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Even More Tips For Getting A Top 10 Search Engine Ranking!
Even More Tips For Getting A Top 10 Search Engine Ranking… And The Secret For Keeping Your Competitors From Stealing Your Spot! I have spent some time discussing the 5 different options you have for getting your web site listed in the search...
Four No-Name Multimedia Applications That Work Better Than Famous Brands
If you think that Adobe, Ulead or Corel make be best multimedia products, think again. There are dozens of innovative indies who develop excellent software for images and video and don't charge you for the brand name.
A4 DVD Shrinker (DanDans...
How to Podcast? An Introduction to Podcasting
How to Podcast? An Introduction to Podcasting
Podcasting is the newest craze on the internet and it continues
to expand on a daily basis. Former MTV host Adam Curry and
software developer Dave Winer are credited with developing
podcasting....
Subscribing To MP3 Services
Subscription MP3 Services
Today there are many choices for downloading music. Obviously,
many are illegal and can get you sued. However, in the last
couple of years the internet has slowly changed from illegal
music distribution to legal...
The Xbox 360, a parental guide to this game console.
Xbox 360 is the next generation of the Microsoft Xbox. The Xbox
360 can easily be compared to a computer designed for gamming.
Most of the games available work on most of the newer Microsoft
platforms, (windows).
XBOX 360
There...
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Your 2006 Web Marketing Plan
With the New Year right around the corner, we often resolve to
improve our behavior, health, or personal relationships. Let me
tell you, you're wasting your time. I'm OK, you're OK. It's our
Web marketing that's a mess.
We've got out-of-shape Web sites, directionless Web marketing,
and we're lost at the search engines. It's time to stop worrying
about self-improvement and start worrying about Web
marketing-improvement!
While every business has different goals and needs, please
consider these twelve items in creating your own Web marketing
plan for next year. Rearrange the order to fit your own schedule
in 2006.
January: Set up a Web marketing budget. I know, this is your
favorite part: the budget. However, once you've decided how much
money you plan on spending quarterly or monthly, deciding what
to spend your marketing dollar on becomes much easier. You'll
also want to carve out some time for your Web marketing
endeavors. After all, a lot of the following to-do's are more
about time than money.
February: Audit your Web site (beginner.) Often we're surprised
or dismayed at the material that's on our Web site: bios of
ex-employees, links to sites that no longer exist, a 2001
pricelist. Spend some time reviewing the content on your Web
site and get rid of anything that's out-of-date or no longer
expresses who you are. Nothing turns off prospects faster than a
neglected Web site.
March: Audit your Web site (advanced.) Review your traffic
reports and decide if your navigation needs to be updated. Maybe
certain parts of your site are getting a lot of traffic and
should be further promoted on the home page. If other sections
or pages are being ignored they may need to be removed...or
promoted. Fill out all the Web forms (contact, search, etc.,)
and read the "hidden text" that appears on landing pages.
Rewrite the copy that seems dated or incorrect.
April: Start reading blogs in your industry. Download a
newsreader (I recommend NetNewsWire for Mac users) or set up a
free account at Bloglines. To find blogs in your industry you
can do searches at Technorati or check out BlogCatalog among
others. Make sure you're reading the blogs of your competition
and your clients.
May: Start your own blog. You knew that was coming, right? Blogs
are becoming an important, perhaps essential, part of business
communications. No matter the size of your organization, a blog
can be a great way to connect with your clients...and your
clients-to-be.
June: Subscribe to your competitors' email newsletters. This is
a fantastic (usually) free resource of advice that is targeted
towards your clients. Shouldn't you know what your competition
is recommending? Maybe they know something you don't!
You probably know many of your competitors already and can visit
their Web site to see if they offer an email newsletter.
However, you can Google "your industry + email newsletter" to
find some ezines that are new to you. (You should also be
reading your clients' newsletters as well; you can't know too
much about their business.)
July: Start your own email newsletter or jumpstart your
subscriber rate.
If you're not publishing an email newsletter
you're missing out on one of the most cost-effective Web
marketing tools at your disposal. Use an Email Service Provider
(ESP) to manage your subscriber list and publish an ezine
regularly.
If you're already publishing an email newsletter try some new
ideas to increase your subscriber base . Offer a free article
for new subscribers, raffle off a prize to one subscriber each
month, or advertise on a complementary newsletter.
August: Troll discussion boards in your industry. There are
discussion boards on every topic under the sun, and certainly a
few in your industry (or your target audience's industry.) By
reading posts at these discussion boards you can get an
understanding of what prospects are looking for and create
products or services that meet their needs.
By posting responses you can quickly establish yourself as an
expert and create links that drive traffic to your Web site
while improving your site's ranking at the search engines!
September: Start listening to podcasts. The New Oxford American
Dictionary named "podcast" its 2005 word of the year, so maybe
you shouldn't wait until September before you tune in.
Whether podcasting ever becomes a part of your Web marketing,
it's important to understand how podcasting works and how other
companies (including your competition) use it. Visit the iTunes
Music Store or a podcast directory like Podcast Alley and start
sampling some podcasts. Not sure where to start? Adam Curry's
PodFinder show (available at the iTunes Music Store) highlights
new podcasts each episode.
October: Consider starting your own podcast. I can't recommend
podcasting for every business, or even most businesses. I still
believe there are more effective ways to communicate with
prospects and clients. However, some businesses will benefit
from offering a podcast. Keep in mind your target audience, and
whether they will be downloading audio to their computer or mp3
player.
November: Submit some of your articles to article directories. A
great way to increase your "findability" at the search engines
is to have a lot of quality incoming links. One proven method to
do this is to have articles you've written appear on other Web
sites that link to yours. To get your articles posted at other
Web sites check out article directories such as The Phantom
Writers and iSnare.
December: Add share this page functionality to some or all of
your Web site. As people suffer from information overload, they
rely more heavily on the recommendations of friends and family.
Make this word-of-mouth advertising easier by allowing site
visitors to quickly "share this page" with a friend or
colleague. You can even include your own marketing message
embedded in the email that arrives at the friends' mailbox.
About the author:
Rich Brooks is president of flyte new media
(http://www.flyte.biz) a Web design and Internet marketing firm.
He writes an an email newsletter and blogs regularly at
http://www.flyteblog.com on Web marketing. His podcast, flyte:
Web strategies for small business, is available at
http://www.flytecast.com.
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