Undervalued Marketing Opportunities

Marketing online has become fiercely competitive. Marketers are attempting to unravel and decipher online marketing to succeed. Some argue that there should not be a distinction between traditional (off-line) marketing and online marketing. Others feel that concepts applied to mail order work well on the web, while still others argue that online marketing is a breed of its own and what works in one arena may not work in another. While some standard practices like "above" the fold, hold true in both print and online copy, it is rare that you see the printed type face on the web the same as in printed advertisements.

Regardless there are traditional forms of advertising that are viable and make sense to use on the web but many marketers do not. These undervalued marketing opportunities are not the end-all be-all but are great supplemental channels, that compliment strong online marketing campaigns.

BUYERS GUIDES

Many print magazines offer free listings in buyers guides. Buyers guides typically have a long shelf life and are viewed as a product resource, meaning it is one of the first places consumers look when wanting to purchase an item. Often magazines will include product reviews or sponsored placement in a buyers guide. Typically the standard listing is free, but optionally vendors can increase their exposure by adding listings in additional categories for a nominal fee. Regardless the free listings are a great value and worth pursuing.

PRODUCT REVIEWS

The impartial overview from a credible source can spark product interest. A third party independent review of your product or service is seen as a vote of confidence. Invite publishers or even bloggers to review your product or service. When requesting a review, it is proper net etiquette to always provide the reviewer an evaluation product free of charge. After the review, be sure to thank the reviewer and if appropriate, link to the completed review.

FORUMS/VOLUNTEERING IN COMMUNITIES

Offering your time and expertise will establish expertise and knowledge in a specific industry. Participants who participate in forums have a genuine interest and are a great target audience. Posting helpful information rather than blatant product advertisements will enhance an image.

ARTICLE SYNDICATION

Writing quality informative and educational articles will also establish expertise. Articles also educate users about related product or service. Generally educated users require less technical help and are an easier sale because they understand how the people or service will help them.

RSS FEEDS

Provide content in an RSS feed. While RSS is becoming very popular there are still a number of industries and sectors where very little content is available via RSS feeds. Placing quality content in an RSS feed and being "early to market" will help your company shine.

When small businesses compete with big businesses there are a number of areas in which they can compete effectively. As more businesses turn to the web as an advertising model, it is important that marketers and businesses define themselves by giving themselves every opportunity to be found. Utilizing undervalued marketing opportunities will separate online successes from failures.
About The Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for NotePage http://www.notepage.net a wireless text messaging software company.


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Maximize your website traffic!

So you've built your website. Now, what will you do to attract traffic? You can use any number of possible strategies from search engine optimization to writing articles, from issuing press releases to creating joint ventures, to name just a few. But, for now, let's start with the basics. What do concepts like search engine optimization, traffic generation, traffic conversion, affiliate marketing, email marketing and joint venture marketing mean? What impact will they have on maximizing your website traffic? Here are some basics to get you started.

Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization is all about writing text within your website that is not only easy to read and understand, but also which is highly attractive to internet search engines. Key words or phrases are basically popular search terms that internet surfers will input to a search engine like Google or Yahoo. Key words are important to your search engine ranking. Your mission is to figure out what those words are so that you can use them within your website text. These key words can be used in titles, subtitles, descriptions and even in the meta tags within your website.

Traffic Generation

Traffic generation is all about getting people to your website. Nothing can happen until they arrive at your doorstep. You can cultivate traffic by doing any number of things - announcing your website on radio or television, trading links with others, writing and issuing press releases, writing articles which include an information-filled byline, and engaging in joint ventures. There are many other things you can do including something as simple as including a mention of your website in your email address. All of these strategies and many others will serve the purpose of directing people to your website. But, that's only the first step. It isn't enough to just generate web traffic, you need to convert it.

