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How To Take The Headache Out Of Keyword Research

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Hosting

The post How To Take The Headache Out Of Keyword Research appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . Let’s admit it:  keyword research can be difficult, and we all wonder sometimes whether it’s worth all the effort. Can you really figure out what people are searching for and use that knowledge to drive quality traffic to your website?  Can you rank for that keyword and show up on the first page of search results?  What’s the best keyword research tool to use? Arrrgh! It’s enough to give anyone a migraine. Choosing the proper keywords and using them to build a profitable business may sound like an impossible task. But it doesn’t need to be. You can do basic keyword research using a simple 4-step process. Follow these keyword research tips and you may find yourself attracting more search traffic than you can deal with.   Smart People Do Keyword Research OK. You might be asking why you should even bother with keyword research. The short answer: Search engines are the largest source of web traffic. Did you know that 92% of people on the Internet use search engines and 59% say they do so at least once a day? There are over 175 billion searches conducted each month worldwide. The fact is when people are looking for something online they go to a search engine first. Keyword research helps you identify the exact language the people you’re looking for use when they surf the web. How? Keyword research is just discovering the most popular, and most often searched terms in your industry or niche. Customers can find your website easier when you rank highly for these keywords on Google, Bing, and Yahoo. In other words, keyword research is the first step to cutting through the noise and driving qualified leads to your website. Keyword research is good for more than developing a good keyword list for SEO and PPC. Content marketers use keyword research to identify topics and determine what phrases to use when writing. So hang on while I explain what to do…   When You Don’t Know Where to Start People describe things in different ways. The words you use to talk about your business may be different from the words your customers use. That’s why it’s important to use keyword research to determine the actual language people use when they search the web. Lots of people aren’t doing keyword research or they’re not doing it effectively. Most people who avoid keyword research do so because they’re confused or overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin. The answer to both of these problems is to approach the problem strategically.   You Don’t Have To Be A Rocket Scientist To Do Keyword Research Keyword research isn’t just to get more traffic or better SERP position. It’s about understanding your customer and knowing your niche. You can use your research to help you figure out: A profitable niche for your business Content ideas people are interested in Similar markets you can tap into Products and services to promote on your website Keywords with the highest cost per click (CPC) I’d like to emphasize something here. If you’re not a techie, but you need to do keyword research break your keyword research down into a manageable 4-step process. What this all boils down to is: You’re looking for targeted keyword phrases that have a high search volume and low competition. Ideally, your keywords should accurately describe what you do. You don’t want too many competitors ranking for that exact phrase but you do want lots of people searching for the exact phrase. Now the specifics: Brainstorm and come up with list of keyword ideas. Take your best guess how your prospects describe your content, products, and services. This is just a starting point. Expand your list using keyword research tools. You use a keyword research tool to check out the possible keywords or keyword phrases and see how they perform. You want to see how much competition you have for each of your keywords and how hard it will be to rank for them. Fine-tune your list by doing some research. Check out the search volume and traffic estimates for keywords you’re considering. This will help you determine consumer demand. You should also add some of the suggested keyword phrases from your analysis tool to your list. Don’t ignore long tail keywords. In most cases, longer-tail keywords are less-competitive. People who search using long tail keywords are more likely to buy because they know exactly what they want. They’re usually searching for a place to buy it. Remember, don’t obsess over the details and don’t let what you don’t know stop you from getting started. To knock one more barrier out of your way, I’ll even show you how to pick a keyword research tool.   Here’s a Quick Way to Use Keyword Research Tools Now, you’re probably wondering, “What is a keyword research tool?” and “ Which keyword research tool is the best? ” A keyword research tool is just a tool for creating a keyword list and viewing the historical popularity of keywords. Keyword research tools allow you to see what people are searching for on the web, guess what else they might search for, and then optimize for those keywords. Don’t get hung up searching for the perfect keyword research tool. That’s a waste of time since the good tools provide the same basic service with only a few minor differences. That said, here are a few you may want to try. Wordze Keyword Discovery Wordtracker Google Adwords Keyword Planner Bing’s keyword research tool SEO Book’s Keyword Research Tool Wordpot YouTube Keyword Tools Keyword Spy Google Trends Use these keyword tools to get keyword ideas and traffic. Remember, you’re learning how your customer thinks, not trying to outmaneuver the search engines. If you’re serious about your website ranking and getting quality traffic, use this process to make life easier. Leave a comment and share your best keyword research tip.   About the Author Anthony Sills’ work can be found at American Express OPEN Forum, Copyblogger, Infusionsoft’s Big Ideas blog, Hostgator’s Gator Crossing blog, and elsewhere. He writes about HR & employment, marketing, and business. You can always reach Anthony via social media , email, or by leaving a comment below… web hosting Continue reading →

