Tactics to Draw People Back to Your Site
By Jeremy A Gislason (c) 2009
One of the biggest measurements of a website's success is the stickiness of its visitor base. Generally web masters would rather have 1,000 visitors who return regularly (they are "stuck to the site") as opposed to 3,000 visitors who only visit once or twice. These days the web is massive, carving out a niche for your site and gaining a following within that niche is the key to success.
There are many reasons why you should try to make your website as sticky as possible. Visitors who return regularly are more likely to purchase some of your products or content. If you have a membership site, then retaining your member base is critical for growing your íncome and long term success. Also, a faithful following will encourage viral promotíon of your site.
Search engine optimization can be a costly and time consuming task and your site's listing can be hammered down by the powers that be (Google) in the blink of an eye. If you gain a faithful user base though, they will tell their friends and family about your site and encourage them to use it as well. Viral marketing is the cheapest and most effective type of marketing there is and making your site and content desirable is the only way to achieve this phenomenon. There are "five C's" of stickiness to remember, and they are:
Content
Regardless of the site's design, without good content, the visitor will not come back or stay at the site for more than a few minutes. "Content is King" is a cliché, but true. High quality content is far and away the most important factor in attracting people back to a Web site consistently, and keeping them there for more than a few minutes when they do visit. It is said, in fact, that content is what drives 75 percent of consumers to return to their favorite sites.
In addition to your site being content rich, try to also keep it fresh. At least part of your site will be regularly updated, preferably at least once a month. This is why web sites which resemble online brochures fail. Delivering the same content in a blog, posted in installments, can be much more effective. This will encourage users to come back regularly, as they check in to see what new content you've added lately. This is stickiness in a nutshell.
Community
When a site attracts enough visitors with similar interests it has the potential to develop into a "community." That can be very powerful for the site owner. Providing message forums, chat rooms, podcasts, user profiles, blogs, etc. are all tools to allow your visitors to interact with both you and each other. This also makes your site VERY sticky if you are able to develop a thriving community.
Rather than visiting your site once a month people may begin to visit it multiple times a week. Having a thriving community can be viewed as developing a site which is constantly developing its own content. Rather than requiring you to spend hours developing content, you can instead monitor the postings on your site to ensure they retain the kind of atmosphere you want for your site. As time goes by you may also be able to appoint some of your more responsible members to monitoring positions to do this job for you as well.
Communication
Communication is equally important as content and community. Communication includes building and maintaining your list, reaching out to people on it and interacting with visitors to your site. Try to respond to any question, comments, or feedback you receive promptly. This builds relationships with your visitors and will keep them coming back.
One of the best ways to reach out to customers is to provide quality, free information. This is basically a sample of what your site has to present, and should always help address the questions your visitors came to your site for answers for. The very nature of the web stresses that you consider offering more free content to your customers than most other mediums do. You have too much competition to be stingy. One of the most effective means of providing content to customers and developing a slate of potential customers at the same time is to give a free guide to visitors who provide you with a name and email address.
For example, if you run a site teaching real estate tips and tricks, after your visitors have seen your "foot in the door" content located on your "splash page," provide them the first lesson of your course on real estate for free in exchange for their name and email address. You benefit from this by having names to attach to the IP addresses of your visitors. This provides you with more information about who is being drawn into your site. It is also important you use a quality auto-responder for this step, as communication is a critical part of your site and must be handled professionally.
One last note on communication: Be sure to provide your name and contact information clearly throughout your site. It will frustrate and turn away visitors if they have a question or comment and cannot figure out how to reach you. By providing a name and place to reach you it also helps contribute to the last two "C's..."
Commerce and Consumer Confidence
These are perhaps the two most important things that get overlooked in websites. First, effectively promote your site by using professional marketing and search engine optimization for the niche your site seeks to fill. Provide reliable, safe, and secure means for your customers to purchase your for-pay content. If your ordering method does not look safe, all your efforts working to sell your content to your visitors will be lost if they get to the order page and you look like an unprofessional, fly-by-night operator. Always use a secure ordering form. Offering a monëy back guarantee can be extremely helpful to reassure customers.
Lastly, respect your customer's privacy. Make it clear you will not sell their names, personal information, or email addresses. People hate spam and will be hesitant to identify themselves to you out of fear of having their information sold if you do not provide some kind of assurance against this. A clear and easy to locate privacy policy is necessary.
About The Author
Want to know proven ways to dramatically grow membership sales? Want to take membership marketing to a whole new level of overflowing profíts? Build high-earning membership sites like a pro by going to www.membershipmillionaire.com . Want to discover the most incredible and intuitive membership site software today? Then go to www.memberspeed.com.
One of the biggest measurements of a website's success is the stickiness of its visitor base. Generally web masters would rather have 1,000 visitors who return regularly (they are "stuck to the site") as opposed to 3,000 visitors who only visit once or twice. These days the web is massive, carving out a niche for your site and gaining a following within that niche is the key to success.
There are many reasons why you should try to make your website as sticky as possible. Visitors who return regularly are more likely to purchase some of your products or content. If you have a membership site, then retaining your member base is critical for growing your íncome and long term success. Also, a faithful following will encourage viral promotíon of your site.
Search engine optimization can be a costly and time consuming task and your site's listing can be hammered down by the powers that be (Google) in the blink of an eye. If you gain a faithful user base though, they will tell their friends and family about your site and encourage them to use it as well. Viral marketing is the cheapest and most effective type of marketing there is and making your site and content desirable is the only way to achieve this phenomenon. There are "five C's" of stickiness to remember, and they are:
Content
Regardless of the site's design, without good content, the visitor will not come back or stay at the site for more than a few minutes. "Content is King" is a cliché, but true. High quality content is far and away the most important factor in attracting people back to a Web site consistently, and keeping them there for more than a few minutes when they do visit. It is said, in fact, that content is what drives 75 percent of consumers to return to their favorite sites.
In addition to your site being content rich, try to also keep it fresh. At least part of your site will be regularly updated, preferably at least once a month. This is why web sites which resemble online brochures fail. Delivering the same content in a blog, posted in installments, can be much more effective. This will encourage users to come back regularly, as they check in to see what new content you've added lately. This is stickiness in a nutshell.
Community
When a site attracts enough visitors with similar interests it has the potential to develop into a "community." That can be very powerful for the site owner. Providing message forums, chat rooms, podcasts, user profiles, blogs, etc. are all tools to allow your visitors to interact with both you and each other. This also makes your site VERY sticky if you are able to develop a thriving community.
Rather than visiting your site once a month people may begin to visit it multiple times a week. Having a thriving community can be viewed as developing a site which is constantly developing its own content. Rather than requiring you to spend hours developing content, you can instead monitor the postings on your site to ensure they retain the kind of atmosphere you want for your site. As time goes by you may also be able to appoint some of your more responsible members to monitoring positions to do this job for you as well.
Communication
Communication is equally important as content and community. Communication includes building and maintaining your list, reaching out to people on it and interacting with visitors to your site. Try to respond to any question, comments, or feedback you receive promptly. This builds relationships with your visitors and will keep them coming back.
One of the best ways to reach out to customers is to provide quality, free information. This is basically a sample of what your site has to present, and should always help address the questions your visitors came to your site for answers for. The very nature of the web stresses that you consider offering more free content to your customers than most other mediums do. You have too much competition to be stingy. One of the most effective means of providing content to customers and developing a slate of potential customers at the same time is to give a free guide to visitors who provide you with a name and email address.
For example, if you run a site teaching real estate tips and tricks, after your visitors have seen your "foot in the door" content located on your "splash page," provide them the first lesson of your course on real estate for free in exchange for their name and email address. You benefit from this by having names to attach to the IP addresses of your visitors. This provides you with more information about who is being drawn into your site. It is also important you use a quality auto-responder for this step, as communication is a critical part of your site and must be handled professionally.
One last note on communication: Be sure to provide your name and contact information clearly throughout your site. It will frustrate and turn away visitors if they have a question or comment and cannot figure out how to reach you. By providing a name and place to reach you it also helps contribute to the last two "C's..."
Commerce and Consumer Confidence
These are perhaps the two most important things that get overlooked in websites. First, effectively promote your site by using professional marketing and search engine optimization for the niche your site seeks to fill. Provide reliable, safe, and secure means for your customers to purchase your for-pay content. If your ordering method does not look safe, all your efforts working to sell your content to your visitors will be lost if they get to the order page and you look like an unprofessional, fly-by-night operator. Always use a secure ordering form. Offering a monëy back guarantee can be extremely helpful to reassure customers.
Lastly, respect your customer's privacy. Make it clear you will not sell their names, personal information, or email addresses. People hate spam and will be hesitant to identify themselves to you out of fear of having their information sold if you do not provide some kind of assurance against this. A clear and easy to locate privacy policy is necessary.
About The Author
Want to know proven ways to dramatically grow membership sales? Want to take membership marketing to a whole new level of overflowing profíts? Build high-earning membership sites like a pro by going to www.membershipmillionaire.com . Want to discover the most incredible and intuitive membership site software today? Then go to www.memberspeed.com.
What Bing, Twitter, and Facebook Mean for SEO
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
By Chris Crum
The More Things Change...
Google is traditionally the main area of focus when it comes to search engine optimization. With the search engine giant so far ahead of the game in terms of search market share, it's not hard to understand why.
Search is changing though, and there are always new elements coming into play. Since social media has come into its own, more opportunities and questions have come along with it. Now Microsoft is going for Google's throat with a new search engine and an aggressive marketing campaign. What this means for the future of search market share is yet to be determined, but there's no denying Bing is capturing some attention, and that means there are people searching with it. Altered your SEO strategy for Bing? Tell us why.
SEO for Bing
Microsoft's stance on search engine optimization really doesn't appear to be all that different from Google's. You're not going to get the same results on both Google and Bing in many cases, but that is after all why the two can co-exist. The real difference is in how the results are presented, and not as much in how the two determine quality and relevancy.
How To Get More From Your E-Marketing Campaigns
Bing and Google have separate algorithms, but both like quality, relevant links and good content, as opposed to deception and spam. Bing in fact, hasn't really changed much (from Live Search) in terms of crawling.
