This is an article I found that I hope can explain the benefits of pay-per-click advertising for local small businesses. I personally think it’s a FANTASTIC way to be in front of potential customers when they are searching for your product and/or business. The best part – it’s cheap! If they don’t click, you don’t pay. So here’s my tip: include your local phone number in your ad: get the prospect to call you instead of clicking!

I can help you set-up and write your pay-per-click ads. Contact me today if you’d like to discuss it
Cara

Your website can show up on the first page of the search engine pages when people search for what you sell. That’s a pretty bold statement, but it’s true.

Go to Google.com and type in your keywords. Look at the results. See the long box at the top and the small boxes along the right-hand side? You’ll also see something similar when you search Yahoo and MSN. These text ads are noted as “Sponsored Links” or “Sponsored Results”. Merchants have arranged to have their ads show up on those pages but they only pay for every visitor who clicks through to their website. These ads are called pay-per-click (PPC) ads.

You can get those positions too. These ads are shown only when people type in your keywords. Consider how they can fit into your advertising mix, even if you are marketing a local business such as a retail store.

Here’s what to do: For as little as $5, you can place an ad on a pay-per-click search engine. These are search engines where you pay to be listed on the first few pages. Two of the largest PPC search engines are Google and Yahoo.

Here’s a very important part many website owners don’t know: both Google and Yahoo are pay-per-clicks that supply results to other search engines. For example, if you buy an ad on Google, your site can show up on the first pages of Google in addition to showing up on AOL, Ask, Earthlink, Lycos and more.

Also, websites that offer large amounts of information (content) have arranged to show PPC ads from Google and Yahoo. For example, About.com shows Google ads. This is a “content partner”. You can also choose to have your ads show up on their content partners’ sites. You’ll get more exposure. You will pay only when visitors click from these sites too.

You decide how much you want to pay for each visitor. That’s your bid. Your bid determines where you show up in the listing. Generally, the highest bid gets the highest position. In industries that have low competition, you may pay only a few cents per click. In highly competitive markets you can pay dollars per click. For example, the keyword “car insurance estimates” is estimated to cost $34 PER CLICK at this writing.

Your costs will depend on a variety of factors, including:

-how many competitors you have at the time you run your ads
-which search engine you run your ads on
-which position you’d like – first, second, third, etc.
-what your daily budget is
-how long you want your ads to run

Wherever you place your ads, you’ll want to say something compelling in your ad to get people to click through. You’ll need to follow the advertising guidelines of each search engine. They usually don’t allow any language such as “We’re the best! Check us out!” Otherwise you can imagine their results will be filled with hype.

PPC ads are the fastest way to show up on the first page of search engines – even as quickly as today! Remember, JerseyGirlWebs can help you set-up and write your pay-per-click ads. Contact me today if you’d like to discuss it!

About The Author: Entrepreneur Raynay Valles is the author of 70 Website Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them and the Fast Track Internet Marketing Method for Local Businesses. Visit her website at http://www.raynayvalles.com for more information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Raynay_Valles

A Simple Way Your Website Can Show Up on the First Page of Search Engine Results Today is a post from: jerseygirlwebs.com

Question: How often should I update my small business website?

This is a question that I’m sure every small business owner thinks about. As a small business owner myself, I know you’re busy! So you’re really wondering how much of your already-spread-thin time do you need to spend on your website?

If you are serious about using your website as a way to gain new customers (and keep in touch with current customers), you should add new content to your website at the very least once-a-week.

You do not want your site to get ‘stale’. The search engines, and specifically Google, like websites that are current and have fresh content. Furthermore, you want to keep visitors coming back to your site. Keeping them interested could convert them into customers.

Adding to your site, if it is WordPress based, doesn’t have to take a lot of your time – maybe an hour tops. And it doesn’t have to be complicated. Simply write about a specific topic, product or issue that is relevant to your industry and/or business.

For example, if you own a retail store, you could easily add your specials and coupons to your site on a weekly basis. You can also announce new products.

But if you’re a service provider, it can be a little harder to come up with ideas on what content to write about. Here are a few examples to help you out:

• Recent News Stories: Let’s say your the owner of an organic market. With the recent news about the massive egg recall, you should comment on the recall, provide  and mention the fact that your market carries organic, safe eggs.
• Highlight Recent Work: You are a contractor that just finished building an addition for a customer. Post pictures and details of your work. If possible, include a few (positive) comments from the customer about your work.
• Public Relations: Last weekend there was a street fair in my area that had many local small businesses participating. I would suggest to those businesses to create a post about the street fair, include pictures, and provide details of what they contributed to the event. Highlight their business as part of the community.
• Tips: Everyone loves a good tip! Suppose you’re a handy man. You could post some DIY tips on how to keep a door hinge from creaking. Or if you own a beauty salon, post tips on the best ways to apply make-up.
• Q&A: Just like this post, answer one of your customer’s questions. By creating a contact form (which is included in my design package) you can encourage visitors to ask a question. And by answering it, you are providing customer service and establishing your expertise.

Small business owners don’t need a lot of time or creativity to continually update their site. Using the 5 ideas above, it shouldn’t take long at all. But remember that it is important to add content to your site – not only for the search engines, but for your keeping your visitors interested!

