Are you focusing your search engine optimization efforts on getting tons of traffic from the search engines? If you answered yes, then I am about to tell you something completely different from other Internet Marketers.
Forget about getting tons of traffic from the search engines. Get LESS traffic that converts MORE! The Secret to Turning Keywords into Conversions is to Keep Your Keywords Focused
For example, if your site sells an all-natural remedy for acid stomach problems...
You start to do your keyword research and you discover that the keyword phrase "natural remedies" has 288 daily searches. But it has over 2,000,000 sites competing for it.
While the phrase, "acid reflux natural remedies" has 67 daily searches with just over 11,000 competing sites.
Do you want to spend all your time and effort trying to optimize your website for the first keyword phrase?
You may get more searches, but you'll never know how many of those searchers want to buy your stomach acid remedy. Not to mention the HUGE number of competitors the keyword has!
Or would you go for the second term, which only has 67 people searching for it -- knowing those 67 people are looking for EXACTLY what you offer? And, it has a MUCH lower competition number to boot!
Obviously, the second term is better!
Sure, you might get less traffic -- but the visitors you DO get will be MUCH more likely to buy your product.
Why You Will Make More Money with Less Traffic That Converts More
People search the Internet to find a solution to a problem and not necessarily to buy something. So what problems will they solve by coming to your website?
Think of a keyword as a "problem statement" that someone would type into the search engines.
When you can match your keywords to the exact problems they're trying to solve. You'll attract the BEST visitors to your site so you can focus all your optimization efforts on them!
When you can match your keywords to the exact problems they're trying to solve. You'll attract the BEST visitors to your site so you can focus all your optimization efforts on them!
Top Search Engine Optimization Tips for Finding Highly Focused Keywords That Will Bring the Absolute Best Buyers to Your Website:
Check your server logs. See what keyword phrases people are actually using to find your site. If there's something relevant that you've overlooked, build a page focused on that keyword phrase.
Also look for keywords that are causing people to leave right away because they're not finding what they're looking for. Ditch those keywords immediately.
Look for "intention." Say you sell cross-country ski equipment. People can come to your website looking for different things.
For instance:
They're looking to buy a specific product
They're looking for product reviews
They want information on how to get started in cross-country skiing
They want used or discount equipment They want to know what kind of equipment will be best for them They want to know what's new and hot in cross-country ski equipment
Same products -- far different intentions!
If you optimize a page (or pages) for each different problem people are trying to solve, you'll give them what they're looking for…
That means they'll stay on your site longer -- and you'll have a better chance of getting them into the sales process.
Check out your competition. What keywords are your competitors optimizing for, and on what pages?
Focus your SEO efforts on the specific keywords that describe EXACTLY what problem each page solves. Don't be tempted by more general keywords with higher traffic numbers. They'll never send you the traffic you want.
Keywords: how to make money online, how to start internet business, ways to make money online, internet marketing course, online marketing course, internet marketing training course, web marketing course, how to start an internet business, e business strategy, online small business course
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Top 3 SEO Tips of 2008
Since 1998 I've spent the first several months of each year looking for the very best search engine optimization (SEO) tips of the previous year's end. This year I've come across the best SEO tips yet.
SEO Tip #1: Make Google Alerts Your Personal Online Spy
Google Alerts is a great way to let the world's biggest search engine be your personal online spy. This takes search engine optimization insider info to whole new level. Here's an excerpt straight from Google....
"Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.
Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:
1. monitoring a developing news story
2. keeping current on a competitor or industry
3. getting the latest on a celebrity or event
4. keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams"
As you probably guessed, it's the second one we care about most, "keeping current on a competitor or industry."
Here's how it works... Each time Google finds a reference to the query or topic you request you will be sent an email with the details. This is like having an online spy to make sure competitors are not using your protected keywords (trademarked names, company names, etc.) It's also an instant identifier to know when your site or product is mentioned in a news story or even when a topic is hot so you can take advantage of the situation. It's the easiest way in the world to stop competitors' dirty tricks and identify trends that you can take instant advantage of.
It's fast, free and works every minute of every day. Let Google Alerts (http://www.google.com/alerts) do your most time consuming legwork while you reap the rewards!
