Keyword Research Is The Foundation Of Search Engine Marketing

Creating a Search Engine Marketing Program without conducting an extensive Keyword Research is like building a house without a foundation - - it might look good at first, but it won’t weather even the minutest of storms! And, in the ever-changing business climate we face today it seems there is always a storm just around the corner!

Search Engine Marketing is chasing those individuals who want your product or service and are using the internet to find you! Pathmaker Marketing's goal, on your behalf, is to determine and isolate the words, terms, and phrases they type into Google. Your goal is to make sure your company "comes up” when they type in their search words! And it is only through comprehensive Keyword Research will you be able to uncover these keywords.

Pathmaker Marketing stand ready to assist you in creating a Keyword Research Program that pinpoints your Winnable Terms for ensuring Page Ranking and driving potential customers to your website! Don’t allow yourself to fall victim to the temptation of aiming for the bullseye with a blindfold on! Rather, understand the key concept that Keyword Research is the foundation of effective Search Engine Marketing.

Tips For Ranking Higher in SERPs

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a specialized field that helps a website get higher rankings in the search engines results page (SERPs) by making it more relevant for both search engines and people. The goal of search engine optimization is to capture as much of the page 1 real estate in searches relevant to the targeted keywords.

Whether you’re developing a new website or updating an existing site, you should keep the following guidelines in mind as new content is developed and coded.

• Structure your site appropriately to be found by search engines.
• Make navigation easy, clear, and intuitive.
• Remember that “content is king.”
• Think through and liberally use appropriate keywords.
• Make sure <TITLE> and <META> tags are used appropriately.
• Check for broken links and correct HTML.
• Keep parameters short on dynamically-generated pages.
• Be straightforward in your site structure.
• Make your photo captions text rather than embedding inside an image.
• Use <ALT> attribute and descriptive names for all photos and images.

Pathmaker Marketing offers a full range of services - web design, search engine optimization, email fundraising services, business marketing promotion online, Christian marketing, keyword marketing and more. Give Pathmaker Marketing a call at 623-322-3334.

Monetize Your Email List

by Randall Mains

Email fundraising has proven to be one of the best emarketing channel you can leverage to develop online fundraising sources for your not-for-profit organization. A good qualified internal email list should generate substantial gifts toward your annual fund, add to your monthly donor groups, and even raise funds for special projects. I will show you how to monetize your email list later, but for now I want to focus on how to begin building your lists, since many charities are literally at ground zero when it comes to their email lists.

Most companies don't know how to start building their email lists. While there are numerous methods you can use, both online and offline, you're best to grow your email lists by addressing your website traffic conversion plan first, which is generally an overlooked subject. I personally prefer incentive-based email sign-up offers, which I'll explain later.

Much of the focus I hear about is on generating visitors to your website, rather than converting the visitors you'll get. Generating traffic to your website without having a plan to convert the traffic into non profit marketing assets is the equivalent of having a billboard on the highway--you do get brand awareness because of the traffic that sees your ad, but you don't get many tangible assets to work with after your ad ends.

We here at Pathmaker Marketing believe that a non profit website design strategy that concentrates on traffic conversion will add people onto your email list. Using this method you collect as many names as possible that you can convert into gifts or sales today, plus names that are likely to convert in the weeks and months to come through online fundraising.

Most companies will dedicate zero real estate, or very little online real estate, to traffic conversion efforts. Installing a good one will increase the size of your email lists, and eventually lead to significant results out of your email fundraising.

What Is Your Ministry's Niche?

As non profit fund raising professionals, Pathmaker Marketing often starts by asking our clients, "What is unique about your ministry or non profit organization that separates you from the rest?" Isolate that area of differentiation and then determine the ways you might convey that uniqueness online. One idea for accomplishing this objective is to think about the ways you already provide ministry:

• Do you have a radio show? Then place your radio broadcasts online in MP3 format.
• Do you preach sermons? Then have your messages converted into MP3 format and upload them online for people to hear 24/7.
• Do you have a television ministry? Then convert your TV programs into QuickTime or Windows Media file formats for online viewing. You can even upload your shows to YouTube or other online video portals.
• Do you have a drama ministry you can videotape? Then do the same.
• Are you a prolific writer? Then consider:
• Publishing your books online as e-books or using print-on-demand processing.
• Developing white papers on subjects of expertise for you.
• Creating an online library replete with articles on various topics of relevance to your audience.
• Starting a blog.

