Saturday, February 11, 2006
Latest Newsletter Ready to Go
I've just put the finishing touches on One Stop Web Support newsletter #23, which will go out on Sunday. This one contains:
Jeff
I've just put the finishing touches on One Stop Web Support newsletter #23, which will go out on Sunday. This one contains:
- Online Business Techniques to Know for 2006 (part 3 of 3) - Viral Marketing
- Review of "33 Days to Online Profits"
- Review of How An Overworked, Traveling, Soggy Sandwich Eating Dental Hygienist Made up to $11,212.00 a Month--100% Online
- Special guest by eBay expert Jim Cockrum on "The TWO steps to MASSIVE success"
- A success quote by Oprah Winfrey
Jeff
Friday, February 10, 2006
The Importance of Momentum
One of the most underestimated things in life is momemtum. It can make your business or it can kill it. It can lead you to a fullfiling life or consign you to constant futility.
So how do you get it going for you? First, you need to know your goals—the things that are most important to you. Second, you need to make choices that tangibly bring you closer to those goals. That's it. It's that simple.
Unfortunately, while it's simple to say, it's much harder to do, especially when you have, like most people do, momentum working in a negative direction at the moment.
Have you ever decided to eat healthier? It takes a lot of willpower to start. Your momentum keeps leading you right back to those Krispy Kremes that you've grown so used to. But each time you make a decision to take the healthy route rather than the fattening one, you build momentum in the direction you want to go. The next time you face that decision it becomes easier as you accustom yourself to making different decisions than you used to make.
Before long, you start reaching for a carrot or a glass of water by habit instead of by conscious decision. You've got momentum propelling you in the direction you wanted to go.
The same goes with your business. If you're in the habit of making decisions that don't lead you toward your goal—such as surfing aimlessly, or doing busy work when you could be doing productive work—your momentum will keep you stuck and unprofitable.
Only by making a conscious effort to choose goal-oriented decisions over unfocused ones can you get momentum helping you instead of bogging you down. And with each positive choice you make, your momentum grows.
Jeff
One of the most underestimated things in life is momemtum. It can make your business or it can kill it. It can lead you to a fullfiling life or consign you to constant futility.
So how do you get it going for you? First, you need to know your goals—the things that are most important to you. Second, you need to make choices that tangibly bring you closer to those goals. That's it. It's that simple.
Unfortunately, while it's simple to say, it's much harder to do, especially when you have, like most people do, momentum working in a negative direction at the moment.
Have you ever decided to eat healthier? It takes a lot of willpower to start. Your momentum keeps leading you right back to those Krispy Kremes that you've grown so used to. But each time you make a decision to take the healthy route rather than the fattening one, you build momentum in the direction you want to go. The next time you face that decision it becomes easier as you accustom yourself to making different decisions than you used to make.
Before long, you start reaching for a carrot or a glass of water by habit instead of by conscious decision. You've got momentum propelling you in the direction you wanted to go.
The same goes with your business. If you're in the habit of making decisions that don't lead you toward your goal—such as surfing aimlessly, or doing busy work when you could be doing productive work—your momentum will keep you stuck and unprofitable.
Only by making a conscious effort to choose goal-oriented decisions over unfocused ones can you get momentum helping you instead of bogging you down. And with each positive choice you make, your momentum grows.
Jeff
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Check Your Meta Description Tags
I had an unpleasant surprise lately. A couple of my most popular and productive pages have been strangely silent so far in February. Traffic way down, referrals way down.
I checked to see if my search rankings for those pages had dropped. Nope. They were as strong as ever. But looking at how the search results listed those pages gave me my answer.
Google had switched the way they were presenting my results and were going strictly by the meta description instead of pulling the phrase most relevant to the keyword off the actual page. And I discovered that those particular meta descriptions - ahem - stank.
One was an extremely bland and generic description that I had written in a hurry when I was first trying to get as many pages up as I could. The other was too long and was being cut off in a weird way so that it made no sense.
In short, for lack of a compelling meta description, searchers were passing over my pages that many other searchers had previously found to be just what they were looking for. I've since corrected the problem and instituted a search of all my other pages for similar weak meta descriptions. It'll take a couple of days, though, before Google's results start to show the new descriptions.
It goes to show that although many meta tags are perfectly useless in terms of the search engines nowadays, you still need to be careful that your meta descriptions are sharp and compelling. Otherwise you can lose a lot of traffic, like I did.
