New Trends in Increasing Your Website Exposure

New Trends in Increasing Your Website Exposure
John Amburn

It is not the same old Internet any longer as far as advertising goes. There are new methods to promote your website that will advantage you by increasing your bank balance. What follows are five new methods of Internet advertising that people are using to drive clientele to their website. The basic idea that 'content is king' combined with correct keyword practice is the way to go. You will not be sorry using these methods of advertising.

The number one Internet advertising plan for drawing clientele to your website is the use of a blog. A blog is a perpetual online periodical on your individual views or information on related subject matters. People that read your blog are continually conscious of your thoughts and opinions, especially those about your company and products. The advantage of promoting your company through a blog is the fact that the search engines love blogs. Fresh new content and a few good keywords mixed in will push your site higher in the search engine rankings. People will see it and more clientele will flock to your place.

In your blog, be sure to add information of value such as products reviews, or general business advice. This draws consumer interest. Additionally, other bloggers may wish to connect with your blog, and you can draw in customers from their blogs. That will repeatedly feed your position and over time, client loyalty and trust will drive your website and feed new customers into your site. You can create blogs for free at blogger.com, or if you want to host your own blog, Wordpress is a viable option. Many web hosts have this script that can be installed from their control panel.

Though, with no RSS, or Really Simple Syndication feeds, your blog may be fated to be unsuccessful. RSS feeds work by aggregating your blog information and distributing it to the customer, who will need to have a web browser or special software that can read RSS feeds. Most any information can be sent through an RSS feed. The good thing about using a blog with a RSS Feed is that often your content gets to the media. A well-written blog with quality recommendations and advice lends you credibility in your business area. Be ready, you could have a journalist knocking at your door.

One more area in which you can add interest to your website is with the use of PHP coding. One of the drawbacks to by an RSS feed is that since it is a lively page ' the spiders will not catch it quick. For example, if it has to wait too long to directory it with the system whole, it will just move on. There are belongings you can do to work with the PHP language, and it will advantage you to learn how to do it. At least with the PHP, you can make your pages on the place look like HTML records.

Be sure and remember to use the text links too. Links to other great sites is a new publicity tendency you can use for more website contact. With SEO, Search Engine Optimization, companies use text link advertising to get their site into higher rankings. You can use auctions where you bid only on what you think you need, or through a brokerage, you can buy and sell text links. Just like with banners you can change trade links too.

Bookmark technology and methods to use them have come a long way. Most agree that getting an important person to bookmark your site will lead to prospect sales. People hardly ever ask for a customer to bookmark their place though. There are software programs that you can use to make book marking simple.

All you have to do is to provide a link and your customers can bookmark with no trouble. Some Java writing software will bookmark your site for your client. There is a small charge concerned for you. A simple 'Add This Site To Favorites' or 'Please BookMark Us' button is often enough to get the client to bookmark. Certain software will also add a special image when the client saves the site. You can do it yourself by creating a small 75X75 pixel image and upload it to your site with the name 'favicon.ico' This makes it easy to stand out from the other bookmarked sites. Pop-ups help you to get your client to bookmark too. New software will be remind your client to bookmark as they are leaving your site, and even to bookmark with their consent.

The Internet is a lively advertising experience. Consequently, the better you are at implementing its new advertising methods, the more profits you will make. So learn all you can about these five methods on new advertising trends and go grab some customers that will be with you for life.

About the Author: John Amburn is the owner of USA Business Net providing quality web hosting through both StonesThrowHosting.com.

5 Secrets to Effective Pay-Per-Click Advertising

5 Secrets to Effective Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Daegan Smith

With so many companies swarming the World Wide Web with their products, how can you and your products and services stand out?

Your ready answer would most likely be effective marketing. But how? How can you catch the eye of a surfer skimming carelessly through web pages? How can you keep the attention of a typical website reader who spends no more than 30 seconds to read any given article online? How can you garner sales online?

One marketing technique is to be listed in search engines - but again, with thousands of companies offering the same products and services as you, how can your scream for attention be heard?

One technique is pay per click advertising, or PPC. You write out and place an advertisement in a search engine, list yourself under keywords of your choosing, and bid on the placement of your ads. This narrows your field to the people who are actively searching for your products and services.

If someone finds the ad and clicks it, that person goes to your website, and you pay the bid price. As a rule, the higher you bid, the higher your ad goes in the list of search results for a certain keyword, and the more people will go to your site.

PPC can be used to widen your reach, but it can be very expensive, especially if people click your ad only out of curiosity, or if you bid on more keywords than your budget can handle. However, PPC can get you customers and increase your profits. If done well, it can earn you money.

Here are five tips to get the most out of PPC.