"There have been no major changes to the MSNBot crawler during the upgrade to Bing," Microsoft says in a Bing white paper for webmasters (pdf). "However, the Bing team is continuously refining and improving our crawling and indexing abilities. Note that the bot name hasn't changed. It will still show up in the web server access logs as MSNBog."
Sidenote: Webmasters will want to acknowledge that Microsoft has increased the size limit of sitemaps from 10,000 URLs to 50,000. Google is also now supporting up to 50,000 "child sitemaps" of sitemaps index files.
Like I was saying, the biggest difference between the two search engines is in the presentation. Bing of course separates (some) results into categories. This has worried some search marketers, but Microsoft says good SEO will work just as well with this set up. Bing also has the explore pane (navigational menu on the left-hand side of search results), which corresponds with the categories in the SERPs. In some ways, this is similar to Google's recent addition of "search options."
I discussed what Google's search options would mean for SEO here. Basically, I just broke it down section by section, and you could do the same thing with Bing I think. Look at the keyword phrases you want to rank for, and see how Bing breaks it up. Let's say "cell phones" for example. Bing gives you categories like shopping, brands, buying guide, providers, accessories, images, videos, and local.
This tells me that you want to play up the appropriate categories on your site, so that it shows up in the relevant categories on Bing. If you sell accessories, place emphasize that, and you'll probably have a better shot ending up in that category. With Bing, it's not about getting to the top of the SERP. It's about getting to the top of the right part of the SERP. I'll let you in on a little secret. Having quality and relevant (to that part of the SERP) content is the best thing you can do. Incidentally, this will probably help your cause in Google (and other search engines) at the same time.
"Ultimately, SEO is still SEO. Bing doesn't change that. Bing's new user interface design simply adds new opportunities to searchers to find what the information they want more quickly and easily, and that benefits webmasters who have taken the time to work on the quality of their content and website design," says Microsoft.
Curious About What Bing Looks for in Links?
Rick DeJarnette of Bing Webmaster Center recently posted a pair of blog posts looking at what makes some links good and some bad. You may find some of these things familiar:
- "If you don't feel you can endorse the quality of the content at another site, you shouldn't be linking to them."
- Don't seek links from sites whose content isn't worthy of your endorsement.
- Links to and from your site should be relevant to your site (or at least the page you're linking from/to)
- Focus on quality, not quantity. Few highly relevant links are better than a bunch of crap links
- Avoid "bad neighborhoods" like dedicated domains or IP ranges that do nothing but set up meaningless link exchanges.
- Avoid hidden text
By Chris Crum
The More Things Change...
Google is traditionally the main area of focus when it comes to search engine optimization. With the search engine giant so far ahead of the game in terms of search market share, it's not hard to understand why.
Search is changing though, and there are always new elements coming into play. Since social media has come into its own, more opportunities and questions have come along with it. Now Microsoft is going for Google's throat with a new search engine and an aggressive marketing campaign. What this means for the future of search market share is yet to be determined, but there's no denying Bing is capturing some attention, and that means there are people searching with it. Altered your SEO strategy for Bing? Tell us why.
SEO for Bing
Microsoft's stance on search engine optimization really doesn't appear to be all that different from Google's. You're not going to get the same results on both Google and Bing in many cases, but that is after all why the two can co-exist. The real difference is in how the results are presented, and not as much in how the two determine quality and relevancy.
How To Get More From Your E-Marketing Campaigns
Bing and Google have separate algorithms, but both like quality, relevant links and good content, as opposed to deception and spam. Bing in fact, hasn't really changed much (from Live Search) in terms of crawling.
"There have been no major changes to the MSNBot crawler during the upgrade to Bing," Microsoft says in a Bing white paper for webmasters (pdf). "However, the Bing team is continuously refining and improving our crawling and indexing abilities. Note that the bot name hasn't changed. It will still show up in the web server access logs as MSNBog."
Sidenote: Webmasters will want to acknowledge that Microsoft has increased the size limit of sitemaps from 10,000 URLs to 50,000. Google is also now supporting up to 50,000 "child sitemaps" of sitemaps index files.
Like I was saying, the biggest difference between the two search engines is in the presentation. Bing of course separates (some) results into categories. This has worried some search marketers, but Microsoft says good SEO will work just as well with this set up. Bing also has the explore pane (navigational menu on the left-hand side of search results), which corresponds with the categories in the SERPs. In some ways, this is similar to Google's recent addition of "search options."
I discussed what Google's search options would mean for SEO here. Basically, I just broke it down section by section, and you could do the same thing with Bing I think. Look at the keyword phrases you want to rank for, and see how Bing breaks it up. Let's say "cell phones" for example. Bing gives you categories like shopping, brands, buying guide, providers, accessories, images, videos, and local.
This tells me that you want to play up the appropriate categories on your site, so that it shows up in the relevant categories on Bing. If you sell accessories, place emphasize that, and you'll probably have a better shot ending up in that category. With Bing, it's not about getting to the top of the SERP. It's about getting to the top of the right part of the SERP. I'll let you in on a little secret. Having quality and relevant (to that part of the SERP) content is the best thing you can do. Incidentally, this will probably help your cause in Google (and other search engines) at the same time.
