What You Don't Know About Keywords... That Your Competitors May Know

What You Don't Know About Keywords... That Your Competitors May Know
Did you know that 25% of searches each month are brand new,
never before seen search words and phrases?

That is shocking. You would think with the number of search
queries running through Google, they have seen it all.

We spend so much time on keyword research - and rightfully
so, it's the foundation of your campaign. But this new
information tells us that we need to tweak the process a
little bit to keep up with the ever changing SEO world.

So, how do you handle keyword research and make sure you
are staying current?

First and foremost you want to make sure you have outlined
your strategy. Without a plan in place you are likely to
forget to do it, and it'll just rattle around in the back
of your brain or sit on a post-it note that gets stuck to
the back of another piece of paper in your planner.

So, before that happens, let's define your plan right now.

1. Start with a brainstorming session to list all possible
words and phrases that people would use to find what you
have to offer. Remember to put yourself in the mindset of
the potential customer.

2. Do the necessary research to continue building your list.

a. Research your competitors and see what keywords they are
using.

b. Look at your web stats and logs and pull words and
phrases from there (this is a great source of info, you can
find the words that people are already using to find you
and enhance your rankings on those words so you can get
even more traffic).

c. If you have a search feature on your site, look at the
logs and see what people are searching for within your site
once they get there.

3. Take the large master list you have come up with, and
use a keyword tool to determine how much traffic there is
and how competitive the words/phrases are. Remember you
can't live and die by this information; it only acts as a
guide for you.

4. Take your list and break it into segments. You want some
"low hanging fruit" - which means keywords that may be
longer phrases, with less traffic. These words will be easy
to rank for fairly quickly so you can use those as your
starting point to drive some quick traffic to the site. The
second segment of your list should be words that are more
competitive and have more traffic and will take longer to
get rankings for. You will be glad you selected keywords
from each segment, because you will be getting traffic from
the low hanging fruit while you are waiting for the more
competitive phrases to kick in.

And now you write your content, optimize your site and you
are all done, right?

Wrong! Here is where most people are missing out and you
need to plan further action.

5. Once a month you should do keyword research and see what
new words and phrases come up and add those new words and
phrases to your campaign. If you find once a month is too
often, do it every other month. Just make sure you have a
plan to check back regularly so you can take advantage of
new search phrases and tap into more traffic.

If you are adding content to your site like you should be,
then adding these new keyword phrases should be easy to
work into the new content you are writing.

----------------------------------------------------
Jennifer Horowitz is the Director of Marketing and co-owner
of http://www.EcomBuffet.com . Since 1998, her expertise
in online marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
has helped clients increase revenue and achieve their
business goals. Jennifer has written a downloadable book on
Search Engine Optimization and has been published in many
SEO and marketing publications. Jennifer can be reached at
Jennifer@ecombuffet.com

eBay Ebook Success: 7 Sources of Content for your Blog

eBay Ebook Success: 7 Sources of Content for your Blog
In my previous articles I discussed things you need to
consider before you begin blogging. Once you have
considered these factors you should be ready to start your
blog. However, there is one more critical factor -
content. Where are you going to get your blog content
from? What type of content are you going to provide? In
this article I try to answer these questions by discussing
seven sources of content for your blog.

1) SELF WRITTEN CONTENT:- When starting your blog you
should definitely be consider writing your own content.
Why? Because it is free and it also provides your blog
with a dose of your own personality. You do not have to
write every single post yourself because this can take a
lot of time. However, there is no reason you cannot write
an occasional article or product review for your blog.

2) EBAY LISTINGS:- Since your blog is a supplement for your
eBay business it makes sense to highlight eBay listings on
your blog. Do not fill it with all your eBay listings or
your readers will quickly start to see your blog as one big
advert. However, the occasional post about one of your
eBay listings that you feel requires additional attention
is fine. For example, maybe you have a new ebook out?
Perhaps you have just listed an ebook in your eBay store
which contains some really insightful information? Your
readers are interested in ebooks too (that is why they are
reading an eBay ebook blog), so they will want to read
about some of your eBay ebooks. If done correctly,
blogging about your eBay listings can improve the
appearance of your blog and generate interest from your
readers. Just make sure you do not overdo it.

3) ARTICLES FROM THE DIRECTORIES:- I have discussed in my
previous articles how article directories can be a great
sources of traffic. Well they can be a great source of
free content too. Have a search through the article
directories for articles on the topics you are looking to
publish and then republish them. The only thing you have
to make sure of is that you include the author's resource
box so that they receive the credit for writing the article.

