Month: December 2018

One of the most common mistakes when a company decides to invest in SEO, whether in-house or with an agency is the lack of understanding of the importance of the development of the SEO campaign plan. Often the most difficult core competitive keywords are chosen without considering the issue of profitability, as many companies hope to move up on the search engines for these broad industry keywords. SEO is not just about being seen it has to be about profitability further down the line and this should be central to the development of the SEO campaign plan.

Step 1:
If your company is selling products online the first step is to evaluate which products have a better margin and then go about keyword research. If your company is offering services then the same principle applies, only in evaluating the long-term worth of your potential clients to each service if this applies. The SEO campaign plan should market your most profitable products or services when possible.

Step 2:
Next you need to understand that you must split the keyword that apply to your chosen services or products into core competitive keywords and long-tail keywords. Core competitive keywords will be the more difficult keywords that all your competitors hope to be on page one for as well. The long-tail keywords are less competitive and often by their nature can mean that the person searching is closer to making a decision.

For example a core competitive keyword for a ladies clothes website will be dress, whereas a long-tail keyword for the same website will be one one-shoulder dress or halter neck dress. These long-tail keywords have a higher chance of moving up the rankings of the search engines faster and additionally as the lady searching is looking for a specific style of dress there should be a higher chance that she is ready to buy.

Step 3:
When it comes to deciding your keywords, both the core competitive keywords and the long-tail keywords to include in your SEO campaign plan there are some shortcuts. If you are already running a pay per click campaign you can evaluate the keywords within this campaign in terms of cost effectiveness.

Look at the cost per conversion if you have this information available and you should notice that the long-tail keywords will have a lower cost per conversion, the same principle will apply to your SEO campaign plan. It applies in a different way as you will either be investing a cost in an agency or in-house over a period of time.

Step 4:
Mix and match some different approaches to gathering keyword data. Combine what you have decided from your website and ppc campaign, if you have one and use the following free tools.

You can search on the search engines and you will find a variety of free keyword tools, some of which are very good. In general these offer the more high traffic keywords so to create long-tail keywords you will need to use ppc data or be creative.

Try to step out of your own mindset and put yourself into a potential buyers’ frame of mind. Some search very broadly yet others can be surprisingly specific!

Most individuals who have a professional website are aware that SEO is necessary for any website to remain successful. SEO, or search engine optimization, can be used to help a website’s search engine rankings and enable customers to find their website more readily. SEO is really the most fundamental method of Web advertising and is provided by most online marketing agencies. These agencies typically also provide pay-per-click services. PPC is another crucial step in advertising websites online, and it is something that needs to be done along with SEO.

Some site owners make the error relying on SEO exclusively. SEO gives you the ability to bring increased traffic to any website, but the frequent steps needed to keep up with it are time intensive and need to be handled by someone who knows all the current ways to be in compliance with search engine rules. People who do not possess much experience with SEO make mistakes that keep them from getting their website ranked high enough for customers to find them easily.

Unless you are a SEO whiz, it is highly recommended that you hire an online marketing agency to do the work for your site. These people will implement a mixed strategy that uses email marketing, SEO and PPC. With PPC, the agency will get your site to appear in the advertising column of top search engines. They will also get your site to appear as ad banners on other Internet sites.

PPC management is a challenging process that is best accomplished by a professional agency. You have the opportunity to designate your own cost per click; this is definitely where most people make their mistake. Most inexperienced people assume that they should try to save money and choose the least expensive price for each click through to their website. When the cost is this low, other sites that have set their cost-per-click at a higher rate will be given more consideration and appear more often. Experts know which keywords will bring success and the correct price to select for each click through to your website.

A mix of SEO and PPC is the perfect way to generate the maximum amount of traffic. An effective email marketing plan should be used as well. You can have a sign up box integrated on your landing page and have site visitors submit their name and email. This makes them subscribers who will receive notices, updates and newsletters that you send out. Studies have verified that subscribers are a lot more likely to make purchases or sign up for paid services; they are also more likely to become regular customers rather than a one-time visitor. Increasing conversion rates is a necessity if you are using your site for commerce, and email marketing is the ideal way to increase revenue.

Of the scores of sites on the Internet, an amazing number of them are inactive and are practically abandoned by their owners. People frequently give up on their site because they can’t get enough visitors. Web marketing techniques like SEO and PPC require time for it to take full effect. People often give up within the first few weeks when they do not see any results. Just as you are recommended to hire a plumber for a leaky faucet, you are recommended to hire an Internet marketing firm rather than try to advertise your site on your own.

