1) Start an email newsletter: while it may not seem like a newsletter that you email can drive traffic to your site you'd be surprised at the effectiveness of this type of promotion. If your newsletter (like your articles) is interesting and relevant to your audience, you'll find that it has a huge pass-through factor, meaning that it is passed from one email subscriber to another. Also, if you have an email newsletter you should never, ever go to a single event without your handy signup sheet. Yes, you can even use offline events to drive traffic to your web site.
2) And speaking of offline efforts: if you're ever quoted in a magazine or other publication, make sure and mention your URL as it's appropriate to the topic. Don't be too pushy about this, but do not forget to tell folks you have a web site that may be a great resource for the topic of your interview.
3) If you have products to sell, why not get a store on eBay? This site gets a tremendous amount of traffic and on your sales page you're allowed to list your URL. It's another great way to get an inbound link and a way for people to find you.
4) Load a video on YouTube and 57 other video sites (the rest listed on my Red Hot Internet Publicity blog).
5) While this isn't a tip per se, it's still important. If you're going to go through all the trouble of getting traffic to your site, make sure your site is converting this traffic into something. Get folks to sign up for something, your newsletter, the RSS feed on your blog. Whatever it is, getting their email address will help you remarket to them when the time is right. Studies show that visitors landing on a site often don't buy the first time. That's ok! You want to get them into your marketing funnel so you can market to them again and again – not in a way that's obtrusive, offensive or downright annoying, but in a way that is helping them with their own mission.An example of this might be an email newsletter. A helpful, informative newsletter is a fantastic funnel. A blog is another great way to keep people in your marketing loop without bombarding them with "please buy my stuff" email messages. Also, make sure you know what your traffic numbers are before you launch into any Internet marketing campaign. By traffic numbers I mean how many people are visiting your site. You want to know this so you can gauge a before and after view of your marketing efforts.
Simple Ways To Get Massive Traffic Episode 4
Simple Ways To Get Massive Traffic Episode 3
(1) Make sure your blog has an RSS feed so if you capture a reader you don't lose them if they forget to bookmark your site or blog.
(2) Join relevant groups at Yahoo groups. You'll find everything from groups on growing your small business, writing books, finding your passion, even underwater basket weaving. I dare you to find one that isn't right for what you're promoting. When you do find the right group, join and participate as you can!
(3) Podcasting is another great way to drive traffic. Start a podcast by going to Audio Acrobat. There are other programs you can use, but I love Audio Acrobat. You can record the podcast over the phone quickly and easily and then hit the "send" button on your computer once it's recorded and the system will syndicate it to 27 podcast directories including iTunes. It's a great way to let people know about you and your web site!
(4) Start a blog and then once you do, start commenting on other people's blogs, linking to them from your site or adding them to your blogroll.
(5) Inbound links: don't squander your time (or a perfectly good link) on smaller low-traffic sites. Instead spend your time going after high traffic, high quality sites. Good sites should have a PR (page ranking) of 4-6 depending on the market. You can find out what a site's page ranking is by downloading the Google toolbar which comes with a PR feature built in.
Regards,
Muddabir
Simple Ways To Get Massive Traffic Episode 2
(1) Offer a freebie on Craig's List: you'll be amazed at how much traffic you get from a single Craig's List ad. The key here is to send people to a page on your site and make sure they have to sign up for something (like your email newsletter) before they can grab their freebie. That way you're not just getting traffic, you're also building your list.
(2) Create a "recommended by" list on your Delicious page – you can do this by logging on and creating an account and there and then tagging articles, blogs and other content you think is important to your readership. Then offer this page as a resource site. You can add a link to this page in your email signature line or on your web site.
(3) And speaking of your email signature line... do you have one? If you don't, create one. Believe it or not, people do follow these links. You'll be amazed how many folks read email signature lines. I have one and change it several times a year, depending on what we're doing or promoting or what books I have coming out.
(4) Lend a helping hand: you can be an answer person at Yahoo Answers – you don't have to spend hours on there, but maybe a few minutes a week. Make sure and include a link back to your site following your answers.
(5) Set up a social networking site using Facebook, LinkedIn, or Squidoo. It's free and easy to do, just don't forget the all-important link back to your site!
Regards,
Muddabir
Simple Ways To Get Massive Traffic Episode 1
Embarking on an Internet marketing campaign doesn't have to be difficult, tricky, or complicated. Here are a few simple ways (twenty in fact) that you can easily implement to get tons of traffic to your site right now!
1) Write articles: believe it or not this is an incredible tool for driving traffic. Well-written, relevant articles can net quite a bit of activity to your web site. Don't forget to add your URL in your byline. Articles should be 500 to 2,000 words in length. You can send articles to sites like:
2) Social bookmark *everything* - and I do mean everything - you can bookmark each page of your site and each blog entry you post. While this might seem tedious, it's worth it. You'll see a strong increase in traffic if you social bookmark each page on your site and each of your blog entries.
