It may or may not surprise you that more searches for businesses occur online than through the Yellow Pages. Many businesses have already abandoned the Yellow Pages for being expensive and not yielding results. There are increasing numbers of people who say, If you’re not on the Internet, I’m not interested. Look for this to continue to increase at an exponential rate.

Marketing yourself is a public service. This means letting people know how you can be of service to them. Your Internet presence allows people looking for someone to help them solve whatever problem they are in. If you have no internet presence, many people will not find you and determine if you may be of service to them. Marketing is making your presence known. It is NOT a hard sell, trying to ram anything down anyone’s throat. Advertising is presenting yourself mostly to people who aren’t interested in what you have to offer. This is why most print advertising does not yield clients. Internet advertising is presenting yourself at a time when your prospect is searching for what it is you have.

Google your name and business zip code. Do you find yourself on the first page of the results? You may already be listed in sites of which you are unaware. Next, Google your specialties (one at a time) and your business zip code. If you have a number of listings, especially for your specialties, Congratulations. Even if you already have a steady stream of referrals, an Internet presence will only strengthen your position.

An Internet presence can be started (or expanded) for a lot less than you think. Getting yourself on free and paid listing sites. Generally, start with the free listing. One client found their free getfaves.com listing showing on the first page of Google search within one week. Begin with seeing if your professional organization has listings. These are often free.

Find the listing sites for Google business. This will also get you listed on Google maps, which show at the top of Google searches. Also do this for Yahoo and Bing business. Find other business listing sites by Googling free business listing sites, etc.

Create a website

A website is probably the single most important thing that you can do to expand your marketing efforts. It will greatly increase your presence and legitimacy beyond having your profile listed in different places. One can quickly create a simple site. You will want to present information that will speak to those clients you would most like to see. This will attract your Ideal client much more than if you describe yourself as a caring person who provides a safe place, etc. Conventional wisdom is that your content is 80% about the client and 20% about yourself.

Don’t wait until you have a perfect site planned. Better to get a functional site up, asap. Websites are dynamic entities. You will want to refine, probably add, and sometimes delete what you began with. How you write gives others a sense of who and what you are. Be sure to include a head shot photo of yourself with a big smile.

Begin with your DSL provider and see what they offer. Google free websites. Look for templates that you like, flexibility, expandability, etc. Many of the free sites will also let you expand your site, more, for a monthly fee. Most options will cost between $5 and $10 a month.

Create a blog

Some will start a blog, rather than a website. Generally, a website is more versatile and should be your first priority. A blog will probably serve you best, the more specific it is, i.e., focuses on a niche, etc. Two popular sites to start a blog are blogspot.com and wordpress.com. If you do a blog, aim to write at least twice a month.

Social media

The use of social media is exploding and will continue to grow. It is a way of connecting with friends and colleagues, as well as others finding us. Businesses are increasingly finding ways to market via social media.

One of the most popular websites is YouTube.com. While it is primarily used for entertainment, more and more it is used for education and marketing. An example is the video on our main page, Social Media for your Business. These videos can also be put on your website(s), as we did. Video has largely been underutilized by businesses.

Facebook.com has become another of the most popular websites. Some use it to keep in touch with friends and others use it for marketing. Use it for on or the other. If you want to use it for both purposes, use a personal email account for a Profile and a business email for a business Page.

Biznik.com is a business site, primarily for entrepreneurs. It is a way to network, especially with other businesses.

Twitter.com is a source that you can announce publishing a paper, changes to your website, good books and articles, workshops that you might offer, etc. Many offer free things like recordings, articles, etc. It is another way to network with other professionals. It’s popularity is exploding.

Like most things, the more you invest in being involved with social media, the more you will benefit. If you are active, you can minimally expect some increase in website/blog traffic. This may or may not equate to client referrals.

