In addtion, as an important part of your search engine optimization strategy, make sure your links include a brief description (a URL only inbound link may be ignored), includes important keyword and appears on a relevant partner site.

Avoid FFA's and most link farms, they may actually do you more harm than good.

3. AVOID KNOWN MISTAKES

Common mistakes people make with their search engine optimization strategy are:

- Cross linking unrelated sites, recent discussion with master Affiliate Marketing pro James Martell recently brought this issue to light - Submitting to link farms, in many cases this will eventually get your site penalized or even banned from SE's - Duplicate content. Many people feel need to duplicate their pages and make small changes for each search engine (also called doorway pages) - however if this is not done properly, you will get penalized - Trying to load your content with too many keywords. Focus on 1-3 keywords only

4. USE GOOGLE ADS

While still unproven, it certainly has been found by many in search engine watch community that sites who use Google Adwords or Google Adsense tend to appear higher in listings.

5. VARY YOUR TRAFFIC GENERATION TECHNIQUES

Too many people rely on Google traffic for 99% of their traffic. It's true, search engine traffic is most economical way to advertise online, but there are many other ways to vary your traffic generation strategy.

Add these traffic generation techniques to your search engine optimization strategy:

- Writing articles - Running affiliate program - Joint Ventures - Viral "sticky" tools - Press Releases

Yes - you need to dance with Google. By following these techniques, you can actually lead your traffic generation strategy rather than follow Google dance.

4. Get Permission to Use Testimonials

Always get your customer's permission before using their testimonial. And tell them how they will be identified with testimonial. For example, I usually include at least my customer's name, city and state (or country).

If you sell to businesses instead of to individuals you may want to include some other things about each customer with their testimonial. For example, your customer's title, company name, type of industry or anything else that would appeal to other customers like them.

5. Highlight Testimonials When You Use Them

You can group all testimonials together in your sales letter or web page ...especially if message is short. Or you can scatter them strategically throughout your message ...especially if message is long. But always highlight testimonials so they stand out from rest of your message.

For example, display them in italic letters enclosed in quote marks. On web pages you can further highlight them in yellow or some other color that contrasts with background color of page.

The 5 tips in this article revealed how you can get persuasive testimonials - and use them with maximum impact. Start applying these tips now in your business and you will quickly start converting more prospects into buyers.

Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV