El título y la descripción de nuestros anuncios es el primer contacto ( y en ocasiones último ) que el usuario tiene con las  empresas anunciantes.

Todos sabemos que cuando un usuario teclea una palabra clave en el buscador, se generan resultados orgánicos de búsqueda, así como resultados esponsorizados. Ahí es dónde entra en juego el trabajo de un buen Ad copywriter. ¿Pero, cuáles son los factores que inducen al usuario a pinchar en nuestros anuncios? ¿Cuáles son las características que hacen que algunos anuncios tengan un Click Through Rate ( CTR ) más elevado que otros?

A continuación se detallan un número de técnicas, conocidas y nuevas, que han sido suficientemente  probadas y que funcionan. Aún así, debemos ser conscientes de que cada Website es único y la personalización vende. Este informe no pretende ser una referencia a seguir, sino simplemente aportar ideas de qué es y de cómo mejorar el copy de nuestros anuncios.

Antes de empezar, quizá deberíamos hacernos unas cuantas preguntas:

-    ¿ Ofrece tu anuncio un incentivo a seguir leyendo?
-    ¿ Qué podría añadir a mi anuncio para hacerlo más intrigante a la vez que creíble?
-    ¿ Activa tu anuncio una emoción del usuario en relación al producto o servicio anunciado que invite a la acción?
-    ¿ Presenta tu anuncio una afirmación que haga al cliente asentir con la cabeza?

Títulos y Descripciones que llaman la atención

El título es lo primero que el cliente potencial ve en tu anuncio. Debe inmediatamente despertar su interés para que siga leyendo el resto del anuncio y haga clic en el mismo.

Una de las técnicas  probada como más es la de la especificidad.

Siempre que sea posible  menciona el término de búsqueda en el título.

El usuario de Internet está buscando el término que introdujo en el motor de búsqueda. Si dicho término aparece en el título ( con la ventaja añadida de que aparece en negrita ) es muy probable que el anuncio destaque sobre el resto e induzca al usuario a pinchar en él.

Con Yahoo Search Marketing y Google Adwords disponemos de los títulos dinámicos y la Keyword Insertion, características que pueden ayudarnos en este punto.

Debemos tener en cuenta que disponemos de muy poco espacio y tiempo para llamar la atención del usuario.
Un buen título y descripción pueden no sólo llamar la atención, sino comunicar un mensaje completo a una audiencia específica y animar a seguir leyendo más ( forzando el clic )
En esencia, un buen T&D ( Título y descripción) debe prometer alguna clase de beneficio para el usuario, a cambio del valioso tiempo que está dedicando a leerlo.

Existen diferentes tipos de copy que puedes utilizar para alcanzar estos objetivos:

T&Ds  Directos – Van directamente al quid del la cuestión, sin ningún tipo de juego o retoricismo innecesario. Pueden establecer una proposición de venta directa:

Blusas de Seda Natural – 30% de Descuento
Libro de Cocina Gratis

T&Ds Indirectos – Al contrario que los anteriores, utilizan la curiosidad para    provocar una pregunta en la  mente de los usuarios, que se resolverá en la descripción o  tras hacer clic, habitualmente se utilizan dobles sentidos.

El Cebo Fresco Funciona Mejor
Aprenda como captar clientes online.

T&Ds con estilo de noticia -  Siempre que el anuncio implique una noticia o un hecho que queramos presentar como noticia:

Introducción de Windows 7 en España
Entrevista Exclusiva con Fernando Alonso

T&Ds con la fórmula Cómo: – Los anuncios del tipo How To, son lo que mejores resultados obtienen en el mercado anglosajón.

Cómo Escribir Anuncios Que Venden
Cómo Perder 12 Kilos en un Mes

T&Ds como pregunta -  Las preguntas pueden despertar interés. Debe ser una pregunta con la cual el cliente pueda empatizar o que quisiera ver contestada, contestación que el usuario buscará a través de un clic:

¿Quién Más Quiere Hacerse Rico Online?
¿Todavía Trabajando?
¿Quieres unas Vacaciones Gratis?

T&Ds imperativos -  Transmiten al cliente lo que debe hacer. La primera palabra debe ser un verbo fuerte que lleve a la acción. Recuerda que nuestras guidelines no permiten la utilización de exclamaciones.

Suscríbase a Cosmopolitan Hoy.
Cúrese Ud Mismo.
Ponga un Renault en Su Garaje.

T&Ds testimoniales -  Contar historias puede despertar la empatía del usuario. Implica a una tercera parte que ya se ha beneficiado del producto o servicio anunciado.

