Blogging is a great way to make important relationships with new and old clients and with other businesses. After all, the Internet allows people to connect and communicate like never before. This is a chance to really make the most of Internet marketing. Blogging for a business entails being very intentional about the information that goes up on the web and guiding people to one’s site. By building relationships, traffic will build and more and more people will know about a group. The following are some important things to keep in mind when approaching Internet marketing and blogging.
First, it is important that people are clear about the message of the business or company for which they blog. A blog can really build a diverse and in-depth conversation between readers and the company. With a strong following, one has a built-in audience. Thus, one can do everything from create human interest stories to promote a new product or ask for customer feedback. This is why it is important to respond to comments, hold contests, and really engage with readers. Keeping language positive, creating blog posts targeted at a variety of people, and really giving people what they want is a surefire way to keep people reading.
It is also important to link to other like-minded businesses. This not only increases traffic both to and from such partner groups but can also increase sales. Relationships on the web are important. After all, people like to click around from one thing to the next. Thus, it makes sense to partner with other businesses, popular news sources, and social networking websites.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Search Marketing
Consumers frequently utilize search marketing indirectly, which is to say they enter search terms into an engine without considering how those terms will impact an individual site’s ranking. While search marketing is an enormously important part of online marketing, for consumers the most important aspect is the end result. If they see a website which offers the services or products they are seeking, they will stop searching. If they don’t, they will continue to click through website search results, or enter additional terms in order to find specifically what they are seeking.
Essentially, consumers do not place nearly the emphasis or calculation into search marketing that advertisers or small businesses do, but they still make use of the basic technology. Consumers often have a somewhat specific notion of what it is they would like to find; when the first search results do not display what they are after, they may concoct more elaborate terms, adding information into their search to try and pull out a more specific result.
For advertisers and marketers attempting to formulate the perfect search marketing strategy, anticipating how consumers will react with a search engine is perhaps the most difficult part of keyword formulation and ‘tail-terms.’ Tail-terms, which are defined as those terms that are likely to follow the most popular keywords, grow in complexity and can encompass a much wider frame of reference. Consumers may choose to concoct bizarre tail terms according to their own personal way of visualizing a product or service.
Search marketing for consumers is therefore a highly individual experience. A consumer attempts to match the picture that is in his or her head to what displays on the screen. By adding, subtracting, or altering the search terminology, the consumer gradually finds what it is he or she is seeking. However, from the perspective of the advertiser or business owner, effective search marketing requires that all potentially lucrative search terms are anticipated and properly channeled to the company website.
While there is no anticipated surge in consumers attempting to read up on the finer points of search marketing, consumers ultimately are interacting with the effects of the strategy each time they open up their browser window and perform a search. Search marketing, like second hand smoke, affects the consumer without them necessarily playing a direct role. Advertisers and business owners owe it to themselves to understand the psychology of likely visitors when formulating their search marketing strategy.
Essentially, consumers do not place nearly the emphasis or calculation into search marketing that advertisers or small businesses do, but they still make use of the basic technology. Consumers often have a somewhat specific notion of what it is they would like to find; when the first search results do not display what they are after, they may concoct more elaborate terms, adding information into their search to try and pull out a more specific result.
For advertisers and marketers attempting to formulate the perfect search marketing strategy, anticipating how consumers will react with a search engine is perhaps the most difficult part of keyword formulation and ‘tail-terms.’ Tail-terms, which are defined as those terms that are likely to follow the most popular keywords, grow in complexity and can encompass a much wider frame of reference. Consumers may choose to concoct bizarre tail terms according to their own personal way of visualizing a product or service.
Search marketing for consumers is therefore a highly individual experience. A consumer attempts to match the picture that is in his or her head to what displays on the screen. By adding, subtracting, or altering the search terminology, the consumer gradually finds what it is he or she is seeking. However, from the perspective of the advertiser or business owner, effective search marketing requires that all potentially lucrative search terms are anticipated and properly channeled to the company website.
While there is no anticipated surge in consumers attempting to read up on the finer points of search marketing, consumers ultimately are interacting with the effects of the strategy each time they open up their browser window and perform a search. Search marketing, like second hand smoke, affects the consumer without them necessarily playing a direct role. Advertisers and business owners owe it to themselves to understand the psychology of likely visitors when formulating their search marketing strategy.
Friday, October 29, 2010
What did Google do to local search and the organic listings?