Choosing an SEO company can be very daunting. It’s hard work to keep in mind over and over again if they have much experience in this field now. If this option the first time to seek the services of SEO here are some things that can help you achieve the best company for all your SEO needs.

Do not be fooled by a company that promises they will reach the number 1 rank in no time. There is no such thing as easy way to get high rankings in search engines. Usually, it takes time before it can reach a high rank and high profits at the same time. Ask friends if they know a reliable company offering SEO services. Ask how credible is the company and if they offer competitive rates as well. Take time to read SEO forums. Typically, SEO companies talk about different experiences and giving feedback from them. If you’re already looking at a particular SEO company, you should read more about the raves and rants in that company. This is to ensure that your money’s worth and get the results you want. Use your search engine trust and find the name of the company. You can never be too careful when it comes to the money you pay or the privacy of your data. If this is really a scam, you can see a lot of websites warning people about the SEO company. Ask the company if they have portfolios. It would be better if they could show other websites that have already optimized. If possible, ask their clients about their previous comments on the SEO services of that particular company. Do not hesitate to ask which would put the links online surfers to your website. Whether it would be to create the content or not, should help to better jobs that will be on your website, ensuring that relevant and important keywords are included in the content.

You must also ensure that they would not request additional personal information such as your contact number, social security numbers and other private information. This is usually the works of fraudulent websites claiming to be a legitimate SEO company. They do this because many are looking for SEO related services-cheap yet reliable today. Do not rush when looking for the right company for you. Taking a little time to find the best partner would give great benefits sooner or later, so you better make sure you choose only the best.

Independent filmmaking is a creative passion I love. Nothing beat the rush I get writing scripts and directing movies. I am a filmmaking junkie. When one movie wraps I’m looking for my next creative high. I head out looking for a money tree I can shake to produce my next movie. In tough financial times it’s very difficult to find money to make a indie movie.

Many indie filmmakers can relate to the story I am about to share. A few deals fell through for film funding leaving me without the backing to produce my next movie. Life is strange when it comes full circle. Before signing a distribution deal with Maverick Entertainment Group for Consignment co-producer Tim Beachum had a insane idea. At least it was insane to me. He made it possible to stream the first 10 minutes of Consignment online for free. A Virginia Beach based newspaper posted an article online about it. Seems there were not many indie filmmakers doing what we did. It worked out good, but it still took time for what Tim told me about SEO marketing for it to sink in and share with you.

Independent filmmaking success can be reached with SEO marketing. When I started producing movies I had a hard time looking at them as a product when they were done. My thinking has since changed. After a movie is done it needs to be handled like a well packaged and promoted product. I am not taking away from the creative art of making a movie. As a screenwriter and director I dig deep to put all I have into making movies.

It’s now crystal clear in mind that movies need to be marketed to viewers or they do not exist. The major brick walls facing many indie filmmakers is they lack a big marketing budget, the distributor they signed with can only do so much, or they are that sure how to use SEO marketing to promote their movie. I sure as hell didn’t coming out of the gate with my first movie. I thought Maverick Entertainment Group as the distributor releasing the movie would make a marketing push, so I laid back waiting for them to spread the word Consignment was a hot urban action movie people had to see.

It was a fast lesson that a movie distributor releasing hundreds of titles has only so many resources it can put into marketing. With staff salaries and overhead to meet they have to be fiscal. Bottom-line is they need to earn the most profit, so they dedicate as much of their marketing budget to hype movies that they feel have name actors or that “IT” factor. That’s just good old fasion business sense in motion. Maverick Entertainment Group has a platinum label to showcase their high profile releases. El Presidente Doug Schwab has earned his respect in the indie filmmaking community and has be kind enough to share a lot of solid insight on the business side of movie distribution with me. I see him as a cool older brother.

I started to pay attention to SEO marketing tools. Consignment Co-producer Tim Beachum has been involved in Internet marketing for over ten years strong. As for me I never gave SEO marketing a second thought because I was consumed with writing, producing, and directing indie movies. I regret coming out the gate I did not think about marketing them. Being an amigo Timbo shared with me what he learned from SEO kingpin Frank Kern. Marketing really started to make sense to me. I saw the boost SEO marketing could give indie filmmakers on how to promote their movies online without spending crazy cash. With people searching for so many different topics online it’s easy for your movie to go undiscovered. Unless you start using keywords and phrases to reach out to viewers about your movie. On YouTube the Consignment trailer has 15,000 views to date. That’s cool because being a grounded filmmaker it’s hard to imagine those people set out looking for the Consignment.

I was able to use the SEO advice Tim Beachum and Frank Kern (salud to these two guys). When uploading videos to hype your movie use keywords and phrases. That sounds like common sense, but when I first started uploading videos to promote my movie I only used the title of the movie as a keyword phrase. Not to savvy considering how often the word consignment is typed into a search engine.

When indie filmmakers use the core idea of SEO marketing they will have a better chance of success. The whole idea of making movies to have people watch them. SEO marketing can go a long away to helping reach that goal. Posting trailers using different keyword phrases will drawn in more viewers. Use your movie plot to help you come up with keywords and phrases that relate to viewers. You can’t rely on viewers finding your movie out of nowhere.

Freelance SEO writer Roy Daniel DSilva sent the following (very long) comment to a blog post I wrote about freelance job scams. I’ve broken up the comment by adding some tips on how to prevent this from happening to you with notes entitled, “My Take.”

Be careful accepting jobs everybody. As freelance writers, we work hard enough without having to worry about being scammed.

Mr. DSilva wrote: The Biggest Cheat There Ever Was, Is And Will Be – Elliott Leee

I am sure what I am going to say now will shake off the socks of every content writer present in the world. This is the bitterest experience anyone can ever have, so be warned. I have been mightily cheated by Elliott Leee, and I call upon everyone to be very vigilant about this person. Here’s my story.

I am a freelance writer and this Elliott Leee contacted me through one of them (job site). His username is richuser2008 there (later I found out he has one more username richuser2009 also, on the same site). Okay, he contracted me to do 100 articles in 2 days for him. The articles were of 500 words each, and on various topics. The payment decided for them was $600.

Normally, freelance sites allow for escrow, and I prefer that mode, but this Elliott Leee said he will not escrow because he didn’t have funds. Still, I needed the money, so I accepted the work. I have a kid aged 1.5 years and parents aged 61 and 73 years to look after. So I accepted. That was my mistake number one.
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My Take: The poster is right, this was a huge mistake.

3 Clues to Heed When Using Bid-for-Pay Sites to Find Article Writing Jobs

What should have clued him in: (i) the large order; (ii) the crazy turnaround time (2 days for 100 articles – come on!); and (iii) the buyers inability to escrow (ie, follow prescribed guidelines as outlined by the job posting sites).

Scammers often use job sites for two reasons: (i) it’s the easiest way to target a lot of freelance writers quickly; and (ii) a lot of writers who use these sites are accustomed to working for pennies (no knock to the freelancer). Writers who charge more tend to stay away from sites like this (I know I do), or at least not waste their time responding to orders like this one.
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I put all my other work on the backburner and started his articles. It was unreal work, but I knew I would do it. He was bombarding me with emails. He wanted 10 articles every hour. I employed my wife and brother on the job too, and between us, we did the 10 articles in the first hour. I mailed him those. He accepted, said they were good, and said he wanted the next 10 within the next hour. I kept on sending, and with every mail he only said ‘Send me the next 10 asap’. There was no thanks, no decency in this person, he was only swallowing the articles without a burp.
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My Take: Second mistake. If you’re going to work on spec and for such low wages as this, at least make them pay up after a few have been sent. This would have showed good faith. In this instance, a good idea would have been to send say 5 at a time, receive payment, and then do another five. That way, if you don’t get payment, at least you’ve only spent time doing a few articles.

And not for nothing, if this person seemed “indecent,” or unprofessional, that’s a big red flag. Most professionals don’t operate like this. There are so many thank yous flying back and forth between me and my clients that it’s a virtual lovefest.
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After 50 articles were done, I indicated about the payment. I asked him to pay at least $300, which was the amount for the work completed. He refused outright. He said he would pay as soon as the 100th article was submitted. I had no option but to plow on.
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My Take: Fifty articles in, I can understand the inclination to want to continue. But he should have stood his ground. Professionals understand upfront payments (heck, he’d completed half the job with no upfront payment). And honest client would have gladly paid something at this point. Reputable clients just don’t operate this way.