Get Ten Specific Keywords.
If you are a company specializing in exercise equipment, don't select "exercise equipment" or "gym" as your keywords. Chances are, there will be hundreds of thousands of other bidders waiting to jump on those same keywords. Be specific. Try "treadmill" or "stationary bike." Select a maximum of ten words, just to test the waters and see how your potential customers respond. If the first ten keywords succeed in getting you a larger market, then research additional keywords which are not as specific. However, if your first try yields less than satisfactory results, then try another set of keywords if you can still afford it.

Write Your Ads but Write the Truth.
Most ad writers will broadcast their wares as being the be-all and cure all of all ills and pains. If they do this, web users will click on their ads and storm the site. This is well and good if the product or service will live up to the ad's promise - but what if it doesn't? A customer clicks, you pay, but the customer doesn't buy. You lose.

Write a succinct but accurate ad that doesn't sue vague language. Avoid using words such as "free," "low cost," "extremely effective," and "cheap." Tailor your ads to fit the keyword, and if you can, include your prices on the ads. This way, you will get a buyer who is ready and willing to purchase your product or service.

Budget Your Bid.
It's tempting to go all out and set your prices, especially if you think your product will sell. But what if it won't? Set a monthly budget of about $100 for your bids, and bid just right - bid too high and you will run out of money, bid too low and your ads won't show up.

Even if you believe in your product, keep within bid budget, and do not get into bidding wars, especially with another advertiser who has a much larger budget than you. Don't waste your time thinking about your bids. Instead, invest your time in designing what your ad is linked to, which brings us to:

Make Your Site a Professional One.
The standard rules of web design apply. Check your web content for spelling and grammatical errors. Update your web content regularly. Fix any broken links and images. Design your website so that it will be easy to navigate and load, so do not use Flash animation, as this will slow down your buyers' browsers. Link your ads to the exact place on your site where your product or service appears.

Know When to Stop.
PPC ad campaigns can lead more buyers to you, but take care to check profit against spending. If you have already spent double your advertising budget, but have had little or no sales, consider dropping your campaign. You can also measure your progress in clicks. A total of 300 clicks is average for any ad. If your ad has reached 300 clicks and you have made no sales yet, then terminate your PPC project.

Equally as important as knowing when to stop is knowing that all is not yet lost and you can still go on. Running a web-based business means investing time, money, and effort, so keep your PPC up and running as long as you are raking money in. PPC, after all, may first mean pay-per-click, but, if you're successful, can soon mean Profiting Perfectly in Cash.

About the Author: Daegan Smith is the leader of the fastest growing team of successful home business enterpernuers on the net. Find out how we're creating financial freedom all across the globe and how to get in on the action free at http://www.comlev.net.

Seven Red Hot Tips for Linking

Seven Red Hot Tips for Linking
Gareth Davies

1. Vary the keywords in your link 'anchor' text
Unless you provide only one product or service the chances are you will want to rank for many key phrases. One way to help achieve this objective is to change the link text you want all new sites to use periodically. Vary the anchor text slightly each time and by doing so you can cover more of your targeted key phrases. This approach can help your site rank for many keywords rather than just one or two.

If you do only provide one product or service on your web site it is still important to vary anchor text. If you sell 'blue widgets' then you could also use link text like 'cheap blue widgets' or 'blue widget store'. This means your links take on a more natural feel and are much less likely to be penalised or filtered out by search engines for being 'fake links'.

2. Set up your link information differently - create a link in context
Typically people set up their link information in a very similar way, however you could offer your link information with the hyperlink inside the description instead of at the beginning.

Imagine this is a description about your web site on a partner's link page. Instead of a typical hyperlink followed by a description you could write a sentence describing your web site and then place "your descriptive hyperlink" inside it.

One reason for doing this is that it reads more naturally and search engines may value the link higher as it reads more like a narrative. Many webmasters will be happy to accept this style even if some do not. To cover yourself offer the link in context as a second option along with your regular link information, that way if some sites can't support the layout you still get your link.

3. Vary where your links point
Try to vary where link partners point to on your site. It's fine to have the majority of links pointing into your home page, however it can be beneficial to have some links pointing to other key pages on your web site as well. Taking this approach balances out your linking and can help raise the profile of more pages on your web site.

4. How to find potential link partners from your competitors
If a web site links to your competitors it may also link to yours, and in order to find these potential link partners you can use search engines. Not so long ago Google was useful for getting a lot of back link information about a site. Recently Google's back link data is a lot less forthcoming and it now tends to show only a tiny percentage of the sites that are linking combined with a lot of internal link data. Whether the few web sites Google shows us are the ones it finds important or whether they are in fact red herrings we cannot say for certain. I would assume the latter.

Currently Yahoo is a better portal to check for backlinks. To generate a list of linking web sites on Yahoo simply go to http://www.yahoo.com and type the following into the Yahoo search bar. linkdomain:www.mycompetitorwebsite.com

This will deliver up to date link information as read by Yahoo. The only downside with the information is that one site may appear many times if it is giving multiple links.

