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Saturday, December 24, 2005

Branding With Search Marketing

Branding is a major goal for marketers around the world, and companies typically allocate big bucks for this objective. But branding was always hard to measure, that is until the web became a commercial medium.

Online advertising started with banner ads, and it didn´t take long before marketers realized search engine listings drive large volumes of targeted traffic to websites.

Search traffic is golden because it doesn´t interrupt consumer behavior. Users are actively seeking information and want to be driven to its source. As they view the search listings for their query, these text descriptions function as ads that produce awareness.

Search Branding Studies

In 2001, NPD Group examined the effectiveness of three types of search engine ads: search listings, banner ads, and the tile ads to the right of search listings. The search editorial listings were read and clicked upon significantly more often than banners or tile ads, and they also produced more sales. Conclusion: Search listings provide more brand awareness than any other ads in a search environment.

In 2004, Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Nielsen/NetRatings explored branding produced by search listing text ads versus the contextual ads in the right column, focusing on four branding attributes (unaided brand awareness, aided ad awareness, familiarity and brand image associations). Conclusion: Branding in search listings is stronger than contextual ad branding, particularly when the brand holds the top position in the results page.

The Importance of Branding

Your brand is what identifies your business to consumers. It resides in the hearts and minds of your customers and prospects as the sum total of their experiences with, and perceptions of, your company. Good branding ensures loyal customers, and your existing customer relationships are the key to profitability. So it´s no wonder that branding is a major marketing goal.

SEMPO research on business marketing goals shows that most companies place "increase brand awareness" at the top of their list. Other goals include, "selling products/services online", "generating leads", "increasing traffic", "generating leads for distributors", and "providing information/education".

The Branding Component of Search Marketing

Up until now, the major goal of search engine marketing (SEM) has been to drive targeted traffic to your site for lead generation and online or offline conversions. However, it’s now evident that during the search process, another valuable advertising goal is achieved -- that of branding.

Some SEM firms don’t hype branding because of their focus on driving qualified traffic to produce leads and sales. However, at Bruce Clay we feel the branding aspect of SEM is too important to be overlooked.

How Search Branding Works

When indexing your site, most search engines will use your website’s Title and Description, or the information therein, to create the text link that appears in the SERPs (search engine results pages). This link, and the brief description of your site that follows, function as an “ad” when users view your search engine listing.

Every time your listing shows prominently in the SERPs, branding takes place. You can achieve better branding when you ensure that all your ad elements encourage maximum awareness upon click-through to your landing page.

There are two major factors of importance in an SEM branding campaign: your branding message on the results page (Title/Description or Paid Text Ad) and your call to action on the landing page.

Coordinating Critical Ad Elements

Your Title and Description Tags are critical elements in a professional search engine optimization (SEO) campaign. When your website architecture, linking and content are properly optimized, these elements will help bring you to prominent positioning in the SERPs.

With paid search ads, a professional SEM firm will research and identify strategic key phrases, write the text ad, develop your bidding strategy, monitor bids, and track and fine-tune changes. Here, too, there’s a Title and Description that shows in the SERPs.

Your landing page is an important ad element for both SEO and Paid Search campaigns. Copy and creative should be strategically composed as an extension of your “search ad” on the SERPs, with the landing page focused solely on the desired action. Ideally, these marketing elements should be prepared by SEM pros with advertising expertise.

Measuring Search Branding

How do you measure the effects of branding in a search engine marketing campaign? A web analytics program can do more than simply report statistics. These systems for compiling data will analyze your web logs to effectively manage your SEM campaign and measure your brand effectiveness. Below are some of the data points that can be used to measure the brand impact of an SEM campaign.

- Average Time On Site: The longer your visitors browse your site upon arrival from a search engine, the better chance you have for future conversions.

- Page Views Per Visitor: The more pages your prospects visit and read, the greater the odds of communicating your marketing message. This contributes to branding awareness.

- Path Views to Registration or Subscription Sign-Ups: This is the same as the visitor giving you permission to form a business relationship. It starts a dialog and allows you to continue building your brand, moving the visitor closer to conversion.

- White Paper Downloads: The more interest is shown in your products/services, the more branding takes place, and the user moves closer to conversion.

- Navigation Report: This shows where visitors go next, pointing prospects to distributor or retailer sites. When search listings result in a click to a seller site, there is likelihood of purchase and proof of branding.

Maximize Your Branding Efforts

With such value in your search listings, it’s wise to extend your branding efforts through SEM campaigns. The coordination of SEM and advertising expertise ensures that all critical ad elements work together for both conversions and the elevation of your brand.

About the Author: Paul J. Bruemmer
Paul J. Bruemmer has provided search engine marketing expertise and consulting services to prominent American businesses since 1995. As Principal Business Analyst for Bruce Clay, Inc., he is responsible for strategizing and implementing business development activities. Paul is a well-known industry columnist, having written articles for ClickZ, Search Engine Guide, Pandia, MarketingProfs, iMediaConnection, and SitePoint.He has also been a featured speaker at the Search Engine Strategies Conference and at eComXpo.

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Thursday, December 22, 2005

10 Awesome Ways To Attract More Orders

1. Create a free ebook directory on a specific topic at your web site. People will visit your web site to read the free ebooks and may see your product ad.

2. Turn part of your web site into a members only web site. Instead of charging for access, use it as a free bonus for one of your products.

3. Add a free classified ad section to your web site. You could then trade banner ads with other web sites that have free classified ad sections.

4. Create two versions of your e-zine so people can choose if they want ads included with it or not. This'll attract the people who hate ads to subscribe.

5. Publish your e-zine only on your web site. Have people subscribe to a "new issue" e-mail reminder. This could really increase your traffic and sales.

6. Sell advertising space in your product package. You could sell inserts, flyers, brochures, booklets, and digital ads for electronic products.

7. Offer daily or weekly visitor bonuses. This will increase your repeat traffic and sales because your visitors will visit regularly to get the visitor bonuses.

8. Allow people to download software or e-books from your web site at no cost. Just ask your visitors in return if they'll refer their friends to your web site.

9. Build up the number of people that join your free affiliate program quickly by temporally offering your product for free to the people that sign up.

10. Negotiate with e-zine publishers to get free or discounted ads by letting them join your affiliate program and earn commissions on the ad you run.


