Archive for the ‘Internet Marketing’ Category

Internet Marketing: WordPress, SEO, Google Indexing & Splogs »

Written by Zain on May 29th, 2008
{ 12 comments }

If you read my post called “Internet Marketing & WordPress: Nancy Andrews Was Right - Forget Social Networking“, then you’ll know that geting indexed in Google is extremely fast if you’re using WordPress or some other blogging tool to get your pages (and site) re-indexed quickly.

And I mean *really* quickly. Those of you that remember, will know that it only takes a couple of minutes and Google go through your site, re-index and you can rank well for your keyword terms (if you’ve written your content properly, that is!)

Well… I now tend to check my site when I’ve done a post as it’s pretty amusing to see how quickly I can get my pages indexed. And I’m loving it when it does it well.

For example, the WordPress Plugin Review on the WordPress LinkSync (aka Blogroll Sync) plugin that I wrote on about an hour ago has already been indexed.

That’s amusing in itself.

But here’s something funnier…

WordPress SEO Results: WP LinkSync plugin keyword dominated »

WordPress 2.5: Changing Saved Page Slugs »

Written by Zain on April 26th, 2008
{ 6 comments }

Okay. I’ve had a couple of emails and comments from some Internet Marketers/WordPress SEO types worried about WordPress 2.5 (Brecker) and SAVED page slugs. Everyone seems to be fretting about how you can’t edit these!

“OMFG The Sky Is Falling!”

Chill.

Lighten up.

It’s possible.

Yet again, I’m here to the rescue and will be showing you with a quick and easy, step-by-step, easy how-to guide on changing your saved page slugs.

Firstly, let me reassure you that you’re not mad - I can’t change those saved Page Slugs either in WordPress 2.5! It’s okay though because I’m full of solutions - that’s why people hire me to build their sites! ;)

Let me say that once again - this is for Posts/Pages that have already been saved - if you’re looking for how you edit them in the first place, then read my original post on How To Change WordPress 2.5 Page Slugs. The original article will show you how it’s done in the first place - this post will show you what to when you mess it up but don’t want to delete your entire post and go through all of that nonsense of copying and pasting the old stuff into a new post etc.

So are you ready? How To Change Saved WordPress 2.5 "Saved" Page Slugs, Step By Step. Read More »

Internet Marketing & WordPress: Nancy Andrews Was Right - Forget Social Networking »

Written by Zain on April 26th, 2008
{ 6 comments }

Just a quick post about something I’ve been meaning to test on WordPress for a couple of weeks now. The idea comes from Nancy Andrews LiveBlueprints.com vNews (non affiliate link) on 7th April 2008 which looked really interesting:

“Blog posts work *REALLY* quickly. Forget Social Media”.

I’m going to summarise the essence of what she said in the vNews: basically, Social Media like Facebook and all of the other community type Web 2.0 sites aren’t really viable as Internet Marketing tools. It’s a controversial position but one also echoed by Michel Fortin in his excellent post “Is Facebook A Viable Marketing Tool?“.

Now, I’m not a natural Marketer - I’m willing to admit that - although I do happen to think that they might be right on this point.

Why?

Because here’s the proof that I’ve just found out for myself which I’ve screengrabbed for you:

Social Networking (Web 2.0) vs Blogging (Web 1.0). FAQ-Tastic Keyword Phrase Indexed In 20 Minutes. See the results »

FAQ-Tastic Lite 1.0.6 & User Manual: Coming soon »

Written by Zain on April 8th, 2008
{ 1 comment }

I’ve not been well the last 4 days. Despite the shivers; aches; hot and cold flushes; runny nose and sore eyes, I’ve still been doing whatever I can to get this latest version of our WordPress FAQ plugin out.

Not just that. I’ve also been working hard on completing a new user manual for it. It’s nearly done except I just have to create some supporting pages and add those links to it.

The FAQ-Tastic User Manual is also Fa(q)ntastic - even if I do say so myself. Why? Because this 30 page, PDF user guide been lovingly crafted and taken just over 6 days to complete to include:

  • screengrabs of every page in the WordPress administration needed to use plugin (and images of how it would appear on your site)
  • a step by step guide showing exactly what to do - from installation, activation to using the plugin.
  • a detailed explanation of the difference between Simple and Paged FAQs.
  • an explanation of Paged FAQs and their real purpose.
  • bookmark links to easily jump to the section you need.
  • and best of all… it’s FREE!

WordPress FAQ-Tastic Lite version 1.0.6 User Manual and plugin - read more »

WordPress 2.5 Brecker: No Page Slugs??? »

Written by Zain on March 31st, 2008
{ 8 comments }

Yeah, I know… I’ve been away for a really long time. Too long. Don’t expect me to make up excuses and apologise for my absence.

I’m back with a renewed focus. I’ve been working on getting FAQ-Tastic properly released. And some of you may already know there’s a Pro version in the pipeline. Well… It’s nearly here. So sorry for the delay (nuts… I just apologised didn’t I? Damn my Englishness).

Well there’s a snag with the new FAQ-Tastic plugin… Last Saturday saw the release of WordPress 2.5 (a.k.a Brecker - after “an exceptionally talented saxophonist” Michael Brecker. Who knew? Who cares?). Now I got to test with this new version…

Anyway, I’ve only just managed to download WordPress 2.5 and start having a play with it today. This “Brecker” version *is* pretty cool and has some *really* (and I mean *REALLY*) cool features…But one thing troubles me:

HOW THE *&$( DO YOU EDIT THE PAGE SLUGS IN WP2.5?!?!