Como Perdí 20 Kilos
Yo Estaba Sólo y Aburrido
Como Gané Mi Primer Millón

T&Ds que divulgan información -  El género humano tiene cierta tendencia a querer disponer de información que el vecino no tiene. Podemos utilizarlo para nuestras creatividades con palabras de tipo : El secreto:

El Secreto para Obtener Ese Préstamo
El Misterio de los Mayas Revelado
Lo que los Brokers no Cuentan

T&Ds comparativos -  Los comparativos tienen mucha fuerza vendedora, observando la política de no superlativos de YDM!, aún podemos utilizar fórmulas comparativas del tipo:

Mejor Que un Mando a Distancia
Más Pequeño Que una Moneda

T&Ds que proclaman lo increíble -  Siempre despiertan cierta curiosidad en el usuario con una alta probabilidad de que quiera saber más al respecto (haciendo clic , por supuesto ).

Adelgace Sin Ejercicio
El 99% lo Hace Mal
Consiga 1000€ de la Nada

T&Ds que generan confianza – Si la información es verdadera es bueno utilizarla para generar confianza en el usuario:

25.000 Clientes Satisfechos
Más de 20 Años de Experiencia
Recomendado por Fernando Alonso

T&Ds con listas -  Los listados implican una jerarquía de calidad. A la gente le gustan las listas y lo que hay detrás de ellas.

Las Siete Fórmulas del Éxito
Los 12 Destinos Ideales Para Este Verano
Las Cinco Cosas Que Tu Casa Necesita

T&Ds como un profesional -  Todo el mundo quiere hacerlo todo como un pro, y nosotros, por supuesto, lo aprovechamos a la hora de escribir nuestras creatividades.

Habla Inglés Como un Nativo
Consigue Ese Look de Superstar

T&Ds líbrese de un problema -  Identifica un problema y propón la solución, si es de manerá fácil y rápida mejor.

Líbrate del Acné para Siempre.
Recuperación Rápida de Datos

La mayoría de las  técnicas de T&Ds arriba mencionadas son fácilmente combinables entre sí para multiplicar su efecto.

Ten en cuenta que escribir anuncios atractivos y que induzcan al clic implica que el lector no sólo debe estar convencido sino motivado. El usuario debe convencerse de que tienes algo que ofrecer que verdaderamente merece la pena y debe tener una razón para seguir indagando.

Escribir anuncios persuasivos requiere arte y técnica al mismo tiempo. El arte de seleccionar las palabras precisas y  la técnica para poder hacerlo en escasos caracteres. Y recuerda:

-    El anuncio debe ser útil para el lector.
-    Debe generar en él un sentimiento de urgencia.
-    Debe convencerle de que el beneficio que obtendrá es de alguna manera único.
-    Y debe hacerlo de manera específica.

Algunos consejos que ya todos sabemos y que pueden ayudar a conseguir esto ( combinándolos con las técnicas de T&Ds anteriormente mencionadas ) son:

-    No reinventes la rueda. Si una cosa funciona, funciona. Aprovecha el marketing creativo millonario de tus competidores en los medios.

-    Analiza la competencia. Tanto en Yahoo, Google o Bing. Una búsqueda del producto o servicio para el que estamos creando el anuncio, así como de otros similares, puede darnos muchas ideas.

-    Escribe anuncios positivos y en voz activa que sean concisos y de fácil comprensión. Utiliza verbos y adverbios que inviten a la acción. Utiliza lenguaje directo y prescinde de retoricismos. Utiliza palabras sencillas en frases cortas y busca la manera más directa de decir las cosas. El sentido del humor puede ser peligroso y fácilmente malinterpretado en tan poco espacio, prescinde de él.

-    Se consciente del mercado al que te diriges. Revisa la Web  y fíjate hacia quién va dirigida, no es lo mismo crear un anuncio de móviles para chavales que para empresas. Utiliza lenguaje en el copy acorde al público al que va dirigido.

-    Resalta en el anuncio las ventajas que la compañía tiene sobre los competidores y que la hace destacable. Si es una marca conocida, ponla en el título, si tienen experiencia probada, o beneficios que su competencia no tiene ( ofertas, reparto a domicilio, etc ) también sería conveniente resaltarlo.

-    Menciona beneficios en lugar de listar características. En lugar de decir: Silla de oficina Ergonómica, puedes decir : ¿Dolor de Espalda en la Oficina? Nunca Más

-    Crea una urgencia en el usuario, que le fuerce a la acción, fórmulas del tipo, Sólo este Mes. Sólo Ahora, Últimos siete/dos días de promoción funcionan.

A continuación se enumeran un listado de frases llamativas  que pueden servir de inspiración a la hora de escribir nuestros T&Ds.

