[TIPS] How to Detect 'Fake' SEO Consultants

by Aniruddha Badolla

As a small or medium business owner, you may want to advertise and promote your website as economically as possible. In recent years, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has emerged as one of the surest and cheapest way for long-term business promotion.


A typical business owner is not expected to be knowledgeable about SEO and its benefits. Even if the owner knows SEO, he/she may not be sure how to choose an ethical SEO who can get the job done at the best rates and within timeline. Choosing a SEO consultant or company for your website can be a tiring and overwhelming experience. Many SEO specialists will boast about adopting the latest path-breaking SEO techniques, use testimonials from clients and guarantees of #1 placements on Google. But how can you, as a non expert, select a genuine SEO consultant? Listed below, are a few of the main pointers used to detect 'fake' SEO consultants.
#1 Google ranking for Website:

If any company guarantees you that they can place your website in the number one position on Google, then take my advice - RUN in the opposite direction. It's obvious this company is desperate to get business and is willing misleading you to get your hard earned cash. No company can make such claims. Google's algorithms are one of the best kept secrets. What SEO companies can do is optimize and promote the website according to widely known principles, intelligent guess work, best practices and lots of hard work. At most a company can claim that they can acquire good rankings such as top 10 results. But even then, verify their past track record to measure how they fared with other clients.

Very Low Prices:

Many companies charge ridiculously low amount of money for a lot of services. As an astute business person, you can intelligently deduce that any work that requires hours and hours of hard work, research and analysis by a team of experts cannot come cheap. Most of the times, specialists from various fields such as programmers, content writers, SEO analyst, link builders etc. pool their resources to make a site successful on Google. Therefore quality services cannot come as cheap as many companies charge.

Secret and Proprietary Technique That Cannot be Revealed:

I don't think we even need to elaborate on this. As the owner of the website, you should be aware of what's happening to your site and what steps are been taken to optimize and promote it.

Recommending Black Hat Techniques:

Lot of companies recommends shady tactics known as black hat practices to get your site up in search engines. Not only do these practices have very short term benefits, but they can also be very counter productive since the search engines can eventually catch website following these practices. Many websites big and small have been heavily penalized for using such techniques. So play safe and avoid these SEO companies like the plague.

Using Outdated Techniques:

Once upon a time, techniques like reciprocal link exchange, keyword stuffing etc. were used to get good rankings. Google and other search engines have wisened up and rank a site for its worthiness and not just back links and keyword stuffing. Choose a company that will recommends steps to make your site useful & relevant and not take short cuts.

Keep these tips in mind while choosing an SEO company for your website and hopefully they will help you select an SEO company that knows their job and can handle your website promotion very well. Good luck!

Source: site-reference.com
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[TIPS] Turning Your Website Into a Powerful Sales Tool

by George Qualley IV

When it comes to business advertising and providing pre-purchase information to potential customers, the internet has proven to be a game-changing medium. Unlike the phone book, direct mail, trade shows, etc., a website provides every business, no matter how small, an opportunity to provide potential customers with a virtually unlimited source of information at minimal cost. Yet, despite this valuable resource, relatively few businesses effectively exploit the sales power of the internet.

With the proliferation of the internet, the number of businesses that have no web presence at all has drastically declined. Most businesses have recognized that, at the very least, a company website (even if rudimentary) is a business necessity. However, a prospective customer who researches a business using the internet is no different than the prospective customer who calls or visits a physical location of a business. Each prospect is looking for the appropriate information about the business that will enable them to make a decision regarding the purchase of a product or service. Although this might seem like a simple concept, a relatively small percentage of businesses seem to recognize this concept when it comes to designing a website.

Far too many websites look like they are an electronic version of some sales paraphernalia that might be passed out at a trade show or sent out as a direct mail piece. Generally speaking, the goal of a good flyer or mailer is to entice the prospective customer to make some further contact with a business so that the prospect can be sold by some additional means. In other words, the flyer is the device that hooks the prospect, not the device that closes the sale. Websites are far too often designed with the same goal as a flyer or direct mail piece—to entice the customer to take some further action, e.g. contacting a sales person in person or by phone. To say the least, this approach underutilizes the potential that the internet offers to a given business.

In case you hadn't noticed, the quality of websites on the internet has vastly increased from the early days of the World Wide Web. While some observers have termed this phenomenon as “Web 2.0”, the fact of the matter is that people are starting to realize that a website can provide something much more valuable and engaging than just text and pictures on a page.

You may have heard the phrase “content is key” to building a great website. However, “content” increasingly comes in the form of interactive features and functions rather than traditional means—just look at websites like Twitter, Facebook, and Digg. With websites like these, chances are that your prospective customers aren't going to be impressed if they’re looking for information and all your website is offering is a price list and a sales brochure.

If you're serious about turning your website into a tool to drive sales, accurate, instant, and personalized information is key. Just like a top salesperson, your website needs to deliver information to a prospective customer according to that customers particular wants and/or needs. Upgrading your website from a static, one-dimensional design to a dynamic, sales generating engine might sound like a significant challenge, especially if you don‘t have a dedicated IT department. However, third-party tools can provide a cost-effective and low-maintenance way to enhance your website. In many cases, just adding a few lines of code to your existing website can give you (and in turn, your customers) access to sophisticated applications without the hassle and expense associated with custom development. In addition, many web-based applications provide seamless upgrades and feature enhancements with no installation or maintenance on the part of the user. In short, if you're looking to integrate the type of dynamic functionality that will significantly increase the value of your website, look to industry specific web-applications that work with your site.


Although the internet has evolved significantly since it's inception, many businesses still haven't mastered the art of effectively exploiting the web as a successful sales tool. If you're not providing your prospective customers with the information that they want when they visit your website, you're simply not taking full advantage of one of the most effective marketing channels available today. More importantly, if you're missing that opportunity, it probably won't be long before your competitors take advantage of your oversight.


About the writer : George Qualley IV, J.D., M.B.A. is the co-creator of SiteOMite.com, a web-based tool which allows special event service providers (e.g. DJs, photographers, videographers, etc.) the ability to offer dynamic, online price and availability quotes to their customers. Copyright (c) 2009 - Siteomite.com


Source: site-references.com
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[TIPS] Optimize Your Landing Pages, Increase Your Sales

by Paul Marshall

Your Landing Page Design can make or break your conversion rate.


All the search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising isn't going to create the sales you want with bad landing pages. You'd be just wasting your time and money.

And the truth is that almost EVERY page on your website is a landing page, except for your Privacy Policy, Terms of Use or Service, and possibly your About page.

I've seen websites more than DOUBLE their conversions with landing pages that are properly designed to convert traffic to conversions (such as opt-in sign ups and direct sales).

Think about it -- doubling your sales without increasing your PPC advertising or without increasing your SEO efforts! How much money could that put in your pocket?

When you take advantage of strategies like that, that's when you start beating out your competition!

What's Landing Page Optimization All About?

When searchers come to our websites from the search engines, they are in a path from one website to another.

We have to interrupt that process, drawing these searchers into our website and into our story.

We must balance the connection with our visitors and make an emotional connection, while offering them real substance, as well.

We MUST answer these questions:

1. where am I?

2. what can I do here (what is your offer)?

3. Why should I look here and STAY rather than click away? This MUST be answered in the top 4 to 4/12 inches of your Web pages (above the fold)

How Do You Begin Optimizing Your Landing Page Design?

First, start by clearly explaining what you want your website visitors to do and WHY they should do it.

Why should they buy from you or opt-in for future contact? What's in it for them?

Why should they choose you over other websites they can visit? What separates you from your competition?

Essentially, what's your Value Proposition?

You should be able to clearly explain the advantage to your website visitors in 2 to 3 short sentences.

Right now, if you're not sure exactly how to describe your Value Proposition, you're surely NOT alone! The great majority of people I coach with their websites are in the same boat, when they start out.

My suggestion: Start brainstorming and making good notes. It also helps to have the input of a Internet marketing consulting coach outside your business, who can help you clearly define and explain what you offer your website visitors in a compelling manner, without using your industry jargon and lingo.

Reduce Anxiety from Your Purchase and Opt-in Processes

Anxiety can also be defined as fear or concern. Now, you can never have a anxiety-free website, if you sell a product or service or if you seek an opt-in email address.

Anxiety occurs in opt-in sign up processes, when providing an email address. When making a purchase, providing credit card information causes anxiety.

But how can you REDUCE the anxiety to the least level possible?

There are many techniques you can follow to accomplish this.

One of the best examples is to post your Privacy Policy page link right next to your sign up button, for your opt-in contact. This helps reassure your visitors you aren't selling their email address and will generate a higher opt-in conversion rate than not posting your privacy policy, all other things equal.

Other anxiety reducing techniques are:

1. emphasize credit card security when ordering

2. offer pricing guarantees

3. deal with product | service quality concerns with guarantees and third-party certifications, awards, etc.

These techniques must be used at the exact point where the anxiety occurs.

Next, Reducing Friction from Your Web Pages

Friction can also be defined as annoyance and irritation. To maximize your sales and opt-in conversion rate, you need to minimize the friction all across your website.

