The OKLU Blog

Looking for a really convenient way of carrying a small light, but not wishing for a mini flashlight? Try the keychain flashlights. Fixed to chains, such flashlights serve the twin purposes of providing light and, well, being a keychain.

However, never let their size make you underestimate them. Super-bright and available in different colors, keychain flashlights can be very useful too.

Multitudes of companies exist which offer an amazing range of flashlights for us to choose. Photon Light, The Led Light, Family on Board’s Family Outside, Thomas Distributing, Quality Items Online, Cool Flashlights, Rayovac, The Sharper Image, Keychain Flashlights, Circuit City, Lighting for the Home, and B&H are some companies which provide keychain flashlights of excellent quality and service.

Photon Light has a very good collection of keychain flashlights, all suited for people of different trades such as hikers, campers, fishermen, party-goers, and many more. NASA, US military besides others are also present among its customers. Not only does it provide excellent products, but also gives quality discounts apart from lifetime warranty and free shipping. Some of the products available are ‘photon freedom micro’, which is available in 10 different colors, including infrared and ultraviolet; ‘photon micro light’, which is available in a water-resistant case; ‘realtree camouflage photon light’, which is especially suited for hunters and outdoor people; and many, many more.

Streamlight, Inova, Pelican, Eveready, Garrity, LED-lenser, CampCo, MagLite, and NexxTech are brands which create high-quality keychain flashlights for different purposes.

Different color flashlights are also available at The Led Light. It offers products like ‘Streamlight keymate LED keychain flashlight’; ‘Inova microlight LED keychain light’, available in white, red, green, and blue; and ‘Pelican l1′, has a white light only, but is water-resistant and comes with an unconditional lifetime guarantee, besides others.

‘LED-lenser’ keychain flashlights of different colors and uses are all available at Quality Items Online. All batteries are included with the keychain flashlights. Such lights are also water-resistant and last up to 100 hours.

Suited especially for kids from six years and up are the keychain flashlights provided by Rayovac. With batteries included and a lifetime warranty, ‘Scooby - Doo! Mystery keychain flashlight’ is superb for use by children.

The range of keychain flashlight varies from $1.59 (offered by Circuit City) to $24.95 (available at Quality Items Online).

1. Start a newsletter that people can subscribe to, and use an autoresponder service like GetResponse (www.getresponse.com) or Aweber (www.aweber.com) to capture and store your subscribers’ contact information.

2. Use the double-opt rather than single opt-in method to capture qualified targeted leads. Why? Because double opt-in requires new subscribers to confirm their subscription (yes, I want what you have to offer) and reduces the chances of a bounced email.

3. Refer people to your web page that offers them a freebie (free report, ebook, etc.), capture their name, email address & phone number (optional) and then take them to your home page while behind the scenes your autoresponder provides a series of follow-up emails to them automatically, re-introducing yourself and your business offer. Studies show that most people need to see your offer at least 7 times before they make a decision to purchase.

4. Include a headline & outline the features/benefits of the product or service you are offering on your web site. Make it easy for your audience to understand what they will gain by buying from you.

5. Include written testimonials from people who have used your product or service on your web site. Include audio testimonials that prospects can listen to and you will really capture their attention.

6. Let your “personality” come across in your newsletters. Allow your subscribers to know who you are and what you are about. Keep it real and be honest with them. By establishing trust and credibility with your prospects, you will greatly increase the return on your investment in time and money.

7. Be sure to include plenty of informational articles on your web site that focus on educating your visitors. Add or replace older articles with new ones on your web site each month. Keep you web site content fresh and exciting to your viewing audience. The more content you have the better. Search engines tend to rank sites higher that have a good deal of content and good content keeps your visitors or prospects coming back for more.

8. Write an informational article about a topic related to your business and post it on your web site. Include an “About The Author” resource box at the bottom of the article that includes your name, company, telephone number, address, web site link and your permission to re-print and use your article on their web site or e-zine as long as your resource box remains intact. Submit your article to web sites like http://www.ezinearticles.com and watch your web site traffic increase substantially.

9. Include a “Refer a Friend” section on your web site and add a hyperlink to this in your newsletter. This gives your visitors and subscribers and opportunity to share your URL with others. Most autoresponder packages make it easy to do this.

