One of my readers recently asked why there was so much emphasis on keyword research when writing content for your blog.

To an experienced marketer this question may seem redundant, but my target market is for beginners or “Newbie Internet Marketers.”  I love questions like this because it was not too long ago that I did not understand the importance of doing keyword research, and even after I understood WHY, I did not understand HOW to do it effectively.  Let’s start at the beginning:

• What are keywords?

Keywords are words or phrases (often called long tail keywords) that people use to search for information online, in any niche.

• How will people find your information (your blog) using keywords?

Search engines use robots to crawl the internet 24/7.  While there are various search engines I’m going to focus on the largest of Read the rest of this entry →

When many of us  started an online business we knew very little, if anything about Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  While I immediately understood that one could not create a blog or any other type of website and expect it to be found among the millions of websites online, understanding how to make sure that my site was found was not clear.

If you have been online for sometime you may be a little more than just curious about how to optimize your website's current content.

Wordtracker.com provides an excellent report with a section on how to “Optimize Your Current Content.”  Below are 7 key points I’d like to share from the report to see what improvements you can make to increase search engine traffic.

1.          Optimize Your Home Page:

• Since your home page is your most important page, you should optimize it with around three Read the rest of this entry →

Featured “Monday Writer” – Heather Amy Price

I read an article about a man who wanted to buy a particular television model so he researched which store carried the model he wanted.  He found out that the local store carrying the model on which he decided was a store he'd previously had bad dealings with.  So he went but he made his transaction with caution.  He didn't believe the store when they said they'd be able to deliver tomorrow morning.  True to their word, they delivered on time.  His preconceived notions of that particular store have changed.

The same gentleman stayed at a Ritz Carlton with whom he'd had a good relationship in the past (his preconceived notions were all good) but didn't care for being nickled and dimed or having to walk to the elevator to pick up a newspaper.  Now the Ritz has left a bad taste in his mouth.

We in the direct sales industry are constantly battling preconceived notions.  I have potential customers who won't try my product because they tried a similar product once eight years ago and broke out from it, so they assume they are allergic.  I have potential team members who won't listen to the facts about my opportunity because they heard that direct sales is the same as MLM, and MLM is a “pyramid scheme”.

I've learned that to be a good marketer in the direct sales industry, you need to be specific about who your Read the rest of this entry →