Website Design & Search Engine Optimization Blog - Internet Marketing and SEO Tools

Time to Step it Up a Notch with Your Internet Marketing Strategy

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:34:00 -0400

Using Internet Marketing Tactics Can Get You Noticed On Search Engines such as Bing.com... The following are a few Internet Marketing Internet Marketing tips that will help keep you on the straight and narrow in the Internet world. -Get 'unexpected links' to your website. In other words, when you get links from high-ranking websites, this will automatically boost your ranking. To get unexpected links, you have to provide content that is not only well written but content that is useful and very informative. When you provide excellent content, people will begin to take notice and want to link to your website. -If you are thinking about adding videos to your blog or website, surround your videos with plenty of keyword rich text. Bing, Google, MSN, and other search engines give two thumbs up to websites that place text around their videos. -Never place backlinks to your website on low ranking websites just to have links. The key to improving your ranking is to post backlinks to quality websites that have high rankings. And stay far away from link farms and fly-by-night promotional companies that promise 80,000 backlinks to your website within 24 hours. Link farms link to any and every website on the Internet. So, if you have a respectable fine jewelry website, these link farms will link to adult sites and other irrelevant websites on the Internet. You're better off having only 50 quality backlinks to your website than hundreds and thousands of links to low ranking sites. -Make sure you only post original content on your website. It is okay to review your competitors' website(s) but never copy and paste their content onto your own site. It is not only copyright infringement; it is just plain cheesy. Plus, you could risk losing your position in the search results and you could even get penalized by search engines. There have been many websites that have been banned for stealing content. Always use content that is fresh and interesting to read and Make sure you update your web content regularly to help keep your rankings high, as mentioned previously on our blog. Often times many business owners and entrepreneurs' think that if they have a bunch of links and hundreds of articles posted to their site it will automatically boost their ranking. Your links have to be from relevant websites with high ranking, your content has to be useful and you have to update your website regularly in order to improve your online presence. Internet marketing takes time and dedication. Eventually, you will notice results from all of your hard work.

Do You Know What Your Social Media Fans Are Saying About Your Company? You May Be Surprised...

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:24:00 -0400

Internet marketing through social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Youtube are excellent for gaining new customers. Unlike traditional forms of marketing, social media marketing is more efficient and in most cases, more effective. With social media, you can stay connected with your target audience on a daily basis. Most of all, you don't have to spend thousands of dollars on advertising to reach your potential customers. All you have to do is send out media blasts to alert your followers about your new product launch within seconds. Whether they're having lunch at a corner cafe or in the boardroom, your followers can read about your new product or service right from their iPhone or PC. There is a downside to social media, however. If you're not closely monitoring your social media sites, you could be in for an unwelcome surprise one day. Perfect example; let's say you have a customer greeted by a rude representative on the phone. Worst case scenario, the angry customer will ask to speak with a supervisor to file a complaint ...right? Not exactly. The customer may decide that it will be more effective if they Tweet about their negative experience with your company to their 1200 Twitter followers or 2000 of their Facebook friends. Bad news can travel at the speed of light in the social media world. As a matter of fact, a few months ago, an airline passenger was asked to leave a flight because of his weight. Immediately after being kicked off the plane, it wasn't long before he began to Tweet about his negative experience. As a result, the negative feedback generated thousands of Tweets. Now, if this happened to a small business, this probably could have ruined the reputation of the company to the point where the business would have folded. The airline was fortunate because they were able to stop the spread of negative news rather quickly. They were well prepared in the event someone posted negative feedback on the Internet. The airline had designated employees monitoring their online presence prior to the incident. They worked it out with the passenger by posting an apology on the Internet. They also offered him a refund and an airline voucher for the inconvenience. . The Importance of Monitoring Your Social Media Sites Regardless of what social media site you're promoting your business on (Ning, Facebook, Myspace or Twitter) you have to make sure you are constantly monitoring your sites. If for some reason you receive negative feedback, tackle the situation as quickly as possible before it gets out of hand. If you don't have time to monitor your sites, designate this job to one of your staff members or hire a virtual assistant. Internet marketing is like a gold mine for entrepreneurs, small business owners and Fortune 500 corporations ...But negative feedback can be a nightmare.

