What is your website conversion rate?

Average conversion rates range between 2 – 5 %. That said, here is the chart listing the “Top 10 Online Retailers By Conversion %” from marketingcharts.com (via Neilson Online)

Small tweaks to your landing pages can get that spike in conversion rate you always wished for.

In a recent landing page optimization project I did, I have achieved an increase in conversion rate by 200% by following changes to the call to action button

• Moved it from below the copy to top of the right side bar
• Changed buy now button design from dull, flat, grey to Gradient, embossing, little glossy black button

Over 40% conversion rate which is not as impressive when compared to their 50.5% conversion rate in Mar’2009. See Chart 2.

Conversion rates depend on a number of variables. Good thing about variables is that they are variables…i.e., you can make variations to these to get to optimum performance.

12 tools to measure social media marketing

Businesses have been unsure of ways to measure social media campaigns, social media ROI and syncing the stats, if any, to sales data and vice versa. Here are 12 tools that I came across that can be used to track the effectiveness of your social media campaigns.

One important fact one needs to remember here is, Social media optimization is not a number race. Businesses need to focus on growing brand awareness, customer acquisition, engagement, interaction, conviction, retention, sales, profits, and customer satisfaction rates.

So without further delay, here is the list of tools I promised.

Google Analytics: Free tool to track and report on a company’s Web site usage and online marketing activities.

TwitterAnalyzer: Free online tool analyzes a company’s influence on Twitter, including number of daily Tweets, users who are re-Tweeting your messages and their unique reach.

HootSuite: Popular free service manages and analyzes multiple Twitter users and accounts. New iPhone app links HootSuite account to mobile phone.

Radian6: Sophisticated tool that tracks conversations about competitors and share of mentions, among other metrics. Pricing starts at $500 a month per profile and $100 a month per user.

ViralHeat: Delivers real-time data from video sites, microblogging platforms and Web sites. Prices range from $9.99 a month to $139.98 a month.

Bit.ly: Free URL shortener that tracks information such as number of clicks, traffic sources and what time clicks occur.

Scoopler: Free real-time search engine that organizes content being shared on the Internet as it happens through blogs and major social networks.

TweetMeme Analytics: Similar to Google Analytics, the app is useful if you use TweetMeme’s re-Tweet buttons on your site. Prices begin at $50 per domain per month.

PostRank Analytics: Suite of tools to measure social engagement on other platforms and services. Shows messages and comments from other sites that contribute to your statistics. Prices begin at $9 a month.

Twopular: Tracks the most popular trends on Twitter at no charge.

Xinureturns: Provides a free overview of your Web site presence on popular search engines and social networks.

Omniture: Captures, stores and analyzes digital transactions from Web sites and other online channels as well as offline channels such as point-of-sale promotions and call centers. Prices vary per user.

Internet Marketing Optimization: 7 Effective Internet Marketing Optimization Factors

Great, you have a website / blog- but how do you get people to visit it? And, how do you get them to do what you want once they get there? The answer: you need to employ some effective internet marketing optimization strategies for your site.

Internet marketing optimization is a set of techniques that can be leveraged to get your web site noticed by the people who matter most to your business. Whether you are looking for prospective buyers for your product or service or just have something wonderful to share with the world from your website, internet marketing optimization is the only way to get people there short of paying for advertising.

Here are 7 of the most important internet marketing optimization factors:

1. Start by clarifying the true goals of your website:

Many days, weeks or years ago, you or someone in your organization set out to build a website. Whether the site is new or was built long ago, you now face the a question that is of utmost urgency: why do we have this website and what do we want to do with it? You would be surprised to learn how many firms and individuals never sufficiently answer this question for themselves. You must define the goals of your website so that you can determine exactly what it is you want visitors to do once they arrive. If you don’t know what you site represents, how can you expect search engines to find it and classify it properly?