5. Alternate your description text
This is often overlooked, but there is no real advantage to be had if the description text supporting your inbound links is always identical. To avoid the possibility of a description ever being seen as 'duplicate content' alternate it when you can. If you combine it with varied anchor text [as in tip 1] you're heading in the right direction.

6. Link to good related content from your web site
It seems like an obvious thing to say, but with so many people caught up in link exchanging you sometimes wonder if we're losing site of the basics. If you have something useful to say on your site and can back it up with a useful link to another web site then do so. Not every link has to be reciprocated. This resourceful linking will allow your visitors to read around the subject. Linking to informative related content is useful for visitors and search engines quite like it too.

7. Seek out directory links
Links from good web directories can be some of the best links you can get for your web site. Aaron Wall has a -directory of directories- at http://www.directoryarchives.com where you will find a great selection of search engine friendly directories. Some of the directories are free to get listed in whilst others may charge a fee.

About the Author: Gareth Davies is a web design consultant based in London, UK. For information on web design services please visit http://www.garethsketty.com or if you have any questions about this article or its contents please email Gareth at garethsketty at yahoo.co.uk.

Linking Strategies That Bring Results

Linking Strategies That Bring Results
Elizabeth McGee

Website link popularity is used to indicate how many other web pages link to your web page. It is calculated by counting the number of web pages that contain your link, also known as inbound links.

Proper website linking strategies can help you gain inbound links which in turn can greatly improve your search engine ranking.

For this reason, it's wise to maintain link popularity strategies as part of your overall search engine optimization efforts.

There are several linking techniques and strategies used to obtain inbound links. Here are a few popular strategies that just may bring you the results you need:

1. Reciprocal linking
This strategy involves exchanging links with other sites. You put their link on your site, they put your link on theirs. Probably the most common linking strategy, but there are a few do's and don'ts to keep in mind:

- Link only to sites that have a page rank.
It's my preference to link to sites that have a page rank of 4 or better, however lower ranking is certainly acceptable.

I don't, however, recommend linking to sites that have no page rank at all. Sites that are penalized by the search engines for spamming or other various reasons will not achieve page rank, therefore; if you link to them you are liable to be penalized as well. This is not to say that all PR0 sites are being penalized,
this is not the case at all, but since you have no way of knowing for sure, it's safer, in my opinion, to wait until the site gains some sort of page rank before you link to it.

- Look for sites with high page rank but few links.
The higher the page rank and the fewer the links, the better. Stay away from link farms, these are typically sites with low or no page rank and many, many links.

- Link only to like sites.
Link to sites that are related to your site's topic. If your website is about pet care, link only to sites that are about pet care.

- Include your best keywords in the title and description that you give to your reciprocal link exchange sites. This creates association between your keywords and your site.

- Place your very best link exchange sites on your home page.
Don't overload your homepage with links, however it's acceptable to include a few high page rank links.

- Try to make sure the links coming into as well as going out from your page are related to the content on your page. Also try to keep the text of the link itself related to your page's topic.

2. Write articles and submit them to sites that accept articles.
Submit your articles with your resource box containing your name and website address. Article sites often have high page rank. Also, if someone decides to use your article on their site or in their newsletter you've just received a new inbound link.

3. Write product testimonials for products you found worthwhile and make sure the testimonial contains your website address. You will not only gain an inbound link, you can draw traffic from those that read your testimonial.

4. Include your own website's navigation as a linking strategy.
Every page of your site should include links to the rest of your site. It's a good idea to include a site map as well. Keep all your site navigation links consistent on each page.

5. Create useful and unique content on your website that will compel others to link to you. This will not only help improve your link popularity but it will also satisfy the search engines and very possibly increase your keyword search ranking.

6. Join Forums. Ask questions and contribute your knowledge. This will allow you to place your site URL in your signature line, which in turn creates an inbound link for you.

About the author: Elizabeth McGee has spent 20 years in the service and support industry. She has moved her expertise to the world wide web helping businesses find trusted tools, enhance customer service, build confidence and increase sales.

Key search engine optimization strategies

Key search engine optimization strategies
Elizabeth McGee

Smart internet marketing should include lots of different marketing methods but it should start with good search engine optimization strategies.

What are the best SEO strategies?

First of all, keep in mind that search engine optimization is a process. You won't achieve it overnight. Search engine algorithms are all different and can be quite complex comprising many different elements.

While it's not feasible to delve into the bowels of search engine algorithms, there are two basic optimization factors that play key roles in optimizing your site. They are typically referred to as on-page optimization and off-page optimization

On-page optimization refers to the elements of your web page that you can optimize yourself. Off-page optimization refers to the elements of linking and how your link partner sites link to you.

