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4 Elements Articles Must Have To Drive Traffic to Your Website!

26/3/2021

The importance of articles on the success of today's internet-based companies is immeasurable. They are the lifeblood of product promotion and drive traffic to commercial websites. Articles are key elements in making websites produce profits. Business owners must include them in their marketing campaigns in order to create credibility for themselves and their product or service.

Submitting articles for publication creates links to your website resulting in higher ranking on the search engine result pages. The higher a site ranks, the bigger slice of the traffic flow pie they receive. With increased traffic to your website comes more profit and potential for producing other income streams as well.

It is not enough to just stuff your site with articles; there are other elements to be considered as well. You need these additional elements to obtain the maximum benefit articles can provide. A well-written article will peak the interest of site visitors and keep them coming back for more. These added elements can also prompt visitors to recommend your site to others.

Here are four tips to help you spice up your articles to produce more traffic that will result in increased attention to your site.

1. Keywords and Keyword Phrases
An article must be centered on keywords and keyword phrases. Visitors to your site are looking for something specific. They're at your site because they may have been sent there via a search engine as a result of typing in a keyword or phrase they were looking for (e.g., Toyota Camry, Tax Lawyer, etc). Once they reach the website it's critical that the information they are seeking is easy to find or they'll move along to another source.

You need content on your website that has keywords that are related to what visitors are searching for. For example, if you maintain an auto parts site, you must have the auto parts listed in your article. Look for tools on the internet that can help you determine what keywords and keyword phrases are mostly sought after. You can use these tools to determine what keywords to use and write about.

2. Keyword Density
You must use the keywords and keyword phrases you choose throughout your website content. Keyword density is important for search engines to "feel" their way to your site. Website content should have at least ten to fifteen percent keyword density for search engines to rank them high in their results.

Keyword density is the number of times a keyword or keyword phrase is used in an article. The number varies depending on the number of words used in an article. An effective article must have a keyword density that is not too high or too low. With a very high density, the essence of the article is lost and may turn off a reader as well as search engines. It comes off as overeager, and a low number may be ignored by the search engines.

3. Good Article Content
Like what is stated above, you cannot just riddle an article with keywords. They must also be regarded as good reading material. Articles must be able to entertain people as well as provide good information and help for their needs. Articles should be written well with correct spelling and good grammar. If you want people to trust you, make sure your writing is well thought out.

woman working in laptop making notes and drinking a coffee

People respond well to figures, facts and statistics. Try to get great information and as many facts as you can. A good and well written article will boost your reputation as an expert in your chosen field or topic. As more people believe in you. They will be able to trust you and your products.

4. Linking Articles
Here's another important thing to remember. If you are going to submit articles to e-zines and/or contribute your articles to newsletters and other sites, DON'T ever forget to include a link to your site. A small resource box with a brief description of you and your site should always be placed right after the articles you submit. If people like your articles, they will most likely click on the link directing them to your site.

coffee, notepad, pen and coffee beans on table

Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now for a free quote.

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What Kind Of Entrepreneur Are You? - Secrets to Success

19/3/2021

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There are three types of Entrepreneurs:

Successful Entrepreneur
Unsuccessful Entrepreneur
New Entrepreneur

Not very catchy definitions, are they? Let me define them based on their characteristics because the “New Entrepreneur” out there could save them a lot of headaches if they look for behavior that generally leads them to failure.

Successful Entrepreneurs
These guys are easy. They know the game. They understand why you build a business. They do it over and over again because they love the challenge. They are not in it for their egos, the idea, or the need to have President on their business card. They do it because they can’t do anything else, but build things and then sell them off. They get it started, then hand it off to people to run it.

Unsuccessful Entrepreneurs
Things just don't work out for the Unsuccessful Entrepreneur. More often than not, they keep on trying, and get it a little more right next time. Eventually, some become successful. Often, they give up and return to the safety net of a 40 hour per week job. Their idea, product, or service just does not solve anyone’s problem, but their own.

New Entrepreneurs
I have a lot of respect for people that venture out into their own or try to turn an idea into action. These are people that generally don’t fit into the corporate structure, are generally liberal minded, having the audacity to question how things are being done and suggest there is a better way to do it.

So the new Entrepreneur has this great idea! Then they get excited because they can make a lot of money doing it! 'I'm going to be rich!' So, they embark on the emotional high of becoming an Entrepreneur. They become infatuated with their idea. It is the best idea and the only idea worth investing in. Most need money to fund their idea, yet they don’t want to give anything up to get other people’s money. Their valuation of the business is way over inflated and they have no sales. Ego and control start to get in the way.

Start-ups can end up in a common pattern: the 'New Entrepreneur' is excited about their great idea, yet they cannot really articulate how to make money with it. Their assumptions about their market are not well defined and they do not really understand what it takes to get a business going. They don’t understand why no one will invest in their business. They are passionate about the idea and their ego loves the fact that they can now put President on their business card.

