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Archive for May 19th, 2009

How You Can Instantly Tap Into An Unlimited Source Of Content For Free!

Are you looking for dynamic automatically refreshing sticky content to spice up your website? If you are a webmaster youll know how difficult it is to create fresh content to attract your subscribers and new visitors to your website. Paying freelance writers can cost you a fortune when you are just starting out and dont have site revenues to fund expenses and writing the articles yourself takes way too much time and takes you away from other important tasks like actually running the site and making sales happen. Luckily theres a littleknown but extremely easy tool that you can use to instantly jazz up your website and provide your traffic with valuable information. In fact you might have heard of this tool before. Headline syndication aggregators XML format? Sound familiar? Yup Im talking about RSS Feeds.

If you havent heard about RSS Feeds or what they are I strongly urge you to print out this article go to a quiet corner where you wont be disturbed and literally devour every word of the rest of this article. Not only will it probably save your business but it will revolutionize the way you think about the Internet. And if youve come across RSS feeds before or used them then skim through the next section to refresh your memory seriously there is a lot of useful information that you might be missing out on and then dive into the meat of this article which will show you how to set up RSS feeds on your website to display dynamic selfupdating content with very little effort.

What Is RSS?
RSS stands for Rich Site Summary although other terms such as RDF Site Summary which emphasizes the file format and Really Simple Syndication which highlights the main selling point of RSS are also useful in defining RSS by the book. However bookish definitions dont always explain things very well. What really is RSS? RSS is a platform over which a webmaster can instantly deliver summarized information about the latest / most important content on his website. This summary is usually a list of headlines and snippets the headline will instantly inform the reader of what this new article or page contains and the snippet usually the first few lines of the article is to further entice the reader into visiting the website or to simply give the reader more information. RSS has evolved into a commonly accepted XML standard and many websites now use RSS Feeds XML files containing the summaries to publish updates about themselves. From the webmasters point of view an RSS feed is meant to allow visitors and subscribers an easy way to keep themselves abreast of fresh content on their website without having them visit the website first. Additionally an RSS Feed also allows the reader to preview this fresh content thus letting them decide immediately if the new article / content is interesting to them or not. All in all RSS Feeds have the main purpose of enhancing user experience. Keep that last point as we go through the rest of this article it is an underlying mindset to making RSS Feeds work effectively.

Using A RSS Feed
As an Internet entrepreneur one of your most valuable tools can be a RSS Reader. This is essentially an aggregator a collection of RSS Feeds that you can add or remove from different websites that you are interested in. A typical RSS Reader would include RSS Feeds from news sites sports sites and perhaps a few niche sites such as SEO forums blogs on SEO etc.. The main purpose of this software is to keep you informed of the latest news and content on websites that you are interested in. If you have used My Yahoo! or Bloglines youve probably used RSS Feeds already. These are online RSS aggregators you get to choose from numerous websites and within minutes you can have your own launchpad for knowing everything thats happening in your niche in the world or in sports. As a first step to understanding how RSS Feeds work Id suggest that you use at least one RSS Aggregator either an online RSS tool or RSS reading software like SharpReader and subscribe to a few RSS Feeds to learn how it works from a users perspective.

Marketing and RSS
Using RSS Feeds websites can:
* Attract more customers / visitors.
* Keep subscribers informed of new developments
* Allow subscribers to instantly learn of new articles content and products on their website.
* Reduce the load on the subscribers inbox by reserving newsletters for important news special product offers etc.

As a webmaster you can use RSS Feeds to your advantage. Since blogging became insanely popular over two years ago RSS Feeds have become mainstream. In other words no matter what your niche theres a good chance that youll be able to find a few authority sites that publish RSS Feeds thus syndicating their latest headlines. How can you use this? By providing your visitors relevant selfrefreshing content in the shape of the latest news by using RSS feeds from nicherelevant websites. Now Im not saying that you should cover your whole website or even one whole page with RSS Feeds. Such practice is frowned upon by search engines and will actually get your website banned from every single search engine index! RSS Feeds are meant for headline syndication not for content scrapping. Instead you could use headlines from the top 3 forums in the weight loss niche to show the latest discussion threads on one side of the News page of your own weight loss website. The rest of the page would of course be covered with information i.e. latest news about your own website. Or you could put a news ticker on your politics blog to not only give your blog a look of being updated but to also provide your readers with relevant useful information. If you sell sports goods and own an online store you could run a sports news feed on your main page to attract the attention of your visitors and give your website a more authentic look and feel. There are many different ways you can use RSS Feeds to add value to your website. Make sure though that you are merely using these Feeds as icing on the cake and not as the whole cake itself.

