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Derek
Gehl's Search Marketing I got my start online building a membership site, the Internet Marketing Challenge Online Community. This was back in the day when people were just beginning to figure out what an awesome tool the Internet is for bringing people together. These days, if you're not in thirty different Facebook groups and uploading your vacation videos to your own YouTube channel, it's like you don't exist. (Check out the news highlights for some mind-boggling stats on what consumers are doing online!) Now maybe you're not bothering with social media. Maybe you think YOUR niche market isn't represented in the hundreds of millions of people who are socializing on the Internet. Well in that case, you just haven't looked hard enough to find them. (You can track them down in no time with a couple of great tools you'll find in the news highlights.) Yes, I know there's work involved in creating content and contributing to discussions. But it's worth it to get your name out there and get those highly prized links back to your site. (Just ask our case study. He gets incredible traction out of social media. And he doesn't do any of the work himself.) And did you know what an easy alternative video is? In this month's feature article, Nicole E. shows you how to turn your online videos into SEO GOLD. If you haven't been taking advantage of the incredible SEO power of all these online "gathering places," you are definitely leaving money on the table. So let's fix that situation right now, huh?
2. Feature Article: 7 Simple Steps to Supplementing Your SEO... With Video! Video is everywhere on the Internet now. Sites like YouTube report that ten hours of video is uploaded to their site every minute, with hundreds of millions of clips being viewed each day. That's just HUGE! If you haven't already joined the video Internet revolution, then your time is now. And here's why... Compared to textual content, video is heavily weighted by the search engines. If you go to the effort of creating a video, the search engines are going to recognize your work, and will value it more than regular text. Which makes video an incredibly powerful SEO "secret weapon.". In fact, creating an video for SEO is just like writing an article or press release for your site. The processes are exactly the same! Let me show you:
There you are! You may not have created a video before, but turning it into a hot SEO tool is nothing new to you at all! So here's how you dive in and start making the most of this increasingly popular format... Step 1: Decide what your video is going to achieve There are a few things video can do very well:
Videos may not be appropriate for every situation, though. For example, they are not great for conveying a lot of detailed information. Before you start thinking about making a video, first ask yourself: does it make sense to use video for this purpose? Will video get my message across more clearly than an article? Remember, an online video has to be short. Some of the best videos are no more than 30 seconds long, although the average is 2.7 minutes. It certainly shouldn't be any more than five minutes! An online video has to be focused. When you're thinking about the message you want to put across, you should be able to write a single sentence that sums up the focus of your video. Make it benefit oriented. For example, the focus of this video is "Learn how to use your car's dipstick to check the oil level and keep your car running longer." It's important to keep this single message in mind at all times when you create your video so you maintain focus. You might even want to write it out and stick it above your computer so you're reminded of it when you're writing your script and editing. Focusing on a single message is not only important for your SEO (remember, this is what you do when you write articles too), but your viewers will simply turn off your video if they feel they're being bombarded with too much information. Step 2: Everybody's favorite.... keyword research! Like just about everything you create for you're website's SEO, it all begins with keyword research. No surprise there... you need to make sure you're providing your audience with the information they're looking for, so your first stop is is your keyword research tool to come up with a problem people are searching for on the Internet but not finding any answers for. Having a single keyword phrase to base your video is on serves several purposes:
It's a good idea to create a separate video for each specific keyword phrase that clearly describes a problem your market is trying to solve. That way, you can make the video content much more targeted to each particular keyword phrase, which will help with your SEO efforts. Step 3: Use your video as a cutting-edge SEO tool on your site Once you have your SINGLE keyword phrase to be the focus of your video, you will also need:
Each landing page should include the keyword in the:
The copy on the page and the navigation links should be keyword rich as well. And don't forget to name the video using your keywords! This is very important whether you're hosting it on your site or uploading it to YouTube -- it plays a huge role in how your video gets indexed by the search engines and how your audience finds your video! And there are a couple more SEO opportunities just for video: Meta descriptions in video encoding. Once you've edited your video, you may have to encode it to make it compatible with the players people will use to view it. When encoding video to different formats, such as Windows Media Player (.wmv) or QuickTime (.mov) files, you can add video title tags and descriptions of what the video is about for the search engine spiders to find. ID3 tags in your audio. These tags were designed for online music, but they work with the audio for your video as well. ID3 tags allow you to identify your audio with text fields such as composer, conductor, media type, copyright message... or you can design your own fields. You can even include a picture. Step 4: Create your script and film your video You don't need a studio, special effects, or even a fancy camera to create a great video -- a video shot with a simple digital camera is good enough for the purposes of SEO. However, your video script is extremely important. Above all, you have to remember the main purpose of the video... you want your audience to take ACTION after watching. If they've found it on a video-sharing site, you want them to go to your site. If they found it on your site, you want them to opt in, or ask for more information, or buy. Your script needs to include:
As you film your video, make sure you speak as clearly as possible and shoot from different angles. You're going to want to have movement in your video to keep it visually interesting! And remember that most people don't want to watch really long videos online! Our video editor, Morris Chapdelaine also suggests:
Step 5: Edit and optimize your video To edit your footage, you'll need to get your hands on some video editing software. There are a number of options available. Windows Media includes If your editing software allows it, include one or two screen effects to make it visually interesting. For example, show screen captures of the different websites you mention, such as your product, your homepage, or the landing page you want people to visit after watching the video. As you edit your video and put it together, you need to consider how you're going to BRAND it. Your video should also have:
Above all, ensure that everything you include in your video reinforces its main purpose!
