5 Terrific Traffic Ideas That Dont Include SEOs and PPC

Traffic. It's the all-important piece of the marketing puzzle that faces all web owners. Your product may cure cancer but unless there are people reading your information it won't matter. And not just any traffic. You want laser targeted, highly motivated customers ready to whip out their wallets and input their credit cards. You are searching for El Dorado. You know it's there. You've read that others have found it. There is a path and it starts here.

SEO, JV's and PPC traffic will all deliver targeted customers. These techniques require specific knowledge too lengthy to discuss in one sitting. Below are five diverse methods that you start to use to drive targeted customers to your site with the knowledge you gain here.

1. Join the world and start blogging! Blogging is an online weblog or diary that can be easily updated. Your readers can even leave comments or answer polls. Blogger.com, a large server based blog, is owned by Google. Although there are great advantages to posting to a Blogger site you always want to have a blog hosted on your own site. Blogger will take down sites and sometimes for no apparent reason. You can lose all your data and traffic in seconds. Use Blogger to point to your primary site. This gives your site one more back link, another source for traffic and a reason for Google to spider and index your primary site following the links from Blogger. You can post the same content on both blogs and redirect people to pick up an RSS feed from your primary blog.

2. There are people talking about your niche on any number of forums and groups. Join several and provide accurate content rich answers to their questions. Be seen as a helper, someone who is truly interested in the topic and the people. Do not spam. Do not advertise but place your site in your signature line. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the number of good customers you'll receive. If people are motivated enough to join a forum or group to discuss their issue then they most likely are motivated to find good information.

3. Article marketing has been a topic of conversation for several years now. People seem to attempt this particular avenue and get discouraged easily. Although this type of marketing will economically generate targeted customers it is a time consuming job. The best technique to use is to post at least three to four articles per week to two or three of the top article directories. It's not necessary to post to 300 directories, just the ones with high page ranks like ezinearticles.com. These article postings do three things. You have back links from a site with a high page rank; you have access to publishers and your content will be found on organic searches based on the keywords and phrases you enter when you post to the directory.

4. Viral marketing has a mystique about it. The first site that accidentally took real advantage of this method was Interview With God. The owner of the site published a public domain poem on the net just a couple of months before 9/11. His site was 'discovered' by many people who took solace from the poetry and began sending the site to all of their friends. The rest was history. The essence of viral marketing is sharing information with people you know. There are several avenues open to you and even more if you use your imagination. You can take advantage of social networking sites and social bookmarking sites where you can share your information with all of your new 'friends'. Tell a friend scripts on your site can encourage your current visitors to tell their friends. You'll find that people will tell their friends if your site is funny, touching or if you offer incentive. Another technique is to offer free information through ebooks with links back to your site.

5. Do you have expert knowledge on a particular subject that relates to your website and business? You not only can share that knowledge in groups and forums but also by using answer sites through Yahoo Answers or eHow.com. In these arenas people post questions and others post answers. People who read the answers rate them. Your site gets traffic when people perceive that you are giving high quality answers.

You have the knowledge to drive traffic to your site. This may not be the flood of traffic that dreams are made of but they are targeted customers, the most important kind of traffic. As your skill using these techniques improves so will the number of buying customers visiting your site. And isn't that the point?

About the author: Rasheed Ali is CEO and founder of the Internet Coaching Academy http://www.InternetCoachingAcademy.com where he and his team of internet business experts are helping people from all over the world start, build and profit from their own internet business. He also offers a FREE newsletter and FREE video course on building a profitable home based business on the internet.

Social Media Optimization: the latest buzzword to help you in online optimization

by Steve Waganer

We have heard about search engine optimization, internet marketing, email marketing and several other terms associated with the promotion of a site on the web. And the latest buzzword that is doing the rounds is social media optimization. In fact, search engine is increasingly being done these days keeping in mind the different aspects of social media optimization. Like any other optimization method social media optimization is nothing different, but methods to make a site popular on the web. The only difference is that there are certain methods used for social media optimization and this is done in a different manner.

