The Silent Avatar Speaks

Recently there is a huge stir around the phrase “long tail marketing.” It primarily deals with retailing online and makes some real interesting points you should consider. The concept is by Chris Anderson and you can get his book at Amazon.

But what does it all mean? It means get busy with keywords and content to get all the searches possible to your site. People do search differently so you must consider all keywords that relate to you.

An example is a hobby site. Imagine the “length of the tail” in how many keywords that could be. Everything from backyards to zebras. It’s the length of the tail when all of those keywords are connected that can bring you more business. Think about a big tail on a huge animal, it covers a lot of ground and gets your attention when connected to an alligator

So to coin a phrase, “get your tail moving” and leave no rocks unturned. Some search for refrigerators and for some it is an ice box or the fridge. Think about what people name things in other parts of the world that are the same thing in your world.

In keyword research it is easy to spot and grow niches. Low search counts at the top 3 search engines can mean business for you when there is no competition. Use Wordtracker to find out what these less used search engine searches can do for you. So what if there are only 6 searches a month for an item; if you happen to sell that item and no one else does, you want that business.

The long tail of search phrases will build traffic. You can not count on 80% of your traffic coming from 20% of your top used keywords based on readings at Google. Because competition for highly used keywords is so big, long tail marketing makes perfect sense.

If you are an Adsense publisher, imagine how many more relative ads you could display on all of those new low competition keyword pages. It is the total searches from all of those less used words that make using them worthwhile.

Create your content with a broader base of keywords to see the effect. Watch your site stats and be amazed at all of the new search terms you’ll be found with. Many will tell you more content or more products would be easy to market.

With search engines today it is all about content and keywords, and Google flat out says so in their webmaster guidelines. Long tail marketing is real easy with search engines. All you have to do is know the words people use.

I’m the silent avatar… and i have spoken

Tags: SEO, Traffic Generation by the silent avatar
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Getting high rankings in most important search engines is essential for maximising your visibility online and improving traffic to your small business website. More and more small businesses are realizing that the best way to reach prospective customers is through search engines like Google. Hiring a good Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) specialist is important, but what do you do if you don’t have the budget?

Here are a few SEO tips small businesses can use:

Tip 1: Use a keyword research tool to research the most popular keywords that pertain to the subject matter.

Tip 2: Add your site to website directories on the Internet.  I previously posted a blog titled “There Is a Significant Benefit to Directory Submissions“  which delves more fully into this area.  Search engines like links to your site and there are a lot of directories that will allow you to add your site for free.

Tip 3: Provide unique content on your site that people will find valuable (advice, tips related to your business, products or services).

Tip 4: Do not use “tricks” you don’t understand. Lots of links from highly regarded sites (avoid shady sites) and great content will usually be enough.

Tip 5: Give it time. After you added great content and lots of links it may take a few months for you to see results.

Bonus: SEO is a field which is always evloving as the rules change and different strategies emerge. If you tried your best but still do not understand SEO and are not getting results you want, it may be time to hire a professional.

I’m the Silent Avatar.. and I have spoken

Tags: Business and Management, SEO by the silent avatar
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Hello readers,

We all have dreams and aspirations for ourselves…. things we want to do, or become.

I thought it was about time I found out exactly what you are trying to achieve online (yes YOU, reading this now).  You maybe be faceless, but as a reader of my blog I take a great interest in how I can help you get where you want to go.

Seems like a pretty straight forward question, but I guess like most people you haven’t really sat down and defined what you want to achieve.

And by that I mean have you got clear about what you want you want your end result to be from your online efforts?

It seems that while the motivating factor to doing anything online is to make more money (any there are plenty of ways to do this), the people who seem to make the most money are the ones that have a clear defined goal and a passion for what they do.

Yes.. goal setting takes time, and we get caught up in the “hows” of what we are trying to achieve.

Goals must be measurable, and have a timeline.

For instance… a good primary goal will be a statement like:

“By the 31st December 2010 I will have 1000 readers of my blog, and be a online speaker at Internet Marketing Events. That’s what I want to do. That’s my goal. Call me crazy, but I enjoy public speaking.

Notice too how the goal is measurable and has a time line. Either I will be  doing what my goal states or I wont. Either I will be doing it by the time I stated, or I won’t.

How to achieve this becomes a series of secondary goals.  Your secondary goals define the “how” to get to your primary goal.

So what’s your goal for your online business?

My aim through this blog is to allow you to tap into the years of knowledge which I have accumulated about internet marketing, affiliates, web design, and of course general business sense.

Are there others online who can give you this information? Sure. But each of us have our own unique problems and questions and it’s not always possible for our own unique questions to be answered.

If you have a question for me that you would like answered, just post a comment and I will answer.

My passion is working from home, having escaped the rat race and daily grind of working for a “boss’. It’s taken 3 years of dedicated commitment to do this and I treat what I do as a “business”.

Initially, a significant amount of this time has been taken up just getting a handle on the “who’s who” of internet marketing, and the strategies they use to build a business.  I’m now at the stage where I am time poor and have to start outsourcing work, but the good thing is I have recognised that the trade off is more time for me to do what I do best.

Just recently I was watching the Oprah show and there was a discussion about enjoying what you do, and it boiled down to this. Do what you love and nothing else.

“What?” Yes. The focus has to be on what you do best, and let others do what you don’t like (or would take too much time to learn). I would love to know how to code websites, but is this part of the bigger picture and will it take me towards my primary goal? No.

I like that idea.  What about you? You want to be or do what?

Post your comments and start thinking about what you want to achieve.

“Dream it. Live it. Be it”

Tags: Hot Off The Press, SEO, Tools For Your Business by the silent avatar
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I’ve realised something..

There must be a gazillion advertisers simply throwing money way using Google AdWords.

I’ve just finished watching Brad Fallon’s and Andy Jenkins video on AdWords Triangulation and it’s jaw dropping!

If you use Google AdWords to advertise your website viewing this video is a must!

The video is a true Stompernet production – I just wish I had the resources to put out videos like the ones these guys do

The video is long… a full 54 minutes, buy it’s jam packed with information you need to know. In fact I would go far as to say that spending money on Google AdWords without viewing this video is as good as throwing money away.

This video gives the low down on everything you need to know about advertising with Google AdWords to drive traffic to your site (well almost everything – they freely admit they keep some of their tools exclusively for their members)

Not only do they show you how to

• set up and split test an advertising campaign
• creating a compelling advertisement
• use Google Webmaster tools

they also include valuable information on

• how to tweak your website Meta tags Title and Description Keyword tips
• how to make your all important Title tag “Ad quality”
• how to think like a consumer when creating your ads
• why each page of your website should have its own title tag and keywords
• why a Site map is important
• the techniques Stompernet uses for its members (well.. not all of them – you have to be a member to get the heavy duty stuff.

I would sincerely suggest you ‘opt in’ to their newsletter to keep up to date with the information these guys give freely to their readers.

I also viewed the Stomper SiteSeer video and took advantage of the free service Stomper SiteSeer generates about your website.  The report has some “fluff” which I guess is there for “newbies”, but well worthwhile for them to read.

The report is a web generated report (without a print option), but cut and paste of the information you need will suffice.

For certain I can say that in my line of work I come across countless websites which have the all important meta tag information missing completely! And the only way anyone is going to find their website is to Stumble upon it, or be given the URL of the site.  Sheesh!! No tags? No way!

So check out  Brad Fallon’s and Andy Jenkins video on AdWords Triangulation before they pull it down, and while you are there check out Stompernet Site Seer.

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Tags: Hot Off The Press, SEO, Traffic Generation, Web Design by the silent avatar
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