High Rankings Advisor: Registering Keywords - Issue No. 128

January 26, 2005

~~~IN TODAY'S ADVISOR~~~

*Introductory Comments:
---->   Newsletter Delivery Schedule

*Search Engine Marketing:
---->   Registering Keywords

*This Week's Sponsors:
---->   SEO Copywriting Combo
---->   High Rankings Seminar CD - Half Price

*Guest Interview:
---->   How To Use Landing Pages Effectively

*Stuff You Might Like:
---->   High Rankings Seminar in Seattle - Registration Open
---->   SEO Coaching & Training with Dan Thies

*High Rankings Forum Thread of the Week:
---->   Use of Frames

*Advisor Wrap-up:
---->   Anyone?
________________________________________________________

~~~Introductory Comments~~~

Hey everyone!  I have a quick question for you today.  What would you
think if I changed from writing this newsletter every week to doing it
every other week?

Here are some possible answers to make it easy for you to cut and
paste as necessary:

[  ] Every other week is fine as every week is too often for me
anyway.
[  ] I would miss it if it didn't come every week, but I could live
with it.
[  ] I need my Jill fix every week, please don't switch.
[  ] Once a month would be even better for me.
[  ] Who cares, I barely read it anyway.

Please email me at newsletter@highrankings.com with your answers
and/or comments.  (I know my family out in Hawaii will write that they
want it every week because it's the only way they find out what is
going on in my life...but they don't count!)

With that out of the way, let's get to the good stuff! - Jill


~~~Search Engine Marketing Issues~~~

Hi Jill,

I'm so glad I found your site and have signed up for your newsletter,
which I am anxious to receive.

I am new to Internet marketing so am spending my first few days on the
job doing research (which is how I stumbled upon your site). I hear a
ton about keyword selection but I don't hear what you do with these
keywords once they are selected. I understand that one is supposed to
optimize the copy of their website to incorporate as many of these
keywords as will logically fit but is there a registering process that
goes along with the keyword selection process?

Also, if you can direct me to anything on the web or otherwise on the
basics of SEO and keyword campaigns, I would be greatly appreciative.

Thank you!

Marie

++Jill's Response++

Hi Marie,

There is no keyword registering process when it comes to optimizing
your pages for the "natural" search results.  The engines have to
logically figure out what keywords are relevant to your site by how
they are incorporated into it, and by the links pointing to it.  I'd
suggest reading the articles referenced in this "Tips for Newbies"
thread at our forum for more info:
</forum/index.php?showtopic=833>.

Things are a bit different, however, for search pay-per-click (PPC)
advertising such as AdWords or Overture.  With those, you do actually
register your keyword phrases as part of your ad campaign.  Basically,
you create your ad or ads in their interface, and then list all the
words/phrases you want your ad to be associated with.  Then -- if
you've bid enough money -- when someone types those words/phrases into
the search engines, your ad will show up.  In Google, if it gets a
decent amount of clicks, your ad will continue to run for that
word/phrase.  If after some time your ad doesn't get clicked on much
for the words/phrases you chose, they will be disabled.  You can
always add or subtract keyword phrases from your campaign by hand, as
well.

If you want to get into these pay-per-click ad campaigns, I'd suggest
either hiring a company to do it for you, or reading up on it a bit
before you start.  Andrew Goodman's Google AdWords ebook is something
I'd definitely recommend that you purchase.  You can learn more about
that here: </pagezero>. (That's an
affiliate link.)  I'd also suggest reading through the multitude of
posts in the PPC area of our High Rankings Forum here:
</forum/index.php?showforum=19>.  Plus, the
current series of interviews with Kevin Lee (below) might also be
helpful to you.

Good luck!

Jill

(P.S. If anyone would like to republish the above Q&A article, please
email me your request and where it will reside, and I'll send you a
short bio you can use with it for your site.)


_________Powerful SEO Copywriting Combo______________

Your site's only as good as its writing. You need the "write" skills.
__________________________________________________

If your site is poorly written, your sales will be slow.  You *must*
speak to your target audience with each and every word you write.
At the same time, keeping your keywords featured prominently is
a bit of a juggling act.

Save $10 on the most powerful copywriting combo available today!

Karon Thackston's Step-By-Step Copywriting Course & Jill Whalen's
Nitty-gritty of Writing for the Search Engines.
</combo128>
__________________________________________________


