Having been in this industry for over 18 years now, I think I can confidently say that I have a vast amount of knowledge that pretty much anyone can benefit from.

Yet somehow with the rise of so many online businesses out there, it still never ceases to amaze me that the most basic of knowledge is so often the LEAST known by business owners.

Take keyword research for example….

I really don’t know what it is about keyword research that entrepreneurs (and even some marketers) resist.

I myself get all kinds of nerded out and in love with the multitude of layers of intelligence it offers.

From the quantitative scientific proof and validation; to the qualitative psychology and power it offers – I am always overjoyed when given the go ahead from a client to start a keyword research campaign for them.

In my opinion it’s should not be a secret to anyone aiming to succeed in business that understanding your market is one of the greatest keys to success.

But the problem is, very few people care to spend the time to do it…despite the fact that it’s the foundation of a revenue generating web business.

But that’s not all keyword research is good for either. There is so much more to this area of digital marketing.

And if you care to take the time out to recognize it, I think you too would walk away a little more eager to spend more time on this.

So here are my Top 3 Reasons That Keyword Research Still Matters.

#1: Scientific Proof!

There is nothing that irks me more than when a business owner or senior level executive says they “don’t know” to basic questions like “who buys from you”, “where do they come from”, “why do they buy”, “what is their average purchase amount”, “what is their lifetime value” etc.

These are NOT pointless questions to ask and every business owner should know the answers to them. And you can actually find a LOT of these answers just by looking at your keyword analytics.

Different from referring and direct visits – as those are usually coming to the site because they are prompted by someone else to do so….but Organic / SEARCH or even PAID traffic – that is VERY telling traffic.

Now, not all of the answers can be found from ONE report. But the above image shows us a very quick summary of the top 10 highest revenue keywords in one month for a client of mine – and just digging into your money keyword report alone we can learn quite a bit.

Now, I know what you might be asking here….What if you aren’t there yet? What if you are just starting out? What if you don’t even have a website launched.

Can you find all these answers before you get started? Save yourself a lot of stress down the road?

The answer is, not with any certainty no, not unless you probe other companies in your industry and they divulge all their secrets OR you run some tests.

However what you can find is enough evidence to validate your assumptions. And if you find the right evidence, the chances of success are somewhere around the 80% range in my experience!

Not bad out of the gate right?

#2: Qualitative Validation.

One of the really cool things about keyword searches when they happen is that they are not always the same. Some people will search with the simplest of terms as possible (ie: one or two word statements), but others, they will search with 3+ words and in many of those cases they will also include very clear intentions.

Intention based keywords such as free, buy, store, book, ebook, course, program, system etc. those are quality keywords.

They tell you what kind of buyer audience you have or if they are a buyers audience at all.

The more popular the subject matter the more and more of these you will find too.

But there are other levels to qualitative validation through keyword research as well.

Let’s say for example you are in the health industry. You are a doctor and you happen to have a specialized for persons with fibromyalgia. Wouldn’t it be helpful for you to know what the MAJOR concerns are for your patients in order to better help them?

In this quick search, I’ve discovered all kinds of concerns. Pain being among the top of course, but there are also mentions of pain points, fatigue, suffering, and flare ups.

Some mentions of treatments, networks, support groups and even diet are also included here.

Combined with the qualitative data present, we know that this is an area where there are clear and deep concerns. If you know how to help alleviate those concerns, you get to take the driver’s seat in communication because you know what concerns your audience most.

You know your markets greatest needs or wants, you increase your chances of helping them.

#3 Search Engine Traffic

By now it shouldn’t be a secret to anyone trying to run a successful online business that Search Engine Traffic is some pretty valuable traffic!

In fact, according to a recent study done by Forrester Research comparing the European Nation to USA when it comes to Consumer Trust, search is trusted far more than social media is.

Now, I will openly admit that we “could” consider brand or product recommendations in social media a leader, but how many of your friends are actively out there pushing brands on their Facebook or Twitter Accounts?

That’s not their job, it’s a marketers job.

So, as a marketer (even of your own business) – your job is to deliver those recommendations and reviews through the channels that consumers trust most.

