SEO writing with purpose

$10 discount just for posting a tweet! - Sponsored Post

2011-02-15T13:22:00.001-06:00

PureAndHealthy is giving $10 discounts for posting a twitter / FB message! Get yours by visiting www.pureandhealthy.com!

Are women more likely to listen when other women speak?

2010-10-19T10:16:00.001-05:00

Are women more likely to listen when other women speak?

Answer here

Why Do Professional SEOs Push Google Analytics?

2010-06-19T08:36:00.002-05:00

Before we get into our SEO services with a client, one of the first things we say is “Do you have analytics installed on your site?” We aren’t the only ones; in fact, some form of analytics is preferable for thousands of professional SEOs. Why? What’s with Google Analytics and other analytics programs? What can we learn? (read more)

2010-05-22T08:31:00.003-05:00

While perusing my Twitter feed the other day, I came across a post with over 160 Twitter applications. I had to break them down into 5 post. Some are great while some are ... well useless is the only word that comes to mind. Here are all five.

Why No Business Should Be Involved In Online Social Networking

2010-04-22T08:40:00.004-05:00

Sure it's a powerful tool, but will it accomplish want you want it too?

Take a look at these four scenarios.

1. A teenaged boy in Cleveland is sharing strategy secrets on a Playstation 3 Facebook group.
2. In San Diego a father is posting photos of his family’s day at the beach to Flickr.
3. A mother in Toronto is uploading a video of her daughter’s dance recital to You Tube.
4. In New York, an HR consultant is twittering about recent changes in employment law.

Which one of these people stands out as being unique from the others in the way they are using social networking?

If you answered number 4 you would be correct.

That’s because the first three people are using social networking web sites for the purpose of social interaction. They are keeping in touch with friends, family and people of similar interests. Their goals are nothing more than to belong, share, and socialize.

But the HR consultant is networking for a different set of reasons. This person has chosen to use networking sites as a tool to position themselves as an expert – an invaluable source of reliable information. Beyond Twitter, this person may also be on Facebook, Linked In, Plaxo and others. This sharing of information would, in theory, impact on how they are viewed within their industry by current and potential clients. Over the long term, these efforts could materialize into new business. That is why they are there.

When business people use social networking sites, they often do not understand why. And that is a big reason why so many of them see no positive return from it. Although a positive return can mean different things to everybody, for most business people a positive return usually involves making a sale.

The problem is that for the last couple of years, experts have continuously preached that the success of a business is dependant on participating in online social networking. They will try to convince you that you need a Facebook page, that you need to regularly update your Linked In profile, that you should post articles to a myriad of resource sites, and of course let the world know you are doing all this by Twittering at least 5 times a week.

What every expert has forgotten to share with you (or just don’t know to) is that this is not social networking. There is in fact nothing social about it. You are not trying to make friends, get in touch with old school chums, or keep tabs on the ex. You are trying to grow your business.

So maybe it’s time to stop referring to all this as social networking and start seeing it for what it really is: social marketing.

Any form of communication you perform on behalf of your business is a form of marketing. Regardless of whether it’s a business card or a Facebook page, your are building an image - a brand identity that will help you convey your values allowing people to better understand the advantages of doing business with you.

Think of social marketing as just another tool in your marketing toolbox. In many ways it is no different than web sites, yellow page ads, trade shows or promotional items. Each of these is important in their own way depending on your needs, industry, budget, and time. One tool should not be favoured over another simply because it seems like the right thing to do.

But as this article is specifically about social marketing, we will try to determine if it should be a key component to your marketing program.

It seems I come across a lonely blog at least once a week. I can tell they’re lonely because the last entry was from 2008 or earlier. The owner of the blog no longer posts and people no longer visit. The same can be said for Facebook profiles that have no personal information or photos. Or Linked In sites that have outdated employment history.

So many business owners jumped on the social marketing bandwagon because they felt compelled to. Yet when they finally spent the time and money to create those blog sites, they had nothing to say, no information to share, and no time to maintain it.

Time is one of those things the experts rarely bring up. But for anyone who runs their own business will tell you, finding time each day to write about who-knows-what can be impossible. I have always believed that the most successful people in business do not invest a lot of time in networking sites because they are too busy making money doing their real jobs.

On the other hand, networking sites have contributed to making countless people famous and wealthy. And it can be argued that many of whom possess no real skills in the first place outside of being able to successfully exploit their following. I have to wonder where celebrity gossiper Perez Hilton and socialite Kim Kardashian would be without the internet. (Of note, Kim Kardashian charges $10,000 to mention a product in her tweets to her 2.7 million followers.)

So should you be jumping into the social marketing pool? Only you can answer that. But here’s some things to think about before getting wet.

1. What are your goals? Are you looking to increase sales or just to build a list of contacts? Both can be important depending on the type of business you own. A restaurant can use Twitter to let people know about specials available only for that evening. Whereas an accountant might want to build a list through Linked In as a vehicle to let people know about changes to tax laws.

2. Content is key. Not actively participating in social marketing is like being a wallflower at a party. If no one will know you’re there, what’s the point in even going? Being an active participant means contributing relevant content. Depending on the sites you choose to join, this can involve submitting articles, industry news, anything that your contacts, friends, or followers will deem useful or worthy of reading. This means avoiding Twittering about what you had for lunch or posting photos of your trip to the beach (unless you’re a travel agent).

3. Time commitment. Like other types of marketing, frequency is important in reinforcing your message and getting people to remember you. Just as you would not place an ad in a magazine for just one issue, you must also contribute to your social marketing presence on a regular basis. For many business owners, this can be anywhere from 15-60 minutes per day. Are you ready for that?

4. Know your audience. A hair salon creating a Facebook page sounds logical until you find out the average age of their clients is 55, most of whom do not even use the internet. So are they trying to keep in contact with current clients or attract new ones? (Refer back to #1)

5. Coordinating with conventional marketing. Social marketing should not be treated as a stand alone program. To be effective it should be combined with traditional marketing. For example, if you send out a flyer by mail, mention that people can get notice of additional promotions by following you on Twitter. Or use Facebook to post photos of special industry events you were involved in.

6. The return. Even with conventional marketing, many business people are guilty of thinking they can expect a certain return for every dollar spent. If they don’t see that return in a specific period of time, they deem the campaign a failure. Social marketing can be even more abstract. In many cases, your posts or submissions will not be focused on generating sales, but instead providing information. As such, readers would be less likely to contact you looking to spend money. However if you choose to create a social campaign focused on driving sales, you may find yourself ignored as many people get turned off of sales pitches made through social media sites.

Using the analogy of farming (for some reason people like to compare business to farming), if a sales presentation is like harvesting fruit, then social marketing is like planting seeds. That is, in sales, the harder you work the greater the immediate gains. An effective sales presentation will generally result in more sales.

However social marketing is less about what you can get and more about what you can give. More information, more posts, more contacts, more referrals – all of these can lead to an increase in business over time. How much time and how much business no one can say. It can take months just for people to take notice of you. But like a farmer planting seeds, if you plant enough of them, invest the effort, and be patient, eventually you will bear the fruits of success.

Marc Gordon is a professional speaker and marketing consultant based in Toronto, Ontario. His firm, Fourword Marketing, specializes in helping businesses create a brand identity and developing effective marketing campaigns. Marc can be reached at (416) 238-7811 or visit www.marcgordon.ca. Follow Marc on Twitter at twitter.com/marcgordondotca.

Tweet this but not that; many executives establish stricter social networking policies

2010-04-17T09:32:00.003-05:00

Saturday, April, 17, 2010 - Alexandria Echo Press - News
Social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook allow people to communicate more loosely, but many companies are tightening their grip on how employees use these channels at work.

Thirty-eight percent of chief information officers (CIOs) interviewed have implemented stricter social networking policies -- more than twice the number (17 percent) who say they have relaxed the rules. A larger percentage (23 percent) of technology executives are reining in personal use of social media than are placing limits on social media use for business (15 percent). A previous study found that more than half (55 percent) of companies have social networking policies that ban the use of social networking altogether.

The survey was developed by Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of information technology (IT) professionals on a project and full-time basis. It was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on telephone interviews with more than 1,400 CIOs from companies across the United States with 100 or more employees.

CIOs were asked, “As social networking has become more of a business tool, how have you had to re-evaluate your IT policies surrounding its use by employees in your company?” Their responses (multiple responses were permitted):

More strict with respect to personal use -- 23%

More strict with respect to business use -- 15%

More lenient with respect to business use -- 10%

More lenient with respect to personal use -- 7%

No change -- 55%

Don’t know/no answer -- 2%

“The challenge for companies is balancing the benefits of social media in the workplace with the risks,” said Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology. “Firms are evaluating how to help employees use social networks to keep pace with developments in their industries, stay connected with business contacts and promote their organizations without sacrificing information security or employee productivity.”

Added Willmer, “There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to social networking policies. To be effective, guidelines should include input from stakeholders throughout the organization, including IT, legal, human resources, marketing, public relations and front-line employees.”

About the survey
The national survey was developed by Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of IT professionals on a project and full-time basis, and conducted by an independent research firm. The survey is based on more than 1,400 telephone interviews with CIOs from a random sample of U.S. companies with 100 or more employees. In order for the survey to be statistically representative, the sample was stratified by geographic region, industry and number of employees. The results were then weighted to reflect the proper proportions of the number of employees within each region.

formspring.me

2010-03-24T09:32:00.001-05:00

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/SEOcopy

Getting Around Blogging Blocks

2010-02-23T11:08:00.006-06:00

All writers go through lean periods in writing when words just freeze inside, like water in subzero temperatures that refuses to flow out as it should. It might need some external heating to melt the writing block and push the words out. The problem is more pertinent with blogging than with writing of a general nature; for a blog to remain alive, it has to be continuously fed.

The problems with such blocks are even more pertinent when one is into social marketing because, in this form of promoting, it’s not always a tangible product being marketed. While social marketing may involve the promotion of tangible products like medicine or medical equipment, it’s more often an idea that is being promoted. This is especially true with ideas related to social behavior, health or fitness. It differs from conventional marketing in that, here, the promoters are primarily giving the customers ideas and advice after sensing what their requirements are.

Since blogging is a great way to make the to and fro connection in social marketing, the blogger cannot afford the blog content to go dry and has to use ways and means to keep it alive. Given below are some of the tips for managing blogging blocks:
One way to forestall a blogging block is to have a few spare topics always ready at hand. When you start blogging, make a list of interrelated topics. When you fail to get matter for a blog, you can use a closely related topic in a way that the readers will not feel that the blog content is too much at a tangent to the main blog thread.

For example, if you’re writing about diabetes, you can use blog content topics like endocrine glands, juvenile diabetes, exceptionally successful diabetics, naturopathy for diabetes, homeopathy for diabetes, insulin resistance, insulin pumps, and so on. When you start making a list, you will find that the list is itself unending. So far as you have a lengthy list of such reserve topics, matter for blog content is unlikely to be a problem.

New trends and ideas in the field have to be introduced to the readers instantly while doing social marketing. It’s true that not all new ideas and initiatives are bound to be successful. However, there is no harm in conveying the new information to the consumers and getting feedback from them, as long as you are not forcing any tangible product on them. Most readers are happy to participate in new ideas and put forth their own opinions on its usefulness. These reactions will help the blogging process to continue through the back and forth viewpoints.

Social networking sites have to be effectively used to ensure that you do not run out of blog content ideas. When you log on to Twitter or Facebook, it’s easy to understand the topics that are the current favorites. Try to connect your blog title to any one of these popular topics in a creative way to make sure that search engines will pick it up and people will glance at it.

When something momentous happens in the world, try to mention it in your blog even if it’s not connected in any way to your social marketing theme. A fine example of a company that did this and was featured in the NY times with the Title How We Got a Link from The New York Times I love this... Ties into my rant about discovery, timing, analysis, and execution.

It’s important to communicate to others that you are an ordinary human being like everyone else, sharing the joys and sorrows of the world, and not someone restricted to the realms of diabetes, or hygiene, or acupuncture, or whatever you are blogging about.

While blogging for social marketing, it’s important to alter the blog content now and then to address the audience of different educational levels, types of inquisitiveness and economic standards. This means that the same content can be introduced and explained in three or four different ways on different days. This will ensure that there is no shortage of blog content. To make sure that the repetition doesn’t make the blog awkward, you can make it clear that the subject is produced in an altered form to cater to a different set of readers and that the original thread will be continued the next day.

10 Reasons You Should Join Social Networks in 2010

2010-02-22T12:13:00.001-06:00

Everyday around the world, more and more people are joining social networks like Twitter, Facebook, Technorati etc… My question is why? Read more

Step Right Up: Get Your Free Market Research Here!

2009-07-22T12:23:00.001-05:00

Each year, many companies venture out into the business world without the most important piece of ammunition for their success: market research. While clouded by the dual belief that market research is needed for companies intending to earn business through cold calls or market research is too expensive for the average company, the failure to properly understand your market segmentation can lead to costly errors and loss of potential sales. In many cases, companies proceed into deep level development of new products or services without knowing if the market will support their cost structure or pricing strategy. Rea more here
Step Right Up: Get Your Free Market Research Here!

Cybercrime: Tipping the Black Hat

2009-07-22T12:21:00.000-05:00

By Rebecca Jacoby

Trying to get credible professionals such as technology executives at Symantec or authors of books like Hacking Wall Street to talk to me about cybercrime and information security is like, well, needing the skills of a Black Hat.
Find out more here Cybercrime: Tipping the Black Hat

Leveraging the Lemming Effect: How Social Media Makes Money

2009-07-22T11:43:00.001-05:00

By Margaret K. Collins
Social media is too powerful not to make money.

“The power of social media is that there is so much micro-segmentation going on,” says Kevin Flaherty, co-founder and vice president of the social-networking provider Wetpaint.com. Read more
Leveraging the Lemming Effect: How Social Media Makes Money

I have moved

2009-07-17T06:09:00.003-05:00

The time has come to grow up with my blogging. I started getting quite a few readers and decided to move. Therefore, I won't be updating this blog but you can continue reading all the great information on SEO/SEM/Social networks here

SEO Careers – From Copywriting to Coding From Home: What You Really Have to Know

2009-03-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

I was recently asked how one gets into an SEO career. My first reaction is, “don’t go there, it’s not as easy as many think”. The competition is fierce, and unfortunately, a lot of people out there shouldn’t be writing to begin with. It reminds me of the dot.com era. Everyone that had a computer became a web designer. Bottom line is, you’re dealing with maybe 35% of the SEO population that knows what the heck they’re talking about.

However, if you’re a copywriter or journalist and have been laid off, then thinking about writing from home for a living may be right for you. It seems many people out there calling themselves SEO service providers don’t know the first thing about SEO copywriting, but for the sake of this article and for my Sunday rant I wanted to share this information with you. There are many SEO careers on the rise; however, there are also many different ways those writers can find their own niche when dealing with any type of SEO.

This is becoming a very popular job prospect. SEO copywriters however, are copywriters first. They must have a basic knowledge of how SEO works in order to write copy properly. I’ll share a few simple tasks with you.

SEO by definition is search engine optimization. How this is done is by using keywords that will or are highly ranked in Goggle’s organic search. There are certain techniques that become natural once a writer gets into the “SEO state of mind”. They include writing the necessary tags, using your Bio box properly and, of course, writing the content.

Let me explain. Most SEO service providers will start with finding the keywords by using a specific tool, such as Adwords or other keyword analysis tools. You find the most popular terms currently in use and write your article with those terms in mind. Well that was a mouthful, but that's just the beginning.

Note I said “most” SEO service providers. If you want to get the most for your hard work, however, there has to be more to your SEO efforts than copy that’s keyword driven. It has to engage your readers in order to get your readership numbers up. It has to inform your readers regardless of whether you promote one technique or product.

You see, people want to learn and feel that what you’re writing is honest and well researched. Therefore, do yourself or your client a favor. Brand your words along with the services you offer. Stand out, be unique and cause a revolution if you must. There I go again; I’m digressing and getting off the topic.

The simplest method is to make sure your keyword is in the title, then in the first sentence, the middle of your copy and in the last paragraph of your copy (preferably the last sentence). That’s not to say that as long as you have your keywords your page will rise in ranks. That may work on one copy - if it’s an obscure word and not a competitive one.

The key here is to have the content read naturally, not forced. If you can’t use your keyword in the copy as I have described above, then choose another keyword or just leave it alone. Not every copy has to be drowned with keywords. Sometimes people just want to enjoy your story, your experience, your blog.

So, okay, now you know how to write SEO content. The next thing you have to do is article submission, directory submissions, blog postings, and socially networking your content in order to drive traffic to your site.

Here is where article and directory submission come into play. Article submissions help in your SEO efforts by seeding the Internet with your content and keywords. SEO articles to article databases and directories help your site and allow you to promote various services and products. It’s simple: the better the articles submission site the more traffic you will generate. Ultimately, this is the most organic way to drive business to your site; many SEO professionals know all the tools and can advise you wisely in your future projects and goals.

Now, if you’re looking at SEO careers in coding, most SEO service providers have a working knowledge of the current version of HTML. HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. The current version available is Version # 5. Using hypertext is a way of creating links both to the page in question and links, such as track backs, for articles that someone else comments on or tracks.

A basic way of creating a hyperlink is by typing the address of another page directly into the document and content. If you’re using a word-processing program, then you can create the link by choosing “create hyperlink”. Most word-processing programs allow you to chose the text you want displayed for the hyperlink; the user sees the word in blue, clicks on it and is taken to the page in question. The other aspect of coding is to make sure you use your tags properly. Description tags, image tags, keyword tags and anchor texts are all examples of coding you’ll need to learn.

If you’re looking for a trade and are a creative writer able to think outside the box, consider diving into these SEO careers.

Small Businesses Need SEO

2009-03-12T06:00:00.002-05:00

With all the listings on a search engine, the millions of websites and billions of pages, it’s not about strategy but about survival when I say that small businesses hoping to gain some notice online absolutely need SEO. It’s just a matter of fact. Small businesses with small visibility need all the help that they can get, and SEO is just the help they need.

Here’s an illustration from my own life. I was at a wedding recently, and it came time at the reception for the garter toss. Now the dance floor was full of eligible bachelors, each vying for the front row position so they could catch the good luck charm. One bachelor in particular was comparatively shorter than the others, and I knew from first sight that he had no shot.

It was true. There was no way he could jump higher, out-wrestle or out-will the other men to get that garter. The only chance he had was if the wind just happened to pick the garter up like the leaf in Forest Gump and gently land it in his waiting arms. Needless to say, neither he nor I were holding our breath.

Now, if you’re an eligible small business, waiting on the market dance floor to grab the searching user so you can have more success in the future, you don’t want to rely on happenstance. You need to have a strategy. You need help, and that help is SEO.

Why SEO?

SEO helps you compete with the “big boys” by boosting your page higher on the search engine lists than theirs. The size of a company doesn’t matter to search engines, and it doesn’t matter to users. Users care about two things: where you are on the results page (because most absolutely will not go past the second or third page, if those) and how trustworthy your site appears. Through SEO you can earn the coveted front row position.

SEO also costs much less than traditional advertising, which works well for a smaller budget. You can utilize many of the tools on your own without talking with a SEO specialist. As long as you have a little know-how and little more patience, you can begin optimizing your webpage with relevant content and media.

Yet, even when you use an SEO specialist to help run your optimization campaign (highly recommended), your budget can remain much less than trying to market on your own, and a little money goes a long way. By investing just a little into an SEO campaign, you can receive a lot of new and promising traffic.

Don’t be caught at the back of the line waiting for chance to choose you. Take hold of your own future and compete with all the businesses, whether large or small. SEO is what you need

SMO is Where SEO is Going

2009-03-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

The future of SEO is SMO. That should be clear by now, if not clear relatively soon. The rise and dominance of such technologies and sites as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Digg, YouTube, Sphinn, (etc.) have ensured this future. Like telling our kids that the future is in their hands, so we are telling the users - not the companies - that the future of the Internet is in theirs.

What is SMO?

SMO, or Social Media Optimizing, is the newest and most sought after branch of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). It’s taking what was once all about writing, codes and web design, and expanding to include social networks, the media and the camera. In fact, by definition it’s using these additional tactics for the purpose of boosting visibility and traffic through social media, online communities and community websites.

How does SMO work?

There are many methods of social media optimization, but they generally break down into two types: on-page and off-page. Both work together in cooperation to build your network and stimulate traffic to your site. They combine to increase visibility, adapt and refresh your site’s style and voice, and build a greater fan base.

On-Page SMO

Some of the greatest and easiest methods are done on your website. The goal of performing on-page SMO is first and foremost to create a greater “linkability” for your page, especially for the content. A great first step is blogging. When you connect your site with a personal or corporate blog, you immediately speak to a different circle. Blogging offers an informal space for you to inform, engage and discuss your company. The better the blog, the more traffic you’ll have.

Also important is adding content to your site that makes tagging and bookmarking easier, not only so a user can remember and return to your site, but also so that he or she can share your site with others. Social bookmarking websites like delicious.com have made sharing sites easy and popular.

Off-Page SMO

Working off-page is important also for boosting traffic and visibility. By sharing content with other social media sites you can expand your network and target audience beyond the search engines. The first step is to create sharable media like .pdfs, video files and audio files. Then, you can submit them not only to your site, but also to the media sites. Again, the better the content, the more traffic you will receive.

Two examples of social media sites are Twitter and Facebook. While Twitter was originally just a way to keep in touch and update friends on what you’re doing, it’s now much more than that. Businesses have begun using Twitter for company updates and information, as well as getting immediate feedback from customers and clients. Twitter isn’t for posting ads; it’s for engaging and building your audience (i.e. potential customers).

Facebook and other sites such as LinkedIn, are excellent places to expand your network. Whether this means making friends, meeting others interested in your particular niche or creating strong B2B relationships, adding these sites to your SMO efforts can achieve several purposes; back links to your site, increasing awareness of your site or product, public exposure and creating interest in your brand are just a few examples of what using these sites can do for you.

As the Internet changes so does SEO. It’s no longer simply about writing and coding, but about blogging, videos, networks, conversations and, most importantly, engaging your target audience. Marketing and networking are now just as important and effective; SEO must transition into, and turn toward, SMO. As you continue building your site along the Internet highways and byways, ask yourself: What are you doing to get your SMO on?

Can I help it that I am smiling from ear to ear?

2009-03-04T15:20:00.002-06:00

I have been floating on air for the last 24 hours. Let me explain. I have been telling our clients and writers alike to engage with our readers for quite sometime. Of course, their response is "yes" then they never do anything about it, or should I say their response is “I never get anything out of it”. Quite honestly, I wonder if people know what "Engage with your readers" really means.

