In this article I give an overview of Google Analytics in more details.  I will describe where to get the Google Analytics tracking code and where to paste it in ProSense WordPress theme.

When you log into your Google Analytics account on the Overview page, you will see Create New Account on the top right hand corner.  If you have not already done this, create an account and enter your website URL.  I have a few profiles on the Analytics Settings page.  Thus instead of creating a new account I will use a small black arrow next to Create New Account phrase.  The Google Analytics code is specific for each URL.  When you have got your desired profile, you can click Edit.

In my case I see a page with name such as ‘Profile Settings: irinaovery.com/’.  Below this heading you can find a Check Status link.  After clicking the Check Status link the page with Google Analytics tracking code appears.  You have to copy and paste it right before </body> tag on the page, which you want to be tracking.  I use a ProSense theme, which is written in php code.  Nevertheless, I can paste the Google Analytics tracking code on the very bottom of footer.php page.  For this reason I have to go to my WordPress admin area and click Appearance and the Editor link.   On the left hand side of the Edit Themes page I look for Footer (footer.php) page.  I paste the code from the Google Analytics tracking code page to the very bottom of footer.php page.  Then I click ‘Update File’.

How do you know that the Google Analytics tracking code is put in the right place?  Open your blog in Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox browser and go to View, Page Source.  The page with code of your index or home page will open.  You have to find on the very bottom of the page the tracking code such as

</html><script type="text/javascript">

var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol)
? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");

document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost +
"google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'
%3E%3C/script%3E"));

</script>

<script type="text/javascript">

try {

var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("Your Google ID here");

pageTracker._trackPageview();

} catch(err) {}</script>
</body>

The code should be situated before </body>, what you can see in the example above.

In addition I would like to say that it is possible to use Google Analytics for various purposes.  For example, you can link your Google Analytics account to your AdWords account.  Google Analytics will import cost data from your AdWords campaigns.

You can also create goals and funnels in your Google Analytics account.  For example, you can set up a goal as a registration page, if you want to know how many visitors of your blog have been registered using a pop-in form.  A funnel represents the action visitors have to take in order to get the goal.  In this case it will be by filling details in a form and clicking the confirmation button on the form. Using goals and funnels will help you find how many visitors do not register and where they go instead.  You will be able to define the value of the goal.

Google Analytics have a lot of useful features which are essential for successful online business.  Google Analytics provide you with the ability to analyze your traffic and manipulate it in the best way.

In this article I am going to share with you my experience of Google Analytics.  It is amazing tool for analyzing your site traffic.  It is not only very helpful for search engine optimization, but also for increasing your sell.  Google Analytics helps you find keywords that convert your traffic into profit.

When you set up your website, first things you have to do are

• submit your website to Google

• register with Google Analytics

• insert Goole Analytics code on your web page

Then a few days later when Google crawl will find your website, you can set up goals at Google Analytics page.

For this reason you have to log in into your Google Analytics account and find your site name.  Click ‘edit’ button, which is situated opposite your site name.  On the next page you will see ‘Goals’ bar and underneath five goals available.  Click ‘+Add Goal’ button and enter requested data.

For example, I want to know how many people visited my site and registered using the pop in window.  Also I want to know what kind keywords they used to find my blog.  If these keywords stimulate visitors to register for my email course, it is more likely that they will convert visitors into buyers.

So for my first goal I have entered name as Thank You for Registering.  Under ‘Enter Goal Information’ I checked ‘Active Goal ON’ box.    I selected a goal type as a URL Destination and match type as a Head Match.  Then I copied AWeber thank you page URL into Goal URL input box and clicked ‘Save Goal’ button.

Knowing these keywords will make my life easier; I will not need to look for tons and tons of keywords for my blog.  I will use only those keywords that generate traffic and convert visitors into buyers.

Everything I want to know Google Analytics report will give me.  In the report you even can see which social media convert folks to subscribers.  If for example, you have found that the most traffic come from Twitter and not from Facebook, you can concentrate your efforts on Twitter, but spend less time on Facebook.

Google Analytics helps you manage your marketing time and get the highest return on investment.