Social media optimization makes use of several processes that help in increasing the linkability of a site. This is the first priority for doing social media optimization for any site on the web. There is a need to constantly change the look and feel of the site. After all, who likes looking and reading the same things over and over gain. So, constant change is must to keep someone hooked to your site and do business with you. The content and anything written for the site has to be simply great and amazing to draw visitors and buyers to your site.

The idea behind optimization is to attract traffic to a site as brining huge traffic is one of the easiest and the best way to make the site popular in the eyes of all the major search engines. Write as many blogs as you can for your site and make it as popular as you can on the web. Putting up the content of your site in a unique way that will facilitate more links to your site is also a good way of doing social media optimization. Making use of all these innovative methods for putting up the content of your site can in fact popularize your site all the more on the web.

You can put up the content of your site in a portable form to facilitate its fast travel on the web. The idea is to reach out to as many people as possible within a short span of time and at the same time give our meaningful information to online visitors who are searching for information. You can put up information regarding your site in a video clip and circulate it on the web to increase the popularity of your site. The more your content will travel on the web, the more number of visitors and links you can get for your site.

How about letting other sites use your content? Site owners can let other people make use of their content if they give a link of their site in the webpage where they use the content. This is a great way of driving to your site and this is what you are aiming to do through optimization. Social media optimization have been found to be very effective for promoting any kind of site on the web and it is up to you to implement this for your site.

Cliches in the SEO World

Banners to tell what you want to say

Veotag

Website Submission - A SEO Specialist Shares His Secrets

Many of you have heard of submitting your website, but what does this really mean? What places should you really submit your website? What about submitting to thousands of search engines and directories through some website promotion service?

What Pages To Submit:

At the minimum, you should submit your home page. Many search engines will promise to find and crawl the rest of your website automatically (in their own good time). But if they don't discourage you from doing so, I would submit several of the important pages in your site. For example, a site map is definitely something I would want to submit, since it should have direct links to the rest of your website.

Also, if I get another webmaster to link to my website, I like to submit that page as well. I want the search engines to recognize that this resource has changed - it has a link to my website and I want the credit for it.

What To Prepare:

For the search engines, I would make sure that the website is properly optimized. At a minimum, I would do double check the meta-tags to ensure that the title, meta-description and meta-keywords properly describe the web pages and have some of my desired keywords in it. I would also run a website validator on the pages I intend on submitting - to keep the search engine spiders from choking on my website. For more information on optimizing a website for the search engines, go to http://website-optimization-2.blogspot.com.

For the directories, I would normally prepare some commonly requested information. This really helps to speed up the process. I normally use a generic text editor like Microsoft Notepad and save the following data before I go and submit to the different search engines and directories. This enables me to use copy and paste.

This should have:

• Your email
  
• Your website url
  
• A good title for your website
  
• A description for the website

Since Yahoo will allow you to submit a list of URLS that are in a text document (or an RSS feed) I would encourage you to prepare one to help them out. These should be at the root directory of your website and be updated whenever there is a change to your pages. That way you can just submit the location of the RSS feed or the text file and let Yahoo use that to find the rest of your pages. It is a nice time saver. Personally, I like using an automated RSS feed since Yahoo can use it to determine when the last changes occurred and decide what pages to re-crawl first.

(If you don't know what RSS is, here is a great article on it: http://feedvalidator.org/docs/rss2.html.)

Google uses a similar technology to help it find all of your web pages. It is called a "Google Site Map". That is the subject of another article. I wrote one that has a lot more info on the Google Site Maps, for when you are ready to build one. Google also has a special way to submit these. Just follow their instructions. If this is too complicated, contact a webmaster or a SEO specialist who is familiar with this feature.

