What
are my top picks - Top recommendations?
I
asked myself
"What
is the minimum 'bare-bones', 'must-have' list of products
or courses I would want, to start marketing something
on the Internet, and be sure I was wildly successful"
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Here's
that list (and reasons why):
-
Guru Nuggets (FREE) (Shameless self-promotion) It's my own
ezine form to the right. (Info)
(Opens in a new window)
OK,
besides my own newsletter, heres the real list.
- Site
Build It! (Ken Evoy) ($299) (Website)
(Opens
in a new window)
- Insider
Secrets to Marketing your Business on the Internet ($197)
(Corey Rudl, Derek Gehl) (Website)
(Opens
in a new window)
- Webposition
Gold Pro 4.0 ($149, Pro $389) (WebTrends) (Website)
(Opens
in a new window)
- Subscription
to MarketingTips newsletter (FREE) (Website)
(Opens
in a new window)
Reasons:
Guru
Nuggets
(See form to the right or click
here for information)
(Opens
in a new window)
My own ezine Guru Nuggets keeps you
up to date as I review other programs and recommend the best
or the "avoid" programs.
Site
Build It! (Site
Build It! Website) (Opens
in a new window)
To run an Internet Business
you need a web host. You can buy a cheaper one elsewhere but
no matter, you will have to buy one anyway.
Site
Build It! has a reputation that 62% of SBI websites each are
in the top 3 percentile of all Internet Traffic.
The
reasons are that you are guided through step-by-step to make
a web site that will sell, has good content, the right structure,
and the right elements to perform well on search engines.
The your site goes into a database at the host side that automatically
submits it to all the important engines every time you make
a change or addition.
It
not only submits it, but uses higher-level techniques such
as creating an xml Sitemap page for Google, which is a bear
to do by yourself and few people do it.
It
also automatically checks for broken links and sends you reports
once a week.
Also,
if you go it on your own you'll have to buy software for running
your newsletter or ezines, autoresponders and a host of other
script functions, already built into Site Build It!.
Before
you ever name your site and build it, it takes you through
a five-day exercise of scientifically researching key words
to use and to name your site. You're set up for successful
placement before you even begin. Hundreds of keywords are
generated for you and then each one is compared with (1) how
many search engine requests for that term happen [divided
by] (2) how many websites deliver that term. You simply select
the high numbers and base your name and content on those terms.
It's elegant and it works!
Sure,
at $299 it's more expensive than some hosts, but for top 3%
results, built in mailing lists and other scripts, keyword
and name research, and all the other bells and whistles I
think you're saving a ton of money in the long run - and geting
the results you need to be wildly successful
Since
you have to get something, get this one. If you already have
your own somehwhere else, get it anyway and forward your traffic
to it.
This
is a "No-Hands-Down, Must-Have" in my experience.
Insider
Secrets to Marketing Your Business on the Internet
(Website)
(Opens in a new window)
If you wish to market a product or service on the Internet
you need at least one basic cover-all, broad-range textbook.
This is my top choice.
There
are hundreds of courses, reports and so forth, but this has
remained the top-selling bible of Internet Marketing for years.
It is the golden standard.
The
author (Corey Rudl, now deceased) released this 2005 version
just before his untimely death in June 2005. He was the master!
Corey
Rudl had built his success first on marketing another product
before getting into the teaching business, so he had developed
veteran skills in the real world first.
Corey
Rudl's company, Internet Marketing Center, made over $40 Million
last year.
The
reason for his success is that people love the all-around
textbook of all the various topics you need to think about,
on everything from writing web copy, to search engine placement,
to Pay-per-click listings, to email marketing, desktop marketing,
to testing . . . you get the idea.
Today
IMC is headed by Derek Gehl who worked side by side with Rudl
and shared the stage with him at seminars. So far Gehl is
doing quite well and the company is not going away.
Don't
go it alone. This is the all-around general basic text you
should have. Set it on your desk and use it. Even it's presence
there will help you remember your mission and keep your focus.
It's sold as a hard copy which is so much easier to read,
use and mark up than an ebook.
It
doesn't cover everything in the world you need to know. There
are thousands of advanced tricks and new things you'll learn
over your Internet career, but this is the basic starting
place and an indespensible reference.
Webposition
Gold Pro 4.0 (Website)
(Opens
in a new window)
Watching
the pickaguru.com "Search Engine Visibility score"
grow every day from 10/25/05 - 12/11/05 using Webposition
Gold (isn't it pretty?):
I
do not get a commission for this endorsement. As I've said
many times, I will not base my reviews (good or bad) for profit.
Webposition
Gold 4.0 is an amazing and an addictive piece of software.
If you're really on a shoestring budget you can get by with
the Standard version, but the Pro version really has important
functionality.
If
you're selling on the Internet you simply must have a good
sales site - one that sells, which will be taken care of by
Site Build It! and the Insider Secrets course.
But
to really understand where your weaknesses are and where the
strengths of your competitors are, and to give you that competitive
edge, you need Webposition Gold 4.0
Here
are the basics of what it offers so well:
- The
Reporter tracks you site for any number of keywords
against all the major sites. In other words, it will crunch
tens of thousands of lookups to see where you stand for
each search term in each search engine.
- Wordtracker
Keywords is a free version of Wordtracker. You
enter a keyword and it will generate many keywords you had
never thought of which you can use to increase the Search
Engine visibility of your site.
- Page
Critic will analyze any page
related to your keyword and tell you what needs to be changed
to make it perform better. Does your page have too many
words? Not enough mentions of your keyword? Are the headings
optimal for search engines? And a host of other factors
too numerous to mention here.
- Page
Builder actually builds a web page for you. It
promptsyou for your keywords and a bunch of parameters.
It prompts you as you build it to tweak this and change
that to build an SEO optimized page. When you, and it, are
finally happy it pops out a web page for you.
- Submitter
does what it says. It will submit to some 200 search engines.
What's really cool about it is the report that tells you
things like "The FIRST time you submit to ExactSeek,
you must confirm your submission via the e-mail they will
send." or something to that effect. You know what you
need to do to make sure each submission is successful, since
every search engine has different requirements.
Many
experts tell you you shouldn't spend massive time doing SEO
(Search Engine Optimization). I agree. That's why I recommend
Webposition Gold. It does so much of the work for you that
you spend only minimal time. You get real bang for your buck.
Marketingtips Newsletter (Website)
(Opens
in a new window)
Derek
Gehl's Marketingtps newsletter is, in my opinion, the best
newsletter out there and it's free (of course). The reason
it's the best is because of it's real content.
Gehl,
and Cory Rudl before him, is not afraid to give away good,
practical information. The back-issues on the newsletter site
are categorized by subject so you can easily find tips on
whatever stage of marketing your in, whether it be copywriting,
starting up, or whatever.
Yes,
You'll get sales material with it, but it's not overly frequent
and it provides free value.
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