Writing articles

Another way to develop a presence is to write self-help and other articles. A very popular site to submit articles is ezinearticles.com. You can also submit to some of the listing and social media sites. When you write, distribute your writings in as many ways as you can. Post them on your website and blog. Have copies in your office waiting room. Fax copies, as is relevant with other fax communications.

Outside of the content, writings give others at least a glimpse of yourself. This is an opportunity to get to know, like, and trust you. The more that happens, the more people will come to you to help them achieve solutions.

Put your website address and contact information on everything

Make sure your address is on your business cards, stationary, fax sheets, etc. Just the fact that you have a website adds to your credibility, regardless if the receiver has the interest in checking it out. Create a signature file at the bottom of your email accounts. Minimally, include your web address, blog, etc. under your name, business address, business phone. Consider putting other information there, such as free offers, signing up for your news letter, etc. If you are going to start a group, give a talk, etc., consider including that information, while it is relevant, i.e., remove that information after it occurred.

In conclusion, you can’t do all of these things in a single day. However, you can complete Some of these things Today. Keep reasonable expectations. When you do these things, it isn’t likely that you will have 10 people call you in the first week. You will find that new clients will increasingly say, I found you on the Internet. Marketing is a dynamic process. Generally, our efforts are cumulative.

This is not the end of marketing. You will probably want to expand into other low cost strategies, including purchasing a domain name for your website, using one or several paid listing services, etc. Continue to educate yourself about marketing and new avenues. Good luck and good marketing.

Bulbwired.com does all this and more as a done for you package, come and register for one out our information packed Webinars to see how we can help your business.

Link Popularity is one of key area to increase your site page ranking and search ranking. Incoming links are just like votes in election for your website however there is point as we have to emphases on quality links rather quantity. Valuable links are like 100 of poor links equals to 1 quality link. In this article, I would like to explain how differentiate quality links and how to get them which will effect and improve and strengthen your website ranking.

Mistakes in Link Building
It is never too late to focus on the right direction to get qualified incoming links. Here is few mistakes those may follow by SEOs, Link Builder or website owner and webmasters.

1- Focus on Quantity than Quality: It is the quality of incoming links that will bring your website at 1st page so always you should look for qualified incoming links rather quantity.
2- Link Exchange or Reciprocal Links: Link exchange or reciprocal links should be avoided.
3- Ignorance of Check and Balance for Links: If you don’t check and balance your listings periodically, you may lose your hard gain incoming links
4- Purchase Bulk Links: Search engines become very intelligent these days, you can’t make them fool by purchasing bulk links, because search engine check your incoming links frequency as well with time
5- Paid Links: Paid links can be very healthy but if they are used as a part of the strategy, if you have no idea of how many paid links you are going to have, that can upset your link building campaign.

Do You Have Categorized and Simplified Database?
In link building campaign, your database is your key to success; it is the backbone of your overall link building strategy. If you have a poor database, which is not categorized and simplified, you can’t be comfortable from your link building strategy.

Try to have categorized and simplified database, make a master database with following mentioned fields.

Important Fields for Master Database for any Link Building Campaign
1. URL
2. Direct Link (Direct Link of Submission or Registration)
3. Industry Type (Show Biz, Construction, Telecommunication…)
4. Link Type (One Way, Reciprocal, Paid)
5. Link Style (Anchor link, Title Hyper Link, URL Link, Vote Link)
6. Link Period (1 Year or Life time)
7. PageRank (1, 2, 3…10)
8. Title Limit (Characters Limit)
9. Description Limit (Characters Limit)
10. Keywords Limit (Characters Limit)

Insertion & Update Your Master Database!
Your master database (structure) is ready, now You need to make it valuable by inserting data to it, it requires an on-going updates. Don’t let anything go away as it can be used for your current asa for new projects

SEM Industry Training: What are the Options?

By Kalena Jordan

The State of SEM Training

Search Engine Marketing is the hottest new career to sweep the employment sector. There are literally more jobs available than there are marketers to fill them, hence the high salaries. Traditionally, SEO/SEM has had a long, steep learning curve, so there is currently a large supply/demand gap.