-    ¿Quién Más Quiere ___?
-    El Secreto de ___
-    El Método Que Te Ayudará a ____
-    Maneras Poco Conocidas de ____
-    Líbrese de ________ para Siempre
-    Una Manera Rápida de ___
-    (Haz algo) como ( ejemplo )      ——–  Habla Inglés Como un Nativo
-    Ahora Puedes _____
-    Siéntete Orgulloso de ____
-    Lo Que Todos Deberían Saber Sobre ____
-    Danos ( tiempo ) y te Damos ( resultado )
-    Si no _____ Ahora, lo Lamentarás Más Tarde
-    El Modo Profesional de ____
-    Descubra lo Fácil Que ____
-    No Tiene Que Ser un _____ Para ___
-    12 Razones Para ___
-    10 Trucos Para ___
-    100% _____
-    Tres Maneras de ____
-    Acceda Ahora
-    Descárguelo Ahora
-    Alternativas a _____
-    Siempre _____
-    Una Respuesta a _____
-    Y Que Precio
-    Sólo Disponible Ahora
-    Sea el Primero en ___
-    Antes de Que sea Demasiado Tarde
-    Mejor que ____
-    Elija Entre ____
-    Compare Entre _____
-    Cree su Propio _____
-    Directamente desde _____
-    Necesita _____ ?
-    Elaborado con _____
-    Más Fácil Que ____
-    Todo Sobre ____
-    Todo Para _____
-    En Exclusiva en ____
-    Experimente ____
-    Viva _____
-    Disfrute ____
-    Sienta ____
-    Comprobado: _____
-    Solo Durante ____
-    Para Amantes de _____
-    Desde ____ (precio )
-    Recomendado por ____
-    Gran Selección de _____
-    Como Puede ____?
-    Ideal para _____
-    Importante: _______
-    Mejore su ______
-    Innove su _____
-    _______: Funciona
-    Última Oportunidad para ____
-    Aprenda Como ____
-    Mira Como ____
-    Aproveche las ____
-    Obtenga Mejores Resultados con ____
-    Incremente _____ con ____
-    Nuevo
-    Ahora Sólo ___
-    Ahora con ____
-    Oportunidad de ____
-    Perfecto para ____
-    Preparado para ____?
-    Reserve Ahora su ___
-    Ahorre Dinero con ___
-    La Solución para ____
-    _____ Paso a Paso
-    Pruebe Ahora ____
-    El _____ del Futuro
-    La Alternativa a ____
-    La Solución para ___
-    La Verdad Sobre ____
-    Insatisfecho con ___?
-    Le Aseguramos que ____
-    Por qué ____
-    Quiere ___?
-    La Oportunidad para ___

Para terminar: Una fuente de inspiración en un clásico moderno:
Los 4 Trucos para Escribir Bien de ERNENST HEMINGWAY:

Mucha gente de negocios de hoy en día , cuando se le presenta la tarea de escribir con propósitos de marketing, se apresuran a decir:

¡Eh, que no soy Hemingway!

Y, ¿Quién mejor a emular que Hemingway a la hora de  escribir de manera concisa, clara, simple y contundente huyendo de florituras literarias innecesarias?

Así que, veamos lo que Ernest puede enseñarnos en cuanto a escritura efectiva se refiere.

1.    Utiliza frases cortas.

Hemingway es famoso por su estilo minimalista escribiendo lo indispensable y prescindiendo de adjetivos y retoricismos innecesarios yendo directo al grano.
Quizás el mejor ejemplo lo vemos cuando Ernest fue retado a escribir una historia completa en seis palabras y escribió:

En venta zapatos de bebe, nunca usados.
( For sale. baby shoes, never used )

2.    Utiliza párrafos cortos.

Exactamente eso.

3.    Se Positivo, no negativo.

Hemingway no es precisamente conocido por ser la alegría de la huerta, por tanto, ¿qué quiere decir con se positivo? Básicamente consiste en decir lo que una cosa es, sobre lo que no es.

4.    Utiliza lenguaje contundente.

¿Por qué escribir 2 palabras cuando puedes escribir una? ¿Por qué utilizar palabras que se quedan a medias cuando existe un equivalente contundente y gráfico que refleja exactamente lo que quieres expresar. Domina el lenguaje y utilízalo en tu beneficio.

I write one page of masterpiece to ninety one pages of shit, I try to put the shit in the wastebascket. ( mencionado en la Entrevista que Hemingway concedió a F. Scott Fitzgerald en 1934 )

Ahora tienes la oportunidad de descubrir el Hemingway que hay en ti, empieza a escribir anuncios que convierten.

Happy Copywriting!

Artículo por Edgar Sánchez.  Edgar trabaja como Search Marketing Specialist en Yahoo! Search Marketing en la oficina europea central de Dublín, anteriormente fue CEO con su propio proyecto en Arco Comunicaciones, Edgar escribe en su blog, en ALL Online Marketing y otras páginas y puedes seguirle en Twitter . Puedes utilizar libremente este artículo manteniendo el pie y los enlaces en él.

