10 Critical Steps to Improve Your Quality Score and to Pay Less For Your Google AdWords Campaigns

admin    Google     Adwords, Campaigns, Critical, Google, improve, Less, Quality, Score, Steps

Getting a good Google quality score is important to lower the minimum bid price for your keywords on your Google AdWords campaigns. The quality score ranges from 1 to 10, where 10 is best. I think it’s not absolutely necessary to get a quality score of 9 or 10 for all of your keywords, but you should aim to get a quality score of at least 7 or 8 for most of your keywords.

How does Google actually calculate the quality score for your keywords? Well there are many different factors that determine your quality score and only Google knows the exact rules.

Nevertheless, the following tips and guidelines should allow you a get a sufficiently high quality score – somewhere around 8 or even 9 – for most of your keywords:

* Put a privacy policy on your website

* Add some valuable content to your site – 5 to 10 short articles containing 300 – 500 words should be enough.

* Create some backlinks to your site: For example, submit your articles (or at least a few of them) to various article directories.

* Add a “Contact Me” page to your site.

* Add an “About” page to your site.

* Add a “Resources” page to your site with links to valuable and relevant sites. Consider sites with a high Google Page Rank as well as .edu and .org sites.

* Add a sitemap to your site.

* Make sure your site is clean, has a professional look and feel and doesn’t contain any “under construction”- or similar pages.

* Make sure your ads are relevant. A good practice is to use the keyword you are bidding on in the headline of your ad.

* Make sure your landing page is relevant. Don’t try to sell guitar lessons on your landing page when your ad is talking about an easy way to learn piano. You could even create a dedicated landing page for each of your adgroups – although that’s not always necessary.

Ok, all this sounds like quite a lot of work, but on the other hand it’s not really that much either. Look, the majority of these pages won’t contain much content, some of these pages could be generated automatically (for example the sitemap), the “Resources” page is just a list of a few links… Also, some of these pages can be easily reused (with a few minor modifications) for other websites and other AdWords campaigns.

And following the steps outlined above will not only assure you lower minimum bid prices for your keywords, but they will also drastically increase your sales conversion. Why and how? Let’s have a quick look at the entire process:

* Someone searches for a solution to a specific problem on Google

* This person finds your ad on the Google search results page and because you used the keyword he was searching for in the headline of your ad, he clicks on it.

* He is arrives at your landing page, which delivers what was promised in the ad and contains even more mouth-watering information.

* Your site is neat, clean and looks professional. There is a privacy policy, a contact form, a sitemap…

* Now you just made a big step towards gaining the trust of your site visitor and you drastically increased your chances that he will sign up for your newsletter, buy your product…

So as you can see, the Google quality score isn’t something that was introduced by Google to bother you or to make your life more difficult than it needs to be. It’s just a means to improve quality and you can even look at it as an indicator telling you if your campaign and website is sufficiently sophisticated to become profitable and to generate a positive ROI.

So, please do yourself a favor, invest a few hours of your time, follow the suggestions mentioned above and I promise you won’t regret it.

Critical Techniques to Successful Sales Lead Generation, Using Google Optimization

admin    Google     Critical, Generation, Google, Lead, Optimization, Sales, Successful, Techniques, Using

Some website owners are more frustrated about Google optimization than for other search engines. They feel it is harder to perform search engine optimization for Google.
 
Whether you are making direct sales from your website or sales lead generation (or both), optimizing for Google doesn’t need to be that hard.
 
In fact, in time you may find it easier to perform SEO for Google than for other search engines.
 
 
Remember that Google is Much Smarter than the other Search Engines
 
 
Since Google is more intelligent, you have to treat them differently.
 
If you’re trying to spam them, their intelligence is going to be a problem for you. If you’re playing by the rules and providing valuable content for searchers, then you should have no problem.  
 
What Google wants is valuable content that satisfies their users’ search queries. They want searchers to find what they’re looking for, not clicking the back button quickly, but who stay on the sites they visit.
 
