Are you trying to learn more about Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? If so, then you might feel a little overwhelmed by all the information and different methods that people use to achieve success. If you’re seeing terms like keywords, backlinks, pagerank, domain age, or white & blak Hat, and you just don’t know what to make of them, then don’t fear. While there is certainly a lot of information and things to learn about SEO, this article will briefly explain the basics of the practice, and what it takes to be successful in your SEO endeavors.

To begin with, you should understand that the term “keyword” refers to the word or phrase that you’re trying to get your site ranking for. For example, if you have a site about green widgets and you want your page to be the top result when someone searching for “green widgets,” then you obviously need to have that phrase mentioned several times on your website. This is why the content on your website is so important. You can’t just build a website and assume that Google knows what it’s about! You need to tell it what you’re about by using your keyword, and phrases related to your keyword, several times on as many pages of your site as you can. Now don’t go overboard and just copy and paste your keyword all over the place — that worked in the 90′s, but not these days. Just make sure that your on-site content has your keyword in it, and you’ll be off to a good start.

Secondly, you will need to learn the importance of backlinks and embrace them. Put simply, a backlink is a link on another website that points to yours. This tells the search engines that your site is credible, and therefore worthy of a higher rank, since other websites have links to yours. You can allow your backlink structure to develop naturally by contacting other sites like yours and asking them to create backlinks for you, or by inserting your link in places on the internet where it would be appropriate. Other ways to build backlinks include article submissions, directory submissions, and social bookmarking, as well as many others. You can either perform these services manually for your website, or save some time and hire someone else to do it. If you’re in the Atlanta area, we recommend leaving your SEO efforts in the hands of a professional Atlanta Search Engine Optimization company.

The age of your domain also plays an important role in how highly your site ranks. A “domain” is your actual “www.” address, and how long ago you registered it will determine, in part, how well your site does in the rankings. After all, you can’t expect Google to give a higher rank to some website that just popped up last week, as opposed to a credible and trustworthy site that’s been around for over 10 years! Since you can’t time-travel and register a site in the past, you can pick up a domain name from someone who is selling them. Find a domain name that’s relevant to your product or service, and you’ll have the benefit of an aged domain.

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Does this sound like you??

Below is week 3 of an 8 week e-course that I offer on my website. The course is 100% free and helps you build your online presence in 8 weeks. To get weeks 1,2 and 4-8 just hop on over to my social network marketing website or just click on the BIG button to your right that says ‘Start Now’ and sign up

Ready to get busy?

Week 3 | Optimizing Your Online Presence

Last week we installed our WordPress blog, fixed our permalinks, installed our plugins and chose our theme for a clean, authoritative look.

PLUGINS First, let’s go over some of the plugins that we installed last week. First I will explain what each one does and then I will go over syndication to get you started with some content on your blog.

Simple Facebook comments (requires configuration with Facebook API) Like with simple Facebook connect, simple facebook comments will require you to set up an application within Facebook. However, this plugin, once installed properly, allows visitors to comment on your blog without logging into WordPress.

FEEDWORDPRESS SETUP

Now that we have all of our plugins installed and configured, let’s move into content. One of the greatest things about WordPress is that you can syndicate (or republish) content  that is relevant to your industry and business without worrying about copyright infringement. By using RSS feeds from other blogs, you can add as much or as little content as you would like.

When you syndicate a blog, WordPress automatically notifies the other blog that it is being syndicated. This is called a pingback. When a blog is syndicated, this pingback works as a sort of ‘vote’ for the blog you are syndicating. This is good for the other blogs SEO. Now, as long as you setup your syndicated feed correctly (to give proper credit on your blog), you should never run into problems with copyright infringement.

After I click on ‘Law Blog’, I am going to look to the right of the blog above the authors box and locate the RSS icon. I click on that icon and look for the RSS URL in the browser bar.

I copy that URL and head over to the admin section of my blog. There I’m going to head to the dashboard and scroll down on the left hand side to Syndication.

I will paste the URL that I just copied from WSJ into the feed box and click ‘add’.