~~~Guest Interview~~~

++How To Use Landing Pages Effectively++

Today I have the second in our series of interviews with PPC expert
and co-founder of Did-it.com, Kevin Lee, conducted by Amy Edelstein,
the founder of Ascent Copywriting.

Take it away, Amy and Kevin!  - Jill

Q=Question, KL=Kevin Lee

PART II
Are You at the Leading Edge of the Industry?

Q: Do people in the industry already understand the differences in
designing landing pages for pay-per-click vs. organic search? Or do
you feel that we are just at the beginning, that there's a lot to
discover about what's most effective in this area of search marketing
strategy?

KL: I think it's extremely early. Only the really forward-thinking
progressive marketers have gotten to the point where they're actually
willing to recognize that the building and testing of landing pages is
in fact an investment that is likely to have a positive outcome.

More often than not, marketers are in the situation where they are
saying, "I just spent (insert the dollar figure here -- $50,000,
$100,000, $1,000,000) on my website and it's done!" (laughs) How many
marketing VPs want to say, "I finished it! I finally have a checkbox
in that column that says 'write website' and I don't want to start
mucking around with it."

But that's a shortsighted view. Websites are like the storefront of a
retail store. Retail stores are constantly changing their windows.
Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale's do their seasonal windows. It's a
big part of their storefront marketing. They don't just build the
store and say "All right, I'm done. I'm not going to move my
merchandise around. I'm not going to change the way it looks." It's
the same with your website. Even if you're a business-to-business
(B2B) marketer and you're not merchandising or retailing products,
you're still trying to get a message across and you're still trying to
communicate with your target audience, your prospects. That's what
landing pages are all about, particularly in the PPC environment.

Q: How would you describe the PPC shopping process? A Bloomingdale's
store manager understands what's attractive and what window displays
will draw street traffic into the store. How can their online
counterparts, "PPC landing-page managers," begin to understand the
mindset of their PPC traffic and begin to design accordingly?

KL: Let's look at the mental process that a person goes through when
they search. First, they decide what it is they're looking for. Then,
they volunteer that to the search engines by typing a keyword or two
that tells the engine, "Here's what I'm interested in." The search
engine gives them a whole page of results, some organic and some paid.
The searcher skims those quickly. They look at a couple of different
elements. Mostly what they're trying to find is, "What's a match, not
just for what I typed, but for what I meant?" There's actually
something going on in their heads that goes beyond what they typed,
because most people have a clearer vision of what they are really
looking for. As they scan the search results, some combination of
creative -- the text, the title, or perhaps even the domain name --
pops out at them and they decide in that instant to click your paid
ad.

Then, at that instant when they click on the page link, you're
committed as the marketer. You've now paid to get that person to your
site. Now it's your responsibility to continue to engage them and
convince them that they made a good decision when they clicked on your
link. You've got to find a way to tell them, "That was the right thing
that you did. You clicked on my link because I am, in fact, the person
that you want to deal with to solve your problem." Whether that
searcher is researching a new car, trying to get a laundry stain out,
or buying an MP3 player, as a marketer, you now have the
responsibility to make sure that you help that new visitor move along
the buying process. You may not be able to move everybody along the
buying process or help everybody fulfill their needs, but you
certainly want to do your best.

This is where landing-page testing comes in. You don't always know
just from the keyword that person typed exactly what they are looking
for, or exactly what they really meant when they searched, as opposed
to what they told the engine.

Q: So I guess the 10-million-dollar question is, how do you find out?
What do you test?

KL: It's a great question and there's no set answer. You'll have to
test different things and try different ways of communicating. A lot
of copy vs. a little copy. Big, bold headlines vs. no big, bold
headlines. Big picture, small picture. Picture of people, picture of
product. All of those things could influence the experience that a
user has. You could even look at a lot of navigation -- your regular
full L-shaped navigation -- or maybe it's better that you narrow their
choices because you're able to determine pretty well what they want
from the keywords that they typed. Maybe telling them that you don't
only sell garden supplies but that you also sell furniture and
building supplies is not necessarily the right message for the landing
page. Or maybe it is the right message. These are some of the specific
things you can test.

[Next week: "The Bottom Line."]

Amy Edelstein
Ascent Copywriting
http://www.ascentcopywriting.com

Kevin Lee, CEO
Did-it.com
http://www.did-it.com

[Thanks again, Kevin and Amy! - Jill]


~~~Stuff You Might Like~~~

++ High Rankings Seminar and Workshops in Seattle++

Registration is now open for our Seattle Search Engine Marketing
Seminar and Workshops!  You can learn more and register here:
</seminar>.  (If you don't see "register
now" buttons on there, you can go directly to the form here:
</register.htm>.)

Date: Thursday March 31 and Friday April 1, 2005
Place: Watertown Hotel, Seattle (3 miles from downtown Seattle)
<http://www.watertownseattle.com>

We are limiting the number of participants to ensure that everyone
gets enough "face time" with our expert speakers, so please sign up
early if you know you definitely want to attend.


___________Can't Travel to Seattle This Spring?____________

Buy Now! High Rankings Seminar CD - Half Price While Supplies Last!
__________________________________________________

Listen to the MP3 audio files of our Tampa full-day search engine
marketing seminar from November '03 -- was $279, now $139.50!

What is covered:
SEO Basics, PPC, Copywriting, Measuring Traffic, and Conversions.

Also includes complete PDF presentations from the speakers.
</cdhra128>
__________________________________________________


++SEO Coaching & Training with Dan Thies++

I just heard from Dan Thies that he still has a few spots open for his
SEO Coaching and Training program.  If you are trying to start a new
SEO/SEM business, or are somewhat floundering in your current one,
then you'll definitely want to be included in these upcoming sessions.
Please note that the cut-off date for registration is Feb. 2, 2005.
And if you're cheap (like me), you'll want to note that the early-bird
discount expires this Saturday, Jan. 29th.

You can read my previous comments on Dan's coaching and training
sessions here: </issue125.htm#stuff>, or
you can go directly to his information and sign-up page here:
<http://www.seoresearchlabs.com/hr/seo-course.php>.


~~~High Rankings Forum Thread of the Week~~~

++Use of Frames++

New forum member "franco81" has a client site that makes use of frames
in the design, and he's wondering if something needs to be done about
that for the search engines.  Read more here:
</forum/index.php?showtopic=12181>.


~~~Advisor Wrap-up~~~

That's it for today!

Just got one more thing to mention.  My son Timmy has been accepted to
a new charter school here in the Metrowest area of MA, and they're
looking for some additional ways to get the word out in order to fill
up their enrollment by March.  They got off to a bad start with the
press because the town they're in doesn't like charter schools because
they take money away from the regular public schools.  They're all
approved and are tired of being known as "that controversial charter
school" because they're not in the least controversial!  It's simply a
school that cares about kids and their future...nothing wrong with
that.  The school is the Advanced Math and Science Academy
<http://www.amsacs.org/>, and they're enrolling 6th and 7th graders
for next year.

I know it's a long shot that any of you guys will have a need or
interest, but if you just so happen to know anyone in this area
looking for a school, or if you know anyone in the local press who
would be interested in writing an article about it, please let me
know!  I plan to put together a few press releases for them and
distribute them to the online news services such as PRWeb.com as soon
as I get a chance.

Catch you next week! (Or maybe in 2 weeks?) - Jill