What sort of results can you expect when you use blogging on your business website? One of the best blogging sites for business is a client of mine, a Day Spa in Perth, Western Australia.

This Day Spa has only been blogging for a short time… just 2 months. It’s a great salon marketing strategy that can be applied to any business, in any industry or niche.

So what’s been the result so far. Well I’ve done a short video that shows you the search engine rankings that has been achieved for various keywords related to the services offered by this Day Spa.

And this Day Spa in Perth is starting to dominate the search engines with many number 1 rankings for these keywords. Get great search engine rankings and you’ll end up with MORE FREE traffic, MORE Clients and MORE Sales.

To get these results, you need a great blogging strategy. Many businesses try and fail… so you need the right strategy from the very beginning. If you want more information on what blogging strategies you need for your business then go to my Contact Form and send me an email.

Watch the video now… and give me your feedback by leaving your comments below.

• Keyword Research Tools Revealed
• Blogging For Business – How You Can Dominate Your Business Niche Online
• Traditional Website, Online Sales Letters, Blog. Which Strategy Works For You?
• Is Your Business Website Under Performing?

You probably know that videos are HUGE right now. All the big “gurus” are using video to market their products. You see people switching to video only sales pages, with just a video and an order button, or an opt-in form.

That’s because videos WORK, and these simple video pages WORK.

Just recently my good mate Pete Godfrey of Crocodile Marketing asked me to setup a landing page for a product launch that Crocodile Marketing were doing.

Pete asked me “hey Dave, can you go and set  up one of those fancy landing pages for me… you know with some fancy graphics and that stuff! I’ve got a video I want to use so can you add that in there as well?”

I replied “sure Pete… better yet do you want me to do something like what the best Direct Response Marketers are doing now?”

Pete said that’d be great… little did he know that with the use of his video, I was able to create perhaps the most simplest landing page that I’ve ever done.

And the results were outstanding… over 1,200 opt-ins at a conversion rate of around 60%

So what did that simple landing page look like… Go and take a look;

http://www.smartprofitsites.com/videolandingpage/pete.html

Now, I’m always on the lookout for an easier, smarter way to create this stuff… and maybe get a better conversion rate. Fact is, if you present something well you will improve your results.

To hire a designer to create a quality video squeeze page for you would cost hundreds of dollars. And trying to create one yourself from scratch could take hours. Though Pete’s page looked pretty simple, it was time consuming getting the code to display things just the right way.

Anyway… the other day I got this email that was talking about a “Premium Video Squeeze Pages” package. It had some great looking layouts… just for video landing pages.

I went and grabbed the package… and started to play around with it a bit to see what it could do. I was pretty amazed at how simple and quick you could create a Landing Page.

Go and check out what I did when I applied one of the many templates to Pete’s page;

http://www.smartprofitsites.com/videolandingpage/pete2.html

I’d maybe change the words around a bit, but you get the idea.

It was just a matter of copying the video code (from YouTube) and pasting it into the web page template.

Took all of 30 seconds!

So if you’re looking to do something the same with your landing pages then go and checkout Premium Video Squeeze Page Themes.

There’s a lot more than just the Landing Page layouts. There are plenty of great looking templates to display video on your web pages or blog.

You’ll SAVE time and money… PLUS, improve your conversion rates.Similar Posts:

• Traditional Website, Online Sales Letters, Blog. Which Strategy Works For You?

Here’s the quick way to determine if your website is under performing. Ask your self this…

1. is my business website creating leads for my products or service
2. is it delivering the information my prospects are wanting
3. is it selling my product or service

Now… if you answered “No”… maybe even “Not Really”… to any of these questions… then YES, your website is underperforming.

Now you’re not alone! 95% of business websites are just the same… so congratulations… you’re in the majority group.

Now is that a good thing? Well actually, when it comes to your website performance, you want to be in the Minority group.

And that’s only going to happen if you decide to take the right ACTION.

Now here’s the problem with most business websites. When they get a visitor to their website, they have no idea how to entice their prospects to take any action.

That can be a huge problem. Why? Well let’s say that the website gets lots of traffic (ie. visitors). If that visitor does not do what you want them to do and just leaves… there’s a strong chance they will never return!

What do you think they’ll do next… probably go to your competitor.

So whatever you’ve done to get them there… and that could have cost you a fair amount of money… has been wasted!

I shouldn’t need to tell you this, as you should have just realized… It needs to be fixed… NOW!

Before I give you the solution, I just want to mention this.

The majority of business owners (probably you) create a website, have an idea that it’s crappy and then just leave it. And the reason they leave it is that it’s not costing any money so it’s not a real priority.

