Site Outline
Click on the image for a mindmap overview of the site.
Think back to your high school science classes and imagine an atom with the electrons orbiting (like in our logo). This website is organized roughly like an atom. The nucleus in the middle (our website and blogs) and then around it, various types of internet content produced by us. As we move further from the nucleus, the forces weaken. And so it is with our internet marketing. We have complete control over our website but less and less control as we move out through hubs and lenses to article publishing and blog commenting.
The Nucleus
We begin by considering SEO Basics and trying to see the world through the eyes of Google. One of the most important element in SEO is Finding Niche Keywords - search phrases that have a sufficient number of searches but without too much heavy hitting competition. Why - because the number of click-throughs falls dramatically as you move down the first page in Google.
So the aim is to be a big fish in a small pool.
One of the key principles of this website is: use tools to save time and gain insights. So we consider Finding Niche Keywords with Market Samurai, an excellent piece of software that does so much more than mere keyword research.
Having identified the keywords, we need a site and so I consider Website Design Software, and in particular I review: xsitepro and interspire web publisher, before moving on to consider the blogging platform wordpress and how to undertake wordpress self-hosted installation. I also provide a list of the best wordpress plugins.
A critical consideration is choosing a good domain name, and a good web host.
So now we're set to go; all we need is to find content for our website. There are automated approaches to this and in particular automated blogging plugins which lift content from other sites. Now that you know such things are possible, you may want to protect your website content.
It is important that our pages are not only readable by humans but are also search engine friendly pages.
In addition to your website, you may wish to be involved in establishing a community.
Website complete, we now need to know how to submit to the search engines and then actually submit to search engines. We should not forget that local Search can be very important.
And finally, completing the search theme, I consider how you can add search to your website.
Orbit 1 - Email & Newsletters
Most internet marketing experts agree that the money is not on the website, it is in the list. Email Newsletter Marketing should be a core component of your overall strategy. I consider how to create email Newsletters, how to build your list, and email marketing software to automate as much as possible. Finally in this section, an approach that is linked to email marketing: white paper marketing.
Orbit 2 - Hosted Pages
This section considers some of the most powerful internet marketing sites under the banner of Web 2.0 Marketing. These are sites such as Squidoo, HubPages, DevHub and Weebly that provide quick website development and content creation tools in a hosted environment. Free (mostly) and loved by search engines.
Orbit 3 - Online Video Marketing
The importance of video marketing can be gauged by the fact that Google is prepared (at the time of writing) to fund YouTube losses of half a billion dollars. So we cover how to create vidoes for YouTube - and then how to make YouTube videos really quickly!
Orbit 4 - Articles Marketing
Many internet marketers exist solely in this orbit - and through theirarticle marketing strategy make a very decent return. I cover how to submit articles and some of the article submission software to increase your productivity.
Orbit 5 Answers Marketing
Yahoo Answers can drive substantial amounts of traffic to your website. I show you how to make the most it.
Orbit 6 - Generating Backlinks
Many of these activities have been going on in the other orbits also. The number of links pointing into your site has a big influence on your search engine ranking. In building links, it is important to recognise that not all links are equal. So I begin by explaining the principles underpinning Page Rank. Then a general move into how to get backlinks before getting more specific with directory submissions and directory submission tools
An important element in gaining backlinks and traffic is add comment links on blogs and other sites.
Social bookmarking sites like Digg are a quick (if you use the right tools - social bookmarking software) and easy way to gain backlinks.
Finally in this section I answer the question Why do I need to Ping? and provide some guidance in how to avoid getting banned by various websites and, a related topic, how to setup proxy servers.
Orbit 7 - Social Marketing
I begin with an overview of this relatively new but potentially very important area. I consider the three main sites: Facebook (with a page devoted to the best facebook marketing applications), MySpace and Twitter.
Business networking sites, if approached in the right way, can yield high returns. Two of the most important sites are LinkedIn and Ning.
Orbit 8 - PR
Online PR is much neglected by internet marketers but can be very effective, particularly for launch events.
Orbit 9 - Pay Per Click Marketing
If you're still reading by this point, you probably realise how much work there can be in internet marketing and there are many who simply ignore the other orbits and buy their traffic through services such as AdWords. However a blended approach can prove even more effective, particularly if you use some of the PPC tools to provide you with insight and to automatically generate your marketing materials.
Valuable Tools
Out of the orbits, I felt that I had to have a page devoted to a tool I mention several times on the website: Roboform
Offline
Most businesses have an offline presence too. That is not an area covered by this website, but I did want to draw attention to a couple of resources that I personally have found useful in the past: Duct Tape Marketing and Guerrilla Marketing.
Complete Internet Business
And finally, if you are looking for a comprehensive, subscription based internet marketing system, including education and on-going guidance, you may wish to consider complete internet business programs and Kahuna Products.
But don't forget, the IFM Internet Marketing Program will provide you with a complete how to guide, with step-by-step video instructions, and a rigorous systematic approach - and for a fraction of the price!
And if you can't find what you are looking for on the main site, visit the Ideas For Marketing Store.