Thinking about Using Internet Marketing Through Social Media? Here is What You Need To Know...

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:34:00 -0400

You have finally decided to join the bandwagon of thousands of entrepreneurs and business owners who utilize Internet marketing through social media. Internet marketing through social media is not only an effective way of reaching out to a broad spectrum of potential customers, it is an extremely affordable marketing medium ...in most cases it's free. If you are thinking about promoting your business through social media, there are few things you will need to keep in mind. Be subtle yet savvy with social media When promoting your business through social media, less is more. You never want to shove your marketing message down everyone's throat. For instance, if marketing through Facebook or Twitter is part of your Internet marketing plan, you will want to post messages that your target audience will find meaningful. It is okay to post a series of messages to help promote your business, just be careful about over doing it. You don't want to send out messages every five minutes about how your product is NOW ON SALE FOR $19.99. Some people may consider that spam and delete you as a friend. Be professional It is okay to post photos or videos once in a while about your adventurous weekends. It shows people that you have a life. However, you must be careful about showing photos that appear unprofessional. This includes any kind of embarrassing photos or videos of you and your friends. Just keep it professional as possible. Fill out your profile Sometimes people become so anxious about promoting their new product or service that they forget to fill out their profile. Make sure you completely fill out your profile. Check for grammatical errors before posting There is nothing more annoying than reading messages filled with spelling errors. Run a quick spell check and proofread your messages before posting them. If your messages and posts have errors, your message will get lost. Post a professional photo Make sure you upload a professional photo of yourself. You can also use your company logo if you prefer. Avoid using the default avatar; it will make your profile appear incomplete. People like to see photos and professional logo images in place of the avatar. Avoid being inactive When it comes to internet marketing, you have to be an active user. A lot of entrepreneurs become gung-ho when they first register for their social media site. Then a few weeks later they suddenly become inactive. If you want successful results from social media marketing, you have to post useful messages on a daily basis or at least every other day. If your schedule is too hectic to maintain your social media marketing, then consider hiring a professional to handle it for you. A professional such as a virtual assistant can dedicated quality time with your social media site. In conclusion, internet marketing through social media can help you attract hundreds and even thousands of potential customers ---when it's done the right way.

Is There a Future For Internet Marketing?

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 08:34:00 -0400

The Internet is the driving force behind both small and large business. Internet marketing is expected to have a thriving future. With internet marketing, you can reach an unlimited amount of people through social media marketing (Facebook, Twitter, Digg), email marketing, link building, pay-per-click (PPC), etc. For the end users, internet marketing makes it is a lot easier to comparison shop and make purchases instantly from your wireless phone, laptop or PC. It is important that you consider whether or not internet marketing will provide your business with successful results. Whether your business succeeds with internet marketing depends on various factors. Remember, your business is not the only one on the web aiming to grow business and maximize profits. If you want to reap successful results from your internet marketing efforts, here are a couple of things to consider: Develop an Effective Internet Marketing Plan By now, you have probably heard it a thousand times ...a marketing plan is your roadmap to success. This is will always hold true. One thing you will want to avoid and that is creating an internet marketing plan just for the sake of it. It is important that you take this important step seriously. Take quality time out of your daily schedule to create an effective marketing plan. When you have an effective marketing plan, it makes it a lot easier to achieve your goals. Taking it one step further, having an internet marketing plan is also a great motivational tool. When you have your goals and objectives written down, this is a great incentive for accomplishing your bottom-line. Know Your Target Audience before Marketing Your Website It is amazing how some people will actually launch a business and begin internet marketing without knowing their target audience. If you don't know your target audience, you're basically setting yourself up for failure. Make sure you are specific when determining your audience and try to avoid being general as possible. Saying that your product or service is for everyone is too general. You will need to break it down a little further. Ask yourself the following questions to determine your target audience: What is the age group of my target audience? What is the income range? Are they college educated? Who needs the products I have to offer ...Students, married couples or retirees? Make sure you are specific in your answers. Delivering Stellar Customer Service Customer service plays a major when it comes to internet marketing. Providing customers with good customer service is the gateway to success for any business. When you exceed your customers' expectations, you're establishing long-term business relationships. The idea of having access to thousands of people through internet marketing to promote your business is great but you have to be capable of providing your customers with 'outstanding service' ...this will essentially set you apart from your competitors. Is internet marketing here to stay? Absolutely! Those who take internet marketing seriously are the ones who will experience great results.

