5 Questions with Lynn Terry

Look up the definition of super affiliate in the dictionary and you find a picture of Lynn Terry.

5 Questions with Lynn Terry

I have a world of respect for Lynn Terry as a person and marketer and if you investigate, you’ll find she has a huge group of fans.  It’s easy to know why, she gives alot of her time, she knows what she talks about and she is a very successful marketer or “super affiliate.”

She’s big in the affiliate marketing niche and an expert blogger (sometimes those go together nicely, well, maybe all the time!) But her insights on Search Engine Optimization and the ways of  building successful web properties make her one of the core people you should follow. She’s well respected by the experts in the Internet Marketing world.  She’s a presenter at both of the annual Niche Affiliate Marketing Systems (AffLink) conferences in Atlanta and other events around the world.

She was gracious to answer 5 Questions in this interview.  This is part of my new “5 Questions” interview series.

Get more of her at Clicknewz.com and Facebook.

So here are 5 Questions with Lynn Terry…

1) Let’s talk about SEO. You’re well known for your abilities in organic ranking and have taught extensively on effective keyword research, on-site linking and other tactics. What are your top 3 recommendations for achieving page one results in any niche?

SEO is actually quite simple. Unfortunately, it’s often made out to be complicated or difficult – which is not the case at all. There are really only two things you need to do, though I’ll throw in a third which is newer but very helpful:

1. Optimize your page or blog post. Choose your keyword phrase and use it in the title of the page/post, within the content area, and in the URL of the page/post.

2. Get inbound links to that page or post, using your keyword phrase in the anchor text. You want some variety to the anchor text, and to the type and source of inbound links. Variety meaning links from article marketing, bookmarking, social media, other blogs/pages, etc. You never want all of your inbound links to have the exact same anchor text, or come from the exact same type of source.

3. Get social media action. This means Retweets on Twitter, Likes on Facebook, and even the new “+1″ option on Google. The easiest way to do this is to just write awesome content that people want to like, share and vote up – and be active on Facebook & Twitter so that they’ll see it and share it.

To give you a live example, I recently wrote a blog post about Online Jobs Work From Home. The text I just linked to is called Anchor Text. It tells the search engines what the link is about. That text is also my keyword phrase, the phrase I want that post to rank well for in the major search engines. It’s what you call a “long tail keyword phrase” and actually includes more than one keyword phrase.

If you look at the post carefully you’ll see that I used that long tail keyword phrase in the title, and throughout the post. Since it’s an awkward phrase (people search for things in the strangest ways sometimes! lol) I used punctuation to make it read more naturally. You’ll see a comma or even a period that breaks up the phrase. Which is fine, because Google doesn’t count the punctuation.

Lynn & me at NAMS3

2) You’re a prolific (and terrific) blogger, could you please point us to your best posts on your recommendations? That way we can get even more insight.

Sure – and thank you! I *love* blogging and I love sharing what I learn with my readers.

Ways to Increase Traffic To Your Site – Free

Using Keyword Modifiers to Qualify Your Visitors

Long Tail Keywords: Using Phrases That Make Sales!

3) Besides website optimization, linking and SEO in general, what’s your next favorite online marketing tactic?

I would have to say Guest Blogging. And while it’s part of my SEO strategy, it’s also a stand-alone marketing strategy. Writing guest blog posts for other bloggers in your niche, or even doing interviews like this one, puts you in front of an active readership.

When you are just starting out, you won’t have traffic and readers of your own. So guest blogging allows you to leverage the hard work of others who have gone before you in your niche. While you may mistakenly look at them as competitors… the truth is, they can be your partners.

The one thing every blogger needs is great new content. Constantly. It can be exhausting for *any* blogger, so most welcome a guest post now and then to keep their readers engaged.

Done right, this will not only bring you exposure and traffic from the readers of that blog, but it will also give you a permanent inbound link to one of your posts or pages – which will help that post/page rank higher in the search engines. So it’s a double incentive!

Lynn teaching at NAMS6

4) Getting traffic to a website is one thing, converting the desired action is another. What do you say about conversion?

The biggest mistake I see people make is *not* including a call-to-action. Each web page (or blog post) should stand alone, and lead the visitor to the next best click. For every page you create, ask yourself what ONE thing you want the visitor to do when they land on that page. Then make that action obvious by telling them or asking them – very clearly.

In addition to making that next best click obvious, you need a strong message-to-market-match. That means target the exact person that would be most interested in your offer by choosing the right keyword phrases. Give people what they are looking for, specifically.

If someone is searching for a product to buy, show them the product and where to buy it. They don’t want to read a 800 word article, they want to buy a product. If someone is searching for information on a topic or product, don’t try to sell them a product without giving them the information they requested.

A keyword phrase is a conversation starter. They are asking a question. Your job is to answer it.

5) You talk a lot about keeping things simple and that you don’t use many tools. What are the few tools that you find indispensable as an Internet marketer?

That’s true. I run very little software on my computers, and no toolbars at all. It’s just distracting and unnecessary in my opinion. That said, there are a few things I use daily and couldn’t live without at this point, including:

- WordTracker for Keyword Research
- My smart phone, which lets me practically run my online business from my back pocket – anywhere, anytime
- Aweber for mailing list management

I also recommend a word processor that lets you convert documents into PDF files. You can use openoffice.org which is free, and works very nicely. No reason to spend too much, or have too much clutter, to run a successful online business!

That’s something else I like about Lynn.  She’s very successful without paying for alot of tools.  That helps you increase Website ROI.

I hope you enjoyed my Lynn Terry interview.  Do you have any questions for Lynn on successful website strategy, affiliate marketing, Internet marketing tools, SEO or being a super affiliate?  Please ask in the comment box below.

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