Copyright (c) 2009 Ajay Prasad
If you are starting your site from scratch, selecting
keywords at this stage is a time and money saver. If you
are redesigning your website, this is the time to outdo
your previous mistakes.
Zeroing On the Right Keywords
If you are wondering what keyword has to do with website
design think again. It determines whether your website
architecture will have a folder or linear structure. If it
is a folder structure then how many levels?
Let's take a hypothetical example. Suppose you are a
company selling confections. You are designing an
e-commerce website. You may have two or more options for
website architecture.
Option 1: confectionary company displaying products by type
e.g. cakes, candies, cookies, chocolates etc.
Option 2: confectionary company displaying products by
occasions e.g. birthdays, weddings, thanksgiving, baby
showers etc.
Option 3: This option is a tad expensive because it
involves more complex programming at the database level.
You can let the visitor decide how he or she wants to view
the website product wise or occasion wise.
Which structure will be more appropriate?
Before deciding we need to find the online search behavior
of our future customers. Using a keyword tool we find out
that the search phrases customers use to find the - cakes'
are for specific types of cakes like wedding cakes,
birthday cakes, diaper cakes and so on. Same stand true for
candy.
Naturally the second option is a better website
architecture structure. It can grow both laterally and
longitudinally. It's more suitable for search patterns
hence later it will be easier to optimize.
The best way to do a keyword search is to write down the
phrases that describe your website's purpose. Start with:
5 one-word phrases
10 two-word phrases
5 three-word phrases
Run them in a keyword tool. You will be amazed at the
results.
Save them in a spreadsheet.
Selecting the Right Keywords
Your spreadsheet probably has a thousand keywords. It's
best to have a base keyword in mind around which your site
will evolve. Keep these in mind before you start selection.
- One word phrases are the hardest to rank for because they
require a high number of backlinks which is difficult for a
new site.
- Their conversions are also the worst because people are
not searching for that product or information. They realize
it as soon as they type it and see 44 million websites for
'cakes'.
- Two phrase keywords are good to optimize for as they have
more searches and hence more conversions. But they are
difficult to do so especially for a new website.
- Three phrase keywords may be few but are relatively easy
to optimize for. It's best to start with three word
keywords.
Select the 3 word phrases most suitable for your site. Make
them top priority for now...But do not ignore the 2 phrase
or single word keywords. With time you will be able to
drive traffic to your website using these keywords too and
they most probably will have more search traffic.
The other factors that matter are
- The number of competing sites
- The strength of those competing sites
Select a long string for 3 word phrases whose searches rank
more than 5 per day. This is the starting list for keywords
for your site. Repeat the same procedure for two word
phrases.
At this stage it may be suitable for you to leave out 1
word phrases not in the website design but in the
optimization process..
Integrating the Keywords in your Website Design
All efforts at selection are useless if keywords are not
properly integrated in design.
2 tips before starting:
Do not optimize for more than 3 keywords on one page
Preferably optimize for related keywords
Example:
Virtual Offices in Irvine Orange County (keyword)
-Virtual Offices
-Virtual Offices Irvine
-Virtual Offices Orange County
Get your website designer to use these search phrases in
the page in Title tags, Keyword tags, Header tags and Alt
tags. While writing the content for the page make sure you
use the phrase at least twice in 350 words of content. Use
synonyms of the keywords.
About the Author:
Ajay Prasad is founder of Global Marketing Resources LLC
that runs a number of ecommerce websites under it's
umbrella. Ajay's functional expertise includes website
strategy, marketing management, business development,
consumer research, market analysis and strategic planning.
GMRWebTeam is an company that
aims to develop an overall strategy for your site.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Leadership: Five Steps to Success
What makes a successful leader? That is a difficult question to answer since we all have our own degrees of success. In this article I approach success as the achievement of a dream. What can a leader do to ensure that their team is actually part of that dream’s achievement?
Set the Example
It is often said that actions speak louder than words. This is so true. A leader earns the right to lead by being involved, setting the example, and showing a willingness to do everything that he or she asks their team to do.
Make Your Vision Their Vision
As leaders we cannot demand commitment to our vision and dream. We need to paint a picture of our vision or dream. Let them see what that vision is. It may be hard for them to visualize what we have visualized. Remember, we cannot demand commitment from anyone. However, we can inspire it.
