73.1% of North America is using the internet.   Can they find you?

Source: Internet World Stats, rates based on full year 2008.

Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a process that enables prospects to find your site using organic, or free search. SEO is one of the most cost effective ways to promote a website, increase traffic & improve conversion results. Search engine optimization involves the selection and use of key words and key phrases, combined with numerous other factors, that if successful, result in achieving a higher place in the results returned on a search engine page.

Paid Search or PPC

Unlike SEO, which is free, PPC or pay per click campaigns may be purchased to drive website traffic through advertisements placed on search engine advertising networks.

The two primary methods include:

• Paying a fee for an actual page ranking. In some cases, the more you pay, the higher you will rank. Examples include Shopping.com, NexTag, Pricegrabber and Shopzilla.
• Bidding on keywords or phrases that appear in, or are associated with, text advertisements. Example:  Google AdWords

With careful attention to PPC keywords, ad copy, price, headlines, geo-targeting, dayparting, landing pages & other ROI factors, PPC campaigns can deliver significant results.

Landing Pages

A landing page is a type of greeting page – pages that is an extension of the PPC or direct mail advertisement in look, feel and message and helps bridge the advertisement to the website by greeting the visitor.

Landing pages should let the visitor immediately know they have arrived at the right place and alleviate any concerns that would cause the visitor to hit the back button. Well-designed landing pages increase conversion rates, such as completing a form, completing a purchase, etc. and improve the ability to track ROI for marketing campaigns.

Social media marketing

Social media sites, when used correctly, can provide an environment for creating business relationships and building awareness with a group of users that can, and probably already are, influencing your market.

According to a September 2008 study conducted by Opinion Research Corporation for Cone, nearly six out of 10 Americans who use social media interact with companies on social media websites. The researchers found 85% of social media users thought companies should interact with their consumers through social media, at least when needed.

Blog Advertising

One popular method of advertising is on blogs and websites through affiliate programs.  Affiliate networks are intermediaries that connect advertisers with websites and manage the payment process.

Affiliate advertising differs from pay per click advertising in that fees are generally paid as a % of sale rather than for the click. The blogger or website owner applies to be accepted into the advertiser’s affiliate program and, if accepted, selects from an inventory of ads to placed on their site. The most common ad is a 125 pixel by 125 pixel size ad format.

When someone clicks the ad, goes to the site and purchases a product, the website owner earns a commission based on an amount that was previously established according to the program.

Blog advertising is increasingly becoming an important part of the online marketing mix. A 2008 Jupiter Research study found that more than a quarter of people that read more than one blog per month trust blog advertising. Additional demographic findings from this study were that multi-blog readers tended to be in their thirties with incomes over $75,000 per year – a demographic sought after by most all online retailers.

Many major blogs offer advertising directly on their websites. Major blogs will have a “how to advertise page” while others can be contacted directly requesting rates.  Rates can range from $10 per month to $10,000 per month.

Considerations prior to advertising include blog content, traffic, impressions and the tactics used to achieve traffic. Alexa ranking, number of comments and page rank should also be taken into consideration, with an understanding that some factors can be manipulated.

Webinars

Webinars are simply seminars conducted over the web using webinar technology that allows everyone to see the same thing, at the same time, while you talk.

Webinars are a very effective marketing tool that can be used in a variety of ways:

Host a webinar on a scheduled basis for prospects, such as once a week, for an online product overview (sign up is via an online form on your website)

Conduct training seminars and product updates for existing customers

Partner with other industry organizations that offer webinars to their user base on current topics and industry education.

Next-> Marketing Budgets

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

Sun-tzu, The Art of War, 722-481 BCE or 403-221 BCE

Anyone that has spent much time in the corporate world has heard this quote more than a few times, but in the real world of small business, can it still be applied to knowing your competition?

Absolutely. It takes time, and the ability to leave your prejudice at the door, but every business regardless of size should know and learn from their competitors by gaining an understanding of the marketplace from the eyes of the customer.

To begin, bias for one’s own product or service has to be set on the side. You must assume the role of the customer and view the offering choices as they do. See what they see. Think what they think. Question what they would doubt. Pace the buying process as they would. Fear what they would fear.

Start with the search. People looking to fulfill a need or want seek out a solution. Who and what (ads) do they find and where do they find them?

Offline marketing and advertising

• Gather all relevant information – yours and the competitors. Potential sources include: Yellow page ads, Direct mail pieces, Trade journal and industry magazine ads, Trade shows (look up the registration list online), etc.
• Track your advertising activity and the competitors’ in a spreadsheet (Ad type, placement, size, date, frequency, etc.)
• Compare your ads and their ads with a critical eye. Are you getting out- advertised? Which creative is the most effective? Take note of the headlines, the copy, the branding. Is there a call to action? Is there a consistent look, feel and messaging across delivery channels?

Online marketing and advertising

Organic or Free Search. Most product searches start with an online search, so begin there. Start with Google, but don’t forget Yahoo and MSN.