4) PRIVATE LABEL RIGHTS (PLR) ARTICLES:- PLR articles are
sold to a limited group of customers (let's say 50). These
50 customers then have exclusive rights to use these
articles for web content, email content, part of an ebook
or whatever else they wish. PLR articles can be a great
way to get content for your blog quickly. Although they
usually cost a little money, they have an advantage over
articles from the directories because of their limited
distribution. Instead of publishing a directory article
that has potentially been used by thousands of people, you
can publish a relatively unique PLR article. Plus, you can
make changes to the PLR article, giving it a unique spin
for your blog.

5) OUTSOURCED ARTICLES:- If you are not happy with other
people having the same PLR articles as you and you do not
have the time to write your own unique articles, outsourced
articles are an option. Simply, find a good writer (ask
for a sample of their work before agreeing to purchase any
articles) and then agree a fee per article. They will then
write unique, relevant articles which you can post on your
blog. The disadvantage with outsourced articles is that
they will cost more than PLR articles.

6) EBOOKS:- As an eBay ebook seller you should have plenty
of ebooks with resell rights and giveaway rights stashed
away on your computer. Why not give some away on your
blog? Your readers will really appreciate getting free
ebooks that they can then go on to resell in their eBay
stores.

7) YOUTUBE VIDEOS:- Interactive websites are becoming
increasingly popular and YouTube is no exception. On
YouTube you can find videos on almost every topic including
selling ebooks on eBay. All the videos on YouTube contain
code to embed the video, so all you have to do is copy and
paste this code into a blog post and voila - you have video
on your blog.

I hope these seven sources of content prove useful to you
and your blog. Even if you are not running a blog related
to eBay and ebooks, many of the ideas above can still be
applied. Now that you have the sources you just need to
take action. Start posting today and watch your blog grow.

----------------------------------------------------
Tom Parker is an eBay Ebook PowerSeller who has been
selling ebooks and software on eBay for a number of years.
He trades under the eBay ID: EbookCavern and runs The Ebook
Cavern Ebay Store. If you want to learn Tom's top eBay
ebook tips subscribe to The Ebook Cavern Newsletter by
visiting: http://newsletter.theebookcavern.co.uk/

Creating Trust Online (Method 2)

Creating Trust Online (Method 2)
People trust other people more than websites. One of the
biggest things that turn off people from buying online is
the lack of human interaction and personality.

As said before, pictures of the author behind an ebook, the
manager of the online store or the friendly faces of
customer service staffers all help promote trust and
increase sales.

Other ways to create trust using human presence online is
to add testimonials to your site or include a discussion
board. Testimonials show that your site and product have
active customers that endorse it. A discussion community,
if active, shows that you have customers and fans actively
discussing your product.

Both these elements not only promote trust but help you
bring in the "social acceptance" factor of sales. This
simply means that people prefer to buy products that they
know others are interested in - it's also called "following
the crowd."

Lets take a look at how to use these human elements to
build trust.

Using Images of Real People

Revealing the face behind the website is a great way to
build trust. You can reveal:

· your own face if you manage the website and have a
solid interest in the website's topic
· faces of the people handling customer support
· the face of the creator of the product you're
selling

Think strategically when you are placing these images.
According to eye studies, a human face on the web is a
major attention drawer.

You should be very careful with where you place a picture
of a human face. Faces added randomly can be detrimental as
they draw attention away from important copy points like
headlines.

Use faces to draw attention to important site elements like
sign up boxes, order forms or testimonials - anything you
WANT the visitor to look at.

Marketing Guru Alex Mandossian loves using the human face
around sign-up forms. He believes that the combination of a
virtual entity like a sign-up form combined with a real
human face creates a powerful draw.

He calls this the "Sesame Street Effect" after the popular
children's TV show.

On Sesame Street, the producers found that young children
were most drawn to the TV screen when they saw shots with
real live actors and virtual puppets together. Shots with
just puppets or just live actors created less of an
attention draw.

Mandossian uses this same principle when designing sign-up
forms. You'll notice that his sign-up forms always include
a picture of himself interacting with the sign up form. For
a further boost of trust, include anecdotes about employees
or bios of the site founders. If you can see the
personalities - names or some biographical data - you can
develop a greater sense of reliance and trust in the site.

Use photos of smiling people. If a person looks confident
and happy it will be easier for the shoppers to relate to
them and will lesson any natural distrust.

And if for any reason you don't want to use photos of your
own staff you can buy webready pictures of smiling people
from iStockPhoto.com for only $1 each.

Use Endorsements and Testimonials

Busy online communities help build trust through the
principle of "social acceptance." In a nutshell, humans
have a tendency to follow the crowd.