2.Identify the keywords for which you should optimize your site:

Think about it from a search engine’s perspective: its job is to connect the right content with the right searcher, serving up the content it finds in order of priority from best/most relevant to worst/least relevant. The way they do this is to first use “bots” (automated agents) to constantly scour most of the site on the Internet. So, when the bots get to your site, what will they see? How will they know how to classify your site? The only way is to make your site rich in the keywords most relative to what you do. So, short of “stuffing” your site (an SEO no-no) with keywords, pack your site with plenty of well-written, keyword-rich content that tells bots how to classify your site.

3. Fortify your site with the right meta tags:

Meta tags are, in essence, information about your site that only search engines see but that humans do not. There are many types of meta tags, but the ones you need to make sure you have properly covered in your internet marketing optimization efforts are: meta description, meta title, and meta keyword tags. Make sure that each of these is under the maximum character length and that each strategically includes your target keywords.

4. Submit your site to top search engines and directories:

One of the easiest ways to cut your teeth in search engine-optimizing your site is to submit it directly to top search engines and directories. Google, Yahoo! and the other major search engines have FREE services for submitting your URL/web address. (See my blog for details on how). The Open Directory Project and Yahoo! Directory also allow you to apply for consideration for inclusion in their directory services.

5. Add fresh content to your site regularly:

Search engines love fresh, quality content that is updated regularly. I suggest making a space on your site for recent articles, blog entries or news blurbs. Then, update that content frequently. Search engines will reward you with more frequent visits and better rankings. Also, having fresh content on your site also encourages Webmaster of other sites to link to your site (i.e., to form backlinks).

6. Get more backlinks to your site:

Speaking of backlinks: you can never have too many! Backlinks are merely links to your site from other sites. Backlinks are more valuable when: 1. you have lots of them; 2. the links themselves include keywords for which you are optimizing your site;. 3. the sites that are linking to your site are themselves well-regarded by search engines (e.g., have a high Google PageRank).

7. Have a compelling call to action:

Once you do all of this work to get people to your site via better search traffic, make sure you offer them something compelling to do once they get there. This is often referred to by marketers as a “call to action,” and your site needs one. So, make sure you make it clear to visitors what you most want them to do once they reach your site. Then, make that call-to-action so compelling that they will not be able to resist taking it.

Optimizing your website for maximum search is not difficult, but it does require careful consideration. Take these 7 factors into account and you will be doing better than 95% of the websites with whom you are competing for traffic.

For more FREE SEO tips and tools, bookmark and then regularly visit Jed’s Blog at: www.jcjinteractive.com/blog

50 Time Management Guidelines For Business Owners

Planning:

• Plan your time but do not let it control you.
• Assess your work – projects, tasks, etc – and allocate priorities
• Arrange and allocate your priorities into categories A, B, C and D.
• Throw away D’s.
• Keep the C’s to be read during non-priority time.
• Date and time check the Bs: they are usually important but not urgent.
• Sub-prioritize your A’s – A1, A2, A3 etc.
• Do the A1s now, then your other As – not those attractive Cs.
• Chop the big task down into smaller, more manageable pieces.
• Estimate the finishing time for a task, not just the starting time.
• Always ask the questions: what? Who? Where? Why? When? How?

Operating

• Use the “To Do” system
• Have a daily “To Do” list – particularly for your A items.
• Review your daily list, first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening and plan your priorities.
• Keep your daily “to do” list always in sight
• As you clear each item, delete it in brilliant red – just looking at a list of completed tasks makes you feel even better.
• Do not include too many items – remember the jobs which always crop up unexpectedly.
• Maintain a second to-do list for longer term tasks for those to which a date cannot yet be given.
• Transfer items form the second list to the daily list whenever relevant.
• Use the to-do lists, do not ignore them – they are probably your most powerful time management tools.
• Write it down: do not try to keep your to-do lists in your head – keep that free for actually doing them.
• Leave some time for the unexpected.
• Have the things you need constantly to hand in one place.
• Identify and concentrate on the high-yield tasks if you have the choice.

