Inspiration from The Bachelor

I’m also a fan of The Bachelor.  Yes, this aspiring literary giant enjoys watching a ridiculous TV show about twenty women vying for the love of one vapid but apparently irresistible man (to be fair, I also equally enjoy watching The Bachelorette).

Last season on The Bachelor one of those twenty women was a blogger from New York.  Can’t remember her name at the moment, but I remember watching the bio piece about her life.  They showed her sitting outside a hip little café in New York, sipping a Starbucks coffee while writing her blog.  She was chic and cool in the way only true New Yorkers can be, and her profession—Blogger—added to her cool, unattainable mystique (she later showed herself to be a tad coockoo on the show, but that’s beside the point).  When I watched her drinking that coffee and writing about whatever it was she was blogging about, I thought, “She’s living the life I was meant to live.”

Bloggers are Authors Too

I’d never really thought of blogging as actual writing.  I mean, isn’t blogging just someone writing about whatever silly thing they think other people want to hear them talk about, like their trip to Asia or the seafood risotto they made for dinner last night?  Could blogging really be as cool and purposeful as The Bachelor contestant made it out to be?

Well, the simple answers are yes and yes.  Blogging is writing, and can inspire others as much as a great novel can.

What You Should be Blogging About

A couple of months ago I overheard some friends at work laughing about what someone named Claire had said.  When I asked who Claire was, my friend Sally replied, “Oh, just this girl who writes this amazing blog about her house renovations.”

An amazing blog about house renovations?  Kind of an oxymoron to me, but I figured I’d check it out since Sally and Courtney thought it was so great.  And what I found shocked me.  The blog was funny and entertaining, and laced with great pictures of the updates to the house.  And despite the fact that I could give two licks about home renovation, I found myself going back to read the updates every week because the author, who was passionate about the changes she was making to her home, was able to put that passion into her blog and make it inviting and accessible to everyone.

And passion really is the key to writing a successful blog.  It’s what makes you excited to sit down and share with hundreds, thousands, or maybe just tens of strangers, your take on a particular topic.  It’s what will push you to keep blogging even after a long day at work, or a long day at home with the kids, or a long day of whatever other responsibilities you have.  And it’s what makes others excited to sit down every day and read what you have to say.

Maybe you love cars.  Or travel.  Or Berber carpet.  It doesn’t really matter what it is, as long as you love it.

You are Already an Experienced Blogger

The idea of starting a blog seemed daunting to me.  What in the world could I talk about each week that would keep readers interested?  Sure, I have interests, but ones that I could talk about endlessly without the information becoming stale or boring?

Then out of the blue one day, my friend Robin made a comment about my social networking habits.  “You won’t see Alisha commenting on Facebook unless it’s about food or animals.”

That’s when I realized I was already blogging, just in a non-traditional way.  I had no problem constantly talking about my personal passions with others, I just wasn’t doing it in a structured format.

WordPress is a great blog tool that makes blog creation super easy, even for the most un-tech saavy novices like me.  But the most important tool you have to make your blog successful is your passion.  Don’t be intimidated by the amount of information you have to put out there, because trust me, you’re already doing it.  Whether you’re talking with friends, posting recipes on Facebook, or pinning pictures of cool jewelry on Pinterest, you are already blogging in your daily life.

So I Love to Talk About Bugs. Now What?

Don’t be afraid to take the leap, start a blog, and share your passion with the world.  A quick online search will return blogs about illustration, love, travel, photography, humor, food, nature, and culture, and that’s just the first page.  Blog about whatever you’re already talking about.  Being a great author doesn’t always mean creating great literary works.  The home renovation blog that I follow is just as enthralling and inspiring to me as The Great Gatsby.  And yours can be too, as long as the work comes from a place that you’re excited about.

Now take a deep breath, find a spot outside that cool little café in town that you love, with your coffee/latte/cappuccino of choice, and blog.

