Using Blogs and Forums for Free Traffic
For every subject that you can possibly imagine and probably a few that you would most likely never want to imagine, there are people gathered on the Internet on blog and forum sites who are discussing it… at great length.
You can bet that no matter what the topic of your website or what product or service that you are selling that somewhere (and probably a lot of somewheres) people are discussing it right now as we speak on blogs and forums on the Internet.
Whatever your product or service is, there is a specific group of people who are the most likely to buy it. These are the ones who are gathered on blogs and forums discussing a topic for which your product or service is an answer to their problem. I use the word “problem” rather loosely here. “Problem” covers anything that a person wants but doesn’t have… whether that thing is a new pair of jeans, a cure for cancer or anything in between. Problems are simply things that people want but don’t have…and your product is obviously one of those things…at least for some of them. Now, your mission is to find these people.
Go to your favorite search engine and in the search box type in your key words followed by the word: forums. Hit search. You will be amazed at the number of forums on which your potential customers are discussing the topic that you are most interested in and the one where your product can actually be of service.
Repeat the search using the word: blogs behind your key words. You will likely get just as many hits using that term.
Now out of these two searches that you have done, choose the top 4 or 5 sites of each search that come up in the results. Visit these sites and determine if they are in fact discussing the topic that your product relates to. Choose three or four of the most active forums or blogs. Active, meaning those who have had the most posts made to them in the last 24 hour period or who have the largest number of members listed. Join the sites.
Remember that posting to blogs and forums is a time consuming task. It is an important task and it is a task that will help to drive traffic to your website but, I assure you, it IS time consuming. For each and every blog and forum site that you join, you will need to post 3 to 5 times each week and each post will consist of at least 300 words, probably more.
This is important! Do NOT start out posting blatant advertisements for your product or for your website. Think of each blog and forum as a neighborhood that you have just moved into. The people on each site will most likely know one another well and you will be the new kid on the block, so act like it.
Posting advertisements for your product or for your website is just rude. They will likely be removed by the blog or forum administrator as will you be removed from the membership list. Advertisements are generally banned from all blog and forum sites.
What you can and should do is include your website address in your signature tag. That is not considered an advertisement. It is simply a part of your identity and is viewed as such by the administrators as well as the members of blogs and forums.
You are going to have to go slow here. Introduce yourself to the group. Take your time to get to know each of the members who are the most active and who exert the most influence within the group.
Remember that your posts need to be thoughtful, considerate and helpful to other members and must never EVER appear to be advertisements for your website or for your products. You can suggest your products as solutions for problems within your posts but they must not look like advertisements. They must appear to be of the friend-helping-a-friend variety.
You may be tempted to use articles that you have written as blog or forum posts and sort of get more bang for your buck so to speak…don’t. Articles and blog or forum posts are two different animals…and they are not interchangeable. The other reason for never using an article as a blog or forum posts is that search engine spiders may well identify one or the other as duplicate content. Duplicate content is NOT a good thing. Just don’t do it.
Never include links to your website within the body of your posts to blogs and forums. This can be construed as advertising and it can get you tossed out on your ear. You must be satisfied with the link to your website that will appear just below you name in your signature tag at the end of each post.
You can safely rely on the human trait of curiosity to insure that the members of the blogs and forums will click on the link to your website in your signature tag. Most people come with a healthy and built-in supply of curiosity. They will not be able to resist clicking on the link below you name at least once.
If they find something that will provide them with an answer to a problem while they are visiting your website out of curiosity, they will return time and again.
We haven’t discussed your website content and we don’t have time to now but let me tell you that content really is king when you are talking about website traffic. You must not use articles that you have submitted to article banks and you must not use your blog or forum posts as content for your website. Be sure, however, that your website is loaded with a lot of good and relevant content.
Posting to blogs and forums who’s topics relate to the topic of your website or to your product or service is an excellent way to create website traffic and do it for free.
Pj Germain
http://www.Affiliate-Success.Org
The Last Membership You’ll ever need!
Keyword Selection Necessities for Search Engine Optimization
Keyword selection is the most important piece of information to be successful online. To build a search engine friendly website, you have to have content. That content must be filled with words that would be used to identify your company and its products. Keywords are words that are often searched on the major search engines. Keywords are important because you want people to easily find your website when they are looking for the type of product you offer.
