Are you Froogling? Are your internet services & telecommunications services listed there?

Are you Froogling? Are your internet services & telecommunications services listed there?

As A Big Planet distributor, the first question you need to ask yourself is: "Where do customers shop?"

• Customers shop at a place that s familiar
• Customers shop at a place that s convenient
• Customers shop at a place with good prices
• Customers shop at a place that s well promoted
• Customers shop at a place they ve shopped at before.

So what does knowing where customers shop have to do with the comparison shopping engine called Froogle? Well simply put; many people are familiar with Google's Foogle and they trust Google because they've been there before, it's well promoted, and as always it is convenient. While Google's Froogle does not sell or price products or services themself, they do allow shoppers to find good prices. They've struck the consumer's nail right on its head.

It seems to be a rare exception to the old expression, "there's no such thing as a free lunch". At Froogle, if you're attempting to promote your products or services, lunch is on them. It's 100% free!

Let's start with a few facts about Froogle and then the 'feed' steps for listing your products or services in Froogle.

Google's Foogle...

Froogle is on the Google home page.
Millions of people come to Google each day, and many are actively looking for the products you're selling. Froogle connects shoppers with merchants.

You can list your products on Froogle for free.
Unlike other online shopping sites, Froogle costs nothing. There's no spending account to set up and maintain. No cost-per-click. No cost, period.

At Froogle you control your product information.
Simply upload a new product feed at any time to ensure Froogle displays the most accurate descriptions and promotions for your products.

Froogle is forever free to merchants who wish to participate.
Upload your product info (data feed) and you'll be listed overnight. The entire system is supported by 'Sponsored Links' which are paid advertisements Froogle displays along side the regular Froogle listings.

Most internet services & telecommunications services can be included in Froogle.

Below are some helpful tips toward getting your internet services & telecommunications services included in Froogle using their data feed system:

1. Go to the Froogle Merchant Center and sign-in
   If you do not have an account, open one and enter the merchant area.
   
2. Set-up an FTP account
   Set up an FTP account so that later you can upload your 'product or service' feeds in the Froogle system.
   
3. Adjust your feed's settings
   Your feed will have a filename and other parameters. You must set this up as well.
   
4. Upload your feed
   After you create a feed according to Froogle's instructions you'll upload it by FTP. Check that your feed name matches the filename you chose above in Step 3.
   
5. Check your feed for errors
   Sign in to your Froogle Merchant Center account to check for any formatting errors in your feed.
   
6. Final content review
   We will review your feed to ensure that its content is consistent with our program policies.

Are you learning valuable ideas? We recommend you check out our previous blog posts for many other marketing ideas. In fact, why not add our RSS feed to your "Feed Reader" so you don't miss future trainings?


Technorati:
Big Planet | Froogle | Dan Hollings | internet services | telecommunications
Other recommended blogs:
Nikken | Noevir | Multilevel marketing

Are Mompreneurs Aware of Big Planet?

Are Mompreneurs Aware of Big Planet?

Source: DSA.org

I recently checked the "gender stats" available from the Direct Sales Association, 79.9% of people in "direct sales" are female. Do the math and the males total a paltry 20.1%. Many of the women in our industry (and prospects we seek) are current or future moms. It was only a matter of time before a new term has morphed from entrepreneurism and it called Mompreneurism.

Yes, you're reading it right. According to authors Patricia Cobe and Ellen Parlapiano, who trademarked the term "mompreneurs" and were recently featured in Time magazine and various other programs like Maury; their mompreneurs online site draws millions of visitors each month.

In reading through the Mompreneurs Online web site you'll learn that they've interviewed hundreds of mothers managing kids and a business from home. Their interviews revealed that these 'Mompreneur' women share certain secrets for their savvy web strategies. Of the many things mentioned, below is a sampling of why and how mom-owned businesses are surviving and thriving on the web according to Patricia Cobe and Ellen H. Parlapiano:

• Web Wisdom. Work-at-home moms understand that a dot.com name alone is not enough to power success. But the Internet can be a very valuable tool when used in conjunction with more traditional business strategies.
• A Natural Niche. Cyberspace opens up a wealth of business ideas, allowing moms to tap into their talents, skills and passions to create products and services for highly targeted audiences.
• Team Work. Mompreneurs® forge powerful alliances--both online and off! Together they harness technology to build an instant network of personal and professional support through online communities and marketing cooperatives.

It's possible you think Big Planet is a ideal place for moms? Maybe you're hoping to attract mothers managing kids and a business from home to your site, blog, product or business? Or, maybe you already have lots of moms and a true mompreneurial ground swell in the works?

