Posts Tagged ‘Marketing’

Ready for Google Video?

October 28th, 2009

from: http://www.entrepreneur.com/ebusiness/sitedesign/article167504.html

Video advertising has gone live on Google. Is it right for you?

With online video advertising building momentum among marketers, Google has gotten in the game with the introduction in May of click-to-play video advertising in the U.S., Canada and Japan.

“Publishers know that video ads are treated like content by users, and users enjoy interacting with video ads,” says Gokul Rajaram, director of product management for Google AdSense. Ads are user-initiated and are priced on either a pay-per-click basis or on the level of website traffic. Advertisers can control where ads are shown by targeting with keywords or selecting sites that accept Google advertising. Ad campaigns vary in cost, but Rajaram estimates that $5 can get an advertiser about 5,000 impressions.

Emily Riley, advertising and marketing analyst at market research firm JupiterKagan Inc., says entrepreneurs should realize how Google’s offering is different. “Google’s video option is not in-stream video, but is instead in-banner video, which doesn’t fall in the middle of a video clip from a show. It’s a more advanced version of a rich media advertisement,” Riley explains. She believes entrepreneurs should think carefully before jumping in—businesses with large budgets may be able to offer more per impression and bump out smaller competitors, although larger advertisers are more likely to use providers like FoxNews.com or YouTube, which offer in-stream options. “Even with geo-targeting, an entrepreneur often won’t be able to purchase enough impressions to get a sufficient response,” she explains. “But if you have a video you’d like to share, this might be an affordable option.”

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Posted in Marketing, My, SEO, Web Develope, Work

Tags: AD Google Video Marketing

Write a Keyword-Rich Article to Increase Site Traffic

October 28th, 2009

from: http://www.entrepreneur.com/websmarts/article173448.html

If you have a way with words, we have 3 simple steps that’ll help increase your web traffic–for free.

Want to increase traffic, build credibility, improve your search engine rankings and get people talking about your business–at no cost? Then open up your word processor, and start writing. By determining your best search keywords, writing an article that includes those keywords and getting it distributed online, you’ll be putting yourself on the radar of people looking for what you provide.

Step 1: Set up your site for maximum “searchability.”
Your site has to feature the keywords your potential customers use to search for your product if you want them to find you. To determine your keywords, type a word or term you think people in your market might search for into Yahoo! Search Marketing’s Keyword Selector Tool to find out how many people searched for that particular term over the past month. It’ll also show you a list of related words and phrases and how often they were searched over the last month, too.

Once you’ve generated a list of useful keyword ideas, you can do some more serious research. Wordtracker goes into more depth to show you not only what people are searching for online but also how many other sites are competing for the same audience. You’re looking for search terms that are popular but don’t have too many sites competing for them. Wordtracker is a paid service, but you can sign up for a day for less than $8 and for a week for less than $27.

Now that you have some great keywords for your market, find as many places as you can to plug them into your site. Use them in your title tags, source code, page copy, headers and subheads, and your opt-in.

Step 2: Create a keyword-rich article.
Write a keyword-rich article that relates to what you sell, then give it away to other sites–for free. Believe it or not, this is one of the best ways to drive a steady stream of eager customers to your site.

Why does it work? Well, people basically come online for one of two reasons: to check their e-mail or to look for information. Sure, some of them end up making purchases, but this isn’t generally the reason they log on. They want the answer to a question or the solution to a problem–and you can provide that in a short article.

Make sure that each article you write contains rare, valuable or hard-to-find information. Not only will this increase the chances that other site owners or managers will post your article, it’ll also increase the number of visitors who click through to your site after reading it.

For example, if you have a site that sells used golf equipment, you could write an article about three things to look for in a good, pre-owned putter. Or if you sell an e-book about setting up your own home computer network, why not write an article about common problems people have in setting up a wireless router?

Look for article ideas in the questions people ask you all the time or in the things you often see people doing wrong. Share hot new tips on how to use the products you sell, or talk about trends you’ve spotted in your industry. Your quick piece should:

Be no longer than 400 words (not even a whole page in Microsoft Word)
Contain a relevant keyword in the first 90 characters
Contain the keyword in the first and last paragraphs
Have a short, credibility-building bio with a link to your site at the end. For instance, “Joe Smith is a recognized authority on the subject of widgets. His site, www.JoesWidgets.com, provides a wealth of informative articles and resources on everything you’ll ever need to know about widgets.”

