Articles that Help You Design A Site that Sells!

If you are interested in Search Engine Optimization, and in designing a Website that sells by providing your visitors with hiqh quality information and products I recommend that you browse through these articles. In these articles, you will find the essential tips that you need to get high rankings in the search engines.

Index of Articles on Search Engine Optimization

1) The Tools of the Trade:Don't even think of doing your own search engine positioning unless you have these software programs with you. "Before you start optimizing your site for the search engines, you would need to arm yourself with the tools that the pros use ..."

2) Choosing the correct keywords for your site: Tells you how you can choose the keywords for which you should optimize your site for the search engines. "In this article, we focus on the correct way of finding out the keywords for which you should optimize your site for the search engines. This article will give you the formula for the Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI) - a mathematical formula which I have developed to help you determine which keywords you should be optimizing your site for".

3) The importance of having your own domain name: Tells you why you need to have your own domain name in order to get a high ranking in the search engines. "The only way to make money online is to build up credibility among your customers. Having your own domain name is the first step in doing that."

4) Creating Keyword Rich Pages: Tells you how you can create pages which are designed to rank highly in all the search engines. "Once you have established the keywords for which you should optimize your site for the search engines, it is time to figure out how you can get a high ranking in the search engines for those keywords."

5) Creating a robots.txt file: How you can create a robots.txt file in order to prevent your site from being penalized for spamming by the search engines.

6) Software to help you create a robots.txt file: Describes a software which will automate the task of creating a robots.txt file. "In this article, I'll tell how you can use Robogen to simplify the process of creating a robots.txt file."

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WHAT IS "GUERRILLA P.R." ANYWAY?

by Michael Levine, Michael@GuerrillaPR.netBestselling Author of Guerrilla PR, and 14 other books

If you're going to apply the principles of Guerrilla P.R. to the age of the Internet, you have to know something about Guerrilla P.R. itself. in case you have not worn out a copy of Guerrilla P.R. or have forgotten some of the finer points since that book was published in 1993, let's take a fresh look at the concept. After all, the world has changed.

Public relations is the art, as one of my colleagues put it, of "offering people reasons to persuade themselves." In other words, we are not Madison Avenue; we don't tell people what we want them to think. Rather, we give them evidence, facts, and opinions that help them reach a conclusion. If we're good at what we do, they will reach the conclusion we've been hired to promote.

The differences between traditional public relations and Guerrilla P.R. are relatively simple. First of all, public relations firms like mine are available to people with a lot of money, because we charge what we consider to be reasonable fees, which are out of reach of many small or one-person businesses. So entrepreneurs and small business owners need to learn and apply the same skills I use every day in service of their larger, more well-heeled rivals. But these skills can't be used the same way, since they require more money than most small businesses can afford. Not everyone can buy a minute of time on network TV to get the message across.

That's where Guerrilla P.R. comes in. This down-and-dirty offspring of the traditional method is based on an idea I developed called the Tiffany Theory. The Tiffany Theory is an idea that sounds simple but, like most such theories, is so basic it contains numerous truths.

My Tiffany Theory states that a gift delivered in a box from Tiffany's will have a higher perceived value than one in no box or a plain box. That's not because the recipient is a fool; it's because in our society, we gift-wrap everything: our politicians, our corporate heads, our movie and TV stars, and even our toilet paper. Tiffany paper places a higher perceived value on things.

In effect, what I do each day is gift-wrapping. I take a message and wrap it in the finest paper from Tiffany's. No matter what the message may be, I try to make it sound more appealing, more interesting, and more useful. If I do my job correctly, the consumer (who gets the message through television, newspapers, radio, or the Inter net) will get the message. But first, that message has to go through editors, producers, reporters, and website managers. The Tiffany paper adds perceived value and cachet.

Notice, now, I said, perceived value. In public relations and publicity, perception is truth. It isn't what happened that counts, it's what people think happened. This is the absolute day-to-day currency of politics, entertainment, and most other industries. In our case, we're looking at how the public-that is, the segment of the public you believe is your customer base-perceives your company. Not what your company actually might be.

Does that mean you should lie? Never. Lying, besides being morally wrong, is quite literally indefensible. That means, at some point, you're going to be found out. And even if you weren't, you would have to start living the lie-remembering what you told the people interested in your business, and hearing people call you what you said you are. It's too hard, and it's not worth it. Besides, it's plain bad business.

