I took exception to this comment on E-Marketing Your Website and “Pay Per Click Advertising” on LinkedIn

The author wrote: “This is the number one strategy of all the top producers in this business and can be very tough and daunting, but when done well will generate the MOST leads out of any of your marketing strategies in days. Not weeks or months.”

I wrote just a few minutes ago -

“…au contraire, I disagree with point on #5 for self employed small business owners and those starting out on a limited budget. Pay per click is, at best, a short term solution. You keep paying and paying and paying….

“It is akin to opening a retail storefront years ago. There you rented space for the privilege of working 80 hours a week, hung out a shingle (that you paid your sign maker to do), send monthly checks for your rent and utilities, pay insurance and other business related expenses to the site location (snow removal, cleaning, etc.), pay help, employment taxes, etc. And, if you are lucky to do business, there was, of course, the override on the gross sales to the landlord. Bottom line was everybody else got paid before you did! NO thanks! Been there, done that!

“Although more time consuming, search engine optimization in the long haul is more cost effective and produces far more results. If you do it right at the get go, all the statistics point to better results from Organic (free) search engine marketing. That is unless you want to make your landlord (Google) even more rich!”

Linked in group members of Start-Up Phase Forum can join the discussion.

Any input on the PROS and CONS of using Blogger, vs, WordPress, and hosting on your own site or server etc?

I just added this reply to a LinkedIn discussion thread asking the question in the title. I thought you might be interested:

“Blogger – free platform, can monetize, limited plugins/widgets. Alternate themes , plugins and information available from many sources. (I advise to stay away from Google Adsense.) Blogger, is of course a Google tool!

“WordPress.com – free platform, cannot monetize, loaded with plugins/widgets, great analytics – watch it everyday and can tell what people will be calling about/ordering within days! Video tutorials abound. Open Source.

“WordPress.org – for inclusion on sites or stand alone site through a Web host (mostly paid). Free platform and lots of free and professional themes. Caution: Mostly “blog” face if intending on using as a Website. Professional (fee and non-fee based) themes available.

“Would strongly advise installing it on your desktop to play with it!!!!!

“I have affiliate links to what I think are the two best professional (fee based) WordPress themes, one for blogs, one for a small storefront business site, on my site at http://www.diywebjem.com/affiliates.html Low cost, lifetime upgrades, support, forums, tutorials, and more!

“You want your site to be dynamic, not static (again). That means content must be ever changing so the search demons will constantly be revisiting and looking for new information and backlinks. (Who says search engine optimization is NOT a never ending battle!) If your site is dynamic, you can use a blog, especially WordPress.com, to send traffic there.

“If the site is static, or if you have a developer you must pay or constantly nag to upgrade, keeping it dynamic is much easier through an on site blog!”

I believe your site and mine could benefit from exchanging links!

Did you ever get an e-mail from another Webmaster asking you this question?  It’s an attempt to exchange links or what is often referred to as reciprocal linking.

Just a few days ago CNN.com reported that link building through exchange of reciprocal linking is still an OK way to build rank as long as it is done within Google guidelines.

Google’s official advice: “The best way to get other sites to create relevant links to yours is to create unique, relevant content that can quickly gain popularity in the Internet community.”

But Evan Duffield was quoted in the article as saying:  “To start a new business you need PageRank, but to get PageRank you need links to your service. You have to get the ball rolling.”

Read the complete article named Link exchanges: The poor man’s SEO.

Static Store Front Retailing vs Dynamic Web E-Marketing

I had a discussion about (static) store front retailing as versus (dynamic)  Web marketing with a friend over lunch on Sunday.  He talked about him not getting (static) the right potential customers to visit his location.  Only when the “right” conditions are met does he seem to do even marginal business.  But the Web does not rely on right day, right weather, right foot traffic….

As a former retail store owner I empathize with him and know so well of his lament.  Our woman’s junior size clothing store did an exceptional amount of business for a few brief months.  This was during a construction phase at the Harlem-Irving Shopping Center years ago.  Foot traffic was directed right across our doorstep.

Prior to that, and afterward, we did not have the natural foot traffic.  We were located in what I might call a cul-de-sac off the beaten path.  The traffic walked by but really could not see us hidden there, behind the bushes.

And, as an independent small business, we just did not have the advertising resources to attract enough potential customers.  Our “typical” special sales ran their course and eventually we admitted defeat, cut our losses and closed the store.

I take this into consideration in light of the Chicago Tribune article I cited yesterday.  Consumers are better informed through the Web and are leery of the constant discount sales pitches.  They are saving more and spending less, especially on discretionary items.  One must be unique and creative in today’s economy to attract more potential customers.

That’s what do-it-yourself (dynamic) E-marketing on the Web is all about.  Target a niche market and use your time to advertise with the available free Web resources.  Do this instead of spending advertising dollars or sitting around doing nothing waiting for the customers to walk through the doors (or for you to hit the lotto!).

Learn more about DIY E-marketing.

Search Engine Optimization Lessons Learned from Today’s Chicago Tribune!

I think there are many lessons to be learned about Web E-marketing and business promotion from an article appearing in Saturday’s Chicago Tribune.  The end of the secondary headline caught my attention as did parts of the story.  In the article Sandra M. Jones talks about retailers using special services to promote sales.  She makes some very interesting observations.

