If you are in the online marketing business or SEO world in simplest term then web analytics must have been part of your world too. Web analytics is a tool used by online marketers or website owners to track their website performance in terms of the amount of traffic. It also provides marketing strategies and techniques that can be used to improve any SEO campaign. Most SEOs are using web analytics at the present time to help them in achieving their main goal which is to keep conversion rates hiking.

For most online marketers Google Analytics has been their number one choice when it comes to web analytics. Clearly, the main reason for this is its being free which could definitely offset whatever drawbacks Google Analytics may have. Apparently, Google Analytics has earned tons of merits from SEOs in all parts of the world due to its usefulness even if it’s free for everyone. However, due to SEOs’ continuous search for better web tools that could better improve their businesses, several Google Analytics alternatives came to existence.

Amidst this event, the battle between self-hosted and hosted web analytics started. As you may already know, Google Analytics is a great example of hosted web analytics which most SEOs are used to using. However, more and more online marketers are concluding that self-hosted web analytics is better.

If you are one of those who can’t decide whether to stick to the hosted web analytics you’re using or to migrate to self-hosted, you might want to learn all the advantages each of it can provide you with so you can come to a conclusion.

Hosted Web Analytics Advantages

• The most obvious advantage of a hosted web analytics is you don’t get to handle techie stuffs which self-hosted web analytics demands. In other words, you don’t get to have headache running and coding scripts from time to time.
• You don’t need to be a technical expert to generate the needed reports for your SEO campaign.
• Most hosted web analytics are for free and it won’t require you to spend long hours to operate it.

Self-Hosted Web Analytics Advantages

One of the most used web tool today is Google Trends. Google Trends is a great web tool you can certainly use to improve your traffic. Google trends lets you determine and know the hottest and most used keywords. Hence, you can improve your contents by using the right set of keywords from time to time.

Using Google Trends to Increase Traffic

As you may already know at this point in time, in online marketing or SEO campaign, the more traffic or the higher traffic you get the more money you earn. This is why it is vital for you to familiarize yourself with different web tools that can generally increase your traffic. One of the most ideal web tools that can definitely help you is Google trends.

If you want to use it to your advantage here’s what you might want to do:

• First and foremost, you should go to Google trends and find out the latest and hottest trends in the world today. You’ll be prompt with a lot of ideal keywords you can use to optimize your content. Find keywords that are related to your website and make use of it.
• You can also create a page on your website that tackles only those hottest issues or the most talked about personalities, things and stuffs globally. You can find out what those topics could be on Google trends.
• Since Google updates Google trends from time to time, you can use it to be the first one to write about a certain topic that’s worth reading. This can definitely works best with news oriented topics. If your website includes content that is dedicated to keeping people updated with the latest news and events worldwide, Google Trends can definitely help you out.

How It Works

Google Trends is a simple yet very helpful web tool for SEOs. It is a keyword analysis tool that can be use just by everyone who intends to get hold of the right keywords to use to optimize their contents. In such a way, it can definitely improve not only the content but the earnings of the website as well.

If you are not familiar with Google Trends yet, here’s how it works:

• If you want to know what keywords are being searched the most by people around the globe you can use Google Trends. First step is to enter a set of keywords in the textbox.
• Upon entering you’ll be prompted with graphs showing the most used keywords from the set of keywords you’ve entered.
• You can then use it to further improve your web content.

It is very important that you keep your content optimized at all times to be able to sure of high traffic on your website. You should not fail to remember that in an online marketing business your first and ultimate goal must be to make sure that you keep your website known and visited by the highest number of people all the time. This is to make sure that you get what you intend to have in the first place.

Google Rankings is what everybody in the SEO and online marketing biz is most concerned about. In fact everyone is concerned about their Google Rankings. Google Rankings shows a list of web pages or websites according to the most viewed sites. In other words it is a system made for ranking websites which was developed and made by Google itself. The highest ranking you get with Google Rankings the highest possibility you earn big from your website.

How to Improve your Google Rankings

In reality, you cannot actually determine the exact and accurate formula Google use for Google Rankings. However, you can always do something to improve your rank. One of the most effective ways is the Search Engine Optimization or often called SEO.

In line with this, here are some tips on how you can outrank your competitors:

1. Always name your pages – It is very vital that you keep your pages named as Google only displays search outputs using the website’s page titles. And if your web page would appear untitled, you cannot expect people to click on it or visit it from there. Most people would look at it as spam.
2. Know the value of link building – Since Google always looks for hyperlinks, it is essential that you keep on linking your websites to different organizations and other web pages. This can definitely improve your ranking.
3. Choose the right keywords – Another great tip as well is to choose the right keywords to use. In addition, you must not focus on using a single word. Instead, use keyword phrases. You can consider other people’s perspective and try to ask some people around you on what could be the best keyword phrases you should use.
4. Maintain the right keyword density – If you want your website to be exposed as much as it can be, you should not forget about the keyword density. Remember, good SEOs know the right amount of keyword density to use.