Google+ Profile Page Animated Banner

Whether you are highly skilled in marketing your brand on the internet or if you have no experience with online marketing, you can easily create an animated banner ad to be used on your Google+ page. This banner ad will be visible to every single visitor that arrives on your Google+ page, and by utilizing this method, it increases the possibility of grabbing the attention of your visitors before they decide to leave – which is normally approximately 15 seconds, unless something catches their eye.

The article, titled Animate Your Google+ Profile Page, explains how you can create your animated banner, quickly and easily. Even a template is provided. You’ll also learn how to implement your banner advertisement on your Google+ profile page as well, so all of the steps from beginning to end are covered. There are many benefits of utilizing a method such as creating an animated banner ad to use on your Google+ profile page, which I will explain below.

Taking advantage of this opportunity can help increase your sales and conversion rates, as well as increase your traffic and user interactions with your website. One scenario, as an example, is if you’re promoting a brand and your desire is to give a more appealing presentation to your fans, creating a banner that flashes, scrolls text, or contains some other animation will grab the attention of your fans before they choose to leave your page.

Another example scenario is if you’re promoting a product to an audience who may not know all of the features of your product, creating an animated banner which shows some of the features of the product may grab the attention of users who didn’t know that your product even had one or more of the features until they saw your banner. You can use the banner ad to tell users of upcoming events, product features, sale prices, and so much more. The promotional possibilities are almost endless, which makes an animated banner almost a necessity for anyone who is trying to market something to their audience.

Utilizing this method can also give a more professional impression of anything that you promote, compared to having a static image or even worse, no image at all. One of the most important parts of marketing on the internet is making sure you can grab the attention of your visitors within the first fifteen seconds from the time they land on your page. Even if you have doubts about the benefits of creating an animated banner to use on your Google+ profile, keep in consideration that your page may become even more appealing than the pages of your competitors, resulting in increased sales and traffic and more money in your pocket!

Dedicated Hosting Specialist

Juliana writes for @InMotionHosting, a Dedicated Hosting provider based in Los Angeles, and focuses as an Online Specialist. You can follow her on traffic tips on Twitter @JulianaPayson.

Unfortunately there aren’t a whole lot of tools dedicated for tracking social media interaction like there are for monitoring organic SEO.
But there’s still a few tools available for webmasters to use, some of which take more knowledge than others. Below is a quick list of the top 5 free tools for monitoring your social media, but please bear in mind that not all are intended to be used simultaneously. Experiment and see which work the best for you.

5. Facebook Insights

– This tool allows you to measure page interaction on Facebook. The analysis is rather comprehensive, giving you a number for how many fans you have and just how they’re interacting with you.
Insights ends up being split into two main sections: user and insights. Users lets you track who is following your pages, demographic information such as the age and gender of the users, page growth or shrinkage, and information on traffic sources. An overlooked feature is the fact that you can see where your traffic comes from and thus who would be most interested in your page. Interactions lets you see an analysis of interaction with each update to your page that you’ve made. It’s particularly useful because you can see what works best with your fans.

4. Twitter Analyzer

– Twitter Analyzer is a tool that says it’s the “most advanced Twitter analytics tool in the world” and lives up to it, or at least does a good job of trying. It is a tool that allows you to see a plethora of information simply by logging into your Twitter account and authorizing the API.

This analytics tool allows for you to see your own level of tweets over a set duration of time, graphs of your conversations, popularity via retweets and, most importantly, a graph that shows you your level of reach. When used properly, this can give you massive amounts of trends and information about your Twitter followers.

3. Omgili Graphs

– Omgili isn’t exactly the prettiest of graphing utilities, but it is probably the best in what it does. You can enter two terms that will be searched for and displayed in real time. This is great for tracking when your name, your product or your website is mentioned.
That’s not all Omgili Graphs can do. It can show you predictions between search terms and if you’re interested in seeing what dates have a correlation for higher chatter about your website, product or brand. It can also be used to compare which are talked about more often and when.

