1. HD Quality – Make sure the videos that you use are always shot in HD. We live in a world where we are judged by our appearance. If you have videos on your website that do not represent your business in an ultra-professional manner it’s a waste to even add a video. Quality is key especially in a Business to Business sale.

2. Closed Captioning – Adding closed captioning is important. Some users don’t have speakers or are hearing impaired. Therefore, taking their needs into consideration is imperative.

3. User Experience – There’s not too many things more frustrating than seeing a video play over and over—especially when you don’t want to see it again. Make sure you find a solution that turns itself off after the first cycle (if desired) or has the capability built in to allow the user to play it over again. To keep the user engaged and heading towards the site objective—whatever that may be—it’s important to be courteous to your users and considerable
their overall experience when adding an online video solution.

4. Video Length – Keep it brief–especially on the home page. One key objective of a video spokesperson is to explain a product or service effectively, but it’s also an objective to direct users to a specific section, specials, or conversion page within the website. Keep it short and sweet on the home page—usually under 45 seconds is recommended. Studies show the user does not want to watch a 2-minute video on your business—unless the elect to. And in that case, many successful companies will employ another more indepth video explaining the particular product or service they are selling.

5. Actor Quality – The actor you select to represent your company is also a very important consideration. It’s imperative to choose an actor that is talented, understands your product or service, and can represent your company with the professionalism or style that you require. Don’t compromise on the quality of the actor to save a few bucks. Find one that has been professionally trained and with years of experience under their belt. As the adage says, “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.”

6. Appeal to Your User’s Target – Choose an actor that fits your target market. If your market is geared towards baby boomers it makes sense to have an spokesperson that is of the same age range. If you’re selling a service to corporations, it may make sense to have an older, more experienced-looking actor tout the pitch. Don’t alienate your potential customer by missing this important tip.

7. Professional Copywriting is a Must! – Results show you only have a limited amount of time to capture the full attention of your audience. Consequently, what is said during the online video is as important as how it’s said. Consider a professional copywriter to make sure you drive home your point—clearly and with results.

8. Add a “Call To Action” – Following up on the last point, and if you’ve opted for a video that is specific to a product or service (compared to an introduction or welcome message) make sure you tell your audience what you want them to do, or at least create a sense of urgency by directing them to that “actionable” page or item. Whether you want them to complete a form, click through to another page, pick up the phone, or buy a product, make sure you make it easy for the user to do so. Add a call to action that is clear and evident on the page.

1. What is your goal? Are you just looking for traffic and going for volume or are you treating your blog as a strategic communication and education platform? If you are looking for mass volume, then you need to blog at a higher rate. If you want less but higher quality traffic – for a law office or consulting practice for example – you can blog less frequently but with higher quality.
2. Are you a one person shop or a large company? With more people in the company, you can distribute the blogging load and have everyone blog on some schedule.
3. Are you new or have you been around for a while? If you have an established blog, it is less important to be frequent vs a site that is new as you build up the content on the site.

Blog Frequency Recommendation

• If you are trying to get the most rankings in the search engines at the fastest rate possible – you should be posting 200-300 times per month.
• Posting 3 times per day will normally get you more attention from Google as they may start to look at you as a news or “highly active” site which is desirable.
• At a minimum, you should post once per week and make that post something meaningful. You should make sure this post has some depth and adds value to the reader. You should also make sure you get the widest awareness of the post by submitting it to your Twitter Group, article database, etc.

Now, start blogging!

1. Get the best domain name you can find/afford. Three main reasons the domain is important:
   1. The words in the domain name (www.domain.com) are an important first step in defining what content you are blogging about. If you want to be found for different variations on optimization strategies then go get www.optimizationstrategies.com – I’m willing to sell it for BIG MONEY ;-0. No really, do your keyword research – think about which keywords you want to be found for, what are the major themes and get a good domain.
   2. The brand impact of having a memorable domain is not to be underestimated. By having an easy to remember site name, it will help with repeat traffic and trustworthiness.
   3. Buying an active domain name (not a parked domain) will give you valuable history and page rank in the eyes of the engines who include site age in their algorithms.
2. Select an SEO friendly theme. While any theme can be more optimized for keyword rankings (SEO), some themes are inherently built for search engine rankings vs display and design. Here are some guidelines for this: First of all, look for themes that proclaim ready for SEO, look for themes that are text heavy vs image heavy (search engines like text more than images) and look for themes that are plug-in and widget friendly as these extensions can help with search engine optimization.
3. Think about where you install the WordPress software. If you are just installing WordPress as the core/root of your website, this is not a decision you really need to make. However, if you are installing WordPress as a part of a bigger site and need to put the wordpress software into a domain (blog.domain.com) or a directory (www.domain.com/blog) then use a rich keyword to define that directory. Instead of www.domain.com/blog, install the blog in a directory with a highly relevant keyword like this www.domain.com/keyword-blog. This gives you the advantage of always having that keyword in the URL and potentially title tag structure of your blog posts.
4. Include Critical Keywords the Name and Description of Your Blog. Depending on which theme you select, the blog title and description are variables that show up in different places including the header, about us, etc. Make the name and description of your blog consitent wiith the keyword themes you are working on.
5. Update the PermaLink Structure. By default, wordpress organizes the URL structure for your posts (the permalink) with a www.domain.com/?p=1. This robs you of the opportunity to place relevant, targeted keywords into your URL structure which is an important SEO consideration. Fortunately, wordpress gives you some options to improve this. Here are the steps:
   1. In the wordpress dashboard, click on settings > permalinks.
   2. Click on the custom structure radio button and type in the following to use the best SEO set-up for permalinks – this structure gives you both the category and the post name in the URL: /%category%/%postname%/
   3. Depending on how your hosting server is set-up, you may have to manually add some specific code to your .htaccess file. Click here for a discussion of this file and it’s importance. If WordPress cannot automatically update this file for you, it will give you the code to put into this file.
   4. Click save changes.
6. Add critical plug-ins. The following plug-ins help give you more content and control over your blog:
   1. All in One SEO Plugin. Some themes will have SEO elements built-in, but most will not and this plugin gives you control over many of the on page elements of SEO including: Good title tags,  meta descriptions, URL structure and more. Get it, it’s good.
   2. Google Analytics Plugin. Generates the code on every page for you to track your performance with Google Analytics.
   3. Related Posts. A great way to keep visitors reading your content is to keep showing them related posts to what brought them in the first place.
   4. Google Sitemap XML Generator. This plugin creates a sitemap that updates itself with every new post, page and comment. You will need to register this sitemap with google and yahoo.
7. Write 10 Good Articles/Blog Posts. This is a starting point for the content of your site and is important to help establish the authority of the blog around your subject.  Write in several different categories so that the site feels rich and full.
8. Categorize Your Posts in Keyword Relevant Categories. Treat your categories as a keyword rich way to organize your content. Do the keyword research to see if SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a better category for your post (for example).
9. Submit Your Blog to Directories to Start Getting Links. Here are some to get you started:
   1. Google Blog Search
   2. Best of the Web Blogs
   3. Technorati
   4. Blog Catalog
10. Get Links Back to Your Site. Getting other people to link to your site is critical, here are a few resources to help you understand linking strategies.
    1. SEOMoz.org. Here is the link building category with all of posts related to links at SEOmoz – awesome.
    2. Eric Ward – King of  link building.  This links to his best practices blog. He should have called his blog link-building-best-practices instead of best-practices, but I digress.

By optimizing your WordPress blog installation, you will be in a much better position to rank highly in search engines and drive new traffic. If you want help optimizing your site – drop me a line!

