Targeting Keywords

Develop Email Fundraising

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:19:28 -0500

by Randall Mains

The primary goal of your email fundraising is to raise gifts or sell products, not deliver ministry (that’s what your e-newsletter does). E-fundraising is an entire course in itself that fundraising professionals like Pathmaker Marketing teach, but when done effectively, it can become an monthly income-producing channel for your ministry that might even rival your direct mail and telephone fundraising efforts.

But you’re not ready to do e-appeals until you’ve properly introduced your newfound friends to your ministry. Once they know who you are and what you stand for, then you can begin implementing fundraising for nonprofits and begin requesting their support for your worthy causes.

In general, the basic components of any email solicitation include your Subject Line, your message in HTML and/or text, and your Landing Page.

The primary goal of your Subject Line is to get your emails opened. The primary goal of your email is to get click-through traffic to your Landing Page. And the primary goal of your Landing Page is to get conversions on your offer (i.e., gifts or sales, leads, list signups, etc). Each component has a specific goal, but they must all work together harmoniously to produce effective results.

There are different schools of thought on basic email fundraising strategies like: short email to long landing page, or long email to short landing page, but to determine what works best with your constituents, you just need to test, test and continue testing.

In addition, there’s the landing page process of effective internet marketing, which brings to mind to importance of your understanding of landing page conversion protocol. This subject is a big one and we’re only touching its surface today, but to show you how advanced you can become in this arena, here’s a patented formula I use to improve landing page conversion:

Landing Page Conversion = 4m+3v+2(i-f)-2a

m= the user’s motivation; v= clarity of the value proposition; i=incentive to take action; f=friction elements of the process; a=anxiety about entering information. Proper use of this formula from the Marketing Experiments Corp. can significantly improve your landing page conversions.

The formula basically says that the greatest weight in the conversion process is given to the motivation of the donor to support your cause, followed by the strength of your value proposition, followed by your incentive less the friction of your checkout process, less the anxiety that the donor feels about doing business with you online. Three factors can improve your conversion rates, while two factors can decrease them.

For more assistance with your email fundraising, contact Pathmaker Marketing 623-322-3334.

Tap International Markets

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:18:07 -0500

As we enter into the second decade of the 21st Century it is more and more apparent that we are living in an ever-shrinking world! The people at Pathmaker Marketing are not only aware of this, but, rather, they stand ready to help you and your company compete in an ever expanding arena where English is not the only language spoken. As a result, Pathmaker Marketing is always looking forward to helping you accept the challenge of Internationalization!!

At one point in time, Internationalization meant that a company would be reaching out and expanding into other nations around the world. Today, however, the nations have come to us. The number of ethnicities that surround us is remarkable and, as astute business people, we need to do all that we possibly can to tap into these most viable markets.

How, exactly, can Pathmaker Marketing help you do this? First, they can assist you in doing a survey regarding the number of possible ethnic markets that you are currently missing out on! Once accomplished, the next step will be to help you consider to be the major aspects of Internet and Social Network Marketing!

The key to this program will, of course, be the utilization to put virtually all of these Marketing Programs into a myriad of languages. To show the extent of what can be accomplished, please take time to visit one of Pathmaker Marketing’s most recently completed projects, a 3D Virtual Tour of the Tenboom Museum in Haarlem, Holland at www.tenboom.com. Due to the extensive worldwide interest in this particular topic, the client’s goal was to have it presented in twenty different languages.

Think of how wonderful it would be if prospective clients could go to your Website and click on a tab that would allow them to read it in their native tongue - - Español, Deutsch, Francais or whatever! Rather than struggling trying to decide what, exactly, you have to offer that they may need, you can imagine their thrill in being able to do their research so much more readily and easily.

In regard to Keyword Research, you will be opening up a whole new world of obtaining Winnable Keywords for Page Ranking with Google, Yahoo, Bing and other Search Engines This, in itself, might open the doors to actually doing business overseas, to say nothing of serving the prospective clients in your own community!

