Search Engine Positioning for the Weary

By T. O' Donnell


Do you want to get your site from page five to page one in Google? Here are a few tips to boost you on your way.

1. Clean Up Your HTML.

Keep a beady eye on Dreamweaver and avoid CMS software.

What, Dreamweaver, beloved program of pro webmasters everywhere?

Yes!

Dreamweaver adds lots of extra blank space to HTML code, and breaks lines. This is especially irritating in meta tags. Use EditPad's 'Find and Replace' function to get rid of newlines and double blank spaces in your pages.

Content Management Systems are a great time saver. An amateur can set up a professional-looking site in a few hours. The problem is they contain lots of code that's irrelevant to search engines. The top of a CMS page may contain only a few words relevant to its subject matter.

Then there's the duplicate content problem.

• Blogs have duplicate copies of their own content; sometimes exact, sometimes excerpts.
• Thousands of people are using the same CMS as you.
• A search engine spider sees the same header, sidebar and footer content in every page in your site.

Result? Your page is down the SERPs for any competitive keyword. Assuming it's indexed at all.

These programs are written by geeks. Their primary aim is to eliminate code errors and add features. Your marketing comes a very poor second. They're also posting security updates every few months. More hassle. For you.

Drastic solution:

1. Type your documents in a text editor like Editpad, then
2. Use a Text to HTML converter, then
3. (Use Dreamweaver to add formatting, then)
4. Use a index generator to make a HTML list of those pages, then5. FTP them to your web site.

Benefits:

• Search engine spiders get to the 'meat' of your page immediately;
• You have more control over how the page looks;
• You have more control over what an SE 'bot 'sees';
• You're not relying on a MySQL database to maintain your site;
• Hackers won't be able to deface your site easily.

A clever webmaster would look into Conditional Server Side Includes. You can use them to 'program' your web pages, while still presenting clean HTML to search engine 'bots.

And as for Microsoft FrontPage, I wish all my competitors were using it.

2. Get Lots of Links to Your Site.

• Submit articles to article websites;
• Pay freelancers to make software for you, and give it away free;
• Submit to the top directories, like Yahoo and DMOZ, but don't spend much time or monëy. Only half a dozen are worth
• a damn for SEO;
• Post in popular forums and blogs, if they will let you use straight hyperlinks in your signature;
• Be controversial - assault a few sacred cows;
• Do a press release, and think beforehand about how you can make it interesting to journalists;
• Make a better, faster, cheaper version of a popular product.

That should get you a few decent links. With millíons of cheapo, 'me too', linkless sites out there, yours will stand out like a snowdrop on a dungheap.

3. Offer Something People Really Want.

You like fuschia leg warmers. You think other people do too. You make a website selling them.

Cue sad disillusion

People want monëy, sëx, friendship, human contact, cars, drugs, health and happiness. They know what they want (not need, want). You've got to figure out a better way to satisfy that want, for a fat net profit.

Actually, yes it is.

Save time. Pick a very profitable, popular industry. Think up a way to give people a better product. Or faster. Or cheaper. Or all three! Research costs little. Thinking costs nothing.

Or just go off half-cocked. Employ a cheap, angry webmaster. Half-finish the site for a product you're not 100% sure there's a demand for. Then sit back and wait for traffic.

Then give up, go down to the pub and gripe to your pals: "The internet's sh*t, innit?".

Funny thing about offering a popular good with a new twist; you get links without cadging them.
Simple, ain't it?

4. Be First With a New, Popular Good (or a smarter second).

MySpace wasn't the first social networking site, but they did it better. They designed it to be viral. Members could compete to get 'friends', and everyone wants new friends, right? Users could put anything they wanted online, even if it looked cr*ppy. Censorship was minimal. Result: Huge popularity, without needing the search engines.

Not easily done, but again, research costs little. Thinking costs nothing.

Stop the daily slog. Go for a walk. Have a long bath. Play a game of street-hockey. And see what pops into your head.

If you feel good about it the next day, it may be a good idea. Test it before committing to it. If it still makes you excited a month later, you may be onto a winner.

If complete strangers start feeling the same, you definitely are!

About The Author T. O' Donnell http://www.tigertom.com/secured-loans-uk.shtml is a credít broker and curmudgeon living in London, UK.

10 Most Valuable Free Google Marketing Tools

By Titus Hoskins (c) 2006



Google has become the dominant search engine on the Internet. It would be hard to imagine a web without Google. For that matter, it would now be hard to imagine a world without Google. As frightening as that may seem to many people, it is none the less true.

For better or worse, Google has permeated into almost every aspect of our everyday life. Being Googled is now a common _expression and an act carried out by millíons of users around the world each day. New Google products and services are coming on stream at a frightening pace, further increasing Google's impact on our lives.

Despite this dominating presence, many people still don't realize Google offers some excellent frëe marketing tools for marketers and webmasters. Marketing tools which can prove extremely valuable to any webmaster or marketer trying to promote their sites or products online. Useful tools that will make your promotions easier and much more profitable.

Don't be fooled by the 'frëe' label, these marketing tools might be frëe, but they are also valuable. One even wonders why Google would be giving away these tools and services for frëe? It probably makes good business sense in the long run, by providing these frëe tools Google is fostering a lot of company good-will and building up the Google brand name in the process. Good PR is good business.

Every marketer and webmaster should be taking advantage of Google's good-will and snapping up these professionally run services and marketing tools. Here's a quick run-down of the 10 most valuable frëe Google Internet marketing tools:

1. Google Analytics

Perhaps the premier marketing tool offered by Google. It will prove helpful to both the marketer and the webmaster. Google Analytics gives you a daily snapshot of your web site. Google Analytics analyzes your traffíc, where it comes from and what it does once it enters your site. You can monitor up to three sites for frëe.

Google Analytics is extremely valuable in analyzing your marketing funnel. It tracks all the steps leading up to your salës or checkout page. Vital information for raising your conversion rate and ROI.

You may be placed on a waiting list for this highly in demand service from Google.

LINK: http://www.google.com/analytics/



2. Google Sitemaps
Webmasters can use Google Sitemaps to almost instantly place newly created pages on their site into the Google Search Index. This is an XML file that is uploaded to Google as new pages are added on your site. Needless to say this can be a valuable service for any webmaster or marketer who wants to get their information on the web quickly.

LINK: https://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/docs/en/about.html

3. Google Alerts

Be notified when someone, or another site, lists your site or mentions your name. Great way to keep track of all your online activities. Great way to monitor all your online business interests and products.

LINK: http://www.google.com/alerts



4. Google Froogle

Froogle is Google's price directory! It simply lists all the cheapest prices for different products on the web. For marketers and webmasters who are promoting products, it should be studied and analyzed. Optimizing your site's content for Froogle may prove to be very beneficial.

Follow Froogle or Google directions exactly on how to list or display products on your site. Froogle will spider your site and display your prices and products to thousands of targeted customers. That, as they say, is priceless.

LINK: http://froogle.google.com/

5. Google Checkout
Not exactly frëe but for those marketers who use AdWords - for every $1 spent on AdWords you can process $10 for frëe. You can also place the shopping cart logo on your AdWords ad and take advantage of the prestige and trust the Google brand name has built up.

Over time marketers may find this tool to be very effective and valuable.

LINK: https://checkout.google.com/

6. Google eBlogger

Blogging has become vitally important to the health and functioning of your web site. No site should be without at least one blog and RSS feed. Creating a blog (online journal) on the topic of your web site or product will bring in extra traffíc and targeted customers. eBlogger is a simple frëe blogging service that even lets you publish or post your blog files to your own web site server. Keep in mind, each blog has that all important Google Blog Search bar.

LINK: http://www.blogger.com/

7. Google Toolbar - Enterprise Version
Try the new enterprise version of the Google Toolbar for your company or business. Integrates countless features with all your employees or corporate network. These could include a common customer database, company calendar, financial news...

Keep in mind, Google also ranks every page it indexes on a scale of 0-10. While it is important to know the Page Rank of your own pages, it is even more important to know the PR of your competitor's pages. You can use the toolbar to get the PR of each page you're visiting. Extremely helpful information for webmasters and marketers to know when forming online linking or business arrangements.

LINK: http://toolbar.google.com/T4/enterprise/



8. Google Groups
Every marketer knows the importance of having a large contact list of people with a similar interest. Social networking will play an ever increasing role in your success on the web. Just look at the growing popularity of sites like MySpace and LiveJournal.

Google groups is another form of social and business networking that every marketer should be aware of and pursuing.

LINK: http://groups.google.com/

9. Google Adsense
One simple way to monetize your web content is to use Google Adsense. Just place the Adsense code on your site and receive a chëck from Google each month. For webmasters who are not really into online marketing (do such creatures exist?), Adsense can be a painless way to earn extra income from your site.

For professional marketers using the Adsense system can supply a tremendous amount of marketing information on the keywords in their particular niche. It keeps the marketer informed on what keywords are being bid on and how much advertisers are willing to pay.

Adsense also has an excellent real-time tracking system you can use to keep track of all your important web pages.

LINK: https://www.google.com/adsense/

10. Google Writely
A recent addition to Google's stable of frëe products. Writely is a full featured online writing editor with spellcheck and great collaborating features. It also lets you publish your content directly to your blogs. One feature that may be of interest to marketers - it lets you save files in the popular download format of PDF.

Lets face it, until video takes over the web in four or five years time - the written word is still king on the net. It is the medium that markets, promotes and sells your content or products. Writely will help you write better.

LINK: http://www.writely.com

Honorable Mention - Google Trends
This Google program will let you search popular trends, important for marketers searching for the latest hot product to promote. You can also break down these trends by different regions.

LINK: http://www.google.com/trends

Final Note
Please take note that signing up for a Google account will usually help you in obtaining most of these frëe services or programs. Some of these programs may have to be applied for individually. But be assured, all these frëe Google marketing tools are well worth your time and effort. They will make your marketing easier and they will help any webmaster or marketer run their online business more efficiently.


About The Author
The author is a full-time online marketer who runs numerous web sites, including two sites on Internet marketing. For the latest web marketing tools try: BizwareMagic.com. Everyone is profiting from Google, why not you? Go here: www.bizwaremagic.com/Google_Cash_File.htm.
2006 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

Using Blog PR TO Promote Your Site

By Adam McFarland of iPrioritize


The recent trend of using the press release to promote an online business has emerged with good reason – good press costs very little and can do more for a business than thousands of dollars of marketing. Most businesses use press distribution services like PR Web or PRFree to get the word out about their news. While distribution services certainly can be effective, they tend to miss out on arguably the most influential group of the press – bloggers.
Bloggers mold and shape the opinions of their readers, who are normally the most important in their particular industry, many of whom are also bloggers. Not long after a post from an influential blogger, your news has been picked up by several other bloggers and within days you are all over the blogsphere. Before you know it your site is getting more attention than it would if a story ran in the local newspaper! So how do you get the influential bloggers in your industry to run a story about your business?


Why Would Anyone Do a Story About Your Business?

Are you a new company? Did you just launch a new product that they could review? Did your business wín an award? Are you a group of college kids who started a company on savings from your summer jobs? You get the idea. There needs to be a reason that someone would want to read about you. Bloggers take pride in the content they feed their readers. You don't stand a chance of getting a blogger to write about you if you don't have a story that their readers will be interested in.

Research Bloggers in Your Industry

More is less when it comes to contacting bloggers. Buy a list of 1,000 bloggers and send out a generic email to all of them and you'll likely get no response. But send a small amount of personalized emails to the appropriate bloggers and you'll be shocked at how many positive responses you get.
The first step is to make a list of the bloggers that would be interested in your story. You can generally get a feel for whether or not a blogger would be interested in your story by reading a couple of posts and checking out their bio. If they've done a few similar stories in the past or they are heavily involved in your industry, there is a good chance they'll want to hear your story. If not, leave them off your list and move on.
The single best method that I have found to research blogs is the

Technorati Blog Directory. You can peruse blogs in your industry in order of "authority" - how important Technorati thinks a blog is. This is extremely useful. For example, if you are in the travel industry, you can view a list of the most influential blogs in the world of travel.
Another great way to find the right bloggers is to search through your competitors press sections on their websites to see what blogs have mentioned them. You can also find out who has mentioned your competitors by looking at the sites that have linked to them (type in "links:www.theirsite.com" on Yahoo!). There's a good chance that if they found your competitors story interesting, they'll find your story interesting as well.

