Truly Twisted Marketing

Yes, it's Monday. The start of a bright, fresh new week.

Ready for some secret strategies to get you off to a roaring start?

My goal is to give you one for each day of the week. So, here's 'numero uno' straight from the online marketing trenches…

Always include inbound links FROM your press releases and articles you are crafting for other blogs or web sites TO your web site. Each and every time your release/content is used in a blog, on a web site, or anywhere online for that matter, it will help to increase your web site ranking in the search engines.

It’s a two-fold SEO trick that works.

The information in the article is pure content, optimized and web-ready. Google and the other search engines LOVE content. So the odds of the information getting indexed quickly are pretty high. Also when your release is used by news organizations, blogs, web sites and individuals you’ve got 100s, possibly 1000s of links coming into your web site.

How cool is that!

Ok, as promised, it's time to get stumbling in the right direction. But before we do, I just want you to know (because several people have asked why the next post didn't come quicker) that I was out of town and alas…no internet connection! I know, I know…gasp!  

Grab your pen and take some notes. Here we go. 

In part 1 we talked about how StumbleUpon can be one of the best traffic sources to your blog or web site and how you want to provide excellent resource information that Stumblers will want to read and pass along. Today, we are talking about how to craft your information so it gets stumbled. Here's a short list of what Stumbers tend to like:

Compelling Headlines - This is a no brainer for any copy writer worth their salt. Headlines are what is seen first and they should always be written to capture the attention of whomever your audience is. Put time and attention and love into those headlines.

First Paragraph - That first paragraph is almost as important as that headline you are working up. It's what pulls people into your article and makes them want to continue.

Images - Stumblers love funny, titillating or unusual images that go along with the article or site content. Istockphoto is my favorite at this moment in time, but there are tons of free resources for images. Just do a Google search and see what comes up.

Design - A clean, fun design that flows with the content contained within a site is important.

Here's what doesn't work for stumblers…

Any Commercialized Content -  Don't (I mean, don't) try to sell to stumblers. Your reputation will be on the downswing right out of the gate. 

Regular Site Pages - Don't submit your home page or product pages to StumbleUpon. It HAS to be something really useful and exceptional for regular site pages to get stumbled.

News - What is news today isn't really a hot topic for Stumblers because of the way the algorithm works. Content in StumbleUpon is shown to new Stumblers based on popularity and can be shown loooooooong after that breaking news story is ancient history.

Short Articles - Stumblers like in-depth, funny, resourceful, informative, cutting edge, researched articles. They don't usually go for short posts or articles.

You should join StumbleUpon BUT don't submit only your own content. It's best to allow your information to be found rather than tooting your own horn. However, if you feel you HAVE to get your information in there, here's what I'd recommend.

Set up your own profile and really get in and start stumbling content you find useful and engaging that you'd pass on to family and friends. Only after you've gotten a feel for how it works and what type of content is out there would I recommend stumbling your own info. When you get to that point, you'll have a good grasp of how it works and hopefully have a group you share information with on StumbleUpon. Still you should intermix and mingle your own information with that of other sites.

Also, just so you know, there is a limit to the number of pages you can submit from one domain. Here's a good rule to follow: for every page you submit from your own site, submit 10-20 from other sites.

Now, here's a smokin' hot tip to remember. When another blog or site talks about you/your site with a link, submit that content to StumbleUpon. Yes, you heard right stumble it! It not only will bring traffic in to your site, you are giving someone a helping hand with their traffic and thus begins a circle of link love that will continue to build.

So, get in there and get stumbling. It's free and can potentially bring you tons of traffic! As always, feel free to share your experiences and if you get stuck, don't hesitate to drop a line or leave a comment. Happy Stumbling!

We’ve been stumbled. Ahhhhhhh, love it.

StumbleUpon is by far one of the absolute best traffic sources for any blog or website with the exception of search engine traffic from Google.

But first, let me tell you WHAT StumbleUpon IS then we can get into the WHY it is so fabulous.

StumbleUpon is all about social bookmarking (yes, just like Digg or del.icio.us). But the cool factor has to do with the slick toolbar that installs directly into your browser. What that means is that a stumbler (a StumbleUpon user) can mark any web site they happen to be browsing they can then give the site a “thumbs up” meaning “Like It” or a “thumbs down” meaning, um, yeah….the not so good “Don’t Like It.”

Here’s the formula. The more thumbs up your page gets, the more it’s served up to other stumblers on StumbleUpon which (obviously) leads to an increasing number of people who see your site – that’s a good thing! The alternative is that if a page gets too many thumbs down they are dropped out of StumbleUpon.

Now, here’s why StumbleUpon is so very fabulous. SumbleUpon has a unique algorithm that is different from Digg or del.icio.us. First of all you don’t have to land on the front page of StumbleUpon to get traffic. Popular pages and even not so popular pages are served up to new users everyday. So, a page that gets stumbled say two months ago will continue to send a steady stream of traffic because it’s still being seen by users.

I can testify that it works. This blog and the bestecostuff.com/blog (our lovely side gig) have both been stumbled and the traffic just keeps coming. As I said before…ahhhhh, love it!

Now, let’s make something clear. This traffic is link building traffic. Do not try to sell to stumblers (or any other social media users for that matter). It’s really bad form. Your information is getting stumbled because it is interesting, amusing and fabulously well-written. Stumblers aren’t looking for stuff to buy. They are looking for good information.

Now, those are the basics of StumbleUpon. There’s more, of course, there always is! Next time we’ll list out the must-have secret formula to StumbleUpon success – just kidding, I love throw in all those descriptive words. But we will list out some rules and a few hot tips to get you stumbling in the right direction.

Check this out.

If you are marketing your business online, you NEED this must-have, gotta see it, top secret information….kidding!

You do need it but there's nothing top secret about it, or if there is, well, we've just unveiled it for you and everyone and their brother and their brother's wife and her family know about it.

It's about press releases…specifically the digital release. Simply put, due to the inter-connective nature of the web, articles and press releases are no longer exclusively viewable by news and press organizations.

Literally, anyone with access to an internet connection, a web browser or an RSS reader potentially has easy access to YOUR information. That, statement alone, dramatically impacts the nature of your press release and the crafting of the content contained within it.

Your audience has been switched up from a few journalists or news organizations to millions of web users. Savvy marketers recognize this unique and invaluable tool for gaining larger and larger shares of the market.

1. You need to target your releases to your buyers not just news organizations and journalists
2. Create content that is optimized for the search engines and rich in searchable phrases your customer would use in locating you
3. Embed links that lead them directly to your web site
4. Offer a link to sign up for a series of tutorials, a white paper or free service your customer might be interested in (This will get them into the buying cycle and you can begin to build a relationship with the customer)
5. Send a press release or article every chance you get. That means send them for all sorts of reasons – new product introductions, new services, improved web site navigational experiences, anything you can think of.
6. Use a press release distribution service simply because it makes the whole process much easier and the chances of getting in online news services like Google and Yahoo are pretty much guaranteed. PRWEb, Business Wire, Market Wire, PRNewswire
7. Create your own RSS feeds of your releases and news stories on your site. You can store them in a press area on your site where customers can get easy access and subscribe to receive your content.

Ok, 7 tips to get you started…Go get 'em!

Content is KING.

We hear it all the time.

I preach it at every opportunity.

It’s very simply one of THE most important aspects to growing your web presence.

But there’s a trick – a trick to making content work for you that a lot of individuals in online marketing won’t talk about.

The so called ‘trick’ is simply to understand HOW it works and WHAT the search engines are looking for in content. You can file this one away and break it out when you need it most and it will take you one step closer to that marketing guru status we are working toward…

Common Misconceptions About Using Content

Taking the content of the page and rewriting it on a regular basis will not boost your web site rankings. In fact, it will more than likely pull your ranking down.

*Please note…content SHOULD be updated/rewritten if it doesn’t contain any of the search phrases you want that particular page to rank for. It should also be reflected in your title tag, description and keyword tags up in the meta info in the head section of your site. (Hopefully you know this already…if you don’t call us ASAP!)

Same goes for streaming an rss feed onto one of your web site pages. It doesn’t impact your ranking. It’s a cool tool and can generate traffic to the feed source but again, does not impact your ranking in the search engines.

What You Need to Know

How a page ranks in the search engines is determined by that particular page’s attributes such as the number and quality of inbound links (inbound links are links coming from other sites and resources on the web), along with on the page factors such as keyword placement in title tags, copy, headers, etc.

Making Content Work for You

On the other hand, adding content in the form of articles, blog postings, resources, buyer’s guides, etc. can boost up your search rank and ultimately your traffic. What you are doing is creating more indexable content for the search engines to crawl (as well as attracting more links).

*Another note to remember – pages with few inbound links tend to slip out of the search rankings so you want to make sure the content is good and that people will want to link TO that content.

Now, just as an aside…there ARE ways to update content on the page to direct the search engine spiders to that page and then plant links to pages you want the spiders to discover. It does speed up the process of getting new pages listed quicker. It won’t impact your ranking but it will be indexed in the search engines quicker so the content is more available. Your best bet, though is to get it right the first time.

Make sense? Any questions? Post them below or toss them over via email. We love to get a good conversation started!

That’s it for today, here’s to you all you fabulous individuals out there who are working hard at your marketing and keepin' it real! Guru status, HERE WE COME!

Back to making you an online marketing guru…

We are continuing down the topic path of how to make your website shine. Today's post is short and sweet and but EXTREMELY important. So please, if you are doing 5 other things at once (yes, I know I do the very same thing ALL the time), cease and desist right now.

URL Rewriting:

Your URL and the links within your web site are very important. It’s the primary way spiders track and manage web site content. URLs that are dynamic are treated as less valuable by the search engines. URL rewriting makes the URL look “real” (nice and clean and spiffy) and gives your web site more credibility in the search engines. 

Good URL
http://www.bestecostuff.com/Product/b-happy-bags.aspx

Bad URL - Dynamic URL that Should be Rewritten
http://www.bestecostuff.com/Product/ProductInfo.aspx?id=26

So that's the marketing guru tip of the day. Here are some resources where you can find more information about URL rewriting. Or heck, just meander on over to google and do a search yourself and see what comes up.

From Wikipedia: "Using a URL rewrite engine, the website software can be presented with URLs in one form, while actual requests (and URLs seen by the user) are in another form. So rewrite engines allow URLs to be tidied up and made more user friendly, by configuring rewrite rules, rather than modifying the webserver software."

URL Rewriting from SEO tools  - Info on Apache server rewrite rules.

URL Rewriting using ASP.net framework - Yes, there's a lot of geek speak here but it's good information if you are familiar with ASP.net.

From Scott Guthrie (one of those techy guys…) - This is an excellent article on explaining the how's and why's of URL rewriting. 

Need some help with URL rewriting? Well, that's NOT our area of expertise. BUT we know people who know people who know people…kidding. We can point you in the right direction and give you some information on techy guys who do this type of thing so drop a line or head over to our sweet new form on the "Grow My Business" page and give it a tryout. If you need a contact or two, we are happy to oblige. 

To grow you have to move out of your comfort zone.

It’s a simple truth. But who wants to move away from what is familiar and comfortable? After all, comfort represents safety and love and well, it’s within the realm of what we know. Moving outside of our comfort level shoots us right into the realm of …gasp…the unknown.

But "look-a-here" (as my granny would say)…as business OWNERS you are Entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs, really successful entrepreneurs, are fearless and know when it’s time to grow, it’s time to move outside of what is comfortable and get into the stream of business where coincidences come together and a chain of events link together to move you into the next level of your business.

This is the place where no fear is allowed to reside. It’s necessary in the evolutionary growth of any business.

Today, in order to stay current and stay abreast of technology and how to use it to your advantage, there’s no room to be stagnant or stuck. You HAVE to move and if you don’t go forward the only place to go is back to where you started.I’ve seen first hand what happens at both ends of the spectrum. And, I have to say when a business owner makes the choice to move into those uncharted waters it is a sight to behold.

Make your choice and stick to your plan. When the universe beckons, heed the call. Be fearless and jump.

Yes, this is a soapbox moment and intended to add a little pep to your step. We are all in this together. Now get out there, be fearless and get in the stream of growth. Your business will thank you for it.

Wiktionary:

Guru: A leader or expert in a field.

This is first in a series of articles is designed to help you overcome any informational obstacles that are standing in the way of your complete and total marketing success.

In effect, you will become transformed into a guru. As you apply the strategies and utilize the tips, tools and resources, you’ll learn some of the most important marketing channels that will help drive action and convert web browsers into buyers.

So, what are you waiting for? Let's get to it! 

Here are the top ten best practices when creating your web site pages: 

1. Research phrases people are looking for and using when looking for your product. Wordtracker offers a valuable, easy to use service.
2. Page content should be between 300-500 words
3. Pick up search phrases and keywords associated with the product or service you are selling on that page. Use search phrase in a way that makes sense and flows naturally in the copy. 
4. Product Descriptions - Make the product descriptions neat and clean with unique keywords for that product.
5. Use Title Tags - Keep title tags unique while reinforcing the topic of the page. Google displays 60 characters with the ability to index 100 characters but the importance is placed within the first 60 characters. Title Tags are THE Most Important On Page Element and you can and should include promotional copy (your call to action) in them.
6. Keyword Meta Tags - Add in keywords to help assist in Yahoo rankings Keep between 7 – 48 words. Separate keywords by commas ex. <meta name=“keyword" content=“phrase 1, phrase 2, etc,”>. Avoid keyword spamming. Use keywords to reinforce the topic of individual pages
7. Description Meta Tags - Use this tag to reinforce the topic of the page and double as the description listed in the search results rather than content pulled from the page copy. Keep between 12 – 24 words. Use short descriptive sentences. Avoid using more than 2 commas. Incorporate targeted keywords. Do not use an exact sentence from the page content
8. Internal Links & Navigation - Reinforce the main targeted phrase with absolute links to the root level domain throughout the site. ex. http://www.yoursitename.com”> Your Site Name Avoid Dynamic URLs, multiple URL’s (please see URL Rewriting below.
9. When creating new page names use hyphens (-) while avoiding underscores (_) spaces ( %20 ) and dynamic variables.
10.  Image Optimization - Use ALT Tags - Your Images should have keywords embedded in the ALT Tags. Keep files sizes lo. Use descriptive image names (motorola_razor.gif vs. img_02_ab_sm.gif)

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It's the source of all true art and science."

 - Albert Einstein 

Green marketing is everywhere.

Eco aka organic aka green has finally been ‘recycled’ into mainstream marketing. I love it.

So I want to give a little shout out…a little yippee for all you marketers out there who are recognizing the value in sustainability both in business, in your marketing campaigns and in life in general.

Being green isn’t about putting on your Birkenstocks and hugging trees and running around yelling about the environment – although if that’s what makes you happy, go for it. Being green is a consciousness, a state of awareness that change needs to be beneficial not only to ourselves but to the people, the planet, the life around us. It’s a movement away from the accepted selfishness, the me, me, me that plagues our society into a circular understanding that we are all in this together and it’s up to us and our children to change for the better.

I know, I know…you are rolling your eyes right now and shaking your head ‘cause I’m back up on my soapbox.

But you know somebody’s gotta do it and I happen to believe this is a uniquely positive opportunity for businesses to step up and step out and a fabulous opportunity to engage in educating and talking to your clients and customers on a level that’s never been reached.

I’m not talking about greenwashing, here. I’m talking about honest, open, relationship building at the grassroots level.

It’s not always easy to walk your talk but in truth, that’s what it’s all about. So that’s it for my Friday green rant. Not so complicated, really. Just a little shout out to say – Go get ‘em, get out there and sink your toes into this new green marketing grass. You might find that it feels pretty good!