Keyword Research and Usage for 2010

Keywords used to be used for one major purpose – to stuff a web page so full that Google and other search engines considered them the most relevant to a particular topic. We’ve come a long way, baby!

Keyword research is going to change dramatically in 2010 in a way that will help marketers capitalize on trends more than they have been. To date, most keyword research tools have been a bit lagging in results.

But now, developers are coming out with real time trend data for keywords. Google Trends, for example, is updated daily. And now you can access Hot Topics and get an hourly snapshot of what topics are most being investigated by the public.

You can periodically log into these free tools to see what topics or content is relevant or can be connected to your own niche site. Then create an AdWords campaign or blog about it or Tweet something to get that current flood of traffic diverted to your own website.

I predict that you’re going to find more free keyword tools that are almost as competitive as the paid versions. Developers will make their money elsewhere with the tool. For instance, Wordstream just launched two free keyword research tools (Keyword Niche Finder and Keyword Grouper) that search for, build and clean your lists for you.

In 2010, Google and other search engines will be looking for ways to counter keyword spam. They’re going to have future functions that weed out spammers and try to connect searchers to relevant content they really want.

Keywords will also be delivered via Google using the Real Time Search function, which will run side by side with the older results and will include information from social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. Somehow I have a feeling spammers will find a way to capitalize on that, too.

You’ll be using your keywords and phrases – dominating with long-tail phrases as usual – in more places online in 2010. Aside from using them on web pages, in AdWords campaigns, and on typical social networking sites like Squidoo, you’ll also consider using them more in video marketing (which many marketers fail to do) and on mobile advertising networks, which are on the rise.

Whatever methods you use, you’ll want to make sure you continually build your keyword list, clean it for duplicates and irrelevant phrases, and then put them to use for you instead of letting them sit on your hard drive.

How Will The FTC Affect Internet Marketing in 2010?

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) passed new regulations that will affect Internet Marketers in regards to the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising section.

The changes they’ve made affect bloggers and website owners who use testimonials or those with celebrities. If you’re an affiliate marketer, it affects you, too. While most of the buzz was about celebrities who fail to disclose they’re being paid or receiving freebies when touting a certain product, it’s smaller entrepreneurs we’re concerned about.

You’ll want to do ample investigating on your own before you start promoting anything for a paid commission. This article isn’t meant as legal advice for you – it’s simply an observation about the new rules and how we might feel their impact.

The point of the changes is to connect the dots for consumers between advertisers and endorsers. Not everyone has an Internet marketing background and can spot an affiliate review compared to an unbiased, unpaid one.

This will affect marketers who make up their testimonials. Some of them have written up their own testimonials and bought a stock picture of the “testimonial giver” – falsely making the consumer believe people have gotten good results with the product, when it fact not a single person had tried or purchased it yet.

Traditionally, advertisers could simply put an asterisk next to a real testimonial with the words “results not typical” in fine print. This was still shady because it wasn’t blatantly exposed on the site.

Now, if you get paid a commission, or if you got a freebie in exchange for recommending a product, then you’d better openly disclose that connection to your readers or you could face an FTC fine.

There’s no broad laws governing bloggers and marketers, though – the FTC says each case will be investigated individually. Aside from the payment being disclosed, you also have to be honest. You can’t say something helped you make $10,000 in revenue if it didn’t – and if you get caught, you could be forced to pay up.

Now if you’re caught, the burden is on the FTC to prove their case and how it violates the FTC Act. You can order a copy of the FTC’s updated Act here: FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. The bottom line for 2010 is – don’t cheat your readers out of an honest review, even if that means you admit you’re getting paid for your opinion!

Blogging Explosion in 2010

The movie Julie and Julia took blogging mainstream for many who had no idea that an everyday, average individual could command attention and pursue their passion using an online technology available to the masses for free.

And it’s not just movies and rare blog success stories that make people want to blog. In 2009, the job market resulted in a ton of layoffs for journalists and print newspapers and magazines went out of business. These writers will take their skills to the Internet.

Blogging will boom in 2010 even more than it already has in marketing circles. Just like reality TV has now become a career pursuit for some young adults, blogging is being viewed as a potential income source for those who don’t want to take the regular route to financial success.

