Why SEO For Startups ?

Just a second, don’t be surprised by this data! 2.24 million Americans search for the term “SEO” every month. Out of them, 52% are men and 46% of men are ages 35-44. 

Most importantly, 3.5 million people look up SEO on Google. Definitely, there is something powerful about SEO, and this is why so many people want it.

SEO is like an elixir for startups. We’ll try to give you a detailed analysis of why.

We are all aware these days of the rapid development of startups all over the world, thanks to the accelerated growth and accessibility of technology and the Internet. The exchange of ideas has become so simple and instantaneous; people have been encouraged to formulate new creative ideas and translate them into meaningful businesses, giving birth to startups.

These days, we see the rise of new startups almost every single day. Funding firms such as Kickstarter infuse millions of dollars every few days just to get a project up and running, and to prove its worth.

But not all startups live long enough to prove their worth. Some prosper, while others perish before they can even get their ideas to market. One reason why these startups didn’t see the light of day, especially Internet startups, is because they lacked not the funding, but the visibility they deserved. It’s sad to note that many Internet startups have neglected to carry out a strategic Internet marketing plan.

What’s ironic is that while many startups lack the budget necessary to get widespread recognition, some tend to ignore the most cost-effective yet extremely effective marketing strategies of all; suitable Internet marketing strategies.

Indeed, the Internet has opened the doors for many startups to acquire the tools they need to compete with businesses that are beyond their league.

Viable ways to get the word out about Startups

Thanks to the Internet, and Internet marketing methods, startups now have an even more powerful way of getting the word out about their ideas. Below are some of the Internet marketing strategies that work extremely well for a lot of startups:

• Press Release: Gone are the days when using a press release to announce a product launch are only taken advantage of by big corporations. Today, there are now a significant number of online services that allow startups to distribute their own press release material. These services are being offered by PRWeb, PRLog and many others.

• Pay-Per-Click (PPC): Companies have had tremendous success with online pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. This performance-based advertising proved to be an extremely cost-effective means for advertisers to precisely target their audience. PPC strategy works well at different stages of the startup process, including pre-launch, during launch, post launch and beyond.

• Display Advertising: Advertisers now have a convenient way of targeting their audience, based on the context and surrounding content, or the audience’s behavior. This is accomplished with display advertising. This has proven to be a powerful promotional method that precisely targets people who are more strongly influenced by visual stimuli like banner ads.

• Content Marketing: The Internet is teeming with all sorts of content that cater to every type of audience. Blogging, Podcasts, Comment Marketing, White Papers, Infographics, Email newsletters, Videos, Brochure and Data sheets, eBooks, Reference Guides, Microsites, Webinars, Reports, Case studies, Tools & Widgets, presentations, and online courses all proved to be powerful content marketing methods, as long as they are catered to the right audience.

• Organic Search (Search Engine Optimization): Billions of people use the search engine each day, and a staggering 92% of Internet users turn to search engines for products or information. That’s why Search Engine Optimization plays a huge part in every startup marketing effort, by helping establish strong visibility in search results.

• Email Marketing: Most of the billions of Internet users still use email for sending and receiving personal and business messages, as well as for obtaining their daily dose of information. The staggering number of people using email has made it a lush market for Internet-savvy companies to gather leads and produce new customers.

• Affiliate Marketing: Also known as Referral Marketing, affiliate marketing proved to be an extremely powerful way of getting a word out about a new product. Advertisers pay publishers, or affiliates, a certain percentage or commission from the sale of products. Affiliates are provided with several marketing tools directly by advertisers or via an affiliate network such as ShareASale or Commission Junction.

These and other Internet marketing strategies have proven very lucrative for many business, but one has emerged as having the biggest impact on traffic and revenue, both short and long-term. Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is a strategy that has leveled the playing field, allowing small businesses to compete with big businesses.

Why SEO is indispensable for startups

If a startup doesn’t invest in SEO, it’s chances of success are relatively low.