10. Start your own affiliate program using an affiliate management solution like AssocTRAC (www.assoctrac.com). Promote your new affiliate program on your web site or newsletter. Watch as you recruit a global sales force eagerly willing to promote what you have to offer. They send you a paying customer and you cut them a commission check. It’s as simple as that.

About The Author

Darryl DeLong is a sucessful Internet Marketer and Ezine Publisher.
Learn how to build up your opt-in list, site visitors and sales with my brand new ebook entitled “Viral Internet Marketing Strategies” get a free copy here: http://www.viral-internet-marketing.com

Businesses and other organizations use focus groups to research consumer and public opinion concerning a variety of issues. Corporations look to focus groups for general help in selling their products to the world at large instead of any type of direct marketing efforts.

Focus groups are usually conducted by Market Research companies. Market research companies are hired by the big corporations such as Coca-Cola and Nestle. The reason they do this is because the market research companies have the experience and expertise to make sure the focus groups are accurate and unbiased. If the corporations did this themselves they may not get impartial information and could make mistakes costing them millions of dollars (not to mention their jobs!)

So from here on out, when I talk about companies that conduct focus groups, I am referring to market research companies. These will be the companies whom you will contact, register with, and get paid from. This is VERY important for you to remember.

OK, so what kinds of focus groups exist? Well, generally there are two types: Offline and Online.

Offline

These are small, roundtable discussion groups on topics ranging from the latest features on internetworking hardware to new flavors of ice cream. They usually involve about 10 participants plus the group leader or moderator. Each session usually lasts about 2 hours and the discussion is “focused” on a particular topic, about which group members share their opinions. An honorarium of $40-$80 for time and effort is very common. It is not unusual for observers from the client corporation to watch the group in action.

In focus groups, unlike telephone surveys, people can be shown products or ads and can be given an opportunity to express how they feel and what they think in a normal, conversational setting. As a research method, the use of focus groups is less about statistics and numbers and more about qualitative matters such as whether people find an ad humorous, and why they find it humorous, or if people believe a product is appealing and why they think so.

Online

Online focus groups are a cost effective alternative to conventional “face-to-face” focus groups. Online focus groups generally invite 8 to 10 people to join for a specified period of time (90 minutes to two hours) in a specialized chat room. This controlled environment allows participants to view text, graphics, sounds/jingles, video or multimedia for evaluation and testing. It is not uncommon for observers from the client corporation to watch the group in action and send private messages to the co-moderators as the group is progressing.

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info@paying-surveys.com

Ngullen Rivera publishes the acclaimed
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refreshing perspective and a strong focus on no-cost
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Football wagering is the gambling activity with the most demand on the sports wagering industry. NFL Football has attracted millions of persons to their stadiums, reached millions of televisions across the world and encouraged American football fans to bet on the sport, pushing NFL football wagering with great strength.

For those of you that enjoy NFL football wagering there is a wide variety of internet Sportsbook betting sites and of course in the land of gambling, Las Vegas, Nevada. You can also bet on NFL football wagering on local bookies that aren’t legal, but that might not be the right decision. Since many football wagering sportsbooks have gone offshore, internet football wagering is easy, fast and comfortable. You don’t even need to move from your house. With only a computer and an internet connection you can wager on NFL football wagering on any of the quality internet sportsbooks. These internet sportsbooks offer their services online and by phone and many ways of depositing are available, including credit cards.

NFL football wagering is an exciting activity and a fun way to gain profit. If you like sports and specifically American football then you must know many of the teams, football rules, game results and a pretty good prediction on future pro football games. Reaching for this knowledge and developing could result on a great opportunity to try NFL football wagering.

Skill is the main thing an American football bettor must have. This skill is developed by getting the right info and making wise decisions based on that. Having your own instinct and perspective on games is a key factor since you will find many handicapper picks, football wagering predictions and media exaggeration of players, teams or specific events. You should always reduce your emotional impulses and trust your keen judgment. You may not always win on football wagering, as such you must know that it is not always that you have to bet and specially do not try to gain back what you loose. If you are smart you may have a strategy in which you will stick to. Handicappers, articles and news do help but may also disorient you so you must pick what really gives you a hint.