With search falling immediate behind recommendations and reviews, I think it’s safe to say this actually means SEARCH still rocks.

Besides, as of this moment, search engines are still keyword driven.

Even the internal search engines inside social media are keyword driven.

In fact Facebook recently started delivering BING results using it’s internal search. They’ve gone beyond their own internal fortress.

Essentially this means that you MAY want to be in the BING index as much as if not more than Google now…but it’s still too early to tell how that will pan out exactly.

(I personally dislike that feature.)

I want to search WITHIN Facebook when I search. I don’t want to BING OUT!

Now without going into too much more detail on how search works, which is better and why you want to make it a priority for your business…

Another point I feel necessary to make here is that despite all the excessive hype that Social Media is the new bee knee’s for marketing – it STILL has yet to be proven to myself and many of my colleagues that Social Media Traffic produces more revenues than search does.

YES – I said it: Search Traffic Still Produces Most Of The Revenues Online!

How do we know this, well all research groups that take the time to measure this have report this. In addition, my colleagues and I work with thousands of businesses globally combined and we see it every single day ourselves.

I think that alone is scientific enough proof for us to still consider Social Media a “lost leader” in the grand scheme of where we look to gain the highest ROI’s.

Yes, I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news on that one – because believe me, I too find that Social Media is way more fun to do, it is quite often easier to engage on and also in many businesses it is the source of the highest engagement. I also know that for many reasons that impact search – you actually do want to be using Social Media.

But here’s the truth that we must all accept for the time being….

ENGAGEMENT DOES NOT MEAN REVENUES!

When social does convert, it may convert higher because of the engagements themselves, but it doesn’t do it often enough to list it as a revenue leader yet, that is just a fact.

PLUS in my experience you have to work just as hard to get Social Media activity happening as you do search activity and yet Search still outperforms Social Media in most businesses!

So the moral of the story is this…

While we’ve only scratched the surface as to why Keywords still matter; we cannot deny that they do.

We have an obligation to the success of our business to learn just how valuable keywords are to us. Not just for these three reasons but also beyond them.

Keywords can impact your products, product packaging, product pricing, positioning, promotions, communications, content strategy and truth be told your revenues as well.

To learn more about the magic of keywords, please join me online June 10, June 17^th and June 24^th; pre-registration is required. http://keywordmagic.eventbrite.ca/

AUTHOR: With esteemed titles such as CEO, Author, Speaker, Mentor, Trainer and Instructor over the last 18 years it’s easy to understand why Cijaye DePradine has become a recognized leader in the Integrated Marketing arena. She specializes primarily in Online Traffic and Conversions and uses keyword research to guide much of her client successe.
www.CijayeDePradine.com

OK, let’s get to the heart of the matter.  Why do some emails work like gangbusters and why do some sound like the echo of an empty room?

The professionals know that copy sells, and good copy sells way, way better.

When asked what makes for a bestselling email most amateurs point to a “killer subject line”… one that cant’ be ignored.  While that is true, it’s only one piece of the puzzle.

The truth is that there are 7 key concepts you need to get right to create a winning email for your online business.

#1: Are you using ONE main concept or idea?

Here’s the problem, you learned somewhere along the way that if one offer is good, then two is better. And if two is good, then 5 must be better.  If 5 works, then why not 12?

The trick of it is the human brain has a problem with complex problems.  Deciding which item to read, follow, and click on is a challenge when you have 12 items in front of you.

If your reader is anything like you, they get an email and have to deal with it FAST. Make it easy for them.  Give them one concept to see, consider, and deal with.

When you’re planning your email.  Pick ONE thing and ONE thing only… then make your email about that.

 #2:  Is your subject line compelling?

Don’t be clever, funny, cute, boorish, or use double meanings. Those just dont’ work.

Instead if you can appeal to a readers self-interest, and do it in 45 characters or less, you will get the opens.

Appeal to my greed, vanity, fear, pride, or any other emotion and you will have a compelling subject.  The good news is most subject lines do a poor job of this so you WILL be able to stand out.

eg. How to reverse bone loss in 6-months without dangerous meds…

#3:  Is your content interesting (and short)?