Step #6: Take your video live Once your video has been edited, it's time to show it off to the world! Hosting your video can cause bandwidth, download, and compatibility issues, although there are video tools and services that can help you with this. Check out EveryZing and WebVideoZone to see what they have to offer. In the meantime, one of the easiest ways of displaying your video is to upload it to a site like YouTube. You then follow the instructions to embed the code they give you for your video on your own landing page. This means you can display the video on your website, even though it is being hosted by YouTube. There are hundreds of different video sites you can submit to. Some of the more popular ones include: YoutTube.com Or check out: www.lightreading.com/videoshare for a more complete list. (However, don't submit to ALL of them! It's better to submit your video to the top 10-15 sites to drive the most qualified visitors to your landing page. Otherwise, the search engines might view your video as duplicate content and think you're trying to spam them.)
Tagging your video correctly when you upload it is also important. The title and tags you give your video will not only attract the search engine spiders, but they also determine what other related videos appear on the search results page for that site. If you have more than one video uploaded to a site, tag them with each other's tags. That way your own clips will show up together when your keywords are searched for... giving you greater exposure! Step #7: Wait for results! Now sit back and reap the rewards of all your work! People are starting to catch on more and more to the power of video as an SEO tool. So if you want to start driving tons of new traffic to your site and grow your opt-in list -- and your sales! -- quickly, you need to get on the video bandwagon right away... before your competitors do! 3. How to optimize your YouTube channel Your standard YouTube account includes a channel -- and this is a great way to boost your presence in Google and attract more targeted visitors to your website. Here's what our YouTube channel looks like...
You can see it displays our keyword-rich title and profile, plus links to our website on the left. On the right is one of our videos, with the rest located below. People often overlook this potentially powerful SEO tool, even though it's simple and straightforward to optimize it. Here are eight simple steps to make the most of YOUR YouTube channel…
We've talked a lot about the importance of optimizing every video you upload to YouTube. But a highly optimized channel page can also give your Google rankings an extra blast -- and encourage users to watch MORE of your videos, subscribe to your updates, and visit your website. 4. Highlights from the Search Marketing Lab Fact Flashes from "FEED: The Razorfish Consumer Experience Report" A survey of 1,006 Internet users has revealed some interesting trends in the 2008 Razorfish Consumer Experience report:
spy on social media If you’re already using Google Alerts to stay on top of news about your industry (and we highly recommend that you do), then you’ve probably noticed a pretty big gap in the information you’re getting: None of those social networks that are spawning so much targeted traffic! Where are the Twitters? Are you showing up on Flickr? Talked about on FriendFeed? spy to the rescue! This nifty new app lets you listen for your chosen keywords across Twitter, FriendFeed, Yahoo News, and Flickr. Just plug in your keywords, choose a time frame, and see what comes up. Armed with this inside information you can join in on the discussion and get links back to your site. Google forum searches get smarter Google has added new information to search results! Now, if your search terms lead you to a forum discussion "thread," you can see the number of posts in the thread, the number of people responsible for those posts, and the date of the last posting. With this new information, you’re not going to waste your time joining conversations that ended in 2004 in a futile attempt to get back links. You’ll be able to see right away if there’s an active discussion going or if there’s only one unanswered posting, and you’ll be able to see if there are many people participating, or just a dedicated few. AdSense and Google Analytics get married And it’s a match made in heaven! Google is integrating Analytics with AdSense. If you’re looking for a one-stop, easy way to track AdSense performance, this is it. With the power of Analytics, you can identify which traffic sources, locations, pages, and even browsers bring the best users to your site. If you’re one of the lucky people invited to try out the integrated AdSense and Analytics, you’ll see an invitation link at the top of the “Overview” and “Advanced Reports” pages in your AdSense account. If you don’t see it, don’t panic! Google is gradually rolling out this feature, so it may take a little time before your account is eligible for integration. For more information, visit Google's AdSense Help. This is just one of several new "enterprise-level" features being added to the Google's free analytics program. These new features make it easy to:
Lighten your load time You have maybe 10 seconds to convince me that your website is worth
my time. Load times can be a real business-killer. Consider this: If all the HTML, CSS, and images on your front page add up to one megabyte, then it will take a broadband user 33 seconds to fully load it. If your customers are on dial-up they'll be waiting for two-and-a-half minutes. Who's going to stick around long enough to read your salescopy? No one, that's who. Test your load time using Pingdom.com's Full Page Test tool. Top tips for reducing load times:
5. Frequently asked SEO questions... and answers! "I'm confused about similar keywords and density" Keywords are the lynchpin for any successful website, but it can be tricky to know just what you should be optimizing, and how many times your phrases should appear on the page! Nicole E discusses keyword similarities and density with forum member Elisa to clear up some of the confusion. Question: Hi Nicole,
Many thanks to our Internet guru! Answer: Hi Elisa, And don't forget to add the misspelled word to your meta keyword tag! Question: One more question: What is the ideal density of keyword appearance on the text of my page... I vaguely recall a 7% but I'm not sure, could you please confirm? Thanks! Answer: Hi there, 6. Strategies from a real-life SEO success story: Cory Boatright of ShortSaleFundamentals.com Cory Boatright was already a successful entrepreneur before he launched his new website. After selling his high-end audio/video equipment sales site, EnvisionTEK.com, for $4 million, he took only a year to get his latest big idea onto the Web. ShortSaleFundamentals.com is a niche real estate investing business that teaches investors how to get banks to accept less than what they are owed on outstanding property debts in return for a quick liquidation and fast return on their money. The company is already doing $2 million in business... and it's on track to double from there! Discover how Cory is shaking up the real estate investment world with the combination of a can't-miss niche, compelling content, and community-building strategies... Strategy #1: Spread your message across the Web to drive scores of visitors back to your site! Here's one of the best ways to drive traffic to your site -- both in terms of repeat visitors and visitors from outside your site. Provide lots of free, valuable content on your site or blog, and then repurpose or distribute content across the Web through RSS, content syndication sites, or social bookmarking applications. It's a strategy that Cory subscribes to:
The content-syndication sites Cory mentions provide news and articles for free to other sites. Getting your article posted with them can be a great way to increase your visibility. The exposure you can get from thousands of sites posting your article will make writing the articles well worth your time. Be sure to include a link back to your website or blog in the signature file at the end of your articles! Here are a few more popular content syndication and distribution and "how-to" sites you can check out: Social bookmarking and networking sites Cory also uses social networking sites like Facebook. He says,
Some of our other favorite spots to share links include: One more note: Sites like Digg receive millions of visitors a day -- so if someone shares your link and others enjoy it, you could end up with tons of traffic headed your way! Strategy #2: Outsource key tasks so you can focus more effectively on YOUR skill areas! Even an online entrepreneurial whiz like Cory knows that you can't be good at everything you need to get done online.
You can outsource almost anything you can imagine. For instance, Cory's business uses direct mail as well as online strategies. And that's hands-off for him too...
Whether you're looking for a virtual assistant or a Web programmer or a graphic designer or a copywriter, you can find exactly the person you need at freelance sites set up to connect contractors with business owners in need. You simply set up a job description for interested applicants, or create a project for contractors to bid on. Here are some sites we recommend:
We wish Cory the best of luck as he continues to build and grow his business! Your niche market is out socializing somewhere online, so get out there and find them. with the new tools we talked about, locating your potential customers is painless. You'll be building credibility, getting inbound links, and reaching the people who matter most to your business. Participating in social media is a great investment -- whether you do it yourself or pay someone else to do it for you! Thanks for reading. And don't forget, there's tons more SEO wisdom throughout the site. Take advantage of it... And please let us know what you think. You can contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Derek Gehl, CEO Nicole Ephgrave, SEO and Search Marketing Expert |
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