Mascoting for Marketing

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:20:00 -0400

Here's a great, though seemingly unusual idea how to promote your company's popularity and sales. Create a company mascot. You're probably thinking how utterly childish and unprofessional but just the opposite. A mascot will generate happy positive feelings in potential customers and it lends a bit of personality to your organization. This will do wonders for your selling techniques. Your mascot is there to promote your brand or products' sales and to develop awareness and positive feelings when people think about or see an advertisement for your company. Though the general rule is "Don't judge a book by its cover' when it comes to product packaging or website popularity, good and positive design is the main way to attract interest. When you institute a smiling and friendly mascot it lends a cheer in the air. It allows browsers or customers, even those having a hard day, a bit of lightening up when they see the smiling character on your website or product package. Creating a mascot in bright colors causes your packaging to become an eye catching and attractive looking product which draws the eyes of the consumers towards your direction. Bright colors especially are well known to benefit product sales. When you visualize the cereal aisle in your local supermarket,your thoughts automatically drift to include the many boxes on the stocked shelves. You envision the bright colors and smiling features of the characters prominently displayed on the assortment of brands available. Whether its the three "Snap, Crackle, and Pops" of Kellogg's Rice Krispies, the smiling monkey on the outside of the Coco Pops, or good ole Captain from Cap'n Crunch, characters definitely promote interest and sales. + Not necessarily does your mascot need to be cute and cuddly to get you the sales you want. many customers look for the mascots with a bit of attitude. A mascot is there to attract attention, and keep your consumers interested in your product. So whatever will get people is optimal for mascot creation! Who doesn't recognize the bulging eyes of the Geico frog. He eyes you from the billboards and TV commercials encouraging you to check more into his company's policies. Or the familiar face of MR Clean baring his muscles with that smirk on his face off the bottles of cleansers available. How about the Pringles can? The point is you want to create recognition among customers and brand loyalty which is easily achieved by establishing a familiar figure! When creating a mascot particularly for the online market, you need something versatile, with the flexibility to be used throughout the entire branding campaign. Take for example, the Twitter bird. It is constantly being duplicated in various forms by Twitter's loyal fans and friends. Your mascot must be able to easily be added to the emails, websites and eventually product packaging for your company. One last important tip is to create a mascot which is timeless. Do your research to find out which character won't go out of style or look too old fashioned a couple of years down the line. You want your mascot to be able to positively represent your company for many years. A mascot will probably need a bit of modernization here and there every couple of years, that's okay as long as the general image remains the same, to keep those loyal customers returning.

A Little Birdie Told Me....