About The Author
I am a home based busines owner who has been fortunate enough to benefit from several profitable ventures. I currently spend a lot of time marketing my websites online and spreading the word about this amazing opportunity that empowers you to launch your very own money making website today that's 100% ready to take orders and pull in MASSIVE PROFITS for you right now...GUARANTEED! by Ryan B.

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Wednesday, December 21, 2005

SEO For The Big Three

Ranking your website highly on one of the "big three" search engines (Google, Yahoo or MSN) is a daunting task let alone ranking your website highly on all three. Three engines, three algorithms, three different sets of rules - and yet there are websites out there that have first page rankings across them all – how do they do it?

While all of the major search engines use different algorithms, the end goal of all three is the same: to provide the searcher with the most relevant results available. It is this one common thread that makes it possible for an SEO to rank a website highly across all the major engines. While there are a variety of factors at play and an even wider variation in the weïght each of these factors are given – the possible variations that can produce relevant results are limited.

For example, if inbound links are given 0% weïght then insignificant sites will rank highly for high-competition phrases. Many reputable companies such as Microsoft could löse rankings for their own names so links must and will always hold value. On the other hand, if links were to hold 100% weïght then sp@mming the search engines would be a simple matter and so there are a limited number of possible variables in between these extremes that this factor can have, no matter which engine we are optimizing for.

That said, there are still three main engines with three distinct algorithms despite common requirements. To clarify how to optimize for all of them it's easiest to discuss them individually first. Due to the way their algorithms work, it is best to expect rankings on MSN first, followed by Yahoo! and finally Google (I am assuming that the phrase is at least moderately competitive). For this reason, we will discuss them individually in that order.

SEO for MSN

Proper SEO for MSN requires that a site be structured well with a distinct theme throughout and many inbound links. The advantage an SEO has while optimizing a site for MSN is that MSN tends to pick up and credït new content and inbound links very quickly. That means that with the right tactics in place, one can rank a website relatively quickly on this important engine.

While MSN has the lowest number of searches performed on it, ComScore's report back in July revealed that MSN searchers were also 48% more likely to purchase a product or service online than the average Internet user. A very important statistic for website owners that sell online.

To rank highly on MSN one needs to build a solid sized site (exactly how large will depend on your industry – look at the size of your competitors' sites for an idea), a relevant theme throughout the site that focuses on your primary keywords and a good number of links. MSN doesn't (at this time) employ an aging delay on links such as the one employed by both Google and Yahoo! so the effects of the site and inbound links can be picked up very quickly and with good SEO efforts one can rank well within a few months on MSN for competitive phrases.

SEO for Yahoo!

Until recently Yahoo! acted very much like MSN, but nöw it's leaning a bit more towards Google. Ranking a website well on Yahoo! requires a solid-sized site with unique content and a very good number of links.

While PageRank is a Google factor, Yahoo! does have some type of page value factor at play. Many moons ago Yahoo! was playing with a PageRank-like calculation called WebRank. They even went so far as to put out a beta toolbar testing it. This indicates that there is a factor at play in the Yahoo! algorithm similar to Google's PageRank – they just don't advertise what a specific page's value is.

Yahoo! is placing a fair amount of emphasis on the age of links though not in the same way that Google is. We will get to Google shortly, however to understand what to expect from Yahoo! one must understand that when you get a link to your website it won't deliver its full value for a number of months. While the exact number of months in unknown, it appears to be around 8 before it delivers its full weïght, though it will hold some weïght from day one and this weïght will increase as time passes.

To rank well on Yahoo!, you must optimize your site similar to what you would do for MSN and you must build a large number of inbound links and have patience as these links age. You will not see a sudden spike 2 weeks after a large link-building campaign. You will likely have to wait 3-4 months to notice any significant effect.

SEO For Google

Virtually every webmaster and website owner is primarily concerned about attaining Google rankings because of the significantly higher number of searchers using it. Provided that you are building your website following the best practices of SEO (i.e. unique content, a sizable amount of content, and a good number of incoming links), then your rankings are sure to follow. However, because of the aging delay it will likely take longer than for MSN or Yahoo! Google considers the age of your links, your domain and even the individual page to be factors, and the longer your page has been online the better.

Essentially, ranking a site on Google requires that you take the same actions as for the other two, continue your link building efforts on an ongoing basis to ensure that you end up with more-and-more links, and that you update your content and add content on a fairly regular basis (through the addition of a blog for example).

Tying It Together

The logical process for a new website or one at the first stages of SEO is to first target MSN. At this point, you can focus your attention on continuing to build high-quality, relevant links to, and content on, your site which will continue to increase your value on Yahoo! and Google.

Analysis will be required to determine exactly what weïght you will be giving to different areas. For example, if your onsite factors are optimized for MSN, then you know that you will need to make up for this in the offsite factors for Yahoo! and Google. If you figured you would need 100 links to rank on Google, then you will nöw need to up that number to account for the fact that you have optimized your site for a different engine.

During the analysis process you will likely want to use a tool to speed up the process of keyword density analysis and competitor link analysis. At Beanstalk we use a tool called Total Optimizer Pro though there are others out there (note: I have yet to find one that does what this one does as quickly and easily).

Conclusion

I am hoping that none of you read the title and were expecting to rank on the first page of all three major engines next week. Ranking highly on all three major engines takes time, patience and a good few rounds of tweaking to get the perfect balance of onsite and offsite optimization. Of course, as you can gather, done properly it's well worth the effort.


About The Author
Dave Davies is the CEO of Beanstalk Search Engine Positioning, Inc.. Dave writes with years of expreience in SEO and optimization tactics. Watch Beanstalk's SEO news blog for details on the publication of a 4-part series on ranking your website highly accross the "big three engines" in January of 2006. Dave would like to thank TopNet Solutions for the development of Total Optimizer Pro - a comprehensive SEO tool that provides a blueprint of how the top 10 got there, so you can too.

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Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Deadly Online Marketing Mistakes You Must Avoid

It seems like every time you turn your head today you'll find someone who's involved in online business. And indeed, ANYONE can profit online, providing that you learn to avoid the DEADLY online marketing mistakes you're about to discover in this very article...

It doesn't matter if you're an affiliate or you sell your own products, if you're serious to make substantial income online, you MUST learn to avoid these FATAL marketing mistakes by applying the POWERFUL online marketing techniques you're about to discover. So here we go...

