What are you missing?
Would you believe there is a very simple way to get you ranking higher in search engines such as Google, so long as you're not already following these guidelines. Simply include your keywords or keyword phrases in your title, meta information and, of course, in your content.
Title
There are so many people out there who don't realize that simply including your target keywords in your title can actually make you rank much higher in search engines such as Google. It's been proven that those who have the specific keywords searched for, in their title, will actually come up much higher in the search engine rankings.
You can also include one keyword or more in the domain name; that should help immensely in bringing up your site in search engines. For example, if you search for “dropship directory” in Google, dropshipdirectory.org is the first result to pop up. It also has the title “Dropship Directory”. This goes to show that it really pays off to have your keywords you're trying to rank for in both your title and your domain.
To solidify the point I'm trying to make, check out the page rank of the two sites below dropshipdirectory.org. Some would suspect that these two sites would have a lower page rank since they're ranked lower but you will find that these two sites actually have a higher page rank than dropshipdirectory.org. Yet, do to the proper use of keywords, dropshipdirectory.org still ranks higher in Google.
Meta Information
There is also a lot to be said about meta information and increasing your rankings with Google. Optimize your meta tags, titles, and descriptions, being sure to use your keywords in all three. This should help boost your rankings in Google and other search engines.
Content
As always, please be sure that your content is well optimized. This means that you should be writing about your keywords and including your keywords every one in twenty-five words or so. Doing this will help search engines pick out those particular words or phrases and will help rank your site even higher.
All in all, if you're not following these simple guidelines, you're giving up a lot of potential for ranking higher. I would suggest walking through these three things to get started, then you can read up on more ways to increase your chances of ranking on Google and other search engines. If you would like to know more about Internet marketing, you may read more on the Thrive Learning Institute Blog.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thrive Learning Institute, Making an Impact
Thrive Learning Institute is giving back, in a big way by supporting their local chapter of Golden K Kiwanis, an organization which serves the children of the world.
Employees of Thrive Learning Institute are proud to work for a company that cares so much about serving the community. In an effort to help fund local children's programs, Thrive Learning Institute teamed up with the Orem Owlz, their local team, and Kiwanis Club of Orem.
Thrive Learning Institute donated over $6,000 to benefit local children's programs. To learn more about how Thrive Learning Institute, Kiwanis, and the Orem Owlz work together to bring light into the eyes of local children please visit the Orem Owlz.
Employees of Thrive Learning Institute are proud to work for a company that cares so much about serving the community. In an effort to help fund local children's programs, Thrive Learning Institute teamed up with the Orem Owlz, their local team, and Kiwanis Club of Orem.
Thrive Learning Institute donated over $6,000 to benefit local children's programs. To learn more about how Thrive Learning Institute, Kiwanis, and the Orem Owlz work together to bring light into the eyes of local children please visit the Orem Owlz.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Building Public Relations Through Social Media
There are hundreds of places on the Internet that a company may submit their press releases or other public relations material. These sites have varying structures that they want you to follow; I would suggest going into the site, reading up on the way they would like the content to be submitted and then submitting the content accordingly.
Building a Social Media Image
There are several social media sites where a companies branding and reputation may be formed and solidified. Use these social media sites to your advantage, however, be aware that they can also be to your disadvantage. We will discuss some of the negative implications of web public relations later.
Facebook is a highly used social media site where millions of people go to share information about themselves and reconnect with friends, family, and old associates. Many businesses have now found their way to Facebook and are using it to share the word about their companies and products. I would suggest setting up a Facebook account and setting up a company profile, if you have not done so yet.
Blogger is a great site to set up a blog on. I fell in love with Blogger when I first entered the Internet marketing industry. Humanizing your company is almost always a great public relations move; you want your customers to realize that they are working with real people with real personality, just like them. It's okay to allow your companies “personality” to come out in your blog posts. Write according to the needs of your customers, answer their questions, relate to them on a personal level, and give them content that will help them learn and grow in their areas of interest.