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:38:00 -0400

Twitter is a social networking site created in 2006 and has since become extremely popular worldwide. It enables quick communication between one and his 'followers' (subscribers) via text-based tweets. The way you build your network in Twitter is by following others, then engaging them in conversation. Due to its overwhelming popularity many businesses are creating accounts on Twitter to gain more followers and keep up with the latest. There are a variety of resources for business to take advantage of using Twitters applications. As in all social media sites, you're only limited in your gain to the extent that you limit yourself. Think out of the box and broaden your horizons to fully use Twitter and all its benefits. In the business world, branching out or networking with others in similar industries or locations is a great way to get ideas and spread your name. Many businesses find that using Twitter for networking is a quick and effective method. In addition, communication with customers and prospective consumers can be achieved in an efficient and friendly manner via posts and tweets. In a recent survey, over 80 percent felt that companies that use Twitter for customer service make a better impression with their consumers, a two-fold gain! Twitter is a wonderful way to monitor customer feedback and to hear what others think of your products and services. It's a valuable way to pick up information about perfecting and enhancing products. In marketing it is important to listen to what is being said about your product/service because companies need to satisfy their customers in order to keep their businesses up. All this can be accomplished with minimal customer-employee interaction so you don't stand to lose out due to an employee's hard day or a customer's difficult spouse! Twitter boasts applications useful for promoting company events, specials, and services. Its a great way to spread awareness and increase the traffic flow to your site. Another application is Twitter's own search engine which is helpful for monitoring your online reputation. Twitter allows you to engage in conversation with your followers. It allows conversation to flow; it is not meant as a solicitation device. Talk with people, discuss your product, add your insights. Refrain from sales pitching, like check out my website/blog at www.mysite.com,etc. Rather post your site on your bio/profile so if someone is interested it is available, and if they're not it will be when they're ready! Use your imagination to figure out how to best use Twitter's functions for your online business. Whether to spread your popularity, exposure to help your PPC campaign or just to strengthen customer realtionships. Explore and develop what is available to assist you in reaching out to a larger audience.

Social Media and Blogging for the Ecommercer

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:41:00 -0400

A surprising tip for ecommerce merchants looking to promote sales (who's not) is to create a blog. Some might perceive it strange to create a blog linked to an ecommerce store but it does have a couple of very beneficial advantages. When a customer browses through your store or completes a purchase, it shows he or she has an interest in the products you market. Creating a blog is then beneficial as other satisfied customers will transmit over their feelings and ideas on other products that you sell that they enjoyed. This may result in a larger number of visitors transforming into returning customers! A blog is also good for sharing tips, posting promotions, and new inventory alerts. Additionally with the rise in social media there is a high chance that someone may share a blog post on any of the numerous social media sites available. This will definitely get the traffic moving in your direction. Interesting and attracting content such as video clips, surveys, and refreshing articles about interesting topics posted in your blog are a great way to generate click throughs that will encourage readers to visit your store out of curiosity and interest. Try adding in some exciting content and your readers will take care of the rest! In order to create a strong relationship to keep your customers loyal you need to express yourself in a conversational and friendly tone in your posts. Try to send out the message that you are a people organization with views and interests like they are and not just a store to complete a purchase from and move on. Sound interested in their experiences and smooth out any any bumps in a pleasant and friendly manner. By following the conversations taking place on your blog you can gain insight into what your customers are looking for and what will encourage them to return. Use the opportunity of all the social media sites available to check out what people on these sites feel about your company and product. Spend a couple of minutes a day searching for keywords related to your product and read the comments surrounding them. This can give you valuable insight on upcoming trends, keyword optimization, or even ways to improve your pay per click campaign. The social media news site, Digg, is a wonderful resource for finding out the above mentioned information. With just a couple minutes investment each day or even week, you will be on your way to finding out what really makes your customers tick. You can create relationships and gain important insights about your customers and products in a exciting and interesting way!

An Overview on Optimizing to Ensure Conversions

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:29:00 -0400

After you have completed the web design on your site, it is important to do a quick recheck to ensure that your website gives off the effect you want. There are a couple of things to check over to make sure that your website is optimized to convert your browsers into customers. Starting at the very top, check out your headline or title. Does it grab the attention of the reader, with something catchy or intriguing to encourage him to read on further? Are the font and design clearly displayed? Take a look at your opening paragraph. People expect this to set the tone of the website. if they find it compelling, they're usually in. On the other hand, if its a boring, unexciting read then with a click they're gone. Imagine your opening paragraph as your face to face sales pitch. Does it project the image you're trying to bring across? Also, be sure that your advantages and benefits are stated explicitly and clearly. People don't want to have to decipher codes to see what is in the offer for them. by the time they would've figured it out they're pretty much gone. Try to use enthusiastic and positive language. Your offer should use realistic and believable wording so readers wont doubt the authenticity of your site. No doubt you are targeting a wide variety of ages, nevertheless your readability level should be approximately for grade six or seven; clear and easy to read words. The layout and structure of your page are important too. They should be easy on the eye, yet eye-catching too. Make use of white space, to break up the text and give ample space for the graphics. Try for plain backgrounds as opposed to bold and confusing ones. Imagine that you were a new visitor, would the page, at a glance, compel you to read on, or does it look too crowded to waste time with? Give incentives for completed orders. Having conspicuously placed, "order now because..." tags offering special offers for orders placed now is a wonderful way to keep your visitors shopping and continue on to the checkout. The same applies to a website offering a service; place "call now" with a toll free number in noticeable places together with special promotions for orders completed at the present time or the same day. Last but not least is to ensure that your visitor feels comfortable that this is a reputable and authentic site. Before placing orders and giving over private information people want to check out the authenticity of the site. Have your phone number, address and all policies clearly stated , giving no reason to doubt your site's credibility. Most important is to constantly be on top of your website. Be on the lookout for ways to improve your site's design, to make it even more appealing for your prospective customers. Put yourself in their shoes, and imagine what you as a customer would want for your online shopping experience.