If you observe a lot of people talking about a product or
using it, you conclude the product must be good. If you
have an active newsletter with over 10,000 subscribers (or
any other impressive number) state this on your site.

On the sign up form for your newsletter add text like
"10,000 subscribers and growing." A simple statement like
that builds trust.

If you have an online community, share recent community
posts on your site. An active community tells a visitor
that your site has a following and a product worth talking
about. If you don't currently have a community, you can
create one for free on Yahoo! Groups.

Yahoo! Groups provides an excellent email based discussion
list. Make sure to make the list Public (this means people
can view messages without having to sign up).

----------------------------------------------------
Bjorn Brands is a successfull enterprenuer who transitioned
from having his own building company to a great online
business. Check out his site and see for yourself how he
can help you do the same at http://www.moneyacces.com

Blogging Basics

Blogging Basics
If you are looking for a way to drive more traffic to your
website, look no further. Blogging is a very effective way
to bring new visitors to your site. Search engines like
blogs and this is why when doing a keyword search, you will
very often see a blog posting at the top of the list.

If you are not blogging, you are missing out on a lot of
traffic to your site. Start one or several blogs and
channel all that traffic to your main website. Your blog
can be a subsection of your website or you can build a
stand along version. Either way, make sure you link back
to your main site. Place links to your home page as well
as other pages from your site. You are trying to get as
much exposure for your site as possible.

There are several ways you can use to create your blog.
The two that I recommend are Blogger and Wordpress. They
are both easy to use and navigate. They also offer a lot
of features so you can customize the look of your blog.
You have the option of hosting your blog on their servers
or you can host it yourself. To host it yourself, you will
need to purchase and register your own domain. Many
hosting companies will offer free domain registration when
you purchase a hosting account from them.

There are several benefits for hosting your blog yourself.
For this article, we will discuss two of them. First, the
url itself. If you host your blog on Blogger, your url
will look like this: yourwebsite.blogspot.com. However, if
you host it yourself, the url will look like this:
yourwebsite.com. This will give your url a more
professional, as well as credible, look. Plus, it will be
much easier for your readers to remember.

The second reason to host your own blog is far more
significant. Blogs that are hosted on free services, are
at risk of disappearing without warning or reason. All
your hard work and effort will be gone. If you choose to
go this route, I highly recommend keeping backups of all
your posting's on a disc, just in case.

Here are some pointers to a successful blog. Post
frequently, at least 2 - 3 times per week. Blogs that are
not updated regularly will become boring and lose their
following. Add an RSS feed so your readers can subscribe
to your blog. This will also notify them when you have
added a new post.

Give your blog personality. Make it interesting to your
viewers. A dull, uninteresting blog will not build much of
a following.

Finally, find other blogs in your niche and write some
comments to their posts. Most blogs will allow you a link
back to your site. Post useful, informative comments. Do
not post SPAM or sales pitch comments. You can use this
method to build good working business relationships as well
as establish links back to your site.

----------------------------------------------------
Lori Gorman is the owner/webmaster of
http://www.myebizplace.com as well as a successful work at
home mom and author. Visit her site for all the latest,
guaranteed legitimate work at home opportunities. While
there, sign up for a FREE subscription to her Work at Home
Newsletter, filled with up to date opportunities as well as
tips and ideas for your Home Business.

The Best Money Making Program For Newbies

The Best Money Making Program For Newbies
If you're new to the idea of making money online and have
started your search to find a legitimate program that suits
you, chances are good that you will be confused and
overwhelmed by the incredible onslaught of money making
websites out there. Here's an invaluable tip that will
narrow your search down and save you time and money: Don't
bother with programs that claim to make you ridiculous
amounts of wealth within days or weeks. It just doesn't
work that way. If you believe these websites, you'll end
up like the countless victims who fall for this trap
everyday. Earning a real income online does involve some
effort, but it is far easier and often quicker than doing
it with a business in the brick and mortar world.

There are many legitimate ways to earn cash on the
Internet. However, when you consider factors such as
potential income flow and investments in time, money and
effort, there's only one choice that really makes sense.
Internet marketing offers many the opportunity to create a
steady stream of income. Affiliate marketing is the
easiest and one of the most popular form of marketing
online and is a perfect starting point for newbies. The
idea is simple, promote other company's products online for
a generous commission. Best of all, most affiliate
programs are free to join. Consider these other benefits:

1. You don't need your own products to sell.

2. You don't have to have a website to promote affiliate
products.

3. You don't need any sales experience.

4. The risk involved is extremely small.

5. Everything is done online. There is no door to door
sales or telemarketing involved.

When you choose to become an affiliate, you basically need
to do one thing: Promote the link that was given to you
when you joined a program. When interested people click on
the link, they're taken to the merchant's website and you
earn a commission if they purchase something. You only
need to promote that link. The website does all the
selling for you. How you promote your link is completely
up to you. There are numerous ways to do it on the
Internet. You can blog about it, write articles and submit
them to directories, invest in your own website to promote
it, pay for online advertisements or use free traffic
exchange sites. These are just some of the popular methods
that are being used today. The truth is, advertising
online is very affordable and highly effective.