I asked one of our clients to join every Social network they thought would have their target market and start engaging them in NON-sales copy. If you are into online marketing, you can see the blank looks on their face. You see, we are entering a second Internet phase; businesses are downsizing and trying to stretch every dollar looking for efficiency. They're shifting their budget from PPC, while using SEO for organic traffic.

What does that mean? In simple terms, great content with a mix of social media. The new era of marketing, which created the foundations of marketing on the web, made its way to a new buzz in the industry - Inbound Marketing.

What Is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound Marketing focuses on bringing the customer to the business, instead of the business searching for the customer

In outbound marketing, the "traditional" way, companies use poorly targeted techniques to bring in customers. They use radio and T.V. advertising, spam, cold-calling, print advertising, junk mail and more. In other words, they use every method that most people get irritated about.

These techniques are long out-dated, less effective and more expensive, thanks to technology. TiVo, spam filters, caller ID that blocks cold calls and tools like RSS render print and visual advertising almost useless. While these methods of advertising still work to some extent, it's much more expensive.

Inbound Marketing flips outbound marketing on its head.

The Internet opened up whole new avenues and marketing possibilities. Instead of television ads that scream at potential customers to "buy, buy, buy", or junk mail that gets thrown away, inbound marketing has a gentler, more persuasive technique. Entertaining, informative videos, interesting blogs, useful content and tools – inbound marketing is a soft, inviting whisper rather than a pounding sledgehammer. With these tools and techniques, highly qualified customers are attracted to the business through a combination of curiosity, confidence and trust.

The Three Components of a Successful Inbound Marketing Campaign

1. Content: Every Inbound Marketer knows that content is king. Information and persuasive writing, helpful tips and tools help attract potential customers to the company's website or business.

2. Search Engine Optimization: Potential customers find this informative content much easier through SEO. Building your site, and building up inbound links to your site, through optimization and website design "best practices" maximizes your search engine rankings. SEO brings your product, website or company into the public's eye, so they can begin the buying process.

3. Social Media: When the content is truly helpful, informative and interesting, people tend to discuss it with their friends, family, co-workers etc. Distributed across several networks, it gains credibility and authenticity, making it more likely to draw people to your website.

You're wondering what any of that has to do with the smile on my face? In one day I was able to prove that using inbound marketing can not only save you money by getting free targeted traffic, but you learn that investing in your company's future sometimes has it’s rewards without trying.

I was featured in Business week.com for engaging in Social media. That alone has sent our website a nice boost of traffic. I know I may not get all that‘s out there the way I see it nobody does, but the new business I do get can result in a higher base of happy customers, more referrals, and ultimately more sales.

Do you like Twitter

2009-02-24T16:05:00.001-06:00

Since I have been on Twitter I have seen the oddest widgets and gadgets popping up. Sure - give me more bookmarks and reasons to have a long list! Not.

Look - you have to be conscientious and proactive when dealing with a new Social networking outlet. I should know; I work on the Internet. We try, and sometimes are quite successful, at new software, gadgets and media. With that said, I have only been using Twitter for about one month and it wasn’t until a nice Canadian @orenoque asked me to look at some of the tools he uses. So I am thinking this is a hot tool if you can dice and trim all of the fat.

Let me explain.

Everyday I get anywhere from three to six new links that I find interesting. Most are focused on how to use your Twitter to maximum capacity. I can see how one might imagine strapping goggles and a flight hat on before sitting down to use this turbo tool. I am not going to bore you and give you another list of all these tools. Suffice it to say, you can Google Twitter tools and see hundreds of pages on the subject.

For example, some Twitter tools deal with how to mass DM (direct message) your followers. One is about managing the whole experience named Tweetdeck. While I am still trying to figure out what the whole experience is, I tighten my goggles, tuck my hair in and move forward. Yes, Twitter is hot, but I have to be honest: sometimes it’s boring, yet watching your followers grow is a feat and enjoyment in itself.

Maybe saying “boring” is a bit unfair, but I really do get bored when the people I am following are merely spewing links that really are of no interest to me. The ones that really bug me are the ones that constantly promote their own agenda. I am not saying don’t do it, but give us all a break (and you know who you are, @’s).

Granted, I am a newbie, but I have seen my followers grow to over 300 in less than a month. I truly believe it is due to paying attention to what works and how to maximize your Twitter-ability.

Then I happened on this tool, Tweet Effect. Well, let me tell you, if you took marketing 101 in college, you would have loved this gadget. Can you imagine how many papers you could have aced if you only had a tool that could quantify and qualify your results? The only problem is they do not save or generate reports on their results. Therefore, your best bet is to copy your numbers.

Another great tool that I recently find is Qwitter. It’s a great marketing tool, because it lets you know someone quit following you, and on what post. Between Tweet Effect and Qwitter, you have a strong chance of finding out what interests your target audience and what doesn’t.

Maybe I am putting too much emphasis on the quality of my followers and I should be happy I have any followers at all. The way I see it is even if you have hundred of followers, remember we want to hear about a variety of things - not just how wonderful you are and what a great tool you have created. Give me ideas of how to harness my creativity, give me snippets about people in your life, and yes, a “good morning, how are you” is always welcome.

In conclusion, I would love to hear what your favorite Twitter tool is and how it has helped you grow your business. If you can muddle through all the tools out there and find just a few to can harness the power of Twitter, then strap your goggles on and get ready to become a Twitter expert.

SEO Is Not As Simple As People Think It Should Be

2009-02-09T08:00:00.001-06:00

Just ask around. From person to person, SEO giant to start-up writer, you won`t receive the same answers, and there will never be 100 percent agreement, when it comes to SEO techniques and strategy. This is specifically the case in regard to Search Engine Ranking, Meta Tags and, specifically for this little blurb, Reciprocal linking. The disagreements come as no surprise to you, I am sure. There will always be differing voices sounding off on what and why the best SEO practices and procedures are, especially when traffic is the measuring stick; but, the trick is to be able to distinguish who is right.

The fact of the matter is that you may find that some SEO techniques work exceedingly well, bringing you and the client the best possible results, more so than you could have even anticipated. Then again, some techniques are failures before they even leave your mind. No matter how many times you try a certain strategy (and this can differ by situations and change easily with trends), it just won`t work. The advice for the latter is pretty simple: do something different. Throw that technique away, or shelve it as an SEO memorial of days gone by, and move on to something else. This is often a problem that you will run into and one that you must learn to deal with, for the health and wealth of your client.

Unfortunately for some, the strategy known as Reciprocal linking fits into this latter category. The practice of `swapping off` links to other`s pages in an effort to boost traffic and bring in more bang for the buck simply is an archaic method and needs to be let go. Put the High School track trophy into another room, and place this strategy on the top shelf of your study`s bookcase. It is old news. And it will back fire on you more times than it helps you. This is due to the fact that searchers who you use your links are really using you to cross-connect – to get somewhere else other than your page. They don`t and won`t stay long enough to look around and possibly buy. So don`t waste your or their time.

Now, a warning must be given: don`t turn a deaf ear to this; please listen. The temptation for those who are used to this strategy is to stop up their ears, turn the music up louder and pretend that you don`t hear me. If you do that, you won`t be listening or receiving the information that can (and will) give you the edge that you are looking for. Look, if I have said once, I have said it a 1000 times. The world of SEO is not a solid rock on which we all stand and bask in the sunlight. More times than not it feels more like sinking sand. To avoid losing your footing and to stay upright, you will have to be flexible. Don`t make things worse off or more complicated for yourself by sticking to what you think worked in the past. It`s just not that simple anymore.

Staying Competitive and Current

2009-02-06T08:00:00.001-06:00

There are too many people out there who think that they can (read should) continue to keep doing the same things, and use the same tactics, that they have been from the beginning no matter what happens in the marketplace and no matter what changes come about in the SEO community. The path that lead to good results in the past will lead to the same, if not better, results in the future. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” “There is no need to re-invent the wheel.” The only changes that they might make would be subtle at best, and this would only be because of some outside pressure.

The problem is that this is not going to work for very much longer, folks. The SEO structure is completely changing as Google and the other main search engines are switching their focus from keyword-dense content to what is called “organic” content. A roadblock has been built on your “established” way, and it is time to find a detour.

What is meant by “organic” web content? Simply put, organic content is articles, blogs and other mediums that are not loaded with keywords and/or are highlighted in any way; instead, they are naturally written material that stand out because they have relevant, relatable information for whatever is put into the search engine. Another way of defining “organic” would be to say that they are not paid results in any way, but are grouped according to what the crawlers consider to be the answer to the search inquiry. This is a drastic departure from the older SEO approach.

For those new to all of this, this is how the older approach worked. The SEO-based content is the stuff that has all of those keywords that are either bolded or highlighted in color, mostly red, so that the search engine crawlers can find the keywords and be able to “rank” the webpage or article in order of how many times it is clicked on, read and used more often than the other material that contains the same or similar information. Then, those web pages and articles are “ranked” according to the keyword content.

By going “organic” Google and the other major search engines are about to turn the search engine world on its ears by totally changing the way content is ranked. Pretty soon, there will no longer be much need for SEO-based content, and that has many of the people who gain their living and reputations by mastering the SEO-based content running around like chickens with their heads cut off. But now is not the time to lose your head. Nor is now the time to press forward on your proverbial path, even if there is a roadblock staring you in the face. The key here is to start switching the focus of your writing style from SEO-based to organic-based content that will actually do better in the long run.

Gain control. Take a detour. Be willing to adapt and go “organic.” This is where the market is heading, and this is your best way to stay competitive and current.

Submit Your Articles and Websites to the Directories or not?

2009-02-04T08:00:00.002-06:00

There is a debate being thrown around in the SEO ring that is ruffling a few feathers out there. The argument goes like this: “With the changes happening in the marketplace, isn’t submitting websites and articles to directories a big ol’ waste of time?” (Hear the ruffling.) Though trends might be leading toward saying Yes, there are those who adamantly put there foot down with a resounding No. They not only see website and article submission as the only accepted practice, but they are pretty sure that it is written in the Bible somewhere – permanently engraved on the very stones of the Ten Commandments.

For them, the rules are simple and straightforward: “Thou shall always submit any newly designed website to the website submission directories and/or place any new articles on the article directory lists so that they can be searched out and ranked. This will always aid the consumer when searching and the website in being found.” No ifs, ands, or buts about it. This is the best, and only, way to do things, and all should follow this greatest path to maximum success and efficiency.

Well, that might have worked then…and “then” is the operative word here. But it doesn’t work anymore. Not now. Not in the rapidly changing marketplace which demands anything but rigidity. What worked last year, 6 months ago, or even yesterday might not work tomorrow. There is so much that is changing in and around the SEO community that even the “experts” cannot agree on anything. Unfortunately, these disagreements and arguments have the potential to tear apart the very fabric holding the community together. But, this does not have to be the case.

What have we all learned from yoga? Flexibility and balance are the keys to success. These are the ways to stay in the game. You have to be able to move along with the ebb and flow of the market, and able to keep pace with the trends and patterns. When guidelines and standards change, don’t freeze up, panic and respond like a cornered wild animal. Be willing to lessen your grip on the old way, and open your hands to the new. Translation: be flexible.

But you also don’t have to throw everything from the past in the trashcan in order to start fresh. Use what has worked then and be open to what will work now. That is what it means to be balanced.

Here is the gist: nothing about SEO will stay the same, because everything is constantly changing to keep up with the marketplace and the consumer. The only thing that will stay the same is the fact that everything changes. So what is the answer after all? Should you submit articles and websites to the directories? Let yoga be your guide.

SEO Debates – Fact of Fiction

2009-02-02T08:00:00.003-06:00

In the world of SEO writing, there are not a few important debates taking place. These “controversies” range from topics as fundamental as the use of SEO to as specific as the changes that W3C is implementing to search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Excite. There are a lot of myths and misinformation surrounding these controversies, so let’s take a look at all the rumors and set you straight.

• First debate: There is a right way to do SEO. Answer: Fiction. The acronym SEO stands for search engine optimized which is used in any search engine like Google. There is no right way to do SEO as different strategies work differently depending upon company policy.

• Second debate: SEO doesn’t really work with Google. Answer: Fact and Fiction. Yes, SEO works well with Google, bring vast results for clients and consumers. Yet, Google will also be changing how it ranks web pages later next year. Working with W3C, Google will change their requirements from keyword searches to organic results. “Organic” simply means a natural search that will be more suited to the searcher, instead of the popular keyword searching results. This should (and will) bring more people to the right site.

• Third: SEO companies are becoming obsolete. Answer: Fiction. This controversy surrounds the results that a company may get from an SEO company, as well as whether or not to do business with them due to their lack of results. While some will argue that if a client doesn’t get results with a company, then they should not hire them again, the truth is that after the change in Google takes place, this particular argument will indeed be moot. If you are an SEO company, it is advisable to run what you have as far as pages, but start the transition now, in order to be compliant with the impending change. And as far as doing business with an SEO company is concerned, your best bet is to go with a company that has proven results. Bear in mind, however, that once the W3C changes take place, SEO will be less important and the natural search will become more important. If you are working with a company currently that does SEO, then you will need to ask them how they will become compliant with the recent W3C move.

To sum up: The Google/W3C changes may be frightening at first, but they will ultimately have the interests of the consumers in mind. SEO, too, is changing and the best thing that can be done is to roll with the punches and conform to the new changes. Ultimately your company will see better results with more qualified people that will be interested in buying from your company. This will, in the long run, bring you more qualified customers that will increase your sales and bring the ever-so valuable money back into the coffers. And we all like/desire/need that.

Is there ANY Good News in This Current Controversy?

2009-01-30T08:00:00.001-06:00

In the midst of the rain and fog that is the on-going controversy within the SEO community surrounding the current changes in search engine policies and procedures, one has to ask: is there any ray of sunshine, any silver-lining? What (if any) is the good news in all of this? This is the question that people all over the world have been asking for some time.

They continually read about the complaints from search engine execs who are getting sick and tired of getting nothing but paid results generated in the SEO fashion, and they are wondering what it all means.

First of all, given all of the complaints pouring into the corporate offices of Google, Yahoo, Excite and others, is it any wonder that changes have been made? They were bound to come sooner or later. And it is understandable. The paid advertisements and pay-per-click links were getting too outrageous. Also, the users were tired of having to wade through tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of search results only to find that nothing “ranked” was what they actually were looking for. The “Network” mantra (“I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore”) grew loud enough that the execs had to finally act. And act they did. They needed to show their users that their complaints were not falling on deaf ears. So they made a few rapid (some read radical) changes in their policies and procedures to make sure that their users can readily find the information that they are actually looking for.

What worries the SEO community in all this is that, practically speaking, there will no longer be a need for making sure that articles have a certain number of keywords, highlighted and bolded properly so that crawlers can spot them more easily. But is this a bad thing? Is this not, in fact, the silver lining of the SEO cloud?

If you can’t hear it yet, then perk your ears up soon, because there will be a sigh of relief across the world-wide writing community when this news sinks in, because, for all writers, and especially for those who were never fit at it in the first place, the good news is this: word density will not matter. You will no longer have to swim through the bog of figuring out when and where and how often to place words and phrases the correct number of times. You will no longer need to dexterously memorize where the bold and headings buttons are. And you will no longer need to cry yourself to sleep as you wrestle with the bane-of-your-existence weird combinations of words that you have most graciously been given by your concerned, but not always completely understanding client. Now…If that isn’t good news, then I don’t know what is.

How to Deal With the Current SEO Controversies

2009-01-28T08:33:00.002-06:00

With rumors and “controversies” raging, how do you weather the storm? How do you process and understand what in the world is going on and figure out what all the brouhaha is about? First and foremost, you have to go to the source. Think High School here. The best way to avoid drama and spare some unnecessary estrogen-induced tears (or testosterone-laden punches for guys) is to go to the person who started it all and hear first-hand what exactly was said and what exactly happened. That way, less people get hurt and the whole process can be handled much more easily. The same rule applies here.

The drama is this: W3C is causing Google to change their policy so that a natural search will yield more results than a keyword search. That means, for example, that if you search “dogs, doghouses and dog breeders,” then you will get more results based on those words than if you had used SEO keywords. The results will have all three words or phrases in them, but in a natural form. This is a departure from the current SEO search approach.

The controversy is obvious. What does this mean for SEO? Will everything have to change and will we have to adapt to this new search approach? Can we even adapt? Does Google not like us anymore (thinking of High School again…)? The answers to these questions are actually quite positive regardless of how grim the prospects look. But before tackling those issues, you must first go to the source. This means heading straight to the W3C consortium and hearing it from the horse’s mouth. There you will find out exactly what is going on and exactly what changes will happen and when. If you have questions, you can read all the information from their site and you can always contact them in regards to the new policies and procedures. Hopefully, this should calm your fears and your concerns down a bit.

Now…as for what this all means: the truth of the matter is that, while the former SEO approach delivers some results, a natural search, like the one being implemented, will land more interested customers for the company. The results will bring more people who really want your business, not just some curious surfers who may not truly be interested in what you have for sale. This will not only boost business but also increase the traffic to your site. All this means: added rewards for you. Plus, by using the guidelines issued by W3C, you will have everything at hand to make the changeover easily. This is a win/win.

Understand, then, that change is inevitable, and it isn’t always a bad thing. True, when change occurs, it will be difficult for a little while. But all should/will even out and your business and company will be the better for it. The changes to a natural, organic flow have already been started and there are guidelines already available out there for companies and businesses to start the change over now. There is no need for tears (or punches)…at least not this go-around.

Submitting articles to directories

2009-01-27T08:49:00.001-06:00

Submitting articles and web pages to their respective directories has, for the last so many years, been a cut and dry, cookie-cutter-esque, type of process, in which you followed a specific set of rules designed to simplify and streamline the process. But, the guidelines that were meant to speed up the process and make it “so much easier” for those submitting have actually become more confusing and outdated than helpful. This has led many people in the SEO community to stop submitting through the process and, instead, to post through other means. They say that they have even received much better results.

So should we all abandon ship and follow these discoverers into the open water? As will be no surprise, some say Yes and some say No. The die-hard “old guard” types in the SEO community want to stay on the ship. They like their cabin and they don’t mind the food. They have even grown accustom to the mixing smells of saltwater and wood. But, there are also those out there who say that there are several reasons to go ahead paddle away. And unfortunately there is no happy medium between the two viewpoints right now, which is making more of a mess out of an already confusing situation.

Chief among the reasons for those who are abandoning is that there is a storm coming that will most likely tear the SEO ship to bits. With the rise of organic searches, SEO will become obsolete, so all former tactics needs to be discarded and new strategies must be developed. This will be a good thing for the searchers, as they will be able to more easily and more quickly find what they are actually searching for. Also, the results will appear in and order of importance that makes more sense to the searcher.

This means that there won’t be a bunch of paid advertisements at the top of the results page confusing the searcher who is looking for something specific. Practically speaking for the companies, this also means that it won’t matter any longer if you have the best article, product or web site and are on the top of the list next to paid advertisements. The searcher can and will just skip on over you. So it is time to change. It is time to start re-thinking how articles are written and submitted, because the trends are going in a different direction.

Want someone (or something) to blame? Blame all the paid advertisements that are all over the place. Functionally they are how Google and the other search engines were able to start making money in the beginning. But they have gotten out of hand, and the searchers are fed up with it. So change is coming. Are you “on board”?

Google Guidelines for SEO Services: Best Practices or Standardized Optimization?

2009-01-23T08:28:00.000-06:00

Link for Guidelines

"Webmasters who spend their energies upholding the spirit of the basic principles will provide a much better user experience and subsequently enjoy better ranking than those who spend their time looking for loopholes they can exploit." Google Guidelines, 2008

There's been an argument for a long time among SEO services revolving around whether or not there should be SEO standards. Specifically, the debates question whether a set of standards is actually a "best practices" list or an inhibiting factor for SEO. Now throw into the equation the fact that Google has published a set of "optimization guidelines." Is this “best practice” or SEO inhibition?

Something to consider: Google is the number one search engine - the big Kahuna. They are Big Momma in the SEO house, and whatever Big Momma says and wants, Big Momma gets. So…If Google says, "This guide will help make your website more 'crawlable’, and these are the basic guidelines for optimizing for our search engine", then should we really be worrying about semantics? Does it really make a difference if they're “best practices” or constricting standards?

Better yet, as companies that provide SEO services, aren't we obligated by our positions to at least look them over? I mean if anyone is the expert on what works and doesn’t work, wouldn't it BE Google?

Google Guidelines for Optimization
Those in the SEO community who provide SEO services may or may not agree with the guidelines. After all, SEO is a school of many theories. However, most, if not all, of these guidelines make sense; to turn away because you don't want to be hemmed in by rules or structure is to turn away from success for your clients. So here is what you should:

• Make every page accessible with at least one static text link. Definitely "best practices" for SEO services and web designers. Just like users, engines don't like to have to search for informational pages.

• Have information-rich pages that describe your content well. Again, "best practices". For example, what good is it to have a site with information that isn't related?

• Use text to display important content instead of images. While you can put text over an image, using an image to display the text cuts down on the effectiveness of the copy your SEO services provide.

• Check your site with a text browser. If you can't see all of your site because of fancy flash and script, neither can Google.

• Use an XTML Sitemap. For those sites that are too complicated to be crawled, an XTML Sitemap is especially helpful. If the spiders get lost, they can refer back to the sitemap.

• Don't try to trick the search engines to improve ranking. If you wouldn't feel comfortable explaining what you've done for a client to a competitor, don't do it.

Not only are the guidelines clear about “do's", but they set out their list of “don’t’s” as well. These include: cloaking, automated queries, and pages with irrelevant keywords (to name a few).

This is just a small portion of the list; there are many more tips in the Google guidelines. So, to all the other SEO services out there I say, forget semantics (unless it's semantic web) and read the guide. Whether best practices or SEO standards, the guidelines are there to show us the way.

Internet Marketing Tactics For These Tough Times (From Google and Me!)

2009-01-12T07:54:00.002-06:00

As we enter into these uncertain times, online marketers and webmasters need all the help they can get. Recently, Google mailed a small booklet to its Adsense users; in it Google gives "6 Top Tactics For Tough Times." It is obviously referring to its Adwords PPC (Pay Per Click) program and clients but Google's advice can be applied to your general online marketíng.

