20 SEO & PPC Strategies I Use to Generate $100,000's of Dollars
- SEO |
Search engine optimization and pay per click are valuable marketing channels to engage in. With you being an expert in both, you can take your brand to the next level. In addition, you should always engage in both, understand SEO and PPC to the fullest. Never put all your eggs in one basket.
The strategies I'm going to discuss are strategies I use. These strategies have made me tens of thousands of dollars. I was actually the top partner of a well known brand. I am still working in the same market today, just with a different brand. I was able to successfully generate a million dollars right around a one year time period. This was between a client and I, our profits (put together) were peaking as high as $40,000 per month during a good month.
Please view the conclusion section, you'll find more information on how to download my book.
10 Search Engine Optimization Strategies:
1) Create and Use Site Maps
I use to tell our clients not to worry about sitemaps. I would tell them if your site is well structured search engines will index your page. However, I have totally changed my perspective on this. The reason being for is because I was reading a post by Matt Cutts. He stated submitting site maps can speed the indexing process up. I was thinking maybe the sitemap submission can come into use.
For example, I submitted a sitemap on one of our properties the other day. The reason being for is because we had a broken link on the footer of our site. Our footer is a dynamic page because it's through WordPress. We ended up having around 600 pages containing this one broken link. I fixed the broken link at the bottom of this page. I then submitted the sitemap. With then like 3 days our Google Webmaster console was only reading we have 147 pages with a broken link.
You can also use this on newer sites. For example, let's say you have a new site. This new site already had 1000 pages with then a two month period. However, only about 100 of these pages are indexed. The sitemap would come into play. You can create a sitemap then submit it, it will speed the process up (it should).
2) Use Google Webmaster Tools
I would highly advise you use Google Webmaster tools. It will notify you of any errors, malware, or any improvements you need to your website. You should always keep your website up to par. That meaning, you should fix all and any errors. This will help you avoid any problems that might arise in the future.
Google is constantly changing the way they rank sites. Any of these errors could cause your site to drop. For example, having a bunch of broken links on your site could devalue your site. Google might look at your site being lower in quality for having a bunch of broken links. Therefore Google might not rank your site as well as what it could be ranked.
3) Image Alt Tags
Use your ALT attribute in your image tags. Google uses these tags to rank your images. They also play a small factor in your keyword optimization. Either way, this improves the overall quality of your site. Google has even listed this in their Webmaster Guidelines under Design and Content Guidelines.
4) Use Google Analytics
Google analytics is a very effective tool to use for your website. You can use it to track your traffic, site visitors, page views, track organic keyword conversions, and more. Google Analytics has helped me in many ways. For example, there have been numerous times I have found keywords that are getting small amounts of traffic. The reason being for is because these keywords were on the second page. With that being said, I went in and optimized these keywords. In result, my traffic for them keywords increased around 80 percent.
5) Avoid Black Hat Strategies on Your Brand
You should not engage in black hat strategies on your own domain. It's amazing how many website owners try to build a reputable site by using black hat strategies. For example, I know of one guy that built out a great site. He put a ton of effort into his brand, buying his domain, and etc. He started engaging in black hat strategies. He did rank well for a few competitive keywords. However, Google banned his site completely from their search results. He is now here to be found in Google.
6) Do Not Create and Stay Away from Duplicate Content
Your website should never have duplicate content. Do not create; nor engage in creating duplicate content. These pages on your site will just get de-indexed or not rank in Google. In addition to that, Google will consider your website low in quality. Therefore possibly affecting the overall ranking ability of your site.
7) Keyword Research
Keyword research is essential to how successful your marketing campaign will be. There are multiple tools out there for keyword research. One of the best strategies that I have used in the past is Google AdWords. I will launch all my keywords through Google AdWords. Therefore I will know which ones convert the best. In addition to that, I'll know really how much traffic it's getting. If the keyword is getting decent amount of traffic through AdWords. Then it will drive substantially more through organic search. Organic search drives more volume then PPC, more searchers click in the organic area.
8) Buying Links and Selling Links
The practice of buying and selling links is a danger game now days. I would not recommend that you sale or buy links. I will admit I use to be a big advocate in this area. I use to totally agree that was the best way to rank. However, I have totally changed my perception on link buying and selling. You cannot defeat Google; they will penalize you sooner or later.
They are getting extremely stiff in this area.I am coming across more people today than ever in reference to their sites being penalized. I've seen sites drop out of the search engines for buying one link. I've seen sites lose their page rank for selling one text link.
Instead of link buying or selling, I recommend social media optimization. Social media optimization is the best practice by far. It's a powerful tool for branding, link bait, and connecting with your idea market. In addition to that, it's the most risk free investment you can make. If you're investing a ton of time into your site I would invest into content and blogging.
9) Link Exchanges
Link exchanges use to be a great strategy to engage in. Most link exchanges are done over in India. They are popular for link exchange strategies over there. Most of these pages are low in quality and provide no value. In addition to that, they will get you penalized, they offer no value.
Link exchange might work to extent. That is, they might work towards non-competitive keywords. They will work only towards keywords that drive great profit. If you want super profits, you need to focus on a more creative link building (such as content and social media optimization). You won't get much from engaging in these low quality link exchange sites
On the other hand, some link exchange strategies could work. However, it's very difficult to get links from high quality sites. It takes hours of research and e-mailing other website owners. Other than that almost 98 percent of link exchange sites are spam.
10) Social Media Optimization and / or Content Creation
Content creation and social media optimization is by far the most effective strategy to engage in. There is nothing more effective than having a website that provides value to a searcher. Content carries more power then link exchange or link buying any day. Content becomes more and more valuable years to come.
I buy traffic from sites that are extremely old. I buy this traffic through the content network to generate leads. There is actually one site I spend right around $2,000 per month on. This site drives us excellent leads. That said, I was just curious where the owner was getting his traffic from. I was pretty sure it was just because of the age and content.
I e-mailed the owner and asked him. He responded, "more than less I just let it sit." He had hardly any links going into his site at all. He had around 800 pages of content. However, his site had been indexed since 1998. He told me that he was generating close to the upper 5 digits per month. I totally believe him because he had several advertisers on that site. I was just a small portion of his advertisers.
10 Google AdWords Pay Per Click Tips:
1) Test the Content Network
There is explosive amounts of profits to be made in the Google Content Network. I would never leave it out, I would always test it. I had a client that was only making $20 dollars a day through the content network. He actually convinced himself that it was a waste of his time. That was the way I perceived it anyhow.
I finally talked him into testing the content network and letting me manage it. We did very well, his account actually blew up after about three months. I've ran across several people that got scared away from the content network. They start a little campaign in Google, lose some money, they walk away. You should never have this outlook with Google AdWords as you could be missing out on a lot of market share.
2) Disable Search Partners Sites
I generally will disable the search partner sites when first launch a campaign. Once the campaign starts making profits. I will then turn on the search partner sites. In return, monitoring the search partner sites to see if they generate profit. Most of the time though these sites really put a decline in our conversion rates.
Most of the time these search partner sites eat away at all our campaign profits. When this happens I will just completely disable the search partner sites. Most of this traffic is coming from search engines such as Ask.com,Aol.com, Shopping.com, Netscape Netcenter, and etc. The search partner sites have changed over the years. Either way, all these sites seem to always send in low traffic. I have never personally had much success with them.
3) Setup Your Conversion Tracking
Conversion tracking is essential from an analytical view point. Time and time again, I am shocked and surprised on how many advertisers don't use it. I am sure a big majority of the advertisers do use the conversion pixel. However, from time to time, I will get clients I consult with that just don't use it. I will kindly tell them, "you are basically throwing money out the window."
