Marketing Tools

Search engine marketing may be the most highly competitive internet activity today. Top placements are limited, and in great demand. Ranking above the competition, Agent Interactive provides proven, sustained search engine optimization results and pay-per-click campaign management.

Why use Search Engine Marketing?

Because of the ROI - Search engine marketing is the advertising method that provides the best return on investment.

Because of the numbers - In August 2007, 750 million users worldwide conducted 61 billion online searches (Comscore). This is approximately 2 billion searches a day. Some of those users were looking for your product or service. If they didn’t find you, they found your competitors.

Because this is just the beginning - Search engine marketing is still at an early stage. The field has developed due to amazing technological advancements and far reaching changes in consumer behavior. No one knows exactly where it is leading, but what is certain is that the search market continues to grow at an incredible pace. Strong positioning in this market requires regular investment and attention. The earlier you activate your search engine marketing strategy, the better placed you will be to take advantage of current and future opportunities.

Why Agent Interactive?

When you choose Agent Interactive to promote your business, you’re benefitting from extensive search engine marketing experience and knowledge accrued since the company was founded in 1996 – two years prior to Google.

Since then, we have witnessed incredible changes. Search engines have come and gone, technological breakthroughs occurred daily, the rules of the game changed again and again, and economic bubbles inflated and burst rapidly.

Through all of this, Agent Interactive has continued to do what we do best – provide top results. Backed by industry-leading research, technology and practical know-how, we help you realize a significant competitive advantage. Our search engine marketing will save you time, money and resources while you grow your business.

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1. Make and develop your own website. Do NOT copy or get websites that have absolutely no value. Always write and create good content for your website visitors. It will be much easier to write, make and develop a website about what you already know.

2. Find your niche. What do you do for a living? What are your interests, your hobbies, your love? Do you like sports? What about working and tinkering with cars/trucks. Do you like skateboarding, gardening, are you a wizard at math, electronics, computers. Do you enjoy the outdoors, traveling, gambling, and music. Why shoot even the 9th grade math expert can tell others about their algebra problems.

3. Once you have that in mind start writing it down. You will probably have tons of content for your website. This is what people want, and more importantly what “google” and the rest of the search engines are craving for. Think about it! More and more people turn to their computer to find a solution to their problem. And you may have the answer.

4. Find a good webhosting company. Do your best to learn HTML. Once you have a good working knowledge of that start with CSS, PHP, and others. The main one is HTML. A good domain will cost you as little $2.00 bucks. Webhosting as low as $5.00 bucks a month. When looking for a domain name be sure to use the .com extension and not the .net or the .org extensions. The .com is what most people will remember. There are thousands of websites that will help you with all of the above and many of them are free.

5. Find a good graphics program. The two best are Paint shop Pro and Adobe photoshop. PSP is a lot cheaper. You can even find good simple free templates, you don’t need to be a graphics genius.

6. S.E’s love good simple HTML & CSS content. Once you have that start putting your ad sense or affiliate links in place. You don’t even need an HTML editor, there is already one in your computer it is called “Notepad”.

7. DO NOT slap on a bunch of banners, and unrelated links on your page. Stay away from link farms, black hat search optimization tricks and anyone that says “make thousands/millions in 2 months ”. Stay away from the “Get rich quick mentality”.

8. Read everything positive! Read and acquire the knowledge that will help you get what you want. Start today who knows you may someday make enough to quit your day job.

9. Here are 2 words that will help you to have a successful site: Persistence and Determination.

10. Visit and participate in forums, blogs and websites that have valuable information concerning your niche. Write original articles about your niche and submit them to article directories.

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Marketing is the lifeblood that runs through the veins of all successful organizations. Without marketing, no matter how good the product or service, the organization will fail. It’s marketing that defines the distinctive features and benefits of the product or service, it’s marketing that sets the price, it’s marketing that communicates those features and benefits to the appropriate audience, and it’s marketing that delivers the goods to the consumer.

