Posts Tagged ‘Search Engine Optimization’
DJ Francisco on June 24th, 2008
Every Post I write has specific objective, whether it’s to inform, to teach, or to prove something to work, I write to create something useful for my readers.
Most people still don’t trust blogs as a form of marketing, or think it’s not worth the time and effort, or whatever excuse they’ve made up in order not to jump into bloggin’. So this post is for those of you…
In my Houston DJ website, I recently published an article promoting the upcoming Houston Bridal Extravaganza Show, the main objective is, of course, to inform my readers and to make them aware of the show and how successful it can be to attend. I think all brides will find it useful, so I promoted it because I believe in it. The Search Engine Optimization (SEO) objective is, of course to rank high for the words Houston Bridal Extravaganza Show, on the search engines and have the brides click on my link and get some free publicity that way.
This can be referred to as white hat SEO, since I am not doing anything illegal or anything that goes against any ethics. I am simply using the power of my blog to put my website in front of where I think the brides will go, by providing valuable information to them… as a result Google.com awards me with a very high ranking for my website.
Want Proof?
Google (without quotes): “Houston Bridal Extravagazna Show”, “Bridal Extravaganza Show”, or “Houston Bridal Extravaganza” and see the results for yourselves. Also notice how you will get different results for each set of keywords.
If you notice, my DJ in Houston Website, FHPEntertainment.com shows up in the top of the search results (in cases over huge corporate websites like the Houston Chronicle: See Picture above), and that’s only because of the length of time that I’ve been bloggin’ consistently. Again, the hardest part is getting started.
So, this is just one of the perks of consistent bloggin’, building up great content for both the search engines and the readers.
Oh, and of course the end results is, more visiting my website, seeing my name and face, and of course getting to trust me because I’m everywhere.
Happy Bloggin!
–
DJ Francisco
Bloggin DJ in Houston
DJ Francisco on June 20th, 2008
I am NOT a search engine marketing guru, but I hold #1 and #2 spots on all the search engines for ALL my targeted keywrods.
Ranking high on the search engines is crucial if you do any kind of online marketing. The people who know the secrets want to charge you an arm an a leg for something they cannot guarantee. Once you stop paying them, you lose out on the benefit and you see your search traffic and website visitors die down.
Blogging allows you to keep your website up to date. Just by writing at least once a week, you can keep your search engine rankings and your search traffic at a constant level and you don’t have to depend on your online marketer for your website’s success.
Here are a few tips to consider if you want your search engine traffic to remain at a constant level.
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Post to your Blog Often.
Search engines want to give its users, the brides (or anyone using the search engine), the most up-to-date results as well as the most relative results when they search for something. The rule of thumb I use is, the longer I go without posting to my blog, the lower my search engine result will be. Ideally I would like to post an article every weekday to my blog, but in reality I only get to do so about once or twice a week. Also, if you establish a fan base for your blog, they will expect to read from you often. They want that free, valuable advice you have to give them. Some visitors will even rely on what you have to say. Even though at first you may think this is not good for your business, it is. Giving away, free valuable advice helps those brides that are about to make a decision.
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Target a Wide Variety of Keywords in your Titles.
The bloggers with most creative minds will prevail here. Being creative is key to gaining getting a successful blog going. Everyone is creative, everyone has a unique twist to things, it’s just a matter of trusting yourself and doing it. Especially if it’s different and nobody has done it before. In a previous post, How to find Related Search Engine Terms, I give you an idea of how to find some popular keywords, I even gave you some of mine so you can just change it to fit your niche inside the wedding industry. For example, I am running a series of blog posts that pertain to a specific venue and adding what I do to it. Let me show you.. Now this may seem like something easy to come up with, but who do you know that’s doing it.. Nobody? I thought so.. Again Easy to do, it took some creative thinking on my side (patting myself on the back) and it has worked like a charm. 
Examples: Paraiso Marabilla Wedding DJ in Houston, Bella Terraza DJ Houston, and Sweetwater Country Club DJ.
Whenever the people search for either of those venues my website comes up, whenever they look for a DJ that has DJ’ed that venue i should be one of the first websites to come up.
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This one plugin for wordpress does all the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for you. You just install it and it does the rest. I’ve noticed about 20-30 more visitors to my website since I installed this tool. So all the keywords that I am targeting are getting ranked pretty well in google.com. Again, Search Engine Optimization is critical for getting your blog listed on the Search engines and this does EVERYTHING for you. Without this, the previous step is useless
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BONUS TIP:
Always, always, always… Aim to help someone with your experience. If your blog is not about helping others, it will never succeed no matter how far high in the search engines you get it. SEO is for the robots that crawl your webpage, but good, juicy, helpful content is for the readers that land on your site. Think of it this way, brides are absolutely clueless about weddings, if you give them a golden nugget that saves them time, saves them money, or saves them both… you will hold a place in their mind and fighting for mind space is what all marketers are aiming to do. Once you are in their mind as someone they can trust… you’ve made a happy customer.
Blogging success, like anything else, does not require a brain surgeon…err marketing guru, just a little work and determination. Follow the 3 tips above and you are on your way to reaching success through blogging.
Happy Bloggin!
–
DJ Francisco
Owner and Blogger of a Wedding DJ in Houston Blog
DJ Francisco on May 9th, 2008
So what exactly are Landing Pages?
You learn something new everyday, that’s the great thing about life, just when you think you’ve got the hang of something, you find out there is a better, faster, more effective way to do it.
Today I am truly inspired by one small change I made to my website that literally, overnight, improved my responses… I am still in shock of happiness for this discovery…
What did I do ???
Well, first let me give you a background story…
I subscribe to a lot of blogs, newsletters, and websites which have great information that helps me on many things; my website, my personal life, my search engine marketing, etc.. Now I don’t read them all everyday, but I do read the headlines and if there is something appealing or eye-catching, I will read the rest of the article. Realize that your customers do the exact same thing.
A few days ago I received an email that Stompernet Going Natural 3.0 was about to be released. Now I’m sure a lot of you have no clue what Stompernet is. Let me give a small explanation.
Stompernet, according to their website is…
It’s a shortcut to making money online. It’s a business-building library of cutting-edge content. And it’s a network of like-minded entrepreneurs who constantly compare notes on how to run a successful online business.
It’s an unfair advantage over your competition.
StomperNet is many things, but it boils down to this. It’s THE program that teaches you everything need to know to start, grow, and explode your online business.
No matter how you make your money online.
And to prove their success, they released a video that will really make you question your website’s design and usability structure.
It made me question mine and I thought I had a pretty successful online presence.
Watch their video and find out for yourself, just a small warning, the video is over 50 minutes long of really good information, stats, specific examples, specific adwords tricks, eye tracking tests, etc.. you can use to improve income.
Watch the videos here: Stompernet Going Natural 3.0
I watched it and did JUST ONE THING as a result of watching the videos and overnight I had 4 inquiries for future business. To put that into perspective, my last method averaged 4-6 inquiries a week, last night I received 4 in just a few hours of implementation. I’m filled with joy!
What did you do?
I improved my landing page…
What is a Landing Page?
Ok, that’s too much info, what the heck is a landing page anyways?
A landing page… are you ready for this… is where people land on your website…
BUT… It’s critical for your online success. WHY?
Because most of your website visitors will NOT visit any other page, so you get just one try… EVER… to convert them into cash…. err customers.
So, again, are landing pages important?
no…
THEY ARE CRITICAL!
What are some different Landing Page Examples?
For starters, your home page is naturally a landing page, it’s probably your most important landing page.
If you have no technique for capturing your visitors, then you are missing out on A LOT of extra income. People who come to your site as a result of your business cards, your search results, your magazine ads, your newspaper ads, your mail outs, they all visit your home page as a default.
Remember, you just have one chance to capture them…
Here are other ideas for landing pages, however they do take a lot more work and brain power, but the results are worth it.
I created a few different landing pages on my website for different occasions, and here they are.
- For Email Marketing
- Trade Show Marketing (Ex. Bridal Extravaganza)
- Adwords Campaigns
- Magazine Ads (Ex. Premier Bride)
- Weddings and Quinceañeras (My Specialties)
- Business Cards (Started it but dropped it)
- Preferred Vendors
The idea behind all this is that I wanted to have a way to track all my marketing dollars and to see what was working the best so that I could spend the bulk of my marketing budget on. As opposed to blindly spending thousands of dollars and not knowing if it worked or not.
How does it work and why?
Now, to make it easier for me, I used the main basic idea for all my landing pages, and in most part the same information…
I Gave them an offer, an incentive, a discount, or any other motive for them to either call me or give me their information so that I could contact them.
That’s it! That’s the magic behind it… well I also added the benefits of selecting my service over my competition… But everyone does that…
Hmm… come to think of it… many people also think of giving away a discount or an incentive… so what’s so different and specail about mine?
THE placement (architecture) of it!!!!
It’s accessible, it’s visible, it’s THE ONLY ACTION they can take at that time…
To be exact here is what I did.
I added a form, right after all the benefits I offer
And at that time, once they get all the great information they want, that is the only action they can take, so they DO!!!
Visit the website so you can see for yourself: DJ in Houston.
Well, this turned out to be a long post, longer than I expected, but I was motivated, what can I say. I just found out something that created a lot of joy in my life.
Happy Bloggin
–
DJ Francisco
Blogger at http://www.FHPEntertainment.com
DJ Francisco on April 17th, 2008
Here are the top ten reasons you you should begin bloggin’
10. Because you can Promote your Service or Products
This should be done tactfully tastefully. The last thing you want to do is turn you blog into a spam blog or an self advertising posting page. But don’t be afraid to stand up for what you believe and how your service solves certain problems, as an example.
9. Because you love to express yourself
We all have a voice and we all want to be heard. Bloggin’ gives everyone that freedom of expression that the great US of A is known for. By expressing yourself, through your blog, brides can get a feel, a sense of how charming and intelligent you are. After all, brides and any other client buys if you reach their emotions, get them to trust you, and if they feel you are the best choice there is.
8. Because you can establish yourself as an Industry Leader
Leaders Lead. Leaders know where they are going and what they are after. Leaders know how to solve problems. Leaders are trusted. Brides look for the industry leaders. nuf said…
7. Because it’s ZERO-DOLLAR-MARKETING!!!!
Blogs cost nothing but time to keep up with. You don’t have to pay anyone to blog. You can but you don’t have to. You can do it yourself. You don’t have to worry about how much space you have to run an ad. You don’t have to limit the amount of words you can use. You really don’t have any ‘real’ limits. Just the limits you put on yourself. The most popular bloggin programs are FREE. Installation is FREE, if you are technically inclined or if you have a great tech support on your website host.
6. Because you can Network with other bloggers
Bloggers love to network with other bloggers. They will read each other’s blog and make comments on their buddies blogs, add their view about a particular topic, add their insights to the industry, promote other vendors they believe have great service, write a blog post about another blogger, etc… Bloggin’ is the new Secret Society, except it’s all over the internet.
5. Because you will get ‘wider’ search engine exposure
The more you post to your blog, the more content you will have accumulated, the more the search engines will have to chose from, the more traffic you will generate. Typically when you blog about your industry you will cover many words and keywords and search terms that you would never know your brides were looking for.
Here’s a quick summary of how this works. A bride is looking for a particular wedding services, product, or to solve a particular problem. She opens up Google.com; types in a term, search engine phrase, or keyword; gets all the Google.com Results; and clicks on the ones she likes or the ones that seem to do the best at solving her problem. Those keywords are the ‘gold nuggets’ we want to target. How to find them is beyond the scope of this blog post. In my case, I run a DJ company, the ‘gold nuggets’ brides used to get to my website was Wedding DJ in Houston. Now that was an ideal keyword, but in the real world of Google.com, not every bride will use that exact phrase. They will use anywhere from Wedding entertainers, wedding music, dj companies in houston, what’s the best dj in houston, etc… and those, each, return 100% different results from the other. I also posted an article titled “Related Search Engine Terms” where i went into detail on some of the keywords my Wedding DJ Blog attracts form Google.com and Yahoo.com
4. Because you can achieve a Higher Search Engine Ranking
Google and all the search engines, like all the brides that use it, are looking for quality, authoritative websites. As mentioned before, by posting constant, quality posts to your blog, you will soon become the leader in your industry for your service and Google.com will begin to recognize that after some time. As a result, it will bump your website up on the rankings. But you must stay focused on what search engine terms you are trying to rank high for and use them tactfully. How do I know this for a fact? My Wedding DJ Website ranks very high for my targeted keywords.
3. Because you will increase traffic to your website
This is almost a no-brainer, but I still have to put it in here. Higher search engine results, wider search engine tracking will result in increased traffic. If you are on page 10 of the search results and you move up to page 1 then your search engine traffic will increase by an estimate of about 1000%. I was getting about 10 visitors per day to my website before my blog, now I am getting over 100 visitors per day consistently. I got 175 a few days ago.
2. Because you will increase your Lead Generation
Leads are golden. A lead from your website means that you just need to do a few more things and that lead will become a client. After you’ve created some great content, you’ve established yourself as an industry leader, provided great value, solved a problem for your bride, they will gladly give you their contact information so that you can offer your services. Have a way to capture that information by putting a form on your website. Just try to get the basic information: Name, phone number, email address, and wedding date. other than that you can get the rest of the details when you communicate with them.
1. Increased Income
This is why I blog at http://www.fhpentertainment.com/blog/ …. nuf said
Happy Bloggin!
–
DJ Francisco
Wedding DJ Blogger
DJ Francisco on April 11th, 2008
To prove the point of how effective blogs are, let’s do a case study on a website I released a few months ago. It’s ran by a blog.
In January, I was at a wedding reception doing the Master of Ceremonies and DJ duties. They had this one thing I had never seen at a wedding before, and to tell you the truth, at first I was very skeptical about how it would work. Well, to my surprise it was a huge success, people lined up for hours to take their turn in this new phenomenon… Ok, I’m exaggerating, it was not a phenomenon, but it sure seemed like it. What was it?
