WordPress Training Expert

Author: WP Training Expert

  • SEO and PPC Comparisons

    The online community is definitely a large market place that you cannot ignore, especially if you have an Internet business. There are thousands if not millions of consumers that you can tap in the Internet.

    At the same time, the Internet also poses a quite different challenge. The easy access that Internet provides also gives you as much competition as you can imagine. It is too crowded and congested.

    Having a website is not enough to make your business running and able to compete. You must take other alternatives to give way for the online community to access your website at any rate or chance possible.

    You have to expose your website. Make it known. It has to be visible. It has to be frequently targeted by consumers and surfers.

    Invest in marketing your Internet site. There are basically two options available to you, the SEO and PPC. These two are probably the most desirable alternatives you can get for your Internet business as strategy for search engine marketing.

    1. SEO

    SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Some researches indicate that 60% – 70% of Internet surfers and users actually resort to using the Google search engine to find and locate web sites and pages, for any topic they desire. SEO is the process taken to make sure that the Internet uses will find your website when ranked among the top results of a search. This way you can make sure that you will be visible and can clearly stand out from the rest.

    To get a search engine optimization, you will have to build on your own Internet site frequently hit Internet links to web site pages. The process will involve IBLN or Independent Back-Linking Network, wherein hundreds or even thousands of pages will be utilized to promote a particular website of a client.

    In SEO, there is no need for you to pay for the clicks although it will require you to spend time doing research to get a favorable combination of ads and target audience. The SEO process is a long term one. It requires months, 6 months at the least, before the proper outcome is fully achieved, but once the goal is accomplished, you will definitely get a steady source of profit.

    2. PPC

    PPC gives way in advertising on a search engine. These are sponsored listings that you see whenever you make a search. There will be a charge whenever a visitor or web surfer clicks on any of your ads. There will first be a bidding process. The highest bidder for the price per click will definitely get the chance to be first listed in the search engine.

    With this kind of advertising, you can still basically control your campaign as you get to create your own ad. You will also manage the target audience and still stay within the bounds of your budget. Most of the providers of PPC advertising will allow you to specify the target market, either by topic, industry or geographical location. You can also very well check if your ad gets to be shown at all and if it is competitive with the rest.

    There are some guaranteed benefits when you get to maximize the PPC strategy.

    PPC lets you advertise to the whole of the online community. It is also relatively easy to set up.

    At first glance, PPC advertising may seem very expensive. Could it possibly happen that someone out there will go on clicking on your ad? This will definitely give you a large bill without the expected profit on your part. If this provides a lot of worries, be rest assured that there is a protection for you. Networks are able to recognize fraudulent clicks.

    You can also set a budget for a certain period. The moment your budget has been used up by the target number of clicks, your ads will no longer be displayed until the next period you want it again displayed.

    You will also be able to adjust well to changes in market demands and trends.

    In deciding which of the two strategies will work right for you, think of your goals and of your resources. They definitely offer benefits and advantages that will work for your good. The better way to approach this two is to evaluate according to your short term and long term plans. Take the PPC course for your short-term goals and choose SEO if you have long term ones.

    There world is out there for you now. Just make sure you do what will work best for your entrepreneurial endeavors and visions. The secret to success lies in your hands. Just study your options well and you’ll get exactly what you want!

  • Benefits Of Keyword Search Engine Rankings

    Using keyword search engine ranking to help propel your website to the top of the search engine rankings is one very effective way to drive more traffic to your website all for free.

    Besides the free traffic another wonderful benefit of this type of traffic is that it meets yet another criteria for quality website traffic: all the traffic that comes to your website via this technique will be very qualified and targeted.

    You may be wondering how I can know that, simple, since the people who visit your site are doing a search for a keyword phrase you are targeting you know that they have a big interest in your product or service, they are very targeted.

    Don’t worry, I know this can sound complicated… and it can be complicated, but in it’s simplest form it looks a little like this:

    Let’s say you are selling a book about improving your golf swing. The whole focus of your website is to help golfers improve their game by improving their swing.

    You’ve isolated a list of keywords that are very focused on golf swings. These keywords get decent monthly traffic and relatively low competition.

    For this example, let’s say you are targeting the keyword phrase “improve your golf swing”. Using this phrase in your website optimization plan will help the search engines find your site. They will be able to identify that you site is about improving golf swings.

    If they believe your website can offer valuable information on improving golf swings to anyone who visits it, they will rank your site very high. Ideally you want your site to be ranked within the first page of results.

    So, if someone goes to their web browser and types in the phrase “improve golf swing” and your site is one of the first ones that show up, they will very likely click on the link and be taken to your website.

    Since they were actively searching for the term “improve golf swing” you know that they have a high level of interest in improving their golf swing which makes them a good potential customer of yours.