For a startup to snag a million dollar funding, it must first show proof of sustainability and revenue potential. SEO can take care of both. Excellent visibility on search, a viable and significant amount of traffic, and engagement (especially conversions) help establish a startup’s image of being a promising enterprise that effectively lures investors.

In a broader sense, SEO is a long term investment, and if done properly, virtually guarantees high ROI over time.

The online market is a cutthroat environment. That’s why no matter how tempting and lucrative your products or services are, if your customers can’t find you on Google’s first page, they’ll find your competitors instead.

Link Building Misconception – Link Building process is more than just link acquisition

Link acquisition, one of the most important factors for SEO, offers tremendous advantages to startups.

But if you run a startup, don’t look at link acquisition solely from an SEO perspective. Instead, look at it as a powerful form of reaching out to potential prospects.

SEO is especially important for early-stage startups to help them more effectively and cost-efficiently promote their products or services to their target audience. Effective and high quality link building processes play a vital role in building awareness about the startup’s offerings for many tech savvy people.

Ultimately, Link Building, SEO’s most crucial aspect, helps increase new startup awareness as well as improving visibility in the search results.

Below are some of the common SEO tactics that startups should take advantage of if they were to create a viable and cost-effective presence on the web.

• Press Release Distribution
  Syndicating and distributing news that relates to a startup’s launch or product and service announcements are a common but proven SEO tactic. Press release and news sites like PRWeb.com, local news websites (City, County, and State level) bring exposure and links.

• Content Marketing
  Developing great real-time content related to your startup for publishing on major blogs within your industry is another great SEO tactic that seems to be getting a lot of traction these days. For most tech startups, getting published on top tech blogs such as Mashable, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, ReadWriteWeb, BusinessInsider is high on their list. When creating content for your startup, do not forget to explain HOW and WHY your startup can help your target audience in their real life. It’s a sure way to pull in more leads for your business.

• Guest Blogging
  Identify the top blogs that are visited by your target audience and reach out to them. Ask if you could write a guest post and point a link back to your startup website. When linking back to your website, be sure to use a combination of your startup’s brand name and keywords as anchor text (the text of the link itself). Keep in mind that this may not be an easy process. Creating great content could take time, and getting published on an industry-related blog could take a lot of patience and outreach on your end.

• Infographics Marketing
  Infographics are more than just today’s ”in” thing. They offer a very engaging way to capture an audience. When preparing an infographic, highlight points that are specific to your industry, and submit to as many sites as possible for greater exposure.

SEO also allows startups to build a solid search engine reputation

Proper SEO could propel startups not only to the top of the search engines, but, most importantly, help them build a solid reputation online. If you are running a startup, imagine this; a customer is looking for a product or service that your startup is offering. If you don’t have a solid SEO in place for your startup, chances are they’ll find your competitors while your site is shoved several pages deep into the search results.

What does it mean for your customer to find your business on the top of the search engine results page? It means you are doing something right, and that the search engines are giving you a favorable ranking for your good reputation.

Conclusion

Finally, have your say – is SEO a must for startups? The answer is a resounding “Yes!” SEO can make or break a startup. In all likelihood, as experience and real-life cases have shown, a startup that has established a solid online presence can take advantage of massive traffic and better conversions, ultimately resulting in astounding revenue.

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Most important Google Search Algorithm Updates

The year 2012 has seen a lot of changes in the Google’s search engine algorithm. Google is refining its algorithm constantly – making it stronger than ever – so that only best content gets to the top of SERPs.

Google has gone through a lot of important algorithm updates in the year 2012 that impacted thousands of small and big businesses out there. Although some businesses bloomed but most of them suffered huge losses. The websites that solely depended upon black hat SEO techniques are almost dead and only businesses with high quality content can see a hope of light as of now.

Below is an infographic from e2m Solutions that lists all 27 of the Google Algorithm Updates last year. You can download or link to this inforgraphic from their website.