Telephone control

• Master your telephone techniques
• Plan your telephone calls: use telephone to-do lists as telephone agendas.
• If possible arrange a specific “call back” time – Do not just say “I’ll ring you later” or even worse “you ring me later”.
• If interrupted during a task by a telephone call, before answering jot down your next thoughts. When you return to your task, you will know what you were going to say next.
• Cross-index your telephone directory: name as one entry, organization as the other.
• Quickly get the purpose of the call, it is pleasant to socialize (gossip?), but it wastes a lot of time.
• Make sure you get a call-back name and number correctly: do not hesitate to ask for information until you have got it right.

Discipline

• Time management is 99% self-discipline.
• Do the unpleasant task first, or as early as possible, particularly if it is your A1. It is most people’s experience that these tasks usually turm out to be less unpleasant than was anticipated.
• Use the recommended time management techniques, they have been proved to work.
• Learn to say ‘No’
• Make sure you do it right first time: every time you have to re-try, you are wasting time.
• Avoid procrastination: get on with it.
• Set yourself deadlines for most tasks and stick to them if at all possible.
• Stick to the task you know MUST be done.
• Do one thing at a time.
• Actually have something to do: even if it is constructive relaxation.
• Always be on time yourself.
• Handle paper only once if at all possible.
• Read only what you must: the rest can be read in your ‘C’ time.

Traveling

• Do not leave it until the last minute to set off.
• Do not be a one-side-of-the-town-to-the-other commuter: plan groups of visits within easy range of each other.
• Use car cassette learning or iPod learning.
• Use voice recorder on your mobile or other device to record your thoughts while driving.
• Use train time to: read, write, brainstorm ideas with yourself

Summary

• Plan what you have to do: how it is going to be done, where it is to be done, by when it has to be done. Why has it to be done at all??

Everything you do should contribute to your self improvement and thereby the improvement of your business. So use this checklist at regular intervals to review your progress and assess how much you have acheived – you probably be pleasantly surprised.

Modified and re-written by ShriNagesh to suit contemporary entrepreneurs, Original source: “Training and development” April 1988, in an article by Leslie Rae FITD, p.40

I made this checklist available as a pdf download. If you wish to have a hard copy, you are free to print it and stick it around your workspace. Here is the link to 50 time management guidelines for business owners pdf.

You might find my blogger’s goal sheet useful. You can read the post or download the pdf too.

Good Luck
Shri

10 Steps To E-commerce & Web Marketing

10 ways to grow online store sales

These days, setting up an online storefront is easier, less expensive and more valuable than ever, as more and more people get comfortable shopping online. Setting up an online storefront is a great way to start a business or grow sales by extending the reach of your current business. Whether you are opening your shop online for the first time or have already started down the path, you can boost your online sales through ten techniques that are helping today’s online businesses succeed. Any or all of these strategies can be incorporated to help drive more people to your site and make it more attractive to potential customers.

1. Keywords
Search terms are crucial. Even your most frequent and loyal customers are likely to find your site by search. Having relevant keywords in your page titles, product titles and links can make all the difference when trying to drive customers to your site. For those with established sites, don’t forget that keeping your keywords current and relevant is an ongoing project. Check your Web logs regularly to see what visitors search for on your site, and name pages and products appropriately.

Read more

Archetype Of A Blogger’s Goal Sheet

Goals are like map while hitting the unfamiliar road. They direct you to your destination.

I have a vision and I approach it step by step using shor-term goals. When I meet one goal, I set another reasonable goal I can achieve, IF i work hard. This allows me to visualize exactly where I want to go and I focus on getting there. As i reach those goals, I gain more confidence and motivation to move forward. When i’m stuck, I don’t hesitate to ask for help. It’s like a “Treasure Hunt”.

Some Great Quotes About Goals:
The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.” –Benjamin Mays

“By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands — your own.” –Mark Victor Hansen

If mentors told you this before, i’m sure they did. But nobody ever told you HOW TO. So here is an archetype of a blogger’s goal.