By now you have probably noticed the dramatic difference in the way that Google is displaying the listing for local search. No longer do we see the map and the traditional Google 7 pack on the left of the search engine results listings. Now the map is pushed to the right where the top paid search or sponsored links used to be. And the top local listings are occupying the spot where the top organic listings were. Here is a screen shot of one search I did today. And there are only three “organic” listing on the page at all where there used to be ten.
Clearly Google is confirming that local search is very important and signaling to local service providers and brick and mortar stores that they should pay serious attention to their local listings and making sure the local listing is optimized.
What are the implication for paid search or sponsored listings and traditional SEO?
It may be too early to tell but I think that if you want to be found but do not have a physical address in a certain city you will need to use paid search to get seen there. Yes Google Places will allow you to define a radius for a service provider but the competition for space may make that irrelevant.
SEO will continue to be important for broad reach such as regional reach or national reach. Searches done without a geo identifier do not show the Google Places listing but rather still show the traditional ten organic listings and sponsored listings in the way that we have been familiar with them.
We will keep watching this development. But meanwhile look to optimizing your local listings or see your site fall from page one of the search engines.
Clearly Google is confirming that local search is very important and signaling to local service providers and brick and mortar stores that they should pay serious attention to their local listings and making sure the local listing is optimized.
What are the implication for paid search or sponsored listings and traditional SEO?
It may be too early to tell but I think that if you want to be found but do not have a physical address in a certain city you will need to use paid search to get seen there. Yes Google Places will allow you to define a radius for a service provider but the competition for space may make that irrelevant.
SEO will continue to be important for broad reach such as regional reach or national reach. Searches done without a geo identifier do not show the Google Places listing but rather still show the traditional ten organic listings and sponsored listings in the way that we have been familiar with them.
We will keep watching this development. But meanwhile look to optimizing your local listings or see your site fall from page one of the search engines.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Online Marketing: A Three Part Strategy
Online marketing for small businesses can be as individual as the small business itself, but usually comprises three primary avenues that constitute a comprehensive strategy. The first method of online marketing is using direct marketing or paid search, such as Google AdWords or Pay Per Click Marketing, that targets specific keywords or allows a company to pay for a certain number of site visits.
The second method of online marketing is investing in frequently updated daily content that draws viewers to the site on a daily basis, usually through a ‘blog.’ The third avenue of online marketing is forming links or visible associations with other sites, through either direct press releases or other methods that cause a site to refer directly to the small business.
In order to produce good results with direct marketing, also known as paid search, small businesses need to consider geotargeting, choosing cost effective keywords to bid on, and keeping an eye on the bidding strategy so that the budget goes as far as possible. The second option of having a daily blog or featured interactive content is more cost-effective, and can also be a far savvier marketing tool. By creating original content specifically geared to the small business, a company can introduce new products, draw a loyal readership, and experiment with different techniques to increase page visits.
The third online marketing technique is in many a ways of combination of the first two. By increasing the number of links to a company’s website from other websites, the company will rank higher in the search results after a user enters search terms. The links that are formed, especially if they result from press releases or other original content, will create a virtually unlimited chain of additional references and links. New search terms may come to be associated with the small business, which will correspondingly boost the company’s website on search results.
No one method of online marketing on its own will produce an effective ad campaign. Rather, online marketing is a careful balance of these three primary avenues. Individual businesses will have to experiment with allocating the ideal percentage of their marketing budget to produce the desired amount of web traffic and corresponding publicity and business.
Online marketing is not a static strategy, but rather one that must constantly adapt to changing input. By carefully analyzing the analytics associated with a website, a company can make these adjustments in their campaign.
The second method of online marketing is investing in frequently updated daily content that draws viewers to the site on a daily basis, usually through a ‘blog.’ The third avenue of online marketing is forming links or visible associations with other sites, through either direct press releases or other methods that cause a site to refer directly to the small business.
In order to produce good results with direct marketing, also known as paid search, small businesses need to consider geotargeting, choosing cost effective keywords to bid on, and keeping an eye on the bidding strategy so that the budget goes as far as possible. The second option of having a daily blog or featured interactive content is more cost-effective, and can also be a far savvier marketing tool. By creating original content specifically geared to the small business, a company can introduce new products, draw a loyal readership, and experiment with different techniques to increase page visits.
The third online marketing technique is in many a ways of combination of the first two. By increasing the number of links to a company’s website from other websites, the company will rank higher in the search results after a user enters search terms. The links that are formed, especially if they result from press releases or other original content, will create a virtually unlimited chain of additional references and links. New search terms may come to be associated with the small business, which will correspondingly boost the company’s website on search results.