SEO Tip #2: Optimize Your 404 Page and Always Be Found
A.) Use your main keyword in your title, add a "pipe" (usually above the Enter key) and then use your secondary keyword. Here's as example for an SEO site "SEO - Search Engine Optimization Tips"
B.) Add some keyword rich content using one to two keywords for the page. If you have less than 250 words on the page, just use one keyword and use it no more than three times total. Bold the first use and italicize the second or third use. Keep in mind this is an "inactive" page so simply tell the visitor what your site is about and whet their appetite with a good description. Something like this works well... "Thank you for visiting SEO (bold) Group, Inc. We are sorry you landed on a missing page but don't worry, if you're looking for the very best search engine optimizations tips (bold), you're at the right place..." This will go on for a couple paragraphs or as long as you'd like then end it with something to the effect of "Please Click Here (link) to visit our site map or click any link to the left."
C.) Add your site's standard navigation system (bar, column, etc.) as mentioned above.
D.) Make the look and feel of the customized 404 page match your main site as closely as possible with a template, matched palette, cascading style sheets, etc.
E.) Create a link to the site map page if available, and make the link easy to find. You want your visitor off the 404 page and into your main content as quickly as possible.
Setting up a custom 404 page link usually takes less than five minutes on most major Web hosting companies like Godaddy.com. But whatever it takes, it's worth the effort.
Setting up a custom 404 page link usually takes less than five minutes on most major Web hosting companies like Godaddy.com. But whatever it takes, it's worth the effort.
SEO Tip #3: Get (Even More) Serious About Linking
I saved the most important for last. If you want to do well on any search engine, especially Google, linking is THE single MOST important thing you can do. It's that simple.
Here are the five things you MUST do to make your site #1 on Google:
A.) Find the highest page rank sites linking to your site AND your competitors' sites.
B.) Run monthly link campaigns and snatch up the best of the above identified Web sites.
C.) Run regular checks on what pages are still linking back to your site. Alsomake sure they did not move you from a high page rank page to a lower one (don't get cheated!)
D.) Eliminate any penalized sites you link to; ASAP!
E.) Check your search engine ranking AND your competitor's for each of your keywords every week. Do this, at the minimum, for Google, Yahoo, MSN and Alta Vista.
Inside Tip: Keeping up can be a lot of work so a lot of SEO Consultants (myself included) use SEO Elite (http://www.SEOeliteWeb.com) to do all the most difficult and time consuming work.
One last thing to know is that Google was originally a college student's project created for the sole purpose of defining a Web site's value by the sites that link to it. Twelve years later this is still it's main job. Linking is EVERYTHING to Google.
These few SEO tips are the very best of the best so use them wisely. Best of luck!
SEO Tip #1: Make Google Alerts Your Personal Online Spy
Google Alerts is a great way to let the world's biggest search engine be your personal online spy. This takes search engine optimization insider info to whole new level. Here's an excerpt straight from Google....
"Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.
Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:
1. monitoring a developing news story
2. keeping current on a competitor or industry
3. getting the latest on a celebrity or event
4. keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams"
As you probably guessed, it's the second one we care about most, "keeping current on a competitor or industry."
Here's how it works... Each time Google finds a reference to the query or topic you request you will be sent an email with the details. This is like having an online spy to make sure competitors are not using your protected keywords (trademarked names, company names, etc.) It's also an instant identifier to know when your site or product is mentioned in a news story or even when a topic is hot so you can take advantage of the situation. It's the easiest way in the world to stop competitors' dirty tricks and identify trends that you can take instant advantage of.
It's fast, free and works every minute of every day. Let Google Alerts (http://www.google.com/alerts) do your most time consuming legwork while you reap the rewards!
SEO Tip #2: Optimize Your 404 Page and Always Be Found
A.) Use your main keyword in your title, add a "pipe" (usually above the Enter key) and then use your secondary keyword. Here's as example for an SEO site "SEO - Search Engine Optimization Tips"
B.) Add some keyword rich content using one to two keywords for the page. If you have less than 250 words on the page, just use one keyword and use it no more than three times total. Bold the first use and italicize the second or third use. Keep in mind this is an "inactive" page so simply tell the visitor what your site is about and whet their appetite with a good description. Something like this works well... "Thank you for visiting SEO (bold) Group, Inc. We are sorry you landed on a missing page but don't worry, if you're looking for the very best search engine optimizations tips (bold), you're at the right place..." This will go on for a couple paragraphs or as long as you'd like then end it with something to the effect of "Please Click Here (link) to visit our site map or click any link to the left."