When you track your conversions you know what works and what doesn't. You are able to find them winning adgroups, landing pages, and keywords. I have gone into markets assuming a certain strategy would be profitable from the launch. However, that was far from the truth, what I thought was going to work did not. And what I thought wasn't going to work ended up being the most profitable areas. Sometimes what you perceive and think is not what is always happening, trust your conversion data.
4) Test Landing Pages Non-Stop
Landing page optimization should be a non-stop process. You should consistently test your landing pages. If you come across a landing page that generates super profits. Do not stop there, keep on testing. You should be testing incentives, testimonials, credibility logos, colors, headers, and etc. In addition to that, don't be scared to test a whole new concept and landing page. You might find something that does twice as better as what you thought was doing outstanding.
5) Keyword Matching
In keyword matching, I generally launch all campaigns using exact match. The exact match allows you to see what keywords are converting the best. Upon finding the profitable keywords I will then move into phrase then broad. This is by far the most efficient way to optimize your campaign. I do not recommend you to start with broad or phrase. In fact, you should never ever structure a campaign like that.
6) Trademark Bidding
Trademark bidding is extremely profitable strategy. However -- be aware -- some companies are against it. On the other hand, some companies will permit you to do it. They will actually encourage you to trademark bid. If you are allowed to trademark bid, then go for it. Trademark bidding can generate you explosive profits for products and services.
7) Build a Campaign with Placements
Upon doing test with the content network, find out what sites are converting. Then create a campaign made up of placements for the same keywords. Make sure you bid two or three times higher with these placements. This strategy can help expand or explode your profits. Sometimes you have to crank your bids up to gather more data. Upon that you would drop your bids slowly.
I have launched campaigns in the past that did drive traffic from profitable sites. I even tried increasing my bids for them adgroups. However, I just got a bunch of unwanted traffic from sites that did not convert. Therefore it really screwed my campaign results up. The said, I decided to test each site individually. The results were amazing I ended up getting almost 8-10 times as much traffic and profit.
8) Stay Away from Automated Bidding
You can use the automated bidding features in AdWords. I would strongly advise you to stay away from it though upon a new campaign. Instead, you should pay close attention to your campaign on a day to day base. However, do not make any changes though for a good week or two. The system cannot bid effectively as you can in the development of a new campaign.
Once you have collected enough data through the search network. And you do find that certain positions are converting better than others. The auto bidding feature might come into play. I would strongly advise though that you keep testing new ads. You generally want to find one that does extremely well in all positions. Therefore this ad might convert well through other paid search platforms.
9) Bid During Profitable Hours
We were doing some lead gen in a market that I won't disclose. The reason being for is because this market has been extremely profitable for me. However, I noticed our search network was not doing that well. A few weeks into our campaign I noticed after logging in everyday. It seemed the traffic was converting better during the day time. I decided to create two separate campaigns. I created one campaign that targeted the time zone 8:00 PM to 10:00 AM. For the other campaign, I set it up between the times of 10:01 AM to 7:59 PM. The results were amazing, we was losing money during the night. However, our day campaign was giving around a 75 percent profit margin.
10) Beware of Your Location (states, cities, and etc)
We have had campaigns in the past that done well in certain states. However, in some states we just got a bunch of high volume traffic that did not convert. It's important that you micronize in on this area as well. You can always create 52 campaigns (AdWords will need to increase your campaign count if you do this) to test separate states to see the results. Or you can run a geographical report through AdWords. You'll have to sort the data out though due to the way AdWords exports it.
A List of Recommended Tools (and tools I use):
Utilizing SEO and PPC is about pure common sense. All the tools in the world could never help you as well as what your brain can. You should know your market and fully understand your market. SEO and PPC is something that takes dedication and time to fully understand. You will not learn it overnight; I have been working with SEO and PPC for years now. I am still learning new strategies that I wish I would of utilized years ago.