When I say that the perception of the truth-rather than the truth itself-is the stuff of great publicity campaigns, I mean that the truth will take care of itself. But you have to make sure that the image you project, the perception you offer to potential customers, is what you want it to be.

For example, a man named Dave Schwartz decided he'd start a car rental company that would lower rates to the consumer by featuring cars that weren't 100 percent new off the showroom floor. He had a choice to make in terms of the perception of his new company, and he chose to beat critics to the punch with a strong sense of humor and a catchy company name: Rent-A-Wreck. Now, Dave didn't lie (his cars weren't wrecks, they drove just fine, so maybe he exaggerated a little), and he didn't fall into the trap of emphasizing price. After all, his competitors already had names like Thrifty and Budget. He hit you in the funny-bone, made his impression of a fun car rental company-with the implied promise that the cars would cost less because they weren't brand new-and launched a very successful business.

It's all in the perception. But is this a contradiction of the Tiffany Theory? Did Dave actually wrap his cars in Kmart paper to make his point?

Not really. Dave still wrapped his message in Tiffany paper. He made sure local news outlets, publications, and media companies knew about his company, and he emphasized exactly how reliable and economical the rental cars at Rent-A-Wreck would be. By downplaying the appearance of the cars-calling them "wrecks" he allowed the media to expect dented, scratched, beat-up cars. When they toured his facility and saw cars that were only slightly used, Dave didn't have to say a word. The message got out that the "wrecks" in question were very reliable, attractive cars that would be available for a lower rental rate because they were used. A brilliant, subtle piece of Tiffany wrapping.

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The Tiffany Theory applies to the Internet in ways it never could with traditional media. Keep in mind that more information is available on the World Wide Web than you can possibly track, let alone control. So it's always important to keep your information true. But unlike information in newspapers or magazines, the data you provide on a website is yours, and you provide the Tiffany paper. Use photographs, charts, quizzes, and prizes, if you can, to keep surfers' interest alive on your site. And remember to wrap every fact in a nice neat piece of Tiffany wrap.

GuerrillaPR Insights is a, weekly newsletter that does 2 things:First, it provides readers with a weekly, actionable "insights" on how you can work more effectively with the media.

Secondly, it provides NAPES: Names, Addresses, and Phone numbers of key media producers and editors. For example, in a recent issue, we gave specific contact information on how to contact the producers of the Oprah Winfrey Show.

To check out the archives, go to:

Guerrilla_PR_Insights-backissues.html

Article provided by:Joe Nicassio from:

rapidresultsmarketing.com

Grow your small business online with
the Online Business Tutor.

Online-Business-Tutor.com

This is a short story about the effects of savvy web design and not so smart web design.

When I started my site it was a field full of banners … pretty and smart banners … I was so proud, I've created my first site and I knew in a couple of days I would be rich. Banners are pretty to the eye but unfortunately don't tell the history … they don't explain what your site is about and what you want your visitors to do … yes!, you have to tell them what to do!

I submitted my site hundreds of Search Engines … being a smart guy and not wanting to spend too much money I used one of those free submission service …. Yes I got a lot of e-mails saying that my site was submitted to their "Search Engine" … but I started to notice I have never used these "Search Engines" …

Let's go back a couple of steps and let me remind you that yes, I bough my own domain name "microsolutionsconsulting.com" which represents the name of my company Microsolutions Consulting.

After a lot or research, using SE, and asking friends … I found the best Hosting Server for my site … a lot of space, excellent bandwidth and the best … very cheap …
uhmmmmmm I'm starting to see a pattern here …. Do you?

Let's go back a little bit,

• choose the right domain name … register it … please, please make sure it is registered in your name. Hopefully your domain will reflect what your company is all about and what you plan to do on the web … let see MicrosolutionsConsulting.com is the domain name for Microsolutions Consulting which specializes in providing consulting services to companies and individuals …ok not bad at all

• select the best Hosting server … a combination of space, bandwidth, tools, and support. Here I was very smart I got the best … at least that what I thought … I had space and bandwidth for a long time, many tools to play with … and because I knew about computers … hey I'm a Computer Consultant … I didn't worry about support ...