Jeff
I had an unpleasant surprise lately. A couple of my most popular and productive pages have been strangely silent so far in February. Traffic way down, referrals way down.
I checked to see if my search rankings for those pages had dropped. Nope. They were as strong as ever. But looking at how the search results listed those pages gave me my answer.
Google had switched the way they were presenting my results and were going strictly by the meta description instead of pulling the phrase most relevant to the keyword off the actual page. And I discovered that those particular meta descriptions - ahem - stank.
One was an extremely bland and generic description that I had written in a hurry when I was first trying to get as many pages up as I could. The other was too long and was being cut off in a weird way so that it made no sense.
In short, for lack of a compelling meta description, searchers were passing over my pages that many other searchers had previously found to be just what they were looking for. I've since corrected the problem and instituted a search of all my other pages for similar weak meta descriptions. It'll take a couple of days, though, before Google's results start to show the new descriptions.
It goes to show that although many meta tags are perfectly useless in terms of the search engines nowadays, you still need to be careful that your meta descriptions are sharp and compelling. Otherwise you can lose a lot of traffic, like I did.
Jeff
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Proofing Your Writing
It's funny how easily your eye can slide over something. Lately, I've been checking the reviews and articles I've written, making sure they're still accurate. While reading one review, it suddenly struck me that I had a major goof-up in it.
I intended to stress that the product exceeded what similar products did. But in re-reading what I had written, I realized that it sounded like I was accusing that product of being guilty of those negative qualities.
Now, I had read and proofed that review several times when I wrote it. But getting away from what you write for a couple of days can give you a much clearer perspective on how your writing comes across to others.
I've since corrected my wording, but it serves as a lesson to not consider what you write finished, even after you've proofed it. A little distance always helps when you're trying to see what others will see in your writing.
Jeff
It's funny how easily your eye can slide over something. Lately, I've been checking the reviews and articles I've written, making sure they're still accurate. While reading one review, it suddenly struck me that I had a major goof-up in it.
I intended to stress that the product exceeded what similar products did. But in re-reading what I had written, I realized that it sounded like I was accusing that product of being guilty of those negative qualities.
Now, I had read and proofed that review several times when I wrote it. But getting away from what you write for a couple of days can give you a much clearer perspective on how your writing comes across to others.
I've since corrected my wording, but it serves as a lesson to not consider what you write finished, even after you've proofed it. A little distance always helps when you're trying to see what others will see in your writing.
Jeff
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Defeating the Splatter Syndrome
I remember growing up with the strange activity where kids would throw handsful of mud at a barn and watch to see how many of them stuck. (Yeah, entertainment options were a little more limited back then.) But the practice reminds me of the way many new marketers approach building their business.
I call it the Splatter Syndrome. It involves rushing out a whole lot of promotional activities in the hope that enough of them will work that some money comes out of it. Like the mud-slinging, it's nothing more than tossing a whole bunch of poorly thought out glops into the air and hoping that they'll defy gravity.
That's because it comes from not thinking any promotional strategies through to completion. If you're trying everything at once, nothing will work, nothing will "stick."
It's easy to start all sorts of promotional activities. But for those activities to have any chance of success, there has to be more than just a beginning to them.
Successful activities have to have a measurable goal and have to have a plan for getting to that goal. Simply going through the motions of some activity isn't enough.
For example, imagine you've decided to write a press release for your business. If the goal is merely to write a press release, all you have to do is to fill one page with writing and send it off. But a press release that is done with that type of a goal will accomplish nothing.
Now imagine instead that you've decided to write a press release that will be picked up by the media and that will bring 1000 new visitors to your site. That's a totally different goal, and it's going to require you to do a lot more than simply fill one sheet of paper with something—anything—about your business.
You're really going to have put some effort into that one. You'll have to:
In other words, you won't have time to throw glops of mud against a wall and hope that some of them—or even one of them—will stick. You'll have to focus on doing one thing and doing it in such a way that you actually do something that helps someone else. And that will give you a far greater chance of success than a hundred half-planned tasks.
Jeff
I remember growing up with the strange activity where kids would throw handsful of mud at a barn and watch to see how many of them stuck. (Yeah, entertainment options were a little more limited back then.) But the practice reminds me of the way many new marketers approach building their business.
I call it the Splatter Syndrome. It involves rushing out a whole lot of promotional activities in the hope that enough of them will work that some money comes out of it. Like the mud-slinging, it's nothing more than tossing a whole bunch of poorly thought out glops into the air and hoping that they'll defy gravity.
