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Showing posts with label Internet Marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Internet Marketing. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 9, 2013



10 Dead SEO Tactics (And Their Alternatives)


SEO is a constantly changing industry, and much of what you read in a passing introduction to the subject is outdated. We’d like to take this time to discuss several SEO tactics that are dead or dying. We’re not necessarily claiming that these tactics never work (although that’s true for a few of them). We’re simply pointing out that these tactics are losing value and place the future of your site at risk. All of these tactics are frowned upon by Google, and many of them can get you penalized. Some are more “gray” and still work, but can’t be expected to last long enough to be worth the investment.


Tactic #1 – Exact Match Domain Names


Like most of the tactics mentioned here, this can still work, but only if none of the other search results have anything going for them. There was a time when your domain name could give you a boost over your competitors, but this tactic was so abused that Google released an algorithmic update just to target exact match domains. (Here’s our infographic on the updates that came out in 2012.)

Today, exact match domains only really matter for branded searches. If somebody searches for Amazon, they’re going to get Amazon.com. Google is getting increasingly skilled at telling the difference between a branded search and a phrase search. If your domain is built to target a specific phrase, Google can usually tell, and this will only get more important in the future.

Alternative

Instead of choosing a domain name that matches a commonly searched for phrase, choose a domain name that will stick in people’s heads. Look at all the successful tech companies and you’ll see that very few of them are keyword-driven. Google, Facebook, Kickstarter, Amazon, Zappos: these names are designed to be remembered, not to inform.


It’s also important to realize that the end of exact match domains doesn’t mean the end of keyword research. It simply means that keyword research is far more important for individual pages than it is for domain names. This actually leads us right into our next point.

Tactic #2 – Exact Match Keywords in Titles and Meta Tags


Keyword-stuffed meta descriptions are as dead as an SEO tactic can be. They offer no value whatsoever, except to encourage a click-through from the SERP. We can’t stress this enough. It’s good practice to get a call-to-action in your meta description, and that’s the only reason you should be using it. Stuffing it with keywords is only going to scare away users.

Exact match keywords in titles are a grayer area. If you can fit an exact keyword into the title, it’s still worth doing it, but that’s not really what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about cutting and pasting a keyword out of the AdWords Keyword Tool and giving no thought to your title. This should be avoided almost every time.

It’s not hard for Google to tell if every one of your page titles is simply stripped right out of the keyword tool, and users subconsciously pick up on it as well. This gets especially bad when the keyword phrase you’re targeting isn’t grammatically complete.

Alternative

Work a variation of the keyword phrase into a title that encourages click-through and social activity. Put the focus on grabbing attention and encouraging clicks, rather than on the keyword.


You should still try to work the keyword phrase, or a subtle variation of it, into the title, but not at the expense of a memorable and eye-grabbing title. Don’t concern yourself with getting the exact phrase into the title. Adjust the tense and conjugation of your words as needed, and please don’t be afraid to add
punctuation or adjust the order of the words.

If you pay attention to the search results, you’ll notice that exact match titles don’t show up as often as they used to. Instead, the keywords increasingly show up scattered throughout the title and the body. Google is getting better at interpreting the meaning of your query, and your approach should reflect this change.

Tactic #3 – Meta Keywords

I hope everybody who’s reading this already knows this, but meta keywords have absolutely no influence on search results whatsoever. This has been true since the end of the ‘90s. It can be good practice to include a few keywords in case your site gets scraped by some tool that still uses the meta keywords, but as far as SEO this one is just plain useless.

Alternative

Focus on increasing your percentage of repeat visitors from the search engines. Google can measure how often users return to your site, and they use this information to determine how relevant your content is. I sometimes think of this as the present-day stand-in for meta keywords, since links are more accurately thought of as authority signals than as relevancy ones (though this isn’t completely true).


Analyze Google Analytics to find the pages on your site with the highest percentage of repeat visitors (the lowest percentage of new visitors). These are the pages that you want to promote and emulate the most. (Make sure that you are filtering yourself out of Google Analytics before taking this data too seriously).

Tactic #4 – Building Links with Duplicate Content


This one is not only dead, it never worked very well to begin with. Google can clearly identify when a piece of content is copied, and if you submit multiple pieces of content it will, at best, ignore all but one of them.
In the past, this may have been a decent way of capturing a link from the highest PageRank site willing to post your duplicate content, but today it’s actually just a good way to get yourself penalized. Google knows that spammers are trying to use this tactic in order to manipulate their rankings, and it very rarely works.

A variation on this tactic that has also worked in the past it to “spin” an article by running it through an algorithm that creates automated variations of it. This process results in very low quality articles that are no longer exact copies. Anybody who tries to read the articles can immediately tell that something is wrong with the grammar and that bizarre synonyms have been chosen. Google is no longer fooled by these tactics and can usually tell the difference between content written by a human and content written by an algorithm.

Alternative

It’s still possible to get multiple links from a single piece of content, and the best way to do it has always been the best way to do it: post your content somewhere where it will reach a massive audience and attract natural links as a result.


It no longer makes sense to create and submit a piece of content if the only benefit is a single link back to your site for each publication. This has never been the kind of a link Google wanted to count and it’s never been the best way to grow your link profile.

To build the highest quality links, and grow your link profile at the fastest rate, you need to get published in a place where you’ll actually get read. What is the SEOmoz or SearchEngineJournal of your industry? That’s where you need to be published, because it sends referral leads directly to your site, and creates a ton of natural links in the process.

Don’t waste time on content submission that only results in a single link back to your site under your own control. It’s just not worth it anymore.

Tactic #5 – Keyword Density


This is another outdated tactic that, much like meta keywords, actually hasn’t worked for many years. There is no specific number of times you should use a keyword on your page, or a certain percentage of your content that it should make up.

As with many of the other tactics on this list, too much emphasis on keyword density can actually end up hurting your rankings. Thinking about keyword density while writing also makes it very difficult to write worthwhile content. The more time you spend pondering how to fit a keyword into a piece of content, the less time you’ll spend thinking about how to write sentences that keep users engaged and informed.

Alternative

Instead of worrying about keyword density, you can capture a much larger space in the search engines by bringing in long tail traffic. The more in depth your content goes, the more long tail traffic you’ll bring in.


Research has a way of expanding the vocabulary of your content. As you dig deeper into the problems your users want solved, and mine the tough sources for original information, you’ll also serendipitously discover and use keyword phrases you would never have found in the keyword tool. Since they’re naturally attached to the subject at hand, they’re also commonly searched for along with your core keywords.

In addition, you can use the keyword tool to find related keywords, and discuss them within your content. When you do this, however, it should serve the end user. Don’t go out of your way to use several variations on your core keyword. Use the keyword tool to find related topics, and discuss them naturally within your blog posts.

Tactic #6 – “Unique” Content that Serves No Real Purpose


We’re currently exiting the period where “unique” meant little more than “not plagiarized.” Your content needs to be consistently creative, and there are things you can do to make that happen.

There was a time when it was easy to rank content as long as it was technically unique, in the sense that those exact words hadn’t been said elsewhere. All it took was enough links. This is still possible, but it rarely lasts long. It’s not sustainable.

Google’s Panda algorithm is designed to identify how well a piece of content serves its purpose. Leaked guidelines for Google’s quality raters make this abundantly clear.  If your content doesn’t meet its intended purpose for the user, or it has no purpose to begin with, it will eventually be taken down by an algorithm update or a human quality rater.

Alternative

Focus on the true meaning of unique, as in “unique selling proposition.” Your content must be designed to fill a hole in the idea marketplace. It must add value that no other prominent piece of content on the subject adds. That value can come from the research, the tone, the target audience, the medium, the personality, the user experience, or one of many other ways to differentiate yourself.


The point is to focus on unique value, as opposed to merely unique words. You accomplish this by identifying the specific problem you are trying to solve, and solving it for your target audience better than any other piece of content on the web can. If you can’t do that, you need to choose a different topic, because you’re chasing a fool’s errand.

Tactic #7 – Exact Match Anchor Text Links


The anchor text of a link hasn’t lost all of its value, but it’s no longer the most important ranking signal out there, and if you pursue anchor text overzealously you will end up with nothing more than a penalty to show for it.

Over-optimized anchor text sends a very clear message to Google: you have direct control over the links pointing toward your site, so they are not natural. In their eyes, this also means that they are irrelevant as a sign of your authority on the web.

Alternative

When you build backlinks yourself, you should move away from anchor text and start focusing on your conversion rates. Place links where they are more likely to be clicked, and use anchor text that’s more likely to result in a click-through. You can test this a bit by experimenting with AdWords or a different text link ad service if you wish.


The anchor text isn’t completely ignored, and it’s still used to find clues regarding what the linked page is about, but you should avoid too much emphasis on it. It’s generally best to just discus the linked content in the way that makes the most sense, and then attach the hyperlink to the part of the sentence that’s most likely to get clicked on.

In addition, it’s wise to use bare URLs, branded links, links containing the exact title of the linked page, and partial match anchor text.

At the same time, you shouldn’t spend too much time trying to make your links appear “natural.” If you’re doing things right, most of your link profile should already be natural, as we’ll get at the end of the article.

Tactic #8 – Keyword Heavy Footer Links


It doesn’t matter whether they’re outbound or internal links, keyword heavy footer links are a bad idea. The footer has been abused as an SEO tool for quite some time, and Google has wised up to the fact. The search engines now place most of the emphasis on main content, and for the most part ignore links in the footer. Excessive keyword use in the footer is just asking for an algorithmic demotion.

Alternative

Use the footer to reduce your bounce rate. Google most likely measures “pogo-sticking” behavior, where a user clicks onto a site, clicks back, and goes to the next site. Users who instead stay on the site, and don’t return to the search results, tend to be more satisfied with that result.


