Who needs search engines if you have this information...
Previous parts of the course are available here:
Part 1,
Part 2,
Part 3,
Part 4,
Part 5,
Part 6 Traffic from Search Engines Without Ever Getting Listed
By Alan Reece
The Software Gold ClubWhen I was starting out, I decided to learn everything there was to know about getting listed high on search engines. After all, this is where the second group of targeted visitors reside, right? -- Those people who are looking for you! And ready to buy now!
After months of hard work and studying, I managed to get #1 positioning on Infoseek (the hottest search engine at the time) under the keyword "money." You can imagine how excited I was!
The listing lasted all of 7 seconds before I got pushed to number 3. Then to number 7. And minutes later, past the number 20 position.
These days, I don't even bother submitting to search engines. It's a waste of my time. I don't even bother with meta tags or any of that nonsense. And I really have no interest in trying to figure out all the new algorithms that these search engines are using. They'll just end up changing it all completely - tomorrow.
But ... traffic from search engines is one of the most targeted and responsive pools of traffic you'll find anywhere. As we discussed earlier, the individuals that make up this traffic pool are usually ready to buy now! They are going to the search engines looking for the product or service! They're seeking you out!
Therefore, ignoring such a traffic pool wouldn't be wise.
Here's a way you can take advantage of the highly targeted traffic from search engines, without ever having to worry about getting listed with them: Go to the people who have figured out how to get top positioning!
This is what you do..
• Pick the keyword(s) that your target market would search for and run a search for it using the search engine or directory you're interested in.
• Go through each of the top ten (or 20) listings and write down the name and email address of the contact person for each site. Note down any other unique information you find about them.
• Send each person a personalized email, offering either a joint venture, a free ebook, or free report that they can distribute. Use one of the strategies I've discussed earlier. I prefer the free (viral) ebook strategy because it gives the receiver more incentive to accept the offer.
Warning! Do not create a form letter and spam everyone with it. Find out who the "person" behind the website is and personalize the email using his/her name, the website address, what the website is about, and whatever else you can gather to make the email personal.
Yes, this will take some time. But, can you imagine how much exposure just one of these top-ranked sites will bring you if you strike a deal with them? It's worth the initial setup time!
In fact, a better way to do it is to, again, offer to help them first! With whatever you can. If you're a graphic designer and you feel that you could create a better logo for the website owner, do that.
Remember, the key here is to give first. It will separate you from everyone else and make you stand out. (Even the people who 'think' they're 'giving first' are usually not.)
The only other strategy that I see working with search engines is to submit valuable "keyword rich" content in the form of reports or entire websites. Keep in mind that each search engine (and directory) has it's own understanding of what makes "valuable content." So, change your articles up a bit. Move things around, play with all the keywords. One of those articles will grab on. And, be sure to read through the search engine's submission guidelines to get some ideas.
Of course, you can also hire a search engine submission professional to try and get your site listed and placed well. Personally, I don't know of anyone who can "guarantee" such a listing. If you can find one and can afford their prices, you may want to try it.
Your other option is to use Pay-Per-Click search engines.
These search engines allow you to bid for the right to be placed in the top keyword position.
I have been playing with some pay-per-click search engines and I like the results I'm getting.
But…if you're brand new to PPC's, there's a stiff learning curve to overcome. Unfortunately, this learning curve can cost you a lot of money while you do your trial-and-error.
So, I'm going to save you some money and share with you the tips I've found useful when working with PPC's. They're provided below:
Pay-Per-Click Power Tips
There are hundreds of PPC search engines out there. The most popular ones (at the time of writing this section) are:
i. Google Ad Words,
https://adwords.google.com/ii. Overture.com, and
iii. FindWhat.com
All 3 of the above PPC sites have their pluses and minuses.
The major plus for the above 3 are that they're the most popular, i.e. majority of the people go to these three sites!
The 'negative' is that they're also some of the most expensive, because they're the most popular. So, it would be a good idea for you to play with some of the less popular ones as well, and mix them up a bit.
You will find that, depending on your choice of keywords and niche, one PPC site may get you more traffic than the other two, for the same keywords. So, it would be in your best interest to take advantage of all of them and leverage their strengths.
