Internet Marketing Advice – Keeping It Simple

In the crazy world of internet marketing it seems that everyone is obsessed with ranking #1 for their money keywords.  It’s the right strategy to focus on keywords that have traffic but choosing the right words doesn’t guarantee traffic.  There are many different moving parts that go into generating reliable web traffic to your site.

I’d like to simplify the 200 different functions of successful online marketing down Into 3 parts.  It’s best to think of the three legs of the stool analogy which illustrates the most important pieces of the online marketing puzzle.

The Three Legs of Your Online Business

• Content
• Backlinks
• Bookmarks/Social Media Buzz

That’s it!  You are done and you can now go home!  We just took the complex and made it very simple for you to understand.

Most online marketers and business owners who use the internet to create traffic do some of these things.  You will have people that focus too much on social media or perhaps too much time is spent on content.  Then there are the backlink happy people that drive content and links but they have no network to create the buzz.

This is the three legged stool of internet marketing and if you are missing just one leg your business will fall.

With some of the recent updates to the search engines; you will see that frequency and popularity are favored.  So if you want your content to rank highly in the SE’s then you need both backlinks and social media buzz.  All of these things feed on each other and it always starts with good content.

You can outsource your content and spend more time connecting with people on the web.  No different than traditional business; your success or networth is determined by your network.  How big is your network?  Better yet, how many interpersonal dealings do you have with your network?

It doesn’t pay to get overwhelmed in technical details as this can actually hurt your success in marketing.  Focus your time and attention on creating content, connections and linking.

Leverage in Web 2.0 Produces Results!

If you find yourself spending fifteen hours a day behind your computer trying to make things work online; then you are doing more harm than good!  Your productivity will sky rocket if you actually work less.  The simple truth is that until you outsource certain task in your business, the profits that you are seeking will never come!  You should be outsourcing articles, bookmarking, directory submission, social media task, SEO, backlinking and eventually your inbox.

Creating success online is not about magic pills and easy solutions.  True, the core strategy of the three legs of the stool is very simple; but the energy that goes into leveraging these parts is an impossible task to perform alone!  So if your are failing and traffic is off, do an examination of the facts.

Online Marketing Facts!

• It takes a team of people to generate leverage.
• Technology moves too fast for one person to keep up.
• Successful marketers mastermind with other successful internet marketers.
• Automation, systems and processes make life easy.
• Outsourcing is something that can bring immediate results!

So get rid of your current chair and go buy a three legged stool.  You can sit on it or set it on a table next to your computer.  You might even stencil or draw on each one of the legs these three simple words:

Content

Backlinks

Social Media Buzz

Now you know what 7 and 8 figure internet marketers know.  If you are a business owner looking to gain leverage on the internet or an internet marketer that is ready to make the jump up to advanced strategies; get on our newsletter and stay informed!

Internet marketing is made easy when you have the three legs of the stool.  Do you need help with keyword research?  Get our free training and a free trial of Market Samurai a internet marketers best friend!

If you are new to internet marketing and you want to set up your website; you will need to buy a domain name.  You can purchase a domain name from many different providers but Go Daddy and NameCheap.com are pretty popular.  You will also need to set up a hosting provider.

Some of the top providers are Hostgator and Blue Host.  I’ve had great experiences with several providers but Hostgator has a really great support team.  One time I wiped out my blog and I was able to get a free backup from the provider!  Pretty cool that they had a copy of my blog or I would have had to start over again.

It is fairly straightforward to set up a website.  The first step in the process is to purchase your domain name.  You will want to do some keyword research prior to purchasing the name so that you can ensure that you are targeting a high traffic market with acceptable levels of competition.  By buying a domain name with the keyword in it this will help you to rank in the search engines.

I recommend that you buy your domain name for a minimum of two years because this shows the “SE’” or search engines; that you are serious about your site.  Once you purchase your domain name you will need to get hosting from a provider.  In my case I’ve used several hosting solutions but Hostgator holds a majority of my sites.  There is a resource page on this site that has links to the various providers.

There is a video below that shows you the step by step process of what to do to change your nameservers and to add on your domain.  You can also get access to our free internet marketing training videos by opting into our newsletter.  Enjoy!

Learning how to do web 2.o and social media is critical to your success in the current online environment.  The internet marketing business is changing the landscape of the marketing world.  Gone are the days of throwing money at the wall in hopes of making a return on investment.  These days sophisticated marketers are online and they are generating huge returns.  The people that don’t make money are the ones that don’t study or outsource.   You need to be equally as productive as you are smart!