There are some in the SEO community who believe time your visitors spent on your site is one of the calculations Google uses right now in their algorithm to assign organic rankings.
 
Whether this is the case or not is really irrelevant: we should all want to deliver quality content that meets our searchers query, keeps them on our sites and that leads to a conversion, a sale or sales lead generation.
 
 
Are You Optimizing for Yahoo! Search and Live Search, too? 
 
 
With Yahoo! Search and Live Search (formerly MSN) you need to have the keyword phrase you optimize for on the page. There may be some exceptions, but this is a solid rule to follow.
 
The order of the keywords makes a difference with them, too.
 
As an example, with Google, Blue Widget and Widget Blue are treated the same way. Not so with Yahoo! and Live, they are treated as completely different search phrases.
 
Given the very high market share that Google has, you may want to just optimize for Google and not Yahoo! or Live. After all, depending on whose numbers you’re looking at, Google’s market share is basically 60% to 70% of all U.S. searches!
 
(And there are hundreds of other much smaller search engines, with such small market shares that they aren’t normally worth worrying about.)
 
But if you decide to also optimize for Yahoo! Search and for Live Search, then you will likely have to create more pages, to cover all your keyword phrases.
 
So, as you create more pages for your keywords, you clutter up the Internet, unless those pages are really unique, valuable content.
 
And then there is that duplicate content filter that Google has…you don’t want to run afoul of that.
 
If you do optimize for the other engines, unless the additional content is very unique, you might be advised to keep Google out of those pages (using your robots.txt file).
 
 
Knowing that Google is More Intelligent, How do We Optimize Differently for Google?
 
 
With Google’s use of LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing), your pages do NOT actually have to contain the keyword phrase(s) you’re optimizing for. But your pages had better contain words strongly related to your chosen keyword phrases. 
 
In fact, it is common to see high ranking pages where the keyword phrase isn’t in any of the HTML tags and where it also isn’t in the page text, either. Common keyword density numbers for top ranking pages in Google range from 30% all the way down to 0% keyword density.
 
Why is this and how do we benefit performing Google optimization? 
 
Google is smart enough to understand similar words and phrases (now is when we get to use that word Synonym from English class). Thus, the actual keyword phrase doesn’t have to be on the page. But words related to the same theme as your keyword phrases need to be on the page.
 
But if our keywords don’t actually have to be on the page for Google to understand the page is about our subject (our keyword phrases), how does Google make that determination?
 
 
Off-Page SEO is the Key to Your Google Optimization and to Your Sales Lead Generation 
 
 
The links from other websites to your Web pages and what these links say about your pages is the KEY to optimizing for Google. Remember, links need to be pointed towards your interior pages, not just to your home page.
 
And those links need anchor text.
 
Anchor text is the wording that people click on to go to your Web page, when the actual link doesn’t show your website url (and file name, if going to an interior page).
 
Anchor text tells Google (and to a lesser degree, other search engines) what your Web page is about.
 
Even if the actual keyword phrases aren’t used on your page, the theme of the page text should match the anchor text pointed to that page. You want the wording to be compatible and complimentary.
 
You don’t want to confuse Google as to your pages’ themes. That can cause real problems.
 
 
Quantity Versus Quality
 
 
When considering links to your Web pages, quantity is important. You will have to research your competition to give you an idea as to the number of links you may need.
 
Two tools you can look into are SEO Elite and OptiLink. You can Google both. 
 
But MUCH more important is the quality of your links. The better quality your links, the fewer you will need versus your competition.
 
Part of how you can evaluate quality of potential links to your site is that site’s home page Google Page Rank.
 
Now, Google Page Rank is on a page-basis, not a site-wide basis. But the home page Page Rank can tell you if Google considers that site to be an “authority site”.
 
You can install the free Google toolbar if you haven’t already and activate the Page Rank feature. While the information is literally months old, it’s the easiest way to view a page’s Page Rank.
 
