SEO Vs. Paid Ads: Taking the Third Option

In the Internet, one of the most popular methods of online marketing is Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. SEO refers to the methods used by a marketer to naturally increase their ranking on Google or Bing's search results.

Organic SEO is achieved through creating web content containing the brand's desired keywords. However, the web content being created must be relevant and of high quality to achieve a higher ranking. Shortcuts that are often illegal in the eyes of the search engine algorithm are looked down on and can lead to banning.

Because SEO takes time to strategize and take effect. This is why another mode of digital marketing has quickly gained traction: Paid advertising.

Paid advertising, also known as pay-per-click advertising, is rather self-explanatory. It means paying for advertising spaces on search result pages. Each click on an ad by a user costs a marketer a certain amount of money. Links are identified with small icons as paid ads on the search results.

It also allows a marketer to have options such as choosing keywords related to the ad and the geographic location where the ads will appear.

Paid ad services, like Google AdWords, allow marketers to have advantages such as:

1. Better visibility. The best paid ads can dominate the top slots of the search results. Despite having low organic ranking, well-made paid ads can still appear on higher positions.

2. Faster exposure. Since organic SEO takes a long time to fully take effect, one can switch to pay-per-click instead. When made right, it can have the ability to reach the top page on the first try.

3. Visuals. Paid Ads allow marketers to display the product they are selling. This can be more attractive to users than a simple link to a page.

However, one should note that paid ads have no effect on the organic ranking of a brand's webpages. It can also be more expensive than organic SEO in the long run.

To avert this, online marketing outsourcers with PPC management services tend to offer SEO company services as well. It allows their clients the option of using one or the other.

The ideal method of online advertising, however, is not just to stick to either organic SEO or to paid SEO, but using both of them. Putting the two of them together in a symbiotic relationship can be beneficial. For example:

1. Paid advertising can be used as a testing ground for keywords before finalizing your SEO strategy. Through this method, you do not have to waste time experimenting

2. Data can be gathered from studying keyword search results from paid ads. These can be used to improve SEO strategies for organic ranking.

3. Keywords that cost too much money in pay-per-click can be shifted to organic SEO use. In this manner, the advertiser can minimize costs and still appear higher in the search results.

4. More users will be aware of your online presence. This is because your ads and webpages will be visible on both organic rankings and paid ad slots.

Search engine optimization and paid advertising are both efficient tools for online marketing. They both also have their advantages and disadvantages.

Through collaborating these two tools, a smart online advertiser can avoid the pitfalls that using only one tool brings.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Donald_Smithon/2139064

Website Sales Copy

A professional looking website is a very important part of developing a profitable Internet business. However, your website sales copy is just as important — each will play a major role in your success.

The key to writing effective sales copy is simply learning how to write persuasive words specifically written for your targeted potential customer. You must feel their needs and write your copy with passion, excitement, and benefits. Tell them exactly what’s in it for them by writing copy that evokes a specific emotion and stresses your product’s benefits.

Use the following formula when writing your sales copy:

A – Attention – Use a powerful headline that demands attention
I – Interest – Intrigue interest and create curiosity
D – Detail – Provide details about your product or service
A – Action – Call for action

When you begin writing your copy, your text should be written in a black, legible font with a light background. Avoid using fancy fonts or backgrounds that will make your text difficult to read. Write in small blocks of text with a space between each block. There is nothing that will make your visitor click away faster than a sea of black text –so make sure you use plenty of white space.

A great way to write your website sales copy and come up with new benefits is to use the “so what” strategy. After each sentence, say to yourself, “so what” and then elaborate.

Example:

XYZ computers are lightning fast. (so what) They can process information faster than any other computer on the market. (so what) Your programs will instantly load on command, (so what) saving you hours of valuable time and frustration over the life of your computer.

Remember…benefits sell not features.

Headline

The first and most important part of your sales copy is the headline. If your headline doesn’t instantly capture your targeted potential customers’ attention and arouse a specific emotion, the rest of your sales copy will be useless.

In order to write an effective headline, you must learn how to use specific words to achieve a specific reaction.

Before writing your headline, you must first learn a little bit about the basic human motivators. According to psychologist Abraham Maslow, human behavior is always the result of one or more of five basic needs. He listed these needs in a sequence that he refers to as “the hierarchy of human needs.”

He believes that until a less important need is met there won’t be any desire to pursue a more important need. Below are the five human motivators, beginning with the basic needs and continuing to the most important needs.

