Internet Marketing for Mom and Pop

David Pogue has an interesting article in The New York Times today called Mom and Pop Get a Partner: Microsoft….Really? I enjoy David’s insights and the knowledge he brings to the masses-most of the time he is right on, case in point:

Has it come to this? Is Microsoft’s innovation engine so dead that the only way it can grow is to buy other companies? The answer is yes, David!

He goes on to say: Continue reading

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Search Engine Wars

I only use Google for my searches and since 90% of my clients find my site and products using Google-I feel like I’m in good company! Do you really care that Yahoo could never beat Google? I don’t really care that Microsoft is trying to buy Yahoo in a feeble attempt to crush Google in the search wars. Andy Beal is struck by Google attempting to argue that the merger would create a dangerous monopoly. LOL

While it’s nice that Microsoft has an extra $45 billion Continue reading

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Blog Consulting

I had the pleasure of speaking to some fellow bloggers last week here in Denver. We were discussing blogging techniques and how to plan an assault on the first page of a Google search. Whenever I’m consulting or speaking about blogs-I always emphasize the importance of a great blog title. gizmo Blog Consulting

A blog title should ideally be short and contain keywords. This is one of my favorite SEO techniques. Once you have your title write two or three paragraphs to support it. The copy should be informative, unique and filled with keywords where appropriate. Stephan Spencer has a great article on this called Shorten Your Blog Post URLs So You Don’t Look Spammy to Google.

One of my greatest challenges when consulting on blogs is getting people to identify a Google category that they would like to dominate. Once you decide on the category you want to dominate then you know the supporting copy you need in your blog post. When consulting I always warn about being cute with blog titles-my cardinal rule is this: Don’t blog for therapy, blog for profit! Identify the category, use keywords and you will become a resource that others will seek out and hopefully hire!

Make 2008 the year of success for your business blogging efforts!

Steve Mertz
Blogging Consultant and Speaker

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Military Deployment Speaker

elaine Military Deployment SpeakerElaine Dumler is one of the foremost experts on deployment separation.  Elaine is a friend of mine and a colleague in National Speakers association Colorado Chapter. Elaine has been a professional speaker for 15 years and a past president of NSA Colorado.

Elaine is considered by the Department of Defense to be a separations expert. In English that means she helps families deal with the emotional strain of military deployment. She was recently recognized for her outstanding work in military deployment by Channel 7 here in Denver, Colorado. They named Elaine 7 Everyday Hero. Specifically, Elaine was recognized for her Flat Daddy project.

The flat daddy project helps young children of military families facing deployment. The families are provide a life size cutout of Flat Daddy or Flat Mommy. It provides a visual reinforcement of the parent while they are deployed, serving our country. I’m honored to know Elaine and would unequivocally recommend Elaine for your next family support conference.

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Internet Marketing Speaker Steve Mertz

happynewyear Internet Marketing Speaker Steve MertzInternet Marketing is one of the best tools small business owners can use. As a professional speaker and Internet Marketer; I can show your organization or association how to effectively use the Internet and achieve the greatest ROI.

Generating traffic to a website is critical but conversions are even more important. My Internet marketing presentation is not too technical and focuses on strategies that conference attendees can put to use immediately! As a professional speaker, I view the platform as a privilege and you have my promise to deliver a professional and dynamic message that your attendees will rave about.

Start 2008 off to a great start. Book me as your next Internet Marketing Speaker. Happy New Year!

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Is Your Proposal (website) a Deal-Breaker?

diannabooher Is Your Proposal (website) a Deal Breaker?Dianna Booher is an esteemed member of the National Speakers Association. She recently had an article in our monthly magazine, Speaker. Her article inspired today’s post. Dianna is a much more eloquent writer than me so….bear with me! Dianna’s article is an attempt to point out to speakers that a self -aggrandizing proposal can easily keep you from being hired-what does this have to do with Internet marketing? Start looking at most of the websites around. They are a perfect example of corporations who put their brochure on the web and are not getting any business! You must write for the web and that audience if you want to be successful with your online marketing program.

In Dianna’s article she writes:

 ”So, what’s Ridley Ridgette going to do for us.” “Well here’s his proposal if you’d like to skim it.” The EVP skims the first page and drops it back on the table. “I just read the entire executive summary. It’s all about what a great guy Ridley is. Didn’t you tell him our objectives for this meeting?”  “He gets into the objectives on page 2,” the assistant explains. 

 Sound familiar? Continue reading

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SEO and Writing Great Copy

Writing great copy for your website and using sound SEO principles can be one of the same. Potential customers must think that the copy is written just for them and the search engines must believe the same. If these two needs are not addressed you will find it difficult to succeed with an online marketing program.

For your SEO efforts you want each page to have its own meta description. This is something that your customers don’t see but the search engines must see a strong description summarizing the unique content on each page! Ask your propeller head how you can incorporate this Continue reading

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SEO and Professional Speakers

The first assignment I give to a client is to identify the top three categories they want to dominate. Surprisingly, this proves to be quite a challenge for many. Whether you are an inspirational speaker or selling dog grooming trailers you must know where your potential clients might search for you. Specifically, what word Continue reading

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Search Engine Optimization

I had the pleasure of speaking at the Colorado Speakers Academy last weekend. My area was Internet Marketing and the basics of Search Engine Optimization or SEO. Here is a letter I received today from one of the participants: Continue reading

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Search Engines Love Great Titles

All “A” list bloggers know the importance of a great title for your blog posts-and you should know and practice it with every post! Back on November 7th I wrote a post about my speaker buddy, Brian O’Malley. The title was Team Building Speaker. The post was short and mentioned team building speaker a few different times to support the title of the post. Did the search engines reward the post? Continue reading

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