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66 min video about a Twitter marketing experts hosted by Parnassus Group,

Some interesting points that may help your marketing strategy also some great twitter tools the panelist use.

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Q: What should we know before our company goes after a niche market?

A: Most companies, whether big or small, direct their marketing to select niche audiences. Even the country’s largest manufacturers target carefully pinpointed market segments to maximize the effectiveness of their programs and often tackle different niches for each product group. Hewlett-Packard, for example, markets all-in-one machines that print, fax and scan to segments of the home office market, while targeting larger businesses for higher-priced, single-function units.

Niche marketing can be extremely cost-effective. For instance, imagine you offer a product or service that’s just right for a select demographic or ethnic group in your area, such as Hispanics or Asians. You could advertise on ethnic radio stations, which have considerably lower rates than stations that program for broader audiences. So your marketing budget would go a lot further, allowing you to advertise with greater frequency or to use a more comprehensive media mix.
Taking on a new niche can be a low-risk way to grow your business, as long as you keep in mind several important rules:

1. Meet their unique needs. The benefits you promise must have special appeal to the market niche. What can you provide that’s new and compelling? Identify the unique needs of your potential audience, and look for ways to tailor your product or service to meet them.

Start by considering all the product or service variations you might offer. When it comes to marketing soap, for example, not much has changed over the years. But suppose you were a soap maker and you invented a new brand to gently remove chlorine from swimmers’ hair. You’d have something uniquely compelling to offer a niche market–from members of your neighborhood pool to the Olympic swim team.

2. Say the right thing. When approaching a new market niche, it’s imperative to speak their language. In other words, you should understand the market’s “hot buttons” and be prepared to communicate with the target group as an understanding member–not an outsider. In addition to launching a unique campaign for the new niche, you may need to alter other, more basic elements, such as your company slogan if it translates poorly to another language, for example.

In instances where taking on a new niche market is not impacted by a change in language or customs, it’s still vital to understand its members’ key issues and how they prefer to communicate with companies like yours. For example, suppose a business that markets leather goods primarily to men through a Web site decides to target working women. Like men, working women appreciate the convenience of shopping on the Web, but they expect more content so that they can comprehensively evaluate the products and the company behind them. To successfully increase sales from the new niche, the Web marketer would need to change the way it communicates with them by expanding its site along with revising its marketing message.

3. Always test-market. Before moving ahead, assess the direct competitors you’ll find in the new market niche and determine how you will position against them. For an overview, it’s best to conduct a competitive analysis by reviewing competitors’ ads, brochures and Web sites, looking for their key selling points, along with pricing, delivery and other service characteristics.

But what if there is no existing competition? Believe it or not, this isn’t always a good sign. True, it may mean that other companies haven’t found the key to providing a product or service this niche will want to buy. However, it’s also possible that many companies have tried and failed to penetrate this group. Always test-market carefully to gauge the market’s receptiveness to your product or service and message. And move cautiously to keep your risks manageable.

Kim T. Gordon is an author, marketing coach and media spokesperson-and one of the country’s foremost experts on entrepreneurial success. Her newest book, Bringing Home The Business, identifies the 30 “truths” that can make the difference between success and failure in a homebased business. Kim offers one-on-one coaching by telephone to motivated individuals, providing practical marketing advice and budget-conscious strategies unique to your business. To receive free how-to articles and advice, get information on coaching and appearances, read a book excerpt, or contact Kim, visit http://www.smallbusinessnow.com, a huge site devoted exclusively to marketing your small business.

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Take on account that this list is not extensive and is probable to grow, feel free to comment with other websites you think should be included:

• ClickBank
• PayDotCom
• Commission Junction
• Rocket Profit
• Share a Sale
• LinkShare

General Advertising Networks

This is a list of networks providing multiple types of advertising and pricing methods.

• Google AdSense
• AdBrite
• Yahoo Publisher Network
• ValueClick Media
• Komli
• Blue Lithium
• Burst Media
• Advertising.com
• Tribal Fusion
• Casale Media
• Clicksor
• Chitika
• Targetpoint
• RevenuePilot
• Search123
• 7 Search
• ABC Search
• Kanoodle
• Searchfeed
• BidVertiser

Niche Advertising Networks

• ShoppingAds – merchant listings
• Text Links Ads – text links
• Kontera – in-text ads

iPhone Advertising Networks

• Medialets
• AdMob
• AppLoop
• PinchMedia
• PurpleTalk

Mobile Advertising Networks

• Admob
• Quattro
• DeckTrade

Advertising Network Optimizers

• Rubicon Project
• Pubmatic
• YieldBuild

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Writing effective web copy begins with an understanding of
what the goals of your web site are. Are you trying to get
your visitors to purchase something or have them sign up
for your newsletter? Remember you are trying to get someone
you can’t see and have never met take a step towards
building a relationship with you or your company.