… dead wrong. They say "the day always comes" and it did … I needed support and some answers to my questions, and guest what? … There was nobody on the other side of the line. He/she??? Never answered my e-mails, not even my phone calls … what a terrible customer service.

Lesson learned, and here are my "do and don'ts"

• do your homework … ask people who are already on the web to give you ideas

• use Google, Alexa Web Search toolbars (… a little hint, you can download Alexa at MicrosolutionsConsulting.com) to find out what other customers think about your possible Web Hosting Server

• send your hosting candidates e-mails asking some difficult, and some simple, questions to see how soon and how efficiently they answer them

• do not use "free" hosting" and do not go for the cheapest one … Definitively not for businesses. You can use them to "experiment" and "get ready" … but do not use free services for business … SEs will ignore you, and people won't trust you if you're not able to pay for your own hosting.

Done with this let's go back to the submitting part:

• The problem with submitting your site is that they all have different rules and very different ways to rank your site.

• No, there are not hundreds of Search Engines. Submit to the mainstream search engines and directories. In addition, look for specialized, topical directories that deal with your particular subject. Altavista, AOL, Excite, Fast (Alltheweb.com), Google, HotBot, IWon, Lycos, MSN, Netscape, Northern Light, Webcrawler

• Submit to Directories.
Directory: A site containing links to other sites which are organized into various categories. Examples of directories are Yahoo!, Open Directory, and LookSmart.

• Read their policies and suggestions … please don't ignore them

Wait a minute … how about the web design? We're talking about submitting a beautiful web site full of pretty banners, correct?

Well no, not really … I spent a lot of time waiting for my field of banners to be listed and no luck ?

- Removed most of my banners and created web pages with two goals:

• Pages must be Search Engine friendly,

• Pages must provide your visitors with a reason to comeback

Search Engines friendly pages have: - Useful content

• A title that describe what benefits (keywords) your page will provide to your visitors(don't use the same title for every page)

• Meta-tags that use keywords and key description (will talk about these in another article. I'm trying to make this one short :-) ) related to your site … again related to your site, yes I know "sex" is a very powerful and popular key, but it is not related to your site, is it?

• Use your main keyword in different parts of the body of your page, at the beginning, middle and at the end

Your visitor will be back if you provide them: - Useful content ( … another pattern here … good one this time)

• First question your visitor asks … What's in it for me? … Visitors don't care about your beautiful banners and your fancy "Enter my site". They want to know what they can get from your site …Benefits , and more benefits.

• The 2nd question your visitor asks … What else is in it for me? … got the message? They don't want to know that your product is number 1 and has a lot of powerful features. They do want to know how these features are going to Benefit them.

• Provide a lot of benefits for them … real benefits, not fancy words with no real meaning. If you say your idea will save them 10 minutes a day of their time … write that " … it will save you 10 minutes", not about ½ hour … Do you see what I mean ?

Olivier Hidalgo
Microsolutions Consulting

Learn how to improve your position/ranking on Search Engines(SEs). Learn the facts about copywriting and how your words sell your ideas, products and/or information. Design a site that sells!

Mission:
provide you with products and services that, for reasonable and affordable price, will empower you to truly win on the Web. My purpose is to contribute to the well-being of the persons, companies and the Internet community. I deliver a complete range of web tools, information and advice through channels that are secure and convenient. I want to build a relationship with you by providing you resources that will help you reach your goals.

Build your Web business on a solid foundation. Improve your web site ranking/position.

• High quality products/services and an excellent customer service. Find a unique product or service. The more unique your product, the better your possibilities of success.

• Market-targeted keywords with high demand and low supply. Make sure your content is targeted towards your niche market and that it is current.
Targeted Keywords!

• High quality content, full of benefits -- Become A Resource!

Provide your visitors with high quality useful information. Internet users are allways looking for valuable information. If you become their source for high quality valuable information, your visitors become your best advertising.

Learn Copywriting Techniques!

• Design a "Search Engines Friendy Web Site."

Search Engines(SEs) generate 75 - 80% of your traffic. This traffic can be generated from the top 10 search engines or directories. The problem with submitting your site is that they all have different rules and very different ways to rank your site.

Yahoo!, a directory, not a search engine(se).

