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Aaron Wittersheim - EzineArticles.com Expert Author
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- Tips For Choosing the Right Search Engine Optimization Company
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:SEO] When most people search Yahoo! or Google for information, they tend to read the first page of results. A few may click two or three pages in -- especially if they didn't already find what they wanted -- but very few people ever dig any further.
- Chicago Web Design - Essential Tips For Choosing the Right Web Design Firm For Your Company
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Web-Design] One of the easiest ways to find a Chicago web design firm that will create the website of your dreams is to ask around. Spend a week talking to all of your business associates and ask them who did their website and what kind of an experience it was. Chances are a shortlist will begin to emerge from all of these conversations.
- Paid Search Purr-fect Fit for Local Pet Shops
[Pets] Competition with big-box retailers is not limited to discount chains and general-merchandise outlets today. Businesses operating in niche markets - like pet supplies, for instance - have plenty to contend with from the well-funded national chains. Beyond carrying rare animals, exotic fish and organic animal feeds, many local pet-store owners are left wondering how they can stay afloat in the sea of bargain basements.
- Ringing Down the Doors - Pay Per Click vs. Pay Per Call
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:PPC-Advertising] For business owners and consumers seeking immediate gratification, paid-search providers bring a new option in advertising - and although the leads are Internet-generated, this one does not even require a Web site! Welcome to the burgeoning business of pay-per-call.
- Top 7 Open Source Anything
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] The concept of open source is perfectly American. Its foundation is built on people sharing a knowledge base and working together to create a better end product. The movement's success finally is taking a strong foothold, and now it seems no matter where users, administrators or developers turn, there is a useful, viable open-source solution waiting - and all are free! So many credible contributions have been made that it now is time to rank these opportunities and offer the top seven open-source solutions available today for businesses and personal users. If you have not encountered these solutions yet, you soon will.
- Chicago Trends in SEM
[Business:Marketing] With a population of more than 11 million in its city and suburbs, the Chicago area is a hot bed of buyers and sellers trying to connect with each other every day. There is competition in almost every conceivable industry, and advertisers constantly are on the look out for more-exact ways of reaching their target audiences.
- Yahoo Finally Get Your Ad Up Faster
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:PPC-Advertising] Competition is a good thing, not just for the consumer, but also for the producer. It tells the customer they have choices, and although they may still choose the leading provider, there are alternative solutions. It drives the providers to stay focused on building the brand and improving options. That's why in the highly competitive pay-per-click, or PPC, arena, it is refreshing to see the underdogs, like Yahoo! and MSN, continue to vigorously battle for their spots in this lucrative, important Internet marketplace.
- Yahoo Catches Up With Google & MSN - Will it Dominate Geo-Targeting?
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Internet-Marketing] Not only has Yahoo finally joined the geo-targeting world - it appears the search engine giant is staking claim to a "best practice" status among its biggest competition. The company is well on its way to mastering the match between location and search.
- Great Expectations vs. Real Results - Honesty in ROI
[Business:Ethics] A solid search engine marketing, or SEM, strategy often closely resembles a modern investment portfolio. Some attention is given to short-term gains; some to middle-of-the-road opportunities; and, some to emerging markets. But most of the core portfolio is dedicated to models with proven results, accurate tracking and long-term profits.
- Buy Low, Sell High: The Ethics of a Middle Man
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Internet-Marketing] The volatile race to capture conversions has given the legendary commodities market a run for its money. But the "buy low, resell high" philosophy, known as search arbitrage, has left some in the search engine marketing, or SEM, community questioning the ethics of this new word brokering.
- Buyers for Your Ball Washer and Lefty Glove?
[Recreation-and-Sports:Golf] For golf pro shops, the upcoming months will be critical for a profitable 2007. If sales were below par last year, search engine marketing, or SEM, is the way to reach the top of the leaderboard. Americans conducted more than 5 billion online searches in 2006, and that number will grow by double-digits in 2007. The most common consumer search? Product-plus-location.
- Top 7 Ways to Improve the Bottom Line in '07
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] Advertisers in North America spent close to $6 billion on search engine marketing, or SEM, in 2005. And, analysts expect a whopping double-digit increase in 2006. Now that SEM has a high profile in the corporate marketing budget, the pressure is on to get results.
- Page Tagging vs. Logfile Analysis: Helping Clients Decide
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Traffic-Building] The fact that search engine marketing can be thoroughly quantified makes it highly appealing to advertisers. But two major questions remain—what should the client measure, and how?
- Vegetarians Eat Up Web Analytics
[Health-and-Fitness:Nutrition] For online marketers, here is some food for thought: approximately 10 million vegetarians live in the United States. Millions more admit they want to adopt a "more vegetarian" lifestyle by reducing their intake of meat and dairy. The first step to cultivating this market is a well-designed Web site. But to make competitors green with envy, companies must utilize Web analytics.
- Top 10 Reasons to Understand Your Web Traffic
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] Some companies improve Web site traffic and search engine marketing by relying on internal brainstorming sessions, intuition and sometimes even the latest fad. A few don’t bother making changes at all.
