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Internet Marketing Strategy - forum vanity seo

Guest post by: Barbara Saul

Article Overview: One way of getting some good traffic and having some SEO effect is using a signature in a forum or placing an advert in their market place section. In this article Barbara Saul talks about how it's important to get it right, failing to do so means missing out on a lot of traffic. Sometimes it's little more than vanity.

Internet Marketing Strategy - forum vanity seo

There are a number of people on internet forums doing really well on Google for their chosen phrases - their "keyword".

Until recently, other than an occasional and gentle attempt to suggest that there may be a bit more to it, I've just let it ride - they don't really want me dousing their fireworks. It bothers me that an essential, fundamental piece of SEO is being missed, if the intention is to achieve the best results for the business. The thing that I have noticed is that if you try to suggest that what they have achieved is of limited use, from a business point of view, people really don't want to listen.

Luckily for them it can be really easy to get what they want - especially when nobody else is trying to achieve the same - so they are happy bunnies, regardless. But I'm not going to be the person that enables them to do this unless there is a sensible reason for using phrases that nobody actually searches for. Surely to do so is little more than satisfying vanity. It could be that I'm missing something, but I suspect not - funnily enough there's a good reason why I focus on Internet marketing strategy. But I do wonder if perhaps I should stop being quite so insistent on giving thorough, results-based value, some of which is not what people want to hear, and make money out of what I can do. However, to my mind, giving clients a false sense of success would be dishonourable and downright unethical.

It may be that the chosen phrases are intended to be contentious and not meant to be of value from a business point of view, other than to point out to people that they have achieved a number one listing on Google for this particular phrase. And they do generally provide relevant content for that phrase, they are doing the right things from that point of view, but just imagine how powerful and beneficial it would be for their business if they'd researched and chosen phrases that people actually use. Of course the whole point may be to score points somewhere along the line - fair enough - but to actually label it as successful SEO is inaccurate, incomplete.

If you're going to bother, why not first discover what your intended visitors are going to search for, and whether they do even look for you on the web. For some the Internet is not the route to market; it can support the route to market, but some sectors and services just may not be using the Internet as their way of finding out about you. Of course taking action now is going to reap rewards, but to celebrate an empty achievement seems like vanity to me.

If you're going to make the effort to bring people to your website, find out what those people are actually searching for. It's not rocket science, but should be a fundamental first step that you should take before your competitors realise they might be getting it wrong too. Over the next few days I'm going to outline just what you should be doing - no point telling people that they're doing it wrong if I don't also tell them how to do it right.

Mind you, the website you take them to has to work! But that's for another article!

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Article Tags: Barbara Saul, internet marketing strategy, vanity seo
Referred by: http://www.searchengineworkshops.com



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Re: Best Internet Marketing Strategy - Sometimes the best Internet Marketing Strategy can really depend on your business. It can depend on the particular industry and specifically it can depend on your competitive landscape which can vary from the low hanging fruit to highly competitive markets. I guess what I really saying is that it can vary from one scenario to a different range of strategies to another different scenario. How can you determine which is best for your ideal audience(s)? Outside of all of the technical aspects, which so many people tend to dwell on quite naturally, there is another missing element that is sometimes missing from the SEO/Social Media set of skills. Two principles to keep in mind when you are working on your "strategy." 1. The single biggest missing element is the one that puts you ahead of the competition in a major way. That element is "creativity." So many people spend hundreds of hours trying to replicate what others are doing. Creativity is the element that will allow you opportunity to become a leader (instead of just following the crowd trying to copy everyone else.) True creativity mixed in with your SEO strategy can position you as the leader and the next thing you know, everyone will be watching what you do and trying to follow your lead. But when you are the creator, it keeps you ahead of the game because you are growing in directions of your choosing and using your time to be productive. 2. The other element of any great Internet Marketing Strategy (outside of the technical skills and know how) deals with you delivery of information. Try to always remember that your strategies are not just there to help you pursue money and wealth, but you are writing to serve your audience. Why do people search the Internet in the first place. Often it is because they are searching or researching information based on the conditions in their lives. Consider the purpose that you write and create content and ensure you are creating the type of useful, helpful and engaging content that satisfies the reason someone chose to search in the first place. Remember that running a business is about making a profit, but even more important to remember is that life is about serving your readers and life is about helping people. Money comes and goes and everyone needs it to live. But people are eternal and how we care about our customers and readers will be evident in your work, whether you realize it sooner or later. Instead of going after the one hit type of sale or service, build within your Web strategy one of the most powerful strategies that can be built. I am referring to building clients for life by remembering that the Internet is not much different than the real world, or it does not have to be if you focus on building relationships using the World Wide Web. I rarely share on forums because so many of them can become nearly like battlegrounds with people all trying to argue their points. But the reason I like Evan's forum here is because ever since I joined it, I've seen nothing but evidence of friends helping other friends and that's what makes this group so great. Good luck on your journey to find your best Internet Marketing Strategy and I wish each and every reader here the very best of success along your path.
Re: Hi from a Manhattan coach - Hi Julie, Welcome to the forum, it's great to have you here and thank you for telling us a little about yourself. You sound like a very enthusiastic person who likes what she does and in Internet Marketing that is very important and you also sound like a 'people person' which is great. Internet Marketing is time consuming and challenging but can also be extremely rewarding and hopefully profitable. I don't know how many forums you have signed up to but this is one of the best. The support and guidance you get here is what makes it the success that it is but as I am sure you know from looking at the side bar that there are many aspects of business that are catered for here which will help you along the way, best wishes, Mal.
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