"Ultimately, SEO is still SEO. Bing doesn't change that. Bing's new user interface design simply adds new opportunities to searchers to find what the information they want more quickly and easily, and that benefits webmasters who have taken the time to work on the quality of their content and website design," says Microsoft.
Curious About What Bing Looks for in Links?
Rick DeJarnette of Bing Webmaster Center recently posted a pair of blog posts looking at what makes some links good and some bad. You may find some of these things familiar:
- "If you don't feel you can endorse the quality of the content at another site, you shouldn't be linking to them."
- Don't seek links from sites whose content isn't worthy of your endorsement.
- Links to and from your site should be relevant to your site (or at least the page you're linking from/to)
- Focus on quality, not quantity. Few highly relevant links are better than a bunch of crap links
- Avoid "bad neighborhoods" like dedicated domains or IP ranges that do nothing but set up meaningless link exchanges.
- Avoid hidden text
What Makes a Website Design a Good One?
A lot of people can recognize good design when they see it on the web. But most people don't really know what makes that design good.
How do you define "good design?" Is it subjective, like your favorite flavor of ice cream? Although there is some subjectivity within good design, there are artistic principles that good design is built from. Here are a few that form the foundation of good design.
1. Proximity
Because items that are in close proximity to one another become one visual unit, items that are related to one another should be grouped together. Laying out related items on a website page this way helps the eye associate the information and enables the viewer to mentally categorize the information easily. The flip side of this principle is that items that are not related should not be placed in close proximity to one another.
The purpose of the principle of proximity is to organize information in a way that enables viewers to quickly and easily comprehend. When information is organized, people are more likely to read it and respond. People are also more likely to remember information that is organized.
How can you determine if items form a visual unit? Squint your eyes and look at the page on a website. Now count the number of times your eye stops as it views the page. On a page that is using the principle of proximity well, your eye will stop three to five times. In other words, there will be three to five groups of information for the eye to comprehend separately.
2. Alignment
You've seen website page layouts where the text and graphics are placed wherever there happens to be space. The effect is messy, with no impact. Nothing should be placed on a page arbitrarily. There should be a visual connection between each item and something other item on the page. When items are aligned, it creates a cohesiveness that the eye appreciates.
The purpose of alignment is to unify the website page. Imagine a well-organized kitchen. All the pots and pans are stored in the organizer, the fruit is nicely displayed in a basket on the counter, the spices are all on the rack-everything is in its place. A page layout needs the same thing.
Look at a website page that you feel is good design. Now focus on the main visual element. Where does your eye go from there? Do you see how other elements are aligned with that one main element both vertically and horizontally?
3. Repetition
Good design repeats some aspect of the website design throughout the site. It's this repetition that makes all the pages in a site look like they belong together. Color scheme, graphic elements, typefaces-all of these elements should be repeated-used consistently-throughout.
The purpose of repetition is to create consistency and to add visual interest. Repetition creates a professional, polished look that the eye is drawn to. When a website design uses repetition and is consistent, it is more likely to be viewed and read.
Here are some was you can create repetition beyond simple consistency in typefaces and colors: Use some element in your logo as a major graphic element in the design. If you are using a ruled line, make the line more interesting visually by perhaps making it with tiny dots or dashes, then repeating the line element throughout the design. Create patterns that are repeated throughout the design. Take a small element and place it somewhere on each page for a whimsical look. Just be careful not to overdo the repetition, or viewers will be annoyed rather than pleased.
4. Contrast
The principle of contrast states that if two items are not the same, then they should be different-very different. Contrast creates an organizational hierarchy of the information and graphics on a webpage. When using contrast, you can't be a wimp! The contrast must be strong to be effective.
The purpose of contrast is two-fold: to create interest on the page, and to organize information. A page that is interesting to look at is more likely to be read. And contrasting elements will help a reader understand the way the information is organized.
Contrast can be created in many ways. You can contrast large type with small type, a serif font with a sans-serif font, bold with light, smooth texture with rough texture, a small graphic with a large one, a dark color with a light one.
A design that integrates these principles will automatically gain a professionalism and polish that it would otherwise lack. Next time you stumble across a website design that makes you say "wow", cheek for these principles-you'll find them quietly working to make that design a good one!
About the Author: Laura MacPherson - Creative director at Northstar Creative, a website design studio located in Greenville, SC. Her company, Northstar Creative Web Design, approaches website development differently than many web companies. Northstar Creative combines the use of marketing psychology with top-notch web development to create truly exceptional custom sites for its clients
How do you define "good design?" Is it subjective, like your favorite flavor of ice cream? Although there is some subjectivity within good design, there are artistic principles that good design is built from. Here are a few that form the foundation of good design.
1. Proximity
Because items that are in close proximity to one another become one visual unit, items that are related to one another should be grouped together. Laying out related items on a website page this way helps the eye associate the information and enables the viewer to mentally categorize the information easily. The flip side of this principle is that items that are not related should not be placed in close proximity to one another.