Optimization is Continuous Improvement

Here are some of the elements I believe you need for an on-going optimization program:

1. An optimization champion. This person is tasked with leading the team in a series of optimization projects. This includes getting ideas for the projects, analyzing the web statistics to determine the biggest area of need, selecting a method of testing, building the test plan, coordinating creative/development/product management and reporting results to the wider group when done.
2. A vision for testing and optimization. This could come from the optimization champion or an executive sponsor. But someone needs to assemble the vision and the test plan for the business.
3. A testing method or tool. There are many options for optimization and testing from simple A/B/C copy testing in a PPC campaign to using Google Website Optimizer to engaging with a more feature rich tool and team like WideMile or Optimost.
4. Buy-in/resources from executive management. Without the resources to test – whether it be human resources like an optimization champion or the funds to create new and different landing pages – the optimization program is dead in the water. The search engine marketing manager can only get away with so much testing within the scope of their paid search campaign before additional dollars are required to go up in power on testing tools or have the ability to take some losses along with wins on the testing front.
5. Early wins. Email, PPC campaigns and landing pages all have the ability to score quick wins that will get the attention of the rest of the organization.
6. A Consistent Feedback Loop. Planning and executing a test or series of tests is only part of the process. You must have a feedback loop that allows for the teams to a) access the tests and test data b) understand the tests and c) learn from the tests. I always recommend having a somewhat consistent test report format and make the rounds to executives, program/product managers, designers, developers and other product teams when a test is complete and analyzed. This builds understanding and momentum for your testing program as well as you site.

The best performing websites have embraced on-going improvements and opimization. By making optimization an on-going process and part of the company DNA, you will always be testing, improving and expanding.

Social Media Content Tools - Use these to research social media topics.

• Technorati – The biggest blog directory. Focused on latest posts.
• Google Blogsearch – Google gone blog.
• BlogPulse – Who is saying what about you?
• BlogPulse Trend – What is the trend of terms over time

Blog Sites (yes, I know there are lots but these are early and active sites):

• Boing Boing- Random Directory of Wonderful Things
  
• Social Media Today – Thinking on Social Media and Web 2.0
• Mashable – Social Media News and Doins’
  
• TechCrunch - Tech Startup News you can Use

Wiki Sites:

• Wikipedia – The mother of all Wiki’s – 100 million man hours into the collaborative encyclopedia
• One Laptop per Child – A great example of how to support a cause in a collaborative method.
• IBM Wikis – Big time geek wikis for developer. Obviously company supported and encouraged but a nice example of geeks gone wild.

Multimedia Sites for Sharing

• Flickr – photo sharing site
• Photobucket – also photo sharing site
• YouTube – the daddy of video sharing
• Seesmic - communicate/share via video. easier than YouTube
• Metacafe - video entertainment

Microblogging Services – (or, blogging for the ADD crowd)

• Twitter – Follow me (scottfasser)!
• Tumblr - Post and share anything
• Plurk – Social journal with cool timeline interface
• Seesmic – microblogging and video

Social Bookmark Tagging – Save this for later!

• Del.icio.us – yummy way to re-find sites.
• Stumble Upon – tag, chew, discover
• Sphinn – great for internet and social media marketers
• Digg – Vote (or Digg) favorite posts for fun and profit!
• Reddit – Hard to read popularity contest. I like Digg better.

Social Network Sites – Make a place for yourself online!

• MySpace - for kids and rock stars
• Facebook – for real people with fun
• AdGabber - ad folks
• LinkedIn – Serious Business
• Plaxo Pulse – Keeping your contacts updated

I’ll be adding more as I discover and engage. Comment if there are some big ones that you’d like to see here!

Affiliate Training Program

Blank Ink Project 2 Affiliate Marketing Training Program

Develop a Plan:
• This is a real business. If you want to treat it like one you need a plan.
• A plan helps you stay on course and not make emotional decisions.
• A SWOT analysis can help you identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This can give you insight into where you can add value and find your Unique Selling Proposition (USP).
• Not developing a plan can make you miss opportunities, cause you to fly blind, and make it harder to read the market and your customer.
• Share your plan with colleagues for feedback. This will help remove tunnel vision.
• Print your plan on paper or draw on a white board. It makes it more “real” if you can touch it.

