Instead of going into a crazy long lead in with this post, I figure I’ll just jump right in with the tips.

If there’s something you’ve tried, and it worked, leave it in the comments, and I’ll be sure to add it to the list.

Let’s make this the most epic traffic getting article on the web!

1. Write Guest Posts

Probe for the opportunity, do your research on the audience, and suggest a topic as part of your request for a guest posting opportunity.

2. Create Mind-Blowing Content

Minds are not blown by reiterating the same points everyone else is. If it’s the same thing everyone else is saying, make it your own by arguing, defending, or somehow adding to it.

3. Offer Freebies

Make sure what you’re offering is high quality, and make sure it’s something people can actually use. If it’s something with an already-established price, drop that information into the offer. If not, let them know how much it will cost, after the promotion is done. If simply coming to your site is all it takes to save them a possible $20 in the future, they’ll come just to be sure.

4. Create A Course

I’ve seen this done by dozens of different companies and it never gets old. Information is valuable. Entice readers with a series of posts, videos, or even automated emails teaching them something vital.

5. Interview Influencers In Your Field

By interviewing power players you are not only enhancing your existing audience’s experience of your site, but you’re building an important relationship with someone in your field. Not only that but a slice of their audience will come your way as well, to hear what their favorite guru shared with you.

6. Tweet Often

Automated content programs are great, and have their place, but since Twitter is a social arena the best way to get retweeted is to be yourself. Share your thoughts and allow Twitter to show a bit of who you are, and your followers will be more likely to want to read your latest post or watch your latest video, not to mention sharing it with their followers. It’s what friends do, right?

7. Don’t Neglect Your Facebook Page

Assuming you have already created a Facebook page for your business, make sure you use it. Add a “like” box to your site and encourage your fans to share with each other. And remember – Facebook isn’t anonymous. A simple, personal “thank you” to the folks who share will encourage them to share in the future.

8. Create Infographics

With sites like reddit, digg, and even 9gag.com, infographics can bring you a lot of traffic quickly. Why? Because people like to absorb information as rapidly as possible, and if that information is detailed or extensive, it’s easier to stay focused if there is a strong visual aspect.

9. Compile A Hack List

Everyone has a handful of tips or tricks that they use almost without realizing it. Focus on what you do differently from everyone else and make a short .pdf or e-book about it. It may be anything from organizing a home office to editing a video in less than X number of hours. Whatever it is, put it in a document and share it with people.

10. Create Helpful Tutorials

People love DIY videos, and it doesn’t matter at all what they are about, as long as you can speak knowledgeably on your chosen subject and be interesting. Chefs and crafters have been doing this for years, but why not create a five minute video showing a part of your day that is unique to your business?

11. Hold a Subscriber Contest

This can be a one-off or a regular contest for your audience that encourages them to bring people your way.
You can track links to see how many subscribers someone has referred, or you can just do it lottery style by offering a prize to a randomly-selected member once you’ve reached a certain subscriber count.

12. Use Sharing Plugins

I can’t imagine why, in 2012, people would still choose not to add social sharing buttons to their work. Maybe they just don’t like the way it looks. Aesthetics aside, you will do more harm than good by neglecting to provide these buttons, since people hate to click away from a page. If they want to share and you don’t give them an easy way to do it, they will either simply not share your work, or they’ll click over to Facebook to post the link themselves. And once they’re on Facebook, good luck getting their attention back on yourself.

13. Connect with Your Audience Via Podcast

For awhile, it seemed like everyone forgot about podcasting. But it’s on the rise again, and with good reason. Being able to subscribe to a podcast means your audience is connecting with your voice and hearing your thoughts, which keeps your words top of mind when they are in a position to recommend you to someone else.

14. Simplify Starting Points

There’s nothing worse than referring a friend or coworker to a site loaded with information and having to tell them, “To start, you’ll want to search for this post titled, I think it was… I can’t remember, something like—” Create a page that will act as a starting point to give visitors a frame of reference within your site, and create a page that is about you or your brand.

15. Create Your Own 404 Error Page

While you don’t want people to end up here on purpose, you also know it will happen every now and again. Instead of losing their interest with a dead-end “oops!” page, revamp the error page to suggest other core content. The most effective 404 pages I have seen offer a link to the “start here” page, core content, and an archive search tool.

16. Make The Most Of Signatures

When you send an email, is your site linked to your signature? When you communicate via email, each email is an opportunity to draw that person to your site. Plus, if your email is forwarded along or shared with colleagues, your link will be right there for them, too.

17. Highlight Popular Posts

Make it easy for your audience to find and share the posts that made them think of you. So much new traffic that comes from existing subscribers is because they’re’ talking about you. You have become relevant to their conversation. Don’t bring their conversation to a halt by making them dig through your site to find a link.

18. Build Backlinks

Easier said than done, this will usually require you to either a) purchase the link or b) build a relationship with the site you want the link from. A may be quicker, but B is the safest bet in terms of search rankings. Not to mention, building relationships with influential people is just as helpful to your business as a quality link is.

19.Optimize Title Tags

If you are trying to rank for certain keywords, make sure you’re using them properly for Google to notice them. Your title should be clear and concise, feature your keyword, and not be overly short or long. Try to keep it under 70 characters, maximum.

20. Optimize for Mobile

Smartphones make up approximately one quarter of all mobile usage. Common complaints smartphone users will make about a website are: clicking an external link to a site that redirects to a mobile homepage instead of the intended article, sites that do not resize or utilize scripting that is unusable on a smartphone, and sites built so poorly that even the desktop version doesn’t fit itself to a smartphone screen.

