Today’s question is from James and it’s something that most of us can relate to. James has been in Internet Marketing for a while but like many people has lost focus and is looking to get back on track.

Here’s what James wrote…

Thanks for your support/concern John, It is what I really need right now…
 
My main problems are focus, and ranking sites I already have.
 
When it comes to focusing, I am all over the place, I don’t know where to start and what to stick to, and hate deciding which keyword to dedicate my time towards.
 
I love the finding keywords part, and don’t have problems with that, I don’t understand when people say they can’t find any good ones??? There seems to be so many!
 
My problem is picking one to dedicate to, then actually finishing a project out of it, I always get sidetracked somewhere along the line.
 
I also have a hard time promoting my sites, and getting good rankings. I can’t seem to make it work, and have a hard time working out what I should be doing, and how I should be doing it to make it work best.
 
Should I be pointing links to all my posts/pages? How do I go about it? When should I stop?
 
I get frustrated so much, and stressed at times because I still have not got any consistent income being made, and I feel like there Is a very long way to go before I could get to where I need to be.
 
I have come so far in regards to Internet marketing, and learnt too much to just walk away empty handed, so I need to make it work, which is why I have not given up, I can’t even if I try!
 
What do I do? How can I get myself on the rite tracks, and keep moving towards my goals?
 
Your thoughts and suggestions are very much appreciated, I trust you know enough to be able to advise, and respect your opinions on the situatiuon.
 
Look forward to hearing from you.
 
Best Regards
 
James

Hi James,

Thanks for your question.

This seems to be a similar question to Kristies. I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes you can focus on your target keyword and find that your just not getting anywhere. What you will often find though is that you begin to rank for keywords you weren’t initially targetting.

This is where LSI comes into play. When you initially choose your target keyword(s). Go and type it into the Google wonder-wheel. Then make sure that all the other words thrown up also appear in your content, (not the whole phrase but just the seperate words).

It sounds like you already have a few sites made. If any of those are getting traffic then THAT is the best place to start. Check your stats and see how visitors are reaching your site. Where are they coming from and more importantly what keywords are they using to find you. These are the keywords you need to be focussing your efforts on.

Also, look at your competition. Are the first few results in Google TLDs (Top level domains)? If they’re not then it should be easy pickings. If they are then what kind of PR do they have? How many backlinks? Where are those backlinks coming from? Could you get links from the same places?

With regards to where to point your links I generally take 2 stand-points on this. To start with I will distribute around 50% of my links to the homepage and the share the other 50% among my internal pages. BUT…

Once I start receiving traffic I will then point more links to the pages that are already succesful and link to those pages using the keywords that people are using to find them, not just my original target keywords.

So I guess for your first question.

I don’t know where to start and what to stick to, and hate deciding which keyword to dedicate my time towards.

With a new site, start fairly evenly but when you have some statistics to work from these are far better than any tool can provide. If one page on your site takes off then keep promoting it until your reach the stage where you competitors are too tough.

I love the finding keywords part, and don’t have problems with that, I don’t understand when people say they can’t find any good ones??? There seems to be so many!

This is GREAT because keyword research is where most people fall down! If you crack keyword research then you’ve done the hardest part. Also, try and stay AWAY from the everyday niches that everyone targets such as weight-loss, credit, debt, insurance etc. Look around your home and in the industrial sector. These are generally not as well cornered by other marketers and SEOers so it’s much easier to get good rankings.

Now, When you build your site make sure it’s natural. Let’s suppose your site is on dog training.

Don’t have pages like…

• dog training techniques
  beginners dog training
  advanced dog training
  dog training aids.

Branch out a little and go for pages like…

• dog training techniques
  pet food supplies
  Flashing dog collars
  Pedigree advice

Also, make sure you’re targetting Buying Keywords. It’s no good ranking for a phrase that isn’t going to lead the visitor to click on your ad or make a purchase. In the above example “flashing dog collars” is a good buying keyword whereas “pedigree advice” is not.

Try not to get frustrated, and don’t try to spread yourself too thin. Just pick out what’s working and go with it.

When getting your links try and vary them, not just vary the anchor text but also where they are coming from . Get some links from blogs and social properties and especially EzineArticles. I know everyone says this but this can get you a lot of traffic. When writing your author bio try using your website URL instead of just anchor text as this really helps with the click-through rate.

So to summarize, if I were you, I’d take a look at the stats on my sites. I’d pinpoint where my traffic was coming from and which keyword(s) visitors are finding my pages with. Then get some articles written and promote those pages using those keywords. Create free properties on Wordpress, Blogger, Wetpaint etc – (EVO II is great for this if it’s in your budget). Make use of your internal links as these carry weight aswell. Lastly, check your content – make sure you get those LSI phrases in (naturally).

Also, take a look at my previous answer to Kristie here:

http://johnreimann.com/onlinebusinesssuccess/seo-ppc-ppv-not-working-why-not/
Hope this helps James,

Here’s to a prosperous 2010!

Regards,
John.