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October 29, 2010 by

Online Price Incentive And Coupon Marketing Strategy Video

Here is a quick video designed to give any local business owner or executive a “bird’s eye” view of what strategies are available to help you take coupons and price incentives or discounts in the real world and transfer them into the online world.  Assuming that your business uses coupons, discounts, free consultations or price incentives to get more customers or clients, then you now have a resource to give you a possible competitive edge.

You are welcome to leave comments on this post, forward or share it with those whom you believe would like the information, and you can contact me through the contact form.

Filed Under: Resources, Tips, videos Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
October 27, 2010 by

Get The Most Out Of Your Dallas Internet Marketing Firm

If you live in any top U.S. city, such as Dallas, and you are considering hiring an internet marketing firm here are some helpful tips to make sure that you get the most out of your expenditure:

  • Make sure that the firm gives you a complete keyword research AND competition analysis breakdown of your industry.  This also includes on-page optimization factors from those currently on the top of the search engine rankings, number of inbound links to those competitors, how many searches per month the keyword phrases are entered, and the quality of the inbound links to your competition
  • Make sure that the Dallas internet marketing firm (or any other serious firm) gives you an estimated cost-per-click comparison.  This helps you to determine if it is cheaper to use a service like Google AdWords for a particular keyword phrase, or if it is better to pursue a SEO strategy for a particular phrase
  • Ask the firm if it follows a “promote the promoter” philosophy.  Not only should the firm create links on other authority sites linking back to your main website with the appropriate keyword(s), but they also should be creating links to the original links.  “Promoting the promoters” will make you look like a good member of the community in the eyes of Google, and it should help you improve your overall quality traffic
  • The firm always should customize a strategy based on your specific industry, geographic area (if necessary), and work with you to “get inside the head” of your ideal prospects from many different approaches.  These could include pain-removal benefits which your business offers all the way to what is entertaining for your future customers/clients

There are other factors which come into play in choosing a reputable internet marketing firm; and these four factors should be toward the top of your list to help you grow your business.

If you wish to discuss any of these then you are welcome to use the contact form on this site.  Thank you.

Filed Under: Tips Tagged With: , , , , , ,
October 23, 2010 by

Improve Your YouTube Video Rankings

If you have an entertaining, informative, or otherwise helpful (“non-spammy”) video which you want to share on YouTube then chances are that you would love to see it at the top of the rankings.  Remember that a good YouTube ranking can offer you AT LEAST the following benefits:

  • More customers because you are # 1 for a good keyword(s)
  • Ability for your video to be shared easily on social networks and social bookmark sites
  • Chance to rank well also in Google Videos
  • Occasional opportunity for a thumbnail image of your video to appear in the main Google search engine results
  • Video can be “embedded” on other people’s websites and blogs, thereby reaching more prospects
  • Other video sites often “scrape” videos from YouTube, so your video can appear on other sites as well

The trick to getting these benefits is four-fold once you have a completed video which is worthy of sharing with the online community:

  1. Do your keyword research and competition analysis.  This is imperative!!!  If you have a limited budget then this is where you spend your money in order to determine what people are seeking and (of equal importance) what they are NOT entering into Google regarding your business.  You will be surprised at what you discover people are/are not entering!
  2. Use proper on-page optimization within YouTube
  3. Use YouTube for its intended purpose, as a social network site like Facebook.  Be sure to subscribe to people’s channels, encourage subscribers, get comments on your videos, geo-tag everything when you can, use video responses, and all of the other YouTube features which make it an active “community”
  4. Send links and traffic to your YouTube channel and your video(s)

If you need help with any of these steps then you are welcome to contact me.  Otherwise use these tips, and have fun seeing your videos start their climb to the top of the YouTube and Google Videos engines!

Filed Under: Tips, videos Tagged With: , , , , ,
October 1, 2010 by

Print Advertising Ideas – Use The Ads Online

If you have ever once created an advertisement for your business and had it displayed in a print publication (e.g. magazine, newspaper, event program) then chances are that you are interested in what else you can do with the artwork. Since you invested time and money in the ad, you at least should be able to have some extra strategies to leverage the current content!