2. Backtype

– This is a particularly innovative sort of tool that deals with measuring your impact over various mediums. You can directly see how people are interacting with your social media by using it. You simply put in your URL and information on your website such as tweets, comments on your website, and comments on Digg are displayed.

Arguably the most useful feature is the fact that you can compare your website to others in cold, hard numerical statistics. This allows you to see how well you engage your audience versus how other websites do. It also allows you to do research on websites that engage better and modify your own tactics.

1. InMotion’s QuickTagger

(http://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/tools/quicktagger) – Twitter referrals are a blatantly difficult thing for webmasters to track. In Google Analytics, they come up as “direct traffic” because URL shorteners like bit.ly, which Twitter uses, use a 301 redirect. This tool is the best thing you can do as of current in order to track media interaction between Twitter users and your website.

You define a label for Google to track your link by and then it shows up as a statistic in Google Analytics. It’s as simple as that. It also circumvents the redirects put in place by social networks like Facebook and allows you to see which links compose of what activity on your website. Because QuickTagger works as a bookmarklet, it’s a tool that is essential and lightweight.

Web Hosting Specialist

Juliana is an Online Specialist for a VPS Hosting provider based in Los Angeles @InMotionHosting. You can follow her on Twitter @JulianaPayson.

We explored several options before finally deciding which one fit our project needs best. In this article you will learn what WordPress directory methods we looked at, and what we ultimately chose to be the solution.

A WordPress Directory Solution Comparison

WordPress Directory Plugin

The first plugin we tried was the WordPress Directory Plugin. This is a free plugin, which comes with access to support, but you must create a free account on WPMUDEV in order to download.

This directory plugin comes with its own template, and also allows for lots of customization.

What we liked about the WordPress Directory Plugin:

• You can create custom categories, fields, and layouts, which make for a very attractive directory
• You can advertise within the directory
• You can place the auto generated taxonomy and custom field embed code in your WordPress loop to display in your theme
• Users can submit reviews and ratings for each listing

Some things we didn’t like about the WordPress directory plugin:

• Although this plugin allows the creation of custom fields, there is no way to display these newly created custom fields on a listings page automatically. You must edit the single.php template file located in the plugin directory.

Note: To avoid this, you could utilize the Views plugin for the WordPress Directory custom post types. This plugin allows you to create fully customized layouts based on custom post types and custom fields and taxonomies.

This is not for the faint of heart, and you would duplicate a lot of the work that the Directory plugin already does, but the sky is the limit in terms of custom layouts.

Business Directory Plugin

Next was the Business Directory Plugin. This WordPress directory plugin is free, although there are some paid modules available if you wish to upgrade.

What we liked about the Business Directory Plugin:

• Offers a variety of fee structures based on how many pictures  one wants to include in their listing
• Listings can be edited like any normal blog post, and without having to go to the WordPress dashboard

Some things that made us pass:

• Reviews for this directory were mixed
• High number of support requests from users
• The styling was the least attractive of all the WordPress directory plugins we explored
• Google checkout is the only payment option included in the free version

Link Directory Plugin

The Link Directory Plugin is a fairly new free plugin.  While it currently lacks some of the pizzazz that our winning directory method found below has, we think this one could have some potential.

What we liked about the Links Directory plugin:

• Author is very responsive to user feedback, and so this directory plugin could incorporate some user suggestions in future releases
• Author continues to add new features

While we like this one, its newness leaves it lacking in a few key areas:

• Only one default design is currently available
• More bugs reported than most of the other directory plugins
• Not enough customization options available
• No payment methods included

Open Links Directory

The Open Links Directory is another free plugin. This plugin’s description claims it will help you to start a profitable link directory similar to the DMOZ.org directory.

What we liked about the Open Links Directory plugin:

• Great for backlinking
• Decent styling customization options
• Pulls thumbnails of submitted sites

Why we passed:

• Support seems to have become intermittent for the last few months
• Requires a website link, some directory submissions don’t have sites
• Not a robust system for creating and editing additional directory categories and other details

DirectoryPress

For us, DirectoryPress was the winner by a longshot. It’s a Premium WordPress Theme that literally transforms your WordPress powered website into an eye-catching, user-friendly directory website.