21. Create a Forum

Managing a community on your own website may be tricky, but paid dividends in keeping conversations alive at all hours of the day or night. It’s a great way to see what your audience is really like, and a fantastic source for content or inspiration.

22. Do Your Keyword Research

Google offers an easy to use keyword research tool to test competition for key terms. By researching during the content creation process you’ll be able to fill in the gaps for lesser-searched terms as well as pursue the #1 spot for more competitive words.

23. Advertise on Facebook

Facebook is expecting to reach one billion users by August. You can advertise to your target market for a few dollars per month.

24. Advertise using AdWords

Google is literally almost everywhere online.

25. Create a comprehensive list

Not only will lists get shared when they are initially posted, they will also continue to bring traffic over time provided they do not become outdated.

26. Leave Thoughtful Comments

Spark conversation. Get people thinking. You know, that sort of thing.

27. Open The Door For Real Discussion

Most people are pretty good at providing a call to action at the end of their post or video, but it’s rare that the post actually inspires discussion. Present a divisive situation, controversial information, or a stance where opinions vary wildly and provide links to more information or opposing viewpoints. Lead the conversation to an educated place and get beyond the simple, “What do you think?”-type call to action.

28. Ask For Tips Or Advice

If there’s one thing people will share even more willingly than their opinion, it’s advice. You don’t necessarily have to need their advice to ask for it.

29. Do A Compilation of Recommended Content

Bloggers and site owners with high traffic stats frequently provide a weekly content roundup. Check out sites like marksdailyapple.com or everywhereist.com to see examples of valuable information, briefly discussed and shared with the audience.

30. Create or Join Niche Groups

Forums, Facebook groups, off-Facebook social networks: get yourself out there, put a link to your stuff in your profile, and start meeting real people who are interested in the same things you are. If you can’t find a group, create one using Ning.com, or go local with Meetup.com

31. Comment Strategically

When you choose which websites to comment on, it’s not enough that they have a high follower count. You want to find sites that have consistently high comment counts, and only comment where you will provide value. “Great post!” is not something that inspires other commenters to click, but a thoughtfully presented piece of information definitely will pique their curiosity about who you are and what else you know.

32. Link to Others Strategically

When traffic comes in from a new source, most people don’t mind finding a context for a return link in a future post. When you select a site to link to, choose one that is well-trafficked and also somehow related to the information you are providing.

33. Be Audacious

State your beliefs boldly. Trying to please everyone will turn your readers off. The ones who believe what you believe will share your work because it’s in line with their own thoughts. That’s how you find the true evangelicals among your audience.

34. Take An Alternate Position

When content goes viral, there’s always a wave of dissenters. Be at their forefront by going toe-to-toe in the same way it’s presented. Be as funny, as engaging, but most importantly: be as informative as the original, and explain why it’s all wrong.

35. Create A Competition Between Yourself and Someone Else

It’s nice if they’re in on the gag, but they don’t have to be. Look at the Ashton Kutcher vs. CNN Twitter follower competition, or the success of Regretsy as it takes on a one-sided fight with Etsy.com.

36. Tell A Story

In the rush to be entertaining and provide value, storytelling is a lost art. That’s exactly why it’s such a valuable tool to encourage sharing of your content: stories appeal to a wider audience than your niche.

37. Tell A Story With A Cliffhanger

Series posts are fascinating. Not only will cliffhangers keep your audience engaged and talking among themselves about what happens next, you’ll get more subscribers when people are afraid of missing something.

38. Do Research and Report Your Findings

Simply put, provide indisputable information that is of interest to your market and explain why this information should matter to them.

39. Debunk A Myth

There’s a reason mythbusters is such a popular television show. The internet has been around long enough that Old Wives’ Tales are starting to take hold in the collective subconscious. Choose one, experiment with it, share it.

40. Switch Posting Style

By switching up your posting style you’re inviting traffic from a whole new wave of people. Do you normally write? Try a video and get the YouTube audience on board. Do you normally podcast? Create an infographic and share it with image-based platforms.

41. Continue A Thought Started Elsewhere

Take a popular post from an influential figure and say, “What this posts neglects to mention is…” Talk about the effects of putting their information into practice, reveal the process that led to their conclusion, anything. Just add more.

42. Admit A Mistake

Did you design your website poorly? Run a bad ad campaign? Give false information unknowingly? Get on the wrong side of a debate? Talk it out.

43. Summarize What You’ve Learned Upon Reaching A Milestone

Milestones can be anything from the half-birthday of your blog to the 500th post, to the 10000th subscriber. Summarize the journey that took you from point A to point B and where you hope to go next.

44. Address A common Problem In Your Niche

Rampant bad information, poor customer service, Facebook timeline: find something you can all complain about together, but don’t just end there. Present a workable solution or lead a revolution to get people really invested in sharing your post.

45. Expose Little-Known Secrets Of Your Industry

This is not so much for the insiders in your industry, who will know these things already. This is for everyone else, because gossip sells.

46. Dissect A Popularly-Held Thought Or Trope Taught By Your Industry Leader

You can disprove their teaching if you want to, or simply provide your audience with more information on it. Just because the information is already out there doesn’t meant they’ve seen it already.

47. Write A Post That Exposes The Fruitlessness Of Certain Actions

By doing this you will help people avoid wasting time, which is incredibly valuable.

48. Address FAQs

By addressing FAQs you’re skipping the background information and providing people what what most of them really want to know. The bonus here is that this can become part of your site’s core content after it’s published.

49. Elevate Something “Good” to “Great” And Defend Its Title

You’ll see this done all the time with Twitter. Take something underappreciated or mundane and tell people why it rocks, and how to make it work harder for them than they ever imagined possible.

50. Select A Blog Theme For A Set Amount Of Time

You can choose to do a 7-day spread of a month-long run on a topic. By doing so you establish yourself as an authority and create a reliable stream of traffic during that time.

51. Host A Post “Carnival”

Get other bloggers involved in writing posts on a certain topic with round-robin links to the other posts. Typically the topic is posted a month in advance and as many bloggers as possible contribute their take on the matter. The hosting site publishes all the content (or the best of the best) and links to the authors, and the authors post their own and link to other posts on the hosting site for further reading

52. Trade Links With A Select Group

Introduce yourself and your reason for being online, and arrange a shared link-trade with other folks in your niche.

53. Sponsor Things

Sponsor a tweet-up, a free webinar, a charity event, sports team, or contest with a desirable prize.

54. Add An Unexpected Dimension To Your Site

This is a chance to have a little fun and share your creative side. Add your flickr stream, a playlist of the music you listen to while working, or a marketplace of odd items you’ve collected and are now selling.

55. Make The Value Obvious

Ever seen a headline and shared the info before you even had a chance to read it, because it was that important? Make it possible for people to do that for you by being sharp, specific, and useful.

56. Move Outside Your Circle

Once you’re established in a field it’s easy to share posts with, tweet to, and create content with the same handful of professionals. this is great at first, but stagnates quickly unless you are part of a well-known power team. if you aren’t gaining or maintaining traction, expand your circle to include new folks with new audiences.

57. Increase Visibility Rapidly

Set a goal of making a splash in a few different places within a set amount of time. Fifty guest blog posts in thirty days, a video marathon, name your own price consulting offers all work very well.

58. Reply To Everyone

Spammers aside, everyone who goes out of their way to contribute to your conversation deserves acknowledgment.

59. Cover An Event

If you can get to one of the cornerstone events that happen on a regular basis, do so and share it with your audience as it happens. make use of all the tools available, twitter, photos, video, and live-blogging to get as deep into the experience as possible.

60. Report Important News

It may seem like everyone is talking about the latest thing google did or the latest stats released by Facebook, but none of them are giving it your spin. Present the info to your audience and give a commentary on what it means for you, your audience, or the rest of the world and why exactly everyone is up in arms over it.

61. Compete With Yourself

People love to see limits pushed. Set a public goal (365 project, 1000 words per day for 30 days, a one-minute video every hour for 24 hours, etc.) and then execute.

62. Be Inspiring

Tell your audience about overcoming adversity, or the mindset necessary to do so. Encourage them to keep trying, or set up a challenge that they can use as motivation to complete something important.

63. Share The Love

Sharing the best comments you’ve received encourages more interaction as well as entertains your fanbase.

64. Share The Hate

People love a good beatdown, even better if it’s presented with a dose of good humor. It’s entertaining and gets people on your side.

65. Find Your Most Influential Sharers

Offer exclusive content or news to your most influential sharers to encourage them to be proactive on your behalf.

66. Write About Companies or People with “News” Scanners

Companies with alerts for links related to their content will frequently link back, share, and/or retweet articles where they are mentioned and linked to.

67. Take A Survey

People like giving feedback, moreso if there’s an incentive. Set up a poll or survey and ask participants to leave a comment or send a tweet with your hashtag as notification they participated. In exchange, select one at random to receive a “thank you” prize.

68. “Update” A Popular Post

The internet has ramped up the speed with which things go out of date, so update your own or someone else’s post trafficked post with refreshed stats, images, and research.

69. Increase Variety With Daily Posts

Assign a post style to each day of the week. Classify your content marketing by the kind of information you plan to provide (research, conceptual, review, news, reader-requested) or the format in which you present the information (article, video, podcast, infographic, link roundup.)

70. Post Free Reviews

Review a new tool or popular information source. Make sure your readers know it is done for their benefit, and isn’t a paid post.

71. Do a Sponsored Post

You can solicit these from companies with varying degrees of luck or have them requested of you, depending on your notoriety.

72. Use Something Beloved As A Metaphor

Was there a great toy in your childhood whose very mention makes you nostalgic? What about a television show, a fad item, or even a movie that’s popular now? Show your audience what there is to be learned from the lovable qualities of whatever you choose and gain a level of cult appeal with your post.

73. Introduce A Newcomer

Nothing moves you up the social hierarchy than being the one to introduce someone newer than yourself. Take an interest in the work of the newbies; not only can you collaborate as their career grows, but they and their fledgling network will appreciate the exposure.

74. Interview a Veteran Of Your Field

Do your research. Everyone asks how someone got their start, what they like and dislike about their job, and what they’re working on now. Read their blog, dig deep, and get information out of them that they don’t usually get a chance to share.

75. Interview Someone from “Behind the Scenes”

Your assistant has a different take on things than you do. The small business owner you buy your coffee from has learned a thing or two about marketing, longevity, customer satisfaction. Give voice to their unique perspective on your platform.

76. Be Brief

Lengthy posts (like reports, or lists) have their place, but on occasion it’s worth boiling your thoughts down to the most critical points. This is also a great way to be quoted more.

77. Start At The Begining

You may want to attract readers at or above a certain level in the field, and the best way to ensure you find them is to create them yourself. Start at the first step and invest time in teaching them along the way. Within a few months you’ll be writing at a higher level than anticipated, and the context for people to catch up will be in your archives.

78. Post On Weekdays

Web traffic is proven to be higher during the week, take advantage of the peak posting time.

79. Post On Weekends

Since so many sites only post during the week, your content will stand out more. Don’t cheat the weekend readers with weak information, but do aim for conciseness.

80. Invent Something Unique

My new favorite obsession is ZeFrank, who is constantly offering new games, softwares, songs, and generally just engaging his audience wherever they are.

81. Make Your Work A Game

Make a theme of an ongoing game (i.e. Social Media Bingo with a “board” made of stereotypes) and do a post for each square that deserves a mark.

82. Create A Game for Your Audience

Using the Social Media Bingo example referenced above, get your audience in on the game. Send them out as scouts for articles or information that can be used in the game and have them post it on your site to participate in the game.

83. Lead Up To A Great Reveal

More involved than a story with cliffhangers, this involves setting a phenomenal endpoint that will impress, intrigue, and help your audience. Seed posts to build anticipation, throw them slightly off the scent, keep them guessing.

84. Don’t Waste Time Waiting For Epic

“Epic” content is important but if you are only willing to share earth-shattering information, your blog will be silent a lot of the time. You need traffic between paradigm shifts, so I encourage you to pursue epic, but settle for extraordinary more often than not.

85. Use Analytics To Find Opportunities

Analytic software can tell you where your traffic is coming from. They provide this information because you are supposed to use it. You may be popular in a totally unrelated field, and that’s ok – play to those strengths to bring people into the fold.

86. Update Less Frequently

Updating frequently is great, when you’ve got a multi-author site (like this one) but if you’re just one person, don’t break your back trying to get posts out once or twice a day. Instead, follow the 80/20 rule. 80% promotion/20% creation. That way, people will actually see your work.

87. Use Links Wisely (i.e., Sparingly)

If you make your readers slog through three blog posts on other sites just to understand the context that you’re writing in, you’ll lose them. They’ll get distracted, bored, or run out of time. Provide enough information to express your point clearly, with links added for support or further reading.

88. Have Patience

Don’t constantly nag your audience to share, and don’t expect that traffic will spike to an all-time high overnight. If you look for results too soon, you’ll miss them as they’re happening.

89. Get On A Soapbox

Put your support behind a cause and tell people exactly why you feel the way you do. Passion is moving and engaging, whether it’s directly related to your usual content or not.

90. Show Folks A “Day In The Life”

There are a hundred ways to do this. A cartoon panel, youtube clip, time lapse video, photo album, a playlist of your typical day expressed in songs, or a sample of your schedule. Let your audience know you.

91. Explain Industry Terminology

If your niche has its own jargon, or uses common words in an atypical way, create a list of the top ten or twenty most commonly used and explain them for your audience.

92. Update Your Mission Statement

You may or may not have posted your initial mission statement on your blog or website, but don’t let that stop you. Update it with your new goals and let it open discussion with your readers.

93. Know Your Memes

Memes are an important part of internet culture, and no businessman is so serious that an internet denizen would question his participation in a popular meme. They’re entertaining and viral by nature, and seeing a normally serious person take part in some silliness is eye-catching.

94. Encourage Digging In Your Archives

Communication styles change over time. The way you blog or create videos now is different than it was a year ago. Find snippets that are funny, terrible, unexpectedly insightful, or straight up embarrassing and quote yourself.

95. Make Something “For Dummies”

Create an e-book or how-to video on how to accomplish a complicated task or how to digest and comprehend important information.

96. Install A Translator

Some browsers come with a built-in translator, but some don’t. Grab a plugin to reach an audience beyond your native tongue.

97. Answer Questions

Participate in advice forums, LinkedIn, Quora, even Yahoo Answers. Keep your answers concise so they pack a punch, and make sure your site is linked in your profile.

98. Say What Everyone Else Is Thinking

Pretty self-explanatory. People appreciate when someone else addresses the elephant in the room. Things that are glaringly obvious in their wrongness, but go uncorrected because of “etiquette” obviously need shaking up by someone daring.

99. Be Reachable

When you create an online presence you give people the impression you’re merely an email or tweet away. Do your best to actually be that available to your audience.

100. Be Ready To Capitalize On Your 15 Minutes

Have a plan for making the most of the traffic spikes when they come. Are you going to push for sales? Subscriptions? Shares? Will you thank each individual person who RTs or comments on your work? Nail down details and make your traffic increase permanent.

101. Leverage

Traffic is not a game that just “happens.” When something good happens, like a huge guest post, or a big time interview, use that to your advantage, and reach out to other BIG names that might find value from it, and ask if you can do the same for them. Everything is a springboard for something else, so always leverage everything you can.

Read more: ‘How we get over 100,000 visitors a month with top lists’

The post 101 “B.S. FREE” Ways to Drive More Traffic To Your Website appeared first on How To Make Money Online.

Let’s be honest.

How often do you research your keywords?

Once a month? Quarter? Year? Never?

While the term “Keyword Research” might provoke the familiar feeling of taking a nap in the back of Algebra class, it’s also the one thing that can make or break an online business.

Every successful business, online or other wise, shares one core trait, their ability to speak their customer’s language.

Keyword research is the way to learn that language and create content that people and search engines can’t resist.

Below, you’ll find a list of the 16 best resources I’ve found on keyword research. There are guides as well as tools that will help you wrap your head around keywords in a strategic way that will ultimately help you drive more traffic and make more money.

This article is structured to bring you from a beginner’s mindset all the way down the rabbit hole.

There are hours worth of materials here, so be sure to bookmark this article any time you need to reference it.

Keyword Research Process and Guides

Keyword Research: It’s Not What You Think

Resource In Question: Copyblogger

This introduction to Keyword Research is the perfect resource if you’re just beginning to get your feet wet.

It explains how the “origins” of keyword research were started by copywriters in the 1960’s to learn the language of their target market.

It’s about how finding the right words is what separates the blogger’s who receive traffic, subscribers, and shares, from those who are just clamoring for attention.

How to Do Keyword Research Like A Pro [DiY]

Resource in Question: Search Engine People

Lackluster Keyword Research can make or break a blog.

If you’re not determining what the best keywords for your topic are, you’re likely to get ranked in the search engines for irrelevant or the entirely wrong keywords. Wasting your’s and your reader’s time.

This article helps you develop a mindset that find better, low competition, high converting keywords.

How to Choose A Profitable Niche

Resource in Question: Copyblogger

This article from Copyblogger gives a real world example of honing in on specific keywords, and interpreting different phrases to find search intent.

Doing this keeps you focused on keywords that are buying signals, instead of searches that are just looking for more information.

How to Optimize a Webpage for a Keyword

Resource in Question: Search Engine People

After you’ve chosen a profitable niche, you obviously need to create content.

This article gives another method for keyword research and selection, and takes it a step further by teaching you how to incorporate said keywords into your blog.

How to Take Your Keyword Research To a Higher Level

Resource in Question: Search Engine Land

No doubt, once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll want to improve your game.

This article gives you more advanced strategies, explains search intent and helps you categorize your keywords accordingly.

It also goes into detail on the difference between long tail and medium tail keywords and what you can do to make them support each other.

Do you Make these 13 Keyword Research Mistakes?

Resource in Question: Leaving Work Behind

Simply put, things to look out for.

Many of the mistakes in this article are very easy to make.

For Example: Relying on Broad and Phrase Match searches do not give you an accurate estimate of search on a given term. When using Exact, you’ll get a much more accurate (albeit maybe less impressive) list of results.

Avoid these mistakes to create accurate and effective keyword lists that will make you money.

Keywords Forensics: Research Search Terms That Others Miss

Resource in Question: Search Engine Watch

John Alexander of Search Engine Academy explains Keyword Forensics as a way to survey keyphrases as they have been input by users in an attempt to identify a user behavior, then create very specific content on your site to serve these needs.

For Example: Words like Review, Study, Statistics, Rare, Find, Discount, Wholesale, Pattern, Maps, Supply, Supplies, Old, New, Pricing, and Recipe reveal a buying intent in some way or another.

The idea is using the searchers intent, you can position yourself as an authority in the context of what they’re looking for, and stand a much better chance of converting cold traffic into sales.

How to Find Content Topics That Score Big Using Keyword Research

Resource in Question: Copyblogger

After finding your keywords, at some point you’re going to have to create content, no way around that.

This article from Copyblogger shows you how to use Alternative Keywords to create content that reaches new audiences. Then it gives you a couple of ideas for contacting other websites that could link to your content.

After all, if nobody is seeing what you write, it kind of defeats the purpose, right?

15 Ways to Brainstorm Keyword Ideas (And Jumpstart your Brain)

Resource In Question: Niche Pursuits

After a while, Data Diving turns your brain into a puddle of Jello.

This is an excellent and practical list of  suggestions to help you reboot your mind and draw inspiration for keyword ideas in some of the most mundane and often unlikely of places.

After reading this article, you’ll never look at the world around you the same way again.

How To Use Delicious For Business

Resource in Question: Hubspot

While this article doesn’t go into huge detail about using Delicious (A social bookmarking site) for keyword research, it does give an overview of how it can be beneficial to your efforts.

For Example: Using the tag search for marketing we can find all of the most popular links in the category. By scrolling down the page, we can see that “marketing” has 24,282 pages of material containing that tag. By viewing the tags that also associated with the “Marketing” tag, we can find the other “keywords” that real people often associate with our given term.

Keyword Research Can Help Make You Money

Resource in Question: Copyblogger

This is where we start to get into the real juicy stuff. Once you’ve been discovering what people are going to be searching for, and you’re creating content that corner’s the market in your area, it’s time to make some money.

Copyblogger hones in on doing keyword research for product reviews that you can use affiliate links to sell stuff on your blog, and make a commission.

Keyword Research Tools

Below is a list of free keyword research tools that will give you insight into search volume, competition, and ranking difficulty.

With each tool listed below, you’ll find 3 things.

• A link to the tool
• A link to the best free tutorial
• The length of the tutorial in (mm:ss)

Google Keyword Tool

The Tool: Google Keyword Tool

Resource in Question: Google Keyword Tool Tutorial  (40:49)

Search keywords you’ve brainstormed by Broad, Exact, and Phrase Match to get a rough idea of the search volume and traffic for any keyword.

The tool also gives you recommendations for related keywords that you may also be able to use in your campaigns.

Note: Be sure to use advanced functionality like “Include Phrase” & “Exclude Phrase” as well as setting your Region, Language, and Device to get the most accurate data possible

WordTracker

The Tool: WordTracker

Resource in Question: Your first week with WordTracker (Playlist: 7 videos)

One of the most highly recommended keyword research tools among industry experts.

WordTracker doesn’t just generate a list of keywords, it helps you identify the best keywords for your niche.

It has a number of built in tools like the Keyword Effectiveness Index to help you determine whether key phrase is worth your time or not.

It is free for 7 days, and comes with $136 in free bonuses.  After the trial period is up, that membership increases to $69.00/mo. 

Google Insights

The Tool: Google Insights

Resource in Question: Google Insights for SEO campaigns (4:14)

Google Insights is like a crystal ball for your keyword campaigns. Plug in a key phrase and check out search trends for the term.

Insights shows you search trends as broad as the world to as narrow as your nearest metro region. 

If you’re running a local business, or your website’s traffic is regionally based, this tool will be among the most important in your toolbox to ensure you’re not wasting your time on terms that aren’t trending.

Spyfu

The Tool: SpyFu.com

Resource in Question: Spyfu Kombat

At some point, you’ll realize you’re not the only catering to your target market. Spyfu is a competitive keyword analysis tool that lets you to “spy” on the competition.

Use “Spyfu Kombat”, to let them do the research for you.  Learn what keywords they’re targeting for both paid and organic content. Then beat them in their own territory.

Spyfu is free to use, mostly. Reports are limited for free users, and for $79/month you can get full access to entire keyword lists. It may be expensive for some, but with the full reports you can find comprehensive lists of the “low hanging fruit” every single one of your competitors are going after.

Bonus Tool: Keyword Discovery by Trillian

The Tool: Keyword Discovery

Resource in Question: A review by Jon Morrow

This is a keyword tool designed for those who are fanatical about keyword research.

Keyword Discovery collects data from over 200 search engines to give you the most well rounded picture of what people are searching for.

They also gather data from shopping sites like Amazon, Ebay and others to show you products people are buying related to your keyword.

It’s interface is deceptively simple, it’s searches are incredibly fast, and it’s data is deadly accurate.

Now for the bad news… It’s expensive. A basic plan goes for $69.95/month or $599.40/year and to get access to the full range of tools, you’re looking at $199.95/month or $1,895.00/year

Keyword Discovery isn’t for everyone, but if you’re looking to make serious money online it’s the only one you should look at building your self up to.

There you have it

16 Resources to get you on the right track, find a profitable niche, or at the very least get you more focused in your efforts.

I know the idea of spending hours writing down words on a spreadsheet might leave you drooling at your desk, but it seriously can make the difference between 10 visitors and 1,ooo.

It’s the foundation for creating content that sells, stands out, and answers the exact problems your prospective customers might be looking for.

So the question now is, what are you going to do?

The post 16 Killer Keyword Research Resources For Much More Search Traffic appeared first on How To Make Money Online.

Seems like a stupid question. Of course, you care. You wouldn’t be writing if you didn’t – at least, that’s what I presume.

But ask yourself, or better yet, ask your readers (if you dare) whether they can tell, by your writing, whether you care to keep them interested, or whether your aim is solely to get your information out there.

If you want to be a dangerous blogger – the kind who is read regardless of what they’re saying, the kind of blogger where readers come for engaging material – then read on.

What Does Your Opening Say About You?

You’ve drafted the article, you’ve crafted a killer headline that just begs, “click me!” but… what happened then?

If your opening is dry, your work will be for naught.

If you jump right into cold hard facts and statistics your information will lose your reader’s attention.

If you lose momentum or don’t give them what they came for, they’ll know that you can’t be bothered with anything more than instruction. If they’re not engaged, challenged, entertained, or provoked to think, they’ll drop away from your post like leaves from a tree in autumn.

Don’t Be Afraid to Shock Them

The one time you can safely jump into information without preamble is when you have an exciting, shocking, juicy bit of information.

If your article or post has a particularly exciting, shocking, or juicy revelation in it, put it first.

Cut out the fluff from the existing introduction, make your surprising announcement, and then explain what it means for your readership afterward.

News outlets and tabloid magazines do this all the time, not because they’re incredibly eager to get us the most important bits first.

They do it because it’s so surprising to have something important just thrown at us that we become (almost) instantly spellbound.

Tell A Story

When I was in grade school, I literally used the words, “This paper is going to be about _____” in my assignments. The followup was almost as bad, as the end usually said, “In summary, this paper was about ______.”

Don’t embarrass yourself by being so painstakingly clear.

Too many novice writers introduce their material in a similar style, and it’s a surefire way to lose everyone’s attention.

Starting with a story, be it personal or otherwise, is an introduction that draws readers in and prepares them for what comes next.

The story can be used throughout the work to draw parallels, or it can simply open the door for your main point. How you use it is up to you.

Keep The Momentum Going

Whether your title is quippy, provocative, or deadly serious, you must carry that throughout your opening.

If you flash a word like “Danger!” in your headline, you’d better have content that grips your readers’ by the eyes and forces them to keep reading.

If you’ve promised a numbered list, don’t waste time by writing paragraph after paragraph about the information you’re about to present.

No one expects there to be pertinent information in the introduction, so it’s up to you to surprise them and make the opening as valuable as the article itself.

The bottom line here is that you will lose readers on a bait ‘n’ switch. Keep the energy consistent and deliver on your headline’s promise, and they’ll keep coming back for more.

Question Everything

Is it wrong that I hate, but still use, rhetorical question?

Business bloggers in particular are terrible at introducing a post without posing a handful of rhetorical questions to their readership.

Any idea why that is?

It’s because it works.

Questions have two purposes.

The first is to cause your readers to pause and think, and then read on in hopes that they were right.

The second is to lead them down a path. You can use questions to start your readers’ saying yes, and feeling they agree with you.

Don’t abuse this. I’ve seen articles introduced by a dozen consecutive, rhetorical, and obvious questions. If you overdo it, try to simplify. Instead of making a statement ending in a sarcastic, “right?”, try condensing your handful of queries down to one, solid question that packs a powerful punch.