Let's discuss each of them

On-page optimization (website strategies):

- Each page of your site should have its own descriptive title tag, description tag and keywords. The keywords tag is seldom used nowadays, however each page should be optimized for a maximum of 3 per page, preferably one keyword per page.

- Be sure your title tag contains your best keyword or keyword phrase.

- Use header tags (h1, h2...) in the body of your page text.
Search engines look for structure and organization. Using header tags indicates good outline form.

- Bold your keyword or keyword phrase once. It's also a good idea to italicize and underline them once as well.

- Use keyword alt tags to describe an image used on your page. Since search engines don't index images, alt tags allow the search engines to recognize all your content. Be sure not to stuff them with lots of useless information. Use your best keyword or keyword phrase and keep it short.

- Include quality, informative content on each page and keep your content fresh and updated.

- Pepper each page of your site with your keywords Use your keywords in the first paragraph, the last paragraph and sprinkle them in between. Keep your keyword saturation at about 1-2%.

- Cross link each of your site pages by placing a navigation bar on each page. Be sure the title of each page contains what the page is about.

For example, if a page is about "jewelry beads," the page name should be "jewery-beads.html" or "jewelry_beads.html" and all the links to that page should be named 'jewelry beads' and set up as:

<a href="jewelry-beads.html">jewelry beads</a>
or
<a href="jewelry_beads.html">jewelry beads</a>

- Create a site map. Site maps act like a table of contents. Site maps can help search engines find, crawl and index all the pages in a website ensuring that no page is left behind.

Off page optimization (linking strategies):

Linking plays a large part in the optimization of your site so don't just link to any site. You should adopt a methodology in obtaining useful, quality links. Here's a few tips:

- Keep the majority of your links to sites that have a similar theme as your site. Be sure the site complements your site. It should be one that you would use and recommend.

- Links should be slow and gradual. A sudden burst of links could indicate spam to a search engine.

- The higher the page rank of the page your link is on, the better. This doesn't mean you shouldn't link to pages with a low page rank, however the higher the
page rank the better it is for you.

- The title of the page your link is on should be something other than 'links.html'. If possible try to ensure it has some relevance in meaning to your site.

- When exchanging links, be sure to submit your best keyword in the anchor text.

Good Luck!

About the Author: Elizabeth McGee has spent 20 years in the service and support industry. She has moved her expertise to the world wide web helping businesses find trusted Marketing Tools, enhance customer service, build confidence and increase sales. Get her Free Tips newsletter at: http://www.pro-marketing-online.com

Guide To Getting Linked

Guide To Getting Linked

Getting links from other websites pointing to your site can sometimes seem very hard and time consuming. There are several ways to get people interested in your site, you've just got to be creative with it and think more in terms of putting yourself in the other webmaster's shoes- figure out what the advantages are for them to be linked to you!

One thing that you often hear is that to attain a high Page Rank thru Google, (which, let's face it, is the Big Daddy of Search Engines) that you have to link to other high PR sites. This is not necessarily true. No one is 100% on the relevance of PR rank affecting a link exchange.

Link to as many non-link farm sites that are similar to your site as you possibly can, because the more inbound links pointing to your site that you have, the more search engines will look at your site as an important site in the business or opportunity that you are promoting or selling.

So don't look down on sites that have low a low PR, everyone at one point or another has a zero PR, doesn't mean that they don't get traffic, you just never know. Just because someone has a low PR doesn't mean that they don't get monster traffic to their site, whether it's through pay-per-click advertising, or other means, so no one should turn their nose up at anyone who doesn't have a great PR.

If you are a new webmaster and have just started a new website, sell the fact that you're new, and that you're going to be focusing on putting quality CONTENT on your site.

Because, A Number 1 as far as Google is concerned is to have relevant content on your site relating to your business or opportunities. Making a business grow and succeed is based solely on the ability of a webmaster to make his/or her site relevant to search engine spiders, whom look every day for great content.

Another idea is to promote what you are advertising to a webmaster, showing that the product/or opportunity is viable and is something that makes your website worth linking to. Either by having testimonials, or by having them sign up as an affiliate to see results for themselves, showing how much you believe in your opportunity might show a webmaster that you are committed to making your site everything it can possibly be, and thus, possibly giving their website more exposure.

How To Build A List Of Eager Subscribers?

How To Build A List Of Eager Subscribers?

Every online business provides great service to generate satisfaction among their customers. As each and every customer receives satisfaction over their products or the services they get, there is a great chance that they will become a return customer and buy again. Better yet, they will recommend you to other people that could generate more business for you and your site.

As more traffic is driven to your site, you can entice many of them to subscribe to your mailing list or opt-in list. This is a list where in website visitors agree to be sent promotional materials such as newsletters, catalogs and such that could keep them updated about your site or the niche of your site. These promotional materials are sent via e-mail to the members of the list in different time intervals.