Building on the concept of Keywords and Winnable Terms, imagine how beneficial it would be to have your Blog Posts be in more than one language! As your knowledge is shared in multiple languages, your stature as an expert will build exponentially and there is no telling what heights that can lead you and your company to!

As you increase the number of languages you are offering your services and products in, you increase the number of Websites and Directories that you can be Linked to. Whether you strive for Unilateral or Reciprocal Links, additional links will give you additional opportunities.

As Social Networking continues to be the rave, imagine how many more “friends” you can have, and how many more people you could “tweet” if your postings and twitters were multi-lingual. A wonderfully simple way to expand your number of contacts, with the help of Pathmaker Marketing your Networking efforts can become even more profitable!

One of the areas we have been particularly successful in is assisting clients with instituting and conducting Contests and Sweepstakes. By conducting your contests in more than one language, you have positive testimonials that are not limited to only those individuals who can speak and read English.

Finally, imagine the positive affects of being able to produce a monthly E-Newsletter that could be distributed in multiple languages! Again, whether you want to Market around the world or just in your own community, the ability to do so in more than one language can be a tremendous boon to your business!

To learn how, exactly, you and your Company can benefit from an Internationalization Program you need to contact Pathmaker Marketing to schedule a private phone conversation with CEO Randall Mains as quickly as possible. After all, you want to reach everyone in your community!

Keywords - Essential Component in SEO

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 04:07:00 -0400

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a process that improves the visibility of a web page in the unpaid section of search engine results pages (SERP), referred to as organic search. A keyword or keyword phrase is what a web user types into the search engines in order to find relevant web pages. Knowing these keywords is an essential component SEO. A SEO is succesful when you web page rank well for the keywords your targeting to rank well for.

The only way you can truly know what keywords are actually good keywords is through a thorough keyword research. Google’s keyword tool is a good place to start. However, determining the keyword marketing terms to pursue can be frustrating and time consuming. You need to invest hours, days, or possibly weeks to research them yourself. Fortunately, you can hire a search engine optimization agency do it for you.

"Optimizing pages on your website for the keywords that are strategic to your business will help get..."

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 05:00:56 -0400

“Optimizing pages on your website for the keywords that are strategic to your business will help get you to the top of search engine listings when someone searches one of those keywords.”

- Randall Mains on SEO and Targeting Keywords.

"The secret to targeting keywords on your business, church or non profit website is this: research."

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 05:57:37 -0400

“The secret to targeting keywords on your business, church or non profit website is this: research.”

- Karen Randau
Pathmaker Marketing

Use Images

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 08:52:00 -0500

Use images in your search engine optimization efforts. You can get even more visitors to your website by properly preparing and coding your images. Make use of your targeting keywords in the title and alt attribute. A properly prepared and coded images will be found and indexed by search engines, thereby increasing your search engine rankings.

"There is nothing worse than targeting the wrong keywords using SEO."

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 06:13:00 -0400

“There is nothing worse than targeting the wrong keywords using SEO.”

- Randall Mains
Pathmaker Marketing

Best Practices For Images

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 07:34:00 -0400

With image search, just as with web search, a search engine’s goal is to provide the best and most relevant search results to users.

Include images in your search engine optimization efforts. You can get more visitors to your website by properly preparing and coding your images. The reason is that properly prepared and coded images will be found and indexed by search engines, thereby increasing your search engine rankings. Here are some tips:

Use high quality images that are optimized for the web
Give all images a descriptive title using your targeting keywords
Create great <ALT> tags by using you descriptive targeting keywords
Never embed captions inside the image
Opt toward JPG images when appropriate
Put your images as close to the <TITLE> tag as possible
Give your images detailed, informative filenames
Use strategic targeting keywords in all links to the photo
Provide context and relevance
Protect your images in away that is friendly to search engine optimization

Following the best practices listed above will increase the likelihood that your images will be returned in those search results.

"When developing a keyword marketing plan, the first step is to brainstorm all of the possible..."

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:11:13 -0400

“When developing a keyword marketing plan, the first step is to brainstorm all of the possible keywords you want to use on your website.”

- Randall Mains

Targeting Keywords That Are Winnable

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 18:30:00 -0400

When blogging, use targeting keywords that you’ve thoroughly researched so that you know you can win page one rankings that will get you readers. While it may seem easy to identify targeting keywords to write about, the real trick is to isolate the words or phrases that are winnable.

A keyword may have an extremely high search volume, but it may also have thousands of other marketers jostling for the top spot at the search engines. You need to balance high demand against the level of supply - the competition for a keyword needs to be beatable using the time and resources you have available Otherwise, there’s no point - if you can’t get into the top 10 on the search engines, you won’t get to enjoy the maximum effects of your efforts. Use targeting keywords that are winnable.

Daily Nourishment for the Soul

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 23:02:12 -0400

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

You Mean I Won't Get 4200 Leads?

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 07:00:00 -0400

by Floyd Allen It’s a good thing that my friend Jim is my friend, or we would probably come to fisticuffs every time we talk about the Internet. I have been working with Randall Mains and Pathmaker Marketing for some time now, and as a result Jim seems to have taken it upon himself to stay abreast of my new industry. Since we discussed his endeavors with his Blog on fishing, he has begun to use it as an Online Marketing Tool, and he has actually had some success with it. He has another friend, apparently, who is also sharing Small Business Marketing Strategies with him, and either Jim isn’t listening closely enough to what is being said, or the other person doesn’t really understand what they are talking about, as Jim frequently comes to me with his facts slightly askew. Let me give you another example. Jim called me on the phone the other night and asked if we could get together and talk about this great Internet Marketing idea he had regarding the Search Engine Optimization Services that Pathmaker offers. The excitement was so evident in his voice that I agreed to meet with him the very next morning. Read more...

Targeting Keywords?

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 01:07:15 -0400

A lot of people will talk about targeting keywords, but aren’t 100% sure what it’s all about. Simply put, targeting keywords is identifying the words or phrases which an online user enters into a particular search engine or directory in order to find information directly related to the subject of interest. You need to understand targeting keywords in order to get the number 1 spot or at the minimum make it to first page.

Before you can target anything, you need to determine what keyword phrases are likely to bring in relevant traffic. The kind of research you do will depend on your goals for the post.

Targeting Keywords is more important that most people realize. When you chose the wrong keywords, and work on building them, they could be dead weight as they get no searches, the opposite is also true, if you choose an extremely highly competitive keyword then you’ll need to do an excessive amount of work to get to the front page, which might not be viable for your company in regards to much you’ll need to spend to get the rankings. Look for keywords and groups of related keywords that are driving traffic, not too general and not too specific. Targeting keywords is indeed both a science and an art.

Keyword Strategy: 5 Part Strategy

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 02:46:00 -0400

by Randall Mains

I want to share with you a specific strategy that we are using to help our Pathmaker clients in the area of Keyword Marketing. This is a five-part plan for effective internet marketing and prospecting by targeting keywords used in Google searches.

The goal of the plan is to isolate priority keywords that relate to the ministry niches of non profit organizations. This approach can also be used in any commercial business.

Step One is targeting keywords that will give you qualified website traffic that you can convert into marketing assets…namely lists, leads, gifts or sales. I’ll talk more about Keyword Research in future posts.

Step Two is identifying strategies you can use to gain dominant real estate positions on your priority keywords. Often this second step is begun by targeting searches around your company name, executive’s name, or ministry brands. These are your priority keywords and you should be looking to establish complete domination of the real estate around these keywords.

