CMT Marketing Blog and Realtime Update

The Basics Work in Keyword Research

2010-04-28T11:36:00.000-05:00

Before you use a keyword suggestion tool, ask yourself the following questions:

What problems can your product or your service solve?

Which questions do potential customers ask?

Can you offer unusual solutions?

Which products and services do you offer?

As you can see, the products and services that you offer are the least important. A person with a headache might not now that the Shiatsu that you offer will help them. They even might now know what Shiatsu is and if they know it, they might not be able to spell it properly. The same applies to all other services and industries.
For that reason, it is important that you focus on the first three points before using your products or services in the keywords.
1. What problems can your product or service solve?
In this example, the problem that your product or service can solve is a headache. Create a list of words that describe the problem:
headache, racking headache, migraine, vicious headache, splitting headache, megrim, constant headache, etc.
2. Which questions do potential customers ask?
People type different things in Google's search box when they try to find a solution to their problem. Here are some real queries that have been done on Google (use IBP's keyword suggestion tool to find keywords that are searched by real web surfers):
why does my head hurt
why does my head hurt when I cough
how to get rid of migraines without medication
how to get rid of migraines when pregnant
why can't i concentrate on anything
why am i so tired
etc.
The problem that your product solves creates certain circumstances (fatigue, temper, concentration problems). Address these circumstances in your keyword phrases.
The problem can also be connected to another factor (for example migraine and pregnancy). Create keyword phrases that are related to these factors.
3. Can you offer unusual solutions?
Most people will take a pill when they have a headache. In this example, you offer a solution that many people don't know about (Shiatsu). The following phrases would work for you:
get rid of migraines without medication
get rid of headache without pills
The unusual solutions that you offer can also be used in your AdWords ad copy and on your web pages. For example, you might create web pages around the following topics:
How to get rid of headaches without using Aspirin
An unusual way of healing migraine without medication
etc.
4. Which products or services do you offer?
Of course, you should also use the names of the products and services that you offer in your ads and SEO campaigns. In this example, this would be:
shiatsu, shiatsu massage, etc.
When you try to find new keywords, tell a short story that describes the problem and the solution: "A person has a racking headache. The person cannot concentrate because of that headache and the person is tired. Instead of taking a pill, there can be other solutions. That solution is my Shiatsu service."
By doing this, you'll find many keywords around which you can create new web pages and PPC ads. Of course, you can also combine this method with keyword suggestion tools.

Basics thinking and moving around what we already have then applying the great tools available to us all.
Our search results have soared our clients are happy with the results we deliver and as we continue to grow and learn we would love to hear from you and partner our resources with your challenges!

Saludos:
Jerry|CMT

Google Map Optimization

2010-04-27T14:46:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, I actually received a call from Google (YES it was Google, I called the number back).
Reason for their call is CMT is a Favorite Place in their local search so we were asked if we would like to participate in their Beta version of Google Maps.

Basically your local listing is a featured listing, whereby, when a visitor passes over your listing it can show a screen shot of your URL, or a video, a promotion, coupon or article will pop up.It becomes very interactive and rather than a red pin you have a yellow one, so far so good, right! It costs $25.00 per month, no contract and from my early research it can enhance your position in local searches. You can build your listing with local keywords then get listed in local directories (name of city)+directory. Build up citations, citations are reference points that can be built through sites like Yelp, City Search, Bing Local, Local.com to name a few. So here you are with an enhanced local search tool that has mobile capabilities.

Local search is smart, we're still examining the possibilites with the maps feature and will keep you posted here is the link: google local business center

Saludos:
Jerry|CMT

Brand Management

2010-04-26T10:17:00.000-05:00

So much information so little time, you think? Maybe focusing on what our clients are asking will streamline the process and hone our skills to deliver what is important to them? What are you doing differently, why have you adapted that strategy and tactic? Have these methods produced short term or long term objectives?

We're a curious company by nature and looking around corners is what excites us love to hear your ideas.
These branding terms have helped us define and direct our efforts!

Brand : A brand is a mixture of attributes, tangible and intangible, symbolized in a trademark, which, if managed properly, creates value and influence.

"Value" has different interpretations: from a marketing or consumer perspective it is "the promise and delivery of an experience"; from a business perspective it is "the security of future earnings"; from a legal perspective it is "a separable piece of intellectual property." Brands offer customers a means to choose and enable recognition within cluttered markets.

Brand Architecture How an organization structures and names the brands within its portfolio. There are three main types of brand architecture system: monolithic, where the corporate name is used on all products and services offered by the company; endorsed, where all sub-brands are linked to the corporate brand by means of either a verbal or visual endorsement; and freestanding, where the corporate brand operates merely as a holding company, and each product or service is individually branded for its target market.

Brand Association: The feelings, beliefs and knowledge that consumers (customers) have about brands. These associations are derived as a result of experiences and must be consistent with the brand positioning and the basis of differentiation.

Brand Committment: The degree to which a customer is committed to a given brand in that they are likely to re-purchase/re-use in the future. The level of commitment indicates the degree to which a brand's customer franchise is protected form competitors.

Brand Earnings: The share of a brand-owning business's cashflow that can be attributed to the brand alone.

Brand Equity:The sum of all distinguishing qualities of a brand, drawn from all relevant stakeholders, that results in personal commitment to and demand for the brand; these differentiating thoughts and feelings make the brand valued and valuable.

