BWMagic’s Internet Marketing News!
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Contents:
o My Internet Marketing Strategies For 2010
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Each year around this time, as I close out another year of working
online, I try to sum up what has worked for me over the past year
and what new things I will try in the upcoming year. The only reason
you should care about any of this, some of my marketing strategies and
tactics could be something that would also work for you.
Stranger things have happened!
Coming from a teaching background, I know sometimes it’s the smallest
suggestions that provide the spark to bigger things. It’s the simple
exchange of ideas that can really change how we do something or how
we approach a problem. More importantly, if you see the mistakes of
other marketers, you can avoid them in your own marketing and save
yourself a lot of disappointment and/or headaches.
For me last year was not an easy time to be marketing online, I believe
the recession in the States has finally taken a big toll, not in the number
of sales or revenue generated online because those have never been higher.
However, we are seeing the fallout of all those laid-off workers,
many of them are turning to the web for a source of income – therefore
you have increased competition like never before.
In my marketing niches especially, I have seen a ten-fold increase in
the number of competitors competing for the same sales. And it’s not
just the small-time webmaster or marketer – major corporations are now
targeting the online market in a much more savvy SEO way. It’s one thing
if your competitor is some joe-blow down the street, it’s a totally different
ballgame if your competitor is Dell, Apple or Sony.
These multi-national companies have the resources and very deep pockets
to pull everything out when it comes to SEO. If they want a number one
ranking in organic search, they can usually get it through white hat link
building and keyword positioning. Once these guys start moving into
your keyword phrases, you’re going to have to settle for second place,
if not lower.
Now you can still rank in the top spot and you can still make the sales
but your competition is much stiffer and more powerful – the end result,
you have to work harder to make the sales and get that top spot.
For me it has meant building more sites and doing much more aggressive
promotion in 2009, more articles, more press releases, more videos…
keeping my sites and promoted affiliate products front and center has
been a little harder.
I find myself concentrating on several important niches, rather than a broader
range of products which I would like to be doing… and which I have more
successfully done in years past. Now, because of the stiff competition,
I have to focus more of my time on just a few lucrative niches and keep
those keywords at the top. The end result – my online marketing has become
a lot tougher and harder to do, which is not necessarily all bad, since
I believe I am becoming a better marketer because of this fact. Just
complicates things a bit and all those easy sales of the past is a distant
memory.
Besides this increased competition, two other major events or factors
have overshadowed last year and I would like to talk about them in
some detail here because, I believe, going forward these two factors will
play major roles in online marketing. It might help you to be aware
of them and proceed accordingly.
New FTC Guidelines
First, the new FTC (Federal Trade Commission) Guidelines which came
into effect on December 1st of this month has everyone in online
marketing rattled up and running more than a little paranoid. How these
new rules will be enforced regarding “Testimonials and Endorsements”
could bring significant changes to how marketers can market online.
Major Internet Marketers are closing sites and giving away their products
for free in an attempt to bring their marketing into line with the
new rules. For affiliate marketers like myself, full disclosure and
transparency must now be a part of ALL your online affiliate links.
This could have some serious consequences for those marketing online
and I myself have added seals to my sites stating these are affiliate
marketing sites… how all this plays out in 2010 will be very interesting
to watch. Especially as we see test-cases taken to court and discover
what these new guidelines and rules will mean for hard-working online
marketers, who are only trying to make an honest buck.
Over the last two or three years, I have focused my own online marketing
towards “real products” mainly in electronics and away from “info-products”
which many people look down upon for many reasons. This move towards
selling real goods had more to do with earning income, rather than any
real dislike for info-products on my part…. selling real products and
services has become much more lucrative for me and I am only following
the money. Like you would!
Since I am doing affiliate marketing, how the new FTC guidelines and
rules play out, has my full attention and I am keeping my eyes peeled
to this issue in 2010. All of my own info-products/guides from all my
sites have and will always be free… I believe all information should be
free and not sold. Old teachers never die, they just end up broke!
The second major issue of the moment is Google.
Ever since Bing has come on the scene, Google has gone into overdrive.
At first I thought it was just me being a little sensitive to Google
since most of my traffic and income comes directly or indirectly from
Google.
But according to a recent CNN piece Google has released over 68 new
products within the last month or so. Major among them is the introduction
of “Real-Time Results” into their search index and if that wasn’t enough
Google is introducing Google Caffeine which is a major overhaul of its
search engine. I have told you about Caffeine in the last few emails that
I have sent.
