Martin Koss – Internet Marketing Strategy Coach

Internet Marketing

It makes me laugh when I read endless blogs about how to ‘do’ Internet Marketing and the ‘right’ ways to do this and do that and how the ‘experts’ get top-ranking within hours for their clients and how the got 47,000 number one ranked phrases – oh yeah; and how they raked in million$ in a matter of weeks with a sprinkling of ‘black hat’ SEO.

Give me a break and get a life.

Do you think Sony tells Panasonic how they build their amazing Plasma and LCD screens so that their competitor can copy-cat their high definition pixel perfection? I doubt it.

Do you think Nissan exchanges industry secrets with Toyota, or Ferrari tells Mercedes how to get more down-force and achieve higher cornering speeds on their Formula One cars?

Nope!

Hence there is competition. Competition is good. It keeps people on their toes. It forces businesses to constantly be working on developing something better than they already had. Read the rest of this entry »

If we all used the same SEO tricks, the link-building and the many other ’secret’ methods that all the “experts” have been writing about for the past several years, then we’d all be the same, right? None of us would stand out!

Every car dealership would have a similar website, they’d all have similar blog content and they’d all weave a web of links by hiring in some dude who knew how to position links in forums, blog comments and the like – they’d all be doing what the experts say would get them to the top of Google. Read the rest of this entry »

For about the 3rd time this week I found myself rushing through the ‘crash course’ of DIY Internet Marketing by phone to a small business owner. He knows his business better than anyone else and is, in my opinion, best suited to do his own marketing.

Maybe one day when he is too busy for all the Googling and Facebooking and Twittering he can hire an SEO dude, someone to distribute content on a wide scale and maybe a bloggist but – for now – the DIY route is the best way to get started without shelling out more cash than he is able to spend.

So this post is for all the small business folks out there who want a five minute ‘crash course’ on Internet Marketing. No jargon, nothing that’s really going to challenge the gray-matter, nothing too tasking at all really.

Ok, start the clock – the 5 minutes minutes starts… Now: Read the rest of this entry »

Are you still been bombarded with ‘free’ reports and ‘amazing new software’ that works with, or shows you how to make the most of, the ‘latest’ Google update? Still? Months after the update actually happened?

Some people just can’t do enough BS creation and I for one find it so annoying that so called experts and ‘insiders’ try lining their pockets by ‘selling’ their products and services based on what is, effectively, old news.

I got an email this morning inviting me to a webinar which would explain to me all the amazing new features of the latest Google update – code named ‘Caffeine’ (as we all know by now, of course) and how optimising web content has changed ‘dramatically’ because of it (cough, cough, erm… bullshit).

Whenever Google launch an update, which is more often than is publicised, by the way, there is a gaggle of money grabbers who announce that they, and only they, have all the ‘secrets’ you need to take advantage of the ‘newest’ version of the most powerful and most widely used search engine.

If anyone gets in touch and spouts on about ‘optimising your website for the latest Google update’ tell them, as politely as you see fit, to have a nice day. You might also want to let them know that the ‘news’ is about 6 months old and they should get a life and keep up with current events. Read the rest of this entry »

Do you expect everyone from a complete techno-numpty to the super-geek to find their way around your website and to carry out what you think is a relatively simple and obvious action – but is it as straightforward as you actually think it is?

Have you ever watched someone attempt to carry out that so called ‘straightforward’ action on your website? Someone who has never seen your website before or read your blog?

Maybe you should. It’s the best way to find out if your website is (as you think) easy to use, or whether it is frustrating the heck out of your visitors.

If you have never done user testing you could be in for a shock – and, if your website or blog is part of your ‘sales funnel’ – not being as simple to use as you think it is could be (and most likely is) eating into your revenues. Read the rest of this entry »

After 15 years of involvement in developing Internet Marketing Strategies for many clients, when I started writing this blog I made a decision to limit all mention of SEO.

