The Basics Work in Keyword Research

Before you use a keyword suggestion tool, ask yourself the following questions:

• What problems can your product or your service solve?

• Which questions do potential customers ask?

• Can you offer unusual solutions?

• Which products and services do you offer?

As you can see, the products and services that you offer are the least important. A person with a headache might not now that the Shiatsu that you offer will help them. They even might now know what Shiatsu is and if they know it, they might not be able to spell it properly. The same applies to all other services and industries.
For that reason, it is important that you focus on the first three points before using your products or services in the keywords.
1. What problems can your product or service solve?
In this example, the problem that your product or service can solve is a headache. Create a list of words that describe the problem:
headache, racking headache, migraine, vicious headache, splitting headache, megrim, constant headache, etc.
2. Which questions do potential customers ask?
People type different things in Google's search box when they try to find a solution to their problem. Here are some real queries that have been done on Google (use IBP's keyword suggestion tool to find keywords that are searched by real web surfers):
why does my head hurt
why does my head hurt when I cough
how to get rid of migraines without medication
how to get rid of migraines when pregnant
why can't i concentrate on anything
why am i so tired
etc.
The problem that your product solves creates certain circumstances (fatigue, temper, concentration problems). Address these circumstances in your keyword phrases.
The problem can also be connected to another factor (for example migraine and pregnancy). Create keyword phrases that are related to these factors.
3. Can you offer unusual solutions?
Most people will take a pill when they have a headache. In this example, you offer a solution that many people don't know about (Shiatsu). The following phrases would work for you:
get rid of migraines without medication
get rid of headache without pills
The unusual solutions that you offer can also be used in your AdWords ad copy and on your web pages. For example, you might create web pages around the following topics:
How to get rid of headaches without using Aspirin
An unusual way of healing migraine without medication
etc.
4. Which products or services do you offer?
Of course, you should also use the names of the products and services that you offer in your ads and SEO campaigns. In this example, this would be:
shiatsu, shiatsu massage, etc.
When you try to find new keywords, tell a short story that describes the problem and the solution: "A person has a racking headache. The person cannot concentrate because of that headache and the person is tired. Instead of taking a pill, there can be other solutions. That solution is my Shiatsu service."
By doing this, you'll find many keywords around which you can create new web pages and PPC ads. Of course, you can also combine this method with keyword suggestion tools.





Basics thinking and moving around what we already have then applying the great tools available to us all.
Our search results have soared our clients are happy with the results we deliver and as we continue to grow and learn we would love to hear from you and partner our resources with your challenges!

Saludos:
Jerry|CMT

Google Map Optimization

Believe it or not, I actually received a call from Google (YES it was Google, I called the number back).
Reason for their call is CMT is a Favorite Place in their local search so we were asked if we would like to participate in their Beta version of Google Maps.

Basically your local listing is a featured listing, whereby, when a visitor passes over your listing it can show a screen shot of your URL, or a video, a promotion, coupon or article will pop up.It becomes very interactive and rather than a red pin you have a yellow one, so far so good, right! It costs $25.00 per month, no contract and from my early research it can enhance your position in local searches. You can build your listing with local keywords then get listed in local directories (name of city)+directory. Build up citations, citations are reference points that can be built through sites like Yelp, City Search, Bing Local, Local.com to name a few. So here you are with an enhanced local search tool that has mobile capabilities.

Local search is smart, we're still examining the possibilites with the maps feature and will keep you posted  here is the link: google local business center

Saludos:
Jerry|CMT

Brand Management

So much information so little time, you think? Maybe focusing on what our clients are asking will streamline the process and hone our skills to deliver what is important to them? What are you doing differently, why have you adapted that strategy and tactic? Have these methods produced short term or long term objectives?

We're a curious company by nature and looking around corners is what excites us love to hear your ideas.
These branding terms have helped us define and direct our efforts!

Brand : A brand is a mixture of attributes, tangible and intangible, symbolized in a trademark, which, if managed properly, creates value and influence.

"Value" has different interpretations: from a marketing or consumer perspective it is "the promise and delivery of an experience"; from a business perspective it is "the security of future earnings"; from a legal perspective it is "a separable piece of intellectual property." Brands offer customers a means to choose and enable recognition within cluttered markets.

Brand Architecture How an organization structures and names the brands within its portfolio. There are three main types of brand architecture system: monolithic, where the corporate name is used on all products and services offered by the company; endorsed, where all sub-brands are linked to the corporate brand by means of either a verbal or visual endorsement; and freestanding, where the corporate brand operates merely as a holding company, and each product or service is individually branded for its target market.