The growth of the industry has underscored the need for faster, more flexible training options. The demand for trained SEO/SEM staff has accelerated the launch of online training programs in the past three years. The spread of misinformation and the growth of dodgy SEO practices have also highlighted a need for best-practice industry certification.

Advantages of a Career in SEM

Here are the major advantages of having a career in search engine marketing:

1.    The search industry is hot, hot, HOT!
2.    SEO considered one of four jobs on the cutting edge
3.    The pay is (usually) fantastic
4.    You can learn it all online
5.    You can be your own boss
6.    Search marketing has the WOW factor
7.    The demand is strong and growing
8.    The industry is hip and groovy
9.    The skills are portable and global
10.    Job satisfaction is high

SEM Training Options

If you decide to start that career in search engine marketing, you have numerous training options open to you:

- Do It Yourself (DIY)
- E-books and online manuals
- Books and offline manuals
- Conferences and seminars
- In-person training
- Online courses

Let’s go through these training options one by one.

Do It Yourself (DIY)

You could try to learn search engine marketing on your own, by conducting your own research, reading widely in webmaster forums and honing your skills on your own sites via trial and error.

The advantages of learning SEM on your own are:

- You can set your own timeframe
- It’s generally inexpensive
- You have the satisfaction of acquiring skills on your own

The disadvantages of learning SEM on your own are:

- There is a very long lead time
- You will be faced with conflicting and unreliable information sources
- There is only a limited ability to network with peers
- Research is time-consuming
- You won’t know what works and what doesn’t until you trial it
- You’ll have no record or proof of skills acquired

E-books and Online Manuals

There are plenty of e-books and manuals about search engine marketing available online.

The advantages of learning SEM via e-books and manuals are:

- They are generally inexpensive
- They are readily available

The disadvantages of learning SEM via e-books and manuals are:

- They are generally considered lower quality than training
- There is no interaction with your peers
- You’ll have no record or proof of skills acquired

Examples of SEM e-books and manuals include:

The SEO Book by Aaron Wall

The Nitty Gritty of Writing for the Search Engines by Jill Whalen

SEM: The Essential Best Practice Guide by Mike Grehan

Books and Offline Manuals

As with online versions, there are just as many physical books, CDs and offline training manuals available to persons wanting to learn search engine marketing.

The advantages of learning SEM via books and offline manuals are:

- They are usually inexpensive
- They are readily available

The advantages of learning SEM via books and offline manuals are:

- The information dates quickly
- There is no interaction with your peers
- You’ll have no proof of skills acquired

Examples of SEM books and offline manuals include:

Search Engine Visibility by Shari Thurow

SitePoint’s SEM Kit by Dan Thies

Building Your Business with Google For Dummies by Brad Hill

Conferences and Seminars

As search engine marketing has grown as an industry, so too have the number of conferences and events dedicated to it.

The advantages of learning SEM via conferences and seminars are:

- They offer cutting edge information
- They often provide access to search engine staff
- They give you the ability to network with peers

The disadvantages of learning SEM via conferences and seminars are:

- You must travel to the venue
- They generally provide no training material
- They can be more expensive than other options
- You’ll have no record or proof of skills acquired

Examples of SEM conferences and seminars include:

Search Engine Watch’s Search Engine Strategies

Webmaster World’s PubCon

Search Engine Land’s Search Marketing Expo

Australia’s Search Summit

In-person Training

Just as the number of conferences relating to search engine marketing has grown, so too has the demand for in-house training in SEO and SEM subjects.

The advantages of learning SEM via in-person training are:

- It generally includes step-by-step instructions
- Training material is usually provided
- Verification of subjects studied is provided
- You have the ability to network with your peers
- Some form of certification is generally given
- University credits are sometimes available
- Certification may be recognized by potential employers

The disadvantages of learning SEM via in-person training are:

- You must travel to the venue
- The information can date quickly
- It can be more expensive than other options

Examples of SEM in-person training include:

Bruce Clay’s SEOToolSet

Jill Whalen’s SEM Seminars

Search Engine Bootcamp

Elite Retreat

Online Training Courses

It’s not always viable or affordable for webmasters to attend conferences or training sessions at a venue other than their home or workplace. For these reasons, the demand for online training in search engine marketing subjects has skyrocketed.