These tactics include: (quoting directly from the Google mail-out)

1. Focus your ads on low prices and savíngs.
2. Use Value-related keywords.
3. Ensure your ad groups are targeted and relevant.
4. Don't waste money on irrelevant clicks.
5. Make it easy for customers to buy.
6. Focus your money on your high-performers. (End Quote)

Sound advice and I especially like the idea of focusing your marketing on low prices and savíngs mainly because people want bargains in tight economic times. I also like the fact that you must make it easy for your customers to buy... something as simple as putting your "order/buy link" above the fold can improve your conversions.

Also, targeting value-related keywords, is a very effective marketing tactic. Relating your keywords to "discounts, bargains, cheap, inexpensive, lowest prices..." will help improve your sales. So too, is catering to phrases that suggest the searcher is in a buying mind-set: gifts, presents, gift ideas, wedding gifts... shoppers searching those words are ready to buy.

Plus, focusing your time and money on your high-performers is solid advice. Sometimes succeeding online is simply finding a market niche that works/performs - then running with it. Once you have found the keywords and products that perform well with your site or sites - focus the majority of your time and energy developing those niche markets.

Now here are some of my most effective marketing tactics that have worked for me and tactics I will be relying on in the coming years - even in these hard times.

Make Keywords Your #1 Goal

This is the single most important factor for my own online success. You have to make keywords and ranking high for them in all the search engines your main objective if you're marketing online. Might sound obvious, but many beginning marketers don't truly understand how important getting top rankings for your chosen keywords will be in your online success.

Target less competitive long tail (multi-worded) keywords to get started and slowly work your way up to more popular keywords. Center your marketing around getting those first page listings (Top Five) for your keywords. Achieve this goal, (especially in Google) and it will be almost impossible for you not to succeed and make a profit with your online marketing even in bad times.

Autoresponders, Líst Building & Online Relationships

Keeping in contact with potential buyers is mission critical. You must use autoresponders to send follow-up messages to build trustful relationships with your potential customers.

So building a large contact líst is essential. That's why the social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace can be very effective marketing tools for building this online contact and trust. Truth be told, all these social networks are, more or less, just glorified autoresponders and líst builders!

Your Unique Selling Position

You must give potential customers some very good reasons for them to buy from you or your links. Offering special bonuses and discounts works wonders for your sales. Some of my most successful pages simply consist of coupons and discounts offered by different companies. If buyers can save $100's OFF by buying thru your links, they will.

Always remember, besides looking for the best deal or bargain, consumers are also looking for a quality product. If you're into affiliate marketing, only pick top quality products to promote. Picking top brand names also makes it easier to make sales. So too is only promoting popular online merchants like Amazon which can be an effective marketing strategy. Most importantly, always remember consumers are also looking for INFORMATION on the products they are considering buying, give them helpful information and you will succeed.

Go With The Flow

If you're marketing online, you have to follow what's working for you. Most times you will try countless ideas or tactics - once you have found a process or system that works, really work it or scale it up. Making your first dollar is the hardest, but once you do something that earns you that dollar, just repeat that "something" a thousand times.

Tracking what works is very important so keep a close eye on your site's traffic logs to find where your customers are coming from. Something like Google Analytics is simply priceless for "fine-tuning" your site and your internet marketing. It will tell you what's working and what's not.

Target Recurring or Residual Income

One of my most effective marketing strategies is to promote and sell products and services that give you a recurring or residual income. Make one sale and get paíd for years or for the life of that referred client. Concentrate on services like web-hosting, telephone, marketing programs... once customers sign up to these services, they will likely keep them for years. I am still earning income from sales I made five years ago.

Building a large residual income could be the key to surviving in tough economic times. This will be income which will carry you or your business over the rough patches since it is based upon past performance and not on your current selling situation.

Automate Everything

The real beauty of marketing online and using computers... you can automate just about every process in your marketing system. Make it a point of automating everything you do... use autoresponders to follow-up with potential buyers, use automatic check-outs, automatic reporting... just set-up your whole internet marketing system that runs itself with little or no supervision from you. This will free up your time to concentrate all your efforts on marketing/promoting your site or product. Besides, nothing beats coming back from a vacatíon and finding out you have earned the cost of your vacatíon and then some - all the while you were lying in the sun and miles away from any computer.

Find The Top Online Marketers

If you're just starting with internet marketing, you need to find the top successful marketers and "model" what they're doing. This is relatively a new industry and you have to seek out the experts and pioneers who have set the groundwork. When I first started marketing online, I was quite fortunate to come into contact with some web marketing heavy-weights such as Marlon Sanders, Ken Evoy, Neil Shearing... and SEO experts like Brad Callen and Aaron Wall.

Make Google Your Friend

Whether you love or hate Google doesn't matter, you just have to make it your number one ally in your online marketíng. Google has just about conquered the world-wide search market, Yahoo and MSN are still important, but Google is the deal-breaker when you're selling stuff online. Consumers have enormous respect for Google, a number one listing for a lucrative keyword simply means money in the bank.

I have found using Google Search, Google Adwords, and Google Adsense have played a more than significant role in the success of my own online sites and marketing. Google tools such as Google Analytics, Google Alerts, Webmaster Tools... all have been invaluable and an enormous help in achieving my "web-based" lifestyle and livelihood. Of course, Google has also driven me around the bend more times than I can count, but no one is perfect. Besides, when it's all said and done, anyone marketing on the web must truly embrace Google if they want to reach their highest level possible.

Copyright © 2009 Titus Hoskins

SEO Is Not As Simple As People Think It Should Be

2009-01-03T15:21:00.008-06:00

There is never going to be a one hundred percent agreement from anyone involved in the online SEO field and process with regards to techniques Search Engine Ranking, Meta Tags, Reciprocal Linking, link building social marketing and the list goes on and on.

There are always going to be arguments as to which SEO technique works best, in what situation and how the strategy will work to get the most traffic. In reality this will really only bring traffic to your site... Not enough to break the bank though. What's missing is conversions.

Oftentimes, the SEO techniques that you are using will either bring you the best possible results for your keywords; or you will find out that nothing works and the different techniques that you have been using is never going to give you the chance or possibility to yield the results that you want. This is often the problem my clients run into and one that you will have to learn to deal with; once you figure out what to change, (most are clueless) how to change it, (some consider total web re-design) where to make the changes (is it the tags, the link building, the blog...?) and how to make those changes work ( like anyone has that kind of time on their hands )in the best possible ways that you will not regret the decision(s) that you made.

The mistakes that people often make are with reciprocal links. Basically the thinking is that they are going to get more traffic than they would normally get from organic search engine results. They start “swapping off” links to each other’s pages in the effort to help each other get the best possible bang for the buck. What these people do not realize is that this strategy is “old news” and will back-fire on you more times than it actually helps you.

Here is the real deal on that "technique" these people (link builders) are using your page to cross-connect, to get to, another person’s page on a completely different website altogether that is either along the similar line of thinking, products and/or services or content. The main problem here is that those visitors really do not stay on your website long enough to even look around to see if you have what they are looking for. This is something that is more of a waste of time than anything else, folks. Basically empty hits that have absolutely no value to your ROI.

Many people that do this will certainly argue with this viewpoint, and will even be completely turned off by the ideas and information that I am offering here and will “turn a deaf ear”, or drop me like a rented mule so to speak. Thus the information I am supplying here is maybe too progressive or boxed in this ever-changing world. It's true what they say about your web presence one minutes you are standing on solid rock and on shifting sand the very next day, week, or month.

If you are not using new ideas and SEO techniques that can be flexible, you are actually making things much more complicated for yourself. Just remember folks using a bunch of keywords in the right places is not enough any more. You have to do so much more.

SEO Controversies – Fact or Fiction

2009-01-02T17:25:00.012-06:00

In the world of SEO writing, there are a good many controversies swirling. These controversies range from the use of SEO to the changes that W3C is implementing to search engines such as Google. There are a lot of myths and misinformation that are driving some of us in the industry batty and a lot of us dive into these rumors. Let’s take a look at some of the rumors/controversy and see if we can pick through them.

How do you "SEO"? • Our first rumor and controversy involves the right way to optimize your content or website. "SEO" means search engine optimization or optimizer; it works for most search engines. There's no real "right way", as strategies vary from company to company.

Can I trick the Search engines ? • Now this leads into the next controversy which is SEO arranging and Google. Google will be changing how it ranks web pages in 2009. There has been a plan that was arranged with W3C in regards to how this will be run. Once this change is implemented, organic results will be stressed instead of keywords results. Organic simply means natural search and will be more suited to the person searching instead of the popular keyword searching results. This will indeed bring more people to your site.

How can I know if SEO works? • While some will argue that if they don’t get results with a company then you should fire them. Listen have you allowed them at least 30 -60 days to show you results? You see after the changes in Google takes place, this particular argument will indeed be moot. Right now, it is advisable to run what you have as far as pages, but start changing them now, in order to be compliant when the change occurs.

How can I pick an SEO provider? • Right now, as far as doing business with an SEO company is concerned, your best bet is to go with a company that has proven results. However, bear in mind that once the Google changes take place, the norm of search engines optimization will be a thing of the past and companies as well as individuals will have to do things much differently than they do now. Search engine techniques will be less important and the natural search will become more important. If you are working with a company currently that does SEO, then you will need to ask them how they will become compliant with the recent W3C edict for the new changes.

The Google/W3C changes in the World Wide Web, may be frightening at first, but will ultimately result in the best things possible with consumers. SEO is changing and the best thing that can be done is to roll with the punches and conform to the new changes. Ultimately your company will see better results which in turn mean ROI. This will, in the long run, bring you more qualified customers that will buy your service or product. In conclusion it's not all doom and gloom the new changes will benefit all.

When is SEO necessary?

2009-01-02T17:25:00.009-06:00

Whether you are a small business owner or a CEO of a large company you cannot help but wonder about this topic. I have been asked this very same question by both; when is SEO necessary?

This is because most people out there still do not understand nor have the time to inform themselves about the real power that SEO articles and copy carry. There are really two major factors to consider. The first point (and advantage) of these articles is that they are rich in keywords/phrases which are designed to get the attention of the search engines “crawlers” –these are akin to electronic spiders that go searching the entire Internet for the information that you are looking for based upon what you have just typed into the search box. Secondly the copy should read well, engage the readers and entice them to click on your site. Hopefully and ultimately offering them the solution, the service, or that new magic potion you offer.

In case you are not aware SEO, stands for Search Engine Optimization. In it's purest form, this style of copywriting is designed to help the search engine “crawlers” find what the reader is looking for based upon how those articles are ranked by the search engines themselves.

So maybe you are wondering how do I write SEO Articles? First you need to know the basics of writing copy. The main thing is to have a goal in mind, an outline if you will that will make the words flow. Then I pick out a keyword or phrase that characterizes your item, product or idea. This can be anything from the name of a specific product or place to something like writing content geared towards the real estate market. The point of the keywords/phrases is the main idea of what the SEO article is all about.

If you are writing articles for someone else, they are likely to give you the necessary keywords. Most will also ask for a certain keyword density. I always advise the client that a 3%-5% keyword density is best. That translates into great copy without stuffing too many keywords. You see there are three forms of keywords. They are:

a. primary

b. secondary

c. tertiary

Lets hypothetically say the client wants the main keyword to be Alcohol Abuse.

I would then break it down like this

a. Primary (main keyword or key phrase given) alcohol abuse
b. Secondary (related topics) alcohol abuse statistics, alcohol abuse effects
c. Tertiary (Variations of keyword or key phrase) alcohol and abuse, abuse of alcohol

Sometimes I get carried away therefore before I regress again you are wondering back to the original question here: when is SEO necessary? Anytime you are on the World Wide Web SEO/SEM and all it's variations of techniques are necessary.

Is SEO necessary to make your mark in this very competitive marketplace? This is one of those questions that people have been asking for quite a while, and the answer is a resounding YES folks! SEO Articles are meant to draw the attention of not only the search engine crawlers and those readers that you really want to reach.

You're familiar with the language used: "act now and we'll send you two pieces of junk you don't need, but wait there's more, call in the next ten minutes and we'll add a third useless item."

Does any intelligent person really respond to this kind of pitch, and what self-respecting business would actually behave in this manner? The fact is, if you sell something of value at a reasonable price, and you treat your customers with some respect, you will get your share of business.

You may not get all the business, nobody does, but the business you do get, will result in more satisfied customers, more word-of-mouth referrals, and ultimately more sales.

This is why it is so important to stay in touch with your clients and new potential business. Many businesses think that they don’t need to know anything about SEO Articles, but they are very wrong indeed. This kind of thinking is what leads them to ask the title question of when is SEO necessary? All the time, is the answer to that.

SEO Careers – From Copywriting to Coding, What You Really Have to Know

2009-01-02T17:20:00.004-06:00

If you are a writer and are thinking about writing for a living, very few of us would consider a job as an SEO copy writer or any other type of SEO job. It's extremely competitive and most of them don't know what they are doing. I always tell our clients the proof is in the results. We are on Page 1 of Goolge for Professional SEO Specialist. We actually have 5 listings on page 1 so go figure right?

Okay enough about us let me get back to giving you the information. Considering this option as a career you must consider these points. It is time consuming and technical. I am sure you have all seen these people trying to sell you a video or download for only $99. Great tips on how to get huge amount of traffic or tons of business overnight. In all honesty it doesn't work. I have been at this for years, and take it from me. It takes time, technique and lots of patience. You are competing with millions of businesses online. And I have always asked myself this question, if the person is making so much money online why are they giving you their secret? I don't know about you but I don't feel compelled to share my million dollar making scheme with anyone. Hellooo is it me or does that make sense?

But that is another article. Lets get back to SEO Careers. Yes, they are on the rise, however and there are many different ways that writers can find their own niche when dealing with any type of SEO. This is becoming a very popular job prospect. It's like anything that becomes popular in today's society, you have to become a specialist. For example if you are an MD you can choose to be a GP or you can specialize in one specific realm of medicine. Therefore If you are looking for information on how to cash in on your writing career why not consider SEO. Here is your chance to find out what it takes from someone who has been doing it for over 10 years.

SEO copywriters are copywriters that must have a basic knowledge of writing great copy. However SEO is different, there is a science to making copy read well for humans and search engines alike. SEO by definition is search engine optimized. How this is done is by using keywords that are highly ranked in Google. This is one of the top ways to get organic traffic.

You need to know how to write SEO articles.
Article submission and directory submission in order to drive traffic to a site.
Find the keywords by using a specific tools in Google such as Adwords, Quake or other keyword analysis tools.
Find the most popular terms (once you have used the KEI) that are currently rating high and write your article with those terms in mind.
Do not stuff your articles with the keyword. Use common sense and use good copy writing skills.
Always write the article with a purpose for the reader.
Once you are done then go back through the article and place the keywords no more than 3 times in the text.
Once in the first sentence, then in the middle of the copy and lastly in the last paragraph or last sentence.

Well that was a mouthful, but that's just the beginning. I have written another article that gets more specific about primary, secondary and tertiary keywords. Now if you are looking at SEO careers in coding, most SEO service providers have a working knowledge of the current version of HTML. HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. The current version that is available is HTML5. Using hypertext is a way of creating links both to the page in question and links such as trackbacks for articles that someone else is commenting on or tracking.

As a copywriter I have to know how to do this in order to create successful hyperlinks. A basic way of creating a hyperlink is if you are creating a document, you would type in the url address of where you want the reader to go to. If you are using a word processing program, then you would be able to create the link by choosing create hyperlink. You would add a word and link it to the hyperlink so that if any one clicked on the word in blue then they would be taken to the page in question.

Most SEO service providers also know how to write compelling copy for the page in question. Here is where article submission and directory submission comes into play. What are they, you may ask? Article submission is when you submit your articles to both article databases and directories. These articles will have to engage your reader while having a specific message. This is where it gets tricky. You cannot expect your reader to click on the link unless they are truly interested in your message. So keep in mind you won't get every reader to click on your link but if you offer a valuable service at a competitive price eventually you will get the customers. It does however take time. And if you hear from online marketers saying it doesn't then with all due respect they are lying to you.

Lastly I have been asked doesn't Google penalize you for having duplicate content? The answer is "No" you can read it from Google directly. That is not to say you should upload the same article to 100 directories. Rather do what I do, I upload them to all our blogs, then refine each one so it reads different than the other 2 blogs. You would be surprised at how many time my articles have been picked up by other blogger, and article directories. Makes me feel like a star. So if you are looking for a trade and are creative without thinking "inside" the box, then check out SEO Careers.

Why Professional SEO Providers Say Test Your Landing Pages

2008-11-14T09:51:00.002-06:00

When you talk to professional SEO providers about landing pages, you’ll hear many of them extolling the virtues of testing those pages. Why? Why not just build a landing page that works the first time?

First, let’s talk about conventional wisdom, passed down from those professional SEO providers. Conventional wisdom says that your home page shouldn’t be a landing page. Conventional wisdom also suggests that testimonial landing pages work better than other so-called “conversion pages”, and that product pages are one of the top types of landing pages.

Now, let’s talk about reality. The reality is that there’s no telling what type of landing page will work for your specific website. As many of the better professional SEO providers know, what works depends on several factors, including the type of product you sell.

For instance, if you sell a weight-loss product, landing pages that show comparisons have a better possibility of working than just a sales ad with a “Buy Now” button. However, if you really want a landing page that works, you want to look at every aspect of the page, not just what type it is.

Okay, we’ve covered conventional wisdom and reality. Now we’re going to through everything out the window that you’ve ever read about building a “killer” landing page and start from scratch. Instead of wondering whether you should use a comparison, testimonial or feature landing page and constricting yourself to a “type”, ignore typing and build up the page according to your needs.

Landing Page Duties
Landing pages have some unique issues. For one, they ARE the sales process, from beginning to end. The product, service or information on the page has to be strong enough to get the user to convert.

Landing pages also have to capture a potential customer’s attention very quickly. You have approximately five seconds to impress upon the reader why your product, business or information is better than others.

The last issue is that a landing page is your first impression. Generally, it’s not going to be your regular audience that sees this page; the readers will be new visitors. Keep in mind that first impressions are the hardest to change.

Your Goals
Decide what the goal is for the landing page. Are you trying to collect contact information? Sell your product? Talk about your services? Whatever goal you’re going for needs to be the central theme of the landing page and, while all professional SEO providers will talk about content being king (I’ve done so myself many times), you need to think about design, also.

Design
When building your landing page (or looking at one you already have), keep in mind that you want to:

• Show professionalism – First impressions are everything. Make sure the design is sleek, professional and in line with your goal.

• Inspire trust – If you're a member of your local BBB, provide Paypal or are registered with HackerSafe, use these logos on your landing page. Logos take little room, and these specific logos have been proven to inspire trust.

• Keep them on the page – Limit or eliminate your navigation. You don't need links around your website on a landing page; these are only ways for them to leave the page. If they leave the page before conversion, you've lost them.

• Keep it focused – Your ad has a call to action also, so match your landing page with the ad. For instance, if your ad says "The best professional SEO providers money can buy", you want your landing page to say something like "Level343: The Best Professional SEO Providers Money Can Buy." Use the same phrases both the ad and the page.

There are many other tips and tricks, words of wisdom, about landing pages. However, as the professional SEO providers will tell you, no amount of wisdom can guarantee a working landing page. Test first!

…And the Great Debate Continues: SEO Propaganda

2008-11-13T10:43:00.000-06:00

SEO, in part, is theory, whether an SEO specialist will admit it or not. Matt Cutts, in an interview awhile back, commented that Google has so many algorithms out there, constantly being tested and redesigned, that they can’t possibly know what works and what doesn’t. Well, I’ll add “not exactly” to that. They know some, but refuse to give a wink and a nudge.

Like any theory, there has always been an argument between SEO specialists about what works, what doesn’t, what are “best practices” and what’s black hat. However, what many laymen don’t know is that there are also arguments over whether SEO is a viable, working theory, or crap. If you use the right search terms, you’ll come across a whole bunch of “propaganda”, pushed from both sides of the fence.

For instance, early this year, a gentleman by the name of Eoghan McCabe wrote a blog entitled “SEO is Bullshit”, a short little rant about how he felt. A few weeks later, he clarified in “SEO is Still Bullshit”, suggesting that SEO is nothing but a list of “best practices” for any website design. In other words, if we all built our websites like we’re supposed to in the first place, we’d automatically rise on the search engines, so SEO isn’t needed. It took two months for the furor to die down.

So what’s the truth? IS SEO just a scam? Are we SEO specialists sitting on our butts, pushing one or two buttons and then collecting your money? Oh, contraire, Mr. McCabe.

Website design “best practices” only go so far. You take two websites, A and B, competing for a search term with the same amount of usability, clean design, etc. and add SEO “theory” to site B. Will the search engines register both? Of course, because that’s part of website design and deployment, but they won’t have the same PageRank or search engine ranking. Unless site A is just “so absolutely fabulous” that everyone decides they must link to it, site B will rank higher on the list. That’s not theory, that’s fact.

Website owners expect to be listed on the search engines; they don’t ask, “Are we on the search engines?” They’re interested in placement, so they ask, “Where are we on the search engines?”

This is where we SEO specialists come in and really go to work. Granted, design practices call for some of the same coding that we do. Take headers, for instance. Whether web design or SEO, it’s considered best practice to use a relevant title for the header.

However, keywords are not part of design practices. It’s strictly SEO. So is on-page optimization, link building and various other SEO methods. Sorry, Mr. McCabe, your argument doesn’t hold water.

What a true SEO specialist does points the search engines towards the page so the readers can find it, and makes the page relevant to the user so they stay. Contrary to the opinion of some, SEO does not favor search engines over users; SEO doesn’t play favorites.

We, as SEO specialists, continually walk a fine line for our clients between getting them noticed by the search engines and catch their users’ interests. And it is a fine line. Too many keywords, a missed line on coding, incorrect title tags or bad linking, and the visitor and Google both dismiss the website.

So, for those of you that lean to the dark side, where SEO is crap, keep that in mind next time you do a search. Check out the top websites’ source page and see if they have SEO. You’ll be surprised at the results, and we SEO specialists will be proven “helpful” once again

Introduction to Digital Photography

2008-10-17T18:21:00.003-05:00

Believe it or not, digital photography has been used since the early 1980’s when it was first introduced in the astronomy profession. Nowadays, it has become the industry standard with both amateur and professional photographers from around the world. Digital photography, which is the art of manipulating photographs in bit map form through the use of a computer, allows for the flexibility and creativity that is at the heart of the photography industry. Keep in mind however, that using digital images will not turn an amateur photographer into a pro or a poor photo into a good one. It is simply one more creative tool that makes up a photographers bag of tricks.

Digital photography allows for the precise refinement of many aspects of a photograph. This includes color, detail, tone, retouching and many other photograph dynamics. Digital photography does not allow photographers to be sloppy or inpatient with their pictures, as lighting cannot be adequately altered by this or any computer tool.