Learn more about search engine optimization and keyword research  at m&i Tutorials Blog

Why do I need to do a keyword research?  What is that?

OK.  Let’s start from beginning.  You are building a website in a particular niche market.  You want people to visit your website as much as possible.

If you are building a website about dog training, do you know which keywords people use to find information about dog training?  I suppose you can guess that the first keyword phrase would be ‘dog training’.  But…  Do you know that in Google these keywords give you a result in 5,030,000.  So this keyword terms are used in very competitive environment and it would be not easy to get your website on the first Google search result page.  Thus you have to find other keywords regarding your term, but with a small amount of competitors.

The main purposes of keyword research are

1. determine what keywords people are searching for
2. how often they are searching using those keywords
3. how aggressive competition within the niche
4. as a result of previous three steps we can determine what keywords we can use for search engine optimization

Therefore keyword research is essential part of search engine optimization.  Optimizing a website will get you top Google ranking and as a result generate a flow of traffic to your website.  It sounds easy, but in reality keyword research could be very time consuming and even need some practice before you get the best result.

Another way to find right keyword is by analyzing the number of Adwords advertisers.  Analyzing your competitors will help you find keywords for ranking on search engines and more importantly find keywords in terms of user interactions and site usage.  Your main purpose is to find keywords that cultivate the traffic into conversion.  This is also a very time consuming process.

However, there is a solution that can make your life easier.   It is called PPC Web Spy.  It allows you to analyze the keywords that Adwords advertiser is currently bidding on.  With Silver membership at PPC Web Spy you will get full package of video tutorials in term keyword research from basic to advanced techniques.  It will help you not only to get first Google search result page, but double or triple your online sell.

Also you will get free access to Keyword Cloud Generator Software that will help you analyze how competitive a niche market of your business is.  If you are not sure is it right for you, you can try a free Standard membership

However, Standard membership gives only a small amount of bonuses of Silver membership.  I would strongly recommend buying a Silver membership without a doubt.
If you want to learn more about search engine optimization, visit ‘m&i Tutorials Blog’.

To be a successful Internet marketer you have to be on the top of the game, so to speak.  You have to know new technologies and techniques in Internet Marketing and be brave enough to experiment with new approaches.  Thus it is very important to keep yourself up-to-date in all aspects of Internet Marketing.  In this article you can find some tips for successful online selling.

Keep your mind opened and identify opportunities for your online business.  Do not be afraid to experiment with selling.  For example, try to sell different products and see how it works.  If not, try other products.

Learn your target market.  What do they want to buy?  Look at your online selling idea from customers’ point of view.  It could be from the website design to the way in which you present your products.

Know your competitors.  Learn from them how they became successful online and apply their techniques to your business.

Identify revenue streams.  What kind of product will be in demand or already is?

Develop your business plan.  Why do you think it will work?  A plan should be clear and realistic.  It is essential.  Set measurable and achievable goals, review dates and plan for unexpected circumstances.

Promote your website’s launch in different ways.  You can use social media networks and forums for promoting your products.

Do not overstretch yourself.  Start your online business from a small website and then expand it gradually.

For successful online business you need effective management and first-class marketing skills.  If you do not have these essential skills, consider outsourcing.  Learn from online Internet Marketing communities and forums.

Use your website for explaining benefits of your products.  Give to customers a clear description of products and how customers can benefit from them.

Use a clear call to action at the end of every product’s description.

Test and track your results.  Test your headlines, prices and even images.  Also do not forget to test font and colour.

Create an affiliate program for your business.  It is a very powerful tool for Internet Marketing.

Use search engine optimization for generating traffic to your website.

Create a pop-in form on the website to build a mailing list.  Click here to learn about building a mailing list.

Watch the skies.  If you do not want one day to discover that your business model is obsolete, stay up-to-date with trends and technologies in Internet Marketing.

To be successful in your online business you have to continuously develop every aspect of your business and yourself as an Internet marketer.

Today email marketing is one of the most popular forms of Internet advertising.  It has ability to contact a big audience with minimal effort.  You do not need to invest a lot of money to start an email campaign.  In this article I share with you some email marketing design tips, which I have found quite useful.

