Many marketers overlook Google.com’s Images search engine.  I remember many people in the IM world was bitching and moaning about how Google was stealing their images and hotlinking them.  Some people would even block the search engine from spidering their images.  At first I didn’t think it was going to be all that bad and couldn’t care less since bandwith was fairly cheap anyways.

Then one day I started looking at my awstats on one of my niche sites and was totally amazed at what I seen.  Google images was actually giving me more traffic than the organic google results.

What’s even amazing now is that Google is even putting images up into the organic results page as well.

Here is an example for Bulldogs

http://www.google.com/search?q=bulldog&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=com.google:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Now I knew it was critical to OPTIMIZE all my images in the results.

So here is what you gotta do to SEO IMAGES

<img src=”http://yourwebsite.com/square-toed-cowboy-boots.jpg“ alt=”Square Toed Cowboy Boots” height=”250” width=”300” Title=”Square Toed Cowboy Boots“>

Now lets Break it on down

1. Notice the BOLD words are your chosen LONG TAILED KEYWORD you want to target. Make sure you put hyphens to seperate the words

2.  Important to populate the ALT tag.  Whenever you hover the image with your mouse this tag will appear.

3.  Often over looked is the TITLE tag.  Just paste your same long tail there as well

That’s is the basic way to SEO your Images.  Now lets go on with the Advance way.

1.  Make sure you wrap the same keyword around the image on your webpage.  There a few ways to do this.   One way is to put a Caption right under the image.  The second way is to Align left or Right the image into the paragraph of your content.

2.  Make sure you title of your webpage has the Keyword in it as well.

3. Make your image is clickable to full size.

4. Upload your images with the keyword to image sites like Flicker.com and Photobuck.com

5. Place a Break out of Frames Javascript into your website.  This way when someone clicks on your image the Google Frame will break out.

Here is the Break out of frame Javascript.

<script language=”JavaScript1.1″ type=”text/JavaScript”>
if (parent.frames.length > 0) top.location.replace(document.location);</script>

Do you need some FREE IMAGES for your website? Well there is many free image sites that give away pictures you can add your website.  Most of images are from Amazon.com, since I do a lot of niche marketing as a amazon affiliate.

But here is a few sites to swipe images from

http://www.sxc.hu http://www.freefoto.com/

Whats even great about Google Images is that you don’t even have to rank number one or get into the first row of the gallery.  Many surfers who use Google Images will often go real deep into pages to find one the catches their eyes.  It’s all possible that your image gets alot of traffic even though it’s listed on page 10!

So go ahead at it and OPTIMIZE those images!

Related articles by Business Online Coach

• The Google SEO Report Card (boneheadseo.com)
• Are Search Engine Robots Useful? (ronmedlin.com)
• A neat little FREE Keyword Tool – Good Keywords 3 (desperatelyseekingwp.com)
• If Web Site Promotion Marketing Works, what are the 10 keys to success in a US Web Site Promotion? (websitepromotionblog.net)
• Facebook beats Google for visitors: Tracker (windsorstar.com)

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Image via CrunchBase

Have you ever tried using google alerts?  This simple gambit gives you updates when your submitted keywords gets noticed in google.

For example, I fill in the form

• Search Term: “Thomas Wooldridge”
• Type: Comprehensive (Meaning have it search for everything like videos, news, etc)
• How Often: As it Happens
• Email Length: Default
• Deliver Too: Your email address.

So basically anytime my name is written on the internet, google will shoot me an email.

Ok so now your guessing so what?  How the heck can i make money out of this?

It’s really simple that you have to think outside of the box here.

So here is the steps on how to effectively exploit this google loophole to gain large amounts of traffic to your websites.

Step 1: Research your niche and decide what the keywords you can easily dominate with

Step 2: Get about 5 Primary keywords that you can dominate with.  Get 10 Secondary LSI Keywords

Step 3: Create a Blog Post promoting your affiliate product. Insure you put up all the gold keywords and secondary LSI keywords.

Step 4: Goto Google Alerts and create Alerts for your 5 primary Keywords.  Make Sure you choose Blogsearch so Google can only search in Blogs

Step 5: Everytime you get an email alert, immediately post a comment on their blog.

Step 6: Create another blog post. Copy a quote with the chosen keyword in it and write your own unique comment and paste the quote from that aritcle.  Make sure you link that article in the quotes to create a trackback

Step 7. Social Bookmark both blog posts.

Wash Rinse, Repeat.

So how does this work? Basically you want to use alerts because that is what google has just indexed for that particular keyword.  Now what you want to do is take advantage of the just submitted keyword.  So you are just riding the coat tails of the web page.  You want to attempt to leech some of that traffic and hopes that google will spider to your backlink to your blog post.  It’s a surefire way of creating your own relevant link wheel.