Whatever the case, these "mompreneurs" working from home are an important niche and your internet marketing can target these moms. Moms are both a consumer and a business force to be understood and respected.

Think optimistically that your internet services & telecommunications services will be just the thing these mompreneurs are wanting? Now, let's continue (below) with more tips in our series on pay per click strategies for gaining highly targeted traffic. Maybe you can get some moms clicking!

Pay per click tips for this week:

• Remember that with PPC campaigns, you are not sending search visitors to a site, you are sending them to a web page (called: a destination or landing page). You must discover keywords and set-up ONE page at a time.
• Remember that people search by typing in more than one word:
• The 7 most used word phrases in search engines according to OneStat.com:
• 2 word phrases 32.58%
• 3 word phrase 25.61%
• 1 word phrases 19.02%
• 4 word phrases 12.83%
• 5 word phrases 5.64%
• 6 word phrases 2.32%
• 7 word phrases 0.98%
• Start your "keyword discovery" process by visiting the destination page you intend to send your search engine visitors to. Put on the 'reading glasses' of a customer and look at your page through their eyes.
• Ask yourself this: "What keywords might a person type in a search box where when they arrived at this destination page, they'd say 'BINGO' this is what I was looking for?" Find these keywords and you've discovered your best keywords.

Making Yourself (or Your Business) Attractive to Mompreneurs

Here's one way you can be relevant and compelling in reaching out to mothers managing kids and a business from home:

SOCIAL SYSTEMS: Social system technology is a new and exciting technology comprised of blogs, tags, photos and the sharing of many other things. Find ways to connect like-minded women. Use technology if you can. Being a mompreneur can be isolating, so business owners are eager for information, resources and social connections.

Review my last several blog posts for many more 'tip-set' in this series of PPC search engine tips.



For additional marketing help visit:
Internet Marketing Tips for Big Planet

Check back next week for the next in this series of pay per click marketing tips...


Technorati:
Big Planet | mompreneur | mompreneurs | mompreneurism | entrepreneur | PPC | pay per click | Google AdWords | Dan Hollings | internet services | telecommunications
Other recommended blogs:
Network marketing | New Vision | Nexx

Most internet services & telecommunications services can be marketed by a PPC campaign

Most internet services & telecommunications services can be marketed by a PPC campaign

Big Planet brings the benefits of technology to everyone. Big Planet's current focus is on the exciting field of digital photography. With the convergence of the personal computer, the Internet, and digital cameras, the way we capture, view, and share our pictures has changed forever. Big Planet is currently developing a digital photo website and product family that meets the needs of this rapidly growing market, making it easy to view, organize, and share precious memories.

As A Big Planet distributor you know your product and you've set your goals. Your web page, site, or blog is up and you're pondering methods to get customers.

Can your internet services & telecommunications services be sold by a PPC campaign or not? You've got to answer that first, right? But equally important, can you come up with a pay per click strategy that generates more measurable results than cost?

Encouraging news, the answer is: "without a doubt, YES!"

Pay per click tips for this week:

• Forget stupid characters. We are talking search engine listings (not eBay) so cool the clever punctuation it L@@KS stupid!!!!!!!! Don't make SOME words CAPITALIZED; it looks like you're shouting desperately for business. Respect the people who read your search engine listings.
• People are by nature often interested in things like 'saving money', 'making money', 'curing something', 'striking a deal', and getting anything of value that is 'free'... but be careful. The addition of such self-interest phrases in your ad copy may skew your clicks upwards while leaving your sales flat. If you're tempted to try such phrases... test, test, test... while keeping an eye on your bottom-line.
• Bluntness works: 'Refinance 4.5%', 'Viagra $39', 'No Interest VISA', etc
• These are the type words that appeal to searchers: more information, complimentary, love, youthful, safe, new, benefit, gain, money, happy, glad, proven, guarantee, resource, fast, results, discover, how you, how to, your, yours, you'll, healthy, natural, magic, secret, comfortable, save, proud, secure, solution.

Last week I posted the another round of search engine marketing tips and even more tips in the weeks before that. Check previous weeks for more suggestions.


To make certain you don't miss this series of pay per click tips, you might consider subscribing to my RSS feed.


Technorati:
Big Planet | PPC | pay per click | Google AdWords | Network Marketing | Yahoo Ads | Dan Hollings | AdWords | internet services | telecommunications

Google, Yahoo, Google? What Works for Big Planet.

Google, Yahoo, Google? What Works for Big Planet.

There are many PPC search engines, with some being better than others. The top two are Yahoo Sponsored Search and Google AdWords. It's a good idea to start your marketing drive with a small budget, spreading it out over a few different search engines to experiment and see where your target market may be lurking.