Google is really changing and 2010 will be a watershed year for everyone
connected with Google. How Caffeine rolls out and how it affects your
site’s search results will have a full impact on how well you do in the
coming months… I have been holding my breath since last summer, waiting for
this monster to drop. Could be a smooth transition or a total roller-coaster
ride for my sites. Regardless, Google is going to make 2010 very interesting
for every online marketer.
They have even started suing certain companies for using the Google
name and trademark to scam people. Google has become such a force
that its no wonder, scammers have used it to rip people off and those
scammers should be held accountable. But for legitimate marketers who use
the Google name or talk about Google on their web pages or in their
marketing… it can get somewhat scary. You have to be extra careful
of what you say.
Google also has many new free products or services which are turning
a few heads, I especially marvel at the new “Google Goggles” for
mobile phones. Just take a picture and you get the Google results
instantly – no typing, just point and click.
I just envision, countless clueless teenagers suddenly being empowered
with knowledge and wisdom. Could do more for education since the
invention of the printed word. Talk about scary!
Anyway, Google is indeed, the one to watch in 2010.
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Here’s My Quick “To-Do” Marketing List For 2010
1. Google Caffeine – Totally examine and monitor how Caffeine affects all
my sites and major keyword phrases for which I currently rank on the first
page for in Google. Work out and/or create marketing strategies to counter any
negative effects Caffeine has on my marketing.
2. Bing/Yahoo – This search engine will produce more traffic in 2010 for
everyone involved so it can’t be ignored, no matter how important Google
becomes, B/Y will still deliver the goods. Check and try to improve my rankings
in this non-google search engine.
3. Videos Are It! – Videos have become a very powerful marketing tactic on
the web. I am planning to take full advantage of this powerful marketing medium
by making more site and product-related videos to be placed on YouTube and
around the web.
4. Press Releases – These have become extremely important in the new
“Real-Time Search” web. Getting your links and information onto the web
and into the search engines has never been easier. I am planning on doing
many more Press Releases in 2010.
5. Article Marketing – Writing simple “How-To” articles and placing them
all over the web, is still a very effective marketing technique, especially
when it comes to SEO and getting related one-way links back to your site.
High-quality articles perform the best, so I will be concentrating on producing
less, but hopefully more powerful high-quality articles.
6. Twitter – This has become a major marketing medium on the web.
One that I plan to fully examine and to take more seriously in 2010. Great
list building program which I would like to exploit in the coming year. I am
also expanding my use/link building efforts with all the social bookmarking
sites such as Del.icio.us, Digg, Stumbleupon, Facebook… I believe these
bookmark/links will play a greater role in SEO in the new revamped search engines.
7. Unique Content Links – Writing unique content and placing it on other
related sites around the web is probably the best “off-page” SEO which you can do.
I plan on exploring this marketing technique in 2010 and reaching more sites by
offering unique quality content out to any takers. A win-win situation that you will
see more and more of in the coming years.
8. Revenue Streams – Fully boost my existing revenue streams and start new ones,
especially placing most of my marketing efforts on those streams which give me
residual or recurring income. Expand my targeted “keyword list” to fully take
advantage of those revenue streams. Continue my major keyword battles full force.
9. Cross-promotion With Other Marketers – Doing joint marketing promotions
with related sites and marketers is a great way of building traffic and credibility
on the web. I plan to do more of these in 2010, especially interviews with
major online marketers or with the affiliate products/services I promote.
10. Keyworded Domains – Having your major keyword in your domain name
or URL will become even more important as the web evolves… which is only
common sense. You can rank higher in the search engines for that keyword
phrase if it’s in the domain. I have already bought a few new keyworded
domains which I will build new sites for in 2010. Full steam ahead.
One other consideration for 2010, which I am seriously thinking about has
to do with this newsletter. I am thinking about giving it up entirely!
Basically, over the years I have given valuable marketing information away,
and I have always applied this knowledge to my own online sites and marketing.
Unfortunately, I am also giving away valuable information to my competitors
who are competing against me! Not a very smart idea and an even dumber one
now that my competition has increased tremendously.
If this newsletter suddenly stops and you no longer get it, it will mean
I have discontinued it and gone into stealth mode. But you can still follow
me on Twitter…
DISCLAIMER: The above information is for educational purposes only. Use
at your own risk. Consult your own SEO experts, business experts, professionals…
before proceeding with any business decisions or plans. For further information
read this site’s Disclaimer.
Titus
www.bizwaremagic.com