Monthly Archives: July 2010

What is SEO?

Posted on by
Reply
This entry is part 1 of 1 in the series SEO

If you’re new to online marketing or currently have a website, but feel discouraged about the lack of performance (no traffic, no new  business,  have no clue what SEO means etc.), you are not alone.

Several years ago, I created my website through Officelive.  I  knew that this would be a way for prospects to learn more about me and I “thought” that because I had an online website that I would attract prospects to me, but this was not the case.  I recall the time, after speaking with an agent about how to drive traffic to my website, and how overwhelmed I felt by the whole process.  He mentioned SEO, organic listings vs. PPC. Keywords, Meta tags, etc. etc.  I was that person with the “deer in headlight look”.

If anything, the only thing I DID get was to enter my company name and URL into local and national directories, under appropriate categories, with a description of my services. (Although what I know now is, I need to use optimized keywords in order to attract my prospects).

Years later, I know a thing or two about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing), and Link Building, but after spending time with Thomas Petty, Founder and President of The Bay Area Search Engine Academy, I realized that I could benefit from learning alittle more about SEO and the package it comes in. What I like about his courses, is that I have an option to register for  a 2 or 3 or 5 day course.  I’ve decided as a social media consultant that learning the in’s and out’s of SEO and SEM and everything related to that topic would be a compliment to my social media services.  I get the basics of it, but I admit, I really want to know what my options are, and be able to offer those same options to my clients. 

Would you want to know the cost effective ways to enhance your online presence – get your website ranked on Google, get quality backlinks, and conduct effective key word searches?

Would you want to :

  • Understand how Search engines rank web pages to optimize your site and out-rank your competitors?
  • Learn new and innovative methods of link building so your brand stays in front of your customers?
  • Drive online traffic by using organic (free) listings  and prevent search engines from identifying you as ”spam”  and avoid “spam” penalties?
  • Optimize pay-per-click campaigns (PPC) and maximize your rankings?
  • Monitor performance to increase Return on Investment (ROI) using free and paid analytics software ?

    • Thomas Petty, Bay Area Search Engine Academy website lists a world of resources at your finger tips.

    You can also follow him at http://www.Twitter.com/BayAreaSea

    http://www.facebook.com/BayAreaSearchEngineAcademy

     ZS5FJCPBNMB6

    The Immense Benefits of Email Marketing to Online Business Owners

    Posted on by
    3

    Email marketing is becoming a vastly popular and beneficial direct marketing tool. It is primarily being used to provide subscribers with information on service and product offerings but it has also been particularly useful in building a loyal customer base. Today, more and more online business owners are turning to email marketing as their primary means to generate sales leads not only because the results are easily tracked but also because it is an inexpensive platform to market services on a large scale. Because of the minimal costs involved, online business owners have a greater chance to generate a profitable return on the money they invest.

    In recent years, owners of online businesses have begun relying on email marketing specialists to expand the reach of their internet marketing efforts as well as to enhance their online business profits. This is because they know that all internet users use email. All it would take to reach the right category of consumers, then, is to encourage them to opt-in through enticing offerings as well as to keep them subscribed through relevant and compelling content.

    Whether online business owners decide to engage the services of specialists or invest in tools to use themselves, email marketing is considered a low-cost means to generate sales leads. In fact, most email marketing campaigns average in cost at just one cent per email sent–much cheaper than other direct marketing platforms such as direct mailing and telemarketing. What makes it even more appealing is that it has proven to be more effective in generating sales leads than many other direct marketing platforms.

    Measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of this direct marketing platform is simple because email marketing tools have features that track key performance indices such as open rates, read rates, and click-throughs. Using the results gathered through these email marketing tools, online business owners can gain valuable insights on how best to communicate with their target audience and enhance their campaigns accordingly.

    The simplicity of tracking results is not the only benefit to be gained from email marketing tools. Among the other very important benefits include the ability to easily send out multiple communications, personalize emails, and send out automatic responses. With all these features combined, all internet marketers and email marketing specialists can easily carry out an effective email marketing campaign, allowing them to spend more time on other important aspects of maintaining and expanding an online business.

    Email marketing should be an integral part of promoting any type of online business. Through this platform, online businesses can enhance brand reputation, reach out to a larger market, and track results in an inexpensive manner. It is through email marketing that online businesses can achieve outcomes they would never expect from any other direct marketing platform. Although it may take quite some time to build a large and targeted subscriber base, the results that this direct marketing platform will generate in the long run will surely be worthwhile. In fact, an email marketing campaign can be effective enough to be an online business’ only means to generate sales leads.

