i-Website

We all know by now that content is king. In order to effectively market your products or services and to establish yourself as a leader in your industry, writing and distributing articles is the way to go. One of the primary benefits of getting your content rich articles indexed in the search engines is so that you can increase your websites’ overall PageRank, while continuing to build exposure for your company.

Here are a few tips to get you started in the right direction:

Add popular keyword phrases in your article- When writing your article, make sure to include popular keyword phrases in your headline, subheads and summary of your article. Make sure your site uses these words too. Placing these keywords and search terms may help prospects and the press identify your article when they run a search in the major news feeds.

Include your website link - Whether it is in the author’s byline or in the body of the article, if you are going to write an article, make sure to include your website link within the article. This is the best way to get inbound links from other websites, without having to return the favor.

Submit to PRWeb and other newswires - Journalists increasingly rely on major search engines for their research. In order to get your press release found, indexed and ranked, you may want to consider submitting to an article distribution service like PR Web. PR Web sends press releases to major news search engines, including Google News and Yahoo News. Press releases distributed through PR Web are optimized for maximum organic search engine inclusion. Search engines can then crawl naturally and efficiently to index your press release.

Additional article distribution services:
www.thephantomwriters.com
www.marketingsource.com

Identify the best websites for your article - After optimizing your article, identify which websites to submit your article to. There are hundreds, if not thousands of publishers that are looking for quality content to publish. It is best to find high traffic websites that have the target audience you are looking for.

To find these sites, simply perform a search in Google by placing relevant terms like “article submission” or “article directory” in the search box. For instance, if you are writing a self-help article, type the term “self-help articles” and target the websites that are on the first few pages of the search engine.

Article announcement lists - Announcement Lists are newsletters, groups or ezines, which allow you to “announce” your new articles to thousands of editors and publishers instantly. Most of these announcement lists are sent out daily to their subscribers. This means that you can have your article circulating to key editors and publishers within hours of completion.

Here are a few Article Announcement Lists that may distribute your article:

http://topica.com/lists/freeezinecontent/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/article_announce/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Free-Reprint-Articles/

Become a contributing writer - If you are you an accomplished or aspiring writer with something to contribute, you might consider becoming a contributing writer for an online community. Typically, you do not get paid for your work but the amount of exposure you get is invaluable. You also get credit for your article including a free link to your email address and your website!

Here are a few good web properties to consider writing for:
Suite101.com
About.com

In sum, writing and distributing articles is one of the most promising ways to boost your site’s ranking in the search engines. In the process, you also benefit from building quality links to your site, gaining an editorial following and most importantly, sharing your knowledge with the rest of the world!

About the Author: Dali Singh is the Managing Director for Blueliner Marketing, a full-service marketing and Internet consultancy, based in New York. She can be reached at dali@bluelinermarketing.com or visit www.bluelinermarketing.com.

Source: www.isnare.com
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Dave Chase in his column at iMedia “Sugarshots: The Big Picture” expounded on the virtues of Open-Source Marketing Plan. In his article, Dave explained the main ideas came from James Surowiecki’s “The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations.”

This author’s open-source marketing plan, as announced on June 29, 2005, is mainly for small and medium-sized businesses. By keeping it simple, this author hoped it can be useful to businesses with a limited budget, can get “more bang for the buck”.

The objective is to gain 3000+ inbound links within one year by sending:-
A. 48 free-reprint articles in one year.
B. 4 free e-books in one year.
C. 4 free software similar to corporate gifts or freebies
D. 6 press releases in one year.

Getting many inbound links is vital as a hits generator - sources for new visitors. Sometimes, internet users on reading the articles, e-books or using the freebies may visit the originating site directly.

The site www.seecrets.biz started in early May 2005 with one article. In the following two months, ten articles were submitted and two press releases were issued. All these are available at this author’s site with the dates concerned.

After two months, over 300 inbound links were obtained. It is difficult to be accurate because Google does not list back-links from sites with PageRank of less than three. During the first few weeks, counting was easy when the number was less than 100.

The results from the Google, Yahoo and MSN search engines on July 9, 2005 at 0800GMT are as follows (the figures within the brackets represent the total competing pages):

“Seecrets” got 1(7570), 1(1040) and 1(3681).
“Stan seecrets” got 4(338), 1(215) and 1(737).
“Joe Nogood” got 4(694000), 8(1330) and 1(2447).
“Rebrand software” got NR(84000), 15(88800) and 11(31124).
“Open source marketing plan” got NR(26.7million), 10(5.2million) and 12(1million).
“Open source marketing plan” got 3&4, 6&7 and 2 through the Press Release sites.
(Please note that “NR” means not ranked in the top 20.).

