There are many strategies and techniques on how best to research your potential market. Some people just glance at various markets, while the good ones, understand, the essence and foundation to making money, is proper research. This is why I put together another insightful article on my website today, over at About SEO, to discuss in greater detail called, researching your market. The problem that I see many new people make, including veterans, they enter markets that they no little about or have zero information, if its even profitable.

To recap more about what I discussed on my site today, including what do you do, if you can't think of any particular niche to go after? Below, is a few brief points on this very topic.

• What market are you wanting to pursue?
• Do you have any experience in a particular market?
• Have you looked at Google Trends to get some new ideas?
• Check out Amazon and see what is going to be released
• Check out other places, like the shopping channel for ideas
• When going through the grocery check out, see what catches your attention on the magazine shelf.

The main point of the article, was to get your creative juices flowing, to give you some solid ideas on what to find new ideas for product reviews etc. There is nothing mysterious about this process either. You just have to think outside the box a little, if you want to have a competitive advantage. You can also Google affiliate programs to see what else is out there. If you want to see some of the internet marketing tools, that I use and promote, visit my site now.

Darrell Lischka

623-242-2363



2. Researching Your Niche Market

Looking back over the past 5 plus years of working online, so much has changed about seo and online marketing, that it can, at times be overwhelming for many new internet marketers. The challenge for many, which market should they enter? The answer to that - it depends. If you have a particular expertise in one area and are passionate about a subject matter, then I would definitely head in that direction. But, what about all the rest of those, that really don't have a clue on what or how to get started. Ah, the 20K dollar question.

The fact of the matter, if you are not skilled in one particular area, then you will simply need to put aside some time and learn that area. Remember, there are no free rides online and nobody is going to build your business for you. Unless, you pay them some big dollars. For example, if you want to get good at SEO - search engine optimization, do you think if you just read a few forums and read a few ebooks, that somehow qualifies you as an expert? Not a chance in hell. I have seen a lot of people come and go in this industry. The ones that remain, are committed to the process of improving upon their skill sets. Whether that be in terms of programming (gawd no), technical writing, understanding how to create your own products etc.

The only way to get good at SEO is by doing. There are simply no short cuts to getting good. The key point to take away here, is it takes practice. Now, before you get going in making your first million dollars, lets review a few tips on evaluating your potential niche market.

I remember my first real experience online several years ago, was with a system called Veretekk. I had so much to learn, but one thing that always stuck out from a guy named Butch Hamilton, is good keyword research. He kept talking about writing keyword rich articles, but making sure, you do the proper research. You see, Butch talked about ranking for some tough keyword terms, like, work at home or home based business, only to find out, that maybe they were not all that great of terms. At that time, one of the sites that I still own, did rank as well for home based business on page 1. However, the conversion was not really there.

So, just because something looks promising, doesn't actually mean it is. There are a few things you can do, to minimize your risk. Again, there are no absolutes with keyword research. You can do all the checks you want, sometimes you rank for keyword terms and they just stink. That is the life of an online marketer.

First, I would target long tail keyword terms within your niche market of choice. Especially if you are just getting started. The last thing you want, is competing against the big dogs and getting crushed in the process. I see it all the time. Aim for long tail keyword terms because those will be easier to rank on page 1. Once your site has, say 6 to 12 terms, your site gains more trust and authority in Google's eyes. Once you gain some experience, then go for more competitive terms like, internet marketing, or internet marketing tools if that is what you choose.

Second, look at "how to" are excellent add ons for your long tail keyword term. For example, how do I make a website or how to make money. Those are just some simple basic terms, just to get your creative juices flowing.

Third, what about research current trends in Google. You can get a ton of great ideas to see whats hot for searches. For instance, Christmas is only a few months away and I am sure the game manufacturers are going nuts about now, getting ready for the busy holiday season. Well, which games are trending upwards and popular with say kids. If you have a family, talk to them and ask them what they search for or what's popular. You can get a lot of great ideas from non internet marketers by the way.

Fourth, when going after a particular niche market, see what types of products are out there. A lot of internet marketers head over to Click Bank when they start out. I too made that mistake because they owe me still, over $500. But, because of some strange buying rules, until so many purchases are made with a credit card, sorry dude, you don't get paid. So, its been like almost a year with a positive balance. Personally, I can't stand click bank anymore and stay away from them as much as possible. I prefer to look for recurring type services, like Veretekk to promote or a back linking service.

Fifth, above all, use your common sense when evaluating potential markets. There are many instances, where the research doesn't show it to be a good potential, but you know instinctively, that it can be. I say just go for it. You will never know how good something is, unless you actually rank for it on page 1. I really like to promote physical products too. Amazon is a great way to generate some product sales because they have a trust factor with millions of people online.

OK, that wraps up another busy day for me and getting some new fresh content out there online.

Make it a great and productive day!

Darrell Lischka
623-242-2363



3. The Importance of Branding Yourself

When it comes to internet marketing, many people just want a simple solution on how to make money. The fact of the matter, internet marketing all starts with branding yourself first and foremost. Within this new website - About SEO, I will be providing insights and perspectives about all aspects related to SEO - search engine optimization, internet marketing, branding yourself, keyword research, how to get started quickly, how to avoid all the pitfalls (aka time wasting activities), and why you need to be laser focused on your business.

I remember starting off 5 years ago, I was absolutely clueless on what branding was and why it was important. I suppose hindsight is always 20/20 - right? I would go even further by saying, I lacked the appreciation of what it truly meant to brand yourself online. As I take a moment and reflect back, branding yourself has become even more critical, than at any time in the past.

Here's why branding yourself is the key to having success online. The search engines are changing and adapting, and they are giving more credit and weight it would appear to brand names, like Amazon, Sears, Home Depot etc. Why? Well, they are well known and trusted by tens of millions of people. So, why should it be any different for you and me?

The fact of the matter, it shouldn't be. I think part of the problem is the perception that, you can remain anonymous online, while still making money. Of course you can, but, where does that leave you in terms of your long term viability?

A better approach in my humble opinion, is branding yourself. The main reason for that, you actually protect your online business and any changes that occur to your rankings. Lets look further at what I mean. If your current business model is based on making money solely from your organic positions and suddenly one day, Google comes along and de-indexes your site for whatever reason, what are you actually left with? You are left with zero income coming in.

Don't think it can't happen to you? I just lost a site that has all unique quality content about 3 weeks ago. This is actually a site I have actively worked on for about 18 months. Suddenly keyword terms on page 1 and 2 were gone. I was actually making money as well with my site - Internet Marketing Tools. At this time, I have not done anything that should get this site de-indexed and its actually not. I see Google is caching the pages of the site every week. However, something has happened with Google and me suddenly loosing my keyword positions. When this happens by the way, continue on building your site, like nothing happened. I do believe it will come back in time, since the site is still actively getting cached. But, it does cause you to pause and think about your entire online business activities.

Now lets take the same scenario and add a twist. Lets say you have been actively engaged with people online, creating a professional image online, as someone with a certain level of expertise and knowledge. You have also during that time, created a following, by people opting in for your information. Now, suddenly you loose your rankings, however, you still have your list to rely upon, to make some potential sales from. I am not talking about pitching people here either, like so many people do. Rather, you provide good insights and perspectives in your email to your list.

Lets look at a couple of other examples of how branding can actually protect you. Have you ever heard of people like Frank Kern or Ryan Deiss? Now whether you like these guys or not, or have never heard about them, one thing that they have both done very well at, is not rely upon organic search results to build their businesses. In fact, both have done the opposite and built a brand. People like Frank Kern at one point, simply stopped taking new clients on his website and openly advertised that point.