So what is important for new Entrepreneurs? It is all about sales.

A successful entrepreneur once said: 'Everyone says you need an accountant and a lawyer to get a business started. So, everyone goes out and gets an accountant and a lawyer to make you feel good about your idea. It's backwards.' He points out that you need customers first to determine if the idea has merit, then go out and hire an accountant and a lawyer. Is what you are doing in demand and are people willing to pay for it? In other words, it is about sales and marketing.

As a New Entrepreneur is weighing the idea, the emphasis needs to be on sales and marketing. Get the idea, product, or service out there and see if someone will pay you for it. Do you need an infrastructure to support it? Yes. Do you need to be able to deliver it? Yes. But figure out what kind of expectations you can put out there and manage. As another successful Entrepreneur told me, don’t be afraid of success. You can always find money, if you have a book of business to show an investor. You can always find ways to deliver.

We see the New Entrepreneur all the time. Some people are looking for the 'Mirror'. 'Come in and tell me that I am great, that my idea is great, and that you can sell it the way I want it to be sold, even though I've had mediocre success to date.' In our case, the web plays an important part for most customers trying to sell products or services. They focus on their logo and their image, their name. Unsuccessful entrepreneurs gladly feed into their egos and leave results starving at the table.

The reality is New Entrepreneurs need to focus on results. In business, results equal sales and profits. Logos, names, and images can have value only if people buy because of the name, logo and image.

Get centered answering the questions of your buyers:

What is it?
What is the value?
How do I get it?
Has anyone else used it? What do they say? If not? What is the edge I get with it?
Yes, I want one!

With limited resources and limited time, investment needs to be on finding the market, bringing them to you, engaging the market, and closing some deals or selling product.

The question to always ask:
Is what I am doing or spending money going to help me generate more sales?

Case in point, people always feel like they need to reinvent something that has been tested to work. (Ok, I respect out of the box thinking, but dollars can be wasted on IT projects that bring very little value in the end). E-Commerce is an area where people feel the need to “customize”.

So, New Entrepreneurs, here are some things to keep in mind:
No one cares about 'the idea', they care about what the idea will do for them.
Investors don’t care about 'the idea', they care if their investment in the idea will make them money.

Investors don’t invest in 'the idea', they invest in the people behind the idea. If you do not demonstrate your ability to execute, you will not get investment.
Being President of nothing with no sales has no value.
It’s about marketing and sales, particularly for start-ups.
Always ask, is what I am doing going to help me sell more?
Is what I am spending my money on going to help me sell more?
Can I apply metrics to what I am doing?
It’s about execution.

As it relates to the web marketing, the same rules apply. Here is the list to keep in mind:

The website visitor does not care about you, they care about what you can do for them.
1. They want to know:
a. What is it?
b. What is the value?
c. How do I get it?

2. Before you spend money on an expensive website, can you answer these questions:
a. How big is the market?
b. What words do people use to search for your product?
c. How much to advertise?
d. Who are your competitors?
e. What are they doing?
f. What are they not doing?
g. Who are the top ranked sites?

3. Have you budgeted for web marketing?
Monthly?

4. You are a new business, people don’t know you. And until you spend millions drilling your brand into their psyche, they aren't going to know your brand from a hole in the ground. Use what you do, or what your customers call your product as your name. This strategy worked fine in the past and still works fine today. Evidence: International Business Machines, Advanced Micro Devices, American Telephone and Telegraph, General Motors, General Electric, National Cash Register, American Airlines and Budget Rent-a-Car. Not an obscure latin name with an interesting meaning only to you.

There is really nothing sexy about Internet marketing. It's about execution and results. It's NOT about corporate ego. It is about what your product or service does for the buyer and the investor.

Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now for a free quote.

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Does Your Target Market SEE You? Turn up the Wattage

12/3/2021

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One day I discovered that I was doing everything right. Why weren’t the clients coming? Metaphorically speaking I was operating at a 25-Watt bulb. What is your wattage? Your future clients can’t see you sitting at your desk. If you’re marketing with a 25-watt bulb, your prospective clients may see you, but unless you shine brightly and consistently, you will stay in the shadows.

When building a plan for greater visibility you want to look at several things.

1) Make sure you are aiming your light at the right target market. If you are just beginning in your field there is a tendency to spread a wide net. Once you gain more experience you find there are particular clients you really want to focus on. Then you have your more specific target market. The most non-effective way of shining your light is pointing it in all directions as if you were searching. Be focused.

2) What type of visibility tactics do you enjoy? This is important. If you don’t enjoy what you are doing it will come across in your message.