1.  At the start of each email give some information or ask a question that boosts a reader’s curiosity.  So the reader will continue to read your email.

2.  Messages should certainly highlight the products and services you offer, but content of messages should be relevant to the products.

3.  Offer something for free to thank for becoming a reader.  Or you can give a possibility to win some money at the end of your series of emails.  It will create a subtle obligation between you and your reader.  Giving something for free is a very effective marketing strategy.

4.  Offer any popular hot product.  If you do not have your own hot product, then you can offer popular digital product of other well-known Internet marketers.  Obviously your role will be as an affiliate.  A lot of people like to buy products which are in demand.  Do not forget to provide a proof that the product is in demand.  Thus a large number of people will automatically turn into potential buyers.  As an affiliate you will build your credibility by offering experts’ products.  People trust experts.

5.  Show that your next 5 or 7 messages are very special and limited time promotions.  If a reader is really interested in this offer, he has to act now.

6.  Ask your readers to give feedback and reward them for doing so by offering a free product.  Ask them what they would like to buy from you.  This is a very powerful method to turn your audience into buyers.

7.  Offer a cash reward or free product for spreading your e-letter around the world.

8.  Create curiosity about your final message from the start.  Repeatedly let a reader know in every message that there will be something special in your final message. Curiosity is a powerful motivator.

9.  Make one time offer on the hot product download page.

10.  Your emails should provide the readers with a call to take an action. It could be a specific action such as buying a product or downloading a free product.

Take advantage of email marketing and start to use it in your business.  Click here to learn how to build a mailing list.

Is there any difference between mobile phones sites and web sites?  If so what do we have to consider before creating a mobile website design?

Let’s compare how a user interacts with desktop applications and mobile platform applications.  A user uses the mouse and the keyboard to interact with any desktop applications or browse the Internet.

The situation with mobile phone is completely different.  A mobile phone is in a user’s hand. The size of a mobile phone makes interaction very personal to oppose to desktop.  A mobile device has a touch-screen and sound feedback.  A mobile can react to tilting, vibrating and audio input.  So a mobile device gives a user more personal and tangible interaction and allows a user to be responsive and more connective to it.

On the other hand a small screen reduces visible options and requires users to rely on their short-term memory.  This makes the interaction harder.  Therefore, designing for mobile devices you have to take into account the small size of the screen.  Most users use a mobile to get some information quickly ‘on the go’.

For example, you create a mobile site for local Italian restaurants.  First things a user wants to know are location of the restaurant, directions and a contact phone number.  Thus this information would be very useful on the home page as well as a welcome message.  Information has to be represented in a compact format.  So a user does not need to scroll a page from left to right or up and down.  Keep in mind your design should be simple and easy to use.

Text entry for mobile users can be awkward.  Thus you have to encourage users to use a given phone number rather than type a text.  Do not involve users in heavy interaction and complicated tasks.

Also downloading time is even longer than it would be on dial-up.  Thus I would recommend making pages short in length, so every mobile device can display a page in full length, but not only iPhone or Android.  It allows users to see a full page on the screen and do not wait for downloading of missing part of text.

Moreover you need to establish clean layout with considerable space between clickable elements.   Do not forget about typography.  Use sans-serif fonts for large blocks to increase readability.  Also consider contrast colour of text and background to ensure that text is visible and readable.

A very good source of information is ‘Mobile Websites for Offline Businesses’ video series by Matt Bush.  In this video Matt Bush explains how to build a mobile site even if you do not know mobile programming.  Also he shows how to approach local businesses and convince them to build mobile sites.

It is important to show them their website’s (if they have one) on a mobile device and encourage them to have a mobile site as well.  He describes a lot of useful tactics for approaching local businesses and make good money using your skills.  So if you are considering this option, buy Matt Bush’s product and start your own business today.

We all know that building a list is very important for your Internet success.  Why?  When you are building a list, you develop your relationship with your prospects.  You capture your prospects attention by emailing them.  You communicate with all your prospects and hopefully turn them into buyers.  So the phrase ‘The money is in the list’ is not only popularity of Internet marketers, but it is vital truth.