To learn more about downloading my book visit The Digital Landscape
The strategies I'm going to discuss are strategies I use. These strategies have made me tens of thousands of dollars. I was actually the top partner of a well known brand. I am still working in the same market today, just with a different brand. I was able to successfully generate a million dollars right around a one year time period. This was between a client and I, our profits (put together) were peaking as high as $40,000 per month during a good month.
Please view the conclusion section, you'll find more information on how to download my book.
10 Search Engine Optimization Strategies:
1) Create and Use Site Maps
I use to tell our clients not to worry about sitemaps. I would tell them if your site is well structured search engines will index your page. However, I have totally changed my perspective on this. The reason being for is because I was reading a post by Matt Cutts. He stated submitting site maps can speed the indexing process up. I was thinking maybe the sitemap submission can come into use.
For example, I submitted a sitemap on one of our properties the other day. The reason being for is because we had a broken link on the footer of our site. Our footer is a dynamic page because it's through WordPress. We ended up having around 600 pages containing this one broken link. I fixed the broken link at the bottom of this page. I then submitted the sitemap. With then like 3 days our Google Webmaster console was only reading we have 147 pages with a broken link.
You can also use this on newer sites. For example, let's say you have a new site. This new site already had 1000 pages with then a two month period. However, only about 100 of these pages are indexed. The sitemap would come into play. You can create a sitemap then submit it, it will speed the process up (it should).
2) Use Google Webmaster Tools
I would highly advise you use Google Webmaster tools. It will notify you of any errors, malware, or any improvements you need to your website. You should always keep your website up to par. That meaning, you should fix all and any errors. This will help you avoid any problems that might arise in the future.
Google is constantly changing the way they rank sites. Any of these errors could cause your site to drop. For example, having a bunch of broken links on your site could devalue your site. Google might look at your site being lower in quality for having a bunch of broken links. Therefore Google might not rank your site as well as what it could be ranked.
3) Image Alt Tags
Use your ALT attribute in your image tags. Google uses these tags to rank your images. They also play a small factor in your keyword optimization. Either way, this improves the overall quality of your site. Google has even listed this in their Webmaster Guidelines under Design and Content Guidelines.
4) Use Google Analytics
Google analytics is a very effective tool to use for your website. You can use it to track your traffic, site visitors, page views, track organic keyword conversions, and more. Google Analytics has helped me in many ways. For example, there have been numerous times I have found keywords that are getting small amounts of traffic. The reason being for is because these keywords were on the second page. With that being said, I went in and optimized these keywords. In result, my traffic for them keywords increased around 80 percent.
5) Avoid Black Hat Strategies on Your Brand
You should not engage in black hat strategies on your own domain. It's amazing how many website owners try to build a reputable site by using black hat strategies. For example, I know of one guy that built out a great site. He put a ton of effort into his brand, buying his domain, and etc. He started engaging in black hat strategies. He did rank well for a few competitive keywords. However, Google banned his site completely from their search results. He is now here to be found in Google.
6) Do Not Create and Stay Away from Duplicate Content
Your website should never have duplicate content. Do not create; nor engage in creating duplicate content. These pages on your site will just get de-indexed or not rank in Google. In addition to that, Google will consider your website low in quality. Therefore possibly affecting the overall ranking ability of your site.
7) Keyword Research
Keyword research is essential to how successful your marketing campaign will be. There are multiple tools out there for keyword research. One of the best strategies that I have used in the past is Google AdWords. I will launch all my keywords through Google AdWords. Therefore I will know which ones convert the best. In addition to that, I'll know really how much traffic it's getting. If the keyword is getting decent amount of traffic through AdWords. Then it will drive substantially more through organic search. Organic search drives more volume then PPC, more searchers click in the organic area.
8) Buying Links and Selling Links
The practice of buying and selling links is a danger game now days. I would not recommend that you sale or buy links. I will admit I use to be a big advocate in this area. I use to totally agree that was the best way to rank. However, I have totally changed my perception on link buying and selling. You cannot defeat Google; they will penalize you sooner or later.
