Beginner's Guide to Web and Search Marketing

Simply explained, Internet or Web marketing is the process of connecting with customers via the Internet for selling products and/or services. One of the strategies of internet marketing is SEM or search engine marketing.

Search marketing is the process of increasing one's visibility in the search engine page results. SEM includes following important elements:

1. Search engine optimization 2. Pay per click advertising 3. Back linking strategies 4. Directory listings

Search marketing can be enhanced through organic keyword searches. What does the term organic mean? Simply put, it means you need not pay for the keyword searches. When your website has all the right 'elements'; it can 'get noticed' quickly by major search engines like Yahoo, Google etc. These elements include:

• Fresh content • Blogs • Keyword rich content • Meta data

An essential component of search marketing is researching consumer buying habits. This in turn, helps us find the keywords one uses to find and buy items online. Knowledge of keywords is thus very essential to help get your website indexed by the search engines and drive targeted traffic to your sites.

Most of the search engines themselves offer tools for this critical keyword research. Some of these are paid tools, including Google's AdSense, Correlate and Trends. Inorganic or paid searches do necessitate considerable research on the part of the Internet marketers (like you). Alternatively, marketers also need to advertise their own brand and can earn money by advertising other companies' products on their sites in turn. The search engines can help you find all the places to buy online advertising.

You can also turn to social networking sites like Facebook to achieve this goal.

If you are thinking of purchasing digital advertisements, make sure that you thoroughly research the markets to determine the click-through and conversion rates. Adequate keyword research and multiple advertising strategies should help you attain top ranking for your keywords.

Once your keyword list is ready, you must start creating a valuable website or a sales copy and create wonderful blog posts that inform readers exactly what they are looking for. These blog posts must contain links that direct readers back to the site. You can even incorporate videos and submit them to top online video directories like YouTube. Even the videos can direct readers back to your sites.

Connecting and forming links of this sort is an essential element of search marketing and web marketing. It has an easy to remember name called 'the back-linking strategy'. Back links can be very helpful in bringing targeted traffic to your site; provided you use them correctly. This is because; search engines have become very strict and examine the quality of all such inbound links. Owners of web sites must continuously educate themselves and understand all these elements of search and web marketing.

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4 Important Google Search Verticals

1. Local Search

A local search listing appears on the first page of the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) for a search that includes a local search term. (Eg. See the image above for "Car Hire Cape Town") These listings are very important to businesses where your physical location is important to your service offering.

To load your free listing onto these pages you require a Google Places page where you can load company information such as contact and address details, services, working hours, photos & videos, as well as pinpoint your businesses location on a Google map. You don't even need a website to create a Google Places listing!

Your ranking within the local place page results is determined by the number of positive ratings for your page, and the relevance to the keyword searched. Your places page also comes with a dashboard to measure activity, actions and top search queries which is great for analysing the effectiveness of your listing and performing ongoing optimisation.

2. Image Search

Image search is probably the most popular search vertical, and has been around on the Google SERPs for the longest. As in the example above optimised images appear within the search results and link through to an expanded image with the page that contains the image. Images in the SERPs are a great way of grabbing and holding a searchers attention over the standard results.

Image optimisation is very similar to optimising a web page. Your keywords should be loaded in the image filename, alt tag, the text around the image, and image link anchor text. Images should also be interesting enough to encourage users to share and link the content.

3. Video Search

Your video search listing in Google's search results generally appears in the lower part of the page with links to your YouTube videos as well as a thumbnail and basic video detail. Video optimisation can be done within the YouTube video information editor on your channel or profile. Be sure to include all your researched keywords into the video filename, title & description, as well as video tags. Try to also include the word "video" on the page with your embedded video, as well as the HTML surrounding the video as well. You can also create a XML video sitemap to ensure your videos get noticed by Google.

Videos also encourage interaction with your brand, and comments and social shares will certainly increase the visibility of your videos, so be sure to offer methods of easily sharing and embedding your video. Well produced videos are also an excellent method of quickly explaining your service offering or concept.

4. Social Search

With Google+ on the scene social search is now becoming essential to maintaining an effective ranking in the SERPs. Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ profiles are featuring often in the first page of results, as well as +1s from your Google+ friends.

In the screenshot above I've included an example of results received when you are logged into a Google+ profile. When logged in you also have the option of +1′ing a result, and also viewing your own and friends +1 and page view data. Pages that have been +1′d by you or your friends will obviously appear higher in the rankings, so offering social sharing options on all your content pages is becoming essential for content distribution, and link building.

Although there are several other search verticals available on Google (News, Shopping, Blogs) I feel the above are the most important Google search verticals. Please let us know in the if you feel differently, or feel free to add others in the comments section below.