WordPress is another great blog site. In fact, if you go to wordpress.org, you may set up a customized blog and feed it through your own website. I would suggest, for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes, having a Blogger Blog and a WordPress Blog. This will enable you to have a blog on your companies web site. It will also provide a way to get some extra links and content on your Blogger Blog. Since the WordPress Blog is directly connected to your company site; I would suggest being strict about using only company-related content. By company related content I mean anything related to the company, what the company sells, and what the company is about.
Twitter is another social media site which has exploded in the past year or two. It is also a site to share information with friends, family and associates and also provides a place for a profile. I would suggest setting up a Twitter account, filling out a profile for your company, and then start Tweeting like crazy. You can tweet about your blogs, your Facebook account, new articles, new improvements in the company, etc.
Marketing Implications
Be aware that, as with everything in business, there are negative implications to these practices along with the positive. The biggest one is that social media is viral. Being viral means that it spreads quickly and, once something is posted online, it's very hard to stop the inevitable process of viral marketing. While that is a positive thing if your content is good and reflects your company in a positive way, it can also be a very negative thing if your company is reflected in a negative way. Be very careful what you post on the Internet about your company and make certain to monitor what your competition or your opposition is saying about your company; the things they say are viral too.
Building a Social Media Image
There are several social media sites where a companies branding and reputation may be formed and solidified. Use these social media sites to your advantage, however, be aware that they can also be to your disadvantage. We will discuss some of the negative implications of web public relations later.
Facebook is a highly used social media site where millions of people go to share information about themselves and reconnect with friends, family, and old associates. Many businesses have now found their way to Facebook and are using it to share the word about their companies and products. I would suggest setting up a Facebook account and setting up a company profile, if you have not done so yet.
Blogger is a great site to set up a blog on. I fell in love with Blogger when I first entered the Internet marketing industry. Humanizing your company is almost always a great public relations move; you want your customers to realize that they are working with real people with real personality, just like them. It's okay to allow your companies “personality” to come out in your blog posts. Write according to the needs of your customers, answer their questions, relate to them on a personal level, and give them content that will help them learn and grow in their areas of interest.
WordPress is another great blog site. In fact, if you go to wordpress.org, you may set up a customized blog and feed it through your own website. I would suggest, for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes, having a Blogger Blog and a WordPress Blog. This will enable you to have a blog on your companies web site. It will also provide a way to get some extra links and content on your Blogger Blog. Since the WordPress Blog is directly connected to your company site; I would suggest being strict about using only company-related content. By company related content I mean anything related to the company, what the company sells, and what the company is about.
Twitter is another social media site which has exploded in the past year or two. It is also a site to share information with friends, family and associates and also provides a place for a profile. I would suggest setting up a Twitter account, filling out a profile for your company, and then start Tweeting like crazy. You can tweet about your blogs, your Facebook account, new articles, new improvements in the company, etc.
Marketing Implications
Be aware that, as with everything in business, there are negative implications to these practices along with the positive. The biggest one is that social media is viral. Being viral means that it spreads quickly and, once something is posted online, it's very hard to stop the inevitable process of viral marketing. While that is a positive thing if your content is good and reflects your company in a positive way, it can also be a very negative thing if your company is reflected in a negative way. Be very careful what you post on the Internet about your company and make certain to monitor what your competition or your opposition is saying about your company; the things they say are viral too.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Save Your Reputation, Reputation Management
There are some pretty funny elements of reputation management. Reputation management is much like customer service; you could use some of the same tactics used in good customer relations. You need a good reputation so you deliver good service, right? Well, everyone else wants their customers to be happy too, right? Take some advice, if you find an article effecting the “reputation” of your company and the content is not true, simply ask the site which is hosting the article to take that information off. Hosting sites don't want a bunch of libel lies spun all over the place any more than you do; it's a liability. Some sites will actually take off the post in its entirety.
