Don’t miss our August sales promotion! Right below the ‘Sorry, Bing – Google Still King. But…’ article!

Christmas In July: Part 2

7 Tips For Strategic Landing Page Optimization

Landing Page Optimization (LPO) is a tricky thing. What the customer sees is only one layer of a well-designed plan to persuade that customer to convert. True refinement of LPO comes in discerning the difference between traditional LPO and more advanced strategic moves. What follows are seven strategic factors to consider for increasing the number of conversions you’re getting from your site.

1. Redesign your landing page. This is the first step in improving the effectiveness of your LPO. Use “best practices,” as we know them, to elicit the best performance out of your page. Design the page so that the eye naturally steers itself to the order form.
2. Optimize the landing page.Once you’ve optimized the look and feel, test various elements on the page. Run headline tests. Try different copy or pictures. Compare conversion rates.
3. Clear the path. LPO process is a path – from the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS) and PPC ads to the LPO page, and from the LPO page to the order form. Make it easy for the customer to travel the path. Present a consistent and easy to follow message throughout the path.
4. Make more paths. No two customers are alike. They’re not all going to show up for the same thing. If you sell wine, your Zinfandel customers are not going to be your Burgundy buyers. This is the level where you need to create equally attractive paths for your visitors. The more diverse you can get, the more chances you have for a conversion.
5. Remind them why they’re there. This is where all of your other marketing efforts combine with your landing page. Special offers, discount codes, radio promos, TV offers, etc. can greatly increase the conversions of your landing pages by tying into them.
6. Increase your speed.In every case, at every opportunity, get to the point. This is true both in copy and in how the landing page interacts with your other promotional campaigns. When your ads are pulling for the same people your landing page hopes to convert, everything runs more smoothly. Conversions are easier to come by when the customer is very nearly sold on arrival.
7. Get picky. Oddly enough, this is like an extreme version of step two. Focus on your entire marketing plan. How can you break it into segments to reach extremely pin-pointed areas of your market? Develop micro-campaigns to help optimize your future strategies.

Of course, the most strategic thing you can do to increase your LPO effectiveness is to put TextLinkBrokers.com on the job. We’re experts at improving LPO performance at every level. Give us a call today.

Google Adds Beneficial Results Tracking Change

Red Bricks Media recently reported on a tiny but important change in Google search results.

If you are one of those people who likes to analyze Google search data, you probably noticed that it recently began to display a new parameter in search results. This parameter, called “cd,” for “click detail,” displays position data. This helps the Google engine to place position numbers on its result pages.

What this means is that now, every keyword visit can be recorded by web analytics packages. What’s more, they can also specify every organic visit by keyword position.

Some industry experts predict that the cd parameter signals the end of rank checkers. Maybe so. But at the same time, the cd parameter is rather handy. It allows simple SEO to analyze more data for segmentation and optimization. Filters can now be set up to receive general ranks for any period – all the way down to a single day.

Google explained it on their website in this way:

Up to now, the usual referrer for clicks on search results for the term ‘flowers’, for example, would be something like this:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=flowers&btnG=Google+Search

Now you will start seeing some referrer strings that look like this:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=7&url=http%3A%2F%2F www.example.com%2Fmypage.htm&ei=0SjdSa-1N5O8M_qW8dQN&rct=j&q=flowers&usg=AFQjCNHJXSUh7Vw7oubPaO3tZOzz-F-u_w&sig2=X8uCFh6IoPtnwmvGMULQfw

For example:

The key difference between these two urls is that instead of “/search?” the URL contains a “/url?”. If you run your own analyses, be sure that you do not depend on the “/search?” portion of the URL to determine if a visit started with an organic search click. Google Analytics does not depend on the “/search?” string in the referrer, so users of Google Analytics will not notice a difference in their reports, but other analytics packages may need to adapt to this change in our referrer string to maintain accurate reports.

