Internet marketing tips for XanGo

2005-08-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

Froogle it! In 24 hours your health & nutritional juices and supplements listed?

As A XanGo 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 they trust
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 all this have to do with the comparison shopping engine called Froogle? 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 does not sell or price products or services themself, they do allow shoppers to hunt down good prices. They've hit the consumer's nail right on its head.

It is obviously an exception to the old expression, "there's no such thing as a free lunch". At Froogle, if you're looking to marketing something, lunch is on them. It's free,

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

Highlights of Froogle

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.

Do you market nutritional juice and health supplements? Do you know how they might be found in Froogle.

What follows are some recommended instructions toward getting your health & nutritional juices and supplements found in Froogle using their data feed system:

Go to the Froogle Merchant Center and sign-in
If you do not have an account, open one and enter the merchant area.
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.
Adjust your feed's settings
Your feed will have a filename and other parameters. You must set this up as well.
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.
Check your feed for errors
Sign in to your Froogle Merchant Center account to check for any formatting errors in your feed.
Final content review
We will review your feed to ensure that its content is consistent with our program policies.

2005-08-23T22:54:00.000-07:00

XanGo... Where Mompreneurs Go?

Source: DSA.org

I recently checked the "gender stats" available from the Direct Sales Association, 79.9% of people in "direct sales" are women. Figure it another way and the males total a paltry 20.1%. Many of the women in our industry (and site visitors we seek) are current or future moms. Just when we thought the dictionary had all the words we needed 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 Good Morning America; their mompreneurs online site draws millions of visitors each month.

In reading through the Mompreneurs Online web site you'll discover that they've interviewed hundreds of at home mompreneurs. Their interviews revealed that these at-home business women share certain secrets for cyber-success. I borrowed a few points about mompreneurs from their site... below is a sampling of why and how mom-owned businesses are surviving and thriving on the web according to Parlapiano and Cobe:

The Control Factor. Moms start home businesses for family flexibility, so they grow their enterprises slowly and steadily to retain control over their work/family time. The 24/7 availability of the Internet lets them work when THEY want to.
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.
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.

Maybe you think XanGo is a perfect spot for moms? Maybe you're hoping to attract at home mompreneurs to your site, blog, product or business? Or, maybe you already have lots of moms and a true mompreneurial team working toward your goals?

Whatever the case, at home mompreneurs are an important niche and your promotional campaigns can target these moms. Moms are both a consumer and a business force to be understood and admired.

Maybe your health & nutritional juice and supplements will be just the thing these mompreneurs are wanting? 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!

More tips for your PPC campaign:

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.

Reaching Out to Mompreneurs

Here's one way you can be relevant and compelling in reaching out to at home mompreneurs:

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.

Over 50 tips have been published in this ongoing PPC tips series; please check our archived posts for many more helpful marketing recommendations. OK?

For additional internet strategies visit:
Internet Marketing Tips for XanGo

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

Technorati:
XanGo | mompreneur | mompreneurs | mompreneurism | entrepreneur | PPC | pay per click | Google AdWords | Dan Hollings | nutritional supplements | nutrition
Other recommended blogs:
Rena Ware | Rexair | Sandy Clough Tea

2005-08-17T23:44:00.000-07:00

Do you market nutritional juice and health supplements? Do you know how they might be marketed using pay per click

The brand name XanGo was created from two words: xanthones and mangosteen. And while this brand name represents the origin of the XanGo's beverage, it has also come to represent much more to the people who enjoy it. Although almost unheard of in the temperate zones of North America and Europe, mangosteen is so prized by inhabitants of tropical rain forests that it is universally known as the Queen of Fruits and the Fruit of the Gods. XanGo™ Juice is a truly unique product with natural, universal appeal. Here are some of the benefits:

Supports microbiological balance
Maintains immune system health
Promotes joint flexibility
Provides positive mental support

As A XanGo 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 consumers.

Can your health & nutritional juice and supplements be sold using pay per click or not? This is question number one, right? But equally important, can you put together a pay per click strategy that creates more solid customers than promotional expense?

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

Search engine marketing strategies:

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.

2005-08-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

Pay-per-click Help. Yahoo and Google for XanGo.

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 marketing push 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. View the sample tutorials below, you'll find others at Google and Yahoo:

Yahoo Sponsored Search: Flash Introduction
http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/rc/srch/tu_srch.php
Learn advantages of Yahoo's PPC program.

Bidding and Ranking with Google AdWords
http://services.google.com/tutorial/bpr/bpr.html
Improve your AdWord position and control your costs.

Local Targeting with Google AdWords
http://services.google.com/tutorial/adw_loc_target/adw_loc_target.html
Reach new prospects in specific regional or local areas.

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

Sponsored ads at Yahoo

Yahoo sets your keyword bid only 1 penny 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

Believe it or not, Google never reveals 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.

Understanding Google's New Quality Score

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 XanGo distributor continue below:

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?

2005-08-02T15:37:00.000-07:00

XanGo? What the heck do they do?

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

XanGo

Supports microbiological balance
Maintains immune system health
Promotes joint flexibility
Provides positive mental support

Do you expect that visitors already think this about XanGo?

That's a 'guess-work' element 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 'think' about you and the health & nutritional juice and supplements you offer. If you're not sure, 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 could be clasified as 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 customer acquisition approach, stop and think for a moment about what your potential customer might perceive as they arrive at your landing page.

PPC Tips:

Below are this weeks tips for better search engine marketing (using pay-per-click):

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.

2005-07-26T18:05:00.000-07:00

FadSense? A fabric-embedded electronic technology from Google?

The decision for Google to introduce FadSense as the first application using this technology, was made largely on the success of their AdWord and AdSense advertising programs. For people to adopt this type of wearable advertising, it has to be profitable for the participant and profitable for the advertiser. Can Google really pull this off?

You gotta love it! Google FadSense™

As A XanGo 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 XanGo" 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 track your traffic, results, and advertising ROI (return on investment).
How to create a destination or landing page that works.
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 XanGo...

In my last few blog posts we have hammered away with dozens of valuable tips. This week we continue.

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.

2005-07-17T15:33:00.000-07:00

Google Closed its doors today after pulling the plug on the last of 400 servers. Could it really be?

What started as a a unique approach to solving one of computing's biggest challenges (retrieving relevant information from a massive set of data) and 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."

Today in History...

One of retail's most successful pioneers, F.W. Woolworth, and his empire of department stores that defined the shopping experience for millions over the course of its 118-year existence. Woolworth, considered by his first boss to be the "worst salesman in the world," overcame repeated failure and financial hardship to open his first store in 1879 in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania. Through trial and error, the young Woolworth learned that selling large quantities of low-priced merchandise led to profit. It all ended on this day in 1997.

Could this happen to Google? Well, yes. If the thought of Bill Gates over throwing Google interests you, read this Fortune Magazine article: Search and Destroy. 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 XanGo distributor

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

$8.50 for search, $20 for Yellow Pages, $50 for online display ads, $60 for e-mail and $70 for direct mail. Those are the average cost-per-customer numbers based on research by Piper Jaffray. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know where to spend your advertising dollars.

"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 tips:

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.

2005-07-11T15:53:00.000-07:00

A XanGo distributor methodology for traffic generation on a budget.

Day by day, tick by tick, and click by click, time is passing and none of us are getting any younger. Has anyone mentioned to you that 192 days have passed since the beginning of 2005?

Just as 2003 and 2004 marched forward in the blink of an eye, 2005 is rapidly marching on, yet for may web entrepreneurs few visitors are marching over to see what's up. Are they marching to a different drummer or is it that your advertising effort is just not keeping the beat?

Are you getting your piece of the pie?
Retail sales by internet merchants will likely climb to over $109 billion for the current year.
(Source: Shop.org/Forrester 05/2005)

With 173 days remaining in 2005, imagine how much different your business would be if you could get a marketing plan implemented that dropped dozens of targeted prospects and visitors to your web doorstep each and every week.

If you're asking "Help, help, how do I do this?" Maybe a little internet advertising is in order? Seems that's what a lot of successful online marketers are doing. And of all the methods out there, nothing seems to beat running a really well planned PPC search engine campaign.

Search engine marketing will grow by 33% this year, with growth slowing to 10% annually by 2010, when spending will hit $11.6 billion. (Source: Forrester Research 02/2005)

All around the world you havve reports, stories and statistics that prove "it can be done". Yes, online sales are happening. Reports are continuing, sales are up, and the drum beats on.

Q1 online sales for 2005 reached nearly $37 billion, representing an 18% year-over-year increase (Source: Forrester). Yet if you dig through your online sales records it's unlikely you've experienced similar growth.

But I'm A XanGo distributor, is it a waste of time marketing what I have?

Maybe you are thinking that "some things" sell online but not your health & nutritional juice and supplements. Nothing could be further from the truth. In most cases, it is not the product or service that hinders a sale, it boils down to traffic, strategy and page presentation. Whether you advertise using Google's AdWords, or do pay-per-click at Overture, Yahoo or MSN search, it's the campaign strategy that's important.

Over the past two weeks we started our series of PPC search engine tips. These tips will unquestionanly help your marketing campaign and hopefully put some of the statistics on your side. Without any further delay, I'll continue with my tips this week.

Pay per click tips for this week:

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?

Looking for more suggestions? Check my posts from previous weeks for more ideas and strategies.

In addition, I've written a many 'how-to' articles specifically to help get your internet marketing strategy on-track. You might find these internet marketing articles for XanGo interesting or helpful.

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

Technorati:
XanGo | PPC | pay per click | AdWords | marketing | search | retail statistics | marketing statistics | sales statistics

2005-07-04T16:41:00.000-07:00

Search Engine Tips Bring Fireworks To Your Site Or Blog

After 172 days and 268 million miles of deep space stalking, NASA's Deep Impact successfully struck comet Tempel 1. The cosmic collision between the coffee table-sized impactor and city-sized comet occurred at 1:52 a.m. EDT.

"If this doesn't make for a spectacular July the 4th, what does?"

And you're thinking, "What in the blogging world is this all about?" Yes, this is a blog about improving your business by better implementing your online marketing campaign for XanGo. The bottom line goal is to get quality blog, site or landing page "hits"... not a hit like Comet Tempel 1, but a hit none-the-less from a targeted visitor.

Why all the deep impact talk you ask? Well the truth is, I found this news story fascinating (perhaps like you and umteen others) and felt it was rather topical for this 4th of July holiday.

It just so happens that being "topical" and relating what you do with XanGo to news and current events is also an astounding marketing strategy. Millions of people are on the net today, tomorrow, and at all times, seeking news or details about all sorts of current events. If you're writing about that event or news item, you can increase the odds that searchers will find you. If what you do (or what you market) is related in some way, then like a toad on a hot road, you'll see your results leap to much higher levels.

The increase level of visitors such a campaign can achieve by riding on the comet tail of current events and news stories can be as spectacular as one might imagine. The impact on your business can be equally stellar.

In my last blog post we started our series of PPC search engine tips that can help your campaign for better targeted earthbound visitors. So without further comet (or is it comment?), let's continue...

Pay per click tips for this week:

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.

In my previous blog post I included the first installment of tips. You will find additional help for your PPC campaign there.

Check back next week for the next in this series of PPC tips... Until next week, happy PPC campaigning...

It happened on the 4th...
1918 - Ann Landers (Esther Pauline Friedman) and Abigail Van Buren (Pauline Esther Friedman), advice columnists was born.

Hubble captures Deep Impact's collision with comet (EurekAlert!)
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured the dramatic effects of the collision early July 4 between comet 9P/Tempel 1 and an 820-pound projectile released by the Deep Impact spacecraft.

Deep Impact Smashes Into Tempel 1 (Universe Today)
NASA's Deep Impact mission completed its primary goal July 1st, when its impactor spacecraft smashed into Comet Tempel 1. NASA scientists are eagerly reviewing the impact data captured by the flyby spacecraft to learn what size crater was excavated, and the kind of material ejected into space. The 373 kg (820 lb) copper impactor crossed paths with Tempel 1 right on schedule, at 0552 UTC (1:52 am

NASA's Deep Impact Kicks off Fourth of July With Deep Space Fireworks (SpaceRef)
After 172 days and 431 million kilometers (268 million miles) of deep space stalking, Deep Impact successfully reached out and touched comet Tempel 1. The collision between the coffee table-sized impactor and city-sized comet occurred at 1:52 a.m. EDT.

Technorati:
XanGo | marketing | search | comet | NASA

2005-06-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

Google, Yahoo, MSN search and Overture... Understanding pay per click advertising.

Over coffee this morning, it hit me like a caffeine freight train that lot's of people are embarking upon pay per click ads (like: Google, Yahoo, MSN search etc) and are not achieving the kind of success they deserve. In fact, some folks are so paralyzed by the thought of 'paying for clicks' that they have never even tested the PPC waters.

After a few more java jive gulps, I decided to launch a multiple week tips post on the topic. In fact, over the next few weeks I plan to share what I consider the best tips for running a successful pay-per-click search engine campaign. I consider a 'successful' campaign one that generates blog or web page visitors well matched to your ad offer and visitors whose clicks don't cost you a fortune.

Unless you have very deep pockets, or you're completely nuts, or you have a solid money-making conversion rate, paying big bucks for clicks that don't pan out is like handing the impoverished street corner beggar your credit card.

Is it possible to launch a PPC ad campaign that drives quality traffic without causing a heart attack? What follows below and over my next several blog posts are my personal campaign tips designed to put your PPC project on a solid road to success.

Search engine campaign tips:

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.

Don't forget that if you run any PPC search engine ad campaign over a few weeks and you get no sales or sign-up results, the challenge is most likely NOT the traffic you're generating from your ad, rather it is your site, your landing page, your product, your service, your price or some factor other than your PPC visitor hits. The first thing I'd look at ( in examining your campaign for flaws ) is your landing page. I've seen many a site that look like a one eyed hooker with fish-net pantyhose. Go figure.

For additional help with your pay per click ad campaign check out the articles linked in my previous post.

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

Best of Luck with XanGo !

2005-06-19T17:29:00.000-07:00

Internet marketing tips for the average JOE or JOSEPHINE

Perhaps you stumbled upon this site by accident? Perhaps a friend recommended it? Whatever the case, you've just discovered the "Internet Marketing Tips Blog for XanGo ." Since this is my first post, I'd like to lay the foundation for what one should expect as I blog away on the various topics listed further down the page.

First, why did this all start?

Well, after publishing ebooks, writing articles, and training entrepreneurs for 2000 years (those are dog years) , I've been convinced by my followers, supporters, detractors, foes and even my dog, "Herbie" that I should devote a little time each week blogging about all this weird internet stuff that seems to dominate at least 50% of my brain.

So, here we are, and you're now thinking deeply about two things:

What might you learn by following Dan's internet marketing tips blog?
-and- What exactly dominates the other 50% of Dan Hollings' brain?

I might can help you on the first item, but even I am a bit foggy on what dominates that other 50% on my brain :-) So let's focus on marketing ideas to help you promote Health & Nutritional Juice and Supplements .

In a nutshell, I have helped network marketers, website owners, bloggers, internet entrepreneurs, affiliates, and even big companies improve their internet strategies. But what I enjoy most is working directly with the average "Joe" or "Josephine".

I started out not knowing any of this techno-geek stuff. Yes, that was about 10 years ago. But today after acting like a loofa sponge for all these years, I've learned a trick or two about making money on the web. My goal is to cut to the chase and offer you hands-on strategies that will increase prospects, customers and visitors to your sites and blogs.

If you decide to hang with me here, I'll be writing, training, and yapping about anything and everything, as long as it works. It is likely that you are doing some things wrong or inefficiently and if you are like most, you're spending far more money than you should on 'stuff' that has questionable results.

Even though this particular blog will focus on strategies for XanGo and how to market Health & Nutritional Juice and Supplements , I may from time-to-time give examples from other industries or areas to demonstrate a strategy or idea. It's your job to apply the concepts to YOUR particular site, blog, product or service.

Below are a few of the areas I'll help you with:

Blogging
Generating internet leads
Web page ideas (to increase results)
Landing or destination pages
Opt-in mail list ideas
Content creation ideas
Profiting from Adsense or Contextual ads
Search engines and Pay per click
Tags (the keywords of blogs and...)
Networking through "social systems"
The how and why of newsletters
RSS feeds (the why and how)
Creating your own Press Releases
and Making Money on the Web

In addition, I've written a few 'how-to' articles specifically to help get your internet marketing strategy on-track. You might find these internet marketing articles for XanGo interesting or helpful.

Finally, you may be asking WHY I decided to do a blog specifically for XanGo ? The truth is, I run separate blogs for many types of of entrepreneurs. This is only one of my blogs!

Rest assured I am not a recruiter, I'm not active in any 'company', and I do not sell or share names on any of my opt-in lists. I make my living exclusively by helping others make money online. I'm a consultant and internet systems developer. Occasionally I offer classes, sometimes I offer eBooks, and I have web systems that many subscribers use to improve their traffic, content and results online. That's the deal.

I'm not sure how often I'll be posting, but my goal is to add tips weekly (maybe more often). Grab our FEED (RSS) and recommend us to your friends. I'll do everything I can to make it "profitable" for all of us.

OK?