Corinne Kerston

Having a specific marketing plan can mean the difference between your business making it or breaking it. A clear plan will help you zone in on your ideal customer and focus your marketing efforts, making you more productive and increasing your profits. But how do you create a marketing plan that actually gets results? Here are 3 steps to creating a winning marketing plan.

1. Identify your ideal customer. There are millions of consumers out there, but only a portion of them may be interested in your product or service. Because of this, you will have much better results if you spending time identifying your target customer. Come up with as much detail as you can: your customer’s age, gender, race, income, marital status, children, how they shop, where they shop, anything and everything that can help you identify who they are and what they are looking for in a product or service.
2. List your competitors. Besides determining your customers, you should also identify your direct competitors. Understanding who your main competition is and how they do their business can help you determine your position in the marketplace. Pay attention to pricing, marketing tactics and anything else that sets your competition apart and makes them shine in your industry.
3. Determine your brand position. Your brand and what it means to customers is what can set you apart from your competition. Write down a statement about how you will meet your customers’ needs and how you will beat the completion. Think of what makes you better than the rest and stand out from the crowd. Make it simple, and focus on your target customer’s needs.

A marketing plan is essential to the success of your small business. By figuring out your ideal customer, determining  your main competition and then establishing your branding position, you can hone your marketing strategy to help give your business a push closer to success.

Meta descriptions can mean the difference between getting a reader to click on your website and completely bypassing it. It is that little blurb that appears under your search engine result listing that tells potential readers just what your link is about. It is the first piece of content that searchers see of your site so it makes sense that your meta descriptions should be effective. Are yours effective enough to get those searchers to click on your link? If you aren’t sure, here are some tips to improve yours.

Make sure that your meta descriptions are relevant. Sounds pretty self-explanatory but you would be surprised how often descriptions aren’t relevant to the actual page the link points to. Nothing removes your credibility faster than deceiving your readers, and that’s exactly what they will think you are doing by not matching your meta description to your link.  Simply making sure your meta descriptions are relevant can make a world of difference.

Think like a salesperson. Your meta description is there to sell you. It is your sales pitch to the searchers to click on your link. Use descriptive and promotional language to show them the value in visiting your site. Make your descriptions sounds enticing and exciting. For example, if your website sells discount perfume, rather than saying “We sell perfume at discounted prices,” say something like “Get your discounted perfume here! We have over 1,000 brands at cheap prices.” See the difference?

Place keywords towards the beginning. Keywords that are placed closer to the beginning of the meta description seem to carry more weight, and rank, than those that come further down in the description. What’s more, since the amount of characters each search engine allots in the displayed meta description varies, key words places too far back may not even get seen. Place your heaviest hitting keywords first, then use any subsequent keywords if you have any.

Use a unique meta description for each page. Each page on your website should have its own unique meta description. The reason for this is simple. Google will display no more than 2 results from one site in the search engine results page. So if you have numerous pages with the same meta description, it will make it difficult for Google to tell which is the most important page to rank, and therefore may not rank your site at all.

An effective meta descriptions will tell your potential readers just what you have in store for them. It sells them on your website, and makes them want to click your link. Use these tips to make yours more effective.

Got any more tips? Leave a comment and share them.

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Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Wise words from a wise man. Without a good plan, your small business cannot succeed. Okay, great.  But what exactly should I plan out? When you run your own business, there is no one to tell you what you need to do and steps to take to make it prosper. Luckily for you, I can offer some ideas. Here are some surefire tips to help make your small business a success.

Stand out. Unless your business is new and completely innovative, chances are there are going to be other businesses out there you need to compete with. So how do you make sure you get ahead? By being unique and standing out from the crowd. Think of what makes your business different and what you can do that others can’t.

Have a marketing plan. Marketing and advertising is important to get your business noticed, but you can’t just market your business haphazardly. Write out a plan that will describe how you will gain and keep your customers. Include your budget for advertising, and what you are planning on using that money for.

Know your customers. Without knowing who your ideal customer is, you won’t be able to effectively reach them. Rather than trying to target everyone, focus your marketing efforts on a specific group. For example, if your business sells designer handbags, you will want to focus your advertising on women, rather than the general public.