The implementation of cd is almost, but not entirely, universal in Google searches. 5% of search results still do not have the cd parameter applied to it. This is because some factors, such as the keyword position parameter (cd) changes, depend on where the page ranking is coming from. Will Google roll out the cd parameter for all non-logged-in searches? Will the other major search engines begin to apply cd as well? At this point one can only guess. Predictably, nobody’s saying much.

The experts that will express their opinion say that you can expect SEO to become more like PPC. This is because modifications can now be tracked more accurately than ever before. The change will be profound enough that managers should make sure that their SEO teams can track campaign modifications as well as their PPC team.

Sorry, Bing – Google Still King. But…

Never content to leave well enough alone, Microsoft launched Bing on June 3. Bing, in case you missed it, is Microsoft’s new “Decision Engine.” Don’t call it a search engine. Microsoft wants you to believe they have something special here. And perhaps they do.

The Bing TV commercials show individuals trying to get answers to simple questions and running into people who provide every single variation to what is being asked except for the answer to the questions. The idea is that Bing “cuts through the clutter” of Google by only providing you with what you asked for.

From a market standpoint, Bing has made barely a noise. Prior to launch, Google commanded 78.72% of US web searches (according to StatCounter). After the launch, Google’s share dropped to 78.48%. That’s a .24% reduction and hardly worth mentioning. Plus, when you weed out the curious who went right back to Google, the number is even smaller.

What is worth mentioning about Bing is Microsoft’s attempt, through software purchases and agreements with other companies, to provide better-informed internet search decisions. Bing’s ability to produce supplemental information on a search, such as analytical predictions on airfare when searching for plane tickets, may prove to be its most valuable contribution in the search engine arena.

Google’s “Brand” Algorithm: Hardly the End of Business As Usual

In case you didn’t notice, we’re all still breathing oxygen and the sun didn’t go out.

That’s how it seems many industry people reacted when, earlier this year, Google announced yet again that it had changed its ever-mysterious algorithm.

Armageddon. Again.

Of course, it was nowhere near that traumatic. But hey, if you could change the shape and capabilities of your soul anytime you wanted to, wouldn’t you do it?

This time, Google restructured the algorithm to favor major brands when determining ranking. They were adamant that this change would affect only the top, most highly recognized brands in any field. Still, most people can’t help but wonder: We all know it’s just a matter of time before Google makes this change apply to everybody. When they do, how will it affect the importance of building links and adding new content to sites?

The short answer: Who knows? Like every other change the Grand Poobah makes, we won’t know anything about it until it’s forced upon us.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that we, the curious, can’t do some wild speculation.

Figure: Google has a history for shaking things up. Given that knowledge, there are a few generalizations we can make about whatever it is that Big G has up its sleeve.

Chances are, the new algorithm is most likely based on any or all of these search factors:

• Brand search volume
• Direct site traffic
• Frequent mentions of the brand name at trusted sites
• Homepage links from very highly respected sites (TV networks, news sources, etc.)
• Currency and relevancy in the news media
• Trusted links that lead to the page

Again, this is pure guesswork. It might have something to do with what time Matt Cutts brushes his teeth in the morning. The point is, we don’t know.

However, there is more evidence out there that can help us to get a better idea of what may be afoot. To do this, you have to study Google’s past patent filings. (Just when you thought YOU had the worst job on earth…) When you do, you can see various patterns of importance regarding content that Google may (or may not) be using as part of their algorithm. In other words, this knowledge may make you the next SEO guru if you’re right, or the person no one will talk to at the next MENSA meeting if you’re wrong:

• First of all, the basic rule: Lots of traffic gets you higher rankings. Lower traffic drops you down. (Don’t worry, it gets better.)
• New content sometimes provides a boost but it really depends on the search terms you use to bring people to the new content.
• Older documents that regularly attract new links rank better than older documents that don’t. Since newer documents naturally have less links than older ones.\, Google doesn’t hold that against the new link.
• Regular updating ranks your pages higher. Google keeps track of every change you make on your page. Forever.
• Now, just to confuse things, sometimes Google will lower the ranking on pages that get changed regularly. (Nobody said this was easy.) This can occur if search queries to your site go down after you add new content.
• Your site may be given a higher ranking if the page has an above-average click-through rate.
• The relevance-measuring Query Deserves Freshness algorithm — which attempts to determine when users are looking for new information and when they’re not — can push up your rankings if the copy of your site is topical and current.
• However, if a page suddenly ranks for more queries than Google thinks it ought to get, its ranking will go down. Google routinely holds back progress on sites that are gaining rank too quickly. What determines “too quickly” is a mystery.
• If you build many links to a site, and then fail to maintain that rate of link building, Google deems that site stale. And there go your rankings.
• Freshness can also be determined by the page’s link growth over a given period of time.
• If the number of links to your site suddenly spikes, and the reason is not connected to a breaking news story or other stunning, one-of-a-kind event (for example, visits to your Michael Jackson fan page after the announcement of his demise), Google perceives this spike as possible spam and punishes you for it.
• If your site begins to lose links, it will lose value.
• If you change the anchor text in a site, it can come back to bite you. Be very careful when you do this — especially if you buy an older site. Unnatural anchor text growth is equivalent to spam in Google’s “eyes.” Also, try to avoid links from sites with identical anchor texts.
• Google may reduce or increase rankings based on whether it “likes” your advertisers.
• Bounce rates count. Lower the bounce rate, heighten your rankings.
• Trust badges count. Trust us.
• Sites that receive many commercial queries will not gain rank as quickly as those that get a lot of consumer interest.
• Google is more careful with commercial queries and the amount of influence they have on increasing site rank.
• Bookmarks, history and cache of users may be figuring into all of this as well. Nobody knows for sure.

So what does all this mean? In short, it means you can’t improve your rankings faster than Google says you can. Of course, until the algorithm is changed so that it black-hats every conceivable page ranking practice (Google says that’s not due until next July – just kidding), there is a way around it all: Link Building! There are scores and scores of white-hat methods available to get your search rankings where you want them –namely, page one of Google! Obviously, TextLinkBrokers.com would love to help get you there – whether you’re a big brand or the new person on the block. Give us a call today. In the meantime, if Google ever decides to let us in on the big algorithm secret, we’ll be the first to let you know.

LPO: It’s a Matter of AIDAS

Are you getting lots of compliments about how good your landing page looks? At the same time, are you wondering why your landing page isn’t doing the business you thought it would?

Here’s the problem: Just because your site looks good doesn’t mean that it’s getting good looks.

We’ve all seen pages that scream, sing, talk, tap-dance and make rude noises just to get your attention. These sites are always poor sellers due to bad Landing Page Optimization (LPO). People aren’t coming to your site for razzle-dazzle. They’re coming because they want something, and they hope you can get it for them, fast. If you can’t persuade them immediately that you can, then they’re gone forever.

So What is Good LPO?

Quite simply, a good landing page gets you conversions quickly. It directs the eye immediately to the order form or “call to action” button. And it tells the viewer to do something: buy, enroll, download, etc. now! Good LPO takes some planning. Plan to have your customers do three things:

1. Come to your site via organic search or a paid ad (PPC or banner ad).
2. Assure them they’ve come to the right place.
3. Get them to convert themselves.

This can be accomplished with one easy-to-remember acronym:

Attention

Interest

Desire

Action

Satisfy — AIDAS.

Start by getting their Attention with exciting PPC or banner ads:

Insure your entire family for 25¢ per week!
Just $1 a month! No deductibles!

When the excited shopper clicks on your PPC or banner ad, they’d better see your 25 cents offer again. Use the same colors on your site and your ads, if possible. Make sure they know they’re in the right place. Then GET TO THE POINT with your <H1> tags:

Insure Your Entire Family for About $1 a Month!

Now you’re ready to move on to Interest. Tell them briefly and quickly what they’re getting for their money:

Everything’s covered for a dollar a month!

• - Check-ups
• - Operations
• - Pre-existing Conditions
• - Sports Injuries
• - Emergencies
• - Prescriptions
• - Naturopathic Healers
• - Everything!

