From the BlogSubscribe Now

Get Indexed By Bing In 3 Easy Steps and Why You Need To Today

Posted on February 1, 2013 // 4 Comments

bing logoIf you've yet to have your website completely indexed by Bing you need to do that as soon as possible.

The reason you need to be on Bing now is two-fold.

Reason Number 1:

Bing does not find all of your indexed pages as easily as Google Docs from my experience. The largest reason is because most of us are not submitted everything to Bing the way we do with Google.

I've noticed that when Google finds most of my pages, Bing does not.  It takes Bing a little longer and I’ve noticed some pages; not at all.  Again, this may simply be because we are so used to doing everything that is Google friendly and for Google that we forget about Bing.  Of course, if you're joining Google Webmaster Tools but not Bing's; Google will obviously find you much faster.

Reason Number 2:

Facebook Graph Search. If you haven't heard of Facebook's Graph Search yet check out this article here. Soon Facebook will be rolling out there new Graph Search and they are going to be hosting many results posted by Bing.

Check out this screen shot provided to me by Justin Lewis: (Click to enlarge)

Facebook Graph Search Bing

 

 

 

 

 

Over the last couple of years Bing has been cutting into Google's search dominance more.  In fact here are the stats from early 2013: Bing is at 16.3% market share (all time high).

Some of this is in-part because of their Bing It On campaign, which has seen a decent amount of success, but let's not forget the enhancements they made to make their search engine worthwhile to it's users.

Once Facebook Graph Search is up and fully running, it's almost obvious that Bing’s search engine share will easily expand.

I'm not saying that Google will suddenly cease to be the powerhouse in the search engine market, because I feel like Google will be dominant for many more years. However, as Bing increases their search reach you need to make sure you’re part of that as they grow.  Would you really turn your nose up at more free traffic? 

Now is the time to make your sites “Bing ready” as much as we make them “Google ready.”

Below I will show you exactly how to get all of your pages indexed by Bing easily.

Step 1: Join Bing Webmaster Tools here:

Important Note:  If you do not yet have a Bing account they’ll make you sign up for one. (click to enlarge)

bing walkthrough

 

 

Step 2: Submit your website to Bing: (click to enlarge)

2-bing

 

Enter your website URL into the box and click "ADD."

Step 3: Submit your sitemap to Bing: (click to enlarge)

sumbit sitemap to Bing

 

 

 

 

A.  Add your site URL again.

B.  Add you sitemap URL (http://yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml – if you're using a sitemap plugin)

C.  Select your highest traffic times (optional).

D.  Clcik "ADD."

Step 4:  Get Verified (click to enlarge)

get verified by BING

 

 

 

A.  Download the small file to your computer and then upload it to your hosting account.

That's it!  You've now added your site to Bing's Webmaster Tools and submitted your sitemap.  Now, Bing will start indexing your site.  You should quickly notice an increase in your traffic as Bing begins displaying your content to the search engine.  Of course, it will take a few days to index your entire site, especially if you have hundreds of pages.

I also suggest you learn to search around inside of Bing’s Web Toolbox a bit too.  They have many unique things that Google’s Webmasters Tools doesn’t offer.
You can use also Bing’s statistics to find a lot about your site much like you can with Google.  In fact, you can track your keyword rankings, click-throughs and many other stats with Bing.

They even have a nice color coordinated graph to make life easier for you.  (click to enlarge)

rank tracking in bing

 

 

 

It doesn't matter how many websites you have or how old/young they are; it's time to pay more attention to Bing. 

Check out SEOMOZ's walkthrough on Bing here if you want to learn some of Bing's power (After you go and get your ste added to Bing's Webmaste Tools, of course!).

Thoughts?  Opinions?  What do you think of Bing?

*The Bing Logo is a trademarked logo with the Microsoft Corporation.

Filed Under: General, Increasing Traffic, Website Building // Tagged: , , ,

A Promise To Give More Great Free Information — Achieved

Posted on January 11, 2013 // 3 Comments

online success podcastA promise I made for the New Year was to kick off a completely free online podcast series to help you achieve your dreams and goals.

