By Robert Lockard

Submit Solution has four new Squidoo lenses, all focusing on different aspects of the Internet-marketing company’s services. Web pages on Squidoo are called lenses, I suppose because they give you a view into someone’s mind, life or company.

I’ll give a brief description of all of the new lenses below. Be sure to check them out and rate each of them, if you like.

One lens focuses just on Submit Solution’s Internet-marketing blogs. As you can tell, each of these blogs has a different focus: search engine optimization, paid search, social media and Web design. You can find it here: Submit Solution – 4 Internet Marketing Blogs.

Another lens gives you more information about Submit Solution’s services, including Web design, SEO, PPC and website content. You’ll find it here: Submit Solution – The Best Internet Marketing Services.

Submit Solution’s website launch is spotlighted on another lens. It includes the news release announcing the updated website’s release in September 2009 and the company’s new features and services. You can find that news release on Submit Solution’s website under “Press.” It’s entitled, “Submit Solution Launches New Web Site with Web and Logo-Design Services.” The lens can be found here: Submit Solution Online-Marketing Website Launch.

The final new Submit Solution Squidoo lens is short and sweet. It includes some of the newest blog entries from the site’s four ecommerce blogs, as well as Submit Solution’s contact information. If you want to get a hold of a Submit Solution representative, that’s a good place to go. Check it out here: Submit Solution: The one-stop hub for internet marketing.

Don’t forget about our four other Squidoo lenses for Submit Solution, eHarbor, Inc., Magellan Commerce and Real Estate Promoter that we built back in March. I talked about them in the eHarbor Blog back when we created them. Learn more about them in my blog entry, “eHarbor, Inc. launches Squidoo pages.” We recently updated these lenses with additional information about our companies’ history and high-tech services.

You can find them at the following links:

Submit Solution - Search Engine Optimization Tools

eHarbor, Inc. - eCommerce and SEO Experts

Magellan Commerce - Website Design & SEO

Real Estate Promoter - Website Design & Marketing

This is a complete version of the eHarbor Blog post: “Submit Solution’s four new Squidoo lenses.” The Submit Solution logo is the copyright of Submit Solution.

By Britnee Nguyen

Before the internet and blogs, writers were only being published in newspapers, magazines and books –all print material. Nowadays, writing is being published in a variety of different avenues through the internet. This is great for writers which means more opportunity to get writing noticed, but it also means they should be more aware of SEO writing. SEO  is search engine optimization using keyword to get higher up on the search engine results. SEO isn’t here to ruin good quality writing, but it’s to direct people to your writing to read what you have to say. It’s for your own benefit.

When writing, consider using keywords often. You can still make your writing comprehensible while inserting keywords. Obviously, you don’t want to go overboard with keywords in every sentence because that will look silly and forced. You don’t need too many to make the search engines understand what your article is about. These keywords should be the ones you want to focus on when people search those terms at search engines. You’ll have a better chance of getting higher if you’re using the right keywords.

A change to SEO writing from regular writing is the headlines. No longer can you use puns in headlines without it taking a blow to your search rankings. Headlines should be key phrases that you think people would search for. If you use a clever pun in a newspaper, you’re considered witty, but when you use it on-line it won’t capture as many readers because people aren’t going to be searching for that pun.

When inserting links into your writing, don’t just write our “click here” for my other related article. You’ll want to actually put the headline as the hyperlinked text. This will improve your SEO even more so for your other articles since you’re giving them an inbound link related to that keyword. This is why “click here” is of no use. If you google “click here” you’ll see that adobe is at the top. This is because they’ve use the phrase a lot of for downloads.

Nowadays, many employers are not only looking for good writers, but those who can optimize their writing for the web. As writing jobs become more competitive, it’s important to understand SEO practices and incorporate them into your quality writing. This will give you an edge over your competitors for a job. SEO isn’t meant to interfere with good writing, it’s to improve your writing techniques and get more people to read your stuff.

By Britnee Nguyen

You might have heard about Google Wave through your social networks, but do you know what it is? Google Wave is a new search layout that was released by Google to invite-only users. These selected users are given a couple of invites to give out to others as well. While searching the web for information about it, I came across some criticism and praise. It sounds like it’s a confusing concept, yet has a “promising future”. So here’s some pros and cons about Google Wave.

PROS

• Google Wave was developed by the same guys who developed Google Maps. So there is some intuitive genius behind the new service.

• It allows you to filter Google search results and choose just news, maps, images, etc.• You can filter search results by using real-time results or choosing the range of time you want to see results (recent, last 24 hours, week or year).

• It modernizes e-mail by adding the features of chat, wikis, document collaboration.