Here are a few specific tips you can use to increase your profits:
1. Keyword Selection Is The KEY
'Keyword research' is the single most critical element of marketing plan, when dealing with PPC's. It's the foundation of your business! Everything else builds on it. Don't skip this step!
Getting the right prospect to your site is what you want, not just random traffic.
When selecting keywords, pick the ones that are most relevant to your product. Work on finding keywords that are: the least expensive, produce the most qualified clicks, and generate the best conversion/sales.
Most marketers pick 10 or 20 of the most popular keywords and clump them together into one campaign. Then they wait for the magic to happen. And nothing happens, except for
money being wasted.
These 10 to 20 keywords are usually the same keywords that their competitors are using. And, since these are the most popular keywords, they are also usually the most expensive! Bad idea!
The smart marketer works with 100, 200 or more keywords that are very tightly related to each other! And many of the keywords he's found are not being used by other marketers in his niche, so they cost as little as a nickel each!
Two hundred keywords may seem like a lot to you. But, it's not that difficult once you seriously start looking for them. (Again, a little extra effort on the initial step can produce big residual gains for you. And that's the kind of traffic strategies we're interested in.)
2. Create Direct-Response Ads!
Getting showcased in relevant searches is only half the battle. You still want to get 'clicked' on by targeted prospects. Here are a few tips that will help you do that:
• Use time-tested ad formulas like "How to..." or "Discover..." that demand the reader's attention! Just think of it as creating a powerful classifieds ad.
• Study your competitors' winning ads! Find out what makes their ads pull better than the other ads. Then, use those components to model your ads after.
• Putting the keywords in the headline seems to works very well most of the time. Test it out for your niche/keyword and see how it works.
• Ask a question or promise a powerful benefit in your title.
• Create 2 different ads for the same keyword/group and run them both together. Then, track the results to find out which one performs better. Keep doing this and continue to improve your results.
• Keep tweaking and testing each variable to try and beat the current winning ad.
3. Develop Separate Landing Pages
If your visitor has found your ad by searching for a specific item that you're selling, don't direct him to your main web page or your general catalog.
Instead, lead him to a page specifically designed for that particular item! Example: If he's looking for "online traffic strategies," don't take him to your page that lists ALL online marketing products. Instead, take him to a page that only sells your "traffic" product. Don't get him to take extra steps to get to the traffic book when he's already specified that he's looking for that book.
So, instead of leading this visitor to...
http://www.All-My-Marketing-Products.com, direct him to...
http:// www.All-My-Marketing-Products.com/TRAFFIC.htm .
You can use separate landing pages for tracking purposes as well, and track keywords and campaigns from several PPC sites all in one place, instead of tracking them separately through the PPC's internal tracking system. This also makes data analysis a lot easier.
4. Get Their Email Addresses!
This is a must for every strategy that you use! Always add a step into your overall strategy that will offer them an opt-in form, collect their information, and then redirect them to the appropriate page. This allows you to follow up with them in the future and continue to promote your products.
Otherwise, most of your paid visitors will visit your site once and then never return. That's a waste of money.
So, first of all, start by getting relevant clickthroughs. Your ad needs to get clicked on by targeted individuals. Next, ask for their email address! And then, take them to your sales page.
Be sure to also design your landing page using powerful tried-and-true direct response strategies. If your PPC campaigns are working well but your web site is not converting those highly-targeted visitors into sales (or even subscribers,) then it's all a waste.
Your final goal is not more clickthroughs, but instead clickthroughs that convert to sales!
Training Video Library Offer
To supplement this course, we're offering a special video library featuring 10 separate video sets, all by master video creator Louis Allport. This includes the great video set "5 Easy Ways To Boost Your Website Traffic" - well worth watching.
This whole set is available at a special discount price (less than you'd normally pay for one video set) and comes complete with master resale rights too.
For more details, please visit...
http://www.axgold.com/info/l/traffic2Note that this entire superb library is also included – at no extra cost - as just one of the training resources in the Software Gold Club. For full details of the Software Gold Club, please visit
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