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Google’s Recently Launched ‘Keep’ Service vs Evernote

The modern-day technology realm is a veritable jungle – numerous entities compete amongst themselves but only a lion can dethrone another. That’s precisely the challenge Google have thrown with the release of their “Keep” application that seeks to topple current market favorite “Evernote” from its throne.

So how do the two note-taking programs stack up against each other? And which should finally you opt for? The answers are below.

Compatibility:

Google’s Keep, at the moment, is only compatible with the Android operating system and that too only iteration 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and higher. Users habituated to other platforms will definitely consider this as a limitation.

Evernote, meanwhile, is a fully functional annotation software that conveniently works with all popular mobile operating systems be it Android, iOS, or Windows.

Look and Interface:

Keep has a refreshing interface that looks nice and is easy to operate. The interface neatly arranges your various annotations in both list and grid modes making navigation and execution simple. What’s more, one can change the background color of one’s annotations just like conventional sticky notes.

Evernote’s interface does not appear as prepossessing as Keep’s but this can be attributed to the slew of on-screen and other features that the program offers (described later).

Features:

At the outset, both Keep and Evernote embed some common facets such as the abilities to compose notes, record sound, facilitate dictation, use Android widgets, and take photographs.
Apart from the facets stated above and the design features mentioned earlier, Keep offers:

• An Android lock-screen widget to help formulate notes and render dictation.
• Compatibility with Google’s “Drive” online service. You can use Drive’s desktop facilities as also its competency to format text via Google documents.
• The capacity to transfer notes on to emails and social media posts such as Facebook or Twitter.

Conversely, with Evernote, you get a slew of additional attributes:

• Evernote incorporates plug-ins that can be used with all reputable browsers; these plug-ins handily allow you to grab web page content and transfer the same on to your annotations.
• Evernote facilitates social sharing in the real sense – it enables you to post a distinct link easily for the online community to share.
• Through the Evernote web browser extension, you can effortlessly (via the “copy” command) engender a note containing your favorite link – text and all.
• You can make folders thus making note-taking orderly and uncomplicated.
• You can format your text and even font in a number of ways.
• Unlike Keep, images can be directly downloaded from the internet via their unique URLs.
• You have the prerogative to configure tags.
• Sorting and listing your annotations by name and date is easily accomplished.
• You can view data pertaining to geographical location.
• Evernote also importantly entrenches a desktop application that promotes offline use. With it, working with and transferring content from your personal computer is a breeze – even without the internet.

External Support:

As Keep is a new service, third-party support is not built in.
On the other hand, Evernote is armed with potent external assistance in the form of:

• Applications such as Skitch (lets you capture screen content across multiple operating systems), Kustom Note, and Penultimate (an iPad annotation application).
• Plug-ins.
• Other online tools and services.

The aforementioned third-party add-ons decidedly increase Evernote’s overall resourcefulness and worth.

Conclusion: Google’s Keep is admittedly a welcome inclusion with a cheery interface and fuss-free executing being its universal selling points. But it is ultimately Evernote that still rules over the note-taking world with its gamut of features and all-embracing versatility.

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How To Make Money with Internet Marketing in a Few Easy Steps

Internet is the powerful platform for Entrepreneurs and customers. Everyday millions of users surf internet to gather required information. They may surf web to purchase a product, to read e-book, learn e-tutorials etc. It provides new opportunities to users who can make extra money. If you have sound knowledge about internet then through online marketing you can make money easily. Here are a few successful strategies which helps you to earn extra cash.

Identify the market: 
Research about your target market.  After gathering necessary information, prepare a plan for your marketing strategies. Identify the demand of selected product in existing market. Analyse whether you can make money through that product. If you choose the product which has less demand then you might not earn a good amount. Product selection is a crucial factor which should not be ignored.

Build a strategic plan: 
Once after identifying market condition, spend your time in recognising best marketing techniques which may boost your sales rate. Be different from others. Try to find innovative and creative ideas which may increase your success rates.

