Get More Clients Online

Converting website content to PDF files

Q:  I've been advised to put my website articles in pdf format.  I'm concerned that the search engines won't see the content which is keyword-rich. 
Kris

A:  Hi Kris--

While there's nothing wrong with putting your articles in PDF format, as search engines now have the capability to index PDF files as well as web pages for keywords, I would encourage you to stick with just placing them on your site as content.  My reasoning has to do with simplicity and reducing the number of clicks to view your contant rather than anything related to SEO.

On your site, you should make it as simple as possible for a visitor to view your content.  Forcing them to open/download a PDF file adds another layer of complexity to the process.  And, many people are wary of downloading and opening files from sites owned by people they do not know due to the possibility of the file being infected with spyware or malware.

So, permit your visitors to see your content when they land on your site.  Save the PDFs to use as a free giveaway to entice them to join your list when they have decided that they'd like to get more info from you.

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.

Search Engine Optimization: 11 Basic SEO Strategies for Beginners

Search engine optimization is the process getting your website ready to be found in organic webs searches.  By organic searches, I'm referring to web searches that appear naturally as the result of a search for a particular keyword or phrase, rather than appearing in the sponsored links (pay-per-click advertising) section of a search page.

Frankly, for the first few years I was online, the thought of doing my own SEO made my eyes cross, and I was overwhelmed at where to start.  I even toyed with the idea of hiring a specialist to do this for me, but never got around to it. However, over time, I slowly began to see a pattern emerging, and started to optimize some of my sites accordingly.  One of the best days of my business is when I recently ranked #1 for a particularly competitive search term.

I'm not a search engine optimization (SEO) specialist, nor do I play one on TV.  However, even a new business owner who creates and updates her own websites can implement some very basic SEO strategies to make her website appear higher in the organic rankings on certain keyword searches.

Here are the 11 strategies that I regularly implement on my sites for better SEO positioning:

1.  Page title tags.  This is the page information that you see in the blue bar of your browser in the upper left-hand corner when you visit a website. For best SEO, use your top 2 keywords in your title tag.  The best way to do that is separated with a bar, as illustrated in this example:  Internet Marketing |  Web Marketing.

2.  Domain name:  If at all possible, use one primary keyword in your domain name.  You will have a slight edge over your competition by doing so.  If you already have a domain that you have used for some time, include a keyword in the name of files for your website pages.  Example:  http://www.yoursite.com/internet-marketing.htm if your keyword is Internet marketing.

3.  Meta tags.  These are descriptions on a web page that are not seen by most visitors except when looking at the page source code in their browser. While the keyword and description metatags used to be the primary way that search engines indexed sites, that is no longer the case.  However, you shouldn't ignore them entirely, as it is still worthwhile to include them as a part of your page description.  For optimal SEO, your meta description and keyword tags should be no more than 150 characters each.

4.  Header tags.  Header tags are the HTML code that indicates a headline, like <H1>, <H2> and <H3> and show up as bolded headlines in your page content.  The first 3 header tags are the only ones you need to be concerned about, and the primary header tag, <H1>, is the most important.  Use your primary keyword one time in the <H1> tag, 2-3 times in your <H2> tags, and multiple times in your <H3> tags.

5.  Alt image tag:  The alt tag typically describes an image in a floating text window when you put your mouse over the image if the image isn't able to be displayed.  The best use of any <ALT> tag is to use your keywords in your image descriptions.

6.  Content formatting.  Search engines pay attention to formatted content, as in when text is bolded, italicized, and underlined.  Make sure that you are bolding your keywords in the content of your website.

7.  Keyword density.  Keyword density refers to the number of times a keyword or keyword phrase appears on a web page.  Rather than trying to focus on the number of times a keyword appears in the content of your page, aim for a more natural density by keeping your keyword phrases in mind as you write the copy for your page.  Optimally, keyword density should be between 2% - 7%.  There are a number of keyword density checkers available online to assist you with determining the keyword density of a page.