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Ways to Ensure That Your Mailing List is a Legitimate One

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Hosting

The post Ways to Ensure That Your Mailing List is a Legitimate One appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing .   Email marketing is big. It’s no secret. Email marketing is one of the best ways to not only ensure that your brand and your products or services stay fresh within the minds of your clients, it allows you to catch their attention, appealing to the impulse buy side of your clientele.   Leverage Existing Relationships (Legitimate Ones) If an individual sees your product or service in their email and thinks that what you are offering is a great deal they may simply click through the email to purchase it, as they already have a relationship with your company, without feeling the need to do any form of price comparison or the like. It’s easy for people to get caught up in the moment, wanting to get their products and services out to as many people as humanly possible, regardless of whether or not the person has technically asked for that email from you. There’s just one problem with this. That type of behavior is illegal; an internet no-no. “But I just found this list of people’s email addresses! It’s obvious that they wouldn’t have left it lying about if they didn’t want others to use it” you might proclaim. Or you might have decided to purchase a mailing list, share email addresses with your buddy who has an email list as well, or simply have pulled email addresses off of Craig’s list or some other site where such information is freely posted. You might justify it to yourself in a thousand and one different ways, but the fact of the matter is that the justification doesn’t count, not when it goes against the CAN-SPAM act, your hosting provider’s terms of service and acceptable use policies, and their upstream providers terms of service and acceptable use policies.   The Low Down: In order for your mailing list to be a legitimate one, in order for your messages to not be considered spam, and to ensure that you are able to stay with your hosting provider, there are several things that you cannot do. You cannot: Use a purchased mailing list Use a mailing list that was given to you Use a mailing list that you found somewhere (sorry, that email address you found in the back of the taxi can’t be just tacked on to the end of your list, gotta throw that one out!) Randomly generate email addresses and send out messages to all of them, hoping one goes through to a legitimate email address. “Well, that seems like a lot that I can’t do,” you might think to yourself, and the truth is, you’re right. You cannot do anything that gets around the idea of not getting someone’s permission to email them. So what can you do, not only to make sure that your mailing list is legitimate, but that it’s CAN-SPAM compliant?   The Double Opt In: Make sure that you get everyone’s permission to email them, not once, but twice. This process is referred to as double opt in, and it means that not only does someone have to give you their email address, but you then have to ask them if they really meant to give it to you, and they have to say yes before you can start including them on your mailing list. The process usually goes something like this: A person puts in an email address on your site, indicating that they want to receive email from you. The reason this isn’t enough is that you have no way of knowing whether the person entering the email address is the one that owns the email address. You receive their form with their email address listed. You’re excited! You want to add them to your list, but you just can’t yet. First you have to send them an email, typically with a link that will write to a database stating the date and time that they accepted (this is the second time they are accepting). They will click on the link, writing the information to the database (you want to retain this information in case you later get reported as spam, thus proving your legit status and ensuring that you don’t get in trouble). You will add them to your mailing list and can email them every time you send out the mailing list.   The Rest Of The Story: Keep in mind that there are other laws, rules and regulations that you may need to adhere to, such as  the fact that all individuals requesting access to adult content, if that’s what you’re offering, must be over eighteen, but it’s your responsibility to determine whether what you are sending needs those additional features. You can read about the guidelines at the FTC’s site here: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/ecommerce/bus61.shtm Remember, if you receive a complaint from your hosting provider about your mailing list, they’re not only working to make sure that you are in compliance with the rules, but that they are as well. They don’t want to get in trouble either for violating Federal law, so don’t take it personally, just remember that you’ve got to keep your mailing list legit; once it’s there, it’s smooth sailing for both of you.   Image Source: Dartmouth. (2014). Mailing List . [image online] Available at: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~tucker/images/mailing-list.jpg [Accessed: 25 Mar 2014]. web hosting Continue reading →

