To write and post press release was something that you might think of to be the privilege of large established business. At least, this opinion was popular in the past. Nowadays, PR is search engine optimization, page rank increasing tool, which with good publication strategy could be free and extremely efficient at the same time. Let’s review the anatomy of internet traffic generation, SEO and google ranking and how press release should help you:

1. Inside and Outside pages. If you are working hard, placing original materials on your website, more likely somebody will find you and will link back to your website, however you may wait really several months until google, msn or yahoo internet spider will visit your site first time. It is not a trick, it is rather advisable procedure to place links back to your website by publishing press releases, articles, blogs or internet news. Genre format suggests you to place link back to your web site into about author section. If you do so, you will expedite internet spiders to discover your website and begin visiting it more often.

2. Google Sandbox. Well, each new author should face fierce competition to get through and become famous or at least known author or at least in his or her area or technical field. In order to probe you, google places your web site immediately after initial discovery into so-called Sand Box, meaning that your site will not show up in internet queries by your keywords, or it will show up but somewhere on the page ten. Sandbox period typically lasts about four months and this is time for you to generate internal content as well as build several hundred links back to your web site

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I spend a good part of my day thinking about and advising clients about how to increase their search engine rankings. InternetRetailer reported on ways to optimize your web site. These tips come from speakers at the ACCM direct-marketing industry conference and trade show in Orlando, FL. I’ve also added my commentary and extra detail.

• Update your web site with good, new content. Search engine web crawlers constantly check for new content on your web site. This affects how your site ranks in natural search results.That’s why I often recommend a blog strategy for most sites - each blog post has it’s own URL and is an easy way to add new fresh content to your site. If you update it you can train search engines to index your site several times a day.
• Put seasonal or changing information you want to be indexed in the center of the site, rather than mixed with other content. The example they gave is Christmas items. If you want it to be indexed for words relating to holiday gifts, don’t confuse search engines by putting it near your privacy policy, or unrelated information on the sidebar. Otherwise a search engine may not pick up the new content.
• Keep URLs simple. Multiple URLs for the same site can confuse web crawlers trying to index a site. A common mistake is to have different URLs for the home page. One is what you type in a search engine, like www.marketingpilgrim.com. Then if you click on a logo or links to the home page on the site, it goes to another version - like www.marketingpilgrim.com/index.aspx. Make all the links consistent and if you change URLs use a 301 redirect to funnel all your traffic to one URL.

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Using Data To Make Smarter Marketing Decisions

Marketers trying to ride out the weakening economy should turn to data and analytics that go beyond the click, according to comScore Chairman and Co-founder Gian Fulgoni.

Fulgoni kicked off the MediaPost Search Insider Summit with a data-rich presentation featuring statistics on consumer purchase history, media consumption patterns, and even sentiments toward the economy. He used the stats to illustrate how online advertisers can craft campaigns that drive conversions and increase factors like brand affinity and purchase intent–even in the midst of consumers’ ever-tightening wallets.

First, a look at the down side: Growth in consumer spending in the online retail sector (not including travel) for the first quarter of 2008 was down to 11%, according to comScore. That’s lower than the 17% growth in the first quarter of 2007, and more than 10% lower than the 25% in the first quarter of 2006. "And we see the same thing across categories," Fulgoni said. "Shopping cart values are trending downward–and the magnitude of the shift is problematic."

Meanwhile, consumer sentiment about the economy–and the rising cost of goods and services in particular–is largely negative. Some 65% of Americans with annual income levels ranging from below $30,000 to over $100,000 said that inflation and rising prices were their primary economic concern, according to a recent poll that Fulgoni cited. In contrast, just 15% overall were concerned about job security, and just 10% were concerned about the state of the financial markets.

When consumers are forced to spend more on necessities like groceries and gas, they decrease spending in other areas–particularly when it comes to online purchases, Fulgoni said. These shifts spur poor conversions and click-throughs, and can make even the most carefully plotted campaign seem ineffective.

So turning to data like view-throughs and attributing value to the entire campaign is a way to pump up the value of your online efforts, including search, display and social media. "We need to use the right metrics to measure sales impact," Fulgoni said. "By measuring the last click, we’re leaving 80% of the ROI unmeasured."

A recent "beyond the last click" study by search and online marketing firm Enquiro found that appearance of a brand in the top spots for both paid and organic search results drove a 16% increase in brand association, and lifted brand recall by a little over two times.