Deadly Mistake #1: Not Addressing Your Target Market

This is essential in every aspect of your business promotion, it is reflected in your ads, your advertising techniques, your website's copy, your follow-up, etc.

If your ads are NOT addressing your target market, you might get lots of traffic, but too few sales, because those who click-through your ad did NOT have a clear idea what you're offering and whether it answers their needs.

You might be telling yourself that lots of traffic sounds a pretty good deal anyway...

No it's NOT...

Think of pay-per-click search engines, getting lots of traffic from them means getting lots of clicks, which means you're paying MORE. Providing that those clicks didn't come from your target market, because your ad didn't convey a clear message about your offer, you're blowing your money away!

This is true also for other kinds of promotions. Would you publish an ad for your online business in a high traffic, well-known website BUT doesn't relate to yours?

You are loosing lots of money by doing so!

Deadly Mistake #2: No Killer Sales Copy

A very wide online marketers complaint: "I have lots of traffic, but too few sales". So you use pay-per-click search engines, you buy ads in ezines, which are two great ways to get targeted traffic, but those who visit your website leave as fast as they come, eventually, you're loosing money.

Most online businesses fall into one major module - "The Killer Sales Copy Module". Your main page MUST contain a killer sales copy that converts hits into actual SALES.

You website's sales copy plays a big role in your sales conversion ratio, it can make OR break your online business.

Deadly Mistake #3: No Tracking

For ANY marketing campaign you'll ever run, you MUST track how well your ads are pulling, or you're just "shooting in the dark" hopping "it will work", loosing time AND money.

By tracking you'll know how compelling your ads or your sales copy are, which ezines or websites are worth your time and money and which are NOT, etc.

Deadly Mistake #4: No Follow-up

Those who reach your website, might not be eager to buy from you immediately, for lots of reasons you can think of...

But once the time comes, your product should be right in front of them. This can be done by following-up...

Grab your visitors' emails, build your mailing list, and follow-up providing more information about your products, benefits, incentives, and special offers. You'll also be able to sell other products to existing customers (your backend market).

Deadly Mistake #5: Not Analyzing Your Keywords

Knowing the right keywords, those that relate to your target market, can make you a fortune...

Bidding on the right keywords in pay-per-click search engines, can saves you lots of money. Instead of paying dollars (!) per click you would be paying couple of cents.

Embedding the right keywords in your website's content, your articles, reports, etc. can get you a higher search engines ranking.

Deadly Mistake #6: Not Utilizing The Real Power of Internet

The REAL power of the internet is... "Automation".

Automation is a VERY important word. Utilizing it, your business will work for YOU 24/7, you'll be able to follow-up with customers, visitors, sell backend products and make more sales automatically! Otherwise, you'll work VERY hard to make online.

To automate your business you need proper tools like autoresponders, ad trackers, etc. These will allow you to put your online business on auto-pilot.

So there you have it, avoid those online marketing mistakes, apply those online marketing techniques, and make no mistake about it, you'll be on a straight path to succeed online!

About the Author
Hamad Kadmany helps real people succeed online through his newsletter and his website. He makes it easy for anyone to succeed online by providing techniques, strategies and hot tips. Join his newsletter and claim your free report to discover the essential keys to succeed online at http://www.OnlineBizKnowHow.com

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Monday, December 19, 2005

Purchasing Links for Pagerank

It nevër ceases to amaze me how one company (Google) can literally support hundreds, if not thousands, of other companies and industries. What I am referring to hëre is the unbelievable number of sub-industries that have developed around every nuance of Google or the other search engines. Think about some of the aspects of SEO, and undoubtedly you will find a niche industry with several companies who focus on that specific aspect, and make good monëy doing so.

One such sub-industry is the linking industry. As you all (undoubtedly) know, Google bases part of its ranking algorithm on the number, quality, and variety of inbound links to a website. Lately Google has thrown in the wrinkle of looking more heavily at authority links, but the concept is still the same, and more importantly, the message is still the same to website owners: linking is important.

Because getting quality links is important, entrepreneurs have jumped into action developing every sort of flavor of a company promising to get website owners hundreds (if not thousands) of quality inbound links. Among these companies are link exchange communities, software programs, article writing systems, blog creation systems (or splog creation systems), and link purchasing. Today we are going to just focus on purchasing links as the subject has been in the news lately.

Link Buying – What Is It?

Link buying is a very simple idea. Website owners need high quality (read high PR) inbound links. Websites that are of high quality are looking to monetize their websites. The opportunïty is thus created – high quality websites open a section on their website where a website owner can purchase a plain text link with the hopes of improving their website ranking.

Nöw, admittedly, link buying has become a bit more complicated than this. What started off simply as one website owner asking another if they would link to them for a fee is nöw a significant industry. We have link brokers, advanced link management systems, etc. The idea is still the same, however – buy a quality link with the hopes of increasing your ranking.

Is Link Buying OK With the Search Engines?

Well, Google does not like link buying. It is Google's view that buying and selling text links lowers the overall value and trustworthiness of links on the Internet. Matt Cutts posted back in September how Google and many of the people at Google feel about buying and selling links. In a word, they don't like it at all. Although they recognize that some people would buy links just for the traffïc, it is their opinion that if someone wants to buy a link, they should add the "nofollow" attribute to the link to make sure that it does not get included in a search engine ranking.

Yahoo has also come out against purchasing links. However, blogger Jeremy Zawodny, who also happens to be an employee of Yahoo's search department started selling links on his blog. The link will be around for 1 month as he is testing various monetization methods on his site. These links, for those of you paying attention, do not contain the "no follow" attribute. Although this does not constitute an official endorsement of buying and selling links, it does mean that at least one influential person at Yahoo is at least open to the idea of using link purchasing as a valid monetization of a website.

As a sidenote, could this be a bit of a glimpse at how Google and Yahoo! Rank websites? We all know that Google puts a lot of emphasis on the meaning of links from one site to another, which is why they are fighting so hard to reduce link trading and link purchasing. Is this possibly a glimpse showing us that Yahoo does not put as much weïght on links as Google? Or could it be that Yahoo is more confident in their ability to determine a page's natural relevancy?

So Should I Buy Links?