Perez Hilton has been very open with the amount of money he’s raking in – and it’s substantial. There are so many blog success stories that you can learn from and apply them to your 2010 Internet Marketing strategy.

The Bankaholic blog was sold for $15 million. ArsTechnica sold for $25 million. PaidContent sold for $30 million. Someone recently commented that you can start a blog about Doritoes potato chips and once it gets rolling with traffic, wait and see how much they pay you to own it.

In the year 2010, you’re going to find many grassroots bloggers who are flying by the seat of their pants. The one edge they may have over experienced marketers is that they don’t just get into a niche because it sounds lucrative – they do it because they truly have a passion for it.

That passion will translate into frequent blog posts and the building of a loyal and enthusiastic like-minded core audience. It will grow like a wildfire and when that traffic hits a certain number, competitors will come knocking at the door of these bloggers hoping to make an acquisition and funnel that traffic to their own interests.

Many of these bloggers you’ll be competing with won’t have the marketing savvy and insight to monetize their blogs as well as yours, so initially they may not see the same financial success. But don’t count them out if they’re fierce about feeding the Googlebots with constant content and ensuring they’re not hyping up their reviews in a way that violates current FTC rulings.

Your goal for 2010 as a blogger should be to continue leaving breadcrumbs on a daily basis for search engine spiders. Make sure you utilize broad and long-tail keywords. Comply with FTC regulations about being transparent if you receive compensation for a review or testimonial. And narrow your niche down so that you have a high chance for success against the influx of new bloggers in the blogosphere.

Article Directories Revving Up for New Rules in the Year 2010

Ezine Articles (EZA) is perhaps the best known article directory and most widely used by Internet Marketers. It used to be that you could submit any topic to them, include links how you wanted, and reap the rewards for your content efforts.

But slowly but surely, EZA has been cracking down on marketers – and this may be an inconvenience to you, but it will ultimately provide a better marketing venue for you. Chris Knight, the owner of EzineArticles.com, has implemented new rules that will probably continue to grow in the year 2010.

In 2009, they stopped letting you submit articles about certain topics. For example, you could no longer submit articles about private label rights – because they don’t want to promote the use of PLR to the public. Some people were sorely disappointed when a new rule impeded their progress.

EZA implemented the Premium account where you could pay almost $600 a year for faster service, better reporting, and more convenience perks such as an increased number of resource bio boxes you could store onsite.

Chris Knight is deeply aware of how Google perceives his site. For 2010, he’s considering making a change that will eliminate or hinder your ability to edit your article after it’s submitted and live.

Why will this be done in 2010? Because Google is being told there’s an article in a certain place. If your article is edited (and according to Knight, about 83% are just resource box edits), it ceases to be live, so Google goes there and sees nothing there – making EZA look bad in the eyes of Google’s indexing system.

Other article directories are going to clamping down on affiliate links and spam topics, too. Just like social networks, they fear their site will be slapped by Google if they allow marketers to create a “bad neighborhood” online.

As Knight said in his EZA blog this year, “Our reputation (and the reputation of everyone who participates in the EzineArticles platform/system) is on the line with every single outbound link included on every single article.”

They have to be very careful of where you’re linking and for what reason. Instead of being angry about the new rules they create, why not embrace them with a thankful attitude that this article directory is working overtime to help ensure your content is safeguarded against prevalent spammers and that it maintains its positive reputation in the eyes of search engines everywhere?

Author: Rich Henderson

Sorry guys been away for so long, and no its not because I’ve been creating "that" product, actually been too busy creating new sites and checking old ones won’t bring down the wrath of the ftc. Speaking of the FTC, I’ve been getting a ton of emails about what to do etc and I’ll give you a link to a good vid with an actual FTC spokesperson and not just some lawyer wannabee trying to flog you some ridiculously overpriced documents that he claims will cover you but actually won’t make a jot of difference. Its just a webinar with information, no sales pitch, no affil link, no optin………. refreshing or what!

Anyway I have received quite a few emails, texts etc about Jeff Walker pulling his prduct of the market and people saying "OMG what can I do, even Jeff Walker is panicking". Well stop right there. Sir Jeff (yup he is one of the few marketers knighted by me for his services to my bank balance) is merely doing some really clever marketing as you would expect.