    KR9YQMXRFVW8

    How to Implement an Email Marketing Campaign–The Basics

    Posted on by
    Reply

    The use of email is a proven way to effectively market an online business. Anyone looking to start a new business or looking for new ways to increase their sales should consider including email marketing as part of their overall marketing strategy.

    When starting out with an email marketing campaign, you need to focus first on developing a list or a database of names and email addresses. If your business has regular customers, you may have already gathered email addresses from them. If not, you can include an incentive on their next invoice or receipt encouraging them to provide their email address or join your email distribution list. Your list should be an evolving one that you constantly try to grow. However, you also need to be aware of and prepared for the times when customers will want to be removed from the list. Don’t take it too hard when this happens. Allow your customers to opt-out of your email distribution list and just focus your efforts on those who really are interested in what you have to say or offer.

    Another way to grow your mailing list for use in email marketing is to provide an incentive on your website for people to add their names to your distribution list. The incentive could either be a coupon, discounts, or a free item–it’s up to you. Just be sure that it is enticing enough to encourage many more people to sign up.

    When you start sending out your emails, make sure you follow a schedule so that your subscribers will know when to expect a communication from you. If you’re running a weekly newsletter campaign, be consistent in sending out your emails on the same day and the same time of every week. Don’t bombard your customers or potential customers with emails or they will get frustrated and remove themselves from your list. By the same token, don’t communicate with them via email too infrequently or they will forget that you exist.

    Always remember that the people who opt-in to your email distribution list are those who are interested in and want to know more about your product and service offerings so give them what they expect. On a related note, don’t set unrealistic expectations that your customers are going to take action on the first email they receive. There’s an old marketing adage that says, “It takes 5 times to contact a person before you actually make a sale.” Exercise patience and just keep sending out quality email communications to your customers on a regular basis.

    These simple guidelines are a good way for you to get started with implementing an email marketing campaign to grow your business.

    Promote Your Events using online resources

    Posted on by
    Reply

    Using Social Media Tools and Resources to promote your online and local events (meetup’s, webinars, teleseminars)

    How Can Email Marketing Work for Your Online Business?

    Posted on by
    3

    To put it simply, email marketing is using email to deliver marketing messages. If you have an online business, keeping connected with your current and potential customers is a good way to grow your business and build loyalty. That is where email marketing plays a big role as email has become a method by which you can distribute, advertise, and promote various types of communication to various recipients.

    The best use for this type of communication is through a targeted email marketing approach where you tailor or personalize your message to your specific audience or recipient. In marketing terms, this is called segmentation.

    There are many advantages to using an email marketing strategy to promote your business. Among them are the relatively low cost involved (especially compared to traditional mail costs), the speed at which you can get the message delivered to your customer’s hands, and the ability for your recipients to forward the message to others who may also be interested in the offering or information. Moreover, email marketing software allows you to track the results of any communication you send out. This allows you to evaluate the success of your email marketing campaign as well as enhance your strategies through the insights you gain from your statistics.

    While there are more than few advantages to email marketing, you must always keep in mind that it is intended to be a supplemental form of marketing. It should not be used by itself alone but as an enhancement to your other marketing activities. For instance, you need to have a website to lead your subscribers to. Your website should be designed to accommodate sales while your email marketing campaign highlights the benefits of your offerings and encourages your subscribers to visit your site and make a purchase. Your website should also be the focus of other Internet marketing strategies such as search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and article marketing. Once you have an entire plan for the Internet marketing strategy of your online business, you then use your email marketing campaign to enhance all your efforts and encourage your customers to patronize your business and become loyal.

    Another thing to remember when implementing an email marketing campaign is that you should never overdo it. While there aren’t really any inherent disadvantages to email marketing, its downsides come from abusing it. If you’re sending emails to all 10,000 people on your list every other day, they’re going to get tired of it and either delete every email you send or opt out of your mailing list. That will potentially cost you a lot of business. The last thing you want to do is irritate your subscribers by making them feel that you’ve tricked them into signing up for something they didn’t actually want.

    Email marketing is a very valuable tool in every Internet marketer’s toolkit. Making it a part of yours gives you a powerful tool to supplement your other marketing strategies. Moreover, email marketing gives you an additional method to keep in touch with your customers and to build a loyal customer base.

    Photo: http://www.prosbo.com/insider_tips/images/target_marketing.jpg