Category: A Beginners Introduction

A Beginners Introduction: How much is a link worth to your website?

Getting links for your site is hard work. You've got to have good content, you've got to research sites who'd be likely to link to you and you've got to approach them in such a way that your link request stands out from all the rest.

This takes time and effort, and time and effort costs money. And to invest money in any linking you've got to have a good idea of what links are worth to your website. Whether you run your own business, work for a company or an agency, you need the answer to this question.

So how do you decide what links are worth? This question focused in my head when I came across an eBay style auction for text links. Perhaps this would be a good way to value a link - let the market decide?

A Beginners Introduction: Keywords Phrases in Linking Text

Often simple things really matter. And the use of keywords in linking text is o­ne of those simple things that turn out to be hugely important. Linking text, sometimes called anchor text, is the clickable text that takes people to another page or resource. You need to choose that text carefully.

If I was refer people to this article I could use the linking text, ‘Latest article’: the text is meaningful, clear and wouldn't need to change every time I published a new article. However, I'd be missing out o­n some important opportunities. Using the actual title of the article, ‘Keyword phrases in linking text’, is a much better option.

A Beginners Introduction: Five Ways To Increase Your Website Conversion Rate

A Beginners Introduction: How to Begin and Compete with the Big Guys

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>When starting a business or web site o­n the Internet, it is often easy to become intimidated by large companies or web sites offering similar services to you. While you may not be able to match the million dollar advertising budgets, or employee numbers of your competitors, there are many things you can do to make your business or web site stand out from the rest. The aim of this article is to provide you with an approach, and the motivation to take o­n those competitors you never thought you could match!

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>What do customers want?

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>It is important to get back to basics and ask yourself "What is it that customers purchasing this service require?". Knowing some of the decisive factors in customers choices is very important. If you know what your customers want, you may be able to tailor your marketing strategies to emphasise these areas.

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>Making a list:
<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>In our example of the Host-It company, directors may come up with the following list (after researching customer needs) of six features customers desire in a web host.

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>1. Excellent support
2. Package features (eg. disk quotas, email boxes, monthly bandwidth)
3. Special language support (eg. ASP, Perl, PHP, C++)
4. Reasonable pricing
5. Easy account management
6. Reliability

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>After reviewing this list, Host-It directors could choose areas they believe their big company competitors are lacking. These areas would then become areas of focus for both product development and marketing.

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>The first item in the list (Excellent support) is often an area big companies leave a lot to be desired. This opens the door to create a major selling point for the Host-It service. The reasonably simple task of ensuring the timely response to queries could have customers singing your praises, generating a lot of new business.

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>Suggestion: If it is feasible for your business, setting up an account o­n o­ne (or some) of the major instant messaging programs (eg. ICQ, Yahoo IM) can leave an excellent impression o­n customers. Think how happy you would be receiving a reply to a query almost instantly!

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>Getting Info for the List:
<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>You may be asking just where you are expected to get such information about your customers needs. Below is a short list of suggestions to get you started.

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>* Survey customers.
* Participate in discussion groups relating to the subject. You will often find forums around the Internet with real customers discussing what they like and dislike about certain products and services. Participating in these discussions may also get you business!
* Visit web sites and read newsletters which deal with the subject.
* Put yourself in your customers shoes and look at it from their perspective.

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Personalize your Service

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>I don't know about you, but I find it much more appealing when I can actually talk to the owner or employees of a business throughout the use of their service. A personal response to an order beats auto responders any day!

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>There are many aspects needed to be considered when personalizing a service. Listening to user feedback, being available to talk and offering opinions o­n different issues all contribute to personalizing a service. The common goal of many of these aspects is to build trust with your customers.

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>Building trust with your customers is an incredibly important, and often underestimated, aspect which must be considered. To put it simply, no o­ne is going to buy anything from you o­n the Internet if they do not trust you. Personalizing a service is an excellent way of gaining this customer trust.

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>Our Host-It team may decide to incorporate some of the following things to help personalize their service and gain trust from customers.

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>- o­n sign up, Host-It should ensure customers have the contact information for appropriate personnel to voice their queries or comments. This information should be presented in a way which welcomes customer interaction.
- Every so often, Host-It directors should contact customers personally to make sure everything is going well and answer any queries they may have. Many customers will not go out of their way to give feedback unless asked specifically.
-Keep customers informed of updates, changes and upcoming services
-Give explanations for any down-time which may occur
-Provide an area for customers to give feedback and talk with each other.

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>Charge Reasonable Prices

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>The last point I am going to make in this article, is that you must charge reasonable prices. Although you may not be able to match the extremely low prices of big companies in some industries, it is important that you do not over-charge your customers. Nothing scares customers off quicker than ridiculously high prices.

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>If you use the techniques described in this article, customers may not mind paying that little bit extra. Especially if it is going to get them a service which the big competitors do not provide so well.

<FONT face="MS Sans Serif" size=2>In conclusion, the best thing you can do as a small business or web site starting out o­n the Internet is to understand your customers and their needs. You must exploit the advantages many small businesses have over large companies. Using the techniques outlined in this article, along with your own initiative and creativity, will help you gain respect, build a reputation and hopefully reach your goals!

A Beginners Introduction: Non-Reciprocal Link Builds Higher Position

A Beginners Introduction: Make Your Way to the Top of Search Engines

A Beginners Introduction: Improving Your Search Engine Standings

A Beginners Introduction: The Dos and Don'ts of Search Engine Optimization

Discover the top 10 things you can do that can make or break your ranking with the free search engines.

A Beginners Introduction: 5 Search Engine Mistakes Not to Make

A Beginners Introduction: The 5 Keys to Web Site Marketing Success are :