Learning from errors in football wagering is important because this happenings will gain you experience. Remember that your favorite team may not always win so don’t let your preferences disturbs your judgment, at least if your goal is to win money. Stay focus on your strategy and good luck.

Professional SEO Copywriter. He helps a number of sportsbooks like:

Las Vegas Sportsbook

Hollywood Sportsbook

You’ve come home from work dead tired. You grab the mail on your way in and notice your new copy of your favorite golfing magazine is in the pile. It puts a slight smile on your face as a picture of you on a couch with an adult beverage suddenly pops into your mind. After getting into your evening uniform (sweats and slippers) you make your way to your favorite reclining device with that drink and a snack in hand to make that vision on the couch a reality. You get all settled with the TV on for background and you finally enter the “Jell Zone” to enjoy that golf magazine and your well-deserved relaxation period.

You go straight to the table of contents to see what is the most interesting article and there it is, swing advice from the winner of the last major tournament. “This is just what I need,” you say to yourself as you flip to the correct page knowing that your club tournament is 2 months away.

The article has one of those swing-sequence photo frames. It has some quotes from other pros. It has a sidebar from the “Top instructor of all time” with his ideas of the perfect swing. The second page of the article is dwarfed by an advertisement for the greatest swing gadget ever created by a human and endorsed by sixteen instruction schools in five countries. The author talks about how he “remade” his swing prior to winning that major but that his best buddy on tour is struggling using the same method and swing guru.

The captions on each of the swing-sequence photos point out the minute details of where parts of the body of the pro are at 10 different positions during the swing and which of those are “technically not correct”.

You don’t want to give up on the article, since you really do need the swing advice, so you go to your dressing room mirror and check a couple of your body parts with some of the pictures in the article while attempting to freeze your swing at the same points as the stop-action photos. “I got it!” you tell yourself when you match a couple of these positions and then practice them outside with your real club. You congratulate yourself and then sit back down in your easy chair to get back to the business of relaxing.

A little later in the evening, you flip to the Golf Channel and instead of the usual tournament from 1994 there is a lesson program from a pro instructor. Lo and behold, he teaches that the move you worked so hard on an hour ago was the prevailing instruction of the 1980’s and has since been proven to be “unreliable in competition”.

You jump out of your chair to go check your favorite golf sites about this guy on the show and it seems that he is everywhere when you do a search for him. A couple of articles you land on say he has the best golf instruction this side of the border and a couple more take pride in picking him apart. The instructor’s own website is loaded with testimonials from his students on how well his program worked for them so you keep surfing for further info.

This leads you to golf discussion boards, blogs, ezines, and untold numbers of websites that say that they have the secret to how to swing correctly. 3 hours later, you wake up from your golf web-surfing trance, realize you missed your bedtime an hour ago, and are now more confused than you were when before you opened that magazine in the mail.

You found more advice than your mind can process on a weekend day let alone a day that you had 3 meetings, your best employee quit, and your boss said something like: “…if you can’t (blah blah blah)…. we’ll find someone who will”.

Ok, that story was a bit exaggerated for most people (truth for me), but the point still stands:

There’s just too much instruction and tips on golf out there and we just don’t know what to do with it all!

And worse, you can find a lot of it that is exactly the opposite from one instructor (or pro) to the other. Many of you are well aware of this fact but still get caught up in something seemingly new that gets printed or posted that could potentially be hazardous to your game. And it’s not just us amateurs that get lost in this maze. Sports psychologists make a pretty penny on their touring professionals teaching them how to “Simplify” their swings and thought processes and “Focus” on what works for them.

So, what should we do about this problem? It’s very simple: just realize that more is not better for golf instruction and to continue to read and listen to golf tips with a very discriminating eye. Over the years, I have now come to the realization that most published golf instruction is designed for the better player and that a tip that works for the 5-handicapper could be a waste of time for a 20-handicapper. Not that it isn’t good advice, but the 20-hdcp should stop looking for more advice and start to work on something that will give him the greatest reduction in score for the time spent.

I know, I know, an article in a major magazine about “practicing good alignment” isn’t going to sell many copies even if it is 90% of all amateur golfer’s biggest problem. But the inescapable fact is, if you really wanted to get better at golf, you should read a basic instruction book like Ben Hogan’s “5 lessons The Modern Fundamentals of Golf.” And, only read one section at a time and work on what was taught in that section until it becomes a regular part of your game. And don’t read any further until you don’t have to think about it to do it correctly.

The other way to go is to pick an instructor or trainer and stick with them with a full set of lessons. You will need to actively ignore any other golf instruction that has the slightest hint of conflict with your lessons. If you run into something your instructor hasn’t taught you about, check with him/her. That is why golf lessons are spaced at least a week apart. Spaced repetition has long been known to be how we humans best learn things. It’s also why you can’t remember a darn thing about a subject 2 weeks after cramming for test on it.

Do the same thing with any other golf instruction that you find also. Don’t be tempted to jump ahead to Chapter 10 and see how to play a draw from a downhill slope because that ain’t gonna help you. O.k., I’m sorry to ruin your fun with your favorite golf magazine. So go ahead and give yourself permission to read and enjoy it again so long as you promise to yourself that you will stick to your plan of really trying to improve by working what you’ve learned one item at a time. Now get back to that couch and finish up that unwinding session you started. And since I’m already up, how’s your drink? Can I get you another one?

Craig Sigl is the creator of “Break 80 Without Practice” golf instruction system for Very Busy Golfers. Visit http://www.break80golf.com for more information and to download free ebooks “How you can play better golf using self-hypnosis” and “Better Golf in 5 Minutes.”

Recently, the U.S. House Judiciary committee approved the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act sponsored by Representative Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican by a vote of 25-11. During the committee meeting, Goodlatte said
“I oppose gambling because I think it causes many, many problems in our society”

On May 29, 2006, a new land based casino - the Wild Rose Casino and Resort opened in Emmetsburg, Iowa State. According to news report, officials are hoping that the new casino will bring an economic boom for north central Iowa.
In Iowa, the state’s Department of Criminal Investigation’s (DCI) Gaming Bureau is now larger than the agency’s general criminal investigation unitand is growing. The DCI has 83 agents at 14 casinos, including 32 agents hired since December. About 20 more will be added this year.

Assistant DCI Director Joe Diaz said everybody hired goes to the Gaming Bureau, which is now the agency’s entry-level position. Two new casinos are now openone in Worth County, in addition to the Wild Rose in Emmetsburg. Two others, in Riverside and Waterloo, will open within the year.

This is not peculiar to Iowa State, it is happening everywhere. Is gambling in a land based casino good and gambling in an Internet casino bad?

The case has already been made that the Internet makes gambling accessible to children who could use their parent’s credit cards for gambling purposes. If that is the case, then all online commerce should be banned. While there have been cases of fraud on the Internet, fraud has not stopped online commerce from flourishing. When has it become the policy in the U.S. to hide because there could be criminals around?

The World Trade Organization has already ruled that the U.S. policy on online gambling violates the terms of the WTO agreement. The Internet Gambling prohibition Act is ignoring that ruling.

The U.S. is sending the wrong message to the world. The US cannot be telling the world to tear down their walls and allow the market to spur creativity and yet decide to erect one of her own when it suits her. Precedence is a double edge sword.

U.S. is turning the world into a replay of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. From the ongoing replay of “Big Brother” by the Bush Administration, and now “Animal Farm”. The U.S. is turning Orwell into Nostradamus. I hope we are not going to wake up one day to the tune “Internet gambling is illegal; Casino gambling is good for the economy.”

Peter Hopeland is a freelance writer and a contributor to BettingRevue.com [www.bettingrevue.com].

In order to get to the top, one must have the knowledge to get there. The quest for knowledge is never the same for any one person and never leads in the exact same direction; but sooner or later, each individual will suddenly find they are doing all the things they always dreamed they would do. This is because higher learning promotes more than just getting a degree for the sake of landing a job. It can help a person develop and expand their mind in all new ways. Those who are willing to approach learning openly always have the opportunity to become their personal best.

Gaining knowledge in a formal sense has long been looked to as a way to take the next steps into life. This is often done by completing a type of degree program in an educational setting. However, the individual who realizes learning is a continuous process is the individual who will excel well through their years. As many settle into their life and careers, it becomes obvious the world’s fast changing pace demands extra knowledge and learning. Those who take on more education find they have the career satisfaction and earning power others tend to admire.