Compose Your Email

The best way to contact bloggers is by email. The good news is that most bloggers make themselves easy to access and provide their email addresses on their blogs. The bad news is that most people don't know what to do with said email address once they get it. Use the following outline for your email and you'll see amazing results:

1. Have a simple subject. You probably won't get many responses by treating your email like a press release and writing RELEASE in the subject line. Try something simple like "fan of your blog" or "comment about your blog." You want to make sure they actually read your email and don't mentally mark it as späm when they see the subject.


2. Start by complementing them. Since you've read their blog and learned about them from their bio, you know quite a bit about them. Use it to your advantage. Compliment them on your favorite post, or how cool it is that they worked for XYZ company.


3. Request them to post about you (be direct). In three sentences or less, tell them your story, why you think it would be of interest to them and their readers, and respectfully ask that they write a post about it. Be direct and to the point. They will respect that.


4. Offer something in return. You have something that could help them. Maybe it's a link back to their blog from your personal blog, or maybe you could provide them with a free product or service that could help them or their business. One way or another, there's something you have to offer them in return for the time spent on a post about you.


5. Close with something nice. Thank them for their time and wish them luck with their blog and/or business ventures.

Notice that of the five components of the email, only one is about your story. The rest of the email is spent complimenting them and offering them something. Your chances of getting a positive response have just gone through the roof. Every blogger, no matter how large, likes to hear that people are enjoying their posts.

Respond Promptly and Respectfully

Not everyone is going to agree to run your story. Some will say that they don't do that type of thing or that they don't have time. Since you have been so nice as to compliment them, they will still usually reply either way. Regardless of the response, be sure to thank them for their time and wish them luck with their ventures. You nevër know when they will encounter someone who needs your product or service in the future (remember, they are in your industry) and if they have a positive image of you and your company they will undoubtedly give you a good recommendation.

Sit Back and Watch the Traffíc Roll In

Over the course of the next few weeks you will see post after post appear about your business. Be sure to send another thank you email to the blogger after the post and also be sure to promptly provide whatever you offered them in return. At this point you have developed a mutually beneficial relationship with someone important in your industry that can become invaluable over time.
That wasn't that hard was it? With a little research and a carefully crafted email, any business can effectively use blog PR to drive traffíc to their site.

About The Author Adam McFarland owns iPrioritize - simple to-do lists that can be edited at any time from any place in the world. Email, print, chëck from your mobile telephone, subscribe via RSS, and share with others.

Using Images for SEO

By John Case (c) 2006


Humans vs. Search Engine


Human visitors and search engine robots that visit websites and index information about them look for different things in a page. People like to see an attractive layout with nice pictures and graphics, animation, easy-to-locate navigation, and friendly greetings like "Welcome to Annie's Online Shop" at the top of a page. Search engines, on the other hand, like sites that have lots of textual content, good site structure (sitemaps, consistent linking style), and a meaningful phrase such as "Chicago Area Florist" as the heading of a page. While search engines can read the "alt image" tags of graphics, they cannot "look at" pictures the way a human visitor can, and far prefer text.

Replacing Text with Images

One way to work around this paradox is to shift some of the text that search engines have no interest in over to graphics. For example friendly greetings like "Welcome to Our Site" or "Annie's Online Shop" work best as header graphics.

Creating a header graphic in a graphic editing program like Photoshop, Illustrator, or Fireworks has the advantage of letting you know exactly what that part of your site will look like to visitors. If you create a header or navigation bar with text, you are limited to a common set of fonts. If you use a fancy font that is installed on your computer, your page will look great to you, but when a visitor who does not have that font on their computer visits your site, their browser's default font will be used and that nice aspect of your site will disappear. By making your header or navigation button images, you are free to use any of the fonts on your computer, and can be sure they will display the same way to your visitors.

Another advantage of using a header graphic is that you can remove words irrelevant to your target keywords from your textual content. When search engine robots visit a site, they read pages from left to right, top to bottom. The first 20-25 words and last 20-25 words of your text content are especially important, and you want to make sure to include your target keywords within these sections. If at all possible, your primary target keyword phrase should be the very first text in your page. That is, if you are able to make a natural-sounding sentence beginning with it. If your page begins with "Welcome to our site!", then you are pushing your keyword further away from the starting point of your text.




The first line of the main text on your page should be in heading format, with H1 tags (In html code it will look like this: <h1>London Hotels</h1>), and should contain your target keyword. However, you may want to add a greeting above the heading ("Welcome to Our Site!" for example). Since this is a very general phrase, with no relevance to any target keyword, it is best to make this a graphic.

If your site already has a greeting such as "Welcome to Our Site" in text at the top of your main page, it is relatively easy to convert this to a graphic, as follows.

1. Open your page in an internet browser.


2. Push the "Print Screen" button on your keyboard.


3. Open a photo editing program, such as Photoshop.


4. Create a new document and select Edit>Paste or Ctrl+V on your keyboard. The screenshot will be pasted on the blank document.


5. Crop the image down to just the word or phrase you would like to replace, with only a little blank space around the edges.


6. Choose "Save as" or "Save for Web", saving the file in the "Images" folder of your site.


7. In your site editor, such as Dreamweaver, simply open your page, delete that text, and drag and drop in the image you created. Save and upload your page.

Replacing Images with Text

Of course, the opposite might also be true of your current site. Your keywords might be displayed as graphics rather than text. In this case, you should either repeat those keywords in text in a way that looks natural, or get rid of the graphics altogether and replace them with text. The important thing is that your target keyword appears as text, as close to the beginning of the page as possible, and within H1 tags.

Alt Image Tags

"Alt image" tags are short pieces of text that are associated with a graphic. If the graphic cannot be displayed for some reason, or if someone has set up their browser to block images, the text is shown instead. (The "alt" is short for "alternative".) Also, browsers designed for the sight impaired read out the text content of pages, and read the alt image tags as a way of describing a page.

