BRANDING YOUR BUSINESS FOR TARGETED WEBSITE TRAFFIC

In order to gain and keep a steady flow of targeted website traffic, every business should invest time to learn how to brand itself.

Today I created my first banner!  Well, I actually created it for my wife's business, but it is still a first.  Instead of trying to lay out the steps by memory, I provided the text and link to the site where I got my information.

Fashion Jewelry For The Fashion Conscious

How to Make a Banner With Gimp

by Darrin Koltow, Demand Media

Making banners for your blog or website allows you to create a more powerful and dramatic header for your content — and if you work with GIMP, you're able to do so for free. Banners can include text and images to communicate the type of content related on your site. To create banners like this in GIMP, use the program’s layering tools, and selection tools like Foreground Select, to assemble the images and concise text needed to use as a heading description.

Step 1:  Select "New" from the File menu, then type in the Width and Height text boxes the dimensions you want for the banner. An approximate size that works for websites would be 600 pixels for width and 150 pixels for height. Click OK to create the canvas.

Step 2:  Click "File | Open" as Layers, then navigate to an image that you want to use as a background for the banner. For the movie blog example, you might open an image of film spools, or an image of the physical film itself.

Step 3:  Use the Open as Layers command to load an image you’d like to appear in the banner’s foreground, such as a picture of a famous actor, or your own picture.

Step 4:  Click the Tools palette icons shaped like an arrow with four heads. This runs the Move tool. Drag on the canvas to place the foreground image where you want it. For the movie blog example, you might drag a picture of Clint Eastwood or another actor toward the right, until it meets the canvas’ right edge.

Step 5:  Click the Tools palette icon shaped like a person with a cloud behind him to run Foreground Select. The cursor changes to a lasso icon, indicating you’re in selection mode. Drag a rough outline around the object or person you want to cut out, e.g. Clint Eastwood. The cursor changes to a painting icon, indicating you’re now in a painting-like mode.

Step 6:  Drag over the object or person you want to cut out, being careful not to let the cursor stray beyond the object’s outline. Press and hold the "Control" key, then drag over the background from which you’re cutting out the object. Press "Enter" to finalize the selection.

Step 7:  Click "Select | Invert" to select the imagery surrounding the object, then press "Delete" to delete that imagery. The object you've selected appears over the background image you loaded.

Step 8:  Click the Tools palette icon that shows a boldface “A” to run the Text tool, then click the Font button in the Tools Options panel. Click a font you like from the list that appears.

Step 9:  Drag on the canvas where you want the title of your banner to appear. GIMP displays a small window in which you can type the title’s text. Type the text, e.g. “Joe’s Flick Picks,” then click close to finalize the text and complete your banner.

Click here to see view the original instructions.

Pay Per Click

The only real shortcut to targeted traffic is pay per click.

I know the preceding is a bold absolute; however, until proven otherwise, it is the only way I've ever found that actually works.  Now, if you don't know how to do it properly, it will cost you more than you will earn.

Folks, I still believe email marketing is a great way to get traffic to your website, but I think you have to get your leads the old fashion way.  You need to build your own list.  In fact, I just discontinued my membership in an email exchange program, because I realized that I was simply wasting my time.  If you are tempted to enroll in a traffic exchange program, consider the following:  traffic exchanges make money by having you click on other members' ads.  In turn, members click your ads. 

If you are patient enough to build your own lists, research AWeber.   Good luck!

Gaining Web Traffic Through A JV Partner

Attract Targeted Traffic By Landing a JV Partner in Seven Days or Less

There's a misconception in the internet marketing world that joint ventures are difficult and reserved only for the top echelon of marketers. That's not the case at all. Any business, big or small, can benefit from doing JVs as they move to accomplish the goal of gaining targeted traffic. Remember: a great JV is a win/win for both sides, so there's really no reason for smaller businesses not to participate.

Here's how you can land a JV deal in seven days or less.

==> Formulate the Offer and Gather Stats

What's the deal that you'll offer to your partner's list? The better the deal, the more likely it will eventually lead to targeted traffic.  Ideally the offer should be significantly different from the offer on your own website. They should be incentivized to sign up for the offer on your partner's list immediately, rather than waiting and signing up on your site.

Potential offers include one-time discounts, downloadable bonuses or exclusive entry into teleseminars.



Gather stats about your conversion rate. If you're doing a two-tier program, meaning they get paid on back-end sales as well, figure out your average customer value so you can let your JV partner know about how much they can expect to make per visitor they send you.

==> Compile a List of Likely Candidates (Use LinkedIn)

Start with your own network. Do you know anyone who may know someone who owns a large list? Would it be a win/win for you to do a deal together?

Take advantage of LinkedIn's "friend of friends" search feature. If you have 100 contacts on LinkedIn and each of those contacts in turn has 100 contacts, that's a lot of potential partners.