In today’s job-hunting environment, the most successful job-seekers are those who understand the value of marketing and apply to themselves those principles that companies have used for years to successfully sell their products. It’s important to uncover and comprehend the trends in your career field as well as gather detailed information about the companies you would like to work for — and using market research is essential to your success. It’s absolutely essential to your job-hunting success to know how to research potential employers. Not only will this information help you in writing your cover letter (and perhaps tailoring your resume), but it is mandatory for when you get invited for a job interview.

You are the product. You need to examine what characteristics, features, and skills make you unique — and thus stand out among competing job searchers — in the eyes of employers. These features can include work experience, leadership experience, professional memberships, and, of course, your education and training. But no matter how attractive a product you are, employers may not recognize and value you unless you have properly positioned yourself on the job market.

Finally, there is the issue of packaging. In terms of job-hunting, packaging refers to how you present yourself and your credentials. Read:

• When Job-Hunting: Dress for Success
• Your Job Skills Portfolio: Giving You an Edge in the Marketplace
• The 10-Step Plan to Career Change

Promotion — as it relates to job-searching — includes cover letters, resumes, phone calling, and interviewing. Promotion tools include anything that you can use to get a job interview and ultimately get a job offer.

Just as distribution is often the underutilized gem of a company’s marketing strategy, so too is distribution often overlooked in the job search. Your distribution channel — just as in marketing — consists of a “set of individuals” who will help you distribute your product (you) to the consumer (the employer). In career counseling terms, your distribution channel includes all the methods you are using to disseminate your promotional tools in your quest for a new job.

For job-hunters, price refers to all aspects of the compensation you can expect from potential employers, as well as the strategies you need to follow to get the price you want — and that the employer feels you deserve.

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Tags: jobseeker

Here are some of the recommended internet marketing tools:

Keyword Research Software from Brad Callen. This is the ultimate
keyword research software you can purchase. It will save you time
and money by quickly building large lists of useful keywords within
minutes. It will show you profitable keywords and analyze your
keyword competition with just one click of a button...  

Price: $167 -  Includes Exclusive Bonus Guides
& All Future Upgrades Find out more about  Keyword Elite 

         
Web CEO is powerful website promotion software. Whole suite of
website marketing tools SEO tactics, site promotion, site analytics
and site maintainance. Many Top 500 companies use this website
optimization software. 

Prices: SmallBiz Edition $189 USD
Professional Edition $389 USD  

Try a free Trial: Web CEO

    
Web Position 4 is website Optimization Software and can be used
in conjunction with WebTrends to analyze your site and conversions.
Basic toolkit for organic search marketing and positioning.
Also offers Page Critic - a subscription service which alerts you
to late-breaking changes in the SEO environment and recommends
actions to maintain your site's competitive edge. 

Prices:
WebPosition 4 Standard  $149.00  Supports up to 5 Sites.
WebPosition 4 PROFESSIONAL  $389.00  

Try a free Trial: Web Position 4

    
Arelis from Axandra - Link Exchange and website promotion
software that has earned the highest ratings and top editor's
picks from such sites as Tucows.com, SoftwareSeeker.com, and
SharewareJunkies.com. 

Prices:
IBP Standard:  $249.95 USD
IBP Business:  $449.95 USD  

Try a free Trial: Arelis

     
Brad Callen's SEO Elite is powerful SEO software. Emphasis is
on organic Search Engine traffic and natural link building.
Wealth of SEO knowledge is supplied along with the software!

Prices: $167 - Includes All Future Upgrades

Try a free Trial: SEO Elite

     
All-in-One Marketing Automation system that provides shopping
cart software and marketing tools. Really automates your
whole online business. Autoresponder, Product delivery and
affiliate software. Professional. Powerful.

Prices: Starter Package - $29 per/month
 Professional Package - $79 per/month

Take a 30 day risk-free test-drive for
just $3.95. 1 Shopping Cart 

     
Do It For Me! Let SBI Experts Build Your Online Site & Marketing
for You. Mainly for those companies and individuals who don't have the
time or desire to create and market a website or business online.
Proven system, great experts and results - Plus SBI's enomorous online
resources makes this an obvious winner. Highly Recommended.

Prices: The introductory package starts
at just $1599, plus $49 per month... 