If you want to earn income with affiliate marketing or any
other type of money making program, remember that the
effort you put into it is what you get out of it. Effort
is what's going to determine how much you make and how fast
it takes you to make it. Unfortunately, it's this very
effort that discourages many from attempting to make money
online in the first place. Yet, these same people have no
problems working 40 hours a week for a fixed income.
Imagine if they put that much time into an online business
such as affiliate marketing. The potential income really
is limitless.

For many of us, dedicating 40 hours a week just isn't
possible. Most of us can only give a few hours a week, but
the beauty of being an affiliate marketer is that you can
start and develop an Internet business even on this
restricted time budget. You are the boss. You decide how
long and when to work because the web closes for no one.
There are no deadlines to meet and the risks and expenses
to maintain an online marketing business are minimal. You
can't get rich overnight, but you can get rich with an
affiliate marketing business if you put the right effort
into it. The simplicity and the low start up cost makes
affiliate marketing one of the most popular ways to earn
money on the Internet. It's a perfect online program for
newbies or for absolutely anyone interested in earning a
great income online.

----------------------------------------------------
Jimmie Leonguerrero is owner and CEO of
http://www.legitimatecashflow.com . His website offers
more information on affiliate marketing and other
legitimate opportunities.

The Pure Freedom Potential of Leveraged Income

The Pure Freedom Potential of Leveraged Income
Today, the role of leveraged income is becoming a strong
force in our economy. People are approaching the horizon
of retirement only to discover they have not been able to
sufficiently save for the years the have looked forward to
enjoying. Last year the United States had a negative one
percent savings rate. Corporate shifts leave people
without the job or career they thought they once had.
Those who are left find they are increasingly doing more
work, spending more time, and getting farther behind.
There is market need for our product which is creating
passive income. Electronic or e-commerce is growing
dramatically and with it the ability to share businesses
that commonly have been conducted in traditional methods
has grown almost beyond one's imagination. According to
recent findings there are 175,000 people joining a network
marketing business each week. I believe there are many who
are seeking a professional opportunity, one in which they
can participate with dignity.

What does this say for those who offer network marketing?
It speaks volumes! Journalist, Malcolm Gladwell in his
book, "The Tipping Point", discusses how small-scaled
events can create enormous change, both socially and
economically. Economist, Paul Zane Pilzer, in "The
Wellness Revolution", predicts the health and wellness
industry will be the next trillion dollar industry. These
indicators support the idea that entrepenturers seeking a
new channels for income will be looking very closely at an
opportunity with a developed business model for both
full-time and part-time endeavors. Business entities that
develop systems for their teams to follow will certainly be
a strong part of the new "tipping point".

The forward thinking entrepreneurs will look for a complete
system with an appealing approach to the marketplace. One
where this approach indicated that the company has studied
how successful organizations are managed in top producing
areas all over the world and have taken the best of each,
creating the complete system and the business model and
system within succinctly defined and automated so one is
able to replicate it and produce a stream of passive income
for themselves.

Business partnering and coaching components assure that
support will be there for those participating in the
opportunity. You want to look for a high level of
commitment to your success. This does not mean you get to
join, relax, and watch your bank account grow. It doesn't
work that way. It means for those willing to take
actionable steps to changing their lives, rolling up the
sleeves and working to create passive income the rewards
are exponential. Be self-motivated, be confident, and look
for support.

In closing let me reiterate, for those longing for a strong
sustainable income with the freedom most would not be able
to comprehend, a well chosen network marketing opportunity
is one of the fastest way to wealth. You will not be any
further ahead tomorrow without making a change - taking
action today. In the words of a giant among giants, Walt
Disney, "The way to get started is to quit talking and
begin doing." Beginning today will allow you tomorrow to
celebrate your success.

----------------------------------------------------
Financial Strategist Nancy Quinlisk helps thousands of
young families and those nearing retirement to create
wealth for themselves. She charts the way for developing a
solid plan and teaches how to replicate the system for
others, thus dispelling the common myths that sabotage
wealth cycle development.
http://www.powerof12online.com