I would go about it by reading up on the terms of service of the hosting site; find out if they have an anti-defamatory clause in the terms of service. If they do, all you really need to do is send them the post with all the untruths highlighted and ask that those sections be removed on the grounds that they are libel and defamatory to your company or to yourself. So you know, libel is simply the written form of defamation, slander is the spoken form. Under that scenario, assuming the content is truly an untruth, the hosting company should remove it immediately.
Now, this idea won't work for everyone or for every site but it really is worth a try. You may be surprised at how willing social media sites are to take down any content which goes against their terms of service. However, be aware that some hosting sites will post your email on their site, for all to see. Knowing this, please write respectfully and only the facts; doing this will help save the reputation of your company.
Another thing you can do to counteract getting a negative reputation is to follow through with your promises. If the statements that are against your company are true, perhaps it's time to re-think your customer service strategy or even your marketing strategy. Do you have a customer service department? Are your customers' voices being heard? Put yourself in the shoes of your customer; would you be happy, would you be content, or would you be irate with your company too? If even you would be unhappy, perhaps it truly is time to rethink the way you run things.
Also, watch out for those kamikaze customers who are out to get you simply because they have some sort of personal vendetta against you, as a company or as a person. They're so into ruining your reputation that some of them don't even care about their own reputation. These are the irate customers who don't even want to be heard by you, they want to make a name for themselves and, therefore, do not wish to discuss anything in a calm and rational manor.
If you're the customer, call the company you have a problem with and ask to speak to a customer service representative. Simply explain, in a calm and rational manner, what's going on. If you truly are in the right, most companies will hear you and then either make amends for the wrong or come to a compromise with you.
You see, companies and customers need to realize that there is a happy medium between “the customer is always right” and “the company is always right”. Sometimes it's okay to come to a compromise; neither side has to surrender everything, roll over and say uncle. Believe me, there are easier ways of doing things. Please realize that business matters are delicate and that being calm and rational will substantially increases your chance of solving the problem.
I would go about it by reading up on the terms of service of the hosting site; find out if they have an anti-defamatory clause in the terms of service. If they do, all you really need to do is send them the post with all the untruths highlighted and ask that those sections be removed on the grounds that they are libel and defamatory to your company or to yourself. So you know, libel is simply the written form of defamation, slander is the spoken form. Under that scenario, assuming the content is truly an untruth, the hosting company should remove it immediately.
Now, this idea won't work for everyone or for every site but it really is worth a try. You may be surprised at how willing social media sites are to take down any content which goes against their terms of service. However, be aware that some hosting sites will post your email on their site, for all to see. Knowing this, please write respectfully and only the facts; doing this will help save the reputation of your company.
Another thing you can do to counteract getting a negative reputation is to follow through with your promises. If the statements that are against your company are true, perhaps it's time to re-think your customer service strategy or even your marketing strategy. Do you have a customer service department? Are your customers' voices being heard? Put yourself in the shoes of your customer; would you be happy, would you be content, or would you be irate with your company too? If even you would be unhappy, perhaps it truly is time to rethink the way you run things.
Also, watch out for those kamikaze customers who are out to get you simply because they have some sort of personal vendetta against you, as a company or as a person. They're so into ruining your reputation that some of them don't even care about their own reputation. These are the irate customers who don't even want to be heard by you, they want to make a name for themselves and, therefore, do not wish to discuss anything in a calm and rational manor.
If you're the customer, call the company you have a problem with and ask to speak to a customer service representative. Simply explain, in a calm and rational manner, what's going on. If you truly are in the right, most companies will hear you and then either make amends for the wrong or come to a compromise with you.
You see, companies and customers need to realize that there is a happy medium between “the customer is always right” and “the company is always right”. Sometimes it's okay to come to a compromise; neither side has to surrender everything, roll over and say uncle. Believe me, there are easier ways of doing things. Please realize that business matters are delicate and that being calm and rational will substantially increases your chance of solving the problem.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Amazon Affiliate - Domain Name Research
When you're planning on creating a niche website to make money from one of the biggest factors in how quickly you rank well for your chosen keyword is the domain name you choose. Its extremely important that you get your keyword in the domain name and that the domain name be a.com,.org or.net.
