|
| 17 Jun 2008 09:38:30 pm |
 How to Spy on your competitors PPC Campaigns |
|
|
A Couple of Great Keyword Tools
Checkout http://www.mklink.com/training/ for more internet marketing tips
As you may already have heard me say, half the battle of being found in the search engines is targetting the right key words and key phrases.
The smart thing to do is to find lots of niche phrases. And I mean lots of them.
Rather than fighting everyone else 'head on' with expensive generic key phrases, you might consider getting as many different (cheap) key phrases as you can either as paid for key phrases or simply within your website content, thus attracting natural search engine traffic.
You can investigate common mis-spellings, local search, plurals, synonyms and many other ways of getting great key phrases.
And you can 'cheat'...I'm going to brazenly 'plug' a couple of affiliated software programs here. Looking at other people's source code is one way but a far more powerful method is to use the kind of software that we use at MKLINK.
Checkout http://our.affiliatetracking.net/wordtracker/a/15196 which is my affiliate link for Wordtracker. It's a great tool for looking at popularity of key phrases and has a great keyword suggestion tool as well. I've been using it for ages and it's well known and respected within my industry.
This means you can see how many people are searching for your key phrase and see of there is a 'market' for it.
However, another tool I've been using a lot more recently is a real corker and it enables you to instantly check your competitors' key phrases bother natural and PAID for as well!
Yes - it actually checks out their Google PPC ads and let you know which keywords are being used and how much people are paying for them...!
As I'm an affiliate for both these software products, here's the other link for Keyword Spy. http://www.keywordspy.com?aid=mklink
This second product is a great spy tool but is more expensive so if you're paying a lot for PPC then you might want to consider it as a way to get a competitive edge.
That said, both software providers have a f-r-e-e trial so my suggestion is that you have a play and see what you think.
Why not get loads more Internet Marketing Tips?
Just go to http://www.mklink.com/training/ today and register for a month's trial.
'till next time,
Mike Knight. MKLINK Internet Marketing Tips
|
|
| |
Category : General
| By : mklink |  Comments [0] |  Trackbacks [0] |
|
|
| 10 Jun 2008 07:55:35 am |
| Your MKLINK Tips - for your Contact Form |
|
|
Maximise your Contact Form Signups
Checkout http://www.mklink.com/training/ for more internet
marketing tips
What do I mean?
I mentioned this briefly last time but a few people asked me to
clarify this point so I'll give you more details about what I mean.
Having an email address on your website may seem like a good idea
but unfortunately nefarious software 'spiders' trawl your website
looking for just such email addresses, in order that they can then
sell these email addresses to spam lists suppliers.
Consequently, if you've had your email address in the public domain
for any period of time you'll know what I mean and possibly be
receiving lots of junk.
I know there are javascript 'tricks' around it but in my humble
opinion, it's far better to have a contact form instead, and there
are some good reasons for this:
1 - It is much easier to track inbound contacts(i.e. leads) from a
contact form because they all have the same subject line and/or
from address. This way you can be sure that legitimate enquiries
are don't get lost or eaten by a spam filter or into a black hole.
(Especially if it's linked Up to an online database like the ones
we provide for our customers) As you know, monitoring leads and
tracking your conversion rate is essential if you're taking your
online marketing seriously and so it's far easier to count(and
track) enquiry forms than just a load of emails with different
headings & content!
2 - You can ensure people answer the right questions and/or ensure
they provide the details that you need - .e.g. age, name, gender,
phone number etc. A contact form helps you format the responses you
get, saving you time in having to re-ask for vital pieces of
information. Of course, all this can be fed directly into your
database for better management and easier automation.
3 - You can direct people to a 'thank-you' page, which can offer
extra information to the client as a 'reward' for giving their
email address or simply to verify their details etc.
4 - It looks more professional.
5 - You'll get less spam as mentioned just now!
A couple more notes here.
I personally suggest you don't bother with the RESET field.
All they do is encourage people to click these buttons thinking
that they're sending you their information(i.e. thinking they're
the SUBMIT button) and then they lose the lot - how annoying!(and
potentially expensive in terms of lost customers)
Have a field that tracks where the visitor came from(via your web
analytics software) and store it as an 'invisible' field rather
than asking people directly with a text input field as people
invariably give the wrong information anyway and it just serves to
put them off.
Getting MORE people to complete the contact form is another
challenge, which I briefly alluded to here with your 'thank you'
page.
In a nutshell, offer people a taste of what you provide. Offer a
bigger 'freebie' the longer the contact form is, as they'll have
had to be more incentivised to complete it - depending on what
you're site's about.
Getting people to complete the contact form is what it's all about.