A good place to start is by viewing the wonderful tutorials and flash overviews offered by Google and Yahoo. Check below for a few examples, you'll find others at Google and Yahoo:

Pay-per-click Yahoo Search: Overview
http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/rc/srch/tu_srch.php
Flash presentation explains Yahoo sponsored search.

AdWord Options for Keyword Matching Explained
https://services.google.com/marketing/stats/tutorial_redirect
Perfecting your Google AdWord targeting and filter worthless clicks.

The AdWords Billing Statement Explained
http://services.google.com/tutorial/billing/billing.html
Don't be confused by your monthly Google invoice.

Let's compare how Yahoo and Google handle keyword bidding:

Yahoo Ad Sponsoring Rules (bidding)

• Yahoo adjusts your bid to 1 cent over your next lowest competitor. Thus, if you bid $3.00 per click, and the next highest bid is $1.95 per click, you will only pay $1.96 per click.
• Yahoo allows you to see who you are bidding against and what they are bidding, so you know exactly where you will rank, and how much you will pay.
• Yahoo's maximum bid is $999.99
• Yahoo's minimum bid is $0.10

Google Ad Bidding Policy

• Google keeps secret what you will pay per click. Thus, if you bid $3.00 per click, you will pay anywhere from $0.05 to $3.00 per click.
• Google does not allow you to know how much your competitors are bidding per click.
• An advantage with Google is that you will rank higher if your click-through rate (CT rate) is better (a CT rate is the ratio of clicks on your ad to the number of times your ad is shown). Thus, you may have a better rank than your competitor, even if he or she bids more than you (because of your CT rate).
• Google's maximum bid is $100.00
• Google's minimum bid is $0.05

New Google AdWords keyword status changes: Simplified keyword states and quality-based minimum bids.

IMPORTANT: Google announced in early August 2005 that they will simplify their keyword status system and introduce quality-based minimum bids, giving us more control to run all keywords we find important.

How it works

Each keyword will now be assigned a minimum bid that is based on the quality (also called Quality Score) of your keyword in your account. If your keyword or Ad Group's maximum cost-per-click (CPC) meets the minimum bid, your keyword will be active and trigger ads. If it doesn't, your keyword will be inactive and will not trigger ads.

Previosly, keyword statuses were called normal, in trial, on hold, and disabled. Under the new rules, this will be replaced with active (triggering ads) or inactive (not triggering ads). No more slowed or disabled keywords if no do not have a minimum clickthrough rate (CTR) threshold.

PPC Tips:

Pay-per-click advertising tips for the Big Planet distributor continue below:

• On the subject of ad copy (the words which will comprise your numerous different listing titles and descriptions) we can sum it up briefly: RELATE your listing to the keyword the searcher has typed, SPARK curiosity in their minds to encourage a visit, be TRUTHFUL, be BRIEF, be CLEAR, don't HYPE, and FILTER out bad clicks.
• FILTER OUT BAD CLICKS? Yes, if your product is NOT for certain searchers, be clear upfront before they click. Example: If you bid on the keyword 'herbal shampoo' because your product is an herbal dog shampoo, make sure your ad copy reads: for dogs, pets, or animals. If you only fulfill orders in Canada, state this upfront in your listing ad copy. There is no need to pay for a visitor click if you cannot service a particular customer's needs. Use words to filter out bad clicks.
• There are many good resources to help you with ad copy, writing, and knowing what to say about your product. We recommend the eBook by Kim Klaver, "If My Product's So Great, How Come I Can't Sell It". Click here for a complimentary 'Mini-edition' of this eBook.

Last week I posted the another round of search engine marketing tips and yet more in the weeks before that. Check previous weeks for more ideas.


Like what you're reading? Subscribe to my RSS feed.


Technorati:
Big Planet | PPC | pay per click | Google AdWords | Network Marketing | Yahoo Ads | Dan Hollings | Sponsored Ads | Contextual Ads | AdWords

Big Planet? Have you considered what consumers think of you?

Big Planet? Have you considered what consumers think of you?

Have you ever thought about the public's perception of what you do?

Big Planet

Big Planet brings the benefits of technology to everyone. Big Planet's current focus is on the exciting field of digital photography. With the convergence of the personal computer, the Internet, and digital cameras, the way we capture, view, and share our pictures has changed forever. Big Planet is currently developing a digital photo website and product family that meets the needs of this rapidly growing market, making it easy to view, organize, and share precious memories.

Do you know if customers have already heard this about Big Planet?

