Monthly Archives: June 2011

If you are a business person and you are wondering why your page is stuck on page 35 of your category it is because you have no idea how SEM works. This is nothing to be ashamed of, probably 95% of businesses with a website have no idea what SEM is in fact a lot of businesses can not tell you what SEM stands for.

For that matter even those who do know what SEM stands for, have no idea how to use SEM, get their page ranked high on Google or other search engines. SEM is the initials for Search Engine Marketing.

Why is Search Engine Marketing so important in today’s very competitive market place? Think about it, just about every business worth mentioning has a web page. Some very elaborate, some very basic, yet they all have the same problem; a webpage without an effective SEM program is like a car without an engine.

It can be a new Mercedes or a 10 year old car, it is still not going to go anywhere without gas (SEM). Think of ways you can get new business…

1- Newspapers- The Internet is making newspapers obsolete. Newspapers get thrown out, and running ads for weeks is costly.

2- Yellow pages- Most Yellow pages books are being uses as door stops.

3-Direct Mail- The way postal prices keep rising and the rate of return on direct mail decreasing, this is another form of marketing that is becoming obsolete.

4-Radio and T.V- Great in theory, but prices so high it puts out even larger sized businesses.

5- Bill boards- Yeah sure?

SEM is the future, SEM is the NOW. SEM is why you built a web page, SEM is the difference between a profit or bankruptcy. You decide, if you have a good product or service, you need to get people to see your page. SEM is the vehicle to drive your page up where the big boys play. Regardless of your size high page ranking is a necessity.

Bimo Marketing has the experience, SEM is a time consuming and very competitive so you need to check out Bimo Marketing, our team has over 15 years experience!

There’s plenty of debate as to which of these two popular marketing methods is better than the other. In reality, both SEO AND PPC are essential to online marketing visibility, and they complement each other nicely. Though the two work hand in hand, I believe one is ultimately superior. Below, I will compare some pros and cons, and test their strengths and weaknessness against each other. The last one standing will be declared the winner of my Bimo Belt and be used primarily in my campaigning endeavors!

COST

Pay-per-Click is about a lot more than money. But never forget, the first word is PAY. While a PPC campaign can deliver traffic with relative ease, it can be very costly and has no real longevity — once you stop paying, the traffic goes away. ALso you have to pay for every click whether it gets you business or not. Since you are paying for every click and every ad impression, you are always paying, and this cost keeps rising with increasing competition for the same spot or the same keyword.

SEO and link building require a lot more creative effort but have much more sustainable results. You also don’t need much if any capital to start up at all. Just start writing! Once your website has been optimized, backlinked, and attains a higher ranking naturally, your traffic is practically free. After that you just need to maintain your position. The fact is there is more weight and visibility on a search engine listing than an ad. Page one, rank one can be accomplished in many ways but the only required investment is effort.

TIME

SEO is a long term investment. It’s quite the grind to the number one spot for competetive terms. It can take years in some verticals. Once done properly, though it’s not easily shaken or undone. Search engine users trust naturally appearing links more; after all that is what the majority go to a search engine for. When given a choice between the natural result of their search and “sponsored” or PPC links, search engine users opt for organic results almost every time!

PPC doesn’t require lots of time and effort: do your keyword research, choose your ad partners, and get your money ready. The results are immediate. You can start getting traffic within minutes in some cases. Because it is a quick, low maintenace method, PPC is an ideal supplement to more protracted, complicated marketing, like SEO. If your facing a timecrunch or deadline, PPC can get you quality leads quickly, but the fact is: you can do better.

EFFECTIVENESS

SEO is a deeper science. There is more to learn from it than PPC. Doing SEO research uncovers incredible amounts of intelligence on specific terms, searchers, demographics, products, industries and more. You are forced to improve conversions for each keyword search, and have almost unlimited options modify your campaign and raise the ROI. SEO keeps your website in good condition, from content to user experience, and gives you more insight into the minds of your potential clients.

Search engine users prefer naturally appearing links. SEO targets a larger base of users as most studies reveal that 75 – 80% of searchers click on organic listings as opposed to paid listings. Most search engine users don’t pay much attention to pay-per-click ads that appear along with the natural search results because they think the links that pay to appear don’t have the relevant information on them (and that’s why they needed to pay). In most of the cases banners that appear on content-rich websites too don’t generate many clicks because people are more interested in consuming the actual content on the web page.

An aware user knows that links get higher, natural rankings from search engine algorithms because they are relevant. Since they prefer and trust the search engine they use, they normally show more interest in links that appear with higher rankings than ads that appear in the PPC sections.

WINNER: SEO

It’s pretty clear which of the two I prefer. I am a details oriented, analytic individual though. I have nothing against PPC. I believe it is a versatile and necessary tool for internet advertising just like social media marketing. If you have the budget for it, I urge you incorporate PPC into your campaigns and gauge it’s results for yourself. PPC is amazing for short term goals, but strategic SEO and link building is the ideal for long term online marketing efforts.

*The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of it’s writer and not necessarily reflective of Bimo Marketing.*

Page strengths are important for SEO. Below we have included the 50 best directories to list your webpage. Listing your site to these best directories helps improve your traffic and page rankings.

