Sunday, January 29, 2006

Selecting Google Adsense Keywords – Simple and Easy

Copyright © Stephen Wright

Getting on the bandwagon for profits and increasing your website traffic in the balance might sound like an easy task, but in reality very few marketers are able to be successful on their own without some advice, guidance and shortcuts. Finding and implementing high profit, low competition keywords in your ads really is the trick for making Adsense payoff big.

On the opposite spectrums of Adsense are huge possible profits and low competition keywords for your ads – to substantial expenses and lost revenues, simply from not having up front information to utilize. Adsense for many is an expense and painful lesson in “what not to do”. However, InternetMarketingUSA offers a handful of straightforward approaches, designed to provide you with a easily followed roadmap of ideas to get you going on the right path.

Background Research – Worth Its Weight in Gold: Absolutely critical in developing an Adsense campaign is to research some keywords for your niche that have a high CPC (Cost Per Click) value. A handy tool available for free to accomplish this is to use Google Adwords keyword tool or another tool that will give you a multitude of keyword lists designed specifically for your niche market. To simplify keeping up with these later, you should consider saving the keywords into a program or application (I find Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to be excellent for this purpose. However; a basic word processing document will functionally work also). This makes it easy to copy and paste the keywords into Google's Traffic Estimator in your Adwords account. The estimator will give you the approximate clicks per day and the average cost per click (CPC) for each keyword. With this information, it is then easy enough to copy/paste this information back to your spreadsheet file for later reference.

Determine your Maximum Earning Per Click: To determine your maximum EPC, multiply the average CPC by 30% to get an estimate of your maximum earnings per click. The higher the average CPC, the more likely the CPC for the 2nd - 8th positions are high as well. You want this higher average CPC to start because if the CPC starts to drop off significantly after the 3rd position, your chance of getting high click earnings as an Adsense publisher will be diminished.

Determine Desired CPC – Based on Individual Strategy (and budget) Use any one of many tools available on the internet for helping to estimate the 1st - 8th position CPC values. These tools will estimate the CPCs for each position and allow you to see how much the CPCs drop off after the first position. This dramatically helps your analysis for picking the most profitable keywords. If the CPC values stay close to the each other and to the value of the first position, then you will more than likely have a profitable keyword.

Test Google for Position Location Now that the ads have been established it is time to check your exact position in the search engines. To determine which Adsense ads occupy which positions. You can do this by searching on Google for your keyword and looking to see which Adsense ads are generated in the search results and in which order they are. A second method for this determination is to use the Adwords Accelerator tool itself. It has a feature whereby Adwords ads are dynamically displayed for a given keyword you input into the tool to check. If the Adwords advertiser has used "Adwords for Content" in his advertising, these ads will be the Adsense ads someone else is displaying on their website.

Compare Initial Results
Compare the ads you found in the previous step to the results of using a keyword check function tool (available on the internet). If the advertisers you find by doing this closely match those you found above, you will more than likely have a profitable keyword.

If the advertisers are not he same, then the advertiser is possibly not using the "Adwords for Content" mode of advertising in his campaigns. This means that the keyword may not be the basis for the Adsense ads and may not be profitable.

Determining Your Profits and Determine Cost Per Click Data for Enhancements
If you decide to get traffic using the Adwords approach, then just use the keywords in your Adsense ads that scored well from the prior evaluation. Then, use lower cost per click keywords in your Adwords ads. The difference between the earnings from the click you get on your Adsense word from the cost of the click you pay on your Adwords word will be your profit.

Combine these techniques with your search engine optimization techniques will go a long way towards ensuring you get traffic to the website. Once there, make sure the keywords you choose have the highest KEI possible. KEI is the ratio of the number of searches for a keyword to the number of competing sites having the keyword. The combination of a high KEI and a high score from the above evaluation will yield the best profit results, greatest amount of traffic, increased revenues and minimal expense.




Stephen Wright is President & CEO of InternetMarketingUSA.com
Get everything you need to make money online in "Dotcomology: The Science of Making Money Online". Includes Over 30 Time-Saving, Profit-Producing, Influence-Expanding Tools And Software Programs Absolutely Free at: http://www.InternetMarketingUSA.com/dotcomology.html


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Saturday, January 14, 2006

Learning to Think Like a Customer: Selling Tips for Success

Copyright © 2006 Stephen Wright

One of the most common mistakes marketers make is advertising and marketing based on personal opinions and perceptions. Unsuccessful ones tend to think this way, not only about the product being sold, but also regarding how potential customers will act and react to our advertising approach. This then begs the obvious question (which isn’t so obvious)—why do customers buy in the first place. What is their motivation, purpose in buying? What do they need the product/service for? What needs are they satisfying in buying the products in the first place? Seems like simple and basic questions, right? Not really, when you dig deeper under the surface. The better we understand and appropriately respond to these questions, the more sales, revenue and success we will have.