It offers the most attractive templates of all the directory plugins and themes that we researched, and there are TONS of theme styles to choose from. Additionally, all of the added features that are included in the package make it well worth the price.

DirectoryPress Is Favorite WordPress Directory Solution

Some reasons we chose DirectoryPress over all the other available directory plugins and themes:

• Endless customization options to personalize your WordPress directory
• Built in tracking tools so you know who’s visiting your sites and how often
• Option to display your own images, or generate new website preview images using the DirectoryPress thumbnail API for FREE
• Very easy to use and manage through WordPress

To try out the free online demo, or to purchase it now for $79, click here.

Note: If you’re concerned with preserving your existing site, but still building a directory with a theme-based solution like DirectoryPress, you have two options.

1. Create a subdomain on your site named “directory.mysite.com” and simply install WordPress there with the PremiumPress directory theme applied
2. Utilize the Multisite features of WordPress to create a network of sites and then apply this theme to one of the sites on your network

If you want to learn more about activating Multisite and running a network of sites all from one WordPress installation, you may be interested in our WP Website Network Manual found here.

We’ve been teasing about our ‘secret project’ across our social channels for a few weeks and now we’re finally able to announce what could be the largest ever giveaway of premium WordPress and online business products ever! You can either go to the entry page now, or read below to find out a bit more of what this giveaway is all about.

Enter to Win FREE Premium Plugins, Themes, and More!

What Is the Ultimate WordPress Online Business Giveaway?

We have gathered dozens of sponsors from the WordPress and Internet Marketing community who have graciously agreed to donate their products and services so we can give them away to you! Watch this short introduction video to see a personal message from yours truly…

These aren’t any fly-by-night companies either folks. These are well-respected members of the WordPress and online business community.

Heard of iThemes? We got ‘em. How about Wishlist Member? We got ‘em…and that’s just two.

There are over two dozen more premium WordPress plugins, themes, and online business tools up for grabs right here!

What Else Should You Know About ‘The Ultimate WordPress and Online Business Giveaway’?

• There is absolutely no cost associated with this contest in any way
• Users can enter daily for the length of this promotion (two weeks, more chances to win)
• Users can enter multiple times each day (even more chances to win)

I hope my excitement is coming through properly in this blog post…I don’t use the word ‘Giddy’ very often, but that’s exactly what I am right now knowing that this contest has such awesome prizes up for grabs.

How To Enter

Entering is very simple, just go to the entry page here. View the prizes up for grabs. Then choose the entry method you prefer. Remember, you can even choose multiple entry methods in order to receive multiple entries. Not only that, but don’t forget that you can enter multiple times every single day until the giveaway ends!

GO ENTER NOW and GOOD LUCK!

You hit “Publish” and start the traffic promotion campaign by notifying your subscribers, tweeting the page link relentlessly, updating your Facebook profile and the myriad of other methods of promoting online.

Then you get no new subscribers, no product sales, no new leads for your services. What the hell happened?

Question: What’s wrong with my marketing?

• Is my product that bad?
• Is my service something no one needs or wants?
• Are my copywriting skills not good enough?
• Do I need to redesign my entire site to make it more professional?

Answer: Relax. It’s probably none of the above.

WordPress Sales Page Basics

One of the most important things to know about creating sales pages is that even a single content element can throw off the whole thing. One headline, sub-heading, image, video (or lack of) and even one paragraph can cause your visitor to lose interest and move on with their life.

You must engage your visitors properly with the kind of content that compels them to take action. But how do you know exactly what content is hurting you and what content is helping?

Split testing. Plain and simple.

...read further and we'll tell you...

What Is Split Testing?

