http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com Information about search engine optimization, search marketing, search engine marketing, PPC SEM and website development. en-us Copyright 2008 Zunch SEO Blog - ZEN-SEM (Zunch Enlightened News - Search Engine Marketing) (Official Site) - Uncategorized http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:23:13 CST Many beginning Internet marketers are sent in the wrong direction when they are told that they can generate traffic and increase their search engine ranking for free. At the very least you will have to spend countless hours writing articles and submitting them to search engines. Imagine you were offering your SEO services for a client’s website, what would you charge, $15, $20, or $30 an hour? Many companies charge much more than those prices for their SEO expertise. If you were to work for 40 hours to increase your site’s ranking you “salary” would be $500 at the least.  The problem is that many new marketers think that they can get away with increasing their traffic through search engines for free with their own work, but when they finally decide to expand their organization and offer the work to others, they have trouble with the high fees many search engine optimization companies charge. In most cases search engine marketers charge at least $5,000 for any substantial amount of work. This can be hard to handle, but it is a reality.  After the internet marketer sees this price they might try to find another search engine marketer to grow their business and if they do find someone who is willing to work for $150 a month of so, it is usually a scam or the person will do poor work.  Is it even possible to receive quality search engine optimization without this high price tag? Planning is one of the best possible strategies. If you have all the aspects of SEO you want to put into action, you can hire freelancers to do the work of a single search engine optimization specialist for about one tenth of the cost.  If you have 10 key words you want to optimize on Google, to rank well, you would need to submit articles to directories, build links from many websites through link trades, social bookmark your content, post on forums, and perhaps create a free blog or two.  Many freelancers are willing to work for $8 an hour or less and work very hard for you. You can hire a different person to write articles, submit links, social bookmark, etc. Have them set to a weekly schedule and you will have a neatly organized list of freelancers working with just as much diligence and sometimes more than the $5000 SEO specialist. Many times the price tag comes from their knowledge. In this case the freelances are using your knowledge, so you cut out that extravagant fee.  On the Conversation Marketing blog Lan Lurie wrote an article titles, “10 Rules for Setting Your Internet Marketing Budget“, in which he states that SEO marketing will cost $5,000 - $50,000, but the truth is that this does not have to be. Yes the freelancer route requires a bit more monitoring and tweaking, but in the long run you can get it to work in your favor, which will pay off in the end. http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/Successful_Search_Engine_Marketing_is_Not_Free.html http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/Successful_Search_Engine_Marketing_is_Not_Free.html rnjonjo@gmail.com (Robert Njonjo) Sat, 20 Sep 2008 04:01:00 CST Uncategorized For a novel marketer, spying on your competition may seem a little unethical, however, it can be a great way to learn new techniques. One of the best things about working on the Internet is that you can learn from successful sites, study the techniques they use and apply them to your own websites. This may take some time and research, but in the end, it will definitely pay off to learn the skills that can get you ranked on the top of search engines.   The most important thing when competing for the top ten spots on search engines is to know what key words to build your sites around. Before you begin, you will want to research key words and phrases and how many sites have been created around them. It is important to know who your competition is because well-known sites may be highest ranked. If you try to go against sites such as Wikipedia for key phrases, there is really very little chance of you doing better on a search engine.  You will want to be very specific about the key words that you choose. This will help you rank higher for these phrases, especially when the phrases that are searched for are in quotations. In order to beat out your competition, you will want to make sure your site accommodates exactly what people are looking for.   If you feel confidant enough that you can take away the number spot from a competitor, than by all means, go ahead. However, it is important that you proceed with caution and make sure you have knowledge on your side. In the world of Internet marketing, there is really nothing wrong with using key words that have made other sites successful, but if you are going to compete with them, it is important to know how to go about it in the right way otherwise, you may be wasting your time.   The more familiar you are with your competition and the more you know about the techniques and tricks they use, the more prepared you will be. It is important to know what they are doing so you will be able to counter it or use it, but in a better way. Thinking this way does seem a little unfair, but it is also likely that the competition is using techniques in the same way to hold the number one spot. Of course, this will take a lot of research, but there are tools available that can make the process much easier.   Using tools over the Internet is a great and free way to keep on eye on what your competitors are doing. Many times, this is the only way to successfully watch them, see how your own website is doing as well as any new information that comes up about a topic. To ensure success with Internet marketing, not only will you want to know the information your competitors are working with, but you will also want to beat them to it. http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/Spying_on_your_Competitors.html http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/Spying_on_your_Competitors.html rnjonjo@gmail.com (Robert Njonjo) Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:34:00 CST Uncategorized Search engine marketing can be seen as an equation. You either have to equate man hours or money into the effort. SEO is something that can only be done by a person. There is no machine that generates search engine optimized content with all relevant links pointing to it. Search engine marketing requires a marketing professional who knows different aspects of SEO and can utilize their knowledge to increase a web site’s ranking. Even if there were a machine that could carry on SEO endeavors, it would surely cost money to operate.  So, now that SEO can be broken down into a simple to understand notion of either money or time, the best way to improve efforts is to either lower cost or increase the productivity of the time. By lowering the cost, you will probably lose quality of your SEO efforts, so it may be better to stick with the idea of increasing productivity.  SEO has a very complicated meaning and there are many different activities you must involve yourself in when trying to increase search engine ranking. You might want to submit articles to article directories, create a blog with links pointing to your website or post in a forum with a link in your signature.  In each aspect of SEO you can increase productivity. You can, for example, purchase software to automate your forum posting, article writing, and blog posting in order to increase productivity. They require some time to set up and monitor, but they greatly increase your efforts. Additionally, you may want to increase your output by adding a labor force to your efforts. This may cost you money instead of time, but you will have time freed up for more promotional activities.   Finally, one of the best methods of increasing efficiency can be found in your efforts with article marketing. When submitting your articles, make sure you have more than one website to promote. More than one website can mean 15-20 different free blogs or websites all about the same topic.   All these blogs and websites should link to your website. Each article you post to the article directories allows more than 1 link, so you can post links to 2 different blogs or websites with every article. Google only counts so many links coming from one website to count towards your link popularity, a major aspect of search engine ranking.  At the end of just a few short months and at least 100 articles, you will have a network of blogs and websites that will boost your main website’s ranking to the top of any search engine and you will have never had to do any work with your SEO efforts. Each article takes the same amount of time and the resource boxes take the same amount of energy and money to complete. The only extra effort was the initial building of the blogs, but in the long run you can see that it was worth it.   Increasing efficiency is the best strategy for boosting your search engine marketing efforts. http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/Multiplying_your_SEO_efforts_by_10X.html http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/Multiplying_your_SEO_efforts_by_10X.html rnjonjo@gmail.com (Robert Njonjo) Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:42:00 CST Uncategorized You know, I have to be pretty wound up to be blogging on a Saturday morning... What’s got me wound up is the moves that Google has and is making in regards to wireless communications. Google buys up large amounts of dark fiber left over from the Internet bubble burst and launches Google Talk (cell # required). So what if G creates a major wireless network (Verizon has already launched one) and partners with a tech gadget company like LG and markets VoIP "cell" phones. The phones are embedded with Google applications and these phones maintain on "always on" Internet connection. The phone, of course, has the abilities to make calls (VoIP), search the web (local would be huge as would a social network), IM, read Gmail, check your Adwords/Adsense accounts, get RSS feeds, check your eBay bids and auctions, etc. And another possible spin: Since G would own the network and the calls are over the Internet, the costs could be MUCH cheaper than they are now. Maybe if you elected to receive Adwords ads on your phone your service would be free. The big cell companies better be concerned; with a brand like Google behind it, VoIP "cell" phones could become mainstream. Source Article: http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?p=247655 http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/Google_Wireless_VoIP_Provider.html http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/Google_Wireless_VoIP_Provider.html Jeff.Martin@zunch.com (Jeff Martin) Sat, 17 Sep 2005 08:15:00 CST Uncategorized Yahoo! 