It would be so easy to say that buying links is a decent practice and that you will nevër get in trouble for doing so. Heck, I would love to be able to buy a few links, including one on Jeremy's blog. But the truth is, if you want to rank well in either search engine for the long-term and not face a future penalty, you should probably refrain from buying links. Google has stated several times (many times through Matt Cutts) that buying links is not an acceptable practice and that doing so can get you in trouble. Matt shows an example of where this is the case at http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/tell-me-about-your-backlinks/. According to him, Google has gotten quite adept at identifying purchased links.

I have no doubt that there are thousands of examples of sites that have purchased links only to see their rankings improve significantly. I seriously doubt that Google or any search engine that places significant weïght on linking can properly determine whether every link is bought or natural. You may be able to buy a link and have great success with it.

But when it all comes down to the choice you have to make, you have to realize that link buying is a risk. If a search engine catches you buying or selling a link, they will undoubtedly consider your site to be more questionable. What we must also realize is that they are no longer relying simply on scripts to identify what they consider to be sp@m, they are also using human eyes to confirm what their scripts find.

The Exception to This Rule

Every rule has its exception, and this rule is no exception. There is a legitïmate förm of link buying. One of the really good things that has come about from link trading, buying and selling is that we have learned that plain text links have the ability to bring in real traffïc. If this is what you are after, then buy links to your heart's content.

Of course, you might want to make sure that you don't get in trouble for buying links, even if your intention is completely innocent. Although Google has gotten better at determining what links are purchased and what links are natural, they still can not determine a person's intent. To keep yourself safe, always request that the person you are buying the link from adds the "nofollow" attribute. This will protect both you and them from getting penalized.

Overall Linking Strategies

The conversation of linking schemes and methods is one that has been played out in many different forms. Many people have had success manipulating linking schemes, and there are some very good organizations out there that can get you a quality inbound link. Regardless of what new scheme you hear about or even participate in, your biggest linking goal should always be to find those high quality, one-way inbound links that occur naturally. These would be the type where someone links over to your website because you actually have some quality content to offer rather than some monëy or deal to offer.

Linking strategies and schemes will no-doubt evolve. I have heard of a few recently which I think can be very successful, but nothing will ever beat a quality, natural link from a source that links to you because you have something to offer.


About The Author
Mark Daoust is the owner of Site-Reference.com.

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Friday, December 16, 2005

Creating Keyword Rich Pages

This article is focused on how you should create these KRPs. I am assuming you have a working knowledge of the different HTML tags like the Title tag, the Meta Description tag, the Meta Keywords tag, the Heading tags, the Alt Tag etc. If you don't, just go to: http://www.utoronto.ca/webdocs/HTMLdocs/NewHTML/htmlindex.html for a good introduction to such HTML tags. Now, let us assume that your company sells packaged tours to Australia, and that you are targeting the keyword "travel to australia". Here's how you create the KRPs:

The Title Tag:

The first and most important tag to consider is the Title tag. You should always begin the Title tag with the keyword that you are targeting. Also remember that the search engines are going to display the Title tag while they are displaying the results of a search. Hence, you need to make the Title tag attractive to humans as well.

Here is one Title tag that I may have used: "Travel to Australia and discover its scenic beauty". Have a look at the Title tag - it uses the keyword right at the beginning and also tells people how beautiful a place Australia is.

Of course, all Titles need not be like the one I used. The Title that you use depends on the subject matter of your site. However, you should follow all the general rules that I have outlined here.

Meta Description Tag:

The Meta Description tag is used by many search engines to provide a short description of the page that is listed in the search results. Hence, like the Title tag, it is important that the Meta Description tag be keyword rich as well as attractive to humans.

The rules for the Meta Description are more or less the same as those for the Title tag. However, the content of this tag will generally be longer than that of the Title. Here's what I may have used in the Meta Description tag:

"Travel to Australia - We take care of all the details of your trip so that you can travel with complete peace of mind."

Note how this description repeats the keyword and also the benefit that it stresses - it says that the customer will be able to travel without having to worry about the intricate details of the trip - you will take care of them.

Meta Keywords Tag:

The Meta Keywords tag has become less and less important as far as search engine optimization is concerned. In fact, you can get top rankings without having anything in the Meta Keywords tag at all. However, just to be on the safe side, you would want to include some keywords in the Meta Keywords tag. You should also include some of the common upper/lower case variations of the keyword. The rules for the Meta Keywords tag are pretty simple - don't repeat any keyword in the Meta Keywords tag more than three times and don't repeat any keyword one after the other. Here's what I may have used in the Meta Keywords tag:

"Travel to Australia, tourism, travel to Australia, Down Under, TRAVEL TO AUSTRALIA"

Note how I have introduced "tourism" and "Down Under" just to separate the different instances of the keyword.

Body of the Page:

Now we come to the actual body of the page. Begin by getting hold of a nice (but not too large) picture which is applicable for the page that you are creating. In the present case, I might include a picture of the lotus shaped Sydney Opera House. Place this picture at the top of the page. In the Alt tag for the picture, just mention your target keyword once, i.e. the Alt tag would be "Travel to Australia". You can include other words in the Alt tag, but it should start with the keyword you are targeting.

Once you've put up the picture, it is time to create a Heading for your page. Use the H1 tag to do so. Again, in the H1 tag, mention your target keyword once, i.e. like the Alt tag for the picture, the H1 tag could be "Travel to Australia". Again, like the Alt tag, you can include other words in the heading, but the heading should start with the keyword you are targeting.

Now it's time to create the actual text of the page. The way you create the text of your page would depend largely on what you want the visitor to do after reading this page. In some cases, you may simply want the visitor to go to the home page or another specific page in your site after reading this page. In this case, you should write the text in such a way that the visitor is attracted to the page that you are targeting. You would also want to provide links to the home page or the specific page that you are targeting at strategic places in the KRP. Or, you may want the visitor to clïck on the link to an affïliate program that you are a member of. In this case, you would stress the benefits that the visitor gets by purchasing the product or service that the affïliate program is selling. You would also want to provide links to the affïliate program at strategic places in the page and/or at the end of the page. Whatever it is that you want your page to do, there are some general rules to follow:

1) The first thing to remember is that some search engines don't recognize the Meta Description tag. These search engines will often simply take the first few lines of text in the body of your page and display that as the description. Hence, you must ensure that the first few lines of text in your page are attractive to human beings.