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American Red Cross And The Tour Du Rouge

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Hosting

The post American Red Cross And The Tour Du Rouge appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . We are happy to announce HostGator is celebrating our 5th year sponsoring the Tour du Rouge , benefiting the American Red Cross .  The Tour du Rouge is a 533 mile bicycle ride from Houston to New Orleans, spanning 6 days (May 4th – 9th, 2014). In recognition of not only the overall cause, but the dedication of the riders and volunteers that make this event possible, we wanted to do something a little bit extra this year.  Today only, all new hosting accounts are 50% off and new domains are starting at just $4 per year; on top of that, we are donating $1 to the American Red Cross for every new hosting package signed up for as part of this promotion. The American Red Cross provides a myriad of services, from disaster relief assistance to emergency contact for military personnel with their families, as well as community outreach programs such as CPR/First Aid training and swimming lessons.  Ultimately, what the Red Cross does is help people and save lives. The Tour du Rouge directly benefits the Red Cross chapters in the Gulf Coast, essentially the region directly through which the cyclists travel on their journey. What began in 2009 with sixty-three riders, has now grown to 200 riders and hundreds of additional volunteers.  This event is about real people helping real people overcome challenges and otherwise preparing individuals to act appropriately in emergency situations.  HostGator is so proud to be involved with such an event.  We invite you to become involved as well. Today you can get a great deal on a new hosting package and help us to help so many more people: sign up now ! web hosting Continue reading →

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The Spark: A Startup Is Born

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Hosting

The post The Spark: A Startup Is Born appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . Editors Note – Cy is a friend of HostGator, currently pursuing entrepreneurial dreams in Silicon Valley. We have asked him to share his adventures. *** Every once in a while, that elusive flash of inspiration delivers the seed of an idea.  It seems innocuous at first, but it lives and grows in the back of your mind; you can’t shake it.  It make take years to come to the fore, but it never fades.  For me, that is exactly how Contastic became a company.  What follows is our story. From the moment I walked in the door to my first sales job at Microsoft, I knew that sales is a winner-take-all business.  The top performers close ten times more deals than the average rep.   After spending a bunch of time with the top performers, I still couldn’t quite put my finger on exactly how they were accomplishing such remarkable numbers.  Their close rates and techniques seemed just about the same as everyone else; why were their results so spectacular?   The Epiphany My epiphany came when I saw their prospect lists.   The best sales people had massive funnels 10+ times larger than those of everyone else.  They would progressively farm this list to surface deals – ensuring they stayed in touch with as much of their network as possible.   Contastic’s dashboard, showing your engagement with your contacts.   I use the word “surface” because that truly is the key to great sales.  It’s all about discovery – not conversion.  It’s really hard to talk someone into buying anything they don’t already want.  Instead, it’s more efficient to simply discover who is already looking to buy – and then be in the right place at the right time to sell to them. My observations are further backed by research (don’t take my word for it!).  The first wake up call comes from Gleanster Research, which published that 50% of leads are qualified but not yet ready to buy.  This points directly to a need for lead nurturing to stay top of mind with those leads until they’re ready.  And Forrester drove it home by showing that companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% lower cost.  The numbers don’t lie!   Staying in touch: The Hard Way This transformed the way I thought about sales, from being an act of persuasion to a feat of engineering.  It was about designing a process that would efficiently surface and qualify leads through prospecting.  I built a massive thousand-row Excel sheet of every person and every customer I had ever met.  I’d record interactions and, on a quarterly basis, I’d try and reconnect with everyone on the list.  By the end of my three years I became a top rep. This was, however, a painful and awkward process.  I’d have to search for each person’s email to figure out when we last spoke and on what topic.  Crafting a personalized email then required several more minutes, and often times I’d simply be sending a no-value-add checking email (“Hey X, how are things with you?”).  For high value contacts, I’d take 20-30 minutes to find an interesting piece of news or research to send them – as a way to (I hoped) at least contribute some value to their life.   Staying In Touch: The Right Way I thought – why can’t I give this VIP level of service to all of my contacts ?  Why can’t the lead nurturing process be automated to provide personalized service to every customer and prospect? This idea sat in the back of my head as I was swept into my first startup (cimls.com) where I saw realtors struggle with this exact same problem – staying in touch with current prospects and past clients.  I witnessed this every single day in business school as well, students networking with each other and talking with different companies to find jobs. Lost connections and lost opportunities, simply because it was too hard to stay in touch. When I graduated in 2013, I knew I had to build this tool to help people stay in touch.  I moved out to Menlo Park, CA – with nothing more than 5 boxes of my belongings via UPS to pursue my dream of building Contastic –a platform to help professionals stay in touch.  How can one recent grad convince others to join him, build a product, find customers and realize his dream?   Stay tuned for the next post: Perilous Pivots – When A Dream Meets Reality ***   About Cy I’m an engineer who loves to sell.   My career started out in big data engineering for Microsoft evolved into a sales role that landed me as the founder of Contastic .  I bring the hard data-driven approach of an engineer to the softer science of sales.  It’s always a pleasure for me to meet new people and help them evolve their sales practices.  You can find me online at cykho.com . web hosting Continue reading →