• Chatting is in real time, meaning that while you type your IM, it is showing the other person what you’re writing, as you’re typing it. This is to improve the speed of communication on internet.

• You can start a “wave” and connect with other people with similar interests or who are attending the same event you are and collectively put in information about it.

CONS
• Chatting is in real time. I know I just listed this as a pro, but it can also be a con. Who really wants the other person to see exactly what you’re writing as you’re typing it? When I chat, I typically write and then go back and reword things and cut and paste and add smiley faces, etc. Or sometimes I write it, but then decide to delete it before pushing the enter key. I’m sure I’m not the only one who is like this.

• It seems like a re-invention of the internet, that’s not necessarily needed. They put so much into this application, that it’s confusing to the new user.

• Anyone can add you to their list of contacts without your permission. Result: SPAM

• No “Error” messages are given, which might confuse the user even more.

Now, remember that Google Wave is only in preview mode right now, so many of these things might be improved upon before officially launching. From a personal point of view, I don’t see the benefit of Google Wave, but from a business point of view, it opens another door for businesses to make more contacts and to reach more customers. It’s another internet marketing outlet that businesses should be testing out. It’s the best idea to try it out for yourself and see what it can do for you.

By Britnee Nguyen

If you’ve owned your website for quite awhile now, you may be wondering if you should get it redesigned. Well, this would depend on a number of factors, but most likely you should get a redesigned website. For example, if you’ve had the same website design since the 90s then you’ll definitely want to get it changed. So much creative innovation on the internet has occurred since then and continues to grow every day. You’ll want to update your website to follow the design trends and keep it functional to this day and age.

Most people are smart and have realized this and have regularly updated their website’s design. You might have just had it redesigned last year; does this mean you should do it again now? Here are some internet marketing questions you’ll want to think about if you’re contemplating a web design.

What should NOT be the purpose of the redesign? If you’re redesigning it just for the sake of it, that’s not the right reason. You don’t want to constantly be changing the overall look of it because then your customers won’t be able to connect certain look or design and attribute it to your business. If they’re always seeing a new design every time they go to your website, they’ll have no idea what your actual brand looks like. Be sure you have a purpose in mind when redesigning. You don’t want your website to be like one of those girls who shows up with a different haircut, style and color every week. That kind of habit doesn’t do well for your business branding.

What should be your purpose? The purpose of your web design should be for reasons such as your website is old-fashioned, you are changing the brand of your company, or you are targeting a different market or audience. When designing a website, you’ll want the feeling of it to connect with your target customer. If you’re targeting teenagers, then you’ll want the design of it to look hip and trendy. If you’re targeting mothers, you’ll want it to connect to the feminine, emotion, and motherly instincts. So if your current website doesn’t match your target customer, then you’ll need a redesign.

Remember, these questions when you’re asking yourself when you should redesign your website. It’s important to keep in mind that when you redesign, you run the risk of losing your branding and identity work that you’ve done with it so far. But if your website is old-fashioned and not reaching your target audience, then it might be more beneficial to change your identity anyways.

By Britnee Nguyen

If you’re planning on doing a PPC campaign or any type of internet marketing through the winter months, you’ll want to take the holiday season in consideration. Undoubtedly, there’s going to be a rise of on-line traffic during the holidays as many people turn to the web to find gifts. You’ll want to make sure you have your PPC campaigns properly set up to make the most of your on-line advertising investment. Use these guidelines to be successful during the holiday season through your PPC campaign.

Use keyword reports from the previous holiday season to see what keywords did well during that time. You can use the search-based keyword tool to see these reports. Most likely, these terms will do well again this year. You’ll want to use Google’s sbKT (search-based keyword tool). When you’re on the website you’ll see how well keywords are ranking and how much they are per click. This is really helpful any time of the year, but can be of great assistance if you’re trying to sell your product or service during the holidays.

The one day out of the year you should have your PPC campaign geared for is Cyber Monday. This is like Black Friday which is the day after Thanksgiving where every store has discounted prices on items. Cyber Monday occurs the Monday after Thanksgiving and is for sales available on-line. You could bid higher this day compared to other days to take advantage of the increased traffic on Cyber Monday. To get the most clicks, you’ll need to get your ads in the top 3. If you don’t, then it might be useless to do it since your competition will dominate you. You’ll want to be part of the holiday revenue that day so make sure you maximize your ROI the best you can on Cyber Monday.

Also, even after the holidays come and go, many sales happen after the holidays. Consumers are looking for the best deals after the holidays, so don’t miss out on this opportunity either. Don’t end your PPC campaign on Christmas Day, instead you should keep it and monitor it to make money off of the post-holiday shopping. You’ll might want to alter your keywords a bit after this to make sure you’re still targeting the on-line shoppers.

