Round Tale

The web is littered with articles that are not worth the word processor they were written on.  After a second glance, you will notice that they are horribly composed and stuffed with keywords, immediately recognizing that they were written for the sole purpose of trying to boost the ranking of a particular web page.  This is not a bad thing, just the wrong approach.  When incorporating articles into your SEO campaign, there are three things you need to focus on:

1. Providing valuable information.

2. Increasing link popularity.

3. Increasing search engine rankings.

All of this is difficult accomplish when your articles are badly written and stuffed with keywords.

The Power of Articles

So why would you want to consider articles for enhancing your SEO efforts?  Well, although having optimized content on your site is very effective in the eyes of the search engine, you must also make sure that content serves a purpose for your visitors as well.  Many of the successful search engine marketing gurus agree with this and stress the importance of delivering useful information.  If the content on your website is not helpful or useful in any way, visitors will have little motivation in reading it to learn more about what you have to offer.  Sure, you may be able to get a higher ranking in Google and possibly even bring in considerably more traffic.  Unfortunately, if visitors simply take one look at your articles and then leave, those high rankings you achieved in the search engines would mean noting at all.

Articles also make a great way to establish link popularity.  However, if you plan to distribute them across the web and have not taken the time to make sure they have an acceptable level of quality, it is very unlikely that someone else will want to publish your article on their site.   Point blank – if your articles are poorly written and do not give useful information to the reader, they will be very ineffective at helping your build good links.

Writing Articles for Search Engines

Once you have a handle on writing good content that makes sense and delivers solid information, you can then embark on producing articles for SEO.  Keep in mind that writing for the search engines calls for a good balance so there are a few things you want to avoid.

- Never sacrifice the reader experience just to achieve higher rankings.

- Never repeat the same words and phrases to the point of extreme.

- Never overstuff keywords into text because it is more likely to backfire.

The Keys to Success

You will have a much better chance of succeeding with SEO article writing by establishing some discipline within yourself.  This can be as simple as studying your niche and coming to understand your target audience.  Once you have done this, keep your articles specifically focused on their needs or interest.  Also pay attention to your content and make sure it contains concrete knowledge that is useful to the reader.  If you can accept that your audience should come before the search engines, you will be become a better article writer and everything else will fall in place from there.

With the growing prevalence of search engine marketing, several organizations are electing to run their SEM programs in-house instead of outsourcing to a professional firm.  While there are numerous tools and resources available to help companies incorporate these programs internally, most are rather basic and overlook many of the vital aspects that make up a truly effective SEM campaign.  Before you go to set up shop, get to know the five main reasons in-house SEM programs falter.

1.) SEM is Time Intensive – Unlike traditional media, SEM is not something you can simply do once and forget about.  These campaigns often consists of thousands of keywords that must be thoroughly researched as well as landing pages that must be carefully crafted in a way that appeals to search engines and visitors alike.  All of this needs to be done regularly to make sure you are getting the most out of your marketing dollars.  Although some possess the skills, most in-house teams simply do not have the time to commit to an SEM program that will give them the best results.

2.) SEM is all About Dedication – Google Ad Words and other paid advertising campaigns demand maintenance on a daily basis in order to maintain the company budget and ensure the best results.  If other projects takes away the team’s ability to dedicate to the SEM campaign, you will have trouble identifying your most fierce competitors and ultimately, making your campaign more effective.

3.) SEM Can be Competitive and Expensive – Reputable SEM firms have a knack for analyzing a budget and preventing their clients from overspending.  At the same time, many in-house teams fail because they are not able to maintain the budgets they sat aside for the campaign.  A skilled professional can implement measures and polices to help maintain costs while ensuring that the budget is well managed and evenly allocated across the campaign.

4.) SEM Demands Accurate Tracking and Analysis of Performance - Try as they may, but a large number of in-house programs suffer from insufficient reporting.  The beauty of SEM itself is that it is a results-driven marketing tactic so therefore, the best way to gauge the performance of your campaign is through detailed reporting.  An expert firm can help you understand what part of your program is doing good as well as what areas need improvement.  This is done by analyzing critical data, setting benchmarks and optimizing the campaign itself.

5.) SEM Requires an Awareness of Search Engine Polices

Many organizations find themselves in undesirable predicaments once they are banned or penalized for engaging in SEM practices that do not fall in line with search engine policies.  These practices can bring forth damaging results as your site could end up banned by Google, Yahoo and other major search engines.  By outsourcing to a reputable SEM firm, you can get the assurance of a trained and certified team that knows the search engine policies and uses them to measure the overall effectiveness of your campaign.