The Good Old Print Catalogue

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:38:00 -0400

Many times a business looking to increase sales may send out a catalogue showing the products they carry. Its a wonderful tool for product browsing since its on hand and visible til it gets thrown out! In addition not many ecommerce businesses produce catalogues which makes it a unique attention grabber. Although this is a great engine for promoting sales many times they are limited in being able to provide customers interactivity. At times the space constraints or the coloring in the catalogue leaves much to be desired in describing the virtues of the product. Companies that carry a large variety of products sometimes cannot create a catalogue large enough to accommodate all they have to show. It may be worthwhile though, to send out a catalogue to complement your website. Give the buyer a taste of what you have to offer and then direct them to log on to your website. Make sure to include your URL in obvious locations on each page of your catalogue to encourage people to check out your website. This is where a good web design can play an important role too. You need something that appeals to the customer's eye, something that makes it easily conducive to shop and complete a purchase. A online store can be customized more than a standard catalogue to suit the needs of your website visitors. It helps to reduce customer hesitations by exploring the benefits of the products, enhancing the features, and detailed product descriptions. There is also the advantage of offering spontaneous promotions to urge a customer to complete his decision. Many large online retailers surprisingly revert to good old print catalogues to deliver their targeted content, to get out their products and broaden their audience. They've discovered that despite or in spite of the latest technology many customers find the online shopping experience overwhelming and frustrating. Many customers prefer a more personalized and content relevant option. Whichever method you currently use, it may be beneficial to look into producing a print catalogue, to attract even those customers who are not computer-savvy. A catalogue may even work just to pique people's interest and invite them to look into your business online a bit more. Its a wonderful way to spread the word about what you need to offer.

Creating Efficient Sales Without Human Contact

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:09:00 -0400

Have you ever tried to complete a purchase over the phone , only to be connected from department to department, repeating your request over and over again, getting sent from one annoying clerk to another? After hanging up the phone I'm sure the first thought flitting through your mind was 'I am NEVER doing business with that company again..' or something to that effect. The main benefit of online purchasing is minimizing human contact. A minimum of human contact means that prospective buyers can browse and find the products they are looking for without interaction with people. There is no loss of sales due to obnoxious sales clerks or scatterbrained and unhelpful sales personnel. Or due to lengthy hold time on the phone. In addition it saves your company from having to answer the same questions over and over again. A FAQ (frequently asked questions) section on the website takes care of many of the common issues that come up. Because you don't have salespeople selling the product, you need to create attractive product descriptions to 'sell' the product in their stead. You need to write something that will quickly capture the attention of the shopper, a compelling description that will warrant a second look by the web-surfer. Using key descriptive words that gives the reader a jolt, a' what did I just read, this sounds good' feeling. Words such as better, nice, pretty, good, etc probably won't provide much descriptive value. You need to be more specific. Describing a coat as 'A warm and comfy jacket' won't grab attention like 'A bear-hug feel with that sleek look you were looking for'. You need to speak to the customer, to try to create a positive mental image of the product. Describe the product's features in detail. Generic descriptions probably won't impress the buyer. They won't help prospective buyers figure out the differences between your product and your competitor's product. It's very important to point out those features that make your product unique, that sets you apart from the competition. It might be a money back guarantee, personal support, etc. Whichever you choose, use it to help your prospective customers want to purchase from you. " A picture is worth a thousand words" . Where it is applicable try to post pictures of the product you are marketing. People love viewing the items they are looking for and it helps to answer many obvious questions. A tip to keep in mind is to try to place yourself in the buyers' shoes. Try to imagine the questions you would have, and the information you would want to know before purchasing a product. Include the answers to those questions in your product description to facilitate a smooth shopping experience for your customers. When running a promotion or special on your home page make sure to include details about it on your product pages too. This way customers don't need to click back and forth between the home and product pages. Its also an additional advantage to have a promotion staring your customer in the face; a little pressure to complete his purchase on your site without looking elsewhere. Once you get to know your audience and how to get their attention, create product descriptions that will speak to them. Try to include the most attractive information to direct the attention of even the most discerning shopper to your site and product.