Make your content interesting by writing the message to one person the way you’d explain it in person… and you cared about it.

Be excited!  Be enthusiastic!  Be human! Readers like that and respond to that.

After 2,500 email campaigns our testing has shown that short emails work better than long emails at getting a click. It’s harder to be succinct and clear but it’s worth it (in the form of better results).

#4:  Is your message or offer clear?

We’ve covered short but I have to make clear a separate category.  Clarity trumps almost all other considerations in your email.  If you have to stand on your head to come up with a clear message or offer, do it.

#5 How are you using benefit statements?

I’m on hundreds of lists… and I hardly EVER see a benefit used.  Here’s how you tell if you are using a benefit.  Tell me your message.

“We have a new website.” Now ask yourself, “So What?” The answer to the “So What” question is a benefit.  Especially if the benefit is something good for your reader.

Try it.

 Statement:  Here is a copy of The Professional Email Marketer’s Checklist

So What?

Benefit:  So you’ll be able to write emails the way the professionals do.

So What?

The Real Benefit:  So you’ll get better results.

6.  What is your you vs I count?

Once you write your email count how many times you use the words, “I, me, mine, our” vs “you, you’ll, your, you’re.”  You’ll soon find you talk about yourself too much.

Remember to write to and about your reader.  They really pay attention when you are focused on them.

7.  What is your call to action?

Every single email should have a call to action in it.

We love call to actions for two reasons.  Your reader needs to know what to do next and you need to be able to measure and see that your email worked.

A clear, well phrased, compelling, call to action always gets better than a weak call to action and WAY better than none at all.

In Conclusion

Every time you sit down to plan and write an email campaign, pull out this checklist.  You’ll soon notice your results are consistently better than before.  You’ll be sending clear, compelling emails with powerful call to actions…that get people opening your emails and clicking.

Who writes the best emails you’ve ever seen? Can you add any tips to this email marketing best practices list?

AUTHOR: Mitch Tarr is the head email marketing consultant at ZinMarketing, an email marketing agency that has an incredible track record helping businesses increase sales and customer loyalty with email. Get the report – “10 Surefire Ways To Use Email To Increase Your Bottom Line” at  ZinMarketing.com

If you look at your website traffic report and 80% of your traffic from Google search…you should be scared as hell!

OK, OK. Be calm and read along.

The pie chart on the right is an all too common example of the sources of traffic I see for most online businesses.

If the biggest slice of your pie looks similar to the chart on the right – you’re business is almost entirely reliant on ONE marketing channel…search.

“What’s wrong with that” you ask?

What happens when Google suddenly changes it’s algorithm like it does every 6-18 months and your website drops off the first page and you go from basking in the free traffic sunshine to being on the dark side of the moon?

Like many of the entrepreneurs I know who’ve been on the receiving end of that spanking, you’ll drop to your knees and plead, “Why, why Google are you punishing me!”

Then you’ll sell you car, downsize your house, layoff some employees and take a pay cut. Not to mention, spend every waking hour trying to figure out how to get back in the search god’s good graces.

(WARNING: Side effects may included excessive wearing of pajamas and bathrobe while spontaneously blurting out obscenities about Google, pandas and penguins.)

I know too many online business owners who got “fat and lazy” (read, complacent) living off Google who are now feeling the burn after a 90% drop in traffic when with the latest Panda and Penguin update.

What The Smartest Online Businesses Do

If you’re basking in Google’s sunshine right now, take a second to pat yourself on the back and buy yourself a hero cookie. THEN, realize nothing – good or bad – lasts forever and get to work.

Here’s what you should do starting today:

1) Build Your Email Subscriber List

Web traffic comes and goes so start grabbing some of those visitors and building an opt-in email subscriber list.

When you build a list of people who look forward to receiving tips, news and offers from you – you’re in control of your revenue.

In time, your email will become one of your greatest profit centers and a valuable business asset, but only if you…

2) Bond With Your Subscribers

Collecting emails and jamming promotional emails down their throat isn’t going to work out too well for you, as anyone with an email account can tell you.

Be different from most businesses and provide as many helpful tips and advice people can put into action right away.

That’s a sure strategy to make people feel all warm and fuzzy inside when they think of you.

3) Go Beyond Google

Extend your gaze past the cow pasture. Search traffic represents less than 5% of the available traffic on the Internet.

Look into diversifying your marketing into different channels to one of the multitude of ad display networks, buying banners on targeted websites, sponsored ads in newsletters, ad swaps, Facebook ads, guest blogging, etc…

If your website only has one major source of qualified visitors – you’re building your business on a one legged stool. Don’t be surprised when you fall off and do a nose dive.

Oh, and Google won’t pick you up, dust you off and tell you it’s going to be OK . It’s just not into cuddling.

Unfortunately, it’s prison rules and Google runs the cell block. So plan your prison break and diversify your sources of traffic, today.

Summary

Getting traffic from Google is awesome. I’ll take as much as I can get, thank you very much. But what happens to the sales of your online business if you get slapped or someone kicks out the plug at Google? If 80% of your traffic is from the big G – you’re F’ed!

Take the money your earning from the free traffic love your enjoying and invest into multiple streams of traffic.

You’ve been warned.

OK, have a question, another idea on how to increase website traffic from other sources, or just want to call me Mr. paranoid? Share your comment below.

IF NOT, spread this warning by clickity clacking the social share buttons

“Do you want more traffic or more money?” 

That was the million dollar question my SEO friend asked when I shared a goal for one of my websites.

My mother always told me that when a millionaire search engine optimization (SEO) expert and entrepreneur asks you a question that could make a million dollar difference in your business…you shut your mouth and listen.

(OK, mom wasn’t that specific – she just told me to shut my mouth.)

One of my friend’s websites gets a pathetic 1000 visitors a month yet the monthly income from it is in the 5-figures per month range.

(5-figures is $10,000 PLUS per month for those of you working that out in your head right now)

Contrast this with one of my sites that gets a fairly respectable 85,000 visitors a month in free traffic from the search engines but the traffic is harder to convert into sales than to get my little girls to eat broccoli.

(With time, testing and tequila I’m confident I’ll crack the code on that website….When I do I’ll share all the gory details about what worked and what didn’t.)

Why the difference in sales?

The difference in revenue between these two websites is the keywords they’re ranking for. Let me explain…

Having been in his niche market for over 10 years my SEO friend knows which keywords make money and which don’t. So he focuses his search engine optimization efforts on ranking for keywords that have high buyer intent. I on the other hand, employed the old “spray and pray”  shotgun approach – blindly ranking for any keyword that I could.

More traffic doesn’t always mean more money. When it comes to search engine marketing – I like to say…”the cash is in the keywords.”

The 80/20 Rule of Keyword Gold

I’ll bet you that 20% of your keywords give you 80% of your revenue. That’s always been the way it’s been for me and any client I’ve consulted. In fact, it’s often more like 7%.

Good old Pareto’s 80/20 Law.

Sometimes it’s the search intent behind the keyword that makes it more profitable, sometimes it’s the competition, sometimes it’s your sales letter or your landing page, etc…

Whatever the reason, some keywords will make you far more than others.

What Are Your Money Keywords?

This is painfully obvious but a concept I find myself explaining over and over to beginners, experienced internet marketers and online entrepreneurs!

Your money keywords are the ones that…wait for it…turn into paying customers and moneyyyyyyyyy!

Shuzam!

3 Steps To Finding Your Money Keywords

If you’re website is setup using Google Analytics with Ecommerce Conversion Tracking finding your money keywords is as simple as analyzing your historical data.

If don’t have analytics setup or are not tracking sales conversions (wagging my finger), here’s exactly how to uncover your money keywords.

Step 1) Keyword Research

Thorough keyword research is the foundation of  your search marketing campaign. I can’t emphasize the importance of this step enough.