Here is what an image tag looks like in html code:
<img src="http://www.YourDomain.com/images/logo.gif" alt="YourKeyword image" width="728" height="123">

The alt image tag is this part:

alt="Your Keyword image"

You can type the alt image tags directly into the html code. However, most html editors, such as Dreamweaver, give you an easier way to add an alt tag, and you should chëck in your software's "Help" section.

Search engine robots do read and index alt image tags. However, since this text is normally hidden from human visitors, it is especially susceptible to keyword spamming (i.e. entering a massive string of keywords that "hide" behind the picture). For this reason, search engines are giving less importance to alt image tags. They still are important though, and having the tags on your pages can give you a slight edge over competitor sites that don't have the tags. When adding alt image tags to your pages, keep the following points in mind:

1. Don't go overboard. 4 or 5 words are plenty. Resist the temptation to pack in a long list of keywords because this could potentially get your site penalized by search engines or blacklisted from their directories.


2. The alt image tag should include the primary target keyword of your site.


3. The tag text should make sense if someone actually read it, and actually describe what is shown in the graphic.


4. Include "image," "photo," or "graphic" at the end of your short phrase. This prevents the search engines from flagging the tag as späm.

Using these techniques to organize the graphics on your site will give you a slight edge over the competition in the search engines.

About The Author John Case is the author of Easy-Learn-To-Earn.com, a free guide to making an income online, and maintains an SEO site at AWordsWorth1000Pictures.com

Google's Next Move Video Game Ads?

Since AdWords was launched in 2001, Google has expanded to image ads, video ads, and print ads, and has frequently been rumored to be entering radio and television. While many think that television ads (ala Spot Runner) could be Google's next major move, they may be neglecting a potentially largër opportuníty: in-game video game advertising.

Earlier this year Massive Incorporated, a video game advertising network, announced a landmark deal with Major League Baseball and 2K Sports to provide dynamic advertising in the popular video game Major League Baseball 2K6. According to their press release, "Massive's Network and technology allow MLB Advanced Media and 2K Sports titles to leverage dynamic advertising for ever-fresh brand messaging in their games, mirroring the rapidly changing and expanding advertising opportunities in the live action sports industry."

Why Should Google Care?

The Entertainment Software Association put U.S. salës of video game hardware and software at $7.3 billion back in 2004, a figure that rivals Hollywood box office revenue. In-game video game advertising is nothing new for the booming game industry – large companies have been buying static advertisements in games for years. What is new is the expansion of online gaming into the mainstream. Once reserved for only PC Gamers, console gamers have now discovered a whole new world of competition over a broadband connection

In a recent interview with TechNewsWorld, EA's John Schappert, who oversees the largest interactive game studio in the world, was asked about in-game advertising: "In-game ad integration is a growing business where we see both advertisers and consumers looking for more. It's an additional revenue stream that is still small, but growing. There's the potential for scalability in this area with dynamically-served ads. It's still in the early stages [in terms of] how in-game ads will grow in significance."

Starting with Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PS2, and continuing into the next generation of online gaming with Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii, and Sony's PS3, it has become a virtual certainty that nearly all gamers will be playing while connected to a broadband connection. With that broadband connection comes an advertising opportuníty that's hard to ignore.






Is History Repeating Itself?

The potential flaw in what Massive Incorporated does is that their ad network still only includes the large advertisers. Massive's website gives no specific information regarding how to purchase advertising, only mentioning that "blue-chip" advertisers can work with their "veteran" salës team to start an account. I think it's safe to say that small businesses aren't their target market. So while they are implementing dynamic ads, those ads are still only affordable to largër businesses. Anyone familiar with internet advertising can see the potential for history to repeat itself.

Way back in 1996, long before Overture (now Yahoo! Search Marketing) and Google AdWords, a company called DoubleClick pioneered website advertising. Their downfall, however, was that they required a formal salës contract, limiting their potential client base to only large companies. Overture and AdWords made it easy for the small advertiser and small site owner to participate in their ad networks, essentially opening their service to anyone on the web. Several years later, one would think that Google is keeping a watchful eye on what's going on over at Massive Incorporated. Massive may be the first to enter the market, but it's hard to ignore the fact that the small business owner remains shut out. Could Google make Massive the next DoubleClick?

How Would Google Do It

There's no doubt that with the best programmers in the world Google is capable of developing and improving upon the technology that Massive has. It's also not hard to imagine advertisers paying per thousand impressions (PPM) for their text or image ads to be shown in specific games, much like they do now for specific sites. The tough part for Google, however, would be the distribution of those ads

As opposed to signing up websites to display their ads by copying some code on to their site, Google would have to work with game programmers throughout the development process. This would be much more time consuming and would be a much largër risk for Google. In the same way that Massive signed the contract with 2K, Google would have to sign large contracts with game developers and work with them for several months to integrate their ads.

This enforces the fact that the main difference between what happened with DoubleClick and what could happen with video games is that it would probably be more work for Google to distribute their ads over multiple channels (i.e. more games). Since each game is programmed differently, there is no game equivalent to the JavaScrípt used in all AdSense ads. Every game would need to be tailored to Google's ad network individually. Difficult: yes. Impossible for Google: no way.

When Will They Do It?

In my opinion it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. The potential revenue from the gaming industry is too big for Google to ignore. Oh, and if you still aren't convinced, consider this: Microsoft, one of Google's main competitors, also produces the Xbox 360. If Microsoft decided to integrate their newly launched adCenter into Xbox games, would it really surprise anyone if Google countered by announcing a deal with Sony or Nintendo to integrate in-game dynamic advertising for the PS3 or the Wii?

About The Author Adam McFarland owns iPrioritize - simple to-do lists that can be edited at any time from any place in the world. Email, print, chëck from your mobile telephone, subscribe via RSS, and share with others

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WebmasterRadio.FM

WebmasterRadio.FM - A LittleSomething For Everybody

By David Wallace (c) April, 2006

I admit it. I am a WebmasterRadio junkie. Not only do I listen to many of the live shows that they do on a weekly basis, I also find myself listening to archived shows as well. I absolutely love it. It allows me to not only keep abreast of the latest happenings in my industry very quickly, it also allows me to hear the audible voices of many folks that I already know online or have met in real life. If you frequent any of the popular search marketing forums or blogs or have attended conferences such as Search Engine Strategies, PubCon, AdTech and others, then surely you have heard of WebmasterRadio as well. In my opinion, they are very quickly becoming the audible voice of the search industry.