Where To Submit:

I would recommend submitting your home page to the major search engines individually, at least initially. However, there are several services that do groups of them for you - and is a big time saver for the rest of your site. The following is one of my favorites: FreeWebSubmission.com. I have always deselected Google, though, since I submit to them manually through the Google website. I submit my web pages to the following search engines manually (without a special tool) just to ensure that it is done.

You will need a Yahoo account to submit to the Yahoo search engine. And don't fret if you don't see immediate results. Your site should normally exist in MSN within about 6 weeks, in Yahoo in 8-12 weeks, and in Google within about 3 months. (You will not likely get much search results from Google for the first year though - but hold out and keep working on the other tricks. In the long run, Google will normally give you about 60 - 70% of the search engine traffic if you follow these methods.)

Also, if you have the Alexa toolbar installed, navigate to your website and click on the "info" button on the toolbar. Then you will have to fill in information about your website. Once this is registered, you will start seeing how your website's Alexa rating looks. There have been some rumors that Google considers the Alexa description in its searches - so make sure it is relevant to your website as a whole and has at least one of your keywords.

You should also submit your website to DMOZ. This is a massive directory that is republished in several other websites. It is managed by humans, and is therefore considered to be of special relevance by other search engines. I strongly recommend reading all their rules before submitting - and follow them closely. Make sure that you try to get listed in only one category - the most relevant one for your business. It can take a month or two to get listed, but it really helps with your backlinks and overall relevancy as a website.

After DMOZ, here are the most important list of directories to be listed in.

• Yahoo Directory website submission ($299 annual fee)

• Business.com website submission ($199 annual fee)

• Microsoft Bcentral Directory website submission ($49 annual fee)

• Best of Web website submission ($40 annual fee)

• GoGuides.org website submission ($40 lifetime fee)

• Gimpsy.com website submission ($40 lifetime fee)

• JoeAnt website submission ($40 lifetime fee)

• Tygo website submission ($40 lifetime fee)

• Skaffe.com website submission ($40 lifetime fee)

• WowDirectory.com website submission ($25 lifetime fee)

If you haven't used directories before - try browsing these before you fill out the form to submit your site. They are organized by category. You need to find the most relevant category to put your website before you start to fill out the form for each of these. Have a pen and paper as you browse - and write down directory paths of where you want to be.

Being in some directories just adds some good backlinks. (When another webmaster links to your website, this is considered a backlink.) Others, like Yahoo and DMOZ, tend to get some special relevance to certain search engines. After you get familiar with these well-known directories, look for niche directories that are specific to the type of business your website is about.

There are specialized directories that focus on a particular category of links. These can be valuable - you will just have to do a bit of searching to find them. These may be considered as part of your overall strategy.

Being listed in a search engine doesn't guarantee that you will have a good ranking - this is just the first step - letting them know that you exist.

If You See An Offer To Get Listed In Hundreds Of Directories And Websites Automatically - Beware! Many of these will list you in hundreds of FFA (free for all) sites. These sites are considered SPAM by search engines and I would strongly encourage you to avoid them. Did I mention to avoid these? Check out what Google has to say about these. They may get you quick backlinks, but they are from the "wrong" type of site. These are just a list of sites - and they stay there temporarily. Only the latest 100 submitted or so are displayed there and you need to be resubmitted regularly to stay there. Few humans use this - it is just a linking game to trick the search engines about your popularity (and search engines don't like it). Don't bother.

To Wrap It Up:

Get backlinks - but avoid FFA sites. There are some important directories, but being listed in "Thousands Of Websites And Directories" is likely a promotional trick to get you listed in FFA sites. The most important backlinks are from web pages with content related to your website and those that your customers visit. If it isn't likely to draw your customers, it may not be very important for your website traffic.

About the author: Robert Fuess is a veteran website designer who specializes in making dynamic search engine optimized websites. SpiderwebLogic.com | SchoolAndTeacher.com

Essential SEO Blogs | Stay Up-to-date On The Search Engine Optimization World.