3) List yourself in the best directories – you'll have to pay for this but since most people don't do this (since everyone's looking for a freebie) you could really enhance your traffic by getting a listing: dir dot yahoo dot com, business dot org, botw dot org.
4) Get yourself listed at: DMOZ dot org – it's not easy to get listed there, but worth the effort.
5) Review: if you can review hot new products or books within your market, head on over to Amazon and start positioning yourself as an expert. In order to do this effectively you'll want to create an Amazon profile and make sure and sign each review with a reference to your URL (your web site). You can also go to Epinions and Revoo to review products as well.
Regards,
Muddabir
SEO Expert Tip Of the Day
Here is your SEO Tip of the Day. Are you continually looking for new types of content to add to your Web site? One type of content to consider adding is "statistical data."What is useful or of high interest to your target audience? If the stats aren't your own, always indicate where you're getting them. It's important to quote your source. Your next SEO tip will arrive tomorrow.
freebies
Regards,
Muddabir
Internet Marketing in the Age of Google
By Titus Hoskins (c) 2008
Forget the Computer Age or the Internet Age, centuries from now our current time will probably be referred to as the Google Age. This assumption is not exactly a great leap of faith; Google has quickly permeated into mainstream culture to become an underlying factor of everyday life, a tightly woven backdrop to our lives.But never make the mistake of trying to define Google as just a search engine or you will miss the true calling of this little "Backrub", which was the original name used by its founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1996.
Google as we now know it debuted in 1998. The name Google is a twist on the word Googol, a number represented as 1 followed by 100 zeros. After everything is said and done, it will more than likely refer to Google's net worth - monetary or otherwise.But forget search engine, for regardless of the founders' intentions or company's objectives, Google is and has always been the ultimate marketing machine. A massive marketing machine that is just now gearing up and aiming for more and more lofty heights. These heights seem to increase each day as Google quietly rolls out program after program.All noble ambitions aside, Google is the perfect marketing machine. Google has no equals, and it is very close to getting a stranglehold on the real power behind all marketing, which is information.
Marketing is information. Information is marketing
Great marketing is supplying the right information at the right time. Google more than any other entity on the web or in the world, for that matter, fulfills this criterion at its very core. Google is re-writing the book on how products are marketed.Google now has over 60% of the search traffic in the U.S., with a staggering 7.3 billion monthly searches. In some countries Google's search share is 80% or more. (Source: comScore) Those webmasters who have number one keyword listings in all three of the major search engines will know Google is the only game worth playing because it delivers by far the most traffic.
While MSN and Yahoo! are still major players and are listed in the top 5 traffic sites on the web, what most people don't realize is that (unlike the other two) almost all of Google's traffic is search traffic. From a marketing perspective this is extremely important since search traffic can deliver the highest conversions (sales) mainly because it lets you capture the potential customer or client when they are in the right mindset to buy or to perform an action.Obviously the key to successful marketing is finding the buyers and clients for your products and services. Google has forged itself as the ultimate "middleman" as more and more of the world's business is performed in cyberspace. And as everyone knows the "middleman" can reap huge profits and hold enormous power.Google, within its Adsense program, now offers CPA or Cost Per Action where marketers can now receive larger returns for displaying Google's links on their webpages. As any professional marketer will tell you, you can get 10 times the revenue by promoting affiliate products rather than the Adsense code on your sites. But by adding CPA and other affiliate products within the Adsense program, Google has made it more attractive to serious online marketers.Another step in that same direction is Google's acquisition of DoubleClick, which includes the massive online affiliate marketing network Performics. This means Google can now bring any customer full-circle from initial search to checkout.This may have dire consequences for large, lucrative third-party affiliate networks like Commission Junction and LinkShare. Online marketing and ecommerce is growing at a blistering rate, and the company that controls the majority of these transactions will wield enormous power. Will make the Medici look like paupers.
Those marketers who have managed to acquire number one listings for their targeted keywords in Google's organic search are smiling all the way to the bank. Mainly because Google commands enormous trust with the surfing/buying public and this is demonstrated through higher conversion rates. Likewise, those who have mastered the Adsense and Adwords programs will know Google is an excellent source of online income.Most of the complaints against Google stems from its PageRank system, which is supposed to be Google's version of online democracy in action, a link is a vote for your page or content. The higher the number of links, the higher your page will be ranked in Google's index or SERPs - Search Engine Results Pages.So far Google has played fair, giving even the smallest webmaster the opportunity to capture top Google listings if they produce superior or popular content to the surfer. Some would even argue Google's recent crackdown on sites offering paid-links can be seen as evening the playing field for the small webmaster or marketer who obviously doesn't have the economic clout or resources to buy their way to the top of Google's listings.