Affiliate marketing: It is a popular marketing technique where you can gain better income. As an affiliate your job is to sell others product. Take wise decision while choosing a merchant. Make sure that he produces quality products which satisfy customer needs.

Social media: 

social media emerged as a powerful tool for marketing. Because you can connect with different people across the world. A product which creates buzz in social media has high demand. Well-trusted customers may advice others or share your product information which may reach millions of users. You can instantly know customer opinion which helps in enhancing your skills.

Blogs:
 blogging is the amazing technique which is growing rapidly. Create a blog and start promoting your products. It acts as an excellent medium where you can interact with customers more personally and can get their valuable feedback. If done properly you can earn a lot through blogs.

Article marketing:
 One of the innovative techniques to promote your products is through article marketing. Write an article describing your products or services. Before purchasing products customers may read the data about products and services to identify its features and functionalities.

Ads: 
Try to increase your website’s page rank. Higher the ranking more the number of visitors. Once if your site achieves good rating you can sell certain space of your website to advertise. By this way you can earn good income.

Viral marketing:
 It is a way to enhance your popularity. For instance your products become more successful by adverting in social networks, popular blogs; well-reputed sites etc. word of mouth is a powerful element to stay ahead of your competitors. Entrepreneurs may look for the people who can improve their website popularity.

Videos and picture marketing: Pictures speak louder than words.
.

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Using Online Marketing Techniques To Make You Money

Finding a way to make money using the Internet is a big priority for many people. It is easy to be envious of the people who make thousands per month or a six-figure income online. The massive earning potential of the Internet is leading many people to try to start an Internet business of their own. The unfortunate truth of this fact is that most of these people will fail to even get their business off of the ground. One of the biggest reasons they fail is due to a lack of understanding about the time and effort required to succeed.

The successful bloggers, website owners, and Internet marketers that make thousands of dollars a month didn’t get that way overnight. It takes a lot of time and effort to build a solid and profitable online marketing strategy, and many people just aren’t willing to put in that kind of effort. If you are willing to work hard, the following types of internet marketing techniques will help you earn you a significant amount of money.

Start By Setting Up Your Website :

Most Internet marketing strategies require you to have a website of your own. Create a website and fill it with content. As long as the content is high-quality material that your potential audience will be interested in, it doesn’t matter what type of content you have. Videos, written content, web comics, or even pictures of cats can all be popular types of content for potential readers. Just make sure the content is worth looking at, and provides enough value to make people to want to use your site. If you haven’t given much thought to your target audience, now is the time to do so. Make sure your website targets a specific niche, and create the content accordingly.

Creating a blog of written content is one of the easiest ways to get started because it doesn’t require a lot of technical skills. There are a lot of great content management systems that handle the technical part of making a website. You can create a customized site using WordPress templates without investing a lot of effort. The website you make will serve as your home base for your marketing efforts.

Pay Per Click Ads: One of the best ways to get involved in online marketing is to monetize your website, and advertising banners are an easy way to get started. A few well-placed pay per click ads can offer a small but steady stream of passive income. Once they are set in place, it takes no additional work on your part to earn the income, so you can focus your time on other marketing strategies. The downside of pay per click is that you will not make a lot of money on advertisements unless you have a very large audience.

Premium Content: While you can’t, or rather shouldn’t, charge people to visit your website and read your content, you can create premium content for them to buy. Have a lot of high-quality free content to attract their attention and draw them in, then offer more in-depth premium content for a fee. Make sure the quality of the product is worth the cost you charge. Things like eBooks or web courses on a niche topic are a great way to make an added income. An eBook is a great option because it is another passive stream of income that is easy to maintain.

Affiliate Marketing: If you do not want to market your own premium products or services, you could always get into affiliate marketing. With affiliate marketing, you get to promote the sale of someone else’s product or service, and in return they will give you a portion of the sales from any revenue you generate. If you don’t want to take the time to develop a premium offering on your own, a few high quality affiliate-marketing products could be a great way to boost your stream of income. Just be sure to choose things that your readers would find to be valuable.

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