C.) Add your site's standard navigation system (bar, column, etc.) as mentioned above.
D.) Make the look and feel of the customized 404 page match your main site as closely as possible with a template, matched palette, cascading style sheets, etc.
E.) Create a link to the site map page if available, and make the link easy to find. You want your visitor off the 404 page and into your main content as quickly as possible.
Setting up a custom 404 page link usually takes less than five minutes on most major Web hosting companies like Godaddy.com. But whatever it takes, it's worth the effort.
Setting up a custom 404 page link usually takes less than five minutes on most major Web hosting companies like Godaddy.com. But whatever it takes, it's worth the effort.
SEO Tip #3: Get (Even More) Serious About Linking
I saved the most important for last. If you want to do well on any search engine, especially Google, linking is THE single MOST important thing you can do. It's that simple.
Here are the five things you MUST do to make your site #1 on Google:
A.) Find the highest page rank sites linking to your site AND your competitors' sites.
B.) Run monthly link campaigns and snatch up the best of the above identified Web sites.
C.) Run regular checks on what pages are still linking back to your site. Alsomake sure they did not move you from a high page rank page to a lower one (don't get cheated!)
D.) Eliminate any penalized sites you link to; ASAP!
E.) Check your search engine ranking AND your competitor's for each of your keywords every week. Do this, at the minimum, for Google, Yahoo, MSN and Alta Vista.
Inside Tip: Keeping up can be a lot of work so a lot of SEO Consultants (myself included) use SEO Elite (http://www.SEOeliteWeb.com) to do all the most difficult and time consuming work.
One last thing to know is that Google was originally a college student's project created for the sole purpose of defining a Web site's value by the sites that link to it. Twelve years later this is still it's main job. Linking is EVERYTHING to Google.
These few SEO tips are the very best of the best so use them wisely. Best of luck!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Google trends and how to get more traffic on your site
Google Trends and how to get more traffic
Very often we are asked to provide expected visitor volumes from the core target keywords of an SEO campaign. Of course, we explain the ‘long tail’ and the fact that many hundreds if not thousands of keywords will potentially be referring visitors, but it enables the client to quantify their investment by getting some gauge on expected sales and ROI. From the point of view of an SEO however, it can be quite tricky to explain the ‘pinch of salt’ aspect of any such estimates, and that there are no guarantees. It is a fine balancing act for SEO agencies – avoiding the ‘you said we would get 1000 visitors being #1 and we’re getting 100’ scenario is a must. Ensuring as high a level of accuracy as possible when estimating volumes is therefore also a must.
We have historically used a combination of the following tools and methods to gauge potential traffic volumes from natural search:
1. Google Adwords / MSN AdCenter / Yahoo traffic estimators
2. Online tools such as Keyword Discovery, Wordtracker, Wordze etc
3. Existing PPC / Organic search analytics data
4. Creating temporary PPC campaigns to test volumes
Google Trends
Google Trends has always been useful to look at comparative volumes – for example, we often use it to see whether the singular or plural of a keyword is more popular. Beyond this, it has always been quite limited. A recent Google Trends update however, could revolutionise the forecasting of organic search traffic.
Now that’s all well and good but it still doesn’t help in estimating traffic for those terms, so how do you do that? Well, any worthwhile SEO agency should have a decent portfolio of #1 rankings for relatively high volume search terms. I would also expect them to have a decent analytics package in place on their clients’ sites, from which you can monitor the traffic those #1 rankings generate. This is key.
You may have already achieved a #1 position for ‘blue widgets’, and so are thinking about expanding your keyword list to include ‘yellow widgets’. You already know how many visitors your ‘blue widgets’ success is worth, so now use Google Trends to compare volumes with ‘yellow widgets’. If ‘blue widgets’ generates 100 visits per day, and Trends tells you that ‘yellow widgets’ is 0.6 of the volume, you know to expect 60 visits per day from a #1 position for ‘yellow widgets’. Useful eh!