Build your community. Some of the biggest and most successful brands have a loyal following and there is a reason for that. These brands know the importance of having a community for their brand. They have followers on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social networks. These businesses also know that if customers trust their community, they will also trust the brand.

With so many small businesses popping up each day, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and wonder how you can compete. By making your business stand out, having a solid marketing plan, knowing who you are marketing to and building up your community, you can help your small business become a success.

By now, you know all about SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. You get it; you know why it’s useful and how to do it. Even if you don’t have SEO Expert status, you still have a pretty good grasp of the concept. Now, to throw you off, here’s a new initialed term for you.

SEM. Search Engine Marketing. It is a way of gaining more web traffic by essentially paying the search engines. The most common method used is Pay-Per-Click advertising, with Google AdWords being most used. For a small fee, you can get your website to the top of the search results as a sponsored link. When you do a Google search, often times you see the sponsored links that appear at the top of the listing, in a yellow box. This links point to ads on the right-hand side. These ads get featured, and get a ton of traffic, but they do come at a cost. The website owner must pay Google each time the link is clicked. Hench, Pay-Per-Click.

The more you are willing to pay the search engine for each click, the higher up your ad will be. Pretty tricky right? Now the ranking algorithm also takes into account how relevant your ad is in relation to the others on the same page, and this is where good SEO practices help. Using the right keywords will help get your ad placed on the right results page, right where you want it.

There are other ways to take advantage of SEM. Here are a couple other methods that do not include SEO practices.

• Paid inclusion. This is basically paying the directory or search engine to add your website to their database. This is a quick and easy to get your website noticed. Rather than waiting for your SEO efforts to work and the search engine spiders to notice your site, you just pay to have it done for you.
• Traditional ads. This method involves using paid advertising on the results pages. Using the right keywords, your ad will appear with the search results and you will get charged each time your ad appears. In other words, you are paying for the ad to be seen; it does not matter if it gets clicked or not, you still get charged.

SEM is not necessarily a new marketing strategy, but it does seem to be gaining popularity. It is a quick and easy way to get your website traffic and high rankings. Of course, nothing this easy comes without a price. The amount you pay is up to you, but the more you dish out, the better results you get.

Guest posting can raise your traffic exponentially. I’m not talking about getting other popular bloggers to post on your blog. I’m talking about you posting on other blogs to get more traffic for your own blog. In this post, I’ll go over the benefits of guest posting for other, well-known blogs, and how to do it effectively.

Benefits of the Guest Post

If you target the right blogs to guest post on, you can stand to win over a lot of new readers and direct tons of traffic to your own blog. Here are some of the benefits of guest posting.

• Get you heard by your target audience
• Establish your credibility with the right readers
• Get new subscribers/readers on your own blog
• Bring you more sales if you sell products
• Pave the way for even more guest posting opportunities
• Give you the chance to start a beneficial partnership with other bloggers

Guest Posting Effectively

Now that you know what a gem guest posting can be you want to be sure that you do it the right way in order to get the best bang for your buck. Here are some tips to guest post the right way.

• Do your research. You want to know your audience, and make sure that you find a blog that fits your niche.
• Form a bond with the blogger. It is easier to pitch your guest post idea when the blog owner knows who you are and that you have a common interest.
• Go ahead and write. If you come up with a killer idea and pitch it to a blogger, chances are you will be ignored. Write a killer post on that idea and show them what you got, you have a better chance of getting noticed.
• Include a blurb about you. If you scored your guest post, make sure you add a bio and a link to your blog. This is how you will introduce yourself, and your blog, to a whole new audience. When readers like your post, they will read your bio and naturally follow the link to your site.
• Comment on comments. Once your guest post gets published, monitor the comments and respond to any questions. Be personable and approachable.

Guest posting on well-known blogs in your niche can get you more readers for your own blog. Follow these tips to make sure that you guest post the right way.

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On October 16^th, Google launched its anticipated disavow links tool. If you have ever been notified of spam or unnatural links to your blog or site, this tool can help you remedy this. If you don’t have this problem, well, this tool is just another launch from Google that you can push to the wayside.