Step 3: Get your content headed everywhere on the web.
Once you’ve taken the time to write one or two articles, head to one of these top online content distribution sites. Upload your keyword-rich content to:

These sites carry hundreds (some carry thousands) of articles on a range of topics. If someone’s looking for content for their site, they can download or copy an article from the distribution site without paying a dime to use it. They can’t change the text of the article, and they must publish it with the author’s name and information intact.

Now people plugging your keywords into search engines will be directed to your content at these highly ranked sites, and site owners looking for fresh, search engine-attracting content will download your article–along with your bio and link–and put it up on their pages. And once visitors see that you know what you’re talking about, they’ll click on the link in your bio and head straight to your site.

Some content distribution sites also offer “send to a friend” links next to articles posted on their sites, so make sure you’re uploading your articles to sites with this kind of capability. Every time someone enjoys your article enough to pass it on, your audience grows. And since people don’t forward bad content to their friends, they’re basically recommending you as a credible source just by passing it on.

The best thing about this strategy is these visitors are quality, targeted traffic–they actually want what you’re selling because you’re meeting a need or giving them help with the problem they came online to solve.

Derek Gehl is Entrepreneur.com’s “E-Business” columnist and the CEO of the Internet Marketing Center, an internet marketing firm that has helped thousands of people learn to start and run their own online businesses.

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Posted in Marketing, My, SEO, Web Develope, Work

Tags: Article Marketing Online SEO Site traffic

Transform Your Website Into a Sales Powerhouse

October 27th, 2009

from: http://www.entrepreneur.com/websmarts/article191050.html

With the growing rate of internet shoppers, make sure you design your site with the customer in mind.
By Mitch Meyerson and Mary Eule Scarborough | February 29, 2008

This article has been excerpted from Mastering Online Marketing by Mitch Meyerson and Mary Eule Scarborough, available from Entrepreneur Press.

There’s never been a better time to take advantage of the expansive opportunities for online business development and growth that the internet affords. According to a Juniper Research study, the number of U.S. internet shoppers will grow at an average rate of 12 percent per year through 2010, resulting in more than $144 billion in online sales.

These positive forecasts should be music to the ears of any aspiring e-commerce entrepreneur. But there’s more to building a thriving online business than getting your site up. There are some very important things you need to know first

Adapt Strategic Marketing for Sustainable Online Success
While online businesses are unique in many ways, your e-commerce site is merely a tool that you will use to help you achieve your personal and professional goals. Therefore, you should develop yours using the same sound, time-tested, and well-thought-out business methodologies that companies have used for generations. Yes, the internet is relatively new, but good business skills have been around for thousands of years.

Design and Navigation: Make Your Website Dynamic and Visitor-Friendly
Your website’s appearance and ease of navigation are a direct reflection of you, your company, and your products and can literally make or break your business. That’s why it’s vitally important that you do everything in your power to ensure that your website is welcoming and easy to read and use.

Dynamic Web Copy: Get People to Respond
Since you’re building an e-commerce site that will offer exceptional products, you must be able to effectively converse with your prospects and customers and talk to them using language that is relevant and comfortable. That’s why your first task is to candidly evaluate your own writing skills. Ask yourself where you fit, and be ruthlessly honest–the success of your website depends upon it.

Even though your copy should be honest and simple it can still be exciting! Turn on your imagination and spice it up with controversy, anecdotes, colorful figures of speech, power words or phrases and powerful headlines.

Traffic Conversion: Increase Sales and List Building
Traffic conversion is a committed process for building relationships and rapport with your targeted audience; it helps visitors to know, like, and trust you. When done correctly, it provides the opportunity for online marketers to achieve their ultimate objective of acquiring and retaining loyal and profitable customers.

Since you can’t improve what you don’t measure you should be asking yourself: How many visitors come to my website? How many visitors opt in to my e-mail list? Hoe many people click on the buy buttons? What is my visitor value?

In order to optimize your website so your prospects and customers will be compelled to opt in to your mailing list; learn more about your products and/or services and feel comfortable purchasing from you, you need to make your website professional looking, eye-catching and well-written. To improve opt-in conversions, use attention-grabbing graphics, make sure your opt-in box is positioned “above the fold,” make an irresistible offer and include a privacy statement.

Automation: Increase E-Commerce Profits
In addition to being the most effective time-saving tools available, automation programs are an internet marketer’s best friend, hands down. These software gems allow you to reap the benefits of work you’ve already completed, over and over again. Simply said, there are so many benefits to automation programs that if you’re serious about growing and sustaining a profitable online business, you’d be foolish to ignore them.

