thanks a lot for your tips.
I will look deeply through those “web design” keyphrase top-ranks to try “beating” them

Also, i will try to provide some valuable content for free to my visitors, hopefully they’ll become readers of my newsletter.

In the meantime, i am looking for that translate-plugin, i installed it on another website of mine and it works ok i am goign to integrate it on my main website.

Thanks for everything.
Cheers from Italy, Nicola

I can understand your challenges. I am not an expert but, from what I have been learning with mass control, here are some suggestions. Some are obvious but, sometimes we over think and miss the obvious. Also, I do not know what steps you may have already taken. So I will just say what comes to my mind. Ready:
1. Search your keywords on Google Italian (I found it by going to news then at the bottom clicking Italy then on the Italy news page clicked on the Google next to the search box, here is a results page for: web design, http://www.google.com/search?hl=it&q=web+design&lr=
2. Look at all of the unpaid results for the first 3 or 4 pages. Take a close look at what they are doing to get there. Keywords, added value…
3. What can you do to get above them. Can you offer a free web design tipsheet, a How To pdf, anything that the “do it yourself” person can have for free without signing up. This will build your credibility as an expert, a person they can turn to for help.
4. Offer free WordPress or website templates.
5. Then start a newsletter on web design and your visitors will sign up for it.

My opinion on web design is that for easy things the average person will try it but, for harder things they will turn to an expert. Similar to an electrician: I can change a lightbuld but when it comes to wiring my house – I call an electrician.

That’s all I have time for right now, I’m still a slave during the day. Hopefully that changes, I want my freedom!!!

Al

Does this help:

Hi Nicola Posso capire le vostre sfide. Non sono un esperto ma, da che cosa sto imparando con controllo totale, qui sono alcuni suggerimenti. Alcuni sono evidenti ma, a volte eccedenza pensiamo e manchiamo il evidente. Inoltre, non conosco che misure potete già prendere. Così dirò appena che cosa viene alla mia mente. Aspetti: 1. Cerchi le vostre parole chiavi sull’italiano di Google (lo ho trovato andando alle notizie allora all’Italia scattantesi inferiore allora alla pagina di notizie dell’Italia scattata sul Google vicino alla scatola di ricerca, qui sono una pagina di risultati per: disegno di fotoricettore, http://www.google.com/search?hl=it&q=web+design&lr = sguardo 2. affatto dei risultati non pagati per le prime 3 o 4 pagine. Dia un’occhiata vicina a che cosa stanno facendo per ottenere là. Parole chiavi, valore aggiunto… 3. che cosa può voi fare per ottenere sopra loro. Potete offrire un tipsheet libero di disegno di fotoricettore, come al pdf, qualche cosa che “faccialo voi stessi” persona può avere per libero senza firmare in su. Ciò svilupperà la vostra credibilità come esperto, una persona che possono girare per in aiuto. 4. Offerta mascherine libere di Web site o di WordPress. 5. Allora inizi un bollettino sul disegno di fotoricettore ed i vostri ospiti firmeranno in su per esso. Il mio parere sul disegno di fotoricettore è quello per le cose che facili la persona media lo proverà ma, dato che cose più dure gireranno verso un esperto. Simile ad un elettricista: Posso cambiare un lightbuld ma quando viene a legare la mia casa – io denomino un elettricista. Quello è tutto che abbia tempo per ora, io sono ancora uno schiavo durante il giorno. Eventualmente quel cambiamenti, desidero la mia libertà!!!

Since I am going to start blogging again this year, post like this certainly is a big resource for me. It came at the right time. Thanks again

thanks for your input, i appreciate it.

You pointed out one of my main challenge ever: writing in italian or in english, for the italian market of for the entire world.

You know, i managed in the past some websites in english language, but to me it’s always requesting so many efforts (consider the time to write this very post, as i have to translate every single word…).

It led me to a decision: today, to get brandship and to maintain a good audience, you should write very useful content, and i am simply not able to do that in english…. so i decided to *focus* my attention to my market, even if very different.

An example: you noticed that i have english words in my meta-tags: well, italian people is more prone to seek the web using english keywords if i look through google sandbox tool, i will find that “web design” is more attractive than “progettazione siti web” in my market, so that’s why i use some english word in my meta-tags…. funny isn’t it?

BTW, i will look through that plugin you indicated me… maybe i will include some english posts in my website, to get some SERP result under my .it domain, but who knows? today SEO must be very focused, and i feel that writing a couple of pages would not be enough to reach an international audience….

What is your opinion?

Thanks again for the ideas you share

Nicola’s Feb 10th, “Also, i live in Italy and here the market is very different”, when read it sounds like you are marketing only to Italy. You have the entire globe at your finger tips. Creative web design requests can originate from anywhere. That is the beauty of the internet.

I’m new here and the last thing I want to do is upset anyone but I did notice this and just want to offer my input. Nicola, please don’t take this the wrong way as it isn’t meant to be mean in any way. But I was curious about your site, which is very nice, I noticed that your title, header, html (mostly),and google adwords are in english while the rest of your site is in italian. I’ll guess that with the exception of google, this is for SEO. My concern would be the conversion rate. If I do not speak italian, I’m probably moving on.

I just did a fast google for “webpage translation plug in” and the first listed was:

http://www.nothing2hide.net/wp-plugins/wordpress-global-translator-plugin/

I only found it, didn’t investigate it but, think something like this would be of value to you. I guess basically valuable to all of us. As we all probably see things thru our own “language” eyes.

Again, only trying to help

Al

the same for me: i got my Aweber account even if my internet income is actually pretty close to zero

Also, i live in Italy and here the market is very different: to make an example, no one use autoresponder/follow-up here…. I think i should start at some point, and maybe is true that “to make money you should invest some money first”.

BTW,
for what i see in my first look at Aweber, this is the most complete Mailing List software i have seen ever: my compliments to the staff

Just one think (that i will communicate them): please let us personalize the “link confirmation” part of the message, i would love to switch it in italian language (and i cannot modify it actually).

Cheers,
Nicola

Anyway, giving both options to the subscribers is the way to go, but you need to aware one thing that… when you work on your ezine, you’ll get the subscribers’ email addresses which may lead to sale easier…

Some may have thought you had a big secret you were not sharing. lol.

Nah – no secrets here!

thanks to your post(s), finally i got “the” decision and i jumped into Aweber wagon: i have just purchased my account