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Search Engine Optimization Tips for Travel Websites

Do you own a travel company website? Are you getting frustrated because trying to rank your site highly on Google is very difficult? There is already too much competition from mega companies like world-class hotels, global airliners, and rental companies. To overcome these hurdles, and move your website to the top, you need to implement the widely used online strategy of search engine optimization (SEO). This refers to the practice of adding or modifying content on your site to make your web pages more inviting to Google and other search engines. SEO for travel websites is a particularly competitive field, and therefore, requires unique solutions that are not commonly found in normal search engine optimization plans. So, just what exactly are these unique search engine optimization strategies for travel websites? Let's find out.

One of the most effective tips for improving any travel website's ranking on search engines is by narrowing down the focus of any particular webpage to a specific geographical area or city. This is important because Google and other search companies deliver search results that are tailor made to the particular location that the search starts in. For example, a search for the word "car rental" that starts in New York is likely to return search results that reflect the car rental market for New York. It is highly unlikely that a similar search for "car rental" that is performed by a user in London will bring up the same results in Google.

What the above situation means for your business is that your site needs to target specific geographical areas and cities in order to bring in more visitors. This is actually good for you because when one particular city or area is too competitive for your site to rank highly on a search engine, you can always concentrate on another location. As there are so many potential sources of tourists in the world, you have a wide open field where you can compete that your competition simply isn't even trying to establish itself into.

Another very important tip regarding SEO for travel websites is to make sure that your site can be accessed by users who do not use English as their primary language. Help these visitors out by translating your site into a variety of languages. So, just what languages should you consider translating your website into? Your best bet is to start by translating the site into the primary language spoken by people of the region or city that you are trying to attract. Another great way to discover what language translation is in demand on your site is by checking the visitor log of the server which hosts your website. You can gleam a variety of information about your site's visitors, including their country of origin, and the language set on their computer. Also, don't forget to check out the competition to see what language translations they offer their visitors.

Once these important tips are successfully implemented, expect to see a large boost in the number of visitors your site sees on a daily basis!

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Investing In Organic Search Results Ranking, A Must For Your Business?

Pay per click advertising and the fast rewards it promises are certainly enticing to business owners. Companies must consider their bottom lines and the amount of energy and resources they are able to invest in the search engine optimization processes. These investments can be daunting to say the least, leading many commercial entities to seek the quickest route to the coveted first page. Unfortunately, however, the process of buying a first page rank is never as beneficial as many companies think it is. Although you can get your name out there, you will probably not be getting the consumer response you expect.

Many Consumers Look Right Past Paid Listings Sponsored advertisers do not get the same response from web users as do sites that have earned their first page positions organically. Although the average web user does not understand all that the optimization process entails, most individuals are able to recognize the fact that sponsored companies have paid for their positions. Thus, these listings do not merit the same amount of trust or respect that an organic listing will. More importantly, many web users assume that these companies are attempting to sell them something flat out, rather than provide information of value. Even when a person is browsing the Internet with the intent to buy, an aggressive effort to push the sales process can come off as offensive. This is especially true when consumers are still in the very formative stages of the buying process and are only seeking additional information. Although sponsored advertisers might have the very information these consumers need, the assumption is that the gist of their experiences on these sites will be plagued with efforts to close deals, rather than attempts to provide the sought after information.

Establishing Yourself As Trustworthy

There is a general understanding that businesses must do something significant to wind up on the first page of search results. If people did not possess this inherent trust in first page listings, they would not always use the first page of results to conduct their research. Studies have shown, however, that fewer than 3% of web users travel beyond the first page of results when conducting a search. Search engine optimization is one of the easiest ways to start establishing your business as a trustworthy entity in your field. Not only will people recognize you as such automatically when they see you at the top of the first page, but they will also have the benefit of every effort that it took you to get there. An organic ranking typically requires companies to post a lot of search engine-optimized high-quality content in a variety of locations. Each of these posts will allow you to show people how knowledgeable you are about your field while providing your prospects with valuable and necessary information for moving closer to closing the sale.

Educating Your Buyers

Another way in which search engine optimization trumps pay per click marketing is that it takes the natural purchasing process into consideration. Pay per click marketing generally assumes that all consumers are ready to close the deal. People enter in their search terms and pay per click advertisers pop up with landing pages that are geared for the absolute final stages of buying. With an SEO ranking, however, you have the ability to optimize for terms that honour the process that people typically go through when debating whether or not to buy, determining how much to buy or which specifications they might need. You can even rank for terms that are specific to people who want to save the most money on the goods you have to offer. Pay per click advertisers can do this as well, however, the impression that these businesses generally make is that they are ready to turn a profit rather than help people get exactly what they need.