Testing Your Site Usability

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:46:00 -0400

Many times marketers invest considerable time and effort in SEO to increase their website traffic. Many of them are successful and have a lot of visitors to their websites. But many times that's where it stops. Frustrated retailers are wondering what is the cause of this problem, where browsers are not turning into buyers. The solution to this low conversion rate may be as simple as site usability. Is your website user-friendly? Is your website a bit too cluttered with information making it difficult for the viewer to effectively navigate through it to find what they want and purchase it? It is important to check that your internal search feature is working properly. Many times frustrated people will leave a site prematurely due to glitches in the search feature. In the online world of retailing it is very important to focus on getting objective feedback from other users on a site's usability. No more is usability testing a costly endeavor that only the big companies can afford. There are many effective tools available that allow you to test out and make improvements to your site in an objective way without a major expense! I will attempt to explain a couple of these methods. Five Second Test is a free service that helps you easily figure out what are the most attracting elements of your user interfaces. Five second test is used primarily to locate calls to action, optimize a landing page, and to split-test. It is based on the principle that most visitors to a site don't have a long attention span and will usually spend only up to five seconds viewing a specific item/article before shifting their attention to other parts of the page. Basically you upload an image to be viewed by random web users who will view it for just five seconds. Then they will indicate the areas of the image that caught their eye by clicking on the screen. Additionally they describe via text field what they noticed on the places they clicked. Based on their opinions you will get a better picture on what is the most striking aspect of your offer. For the imaginative brainstormer out there: If you are preparing to launch a new concept and would like some professional feedback before you send it out try using Concept Feedback. It allows you to receive quick responses from a group of professionals by simply uploading a concept, advertisement, website, or even a logo using Concept Feedback. And if you want to make sure that the reviewer rating your idea is really in the know, each reviewer has a reputation score to ensure that you choose the best feedback. If you want to find out what people do on your website, CrazyEgg is probably your best bet. For just $19 a month you can track up to 25,000 visits monthly (and $99 for up to 250,000) and see what people are clicking on and what they just fail to notice on your website. Just enter the URL of the page of interest that you want to track, customize how long you want the test to run for and CrazyEgg will provide one line of JavaScript to be applied to your site. You will see all kinds of heap maps and overlays helping you discover what people like the most about your site. Another freebie: Google Website Optimizer allows you to test out different variations of promotions, headlines,and designs on real visitors and find out which version is the most successful. In addition it is fully integrated with Goggle Analytics. If you're looking for fast results UserTesting.com costs $29 and usually has results available in an hour. You receive a Flash video clip of a pre-screened visitor speaking his thoughts as he browses through your site. It also comes along with a written summary of what they enjoyed or disliked about your site and what would have caused them to leave altogether. 4Q by iPerception is a free survey that allows you to learn why someone is browsing your site and whether or not they are completing their tasks. It can also help you understand the reason for someone leaving without finishing up. It is compatible with any website and only requires a couple of lines of code. An additional advantage is that it allows you to create conversations and relationships with your visitors in a simple , clear way and can provide key information on the overall usability of your site. Try them out and see which method works best for you. It is a sure-fire way to get to the root of the browser-not-turned-buyer problem.