Always Look For Ways to Improve
There is always a way to improve for no leader is perfect. A good leader learns from their mistakes and failures. Don’t be afraid to try. If we succeed; awesome. If we fail, we can learn from that failure. Hence, the only true failure is to never try at all.
Give Others the Change to Bloom
A leader cannot achieve a vision or dream alone. He or she must give their team the tools they need to succeed and give them room to grow and learn. Teams are more effective when everyone on the team feels like they are part of the team. There are no barriers in a true team. While there must be a leader, a truly successful team is one of equals.
Lead From the Heart
Show appreciation for even the smallest of acts. A simple Thank You note can go a long way in encouraging team members to work towards your vision or dream. It lets every team member know that they are valued and they are important for the team to achieve its long term goals. Sometimes it can take a long time to achieve a vision or dream. By leading from the heart, a leader gets their team to buy into their vision or dream. Once the team has done that, they are more willing to stick with it for the long haul.
Conclusion
It has always been my belief that leaders are not born, but they are made. A leader is a leader because they choose to lead. A follower is a follower because they choose to follow. Why does one choose to follow us? We tend to follow those who have enthusiasm; who motivate and inspire us.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be."
Written by Donna Loudon
Tupperware Director
Visit her Websites: Tupperware, Information Portal for Women
Article Resources
James M. Kouzes, B. Z. (2009). The Leadership Challenge. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Set the Example
It is often said that actions speak louder than words. This is so true. A leader earns the right to lead by being involved, setting the example, and showing a willingness to do everything that he or she asks their team to do.
Make Your Vision Their Vision
As leaders we cannot demand commitment to our vision and dream. We need to paint a picture of our vision or dream. Let them see what that vision is. It may be hard for them to visualize what we have visualized. Remember, we cannot demand commitment from anyone. However, we can inspire it.
Always Look For Ways to Improve
There is always a way to improve for no leader is perfect. A good leader learns from their mistakes and failures. Don’t be afraid to try. If we succeed; awesome. If we fail, we can learn from that failure. Hence, the only true failure is to never try at all.
Give Others the Change to Bloom
A leader cannot achieve a vision or dream alone. He or she must give their team the tools they need to succeed and give them room to grow and learn. Teams are more effective when everyone on the team feels like they are part of the team. There are no barriers in a true team. While there must be a leader, a truly successful team is one of equals.
Lead From the Heart
Show appreciation for even the smallest of acts. A simple Thank You note can go a long way in encouraging team members to work towards your vision or dream. It lets every team member know that they are valued and they are important for the team to achieve its long term goals. Sometimes it can take a long time to achieve a vision or dream. By leading from the heart, a leader gets their team to buy into their vision or dream. Once the team has done that, they are more willing to stick with it for the long haul.
Conclusion
It has always been my belief that leaders are not born, but they are made. A leader is a leader because they choose to lead. A follower is a follower because they choose to follow. Why does one choose to follow us? We tend to follow those who have enthusiasm; who motivate and inspire us.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be."
Written by Donna Loudon
Tupperware Director
Visit her Websites: Tupperware, Information Portal for Women
Article Resources
James M. Kouzes, B. Z. (2009). The Leadership Challenge. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Email Netiquette: Principle Eleven
In March I wrote an article with my list of the ten Principle of Netiquette. To read the March article in full click here.
In this article I cover my 11th principle.
In this article I cover my 11th principle.
Principle Eleven
When sending an email to a group make sure to use the BCC option rather than the CC option.
Why? When you use the CC option, all receivers can see the email addresses of everyone you sent the email to. This can cause some serious problems for you because emails are private and many individuals don't want their
emails moving about freely. This could cause them to reply to you a little upset or even cause them to ask to be removed from your list.
I am sure most of us are aware that spam is a big issue with email. People fear that if the wrong person gets a hold of their email address, they will start sending spam. Hence, they have reason to be upset when they see that your entire list is seeing their address.
Solution: Use the BCC option. The "B" in BCC means blind. That means that everyone who receives your email will see only your email address and their own email address.
****************************
Author: Donna Rivera-Loudon
Bio: Donna is an online college professor. She teaches courses in Business, Management, and Computers. Donna is also a Tupperware Director.