When using e-mail as the media of your marketing and advertisements, you eliminate the need for high costs. Email is free and if you can manage to make your own promotional advertisements you can also save a bundle there. With an opt-in subscribers list, you are pretty sure that what you are sending out is received, viewed and read by the subscribers and not simply being deleted. They have signed up for service and have consented in receiving it.

This means that there are constant reminders to your subscribers about all your products, new products and services as well as any promotions and special deals you are having. There is also the chance that they can be forwarded to other potential customers as they tell their friends and families about you and your site.

Of course you should be also aware that a subscriber may unsubscribe when they feel that they are not getting what they want or expected. Make sure that they are satisfied with your opt-in marketing strategies and keep them excited in receiving your newsletters and catalogs. Here are some tips that can help you build a list of eager subscribers.

Make your promotional materials interesting and fun. Try to use a little creativity but not too over artsy. Build around what your product or service is about. For example; if you are selling car parts, put some pictures of what is new in the auto parts world, a new wing door possibly that can fit any car and make it look like a Lamborghini.

Try to research what people are looking for, these way, you stay one step ahead of them all the time and you will be their bearer of new tidings. They will be eager to receive what you are sending them because they new you always have fresh and new things to share with them.

Write good articles that can be very informational but light at the same time. If your subscribers enjoy your articles, they will go to your site by clicking the links that you will be putting on your newsletter to read some more. You can provide articles that can connect to many people. Be diverse in your articles. Put something humorous, then put something informational, then put something that has both.

Are you worried about this because you don't like writing? No problem, there are many professional and experienced article writers that can do the job for you for minimal fees. They know what they are doing and can provide the need that you have for your newsletters, the money that you pay for your articles are going to be met by the many sign-ups and the potential profit from the sales that you will get.

Create and send an E-book to your customers about anything that is related to your business or site. Use your knowledge and expertise in the field you have chosen to help other people who are similarly interested. Offer this e-book for free. You can write about anything informational and helpful to your subscribers. For example; you can do manuals and guides in so many things. This e-book could be used as a reference for many people.

Share this e-book with everyone, even other sites; just make sure that they don't change the links in the e-book that will lead people to your site. If you want, you can always get some people to write it for you just like your articles. Your investment once again will be covered by the great marketing this will generate.

Add e-coupons in your newsletters that will help them avail to special discounts. Put a control number in your e-coupon so that they can only be used once. When people get discounts that can be found in your newsletters, they will be eager to receive your newsletter in anticipation of what you are promoting next.

If your subscribers can get benefits from your newsletters, they will be very eager to receive them. Just don't flood your mailing list with mails so that you don't annoy your subscribers.

About the Author: Subscribe to Gerardas Norkus' free Internet marketing newsletter at http://www.netmarketingstrategies.com and discover heaps of tips, tricks and secrets that will quickly boost your online sales and profits.

How To Ensure The Search Engines Find Your Website

How To Ensure The Search Engines Find Your Website
Craig Broadbent

One of the most fundamental aspects of search engine optimisation (SEO) is ensuring that the pages within your website are as accessible as possible to the search engines. It's not only the homepage of a website that can be indexed, but also the internal pages within a site's structure. The internal pages of a site often contain important content such as products, services or general information, and therefore can be uniquely optimised for related terms. As a result, easy access to these pages is vital.

There are many do's and don'ts involved in ensuring all of your pages can be found by search engines. However, it is important to first establish how the search engines find and index web pages.

Search engines use "robots" (also known as "bots" or "spiders") to find content on the web for inclusion in their index. A robot is a computer programme that can follow the hyperlinks on a web page, which is known as "crawling". When a robot finds a document it includes the contents within the search engine's index, then follows the next links it can find and continues the process of crawling and indexing. With this in mind, it becomes apparent that the navigational structure of a website is important in getting as many pages as possible indexed.

When considering the navigational structure of your site, the hierarchy of content should be considered. Search engines judge what they feel to be the most important pages of a site when considering rankings and a page's position in the site structure can influence this. The homepage is generally considered the most important page of a site - it is the top level document and usually attracts the most inbound links. From here, search engine robots can normally reach pages that are within three clicks of the homepage. Therefore, your most important pages should be one click away, the next important two clicks away and so forth.

The next thing to consider is how to link the pages together. Search engine robots can only follow generic HTML href links, meaning Flash links, JavaScript links, dropdown menus and submit buttons will all be inaccessible to robots. Links with query strings that have two or more parameters are also typically ignored, so be aware of this if you run a dynamically generated website.

The best links to use from an SEO perspective are generic HTML text links, as not only can they be followed by robots but the text contained in the anchor can also be used to describe the destination page - an optimisation plus point. Image links are also acceptable but the ability to describe the destination page is diminished, as the alt attribute is not given as much ranking weight as anchor text.