Digital photography

Has become the medium of choice among photographers for several reasons. Not only is digital photography more flexible and have considerably more editing capabilities, but it is more cost effective than film photography. With digital photography your costs virtually stop after you purchase your initial equipment. On the contrary, with film photography, you have the recurrent costs of film and chemical processing materials. The only drawbacks to digital photography are that you will need access to electrical outlets and the equipment is generally more sensitive to cold and moist environments. Photographers that are going to invest in digital photography equipment should first analyze the environments in which they will be taking most of their pictures to determine if an SLR camera is a better investment than a DSLR version.

Photographers who make a living in the advertising, news and entertainment businesses have particularly embraced the idea of digital photography. Digital photography not only allows for greater flexibility and creativity, but also for enhancements, storage, printing and transmission options that are not available with any other photography medium.

Fashion Photography

Fashion photography refers to the photography of clothing and other fashion items. It is most commonly utilized for advertising, magazines and other print related materials.
Today, fashion and beauty is a $150 billion dollar industry. A photographer who both specializes in and is good at fashion photography has an unlimited income potential in today’s market.

Model Photography

Model photography is different from fashion photography in that the center of attention is not the clothing or accessories but the model themselves. Model photographers create portfolio, comp cards and other marketing materials for commercial, fashion and glamour models. In order to be successful at model photography it is imperative that the photographer be able to locate settings and backgrounds that are pleasing to the eye and complimenting to the model.

If you are looking for an agency that specializes in digital photography in the fashion and glamour modeling industry, our agency offers the best services in the business at locations that will take your breath away. Click here for information about all of the services available at XYZ.

Introduction to Modeling

2008-10-17T18:19:00.001-05:00

If you are an aspiring model, it is important that you thoroughly understand the industry prior to signing up with an agency. For example, if you are striving to become a fashion model, the criteria is not going to be the same as someone who is pursuing a career as a bikini fitness model or glamour model. Moreover, you should not only be familiar with the industry standards, but with investment expectations and location requirements as well.

Industry Divisions

What kind of model do you want to become? There are many kinds of models in the industry today, however if you want to make a living at it, there are really only two divisions to consider, fashion models and glamour models.

The Fashion Model

Fashion models, otherwise known as editorial fashion models, represent the strictest set of physical criteria in the business. Fashion models are known for being beautiful or interesting, none of which are necessarily pretty. Becoming a fashion model gives you the opportunity to appear on some of the nation’s top magazines and national ad campaigns. Anyone who is considered a “supermodel” represents this division of the modeling industry.

The Glamour Model

Glamour models are NOT the models you see on the cover of Glamour magazine, those are fashion models. Unlike fashion models, glamour models must be pretty and highly attractive. When you see hot models in swimsuits, nude exotic models and bikini fitness models, they are all representative of glamour models. There are not strict guidelines to becoming a glamour model. Any highly attractive woman with a hot body qualifies automatically.

In order to make a living as a glamour model, you will generally have to flaunt your body and pose nude for various male oriented magazines, events and artists. Glamour models are most commonly represented by photographers and self-promotion techniques.

Location, Location, Location

We have all heard the saying “location, location, location”, and if you are considering a career in the modeling industry this saying is perhaps more important than anything else. If you do not live, or refuse to move to a major metropolitan area such as New York City, Los Angeles or Chicago, the chances of your success, particularly as a fashion model are nil. There is some room for flexibility, especially for glamour models thanks to the use of the internet, but your best shot at fame and fortune in this line of work will always reside in the fashion and entertainment capitals of this country.

Investment Expectations

If you want to create a name for yourself, it is going to take time, effort and money, just like any other business. There are several things you will need not only to get started, but to promote yourself along the way. This includes but is not limited to pictures, comp cards and headshots, money to relocate if necessary, and money for advertising (usually paid to an agency on a per year fee basis). It is also important that models acquire makeup and hair styling skills and purchase the necessary materials to create the look that is needed for casting calls and auditions.

If you are an aspiring glamour model, bikini fitness model or a nude exotic model, our agency may have opportunities for you. Please contact us today for agency information.

Power, politics, and the chicken

2008-10-17T12:19:00.004-05:00

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!
JOHN MC CAIN: My friends; that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialog with all the chickens on the other side of the road.
HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.
GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.
DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?
COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.
BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of crossing?
AL GORE: I invented the chicken.
JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.
AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.
DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his
current problems before adding new problems.
OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.
NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.
PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.
MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmers Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.
DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.
ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.
JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth? That's why they call it the other side. Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay, too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like the other side. That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that.
GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.
BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heartwarming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.
ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.
JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads
together, in peace.
BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never reboot.
ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?
COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

You don't know Jack Schitt!'

2008-10-15T06:51:00.002-05:00

Sometimes it's good to just have a good laugh!! enjoy
For some time many of us have wondered just who is Jack Schitt? We find ourselves at a loss when someone says, 'You don't know Jack Schitt!'

Well, thanks to my friends generous genealogy efforts, you can now respond in an intellectual way. Jack Schitt is the only son of Awe Schitt. Awe Schitt, the fertilizer magnate, married O. Schitt, the owner oNeedeep N. Schitt, Inc. They had one son, Jack.

In turn, Jack Schitt married Noe Schitt. The deeply religious couple produced six children: Holie Schitt, Giva Schitt, Fulla Schitt, Bull Schitt, and the twins Deep Schitt and Dip Schitt..
Against her parents' objections, Deep Schitt married Dumb Schitt, a high school dropout.
After being married 15 years, Jack and Noe Schitt divorced Noe Schitt later married Ted Sherlock, and because her kids were living with them, she wanted to keep her previous name. She was then known as Noe Schitt Sherlock.

Meanwhile, Dip Schitt married Loda Schitt, and they produced a son with a rather nervous disposition named Chicken Schitt.

Two of the other six children, Fulla Schitt and Giva Schitt, were inseparable throughout childhood and subsequently married the Happens brothers in a dual ceremony. The wedding announcement in the newspaper announced the Schitt-Happens nuptials. The Schitt-Happens children were Dawg, Byrd, and Horse.

Bull S c hi tt, the prodigal son, left home to tour the world. He recently returned from Italy with his new Italian bride, Pisa Schitt. Now when someone says, 'You don't know Jack Schitt,' you can correct them.
Sincerely,
Crock O.
Schitt

Say No! to SEO – Standards, That Is

2008-10-12T11:21:00.001-05:00

"SEO standards" are a set of SEO best practices and risk ratings; the idea of having SEO standards is ludicrous and out-dated. Professional SEO services that try to follow these supposed standards are handing their business over to the competition. If everyone follows these standards, there'd be no way for any clients to reach the top because all clients would be receiving the same set of coding, content, etc as everybody else. And so on, and so forth ad nauseam.

Oh, and my favorite – black hatters and grey hatters are just those looking for an "extra edge"; white hatters are low risk takers, not willing to put their butts on the line for results.

Recently, I read an article about SEO risk factors vs. SEO standards. The author's belief is that professional SEO services that comply with a set of standards will lose their competitive edge. "If everyone does the same thing, it's like being the SEO version of an amputee." What a wonderful argument supporting black hat tactics.

For those that are new to SEO, let me point out that SEO is a highly competitive business, and it does help to have a "little extra" in your bag. However, this little extra doesn't have to include keyword spamming or any number of questionable practices.

Let's look at risk taking, shall we? Professional SEO services that follow a set of standards may spend months on one project. We are as susceptible to mistakes and errors as the next person, and those mistakes can cost us. There are times when one mistake, by one person, can lose us a client.

So, after several months of working with the client, coding, research, etc, that one mistake could cost us everything. In other words, being an SEO specialist – especially if you run your own company – is high risk in and of itself. There is never any guarantee that your client will hit number one, and believe me, most clients hire professional SEO services with just that goal in mind.

Is keyword spamming, link-farming and the like necessary to reach that first page of search engine results? No. In my mind, the argument at the beginning of this article against professional SEO services using a set of standards is a way of explaining away laziness.

It is definitely more time consuming to check the links for PR value, run the KEIs and competitor analysis, etc than to build a page full of keywords. It takes dedication and consistency for a "standardized" long-term campaign than to use white on white keywords or link-farming or other "questionable practices".

However, while black hat tactics might show more quickly, they put the customer at risk. White hat tactics are slow to evolve, hence the dedication and consistency, but the customers don't have to worry about being penalized.

The author ends his rant with "Deal with dirty SEOs like SEOs. If you don't like them, outrank them."

To that I respond – I have.
Black hatters can brag all they want about "high-risk" campaigns, but their clients deal with that risk and receive the consequences, not them. White hat professional SEO services understand that ultimately, it's the client who will rise or fall on our merits – it's a point of pride and our business to give them our best, as well as our privilege.

New To Internet Marketing? Basics of SEO II

2008-10-12T08:22:00.001-05:00

As a writer of SEO articles, I’ve been asked several times what keywords are and what SEO means. The meaning is easy: Search Engine Optimization. The explanation is difficult; there are so many SEO tools for on-page optimization, the information would fill a thick book. However, I can give a brief explanation of how the articles are done and how they work.

When building a web presence, the main consideration is how to bring quality views, known as clicks, to your website. One of the ways to do this is by creating optimized articles using key words and phrases. Why would you want to do this? Because it’s also one of the top ways to get Google Ranking.

Briefly, here’s how it works:
Keyword Research – Keywords are words or phrases that users search for. Though any word or phrase can be used for this purpose, you want to ensure that those you choose would be used in a search. You may want to use professional SEO service providers for this. They will provide you with a Keywords analysis and a competitors analysis. These vary in prices, but are well worth the time and money spent.

The Articles – When writing SEO articles, the main element is how the keywords are used and how often. Those knowledgeable in writing SEO articles recommend that you choose two or three keywords, or one key phrase, and use them in strategic places.

The Finished Product – Once you have your SEO articles, it’s time to do your own internet search. What you’re looking for are places that allow article submission or directory submission.

Article and directory submission sites allow you to submit your article along with a Meta tag description – which, by the way, will also hold your keywords. Once your article is submitted, anyone who types in that search term will now see your article, which has links to your website.

A tip: Ensure that your keywords won’t stand out in the copy. Most Internet users understand they’re being manipulated; they don’t want to see the actual manipulation. This could be detrimental to what you’re trying to achieve – clicks to your website.

Finally, do your research, stay informed, and good luck on your future SEO articles!

Key Phrase Factors for On-Page Optimization

2008-10-12T08:21:00.000-05:00

When it comes to natural and organic search results over leading search engines, on-page optimization techniques play an important role. To put it in simple terms, understanding key phrase factors becomes a technique. Granted they are nothing but search engine optimization or SEO techniques used on the webpage itself. This allows the search engine spiders to acknowledge the keywords of the particular site better. Without on-page optimization techniques, search engines will not recognize the keywords for which you want your website to be ranked.

The first and most important thing that you need to do is to use main keywords as part of your title tag. You should also utilize your main keywords as part of the description tag of your website. Every page of your website should have a unique keyword and description tag. Moreover, make sure that the description tag describes only that particular web page. You will need to remember all these aspects when writing SEO articles for your website.

While SEO copywriting, you must ensure that you add around five to six keywords that include the main keyword phrase, along with some synonyms of that particular keyword phrase. It is also a prudent idea to stay away from what are known as ‘little’ keywords. Examples of such keywords include words such as “for”, “and”, “or”, etc., which generally should not be included in primary key phrases. You can also think of using the keyword as part of the domain name of your website. Although it is not essential, it is known to be helpful for attracting web traffic.

As often as possible, the page title elements in your website should be approximately three to nine words and to the exact point. This is important since this is what will show up as a link- back to your page in most of the search engine results. Similarly, you should also insure that your Meta description tag consists of thirty words or less. The Meta description would show up in many search engine results, often as a summary of your website. All these key phrase factors play an important role in the on-page optimization process.

New To Internet Marketing? Start Here

2008-10-12T08:20:00.000-05:00

Tons of people pay good money to start an Internet business every day, believing that the Internet is the way to wealth and the solution to their problems. The sad part is that the vast majority of them will inevitably fail. Get rich quick schemes have been around almost as long as humanity itself, and Internet Marketing just provides another way to market them.

The first thing to understand if you’re new to the world of Internet marketing is that an Internet business is just that, a business. It might cost less capital, it might be able to get done in the spare bits of time you have, but it still requires capital and it still requires a plan. Get a book on general business planning and follow the outlined steps religiously.

Second, you’re going to either have to learn a number of skills or you’re going to have to delegate. Delegating usually means handing money over unless you happen to have a crack relative in the wings willing to do it for free. Not many people generally have those, so in the absence you’ll have to figure out what you do best, what you’re willing to learn and what you need to leave to the experts. For instance, many people believe they can create a website, and that may be true. Can you create a website that has a unique style, that search engine spiders can read and that adheres to all current Internet policies and protocols? Can you write in such a way to please both search engine spiders and human beings? If not, people like web designers and SEO copywriting specialists may be on your delegation list. If you’ve got the time to learn SEO skills and web design, great! Save yourself a bundle and do it. However, if you don’t have the skills or the time, hiring quality people from the beginning will save you a world of hurt down the line.

Next, you’ll have to be a real person. If people get the idea that the only reason you exist is to sell them something and get their money, you’ll fail as sure as rain falls. Get involved in the online communities that fit your business and your philosophy. Write SEO articles about your work, or give your SEO copywriter your knowledge so he or she can write them. Provide an abundance of value, build a relationship with your customers, and you’ll differentiate yourself from all of the others out there who just throw up a page and think they’re done.

Last, before jumping in with your plan, consider if this is truly what you want to do. Really think about it. If you’re doing it just for the money, don’t. It will eat your life and make you miserable. If, on the other hand, you love producing your product or your service, if this business lets you do everything you ever wanted, go for it Internet Marketing is the way. It’ll take a lot of work, but that work will be enjoyable instead of a burden. If you’re having fun, your customers will want to be around you, you’ll build a loyal base, and success will follow.

Wife1.0 Software

2008-09-25T17:07:00.003-05:00

Sometimes you have to share things you receive in your mail box... I had a good chuckles and laugh. I am sure you will too.

Dear Tech Support:

Last year I upgraded from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0. I soon noticed that the new program began unexpected child processing that took up a lot of space and resources. In addition, Wife 1.0 installed itself into all other programs and now monitors all other system activity applications such as "Poker Night 10.3", "Football 5.0", "Hunting And Fishing 7.5", and "Racing 3.6." I can't seem to keep Wife 1.0 in the background while attempting to run my favorite applications. I'm thinking about going back to Girlfriend 7.0, but "the uninstall" doesn't work on Wife 1.0. Please help!

Thanks ...Troubled User

-------

REPLY:

Dear Troubled User:

This is a very common problem. Many people upgrade from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0, thinking that it is just a Utilities and Entertainment program. Wife 1.0 is an OPERATING SYSTEM and is designed by its Creator to run EVERYTHING!!! It is also impossible to delete Wife 1.0 and to return to Girlfriend 7.0. It is impossible to uninstall, or purge the program files from the system once installed. You cannot go back to Girlfriend 7.0 because Wife 1.0 is designed not to allow this. Look in your Wife 1.0 manual under "Warnings-Alimony-Child Support". I recommend that you keep Wife 1.0 installed and work on improving the configuration. I suggest installing the background application "Yes Dear 99.0" to alleviate software augmentation.

The best course of action is to enter the command C:\APOLOGIZE because ultimately you will have to do this before the system will return to normal anyway.

Wife 1.0 is a great program, but it tends to be very high maintenance. Wife 1.0 comes with several support programs, such as "Clean and Sweep 3.0", "Cook It 1.5" and "Do Bills 4.2." However, be very careful how you use these programs. Improper use will cause the system to launch the program "Nag Nag 9.5." Once this happens, the only way to improve the performance of Wife 1.0 is to purchase additional software. I recommend Flowers 2.1 and Diamonds 5.0, but beware because sometimes these applications can be expensive.

WARNING!!! DO NOT, under any circumstances, install "Secretary with Short Skirt 3.3." This application is not supported by Wife 1.0 and will cause irreversible damage to the operating system.

WARNING!!! Attempting to install "NewGirlFriend 8.8" along with Wife 1.0 will crash the system.

(see Wife 1.0 manual, "Apologize", "High Maintenance & Secretary with Short Skirt")

Professional SEO Services Reassessing SEO Blogs – Outdated and Outdone?

2008-09-25T06:44:00.002-05:00

The number of frequently updated SEO blogs is dropping, and professional SEO services are looking for the reasons why.

The main reasons seem to be Web 3.0 and short message services (SMS). While SEO blogs will survive for at least a little while longer, the question of "how long" remains. What are Web 3.0 and SMS, though, and are they threatening to replace SEO blogs?

SMS / Microblogging services
Short message/microblogging services such as Twitter, Plurk and FriendFeed hit the social networking streets with a big bang and kept right on going. For instance, despite the fact that there are still kinks and technical difficulties, Twitter's traffic increased 500% by July 5th of this year, compared to the same date last year. Even Google jumped on the SMS bandwagon, buying Jaiku in October of 2007, and Barack Obama used Twitter as part of his 2008 presidential campaign.

Professional SEO services can breathe easy, however – at least with SMS. Instead of a replacement, microblogging looks to be more of an addition to blogging than anything else. Enterprising bloggers have been using SMS as a way to advertise their blogs – a short message, "Hey, I've got a new addition, this is today's topic."

While SMS isn't something to worry about, it is something that professional SEO services should look into as part of their campaigns, since it won't be long now before the search engines add SMS web pages to spider crawling.

Web 3.0
Web 3.0 is a phrase coined by John Markoff (New York Times) to describe new - and future - web technologies. It's supposedly the third decade of the web, encompassing the years 2010 to 2020, and covers up-and-coming technologies that compromise "the intelligent Web". Specifically, Web 3.0 deals with Internet-based services that use formulas and programs such as Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI), data mining and artificial intelligence, to name a few. In other words, search engine companies are using machines and programs with an understanding of information - and how we humans perceive this information - to give users a better experience.

Web 3.0 is, and will be, giving professional SEO services a hard run for their money. Black Hatters – and most likely some White Hatters - are quaking in their ergonomically designed computer chairs. While Web 3.0 won't cause the extinction of SEO, it does call for an overhaul of SEO practices. Link farming, keyword spamming and other questionable practices are becoming outdated; with the induction of LSI, content is now key – how clear is it; how relevant is it; how good is it.

So, if SMS and Web 3.0 aren't causing the downfall – or lack of SEO blog news – what is? Well, in a way they are. Web technology changes so fast, SEO article writers and bloggers are hard-pressed to keep up with everything. Information on SEO blogs has fallen through the cracks, replaced by LSI, Web 3.0, SMS and any number of other programs, technologies and practices.

Whatever the reasoning, the message to professional SEO services is clear: Keep on your toes, people, the train's a'comin – if you're not a passenger, you're a fatality.

Planning & Strategy in Search Engine Optimization

2008-09-25T06:43:00.003-05:00

The majority of all traffic to a website comes from a search engine; the only way you'll get that traffic is to optimize your site for those search engines. There are many ways to optimize your site, and fortunately, it isn't hard to do just that. If you're looking to start a site, the first thing you should do is build your site around search engines.

You already know the reason for your site; the only thing left to do is figure out what keywords you'll need to get the traffic you desire. The use of "SEO Tools" such as keyword analyzers and rank analyzers, which can be found online, will be of great use to you in building your site. These tools will ensure a correctly optimized website for all search engines.

Each search engine is different; some require a certain amount of "link backs" or clicks to your website from other sites to rank high, while others need targeted keywords. The most used search engine by far is Google, and if you want to rank high in Google, you'll need "link backs" from known sites.

Unfortunately, it can be hard to obtain the "link backs" you need, though the cheapest and easiest method is to create targeted content unique to your website. Larger websites will have a reason to link to your website if you give them one; creating content relevant to your site is the best way. After you finish creating the site of your dreams and have packed it full of the content and keywords you want (avoid over stuffing words, this will lead to scrutiny from search engines), the next step is to submit your site to search engines.

Before you submit your website directory to a search engine, you'll want to make sure you have quality material focused on the keywords you're targeting. You'll want to create "Metatag data/descriptions" for each of your web pages, giving the search engines a “heads-up” into what your site is about. There are tools you can use to accomplish this and make things much easier for yourself.

So you've created the site, built the content and submitted it; so now what? Well, let's make sure you've done the job correctly before quitting. You looked over the available SEO Tools to maximize keyword usage correctly. You've built the right content to increase "link backs" from well-known websites. Relevant Meta Tag Descriptions are in place on all web pages you wish to index, and you've submitted your site to be crawled by the biggest search engines.

The only thing left is to monitor your keywords and make sure you stay at the top. Search engines are constantly changing, and so should you. Don't stop changing and adding keywords or modifying descriptions. If you want to stay at the top of the list, you'll need to be attentive. Congratulations, you just optimized your website for Search Engines!

The Importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

2008-09-23T07:53:00.000-05:00

The importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is that it gives the ability to draw and hold your reader's attention. If you want to be successful at any type of SEO services, writing or consulting you must stay on top of the changing advertising and marketing methods. The professional approach to SEO is knowing and understanding website terms and descriptions that bring greater customer satisfaction.

The first rule is to ensure greater research capability. The Internet is not the only source for good information, but it is a convenient source of information. Google, Yahoo! and MSN are considered the top Internet search engines.

Advertising is important also. Most companies or businesses in today’s market look for image advertising. When performing SEO, you want to embed an image into the customer's mind along with great catchy content. Depending on what you're marketing and what part of the world you're in, content can make or break a business. This is where research comes into play in the marketing business.

In order to market your services, it's also good to speak to individuals just to see how they think or process information. Keep in mind that you want your customers to keep coming back to your website. For instance, hiring a research company to collect data for you in reference to your SEO is a good idea.

Back in the late 80’s, the government used a type of marketing method call the Census. After the Census had been conducted, the government would sell the information to certain private businesses to pinpoint different ethnic groups. This method conveyed what each household used for services and products. Now it’s done a little different, mostly with computers, surveys and media.

Though the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is always the same, the ways to achieve SEO are many. However, from writing SEO articles with the use of strategically placed keywords to link building and landing pages, the variations and tools all point to one goal – catching and holding the reader's attention.

Writing SEO Articles - Merging Keyword Strategies and Effective Copy writing

2008-09-07T17:57:00.001-05:00

Writing SEO (Search Engine Optimization) articles is the exciting mixture of developing keyword strategies that will generate a response from various search engines. SEO articles merge those keywords into unique copy writing material that engages and holds the reader. SEO copy writing creates articles that reach the marketplace in two ways. The first is by anticipating the search terms utilized by the readership. The second is by employing those search keywords to establish links from the reader to the destination site through the search engine.