    This technique works well for not only your website but you can also use it for distributing articles for article marketing as well as for all your blog posts.

    Just use your keywords as the basis for your posts and articles. If you choose the right keywords and submit them to good article directories, your articles or blog can show up in the top ten for that particular keyword phrase… again, good free traffic.

    There are a few things to keep in mind: for one thing, the algorithms that the search engines use to determine how relevant any particular site is change frequently.

    To be really competitive, especially in a competitive market, you need to stay on top of your optimization efforts (or hire someone to do it for you), but you can still benefit from this method even with just a few simple tweaks to your website.

    As a business owner you understand the importance of getting every advantage you can and using

    keyword search engine ranking techniques is one of those advantages.

  • What Can You Get In Using Forums?

    In most forums registered users are allowed to add a signature line underneath their name. Your signature will show up each time you make a post, which works in your favour, because in this way you will be subtlety promoting your business without spamming anyone. It is important that you post to the forum frequently, some forum posters don’t bother to look at the websites of users unless they are regular users of the forum, and then they may eventually get curious. You have to build your reputation at a forum as a trusted reputable source, someone who is in tune with the online business world.

    Another thing is if there was a discussion and you just happened to mention that you have a website, some people may decide to check it out just out of curiosity. It doesn’t matter why they chose to do it, the important thing is that you provided enough interest to make someone want to check your website in order to obtain more information. But you must be careful when doing this, some chat forums may consider this to be spamming, your best bet may be to ask the person if you could pm (private message) them the information about your website, this way you won’t run the risk of spamming anyone.

    Another way a forum may help you draw traffic to your website is to casually weave your business into conversations as appropriate. For example, if you’re promoting website domains and hosting, and someone posted that they want to create their own website, but they didn’t know where to begin, you can casually mention you know of a place where they can get reasonably priced domains and hosting, you can then just ask the poster to pm you for more information, when they pm you can than give them your website.

    Also you don’t always have to promote your product or website. If you show that you are knowledgeable about business, the other chat forum posters will take note which works to your advantage because now the posters are more likely to want to click on the link in your signature.

    Posting Blogs and articles are a great way to drive traffic to your website. They create back links to your website. Blogs, articles, and forum posting are all very subtle but powerful forms of marketing. Chat forum posting is a very effective form of marketing, you just have to stick to the rules of the chat forum, especially the main rule NO SPAMMING!

    Build your reputation of someone that’s knowledgeable and experienced, keep your marketing approach subtle but informative, let your signature do most of your advertising, make sure you signature line grabs the people’s attention. Just remember subtle yet powerful.

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  • The Role of Toll Free Number in Ecommerce

    Sometimes skimping on things can save you good money. But skimping is not always the wisest business strategy. For example, I could’ve written this article in the windows program notepad as opposed to Microsoft Word, and saved a good $500 and never had to buy the latest version of Microsoft Office… However, wouldn’t it be worth the $500 if the improved impression of professionalism put forth in all of my writings some how garnered ten times that in profit? Would you have read this far if I had unknowingly published this article with a horribly obvious typo in the title? That’s right – an insignificant error caused by “saving money” can actually COST you money in the long run.

    ## Impression Is Everything! ##

    If you have spent months developing a beautiful ecommerce website to give people the impression that you are the safest choice for whatever product or service you’re trying to sell them, then it’d be pretty stupid to have all of that professionalism dismissed by a simple mistake: assuming you’re going to SAVE money by not getting a toll free number!

    The fact is, the sight of a toll free number is something that subconsciously stirs an idea of professionalism – something we’re accustomed to from corporate America. Area codes are for calling your relatives and friends, after all. The phone prefix “800” or “877” or “888” for some reason, as if by magic, stirs in us the image of a phone operator in a tall skyscraper that deals with hundreds of clients a day – someone that doesn’t make their living off of ripping people off. The appearance of professionalism is the embodiment of confidence within the business world.

    ## Okay, so you’re convinced… now what? ##

    Not having a toll free number for your ecommerce business (no matter how small) will cost you more in the long run than the short term savings will save you. The best part is though that toll free numbers are not NEARLY as expensive as one might be inclined to think! In fact, at the moment the prices for toll free numbers are as low as 2.7c/min

    ## What other services can I benefit from? ##

    It just so happens that toll free numbers are not the only affordable telecommunications service that might be useful to the owner of an ecommerce web site. Conference calling (for those teleseminars), low long distance rates, broadband or t1 internet access, and more are all examples of things that can be gotten more cost effectively off the internet via web pages.

  • Affiliate Marketing Niche Selection

    Over the past years, web hosting has grown bigger than it used to be. With more companies getting into this business and finding the many benefits it can give them, the demand for web hosting has never been higher. These seem to be the trend of today.