Brand Equity Protection: Is the implementation of strategies to reduce risk and liability from the effects attributable to counterfeiting, diversion, tampering and theft so that the differentiating thoughts and feelings about the brand are maintained and remain valued and valuable.

Brand Essence: The brand's promise expressed in the simplest, most single-minded terms. For example, Volvo = safety; AA = Fourth Emergency Service. The most powerful brand essences are rooted in a fundamental customer need.

Brand Experience :The means by which a brand is created in the mind of a stakeholder. Some experiences are controlled such as retail environments, advertising, products/services, websites, etc. Some are uncontrolled like journalistic comment and word of mouth. Strong brands arise from consistent experiences which combine to form a clear, differentiated overall brand experience.

Brand Extension: Leveraging the values of the brand to take the brand into new markets/sectors.

Brand Harmonization: Ensuring that all products in a particular brand range have a consistent name, visual identity and, ideally, positioning across a number of geographic or product/service markets.

Brand Identity: The outward expression of the brand, including its name and visual appearance. The brand's identity is its fundamental means of consumer recognition and symbolizes the brand's differentiation from competitors.

Brand Image: The customer's net "out-take" from the brand. For users this is based on practical experience of the product or service concerned (informed impressions) and how well this meets expectations; for non-users it is based almost entirely upon uninformed impressions, attitudes and beliefs.

Brand Licensing: The leasing by a brand owner of the use of a brand to another company. Usually a licensing fee or royalty rate will be agreed for the use of the brand.

Brand Management:Practically this involves managing the tangible and intangible aspects of the brand. For product brands the tangibles are the product itself, the packaging, the price, etc. For service brands (see Service Brands), the tangibles are to do with the customer experience - the retail environment, interface with salespeople, overall satisfaction, etc. For product, service and corporate brands, the intangibles are the same and refer to the emotional connections derived as a result of experience, identity, communication and people. Intangibles are therefore managed via the manipulation of identity, communication and people skills.

Brand Parity: A measure of how similar, or different, different brands in the same category are perceived to be. Brand parity varies widely from one category to another. It is high for petrol, for example: about 80% of respondents (BBDO survey) see no real difference between brands. By contrast, brand parity for cars is low: only about 25% of respondents say that one make is much the same as another.

Brand Personality: The attribution of human personality traits (seriousness, warmth, imagination, etc.) to a brand as a way to achieve differentiation. Usually done through long-term above-the-line advertising and appropriate packaging and graphics. These traits inform brand behavior through both prepared communication/packaging, etc., and through the people who represent the brand - its employees.

Brand Platform The Brand Platform consists of the following elements:

    * Brand Vision The brand's guiding insight into its world.

    * Brand Mission How the brand will act on its insight.

    * Brand Values The code by which the brand lives. The brand values act as a benchmark to measure behaviors and performance.

    * Brand Personality The brand's personality traits (See also definition for Brand Personality).

    * Brand Tone of Voice How the brand speaks to its audiences.

Brand Positioning: The distinctive position that a brand adopts in its competitive environment to ensure that individuals in its target market can tell the brand apart from others. Positioning involves the careful manipulation of every element of the marketing mix.

Brand Strategy: A plan for the systematic development of a brand to enable it to meet its agreed objectives. The strategy should be rooted in the brand's vision and driven by the principles of differentiation and sustained consumer appeal. The brand strategy should influence the total operation of a business to ensure consistent brand behaviors and brand experiences.

Brand Tone: of Voice See Brand Platform.

Brand Valuation: The process of identifying and measuring the economic benefit - brand value - that derives from brand ownership.

Brand Values: The code by which the brand lives. The brand values act as a benchmark to measure behaviors and performance. (See also Brand Platform.)

Branding Selecting and blending tangible and intangible attributes to differentiate the product, service or corporation in an attractive, meaningful and compelling way.

I studied this in school somehow it never changes!

Saludos:
Jerry|CMT

Building Smart Traffic

2010-04-21T12:21:00.000-05:00

1. Public Relations- Services like PR WEB, Business Wire, PR.com, where you can create a press release that could land you in front of the media and certainly other web site owners. Take away, links!

2. Classifieds- Craigslist, Oodle ,USFreeAds could drive unexpected traffic at a very low cost also targeted opportunities to generate new links.

3. Video- links, exposure and traffic look also at Metacafe, Blip.tv, Vimeo, to distribute your video. Remember you can optimize your videos!

4. Content Development- write and share content with others on related topics, article directories, EzineArticles, IdeaMarketers, Google Knol

5.Getting Social- follow the leaders and shakers and learn the craft.

6. Directories- DMOZ, Business.com, Best of the Web to name a few will help in the overall effort.

This is a work in process with basically no "short cuts". Our traffic has increased, our clients traffic has increased by applying best practice techniques that yield results over time. We can help!