Multimedia: Increase Your Impact using Audio, Video, and Conferencing
The benefits for including customer-centric multimedia elements on your website are so forceful and undeniable that failing to do so is a huge mistake. You’ll receive many paybacks when you add audio and/or video elements to your e-commerce site. But before beginning, keep in mind that multimedia content has to be delivered in the way your audience wants it. It must be available 24/7, on demand and two-way.

Web Audio
There are so many ways to use the web audio effectively. You can use audio to let your visitors hear recorded testimonials from happy customers, greet them warmly and enthusiastically, help alleviate and lingering doubts would-be customers may have by reassuring them that purchasing from you is essentially risk free and enhance e-courses.

Podcasts
Podcasting combines the ease of blogging with the fun of hosting your very own radio or TV show.

Web Video
Web videos afford you–or someone else–the opportunity to combine words, tone, body language, and facial expressions to convey meaningful information about you, your company, and your products and services. Let’s face it; some of us should just not be in front of a camera for a variety of reasons. If you choose to avoid the camera, you can still do such things as:

Make someone else the star.
Do a voice-over narration.
Create a slide show.
Demonstrate a product or showcase a service.

Use Video to Increase Revenues: YouTube
Fueled by the Web’s 2.0 social interaction concept and technological advances, novices and experts alike are adding their own videos to share ideas, entertain, demonstrate products, connect with others, and much more. And since access to the site is free and uploading a video is simple, it’s a wonderful vehicle for practicing and honing your video skills.

Taking Your Video Viral
One of the most affordable (it’s free!) and effective ways to materially increase your opt-in conversions is by taking your video viral–in other words, letting others help you spread the word to their friends, family members, associates, mailing lists, and so forth.

Video Blogging
Blogs are wonderful alternatives, or additions to, more traditional websites because they can be up and running quickly, usually in a matter of minutes; anyone can use their professional-looking templates without any prior design and/or navigation experience or expertise; they’re inexpensive, dynamic, and fresh, and since new content is added regularly and often, the search engines love them.

Teleconferencing and Web Conferencing
Teleconferences and teleseminars represent wonderful, cost-effective alternatives to in-person meetings and classes. Additionally, they are

Convenient. They can be scheduled at the last minute and participants can call in from anywhere.
Efficient. Important information can be delivered to groups of people effectively, affordably, and quickly.
Profitable. You can sell your wisdom, knowledge, or advice by creating your own teleseminar,

Traffic Strategies: Get More Visitors to Your Site
With a bit of typing and a simple click of a mouse, millions of people all over the world go to search engines (e.g., Google, MSN, Yahoo!, AOL, AskJeeves, Dogpile, etc.) to hunt for specific products, services, information and/or opportunities. And since the vast majority of online sales begin with search engines, they are an extremely valuable resource for any e-commerce business. People who are searching naturally assume that the sites listed first–particularly those on the first page–are the best, and that’s where they click. The closer your site appears to the top of the list, the better.

Optimize Your Website
In order for search engines to find you (and deem you relevant) you’ll need to include your most powerful keywords in various places on your website–your copy, headings, anchor and footer text, and alongside photos and graphics. Use unique page titles and meta tags, and focus on your most important keywords one at a time. Use search-friendly design and navigation techniques. Make sure it is easy for search engines (and more importantly, your visitors) to find their way from one of your web pages to any other via internal links. So, in addition to choosing the most relevant keywords you’ll also want to make sure that you overdeliver valuable content; your prospects will love you for it, and so will the search engines!

Web 2.0: The Key to Using Social Media Effectively
Web 2.0 is an online movement that encourages users to participate in the fresh, interactive nature of the internet by using widely available, less expensive, and more mature state-of-the-art technologies.

Some of the many ways you can use Web 2.0 technology and its people-oriented culture to enhance your online business include:

Getting products to market faster.
Reducing risk. Obtain fast, real-time data on prospects and customers, trends, and products that will help you make more informed decisions.
Building and maintaining positive relationships.
Changing and adding content, test offers, and copy and obtain relevant information. Use RSS syndication feeds to help you stay informed, become more efficient, and conduct testing.
Engaging in interactive conversations with the public.
Conducting real-time online video meetings.
Monitoring your word-of-mouth buzz.
Using “mashups” to create, update, or bundle products.
Attracting more targeted traffic to your website.
Using tags.
Getting information (and respond to it) the way you want.

