Friday, Mar 12, 2010

Posts Tagged ‘internet marketing advertising’

Squidoo Can Play a Central Role In Any Social Media Marketing

Posted by David Redfern in Blog, Latest News, SEO Friday, 19 February 2010 13:00 No Comments

As a knowledge sharing platform, Squidoo can play a central role in any social media marketing, brand reputation or search engine optimisation campaign. From a business perspective, creating and maintaining a lens offers an opportunity to reach out to your target market on an informal level, sharing tips, knowledge and advice about company products and services.

Squidoo is very well rated to by the most popular search engines and is rapidly becoming too good an SEO opportunity to pass up. Within the lens you can add links back to your own web site so an authority lens can make a big contribution to better site rankings overall.

Getting Started

Get the basics out of the way – create a user account, log in and familiarize yourself with the easy to use dashboard. Click the ‘create a lens’ button and then decide on a name. At this point, you must keep basic SEO principles in mind. Your Squidoo lens is a chance to take up another spot on the search engine results pages so you’ll want to include your product name, company name and priority keywords if possible. Keep the title short and catchy.

Squidoo allows you to rate the lens in much the same way as films are rated – most will be suitable for all audience, but take time to read the other options just in case some material is unsuitable for certain audiences. At this second stage you’re also invited to choose your own Squidoo URL. Again, keep in mind SEO optimisation principles and branding considerations to give visibility a helping hand.

With the lens now named, you can start to add keywords. Although you’re limited to three initially, you can add more later so choose the most relevant three for the moment.

First Updates

When you complete the set up process, you’re presented with the basics of a good lens. Among the choices when you first begin to add content to your new Squidoo page are welcome text, Flickr photos, YouTube videos, a guestbook, Google Blog search and Amazon voting.

You probably won’t be able to complete each of the modules straight off (you may need to enlist the help of other departments or hunt down relevant pictures for example) but make an appointment to start populating the modules you don’t complete at this first pass. A good Squidoo lens will take a lot of time and work to create and maintain but it’s worth putting in the extra effort to give your page a chance of appearing in the SERPS. There are millions of mediocre lenses just as there are millions of blogs and community pages that were left to fade into obscurity after the first flush of enthusiasm. A mediocre page won’t contribute to your ranking positions or drive traffic to your web site though so do try and keep to a realistic update schedule.

Using Modules

Regular updates are essential but that doesn’t mean that you have to write reams and reams of text. Of course, if you have white papers or insights into any aspect of your industry or product use, it pays to add them to your lens but if you’re short on time, you can get creative with the pre-loaded modules that Squidoo offers. A great way to ensure cohesion of message is to link your Squidoo lens to your other social media outlets – you can do this by going to Add Modules at the top of the dashboard and then selecting the new content type you would like to load in.

The best lenses blend a variety of modules to create a useful, informative page that visitors will return to time and time again. Link to your eBay shop to generate additional revenue, add Twitter Follow or Lists to increase your Twitter followers, add Wikipedia knowledge, slideshare, even videos from Saturday Night Live.

Optimisation

Whatever kind of content you add, make sure to always include relevant tags for the post and link back to your own web site where appropriate. You can use HTML code within text modules, so choose anchor text wisely and try other optimization tips such as the use of H2 and H3 tags for longer chunks of text. Remember, you want to apply as many SEO techniques as possible to make your lens stand out in the SERPS. This will ultimately drive more traffic and brand awareness your way.

About Footprints-SEO.com

Footprints-SEO.com is an internet marketing company whose priority is to make your organization rise above the competition, we are a group of talented and dedicated individuals with a passion for search engine optimization. We will custom-tailor marketing strategies that are right for you and your business, while ensuring top search engine optimization and web-site design.

Footprints-SEO.com has the answer to all your internet marketing needs.


Why Link Architecture is a Crucial Part of Your Website Design

Posted by David Redfern in Latest News, SEO Friday, 19 February 2010 12:49 No Comments

In an ideal world, a search engine spider would start at the homepage of your site and crawl through each subsequent page in turn until it had processed every part of your domain. In practice, search engines can struggle to find each page. If your sitemap isn’t up-to-date, for example, and no inbound links have been built from external sites, a search bot may not know that a new page even exists. This is where SEO of your internal linking comes into play.

While search engines are becoming more sophisticated in their ability to crawl through a site and can follow text links, hyperlinked images, and image maps contained within graphics, they still struggle to crawl and follow dynamic HTML pages, JavaScript, and content built in Flash. If the search engines come across this type of content, they may stop their exploration and not crawl any deeper into the site. This is very bad for your SEO efforts, as the more pages crawled on the site, the more search results you will appear in. If the spiders can’t crawl through the whole site, you’ll inevitably be missing out on some listings.

Link architecture is a crucial part of your site design and search engine optimisation strategy . It controls the process of directing the flow of traffic from one page to the next. It can help address the problem of new pages not being found and be used to help search engine spiders circumnavigate their way around Flash or JavaScript road blocks rather than abandoning the site altogether. Equally importantly, good link architecture will ensure that your visitors can find the information they are looking for easily and enjoy visiting your site.

Text-based linking within your site should be intuitive. To ensure you’re building the best possible site for both better search engine rankings and the user experience, you must make it easy to find information and travel deeper within the site. If the visitor doesn’t use your sophisticated navigation system or click through to the sitemap, is there still a route through the site? If not, you may see a high bounce rate on certain pages. Similarly, a user clicking through an organic ranking, other external link, or selecting a paid advert will rarely land on the home page. If they miss this front door to the site, link architecture steps in to help them find their way from page to page.

Text links are not just for the human visitor. Keeping link architecture in mind when creating new content will also encourage the search engines to rank you a little more favorably. Using optimized anchor text, much like that used for inbound linking, is a great signal to the search engines what the next page is about. Using keywords in the text link helps them identify what they should be considering ranking the page for.

Particularly if your website does employ Flash or JavaScript based menus, use the Google Webmaster tools to check that the Googlebot is finding your newly crafted internal links.

About Footprints-SEO.com

Footprints-SEO.com is an internet marketing company whose priority is to make your organization rise above the competition, we are a group of talented and dedicated individuals with a passion for search engine optimization. We will custom-tailor marketing strategies that are right for you and your business, while ensuring top search engine optimization and web-site design.

Footprints-SEO.com has the answer to all your internet marketing needs.


How to hire an Online Marketing Agency?

Posted by David Redfern in Blog, Latest News, SEO Friday, 19 February 2010 12:33 No Comments

If, despite your best efforts, your website is not making the inroads you would hope in the search engine rankings, it may be time to consider recruiting a online marketing agency like Footprints SEO.

The job of appointing a search engine optimisation company can be daunting if you have never worked with an SEO specialist, will likely make or break your online success. For many firms, their SEO is a sales tool so you’ll want to be sure you’re making the right decision. Hiring an online marketing agency can also be difficult if your own web site optimisation knowledge is basic as you do not want to be blinded by science or thrown off course by the use of technical jargon.

As we speak to hundreds of businesses throughout the UK, Europe and USA, we’ve compiled this guide of questions to ask.

1. What new SEO related skills and services have been recently developed?

Online Marketing consultancy is a crowded and competitive marketplace, so you shouldn’t have any problems finding companies to approach. Because SEO changes so quickly, you’ll want your new agency to be on top of their game. A great opening question is to ask the SEO agency you are considering what new techniques they have added to their optimisation repertoire in the last 3 months. Although search engines like Google keep their algorithms a closely guarded secret, a good SEO company will constantly be adapting and updating their methodology and services.

2. Can they offer an SEO site review?

If possible, ask agencies to produce a brief report focusing on problems and opportunities with your current website in search engine optimisation terms prior to signing an agreement. This doesn’t have to be a detailed report, a conversation about the site will suffice. Can the SEO consultant identify possible barriers to stronger rankings? Do they approach the site in a methodical and logical manner? Do they ask questions to get some background to the site and previous SEO efforts? You can request an SEO site audit from Footprints SEO here.

3. What kind of link building strategies will be used and what is their position on link buying and link bait?

The importance of an experienced link builder cannot be underestimated, so have a detailed discussion about the SEO firm’s preferred methodology and previous experience. Be sure to check that link building and off page optimisation is included in the package quoted as some Online Marketing agency representatives will quote separately for each SEO module so you may be looking at an extra cost. All Footprints SEO packages include link building.

Look for an emphasis on relevant links and tactics to increase inbound links from sources likely to drive good quality traffic to the site.

4. What kind of reporting and analytics packages will be used to track SEO results?

You’d expect any direct hire to be able to report back to you about job progress and tasks completed, so don’t expect any less from your new online marketing consultancy. Ask for a breakdown of reporting methodology and copies of dummy reports.

5. Will competitor analysis be used in on and off page optimisation?

Keeping an eye on the competition is a must in any well-executed SEO campaign, so you’ll need to know that your SEO consultancy can bring competitor analysis skills to the table. Ask for examples and a detailed breakdown of what will be included in the competitor research. It’s also worth checking that you can specify sites yourself to be included.

About Footprints SEO

Footprints-SEO.com is an internet marketing company whose priority is to make your organization rise above the competition, we are a group of talented and dedicated individuals with a passion for search engine optimization. We will custom-tailor marketing strategies that are right for you and your business, while ensuring top search engine optimization and web-site design.

Footprints-SEO.com has the answer to all your internet marketing needs.


11 Must Have Wordpress Plugins

Posted by David Redfern in Latest News, SEO Saturday, 13 February 2010 22:17 No Comments

Wordpress has become a massive platform for internet marketers and internet users alike. The large array of themes, plugins and possible customizations make it in my opinion one of the best website/blog platforms available right now. I am going to share with you some of the best plugins I have ever come across and how they can be used for your website or blog.

1) All in One SEO pack – Many of you will have already heard of this one but it is undeniably important and effective. It allows you to specify the title, description and keywords for each post and page. You will want to enter in keyword rich titles and descriptions.  This will be the information that will be displayed in the search engines. Here is a screenshot of the All in One SEO Pack plugin:

2) Pretty Link – This plugin is excellent for tracking the click-through of specific links. You are able to create unique links with you domain name. For example, I could create http://www.footprints-seo.com/prettylink. This URL currently does not go anywhere as I have not created it but if I used Pretty Link to create that URL I could redirect that URL to anywhere I wanted and track the amount of people that click on that unique URL I created. This is great for affiliate marketers or email marketers to track the click-through of each campaign or email. This is also great just to keep all your URLs appearing as your own.

3) Disqus Commenting System – The Disqus commenting system is in my opinion by far the best commenting system available. If you click the comments at the top of this post you will see what I am talking about. This commenting system is clean and neat and allows integration of Twitter and Facebook. You are able to either comment with you actual Disqus account, your Twitter account (which will also Tweet your comment), your Facebook account or as a guest. This integration is great for both you (the website owners) and your viewers. It helps to spread the word about your site as the comments are tweeted and facebooked everywhere. It integrates social networking tools that other people use so they can maintain their persona while commenting. There are also a lot of different skins for Disqus that you can use to customize the look to help it fit in with your website/blog.

4)  Contact Form 7 – This is a great simple plugin that can be used to create contact forms. You can customize them as much as you like to gather whatever information you are looking for. An example of the Contact Form 7 plugin in use is in my “Contact” page. You will see a contact form there created by this plugin. Creation of the forms is very straight forward and the implementation is as easy as copying one line and pasting it into your post or page.

5) Page Link Manager – This plugin is great as it allows you to choose which pages are displayed in your Wordpress navigation. The plugin is very basic, it simply lists all your pages in the options and you can click radio buttons to select which pages are shown in your navigation. This is great for, thank you pages after a viewer has subscribed, free gifts pages or sales pages that don’t want to be visible in the navigation. It is a great little plugin that can be very useful.

6) Google XML Sitemaps Generator – This plugin is very important to help search engines like Google, MSN and Yahoo to easily find your site. The plugin creates a Sitemap with all your pages and posts. It creates a separate page where you can link to in your footer.

7) WP-Email – This is another plugin that you can use to promote your blog and website. It creates a link after your post for people to send an email to their friends about your post. This is a great way to increase traffic as it is the online version of word-of-mouth.

