact my online buddy, “Soggy Dave,” (he sold me the theme I was using for these sites) and ask for his assistance. He fixed my sites and nicely let me know that it was TIME! Time to start building my sites using phpBay instead of BANS … and I begrudgingly agreed. If you’ve read my site for more than a day you’ll know I’m not techie and I hate even trying new techie type stuff LOL … in fact I even tried to hire Dave to convert my sites for me. He’s very sweet and told me he thought I could do it myself and that I should give it a try. Well, I’m glad I listened to a trusted friend.

To start with, I was so bad at checking my stats and so uninformed about these old sites that I had never realized something very important. None of my BANS sites were getting any Google traffic (none of them)! They get decent traffic but it turns out all of the traffic is either from Yahoo and Bing or from links I’ve built over the years. Well, I have great news! I’ve rebuilt my sites and they are starting to do really well in the SERPs (search engine results pages) for the terms I’m tackling … and BTW … I’ve learned a LOT about SEO since I built those BANS sites years ago so I actually expect my new sites to do much better than their BANS predecessors.

Once I got the hang of building the phpBay stores (they’re pretty easy actually) I decided to continue on with my efforts. So … not only did I rebuild my six existing stores I’m on a mission to get my portfolio up to about 50 sites (I have three new sites up and a couple more partially done). I can’t possibly build, dress up, and promote that many stores effectively on my own so I also made the decision to hire a couple of VA’s (virtual assistants). In fact, I’ll soon be blogging about how that’s going too.

The numbers were about average huh? But, I think you’ll agree they continue to be a consistent passive income so I really can’t complain.

So … do you have any niche sites? Are you an ex-BANS builder? Have you ever tried phpBay? Are you approved with EPN? If not, do you do anything with Amazon? I’d love to hear what you’re doing with niche sites and share some ideas … if you’re new and this is all “greek” to you … let me know if you’re interested in learning more about niche sites … I’m happy to help in any way I can. *SmiLes* Suzanne

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Before we get into the SEO (search engine optimization) training I really want to make sure you get some understanding of keyword research. There is no sense in optimizing your site using a term or terms that you will probably not be able to rank well for so this should help you get started with finding the correct terms to tackle.

Go ahead and watch the video and below the video I’ve also added some more info and a link to the spreadsheet I’m using and referencing  in the video. The video file is large so depending on your connection speed you might want to hit “play” and then “pause” … this will let the video buffer and you’ll have a better chance of getting it to play through when you watch it:

 
Link to Keyword Tool: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

When I do my keyword research I try to find what I call the “sweet spot” which for me means to find the terms with the combination of … the most searches with the least amount of competition. Everyone’s idea of “competition” is different so in the video I explain how I find what I consider my competition (I use the search query: allintitle:”keyword phrase in quotations”). These are the pages I assume have actually optimized for that phrase and who have (or might have) done the work that I’m also willing to do to rank for this phrase (which I will be teaching you to do).

When I used to do this process manually I used a spreadsheet (which hopefully you can download here: Manual Keyword Research Spreadsheet) to input, sort and organize the keyword phrases that I’m considering. I no longer do this process manually but I wanted to teach you this method so that you understand what I’m looking for and for those who don’t have a budget for any paid tools. In an upcoming video I will be sharing the tools I use now to automate this process so make sure you’ve subscribed to the blog RSS.

As I mention in the video, I often get asked exactly how I decide on my keyword phrases. I have some guidelines I go by and then the rest is just experience and my gut. It is very, very different for each of my niches but this is a broad overview just to give you an idea of what I look for. For a main term for an index or main page I try to look for terms that have between 2,000 and 10,000 searches per month (or more) depending on the niche. When I went into my destination wedding niche I saw there were 150,000 – 200,000 monthly searches for the term “destination wedding” and I could see there was a ton of competition. I wanted to tackle something a little more doable. After using these methods I discovered the phrase “best destination wedding” had around 10,000 searches (currently 9,900) and “best destination weddings” currently has 12,100 monthly searches. I would rather go after those two terms and try to master them … then to spend the next decade (literally) trying to rank for “destination wedding.” After doing the work and using the methods I will be teaching you I have achieved page one rankings for both of these terms and I usually stay in the top 5 pretty consistently for these terms. Of course it is my ongoing goal to get as high as possible for these terms.

I hope the video was helpful in teaching you a little bit about keyword research. I will continue with a couple more videos on keyword research and I’ll show you the tools I find invaluable to my business.

I would love to answer your questions so please let me know what you need help with in the comments section below. If you have a specific question and don’t like to share your niche or keywords here … you can also reach me using the contact page.

If you enjoyed the video, please share it using Facebook, Twitter … your favorite social bookmarking site … wherever … I’d really appreciate it *SmiLes* Suzanne

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What is SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?

Before I get started with my SEO tips and ideas I thought I’d clarify what SEO is and why it’s important.

According to Wikipedia, “Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the “natural” or un-paid (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results.”

A search engine’s “job” (i.e. Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.) is to return the most relevant results to a visitor’s search query. So if I sit down at my computer and type in wakeboard racks into my Google search bar it’s Google’s job to provide me with the web page (yes this can be a single page not necessarily an entire site) that they feel is the very best match for my search query. As stated above, we’re talking about the natural results – not the ads that show up at the very top and on the right hand side.

How do they determine what page is the “best match”? Well, there are several factors that help Google “rank” each page in order and we are going to look at some of these factors.

When you go to optimize your site you will want to focus on your “on-page” factors, as well as, your “off-page” efforts. On-page factors are the ways you can tell Google what your site or page is about by adding code and content to the actual page. Off-page factors are what other sites are telling Google your page is about. This can happen naturally as others link to your site but you will also want to learn about ways (other than on your own site) to “tell” Google what your page is about. These are the off-page methods we’ll be looking at as we go.

I want to get started with on-page factors A.S.A.P. but before you put any work into your SEO you’ll want to make sure you understand how to choose your keywords or the SEO work you do will be a complete waste of time.

I’ve done some videos on this in the past but the keyword tools I use and the look and feel of them have changed so I’ll be putting together a new video for you in the next couple of days.

Until then, I’ve set up my new Facebook fanpage and if you go there and “Like” the page and add your favorite SEO tip (or ask me an SEO question) I’ll give you credit in my SEO post series with a nice PR3 link back to your site. I’m also gearing up to hold some contests and giveaways on my page there so be sure you go “Like” it and check back from time to time to see what I’m up to over there … sound good? *SmiLes* Suzanne SuzanneFranco.com Fanpage

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