Internet Marketing Smarts.com

Everyone says that content is king. But I feel like no one really gets into what that means. If I write about how my wife takes up all the bed covers now that she’s pregnant. Is that an example of content being king? I went to a search engine conference in 2007 and some folks from Google were present. A question about search engine optimization and content was asked and the Google rep said the following. "Don’t worry about search engine optimization (seo). Just write good content!"  What the f! What kind of answer is that? We all had to chuckle because Google was being as elusive as secret government agent.

Well screw that. I’m going to let the cat out the bag. I have 3 steps that have helped me secure top rankings in Google for various long tailed and regular keywords. Chances are you’ve heard some of these but I’m going to put some twists to them. So be patient.

Step 1:  Write good content first!
Huh? Didn’t I just make fun of the Google guy for saying that? Yes I did. But he is right, you should write really good content first. You should actually know about whatever you’re writing about. Otherwise people will know that you’re just babbling on and will leave your site. (more…)

Search Engine Optimization basically consists of two main factors your content and people linking back to you. The latter accounts for most of the weight in Google’s eyes. We’ve all heard that web 2.0 is the Internet. Period!  It’s not a fad and it is here to stay. So we as Internet marketers need to come to grips with that, evolve and discover how to use this phenomenon to our advantages without abusing it! Yes its a fine line. But so many things are in the marketing world.

What Is Social Bookmarking?
One way to balance marketing and adding value to the web 2.0 community is to use Bookmarking websites. In a nutshell a bookmarking website is an online tool that people use to… Guess what? Bookmark or save their favorite sites. But unlike the bookmarks you may be using in Firefox or Internet Explorer (Do people still use that browser?), websites saved on social bookmarking networks are made public. This makes total sense since Web 2.0 is all about sharing content and interactivity. Chances are if you’re bookmarking a website, you must feel it has some inherent value. Consequently this may also mean that others will share the same perspective about these websites.  So having it online for the world to see is an easy way to share that value and website.

How To Use Social Bookmarking Sites For Backlinks
Okay enough about the sharing is caring B.S. Here’s what’s in it for you on the marketing end. (more…)

Another day and yet another internet marketing report making its way around the internet with outrageous claims. Well at least it’s free so I won’t have to go through the trouble of requesting a refund from clickbank or buying it from my own affiliate link. (Don’t front,  I know you do that too!)

Search Engine Myths Exposed is a new FREE report by Jonathan Leger who I would rate as a very underrated but extremely competent Online Marketer. He doesn’t get much shine like some of the big name "gurus" …excuse me, I had to control myself from hurling because that term is thrown around so freely that it literally sickens me. But I digress. Jon is a solid guy in my opinion. He’s like the internet marketer’s marketer. So I tend not to delete emails sent by him. Jon is anti-guru and judging by the first pages of his new report Search Engine Myths Exposed, he makes it very clear why!

I’m always skeptical reading these internet marketing reports or even just giving up my email address to get them because we all know we’re going to be marketed to. But I’m more inlined to do so with Jon Leger because I’ve actually seen results from his other programs like 3waylinks which has helped me secure top 20 rankings for several keywords. So I’m more apt to read a report from him because he has proven to me that he understands SEO.

So now that’s out of the way, let’s discuss this report.

Jon basically discusses 7 Myths and tries to debunk or verify each one. He does a good job of trying to provide verifiable proof when possible This is pretty much unheard of for most Gurus who can photoshop a fake earnings check, or get a friend to provide a fake testimonial on their sales page. Shame on you if you’ve done that! So let’s go through each of the myths and see if they ring a bell for you.

Myth #1: Google Knows All and Sees All.
I won’t lie, as much as I understand Google’s algorithms and practice white hat tactics, they do scare the bejesus out of me. I can’t get over that big brother is watching type of feeling. In any event, Jon makes some obvious observations here so it wasn’t an  "A Ha!" moment for me. Newbies might find his conclusion comforting and Black Hat Seo Practitioners will probably yawn at this section.

Myth #2: Google Will Not Rank Duplicate Content.
Now this one was long but interesting reading. I was a bit torn about his conclusions. He did ultimately back up his verdict with some solid examples. (more…)

2007 was an interesting year for Internet Marketing or shall I say Google Internet Marketing. It was a year where we saw a rise in the release of many PPC Competitive Analysis tools geared towards spying on AdWords advertisers. Confidently Google also put the smack down on the PPC exploits of affiliate marketers by raising their minimum bids to the War in Iraq type spending. And if that wasn’t enough talk about Google, they also made news this year by decimating the Page ranks of PR Based text link selling networks! Depending on how any of these things impacted your business your outlook on 2007 is very different to say the least.

But aside from these major Google developments I think another significant impact was the continuous rise of Social Networking websites. I’m not just talking about MySpace and Youtube. But it was interesting to see the emergence of websites like LinkedIn and Yuwie which were some novel approaches to social networking. In 2008 this trend will definitely continue and Web 2.0 or whatever the heck it will be called in the future, will be alive and kicking hard this year.

So what are the new Internet Marketing trends to look for in 2008?

Here are some that I think are worth noting. (more…)