Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? And, in reality, it’s not rocket science but before you jump in to the deep end you need to understand that more goes into good keyword research than just finding out which keywords your customers are using.

For example, let’s say you have a website that sells baby strollers. You would assume that anyone interested in buying a baby stroller would use keywords like “baby stroller” “cheap baby stroller”, “baby stroller sales”, “baby stroller on sale”, etc.

But do you have any idea how many people search for those terms? Do you know how many other competitors are trying to get their websites to rank for those terms (how competitive they are)? Do you know what other terms people may be searching for?

In order to make the most out of your keyword internet marketing strategy you need a full picture, not just an “idea” of what keywords will work and which ones won’t.

Targeting a keyword that gets 100,000 searches a month sounds like a sound strategy and a great way to make huge money. But, not so fast, if it were that easy everyone online would be a millionaire.

The problem is that the keywords that get hundreds of thousands of monthly searches also have a ton of competition. All of these other websites are fighting over that one little keyword crumb. Many of these sites have full time staffs dedicated to optimizing their website so they can rank well for that keyword. Most beginners and small online business owners simply can’t compete.

Not to worry, though, there are many other very viable strategies to follow. The simplest one is to find longer keyword phrases (longtailed keywords) and target those instead.

It’s true, they may only get a few thousand searches a month but they will also have far less competition. And, you can target as many of these long tailed keywords as you want.

So, why fight over the scraps when you can target a dozen or so long tailed keywords that are all getting a 1,000 searches a month? By using this strategy you could very realistically get about 12,000 visitors a month to your website! Not too shabby. Let the big boys fight over the other keywords while you just quietly go about your business.

Ultimately, your online business will live or die by the quantity and quality of the website visitors you get to your site. No matter what method you use to get those visitors, you will need a solid keyword internet marketing strategy. I hope I’ve shown you that trying to go after the highly competitive keywords is more work and most likely won’t net you much reward.

Post from: AskChrisJensen.com

Your Keyword Internet Marketing Strategy Is Cruical To Your Success

So many people will write amazing content to submit to all of the article directories and web 2.0 sites.  They will do their keyword research.  They will have the proper keyword density in their content.  They will write relevant articles that will make people really want to go to their site to continue reading.  Bad news is that 75% of these people will then put something in their author bio like this:

“For More Information on how to correctly choose the best wedding planner for your upcoming wedding, click here!

WRONG!  Now, when Google is out crawling all of these article directories, it will see the words “click here” and think that that word or phrase is relevant to your website!  Really, what the hell does “click here” have to do with your website?  Absolutely NOTHING!  You are hurting yourself.  If someone goes into google to look for a wedding planner, do you really think they are going to type “click here” and hope to find the best wedding planner?  What the most common bride to be is going to type into google is:  best wedding planner in Dallas, or cheapest wedding planners in the Dallas area or something like that.  How about you create a bio box like this:

If you would like to speak to the best wedding planner in Dallas, please contact Kaye at Dallas Platinum Weddings.  She can show you what she can do to make your wedding ideas become a dream come true!

Not only does this sound more appealing, but the more articles that you have out there with this type of anchor text, the higher google will rank you for this keyword or phrase.  This is how you are going to start building business!

In the next post, I will share with you the ways that I go about getting one way anchor text backlinks.  I will show you where to go, how to do it, and how some can and will be more important than others!

If you like this article or found it helpful, please feel free to retweet it or share it with your friends~

Until next time,

Go Hard or Go Home!

Chris Jensen

Post from: AskChrisJensen.com

Using One-Way Anchor Text Backlinks

Is ezine articles awesome, or is it a pain in the ass?

I guess it depends on what you are using them for.  I started out building Squidoo lenses and free blogs so that I could send them traffic from my articles.  In my honest opinion, this makes ezine articles a pain in the ass.

BUT, If you are looking for high quality backlinks to your site, ezine articles is awesome.

Do you use ezine articles?  Why?  Is it worth it?  Are you getting the results that you desire?

Let me know what you think.  I have noticed that hubpages has been ranking higher than ezine articles lately.

Have you noticed this?

Hit me up and let me know what you think!

Go Hard or Go Home!

Chris Jensen

Post from: AskChrisJensen.com

Ezine Articles | Awesome or a Pain in the Ass?

Today I would like to talk with you a little about Forum Marketing. Forum Marketing has so many benefits, but for one reason or another, so many marketers tend to leave this huge step out of their marketing efforts. I have to admit, I too have been too lazy to take advantage of the many benefits of forum marketing in the past.

Forum Marketing is so easy that if you do not enjoy what you are promoting, it can be boring. It can be a beating! But, if you can take the time, or spend the money to outsource, this can be an amazing benefit to whatever site you are wanting to promote.

There are hundreds to thousands of forums for just about anything that you can think about. No matter what niche you are in, you can find forums to take part in. I suggest going to Google and typing in whatever your niche is along with the word forum. From here, you need to join a few, get set up, and start making a name for yourself.

You want to make sure that you are using proper forum etiquette. Do not just go in there and start throwing up links and promotions. If you do not get kicked out or banned, you will most likely be ignored.

I suggest that you go in, make some friends, give some advice, participate in debates, and give all that you can give. Once people see that you are a regular guy or girl, they are going to be more willing to see what you are all about. If people are interested in your knowledge and input, they are much more willing to check out the information that you have available in your signature.

Not only can you start getting some pretty decent traffic to your site, but every time that you post, you will be adding more back links to your site.

So, you get traffic, you build relationships that can be very beneficial down the road, an finally, your site will be gaining authority with the search engines for your niche! To me, there is no reason to leave this crucial step out of ANY campaign that you ever build.

Please know that this is just my opinion. I have been doing this for a while now, and like I said, I have left this step out of a few of my campaigns. It makes such a huge difference that it has become a part of my daily routine for each of my niches.

I hope that this information is helpful to you! If you are liking what you are reading or have any questions, please let me know. Feel free to re-tweet this and share it with your friends!

I hope that you had a great 4th of July!

Go Hard or Go Home!

Chris Jensen

Post from: AskChrisJensen.com

What’s the Point of Forum Marketing?

I tend to roam through forums throughout the day on a daily basis, and I have noticed that newbies are always saying that they are having trouble coming up with a new niche to market. I must admit, when I first started out, I was looking for high paying affiliate products. I would find products, and then from there, I would try to build niche sites to sell these products. In my opinion, with all that I have learned, this is definitely the wrong way to approach niche marketing.

If you are just starting out and you are interested in niche marketing, I would definitely try to find a niche that you are interested in first. Internet Marketing is painful enough. Do not make it harder on yourself by going into a niche that you know absolutely nothing about. I recommend that you start out in a niche that you are familiar with, or if possible, look into your hobbies. You will be doing a lot of writing, and it is a hell of a lot easier to write about something that you are familiar with.

I recently came across this great report that has a few hundred niches that many people do not ever think about looking into. Take a look at this list and let me know what you think. Just about every niche in this list has some sort of product that you can market. If you cannot find a product, create your own! I will get into this a little more at a later date.

A Few Hundred Niches

If you have any questions or comments about this report, please let me know! I would love to help you get started if you are having trouble.

If you like what you see, please feel free to re-tweet this post or share it with a friend!

Have a great day!

Go Hard or Go Home~

Chris Jense

Post from: AskChrisJensen.com

Niche Marketing | Finding a New Niche

I was just thinking about something today that I see and hear all too often. I am always reading in forums that people are so excited because their blog or article is ranked number 1 in Google for their keyword, but they are upset and asking why they are not making any sales. Do not get me wrong, being number 1 in the eyes of Google is great, but many times it is not always going to yield the results that you are hoping for.

So you built a great looking site! Or did you?

You wrote a great article selling the latest e-book about Internet Marketing! Or did you?

Just because you are number 1 with Google does not mean that your site or article is going to convert. Did you spend any time making your site look good? Did you make it appealing to your targeted audience? Did you provide great content and advise?

I see too many sites pop up in the number 1 spot that are UGLY! They did not write great structured content. They tried to write for Google instead of writing for their targeted audience. Then, half of what they wrote did not make sense. It was a bunch of crap thrown together with their keywords sprinkled every few sentences. I probably do what 100% of your potential buyers do: Hit the back button and go to the next page!

If you are feeling me on this, then I would like for you to take a little time to revamp your site. Give it some character. Give it well structured content. Give advise. Do not just sell, sell, sell. People do not want this. They want to know how to find whatever it is that they are looking for.

Get your visitors to trust you. Make them want to come back. Give them something for free (you can use this to build a list).

All I am saying is this, “Yes, you do want to get noticed and ranked in Google’s algorithms, but if all that you serve up is crap, that is all that you will get in terms of results.”

I hope that you find this helpful, an I look forward to your comments and arguments!

If you like what I have to say, feel free to re-tweet this or share it with all of your struggling Internet Marketing buddies!

