What's Froogle? Can people find your legal services displayed there?

What's Froogle? Can people find your legal services displayed there?

As A Pre-Paid Legal independent associate, the first question you need to ask yourself is: "Where do customers shop?"

• Consumers frequent places that are familiar
• Consumers frequent places that are convenient
• Consumers frequent places with fair prices
• Consumers frequent places that are well advertised
• Consumers frequent places they ve shopped at in the past.

So what does a customer's shopping habits have to do with Froogle, the comparison shopping engine? Well simply put; many people trust Google's Foogle and they are familiar with Google because it's well promoted, they've been there before and it's always convenient. While Google's Froogle never sets prices on items or markets stuff themself, they do allow shoppers to search for good prices. While many other comparison shopping engines are good, when it comes to helping small merchants get their products in front of customers "ready to buy", Foogle has hit the consumer's nail right on its head.

Perhaps is one of those unusual exceptions to the old expression, "there's no such thing as a free lunch". At Froogle, if you're hoping to get your stuff in front of shoppers, lunch is on them. It's as easy as 1-2-3.

After some few facts about Froogle, I'll cover the steps for uploading your products or services information.

Froogle Info

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 provides store ratings and product reviews.
Google's technology scours the web to identify relevant information about listed stores and products. This information is in the form of review 'snippets' from independent ratings sites.

Are legal services viable ecommerce services? Can they be ranked in Froogle.

Below are some recommended instructions toward getting your legal services ranked 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.
   

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Pre-Paid Legal | Froogle | Dan Hollings | legal services | law services
Other recommended blogs:
Sarah Coventry | Seaborne | SeneGence

Mompreneurs Rule at Pre-Paid Legal?

Mompreneurs Rule at Pre-Paid Legal?

Source: Direct Sales Association

According to the most recent statistics available from the Direct Sales Association, 79.9% of people in "direct sales" are female. Do the math and the boys total a paltry 20.1%. Many of the women in our industry (and customers we seek) are current or future moms. It seems natural that a new term has morphed from entrepreneurism and it called Mompreneurism.

Books About 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 NBC Nightly News; their mompreneurs online site and Message Board 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 at-home business 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 Cobe and 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.
• Money Smarts. Moms don't overextend their financial resources and are less likely to use outside funding during start-up. So they don't have to worry about venture capitalists pulling the plug on their businesses.
• 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.

Do you think Pre-Paid Legal is a great 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 spirit?

Whatever the case, work-from-home mothers are an important niche and your search engine marketing strategies can target these moms. Moms are both a consumer and a business force to be respected and understood.

Think optimistically that your legal services will be just the thing these mompreneurs are seeking? Now, let's continue (below) with more tips in our series on techniques to assure a successful PPC search engine campaign. Maybe you can get some moms clicking!

Tricks of the trade for the successful PPC campaign...

• When cooking-up your keyword phrase list, use an extended "keyword discovery" phase. Your competition, like you, will do basic keyword research. You can only beat them if you take it to the next level, and that won't happen in the first day. Having a large number of targeted keywords in your campaign is a side effect of an extended period of brainstorming, discovery, research, or whatever you want to call it.
• Not very wood with gords? There is a hidden target market of quality visitors who type in incorrect spellings of what they are looking for. Site owners often overlook this. In a recent 30 day period on a major search engine at least 108 people where searching for a 'buisness'? Hundreds more were searching for: 'vitiamins', 'vitimans' and even 'vitamens'... You can bid on misspellings and have very little competition on the search results page.
• Assume that at least half your keywords will be rotten eggs, that is, no one will ever look for them and end up at your site. Because there is no extra cost to add as many keyword phrases as you can think up, treat them like biscuits and bake-up as many as you can... 100 or more keyword phrases for each destination page you list in any PPC search engine.

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:

STORIES FROM THE HEART: Mompreneurs provide great stories to share in your advertising and promotional campaigns. Millions of moms dream of starting a business or turning their hobbies into profits. By showing successful mompreneurs who are thriving both at home and in business, you can tap into a powerful desire.

