BANS Today

All in one SEO Pack - Meta Descriptions

Written by mbpage on August 25, 2008

One of the most popular wordpress plugins is the all in one seo pack.  I have been using it for a while but noticed that the meta descriptions I created were being ignored by Google.  Usually an indexed page is represented by Google as a snippet.  The snippet is a combinaiton of the meta title and meta description.  The meta description should be no more than 155 characters long and is your opportunity to include sales message to encourage a user to click on your link.  A good meta description is essential if you are going to succeed with Build a Niche Store.

Rather than showing my meta description Google was displaying a random selection of menu items and page text making the snippet look spammy and imo discouraging a potential visitor from clicking my link.  For this reason I had reservations about using wordpress in combination with BANS.

I searched long and hard for a solution to this problem posting requests for help on several forums.  I also asked fellow BANS bloggers and also contacted the plugin author but no one had any suggestions.  Frustrated, I started experimenting with the plugin settings and after two or three weeks of experimentation I have found the solution.

If you use this plugin, and every wordpress user should, and want full control over the Google snippet then you simply turn off the autogenerate descriptions option.  Doing this requires that you enter a meta title and meta description manually but the result of having a meaningful meta description makes the effort worthwhile.  The biggest advantage though is that you make more sales!

Directory Submission Optimization

Written by mbpage on August 23, 2008

It occurred to me that many times we focus on more complex strategies and become complacent over the more simple things. When using a directory submission service such as SubmitEdge or doing your own submissions via a tool such as digixmas set up is key. There are three areas on which to focus:

1. Anchor Text
2. Email address
3. Category Selection

You should choose 3 anchor text links and include them in your descriptions

You should use an email address that relates the domain.  I use HostGator and they make it very easy to set up email forwarders.

That said the main point I want to focus on is category selection.  Many times people choose the wrong category and the majority of submissions made to an incorrect category are often rejected.  You can significantly increase your chances of selecting the right category by doing a little research first.  I like to hop over to dmoz type in my keyword(s) and see what categories they appear under.  You can then mirror these categories in your SubmitEdge submission or use the category keywords in the digixmas category keyword box.

Following these simple tips should ensure a higher percentage of your submissions are accepted by the Directory Webmaster.

Niche Store Sort by Zip

Written by mbpage on August 20, 2008

With the release of the free bans templates I am finally able to achieve something I have wanted to for quite some time. I have several stores selling motor vehicles e.g. Jeeps. eBay motors offer thousands of great value deals but, obviously, America is a big country and most of us are not going to travel a couple of thousand miles to pick up a used bargain Jeep.

Previously I had to spend a lot of time customizing the ugly BANS templates to make use of the advanced search facility or searching for a customized version (which I never found). Several of the new templates include the advanced search facility in a prominent position. As soon as time allows I will swap out some of my existing templates to allow users to target vehicles within a certain radius of their of location.

If you have stores where being able to search on location is useful, and like me you’re not a coder, then you can convert existing stores in about 30 mins (including header creation). I’ve been putting it off but now I have no excuses and neither do you.

Free BANS Templates

Written by mbpage on August 19, 2008

Sometimes I’d like to post more often but I refuse to produce content just for the sake of it. I only write when I’ve got something worth saying and I hope that’s appreciated. I have kept away from the BANS forums recently due to the negative rumors that abound. I prefer to keep focused on what I’m doing rather than worry about the latest “BANS is finished” story. Thats not to say I hide my head in the sand but negative stories can consume time more than anything else I know.

Anyway I popped over and found that Kelvin and Adam have released some really classy BANS templates and what’s more they’re free. Dave (Soggy) and Mark (meetmydomains) are working on creating versions that support wordpress integration so to me the futures never seemed better.

If you haven’t checked out the new templates yet make your way over to the BANS forum and check them out.

Get the Most from SEO for Firefox

Written by mbpage on August 14, 2008

There is always something new to learn.  I’ve had the SEO for Firefox installed in my browser for some time and used it periodically but always felt it was a bit of a pain.  Why because it wasn’t set up correctly.  While going through my RSS feeds today I came across a SEO for Firefox video by none other than Aaron Wall.  Check it out, it helped me a lot.