By: Solomon Rothman

There are a lot of SEO/SEM blogs out there, and lots of them dole out bad advice or repeat each other. Here is a list of my top 10 blogs that provide the largest array of different...

...ormation on the search industry. If youre monitoring Search Engine Optimization or Search Engine Marketing I would recommend you check them out, as I read them regularly.

NOTE: Ive included black hat and grey hat SEO blogs here, not because I necessarily condone their practices (I dont like spam or spammers), but because a lot of what grey hat and black SEO involves shapes the search engine world as much as white hat SEO, and if you really want to understand SEO, you have to learn about what it is, what can hurt you, and where its going. Information is power and these blogs contain the most real information on different aspects of the SEO world.

Seobook.com by AaronWall

Aaron Wall writes a lot, and I mean a lot. Its one of the most active blogs written by a single individual Ive ever seen. He also authors a book on SEO and writes for other websites as well. Seobook is an essential blog because it contains well-researched articles that express opinions and arent just parrots of existing news. He also provides real life examples from his very successful SEO campaigns and is considered to be an industry leader.

SeoMoz.com

They post a lot and are connected to the hub of the search engine optimization world. The posts provide a large amount of links to different things happening in the SEO world. The blog at SeoMOZ links out a lot, so you can get references to an entire list of stuff to research and peruse, all presorted for you by SEO experts with the occasional bout of humor thrown in.

Greywolfs SEO Blog

This is an outstanding blog because, unlike almost all SEO blogs, this one contains lots of little experiments Greywolf is messing with. So the information it contains is unique and filled with a distinctly first person voice and some humor. This blog addresses a lot of the more aggressive SEO techniques through experimentation and offers the pros and cons of each well.

SEO Blackhat

Dont let the name scare you; this blog (which ranks on Google and isnt penalized) discusses in unedited detail the philosophy of SEO and its techniques. It also gives excellent counter arguments and discussion about the present and future of the search engine industry. The authors creative and super opinionated voice make this site quite interesting to read.

Search Engine Watch Blog

This is a professional blog following the search engine industry. Articles are well written and professionally edited. Great place to stay up-to-date on news and have insider comments. Many of the posts here end up being parroted around on thousands of other SEO blogs.

Search Engine Land by Danny Sullivan

Although it doesnt officially launch until December 11th, Im including it here because Danny Sullivan is one of (if not the most) respected name in SEO and has probably written more about SEO than anyone else. Ill be following his new blog and so will everyone else; it is written in an in the news / whats happening with the search engines style.

SEO Chat

This blog / site with an rss feed is home to lots and lots of articles. Some are a little on the boring side, but I still think its a great information source. Its an essential reading place if youre a beginner or new to SEO. It is written in a long, wordy newspaper-style and explores SEO topics in detail.

Matt Cutts

Google engineer and search celebrity Matt Cutts writes this blog. Although anything major said here will be repeated over and over and analyzed to the max, this blog is a must read for the official Google position on SEO, but also for the wonderful comments his posts receive; they are full of intriguing, heated discussions and debate. The comments alone make this a must read.

This brings us to the most important SEO blog of all time:

Stir Crazy, Acclivitys SEO & Internet Marketing Blog! Ha ha. Dont I wish!

Please comment and add links to the SEO blogs you follow. NO RAW URLS OR SIMPLISTIC TITLES. Please tell everyone why you like it and feel its a valuable resource for people wanting to stay up-to-date on the search engine optimization world.

As an aside, you might possibly be wondering why Im providing links to other SEO consultant blogs when they also provide commercial SEO services? Well, that answer takes several parts:

  To encourage other sites to link to this list and potentially increase the value / rankings of this site.
  Im looking to take on a select number of good clients, so that we can provide high quality seo campaigns and personal attention. Even at max capacity most of the people reading this will have to pay different seo consultants and firms for their services.
  Knowledge is power. It will help me if you have researched SEO and know a bit about it. SEO is more than theory and research; its a bunch of hard work and unless you have an onstaff guy or are willing to invest large portions of your life learning and doing SEO then you need to hire someone to do this for you.
  I like SEO and people like to link to and promote things about the topics they enjoy.
  I want cookies

searchnewz.com

SEO Friendly Dynamic Websites

One of the most important aspects of search engine optimization is relevant content and the management of that content on your website. Your website should include up to date information about your services, industry or products. Continual updates should be a part of your weekly or monthly website maintenance process. Areas that can provide strong content to your site are industry related news, online newsletters and text that shows you as an authority in your field.