Fact number one: potential customers buy for personal reasons (theirs), not ours. They could care less about our company, glitzy website, or how long the list of product features so skillfully displayed. They only care about the oldest motivation in the book – WII-FM (what’s in it for ME!). They want the benefit, the impact, the improvement, the comfort, or the security it will deliver, period.

Most small (and large for that matter) business marketing fails to address these crucial customer needs directly. All too often the focus is mistakenly on the greatness of the product or service, and not on what is important (to the customer that is). Marketers are often their own worst enemy. Frequently, they are not communicating on the buyer's level of motivation. They are too busy figuring out how to "sell" the product than finding out the reasons the customer "buys" in the first place.

The problem comes down to the marketing strategy that is employed. Are you pushing the product or are you pulling the customer through the marketing process?

The distinction becomes very important and critical to success. Since buyers only care about their needs and take action for their personal reasons, why should they pay attention to why you think your product is so great?

When you push products, you are essentially telling the customer that they should buy from you because of your reasons. With this egocentric approach you often run into a stone wall of objections and delays. Pushing the product forces them out of their comfort zone and places unnecessary pressure on their decision making process. A relentless assault of closing techniques pushes them away from a purchase decision on “their terms”.

Pulling a potential customer through the purchase process is much more effective. When you pull you are leading them to the purchase like leading a horse to water. You gently guide them through your features and benefits and come to a decision on their terms. If they resist you have not educated them enough with information to motivate them or you haven't addressed their objections sufficiently.

The potential customer will only make a decision when they are comfortably satisfied your offer has met all of their purchase criteria. As a seller, you must pull them through the process and always let them stay within the limits of their comfort zone. It's by staying within these boundaries that trust is established and a long term relationship is built with the customer.

Also remember that the purchasing process is completely rooted in the perceptions of the buyer. They have ultimate control over the process, not you. Your job as a marketer is to develop all your communications to make them comfortable and lead them to the best outcome...purchasing your product or service.

Always be aware of which method you are using - push or pull - and adopt it to the potential customer’s personal reasons for purchasing and you will enjoy continuous success.



Stephen Wright is President & CEO of InternetMarketingUSA.com
Get everything you need to make money online in "Dotcomology: The Science of Making Money Online". Includes Over 30 Time-Saving, Profit-Producing, Influence-Expanding Tools And Software Programs Absolutely Free at: Get Docomology Now



NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this article within your website or newsletter as long as you leave the article fully intact and include the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)

Maximizing Keyword Matching for Seach Engines

Copyright © 2006 Stephen Wright

If you are like most internet marketing entrepreneurs these days, you are taking full advantage of advertising with the major search engines to increase the amount of traffic coming to your site. After all, even if you have the greatest product around, the best website layout and design going - if you don’t have traffic coming to your site--it’s “just a pretty site”. Getting traffic to your site has to be a high priority to be successful on the internet. Advertising campaigns on the major search engines is a major strategy and technique of getting that traffic to your site.

So one you’ve made that decision, you are quickly faced with the next challenge. It simply not as easy as it might sound. Sure, if you have the money, you can immediately get millions of hits coming to your site. Getting targeted traffic quickly becomes your next big challenge. After all, the secret to this type of advertising is reducing your cost-per-click (CPC) and maximizing (increasing) your overall return-on-investment (ROI).

The best technique to achieve this is proper application of “keyword matching” options. There are four different methods of making sure your ad campaign is targeted to your intended audience and potential clients. These are: broad match, phrase match, exact match, and negative keyword matching. A general description of each is as follows:

Broad Match: As a starting place, broach matching is the default option for most of the search engines (such as Google, Yahoo, etc). When you include a general keyword or keyword phrase in your keyword list your ads will appear and return several variations of the search term. For example if a user’s query contained baseball cap, the ads would return the words baseball and cap, in any order, and possibly other terms. The ads will also automatically show up for expanded matches (including plural variations of the terms). Because broad matches are sometimes less targeted than exact or phrase matches, you should create keyword phrases containing at least two descriptive words each. You can also try the keyword tool and the other three matching options to further refine your targeting. Finally, keep in mind that other advertisers may have bid for the same broad-matched keyword combinations that trigger your ads, increasing your actual CPC amounts. Using exact, phrase, or negative matches can help you keep your costs low. Phrase Match - If you enter your keyword in quotation marks, as in "baseball cap," your ad will appear when a user searches on the phrase baseball cap, in this order, and possibly with other terms in the query. For example, your ad will appear for the query fitted baseball cap but not for caps for baseball. Phrase matching is more targeted than broad matching, but slightly more flexible than exact matching. To ensure your ads are as targeted as they can be, you may want to include at least two descriptive words in your keyword phrases.

Exact Match - If you surround your keywords in brackets-such as [baseball cap]-your ads will appear when users search for the specific phrase baseball cap, in this order, and without any other terms in the query. For example, your ad won't show for the query fitted baseball cap. Exact matching is the most targeted option. Although you won't receive as many impressions with exact matching, you'll likely enjoy the most clicks, because users searching for terms in this manner typically want precisely what your business has to offer.