Recommended Resources

Written by mbpage on July 31, 2008

Thought I’d just add that I have started to populate the recommended resources page. These are the tools I use personally. You will not see me talking about anything I do not own and use to help build my virtual real estate empire.  Nothing startling yet but I hope to have a few surprises up my sleeve in due course. However, for those of you that have never tried Roboform delay no further and grab yourself a copy today. It is easily the most useful piece of software I have ever owned and I couldn’t live without it.

Free Email Icon Generator

Written by mbpage on July 22, 2008

Spam is a real problem! Ok so that didn’t tell you anything you didn’t know already but aren’t you sick to death of those email harvesting spiders visiting your site, scraping your contact address and sending you a pile of crap. One way around this is to use contact forms but that means you need to create additional code or learn another plugin. A quick fire solution is to use an email icon generator and I tracked down a free tool here which does the job perfectly. It’s great for using in BANS privacy policies or on contact pages.  Check it out Free Email Icons.

Build a Niche Store Video Tutorials

Written by mbpage on July 18, 2008

I’ve been minded for a while to start making a few tutorials relating to BANS. The first one is now ready to roll. This is the first video I have ever made so bear in mind it is a major learning experience for me. It is rough and ready - I’m no editing expert nor do I want to be. This is a one take shot on how to optimize your submission to the SubmitEdge Directory Service.

You can view the video here

I spotted one mistake I made with relation to the bulk purchase facility and I said you get 25 additional submissions - what I meant is you get a 25% discount by buying in bulk.

Love to hear comments and feedback on whether this was a help or not. I use a different strategy to Mark over at thenichestorebuilder.com so I think you’ll get some new insight if you’ve already watched his video.

Build a Niche Store - A Mental Day

Written by mbpage on May 19, 2008

Today has been mental.  It all started with not being able to access any of my BANS sites or blogs.  All use Hostgator and this was the first time I’ve experienced any problems with their service.  Still everything was working fine a couple of hours later so I’ll just have to put it down to bad luck.

I’ve been using trial versions of nichebot and wordtracker and as usual I don’t have the time to get everything done.  I’ve also bitten the bullet and bought SEO Elite - yes I’m a sucker for punishment.  Try learning to use that lot in a day whilst fully developing a new BANS store.  Well that’s what I did as well as adding a bunch of sites to Google Webmaster tools and downgrading Adobe Flash to try and resolve problems playing Camtasia Videos.

Haven’t quite got to grips with Nichebot yet but Jim (the owner) is one hell of a guy and supplies some great (undislcosed) bonuses that are truly invaluable.  I’ve learned such a tremendous amount from Jim in a few short days it makes nichebot phenomenal value  If nothing else take advantage of the 14 day trial you will be very impressed.  Combined with SEO elite and the other tools I’ve got no excuses for not increasing my ranking in the serps.

In my next post I’ll start to explore what I’d do differently if I was starting out again and hopefully that will benefit those of you just starting your own BANS empires.

I’m also working on my own BANS Project Template combining the best of Mark’s & Rochelle’s efforts and adding a number of my own customizations.  Hope to have that ready in a couple of weeks.

BANS - Toolfest

Written by mbpage on May 11, 2008

It’s interesting all the tools you come across as an internet marketer and I have to say many of them are fantastic at what they do. Sure there’s some crap but you can usually get your money back if they don’t work for you.

I am resisting the temptation to buy more tools at the moment until my income rises to a reasonable level. Right now I’m going to do a dump of the tools I use (many are free) and tools I’d like to try out. I have included links below so you can check them out for yourself. Where I use a product myself and I’m more than happy to put my name to it I have included affiliate links. If I haven’t tried it then the link is direct.

I use:

• Terapeak
• Free Wordtracker
• Wordtracker GTrends
• Submit Edge
• Free Directory Submitter
• Free Article Submitter
• Keyword Elite
• UsFreeads
• Profit Lance - Best Internet Marketing Training at a great $77 price
• Wealthy Affiliate - Great Internet Marketing Membership Site

I want to try/buy:

• Revenue Domains Exposed
• 30 Minute Back Links
• 3 Way Links
• Bookmarking Demon

I just discovered:

• Socialmarker - a great free alternative to the increasingly flaky Onlywire

Trust me it took some time to put all those links together. I hope you find them valuable. If have any comments or recommendations of your own I’d love to hear from you.