I honestly don't think he did it because of an ego thing. Rather, he built up such a solid reputation online, as someone that can help businesses increase their bottom line marketing and business profits, that he simply got to a point, where organic search was no longer a factor. He main way of generating business was by word of mouth.

Same thing has with Ryan Deiss. He has openly talked about his dislike for Google because of the way they just seem to randomly de-index sites for no reason at all. So, he set about finding new innovative ways to get traffic to his sites. The result, he now employs a group of 30 plus people down in Texas area of his new headquarters. The moral of the story, by building up your own brand, and getting known in your particular community, you in fact insulate yourself from the adverse affects of the search engines.

Do either still use organic search results? My understanding about Ryan, is yes. However, his organic rankings are icing on the cake. Not the other way around.

The reality of online marketing today and something that has always been a core foundation of any successful business is the following. People do business with people they trust. If you are known out there, whether it be offline or online, as someone that offers value, you will have success. It really does start and end with professionally branding yourself first and foremost.

Make it a great day!

Darrell Lischka
623-242-2363
About SEO

4. 3 Specific SEO Strategies To Rank on Page 1
This will be my first post among many in the coming weeks and months, About SEO and what it is. Plus specific strategies that you can apply today, to rank your websites on page 1. Many people are mystified when they first delve into the online digital world of SEO. When in reality, once you understand the basics, its actually quite simple. Remember the following tip if you want to have long term success in this business. Write keyword specific articles providing your readers with good, quality information. The rest is just filler.

Whenever I talk with new people, I really get them to understand 3 essential elements. If you are willing to do the actual work and write keyword specific content, that people are interested in reading, you will get traffic to your site. Now, lets dig into about seo and discuss in today's article, the 3 main areas that you need to get good at.

Keyword Research - The Foundation To Making Money

The foundation in my experience and opinion is keyword research. You see, I find many people simply skip over this part too quickly or dismiss its value because of some so called guru telling them, to just pick a niche are go for it. Pardon me, but, how in the hell can you even decide if a niche is even worthwhile, unless you have actually evaluated its potential income. Yes, I know there are many estimates, but you still need to do some digging and research to make an intelligent decision first and foremost.

There are a variety of tools that I actually use for my keyword research, like Micro Niche finder for the past 3 years and of course, Google's keyword tool. However, what I have found and learned during the past 5 years of working online, they are just crude estimates at best. I mean, Google could certainly provide more accurate information if they choose to do so, however, I believe this is done for a reason. It always comes back to money folks. Think about it, what if Google and the other search engines actually provided you with real time accurate keyword search results? The answer, they would like loose money from the advertisers.

The one tool that I have found to be about the best so far, after using it for the past 5 months, is SE Cockpit. Sounds like a funny name. However, they emulate the search engines, by using the Moz search engine. This is sophisticated software, that parallels the search engines in how they rank websites. They look at tens of thousands of keyword terms at a time and run it thru there bank of servers.

The result is more accurate and real time information. I have obtained dozens of great keyword terms, that are buying keyword terms and have low competition. What exactly do I mean buying keyword terms? You want to rank for keyword terms that people are more likely to buy something. For example, say you want to promote Amazon products and build a site around a variety of product reviews. If you approach it, with trying to answer a problem or a need for your potential customer, they will likely check out your product and actually click on the link to purchase something. Currently,

I have a couple of different Amazon sites that I offer product reviews on. While, I won't say what it is, I can tell you, my conversion rate this month, August, which is the slowest of the season, is around 12 percent. This is actually a pretty good number. As September comes around, I expect that rate to go up more. One tip when you link to affiliate products etc., make sure you don't have a Buy Now button. I used to have it with 1 of my sites and here are some interesting results to ponder over.

I used to get with the current traffic, about 10 percent click through to Amazon. Since changing it up from a buy now button or add to cart button, to text link, like, for the best deals on product XYZ - click here. I will tell you my click through rates have increased to about 30 percent now. My conversion for people actually buying something, is then around 12 percent. People don't want to be sold. Provide the benefits and solutions and fill a need, you will have customers.

