Off Page SEO

Any type of process that will improve page rank and traffic that is performed off your website, such as guest blogging, performing interviews, selling products on other sites, activity on social media websites, social bookmarking, participating on forums and more are all considered off page SEO.

8 Tips to Improve Off-Page SEO

• Social Networking Websites – Join the social networking websites that you are sure your audience participates in. Create profiles that stand out. Each networking site needs a different style of profile so it’s important to find information about how to create the best profiles for each site. In addition, use the site, participate, and engage with others.

• Promoting Your Content – When you create content, whether it’s text, image, video or audio based — everything you create needs to be promoted via social networking and other avenues. No one is going to see what you created on the level you need them to without promoting everything you do.

• Social Bookmarking – Using social bookmarking sites like Reddit.com can be very helpful to improving your search rank, and thus the traffic you receive to your website. Be sure to use only social bookmarking sites that your audience uses.

• Forum Commenting – A great off-page SEO technique to help you get more traffic to your website is to join a forum consisting of your core audience. Create an awesome profile that links back to your website. Then freely talk to and give of yourself to the members of the forum through your well-thought out and helpful comments.

• Blog Commenting – You can set up an alert with Google Alerts to tell you when someone is talking about a topic of interest on a blog. When you get these notifications, go there immediately, read the post, and the form an educated and informative response.

• Guest Blogging – In the “old days” of Internet marketing (up until about 2009) you could easily use the same blog post, or article to market on many different blogs and article marketing sites. That doesn’t work today, so it’s imperative that you create unique content for any guest blogging or article marketing that you engage in. It should be written just for the publication in question, and the publication should be highly regarded and ranked. It should cater to your target audience and the content you write should be made especially for their audience. Your biographical information links should direct back to your website.

• Join Several Relevant Directories – You don’t want to go around joining every directory that pops up. But once in a while a good directory comes along that is targeted, relevant, and run by people who understand what they’re doing and don’t just allow anyone to list on the directory. When you find directories like that, which are relevant for you, join them.

• Share Many Relevant Things – Sharing content with your followers on social media, and even from your blog things such as videos, images, photos, memes, infographics and more that you created and that others created that is relevant to your audience will bring up your status as an expert. People will return the favor.

Using off page SEO will increase your rank on search engines, and it will make you a better member of your community. You’ll further your reputation as an authority in your niche, and help spur an upswing in the rankings for your website.

Live Events for Your Business

In this most recent podcast I discuss my strategy for attending and hosting live events. I share how I attended my first marketing event in the spring of 2008 and ended up earning more than the cost of attending, including airfare and hotel, within a few days after returning home. Then I talk about how Geoff Hoff did something similar at my suggestion the following year and was very successful in earning many times what it cost him to attend a live event. People were begging him to take their money in return for the service he was offering that weekend.

I also share how I was able to write my twelfth book over the past few weeks. This book will be available for sale on Amazon very shortly and is titled Book. Blog. Broadcast: The Trifecta of Entrepreneurial Success. Check out my published book titles here.

Attending and hosting live events is an excellent way to connect with like-minded people and learn more on your topic. Always think about what you have to offer the people you meet and how you can use your skills and knowledge to help pay for attending and/or hosting live events. You will be amazed at how this works for you once you give it a try.

These open calls are your opportunity to connect with me and ask me your most burning questions when it comes to online marketing and entrepreneurship. Be sure to read my regular emails so that you may take advantage of this live mentoring as you build your online business.

I have also introduced a new feature during these calls. I will always have the latest course or program at my Surprise! link. Check it out and see what I am recommending this week.

Finally, I discuss why you must work towards earning six figures a year. This was my dream when I got started in 2006 and this is now a reality for so many people who are willing to learn and take action on what they are learning. Does that describe you?

Are you already a part my list community and receiving my daily email updates? If not, please give me your first name and primary email address in the form on the right-hand side of this site. If you are brand new to my podcasts, you will be interested to know that this specific training call, as well as all of the calls in my podcast series is intended to teach you and other new online entrepreneurs how to take your business to the next level quickly and effectively, and as a way for me to share my exact methods, techniques, Case Studies, secrets, and advice on creating a profitable and lucrative online business using the ‘multiple income streams’ approach. People on six continents have now discovered that starting an Internet business is the very fastest way to achieve both time and financial freedom, as well as to great success in all areas of your life, and you need help to get there quickly. That’s why I started this online marketing tips podcast for my community.