Then add to your list three to ten well-known candidates you'd like to land in your niche.

==> Make the Offer by Phone

Call up the most likely candidates. Make your offer and be sure to state what's unique about your product, how it can help their customers and about how much they can expect to make based on your product's past conversion rates.

Be prepared to make several phone calls before you get a "yes." Not everyone will want to partner with you; but all you need to land is one great partner and you'll be financially set for the month.

==> Crafting the Campaign

Once you get someone to say yes, discuss with them how to maximize conversions. What kind of offers do they respond best to? What kind of media (i.e. video, teleseminars, text-only, etc.) gets the most sales? How can you work together to make the deal a success?

Do everything in your power to make your JV partner happy. A happy partner may do another deal with you a few months down the road and will very likely refer other potential partners.

If you really go at this process 100%, you can easily land a JV deal or two within seven days or less and be well on your way to gaining targeted traffic.

Targeted Traffic Using Google Content Network

Google Content Network - A Fast Yet Overlooked Targeted Traffic Source

One of the most commonly misunderstood sources of traffic among web marketers is the Google Content Network. It's true that working with the content network is different than working with PPC, but when used correctly the content network can deliver streams of targeted traffic to your website, almost overnight.

How do you get started with the content network?

==> Start by Compiling Groups of Keywords

Unlike AdWords that allows you to bid on keywords individually, the content network works by keyword "groups."

Brainstorm a few different groups of related keywords. For example, if you were selling used watches, you might go for a keyword group like:

* Used watches

* Preowned watches

* Watch valuation

* Buy a used watch

* Real used watches

The idea is to find keywords that people are likely to have in their pages and group them together. Unlike search PPC, where you're targeting words that people type in, this time you're targeting keywords that'll cause your ads to show up on the right kinds of websites.

==> Use Placement Targeting for Instant Results

Don't want to have to wait for Google to find websites for you? You can do it yourself instead.

Google's placement targeting tool allows you to look for the website(s) that you think will work best for your offer and target those sites specifically to have your ads display on.

Go to Google's Placement Targeting tools to look through a list of sites. You can browse by keyword or by topic. Be sure to look at what kinds of ads they accept. If you're targeting a highly trafficked website, it may pay to design a graphic banner ad just for their site.

==> Content Network Traffic Behavior

Content network traffic behaves differently than PPC or SEO traffic.

For whatever reason, marketers have typically not been able to sell high-ticket, mid-ticket or often even low-ticket items to content network traffic.

What does work, however, is converting content network traffic into email list subscribers. Once they're a subscriber, it's not that difficult to get them to become a buyer a few weeks down the road.

Why does content network traffic behave differently? Nobody really knows. Some believe it's because the traffic is less targeted, because they're not actively searching for you in the search engines. Others believe there's just less credibility in clicking an AdSense ad.

Whatever the reason, the secret to success to know how your traffic source works and adapt to it.

That's how you set up content network traffic, both through keywords and through placements. Remember that content network traffic works far, far better as a "long-term sell" than a one-time sale. Remember to keep testing different traffic sources, eliminate the sites that aren't converting and keep the rest.

Get Targeted Traffic Using Quick To Rank Keywords

The most important thing in SEO isn't getting backlinks or even your content. Before any of that can even come into the picture, you first need to choose the right keywords to target. By choosing quick-to-rank keywords, you'll start getting traffic and profits right away, instead of having to wait months to see results.

How do you choose keywords that you can rank for quickly?

==> Go for Long Tail Keywords

Generally, you'll want to be targeting keywords that are three words or longer. Target keywords with at least 1,000 searches a month, more if you have a PR 2 or higher website.

Do an exact match search for your keyword. In other words, put your keyword in quotes, i.e. "this is my keyword." This will give you the exact number of competing websites.

Ideally, this number should be less than 50,000.

==> Evaluating the Top Five

Your primary aim is to get in the top five places as quickly as possible. There's so little traffic below the top five that it's not really even worth shooting for.

The weaker the top five, the better your chances of ranking for those keywords quickly.

First of all, evaluate whether or not the top five are deliberately trying to rank for the keyword you're targeting. There's a good chance they just ranked by accident, which will make it much easier to push them off.

Do they have the keyword you're targeting in their title tag? Is the keyword in their meta keyword tags? If so, then you're in for a tougher fight. If not, the going will be much easier.

How many backlinks does your competition have? Use the Yahoo! Site Explorer to find out. (Google hides links and is inaccurate for the purposes of SEO competitive analysis.)

Also gauge your competitor's PageRank by using a PageRank checker. Then take a look at the domain age, as well as the number of pages on your competitor's sites.

The easiest keywords to rank for will have competitors that aren't specifically targeting the keyword, that don't have many backlinks, that have low PageRank and/or low domain age. Hard to rank for keywords will have just the opposite.

