Over the past couple of months it has been quite noticeable that the amount of time and effort that is going into website promotion is rapidly rising and therefore so is the associated cost of keeping ahead of the competition.
More and more people are devoting more and more time to website promotion and it is becoming a feature of nearly all website promotion campaigns that they are embracing all known search engine promotion techniques instead of exclusively relying on one or two methods.
What we are seeing at the moment is a landshift change in promotion techniques. Only a year or so ago it was thought enough for a search engine optimisation company to optimise the pages (on page optimisation) and submit the website.
However now that the competition is becoming ever fiercer off page optimisation is becoming a necessary requirement of any respectable website promotion campaign.
Let’s examine these two terms and see what we mean my “on page optimisation” and “off page optimisation”.
On page optimisation is the process of tuning the page for a search engine or more usually trying to make it rank highly on a selection of search engines. It’s no wonder that many search engine optimisation engineers focus on google exclusively as it certainly produces the most traffic of all engines, but will that always be the case? Things can change quickly in internet land.
Page optimisation strategies generally consist of using your keyword or keyword phrases in all of the pages known “hotspots”. The page title, meta keyword, meta description, alt tags, first heading and the body text. Subsequent “tweaks” can include bolding the keyword phrase, using the keyword phrase in a hyperlink and more.
To a point there is only so much that you can do to search engineer a page before it starts to look spammy, repeating the keyword phrase over and over. Of course some “optimisers” still do this but it’s quickly becoming a frowned upon practice as it detracts sharply from a website wanting to produce a professional image, not to mention your chances of being banned from the search engine altogether.
This is where “off page optimisation” takes over.
Both Google and Yahoo use a system of “ranking” websites dependent on several factors - one of which is how relevant the content appears to be to the keyphrase searched for (on page optimisation).
The second important criteria that your pages are judged on is how “popular” those pages are in comparison with your competition. Broken down into it’s basest form it means that the more quality votes (links) that your page has then the more popular it must be and so is promoted higher up the search engine results.
In google parlance this feature is known as “pagerank” and pagerank is a vitally important part of your website promotion campaign. If you don’t have any then you are standing naked in front of everybody and that’s not a nice feeling!
Google pagerank is based on a scale of 1-10 where 10 has the most influence. The algorithm is configured on a sliding scale so that you only ever gain pagerank as a percentage of the full amount. As those with the highest pagerank are constantly adding more “votes” for their pages it makes sense that those at the bottom end of the scale are going to have to work ever harder to play “catch up” and that is where the extra cost is being factored in to website promotion campaigns.
However it becomes more complicated.
Not all links are equal.
Blindly rushing off and trying to get as many links as possible is not going to help you much. In fact it’s one of the reasons why people are spending so much time and effort in their link exchange campaigns and finding they are getting nowhere.
Savvy online marketers have established that links from pages with a low pagerank are not as valuable as links from those with a higher pagerank. But also in paradox to this it is possible to get more value from linking to a page with lower pagerank than the higher one!
Confused! No wonder “off page optimisation” is becoming such a sought after area of expertise.
The paradox occurs because built into the pagerank algorithm is a method of transferring the amount of pagerank “boost” a page gets by dividing up the total pagerank of a page by the number of links present. So a high pagerank page with 100 links on it is not going to give as much “voting power” as a low pagerank page with only one or two links on it.
Trying to make sense of this is at the heart of any “off page optimisation” campaign. Sifting through links, setting up reciprocal link campaigns (the site you link to links back to you) getting links from directories and so on is a time consuming task, even when using some of the more advanced tools that take a lot of the manual drudgery out of the job.
Link exchanges are springing up all over the place offering to bring together people willing to exchange links and the humble text link is becoming one of the most valuable pieces of internet property. Costs for placing text links on higher ranked sites are escalating and it’s becoming ever more important to network closely with other sites offering useful services to your visitors.
Throwing up a links page and asking all and sundry to link to it is not going to work - all that’s going to do is give you an administrative headache and make your visitors wonder if they are making the right choice. Choosing quality link partners is a time consuming and therefore expensive business.
What this all means is that the cost of website promotion is constantly going up. And those companies with well networked sites and strategically placed links are in a much better position to help their customers than those who rely solely on pay per click campaigns and other expensive forms of advertising.
A website promotion campaign is still the best value for money form of advertising that there is in my opinion, it’s just that the costs are rising and will continue to rise. But the rewards for those that get it right are greater in comparison.
To sum up, search engine optimisation is becoming a more and more labour intensive exercise. There are more pages to be made search engine friendly and to gain top spots each page has to be tuned for a particular search engine. Gone are the days of “one size fits all”.