Mitch Meyerson has been a visionary and bestselling author and consultant for more than 20 years. He created the much acclaimed Guerrilla Marketing Coaching Program as well as other landmark internet programs including the Product Factory and Online Web Traffic School. He can be reached at MitchMeyerson.com

Mary Eule Scarborough is a former Fortune 500 marketing executive, independent marketing consultant, and also co-author of The Procrastinator’s Guide to Marketing, available from Entrepreneur Press. She regularly writes business and marketing articles for many online publications as well as for her own website, StrategicMarketingAdvisors.com.

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Posted in Marketing, SEO, Web Develope, Work

Tags: Marketing Powerhouse Sales Website

Grow Your Biz–From eBay and Beyond

October 27th, 2009

from: http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/onlinemarketing/article191984.html

E-businesses have great opportunities–and steep competition. Develop lasting customer relationships with these e-mail marketing tactics so your first sale isn’t your last.
By Gail Goodman | March 27, 2008

Setting up shop on eBay, Amazon, ProStores, and other auction and e-commerce sites is a great way to live the entrepreneurial dream. The problem is you’re not alone.

Competition for buyers is fierce in this vast, virtual marketplace. Unless you give customers a reason to return after the initial sale, they may be gone in a click. Once someone finds you and makes a purchase, it’s your job to retain that customer for future purchases.

Online or offline, buyer-seller relationships are built on communication and trust. Trust is especially important for people buying on eBay, Amazon, and other portals, where little is known about sellers beyond buyers’ comments and ratings. Here’s how to stand out from the pack:

E-mail marketing is an easy way for online sellers like you to:

Present a credible, professional image
Build a reputation as a trustworthy expert
Differentiate yourself from other online merchants
Keep customers coming back after the initial sale and referring others
Take your auctions or e-business to the next level of success

Regular e-mail communications that combine both informational and promotional content help you become a trusted seller and resource, so customers remember you the next time they need what you sell. Here’s how e-mail marketing can help online sellers grow their businesses inside eBay and beyond.

Take advantage of eBay’s free newsletter tool. If you sell on eBay and you’re not already using their free e-mail marketing newsletter tool, consider doing so. While eBay doesn’t allow sellers direct access to buyers’ e-mail addresses, the newsletter tool lets you to stay in touch with buyers after the initial sale. The “Sign Up for Store Newsletter” link that you can add to your store home page lets buyers and prospects “opt in” for your e-mail communications.

Send your eBay newsletter subscribers regular promotional and informational content (See “5 Tips for E-Mail Marketing Success” below). Staying connected to your customers is valuable to the growth of your business. If you don’t give buyers a reason to come back to your auction or store, they may not remember where they found that great item when they’re ready to buy more like it. Be sure to abide by eBay’s Rules for Sellerswhen engaging in e-mail marketing.

Connect with customers from Amazon, Pro Stores and other portals. If you expand your business beyond eBay, you may have an opportunity to collect customers’ (and potential customers’) e-mail addresses and communicate with them directly (with their permission). Some e-commerce portals such as Amazon allow sellers access to buyers’ e-mail addresses. This gives you more options to promote your business using e-mail marketing.

Professional e-mail marketing services offer customizable e-mail templates to best represent your business. Some e-mail marketing services also offer a feature that lets you integrate PayPal directly into your e-mail communications. Buyers can “Click to Buy” directly from your newsletter and go straight to the payment page, without first visiting a website. This way, e-mail becomes a direct line to sales.

When working with a partner, such as Amazon, abide by their rules and regulations for e-mail address collection and for e-mail marketing in general.

Use e-mail to drive website sales. Many eBay sellers also have their own e-commerce website. E-mail marketing is a great way to drive sales to your site. Make sure you are capturing the e-mail addresses of those who visit your site. Even if people haven’t bought from you yet, they may be interested enough in your business or products to want to learn more–and buy from you in the future. An e-mail marketing service gives you a “Join Our Mailing List” box for your homepage that makes it easy for visitors to sign up.

5 Tips for E-Mail Marketing Success
Whether you’re selling on eBay, Amazon, other auction or e-commerce portals, or from your own website, e-mail marketing is a great way to promote products and stay connected with customers. When done right, e-mail marketing can be a powerful sales driver and a way for you to stand out as an expert seller who cares about customers. And its affordability makes it available to all businesses, no matter how small. Here are some tips to keep in mind as you build your e-mail marketing program.

1. Make your e-mails interesting. You’re an expert in whatever it is that you sell. Share your expertise in an e-mail newsletter with short items like tips about caring for or using your products, answers to frequently asked questions, or customer success stories. Also ask customers to submit their own ideas for newsletter content. Include a mix of promotion (sales and event announcements, coupons, free samples, VIP specials, sneak peeks at new merchandise, etc.) with informational or educational content that’s valuable to your readers.