Physiological – Basic human needs include hunger, thirst, shelter, clothing, and sex.
Safety (Security) – Human need for physical, emotional and financial security.
Social (Affiliation) – Human need for love, affection, companionship, and acceptance.
Esteem (Self Esteem) – Human need for achievement, recognition, attention, and respect.
Self-actualization – Human need to reach their full potential.

When you are aware of the basic human needs, you can incorporate these needs into your writing. A great headline will appeal to your potential customers’ emotions. You must feel their needs, wants and desires and write your headlines with passion and emotion.
Introduction

First Paragraph

Just as your headline is a very important part of your sales copy, the first paragraph is just as important. Studies have shown that if your headline attracts your potential customers’ attention, and you can maintain their attention through the first paragraph, chances are they’ll read the rest of your copy.

The first paragraph should clearly define the benefits that will be outlined within your sales copy — identify a problem and promote your product or service as the solution.

Subheadings

Subheadings are basically just smaller headlines used to break up your text blocks. They also provide your readers with important highlights of your paragraphs.

Use plenty of subheadings throughout your copy, as not all of your visitors will read your copy word for word. They’ll simply scan it and only read what catches their attention.
Remove the Risk

Guarantee

You must provide your potential customers with a solid, no risk, money back guarantee. In addition, provide a limited time free trial or download that will completely remove their risk. This will build your potential customers’ confidence in you and put their mind at ease.

Call for Action

Once your potential customer has read your sales copy, you must direct them to your order page by asking for the order.

Use a P.S.

When your visitor scans your sales message, chances are they’ll read your headline, sub-headlines, and your PostScript message. Place your most important benefits within your PS message.

Testimonials

Testimonials provide a great way to reassure your visitors. Blend your testimonials in with your sales message. Avoid making your visitors have to click to another page to view your testimonials — chances are, they won’t. By blending your testimonials in with your sales message, you can ensure they will be read.

Long Copy verses Short Copy

It is a proven fact that long sales copy out-sells short sales copy. However, some visitors do prefer a short sales letter. You can provide your visitors with both. For those who prefer a short sales letter, provide opportunities to click through to your order page prior to ending your sales letter.

Try to keep your sales letter all on one page. Your visitors would much rather have to scroll through your letter than click through and load another page. With each additional click, you’ll lose a percentage of your potential customers.

Conclusion

Your words should seamlessly flow together from your headline through to your order page. Every word, sentence, and headline should have one specific purpose — to lead your potential customer to your order page. The simple, well-designed websites with killer website sales copy make the sales.

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Why Creating Great Content Is The Only Online Marketing Strategy You Need To Follow

When you hear the words "online marketing", what comes to your mind? Social Media? Facebook? Search engine optimization? Blogging? WordPress? Or maybe you think about online advertising, pay-per-clicks, and search engine marketing. I believe there is one word that everyone thinks about when they hear the term "online marketing", and that word is "difficult." Online marketing is difficult.

Have you ever talked to a marketing guru about online marketing? Don't they all give the same, vague, generalized advice when it comes to online marketing? First, they tell you to hire a SEO firm, then they tell you to blog, then they tell you to use social media, and after you've done all of this, they tell you that you'll start receiving traffic to your website. Every marketing guru says the exact same thing, and the advice is always vague. Even the in-depth advice about online marketing is vague. Have you ever read an article about online marketing? Try this when you have some free time. Research "online marketing strategies" on Google and click on and read some of the articles. You don't have to look past the first page on Google. Just read some of the top articles that Google returns. This is a compare and contrast exercise. Once you complete this, you'll realize that all these articles sound the same. The first paragraph gives you a brief overview of what online marketing is and why it is so important. Then the list starts. Now after you've completed this exercise, you probably realize that the titles of the article all have something in common; they're all formatted as a top-ten list. They all look like this: "7 Online Marketing Facebook Strategies to Increase your Fan Base." Now, this isn't problem. I like the top-ten list format. It makes the article more appealing to the reader. What I don't like about majority of these articles is that almost everyone's top-ten list is the same. They all give the same online marketing strategies and advice. I mean c'mon; these are the experts! These are professional writers, writing for some of the biggest companies in the world. Why do majority of the articles sound the same? Because again, online marketing is difficult! No one likes to be wrong or give bad advice. The writers are just writing the same vague, generalized advice that the marketing gurus say. I could go on-and-on, especially when it comes to online marketing workshops, but I'm not going to; I think you've gotten the point by now.