Traffic Conversion

Traffic Conversion is the other part of the equation. First you need to generate traffic - you need to drive traffic to your website. Next you need to start building a relationship with the visitor. People like to do business with folks they know, like, and trust. Granted, there will always be those visitors who buy right away, but for the majority, you will need to be in it for the long haul. You will need to educate them about who you are and what you do. Traffic conversion is all about convincing visitors to take a desired action. You might want them to sign up for your newsletter or to download one of your articles or a special report. Or, you might want them to buy a product or service. Each event is an opportunity to convert visitors to take some sort of action. There are specific website tracking tools that can be used to measure and track these results. You may have heard the term conversion rate. In simplest terms, it is the number of visitors who take a defined action (like signing up for a newsletter), divided by the total number of visitors.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is all about working with others to generate revenue. It's like having your own private, commission-only sales force. An affiliate is someone who agrees to promote the products and services of someone else in exchange for some compensation, a percentage of the total sale. It requires very little effort on your part except for setting up a system (there are many automated, easy-to-install programs to purchase) and writing the checks for any sales that are made. It's a great way to earn passive revenue. Affiliate marketing is an effective strategy to reach others outside of your normal, everyday network, to generate traffic, and best of all, to convert that traffic to paying customers.
Email Marketing

Email is still the best way to connect with others despite all the restrictions now in place due to spamming laws. As the lifeblood of marketing, it's one of the most effective ways to convert new prospects into buying customers. Email campaigns are a strategy to provide access points for your already opted-in mailing list to make a purchase. It is one more step along the way in creating a relationship while offering special incentives or promotions to encourage commerce. By tying campaigns to special holidays, seasons, or other events, you can generate excitement around your products and services. The only caution is to carefully plan your campaigns so as not to overwhelm your precious and valuable list with too much email. As a suggestion, don't plan more than one email campaign per month, including any you might do with joint venture partners. Remember, your list can always opt-out, so make sure that you always treat them well.

Joint Venture Marketing

Joint venture marketing is all about working with others. A joint venture is when two or more people or businesses combine forces to create an opportunity with hopes to bring increased revenues to both. Joint ventures can be anything from promoting products on each other's mail lists, to writing books or articles together, or even producing programs that are delivered through teleclasses or onsite seminars. The opportunities are only limited by one's creativity and willingness to work with someone else. As with anything, two heads are better than one. Working together allows you to bring your best skills and talents forward. Partnering with someone who has strengths where you might have weaknesses and vice versa, you can create a synergistic environment where you can accomplish more with a lot less efforting. Take the time to network and get to know others. A joint venture marketing opportunity might be just what it takes to take your business to the next level of play.
About the Author:
Tara Kachaturoff is a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach. She can be reached at info"at"virtualleverage.com. For more information about driving website traffic to your site, visit www.webtrafficessentials.com


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10 tips on registering a domain name

You should think about registering a domain name before you actually do it. Many people come up with a catchy name, or feel the need to lock in their name, and rush out to buy a domain name. But there are several things to consider in your domain name. After all, your domain name is an extension of your business and your image--don't you want to project the right one?

These ten tips will help you to pick just the right domain name for you and/or your business.

1. The extension you select makes a statement to user about where you are and who you are aiming to attract. For example, .co.uk tells people you are operating out of the United Kingdom, and .ca tells them you are operating out of Canada. If that is important to you, then register accordingly. If you would rather give them impression of being a global company, or based in the US, then pick a .com name.

2. Use a reputable registration service. Unfortunately, some domain registration services are little more than a scam. They are only middlemen. You tell them the domain name you want, and they register it, for a fee higher than you would pay! In the worst case, they actually register the domain name using their information, so it becomes very difficult for you to do anything with your domain name. Do some background research into the company before you register a domain with them.

3. Use keywords in your domain name. These will sometimes help search engines in ranking your website. For example, if you sell gourmet dog treats online and from your own store, but your business name is "Laura's Homemade Snacks," you might consider two domain names: one for your business name, and one for keywords. In this case you might select "gourmetdogtreats.com" as your domain name to represent to the search engines and searchers what you are about.

4. Short names are easier to spell correctly. What's easier to remember and type in: gourmetdogtreats.com, or laurashomemadeandgourmetdogsnacks.com?

5. Avoid trademarks from other companies. Companies have been known to sue website owners for copyright and trademark infringement, so be very careful if you try to play off an existing business. Make sure that you register a domain name in good faith, and think about the possibilities and connections that might exist between you and another business.