Saludos:
Jerry/CMT

SEO in Real Time Long Term Benefits

2010-04-19T08:00:00.001-05:00

The trick to SEO copywriting that is both engaging for your customers and attractive to the search engines is frequency.Sure, it is much easier to pump out a 1,000 word article every time you feel like giving your rankings a boost. But SEO is a process that takes time and commitment. Thanks to a society that thrives on instant gratification, this doesn’t rest well with many folks who cringe at the thought of six month relationship – let alone a six month SEO campaign.The time, energy and commitment of SEO is hard to sell – especially when pay per click offers a visible product (the ad) as soon as the payment clears. But we all know that organic search results are much more appealing to consumers than paid advertisements, but I digress.
You can think of SEO like a tomato plant. If I pour a bucket of water over my plant only when I feel like eating tomatoes, chances are that my plant won’t grow and it certainly won’t produce any tomatoes. Or any tomatoes that it does yield will be small, sour and disappointing.
The point is that if you only pump out a keyword-stuffed article on the days that you feel like improving your rankings, you won’t get far.
Instead, you need to be determined and dedicated enough to produce quality content on a daily basis. For example, write a 400 word blog post every day. The steady flow of content with a proper keyword ratio will push you much higher in the rankings over a six month period than the keyword-stuffed, sporadic massive – article approach.
When you are blogging, remember that your article must be equally entertaining for your audience as it is for the search engines. Consistently fresh content may move you up in the rankings, but if your articles are not engaging enough to keep consumers on your site, then what’s the point?
Same thing goes for your sales copy. You have one chance to engage consumers upon arrival to your site, so don’t bore them about anecdotes, customer testimonials or where the next industry convention will be held.
Instead, excite them with information about your company,www.cmtmarketing.net– What do you offer? (Actually, this should be evident before they even click on your site) Who are you? Why are you the best? How does that set you apart? What are your customer service promises?
These are all questions that get right to the soul of your sales pitch. Save the rest of that fluff for other pages in your site.

A commitment to your business investment that bears fruit!

Saludos:
Jerry|CMT

2010-04-16T13:20:00.001-05:00

Working with the Supplier Development Team on their Social Media

Incredible Social Experience

2010-04-13T16:36:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I needed some feedback on a linking issue which Google may or may not look at favorably. So, being connected to groups, forums and other business professionals, I reached out on Linked In. What I want you to understand is that the quality of information along with speed in which it was streamed to me was incredible! The take away, wherever, you are in your business there is help in the social platforms. So you ask what is the catch, your time, be polite and professional and leave your contact options wide open because you never know where nor how they may just refer some business your way!

From our Silver Fox Advisors Round Table this morning, Thoughts While Shaving from Len Fuchs:

The chief strategist of an organization is the leader.
If your looking for a big opportunity, find a big problem.

There's more if you like sent me an email....

Saludos:
Jerry/CMT

Generating More Leads With Promotional Products

2010-04-11T15:05:00.000-05:00

It is easy to gain leads by using promotional products. Any promotional equipment similar to pens, pass chains, note pads, shirts, etc; have been in effect, pick up items that commercial operation owners can use to greatly help keep their brand in front of their clients. Imprints or trademarks speak about your products and services which helps drive sales and gives your brand its place in the market. Promotional products developed with a creative strategy that focus on the projects objectives have proven to yield positive results well after the promotion has expired.

There are more than 850,000 products which owners can select depending upon their promotional needs and objectives. Identifying not only by price but by material, processes, additional costs, delivery, supplier experience carry a lot of weight to the overall success of the project. Can your distributor explain the differences between emboss, engraving, digital and screen printing and how each process will look on your finished project? Does your distributor have graphic design capabilities in case modifications are needed, who is your point of contact are they experienced in the industry? The promotional product industry is a billion dollar industry and in our experience, CMT has developed strong industry contacts with relaible, highly rated suppliers that have been in business collectively for more than 20 years. Non- Profits, public and private enties all benefit from smart promotions that are unique, capture their brand and deliver a specific message to their end user.

For any suggestions with promotional ideas, consult our branding team, we can partner, listen design and deliver your project on time, on budget so you can concentrate on your business. Port of Houston, METRO, MFR Accounting, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, US Census are just a few of the many clients CMT has partnered with on their promotional product projects.

Social_Networking with Toilet Paper?

2010-04-06T13:22:00.000-05:00

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, doing what he does best...bringing community together! Engagement, participation along with real opportunities to connect with like-minded business professionals.. I believe you can participate...I believe maybe you should? What do you think?
http://bit.ly/2010Tips

Saludos:
Jerry/CMT

The New Rule of Engagement

2010-04-05T12:57:00.000-05:00

A friend, Jim Ellis, www.webstrategistlab.com, published a book about his extensive experience as a web professional. Jim, is not a Web Programmer or Designer but rather, he absolutely understands the how and why we're able to be found on the web.

Here's a quote..I like: Strategies should be obvious. Tactics should be a surprise!

His book is any easy read with lots of good, viable and useful search optimization information. By the way, this book helped him land a great position..

Enjoy!
Saludos
Jerry/CMT

This Is What I Work For _ and You?

2010-04-02T09:04:00.000-05:00

I asked our client not for a recommendation but rather their feedback. I know many can do the job but can many strengthen the relationship? What are you asking your clients?

Hi Jerry:

I am very pleased with the web site and have received positive feedback as well. I am grateful for your efforts and wish you the best.

Thanks,

Robert M. Overbey, Jr.
President
BondPro, Inc.
www.bondproinc.com

Saludos:
Jerry/CMT

B2Bs: Your Email Policy Could Be Hurting You

2010-04-01T12:05:00.000-05:00

Today, I wanted to mention a topic we speak to our B2B clients frequently.The topic is around what is the standard email policy for contacting our business clients. Based on our research and how other business approach this topic please read our article..We welcome your comments..