Brand Association: The feelings, beliefs and knowledge that consumers (customers) have about brands. These associations are derived as a result of experiences and must be consistent with the brand positioning and the basis of differentiation.

Brand Committment: The degree to which a customer is committed to a given brand in that they are likely to re-purchase/re-use in the future. The level of commitment indicates the degree to which a brand's customer franchise is protected form competitors.

Brand Earnings: The share of a brand-owning business's cashflow that can be attributed to the brand alone.

Brand Equity:The sum of all distinguishing qualities of a brand, drawn from all relevant stakeholders, that results in personal commitment to and demand for the brand; these differentiating thoughts and feelings make the brand valued and valuable.

Brand Equity Protection: Is the implementation of strategies to reduce risk and liability from the effects attributable to counterfeiting, diversion, tampering and theft so that the differentiating thoughts and feelings about the brand are maintained and remain valued and valuable.

Brand Essence: The brand's promise expressed in the simplest, most single-minded terms. For example, Volvo = safety; AA = Fourth Emergency Service. The most powerful brand essences are rooted in a fundamental customer need.

Brand Experience :The means by which a brand is created in the mind of a stakeholder. Some experiences are controlled such as retail environments, advertising, products/services, websites, etc. Some are uncontrolled like journalistic comment and word of mouth. Strong brands arise from consistent experiences which combine to form a clear, differentiated overall brand experience.

Brand Extension: Leveraging the values of the brand to take the brand into new markets/sectors.

Brand Harmonization: Ensuring that all products in a particular brand range have a consistent name, visual identity and, ideally, positioning across a number of geographic or product/service markets.

Brand Identity: The outward expression of the brand, including its name and visual appearance. The brand's identity is its fundamental means of consumer recognition and symbolizes the brand's differentiation from competitors.

Brand Image: The customer's net "out-take" from the brand. For users this is based on practical experience of the product or service concerned (informed impressions) and how well this meets expectations; for non-users it is based almost entirely upon uninformed impressions, attitudes and beliefs.

Brand Licensing: The leasing by a brand owner of the use of a brand to another company. Usually a licensing fee or royalty rate will be agreed for the use of the brand.

Brand Management:Practically this involves managing the tangible and intangible aspects of the brand. For product brands the tangibles are the product itself, the packaging, the price, etc. For service brands (see Service Brands), the tangibles are to do with the customer experience - the retail environment, interface with salespeople, overall satisfaction, etc. For product, service and corporate brands, the intangibles are the same and refer to the emotional connections derived as a result of experience, identity, communication and people. Intangibles are therefore managed via the manipulation of identity, communication and people skills.


Brand Parity: A measure of how similar, or different, different brands in the same category are perceived to be. Brand parity varies widely from one category to another. It is high for petrol, for example: about 80% of respondents (BBDO survey) see no real difference between brands. By contrast, brand parity for cars is low: only about 25% of respondents say that one make is much the same as another.

Brand Personality: The attribution of human personality traits (seriousness, warmth, imagination, etc.) to a brand as a way to achieve differentiation. Usually done through long-term above-the-line advertising and appropriate packaging and graphics. These traits inform brand behavior through both prepared communication/packaging, etc., and through the people who represent the brand - its employees.

Brand Platform The Brand Platform consists of the following elements:

    * Brand Vision The brand's guiding insight into its world.

    * Brand Mission How the brand will act on its insight.

    * Brand Values The code by which the brand lives. The brand values act as a benchmark to measure behaviors and performance.

    * Brand Personality The brand's personality traits (See also definition for Brand Personality).

    * Brand Tone of Voice How the brand speaks to its audiences.

Brand Positioning: The distinctive position that a brand adopts in its competitive environment to ensure that individuals in its target market can tell the brand apart from others. Positioning involves the careful manipulation of every element of the marketing mix.

Brand Strategy: A plan for the systematic development of a brand to enable it to meet its agreed objectives. The strategy should be rooted in the brand's vision and driven by the principles of differentiation and sustained consumer appeal. The brand strategy should influence the total operation of a business to ensure consistent brand behaviors and brand experiences.

Brand Tone: of Voice See Brand Platform.

Brand Valuation: The process of identifying and measuring the economic benefit - brand value - that derives from brand ownership.

Brand Values: The code by which the brand lives. The brand values act as a benchmark to measure behaviors and performance. (See also Brand Platform.)