2) Ensure that as many sentences as possible in the page contain your target keyword once. The keyword shouldn't just be placed on an ad hoc basis - the way the keyword is placed in every sentence should actually make grammatical sense and the repetition should be such that your human visitors do not feel that you have deliberately repeated a particular phrase throughout the page. This is not only important from the point of view of ensuring that your readers don't get a bad impression of your site, but also from the point of view of search engine optimization - the search engines may penalize your page for spamming if they find that you have randomly repeated the keyword throughout the page. Also, while repeating the keyword in the page, try to repeat the keyword once near the top of the page and once near the bottom.

3) Make sure that your paragraphs are not too long - each paragraph should be no more than 3 or 4 sentences long. This is because people on the web simply don't have the time or the inclination to read long paragraphs.

4) Try to ensure that the page contains links to other pages with the keyword being present in the text under the link. This can often lead to a higher ranking for your page.

5) There is no hard and fast rule regarding the total number of words that should be present in the KRPs. As a rule of thumb, try to ensure that there are between 500-600 words. However, if the number of words falls a bit short of or exceeds this limit, don't worry too much.

Once you have created the page, ensure that the name of the file in which it is saved contains the keyword and that the individual words of the keyword are separated by hyphens. In this case, the name of the file would be "travel-to-australia.html". This will get you a higher ranking in the few search engines which give a lot of emphasis on the keyword being present in the file name.

After doing all this, simply link the home page of your site with the Sitemap page using a text link. Then, submit your home page, the Sitemap page and each of the KRPs to the search engines. When you are submitting these pages, to be on the safe side, make sure that you submit no more than 1 page per day to any search engine - otherwise, you run the risk of some search engines ignoring some of the pages you have submitted. You can submit your site by going to the individual "Add URL" pages of each engine. Or, in order to save time, you can use our frëe submission tool which helps you submit your site manually to the search engines, without having to go to the individual "Add URL" pages of each engine. The tool is available at http://www.1stSearchRanking.com/t.cgi?3455_b&submission.htm.

Follow all the rules that I have outlined in this article and you can soon see your search engine blues disappear forever!

About The Author
Article by Sumantra Roy. Sumantra is one of the most respected search engine positioning specialists on the Internet. To have Sumantra's company place your site at the top of the search engines, go to 1stSearchRanking.com. For more advice on how you can take your web site to the top of the search engines, subscribe to his FR-E-E newsletter by going to http://www.1stSearchRanking.com/t.cgi?3455_b&newsletter.htm.

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Thursday, December 15, 2005

AOL - The Greased Pig of Search is About to Get Caught

The greased pig of the search world is about to get caught. Apparently the pig is a prized ham after all.

For the past three months, AOL has been acting like the greased pig of the search engine world. Each of the other major players has been trying to capture a piece of AOL but according to the breathless reporting in publications such as the Wall St. Journal, Search Engine Watch, CNet News and WebProNews, AOL has been playing each against the other. It is much easier to understand the motivation of the four-legged greased pigs than it is to figure out the game of negotiated brinksmanship AOL is playing. In the traditional country fair version of the game, the greased pigs do not wish to be caught. When such sport takes place in a boardroom owned by the greased pig however, it is somewhat reasonable for participants to assume said greased pig actually wishes to be caught. In the case of AOL's game of greased pig, appearances have often been deceiving and experiences will change during actual game play. Nevertheless, the greased pig is about to be caught and when it does, a series of events will eventually affect nearly 80% of US Internet users.

Of all the major search entities, AOL has one of the longest, most interesting and convoluted stories. It still has one of the biggest membership bases of any entity on the Internet with an estimated 97 millïon. It is owned and operated by the board of the Time Warner publishing empire. AOL purchased Time Warner in early 2000 in a legendary stöck transfer that took place weeks before the dot-com crash removed much of the value of those shares.

The major search engines wanted AOL outright but eventually found it wasn't for sale as an entity. In late October and early November, reports surfaced suggesting Yahoo, Microsoft and Google were each trying to buy AOL away from Time Warner. Observers might have thought themselves safe in assuming the Time Warner board might approve the outright sale of the AOL arm, which has been a drag on overall operations since the firms merged in 2000. In September 2003, the company officially known as AOL Time Warner moved to distance itself from its underperforming partner by dropping the name AOL from its corporate identity.

At the time of the transfer, AOL was the largest Internet Service Provider in the United States but a series of mistakes, combined with the sudden downturn in the Internet economy pushed AOL to near obscurity in the eyes of Time Warner and most long-term Internet users. Remember the days when AOL sent hundreds of millïons of unsolicited frëe AOL CDs to homes around the world promising a month of Frëe AOL access. Many, if not most, of those CDs ended up as drink coasters, Christmas tree ornaments, unpredictable Frisbees, or, home fashioned ninja throwing stars.

Like many of the geniuses that coded before them, some of most important contributions AOL's Netscape team has made to the Internet can nevër be balanced in a profït and loss ledger. Before it bought Time Warner, AOL purchased the beleaguered Netscape web browser but ended up alienating loyal Netscape users by redesigning the browser in its own image in the disastrous Netscape 6.0 release in November 2000. While the 6.0 version was a resounding flop, it stands out as the first major public open-source application and is considered the predecessor of the massively popular Firefox browser. One of the least appreciated assets owned by AOL was the group of open-source programmers who developed Netscape and moved on to förm the independent Mozilla Foundation.

Again, like many of those that coded before them, the power of AOL's reach was grievously underappreciated because the conditions to exercise that power had not been realized. America had not gone broadband as quickly as expected and the massive migration towards digital convergence has until this year been treated as a dot-bomb pipe dream by mainstream corporate investors. Nöw that over 75% of US Internet users are accessing via big-pipes, video and audio content (stuff folks will pay for) is nöw easily served. In short, investors see a way to easily and inexpensively get products to consumers. As anyone with a sense of history will tell ya, those who invest in transportation of goods or people tend to make a heck of a lot of monëy.

Sensing the major shifts taking place in today's publishing sector, billionaire corporate raider Carl Ichan who currently controls 2.8% of Time Warner's shares has set his sights on Time Warner chief Richard Parsons. He wants Parsons out and is expected to be planning the break-up of the empire if he can mount a successful hostile challenge against the Board of Directors. The pending shareholders fight might be the biggest reason Time Warner's board seems to have backed down from selling AOL or even allowing another firm to purchase a stake in it, even after months of negotiations with MSN, Google and Yahoo. The Board was acting like a greased pig, not in reaction to the competitive bids from the Big3 but in reaction to the competitive challenge Ichan is mounting against Parsons. AOL is simply worth too much in the near future to sell off or compromise today, even if it would have provided a massive return for investors.

Earlier this month, Ichan warned the Time Warner board he would hold them personally responsible if AOL was sold at too low a price. Shortly thereafter, AOL changed its tune and took itself off the open market, later saying that it would not even sell a stake in the company.

At the end of the day however, all greased pigs must be caught and AOL, no matter how wily is no exception. The Wall Street Journal reported today that AOL and Microsoft are about to sign a deal that will remove Google from AOL's search page in mid-2006 and replace it with MSN generated results and paid advertising.

AOL and Google have been partners in search since 2002 when Google provided the vast majority of search results seen on almost every search engine, including rival Yahoo. Under the present arrangement, AOL retains approximately 80% of ad revenue generated by AdWords advertising displayed across the AOL network. That agreement, set to expire in mid-2006, was good for about $300 millïon in revenues for AOL last year.

A deal between AOL and MSN will give the two firms access to over 140 millïon subscribed members, making it the largest online content and advertising alliance in the world. Yahoo has approximately 122 millïon registered users per month and Google has about 86 millïon. Though discussions about selling a stake in AOL are no longer on the table, chairperson Richard Parsons applied a bit more grease as he told a Tuesday news conference that AOL remained in talks with "multiple parties".

That reminds me of something my grand-pappy used to say. "Nevër fight with a pig Jim, nevër fight with a pig." To this day I have no idea what he meant, but the expression is stuck in my head. Perhaps he simply had the family trait of foresight as he died years before the public even considered personal computers. You see; AOL's Board of Directors might have actually initiated the greased pig contest as a front in another fight they are facing with Ichan while, at the same time, playing Google, Microsoft and Yahoo off against each other in order to force a stronger settlement from one or more of them. Pigs are said to be one of the brightest four legged animals and, at the end of the day, this one has behaved beyond expectations and provided a captive audience with the greatest greased pig catching contest of all time. Yee Haw.


About The Author
Jim Hedger is a writer, speaker and search engine marketing expert based in Victoria BC. Jim writes and edits full-time for StepForth and is also an editor for the Internet Search Engine Database. He has worked as an SEO for over 5 years and welcomes the opportunïty to share his experience through interviews, articles and speaking engagements. He can be reached at jimhedger@stepforth.com

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Wednesday, December 14, 2005

How to design your website for optimal productivity

Eight Simple, Yet Essential, Web Design Principles

As the internet evolves from its infancy into maturity, website development, design and marketing becomes more and more sophisticated - and more and more complex. Content manipulation, various scripting methods, fancy graphics and effects... and on and on... allow us to create some impressive web sites.

A good gauge of this complexity is the a slew of new internet-related acronyms which popup on a consistent basis. Heck, I don't know what half of them mean. But one acronym I do know - and it's not an internet creation - is nevertheless key to the development and design of any successful business website. Perhaps you've heard of it - K.I.S.S. As you probably know, it stands for 'Keep It Simple, Stupid!'. And it's a methodology widely employed by the best web developers, designers and marketers in the business. A philosophy that provides the foundation for all successful revenue-generating web sites.

From the largest, multi-product online business conglomerate to the one-page one-product mini-site, the purpose is the same. Provide visitors, whether internet savvy or first time surfers, with an online experience that's fast, efficient, easy to understand - and dare I say it... yes, enjoyable.

Whether your an entrepreneur building your own web site, or reviewing one built for you by a web development and design expert, it is important your web site, your online business, adheres to these eight simple, yet essential, design principles. Heed them, and online success is sure to follow. Ignore them, at your peril. Here they are.

Each web page must have a purpose - and that purpose must be clearly stated. While a consistent design 'look and feel' is vital across all pages of your web site, each page has a specific function to perform. And that function should be clearly understood by all visitors to your web site. Whether it's to elicit feedback, provide feedback, promote your company, present product information, etc., all play a role in your ultimate goal of growing your business.

Navigation around and through your business web site must be clearly visible and easy to use. See my article on web site navigation for more details.

Avoid distraction and clutter by minimizing usage of fancy flashing and moving objects, which provide more sizzle than steak, and make your essential products or services harder to find.

All business websites should have contact information clearly visible. A 'Contact' page is minimum. It's also advisable to include contact information on every page of your web site. You never know when the urge to turn from prospect to customer will strike your visitor.

Not everyone has broadband. Yes, there are still a fair number of users surfing the internet with slower, less efficient, dial-up access. That may change in the future, but it's a reality today. Ignore this substantial customer base and you're business will surely suffer. To avoid this pitfall, pay careful attention to eliminate internet-clogging elements on your web site. When possible, use text instead of graphics, static graphics instead of animation, several smaller pages instead of one large page. Do this and you can feed quite well on the desertions from your flashier competitors.

For those who are broadband users, who are not negatively effected by all those 'bells and whistles', who may actually enjoy such an impressive display, remember, 'form follows function'. This is especially important on a business web site, where functionality is key. All else is fluff and distraction.

For those of us who may be 'visually challenged, make sure your web site is easy to see. Avoid fancy fonts and use the more legible standard-bearers, such as Times New Roman, Courier New, Arial and Verdana. For standard text, use font sizes of at least 10 pt... 12 pt is better. On many a web site, font sizes of 8 pt or less are used, perhaps in an effort to avoid the need to scroll. Let me tell you... it's much better to scroll than to squint. For when I squint, I usually stroll... right out of the site. It's also a good practice to limit the use of italics as they too are harder to read. Lastly, pay attention to text and background color. Although white text on a black background looks cool at first glance, it can quickly strain the eyes. You don't want to do anything that will cut your visitor's journey through your business web site..

Whenever possible, limit page lengths to no more than two page-downs. It is better for performance (page loading) and visitor attention when pages are short, quick reads. If necessary, breakup your text into multiple pages, with a 'continued' designation at the bottom of each page.