Now, what search terms do new product or service seekers use to conduct a search? The search term it is not, is your business name. Most small businesses are not known by prospects and must be found by the key words and key phrases entered into the search engine. Google has a free tool to discover/refine keywords and there are numerous others (free and not free) available.

Once you determine the key words and key phrases, work must begin to assess the SEO strengths and weaknesses of your competitors to gain a competitive advantage in search engine rankings. This process is called Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, and is an entire topic on its own. If you are unfamiliar with SEO, you need to get familiar, and quickly. Google has a beginner’s SEO guide available or check out DIY Website Success.

Paid Search or Pay Per Click (PPC). PPC ads are the paid ads that appear on the right and top of search results pages and say “Sponsored Search” above the ads. Here is a simple method to gain a quick understanding of your ads versus your competitors:

• Determine your top key words from your keywords list
• Open a Word document and create a table, 4 columns wide with 14 rows
• Label the top row of each column with a key word or phrase
• Label each row of the left column Top 1, Top 2, Top 3, Right 1, Right 2, etc.
• Now search the first phrase and cut and paste the ad results into the table, one result per cell

When you finish, you should have all the page one PPC results for your top 3 key words or phrases. Repeat for as many keywords as needed.

Google also has quite a few free tools available for AdWords advertisers. Simply create/login to your Adwords account, go to Tools and begin exploring.

Next, for the top ads (the biggest competition because customers see them first), examine their landing pages, or the place where the person is taken if that ad is selected. Does the thought path flow well or does the landing page have nothing to do with the ad? Remember, the closer the landing page is to the ad creative and messaging, the more likely the success.

Competitors’ Web Sites

If you aren’t already visiting your competitor’s web sites at least a couple of times a month, again, you need to be. Simply create a folder in your toolbar, bookmark their sites and then choose a day of the week to visit them.

Next-> Marketing Insanity

Getting found utilizes search engine optimization tactics to enable prospects to find your site through organic search (free) and/or using paid marketing, such as PPC campaigns like AdWords.

Keeping visitors requires designing an interesting, well-maintained website with relevant, informative content that is easy to find and easy to use.

Converting prospects involves mapping website flow and content from arrival to conversion in order to facilitate the desired behavior.

While all three areas are complex topics, over the next series of posts, we will provide high-level information that will provide a starter tool kit for those do-it-yourselfers that want to roll up their sleeves and learn the basics for website success.

Getting found through SEO

To begin, pull up your website.

♦ Look at the top blue bar – the title bar. Does it have a descriptive title using your keywords?  Does each page have a unique title? If not, unique titles should be added to each page.

♦ On your browser, go to View – Source (for Firefox, View-Page Source, for Safari it’s View,-View Source). Look down the source code for- <META NAME=”Description” CONTENT=. Is there a description following the =? If not, a well-written, relevant meta description for each page should be added.

♦ Again looking at the source code, look for <META NAME=”keywords” CONTENT=. Are there keywords associated with the page’s content? If not, relevant keywords need to be added, but don’t overdo it.

♦ Using the find function, look for <h1>. Header tags H1 through H6 can be used to emphasize the main sections of the page.

Website content

♦ Optimize multiple pages on the site, each with different key phrases – not just your home page

♦ Keep content updated and fresh – try to add 1 or 2 pages each week

♦ Use anchor text – text that contains hyperlinks within the body text

♦ Use graphic & image alt tags

♦ Use <strong> instead of bold and <emphasis> instead of italics

Website optimization tools

♦ Use Google’s Webmaster Tools, Google AdWords Tools for identifying keywords and Google Analytics to track site statistics. They are free.

♦ Post an XML sitemap in your root directory and notify Google via Google Webmaster Tools.  Be sure to keep your XML sitemap updated.

♦ Make sure you have an accurate robots.txt file

Domains

♦ Display site permanence by extending the expiration date of your domain/URL.

♦ Use redirects correctly

Inbound link building

♦ Links are very important for Google rankings. Create a link building strategy and set aside a few hours every week to work on building links.

♦ Apply to get listed in DMOZ and perhaps become an editor of a category

♦ Get links from PR4-PR7 sites. Try Directory Critic for ideas.

♦ Never buy a link.

♦ Don’t participate in reciprocal links with sites you don’t know.

♦ Don’t use automated link building services

♦ Get listed in local directories like Merchant Circle

♦ Put an Add This button on your site to promote social networking

♦ Sign up with social media sites and begin social networking

External ideas

♦ Consider buying descriptive URLs that people may type that are relevant to your keywords.  The URLs can be redirected to your main site (be sure & set them up as 301 redirects without masking)

♦ Consider starting a blog and occasionally link back to your site to drive traffic. Get free blog hosting in less than 5 minutes at WordPress.com or from Blogger.

The NEVER DO THESE THINGS list

♦ Never use hidden or tiny text

♦ Never use punctuation links

♦ Never participate in link farms

♦ Don’t overstuff pages with keywords

♦ Never use doorway pages

♦ Never use duplicate content