The Google Adwords Research Tool is a good place to start. For the settings, I select only the countries that I want to advertise to. I also set the match type to “exact match” not broad or phrase…exact. The logic behind this is that I want to know exactly what real people are searching Google for so that when I start driving traffic with Adwords I know EXACTLY which keyword phrases are turning into sales. Those 20% of the keywords that turn into sales will be the exact phrases I’ll optimize my website for.

TIP: If you’re on a tight budget you may want to stick to keywords with 3 word phrases and up. Generally, they are less competitive and a cheaper cost per click. One to 2 keyword phrases tend to be more expensive.

Step 2) Find your competitor’s money keywords

The chances are pretty good that some of your competitors are spending their hard earned money on pay per click campaigns. If they’ve been in the game for a while the chances are good that they know what the money keywords are.

If they are spending money to advertise for a keyword they’re likely making sales or generating decent leads that become customers. Do you think it’s a good idea to spy on them and discover which keywords they’re spending money on?

Make a list of your top competitor’s sites. Then get yourself a copy of Keyword Discovery or SpyFu (love the name!) to find out the terms that your competitors are using to drive traffic. You may be surprised by some of the terms they’re paying for.

TIP: Keep in mind that your competitors are either very smart or very stupid with their money.

Step 3) Buy pay-per-click (PPC) advertising

How much money should you invest in PPC? It could be $50 or $1000. The amount will be different for every market depending on the cost of a click.

But you need to invest enough money as it takes to get enough clicks and sales to clearly identify which keywords pay and which are pathetic.

Keep in mind, every dollar you spend to uncover your money keywords today is a dollar you save by not wasting your time, money and energy trying to rank for it tomorrow.

TIP: Remember to have conversion tracking setup so you know how many sales each keyword is getting!

Step 4) Keep the best keywords and ditch the rest

The “best” keywords are the ones that make you money. That is, unless you enjoy blowing your money on keywords that don’t turn into sales. If so, have at ‘er.

Five, ten or twenty percent of the basket of keywords you use will deliver 80% of your revenue in the test.

MISTAKE: I know someone who swears Google Adwords is a waste of money for her business, yet because she doesn’t have conversion tracking setup, she can’t tell me how many sales she’s got or didn’t get for which keywords. (She’s a dear, dear friend of mine but that makes me want to ____ < fill in the blank)

Step 5) Optimize your website for your shiny new money keywords…with confidence!

I find that I can throw myself into a project with 100% energy and enthusiasm if I’m confident something will work.

There’s nothing worse than timidly tip toeing into a project – holding back time, money and resources because you’re afraid it may not work out.

When you know which keywords turn into sales for your business – SEO becomes exciting. When you know that every minute you spend working will give you higher rankings that will send buyers streaming into your website and money tumbling into your account?

Do yourself a favour (Correct spelling…I’m Canadian), stop blindly chasing traffic and put your SEO efforts where the money is…by ranking for money keywords.

Otherwise SEO is an expensive, time consuming and sometimes very frustrating hobby…like golf.

And ask yourself, would you rather have a bunch of cool rankings and traffic or would you rather have more money?

OK – Do you have any other ideas on how to find profitable keywords?  Share them in the comments, below.

Why would anyone sell a lifestyle business that automatically earns the founder $200,000 to $300,000 per year?

• Cashing out to fund retirement
• Building the war chest to fund new ventures
• Distraction & focus. Although a business my “run itself” they often need care, attention and some upkeep…just like a home or car. If the founder is busy with other projects “upkeep” can distract from their other goals.
• Finally, boredom. Some business owners just get bored with their market and/or business and want to move on to other challenges.

So, why is Penny Halgren selling How-To-Quilt.com, the website she founded 8 years ago that now generates $200,000 – $300,000 per year while she kicks her heels up? Sounds like a pretty awesome cash-cow to me…Has she lost her marbles?

Peek inside the mind of a successful entrepreneur and find out why. 

Penny shares HER reasons for selling her golden cash-cow in the video below…

Why Would You Sell a $250,000/yr Lifestyle Business?

 [ Business For Sale: If you are interested in buying Penny’s online business, www.How-To-Quilt.com,
including 3 accompanying websites, contact us here.

What would you do?

If this was your business what would YOU do? Hold, sell or grow it?