The purpose of the principle of proximity is to organize information in a way that enables viewers to quickly and easily comprehend. When information is organized, people are more likely to read it and respond. People are also more likely to remember information that is organized.
How can you determine if items form a visual unit? Squint your eyes and look at the page on a website. Now count the number of times your eye stops as it views the page. On a page that is using the principle of proximity well, your eye will stop three to five times. In other words, there will be three to five groups of information for the eye to comprehend separately.
2. Alignment
You've seen website page layouts where the text and graphics are placed wherever there happens to be space. The effect is messy, with no impact. Nothing should be placed on a page arbitrarily. There should be a visual connection between each item and something other item on the page. When items are aligned, it creates a cohesiveness that the eye appreciates.
The purpose of alignment is to unify the website page. Imagine a well-organized kitchen. All the pots and pans are stored in the organizer, the fruit is nicely displayed in a basket on the counter, the spices are all on the rack-everything is in its place. A page layout needs the same thing.
Look at a website page that you feel is good design. Now focus on the main visual element. Where does your eye go from there? Do you see how other elements are aligned with that one main element both vertically and horizontally?
3. Repetition
Good design repeats some aspect of the website design throughout the site. It's this repetition that makes all the pages in a site look like they belong together. Color scheme, graphic elements, typefaces-all of these elements should be repeated-used consistently-throughout.
The purpose of repetition is to create consistency and to add visual interest. Repetition creates a professional, polished look that the eye is drawn to. When a website design uses repetition and is consistent, it is more likely to be viewed and read.
Here are some was you can create repetition beyond simple consistency in typefaces and colors: Use some element in your logo as a major graphic element in the design. If you are using a ruled line, make the line more interesting visually by perhaps making it with tiny dots or dashes, then repeating the line element throughout the design. Create patterns that are repeated throughout the design. Take a small element and place it somewhere on each page for a whimsical look. Just be careful not to overdo the repetition, or viewers will be annoyed rather than pleased.
4. Contrast
The principle of contrast states that if two items are not the same, then they should be different-very different. Contrast creates an organizational hierarchy of the information and graphics on a webpage. When using contrast, you can't be a wimp! The contrast must be strong to be effective.
The purpose of contrast is two-fold: to create interest on the page, and to organize information. A page that is interesting to look at is more likely to be read. And contrasting elements will help a reader understand the way the information is organized.
Contrast can be created in many ways. You can contrast large type with small type, a serif font with a sans-serif font, bold with light, smooth texture with rough texture, a small graphic with a large one, a dark color with a light one.
A design that integrates these principles will automatically gain a professionalism and polish that it would otherwise lack. Next time you stumble across a website design that makes you say "wow", cheek for these principles-you'll find them quietly working to make that design a good one!
About the Author: Laura MacPherson - Creative director at Northstar Creative, a website design studio located in Greenville, SC. Her company, Northstar Creative Web Design, approaches website development differently than many web companies. Northstar Creative combines the use of marketing psychology with top-notch web development to create truly exceptional custom sites for its clients
The Marketing Potential of Facebook
by Chris Crum
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
We recently looked at the ups and downs of marketing with Twitter. Now's let's talk a little bit about marketing with Facebook. Have you had success marketing with Facebook?
First of all, it is true that many Facebook users are less than thrilled with the state of the social network at the moment. They recently rolled out some big changes in design and functionality that haven't sat too well with the masses. Some users may be discouraged enough to consider finding a different community.
That said, Facebook's user-base is huge, and there is a ton of marketing potential there. In fact, the newest changes make the site's functionality very similar to Twitter, and open up more marketing opportunities along with that.
It's in real-time now just like Twitter, which makes it an ideal format for customer service. Many of the biggest brands on Twitter have been noted to have great customer service reputations by using that network, and I'd expect a similar trend within business Facebook use.
Also like Twitter, businesses can get their messages targeted to interested parties who have opted in to receive updates from that business. Facebook has just started adding "Page" updates to the News Feed.
Facebook has been reported to have driven more traffic than even Google to some sites. That's something to think about. Some people are quick to point out that this traffic is not necessarily going to lead to conversions, but that's on your marketing strategy. Facebook is just another middle-man just like Google in that regard.
Also like Google, you can directly advertise with Facebook though. Should you replace your Google ads with Facebook ads? Not necessarily, but they do offer highly targeted personalized ads that cater to users' interest based upon their profile information. These ads shouldn't really be compared with AdWords. AdWords cater to people who are specifically looking for something. Facebook ads are better for showing the user something they'll probably like when they didn't know they were looking for it.
You can still go the search engine advertising route and wind up in Facebook search results too, via the company's partnership with Microsoft. Facebook search is likely going to be more frequently used now with the new design too. You've probably heard a lot about Twitter search recently. Now that Facebook is more like Twitter, expect a lot of real-time searching to be going on there too.
The most obvious benefit of marketing with Facebook or any other social network is increasing brand awareness wby interacting with the public. It's also a good place to monitor and manage your online reputation. Keep abreast of what people are saying about you and you product.