2. Ask permission. Ask buyers for permission to add their names to your e-mail marketing list and offer a way for them to unsubscribe. (It’s not just polite–it’s federal law.)

3. Send consistently. Stay in touch with customers and prospects with monthly e-mail marketing promotions and newsletters.

4. Ask for forwards. Happy customers are your best salespeople. They can help build your business through referral sales and viral marketing. Ask them to forward your e-mail to people who may be interested in your products.

5. Archive your newsletter. Make past issues of your communications available on your website (or through your e-mail marketing service). Posting your past content can help build your rankings with natural search engine marketing.

These strategies can help share your expertise and encourage repeat business and differentiate your eBay or other e-business.

Gail F. Goodman is the “E-Mail Marketing” coach at Entrepreneur.com and is CEO of Constant Contact, a web-based e-mail marketing service for small businesses. She’s also a recognized small-business expert and speaker.

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Posted in Marketing, My, SEO, Web Develope, Work

Tags: ebay Marketing

Marketing in the Recommendation Age

October 27th, 2009

from: http://www.entrepreneur.com/techadvisor/article193516.html

As customer review venues and their influence increase, business owners should capitalize on this trend.
By Alexa Vaughn | May 02, 2008

If you’re still talking about how to market in the Information Age, catch yourself–that was so five years ago. We’re now in a booming Recommendation Age.

Getting hundreds of search engine results from one keyword loses more of its novelty and efficiency every day as consumers opt for recommendations from real people. Instead of typing “hip sushi, Portland” into a search engine, consumers are going straight to websites like Citysearch and Yelp, where they can find several customer reviews for restaurants fitting that description. And as social networking websites like Facebook automatically import reviews into profiles, the exposure and influence of customer reviews are increasing.

Even consumers still primarily using search engines find customer review pages at the top of their search results. If you really type “hip sushi, Portland” into a Google search, for instance, you’ll see pages of review results before a result that goes directly to a restaurant.

The main reason: Studies, such as one done by Deloitte and Touche in late 2007, are finding that 80 percent of readers’ purchasing decisions are influenced by customer reviews. And 70 percent of them say they share business reviews with friends and family online.

“It’s critical for companies to respond to this trend because you just don’t know what influence that message board or blogger might have if you’re not listening and responding,” says Toby Bloomberg, president of Bloomberg Marketing and a blogger for Diva Marketing. “If you’re not continuing the conversation in a better direction, then people are left to their own conclusions.”

Though turning customers into brand advocates online is still a conundrum for many business owners, Bloomberg says the most important thing to do is make a commitment to monitoring online conversations about your business and being proactive and public in your response to those conversations.

Highly reviewed and rock-themed Birds Barbershop of Austin, Texas, did just that when a customer wrote a bad Yelp review about his experience.

After finding the review, Birds Barbershop offered him a free haircut the second time around. The same customer then went back on Yelp to graciously report the act of redemption: “Kudos to Bird’s for knowing what good customer service is, and for reading Yelp!”

Instead of blatantly encouraging customers to write better reviews for his barbershop, owner Jayson Rapaport prefers letting customers know the staff cares about the feedback.

“What ends up happening is our stylists build relationships with their clients, and they’re checking out the reviews to see if they’re OK more than I am,” Rapaport says.

Businesses also become more conducive to online recommendations when customers feel the business supports a lifestyle they value.

Food Fight Grocery, for instance, is one of the most highly reviewed businesses of foodies in Portland, Oregon, because of the political activism its vegan owners encourage. The home page of the store’s website even opts for a news and events blog over advertising its plethora of vegan products.

But Emiko Badillo, who owns the store with her husband, Chad Miller, says she doesn’t look at Yelp or their reputation online.

“I think people still appreciate that we’re casual and that we’re really putting our own personalities into the business,” Badillo says. “We run this business mainly for the activism side of it and to inform people about veganism.”

For Seattle-based Theo Chocolates, the only roaster of organic cocoa beans and the first roaster of fair trade certified cocoa beans in the United States, factory tours of its environmentally friendly operations as well as the causes it supports help drive a high amount of positive customer reviews.

“Our overall brand draws a lot of traffic because the growth is driven by our commitment to organic and fair trade products,” owner Joseph Whinney says, adding that taking a factory tour extends the consumer’s understanding of the business.

To make sure your business doesn’t fall behind in the Recommendation Age, consider the following tips: