Keyword selection is so powerful, that if you select the right keywords you can actually have a very good shot of landing a #1 to #5 position in Google within just a couple of weeks. It’s not going to be for super-competitive search terms, but make no mistake: You will get targeted traffic. How? Read on.

What Kind of Terms Can You Rank Instantly For?

Now, most of the highly competitive terms are very difficult to rank for. It’ll take you months, potentially years to rank in the top #1 to #5 position.

However, there is another method of targeting keywords that’s far more efficient and effective. Instead of trying to rank for broad keywords, you’re targeting specific longtail keywords with low competition and low traffic.

Each article will only pull a bit of traffic, but over time this can add up very quickly.

These are your “instant ranking” keywords. It’s no exaggeration to say that you can get your page ranked within just a couple weeks. Why?

Most Pages Rank By Accident!

If the search term is competitive, you can bet that there are dozens if not hundreds of marketers targeting and competing for that term.

On the other hand, longtail search terms often have little to no competition targeting those terms specifically. A search term like “Tips for first time French kissing” will be far easier to rank for than “French kissing,” for example.

Most competing websites that rank for these terms are actually targeting another term, often a more general term and accidentally get the ranking.

If you on the other hand discover this keyword, find that the competition is low enough that you think you can rank for it, then you’ll have a very good chance of ranking well for that page – Relatively quickly to boot.

The Two Ways to Target Keywords

There are two ways to target keywords.

The first is to select a main or even a sub keyword and try to rank for that keyword. Unfortunately, high competition makes this method difficult to rank for.

On the other hand, you can select very specific keywords and laser in on ranking for those keywords right out the get go.

What’s great is that these two methods are not mutually exclusive. You can laser in on specific keywords for instant rankings while simultaneously building your rankings towards a higher traffic keyword.

This process involves doing very deliberate keyword research. The importance of selecting your keywords properly when you begin the process of marketing your website cannot be stressed enough. The difference between selecting good keywords and poor keywords is quite literally the difference between ranking well in the search engines and potentially not ranking at all.
 

Bruno

 A lot of ink, literal and virtual has been spilled over the years in the service of writing about brand communication. Well, while I am as guilty as anyone out there of filling the page with my thoughts on the subject (and guiltier than some), I’d like to tell you something today which is very short and simple. It’s what all brand communication is really about at its core. A lot of work goes into branding campaigns and finding ways of effectively communicating the message of various brands to the public and no matter what the brand is or how they choose to try to convey their brand communication, the message that they’re trying to get across is a very simple one which can be gotten across in two words: trust me.

Of course, there are thousands of different ways to try to get this message across; and thankfully so, since otherwise

1) The world of advertising would be an incredibly dull place

2) Myself and a lot of you reading this blog would be out of work!

The question of branding and in fact the question addressed by every advertising or marketing campaign is how to get this message across to the public. People trust their favorite brands; we all know how attached we can be to our brands and of course, developing brand communication in a way which forges these bonds of brand loyalty is my (and most likely yours as well, since you’re reading this) bread and butter.

All brand communication is about building relationships; namely, relationships of trust which build loyalty. The company needs to take their branding and really run with it. Too many companies forget when working on their brand identity and brand communication that this relationship with the consumer is a two way street. If the customer is supposed to trust and be loyal to the brand, the company behind the brand should make customer service a part of their brand identity and make a point of taking care of their loyal customers in return for their business; something which companies who truly care about building a strong brand do as a matter of course.

Making your brand communications effective starts with building a strong brand; one which conveys the core values of the company in a way which resonates with the core values of the consumer. Creating a brand which does this is essential to fostering brand loyalty in your customers; this will ensure the longevity of a business (and of course, the career of the marketing personnel behind it).

However you choose to carry out your brand communication (and in this information-inundated age, I’d recommend using every any and every possible avenue to get noticed), your brand will be as strong as your ability to get it into the public eye. No matter how simple or sophisticated your branding campaign, keep this one rule in mind: all you are trying to tell the consumer is these two words: Trust me.
 

Bruno Auger

Tags: values, company, brand communication, branding, relationship

Lately, I’ve heard people talking about corporate identity as if it were something different than branding; OK, I’ll accept that a sound argument can be made that there is a distinction to be drawn between brand identity and corporate identity, but when it comes to the consumer (remember them? They’re why you’re in business), there is little if any distinction in their minds. Your brand, as far as they are concerned is your company. The customer cares little about who the CEO of your company is (with some notable exceptions like Apple, where the CEO is a celebrity in their own right); but they do care about the associations which they have made with your branding. Your customers make a genuine, emotional connection with your company through your brand.

These associations are a large part of your brand – while every company likes to think that their brand is strong, there is a reason why some companies, while certainly successful enough in their field, are not ones which come to mind when you think of memorable brand identity.  For example, Fedders – do you suppose that consumers tend to have a lot of strong positive associations with this brand? None are coming to mind, I can safely assume. In fact, among New York City residents, cheaply built housing is often derisively known as “Fedders houses” due their common use in new construction. Of course, this is no reflection on the company itself, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that if you were to ask the marketing department at Fedders, they would tell you that their brand is strong.