The advantages of learning SEM via online training courses are:

- Courses are available 24/7 from any location worldwide
- Training materials are provided
- They are usually cheaper than venue-based options
- They generally include step-by-step instructions
- Courses are self-paced and interactive
- Certification is provided
- A knowledge benchmark is required to qualify for certification
- Verification of subjects studied is provided
- The lesson materials are updated regularly
- University credits are sometimes available
- Certification is usually recognized by potential employers
- Training institutions can assist graduates with employment

The disadvantages of learning SEM via online training courses are:

- They can be more expensive than other options
- There is only a limited ability to network with peers

Providers of online training courses in search engine marketing include:

Search Engine College – http://www.searchenginecollege.com/affiliates/jrox.php?id=291_1_aaid_2

Benefits of Industry Certification

When it comes to industry certification, there are various schools of thought in the SEM industry. Some suggest certification is simply not necessary, others state that SEO/SEM has no official industry standards, so any certification is meaningless, still others insist that certification is becoming increasingly important to potential employers and persons seeking careers in SEO and SEM.

If you’re skeptical about the value of industry certification, ask yourself these questions: Will you be looking to hire search marketing staff over the next 12 months? Would you prefer to hire search marketing staff that hold industry certification? Will you be seeking a job in the search industry over the next 12 months? Do you think holding industry certification would give you an edge over applicants applying for the same jobs?

Here are some advantages to having industry certification in search engine marketing:

For Staff:

- Proof of subjects studied and skills acquired
- Ability to promote certification on web site / CV
- An edge over other applicants when applying for SEO/SEM jobs.

For Employers:

- Ability to hire based on a proven skill set (e.g. ability to set up a Yahoo! SEM campaign quickly).
- Ability to impress clients with certified status of staff.
- Reassurance that search engine-approved methods are used.
- Less on-the-job training is required.

To Sum Up

Everyone has a different learning style, so don’t assume one method will work for you. Don’t rely on a single source of training for your search engine marketing needs. Attend conferences, purchase books, take a course, network in forums and DIY when you can to acquire a broader knowledge base.

Finally, remember that training should always be supported by hands-on SEO/SEM experience so get those hands dirty!


About the Author:

Article by Kalena Jordan, one of the first search engine optimization experts in Australia, who is well known and respected in the industry, particularly in the U.S. As well as running her own SEO business, Kalena manages Search Engine College – http://www.searchenginecollege.com/affiliates/jrox.php?id=291_1_aaid_2
- an online training institution offering instructor-led short courses
and downloadable self-study courses in Search Engine Optimization and
other Search Engine Marketing subjects.

Does anyone else find it  surprising that so many site owners are reluctant to provide outgoing links on their website. Somehow they have come to believe that providing relevant outgoing links from their site can be harmful to their results in the search engines.

When you send your visitors to a relevant resource, this is not a bad thing. This is a good thing.

Relevant sites does NOT mean competitive sites.

Definitions of Relevant on the Web:

Having a bearing on or connection with the subject at issue; “the scientist corresponds with colleagues in order to learn about matters relevant to her own research” wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Evidence or information that has enough value to prove something significant to a case.http://www.attorneykennugent.com/library/r.html

If you write an article and would like to provide evidence of what you are saying, you should provide your resources within the article. Those MUST be credible resources. For example, if I write an article about website credibility, the site I point to in order to back up what I am saying must be an EXPERT on the topic, such as the Stanford Guidelines for Website Credibility. This method (used properly) gives your pages MORE value, not less. It also adds to the relevance of your page to the topic.