Instead of filling the footer with keyword links, fill it will calls to action for more content that will interest them. Test, test, test and find the links that encourage the highest click through rate. Keep users on your site so that they are more likely to remember your brand, share you with their friends, subscribe to your newsletter, and ultimately convert. Keep them from returning to the SERP and sending a negative signal to Google in the process.

Tactic #9 – Site-Wide Links


Nearly every client we’ve dealt with who was hit by Penguin or an unnatural link penalty had a problem with site-wide links, either on- or off-site. Whether they’re backlinks or internal links, a link from every single page on any website is generally a bad idea, especially if it’s keyword optimized.

Don’t get us wrong. You want a link back to your home page from every page on your site; that’s just good UI. And if a few sites happen to put you in their blogroll that’s rarely a problem, especially if they used your brand name rather than a keyword.

But if site-wide links end up making large part of your backlink profile, or nearly every page on your site links to every other page, you’re just asking for trouble.

Alternative

For your internal links, just include a few links in your main body and make a few recommendations at the end of each blog post. This keeps users clicking through and seeing what you have to offer, which is great for engagement. There’s no reason to link to a single page from every other page on your site, unless it’s your home page, or it’s part of a “best of” list in your sidebar.


As for external links, you should essentially never build a site-wide link yourself. Don’t worry too much about site-wide links if they’re natural, but as for your own efforts you should stick to contextual links or calls to action in your signature. Links should look more or less editorial (although not to the point that you’re disguising the fact that it’s your link).

Tactic #10 – Unnatural Links

In general, you should avoid any unnatural linking scheme. What do we mean by this? Well, Google’s terms of service indicate that any link intended to manipulate rankings is a violation. Many SEOs fail to understand this, and mistakenly believe that their links are within Google’s guidelines as long as the quality levels are high.
I suppose we’re pushing things a bit by saying this tactic is “dead,” as it can still work quite well, but consider yourself on thin ice. Even quality links are in Google’s gray area if you built them yourself, in particular if the link offers little or no value outside of SEO. If there’s reason to believe that the link only exists to manipulate your rankings, there’s reason for Google to disregard the link.

Alternative

Stop building links to manipulate your rankings. I know, this is almost heretical in some circles, but it really is the only way to stay within Google’s terms of service, and it’s actually the fastest way to build links.

Instead of focusing on building links to grow your presence in the search engines, switch over to building links for referral traffic. This is the only method defensible as a long term marketing strategy.

How could this be the best path to improving your rankings? It’s simple. The pages that send the most referral traffic are the pages that Google wants to rank in the search engines. Focus on building links from those sites, and you will focus on promoting yourself with the influencers that matter most.

Google does not want to see your pages ranking on backlinks that you built. That’s an inconvenient truth for many SEOs, but there’s no getting around it. If you focus on referral traffic, you end up focusing on tactics that result in natural links. It’s the simple law of numbers. The more often people see your content, the more often they’ll link to it. In the meantime, your hand built links will come from the sites that send the most positive signals to Google, and actually indicate that you do have some influence.
It’s the path of least resistance. Cheating is harder.

Conclusion

There’s no point investing in outdated tactics that can’t be expected to work long term. While some of the tactics we’ve talked about can still be effective, this is only true in the short term. These are SEO strategies that can, at best, give you a false sense of security about the future, and all will eventually leave you dead in the water if you rely on them exclusively.
We realize we’ve taken a few strong stances here, and we welcome all feedback.

Post Source E2msolutions.com

Sunday, June 9, 2013


Nile-Marketing-15-SEO-Tips-For-Beginners-300x238.jpg



SEO Tips for Beginners.

 Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about optimizing your blog to rank high in the Search Engine Results and thus increase overall visibility. Apart from unique contents and site design, it’s one of the most important aspects of blogging.Basically, what you are trying to achieve here is to figure out On What ‘Keywords’ you want the visitors to find your site and how to optimize the said ‘keywords’ to rank high & relevant in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).Simply put, everything begins with what you have carefully chosen as “Your Keyword“. An example of mine are Blogging Tips for Beginners and Blog for Beginners which currently ranks #2 and #1 respectively.

If you are new to blogging concept and SEO in particular, I’ll like to share with you 15 SEO Tips to help improve your site’s ranking in the Search Engine Results, all without the usual jargon.


1. Keywords in <title> tag


One of the most important factor to rank high in your chosen keyword is to have it – your keyword – inside the <title> tag. The <title> tag is what appear in the clickable link on the search engine results page. In what I have came to learn is that what appears in the beginning is more important than what comes next.
To give you an idea, let’s take a look at 2 of my chosen keywords – Blog for Beginners & Blogging Tips for Beginners, as the former appears first follows by the latter, naturally Blog for Beginners appears higher than Blogging Tips for Beginners. However, this may not always be the case as other factors such the competitiveness of the keywords are equally important. What I’m trying to say is that you always put your Primary Keyword first.
Now if you are on WordPress, I’d recommend use of an indispensable Platinum SEO plugin to help you optimize your <title> without messing up your theme code.

2. SEO-Friendly URL

By default, WordPress set the permalink structure as www.domain.com/?p=12 which is a big NO NO for Search Engines Optimization (SEO). It doesn’t actually gives any indication to the robot what the url is all about.
In what I have came to learn, the optimal URL structure, according to Matt Cutt with his SEO tips, would be to use only the post title as part of the URL and don’t include the post date in your URL. Not only it is human-readable, more importantly it gives the maximum SEO benefits. How to Optimize Your URL For Search Engines.

3. Proper Use of Keywords in (<H1>, <H2>, <H3>)

Don’t expect the search engine to figure out which are the headlines – it won’t. Instead, use your keywords in the <H1>, <H2>, and <H3> tags to provide clues to the search engine. A good buddy of mine, PB has revealed The Best SEO Tricks Ever that shows you how to optimize your keywords within those headlines.

4. Keywords in Image <alt> tag

Indeed images speak a thousand words but Search Engine Spiders don’t read images, they only read the <alt> tag which is the textual description of the image. Hence, it is important to always provide a meaningful description of an image with your keyword within the <alt> tag. Why you should care with the image ALT attribute.

5. Anchor Text of Inbound & Outbound Links

What is Anchor Text? It’s the word within a hyperlink. Here’s an example, About Yan Susanto, in which “About Yan Susanto” is the anchor text. Not only it gives your readers an idea of about the content of the page you’re linking to, more importantly it tells search engines what the page is about. Used it wisely, it will boost your rankings in search engines, especially in Google. As a rule of thumbs, avoid using “click here” for an anchor text. (See the outbound links on #2 and #3)

6. Origin of Inbound Links

Besides the anchor text, it is your duty to ensure that the sites that link to you is not from bad neighbourhoods. The theory is that it’s better to have one inbound link from a reputable site (generally speaking, sites with greater Google PR are considered reputable) than to have one hundreds links from untrusted sites. Simply said, who links to you does matter.
It’s also important to note that inbound links from sites of similar niche has far more credibility in the eyes of Search Engine than that of unrelated ones. Where Do You Get The Best Quality Inbound Links?

7. The Power of Internal Linking

One important element of SEO that is often overlooked is Internal Linking which, in layman term, means the process of linking to other pages of your site within your archives. I can’t think of a better way to reactivate and rejuvenate the old and buried posts in your archive than to link them internally in your recent post.
You shouldn’t underestimate the power of internal linking in the distribution of your Page Rank – if any, to your internal pages and in helping to improve your search engine results. Link building is never enough without proper internal linking.

8. Links from Directories

I’m not a fan of free directories as IMO having tons of links from PR0 directories is useless and it can even be regarded as link spamming, but being listed in DMOZ Directory, Yahoo Directory and similar directories will certainly boost for your overall ranking. However, it is almost impossible to get into DMOZ without much of a credibility – and some says ‘certain form of connection from biased editors’. Still it’s one of those things that is worth your while.

9. <Description> metatag

Though metatags are becoming less and less important, there are two metatags that still matter in SEO, these are the <description> and <keywords> metatags. Both are still important from a human and search engine perspective. <Description> metatag is what you use to describe your site. In fact, this description is what the visitors see when your site appears on the search results. How to Create The Perfect Meta Description For Google (& Searchers)

10. <Keywords> metatag

While you are it, fill your <Keywords> tag with relevant keywords. Relevancy here means that every word within <Keywords> metatag must somehow appears somewhere within the body text. If not, it can be penalized for irrelevance and considered bad for your ranking. What’s The Best Keyword Meta Tags Formula?

11. Use of Robots.txt for Duplicate Content

Basically the purpose of creating a robots.txt file is to improve site indexation by telling search engine crawler to only index your content pages and to ignore other pages (i.e. monthly archives, categories folders or your admin files) that you do not want them to appear on the search index because it may lead to duplicate content issue.
If you are using WordPress, Syed Balkhi wrote a must-read Robots.txt Guide for WordPress – Avoid Duplicate Content.

12. Use of Sitemap

While Robots.txt instructs search engines which parts of your site to exclude from indexing, a Sitemap tells search engines where you’d like them to go. From a search engine perspective, sitemap is useful for better and faster indexing while a plain HTML sitemap with the use of plugin provides ease of navigation for your visitors.
As such, it is not uncommon to have 2 sitemaps of which one is created for human – your visitors and the other for search engine robots.

   1. For Search Engines – You can create a Google Sitemap online and add your Sitemap to your Google Webmaster account or if you are on WordPress, install Google (XML) Sitemaps Generator which will generate XML-Sitemap supported by most of the search engines.
   2. For Your Visitors – Clean Archives Reloaded generate a list of your posts sorted by months for better navigation. To see an example, have a look at my archives page.

13. Site Accessibility

Another fundamental yet often neglected factor that might affect your site ranking is the issue of accessibility. Often your site may be unaccessible due to broken links and wrong use of robots.txt that may cause your pages not indexed by Search Engines.
The solution: Broken Link Checker for WordPress will check and detect both internal and outbound links that don’t work and notifies you on the Dashboard of any broken links.

14. Keywords in First Paragraph

Put simply, search engines scan and expect that your first paragraph will contain the important keywords for the article. Make sure your keywords appear in the first paragraph of your content. If you do notice, in the first paragraph of this article, I place two primary keywords, SEO and blogging as part of my keyword optimization.

15. Keywords in Footer

Well, the first impression and the last impression usually makes the most remembered impression. A simple SEO trick of placing a link to your main page with your keyword as an anchor text could have a positive result in your search engine ranking.

Final Say
SEO is never intended to be a one-time effort. No success can be achieved overnight. It takes a lot of patience, commitment and the know-hows to succeed. All the above tips when applied may not push you into #1 but it will surely bring you one step closer to #1.
The key to SEO success is persuading search engines that your site is relevant in any search query. There are no hard and fast rules to SEO, it all boils down to the right mixture of quality content and quality inbound and outbound links with proper keywords optimization.
Good luck with your SEO. If you have any opinions or feedbacks, send them my way. I’m all ears.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013


Nile Marketing - Which Website Marketing Services are Right for You



Which Website Marketing Services are Right for You

Whether you are going to do it yourself or hire an online marketing agency, you need to know which website marketing services are right for your company. You want to ensure you have an effective online marketing strategy to get your target market engaged with your brand.

Most agencies will offer a package of website marketing services tailored to your specific needs. Your plan will include services that target your demographics and will bring in and retain quality customers.

Website Design

You will need a website that is built with search engine optimization (SEO) in mind. The architecture of the site has to be designed so that the search engines can find it, easily crawl it and rank it accordingly. It also has to be designed to be easily navigated by your customers.

Social Media

Launching a social media campaign on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more will give you a broad online presence. Most people today use social media to inform their friends and family of their interests. Having your brand in the social media medium will make it that much easier for your audience to spread the word about your services or products.

SEO Strategy

Having an SEO strategy will make your content more attractive to search engines like Bing, Yahoo! and Google. The higher you rank with the search engines, the easier it is for your target market to find your site. SEO can also help your site be informative, relevant and up-to-date.

Blogs

Including a blog section on your site is key to keeping the site continually updated with fresh content. Not only do search engines love this, your customers will too. New content that positions you as an industry expert is important to attracting new customer and retaining your current customers.

Implementing these website marketing services into your overall online marketing plan will give you a heads up against your competition. If you are not sure which services would benefit you the most, hire an online marketing agency so they can customize a plan to get you above your competition.
Nile Marketing - Marketing Your Website






Marketing Your Website

Marketing your website is the most effective step you can take to showcase your brand, services and products to your target market. Just because you build a flashy site doesn’t mean people will automatically know about it.

Developing a results driven online marketing strategy will help you organize the steps you need to take to get your website noticed by potential customers and the search engines. Remember to focus on quality and not quantity. Driving quality customers who are interested in your products and services is more important than getting 100 customers that are uninterested and will click off your site.

Even before you build your company site, you should make a plan on how you will market your website. Making sure your site is build in an SEO friendly manner will help search engines to see it and rank it properly. Also having SEO optimized content will help you rank higher with search engines like Google and Yahoo!

Having a blog on your site and posting relevant content frequently will help keep your site fresh and fully optimized. Also guest blogging will help connect your site to other relevant sites to help you with search engine rankings. It also helps you grow your customer base as your brand will be put in front of more potential customers.

Marketing your website cannot all be done for free. You will have to spend money to make money. Run a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign to effectively target your audience. Also if it fits your demographics, post ads on sites like Facebook.

You will also want to run a re-targeting campaign. Re targeting uses cookies which are placed on the computers of the visitors that come to your site. Once they leave your site, the cookie will show them ads which will drive them back to your site. This is an effective way to bring a customer back who went to your site, browsed and left.

These are just a few ideas to add to your plan when marketing your website. An online marketing agency can help you plan your online strategy to get you a good return on your investment.

 Nile Marketing Company - Is There Such Thing as Free Online Marketing ??






Is there such Thing as Free Online Marketing?

Nile Marketing

Free online marketing – it does exist and you can achieve some of it through organic search rankings, different social media platforms and blog writing. These are all online mediums that are free and you can research any one of them easily on the internet. Now with said, remember the old saying – you get what you pay for. Using an experienced online marketing company is recommended but if you decide to go it alone, below are a few tips to get free online marketing for your business.

Organic Search Rankings

Organic search rankings are when search engines crawl the content of your site according to their algorithms and give your site a ranking. Then when a potential customer searches for a keyword, your site will hopefully be listed on the first page of results.

In order to achieve good organic ranking, your site will have to be optimized. This means your site is build in a way that makes it easy for search engines to crawl. Also, the content on your site will have to be optimized for SEO using targeted keywords. Your content will have to be relevant to your target audience. Finally, your content also has to read naturally so your customers understand your product and services.

Social Media Platforms

Social media is now even more important than ever before. The internet allows users to give opinion and comments about your products or services. Your goal is to position your company as reliable, dependable and one that easily interacts with its audience and customers on social media platforms.

For example having a company page on Facebook and interacting with your audience is key. This is a word of mouth platform that can give you free publicity if you do your part. Positive comments are key but even if you get a negative comment or review, your audience can see how you interact with that individual and you could spin it into a positive.

Blogs

Site blogs are a great way to keep relevant content fresh and new on your site. Make sure you post regularly and that the content positions you as the expert in your field. Also, make sure you are using keywords. A blog has two functions: to get better organic rankings and to answer and inform your audience.

Free online marketing is possible if you know what you are doing. But if you need help, don’t hesitate to look to an online marketing company to get the best rankings for your site.

Friday, May 10, 2013






Brand Development Strategy Simplified - Nile Marketing


Even though brand development is not a new concept, many business owners still do not completely understand the concept or its importance. Similarly, it is a myth that brand development initiatives need to be multi-million dollar campaigns to be successful.

Understanding the basic principles of brand development can give you perspective on your own current brand and marketing plans. Here are three key elements to any branding strategy:

1. Who are you?

The first step in developing a brand is to clearly define what your brand is and what you want it to stand for. How will any marketing tactics communicate the value of your brand if you, yourself do not have a solid understand of your brand?

2. Who needs to know?

This is just another way of saying “Who is your target market?”– and “everyone” is not a valid answer. To determine who is your target market, first write down every relevant element of your ideal customer’s persona: age, gender, location, education level, relationship status, ethnicity, interests, etc (it is just fine to have more than one ideal customer persona).

Knowing your different customer personas will help you to craft the message that you are trying to communicate to them, and to highlight the relevant aspects of your product or service that will be valuable to them.

3. Why should they care?

Now that you know exactly who you are, and who your ideal customer is, its time to figure out why that customer should care.

4. Social Connections

If you are deciding whether or not to advertise on Facebook, don’t forget to factor in the platform’s social component. The ads you run on Facebook will be seen not only by the audience your are specifically targeting, but also by their social connections as well. This effect is embedded in the social nature of the site in and of itself. For marketers, this means that these residual organic connections lower the average cost of acquisition per user.

To Sum It Up

Facebook advertising is not a platform that works for every company or product. This is why it is very important to know how and why you are using the platform from the outset. For example, a direct response ad campaign to an e-commerce site would not be a good fit for Facebook (people are on Facebook to be social, not to shop). On the other hand, a branding campaign works perfectly for Facebook.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Nile Marketing





How to Choose a Web Marketing Firm ??

As a business owner, you want to make sure you choose an experienced web marketing firm that will give you the highest return on investment (ROI). Your specific business needs will play a vital role in choosing an online marketing firm.

Here are a few tips to guide you into selecting a 
quality web marketing firm.

Your Business Needs

Before you begin interviewing potential web marketing firms, get a good grasp at what you think you will need. Doing a little online research beforehand can help you ask informed questions that will give you better results. Knowing what you want will help you find a well-rounded web marketing firm that has a diverse portfolio.

Here are few things to decide upon before making 
your first call :

Will you need a website built or redesigned?
Will you need a new logo?
Are you going to initiate an email marketing strategy?
Will you be posing pay-per-click (PPC) ads?
Is your site’s content optimized for SEO?
Is your current site optimized?
Will you need traditional marketing as well?
Do you require a company brand strategy?
Will you need to implement a social media campaign?

Flexibility :



The firm you choose should be flexible to adhere to your business needs. As your business grows, your online marketing needs will change and the agency must react quickly.


Reputation :

Besides taking the firm’s word, you need to check their references, business standing and testimonials. There are sites like Glassdoor.com or the Better Business Bureau that can give you an idea of the company’s reputation. A solid reputation speaks volumes of their capabilities to potentially grow your business and brand.

Cost :

Once you narrow down your search, make sure you find a web marketing firm that has reasonable prices that fit your budget. There’s no sense in diving into debt before your business has made a profit.


Friday, April 26, 2013

Nile Marketing









JamStir Performance Platform Inspires McDonald's :


How do you get McDonald’s managers to learn how to inspire 
their crew members to improve store operations ??



The answer: JamStir.

JamStir is a first of its kind learning and performance improvement platform that combines the science of inspiration with social collaboration and gamification.

McDonald’s annual Southeast Region Winter Business Meeting brings together over 750 owner-operators, general managers, and shift- manager for an opportunity to learn about the business, network, and recognize outstanding performance. The regional Human Resource and Owner-Operator leadership at McDonald’s realized that this meeting created a tremendous opportunity to create an experience to teach managers important leadership skills vital to the future of the region.

Working together the team from McDonald’s and JamStir created a social gaming experience where each manager learns to identify opportunities for waste reduction and then learns behaviors central to inspiring their crew members to take ownership of waste reduction in their stores.

The scale and impact of the experience is tremendous. All 750 managers will use a Samsung Chromebook to explore JamStir Performance Platform at the Annual Winter Event taking place on January 29, 2013 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Atlanta, GA. The Samsung Chromebook Chrome Operating System is perfect for this highly interactive experience and will allow participants to navigate the game levels and connect with each other easily. For the game experience design, Performance Inspired, Inc. combined its science of inspiration behavioral model with Badgeville’s outstanding gamification software to create a truly unique solution. The JamStir platform is rounded out with social collaboration and system integration being provided by Nile Marketing  Internet Marketing Strategies.

Say goodbye to boring, ineffective and static learning and performance improvement systems. Say hello to JamStir: The next giant leap in performance improvement.

Thursday, April 25, 2013






5 Myths About Internet Marketing :

Learning the truth regarding the top 5 myths about Internet marketing can help you get your business on the right track. It’s not about if you need to market your site online – nowadays you have to. Its about how effectively you plan and execute an online marketing strategy.

1. Internet Marketing is Free :

There is a little fact and fiction when it comes to the idea that internet marketing is free. Yes, there are aspects of online marketing that are free but to get the most out of the Internet, you will have to pay. As the old saying goes, ‘you get what you pay for,’ or in this instance what you don’t pay for.

To target the right audience, you will have to pay for pay-per-click (PPC) ads. These targeted ads will bring in the customers you want, not just any random person who doesn’t have an interest in your services or products.

2. Website has to be Fancy and Expensive :

You don’t have to put a second mortgage on your home to get your site designed and built. It is not about how much money you spent or how flashy it is.

The site should be informative and easy to navigate for the average customer. It should also be designed and written with search engines in mind. The easier it is for Google and similar search engines to crawl your site, the easier it will be for your customers to find it when they enter a search query about your products or services.

3. Content is Irrelevant :

The subject about content and internet marketing is always a topic for debate. Half think content is gibberish and others think it is the key element to any site.

Let me leave you with food for thought. If your content is not informative, your potential customer will click over to your competitor. And if your content is not SEO friendly, then the search engines can’t rank your site. So when talking about Internet marketing, content is very relevant.

4. Social Media is Unimportant :

Social media is more important than ever. It is the platform that your audience uses to send messages to their friends and family.

Using social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter will allow you to interact with your audience at their level. It also makes is easier for them to get your brand out there at the grassroot level.

5. All Traffic is Good Traffic :

All traffic is not good traffic. There is not a logical reason to drive customers to your site that are not remotely interested in your product or services. There is a much better return on investment if you focus on targeting quality customers not quantity.

Now that you know some of the myths and facts about Internet marketing, you can make an informed decision when hiring a online marketing firm to help you strategize an effective marketing campaign.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013





Outsource Marketing :

In today’s day and age, where the ever advancing world of technology has opened the door for a more specialized workforce, outsource marketing has become an essential aspect of a business plan. Whether you have an in house marketing department or not, your organization can benefit from outsource marketing services.

Benefits of Outsource Marketing :



Reduces Overhead :

The cost of outsourcing an individual is less that hiring an employee that will need a salary plus office items like a computer, desk and benefits. There will be times where it would cost more per hour for an employee to complete a task than an outsourced party.

Specialized Personnel :

Online marketing, social media and online advertising have opened the doors for a more tailored workforce. There is so much to know and learn and one person can’t master it all. By outsourcing, you can hire a highly qualified person for each piece of a project and get more bang for your buck.

Unique Perspective :

Since an outsourced staff is unaware of any internal politics, their ideas are fresh and not tainted, bias or prejudice. They are free to work in an uncluttered environment and not be slowed down by any internal processes. Outsourced individuals are also known for being creative, risk takers and out-of-the-box thinkers.

Analytic Reports :

Most outsource marketing firms will provide analytical results for services like search engine optimization (SEO), social media and pay per click (PPC) campaigns. This is their way of showing you how the services are benefiting your business. It’s also a way of knowing which services need to be tweaked to get your business a better return on investment (ROI).

Improved Efficiency :

Since the individual or agency you’ve hired is fully dedicated to one particular task and project, they can be highly efficient. They are not being pulled in different directions like an in house marketing person might be.






What is Internet Marketing ??

Also know as online marketing, it is a mix of strategies and tactics to brand your company and make it popular within the correct target audience. For most companies, traditional marketing is no longer enough. More and more consumers are online and companies need to go where their customers are shopping.