Friction occurs in the prospect's MIND, not really on the page.

It is a Psychological resistance to a given element in the sales process.

So, how can you reduce friction?

One way is to limit fields to the minimum number needed for both purchase and opt-in forms. Friction = Length and Difficulty.

While space here limits a complete discussion of all the techniques you can take advantage of, another way to limit friction is to make your landing page design take advantage of natural eye movement, working with it, rather than against it. You've got to be careful with multi-column designs.

Wrapping it Up

Using Landing Page Optimization techniques will help you potentially DOUBLE your conversions...your direct sales and opt-in sign ups...without increasing your PPC advertising expenses and without requiring higher SEO rankings.

Source : Optimize Landing Pages
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[TIPS] How To Use Facebook To Build Up Your Business

by Jeremy Gislason

Facebook is one of the most popular social networking mediums, and their membership numbers are increasing quickly. It is a great tool for networking; but like many tools available for networking on the web, promotional or marketing activities are frowned upon.



So be careful when using Facebook and do your online marketing activities under the radar, or you might miss out on a powerful tool to boost your business.

In this article, I’ll give you some vital pointers to maximize the power of Facebook.

1) Just like any other social site, be careful what you put in your profile.

You don’t want to be seen as a link spammer. And you don’t want to give away too much personal information either (unless you don't care that thousands of people may see your profile).

Just be careful with any personal details you put out there for others to see, such as where you live and pictures of your children. You do not want to pick up a stalker, especially when you are networking with strangers.

2) Don’t make the mistake of using your business name as your profile name, as this is against Facebook’s terms of service.

You are allowed to create other Facebook pages to brand your company, products or websites.

3) Respond to any friend requests and carefully send your own invitations. Make them personal and interesting.

Developing a great network is your long-term goal to generate a slow, but steady traffic stream to your websites. Use this tool to your advantage without being pushy or overbearing. Facebooks members hate spamming (who doesn’t?) and will carefully watch out for anything that violates their Terms of Service (TOS).

If you want to see profiles of those from another network, add them as your friends using the "Add to Friends" button. Follow the steps in the Edit tool to fill out any information you want others in your network, or others you accept as friends, to view.

4) Use various applications of Facebook.

Facebook has many applications which would make your networking experience easier or more enjoyable. Examples are applications for adding footage or photograph albums to your profile for others to see.

I’ll discuss two other powerful Facebook applications in a moment.



5) Use Facebook’s “My Questions” application to find out what people are exactly looking for concerning your niche.

This is where posters answer certain questions about themselves and what they are looking for on Facebook. They will also list their interests. Use this in your networking activities.

Unless they have expressed an interest in your field, do not invite them to join your friends list. Of course, you can still ask them if you genuinely want to be their friend.

But if you are there to network for your website business, then choose your friends wisely. This is how you are building your list and getting traffic to your website. So you have to manage your time well and eliminate non-productive activities.

Again, be very careful about Facebook’s TOS. Do not go against it because breaking the rules will get you banned.

6) Use “Facebook Discuss.”

It is Facebook's answer to instant messaging. Chatting, or IM'ing, on Facebook is truly quite easy when you use Facebook Discuss .

Just go to your Facebook page and you can start using Facebook Discuss immediately. At the base of each Facebook page, you may see your Facebook Discuss tools.

The first of the 3 Facebook Discuss tools is the online friends tool. This simply tells you which of your Facebook buddies is online at this time. The next Facebook Discuss tool is notifications that may let you know if you have any new Facebook notifications right from the tool. The 3rd tool in Facebook Discuss is the real discuss tool.

7) Create and join Facebook groups.

Just as they have subscribed to your blog, they're going to join your Facebook group. So people looking on Facebook for related groups would feel welcome to join.

Facebook groups are viral selling mechanisms. Search Facebook for groups on your topic and related ones. In each of these groups, you can post a message on the group Wall or debate board, or you may use the Post a Link feature to inform the group's members of your group and your blog.

By promoting your Facebook group at first, rather than promoting your blog, you decrease the chance the group director will remove your message. Any Facebook member can make a group and invite users on their pals list to join.

A form prompts you to give the group a name, passing outline and class. At the following stage, you can customize your group's available applications, upload a profile photograph and set privacy levels.

A secret group is fascinating for work-related activity, but it will not show up in search results. Choosing a closed group might be the best idea for you to protect your privacy. You will be inspired to choose members from your friends list to join the group.

When you start a group on Facebook, you can invite members to join the group and share their thoughts, viewpoints and consultations about your product, idea or start-up. Invitations to join a Facebook group can be through your Facebook buddies, your Yahoo contacts, etc.