Keyword rankings may be the ultimate equalizer and determiner of online wealth. Those who can reach the top positions for their chosen profitable niche keywords will have companies and service providers lining up to do business with them. The fallout can prove extremely lucrative for both parties.However, few marketers or webmasters forget who is really holding the cards; Google controls all steps along this marketing tunnel with its search listings, Adwords and Adsense programs. The only dark spot on the horizon could be monopoly issues, but Google probably has enough reservoirs of public goodwill and deep enough corporate pockets to squash any claims.As Google's dominance in the search market becomes greater, Google will have control of all segments of the online marketplace. Why should Google stop there, why not go into Radio, TV... as the Internet gradually mutates into a billion+ interactive TV channel universe (as many believe it will) who do you think will be at control central offering you a nice free remote?Then there is also Google's planned broadband 700 MHz bid; one can only speculate on Google's intentions. But Google must find a way to transmit its information free to its users. Could it mean free wireless Internet for everyone on free Google boxes or gadgets of some form, usable and accessible anywhere in the world? Anything is possible because the stakes are so astronomical and the marketing revenue so vast, Google must get its information seamlessly and instantly to the end user at all costs.One can only guess at the enormity of the marketing power Google will yield in coming years as the Internet slips out of its teen years. But it won't be just marketing, the influence of Google on all aspects of our lives will probably grow exponentially and that influence will be huge.For the true power of Google is only just now beginning to be glimpsed; only as more and more of the Google pieces fall into place will we truly fathom what life will be like in the Google Age. Google's power, reverence and respect will no doubt be so enormous it may lead some to make comparisons to a higher power that has guided most of the life on this planet so far. Which could also lead one to muse, at least they got the first two letters correct.
Regards,
Muddabir
Application Developers: Don’t Be Surprised If Facebook Changes The Rules When You Do Something That Hurts Users
We saw early on that Facebook was willing to change policies and their API in order to protect users against clearly black hat/spammy applications, or ones that break the terms of use with users.
A new Facebook application called Break Up, created by FaceItApps, may lightly trip both of those problems. The application tells you when someone has removed you as a friend. Currently (and thankfully) there is no notice to the other person when you remove them as a friend. Sometimes they’re just a little too creepy. Antagonizing them with a friend removal notification could make them worse. So Facebook has chosen not to notify people when they are removed as a friend, and it’s one of the features I like about the service.
Break Up automatically tells you if you’ve been removed as a friend. It’s a relatively simple application. But since this information isn’t available through the Facebook API, it probably requires the use of scraping of your friends sites to see if you remain a friend (this was one of the issues Facebook had with what
Plaxo was doing), or else just hammering the getFriends function in the API over and over.
There service itself is not currently violating Facebook’s terms of use, and the application is live. But they are still waiting on inclusion into the Facebook directory. In an email to the Break Up developers (which they forwarded to us), Facebook said:
We sincerely apologize for the delay, but we are currently in the process of reviewing this application to ensure that it does not violate any of the site’s Terms by allowing users to view which of their friends have removed them from the Friend List. Break Up is one of the first applications we’ve seen to include this functionality, and we appreciate your patience as we decide our policy going forth. We will inform you as soon as a conclusion has been reached.
FaceItApps was clearly looking for sympathy from us in sending it to our attention. But when it comes to user privacy, I tend to see things as a bright line. The application is in a grey area that hasn’t yet been contemplated by Facebook but is clearly something many users won’t like. The fact that they are likely scraping to get their data just puts them in a worse position.
If you are contemplating an application that is within the strict guidelines of Facebooks terms of use but is questionable when it comes to user privacy or Facebook’s server stability, don’t be surprised if Facebook puts you on hold and changes the rules. It’s in the long term best interest of the network and its users to block it, and therefore also in the best interests of Facebook employee’s stock value.
Regards,
Muddabir
SEO Expert Tip Of The Day
Here is your SEO Tip of the Day:
Create content that is truly relevant (and honestly deserves to be found at the top of the search results.)
Get some feedback from a professional, experienced writer or even seek the opinions of those who will give you genuinely, honest feedback that you can trust.
Always focus on the value that you can deliver to your readers.
Would you like to have an experienced writer working for you and offering feedback?
Reply to this message and I'll put you in touch with an experienced writer whomyou can hire at a reasonable rate.
Regards,
Muddabir Aziz
SEO Experts Tip Of They Day
Create content that will meet your visitor's exact search query and satisfy it. When optimizing a page for a specific phrase, think about why an searcher mightbe using that specific phrase.
If you are optimizing an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page, are you truly delivering your MOST frequently asked questions?What do you think the background circumstances might be in that individual's lifewhen they search using very specific phrase clusters such as:
"infant pillow support" (Would this attract parents of newborn babies?)
