Congratulations to Catherine Dodd, whose online marketing efforts are paying off.

Keyword research, a targeted web page and the easy part (for Catherine) - happy customers - all contribute to this great result.

One of the things which I love most about the 30 Day Challenge and the 30 Day Challenge Plus, is that I have someone else actively sourcing and testing the best tools on the market, and only when they have passed the test do they get recommended.

One such tool is Market Samurai.  An Australian based product which has stood the test of time - it continues to come highly recommended.

Its most common use is for an extremely efficient way of doing Keyword Research, however its capacity goes way beyond this.  It is excellent at finding micro niches, it provides a comprehensive competitor analysis and it can also tell you whether your concept transfers into money.

Its only drawback was that it had so many features it was difficult to know where to start.  But now, the Market Samurai team have provided excellent training, which steps you through everything you need to know.  Both video explanations and transcripts are provided.

You can sign up for the Market Samurai free download here - try it out and see what you think. 

This video shows for example how easy it is to do Keyword Research.

Reading articles such as this one Google Makes Two Ranking Changes per Day can make any would be newbie worry about ever having a chance of ranking well in organic search results (that is, unpaid, natural search result listings).  You may wonder how on earth you have a chance of keeping up with having a well optimised site when the rules change so frequently.

While it is important to keep up with the overall direction of changes, you do not need to worry if you follow the absolute fundamentals.  The whole reason for Google's incessant tweaking, is to provide the most relevant results for people searching for information.

So - be authentic, have genuine and useful content, be who you say you are (including in your Meta Descriptions - ie. the descriptions given to search engines about each of your pages), use logical structured layout and formatting (such as headings, use of emphasis and boldness appropriately, and linking clearly to relevant content) and you will be well on your way to having unshakable fundamentals which won't change.

There are of course lots of other ways to further help yourself along, however when you delve into these - you will see that these are just activities which further authenticate you as being genuine.  Here are some other frequently recommended actions, and how these relate back to showing you are real.

1.     Frequently updating content and blogging - this shows an ongoing activity and commitment to your particular area.  It shows you continually have more value and current information.  It is natural that this should out-rank those who rarely update their content.

2.     Use of video - this shows a desire to provide content and information in a visual way - and shows a willingness to provide people what they want - given that people are increasingly using video search to find information (via YouTube and others)

3.     Use of interaction - blog comments, forums - again shows an understanding of people's need to interact and connect about issues and interests common to them.

In fact, if you look at any search engine optimisation manuals and guidelines, you will find everything tracks back to the one thing - validation of your authenticity and usefulness to the 'searcher'.

So rather than racking your brains about what Google will decide to do next, set your mind to how you can serve your site visitors better, how you can offer them the best experience and information and how you can best meet their needs.


Flickr: jonsson

Have you ever wondered why you keep being told to use Twitter, Facebook, get your site 'seo'd', gather backlinks, join forums and write blogs?  Why can't you just pick one and go with that?

The science and practice of pointing traffic to your site is an ever changing one and the best risk management strategy is to have a range of strategies.

Have you heard of, or experienced the Google cold shoulder?  Where your rankings and traffic have happily been flowing your way and then...nothing?  You may be racking your brain to find out what you did to get punished, and even if you work it out, it can take some time for any fixes you make to take effect.  It can take much longer if you have no idea why you have been punished.

What about the social media sites which have been sending interested people your way?  What if they get acquired, have a policy shift or simply disappear?

Diversifying your marketing efforts not only protects you from the 'all your eggs in the one basket' scenario, but allows for a choice of most appropriate medium for particular promotions and communications.

What if you have a sudden wonderful PR opportunity and want to capitalise on the viral nature of Twitter?  You would want to have some followers to tell.  And they need to have a reason to engage with you in the first place; they won't suddenly be interested if your promotion is the first time they have ever heard from you.

By working towards creating diverse portfolio of online marketing activities, you will have at your disposal fast (and generally short lived) marketing options, slow and solid link building and the benefits which only accrue with longevity which will eventually kick in, so long as you don't put off starting!