Create a Site Blueprint:
• A blueprint for your site will give you a strategic advantage.
• Use a wire frame blueprint to give you a visual idea how your content will look.
• A detailed blueprint will make it easier for your outsourced projects. It’s impossible to give too much detail to a freelance developer.
• Without a blueprint, you have a greater chance to go over budget and a harder time making changes down the road.
• Create the site blueprint with your customers in mind. Make it easy for them to navigate the path you’re making for them.
• Have your site goals in mind before you create it. Have your call to action ready and think about what you want your customers to do.

Write Value Added Content:
• Write for your customers, not search engines. Make them happy and make sure their needs are met.
• Make Google happy with lots of relevant content.
• Good content will get you back links.
• Without quality content, you’ll get less organic traffic, a lower Google quality score, and fewer backlinks and return traffic.
• Try to have content for each type of customer you’re targeting in the buying cycle.
• Have original fresh content up at least once a week.
• Use syndicated content sparingly.
• Do not limit to text. Mix podcasts and video.

Designing the Site:
• Think usability. You want your customers to get from point A to B easily.
• Think aesthetics. People like to visit and link to a professional looking site.
• If design is not your strength, you may want to outsource to companies like 99designs.com or elance.com.
• Make your content stand out. It needs to be found.
• A professional site will also get you more merchants.
• A bad design will have a high bounce rate and may lead to merchant dismissal.
• Simplify your site. Not every white space needs to be filled.
• Design for the lowest common denominator. For example, more people use IE over Firefox.

Outsourcing:
• You do not need to be a Jack of all trades. Stick with what you do best and try to outsource the rest.
• You can save time and money while getting a better finished product by outsourcing.
• Outsourcing your work frees you up to concentrate on what you enjoy and do best.
• When working with a freelancer, try paying a small deposit first and the rest upon completion.
• Be very specific with what you want done.
• Try to build long lasting relationships with freelancers that perform well.
• Read the The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

PPC (Pay Per Click Search):
• Pay Per Click is great for testing a niche and campaign before committing more time and money to it.
• You can test an unlimited number of landing pages.
• Rapidly cycle through different niches until you find one that converts well.
• Without testing, you could waste a lot of time and money while going far down the wrong path.
• Try direct linking at first to get an idea if the niche and keywords are good. (Not on Google)
• A 5-10 page mini site is not a long term solution. Build a larger site.

Tracking and Testing:
• Track your keywords. You can analyze your data and find what works quickly.
• Discover new keywords you haven’t thought of.
• The Super Affiliates are tracking their keywords.
• If you don’t track, you’re a gambler not a business person and could make the wrong move.
• Automate with software like Tracking202.com
• Optimize based on results and never be satisfied.
• Always be testing.
• Test the headlines, images, and call to action.
• Remember garbage in, garbage out.

Conclusion:
• Build a sustainable business.
• Don’t rely on only CPA and seasonal offers.
• Make the merchants need you.
• Diversify with many merchants and products.

1. Build a research resource and tool set for getting people into testing and optimization. There are several very good sites and services out there that help with optimization however I don’t believe there is a good spot that covers optimization as a process across all marketing channels. OptimizationStrategies.com will be that site.
2. Optimization is Not Simple. The optimization process is much more than a top 5 landing page tips or a top 6 things to do with email – it is a process. The most successful people who get the most out of optimization get into it and do it a lot. This doesn’t mean that you have to be an optimization guru to have success, but it does mean that you need to understand the process.
3. More People Need to Understand Optimization. I want to make optimization more accessible and easier to start. I talk to a lot of people about website development, marketing campaigns, user interface, etc. and everyone WANTS to optimize but few people take the necesary steps. Or, if they start, they don’t finish or do a half-assed job. The more people know about optimization, the more people will see the benefit and do it.
4. There are a lot of Resources out there on Testing and Optimization. I want to help you find them, use them and give you some context around which ones are important and which ones aren’t.