WordPress will now locate the feed and show me different alternatives for the feed. I will pick the one that shows the images and where the feed is presented in a visually appealing manner. In this case, WordPress only returns one feed and it looks fine. I will click ‘use this feed’ and then I will work on configuring the feed.

Let’s start with ‘feed’ and then move on to each of the following: posts, authors, categories.

To turn on automatic updates, go to feeds & updates. Select ‘automatically check for updates after page loads‘ and then save changes.

Don’t forget to sign up for weeks 1,2, and 4-8 on my social network marketing website! See You Next week!

-Cheryl

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So what happens beyond a website on the internet? You have a solid foundation and now you need to get the word out so that potential clients can find your website. You need to place business signs and advertisements outside of your ‘foundation’ for people to be exposed to your marketing message. People need directions. In the same way, so do robots.

(This is part 3 of 4 - See Previous Post: Nothing is Built Without a Foundation.)

Let’s break this down for a second… In order to draw people to you… to your website…you need to let them know that you exist. ‘A business without a sign is a sign of no business’.

But how do you let people know that your website exists? How do you let robots know that your website exists? How do you attract the two to your website so that you have higher traffic AND conversion rates? How do you market on the internet and increase your presence? What if clients simply FOUND YOU?

 They can… and that is precisely the beauty of the internet… information does flow in two directions… but you need to say something (post street signs) to have traffic stream to your business website. How is this accomplished?

Maybe you have heard of blogging. In fact, I’m pretty sure that you have. Just a few short years ago, the question was… ‘What in the world is a blog?’… Now the question is ‘how do I find the time to blog?’ But do you know why it’s important?

Blogging IS the emotional drive of all your internet marketing. Blogging is a conversation with potential clients. If you do not talk, then no one will listen. If you have nothing to say, then people (and robots) will pass you by in a heartbeat.

It’s time to speak up and be noticed.

It has been proven that blog readers spend more time and money online and that blogs influence buying behavior. So, then why do most real estate agents not understand the critical importance of a blog to their internet marketing?

Why? Because… well… quite simply they have only been taught ‘old’ advertising. They have been taught traditional advertising like newspapers, flyers and postcards. They have been taught that marketing is a well-planned interruption and that the best way to accomplish true success is by creating the perfect interruption. Interruption marketing is expensive. It is equivalent to playing the lottery, crossing your fingers, and hoping that 1 of 10,000 people reading XXX county magazine is ready to buy or sell.

Effective internet marketing doesn’t work that way. People buy when they are ready to buy. People sell when they are ready (or not) to sell. Regardless of the particular circumstances, 9 out of 10 of those people are going online for information before they contact you. You are not going to reach those people with interruptions.

You ARE going to reach buyers and sellers when they are searching for information on how to solve their problem right now. Their problem is that they need to move, they need to move soon, and they need help. They need you; the breathing human being with emotion. Are you there for them? Are you offering advice?

It takes emotion to connect; to educate clients about what ‘it is’ that you do. But, what is really not surprising is that clients respond. Clients respond to relationship marketing. They want to be treated just as if they were there with you in person. What they are truly looking for is a connection with you. Your blog is your personal connection to clients. You need to speak to them personally and with content. Yes, you have to consider robots. But, your blog isn’t just for robots; it is for that client with a genuine problem that is looking for information. Speak to them.

Nothing is said without emotion!

Part 4: Nothing Is gained Without a System

The weather’s getting chillier in most parts of America, and those precious weekend days are getting shorter. We hope you enjoyed the time you had, but it’s Monday morning now, so blogs and social media are about to light up with a seizure-worthy array of activity.

This weekend, Apple approved a BitTorrent app for the iPhone — sort of. The Social Network hit theaters and performed well enough at the box office and outstandingly well with critics. Celebrities joined Dan Savage in using social media to reach teens who face bullying, the T-Mobile G2 arrived a little early for some consumers and Verizon cleaned up after itself in the wake of a big billing mixup. We’ve also included some helpful resources and just-for-fun pieces to help you get up to speed.