Follow this up with some brief information about the company and why the customer can trust you:

Healthdream Insurance has been insuring people of all economic levels since 1852 and we’ve never raised our premiums! Your dollar is good with us!

Once you’ve created interest in the product, the next step is to create Desire. Granted, many people will already be sold on your product at this point. They’ve moved on to take action and buy the insurance. But there will be stragglers –people who want to read everything about your product before making a decision. Give them informative, entertaining copy that leaves nothing to chance. No one will read all of it, but most people will read some of it!

Action time. By this point, your potential customer has decided to take action. They have done one of three things:

1. They skipped the interest and/or desire parts and filled out the order form. They’re already buying the insurance!
2. They’re very interested. They’re ready to buy! You want them to fill out the order form! Make sure the “order now” area is easy to see from the moment they arrive on the page. Put another call to action button under the fold for the “Desire” people. Make sure that the button tells them what to do:Order Insurance for 25 cents per week now!

Also, increase confidence in your company by putting trust symbols near the order form and form buttons.

Once they’ve purchased, it’s up to you to Satisfy the customer. Make sure that insurance is everything you said it would be. Offer money-back guarantees. Make sure your customers are the first to know about future added services. Give your customers a reason to recommend you to more customers.

Keep in mind, all of this is happening in a matter of seconds. So remember: Persuade; don’t dazzle. Convince; don’t beat around the bush.

If you think you may still need a little Landing Page Optimization assistance, TextLinkBrokers offers complete LPO services. We’ll be happy to help you get more conversions than you ever thought possible. Give us a call and let us put our AIDAS to work for you!

TLB.com: Promo – Authority Silo

Want More Links? Build Authority Silos!

An Authority Silo is a group of content that we host on one of our relevant partner websites. The Silo consists of:

• Five search-engine-optimized pages
• A 500-word, thematically written landing page
• 4 themed sub pages

Search engines love fresh content. So each sub page has two fresh pieces of unique content added within the first 2 weeks of placement for a combined total of 400 – 500 words. Each completed sub page will have one to five embedded links per page pointing at your website. Within the first month, after all content is in place, we begin backlinking into the authority silo.

In the ensuing months, the silo continues to be supported by the addition of six monthly SEO-friendly Page Ranking Comment Links (PRCLs) permanently pointing at the silo.

The Benefits to You:

• Extremely powerful links and content that will rank well for your keywords
• Increased coverage in the search engines
• Content that will rank well for your keywords
• Increased coverage in the search engines

TextLinkBrokers.com already has a considerable history at building silos for their clients. Give us a call and we’ll start building one for you, too!

Talk To TLB!

It’s important for us to stay in touch with you. That’s why you can reach TextLinkBrokers.com any time of day, via one of these convenient methods!

Telephone: Call us toll-free at 866-489-8546, between 8:00 AM and 5:30 PM PST.

Live Chat: Talk to virtually any department at TextLinkBrokers.com during office hours with our live php line! Just log on to our website, TextLinkBrokers.com, and click the “Live Support & Sales” button or just click here.

Email: Send any questions or comments to customer-service@textlinkbrokers.com. We will answer you promptly, or fill out our Online Form.

Fax: 480-323-2446

Mail: 1580 N. Fiesta Blvd. #102, Gilbert, AZ 85233

Thanks for Your Support and Feedback!

We appreciate all of your input. Without your feedback and feature requests, we may be missing out on what you are looking for. Don’t hesitate to contact us and take this online survey at any time (even if it is just to say hello), and let us know what you would like to see added.

Here’s the link to the survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=2PWpummzYfFKN4VrpFwKGw_3d_3d

Coming in Our September Issue:

Christmas in July Part 3: Combining Promos, LPO and SEO for the Ultimate Holiday ROI

In the past two issues, we’ve discussed the importance of prepping your sites early for the holiday rush. Next, we’ll show you how to use those changes to truly make this holiday season jolly! That’s coming up in the September TLB Newsletter! Watch for it!