No one method of online marketing on its own will produce an effective ad campaign. Rather, online marketing is a careful balance of these three primary avenues. Individual businesses will have to experiment with allocating the ideal percentage of their marketing budget to produce the desired amount of web traffic and corresponding publicity and business.
Online marketing is not a static strategy, but rather one that must constantly adapt to changing input. By carefully analyzing the analytics associated with a website, a company can make these adjustments in their campaign.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Google Gives Us A Hint
Have you ever wanted to see inside the Google brain and figure out how to use their ideas and algorithims to get your site ranking on the search engines keywords. Google is giving us a hint with the Google wheel. It's kind of like mind mapping where you start with a central idea and go in many directions to see what is related and it can branch on and on.
I did a search for "google wonder wheel" and I get this. Google is showing us other keyword phrases that Google believes are relevant and related for this search. Now we can see into the Goolge brain.
How can this help you get better ranking on the search engines? Well we know that when the Google spider crawls a web site it looks for keywords related to the description and they look for related keywords. This is called (sorry for the technical term) Latent Semantic Indexing. LSI will help your web pages rank better simply because the search engines will understand them better. So if you want to improve your ranking on the web crawler try looking into the Google brain with the Google wonder wheel.
I wanted to give you an example of this at work so I created a Google wonder wheel for the search term "ranking on the search engines. Look back in this post to see the use of the other related terms that google gives me. Just weave LSI terms in where they work in your writings and the search engines will respond by ranking your site higher.
To find the Google wonder wheel just click on More after a search. and choose the Wonder Wheel from the list on the left.
I did a search for "google wonder wheel" and I get this. Google is showing us other keyword phrases that Google believes are relevant and related for this search. Now we can see into the Goolge brain.
I wanted to give you an example of this at work so I created a Google wonder wheel for the search term "ranking on the search engines. Look back in this post to see the use of the other related terms that google gives me. Just weave LSI terms in where they work in your writings and the search engines will respond by ranking your site higher.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Web Marketing Versus Traditional Marketing Methods
Web marketing verses television or radio marketing
As the Internet continually advances into the everyday lives of millions of people all over the world, many businesses and organizations are steadily turning from the use of traditional forms of advertising, such as television and radio, to more advanced advertising strategies in an effort to reach a more massive audience through the use of web marketing. While the traditional marketing mediums of television, radio and print still carry a great deal of significance, new technology and greater advancements in the world of global marketing have opened the doors to highly innovative and profitable Internet advertising designs and web marketing strategies. Following are just a few of the ways Internet marketing excels in the global marketing enterprise:
*Target Audience— Web marketing is much more effective than traditional advertising methods in reaching a target audience. While traditional marketing methods have the capability of targeting particular demographics, these methods simply cannot compare to the precision Internet marketing has upon audience targeting. Through a variety of innovative web marketing strategies, a business can accurately target even the smallest of audiences. Internet marketing has the potential to reach a multitude of target audiences all over the world.
*Measurability— Brand awareness is more difficult to measure with traditional advertising methods than it is with web marketing. While traditional marketing methods certainly have their benefits when it comes to branding, business owners are finding that web marketing provides a more measurable means of spending. It is important to know that every dollar put into the marketing of your product is spent wisely. Through the use of Internet marketing, you are able to see the results of your marketing efforts than you are with traditional advertising methods. Web marketing allows you to see accurate facts and details regarding the results of your spending.
*Constant Source of Advertising— In contrast to radio or television, web marketing allows for a constant source of advertising. When a potential customer sees or hears an advertisement for your product on the television or radio, it only provides a brief impression and source of information. With Internet marketing, potential customers are provided with a way to view your advertisement for a longer period of time and gain information through a permanent online address that can be visited anytime the customer needs information about your business or product. Through web marketing, your business receives consistent and permanent advertising.
As the Internet continually advances into the everyday lives of millions of people all over the world, many businesses and organizations are steadily turning from the use of traditional forms of advertising, such as television and radio, to more advanced advertising strategies in an effort to reach a more massive audience through the use of web marketing. While the traditional marketing mediums of television, radio and print still carry a great deal of significance, new technology and greater advancements in the world of global marketing have opened the doors to highly innovative and profitable Internet advertising designs and web marketing strategies. Following are just a few of the ways Internet marketing excels in the global marketing enterprise:
*Target Audience— Web marketing is much more effective than traditional advertising methods in reaching a target audience. While traditional marketing methods have the capability of targeting particular demographics, these methods simply cannot compare to the precision Internet marketing has upon audience targeting. Through a variety of innovative web marketing strategies, a business can accurately target even the smallest of audiences. Internet marketing has the potential to reach a multitude of target audiences all over the world.
