Archive for February, 2009

Shimon has asked me if I could talk about the different types of affiliates, and I have shot a video for you to view. In it I discuss the five types of affiliates that I have found to be especially successful. They are:

1) Coupon Affiliates
2) Paid Search Affiliates
3) Content Affiliates
4) Data Feed Affiliates
5) Video Affiliates

I am also providing brief guidelines as to how one may get started in any of the above directions.

There is a lot of room for synergy between all of the above-mentioned types of affiliates, and I encourage you to compliment data feeds with coupons, content with video, and so on.

The things that predetermine affiliate success are uniqueness, helpfulness, and ability to engage the user. Look at things through that end user’s eyes. Think of what would engage you, and make it click in your mind and heart. Additionally, always be testing and improving. Testing and optimization should be a never-ending cycle for every affiliate.

Success itself is measured by sales/leads, or conversions. And do not narrow your marketing down to one merchant (or product) only. Diversify between products, merchants, and types of marketing. It is not unusual for a successful affiliate to have coupons, content and Google AdSense units on the same website, and promote several merchants (or an array of complimentary products) on it.

I wish you the best of luck, and should have any questions, please post them below, and I will happily entertain every one of them.

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Follow Geno on Twitter: @eprussakov

I’ve been asked by a Twitter skeptic how you can ever have a related group of followers on Twitter. The skeptic seems to think that Twitter is just a collection of people with unrelated interests that just like to Tweet. After the conversation, I thought a short video post with a Twitter tip would be nice.

Twitter is whatever you make it. Personally, I see great value in having a group of people that share the same interests as I do. I like the question and answering, and the retweeting, and the whole social aspect to it. I also like that it’s fast, and is a great way to promote a website, and/or start a conversation, get a message out, get feedback, branding, customer service, etc.

In response to building a group of people Tweeple that share interests, here’s a 1 minute video on how to build your Twitter profile full of followers that share your interests.

Twellow is a great tool for accomplishing this. But, it shouldn’t be the only tactic you use. I also like to find people on Twitter Search using keyword searches for: SEO, PPC, Marketing, Advertising, Google, Yahoo, Social Media, etc.

Then, I click on their profile to read their Bio, and see if they interact with others. Interaction is a biggie for me. The people that have a huge following, but only follow a small amount are very often into sending a one-way message. And, that might be fine for whatever they’re trying to accomplish, but I personally like the interactions of a dialogue…not a monologue.

If you like what you see, then follow that person. They’ll get an email from Twitter alerting them that you just followed them. And, if you’re Tweeting about the same stuff, there’s a good chance they’ll follow you back. There ya go. It’s that simple.

I had just woken up a little while ago, so unfortunately I look like a need a cup of coffee.

Thanks for watching.

It seems as if a lot of Twitter users would like more followers. Getting Twitter followers is really all about interacting, and sharing common interests. There are plenty of Twitter spammers out there. But, my intention is to show you how to legitimately use Twitter. And, you’ll naturally just start attracting followers. It doesn’t take a whole lot of hours either. I’m gonna show you how to use Twitter & build your base of followers by only spending a few minutes everyday on Twitter.

Why Use Twitter:
Connect with people that share similar interests as you. Build your personal brand. Start a conversation. Get feedback, advice, etc. Drive traffic and awareness. Be social. Get breaking news before it’s news (eg: mumbai attacks, plane crash in hudson river ). Twitter can be whatever you want it to be.

Setting up Twitter:
1) Sign-up. Your Twitter URL should ideally be your brand name.
2) Upload an avatar. That could be your logo, a personal photo, or anything else.
3) Write a descriptive bio. Link to your blog, facebook, linkedin, flickr, etc. Pick one.
4) Put your location on your profile.

