Neil Patel the basics nailed on

Neil infamously gave a blogger a public tanning (2007) by simply applying basic SEO to a fairly innocous blog to demonstrate how ethical SEO technique can improve traffic by 10 to 20% within 30 days.

It made me laugh no end, its great to see that Neil stood up to be counted, literally and i applaud him for his stance, Neil welcome to the SEO/SEM experts of SEOBegin.com.

The latest from Neils blog (Pronet Advertising)

Top 10 Online Design Tools - Wed, 04 Aug 2010

As a graphic designer, you are always searching for new inspirations and tools to improve your skills and speed up the design process. The online world now provides an array of design tools to improve your workflow and efficiency - putting more money in your pocket each month from satisfied clients. Here are the top 10 online design tools grouped by categories to improve your graphic design business.

Image Manipulation Websites

1) Aviary.com Aviary.com is a powerful online resource offering image editing, vector editing and a variety of other tools. The website is well designed and is known for its user friendly format. While, as a graphic designer, you may not use certain portions of the website such as the music creator, most sections are very valuable for the design process.

2) GIMP.org

Another top online image manipulation program is GIMP.org. This website deserves a spot among the top online design tools because it features, among other things, image perspective manipulation, channel mixing, and cloning.

3) Pixlr.com

The Pixlr.com image editor is the last image manipulation program making the top 10 online design tools list. This program features an interface similar to top graphic design software applications and is very user friendly - making it a great resource for all experience levels. Stock Photo Websites

4) iStockphoto.com iStockphoto.com is widely used in the graphic design community and features an extensive stock graphic library. The cost per image on iStockphoto.com is higher than other stock photo websites but the image quality is worth the higher cost.

5) Bigstockphoto.com Lower cost photos and illustrations are available on Bigstockphoto.com if you can't afford more expensive stock image websites. The quality of images is still high and you can browse extensive image galleries. As with most stock photo websites, you must purchase a credit bundle before downloading your first graphic.

6) Shutterstock.com

Shutterstock.com is comparable in price and quality to iStockphoto.com and contains, among other resources, photos and illustrations. Browse graphics by category or keyword to quickly locate a particular subject.

7) Stock.xchng If you are working on a tight design budget, Stock.xchng is a great option because it offers free stock images for download. While the image qualities are lower than fee based websites, it's still a wonderful free resource.

Graphic Design Training



8) Lynda.com

As a graphic designer, you must always be acquiring new skills. The Lynda.com tutorial library offers top notch free and fee-based training videos on a variety of design software programs to aid in the learning process.

9) Kelbytraining.com

Another top training website is Kelbytraining.com which offers a variety of graphic design tutorials, DVDs, and books. This resource is constantly updated with the latest software tutorials and can be a great resource to stay on top of the graphic design field.

10) Tuts+

The Tuts+ network is the final online design tool earning a spot on the top 10 list. From vector tutorials to creative sessions, this resource offers a variety of learning materials to improve your graphic design skills.

To be successful designer, you must always learn new skills and try new things. Hopefully these top 10 online design tools will be helpful outlets for improving your graphic design skills.

Sonia Mansfield is the content editor for PsPrint and editor for the PsPrint Blog. She likes to write, do yoga and make nerdy "Star Wars" and "Simpsons" references. PsPrint is an online printing solutions company, which you can follow on Twitter and Facebook.

Five Crowdsourcing Sites that Give Small Businesses Quality Designs on a Budget - Wed, 07 Jul 2010

The recession had a strong impact on how small business spend money on online marketing and advertising, and pretty much on everything else that has anything to do with online visibility. Many businesses resort to DIY tools in an attempt to save money. For some the strategy works (particularly for those with some skill), but many others fail lamentably. Micromanaging is never a lucrative solution: it's time consuming, unrewarding, and it burns up resources that could be used effectively somewhere else. There are alternatives to DIY that don't break the bank, and, in the end, have significant benefits. Crowdsourcing is one of them.

From design, to writing and funding, there are crowdsourcing solutions for every need. The benefits are obvious for small biz, although not so obvious for those service providers who compete for the job. Instead of spending time on outsourcing a creative agency to do the job, small businesses can now call for entries by submitting a creative brief to any of the crowdsourcing sites reviewed below. The advantages for small biz can be easily summarized:

• no fear of going "over budget" since the price is set up by the customer at the beginning of the contest
• no fear that the designer will get the money and then leave the job undone. The payment only follows if a winner is selected
• clients can provide feedback, request revisions and send messages to designers
• guaranteed satisfaction - the client doesn't have to select a winner, if none of the designs don't meet his/her expectations
• all rights which subsist in copyright, patent rights, trademark rights, designs and etc, are transferred to the customer
• if done right, crowdsourcing can also facilitate the incorporation of consumers tastes and preferences into the development of brands

Despite a number of detractors, crowdsourcing is a practice that is here to stay. Even world renowned brands use the resourceto motivate and engage consumers. An example is Pepsis 2007 Design Our Pepsi Can (http://www.designourpepsican.com/) promotion, which put the winning design on 500 million Pepsi cans, and also offered a $10,000 prize for the winner.