==> Try to Find Keywords without the Root

Most keywords that contain the "root" keyword will have a lot more competition than those that don't.

For example, if you're in the diet niche, keywords like "best diet" or "low carb diet" or "six pack abs diet" are going to be highly competitive.

On the other hand, keywords that don't have the word "diet" in them will have much less competition. For example, "get a 28-inch waist" will be much easier to rank for.

If you combine these techniques, you'll have a solid strategy for finding keywords that you can rank for within two to six weeks. Remember that SEO is as much an art as it is a science, and that getting fast rankings is as much a function of putting up many pages targeting different keywords as it is picking good keywords.

The Three Fastest Sources of Traffic for Traffic Boosts

The Three Fastest Sources of Targeted Traffic for Traffic Boosts

Need to generate traffic, fast? In this article, we're going to cover three techniques that work within just hours to just a few weeks. These techniques can help take even a website with no traffic and bring it back to life.

==> Six Hours: Pay Per Click Traffic

Pay Per Click (PPC) traffic is the fastest way to bring a targeted traffic boost to your website. 

You don't need to worry about the whims of the search engines or about waiting for your brand to get established. All you need to do is whip out your credit card and let the traffic flow in.

Of course, it's not that simple. First, you need to come up with lists of keywords for what people are likely to type in. Then, you need to write compelling ads that'll get people to click.

Finally, you need to install tracking software that allows you to detect exactly which keyword(s) are converting.

Once you've done these three steps, activate your campaign and watch the traffic come flooding in.

==> Two Weeks: The "Bum Marketing" Method

While this method won't work within two weeks consistently, it does often enough.

The "bum marketing" method is so named because it's supposedly so simple that even a bum off the street could do it.

The method? Find keywords that have less than 10,000 competing exact-search results. Write an article for that keyword. Post it to an article directory.

With the directory's PageRank, the article should easily outrank the rest of the competition, provided there aren't any super-strong sites in the 10,000 competitors.

Make sure you target keywords with at least 1,000 searches a month. Success with this technique comes from doing many, many articles, not just one or two.

==> One to Four Weeks: Finding a JV Deal

Finding and launching a JV deal takes a little longer, but can be very lucrative. 

A JV deal essentially means someone else agrees to promote your product. They send two to four emails out to their list promoting you.

First, you need to land the deal. The best way to land JV deals is through friends and friends of friends. The second best way is to just call up potential partners.

Once you have an outline of the deal, you're not finished. You've then got to craft the emails, create custom landing pages and create tracking codes to make sure your partner gets paid.

From start to finish, launching a JV deal can take anywhere from one to four weeks.

Each of these methods, if executed well, could bring in a lot of traffic. You could make a full-time living just from using these techniques well. Don't jump from technique to technique; instead pick one, commit to it and see it through.

Create a Viral Report that Spreads Like Wildfire

A free report that goes viral can bring in targeted traffic much faster than SEO and PPC combined. It can bring you free targeted visitors, in addition to generating hundreds of backlinks that'll help you rank in the long run.

How do you create a viral report that others can't help but pass on? Just follow these guidelines.

==> Extremely Controversial or Extremely Useful

There are basically two kinds of reports that get passed around: those that are controversial and shocking, or those that are so useful that others save them and use them as references.

For example, when John Carlton and Rich Schefren published a list of "bucket brigade" phrases - words to start sentences with that catch attention, the report caught fire and was passed around to thousands in the marketing community.

Why? Because it was useful. It was a list that had never been compiled before, an extremely valuable list for copywriters, given away for free.

==> Getting the Initial Distribution

In order for your report to have the chance of taking off, it needs to get initial distribution. In other words, it needs to be downloaded by between 100 to 500 people first, before the power of virality can take effect.

How can you get those initial users?

Lists are a big one. If you have an email list of a few thousand people, or know people with such lists, send them the free report. If you report is really great, other list owners should be glad to pass it on.

Post the free report to internet forums. Pay to post it in a commercial section if necessary. Again, if your report is great, it'll generate many replies which will in turn get you more viewers and even more downloads.

Finally, don't neglect your own network. Even posting it to your Facebook wall, if you have several hundred friends, can help you get the much-needed initial distribution.

==> Tools to Increase Virality

There are a few ways you can increase the viral flow of the report.

The first method is to require an opt-in in order to download the report. While this can really help you capitalize on the traffic generated, it can also turn some people off from downloading the report. Often they just want the report, without the list.

Another method is to embed Facebook and Twitter links inside the report. Make it easy for them to Like, Comment or Tweet your report.

Finally, one often forgotten secret to getting your content passed around is to just ask. Let them know that they have permission to pass the report on and ask them to share it with their friends.

Creating a report that spreads like wildfire does take creativity and market knowledge. It entails creating something original, getting it to a few hundred people and the having the mechanisms to help to spread. Done well, this tactic can launch an obscure business into the limelight.