8.  Anchor text.  Anchor text refer to links on a page that connect your visitor to other pages.  So, rather than telling someone to "cl*ck here" in the content of your page, include a keyword in your anchor text, as in "cl*ck here for dog training tips."

9..  Inbound links.  Reciprocal link exchange (you link to my site and I'll link to yours) used to be a great way to attract the attention of search engines to your site.  Now, search engines pay attention only to the quality and popularity of the site providing you with an inbound link that is not a reciprocal link.  One of the best ways to get quality inbound links back to your site is to submit articles to high traffic article directories and submit press releases to paid press release services.

A second way to gain high quality inbound links is by listing your site in search engine-friendly directories in which humans review the listings.  Google and other search engines place more credibility in the directories in which the listings are reviewed by real people than they do other kinds of directories.  Consequently, these links are weighted more heavily and favorably in the inbound link evaluation process.  Members of OnlineBizU.com can see the most effective search engine friendly directories here in this download.

10.  New content.  Content is still king, so one way to increase your page rank for a search term is to write high quality articles containing one or two of your keywords in the title and posting those regularly (weekly is best) to your site.  Search engines are always seeking good, fresh, content, so your goal should be to make your site into an information-rich resource for your industry.

11.  Site maps.  There are sitemaps that help a visitor navigate a site, and sitemaps that are expressly designed for the search engines.  The two are not the same. To enhance your site, submit an xml sitemap to Google Webmaster Central and Yahoo Site Explorer.  I use  XML Sitemaps to build search engine-friendly sitemaps on my sites.

Search engine optimization strategy is not a difficult as it appears.  Take some time to do some keyword research for your site, and then spend another 15 minutes a day employing a few of these strategies until you have a well-optimized site.  Why pay for visitors through pay-per-click advertising if you don't have to?

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To claim your FR*EE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at OnlineBizU.com. Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at  AskDonnaGunter.com.

Reciprocal links swaps

Q:  What is the best approach when soliciting a reciprocal link swap with other website owners who have similar niche markets?
Leah Burton
http://www.womenstoolshed.com


A:  Hi Leah--

Actually, reciprocal linking is a big no-no in today's web marketing world.  It used to be a very sound strategy to gain exposure to your site, but in the last 2 years or so, reciprocal linking hurts you more than helps you, at least according to the Internet marketing experts like Tom Antion, who typically gives pretty sound advice.

Today's link strategy is inbound links in which a site (preferably one with lots of traffic) is linking to yours but you don't link back to them.  The primary way I accomplish that is through article marketing, in which my site URL is listed on highly traffic article directory sites (like EzineArticles.com or GoArticles.com) or when my article is picked up and published on the home page of a high traffic website like SiteProNews.com, which happened last week for me.  I get found on these high traffic sites by using an article submission service, http://www.GetMoreClientsArticles.com.

Here's some more detailed info about inbound links from Google's Webmaster Central blog, http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/10/good-times-with-inbound-links.html.

Remember your anchor text, or what text your hyperlink is attached to, when the inbound link is created.  For example, instead of having a link to my name back to my site., i.e. Donna Gunter, I would be much smarter to create anchor text using keyword for which I want to be found, like Internet Marketing Coach.

More info on anchor text can be found here.

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.

Website Marketing: 4 Secrets to Making More Sales from Content Pages

by Donna Gunter, The Online Biz Resource Queen (TM)

Once you begin adding content, like your articles, to your website, an amazing thing starts to happen.  Your traffic begins to increase, as visitors are finding your site based on keyword searches that they do that result in them landing on your content pages.  As I've added more content pages to my site, I've discovered that about 60% of my traffic comes to my site via these kinds of searches.

When visitors arrive at your site, ideally they will look around for additional info. After all, most searches are conducted in pursuit of fr*ee "how to" information. So, how can you optimize your opportunity to get your visitor to take an action?  Traditionally I've recommended using hover ads and opt-in boxes, but there's another little-used strategy that I'm beginning to implement:  inserting a call to action at the bottom of your content page.  A key point to remember in this strategy is that your call to action on a content page should relate to the page content in some way.

Here are 4 secret strategies that you can regularly use on your content pages to make more sales:

1.  Ask visitor to get on your list.  The first trick to getting someone to buy from you is to get them to opt into your list.  By including a graphic image and brief description of your client attraction device (free giveaway) along with the sign up box form for them to complete to get on your list, they can immediately choose to join your list, if they so desire.  The magic words to use to relate joining your list to the content on the page are, "For more helpful tips or articles like these, I invite you to...(your call to action here)."

2.  Invite visitor to subscribe to your blog.  Perhaps you have blog posts that are related to this particular topic on your content page.  Invite your visitor to subscribe to your blog's feed or subscribe for blog updates via email and point your visitor in the direction of the related posts she should visit.

3.  Product promotion.  If you have begun to create information products, many pieces of your content probably relate to (or were taken from) those products.  This is an ideal time to place an image of your product at the bottom of your content page with a short description of the product.  Offer the visitor two options:  one to buy the product now, or the option to get more information about the product on the long sales page for that item.  Remember that your product should relate in an obvious way to your content (i.e. don't place a product about how to groom your dog on a content page about organizing your office).

4.  Google Adsense:  In some cases you may not have a call to action that makes sense to give to your visitor.  Instead (or in addition to another call to action), you may want to use that content space for your Google Adsense ads.  Google Adsense is a program in which you can display Google Adwords ads on your pages and get paid a small fee for every click-through from those ads that occur on your site.  I don't usually recommend that you place these on your content pages, but if you have a niche blog, for example, with articles written by others on a particular topic, Google Adsense ads can become one of your business revenue streams.

Make your content pages work (and sell) for you.  By implementing one of these 4 strategies, your start to see your list (and your bottom line) grow in no time!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To claim your FR*EE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at OnlineBizU.com. Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at  AskDonnaGunter.com.

5 Critical Questions To Ask BEFORE You Hire a Web Designer

Whether you're building a website or a blogsite, the investment in a designer can be fairly significant.  It's at this point that many service business owners decide to cut costs and have their 16-year old nephew design their site.  This works out well until something breaks (with technology, it's never a question of IF it will break, only WHEN) and your nephew is out of touch because he just started his first year of college and can't be bothered.  What are you going to do?

To run an online business, your website is your key to success.  People arrive on your doorstep (site) like they might in a retail establishment, and decide within 5 seconds if they're going to stay and look around or if they're going to leave.  It pays to invest some money in your site, as your site is the first stop on the like, know and trust journey that prospects experience with you.  You need to be perceived as legitimate, as a "real" business, and as the solution to the problems that ail your prospective clients. If you're not able to design your own site, an experienced website designer can help finesse this relationship with your visitors.

How can you determine if your designer will create a site that you like and is useful?  I've heard many horror stories over the years about the experiences that services business owners have had regarding the creation and maintenance of their websites.  Here are 5 critical questions that you should have answered before hiring a web designer:

1.  Site Ownership. First and foremost, you should ask if you own the final version of your site and the graphic source files. I've discovered that many web designers do NOT work on a work-for-hire basis.  Instead, they maintain the copyright to the design of your site, so if you don't want to use that same company for site updates and maintenance, for example, they will not release any source files to another designer.  Consequently, you will have to pay to have your site redesigned all over again. At the very least you should obtain a license to use the files in perpetuity and be able to make revisions to them in the future.  This same rule applies to any special fonts or special applications developed for the site.

A second key issue in site ownership is ownership of your domain name.  If your site design includes purchasing the domain name for your site, be sure that your domain's purchase is credited to you and registered to you as the administrative and technical contact.  Many times the web design company registers your domain name and lists themselves as the contact, or actually purchases the domain and is considered the owner. At that point it becomes almost impossible to get your username and password for the account should you need to make any changes to your domain registration or to even prove ownership.  Purchase your domain BEFORE beginning any work on a website.