Branding Selecting and blending tangible and intangible attributes to differentiate the product, service or corporation in an attractive, meaningful and compelling way.

I studied this in school somehow it never changes!

Saludos:
Jerry|CMT

Building Smart Traffic

1. Public Relations- Services like PR WEB, Business Wire, PR.com, where you can create a press release that could land you in front of the media and certainly other web site owners. Take away, links!

2. Classifieds- Craigslist, Oodle,USFreeAds could drive unexpected traffic at a very low cost also targeted opportunities to generate new links.

3. Video- links, exposure and traffic look also at Metacafe, Blip.tv, Vimeo, to distribute your video. Remember you can optimize your videos!

4. Content Development- write and share content with others on related topics, article directories, EzineArticles,  IdeaMarketers, Google Knol

5.Getting Social- follow the leaders and shakers and learn the craft.

6. Directories- DMOZ, Business.com, Best of the Web to name a few will help in the overall effort.

This is a work in process with basically no "short cuts". Our traffic has increased, our clients traffic has increased by applying best practice techniques that yield results over time. We can help! 

Saludos:
Jerry/CMT

SEO in Real Time Long Term Benefits

The trick to SEO copywriting that is both engaging for your customers and attractive to the search engines is frequency.Sure, it is much easier to pump out a 1,000 word article every time you feel like giving your rankings a boost. But SEO is a process that takes time and commitment. Thanks to a society that thrives on instant gratification, this doesn’t rest well with many folks who cringe at the thought of six month relationship – let alone a six month SEO campaign.The time, energy and commitment of SEO is hard to sell – especially when pay per click offers a visible product (the ad) as soon as the payment clears. But we all know that organic search results are much more appealing to consumers than paid advertisements, but I digress.
You can think of SEO like a tomato plant. If I pour a bucket of water over my plant only when I feel like eating tomatoes, chances are that my plant won’t grow and it certainly won’t produce any tomatoes. Or any tomatoes that it does yield will be small, sour and disappointing.
 The point is that if you only pump out a keyword-stuffed article on the days that you feel like improving your rankings, you won’t get far.
Instead, you need to be determined and dedicated enough to produce quality content on a daily basis. For example, write a 400 word blog post every day. The steady flow of content with a proper keyword ratio will push you much higher in the rankings over a six month period than the keyword-stuffed, sporadic massive – article approach.
When you are blogging, remember that your article must be equally entertaining for your audience as it is for the search engines. Consistently fresh content may move you up in the rankings, but if your articles are not engaging enough to keep consumers on your site, then what’s the point?
Same thing goes for your sales copy. You have one chance to engage consumers upon arrival to your site, so don’t bore them about anecdotes, customer testimonials or where the next industry convention will be held.
Instead, excite them with information about your company,www.cmtmarketing.net– What do you offer? (Actually, this should be evident before they even click on your site) Who are you? Why are you the best? How does that set you apart? What are your customer service promises?
These are all questions that get right to the soul of your sales pitch. Save the rest of that fluff for other pages in your site.

A commitment to your business investment that bears fruit!

Saludos:
Jerry|CMT

Working with the Supplier Development Team on their Social Media

Incredible Social Experience

Yesterday, I needed some feedback on a linking issue which Google may or may not look at favorably. So, being connected to groups, forums and other business professionals, I reached out on Linked In. What I want you to understand is that the quality of information along with speed in which it was streamed to me was incredible! The take away, wherever, you are in your business there is help in the social platforms. So you ask what is the catch, your time, be polite and professional and leave your contact options wide open because you never know where nor how they may just refer some business your way!

From our Silver Fox Advisors Round Table this morning, Thoughts While Shaving from Len Fuchs:

The chief strategist of an organization is the leader.
If your looking for a big opportunity, find a big problem.

There's more if you like sent me an email....

Saludos:
Jerry/CMT

Generating More Leads With Promotional Products

It is easy to gain leads by using promotional products. Any promotional equipment similar to pens, pass chains, note pads, shirts, etc; have been in effect, pick up items that commercial operation owners can use to greatly help keep their brand in front of their clients. Imprints or trademarks speak about your products and services which helps drive sales and gives your brand its place in the market. Promotional products developed with a creative strategy that focus on the projects objectives have proven to yield positive results well after the promotion has expired.