The first three keywords (seecrets, stan seecrets and joe nogood) are important to this author’s site’s brand.

The keywords (joe nogood, rebrand software and open source marketing plan) were only introduced in late June 2005. The last two are relevant to the site’s activities.

These are the preliminary results. Readers can always inspect this author’s website and decide that no unfair or illegal methods were used. Knowledgeable readers should be able to see the meta-tags with ease.

This author’s take

Whether these results are good or not, it is up to the readers to decide. It can be a useful guide for website owners to improve upon and hopefully report back to the Internet community.

This is the first step of a long journey. There will be more mountains to climb, battles to fight, obstacles to overcome and so forth. This author is satisfied that the chosen brand has taken root. Whether this root can grow to support a giant redwood tree or just a bush that will wither away in the next few years, is yet to be seen.

This author wishes to thank the fine people behind rushprnews.com, isnare.com, ezinearticles.com, bloggeroff.com and many others for making this tumultuous journey for this techie-turned-Internet writer, a smoother one.

The Joe Nogood Gift Store Story – Joe runs for Political Office (Episode 2)

[Author’s note: Joe Nogood and JoeNoGood.com are fictional.

It is an experiment to portray current events and issues (where angels fear to tread) in a lighthearted perhaps entertaining manner. Below is a conversation between Joe and his longtime buddy, Stan.]

Joe: Let’s go and visit DMV.

Stan: DMV? You’ve just renewed your driving license last week.

Joe: Not the Department of Motor Vehicles, you dummy. The Drunkards of Mountain View – they’re so fixated on brandy, burgundy, booze stuff (referring to their search algorithms’ names). They are drunk with their own success.

Stan: What name will they use for their next algorithm?

Joe: BS.

Stan: But, BS is an organic matter. What has that got to do with booze?

Joe: Ah, the Danes use plenty of that stuff to make methane gas. By using genetically modified bacteria, you can use this BS stuff to make ethane gas, the precursor of ethanol – pure 200-proof alcohol.

Stan: Why visit these drunkards then?

Joe: All their rankings stuff are BS. Somehow, they managed to convince the whole world and make a lot of money in the process. They may provide a few pointers on how to be President.

Stan: President?

Joe: By using DMV in our pages, DMV is related to roads and being a middle-of-the-road candidate, we’ll occupy all top 100 rankings for all our web pages. Joe I. Nogood is running for President with the slogan “I NoGood”.

Stan (thinking to himself): Joe has a way of making the irrelevant, relevant. Just maybe, Joe will make a great President. Maybe.

[To be continued]

Stan Seecrets Postulate:
Where we originate is the same – our mothers’ womb.
Where we are heading is the same – six-feet under.
In between, we communicate. (Inspired by George Santayana, Spanish-born American philosopher - There is no cure for birth or death save to enjoy the interval).

About the Author: The author, Stan Seecrets, is a veteran software developer with 25+ years experience at http://www.seecrets.biz which specializes in digital asset protection and total website management. You can send your views or criticism by e-mail to Stan at seecrets.biz. © Copyright 2005, Stan Seecrets. All rights reserved

Source: www.isnare.com
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The hoopla over duplicate content has been going on for quite some time now, and I see it as simply just another money making scheme by online entrepreneurs wishing to chase down the Golden Goose. Almost every day, my inbox is inundated with yet another “article converter” that is guaranteed to make my private label rights articles hit the top of the search engines with no fear of the Google Police knocking at my PR door, screaming “Duplicate Content!”

I ofttimes wonder how many of the so called gurus take the time to really read the Google Adsense Program Policies. And I wonder many times during my working day just how many people open their wallets to let fly their hard earned dollars to these people.

Here are Google’s exact words, and I quote: “Do not create multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with substantially duplicate content.” What does this really tell us? Does it tell us that the PLR sites that sell thousands of the same articles to people who don’t have time - or are too lazy - to write their own content are breaking Google’s rules? Not hardly. Google is telling us that we cannot create what used to be called “mirror sites” (This is a Web site which contains the same information that is located on another site. If the site abc.com is the same as def.com, then it may be disqualified from listing by search engines) in an attempt to increase Page Rank and increase Adsense income.

