The blogosphere is a big and busy world with over 100 million blogs and growing. How do you attract visitors to your blog? Follow these simple tips to drive traffic to your blog. abc
1) Marketing through Facebook:
In today's post we will be discussing how the reach of Social Media network such as Facebook, can be used to promote a Blog or a Website.
Facebook that started in the year 2004, now has over a Billion active users monthly, and over 700 million users daily.
You can imagine the reach of such a platform now!
You can imagine the reach of such a platform now!
Make sure you have a Facebook account when you start promoting your blog or website through it . Here are some of the ways -
In the drop down menu on the top right, you would see an option to Create Page. Once you've chosen the correct category for your site, you can set up a page and start sharing it. The page can contain information about your website, the URL, interesting content, some photos to build interest etc.
Interact with Fans
The most important part of a Facebook strategy is interaction. It requires time and patience to build a fan page and maintain interaction.
Paid Advertising
In the drop down menu on the top right, you would see an option to start Ads. Facebook offers packages that allows the page owners to run paid Ads and promote their website.
Build a Network
Once you've created a Facebook page, you would need to attract people to that they find out about your website. You would need to network with other similar Facebook pages and users with similar interests. You would also need to keep updating your page so that users 'Like' it.
Run Promotions
By running promotions you can encourage people to visit your Facebook page, and consequently, your website. You can create offers, special deals or any form of incentive that would encourage people to visit your page.
Share Images
Facebook is a great place to share multimedia content that could not be placed in your blog or website. For example, a video or a great picture that might be of interest to your readers. Facebook makes it very easy to upload photos and videos, where users can comment on them and share it further for your benefit.
2) Marketing through Twitter :
In today's lesson we will be discussing a way to promote your blog or website through another popular Social Media network.
Twitter
Tweeting about your blog can be an incredible way to reach out and connect with your prospective customer. With over 500 million users, you can find an entire segment who would be interested in reading your page.
Once you have created your account on Twitter, you can start tweeting and find people with similar views and interests!
2) Tweet the link to your blog/website. Try creating short messages that invoke interest in followers.
3) Build a Network. This is extremely important in case of Social Media marketing. In order to reach out to customers, you need to interact, follow, and do anything to add to your fan base
4) Use Images. The more appealing and visually enticing your blog post tweets are, the more they will be interacted with, and the more they will drive back traffic to your site.
5) Promote your Tweets. Promoted tweets are an inexpensive advertising option provided by Twitter.
They can help spread your content to your target market. You can set up the Promoted tweets to target by geography, interests, or even by keywords.
6) Include Lines from your Content. This would give an idea to your followers what your site is about and would drive more relevant users to the page.
Here are some ways that will help you be more effective, targeted and responsible while marketing through emails -
Get the Opt-In
You should never add an email address to your mailing list unless the contact has officially agreed to accept mails from you. If emails are sent to a user without their permission, they may get reported as Spam. You would need to send them an opt-in form and have them subscribe first. That opt-in protects you from getting Spam reports. And the fact that the subscriber took the opt-in means he’s more likely to open your emails.
Set an Expectation to the Subscribers
You would need to tell potential subscribers exactly what they can expect if they join your list. You’ll need to send them a weekly or bi-weekly email with tips and information, for which you would need a complete plan before starting. Set up their expectations so they’ll be aware of your schedule and be waiting for your email.
Be Consistent
Take your time to come up with an identity or theme for your emails which matches your blog. Try and keep everything synchronous, from the color scheme of the layout to the writing style of the email. This way the recipient would know instantly when he would receive a mail from you and would familiarize him with your website.
Call them to action
Keep Links to your page at every reasonable place you have in your email newsletters. The recipient should know exactly where to click if he wishes to visit the website. After all, that’s the reason you’re doing an email marketing campaign in the first place.
Segment you Emailing List
It is advisable to segment the list of email addresses you have as much as possible. You can separate the subcategories by location, age, gender, or any other information that you have about them. This would make the newsletter that you send to them more relevant, increasing the chance that they visit your website.
Ask for Feedback
Be open to both positive and negative comments that your subscriber base will provide. Learn from each and every comment and use the feedback to fine tune your marketing efforts.
Hence email marketing is a great way to win and keep customers, while keeping the marketing costs minimal and manageable. As the e-commerce industry is growing, email still remains tried and true marketing tactic.
So now we have a Website and we need it to be noticed. In today's competitive market, Pay-per-Click or PPC is an important strategy which helps in getting messages sent across to our target audience or relevant customer base.
What is PPC Advertising?
