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Why You Need to Understand Latent Semantic Indexing Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) is the underlying root of the entire major search engines' algorithms. There is a complicated Wikipedia version here Why You Need Inbound and Outbound Links On Your Website A website is like a train station, it has visitors that come and go through it to get around on the Internet. Think about it, whenever you visit a website, you click on a link that takes you to the next page that has the information on it your desire. Eventually if you click long enough you get to a web "station" that allows you to visit any website in the world. Why do I get spam emails? It is a question that a lot of people ask.To have a better understanding about why spammers spam, you have to look into the benefits of spam.Just like a Home Burglar, there is a financial aspect to their career decision 99% of the time. Why Are Google Shares Soaring? To understand the success and the focus of Optimum7 Internet Marketing you need to know the answer to this question. It speaks directly to the understanding of the long used phrase “the power of the internet.” What is the power of the internet? Why is Google so important? Why is the stock price $700 per share? What is Social Bookmarking and Why is it a Useful Marketing Technique? Social Bookmarking is the flagship of the web 2.0 movement. The basic concept behind social bookmarking is similar to “Add to Favorites” or “Bookmarks” that you are most familiar with using your web browsers like Firefox or Explorer. The bookmarks you create are stored on your computer though. Social bookmarking allows you to store the information online, so you can access it anywhere, anytime. The difference is that when you bookmark a page within a social bookmarking system, you are allowing your bookmarks to be seen across the web. Websites and User Friendly Web Designs FIVE SECONDS … that’s how long you have to capture the attention of a website visitor. Does your website engender trust, credibility and reliability within 5 seconds? Site visitors are impatient people seeking immediate gratification … they want to ooh and ahh … even before the page is fully loaded. Web Development and Search Engines In the 90’s, when the first websites started to pop up on the web, nobody would have thought that things would get so complicated for the web development industry. Building was pretty easy and self explanatory then. Anybody who knew html and how to use frontpage could build and upload a website. I remember building my first website on geocities and I was so excited when I saw it indexed in Yahoo and Altavista in 1994. We did not have the big Google then. To Outsource or not to Outsource? SEO and PPC Most Asked Question! It’s a legitimate question and has always been. “Should I outsource my Internet Marketing or do it in house?” In my career of almost 8 years, I’ve been asked this question many times. The answer is; it depends Every owner, manager or decision maker wants to select the best solution for his business. However, sometimes that might not be an easy task. There are certain points that must be evaluated thoroughly before making a decision. Search Engine Optimization takes lots of time, effort and patience. I believe it’s in the best interest of companies to outsource online marketing to reliable firms with years of expertise. Here are some very logical reasons why; The Genesis of an Internet Marketing Company About 3 years ago, I purchased a franchise through a company located in Fort Lauderdale Florida that for the purposes of this writing we will call “WebPlus.” WebPlus was originally founded in 1996 and was in the business of providing Internet Services including web design, Search Engine Marketing, Email Marketing and Online Backup Services. The company had achieved varying degrees of success as I was told during the late 90’s during the boom and ultimate bust phase of the internet industry. In 2001, the company morphed into a franchising company that would provide services through a central location for franchisees who would develop local relationships with businesses seeking internet services. SEO – Significance to C-Level Executives C-Level Executives have an important stake in the online business performance of their company websites. However, CEOs, COOs, CFO’s and other top execs are no different than any other top executives and business owners when it comes to their website and “the purpose of it all.” Often they are frustrated that a good deal of company money has been spent on website design and promotion yet the early optimism has faded with time as the hoped-for results in terms of sales, profitability and corporate efficiency just didn’t materialize. SEO Prices – Realities and Myths Search Engine Optimization (SEO), the service, and SEO, what you actually get, unfortunately are all too often mutually exclusive to each other. The primary reason for this is confusion in the marketplace of what you are actually paying for. We all understand numbers. But the buyer, the website owner, does not understand what to expect: SEO Copywriting Services Content is unquestionably the most important factor in achieving high rankings on major search engines. Fresh, unique and original content goes a long way in Search Engine Optimization. Optimum7 SEO Copywriting Solutions gives our clients a head start, taking care of one of the most important factors of SEO. RSS Feeds and How it Can Bring Your Site Traffic and Sales So, what is RSS? (Really Simple Syndication) That must be one of the most often-asked questions we get from our clients. It’s very normal for individuals to dismiss an idea or "glaze over" when they hear aterm such as "RSS" because they basically do not understand what it does. Quality Score – in the Google Algorithm While organic listings are based on relevancy alone, as evaluated and rated by Google’s algorithms, paid search, more specifically, paid search listings also are controlled by relevancy. This may seem counterintuitive when thinking of Paid Search. Paid Search by definition involves a bidding process specific to keywords and basic logic would indicate that the highest bidder would get the highest positions within the Paid Search Listings. However, Relevancy is the most important factor for Google, even as it applies to Paid Search. Google invests billions to make their results more relevant and this extends to its major profit contributor, paid ads. PPC or Organic Search – Which one should I use? PPC aka Sponsored Search is the fastest way to achieve online visibility for relevant keywords. PPC is actually paid advertising specific to keywords. Google’s