Thanks for reading!

News Essentials

• Apple Approves a BitTorrent App for iPhone
• 5 Inspiring Celebrity Videos Tell Gay Teens “It Gets Better”
• “The Social Network” Tops the Box Office
• T-Mobile G2 Arrives Early on the West Coast
• Verizon Refunds $50 Million to 15 Million Customers
• “The Social Network” Hits Theaters: Mashable’s Complete Coverage

Helpful Resources

• 10 Tips for Aspiring Digital Marketers
• HOW TO: Help Your Child Set Up a Blog
• How to Take an Indie Film to Market with Social Media [VIDEO]
• 12 Essential News Media Tumblrs You Should Follow
• Top 10 Twitter Trends This Week [CHART]

Weekend Leisure

• 15 Creative USB Drives for Storing Your Data in Style
• 5 Hotly Anticipated Social Gaming Experiences
• Weekend Gaming: “Dead Rising 2″ [OPEN THREAD]
• Interview: Ben Heck Explains Modding At World Maker Faire [VIDEO]

More About: android, apple, Ben Heck, bittorrent, blogging, business, careers, dan savage, dead rising 2, digital marketers, entertainment, gaming, it gets better, jobs, MARKETING, mashable weekend recap, Mobile 2.0, piracy, social gaming, social good, social media, T-Mobile G2, tech, the social network, tumblr, twitter, usb, verizon, video games, web video

For more Social Media coverage:

• Follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter
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• Subscribe to the Social Media channel
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Recently we kicked off the first week of Social Networking for Real Estate agents and I have been approached to create a similar Boot Camp for mortgage professionals. This blog post explains a little about how this 8 week boot camp can increase your online exposure and bring you more leads!

I am currently also putting together an FAQ for both of these Boot Camps, however the question that I receive most is “Can I get this on recording?”

The answer is no. Simply, because this is not a typical ‘webinar’ based training session. You will be teamed up with other mortgage professionals for 8 weeks to help each other learn the information, motivate each other and increase your online exposure through the use of powerful SEO, SEM, SMM and Social Networking techniques.

What will I learn during the Boot Camp?

At the end of the Social MAX Boot Camp for Mortgage Professionals you will have created an entire targeted social marketing strategy for your mortgage business. I give you my personal guarantee that this will be the single most important thing you EVER do for your business.

In Fact if you disagree at the end of the Social MAX boot camp, you will have the chance to publicly announce so in your testimonial on MY public profiles and you will receive a full refund for doing so.

To give you a better idea of what is entailed, this is what you and I will be doing TOGETHER during the 8 week program. (or have your mortgage assistant do this for you)

See Also: Social Networking for Real Estate Agents

INITIAL WEBSITE REVIEW

We will go over your site, site content, titles descriptions, anchor text linking and see what needs to be improved. The search engine optimization of your website is not part of my Social MAX program, but I feel it’s important that you know where your site stands before we begin.

PROFILES

We will update and optimize all of your social profiles and will set them up for your mortgage business. Your personal profiles MUST have a picture of you and be personalized to you. Your business profiles must be customized to your business. We will not proceed with business profiles in violation of the social networks. Each social network is different and it is my job to help you get your profiles setup correctly the first time.

We will create uniform branding across all of your social networks. If you do not have branding yet, then my graphics team can work with you to design an image that is right for your business. This is optional and you will have to email me to ask my graphics team to work with you. I’m not going to try to sell this to you. If you need it, let me know.

FOCUS ON WHAT WORKS

We will be focusing on the top social networks. (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn)

In this 8 week Boot Camp you will be working closely with other mortgage professionals on your team to… (read more at Social Networking for Mortgage Professionals)

See Also: Social Networking for Real Estate Agents

-Cheryl

Cheryl Waller
Marketing Consultant SEO, SEM, SMM
www.CherylWaller.com

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In order to compete with other  real estate agents in your farming area, to bring in a targeted audience of potential buyers/sellers and more importantly to generate LEADS, it is essential that you have an online real estate social network marketing strategy that will help you achieve your goals. One of the biggest challenges of getting your strategy to work for you is knowing where to start. Getting started is a big task but definitely something you can do on your own. Let’s make this a bit easier and break it up into 3 steps.