I usually break down the keyword results into the following categories:
1. Your Websites
2. Positive Reviews (but not your sites)
3. Neutral Results
4. Competitor Results
5. Negative Results

If your ministry, top executive or ministry brands have any search results showing up in category #5, you need to go immediately into reputation management mode, whereby your top objective is to subordinate any negative or adverse search results onto page two, three or four, which most people never read. These negative results are tarnishing your brand. Why would someone consider making a gift to your ministry (or buy from your business) after reading a compelling piece of adverse publicity about you in the top 10 listings?

If you don’t have any #5 results about your company, (celebrate over lunch first) then you can proceed into targeting keywords using the five-part strategy below. Your goal is to move competitor listings, and potentially even neutral listings, off of page one top 10 results by replacing them with search results that you control.

The chart below shows how to do keyword marketing using five core methods:
1. Search Engine Optimization of your website;
2. Pay-per-click advertising via Google, Yahoo or MSN;
3. Link building in multiple ways like local listings, volume, deep, and authority links;
4. Targeting Keywords using our premier blogging service
(Not just any blog will do, but our keyword targeting, compended blog services will);
5. Entering the Social Media world strategically and effectively.

An illustration of this approach is vividly demonstrated in the image below.

More insights into how to accomplish this will come in future posts.

In the meantime, if you’d like to talk with Pathmaker Marketing about how our Keyword Marketing and Search Engine Optimization Services shown above can help your 501c3, simply call us today for a free consultation (623-322-3334).

Targeting Keywords for Effective Internet Marketing

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:09:00 -0400

by Randall Mains

One of the basic principles to grasp in regard to effective internet marketing is the concept of targeting keywords. This is most easily explained through a specific case study. Let’s start off by considering your name. If you’re an executive of a company, a high profile individual, or even just trying to carve out a niche for yourself on the internet, start off your keyword marketing by working on your name.

This is your first step in effective internet marketing. Look to establish a presence in Google first, then move into Yahoo and Bing. For examples of this strategy I’ll use myself as an illustration. Google “Randall Mains” and notice how I have effectively dominated the real estate around my name. I currently “own” the top 20 results on that search on Google. This didn’t happen by chance. It took a lot of hard work and effort to get there.

For example, in Google, the top 10 results as of June 20th are as follows:

1. My Linkedin account
2. My NAYMZ account
3. My Facebook account
4. My comments on GetSatisfaction.com
5. My biznik account
6. My Pageflakes account
7. My Twitter account
8. My Plaxo account
9. My BusinessCard2 account
10. My Zoominfo account 11. My Google Profile
12. My Blog
13. My Classmates account
14. My publishing company website
15. My Spoke account
16. My publishing company website #2
17. My marketing company website
18. A mention of my participation in global internet training
19. My Mixx account
20. My Fastpitch account

I also have 19 of the top 20 results in Yahoo, and 17 of the top 20 in Bing.

Granted, I’m working to move some fo these higher up the ladder, while letting others fall where they may, but overall I have effectively dominated the search results on my name with accounts that I manage so that I can control the messaging around my brand and get all the click through traffic that may occur.

If you can grasp this concept of targeting keywords around surrounding your name, then you can take the next step in your keyword battle plan which would be to establish real estate on your company name. After accomplishing that you can expand your horizons to begin the harder work of establishing a presence in the keywords that make sense for your business. These keywords will give you qualified traffic, and very possibly qualified leads or sales.

If you need any help to implement a keyword marketing plan like the one above, don’t hesitate to contact me directly at Pathmaker Marketing at 623-322-3334 and ask for our assistance in helping you establish an effective internet marketing plan based on targeting keywords.

How a Search Engine Optimization Agency Can Help You

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:35:00 -0400

by Karen Randau

Before I began working for a search engine optimization agency, I wasn’t really sure how to get qualified traffic to the non profit website for which I was responsible a few years ago. I’d heard larger organizations were raising significant funds online, and I could see that the site I managed was at least as professional looking as the others (albeit smaller), but the art and science of bringing qualified traffic to the site (and then converting them to assets) was a mystery to me.