The Sierra’s Secret Seclusion - Rock Rick Lodge

Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com
To read this entire feature FREE with photos cut and paste this link:
http://jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/cabinweb/rockcreek/rockcreek.html

Ah, there’s nothing finer than an autumn day in California’s Sierra Nevada range: warm sunshine, crisp nights, golden aspen leaves, and shockingly blue skies. Not that spring, summer, and winter are less than spectacular here.

If you’re tired of the Las Vegas heat, the L.A. smog, or the Bay Area dampness, the folks at Rock Creek Lodge would like you to remember a number: 9,373. That’s their elevation in feet above sea level.

If you’re passing through the beautiful Owens Valley on the “scenic drive” portion of U.S 395, you might never guess the lodge was there. At Tom’s Place, a small collection of houses by the highway between Bishop and the popular Mammoth Lakes ski area, you turn toward the mountains towering above you on the west side. You wind your way up into Rock Creek Canyon as the high desert gives way to an alpine environment. The trees get taller and you pass some very nice campgrounds as the air grows thinner and cooler. Ahhhh!

If you’re not too distracted by the majestic old cedars and Jeffrey Pines on the rocky slopes, you’ll see Rock Creek Lodge’s brown wooden sign on your left after about eight miles. If you arrive at a beautiful mountain lake, you’ve gone a little too far. The lodge is located a half mile below Rock Creek Lake. A wooden bridge over the picturesque stream brings you to the lodge’s main building.

What’s this - flowers in my dinner? The chalkboard in the lodge’s window announces the bill of fare for the evening’s meal in the cozy dining room. Now, any food served on a cool evening in the mountains can be called “comfort food,” but if you’re expecting burgers & beans here, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. My dinner featured pork chops with sage and gravy, braised lentils, spinach salad with walnuts, fantastic home-baked potato bread - and “four lily soup.” Did you know that garlic, shallots, leeks, and scallions are all members of the lily family? This creamy soup had a marvelous flavor.

As you enjoy the warmth from the old woodstove, you’ll see some ribbons and trophies on the dining room wall. Janet and Randy are excellent cooks, and Janet has won prizes for several of her recipes - most recently for her chili-cheese bread at the 2003 Tri-county Fair in Bishop.

After dinner you can join other guests in the rustic lodge building for a board game (by the woodstove) or simply read a book from the shelf. There’s a pay phone at the lodge, but don’t expect phones, TVs, or internet connections in the cabins.

The 14 large and small cabins have kitchens, comfortable beds, and electricity, and eight of them (the “modern cabins”) have hot water and bathrooms. For guests in the six “rustic cabins” and the lodge’s dorm accommodations there’s a communal bathroom with showers, and outhouse-style restrooms are also close by, although they are closed in winter.

Winter 2003-2004 rates are as follows: $95 per person, per night for rustic cabins, $120 for modern cabins. Note that winter prices include your delicious dinner (including beer and wine), breakfast, trail passes, taxes, and your all-important snowmobile ride from the lower canyon up the unplowed road to the lodge and back. That’s right - the place becomes inaccessible to cars in winter. Talk about splendid isolation!

For the adventurous, the Lodge even rents a backcountry hut way up at Mosquito Flat. Go to www.rockcreeklodge for more information and current rates. Then pack your bags, get the kids and/or the dog into the car (pets are allowed for a small extra fee) and get moving.

By the way, bring a flashlight, ’cause it gets dark under the pines. After all that wine and dessert, take your partner for a romantic stroll along the road or across the meadow and look up; the stars look stunning from this elevation. You can also keep warm in the genuine Finnish sauna - a luxurious treat on a winter’s evening. Then make your way back to the cabin, stoke up the fire in the stove, and burrow under the blankets for a well-earned night’s sleep. Ahhh . . !

Rock Creek Lodge is open year around. You will need all that firewood during the rugged Sierra winter.

You did earn your night’s sleep, didn’t you?