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So You Want To Start A Business? Start Here

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Hosting

The post So You Want To Start A Business? Start Here appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . Ambitious minds take ambitious action, and few actions are more ambitious than starting a business. If you find yourself in possession of a killer idea, or wish to grow a fledgling enterprise, it’s important to know what you’re in for. Here’s how to build your idea from the ground up, and turn your ideas and resources into something rewarding.   Start with Your Motivations To begin with, ask yourself why you would want to start a business. The success of many businesses has a lot to do with our motivations for starting it in the first place. A business can become your annual salary, while also fulfilling your desire to do work that’s more meaningful. Having your own business means finally getting to be the boss, and constructing a schedule that is optimal to your lifestyle. Perhaps you’ve finally realized that what you’re best at can provide immense value to others and would constitute a firm foundation for entrepreneurship. Many are simply exhausted from sitting behind a desk and would love to monetize the thing they’re passionate about. Whatever your motivations may be, identify them, and use them as fuel going forward.   Turn Your General Idea Into Something Specific Next, it’s important to identify what your product will be. Let’s say you want to help the earth by selling items that are sustainable and environmentally friendly. Rather than becoming overwhelmed by the possibilities, spend some time researching what’s already out there, and begin to hone in on a niche that means the most to you. The easiest way to become successful is by doing something better than what already exists, or by doing it differently. Ask yourself these questions: • Who is going to buy my product or service? • How will you be getting paid? • Is my service going to be sustainable over the next decade? The best businesses aim to solve a problem, and will survive by making a difference. Don’t be afraid to start small and simple, there will always be room for growth.   Take Out A Loan, Or Start Saving Money It’d be unfair to tell you the average cost of starting a business when it is entirely dependent on what product or service you intend to offer. However, whether you’ll need $100 or $30,000, you’re going to have to develop a business plan. A major component to that plan will be the cost of starting up, as well as money necessary to keep you going until your first sales start rolling in. To estimate your costs of starting up, make two lists: one for your assets and the other for startup expenses. • Assets – Also known as capital expenditures, these will be the one-time costs. Think of property, equipment, and certain inventory as things you’ll only buy at the beginning, or again down the road. • Expenses – These are the recurring costs that will be a part of the startup costs and continue throughout the life of the business. Things like rent, supplies, marketing materials, gas, and how much you will pay potential employees. Once you have a firm business model, it may be a good time to consider taking out the loan. If loans aren’t your style, by all means proceed with the planning and set a goal for how much to save.   Make It Official If you’ve made it this far, then you should be proud. Making your business official means you have a direction, are likely ready to invest in its growth. To prepare for this, here a few legal and financial steps to consider. 1. Determine the Legal Structure • What form of ownership is best for you? This will determine which income tax form you will file. 2. Register Your Business Name • This will be registered with your State Government if you do business as anything but your legal name. 3. Set Up a Tax I.D. • This will be used to identify your business as an entity. 4. Register For State And Local Taxes • In addition to taxes required by the federal government you will have to pay some state and local taxes. 5. Acquire Licenses and Permits • To run your business legally there are certain federal and state licenses you need to obtain.   Breathe It may seem overwhelming, but the more you educate yourself the easier it will become. An important thing to remember is if you’ve chosen to go into business for the right reasons, eventually you’re going to make it happen. Foreknowledge, structure, and a calm mind will do a great deal when building a sound financial future through entrepreneurship. web hosting Continue reading →

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