Internet marketing has several branches that intertwine to maximize the reach of the campaign. Whether your business needs only a local audience or national, internet marketing can target your exact market to get your brand in front of the right shoppers.

Website Design :

Your site has to be built in a way that search engines can crawl it. This is one of the ways you can improve your organic rankings. If search engines can’t find your site, chances are neither can your potential customers.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) :

Another component to answer your question, what is internet marketing, is SEM. This piece is actually composed of two parts – organic rankings and pay-per-click (PPC) ads.

You have to make sure your content is search engine optimized to further improve your organic rankings. Content must be relevant to your product and services and must also be keyword rich.

A PPC campaign runs ads that are typically seen at the top and right hand side of a search engine results page. These ads are targeted by keywords to appear on internet pages once a consumer has searched for those keywords.

Social Media :

This is a way for your company to fully engage with your audience using platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Social media gets your name out there, lets you easily blast out promotions or sales to millions and allows you to speak one-on-one with consumers.

Email Campaigns :

Email campaigns are a simple way to stay in contact with your audience. You can send a welcome email, promotional email and even emails designed to bring old customers back.






What Kinds of Jobs are Offered 

at Internet Marketing Firms ??


What kinds of careers can you find at internet marketing firms? If you are Internet savvy, creative, meticulous, analytical, organized and a quick thinker, then you would like a career with an internet marketing firm. It’s a fast paced environment that can guarantee you will never experience a dull moment. Careers with internet marketing firms vary so you can have a more behind-the-scenes job like web development or interface with clients on a daily basis in more of a sales or public relations position.


Here are a few of the careers you can have with internet marketing firms:


Sales




You are the fast talking mover and shaker that brings in the big clients.


Public Relations


You are the bubbly personality that keeps the firm out in the media in a positive light. You also do the same for all the clients.


Social Media Expert


You position the client’s website on all relevant social media platforms. You make sure clients interact with their audience in a natural comfortable manner.


Graphic Artist


You are the artistic talent that can design a well optimized site that not only looks great but is SEO friendly.


Content Writer


Your are the SEO expert that knows how to write web pages and blogs so the client’s site is ranked high with the search engines.


Analytics Expert


You live and breathe numbers and reports. You can dive into different analytical tools like Omniture to pulls reports that detail how a website is performing.


Project Manager


Organization and deadlines are your passion. You track the project from beginning to end all while staying within the budget.


Creative Director


You are the brains of the production department. You know the brand of each client and work with the entire team to ensure the project keeps a consistent look and feel.


Web Developer


You are the coding guru that builds the front and back end of a site. You know how to work with HTML and PHP to build a structure that is optimized for SEO yet very consumer friendly to navigate.


As you can see there are many jobs you can hold at internet marketing firms. Whether you are creative or tech savvy, you are sure to find a spot to show off your talents.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Nile Marketing




Why Internet Marketing?

What is internet marketing? 
We see it every day. Banner ads, regular ads, pop-ups, links to your website, affiliate links, and so much more. There are many kinds of internet marketing- and they are very effective. When you get the right ads or marketing tools in the right spots, you can greatly boost your business. Millions of people surf the web every day; the majority of people now go online to look for products, ideas, and information. If you can tap into that market, you will have endless opportunities for getting your message to the world.

Internet marketing also allows you to be creative. Unlike printed ads, you can make your ads animated. These ads can even outdo a television ad by incorporating an interactive feature. These ads are effective because they catch people’s attention, drawing them in to see the message that you want them to get.

But the effectiveness of internet marketing is not the only reason why it is an essential part of a modern business. Internet marketing is vital to a modern business because it is cost effective. Printed advertisements and TV/radio advertisements are very expensive, making it more difficult for smaller companies and businesses to effectively advertise themselves. Printed ads include phone books, newspapers, journals and magazines, and can cost huge amounts of money to produce. TV/radio ads can help spread your message to a very large audience, but it will cost you big bucks to do so.

Internet marketing, however, is very inexpensive, and small businesses can efficiently promote themselves on a small budget. Besides the comparatively low costs, the creative advertising options available online mean that you are not limited to a simple ad. You can use links, social media, interactive ads to get people’s attention, free resources such as online phone books and business directories, and so much more. Many advertisement options only require you pay for ads that people actually click on, called cost-per-click ads. This saves you from paying for dozens of ads that no one shows an interest in.

Using internet marketing is vital to a company or business’s growth because the internet is not going anywhere. More and more people are using the internet every day, and the new generations growing up are using it much more than their parents. The internet allows people to communicate instantly, find products and information they want quickly, and is constantly breaking down barriers. Online shopping is gaining popularity rapidly, bringing more people online to find the products and services they want. Investing in internet marketing is a very wise choice because it is not only a pivotal part of today’s society, it will be a pivotal part of tomorrow’s as well.

Our internet marketing experts are ready to help you devise and execute a strategy for promoting your company or business online.

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