*Measurability— Brand awareness is more difficult to measure with traditional advertising methods than it is with web marketing. While traditional marketing methods certainly have their benefits when it comes to branding, business owners are finding that web marketing provides a more measurable means of spending. It is important to know that every dollar put into the marketing of your product is spent wisely. Through the use of Internet marketing, you are able to see the results of your marketing efforts than you are with traditional advertising methods. Web marketing allows you to see accurate facts and details regarding the results of your spending.
*Constant Source of Advertising— In contrast to radio or television, web marketing allows for a constant source of advertising. When a potential customer sees or hears an advertisement for your product on the television or radio, it only provides a brief impression and source of information. With Internet marketing, potential customers are provided with a way to view your advertisement for a longer period of time and gain information through a permanent online address that can be visited anytime the customer needs information about your business or product. Through web marketing, your business receives consistent and permanent advertising.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Web Marketing Versus Traditional Marketing Methods
Web marketing verses television or radio marketing
As the Internet continually advances into the everyday lives of millions of people all over the world, many businesses and organizations are steadily turning from the use of traditional forms of advertising, such as television and radio, to more advanced advertising strategies in an effort to reach a more massive audience through the use of web marketing. While the traditional marketing mediums of television, radio and print still carry a great deal of significance, new technology and greater advancements in the world of global marketing have opened the doors to highly innovative and profitable Internet advertising designs and web marketing strategies. Following are just a few of the ways Internet marketing excels in the global marketing enterprise:
*Target Audience— Web marketing is much more effective than traditional advertising methods in reaching a target audience. While traditional marketing methods have the capability of targeting particular demographics, these methods simply cannot compare to the precision Internet marketing has upon audience targeting. Through a variety of innovative web marketing strategies, a business can accurately target even the smallest of audiences. Internet marketing has the potential to reach a multitude of target audiences all over the world.
*Measurability— Brand awareness is more difficult to measure with traditional advertising methods than it is with web marketing. While traditional marketing methods certainly have their benefits when it comes to branding, business owners are finding that web marketing provides a more measurable means of spending. It is important to know that every dollar put into the marketing of your product is spent wisely. Through the use of Internet marketing, you are able to see the results of your marketing efforts than you are with traditional advertising methods. Web marketing allows you to see accurate facts and details regarding the results of your spending.
*Constant Source of Advertising— In contrast to radio or television, web marketing allows for a constant source of advertising. When a potential customer sees or hears an advertisement for your product on the television or radio, it only provides a brief impression and source of information. With Internet marketing, potential customers are provided with a way to view your advertisement for a longer period of time and gain information through a permanent online address that can be visited anytime the customer needs information about your business or product. Through web marketing, your business receives consistent and permanent advertising.
As the Internet continually advances into the everyday lives of millions of people all over the world, many businesses and organizations are steadily turning from the use of traditional forms of advertising, such as television and radio, to more advanced advertising strategies in an effort to reach a more massive audience through the use of web marketing. While the traditional marketing mediums of television, radio and print still carry a great deal of significance, new technology and greater advancements in the world of global marketing have opened the doors to highly innovative and profitable Internet advertising designs and web marketing strategies. Following are just a few of the ways Internet marketing excels in the global marketing enterprise:
*Target Audience— Web marketing is much more effective than traditional advertising methods in reaching a target audience. While traditional marketing methods have the capability of targeting particular demographics, these methods simply cannot compare to the precision Internet marketing has upon audience targeting. Through a variety of innovative web marketing strategies, a business can accurately target even the smallest of audiences. Internet marketing has the potential to reach a multitude of target audiences all over the world.
*Measurability— Brand awareness is more difficult to measure with traditional advertising methods than it is with web marketing. While traditional marketing methods certainly have their benefits when it comes to branding, business owners are finding that web marketing provides a more measurable means of spending. It is important to know that every dollar put into the marketing of your product is spent wisely. Through the use of Internet marketing, you are able to see the results of your marketing efforts than you are with traditional advertising methods. Web marketing allows you to see accurate facts and details regarding the results of your spending.
*Constant Source of Advertising— In contrast to radio or television, web marketing allows for a constant source of advertising. When a potential customer sees or hears an advertisement for your product on the television or radio, it only provides a brief impression and source of information. With Internet marketing, potential customers are provided with a way to view your advertisement for a longer period of time and gain information through a permanent online address that can be visited anytime the customer needs information about your business or product. Through web marketing, your business receives consistent and permanent advertising.
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