There are tons of applications on Facebook, many of them providing unique marketing opportunities as well. Some offer advertising platforms within them. Others can simply aid your marketing strategy as it pertains to other tools. For example, the one that will let you post right to Twitter from Facebook. It wouldn't hurt to set aside some time and do a little application exploring and find some different ways to market within the most popular social network.
About the Author:Chris is a content coordinator and staff writer for SmallBusinessNewz and the iEntry Network. Subscribe to SmallBusinessNewz RSS Feeds.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
We recently looked at the ups and downs of marketing with Twitter. Now's let's talk a little bit about marketing with Facebook. Have you had success marketing with Facebook?
First of all, it is true that many Facebook users are less than thrilled with the state of the social network at the moment. They recently rolled out some big changes in design and functionality that haven't sat too well with the masses. Some users may be discouraged enough to consider finding a different community.
That said, Facebook's user-base is huge, and there is a ton of marketing potential there. In fact, the newest changes make the site's functionality very similar to Twitter, and open up more marketing opportunities along with that.
It's in real-time now just like Twitter, which makes it an ideal format for customer service. Many of the biggest brands on Twitter have been noted to have great customer service reputations by using that network, and I'd expect a similar trend within business Facebook use.
Also like Twitter, businesses can get their messages targeted to interested parties who have opted in to receive updates from that business. Facebook has just started adding "Page" updates to the News Feed.
Facebook has been reported to have driven more traffic than even Google to some sites. That's something to think about. Some people are quick to point out that this traffic is not necessarily going to lead to conversions, but that's on your marketing strategy. Facebook is just another middle-man just like Google in that regard.
Also like Google, you can directly advertise with Facebook though. Should you replace your Google ads with Facebook ads? Not necessarily, but they do offer highly targeted personalized ads that cater to users' interest based upon their profile information. These ads shouldn't really be compared with AdWords. AdWords cater to people who are specifically looking for something. Facebook ads are better for showing the user something they'll probably like when they didn't know they were looking for it.
You can still go the search engine advertising route and wind up in Facebook search results too, via the company's partnership with Microsoft. Facebook search is likely going to be more frequently used now with the new design too. You've probably heard a lot about Twitter search recently. Now that Facebook is more like Twitter, expect a lot of real-time searching to be going on there too.
The most obvious benefit of marketing with Facebook or any other social network is increasing brand awareness wby interacting with the public. It's also a good place to monitor and manage your online reputation. Keep abreast of what people are saying about you and you product.
There are tons of applications on Facebook, many of them providing unique marketing opportunities as well. Some offer advertising platforms within them. Others can simply aid your marketing strategy as it pertains to other tools. For example, the one that will let you post right to Twitter from Facebook. It wouldn't hurt to set aside some time and do a little application exploring and find some different ways to market within the most popular social network.
About the Author:Chris is a content coordinator and staff writer for SmallBusinessNewz and the iEntry Network. Subscribe to SmallBusinessNewz RSS Feeds.
10 Top Strategies to Help Increase Your Visibility Online
Increasing online visibility is the goal of almost every online business owners. After all, without visibility, you have no traffic and thus no business. It's really important to keep in mind that successful online businesses usually do not solely rely on just online marketing. They create a well rounded approach through various different media. When you start to research how to improve your online visibility, you will likely discover many options, but find that it is a daunting task and rather overwhelming with the actual implementation thereof. Where does an online business owner turn first to get the visibility (and traffic) to promote a web site?
New tricks and gimmicks come out every day, but unfortunately, most of them are like so many recording artists and become one-hit wonders. In our industry, we've discovered that there are a handful that can hold up over the test of time. Some have been around for as long as web sites have been around, while others are newer ideas.
Here are what works for most businesses and considered to be the 10 most effective strategies to massively boost your visibility online:
1. Press releases. Press releases are a well-known and worth while marketing strategy that have worked for years with print and broadcast media. In recent years they have found new life as an online visibility tool. Your release should carry some newsworthy angle and be sure to include a few keywords by which you want your business to be found. Don't waste your time submitting your release to the free press release sites -- the release simply sits on the site and goes no where else. Instead, invest in a fee-based service (checkout - PRWeb.com), which will ensure your release gets the recognition it deserves.
2. Social Networking. Social networking is now one of the newest forms of attracting visibility to your business for a very low cost. If you don't yet have accounts on the two most popular social networking platforms, Facebook and Twitter, take time out today to sign up and begin to network. Choose where your target market is present, and then begin to work that area by making connections, joining groups or networks, sharing resources, and asking questions. Dedicate about 30 minutes each day to your effort and you'll likely begin to see results.
3. Article Marketing. Writing and submittíng articles to major article directories is an old technique for gaining online visibility. Article marketing has tremendous possibilities of driving traffic to your site. You will want to establish yourself as an expert in your target market's eyes, and give you valuable content to repurpose into information products. For maximum effectiveness, be sure your article contains a strong author's bio that links traffic back to your site. It's important that your article contain useful content that solves a problem of your target market, and be written in a tips-based fashion, like this one, since it is the easiest format for a web site visitor to read and digest.