“Shoppers are motivated by price more than anything these days….” Sales are everywhere and shoppers “..are tuning out the endless barrage..”  She quotes Theresa Williams of Indiana University:  “…there has to be a new approach rather than just run another sale.”

In this recession a sale is not merely enough.  Ms. Jones continues: “Merchants are putting away their red pens and drumming up novel ways to tout a bargain without cutting into profits.”

She mentions loyalty programs, new and creative ways to get people to shop, and more.  For instance Bottega M, an Oak Park (IL) shop, allows customers to bring in old clothing and hire their seamstresses to do alterations.

People are just not spending the way they used to with unbridled affluence and unlimited credit.  Why the change, other than the recession?  Nancy Koehn of the Harvard Business School says to chock it up to “the rise in consumer information…”  People search on the Web and “…find the best price for just about anything..”  as well as “..the decline of imaginative merchants.”

Read the rest of the story.

As Robin used to say, “Holy Toledo, Batman!”  I am sure we can all learn how to better promote ourselves if we study these principles and apply them.  Dare to be different.  Promote your passion.  Sell what makes you different, not what makes you the same.

Identify and develop a niche market where you excel over all others.  Learn what free tools are available to do it yourself e-market on the Web. Then use those tools to promote your business and drive visitors to your Website.  Learn more about do it yourself Web marketing at our Website.

Dare to be Different to Succeed, A Prologue

I must confess I am a reader of “print” newspapers and magazines.  I prefer them to electronic versions.  Although papers are shrinking more and more daily, I still like washing the ink stains from my hands.

I especially like reading two papers on Sunday mornings while watching Sunday Morning and George Stephanopoulos. The time spent in front of the TV is shorter with DVR recording and fast forwarding through commercials.  However, since the size of the newspapers is smaller, it thus compensates.

In the past there were many times I could not finish the papers until after both programs ended.  This was especially true when there were some really interesting segments.  Now it seems I finish well ahead of the programs.

Where is Andy Rooney?

Later I’ll be sharing a very interesting newspaper article with you which can help with your E-marketing and Web Business.

A Video with Useful Information About Meta Description Tags Straight from Google

Matt Cutts from Google answers the following question in this video:  “In the search results, Google will often display a snippet appropriate to the specific search query – often disregarding the meta description. Is Google doing away with meta description use like they did with keywords?”

He answers that on the contrary, if meta descriptions are useful to the search inquiry, Google actually uses them instead of taking a snippet from the content.  So if you want to have some input into the two lines which describe the contents of your page on a Google search result, heed his advice.  Make your meta descriptions useful and unique to every page on your site.

Our Excel Spreadsheet helps you layout title, description and keywords in your Website’s head section.

My view of basic essentials to starting a Web business.

It started out as a hobby and turned into an avocation.  My quest for organic search engine optimization led to do it yourself marketing to promote Judy’s party business, A-BnC Parties.  Why?  Because I was looking for ways to spend time during retirement.  All this takes is time to learn, then time to implement, then time to tweak.

Most business people, unfortunately, do not have the time it takes.  Now a days, they are too bust trying to stay in business.

I gathered a wealth of information and references through my research and knack to explore intuitively.   Pretty sites even if well optimized, sometimes do not draw traffic nor resulting sales.  What you “think” is a great item or service may not be to your audience.  I also learned than most self acclaimed “gurus” are really not.

There comes a time when everyone must give up perfecting their site and test market.  Get the word out through appropriate channels so people can find you.  Then see if they buy!  If not, reinvent yourself.  That’s what we have done on the Web, several times.

The basic building blocks are -

• determine your niche market through research work,
• construct your site based on the message you wish to convey,
• make sure people can navigate your site easily,
• “sell” your product,
• optimize for organic search results,
• install and learn to decipher analytics,
• market, market, market, market, etc.
• tweak all of the above…

All sites have flaws and people will always be critical.  (I still have not optimized fully myself – but who cares!)  Ultimately it boils down to whether you accomplish your goals, make sales and stay in business.

For more tips and clues, visit my site.

Tools To Analyze Competitors’ Website Traffic

Aashish Malve (in his SEO Column blog) wrote on 2/26/09:

“If you don’t beat the competition using PPC or SEO then you are giving business to your competitors. So, better know the competitor website’s performance and then analyze your online marketing strategy to over shadow them.”

Then he goes on to list more than 11 free sources to help analyze your competition. Read the rest of the article if you are interested in Do It Yourself Search Engine Optimization. For additional hints and tips visit diywebjem.

Can Search Engines See Your Website’s images?

How can a search engine  “see” or read your images or photos when it crawls your site? It cannot, unless you have Alt Tags describing the images.

Alt Tags use words to describe images and other items that cannot normally be read by search engines such as Google.

Is a picture worth 1,000 words?  Maybe, but not to a search engine by itself!

Adults are more attracted to pictures than words. Out attention spans are minimal when reading long articles.  If you add pictures to your content or have a product that is best described with a photo, make sure you include the “Alt=” parameter to describe it.

Optimize your photos and images through DIY Search Engine Optimization tips. More E-marketing do it yourself tips available at DIYwebJEM.