Do this everyday and you can easily gain 500 to 1000 hits a day depending on how popular your keyword is.  Eventually you’ll become the authority for the particular niche.

Related articles by Business Online Coach

• SEO 101 – Choose The Right Domain Name For Better Search Engine Rankings (ronmedlin.com)
• Understanding Keyword Research (lazerpromotions.com)
• Calculate the ROI of your SEO Campaign and Get Rid of the Guesswork (stompermom.com)
• 5 Steps to Create your First Google keyword Campaign (shoutmeloud.com)
• Listiti : Its Like Google Alerts For Twitter Lists (jeffisageek.net)
• Use Google Alert to Monitor What People are talking about you Online (shoutmeloud.com)
• 4 Essential Uses of Google Alerts (socialwebschool.com)

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I have an idea that would shut out Yahoo from the People’s Republic of China and allow their rival Google to have a much bigger share of the Chinese internet market, do you think the Chinese government would be interested in dismissing Yahoo in return for a new energy source that generates unlimited electricity for 365 days a year and for free if they bar Yahoo from the Chinese market?

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for our website. Would also like to know would there be any kind of advantage in terms of fees or quality of the service if I take services from these companies rather than approaching google directly for get our site promoted by them.

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This is a great video on why it’s important to have a SEO consultant or a Coach to help your business.

Is your Business Ready?

Please post your comments

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Google has launched a paid version of the local business search results. According to Google 80% of all searches were people researching local information. Yes that’s right 80%. It is an amazing number but that is what their saying.

This is perfect for businesses that have a really small budget and not really focus on internet marketing. But to be honest It is hard to believe that there is any bigger return on investment versus using the standard free method I use.

The strategies I employ is not to just getting ONE page to rank high. I prefer to take over the whole entire first page. I rather have multiple page 1 listings from several different sites than to have 1 paid add listed on the number #1 spot.

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SEO is considered the most important aspect of getting a higher page rank even today after Google’s page rank upgrade has been introduced. Most web site owners/administrators either hire SEO experts or do it themselves. SEO has become so common that it seems that everyone from a content writer to a graphic designer knows how to work on SEO and how it can affect the overall ranking of your web site on Google or secondary search engines.
The first and foremost thing that you should look at while hiring an SEO expert is how well they have ranked their own website. There are many web site owners out there who would agree that they have fallen into the trap of big SEO promises at least once. Every SEO firm promises your website a good ranking on Google but how many of them can truly keep the promise is a different story. There are many websites whose targeted phrases are not even ranked forget about the ranking of the entire website or a web page.
So the thumb rule is check their website ranking before you choose to fall for their promise of SEO. There are some SEO firms who are new or don’t have their website yet. For such firms, you can always check their past records and if you get any good references from other website owners/their previous clients then that will hold its weight.
One of the other things you need to do especially in the light of the matter that SEO firms seems to be coming up everywhere is research. Do background research of the individual, the firm and their previous clients and SEO deliveries.
The Promise
If your web site is new, is in a high competition market or industry and if the SEO firm tells you that they can get your website top Google rankings within 60 days, then you should not sign up with the firm. This is simply because either they have no idea whatsoever of SEO or they are saying it to lure you. To avoid wastage of money and time and to avoid the frustration later on, you should avoid such a firm completely.
A straight-forward or top of the line SEO firm will always provide you with realistic expectations that can span over many months and even years depending on your market, the competition and scope. If you have a new web site that is competing in a market with moderate competition then a good ranking in 6 months is sound promise but the same time frame will not be possible in a high competition market.
SEO services
It is necessary that you ask your SEO firm what all will be included in the SEO package before you sign the deal. It is not necessary for you to receive a complete breakdown of each SEO activity but a broad understanding is essential. A SEO firm should ideally inform you about the areas of your website that will be changed to enable SEO and how they will carry on with the process of link building.
Most of the top level or good SEO firms will live their promises and provide ample proof of what they are saying and what they are planning to do. Some of the top level SEO firms even provide a guarantee although not all of them do it. Not providing a written guarantee doesn’t mean that a particular SEO firm is not good. The reputation of a SEO firm in the market is in itself a huge guarantee. So if you are signing up with a top level firm with a reputation to back it then you can be rest assured that they will back up what ever they promise to deliver in the SEO package and within the mentioned time frame.
There are time when you might end up being on the wrong track since it is not always easy to determine if your SEO company is as good as it claims to be. There are some SEO firms who have had a great record but off late their performances have gone down. So if you are not aware of their recent client feedbacks and if you go by their past client feedbacks then you might end up being on the losing side of the deal.
SEO is an important aspect but to deal with it better, you need to first get an understanding of what it really is and how it can actually help your web site. When you are informed enough, you will be able to take the right decision.