A couple of days ago Justin Lewis and I opened our first podcast and I think you will be as stoked as we are about it.

You can read more about it here:  http://www.nicheoptimizer.com/introduction-to-online-success-podcast/

The main objective of the podcast is to help you….

Make money online

Achieve your goals

Increase your business

Start a business from scratch (if you haven’t yet)

Plus you’ll get great advice on every subject from…

Social media

Search engines

Blogging

Affiliate marketing

Product creation

Conversion tactics

Link building and search rankings

What we’re testing that is working/not working

And so much more.

We’re also open for suggested topics as well.  If there is an area you’re struggling in we can help.

I know this post isn’t long, I just wanted to let the people that only read my blog and are not on my email list and elsewhere, know about this.

To your success this year!

Filed Under: Affiliate Marketing, General, Podcasting // Tagged: , , ,

Pizza Delivery From Hell Equals Lesson On How To Not Run A Business

Posted on January 3, 2013 // 19 Comments

spilled stromboli sauceA few days ago my wife and I had a fun-filled experience I wanted to share with you as a lesson of how to NOT run your business.  Whether online, like most of you are, or offline (like we experienced) take heed.

The Pizza Saga Begins

It was a Friday night and my sister-in-law and her kids came over to play some Wii-U and hangout with my wife, my son and I.

We and the kids were getting hungry so we ordered in some pizza.  What goes better than Mario and a good slice of pizza, right?

The pizza company is fairly new to town and we’ve probably ordered from them 15 times in the last year.  On the phone we were told it’d be 45 minutes for our pizza and on a Friday night we understood. 

After waiting for an hour we started wondering where they were.  Hey, 15 minutes last isn’t horrible and things happen so I let it go.  About 15 minutes later, still nothing.

So my sister-in-law picks up the cellphone and calls to inquire about our order.  After asking when we can expect the order she was handed off to someone (presumably the owner or manager) who then told us that the delivery girl was lost.

No GPS?  No map?  In 2012/2013?  Look, we don’t live underground in a military industrial complex here.

Not to mention this was the 15th time or so they’ve been here.  Something wasn’t adding up.

By this point we’re about an hour and 20 minutes into waiting for the food.

She kindly reminded them that they said it’d be out in 45 minutes and that they’re running extremely late.  He simply said “well’ whoever told you that shouldn’t have told you 45 minutes, that’s not my fault.”

News flash, when it’s your business, everything is your fault.  If you manage a business, everything is your fault.

At the 1:35 mark finally our food arrives.  It was the same delivery person, who has been to our house at least a half dozen times.  Lost?  No way.

Immediately looking at the boxes I notice that there is sauce all over freaking covering the outside of the box, literally dripping from it. 

So, my wife calls in to them, explaining that we just called a few moments ago and our food has finally arrived but there is sauce all over the boxes.  Meanwhile I opened the boxes only to find that the entire contents of the stromboli dish had been completely dumped out all over the inside of the box.  There was barely anything left in the sauce pan.

Here’s a nice pic of that junk.

spilled stromboli sauce

Then I opened the pizza and the pizza was all slid to one side and mangled. 

Here’s a pic of that junk too.

Good God!  You’ve got to be kidding me!!

So, she mentioned to the manager that our food was ruined.  In which he replied “What!  Did she drop it or something?”  Sir I don’t know but we can’t eat this.

He continued to say “I guess I’ll make new and bring it out.”

Good thing he seemed extra sincere.

She asked if it’d be 2 hours again.  O.K. side note; by this point she’s pissed and I would have said something far worse than that.

He said “ I don’t know, it’ll get there as soon as we can, you’re not the only customers we have tonight.”

Those lucky “additional “customers must be having a swell time too!

Immediately, without question my wife hit the end call button and stated we’d never order from there again.  I however, wanted to see what the guy would do.

A). Would he come out himself and apologize?