If you are following consumer-marketing rules for your B2B communications, you are making a mistake. Responsible consumer marketers have adopted an "opt-in" e-mail policy for determining who receives their marketing messages. Unless customers give the marketer permission to contact them, the marketer leaves them alone. Consumers prefer opt-in policies, and regulators have stood behind them. Many B2B marketers abide by a similar policy, but they don't have to — and shouldn't. In fact, I'd argue, your business customers generally would prefer the reverse: an opt-out arrangement in which you send them messages unless they say "stop."

Consider this scenario: Say you attend a trade show and exchange business cards with an exhibitor. Does that exhibitor have permission to contact you by email? Of course. You fully expect to receive email (or phone, or postal mail) follow-up. That's how you stay informed, build relationships, and do your job.

Now, if the exhibitor starts sending you junk — too many messages, or irrelevant emails — then you'll ask him to stop. You'll opt out. At that point, you expect the marketer to honor your request and remove you from the emailing list.

How did B2B marketers end up following an opt-in policy that neither they, nor many of their customers, really want? I have a theory about this, based on my experience when I worked at IBM in the mid-1990s. In those days, the battle raged between the marketers — who sensibly argued for opt-out — and the IT guys, who passionately hated spam. The IT side won this particular battle.

The impact on customer communications was serious. Consider these data from the tech behemoth Cisco Systems which made a similar decision in the early days. Today, Cisco only has email addresses for 45% to 50% of its customers around the world. Of these, only 29% opted in to receive communications. As a result, Cisco can only hope to reach 14% of its customers by email.

Business marketers should reconsider these early knee-jerk policies.

In fact, the gold standard of business communications permissions today is to offer a choice to customers, like a web-based form that allows them to indicate their preferences. Let them choose the media channels they prefer and how often they want to hear from you. Allow them to change their preferences at any time. And above all, comply with their requests.

Enterprises large and small are finding this works. Here is Cisco's opt-in form (found within the invitingly named "Cisco Preference Center") which gathers profile information, asks about product interests, and encourages customers to sign up for specific newsletters.

I hear that the company is reviewing its opt-in policy, and considering a shift to opt-out for all email communications with its customers. This should be of interest to all B2B marketers.

What's your view on opt-in versus opt-out for B2B communications?

Saludos:
Jerry/CMT

How do you build links? What’s the best way to improve PageRank and increase linking to my website?

2010-03-31T08:08:00.000-05:00

Google is modifying how they rank links...so maybe we should also make some adjustments. What are you doing?

You have probably read that if you create good content the links will come, that’s partly true and partly untrue. There is tons of websites out there that have excellent content but nobody is linking to it. It is buried under thousands of Google search results and will likely never be found. Part of getting good content recognized is through networking. If you say to a few people, “HEY! LOOK AT THIS!”, and they read it and like it, they will hopefully: PASS IT ON. If you are the kind of person who is constantly screaming, “HEY! LOOK AT THIS!”, then you may likely be ignored like the boy who cried wolf.

Part of getting links to your website is by giving links out to other websites. As you see, I used the anchor text “the boy who cried wolf” to link to the story about the boy who kept crying out to get attention, only to finally be ignored when he actually had something important to say. I have written several hundred articles and pages of information over the last year and think my TOP 10 articles are the only ones I would want to constantly promote or have people link to.

I now have more than five years in the SEO industry and have found that getting quality websites with good PageRank to link to your content can be nearly impossible at times. I have tried to network with webmaster, after webmaster, after webmaster, only to be shot down continuously. It can be extremely discouraging knowing that many people that own websites are link hogs and suffering from PageRank greed. The first rule in life is: NEVER GIVE UP. At some point, someone will grant you an opportunity to network with them, and carpe diem. Networking with competitors and people in your line of work can go much farther than succumbing to PageRank greed and being a link hog.

There is a faux phenomenon known as “leaking PageRank” is an urban legend. Websites do not leak Page Rank, I don’t care what you have read or where you have read it, it simply is untrue. You do not lose PR because you link to another website. In fact, I have done some experimenting and have found that the opposite is true. If you wrote an article and linked to 5 web pages that each had a Page Rank of 7 of more, you would likely get a small fraction of that Page Rank returned to your page for linking to high quality sites even if you had no incoming links. Linking to pages with Page Ranks of 4 of more can be beneficial to you because you are letting Google know that you are linking to quality websites.

Linking is essential to the success of a website. However, playing fair and following Google’s “Rules of the Road” is more important than the links themselves. Matt Cutts states on his blog, “–the best links are earned and given by choice.” Google’s webmaster guidelines states, “Don’t participate in link schemes designed to increase your site’s ranking or PageRank.” It is made clear on how NOT to get links, but very few webmasters are able to find people to link to them, because they fail to network.

Hey, if you read and like this article, link to it. Link to it to help people realize what a great site SEO Smarty is and to provide people with more information. Information is the key to success in life, not money. Don’t link to it because I asked you to, link to it because you found value in the information in it just like I linked to the various websites that contained other useful information for the readers. Who knows, you might even get some Page Rank back in return, right?