There are more than 850,000 products which owners can select depending upon their promotional needs and objectives. Identifying not only by price but by material, processes, additional costs, delivery, supplier experience carry a lot of weight to the overall success of the project. Can your distributor explain the differences between emboss, engraving, digital and screen printing and how each process will look on your finished project? Does your distributor have graphic design capabilities in case modifications are needed, who is your point of contact are they experienced in the industry? The promotional product industry is a billion dollar industry and in our experience, CMT has developed strong industry contacts with relaible, highly rated suppliers that have been in business collectively for more than 20 years. Non- Profits, public and private enties all benefit from smart promotions that are unique, capture their brand and deliver a specific message to their end user.

For any suggestions with promotional ideas, consult our branding team,  we can partner, listen design and deliver your project on time, on budget so you can concentrate on your business. Port of Houston, METRO, MFR Accounting, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, US Census are just a few of the many clients CMT has partnered with on their promotional product projects.

Social_Networking with Toilet Paper?

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, doing what he does best...bringing community together! Engagement, participation along with real opportunities to connect with like-minded business professionals.. I believe you can participate...I believe maybe you should? What do you think?
http://bit.ly/2010Tips

Saludos:
Jerry/CMT

The New Rule of Engagement

A friend, Jim Ellis, www.webstrategistlab.com, published a book about his extensive experience as a web professional. Jim, is not a Web Programmer or Designer but rather, he absolutely understands the how and why we're able to be found on the web.

Here's a quote..I like: Strategies should be obvious. Tactics should be a surprise!

His book is any easy read with lots of good, viable and useful search optimization information. By the way, this book helped him land a great position..

Enjoy!
Saludos
Jerry/CMT

This Is What I Work For _ and You?

I asked our client not for a recommendation but rather their feedback. I know many can do the job but can many strengthen the relationship? What are you asking your clients?


Hi Jerry:

I am very pleased with the web site and have received positive feedback as well.  I am grateful for your efforts and wish you the best.

Thanks,

Robert M. Overbey, Jr.
President
BondPro, Inc.
www.bondproinc.com

Saludos:
Jerry/CMT

B2Bs: Your Email Policy Could Be Hurting You

Today, I wanted to mention a topic we speak to our B2B clients frequently.The topic is around what is the standard email policy for contacting our business clients. Based on our research and how other business approach this topic please read our article..We welcome your comments..



If you are following consumer-marketing rules for your B2B communications, you are making a mistake. Responsible consumer marketers have adopted an "opt-in" e-mail policy for determining who receives their marketing messages. Unless customers give the marketer permission to contact them, the marketer leaves them alone. Consumers prefer opt-in policies, and regulators have stood behind them. Many B2B marketers abide by a similar policy, but they don't have to — and shouldn't. In fact, I'd argue, your business customers generally would prefer the reverse: an opt-out arrangement in which you send them messages unless they say "stop."

Consider this scenario: Say you attend a trade show and exchange business cards with an exhibitor. Does that exhibitor have permission to contact you by email? Of course. You fully expect to receive email (or phone, or postal mail) follow-up. That's how you stay informed, build relationships, and do your job.

Now, if the exhibitor starts sending you junk — too many messages, or irrelevant emails — then you'll ask him to stop. You'll opt out. At that point, you expect the marketer to honor your request and remove you from the emailing list.

How did B2B marketers end up following an opt-in policy that neither they, nor many of their customers, really want? I have a theory about this, based on my experience when I worked at IBM in the mid-1990s. In those days, the battle raged between the marketers — who sensibly argued for opt-out — and the IT guys, who passionately hated spam. The IT side won this particular battle.

The impact on customer communications was serious. Consider these data from the tech behemoth Cisco Systems which made a similar decision in the early days. Today, Cisco only has email addresses for 45% to 50% of its customers around the world. Of these, only 29% opted in to receive communications. As a result, Cisco can only hope to reach 14% of its customers by email.

Business marketers should reconsider these early knee-jerk policies.

In fact, the gold standard of business communications permissions today is to offer a choice to customers, like a web-based form that allows them to indicate their preferences. Let them choose the media channels they prefer and how often they want to hear from you. Allow them to change their preferences at any time. And above all, comply with their requests.

Enterprises large and small are finding this works. Here is Cisco's opt-in form (found within the invitingly named "Cisco Preference Center") which gathers profile information, asks about product interests, and encourages customers to sign up for specific newsletters.

I hear that the company is reviewing its opt-in policy, and considering a shift to opt-out for all email communications with its customers. This should be of interest to all B2B marketers.

What's your view on opt-in versus opt-out for B2B communications?

Saludos:
Jerry/CMT