The most natural way to organise content on a website is to categorise it. Break down your products, services or information into related categories and then structure this so that the most important aspects are linked to from the homepage. If you have a vast amount of information for each category then again you will want to narrow your content down further. This could involve having articles on a similar topic, different types of product for sale, or content that can be broken down geographically. Categorisation is natural optimisation - the further you break down your information the more content you can provide and the more niche key phrases there are that can be targeted.

If you are still concerned that your important pages may not get indexed, then you can consider adding a sitemap to your website. A sitemap can be best described as an index page - it is a list of links to all of the pages within a site contained on one page. If you link to a sitemap from your homepage then it gives a robot easy access to all of the pages within your site. Just remember - robots typically can't follow more than 100 links from one page, so if your site is larger than this you may want to consider spreading your sitemap across several pages.

There are many considerations to make when optimising your site for search engines, and making your pages accessible to search engine robots should be the first step of your optimisation process. Following the advice above will help you make your entire site accessible and aid you in gaining multiple rankings and extra traffic.

About the Author: Craig Broadbent is Search Engine Optimisation Executive for UK-based internet marketing company, WebEvents Ltd. Clients of WebEvents benefit from a range of services designed to maximise ROI from internet marketing activities. To find out more, visit http://www.webeventseurope.com.

Get Clear about Your Core Marketing Message

Get Clear about Your Core Marketing Message
Martha Carnahan

Many entrepreneurs ask me, "How do I get started? Where do I begin with marketing?"

I often see businesses spend a great deal of time and money on logos, websites, mailers and other tangible items, only to regretfully discover later that they somehow missed the mark.

To create a business-generating marketing program, the first direction to go is inward. Before you create your outward-reaching promotional materials, you've got to get a fix on your internal Core Marketing Message - in other words, what value are you selling, and why should anyone care?

Once you walk through the process of identifying your Core Marketing Message Platform, it becomes much easier to create all of the "goodies" of marketing - logo direction becomes clear, the website flows, taglines pop to mind, marketing strategies hum. Your Platform is exactly that, the springboard for everything else.

So before you think about colors, design, what to write in your brochure or website, start with the following questionnaire. TIP: Your answers don't have to be perfect. Just jot down the first thoughts that come to mind and go back later to refine it until your Platform rings true for you.

WHO is your target market? Think of your best clients - list the qualities that make them ideal. This is your wish list, so no holding back. If it's important that they are pleasant to work with and have the means to pay you well - say so now! What is their specific title or profession? Can they be categorized easily? List every important quality you can come up with. Consider geography, gender, age, income level, values, interests, etc.

EXAMPLE: My target market is small business owners who provide professional services such as accounting, architecture, engineering, IT, coaching, consulting. They operate their businesses with a high degree of integrity, they value building relationships with their clients and they are interested in growing their companies. Also, they are enjoyable to work with and they appreciate a good laugh!

What PROBLEMS do your potential buyers face? List 5 distinct problems, issues, pains, predicaments, challenges, worries, fears - even if they seem unrelated to the services you offer. Write these succinctly and clearly.

How does your service SOLVE these problems? For each of the 5 problems/pains listed, spell out your solution - what results do you produce; what can your clients expect to get out of your work with them? Don't just list your services here. Instead, specify the end-result benefit they will receive.

EXAMPLE: If the problem is, "They never have enough time," your response to that might be, "My services take the pressure off my clients and give them less to deal with." (Notice that this could apply in just about any industry!) The solution is not your service per se, it is the time-saving result your service translates into.

What EMOTIONAL gratification do your clients get from your services? Sounds corny, but no matter what your business is, if you are serving people, you need to be able to tap into the emotions that motivate them.

EXAMPLE: Your clients feel a sense of "pride" because they have improved skills; "confidence" that they will provide better outcomes for their own customers; "relief" that they will more easily meet some legal requirement, "joy," etc.

What are the UNIQUE advantages of your service over your competition? Let's talk about differentiation - what makes you stand apart from your competitors? What makes you memorable, special? This includes your distinct blend of past experience, your personal philosophies and ways of working with people, your approach, your values, and simply, just the way you are. One great place to start - what are some compliments you frequently hear from other people?

TIP: It can feel uncomfortable to boldly claim your own special qualities. It helps to take the focus off of your modest self and consider your clients - how do they benefit from your specialness? Put yourself in the shoes of the Jimmy Stewart character in "It's a Wonderful Life." What would be different about the world if you were not here? Seriously ask yourself this question, and your special attributes will emerge for you.

ELEVATOR Speech. Now that you are thinking so deeply about your business, your clients, and how your services bring value to them... take a stab at writing a direct, 25-word-or-less description that clearly conveys WHAT you do and WHOM you serve. Bring in some of the emotional gratification you provide and the uniqueness of who you are.