If you are interested in checking this tool out, SE Cockpit

One other tip that I didn't know back 5 years ago, when I got started about selecting keyword terms, stay away from really hard terms, especially if you are new to this online digital world, we call internet marketing. You will get eaten alive by seasoned professionals. You better have your A Game on, when going up against the best of the best. If you build a new site, go for say, 6 to 12 low competitive buying keyword terms and rank them on page 1 first.

Once you do that, and you start getting traffic to your site and possibly making some money, then tackle the tougher keyword terms. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither should your internet business. A solid business of any kind will take years to nurture and build up. Stop listening to those people telling you its easy and you don't have to do any work. If that is your mentality, I will tell you straight up, you are going to fail.

Optimizing Your Website and Pages

I have been testing out a variety of strategies over the past 5 years and there are some interesting results that I want to tell you about. When it comes to writing keyword rich articles, you can save yourself a ton of back linking efforts, by carefully paying attention to this section. If your article is about say, internet marketing, then your title for your website page should be called internet marketing. The reason for that, you are dealing with computer programs. Don't go off and put a bunch of extra words in the title that you don't have to. Now, this is for your actual website. When you are doing back linking, put whatever title you want in there.

As well, you want to try and aim for a keyword density above 2 percent as a minimum. The search engines will analyze your page and decide based on keyword density, which is your primary term you want to rank for. Oh sure, they will evaluate all the other content on your page, but make sure you are at least at 2 percent and above.

Generally for my keyword terms that I want to rank specifically for, I create a page. If I just want to discuss some other stuff and don't really care about ranking about a particular topic, I write a post. Do you even know why I do that? Its because, the search engines, seems to give more weight to pages versus posts. I am not sure why even, but I have tested this out over and over again. Each time, I find my pages always ranking easier and stay indexed and cached on a regular basis.

Whereas, posts just seem to loose their juice after a period of time. I have tested this out on new and very old sites as well. Its always the same results for me. Perhaps, other's have a different experience. So remember, pages are what you are trying to rank for and posts are for general information.

Back Linking Strategies

This is a really interesting subject for sure. Many people will tell you to blast your way to page 1. However, with recent changes to the algorithms, those days don't seem to work as well. I still believe back links are important and play a role. However, if you have done your keyword research properly and optimized your page correctly, you will in fact, require far less back links than most people. I have been testing this out for some time and the same results almost always occur for me. I believe based on my own testing, that if you picked a low to medium competitive term and fully optimized the page, you can rank on page 1 in weeks to a few months. This is in sharp contrast several years ago, what would have taken a year or more.

If you don't believe me, test it out on a few pages and see for yourself. By optimizing your page for 1 keyword term, with a few LSI terms (latent semantic index) included on your page, you will be pleasantly surprised by the results.

Now, when it comes to back linking, I don't go all out and send dozens of back links per day at a new page I have just created. My personal opinion based on testing, is to send a few back links to start off. Maybe 5 to 10 links each week for the first few weeks. Let the page age somewhat and gather some trust with Google. In about 2 or 3 months time, you can do some more aggressive back linking. However, what I have noticed, its better to do back linking like a campaign. You do it for a few days, then back off for say a week. Come back in a week and send some more back links for 2 or 3 days. Then stop for a week or so.

I have found by doing that and changing up my text links, it has worked well for me. You don't want to make the mistake of sending a 100 links that has a text link of internet marketing to your page. Ask yourself, does that look natural? Not at all. I would throw in text links as follows, go here, click here, for more information - click here etc. I usually do a 70/30 ratio. Meaning, 70 percent of the time, my links are the actual textual link and the other 30 percent is random text links back to that particular page.

If you want more information, check out my new site in the coming weeks that I am just starting to work on. It will be a work in progress, discussing all related topics about SEO, internet marketing, SEM, Branding yourself etc.

Darrell Lischka

About SEO