Well… think again. If people are visiting your crappy website what do you think it’s costing you in;

• lost business
• credibility
• market growth

I’d say it’s probably been costing you LOT’s! And if you’re competition has got it right, they are leaving you for dead… leaving you to pick up the scraps while they pluck the low hanging fruit.

OK… the solution. Here’s what you need to FOCUS on:

1. Decide on what action you want your website visitor to take when they come to your website. I’ve written about this before in one of my earlier posts – Goal of Your Business Website
2. Once they visitor takes that action, what information do you want them to receive. Now the beauty of this is that it can be delivered on auto-pilot through the strategic use of an auto-responder.
3. Continue to create good quality content based on your product or service that creates your business as the authority in your particular niche. This can be delivered through your website using print, audio or video media.
4. Your website and the online marketing strategy you use will build credibility and trust in the eyes of your prospect and they will respond by buying your products or services.

Look… if you’re keen to pursue this path then you need to get in contact with me. You can do that through my Contact Form. Tell me what you want to achieve and I’ll suggest what ACTION you should take to achieve it.

In a very short time you could go from having a crappy website to an automated money making machine with MORE traffic, MORE clients and MORE sales.

Let’s talk soonSimilar Posts:

• Goal of Your Business Website – What Should It Be Doing?
• Best Blogging Sites For Business – Day Spa Example

I’m a big fan of SEO and keyword research tools. It’s a great feeling when some of your website content gets a FREE first page keyword ranking in Google… fact is… I’ve had many #1 rankings for many articles I’ve written over at my Salon Internet Marketing Blog

Why’s it so great? Well, as the result of a great search engine rankings I’ve started to receive a fair amount of website traffic based on the particular keyword I’ve based the article on.

And the short version of that is MORE Traffic = MORE Clients = MORE Sales.

Now that’s great in whatever niche your online business is based on. And if you’re serious about your online business then your goal would be to establish yourself as an authority in your particular niche.

And the more keywords in that niche that you get ranked for… the more credible you become.

The alternative to FREE traffic from search engines is Pay Per Click traffic. I’ve used PPC before… and I’ve wasted a fair sum of money testing out strategies that didn’t prove profitable. There was one time where I left my PPC campaigns running overnight. When I woke I found that it had cost me $200 without any sales. It’s scary!

That’s another reason I’m a fan of FREE traffic from search engines.

So back to the use of keyword research tools. I’ve gained most of my keyword rankings by chance. It’s only been recently that I’ve discovered the power of keyword research tools.

Now I’ve made a few mistakes… especially with PPC. Like many of us, you start off creating a website with a purpose but at times you don’t take the easiest, most effective path.

I found that the keywords I was chasing were not the keywords in my niche that got all the traffic… that is, the more popular keywords searched. Nor did I understand the competitiveness of those keywords.

That was until I discovered the power of keyword research tools. Now, it may not be possible to get effective keyword rankings for the most popular keywords… but it is possible to get great rankings for what is referred to as “long tail keywords”. These are derivatives of the most popular keywords that have little or no competition.

Here’s an example. I may not be able to quickly get rankings for the term “salon marketing” but it may be possible to get rankings quickly for “salon website marketing”… with very little effort! Eventually, with the keyword ranking weight you have for these “long tail keywords” you may end up with effective rankings for the main keyword.

So it requires a little bit of research. Now I’m no research techno wiz… but I can use some of the keyword research tools that are available.

Yes some of these keyword tools are FREE. And I use them as well. But you should have one good keyword research tool that you may have to pay for.

Why? Because these are the keyword tools that do all the work for you.. they quickly identify these low competing keywords… making your job easier with the result of gaining MORE traffic to your website.

One that I’ve been using for a little while now is Keyword Research Pro. I’ve found it easy to use, doesn’t require any technical knowledge, and there’s a few videos that show you how to use it. Within 30 minutes I was up and running and was targetting far more effective keywords that I had before.

Plus, you only pay once… there’s no monthly ongoing fees which seems to be the norm nowadays. You get FREE updates for life and it costs less than $100. Check out Keyword Research Pro.

I’m off to target a few more keywords!Similar Posts:

• Blogging For Business – How You Can Dominate Your Business Niche Online
• Best Blogging Sites For Business – Day Spa Example

How confused are you around this internet stuff? When I talk to my clients I discover that many of them are totally confused about what websites are all about.

You show them a Sales Letter Site (direct response style) and they ask where is the website, you show them a Blog and they wonder what that’s all about.

So let’s take a look at what it all means. Which type of website should you be focusing on? What’s the difference between them.

