When I work with clients on their projects, we have to discuss SEO from the start. Search engine optimization is the at the core of and the actual fiber of every site and needs to be seriously considered before a single bit of code is created or modified.

I’ve always cautioned clients that when determining and choosing the keyword phrases for their project that they need to put on their customer hat. Determine and target the phrases that your customers will actually be using to find what you have to offer — not how you want or think or prefer they find you. Two different lists altogether!

Industry terms you may use may be unknown to your target customers. Terms you would prefer to be found by may not actually be considered as terms to search with by your target market. This is where doing your keyword due diligence is so critical to your online endeavor. Guessing or thinking doesn’t make the cut — knowing what folks use is imperative to your findability! You need to determine what phrases are actually going to be used (based on tons of relevant data and services available to you that reflect what is actually being searched for) and how best to integrate your targeted phrases throughout your site.

I tripped on an article today that basically confirms what I’ve been advising for all these years. Check it out: What Are The Right Keywords? Anyone? Anyone?

Then when you are done reading that article, check out my article on Bullseye Marketing that includes a link to my favorite keyword data service to help you accomplish this task.

At your service,
Judith

The daily news is dreary — certainly not positive. But when I hear all that doom and gloom stuff, my mind automatically thinks “opportunity is knocking!” With every downturn in the economy, (An eMarketer report indicates that 33% of U.S. adults are more likely to shop online because of high gas prices and that most of them do so because of lower prices and free shipping.) online there are always things you can do to soften the impact or to tap into new streams of income.

Here’s some positive thinking for you!

• Expenses going up? Then start a part-time online venture to supplement your income. Creating an overnight income to replace your day job isn’t possible (don’t believe anyone who claims this to be so), but in your spare time you can create smaller streams of income to help defray increasing costs. An example is selling all the junk in your garage or attic on eBaY.
• With down times create new needs. Create a service or solution that fits those needs and start a site or Blog that helps folks with that need.
• Think about what you love or have a passion for and create a Blog that shares that knowledge and includes advertising such as Google’s AdSense. Blogging is fun and with all the tools and services to help monetize your efforts, when done properly, you can pick up some pocket change relatively easily. Clicks can add up to dollars.
• Have a need or desire that isn’t being met? See what others are offering online and then think about how you can do it better. There may be billions of sites online, but only a small percentage of those are actually doing things in such a way as to produce a reliable income.

Instead of holding back; think about how you can push forward! Yes, you have to spend some money to make money. The smarties are those who have the courage and vision to spend money when opportunity presents itself while others are locking down their pocketbooks. And, when money is spent wisely you get ROI down the road. The road that leads us out of recession can easily be your road to additional income.

Since new Web sites get very little exposure for 6-9 months or more due to search engine delays, now is the time to get the ball rolling and to fine tune your site, pitch and product. The neat thing about online is that if you spend your time networking, investigating, testing and playing, amazing things can happen. You’ll never know unless you try!

By working in the evenings for a couple of hours and on weekends, you can build a side business that can help with rising costs while building a solid foundation that will be in place when the clouds lift.

When it come to the “R” word being tossed around, think ahead — this too shall pass. And when it does, you’ll be ready!

At your service,
Judith