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What are long tail keywords?
August 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Long tail keywords are simply expansions of basic or more generic keywords. Long tails may include a variety of combinations of keywords or keyword phrases, but are always extremely specific. In other words, they are the keywords and phrases people use to search for your business and/or products when they know exactly what they are looking for.
For example, a basic keyword phrase may be “organic cooking” while a long tail extension of this keyword phrase may be “organic cooking lessons in Rochester, NY” or “organic cooking for vegetarians” or “organic cooking made easy”.
The good news about optimizing for long tail keywords is that 1, they are much easier to rank for and 2, you are far more likely to see an increased conversion rate among long tails because customers searching for such specific keywords know what they want and are looking to buy it.
When using long tail keywords, it is also critical to assign a unique topic to each page of your website. Unique page titles make it easier for search engines to find and rank you, as well as trust the legitimacy of your site. So, while one page may contain the title and long tail keyword of “organic cooking for beginners” other pages might have titles and topics such as “recipes for organic cooking”, “why choose organic cooking” and “cooking organically for my family”.
As you can probably imagine, many people might search each of these long tails for various reasons. By anticipating these searches, you will put yourself ahead of the game and at the “top” of the charts.
Link Building Tuesday Tip!
August 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment
- Donations & Charity
When you submit your donation – list your business website for possible link back. If the website has a PR 7 or 8, it might be to your best of interest to donate even if the site is not relevant to your industry because the single page could help give you a boost. - Press Releases
Why not right? When is the last time you submitted a press release about your company? I am positive that you have something that you can talk about – your free report? Your newest product (or service)? That is newsworthy – get to it!! - What is one tip that you have been using for link building?
Leave your tips below.
Link Building Monday Tip!
August 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
- Text Link Brokers
- Unique Tools & Services
By offering specific, relevant free Internet tools/services at your site, you can generate naturally built links. Some excellent examples are listed below:? Provide diagrams/visuals? Maps, pre-planning …
? Calculators
The key is, after you build your tool is to promote is among industry leaders. Send it to bloggers who discuss your subject matter, ask people to use and evaluate it on forums, etc. You can even try to promote it by writing an article about your findings.
Although initial thoughts about link brokers can give a bad impression, this new industry can actually have a positive value on your link building efforts. If your goal is to build PR, purchasing sitewide links for directories or SEO related sites would be a good idea. Sitewide links have come to be associated with “manipulation” of the SERPs by search engines and should be largely avoided. However, purchasing text links on specific, related sites surrounded by the content of your choice can be beneficial, if difficult to find.
The key to a successful text link is that all the components of natural SEO are there:
? Is the page closely related to your site’s topic?
? Is the link placed in a strategic position – not in an obvious advertisement space or footer?
? Is the site related to the topic of your site and the topic of the page?
? Is the site spidered frequently by the search engines and do the pages have visible PR?
If the link meets these criteria, it could be worthwhile. However, be careful to avoid paying high prices for a particular page or site, simply because of its PR. It is more likely that multiple low PR (3, 4 & 5) pages are worth more to you then a single PR 7 & 8).
Several lists of text links sellers are available online: (search for them – so you get the latest and greatest results!)
Link Sellers – Find: Text Link Ad Sellers
Text Link Brokers – Could check out: SearchEngineWatch Forums
Are you using a shopping cart yet?
August 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Did you know that you can test out 1ShoppingCart system through KickStartCart? KickStartCart Shopping Cart is a rebrand of 1ShoppingCart and as of today they are offering a free 30-day trial.
Check it out if you wish at KickStartCart.com
Performing and Applying Keyword Research
August 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Keyword research is one of the most important aspects of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). That is why it is so important to perform critical research before you formulate your list of keywords. Then you must apply and continually manage those keywords in order for your SEO efforts to really make a difference.
Create an initial list.
Before you actually begin the SEO process, try to first come up with an initial list of keywords that you think you may want to go after. These should include obvious keywords that are most relevant to your business and words and/or phrases that pertain to your industry.
Find out with how well your site is currently ranking.
There are a number of valuable tools available on the Internet that allow you to find out how well your site is ranking. You can find out where your site current falls within searches as well as which keywords are allowing your site to rank. If you are already ranking for particular keywords, start with a focus on improving your rank with those. However, don’t limit yourself. You will probably need to optimize for new, additional keywords in order to truly improve your rankings.
Use a keyword suggestion tool.
While you don’t want to conclude your keyword list with hundreds of words that are unattainable and unrealistic to top, keyword suggestion tools can be extremely helpful in the creation of your list. They are a great way to also discover keywords and phrases you may not have thought of. Google and Wordtracker are the most popular tools, but others are available. However, be aware that not all keyword research and suggestion tools are free.
Finalize and prioritize your keyword list.
Once you finalize your list of keywords, you will want to prioritize that list. Begin by assigning a priority percentage to each keyword, with the most relevant keyword having the highest percentage to the least relevant keyword with the lowest percentage. Think of it this way: What percentage of customers is searching for each particular word? Are 100% of your customers searching for any particular keyword? Probably not. Just use common sense.
Your list of keywords should be ever-changing.
Once you go live with your new SEO efforts, you will want to keep a close eye on how well your new keywords are performing. Which keywords are being searched the most and generating the most traffic? Which keywords are performing as expected? Which keywords are exceeding your expectations? Which keywords are not doing as well as you expected? Pay attention to trends, good and bad, and revise as often as necessary without harming your efforts that are working.