It could make the difference between you spending a LOT of money on your website and not getting sales (isn’t that the objective of any website?), verses getting heaps of sales from a website at a fair price to create it.

The “traditional” corporate style of website were the main option businesses looked at for presenting a positive image to the internet world. Now, I’m not a fan of this style or website… but this has been the common strategy in the past… but it’s not the only option you should consider – and may not get you the result you are searching for.

So first you need to understand each particular type.

Corporate traditional style of Website

This is the one you see that has the traditional company information such as products, About Us, Contact Us, and an overview of all facets of the business

• Is about the business – written in more formal language
• You describe your products & services & this only changes when your products or services change.
• Is designed to provide an overview of your entire organisation activity
• Is designed to impress the reader and build credibility for your business

In fact… I call it the “Business Card” online. Looks exactly like one and doesn’t do much more. And it doesn’t quite interact with your client.

Sales Page Website – the Direct Response style

This is the long form sales page website – focused on getting the reader to make or take an immediate direct response

• Starts with an attention grabbing headline
• Might include lots of testimonials from satisfied clients scattered throughout the page
• Is conversational, speaks directly to the person buying the product
• You can buy directly from links that have been included on the page
• Stands alone… Is not necessarily linked to other parts of the business.
• Is designed to sell one product or service only – you are seeking ONE outcome

I use this style of website quite often. It has a purpose and that is to get the Sale.

Blog Websites

So what’s a Blog? In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what’s new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not.

It’s just like this website!

So, unlike the traditional style of website, a blog is a collection of articles, content, catalogued and archived, based on your chosen niche.

The challenge here is to create a blog in such a way that it enhances your business… helps you get the reader, your clients, to come back more often to your website, creates more “traffic” to your website and makes you more money.

• Blogs are dynamic – blogs are usually updated on a regular basis, daily, weekly.
• Blogs can be interactive – people can leave their comments and participate in a conversation on your blog.
• Blogs rank very highly with the search engines as the content is regularly updated – Google loves blogs because of this!

Not all web designers understand or have invested the time to study marketing… getting the client to buy from your website. And not all web designers will know how to guide you to get the best results from your website – most look at how to make your site look like a piece of art… with flashy bits and little tricks.

So make sure you work with a designer who understands marketing… websites that are designed to sell!

So, ask yourself this question… “what type of website design will work for me – a company website, a blog or a direct response online sales letter?”. I’d recommend that you make use of all THREE!

Feel free to leave your comments below and tell me what you think.Similar Posts:

• Blogging For Business – How You Can Dominate Your Business Niche Online
• Video Landing Pages That Improve Conversions
• Goal of Your Business Website – What Should It Be Doing?
• Best Blogging Sites For Business – Day Spa Example

The benefits of blogging for business are now too much to ignore. In fact, if you’re not blogging then you’re LOSING money.

Here’s why… I’ve been blogging for the last 12 months or so. I’ve also set up a number of blogs for my clients. Here’s what’s happened… these blog websites have generated MORE Leads, MORE Traffic, and MORE Clients than any traditional style of website could imagine.

One thing you MUST understand: Blogging is no longer a choice. If you’re online and you WANT traffic, attention, great search engine rankings and PROFITS then you simply MUST have a Blog!

The other day I found some interesting statistics on Blogging (source BlogWorldExpo.com) It’s an American site so some stats are relevant to that part of the world…

• Over 12 million American adults currently maintain a blog.
• More than 147 million Americans use the Internet.
• Over 57 million Americans read blogs.
• 1.7 million American adults list making money as one of the reasons they blog.
• 89% of companies surveyed say they think blogs will be more important in the next five years.
• Technorati is currently tracking over 70 million blogs .
• Over 120 thousand blogs are created every day .
• There are over 1.4 million new blog posts every day .
• 22 of the 100 most popular websites in the world are blogs .
• 37% of blog readers began reading blogs in 2005 or 2006 .
• 51% of blog readers shop online .
• Blog readers average 23 hours online each week .

So YES… Blogs are a pretty big deal!

Here’s what I find interesting. There’s a whole pile of people out there who read Blogs and over 51% of them admit to shopping online. And they spend a lot of time reading stuff on the internet each and every week!

If you’re in any sort of business you’d want to get a piece of that.

I want to talk a little about traffic to your website. I’m a great fan of getting FREE traffic from search engines. And if you have a website then you damn well want it to be visible in the search engines. You don’t want it to be on page 10 of search results, you want it to be on the front page.