Although it is hardly ‘rocket science’ – SEO can be somewhat baffling and many unscrupulous ‘Google Resellers’ and self-proclaimed ‘SEO Experts’ are milking the vulnerable less-knowledgeable business people who simply want honest answers, ethical strategy development and a slice of the potential Google traffic.

A couple of years ago, I’d had enough of working in SEO as it became clear that this growing ‘industry’ is full of empty promises, valueless guarantees, scams, unethical practices, ‘one size fits all’ SEO processes, and rip-offs.

However, having spent quite a bit of time consulting with a new client, recently, and having, or so it seems, repeated myself many times while I explain the methods of achieving high rankings – and maintaining them – I thought I’d right a few ‘back to basics’ posts for my own clients and for anyone else who is interested – all about the mighty Google.

Where shall we start… Read the rest of this entry »

This is part 2 of a 3 part post. Make sure you read part 1 first else it might not make sense what I’m talking about.

Remember – Google guarantees nothing. It is not a directory that assures your spot in the rankings will be consistent. It is a search engine and the objective, as at Bing, too, is to get better and better at serving up what is current, most relevant, and, by doing so, most accurate results for their users.

Sprinkling a spot of SEO here and there now and then ain’t gonna cut it as the web gets more and more competitive. Just like you, no-one wants to concede the top spot and no-one wants their listings shoved off the top 10 (the elusive first page of Google).

So often I get asked questions like: Read the rest of this entry »

This is part 3 of a 3 part post. Make sure you read part 1 first and then part 2 else it might not make sense what I’m talking about.

There are many things SEO related that have, at one time or another, made me wake up in a screaming fit at 3am and, along with the millions of so-called experts and gurus, there’s the ever growing list of Software that guarantees top-10 or free;

Software with the most ridiculous ‘rock-solid’ money back guarantees I’ve ever read – yeah, right! But people buy that crap. Do some people not think before yanking their wallet out? Do some people really think a $199 app can solve all their SEO problems and actually believe that if it doesn’t make all their dreams come true then they’ll get their money back?

Let me ask, before we carry on, who really cares about the guarantee? Isn’t the loss of a year hoping the software would work more important than the purchase price? If it doesn’t do all it’s cracked up to do then you have just lost a year! You might have your $199 back but you’ll be a whole year behind your competition! In dog years that’s, erm… a long time! Wasted!

Firstly, the top-10 guarantee is not just about what you do with your titles, your headings and your hidden meta-tags etc., it goes much deeper than that. If you fail to act on any of the dozens of suggestions then you will not be entitled to your money back – and you’ll still be pulling your hair out because you won’t get top-10 rankings – unless you work hard at it and follow each and every action.

What you don’t know, though, is what your competitors are doing. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been said by pretty much everyone at one time or another that ‘content is king‘ – but what really is ‘king’ in the eyes of the Google algorithm is new, fresh content.

Here’s the bottom line: The more your create, the more your content is indexed. But, the more up to date, the newer and more ‘fresh‘ your content is, the higher your content ranks – but not forever – hence the need for new and fresh content added consistently.

Look at the way Google’s new algorithm ranks the latest content above older, stale, content… That’s a good thing for you, me and everyone relying on the mighty Goog for what is relevant to ‘me’ right now. Afterall, when you search for some info you don’t want some old regurged content from 5 or 10 years ago (that’s been said before, many times).

We all want, need and get much more use from what is, in fact, new – relevant right now. Read the rest of this entry »

Whenever Chris Brogan speaks, I listen. But when Chris is talking about better ways to be social and better ways to ‘market’ and ‘brand’ online I grab a new sheet of notepaper and sharpen my pencil…

In this interview, Chris talks about a variety of ‘changes’ in sales techniques and ways of drawing attention to what a company does rather than going in for the sale at the very first opportunity…

The timing of this, for me at least, is perfect Read the rest of this entry »