SEO, especially successful SEO, takes time. It takes patience and most importantly, it requires a lot of attention. But ultimately, it will pay off if you not only keep up with it, but truly invest your time and energy into making it the best it can be.
Leading Moms in Business 2010 Competition is almost ending…
August 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Leading Moms in Business 2010 Competition by StartUpNation has been a truly rewarding experience. It has showed me that within being at my computer and not meeting someone that you can bound with them and share a virtual experience. I have many virtual friends and this competition has showed that to me with everyone’s support through comments or a quick email reply – “I am voting for you Staci” or “Clicking on it daily to vote for you Staci” — how about that!
This is when I know I have support and it shows. Thank you for every vote and every comment and EVERY BLESSING – my family could not be any happier than we are right now because I can be home with my 2 kids while working to bring in what money we need. My daughter will beginning preschool in a few weeks which will start a new chapter for her – but I am ready for it! She will be able to socialize with others and I am proud to say – I can afford the monthly payment to send her to preschool and she can be friends with other 3-year-olds too!
I will leave you with these few comments from my page on StartUpNation:
STACI JANSMA, YOUR ONLINE 24/7 VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
August 28, 2010
Regina Baker says I *Heart* working with Staci Jansma. She’s smart, timely and very efficient with every thing that she does. Her communication is open and she keeps on top of things at all times. Her cheerful attitude and willing to do what it takes to get the job done is refreshing. Thanks Staci ~ you ROCK
August 28, 2010
Tanya Watson says Everyone has stated how great Staci is above. I just wanted to share I agree with everyone! She is more than “just a VA”, she’s a mom who honestly wants to raise her kids at home while making a comfortable living working from home. And she found her place here online. Staci, you ROCK! I put a blog post up asking more people to vote for you as well. You deserve this for sure!
August 28, 2010
Karen Murdock says As the contest draws to a close, Staci has made the following significant contributions to my business that I think should be included since I last wrote: Staci has assisted with the launch and promotion of our second edition book, revised our Media Kit, facilitated the release of our Documentary, transitioned our web-site and oversaw it’s re-development, distributed press releases and articles, managed our You Tube, Facebook, blog and Twitter accounts. To what result? Our Facebook Fan Page quadrupled, our Twitter followers doubled, our You Tube views increased by 40%, our web-site had visitors from 41 countries last month alone, our media links doubled, I’ve been booked for a speaking engagement, and we’ve been on Inside Edition twice!! I have yet to find anything that Staci cannot do or figure out while all the while showing courtesy, efficiency and enthusiasm.
Use Keyword Generators Sparingly
August 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Of course it is helpful to use a keyword generation tool to help you complete your keyword list. Not only will it help you round out your list with keywords and phrases you may not have thought of, but it also gives you ideas on what others may be searching around your topic.
Take the keyword “copywriting” as an example. A copywriter might think of obvious keywords to optimize for, like “copywriter” and “copywriting” but may not think to optimize for “copy writer” and “copy writing”. Believe it or not, people often search for products and services by using common misspellings and because they are misspelled so often, the search engines recognize them as actual searches. This requires creativity and know-how on your part.
So, for these reasons and more, keyword generators can be and are very useful tools. However, they are not meant to do your SEO work for you. In other words, they are there for guidance and word generation. They are not meant to serve as keyword managers nor do they have the ability to create entire SEO campaigns for your business.
Only you can create the best, most effective list of keywords for your website and it should be completely unique. Why? Because your business, although it may be one of many in its field, is one of a kind. Therefore, you should optimize it as such. After all, that is what sets you apart and will continue to set you apart as you gain new customers from well planned and effectively executed keyword optimization.
Link Building Friday Tip!
August 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment
- Blogging Comments
- Renting Pages from Authority Sites
- Purchasing Online Advertising
Writing and posting blog posts is the most effective way to get natural inbound links, and by having a personal blog at your site, you can more easily make commentary at other sites that link back to you. REMEMBER your main goal is to create an online reputation you can be PROUD of. Think before you post – decrease all opportunities that will be considered spam.
To rent, for a monthly fee, a page hosted on a larger site in your industry. You then add content and links on the page on your own site(s) with the anchor text you choose and in the format you select. These are almost like “advertorials” in magazines, where you provide content that the site links to (hopefully not more than 2 links from the homepage) and then link back to your own site.
The fundamental difference between this tactic and simple article hosting is that you approach a site or company that doesn’t normally host other people’s content about having your information. Although rejection is often likely, the benefits can be phenomenal, as the page itself may rank well for your search terms very quickly.
Link building through advertising is exceptionally expensive, but it can bring in good returns if properly managed. Make sure as you buy links that you get the click-through rate from the seller for the past 6 months. You should get a lot of other statistics to review as well – make sure you avoid advertising in places where the seller doesn’t have good information on click-through rates, visitors, etc. You’ll also have to work around re-direct scripts, links sent through ad networks, etc. As long as you are up front and friendly, you’ll be able to have some success in this arena as long as you have the funding.
Link Building Thursday Tip!
August 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment
- Using your competitor’s links!
- Article Submissions : Keep all content on your website UNIQUE!
- Forums and Online Communities: Forum signature is where you can add your website into your signature line. Note of caution: READ all forum rules before becoming an active member. Your main goal is to JOIN the forum or online community and to contribute/learn from the community.
- Yahoo! type linkdomain:url.com -site:url.com
- MSN’s techpreview type link:url.com -site:url.com
- Yahoo! type link:http://www.url.com
- Google type “url.com” -site:url.com