Protecting Your Commercial Image In A Proactive Fashion

The typical commercial response to negative publicity is entirely reactive. Most companies are surprised at how fast negative information can spread online, especially when they first encounter it. Just as customers can post positive reviews and shining testimonials, they can also pull businesses through the ringer by pointing out flawed products or service aspect that they are unhappy with. This is perhaps the best benefit of search engine optimization. In fact, it is one reason why good SEO is so necessary. Everything that you do to rank well with search engines can actually help you to fortify the healthy image of your business. Each blog post that you make, every effort to correspond to contacts and friends on social networking sites and every article that you write, shows your customers and prospective customers that you care about them and what they do. More importantly, many of these efforts give consumers an opportunity to share their fears and concerns in a constructive manner and in one that will allow you to issue a fair and appropriate response. When you are available and able to respond to consumers, they are far less likely to try to rend you with their virtual teeth.

A company that attempts to optimize through pay per click methods alone is generally not as available and personable as one that engages in intense search engine optimization campaigns. Without the ability to respond to blog posts, contact you via your social networking profile, get updates from email marketing newsletters or respond to your articles, consumers are more likely to issue angry, vindictive rants in places that can damage your reputation and which might not come to your attention immediately. Thus, choosing good old-fashioned SEO keeps you present, accessible and able to defend yourself and soothe your disgruntled customers whenever necessary.

Shortcuts Can Be Dangerous

It is also important to note that search engine optimization keeps companies on their toes. Businesses are constantly having to rework their SEO campaigns in order to remain accessible and relevant. Paid optimization entails a lot less work, but it has far fewer benefits. Companies that engage in this type of advertising and optimization process do not always maintain a comprehensive understanding of what their competitors are doing or what their prospects are doing. For instance, although certain terms might be landing pay per click advertisers top spots with major search engines, these businesses are missing out on all of the attention that "gamification" and other social and local marketing campaigns are bringing in. Thus, although you can pay to get a coveted spot on the first page for a highly valuable search term, it always pays to do the work yourself and to earn this spot organically.

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5 Tips For Better Search Engine Results

If you're new to the world of New Zealand business or you're looking at starting up a company sometime in the near future, you had better start thinking about your web presence and how you want to interact with the Internet. Establishing yourself online is an important part of communicating with your audience and being accessible in the modern world. Only a third of all Kiwi businesses currently market themselves through the world wide web, but studies show that nearly 10% more businesses grow with a website in New Zealand than those without.

SEO, key phrases and page rankings might sound foreign to you now, but you're going to need to know what each one means and how it works if you want to successfully broadcast your message to the largest market in the world. While it is a fantastic advertising tool, you're always in competition with somebody else online. Search engine marketing in NZ will help you stay on top and drive more traffic to your page. Be more visible online by following these five tips that will help you stay at the top of Google and Yahoo searches.

1. Work With a Quality Web Design Team

Anybody can build a website, but it takes experience and understanding of search engine optimisation techniques and web marketing to build one that is effective. Working with a quality web designer from the get go who can help you incorporate effective keywords and optimise your page from the very beginning, will help make you more visible online.

2. Start a Blog

Giving you the opportunity to have your content shared and re-blogged with links back to your homepage and keywords scattered throughout, blogging can increase your page ranking and drive traffic to your site. Keep your blog relevant and update it regularly to see the best results.

3. Do Extensive Keyword Research

Use Google's Keyword Tool and other key phrase research software to figure out the most popular search terms that are relevant to you. The better the keywords you can incorporate into your site the more likely you are to rank at the top of searches.

4. Work Hard on Relevant Content

The better your content, the more people who are going to link, share and talk about your site. Google picks up on the number of incoming links that your page boasts from different websites and these links have a huge effect on your page ranking.

5. Update Your Website Regularly

Pick an update schedule to stick to and follow it religiously. Make updates once a week, every fortnight or once a month - just make sure you do so to keep content fresh and have something new for visitors each time they return. Regular updates will also force you to think about keywords and make minor improvements each time you do them, gradually improving your site until it couldn't be any more perfect.

Some people think that there is some kind of 'trick' to good SEO, but in reality, it's just hard work, good content and proper research that lands your page at the top of a Google search. Talk to a qualified web development team about creating an effective website that adequately represents your New Zealand business and get started online the right way.

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Search Engine Marketing: Once You Have A High Ranking, Can You Get Them To Your Website?

Yippee! Your search engine marketing efforts have paid off and you are now on the first page of Google for a particular keyword phrase.

At this point I want to ask you a question, "Do you think people will click on the link to your website and visit?"

To understand this, let's compare an article to a webpage returned in a search result. This can be the results from a search engine or an article directory or any other type of search on any website.