As you can see, a company can certainly do well without a strong brand identity; but a strong brand identity which captivates customers and appeals to core values and strong emotions will have a fiercely loyal customer base. Just look at Apple as a case in point. The challenge is to create a brand identity which can accomplish this kind of emotional bonding with consumers.

Now, a brand is more than just a logo or a color scheme; a slogan or even a corporate mascot. All of these are ingredients, but a strong brand identity is much more than the sum of these parts. A strong brand which engenders the kind of loyalty among consumers which any business covets relies on its ability to speak to people on a very primal level. The key is to use your brand identity to connect the core values of your company to those of the consumer and maintain consistency across the board when it comes to your branding. You need to take every opportunity to get your brand into the minds of consumers.

Your brand identity will obviously appear in your marketing materials, company literature and advertisements; but should not end there. You need to carry your brand identity into other areas – your website, any retail locations or offices which are open to the public; anywhere, in fact, that the consumer can be exposed to it. Even after you have come up with a strong brand identity, a relentless campaign must be engaged in to keep it in the public eye. This is what will allow you to forge a personal relationship with the consumer. 

Bruno

Tags: branding, marketing, branding identity, logo, website, corporate identity, brand

They are either forgettable or instantly identifiable; think of logos which are known everywhere in the world: the McDonald’s Golden Arches, Mickey Mouse’s ears, Google’s logo. Your logo is the most visually identifiable aspect of your brand and as such, it has to communicate with the public. It doesn’t necessarily have to tell people what your company is or does, but it should be something people can identify with in a way and feel that they have gotten a sense of the company.

Take Google, for instance. Their branding is perhaps the best example of the maxim “Keep it simple, stupid”. The logo is instantly recognizable as theirs and is memorable, even the company it represented wasn’t the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Its bright primary colors remind one of play and can remind one of one’s childhood – a comforting feeling is what many companies try to convey with their brand and Google has managed to take logo branding to a whole new level with their logo’s merger of comfort and fun in one package – which come to think of it, isn’t too far off, even if you could never guess just by looking at their branding exactly what the company happens to do.

One thing I like to remind companies of is that to the consumer, your brand isn’t just the face of your company – it IS your company, at least in the minds of your customer base. People become emotionally attached to their brands; take for example someone who turns up their nose at anything but Utz (also a terrific example of logo branding) potato chips, avoiding other brands such as Herr’s. People are intensely loyal to their chosen brands and this is why your branding is extremely important. For many companies, this represents one of the only chances you have to make a personal connection with your customers. Of course, forging a personal bond with its customers is something every business wants to achieve.

So how can your business manage to come up with something which is the epitome of logo branding, a logo which communicates to the consumer “this is THE brand”? This of course is a complex question and there is no one right answer here. To a large extent, it depends in the industry you’re in. Nike found logo branding success with a logo which communicates motion – again, simple and incredibly memorable. Some of the biggest brands are those who have kept things simple – it’s something which we as consumers seem to prefer in logos and indeed, in brands. Can you think of many successful companies whose logo or other branding elements such as packaging feature an ornate design? I thought not; simplicity is one of the rules when it comes to successful branding.

Simple equals memorable but keep in mind that simple does not mean that you cannot convey a lot of information within the confines of this simplicity – if you need proof, just ask ten people what comes to mind when they see Mickey’s ears – you’ll hear a lot of different associations, all positive. If you can create a memorable brand, customers will bring their own associations to it and become emotionally engaged with your branding, giving your company a loyal customer for life.

Bruno Auger

Tags: logos, Google, branding, business, McDonald’s, consumers

The use of graphics to brand your business or name can help you immensely. These days you see blogs and websites with their particular branding elements on it. Here is a couple of ways you can achieve this.

1. Letterhead

There are many ways to use a letterhead, offline and online.

-> You can use a letterhead in a standard paper document offline.
-> You can also email the same document in a MS Word document.
-> You can include your letterhead in your email.

On your web site, the letterhead is called the header. This is the area at the top of your web site that acts as the letterhead. It usually includes information such as:

-> Your business name
-> Your name
-> Your web site URL
-> Your logo
-> Your slogan

Online though, the address and contact details are usually displayed at the bottom of a web page, or alternatively on the contact page.

2. Product Image

Your product line is your business, and if you create your own products (or save time by using PLR products), it’s a good idea to add any of the branding elements mentioned above.

Why? This creates instant recognition through branding. Prospects can see an image of your product and know that it’s yours. You can imagine that if a customer has enjoyed a good experience when purchasing from you in the past, that they will trust you and buy from you again right?

So it makes good business sense to brand your products so they stand out from the masses.

Just think about how you can implement these strategies in your web site to increase the consumer awareness of you, your business and your products.

Doing so will definitely increase your long-term profits.

Don’t forget to use professionally designed graphics on your web site though, as the perception is lowered considerably with blurry, chunky, home-made graphics that aren’t aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Bruno

Tags: brand name, branding, recognition, webpages