Custom Website to match your company. Site Sell Services

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Tags: internet

Here are ways you can advertise your home business on a budget:

6. Referrals. Referrals are probably the single best way to attract new customers. If you do something well, people will talk about it. Offering incredible customer service to your clients will ensure that you end up with satisfied customers who are willing to share your information with their friends and colleagues.

7. Radio interviews. If you can speak knowledgeably about your product or service and tie it effectively with current events, radio interviews are a great way to reach a wide audience and improve your customer base.

8. Affiliate programs. Online affiliate programs are one of the most cost-effective ways to market your products to a wide range of potential customers. You have the benefits of a commission-based sales force but without any of the hassles of managing actual employees.

9. A well-designed Web site. Your Web site is the first impression of your company for many of your customers. Make it a good one. Your site should provide information about your product or service in a clear and intuitive format. Many people prefer to do their research online before making a purchase, so make sure that your site leaves your customers and prospects with the right impression. See Building a Web Site for Your Home-Based Business and also Web Site Quick-Start Guide.

10. E-zines or Newsletters. When you provide interesting and informative content related to the products you sell, you can turn a subscriber list into a frequent buyer list. If you do not have the time to run your own e-zine or newsletter, you can submit articles with your information to different publications. When you are perceived as a knowledgeable expert, potential customers know that they can rely on you for quality information and quality products.

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Tags: home-based

Owners of home-based businesses sometimes view marketing as an unnecessary expense, but nothing could be further from the truth. Because a home-based business doesn’t have a storefront for passers-by to notice, with no opportunity to generate walk-in business, home-based businesses need marketing more than other types of businesses. Here are ways you can advertise your home business on a budget:

3. Diect Mail. With the rise of email marketing, direct mail has fallen out of favor, though it is still a cost-effective way to advertise in many industries. To be successful, your direct-mail piece should look professional and feature well-written copy. Hire a professional copywriter and designer if these skills are beyond your ability. You may even be able to barter for design or writing work.

3. Voicemail. Even the outgoing message on your answering machine or voicemail system can help promote your business when utilized correctly. Make sure your message provides additional product or service information so that it works for you, even in the middle of the night.

3. Brochures. Brochures are still an effective way to present your product or service to new customers. They are relatively cheap and easy to print, and you can distribute them by mail or by leaving them at locations where they will be noticed. A professional-looking brochure can help convince potential customers who are still on the fence about your products.

4. Press releases. The only thing better than cheap publicity is free publicity, and well-timed, professional press releases can result in just that. By timing a product launch or promotion to coincide with a related local or national event, you may be able to convince editors to include your release in their media vehicle, be it newspaper, radio, or television. Read How to Write an Effective Press Release for more information.

5. Case studies. Case studies aren’t just for scientific applications. Studies of your products in action can help your potential customers learn more and make an educated decision before they buy.

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Tags: business, home-based

6. Google Analytics
Pie charts, graphs, and map overlays may seem boring, but Google Analytics is an extremely helpful tool in tracking web metrics, determining referring websites, length of time spent on a site, what keywords were searched to get to a site, where your visitors are coming from, and more. By knowing these statistics, you can optimize against them. If people are coming to your site after searching “logo design” or are being referred via Twitter, then you are able to determine your strong and weak marketing points.

7. Shozu Desktop
Shozu Desktop is similar to Ping.Fm, but for photos and video. This website / application is known for making mobile media content easy to upload and distribute. Their desktop application is a great way to share photos or videos on your computer across over 30+ networks with one click, which is nice if you want to post a logo or illustration you’ve just created to multiple networks without having to update each site manually.

8. Pictobrowser
If coding isn’t your forte and you just want to display your best work, Pictobrowser is a way to convert your Flickr gallery into a portfolio. The easily customizable and embeddable app allows designers to showcase the work simply. Plus, it allows your portfolio to maintain the benefits of having the actual images live on Flickr. With group pools, tags, and ease of search, you never know who will stumble upon your work and want to hire you!

9. Mars Edit
Mars Edit is a powerful blog publishing tool made for Macs that allows for offline writing. The program plays nice with Wordpress, Moveable Type, Blogger, Drupal, and more blog publishing services. It’s organizational system allows for easy re-blogging, media file management (which can be extremely helpful when dealing with tons of images that can be re-used). The ability to write blogs while not connected to the internet is a huge benefit to busy freelancers on the go.