6. Avoid hyphens. Sometimes you must use hyphens because the straightforward name is gone. In that case, a better idea is to come up with a completely different name. The problem with hyphens is that users may end up visiting the wrong site. If you try to register gourmetdogtreats.com but it is already taken, you might choose to register gourmet-dog-treats.com instead. But you run the risk of someone trying to find you typing in the first address. This means you lose business. Better to try and register a name like homemadedogtreats.com instead.

7. Consider buying several different extensions so no one else can infringe on your success by registering a similar name. For example, if you register homemadedogtreats.com, you might also take .net and .org (with the same name), since these are the most popular extensions after .com. That way, no one can register homemadedogtreats.net and try to piggyback of your success.

8. Look for companies that offer telephone support. If you have trouble with your domain name, you need to be able to contact the company and talk to someone. If there is no phone contact, that may be a sign that you are not dealing with a reputable company.

9. Look for accreditations (i.e., ICANN). Reputable companies will seek out accreditations because they know it boosts their business image to be part of a group that enforces good business ethics and practices. Failure to have an accreditation does not necessarily mean the company is bad, but it could mean that. If the company you are looking at does not have an accreditation, make sure you check for other things like phone support, payment procedures, etc.

10. After you find a company you like, do a search on Google for "domain registration." Does your company of choice appear in the first couple of pages of results, or just via Adwords? If the latter, they may not have been around for a long time and may not be reputable. A legitimate company with a solid track record will be ranked in Google's search engine, especially within the first couple of pages. Beware of registration companies that you can only find in Adwords.

These ten tips will help you as you seek to register your domain name.

About the Author:
Adrian Lawrence is the webmaster for Discount Domains, one of the UK's leading Domain Name Registration Companies.


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Top 6 Strategies to Put Your RSS Feed on your website

As I wrote in one of my previous articles, the orange revolution has begun. RSS is here and it has taken the internet by storm. The number of webmasters becoming a part of this online revolution is growing on a fast pace. The reason is, RSS feeds have proved to increase traffic in a big way. And creating your own RSS feed would surely be a step towards tapping in a new source of traffic.

However, just publishing your own RSS feed and waiting for miracles to happen won't work. In order to get those most wanted subscribers, RSS feeds need to be promoted and marketed in the right way. With a good dose of quality traffic directed towards your feed, long term subscriptions will definitely start pouring in.

The following 6 ways will not only help you get the word out about your RSS feed but also help you retain a fresh flow of targeted visitors to your website.

Strategy #1: Create an individual webpage for your RSS feed

The most important part of your promotion should be creating a webpage dedicated to your RSS feed. Since RSS is still new to most of the online users, you can give your readers an introduction and explain how beneficial it is to subscribe to your RSS feed.

You can also have a small FAQ section about RSS here answering any questions and doubts your readers might have. Most of the time, the key here is to give your potential subscribers more than one option to add your feed. Different subscription options like "My Yahoo!" "My MSN" and "Newsgator" allow your visitors to add and subscribe to your feed with their own convenience.

However, if you are not a techie and wouldn't prefer to create a webpage, then you can use a service like http://www.rapidfeeds.com . Here you get a designed page for your feed with different subscription options. There's also a link to a short tutorial for those who are new to RSS. Once you publish a feed with them, you can directly promote your feed's URL. But it would be much better if you can create a webpage specifically for your RSS feed.

Strategy #2: Add the Auto-Discover code to your RSS feed webpage

Browsers like Mozzila Firefox have added a lot of new features in the past few years and made browsing a different experience. One of the good features offered by Firefox is subscribing to RSS feeds.

That's right, it acts as an aggregator and lets readers add feeds directly into their browser. The browser automatically detects RSS feeds on the site and asks the user, while he's surfing the site, if he or she wishes to subscribe to the feeds. In other words, it makes it very easy for users to centralize information of their choice.

However, for Firefox to detect your feed on the webpage, you need to have the "Auto - Discover" code on it. So that the browser can automatically detect the feed, alerting the user.