Personally I think it is a very clever piece of marketing on his part. All the talk at the moment online is about the ftc and the new guidelines (which aren’t actually new just the interpretations provided by the feds) and he has created the ultimate linkbait.

Basically he is giving away a ton of free content, which amounts to stuff he has used before to promote his previous launches as well as stuff you could only previously get by owning PLF1 and PLF2 so will have a big appeal.

There is no doubt that his stuff on launching a product has been the blueprint for every big launch in the last few years and works with lower end stuff too so we are talking about someone who knows his stuff.

I am lucky enough to have all his stuff and although I have never done a bona fida launch as such I learned tons from his courses, I have also been lucky enough to meet him a couple of times and he is not only a really nice guy, but a REALLY smart one too. Anyway I digress.

So Jeff has released this awesome linkbait for one purpose only. To promote his new launch. It is pure PLF. Give away a ton of great free stuff then ask the "Wowed" freebie grabbers to buy the new and improved version.

He is basicaly piggybacking on one of the major human emotions fear. Fear of the ftc. Now his product plf3 or whatever it is going to be called actually has nothing to do with the ftc although he has changed it dramatically to comply with new guidelines.

However it does not matter one bit. The whole point of linkbait is to draw the crowds, create controversy etc. And here is one of the most respected marketers online saying I’m taking my product of the market, come see why! Cha Ching!

Right or wrong this is simply brilliant and if you think its not just watch this space for Mr Filsaime, Sir Kern and all the other top gurus to jump on this proverbial nuclear bandwagon and use this method to either re promote their old products or launch new ones. Click on the link to see what I mean and NO THIS IS NOT AN AFFILIATE LINK!

Watch The Video

P.S. I am not suggesting for a minute that anybody goes and buys his new course, it is just another shiny shiny bauble in the IM world so unless you have a big product to launch then carry on concentrating on what you are doing!

P.S.S. Here is the link to that webinar with the FTC guy.

http://www.igottatellyou.com/blog/ftc-change-interview/

Internet Marketing: Common Mistakes

With an ever-growing base of Internet users and shoppers, internet marketing has acquired a position of utmost importance in the world of marketing. It is an extremely powerful tool for online marketers but its effectiveness depends upon the kind of approach taken towards it by a marketer. Most newcomers and even the very experienced ones make similar mistakes while approaching online marketing.

Let’s take a look at a few common marketing mistakes and sure ways to avoid them.

Waiting Time: Customers shop online for two important reasons, i.e. speed and convenience. If you are using a slow server or own a website that uses graphics which take ages to download, then it may be difficult to retain customers. You need to have web pages that load quickly. Customers do not like to wait. Remember, first impressions are really the ones that last.

Technical Issues: First and foremost, try and design websites that are user friendly. Not every one has the latest software that they may need to view your website so remember to include the basic html and web pages for customers working on computers with outdated hardware or software.

Offline Marketing: Online marketing is effective, but to a certain extent. You would also need to market your product offline in order to be really effective.

Search Engine Listings: A lot of internet marketers constantly use search engines but often conveniently forget to list their sites on those very search engines. Search Engine listings are important and should be done manually. Different search engines work in different ways and you need find out ways to move up in their rankings.

Staying Current: There are many commercial websites that are not updated regularly. Customers can be attracted and retained only if the website is up to date. You can’t afford to be found selling stuff from Christmas last year, this June.

Being Customer Friendly: Make it easy for your customers to surf your website. Do not hound them with unreasonable questions while they fill up a form to make a purchase. They may make a purchase just this once but may not come back for more if they find the transaction process too tedious. Allowing your customers to market your products with word of mouth or viral marketing is a good practice so include columns to obtain e-mail addresses of friends and family members whom they may like to refer.

Long Term Planning: You need to plan long term and not look for swift and easy profits. Many web marketers have really intelligent plans. Some of them risk losing money in the beginning to lure customers and make a loyal customer base because they know that losses in such situations can be recovered in a very short span of time. Though it’s not a rule to lose money in the beginning but you need to realise the long-term value of a customer.

Advertising: Advertising is indispensable. Besides free classifieds, links, banner ads, you need to make use of press releases that will help your product reach target sales in no time.

Don’t give up even if you lose some money in the beginning. Avoid making the above-mentioned mistakes and you will do just fine in your internet marketing efforts.