If you can do that, you’ll have mastered a skill that many others have failed.

You can sprinkle questions, analogies, anecdotes, and statistics through your work, but they will have no larger impact than when they’re used in an introduction.

Keep your writing clean, develop your voice, and start using these tips in your blog immediately. Your readers will notice, I guarantee it.

The post How to Write Killer Blog Post Openings that Keep People From Leaving appeared first on How To Make Money Online.

It’s a valid question, so why don’t you put more thought into it?

You hear having a Facebook Page, being on Twitter, and writing a blog are all great supplements for your business.

You’ve set each of these things up, and even craft what you think is pretty good content, but still…

No one shows.

Believe it or not, your customers aren’t just “out there” floating around in the ether of the Internet. In fact, they might be closer to you than you think. You just have to start being a little more strategic about where you find them.

1. Go Down The Rabbit Hole

Everyone including your grandmother has a Facebook.

If they’re a little more savvy, they’ll also have a Twitter, and maybe even a secret Tumblr blog.

But what are the other lower-profile sites that are hiding your customers?

I’m not talking about the really well-hidden, backchannel type places (not exactly, anyway).  Instead I’m talking about social platforms developed specifically for a smaller group of people.

I’m talking specialized forums, blogs, and ::shudder:: yes, maybe even a celebrity gossip site.

It’s not always intuitive to seek these places and join in, but that’s exactly what you need to do in order to set up camp among the folks you need to talk to and hear from.

Don’t just rely on the top three-to-five biggest social platforms to be sufficient. Seek out your customers in the other places they’re active.

If you sell lighting equipment, find photography forums.
If you sell car parts, interact with car enthusiasts on Twitter.
If you sell Facebook Pages, get active website design blogs…

See where I’m going with this?

2. Stalk People

It’s 75% research and 150% practice.

If you’re trying to catch the eye of key players in your field, you need to know who they are and where they hang.

You also need to know how they interact with each other and how they expect to be spoken to. It seems simple, but if they’re not the type to call people “dude,” and you approach them with, “duuuude!” you look like a moron.

Use Twitter to “spy” on key influencers. Watch their tweets and get a feel for their sense of humor, their workload, and most importantly places where you might be able to offer a hand.

Many influential people will vent their frustrations, or make an offhand joke about something on Twitter, so if you’re able to either A.) offer help or B.) make them laugh, that’ll go a long way in building a relationship with them.

Same goes for your customers, at any given time you should be monitoring for “Keywords” that are related to your product or service.

Lend a hand to someone in need. (without being spammy!) Use what you find in their previous tweets to get a feel for them. Do this enough and you’ll begin to identify your “ideal” customers, so you can work only with people who you will enjoy working with.

3. Be nice to the “Little Guy”

There are no “little guys,” there are just differing levels of success.

Don’t expect that you’ll only ever need to speak to the major figures in your niche: networks are full of guys like you, and guess what? They’re the ones who make you a success.

Never forget that without the support of the average joe, there would be no big names, no key players. So, don’t be a jerk just because you don’t recognize someone’s name right away.

4. Shut Up, Just Listen

Before you start pushing content in your new networks, learn to listen.

There are tools available to help you scan the “chatter” of the internet – feed readers, alerts, keyword filters, etc.

Finding and utilizing tools that aggregate fresh content for you means you’re as well-informed as possible.

You can find and absorb content from others in your field, keep an eye on key players, and locate content belonging to other contributors that you don’t mind sharing.

Listening is always more important than self promotion. You can push content on others all day long and be ignored, or you can catch the eye of the folks whose attention you want, by re-sharing their information and helping them on their way.

5. Share Others, But Be Selective

Some folks will start following you before you’ve even said anything.

Others engage with you only if you’re a team player. No one will like you if you spend all your time massaging your ego… don’t be that guy.

Be a team player by interacting with other people’s work. Retweet it, share the link, “like” it, post it in a forum… you get the idea. Be vocal in your encouragement of other folks’ work.

Show them that you’re not just here to push your work down their throats.

When you do share, do it selectively. Three email blasts a day is too much… sometimes one a day is too much if your other conversations are lagging.

And furthermore, while you’re sharing selectively, be thorough.

If you’re going to talk about your own content, make sure you’re alerting everyone at close to the same time.

There are tools at your disposal, such as an RSS feed, that can be plugged into various profiles or networks so that your message is thoroughly saturating your networks without overdoing it.

If your RSS has posted on your behalf, don’t follow it up immediately with your own personal version.

Let your tools work for you so you can focus on building important relationships.

Bonus: Be Yourself

You have to interact.

You wouldn’t buy a cellphone from a salesman who stares at you blankly while you’re asking questions out loud in the store. So why would expect your customers to do the same?

There are literally thousands if not millions of articles on how to make money online using social media to assist in growing your business. What it really all comes down to is having a network of people who’s lives are better from knowing you. And in order to know you, you must be active.

Enrich people’s lives and help them acheive their goals, and they will remember you forever.

Try to push them into buying stuff from you, and you’re as easily forgotten as everyone else who tries to do the same.

No amount of tips, tricks or tactics can teach you how to be a good person, that you have to find within.

But the tips in this article will assist you to find the right people so you don’t end up staring at the computer screen waiting for money to appear.

What do you think? Anything I missed?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

The post How To: Build Your Customer Network In 5 Steps appeared first on How To Make Money Online.

If you sell your services at a single set price, get prepared, because your business is about to level up.

It’s no secret the most successful companies give a variety of options to appeal to a broad spectrum of customer’s financial situations.