Red flag! Red flag! Red flag!
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Anyways, I will get to the end now. I finished the 100 articles in the stipulated 2 days. This guy was awake day and night, and didn’t allow me to sleep either. He wanted articles every hour, and would allow only a few hours sleep. But, he refused to give me any chat ids. Email was our only conversation. So, 2 days, 40+ emails and 100 articles later, I asked him for the payment. His emails suddenly stopped.

After about eight hours, he emailed me about a problem. He said that some other writer had fallen sick or something and could not complete her articles. He said her 29 articles were pending. And since those were completed, he could not send the articles to his client and his client would not pay. I told him this was unfair. He was almost like a dictator in his reply – do these 29 more, or there can be no payment. Really, he was so brutal. I had to do those 29 more articles.

I took one more day to finish, not a whole day though. And I sent him those 29 also. The dues were now $780 and I was waiting for them.

After a few repeated reminders from my side, I got an email from him. He said he has paid on PayPal. I got a confirmation email from “PayPal” too. But the money did not show on PayPal. I waited four hours, thinking it might take time or something. But the money never came. And then I minutely scrutinized the “confirmation email”. It was a carefully planned out hoax. The email was a spoof. I reported it to PayPal immediately.

And then Elliott Leee stopped responding. No further communication occurred. In my last mail, I only told him how he was a criminal, and how I will expose him. He never replied to that. Three days later, I was checking my freelance account where I first found this fellow. I was shocked to see the site had deducted $30 from my account for this project with Elliott Leee. I opened a dispute ticket with them.

Let me tell you also what PayPal and the freelance site did (or rather, did not do).

PayPal never replied to my report on the spoof mail. How can they not even be concerned about someone spoofing their emails? What’s the security for us then, when the biggest online bank of the world is so laidback about such crime? A couple of days later, I only got an email from PayPal saying that there’s no transaction of $780 on the said date. And they gave me a litany of preaching on what I must do to avoid phishing. Fat help!

The freelance site obviously did not help. There was no escrow, and that was their excuse to wash their hands of the whole affair. No escrow, no help – that’s the brutal dictum of these freelance sites. They replied about the deduction of $30 in 3 words – Project was canceled. Yes, you guessed it right – after making me slog like an aboriginal slave, after killing my sleep and appetite for two days running, this Elliott Leee took all the articles and canceled the project.

I got no justice in all this, and the infrastructure of the Internet is such that I will never get any justice. People like Elliott Leee will rule. And we honest hard workers will always lose.
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My Take: Honest, hard workers will not lose, if we are smart. Don’t ever, ever, ever start work without some form of payment being made first.

In my case, I break this rule, but let me explain. First, I don’t use bid-for-pay sites. The pay is too low and the time spent formulating queries is just too time consuming. By the time I do that, I could have sent out 50 email queries from contacts I’ve found on my own.

When I query clients online, I’ve been to their site. While this doesn’t guarantee a thing, at least I know they’re less likely trying to scam me b/c I approach them first. Furthermore, I propose rates to my clients, not the other way around. With bid-for-pay sites, most of the clients post what they’re willing to pay for a project.

Finally, it’s just a gut instinct I use. I’ve been doing this long enough (since 1993) to get a feel for clients. I’ve only been burned once – and that was by a lawyer (go figure!) and it wasn’t web writing. To avoid all of this, or at least until you develop that long-time freelancer “gut feeling,” just ask for 50 percent up front before you start on a project. It’s industry standard and if a potential client balks; then you walk.
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Long live the phishers and scammers! The world’s online banks and freelance sites are there to help you do your thing.

PS: There is much, much more coming up on Elliott Leee as I am discovering more stuff from him. I have recently found out (without proof) that Elliott Leee is an alias – he has some other name. In fact, he has many other names. If anyone of you wants to discuss Elliott Leee with me, and even take a look at our email convos and things like that, get in touch with me. I won’t take you at your face value though. There are other instances of us getting cheated on my blog.
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My Take: While phishers and scammers do their part to stink up the internet with their schemes, this medium is full of opportunity. Don’t let a few rotten apples spoil the bunch. The key is to market smart, and trust ye ole gut!

Visit Roy Daniel DSilva’s blog here: dupedinfreelance.blogspot.com.

May be reprinted with the following, in full: Learn how I started making $250+/Day writing SEO articles — in less than three weeks! Read case studies of those who are doing it here. You can work from home as a freelance writer in your PJs, getting assignments via the internet. I do it every day. All you need is a computer and an internet connection to get started. Visit InkwellEditorial.blogspot.com for more advice on article writing, freelance writing, blog writing and more!