Writing SEO articles is an expression of the site’s content in substantive keyword verbiage that draws the reader to the site. These articles also use an effective copy writing technique that encourages the reader to not only stay but also re-visit the site.

Writing SEO articles requires resourceful, imaginative and original copy writing. Positioning and frequency of specific keywords can help boost site response; however, effective SEO copy writing does not stop there. The author must also apply the basics of good research and deliver the site’s material in a clear, concise and compelling manner that makes the reader return for the site’s content.

When writing SEO articles, the author must grasp the reader’s mindset as it applies to the site’s message. It is from within the reader’s mindset that the links between the keywords and the optimal copy writing material reside. If the author knows the product or material, he has the fuel to ignite the connection. The copy writing challenge is writing SEO articles that maintain the integrity of the product and promote the product through the application of the anticipated search entries or keywords.

SEO copy writing should be powerful, even infectious. If the author has performed the research and understands the site’s potential, the keywords become an integral part of the posting. Too many sites and too many articles are written to emphasize keywords at the expense of content. Successful SEO article writing enhances the product and site by utilizing powerful keywords to express the product’s unique qualities through strategic and fluid copy writing techniques.

Keywords and SEO Articles

2008-09-04T08:26:00.003-05:00

As a writer of SEO articles, I've been asked several times what keywords are and what SEO means. The meaning is easy: Search Engine Optimization. The explanation is difficult; there are so many SEO tools for on-page optimization, the information would fill a thick book. However, I can give a brief explanation of how the articles are done and how they work.

When building a web presence, the main consideration is how to bring quality views, known as clicks, to your website. One of the ways to do this is by creating optimized articles using key words and phrases. Why would you want to do this? Because it's also one of the top ways to get Google Ranking.

Briefly, here's how it works:

Keyword Research – Keywords are words or phrases that users search for. Though any word or phrase can be used for this purpose, you want to ensure that those you choose would be used in a search. You may want to use professional SEO service providers for this. They will provide you with a Keywords analysis and a competitors analysis. These vary in prices, but are well worth the time and money spent.

The Articles – When writing SEO articles, the main element is how the keywords are used and how often. Those knowledgeable in writing SEO articles recommend that you choose two or three keywords, or one key phrase, and use them in strategic places.

The Finished Product – Once you have your SEO articles, it's time to do your own internet search. What you're looking for are places that allow article submission or directory submission.

Article and directory submission sites allow you to submit your article along with a Meta tag description – which, by the way, will also hold your keywords. Once your article is submitted, anyone who types in that search term will now see your article, which has links to your website.
A tip: Ensure that your keywords won't stand out in the copy. Most Internet users understand they're being manipulated; they don't want to see the actual manipulation. This could be detrimental to what you're trying to achieve – clicks to your website.

Finally, do your research, stay informed, and good luck on your future SEO articles!

SEO copywriters

2008-08-24T12:47:00.001-05:00

The future of search engine optimization is seriously in doubt today. Search engine administrators hate the practice, and usually rightfully so. The vast majority of search engine optimizers today are, in effect, trying to “trick” the engines for first place on search engine results pages, and that goes directly against what the search engines want.

So, what do the search engines want, and more important, why? Search engines want relevant and high-quality information to show up to anyone using their searching service. However, their customers aren’t really the huge numbers of people that use those services to find websites. Instead, it’s the large advertisers that pay the search engines directly for sponsored listings. Those companies will only pay the sponsored listing fees if the search engines attract lots of people. Search engines only attract lots of people if they regularly provide what those people want. Therefore, search engine administrators are constantly upgrading their algorithms in order to bypass the vast amount of optimized junk out there and get to real, relevant content. Each and every time those algorithms change, search engine optimizers scramble to catch up, and then scramble again to redo all of their web pages.

It doesn’t really matter if a search engine specialist is a “white hat” or a “black hat”, both are, in essence, doomed. Search engines will keep improving their algorithms to the point where they cannot possibly be cracked or substituted for. However, that doesn’t mean that search engine optimization itself is a pointless endeavor. Search engine spiders have to be able to read web pages in addition to humans in order for search engine results pages to even pick them up. It doesn’t do much good for a web page to be high quality and appealing to people if search engine spiders can’t find it for a technical reason.

The ultimate answer, of course, is to get a quality writer who also knows enough about search engine optimization to create a page appealing to both humans and search engine spiders. The basics behind search engine optimization aren’t going to change. Metatags don’t provide the kind of incredible results they used to, but they still do a pretty good job of giving spiders a general idea of what your site’s about. HTML is much more visible to spiders than other sorts of Internet programming. These sorts of technical optimization techniques combined with high quality writing offer websites that will continue to rank highly in search engine results regardless of algorithm changes or increased SEO resistance. Get a SEO copywriter, and quality will always shine through.

Using Keywords in Search Engine Marketing

2008-08-24T12:40:00.001-05:00

EO was unknown not too long ago. It used to be that when you wanted to earn via the Internet, all you had to do was create and publish a website, whether a real site or a blog. Oh, at its inception, blogging was not common, and sites on the Internet usually contained advertisements for goods for sale as well as articles for general knowledge. .

As the Net grew, the methods by which one could earn grew proportionately. One current method is direct advertising, much like that done on radio and television. Here, articles directly refer to websites, or there are banners of advertisements in a website. The sites are paid by counting clicks on the website ad or link, or via the number of people who open the site itself or read the article.

The invention and use of search engines to look for topics and subjects on the Internet also changed the way articles are written. Since links in the articles can be used to bring the prospective customer to a site, search engine optimization (SEO) tools were refined to give the sites that contain those links a high rank in the search engine results.

Among the methods to attain top rankings is the Meta tag description. These are snippets of information in HTML code written just below the article title (though sometimes the location is not important), describing the contents and including the article’s keywords. Keywords are those words that are considered to be the topics or subjects the searcher may wish to know about. Meta tags are those word or phrases appended to the end of the article or blog to help search engines find the topics.

At first the website content writers or website creators were encouraged to attach Meta tags and Meta tag descriptions to their works. However, it turned out that search engines ignore them for the most part, or pay them very little attention. The engines will include the words and phrases in the search results as long as the words are in the articles, except that ranking may be low. In conclusion using keywords in your meta tags will insure you get higher ranking in the Search Engines.

Landing Page Strategy and SEO Tools

2008-08-24T12:39:00.002-05:00

SEO tools, such as landing pages, are excellent for search engine marketing. Most websites have general pages such as Home, About Us, Services, etc, but they also might have one page for each service the company performs, and dozens of helpful articles for visitors. The general Internet user will quickly tire of searching through the site for the information or product that they need. Landing pages are developed for just this situation.

The ultimate goal of a landing page is for your visitors to answer your “call to action”, be it buying your product or giving their email address. However, because the landing page – when built correctly – is a major portal to your site, it also makes it easier to track and analyze your visitor’s actions.

The first and most important step to creating a good landing page is choosing keywords, which are also great SEO tools. These keywords, the search terms a visitor uses in a search engine, should be specific to the main topic of the landing page. A good rule of thumb is to analyze the keywords, either by having a professional SEO specialist do it or by research.

In general, you want to use “long-tail” key phrases. Briefly, “long-tail” search terms are phrases such as “big cheap couches”. The reasoning is simple. With a “long-tail” key phrase, you also have “short-tail” key phrases such as “big couches” and “cheap couches”.

The second step is creating SEO content with your chosen keywords, geared toward your call to action. The SEO content can be an article, product page, etc., but it needs to be as specific to your topic as the keywords are; you can have more than one landing page, all geared to a particular area. The SEO content also needs to be informative or interesting in some way. Just because the visitor has reached your site doesn’t mean they’ll stay there. This is what your content is for.

The third step, and the way you get your visitors to the landing page, is by link building, yet another of the SEO tools. There are various ways to build links, but Pay Per Click (PPC) and SEO articles are the most common. With PPC, you have an advertising banner, sponsored address, etc. The user sees the advertising banner, clicks on it, and the link brings them to your landing page – which is geared toward that particular advertisement. You pay a fee for the click, but you also have a viable user – in other words, one that’s already interested in your product or information.

SEO articles are written much the same way as your landing page, using keywords, key phrases and informative content. Once they’ve been written, they are submitted to article submission or directory submission sites. On those sites, your visitors find a link within the article that sends them to your landing page, which, once again, is geared toward that particular article.

Although there are many SEO tools available, landing pages are a great way to quantify your readers, clients, potential customers – and great landing pages

SEO versus paid-search (PPC) – overview

2008-08-24T12:37:00.000-05:00

The quest to increase the market share has gained a lot of momentum on the internet and there is a dilemma over the usage of SEO versus paid-search (PPC). Every online store is in the race to reach the prospective customers. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns are the horses on which the businesses are riding.

There are various differences between the two options of online marketing. SEO mainly relates to the search engines, which rank your articles and place them in order of relevance when a customer is looking for a particular keyword. Writing SEO articles is an art that is sought after by the majority of professionals who are associated with online marketing.

In a PPC search, the merchandiser pays only when the user clicks on his advertisement. It is an appropriate platform for analyzing the efficiency of new and contemporary merchandise. However, there are a few drawbacks:

• It can prove to be very expensive.
• The targeted traffic discontinues once you halt paying.
• PPC campaigns need to be supervised all the time.

Because of these reasons, companies are looking for SEO service providers - those skilled in SEO and website optimization. They’ve perfected the skill of copy writing and, more importantly, the ability of writing SEO articles.

SEO articles are written in a way that targets the keywords supplied by the service provider. It’s important to have keywords in the title tag, which is the most effective and compelling page feature. Search engines give much emphasis on the keywords written in bold tags. Carefully utilize the keywords, as using them wisely will increase your search engine ranking.

The goal should be to write an article that is keyword rich. At all costs, avoid facsimile and copied content because most of the search engines like exclusive matter.

SEO articles can boost your page rankings, but the bottom line is that you have to use both the SEO as well as the PPC to win the race.

Technorati confirmation

2008-07-19T09:30:00.000-05:00

Technorati Profile
Lets see if this works this time.. Sheeeezzzz

How to Choose a Good Directory Submission

2008-06-18T12:06:00.002-05:00

Have you noticed more and more emails promising to submit your site to over 1000 directories for $50-$400? Well the truth of the matter is most directories they submit your site to are worthless. Sure this is arguable, but the fact of the matter is ask yourself what are you trying to accomplish with these web directory submissions? If you are planning to submit your site to any Internet directory or looking for someone else to do this task, then make sure you choose a good web directory. It is easy to get high page ranks of Internet directories, if you follow rules and regulations of those directories.

Generally, there are two main reasons to submit a web site in web directories. The first is to get massive amount of traffic for your site and second is to get higher page ranks.

Things to Consider:
While selecting a good directory submission, you have to check its listings to make sure that the site gets exposure from good web directories, so that you get more traffic for your web site. Examples of such good directories include Google, Yahoo and DMOZ.

In fact, Google result pages are drawn mainly from DMOZ, while Yahoo uses its self-directory listings to give best results. It is important to remember that human editors edit these Internet directories and hence, you have to be very specific in choosing an appropriate category for your site, or else directory owners reject your site.

As the Internet gets loaded with numerous web directories, you may find it difficult to submit your site into each one after another. Usually, these web directories have several categories to wrap any topic.

A good web directory submits your site to as many directories as possible that may generate hordes of one-way links for your web site, increasing your web site's page rankings and comes amongst the top 10 lists of Internet directories.

In recent days, many web sites make use of SEO techniques to get targeted traffic. This helps to get better search engine lists once the directory submission is done successfully. You can also use SEO consultants or SEO service providers in this regard. In fact, many web directories give high rank to web sites, provided they have good SEO articles. So hire SEO writers or professionals to get good page rankings.

Overview:
Finally, remember that good directory submission service offers a comprehensive report that justifies that it has submitted your site to quality web directories. You may give all relevant information about your site along with your email id, where you will get all the confirmation emails from web directories. All you have to do is just click on anyone of them to verify your submission for directory listing. This is mandatory and without this, it is impossible to get directory listing. Always consider the directory list before agreeing to have your SEO company or data entry person do the job.

Google Friend Connect Feature and Implications for Wider Social Media

2008-06-18T12:05:00.001-05:00

I am not sure if you've missed me but I have missed you. Today I will give you some information regarding the Social media and all their implications. Basically the good the bad and the ugly. Google Friend Connect is a service promoted to help web site owners to create traffic by allowing any web site on the Internet to offer social features for its visitors or consumers.

Features
Google Friend Connect allows you to create traffic effortlessly and adds various social features to your web site. With just a few codes, you get more people getting more profoundly attracted to your web site.

It attracts more visitors to your site and these visitors visiting your site bring along their pals from other social network web sites such as Orkut or Facebook to communicate on your web site.

Google Friend Connect offers prominent social features from a list of devices offered by OpenSocial developer community and Google. No need of programming, as you simply need to copy and paste snips of code onto your web site, and Google Friend Connect does this job for you.

Implications for Social Media:
Many SEO specialists and professional SEO consultants believe that web sites other than social networking sites, who wish to be social, face many obstructions for implications to social media. Google Friend Connect has changed this trend by allowing any web site to provide dozens of social conveniences offered by Google and OpenSocial creators.

This ultimately means more visitors browsing for longer durations on a more appealing web site with zero hidden programming procedures. As a web site owner, Google Friend Connect offers you an opportunity to add social features to your web site without needing to write a code.

Google Friend Connect offers a vital set of social gadgets such as picture sharing, reviews, message board, and member management for implications to wider social media. The prime gadget is the member's gadget. It offers effective social features for media:

1. You can sign up with existing Yahoo!, OpenID, AIM, or Google account.
2. Next, you also can display activities to existing friends in Google Talk, Plaxo, Orkut, Facebook, and hi5.
3. You can browse through profiles of members across various social networking sites.
4. Finally, you can connect with friends on your personal web site.

Finally, after adding the member's gadget along with other supplementary social gadgets of Google Friend Connect, your web site visitors may start welcoming their friends and will engage with your web site more sincerely.

Many professional SEO services and SEO service providers have stated Google Friend Connect as a junction for several social networking web sites, which promotes its implications for wider social media.

As you can see this is not a bad thing. Most web developers will have their own opinion, but as a SEO copywriter I try to advise my clients on the best strategy for their web presence.

Facebook and Implications to Society

2008-06-18T12:04:00.002-05:00

According to SEO specialists, Facebook has more than 20 million members registered generating 1.5 billion page views every day. This site tightly integrates the daily media patterns of its users. Generally, users on an average spend about 15 minutes everyday on this site and three fourths of users make use of Facebook at least once a day.

Taking advantage of its accomplishment among college students, Facebook established a high school edition in early September 2005. In 2006, the corporation created communities for business organizations and since then, almost 22,300 corporations had Facebook directories.

In 2006, about 2500 United Stated colleges made use of Facebook, which became the seventh most well liked site on the Internet relating to total page views. The only requirement for joining Facebook is a legitimate e-mail address.

To connect with coworkers or classmates, people can use their work or school e-mail address to register. Once a person registers, the next step is to join a regional network to interact with people in surrounding areas.

In Facebook, people can see profiles of only those people in their network and confirmed friends. Privacy settings are present, which control who can see what.

Implications to Society:

According to professional SEO writers and professional SEO services, the comparatively open nature of information provided by Facebook participants and the lack of confidentiality controls enacted, users are putting themselves at threat of both online (identity theft) and off-line (stalking).

Facebook enables individuals to articulate their social networks, present themselves, and view each other's profiles, gather friends who can send messages on pages and maintain or establish connections with others. This site is oriented towards romantic relationship initiation, work related contexts, college student population and linking those with common interests such as politics or music.

Participants can use Facebook to communicate with people they know off-line or to meet new people. It is also possible for Facebook members to join virtual groups depending on shared interests, learn each other's interests, hobbies, romantic relationship status and musical tastes by browsing through different profiles and see what courses they have in common.

Facebook is a valuable site for SEO consultants and SEO service providers concerned with affordances of social networks because of its technological capacities and heavy usage patterns, which bridge off-line and online connections.

Facebook represents an alternate online to off-line trend wherein it mainly serves as a geographically bound community. According to professional SEO consultants, the original manifestation of Facebook information technology enhances a place-based community and results in the production of social capital.

SEO Copywriters

2008-05-30T13:47:00.002-05:00

SEO Copywriters are a recent class of expert writers, who are fluent and prolific writers. SEO Copywriters have the talent to influence words in a way, which makes them seamless with both search engines and web readers alike.

SEO Copywriters will usually bid high since more often than not they will double the clients money. If expert writers or firms tend to show boosted Return on Investment (ROI) then that copywriter can write their own ticket. Several disciplines in SEO copy writing are available in recent times, but the eminence varies from one copywriter to the other.

Below listed are certain sectors, wherein SEO Copy writing is essential and has become specialized:

• Newsletter Writing and Editing.
• Development of Tag lines both online as well as off-line to advance call to action.
• Press Release writing and optimization.
• Article writing.
• Web site Content Development.
• Blog posting.

Search engines and web readers adore new distinctive and superior content. Recently, search engines are advancing their techniques to determine quality content. SEO Copywriters provide the most vital factor in the SEO strategy. Hence, it would be wise to devote time researching for the right SEO specialist in the particular area for your Internet marketing needs.

Importance For Business:

It is true that; search engine optimization in combination with SEM including Copy writing is key to your Internet presence and success. But what most don’t know is, this is a vital feature to creating a successful a web site.

Almost every SEO Copywriter now days come from a background of direct advertising, marketing, copy writing techniques and web site marketing. SEO Copywriters, who are skilled view the merits of products or services from the consumer's point of view and accordingly create the marketing content. I am sure you have heard me mention in the past SEO that is created with style, is king. Basically, if you can write with flow or without keyword stuffing, you will have plenty of work.

Professional SEO copy writers effortlessly merge vital key phrases into the marketing content without overlooking a translation flow. They also plan on organizing the page in order to contain maximum key phrase dispersion.

Therefore, appointing a professional SEO copywriter, particularly in the sectors of time-taxing marketing agencies or individual entrepreneurs may instantly help boost the Return on Investment (ROI) and status of a web site.

Below are some points, which companies or executives need to confirm before appointing SEO Copywriters:

• The SEO Copywriter under consideration needs to possess a minimum of one year of intensive SEO Copy writing experience with knowledge of basic HTML.

• It is also good to confirm the copywriter's work experience in a search marketing company to gauge his/her Copy writing skills.

• To hire a professional SEO Copywriter is equally as important as making a valuable business decision.

• Don’t be afraid to ask for referrals, or take a look at how their clients rank.

• I personally insist on looking at all my writer’s capabilities. If their page isn’t ranking high that’s fine but if their clients page isn’t ranking high then I gently but firmly tell them to come back when they can prove their worth.

• Correct words, selected by proven methods combined with the correct level of search engine optimizations are some of the top qualities found in an SEO Copywriters. They will certainly boost the effectiveness of the existing web design.

• Some SEO specialist will ask for $250 an hour... take it from me, send them packing. There is a lot of talent out there that can do the job for approximately $40 per hour.

In conclusion, it's not the end all. When you find a great writer, don’t worry if they are not an SEO Guru. I say you are not born with SEO talents it’s something you learn and acquire with practice. If they are willing to learn the business they will take the initiative to read and educate themselves. Sure it helps if they know the basics but, the basics change daily therefore someone with drive and commitment is far more important than some “know it all” Guru. Well that’s my humble opinion.

Qualities of SEO Specialists

2008-05-17T09:22:00.002-05:00

SEO specialists are the experts. Now the problem a lot of online clients face is how to find a professional SEO specialist? In order to get help, these Quality SEO specialists can help entrepreneurs achieve higher rankings for their web sites and get a higher page rank on the search engines.

This has been the dilemma apart from this; SEO professionals assist in drawing huge customer flow, traffic to the web sites. However, to seek their help, entrepreneurs need to hire SEO experts.

Qualities of a SEO specialist are when they can make use of certain keywords, include relevant content, and target the potential customers or visitors to generate the traffic. Thus, if you are intending to hire an SEO expert, see to it that they are proficient in all assets of Search engine Optimization. Thus, the qualities, which SEO experts need to possess, are as described below:

Web site promotion:

SEO specialists need to have the talent and SkillSets to promote your web sites in all major search engines by using a variation of targeted keywords. They need to possess great designing capabilities and produce the competent layout for the web sites. They have to be familiar with web page optimization features such as use alt tags with pictures, define the appropriate keywords in the alt tags and other off page tasks. Most importantly they need to show proof.

Navigation arrangement:

SEO specialists need to posses the ability to formulate the appropriate navigation arrangement for the entire web site depending on the keywords as well as products, and services you may offer your online customer base. They must decide which keywords are primary, secondary and use them accordingly.

Meta Tags:

SEO specialists need to be proficient enough to make proper Meta tags for the client's web sites. The title tags, descriptive tags are important and help the web sites attain the higher search rankings.

Generate huge traffic:

The businesses of marketing web sites depend on the traffic flow. Therefore, specialists must be able to generate huge traffic flow. In the beginning I will not lie to you, it will be slow. You may see a small conversion rate but the problem is are you ready for the high traffic.

I have heard many clients say “sure just bring me the traffic”. Well sure enough they get the traffic and like clockwork they are not prepared. They either don’t have the manpower, or their customer service sucks, or they cannot seem to get the clients to buy once they have them on their site. It’s a whole package people. It’s not just about getting high rankings. You have to be vigilant in your efforts, you have to have great content either weekly or monthly, keep the readers enticed and coming back for more. Believe it or not you have to offer them services and products they won’t get on another site. This is all out of pocket expense you have to be ready for. Whether you are selling a service or a product. Give something away, give them free .PDF files with important information, give them articles they can use, give them a great deal, maybe the first 50 users can get a 30% off your usual rate. But give something of value not a Chia pet.

Other Important Qualities:

Off page tasks:

SEO specialists need to have knowledge of other web features such as directory submission, link building, and link exchange and forum postings.

Web Support for client:

SEO specialists must be able to provide separate online consumer support to you SEO project whenever required. Certain things might seem complicate for you to understand so there has to be a medium of web site use which you can explain the terms easily.

Use of modern techniques:

SEO specialists need to be familiar with modern techniques and other SEO methods. Experts need to make use of white hat technique while fulfilling SEO needs. Otherwise, online regulatory bodies may ban such web sites, if specialists use unlawful methods to promote your web sites. Google is big on banning sites if they use shady methods.

Keep in pace with the competition:

SEO specialists have to be competent enough, study the web sites of your competitors, and induce certain strategies on your web site.

Thus, if you are contemplating hiring an SEO specialist to boost the web site's ranking, you know what qualities that particular expert need to possess. And that’s not all you need to check their credentials. Ask them for a comprehensive list of what they will do for you.

If they won’t write it out then they are hiding something. Look it doesn’t take a genius to know how to do this it takes proven methods, a great track record, and the ability to implement these skills on a daily basis for you.

Optimization Analyst:

2008-05-17T09:02:00.001-05:00

Today I will explain what are some features and what is an Optimization analyst. Basically an SEO Analyst is a person who has a thorough understanding of SEO intricacies. Such expert works individually or as part of a team and looks after the optimizing search engine rankings, traffic flow and delivers the technical jargon per the requirement of the client.

Therefore, if you are running an online affiliate business or any other online marketing venture, you need to hire an optimization analyst to look after the SEO of the web site. Optimization analyst studies your online business, locates the target keywords and uses it as primary tags and secondary tags while promoting the web site.

Apart from this, the analyst formulates then creates keywords for the entire structure of web site. Some of the important tasks also include developing Meta tags, producing the linkage system for the web site, creating changes and applying it through FTP.

Optimization analyst communicates with the project leader or directly with the clients, and presents the benefits, then implements the changes on their web pages. Sounds simple enough right? Nope slow down partner, the basic talent and fact remains that the analyst still needs to figure out what the keywords are. You see people are paying hundreds if not thousands of dollars on the PPC campaign and not seeing results. Therefore it sounds easy enough but this takes certain SkillSets that require years of on the job training.

Need of Optimization Analyst:

When people hire an optimization analyst, they hope for the best results. There are numerous SEO optimization tools and procedures available so it becomes virtually impossible for an ordinary expert to single out the best approach for the company. Hence, one needs to hire a professional optimization analyst to get the job done.

Apart from this, if individuals are trying to target very popular keywords on their own, they may be able to enter few spots only. The reason is there are numerous search engines and each one of them has their own set of rules. What applies for one search engine may not necessarily apply for the other. Therefore, if people want to achieve better rankings for their web sites on all the major search engines, they need to hire professional optimization specialists.

These optimization specialists are expert in their fields and they have sufficient experience and proven strategies. They have adequate tools to monitor and study the competitors' web sites and include best features in the web sites of their clients. Thus, they have the skill to help the online entrepreneurs to reach their desired goals.

Even the search engine advertising efforts become multistoried, if individuals take the help of the optimization analyst. They will assist you to obtain the desired conversion rates.

Some entrepreneurs do have enticing web sites but their search engine performance is nowhere. Like wise, some have good search engine standing but their sales are not up to the expected levels and their customers do not go beyond the landing page. In such cases, the optimization analyst can become a rock star.

In conclusion in order to achieve higher rankings and to boost sales, take the time and do your research.

• Invest money in your marketing strategy
• Research your competitors
• Test your landing pages and the keywords used on mini sites
• Lastly remember Rome was not built in one day, or one week, or one month
• Commit to at least a 3-6 month strategy

4 easy steps to SEO

2008-05-09T10:25:00.002-05:00

To say you know how to write SEO vs. Writing SEO is another fish story. It’s amazing at how many people and companies send you their clever copy boasting about getting you higher rankings on Google. Here is the truth, 2 things will get you ranked high on Google. Links and SEO copy, period. Basically the keywords will alert the search engines of what you do and the links on your page will show their importance. After all one word can surmise what the search engine looks for “relevance”.

I am sure you all have the plethora of information on how you can incorporate your keywords in the body of your article. From the Meta tags in your copy to the verbiage used in your HTML. Consider the Meta tags as road signs showing the search engine the way. Therefore make sure you use those tags in the body of your article.

However Google search engines are catching on to all these “tricks of the trade”. The basic skinny on this is to use your keywords within your article as much as you can without sounding like an advertisement or a blundering idiot. The question is how can you write copy without compromising your copy?

Here are 4 simple steps you should take into consideration including spend a coupe of hours a day giving your webpage a facelift. Remember people aren’t stupid they want to read something of interest therefore make sure what you have to say is of interest.

Step #1 page category
Sit down and figure out a structure to your page. If you already have a site up you may need to re-work your copy, but try to offer benefits around your keywords. Print out your pages and find the keywords or phrases and then label them as such.

Step #2 Do some homework on what the user is searching for.
It’s apparent your competitor knows what words to use since they are on the top of the heap. Don’t be shy look at their keywords. If you want there are several websites that offer free word tacking analysis or some may even offer a free trial. Use them, place your keywords and track them. Simple enough, I have always said you copy from one its plagiarism you copy from many its research. Just make sure you see the results and what is said about each keyword you are using.

Step #3 Pick out the most relevant keywords.
Don’t over do it. Don’t keep using the same keywords over and over again. Either use a variation of those keywords or use them in a phrase. For example Lingerie can be used with words like sexy lingerie or lingerie for special occasions. Basically you are still using the keyword Lingerie but you are not focusing on that specific word.

Step #4 word Specific and phrases with links to your keywords.
This may be the most important bit of information I can give you. Use your links with your keywords. Keep it in your website obviously maybe link it to another page on your website where that keyword is being used. Don’t over do it. Good luck and come again tomorrow where I will give you more tips and tricks on how to slowly go up the ranking page.

Search Engine Optimization Help

2008-05-09T10:22:00.001-05:00

There must be at over 1000 online business that say they can help you with your SEO copy. Not one company can do this overnight period! Google warns people of these Internet cowboys.

I personally have been doing this for over 10 years and I still don’t know everything. How you get help for SEO is still a work in progress. As a matter of fact I read an article where Google received emails from companies that were “phishing” for new business. In simple terms they are a scam they say something like “Dear ABC I was on your website and noticed you are not getting top listing on Google…. Blah blah blah”. Sound familiar? I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when they got that email! Below are some things to keep in mind.

There is no Guarantee you will get #1 Google ranking
Companies that guarantee you top rating on Google because of a “special relationship with them are full of it. As much as I would love to bash Goggle for many things they are ethical. They have no priority for their submission. As a matter of fact the only way you can actually submit a site is through their http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl So move on partner and do this legally.

Be weary of companies that won’t explain how they can get top rankings
Have Joe or Sheila explain how they are going to do this. More often than not they will misrepresent or give you misleading information. Give you all these services that you can get for free if you took the time to search. Therefore have them spell it out, even in writing if they are willing to give you the guarantee.

Network and talk to other SEO companies
Always ask for references that is a good start. I actually had a company contact me and promise me the world as far as Google ranking. The problem was they could not explain why they were not #1 in Google. I don’t recall what the woman said but by the third sentence out of her mouth I was playing tug of war with my dog Lucy. You can see how interested I was.

Protect yourself Legally
• Have everything in writing if you are going to choose ABC Company to do your SEO work.
• Make sure you talk to clients they have had in the past.
• Make sure that Google has not removed their previous clients.
• Check their WHOIS info.
• Watch out for doorway pages.
• If you think you have been deceived by ABC Company contact the FTC including the BBB. If you want to file a complaint go to http://www.ftc.gov/ or you can call them at 1877.FTC.HELP
To find out more about SEO help you can go to my website.

There I will give you the nitty gritty and truth about how to write and where to find factual information about SEO.

SEO Must Read

2008-05-09T10:19:00.002-05:00

Titles: Each page on your web site has to have a unique title that indeed reflects the key words the page will be found under. Regardless of any links, this will simply change the search traffic that is independent of the link

Links: These have to be good if anything give your readers relevant links. Not only will you sound like you know what you are talking about but also you are giving them something they can use. Remember people are coming to your site because they trust you simple.

Rich Keyword research has to be done: I have mentioned this previously and I have written an article with some very important tools that can be found here. Therefore make sure you know what keywords you competitors are using and which phrases will get some hits.
Content: Text text and more text. Pictures and flash is nice including great video but people want to know there is a pulse behind the pictures or videos. Even if you write 300 words or post a comment. Make sure you read your posers comments and let them know you are there it will garner your fans as it were.

Architecture: This is something that shouldn’t have to be said but you would be surprised at how many times I have just left a site because one page did not work. Or a form was not installed properly. People just don’t have he patience they want the info and they want it now. If they cannot get instant gratification or god forbid a link is not working properly you will see a drop in your rankings and your readership.

Below are some links to some trash I have been able to pick up along the way you would be surprised at how Google yahoo and a couple of other big hitters should do as they say and not do as I do.. or something to that effect.

Yahoo is acting like a cheap $2 Ho
http://www.seobook.com/archives/000455.shtml
Google Caught Cloaking and Keyword Stuffing?http://www.threadwatch.org/node/1774
Spam Blog crackdown
http://www.blogherald.com/2005/08/24/spam-blog-creators-panicking-over-spam-blog-crackdown-is-this-the-end-of-spam-blogs/
Crack Cocaine! Google, Yahoo Chase the Dragon
http://www.threadwatch.org/node/5107
Proof Google is Evil (and Greedy)
http://www.threadwatch.org/node/4995

Mothers Day is coming up

2008-05-06T16:16:00.001-05:00

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
" Because I said so, ! that's why."

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. My mother taught me IRONY
"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
" Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
"Stop acting like your father!"

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
"Just wait until we get home."

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING.
"You are go in g to get it when you get home!"

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

19. My mother taught me ESP.
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

20. My mother taught me HUMOR.
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
"You're just like your father."

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
"Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE.
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!"

Keywords, Meta tag descriptions and top ranking

2008-05-04T15:22:00.001-05:00

Keywords, meta tag descriptions and top ranking optimization tutorial is what it’s all about. I am giving the love away… Can you feel it? No okay then lets get down to work. I am sure you have wondered why some pages are higher rankings than others right? I am sure you have especially if you are in this business. As well as I am sure you have heard and seen 100 ways to do it and you are still wondering why it’s not working for you. Or you see a minimal change in your traffic.

Well you are not alone I have been there seen that and done it. Read on and you will see what it takes then wonder hey why didn’t I think of that. It’s so obvious it will make a grown man cry. Well maybe not, but you will feel better.

The 10 rules or commandment you should use to SEO your pages for keywords and Meta tag description.

Rule #1 Lets say you already have your page created, so lets be clear this is not a tutorial on your web but, a guide for SEO using meta keywords along with description tags.
First of the entire page you are creating or I should say the type would determine you keyword density. Example would be if this were a sales page then no more than 1500 top 2000. This is where you describe the advantages of the service you are providing along with the solution. Testimonials are a great-added feature so place them appropriately. You could go as far as telling a story of how a client had “pain” in their sales effort and how it was solved by using your service. Again don’t blabber get to the point and make it interesting.

Your product page will be different that your sales page. This should be 500 words and no more than 700. On this page what you are trying to accomplish is selling your product. If your user gets to this page then you know they want specifics. Therefore the job is convincing the user that what your product will take the pain away.

Your article page word count ought to be at least 1000 words and no more than 4000.Some will argue that it’s too long but you already have your reader so give them some meat to the subject. And if you are an excellent content writer then you can do it in less.

Rule #2 your Meta keyword should match your file name period. The search engines will match up your keywords with the page and give the page a higher relevancy spot. For example from: Editor copywriter the first one on Google is a site with that name and the URL has that name. So try to choose your URL name wisely and make sure your Meta keyword reflects the name of your URL.

Rule #3 do not use more than 5 keywords in your Meta tag. If you use more than that then Google will think you are spamming therefore you will kicked to the curb. Search engines rank the keywords from the order that they will appear. Basically the first word becomes the primary keyword then the second is a secondary keyword etc. You should line your keywords up in the order of relevance to the page. The Meta keyword tag used in my above example is.

" Jobs.com - copywriter editor Jobs - powered by Monster "

Rule #4 Make sure you use all the keywords in your Meta description, with the primary keyword as close to the front as possible. Remember the Search engine will not read your stuff verbatim, however it will match the keywords in your description. No repetition here if you.

Rule #5 Your Meta description ought to be around 100 to 200 characters. Make sure you have a good description to your page. If you use less than the search engine won’t finds you and if you use more than 200 then the Search engine will not look at you. Besides you won’t look very professional.

Rule #6 When you are setting up your Meta tags do it so it looks like a sentence. Search engines don’t read it like this but when people use the search engine that is how they do it. Very rare or I should say more often than not people will do a search with a sentence.

Rule #7 Read your content at least 3 times. From spelling, to grammar, along with placement and lastly your paragraph distribution. Once you are confident with your page proof read it again and focus on you keyword placement including repetition. You want your keywords placed in your content sparingly. One last tip read your content aloud. Amazingly when a person reads their content silently they won’t catch spelling errors or the flow may not be right. But if you read it aloud then you can see where punctuations go easier.

Rule #8 Place your Meta description in one line for your html code. Some search engines will miss the second line I have seen it happen.

Rule #9 You know I am all about doing what is right but in respect to keywords do not use more than 3 keywords. Most users rarely search fro more than 3 keywords at a time. Therefore try to use the main keywords

Rule #10 Use your primary keyword in the first and last paragraph of your page. The search engines will give more relevancies to your page if they find your keywords at the beginning and the end of your page.

Extra Kudos for you – make sure you use the primary keyword in a text link format in your page. But only do it once not twice. Another thing get a bookmark widget on your page your visitors will like that it helps them remember where you are. And make sure you keep them on your site. In conclusion use what I have said to increase your page rank. And keep in mind use your keywords wisely and make sure when you discuss Keywords, meta tag descriptions and top ranking optimization that you use it as I have once in your first paragraph and once in the end. As I have done here.

Odd News that's just not normal

2008-05-04T15:09:00.003-05:00

Border Patrol lets some illegals go-Over and over again
Friday, May, 2, 2008

EL PASO, Texas -- Josefa Gonzalez Loya has sneaked across the Mexican border at least 128 times in the past eight years. And each time, the Border Patrol has been nice enough to give her a lift home. Gonzalez and a group of other women and children _ all Indians from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca _ have no interest in staying in the United States. All they want to do is panhandle outside El Paso businesses, using the children as lures. At the end of a productive day, they wait for the Border Patrol to come pick them up and drive them back to the border.Little dramas like this play out day after day, accounting for thousands of arrests but hardly any prosecutions in the past several years. The Oaxacan immigrants fall under a loophole that gives border agents discretion to keep some adults and children together and out of jail. (read more)

Choosing pets over babies
By Michael Hoffman
SHUKAN ECONOMIST (May 6)

Two startling facts seem to justify Shukan Economist's description of Japan's pet market as "twisted." One is the market's sheer volume — an astonishing ¥1 trillion a year. The second is that there are more dogs and cats in this country (an estimated 23 million as of 2007) than there are children under 15.

If that suggests a human and highly urban society incongruously overrun with domestic animals, there's more in the same vein. Proliferating pet hotels, cafes, health clubs, gourmet food, clothing, jewelry and, last but hardly least, funerals invite doubts as to whether pets are rising or humans falling on the evolutionary scale. (read more)

A lis of stupid laws from:

It's legal for couples to have sex in a parked vehicle during their lunch break from work, as long as the car or van has drawn curtains to stop strangers from peeking in New Mexico.
In Canada, It is illegal for a teen to walk down main street for Fort Qu'Appelle with their shoes untied. (read more)

Here are more stupid laws.. some of these are pretty funny actually (read more)

SEO Email Campaign

2008-05-02T15:22:00.003-05:00

You want top ranking then listen up. One if the best ways to get reciprocal links and top page rankings are from these basic steps. I will give you an easy 10 step to a successful reciprocal linking campaign:

Think then write the keywords that need to describe what you do.
Write a generic letter that you can plug in the various changes easily (customization tips at the end.)
Do a Google search for all keyword and write the URL for the ones they give (remember not just the home page but the page that actually came up with your keyword)
Take all competitors off that list.
Take your list out and get names numbers address for the entire URL you found of use and write them down.
Start a link campaign (list) for each page you want a link back from. Make sure that is it appropriate to the page of your site and defiantly not your home page. (For example I have been using my Article page) Don’t over do it 10 should be your maximum and 5 your minimum.
Go ahead and email this letter to your potential link backs. (Below I have some tips)
Check their back links. (Some will tell you they will and guess what they don’t)
Kick them to the curb if they don’t comply within 30 days of starting this program.
Keep an eye on these guys. They may give you a nice page to begin with but eventually they will drop you like a rented mule.

Reciprocal Email Tips you will use as a link back:

Try to use the name and address of the name (make them feel special not just a Hello sir or hello Madame).
Stroke stroke stroke about how wonderful their site is and why you chose them.
Have an introduction paragraph of why they should link back to you. Offer them something they don’t have. (I offer them free access to all my articles).
Spell it out for them tell them why you think a link back is good without being competitive. Tell them how it would benefit their clients.
Tell them you already have a reciprocal link back to their site give them the url and also be humble and tell them you hope they don’t mind but you felt compelled to have like minded business people available to their client base.
Show them you understand the anchor side of things and that you comprehend the link strategy.
Suggest that if they want a link back to you they can use this specific URL. Don’t be shy share the lover and the wealth.
Offer to change the link anchor text of their URL if they wish.
Be nice professional and thank them. Use your CV card so they can contact you and download your information to their contact list.

Now I would suggest you do this manually. Sure there are software’s out there that can do it for you. But if you are a small company such as myself and are still struggling trying to figure out what the heck you have been doing then you can keep better record in your own rhythm rather than having a software take over your work.

Look eventually I will start using more sophisticated software to do some of this for me. But right now I want to know where all my success are and I want to track things the way I know how. The easy way.

SEO vs. SEM who’s your Daddy? Part II

2008-04-30T18:40:00.001-05:00

Now lets imagine you visit that same department store looking specifically for new lingerie. However this time you are miraculously and instantly teleported to the lingerie department without having to go through the whole store? There are no trinkets or other things that capture you attention. This is what they call SEM (paid search) landing page.

Due to the Search engine result page (SERP) you are going to be directed by your keywords, the SEM procedure is direct and ultimately become more profitable for the owners of that site, especially when you have people asking for specific requests.

Using paid listing will give the owner’s of that site full control of what you as the user sees once you have clicked on their page. Again this destination in my case would be the lingerie department. It can even become specific if I as the buyer know the name and the brand of what I am looking for. Therefore the user would jump directly from the search page to buy exactly what they are looking for. Remember the closer I am to what my mindset was when I first started this search the more I am going buy right then and there.

Clicks in Full action.

Here is a good example of how the SEM and SEO landing page are going to vary. When I place lingerie in the Google search engine I am given Results 1-10 of about 99,400,000 for Lingerie. The first one on the paid results is Red door Lingerie. When I click on their website it is clear their SEO Title tag has been designed to function the way it should. Their keywords on their home page are “lingerie, sexy lingerie, fine lingerie” which then takes me to their organic landing page. Here as you can see the multiple mentions of their keywords is part of their title. Now if I had clicked directly to their link in the paid ad that click takes me directly to their order page. Please look at the picture below. There you will notice I am at the order page. That page has keywords that reflect free shipping order etc.

Basically when a retailer uses 2 landing pages one for their home page that show all products they sell and the other directly to their order page is how proper SEO and SEM is used. Again keep in mind an SEO page will have all the generic product the retailer sells and the SEM page will have all the actual order process. Therefore as a retailer one should consider having 2 landing pages in order to use and share with the consumer a complete web experience.

SEO vs. SEM who’s your Daddy?

2008-04-30T18:37:00.001-05:00

Today we will discuss the difference between 2 categories of website searches. In order to get website visitors keep in mind they will fall into 2 major categories- SEO Search engine optimization also known as organic search and search engine marketing – SEM also known as paid search.

Since both techniques result in website traffic, the methods and goals are radically different, especially when considering where you site visitor came from and what they see when they arrive- the landing page. Now I know a lot of you may be thinking been there done that, what you didn’t know is SEO pages tend to be website home pages and very general in nature. On the other hand SEM landing pages are very specific and offer a greater level of control. But both are essential for most desirable conversions.

When designing and putting a site together for a client the landing page should have a specific goal in mind. The goal therefore is to push more specific quality traffic to the website through the search engine. However when you are looking for a targeted landing page, unlike the generic home page, it should be designed and relevant to what a user has just seen on the SERP (search engine results page) making good on the listing offer.

THE SEO Experience

Think about it in simpler terms lets say you go shopping at a department store, with a specific item in mind to buy- Lets say a bra (since I am female we always need new ones) You enter through the front door and notice every little thing on your way to the lingerie department. The sales, decorations, toys, maybe even a coffee shop on the way will catch your attention. If you are like me distractions will become strong enough to make you go blank and completely forget what you came in for in the first place, or you could ignore them until you reach your final destination in the lingerie department.

The landing page or “home” associated with organic listings isn’t going to be that different. The SEO landing pages have to cater to the browsing humans and search engines bots that are not set up to look for a particular item. Due to this your marketing focus is indirect at best.

On the other hand (this is where it become a 2 edged sword) the organic listing you will see is spewed out by algorithms (a procedure for solving a mathematical problem like finding the greatest common divisor in a finite number of steps that frequently involves repetition of an operation) are not going to be controlled by the retailers so easily. Most search engines will look at the home page first and rank it as the most important page based on the relevancy of the queries. This should encourage you to code your pages on broader terms, in order to gain a wider readership. Basically organic landing pages are not driven by rates of conversion. The main goal here would be to get a higher ranking and mucho traffic. This is great if you just want traffic with no real customer quality. Come back tomorrow and I shall give you more information… Like the SEM of E-commerce experience.

Are you looking for good SEO copywriting?

2008-04-30T18:31:00.001-05:00

Flow with good SEO copy writing is not an easy task. I am amazed at how many people think they have this market cornered. Look I have been doing this for 10 years and I am still learning every day. This isn’t easy nor is the formula constant.

Methodologies of SEO:
Starting as early as 1995 to 2008 this industry has changed In the infancy of Yahoo SEO was born. There basic idea was to have a search engine work on the concept of the yellow pages. Starting with the alphabetical A to A#1. Basically keywords were seasoned here and there. It was all just a stab in the dark. They tested and tried variations of the concept. As a matter of fact on Yahoo you can still get your site submitted and added in less than 72 hours.

By the late 90’ around 1996 some of the first pages appear throughout the web with Search Engine programs, matching text, and mining data. The general public started to learn how their database worked. It was like having a light bulb of Eureka that’s how this puppy works. Then the “algo” started to become more comprehensive. Specifically Excite got wind of what Yahoo was doing and in turn fine tuned the SEO parameters and generated #1 pages with the correct keywords. People started to realize that these sites were portals and manipulations of words started to take place.