Inbound and outbound links are important to getting your website noticed by Google, and this is the idea behind Google’s PageRank which helps Google determine page ranking. Since the PageRank tool is widely known, it has also become a mark for spammers.

If your site happens to get caught in linkspam, or if Google suspects any link scheming, they will send you message about unnatural links that point to your website. If you receive this message, it is best to remove as many bad links from your site as you can. However, there are times where your efforts just aren’t enough. This is where disavow comes in.

The disavow links tool can be found under your Webmaster Tools. You will come to a page that has this message:

“If you believe your site’s ranking is being harmed by low-quality links you do not control, you can ask Google not to take them into account when assessing your site.”

And a box to select your website address. Once you do that, you asked to upload a file that contains the links you want Google to disavow. It should be pretty straightforward from there, as Google does most of the work from here on out.

So how do you know which links are bad? You can look under “Links to Your Site” in your Webmaster Tools for links that point to your website. Go to Traffic > Links to Your Site > Who links the most > More, and then click download. You will get a list of pages that link to your site, and if you click to get the latest links, you will be given dates as well. This can help you figure out which links are bad. Be careful not to upload the complete list when you use the disavow tool, otherwise you will get rid of all your links, and you want to make sure you keep the legit ones.

Have your tried out the new disavow links tool yet? Leave a comment and tell me your thoughts.

Image via CrunchBase

Social news sites are becoming more and more popular. What exactly is a social news site? It is a site where users can share blog posts or web pages that they like by easily submitting the URL along with a short description and categorizing it. All submissions are viewable by other Digg users who can “digg” or bury the submission. The more diggs a submission gets, the higher up on the Digg ranks it goes. So what are the benefits of using Digg for your business? Can it help increase your website traffic?

Why Use Digg?

It’s simple really. If you submit one of your links, your goal is to get it on the front page. The higher up on the ranks, the more views it gets. Which equals more exposure for your blog or website. If other Digg users like your post, chances are they will follow it to your website to see what other interested things you have to say. In addition, it provides inbound links to your website, which Google likes, making your website seem more interesting and important.

Now the reality of Digg is that it’s really difficult for a newbie Digg user to get on the front page. Does this mean you shouldn’t use Digg? Not at all! There is still a chance some users will see your content, and some new traffic is definitely better than nothing at all.

Setting Up a Digg Account

If you don’t have a Digg account, it is really quick and easy to set up. Simply go to digg.com and click on the Join Digg link. Fill out all the necessary information. When you choose a username, pick one that will help users recognize you and your business. You will get a registration email delivered to your provided email address. Go to your email to confirm your Digg registration.

Once you are set up, you can start submitting your blog posts or articles. On the top of the page there is a submit a link tab. With a few easy clicks, paste the URL in the box and click submit. That’s it! It doesn’t get any easier than that.

Digg is a social news site that can help your business gain more traffic. Simply sign up for an account and start submitting links to your blog posts or articles. The more interesting and useful your posts, the more people will “digg” it.

English: A Picture of a eBook Español: Foto de eBook Беларуская: Фотаздымак электроннай кнігі Русский: Фотография электронной книги (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Let’s take a look at how a free eBook can help you build your business.

1. EBooks help deliver knowledge. People go online searching for an answer to their questions and they can find it in your eBook. For example, if you own a plumbing business, you may choose to write a short eBook on DIY plumbing tips. People who are searching for ways to fix their leaky pipes on their own will find you through an Internet search and will gratefully download your eBook.
2. EBooks show your expertise. Let’s take that same scenario with the eBook on DIY plumbing. If someone visits your site, downloads the book and loves what you have to say. You have clearly established yourself as a knowledgeable and experienced plumber in this person’s eyes. Now imagine who that person is going to call when they have a plumbing problem that they can’t fix on their own? That’s right. You! He already knows you know what you are talking about because you have proven your competency and credibility.
3. EBooks help expand your mailing list. By simply adding a free eBook on your website, you can easily grow your email list. Make sure your website is set up where readers need to enter their email address in order to get the pdf for the eBook. They will get their eBook delivered to their inbox, and you get another email address to add to your mailing list.
4. EBooks can add SEO power. You can utilize the content in your eBook by using it in pieces in your blog. Or if you have a designated landing page for your eBook, add in targeted keywords and backlinks to your website’s home page.