The competition got over 100.000 entries. For a company like Pepsi, the price paid for this promotion was extremely low. In addition to getting over 100.000 creative ideas (that can eventually inspire other designs), they also got massive media coverage.

The situation for small business is somewhat different, unless they decide to pay more for a design and announce the contest with a press release to call for customer feedback as well. Many businesses, however, prefer to run such contests behind closed doors, and all the following sites allow and encourage private contests:

99designs.com is a Webby Awards winner (based on popularity) and the site with the most numerous community of designers. Customers can submit design briefs calling for any type of design in the following categories: identity design (logo and stationery); web design (web page design, WordPress themes, Twitter backgrounds, banner ads); print design; graphic design (button designs and others); and finally, merchandise designs (like t-shirts, and clothing). The site is the most visually appealing, and extremely easy to use. A 100% money back warranty is also in place (including listing fees).

crowdSPRING is playing with the big dogs. Among their customers, you will find names like LG, SmugMug and others. The company received broad recognition, and a few awards like a Stevie Award in 2009, and the ITA CityLIGHTS Award for a newcomer business in 2009. There are over 65.000 users, a mix of designers and writers, that compete in the following categories graphic design (logo, stationery, illustration, clothing design, print design, and package graphics); web design (widget design, email template design, landing page design, banner ads, icon and button design, header design); industrial design (packaging design, product design); and writing projects (company naming, product name, tagline, web content). A money back guarantee in place as well.

DesignCrowd is less popular and has only something over 16.000 users ready to compete for a project. There are less contest categories than offered by 99designs and crowdSPRING: logo design, web design, business card design, stationery design, brochure design, flyer design, poster design, graphic design, t-shirt design and vector illustration. The money prizes awarded here are lower than expected, but in the end, it's the choice of the customer how much he/she is willing to pay for a design. However, a low budget will not motivate more talented designers to participate, and this will be reflected in the quality of the design entries received. A Money back guarantee in place.

Prova - a Beta newcomer, a bit different from the above, although in essence it seems to offer the same services. The general idea is to let the small business owner submit a brief with design specs for anything they can think of. This includes gift certificates, invitations, announcements, key-chains, magnets, lawn signs, billboards and more. In addition, customers can also crowdsource here voiceover narration, audio books, radio advertisements, instructional videos, TV commercials, website videos and YouTube videos. Prova doesn't look like much at the moment - apparently the site will be redesigned in steps, through contests, by its own community. Interestingly, Prova appears more social than the other sites, and promises to promote the designers that win the contests, and the companies that use their services. A Money back guarantee is expected.

GuerraCreativa - another beta, with less than 10000 designers ready for work. It focuses solely on design, but adds flash and 3D design to the offering. It's an Argentinian-based startup, with wording that raises a few eyebrows, but the quality of the designs featured on the homepage is at lease more decent than the description of the service: "We provide you the battlefield and weaponry to conquer the creative world." In the end, the wording is right on target, after all, "guerra" is Spanish for war. Money back guarantee as well.

To conclude, if you run a small business and you need creative work on a budget, you can launch a contest on any of these sites. Each has its own advantages: 99designs and crowdSPRING have large communities, DesignCrowd is very cheap, Prova allows you to promote your contest and to get feedback from your peers and customers, and GuerraCreativa is ideal for flash and 3D designs. No matter where you go, remember that, among the "cons" faced by the crowdsourcing sites, lack of originality (copied designs) ranks supreme. Always ask for feedback from third parties before choosing a winner. To encourage the more talented designers to participate add a few more dollars to the prize, and make the contest challenging and fun. The bottom line is, services like these can take the pinch out of recession woes, and potentially lead to far more creative collaborations.

Bringing Products to Life with Clever Ads - Mon, 05 Jul 2010

Marketing and advertising are interesting avenues when it comes to products that may initially be considered "bland" or "not exciting". Creative professionals have such an uncanny and amazing ability to bring these "ordinary" products to life through commercials, motion graphics, visual effects, and more.

I know you're probably expecting (and hoping) to see hilarious commercials for beer and other products that have proved to be pretty risque. I hate to put a damper on things, but I've decided to choose something pretty nonchalant, and show you how clever and well thought out marketing can make all the difference in breathing life into a product.