You will see that each podcast session is first recorded live as a teleseminar, and then repurposed into a podcast to extend my reach to the world. Please join my list (opt in on the right) to be included on these calls, and be sure to introduce yourself and share your site for optimal exposure for years to come! Also, check out my Podcast Show Notes site to see how you can subscribe at no cost to both of my podcasts, and please leave me a review on one or both of them if you are so inclined.

You may now pick up my popular training on winning affiliate contests and other online marketing tips for only seven dollars at Affiliate Contest Secrets. Use the discount code CONTEST to bring the price down to $7. This training has been completely updated for 2015 with the latest information, strategies, and Case Studies for you to use in your own business.

Please be sure to leave your comments below so that I may get to know you better and to serve you as you continue your journey as an online entrepreneur. Getting started with an online business will change your life forever and your success is my reward!

Subscribe To My Online Marketing Tips Podcast Today!

I first met Michel Fortin, copywriter extraordinaire, in 2008 while I was attending my first live event. It was the Big Seminar in Atlanta, and Michel and his new wife, Sylvie, had just come down from the stage after presenting to a crowd of over two thousand people. Within a few days I had been invited to join a Mastermind with him and many others that had been put together by Armand Morin. Michel’s input and help over the years definitely made a difference in my early success as an online entrepreneur.

In 2010 I won an affiliate contest with Armand and Michel’s help with my sales copy was part of the prize. During a twelve hour period in a hotel suite in Atlanta he and the others put my business under the spotlight and recommended changes that would ultimately get me on the track to success.

Fast forward seven years and Michael continues to be a force in my life and in the world of copywriting. We connected in person again while both speaking at an event in Toronto, Canada, not far from where Michel lives in Ottowa.

During this podcast interview he shares how he got started with writing sales copy for doctors and other professionals, what is most important in this process, and how newer online entrepreneurs can begin by writing their own copy. He also discusses how we are always able to better sell ourselves and our products through third party endorsements.

Michel was in sales as a young man and had to learn how to get over the fear of rejection. He did overcome this fear by writing lead generating sales letters. The prospects would call him to set up an appointment, and at that time they were already pre-sold. That’s when he connected with doctors who wanted him to write sales copy and advertisements for them to be able to sell their services. He dubbed himself the ‘success doctor’ and went on to write some of the most effective copy ever developed for this purpose. He credits this type of specialization with his early success and recommends narrowing your focus for best results.

You will enjoy this podcast and get to know Michel much better. For some of the top books on the topic of writing sales copy for your information products check out these books. Find out more about what Michel is doing at Workaholics 4 Hire.

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SEO: Target Audience Is Key

The fact is, knowing your audience is a huge factor in whether you will be successful or not getting traffic to your website. It’s also the key to creating excellent products and / or services that are sought after too. Understanding your audience goes effects everything you do to develop a successful business.

• Describe Your Ideal Customer – To determine who your audience is, first write down exactly the type of person you’d like to work with. This is a make believe person right now, and you’ll refine this description as you move forward. For example: “My ideal customer is an upper level executive who loves playing golf and going on golfing vacations.”

• Find Your Audience – You can use social media like Facebook.com, LinkedIn.com, and Twitter.com to locate your audience. Find them on forums and social media and read what they are talking about. Learn what they care about. Learn about their needs, problems, issues, and questions. For example: Find discussion groups online of people talking about golf, and golfing vacations.

• Engage Your Audience – Once you find them, it’s important to converse with them. Ask them questions; find out how they feel about things. You can get so much information, as well as fodder for online content and even product ideas by talking to and engaging with your audience. Caution: This is not the time to try to sell to them. Just be friendly, ask questions, offer help if you know something, and keep it casual. For example: If someone talks about a problem with their golf clubs or golf balls and you know the problem, talk to them about it. Do so freely and without expecting anything in return.

As you converse and participate with your ideal audience members, you’ll refine your description about your audience, perfecting it so that you can easily search for and find out where your audience members spend their time. Once you know where they are, you can learn more about them, as a group, and what their needs, wants, and desires are.

Most importantly, you’ll be able to come up with products that fit perfectly with that audience as well as develop marketing ideas that connect you with them like a laser. Describing, finding and engaging your audience and then delivering exactly what they want and need based on your discoveries involves a very powerful series of methods that will lead to success.

What do you think about this? Do you know your target audience well enough to serve them effectively?

When you first set up your website it can be a daunting thought that you’re starting from scratch and have to build your traffic up so that you can start making an impact in your niche. You know that you want to drive targeted and relevant relevant traffic to your blog or other site that consists of your prospects. But, you’re just not sure where to go from here or how to build up the traffic to where it needs to be. This post will give you plenty of useful and inexpensive ideas to help you get started building your web traffic and hit the ground running from the very first day.

