More Clients - the Online Marketing Newsletter
for Independent Professionals
from Action Plan Marketing
and Robert MiddletonIn This Week's Issue: Want to get your site found on the web? You may be taking the wrong steps.
Getting Found on The Web
Today I was replying to a post on the InfoGuru Support Forum about web URLs (web addresses) and getting found on the web. In my opinion, way too much time goes into getting the ideal domain name and keywords so that more people will find your site.
A lot of this is a complete waste of time. The work you put in rarely justifies the results you receive. For instance, will good keywords increase the chances that people will find you?
A keyword can be one or more words that are put in strategic places on your site so that if someone enters that keyword into a search engine such as Google, your site will come up (hopefully on the first page of the search results.)
But let's look at the reality.
I just did a search with the "Keyword Selector Tool." This nifty little online tool shows you how popular a keyword actually is. It gives you a certain number of times that keyword has been used in the past month in a network of search engines.
I looked up the keyword "marketing plan" and it shows that 18,095 searches were done on that term in the past month. Good keyword. And I've been listed on Google from first to third position for several years with that keyword.
However, "independent professionals," where I'm also at the top, got a grand total of 65 searches. Almost useless. Some people get a keyword like this, optimize their site for it, and actually get on top of the Google search engine. Then they wonder why they have no traffic. There's your answer: Nobody's looking for that keyword.
Now try looking up, "executive coach." Not a bad keyword: 1920 searches. Or "management consultant:" 7,783 searches. However, it's not so easy to get to the top of Google by just optimizing your site for those keywords.
There are dozens, if not hundreds of executive coaches and management consultants trying to do exactly the same thing. So why are some at the top, and why is it so hard to get to there?
You'll find that the sites that appear at the top of Google and other search engines not only have good keywords inserted in the right places, there are a lot of other web sites that are pointing back or linking to these sites.
Checking on AltaVista.com (link:www.actionplan.com) I find 9,040 links that lead back to my site! And the more links you have, the greater your "link popularity." As a result, you show up much higher on search engines, especially on Google.
But how on earth did I get all those links to my site?
Two simple answers: Web Site and eZine.
Web Site
Sure, I optimize my home page for the keyword "marketing plan." Look and you'll find it all over the place. But I also made my site a small business marketing information source that people would want to come back to, tell their friends about and also link to from their own web sites.eZine
This is the engine of my web site strategy. It helps make my web site popular in several ways. First, people get the eZine and pass it on to their friends. The friends visit the site and sign up for the eZine. Closest thing I know to perpetual motion!Second, I give permission for people to publish my eZine articles on their sites as long as they include a link back to my site - actionplan.com. This increases link popularity and, when people see my articles, many visit my site for more information.
I know what you're thinking! "It will take me years to do all of that!" And you'd be right.
Well, not necessarily.
It's not so hard to learn the basics of developing a good web site through such tools as my Web Site ToolKit. You can master the essentials of optimizing your site from the web promotion chapter in the InfoGuru Manual and you can get all you need about eZines in Ali Brown's eZine program (all listed below).
But I know you want to do this faster. Here's a shortcut.
You still need a web site and eZine, but you can increase the number of links out there by doing one simple thing: Get your articles published on the web in as many places as possible. You don't need 100 articles. You could get 10 articles posted in 100 places. That's 1,000 links back to you.
So where do you you start? I suggest going to Google and typing in these keywords: "eZine articles," "free reprint articles," and "article submission service" and see what you come up with.
The More Clients Bottom Line: By all means optimize your web site for the right keyword, but increase your link popularity and visibility of your site by publishing your articles everywhere you can find on the web.
The Web Site ToolKit - It's more than you think
Not only does the Web Site ToolKit give you detailed, step-by-step instructions on what to put on your web site, how to get it designed and how to increase subscribers to your eZine, it includes many resources on how to promote your site, including how to get your articles published all over the web.
http://www.actionplan.com/wstk.htmlIf you already have the ToolKit, look under the "Web Promotion Services," near the bottom of the ToolKit online site.
Note: We're offering the Web Site ToolKit for $39 until we have sold 1,000 copies and then the price goes up to $49. We are currently at about 950 copies. This may be the final week at the $39 price, so don't delay and save $10.
Getting into Large Corporations
If you want to get the attention of - and appointments with - top executives in large corporations (even Fortune 500 companies), the "Take Your Business to the Top" program shows you exactly what to do and how to do it.
Time to start selling larger projects? If so, check it out here:
http://www.actionplan.com/tybt.html
Marketing Action Groups starting soon
We're down to eleven open spaces in the upcoming semester of the Marketing Action Group starting mid-October.
This group's for you if you're looking for more than information on how to successfully market your business; you want hands-on support and coaching, and someone who will hold you accountable for making it happen.
Learn more about it here:
http://www.actionplan.com/actiongroup.html
Until next week, all the best,
Robert Middleton
ACTION PLAN MARKETING
Cracking the Marketing Code for Independent Professionals~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
210 Riverside Drive
Boulder Creek, CA 95006
831-338-7790© 2005 Robert Middleton, All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the More Clients eZine in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read:
"By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit Robert's web site at http://www.actionplan.com for additional marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional service businesses."
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