Yahoo! is the most popular directory on the internet. Many people believe that getting listed in Yahoo! is the same as getting indexed by a search engine. Yahoo! is a directory, and not a search engine therefore the way you "get listed" is different from submitting to search engines(SEs).

Search engines use automated means of indexing sites, they use "spiders" and "robots" to get your web site's information, but at Yahoo! your site is reviewed by a human. Yahoo! goal is to build a high quality database. Consequently you have to show Yahoo! reviewers that your site is worth their consideration.

Google loves quality content and optimized pages as much as any other Search Engine,SE. They also allot some extra emphasis to your site's in-pointing links (i.e., those sites that link to your site -- a sign of a quality site).

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Would like to know kow your site's rank in Alexa Web Search?
Download Alexa Web Search
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Learn more about WebPosition!

1stSearchRanking.com specializes in achieving top placement in the major search engines for your company's Web site. We do this with a proprietary, proven strategy that generates results.
Improve Your Search Engine Position/Ranking!

• Use Search Engine Optimization tools that work

Keyword density analysis - use a keyword density analyzer to check the keyword density of your web pages. This will tell you if you have used too many or too few words in your web copy.

check the keyword density of your web pages!

• Design Pages that are "visitors friendly"

If the design is quick to load, pleasing to view, and clear and easy-to-use navigation, a site will be more attractive to visitors. If you ad high quality useful products and/or information ... your visitors are encouraged to return.

Remember visitors, and many search engines, love Web sites that have valuable, useful (to them),and up-to-date content.

Write your web content in a way that not only satisfies the search engines but also is compelling enough for your targeted web site visitors to read. Avoid using words that may be popular but that are not relevant to your site's topic and/or your targeted market.

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Of course, SBI!'s SE HQ reports on how all your pages rank on Google, as well as tracking spider visits, and monitoring listing status. It even tells you which keywords are finding each of your pages, giving you a great grasp on how you're doing and why. And it does this automatically...

... without any input from you.

What if one of your pages is not doing well?

Just use our special Analyze It! module to optimize your page so it ranks high. :-)

check Site Buildit!
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Is SiteSell that good ... really?

When you recommend something to a friend … why you do it … how you do it?

Well in my case I try … test … the demos and sometimes I buy the product or service that I’m analyzing. When I found SiteSell products the first thing I did was to download the free demos. Some of them are more than 400 pages … interesting I have bought programs that are less than that.

The demos are high quality. They provide you with useful information that you can use to create a web site that is: Customer Friendly! Search Engine Friendly!

Why are the above important? You want to provide your visitors – customers – with high quality products and high quality useful information … SiteSell ebooks guide you step by step and give you a lot of examples and resources that you can apply immediately. After I read Make Your Words Sell! free demo, I decided to buy it … I said to myself “let’s try it”, it has an excellent guarantee … so I bought MYWS!

I’m not a writer … MYWS! has helped me a lot … well still I’m not very good - I’m not saying that Make Your Words Sell! makes miracles :-) … I learned that the most important part of your online business is your customer. How you talk to your customer is the key to your success.

First … you tell the truth … show your visitors that you really care about them telling the truth … you have to love what you sell, if not … please don’t sell it Second … you show your visitors all the benefits and features of your products. Features are good if your visitors are technically oriented … benefits are much more important.

If you’re going to sell my something. I want you to tell me how your product is going to affect my life … benefits! Is going to save me money, time … work? ...even better … Is your product going to “make me money” so I can have more time available for other things? Is your product going to teach me how to “work smarter” instead or harder.

Well SiteSell products do that. I will never return my copy of Make Your Word Sell! (MYWS!) … I need it and enjoy it. Another product that I bought is “Site Build It!” (SBI!) … still testing, so far so good … well actually I had some problems when uploading my own pages … you know why?

I was trying to do things without reading the manual … I like to play and test … just to see if the program was able to read my mind :-) I read a sign in some place that said “If you tried and couldn’t fix it … please read the manual” … well I did that I learned what my mistake was.

So there you have it, I have tried – bought – two SiteSell products and I’m very happy with them. If you’re interested in learning how to sell online … if you want to create a web site that sells … you own it to yourself … try SiteSell products.

If you don’t like them you’re covered by SiteSell guarantee, so go ahead … give them a try! ... psst ... an idea … try the F’R’E’E demos first F'R'E'E Trials

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