Things That May Affect your Google Rankings

There are many things that can affect your Google Rankings. If you are new to SEO marketing, you might be ignoring them without knowing that they play an important role to keeping you on the top rank of search engine rankings like that in Google. Some of the most common factors that may affect Google Rankings include keywords in URL, Domain name, Header, Title Tag, Meta tag, Keyword density, links, etc. Another great factor is the freshness of your contents. If you want to stay on top of Google Rankings you should not forget to keep your contents fresh and duly updating is certainly a must.

The only thing that should matter when concerning about Google rankings is how you can improve or keep your rankings high at all times!

One of the most talked about Google tools is Google Alerts. Google Alerts for those of you who haven’t tried to use it is a web tool from Google itself that automatically sends you an RSS or an email alerts for particular things you are concern of. In the world of online marketing or SEOs, Google Alerts can definitely move things. But the most important question here is “how”.

Many people who have online business or website to grow and protect may be looking at other things and may not notice the importance and the usefulness of using Google Alerts to their advantage. The only reason for this would be the ignorance of the real value of Google Alerts for online businesses.

Some of the most important things you can do with Google Alerts to your advantage are the following:

Google Alerts can send you great topic niche which you can write about to improve your content. A good website that generates traffic should never fail to have robust content. Google Alerts can definitely help you with this by sending you the latest and hottest topics in town!
Google Alerts can feed you with information regarding your competitors. Yes you can definitely watch over your competitors by using Google Alerts. You can let Google Alerts send you information on a certain brand name or site and from it you can totally see what your competitors have and you can do it to your business as well if you think it can do better or you can simply think of more effective strategies to outrank them using the information you got from these alerts.
Google Alerts lets you monitor your keywords. This is also one of the most important advantages you can get from Google Alerts. You can determine who’s also using your keywords by setting up an alert for it. Moreover, you can use these alerts to help you find the best topics that are related to your keywords that you can write about.
Google Alerts allows you to keep an eye on your domain. This could be the most basic yet the most significant use of Google Alerts. You should never forget to keep an eye on your reputation. Set up an alert that will notify you right away when your domain is being dragged to something or talked about and see if it’s good or bad. Seeing it right away can give you the opportunity to make an action right away.

Definitely, there are a lot of things you can get from Google Alerts but like any other web tools you know, there are also some few disadvantages like the following:

Google Alerts algorithms are definitely not perfect.
You can only get alerts from data or info that has been indexed by Google.

Though Google Alerts may have disadvantages as well, you can without a doubt ignore those disadvantages and use it to your benefits as its advantages can definitely offset whatever drawbacks it may entail!

Have you heard or use Google Webmasters Tools yet? If you do then you probably have some ideas on how this exceptional tool from Google works. For those who haven’t use Google Webmaster Tools here are some of the reasons why you should:

Google Webmaster Tools is free of charge – Who would not want something very helpful and free of charge? Yes the great news about Google Webmaster Tools is that you can use it for free and it’s being offered to everyone. However, for you to use Google Webmaster Tools you need to know few more things about it. And you must make yourself familiar with online stuffs.

Another great reason why you should start on using Google Webmaster Tools is the fact that it is very easy to set up. Unlike other expensive web tools you can find nowadays, Google Webmaster Tools is definitely the web tool you can set up yourself. You just need to undergo some verification process which is very much painless and you’re good to go.

Everything needs improvement all the time. And that’s another good reason why you should use Google Webmaster Tools. Google Webmaster Tools is continuously improving. Google definitely knows the webmasters and site owners needs as they work tirelessly on improving intelligent and helpful web tools like Google Webmaster Tools. Evident to this is the features being added to Google Webmaster Tools every few months.

Google Webmaster Tools allows you to get all the helpful and important information you need to grow your business or to improve your organization. One of the main reasons for Google to develop Google Webmaster Tools is to help the site owners and webmasters on developing their business by giving helping them do their job easier and by giving them the most useful tips and techniques on how they can improve their current system or website.

Generally, Google Webmaster Tools can provide you with all your needed information in the form of detailed reports. All you need to is to add your website to Google Webmaster tools and get verified. After which you can start seeing useful information instantaneously.

Google Webmaster Tools is definitely an ideal web tool that you can depend on especially if you want to improve your website today. The only thing that you should be aware of as well is the fact that it could also entail some disadvantages. Like for instance, this web tool can expose as much as information about you which your competitors can use to their advantage as well. Furthermore, this information about you can also be used by Google and use it for their advantage. But this thing can always be avoided. You just have to be wiser and you must not forget to learn about everything about the world of online marketing, website building and how these stuff works for you to be able to come up with a more boosted technique on how you can make your business increase its sales and profits!

2011 was a year of rapid development in search engine optimization. It was probably the year of changes in search engine algorithms. Looking forward, most online marketing experts expect changes for 2012. This is why new strategies are necessary in order to be more competitive online.
Here are the top predictions regarding online marketing:

The Importance of Social Media in Search Engine Algorithms
The use of social media networks boomed in 2011. Just look at the hundreds of millions of Facebook users and you will understand the importance of social media today. According to online marketing experts, it will become official this year and most search engines will make social media an important factor in search algorithms. This is why social media presence will become critical for online marketing success this year.