B). Send coupons and come out and apologize?

C). At least send coupons or vouchers for free food with the delivery girl?

D). Perhaps send a different delivery person as to avoid stress for everyone involved.

The answer?

E. Send the same delivery girl, without coupons/vouchers/without apology….

That is when I decided we were really done with them.  I don’t care if they made the best food on Earth; we were done with them for good.

I told their delivery girl to take back a message to her boss.  It was simply; we will never order from your company again.

That’s probably a lot of money seeing how we order pizza at least twice per month.  But, if it was just us it might be live-able.   Note: Cue the surreal foreshadowing music.

After we finally ate my wife immediately posted the awesome pictures to Facebook for all of our friends to see.  After all, many of our friends eat in the same places and do the same things we do.

Do you think they’ll think twice about ordering rom there?  You bet.

Upon posting the pictures, comments started coming in immediately with people who have had the same or similar experiences.

Do you think the people who see that 25 other people had a bad experience with a company would choose them in the future?  No way.

This is why, especially in this day and age, that when you are running a business (even if it’s just a website) that it’s critical to handle any issues immediately and take ownership.

It’s also important that you do not promote crappy products.  If you tell someone that something is great and it’s lousy, they won’t appreciate it.

How do you think people who order a really crappy “get rich” product feels?  Do you think they’ll ever trust the site that promoted it?  What will they tell their friends, family and social media?

This is why what you promote matters as much as how you run your website. 

Take ownership of your business no matter what your website promotes.  Interact socially with your website and take care of problems and you’ll be better off for it.  Remove products that are suddenly junky or warn your visitors about it.

Of course, like all businesses, you’ll always get that one person that is loud, rude and yelling over nothing.  But, politely send them on their way and always keep your composure.

You’re never going to please everyone but, you need to please the majority.  If the majority starts having the same experience you’ll soon be sitting in an empty room all by yourself. 

Lastly, I won’t name the company as most of you do not live near me, nor am I vindictive as I wish the company no harm.  I actually hope they change their ways and straighten their business out.  However, they will permanently be doing it without us and probably most of our friends who live in the area.

Have an awesome experience to share?  How did you handle it?  What are your thoughts?

Filed Under: General // Tagged: , ,

Success In 2013 – My Journey and Yours

Posted on January 1, 2013 // 10 Comments

20132013 A Look Forward

This is for those who want to know what I am up to in 2013 and how I can personally help them achieve their goals.  If neither is appealing to you then this will probably be a boring read.

I want to take a few moments and first reflect on 2012 and then state what I am going to help you do for 2013.  First, a quick personal 2012 recap.

As many of you know my plans didn’t happen, well, as planned in 2012.  In July my wife broke her arm and I had an entire group of things I wanted to accomplish fall through the cracks or just simply not work out.

It wasn’t the best year, but that’s the way life works.  We sometimes fall short of our goals and we get up and work hard to go back and not only achieve our goals, but do more.

I’ll be honest, for the first time in a long time I failed to achieve most of my personal goals in 2012.  But, you know what?  It’s all good.  It really is.  It’s reawakened my challenges and my mind in ways that you wouldn’t believe.  Sometimes all we need to grow more is a little friction.

Here’s what we’re looking at in 2013.

The media is reporting nothing but negativity, pain and fear.  We all have a choice to make.  Either we live by the bounds set by the media and (most) people in society or we do something about it.

It’s going to take work, hard work on everyone’s part who wants to make something spectacular happen for them this year.  Optionally, you can do nothing, which for me, is not an option.

My 2013 Agenda

During 2012 I received several notes, emails and messages from people that they wanted me to get my voice on the air more, give more public media for them to consume and so forth.  So Late 2012 I started putting together a new weekly (maybe more often) video/podcast idea.

I’ll be designing slideshows to present during my podcast which will be displayed on Youtube, embedded into special pages on my site and catalogued for easy access.

I ordered in some awesome sound equipment to make these events sound amazing and as professional as possible.