It’s all about keyword research and using state of the art tools.  If you want to succeed you need to use the best tools and be a part of the best internet marketing masterminds.  Don’t quit your day job if you are reluctant to invest in your business or shy of working many hours!  It takes a huge effort to succeed online but the rewards can be substantial!

Don’t get me wrong if you don’t know what you are doing and you aren’t tuned into direct response marketing fundamentals then you will fail.  However, if you take the time to learn about SEO and social media marketing then you can win and I do mean big!

The important factor is that you sure up your strategy and this should be based on keyword reseach!  Using tools like Market Samurai can dramatically change the playing field for your business as it allows you to scope out your market.

If you can’t do all of the technical stuff in your business then I highly recommend that you outsource to India or the Philippines!  The new global economy is changing the face of business and it’s best that you adapt to the times!

Learn how you can get more customers or sell more products via the internet by subscribing to our free training!

If you need an SEO expert or you want to learn about internet marketing best practices then reach out to us!  We are here to help if you are serious about mastering the internet!

In today’s bad economy, Dallas business owners are turning to search marketing for solutions with their online advertising.  What is search engine optimization or SEO?  It’s the ability to get your site ranked on the organic or natural search in search engines like Google.

It’s been proven that the ROI is substantially higher with online marketing verse traditional media.  We like to educate people on the process and remove the mystery that’s involved in SEO.  A competent SEO practitioner is more than a web designer; they’re people that are involved in current search marketing trends.

The web moves so fast that web designers from five years ago may or may not be sufficiently up to date with current trends.  Anyone telling you that SEO is a set it and forget it type of process is not dealing in the latest/greatest best practices.

Like any form of advertising you simply don’t set an advertising campaign and forget about it.  You need to look at online marketing as an investment in your business which will yield you some type of return based on what you put into it.

There are both on page and off page factors that go into SEO; but by far backlinking gives you the biggest gains.  On page factors are keywords that go into your title, description and content; whereas off page factors are links.  You need to be very careful when it comes to the subject of backlinking because if you get caught trying to manipulate the system with paid links your site could get banned from the search engines.

Backlinks are the real work of a SEO firm and the process of building them is long-term.  There are reciprocal links, one way links, external links and internal links.  The most valuable link is a one way link that comes from article marketing, blog comments, forum posts, social media, video sites and online press releases.

Since there are over 200 variables that go into the search engines algorithm there are many factors that effect ranking.  However, since the web is based on websites linking to each other all around the globe the emphasis is placed on links.  You will want a comprehensive strategy for doing white hat linking; preferably one that’s based on generating good content. This is an on-going process and it shouldn’t involve paid links because that’s against Google’s terms of service.

White hat SEO involves a team of people

Concepts like link farms and other black hat techniques could get your site de-indexed from Google.  You need to deal with a SEO firm that has a team of people not a one person show because legitimate backlinks must be built by a team of people specialized in this field.  The practice of link building is labor intensive so it doesn’t make sense to have localized labor doing this as it is cost prohibitive.

There shouldn’t be any waiting list on building your site as most SEO firms are global or national and they operate as global teams.  The most time consuming part of the process is keyword research and this is why SEO experts in the U.S., U.K. and Australia are in high demand. Designing websites these days is very straightforward; the real work is in the research and backlinks.

To save money you can even build your own site or hire someone at a nominal fee to do this.  Again, the real efforts that go into search engine marketing is strategy and this includes developing programs for creating link bait.  You should also work with an SEO firm that can source content for you as this can be a time consuming affair.

Use your commonsense and deal with people that don’t make you wait; the more you look at this as a practical investment that involves a team of people working on your business for the long haul; the better off you’ll be!

In the old days people would go to the phone book to look up a business; now people go to Google, Yahoo and Bing. The amount of people searching on the internet is growing at a rate of 50% a year. Statistics tell us that over 80% of all consumers will look up a business online prior to driving to the location.

It’s evident now that if you own a local or national business and you’re not online then you will get left behind!  Clearly your presence on the internet has a lot to do with whether or not a consumer will show up at your business.  You need more than web design to make this happen; you need a real search engine optimization strategy!

What can DFW businesses do to rank better in the search engines?