Example: "Using my unique blend of marketing experience and coaching skills, I help business owners build a thriving business without squeezing the life out of their lives." (Oops, that's 26 words. See? You don't have to be perfect, just take a good shot at it.)

You have now created the essence of your Core Marketing Message. Take some time to continue honing and refining. When you read through it, you should feel that it hits the mark and it paints a picture of your ideal business.

As you write letters, brochures, website content and other communications, draw from this Platform - speak to your market as if you know them personally; appeal to your market's pains and predicaments; show them how you solve these problems; highlight the emotional gratification they will feel when they use your services; show them clearly what makes you and your offerings unique.

About the Author: Martha Carnahan is president of MC3 Strategies, is an Atlanta-based company that champions entrepreneurs having a prosperous business AND a fabulous life. Learn more about Martha Carnahan and MC3 Strategies by visiting www.mc3strategies.com (which is currently under construction, but bookmark it for future reference!). Or, visit my coaching services website: www.YourBrilliantLife.com.

Get your site noticed and build that traffic!

Get your site noticed and build that traffic!
Paul Duxbury

Traffic, is one of the magic words on the internet! The number or volume of visitors to your online business website is what ultimately dictates the success or failure of your home based business or online venture.

You can have the best looking website on the internet, offering the most incredible product to your potential customers, but if no one comes to visit then all your design efforts will have been in vain.

Now none of us want that do we? I know I certainly don't because I want people to see what I have done and to buy what I have to offer! What about you? I am sure you would like nothing more than to have a constant flow of people to your online business website. Here are some proven ways in increasing the volume of users who will visit your site.

Use Overture.

Overture is a subsidiary of Yahoo that offers a powerful keyword suggestion tool that helps you come to find the right keywords. If you are using the right keywords on your website then they will bring in more visitors for your site.

With Overture you type in the words that are related to your online business products or services, and see how many searches were made for those particular entries. The more searches there are, the more you should consider using those keywords in your site.

Submit your site to the many search engines on the web.

We all use search engines when we are looking for information on the internet. Can you imagine what life on the internet would be like without the Search Engines? Doesn't bear thinking about does it? So you need to harness the power of the search engines to ensure that when people use search engines to determine their destination they have the option of coming to your website!

Know the value of keywords.

Search engine spiders are sent to fetch the keywords embedded in your site, so it would serve you well if your pages are populated with the right keywords you've acquired from Overture. So without turning your online business website into page after page simply made up of your keywords you need to ensure that your online business keywords are prevalent throughout your website. The Search Engine Optimisation phrase to cover this is "Keyword Density" and that is such a big subject that it will be covered in a separate article very soon!

Provide quality content.

As I have already suggested simply populating your site with keywords would be useless if done carelessly. Your visitors will be looking for information, and if you don't give them what they are looking for then they will just leave as quickly as they came. Remember, you want quality visitors, those who have the highest possibility of purchasing what you have to offer. You have to provide good, informative content for them so that they'll stay. Try to publish articles or special reports on your site, where your keywords are strategically positioned in the body of your content at a density level of at least 2% (2 mentions of the keywords per 100 words of the body).

Promote in online communities.

Get the word out to the wider world by joining forums, mailing lists, discussion boards and similar online places where your target audience is likely to gather. Many people start threads asking for help. Help them by providing answers to their questions and you will start to build your reputation within your field of expertise. More often than not, in online forums you are allowed to have a signature where you can put a link to your online business website and this will certainly bring in some visitors as well.

Create a reason to return.

You need to aim at encouraging return visitors to your online business website. You can build your own mailing list to keep in touch with them and offer some promotions or special offers from time to time. Alternatively you could incorporate a forum into your website to provide for a venue for your visitors to come together and discuss certain topics. This would simulate the semblance of a community they could call their own, and they would keep visiting your site to join in the discussions.

Constantly refresh and update your content.

Not only will this win the favour of search engines, but it will also increase the possibility of attracting visitors you once lost.

During the early stages of your online business website's existence, traffic may come slowly. However, do not be discouraged into giving up. With the techniques shared in this article, you can increase the flow of visitors in due time, resulting in a high level of activity for your online business venture. With a prosperous website comes a prosperous business!

About the Author: Paul Duxbury owns a number of successful online businesses and has recently launched a site aimed at helping those who have their own online business. This can be found at http://www.web-success.co.uk

Effective Online Advertising Tips

Effective Online Advertising Tips

Helpful Tips for Increasing Your Online Sales

Once you've launched your eCommerce web site, you'll need to show it off to the online world. Whether you're paying someone to submit your site to all the major and minor search engines and directories, it's still up to you to continually advertise your eCommerce site in order to keep attracting business.

Many online business owners will tell you that within six to nine months of your launch date you'll start seeing increased orders for your products. However here are 8 things you can do to lure people to your site now!