There you go. Eight simple, yet essential, web site design principles that can spell the difference between online business success or failure. Always remember, you're never more than one-click away from visitor abandonment. K.I.S.S. your website and it will reward you abundantly.

About the Author: Alan Richardson is a well-known internet consultant and publisher with http://www.optimalwebservices.com - a Web resource firm in North Easton, Massachusetts, offering free advice and information for web-based small businesses and entrepreneurs. To read other articles by Alan, click http://www.optimalwebservices.com/articles. To signup for the free 'Optimal Web Services for Small Business' ezine, click http://www.optimalwebservices.

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Friday, December 09, 2005

Meta Searching: The good, the bad & the ugly

First, a definition. Meta Search - A search tool that queries several search engines and/or web directories simultaneously and returning the results in a single merged list without the duplicate links.

Confused? Let me give you an example. Let's say there is a meta search engine you have recently found that searches two engines, let's say Google and Yahoo. It searches both of these search engines and then returns the combined results to you, without any duplicates (results that appear on both engines). Sounds neat , huh? Well, there are pros and cons with meta searching that the user should be aware of in order to make his searching as productive as possible.

The Pros of Meta Searching

Meta searching is fast, and saves considerable time for the user since you may query several engines and directories simultaneously rather than typing in a single query in every search engine that you wish to get results. Webmasters will find meta searching extremely valuable in checking their site's page listings, backlinks, keyword ranking, and other site statistics in several search engines. Other professions that are research-oriented would also benefit greatly from meta searching. Professions such as educators, scientists, legal professionals, college students to name just a few.

The Cons of Meta Searching

Most, not all, meta searchers do not allow site submissions. This is because most do not maintain their own database of page listings. They simply get results from other search engines. Because most meta searchers query anywhere from 4 to 12 engines and directories simultaneously, and not all of them will allow Boolean searching, many meta searchers therefore will not allow Boolean searching. (Boolean seaching is the use of operators such as AND, OR, quotation marks, and plus/minus symbols.)

The Meta Search Engines

Meta search engines come in a variety of forms. The standard meta searcher simply queries several engines and returns the results on a single page. Others return results from each engine queried separately, either dividing them on a single page or opening multiple browser windows, each containing the results from a different engine. And another type, generally known as all-in-one search, also allows you to query many different engines, but just one engine at a time.

Standard Meta Searchers: Old School

These are some "oldies but goodies." The following list includes some notable examples of standard meta search engines, many of these having been around for years and have remained quite popular with the searching public.

Dogpile - Excite - Hunt It Out - IxQuick - Mamma - MetaCrawler - MetaSearch - MetaEureka - Search.com - WebCrawler - WindSeek - Vivisimo - ZapMeta

Meta Searchers: New School

Below you will find some excellent examples of newer meta search engines. Many include nifty features for advanced searching, such as clustering. Clustering search engines gather results into groups around a certain theme, or in some cases just provide you with related keywords that perhaps will aid the user to zero in on your goal. Others offer the user the ability to set the bias of each search engine the meta searcher pulls results from. For example, telling it to weigh results more from Yahoo than from Ask Jeeves.

Clusty - ez2find - Ithaki - Izito - Kartoo - KillerInfo - Mooter - Turbo10 - Nuah - Ujiko - WebClust

All-In-One Search Pages

Below you will find some excellent examples of what I call all-in-one search pages. These are not technically meta search engines as they only allow the user to search one engine at a time, but they certainly provide a valuable service to the web searcher.

AllSearches - iTools - Multi-Search-Engine - Port Prophecy - Queryster's SearchX - Search22 - Searchalot

Conclusion: There are several advantages to using meta search engines, the most obvious advantage being the ability to get results from multiple search engines without having to visit each in turn. Meta searchers in general are fast ways of getting information on things broad in scope. And finally they are important in allowing the user to see how the various search engines return results on the same query.

About the Author: Derek Taylor is the owner and web designer of Port Prophecy (http://www.portprophecy.com), an all-in-one meta search site that allows the user to choose from hundreds of search engines and directories to query. Mr. Taylor also is a frequent contributor to many forums and bulletin boards on the Internet and donates time editing for human-edited directories.

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Thursday, December 08, 2005

Measuring Importance: Usability Strategy Ranks High With Search Engines

Usability is already a critical component of successful online ventures but with the advent of Google Analytics and the implementation of the Jagger algo update, user-activities and behaviours are going to play an influencing role in search engine rankings. How people act when they visit a website or document is being measured and accounted for, even for sites without Google Analytics tracking codes in the < head > section of the document source-code.

Google is concerned with how people find information and what they do when they access a document found in the Google index. Which document in a site they tend to land on, how long users spend on that document and how much, if any, time does a user spend exploring information in a domain, are all pertinent to how Google perceives the relevance of documents listed in the index. As long-term online marketers know, this is where usability comes into the picture.

Usability, as defined by Kim Kraus Berg is, "... the ability to successfully, comfortably and confidently learn or complete a task. For the web site designer or application developer, it's the mechanics of designing and building a web site or Internet-based application so that it can be understood and easy to accomplish any task."

According to local (Victoria-based) website marketing expert, Michael Linehan, a focus on site usability is simply common sense marketing. Leading visitors towards goal-orientated outcomes makes as much sense for a functioning website as it does for a functional building and, to follow through on the analogy, it all starts with a smart architect.

Michael knows his stuff, so much so StepForth considers him to be one of our marketing and site usability gurus. If our assumptions about user-behaviours and the post-Jagger Google SERPs are correct, Michael's talents will play an important role in our overall SEO techniques.

"It's all about marketing," Michael explains (exclaims is probably a better word, ML is pretty passionate about this stuff), "and marketing is all about envisioning an effective strategy." While most people involved in business understand the concept, surprisingly few actually take the time to implement and follow a marketing strategy in relation to their websites.

"Website owners have to prioritize their messages and make their websites easier to use. It's a matter of measuring the importance of different parts of their marketing strategy and their websites."

Michael suggests that over 95% of companies he has worked with use opportunistic marketing tactics with separate strategies being employed out of sync with each other. A simple example would be the Yellow Pages ad that does not mention the website URL or a printed brochure that does not include an email address in the contact information. A more complex example can be found by looking at most business websites.