Saludos:
Jerry/CMT

Off Page SEO Tips

2010-03-30T09:42:00.000-05:00

When you consider the ranking factors that influence a website on a page by page basis, search engines have to parse millions of pages to sift through the bag of words and assign relevance through an advanced grading system.

Based on the signals search engines deem significant from within the site and from other sites, they apply a grade, much like an “SEO score” or “optimization score” to pages that exhibit certain tendencies. Based on those tendencies they then determine where that page ranks in contention to other websites and pages contained in the index.

When a search query is conducted in a search engine search bar, the search engine puts its internal dynamo to work in a serious game of concentration to sift and sort through the index and match that search query to the most relevant document from an alarming number of online documents/pages.

The algorithms and binary sorting mechanism has to determine which website or web page has enough authority, relevance or combination of on page and off page SEO factors to cycle a competitors’ page to the side and elevate the page with the highest significance into the ranking results.

This happens every time a search is conducted, where the query retrieves a match from the index/ repository. So, what are some of the signals search engines use to assign a higher degree of relevance to those documents in the repository? The answer is co-occurrence and citation, hence the higher correlation your pages have within that context, the more significant they appear to the sorting mechanism/algorithm.

1) Accessibility – Can Crawlers Access your Pages?

2) Consolidation – Is there a Clear Champion/Preferred Landing Page?

3) Does the On Page and Off Page Optimization Reinforce Integrity?

Search engine optimization is a collection of multiple layers and processes all united for a common goal. Depending on how coherent the layers are implemented as well as how you use indicators to aid search engines in categorizing your content in order of importance also determines just how reciprocal they are when it comes to assigning a higher relevance score / relevance signal to your pages.

1: Put your best page forward – Help crawlers find your content with sitemaps or relevant internal links. Make sure your URL strings are not full of dynamically generated garbage and try to keep the naming conventions for your pages, the titles and descriptions as relevant and succinct as possible to impress the search engine spiders. They have a memory (at least the repository does) so, your first impression can typecast your page, so, better to have all of the right ingredients and recipes in place so you don’t have to go back and try to convince them later that it was not your original intent.

2: Create an island of relevance using a preferred landing page – Don’t try to make one page rank for everything, just create a specific page that would be the most relevant page a visitor should see for that keyword, then add a singular, plural and few synonyms to the page, title or meta description to augment relevance for that “core phrase or keyword”.

Then, link to that page from subordinate/supporting pages to reinforce the path of least resistance for search engines to find it.

3: Help search engines discover the page – You do this by diversification of off page factors. For example, you can cement relevance from (1) using diverse array of IP addresses to build back links (links from other sites) and (2) diversify the anchor text that have your main shingle in the linked/anchor text that refer to your page.

The question is, does the off page reputation augment or reinforce shingle variation or diffuse it? In other words, if you are trying to rank for the keyword SEO company for example, then you do not just want to have back links from other pages with the anchor text “SEO company”, you need to mix it up so you do not penalize your site.

You should have variations in your inbound anchor text such as:

Search Engine Optimization Company

SEO Companies

Professional SEO Company

Search Optimization Company

Company for SEO

As well as just the URL http://www.yoursite.com/page.html

Etc…

Then, over time increase the percentages of links and overlapping keywords until the on page SEO and off page SEO create the signal that allows that page to cross the threshold and pass the tipping point for becoming buoyant and rise to the top of search engines.

Depending on (a) the competition (b) the depth of their SEO (c) the time, strength and authority of the domain or pages in front of you and (d) the strength of your SEO and domain/page authority all determine the timeline for reaching the top results (granted search engine crawlers can index the page in question).

The takeaway here is, don’t assume search engines are stupid or need to be spoon fed relevance. They can assess from the gaps where your website and pages fit into the link graph and relevance model for any given query on the fly.

Just make sure that all of your signals overlap in a way that contributes to a higher relevance score for each layer that you introduce and implement to acquire a dominant keyword position for a specific page.

It works...CMT can perform a complimentary analysis of your optimization. It's a great investment to compliment all your hard work!

Saludos:

Jerry/CMT

How to Create Optimized Landing Pages that Convert!

2010-03-27T14:04:00.000-05:00

Now we may not use the industry specific jargon such as (CTR) click-through rate, (CPS) cost per sale, (ROI) return on investment or return of investment, (CR) conversion rate, etc., but what will will do is break it down to basics such as (a) if it works? or (b) if it does not or (c) how to make ordinary pages into landing pages that work for your 24/7 naturally using organic search. What it boils down to is, are your landing pages converting?

Getting Starting:

Tracking your progress is crucial to determine if your theme is prevalent in the index of search engines as much as you think it is subjectively. This requires a clearly defined flow of links combined with contextual information. I often use Wikipedia as an example, since they essentially have compiled an ideal structure including topical diversity yet managed to consolidate information and theme data as a result of the way they employ links.

There is a reason they are at the helm of Google for even the most competitive phrases and regardless of our opinion about it, the content does (1) provide value and (2) satisfies the need of the searcher for pertinent referenced data. At this time, this is a prerequisite for the modus operandi of search engine algorithms (or at least Google) which is what most are primarily concerned with for optimization purposes.

