I discussed things like organic search and effective web design with him and how that could help his business, for a fraction of that cost and produce far more leads. There is the up front cost for site re-design and the ongoing search engine marketing activities, but again, the cost for a small business should not be anywhere close to $10,000 per month as most cannot afford this. So you may be asking “is this one of those clients where the top position in Google costs like $30-$40 per month?”. The answer is no and in fact, I have done lead generation for this company on a contingency basis in the past, so I already have the numbers. For paid search, this client would do very well for well under $8.00 per click. So even if we used $8.00 per lead figure AND marked it up by 25%, he would still see 800 leads for his $9,600 MONTHLY spend, not the proposed 203.

As in all things - BUYER BEWARE. If something seems a bit out of range, get a second opinion. Sadly, I am sure this company exists because they are able to find people who are willing to over pay for search marketing for the promise of a few leads and then sold on the fact that they will close “x” percent of them, even without addressing usability - and that could be no further than the truth. Or they sell them on the fact that they are going to offer a deep discount (if their manager approves it).

If you are looking at a search marketing proposal and you are unsure of it’s legitimacy or cost, contact us and we will gladly review it for you at no charge.

First, lets talk about your goals. If your goal is to just promote your website on website, then you have failed to understand the purpose of Social Networking. Social networking is the equivalent to offline networking; with the exception that it can be done from your computer. Your goal “should” be to meet people in your industry and people that share your common interests in en effort to mutually benefit one another.

So How Does One Get Started?
It’s pretty simple actually. Build a profile - a REAL profile. There has been lots of talk in the blogosphere lately about people who use fake pictures on their profiles. That’s no different than meeting someone in the real world and giving them a fake name - it’s bogus and it doesn’t fly online either. Would you introduce yourself as a “Trump”, “Bush” or “Rockefeller” in real life, just so people would think you are important? If your answer is yes, I will have my wife call you - she is a THERAPIST. The right is answer is NO, it’s not acceptable behavior. The same goes online. If you aren’t willing to divulge who you are online, then Social Networking isn’t for you.

Secondly, reach out and make some friends. You can search by topic, but the best way I have found is by viewing peoples Stumble Upon profile as listed on their blog, or viewing the profiles of those who like the same articles as I do on Stumble Upon.

What if it Doesn’t Work?
My guess is that you are guilty of one of the following:

1. You are primarily promoting your own website. That’s the equivalent to going to a party and just handing people your business card and walking away without showing interest in them or what they do. You will get the same reponse online - not much.

2. You are a “waver”. You may just thumb up other people’s websites and never review them. That’s the guy or gal who goes to a party and just waves at every body without ever talking to them. No one gets to know them, and therefore no one ever refers anyone to them.

3. You are networked with the wrong people. If you have friended people that are interested in nothing you are interested in, they won’t care about your website or anything you send them. If they haven’t logged in for a month or so, they don’t know you exist. That’s like being friends with the guy that never shows up at a party. People start to think you have imaginary friends. Or if you see a “silhouette” where they once had a picture, they could be under investigation for allegedly breaking one of Stumble Upon’s rules/

4. Your profile seems like it’s a fraud. I have had people “friend” me and when I look at their profile it look like a knock out of a woman, and then the description says it’s a guy. Well, cross dressers aren’t on my list of related or interested topics, but that’s not even what it’s about. It’s a lame attempt for someone to try and lure me into becoming an “Stumble Upon Friend” by using sex. Sorry - it doesn’t work. Perhaps if I were single, or just trying to find parties it might work, but for me, Stumble Upon is about building professional relationships, sharing quality content, and finding new and interesting sites, blogs, and news stories.

5. You aren’t making the transition away from Stumble Upon. Social Networking is like online dating; if all you do is chat online, you’ll never go out with anyone. Make it clear what you are looking for from those you are networked with - ask for the order. Send someone an offline email (what - give a stranger my email address?). If they are strangers, then you haven’t built an online relationship with them. Even better, set up a phone call with someone to talk about business.

I hope that helps. Feedback and comments are welcomed.

To be considered, please send your resume or business information along with a writing sample via email to travelblog(@)webtrafficteam.com.