That's an important point you must not overlook in any search engine marketing campaign; you must decide upfront (as you are preparing your keywords, your ads, and your landing page) what the majority of visitors already 'think' about you and the internet services & telecommunications services you offer. In most cases you are best to assume they've never heard of you. That's always the safe bet.

If you're selling iPODs or something very well known, you can approach things much differently. Less time explain 'what' you've got and more time explain 'why' they should buy from you.

If your selling something that appears to be a common commodity (vitamins, shoes, cosmetics, telephone services, etc), then you must differentiate your product from the other seemingly similar products or services that customers will associate you with.

Much of these consumer 'mindset' challenges must be addressed on the page your visitor arrives at after clicking your ad; so before you start any marketing push, reflect for a bit on how visitors will feel (and what they will think) when they hit your landing page.

PPC Tips list continued from previous weeks:

So as promised, below you'll find this weeks installment of search engine tips...

• Sometimes people type in web addresses in those search boxes! So bid on those if the search engine allows it: 'www.website.com', 'website.com', 'http://website.com' and every combination full or partial you think a searcher might actually type.
• Match up keywords with words in your ad copy. Even though a 'spa', a 'hot tub', and a 'whirlpool' might mean the same thing in your mind, if a searcher types in 'hot tub' and your listing says: "Relax and save in your new Spa", you will miss out on many interested customers.
• Think negative... yes, people search for herbs that can kill, plastic surgery pitfalls, mlm scams and sundry other peculiar things. Invite them to explore your related listing. Do you offer cosmetics or skin car as an alternative to plastic surgery? Is you mlm a beacon of light in a sea of seemingly dubious scams?
• Get creative with interest spikes in the news. 'Mad Cow' might be a great keyword for your all vegetarian product line. The 'SARS' outbreak might have generated millions of searches that your 'immunity booster' could have benefited from (just don't make any false claims). And where were all the bra ads when a gazillion people typed in 'Janet Jackson' after the 2004 Super Bowl surprise?

To make certain you don't miss this series of PPC tips, you might consider subscribing to my RSS feed.


Technorati:
Big Planet | PPC | pay per click | Google | Network Marketing | mlm | Dan Hollings | internet marketing | Contextual Ads | AdWords

In a society where we are bombarded with fashion, next on the horizon: Google FadSense?

In a society where we are bombarded with fashion, next on the horizon: Google FadSense?

At Google they claim their mission is to organize the world's information and make it useful and accessible. But they also seem to recognize that people do not sit in front of a computer screen all day. This fact seems to have restricted Google from reaching many markets with their search results and AdWord advertisements.

Well, that was then and this is now. Seems they're beta testing FadSense with Geo Referencing. It's a futuristic line of "wearable ad sponsored cloths" designed to make a fashion statement while earning participants extra income.

Frankly, I'd burn all my clothes tomorrow if I could get my hands on some jeans, a t-shirt, and some tennis shoes that would fill my wallet with cash! How about you?

Go to Google FadSense™

As A Big Planet distributor, you might be wondering why I'm talking about a futuristic contextual AdSense (AdWord) program like FadSense. It's partially because it's funny, but more importantly, it's because I feel the type of advertising we have been discussing here at my "Internet Marketing Tips for Big Planet" blog, is critical to your future. What I'm hoping to teach you are skills and tips that will not only work for Google today, but for any similar type advertising in the future. Google FadSense, real or not!

To summarize the core of our current discussions, we want to know:

• How to find keywords related to your products and services.
• How to determine "tags" that help categorize your content.
• How to create a destination or landing page that works.
• How to write effective ads.
• How to manage your advertising budget.
• How to create eye catching headlines for your ads.
• How to use the internet effectively in any marketing campaign.

My Continuing Tips To Help You With Big Planet...

In my previous blog entries (last week and several weeks prior) we have hammered away with dozens of valuable tips. This week we continue.

• When thinking up keywords, use examples of specific things your product is used for: 'clean floors', clean countertops', 'wash floors', 'mop floors', 'polish stove top', 'remove grime', 'shine appliances', 'disinfect bacteria', 'hide furniture flaws' etc.
• Explore variations: 'soy milk', 'soymilk', 'soy-milk'
• Add plurals: 'protein bar' and 'protein bars'
• Use abbreviations and acronyms
• Use US and UK spellings
• Keyword phrases may be questions: 'how to repair bad credit', 'when should I diet', 'how do I lose weight', 'where are discount cosmetics', etc.

Check back over my last four blog posts for the first, second, third and fourth sets in this series of PPC search engine tips.


Like what you're reading? Subscribe to my RSS feed.


Technorati:
Big Planet | PPC | pay per click | Google | FadSense | AdSense | Sneakers | Dan Hollings | internet marketing | Fashion | Contextual Ads | AdWords

On this date... After 118 Years, Google Inc. Closed Its Doors.