Simply include the following code in the section of your web pages:

link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS" href="ENTER_YOUR_RSS_URL"

This should set you up for some automatic subscriptions to your feed!

Strategy #3: Write and distribute articles

Writing and distributing articles is a well known and a very respected method of driving traffic to your website. It has been effectively used by thousands of webmasters over the years to bring in some quality visitors.

Therefore, it's an excellent idea to promote your RSS feed through articles written by you. There are many benefits that you'll experience once your start writing your own informative articles. First of all, you'll be recognized as an expert in your field. Secondly, you will gain the trust of your readers even before they subscribe.

Your article doesn't have to be very long in length. It can be anywhere between 500 -1000 words. A "resource box" in the end should follow your completed article. The resource box usually is a short bio of the author. Here is where you can promote your RSS feed and give a link to it, explaining about it in brief.

Once you are done with the article, you can go ahead and submit it to online article directories like ezinearticles and goarticles. You can also go ahead and contact individual ezine publishers for publishing your article, as they are always on a look out for fresh content.

It's really not a big deal to write an article on the web. If you know your expertise, then I'm sure you can come up with an article worth reading.

Strategy #4: Submit your RSS feed to directories and search engines

Submitting your RSS feed to online directories will certainly draw in visitors who are actually interested in what you offer. In the past few months a lot new directories have come up. For example, Syndic8 and 2RSS are thriving with thousands of RSS feeds on different topics with many more being added daily. Your feed can very well find its place in these ever growing directories.

There are even feed specific search engines like Feedster, which index only RSS feeds. These search engines get visitors who are searching for RSS feeds on a specific. So getting listed in them could convert to more targeted traffic and give your feed a good subscription rate.

These niche directories and search engines always tend to bring out the best out of your promotions. They don't cost you anything, so are definitely worth a try!

Strategy #5: Promotion through email

Promoting your RSS feed via email is one of the most under - used methods. However, email promotion for your RSS feed usually yields in a higher subscription ratio.

If you are already running a newsletter, then you should consider including a section introducing your readers to your RSS feed. Since, RSS is growing rapidly, you can expect a large number of your email subscribers turning to your RSS feed.

You can also strike joint venture deals with other ezine publishers and swap ads promoting each other's RSS feeds. This can mutually work wonders for both the publishers. You can even try promoting your ezine on the "thank you" page of your email subscription or your joint venture partner's page.

Lastly, don't forget to promote your feed in your email signatures. As your day-to-day correspondence can get you new subscribers for your feed.

There are many creative ways you can use email to promote your feed. You just need to come up with your own, which compliment your business in a positive way.

Strategy #6: Update your content regularly

Keeping your RSS feeds fresh and updated is very important if you want repeat visitors and new subscribers. Just like content oriented websites are updated regularly, content-wise, your RSS feeds are no different. RSS is meant to deliver new and up to date information, as it directly goes to the aggregators.

Your readers really don't have any reason to be subscribed to your feed, if it doesn't deliver new updated content. RSS feeds aren't just meant for new visitors but also your old subscribers. You have to keep it updated for people to keep coming back to your feed.

On a finishing note, RSS feeds are an absolute way of turning the cards in your favor when it comes to building traffic and a loyal subscriber base. You need to keep on experimenting with new promotional methods and test new marketing techniques. That's all it would take to put your promotion on steroids!
About the Author:
Mustafa Khundmiri is the co-founder of http://www.rapidfeeds.com - A Free online service which helps anyone create, edit, publish and track RSS feeds and podcasts. Sign Up for your FREE account on http://www.rapidfeeds.com and also get a free subscription to "RSS Chronicle" - A Newsletter exclusively based on RSS and syndication.

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What Is Link Popularity?

What Is Link Popularity

And How Can I Increase This On My Website?


Gauging link popularity is a practice that most search engines use when they rank sites for specific keywords and phrases. In order to keep their clients happy, search engines are always developing ways to make their results more relevant. In the last couple of years, Search engines start giving more weight to Links between sites with similar themes because they see links as a vote of confidence and trust for your site and, consequently, they tend to have a positive effect on your site positioning.

What's Link Popularity?