Please note is open to travel agents working through network marketing based travel firms such as YTB.

If you have incorporated affiliate marketing info your business model, I strongly urge you to. If you don’t know where to start, I encourage you to pick up a copy of The Super Affiliate Handbook, by Rosalind Gardner. It is one of the best books written on the topic of affiliate marketing - if not the best.

If you are an affiliate marketer or have an affiliate program that isn’t , but you are not having the success you want, stay tuned for my upcoming post ony why affiliate marketing doesn’t work for most people. Also, you can pick up a free copy of my ebbok, What The Affiliate Marketing Gurus Don’t Tell You.

Many times, employers just don’t know enough about search engine marketing to know what they need. I literally overhead a recuirter once asking questions about the role of “Search Marketing Analysts” in an attempt to secure a contract with a company, and it was pretty clear that she had no idea what she would ask the candidate.

The range of positions we can fill are any where from the most basic (we’ll find you a secretary or customer service rep if you want us to) to the technical (Search Marketing Analysts, PPC Technician, Programmer, etc.) to the Executive Level. Through a strategic partnership with an Executive Staffing Firm, we have a pool of Executives that are ready for their next assignment, and many are ready to invest in the companies that they join.

If you are looking for your next SEM Guru, or Corporate leader, contact Web Traffic Team today to discuss your options. Hold on to your checkbook! You won’t have to write a check up front for the standard 10-30% of the employees annual salary, a benefit which makes our services affordable for nearly every business.

For more info, visit our Internet Marketing Staffing page.

And now you know why “the experts” recommend having a short, dot-com URL. They are easier to remember, and for a promotion such as this, a long URL wouldn’t work so well.

I don’t understand what the HECK is wrong with my blog. I just wrote another post (LONG) and hit save and preview and it is gone. i copied it just in case and now, that is gone…..

PLEASE HELP!!!

Ok, first let me say, my wife is awesome. She’s one of the best people I know and not just because she puts up with me and keeps me in line, but I am blessed to have a woman as awesome as she is. Second, now she can’t be mad at me for posting her email after saying such great things about her (all true).

This happened to me as well in my early blogging days and I used to get frustrated, but now here is what I do.

First, I write my blog posts in notepad and save them.

Second, I copy them to Microsoft Word to use the Spelling and Grammar checker.

THEN, I copy it back to Notepad to get rid of the “Microsoft code” that will appear if you don’t do this. Notepad strips the extra code and allows you to paste pure text into your blogging software.

Happy Blogging!

One day, I noticed my stats had tanked. After further research, I realized that the site had fallen out of the Google index. Please know this, when I test I do not use any black hat (or grey hat) techniques. So what happened? In most cases, you can’t really know for sure, but if you are truly following the rules, one possibility is a “bad neighborhood”. This is where you are somehow linked to the stuff Google doesn’t like - intentionally or not. This particular site’s web traffic was built exclusively through link building, and none of them were quality paid links such as Yahoo, Business.com, Best of the Web, etc. so there is a likelihood that it was connected to something that it should not have been.

Another cause of falling out of Google’s grace is being victim of a Google Dance, where google changes an algorithm and the rankings go awry.

So what to do in either case? Confirm that you are not violating any of Google’s Webmaster guideline and then go out and find more good, quality links. In this case, I wrote two articles and submitted them to two of the leading article submission sites. I also made comments on a few well-ranked blogs. Low and behold this was enough to do the trick, because when I checked the stats, I noticed that the Google traffic was back, and I confirmed that the site once again has several top ten listings. I guess I am glad I didn’t sell it when the Google traffic was gone (I did get an unsolicited offer for the site based on the traffic and database). Database? Why would I have a database for a project site? First, because in my book it’s an imperative, but secondly, it allows us to test nearly “EVERYTHING SEM” including viral marketing and email marketing. At 2,000 members and growing, as well as one unsolicited 4-figure offer, I’d say it’s a success in more ways than one.

And for those of you who don’t know who Matt Cutts is, he is an engineer with the Google Search team, who people frequently blame or run to whenever they have problems ranking on Google.

I hope that helps you get back on Google’s good side and enjoying rankings and traffic once again.