YouTube's Marketing Benefits

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:38:00 -0400

Google is universally known to be the most popular search engine. Coming up just behind Google is known other than You-Tube, the video library. There are more searches done on You-Tube than on Yahoo! and even Bing to name a few. Many people when looking for a product will search on YouTube to see if perhaps there is a video demonstrating or promoting this product. Seeing the product in action is a wonderful way to view how the product actually works. Studies have shown that vendors marketing the same products, one with a promotional video, one with just a regular online advertisement, people were more likely to view and eventually purchase from the vendor with the video about his product. When creating a marketing video there are a couple of things to keep in mind: YouTube traffic is dependent upon focused keywords that surround the video, much like in regular search engine optimization. Search engines work by scouting around the Internet, following links to find new and updated websites, and saving copies of its results. The saved copies are then analyzed by sophisticated algorithms to properly categorize and rank the websites. These results will determine where a page will come up in the search results for the item or product it is marketing. Using relevant keywords when titling your video is as important as proper titling for a website because you want your video to be ranked and to come up when people search for the products you are marketing. Placing your website name in the video is an important measure to keep the traffic flowing from viewers on YouTube to your actual website. Another interesting tip can be to actually have a call to action in the video itself ... "Don't forget to visit our website..." Selecting an accurate video category is extremely important to guide potential customers to view your products. Try to be as specific as possible so that there is a better chance of your video ranking higher up in the search. Last but definitely not least is to make your video enjoyable. Make sure it is not too long and drawn out so people don't lose interest halfway through and therefore connote your product as 'boring'. It should be something easy to understand and comprehend for all potential customers. Remember to keep the basic SEO rules in mind, the same as for any other search engine, make it clear and understandable and you will be on your way to increasing your sales in this new venue.

Making the Most of the Holidays

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:45:00 -0400

Holiday shopping is in full swing and with the economy today people are more likely to think a long time before purchasing, compare prices, and weigh pros and cons, than in other years. It will be to your great benefit to decide on special promotions during these weeks to increase customer interest for your products and increase traffic to your site. It is also important to evaluate your keyword rankings to see if your website is listed in the top ten search results for your targeted keywords. A recent study has shown that people look mainly at the top 10 results on the first page with the amount of viewers drastically dropping by the second page. Once we have prospective buyers trafficking our site, it is up to us to encourage browsers to become buyers. Many times, people will browse a website, select a couple of items, place them in their shopping cart and... leave them there for a couple of days! while they hem and haw, compare, etc. I'd like to propose a solution to remedy the problem. We need to secure this prospective customer browsing our site and give him a reason to want to buy NOW. Try offering a special incentive to complete the purchase now. Offer a small discount, free gift, even a free shipping promotion. Every customer loves a good bargain and won't want to risk losing out on your special offer. Use creativity in your offer. Track the customer's browsing and offer a gift he'll be interested in. A real incentive to get them to close the deal! An additional idea to keep in mind may be to encourage people to sign up with their email address. This gives you the opportunity to follow up, and even to send out coupons and discounts with a one day expiration. It reminds the customer, hey i was interested n a product on that site and if i buy it now, i can save! Studies show that a follow up email a day later results in in an up to fifty percent reconversion rate. Another important facet is creating trust. You need to communicate your online store's trustworthiness by showing clear guarantees and contact information. Make sure to display company phone numbers in prominent locations and to post clear and straight-forward return policies. At this time of year it's imperative to grab the opportunity of high sales and strengthening customer loyalty that this season offers. Its a chance not to be missed and it's relatively easy to make the best you can out of it.