So What is your blogging goal?

If you have a strong positive answer and are pretty sure about it, then ignore this post and move forward to achieving your goals.

But if you don’t have set goals yet….this IS the first step. List down your long-term & short-term goals. Long-term probably for a period of 6-12 months. And short term goals for a month.
(Note: Your goals must be achievable, small, next step goals).

Present Site Statistics as on Date: __________ :

• Google page rank _____________
• Alexa Traffic Ranking _________________
• Google backlinks ________________
• Alexa backlinks _______________
• Yahoo backlinks ________________
• Number of Incoming links ___________

Present Traffic Statistics as on Date: ____________ :

• RSS Feeds Subscribers ______
• Number of site visitors ___________
• Number of page-views ____________
• Average daily visitors ______________
• Average daily page-views ___________
• Opt-in list members _______________
• Numner of Guest posts _____________
• Number of Pingbacks ______________
• Comments ____________
• Twitter following ____________
• Ezine article score _____________

Site goals for the month of ______________:

• Increase google page rank to _____________
• Decreasing alexa traffic ranking below _________________
• Increase google backlinks to ________________
• Increase alexa backlinks to _______________
• Increase yahoo backlinks ________________
• Increase number of Incoming links ___________

Traffic goals for the month of _______________:

• Increase RSS Feeds Subscribers to ______________
• Increase site visitors to ___________
• Increase number of page-views to ____________
• Average daily visitors to ______________
• Average daily page-views ___________
• Increase opt-in subscribers to ______________
• Increase number of pingbacks to ______________
• Increase comments to ____________
• Increase voluntary twitter following to _____________
• Improve ezine article score to ___________

Cross blog promotion goals (if you have joined our budding bloggers network):

Join a team of _________ members
Participate in __________ number of cross blog conversations
Request for ___________ guest posts

ONE High Priority Goal Of The Month:
____________________________________________________________
There ends the goal sheet.

P.S. Feel free to copy & print this page. Fill in the blanks, add, remove fields, edit to make it suitable for you. I recommend you to print & stick your goal sheet in your workspace.

Your thoughts, suggestions, questions, contributions & feedback are most welcome. Share your ideas in the comment box. Don’t forget to leave your web address &/or twitter id (if any), so I can visit & follow you.

Like the post? Subscribe to my RSS feeds to stay tuned Smart Advi$e.

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Why I created Budding Bloggers Network?

Are you blogger or IMer? If you can correlate with all / any of my points below, then you must be on budding bloggers network. You can read about the network in my previous post.

1. I’m fed up of becoming the “little fish that needs to get funneled “. Is that what the BIG & PROF bloggers talk at the high-priced conferences?
2. My harddisk is choking with products I bought from the high profile giveaways, penny offers, even high-priced offers. But I don’t see the “traffic jam” that has been promised.
3. I don’t want my blog to be a never-ending monologue. I’m not talking to myself on this blog. I need readers, who appreciate/contradict my thoughts.
4. Did you notice how the BIG bloggers promote each other? Inboxes get dumped with the same product news but from all the mentors? Don’t you want to do that for your product? Who will do it for you? It got to be another budding blogger.
5. I want to grow as a blogger, continue blogging in the coming years because I LOVE BLOGGING. How long will I be able to sustain the passion if I have no readers.
6. I have a great product and want to JV (joint venture) and build my list. Where can I post my JV offer?
7. I wonder what other bloggers are doing? Where can I find a place that other bloggers meet & post resources.
8. I feel isolated while working from home. I miss that team-spirit which a organization offers. I need a team.
9. I am stuck and need help. Who will help me?
10. I want to network and promote my blog without limits. Which forum / blog allows it?
11. Without constant reinforcement, my ideas go arid & dry.
12. I need genuine product / blogpost reviewers.
13. I want to make more friends & network with other bloggers with similar ideas. Where is a network of serious and committed bloggers.
14. I keep checking my stats and when I see comments on my blog, I go “hurray!”.
15. I’m technically challenged. Where do I find someone reliable to outsource?