You may have already achieved a #1 position for ‘blue widgets’, and so are thinking about expanding your keyword list to include ‘yellow widgets’. You already know how many visitors your ‘blue widgets’ success is worth, so now use Google Trends to compare volumes with ‘yellow widgets’. If ‘blue widgets’ generates 100 visits per day, and Trends tells you that ‘yellow widgets’ is 0.6 of the volume, you know to expect 60 visits per day from a #1 position for ‘yellow widgets’. Useful eh!
You may have already achieved a #1 position for ‘blue widgets’, and so are thinking about expanding your keyword list to include ‘yellow widgets’. You already know how many visitors your ‘blue widgets’ success is worth, so now use Google Trends to compare volumes with ‘yellow widgets’. If ‘blue widgets’ generates 100 visits per day, and Trends tells you that ‘yellow widgets’ is 0.6 of the volume, you know to expect 60 visits per day from a #1 position for ‘yellow widgets’. Useful eh!
Very often we are asked to provide expected visitor volumes from the core target keywords of an SEO campaign. Of course, we explain the ‘long tail’ and the fact that many hundreds if not thousands of keywords will potentially be referring visitors, but it enables the client to quantify their investment by getting some gauge on expected sales and ROI. From the point of view of an SEO however, it can be quite tricky to explain the ‘pinch of salt’ aspect of any such estimates, and that there are no guarantees. It is a fine balancing act for SEO agencies – avoiding the ‘you said we would get 1000 visitors being #1 and we’re getting 100’ scenario is a must. Ensuring as high a level of accuracy as possible when estimating volumes is therefore also a must.
We have historically used a combination of the following tools and methods to gauge potential traffic volumes from natural search:
1. Google Adwords / MSN AdCenter / Yahoo traffic estimators
2. Online tools such as Keyword Discovery, Wordtracker, Wordze etc
3. Existing PPC / Organic search analytics data
4. Creating temporary PPC campaigns to test volumes
Google Trends
Google Trends has always been useful to look at comparative volumes – for example, we often use it to see whether the singular or plural of a keyword is more popular. Beyond this, it has always been quite limited. A recent Google Trends update however, could revolutionise the forecasting of organic search traffic.
Now that’s all well and good but it still doesn’t help in estimating traffic for those terms, so how do you do that? Well, any worthwhile SEO agency should have a decent portfolio of #1 rankings for relatively high volume search terms. I would also expect them to have a decent analytics package in place on their clients’ sites, from which you can monitor the traffic those #1 rankings generate. This is key.
You may have already achieved a #1 position for ‘blue widgets’, and so are thinking about expanding your keyword list to include ‘yellow widgets’. You already know how many visitors your ‘blue widgets’ success is worth, so now use Google Trends to compare volumes with ‘yellow widgets’. If ‘blue widgets’ generates 100 visits per day, and Trends tells you that ‘yellow widgets’ is 0.6 of the volume, you know to expect 60 visits per day from a #1 position for ‘yellow widgets’. Useful eh!
You may have already achieved a #1 position for ‘blue widgets’, and so are thinking about expanding your keyword list to include ‘yellow widgets’. You already know how many visitors your ‘blue widgets’ success is worth, so now use Google Trends to compare volumes with ‘yellow widgets’. If ‘blue widgets’ generates 100 visits per day, and Trends tells you that ‘yellow widgets’ is 0.6 of the volume, you know to expect 60 visits per day from a #1 position for ‘yellow widgets’. Useful eh!
You may have already achieved a #1 position for ‘blue widgets’, and so are thinking about expanding your keyword list to include ‘yellow widgets’. You already know how many visitors your ‘blue widgets’ success is worth, so now use Google Trends to compare volumes with ‘yellow widgets’. If ‘blue widgets’ generates 100 visits per day, and Trends tells you that ‘yellow widgets’ is 0.6 of the volume, you know to expect 60 visits per day from a #1 position for ‘yellow widgets’. Useful eh!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