Truth is, the only reliable method of building a strong online presence is using Web analytics to evaluate traffic. Here are 10 ways it can help you transform a good Web site into a great one.
- What's the Difference? A Comparison of Web Analytics with Web Statistics
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Traffic-Building] In the old days, a program ran on the back end of a Web site that churned out pages and pages of raw data that was -
Hard to read;
Hard to interpret; and,
Not particularly helpful.
That was the world of Web statistics. Today, Web site data is easy to read, easy to understand and indispensable for improving site performance. Welcome to the world of Web analytics.
- Blogs Can Make Money for Clients
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Blogging] Once a company blog is launched, management quickly turns its attention to monetizing it. Depending on the size and demographics of the audience, it is not unheard of for blogs to earn in excess of $10,000 a month. But although companies have several revenue-generating options to choose from, they can easily go wrong. Savvy managers tap their search engine marketing, or SEM, partner for direction.
- Blogging for Chocolate
[Food-and-Drink:Chocolate] Small, niche businesses can use blogs to build customer loyalty and create new sales opportunities, particularly when their product has broad appeal. Few products capture the public’s imagination more than chocolate.
- Take This Blog And ...
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Blogging] You've decided your company will start a blog. You've developed a strategy, picked and configured a platform, set a few general goals and put someone in charge. You are off to a great start.
Now what?
- Troubles on the Back End
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:PPC-Advertising] If MSN® adCenter has an Achilles' heel, it's on the back end. While this new pay-per-click, or PPC, advertising platform has some innovative targeting and analytic features, search marketers find using them can be messy.
- Quitters Search, Too!
[Self-Improvement:Addictions] How many of us have a habit we would like to get rid of? A safe estimate: just about everybody. Microsoft® has introduced a new pay-per-click, or PPC, advertising platform that enables advertisers to tap this enormous market. With MSN® adCenter, institutions and private firms offering services to consumers looking to kick a bad habit can reach the right audience at the right time.
- Top 10 Ways to Max Out on adCenter
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] Now that you plan to use Microsoft's new advertising platform, adCenter, there are ways to maximize your investment. With pay-per-click, or PPC, advertising, taking shortcuts is easy and tempting, but also costly. Cover these 10 bases, and you will get the most from your adCenter spend.
- MSN adCenter Stretches Ad Dollars
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:PPC-Advertising] Microsoft's recently released advertising platform, adCenter, gives pay-per-click advertisers yet another powerful avenue to penetrate the vast Internet marketplace with greater accuracy than ever before.
But is it strong enough to dethrone Google™ AdWords as the king of on-line advertising?
- Are Blogs Effective SEM? For Who?
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Blogging] Most companies can — and we believe should— make blogs an integral part of their search-engine marketing, or SEM, strategy. Those that do will gain a competitive advantage in search-engine visibility they may never have to relinquish.
- Stressed Out? Journal it on your Blog
[Self-Improvement:Stress-Management] Not everyone blogs for fame and fortune. Sometimes, the reasons are deeply personal: for many, frequent blogging provides therapy for the mind, soul - and even the body. While every person’s motivation is, in some way, unique, there are some common ways blogs can relieve stress.
- Seven Step to Blog Success
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Blogging] So blogging is as easy as one, two, three, right? Perhaps that's oversimplifying it a bit. Whether you intend to blog for business or pleasure, success requires preparation and implementing a few simple techniques.
- If Andy Rooney Can Blog, So Can You!
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Blogging] Everybody is talking about blogs: but what are they? Weblogs, or blogs, are simply a particular type of Web site, with emphasis on simple. Where a traditional business Web site usually requires considerable programming skill to build, maintain and update, you can be up and running with a blog in a matter of minutes without even knowing how to spell HTML.
- Shooting Fish in a Barrel
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Internet-Marketing] Local search tools are evolving rapidly. Yet, business-to-business and business-to-consumer firms are slow to adopt them into their Internet strategy. Search engine marketers, or SEM's, find this frustrating, and for good reason. Nearly 45 percent of all search-engine users utilize search engines to find local products and services. By far, the most-common search phrase is "industry" plus "location." With so few sellers doing local search-engine marketing, new local customers are there for the taking.
- Finding the Best Back-to-School Basics On-line
[Home-and-Family:Parenting] Thanks to advances in local Internet search technology, you can get the kids ready for school, support the local economy and save gas — all at the same time. Local search sites and geo-targeted advertising make it simple to find the best deals on back-to-school supplies at stores near you.
- Top 10 Ways to Make Money in Your Neighborhood
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz would have made a fantastic on-line marketer simply because she knew one plain truth: there's no place like home. Print media, once the staple of local advertising, now has lost its appeal to many neighborhood merchandisers. In fact, an incredible 70 percent of U.S. households use the Internet to find local information, and 36 percent of all searches are for local businesses.
These staggering numbers add up to opportunity. With the right combination of Web site strategy and geo-targeting, any company can attract nearby customers like never before.
- Where in the World Is...?
[Business:Advertising] With Internet use spreading across the globe, one advertising message no longer fits all. Believe it or not, Asians, Europeans and Latin Americans account for more than 60 percent of all Web traffic, and the percentage is climbing. At the same time, Internet shoppers everywhere are becoming increasingly hostile to generic pop-ups and banners.