In this article, I'm going to attempt to do something that's rarely done. I'm going to attempt to give you original and effective advice about online marketing. I'm going to be completely honest. I will not give you outdated strategies that do not work just to make my article longer. These strategies will work. How do I know? Because, I run a company and they're currently working for me. I have experience in this area and I've made many mistakes in online marketing, so I know what works and what doesn't work. So, without further ado, here are my online marketing strategies that will definitely help your business gain more exposure online.

Online marketing is all about the kind of content you're creating. First of all, the best online marketing strategy is creating content. Hands down! Sure, Facebook likes, retweets and social media shares on other popular social media sites like Pinterest, Instagram, and Reddit are cool, but do they really increase profits for a business? Think about it, how many times do you patronize a business because you liked their Facebook post? Exactly. I believe social media is very powerful but only works if you have great content. Content can be anything. It can be from a very nicely written article to a fashionable t-shirt with a clever phrase on the front. Content can really be anything. I believe majority of the businesses out there think that just posting a catchy post on Facebook along-side an eye-catching photo will increase their consumer base and ultimately their profits. This just isn't true. If online marketing were that easy, everyone, including the average person would be an expert at online marketing. Anything in this world worth having takes hard work and time; the results from an effective online marketing campaign are no different. Creating great content isn't easy; however, when you do create great content, there are so many resources at your disposal that could potentially help that content become viral. Have you ever saw a video on Facebook or YouTube that has hundreds of shares and thousands of likes? The reason that video went viral is because of the content. The average person isn't a marketing guru and doesn't have a social media budget; all they have is their imagination. That's all you need to create great content.

So, now that we've established that creating great content is the best online marketing strategy, I'm going to show you how to create great content. As I stated earlier, creating great, viral worthy content isn't easy. However, there are so many resources to help that content go viral; creating the content is really the only hard part. Creating great content requires research. You have to think about what's trending in the world. Too many marketing gurus think that the only thing that can go viral is a funny YouTube video and that's just not true. If you're not funny, don't try to be funny. You don't have to be funny. Play to your strengths. You just have to be creative, persistent, and use your imagination. There are a lot of things that are trending in the world. Pick one. Create content about a subject that's important to you. The more important it is to you, more than likely, the better the content will be. The next step is to create the content using a media that's popular. There is a reason why videos are more likely to go viral than an article. A great article can go viral, but it will definitely take longer. People enjoy videos more; there's no reading involved in watching a video. Your video doesn't have to be aesthetically appealing and you don't have to be an expert in video editing; it just has to be interesting. And don't worry, you can always learn about video editing and special effects while making the video; it's not exactly rocket science, it just takes a little practice. The next step in creating great, viral worthy content is relating that content back to your business. This might be the hardest part, but, if done correctly, is a game-changer. The ultimate goal is conversions, however, why do you need to convert people through the content? That's the mistake that many marketing gurus make. Great content may not raise your profits right away, but it's not supposed to. The purpose of content marketing is to raise awareness of your business. The profit gains will come in the future, not immediately. As long as the content relates back to your business (in some kind of way), you're good. The next step in writing great content is your content has to solve a problem. Consumers have problems, even if that problem is ignorance, meaning, not knowing enough about a particular subject. Great content solves problems and enlightens consumers. That's why great content goes viral. Consumers share things that they've recently learned because everyone has the inner-urge to help someone else in need.

So, let's recap. The best online marketing strategy is creating great content. There are five steps to creating great content:

1. Pick a topic that's trending
2. Use a popular medium to create the content (i.e. WordPress)
3. Relate the content back to your business
4. Make sure the content solves a problem or enlightens consumers about a particular subject.
5. The last and easiest step in this process is to share the content, everywhere.

When sharing the content, use every avenue you can think of. Social Media, Blog, YouTube, PR, press releases, etc. Don't be stingy. Great content is meant to be shared with the world. See, I told you I'd give you advice that actually works. Stop worrying about all that other stuff, like building backlinks using automated software. Google hates that anyway, but that's another subject for another day. Take care!

Allen Screen

-Content Creator and Online Marketing Director for PayPanther.com

If you're looking for an all-in-one business solution, then you're looking for PayPanther. CRM, Project Management, Time Tracking, Invoicing, Billing, and Task Management for any professional in any industry.

http://www.paypanther.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8508953