Local Internet Search Marketing

Blogs, RSS, XML. What does all this mean?

2005-07-19T15:19:00.000-05:00

Blogs are simply a new term used to describe a web site. It is the combination of the words "web" and "log". By nature it is simply a diary of thoughts, opinions, rants, raves, or other types of editorial content.

Because a blog by nature is a source of information that can be used for research or education, it is not a place for e-commerce transactions, although text based ads that relate to the topics of the blogs, are welcome to be displayed next to the original content.

Since the basic goals of search engines is to be the universal resources for world-wide data and information, blogs get better rankings on search page result since the major content within a blog is not a advertisement to get your immediate business, rather it can be a source of subjective information.

A blog can help web sites by linking to content on other web pages that related to services mentioned in the blog. Another way that a blog can help promote information on a topic is that is can be sindicated directly to a persons email, web site, or custom "My" home pages. This system is called RSS or Real Simple syndication. By adding small code to a web site, a web master or blog publisher can inform subscribers when the content on their web site has been updated. The same syndication process can be used by publishers who are producing a mp3 broadcast, or commonly known as "pod casting".

Publishers most commonly using RSS feeds to inform their subscribers of the newly added content are in the news business. See this example available at CNN's web site.

Bottom line, if you are type of person that can regular add new content in the form of a "how to" then blogging may be for you and may also increase traffic to your own business's web site.

Q: How should an SEO be paid? A: Compensation Based on Performance.

2005-07-14T15:46:00.000-05:00

If it is not hard enough to explain to a prospect what it is that SEO's do, trying to explain compensation for their work is even harder.

I pride myself on being able to easily get across to my small-business clients how important it is to have a budget for internet marketing. What I don't pride myself on is the transition from close to sale at the end of my presentation. It seems as though I loose my clients attention at that point.

Nevertheless, there is a compensation standard for consultants and SEO's working in an effort to get the maximum amount of search engine exposure for their clients. Part of the compensation is for work done in advance of setting up the marketing campaigns and the other part is based on the periodic success of those internet marketing campaigns.

I will attempt to outline the basis of what I feel is a fair outline of compensation for SEO's consulting for their clients. Price points, fees, or per hour rates that SEO's set will vary from marketing agency to agency. The variation will be because of the contrast in experiences that the SEO will have had prior.

As I mentioned before there are 2 main scopes of compensation. They are as follows:

Per Hour Consulting Fee or Flat Setup Fee

During this stage the SEO may be working on the following tasks:

Client discovery analysis - Understanding the Cleints Products / Services - Client Benefits over Competition
Completing the online market research - Competition Keyword Analysis, Keyword Inventory Analysis
Building the Keyword Universe / Sandbox - Gathering all of the current performing relevant keywords
Search Engine Analysis - Determining the right search engine marketing product
ROI forecast or Analysis - Understanding the cleints costs and price points
keyword web page optimization- adding relevant keywords to various parts of the html and content areas of the site.
Landing Page Development - Each targeted keyword need to have corresponding keyword focused landing pages.
Writing Ad Text - Edit the company info, keywords, and call to action of the text ads
Opening a keyword or search engine management account
Executing the ads

Commission on Click's (Performance Based)

Based on the total amount spent for traffic from search engines during the time period of the marketing campaign ( for PPC ad campaigns)
SEO will regularly maintain keyword bid management accounts; adjusting bid amounts, daily budget, ROI analysis, ad text editing.

Example:

Client was billed $1,500 by Google for traffic from the Google Adwords network. (Ad Spend)
SEO then bills the client 20% of the the total ad spend in Google

$1,500 x .20 = $300 = Commission on Clicks

The setup fee stage is primarily based on the amount of time and effort it take for the SEO to create the marketing campaigns. An honest SEO will disclose his per hour rate. The more time that an SEO spends during this phase will benefit the overall success of the marketing campaign.

The commissions stage is based on the success of the performance of the ads. A good SEO will spend time daily managing the keyword ad campaign or PPC accounts, expanding the keyword sandbox, and creating corresponding landing pages. The more relevant traffic that reaches the clients site accompanied with higher conversion rates will be justification for the commissions paid to the SEO for the amount of traffic that he was able to drive to the clients site.

The views expressed in this post are that of my own and are based on my experiences working with my prospects and clients. The purpose of this post is to "layout" a pre-determined basis for compensation.

I would like to hear from other SEO's so if you agree or disagree, please let me know. Please register your comments unless you want to keep them private, then email them to me.

