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When discussing link building, the conversation always seems to focus on writing articles, press releases, blogs, useful content (good text, free tools, etc..), and other tricks, but what about advertorials? I haven’t heard mention of this term in a while so I feel obligated to remind everyone of the power advertorials posses.

According to Wikipedia, these text versions of infomercials have been around since the 60’s, but they were made popular by Mobil Oil during the 1970’s oil shortage, as a way to advertise the company’s opinion (to the unhappy public) through editorials. Mobil’s advertorials were very successful and they have remained powerful advertising tools to this day.

I have used them for some time and I can attest to their value. A good writer can create advertorials that will not only promote your products but also generate backlinks. They give you the most bang for your buck, and your readers will be more receptive when the advertisement looks like a credible editorial. It’s a win win situation.

If you are curious as to how to write these, a simple web search will usually generate some good examples, and if you are looking for someone else to write your advertorials, there are companies, like Comit Technologies, that provide this service.

The development of e-commerce has given small businesses a chance to compete with large companies in a world wide market, and now it is easier than ever to market and sell products online. Some small businesses, however, have opted to refrain from e-commerce because they are intimidated by the big businesses, but believe it or not, being a small store with a simple website can be a major advantage online.

Time and time again low budget websites have proven that function is more important than form when it comes to converting website traffic into sales. Take plentyoffish.com for example, this is an absolutely ugly website that supposedly earns $10,000 a day from Google advertising.

Low end websites have a way of conveying trust, which is vital, since many people do not trust large corporations. Most consumers would rather buy (regardless of price) from smaller companies, with low budget websites because they feel like they are helping the little guy in his battle against “The Man”.

So the trick is to design an attractive website that has the appearance of a mom and pop store as opposed to a department store. Major corporations have caught on to this and are beginning to apply it to their websites. Some corporations even create new/smaller companies to sell their products online.

Here are a few ways to improve your website and compete with “The Man”:

First, I suggest cutting back on things like flash (it’s distracting and invisible to search engines) and java script (also invisible) that makes your website appear expensive and busy. A simple flash banner will suffice without interfering with the focus of the pages.

Second, remove page clutter. It is not necessary to fill every empty space on a page. Clutter and information overload will be a deterrent and create a spammy appearance. Research has shown that increasing white space on pages helps people to concentrate on your products and increase conversions. Moderation is the key.

Third, offer reassurance. Every page should have something on it, in the body or elsewhere, reassuring the visitors that you are honest and qualified. Also provide info about yourself (or company). Visitors are more likely to trust you if they know more about who you are and where you’re from (location is important).

The point I am trying to make is that you shouldn’t sacrifice usability for appearance. Instead, build an intuitive website first then tweak the look and feel later. The products and text on your pages are more important than your drop down menus and flashy graphics.

Keep this in mind when building your pages and you will maximize your profits from online traffic.

The amount of traffic that your website receives is directly related to the amount and quality of your inbound links. In most cases you should focus on quality first, and Michael Martinez does a great job of explaining this in one of his recent articles on SEOmoz.

Michael puts directory links into three categories “Yahoo Class Links”, “CNN Class Links”, and “Business Class Links” and explains the criteria for each. This article is a good read for people who cannot figure out why their website is ranking below a site with half as many links.

That being said, I still suggest grabbing the low hanging fruit first, and in this case we are talking about directories. Directory submission should be the first step taken when building links. Be aware, though, that not all directories are worth your time and money. Many of them require reciprocal linking that will drain your link value, and some don’t even rank in SERP’s. However if a particular directory will help drive traffic to your site then by all means you should submit to it.

There has been a bit of debate concerning the value of directories (for SEO), and there are some good reports on this subject. SEO Book is probably one of the best I’ve seen so far. In his article, Aaron addresses “quality signals”, like ad ratio, quality ratio, SERP ranking, and relevancy, that contribute to the value of directories.

The Comit Technologies’ link building team has conducted research that has helped them identify the 26 best directories to submit your site to. These are all trusted/human reviewed directories that pass on page rank and link value. They begin every link building campaign by manually submitting to each of these directories. Through these submissions alone I have noticed increases in website traffic and better search engine rankings.

Submitting your sites to directories can give you a quick boost in the search engines, but do not rely on them. It is imperative that you have an assortment of links from different types of relevant websites. Having only directory links will not work.

Good Luck
iTraffic

When it comes to writing, customers should be your number one consideration. Remember that you are selling to people and not search engines. Of course you want the search engines to find your site but you also want pages that are rich with useful content. Overloading your text with key words and phrases may increase your search engine visibility but it will in turn hurt the overall validity of your website.

Content is the key to increasing website traffic. If it is creative and useful it will convert more visits into sales and increase the popularity of your website much more effectively than a page littered with key words and phrases.

SEO is more than just driving traffic to your website, it is also about turning traffic into sales.

Writing great titles and headlines is, in my mind, one of the most important skills that an SEO should possess. They are used on everything from web page design to advertisements and link building (articles, blogs, etc.). Once you achieve that high ranking, you need to have a solid headline to draw traffic to your site.

Your headlines should interrupt and compel readers to focus on you material through all of the surrounding clutter. Creating an effective headline, however, can be a particularly daunting task when you consider the fact that most of the obvious/catchy headlines are already used by your competitors.

After giving it some thought, I have come up with a list of what I consider good qualities that every headline or title should have.

1. Headlines should interrupt the reader. Using powerful words such as: free, bonus, extra, automatic, and easy can effectively bring scanning eyes to a halt and interrupt reader’s train of thought.
2. Headlines should be concise. Get to your point as efficiently as possible. Everyone is in a hurry and they will not take the time to read long, wordy headlines.
3. Headlines should tempt and tease the reader. Regardless of the scope of your writing, use an idea that a specific group of individuals will react to positively or negatively. Your article may be unbiased, but a biased/narrow minded title will provoke individuals to read the rest of your message.
4. Headlines should cause a buyer to desire more. Arouse their curiosity and they will continue to read through your material.
5. Headlines should offer benefits as opposed to features. Create titles and headlines that offer solutions or rewards. Whether it is an answer to a question or a discount, it does not matter as long as the reader feels like they are gaining something extra. Try to suggest that they are getting some kind of a payoff.

The quality of your headlines and titles will directly affect the amount of traffic that your website receives. So spend some time creating them because they are the invitations to your websites.