Go Hard or Go Home!

Chris Jensen

Post from: AskChrisJensen.com

Number 1 Spot In Google But Not Making Any Sales?

I am just going to do a quick post today to recognize SiteFling.com’s 30 Day Apprentice Challenge.  This challenge was a great opportunity for me as well as many other people.  I know that I learned a lot of things about building a successful Internet Marketing business, and I am very thankful for all of the information that I learned.  All of this would not have been possible without a couple of great people named Justin and Chaunna Brooke.  Justin and Chaunna are the masterminds behind SiteFling.com, and they put together a great contest for their visitors.  Without them, you would not be looking at this blog today.

In addition to all of the hard work and dedication that Justin and Chaunna put into this competition, I would also really like to thank each and every one of the contestants that stuck it out until the end.  Because of these great people, I pushed my limits to compete with these great minds.  This is going to take a little bit of space, but I would like to thank each person by name.  These great people worked every day for 30 days straight to provide a little bit of themselves to the world wide web!

Justin and Chaunna Brooke

Blog: http://sitefling.com/blog

Twitter: http://twitter.com/justinbrooke, http://twitter.com/chaunna

Jason Benfield

Blog: http://www.jaysmastermind.com

Bill Romer

Blog: http://askbillromer.com

Neal Battaglia

Blog: http://saxstation.com

Joe Butler

Blog: http://whoisjoebutler.com

Keith Ng

Blog: http://masterkeith.com

Julie Wood

Blog: http://juliewoodblog.com

Eddie “Red-Dayton”

Blog: http://reds-web.com

Jeffrey Mireault

Blog: http://JeffreyMireault.com

Pam Brechlin

Blog: http://pambrechlin.com

Clint Anderson

Blog: http://askclintanderson.com

Maggie David

Blog: http://askmaggiedavid.com

Eric Transue

Blog: http://erictransue.com

Jean Francois Cormier

Blog: http://cormierjf.com

Robin and Travis

Blog: http://robinandtravis.com

Yvonne Maddox

Blog: http://yvonnem.com

Paul Clutterbuck

Blog: http://paulclutterbuck.com

Ray Miller

Blog: http://raymillerblog.com

David Rosemill

Blog: http://davidrosemill.com

Michael Hartzell

Blog: http://michaelhartzell.com/blog

Zack Powell

Blog: http://homebasedbusiness101.com

Great job to everyone that made it this far!  I know that I am missing a few, so if you do not see your info, let me know and I will get you added to the list ASAP!  I really look forward to working with all of you in the future!  Best of luck to each of you!  Justin and Chaunna will be announcing their winner on Tuesday, June 23.

Please check out these amazing blogs, and do not foget to follow these guys and gals on Twitter, because I can promise you that you will be getting a lot of great information!

Go Hard or Go Home!

Chris Jensen

Post from: AskChrisJensen.com

SiteFling.com 30 Day Apprentice Challenge

The affiliate advertises the merchant’s products and services and gets a commission for every successful referral. Every time a customer is referred to the merchant’s site through the affiliate’s efforts, and makes a purchase, the affiliate gets a share of the profit. No payment is due to the affiliate until successful results are realized. Compensation is based on either number of visits, registrant, or commission for each sale.

Affiliate Marketers can earn a few bucks to thousands of dollars with affiliate programs. The opportunity to earn in affiliate marketing can only be limited by the affiliate’s determination, creativity and strategy. It is a brilliant way to earn online, and you do not have to produce your own product or service to make a buck. By advertising your merchant’s products passionately, you get more in return. Profits in affiliate marketing usually start small but can get larger as the campaign starts to build up steam.

There are many things that an affiliate marketer can do to maximize their profits. If you ask any affiliate marketer how many affiliate checks they would want to receive, they will most likely want to get as many as possible. Some affiliate checks are small, amounting to nothing more than $25. While others are large and can easily reach the thousands and even more. Over time, these affiliate checks may build up to a really impressive amount. However, making a fortune in affiliate marketing is not instant. You must be willing to put in enough work and effort as well. You have to use your imagination to find more ways to attract more web traffic that can convert to sales for the merchant and profit for you as well.

How many affiliate checks do you want to receive? Most affiliate marketers will enthusiastically reply that they want to receive as many affiliate checks as possible. However, is it as easy as it sounds? Does joining many affiliate marketers guarantee more affiliate checks that really amount to something? The answer is No. Most affiliate marketers assume that joining multiple affiliate programs is a wise option. Many people think that it is very easy to join affiliate programs and there is really nothing to lose, so many affiliate marketers are tempted to join as many programs they can get their hands on. Thus, they fail to give their affiliate programs enough attention and work that they ought to receive. The maximum potential of the affiliate programs are not realized and the resulting income from these programs will almost certainly be disappointing.

The best way to achieve multiple streams of income is to concentrate on one affiliate program first. Choose a product or service that you can promote passionately. Pick a product in which you have complete trust. The best products and services to promote are those that you use personally. Your prospects will be able to sense your sincerity whenever you promote a product that you have experienced. This will greatly enhance your credibility as well as your product’s marketability and will really encourage your visitor to purchase the product or service.

As soon as your first affiliate program is making a reasonable profit then you can proceed to joining another affiliate program and repeat the process. “Too much, too soon” is a common pitfall in affiliate marketing. Joining too many affiliate programs simultaneously in the hopes of having multiple streams of income simply does not work.

Focus first on one affiliate program and work on it so that it makes a good profit. Then, go find another promising program and give it your best effort. The question should not be how many affiliate checks you want to receive, but how many “high-paying” affiliate checks can you receive. The answer lies in your determination to succeed and determination to maximize your earning potential. With the right tools, the right actions, and perseverance you can definitely make a good profit out of affiliate marketing.

I hope that you are able to use this to your advantage.  When I first started out, I joined every affiliate program that I could find.  This is why it took me just over a year to start seeing profits.  If you take this advice and start out building one campaign at a time you will become much more successful.  If you have any questions, please let me know!

Go Hard or Go Home!

Chris Jensen

Post from: AskChrisJensen.com

Write Your Own Affiliate Checks?

I have been reading a lot of things in a lot of the marketing forums about what you need to do to improve page rank. I have heard that quality content is important. I have heard that unique up-to-date content is king. And finally, I have heard that you need to have quality back links. If you ask me, I would say that back links are what you need to get the page rank that you are looking for.

There are many ways to go about getting back links. You can write articles. You can submit your site to directories. You can visit forums and post with your links in your signature. You can post on other people’s blogs. The possibilities are endless. I have heard that you need thousands of back links to begin seeing an increase in your page rank.

I found a cool website that offers two free downloads. If you want to improve page rank, check out IM Wish List. Here you can download an article submitting program and they also offer a program that will submit your site to multiple directories. This is a program that is manual (meaning that you will fill out a form and then manually submit your info to hundreds of sites). There are programs that you can buy that will do all of this for you with the click of the mouse, but if you are just starting out and not wanting to spend money, these two tools will be very beneficial in helping you improve page rank.

Also, for another money making idea…

You can download this program and then sell your services to others for a fee. Many people that are already making money are always looking to outsource. Go to Warrior Forums or Digital Point forum and make posts letting people know that you will help them improve page rank by submitting their sites to ### directories for $###. You submit their sites, then you get paid.

Like I said, if you really want to improve page rank for your sites, but you do not want to spend any money. . .check out IM Wish List now~!

I look forward to hearing from you, and I really hope that you are able to find great use with these two new tools!

Go Hard or Go Home!
Chris Jensen

Post from: AskChrisJensen.com

Improve Page Rank for Your Site

Starting on June 3rd and going until June 18th, NameCheap.com is running a Twitter Travel contest where they will be giving away prizes every hour.  They will be giving away three domain names every hour on the hour for two weeks. The top two players and one person at random will win $1000 each towards the vacation of their choice. Three players will win Canon PowerShot D10s.

So now you ask. . . How do I win?

You will need to sign-up for a free Twitter account and follow Namecheap by clicking here. NameCheap will be posting a trivia question every hour on the hour starting from June 3rd 11 am EST – June 18th 10 am EST. Three people who reply to the tweet with the correct answer will get a $9.69 credit to their NameCheap account.  If you have been holding out on purchasing a new domain, here is your chance!

The first person to reply to the tweet with the correct answer will receive a $9.69 credit to their NameCheap account. Two other domain winners will be picked at random, so don’t give up if you aren’t the first.  NameCheap will announce the winners and answers on Twitter. To claim the credit, you should link your NameCheap account to your twitter account (click here to find out how to do this).

I hope that this has been helpful for you!  The competition for this is pretty heavy, but just answer and even if you are not the first to answer, because of the random drawings, you still have a chance!  I look forward to your questions and comments below!

Go Hard or Go Home!

Chris Jensen

Post from: AskChrisJensen.com

Namecheap.com Twitter Travel Contest