The key here is to isolate what ministries or services you provide offline, particularly those that are especially unique, and then determine if you can provide or enhance them through non profit marketing online.

What Do You Mean They Weren't Looking For Me!

by Floyd Allen

Boy, I hate to burst a friend’s bubble! Especially when that friend thinks he is excelling in my area of expertise. Especially when that friend is Jim.

Now, you probably have already read about Jim though he wasn’t referred to by name. Jim is the gentleman who referred to “Pay Per Click” as “Paper Clip,” and wasn’t thrilled by the program’s results, nor by the fact that I had corrected him on it. Anyway, he is doing his best to keep up with technology, and decided he would start a Blog. The owner of an independent sporting goods store and a pretty fair fisherman, Jim decided he would do a Blog on fishing. He has been at it for about a month, and when we had lunch the other day he breezed into the restaurant and announced that he had finally hit the big time!

Enjoying the beaming smile on his face, I asked what was up. He explained that he had fourteen hundred hits on his latest offering, 5 Important Facts about Fly-Fishing in Arizona. And, he proclaimed triumphantly, he didn’t think that many people even knew his name. Without thinking I informed him that undoubtedly most of them didn’t. He gave me a hard look - - he wasn’t to the point of fuming, but he was, at least, brooding. Knowing he deserved an explanation, I shared a few Internet Marketing ideas with him.

The reality is, I explained, that approximately 82% of the people who read our Blogs have not typed in our name, but rather a keyword. This, I went on to tell him, is the basis for Keyword Marketing. Keyword Marketing is an excellent Online Marketing Tool, and one that Randall Mains and Pathmaker Marketing, the firm I am associated with, feature as part of their Search Engine Optimization Services. My best guess was that people were looking for advice on fly-fishing in general, and fly-fishing in Arizona in particular, and that’s how they came upon his Blog.

Jim was a little deflated; there was no doubt about it. He is a friend, and not wanting to bring him down and leave him there, I shared some of the positive aspects about his situation. I first pointed out to him that now fourteen hundred people do know his name. Next I suggested to him that he might want to use what he had started as a social Blog as a subtle way to market his business. His spirits were lifting, and he seemed genuinely interested in the prospect of using his Blog to increase his business.

Warming to the discussion myself, I explained how another Pathmaker Marketing associate, Karen Randau, knew a gentleman who had developed leads for a hunting lodge that he owned and operated. He just wrote about some of the interesting experiences the people who stayed there had enjoyed, and before long people were asking about flyers and what not. Utilizing all of the knowledge and expertise at Pathmaker’s disposal, I assured him, would allow us to help virtually any business use a Social Networking program such as Blogging to promote their business without violating the unwritten code of “fun” that is associated with Blogging.

By the time lunch was over Jim had returned to being his beaming self. We discussed some other topics that might bring him new readers, and speculated on how many hits each one would receive. He was thrilled that he might get fourteen hundred new customers, until I pointed out to him that probably half of them were probably from out of state. I got that hard look again, until I explained to him how he could deal with that, too - - - but that’s for another day and another Blog!

Promoting Your Online Business

Promoting your online business online is crucial because it generates traffic. Without traffic, you have nobody to look at your Web site and therefore you need to be marketing your business online consistently to drive this essential traffic to your site.

The five elements of a complete business marketing online promotion plan are:

• Blogging
• Link Building
• Social & Professional Media Marketing
• Pay Per Click Advertising
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Call 623-322-3334 to schedule a free consultation with Pathmaker Marketing.

Questions To Ask Fundraising Companies

If you’re a non profit or church who raises funds, then you need to include online fundraising in your marketing tool kit. And when you start doing that, you’ll want to consider the advantages of working with various fundraising companies. Just because you work with someone who has been managing your direct mail for the last several years doesn’t mean they’re the right choice for your email fundraising or search engine marketing efforts. You’ll want to look for Internet savvy fundraising companies for that.

