If you have just started blogging, it is essential to get into the flow with blog posting, this will prove beneficial for you and for your readers as well. The best thing is to set a schedule and stick to it. Decide if you are going to post just once a week or you will be posting more often. Devise a blog posting plan that looks realistic for you. Keep in mind that if you are in the right state of mind to write the blog, probably you can write 2-3 of them and then publish them in accordance with your schedule. This is beneficial for the bloggers who don’t get much time to blog.

Blog Writing Motivation

Starting out a blog full of energy and excitement is easy; however maintaining the same throughout the blog becomes difficult at times. Eventually most of the bloggers lose interest in blogging and this takes away the excitement of blogging. This is the state where the blogger looses the interest in writing, there is nothing else to say to the audience and the whole blogging scenario in general looks stale.

Some new bloggers get so bugged while creating new content constantly that at times they lose the track of conversations they are supposed to have with the readers. In case you get stuck when it comes to generating new ideas, try asking your readers what they would like to see next or what more information they would like to have. This will inspire you with a wide range of topics and ideas to write about.

Good Blogging Practices

Sometimes blogging is done professionally and at times it is a personal endeavor. Having said that, there are some guidelines that you must consider for establishing a successful blog. The thumb rule of blogging is originality. There is no point in rewriting or reframing the points or ideas present in the other blogs. It’s perfectly alright if you refer some for ideas or blogs, however giving them your touch is important. People out there are not interested in reading the same things in different words; they are looking for something new, something they are not aware of. Your thoughts as an individual are different from others so make sure you feature them as well.

Also, when it comes to blogging, it is not always necessary to play safe. You can be completely transparent when it comes to blogging. It is true that controversy is negative in a way however being controversial only means that you have the power of going against the flow and being original. Having the guts to future the truth and being who you are and portraying your thoughts can provide with uniqueness to you blog.

If you would like to start blogging as a full fledged business, then the first most important aspect would be considering a good Webhosting platform that will support the blog. The hosting platform must be capable of supporting the blog irrespective of the amount of incoming website traffic. What you can do is, start the blogging website, feature impressive content on it and when it tarts doing well, promote the affiliate links through it. This is one of the best ways of earning money online.

Finally, make sure to interact; not just with your readers but with the other bloggers as well. There is nothing wrong with being friends with the other bloggers, they are not your competitors; just like you they are out there to portray their views. Be a part of the conversations happening elsewhere. This might provide your blog with a good exposure and it will also keep you in loop of what people are talking about.

Along with ensuring the aspects mentioned above, it is also important to generate traffic for your blog. This is as important as writing the blog itself. You might have created a blog masterpiece, but if there is no one reading it, it’s really of no use. Once the blog is published, bookmark it in various social bookmarking websites and also share it in the social networking websites in order to get the right traffic for it.

Keep in mind that blogging is not just a sprint, it is a marathon. You have think big, be consistent and keep improvising on the blog. The most important aspect of blogging is – Be Yourself! Also embrace your creativity and make the blog stand apart. If there is something different, something unique about your blog there is no way it won’t get a good response.

Author Bio:

My name is Carol Wales. I specialize in writing on technology, web hosting and search engine optimization related topics. I focus on creating informative content that provides value to the users.

Develop Your Own Style, Be Unique

Stay Focused and Be Positive

Be Your Own “Main” Competition

Who do you consider your main competitor(s)? This might sound like a cop out of an answer – but I don’t really consider any blog to be a competitor – not because they are not good but because I consider them all to be blogs that I’m a fan of, learn from, partner with and be inspired by. There are so many blogs about blogging that I follow – too many to mention here – but you can see many of them listed at http://www.45n5.com/top100/

Some Concluding Thoughts

Learn From the Industry Leaders

Network with the Competition

What are the Barriers for Entry

Scott, Sorry I have no intention of selling any asset. You have got great content however the SEO blogosphere is really crowded Regards, Scott wxyz

• Is this a totally saturated market? Can it handle “one more”?
• Can you afford the marketing, promotion, development, staff?
• Do you REALLY have the time needed to make this a successful project?
• What ethical practices will you have to do to be seen on Google and Yahoo?
• How big is the top, and who are the players?
• Do you honestly know what you are doing, i.e. do you have the experience and know-how required?