'Instant' Search (beta version)Another utility to make searching the web more efficient (or make us more lazy)Will I use it on a regular basis...probably not. I don't use Google's 'Im Feeling Lucky' button which is basically what Yahoo! Instant Search is. Only major difference between the two...Yahoo! Instant Search pops up a bubble with the most popular related search term in Yahoo!'s data base (in relation to the search query entered)I like my search engine like I like my coffee...without cream and sugar. You get my point?! : ) http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/Yahoo_Debuts_Instant_Searching.html http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/Yahoo_Debuts_Instant_Searching.html Matthew.Shehorn@zunch.com (Matthew Shehorn) Fri, 16 Sep 2005 09:30:00 CST Uncategorized As most of you may know the PPC networks under suit (Google, Yahoo!, Overture, AOL, Ask Jeeves, etc.) tried to have the previous federal courts decision, that decided the lawsuit should be sent back to Arkansas, reversed. The federal court system apparently favors big companies, especially after a bill was signed into law earlier this year. Apparently the appeals court judge felt the same way as the previous judge, so back to Arkansas. Basically in a state court both parties have little recourse when there is a court order that they don't want to comply with. That's puts the PPC networks in a tight spot considering that no one, NO ONE, gets access to their data. A court order could put that information on display for the plaintiffs counsel and their consultants. Having served as a consultant for the plaintiff's counsel, I can tell you that the data could be very damaging to the defense and that the plaintiff's counsel will be asking for it. http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/Federal_Judge_to_PPC_Networks_Hit_the_Road_Jack.html http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/Federal_Judge_to_PPC_Networks_Hit_the_Road_Jack.html Jeff.Martin@zunch.com (Jeff Martin) Thu, 15 Sep 2005 21:21:00 CST Uncategorized Truveo to battle with the big boys (Google and Yahoo!) in the video search arena!Very clean format and easy to use. Another new "search toy" to add to my favorites.Thoughts/opinions?Truveo Launches Video Search Engine http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/Truveo_Launches_Video_Search_Engine.html http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/Truveo_Launches_Video_Search_Engine.html Matthew.Shehorn@zunch.com (Matthew Shehorn) Thu, 15 Sep 2005 10:22:00 CST Uncategorized Joining in on what Mayer at Yahoo has been doing for a while, Matt Cutts has agreed to give Google weather reports when a major update is blowing through. Current Conditions: Just a PR / Backlink update.Oh yeah...happy birthday Google. You're the largest seven year-old I know (but still crawling ;-). http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/_Meteorologist_Cutts_to_give_weather_reports.html http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/_Meteorologist_Cutts_to_give_weather_reports.html Tyson.Kirksey@zunch.com (Tyson Kirksey) Thu, 08 Sep 2005 09:33:00 CST Uncategorized Man there's some good topics out this morning...another day to be thankful to work in a dynamic industry that's always fresh (sorry to Jeese and his fellow accounting friends).Microsoft unveiled the new start.com page today, and I've just spent about 30 minutes playing with it. Very cool...I'm giving it 3 stars. I only have one major complaint, and I've already seen others say the same: Make the article title a link so I don't have to find the tiny "more >>" link at the end. Check it out for yourself. http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/_Wowbusy_day_lets_get_STARTed.html http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/_Wowbusy_day_lets_get_STARTed.html Tyson.Kirksey@zunch.com (Tyson Kirksey) Fri, 02 Sep 2005 09:34:00 CST Uncategorized Earlier this month, Tony commented briefly on a news tidbit that there is a class action suit against Google for overcharging the daily budgets. (Original article here.) Now, I know this is a shock – but I’m gonna come to Google’s defense on this one. Yes, at first, for a few minutes, I found it a little confusing. But it took about five minutes to understand that the daily budget is an average. That during the course of a month, there will be some days a little over and some a little under. That if there is significant overspending, Google will refund the charges – which means the client has gotten free clicks, since it’s not like they can take back the traffic. The suit alleges that there are instances when campaigns have spent as much as 160% of the daily budget and not gotten a refund. I’d venture to guess that these same people had days that ran underbudget – and they are expecting a refund for each day they go over, when that’s just not how it works. Google does a much better job of keeping the daily spend close to the daily budget than Yahoo. You can set an average daily budget on Yahoo and still get days when it spends 3x that amount, and as a result shuts the campaign off completely on other days. Though really, that just seems like poor management to me. It would be in the search engine’s interest to keep those ads running a bit every day, at the very least because this would make the clients happier and more secure. I’d guess that there may be technical limitations to how accurately the engines can keep a campaign under a specific budget… how fast is the data processed, the costs updated, and then the campaign shut off? In the time it takes for that to happen, how many more clicks will be incurred? It’s not like Google make a secret of how the budget works. If I advertise with a newspaper and don’t understand their written policies – can I sue them? Seriously – do people get to win a lawsuit just because they’re dumb? Oh, wait… (remembers McDonald’s hot coffee warning) sometimes they do. http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/Stupid_Suit__AdWords_Daily_Budgets.html http://searchenginemarketingblog.zunch.com/post/Stupid_Suit__AdWords_Daily_Budgets.html laura.deerfield@zunch.com (Laura Deerfield) Thu, 25 Aug 2005 11:18:00 CST Uncategorized