Posts

What are keywords: Search Engine Optimization

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Hey there - here is a YouTube video that I developed explaining what are keywords. This is the supporting video post for the original blog post on this topic [see here ].

How to create compelling Call-to-Actions (CTAs)

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Image source: https://goo.gl/ZfJgBA As you are sweating over to create the most comprehensive and unique content, one small thing tucked away in your content could be undermining all your hard work. Call-to-action Oh yes, I know it - its the sign up here button. Hey, I've got it sorted. No - its not just that.  So what is a call to action? As outlined in this article on OptInmonster.com , a call to action is a word, phrase, or sentence that encourages the reader to take a specific action . Says this article on AdEspresso , there are two main purposes of a call to action: to tell someone what they should do and give them the motivation to do so. Call-to-action are the lifeblood of any campaign. Used correctly, they can act as the final push towards your goal conversion [free trial users, e-book downloads, form sign ups and so on]. Not used well, well, they will always choke the most beautifully designed campaigns. Think of call-to-action...

Long tail keywords

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Hello everyone - Today we will be talking about long-tail keywords.  In our last post , I talked about keywords and today, we will be discussing about long tail keywords. This is the fourth post in this series on search engine optimization, and you can find the previous posts by clicking here .  Long-tail keywords are longer and more specific keyword phrases that visitors are more likely to use when they’re closer to a point-of-purchase . Let’s take an example ─ to be ranked in the first page for a keyword like shoes is a long–sell. There is simply too much competition and clutter. It’s better to highlight your niche and your USPs through the use of long tail keywords and go for keywords like “ handcrafted faux leather shoes for women ” – more specific, more you.  Now why are they called long tail?  The concept of long tail  has arisen from a concept in statistics - a long tail of some distributions of numbers is the portion ...

Why is SEO important?

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Many early-stage marketers struggle with SEO – relegating it right up to the ranks of marketing voodoo – but hey, it is not that difficult as you might have seen in my previous posts . So why is SEO important? As per an article on Moz , over the years, search engines have evolved and mature, they still can't see and comprehend a web page the way we do. Search engine optimization does that – by helping these search engines understand what these web pages are about. In case you are researching about any product to help you make your purchase decision, the higher a page is on search results, the better its perceived status, meaning more traffic, more potential for conversion and hence more revenue. The number 1 reason why SEO is important is because of your customers. The consumer decision making cycle is rapidly evolving – and we as marketers have to keep up. As per data compiled by minewhat.com published on Adweek, 81% of shoppers conduct online resea...

What am I reading? Trust me I'm Lying

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A playbook for the dark arts of exploiting the media Confessions of a media manipulator Okay - this was definitely gangsta-like - if there ever was a click-bait headline for books, this was (& is it). One thing Holiday does well, is whip up interest. Sadly, it is only thing. Part confessional, part accusatory, Trust me I am Lying is mildly interesting. So the book does deplore the present state of media, justifiably so. The fact that it may not surprise you to learn some of the dirty media tricks itself is testament to the fact how weary we have become and how easily (and correctly) we believe media is malleable. Molded in classic whistle-blower style, you'd think this book would do a expose on the ways of the media - and it does. Divided into two parts: How Blogs Work and What Blogs Mean, it touches upon how content is traded up the chain, how publishers make money online, how content publishers trick readers, rants against page-views, blogs as machinery o...

What are keywords?

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Hello everyone - in continuation to the first post on this series on Search Engine Optimization, today in our second post, we will be talking about keywords. Source: pixabay.com So what are keywords? Keywords are ideas and topics that define what your content is about. For example, if you are in the business of selling financial software solutions to small and medium businesses, then your keywords may be “financial software” “enterprise financial solutions” “financial software for small businesses” “accounting software for small companies” When shortlisting keywords, you may want to consider: Search volume : How many people are searching for the keyword. The more popular the keyword, the larger the audience you will be able to reach Relevance : Volume is important, but relevance even more so. Look for keywords that are most likely to be used by your target audience in searching for solutions to their queries. Competition : Is your chosen k...

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

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Image Source: pixabay.com The process of improving your website’s visibility and maximizing your website’s traffic by ensuring that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine. As per Moz , SEO is a marketing discipline focused on growing visibility in organic (non-paid) search engine results. First things first, a good place to begin with would be this video by Matt Cutts where he talks about how search works. So imagine, you are looking for recommendations for a tour package for your next vacation, and you type your search query into the search engine.  You see a series of results, few ads on top, and few natural search results underneath.   So why do certain pages rank higher than others? What can you do to ensure your page ranks higher than others? These are few of the questions that we will discuss during our journey in search engine optimization. Search engine optimization strategies can be classified into two categories  ...