But what you may not realize is those price points are planned to subconsciously direct people to spend a set amount, whether they realize it or not.

At a spa, there’s a wide range of services between the 15 minute facial or the all day relaxation package.

You’re not just stuck with the option of lawn seats or VIP passes at a concert.

And many consultants, don’t just limit their services to the one hour phone call, or the $30,000 full-service training package.

Multiple price points with benefits and add-ons at each tier gives your client more options, and if you’re strategic about your price points, you can very easily guess what the majority of people are going to go for.

Secret #1: Use Tiered Pricing to Play Ego against Logic.

Imagine for a moment you are considering buying SEO software.

You plan to blog regularly. Perhaps every day, at the very least a few times per week, and this software promises to boost your blog’s visibility by evaluating your articles for keywords, and give suggestions to improve your Google ranking.

You know you will use it at least a few times per week, and are estimating you’ll spend between $35 and $45 for it.

A click later, you see that the pricing options are:

Which do you choose?

If you said “professional,” well done. You did exactly what they wanted you to do.

Now despite the landing page design being very pointed in where you should click, you would have likely came to the same decision (the design just got you there sooner)

Why?

Their multi-tiered pricing creates a war in your brain between your primal instinct and your logical response to options.

The logical response says, “I’m one person… I clearly won’t need 300 evaluations a month. That’s far too much.”

But the primal instinct says, “I need more than the bare minimum to survive. I’m going to grow. I’ll need more next week. I need to stockpile, to prepare, ‘just enough’ won’t be enough.”

So why does simply offering more options create this response?

Because with a single price point a purchase decision can be either accepted or dismissed with a simple“yes” or “no.”

But when you bookend the choices, suddenly your customer is involved, however briefly, in imagining different scenarios for each level of ownership.

They start thinking, “What if the cheapest option isn’t enough?” They start seeing themselves as being unprepared because they bought the lowest-priced item.

Others are more optimistic.

They envision themselves achieving more and therefore justify paying more. They see themselves becoming more successful because they haven’t limited themselves to “just enough,” have room to move and grow.

Either way, the purchase has drama and more emotional investment when there are a limited set of options.

You can create these same subconscious, survival-based thought patterns in your clients by switching your pricing from a single option to offering different levels of pricing for your services.

Switching to a variety of options vs. a single price point is the first and most important step in guaranteeing more purchases.

Secret #2: Give A Lot More for Slightly More Money.

To the majority of people, the two central options will be where their attention focuses immediately.

For these groups, the highest and lowest prices are briefly considered and immediately dismissed as being “too much” and “not enough,” which means the battle is in choosing between the the lower-middle and the higher-middle pricing options.

These folks spend the most amount of time on their purchase.

They take the time to time debate the pros and cons of spending the extra few dollars per month, or per level, so set pricing to make it simple for them.

Do so by offering a value multiple times higher than in the lower-priced option, without changing the price by the same ratio.

Back to our SEO example, by purchasing the Professional package for $47 per month, a customer will receive four times as many evaluations as they would for the next option down, the Publisher.

But the Professional price is not the Publisher price, quadrupled.

Instead, it’s not even doubled. It’s an affordable step up with an immense added benefit.

Make it painfully, starkly clear that the higher-midrange price is where the really good deal is found.

Logic will win out in nearly all cases, as clients justify to themselves the great bargain they just got by buying from you.

Secret #3: There’s always someone who only buys the best.

We all know someone who enjoys spending money.

It’s more than a necessity, it’s a symbol of their self-esteem. When it comes down to it, money equals status and self importance, and that matters a great deal to a large percentage of business people.

You may never know it, but even Joe Handyman in the flannel shirt is saving his dollars for the creme de la creme of cars, tools, and blueprints.

Some folks who are pennypinchers at home will indulge on their business, because their work is their passion, and that is how they justify high-cost items.

Your highest price point should be something that seems indulgent.

The folks who want the best, who gauge value based on cost, won’t take you seriously if  “just anyone” could afford it.

They are out there, and some have already passed you by.

It’s all about the implications made by their purchase, and because they feel that more money means better quality, and they want only the best.

In your pricing structure, include a best-of-the-best, enterprise-level price point and you will convey the sense that you and your services are more than worth their time.

On the flip side, you want your lowest price to be reasonable, profitable for your company and helpful to your clients, but ultimately not a huge gamble on their part.

Thrifty clients want to feel that if their investment is a total waste of money, they haven’t lost too much. They want to get just enough because they plan to be frugal with their usage and get every bit of functionality or information from you or your product that they can.

Bonus Secret: It’s not that difficult.

Offering your services on a tiered price structure isn’t as difficult as you think.

Consider what it would take for you to go above and beyond all expectations, I mean everything you do and roll that up into one bundle to create your highest price point. Remember: it should offset a considerable amount from your next highest price point.

From there, take out the additional services that go above and beyond, leaving a really good option. This will be your third highest pricepoint, and likely what the majority of your business will be.

Then for the last two subtract services until you are left with just the very basic service at the bottom.

For Example: Let’s say you design websites, your structure could look something like:

(From MenswithPens.ca)

Of course, there is no “Copper” package, but it’s easy to see how a simple wordpress setup could be the bottom tier option in this scenario.

A final word of caution: when factoring in the different values per cost, do not make the disparities so clear that one group or another feels taken advantage of. Your product or your service must be justifiably worth the cost, at any level.

Your turn…

How can you use a tiered price structure in your own business? What services do you offer right now that you might be undercharging for?

The post 3 Secret Pricing Tricks Guaranteed to Make you More Money appeared first on How To Make Money Online.