1. Create a customer profile – try to find out what are the
needs and desires of your visitors. Here are some examples
of questions you could ask:

Are they young, middle aged or senior?
Are they primarily male or female?
Are they financially secure or budget-minded?
What gets him or her excited?
What are his or her most pressing concerns?

Try to brainstorm a list of topics that might interest your
target audience.

2. Create a Unique Selling Position (USP) – This is a
statement of 2-3 sentences that explains why you are
different from everybody else. This is the unique factor
that sets you apart from your competition. Make this the
first thing your visitor sees when they arrive on your home
page.

3. Focus on benefits – most web users want to find the
information about the product or service they need as fast
as possible. If they land on your site, they want to know
how they will benefit from buying your product or
subscribing to your ezine. You will need to answer that
question as clearly and concisely as possible or you will
lose that visitor.

4. Use the inverted pyramid style – provide a summary of
your information by clearly communicating the direction of
your discussion. Use informative headings and subheadings
with a paragraph of 4 to 5 lines that supports them. You
only have a few seconds to grab your visitors attention.
Most will simply scan for the information they are seeking.

Use bulleted or numbered lists, boldface or colored font
to emphasize the points you wish to make. Include links
at the end of your paragraph (or within the text) to direct
visitors to other pages of your site for more in-depth
information.

5. Write in an informal or personal style – write in a
unique way that differentiates you from other small
businesses in a similar business or niche. It doesn’t have
to be elaborate or super-creative. You simply provide a
style that gets the attention of your visitors.

6. Keep your sentences simple – you are not writing to
impress. You are writing to communicate. You want to
pre-sell your product or service, therefore write as if you
are talking to a 13 year old.

Don’t use large words but opt for strong verbs over weak
ones. Use the active voice instead of a passive one. i.e.
Instead of “a good score was achieved by the team”…say “the
team scored a season high”. Speak “to” but not “at” your
visitor. Keep your sentences short and snappy.

7. Include searchable keywords – use targeted keywords in
your web copy that will allow the search engines to find your
site. Include these keywords in your meta tags, links and
file names also.

8. Eliminate the fluff – don’t waffle on in your writing.
You will only bore your visitors and they will click
elsewhere. Try to remove filler sentences that contain
phrases like “for those of you” and “all of you”.

9. Proof read your web copy – errors in your web copy give
the impression of being unprofessional or sloppy. Read the
copy aloud to yourself or get someone else to proof read
it. Often they will find more errors because they are more
objective.

Use the spell checker but don’t rely on it. Often it
doesn’t pick up all incorrectly spelt words. Print a
copy of your content. It’s easier to find grammatical or
spelling errors on a hard copy.

10. Take a break – revise your web copy after taking a
break from it for several hours or a few days. This allows
you to see it from a different viewpoint. You may find a
better way to say something to further improve your copy.

11. Use images sparingly – images should only be used if
they relate and support your web content. If not, they will
only distract the visitor from reading your web copy. Too
many images will slow down the time it takes for your
visitor to load your site in their browser.

12. Use effective navigation – your navigation bar should
help visitors easily find the main sections of your site.
Read: How to Create an Effective Web Site Navigation Structure

Writing effective web copy is the key to converting visitors
into buyers. Getting 1000s of visitors to your web site doesn’t
guarantee sales. Reading your web copy should pre-sell your
product with the words you use. Once you achieve this, your
web site will become very profitable.

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1. Make it easy to subscribe. If you have a brick-and-mortar shop, you might have users sign a guest book to keep them up-to-date on events and special deals.

On a website, invite users to enter their emails for future discounts or promotions. Remind them you will not sell their information.

2. Use a transparent “From” name. A message from a trusted brand — The Apple Store, for example — is less suspicious than something from “admin[at]apple.com.”

3. Don’t waste the subject line. This increasingly separates opened messages from trashed ones.

If you are a news site, use it for eye-catching headlines: “Google Avails Free Wi-Fi to US and Canada.” Marketing a product? Use the subject line to share news about discounts: “Stay sunny for spring. Half off floral handbags this week.”

4. Avoid abbreviations, slang and hyperbole. You don’t want to sound like a Viagra vendor. Phrases like “Make money fast!” and “$$$” are also verboten.

It may help to study your own spam to see what words or phrases convince you an email is spam in the first place.

5. Minimize imagery. An email whose graphics take too long to load is a time-waster. And some people opt not to display images in their email settings.

6. Label the imagery you have. This way, people reading your message in text format know what they’re missing if it happens to be valuable.

7. Include a visible call-to-action above the fold. Make it clear what you want the reader to do. Sign a petition? Visit the website for more information? Buy now? If you are ambiguous, they will not take time to guess.