This holiday season, don’t miss out on increased revenue from your PPC advertising. Be sure to plan and prepare it in advance to get the most ROI. If you’re busy taking care of your own holiday shopping, it’s best to hire a professional company who can handle your account during the busy season. Submit Solution is an example of a company who are experts in pay per click advertising and will maximize your ROI this holiday season.

By Robert Lockard

I read an article on Entrepreneur.com a while back, entitled, “Rev up the Search Engines.” It gives a helpful rundown of solid SEO principles for small businesses, which don’t have a whole lot of money to spare but need to start generating results from ecommerce.

This article gives six tips for a small business to get the most bang for its buck, when it comes to search engine optimization. They are attributed to Steve Wiideman, a fairly renowned SEO expert. I already talked about most of these in my SEO series in the eHarbor Blog, back in February and March of 2009. But I think a refresher is healthy.

Here are some of the highlights I took from these tips:

- Search engines are getting smarter. Don’t expect Google, Bing or Yahoo to fall for the same old SEO tricks. Bloggers and other content generators used to focus on their keyword-to-content ratio, but now search engines recognize when you use the same keyword too many times in the same post. Use relevant keywords prudently. If you use keyword-stuffing tactics, don’t expect much success.

- Google should be the focus of your SEO strategy. I thought this one was interesting because, while Google is certainly the king of search engines at the moment, things can change fairly quickly in the digital age. Of course, Google is constantly changing its algorithm for search results and it’s even changing its search engine completely with new products like Google Wave, Google Caffeine and a focus on social media, images and music. But that’s the topic of a whole other blog entry.

- If an SEO consulting company guarantees No. 1 placement on Google or any other search engine, don’t believe them. Google is the only that can absolutely guarantee top placement on its results pages, and every other company has to do its best to influence Google, but none can absolutely guarantee success. Keep that in mind when you come across SEO companies’ marketing messages.

Having said that, I’ll note Submit Solution is a good SEO resource for you. Submit Solution has more than 13 years of experience working on Internet marketing, which includes search engine optimization. It’s a great resource because it has helped many companies like yours reach customers online through its efforts. Like I said, they can’t guarantee No. 1 placement for competitive search terms, but you can expect dramatic improvements in your search-engine rankings for specific keywords in the months after they start implementing their SEO strategies on your behalf.

Keep coming back to the Submit Solution SEO Blog for the latest updates on major search-engine trends. This is a complete version of the eHarbor Blog entry, “Top SEO tactics for small businesses.” The photo of the flying bicyclist is from Flickr, and it is the copyright of Tom Grundy Photo.

By Britnee Nguyen (@brit_witters)

If you are getting a new website domain name, you might be wondering if all the SEO and internet marketing work you did for your original domain will carry over. Some people change their domain name to target a better audience by using their keywords in the URL. If you choose to do this, there are ways to do it without affecting the SEO you’ve already put in place.

Keep your old URL for the purpose of getting it forwarded onto your new website. This way if you have a returning customer who doesn’t know you changed your website, when they type in the original site they will get redirected to the correct one. This will keep your customers coming to your website and keep your page rank. Always use a 301 redirect that is permanent. If you use a 302 redirect that is temporary this could do some damage to your SEO.

When using the 301 redirect, it will redirect every page on your site to the correct page on the new website so you won’t lose any web traffic. Some just redirect it to the main homepage, but it’s better to make them all direct to the most relevant page you have on your new site.

Another option you can do in this process is while you’re redesigning your new site, go ahead and move your old site to the new URL. When you have the new design ready to be put up, go ahead and change it. This might affect your rankings for a small time on Google, but it shows them that you are just moving your domain name and not some outsider who is trying to bank on your built-up credibility.

If you do these things, then you should have no problem with Google recognizing your new site as the correct version of your old one and will keep your page rank and SEO in place. Remember to keep your old domain name and use a 301 redirect and to have your company’s old design on the new one while waiting for the new one to be completed.

By Britnee Nguyen

When you have a PPC ad in Google AdWords, you’re only given 25 characters for the headline and 70 characters for the body of the text. You probably thought writing in 140 characters on Twitter was hard! But after seeing the very limited amount of space you’re given for a PPC ad, you realize you have to be extremely clear and concise to get your message across.

While being concise, you need to make sure that you include relevant keywords, explain the benefits, stand out and have a “call-to-action” message. In addition, you need to remember that you are speaking to real humans so don’t sound too wordy or stuffy.