And I can help!
Why not get loads more Internet Marketing Tips?
Just go to http://www.mklink.com/training/ today and register for a
month's trial.
'till next time,
Mike Knight. MKLINK Internet Marketing Tips
|
|
| |
Category : General
| By : mklink | Comments [0] | Trackbacks [0] |
|
|
| 27 May 2008 08:52:14 am |
| Google Business Directory |
|
|
Google Business Directory
In their quest to take over the universe, it seems that Google are
increasingly encroaching on the territory that was reserved for
Yell.com and other business directories.
Given that such a huge percentage of people search for businesses on
a local basis, my suggestion is that you have 2 Google Pay Per
Click campaigns running simultaneously :
Firstly, just setup a campaign as normal but then make the advert
only appear in the area that you want to cover.
So, if you're a florist in Cheltenham for example, you'd simply use
the keyphrase "florist" (or something like that) and then limit the
radius of the advert to being displayed to within say 20 miles from
the postcode that you allocate.
From geographical IP-Mapping, Google will(theoretically) only
display your advert to people that are using the internet in that
area.
This way, you don't have to compete with the rest of the country
for that key phrase and so your campaign will cost less.
Secondly, you might want people outside your area to find you as
well.
There are loads of reasons why people outside your area want to
find businesses within your area. Anyone in the relocating business
will confirm this!
For a specific example, let's say you live in Scotland. You may
have a colleague in Cheltenham that you'd like to buy some flowers
for. You don't want to get ripped off so you've decided to use a
florist local to your friend to deliver the flowers.
In this case, you'd use the keyphrase "florist in cheltenham" or
"Cheltenham florist" or some such, even though you're outside the
area.
Thus it's still a local search, effectively.
So, run your second Google campaign nationally but ensure your
keyphrases actually contain the location that you want to be found
for, as in the last example.
This way, you've covered both bases.
Now, here's a real killer Tip - get your website listed on Google
Maps as well.
It's easy, quick and f-r-e-e and can give you the edge over your
competition because most people aren't doing it.
It seems (to me anyway) that the search results which are returned
that have a link on Goolge maps always seem to be displyed
preferentially as well.
To get your site listed - just visit http://maps.google.co.uk
You'll notice that the Google directory is offering reviews and all
sorts of things so my advice is to start getting listed with Google
Local straight away and watch this space!
I personally think Google are going to have a lot more instore when
it comes to offering information about businesses both locally and
nationally.
(After all, it's businesses like yours and mine that provide their revenue...)
If you'd like to know more about Google and how to get the most
from it, why not checkout my training system? (I'm offering a f-r-e-e month's trial)
- Checkout http://www.mklink.com/freetrial/ to get More Tips &
Advice.
'till next time,
Mike Knight. MKLINK Internet Marketing Tips
|
|
| |
Category : General
| By : mklink | Comments [1] | Trackbacks [0] |
|
|
| 13 May 2008 06:59:55 am |
| Embed your Visitors Key Phrases |
|
|
Checkout http://www.mklink.com/training/ for more internet marketing tips
What do I mean?
When I visited the Internet Show at Earl's Court, I came across lots of neat business ideas that people were selling.
One company was selling a system where you could dynamically integrate your visitors Search Words directly into your pages for better SEO.
You'll appreciate that search engines get countless queries every day.
They keep all those queries on a database and then sell that information.
For example, this is how wordtracker get's it's data - checkout wordtracker.com
This is the kind of information that SEO companies use to research their clients potential traffic and consequently aim for better search engine placement.
However, companies that have a large site site, especially those with e-commerce shops can also have a search box within their site.
(If you have such a search box - put it at the top right hand corner so it's easy to find)
Consequently, clever business owners record what people are typing into their search boxes and discover what people are looking for.
Which offers two useful benefits :
Firstly, they can see directly what their visitors are looking for and consequently react. They can add the items to the site if they weren't there before or increase the prominence.
Secondly, they can add those search words to the main body of the website so that the search engines pick it up - and the process snowballs.
Now, this is nothing earth shattering and new but it is a useful way of keeping an eye on what your visitors are looking for.
Another way is to have a look at your web statistics.
As well as all the other really useful information it gives you, a list of search engine key phrases that were used to locate your website is usually given as well.
(If you haven't got a stats program then you can get a free one at www.statcounter.com - it's adequate for most SME's.
Et Voila - you an scurry off and make sure that these key phrases are properly embedded into your website so that you get more visitors looking for the same things.
This is of course a rather circular logic because of course the stats program will only record the key phrases of those visitors that actually reached your website.
There will be lots of other people using different key phrases that didn't reach your website!