8. Personalize the message. This is crucial if the email begins with a greeting (“Dear [reader]” or “Hello [reader]“). Some marketers avoid using a greeting and signature completely. This isn’t such a sin if it is appropriate to the message.

9. Give the reader a clear way to contact you. This is why email signatures are useful. If you omit one, give them open means of contact somewhere in the message.

10. Get in their address books. Remind them to add you to their whitelists or invite them to forward your messages to friends.

11. Nix attachments. Some people will not open an email with an attachment for fear of getting a computer virus.

12. Avoid purchased lists of emails. Chances are high that those people already get plenty of messages they don’t want from marketers who bought their names. You are more likely to generate conversions from people who want to hear from you.

13. Make it easy to unsubscribe to your messages. No matter how hard you try, there will always be someone who wants out. Don’t give them grief over it.

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All tools listed below fall under the following criteria:

1. they are all useful for SEOs;
2. they are all web-based (no desk-top ones or FireFox extensions so far);
3. they are all free.

Table of Contents:

• Backlink Analyzing Online SEO Tools;
• Keyword Research and Brainstorming Tools:
  • Keyword Brainstorming Tools;
  • Social Media Based Keyword Analyzers;
  • Online Dictionaries and Glossaries that Help with Keyword Research
• Domain Name Online Tools;
• On-Site Analysis Online SEO Tools:
  • On-page Keyword Prominence Research Tools;
  • SEO Browsers;
  • Page Size and Load Time Checkers;
  • Additional Site Diagnostics Tools;
• Search Related Online Tools:
  • Keyword Rank Checking Tools;
  • Tools that Compare Different Search Engine Results;
• Website Traffic and Demographics Report.

1. Backlink Analyzing Online SEO Tools

More backlink checkers:

• Backlink Watch (checks Anchor text);
• Domain Backlinks Checker (sorts the results based on the first- and second-level domains);

2. Keyword Research and Brainstorming Tools

Keyword Brainstorming Tools

Tools that help expand your keyword lists with synonyms, related terms and keyword phrases.

Social Media Based Keyword Analyzers

Use social media sites to explore how people use and tag your core term, its popularity and related words.

Online Dictionaries and Glossaries that Help with Keyword Research

3. Domain Name Online Tools

Dynamic Tools for Domain Name Brainstorming:

Additional domain name checkers and generators:

• DomainsBot (dynamically checks the availability of domain names for 6 TLDs: .com, .org, .net, .info, .biz, .us);
• InstantDomainSearch (dynamically and really fast checks the availability of domain names for 3 TLDs: .com, .org, .net);
• DomainNameSoup (suggests alternative terms for your core term, has a handy typo generator, adds words before and after your term);
• Suggest Name and (DotoMator) – has a fairly large database of available prefixes and suffixes that are sorted out in categories;
• NameBoy (generates the list of domain names based on your primary and secondary (optional) terms).

4. On-Site Analysis Online SEO Tools

On-page Keyword Prominence Research Tools.

Online SEO tools that help analyze keyword on-page usage.

SEO Browsers

One more great tool to see text-only version of the site: LynxView

Page Size and Load Time Checkers

Additional Site Diagnostics Tools:

• Bad Neighborhood Tool (scans external links on a page and detects ‘bad links’).
• Search engine SPAM detector (detects a few types of black-hat tricks: hidden text, doorway pages, keyword stuffing, etc).
• (Recently improved) Trifecta Page/ Site/ Power tool (allows only one search per day for non-pro SEOmoz members) – offers an exhaustive report on your site/ page power and ways to improve it.

5. Search Related Online Tools

Keyword Rank Checking Tools

Online tools that check any term(s) rankings across various search engines.

Most valuable rank checkers:

Note: the tools may be checking different data centers, so the results can be slightly different from tool to tool.

More rank checking tools:

• Search Engine Keyword Tracker & Keyword Ranking Tool;
• Ventio Google Position;
• SEOChat Keyword Position Check;
• Searchenginegenie Rank Checker;
• Mike’s Ranking Reports.
• KeywordEnvy (checks up to 5 terms at a time and represents data in a handy graph.

Tools that Compare Different Search Engine Results

More search related tools:

• Pagerank Search allows to sort Google search results by Google PageRank or by relevance.

6. Website Traffic and Demographics Report

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Youtube is the second highest trafficked site globally according to alexa. Quantcast estimates 60 million unique viewers per month with a community base of predominately gen y viewers. Emarketer surveys recently did a research document on video viewer ship according to age and what they found is that the gen y generation views about 5-6 hours per day. The household incomes of these viewers are all pretty even from 0-100k +.

