| l started when it became necessary to , either learn | | | | Another extremely important factor in ranking high in |
| eMarketing or pay someone, to perform Online | | | | the major search engines, is the number of links you |
| marketing task for me. | | | | have pointing to your site. It is sort of like a popularity |
| Since my work was mostly seasonal, it was not a | | | | contest. The more links you have coming in, the more |
| hard decision to learn more about eMarketing during | | | | popular your site is, the better your site will do in the |
| the off season. And the fact that a few tax clients | | | | search engines. (Link farms are not O.K.) |
| could increase their bottom line by selling products and, | | | | Not only the number of links coming in, but the |
| or services online, helped in the decision. | | | | neighborhood from which these links come from can |
| However, that was not the real reason to learn | | | | make a big difference in your page rank. Just like in |
| Internet marketing. I had spent hundreds and hundreds | | | | real estate, good neighborhoods linking to other good |
| of dollars paying people to help me get more web | | | | neighborhoods, (with similar content) rank higher than |
| visitors to my site. Because I did not completely | | | | links from non similar content sites. And links coming |
| understand eMarketing, I was at the mercy of Internet | | | | from “authority sites” help a site to rank |
| marketing companies, who promised great results. | | | | even higher. (Example of authority site: craigslist, |
| Below is a summary of eMarketing Basics, from my | | | | backpage, us free classifieds, etc.) |
| online class: | | | | A poor neighborhood might be considered casino or |
| Meta Tags | | | | gambling sties. However, if you own a casino, adult or |
| One of the first things I learned while in eMarketing | | | | gambling site, than the definition of a good |
| classes, was about Meta Tags. (Many turnkey sites do | | | | neighborhood may be reversed. (Adult Entertainment |
| not have meta tags) Meta Tags are HTML code | | | | earns more, Online, than any other industry) |
| which communicates with the mega search engines. In | | | | Social Bookmarking |
| plain English, they provide a summary about the web | | | | In the past couple years, the number of links you have |
| page. They include the name of the page, a description | | | | pointing to your site from social networking sites, has |
| of what the web page is about, and keywords. | | | | become an important part of the formula, to determine |
| Any error in the HTML of the meta tag would result in | | | | ranking. (This holds true for video also) |
| the search engine not being able to read the meta | | | | The more times a link to your site shows up on the |
| tags. For some search engines this could be a | | | | social networking sites, the better for your site. |
| problem, for others, they don’t really depend on | | | | There are a number of ways to generate quality links |
| the meta tags to determine the content or the value | | | | from social networking sites. Any reputable eMarketing |
| of the page. | | | | firm can help you with this. |
| Content and Keywords | | | | Keywords |
| Then there was that message in class that said: | | | | Selecting incorrect keywords could result in a failed |
| “content is king” – the more | | | | Online marketing campaign. Keywords are the |
| content, the better, but not without keywords. A certain | | | | foundation of your online marketing. The selection of |
| keyword to content ratio must be met, in order to rank | | | | your keywords, determines who your competitors will |
| higher in the search engines. | | | | be. |
| I soon found that using two major keywords or | | | | Selecting the best keywords for your product or |
| phrases and two or three minor keywords, usually | | | | service, involves understanding how your potential |
| work best. | | | | customers think. What words would they use in the |
| It was not very long before I stop targeting the home | | | | search engines, to find your product or service? |
| page for top positions and begin targeting niche | | | | On my tax service web site, in the beginning, I used the |
| content pages within the web site for high ranking. And | | | | keyword, “irs installment agreement” |
| this brings me to Domain Names. | | | | when I should have used “irs payment |
| Domain Names | | | | plan” Get the picture? The IRS uses the words: |
| The class made it for clear that | | | | Installment Agreement, however, many consumers |
| “nameofwebsite.com/name of | | | | think of the words: payment plan! |
| ninch.htm” was almost as effective as having a | | | | You want to find out if your keywords are over used |
| domain name, with the niche keyword included within | | | | by your competitors? If so, you want to find a different |
| the domain name. | | | | set of keywords in which to build your site on. |
| That’s the same day I, realized why high priced | | | | The above mention Internet marketing techniques are |
| domain names, were being bought and sold on the | | | | just the basic rules for ranking higher in the search |
| Internet like real estate. | | | | engines. (with selected keywords) There are more |
| Usually, when you own a domain name, which includes | | | | than thirty different factors, which make up the formula |
| a popular keyword, your site will show up on the first | | | | for determining the rank of a web page in the major |
| page of the search engines, under that particular | | | | search engines. (This does not include the secret |
| keyword. This is called FREE web traffic, and is the | | | | categories that a couple of the big robots use) |
| reason investors pay big bucks for certain domain | | | | For sure I will return back to the industry of taxes, |
| names. | | | | however, my passion for eMarketing cannot be |
| Good Neighborhood Links | | | | ignored, especially when results are so favorable. |