They are getting extremely stiff in this area.I am coming across more people today than ever in reference to their sites being penalized. I've seen sites drop out of the search engines for buying one link. I've seen sites lose their page rank for selling one text link.
Instead of link buying or selling, I recommend social media optimization. Social media optimization is the best practice by far. It's a powerful tool for branding, link bait, and connecting with your idea market. In addition to that, it's the most risk free investment you can make. If you're investing a ton of time into your site I would invest into content and blogging.
9) Link Exchanges
Link exchanges use to be a great strategy to engage in. Most link exchanges are done over in India. They are popular for link exchange strategies over there. Most of these pages are low in quality and provide no value. In addition to that, they will get you penalized, they offer no value.
Link exchange might work to extent. That is, they might work towards non-competitive keywords. They will work only towards keywords that drive great profit. If you want super profits, you need to focus on a more creative link building (such as content and social media optimization). You won't get much from engaging in these low quality link exchange sites
On the other hand, some link exchange strategies could work. However, it's very difficult to get links from high quality sites. It takes hours of research and e-mailing other website owners. Other than that almost 98 percent of link exchange sites are spam.
10) Social Media Optimization and / or Content Creation
Content creation and social media optimization is by far the most effective strategy to engage in. There is nothing more effective than having a website that provides value to a searcher. Content carries more power then link exchange or link buying any day. Content becomes more and more valuable years to come.
I buy traffic from sites that are extremely old. I buy this traffic through the content network to generate leads. There is actually one site I spend right around $2,000 per month on. This site drives us excellent leads. That said, I was just curious where the owner was getting his traffic from. I was pretty sure it was just because of the age and content.
I e-mailed the owner and asked him. He responded, "more than less I just let it sit." He had hardly any links going into his site at all. He had around 800 pages of content. However, his site had been indexed since 1998. He told me that he was generating close to the upper 5 digits per month. I totally believe him because he had several advertisers on that site. I was just a small portion of his advertisers.
10 Google AdWords Pay Per Click Tips:
1) Test the Content Network
There is explosive amounts of profits to be made in the Google Content Network. I would never leave it out, I would always test it. I had a client that was only making $20 dollars a day through the content network. He actually convinced himself that it was a waste of his time. That was the way I perceived it anyhow.
I finally talked him into testing the content network and letting me manage it. We did very well, his account actually blew up after about three months. I've ran across several people that got scared away from the content network. They start a little campaign in Google, lose some money, they walk away. You should never have this outlook with Google AdWords as you could be missing out on a lot of market share.
2) Disable Search Partners Sites
I generally will disable the search partner sites when first launch a campaign. Once the campaign starts making profits. I will then turn on the search partner sites. In return, monitoring the search partner sites to see if they generate profit. Most of the time though these sites really put a decline in our conversion rates.
Most of the time these search partner sites eat away at all our campaign profits. When this happens I will just completely disable the search partner sites. Most of this traffic is coming from search engines such as Ask.com,Aol.com, Shopping.com, Netscape Netcenter, and etc. The search partner sites have changed over the years. Either way, all these sites seem to always send in low traffic. I have never personally had much success with them.
3) Setup Your Conversion Tracking
Conversion tracking is essential from an analytical view point. Time and time again, I am shocked and surprised on how many advertisers don't use it. I am sure a big majority of the advertisers do use the conversion pixel. However, from time to time, I will get clients I consult with that just don't use it. I will kindly tell them, "you are basically throwing money out the window."
When you track your conversions you know what works and what doesn't. You are able to find them winning adgroups, landing pages, and keywords. I have gone into markets assuming a certain strategy would be profitable from the launch. However, that was far from the truth, what I thought was going to work did not. And what I thought wasn't going to work ended up being the most profitable areas. Sometimes what you perceive and think is not what is always happening, trust your conversion data.