Search Engine Optimization Tips for Business Owners

• Get a blog so you can create information about your business (this will get indexed in the search engines).

• Do keyword research with tools like Market Samurai and locate the traffic for your industry.

• Have a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Friendfeed.

• Join bookmarking sites like Digg, Technorati, Reddit, Stumbleupon, Propeller and Delicious.

• Submit your website to directories like DMOZ, Yahoo, Local.com, Insiderpages and Hotfrog.

• Make professional videos with Animoto and leverage those with Tubemogul or Traffic Geyser.

• Get an autoresponder so you can build a long-term relationship with your prospects and customers.

• If you can outsource SEO services then ensure that your experts only use white hat techniques for backlinking.

The key to ranking your business in the search engines is based on your ability to create relevant content.  You will want to put your keywords into the title, description and utilize your keywords within your content.  Don’t over optimize as you might get a penalty from the search engines.  Simply create valuable content for your audience and utilize your keywords within the content.

If you would like a free site evaluation contact us by opting into our site at Search Marketing Dallas.  You will find that it is much easier to rank your business locally for search terms because the competition is typically less.  The key is to be patient with the process as it takes time to rank in the SERP’s for competitive industries.

Lastly, stay away from the two extremes in SEO which are people that promise guarantees or people that sell you on the cheap one time charge.  The truth is that the business of search engine optimization is all about building and this takes a team of people working in your behalf for the long-term.  Remember, this is an investment into your business.

Word of caution about SEO firms promising guarantees

SEO is a science but not an exact science; so people promising guarantees on 1st position rankings are simply misrepresenting the facts! As discussed, there are over 200 factors that go into the algorithm and Google is constantly changing things!  This is why good content relevant content and solid link building overtime is the best practice in the industry!

Your team of search engine optimization experts are your partners and just like an attorney or CPA they become an integral part of your business.

Your ability to rank will be based on the implementation of a well designed strategy and the collective efforts of a team which can get you ranked!  It’s important that you like and trust the people that are working on your search marketing because this will be a ongoing process!

Local DFW businesses are discovering the power of the internet and the value of high rankings in the SERP’s.  Start the process of optimization as soon as you can and pick a SEO partner that strives to communicate.  The function of search marketing is not something that you simply turn on or off; your relationship with an SEO firm should be on the level of a trusted partner!

Are you ready to take your business to the next level?  Call us today at 214-884-5919 and get your free site evaluation!

Happy search engine rankings!

Creating SEO or search engine optimization best practices via Market Samurai a keyword research tool makes sense.  Understanding your market will help you to create content and authority.  If you are a business owner looking to rank in the SERP’s you will need to generate valuable content that has been optimized for your niche keywords.

The process of SEO begins with gaining an understanding of your market via market research.  You will want to identify factors such as competition data, traffic and backlink analysis.  One of my preferred tools for conducting keyword research is Market Samurai made by a team of people from Australia.  This SEO tool gives you real intelligence with your search marketing efforts and you can even track your rankings.

There are other tools such as Wordtracker and one of my other favorites the free keyword tool by Google.  Whether you are a business owner on mainstreet or a seasoned internet marketer; conducting keyword research is one of the most important things you can ever do for SEO.

So what is the real labor of SEO and what helps you to become an authority in your niche?  There are two things that come to mind; you need to lead the conversation in your industry and you need to build backlinks. If you can join other associations and forums then this is also an internet marketing best practice.  Think of how offline leadership positions are formed and adapt those principles to the web.  The fundamentals are strikingly similar, which are leadership, trusted information and community!  These are the tactics of the advanced SEO practitioner as they won’t go into a market unless they can play for the long-term!

One of my favorite niche internet marketers does a very good job of this.  In his market he consistently ranks #1 and #2 in a somewhat highly competitive niche.  You will see that e-cigs or electronic cigarettes an alternative to regular cigarettes has serious online competition.  Yet my friend has become an authority in this space by being committed to creating valuable and highly relevant content.  This team (husband and wife), are great examples of SEO specialist that utilize SEO best practices.  They strive to create valuable content and without question they are leaders in their industry!

It would be impossible and highly unlikely that anyone at this point can ever out rank them because they have generated so much content and backlinks that it would be a very expensive proposition to compete with them!  How did they do it?  They write high quality authoritative content that is based on research.  This team participates in forums and they are an active force in their niche community!