That's because it comes from not thinking any promotional strategies through to completion. If you're trying everything at once, nothing will work, nothing will "stick."
It's easy to start all sorts of promotional activities. But for those activities to have any chance of success, there has to be more than just a beginning to them.
Successful activities have to have a measurable goal and have to have a plan for getting to that goal. Simply going through the motions of some activity isn't enough.
For example, imagine you've decided to write a press release for your business. If the goal is merely to write a press release, all you have to do is to fill one page with writing and send it off. But a press release that is done with that type of a goal will accomplish nothing.
Now imagine instead that you've decided to write a press release that will be picked up by the media and that will bring 1000 new visitors to your site. That's a totally different goal, and it's going to require you to do a lot more than simply fill one sheet of paper with something—anything—about your business.
You're really going to have put some effort into that one. You'll have to:
- Figure out an angle that will catch the media's interest
- Figure out some reason in the story for the readers to come to your site
- Figure out which media outlets are most likely to be interested in your story
In other words, you won't have time to throw glops of mud against a wall and hope that some of them—or even one of them—will stick. You'll have to focus on doing one thing and doing it in such a way that you actually do something that helps someone else. And that will give you a far greater chance of success than a hundred half-planned tasks.
Jeff
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Finding Your Search Engine Rankings with SearchIt! Free Research Tool
The SearchIt! free search tool consists of a window with two dropdown boxes and two text boxes. In the two dropdown boxes, you select the type of search you want to do. In the two text boxes, you select the search criteria (such as keywords or URLs) you want to use.
Rather than repeat the introductory info about SearchIt! that I shared previously, I suggest that you see the October 2nd blog for this information. Or simply realize that it is important to click all the links and read all the instructions that SearchIt! tells you to do.
You'll find SearchIt! A LOT easier and more valuable to use if you do that.
Using SearchIt!
Last week we started covering some specialized search tools, including ways that SearchIt! lets you perform advanced search functions on multiple search engines and directories right from SearchIt!, without you needing to navigate from one site to another to conduct your searches. This week we'll look at how SearchIt! can show you at a glance how you rank for specific search terms across multiple search engines.
In the Step 1 dropdown box, scroll down under Advanced Search and select Metasearch.
Click the dropdown box for Step 2: Select Search Type. You'll see the following options.
Yahoo!-Google-Jeeves Overlap
Google-MSN Overlap
IxQuick
Dogpile
(Note: These options may change. The SiteSell people (who maintain the SearchIt! tool) are constantly adding new search tools to it.)
Yahoo!-Google-Jeeves Overlap
Type your keyword in the Step 3 box and click the SearchIt! button. Click the link at the bottom of the intro page to get your results.
Your results will rank the sites for your keyword based largely on how highly ranked those sites are for that keyword on the major search engines. The results list also identifies any top ten rankings that each site has on the major search engines.
Google-MSN Overlap
Type your keyword in the Step 3 box and click the SearchIt! button. Click the link at the bottom of the intro page to get your results.
Your results show in graphical form the correlation between the two search engines. It shows two lines made up of dots. Each line is one of the search engine and each dot is a ranked site. Any sites that are present in the top rankings for both search engines are connected by a line. By scrolling over the dots, you can see the ranking number and the url of that dot. And for sites that are ranked by both search engines, you even see a small thumbnail of the page.
I've found this page occasionally to be a little buggy, so you might have to reenter your search term and choose the search engines at the top of the page manually. But entering the search terms manually offers you even more options. Not only are there more search engines to choose from, but you can also enter the url of a site that you're particularly interested in and the tool will identify that site with red dots instead of the usual blue.
IxQuick
Type your keyword in the Step 3 box and click the SearchIt! button. Your results appear immediately, without any intro page.
Your results will rank the sites for your keyword based largely on how highly ranked those sites are for that keyword on the major search engines. The results list also displays a star next to the page title that identifies how many top ten rankings that page has, and it lists the search engines on which the page has attained those top ten rankings.
Dogpile
Type your keyword in the Step 3 box and click the SearchIt! button. Your results appear immediately, without any intro page.
Your results show Dogpile's top 100 sites for your search phrase, derived by consolidating the results searches for your phrase that it conducts instantaneously on all of the major search engines. It also identifies which search engines it found that page listed on. And if you wish, you can also see the results on each search engine by clicking on the buttons for any of the search engines listed at the top of the page.