This means you’ll be able to listen to the show anywhere you want; including:

  • ITunes
  • Mobile Devices
  • In Your Car
  • Your Desktop Or Laptop
  • I pad/Kindle/Tablet, etc.
  • IPod, MP3 Player

I’ll also be transcribing the episodes into easy to read PDF files.

This means you can get the goods anywhere you want.  This show will be free as well and you won’t need to worry about paying to view it. 

I have also decided to keep the shows as close to 30 minutes as possible.  This allows me to give you great information and teach without the listener needing to invest a large amount of time. 

I am sure I will have special interviews and shows that will last up to an hour, but the majority will be 30 minutes. 

This makes it easy to ingest the information while you are on the treadmill or on your way to work.  Ingesting in small bite sized easy to understand parts makes learning not only easier but increases your success.  Great concept huh?  Listen less and get better results.

I am extremely excited about this and think this will greatly help you achieve so much more this year.

Niche Blitzkrieg will continue strong with over 11,000 members.  It’s a great course for beginners to get started and get their feet wet.  The techniques are sound and work well in 2013 and going forward.  I still use all of the methods daily and it all still works.

I will continue to update it if anything changes on the net, as always.

In fact, I have 3 current changes slated for the inside that involve some simple minor things.

I started a new program with Justin Lewis who is a social media expert.  I loved the stuff he’s been doing with social media so we started working on combining that with niche concepts.  The results have been great and we’re going to be teaching our members how to be large socially oriented sites.

It’s called Niche Optimizer in case you haven’t seen it yet.

Social sites focus far less on search engines and link building and more on good content and social interaction.  Many people find this type of site to be less tedious.  I don’t really have an opinion on that as I like both!  But, with social media now completely mainstream, understanding this is extremely helpful going forward.

This is where I’ll be spending a lot of my focus this year.  I want you to have the best training you can possible get so you increase your quality of life.

I personally want to bring at least 2400-3000+ new people into this course this year.  I want to help each of those people achieve their financial goals.  Justin is likewise committed to do so and has done a phenomenal job setting everything up inside.  His dedication to the project has been remarkable and it will show off to the members.  We ran a special presentation in early December if you want to see more: Watch Here.

Niche Sites

I have 2 large niche sites planned in 2013.  No, I won’t release what they are about but think they have some serious potential.  It will use the Niche Blitzkrieg and Niche Optimizer formats.

That’s what I am up to this year. 

Now I want to share a couple of personal things.  My wife has about 3 more months (hopefully) of recovery.  So spring should be a breath of fresh air for the family here.  It’s been a long journey and her recovery is important to me and I spend extra time making sure she’s well taken care of. 

So, if you have been sending me personal email or messages and I am answering slower than normal, that’s why.  But, I assure you that all the mailings I get are important to me.

If you need anything Max is also here to help you at my support desk at www.michaelbrownsupport.com

Max is an awesome guy and he really knows his stuff.  He can help you in almost any area you need help in.  So, if you’re in one of my courses and need something he is there to help you.

Max, if you’re reading this, you’re awesome just an FYI.

The moderators inside of Niche Blitzkrieg and Niche Optimizer are fantastic as well.

Quick shout out to:

Justin (partner on Niche Optimizer)

Max (again)

Kathy (Mod)

Bill (Mod)

Ben (Mod)

Stephen (awesome graphic artist for NOW and NBK-U))

They are here to help you.  They are all also very Knowledgeable!

Finally, I really do care about you.  I care about your success.  I know many of you reading this will think “We’ll there another marketer talking.”  But, that sort of B.S. is not me.

I take pride in helping and providing good, honest information.  This is something I think the Internet lacks and I always do my best to make sure everything I present is not only accurate but real.

I want nothing but success for you in 2013. 

With the above stated, it demands that you take action.  Your success depends on your actions.  I am simply a catalyst to help you get there but the ultimate goal is yours and yours alone.

Make your 2013 a success!

Are you with me this year?  Have something on your mind?  Want to share your goals?  Do it with us below!