8 ) Ultimate Google Analytics - This plugin integrates Google Analytics with your Wordpress site. It displays statistics about your viewers and where they are coming from. This is very powerful and all website/blog owners must use Google Analytics. There are a lot features and options in Analytics so you should spend some time learning about it and how it can help you to track the effectiveness of your site.

9) WP E-Commerce - This plugin allows you to convert your wordpress site into a fully blown ecommerce website with a fully functional shopping cart. There are a few other plugins that are similar but this one is by far the best. This plugin also integrates web 2.0 with your shopping cart and allows you to for example import your products into Facebook. This plugin has a lot of different features so it is great for creating a shopping cart that works for you.

10) MobilePress – This is a great plugin that is becoming increasingly popular with the rise of 3G mobile phones. It allows you to optimize your site to be viewed on mobile phones such as the ever so popular iPhone. Allow your viewers to be able to access your site from anywhere on their mobile phone.

11) Wordpress Automatic Upgrade – All Wordpress website owners should get this plugin. It is a set and forget plugin. It will automatically update your Wordpress installation for you to always ensure you are using the latest release of Wordpress.

This is a list of 11 must-have Wordpress Plugins. I hope you found this useful. I would love to hear your comments and thoughts on your favorite Wordpress plugins.


Monetize Your Traffic To Get The Most Out Of It – Footprints-SEO Masterclass

Posted by David Redfern in Latest News Saturday, 13 February 2010 22:07 No Comments

Establishing your own E-commerce site is not like what it used to be. There are thousands of competition that is all too willing to get a bigger share of the pie. Every scheme and method you can find to augment your sales would be very beneficial.

We have got to admit to ourselves. Most of us are into it for the money. We are not going to waste our time and effort just for the fun of it. Many sites would not wait until hell freezes over just to see their profits. While there are some who takes things lightly there are always those who would rather see profit any given day.

It is common knowledge that without traffic we have no business. Like any business, without any customers you donít get sales. Traffic represents all the people that gets a chance to see what you have to offer. The more people who see your products the more people there would be to buy them.

Nobody puts up an E-commerce site that doesn’t expect profit. We have a startup capital that needs to be regained. With a consistent traffic, we at least have a fighting chance to achieve that probability. Monetizing your traffic would optimize your chances of making the best out of it.

Making Money out of your Traffic

The best and most proven method of making a profit out of your traffic is using advertising. The internet generates hundreds of thousands upon hundred of thousands of traffic everyday. Most of them are searching for something. While some are just looking for information there is also a good percentage that is looking for something that they need.

The internet has proven to be a very reliable source in finding what was deemed to be a very unsearchable product. The internet has made the world a smaller place; you can advertise a product from the depths of Istanbul and still find a buyer from the center of Philadelphia.

Generating traffic is not an easy task. You have to contend with a great number of sites to generate a good number of traffic flow. But if done successfully this could open up a Pandoraís Box of possibilities. One of the benefits is monetizing your traffic flow.

So, to get to the core of it the more traffic you generate the more likely you are considered as a desirable, desirable, in a sense that a good traffic flowing site is easily convertible to profit. Basically traffic equals profit. Advertising is the name of the game; with the good advertising scheme you can use your traffic flow to your advantage.

When you have good traffic you have a good number of potential customers, customers that are willing to pour money into your coffers. Other than that these are also traffic that can be redirected to sponsored links that are willing to pay you for a sizeable portion of the traffic that you have generated.

This scheme is called pay-per-click. With every click a visitor of your site makes on an advertised link you will be paid. The more traffic you generate and the more clicks that happens would spell to more profits.

Affiliate Programs

Another method of monetizing your traffic are affiliate programs. You can link up with other tried and tested sites and online companies and monetize your traffic by having a percentage of sales generated by traffic coming from your site.

The basic idea is, traffic generated from your site will go to another site that can offer a product that you do not carry. Many programs can keep track and make records of transactions that was made possible because of site linkage.

When purchases are made by customers that was led by your site to their site you get a percentage of that sale. Affiliate programs would give you the benefit of monetizing your traffic without the actual need of carrying or promoting a certain product.

There are so many ways and methods to monetize your traffic. All it takes is a bit of hard work and the desire to successfully launch a profit-earning site. The internet is a veritable source of information, many tips and guides are offered everywhere in how to monetize your traffic and make your site a good profit earne