It is the process of generating highly relevant content and active participation that created so many backlinks for them.  In fact one of their YouTube videos has over 250,000 views on it!  That’s a lot of SEO fire power as a result of just one video that went viral!

Most people in the world of SEO or Search Engine Optimization tend to make the process complicated and difficult.  True, the process of syndication, directory submission and building backlinks can be tedious at best.  However, it still shows that generating frequent valuable content  is one of the best SEO tactics that you can utilize for your business.  It all starts with research to gain market understanding which turns to creating conversations around those understandings.

I’m an affiliate for Market Samurai and as disclosure, we get paid commissions if someone elects to buy it; but the truth is this keyword research tool is fantastic.  There is a free trial on this or you can opt into our newsletter for free training.  Regardless of the SEO tools you use for your business; ensure that keyword research is priority one!

In today’s hyper competitive online environment content and authority are still best practices for SEO.

Is Market Samurai the Best Keyword Research Tool?

The best keyword research tool in the world without any doubts is Market Samurai.  In fact; Market Samurai has the best research, training and support of any product that I’ve ever used on the internet.

I first encountered Market Samurai in my online business about a year ago.  I was extremely impressed with the tool and it’s market research capabilities.

Once I purchased this keyword tool I then stumbled upon Ed Dale and the 30 Day challenge; another incredible value.

This tool was created by real professionals.  The people at Market Samurai are not online promoters; they are more like scientist.

You will find that Market Samurai is the most powerful keyword research tool in the online industry!  Granted other tools are good and you should use a combination of tools if possible; but this software does almost everything.

Market Samurai Will Help You To Become a Better Marketer

This keyword research program allows you to gauge the following:

• Search Traffic
• SEO Competition Data
• Online Commercial Intent
• Adwords Competition and Values
• SEO Values
• Title Competition Data
• Backlink Reports and Anchor Text Analysis
• Supplementary Reporting i.e. Alexa and Google Trends

There is really too much to explain in one simple blog post.  The coolest thing about it is there is a free trial of Market Samurai so you can test it.

A few last minute details and disclosures; originally I was simple a customer that bought the tool, but I love it so much I also became an affiliate.  Ask about our free 30 minute coaching that comes as a super bonus for those that purchase through my affiliate link.

So yes; I’m an affiliate that gets paid a commission if you elect to purchase Market Samurai; but you also get my bonus.  Becoming an expert at keyword research will empower you as an online entrepreneur!

The simple truth is that right now in 2010 Market Samurai is the best keyword research tool in the world!  Congratulations to the folks at Market Samurai for helping many internet marketers save both time and money!

The tool simply rocks!

In most retail environments the spot to advertise on is at the point of purchase.  You will see advertising displays near the product because this is where the conversions occur.  No different than internet marketing; you must locate your retail traffic and position your brand in such a way that you can convert that traffic to sales.  Having a background in traditional marketing i.e. digital graphics, exhibits and advertising displays; I can honestly state that the advertising industry lacks creativity.

Hence, the opportunity that you have as your own brand manager is to become wildly creative.  Gone are the days of stiff neck corporate and zero personality brands.  You must put a face on your brand and personally connect with your audience.

So if you really want to be cool and you”re into advertising displays for brand promotions, try mixing up your POP with technology.  You can incorporate social media and buzz marketing into your program.  Likewise, if you are into internet marketing; bring in some backlit graphics to your videos and or live events.

All industries need to be creative right now, especially in this economy.  There are enormous opportunities for people in this economy right now, especially those who are stepping up!  I’ve been using some video tools by Animoto to have fun with marketing our advertising displays.  You can get a free trial and use this for video marketing, which I highly recommend.

Signs are looking up!  Have fun with your marketing!

SEO Training focused on keyword research is useful for “SEM” or anyone starting an online business.  Search engine optimization is more than link building, it’s understanding which keywords are worth their weight in gold.

SEO Syndicate shows us the capabilities of “Market Samurai” and the SEO competition module.  There are so many marketers and small business people that realize they need to market on the internet; but they loose sight of the critical importance of keyword research.  Dominating a niche in  the SE warrants that you examine the following:

• Keyword Search Traffic
• Domain Age
• Indexed Content
• Backlinks to the Page
• Directory Listings i.e. DMOZ, Yahoo and Others
• SEO Competition (Number of Competing Pages)
• Title Comp

Before you start to generate a substantial investment of time and money into content creation; you need to start with comprehensive keyword research.  I like to use the free Google keyword research tool and I’ve also tried Wordtracker which is nice, but “Market Samurai” makes assessing your  SEO competition super easy.