How Often Should I Update My Site? is a post from: jerseygirlwebs.com

Of all the successful blogs on the Internet, hundreds more have failed. Running a blog is like running a business website. Unless you are willing to put the time in and treat it seriously, you won’t be blogging long.

That is not to say that the failed bloggers weren’t serious about blogging. Mostly, new bloggers aren’t prepared for the work that goes into creating a successful blog. Just building the blog doesn’t mean that people will necessary come to you. You pursue the audience and give them a reason to see what you have to say.

1. Fresh Content – no one wants to visit a blog day after day and see the same posts. Update your blog content at least twice a week. This will be easier if you write several posts ahead of time and upload them at the appropriate times.

2. Article Marketing – the niche you’ve chosen for your blog is one that interests you. If it is interesting you will spend more time doing it. Create content not only for your blog but also to be submitted to article directories. Use the resource box to advertise your blog so people can find you.

3. Social Networking – these sites are everywhere. Join Facebook, MySpace, Squidoo, Twitter or a dozen others and make connections. You can join groups of likeminded people who are also bloggers or entrepreneurs.

4. Viral Marketing – this is where you spread the word about your blog. Talk to friends, family and even strangers. Give out business cards that have your blog address on them.

5. Use RSS Feeds – RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication.” Readers can subscribe to your feed and get email updates when new content is posted. It is an easy way for them to keep up with your blog without spending all day online.

6. Submit Blog to Search Engines – doing this allows your blog to be ranked. Google and Yahoo! are two of the most popular search engines you want to crawl your blog pages. It doesn’t guarantee top ranking, though. You’ll have to do a little more work for that.

7. Joining Forums – as a blogger you are a budding entrepreneur. Right now you are marketing yourself to find traffic and then profit. Become a member of business forums, work at home forums and others to meet new people and share ideas. You can add a link to your blog in the signature line so others can find you.

8. Visit other blogs – show your appreciation to those who visit you by also posting comments on their blogs. It is a kindness that shows others you are not just out to advertise your blog alone. Add links to your blog in your comments.

9. SEO Marketing – whatever you write, use relevant keywords. Keyword density between three and ten percent is good for getting higher page rankings in search engines. Base your keywords on a research you do to find the most popular words used in search engines for your niche.

10. Social Bookmarking – submitting posts to social bookmarking sites allows others who are members of those sites to track you back to your blog.

Using any of these ideas will start the traffic moving in your direction. It takes time but you will build the readership you want. Don’t forget that JerseyGirlWebs can help you with everything listed above! Not only do we design blogs, we help with the marketing too! Check out our Services page.

photo credit: lisaclarke

Top 10 Traffic Ideas for your Blog is a post from: jerseygirlwebs.com

Promote your blog?  Why would you want to do that?  Honestly, if you have to ask yourself that question you probably shouldn’t even have one.  The whole purpose of a blog is to document your thoughts, views, and opinions on a particular topic, issue, or subject.  What good will your blog do if no one reads it.  In addition to sharing your thoughts with the rest of the world, did you know that you could also make money from your blog?  You can signup for affiliate programs or other programs like Google Adsense.  If you are using your blog to make money then you will defiantly want to promote it.

When it comes to promoting blogs, there are many blog owners who decide to let the search engine do the work for them.  Search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN use special techniques that reads the content on your website. That content is then used to rank your website with particular keywords.  This means that you run a blog on graduating from high school in New York, there is a good chance that your blog will appear in searches done on New York high schools. Although many blogs are successfully ranked in search engines, not all are. That is why you are advised against relying solely on search engines, when it comes to promoting your blog.

As previously mentioned, if you love meeting with or talking to people online, there is a good chance that you belong to a social networking website or community. The individuals that you talk to and that are in your community are likely the individuals that you wish to target. Since most social networking websites work to connect internet users who have the same goals and common interests, there is a good chance that your online friends will enjoy reading your blog.  But, before they can read your blog, you have to let them know that it exists.

When it comes to promoting your blog on social networking websites, you have a number of different options. Your first option is to include a link to your blog in your community profile or profile page. This will allow other community members to checkout your blog, only if they wish to do so.  The other way is to inform your online friends of your blog through private messages. Once you join a social networking website and create or join a network of friends, you should easily be able to communicate with those friends.  Sending each of your friends a private message with information and a link to your blog tends to be more effective than just placing a link in your profile or on your profile page.

Although there is a good chance that you are already a member of a popular social networking website, you may not be. If you are not already a member, but would like to become one, you will need to find a social networking website to join. This can easily be done with a standard internet search. In your search, you will likely find a number of popular network sites, such as MySpace, Facebook, FriendFinder, Yahoo! 360, and Orkut.  Before becoming a community member at one of these networking sites, you may want to first examine the website to ensure that it is everything that you want it to be.

As you can easily see, there are a number of different ways that you can go about promoting your blog on online social networking websites. You never known, but, in addition to promoting your blog, you may also make new friends along the way.

Using Social Networking Websites to Promote Your Blog is a post from: jerseygirlwebs.com