On this date... After 118 Years, Google Inc. Closed Its Doors.

What started as a search engine using a unique approach to link analysis (initially called BackRub) and grew to become the "five-and-dime" of pay-per-click search engines, pulled the plug on the last server on this date in Mountain View, California. It's a story of a future time that could be soon, or beyond our horizon.

If anyone back in the late 1800's or early 1900's had been thinking ahead to the future of Woolworth Corp., it's unlikely they would have ever predicted that the famous five-and-dime would be a line item on a "Today in History" script published to millions of readers across this thing we call the internet.

Yet today, has I opened my RSS News Reader, there it was. I can recall shopping at the five-and-dime as a kid. It was the "best" store in town. Just like Google; the best. Now, its history. Perhaps the best is not good enough?

"The perfect search engine, would understand exactly what you mean and give back exactly what you want," says Google co-founder Larry Page, "Never settle for the best."

What a day (historically speaking)...

By 1997, only a little over 400 Woolworth stores remained in the U. S. (and a few hundred more overseas). It was announced that the stores would be closed and the remaining 9,200 employees terminated. That was on this day.

Could this happen to Google? Well, yes. Bill Gates is on a mission to build a Google killer. What got him so riled? Google, the darling of search is moving into software and that's Microsoft's turf. Fortune story here. For now however, it's all fantasy thinking as the titans of search (Google, Yahoo, & Microsoft) battle it out in cyberspace.

People searching for information on the Internet are driving some of the fastest-growing profits on the Web, whetting advertisers' appetites by signaling what they want. By typing in search terms, users are also sending advertisers a clear message about merchandise they might be interested in buying, and search providers like Google Inc. (Nasdaq:GOOG - news), Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) and Microsoft Corp.'s (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) MSN are cashing in. (Source: Reuters 2005)

Good news for the Big Planet distributor

The Cost Per Lead using Pay-per-click is Cheap Compared To Other Ads

Your cost per click might run you 25 cents or 50 cents or so, but if the research done by Piper Jaffray & Co. is correct, the only thing that counts is the cost-per-customer and those numbers are: $8.50 for search, $20 for Yellow Pages, $50 for online display ads, $60 for e-mail and $70 for direct mail. PPC search wins hands-down.

"Paid-search advertising has become a do-or-die proposition," says Jeff Saville, a consumer direct marketing manager at Deckers Outdoor Corp. "The market is growing fast, primarily because the ads are trackable and target people who are already interested. The medium is also inexpensive compared with television, radio, direct mail and Web banner ads." (Nasdaq:DECK - news)

Are there dangers or flaws in search advertising?

• An estimated 5 percent to 20 percent of clicks are believed to be fraudulent -- the result of people clicking on ads to drive up advertiser costs or to make a profit for Web site publishers who get a cut of revenue.
• According to WebTrends the data suggests that 60 percent of marketers do not measure sales, leads or key actions resulting from campaigns. [This is a dangerous number because that means you are competing with people who don't know what things are truly costing them. You need to be extra analytical when going head to head with this guy.]
• At times, advertisers and their online business affiliates find they are competing with each other in auction-style bidding for key words and pushing up their own costs.

Adding all this up, we come to two conclusions: 1) It pays to get good at pay-per-click advertising if you plan to do business online and 2) we may only have 118 years left with Google :-)

Search engine marketing strategies:

• If your product or service is something that can be related to a locale, like a city, state or region you may be able to find some ripe tomatoes in phrases like: 'retirement homes in Florida', 'Mississippi flat rate phone service', 'herbal sunscreen for southwestern sun', 'indoor air filters for Los Angeles'.
• Discover more keywords by narrowing down to extreme specifics. People can be VERY specific when they search. Use names of months and years like '2004 tax savings', 'May flowers', 'Christmas of 2005' or 'September back to school supplies'.
  
  Let's say you are marketing a broad line of herbal products... why not get a list of all herbs (there may be thousands) and use that list as a keyword list. Maybe your product doesn't contain every herb on the list, but people searching for any ONE herb specifically may be interested in others. Try specific model numbers, makes and designs if your products are sometimes referred to this way: 'Epson stylus CX6400', 'Apple G5', etc.
• Add adjectives to your keywords like: big, purple, new, cheap, affordable, soft, aromatic, healthy, etc.

Check back over my last three blog posts for the first, second and third set in this series of PPC search engine tips.


Like what you're reading? Subscribe to my RSS feed.


Technorati:
Big Planet | PPC | pay per click | Google | marketing tips | search | Woolworth | Today in history | online advertising