Many opinions abound on the forums and elsewhere on the web discussing duplicate content. And many netrepeneurs have taken advantage of the misinterpretation of Google’s policies to capitalize on this. Because Google has made this the era of content, everyone that is involved in the online communities is scrambling for the proper answers. I see threads that are three to five pages in length on the more popular forums with people agonizing over their fear of duplicate content. What a field day for the guru’s! I wonder how many thousands - perhaps millions - have been made by people taking advantage of this fear factor?

Lets examine the facts. If there really was a duplicate content filter then many news web sites that publish AP or Reuters news would be banned from search engines. Many catalogue sites would go under, because they sell the same products, using the same promotional items as other sites.

Affiliate sites would be banned from the search engines because people use the promotional items provided by the site owners. And even the giant eBay would go under, because anyone who has spent time there sees a ton of items listed which are identical, using the same description, same images, and same user ID. I wonder how Copyscape.com would handle this?

What about the sites that put articles and ezines in archive. This content ends up being displayed both in static pages and archives as well. Penalized for duplicate content, when the website owner wants to have his articles available to the general public? I doubt it…

Common sense is the order of the day. If you take the time to provide original and unique content to your site, the site is well optimized for the search engines, and you have relevant backlinks, then your site will do well with no fear of penalty.

Don’t use article scrapers, which mirror the exact content of other sites, and is nothing more than a rip off. If you buy PLR articles, try to rewrite them in your own unique voice. If your budget will allow, hire a ghostwriter to create articles pertinent to your particular niche. And most of all, just use plain common sense!

About the Author: Alden Smith is an award winning author who has been marketing on the internet for over 7 years. His site, http://www.for-the-record.biz, is loaded with articles and information for the beginning blogger and internet marketer. Visit http://www.for-the-record.biz for more relevant articles on duplicate content, seo, rss and blogging. Updated weekly…

Source: www.isnare.com
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There are more than 105 million of them in the United States. Worldwide, there could be at least 250 million of them. Them, according to statistics from the Nielsen/Net Ratings service, is the number of active Web surfers. 250 million in the whole world? The figure is more than the populations of Canada, Australia, Great Britain, and a few non-English speaking countries combined. That’s a lot of them!

With so many active surfers around, you would think Webmasters and site owners have an easy time attracting them. Actually, they face an uphill battle to bring visitors and, more importantly, consumers to their Web sites. And a Web site without traffic is like a store built in the middle of the desert. You could have the greatest products and most attractive Web design around, but they’re worthless if no one visits them.

There is one way, however, to turn your Web site into an oasis of business, a way to drive as much traffic to your site as your server can handle: a classified ad.

More on that later. First, all Web builders and site owners should know the basic and time-tested ways to attract traffic to their Web site. The key to all of these methods is to attract the right Web surfers. You want what experts call “targeted visitors,” or people who are actually interested in what you’re selling. To guarantee that this happens, you should follow this checklist of Web traffic golden rules:

Step 1: Optimize your Web pages. Webmasters in the know take the time to set their meta tags. These tags, or codes, are hidden keywords in the Web page that tell search engines like Google and Yahoo exactly what your site is all about. A meta tag, for instance, could be “designer handbags,” “sporting equipment,” or whatever else you happen to be selling. These keywords tell the search engine to direct all handbag or sports shoppers to your site.

Step 2: List your site with every search engine out there. For this step, you simply need to surf over to Google, AltaVista, Yahoo, MSN, and other search engines. Click onto their customer service page, where they allow Web builders and site owners to manually submit their site addresses.

Step 3. Spice up your site with interactive features. With articles, newsletters, offers, promotions, and discounts, you give your targeted visitors a reason to stay at your site once they find it. More importantly, you give them reasons to come back and tell their friends about the site. Word of mouth is one of the best, and cheapest, forms of advertising on the planet.

Step 4. Exchange banner ads with friends and with other companies that you do business with. Banner ads are those eye-catching designs at the top and bottom of Web pages.

They’re like the billboards of the Internet superhighway. But with these online billboards, a simple click transports the Web surfer directly to your Web site.

Step 5. Exchange Web links with friends and business associates. This, Webmasters and site owners, could be the most important way to drive Web traffic to your site. All of the major search engines rank sites by measuring how many links come to and leave from your Web site.

So links are a way to measure how worthwhile and how legitimate your site is. The better this measurement, the better chance your site will have to show up well in Web surfers’ searches. In other words, these links could be the difference between your site being listed on page 20 of a Google search results, or on page 1.

Building better Web links and search engine results—that’s where classified sites come into play. Some of the most savvy classified sites on the market now offer Web links in their ads. These links lead right to your business’ home page.