When I met John Schroeder at seminar I was speaking at he told me how his first website had just flopped and how he had no business ideas.

How do you from no good business ideas to making $12,000 per month, working 1 hour a day selling a piece of software to the teeny weeny real estate market?

John Schroeder sells software to the real estate investor niche at RealProspect.com. He shares:

• Why his first web business was a hideous disaster and how you can avoid making the same, simple mistake.
• Exactly what he would tell his brother to do if he were starting an online business today.
• Why “push button & get rich quick” is a crock of  boiled and what you should really focus on to be successful
• etc…

How did John Lawson go from 1 crappy YouTube video to building 3rdPowerOutlet.com, an online store that sells millions of “urban accessories” like bandanas?

1. Why John doesn’t rely on “free traffic” to grow his online store and why diversified traffic is key?
2. Why a brand is important if you want to increase your online sales?
3. A stupidly simple design tip he used to increased sales +20% in his online store
4. How this tip keeps people on his site longer and why that’s important
5. How he plans on cranking up sales even higher
6. Where he would start over again today if he wanted to make money online?

[ Jason Bax : Marketers often debate about the sales benefits of pretty vs "ghetto" design and pro vs amateur video.
Which do you think sells better...pretty or ghetto? ]

TIP: Want to know how to best serve people? It’s pretty simple…Ask them what they want.

How? Ask them verbally, in an email, write a blog post or guest blog post and read the comments, post a question in a forum or post a survey…

Is your head spinning with information overload? If you tell us where you’re stuck in your online business you’ll help us create the most kick _ss, no-fluff articles, training and courses customized for you.

How much does free traffic cost?

If you said, “Nothing! It’s free…Duh!”

…Then you must also believe in unicorns and Santa Claus.

It’s universally agreed by gurus, internet consultants and newbies that traffic from search engine rankings is “free traffic.” But is it really free?

In this video I walk you through my most recent search engine optimization (SEO) campaign, by the numbers.

Although in it’s early stages, I’ll show you:

1) How much my highly geo-targeted “free traffic” SEO campaign cost to generate $500 in sales

2) How to spot the kind of people you should NEVER listen to (fakes, frauds, incompetents & con-artists) and why if you want a healthy business

3) How I could have made 100X more money, faster if I used ____ traffic tactic.

Jason Bax shows you the real cost of “free traffic” from his own search engine optimization

Still think “free traffic” is really free or have another example from your own experience? Share it below in the comments.

I can always be convinced and love a good debate. Bring it on!

[Want to learn how to drive staggering amounts of traffic in the
shortest amount of time with online advertising?  Watch this video]

Penny Halgren was in a dead-end job when she started www.How-To-Quilt.com with zero experience and built it to $200,000 to $300,000 per year in online sales.

Big companies often overlook small markets because they are…well…just too small. But those same small markets can be “big” business for small entrepreneurs, like Penny, who just want to “start something” online.

The Internet, like no other time in history, has made tiny niche markets viable by lowering the cost of reaching customers as well as extending that reach to a larger, global market.

Penny says…

“The joke I have with my kids is, if I still own this [website] when I die, the only way to stop the money from coming in is to take it down.”

1) Learn the staggering amount of visitor traffic a tiny niche market like quilting generates for How-To-Quilt.com  (HINT: I almost fell out of my chair)

2) The one tactic Penny employs that makes it impossible for her to NOT make money even if she willed it to her kids and they did absolutely nothing. (Anyone can swipe this tactic for their own business)

3) Peek inside Penny’s $250,000/yr home based operation to find out exactly how she setup her business with zero employees and how she removed herself from the  day-to-day tasks to focus on the activities that make money.

4) Why she hasn’t even scratched the surface in terms of traffic and sales and where she’d invest her money & time to grow her business.

THIS BUSINESS IS FOR SALE: If you are interested in buying Penny’s online business,  www.How-To-Quilt.com, including 3 accompanying websites, contact us at Internet Marketing.

[Jason Bax : Does Penny's success in this niche market surprise you?
Does it change how you think about niche markets? Do  you have
any questions about how she built her business? Share below...]