Also known as A/B testing, split testing is…

a method of marketing testing by which a baseline control sample is compared to a variety of single-variable test samples in order to improve response rates. A classic direct mail tactic, this method has been recently adopted within the interactive space to test tactics such as banner ads, emails and landing pages.

Significant improvements can be seen through testing elements like copy text, layouts, images and colors. However, not all elements produce the same improvements, and by looking at the results from different tests, it is possible to identify those elements that consistently tend to produce the greatest improvements.

Source: Wikipedia

How to Split Test Pages in WordPress Easily

Smart people utilizing WordPress for affiliate and Internet marketing have been using split testing plugins for awhile to determine what content works better to convince their readers to take some kind of action.

In recent years there has been an explosion of entrepreneurs and home based business owners starting to market and sell their own products and services online, and they may have found the existing methods and plugins for split testing pages in WordPress to be somewhat labor intensive, or even downright confusing.

In order to succeed, you must split test your offer pages, and this plugin will make the process simple and easy.

Simple Page Tester Plugin

From the plugin description page…

The Simple Page Tester plugin for WordPress lets you split test pages and posts without having to edit a single line of code.

After installing the plugin you will be able to:

• Conduct really simple split testing with a step by step interface
• Run split tests without having to insert lines of code into your templates
• Track your results easily with goals in Google Analytics
• Declare the winner of your split test and have it automatically morph into the master page while removing the other variation (saving you the clean up)

To Good to be True? Nope. Watch this tutorial we made…

Now that you know exactly…

• What split testing is…
• Why you need to do it to increase product sales, email subscriptions and service contacts…
• What WordPress split testing plugin is the simplest and easy to use…

Go get the Simple Page Tester plugin and start using it now…

Download the Plugin

To get you started, here are some ideas of what content you can change within your sales pages during your split tests that will affect your visitor’s actions…

• Headlines
• Sub-headings
• Opening paragraph
• Image or no image?
• Introductory video or no video?
• Call to Action phrasing (Download Now, Subscribe Now, Get Updates, Purchase, Buy, Get Access, etc…)
• Call to Action graphics (change the size or color of button images, etc…)

Learn more about Simple Page Tester here.

Find and Display Your Meetup.com Groups on WordPress

Why Meetup?

Meetup.com has 9.5 million members, and, according to Nuanced Media, 42,000 of those members are talking about WordPress every day.  Why wouldn’t we–WordPress lovers that we are!–want to get in on that action?  Our founder here at WP Pro Business, Adam Warner, has already used this plugin with great success to arrange important WordPress-related meet-ups in his area (and online!).

But what if you don’t run a WordPress-based business, you ask?  Meetup is great for anyone looking to connect more efficiently.  From planning your next business meeting to getting everyone together for some Ultimate Frisbee, this plugin is bound to get a lot of use on your website.

Meeting Up is Just Plain Easier with Meetup!

I could blather on forever about how great Meetup is and what its done for our business, but let’s take a look at what some of the benefits could be for you!

• Getting to know like-minded business professionals in your area.  Meetup isn’t just for scheduling your own meetings–you can use it to find other people too!
• Meetup has a “perks” feature that allows you to offer discounts.  Once your “perk” is approved, Meetup advertises it to relevant groups!  Who wouldn’t want that kind of publicity/traffic?
• You get to socialize with people face-to-face.
• It can be used for telling the Brothers and Sisters at your Church where the next family picnic is being held…
• …Or meeting up with others at conventions for the perfect photo op.  How many times have you dressed up as someone from your favorite fandom and wondered, “Where are all the other people dressed like I am?”  (Okay, maybe that’s just me…).
• Assembling a flash mob just got a million times easier!
• It’s just plain great for telling your website visitors/customers “what’s up” with your business in general–no matter what your business is.

And, with a company that believes in face-to-face socialization and improving the local community, you bet they’ve got great customer service!  If you ever get lost (don’t worry, you won’t), you can contact one of their representatives or peruse their message board.

We’ve Got Your Meetup Right Here!

So what about that Meetup plugin we mentioned earlier?