How to use Twitter:
1) Tweet useful information that is worth sharing. Add to the community. Use keywords whenever possible in your tweets because people are searching all the time for stuff.
2) Where to find your information? Set up Google Alerts, Email and RSS feeds that will automatically send you fresh & relevant content to Tweet. Set up a RSS feed for a Twitter Search.
3) Retweet (RT) other people’s Tweets.
4) Answer questions using @replies ( Eg: @JoshFialkoff )
5) Use hashtags when appropriate. (eg: place #smx at the end of your tweet when SMX Conference is happening, and you’re Tweeting about it). Hashtags are commonly used when trade shows are happening. That way, everyone at the show can easily find who else is Tweeting.
6) Use a URL shortening service like TinyURL or Zi.ma. The thing I like about Zi.ma is that you can track the # of views.
7) Be consistent. Make it a point to use Twitter a few minutes in the morning, and a few minutes each evening. Monica Obrien wrote a great post about allocating a few minutes everyday to 5 specific Twitter tasks.

Promoting your profile:
1) Use Twitter Search to search for keywords to find people talking about your interests. Follow those people. Say hello.
2) If you have a blog, put a Twitter button on it. Write a post about a Tweet. Link to it. Notify the person who tweeted that you wrote a post about it. Link to other bloggers.
3) If you have a Flickr account, put your Twitter URL on your Flickr profile & photo description. Do the same tactic with Facebook, Linkedin, Viddler, etc.

Twitter only takes a few minutes each day, and is yet another great way to build your personal brand.

How have SEO Services changed over time? How would you define SEO Services today?

When search engines emerged, keyword stuffing the meta data worked to get you high rankings. If you knew how to do that, you could call yourself an SEO Consultant. But, the search engines have gotten more sophisticated over time. The algorithms check for a multitude of criteria these days. Thus, SEO has gotten more complex, with a variety of subsets.

A full-site optimization includes Keyword analysis, Technical Site Analysis, Content Analysis, and Link Development. There are SEO Strategists, SEO Copywriters, Link Builders, Technical SEO specialists, Usability experts, Analytics gurus, and similar types of sub-divisions of optimization.

SEO Services have changed as the Search Engines have changed.

SEO has evolved into a school of thought - Not a Process. But, let’s face it. Practically speaking, there is still an SEO Process. Big agencies want to know process. Clients want to know process. Process helps keep you on track. Process allows you to report on progress. Process provides for a client deliverable. However, there is an overarching school of thought.

Social Media:
Social Media is the new frontier of web traffic. SEO nowadays is more than just optimizing a website. SEO is about driving traffic, and has branched out into Social Media. Sure there are Social Media consultants. But, many people that are well-versed in SEO, have jumped on the social media bandwagon. Many SEO’s are early adopters, and have been on the social networks for a long time, and have built strong profiles. So there ya have it. Another SEO Service being offered. Driving traffic from social networks.

But, lets keep something in mind. SEO has been and is still about driving high quality visitors, from Search Engines, that convert. That’s the difference between a Social Media and SEO Consultant.

Web Usability:
SEO Consultants look at a website differently than a web designer or advertising agency. SEO people tend to browse a site while analyzing how search engine friendly the site is, AND how user-friendly it is.

Web Analytics:
Part of SEO consulting is measuring traffic, share of voice, analyzing clickstreams, path analysis, conversion funnels, A/b Split tests, etc.

SEO Services include:
1) Increasing Keyword Ranking.
2) Increasing the site’s overall visitor traffic
3) Making the site search engine friendly.
4) Driving traffic from the search engines.
5) Driving traffic from social media.
6) Driving traffic from related websites.
7) Driving traffic from all sources, regardless whether they are online or offline (newspaper, radio, magazine ad, WOM, Conferences, billboards, taxi cabs, mass transit, etc.)
8 ) SEO Audit : What are you doing good & what are you doing bad.
9) Competitive Analysis: Providing insight on your competition. What are they doing good & bad, and how to beat your competition.
10) Brand Awareness / Mindshare
11) Measuring and Analyzing web traffic.
12) Reviewing the website usability, and if there are any obstacles to conversions.
13) Reputation Management

Defining SEO:
SEO is using various strategies & tactics to drive traffic to a website, working with the website ownership/marketing team to ensure traffic converts, and measuring the revenue generated from those efforts which if done correctly, will generate a positive ROI.