Next week
This Sunday, we looked at how SearchIt! can show you at a glance how you rank for specific search terms across multiple search engines. Next week we'll look at how SearchIt! can help you see what people are saying about your site on the Web and how it can help you find potential joint venture partners.
All in all, SearchIt! can find you lots of valuable information. The main thing to remember is to READ THE DIRECTIONS. With as many tools packed into this one interface, you're not going to take one look at it and intuitively understand how to use every one of them. But the directions they give are easy, and they do more than just tell you how to use each tool; they also throw in tips on how to use the results you receive to make your site more successful.
SearchIt! is one of these free tools that really produces value for you. I recommend that you check it out and make it a part of your web marketing arsenal.
Jeff
The SearchIt! free search tool consists of a window with two dropdown boxes and two text boxes. In the two dropdown boxes, you select the type of search you want to do. In the two text boxes, you select the search criteria (such as keywords or URLs) you want to use.
Rather than repeat the introductory info about SearchIt! that I shared previously, I suggest that you see the October 2nd blog for this information. Or simply realize that it is important to click all the links and read all the instructions that SearchIt! tells you to do.
You'll find SearchIt! A LOT easier and more valuable to use if you do that.
Using SearchIt!
Last week we started covering some specialized search tools, including ways that SearchIt! lets you perform advanced search functions on multiple search engines and directories right from SearchIt!, without you needing to navigate from one site to another to conduct your searches. This week we'll look at how SearchIt! can show you at a glance how you rank for specific search terms across multiple search engines.
In the Step 1 dropdown box, scroll down under Advanced Search and select Metasearch.
Click the dropdown box for Step 2: Select Search Type. You'll see the following options.
Yahoo!-Google-Jeeves Overlap
Google-MSN Overlap
IxQuick
Dogpile
(Note: These options may change. The SiteSell people (who maintain the SearchIt! tool) are constantly adding new search tools to it.)
Yahoo!-Google-Jeeves Overlap
Type your keyword in the Step 3 box and click the SearchIt! button. Click the link at the bottom of the intro page to get your results.
Your results will rank the sites for your keyword based largely on how highly ranked those sites are for that keyword on the major search engines. The results list also identifies any top ten rankings that each site has on the major search engines.
Google-MSN Overlap
Type your keyword in the Step 3 box and click the SearchIt! button. Click the link at the bottom of the intro page to get your results.
Your results show in graphical form the correlation between the two search engines. It shows two lines made up of dots. Each line is one of the search engine and each dot is a ranked site. Any sites that are present in the top rankings for both search engines are connected by a line. By scrolling over the dots, you can see the ranking number and the url of that dot. And for sites that are ranked by both search engines, you even see a small thumbnail of the page.
I've found this page occasionally to be a little buggy, so you might have to reenter your search term and choose the search engines at the top of the page manually. But entering the search terms manually offers you even more options. Not only are there more search engines to choose from, but you can also enter the url of a site that you're particularly interested in and the tool will identify that site with red dots instead of the usual blue.
IxQuick
Type your keyword in the Step 3 box and click the SearchIt! button. Your results appear immediately, without any intro page.
Your results will rank the sites for your keyword based largely on how highly ranked those sites are for that keyword on the major search engines. The results list also displays a star next to the page title that identifies how many top ten rankings that page has, and it lists the search engines on which the page has attained those top ten rankings.
Dogpile
Type your keyword in the Step 3 box and click the SearchIt! button. Your results appear immediately, without any intro page.
Your results show Dogpile's top 100 sites for your search phrase, derived by consolidating the results searches for your phrase that it conducts instantaneously on all of the major search engines. It also identifies which search engines it found that page listed on. And if you wish, you can also see the results on each search engine by clicking on the buttons for any of the search engines listed at the top of the page.
Next week
This Sunday, we looked at how SearchIt! can show you at a glance how you rank for specific search terms across multiple search engines. Next week we'll look at how SearchIt! can help you see what people are saying about your site on the Web and how it can help you find potential joint venture partners.
All in all, SearchIt! can find you lots of valuable information. The main thing to remember is to READ THE DIRECTIONS. With as many tools packed into this one interface, you're not going to take one look at it and intuitively understand how to use every one of them. But the directions they give are easy, and they do more than just tell you how to use each tool; they also throw in tips on how to use the results you receive to make your site more successful.
SearchIt! is one of these free tools that really produces value for you. I recommend that you check it out and make it a part of your web marketing arsenal.
Jeff
© 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Jeff Baas, One Stop Web Support