Getting Traffic: Quality vs. Quantity

Website traffic actually has more to do with whether or not you are providing your target audience with information that they can use, than with whether or not your website looks beautifully designed or not. Of course, you do not want a website that blinds the user, or isn’t designed responsively (meaning it works on all devices such as smart phones and tablets), but you really should focus on what’s inside to drive traffic.

That’s where quality traffic comes in over quantity. A website can have a million visitors due to a free give away that appeals to a wide audience, such as a free iPhone – but that isn’t going to get targeted visitors who want what you have to offer, they only want the gift. So, what was good was having a million people signing up for the chance to win the free iPhone? As you can imagine, it’s probably not worth much at all. It would be a waste of time and money to do that.

Quality traffic, on the other hand, will consist of your ideal audience members, and they will want, maybe not today, but eventually, they will want what you have to offer. You just have to find ways to build the traffic for your website that attracts the targeted, relevant, and ready to buy audience that you desire. Quality traffic will spend time on your site, sign up for your newsletters, and open them. Quality traffic will come back, again and again. Quality traffic will purchase your products and / or services. That’s the type of traffic you want.

Getting quality traffic can take a little effort. But, if you create a plan of action and work toward the right goals, in the right way you will be successful. If you’re providing your readers with the information they want, need and solves their problems, you’ll be much more successful. It’s all about targeting the right audience, at the right time, in the right place with the right methods. Before we get started on the things that you can do to get traffic to your website, let’s talk a little bit about measuring traffic effectiveness.

How to Measure the Effectiveness of Traffic

One of the most important things to learn about is measuring the effectiveness of the work you do to improve your traffic. First, each goal you make needs to be specific, measurable, achievable, and time sensitive. These are called SMART goals. You can look it up, it’s a real thing. First, you need to set up a Google Analytics Account. It’s not hard to do, if you already have an email address and a ULR for your website you’ll want to set it up.

Go to Google.com/analytics  to set up the account. Follow the prompts to do so. You’ll need your URL, and a Gmail account. Once you set it up you’ll get a code to put into your site. If you use WordPress, you can get a plugin like Measure My SEO by Rapid Crush. This allows you to be able to collect and view the stats. It might take a couple of days before you start seeing analytics, so just keep doing the things mentioned in this report below and check your analytics periodically such as quarterly at first. Later, when you’re more established you can start checking more often.

When it comes to measuring online traffic effectiveness, the things you need to measure are:

Your Website’s General Audience

This is the very first thing you will see when you sign into your Google Analytics account once it’s activated and you have some visitors to track. Until you learn how to set it up completely it is counting your visits too. But, that’s okay for now.

Here you can see how many visitors you have in one day, how many are returning, and how many are unique. This is a good measure to track because you want a good amount of new people so that you can build your list, but you also want a good amount of return visitors because that signals that your content is engaging. By clicking to the left under Audience, you can get deeper into this information.

Get started with website traffic building by using the same plugin that has simplified all of this for me. It’s called Measure My SEO and I continue to have excellent results because of it.

Offline business marketing continues to be a part of what I do, yet I seldom discuss the strategies that work well for these brick and mortar businesses. I’ll share some of what I did recently with a small business that provides drapery cleaning, as well as some other services for residential and commercial customers.

Every business must answer the question ‘What’s for sale?’ if they are to become and remain profitable. You may think that your prospects and even your current clients know exactly what you have to offer, but that may not always be the case. Let’s use the drapery cleaning business as an example. Without knowing anything more than what type of business this is, it would be safe to assume that cleaning draperies would be the logical service they offer. But what about other related services, such as cleaning upholstery, blinds and shutters, and even carpets? Would these also be logical services for this type of company to offer their prospects and customers?

By writing a sales page for your primary products and services, you can accomplish two goals. One is to let people know exactly what you do have to offer and the other is to make sure you are not leaving any money on the table by omitting products and services that you take for granted after being in business for a number of years or losing money by offering something that does not add enough to your bottom line.

Start with a general headline that grabs the attention of your reader and entices them to continue reading. For this business, something like ‘Do You Have Draperies As Old As Your High School Age Daughter, Yet They Haven’t Been Cleaned Since She Was In Kindergarten?’ That headline will definitely speak to many readers and will get them to continue reading down the page. You would go on to tell them about the germs and parasites that are hiding in their drapes, as well as some other problems that can arise when you live with unsanitary conditions.