• Reliable news sources
• Educational Facilities (.edu websites)
• Encyclopedias
• Information Portals specific to your topic or industry
• Forums
• Blogs
• Link Directories

• You won’t get much traffic from the directories themselves – The average internet user these days has no idea what a directory is. The days of people actually searching directories for sites has been long gone. Traffic is not what its about. It’s all about building links. You’ll get more traffic from Google when all the links back to your site skyrocket you in the rankings.
• Have good, varying descriptions – You will need to come up with descriptions of your site for the directory listings. usually these are 50-200 word descriptions. Make sure they are rich with your top keywords without being overstuffed. Also, make sure the descriptions for each directory are different. If you use the same exact description over and over Google can think your submissions are automated and therefore spam.

However this technique does have it’s downside. Reason being is that PPC campaigns are so convenient, easy to set up and get started that the small business owner can easily spend upwards to thousand’s of dollars in just a period of weeks until they learn some hard lessons on what will be successful and what will bury you.

So here are some of the most common PPC mistakes, hopefully this is a useful outline on strategy that will start generating leads as quickly and efficiently as possible.

1. Problem: Using the home page as your landing page

There are many search engines that you can setup your PPC campaign with: Google, Yahoo, and others. It is your responsibility to decide where to direct the traffic that clicks on your ad. Most businesses send their traffic directly to the home page. Which seems to make sense since the home page is the equivalent to he store’s front door where you would think you would want to send your traffic. Right?

Wrong. Here is the dilemma in that. Most peoples home pages are so cluttered with information, and generally cover such a broad topic. It’s like pushing someone on to a site that contains the info. they need along with topics on totally unrelated issues. Good luck is what you mind as well say when they get to the home page. Obviously this will lead to a high frustration and failure rate.

Solution: Always take a clicker to a well crafted, easy to use and specific landing page.

2. Problem: Not bidding high enough to secure top spot

You are the advertiser. As the advertiser with PPC you have the option on how much you feel is necessary to pay for any particular search term. Being that PPC works on an auction model the more that you pay relative to the other bidding advertisers the higher up your ad will appear.

The most popular search terms will have up to a dozen or more ads listed on search result pages. This gives off the feeling that any noob can drive clicks with PPC. Consider this staggering statistic though, 85% of all PPC clicks are on the first page and on the top three positions! The scraps (15%) go to the remaining positions, which could number in the hundreds or more.

This all means that if you don’t bid high enough to get on the first page in the top three you are just wasting your own time. your not necessarily wasting money due to the fact that if no one clicks on it you pay nothing. Of-course if you make the decision to hide yourself further down the list it will be tough generating leads that will close the deals that you need to make.

Solution: Choose search terms and possibly less of them that will consistently make you appear in one of the top three spots.

3. Problem: Not making ad copy specific enough

With your two major search engines, Yahoo gives you 190 characters (including spaces) in your text ad. Google offers only 70. With no colors, pictures, or even a company logo. Only words. Many of the advertisers out there today waste this tiny space with vague, meaningless terms, or generalized statements that do not have a definitive uniqueness to what they are offering.

This leads to searchers not clicking on your ad, which once again does not cost you money but time and misses the whole objective. On the much more serious side of things the wrong searcher will click on your ad due to a poorly designed ad copy, realize when they hit the landing page that it is not what they were in sought of and you generate leads that will go no where but you paid for.

Solution: Be very specific and unique with your ad copy. If you have features that are unique to you or something that sets you apart from the others in your market this is a good place to make that known.

In short: PPC has a tremendous amount to offer your small business in terms of trafficking potential customers to you. Keep these few guidelines in mind when you start or revise your new PPC campaign and you will be transforming those clicks into a profit in no time at all.