    38 million people have put up their very first websites online this year 2005 alone. It is estimated that by 2008, the Internet sales industry will top the dollar bank. And to think, majority of those sites will be offering different affiliate programs for people to choose and participate into.

    This only means one thing. It is easier now to find the right web host for your application. The possibility of quality web hosting companies separating themselves from the rest of the industry is anticipated. If this is done, the unprofessional and incompetent ones will suffer.

    Support will be the number one consideration for people when choosing a web host. It will be obvious that traditional advertising will become less and less effective. Most people would rather opt for the web host based on things that they see and hear. Also based on the recommendations by those who have tried them and have proved to be a successful.

    This is a great opportunity for web hosting affiliates and resellers alike. There would hundreds of web hosting and programs to choose from that the difficulty in finding the right one for them is not a problem anymore.

    How does one become a successful affiliate in the niche markets using web hosting?

    If you think about it, everyone who needs a website needs a web hosting company to host it for them. As of now, there is really no leading hosting industry so most people choose hosts based from recommendations. Usually, they get it from the ones that have already availed of a web hosting services.

    With the many hosts offering affiliate programs, there is the tendency to find the one which you think will work best for you. Think of the product you will be promoting. Pattern them to the site and see if they are catering to the same things as you are.

    When you have been with one host for quite some time and seem not to be making much despite all your effort, leave that one and look for another. There is no use in trying to stick to one when you would be before off in another one. Things will only have to get better from there because you already have been in worst situations.

    Try this out. If you are quite happy and satisfied with your web host, try to see if they are offering an affiliate program you can participate on. Instead of you paying them, why not make it the other way around; them paying you. The process can be as easy as putting a small “powered by” or “hosted by” link at the bottom of your page and you are already in an affiliate business.

    Why choose paying for your for your web hosting when you do not have to? Try to get paid by letting people know you like your web host.

    Always remember that when choosing a web host, choose the one that is known for its fantastic customer support. There are also many hosting affiliate programs. Residual affiliate program is also being hosted. This is the program wherein you get paid a percentage every month for a client that you refer. This can allow you to have a steady source of income. With perseverance, you can even be quite successful in this field.

    There are a lot of niche markets out there just waiting for the right affiliate to penetrate to them and make that dollars dream come true. Knowing which one to get into is being confident enough of your potentials and the good results you will be getting.

    Web hosting is just one affiliate market you could try out and make some good and continuous income. Just remember that to be successful on your endeavor also means that time, effort and patience is needed.

    Nobody has invented the perfect affiliate market yet. But some people do know how to make it big in this kind of market. It is just knowing your kind of market and making the earnings there.

  • How PLR Made Me $1200

    I wanted to share a casual case study on generating money with PLR.   I found myself needing a lump sum of money last month.  It was a surprise cost that kind of caught me flat footed.  I had just finished paying for some software updates AND ALL of my outsourcers.

    I needed to make some money quick – and figured since I had all of these PLR products created I might as well use a couple.

    I knew the key to making money quick would be offline.  AKA I hit the streets.  I know some online earners hate to hit the streets but sometimes it is a quick and easy way to not only make money, but build your network.

    The best part is this really cost me nothing to start.  If you were to do it you would have to pay for the PLR but that is it….well, plus the cost of printing two pages.

    The first thing I did was choose some PLR products – I chose 4 social media and web based PLR products.

    I stuck with these four to begin with.   They are all geared towards local small businesses so they are perfect for my demographic.

    Using Mac Pages – I created a one page “menu” or brochure that had an image of each of the products and some sales copy.  I included a price of $9 per guide.  I then created another page that was full of eye popping stats about online marketing.  I got these stats from other PLR products we had created.  I got both of these printed and laminated for less than $10.

    I then hit the streets, the internet and the phones.  Obviously not all at once but my main goal was to get in front of decision makers.  I phoned some friends and got referrals.  I posted on the town’s Facebook wall asking if any local businesses needed online marketing help – and I got requests for meetings this way.

    Lastly, I hit the streets and did a walk up and down downtown – not selling with anything – just getting meetings.  I was totally honest and transparent.  I asked biz owners if they were happy with their online presence, and if not would they mind considering some ways they could increase their online exposure.  I dealt with some rude and gruff responses, but on the whole most people were interested and a number of them committed to some meetings.

    After ONE day of hitting the streets, and another day of hitting up my own network via email, Facebook and the phone — I had scheduled 17 meetings over the next week.