In addition there is a large amount of work involved in linking strategies and building the “popularity” of a website so that it has a chance of making it into the top 10 results.
It’s this combination of work required that is forcing up the costs of a search engine optimisation campaign.
Tony Cooper is internet marketing manager for:
http://www.keywordmarketing.com
Building results driven websites.
Your local Chamber of Commerce.
Now before you stop reading, I assure you this really works, and no, this is not an advertisement for the Chamber of Commerce although it may read like one.
What seems now like a hundred years ago I owned and operated a company that was made up of three components: a monthly magazine that we converted over to the Internet (http://www.sbmag.org); a graphic art studio; and an advertising agency. While we were in our infant stages, one of the tools I used to build a client base was a one hour consultation for new business start-ups on how to get business with little or no advertising budget.
This program was very successful, and we ended up with a number of excellent clients that stayed with us for years. Most, if not everything that I suggested in that one hour session many years back, is still valid today.
The first thing I would recommend for a new business owner was to become a joiner. If your business is a mama-papa business, you should both join an organization or two, but not the same ones. Spread it out.
The first organization I always recommended joining was the local Chamber of Commerce. Your Chamber of Commerce should be the number one advocate for business of all sizes in your community. Most are structured about the same way with a variety of committees that deal with specific issues related to different aspects that make up your community. Make sure you become active in the committee that has the closest relationship to your business. If you are a retailer, join the retail merchants committee; if you are a contractor, you may want to join the government affairs committee or the transportation and traffic committee, etc., etc. If the opportunity presents itself, you may also want to consider chairing one of these committees or gaining a seat on the board of directors. This will add instant credibility and more exposure to you and your business. But be selective and don’t take on more responsibilities then you want to do or, worse yet, than you can do. Failing here can create negative public relations, the direct opposite of why you are there to begin with.
Most Chambers also sponsor any number of different networking opportunities ranging form mixers to field trips. Attend as many of these functions as you can, and always make sure you wear a nametag and have plenty of businesses cards with you. My favorites were the mixers. However, don’t be obnoxious about it. I have seen people attending chamber events and simply walking around and sticking their business cards in people’s faces and launching into some sort of sales pitch. This won’t get it done. In fact, all it will do is tick people off. Remember, you are only there to meet and greet people and make friends and contacts, not sell them something right then and there.
Also remember that most, if not all, people in attendance are probably there for the same reason you are. Quite often I found it more beneficial to listen more then talk. People that have something to say are appreciative of those that are willing to listen. I can remember incidences where someone would say to me later that I really made a great impression on so-and-so, and that they thought what a great guy I was. In reality, I hardly said more then 20 words to so-and-so, but I did spend a half hour listening to him.
Some Chambers will arrange a ribbon cutting ceremony for you when you first join, assuming yours is a new business. If your business is not all that new, they may be willing to do something similar in the way of announcing you as a new member to the Chamber.
Most Chambers have a monthly newsletter and accept press releases. Some also sell advertising at very reasonable price. Also keep in mind that if you are an active member and maybe even a committee chairperson or board member, you may have your own column in the newsletter or at least a listing as a committee chair or member of the board. This listing usually will include the name of your business.
If your committee is dealing with important issues and or events, there may also be additional benefits in the way of local media coverage. I always made sure I chaired at least one or two events a year, and I picked the ones that were most likely to effect a large segment of the community “in a positive way”. This becomes important. For instance, you may want to think twice about chairing a committee to recall the local mayor and opt instead to take over the Christmas Parade.
A lot of Chambers sponsor trade shows. If promoted right, these events will offer an excellent opportunity for you to showcase your business. The trade shows are sometimes limited to a specific type of business. An example may be an electronics show or a fashion show. Obviously, if you sell running shoes, setting up a booth among nothing but big screen TVs and laptop computers may not be the place for you. On the other hand if you sell insurance, this may be the place for you to pitch homeowners insurance to people with a lot of high priced electronic gadgets. You have to pick and choose the right place at the right time.
Another function some, if not most, Chambers sponsor are seminars. Don’t miss the opportunity to present yourself as an expert in your field. Explore the possibility of becoming a presenter at a seminar being offered.
Don’t over look the possibility of selling your goods or services directly to the Chamber itself. It’s a fairly good bet that, with little exception, they are not going outside their own membership to purchase anything unless they absolutely have to. If you do get a chance to do business with them, make sure you give them the best service and the best prices you can. The last thing you want to do is over charge or under serve what is probably the largest and most influential business organization in your area.
The list of possible exposure via your chamber is endless — web site listings, yearly directories both on line and hard copy, referral services, business card racks, local maps and on and on. I can’t possibly cover all the advantages of membership. There will be many other opportunities that your involvement will create for you. Yet, not all of the benefits can be, nor should they be, measured in dollars and cents. One of the greatest benefits of being a member will be in the overall pride and satisfaction that you will get, knowing you are a leader working to make your community a better place to live. You can’t put a price on that.
Check out http://www.sbmag.org for a number of other ideas on promoting your business on a budget.
No permission is needed to reproduce an unedited copy of this article as long the About The Author tag is left in tact and hot links included. Reciprocal links will be considered. Email floyd@sbmag.org.
Floyd Snyder has been trading and investing in the stock market for three decades. He was on the forefront of the day trading craze that swept the nation back in the late 1990’s both as a trader and as the moderator of one of the Internet’s largest real time trading rooms. He is the owner of http://www.TraderAide.com , Strictly Business Magazine at http://www.sbmag.org, http://www.FrameHouseGallery.com, and http://www.EducationResourcesNetwork.com.
This is Edward Lefevre’s story of the legendary speculator Jesse Livermore - and Reminiscences of a Stock Operator is full of trading wisdom.
Although written 83 years ago, its wisdom and insight are timeless, being often featured as one of the top ten investment books of all time - and this is a book every trader should read.
Jesse Livermore - A Trading Legend
The book follows the exploits of Jesse Livermore and his colorful trading history.
He made and lost tens of millions of dollars, speculating in the stock and commodities markets during the early 1900s.
At one stage, he made $10 million dollars in just one month - imagine what this amount would be worth today!
The Importance of Money Management
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, though, are not so much lessons in how to make money - but how you should protect what you have.
The book is a witty and entertaining read - but the real value of the book is the insight into a traders mind, and how our emotions cause us to lose more than we should - if we don’t trade with discipline.
As Livermore says:
“Losing money is the least of my troubles. A loss never bothers me after I take it. I forget it overnight. But being wrong - not taking the loss - that is what does the damage to the pocketbook and to the soul.”
Can you associate with that? - I can!
“All stock market mistakes wound you in two tender spots - your pocketbook and your vanity.”
Yes, we all hate taking losses, but at the end of the day, you have to forget your pride - as Livermore says, but you need to keep losses small.
The Myth of Market Timing
Whilst the book is rightly seen as an insight into trader psychology, it also makes an important point in relation to market timing, and trying to PREDICT market turning points.
As Livermore correctly says:
“One of the most helpful things that anybody can learn, is to give up trying to catch the last eighth-or the first. These two are the most expensive eighths in the world. They have cost stock traders, in the aggregate, enough millions of dollars to build a concrete highway across the continent.”
He’s Right!
Many traders make the mistake of trying to predict market turning points - and follow methods such as Gann and Prechter - but the fact is, the best way to make money, is to wait for confirmation - before entering the market.
You miss a bit of the move, but so what? - You will make money overall, as the odds will be in your favor.
Predicting the market, nearly 80 years after Livermore’s death, is still a major mistake traders make today.
A Sad Ending and a Lesson
This book was published seven years before the 1929 Crash.
Although Livermore avoided losses in the crash - he got out before the crash - he made the mistake of going back in too early - and lost heavily.
The market falls of late 1931 and 1932 drove him to bankruptcy - and eventually to suicide. This shows how even great traders like Livermore, could not keep their emotions out of trading - we all know it’s hard to do, but it’s an essential part of trading success.
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator remains one of those books that is a true classic, in the eyes of all who have read it.
If you have not read it, do so - it will bring a smile to your face, and give you trading insights you will remember forever.
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The sapphire, protector of the innocent, celestial guardian of
truth, bringer of health and youth, symbol of the heavens and
birthstone for the month of September, is in fact the same stone
as the ruby, the mineral corundum.
The blue corundum, ranging in color from the lightest blue to
deep blue and black, is the same stone as the ruby, the only
difference being in the color. The choicest color is the soft
velvety blue, approaching the cornflower in shade and exhibiting
that color vividly by artificial as well as by natural light.
The deeper-colored stones are known as male, and the
light-colored ones as female sapphires. Although choice
sapphires are rare, a much greater quantity of good and large
stones are to be had than of rubies, and therefore the price of
a large sapphire does not advance in the same proportion as the
price of a large ruby.
The word “sapphire” which means blue is of the same form in
nearly all the early tongues, thus showing that they were in use
by the ancients. Sapphires are found in many parts of the world
and are usually found in the same locality as the ruby. The
largest number and finest quality of these stones come from
Thailand and India, and are found and recovered in much the same
way as the ruby.