To read this entire feature FREE with photos cut and paste this link:
http://jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/cabinweb/rockcreek/rockcreek.html

Rob LaGrone, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent - Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com

About the Author

Rob LaGrone, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent. Join the Travel Writers Network in the logo at www.jetsettersmagazine.com Leave your email next to the logo for FREE e travel newsletter.

Why is this funny?

Because in essence, a “click-through” places money in the pocket of the pay-per-click search engine — only a “conversion” like a sale or sales lead creates money for the marketer.

Under a practical perspective, a “click-through rate” is the percentage of times your “FREE LISTING” (called an “impression”) is clicked on to generate a “PAID” visitor. Until your website conversion strategies “convert” the PAID visitor into a valued action, the visitor is an expense.

The higher your click-through rate the greater your expense and the more revenue you create for the paid search engines. Thus by increasing traffic volume, you fuel the search engine’s growth, not yours.

Another perspective is to envision a “click-through” as placing coins into a slot machine. You cannot win the jackpot without inserting coins yet your preference is winning with fewer coins than with more. Likewise, you need click-throughs from your paid search ads to your website to generate sales or sales leads; however, your preference should be winning with fewer click-throughs than with more. If your not focused on increasing your website conversion strategies than this gambling metaphor makes a great deal of sense, right?

The BIG Question is “How to Focus on Maximizing Your Website Conversion Strategies?”

How do you win the “jackpot” with less click-throughs? There are a few different website conversion strategies to increase your results from your paid search marketing. Some of the strategies are managed at the paid search engine level, while the others at handled at the website level (or referred to as your “landing page”).

Here is a quick list of website conversion strategies for turning more paid search engine visitors into sales or sales leads with less click-throughs…

1. Negatively Qualify Visitors in Ad Titles and Descriptions:

Your objective is to “negatively-qualify” potential visitors by explicitly stating major product or service attributes, using words that connect with qualified buyers versus non-qualified ones and setting “click roadblocks” like prices to divert “out-of-your-market” searchers from clicking on your ad simply out of curiosity or false pretenses.

Ideally, you want to give the potential visitor the most important information at the “impression” level before you pay for them after a click-through. Consider these elements when writing your ad’s titles and/or descriptions…

• Always use the keyword in your title (and if possible, description). Industry research indicates that the “perceived” quality is approximately 60% higher in listings where the search term is included.

• In the description, include short, concise statements communicating your customer benefits. If you have limited room, then prioritize you customer benefits and list only the most important ones.

• Because you have limited character space, you must choose your words wisely. Certain words like, “Maximize”, “Exclusive” and “Indulge” have a positive persuasive impact on potential visitors versus negative ones like “Difficult” or “Expensive”.

• If you have an e-commerce website Include a product’s model number, your shipping incentives and shipping reach (nationwide or international), any guarantees, the price, potential inventory restrictions or other specific product or service information that customers require (or expect) to read and review before making a buying decision.

One important “experience” note - you will never divert all non-qualified click-throughs. It is human nature to not always read the print and simply click through an ad. Unfortunately, logic does not always apply to behavior.

2. Track Performance for the Individual Keyword:

Track your paid search marketing at the keyword-level. It is essential that you know your “per click” results from the money you spend.

For example, if you have 1,000 keywords active in your paid search marketing program and you spend a total of $3,000 a month - do you know which of the 1,000 keywords produce the best results?

What if 80% of your sales stem from 20% of your keywords? Moreover, what if this 20% accounted for just a small percentage of your $3,000 monthly cost? If you do not have keyword-level tracking you will not be able to make these financially beneficial assessments. Time-tested experience shows that tracking your keywords generates higher returns on investment and enable greater leverage of your website conversion strategies.

Be careful though of matching options (i.e. broad, advanced, exact, phrase and so on) offered by Google Adwords, Overture and other pay-per-click search engines. They provide “convenience” but unfortunately they skew your keyword performance results.

If you setup a “broad-match” for the keyword “real estate”, you will attract visitors who have entered any possible variation of the term “real estate” including geographically specific “real estate” keywords that may have absolutely no relevance to your product or service.