When interviewing fundraising companies, here are some helpful questions you’ll want to ask.

• What is your experience raising funds online?


• What is your strategy for raising funds online?


• What is your experience in my industry?


• What is your billing schedule and terms?


• How do you resolve conflicts and disagreements?

These basic questions may launch you into other discussions, but these will help you springboard into a thorough understanding of how various fundraising companies stack up against one another.

Pathmaker Marketing is ready to help you raise funds online and would love to talk to you about how our strategies and experience fit with your organization. Call us at 623-322-3334.

Win Keywords With Compendium

“Well, Jim, if you are serious about using blogging for marketing purposes, I would suggest that you get in touch with Randall at Pathmaker Marketing and have him set you up with Compendium.”

“Compendium?”

“Right. It is the blog posting system that Pathmaker Marketing promotes. It's a Premier Bogging Service, recommends to all of their clients, and it is, without a doubt, the best system on the market.”

“What makes it so good?”

“Well, there are a multitude of reasons actually. A few of the more important ones, where you’re concerned at least, include the fact that it automatically optimizes your blog post content, systematically organizes your post content by keyword, allows for unlimited users and dynamic calls to action. Not to mention the comprehensive keyword research you also receive to help you identify your winnable terms so you can begin targeting keywords.”

“So all I have to do is sign up with Compendium and I’ll win keywords and page rankings?” Jim asked hopefully, realizing that probably wasn’t the case.

“No, not quite. Google tends to prefer to give rankings based on depth of content, so you need to spend lots of time posting blogs for the next few months.”

“How do I know what to blog on?”

“Compendium will help you find your winnable targeting keywords, and that’s what you need to concentrate on.”

Jim was satisfied, I could tell, and I knew he would soon be giving Pathmaker Marketing a call. Even though Compendium isn’t free, it gets results for its bloggers.

Make Blogging A Viable Marketing Tool

For those whose intentions are to use their blogging efforts in a productive manner to gain themselves significant page rankings in Google, Yahoo or Bing, and thereby make their blogging a viable marketing tool, serious consideration needs to be given to Compendium. While it is not the only blogging system available today, it is, by far and away, in my opinion, the best blogging system available for bloggers who want to be serious marketers.

To make such a bold statement one needs to be able to support it, and there are three major benefits that give credulity to my claim. To explain this, let me use the illustration of the lemon tree in my backyard. Typically, my large lemon tree has three “levels” of fruit: Those which are on the low hanging branches and are easily picked; those on the middle branches, which I might be able to attain but it will take some more effort; and those on the very top branches which are, for all intent and purposes, unattainable. Applying this to winnable targeting keywords, we find that some terms are going to be easy to win; some are, perhaps, winnable with more effort, and some you probably will never be able to win. Compendium helps you to determine which targeting keywords are easy picking, so your blog postings revolve around terms that will get you page one rankings and top 50 rankings, both on your target terms and long-tail variations of those terms.

To punctuate this point, recognize that Google is preferential to ranking terms based on depth of content, so you need to choose those keyword phrases that have not already had an “encyclopedia” written about them. A good example of this might be “email fundraising” vs. “ephilanthropy.” While you might prefer to use the more common of the terms, so does everyone else. Therefore, the former might be unattainable where the latter is readily within your reach and grasp. When you are targeting keywords pursue the winnable terms first.

From the blog posting side of this coin, since depth of content is a paramount concern to the search engines, you should be prepared in the long run to write 50 – 200 posts on the terms for which you are targeting keywords.

Compendium is best for blogging with the purpose of winning page rankings on your targeting keywords! For more information, call Randall Mains at Pathmaker Marketing at 623-322-3334.

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Find Your Client's Biggest Need

Randall Mains of Pathmaker Marketing had done a presentation on Internet Marketing Ideas and effective Online Marketing Tools. In his presentation he had mentioned that the most Effective Internet Marketing takes place when the business owner concentrates on his clients by “scratching their biggest itch”.

Jim, who owns an independent sporting goods store, is always on the outlook for Small Business Marketing Strategies, but, as in this instance, he frequently gets his wires crossed in regard to what he is learning. Having more than a little success with the Internet Business Marketing Programs Randall and I have helped him with, he is always willing to follow our advice to the letter - - even when he has no idea what we were actually talking about.