4. Blogging. Business blogs (a web journal), have gained loads of popularity over the last few years as a viable online visibility tool. Blogs can use RSS feed technology to immediately get new posts and updates out to your blog subscribers through a feed reader. Unlike ezines or traditional web sites, search engines index blog posts almost immediately, which can help you to generate traffic to your web site. The most effective use as an online visibility tool, is to post at least 2-3 times per week to keep your reader's interest so they continue to come back.
5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Optimizing your site for routine searches has been around from the beginning of Internet marketing. It's a good idea to use a keyword research tool so that you create a listing of keywords applicable to your business. It's very important that your site have what is termed as RELEVANT content. That means you need to be sure if you are directing people to read about "widgets" they read all about "widgets" and not something else that is not relevant to that subject matter. Don't forget to add things like "how to", "tips", or short descriptions of things that would be considered as problems that your target market runs across. Then, be sure that your page titles, page descriptions, page headlines, and formatted text on a page (bolding, italicizing, underlining) and include your keywords in those areas, as well as inserting 1-2 keywords throughout the body of your page content. It's important that you try to make the SEO appear as natural as possible and not forced, and by doing that the search engines as well as your visitors will love you.
6. Email Newsletter (Ezine). Regular publication of an email newsletter (weekly is the most effective) will enable your prospects to get to know, like and trust you. By doing that, your prospect will have you front and center in their mind when they are ready to solve the pressing problems that fall within your line of expertise. If your goal is to send your ezine to primary make a call to action on your web site, you will continually build your list with prospective customers by continuously sending out information that is helpful to your prospects. More than that, if they like what you write, they are more likely to pass along the email newsletter and even your web site link to their contacts, thus increasing your visibility yet again.
7. Signature Teleseminar/Speech. This can be a powerful solution. Have you thought about creating your signature speech or teleseminar that you can present whenever you're asked to speak to any type of group (face-to-face or virtual)? If not, you should consider designing a signature speech or teleseminar that demonstrates your knowledge and expertise in your area without giving away the trade secrets or information that the prospect can go off and do without you or the assistance of your company. Focus on the what and the why but not the how and this will compel your listeners to visit your website or request your assistance either through one of your web forms, calling or emailing you, including but not limited to asking to be put on your mailing líst. Then, begin to research groups that contain your target market both in your geographic area and online. Once you've obtained a speaking gig, take time to formulate your best call to action for that target group -- do you want participants to sign up for your e-newsletter, purchase a product, or schedule a consultation? Add that call to action to your presentation.
8. Videos. In today's market, it's much easier for almost anyone to view online video these days. Today with high-quality yet low-cost web cams, video cameras, and screen capture software being readily available, just about anyone can make a video pretty easily. You might think about recording a live Q&A session on UStream.com and post it on your site. Or, perhaps you want to record a "how to" tutorial using screenshots from your computer and upload that to your YouTube.com channel. Remember to include your call to action in your video so that you drive traffic back to your site. It's possible that your video may cause you to become the next YouTube star!
9. Expert question sites. A lot of people conduct online searches to find free information to answer their questions. Many online business owners are registering as experts on an expert or answers site, like Yahoo Answers or AllExperts.com, in an effort to get more visibility online. To be an effective expert on these sites, you need to seek out questions that you can knowledgeably answer as an expert. Your answer needs to be very detailed and as specific as possible. The more thorough your answer, the better chance you'll have of getting chosen as the "favorite" answer, which is the one rated highest on the site and in the search engines.
10. Viral marketing. Viral marketing involves creating a marketing piece (ebook, video, software) that gets passed along free of charge from person to person.
You've really got two options when you try to get online visibility: the "steady and effective over time" method or the "quick and short and probably get blacklisted or removed" method. It's preferred to use methods that have been used successfully over and over again and won't result in a site being removed from the search engines. Use one or more of these successfully used strategies to get you the visibility you deserve online.
New tricks and gimmicks come out every day, but unfortunately, most of them are like so many recording artists and become one-hit wonders. In our industry, we've discovered that there are a handful that can hold up over the test of time. Some have been around for as long as web sites have been around, while others are newer ideas.
Here are what works for most businesses and considered to be the 10 most effective strategies to massively boost your visibility online:
1. Press releases. Press releases are a well-known and worth while marketing strategy that have worked for years with print and broadcast media. In recent years they have found new life as an online visibility tool. Your release should carry some newsworthy angle and be sure to include a few keywords by which you want your business to be found. Don't waste your time submitting your release to the free press release sites -- the release simply sits on the site and goes no where else. Instead, invest in a fee-based service (checkout - PRWeb.com), which will ensure your release gets the recognition it deserves.
2. Social Networking. Social networking is now one of the newest forms of attracting visibility to your business for a very low cost. If you don't yet have accounts on the two most popular social networking platforms, Facebook and Twitter, take time out today to sign up and begin to network. Choose where your target market is present, and then begin to work that area by making connections, joining groups or networks, sharing resources, and asking questions. Dedicate about 30 minutes each day to your effort and you'll likely begin to see results.