3. Employ Custom Landing Pages:

This is an absolute for all paid search marketing campaigns. Pay-per-click marketing is unique compared to other mainstream forms of online marketing. In part because marketers have the opportunity to select specific keywords, write specific ads and direct the click-through to a specific web page. This “connect-the-dots” process creates the need to develop consistency among the visitor’s expectation from the keyword they enter to the ad that draws their attention and down to the web page they “land-on”. Relevancy and consistency are essential for an effective pay-per-click marketing program.

One of the reportedly major reasons why pay-per-click marketing programs fall short of their intended goal is because businesses direct all of their click-throughs to their home page or to a poorly developed “contact us” form or product page. Since most businesses’ websites are designed to serve mutliple audiences (i.e. media relations, investors, current clients, potential prospects, customer services, etc.) they do not provide the level of relevancy and consistency expected from the visitor to get them to act confidently.

What are “landing pages?” Landing pages are simply web pages designed specifically for a keyword or related group of keywords. They are highly relevant to the keyword searched and consistent with the ad’s claim. They immediately focus a visitor’s attention on a primary call-to-action (most wanted response). In essence - landing pages ask your visitors to take an action.

If your paid search marketing is not living up to your expectations, consider which web pages you are sending visitors to. Are they relevant and consistent with your paid ads and keywords? Do they offer too many calls-to-action? Do they “fit” the expectations of the visitor searching on the particular keyword?

4. Consider Branding; Direct Response Objectives:

Branding has significant value for a web business and advertisers certainly prioritize it as the “golden egg” of their efforts. However, associating branding objectives with paid search marketing is questionable. Studies show that search users attribute less relevancy to paid search ads then natural search listings. Also considering the “click cost’ associated with paid search, it is preferable to use natural search for branding purposes.

Paid search is an excellent direct response channel since it can be maximized to provoke an immediate “desired action”. Unlike natural search where the web page variables (which are not always human-friendly) are tweaked to attain effective search engine ranking, paid search enables you to direct click-throughs to a custom landing page and to split-test the landing page to incrementally increase its direct response rates.

Ideally, only use paid search to “fill” any essential “branding keyword” gaps that your natural search is not able to represent effectively in the search listings. That way, at least your brand is presented as an option for a search users’ keyword inquiry. Remember, if your not listed, then you are not an option to fulfill the user’s perceived need.

Focus your paid search campaigns on direct response efforts through continuously split-testing your landing pages to increase your close rates.

5. Don’t Forget “Latent” Buyers:

A study conducted by DoubleClick/comScore in March 2005 reported that “in half of all cases studied shoppers performed searches related to the category of their purchase at some time in the three months before buying.” The study also found that, “on average five searches in a category come before an online purchase.”

What this means to you, is even though a paid search keyword appears not to convert immediately - be patient. The average search user performs five searchers before buying online and the five searches may be across five different keywords. So before removing any non-performing keywords from your paid search marketing, consider its brand and direct response value. It may have a low “scoring” value but be the biggest “assist” to sales.

In summary, focus on “qualifying” your keyword clicks BEFORE buying a visitor who has little or no intention of putting money into your pocketbook. By focusing your efforts on “conversion” rather than “click-throughs” you will increase your website sales and reduce your expenses - a sure bet for hitting the jackpot. As a client of ours recently stated, “Give me the campaign with 100 click thru’s and 30 sales over 1000 click thru’s and 10 sales any day!’

Best of Luck!

Kevin Gold is a writer, speaker and co-founder of Enhanced Concepts, Inc. Enhanced Concepts specializes in turning website visitors into leads or sales through web conversion strategies and ROI-driven search engine marketing. If you want to increase your leads or sales and get, a free copy of “Understanding Your Conversion Rate” and “12 Surefire Ways to Increase Your Website Conversion” visit http://www.enhancedconcepts.com.

Falling In Love with Life

There is no feeling in the world like the feeling of energized, on purpose living.

Have you ever been in love? You smile easily, you lie in bed for a little longer in the morning letting yourself dream and everything you do seems to have more color, more depth. That’s a lot how it is when your life is doing what you know it should be.

You fall in love with your life.

1. You only have eyes for what matters.

When another person fills your head, your heart sings and your brain is always returning to the face, the smile, what captivates you about her or him. Each time your thoughts come back to that person throughout the day, you sense a little jump deep inside you. Someone who is very dear to me has recently found herself swept off her feet and she’s in her 40’s! She laughs away her inner glow by saying, “I feel like a teenager again!”