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The services of an SEO company have been most needed in recent years. Optimizing your site for search engines to achieve higher placement in search results will definitely increase traffic into your site, increase your number of customers and eventually improve profits. While search engine optimization is a process that you can do your best to learn about, in many cases, it is most sensible to hire a reputable SEO company instead. As in many other business decisions that you need to make, resorting for outside help will require you some additional investment in terms of time and money. So, the main question to ask is: is it worth it to hire an SEO company?
There are some pros and cons involved when you do SEO yourself, there are about just as much if you get outside help through an SEO company. It is important that you thoroughly consider these factors before you go on hiring an SEO company to help you.DIY SEO
Advantages
When you optimize your site on your own, you will save more and you will learn a lot about running a website. Aside from this, you will retain complete command and control over your site and you may feel comfortable about it.
Disadvantages
It takes much time and effort to learn about how to properly optimize a website. Not only that, SEO is an ongoing process which needs continuous maintenance and regular managing. If do not know much about SEO practices, search engine guidelines and programming knowledge but would like to increase your site ranking in no time, you might be tempted to use spamming tactics to make this happen. When you do so, you stand the risk of search engines permanently banning your site.Hiring an SEO Company
Advantages
Hiring outside help will allow you to maintain your focus on the main function and core competency of your business. You will entrust the SEO part of your site to an SEO company made up of professionals who are armed with the right knowledge, tools and resources that you might not have. Your SEO company will become your partner and it will help you to further achieve the most out of your investment.
Disadvantages
Hiring an SEO will cost you money. You also need to spend some time in explaining your goals and participating in the entire SEO process. In addition, you have to do your research to find the best SEO company which will be able to provide you with reliable services.Selecting an SEO Company
Once you have decided to hire an SEO company, it is time to look around for one. A reliable SEO company will have a good reputation and should have some industry presence. You can start your search by asking colleagues, visiting popular SEO forums, contacting site owners of pages you frequently visit for good recommendations.
Make a list of all the SEO firms that turn up then do your research about each of them. Cross out the ones which have used black hat or spamming techniques, the ones who do not offer all the services you may need, the companies which charge more than you can afford, those that can’t provide references, or those that don’t respond to your query within 24 hours. These are firms which either do not fit your needs, are not reliable enough or just too busy to give you quality customer service.
Consider cost to be an important factor. Choose a company that has worked on businesses similar to yours in scope and size. An SEO company, who has worked on a concept like yours, can most likely offer you quality services that will fit your budget. However, cost should not be the sole contributing factor to the decision. The reliability of the SEO company should be examined with scrutiny as well. Asking references is often an easy way to know firm’s credibility. The firm should be more than happy to provide references. The relationship you will establish with your SEO company will be a long term one so make sure you only work with one that you are comfortable dealing with on a regular basis.
The pros and cons of DIY and hiring an SEO company for your SEO needs can vary depending on your business’s capacity, budget and goals. However, as long as SEO is done well, either by you or a good SEO company, search engine optimization is by far one of the most effective ways of promoting your business and generating more sales.