Anaheim, California – (The Hosting News) – September 3, 2009 – Web hosting firm specializing in business and dedicated server hosting, Lunarpages, is offering up to $100 of free Google AdWords credit for all new and existing customers.

Amy Armitage, Director of Business Development at Lunarpages Web Hosting remarked, ”This incredible offer from Google will allow small and large businesses alike to gain greater exposure through their target markets. Search engine marketing is one of the best ways to increase business, because you are able to contact potential customers at the exact moment they are searching for your products and services. Google AdWords bridges the gap between the customers and the businesses that need them, through Pay-Per-Click sponsored results.”

Ms. Armitage went on to provide details of the offer for all Lunarpages customers, explaining, ”Customers who purchase our Basic, Windows, or LPQuicksite Hosting Plans will receive $25; Business Hosting clients will get $35; VPS customers receive $50; and Dedicated Server customers receive a whopping $100 in free Google AdWords credits.”

This promotion is in addition to the already low-priced website hosting packages that Lunarpages provides, and expires December 3, 2009, so new and existing customers should act fast to take advantage of this limited time promotion.

Lunarpages hosts over 160,000 customers worldwide out of three state-of-the-art data centers. They are best known for their web hosting services, which start at $2.95 per month.

To learn more, please visit: www.lunarpages.com.

Anaheim, California – (The Hosting News) – September 3, 2009 – Web hosting firm specializing in business and dedicated server hosting, Lunarpages, is offering up to $100 of free Google AdWords credit for all new and existing customers.

Amy Armitage, Director of Business Development at Lunarpages Web Hosting remarked, ”This incredible offer from Google will allow small and large businesses alike to gain greater exposure through their target markets. Search engine marketing is one of the best ways to increase business, because you are able to contact potential customers at the exact moment they are searching for your products and services. Google AdWords bridges the gap between the customers and the businesses that need them, through Pay-Per-Click sponsored results.”

Ms. Armitage went on to provide details of the offer for all Lunarpages customers, explaining, ”Customers who purchase our Basic, Windows, or LPQuicksite Hosting Plans will receive $25; Business Hosting clients will get $35; VPS customers receive $50; and Dedicated Server customers receive a whopping $100 in free Google AdWords credits.”

This promotion is in addition to the already low-priced website hosting packages that Lunarpages provides, and expires December 3, 2009, so new and existing customers should act fast to take advantage of this limited time promotion.

Lunarpages hosts over 160,000 customers worldwide out of three state-of-the-art data centers. They are best known for their web hosting services, which start at $2.95 per month.

To learn more, please visit: www.lunarpages.com.

Webmasters are increasingly integrating SMM (social media marketing) right alongside their SEM campaigns.  This has become a very feasible practice due to the prevalence of next generation web technologies and social networking.  Let’s take a closer look to find out how an SMM campaign can be effectively incorporated into your search engine marketing strategy.

SEO Outside of the Box

Search engine optimization has long been viewed as the most affordable way to boost rankings, increase traffic and sales.  However, this crucial SEM technique has been heavily underrated in its ability to aid in traditional public relations efforts.  This method can be used to harness the power of press releases, online news rooms and article syndication to encourage organic search engine rankings.  For example, by incorporating URLs or tracking codes into a press release, an SEO campaign can be easily transferred into a vehicle that prompts direct responses while optimizing at the same time.

SMM Avenues

Though SMM is still coming into its own, it is quickly evolving into a popular method and effective component worthy of SEM.  With MySpace and Facebook pages now showing up frequently in search engine results, SEM experts can no longer deny the impact of social media and social networking platforms.  SMM can deliver a wealth of benefits when integrated correctly, including branding.  In addition, popular content syndication sites such as YouTube and Flickr provide opportunities for distributing an organization’s media assets to a larger and much more diverse audience.  The same can be done with traditional content through blog and micro-blogging platforms such as Plurk and Twitter. SMM extends its benefits in so many ways as social networking sites are quite effective for ORM (online reputation management) at the very least.

A Measure of Success

Choosing the right metrics tool is key for measuring the overall efficiency of integrating SMM into your marketing scheme.  The vehicle you choose will help you more precisely gauge your audience and set benchmarks as well.  Traditional media often depends on surveys and focus groups to gather insight on the effectiveness of an add or campaign.  For online marketing, web analytics tools and services have proven to be far more accurate and affordable.  The market for online measurement solutions is growing rapidly, now offering common services that include comprehensive details of search engine visibility, PPC impressions, and most importantly, conversions.  In this model, conversions may consist of sign ups, downloads, lead generation and sales.  It may also include offline activities such as leads tracked via toll-free phone, website address or promotional code.

Marketing Wrap-up

As it relates to SEM and SMM, integrated marketing calls for a company to take advantage of its existing assets and enhance its web presence through increased exposure, leads and sales.   There are many benefits to be reaped when grabbing hold of the two methods and utilizing them effectively.  In the end, this could be the one merger your business needs to climb to the top of the pile and stay there.

Several marketing companies are internally divided by specialties.  In today’s web-based world, many are segmented by fields such as web development, design, research and copy writing for example.  This holds true in both agency and in-house environments.  Due to such great diversities, these disciplines don’t always mix perfectly, but are often a necessity to get the job done.  When it comes to SEM however, the talents and skills needed to effectively perform certain processes may not be as unique as one assumes.  The professional who excels at search engine marketing can often handle SEO and PPC simultaneously without passing one of these tasks off to another party and disrupting the team.

When Specialties Get in the Way

Many larger enterprises establish specialized roles for their SEM team with the belief that it creates advantages and efficiencies for the organization.  While such methods have been effective in numerous industries and more traditional marketing schemes, applying them to the world of internet marketing is an entirely different story.  Today’s economy has seen the specialized teams of both interactive and traditional full service agencies fighting over budgets and seemingly trying to justify their sole existence.  It is very uncommon for such an environment to be able lead these teams towards one common goal.  This is especially truly in an ailing economic climate where layoffs have essentially become a regular occurrence.  Even with specialties teams that are focused with the company’s best interest in mind, the extra layer of communication that is required could actually get in the way and render management ineffective.

The Pride of Experts

There is an old saying that states when you have too many cooks in the kitchen, somebody just might get burned.  In regard to an SEM campaign, this could be the case with a company’s SEO or PPC specialists.  Although both offer exceptional value, SEO experts tend to look down on PPC professionals and vice versa.  When someone learns and becomes comfortable with a particular method of SEM, they generally become set in there ways and close minded to the suggestion of others.  Unfortunately, that lack of understanding with such vital  components could drastically hinder the performance of company’s marketing campaign.  For instance, a team member who specializes in SEO might conclude that a certain keyword is too competitive to obtain quality rankings, but lacks the knowledge or support to get around the problem.  Likewise, a PPC expert might determine that a specific keyword is to costly to target, but refuses to get the insight he or she needs from the SEO specialist.  When it comes to SEM in the specialized setting, the overall success of a campaign largely depends on upper management’s ability to facilitate proper strategy, communication and collaboration.

In order to integrate the elements of SEO and PPC in seamless fashion, a company must have a clear understanding of how all SEM tactics and strategies fit into the overall marketing mix.  If your SEM team is not thoroughly cross-trained and willingly to communicate with each, the efforts of your campaign just might come up short and result in nothing but utter frustration.

Herndon, Virginia – (The Hosting News) – July 1, 2009 – Web hosting provider, domain name registration and services firm, Network Solutions, recently announced, in celebration of Independence Day, that it will offer .US names at a discounted price.

Sean Kaine of Network Solutions remarked, ”The World Wide Web is moving beyond .com. As new top level domains are being added, the .US domain name extension remains a popular alternative for domain name registrations.”

After the original .com, .net and .org domain name extensions, .US is one of the most popular among United States individuals. The .US domain name is useful in signifying that a business is American owned and operated, as well as for companies for whom the business name .com domain name extension is taken by another organization.

Surrounding the July 4th celebration of Independence Day in the US, Network Solutions will have a banner on their Web site storefront offering access to the $9.99 .US domain name promotion.

Mr. Kaine added, ”Registering a .US domain is just as easy as before. But this discount offers added incentive.”

Network Solutions is a provider of web solutions and domain name registration services, offers a full range of web-related services, including web hosting, web design, e-commerce software, search engine marketing, SSL certificates, e-mail services and domain name registration. Network Solutions is privately owned by General Atlantic a leading global growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for growth companies. General Atlantic combines a collaborative global approach, sector-specific expertise, long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great management and build exceptional businesses worldwide.

For more information, please visit: www.networksolutions.com.

Herndon, Virginia – (The Hosting News) – July 1, 2009 – Web hosting provider, domain name registration and services firm, Network Solutions, recently announced, in celebration of Independence Day, that it will offer .US names at a discounted price.

Sean Kaine of Network Solutions remarked, ”The World Wide Web is moving beyond .com. As new top level domains are being added, the .US domain name extension remains a popular alternative for domain name registrations.”