Finding the right keywords is the first step in the process of keyword selection. You have available a free tool on the internet called Overture for keyword selection. You can find the URL for Overture by accessing Google.
Overture will tell you how many times any given keyword was accessed during the prior one or two month period. It can give you a very good idea of what keywords or keyword phrases to optimize your site by using the free tool above.
It would be a good idea for you to choose some lesser-searched phrases for keywords. This should make it easier for your prospective customers to find you. The lesser searched keywords and phrases are not optimized as often as the most searched terms and will be much easier for your company to rank well for them.
Once you know what your main keywords are, you need to take one or two keywords and create a page of content based on these keywords. You do this by writing down information about your products. If you offer china dolls, and “china dolls” is one of the keyword phrases you have chosen, you should write a page on the quality of the dolls you use in your products. By using the term “china dolls” as often as possible, you will be able to show the search engines why you should be ranked for that term. Feel free to scatter your other main keywords throughout the content you write for your website. This can only help you obtain good rankings for those keywords. You must create a page of content for every one or two keywords for which you want to rank well.
Once you have content written for your keywords, it is very important to have a solid linking structure for the interior of your website. Search engines look at exterior and interior links to figure out what is important to your customers and help them find you. In English, this means that you will rank better by using the correct words inside the hyperlinks used on your website. These words are given extra weight by search engines by being used inside a link. You should include a link to another content page inside of every content page you write that points to a separate content or product page inside of your website.
The last and possibly the most important piece of your search engine optimization puzzle must be the exterior links pointing to your website. Major search engines, especially Google, put a very large focus on the words that are used to link to your website from other web pages. It is also important to obtain links from “authority” sites. A relevant site’s link is worth much more than a site that has nothing to do with what your company does. By following the simple steps above, you will be on your way to better search engine rankings for the most important keywords.
Bob Carper is a veteran consultant in information systems He holds a a MBA from Pitt. For additional information go to
http://www.secure-webconference.citymax.com. His blogsite is http://www.html-secrets.net/blog. You may also contact him at robertcarper06@comcast,net
Use the Power of Social Media Promotion to Supercharge your Traffic
We all know how important it is to have a content-rich website. Promoting these sites across the internet has in the past involved everything from search engine optimization to paid keyword referrals to link popularity campaigns. However, one of the most effective and relatively new methods to promote content-rich web sites these days, is through social media promotion.
What is “social media promotion” you ask? Simply, as defined by Wikipedia, social media:
“describes the online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives with each other.”
Part of the Web 2.0 revolution; another catchphrase describing the new generation of web sites that have users that submit their own text, video and picture content; social media promotion can take many forms.
Usually, these technologies and practices take non-search engine forms and can involve such technologies as chat forums, message boards, blogs, podcasts, and wikis. Simply, social media can be considered ANYTHING that you can use to build a community to rally around. A well-run social media campaign can drive huge amounts of traffic to a website and can determine whether a new idea, website or startup ultimately takes off or not.
There are literally dozens of social media sites active across the internet today. Below are brief overviews of what I would consider the five most popular:
Digg (http://www.digg.com) the big boy of social media sites. Digg was formed initially with a tech focus and is still the end all for all tech or computer specific content items that you wish to pull across to the masses. Digg has however become so popular that its scope has now expanded to cover most any item of interest.
del.icio.us (http://del.icio.us/) a close second to Digg in the area of backlink generation. The primary purpose of del.icio.us is to store your bookmarks online; in that regard, it’s actually more community-focused then Digg. The ability to store your bookmarks online and add more from anyplace in the world, actually encourages cross-linking among site members who share similar interests. This in turn allows you to promote your own content to a shared community with similar interests, generating those much needed backlinks for site promotional purposes.
Technorati (http://www.technorati.com) the recognized authority on what is going in the world of weblogs. The main strength of Technocrati is the ability to keep tabs on your online visibility. The site allows you to keep tabs on who is linking to you, where you are being mentioned online, what kind of progress your site is making, and how your competitors are doing in comparison. The site can be indispensible if you routinely visit a lot of blogs and want to be updated on them when their content changes.
Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org) online only since 2001, Wikipedia is now the world’s largest reference website on the planet. The content of Wikipedia is free and collaboratively written by people all around the world. This site is so popular that a search of most terms will display a Top 5 Wikipedia result in Google. It is worth noting that if your website is not already one of the strongest entries on the web, a listing on Wikipedia could actually “outrank” your own website. Therefore, make sure this result is actually truthful and complimentary, whenever possible.
Facebook (http://www.facebook.com) primarily driven by young adults, this social media site now numbers over nine million users and is still growing. Facebook helps you keep tabs on member profiles, at least those you can access. Recent changes to the site have made it very marketing friendly and a must-use if you have a college friendly product you wish to publicize. Members can purchase “facebook flyers,” which starting at $5, can be displayed 10,000 times a pop. Pricing increases based on frequency and number of days shown. Facebook groups are also very popular and very loyal, find something that connects with your group or the site and the results can be highly viral.
Getting your content noticed on these sites isn’t easy, but there are ways to prepare your content in such a way as to be considered “social media optimized.” This SMO approach is becoming a new concentration area for current SEO firms and can involve any of dozens of different approaches.
Here are five effective SMO rules that you can implement immediately when preparing your content for future social media campaigns:
1. Make your site linkable – also known as increasing your linkability, make it easy for outside parties and social media sites to link to your content. This can be done in a variety of ways, the easiest being to establish a blog on your site. If blogs aren’t your thing, maintaining free white papers, content-rich articles and resource pages that contain lots of useful links in one place, are great ways of increasing the linkable nature of your website.
2. Make bookmarking or social tagging easy – adding bookmarking buttons has been around for awhile. Go beyond this, though, by including a “delicious this” text link at the bottom of a post, and a Digg button near the top of the article. This format has been shown to be the most effective for generating votes for your content.
3. Start participating today – join the conversation on your site or in your site niche today. Start blogging on your own or make it a point to visit leading forums that target your audience and join the discussion . Answer some questions, provide some needed advice, and drop some “buzz” about your site at the same time; you won’t be sorry.
4. Reward helpful users – helpful or valuable users to your site that contribute noticeably to the site’s content and audience should be recognized and rewarded. This can take the form of a simple PM thank-you or a note on the forums themselves. The result of this is two-fold: you keep these valuable community members on your site, and you gain vocal champions of your site to outside members and sites they in turn visit.
5. Reward inbound site links – obviously the more inbound links your blog and site can generate, the better. This is still the singular method by which a site rises in the search rankings. Reward linking sites by providing them a permalink to use and listing them on your site in return. This simple act of acknowledgement provides the return gift of visibility and is never a bad thing.
The role of social media promotion to drive content is a continually expanding field. Even an examination of the main sites referenced above doesn’t begin to cover the viral social content impact of such popular social media mechanisms as YouTube videos or Flickr photo slides and galleries.
If planned and implemented correctly, social media promotion can be invaluable. The site visitor is in command, so why not start building a relationship with them, even if it’s on their terms?
Casey Markee is president of San Diego SEO firm Media Wyse. Casey has over 8 yrs. of experience within the online marketing arena and holds graduate degrees in Marketing & E-Commerce. Contact him today through http://www.MediaWyse.com with your SEO questions or assistance on your upcoming campaign.
How Can Offline Strategies Help Improve Your Online Sales?
By now you figured you have a decent site to promote your products online. You’re trying different traffic generation strategies on the Internet to get traffic to your site such as forum marketing, pay-per-click and others. From these traffic generation strategies, you feel that you can get sufficient traffic to your site.
However, why not get more traffic so you can increase the chances of making a sale and improve your website conversion rate?
These traffic generation strategies do not have that much to do with the Internet. These strategies are called offline strategies. Some of the offline strategies you can use are:
1. By Word Of Mouth
Go to your family members or friends who support you in this Internet marketing venture. Promote to them with what you feel can help them in their lives. For example, if you’re promoting a book on personal development, you can advise them on purchasing the book to help them in their problems, marriage etc.
To get them in touch with them, you can write a friendly email and provide them with the link to your site. Or you can talk about it with them and give the link to your site and ask them to check it out. There’s nothing more like moral support from your family and friends.