You can get it right here.  Just click that link and install away!  You won’t regret it.

Oh, and did I mention: It’s FREE!!!

Free Full Size Infographic Below

WordPress Makes SEO Easy

WordPress itself has many search engine optimization methods built right into the software. However, with the addition of plugins like Scribe SEO and themes like the ones from StudioPress that are developed with SEO in mind, your WordPress website can rise to the top of search engine results pages with relative ease.

SEO is Not Accomplished Automatically

It takes focused and dedicated work. You must also have a search engine optimization and Internet marketing plan in place to enhance your WordPress SEO efforts.

SEO Action Guide Infographic [Share This]

WP Pro Business is happy to share the SEO Action Guide Infographic below as a tool you can use to guide your own search engine optimization efforts.

Print this infographic, save it to your local machine, and by all means…please grab the easy embed code and share this image on your own site or favorite social outlet so others can benefit too.

<div align="center"><a href="http://wpprobusiness.com" title="WP Pro Business SEO Action Guide Infographic"><img src="http://wpprobusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/seo-action-guide-infographic.png" alt="WP Pro Business SEO Action Guide Infographic" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Now Take Action

Study the different elements of SEO in the image above and put them into practice on your own site and in your online business. SEO is not that difficult, especially if you’re using WordPress as the platform that powers your site.

The “trick” to good optimization is knowing the exact elements of SEO and how to put them into practice. The most important part of course, is to TAKE ACTION. At some point you need to stop the research and move away from theory and get to the task at hand.

Search Engine Optimization is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. If you’d like a more in-depth guide, please consider supporting our efforts by purchasing the SEO Action Guide ebook. Details below…

Introducing the SEO Action Guide Ebook

The team at WP Pro Business has spent a lot of time developing and organizing these extremely effective search engine optimization tactics and list of actionable resources, and you can start implementing them today.

Follow along as we lay out, step-by-step, the SEO techniques that we use in our own online businesses to rise to the top of search engine results and get our content shared regularly on social networking sites.

For the past 8 years we have been practicing SEO successfully on our websites, and it is all because we were able to figure out HOW to learn SEO. That is what our guide contains – the knowledge. You avoid all of OUR missteps and you get a guide that points you to where you can find legitimate, up-to-date, valuable SEO information.

We kept track of the sites that truly made a difference to us and present them here in a whopping 42-page eBook. This SEO Action Guide includes directions to:

• SEO Snapshots
• SEO Checklists
• Trusted SEO Forums
• Trusted SEO Blogs
• Keyword Research Tools
• SEO Analyzers
• Backlinking Information
• Backlinks
• Glossaries
• And More, Including 10 Bonus Lists

This ebook will save you time. How much do you value your time? That is what you have to ask yourself.

This ebook would have saved us weeks when we were starting, and we think even the savviest of web owners will save days with it.

If you want to tap into the 34000 searches a second on Google, for free no less, then you owe it to yourself to buy this guide.

Kenny Brooks - The Funniest Salesman Ever?

The Video Backstory

This video has been around for a while, but this is the first time I saw it. It was taken by a homeowner and shows the sale techniques of Kenny Brooks, a traveling door-to-door salesman for a product named Advantage Cleaner. I’m sure the product is fine, but how would you react if someone came to your door trying to sell you a household cleaner?

The days of door-to-door salesman being the norm has come and gone, and I would bet that the majority of people simply don’t answer the door when they see someone unknown standing outside. But stop and think for a moment about your online business and the products or services you promote.

You and I are no different than the traveling salesman that come to your home, we just utilize a different platform and need to apply specific Internet marketing techniques.

Not only does our “pitch” come directly into your home via an Internet connection, but our content also goes with you wherever you go if you’re carrying a smartphone, tablet, or laptop.

Watch the Video and Keep Reading Below

My Takeaways

If nothing else, this is a pretty entertaining video. I’m not exactly a fan of the self-effacing racial comments, but it’s comedy and it’s effective. I was ready to buy.