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Go Into Business With Affiliate Marketing

One of the most profitable online businesses is affiliate marketing. Rather than waking up early in the morning and traveling to your shop and tending to it every day, business-minded individuals are now becoming affiliate marketers for an easy business with higher profit possibility.

Affiliate marketers earn through commissions. When they sell an affiliate product through their site, they earn a percentage of the total sales as profit. The percentage of your commission will depend on your agreement with the affiliate company, so it’s best to settle the issue and arrive at a profitable number before you start marketing their products.

How To Be One – Find A Niche

It’s easy to become an affiliate marketer. All you need is a product that will serve as your niche and a Web site to market it out. In looking for a product, you have to consider its popularity and its demand to the online masses. You need a product with a large enough demand so that you can sell it off quick — the more products you sell at a given time, the bigger your profit would be. Finding one is the problem.

Millions surf the Internet everyday looking for a product that will suit their needs, and you need to know all about it so that you can exploit that knowledge to become a successful affiliate marketer. There are thousands of products you can use as a niche for your affiliate marketing business. You can check out different sites, visit forums, chat rooms, and so on to get an idea on what niche would be most profitable for you.

Setting Up Your Site

Now that you have a niche that will serve as the heart of your affiliate marketing venture, you need to set up a Web site that will serve as your base of operation. Its best to look for a niche first before you create a Web site so that you can create a theme that will match perfectly with it.

Create a site with informative content about your product. You don’t have to make it sound like a hard-sell since that might put off potential clients from looking deep into the product. The best advice is to provide articles concerning the benefits of the product, as well as their functions, features, and uses.

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Buy Low, Sell High - 3 Strategies to Ramp Up Your Marketing Efficiency in a Bad Economy

Buy Low, Sell High

The old adage “buy low, sell high” isn’t just applicable in the stock market – it’s relevant for online marketing as well. With the economy in a downturn, many online advertisers are becoming more likely to offer media at reduced rates. According to Nielsen Online’s Advertising Breakdown by Industry, total impressions dropped from 296,395.70 in January 2008 to 277,438.40 in February 2008. Moreover, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) spend has the potential to be more efficient given the fact that many firms are spending less and/or pausing their SEM campaigns in part or in full. Even more compelling is that many interactive agencies are also feeling this crunch and are being much more aggressive in their pricing.

Search Engine Marketing Trends – Bullish on PPC Campaigns

Although there has been an upward trend in spend and cost over the past several years, the ailing economy has recently driven spend down. This downward trend has created a very attractive time to become more aggressive in SEM tactics. According to the Average CPC Search by Category data from SearchEngineWatch.com, 5 of the 8 categories measured in January and March of 2008 have decreased or remained the same in terms of average cost per click. Of the categories that experienced increases, two of the three were credit and auto finance. These categories have an upward average CPC trend that one might expect in a troubled economy. The only other category to increase was in travel which is most likely driven by seasonality. Even more notably, the retail category showed a decreased overall CPC average, going from $.43 in January to $.39 in March.

The reason these issues are not first and foremost in the minds of many firms in the past is due to the fact that in an upward economy, inefficiencies can be more easily hidden. The ad campaigns, creative, or even the products / services themselves may not be fully optimized, but they continue to drive acceptable results during better times. As the old saying goes, “The high tide makes all ships rise.” However, when times get tough, these inefficiencies and weaknesses become glaring.

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Writing Wonder Woman Profiles 10 Entrepreneurs Who use Ezines for Online Marketing Success

Experts reveal how ezines have improved their businesses and why no site should be without one.

Following up and staying in touch with potential and existing customers is crucial in any business. Unfortunately, most business owners either don’t do it, or are using methods that require a great deal of time and effort.

Staying in front of customers is the most important aspect in the entire marketing process once that initial contact is made and they’ve trusted you with their information, or even more, their money, says Kitara Wilson of Writing Wonder Woman. "If you aren’t constantly reminding your audience about who you are and what you have to offer, they will forget about you and move on to your competition. Ezines are a great marketing tool that allows you to easily touch a lot of people at once"

Wilson recently completed the ebook, "Captivating Content; Success Stories and Expert Advice on Using Ezines to Skyrocket Your Business," which provides profiles of 10 successful business owners who share how ezines are a crucial part of their marketing strategy.

Readers who think publishing an ezine is difficult will learn that it is easier than they think. The ebook is designed to motivate business owners who have been considering adding an ezine to their online marketing strategy, or for those who have an ezine, but don’t send it out consistently. "No matter what line of business you’re in or where you are in your ezine publishing process, there’s something or someone in this ebook that you can identify with," states Wilson. 

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