A well-written eBook can help build up your business and your website traffic. Think you don’t have time to write an eBook? Think again. EBooks don’t have to be long at all. They can be short and sweet; they just need to be filled with enough value to make people want to download them. If you already have a blog that provides useful information, you can simply put together a collection of your best posts.

With a quality free eBook, it’s not hard to drive readers to your site and gain more customers to expand your business.

Image via CrunchBase

YouTube, the most used video social network, is great for viewing biting babies, crazy pets or the latest music video. But it can also be a great tool for businesses. With YouTube owned by Google, it is a great way to help your business get found. But as with all marketing methods, there is a right and a wrong way to go about using YouTube. Here are some ways to use YouTube effectively for your business.

1. Create your own channel. This is often overlooked but is very important. Your own YouTube channel is where you can store all the videos you upload. You can organize your videos and highlight your business name. Having your own channel also allows people to subscribe and follow your channel.
2. Fill your viewer’s needs. The videos you upload should fit some purpose. This can be in the form of a how-to video, product demo or even a product advertisement. The type of video you make will depend on the type of products you sell. In general, people like videos that are helpful and teach them something.
3. Make your videos quick and engaging. You don’t need an expensive professional camera to make a decent video. Make sure the lighting is good and the camera isn’t shaking. Use a tripod if possible. It is important to keep the conversation in the video flowing so that it will be engaging. Also, do not make your videos too long. Videos that are overly long turn people off and keep them from viewing them in their entirety.
4. SEO your videos. Yup, just like your website content, your YouTube videos can benefit from keywords. When you upload your videos, make sure you take advantage of the tags. Use tags that you think people will use when doing a search.
5. Spread your videos. Once you have your videos up, you can share them in other places. Put them on your homepage on your website or blog, add them to your Facebook page or tweet about your videos. Videos make great additions to landing pages or welcome pages. And don’t forget to add tags and keywords!
6. Advertise your business. This is the point of your YouTube channel isn’t it? Include your website address at the end of each video so viewers can find out more information if they need it.

Email marketing is a great way of reaching your customers and increasing your sales numbers. It is marketing tool used by many businesses successfully. However, it is not for every business. Here are the pros and cons of email marketing to help you decide if it can help your business.

Pros

Email marketing is inexpensive. This makes it a great choice for advertising for many companies since it can be done for pennies. Compared to bulk mailers or print ads, emails costs next to nothing.

It works. Whether or not you like this method, you have to agree that it does work. Email marketing helps drive customers to websites, which in turn increases sales. It is a great way to reach many, many customers at one time.

You can target certain groups of people. When sending your email campaigns, you can target certain groups of people based on their information. When you gathered their email addresses, try to gather a bit more information on your customers. Ask ages, gender, location, special interests, etc. This will help you know who to send your emails to. Got a great product for males under 40? Send the email to specially that group.

Cons

Not everyone is online. Though it may seem like everyone is, there is a vast group of shoppers that are not. If your products are designed for those who are not necessarily Internet-savvy, then email marketing is not the best tactic for your business.

It may be hard to explain some products in an email. Some products or services just aren’t easily explained in an email. Some may require more demonstration, and are better suited for something with a video or a live demonstration. This does not mean you can’t use emails to get the word out about your products; it just might be better to use the email to invite people to a live demo or convention rather than trying to explain your product through words.

People get spam. Maybe not from you, but there are a ton of spammers out there that can ruin it for the rest of us. If your product is something closely related to another spam product, then you may be out of luck. If you sell vitamins or food supplements, guess what? We have all seen those spam emails regarding vitamins and medications. There is a huge chance your email will get deleted before it even has a chance.

Email marketing is a great marketing method that has helped many businesses grow. However, when considering using emails, think about the pros and cons to make sure that it is the right method for your business.