The role of social network sites in SEO is now widely accepted. Your pages in Facebook and Twitter are powerful tools for driving traffic to your site and generating social proof which is now given much weight by search engines like Google. Learn the latest trends in social media marketing from this free report.
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Search engine visibility is a continuing goal of every Internet marketer, business website owner and blog writer. The techniques used to boost search rankings are varied and can be grouped as either on page or off page SEO. Learn some valuable on page SEO techniques from this free report.
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SEO is not a one-time solution for your website. Getting top rankings and staying on top of search results is a constant challenge even for SEO experts because of changes in Internet behavior and the way the Internet’s top search engine views and ranks content. Getting top organic listings used to be the main goal of SEO, then came indented listings, and of late, we have seen the supremacy of Google Places. SEO strategists now maintain that it’s no longer enough for your website to appear in the organic listings. If you want to get massive amounts of targeted traffic, you’ll have to add or claim your listing in Google Places as well.
What is Google Places?
Google Places is said to be the revamped version of Google Local, a feature which enables Google registered accounts to get their businesses into local search results when an Internet user looks for anything with a specific location such as “cosmetic surgery in Manila.”
The geo-targeted results show alongside a map with a red circle indicating where your business is at. This allows your target audience to find your online address and your business address.
How to Get a Google Places Listing
Your first step is to get a Google account if you still don’t have one and ‘add’ a business to your account. Setting up your account takes only a few minutes but you need to provide as much information about your business as you can. Gather all the information you need beforehand to speed the listing process. Verification can be made by phone, SMS or standard mail so providing accurate contact information including your business location is essential. P.O. boxes won’t work with Google Places.
Like any other SEO technique, implementing your Google Places SEO strategy involves a number of factors.
Detailed information: Because Google loves data, its indexing system relies heavily on data you supply when you apply for a listing in Google Places. SEO experts maintain that filling out all possible fields can boost your search rankings.
Data consistency: Google search bots which crawl the Internet may find information about your business from other websites (where you may have registered your business or have it listed in a directory) and compare these with the data you supplied in Google Places. Ensure that information you supplied in Google Places is consistent with the information found in other websites to boost your search rankings. Maintain data consistency elsewhere on the Web such as in domain name registrations, directory listings, and sign up forms.
Business reviews: Google also views any information relating to your business as these may appear in reviews or comments around the Internet. Client or customer reviews found in other websites can be detected by its web crawlers and may appear as snippets in your Google Places listing. Viewers can expand this view to read the complete feedback found in Google Places. Data consistency in business reviews contributes as well to your search rankings.
SEO Tip: Geo targeted domain names containing your business name boost your SEO rankings tremendously. Supplying an email address using this type of domain name is highly favored by Google.
There are two ways of looking at the global recession: the usual pessimistic view and the rare optimistic outlook. While most people fear a recession, there are still ways of making money during a downtrend.
The economic effects of the recession should not stand in the way of your investment goals. In fact, the hard times should give you a better reason to pull your finances together. Here’s how:
Start a reserve fund. If you are employed, the risk of losing your job in a lay-off increases. Prepare for such an event by setting aside some cash as your emergency fund. Aim at building the equivalent of the value of at least six months’ worth of living expenses. You should be able to keep this in a regular savings account and not in a time deposit because the latter locks in your emergency funds to a maturity date and may make your money inaccessible when you need it.
Invest in stocks. If you have money to spare, a recession is said to be the best time to find good investment opportunities when most stock prices are at their lowest. During a recession, think like a long term investor and buy stocks when their prices fall. Economies go through cycles and it will only be a matter of time when the downtrend will experience a reversal. When the tides will have turned, you can be in for a windfall as your recession purchases could be worth much more by that time.
Invest in utility stocks. Companies in the utilities industry are safer bets for stock investments. Traditionally, the utilities companies manage to stay afloat during a recession because their services are indispensable. Hard times or not, people will need energy, for example, for their daily needs. Utility companies are also known to consistently pay out annual dividends. While these annual dividends may not amount to much, any income stream that is available to you should be welcome during hard times.
Real estate investments. Prices of real estate can also drop during a recession. Nowadays, it can be said that the real estate industry is a buyer’s market. In other words, you can expect to dictate the price at which to buy property. Most sellers are interested in getting rid of property for a variety of personal reasons and may just take your low offer simply to get their hands on much needed cash. Not all real estate purchases make good investments. You should look at real estate in good locations where there is still a demand for rental properties. During a recession, your strategy should be to generate cash flow from your real estate investment, rather than to seek an appreciation in its value.
Most people avoid investing during a recession because of fear about how their investments may pan out. You should be able to overcome the same fears by adopting any or all of the investment strategies mentioned.
You may have heard of a squeeze page before but are not sure how it works. Internet marketing experts use the squeeze page as a tool for growing their list of potential customers. The squeeze page is a landing page or a simple webpage where all your reader has to do is to leave his name and email address in exchange for access to something of value. This page is important because it is where your reader gives his permission to remain informed through email.
Writing a squeeze page is easy. All you have to do is remember a few basic things such as the following:
Offer something for free.
People love freebies and often think it’s a good deal to exchange email information for something useful that costs nothing. Offering a free course, an e-book, or other information product that they find useful often works for collecting email addresses.