OMG, do you realise how serious it is for your average Internet Marketer if they’ve taken the slugs away?LOL… okay, don’t worry. They’ve not taken the page slugs away - it’s just not intuitively found. Most bloggers wouldn’t think of changing their page slugs but for anyone serious about Search Engine Optimization, changing the page slugs is ESSENTIAL!

So I’m going to show you how. And cause I’m nice, I’m going to give you pictures too (actually, they’re screenshots for a new ebook I’m doing) WordPress 2.5: Changing the Page Slug (with images)

WordPress SEO: Top 7 Optimization Areas For Beginners (Part 2) »

Written by Zain on December 18th, 2007
{ 3 comments }

In Part 1 of WordPress SEO: Top 7 Optimization Areas For Beginners I promised you that I would reveal the 1 WordPress plugin that I use to optimize at least 5 of the 7 areas that I outlined in the last article.

In this article I’ll tell you exactly what the WordPress plugin is, explain why it’s an all in one SEO plugin packed into a neat bundle and even show you how you use it.

Up until now, most people have been using several plugins to achieve the same job. Truth be told, you’re wasting time if you are having to handle several plugins.

In this post we’ll look at:

  1. 7 Key Optimization Area: A Summary
  2. How this WordPress all in one SEO management plugin can optimize 5 of the 7 key SEO areas.
  3. How can an all in one SEO management plugin save you time?
  4. Tips on Permalinks for SEO in WordPress.
WordPress SEO Video For Beginners » Read More »

Google Analytics Code Update »

Written by Zain on December 15th, 2007
{ 1 comment }

Looks like Google has just updated their Analytics code from the legacy “urchin.js” file to a new file called “ga.js”.

Apparently, according to the Analytics website, this new tracking code will enable you to “to gain access to a wide range of exciting new features as they become available“.

Anyone have any ideas what the new features might be?

Whatever it is, just remember not to put *both* codes into your pages!

Looks like a few WordPress plugins might need a bit of a code revamp to ensure these changes are up to date… (naming no names - Mr Godley! :P ).

WordPress SEO: Top 7 Optimization Areas For Beginners (Part 1) »

Written by Zain on December 15th, 2007
{ 8 comments }

In this post, I’ll be taking you through the top 7 SEO areas you need to optimize in WordPress in order for your site to rank well in the search engines. Even if you don’t use WordPress, this post may be useful to you.

In Part 2 of this post I’ll be showing you the 1 plugin for SEO that I use on all WordPress sites I build for clients which makes it easy for them (as novices) to take control of their site (without really needing to know the technical aspects of what’s happening!).

If you’re relatively new to search engine optimization you might already know the Top 3 areas that you need to optimize (and if you don’t, then you need to start learning quickly!): 1) Page Title, 2) Meta Keywords and Descriptions and 3) Permalinks.

So… what are the other 4 you need to learn? Well, here’s a quick summary of what we’ll be covering:

  1. Page Title
  2. Meta Keywords & Description
  3. Permalinks
  4. First Paragraph
  5. More links
  6. H1 Site Name
  7. H2 Site Description
This post will show you *WHERE* to optimize but won’t go into specific details on *HOW*. While the sites I create rank well, I would not pretend to be an SEO expert. Useful SEO links are provided at the end of this post.
WordPress Search Engine Optimization: Beginners Tips & How To Guide »

Internet Marketing: Attention Age Video and More »

Written by Zain on December 13th, 2007
{ 2 comments }

As regular readers may know from my last post I was a little disappointed at how things were on my site in general. I’d neglected it and not paid enough attention to it.

Well, “paying attention” is exactly what I’ve been doing recently - to my site; to my themes; to things that matter.

Having a chance to re-group, here’s a list of the top 5 things I’ve been doing recently:

  1. Re-designed Site, WordPress theme and Content Ideas
  2. New free WordPress Christmas theme for download
  3. FAQ-Tastic and FAQ-Tastic Pro: News Update
  4. Top Secret e-Book Project
  5. Rich Schefren's Attention Age video contest
Attention Age video, FAQ-Tastic Pro, Free WordPress themes and more »

Worst Internet Marketing Copywriter Award 2007 »

Written by Zain on November 29th, 2007
{ 7 comments }

I’m going to claim this title now even though there’s no awards ceremony.

Why am I admitting to this now?

Well, to be honest, my copy sucks, is completely untargetted and I’m not sure that people read this stuff anyway. A few comments here and there but mostly people only come to this site for one thing. And it sure isn’t the copy!

How Do I Know My Copy Sucks?

nice_big_cup_of_stfu.jpg
Well, the (ir)regular readers of my blog will know that I’ve been off for several weeks now. Partly as an experiment and partly due to knowing that my efforts in the Internet Marketing game aren’t getting me very far. In fact, checking regularly on my Google Analytics screen I see that my traffic has INCREASED since I STOPPED writing. Go figure! Maybe if I shut up long enough maybe I could get some really decent traffic to my site ;) .

For a lot of you, this might be a great strategy to implement - I’ve seen some awful copywriting (but I really think this 1 reason is enough to prove that I should hold this title!). I might do an ebook called “Easy Ways to Get More Traffic by STFU!”. Who knows… it might do better than I’m currently doing. 7 Copywriting Tips From A Copywriter Who Sucks » Read On »