2.  Ongoing maintenance and hosting.  Secondly, determine if you will be locked into a maintenance contract or hosting contract with the designer.  Are they using any special software or application that will tie you to a particular type of hosting service? This may not be problematic for you initially, but ensure that you've got the flexibility to change your mind in case the design company is sold, for example, and dramatically increases their prices. Once the site is up, can you buy a program, like Adobe Contribute, for example, and do simple site updates yourself or must you use their company for any updates?

3.  Experience with similar companies. Thirdly, take a look at their portfolio and be sure you like their previous work and that they have experience in web design for companies like yours. Call 1-2 of their clients (from the portfolios) and ask the client how easy the design company was to work with and how satisfied they are with the final product.

4.  Marketing experience.  Many web designers are simply that -- great web designers.  They can make your site sit up and bark and run around in circles, if you like.  However, the newest, coolest, showiest and flashiest technology is oftentimes NOT what you need to bring you the most traffic, get your site found in search engines, and convert prospects to customers.  Don't fall for the glitz and glam that you see in a designer's portfolio.  The best sites are simpler sites with a clean design and distinct marketing elements, like a clear call to action as seen in an email list signup box.  If you can find a designer who excels at both design and marketing, you have found a gem whom you need to hold onto.

5.  Return on investment (ROI).  Asking a designer about the ROI for their clients is somewhat sneaky.  In essence, what you're doing is determining their longevity (will they still be in business tomorrow), as well as their followup strategy in terms of staying in touch with clients to see how their businesses are doing.  A web designer who stays in touch is one who's concerned about your success and is one that is much more likely to create a website that will produce profitable results for you.

The creation of your online presence can be a very expensive failure that takes much longer than anticipated.  Don't let yourself be the next victim! Before hiring a website designer, make sure s/he answers these questions to your satisfaction, and you'll be on the path to a profitable relationship with a talented professional who can help your online business grow. 

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To claim your FR*EE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at OnlineBizU.com. Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at  AskDonnaGunter.com.

7 Reasons Blogsites Attract More Visitors and Help You Get More Clients Online

by Donna Gunter, The Online Biz Resource Queen (TM)

If I were starting my business today and was evaluating my website options, I would pick a blogsite over a stand-alone blog or a traditional website.  What's a blogsite?  I like to think of this as a blog/website hybrid.  It has all the features of a blog, yet acts as a website to help you promote your business.

More and more I see new online service business owners choosing blogsites over traditional websites. Some who have started with a traditional website have switched over to a blogsite in the last year. Here are 7 reasons why a blogsite attracts more visitors and helps you get more clients online than a traditional website:

1.  Easy to update and maintain.  Once created, your blog is almost effortless to update and maintain on a regular basis.  All you have to do is log into your administrator interface, create a post in a Word-like environment, publish the post, and it instantly appears on your blogsite. A well-maintained and updated site is one to which visitors return. No longer will your website be the site that you (and time) forgot.

If you are tech-savvy, you may be able to create and install your blogsite yourself using open source software like WordPress, or using a fee-based blogging service like Typepad.  If you require technical and graphic assistance to get your blogsite up and running, you can expect to pay at least $300 to create a simple blogsite.  The ability to update your site yourself frees you from the need to learn an HTML software program.  However, if you choose to use open source software for your blog platform, be sure and have someone on call who can help you troubleshoot when there is a technical problem. As with all technology, it's not a matter of if a problem will happen, but when it will happen.

2.  Create static webpages.  The best feature of a blogsite is the ability to create static webpages, like About Us, Our Services, How We Work, etc., as found on a traditional website.  Your static pages can be displayed in a navigation bar across the top or down one side of your blogsite, as in a traditional website.  These pages can serve as your home page, or the blog part of your site can serve as your homepage instead. Now, anytime you add an additional program or service, you can simply go to your blogsite and instantly update your offerings.