In article marketing it is said that 20% of your effort should be focused on your headline. This is where you have to 'hook' the person, that is get their attention, so they will be interested enough to click and read your article.

When you created your webpage, for example I'll use a blog post, did you put any real time and effort into the headline?

You need to.

However, there is another important aspect to getting someone to read your article, and that is the summary.

In search results this is known as the 'Description' and I don't know about you, but when I am searching for information, I read the descriptions as part of my decision process on whether or not I want to click and visit a particular web page.

Therefore I always make a conscious effort to make my description informative and tantalizing.

I make it informative because I want them to understand what they could learn from visiting my web page. I make it enticing to peak their curiosity so there is a better chance that they will choose to visit my site which is normally competing with 9 other web pages and also videos that are displayed as well.

A good summary, or description, should give a person a logical reason to click but more important and emotional reason to click!

It is generally considered that the majority of purchases people make are based on an emotional response. They then use logic to justify the purchase.

The same rules apply here. Appeal to their emotions, tease them if you can, and give a little bit of information so they will feel you actually have something of value to offer them and they are not wasting their time by checking out your web page.

This means I consider it as being almost important as the headline and think about putting 20% of my effort into coming up with what I feel is a good one.

Search Engine Marketing: A Few More Tips

Include your keyword phrase in your description. Why? Because Google, Yahoo, Bing and also EzineArticles, to use as an example of a website other than a major search engine, will 'bold' the keywords that appear in your description and this helps to catch the eye of the person searching.

How long should your description be? Google and the now combined Yahoo and Bing are all right around 159 characters. Once the description goes past 159 characters they just add '... '

You can use Microsoft Word to get a character count or use this free site here: http://allworldphone.com/count-words-characters.htm, which I use that is not only free, but free of pop ups and annoying 'subscribe to my list' fly-ins and those irritating Vegas style flashing ads as well

Capitalize the first letter of each word in your description. How much does this help? I am not sure but I feel it is worth the few seconds to do this. It is quick and easy using this site here: http://www.convertcase.net which will allow you to paste in your description, click a button, and it will 'Capitalize Case' your description and a whole 5 seconds later you're done.

One more thing to mention is if you do not have a description for your webpage a search engine will normally just pull the first 159 characters it finds on the page.

Search Engine Marketing: The Bottom Line:

Once you appear in any search results you still have to get the person who did the search to click and go to your webpage.

No one seems to want and come out and say it but getting on the first page of Google is actually one part of a three part process; rank, get them to notice you on the page of search results returned, then get them to click and visit your webpage.

Keep this in mind because, in my opinion, if you are going to do a lot of work in your search engine marketing efforts to get ranked on the first page of any search result, you should want to put in that small amount of extra time and effort so you can really take advantage of your position on that first page and actually get some traffic from it.

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(Guidelines) for Successful Keyword Research - (Newbie Help) Siphon Traffic From the Search Engines!

Hello and welcome to my article, I just want to talk with you for a minute about some basic Keyword tips to catapult the results you're getting now. This will be a one way conversation but my hope is that you leave with value.

Great keyword research is essential to a successful campaign, bad keyword research will have you pulling out your hair and kicking the dog if done wrong. I'm not kidding, this part is done wrong then you can easily waste 6 months of precious time, I've done this already!

I will share some key tips to good keyword research and I know you will find value in this by learning from my pain. If this is done right you can take a lick at it and win at your first shot.

When I started doing keyword researching in 2010 I wasn't sure what to look for so I made a huge list of words I thought were good. The first thing I looked at was the amount of searches they got per month, whenever I saw 3,000 and above I got excited!

Little did I know there was more to this than the searches per month, Lets dig deeper into which ingredients are needed to see success much faster.

Exact Match: On the left panel are 3 examples of searches you can do. Exact match, broad match and "Phrase" match. Exact match and phrase match are similar but exact match is the box we want to check for the most accurate search numbers available.

Broad match isn't accurate enough to use for good targeting, they show all similar results for the keyword, so if your keyword is "make money online" then it will show searches similar to this like "make money online today"

If you're doing SEO then this is not accurate. The difference in search results will be 250,000 to 4,000 once you change this to exact match.

Buyer Words: This was a big hang-up for me a for a long while because I could have sworn the keywords I chose would make me tons of dough, seriously I had these allergy names that I thought people would type in the search - find my page and buy my stuff, it just didn't work out that smooth at all.

Buyer keywords are words that are pain driven. This may seem like a buyer keyword "How to get rid of chicken pox" but it's not, on the contrary this is "Cure for chicken pox" or "Medication for Chicken pox"

Once I made this change I started seeing cash.

Hope you found value in this, talk again sometime soon...

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