It was a Photo Booth,
…the same concept as in the malls, but this was portable and was all digital. People lined up for hours to wait their turn at the picture booth.
So being the entrepreneur that I am, I thought, wow that would be a great thing to offer. Especially since this one photo booth came all the way from Dallas Texas to provide their service.
You can find my website by doing a search in Google.com for “Houston Photo Booth” and you will see the website listed as #6 on the first page of the search results.
This was possible for a few reasons.
First, the power of the webstie, FHP Entertainment.com is so strong that if I place a link on my website for any website and add the right content, I can get any page indexed by Google.com. So that’s what I did, I wrote a small launch post for the new Photo Booth Rental Service in Houston I had started.
Second, I decided to use a Wordpress blog and an existing free template. So the design time was NOTHING. It was already done for me. All I had to do was come up with the content and fill up the website with the content that I thought would compel people that visited the website to take an action.
Finally, because of the Blog Content that I added to capture as many keywords as I could think up. Using the same tip I gave out at the Related Search Engine Terms post, I took all the popular keywords for my DJ website and replaced them with photo booth.
What was the result?
The website was launched in February 11th, 2008, exactly 2 months today. I’ve had 23 people fill in the form for more information. A few other decided to call my phone number, and one other emailed me directly at my DJ website looking for pictures, pricing and availability.
A couple booked the service within the first phone call and a few wanted more pics of it being used. I will dare say that about 10 people out of those 23 will book the service. Not bad for 0 advertising.
As it stands, my form sends out one emial at this time. The pricing information.
Hope you can see how powerful bloggin’ is.
Happy Bloggin!
–
Francisco H. Perez
Wedding DJ Blogger
DJ Francisco on April 8th, 2008
As I mentioned before, blogging is a great way to get in front of the bride that is looking for information related to your topic, niche, or business.
In my previous Post, How to Blog, I mentioned I am trying to attract the brides that are looking for a Wedding DJ in Houston, Houston Wedding DJ, Houston Bilingual DJ, Houston DJ, DJ in Houston, etc… and those are the terms that are booking my DJ services, however, there are terms that are less popular and may even be searched once a year but they still bring in Customers and there is really no way to know about them. Since the website, www.fhpentertainment.com, has a lot of content built up, it gets traffic for keywords that I have never imagined it would get traffic for. Here is a short list of keywords that people used just Yesterday, April 7th, 2008.
Google.com Search Terms
- houston april 6 bridal show featured photographers
- Houston Quinceanera photography
- costs to rent ballrooms in Houston
- dress sweet xv
- good DJs in Houston
- master of ceremonies duties
- houston bridal extravaganza show January pictures
- top requested songs of 2007
- party halls in houston
- Bridal Show At reliant
Yahoo.com Search Terms
- weddings halls in houston
- happymoments wedding website
- top 2007 wedding songs
- wedding exit songs
- mascorro photography
- latino bridal show and quinceanera in houston
- latin songs weddings
- father daughter quinceanera songs
- quince dj in houston
- Galveston yachts for affordable parties and Houston, TX
Some are related to my topic and some are related to the entire industry. They only reason they are arriving at my website is that I have a lot of content related to the search terms above. Also, one thing most people don’t realize is that the term, “DJ in Houston,” will get different results than “good DJs in Houston.”
Also, this is just for ONE DAY, a day which I received 142 unique visits, 162 sessions (some visitors came back to my website), 543 hits/page views, 42 Google.com visitors, and 22 Yahoo.com Visitors.
I don’t know about you, but I think that’s a lot of visitors. Of course not all of them book or request my information. Yesterday I received 3 NEW email inquiries and 2 NEW PHONE inquiries. Not bad for one source of Marketing. A month I am getting anywhere from 5-20 email inquiries. That is 20 people that liked what they read and wanted me to contact them via email.
I could go on, but you get the idea, bloggin’ is a great tool that very few wedding vendors tap into. The ones who do, do not understand the power or how to properly utilize a blog.
How to find your search engine terms
Here is a quick tip on how to find your search engine terms. Replace your business niche, category, or profession with the terms I am aiming for in my own blog. Example:Change “DJ in Houston” for “Photographer in Houston” and see where your website ranks in Google.com, Yahoo.com, or MSN.com. If you don’t see it anywhere, we’ve got some work to do.
Next, go to Google.com and use their free keyword tool. Type the keywords you think brides might use to find your website, and see how popular they are and how much money advertisers are spending on those keywords.
It may be a bit complicated for some people, but try it anyways, it’s free and you will gain a lot of knowledge just by typing in one word… Go Try it now… Click Here
^Here’s to Bloggin’
–
Francisco Perez
Owner of the Wedding DJ Blog at www.fhpentertainment.com