Search Marketing, Services Defined

2005-07-11T10:46:00.000-05:00

Search Marketing can mean many things. That is why I will use this space to define the various services related to the term Search Marketing or Search Engine Marketing.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) simply put, is the term used while describing the process of submitting a web site to various search engines. The overall goal after submitting your site is to gain maximum exposure for the topic, keywords or key phrases, and categories that your site relates to.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The process of submitting the web site is preceded by the discovery phase which could include, determining the right search engine for your product or services, as well the preparation of optimizing your web sites individual pages for keywords or key phrases. Optimization includes manipulating the photos, text content, page titles, meta description, and meta tags of each page of your static web pages or dynamic product database. SEO also includes the tracking of your submission and results for placement in the various search engines and directories. An effective SEO marketing plan should include a long term commitment between the search professional and the client, together working to get the most relevant vistors to the web site. No less then a 1 year plan should be outlined with realisitic traffic goals. Keep in mind that it may take at least 6 months before any site can get indexed into a search engine directory.
Pay Per Click (PPC) or Keyword Bid Management involves gathering a keyword list. Once you have built your keyword list, Landing Pages must be created for each keyword or phrase to guide the user to the specific product, service, submission form, or call to action that you want the visitor to complete. The next process would involve opening an PPC marketing account one or more PPC search engine. A text ad that includes the various keywords or phrases must be written and then keywords or phrases are picked and then linked to those ads. A call to action should also be included in the ad text. A maximum dollar amount for each click that the client receives to his site when a visitor clicks on their ad must be set. A daily budget and overall click spend must be set. An effective PPC manager will make sure that the clients return on investment (ROI) is kept in the black rather then the red.
Pay Per Inclusion (PPI) is the process of paying a web site to include your web site in their directory. PPI can simply mean that you are indexed into the search engines directory, or it can mean your specific placement of your site listing for keywords or phrases. This is usually the best place to negotiate your fee for inclusion in the search engine.

(I WILL ADD MORE LATER, register on this site and I will keep you posted when I grow this space.

Find out where your web site ranks in search engines.

2005-06-30T13:24:00.000-05:00

If you are considering marketing your web site in search engines, you should first know where your site ranks. A report detailing your placement for certain keywords will definitely give you a benchmark of results that will motivate you to improve upon.

To get at detailed report on your web site's ranking for keywords in all of the major search engines, please see the link below.

It is a great place to get started. Best of all, its free!

FREE Keyword Position Report

Affiliate Online Marketing,

2005-06-29T21:10:00.000-05:00

There is an amazing internet concept out on the web called Affiliate Marketing.

It works like this. A company sells a product online via their website. That company then distributes a link to their site to whoever wants to promote it online or in search engines. That link has a unique identifier embedded in the link that acknowledges the person who promoted the link. If a purchase is made via that link, the person who was responsible for marketing that link gets rewarded by a commission check.

Here are two examples of links that will take you to services that will reward me if you sign up:

DentalPlans.com and RapidSatellite.com

To date I have had a lot of success driving traffic to that link, but have not had anyone sign up yet.

I think that I got on board with these programs too late so now the markets for these products are already saturated. I hope to speak with someone who has been or is currently successful promoting the links that I tried to promote.

Search Engine Marketing - Education Seminar

2005-06-29T20:16:00.000-05:00

SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING - EDUCATION SEMINAR

A weekend long seminar to train individuals to be more successful in search marketing.

Will teach all of the techniques that SEO's, and SEM's use as well as educate you on how to get tons of online traffic to your site. Specifically, online traffic that you can convert to business!

If you are interested in this seminar or how it can benefit your business, please contact me directly. Peter@GrafxConsulting.com

Best free leads of new businesses online, ready to mail merge

2005-06-29T19:04:00.000-05:00

For the last 2 years, every now and then I have been going online to the Revenue Collection Division's web page of the county where I reside download a report of new businesses from the previous week. On a good week, that can mean at least 125 businesses. The database needs to be cleaned up a little, but with a few clicks, I am able to merge the entire list to a form letter addressed directly to the applicant.

(Here is a copy of the letter that I send out )

Dear «firstname»

Your New Web Site Is Ready For Review!

Our company has built a fully interactive e-commerce web site,
complete with a product-shopping cart, for your business. In fact, it’s live on
the Internet right now.

What I would like to do is set up an appointment for you to view the site with a specialist in your industry. This appointment can be set as a telephone conference. There is absolutely no cost for this appointment. Appointments are available on the weekends and in the evenings. Please give me a call at (954) 394-5353 to set up the appointment. For your convenience, you may also use the form below.

If you already own a web site, we are experts in driving relevant local internet traffic to local businesses in your industry. We can develop an internet marketing campaign for your business that will keep your web site above your competition on the search engine result pages. We can work with any marketing budget. Call (954) 394-5353 today to get a FREE Search Engine
Position Analysis and Keyword Sandbox Report.

WEB SITE KEY FEATURES:
· 2000+ Product Shopping Cart
· Search Engine Marketing Tools
· Web Site Modifier (Instantly change your web site and content
· UNLIMITED TECH SUPPORT!
· Chat room, FLASH intro, and much, much more…
· Web Site ONLY $199 plus hosting

Regards,
Peter J. Leshaw
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
FAX YOUR APPOINTMENT REQUEST TO: (954) 251-4140
Company Name: __________________ Are you the owner?: (Circle one) Yes / No
Industry: _______________________Services Offered: ____________________
Best Time To Call You: (Circle any) AM / P Best Day: (Circle any) M / T / W / Th / F /
Phone Number: ____________________Additional Contact Info: ____________
Web Site URL (If you currently have a web site)_______________________
*We will call or fax back your appointment confirmation*
2455 HOLLYWOOD BLVD., HOLLYWOOD FLORIDA 33020 (954) 394-5353

This letter campaign is to advertise my e-commerce web site design services. The web site is real slick with lots of features to get up and running with a web site FAST! Of the prospects that call me for more information or to set up the appointment, I usually close the deal. They tell me the that the number one reason why they respond is because the ad says that I have already built them a site and they are interested in seeing the presentation, as long as there are no additional costs.