Youtube is optimized for 18 different languages and has a large presence in the asian market place. Youtube is the 4th most trafficked site in the united states so the power behind reaching your audience within America will be found on Youtube. To learn about more of the history of Youtube the wikipedia page does have some valuable info even though I hate giving wikipedia pages out it is useful.

Looking at the Youtube Algorithm:

Making it to the home page on Youtube is going to give your video the most amount of exposure. However, you don’t need to hit the home page to get your million views, it would sure help.

To do this you are looking at roughly a 15 day window of marketing efforts put into Youtube. This can be stretched out however depending on how you are trying to make it to the home page ( top favorites, top views, top comments etc.).

Keeping it Fresh

There is a freshness factor to your videos and it is much more difficult to get videos honors and movement within the search algorithm if the video is old. You would be better off removing that video and re-submitting it if you are looking to produce honors in a given field and to have a chance at hitting the home page with greater ease.

Keeping it Real

Factors to take into consideration when submitting a video is going to be your profile authority. How many friends does this profile have, how many subscribers and how many channel views. The reason this is important is to get more initial exposure and more views using a power profile will help you out greatly. Submitting a video on a orphan account with no friends or subscribers may raise some suspicion over at the Youtube headquarters. Make your profiles look natural and build them out.

Power of Views, Ratings, Favorites and Comments

Youtube has honors for each type of action that can be taken on a video. Honors for comments, favorites, ratings and views. As a marketer if you focus on anyone of these and get a substantial number of votes, favorites, ratings or views in a day you will see honors pretty quickly.

Remember the category you submit to and the type of channel you created has a lot to do with your success with getting honors. Gurus tend to get honors pretty easily within their channel area.

Tips for marketing on Youtube:

There are going to be a lot of tools Youtube has created for marketing your video. I will share them with you along with some other techniques we use.

1. On videos there is a share option. You can share by email address or with friends you have attached to your account. Remember the more friends you have the more people you can send to. Also you can leverage social media sites when you try to share as well.

2. Bulletin Boards: By posting a message this video will be displayed to all of your friends on your profile.

3. Invite to subscribe: This feature is available in your account once you request a friend invite. See the post I did here.

4. Add friends: Adding friends is a powerful way to gain exposure on Youtube. See my latest post here.

5. Make sure your video appeals to the community

6. Sharing videos with email: We like to go viral with our marketing campaigns for videos. Send videos out to your friends and family with a link to the video and an encouragement to share it.

7. Use StumbleUpon.com: Submit the video to video.stumbleupon.com and then import your email addresses and send to your friends on stumble upon.

8. Social Media it: You can leverage digg and other social sites like facebook and myspace to drive traffic to videos.

With the tools and tips I have listed out you will absolutely see success with your video marketing campaigns.

Good luck and I will see you all next time for the next in our series on video marketing – global countdown!

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Many marketers are concerned that when they write articles, or use syndicated articles (from Ezine Articles, etc.) on their site, they could run into a duplicate content situation. If this were true, article syndication sites could not exist! That exclusion would take a lot of important information off the Internet.

Here’s what you should know if you syndicate your content or use other people’s articles on your site, straight from Google:

“If you syndicate your content on other sites, make sure they include a link back to the original article on each syndicated article. Even with that, note that we’ll always show the (unblocked) version we think is most appropriate for users in each given search, which may or may not be the version you’d prefer.”

That’s not exactly the answer we were hoping for. But it’s a big Internet world, and that’s what needs to happen to ensure people continue to get good search results. The “version” Google refers to can also mean the difference between a site’s text version of the article (used for printing), or the HTML version. For regular syndicated articles, usually Google can determine who posted the article first, and will give that site the top listing.

When you use other people’s directory articles on your site, it’s also a good idea to use a leading paragraph or two to introduce the article and an ending summary paragraph. A little originality at the beginning and at the end can go a long way in getting you into search results — especially if you develop your comment wisely and use a few targeted keywords.

So, what are some steps you can take to protect your site from Google “Penalties?”

1) Stay away from regionalized pages – These sites have hundreds of pages selling the same thing, but each page targets a different city in the U.S. If only the city is different, it’s likely to be captured as duplicate content spam.

2) Avoid exact page replicas, with only the keywords changed – These pages are most often created using a template and automation tools. The software replaces selected keyword phrases with other phrases.

3) Be wary of affiliate doorway sites – These are merchant sites that make it easy for an affiliate to join their program. The affiliate just fills in a few affiliate link boxes, and a site is created for them. Unfortunately, every affiliate who uses this technique for the merchant gets the exact same page. These sites would be better used as landing pages for PPC campaigns. They most likely will not rank or be shown in search results at all.

4) Remove lengthy copyright text on all pages – Do not put your entire copyright statement on every page. Instead, use a brief summary of it, then link to a full page with more details.

5) Understand your CMS – Make sure you’re familiar with how content is displayed on your Web site.