New Scenarios Brought about by Mobile + Social Advancement
A bigger percentage of internet users will be using mobile devices as a primary tool for online shopping. This is the reason why websites need to be mobile friendly. In fact, a recent study indicated that about one-third of adults in the United States use a smartphone. This year, the number is expected to rise significantly. Also, it was noted that travel click-through-rates are considerably higher on mobile devices compared to PCs.

Google estimates that around 44% of last-minute shopping on the internet is done using smartphones or tablets. This is an obvious opportunity for marketers to focus on specific user scenarios that haven’t been addressed before using traditional SEO tactics.

The Prominence of Daily Deals in SERPs
Right now if you search for a specific service like a massage or pedicure on Google, you will be given images, a list of establishments that offer such services and other related information. This year, most experts believe that the top search engines such as Google will be including daily deals to help end users find great discounts. Daily deals and such offerings have become so popular today that it should be included in SERPs. This will contribute to the goal of search engines to provide a great customer experience to each searcher.

Summary
Online marketers who are likely to succeed this year will be those who are quick to embrace changes and create appropriate tactics for such changes. Remember that what are stated in this article are only predictions and are not 100% accurate. These are only ideas that will help you anticipate what will happen this year.

Yearly, people are excited to see what has been included in the Yahoo’s Annual Top Searches. If you are one of those who are excited to know the top trends, stories and gossips for the whole year, this is certainly the place to be as Yahoo has recently released their Year in review. Before going to the juiciest part which is seeing which and what is on the list, you might want to know first the importance of this Annual Top Searches?

Here is a list of reasons why people are so eager to get to see the Yahoo’s Annual Top Searches:

• This list will furnish you with the most popular searches of the year. For most people especially those in the online marketing field, knowing what and who has been the trend throughout the year is very important. This will give them the opportunity to get further income in next year as they will be able to determine the most ideal niches for SEO campaigns.
• This list will give you the opportunity to be updated. Being updated to all the latest happenings worldwide is one main reason why people are so much into Yahoo’s Year in Review. For most people it is important to get the latest news, buzz and trends so they will never be left out. Moreover, being updated will give them the opportunity to mingle and catch up to the usual conversations and hot topics today.

According to Yahoo’s Year in Review, the most popular searches are often about niches like gadgets, games, celebrities, sports and news stories. For four years, Britney Spears has topped the Yahoo’s Annual Searches this was from 2005 to 2008. Last year the news about oil spill has topped the searches.

The ever popular iPhone has snatched the crown from Britney Spears as it has topped both online and mobile searches of Yahoo’s Annual Top Searches. Included in the top searches are the famous celebrity actresses like Kim Kardashian, Lindsay Lohan, Katy Perry, Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Lopez. It is unlikely that only one natural disaster has made it to the list of top searches and this was the Japan earthquake.

When it comes to the top athletes’ searches, Danica Patrick has outranked everybody while Sarah Palin has trampled President Obama in the Top Politician Searches of 2011. Moving on, Casey Anthony trial has topped the Top News Searches and Stories of 2011 category.

You can visit Yahoo Year in Review if you want to see more top 10 lists on the world’s most popular searches in niches like music, movies, economy, etc. If you are too eager to stay updated and equipped with all the latest trends and happening worldwide it is only ideal that you go to check on the Yahoo’s Annual Top Searches. See what have been the most popular searches, topics and talks of the town in the year 2011.

Be updated and ready to converse anytime by furnishing yourself with the most talked about issues, gossips and trends!

If you have an online business, it is very important to pay attention to your sales page’s conversion rate. The conversion rate usually varies widely and is mostly unpredictable but even the slightest increase can make a difference in your revenue. If you’re a newbie, your first question is probably “what is conversion rate”. Basically, in online marketing conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who do what you want them to do. For example, this can mean making a purchase or clicking an advertisement on your website.

The Most Effective Tips for Increasing Sales Page Conversion

Obviously, it is a great idea to optimize your sales page with specific keywords that are closely related to whatever you are selling. This way, the traffic to your site is specifically targeted for the products/services you are offering. Here are more tips on the different elements you should work on:

Headline

I cannot reiterate enough how important headlines are when it comes to increasing traffic. This is what catches the attention of online searchers which initially draws them into going to your page. The best headlines should start with “Best Ways to…”, “How to…Effectively”, “Most Popular”, “The Secret of…”, “Quickest Way to”, etc. You should be creative in writing headlines and know the right word to include in order so that you will be maximizing the chances of searchers to click on your post.

Purchase Button

According to several studies, one of the best ways to increase sales page conversion rate is simply to have a larger “buy” button. This is the reason why the “Belcher button” is the most popular button for sales pages.

Font

The font of your sales page should also be given importance. You should use a font that is easy to read and fits the design of your sales page. The most common mistake is having unreadable fonts because of its colour or the background of the sales page. The size should be 12-14pt. It should neither be too big or too small.

Image and Product Details

It is ideal to use images which are related to what you are selling. This will make your page appear more professional. Product detail is also very important. There should be a detailed description of your product or service which explains why the product you are selling is perfect for your visitor. It should convince your visitors why they should take advantage of what you are offering by making that purchase.