Which is why you should use something like wordtracker as well and continually pump it for information, like we do.
There are other ways of looking at what people are searching for within your website, especially if it's e-commerce.
Look at abandoned purchases and see what they were going to buy.
People often just use the shopping basket to get a price with no intention of buying.
See which landing pages the visitors are arriving on via the search engines and then see what those landing pages are offering.
(Of course, if you're using Google pay per click then a lot of this detective work is redundant)
I'll leave you with the thought that one of the best sources of key phrases to embed your site is via your enquiry forms.
This is because when someone fills out an enquiry form, they are typically using the language that they'd use when searching the internet. Perfect!
A quick note of caution here. If you don't have an enquiry form but just an email link
then you'll want to remove it else you'll get 'harvested' and spammed.
Would you like more Internet Marketing Tips?
- Checkout http://www.mklink.com/training/ today.
'till next time,
Mike Knight. MKLINK Internet Marketing Tips
|
|
| |
Category : General
| By : mklink | Comments [1] | Trackbacks [0] |
|
|
| 02 May 2008 07:10:26 am |
| Take Your Glasses off |
|
|
Common Sense Notes to Make Your Site Easier to Read
What am I talking about? Well, you may have heard me or someone else use the word 'usability'.
Now, this covers a range of areas from helping people with visual impairment use your site to having panels of guests testing your website when purchasing items or finding products and services.
In fact it's a huge subject.
But let's just concentrate on some Quick 'n Easy stuff.
For example, if your HTML font is smaller than size '2' then some people will struggle with it. (In fact they won't struggle - they'll just bugger off and go somewhere else)
The problem is that lots of designers try and make sites look 'cool' but very often all it does is make your website harder to read.
Which means YOU WILL LOSE SALES. PERIOD.
A simple test I do when I'm asked to review a site is literally to take my glasses off.
If I can't easily see what I'm looking for - the site has failed.
A lot of sites have small fonts or grey fonts on a white background. Again to look cool. And again it's a pain in the backside if you can't see well.
It's not just blind people.
It's people that might be old, or tired, or haven't got their glasses on or their contacts in or they could just be plain hung over.
And believe me, when I'm hung over, looking at a poncy website that makes my head spin to get the material I need won't be on my list of sites to re-visit.
Ok - if you're Disney or if you're a graphic designer and your website has to be seen to be slick and cool and whatever then you might want to do show off.
But definitely not if you're anything like me and just want to get more business.
For example, I get loads of people telling me how 'basic' my website looks. For someone that's been making websites and working with the internet since 1997 I know it could 'look' a lot better.
But - I know my site statistics and I know it works. I'm on the homepage of Google world wide for my choice of key phrases and it converts at almost 20%.
So, my 'basic' and naff site is staying put.
I used to have all that fancy stuff and it didn't work and so I know better. Because I want a site that works more than a site that looks 'trendy'.
Motorway signs don't look 'trendy' but they bloody well work!
Pretty websites don't sell. Good content, easy navigation & strong calls to action do.
I *strongly* suggest you trust me on this.
In general, your potential customers couldn't give a monkey's about what your site looks like - they just want to know what you can do for them - and get the information that they're looking for as fast as possible.
You can address other usability issues if you want - such as offering the ability to change font size or colour for visually impaired people.(Contact me if you want more info)
But what I'm trying to say here is just keep your content simple and straightforward. I suggest you don't try and show off - it rarely works.
Concentrate your time instead on getting more decent content because your time will be well spent.
10 Quick Tips for making your website easier to read and use:
1 - Make the navigation simple - along the top or left hand side of your website.
2 - Use a sensible sized font throughout. Use black on white.
3 - Have a search box if your website is big - and put the search box at the TOP of the site where it can quickly be found.
4 - Use underlines for links. Or at least make them look like links.
5 - Put your important stuff at the top of the site(above the 'fold').
6 - Put your contact details at the top - on every page. Not really usability but a very good idea and it makes a bigger difference than you'd think.
7 - Don't disable the "Back" button. Sooooo annoying!
8 - Break Long text into short paragraphs and text - like this email!
9 - Use short column widths - again like in this email!
10 - Have a Site Map.(Great for SEO too)
Why not learn how to get the most out of your website and make more money?
(I'm offering a f-r-e-e month's trial to our training system)
- Checkout http://www.mklink.com/freetrial/ to get More Tips & Advice.
'till next time,
Mike Knight. MKLINK Internet Marketing Tips
|
|
| |
Category : General
| By : mklink | Comments [1] | Trackbacks [0] |
|
| |
| 1 2 3 ...12 13 14 Next |
|
|