Negative Keyword - If your keyword is baseball cap and you add the negative keyword -fitted, your ad will not appear when a user searches on fitted baseball cap. You can apply this option for a keyword at both the Ad Group and campaign level.

And if you think about it - it is a “win/win” situation for you and the potential clients who are not being taken by the search engines to sites that are unrelated to what they were searching for in the first place. Since you gain no benefit from paying for clicks by internet searchers that are not interested in your products/services ---it becomes an ideal situation for both you and your potential clients. Being aware of and properly applying these simple techniques will ensure that you get the greatest bang for your advertising buck, while increasing your “targeted” traffic.

To learn more about the benefits of keyword matching options, look for the frequently asked question section of the search engine application you are using.



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Stephen Wright is President & CEO of InternetMarketingUSA.com
Get everything you need to make money online in "Dotcomology: The Science of Making Money Online". Includes Over 30 Time-Saving, Profit-Producing, Influence-Expanding Tools And Software Programs Absolutely Free at: Get Docomology Now



NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this article within your website or newsletter as long as you leave the article fully intact and include the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)

Sunday, January 01, 2006

Give Me a One,Two,Three, and a Forum - Online Forum Etiquette

Give Me a One,Two,Three, and a Forum - Online Forum Etiquette
Copyright © 2006 Stephen Wright

It seems that every other article or guru tip you read extolls the benefit of one program or another as the absolute best way to enhance your internet marketing business. In reality, there are many ways to boost your business online - writing articles, search engine optimization, acquiring incoming links - the list goes on and on. But what about online forums? Are they really worth the investment of your time, effort and energies?

The answer really is quite simple, YES! If you are looking for effectiveness, looking for ways to enhance your web presence in a significant way, without spending a fortune--then forums are the ticket!

One of the best ways which is often overlooked is to find forums relating to your line of business and join as many as reasonabily possible. Being a frequent participant on forums can increase links back to your website, increase your chances of being seen as an expert, increase your mailing list, sell more of your product, get new affiliates to sign up, make you new friends - and the benefits get extensive.

However, there are some things to think about before you get started in a forum. Your purpose is primarily to establish yourself as a knowledgable person (even a guru of sorts). You do this through a careful etiquette and approach. Here are a few helpful hints of good forum etiquette:

Things to Help Your Business (These are the GOOD Ones!):

1. Research each forum before you join. Make sure it's relevant to your business and see if the participants are in your target market. Look at how much traffic the forum gets. How busy is it? There’s no point in joining a dead forum with very few posts.

2. Check the forum rules before you post. Some forums will allow you to post adverts for your business while others will object. Check if you are allowed to add a signature at the end of your posts - adding a small biography with a web link to your business is a great way to increase incoming links to your site and to get more traffic.

3. Be polite and treat everyone the way you would like to be treated. Even though you don't meet people face to face you will build up some great relationships if you take the time to give good answers to questions, to be helpful and to respect other people's opinions. And every post you answer adds to your reputation. Use your posts to give genuine, useful advice, not just to plug your business and you'll soon be looked on as an expert.

4. Don't be afraid to ask for advice - no-one knows everything and sometimes you will need help.

5. To make the most of your time on the forums, allow yourself only a certain amount of time each day.

6. Read only the posts that are relevant and that interest you and post answers quickly before moving on. It's very easy to spend the whole day on forums and not get anything else done.

Things that will Hurt Your Business (These are the BAD Ones!):

1. Never, ever use a post to blatantly advertise your business, particularly if the forum rules don't allow it. Nothing will damage your reputation faster than spamming a forum.

2. Don't go through the list of forum members, collect email addresses and send them unsolicited mail. At best you'll be banned from the forum and at worst the owners might report you to your ISP.

3. Don't ever get involved in a flame war (this is when a heated conversation on a forum boils over and degenerates into nothing but an exchange of personal insults). It might be really satisfying to say what you think about someone, especially if they've been getting on your nerves, but just imagine what other people will think of you if you do.

In conclusion, treat people online like you treat people in real life. Think of it as a networking event that's taking place on your computer and don't forget that other posts on the forums are made by real people with real feelings. You already know how to make friends and new contacts face to face. Apply what you already know to online networking and you could be enjoying great success with a global audience. Before you know it, you will have gain a tremendous amount of information, knowledge, networking contacts, friendships, and potential business venture partners for the future. You will be amazed at how extensive the list of benefits for forum exchange can be.



Stephen Wright is President & CEO of InternetMarketingUSA.com
Get everything you need to make money online in "Dotcomology: The Science of Making Money Online". Includes Over 30 Time-Saving, Profit-Producing, Influence-Expanding Tools And Software Programs Absolutely Free at: http://www.InternetMarketingUSA.com/dotcomology.html

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this article within your website or newsletter as long as you leave the article fully intact and include the "About The Author" resource box. Thanks! :-)