"Meaning of babies names" (Would this attract "soon to be" parents?)"expandable rv shower curtain" (Perhaps attract an audience of seniors who travel?)
"garfield shower curtains" (Someone looking for brand specific product?)
"COST OF LIVING canada to usa" (Is this someone thinking about moving?)
"How to Connect Headphones to TV" (Lot's of folks looking for helpful tutorials.)
"wheres our economy heading" (Why are individuals asking a search engine this?)
"Reasons against Capital Punishment" (People use the Internet to research hot topics)
I could give you hundreds of examples, but the point of this tip is quite simple.Do your best, to understand WHY someone is using the phrase and create your contentto satisfy that reason. Your next SEO Tip in this series will be sent to you tomorrow.
Thanks & Best Regards,
Muddabir Aziz
Google Processing 20,000 Terabytes A Day, And Growing
Niall Kennedy reports the breakdown of how Google’s large-scale computing has grown, and estimates that hardware cost for each large-scale computing job (known as MapReduce) is about $1 million. The number of such jobs grew nearly an order of magnitude (10X) between 2004 and 2006, and then another order of magnitude a year and half later. See the chart above.
Regards,
Muddabir
More Defections At Google
Today we learn of two more Googlers leaving the search giant: Kevin Fox, a UI designer who worked on Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Reader, and Nathan Stoll, a product manager at Google News. Fox is going to an unnamed startup. Stoll is vague about his plans. Update: Add New York sales vet David Hirsch to today’s list.
Remember, these are two three employees out of 16,000 and the end of the year is a natural time to leave a job for something else. But Fox and Stoll join a growing trickle of Google veterans who no longer find Google as alluring a place to work as they once did.
Anyone know what Google’s employee churn rate was in 2007? Anyone want to guess what it will be in 2008?
Regards,
Muddabir
SEO Experts Tip Of the Day
It is our sincere wish that your Web site may flourish in therankings for the finest quality of content, for the longest stable duration and that your work will prosper beyond the realms of ordinary businesss. I hope youare enjoying these SEO tips. Okay....here is your SEO Tip of the Day:
(It's simple yet powerful
The search engines love simplicity, so give it to them. Two ways youcan do this is by using CSS (cascading style sheets) or by goingoutside of the restraints of your Web site design by creating a simplified version of your site without the mouseovers, heavy navigation, etc. Both work beautifully.
Where to place keywords?
Using Keywords @Right Place
· User important keywords, those that people are using to reach to your site near the top of the page
· place keywords into
· use bold and italic keywords
· put keywords into bullted lists
· use keywords multiple times between 4 to 7 %
· Put keywords in anchor text.
Keyword Research Tools
www.findwhat.com
Overture Keyword Suggestion Tool
Google Keyword Sandbox
AnalogX
Keyword Live
Keyword Density Analyzer Reverse engineer top positioned Web sites
Regards,
Muddabir
MeeMix Opens Beta To Public, Has Much Work Ahead
Tel Aviv, Israel based MeeMix, which we first covered in August, is kicking-off the New Year by moving their taste-predicting Internet radio service from closed to open Beta.
Internet radio is already a very crowded space dominated by entrenched startups like Last.fm and Pandora. Smaller players and recent entrants such as SpiralFrog, Jango and Slacker are not increasing the breathing room. MeeMix wants its share of the pie, too, and is keeping its crosshairs focused on the U.S. market and its dominant revenue potential.
MeeMix’s public beta launch is marked by the addition of new features:
Meeps: Comment-based conversations users can have regarding a song, album or artist.
Station Home: Every MeeMix station now has a dedicated page allowing users to interact in its context and shape its playlist.
Mee Feeds: This is basically MeeMix’s version of Facebook’s News Feed. The feed indicates songs favorited, stations rated, friends added, etc.
Mee Journey: Users can see other members’ public log or “journey” of actions in MeeMix.
Station Gift: Users can now send other members a station as a gift. The station is then the “property” of the recipient who can customize it without affecting the original station.
Twitter Integration: Users can update their Twitter accounts with songs they’ve listened to, their favorite stations, etc.
MeeMix claims to have doubled its music catalog, but a search for my personal favorites ‘John Coltrane’ and ‘Miles Davis’ came-up empty. The same searches on Jango and Slacker both came-up positive.
I would like to have seen the addition of “genre” to the channel creation wizard which is still limited to artist and song. A widgetized player also would have been a welcome addition, especially the desktop kind.
In my original post, I hypothesized that licensing its engine could become MeeMix’s core business. Looks like this might not be far fetched as the company says they have been approached by a mobile operator for the purpose of powering a taste-based cellular music streaming service. The company has also shared with me some interesting offline deals on the horizon that should keep MeeMix’s potential on a positive note for 2008. We’ll post another update soon. In the meantime, let us know how you think MeeMix compares to the competition.
Regards,
Muddabir