Do you have any other frustrations to share? Just leave a comment below. Join Budding Bloggers Network now.

Budding Bloggers Network

For a budding blogger, blogging can be exciting, confusing, overwhelming, depressing and intimidating. Join this mutual help club for your blog success.

As the name suggests, this is going to be a close knit community of emerging, budding bloggers who are looking for some traffic, link love, comments and any kind of help & encouragement.

I came up with some great ideas for bloggers who are interested in “mutual co-operation”.

Did you notice all those successful bloggers (with tens of thousands of feed readers), promote each other? Ok…we are going to do something similar. Its going to be a win-win-win to all participants. If you are interested to join, go signup at http://buddingbloggers.ning.com .

I just started it. Please shoutout about it, so we have some reasonable number of members to kick things off as soon as possible.

Have questions? Post it in the comments. I will moderate and answer as soon as possible. Or DM me on twitter. My twitter ID = “ShriNagesh”

Top 10 reasons why you must comment on blogs

It all started as a discussion on twittermoms community.  There was a good question raised by one of the twittermoms, by snappymom.  “How important is it to leave a comment when you read a blog?”. You can read the full discussion here.
And here are 10 reasons why I think posting comments on other blogs is very important.

1. Posting thoughtful comments on authority blogs (consistently), helps in building brand identity & eventually brings in loads of traffic.
2. Even if the geek blogger misses to notice, at least 10% of those thousands of blog readers are bound to notice your comments.
3. Lets imagine: If you are lucky enough & the geek blogger notices your comments, and requests you to write a guest post. Lol! Fortune Shower. (History has examples).
4. Ping backs & comments are great for networking. Ping a small blog’s post n do them a favor. You can expect a favor in return later.
5. Though google doesn’t consider links in comments, yahoo does…improving your yahoo search rating.
6. If you have a thoughtful comment, you can elaborate it into a blog post. (This post is an example. As i mentioned earlier, this post kicked off from a discussion on a great community called Twittermoms.
7. Time sucker? Restrict the number of blogs you want to comment on & stick to them consistently.
8. Commenting on new blogs aspiring for exposure has its own advantage. You build personal relationship & easy to get pingbacks & guest post requests..thereby improving organic links.
9. Its so humane to appreciate somebody for their thoughtful blog posts. Gives them a warm feeling. Its great to be good sometimes.
10. As Astacia  (one of the twittermoms) quoted  “It lets me know that I am not typing into the ether”. Brrrr! internal monologue. The thought scares me.

As Meghan  (another twittermom) Said, “reader gets to contribute to the discussion making it a community rather than just one-way information”.

So Its all about interacting with other bloggers (same niche or not) and becoming part of a network.

Tip: Use anchor text (your preferred keyword) in the name field of the comment box. Yahoo loves it. Try <u>link:http://www.domain.ext</u> in yahoo search box and see how many links you’ve aggregated.

Shri

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Linkshare RSS dealfeed wordpress plug-in

Good news to affiliate marketers using LinkShare affiliate programs. Its time you can automate the process of promoting your programs.

This wordpress plug-in will incorporate promoting material & hot deals from the advertisers straight into your blog’s sidebar.

This is what the developers got to say about their new, handy wordpress plug-in.

“LinkShare RSS DealFeed uses RSS feeds from LinkShare Advertisers to automatically populate your WordPress blog with deals and other promotional content. You can earn a commission on every sale on an Advertiser site that your blog refers. Just set up the plug-in once, and then your WordPress site will automatically display the latest promotional information provided by the Advertiser.

IMPORTANT – Please note that you’ll need to join the LinkShare Network and be approved into an Advertisers affiliate program in order to display the feed and earn a commission on sales.

LinkShare is a leading Performance Marketing Network that offers you access to partnerships with hundreds of top Advertisers.”

You can get more details about the plug-in here and download the plug-in here

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