What we can learn from Wikipedia:

1) Constructing your content as topical islands of information that are interdependent reinforces the value/authority for your content and your site.
2) Links are a major contributing factor (outbound as well as inbound).
3) Site structure and content development must coincide to anchor relevance (more on this as we progress).
4) and last but not least, have as much related information as possible to quantify your position.

If they manage to structurally integrate the format above and offer the selling points (outlined below) then you are well on your way to a highly trafficked and successful site.

Your landing pages should:

1) Have a clear informative layout and funnel the reader to a conclusive action. One example is to start with the end result in mind and then support the pitch with examples such as this…

Increase Reader Response and sales Conversion by 144% using These 3 Effective Tips!

2) Introducing a problem / solution: For example – Use statistics to reinforce your proposition such as… It is a know fact that only 17% or visitors actually read your content, most topically skim. Armed with this information, what defense do you have from lowering bounce rates and increasing user engagement?

3) Use Catchy Headlines ,catchy titles are a plus, using contextual links to reinforce the message are o.k, as long as the target pages also share the same common goal and visually represent the primary call to action. However, if you can keep the user on that page, make your offer and wrap it up, the less you leave to chance and the more you sculpt the outcome.

4) Using contextual internal links – using contextual links such as the two examples above (for the phrase user engagement and catchy headlines) is great to put those pages on the map for search engine spiders. If search engines see you linking to your own content using keyword rich link text (a.k.a. anchor text), then they will place more emphasis on those pages and the content they have within them for those terms. After those pages enter the popularity contest in your niche, how you nurture them over time determines their staying power and hang-time in the SERPs.

Each landing page you specify in your site should have 5-10 links such as the ones illustrated above to reinforce that keywords you are attempting to rank for pointing at them from your most prominent and trafficked pages.

If you want to increase visibility for a variety of search terms organically, then using this type of logical progression between pages using deep links (link to pages other than the home page using keyword-rich text) is an ideal format for having those pages rank on their own. When you do the math, having 20 pages that can secure 3-5 choice keywords for moderately competitive to competitive key phrases per page vs. 2 or 3 pages that have a call to action increases the intrinsic value of your site.

One way to consolidate is (a) use the masthead to hone your advertisement or (b) use the sidebar with a special offer that users can click or (c) make the target landing page so simple 500-750 words with a prominent title and recurring theme that is serves as it’s own focal point vs. just being a hub page or turnstile if you will.

Tips to Optimize your Landing Pages:

Make sure at least 5 links from your most powerful pages to your preferred landing page using the keywords that you want to rank for from the dominant pages. This sends a distinct signal to search engines that the target / landing page is important. By using this powerful internal linking strategy you can eliminate 50% of the external links required to elevate your content into the top 10. Most content that is buried in your site is not even indexed, let alone leveraged. So assessing the overall strategy of your site, promoting or demoting pages that either have sufficient content or tweaking them to create the right balance is your right as a site owner.

Make sure to optimize your image alt attributes, if you don’t want to load up other pages with text an image on each of the dominant pages to the target pages can be accomplished through using tactful images (or icons) with alternative descriptions to augment the link which serve to create authority to the target page.

Keep it simple, keep it informative, but also realize there should be a call to action on every page in your site if it is a commercial enterprise. Branding is one thing, but staying in business is another, so leverage your true online potential by starting with an internal audit of all of your pages to determine if they are appropriate or in need of an upgrade.

In closing, your pages you elect as landing pages should:

a) have a focused theme
b) employ cutting-edge analytics to track user engagement
c) offer incentives or encourage a deeper involvement in the sales cycle

Different pages in your site serve different functions, but your site map or privacy policy is not an oasis you want to elevate to search engine ranking status. How you link to your content (both internally and externally from other sites) determines the outcome of how the title, the tags and the content play out in organic search. Pay per click is one thing, but you ultimately want the same type of traffic that converts from organic search (which can be far more cost effective in the long run) as an advertising medium.

The requirements are simple, a content management system that allows you to easily make changes on the fly (Wordpress is a blessing in disguise) and a marketing manager or SEO copywriter who understands your need to stand out with your value proposition, brand or offer who can create content specifically for each of your main areas of interest.

Search engines are impartial, if Site A has 300 pages of content that is indexed and has proven topical information about a subject and Site B has 30 pages of content that are sparsely hinged together with rag tag navigation, the conclusion is obvious regarding which one gets the endorsement of the top 10.

Although organic search may not offer instant gratification, what it does offer is topical authority for your website which can be leveraged by introducing content on a regular basis using keywords you wish to rank for in the copy and titles. Whereby in the past, it may have taken a month to acquire an organic ranking by creating one page, building links and crossing your fingers vs. merely mentioning it and having the page rise straight to the top 10 with minimal effort.

This effect may require 9 months of consistent work, however the payoff is immense as your pages continually appear with greater frequency in “broad-match search results” and delivery quality traffic right to your door. Having covered the basics, I hope this helps to transform pages with high bounce rates into hubs that funnel your traffic to the most engaging portion of your site. You only have one chance to make the right first impression online, flub it and you may never see that prospect again. So, the time you spend either investing in a new site or optimizing your existing content is well worth the fee in the long-run.

Use this...it works..its smart and it returns benefits!
Saludos
Jerry/CMT

Marketers Buzz About ROI - eMarketer

2010-03-26T09:31:00.000-05:00

Marketers Buzz About ROI - eMarketer

Great information....this trend is alive and well as we all need to do more with less.

What are your thoughts?

Saludos

Jerry/CMT

Building a 21st Century Business

2010-03-23T10:13:00.000-05:00

A little longer than usual but.. these thoughts should provoke some interesting thoughts challenges. Hope you enjoy..?

Principles, not product. Product announcements are interesting, sometimes — but the real action's in principles announcements, because they define and shape how organizations think, reason,and act.

How is Twitter (or Facebook, or Foursquare) going not merely to "beat" its rivals today — but consistently, decisively outperform them? Not merely with a single product or service, but with the principles from which awesome stuff flows.

Be a force for good. That's Twitter's new foundational principle — and it's interesting because it takes Google's foundational principle and does it one better. Will Twitter live up to it? Perhaps. What's important about it is how it focuses Twitter, as we discussed, on creating real, meaningful, sustainable value. That's something 95% of organizations can't do — but increasingly, exactly what people, communities, and society demand.

Openness as a survival strategy. New ideas, new concepts, new applications — all flow to open organizations. That's a great way to express the point that for next-gen organizations, openness is now table stakes: fail at it, and you're not even in the game.

Organizing for experimentation. Twitter organizes for experimentation, by creating modular teams that rapidly iterate to solve tough problems. That's what 21st century organizations look like: networks, not pyramids.

Doors v. windows. The difference between openness and transparency? That's a simple but powerful way to frame the strategic differences between the two, and one that might aid entrepreneurs and investors to think more sharply about the competitive implications of each.

Win/wins. Twitter cuts deals with partners only when they think everyone wins — including end-users. Par for the course? Think again. That's pretty radical. Wall St, Detroit, Big Food, Big Software and HMOs are just a few for whom win/wins have mattered little, if at all. It's a simple, powerful way to frame next-gen strategy in a nutshell.

Amplify weak signals. For perhaps 20% of the world's population — those in less developed countries — a mobile phone is their only gateway to the information age. Witness the effects of amplifying weak signals in Chile, Haiti, and Iran. That's how next-gen organizations take on the challenge of expanding market boundaries.

Getting vs creating. There are two kinds of entrepreneurs: those who get, and those who create. "Getters" arbitrage markets — but creators make the stuff (and the markets) in the first place, and so they are fundamentally more important, it's stellar advice for entrepreneurs, strategists, and investors of all stripes.

"Create something new that wasn't there before (that's awesome), Sound simple? Then give it a shot — because in practice, it's really, really hard. A new shampoo, razor, or car may be innovative, but it will fail the test above spectacularly. It's a simple, powerful way to begin thinking disruptively and strategically at once.

The future of advertising. I pointed out that @anywhere isn't (yet another) ad platform. Twitter's trying to connect people in more meaningful ways better connections, better information — better choices. I put it a bit more technically: Just as the fundamental challenge of the 21st century is making authentically, meaningfully better stuff, for the 21st century media it's communicating in better ways — not simply bombarding the reader-"consumer" with more, bigger, louder ads. Erasing information asymmetries is where the future of advertising lies. But you can't get there unless you can build a 21st century business first.

Social tools can lead, through bandwagon effects, to bubbles and crashes — just like in markets. In bubbles, assets are overvalued — in crashes, they're undervalued. My humble suggestion is that this particular conversation is a bit of an undervalued asset. If you're interesting in building a next-generation business, well, there might just be a bit of gold to be mined in it.

Saludos:
Jerry/CMT

The Internet_ A Stream of Conversations

2010-03-22T10:42:00.000-05:00

Social media blended into web development has become a moving target changing as we speak. As we study and participate, we hope to enrich and share our finding with our friends and clients. Below is an example of what's available..We're excited about the evolution...are you?

Topsy is a new kind of search engine, with a new way of looking at the Internet. Topsy doesn’t think the Internet is a collection of documents. Or even a web of documents. Topsy sees the Internet as a stream of conversations. Topsy treats people differently from the webpages they create and the things they say. And Topsy sees that people in every community are connected in a web of relationships, where each person influences other people to read, talk and think about things.

Saludos:
Jerry/CMT

Social Media Landscape

2010-03-19T09:34:00.000-05:00

CMO is marketing company with keen insights into digital marketing. This chart provided by them seems to streamline the social media platforms down to a manageable tasks.

Hope your week was profitable and productive? Enjoy your weekend remember while we're sleeping someone is working.....

Saludos:

Jerry/CMT

Facebook Analytics_ It's A Start

2010-03-18T09:23:00.000-05:00

With this new feature, if a person manages a Facebook business page, they will receive an email once a week from Facebook that provides the number of fans added in the past week as well as the total fan count; posts, comments and likes for the week and the previous week; and total visits to the page for the week and the previous week. This feature wasn't formally announced by Facebook and has some users on Twitter pleasantly surprised:

Taking Facebook Analytics to the Next Level

While the new email notifications are a good start for Facebook, there is much more they should be doing. For many businesses, weekly isn't enough. The social web has become a real-time environment where daily and instant updates have replaced weekly emails. In addition to only being once-a-week, the emails themselves could use some work.