Then Infoseek, Hotbot, AltaVista started to get into the game. Simple results of getting on the top of search engines started to become a serious problem when these giants came into the game. People started to see their pages rise to the top of the page ranks within less than 24 hours of submitting their websites. Then like everything else on the World Wide Web. Page jacking started to take place. People started stealing their competitor’s codes and would kick each other off the first page ranking.

Oh brother what to do? The algo decoding had some serious problems ahead of them. By the late 90’s specifically 1998 several of the big optimization firms started hiring programmer that could write algo-cracking codes. This would enable them to get into the first top 10 positions. Entire websites were going crazy with their rankings.

Finally the Search engines got wind of these tactics and put a stop to all this double and triple submission and only allowed limited submissions per site. What about the Spam’s pop up links and doorways? They started showing up everywhere on the Internet during the 1998 and 1999 frenzy. Some were good if you could stay under the radar then your site wasn’t getting kicked off. But there was a period when large amounts of site were getting banned and kicked off due to this practice. I am sure if you have been doing this as long as I have you recall hideous bothersome pop up windows. God forbid you ever went on a porn site because of a keyword you may have used! My goodness you had more pop-up windows slamming into your monitor than you could close at once. This looked horrible especially if it was an accident.

Not to bore you but by the early 2000 into 2002 Google got a hold of the “search engines” it was Goggle all the time. They have tightened the reigns of SEO and submitting sites and now you play clean and fair. Not to say you cannot pay to get ranked but it’s all about your ad words and keywords usage.

So You want Google Ranking?

2008-04-30T10:07:00.002-05:00

Just when you thought you knew everything there is to know about SEO I come back at you with more information. How do I do it? Well it’s called reading staying informed, being a geek and discussing the skinny on SEO.

So you want to get Google ranking? Then you have to be serious about links. Today I will discuss some of the ways to do that and a step-by-step scenario since some of you need some handholding. Now I am sure you know there are tons of ways to do this but I am sure I have mentioned I want to do this as free or as close to free as possible. Strap on the belt and read.

Top ways to get top Google ranking

Lets start by directory inbound linking. Basically Google liked those because it shows Google you have some weight with someone. Almost like an endorsement. I am sure you have seen the DMOZ. Org this is the Open Directory Project. As a matter of fact they power Google so how do you like that for endorsement.
When you get to the various directories make sure you link your site properly. There will be a Paid Submission, which we want to stay away from but in case you have a few bucks (most of us don’t) and for the sake of being thorough in this article I should mention it can cost around $300 (Yahoo Directory) up to a thousand dollars with other commercial sites that will review and then submit your link.
Next is the Free Submission. Yeah pretty amazing there is anything left Free on the Internet. But there are a few it will just take some time for you to find them or you can read my articles blogs and reap the benefits. So the big ones are going to be Google, Yahoo, AOL, Alexa, Dmoz.org, Not necessarily in that order but as long as you include you link on those sites and make sure you place them in the right directory half your efforts will be taken care of. Just like anything else however make sure you go back and check in a couple of weeks.
Getting a featured link or paid link inclusion. Once again I have to mention all of the options. Basically this can be a paid inclusion or you can do an exchange of banner with some sites. Some are better than others and some will charge you some money. But if you know how to Shmoozle also known as Shmooze in other parts of the country you can get this done by sharing a page with some of your shmoozle efforts. (In case you don’t know what shmoozle is it’s scratch my back, scratch your back concept, some call it mafia, some call it politics, I call it shmoozle.)

I have discovered the top 5 Directories but now I have to get some work done therefore I cannot give them to you. But I promise you come back I shall give you the list and how to do it again. A step by step tutorial on how to gain ground in the World of Google ranking and all your SEO efforts.

Does your SEO have heart?

2008-04-29T13:04:00.002-05:00

The insatiable appetite for fame and for instant gratification has taken us by storm and we don’t even notice it. I was born in the 60’s and there was a place in my heart for peace, love and laisser fairs attitude. As with all artists the thought was that one-day the world would become more acceptable of change and diversity.

No matter what the price today it needs to happen right away. From Blogging, you Tubing, Facebook, MySpace, etc. Now the latest thing Twittering. And if you are in the Internet industry SEO is the heart of that business.

When I was growing up things were different, as I am sure they are with any generation. However I was raised in Lebanon millions of miles away from the US including with a different culture a different language with different values. That’s not to say it was better or worst but at 9 years of age I still genuflected when I met my parents friends and called all adults “Madame and Messieurs”.

There was never a need to stand out in the crowd nor was there a need to become better than others, you just had your instilled values and parents to guide you through the hard times and your girlfriends to discuss boys. Since talking to your parents would ensure you never seeing that boy again.

You are probably wondering what does that have to do with SEO. Plenty. If you read anyone’s blog about SEO they will more often than not tell you PPC and link backs should be part of your efforts in Search engine optimization in order to have a better PageRank. They will also tell you that the age of your website has a lot to do with your each ranking. So if you are just starting you make sure you buy your domain name for 10 years rather than just 2 or 5. It will cost a few extra dollars but like everything else. With age comes wisdom, and search engines will give your site more weight than a newer domain name.

But as a child of the 60’s I still refuse to believe I have to spend so much money in order to make money. If you are in the SEO industry I am sure you are well aware that in order to get a better page rank your first priority is the back end of your web site. From Meta tags to headers and to your Meta descriptions. But what if you are not a huge company with a lot of money set aside for expert opinions. Well then you start reading and hopefully you will find useful information regarding how to take the bull by the horns and doing your own SEO.

I must read more websites with more information about SEO and have yet to find anyone who has a different strategy. The one thing I can add to everyone’s’ guru advise is don’t stop doing what you are doing. That is if you are following my advice. SEO is all about adding sizzle before you fizzle. Don’t just add a list of keywords hoping your readers will find you. But look at keywords phrases; those seem to get more hits than just keywords.

I have found several sites that give you new information and can actually fix your code if you follow their instructions.

Search Engine Guide
Wired

In conclusion to SEO must have heart read up on SEO without trying to shoot your site to the stars overnight. It won’t happen unless it’s happening illegally. Keep in mind the 5 things I have mentioned through out this blog.

Content must be great.
Links have to have a certain value to your reader.
Organically optimize your site.
Make sure your websites are built to withstand crawling from the major Search engines.
Social Networking is a lot of work but pays off.

Do-It-Yourself SEO: A Beginner's Checklist

2008-04-28T10:59:00.003-05:00

As a do it yourself SEO content developer I have been trying to give you as much information regarding the how to’s and how you don’t for the past month. I hope I have given you some valuable information. I have seen a few of you comment on how helpful some of the documents I have offered have been and a lot of you not saying a word. I say don’t be shy I want to encourage your questions in order to pone a dialogue and maybe even given me some examples and sites you have found of relevance.

It seems I am doing all the work and you people are not pitching in. Remember we all learn together with information since information is knowledge and knowledge is power. Enough of my sermon and back to business. Whether you have an SEO team you are working with or are doing this by yourself here are some more tips on how to promote your website during your spare time.

1. Search Engine-Friendly needs to be created
I have said this over and over again therefore pay attention and remember people want to read value not a barrage of useless information. Flash embedded text or the search engines will not read text embedded in your images. Therefore using important keywords is the answer, using hyperlinks in text form and use CSS as your “buttons” or image for your navigation link is the ticket. This will create great anchor text that will result in the search engines finding you easier and faster. Repetition is also another aspect just don’t overdo it. One way to see if your keywords are being crawled is to plug in those words in a search engine and take a look. Is it being crawled?

2. Keywords have to be chosen Wisely
If this is done properly from the beginning then your reaming efforts and moving forward will make your SEO efforts so much more remarkable. Use the Keyword tools I have given you they are free. This will always be a good point of reference. Use phrases sometimes that how people will do a search. Most people out there don’t just use keywords when searching for information. Think about the last time you searched for something. If you are like me you will sue a sentence. For example, when searching for a store to buy your specialty food. You will use things like “ how to make humus, or where can I buy humus home made” Okay so you may not even know what humus is but once again I am going off on a tangent and I am sure you get the drift.

3. Keywords and phrase word variation

This is another thing to keep in mind there are tools that can help you with that. It’s called a Wordtracker. Or even a keyword discovery you can find these tools online or you can go to my SEO tools and bookmark them and people USE THEM. You can bring a horse to water but you cannot… well you know the rest.
Have other business link to you

It’s all about relationships. Don’t give up. Keep trying to find relevant sites that will give you a link back. But make sure it pertains to what you are doing. There are a lot of sites out there that will give you a reciprocal link you just have to do your homework and find them. This past weekend I have found several sites where I have added my link and they have reciprocated the link. Just a word of caution make sure they give you a link back and that it’s a two way street. Quality not quantity is the key here. Otherwise your readers will be turned off. Some of the methods are by:

Press releases with relevance to your website
Submission to good directories like Yahoo, Google or as Dave states ALEXA.
Clients you have worked with or worked for ask them if they would mind using your link as a potential link back. These are always taken into consideration when you are going to move up the PageRank ladder. Google and other search engines look to see how many links are available out there with your site.
Forums, chat spaces, logs that are relevant to what you are doing.

Articles articles and more articles

From Ezine articles, to submitting your articles that pertain to your business will always
Social media, bookmarking, and get viral. Join some of theses neighborhoods from Facebook, to you tube etc. Make sure it is all-relevant to what you are doing.

I hope this has helped and I am looking forward to hearing from you. Keep working at this I know it can be frustrating and it may not give you immediate results, but persistence, determination, and commitment will.

World News Did you know?

2008-04-28T10:57:00.001-05:00

Everyday that I live in America I hear about what's going on in my backyard, I barely get any news from around the world unless it's really outrageous like the freak in Vienna... Well I should say Alleged freak,not fair since in America you are innocent until proven guilty, (*grumble mumbel the MF is guilty). A lot of things may not pertain to you and I directly but in order to become a stronger better informed country I feel it is my duty to get some tid bits of OTHER news in order for my readers to see... this country is not the Universe. Please read on. If you find any news that you would like to add to this blog feel free to drop me a line I will read it and include it.

'Dungeon dad' admits to incest
28/04/2008 14:22 - (SA)
Vienna - A 73-year-old Austrian admitted on Monday to having fathered seven children with his daughter whom he kept imprisoned in a dungeon for 24 years. Josef Fritzl, a retired electrical engineer from Amstetten in eastern Austria, had "started" to admit to having locked his daughter, Elisabeth, 42, in the basement in August 1984, the Austrian Press Agency said.(read more)

Divorce - who gets the pets?
24/04/2008 21:23 - (SA)
Sydney - Forget the family silver or the car. Increasing numbers of couples who split up have a greater bone of contention - who gets the family pet? With pets being treated more as one of the family than just an animal, the fate of Fido or Cuddles is becoming a growing problem which lawyers are taking on board, drafting "petimony" contracts and sparking a new focus on animal law issues. Michelle Brown, a family law expert from Sydney firm Watts McCray, said it's becoming more common for couples to share access to pets after they split but the law in most nations was not equipped for this.(read more)

Raikkonen leads Ferrari 1-2
(Reuters) 28 April 2008
BARCELONA — Ferrari’s world champion Kimi Raikkonen stretched his Formula One lead to nine points with a dominant win from pole position in the Spanish Grand Prix yesterday.
Brazilian Felipe Massa sealed Ferrari’s second successive one-two finish, and third win in a row, with McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton third to revive his title challenge after a disappointing last race in Bahrain. Raikkonen’s 17th grand prix win left the Finn with 29 points, nine clear of closest rival Hamilton, and catapulted Ferrari back in front of BMW Sauber in the constructors’ standings. While Raikkonen had an uneventful afternoon in the sunshine, his compatriot Heikki Kovalainen was flown to hospital with concussion after his McLaren plunged across the gravel and into a tyre wall. (read more)

Militia crackdown pays off for al-Maliki
LIZ SLY; Chicago Tribune
Published: April 28th, 2008 01:00 AM
BAGHDAD – The fortunes of Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have received an unexpected boost from his initially botched offensive against militias in Basra, which has turned into a standoff between al-Maliki and the Shiite Mahdi Army militia. The showdown is recalibrating the political balance in Iraq in ways that could help break the deadlock that has stalled progress on key measures including a new oil law and the broader issue of national reconciliation. (read more)

UN frustration at DRC allegations
By Laura Trevelyan
BBC News, New York
At UN headquarters there is both irritation and unease over the BBC story. Irritation because officials regard the allegations of gold smuggling in the Congo by Pakistani peacekeepers as rehashed. Unease because, as the head of UN peacekeeping, Jean-Marie Guehenno, put it in a letter to the BBC: "Every incident of misconduct by the Blue Helmets diminishes public confidence in our work and weakens the institution of peacekeeping." (read more)

The Eyes of my soul

2008-04-26T15:17:00.000-05:00

The world as I see it... Sometimes

Looking into the eyes of a singular soul, I see the whole universe before me.

It leads me to the outside in and back again in an infinite loop of everything and nothing.

It bridges the gap between between good and bad, yesterday and tomorrow, and between the living and the dead.

It is a place where nothing is expressed in extremes, but is all one; thus defying all reference.

The gravity that holds us in place at this moment precisely to be here and gone in a flash is not a part of what the those luminescent eyes reflect.

This Universe of diverse complexity

2008-04-26T15:13:00.001-05:00

SleepilyI furrowed my dark taned brow as I reached and grasped for the letters to formulate and become the words that stubbornly refused to surface.
We live in a universe of staggering complexity. Stars cluster into galaxies that form clusters of galaxies in sheets and walls with vast gaps between them.
On this blue pebble, life has proliferated upwards in complexity and diversity, giving rise to an explosion of molecular diversity, species diversity, niche diversity, the evolution of humans with language, a spawned web of technologies, laws, literature, and science.
The highway stretched before me unyieldingly melding into the hazy horizon as I pressed on the gas pedal persistently.
I can feel myself beginning to slip into a slumber as the motor's hum stealthily steals me away into the fog that has wrapped itself tightly about me. I can do nothing, but be carried away.
The humming is now the words I hear whispered by your lips pressed against my ear.
The warmth of your breath flows into me becoming one with the beating of my heart.
Weightless and balanced, I am floating on the energy you give as you move closer to my body.
You seem a million miles away as I hold my breath waiting for you to touch me. . . caressing me only with those eyes whose image, colors, patterns and soul will always be inside me, forever.

How to make money bloging

2008-04-26T14:42:00.003-05:00

I have been blogging now for about 3 months sometimes I do it for clients and sometimes I do it because I have something to say. It may not be of any use to anyone but it gives me a space of my own where I can post whatever I want whenever I want to post it.

I was reading on the Internet some very interesting articles on how you can make money off your blogs .. this guy seems to have some great ideas. But I still don't get how you do it. Is he selling ads? I understand you have to get traffic and you have to entice your readers to post. But hell I can barely get anyone on this thing let alone have them join in a discussion or give them things to do. I can offer my articles and how to's on subjects I am familiar with.

I was thinking of doing videos of how to cook some delicious foods. I can cook after all I had a restaurant for 5 years. Great reviews and lots of loyal customers. Then I got CTS (carpal tunnel syndrome) and had to call it quits. I am sure doing all the drugs I was doing back then didn't help. But I was young running around with the wrong crowd. I am not proud of those days but I am proud of my accomplishments. I was 30 I had a successful business I was single living in one of the most amazing cities in the US . San Francisco, now I am getting older wiser and not doing drugs. lolol Well not completely clean I still smoke and drink, hey some habits are harder to break than others.

But I am going off the topic as I always seem to do lately. Some people call it ADD I call it having so much to say and not enough fingers and mouths to say them.But you know I also heard someone say "The ones who know say nothing and the ones that don't know say too much." Funny thing is it comes from some old Chinese proverb, aren't they the smart ones? Confucius always seemed to know so much than we do, yet we are supposedly the most advanced.

Here is what I learned today

Get traffic to your blog (still learning how to do that)
Post some interesting topics on your blog.
Have your reader join in a discussion.
Have a rating of something interesting on your blog.
Feed your blog to all sorts of social media bookmarks.
Comment all over the place. (only if it pertains to the topic)
Don't act a fool on other people's blogs.
Respond to your blogger
Stroke your blogger by making them famous. (umm that one is a little difficult)
Invite your blogger to leave comments. Almost like a call to action.

So there you have it dear readers. I am trying to do the right thing. I have noticed however that I am getting more hits on my blog. No thanks to anyone but my own efforts. Since I write and work on the Internet I try to squeeze my url every chance I get without being intrusive, I know I wouldn't want someone barging in on my blog. One last thing keep posting I know I am always interested in what people are doing on the Internet, regardless of whether you are making money or not. Information is the key to knowledge, Knowledge is power and Power is Everything

Italian Feminists

2008-04-26T11:48:00.006-05:00

As an Italian I am proud of my heritage I am proud of being a woman and I will do what I can to support anyone who speaks out for women and women's right and feminists around the world. We are strong we are wonderful and without us men would be nowhere.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Italian_feminists

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2278/is_3_28/ai_110473967/pg_5

http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article990

http://www.pinn.net/~sunshine/book-sum/cereta.html

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E5D6163CF933A15755C0A96E958260

If you know of more articles or information regarding Italian Feminists please let me know and I shall link them

Social Networking

2008-04-26T10:11:00.005-05:00

Are they really as useful as people say they are?

I am not sure any more, it seems every time I join one of those there are the "local" yokels that buzz around you if you are a new writer in their midst.

They are mean, combative and think you are an ass. They may not say it but the way they hover around and start spewing their rhetoric as their buddies chuckle and join on the band wagon with their own opinions make me laugh. It's pathetic actually since it is apparent they have nothing better to do than criticize.

Here is a fine example. As you can see I was venting about paying taxes on this new blog roll I joined. I was asking a relatively simple question. Why do I pay taxes when nothing works? I went as far as to state my position as a landlord and a home owner. Well if I didn't get the cackle from people saying well you are better off than most because you own your homes and you shouldn't complain about paying taxes and stupid ignorant remarks about some subculture I was in, Mama Mia!! Look I wasn't looking for sympathy but maybe someone to say yeah our taxes aren't being used the way they should be or maybe even a suggestion (in all fairness one did say that but then she went on to say I had it better than most) The point is and was I don't feel my tax dollars are being used properly period!

Now back to why I am writing this post. Social networking it's all about joining groups and trying to state your opinions and share information with the world. After all we spend billions of dollars a year on the Internet and for the most part it's an alright community. I have joined some that I am very happy with and they are always going to have some sore losers that have nothing better to say but crap. What I have noticed in those communities is if you take the time to see where these posters are they always hover around their own. They never venture out of their comfort zones. God forbid they make an informed opinion rather than just asinine remarks. Or better yet God forbid if you say something of a personal nature or discuss having a bad day.

As I mentioned most are pretty good, and some are very accommodating and even allow you to post some very personal intimate poetry or even some deep dark secrets. Then again you have the know it all that will banter with you .. I wish it was intelligent banter and not stupidity. Then again I may be just getting old and saying things my parents used to say... "This world is going to hell in a hand basket"

News other than POLITICS!!

2008-04-25T12:28:00.018-05:00

Sweden has decided not to ban sexist advertising, saying it would risk undermining the country's cherished right to freedom of speech. Now that's what I am talking about.

MESSED-UP dopehead AMY WINEHOUSE is so out of it she doesn't even care if she's caught smoking CANNABIS in the street. My snapper took pics of the troubled drug-addict as she returned to her Camden home after celebrating a pal's birthday in London. And it will also leave her loyal fans wondering if the Back To Black star can ever recover from her drug addiction. Isn't it a shame she is such a talent! Maybe one day she will grown up

David Hasselhoff. I hear the former Baywatch man is losing his touch with the ladies. While filming America's Got Talent the Hoff got in a huff when a babe he propositioned didn't want the Hassel. David got his assistant to pass the busty brunette in the audience a signed picture of himself - complete with phone number and hotel details. But a show insider told me: "She didn't call. She thought the approach pathetic."

Shouldn't that man grow up shezzz.

American Idol and Giving back

2008-04-24T10:12:00.001-05:00

I gave back last night, at least as much as I can consider I don't have much. But here is a question to ponder.

How many of these CEO that are making over $200 million a year give to anyone unless it's a tax write off?

How many corporations give a Freaking hoot about anyone but themselves?

Another thing I would like to ask is why is it always New Orleans that gets the limelight when it comes to Katrina?

Katrina did not hit New Orleans it hit MS. It was the levees that failed that city not the Storm. Therefore maybe if they voted for politicians that gave a rats ass about that city and wouldn't have lined their pockets with the $$ New Orleans wouldn't have been in the mess it is in today. Another thing I would like to add to my tirade is a lot of these people never had a decent home to live in. They spend it on cars drugs and ho's. I have been and out of the South for the past 30 years. Some of these neighborhoods were nothing before Katrina. They never bothered fixing their roofs or cleaning up their yards. They allowed their children to run amuck and now I am supposed to feel sorry for them cause they don't have a playground. Screw that shit. They never had a freaking playground but their dirty neighborhoods. I am not bitter and I am probably going to piss a lot of people off but I am a realist and this is the truth. The facts people.

Look I know I am probably saying stuff people don't want to hear or don't believe. But I guarantee those politicians used the $$ for their own benefit instead of using it to reinforce the levees to begin with.

Look I may sound bitter but I live down here and I see it everyday. There are some good honest hard working folks in New Orleans as well as in MS but there are a LOT more taking advantage of the system.

I say start looking at the economy in the country the rich are getting richer and the poor well hell who ever stands up for them unless they get kudos from someone or get their face on TV. I am a hard working individual I pay taxes and I do the best I can with the talents I have. No one ever hands me a tax break no one ever hands me a check for suffering. Maybe that's why I will never become a millionaire. I always give more than I can afford hoping it helps.

So yes I am happy I was able to give back last night. But I would like to see the rich give without the limelight just for once. No TV no big article and no tax break.

A Free List of paying blog sites

2008-04-20T07:48:00.009-05:00

If I am going to recommend a product I won’t do it for the $$ I do it because I like the product and believe in it. As a nation we are all looking for a fast buck…. Look as a planet (in general) we always sell our souls for the $$ sad, but true that is why I won’t have it here. Here I am posting a list of paid Blogging sites and my opinion. If you have some you would like to suggest then pass it on and I will post them on this list.

Get Paid
My true blue favorite these guys are doing it right period end of story. I joined them as a contractor and I am still there regardless of whether they pay me or not. It’s clean, easy and they actually pay.