For additional marketing help visit:
Internet Marketing Tips for Pre-Paid Legal

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


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Pre-Paid Legal | mompreneur | mompreneurs | mompreneurism | entrepreneur | PPC | pay per click | Google AdWords | Dan Hollings | legal services | law services
Other recommended blogs:
Rena Ware | Rexair | Sandy Clough Tea

Are legal services viable ecommerce services? Can they be successfully promoted by PPC

Are legal services viable ecommerce services? Can they be successfully promoted by PPC

Pre-Paid Legal offers Legal Service Plans providing access to justice for middle-income individuals and families. Their plans are designed with the cost-conscious consumer in mind. Have you ever...

• wanted legal advice on a credit matter?
• wanted legal assistance with the purchase of a home?
• needed legal services in writing or revising your Will?

For less than a dollar a day, Pre-Paid Legal provides you access to services previously reserved for the wealthy? Pre-Paid Legal also markets the Identity Theft Shield™ to help participants stay ahead of the curve. One of the most talked-about and fastest growing white-collar crimes in history, identity theft is a problem people can't afford to ignore.

As A Pre-Paid Legal independent associate 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 legal services be sold by PPC or not? You've got to answer that first, right? But equally important, can you implement a plan that produces more measurable results than cost?

Promising news, the answer is: "definitely yes."

PPC Tips:

• 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.

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.


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?


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Pre-Paid Legal | PPC | pay per click | Google AdWords | Network Marketing | Yahoo Ads | Dan Hollings | AdWords | legal services | law services

Google AdWords and Yahoo Sponsored Search for Pre-Paid Legal.

Google AdWords and Yahoo Sponsored Search for Pre-Paid Legal.

Sometimes you feel like flipping a coin when choosing a pay per click search engine. Which one is really best for you? The top two are Yahoo Sponsored Search and Google AdWords. It's a good idea to start your PPC customer acquisition approach with a small budget, spreading it out over a few different search engines to experiment and see where your target market may be lurking.

There's no better way to begin than by viewing the wonderful tutorials and flash overviews offered by Google and Yahoo. View the sample tutorials below, you'll find others at Google and Yahoo:

Sponsored Search: Flash Introduction by Yahoo
http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/rc/srch/tu_srch.php
Yahoo sponsored search overview.

Google AdWords Keyword Matching Options
https://services.google.com/marketing/stats/tutorial_redirect

Refine your ad targeting and reduce irrelevant clicks.

AdWords Optimization Tips
http://services.google.com/tutorial/opt_tips/google_opt.html
Attract more prospects by editing your Google ads.

Yahoo and Google Handle Bidding a Bit Different, Let's Look...

Yahoo Sponsored Ads

• 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

AdWords by Google

• 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.

NOTE: 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.

Tips, Tips, Tips... They just keep on coming!

Pay-per-click advertising tips for the Pre-Paid Legal independent associate continue below:

• 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 yet more in the weeks before that. Check previous weeks for more ideas.


Check back next week for the next in this series of PPC tips...


Technorati:
Pre-Paid Legal | PPC | pay per click | Google AdWords | Network Marketing | Yahoo Ads | Dan Hollings | Sponsored Ads | Contextual Ads | AdWords

Pre-Paid Legal? Does anybody really know what I offer?

Pre-Paid Legal? Does anybody really know what I offer?

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

Pre-Paid Legal

Pre-Paid Legal offers Legal Service Plans providing access to justice for middle-income individuals and families. Their plans are designed with the cost-conscious consumer in mind. Have you ever... wanted legal advice on a credit matter? wanted legal assistance with the purchase of a home? needed legal services in writing or revising your Will? For less than a dollar a day, Pre-Paid Legal provides you access to services previously reserved for the wealthy? Pre-Paid Legal also markets the Identity Theft Shield™ to help participants stay ahead of the curve. One of the most talked-about and fastest growing white-collar crimes in history, identity theft is a problem people can't afford to ignore.

Do you know if people visiting your web page already have a mindset like this about Pre-Paid Legal?

That's the challenge in any search engine marketing campaign; you should consider upfront (as you are preparing your keywords, your ads, and your landing page) what the majority of visitors already 'know' about you and the legal services you offer. Not sure? Then If at best you're guessing, then 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 things the public possibly will associate you with.

Much of these consumer 'mindset' challenges must be worked out by setting up 'mindset adjusters' (fancy phrase for good educational content snippets) on the page they hit immediately after clicking your ad; so before you start any customer acquisition approach, think like a customer and look at your landing page.

PPC Tips:

Without any further delay, I'll continue with my tips this week.

• 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.

Looking for more search marketing tips? Check my posts from previous weeks for more ideas and strategies.


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Technorati:
Pre-Paid Legal | PPC | pay per click | Google | Network Marketing | mlm | Dan Hollings | internet marketing | Contextual Ads | AdWords

Google FadSense: I bet Batman or Johnny Depp will don one of these in their next movie!

Google FadSense: I bet Batman or Johnny Depp will don one of these in their next movie!

And I bet the sequel to "You've Got Mail" will be "You got clicked!" Google FadSense (if real) with it's new wearable computer material would have a far-reaching impact on how society receives its information. I think people would "bend over backwards" to read some ads!

You gotta love it! Google FadSense™

As A Pre-Paid Legal independent associate, 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 Pre-Paid Legal" 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!

When we boil it all down, here's what we must learn:

• How to find keywords related to your products and services.
• How to determine "tags" that help categorize your content.
• How to prepare your marketing campaign from the ground up.
• How to track your traffic, results, and advertising ROI (return on investment).
• 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 Pre-Paid Legal...

Over the past few weeks we have hammered away with dozens of valuable tips. This week we continue.

• 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?

For additional tips that might improve your pay per click ad campaign review the tips in my previous posts.


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Pre-Paid Legal | PPC | pay per click | Google | FadSense | AdSense | Sneakers | Dan Hollings | internet marketing | Fashion | Contextual Ads | AdWords

Google, the "Five and Dime" of Pay-Per-Click Search Engines Called It Quits On This Day, After 118 Years...

Google, the "Five and Dime" of Pay-Per-Click Search Engines Called It Quits On This Day, After 118 Years...

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?

Larry Page has an interesting vision on being the best... "The perfect search engine, would understand exactly what you mean and give back exactly what you want, never settle for the best."

On this date...

After 118 years, the Woolworth Corp. closed its last 400 five-and-dime stores. Most of today's successful discount retailers began life as five and dime stores. In 1962: Kresge's opened its Kmart stores, Sam Walton turned his five and dime into the first Wal-mart, Woolworth's opened Woolco and Dayton Hudson opened Target stores.

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.

Research shows global Web search advertising revenue, which is big business for the Internet giants, will be almost $8 billion in 2005 -- more than 20 times what it was four years ago. (Source: Reuters 2005)

Good news for the Pre-Paid Legal independent associate

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

In a news story from Reuters (2005) there were some interesting stats comparing search to other forms of advertising using a cost per lead comparison. Citing Piper Jaffray, he says the cost to acquire a lead is $8.50 for search, $20 for yellow pages, $50 for online display ads, $60 for e-mail and $70 for direct mail. Cost for television leads were not covered. There's little wonder why search is gaining so much attention from advertisers.

"When someone conducts a search, only two things can happen. They'll either find your business or a competitor's business. Game over," states Jeffrey Herzog, chairman and chief executive of iCrossing, a search engine marketing company that helps people create and manage Web search campaigns.

Are there dangers or flaws in search advertising?

• Certain campaigns fail because they are ill-conceived or unsuited to the medium.
• 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.
• Some worry that new advertisers are rushing blindly into paid search and inflating key word prices -- a concern underscored by WebTrends data.

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 tips:

• 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.

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Pre-Paid Legal | PPC | pay per click | Google | marketing tips | search | Woolworth | Today in history | online advertising