3. Create relationship with visitors.  Unlike a traditional website, a blogsite has the blogging feature built in, which permits your visitors to comment on your posts.  You do need to post 2-3 times per week to the blog to begin to build the relationship, and then reply to the comments that come in from your visitors.  And, your visitors are much more likely to return to your blogsite to see what else you have to say.  That doesn't happen often with a traditional website.

4.  Attractive to search engines.  Search engines, Google in particular, love blogs.  I've posted a comment to a blog and had Google index that comment within 5 minutes.  How did I know this?  Because I have a Google Alert set for my name, and that alert about that post was emailed to me about 5 minutes after I made it.  No more waiting for weeks for the search engines to find your site!

5.  Uses RSS feeds.  No longer do you have to hope and pray that your email reaches its intended target.  With the use of RSS feeds, your blog posts are automatically syndicated to anyone who has requested them, and they arrive in your reader's RSS feeder almost instantly.

6.  Promote your business throughout the site.  Have a free giveaway or product or affiliate program you want to promote?  Now you can easily add that info to a sidebar of your blog and have that show up for the visitor regardless of what page the visitor lands on.

7.  Offers Web 2.0 functionality.  If you're using any social networking like Facebook or Twitter, most blogging platforms offer a widget or plug-in that will connect your visitor to your social networking profile.  There are other plug-ins that make your blogsite searchable, show related blogsites or related posts, display your favorite Amazon.com recommendations, etc.  More widgets and plug-in are being developed every day to help you better connect to your visitors.

If your website needs an overhaul or you are about to launch your first site, seriously consider a blogsite. A blogsite will save you money, time and aggravation and get you connected much more quickly to your visitors and to the world at large.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To claim your FR*EE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at OnlineBizU.com. Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at AskDonnaGunter.com.

Getting Visitors to Buy

Q:  How do I make people complete their purchase online?
Amazonlandscaping.ie

A:  Dear Amazon Landscaping:

You have to develop the like, know, and trust relationship to encourage visitors to buy from you.  I took a quick look at your site and you have what's known as a brochure site, which is the virtual equivalent of a physical brochure sitting in a box waiting to be picked up.  You don't ask anyone to take any action, like getting on your mailing list, so it's hard for you to become the "top of mind" person for landscaping in Dublin if you're not continuously marketing to them.

Here's a post on the blog that might help you:  3 Must-Have Website Features that Convert Visitors into Customers.

Secondly, if you truly want people to pay for landscaping services online, you need some sort of shopping cart that will enable them to purchase and pay for services.  Here's a free ebook you can download:  How to Pick a Shopping Cart That Makes You Money.

If you need additional help, I suggest you check out the resources available at  my online business coaching membership community, OnlineBizU.com, or think about hiring me as your online business coach;)

Thanks for asking!

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.

Website Marketing Teleclass

Why You're Not Making Money From Your Website: 7 Strategies to Make Your Visitors Buy From You

Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Time: 2 PM Eastern

Description:  Have you spent thousands of dollars on having a website designed but have made few or no sales?  Many websites, while very attractive, simply serve as an online brochure, without a strategy in place to drive any traffic there.  Or perhaps you get lots of visitors to your site, but they seldom, if ever, buy from you.

It's not too late -- don't give up and take your site down!  You can turn your website into a customer attraction magnet (and then make money) with these 7 simple strategies.

In this seminar, you'll learn how to:

--Choose a domain name that stands out in the crowd
--Write authentically to "reach out and touch" your target market
--Specify the most important action your visitor should take
--Design an effective client-attraction device that will entice visitors to give you their email address
--Create a system to stay in touch with your prospects
--Demonstrate your expertise to your visitors
--Implement one highly effective traffic generation strategy
--Sell to many people, all at once
--Discover the next steps to take

To Register: Register here.