There are some important subtleties in this video that are very important lessons to be learned that we can all apply to our businesses to grow our success.

Connecting with Your Audience

Straight from the beginning of this video, Kenny starts to build a personal connection with the homeowners by calling him “Dad” and also the initial high five.

If you like someone, and feel you know them a bit, aren’t you more likely to listen further?

Research and Learning

He also mentions Tony Robbins and that he was taking one of his courses. It’s easy to assume that Kenny has done his research and is learning to implement what he’s been taught. Mentioning Tony Robbin’s name is also a great “connection point” between Kenny and his audience.

I spend at least a few hours a day devouring WordPress and Internet Marketing news and tutorials and you should be doing the same for whatever niche your business is in. If you’re not continually learning, you can bet your competitors are, and if that’s the case, you will get left behind eventually.

Watching What Others Have Done and Copy Their Success

At the same time Kenny mentions Tony Robbins, he alludes that he took his course and is applying it to his sales job and goal of being a comedian,  because Jamie Foxx did the same thing.

We can all do the same, although it’s important to create you’re own path too. Think of the people (or products and services) who are succeeding in the subject you’re interested in. Study their techniques…write down what you see them doing and then apply those processes to your own business.

Being Honest About Your Product and Why You Do What You Do

Kenny goes on to say that he is using this sales job as a training platform for his ultimate goal, but that he does believe in the product and that he feels that, at the very least, his sales technique is worth paying the cost of one bottle of cleaner.

Take it or leave it. He’s not treating his audience as idiots and trying to trick them into buying something that doesn’t work. He shows proof of the product, but also surrounds it with his own benefit (his entertainment). It’s like when someone sells a digital product and offers a “One Time Offer”…if the bonus is something that offers real value and enhances the product experience, it’s absolutely OK to throw one in.

Asking for the Sale

Toward the beginning of the video, he says “Do you know what HBO stands for? Help a Brother Out.” By doing this, Kenny is subtlety asking for the sale. He’s planting the seed as they say.

He reiterates that a few times throughout his pitch and at the end, asks for the sale again very clearly.

It’s OK to ask for the sale. This is something that many business owners and Internet Marketers often fail to do.

If you believe in your product or service, why shouldn’t you ask for the sale?

My belief is that if you don’t ask for the sale, you come off as dishonest and that you don’t really believe that your product or service has real value.

That said, feel free to visit our Products page and purchase one of our guides;)

Do You Agree or Disagree?

Have your say in the comments, or by sharing this article on your favorite social network.

Review Rich Snippet Example

What Are Rich Snippets?

In short, Rich Snippets give users convenient summary information about their search results at a glance. You’ve seen these in Google search results already, but here’s a 50 second video with a great explanation.

Makes sense right? A more usable web experience for all. But what happens when your WordPress powered online business site doesn’t have rich snippets, but you do have a valuable product, event, or recipe that could also benefit from utilizing Rich Snippets? If you’re not using rich snippets for your content, your site may be getting left behind.

Why Do They Matter?

Displaying Rich Snippets along side your website content in search results helps your content to stand out visually from other search results. This helps users to see your content more clearly and makes them more likely to click through to your website rather than a site that does not have this extra summary information.

How to Add Review Type Rich Snippets to Your WordPress Website

Here’s another short Google video explaining the Reviews Rich Snippet markup type. This will give you a good example of what the plugin I’ll be describing below will allow you to do.

Using the Author hReview Plugin to Add Review Rich Snippets to WordPress

Watch our video tutorial on how to use and configure the Author hReview plugin.

Other Types of Google Rich Snippets

There are other types of Rich Snippets you can add to your content, although we haven’t checked if there are other plugins that allow you to add these types to your WordPress site, we’re betting that they exist. And if they don’t, it’s a pretty safe assumption that they will soon.

Events

Recipes

Apps

Please Leave Your Opinion of Rich Snippets in the Comments…