So, how can on-line advertisers get results in such a complex and demanding marketplace? A big part of the answer is geo-targeting.
- Connecting PR to SEO for a Complete Strategy
[Business:PR] PR without SEO may soon mean no PR at all. A front-page story in a major newspaper might boost your ego, but a top 10 Google ranking will boost your business; if you have any doubt — read on...
- When Size Doesn't Matter
[Business:PR] Is public relations, or PR, just for the big guys? Not really.
PR can work wonders for any company; and, with the advent of Web site PR, the cost to spread your message has never been lower.
- Top 7 Stories Reporters Don't Want to Hear
[Business:Top7-or-10-Tips] You’ve decided to make press releases part of your public relations program - Now what?
Developing newsworthy material can be tougher than you think. Reporters get barraged with scores of article submissions every day, so they eagerly look for reasons to ignore them. While nobody can say for sure what the news is, these Top 7 stories definitely are not!
- What is Web Site PR Anyway?
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Site-Promotion] Journalists in every field and all media outlets use the Internet to find sources and subjects for stories. They research companies and ferret out trends based on what they find on-line. Putting a good foot forward when they reach your Web site is critical, and can be the difference between positive exposure and negative result.
- Summer Tourism: School is Back in Session for Travel Agencies
[Travel-and-Leisure] Hold on to your hammock: school is out, and Americans will be taking more than 325 million vacations in June, July and August. About 65 million of them were researched or booked on-line.
- Top 10 SEO Myths
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:SEO] When it comes to search engine optimization, there's more than meets the eye. These Top 10 SEO Myths demonstrate why advertisers must avoid quick fixes and complicated gimmickry if they want consistently high search-engine rankings.
- Click Fraud: Playing Dirty in the PPC World
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:PPC-Advertising] Marketers beware: the ever-expanding pay-per-click arena is attracting plenty of unscrupulous players. Click fraud, once considered a minor inconvenience, has become a major concern for advertisers and search marketers. Estimates of advertising dollars lost to click fraud run as high as $500 million per year.
- Following the Movement to Open Source
[Computers-and-Technology] When it comes to security, versatility and stability, there is no better solution in information technology than open source. From operating systems to Web development to just about any common application, the open-source revolution finally has taken hold. Businesses have started to truly understand the benefits of opting for open source, not only to save money, but also for the peace of mind it brings to their IT environment.
- Staying Ahead with Strategy
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Industry consolidations, shrinking margins and complex supply chains have industries across the board clamoring to impact efficiency and effectiveness. With the right bid-management software, a company can track and adjust pay-per-click strategies and expenses to maximize sales result. It's a cutting-edge direction many successful businesses are buying into.
- The Whole Package: Brains & Beauty
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Web-Design] When it comes to their three-to-five seconds of face time on the Internet, countless businesses have fallen victim to the lure of pretty light-and-sound shows, fancy introductions and flashing photography as the anchors to originality on their Web sites.
Putting SEO and PPC first means writing purposeful content, building links and buying ads around the way customers search for you. It's dedicating that same $10,000 budget to an effective spotlight presence on the search engines, not a fancy Flash show on your home page.
- Number Crunching: Know the Data
[Business:Marketing] From the biggest boardrooms and the smallest business offices, executives gather around tables asking the same question, “Where's the data to prove it works?” Gauging return-on-investment, or ROI, for marketing dollars spent is one of the most-confounding parts of any marketing campaign.
It's more than understandable for investors, managers and owners to want hard feedback on their investments. And in my experience, it doesn't matter whether the budget is $25 a month, the make-or-break investment for some small start-ups, or $25,000 a year, the significant budget of many medium to large corporations. All of them want to see success through numbers.
- Ethics & SEO: An Oxymoron?
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:SEO] When it comes to taking the high road in search marketing, and specifically techniques for search engine optimization, sadly these days, it often has become the road less-traveled by.
Ironically, many search-engine marketers are starting to complain about the debate over what is or is not ethical SEO. Many claim the controversy is nothing more than a "scheme" to keep search marketing front-and-center in the Internet conversation whirlwind.
I say not true.
- Why Comply? The Movement to W3C Compliance
[Legal:Cyber-Law] The Internet: a powerful tool with endless possibilities to advance business, connect people and share information. We believe that with those opportunities comes a real responsibility to understand its complexity and provide universal solutions to its issues.
For Web developers, in particular, the onus falls on creating sites aimed at maximizing client contact through well-rounded, functional vehicles that drive traffic and generate sales. And in today's global economy, it also means using code that is W3C compliant.
- Pay-Per-Click - First in Line
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:PPC-Advertising] As summer nears, so does the impending release of MSN's adCenter, a new option for sponsored links – and another major player in the pay-per-click mania sweeping the Internet marketing industry.
Whoast has rolled out the welcome mat for this new addition to the dynamic PPC world, and we strongly believe that while PPC does not replace solid search-engine optimization, it definitely is an option many businesses can afford – and benefit from – immediately.
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