PPC model is called “Adwords.” Competing advertiser’s use Google’s bidding model to bid for specific keywords. Winning bidders (advertisers) will have their ad (adtext and title) displayed when searchers use the search engine for that keyword. The number of times the ad is displayed is controlled by a number of factors including ad budget of the advertiser, the times of the day the advertiser wishes for the ad to run and the “quality score” of the ad as measured by Google. Don’t worry about Quality Score for now as you don’t need a high score to start. It becomes more important over time and can positively or negatively affect where you are listed within the Sponsored Search area. Paid Search Management and Pay Per Click Explained Paid Search Management is a search engine marketing method where the advertisers pay for every click the network brings to their sites. This method of online marketing has become hugely popular with the introduction of Google Adwords. The early form of Paid Search Management started with banner ads and advertisements on specific industry sites. What makes Adwords so successful is that it’s a lot more targeted because your Ads will only appear if somebody searches for it Optimum7 Introduces SEO Copywriting Services Optimum7 is pleased to announce the addition of SEO Copywriting Services for its clients. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a service that promises to deliver high search engine rankings for targeted keywords. However, achievement of high rankings, particularly for highly competitive keywords, on the major search engines of Google, Yahoo and MSN requires a continuous stream of highly relevant and engaging content. This content needs to be primarily textual content and published both on the website and promoted for publication (syndicated) throughout the web via thousands of online publishing vehicles. Optimum7 Introduces Performance-Based Fees for SEO Services Optimum7 announces the adoption of a new type of fee structure that is contingent on actual performance. The plan is designed to provide Optimum7 clients with the peace of mind that fees they pay for Search Engine Optimization will now include a performance contingency. This contingency provides that any agreed-to keyword failing to rank on at least the 3rd page of the major Search Engines (Google, Yahoo, and MSN) will not result in these fees. No performance = no performance-based fee. The fees start on page 3 and increase based on rank for positions 1 thru 30 for each of the 3 major Search Engines. Optimum7 Internet Marketing Services Optimum7 is an Internet Marketing Company. Internet Marketing is broadly defined as the marketing of products and services using online strategies and techniques to create awareness, visibility, easy access to information, and the necessary communication and utilities to actually transact business. Optimum7 Custom Work As Internet Marketing Experts, and through our consultative processes, we have often encountered unique issues, problems and opportunities, that fall outside of the definitions of our services as described throughout our website. Optimum7 Consulting Optimum7 Consulting is much more than a stand-alone service. It is the way we do business throughout all of the processes and collaborative efforts we are engaged in with and for our clients. Consulting begins with understanding and understanding begins with listening and listening begins with questions. So it is questions that really begin the consulting process to understand the clients past and present situation, the business and marketing objectives, the present and future expectations, the budget to accomplish the objectives, the timeline involved towards accomplishing these goals. Optimum7 Offers Customized Internet Marketing Solutions Optimum7, based in Morristown New Jersey with offices in Miami Florida, offers highly customized internet marketing services for small to mid-sized businesses (SME’s). The company offers online visibility programs to get their clients found on the Internet Search Engines such as Google or Yahoo. Online Branding - Style or Substance? If I had to pick just one, it would be substance. When I refer to style, I am limiting the definition to items such as logo, name and title, public relations, advertising. While these and more are all important factors in creating a look and feel for your online visitors, they are all clearly secondary to substance. So what do we mean when we speak of substance? Substance, in its essence, refers to those elements that create a lasting impression, a unique and lasting “user experience.” In the real world of bricks and mortar, we can all quickly name scores of successful brands. They all have one thing in common … a distinctive and easily recognizable customer experience that is repeatable interaction after interaction, transaction after transaction. Link Quality Versus Link Quantity, Which is Better? This is a great question, with a somewhat complex answer. First we have to explain the reasoning behind the question. It is a fact, that search engines view a link to a website as a vote for the site. Now an even better "theory" is that a link from a web site of the same "subject" is a vote that counts more. That's is the Link Quality theory. If your website in an industry, and another website in the same industry links to you, that is seen as giving better votes for you, than from someone outside the industry. Internet Marketing, A Marathon, this is not a Sprint Ever get the look …The look when discussing intrernet marketing and its potentialwith clients. The look that says “what are you talking about?” The incredulous look about what it really takes to be successful marketing on the internet. Internet Marketing, A Marathon … not a Sprint Ever get the look …The look when discussing intrernet marketing and its potentialwith clients. The look that says “what are you talking about?” The incredulous look about what it really takes to be successful marketing on the internet. Internet Marketing is nothing short of a big race. If you are a brand new website, your competitors already on the web are already ahead of you. If this race were across the United States and we are all trying to get to California from New York, your competition can be anywhere from Ohio to Nevada. So by the time your website is created and launched, your competition still holds a wide advantage in the “race to California.” Internet Marketing Submissions Submissions involve the transmission of certain targeted information pertaining to your website and business across the web primarily related to increasing the promotion value of your website as measured by online presence and, more specifically, search