10. Yelp iPhone App
The Yelp iPhone app (or even mobile browser) is a great way to find good meeting places for clients. Especially when in an unfamiliar area, it’s great to read reviews and find out whether or not you are inviting clients to a nice environment. The “search nearby” functionality also allows you to find locations of interest. At a meeting in a coffee shop and need to fax something quickly? Yelp can locate the nearest FedEx/Kinkos. It’s also a great way to find + research local businesses that may need your design services.

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Tags: marketing, tools

Here are some great tools for social media, marketing + PR purposes that freelancers can also use to help increase their personal brand’s presence both online and offline:

1. Ping.fm
Ping.Fm is a “multicast” site that allows you to let all of your social networks know what you are doing without having to individually update each one. For you aspiring social media butterflies, Ping.Fm is a time saver, as you can update your statues, blogs, or micro-blogs all at once across Twitter, Liverjournal, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Wordpress, + more.

2. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a great, professionally-oriented networking site that allows designers a lot of opportunities to market themselves. Whether it’s connecting with existing clients or finding new work, there are many ways for a designer to utilize the site. Asking clients for a recommendation on your profile boosts confidence with potential clients. By utilizing LinkedIn groups, designers can connect with fellow designers or seek out niche groups who may need design services. LinkedIn Answers also provides an opportunity for freelancers to find people looking for creative help.

3. Tweetdeck
Tweetdeck is a favorite amongst Twitter fiends. The Adobe AIR app makes it easy to divide your followers among groups. This feature is especially useful for several reasons. You can create niche groups to display certain Twitter members (i.e. “clients,” “designers,” “inspiration”) to keep up with specific topics. The ability to filter tweets by keywords is also useful for branding and promotion. When people say they “need design,” you can engage in a conversation, or if you have a tracker on your company name, you will be able to monitor what people are saying about you.

4. Retaggr
Retaggr is essentially a virtual business card that includes your entire online presence. Your Retaggr profile can be embedded into email signatures, blogs, and on other websites for people to see where you are located online. It helps take the guest work out for people to find you on other sites, allowing you to be more connected with your network.

5. SEOMoz Tools
Modern designers know that an online presence is undoubtedly important to have in today’s freelance world. Stay on top of your website / portfolio’s search engine optimization with the free tools from SEOMoz.org. These tools allow you to determine the strength of a website, whether or not pages are being indexed on the big search engines, and analyzing how targeted a page may be for specific keywords.

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Tags: marketing, tools

Dear friend and subscriber,

today I’ll share with you a huge Internet Marketing Insider Secret. After all, my blog is dedicated to internet marketing secrets Read on…

In this post you’ll learn why and how some marketers succeed and others don’t. I’ve gone through this in my “15 things to marketing success” post and now I’m gonna elaborate on that a bit.

Well, it’s that no matter what ANYONE tells you, you will have to put some effort in your online business if you really want to retire someday with making millions a year. Even if you only want to make $100 a month consistently — YOU HAVE TO DO SOME WORK FIRST. But don’t worry, it could be as little as 2 hours a week…

In fact I work about an hour to an hour and a half every other day and make a pretty good income. The best thing is… it’s constantly growing. I’m nowhere near $1.000.000 a year, but am gradually getting there and I have this internet marketing secret to thank…

Thought you’d never ask.

Well, I’ve been in this business for three years now and have probably fallen into every possible trap there is. In fact, as I posted an article on this topic, I got some very good replies and one guy actually said he was committing 5 out of 6 classic newbie mistakes I mentioned.