Now, the traditional style of website might get some sort of ranking for it’s main keyword. Here’s an example… you’re a Personal Fitness Trainer in the city of Perth, so you might get a search engine ranking for “Personal Trainer, Perth”

And you may get some traffic as a result of that search engine ranking.

But what about all the associated search terms eg. personal fitness trainer, weight based training, aerobic training, gym training etc.

Here’s where Blogging comes in. By simply providing content to your Blog based on those wide ranging keyword terms, you can just about guarantee some sort of placement… quickly and cheaply!

Consider this… I have a Salon Marketing Blog. I’ll go and research a keyword and then write some content based on that keyword. Within 30 minutes (sometimes quicker) that article will be present in the search engines with a great ranking.

Is that a little “far fetched”? A good ranking in Google within 30 minutes of publishing the Blog Post?

Well… here’s my latest article titled “Blogging For Salons”. I just searched google for that keyword I was ranked 2 and 3 for that keyword.

And experts in search engine optimization (SEO) agree:

“You simply must have an ongoing stream of valuable content to attract the most free traffic available in your niche through the search engines. There’s no better platform for publishing and organizing that content than a well-built blog.”

Effective Blogging for Business is “marketing on steroids” for your online business.

Here’s a great resource for you… I’ve just written a 14 page FREE report titled “Blogging For Business – Dominate Your Online Marketplace”. You can download it here…

http://www.smartprofitsites.com/blogging-for-business

And in that report I give you a few Case Studies on how Blogging For Business is being used by some of my clients.

Go and grab your copy of it now!Similar Posts:

• Keyword Research Tools Revealed
• Best Blogging Sites For Business – Day Spa Example
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As a business owner, have you ever asked yourself what is the number 1 Goal of Your Business Website? That’s a pretty straight forward question. And I doubt many of you really get the answer.

Let me explain… I’m not that into theory or technical stuff. To me, it’s simple… a website has to do it’s stuff… it needs to PERFORM!

It needs to make you MONEY! Forget about anything else.

Sounds pretty simple… but the fact is most business owners have no idea how to go about doing that. And the funny thing is… NEITHER do most website designers! Mind you, they’ll try to convince you that it must be a showcase for your business… something you’d be proud to show off to your friends.

It’ll have pretty colours, maybe even a FLASH presentation, fancy graphics… stuff like that. In my opinion, they’re missing the point!

OK, listen in, because I’m going to start revealing the secrets of high PERFORMANCE websites… the one’s that make their business owners a lot of money!

When a visitor comes to your website… they have to do whatever it is you want them to do! And it has to be clearly obvious what ACTION you want them to take. And you DON’T want to distract them from what that is. Anything that doesn’t push them towards the ACTION you want them to take is a distraction. And on most websites I look at, there is a ton of distractions.

Now… there are only 2 possibilities for the ACTION you want them to take.

1. Hit the BUY button so that they can instantly buy your product or service
2. Get them to give you their NAME and EMAIL address.

That’s it! Nothing else.

Let’s take a quick look at Option 1. This will work if you have a cheap product or service… let’s say up to $50 or so. You would be using a strong selling sales letter, not too lengthy… that instantly convinces the visitor to BUY Now!

Now for a dose of reality! That ain’t going to happen too often. Why? Because most people buy on emotion… and it may take a number of contacts from you to get that to happen.

Now Option 2. If you’re selling a more expensive product or service it’s going to take a bit more than a glossy looking website for them to decide to choose you straight away. You need to get their name and email address so that you can continue to market to them. Fact is… studies show that it may take upwards of 7 contacts before they decide to buy from you.

So what can you do to get them to leave their name and email address. The secret is to offer the visitor an “ethical bribe” that to receive, they must “opt-in” and leave their name and email address.

Here’s an example… The Beauty Salon that offers a FREE gift voucher. The Plumbing business that offers a FREE report “10 things you need to know before you choose a Plumber”. The Carpet Cleaner that offers a FREE report “Cleaning Carpets Made Easy” and so on.

It’s stuff like that that converts the website visitor to a prospect that you can market to.

And then what do you do? You use effective “automated” email marketing to follow up with your prospect. You create a sequence of follow ups… maybe 5 to 10 emails. You use an intelligent autoresponder service to automatically send out the emails over the next 2 weeks or so. You don’t need staff to follow up, it works for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

And if you do it right you will convert them from prospect to paying client.

And that’s what I don’t see the majority of websites doing! It’s what I call Direct Response Marketing… a website that has a clear course of ACTION for your website visitor… a website that is designed to SELL!Similar Posts:

• Is Your Business Website Under Performing?
• Traditional Website, Online Sales Letters, Blog. Which Strategy Works For You?