Vacuums! Here we go-

This YouTube video for Bissell vacuums shows what your vacuum's personality would be like if it were just a little more human. From the snooty heiress who refuses to pick up dog hair to the heavy and powerful high school coach who keeps screaming "put your back into it," this Bissell commercial humorously personifies the different drawbacks of other vacuums. The ad begins by asking "Is your vacuum a good match for you?," then it goes into the advantages of Bissell's own vacuums, stating that Bissell vacuums are your "perfect match."

This ad, from good ol' 1984, reminds you that you have modern appliances all over your house, and that there is no excuse to have an ancient vacuum cleaner that you have to lug around. It then goes on to highlight the advantages of the 1984 Eureka vacuum--the "vacuum cleaner for today, not yesterday." Eureka has been playing the advertising game for a long time.

Miele produced this humorous commercial about a man vacuuming with a leashed dog nearby. A woman enters the room and removes the dog, leaving the leash behind. The man then accidentally sucks up the leash while looking the other direction. He turns back and assumes that he has accidentally vacuumed up the dog. He bends down and makes whistling noises at the vacuum, trying to get the attention of the dog that he assumes is inside. The brand name and a picture of the vacuum then comes up with the catch phrase "sucking good."

This Hong Kong commercial for the Electrolux vacuum features a news story about a man who is about to jump off a building, ending his own life. When community efforts and firemen fail to convince him to change his mind, an old woman with a vacuum saves him from plummeting to his death by catching him with the vacuum cleaner's immense sucking power. It then concludes: "Electrolux - it really sucks."

As you can see, clever advertising can really make a product interesting. It's something to consider when you're working on a campaign for something that you find bland... you can really have a lot of fun with it and get a little crazy. Your viewers will thank you for it.

What are some of your favorite ads?

Social Media Press Release Tips - Mon, 28 Jun 2010

A comprehensive and effectively written social media release can do phenomenal wonders for any online business. They bring exposure, traffic, and heightened awareness, as well as encourage calls to action and energize various sectors of the online community in many different ways.

A social media press release needs several pieces to make the whole, in order to work properly and achieve the end result that will meet the goal of the business issuing the release. These components will include, but aren't limited to, bookmarking networks, the software tools to host conversations, social chats, contextual tags and even video-based interfaces for immediate social networking.

Since the goal of a "standard press release" is to gain attention and awareness, a social media press release is no different- except that it engages a greater sector of the online (and offline) community through its social networking implementations. Social media works off technological premises, therefore content existing in various forms (video, audio, written, etc.) can be shared immediately through software and widgets available on the business's website. Webmasters develop "codes" so that the social media community can quickly and seamlessly share information at the click of a link.

Independency

Each subsection of the press release needs to be respectively independent of the other sections and standalone if only portions of it are downloaded. The sections should be substantially enhanced and contain multimedia and social media elements.

Linkage

One of the most important elements in a social media press release is having links that are optimized for high visibility in the search engines. The links should include connections to relevant information pages on your website as many as possible without there being overkill. Linking is also highly encouraged to other social media sites including Del.ici.ous, Digg, Reddit, and Technorati.

Diversity

Submit your social media releases to all other relevant sites that promote the release. This includes areas like videos to YouTube and Facebook and photos to sites like Flickr or Photobucket. Also, use visuals as much as possible, including the company's logo, advertising slogan and any marketing videos within the release, where applicable.

Keywords

Use appropriate keywords to maximize your search engine rankings for your site. These same keywords should be optimized for use in all headlines and in the text of the release. Be careful though- you don't want to over-optimize and throw keywords into every sentence. The press release needs to look natural and organic.

Encourage Community

Enlist and engage the social networking community by providing a platform and a method for them to interact with others. This can be in the form of a link that goes directly to a forum or a direction to leave comments in the appropriate sections on the webpage.

Social media press releases can be an amazing thing, if utilized correctly. Because the social media world allows for the sharing of media in all different ways, your press release will be a powerhouse of information for your client, or your own company.

Picking the Right Affiliate Marketing Software - Thu, 24 Jun 2010

When working with affiliate marketing, you need to be able to understand and pick the right software to fit your needs. There are tons out there (believe me, I've started looking and informing myself already) but sometimes it's just overwhelming. You can't really rely on word of mouth for these things, or reviews, because each one will fit you differently. Only you can decide what is right for you.

I came across this inforgaphic (that is extremely large and in charge) and decided this might be useful to share, since it's helped me a lot in understanding what each affiliate marketing software offers. Hope this helps!

If you can`t read Neils blog directly within this website then get over to Pronet Advertising