Insert a squeeze page in various parts of your page.
Persuasion can happen at various parts of your web page so it’s best to grab the chance to collect your reader’s email addresses whenever you can. To do this, you will have to break your sales letter into chunks of information and insert a squeeze page in between.
Interesting signs of the times are not always those observed and analyzed by economic observers. Lipstick, men’s underwear, moviegoing habits and other ordinary activities provide a refreshing view of the state of the economy. Check this link out for more details.
1. Men’s underwear: A dip in the sales of this item is a sign that men are feeling the pinch. This report cites Alan Greenspan’s book “The Age of Turbulence” where he says that men tend not to replace their underpants when they feel trouble looming.
2. Lipstick index: Immediately after the 9/11 attacks in the US, Estee Lauder chairman studied sales of their lipstick products and discovered that women were buying more lipstick than usual, bolstering the psychological view that women put on lipstick to feel good about themselves. They went further to speculate that in times of economic recession, women will turn to inexpensive options for feeling good, lipstick being one of them.
3. Foundation index: Closely related to the lipstick index is the use of foundation to get flawless looking skin, in lieu of expensive facial treatments and trips to the salon that women tend to forego during a recession. Similar observations were made on sales of DIY hair dye home treatments.
4. Hot Waitress Index: New York Magazine contributed this piece of indicator– that in times of recession, waitresses appear to be hotter, possibly owing to the slump in the job market and oversupply of workers.
Read more for other interesting observations.
Internet technology is rapidly changing the way business is conducted and how money can be made these days. No longer hindered by geographical limitations, anyone can legally earn money without leaving the comfort and privacy of his home just by going online.
What you need
To get started, you will need a personal computer or laptop, an internet connection at home and an online payment system. Your computer’s technical specifications may be basic or sophisticated, depending on the kind of activity you intend to undertake online. Choose one to suit your needs.
Aside from having a computer and a reliable internet connection, you will also need an online merchant account to be able to receive payment from your customers and clients. At present, most buyers trust PayPal. Signing up is easy and you will need a valid credit or debit card to register as a user.
Here are some of the easiest ways to make money online:
1. Auction websites: eBay, Halfbid.com and uBid.com are examples. The key is to buy low and sell high in order to make online auctions profitable for you. While you can sell almost anything on auction, a good knowledge of what items are in demand and how much people are willing to pay for them will certainly take the guesswork out of online auctions. Do your research before buying or putting anything for sale online. Take the time to read and understand the rules of the auction site to avoid being blacklisted.
2. Blog: Originally intended as a Web 2.0 platform for hosting personal electronic journals or diaries, blogs have evolved into moneymaking venues as well. Anyone can create a blog and write about anything under the sun. Because of the personalized content of blogs, these online journals are known to create their respective audiences. Online traffic, just like foot traffic, is a good indicator of a blog’s revenue potential.
Capitalize on the number of viewers who visit your site everyday by becoming an affiliate or by posting ads of other sellers on your site. Amazon.com, for instance, has an affiliate program that lets you post an ad of an item closely related to the subject matter of your blog. If any of your readers click on the ad box of the affiliate program, your viewer will be re-directed to the affiliate program’s own website.
Depending on the affiliate arrangement that you choose, your blog may earn every time your site’s viewer clicks on their ad, leaves vital information about themselves or buys something online at the seller’s website.
While you’re at it, you may also sign up with Google Adsense or Yahoo Marketing for additional income. The more visitors you have on your website, the greater are your chances of earning from the affiliate program and from the relevant ads that appear on your site.
Get started by using free blog platforms such as blogger.com and wordpress.com. These sites have a number of design templates for you to choose from and are free of charge.
3. E-books: If you possess excellent writing skills, consider writing an electronic book or e-book on a topic that you are passionate about. Do you have a special skill or knowledge that could be beneficial to others? Put that knowledge or skill into writing for others to read. People like learning new things online and paying for the right kind of information.
If you do not feel confident about writing your own e-book, then consider hiring a ghost writer while still maintaining editorial control and marketing of your e-book. If you don’t want to start from scratch, you may also consider selling the e-book of another author on your website. All you will need is a good product and some marketing efforts on the Internet.
4. Free lance work: We all have special skill sets that make us valuable at work. Web development, programming, graphic design and writing are some of the few services that other businesses need. Free lance work lets you take on additional jobs while maintaining your current office job. The best way to start your free lance work is to sign up with a website that can match your skills with potential clients. Elance.com is a reputable site. Check it out.
Making money from home can be a part-time or a full-time activity. If you are currently employed, it is advisable to earn your online income initially on a part-time basis and to consider going full-time online only when your home-based business is generating a steady and good level of income.
You may have come across the idea of affiliate marketing as you looked up ways to make money on the Internet but have no clue about how it works. Without any clear understanding of affiliate marketing, you can either dismiss it as mere hype or some sneaky scam that may one day leave you empty-handed.
Truth is, many people have succeeded in making money by doing affiliate marketing and there are many more who failed to make a single cent out of it. As with most businesses, there is a learning curve that anyone should go through before experiencing results in affiliate marketing. If you persevere enough, you may just be one of those who can claim that there is a lot of money to be made in the internet. Read the rest of this entry »
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