Link popularity is the measure of inbound links to your web site. Your Web site's link popularity is calculated by counting the number of links coming into a particular page, and gauging the quality and relevance of the links. This includes pages linking from within your site as well as from pages on other sites.Link popularity is an important factor in determining your site's importance and it's a decisive factor in your web site's ranking in major search engines like Google, MSN, AltaVista, Inktomi, and HotBot.

There are two ways on how to increase your link popularity.

1 - Link exchange or as known also reciprocal link or link swaps.

Link exchange is an agreement whereby two webmasters agree to link to each other from their respective sites. There are many ways on how to exchange links such as:

- Exchanging small ads with other related web sites - This method is a good way to promote your product or service and yourself also.

- Articles Exchange - It's the most valuable method and becoming a very popular mean of exchanging links in a more natural fashion. Writing quality articles and exchange them with other websites' partners will do a lot to your business success.

How to Find Link Exchange Partner Sites to Improve Your Link Popularity?

Look for sites that are related to your site theme in some way but not necessarily similar, and see if they might be interested in exchanging links.

- You may do searches at your favorite search engines for keywords like " link exchange", ad swaps", "link trade", "articles exchange", etc. plus your most relevant keyword phrases to the product or service you offer. Example: " link exchange + dog training". Don't forget to include the quotation marks to narrow your search.

- Find targeted sites in the web directories, such as Yahoo!, LookSmart, or the Open Directory Project.

- Visit articles and ezine directories and find publishers for articles exchange.

How to Get Webmasters to Link to Your Website?

- Select some websites related to your area of interest.

- Make a list of the sites and publishers you want to contact.

-Contact your potential partners and inform them that you have linked to their sites and request a link in return. Don't forget to use a personalized email explaining why a link exchange would benefit both sites.

2 - Inbound Links or as Known Also Natural Links or One-way Links.

Inbound links are links from other websites pointing to your website without to have to link them back. One-way link building is a great way to improve your link popularity and ranking in the search engines. One-way links are more difficult to obtain than traditional reciprocal links, but pay off in securing solid long-term search engine ranking results.

How to Get Inbound Links?

- Submit your website to the major directories - A listening in the directories will help you increase your link popularity and they have a lot of influence over search engine results.

- Become an authority in your industry - There are a number of specific ways you can show your expertise. One of the best ways to show your expertise is to write about your subject of interest.

If your site will be really interesting and valuable it will get links the natural way. Other webmasters will link to your website, discuss about you and refer to you. When another website votes for the quality of your website by placing a link pointing back to it, you are obtaining natural linking. The more you can build upon helpful articles, quality content, FAQs, free service, white papers, etc. the better reason for webmasters to link back to your website because of the interesting information.

- Submit articles to ezine/newsletter publisher and articles directories - Write high quality articles in your area of expertise and allow others to post them in their sites or publish them in their newsletters will increase your inbound links.

- Participate to forums and discussion groups - Participate in the discussion groups or forums as an expert who gives good advice and place your website link in your signature file at the end of your postings. If these forums postings are realized and remain online, search engine continue to see them and the links they contain.

- Build blogs - Blogs are good places where online users find good content. Building a blog will benefit you in many ways such as...

Search engines love blogs for their fresh content. If you build a blog with quality content, frequently updated and you host it on your website will boost your pages rank (PR) and will attract webmasters to link to.You may also build as many blogs as you want and host them with a hosting service. Increase your inbound link by providing links from your weblogs to your website.

- Submit your blog(s) to weblogs directories - Submitting your blog(s) to weblogs directories will increase your inbound links dramatically.

If you follow these steps you will get trusty websites to link to your WebPages, your link popularity increases and enhance your over all search engine positioning each time the search engine robots or spiders come to index your web pages. The best thing about this form of web promotion is that it's literally FREE and is the most cost-effective way to improve your link popularity.
About the Author:
Gley Yahya owns the Strategic Internet marketing Website, designed to help small business starters and owners create and/ or adjust their business to meet customers needs to make building an email list a snap. If you need information and assistance with your online growth, go to http://www.email-list-builder.com. Or email to: gley_yahya@email-list-builder.com


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