Photo Credit: Burning Image

As SEO has become more widely accepted and understood as a marketing channel, companies have had to make decisions to either insource or outsource their SEO efforts. And, as the SEO industry matures, the SEO space has become flooded with all sorts of people claiming to be an SEO Consultant.

Yesterday, I saw a Tweet by Karenswim that said, “Outsourcing tip: Hire talent you trust and let them do their job. Your micromanagement can hinder the process & results”.

Of all my reading fodder, this hit a nerve. And, I mean that in a good way.

I’ve been an SEO Consultant for several years, and occassionally the amount of my work exceeds my bandwidth. When that happens there are 2 people I use to outsource my work. I’ve tried a few others, but these are the 2 people I trust from our experiences together. I really don’t need to check their work. But, I DO check their work. And, they get it right everytime.

In the past, I’ve tried a few others to outsource. But, inevitably I’ve had to redo the bulk of their work. So, it’s cost me more in both time & money.

Relationships are invaluable. Whoever you outsource your work to, make sure you get along on a personal level. It’s easy to get the wool pulled over your eyes if you don’t have an established network. Everyone wants to be your “friend”. Other SEO “experts” will try to convince you they are the best, and most knowledgable. It might just be that if you don’t have any pre-existing SEO relationships, that you’ll need to take a chance.

Lessons learned / Life Choice:
I’ve learned not to bite off more than I can chew. Personally speaking, it’s not worth the extra stress in my life. For me, it’s all about the quality of life. Money is important. Paying the bills is important. But, if you’re going to be a giant stress ball because of it, it just isn’t worth it. Also, if you need to micromanage every aspect of the task(s) you’ve outsourced, why bother?

Stick with the person you trust, and nuture that relationship.

Photo credit: PhotoBal

Here is my mother’s recipe for chicken soup. Known as Jewish penicillin. It looks complicated at first glance, but it’s really very easy to make.

***(Make the soup the day before so that the fat will harden, come to the top of the bowl, and you can discard it.)***

Ingredients:
If possible, buy a pullet (chicken less than a year old) from the butcher — (cut into 1/8’s and ask for extra gurgles and gizzards, if butcher has them).
(You can use a package of Empire’s Cut-Up Chicken Parts — the pullet is better, but the Empire cup-up parts is okay to use as a substitute).

Make an Herb Bundle — wrapped and tied in cheesecloth:
*parsley (Italian parsley with the root, if available; cut off the root and scrape it clean. Add it to the soup). [It's okay if you can't get the parsley root.] [If Italian parsley is not available, then the regular curly parsley is okay].
*dill
*celery (one rib, cut into workable pieces — two or three pieces, depending on the size of the rib)
*celery leaves
*one bay leaf (dried)
[The bundles of parsley and dill are usually so large that I use only half a bundle of each. I freeze the other half for the next time I want to make chicken soup].

carrots — [I use 2 carrots, cut into three or four pieces each.]
onions (whole) [we use 2 onions because we like to eat an onion in the soup; otherwise, one onion is probably enough.]
6 glasses water
salt

Directions:
Bring chicken and water to a boil. Take off the dark foam that forms when the water boils. When the foam stops forming, add the carrots, onions, and herb bundle. Cover and boil for one and a half hours.

When cool, using a fork, press the liquid from the herb bundle and add to the soup. Discard the herb bundle. Separate the chicken, carrots, and onion from the soup and refrigerate. Pour the soup into a large bowl and refrigerate overnight so that the fat will harden.

The next day: Remove the fat that has formed on the top of the soup. Extra soup can be frozen, if desired.