The 3 big PPC systems that are known are - Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing, and MSN
Keywords.
The most commonly used PPC program is Google Adwords.
When a user would type in a word relevant to your business, your text Ad would be displayed (provided you have bid on that word for your Ad).
You are charged if and when the user clicks on your Ad, and hence the name "Pay per Click". The user who has clicked on your Ad would then be re-directed to your Website or Sales page.
You are charged if and when the user clicks on your Ad, and hence the name "Pay per Click". The user who has clicked on your Ad would then be re-directed to your Website or Sales page.
For example
you have a website on popular Phones and their Reviews, and someone is searching for a Samsung phone that he is planning to buy, then your Ad would be displayed to that user, provided he has used one of your keywords.
How to Start running Ads through PPC?
- Build Keywords - To get started, you will first need to build a long list of words and phrases that would help drive traffic to your page. Keywords mean all the words that would describe your business or page, and which a user is likely to use while searching for that product or service.
- Determine your Budget - You will need to decide the amount that you wish to spend for your campaign after seeing how much each keyword will cost you. It is best to keep a balanced budget, since too many keywords would exhaust your money and not less keywords would not drive enough traffic.
- Review Periodically - Once your campaign is running, make sure to check its performance from time to time for effectiveness. This would help you decide if any changes need to be made.
Why should You use PPC Ads?
- Instant Effects - PPC gives your Ad the ability to appear on the top part of Google or Yahoo almost instantly.
- Targeted Marketing - You can target your Ads to a specific country, state or town. You can select your Ads to run in certain languages, or even in specific time zones. This removes unwanted traffic and reduces cost.
- Finding our Customers - PPC shows your Ad only to people who are searching for a service or product that you are promoting. This means that it helps find relevant customers.
- Track Progress - Unlike other methods of marketing such as magazines and billboards, where it can take months to track the progress or see results, you can easily track the performance of the Ads that you run. You can see the traffic on your pages, the clicks, the conversions and many other things.
A Glossary of Pay Per Click Terms
The world of pay per click (PPC) search engine marketing uses terms you don't come across in other types of marketing. Understanding pay per click terminology can help you know what you're paying for and what you're getting in the PPC world:
Broad match: A keyword matching method in which an ad is matched with searches that are similar to the specified keywords
Exact match: A keyword matching method in which an ad is matched with searches that include the exact keyword phrase and nothing else
Pay per Call: Similar to PPC, except that the advertiser pays when the searcher calls a phone number
Click fraud: Clicks on your ads that were carried out for fraudulent purposes
Geo-targeting: Targeting ads to particular geographic regions
Phrase match: A keyword matching method in which an ad is matched with searches that include the exact keyword phrase, though with other words before or after
Content placement ad: A PPC ad placed on a content page rather than on a search-results page; also called a contextual ad
Impression: An individual placement of an ad on a Web page
PPA (Pay Per Action):An advertising campaign in which the advertiser pays when a particular action is completed, such as a sale or a form being filled in
Conversion rate: The number of people at any point who carry out a particular action; in particular, who come to your site and buy from you or provide lead information; a visitor is being "converted" into a buyer.
Keyword matching: Refers to different methods for matching keywords associated with your ads, with the search terms entered by people at the search engines; see also Broad match, Exact match, Phrase match, and Negative match.
PPC (Pay Per Click): An advertising campaign in which the advertiser must pay each time someone clicks an ad
CPM: Cost per thousand ad impressions (the M is taken from the Roman numeral for 1,000)
Negative match: A form of keyword matching in which ads are never matched with searches that include the specified negative keyword
SEM (search engine marketing): Activities designed to generate business through Web search engines; some people use the term to refer specifically to PPC activities
CTR (click-through rate): The percentage of people seeing an ad who click it
Organic search results: Nonpaid search results
Suppose you have a blog on "Hand woven Woolen Sweaters", where you have explained the technique of weaving your own sweaters.
Now since there would not be much competition for keywords related to Woven sweaters, she can easily get front page rankings in the Search Engine.
When links placed within the content are more effective than links in the sidebar or footer. And for obvious reasons, links from related sites are better than links from non relevant websites.
Also you should avoid placing links from spammy or irrelevant websites, which would result in failure in conversions through your page.