Not only are these links convenient one-click ways for more customers to reach your site. They also boost your search engine rankings.

Of course, for business owners, classified sites have so many other benefits, too.

•Unparalleled exposure. Classified sites are like online malls. Not only will you get exposure from shoppers coming specifically to find your goods. You get “spill over” attention from shoppers who came for another item but then start browsing through all of the other ads in the classified “mall.”
•A new arsenal of Web sites. Having online classified ads is like setting up multiple new Web sites across the Internet. Unlike your own original site, these classified ads come with low-cost IT support, security, and advertising.
•Incredible growth opportunities. Businesses and individuals selling on online classified sites pull in more than $1.95 billion a year, according to the statistics firm Kelsey Group. That figure does not even include money from eBay.
•Money for nothing. As valuable as classified sites are, many of the best ones charge very little or absolutely nothing to set up your ads.

Add up all of these numbers—250 million active Web surfers in the world, $1.95 billion in classified sales, and $0 cost—and your Web business is sure to come out in the positive.

About the Author: Donald Lee is the public relations manager for Buysellcommunity.com. Buysellcommunity provides free classified listing services for individuals and businesses to market their products and services online. For global and localized classifieds, please visithttp://www.buysellcommunity.comFree Buy & Sell Classifieds

Source: www.isnare.com
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Getting customers to your site should always be ranked as high as the importance of the quality and the excellence of the product and the services you provide. They should go hand in hand in providing your customers the satisfaction they get in exchange for the money they have paid for them. Customer service should as well be as fantastic so that the customers are provided with the same satisfaction.

One of the ways you can combine marketing and customer service is through opt-in marketing. With an opt-in list you get the opportunity to introduce your site and products on a good time basis. Opt-in marketing strategy is a marketing strategy that is virtually low cost and not time consuming. Here, you get the consent of your website visitors to subscribe to your newsletters and other promotional materials such as catalogs and free promotions.

Opt-in marketing uses your list of subscribers to send e-mail to. These e-mails will contain the materials you will send to your subscribers. It is essential that you present your promotional items in a manner that will catch the interest and the eye of your subscribers to keep them wanting for more. The best way to do this is to provide fun, entertaining and informational articles.

Well written articles full of content and useful information will help in building your list as more subscribers will be enticed your list. When they have read the samples of your contents in your sites, they will be intrigued as to what will come next. Subscribing to your newsletter will offer them a glimpse of what you have to offer next.

Many sites and companies have captured the importance of articles and this also aids in search engine optimization. As more people are heading towards the internet for their information needs, serving the right information to them via articles in your site will increase the flow of your website traffic. With more traffic, the percentage of your sales will grow. More sales turn into more profit.

There have been the rise for the importance of well written, information enriched and keyword packed articles for the content of their site as well as for newsletters. These articles provide the information many are seeking in the internet. If your site has them, more people will be going to your site for information and research.

Well written articles would also boost your sites reputation. If they are filled with many information you will be regarded as well informed and an expert on the subjects that you tackle. Your articles must be well researched so that the people will trust you. When you have gained their trust, they will always come for you for their needs on that subject.

In connection, you must write articles or commission them to tackle subjects that are closely connected with your type of business. If you have a site for a medicine tackling a certain disease, your articles must be about the diseases. Or if you sell materials for home improvements provide articles with those themes. Most articles searched for are tips, guidelines, methods, manuals and such. If you provide these articles to your customers and you have their trust, they will always go to your site for help and advice as well as for your products.

With the loyalty of these customers, they may subscribe to your opt-in list to receive all the information you have. If you provide them with the answers for that need, they will be happy to be receiving your newsletters as well as other promotional materials to keep them well informed. Others may even forward your newsletters to other people when they find a certain article interesting.

You should provide links in your newsletter so that when other people are reading it and wants to read more, they may click on the link and go to your site. With the articles you have in your site that are good, they may decide to sign up as well for your opt-in list. This will build your list and make it bigger.

Make sure to keep your subscribers happy and interested in your newsletters and promotional materials. Keep on posting and writing good articles for your site and newsletter. If you are not interested in writing them or if you just don’t have the time, there are many available well experienced and knowledgeable writers available to help you out. This is an investment that will pay for itself in time.

About the Author: Subscribe to Gerardas Norkus’ free Internet marketing newsletter at http://www.netmarketingstrategies.com and discover heaps of tips, tricks and secrets that will quickly boost your online sales and profits.

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