You want some links to your site from websites with a home page Google Page Rank of at least 5.
 
One thing you do want to watch: Don’t have to high a percentage of your links containing the same anchor text. Aim for no more than 50% of your anchor text to any page being the same exact anchor text.  
 
 
Wrapping it Up
 
 
For effective Google optimization, start by pointing enough quality links to your Web pages. One-way links are much more effective than reciprocal links, where you link back to the site that has linked to you.
 
Stay away from triangulated or 3-way links schemes. This is where site A links to site B which in turn links to site C. This is a “no-no” which Google can catch and will penalize for.
 
Use your keywords as anchor text for your links. Hold down the percentage…don’t have 70% of your links to one page using the same exact anchor text!
 
Even if you don’t have the keyword phrases on your page, you can still have top rankings, as long as your links’ theme matches your Web page content those links are aimed at.
 
Following this strategy, you can also optimize your pages for more than one keyword phrase. And without creating dozens and dozens of junk pages, just to cover all your keywords.
 
You’ll be able to increase your online sales and your sales lead generation, more easily. 
 
I’ll be following up shortly with another article, with a specific checklist sharing how I structure my link campaigns for maximum results.

Social Media Marketing- 11 of the Most Critical Words to Use in Social Media in 2009

admin    Social Media     2009, Critical, Marketing, Media, Most, Social, Words

Conversation.

Yep- that is what the core focus is in Social Media.

Ok- let’s get REAL. If Social Media marketing is about conversation, then should there not be words that fit in to what the culture of social media is all about? Should not you paint a picture with your words? Should your words not elicit feelings and emotions?

Of course they should.

Words are a marketer’s tool box. Here are 11 you need

1) “YOU.”

There is nothing more powerful to a person reading a message or conversation that has the word YOU in it, over and over. Many people have an “I” mentality, and in social media, you are not the deal. The other person or side of the conversation is.

There are 2 forms of conversation in social media::

a) “Contribution” and b) “Distribution.”

” Contribution conversations” contribute to the whole, and add Value to the conversation. “Distribution conversation” distributes the message/agenda you want- and has little inclusion of someone else. Contribution words use YOU many times. Distribution words use “I” or ‘Me” many times. Use the word YOU and become a Contribution Agent in social media, not a distribution rookie.

2) “A Person’s Name.”

Duh. There is nothing more beautiful to a person than their name. This is a given. I am surprised how many tweets, notes, and messages i get and also read that do not say the person’s name. Use their name at least once in every communication and message as it adds to the conversation.

And also, a person will retain almost 70% more of what a message says, if their name is within the first 3 words. Chris Brogan is a master at this. I have seen and studied him, and every time he tweets or sends a message- ususally the name is the first word.

Smart. VERY smart. we all should follow that lead.

3) “Connection.”

This word is an indication that you want to connect and start a relationship of some kind and create an ongoing conversation. Many folks use the phrase “get together” or “meet up” or “network.” Thise words are good- but CONNECT has a power within the word.

Electricity us usable when you connect to it. Same thing as a battery in a car which powers the car. And idea is only powerful when you CONNECT to it. The Power is in the Connection-when 2 things come together. It is the same in new relationships- it is all about CONNECTION.

4) “Tribes.’

This is an interesting word. Seth Godin has a cool book called “Tribes.” I suggest that you read it. But as far as a word for the social media arena, it is a word that helps define that you are within the culture and understand the community aspects of what social media is about.

In tribes around the world, it is all about community and belonging to that community. It is the same in social media. Recently I described the community we are building within a project as an “empowered tribe” and some people got it- and well’others did not.

Make sure if they do not understand the concept of tribes, then you explain it.

5) “Transparent.”

In social media, being REAL is critical. And part of being REAL is being open and transparent. I love it when I read statements like “full disclosure” and people are disclosing that they have an interest or are on some board of a company they are talking about. THAT is so rocking hot. It shows that they are being transparent and nothing to hide and telling the truth.