Incoming and outgoing links are not just about making pages filled with links. It is something that can be blended into your website in multiple ways, as it pertains to the specific page.

Think about the common interests of your target visitors and you will have no trouble deciding if a link is relevant to your site.

J Walker from GNC Web Creations
http://www.gnc-web-creations.com/

Link building is still one of the biggest obstacles in improving your website ranking and traffic. If that is the case then the natural next question is; how do you build them?

A good place to start is to submit your site to web directories and directories in your niche. Sound simple, doesn’t it? Well it isn’t, most of us look the most obvious places, this certainly is a good place to start, however you need to look for the hidden gems inside your business category. Many of the best directories exist on sites like manufacturers you sell or buy from, or your own local Chamber of Commerce. The point here is the amount of weight Google puts on “Link Relevancy is huge.  So try to avoid just blindly buying or link exchanging, etc. Be smart here and it will pay off.  SEO is not for the “Immediate Gratification” folks, I wish it were. I would be gratified by now I think.

One part of your  link building strategy can be “Dofollow Blogs”. If you have anything credible to say inside of your business you need to start saying it. The way to get some buzz around your product, service, brand etc is to find likeminded blogs that dofollow,

(DoFollow – This is given in the HTML page or the Robot.txt of the website, in order to direct the search engines to follow that particular web page.)

If you happen to be already blogging and commenting of others blogs by all means you should be getting some bank for your buck. Look for sites that have a relatively high page rank and comment on the ones inside your business. If you sell blue-left-handed widgets do not comment about “Things in the Solar System”. And please for goodness sake say something more than “nice post” or “kewl”, I know many guys with blogs will just delete you as “spam”. You may find some decent “dofollow sites” here. The last I’ll say about this right now is;

Don’t Be A Spammer – Be A Value Provider!

Spamming Dofollow resources will not give you results…not only that, it hurts the entire community, and forces Dofollow providers to convert their sites to Nofollow. Be sure that all of your link-building exploits are done so tastefully and honestly. If you don’t cram keywords and give an honest account of what your site is about, search engines will reward you for it!

The following is a quick rundown on what a DoFollow actually is:

Nofollow’ is a HTML attribute attached to hyperlinks in order to ensure that the specific link in question does not pass any value that will help improve the target site’s search engine rank.
It was first created by Google in 2005 as a means to combat keyword spam, particularly on webpages where users can add links by themselves. Other search engines like Yahoo and MSN Live both respect the nofollow attribute as well.

More details from Google’s official blog:

If you’re a blogger (or a blog reader), you’re painfully familiar with people who try to raise their own websites’ search engine rankings by submitting linked blog comments like “Visit my discount pharmaceuticals site.” This is called comment spam, we don’t like it either, and we’ve been testing a new tag that blocks it.

From now on, when Google sees the attribute (rel=”nofollow”) on hyperlinks, those links won’t get any credit when we rank websites in our search results.

This isn’t a negative vote for the site where the comment was posted; it’s just a way to make sure that spammers get no benefit from abusing public areas like blog comments, trackbacks, and referrer lists.

In its most basic definition, dofollow is just a way of referring to links that do not use the ‘nofollow’ attribute. In other words, these are normal links which pass value and credit towards improving search engine ranks.

The origin of the term ‘dofollow’ appears to stem from a movement by bloggers who believe that comments are legitimate contributions by readers, therefore the wholesale marking of every comment as spam by default through the ‘nofollow’ tag is not fair and justified
As such, these bloggers or other non-blog websites override the existing platform defaults by removing the nofollow attribute, making all the links ‘dofollow’.

These dofollow blogs and websites have consistently been a target of webmasters and spammers who leave keyword links with their choice of anchor text in order to enhance their search rank. You can find dofollow blogs through a simple google search. Let me wrap this up by cautioning you to not be obsessed with Dofollow’s  it is just a small part of the overall picture in building a long term “Luv Presence” on the net. Long live ya! Thanks for letting me yak all over you.