The sapphire is next to the diamond in hardness and it is this
quality that makes it impervious to wear and insures its sharp
edges and corners against years of use. Like the ruby the value
of the sapphire is determined by its color. The finest stones
are a deep blue and the deeper the color the more highly it is
prized if its translucency is not impaired. Although the
sapphire with its many shades of blue is considered the most
desirable stone, it is also found in other colors such as red,
green, yellow and pink.
The Oriental emerald or green sapphire does not approach the
beryl or true emerald in depth of color, but because of its
superior hardness and brilliancy, added to its extreme rarity,
it is the most valuable of green gems. The Oriental amethyst or
purple sapphire sometimes reflects a red color by artificial
light, and is valued highly as a gem stone; the common amethyst
is softer, less brilliant, and loses by artificial light. The
various other colored sapphires, such as yellow or Oriental
topaz, light green or Oriental aquamarine, greenish-yellow or
Oriental chrysolite, and aurora red or Oriental hyacinth, are
all valuable as gem stones when they are pure, well cut, and
have pronounced colorsin fact, the name Oriental is given to
distinguish the corundums from the less valuable minerals of the
same colors which they resemble, but which they greatly surpass
in beauty and value because of their brilliancy and superior
hardness.
Asterias or star stones are corundums of three different colors;
the star sapphire proper is a grayish blue, the star ruby red,
and the star topaz yellow. These stones are usually cut cabochon
or convex, and display under the rays of the sun, or when
exposed to one candle or other artificial light, a beautiful
star with six points. This star is produced by foreign
substances in the corundum, and the lapidary brings about the
regular effect by cutting a pointed carbuncle so that the center
of the star begins at the apex, and the six bright stripes
radiate to the base of the stone. The bright lines of the star
following the light move over the surface of the stone and
produce a remarkable effect. These stones are amongst the most
wonderful of mineral productions, and good specimens are very
valuable. The corundum cat’s-eye, called Oriental girasol or
sunstone, has a bluish, reddish, or yellowish reflection of
light of a lighter shade than the stone itself, and which moves
on the convex surface of the stone like the lines of a star
stone.
To this day, sapphire is one of the most important members of
the family of gems and is certainly one of the most favored by
jewelry artisans worldwide. Consequently, there is more
“hanky-panky” with treatments, alteration of color and various
other techniques to disguise or improve flaws etc., than almost
any other precious stone. Buyer beware of bargains that look
“too good to be true”. Deal with reputable jewelers both online
and offline. The sapphire is the birthstone for September.
After Toyota’s introduction of the Prius, the first hybrid vehicle, in 1997 which was followed by the debut of Honda Insight two years later in America, General Motors adopted the Hybrid technology to their vehicle with the 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid. The introduction the Escape Hybrid is the first entry of any American vehicle in the market. As to Ford’s pioneering model, the Escape is produced on a limited number. 2004 brought only 3000-4000 units of Ford Escape which began its production in late July. About 16,000 to 17,000 units are scheduled to be on the production line in 2005 but with the demand increasingly high, the number might increase.
As the law of supply and demand applies to the Escape, buyers will not get any discounts and rebates for this high-priced SUV ranging from $26,970 for Front Wheel Drive which can reach up to $33,000 for a fully optioned vehicle to $28,595 for the All-Wheel Drive. They have to settle to the idea that they are one of the few owners of this first of its kind SUV.
The 2005 Ford Escape runs on a 4-cylinder gasoline engine with an electric drive system to deliver the performance of a V-6. It is typically an electric car that uses electric power engine to operate. Unlike other hybrid vehicles like Honda Accord which uses IMA or the integrated motor assist which always at the gas mode and kick to electric for additional power when needed, the Ford Escape use electric as long as possible then switch to gas when needed. The electric motor can reach the peak of up to 70 kilowatts for an additional of 93hp.
The American hybrid requires no plug. The battery is a sealed nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) rated at 330 volts, which automatically recharges during long stops or when the gas-engine is running. Its battery performance is like the typical V-6 in terms of speed and acceleration. It uses the electronically controlled, continuously variable transmission (eCVT), which harnesses internal combustion and electric power sources to drive the wheels. Fuel economy increases by 75% in city driving, consuming at about, 36 mpg in city driving and 31 mpg on the highway, better than what Ford expected.
For more information about the 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid, or to its purchase parts, visit http://www.partstrain.com/ShopByVehicle/FORD. You can also check out other Ford models like the Ford Aerostar, Aspire, Bronco, Club, Contour, Country, Courier, Clestline, Escort, Expedition, F-series, and other ford vehicles.
Jenny McLane is a 36 year old native of Iowa and has a knack for research on cars and anything and everything about it. She works full time as a Market Analyst for one of the leading car parts suppliers in the country today.