]]> http://www.allinanchor.com/search-engine-optimization/guaranteed-ways-to-dump-money-on-ppc-advertising-part-1/feed/ 0 http://www.allinanchor.com/landing-page-optimization/tactics-for-landing-page-optimization/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tactics-for-landing-page-optimization http://www.allinanchor.com/landing-page-optimization/tactics-for-landing-page-optimization/#comments Fri, 02 Nov 2007 18:01:48 +0000 Desmond White http://www.allinanchor.com/2007/11/02/tactics-for-landing-page-optimization/ If you are involved in PPC campaigns, landing pages are critical to your success. If you run email marketing campaigns, landing pages are critical.In fact, landing pages are imperative to organic search engine marketing, press releases and predominately any Internet marketing efforts. Internet experts know that it is well worth it to spend ample time in the developing of the landing page for it is the source of your information and recuperation. Below I will give you my top 10 Landing Page Optimization Tactics

1. Keep it simple - In today’s “gimme it quick or I’m out of here” world you have to keep your landing page very focused and pretty simple. You all know how annoying sitting staring at your computer reading information that may or may not be pertinent. Everyone does too much of that anyways. Assist the visitor to your landing page so they may digest what you have to offer quickly and with ease. Use bullet points and short paragraphs
2. Tell visitors where they are - For example: when people click on an ad in a Readers Digest email newsletter or just a link in a solo email they are being transported from one medium to another via the web. Putting the heading at the top of the page for them to read first when they arrive is comforting to the user, so they know that the navigation was a success. That eliminates the first question that a visitor may have, “where am I?”
3. Don’t take over their computers – Some landing pages get too tricky trying to impress their visitor. This generally just frustrates them because they have lost control , and the easiest way for them to get it back is to just click on the browser window and close it. Then kiss that one goodbye. Also remember that many computers aren’t running the most up to date software, therefore they may not be able to view some of your brand imaging, thus not letting them view the site. Many computers and systems have firewalls that prevent those programs from running. Just keep it simple and you will please most everyone.
4. Offer multiple action points – Some people will hit the landing page and click on the first link in view. Others will read multiple paragraphs before they make an action. Have links available along the pages entirety. Just once again make it easy for the user to make a decision at their pace. Track all links with custom tags so as to know which ones are of the most value. That way if you have a multi-stage process like a registration form, survey, or shopping cart you can asses when and where you are having your worst losses.
5. Use different forms – You will lose 30% of your respondents for each registration field. So first just try to get an email address so as to start as many new relationships as possible, then you can worry about acquiring new information down the road. Also get a few fields of information so you can separate your “A” leads from your “B” leads. A good rule of thumb is to only ask pertinent information that the user will understand that you need to go about your business. Then they are more apt to give you what you want.
6. Take nothing for granted – Common knowledge is not necessarily common. What may be the every day for you can be confusing to others with less experience. Especially if they are from a different country or even company. Sometimes you should even repeat a process for clarity purposes to accommodate those who are confused, but be careful not to be redundant.
7. Test multiple landing pages – Make sure to set up more than one page to test different variables. Experiment with how many fields you ask for in your request form. Also, test the length of your site. If it is to long it may bore them, but if it isn’t long enough for the information seeker then they may not “pull the trigger” without ample information.
8. Leave it up - It is hard to judge what is working for your site and what is not when you don’t give it the time to develop a certain pattern. Especially with a email campaign; everyone receives so many emails now that it is sometimes becomes impossible to read them all. Although most go through there old emails eventually and there is when time will be on your side. So if you can, try to make your offer as evergreen as possible.
9. Follow up tracking - Do your best not to intrude. Wait until they are done with the landing page before you question them. Then ask them to tell you where the hang ups were in the system, something like; “what would make it easier on you?” then you are not putting their intelligence on question. Very often what they will suggest will be the remedy your site needs.
10. You don’t know it all – Internet Marketing is still very new and experimental. How we use the landing page is a constant changing art that has a different audience to please every day. That which worked last week may not the next. So be on top of your game and don’t be afraid to change or adapt.

Anchor text optimization is the process of optimizing anchor text using relevant keywords to get higher rankings in search engines. Using keywords as anchor text to link to pages on the same topic helps the search engines establish relevancy of all the text contained in a website. All major search engines place huge level of importance to anchor text in comparison to simple hyperlinks.