When writing PPC ads, you need to focus on the goal. The immediate goal you’re looking for is to convey why the person should click on your ad. The next long-term goal is how to convert those clicks into sales. But for this post, we’re just talking about the goal of getting them to click. Getting someone to click with just 95 characters total to entice them can be difficult. The last sentence I just wrote was 87 characters which shows just how concise you need to be.

Headline (25 characters)

Your headline is the attention grabber.

If your headline isn’t interesting, the viewer won’t continue reading the rest of your text; therefore, won’t click your ad. It needs to simply say what you have to offer. If you are selling free birthday cards on-line and want to do a PPC ad to promote your website. If you wanted your keyword to be “birthday e-cards” then you should keep the headline simple such as: Free Birthday E-cards. It’s basically just blatantly stating what you have to offer because you don’t have room to do much else.

Body (75 characters)

When you write the body text, this is where you’ll want to explain more about what you offer. This is typically one sentence long and you’ll want it to be “call-of-action”. This means that you are telling them to do something with action words. You can do this by starting off your sentence with words such as “Send”, “Choose” and “Make”. In the example of using “birthday e-cards” as the target keyword, here are some good examples you could do using the call-to-action and keywords:

Send a personalized birthday e-card to your loved one today.
Choose from 550+ unique birthday e-cards delivered right to the inbox.
Make your friend’s day special with an interactive birthday e-card.

So just make sure you get to the point of what the person will get if they click on your ad. Remember to keep it clear and concise and don’t use too much flowery words because they’ll just skip over it. Make sure to use an action word so they will actually take action and click on your link instead of just reading it. PPC ads can be very effective when written properly. Take the time to write your PPC to make sure it targets the right keywords and creates a call to action.

By Britnee Nguyen

You might have found a talented designer who can create a stellar-looking website for you. This is a plus when it comes to the actual design of your website, but do they know how to design it so it can be easily optimized with SEO and found by search engines? Web design needs to be made with SEO in mind.

Maybe you’re wondering on how web design affects SEO. Well, it does in several ways. One example is that a web designer may create some good-looking graphics and puts them on your website. When you scroll your mouse over the graphic, usually a little pop-up type box shows with the file name or some other text. This is called the alt text.

It’s important that this text has your target SEO keywords inserted. So if you have a picture of a dog and your website is about an animal shelter in Utah. You don’t want to put your text as just “dog” or a random file number like “495803”. If you’re targeting the keyword “Utah animal shelter”, then put that exact wording as your text of your picture. This gets you moved up higher in the search results, especially in Google Images. Every picture that I have specifically written a alt text for with a keyword, I’ve always found it on the first page of Google Images within just a few days.

It’s these kinds of things that make web design important for SEO. Web design also needs to take into account of using words instead of images. A lot of websites are built as one image instead of a web layout with the content as a separate entity that’s entered in. This typically results in a pretty website, but the search engines can’t read it. If you have each page as one image inserted that had the text pre-inserted, then there really is no “text” for the search engines.

Make sure web designers keep the design and content separate so the search engines can read it and index you. Web design is a very important aspect in succeeding with an on-line business or identity. SEO is just as important also. Web design and SEO go hand-in-hand when creating the best on-line experience for your business and its customers. Be sure that your web design is functional so SEO experts at Submit Solution can optimize it to the most advantageous level.

By Britnee Nguyen

According to a recent study, it was found that women use social media networks more than men. The study used Google Ad Planner numbers to find this interesting conclusion. The majority of social media users are women, but not all the networks are dominated by females. The one exception is Digg which has 64 percent of its users as men. LinkedIn, YouTube, deviantART and del.icio.us have about equal numbers when it comes to genders using their networks.

But in general, the social media world is dominated by women. Facebook and Twitter both account 57 percent of female users and Flickr has 55 percent. What does this information mean? Well, for one thing, if you are a business using social media and internet marketing to get more information out about your company, you’ll want to consider which outlet to use if you’re specifically targeting women or men.

This also shows that women’s stereotypical habits resonate through social media. When I think of social media, think of people who are regularly submitting their opinions and interesting things they found on the web and getting the latest gossip and news. Women tend to do the exact same things in person; they like to get the latest gossip and give their opinions and talk about interesting things they’ve found. It’s a huge generalization I’m making, but it does account to why maybe social media attracts more women than men.

Women being the more dominant force in social media should be a positive for most businesses. This is because 80 percent of women are the decision-making one in their household when it comes to buying power. The more that a business can convince women that they need their product, the more profits they’ll make. If they choose to use social media to reach women, then it is very easy to do so.

When it comes to reaching men it might be slightly more difficult, but still doable since a lot of men still use social media as well. Do your research before setting out on a social media marketing plan. Know who you are trying to target and which networks are the best to reach that target market, whether it’s women or men.