Filed Under: General //

Don’t Forget Why You Searched For How To Make Money Online…..

Posted on December 14, 2012 // 21 Comments

how to make money online light bulbA quick personal note before you read. 

Before I started making money online I was in a pretty bad place in my life.  Right before I started trying to make money for myself online I felt simply "defeated" in all of my previous efforts.  I felt as though I gave my all for a company that didn't care about me, abused me and ripped out part of my soul and then stomped on my spine while I was down.  I'd rive to work feeling miserable, feeling like I had to change my life or this would be the death of me.

It Was That Feeling That Fueled Me….

It's also a feeling that has somewhat faded as life has become more comfortable.  Recently I've had to refuel some of that anger (in a good way), refuel the fire and re-revaluate everything inside of me once again.

I know the holiday season is now completely on us and usually that means we all suffer from a lack of time.

However, I want to caution putting everything on hold during the holidays.  While it’s good for us all to take a small break during the holidays it’s often bad to put your business on hold.

Don’t Forget Why You Started…

When you’re brand new to making money online (or been around) it’s easy to come on strong or “on fire’ so-to-speak but over the course of a few months it’s easy to forget why you started this in the first place.

Was it for….

  • A better life?
  • A better job?
  • A way to supplement your income?
  • A profitable hobby?
  • More family time?

No matter which of those things it is (or anything else), it doesn't’t matter.  Whatever the reason is something personal to you.  Do not give up your passion, do not quit, and do not forget your own personal war.

It’s easy to quit when you’re not successful immediately.  I’ve been there; I remember what it’s like.  But, I will tell you that if you stick with it and persevere, there is a great reward for you. 

No matter what your personal goal is you CAN do it and quitting should never be an option.

Sadly, as the holidays hit it’s easy to completely ignore your goal and it’s easy to fall into the “I’ll start again after the first of the New Year” trap.  Have you ever said that about something before?

Some examples:

  • I’ll lose weight in the New Year
  • I’ll quit smoking/drinking In The New Year
  • I’ll dedicate myself to something in The New Year
  • I’ll change this or that in the New Year

How often did you really dedicate yourself to it in the New Year?  Ever?

Hey, I’ve been there and I can tell you first hand my list of didn’t-do’s is larger than my did-do’s. 

So I want you to do a couple things with me this holiday season. 

Well just 3 simple things.

  1. Rededicate yourself to your own personal goals.

No matter which goal you have for your online business, do it.  Rededicate yourself and write it down!

  1.  Set aside an hour of so of QUIET free time where you can get into a creative zone.

Never tried to put yourself into a creative zone?  Check out John Cleese discussing creativity.  It’s brilliant.  I highly suggest watching it all the way until the end.  He also riddles his speech with jokes and humor within which only adds to the appeal of the entire speech.

Also please notice that I said "QUIET" if you're getting interrupted it won't work.

  1.  After reflection – DO IT.

After you’ve had time to think about being creative use anything you’ve written down or any ideas you’ve gathered and go do it.  Whether you’re starting a new niche, building a new website or just adding onto your website – do it.

I do also want you to take some time out this season to spend with your family.  It’s extremely important to have that good quality family time as well.

But, in the process don’t forget what you started this online venture for.  If you have yet to start then that’s fine to — do it.  But, dedicate yourself to it and put in the effort and it will pay off.

If you’re so new that you’re looking for a place to start I just opened a new course with Justin Lewis here.

It’s a great place to start and you’ll get all the help you need making money online.

It comes down to refueling yourself during tough times and rekindling your desire for what you hope to achieve for you and your family….. DO IT.

Thoughts?  Feelings?  Ideas?  How do you fight through the chaos of daily life and focus on your business?  What are you going to work on or do?  Comon!  Don't be shy, share.

Bonus points if you watch the full Cleese video above and can name his 5 points for creativity. :)

Filed Under: Affiliate Marketing, General, Internet marketing, Productivity Tips // Tagged:
«Older Posts