Advertise on http://www.Craigslist.org . This entry will only last for 10 days and you must submit to only one city and category at a time. You can include photos and/or advanced HTML in your ad.

Write a press release and send out for free to the following sites:

- http://www.prweb.com [this one has been around for several years]
- http://www.prbot.com
- http://www.openpress.com
- http://www.express-press-release.com
- http://www.free-press-release.com
- http://www.prleap.com
- http://www.prfree.com

Paid submissions will get you more views, quicker listings in the search engines, and the ability to post photos and keep track of your statistics.

Submit your site[s] to http://www.isedb.com/html/Web_Directories [You'll discover loads of directories here, from the highly specialized to the mainstream. Many of the sites have ratings; indicate whether they're accepting new submissions, and if there's a fee for submitting].

Search engine positioning. When advertising your eCommerce site, always have the following information on hand: A. Your Web site title. This should be approximately 7-12 words.B. Description. Have 3 different descriptions of varying lengths. 15 words, 25 words, 100 words. Have them summarize the essence of your site. C. Keywords. 10 - 50 of your most important keywords arranged in order of importance. Again, some online directories will allow you to contribute more keywords than others.

Write articles about your products/service. Be an online expert. What makes your site so unique from the thousands of others in your chosen category? Is it your customized service? Your low prices? Your high quality? Don't over promote your product, but concentrate on what will help others. It's highly recommended you include at least two or three testimonials.

Exchange links with other sites that have quality information and are related to your field in some way. For example, I sell a lot of soap so I link with mostly gift basket, crafting and candle sites.

Free classifieds. While these can sometimes get you sales or your listed in the search engines, don't expect too much response from them.

Offer a freebie. For example, if you have an eBook for sale, you won't give the entire book away, but having a chapter or two online will increase interest - and sales. If you make or sell a product, offer a free sample with a paid order. Or free shipping on sales over a certain amount.

Contests reel 'em in! Not only will you get their e-mail address for future offers, [but ask that they opt in to your mailing list first], but you can give away a product or service of yours and look good doing so. Also, this is a good time to send out a press release and let the online community know about your special contest that runs for only a short time, thus generating more publicity.

Follow one or more of these helpful tips and watch your online business bloom!

About the Author: Visit Lisa's Library of Writing, home of writer http://www.lisamaliga.com and receive tips on free web promotion, read articles on web-related topics and get library news on a variety of subjects.

What the Heck is a Blog?

What the Heck is a Blog?

Andy Wibbels

Everybody is talking about blogs. They are everywhere: on the TV, in the newspapers, and all over the internet. With the number of blogs doubling every five months, there is no stopping the power of blogs.

But what the heck is a blog? For the elegant simplicity and beauty that blogs create, they certainly have an ugly, ungainly name. Blawg sounds like some kind of gurgling sound your cat makes before coughing up a hairball.

A blog, short for weblog, is often described as an online diary. The most recent entries (called posts) - appear on the homepage of the blog with links to archives of older posts. Archives are organized by date and often categorized by topic. Often, each post will have a form for readers to add their own comments and to give their opinion or reaction to the post's content.

But that's just what a blog looks like - it doesn't really tell you why a blog is different from a conventional website. The real genius in blogs appears in the process of how they are written.

You can update your blog instantly from any internet connection on any computer anywhere in the world - even from your summer home in Tahiti (as you sip an ice-cold island cocktail). Blogs are designed for people who don't want to learn (or don't have the time to learn) HTML or web design. You use a special type of blogging software (called a blog tool) to create and update your weblog. You type your latest post into a simple online form. You click 'Publish' and it is instantly available online for the whole world to see. It's super-easy. If you can send an email, you can publish a weblog. So my updated description of a weblog is:

A blog is an easy, instantly and frequently updated website, focused around a topic, industry or personality.

One big reason businesses (especially small businesses and entrepeneurs) flock to blogs is because they reduce dependency on a web design team to get ideas and announcements online. Developing a website for your business can take weeks, sometimes months, from shopping for a designer and doing project negotiation phase to getting the final site launched. Developing a website can be not only costly, but time consuming.

Many of my clients have found blogs a great way to start out online while they are building their business with the eventual goal to move towards a more robust web design solution. Others have moved all of their web sites into a blog format and have vowed to never look back.

You can create a blog and have a website in less than fifteen minutes, for less than $10, with hosting and software included - and, all without having to know anything about web design. With a blog there's ten thousand less decisions to make.

Blogging is the fastest, cheapest, easiest way to build a website in the time it takes to watch a sitcom.

About the Author: Andy Wibbels is a blogging evangelist and creator of the Easy Bake Weblogs seminar that has helped hundreds of small businesses all over the world leverage blogs and RSS news feeds to increase profits and save time. You can download his free special report on business and blogs at http://easybakeweblogs.com/