The world of pay per click (PPC) search engine marketing uses terms you don't come across in other types of marketing. Understanding pay per click terminology can help you know what you're paying for and what you're getting in the PPC world:
Broad match: A keyword matching method in which an ad is matched with searches that are similar to the specified keywords
Exact match: A keyword matching method in which an ad is matched with searches that include the exact keyword phrase and nothing else
Pay per Call: Similar to PPC, except that the advertiser pays when the searcher calls a phone number
Click fraud: Clicks on your ads that were carried out for fraudulent purposes
Geo-targeting: Targeting ads to particular geographic regions
Phrase match: A keyword matching method in which an ad is matched with searches that include the exact keyword phrase, though with other words before or after
Content placement ad: A PPC ad placed on a content page rather than on a search-results page; also called a contextual ad
Impression: An individual placement of an ad on a Web page
PPA (Pay Per Action):An advertising campaign in which the advertiser pays when a particular action is completed, such as a sale or a form being filled in
Conversion rate: The number of people at any point who carry out a particular action; in particular, who come to your site and buy from you or provide lead information; a visitor is being "converted" into a buyer.
Keyword matching: Refers to different methods for matching keywords associated with your ads, with the search terms entered by people at the search engines; see also Broad match, Exact match, Phrase match, and Negative match.
PPC (Pay Per Click): An advertising campaign in which the advertiser must pay each time someone clicks an ad
Landing page: The page the visitor lands on after clicking an ad
ROI (return on investment): A measure of how much profit you make for a particular advertising investment
CPM: Cost per thousand ad impressions (the M is taken from the Roman numeral for 1,000)
Negative match: A form of keyword matching in which ads are never matched with searches that include the specified negative keyword
SEM (search engine marketing): Activities designed to generate business through Web search engines; some people use the term to refer specifically to PPC activities
CTR (click-through rate): The percentage of people seeing an ad who click it
Organic search results: Nonpaid search results
5 ) Through SEO :
Do you have a blog or a website and want to improve its Ranking in search engines?
Are you looking to increase the traffic and clicks, which would eventually lead to sales?
Then SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the technique that you need to know.
Are you looking to increase the traffic and clicks, which would eventually lead to sales?
Then SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the technique that you need to know.
How Does this Concept Really Work?
Search Engine Optimization helps people who are looking for what you are offering, find you! In other words, it means that if you match the content on your blog or website, to what people are trying to find, then it simplifies the process of bringing traffic to your page.
Let's understand this with an example -
Suppose you have a blog on "Hand woven Woolen Sweaters", where you have explained the technique of weaving your own sweaters.
Now since there would not be much competition for keywords related to Woven sweaters, she can easily get front page rankings in the Search Engine.
But the problem here is that even though her page might get a lot of traffic, it is possible that those people have different goals and simply interested in Ready Made sweaters. As a result, she would have a lot of irrelevant traffic and no sales/conversions.
The trick is to make sure that what you offer, match the goals of your visitors. You can then optimize your keywords and improve your performance.
How Do You Find Such Keywords?
The right way of finding the appropriate keywords is - Research.
It is important to have a small list of high competition keywords, say about 5-10. These words may be in use by a lot of page owners, but would be searched by users often. You can supplement this small list, with a longer list (try up to 30-40) of keywords.
These two should be used in combination to drive traffic to your page and would form your overall strategy
It is important to have a small list of high competition keywords, say about 5-10. These words may be in use by a lot of page owners, but would be searched by users often. You can supplement this small list, with a longer list (try up to 30-40) of keywords.
These two should be used in combination to drive traffic to your page and would form your overall strategy
.
How to Design the Content on your Page?
When you start crafting the content for your blog or website, it is important to pay attention to -
- Page Titles - The title should be eye catching that raises the reader's interest. This is the best way of making a good first impression.
- Keywords - It is extremely vital to pick keywords that are relevant and match the interests of the users looking for the similar product.
- Quality Information - Make sure that what you write is unique and rich in quality. The users will come to your site if they find information that they could not find anywhere else.
- Links - Place links to websites that compliment the content you have provided on your blog or website. This would increase the relevancy and increase the chances of conversions.
Why Do I Need to be Careful with Placing Links?
Links are probably the most important part of SEO, since more the websites that are linked to your page, higher will be its ranking.
When links placed within the content are more effective than links in the sidebar or footer. And for obvious reasons, links from related sites are better than links from non relevant websites.
Also you should avoid placing links from spammy or irrelevant websites, which would result in failure in conversions through your page.
The key to learning SEO is to move with patience. It takes time for Search Engines to update their records, since they have to crawl billions of websites. Implement each of them carefully and the traffic is sure to increase on your page.
The most important thing to know is that there are no shortcuts in this technique. Also what works for one website, might not work for another. So do a genuine research and your efforts will show actual results.
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