"When a business owner gets a website for their business, they often expect the designer to know how to market their new website." said Michael. "That's just ludicrous. Website designers already have a difficult and mentally demanding job. Expecting them to be proficient marketers is like expecting your architect to act as your real estate agent."

Michael deconstructs websites, pulling them apart to find or add the little things specific to a business website designers often can't customize for. His work could be described as user-outcome optimization.

He has a good point. Search engine marketing is becoming much more complicated. The web is rapidly adopting a more professional attitude as it grows into the global mainstream marketplace. As this maturing takes place, two factors should drive website owners and webmasters towards a more professional view of their online marketing strategies.

The first factor is the increased analytic abilities of the major search engines. As previously mentioned, Google is taking stöck of a number of user-sensitive factors surrounding documents in its index. In March 2005, Google filed a patent titled, Information retrieval based on historical data. The patent application outlines the historic record Google keeps on every document and file in its index. One of the items mentioned covers user behaviours touching on the following points:

• how much time an average user spends examining a document,
• the entry and exit paths of users,
• if users store reference to the document in bookmarks,
• how users access the document (via search engine, typing URL, link from other document, or bookmarks),
• an evaluation of search traffïc driven by Google and related keywords the document was found under

Each of those points should lead webmasters to think about how visitors use their site. Website marketing is not necessarily about search engine placements. It is about using your website as a marketing tool. In the context of website marketing, usability is about moving visitors from the entry point to the goal line and off again to another compellingly relevant website experience.

The second factor is the evolving needs of website users and their increased analytic abilities. The Web is almost second nature to most of its users. People are experienced in the environment and, at least in the case of work-related web use, know what they want. As it stands today, there are a lot of websites that no longer live up to user expectations because those expectations have moved beyond the design of those websites.

Usability is a component in smart and informed website marketing simply because it implies making the website experience simpler and clearer for visitors. Strategically moving a site visitor from the entry point to the information or salës point (goal lines) is common sense. It is also providing the visitors exactly what they want.

Google placing more weïght on user behaviours makes sense. User behaviour is a logical extension of the democratic concept of PageRank in that the users' collective judgment is incorporated into that of the webmasters who coded incoming links. Webmasters of sites supporting AdWords advertising are already super-charged, stoked about Google providing detailed data that can help drive traffïc.

All good marketing strategies are goal orientated and center around a clear vision. As time goes on, it can get pretty complicated, especially when clarity and ease of use are the ultimate design goal. Objective planning might involve rethinking the design of your website but moving into the near future, rethinking the design of your website might just become essential.


About The Author
Jim Hedger is a writer, speaker and search engine marketing expert based in Victoria BC. Jim writes and edits full-time for StepForth and is also an editor for the Internet Search Engine Database. He has worked as an SEO for over 5 years and welcomes the opportunïty to share his experience through interviews, articles and speaking engagements. He can be reached at jimhedger@stepforth.com.

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Wednesday, December 07, 2005

How To Build A List Of Eager Subscribers?

Every online business provides great service to generate satisfaction among their customers. As each and every customer receives satisfaction over their products or the services they get, there is a great chance that they will become a return customer and buy again. Better yet, they will recommend you to other people that could generate more business for you and your site.

As more traffic is driven to your site, you can entice many of them to subscribe to your mailing list or opt-in list. This is a list where in website visitors agree to be sent promotional materials such as newsletters, catalogs and such that could keep them updated about your site or the niche of your site. These promotional materials are sent via e-mail to the members of the list in different time intervals.

When using e-mail as the media of your marketing and advertisements, you eliminate the need for high costs. Email is free and if you can manage to make your own promotional advertisements you can also save a bundle there. With an opt-in subscribers list, you are pretty sure that what you are sending out is received, viewed and read by the subscribers and not simply being deleted. They have signed up for service and have consented in receiving it.

This means that there are constant reminders to your subscribers about all your products, new products and services as well as any promotions and special deals you are having. There is also the chance that they can be forwarded to other potential customers as they tell their friends and families about you and your site.

Of course you should be also aware that a subscriber may unsubscribe when they feel that they are not getting what they want or expected. Make sure that they are satisfied with your opt-in marketing strategies and keep them excited in receiving your newsletters and catalogs. Here are some tips that can help you build a list of eager subscribers.

Make your promotional materials interesting and fun. Try to use a little creativity but not too over artsy. Build around what your product or service is about. For example; if you are selling car parts, put some pictures of what is new in the auto parts world, a new wing door possibly that can fit any car and make it look like a Lamborghini.

Try to research what people are looking for, these way, you stay one step ahead of them all the time and you will be their bearer of new tidings. They will be eager to receive what you are sending them because they new you always have fresh and new things to share with them.

Write good articles that can be very informational but light at the same time. If your subscribers enjoy your articles, they will go to your site by clicking the links that you will be putting on your newsletter to read some more. You can provide articles that can connect to many people. Be diverse in your articles. Put something humorous, then put something informational, then put something that has both.

Are you worried about this because you don't like writing? No problem, there are many professional and experienced article writers that can do the job for you for minimal fees. They know what they are doing and can provide the need that you have for your newsletters, the money that you pay for your articles are going to be met by the many sign-ups and the potential profit from the sales that you will get.

Create and send an E-book to your customers about anything that is related to your business or site. Use your knowledge and expertise in the field you have chosen to help other people who are similarly interested. Offer this e-book for free. You can write about anything informational and helpful to your subscribers. For example; you can do manuals and guides in so many things. This e-book could be used as a reference for many people.

Share this e-book with everyone, even other sites; just make sure that they don't change the links in the e-book that will lead people to your site. If you want, you can always get some people to write it for you just like your articles. Your investment once again will be covered by the great marketing this will generate.

Add e-coupons in your newsletters that will help them avail to special discounts. Put a control number in your e-coupon so that they can only be used once. When people get discounts that can be found in your newsletters, they will be eager to receive your newsletter in anticipation of what you are promoting next.

If your subscribers can get benefits from your newsletters, they will be very eager to receive them. Just don't flood your mailing list with mails so that you don't annoy your subscribers.

About the Author: Subscribe to Gerardas Norkus' free Internet marketing newsletter at http://www.netmarketingstrategies.com and discover heaps of tips, tricks and secrets that will quickly boost your online sales and profits.

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