When you are in love with life, you become enamored with your Life Purpose. You know why you exist, you know where you want to go, who you want to be. The result is like an electric undercurrent that never stops. No matter what you are doing or encountering through the day, you constantly return to purpose. It’s yours. It’s who you are and out of that comes unending ideas and a steady flow of creativity. How often I wake up in the morning excited to put into action the ideas that have come to me as I stir out of sleep and remember why I am who I am.

2. You easily set out your priorities.

It isn’t difficult to decide what to do when you are totally smitten with someone. I’ve watched romance blossom between my two daughters and the men of their dreams and it’s tough to decide to do an activity that doesn’t include their company! Being together makes everything more exciting.

When you are in love with life, you know what it is that brings you a sense of wellbeing. And you don’t let much interfere with that. If you find yourself being pulled off target, you reassess in light of your true values. Nothing appeals more than spending the majority of your time and energy on what you have determined is yours to hold.

3. You find that you are much more present in whatever you do.

The feel of her hand in yours, the soft look in her eyes, the sound of her voice - these absorb you when you find yourself totally alone with the one you love. You guard that time, cherishing it as priceless. You are completely immersed in each other undistracted by anything else.

When you are in love with your life, you have the ability to be there when you need to be. What does this mean? How often have you carried on a conversation with someone and found yourself unable to respond intelligently because you haven’t been listening? You were not really there with that person - your mind was somewhere else.

Being at peace with your top priorities means that you can be focused on whatever you are doing. Your mind doesn’t need to wander because you know that you have time set aside to pursue your most important activities. It also means that you are intentional about what you are doing so that you can give yourself permission to set everything else aside except for what presently occupies you. Time with your kids becomes time with your kids where you watch and truly listen to them. Your heart almost explodes during moments when you know that this is part of what you want your life to be. Building relationships with them is your major concern at this precise moment overriding whatever it is that could be distracting you.

4. You know that you stand out.

All of us are made with a deep desire to be loved, to be chosen. Having someone “choose” you fulfills a subconscious need which creates an inestimable sense of worth. There are moments when you discover someone is in love with you when you would move the earth for them if you could.

Having a purpose is a lot like this except for the fact that it lasts longer than the feelings of romance being in love with another person brings. When you know that you are “chosen” for a specific intentional reason in this world, you have an anchor that grounds you. You have a rock to stand on, something upon which to build. No matter what happens, this doesn’t change. You are still the same person made in the same way and that is one of the unchangeables we so desperately need in this constantly shifting life.

5. Hard times are still hard but determined perseverance is increased.

Now I know that being in love with someone can be a fickle thing. With a person you do not stay in that romantic era or your love doesn’t deepen and grow. Love moves ahead to the reality of relationship and learning to live with someone who doesn’t live up to your every expectation. It’s important to make a solid commitment to making the bond work or it won’t last. The bonus is that the magic still continues if you make room for it.

Being in love with life has its blind and disillusioning moments as well. Unfortunately, there is much that we can not control. But the strength of knowing yourself, knowing your purpose, knowing who you want to be is the strongest force in the world for keeping you on track - even when you face the most enormous mountains. This is the magic of living. When the clouds clear, you bring yourself back again to where you are going. You keeping moving ahead and hope remains alive because you know it’s all part of what you are meant to do.

There is no feeling, no exhilaration like being in love………..with life. My life purpose is “to inspire others to discover and live out the adventure of who they truly are.” It’s fascinating for me to assist others as they fall in love with their lives as I have. That’s the reason for my web site at www.goldrefined.com and the reason for the GOLD Life Performance System. They are the tools. Put them together with an eagerness to discover and the magic begins!

Bernice Lupo is a Certified Life Performance Coach, author and speaker who is in love with her life! She spends her days assisting others to find huge energy reserves by defining and refining who they are and how they truly want to live. She enjoys life in small town northern Alberta, Canada, where she lives with her husband, two daughters,son-in-law and a possessive little dog. Her highly acclaimed GOLD Life Performance System has enabled many to discover a new freedom releasing them from time management to focus instead on the management of energy.