Additionally, data is only as good as the way it's displayed. Users should be able to click on a link for each stat represented in the report, sending them to a dashboard in Facebook that provides information for that specific statistic. One link at the bottom of the email to the general analytics dashboard is not a practical solution for busy marketers and business owners. This point brings up a bigger issue with Facebook.

For a company that has an abundance of data and information, they share little of it with the business users of their site. The analytical data for page admins is minimal.

They're missing a huge opportunity. I'm suggesting that Facebook should give business owners more data, but I am not suggesting they have to do it for free. Sure, it would be nice if they offered better, free analytics, but they could also generate revenue by charging business owners a monthly fee to access a more robust set of tools to analyze behavior and engagement surrounding the pages they manage.

Saludos:
Jerry/CMT

Marketers Miss Hispanics on Social Sites _Why?

2010-03-15T11:00:00.000-05:00

Only two in 10 engage Hispanics on the social Web

The majority of US companies recognize that Hispanics, who make up about 15% of the country’s population, will have an effect on industry trends in the next five years. But few are marketing directly to them, according to the “2010 Hispanic Marketing Trends Survey” from Orcí.

Still fewer are marketing to them on social networking sites: 78% of US companies said they had not used any social media to engage Hispanics. Those marketers that had done so primarily used Facebook and Twitter.

“Hispanics are tech-savvy, young trendsetters with incredible spending power,” said Hector Orci, co-founder and chairman of the agency, in a statement. Nearly four in five socialize online, the study found.

Summer 2009 research from AOL Advertising indicated that Hispanic users were more likely than average to go online at nearly every stage in the purchase cycle and considered the Internet a vital source of information on a variety of topics.

Still, the vast majority of marketers surveyed by Orcí simply did not know whether social media was a good way to engage the Hispanic population, though they were more likely to say yes than no.

Overall, just 18% of respondents planned to increase their Hispanic marketing spending in the next year. The primary reason companies said they did not market to Hispanics more was that the return on investment would not be justified (38%), followed by the opinion that their current marketing was sufficient for the Hispanic market (29%). Budget was also an issue for 21% of companies surveyed.

“For the last 30 years a minority of companies that have been smart enough to take advantage of engaging Hispanic consumers have seen their efforts make a difference to their bottom line,” said Mr. Orci. “Now more than ever, businesses need to think about how to tap into the opportunity the Hispanic market presents.”

Viable_Opportunities_? CMT lives in the culture speaks the language and brings our clients to this important market, how can we help?

Saludos
Jerry

Is this Social or What?

2010-03-10T10:52:00.000-06:00

I wanted to share an interesting application,http://www.happn.in/about that brings Twitter to a very local channel which we all know the importance of local search. Kick the tires, the developers have a great story to tell.

Also, wanted to share a Twitter story in the New York Times about a bike messenger in NYC who had his bike stolen in the early afternoon in midtown while he was working. Aside from being P'off...he realized by connecting to his followers on Twitter and spreading the word he could possible get some feedback on his bike..well he's the link..http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/a-bike-theft-in-the-time-of-twitter/?scp=1&sq=bike%20stolen&st=cse

B2B the process is longer the entrance fee is time and patience but the payoff in the social media platform is huge when you leverage your resources. CMT, we believe smart growth is creative and building relationships will drive our business and our clients business well into the future.

Saludos:
Jerry/CMT

Leadership Tried and True

2010-03-09T11:03:00.000-06:00

Here are some thoughts on leadership from our Silver Fox Round Table Advisory Group presented from
Len Fuchs:

Leaders avoid battles over statue
Leaders understand that they are only as good as their people
Leaders of successful organizations hire only people who are comfortable with change
Great organizations genuinely care about their people and the people in turn, truly care about the organization
Leaders should not fear having great subordinates; a subordinate's leadership may become vital when least expected
Effective leaders don't focus that much on what they need to know;instead they figure out who they need to be.

What are your thoughts? What is your leadership style? At CMT, we manage the creative side while incorporating the strategic principles that have proven timeless.

Saludos and thank you for your continued interest!

Jerry/CMT

Give a Quote or Present it?

2010-03-05T11:05:00.000-06:00

It's tempting, but don't do it. Under no circumstance should you ever give someone a quote.

I'm not saying you shouldn't quote your product or service. I'm saying you should never simply give a quote when asked for one.

You should present it!

When you give a quote, the emphasis is on price and cost -- both are commodities. This is the fast path to discussion on discounts, terms, and conditions. Quoting leads to comparison shopping and raises price in the hierarchy of buying decisions.

When you present a quote, you emphasis value -- positioning the price of your product or service in support of achieving or avoiding something worthy of spending money to own.

Presentation doesn't have to be elaborate. A simple statement or two may suffice for lesser strategic purchases. In other cases a page or two explaining how the offer you're making is well thought and intended to achieve something valued by your prospect is best.

The idea is the same in all cases -- make your price stand for something more than the simple cost of ownership.

Do you present quotes or merely hand them over? Is presenting a quote worth the trouble --or-- is the whole thing overstated?

We present our services around our clients needs then build value around their pain points..
What say you?

Saludos
Jerry/CMT

Social Media with Mike

2010-03-02T10:22:00.000-06:00

http://www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com/blog/where-to-learn-entrepreneurship-online

He posts generally get to the first page on Google....Mike shares lots of resources with everyone...
and it's a win-win for everyone...

Saludos
Jerry/CMT