PayPerpost
The pictures already give me the creeps. An Asian boy and then a straight laced white woman basically 2 kids no more than 25 years pf age. Is that all that’s Blogging out there?

Sponsored reviews
This seems like a huge factory sort of deal. Who knows they may very well have something of value but the fact they make no qualms about using advertising dollars to pay their blogers already says “sell out”.

Smorty
Another lets lie through our teeth sort of Blogging trap. If you log with us then the advertisers will pay you. Directly to your account all you need is blah blah blah. Pfffttt right Next!

Bloggerwave
A Dutch site that has White pasty people advertises for them. You know I never did trust the Dutch. I’ll tell you why: I have worked for a few through the years and they are just as sneaky as those British. Suffice it to say, always look for hidden meaning or stuff in anything they do.

Review me
Basically they are doing what everyone else is doing. A link farm with a bunch of traffic that has no value.

Link worth
A link farm is it of any value? Not sure I have not tried them but it is apparent they are doing the same thing everyone else is doing. You have to review a product and the advertisers pick it up. All fluff and no meat.

Loud launch
A little more than a blog site they have resources and press release capabilities that are always nice. Then you go to the area to check it out and what do I see.
“Runtime Error Description: An application error occurred on the server. The current custom error settings for this application prevent the details of the application error from being viewed remotely (for security reasons). It could, however, be viewed by browsers running on the local server machine.”

Pfft another site that looks potentially good then disappoints.

Blogitive
These people are offering money right off the bat. Umm I wonder if people are taking them up on it. Below is their verbiage
“We are seeing a lot of great Blogitive Directory sign ups which is great. But we want to push this out even faster. So, we are going to ask for a little help in recruiting blogers. Starting today we will pay $2 for every bloger you get to sign up to the Directory Network.”

Inblogads
These people are working on their site that already is bad news.

Bloggingads
Below is their verbiage
“ This will be the easiest way ever to make money Blogging. We will supply the advertisers, the text and the money, all you have to do is post the ad on your blog. If you want to write the post yourself, you can. We reserve the right to approve the blog posting, but we are also appreciative of the effort and staying true to your blog. Fill out the form below to get started today!”

TIBU
I discovered these people by accident and I got to say the community is great and fun. But like any other small world on the Internet there are some blogers that are into the drama so if you want a shot of drama then you will find a comfortable space there.

People never cease to amaze me

2008-04-19T16:19:00.006-05:00

Here is what I am talking about

Voila and you thought you had issues!!

Clicks to your website 3

2008-03-18T17:33:00.001-05:00

I see you are still with me, good thing I still have a lot to say about SEO writing and getting traffic with clicks to your website. As I was saying spend a couple of days or a week cleaning them up (the articles you farmed out). Then upload them or for an extra $1 you can have them (the sweat shop writers) upload the articles if you trust them. But let it be said for a $1 I wouldn’t be too assured. See I told you it would take some work, but stay with me here there is more than one way to slice a carrot, whatever that means. It just sounded cool.

Back to the meat of this article and all the things you have to do for higher clicks. There is a lot of information out on the Internet but trust me when I tell you no one is going to give you this free information. If they do there is always a catch. You see that old saying is true nothing is free. But today is your lucky day if you happened on this page then guess what you have hit a gold mine. I am spilling my guts, I am singing like a bird, giving you all you need to know.

Here is another website I have worked through and with where you can either find writers or sell your services. http://www.guru.com/ I have been using their services therefore it works. But like everything else on this Internet they have the pros and cons.

• Any business like these people is they are out to make money. So if you do have problems with a writer or a potential client they won’t do very much about it. Yeah they say they will help you mediate your dispute, but by the time they get all the information you may as well live without your electricity.
• Second thing is their percentage rate is high. Not only do you have to pay to subscribe but also they cash in with an additional 3%to 7% of your take.
• Always ask for 50% up front if the client is not willing to do that stop communicating with them. I cannot tell you how many times I have spent hours responding to emails and sending out marketing packages only to see them go elsewhere. Hey that’s cool they probably got a better price and that’s okay too.

At this point in my career I expect the competition I actually enjoy it. Point here is if you are going to work from home these are some things you will encounter. I think I have actually run out of things to say. This is what they call a writers block, I call its time for a bee and rest. Maybe I should take my little Lucy for a walk. She has no clue why I am spending so many hours typing on this thing. I don’t blame her. Life is out there and I am going to go out and enjoy it. Hope to see you soon I will have more to say about SEO writing and getting traffic with clicks to your website.

Clicks to your website 2

2008-03-18T17:32:00.002-05:00

In the first series of articles I submitted for your enjoyment has given you the basics of how why and what you have to do in order to get high ranking on any search engine. Basically more clicks to your website.

I am trying to follow my advice and I have to tell you it’s not easy. As you are well aware you have to use the Keywords in the beginning of the article. But since this article is titled Clicks to your website 2 I am still in the ball game.

The next thing to do is to join as many article submission places as you can in a week. Don’t kick yourself if you can only submit one or 2 a day the point is you have to be active daily. Join and join and then join some more. The key here is to get your article and your name out for the search engines as much as you can. I have already mentioned your articles outline is very important in another article if you have not been keeping up with my rants and raves then its here.

So lets hypothetically say your keyword is “Apple.” Make sure the word Apple is in your title then again in the first paragraph then last in the end of your article. Don’t over do it. It will just get kicked out. Can you imagine if they had people looking at every article you submit. Mama mia it would take Google a month for just one writer.

I know I am sounding repetitive but the key here is to spend the time on your keywords. They are going to make you or break you. Granted some words will be used more than others. There lies the problem. So what? Get some writers clean their copy and then submit the article. You can even buy software that can help you. But my way is less expensive and it works.

The next thing you should do is set aside an hour a day for a month and get at least 5 articles written in one day on a specific topic. Something you love or have an interest in. You don’t have to be an expert on the topic. If someone told you that then they are idiots. Seriously do you think all writers who make a living selling copy know half the stuff they write about? Pfffttt is what I say to that. I will admit however you can learn about a lot of different things. Even things you have no desire knowing about. Like colon cancer, make up, dating women, loosing your hair. I mean please give me a freaking break. That’s the beauty of writing is you inform yourself. You take the time and research. Can you spell research? Okay okay I think the coffee and the pack of cigarettes I have smoked has thrown my thought process into a tailspin.

Back to getting clicks to your website, submit 100 articles in one week after you have cleaned them up. Written either by you or those sweat shop writers. Another thing to keep in mind is that instant gratification everyone keeps talking about. Keep your article to a maximum of 750 words otherwise your reader will be bored and you will loose them. Like I may here. That is why I am offering this series of Marketing strategies in several articles.

Clicks to your website

2008-03-18T17:29:00.001-05:00

When I started this project out I intended to give out all information for free. How to get more clicks to your website. This is not only a test but I intend to do it without spending $3000 to some business I know nothing about.

If you have been keeping up with my writing then you know this is not an easy task. Writing SEO rich content is what I am doing in this article. I intend to prove my point that giving out information to the world will not only get me a higher ranking but will also prove that anyone can do this.

If you are not familiar with what SEO is then how can I put this lightly… basically you have been living under a rock. If you are marketing a product or are in a home business then you should be very familiar with this term. Hello everybody wake up. You won’t get anywhere close to being ranked unless you post at least 5 articles a day to at least 50-100 major article/Press release or blog submissions. That is a fact.

I will give you some places where it is free. But you know I have noticed even when these business say free what will end up happening is it’s free but you will have to go tot the back of the line. They have this automatic thingy mabob that says “your article is 567” on our list for submission. Well blow me down Popeye who’d thunk it. Free means free you morons! Or the latest battle I have had to fight with EzineArticles.com their beef with me is they found my article posted elsewhere. Duh! I posted it under another name. Okay so maybe I should pick one name and live with it. With that said from this day forward I shall no longer go by Word Smith, M7levels, Or M-7 habits are hard to break but that will be another article.

Okay okay I am going off on another one of my tangents. Here is the nity gritty. If you can set aside at least $200 per month for this project then the first place to go if you cannot write is http://www.getafreelancer.com/
These people aren’t so bad but it takes 15 days before you can get your money. Basically if you get a job on their site and the client pays you through their escrow account then there is a 15 mandatory wait period. But hey do they wait to take your monthly fee of $12 hell no they take that puppy right out of your PayPal account no questions asked. Therefore any place I am going to send you to peruse there will be the good the bad and the ugly. But At least you know what to expect.

This is a doozy. You can actually hire writers to do the work for you. I have been able to get writers to write for about $3 an article. Sure they aren’t as good as a fifth grader but you will get volume. And if you really want to have some weight to your articles then please edit the work. It will take some time but its well worth it. I have actually found some good writers there, but most will disappear if the writing gets too complicated.

• Give them the outline and the keywords.
• Tell your writers how you want them to format the writing. After all it will reflect on you.
• Oh and lets not forget make sure you have some agreement where they cannot re-use your articles.

If you want to know more just click on this button and keep up.

At Risk Teens Consultant

2008-03-11T13:43:00.002-05:00

Once a health risk appraisal is made for any teenager it is the indication that the teen is at risk of disease, drug abuse or emotional abuse to name a few problems. The teen health, behavior and demographic data are compared to behaviors of and data about a large national sample.

The principle behind risk appraisal is that each teen, as a member of a specific group, faces certain quantifiable health hazards and that average risks are applicable to the teem if the Educational Consultant what to look for.

Risk factors may be categorized according to age group, genetic factors. Biological characteristics, personal health habits, environmental, and previous educational aptitude. As the Consultant the ultimate goal is to engage and assist the teen in finding their healthy behavior.

Life style assessment focuses in the personal life-style and habits of the teen. From physical activity to nutritional practices, stress management, drug use etc. Several key methods are used to assess teens in this sector.
• Competence of self care
• Nutritional practices
• Physical recreational activity
• Sleep pattern
• Stress management.
• Self-actualization, including outlook on life and feeling about self, work, academia.
• Sense of purpose in life to knowledge what is important in life.
• Relationship with others.
• Use of the educational system.

The steps in planning for a healthier better-educated teen would mean change has to be eminent. The steps may include things like behavioral changes, and integrating these changes to fit the teen lifestyle. Get a commitment to change that behavior. Identify effective reinforcements and rewards. Whether these include incentives or more of a will power will vary from case to case. The Consultant is better equipped to assess each individual teen.

Consultants will offer various after school programs that can eventually re-habilitate the teenager. Some of these programs at various institutions can be federally funded. The services and support provided by the At Risk Teen Counselor can include one on one counseling with the trouble teenager. Therefore with the right applications and research, the teen can enroll in any of the programs for free. A Consultant will be knowledgeable about any and all opportunities in their city. Whether it’s privately funded or a federally funded program it’s a service a Consultant offers with their knowledge and research.

In order to become an At Risk Teen’s Consultant, a degree in Psychology or Family therapy is ideal. However other alternative backgrounds can be desirable. Having a background in social work will make research into federally funded programs that much easier. Some out of town travel may be necessary but not mandatory. It all depends on the institution one chooses to work with. The pay scale will vary from state to state but an average would represent a starting salary of $55,000 up to $135,000 a year. This is based on experience and work history.

Where are the millionaires?

2008-03-11T13:42:00.003-05:00

Isn’t that what every Realtor is asking themselves today? Sure we don’t want to sound like a bunch of jackals looking for our next big sale. But I am here to tell you unequivocally if it wasn’t for my humanitarian love mother earth and hug a tree upbringing I would be a millionaire. Ethically I was raised right. You never talk about people unless; they can’t hear what you are saying. If you have to be catty then always end the sentence with “bless their heart” somehow God will forgive you. And if you have to stare keep a smile on your face and you won’t insult them. Look I know we should help every client and try to find homes for any buyer. I also know in Sales 101 that anyone walking through that door is a possible buyer/seller. Well I say peshaw. Give me the millionaires that will buy a beach house from me without looking at the price. Give me the day where I can make over $100,000 commissions. Give me the Donald Trump’s that wants unobstructed views of the ocean. Give me that family that wants a condominium as their 4th vacation spot. Am I being selfish? Maybe so, sue me.

What burns me to the core is why do I have to drive around for a full day (practically) showing homes to potential buyer only to have a wife whine about “the kitchen isn’t big enough”. Or God forbid the closets are too small. I actually had a woman tell me she wasn’t sure about the neighborhood while she was sporting a mullet, chewing bubble gum in 70’s high heels. Okay so we need to be compassionate and understand that not everyone can look as good as we do. Not everyone can have the “realtor” hairdo as my father calls it. What does he know about hairdo? That man hasn’t had a hair on his head for at over 20 years. But really folks I am a good person. I just want that Millionaire to walk in and sign on the dotted line. I know everyone pines for that day. Some of you may have had that happen. If you are selling a 4-bedroom house without the buyers humming and hawing then you are one of the few. Maybe you can talk your sellers down 10% to ensure that sale then, Hallelujah! Some of us aren’t so lucky. Some of our sellers think they own gold. I want to walk away from them really I do, especially when they call every week asking “have you sold it yet?”

Okay so don’t judge a book by it’s cover right? I can buy that, I am even willing to take the family that just moved from Art-Cant-Saw to show them a beach house. The whole time I am thinking this is a waste of my time. But they were approved and who am I to say no to a 6% commission. I just cannot stand to have little sticky fingerprints on my windows while mom and dad ignore the little takes over as I accept the parent’s apology. I guess what I am saying is this isn’t an easy critters. Am I the only one smiling and fluttering my eyelashes when dad chuckles at mom as he smacks her backside. Be polite is my mantra. I try not to gasp when the kid is hanging from a doorknob screaming he wants to go home. Yes I have had those days. I have even considered tripping the lil monster but my maternal side business to get into. But I got to be honest with you I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else when I see that family sign on the dotted line.

Home Sellers: How to Avoid Over-pricing

2008-03-11T13:41:00.002-05:00

If you are planning to sell your home, and you think you know what you’d like to get out of it monetarily, the next step is to ask an agent. Although you do know your house and even perhaps your neighborhood better than others, real estate agents and appraisers both most-likely have experience and a sense of the market that you do not.

The reason you do not want to over-price in the first place, especially in times when the market is soft, is because you are likely to turn down potential home buyers before they even get a chance to make it out for a showing.

When you sit down with an agent, you have enlisted the help of a professional who will help you find a happy medium between what you’d prefer to get out of your house financially and what is in fact more realistic. A professional is going to be able to present you with statistics on what homes similar to yours in general value are selling for currently.

What If The Agent Says To “Go Low”?

If the figure presented to you by an agent (based on their very thorough and knowledgeable information) still does not suit you, it may be time to wait, renovate, and then sell. If you do choose this option, you may get more out of your home than you will if you sell immediately. However, if you do choose to wait, keep in mind that you’ll be faced with continuing house payments and other expenses. It is up to you to decide when it is the right time to sell.

Whenever that time comes, whether now or later, it is never wise to ignore the advice of those who are out in the market every day and know what is happening in the real world, in your general area. Even if you’ve been keeping a close eye on the market, those who work in the business every day are going to have a more accurate sense of street value.

The Balancing Act

The tough part, and the key, is to find the perfect balance. And the way to get there is through honesty. Remember, if an agent gives you lip service and tells you everything you want to hear, your house may not sell as soon as you’d like, and you may end up having to lower the price in the long run after all. An honest agent is going to give it to you straight. They will provide a price that reflects your home value, and if you are totally unsatisfied, they will tell you how you can renovate and improve the value of your home so that you can reach your financial goal. And they will also help you figure out how to balance the two (waiting and renovating verses reducing price and selling immediately).

Home Upkeep Basics for Sellers

2008-03-11T13:39:00.001-05:00

If you own a home, even a very nice one, which you are trying to sell, it is always important to do regular upkeep. This prevents you from having to do a rush job of last-minute maintenance when the time comes to show your house to a prospective buyer.

And no, you do not need to do things that are best left to a contractor. (Those are best left—you guessed it, Einstein—to a contractor!) In all seriousness, though, little small jobs and tweaks are easy and relatively painless, yet can have a major global impact on the mindset of a potential buyer.

To Do List

The first step is to step outside is to step out the door (even have someone outside your household—perhaps a friend or your real estate agent), and then walk back in as if you’ve never been in your home before. Envision yourself as a buyer in the market for a home similar to yours. You walk in and what do you see?

Is everything cluttered? Is there too much furniture around? Are there moving boxes everywhere which should be in storage? No, your potential buyer will not look past that because they know you are getting ready to move!!! So stay organized and put things in storage!

Are the walls in need of repair or painted in non-neutral colors? Get to work! A little spackle and paint are within your means and will make a big difference in the implied value of each room.

Are the walls or ceilings blemished? Patch them up. Remove old nails and lamp hangers from the walls and ceilings. These are things you may overlook from day to day, thinking they just blend in... But, again, buyers notice details because they are looking for the perfect home, the American Dream. So try to put yourself in their shoes.

Are there stains in the toilet or shower, perhaps due to hard water? Scrub them up. These speak volumes in terms of not only the upkeep of the home, but in the quality of the bathrooms (which are well-known as one of the high selling points in a home).

On surfaces, are there too many miscellaneous knick-knacks? Put them away until you move. Just because you collect angels or cabbage patch dolls doesn’t mean your potential buyer will be able to see through those things to imagine the house being their own.

Simple is Good

Is vanilla boring? Never! Keep your house as clean, sleek, and neutral as possible. Too much color, clutter, and other distractions are going to turn off those who are trying to use their imagination (buyers). If you follow these simple tips and keep this mindset, your house will sell more quickly and for a better price.

How to cook a Country ham

2008-03-11T13:37:00.002-05:00

When cooking a Country ham thoughts of grandma in the kitchen shuffling in her slippers as the curtains blows gently in the breeze, and the smell in the kitchen will never escape my memory. She may even have had some big band playing in the background.

I have kept up with the tradition to this day. Anytime I bake a ham I have a CD of a big band playing and insist on opening the windows in my kitchen. You see my guests have always made comments about the flavor of my ham. I believe it’s the seasonings added to water when I boil the ham that gives it the unusual touch. The coating of white pepper also adds a new note. But I cannot overlook grandmas secret dark brown mustard sauce she made ahead of time which by the way kept very well in the refrigerator for a long time.

This next recipe comes directly from her cooking notes and I have been using this recipe for years. The things you will need are:

Ingredients for Grandma’s Country Ham
• A Large Hamm (With bone)
• White pepper
• Grandma’s mustard (I will give you that recipe.)
• 2 cups of granulated sugar
• 1 cup of apple cider vinegar
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• 1 dozen whole cloves
• 6 all spice berries.
• 1 cup of sherry
• Box of brown sugar (I like using the dark brown sugar)

Wash and weigh your ham to make sure you know the time frame for baking. Place in a large roasting pan with a lid. Fill the pan with water, place lid on tight, and put in the oven at 350 and cook for about 20 minutes per pound, turning the ham often. (Count the time after the water begins to boil, a tenderized ham will require only 15 minutes per pound for cooking.) When cooked, let it cool in the liquid. (You may boil this the day before.)

When cooked gently remove the top skin, being careful not to take the fat off with it. Place the ham in another pan and stud at intervals with cloves. Sprinkle liberally white pepper; then spread a layer of brown sugar all over. Pour 1 cup of sherry into the pan and place the pan, without the lid, in a very slow oven, about 250, for 1 hour. The slow heat allows the spicy flavor of the pepper to penetrate the meat. After ½ hour, gently baste the ham every 10 minutes with the gravy. Remove the pan from the oven cover, and keep hot on top of the stove with a very low heat. Use mats under the pan. The oven should now be free to take care of the rest of your dinner. Serve the ham with the mustard sauce, which also may be made the day before and refrigerated.

Mustard Sauce

Combine 2 teaspoon of dry mustard ¼ teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar, add 2 tablespoon of flour. Place in the top of a double broiler. Add 3/4cup of water and 2 tablespoons of heated vinegar, stirring as it cooks until it becomes a smooth creamy sauce. Then add 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten, and 2 tablespoons of melted butter.

When thickened, lift the pan from the hot water immediately to prevent the curdling of the egg yolks. When you are ready to reheat make sure the water doesn’t boil under the sauce.

How To Cook Asparagus

2008-03-11T13:35:00.004-05:00

Asparagus is a nutritional vegetable, one that can be found at any fresh produce market or your local food mart. It’s a good source of Vitamin B6, Vitamins C, A, with tons of potassium and is rich in fiber.

There are so many delicious recipes for these vegetables therefore book marking this page may be your first task at hand. Keep in mind some people like the simplicity of the taste therefore adding a little salt may give your palates the taste it craves. However if you want to impress and try something new then follow some of these cooking tips.

Choice of Asparagus
When you are out shopping for asparagus, choose ones that are firm and have not started to wilt. The stem should be thick and firm or thin and firm according to your recipe. Rule of thumb choose for the asparagus that is fresh looking with a bright green hue to it.

Cleaning process
Wash each spear under cold running water. Some produce shops will sell them in bundles with a rubber band wrapped around the stems, and some may sell them loose Cut about a quarter of an inch from the bottom. This usually has a white color to it and is very firm with a bitter stringy taste.

The Quick and ease of cooking healthy
After you have cut and washed the spear, make sure you have a hot pan ready on your stove. One thing I insist on is eating vegetables with a certain crunch to them. This will not only ensure a quality taste but it will keep as many of the vitamins and nutrients in the vegetable rather than cooking it away with heat. Depending on the size of your asparagus you may want to blanch them first. This is simple enough. You bring a pot of water to a boil and drop your vegetable in it for about 3 minutes. Just enough time to give them a bright green color and make them pliable while keeping the crunching quality I am talking about.

Once you have blanched them make sure you have a very hot pan ready for the spears. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan, toss a clove of garlic for flavor. Allow the garlic to get brown; once the garlic is brownish in color you know the pan will be hot enough to cook your asparagus. Place your spears in the pan allowing them to cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add a splash of white wine just enough to coat the asparagus. Don’t drown them, about 1 tablespoon of wine will do. This will give your asparagus a nice zesty flavor. Some people like to use lemon I use wine since I am usually sipping it anyway. The estimated time is about 5 to 6 minutes. You should keep in mind the asparagus should be tender but not mushy. After this process, you can place the asparagus on your plate either fanning them out like flowers or in a nice clump like logs.

Seasoning of the Asparagus
According to some people they drizzle a bit of Hollandaise to this tasty vegetable even a Beurre Blanc. I however like to eat things as they are why ruin the taste with all the heavy sauces and butter. Save that for when you go out. Remember you want to eat healthy and make it fast.