“Jim, that was Randall’s way of saying you need to find your client’s biggest need and then fill it for them.”

He just looked at me like a kid who has discovered that a cow can’t really jump over the moon. As he shook his head back and forth a bit, I noticed that his eyes were back in focus, and that we probably were going to be getting somewhere now.

“So, you really don’t scratch their back or anything”

“No,” I assured him.

“Ohhhhhhh,” he replied contemplatively. “Well, how do I know what their biggest need is?

“Probably the best way to find out is to simply ask them,” I advised him truthfully.

“You mean I have to call up everyone on my list?” he asked, incredulity heavy in his voice.

“No. Since you have a pretty good size e-mail list, you can either use “Survey Monkey,” or put together a short questionnaire yourself.”

“Can Pathmaker help me with this, or do I have to do it all myself?” he asked, the panged look on his face non-verbally pleading that we help him.

“Sure, we can help.”

“Great! So all I have to do is run the questionnaire and I’ll know what kind of things to offer forever!” he exclaimed triumphantly.

“Well, that’s not quite true,” I informed him. Continuing before he could ask, I explained my comment. “Look, Jim, your business has several specific seasons that you deal with - - hunting, fishing, softball and so forth. And, in fishing that breaks down to summer and winter, as the needs for ice fishing are different. You should, I think, send out an e-mail at least every two months and see what people are looking for to make their sporting endeavors more enjoyable and productive.”

“Ahhhhhh,” Jim said, his nod indicating he understood what I was talking about. “Boy, the people whose business isn’t seasonal sure have it a lot easier, since they only have to survey their clients the one time,” he commented.

“That’s not quite right either,” I informed him. “With the number of paradigm shifts that are taking place in our society today, everyone needs to keep a finger on the pulse beat of their clients' needs.”

Jim again nodded in agreement, and prepared to change the topic. He did, however, have one more question.

“Floyder, what’s your biggest itch?”

I realized that Jim was right about one thing - - he would need Pathmaker Marketing's help with his questionnaire!!

Add a Virtual Tour to your Website

A virtual tour can be an interesting and valuable addition to your website, and if you do it properly, it can be a valuable part of your internet marketing ideas. A virtual tour is a simulation of an existing location, usually composed of a sequence of video images. They also may use other multimedia elements such as sound effects, music, narration, and text. Virtual Tours can allow a user to view an environment without actually being there whilst on-line.

There are a number of issues to take into account before adding a virtual tour to your website.

1. What is the goal for your tour?

2. Who are you trying to reach?

3. What kind of interactivity will your audience most appreciate?

4. What kind of bandwidth will you be working with?

Pathmaker Marketing can help you with virtual tours and other kinds of website design. Give us a call at 623-322-3334.

I Think My Google Paper Clip Must Be Rusty!!!

by Floyd Allen

If you have ever seen anyone “fume” you know that it is not a pretty sight. Now, there are several things that might make a person fume: For a truck driver it is a freeway that has turned into a parking lot and for a vacuum cleaner salesman it is finding out the house they are in has no electricity after they have dumped their grit and grime on the new carpet. For most business people, the match that will torch their psyche to the point that they fume is investing dollars in a marketing program and getting little or no return.

That latter description describes a good friend of mine. I recently met him for coffee, and as soon as he came in I could tell he was fuming! I waited until he placed his order, and then got him to talk about what was wrong. He told me he had recently spent nearly three thousand dollars on a Google Paper Clip Program and reaped no profit from his investment.

I interrupted him with the quizzical look on my face. When he asked me what was wrong I shared that I wasn’t sure what a Paper Clip Program was. He explained that it was where you only have to pay when someone clicks on the Ad and goes to your website. Me pointing out to him that the proper term was “Pay Per Click” and not “Paper Clip” did not endear me to him. In fact, I think if anything he was fuming even more!

As he continued to talk he began to look at me with a jaundiced eye, knowing of my involvement with Pathmaker Marketing. By the time he finished, it had become somewhat apparent that he was blaming me for his plight, though he had gone to a different fundraising company and I had had nothing to do with his current circumstances, directly nor indirectly. I forgave him the fallacy of his misplaced blame, and instead of getting upset with him decided to try to help him - - at least to calm down. Read more...