    Here was my general plan of attack in the meetings.  I simply asked about their current online presence and listened.  I gave them some hints if I noticed anything glaring missing from their presence.  After some discussion – I showed them my “menu’ of PLR products and explained how each could help them. I also showed them the stats sheet.  I went into my pitch and tried to sell them on the cheap guides.  If people wanted to negotiate I would – as long as I kept above the cost for printing the guides.  A number of people I sold instantly. Some people paid right away and others didn’t feel comfortable until I had the guide for them.  Either way I don’t really care because even if I get stiffed for a guide or two – that isn’t the real money maker

    I took the orders, and told them I would bring them their guide on whatever date (this is also an added excuse to get in front of potential customers, and when you come back you will be welcomed because you are bringing in a product for them – totally different dynamic on this visit – use it!).  Only once I had gotten all of my orders did I print the guides.  This way no waste whatsoever, unless someone backed out of course but that really isn’t a big deal and actually never happened to me.  Anyways, all orders (paid or awaiting guide) equaled out to 29 (this included some biz owners getting all 4).  Now, since some of these deals were bundles — the gross revenue from selling the guides was about $225.  I ended up paying about $100 to print the guides out.

    So after a couple of days I had netted $125.  Not good enough.  The key is though, the guides weren’t my main objective.  Essentially the guides were advertising for big ticket offers.  So in essence, I just got paid $125 to advertise to local businesses.  Not bad!

    Now here is the key – fill your guides with up-sells!  Offer social media training, web design, web hosting affiliate links, etc…  Since I have access to all of the PLR at Best Quality PLR, I even offered bundles of eBooks as digital downloads.   I didn’t get too obnoxious with the ads in the guides but I wasn’t shy with them either.  I even had a couple mini fliers made and inserted them.  These fliers were for web design deals.

    Now I have the skill to build websites for local businesses, but if you don’t don’t worry about it.  Outsource it!  Just make sure you charge enough to make a profit.

    Anyways, TWO days after I had dropped off the guides around town I got an email form a local business looking for a simple website.  I was able to use my Hostgator affiliate  link for their hosting and domain – so another $50 right there.  On top of that, we worked out a deal for a basic website – one grand!   The customer was more than happy to pay half in advance since at this point we had an established relationship.

    So after that process I had earned:

    $125 from guide (ad!) sales

    $50 Hostgator affiliate

    $1000 web deal

    $1175

    Not bad for essentially a weeks work.  It won’t let me retire early, but I was in a pinch and needed money.  I was able to get it with PLR.  The crazy thing is I have been in constant contact with 4 other business owners so I am probably going to make even more money.

    If there is one thing I would change it was not including some sort of online coaching offer.  So many of the business owners have just wanted to “chat”.  I like creating goodwill, but there is also value in letting people know your time is valuable.  It is also yet another monetization method on something I have already did all the legwork on.  I think if I do this again I will include a mini flyer for a discount on “online coaching”.

    Not everyone feels comfortable hitting the streets, but if you have a plan, an offer and some great PLR products you WILL make some money.

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  • Advertising Cost Explained

    There is a big myth about online marketing, and that is internet advertising costs nothing. The fact of the matter is that all advertising costs something. However, one of the biggest advantages of advertising on the web is that you don’t necessarily have to pay with money; at least not to get started. Instead, you can pay with your time. This is great news because it means that virtually anybody can start a business if they can spare some extra time.

    You need to consider several factors before deciding what’s best for you and your business. It will take you longer to build an income if you only use free advertising methods, so it’s a good idea to start reinvesting a portion of your initial earnings into paid options as soon as you can.

    There are a lot of free ways to market your business online. Some of the better known ones include traffic exchanges, safelists, article marketing, social networking sites, forums and online classified ads. Here is a brief overview of each of these methods.

    Traffic exchanges are where you visits a certain number of sites in exchange for people visiting your site. A typical ratio is where you need to visit three sites to get one visit back to yours. You will need to visit each site for about 20 seconds before it counts, but that means others have to visit your site for that amount of time as well. Safelists work in a similar manner, but you have to read email messages as opposed to viewing websites. So, the more sites you visit or emails you read, the more people you will have viewing yours.

    Article marketing can be done with little or no internet advertising costs, depending on your ability as a writer. Here you simply write articles that are related to your business. You then submit these to various article directories, and include a link at the end of the article for readers to visit your site.

    Social networking sites and forums put the power of communities to work for you. This takes time because you have to focus on building relationships with the people of each community. You have to be careful that you don’t use a “hard sell”, or you will just make people mad.

    Online classified ads work just like putting an ad in the newspaper. You will be limited to how many words you can use, but that should help you in choosing your words more carefully. One of the downsides is that the free ads tend to move down the page quite quickly, so you will have to submit ads as often as each site allows. The other problem is that the only people who will be viewing your ad are people using the site themselves to advertise. For the most part, the average internet user will never visit a classified ad site.

    Yes, internet advertising costs one way or the other. But if you’re just getting started, and don’t have any money to spend, then it’s good to know that there are plenty of options that only require an investment of your time.