You can get the training that you need for free at SEO Syndicate or look up the series by Ed Dale and the 30 Day Challenge as it also covers Market Samurai and keyword research.

Using SEO tactics for search engine optimization is made easier by the use of Market Samurai a very powerful keyword research tool.  There are so many internet marketers that start their business without any apparent keyword strategy whatsoever.  It is imperative that you do keyword research prior to investing into any marketing.

If you really want to drill down on SEO competition data, traffic numbers, domain age, backlinks and other critical information; Market Samurai does the job very well!

I first heard about the tool about ten months ago and acquired it right away.  I’m glad I did, because it also allowed me to locate people like Ed Dale and other pro marketers who do a great job of explaining the core fundamentals of having a successful online business.

This tool Market Samurai has an excellent community built around it and you can also become an affiliate for the product if you choose to do so.  I was glad to become an affiliate because quite frankly the tool is nothing less than awesome.

You can get a free trial of the tool at Market Samurai or you can opt into our free training on this site and we will send you the link.

If there is nothing else that you come to understand in your online business; please let it be keyword research.  It is critical that you understand what the SEO competition data is for any particular market prior to you engaging in it.

Here is a basic run through of the tool:

The fundamentals of Search Engine Marketing are easy enough.  Target some high traffic keywords, add SEO (search engine optimization) and implement a back linking strategy.  The online marketers job is to locate web traffic, create compelling content and then convert that traffic into sales.  This internet marketing strategy has been proven for success.  The problem is that most marketers take a short term view of their business and they forget to apply the basics of SEO.

When you go fishing at a lake or in the ocean; if you don’t catch any fish would you proclaim that it’s impossible?”  Then if you’re not getting traffic to your site simply ask  the question “where are the fish?”

Imagine showing up at the lake with the best radar i.e. (SEO tools) and then taking a picture or x-ray of precisely where all the fish are.  This is how the science of search marketing works.  The cool thing about the internet is that the search engines tell you what the traffic is for any given keyword.  Yet time after time I see the classic mistake of people creating content that lacks any apparent keyword strategy.  If you don’t have  a keyword strategy you probably won’t find any traffic.

Using the Google free keyword research tool is an excellent start to developing a strategy to locate web traffic.  This tool tells you what the traffic is on a given keyword phrase.  The local search volume indicates the previous months search volume whereas the global search volume is a projection.

The next step in the process is to identify your competition.  You need to understand the size of your competition for each keyword to see if it’s feasible to rank.

The question here in strategic terms is if your competition is a midsized battle ship or are they an aircraft carrier?

Here are some basic parameters by which you can quickly gauge the market:

• Pick a Keyword with a global monthly search volume of at least 20,000 to 30,000 to ensure good traffic.

• Keep the number of competing pages on that keyword under 100,000 so that you have a real shot at ranking.

• Examine the amount of content that has been indexed and the number of backlinks to the site; as this will tell you what actions you need to take to rank.

• Identify who your competition is linking to so that you can devise a strategy to capture links from those sources.

The basics of SEO (search engine optimization) can work for you if you have a keyword set that has good traffic and moderate competition.  Realize that any online marketing business takes time to develop.  Give yourself at least three to six months to see the full potential of your efforts in ranking.  Utilizing “social media buzz” with the social media properties can also contribute to higher rankings.

For a more in depth understanding of your competition utilize market research tools like “Market Samurai” which contains a feature that identifies your SEO competition.  This tool takes into account the following factors:

• Cache date
• DMOZ and Yahoo directory listings
• Government and Educational high authority backlinks.
• The number of backlinks to a specified page.
• Number of pages of indexed content by the search engines.
• PR analysis of the backlinks and anchor text.
• Domain Age

So if you are an online marketer remember that keyword research and competition data is essential to your online success.  Simply use a basic SEO strategy of identifying where the traffic is and develop an understanding of what the competition is.

Once you have your three to five keywords then focus on creating good relevant content that supports those keywords and start to build backlinks.  Utilizing your keywords in the domain name, title tag, header and meta tags is essential for good on page optimization.  Remember that keyword research is vitally important to your success as a internet marketer.

Great day to go fishing for internet traffic!