Joomla! site syndication http://practicalbrilliance.com Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:00:50 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://practicalbrilliance.com/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png http://practicalbrilliance.com Joomla! site syndication http://practicalbrilliance.com/content/view/14/2/ Step 1: KeywordsKeywords are a vital part of driving traffic to any website. They are descriptive words and phrases, such as Pasadena artist, California cabinetmaker and so on. They should be carefully researched so that the maximum return value can be reached. Beyond that, they need to be set up in the code of the site so that the search engines can find them easily and properly. Most importantly, they need to be incorporated into the content of the site and used repeatedly. This means that the text on the site needs to contain these words as often as possible while still being readable. An example is a high ranking California real estate agent we studied incorporated the keywords phrase California real estate into the text of the site more than 29 times! This is known as density and will help the search engines (and potential customers) find you in your area of expertise.Step 2: BloggingYou hear a lot about blogging these days. The truth of the matter is that blogging is a very easy and cost effective way to generate traffic to a site. Blogs are easy to set up, there are many free templates available, with guided instructions. Blogs are a great way to incorporate keywords and are an excellent way to set you up as an expert in something that you know a lot about. You can post thoughts, helpful tips, and even generate feedback with a blog. Once you set up your blog you can generate a following of readers that will oftentimes refer to your blog in other blog postings. This can generate even more traffic to your blog and your website at absolutely no cost to you!Step 3: Link BuildingLink Love is a great way to get new viewers to your site, and to keep viewers coming back for more! A good way to start is by doing a link exchange with sites that are similar to yours, or that would share some sort of commonality with a viewer. For example, a viewer on a site that sells greeting cards may also be interested in beautiful jewelry, so an appropriate link exchange can be done here. Content can also be specifically written so that people link to it. In combination with maximizing keywords, this can be an extremely effective, yet low cost, marketing tool. Finally, there are link directories available, such as insiderpages.com, that can help you in your quest for the perfect link. Word of caution: not all links are good links. Linking to the wrong site can actually adversely affect your ratings so link wisely!Step 4: YouTubePeople love YouTube! The site (youtube.com) has generated a huge following and YouTube links are forwarded more than chain letters. As a matter of fact, just this week I saw the same link to a YouTube video in 3 separate emails! It is easy to upload a video, in your area of expertise, and then it is there for the world to see. Informative YouTube videos are a great marketing tool and can generate traffic to your website and even help boost your ranking. And there is always a chance the the video can go viral, which is every business owners dream, so that people are watching it and forwarding it to everyone they know.Step 5: Social NetworkingSocial Networking is vital to internet marketing and myspace isn't just for kids anymore! Everyone who is anyone has a myspace page. Musicians use it to promote their latest releases, artists use it to showcase their art, and almost every celebrity you can think of has a myspace page. Al Pachino and Robert DeNiro have one. Some celebrities will grant your request of adding you to their friends network and this can bring a lot of attention to your page. There is a whole community of viewers who are just waiting to hear about you, and what makes you tick. Delicious.com is another social networking tool that can help boost your rating. Delicious is a sharing of bookmarked sites and the more your site is bookmarked, the better ratings you get. These tools are free and there at your fingertips. Literally.Step 6: Ad WordsMany of the major search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, offer adwords for sale. You can purchase ad words for a nominal amount and also use their pay-per-click marketing to generate traffic to your site. These tools can literally bring hundreds of new viewers your way in weeks. The thing to be careful of the conversion rate, or how many of these clicks actually turn into a sale or customer. Factors to consider here are where the ad is placed, what the landing page is that is connected to the ad, and the market in general along with any niche-market category your site may fall into.Step 7: EmailEmails are an instant way to spread the word about your website. A tried-and true suggestion would be to do a tell-a-friend campaign where you ask your friends and family to forward information about your site, including a link, in an email to their personal contacts. Customer email information should be kept in a database so that custmers can be kept abreast of all new products, latest updates, or current specials. An email newsletter can also be generated to your customer base as well. Email address databases are also available for sale, however, it is recommended that you start slowly and build one of your own. It may take a little time, but you will probably get a better return on your efforts that way.Step 8: Advertise They say it pays to advertise. Internet advertising can be a viable option as well as an income generator for the owner of a website. You can offer space for sale on your site to private advertisers. You can also post google ads on your site and you get paid if people click on them. It also may be a good return to advertise on a site or blog with a heavy volume of readers.Step 9: Use VisualsA picture is worth a thousand words. It can also be worth thousands of dollars in free advertising to get set up with an online photo storage web site such as flickr, istockphoto, or filmloop. It is a great way to do slide shows and drive traffic to you!Step 10: ChurnChurn, Baby, Churn! Your site should be a constantly evolving, ever changing, dynamic marketing tool. Even the best structured and optimized sites will lose ranking after a while if there is not anything added or changed. There should always be something new to read or see. That will keep people coming back for more. The site should look slightly differently visually as well, so people kow there have been changes made and that there is fresh content. The search engines love this as well. This keeps your site ranked well also. Web Presence and Branding - Latest Sat, 10 Nov 2007 19:22:06 +0100