2. Business Networking
When you’re attending a seminar, do as much networking as possible. Equip yourself with name cards so that they can go to your site and let them see how far you have gone in Internet marketing. By mingling around with potential business associates, you can find ways in which you can promote your site by doing a joint venture with someone who you feel has the resources to give your site more exposure in the Internet world.
3. Submit Advertisements & Press Releases
You can write a press release to your local newspaper if you have a really great site to boast about and get people to know what you can offer to them. If your press release gets published, you’ve just earned a portion of a newspaper in which thousands of people will read your article, gain interest and head on down to your site.
You can also advertise your site by placing an advertisement in a newspaper or a business magazine. Make sure that the advertisement can greatly interest the reader and make them motivated to go to your site. What you can do is to ensure that your advertisement has a good sales copy and a specific time frame to tell your readers not to miss out in this time-limited opportunity.
These three simple offline strategies can greatly help your site in terms of traffic and sales. You do not have to look far in order for you to promote your site. Most Internet marketers underestimate the power of offline strategies, and I advise you not to be one of them.
Jo Han Mok is the author of the #1 international business bestseller, The E-Code. Unlock the code for unlimited online profits for yourself by visiting his website today at: http://www.SuperFastProfit.com
3 Steps to Internet Marketing Success
Regardless of what types of products or services you decide to offer in your business, there are certain things you should do to insure your internet marketing success.
Follow these tips, and you’ll make money much more quickly and build momentum in your internet marketing.
1. Get organized.
First, if you haven’t decided already what products or services you want to sell, you need to start here. Although it sounds obvious, many jump on the internet with the intent of starting a business and making money without a thought about how they plan to it.
That’s why it’s so easy for these new business owners to fall prey to all the hype that’s on the internet.
Decide what your interests are, and what you would enjoy doing. What do you like talking about? What would you do even if you knew you wouldn’t make any money doing it?
Once you’ve written down several ideas, then do your keyword research. Find out if there is a market for what you want to do. Is it competitive?
Although you will have to work harder to make your business a success, it’s worth it because you’ll be doing something you enjoy.
Remember, only about two percent of the market is internet marketing. Billions of dollars are made on all types of products and services. You have lots of choices. Choose something you will enjoy doing.
2. Write your marketing plan.
Every marketing plan should include whether or not you plan to build a list or a website. These two elements are crucial because it’s getting harder and harder to promote products without a website.
Building a list will help you cut your workload dramatically because you can build relationships with your list readers. You can send them other offers, as well as share valuable information.
If building a website isn’t something you want to hassle with, you can build a lead capture page and make a simple one page website. Then, drive traffic to this page.
Without a website, many article directories won’t allow you to submit articles that include affiliate links, even when those affiliate links are in the resource box of your article.
You should also include the different internet marketing techniques you plan to use.
This can include: search engine optimization, article writing, press releases, classifieds, joint ventures, or any other techniques.
If you are technically savvy, you can even include Web 2.0 techniques like making videos, or social bookmarking.
If you plan to use pay per click, include your a budget and know how much you can spend.
What techniques you choose to market your business will be determined by what type of business you choose, whether or not you plan to build a website, and what kind, and what techniques you want to use.
If you hate the thought of writing an article, no matter how effective, you won’t do it.
Starting off, you should only use one or two marketing techniques and build on your success. Test and track until you find a marketing formula that works for you.
3. Write your marketing materials.
If you are selling affiliate programs, often the work is done for you. You can create an autoresponder series from articles or email messages the site owner may offer. Check to see what materials the site owner offers. They may also offer you free ebooks you can give away, as well as articles. This will cut your work dramatically.
If the site owner offers email messages, rewrite these in your own words. Add messages to the series. If articles are available, then add these to your series too.
Set up your autoresponder and lead capture page, if you choose to use one. Then, write your marketing materials and start driving traffic to this page.
Commit to doing something every day. Test and track your efforts. Add new marketing techniques. Bad marketing is better than no marketing. Building a business is a waste of time of you don’t market.
Internet marketing success depends on how hard you’re willing to work to get your business out there. Organize your marketing, do it consistently, and you will see success.
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