Premier Blog Service Gets Client Major Listings

by Randall Mains

I filed a recent client report showing the Page Ranking results for their 15 Keyword premier blogging service. To produce this report, 22 targeted keywords and 2 URLs were checked on 5 search engines, including Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask and AOL. The first 50 listings of each search engine were evaluated to get the client's current results.

On May 25th they had 115 total Top 50 Page Rankings:
45 Top 10, plus
30 Top 20, plus
14 Top 30, plus
26 top 50.

The Page Ranking report showed them receiving an overall 19 fold increase in Blog Listing Results vs. January 20, when they had 6 Top 50 Page Rankings (2 Top 20 and 4 Top 30). The premier blogging service we are using on their behalf is really delivering to them substantial results, and we're glad to to have it be a part of their core blog search engine optimization services. What's nice about the system is how it automatically optimizes their blog posts for the search engines, saving them a lot of time and effort performing manual SEO.

If you'd like to consider a substantive tool for your company or church blog, or Christian blogging efforts, then check out Compendium Blogware and then give me Randall Mains at Pathmaker Marketing a call at 623-323-3334 to discuss how this substantial tool could reward your company with more leads, sales and name acquisitions, along with the ability to use the blogging process to establish yourself as an expert in your field.

The Upsides of a Premier Blogging Service

by Randall Mains

I've been asked recently to defend the use of my Compendium Premier Blogging Service, because so many other blogging tools are available for free on the internet. Well, let me say this in my defense. For anyone wanting a church blog, or wanting to use Christian blogging to get page Rankings in the search engines, I think my system is superior.

There are three things that is does really well for me, automatically:
1. It optimizes my blog urls
2. It optimizes my page construction
3. It optimizes my page content

My compended blog system creates keyword blogs from my posts that are optimal for my target keywords. Those three things tend to get me noticed in Google, Yahoo and Bing, and I get really good Page Rankings as a result. Plus, with my system, I leverage my blog posts into WordPress, Blogger, Xanga, LiveJournal, and Vox, so I get the benefit of using those free blog services too, but without having to worry about multiple accounts to upkeep. My central blogging happens here, and the power of the internet flow it elsewhere.

Until someone tells me otherwise, I'm asserting the fact that using any other blog system would require me to manually search engine optimize my individual blog posts, and since I do that for a living on client websites, I know how tedious and complicated that process can be to get decent page ranking results.

Plus, my system allows you to have unlimited user blogs, which is a very hard to beat feature and benefit.

If you want a demo of the high-powered premier blogging service we use to get stellar page ranking results for our clients, give Pathmaker Marketing a holler at 623-322-3334, and ask me Randall Mains to show you the system we use.

Should it be Digital or Analog?

by Floyd Allen

I heard him. And, I understood what he said. I did not, however, have any idea what he was talking about. Unfortunately, this seems to quite often be the case when Jim and I get together. He is a wonderful person, and a true and loyal friend. But sometimes he is just a tad out of step with the rest of the world. I used to think it was just with me, but I have discovered that it’s with everyone. The problem is, I have surmised, that typically Jim only shares half of what he is thinking at any given time. So, while it usually only takes a minute, it is wise to get the whole story from him before responding.

“Jim,” I began slowly, making sure he would stay with me, “should what be digital or analog?’

“Why, the watches!”

We were almost there, but I still wasn’t sure what he was talking about.

“Watches? What Watches?’

“You know. You told me to be sure to add a free watch, and I just want to know which kind to buy.”

A-ha! Now I knew what he was talking about. The day before I explained to him that Randall Mains and I had been talking about the importance of “adding a free watch” when doing an Online Ad. Randall shares this concept with his clients as an excellent Online Marketing Tool. It is but one of the many Internet Marketing Ideas that Pathmaker Marketing advises their clients to incorporate, and since Jim knows that I often work with Randall, he frequently picks my brain in regard to Small Business Marketing Strategies. Jim and I had been discussing Business Marketing Promotion Online, and I had mentioned that it is often wise to give a “free watch.” Read more...