After the original .com, .net and .org domain name extensions, .US is one of the most popular among United States individuals. The .US domain name is useful in signifying that a business is American owned and operated, as well as for companies for whom the business name .com domain name extension is taken by another organization.

Surrounding the July 4th celebration of Independence Day in the US, Network Solutions will have a banner on their Web site storefront offering access to the $9.99 .US domain name promotion.

Mr. Kaine added, ”Registering a .US domain is just as easy as before. But this discount offers added incentive.”

Network Solutions is a provider of web solutions and domain name registration services, offers a full range of web-related services, including web hosting, web design, e-commerce software, search engine marketing, SSL certificates, e-mail services and domain name registration. Network Solutions is privately owned by General Atlantic a leading global growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for growth companies. General Atlantic combines a collaborative global approach, sector-specific expertise, long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great management and build exceptional businesses worldwide.

For more information, please visit: www.networksolutions.com.

Herndon, Virginia – (The Hosting News) – May 20, 2009 – Web hosting provider, domain name registration and services firm, Network Solutions, recently named Miles Reidy as the company’s new Executive Vice President and CFO, previously from Sears Holdings Corporation holding the same positions.

During his tenure as CFO for Sears Holding Company, Mr. Reidy led the development of strategy and financial management for the multi-billion dollar retailer. Prior to this role, he spent more than eight years at Capital One Financial Corporation, leading activities in banking integration, corporate planning and financial strategy. In addition he served as the CFO for Capital One Credit Card and Bank. Mr. Reidy’s experience also includes senior posts at a number of large commercial banks.

Roy Dunbar, CEO of Network Solutions remarked, ”Miles’ proven expertise in developing and directing analytical and data intensive functions will offer us fresh insights into our customers’ needs and the products and services we develop to meet those needs. I look forward to working with Miles and our executive team on further developing the blueprint for our next phase of growth.”

Mr. Reidy explained, ”There is a huge opportunity for companies that pro-actively engage small business owners by making it easy for them to take their companies online and market them. What attracted me to Network Solutions is the strong executive team led by Roy, along with an experienced and involved Board of Directors.”

Mr. Reidy received his Bachelor of Science in Finance from the Georgetown University and his Master of Science in Economics, from the Heinz School of Public Policy at Carnegie-Mellon University.

Network Solutions is a provider of web solutions and domain name registration services, offers a full range of web-related services, including web hosting, web design, e-commerce software, search engine marketing, SSL certificates, e-mail services and domain name registration. Network Solutions is privately owned by General Atlantic a leading global growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for growth companies. General Atlantic combines a collaborative global approach, sector-specific expertise, long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great management and build exceptional businesses worldwide.

For more information, please visit: www.networksolutions.com.

Herndon, Virginia – (The Hosting News) – May 20, 2009 – Web hosting provider, domain name registration and services firm, Network Solutions, recently named Miles Reidy as the company’s new Executive Vice President and CFO, previously from Sears Holdings Corporation holding the same positions.

During his tenure as CFO for Sears Holding Company, Mr. Reidy led the development of strategy and financial management for the multi-billion dollar retailer. Prior to this role, he spent more than eight years at Capital One Financial Corporation, leading activities in banking integration, corporate planning and financial strategy. In addition he served as the CFO for Capital One Credit Card and Bank. Mr. Reidy’s experience also includes senior posts at a number of large commercial banks.

Roy Dunbar, CEO of Network Solutions remarked, ”Miles’ proven expertise in developing and directing analytical and data intensive functions will offer us fresh insights into our customers’ needs and the products and services we develop to meet those needs. I look forward to working with Miles and our executive team on further developing the blueprint for our next phase of growth.”

Mr. Reidy explained, ”There is a huge opportunity for companies that pro-actively engage small business owners by making it easy for them to take their companies online and market them. What attracted me to Network Solutions is the strong executive team led by Roy, along with an experienced and involved Board of Directors.”

Mr. Reidy received his Bachelor of Science in Finance from the Georgetown University and his Master of Science in Economics, from the Heinz School of Public Policy at Carnegie-Mellon University.

Network Solutions is a provider of web solutions and domain name registration services, offers a full range of web-related services, including web hosting, web design, e-commerce software, search engine marketing, SSL certificates, e-mail services and domain name registration. Network Solutions is privately owned by General Atlantic a leading global growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for growth companies. General Atlantic combines a collaborative global approach, sector-specific expertise, long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great management and build exceptional businesses worldwide.

For more information, please visit: www.networksolutions.com.