Step 1. DIY Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Search engine optimization is simply the process of making your website appear more favorably in search engines for specific keywords or phrases. Just ‘wanting’ your website to show on the first page of results isn’t going to get it there. There are specific changes to your website that you need to make to rank better in search engines and draw more targeted traffic to your website. These are changes that you can make yourself.

Now, before I go further in detail about these changes, let me point out that each page on your website has a separate chance to rank in the search engines for keywords or phrases. So as you read through these recommendations, remember that you have several pages on your website, so don’t try to rank for all keywords or phrases on any one page. Be sure to choose between 2-4 keywords or phrases for each page.

Look at the title and description of your page. Make sure that the main keyword or phrase is included in both the title and description of the page. Ordering of the keywords is also important here, so you want to order the words in the order that someone would actually type it into a search engine. Although you are optimizing for better placement in a search engine, it’s also important to remember the reason you are optimizing it that way; because people will be looking for your business. Use clear and descriptive wording that makes sense to people; not just search engines.

Include interesting content related to the keywords and phrases that you have chosen for that page. Although many people get ‘hung up’ on repeating a keyword X number of times to get proper ‘keyword density’ for a page, they tend to forget (or don’t realize) that search engines today use latent semantic indexing. Meaning that you don’t have to (and shouldn’t) use the same words over and over again throughout the text of a page to rank highly for the selected keywords. The placement of your keywords is much more important. Be sure to use your selected keywords or phrases early in the page, preferably in the first sentence or paragraph, and then write the content to support those keywords. Always use anchor text linking to link to other pages on your website, social networks, and your blog.

Step 2. ‘Get Social’

Before you jump into social networking, be sure to read my post on Facebook profiles, fan pages and groups.

First, just like in my Social MAX program, we are going to focus on six social networking sites and set up our profiles. Getting your profiles set up is the most important step because when people read your posts, status updates and decide that they like what they are reading, you will want to give them something more to read to pull them over to your website. Your profile is not only a place to tell people who you are; it is also a place to tell them what you can do for them. They are much more interested in what it is that you can do for them, so be sure to keep your intro short and authoritative and concentrate more on your services and how they may benefit your potential client.

Once you have all your profiles setup, it is time to connect your social networks. Getting your social networks connected means that you will only have to post a blog once and it will automatically be posted to all your social networks. There’s no need to post the same blog over and over or do status updates on several social networks. Just post once and you are done.

If you are not sure how to properly connect all your social networks, then keep an eye out for my Real Estate Social BOOTCAMP which will be announced to ‘fans’ of my social networking for real estate agents page on Facebook.

Once you have all of your social networks connected, you are ready to get your ‘blog on’.

Step 3. ‘Get your Blog on’

Now that your website has been fine-tuned and your social networks are ready to work for you, we are going to work on your blog. Your blog is an extension of your website that you will be using to direct traffic to your website. When you first start your blog you will need to fill it with content. Start out by blogging at least 5 times a week for 6 months. If you aren’t able to dedicate the time to blog that many times a week, you can check out my Social JUICE program or hire someone through freelancer or elance. If you do choose to have someone else write content for you, then be sure you are familiar with and like their writing style. They will be representing you and your business for the next 6 months.

Whether you write your blog posts yourself or have someone write them for you, each blog you post should be based on a topic (keyword or phrase) that is discussed on your website. Use anchor text linking to point to your website and always include links to your social networks somewhere on your blog. This is very important in building relevance and authority for your website and blog.

With new blogs, it will take time for you to see results in the search engines but sometime around the third or fourth month you will see favorable changes to your ranking on SERPs (search engine results pages). Do not get discouraged if you do not see results right away. Keep blogging, creating content, and linking back to your website and social networks and you will see results.

Cheryl Waller
Marketing Consultant SEO, SEM, SMM
www.CherylWaller.com

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