Enjoy!
From the Bimo Team

Page Strength 10
http://www.dmoz.org/ (free)
http://dir.yahoo.com ($299 per year) (Directory subdomain has page strength of 10 as well)

Page Strength 9.5
http://www.business.com/ ($299 per year)

Page Strength 8.5
http://www.botw.org/ ($149.95 per year or $399.95)
http://bubl.ac.uk/ (free)

Page Strength 7.5
http://www.ezilon.com/ ($69 per year or $199)
http://Directory.v7n.com ($50)

Page Strength 7
http://www.avivadirectory.com/ ($49.95 per year or $149.95)
http://www.familyfriendlysites.com/ ($19.91 per year or $49.99)
http://www.goguides.com/ ($69.95)
http://www.romow.com/ ($60 / $120)

Page Strength 6.5
http://www.2yi.net/ ($15.95 / $64.95)
http://www.bloggeries.com ($47.99 per year or $27.99)
http://www.dirjournal.com/ ($159.95 / $249.95)
http://www.elib.org/ (60 Euro / 150 Euro)
http://www.index-it.net/ ($25)
http://www.joeant.com/ ($39.99)
http://www.mygreencorner.com/ ($19 / $75)
http://www.skaffe.com/ ($44.99)
http://www.tygo.com/dir ($39.99) (directory folder has page strength 5.5)
http://www.webworldindex.com/ ($25)

Page Strength 6
http://www.allinfodir.com/ ($26.95 / $89.95)
http://www.allydirectory.com/ ($12.95 / $59.95)
http://www.busybits.com/ (unknown)
http://blogannounce.info/ ($19.95 / $39.95)
http://www.browse8.com/ ($35)
http://www.cascandra.com/ ($11.95 / $29.95 per year)
http://www.citystar.com/ ($19 / $29)
http://www.domaining.in/ (free / $25 per year)
http://www.ebjuris.com/ ($10 / $20)
http://www.gii.in/ ($25 / $200)
http://www.incrawler.com/ ($24.95 / $49.95)
http://www.kahuki.com/ ($19.95 / $49.95 per year)
http://www.onlinewide.com/ ($34.95 / $69.95 per year)
http://www.prolinkdirectory.com/ (free / $9 for 3 months)
http://www.rakcha.com/ ($29)
http://www.sevenseek.com/ ($40 / $99.95)
http://www.site-sift.com/ ($29.95 / $99.95 per year)
http://www.szab.net/ ($16.95 / $39.95)
http://www.top5jamaica.com/ (free)
http://www.uksmallbusinessdirectory.co.uk/ (49.99 pounds / 99.99 pounds)
http://www.uncoverthenet.com/ ($59 / $199 per year)
http://www.ventedoy.com/ (bid for placement; min $5)
http://www.webahead.net/ ($20 / $50)
http://www.wowdirectory.com/ ($43 / $65 per year)

These are only 50 sites…Bimo Marketing works with over 10,000 sites like this… Fill the form below to learn more

Below I intend to give you 3 fast techniques that are sure to get you real estate leads. Learn these three techniques and you will fly past the competition within days.

1. Be Visible to the Worlds Wide Web

clearly, out of sight out of mind applies to the web too! Your business visibility is how you get traffic…so point #1 is to focus on visibility. Search engine optimization is such a huge topic among real estate agents because it creates visibility. The more visible you are online, the more likely people will be to find you.

Visibility is the first step to generating real estate leads.

2. Be Valuable to customers!

Real Estate agents who are most successful with lead generation are those who understand the concept of perceived value. When a person perceives something as being valuable, they naturally want that thing. If you have the ability to get mortgages quickly then mention it!

For example; create a free report with a catchy title to offer to potential prospects. Make the report so interesting that anyone moving to the area will need to read, and will acknowledge you as valuable agent after reading it. If you sell beach front properties a title such as “Miami Fishing Spots for Men & Shopping Spots for Women” (exclusive locations inside).

To take this approach even further, you can add a visual element. Have a graphic designer create an eye-catching cover for your report, along with some thumbnail-sized versions to put on your website.

This is one example, online real estate leads come from value

3. Build Trust

People don’t trust strangers, pretty simple. So if you cold call people as a stranger, you already face an uphill climb in terms of real estate lead generation. The key, then, is to inspire trust among your target audience, in return they will take in your pitch and some will call you.

How do you generate trust? Testimonials help, especially when you use the former client’s full name, photo, and neighborhood. A long track record helps too, as do professional certifications and sales awards.

Blogging is a good way to build trust from site visitors.

A great example of innovative mobile marketing! We came across a video that shows a great way of engaging with consumers by using mobile technology. This is how it works, by using a smartphone, users can join the game by going to a website. Without having to download an app! By using GPS technology, the smartphone picks up the location. Then, the player can choose the freebie that they would like. Users get to control the billboard using the smartphone and turn it into a personal game. After playing for thirty seconds and win, the player gets a coupon for the freebie he or she can chose and redeem it at the nearest McDonald’s restaurant.

Not only is this one of the most interactive and engaging marketing that we have seen but it also drives people into the McDonald’s restaurants to redeem their coupons.

Great concept McDonald’s