If you’re in a similar situation, I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned while working in a search engine optimization agency.

First, remember that search engine optimization, or SEO as professional online fundraisers like to call it, is indeed both an art and a science. It isn’t enough to have a killer website design or to write witty and professional text. Search engines look for keywords for which people are searching, and you need to have those keywords in all the right places – not too many times and not too few times.

Just one example of a common mistake that a search engine optimization agency can help you overcome is making sure you don’t put headlines into graphics. When you do, you’re giving up opportunities for your headlines to help get you into the top 10 listings for searches that apply to your content. Content trumps design when it comes to search engine optimization.

Pathmaker Marketing uses a tool for professional web developers to help clients analyze and implement strategies that (1) identify the best keywords for your organization to target and (2) get those keywords into all the right places on your site so you show up in the top 10 results of searches in major search engines on those keywords.

But that’s only one of the ways a search engine optimization agency can help your non profit website. SEO should be part of an overall Search Engine Marketing strategy that includes optimizing the site, developing a targeted-keyword blog, building strategic links to and from your site, strategically using social media accounts and implementing a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaign.

You can call Pathmaker Marketing at 623-233-3334 to schedule an appointment to discuss how a search engine optimization agency can get your non profit website consistently into the top 10 results for searches on keywords that apply to you – thus turning your site into a much more significant player in your overall fundraising efforts.

List Targeting Keywords

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 20:17:00 -0400

Compile a short list of targeting keywords, and then actually look them up in your favorite search engine to see what kinds of results these keywords return in a search.

Try to put yourself in your customer’s shoe and try to think of the keywords that you will type in the search box. http://bit.ly/a4d9UC

The Upsides of a Premier Blogging Service

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 03:06:00 -0400

I’ve been asked recently to defend the use of my Compendium Premier Blogging Service, because so many other blogging tools are available for free on the internet. Well, let me say this in my defense. For anyone wanting a church blog, or wanting to use Christian blogging to get page Rankings in the search engines, I think my system is superior.

There are three things that is does really well for me, automatically:
1. It optimizes my blog urls
2. It optimizes my page construction
3. It optimizes my page content

My compended blog system creates keyword blogs from my posts that are optimal for my targeting keywords. Those three things tend to get me noticed in Google, Yahoo and Bing, and I get really good Page Rankings as a result. Plus, with my system, I leverage my blog posts into WordPress, Blogger, Xanga, LiveJournal, and Vox, so I get the benefit of using those free blog services too, but without having to worry about multiple accounts to upkeep. My central blogging happens here, and the power of the internet flows it elsewhere. Until someone tells me otherwise,

I’m asserting the fact that using any other blog system would require me to manually search engine optmize my individual blog posts, and since I do that for a living on client websites, I know how tedious and complicated that process can be to get decent page ranking results.

Plus, my system allows you to have unlimited user blogs, which is a very hard to beat feature and benefit. If you want to demo the high-powered premier blogging service we use to get stellar page ranking results for our clients, give me a holler at 623-322-3334, and ask me to show you the system we use.

How Can Pathmaker Help You Target Keywords?

Fri, 21 May 2010 19:55:00 -0400

Pathmaker Marketing uses a tool for professional web developers to help clients analyze and impelment strategies that (1) identify the best keywords for your organization to target and (2) get those keywords into all the right places on your site so you show up in the top 10 results of searches in major search engines on those keywords.

But that’s only one of the ways a search engine optimization agency can help your non profit website. SEO should be part of an overall Search Engine Marketing strategy that includes optimizing the site, developing a targeted-keyword blog, building strategic links to and from your site, strategically using social media accounts and and implementing a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaign.

Improper Keywords Bad For Your Website

Fri, 21 May 2010 19:53:00 -0400

Did you know that improper selection of keywords is bad for your website’s health? Learn to target keywords effectively and have those targeting keywords in all the right places.