Internet Marketing Secrets Issue #124 - May 31 2007 In this Issue: 1) The secrets of selling more 2) Letting your own morals guide you 3) SEO training for competitive markets 4) The best way to monetize type-in traffic 5) Get passive income from your phpBB forum 6) How to show up in Google's Universal Search 7) Practicing the fundamentals leads to success 8) The biggest mistake in PPC advertising All this and a lot more in this issue of IMS. Enjoy! - - - - - - Sponsor - - - - - - Mass Marketing is Dead. Long Live the Niche! The niche marketing formula is simple. Go for the lowest competition and the highest traffic. Are you ready to discover the easy pickings? The low hanging fruit? The long tail of the search? Now NicheBot comes with an easy to use LSI tool. Discover how to "theme up" your website and make it search engine friendly, without needing a whole bunch of incoming links. Ready to Dominate a Niche? ==> http://www.cdzn.com/nb2 WebLink ==> Click - - - - - - /Sponsor - - - - - - INTERNET MARKETING & SEARCH ENGINE NEWS The Secrets of Selling More I just finished reading a book by the best sales trainer in the world... Jeffrey Gitomer. In the "Little Red Book of Sales Answers" there's just about everything you'll need to know to about increasing sales both online and off. If you have a website, newsletter, work in sales, or sell anything at all, I'm going to recommend that you read this book. No... wait, study it. Savor it. Memorize the pages. It's very easy to read. It's a small book. Very easy to carry. And it's only 20 bucks. It has 99.5 short stories on how you can make more sales. These are real world answers that you can apply to any sales situation. It teaches you how to ask questions that your competition isn't asking. It helps you get past any objections that you may be faced with. It uncovers the real causes and motivations behind the purchase. It teaches about giving value first, which increases your perceived value and your conversion rates. It's wisdom worth learning and practicing. Since my rating scale only goes up to 10, I'll have to give it a 10.5, because it's perfect and then some. Go buy it at Amazon.com. It's probably the best business book you'll read all year. - - - - - SEO Training for Competitive Markets What are your main keywords? Would you like to be in the top 10 search results on Google... the most heavily used search engine? Of course you would... who wouldn't love to get all that traffic? How would you like to be mentored by someone who consistently has his site in the top results? Someone who holds down top position in one of the most competitive markets? Someone who trains you not in geek speak, but in everyday English? I'm talking about Colin McDougall, author of the highly acclaimed VEO Report. He's not a guru. He's just a regular hard working guy that doesn't give up. He keeps at it until he finds what works. If you think competing for wedding favors or barbecues is hard, try bankcards. Colin holds down a top 10 spot for several keywords in this market. Now Colin shows and tells all. If he can do it... so can you. What he's offering is missing from almost every other private site... personal assistance. If you get stuck with your internet marketing, or SEO efforts, Colin will be there to help you through it. I've spoken with Colin quite extensively about his new club. I am convinced that he is dedicated to helping you succeed and achieve your goals. He is collecting a huge database of your questions. The most frequently asked ones will be addressed through teleconferences, podcasts and webinars. There won't be any CDs or DVDs, as content delivered in these mediums are usually obsolete by the time you receive them. By using podcasts and conference calls, new marketing strategies can be explored while they are still emerging. Whereas old tactics - that used to work - can be dismissed and put away, once and for all. For example, on his site, he shows a little video on how to get a couple of PR6 links to your site. It's one of his favorite SEO tricks of all time and it takes less than five minutes to do. Once you watch the video you'll know this secret. And after you've picked your jaw off the floor, and your brain has had a chance to recover, you'll want to join Colin's "Fly on the Wall" SEO club. Colin McDougall's SEO Club ==> http://www.cdzn.com/fly Seriously folks... in a land of opportunists, all just trying to sell you stuff, almost none of them have walked the walk. They all talk up a storm, but in reality, almost none of the marketers have ever practiced what they preach. So here's a refreshing change, from someone who not only competes and wins. He battles it out for some of the most competitive keyword terms on the planet. Now just imagine what he could do for your market? - - - - - Tips for Getting Found in Google's Universal Search About two weeks ago, Google decided to try something new in the way they show search results. It's called, "Universal Search." All long winded press coverage aside, it means that in addition to web pages, there will be pictures, videos, and other media sources mixed into the main search results pages. But it turns out there's way more than multimedia. There's Wiki results. Blog and forum posts. Twitter feeds, Geocities pages, newsgroups, news archives, Technorati tags, and get this... even personal ads from a dating service. At least that's the way it was when I searched for Chewbacca, a fictional character from the Star Wars universe. They've just started doing it, so the results are all over the map. I'm sure it will settle down into some sort of