Finding RSS Feeds
Finding RSS Feeds is easy; there are several RSSspecific directories and niche search engines for you to browse through. However the surge of blogging in the last two years has meant that any RSS search tool is inundated with blog spam. This makes it a bit harder to find RSS Feeds that you can actually use. Ive listed a few resources below that can help you get started in your search for finding relevant RSS Feeds.
* Bloglines
* BlogPulse
* Daypop
* Feedster
* Findory Blogory
* Gigablast Blog Search
* IceRocket Blog Search
* PubSub
* Technorati

Once youve found the RSS Feeds of your choice its time to find out how to set them up on your website.

Setting up a RSS Feed to Display on your Website
Internet Marketers are a particular breed; were always looking for an easier or quicker way of doing things; not necessarily shortcuts but just ways to work smarter. Its the same with RSS. When I first came across it I immediately went to Google and not only picked out a tool that could help me syndicate my own website so I wouldnt have to spend time learning XML but I also found several tools that I could use to display RSS Feeds from other websites onto mine! These tools are ridiculously simple and Id fully suggest that you try them before venturing into learning how to display RSS Feeds on your webpages through code.

If your website is in PHP you can use the following software:
CaRP: This software also has a free version which displays a simple ad in the middle of the news display saying something like these news headlines brought to you by CaRP. Try it out; its easy to use and will teach a lot about managing RSS Feeds.

There are JavaScript alternatives available as well in case your website uses plain HTML. BUT using javascript would sort of defeat the purpose of using an RSS feed as search engines cannot read javascript. It appears completely invisible to them.
Jawfish: Like CaRP Jawfish also has a free trial which is once again easy to setup if you can follow stepbystep instructions.
FeedRoll: Another JavaScript alternative is FeedRoll this is perhaps the easiest to use of the three mentioned here but it offers less flexibility and choice of feeds compared to the others.

Of course if you want more options or have ASP or something on your website go to your search engine of choice and type in How to display RSS Feeds on my website to get a quick listing of articles tutorials and more tools to help you out.

RSS is an amazingly versatile platform that can be used from anything as simple as running a news ticker to something as topical and timesensitive as providing weather alerts to affected areas. In fact any information that is:
* regularly updated
* time sensitive
* new

can be a good candidate for a RSS Feed. The key here is to remember that there are always new uses for information and technology its just a matter of pinning them down.

About the writer:  If you would like to learn more internet marketing strategies for optimizing the amount of money you make online you can get a free copy of any of our best selling courses. Just tell us where to mail it and we’ll send it straight to your front door. Go here: http://www.bradcallen.com

Writing For People And For Search Engines

So you’ve decided to get a website that’s optimized for search engines. You’re no dummy. You want your website to show up any time a search is conducted in your area of expertise. Who can blame you? But wait. Be prepared for twists and turns ahead.

The Bible says “My people perish from lack of knowledge.” This is also true in the technical world of search engine marketing. Your lack of understanding of how search engines find websites can be detrimental to your success. In effect you could lose your website investment and lose again by not being at the top of the engines later. If your website is built and written correctly you will experience a positive return on your website investment that pays dividends for years to come.

Before you start correcting the website content created for you by The Marketing Shop or any webmaster experienced in SEO make sure you have a firm grasp of search engine optimization. If you have a question about something that looks peculiar ask your designer before you spend too much time fretting. Chances areif it’s on your websiteit’s there for a purpose.

Writing a website is a delicate balance between pleasing people and computers. Strike the right balance and you’ll find your website at the top of the search engines converting your website traffic into loyal clients. Miss the mark and your site will be in no man’s land without a word to say.

Here’s a few things to know about search engine optimization before reading your website content for the first time:

Keywords are Paramount. If your website does not have the keyword content that people are using for search it will not show up in search results period. This is not quantum physics. Computers are machines. They can only pick up text. It’s crucial that we analyze what people are typing into the search engines and build your website content accordingly.

Keyword Research is Necessary. The Marketing Shop performs extensive keyword research for all our web marketing clients. We want to know exactly what people are typing in what into the search engines to find products and services like yours. Based upon our expertise in search engine optimization we determine the best keywords and phrases to optimize on your site. We have many different calculations that we use to determine which keywords to optimize for and rest assured we’ve done our homework on the best keywords for the current development phase of your website.

Headings Must Be Search Engine Optimized. The headings of your website impact your website search engine optimization. It is important that they read in a precise way in order for you to “score points” with the search engines and rank higher in search results. There are at least three levels of headings h1 h2 and h3. If you’re keywords aren’t here your page won’t be optimized.