A content management system allows the website owner to post the latest news and information about their company on the website. The site owner can log into an administrative area of the website and post news updates and archive older postings for retrieval and reading by the website visitor from any computer in the world that has Internet access.

Be careful when selecting a CMS. Choose one that is easy to use, employs a unique URL naming convention, and is search engine friendly and easy on the budget. Choose one that allows you to set your page titles, Meta descriptions and Meta keywords. A good CMS should employ a unique naming convention in the URL that actually means something to the search engine spider. You can download a free CMS from other sources, but if you are looking for an advantage to the thousands of other pages on the web that look like this... http://www.somedomain.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=4&id=16&Itemid=27 Then make sure you do your homework.

A fast growing segment on the web is the RSS feed and the ability to use RSS feeds (with the authors permission) to supplement the content on your website. Typical web based RSS aggregators simply allow you to publish a headline and a link from your chosen feed. This provides you with very little fresh content on your site and gives visitors no potential reasons to return. This also offers very little value to search engine optimization efforts. Some rss aggregators take information from the feeds you choose and generates SEO friendly html pages for each item in the feed. This quickly turns a 10 page website into a much larger, more robust site complete with relevant content that continually grows.

When selecting tools to develop your seo friendly dynamic website, pay attention to the options offered and how they may impact your site. Several tools are available, but only a hand full are worth their salt.

Jeff Phillips is the Founder and President of CAD Enterprises LLC. CAD Website Design is a full service web design company dedicated to creating user friendly websites that reinforce branding, increase site traffic and strengthen customer loyalty. CAD Website Design provides sophisticated database design and programming that enables dynamic content generation and database integration using PHP Programming and MySQL. By providing simple to use back end management areas, CAD Website Design empowers you to manage your content and edit information with the simple click of a button. Adwords Users Can Now Target Adsense Channels Simple copywriting Crazzy Egg - Track, evaluate and improve your site

Quick Tips For Instant Results

People ask me on a daily basis how to do a couple of quick fixes which will make their site appear higher in the search results. The type of people that ask me are usually people who have been doing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) themselves but have not had any great success. This article is for people just starting to do SEO or for people who have been doing it for a long time. The tips are easy to implement and anyone who knows a bit about HTML and SEO will be able make the changes easily.

This article will out line a number of "Quick Fixes" which will make your site move up the search results almost immediately.

1) Use H1, H2, H3 tags in your content with your keywords appearing in them.
2) Use Alt Tags in your website; make sure that they include your keywords too.
3) Create fresh content as frequently as possible.
4) Don't let your keyword density exceed 15%.
5) Make sure you don't have a slow loading site.
6) No duplicate content, always keep your text original.
7) Make sure your navigation is text based and your site is easy to navigate
8) Have many RELEVANT backlinks to your website.
9) Backlinks should include anchor text that is varied.
10) Don't link to banned sites or "bad neighbourhoods"
11) Don't use too much script, make sure your site is content rich.
12) Don't ever use Frames or Flash.

These tips are suggested for websites that are established already and have some history. New sites should be optimised as they are build and as they are new it will take a while for the search engines to show them in their results. Therefore, any changes made will not have any effect on a new site with no history or backlinks.

It requires great patience to do SEO effectively; the most important factor in SEO is building a good number of backlinks to your site. The backlinks should be from many different sources and be related to your industry in some why. Also, use your keywords in your anchor text – this will make a huge difference.