Donna grants permission for you to reprint this article on your blogs and ezines. However, all links and the author bio must be left as it is in the article. If anything, including the links, are removed form this article or changed, permission to reuse is withdrawn.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The Leaders Persona
Recently I encountered a situation where I felt my team was being treated unfairly and made it a point to let others know that I did not appreciate it. I was criticized by other team leaders because they felt a good leader should always be bubbly and cheerful in front of their team.
While it is important that we show a good face to others, it is naive to think that one will always be able to be bubbly and perky. Leaders who portray that public image may not be reaping the results they are hoping for. Let me explain.
Leaders live stressful lives. Often a true leader is at work an average of ten hours a day. Then they must go home and deal with other issues. (We all have them) It is not realistic that a leader would be bubbly and perky all the time. I like to think that those whom I lead are smart enough to know that the 'bubbly all the time' persona is not realistic. To the contrary it can cause others to think we are fake, and it is difficult to trust someone that we think is putting on a false front.
It is also important for leaders to stand up for their team. We can tell our team we are standing up for them, but nothing is quite as effective as them seeing it for themselves. It is much easier to follow someone who you know will stand up for you and back you when you are being treated unfairly.
This is not meant to be an excuse for always being in a bad mood. Certainly a strong leader portrays a positive image most of the time. If one does, then those who follow will understand when we are having a 'bad day'. But certainly let's not make that a habit.
Now, having an argument among leaders in front of our teams is a totally different situation. As leaders we must set an example for our teams and an example of cooperation and getting along is a prime characteristic for a team to be successful.
So my conclusions are:
Being a leader doesn't mean being Miss Bubbly Perky all the time
A good caring leader must allow their team to see them standing up for their rights and what they deserve
A good leader cannot use stress and problems as an excuse to be in a bad mood all the time, but that doesn't mean a bad mood is never allowed.
My final analysis: No leader is perfect. I read an article recently at
http://www.academicleadership.org/ideas_worth_merit/A_Follower_s_View_of_Leadership.shtml
It stated, and I quote
"Leadership is mostly learned, and it is a life-long learning and teaching endeavor. We should all accept that we will never be the fully actualized leader. There will always be requirements for change, which means there will always be opportunities to learn."
Article written by Donna Loudon
Tupperware Director
Tupperware Website
Permission is granted to reuse this article as long as the author's name, position, and website link are kept in tact. If the links are removed, permission to reprint is withdraw.
While it is important that we show a good face to others, it is naive to think that one will always be able to be bubbly and perky. Leaders who portray that public image may not be reaping the results they are hoping for. Let me explain.
Leaders live stressful lives. Often a true leader is at work an average of ten hours a day. Then they must go home and deal with other issues. (We all have them) It is not realistic that a leader would be bubbly and perky all the time. I like to think that those whom I lead are smart enough to know that the 'bubbly all the time' persona is not realistic. To the contrary it can cause others to think we are fake, and it is difficult to trust someone that we think is putting on a false front.
It is also important for leaders to stand up for their team. We can tell our team we are standing up for them, but nothing is quite as effective as them seeing it for themselves. It is much easier to follow someone who you know will stand up for you and back you when you are being treated unfairly.
This is not meant to be an excuse for always being in a bad mood. Certainly a strong leader portrays a positive image most of the time. If one does, then those who follow will understand when we are having a 'bad day'. But certainly let's not make that a habit.
Now, having an argument among leaders in front of our teams is a totally different situation. As leaders we must set an example for our teams and an example of cooperation and getting along is a prime characteristic for a team to be successful.
So my conclusions are:
Being a leader doesn't mean being Miss Bubbly Perky all the time
A good caring leader must allow their team to see them standing up for their rights and what they deserve
A good leader cannot use stress and problems as an excuse to be in a bad mood all the time, but that doesn't mean a bad mood is never allowed.
My final analysis: No leader is perfect. I read an article recently at
http://www.academicleadership.org/ideas_worth_merit/A_Follower_s_View_of_Leadership.shtml
It stated, and I quote
"Leadership is mostly learned, and it is a life-long learning and teaching endeavor. We should all accept that we will never be the fully actualized leader. There will always be requirements for change, which means there will always be opportunities to learn."
Article written by Donna Loudon
Tupperware Director
Tupperware Website
Permission is granted to reuse this article as long as the author's name, position, and website link are kept in tact. If the links are removed, permission to reprint is withdraw.
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