Your 7-Point Annual Website Tune-up

Every time you take your car in for an oil change, most shops give you a 15- or 30-point checkup when they change your oil to alert you to any other potential problems you might experience in the future.  In the same way that your mechanic conducts a regular inspection of your automobile, you need to conduct an annual checkup of your website.

Here are 7 critical areas that need to be checked yearly on your site:

1.  Copyright notice.  In years past it would take me until March or April to update my copyright notices primarily because I had to go in and update every single page of my site.  More recently, however, I've used an includes file, which is one file that can be inserted in many pages to hold my copyright and contact info.  Consequently, when I need to update the copyright info, I open this one file in my HTML editor, update that file, save and upload it.  Once it's revised, the new information miraculously appears on all the pages in which it's included, updating them all at once.

2.  Opt-in forms.  The beginning of each year is a great time to ensure that all of the opt-in forms are working on your site.  Do you need to add additional fields to the opt-in form to collect mailing addresses, for example, or to ask how visitors found your site?  Is the information contained on your confirmation page (the page to which a visitor is sent upon her initial request to opt into your list) still current and relevant?  How about the thank you page (the page to which your visitor is sent when she has confirmed her desire to join your list)?

3.  Autoresponder followup. Next, review the content of the autoresponders that you've set to follow up the opt-in.  Are they still current?  Do they mention offers or upsells that are still available?  Do you need to update any copyright or contact information contained within them?  Are they making it through spam filters? Use this tool to ensure that every email gets into your contact's inbox, Sp*mCheck from SiteSell.

4.  Signature files.  Does your email signature file contain a call to action that's still working for you, or does it need to be updated?  Have you changed any portion of your contact information?  After you review your signature files in your email client, do the same check of your email signature file in your shopping cart program or autoresponder program.

5.  Client attraction device.  Take a look at the fr*e giveaway you provide to your visitors in return for them opting into your list.  Whether it's a document or an audio or video file, update the copyright and content information in it and review any biographical/profile information that you list about yourself or your business.  Is the content you provide in this giveaway still valid and current?  Do you want to keep the current call to action, or does it need to be updated to better fit with your current business model?

6.  Missing images and dead link check.  When your website fails to properly display images, your business appears unprofessional.  Tour your website to ensure that all images are displaying as they should. If you link to or make reference to many resources on your site, run a dead link check annually to weed out or update those that no longer work.  You may be able to do this with your HTML editor.  If not, try the fr*e weekly link checking service offered by iNetDog.

7.  Order forms. Be sure that your order form works all the way through.  Most online business owners, when checking order forms, stop at the point where they need to enter credit card information.  If your merchant account agreement prohibits you from using your credit card to order from your company, ask if they have a test card number you can use, or have a reciprocal agreement with a colleague to check each other's forms.  Check your followup autoresponders that are set to go out after someone makes a purchase, as well, to ensure that they are still up-to-date.

Websites that are obviously out-of-date or aren't working properly are a huge deterrent to doing business with you.  Check these 7 key areas yearly on your site to convey to your visitors that your site is regularly updated and maintained.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE?  You can, as long as you include this blurb with it:  Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online  Business Coach Donna Gunter helps independent  service professionals learn how to automate  their businesses, leverage their expertise on  the Internet, and get more clients online. To  claim your FR*EE gift, TurboCharge Your Online  Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at OnlineBizU.com. Ask Donna an Internet  Marketing question at AskDonnaGunter.com.

Hover Ad Technology

Q:  Donna, is that a hover window that appears at OnlineBizU.com when someone first goes there?  Also, does this type of window hurt with search engine rankings?

A:  Hi--  Yes, that is a hover ad.  I've got more details about how you can create one on your site in my post, How to Double Your Opt-ins By Adding a Hover Ad to Your Site.

As far as I know, it doesn't impact search engine rankings at all.  I create the ad with my autoresponder software, which gives me a piece of code to insert in HTML formatting of the page.  The ad isn't blockable by pop-up blockers, either.

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.