However, it is not any list that you need.  You want to get a responsive list.  You want your customers stay with you and buy your products forever.  You want them to refer you to their friends too.  And this is a challenge when building a list.

Using any Auto response, for example AWeber Email Marketing, you have to produce a set of email templates.  You do not need to be a perfect writer to do this, but you have to know how to approach your reader.  If you market in specific niche, you supposedly know your audience.  Then it is easy for you to find the right approach to your potential customers.

One of way to learn your customers’ needs is to do a survey, but it is not really suitable for Internet Marketing.  However, if you asked your customers in an email a few questions, it could help you to obtain information what your customers would like to buy and read about.  From my own experience I can say that you are getting more response when an email has more personal attitude and less formal.

Once I subscribed for a free Internet Marketing E-course.  After two emails of the e-course I got an email, where the author asked me how I was doing.  Did I enjoy the course?  Did I have any problems?  And he wrote that he would be pleased if I replied to him in a short form.  Doing so was a very effective way to turn me into a buyer of his product.

Another way to build a list is to create your own product and sell it using affiliate marketing.  For example, you create your own digital product and sell it on ClickBank, which is a secure online retail outlet.  If you add an affiliate program with high commission rate to your product, you will be able to get lists of your affiliates.  Each affiliate has own list and you can use their list in order to sell your product.

How to start?  If you have a website or blog consider adding an opt-in form on your home page.  Offer something for free (report, video tutorial), so you can collect your potential customers’ names and e-mail addresses.   Also consider offering an e-course or weekly newsletter.  This is a way to keep contact with your customer and offer them to buy from time to time other valuable products.

In this article I mentioned only 1% of all methods for creating a mailing list.  If you want to know more about building a list, buy ‘Mailing Lists: From Start To Finish’ report by Paula Brett.  It is full of valuable information, which is essential for building a mailing list.

P.S.  I read a lot of books about building a list, but this report is unique.  I never read these useful tips in other books.  And it is really cheap– only $7.

Prototype is a simple visualization of a website for testing its usability.

Why do you need to prototype your site?  As a designer or developer you know your website perfectly.  You know what each button is for.  You know where the navigation bar is and where the banner of your site is.

But with a user and your client it is different situation.  Perhaps they are not heavy Internet users at all.  For them if a navigation bar is not on the usual place of the web page (on the top of the page) could be very confusing.  To check how your website works in other point of view you have to prototype it.

Prototyping is a method which helps to find different design alternatives and assess usability. There are a low fidelity prototyping and a high fidelity prototyping.  The advantage of low fidelity prototyping is its simplicity.  It is a cheap and quick way to develop new ideas and explore alternative designs.

Low fidelity prototyping is simple drawing or colour paper craft.  Every paper craft (A4 size) presents each web page with navigation system.  It is time-consuming process and not very effective for building a website.

However, to build a website it is better suited to high fidelity prototyping, where a user and your client will see materials very similar with final product and fully interactive navigation system.

For faster result you can use Photoshop and Fireworks.  Your prototype will be ready to email to your client in 30 minutes.  And when he confirmed your prototype you can build your website without worrying that he could change his mind.  Certainly, you have to define this point in your contract.

Afterwards your client confirmed your site design you will be able to ask your friends to help you to test a site.  What is the test?  It is just a simulation of real life situation.  Give your friend a set of tasks such as

1. Open a home page
2. Click ‘Register’ button
3. Fill the form
4. Confirm the form

And watch how your friend succeeds in those tasks.  If he is confused and can’t find the button, consider moving it to a different place of the page.  Testing is very useful to find your design faults.

So prototyping is very helpful to discuss ideas with all types of users and to find effective way to test them.  If you want to learn more about prototyping a website using  paper or software such as Powerpoint, Fireworks or Dreamweaver, buy the book ‘Prototyping: A Practitioner’s Guide’ by Todd Zaki Warfel.

It is packed with easy to follow tutorials for prototyping. In each chapter of the book you can find advantages and disadvantages of every method and tool of prototyping.  And then the author walks you from basic to advanced techniques for using tools.   So this book is full of valuable information, which you can apply to your project immediately.  Todd Zaki Warfel also demonstrates in his book how prototyping can help you market a product, what is really essential for any Internet marketer.