3. Article Marketing. Writing and submittíng articles to major article directories is an old technique for gaining online visibility. Article marketing has tremendous possibilities of driving traffic to your site. You will want to establish yourself as an expert in your target market's eyes, and give you valuable content to repurpose into information products. For maximum effectiveness, be sure your article contains a strong author's bio that links traffic back to your site. It's important that your article contain useful content that solves a problem of your target market, and be written in a tips-based fashion, like this one, since it is the easiest format for a web site visitor to read and digest.
4. Blogging. Business blogs (a web journal), have gained loads of popularity over the last few years as a viable online visibility tool. Blogs can use RSS feed technology to immediately get new posts and updates out to your blog subscribers through a feed reader. Unlike ezines or traditional web sites, search engines index blog posts almost immediately, which can help you to generate traffic to your web site. The most effective use as an online visibility tool, is to post at least 2-3 times per week to keep your reader's interest so they continue to come back.
5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Optimizing your site for routine searches has been around from the beginning of Internet marketing. It's a good idea to use a keyword research tool so that you create a listing of keywords applicable to your business. It's very important that your site have what is termed as RELEVANT content. That means you need to be sure if you are directing people to read about "widgets" they read all about "widgets" and not something else that is not relevant to that subject matter. Don't forget to add things like "how to", "tips", or short descriptions of things that would be considered as problems that your target market runs across. Then, be sure that your page titles, page descriptions, page headlines, and formatted text on a page (bolding, italicizing, underlining) and include your keywords in those areas, as well as inserting 1-2 keywords throughout the body of your page content. It's important that you try to make the SEO appear as natural as possible and not forced, and by doing that the search engines as well as your visitors will love you.
6. Email Newsletter (Ezine). Regular publication of an email newsletter (weekly is the most effective) will enable your prospects to get to know, like and trust you. By doing that, your prospect will have you front and center in their mind when they are ready to solve the pressing problems that fall within your line of expertise. If your goal is to send your ezine to primary make a call to action on your web site, you will continually build your list with prospective customers by continuously sending out information that is helpful to your prospects. More than that, if they like what you write, they are more likely to pass along the email newsletter and even your web site link to their contacts, thus increasing your visibility yet again.
7. Signature Teleseminar/Speech. This can be a powerful solution. Have you thought about creating your signature speech or teleseminar that you can present whenever you're asked to speak to any type of group (face-to-face or virtual)? If not, you should consider designing a signature speech or teleseminar that demonstrates your knowledge and expertise in your area without giving away the trade secrets or information that the prospect can go off and do without you or the assistance of your company. Focus on the what and the why but not the how and this will compel your listeners to visit your website or request your assistance either through one of your web forms, calling or emailing you, including but not limited to asking to be put on your mailing líst. Then, begin to research groups that contain your target market both in your geographic area and online. Once you've obtained a speaking gig, take time to formulate your best call to action for that target group -- do you want participants to sign up for your e-newsletter, purchase a product, or schedule a consultation? Add that call to action to your presentation.
8. Videos. In today's market, it's much easier for almost anyone to view online video these days. Today with high-quality yet low-cost web cams, video cameras, and screen capture software being readily available, just about anyone can make a video pretty easily. You might think about recording a live Q&A session on UStream.com and post it on your site. Or, perhaps you want to record a "how to" tutorial using screenshots from your computer and upload that to your YouTube.com channel. Remember to include your call to action in your video so that you drive traffic back to your site. It's possible that your video may cause you to become the next YouTube star!
9. Expert question sites. A lot of people conduct online searches to find free information to answer their questions. Many online business owners are registering as experts on an expert or answers site, like Yahoo Answers or AllExperts.com, in an effort to get more visibility online. To be an effective expert on these sites, you need to seek out questions that you can knowledgeably answer as an expert. Your answer needs to be very detailed and as specific as possible. The more thorough your answer, the better chance you'll have of getting chosen as the "favorite" answer, which is the one rated highest on the site and in the search engines.
10. Viral marketing. Viral marketing involves creating a marketing piece (ebook, video, software) that gets passed along free of charge from person to person.
You've really got two options when you try to get online visibility: the "steady and effective over time" method or the "quick and short and probably get blacklisted or removed" method. It's preferred to use methods that have been used successfully over and over again and won't result in a site being removed from the search engines. Use one or more of these successfully used strategies to get you the visibility you deserve online.
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In today's world of ecommerce, Quantum realizes there are many services the business owner needs. But, who do you turn to in this ever-growing pool of business service providers? With well over a decade of trusted and reliable service to our customers, Quantum has become the company businesses can count on and comfortably afford.
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We're flexible and easy to work with. We believe in going the extra mile. We focus and work as a team with you. When we work on any client project we exclusively focus our efforts on a limited number of projects at a time. Why? To ensure you are getting the commitment and dedication you deserve.
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We know every business respects the value of trust. Words are empty until backed up by action. The "Actions Speak Louder Than Words" as they say. At Quantum, we're all about "ACTION" and doing what we say when we say. Exceeding our client's expectations is what we are known for and we have accomplished that over and over.
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We have over 50 years of combined experience as individual professionals in business and this industry. Our staff have a passion for the industry we're in. We are the first to admit that we are addicted to our careers because we work in a very exciting industry that allows us to be creative, dynamic, and professional all at the same time. Doing business does not get any better than this.
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