Next, tell a little about the history of how your business was started, and what your vision is for running your business. Perhaps it was a family business started by your grandfather, or it came into existence after you saw a need in the marketplace as a consumer some years ago. This is of great interest to potential customers. Further down on your sales page you will mention the other services your company has to offer, and how they are related to your primary service of drapery cleaning.

Use testimonials from existing clients, as well as lots of photographs of your work. Before and after pictures work extremely well for the purpose of demonstrating what you are capable of with a ‘show instead of tell’ approach. Now it’s time to make a list of what your company offers and see where the profit centers are located. Maybe you earn the most profit from cleaning draperies and upholstery, while not earning much from cleaning carpets. Then you must make the decision whether to abandon the carpet cleaning completely, offer it only to those who use your other services, or to refer this work to someone else in the community.

The bullet points of your sales letter will give you even more ideas as to what to offer. Perhaps a membership program, where customers pay monthly or annually for a specific list of services would make sense. Maybe a discount coupon for services would be appealing, where customers could pay a specific amount for the coupons that would be worth up to ten times as much as they paid for them. Be creative, while always thinking about your bottom line.

If you are willing to spend the time writing this type of sales letter, you may also uncover hidden revenue streams that you hadn’t thought about in the past. Setting up a referral program, where one client recommends a friend or neighbor and receives cash or a gift card would work well in your business. And make sure the completed sales letter gets printed out and posted online.

The recession is over, and now is the time to use smart marketing strategies to increase your business profits. Next week I’ll share more about how I market for non-profit groups and organizations. This has become my passion as I continue to see lives changed around the world by the work that is accomplished.

Brian Basilico is an author, speaker, and social media expert. He lives in Aurora, Illinois, a town about thirty miles west of Chicago. His bestselling book, It’s Not About You, It’s About Bacon, describes and explains basic marketing principles and defines the ‘know, like, and trust’ factor into the equation. It also has a companion Workbook that is an innovative way to build credibility and visibility. The idea for the bacon theme came from a social media experiment he was involved in while speaking at a conference. You’ll love this story and how it connects social media with relationship marketing in a fun and memorable way. We discuss the power of storytelling and how stories are interwoven into every aspect of life and business.

He is a ‘self-professed geek’ and used to build elaborate toys for himself as a child. He worked as a video producer for AT & T, and has been involved in marketing since he was a teenager, and opened his current company about fifteen years ago. He now coaches people on how to use social media to build an online presence, as well as teaching a variety of other strategies to help people become successful. Brian shares some specific examples of how he helps people in this way, and we also discuss how he works with corporations to help them leverage the power of LinkedIn in their marketing. We agreed that working both with startups and small businesses, as well as within the corporate world allows us to stretch and expand our knowledge in a way that is beneficial to everyone involved.

I knew of Brian online for more than a year before we met in person at the NAMS event in Atlanta (we’d love to connect with you there next time) where we were both speaking on our topics of expertise. This is a perfect example of how building relationships is crucial to success in life and in business. This all led to me being a guest on his show and he finally being a guest on mine.

We are in alignment when it comes to acknowledging the value of having our own information products for sale, and Brian discusses some of what he has to offer in the areas of blogging and social media marketing. We then discuss the newer live stream applications and the power of video in our businesses. You will love this interview and I encourage you to share this with anyone who would benefit from these principles and strategies as they build an online business.

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List Building for Your Business

In this most recent podcast I discuss list building for your business, as well as the importance of becoming an author to build credibility, visibility, and profitability. I’ve written eleven books so far, as well as contributing to many other people’s books and compiling books of my own. Check out my published book titles here.

I take you on a virtual tour of this site, and how to promote each of your posts using SEO (search engine optimization), social media, and by emailing your current list of prospects and clients. You may also wish to write a book using your blog posts. I did this with my very first book, Huge Profits With A Tiny List, which was released in 2010. It consisted of fifty blog posts compiled into a book on how to use relationship marketing to increase your bottom line.

I also share how I got started as an affiliate marketer back in 2006, and how this topic is one I have expanded over the years to include a bestselling book on this topic, live presentations, online courses, and related information products. You can become an authority on most any topic by learning more about it on a continual basis, talking and writing about it, and actually doing it to show that what you know really works for you and for others.

Having the right tools to help you in your business is crucial, and I discuss the new CanvaKala plugin for WordPress that allows you to add images from dozens of sites, and even edit these images as a way to build engagement with your readers and for SEO benefits. Your blog will sparkle and attract more prospects when you have relevant images for every single post.