There are a lot of questions and arguments out there about what is actually needed in a domain name and from my personal experience I'll just say that the best format for a domain name is "http://www.keyword.com" instead of "http://www.keywordstore.com" or "http://www.mykeyword.com". It ALWAYS best to have your exact keyword as the domain, nothing more and nothing less. I've had great success by sticking to this practice.
There's also a lot of talk about the.info domain names. Well to be honest you could get and you could rank with it however in my experience.info's aren't give as much authority as the other three (.com.org and.net). Also when you get ready to sell your sites for a nice chunk of change having one of the other three will always help your sale.
My favorite way to quickly research my keywords for domain name availability is to use the free software, "Domain Name Analyzer. Please follow the link and check it out. It allows you to put in an unlimited number domain name possibilities and then choose which extensions to search for (an extension is the.com or.org). The software makes this process go much faster and is much much easier than pounding everything out in GoDaddy.
Amazon Affiliates - Competition Research
Competition research is an essential part of doing thorough market research. When it comes to doing competition research for an amazon affiliate site you need to several things. First of all head over to Google and type in your keyword. Just below the search input field you'll see a number of competing pages often times in the millions.What you need to do is put your keyword in quotes so that you only search web pages that are optimizing for that keyword on their site. This will make the number of competing pages drop dramatically. I usually shoot for keywords with less than 100,000 competing pages when I search for my keyword with quotes around it.
Next you want to do a search for how many pages are optimizing for your keyword in the title of their page as well. To do that type this into Google's search field. "allintitle:your keyword". By doing that you'll get a reading of how many web pages have your keyword in their title. I usually try to get keywords that have less than 20,000 competing pages with their keyword in the title.
After you've gotten past those two requirements for your keywords its time to check the top results for your keyword. If they're strong websites you'll want to avoid them and if they're weak you'll know you can rank well for that keyword. I recommend using the SEO for Firefox plugin by SEO Book to do my analysis of competing websites. This will allow you to see how many backlinks these sites have, what their PR is, how old they are and how many different sites are linking to them.
Mainly you want to look at how many backlinks there are to the page thats ranking. If its over 500 then you now have a target for how many backlinks you need to get. 500 can take a little while but its very doable. For me if find that my competing sites have 500 backlinks or less I get very excited and you should too. Thats a keyword you should be able to rank well for in 2-3 months.
Amazon Associates - Product Research
Product research is an incredibly important part of market research. In the context of building a successful Amazon affiliate website there are several things to watch out for when choosing a product to promote.
First of all the product should be expensive enough for you to make a decent commission on. The Amazon affiliate program offers an average of about 6% on sales so I would go for a price range of $100 or more so that you can make at least $6 per sale. However if you feel you can get a ton of sales for lower-priced products then by all means go for it.
Another factor you should take into account is the selection of products for your chosen keyword. For example I recently researched a keyword about hard drives that had a HUGE selection. However other keywords will have much lower selection like DJ Speakers (another niche I recently researched). So make sure you have a wide selection of relevant products you can promote in your niche.
You should also look at the product reviews of the products you'll be promoting. I wouldn't worry too much about the ratings of the products but more about whether or not they have ratings. They can be a great source of content for your site and can help drive sales if used properly. Also when your customers see those reviews they will more warmed up to buy instead of just going into the purchase with no input from other users.
The last thing you should check on for product research is if the products you're going to promote actually sell well online or not. The best place I've found to check that is eBay. All you have to do is login and check the completed listings for your niche. If there are a lot of sales within a small time frame (a day or two) then you know that a lot of people are willing to buy your niches products online. However if you find that those products only sell occasionally or there are a lot of listings that close without selling it may not be the best niche to build a website around.
In my experience as I've followed these basic guidelines Iv found numerous profitable products to promote with the Amazon Affiliate program.
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