Here are 6 simple strategies in this video which takes less than 10 minutes to watch:

If you want any help with the keyword research, any of the 6 ideas for your print ads, or other online marketing help then feel free to contact me through the Contact form on this page. In addition, if you found this video to be helpful then you are welcome to share it with any of your social networks or friends & colleagues.

Thank you for watching the video, and I hope that you are now able to get more value from your previous and future print ads.

Filed Under: Presentations, Print advertising, Tips, Webinars Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
September 9, 2010 by

How To Use Billboards and Outdoor Advertising Online

If you or someone you know happen to advertise with outdoor signage, such as a highway billboard, then take a few minutes to look at this video.  It gives you the “macro” picture of 5 things you can do to get more out of your current billboard and outdoor advertising efforts:

If you want help with the keyword research, competition analysis, or specific strategies for any of the five ideas mentioned then feel free to contact me with more information about your specific situation. Thank you for taking the time to watch the video; and you are welcome to share link to this presentation with anyone you believe may find this content helpful.

Filed Under: Presentations, Webinars Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
August 27, 2010 by

Presentation From Aug 25 McKinney Chamber Of Commerce Luncheon

On August 25, 2010 I gave a presentation at the McKinney Chamber of Commerce’s WAM “Lunch and Learn” seminar.  The topic was on how attendees can begin to customize an internet marketing strategy which is best for their business/industry as well as their individual personalities.

If you would like a copy of the presentation, slightly revised based on the feedback from those who attended the event, then you are welcome to download  a copy here:

Should you like the presentation then you are welcome to send copies to friends and colleagues; or you are welcome to send them the link to this page.

Many thanks to Angie Bado, Cheryl O’Hagan, and Tara Stelluti for their invitation and encouragement.  I appreciate the opportunity to help and convey information which can help everyone’s business!

Also, thanks to Tammy for sponsoring the lunch AND for bringing her delicious food from home!

A final thank you to Jodi Ann, Beth, Becky, and everyone else from the McKinney Chamber of Commerce for their help and encouragement.  Your hospitality was terrific!

Should you like more information on internet marketing for your business, or if you need a speaker on this topic at an upcoming event, then you are welcome to contact me at your convenience.

Thank you, Matt.

Filed Under: Event, Resources, Training
July 31, 2010 by

Dallas Online Internet Marketing For Networking Marketing Distributors

In recent days, I have been approached by various people in Dallas who have second businesses in the MLM, direct sales, and network marketing industries.  They have asked for all forms of help with their start using online internet marketing.   If you are in a similar position with a MLM/direct sales/network marketing business then here are some tips to help you get started.

First, be sure that you are allowed to market online in any manner.  Some of these businesses, like deregulated electricity, may have tight restrictions on letting their distributors use the internet to grow one’s business.  Make sure that you are all clear on what you can and cannot do.
Second, understand that most likely you will have to build some other web property(ies) in addition to the site which the corporate office assigns you.  This does not mean that you have to go out right away and buy a domain and web hosting, although you may wish to do so at some point.  Instead, you may control pages on Web 2.0 sites, pages and channels on video-sharing sites, social bookmarking accounts, and you may be syndicating articles on various topics.  No matter what path you choose, just realize that you probably will be controlling accounts and pages on websites other than what corporate gives you.

Third, and probably most important (!), make sure that you are VERY clear on the type of person you want to attract to your content using the internet.  In addition, you must be very clear on what it is that you want that person to do AFTER they become aware of you and your corporation.  The people with whom I have spoken never really had a defined person and a defined message in mind when it came to the topic of internet marketing.  Here is a better example:

  • I asked one of these people who approached me about what he wanted in his network marketing business.  He said that he wanted to dominate the Dallas market for his business.  When I asked him why he wanted to use online and internet marketing to attract just a Dallas audience he told me that he wanted to meet everyone face to face in order to convince them to take action and join his down line
  • I asked him if a video explaining his story would be just as good in order to use internet marketing to expand his awareness outside of the Dallas area.  He said that he simply wanted to meet people in the area face to face
  • We decided then to use an internet marketing strategy which involved online event directories/calendars, press releases announcing his events which were being held in public places, social media (including MySpace, which everyone seems to forget!), local forums, and Dallas-specific SEO
  • We also decided to help him “lead” with the business opportunity rather than the product.  This meant that he would target keywords (for SEO purposes) which dealt with Dallas-specific terms people are entering.  Such terms could be “Dallas residual income”, “Dallas work from home”, or “Dallas business seminars”
  • An online marketing keyword and competition analysis would then be done on those Dallas-specific keywords which had the underlying psychology of someone who may be inclined to take action right away or, at least, attend a free business seminar

Hopefully you begin to understand that by narrowing down the list, and being specific on what you want to accomplish, you THEN can begin to use more-interactive social media (e.g. Facebook and Twitter), sound SEO techniques, and intelligent website targeting to reach your audience.

Should you need any internet marketing help for your MLM/direct sales/network marketing business then feel free to contact me through the Contact link at the top of the page.  If you found this article helpful, or believe that it can help someone you know, then you are welcome to share it on your social networks, social bookmark accounts, or e-mail lists.  Thanks!

Filed Under: Network Marketing, Tips Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
July 15, 2010 by

Dallas PPC – When Is Pay Per Click Better Than SEO

A common question many Dallas area business owners have asked me is if it is better to follow a SEO strategy or a pay-per-click (PPC) strategy.  The answer depends on the actual keyword being chosen. Ideally, if your budget allows for both strategies then you should consider doing both.  If your budget, however, is constrained then here is an example to help you determine which is best for your specific situation.

At the time of this example, the Google Keyword Tool says that the following keywords have this data:

  • The keyword phrase “Nail salon Dallas” has 2900 searches per month, has some degree of seasonality (but nothing skewed or out of the ordinary), and has an average cost-per-click (CPC) $0.83 per click.  Note that the CPC is not a “fixed price”; but it is the best available data you will have to work with that is not from a paid keyword research data mining software program
  • The keyword phrase “Nail salons in Dallas” has 590 searches per month, and has a posted CPC of $0.05 per click.  This extremely-cheap pay-per-click cost may not be realistic, and an inexpensive CPC would require ideal optimization of the ad and landing page for the keyword.  Nonetheless, you can be conservative and assume that the keyword would cost, in reality, somewhere around $0.30 per click

One other assumption:  let’s assume that if you rank # 1 in the “organic” (left-hand side) keyword results (not including the Maps listings) for a one-month period, then you will receive  roughly 40% of the searches.

Here is the math for our example:

  • If you were to rank # 1 for “Nail salon Dallas” then you would receive 40% of the  2900 searches for the month.  This would translate to roughly 1160 visitors for the 30-day period.  To buy 1160 visitors (clicks), you would have to pay roughly $962.80 per month at an average of $0.83/click
  • If you were to buy all 590 clicks for “nail salons in Dallas” (which would take longer than thes one-month period) at $0.30 per click (our conservative adjusted CPC) it would cost you roughly $177
  • 590 clicks for “nail salon Dallas” would cost you on PPC, at $0.83 per click, roughly $489.70

Let’s assume that your SEO efforts will get you roughly 2 months (60 days) of ranking # 1 in the search engines for the keyword.  If the cost, in terms of time and cash outlay, are cheaper for SEO then it is advantageous to pursue a SEO strategy instead of a PPC strategy.  This assumes that you are willing to follow the rules for intelligent and optimization.

{AUTHOR NOTE}

Please note that the pay-per-click costs we are discussing is not the Google Content Network.  This post is about the traditional Google Search Network, Yahoo’s PPC network, and the Bing/MSN AdCenter network.