We already have a vast array of sites on the subject search engines and search. These include blogs, forums, resource sites and the like. Many have been around for years nöw, especially sites like Search Engine Watch which has been online since almost the birth of the search engines themselves. Even the trade shows have been around for quite some time nöw. However, lacking was a way to bring people together with audio and live chat outside the realm of a costly trade show or forum. That is where WebmasterRadio.FM fills the void.

WebmasterRadio is the creation of Daron Babin and Brandy Shapiro Babin, who are not only husband and wífe but partners in business. They officially launched in November 2004 at a Yahoo Party that was held during one of the PubCon conferences. It all started with a single show entitled RainMaker, an Internet radio broadcast that gained such favorable response from listeners and advertisers that more shows were soon added out of necessity. Daron and Brandy's goal in establishing WebmasterRadio is to not only get info from industry leaders to help people in their business but also to bring people together and connect them through live broadcasts and chat. They have done this very well with more shows and listeners coming on board all the time.

So what were Daron and Brandy doing before WebmasterRadio? Well for starters, Daron was one of the pioneers in the SEO industry, coming onto the scene in 1996 (one year before myself). He even earned the nickname "SEGuru" which he is still known for today. While WebmasterRadio occupies most of his time these days, he still does some SEO work. Before WMR, Daron was in television, working as a director at NBC for twelve years. The combination of his television/broadcasting experience combined with search marketing expertise is a perfect match for what WebmasterRadio currently offers.

Brandy comes from a public relations and business development background. Before WMR, she was the Director of PR for two of the largest independent advertising agencies in the country. Brandy's extensive background has allowed her to see both the client and vendor side of product development and promotion. This has allowed her to guide clients to success, helping them to maximize their earning and growth potential with a special focus on non-traditional revenue. Some of the companies Brandy has worked with include SouthWest Airlines, SunBeam Inc, Data General, Sun Microsystems, Clear Channel Communications, Paxson Communications, Silicon Graphics and many other industry leading organizations. Combined, Daron and Brandy make an awesome team, along with all their staff as well

Whose voices have been heard on WebmasterRadio? How about names like Noel McMichael - Vice President of Search Marketing for Digital Impact, John Marshall - CEO of ClickTracks, Rob Grosshandler - EcomExpo, Michael Korda - Simon & Schuster, Bruce Clay - Founder of Bruce Clay Inc., Tobi Elkin - Executive Editor of MediaPost, Communications, Matt Cutts - Google, Lee Nadler - Founder of Sherpa Marketing, Amanda Watlington, Ph.D. - author of "Business Blogs - A Practical Guide", and the list goes on and on and on.

So what does WebmasterRadio have to offer? A variety of talk shows dealing with many different topics which I will summarize below. Before I provide a summary of current shows, keep in mind that WebmasterRadio is Internet based. That means anyone in the world can listen. The fact that they have a live chat room provides for an interactive experience when listening to live broadcasts. One can actually engage with others listening to the show at the same time as well as show hosts and guests themselves. The shows are also available as podcasts that you can listen on your iPod as well as mobile casts that you can listen on select mobile phones. So their reach is without borders. Here are some of the shows they have on their line up:

• The Daily SearchCast - This is my personal favorite. 30 minutes with Danny Sullivan as he recaps current events as well as throwing in a rant here or there. Daron usually hosts the show but occasionally Dave Naylor, Todd (Oilman) Friesen and Detlev Johnson fill in as hosts.

• RainMaker - The show that started it all. Daron and Brandy interview various guests or sometimes just talk among themselves about current events. Each week immerse yourself in a different facet of online business, ask questíons of the experts and hang out and have a great time.

• That's A Wrap - Ok, so its two of the old-timers, originals in the SEO industry, SEGuru (Daron Babin) and WebGuerrilla (Greg Boser). They are opinionated, bold and pull no punches. Expect their opinion of the current landscape in the world of technology, web, and life in general. Also expect to hear the dirt on the Search Marketing World and those who work in it. Its all a matter of opinion on this show... so everything is fair game.

• SEO Rockstars - Join Todd (Oilman) Friesen every week and have your eyes opened to the wide variety of search engine optimization tactics available to you. Covering the spectrum from low to high risk methods of online marketing, this show is guaranteed to make your head spin and keep you thinking.

• Strike Point - Hosts Mikkel deMib Svendsen & Dave Naylor bring you the first European show of its kind, addressing issues faced by European webmasters regarding search marketing and optimization. Expect to be informed on the nuances of maximizing earnings revenue from a European perspective. Irreverent, cocky and experienced... don't let the Eurotrash fool you! These guys are true experts and a show to not be missed.

• Cover Story - Host Brandy Shapiro-Babin reserves a headline for you. Each week she is joined with public relations powerhouses to share and discuss information which is vital and timely for you to maximize your public relations efforts

• Affíliate Marketing Today - Each week hosts from Commission Junction share both advertiser and publisher perspectives ranging from basic to advanced on how to get the most out of your affïliate marketing program and often reach out to some of the industry’s top players. Listen in, learn what the other side is thinking, and make it a win-win

• NextStuff Now - Hosted by Chris Tolles, vice president of Topix.Net; each week get a sneak peak behind closed doors to speak with the people who are developing new technology, products and services for the internet.

• Domain Masters - Hosted by Monte Cahn, founder and CEO of Moniker.com; learn how to be the master of your domain including lëgal rights, domain name monetization; ask questíons live from the pro's.

• Ms. Write - A content moments segment brought to you by InfoSearch Media's Sarah MacKay (Ms. Write). The show focuses on building quality content while illustrating its usefulness

• ad:tech Connect - Join ad:tech chair Susan Bratton and guest hosts as they interview top marketing leaders of today in this candid, one hour, web radio program.

• GoodKarma - Hosted by Greg Niland (GoodROI); this show helps explain topics for newbies and can even help an old dog to learn some new tricks. During the show there will be prizes given away as well as the answers to the newbie questíons you were too embarrassed to ask.

• The Hook with Katie Kempner - Katie is VP and Director of Agency Communications at Crispin Porter + Bogusky. The Hook charts the territory where advertising and public relations meet providing exclusive interviews with the industry's finest advertising and public relations gurus, creatives and journalists to discuss the latest news and strategy in the industry.

• Power Source - Tim Mayer and Jeremy Zawodny of Yahoo! Search are your hosts for a power hour surging with an exciting look at some of the Valleys newest and hottest companies. Tap into interviews and commentary from people working behind the scene plus, Tim and Jeremy will light it up with the latest happenings in the online world.

• The Fringe - This show will keep you in the know on what's hot and what's not, tracking the future of cool! Delve into an entertaining journey to the edge. Celebrity designer, TV personality and international DJ Nani Vinken takes you to the fringes of our culture. To a part of our culture, that most rarely see, to entertainment and insight into hip, cool and intriguing parts of everyday life before it occurs. Philosophers idea generators, rule-breakers, social divas, cultural studs.

That's a lot of shows. Time in between shows is filled with a wide variety of popular music. There are also commercials but nevër over-bearing like you would experience with most radio stations. As you can see by the titles above, there is just about something for everyone. It is rumored that a couple of new shows that will be coming online shortly will include Jennifer Slegg of JenSense and Michael Korda from Simon & Schuster.

Besides having a great line-up of talk shows, WebmasterRadio is the official radio for Search Engine Strategies, AdTech, PubCon and EcomXpo. They are present at all of these conferences, broadcasting live and bringing an inside view of these conferences for people that cannot attend in person. This makes for a heavy travel schedule for both Daron and Brandy but they seem to love it. Did I also mention that they are great at getting parties started as well? They recently organized a party at blues legend, Buddy Guy's club where Buddy himself made an appearance

So if you haven't tuned in to WebmasterRadio yet, what are you waitïng for? They are truly creating a legacy. When interviewing Brandy for this article, she reflected that her and Daron feel overjoyed that they are responsible for bringing a community of people together. WMR is making a difference in people's lives, helping them improve their businesses and themselves. Listeners are also coming to depend on their daily dose of WMR. I know I am. For that, both Daron and Brandy are thrilled at what has transpired so far and look forward to a bright future.

About The AuthorDavid Wallace is CEO and founder of SearchRank, an original search engine optimization and marketing firm providing keyword analysis, organic search engine optimization, link popularity enhancement, pay-per-click management, search engine friendly web design and ongoing campaign maintenance

Small Business Podcasting Demystified

By John Jantsch (c) 2006

Much has been written lately about the subject of podcasting. Podcasting is a very powerful small business tool but, some are kept away because it all sounds so technical.

In this article I will attempt to simplify the subject.

Let's start with the Podcast definition from the growing resource Wikipedia: What is a podcast - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast.

The definition provided by Wikipedia is a good place for you to start, but let me just add my take. A podcast is little more than an audio file (usually an mp3) placed on a website and combined with an RSS file that allows people to subscribe and automatically download any new content recordings

From a technical standpoint, there's nothing really too complicated about podcasting so don't think this is some geeky tech stuff. From a marketing standpoint, I didn't get too excited about the concept until Apple decided to make a podcast directory a primary component of iTunes. When that happened the market for podcasting on any subject imaginable was born.

Podcast Basics

Podcasts are typically published with a blogging tool like Blogger, TypePad, or MovableType. If you already use one of these blog services, creating your podcast is as simple as linking to your audio files and using a service like FeedBurner to automatically convert it into a podcast friendly feed. (More on that in a minute)

Create Content

Most podcasts are formatted much like radio shows. Hosts will interview guests or simply decide to talk about a subject that they feel is of interest to someone. From a business standpoint it can be a very powerful way to produce content that will make your website more interactive.

The plumber that records simple how to fix it podcasts will own the world! (Videocasts are just around the corner too.) There are a couple other very good reasons to host a podcast that may not directly have to do with content per se. Think about interviewing your clients on the benefits of using your service and posting those interviews as a podcast. Think that might make your best client even more loyal?

What about referral partners? What if you identified business owners that also serve your target market and invited them to be guests on your podcast. My guess is that you could instantly build a network of leading businesses with you as the hub. When you publish a podcast, whether you have a local or national audience, you become a member of the media. The tables are suddenly turned when you approach prospects and influential individuals. When you are the publisher of a podcast you have the opportunïty to gain access to the decision makers inside your biggest prospects – by simply requesting an interview. Do you see the potential in that?

Record

As I wrote earlier, a podcast is a digital recording so one of the steps you must complete for each session is to record your podcast. There are many ways to accomplish this task. You can use a portable mp3 recorder, use a service to record a telephone interview, record an interview using any number of VoIP services or create a recording set-up for your computer. (Obviously, you can go into a professional recording studio too.)

This article is not meant to explain in great detail every element of working with digital audio files but there are many ways to accomplish this step when you determine what your podcast needs are.

A great set-up for recording you own voice is to use a professional mic and a frëe software program called Audacity (Audacity has some very useful editing functions as well)

For telephone interviews you can use a service such as Conference Calls Unlimïted. CCU offers a telephone bridge line, recording, editing and hostíng of your mp3 file.

VoIP is a PC to PC or PC to telephone service led by a service called Skype. This is a particularly good option for International calls. A host of add-ons are cropping up to build even greater functionality into Skype.

Evoca
Gabcast
Skype VoIP calling
Conference Calls Unlimïted
Audacity free audio recorder and editor
Skype recording that interfaces with Outlook

Edit

You may find that after you conduct an interview you want to add some music or cut out segments. Again, look no further than Audacity (It's frëe and works very well).

File Host

Once you record your podcast you must upload the file to a server. There are services that offer recording and hosting options but, all you really need is enough space with your current web host to upload your mp3 files. Either way, you will simply link to the mp3 file from a blog post or web page. Below are some other options.

Podblaze
OurMedia
Audioblog
Liberated Syndication

RSS Feed

One of things that makes a podcast something more than an mp3 file is the addition of a podcast format RSS feed. This is simply a file that is updated every time you add an mp3 file so that subscribers through iTunes or some other Podcast service can automatically download your new content.

Podcasts do require a specific kind of RSS feed but, the only thing you need to do is go to a frëe service called FeedBurner and allow them to convert your blog feed or other RSS feed to work for podcasting. They can also set your feed up the way that iTunes and Yahoo Podcast want it set-up.

FeedBurner - Enhance a blog feed
Feed for all - Create a feed

Submit

Just like websites and blogs, podcasting has its own set of directories. You need to make a point of submitting your podcast or podcast feed (the one you formatted with FeedBurner) to the major podcast directories and engines.

ODEO
iTunes
Podcast.net
Singing Fish
Podcast Alley
Podcast News
Yahoo Podcast
Digital Podcast

Apple's Podcasting FAQs
Apple's Podcast technical specifications

Music and Intros

Maybe you want a cool music beat to kick off your show or a big radio voice type intro.

Royalty free music
Professional intros and outros

Listening and Searching

You should subscribe to and listen to podcasts to get a good idea of some of the ways people are using this tool for business. You will need what is sometimes referred to as a podcatcher to subscribe. If you have iTunes you already have one. (Most of the time you can visit a podcast site and simply listen to the mp3 file if you have an mp3 player like Windows Media Player or RealPlayer installed on your computer.)

iTunes
Juice
Doppler

Misc. Podcast Gear
Search audio files

Podcast Tutorials and Forums

Podstrigs
About.com
Podcast Alley
Podcasting News
FeedBurner's Podcast Guide

My Set-Up

Just in case you are curious, here's how I podcast. I use Conference Calls Unlimïted to provide my recording and editing. I hook up with a guest by telephone, conduct the interview and about 24 hours later receive a link to the edited mp3 file to link to from my podcast blog.

My intro was produced my AudioBag.com.

My RSS feed was created and enhanced by FeedBurner.

There are lots of things that you can do to make your podcast even more professional. In this article I've attempted to demystify the major points and get you interested in producing your own podcast.

About The AuthorJohn Jantsch is a veteran marketing coach, award winning blogger and author of Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide published by Thomas Nelson - due out in the fall of 2006. He is the creator of the Duct Tape Marketing small business marketing system. You can find more information by visiting http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/.

"Discover how ANYONE can start a profitable

Internet business in less than 30 days...

... Even if you're a computer dummy!"

Product Review:

"Warp Speed Wealth" SYSTEM

By Derek Gehl and the Internet Marketing Center

I've just finished working my way through Derek Gehl's brand-new "Warp Speed Wealth" system, and I've got to tell you, it's probably the BEST step-by-step system for starting your FIRST Internet business that I've ever come across!

In fact, if you've always wanted the freedom and extra cash that an Internet business can bring, but you've had NO idea where to start, then "Warp Speed Wealth" is definitely the perfect system for you.

In it, you'll get a concise look at many of the same strategies that Derek himself used "behind the scenes" to make over $54,700,000.00 in online sales...

... but boiled down into a step-by-step system for beginners that anyone can use!

You'll discover how to...

• Identify and find the HOTTEST products you can sell on the Internet
  
• Profit from what you already know -- hobbies, offline busineses, industry expertise, and more!
  
• Avoid the #1 mistake made by 90% of Internet start-ups, so you can maxmize the success of ANY online business you start
  
• Find FREE tools that you can use to create a web site -- in just a few hours
  
• Start a web site for less than $100!
• Find people who are begging for your products, capture their e-mail addresses, and generate HUGE repeat sales from them -- all within 48 hours
  
• Attract as many as 10,000 to 15,000 visitors to your web site -- all eager to buy your products -- with this little-known technique.
  ... And MUCH more!

And once you've got your successful new business up and running, Derek shows you how to completely automate it, so that it continues to earn money for you around the clock -- without having to lift a finger!

But what I REALLY like about Derek's new system is the guarantee. See, you literally can't lose...

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I recommend you check out this new system as soon as possible. Click here for details.

Bill Myers Tip of the Week 25/2/06

Bill Myers Tip of the Week - February 25, 2006
===============================================================

Your cordless phone could be killing your wireless computer
network!

We recently moved our cordless phone base unit into the same room
where we house our wireless network router.

Almost immediately, we started having wireless network problems.
Computers couldn't connect, and when they were able to connect,
the connections were painfully slow.

After spending hours trying to resolve the problem, we finally
discovered the cause and the solution.

Our office cordless phone system uses the same 2.4ghz frequency
as our wireless network. The phone system's wireless signals
were confusing the wireless network signals.

When we unplugged our cordless phone base unit, the network
instantly recovered.

Moral: If your wireless network is having problems, make sure
your cordless phone system isn't the cause.

If in doubt, power down the cordless phone base unit, and see if
the wireless network problems go away.

Bill Myers

===============================================================

Recent articles posted at Bill Myers Online:

================================================================

Guide to getting major manufacturers to promote your 'how to'
products

Here's how to get big companies to promote your 'how to' products
on their web sites at no cost to you. You'll be amazed at how
easy it can be. Includes real life example.

Read the full article at:
< http://bmyers.check-free.info/;

================================================================

Creating audio products from your written articles - a lot easier
than you would imagine

With the right tools, you can convert almost any text into a
professional audio production that could rival the quality of top
voice pros. In this article, I show you how to convert your text
articles (and ebooks) into great sounding audio products - in
less than 5 minutes. Plus I'll provide examples of my own
articles converted into audio.

Read the full article at:
< http://bmyers.check-free.info/;

================================================================

Learning to say No

One of the most important skills a product developer can learn is
to say 'no'.

Say 'no' to projects that can't

Read the full article at:
< http://bmyers.check-free.info/;

================================================================

Four low cost accessories every video producer should have

Sometimes it's the little things that make a big difference in
video production. Here are some of those 'little things' that can
make a big difference in the quality of video you shoot.

Read the full article at:
< http://bmyers.check-free.info/;


===============================================================
That's it for this week!

Bill Myers
http://bmyers.check-free.info/
===============================================================

VIDEO REVIEW:

The BIGGEST name in Internet marketing sits down with you and shows you how he's made over $40 million from his online business.

Review: Corey Rudl's Ultimate Seminar Videos

I remember -- back when I was first starting my online business -- thinking how great it would be if I could spend just a couple of hours with someone who's already made big money online and ask them how it's done.

Unfortunately, the only way to get "face time" with one of the better known Internet marketing "gurus" is to shell out thousands of dollars and attend one of those big conferences or seminars that they put on from time to time.

(And I don't know about you, but *I* certainly didn't have that kind of cash lying around when I was just getting started!)

Anyway, I just finished watching over 3 hours of Corey Rudl's new "Ultimate Seminar" videos, and I have to say that this is EXACTLY what anyone who is seriously considering starting an online business needs. Not only do you get to see Corey live on stage explaining the methods that he has personally used to generate over $30 million online, you ALSO get to spend time with him "one-on-one" as he sits down and actually SHOWS you how to do everything.

For example, instead of just telling you that you should be sending follow-up e-mail to your customers and subscribers, he actually walks you through the process and shows you how to write a compelling e-mail promotion, what software you can use to personalize these messages, and how to ensure that your e-mail gets delivered!

Of course, Corey goes through a TON of other information as well. In fact, he talks about literally everything you need to know to get your own online business up and running in no time flat, including:

• 
  How even a complete beginner can now build a web site in less than 48 hours... for LESS than $100.
• 
  Where to track down 1,000s of FREE and dirt-cheap sources of traffic for your site.
  How to find a targetable niche market that you can sell to almost effortlessly.
• 
  Why selling just ONE key product is the secret to most successful online businesses.
• 
  How to leverage the sales from that one key product into a lifetime of repeat sales and referrals.

... and much more!

Here's the bottom line: If you are in the early stages of your Internet business, this is going to be an invaluable resource for you! How else could you sit down with the single most well-known online marketing expert -- in the comfort of your own home -- and have him show how to duplicate his success?

I give these videos a solid 10 out of 10 rating. They cover absolutely everything you need to know to get your own profitable online business up and running!
Click here to read more and find out where you can get these exciting

Bill Myers Tip of the Week 28/1/06

Bill Myers Tip of the Week - January 28, 2006
===============================================================

This week we purchased a tent for our office.

Not the kind of tent you camp in, but a 'light' tent, to use when
shooting photographs.

A light tent (also referred to as a 'cloud dome') is a enclosure
made of translucent material used to spread a cloud of diffused
light on items placed within the tent.

You set the light tent on a table top, place the item to be
photographed inside, and shoot pictures.

The results are simply amazing. Often breathtaking.

And this can be important, since an impressive photo can greatly
increase the perceived value of, and desire to have, the product
in the photo.

If you use product photos on your web or eBay pages, you might
discover having your own light tent will pay for itself many
times over. (The light tent we purchased cost just $40.)

To see a photo of our light tent as well as photos of items we've
taken in it, check out the light tent article on our site.

Bill Myers

===============================================================

Recent articles posted at Bill Myers Online:

================================================================

Using a light tent / cloud dome to create spectacular photos

Check out the photos I shot in our new light tent, and you'll
understand why having a cloud dome or light tent is one of the
best investments a product developer can make. Wow!

Read the full article at:
< http://bmyers.check-free.info/ >

================================================================

New approach to web video - example of easy to shoot video, plus
a few cool toys

It took me less than 10 minutes to set up for, shoot, edit and
produce this web video. On the video you'll see how to combine
live video, screen capture, and audio into a fast loading, good
looking video - suitable for delivery over the web, on CD or DVD.

Read the full article at:
< http://bmyers.check-free.info/ >

================================================================

Finding great domain names - yes, they are still available

There are plenty of great domain names still available, if you
know where and how to look. In this article which includes a
short video, I'll show my secret to quickly finding the right
domain name for almost any project.

Read the full article at:
< http://bmyers.check-free.info/ >

================================================================

The easy guide to streaming live video to your web pages - part
II

In part one, we showed you how to quickly set up a live video
feed to your web site using free software and free web hosting.
In part two, we show you how another easy way to stream live
video - and how to control who can view that video once it is up
on the web.

Read the full article at:
< http://bmyers.check-free.info/ >


===============================================================
That's it for this week!

Bill Myers
http://bmyers.check-free.info/
===============================================================

Bill Myers Tip of the Week 20/1/06

Bill Myers Tip of the Week - January 21, 2006
===============================================================

If you are running Microsoft Windows, you might need this.

To help relieve customer support problems, Microsoft developed a
secret little tool that scans a customer's computer, and removes
the most prevalent computer viruses.

Microsoft found that when their support staff uses this tool,
they are able to resolve a large percentage of customer support
problems quickly.

Just run the secret software, and the Windows related problem
often goes away.

You can find this secret program, the 'Malicious Software Removal
Tool', and run it online at
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

It is free and updated every two weeks.

Even if you don't need this virus removal tool today, you might
want to bookmark it for later.

Bill Myers

===============================================================

Recent articles posted at Bill Myers Online:

================================================================

Finding great domain names - yes, they are still available

There are plenty of great domain names still available, if you
know where and how to look. In this article which includes a
short video, I'll show my secret to quickly finding the right
domain name for almost any project.

Read the full article at:
< http://bmyers.check-free.info/ >

================================================================

The easy guide to streaming live video to your web pages - part II

In part one, we showed you how to quickly set up a live video
feed to your web site using free software and free web hosting.
In part two, we show you how another easy way to stream live
video - and how to control who can view that video once it is up
on the web.

Read the full article at:
< http://bmyers.check-free.info/ >

================================================================

Reality TV - your own channel

This week I decided to create my own reality TV show and place it
on the web.

Using a $50 web cam and free software, it took me about 10
minutes to create a live video broadcast

Read the full article at:
< http://bmyers.check-free.info/ >

================================================================

Live Video: The easy way to quickly add live video -- with audio -
- to your web pages

In this article, I'll show you the easy, no hassle way to add
your live video feed (with audio) to your web pages. It'll take
less than ten minutes, no special software required, no hosting
charges, no bandwidth fees. You can have a 24/7 live video feed
from any video source, including your web cam, workshop, seminars,
even from on the road.

Read the full article at:
< http://bmyers.check-free.info/ >


===============================================================
That's it for this week!

Bill Myers
http://bmyers.check-free.info/
=============================================================