And that is what social media is about in many respects- TRUTH about you- and what you are and do. THAT is transparency. Use that word when talking about the truth. Just being “transparent” – that says a lot in one word about you.

6) “Strategy.”

Social media without a strategy for it, is like building a house without a blueprint. You need to develop, plan, start, and execute a strategy for your social media success. We call it a “Social Media Path.” What PATH do you plan on developing for your business, and how will that fit into your current model of business? What will be your Primary social media Platform, and what will be your secondary platforms?

PATH stands for “Purpose- Actions-Tracking-How.” what is your PURPOSE for integrating social media into your business? Marketing? Prospecting? Client communication? Customer service? What ACTIONS will it take? Videos? Blogs? Podcasts? Social Networking? What TRACKING system will you use to keep the platforms at maximum pace? And HOW are you going to Execute the Actions? Through employees? Through outsourcing? Through a combination?

Strategy is a word that you just talk about. You need one. And so do others that you know as well.

7) “Branding.”

This word has been around for a while. But you still need it in your focus and communication. Branding is a word that you need to utilize not only in your messages, but your focus as well.

YOU are the Brand is a popular way to discuss social media marketplace image making. But that is not totally true. The PERCEPTION of you is the brand you are building- good or not so good. So make sure that if you use this word in social media this year, you realize that PERCEPTION Rules in Branding.

Brand yourself in the marketplace. But make sure that you focus on the VIEW and FEELINGS people have of you and experience when they think of you—and what you do- and not just some catchy slogan or icon.

8 “Trust.”

You need to be an Agent of Trust. Chris Brogan has a book coming out called “Trust Agents.” Should be a rocking hot book. What about you? Are you an Agent of Trust? Just like a Real Estate Agent markets real estate, you market Trust in all you do. That is the real estate of the heart.

I like to get that word out there quickly-as i believe that people i do not know, that is on their mind. “Can I trust this guy?” And I usually message something like, “Our company helps build leaders and businesses through concepts and ideas that people can trust and feel good about.”

THAT is using the word Trust- to build trust.

9) “Family.”

Some people use “network.” Some use “team.” Some use the word “community.” Some use the word “friends.” I like the word “Family.” it is personal, powerful, and paints a picture of what social media really is building- a family that can help, be there for each other, educate, equip, and empower for greater good.

One thing that I do- and again- just an idea’I welcome everyone on facebook or twitter or youtube or any other social connection with “Welcome to the family!” This says so much more than “thanks for following me” or “appreciate the connection.” We ARE family- and I hope and pray it stays that way.

10) “Value.”

It ia ALL about Value. It is all about the VALUE that YOU bring to the table. It is all about the VALUE of your conversations and contributions.

And it is ALL about the VALUE that you help others see within themselves. Edify. Encourage. Empower. And become a “Carrier of Value” to everyone you meet in social media and GIVE some Value to them.

11) “GIVE.”

This is the MOST important word. GIVE. Why? In social media, it is not the same ol business methodology. It is Biblical- if you will. “Give first- and what you give- you reap.” Giving is the culture of social Media. Why do you think that people give so much rocking hot info on their blogs?

Giving is a Power. It is something that not only is part of the evolving culture of social media, but also the CATALYST of much of what social media has already become. if you are a marketer, New Marketing can be almost threatening to you as it flys in the face of traditional marketing- or does it?

No- not really. It is simply marketing that puts PEOPLE FIRST- not profits. It put RELATIONSHIPS FIRST- not results. And it puts GIVING FIRST- not grabbing for their checkbook.

These are the 11 Critical words that I believe should be included in 2009 in your :

1) Social Media Philosophy.

2) Social Media Conversations.

3) Social Media Marketing Actions.

4) Social Media Core.

If you do, your Success should be rapid in social media marketing.

blessings…doug firebaugh