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Many online businesses always find it a good decision to hire the services of a SEO expert. If you look through the Internet and lookup search engine optimization, you will definitely come up with tons of pages that try to explain how it can be done. In fact, it seems a very easy thing to understand and learn about. In fact, it may give you the impression that SEO is all about using your common sense to improve your web site’s visibility.
Well, the thing is, SEO is not something that you can jump right into and expect to learn in one sitting. The strategies involved in search engine optimization are just too complicated and very demanding to implement. As you first read about SEO today, you might find it easy for now but at some point, you will find yourself digging deeper and deeper into a world that you do not know. If you have time to learn about technicalities, programming and the intricacies of search engines, feel free to become a SEO expert yourself. However, given the complexities, many webmasters and businesses find it smarter and cost effective to hire a SEO expert to improve their site traffic. All of them never looked back.
Your website deserves only the best. It deserves to be noticed by people, especially the ones who will likely be interested in the products and services you provide. For this reason, you should entrust your search engine optimization needs to no less than a SEO expert. A SEO expert is equipped with all the knowledge, resources and tools to help your website fare highly in search engines. Here are some of the advantages of hiring a SEO expert:
1. A SEO expert will help you avoid the consequences suffered by most companies which have done SEO on their own. These include penalization due to improper SEO implementation, or ineffective SEO leading your site to fall right into oblivion.
2. There are just too many different SEO techniques. What will be good for one company might not be good for yours. There are many different factors to consider when choosing from various tactics, and a SEO expert will know just what you need.
3. A SEO expert will know the different rules and guidelines imposed by search engines. They know the right approaches to legally get you into the first page of search results on your keywords. A SEO expert will have a lot of experience and knows the proven implementation strategies best for your business.
4. A SEO expert will know how to tweak around their approaches depending on various variables and closely monitor whether traffic improves with a specific set of SEO configuration.
5. SEO experts are the first to find out about new and recent developments on search engine guidelines and will have inside information on the workings of the SEO industry. This way, they will know just what to do to keep you at the top of the rankings and maintain that.
6. Your SEO expert will help you choose the most economical yet most effective SEO tools and services. You can do away with those which are not effective and focus your efforts on the tools that bring about positive results.
7. A SEO expert will offer the services of evaluating and assessing both the design and the content of your site. Your SEO expert will also scan your site regularly for areas which are inadequate and provide you suggestions to improve your search rankings.
8. A SEO guru will expertly look for multiple level approaches to get you the desired targeted traffic that your site needs. Factors such as site design, keyword density, Meta tags, page size and even the amount of space on your pages will be considered thoroughly.
9. Being a business owner (and webmaster in some cases) is a very demanding job. Hiring a SEO expert will save you a lot of pain and headache in managing your business.
With the SEO expertise to support you, you can save lots of time and earn you the chance of personally managing the most important aspect of your business. Your SEO expert will make sure that your business gets known in the online world, while you improve the business aspect to provide the best service to your customers. All these will translate to increased business efficiency and more importantly, to profits.

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Hiring SEO services can help bring more customers and therefore more sales into your online business. It is very important to optimize your website to make it as accessible and visible in the online world as possible. So by now you should have a great website with a nice design and good content. However, what good is a website if your potential customers have no way of finding it? This is where SEO services become significant: allowing people to find their way into your website.
You have to understand that the kind of SEO services you get can either be a boon or a bane in your business. SEO is one of the most important components in online marketing strategy so it has become increasingly necessary. There is a large number of SEO services all over the Internet today. Unfortunately, some SEO services provided by some companies are rather shady, so make sure you do not deal with unreliable companies.
Here are some practical tips to help you look for good SEO services:
1. Use your instinct in choosing an SEO company. If you are uncomfortable with the deal, walk away. Never force yourself to make a deal with an SEO company if you do not like their terms. Or, if there are some conditions which are uncomfortable, never hesitate to ask. Their answers should address your anxiety, and will not increase it. If you still feel uncomfortable despite all the explanations, you are better off finding another company.
2. The price you pay is usually proportional to the quality of SEO services you get. Companies who have been in the SEO services industry for a long time and have established their reputation usually charge more. You may find the additional charge worth every dollar as they can offer you the best SEO services to fit your every need. On the other and, if you go for companies that give out unbelievably low prices, you run the risk of receiving poor service without substantial results. However, this should not mean that you should stop looking for cost effective SEO services. There is also a possibility that you may encounter providers which offer their services for rock bottom fees because they already earn much. There is also a number of reliable SEO services provider which offers cheap service as business strategy to attract more customers. Basically, this tip means that the price you pay for SEO services should not solely be your basis for choosing an SEO company to hire. Your main consideration should focus on the reliability and the credibility of the SEO company you have in mind.
3. Set a practical budget for SEO efforts and make the most out of it. Come up with a realistic budget that suits your business’s current situation as well as your marketing needs and goals. Your goals must be just as realistic as your budget. Do not expect that allotting only a meager portion will take you right up into the first ten search engine listings. If you intend to land on the top 10, or even just in the top 20, be ready to spend a lot as SEO services providers usually do charge a fortune to get you that top 10 slot.
4. Widen your options. With all the choices you have for choosing an SEO company, look out for several options and scout around for great SEO services providers. Do not content yourself with companies who claim that they offer the cheapest SEO services as you will probably end up with a low quality result or even have your site banned if the SEO firm engages in “Black hat” techniques. Instead, aim for those companies who provide the most efficient and effective strategy to give you the best service that they can provide. What you should aim for is one who will give you the best value for the budget that you have set aside.
SEO services these days are more expensive than ever. The main reason for this high price is the same reason why you need to get one, anyway. SEO is known for its effectiveness in drawing customers into online sites. The more visitors translate to more chances of conversion and therefore, more sales. The price you pay for SEO services theoretically is worth every penny and will pay itself. So, make sure you choose the right SEO services to provide you only the best results.

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