What they don't realize is that they can go online them selves to build their own web site.

Capitalizing on the competition's current branding efforts.

2005-06-29T07:07:00.000-05:00

I have recently noticed a new real estate agency by the name of Expert Realty of South Florida advertising all around town. They are on flyers, billboards along the highway, and lawn signs throughout many neighborhoods. Their radio ad seems to highlight that they are experts in all areas of realty and they will even cut their commissions by a half a percent. (.5%)

It seems as though the real estate competition is getting even tighter in South Florida.

The problem that I see is that every agent that works for Expert Realty will almost be considered an actual expert simply because he or she works for or is associated with a company called, Expert Realty.

I think that this is a chance for every real estate agent to start promoting his or her specific areas of expertise by focusing on the same things that the big companies are paying much more in airtime for.

Since this deep pocket agency is promoting most of the same features that any experienced agent in town has, every smaller agent should jump on the bandwagon and have an online marketing rep (like me) build a cost effective keyword campaign to target the same online traffic that the larger agent is targeting.

The key here is the offline capture of attention and inevitable transition to search engines when sellers or buyers are looking for homes or agents.

For instant traffic from search engines, a targeted pay per click (PPC) ad campaign can be circulating in search engine networks world-wide and even generate traffic the same day and the best part is that you only pay when someone clicks on your link. Min. bid $0.15 per click in Google!

Contact me for more info.
___________________________________

Peter J. Leshaw
Grafx Consulting, Inc.
Internet & Search Engine Marketing
2455 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, FL 33020

Tel: 954-453-1103
Fax: 954-251-4140
Mobile: 954-394-5353
Website: GrafxConsulting.com
___________________________________

Florida Vioxx and Celebrex Domain Names for Sale

2005-06-28T17:18:00.000-05:00

I have a client that is interested in selling the following domains:

Florida-Celebrex.com
FloridaCelebrex.com
FloridaCelebrexLawFirm.com
CelebrexLegalExperts.com
Celebrex-Florida.com
CelebrexFlorida.com
FloridaVioxx.com
Florida-Vioxx.com
Vioxx-Florida.com
FloridaVioxxattorney.com
VioxxFlorida.com

If you are interested, please email me at Peter@GrafxConsulting.com

Tuesday Morning Marketing at BBNG

2005-06-28T12:54:00.000-05:00

I woke up just in time to make it to my weekly networking meeting with other dedicated members of the Broward Business Networking Group (BBNG). BBNG is a referral network and leads exchange group in Broward County Florida. The best part about BBNG is that each member works as one another's own sales force by passing along members' business cards to individuals or businesses in need of services provided by that member.

This week, Dr. Marc Lurie, O.D. spoke about his new Glaucoma detection equipment. Seems as though there are not many doctors in the area that have this high-tech, and state of the art machine. Dr. Lurie said that after the meeting he was meeting with a reporter from Channel 4 WFOR to give an interview regarding his machine. Wow, BBNG works! He met his PR consultant at a BBNG meeting! We look forward to his interview on the CBS affiliate at a later date.

During the focus session, I had a chance to present an informational to the members at my table about the importance of blogs and creating new content for web sites . I certainly had their attention as they seemed to follow along and ask relevant questions. I am glad to have gone to Webmasters World last week so that I educate them on the advances in search marketing.

This week I passed along a client as a lead to Cathy Bowen of Hinson Office Supply. Hinson Office Supply is a great source for ordering office supplies because they usually have free next day delivery (sometimes even on the same day!) and no minimum amount on orders too!

After the meeting I will personally follow up with the leads that were passed along to me. Hopefully, more new business!

Product Research at Webmaster World - New Orleans

2005-06-24T09:30:00.000-05:00

Last week went by so fast. Some of it was blurry. But what I was able to remember, was that blogs are very effective in internet marketing. So this is my first post. Hurray!

I had another opportunity to attend the Webmaster World Search Conference in New Orleans, LA. This was the 3rd time that I was able to attend this semi-annual event. This place has a wealth of information regarding all aspects of driving traffic to your web site.

Most of the attendees were also in the search marketing business so there was not a lot of opportunity for me to market my business. Rather, it was a place to gather information directly from product specialists at Google, Yahoo, and MSN. They all highlighted their search products and gave inside tips on getting relevant traffic to your web site.

Besides the regular PPC topic sessions like , "PPC Keyword Selection and Landing Page Optimization", the more interesting lectures for me were "Shopping Search - Getting Listed, Getting Traffic", "RSS Feeds and Pod Casting", and "Linking on a Dime".

Bourbon Street Report: A bit fuzzy, when it clears up I will detail@!