Social Media Tips

Boost Sales & Be Recognized as an Expert In Your Field
5 Tips to Building your Keyword List

Boost Sales & Be Recognized as an Expert In Your Field

In today’s business world, credibility is a major differentiator for any business. Experts are seen speaking, they write articles and they have testimonials that affirm their expert status.

With the multitude of social media tools available today, every business owner has the opportunity to become an expert in their field. There are many online services that can provide the means to publish articles, but there are not many that allow you to also host your own events, network with other members, boost search engine rankings and receive testimonials all at the same time. Please check out www.biznik.com. It is a great social networking and marketing platform for business owners and managers to create expert status. Membership is free and creating an online profile takes just a few minutes.

Here’s what you need to know to start creating your expert status immediately.

Be Tops in Google

When you fill out your Biznik profile, place two or three keywords into the form provided.  Maybe it’s “small business attorney” or “life coach.” Now do a Google search with those words plus your city name.  Biznik members get a big boost in search engine rankings for their name or keywords and city. 93% of Biznik members show up in the top ten. About 60% rank #1.

Write an Article

Once you have written an article that shares your expertise, post it on Biznik. Not only will all members have the ability to see it and rate the article, but it naturally starts to be seen by the search engines. Make sure to use your keywords in the title and description to ensure that it is optimized well for the search engines. I have spoken with Biznik members who have received emails from people as far away as Europe that had read their articles. Both the content and the search engine rankings now give you an expert status that you generated from the comfort of your own home. And the number of high-level search engine rankings for your keywords increases with both articles and your profile.

Create Your Own Speaking Events

Biznik has an event calendar that allows you to reach out to other members. You can also promote your events online to thousands more via www.fullcalendar.com, www.eventful.com, www.upcoming.org, www.craigslist.com and more. This is a great way to get your own speaking experience that can be immediately added to your resume, website, profiles, etc. I would suggest using Biznik as the single place to direct all RSVPs. They have really simple online tools that allow you to see, communicate and network with attendees before, and after the event.

Build Your Bank of Testimonials

All the tips above are great ways to build testimonials behind what you do and your expert status. Biznik also makes it easy for people to send you compliments and post on your articles and events. But don’t be shy. Ask for testimonials, even suggesting that you write them for other people's approval. It is the best way to ensure that you are building your own testimonial bank with all the right content.

Good luck in getting started and building your online reputation as an expert using today’s newest social media tools.

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5 Tips to Building your Keyword List

Build Your Keyword List

Begin by typing keywords into the search engine that relates to your business or product. This is a good place to start, and you may be surprised at how successful this simple technique can be. This is also a great way to check out your competition, and how often they rank high for the same keywords. If you are searching on a local basis, be sure to include the name of the city in which you operate into your searches.

Setting Up Categories

As you begin to build your list add them to an Excel sheet or Word document, then begin to break them down into categories. This is a great way to build keyword phrases.

For example:

Category:

Gifts Keywords: Corporate Gifts, Mother-To-Be Gifts, Christmas Gifts,

Long tail Keywords: Christmas Gift Baskets, Christmas Gift Wrapping, Christmas Gift Ideas. Christmas Gift Ideas for Teenagers.

Using Modifiers

What is a modifier? A modifier is a word that in combination with your core keyword creates your long tail strategy.

Organizing your keyword lists will allow you to have full control of your search modifiers by keeping them in a word-per-category structure. The two categories are general and niche specific, with multiple sub-categories. For example, a general category may be fitness. A specific sub-categories may be, age, gender, location.

You should also list transactional keywords like, get, find, buy, purchase, and for more informational keywords like info, tips, learn, ideas, plan, samples, and examples. If you use modifiers you’ll dramatically increase your chances for ranking higher on the search engines.

Using Descriptive Keywords

Don't ever think that no one will ever search for a particular keyword. Search behavior is varied and broad, so you shouldn't be afraid to use model numbers, product names, or other keywords that may describe your product or service. Chances are that someone somewhere will be searching for it.

Test, Test, Test

Once you’ve decided on the keywords and phrases it’s time to test them. There are a number of ways to test, one is to plug in your keywords and check your position on the search engines. Another is to use software that goes out and checks for you. That’s another story.

Building an accurate keyword list is critical to your success, so get working on it.

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