6) Use 301s – If you have restructured your site, use 301 redirects (“RedirectPermanent”) in your .htaccess file to smartly redirect users, the Googlebot, and other spiders.

7) Continually check for duplicate content – Copyscape is a free tool that you can use if you’re worried that you have duplicate content on your site, or if you think someone else is stealing your content. You simply go to http://www.copyscape.com and enter the URL of the page you want to check. The results you get will show you all the pages in the Google index that contain text that is also on your site.

If you see a webmaster that has duplicated your content, or scraped your site… write to the website owner and ask them to remove your content from their site. If you do not get a response, send the issue to Google under the DMCA guidelines they provide at http://www.google.com/dmca.html.

The point here is that you shouldn’t be afraid to get your articles out there. Each directory or website that hosts your article creates a link back to your site through your Author Reference Box. Those one-way links to your site can only help long-term.

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1. Ranking in YouTube

As you may or may not be aware, YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine behind Google. Those businesses using online video are going to want to maximize their YouTube efforts by employing some easy strategies to gain more visibility.

A few tips mentioned a while back at SMX West include:

- An accurate and descriptive title

- Make sure your description is just that – descriptive. It should be accurate and unique, and use complete sentences.

- Descriptive keyword tags

- Avoid keyword stuffing

It’s best not to overlook the social element of YouTube as well. Active participation on the social level will contribute to your views. And let’s also not overlook the fact that YouTube can actually help you rank in Google itself. Other tips discussed at SMX were:

- Use Keyword Rich Descriptions and Tags

- Include the word “Video” in your titles because people do search for it.

- Use a link for the very first thing in your descriptions.

- Make sure and utilize your thumbnails. YouTube pulls these from the 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 marks. Make them count.

 - Encourage participation by enabling everything.

- use meta data

- use captions and subtitles

- use watermarks

- use Google Maps integration

There is plenty more info about ranking on and with YouTube here, and more tips on how businesses can use YouTube in general from Product Manager Tracy Chan here.

2. Ranking in Google Image Search

Dev Basu at Search Engine Journal has a great post up about leveraging rich media for SEO. He talks about video, presentations, and other things, but he also gives some good tips for images. He notes that one in five searches are image searches, and that alt tags and file name optimization are key. He says, “Other tips to double dip in image SEO include”:

- Enable Google Image Labeler in your Google Webmaster Tools account.

The following clip has a lot more useful information about Google Image Search:

3. Ranking in Google News

Covering a recent Search Engine Strategies session, Virginia Nussey with Bruce Clay notes, “News page views are up to trillions monthly.” More and more people are getting their news online. That’s why the newspaper industry is struggling. I don’t have the hard numbers, but I’m willing to bet a significant amount of people are getting news from Google News. She pulled away these things to keep in mind for Google News:

- Only indexes it once

Google itself posted about some facts and myths pertaining to ranking in Google News searches about a year ago. In the interest of not making this article excruciatingly long (or at least even more so), I will just link to it. But you should definitely read it if you are serious about incorporating Google News into your strategy.

4. Ranking in Google Maps/Local Search

While this one may seem fairly obvious, you need to think about terms a local searcher would use to find your business. They’ll most likely use the city and state in their search, so you’ll want your site to be optimized for those as well as business-specific keywords. 

For example, if you run a record store in Nicholasville, Kentucky, you’ll want to optimize for phrases like “Record Store, Nicholasville, Kentucky”, “CD Store, Nicholasville, KY”,  “Music, Nicholasville KY”,  and so forth. If your business is located in a small town, you may also want to optimize for the nearest larger city. Ryan Caldwell at Search Engine Journal discusses some other tips like:

- Local Groupings

There is some good advice in a thread at the Small Business Brief forum, including a post by A.N.Onym who suggests the following tips for ranking in local search:

- your phone number

- have links pointing to you from local websites and directories

Bill Slawski of SEO By the Sea has a great article about Authority Documents for Google’s Local Search that is a must-read in this category.

5. Ranking in Google Blog Search

Back in ’07, Slawski started a thread in the Cre8asite Forum looking at positive and negative things that can have an affect on your Google Blog Search Rankings. Among the positives he included were:

- Number of RSS subscriptions

- Pagerank

Some negatives he mentioned:

- if posts come in short bursts or predictable intervals

- If posts mostly link to one site

ProBlogger’s Darren Rowse also looked at Google’s Blog Search patent application and pulled some takeaways from that.

Wrap Up

It’s important to note that results from other Google search engines often turn up in regular Google results, in case you need any extra incentive to pay attention to them. This is part of Google’s Universal Search. There are lots of opportunities to get your site found in Google other than just regular web search. And this is just organic stuff. There are certainly paid search opportunities to think about too.

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