We try to maintain a balance by writing headings that are search engine optimized and compelling for the reader. A headline sets up the structure of the page and entices people to read further. We try to do both wherever possible.

Your Page Layout Must Be Search Engine Optimized. Everything about your website must be optimized for search or you may lose valuable opportunities to gain new customers. Our websites have generally the same layout because our research has shown the layout to be most effective for SEO. While there are probably many better ways to layout your website we prefer the way that the search engines prefer in effort to attract website traffic.

Your Navigation Will Make or Break Your Search Rankings. The navigation on your website is integral to your website for a variety of reasons. First it contains links that help the search engine spiders get to where they need to go on your site. Second it contains keywords that help your website get indexed for search queries.

We strive to create intuitive and easy to use navigation systems that are search engine optimized. Much thought goes into the creation of your navigation. Though it may seem strange your navigation is built for search engines and people. Whenever possible we will add keywords and key phrases to each and every link of your navigation. Here’s some bizarre things you may encounter on your SEO navigation:

Repetition Keywords: It’s important to put keywords everywhere including the navigation system. Not only do the keywords score points for being there but the link itself scores double points for linking to the page it’s linking to.

RePhrasing of Terminology: Sometimes we will need to breakdown the way you phrase something in order to make it match with what people are searching for in the search engines. If our research shows that people are not searching for a given term we will change it to suit the search queries of the customers you want to win.

Localization is A Sticky Situation. Many of The Marketing Shop website clients are those seeking web marketing in a local vicinity. We do our best to bring you customers only from the area you request. However there are times when our keyword research concludes that people are just not searching for your local area and we have to optimize more broadly. If this is the case rest assured that targeting the broader area will still render results in your local area due to our expertise in local web marketing.

Each Page is Only Optimized for One or Two Phrases. The most successful web pages for search engines are optimized for only one or two keyword phrases. That means the title is about one thing and the page contains the same keywords sprinkled throughout with plenty of links reflecting the same keywords too.

Images are Invisible to Search Engines. If you were expecting a website to be a leadgenerator that has more visual appeal and aesthetic stimulation please reconsider. Images are invisible to search engines. Studies also show that people want information when they come on the web as opposed to a colorful “website brochure.”

Content is King. Content is king for a variety of reasons including for search engine optimization for website conversion enhancement and for inclusion into Google.

Search Engines: Search engines can read only text. It makes sense to keep fresh relevant content on your site for search engine crawlers.

Website Conversion Enhancement: People are on the web to get information not to read brochures. The more information you provide for them the “stickier” your website becomes and the more people will bookmark your site and rely on it for pertinent information. See article on web content.

Also people who get free and valuable information from your website are more likely to rely and depend upon you when they’re ready to purchase goods and services. It’s a “give before you get” mentality that really works. Offer information and your website visitors will reward you with loyalty.

Another way good web content affects your website’s conversion capabilities is by showing your clients how you operate. Your web content is very telling as to the goods and services you provide. If you skimp on your content and your competitor does not your competitor will win the business. Your prospects may wonder why you’re not offering adequate information. Do you not know what you’re doing? Do you have something to hide? Will you skimp later? It’s best to just ante up the info immediately.

Google has strict requirements for its top search result contenders including inclusion in the DMOZ. The DMOZ is a human edited directory that requires unique and informative content as a barrier to entry. We’re in the Information Age time to step it up and provide useful information.

The World is Changing and Your Customer is Well Informed. Why bother creating websites that are valuable to our website visitors? Because your customer is different today than ever before. Information is readily available to everyone. The person who gives out information most efficiently is the one people will rely on to do business with in the future. Customers are well informed savvy and able to get information at the click of a mouse. We need to step out of the box and cater to the new consumer.

SEO Sites Can be Tacky. There are websites out there that try to capitalize on knowledge of search engine optimization by adding keywords flagrantly and abusing the system. The Marketing Shop will never do that as we rely only on ethical search engine optimization techniques. We care more about people than we do about search engine rankings. The only time we’ll put machines over people is when it’s very important to the overall SEO success of your website. Other times we try to appeal human visitors most of all.

Conclusion

Before you get started make sure you understand what it takes to get to the top of the search engines. Good foundational knowledge in SEO will help your site be more successful and save your web designer and SEO professional a ton of headaches in trying to get you to understand what’s what. Please understand that The Marketing Shop will do nothing to your website without having a good reason for doing so. Please ask questions before you get frustra.

About the writer:  http://www.greatpromotionsite.com