Examples:
If you enjoy speaking, what groups fit your criteria for your target market? Then, you might think of what groups fit the environment you enjoy. Once you have determined that, make those introductory calls to the group leaders and get on their speaking docket.

If you enjoy writing, what style of writing do you like? Mine happens to be writing from the heart through actual experiences. It is usually in story form. It reflects learning and provides positive viewpoints, giving others room to grow. The bottom line is, if you like to write -- then write! Do it in your style and get your stories out to your market.

If you enjoy facilitating what could you bring as a sampling of your work. I have a friend with an Improv business. She and her staff host an open house at different times during the year to let the public “experience” what they do. They invite current and past clients as well as new possibilities. In Person and Sampling is most effective for them to build their database as well as their client base.

I could go on but I bet you get the idea. Whatever approach you use, pay attention to what you enjoy and the strengths you have. Don’t be afraid to be creative. That’s when your uniqueness will shine.

3) Find other businesses that compliment what you do and vice versa. I have a peer and friend with www.nurse-entrepreneur-network.com who consistently looks for complimentary content that will benefit her client base. She has already requested that this article be in her database before it’s ready to go. There are many publishers on the Internet that will place your article on their website at no charge for other business owners to pick up. i.e. www.ezinearticles.com. There are also other websites that have a range of what they charge to publish your work.

What will you do to be seen? Think about what you enjoy, what is most effective for your product or service and get out there and DO IT! Consistency is key. Choose one or two marketing approaches, stick to the plan, evaluate the results and course correct. You will be happy with the outcome.

Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now for a free quote.

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7 Great Ways to Promote your Business Using the Internet

5/3/2021

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Whether you provide services or have your own store, you know you need to make yourself known by potential customers. The great question is how to do it. You may not have tons of money to invest in marketing. Besides, not all forms of marketing are the right choice for all businesses. The right marketing for you depends on the characteristics of your business. In this article we will explore how you can take advantage of the web to draw customers to your business.

The first thing you need to get is your own website.
This can be a simple website, just telling visitors what you do and allowing them to contact you, either by email, phone or by filling in a form. It is important that your site has a nice design according to your occupation, because it will provide the first impression users will have of your business. You may contact a web designer to develop your site. If you do it yourself, pay attention to the styles, colors and layout you use.

Some hints:

Neat pages look better than over crowded ones
Use colors to highlight phrases or areas you want users to pay special attention to
The site navigation (menus) must be easy to understand and use by everyone
Keep in mind that people use different browsers, and if possible, view your site with two or three browsers to check how it looks.
Design your site to be search engine friendly. You will need search engines to direct traffic to your site, so you need them to be able to index it.

Now you need to register it in search engines and directories so users can find it. Your website is the Internet branch of your business. This is the beginning of your Internet presence. There are global and local directories and there may also be industry-specific directories where you can register your business. Search for directories in the major search engines and register your site in as many directories as you can. Inclusion in some search engines and directories is paid

It's then up to you to decide whether it will be a good idea or not to pay for it. It depends on your business, on whether your market is highly competitive or not, and of course it depends on whether you can afford it or not.

The next step is to generate backlinks to your site. It means to get other sites to link to your site. This helps your site get a better page rank in search engines, and also exposes your site to more people. In certain cases, link-exchange programs may be helpful. You have already created some backlinks by adding your site to the search engines and directories. You now have other ways to add more backlinks:

Write articles about your field of expertise and post them in article directories, including the url to your business and a brief but tempting explanation of what you do in the resource box.
Post in forums related to your field of expertise, trying to be helpful to others so people see you know what you do. Include your url in your signature. IMPORTANT: Don't spam the forums that won't look good at all. Just post when you really have something useful to say.

Another way to promote your business is to offer a periodic newsletter in your website. This way you send an email including interesting and useful information to your subscribers, once a week, or once a month, for example. If they really like it, they will refer other people to it thus making your subscriber base grow.

You can also promote your business every time you send an email. Just add your url to your signature. This way, every person to whom you send an email will also have a link to your website.

There are also pay-per-click advertising programs on the web, major search engines like Google and Yahoo offer them. In these programs, you publish an ad, and search engines display it. You pay when someone clicks on the ad to be directed to your site. If you decide to use these programs, you need to experiment with them to get the best benefit with low cost.

Last, but not least: you need to add content to your site periodically, so visitors come back and search engines rank your site better. Both people and search engines like sites with useful up-to-date content.

Target Practice Pro is your go-to digital marketing solution for planting marketing seeds and boosting your business. Call us now for a free quote.

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4 Elements Articles Must Have To Drive Traffic to Your Website!

What Kind Of Entrepreneur Are You? - Secrets to Success

Does Your Target Market SEE You? Turn up the Wattage

7 Great Ways to Promote your Business Using the Internet

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