Now, as I said before, I’m seeing a rapid growth of my online marketing business and want to share with you the secret…

It’s a few secrets actually, so here I go…

Internet marketing is actually much like conventional marketing (read the four p’s of marketing post), but with a twist. In order to start really make money online, you must fulfill the following criteria:

• Learn how to sell! It’s easy. Get some books on the topic. They’re so cheap you’ll kick yourself for not investing in them sooner. Trust me, I was guilty of that. At least buy this one: Psychology of persuasion by Kevin Hogan. Also read all of The Gary Halbert Letter newsletters. An excellent resource on making money online is also The Rich Jerk ebook. Don’t buy anything else for now. Focus on the next bullet here…
• Have an idea of what you want to do. Do some research on what can be done if you don’t have one (affiliate marketing, content pages with ads, online shop, your own product to sell, subscription web site, ezine, forum, become a reseller etc.).
• Do the research on your topic — keywords, what people want (not need!!) etc.
• Stick to that idea and see you go through with your plan (which by the way you MUST make). If it’s a web site — create it or have it created for you. Just do it entirely.
• Advertise. Now here comes another big insider internet marketing secret: use all means of advertising and make sure you TRACK every source of traffic individually — so you know exactly where people are coming from and how each source converts. When you know which are the best, work on them more and live the rest. UPDATE: I just came accross a web site that I think you just HAVE to see. You are about to learn underground targeted traffic generating techniques –> http://hypnoticmindtraining.com/Rushhour/ <-- Visit the web site now!
• Make sure you capture names and e-mail addresses from your customers and readers — create a relationship with your people. You need to earn trust with them.
• When you succeed — multiply whatever you’re doing. This is another huge secret. Don’t think that ANY of the super internet marketers are only doing ONE THING. Nobody is constantly making millions with just one thing. Learn how to make $100 a month and then multiply it 10 times to make $1000 or 100 times to make $10000 a month. The beauty is that with every new project you’ll probably be making more faster.

This all can seem as a lot of work…. and it is at the beginning. But then again, what thing isn’t hard at the beginning? As you’ll progress, you’ll find that all the things become easier and that you’ll soon develop your own Internet Marketing Insider Secret that you can share with the rest… or not

Also, take your time and read other posts on this blog. Bookmark it and subscribe to the newsletter (below my picture at marketing secrets blog home — well, click there and subscribe! You have to show at least some effort to succeed). You will get top of the line “working NOW” marketing secrets tips and techniques… I value your privacy and hate SPAM with a passion!

Have a great day and hope you succeed beyond your wildest dreams.

Respectfully,

Blaz Banic

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Search marketing hub site SEOmoz recently released the results of a survey of more than 3,000 search marketers covering demographics, practices, tools used and other topics. Their article, The SEO Industry Survey Results, by SEOmoz staff members Nick Gerner, Rebecca Kelley, Jeff Pollard and Rand Fishkin, provides an excellent summary of the results, so I won’t rehash all of that here, but rather offer just a few observations on some of the more surprising findings.

You Can’t Win if You Don’t Play

More than half of respondents reported that their company either doesn’t use PPC advertising at all or spends less than than $500 per month on paid search advertising. That’s about what would be expected from a survey of the general business population, but considering that the respondents to this survey were all search marketing professionals, that figure is astounding. How can that many companies not understand the cost-effectiveness and inherent measurabilty of SEM?

You Get What You Pay For

At first glance, the income figures reported seem absurdly low, but this result is skewed by the global nature of the respondents. However, even when looking at the geographic breakout of income levels, it’s surprising to discover that even in the U.S., 10% of search marketers make $30,000 or less, nearly half earn less than $60,000 per year, and roughly 60% take home $75,000 or less annually.

Search marketing is strategic. Your website is very often the first, or at least the second, impression that your prospects get of your organization. A crappy website reflects poorly on a company. A website that can’t be found is even worse. I’ve seen (and been asked to fix) $30,000-per-year SEO; it isn’t pretty, and worse, it isn’t effective.

I Like Your Website, But Not Really

Most disturbing of all was that roughly 50% of respondents—both in-house and consultants—”recommend the use of the nofollow attribute for links.” The nofollow tag is possibly the most insidious bit of HTML code ever devised; it should be banished from the global standard for the language, or at the very least ignored by search engine algorithms.

Nofollow is the online equivalent of “I don’t want to date you, but can we still be friends?” No, it doesn’t work that way. Either give XYZ Company a real link from your website, or don’t bother.

Their tools may be elegant though overpriced, but the SEOmoz survey makes great and informative reading.

*****

Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentralDOTcom

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