4) Test Landing Pages Non-Stop
Landing page optimization should be a non-stop process. You should consistently test your landing pages. If you come across a landing page that generates super profits. Do not stop there, keep on testing. You should be testing incentives, testimonials, credibility logos, colors, headers, and etc. In addition to that, don't be scared to test a whole new concept and landing page. You might find something that does twice as better as what you thought was doing outstanding.
5) Keyword Matching
In keyword matching, I generally launch all campaigns using exact match. The exact match allows you to see what keywords are converting the best. Upon finding the profitable keywords I will then move into phrase then broad. This is by far the most efficient way to optimize your campaign. I do not recommend you to start with broad or phrase. In fact, you should never ever structure a campaign like that.
6) Trademark Bidding
Trademark bidding is extremely profitable strategy. However -- be aware -- some companies are against it. On the other hand, some companies will permit you to do it. They will actually encourage you to trademark bid. If you are allowed to trademark bid, then go for it. Trademark bidding can generate you explosive profits for products and services.
7) Build a Campaign with Placements
Upon doing test with the content network, find out what sites are converting. Then create a campaign made up of placements for the same keywords. Make sure you bid two or three times higher with these placements. This strategy can help expand or explode your profits. Sometimes you have to crank your bids up to gather more data. Upon that you would drop your bids slowly.
I have launched campaigns in the past that did drive traffic from profitable sites. I even tried increasing my bids for them adgroups. However, I just got a bunch of unwanted traffic from sites that did not convert. Therefore it really screwed my campaign results up. The said, I decided to test each site individually. The results were amazing I ended up getting almost 8-10 times as much traffic and profit.
8) Stay Away from Automated Bidding
You can use the automated bidding features in AdWords. I would strongly advise you to stay away from it though upon a new campaign. Instead, you should pay close attention to your campaign on a day to day base. However, do not make any changes though for a good week or two. The system cannot bid effectively as you can in the development of a new campaign.
Once you have collected enough data through the search network. And you do find that certain positions are converting better than others. The auto bidding feature might come into play. I would strongly advise though that you keep testing new ads. You generally want to find one that does extremely well in all positions. Therefore this ad might convert well through other paid search platforms.
9) Bid During Profitable Hours
We were doing some lead gen in a market that I won't disclose. The reason being for is because this market has been extremely profitable for me. However, I noticed our search network was not doing that well. A few weeks into our campaign I noticed after logging in everyday. It seemed the traffic was converting better during the day time. I decided to create two separate campaigns. I created one campaign that targeted the time zone 8:00 PM to 10:00 AM. For the other campaign, I set it up between the times of 10:01 AM to 7:59 PM. The results were amazing, we was losing money during the night. However, our day campaign was giving around a 75 percent profit margin.
10) Beware of Your Location (states, cities, and etc)
We have had campaigns in the past that done well in certain states. However, in some states we just got a bunch of high volume traffic that did not convert. It's important that you micronize in on this area as well. You can always create 52 campaigns (AdWords will need to increase your campaign count if you do this) to test separate states to see the results. Or you can run a geographical report through AdWords. You'll have to sort the data out though due to the way AdWords exports it.
A List of Recommended Tools (and tools I use):
- Google AdWords External Keyword Tool
- Key Compete
- Word Tracker
- Google Insights for Search
- PPC Bully
- SEO for Firefox
- Google AdWords Editor
- Speed PPC
Utilizing SEO and PPC is about pure common sense. All the tools in the world could never help you as well as what your brain can. You should know your market and fully understand your market. SEO and PPC is something that takes dedication and time to fully understand. You will not learn it overnight; I have been working with SEO and PPC for years now. I am still learning new strategies that I wish I would of utilized years ago.
To learn more about downloading my book visit The Digital Landscape
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peter gibson -
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tdd1984 -
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