I have just finished reading ‘Offline Gold Forum Thread’ report by Andrew Cavanagh.  This report is full of ideas how to make quick money offline.  You can get it for free at Offline Biz Forum.

In this report you can read discussions about ideas and methods for approaching local businesses.   Which methods worked for some people and which did not?   What do you have to do to avoid making crucial mistakes?

It is a really inspiring article to getting you to think about how to make money.  Reading this will give you a huge amount of ideas.  You also can register for a membership at Offline Biz Forum and get a lot of valuable tips and tricks for Internet Marketing.

I would like to add an idea to this report, which I learnt from my experience with a local business.

A few years ago I tried to establish business relationship with a local photography studio.  I offered them my skills as a designer and a developer of a website.  They were happy to turn on their business online; because the company’s profit was getting lower each year.

It seemed like a perfect opportunity for me to develop a relationship with a local business and build my portfolio for future referrals.  However, I made some mistakes, which I would like to share with you.  So you will not make them and be successful in your business.

My recommendations are:

1. Do not be shy to discuss how much your service cost.  I would recommend naming higher price at the start of your conversation, but then lower the price as an exception for them.  Psychologically it works very well.

2. Write a contract between you and your client.  An oral agreement is good, but by the time you finish your project your client and you will have forgotten some points in your agreement.  It could lead to misunderstanding between you and your client and as a result to a disagreement between both sides.  So I would strongly recommend a written contract.

3. Define deadlines for every part of your project.  A definition of deadlines will help you to organize yourself and develop your product in a more effective way.

4. Regularly inform your client about your progress.  Keep your client informed on every stage of your project.  So he/she can see your progress.  It also will help him/her to realize an enormous amount of work you have done.

5. Before putting the site on the web prototype it. Prototyping is a method which helps to find different design alternatives and assess usability. I am going to explain more about prototyping in my next article.  But for now just remember that it is very important for successful website development.

If you want to get a full picture what is in the report, go to offlinebiz.com and sign up for a free report.  And do not forget to visit Offline Biz Forum, where you will get help in any aspect of your Internet Marketing.

We all know that a good video can attract visitors to your blog and increase sales in your online business.  It is a good idea to introduce yourself in a video on your blog.  It is very important to introduce yourself as a personality, so visitors of your blog can see and understand that there is a real person behind these pages.  It is a very similar situation to when you come to a corner shop for a newspaper and have a friendly chat with the shop owner.

This is an effective way to create customer loyalty or trust that I wrote about in ‘The Go-giver in Practice or Customer Trust’ article.

For this reason when I visited Omar Martin blog, I was intriguing after I read his article about VOX Flair.  When I watched the video and read the article I realized that this idea attracted me very much.  A video editing was always interesting for me, but I just did not have time to learn it.

Mike Filsaime, Omar Martin and J I Starr had founded the VOX Flair for people like you and me, who know nothing about video editing, but want to create professional looking videos.  What is the most attractive about VOX Flair is that they provide you with the tools that you need to create an impressive video.  There are a powerful collection of audio, player’s skins, video clips and background music loops.  They even did not forget about video squeeze pages.

All of these come with comprehensive and easy to follow 8 video tutorials.  In video tutorials the authors explain not only audio and video editing process, but how to set up your first video site and produce effective media (video and audio) products.  If you are a newbie in video editing environment, this is exactly for you.

In video tutorials the authors explain the main principles of making a successful video.  For example, you have to consider a script of your video.  What are you going to talk about?  What are you going to say to motivate your audience?  What do you want the viewer to do after they watched the video?  So before recording you have to plan your video content.  Practice before recording.  For example, try to persuade your imagined listener to take action, when you stand in front of a mirror.

If you are not sure about VOX Flair, you can take a free membership and get access to a small amount of resources. Unfortunately, you will loose one time offer for a full membership, if you take up a free membership.  However, you can always upgrade to a full membership, but at a higher price.

So if you think video blogging is yours a cup of tea, I would definitely recommend buying a membership with VOX Flair.  Using audio library alone will take your video making skills to the next level.  A very attractive and professional voice of J I Starr will really make your videos outstanding.