Finally, I share more about the changes to online marketing since I got started as an entrepreneur back in 2006. This includes changes in pricing of products, courses, training, and live events, as well as changes to the information that is actually shared with the online community. Social media accounts for some of these, but not all of, the changes I discuss. Getting started with your own product can be as simple as purchasing the PLR (private label rights) to someone else’s content. I did this from the very beginning and it worked out quite well for me. I also used to compile my best teleseminars and sell them in December as a ‘Best Of’ product. You could easily do that in 2015 by hosting your own call each week and then choosing the best ones to sell as an information product.

Are you already a part my list community and receiving my daily email updates? If not, please give me your first name and primary email address in the form on the right-hand side of this site. If you are brand new to my podcasts, you will be interested to know that this specific training call, as well as all of the calls in my podcast series is intended to teach you and other new online entrepreneurs how to take your business to the next level quickly and effectively, and as a way for me to share my exact methods, techniques, Case Studies, secrets, and advice on creating a profitable and lucrative online business using the ‘multiple income streams’ approach. People on six continents have now discovered that starting an Internet business is the very fastest way to achieve both time and financial freedom, as well as to great success in all areas of your life, and you need help to get there quickly. That’s why I started this online marketing tips podcast for my community.

You will see that each podcast session is first recorded live as a teleseminar, and then repurposed into a podcast to extend my reach to the world. Please join my list (opt in on the right) to be included on these calls, and be sure to introduce yourself and share your site for optimal exposure for years to come! Also, check out my Podcast Show Notes site to see how you can subscribe at no cost to both of my podcasts, and please leave me a review on one or both of them if you are so inclined.

You may now pick up my popular training on winning affiliate contests and other online marketing tips for only seven dollars at Affiliate Contest Secrets. Use the discount code CONTEST to bring the price down to $7. This training has been completely updated for 2015 with the latest information, strategies, and Case Studies for you to use in your own business.

Please be sure to leave your comments below so that I may get to know you better and to serve you as you continue your journey as an online entrepreneur. Getting started with an online business will change your life forever and your success is my reward!

Subscribe To My Online Marketing Tips Podcast Today!

How To Drive Traffic To Your Blog

If you are taking the time and making an effort to post to your blog on a regular basis, then knowing how to drive traffic to your blog after each post is sure to be of importance to you.

The very first thing I do after publishing my post is to go back and make sure the post title is exactly as I wish it to be. Originally I am naming the post by using a keyword rich phrase, but that one may not be an attention grabbing title that will make readers want to know more. In this case, I originally named the post How To Drive Traffic To Your Blog, but then I changed it to what you see above.

Then I go through the two SEO plugins I use – the free one from Yoast called Yoast SEO, and the paid one called Measure My Seo. I want to be sure that the keyword phrase I am optimizing the post for is at its highest possible score. This involves naming my image with this phrase, and using it two or three times within the post.

Using Social Media To Drive Traffic To Your Blog

Then I move on to promoting my post to ensure the greatest amount of traffic and engagement to my blog. This involves visiting several sites, all of which can be accomplished very quickly and easily. The first one is called Just Retweet. This site is fairly self-explanatory and is based on a credit system. They start you out with one hundred credits and you may earn more by retweeting others or by purchasing additional credits. Connect to Just Retweet through your Twitter account.

My next stop is Facebook, where I say something about my post and share the link on my wall. It is estimated that you will have at least ten times as much engagement when you post manually than when it is automated, but don’t give up on the automated posts just yet. I find that having both makes you more visible and credible over time.

Now I go over to LinkedIn, where I share an update with the exact same info I just posted on Facebook. Be sure to click the link to share with ‘the public and Twitter’ so you won’t have to visit Twitter while you’re promoting your post. This saves you time, even if it’s just a few minutes.

My last stop on the social media tour is Pinterest. I like to pin each of my posts so that others can see them. If you use an image for each of your posts, and I highly recommend that you do so for best SEO (search engine optimization) results then you already have one to use on your Pinterest board.

Final Thoughts on How to Drive Traffic to Your Blog

The next step is to email your list with a link to your latest post. This assumes that you are making the effort to build a list, which is the cornerstone of any successful business. If you are serious about learning how to drive traffic to your blog and other sites, be sure to pick up Dennis Becker’s new training, called Honk! Honk! Web Traffic Guide. It’s a complete resource that will help you build your business quickly.

Please let me know how you found this post by leaving a comment below. Was it through social media, an email I sent out, or from a search you did on Google?