8) Integrate your application into specific areas of the Facebook profile.

A Facebook application can take on a lot of forms; but in order to entirely implement the selection of integration points and deliver a full user experience, it is advised that you integrate your application into specific areas of the Facebook profile.

This permits millions of viewers to see your business everywhere on Facebook and attract potential patrons, who would naturally visit your start-up Internet site.

Remember to follow all Facebooks rules; otherwise, you’ll risk getting banned and your account deleted. This is not what you are looking for. Instead you want to use the group feature to promote your website within Facebooks rules. Do not overstep by thinking you can get around the rules. Use Facebook features to your advantage and you will see an increase in your website traffic.

Source : How To Use Facebook
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[TIPS] Ten Ways To Get Web Traffic Fast - And Free

By James Gladwin (c) 2009

There are several ways to get website traffic fast and free, and I'm going to share ten niche ways with you.


Article Submission

You don't need to be an award winning expert on the topic you are writing about - just pick an area that is related to the theme of your website, do a bit of research using a search engine and before you know it you will have more knowledge on that subject than most. Write in a relaxed, straightforward way. And, of course, when you add your details at the end of your article, make certain that you include your web address as well.

URL Submission

This sounds so obvious, yet so many people overlook it. Website URL submission is about getting more links to your website to help your website get ranked high on major search engines, thus getting more visitor traffic by, well, submitting your website URL to the major search engines. You can buy or subscribe to software that will do this, but it is quite possible to get a good return by submitting manually.

Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking is a way for internet users to store, classify, share, search and discover Internet resources that they find useful. Since social bookmarks are saved online, users are able to access them from anywhere - at home, at work or while travelling.

These lists can be accessible to the public by users of a specific network or website. What you need to do first is register with a social bookmarking site which allows you to store and tag bookmarks. Most social bookmarking services allow users to search for bookmarks which are associated with given "tags", and rank the resources by the number of users which have bookmarked them. This means that other visitors and members of social bookmarking sites can search for resources by topic, category, keyword, tags, or popularity to see what others have saved. As a user, social bookmarking sites let you find useful, informative resources through pages that have been tagged because others have found them to be valuable sources. Voila - more web traffic. Free.

Forum Posting

Forum posting is a hands down alternative to paid advertising methods. For only a few hours of work every week, you can capture batches of interested leads everyday. The more forums you contribute to, the more you will gain traffic. If you are an active forum poster, you will also get a good feel about the kind of products that are hot on the market.

Please don't overlook the forum signature or commonly called resource box - it's a powerful free advertising tool for you. What you must do is edit your forum signature. Basically, a curiosity inducing one-liner and a link to your website is great. Once you have edited and saved your signature, it will appear at the bottom of all your comments in the forum discussions. That means, the more you participate in the discussions in the forums, the more people see your semi-ad written on your signature. I promise, this will encourage people to visit your website, and hopefully buy from you.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing is one of the best ways to get the word out about your website and can be done with very little technical expertise and therefore is easy to start up. If you have a product or service you believe in, visit a site such as Clickbank and open an account. Follow the simple instructions to gain affiliates - and traffic.

Press Releases

It's a fact that a well-written Press Release can dramatically increase your sales, expose your company to the masses, and greatly enhance the image of your business or products. Publicity is the most cost-effective web traffic building marketing tool there is, and, surprisingly, web traffic can be generated by ink and paper!

Classified Ads

Again, it's easy to associate Classified Ads with yesterday's technology, but they are extremely cheap and a one line product or service description, together with your website, will pay dividends.

Blog Comments

If you are an avid blog follower, you have to include Blog Commenting in your web traffic arsenal. You will almost always find a "comments" link at the end of each post. Good blog commenters add to the discussion and are known as knowledgeable, informative, friendly and engaged. Join them!

FaceBook

Don't forget that you can use Facebook to its full potential to attract more visitors to your website. You can get away from just interacting with your school or college friends and start interacting with people within your industry or other industries that you want to get into.

An easy way to do this is to join groups that interest you as well as make friends with people that you want to get to know. Fill out your profile (fully) - the best profile on Facebook is a complete one.

Videos

Finally, why not make a video and post to video sites too! This is not a Warner Bros. effort! Your PC or Mac may well have a webcam, or you can borrow a camcorder or Flip. Write a brief script - lights- camera - action - and upload to YouTube. (Just remember to be sure to link it back to you.)

Well - there you are. Not all of the ten suggestions I've outlined may appeal, but if you select three or four, stick with them, and implement them on a regular basis, you will see your web traffic increase significantly. My best to you.

Source: Site Pro News

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