If you need any help designing a pay-per-click (PPC) strategy then please feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Filed Under: pay per click Tagged With: , , ,
July 12, 2010 by

SEM Help To Appear On Page One

If you need SEM help, which stands for “Search Engine Marketing”, then there are a few intelligent things you can do in the next 30 minutes before you hire anyone to do online marketing help for you.  It all depends on your goals, so take the next 30 minutes and ask yourself questions such as:

  • are you already appearing on page one of the search engine results for a high-traffic keyword?  If so, you simply may want to rank higher and/or get other web properties to appear on the first page as well
  • are you advertising on Pay-Per-Click (e.g. Google AdWords)?  If so, you may wish to get some SEM help in order to improve your ad’s position and/or increase click-through rates thereby lowering your overall per-click costs
  • you may want to appear on the “Universal Search” components which Google offers such as seeing a physical product (or book) you are selling appear as the image on the search engine results return page
  • are you looking to appear on the first page for real-time updates?  If so, there are ways to be found on the new “Updates” feature on the Google sidebar
  • do you have a local business?  If so, you probably want to get ranked first on the Maps as the map listings often help search engine users because of their visual appeal

Within this 30 minute window, then you want to detail out the resources you already have and what you still need to help facilitate your goals.  These could be:

  • outsourcing articles based around the high-demand keyword terms
  • creating a social media account and learning how to use it properly for updates
  • double-check the “Quality Score” of any Google AdWords advertising you are doing.  Do what you can to raise the Quality Score in order to ensure relevancy for the end visitors.  By increasing the Quality Score you are doing what you can to reduce the overall per-click cost for your ad
  • claim your Maps listing if you have not already done so
  • enhance your Maps listing with images, videos, coupons, and other helpful information
  • ask a small batch of happy customers to leave a review on your Maps listing(s)
  • map out the process of a quality, one-way link building campaign to improve your current search engine results page rankings

Hopefully this 30 minutes will be well-spent as most local business owners I have met have not yet asked themselves the important questions.  By doing so the owners and decision-makers will be able to get more for their money as they can ask for/request targeted SEM help to accomplish specific goals.

Filed Under: Page One, Tips Tagged With: , , , , ,
July 12, 2010 by

Plano SEO – Different Results For Same Search Term

One thing which anyone should know before attempting to improve a business listing for a Plano-related keyword phrase is to understand the risk of different search engine result page listings.  This may be a tough concept for even moderately-experienced Plano SEO experts to convey, but it is necessary.

Most people can understand that Google, Yahoo, MSN/Bing, and the other search engines will return different results because of their proprietary algorithms and formulas.  What is not so clear is the different results within the SAME search engine for the SAME keyword.  How is this possible?

A real life example is in order to help explain this.  I wanted to show this to a business client in Collin County, Texas (of which Plano is a large part); and I had him type in his business’ preferred keyword which we had identified as already having over 150 searches per month.  I called him at his office in North Plano and asked him where the web page indexed by Google was showing up on the page.  He was not logged into the search engine through any e-mail address or other service owned/operated by the search engine.  I then had him log in and re-enter the keyword phrase.

Different results!

I then had him log out and meet me at a coffee shop about 2 miles away from his office.  I explained that Plano SEO is a “moving target” and wanted to show him what I meant.  We logged onto the coffee shop’s wi-fi, but did not log into the account on the search engine.  Due to the different I.P. address and being on the wi-fi the results were, yet again, different than the other two times he attempted to enter the keyword.  All of this was within 30 minutes of my first calling him and having him enter the keyword into the search engine on his office computer.

To be fair, most of the top results were still on the first page.  The order, however, was quite different.  As far as I know, when he logged into the search engine’s account, he was not part of any social networking component of the search engine which may have affected his results.
The question, then, is how to achieve consistency in order to have the end consumer click on the link which – ultimately – will result in the visitor coming to your web page/property?  The best way is to continue to provide quality, authoritative, one-way links from good third-party websites, continue to provide useful keyword-rich content on your website, and to ensure that the web property to which you are sending the traffic is well-optimized for the keyword phrase(s) which have demand.  This should help you get good rankings within the same search engine as well as across the other major search engines.

The latter factor is the topic for a future post about any form of local search engine marketing, and we will use either a Dallas or Plano SEO example.

If you found this article to be useful then please consider sharing it with your friends by way of e-mail, social bookmarking sites, your social networks, or on any of the social news sites.

Filed Under: Page One Tagged With: , , , ,
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