Archive for the ‘Marketing Strategies’ Category

Why Ignore Yahoo!, MSN Live, Or Ask For That Matter?

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

Writing by Nick Stamoulis

I’m amazed at how many people get so fixated on seeking high search engine optimization Google rankings that they completely forget about Yahoo!, MSN Live, or Ask.com. Or even one of the thousands of other smaller search engines.

I’ve seen healthy traffic come from places like Dogpile or some obscure search engine that I’d never heard of and didn’t exist (and have often wondered how I got listed there in the first place).



Don’t get me wrong, Google will likely be your main source of traffic (if you do your SEO right). But there’s no rational reason to not attempt to get listed and ranked everywhere you can. You can still pick up a good 20% increase in search traffic just by having moderate to high rankings in the next three highest traffic search engines - Yahoo!, MSN Live, and Ask.com.

Search engine marketing and optimization is not an exact science. You can target one search engine and still find yourself listed higher in another. Be vigilant about checking your rankings in all the search engines and if you don’t see your website listed in a certain search engine after awhile

Take some time to submit your site to that search engine or find out what it takes to get crawled by its robots. Don’t get so fixated on Google that you forget everything else.

How To Create A Loyal Readership With Your Blog

Saturday, May 9th, 2009
One of the main differences between a blog and a static website is the way people are able to interact with your content. With a static site it’s just people reading words on a page.
When you have a blog they can explore and even comment back! You want to get that sort of interactive spirit going so you can create a loyal readership with your blog.

 

That doesn’t mean it’s easy! There are literally millions of blogs out there all vying for the attention of your audience. It can be even harder to grab people’s attention when you’re just getting started. The bad news is that it’s going to take some work and dedication to build up a loyal readership. The good news is that it’s very possible, and even fun, to put these things into place. Follow these rules and you’ll have the kind of repeat visitors and fans that really make blogging worth your while.
 
Rule #1: Write Great Content
 
Let’s face it; if your content stinks there is no way people are going to come back and read again! They’ll just click away, never to return. If you write great content, however, you’re sure to get some fans. Not everyone considers themselves to be a good writer. That’s OK! No one expects you to have perfect grammar and spelling. It’s far more important that you write interesting content that stands out from the crowd. Give your real thoughts and opinions on things that matter to the audience.
 
When you write great content, not only will you have people who want to visit your blog all the time. They will also link to you! You know that more linking means higher rankings in Google. That’s definitely a great thing that will expand your readership base to levels you couldn’t even imagine when you got started.
 
Rule #2: Leave the Comments Open
 
It’s amazing — but there are bloggers out there who close their comments! While it can be a lot of work to try and get rid of those spam comments, you’re also missing out on a big part of what being a blogger is all about.
You need to let the audience write back and speak their mind too. People don’t just want a website they can read anymore, they want one they can add their “2 cents” to. So, leave your comments open and listen to them.
It doesn’t matter if people always agree with you or not (they won’t!), you’ll get a much larger and interested following.
 
Rule #3: Guest Blog
 
The chances are good that there are some blogs out there that are very well-liked by the people in your niche. These blogs probably get a lot of traffic and a lot of respect. It’s time to get your name and website out there in front of this audience!
All you need to do is write to the owner and say that you’d like to write some guest posts. They will probably be more than happy to take a break from their own posting and to give you a link back to your blog. This will not only give you link juice for the search engines, you’ll also win some of their loyal readers who are interested in what you have to say.
 
Learning how to create a loyal readership with your blog is incredibly important if you want your blog to thrive. It’s all about the people, and making sure they are aware of your blog and love your content.
 
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