A New Twist on Advertising

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:27:00 -0400

YouTube, Google's library of videos and video clips, reports a rapidly growing number of viewers per day. YouTube was founded in 2005 and has become the leader in online video, sharing original videos worldwide. The site itself reports 400,000,000 users world-wide! YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips across the Internet through websites, mobile devices, blogs, and email. Using this popular feature for the benefit of expanding company sales is relatively easy and inexpensive. We all know the advantages of commercials over newspaper ads; people enjoy action, and seeing something on a screen or in real life tends to remains in one's mind longer than a magazine article. Commercials, though effective are extremely costly and time-consuming to create. Creating our own video clips doesn't incur those expenses because uploading to You Tube is free. Creating these clips doesn't have to be a professional work of art either, though it does need to be something attractive and interesting, so people will want to view it and it will make the impression you are looking for. There are even programs designed to help companies with the production of their ads for YouTube, that take you through the whole process. There a couple different kinds of ads you can produce. Below I will suggest a couple, though there are many types. Different ones suit different companies and products better than others. 1. A Walk- Through Tour- This option will be most useful for someone advertising for a hotel, museum,etc. Taking the viewer on a walk through of the establishment, pointing out amenities and assets, is a great way to pique people's interest. 2. Demonstration- When trying to market a gadget or appliance, many times it can sell itself! By demonstrating its uses and benefits,and the qualities that make your product special, produces the exposure you need to sell your product. Examples include but are not limited to, vacuum cleaners, onion dicers (and other kitchen gadgets), remote garage door openers, and even a sprinkler system! 3. Comedy- Everyone agrees that great comedy attracts people by the thousands. Comedy is an effective tool for communicating a point or theme in a memorable way. There is nothing like having a good laugh. It gives you nice break for a moment or two, a chance to relieve tension, and leaves you with a new burst of energy to tackle what lies ahead. We can all recall the funny episodes we've seen. Using comedy to display our product may take a little more imagination and a lot more creativity but it will be well worth it when it pulls through. I've seen some pretty funny ads and I definitely enjoyed them. One, I remember was for Huggies diapers. It portrayed a world completely run by babies attired only in diapers. It went through a typical rough day, fired from job, flat tire, the works. And through it all the baby was smiling and completely calm, in his Huggies diaper. Videos like these are a good example of entertaining videos that also help to sell a product. One thing to keep in mind when creating these kind of videos, is not to forget to relay the important pieces of information about your product or brand. We see that this new form of advertising, could be really profitable and interesting. Its a new way to portray your company, service, or brand and to increase site traffic. From the YouTube statistics, we see that you are guaranteed a large viewing audience and a lot more exposure. While it will take more work than a newspaper advertisement, it will definitely be a worthwhile investment. Good luck!

Start Social Networking

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:29:00 -0400

If you were wondering what the key is to gaining and maintaining a steady customer base, social networking may be your solution. Social networking websites function like an online community of web-users, a group of people who share common interests and communicate. Online social networking is fast becoming the popular way to branch out and communicate & network with consumers. In today's growing population of web-users, one needs to be able to network with prospective customers in any means necessary. Most people rely on blogs and social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter , Yahoo groups and others, where people can comment, vote, take quizzes, utilize gadgets and obtain feedback. We need to be able to incorporate and familiarize ourselves with these new venues. Communication or networking is the key. Taking interest by trying to answer or satisfy a complaint or question shows customers that we are active and care. People like to be heard, feel listened to; they thrive on communication. Even just dropping an email address where people can contact you is another way to show people that we are into customer service. When a company asks the opinion of a customer on how to perfect a product/service they'll be quick to answer and keep up the relationship for future transactions. It creates a connection that links you with the customer. Posting a survey and asking for customer input and advice is a great way to keep the customer involved and loyal. A study in 2008 in the Public Relations Journal found that about two-thirds of the participants in the study believed that blogs and social media have enhanced what occurs in public relations. More than half of the study's respondents believed that it has changed the way their organizations communicate. Eight- four percent felt that blogs and social media have made for quicker communications because it encourages companies to respond quicker to criticism and the like. A recent study on women showed that 42 million women in the US (over 50% of the 79 million women who use the Internet) participate in social media at least once a week. In turn they are spending significantly less time reading newspapers (39%), magazines (36%) and watching TV(30%). We see from the above that in order to keep our businesses flourishing, we have to keep up with the trends, go with the flow and communicate in the way today's people do.