recognizable pattern that we can test and measure in the future. There have been all sorts of reports in the media and blogosphere. Some doom and gloom. Lots of speculation and useless drivel. What's important, is the impact it will have on you. As always, some of you will lose positioning and for others it will increase. If you have other forms of media, in addition to web pages, you'll get increased exposure. Your PDFs, videos, podcasts and photos get a better chance of being found in the mainstream results. What is important is how you name and describe the files. For example, the description of your podcast becomes critical. You must place your most important keywords in the title, file name (if possible) and meta description. Same deal with photos. Name the person or object in the filename, as in firstandlastname.jpg, not pic123.jpg. Link to the photo with keywords when possible. My early tests show keywords appearing in the alt tag, tool tips or file path only occasionally. When Google announced the change, they told us to search for things like Steve Jobs, or Darth Vader and see the new results. There's the new toolbar across the top of all search pages, the potpourri of search results, and "Searches related to" links at the bottom, for drilling down into topics. Something interesting to note, is that all the new features may not be available in your area. Only half the features work when searching Google.ca but all the changes become apparent when using Google.com. Another thing you'll notice, is the dynamic nature of the Google index. It fluctuates almost daily. When I first searched for Steve Jobs, there were three photos at the top of the results. Two days later, the photos were gone and one video from YouTube was there instead. Same deal with Darth Vader. There were image results at the top for the first week. When I searched again, the same images are at the bottom, under the related searches and news archives. According to Marissa Mayer, Google VP of Search Products, who originated the idea, "Over several years, with the help of more than 100 people, we've built the infrastructure, search algorithms, and presentation mechanisms to provide what we see as just the first step in the evolution toward universal search." "Today, we're making that first step available on google.com by launching the new architecture and using it to blend content from Images, Maps, Books, Video, and News into our web results." "With universal search, we're attempting to break down the walls that traditionally separated our various search properties and integrate the vast amounts of information available into one simple set of search results." Right now it's like a big batch of stew, freshly made. But like any soup or stew, it tastes better the second day, after the flavors have had a chance to marry. So we'll need to wait a while and see where it all goes. In the mean time, pay close attention to how you name and describe your videos, PDFs, photos and audio files. Your chances of showing up in Google's Universal Search results depend on it. - - Adv - - Want Content, Links and Traffic? Here's how to get them fast. You don't need market research or reciprocal links. Every month you get 400 optimized articles. 24 announcement blogs. Instant incoming links. Tons of how-to video. And good solid SEO advice. You can modify the articles however you like. Use them for both affiliate and AdSense revenue sites. Get instant content and incoming links from up to 24 blogs. Plus good solid SEO advice, that you can use right away. Get Content, Links and Traffic ==> http://www.cdzn.com/au WebLink ==> Click - - /Adv - - Earn Massive Passive Income From Your phpBB Forum Do you have a phpBB discussion forum or bulletin board on your website? Want to earn revenue from it? I'm not talking the pittance you currently receive from pay per click ads. What I'm talking about is 100 times more powerful. It's the new Forum AdManager by Adrian Ling and Harvey Segal. If you own the phpBB discussion board, you can use the Forum AdManager to create ad slots on every page. You then sell the space to advertisers. You charge them for placing ads on your forum and earn a passive income. You can even use your own ads. If you have any unsold ad inventory, you can join affiliate programs, or CPA programs, and feature any type of products that you want. This new tool removes all of the administration. It handles all the laborious tasks. As a forum owner, you set the advertising rates, after that... there is nothing left for you to do. It handles the payments. Provides all the stats. Manages the ads. It even displays your own default ads if a paid ad is not available. The amount you earn, is in direct proportion to the size of your forum. All you need are three things: 1) A Unix / Linux host which supports Cron jobs. 2) A Business or Premier Paypal Account to receive payments. 3) A desire to earn passive income from your phpBB traffic. That's all there is to it. You could be up and running in less than five minutes. Forum AdManager is a free download. They install it for you. And if your revenues are anything like theirs, you could be earning up to 100 times more than you presently do with your PPC ads. Get the Forum AdManager ==> http://www.cdzn.com/fam - - - - - Let Your Own Morals Guide You Recently a "brand name" marketer wanted me to promote his report. He even offered me 50 cents for every person that downloaded it. Rather than jump at the chance, I decided to read the report and watch the videos before recommending it. Good thing too, because I don't agree with the author. The report and video encouraged me to covet and steal my competitor's advertising. It suggests that I copy and paste their best performing ads, and compete directly with the original... then try to improve upon them. The author doesn't seem to be aware that ads - at least in my country - are copyright. In addition, many of them contain trademarks, servicemarks, slogans, brand names and other forms of ownership in the words and phrases. Most companies record all their online activities. If an identical ad suddenly appears there could be legal action. It's also a potential liability risk for all parties involved. What the author is telling me to do - in my opinion - is ethically and morally wrong. And it breaks at least two of God's 10 Commandments. It's sad really, because otherwise it's a decent product. If they had gone about promoting it a different way, I might have got behind it. But not this way. I'm taking the high road and steering far away from this nonsense. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to push my morals on you. Believe me, I'm making a lot of enemies in the marketing circles just by reporting this. I simply want to make sure you - the consumer - are aware of the potential dangers involved, that's all. When it comes to any product or service, you must decide for yourself, how you will use it. Make your own choice. Let your own conscience and morals be your guide. And in the end, you'll know you made the right choice, if you feel at peace with your decision. - - - - - Best Way to Monetize Type-In Traffic Type-in traffic happens when people type your website address into their browser, instead of going to a search engine. If you have a really good name and it gets typed in a lot, what's the best way to monetize the traffic? (You can find good domain names using psychicwhois.com or a desktop app like Rod Beckwith's Domain Suggestion Tool ==> http://www.cdzn.com/dst ) The same domain name was used for all tests. The first test involved a smArticle AdSense template. These are different than other templates, because they have a minimal footprint. You must provide your own articles or modified PLR articles. I ran the 10 page site for two months. It averaged around 80 dollars per month. For the second test I partnered with one of the largest Domain Registrars. (Putting AdSense on a parked page is against Google's TOS, unless you're a Registrar.) In the revenue sharing agreement, I get 80% of the take from the parked page. The site (my share) averaged only 30 dollars per month. In the third test, I used the same set of modified Article Underground PLR articles as the first test. Except this time I used affiliate programs instead of AdSense ads. The site averaged 145 dollars per month. The final test was almost identical to the third, except this time I used CPA (cost per action) affiliate programs. In this type of program, the customer doesn't have to buy anything. I can get paid for something as simple as a zip code or some other action. The site averaged 160 dollars per month. My conclusion is the same as my earlier hunch, except now I have over six months of test data to back it up. Affiliate programs are a little more work to implement, but they always have, and probably always will... earn more than running passive PPC ads on your site. - - - - - INTERNET MARKETING AND SEO FAQs Practicing the Fundamentals Leads to Success Question: Michael, you seem to stick to the basics, the fundamentals. We've subscribed to your newsletter for years. We keep venturing off and trying new things. But we always seem to keep coming back to your advice. Is it just my imagination, or do the fundamentals seem to work better than all the new stuff? Answer: I'd say that 98.6% of success is achieved through the fundamentals. It doesn't matter if it's marketing or football. The legendary football coach Vince Lombardi, said that they won the championship by sticking to blocking and tackling. The fundamentals of the game. The true definition of marketing is bringing a product to market. It's about finding a market with an unmet need or want. Creating or sourcing a product to fill that need, and selling the product to that market, including after sale service and relationship building. You're simply bringing the buyer and seller together. You're bringing together two people, who needed to find each other. That's the reason why I wrote the 200 Page Challenge and the Keyword Marketing Report, because both papers teach the fundamentals. Download the Reports ==> http://www.cdzn.com/fun Both are doable in a relatively short period of time. They'll also help you get good organic search positioning, without a whole lot of incoming links. While everyone is off chasing the latest web two point oh... oohs and aahs... spending hundreds of man-hours spamming the social bookmarking sites, MySpace, Squidoo and the like, they could have spent the same effort on the fundamentals of SEO and PPC, and had three to ten times the traffic. My advice? Get back to work and stop checking the inbox every five minutes. Once a day is enough. (Trust me. The conflicting sales pitches and slick ads will still be there at the end of the day. Read them only when you feel like getting totally distracted and pulled in 50 different directions, and then get paralyzed by information overload and making yourself feel better by buying a bunch of carp that you're never going to use. ;-) All kidding aside... Stick to the fundamentals like the 200 Page Challenge, and you'll be surprised how easy it is, to have a successful, scaleable, and sustainable business model. - - Adv - - Join the Family of Achievers Are ready for leadership and guidance from proven mentors? Are you willing to put in the work to achieve your desires? If the answer is yes, the Keyword Avalanche has just what you're looking for. Want an Avalanche of Abundance? ==> http://www.cdzn.com/ka WebLink ==> Click - - /Adv - - FEATURE ARTICLE The Biggest Mistake in PPC Advertising The biggest mistake people make in PPC advertising, is that they try to do too much too soon. How can such a tiny ad cause such big trouble? You've heard it said, that you need a giant keyword list and to dump them all into the ad system. You then bid on as many long tail terms as you can find. It sounds good in theory, but it rarely works. What does work is a tightly focused little group. Maybe six to ten closely related keyword phrases. These words lead to a single landing page where you bring the prospect into your sales funnel. One person I heard of, blew over 10,000 dollars in less than seven days, on one single campaign. They choose prescriptiondrugs as their market. And they didn't make a single sale. Why on earth would anyone do that? Wouldn't you close the floodgates after just 50 dollars and write a new ad. Or better yet, choose an entirely different market? There is a way to get good at PPC. And it involves study and practice. You need to study the work of someone who's good at it, then practice what you've learned. Any one of these would teach you what you need to know. The Pay Per Click Formula ==> http://www.cdzn.com/ppc PPC Traffic Conversion Seminar ==> http://www.cdzn.com/pmt Personal PPC Coaching ==> http://www.cdzn.com/pmc It's no secret, that you must earn more than you spend. So if you could get a system going where you consistently made double or triple your investment... how much would you invest? If you're like most people, they'd invest all of it! If you could put 100 in and get 300 back on a consistent basis, you'd want to scale it up as quickly as possible. PPC advertising is a lot like that. It is consistent and predictable traffic. Relying on traffic from SEO is not. PPC can have traffic to your site in as little as 15 minutes. SEO traffic could take up to three months... but only if your site appears in the top 10 search results. Little changes to your PPC ad can make a big difference in how much you earn. Little changes to your SEO can result in a page that loses its rankings. The point is, PPC is a game. You need to learn the rules and practice the fundamentals, over and over, until you become a master of the art. You need to learn how to write the ads. All it takes is a headline, two lines of copy, and an url. But how can something so small be so tricky? When I first started running a PPC campaign, I bid on too many words. It soon became apparent that only certain words were converting. Some phrases got clicked on, some got clicked a lot. But without that little bit of tracking code supplied by Google for my thank you page, I'd never know which keywords actually converted into customers. That's the first thing you can do... track the results. Because like the rabbit said, "If you don't know were you're going, then any path will take you there." You definitely want - at the very least - to track the amount of sign ups and sales you are getting from your ads. The more closely you track each change, the better your conversion process will be. And don't get discouraged or give up. Sometimes it will take a little time and effort to find your groove. For me, the keywords that I thought I should use, turned out to be way too competitive. It took a while, but I finally found my keywords and my groove. I now dominate that phrase on PPC ads. My ad gets as high as 5% clickthrough. My landing page gets as high as 63% conversion. Those are unheard of numbers. But the statistics don't lie, and I can prove them to anyone who asks. But I didn't get good at this alone. I studied everything that the leading AdSense experts wrote. Got their books, courses, and listened to all the audio files many times. If there is one thing that I learned, it's that you must start small. And very small things in your ad can make a big difference. Something as tiny as a comma or missing period, can have a huge effect on sales. But the best part? It's a lot of fun. Way more fun than doing SEO and having to wait three months to see results. PPC is immediate gratification. Sure it has costs associated with it, but so does SEO. One costs per click, the other takes a lot of time, in content and link building. PPC is an art form. Some people love to practice it, not because it's easy, but because once you "get it" you can repeat it. You can scale it up. The amount you make, is in direct proportion to the amount of practice you put in. The amount you practice is directly related to how much you know. What you know comes through study. So what are you going to do? Sit there and worry about not getting enough search engine traffic... or are you going to do something about it. If you get good at PPC advertising, it's the only traffic source that you'll ever need. It's consistent and predictable. And the amount of traffic that turns into customers, is entirely up to you. - - - - - That's it for this issue my friend. Thank you for reading. We'll chat again soon. Until then, here's wishing you all the best for online success. Michael Campbell P.S. Did you like this newsletter? Why not forward it to your friends, coworkers, classmates and anyone else that you think might enjoy it. Thank you for your continued support. 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