engine presence. There are several different kinds of submissions that Optimum7 includes in its SEO services all aimed at improving the visibility / search engine rankings of the website. The following Optimum7 sub-specialties are all essential to achieving maximum search engine performance: Internet Marketing & Blogs... Is it really necessary? The answer to this question is not ambiguous... Yes!!! If you want to know why and how, I invite you to please read on. If you are interested in a successful website and a successful website equals quality internet marketing and includes search engine optimization, conversion optimization, blogs should be an essential part of the overall website marketing approach. Innovation – Why the Dinosaurs Need the Pirates Recently I read an interview on Larry Page; co-founder of Google, and most of his answers were simply brilliant. He speaks a lot about Innovation and the why there needs to be more risk taking behavior in technology. Risk taking was what leaded to all the great inventions of the last century and it is needed to drive us into the future. Here are two examples of innovation which were brought on by non-traditional means that have changed the way we view the world; How to Dominate a Niche Category This quick tutorial is an overview of the most common way Internet marketers have been able to control a niche category online. When entering a new niche/industry online, the path most website owners take is create only 1 site and build upon that site over time. Most “gurus” know this creates some common problems. The biggest problem is competition: 1 versus thousands/millions of other sites in the industry. Google – SEO Strategic Partner or Competitor Since Google announced its acquisition of DoubleClick, there has been a great deal of angst from SEO Firms and SEO professionals alike. The reason: An SEO Company named Performics was included in the purchase as a part of DoubleClick’s business. SEO companies were concerned that the giant of the industry, Google, would now have a vehicle to unfairly compete with all Internet Marketing Companies by providing “access” to information that is not currently made available to SEO Firms in delivering their Internet Marketing Services to their clients. In addition, there have been many concerns expressed about the cost and price in fear that Google might package, discount or even give away high organic search rankings in special arrangements also not available to competing Search Engine Marketing Companies. Google Search Rankings and the Grocery Store Sometimes a simple analogy goes a long way towards explaining how things work. Search Engines and Search Engine Marketing are often times confusing to consumers and businesses alike. What is Search Engine Marketing? How does it work? What can it do for my business? Google PageRank Doesn't Matter. It’s Dead. If your PageRank has dropped, it's not a sign that you are going to start dropping in search engine results. You're already screwed! Google PageRank is dead. If you rely on your PageRank to determine whether you are doing a good job of internet marketing, you are basically looking at how you were doing 3-6 months ago (it’s in the rear view mirror). Find The Right Pay Per Click Management Optimum7 Pay Per Click Management focuses on the sales and profitability of our clients’ websites. Our clients come to us for this service because they are seeking a focused approach to online advertising. Often these same clients wish to “bridge the gap” while Optimum7 SEO services are developing organic listings. The fact is that 30% of consumers and as much as 50% of businesses actually trust as first choice and/or click on the Sponsored Search Results in Google. This fact alone makes it critical for a well-defined, well-managed Pay Per Click strategy. Email Marketing – The Right Way Optimum7 Email Marketing is synonymous with Email Newsletters. We never advise our clients to email hard-hitting advertising, glitzy offers with special effects, etc. The reasons will be self-evident if you care to read on. Ecommerce Systems and Packages Ecommerce is the business of selling products and services on the internet. Since the introduction of banking transfers back in the 70’s, Ecommerce technology has developed rapidly. It was mainly referred to as “Electronic Commerce” then. It evolved to what we know as “Internet Business” today after the introduction of World Wide Web in the early 90’s. Retail business was limited to local stores, shopping centers, mail order and phone order up until the 90’s but Ecommerce changed all that. Doing business online enables you to reach millions of people without the bricks and mortar. Converting Web Site Visitors, Beyond Search Engine Optimization For the purposes of this article let’s assume that you have successfully achieved high organic search engine rankings for the right key words through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts and have also employed paid search (PPC or Pay Per Click ) to more fully maximize traffic to your website. At this point you have a web presence with a site and good search engine optimization results, as well as, paid search management that have paved the way to your site. But now you are not achieving your BUSINESS objectives of increasing SALES AND PROFITABILITY. Conversion... The Real Bottom Line Search Engine Marketing, whether its Organic SEO or PPC, even spectacularly done, is limited to getting searchers to find you and land on your home page, a specific landing page or another internal page that is most relevant to the search performed. It does not equal CONVERSION. Content is King, Traffic is Supreme "What should I put on my website?" That is the question I receive mostly from newcomers. The answer is very simple, content. You have to give your visitors and prospects a reason to go to your website, and keep going to your website. The Content Thou Art King The website's information; text, images, videos, audio, and other data are the content elements you provide. The flavor of the content should be unique, and entice the visitors to get involved in your website. The style of your writing, content will portray a personality in itself and provide flavor to your website. About Optimum7 Internet Marketing Company Optimum7 is an Internet Marketing Company based in Morristown, NJ with offices in Miami, FL. Our primary focus is helping small to medium sized businesses achieve online marketing success. Our clients come to Optimum7 after failing to achieve their marketing objectives online and offline. The most common thread is that after designing and launching the website, the leads and / or the online sales that were expected just didn’t materialize