- The Truth about Email Marketing
- The End of Search Optimization?
- 2007 - Predictions for Online Marketing
- THE THREE KEYS TO BETTER CONVERSION
- Better copy equals better conversions
The Truth about Email Marketing
"54% of small businesses surveyed rated email as the top online promotion to drive site visitors and customers to their web sites and storefronts." –DMA Interactive
A common myth about email marketing is that only large corporations can afford the technology and reap the benefits. The truth is that email marketing can benefit small and large organizations alike. In fact, email marketing software is usually priced according to desired capacity, which means that you will never have to pay for a larger license than you need. Smaller licenses can actually be surprisingly affordable. With this in mind, below is a list of the most common benefits of email marketing.
- * Email is Inexpensive
- * Email Creates Quick Response Cycles
- * Email Campaign Results are Measurable
- * Email Has a Wide Reach
- * Email Drives Website Traffic
- * Email Builds Brand Awareness
- * Email Builds Customer Relations
- * Email Can Be Highly Customized
- * Email Requires Limited Resources
- * Email is Easy to Implement
To find out if email marketing is right for you, please Contact Us.
The End of Search Optimization?
According to an article I read today, “The Beginning of the End of Search Optimization” is here. In the article written October 12, 2006, Wyatt Lee reports that in search engine optimization the trend is “now flowing towards the more accurate and humanized features of user-driven indexing systems.” What Wyatt uses as support for his argument is the trend towards social networking.
According to Wikipedia, “Social networking refers to a category of Internet applications to help connect friends, business partners, or other individuals together using a variety of tools.” Popular online site that employ social networking include MySpace, LinkedIn and Flickr.
While it is indeed true that we are moving into un-chartered new territories with the web and that these sites represent the next new thing, relatively nothing new is happening with the major search engines, in regards to social networking affecting their organic results. Keep in mind that Google, MSN and Yahoo! still account for over 90% of the search engine market and while social networking sites continue to grow in importance, until the three big powers decide that social networking matters, search results will go on business as usual.
At the Search Engine Strategies Meeting in San Jose last summer, a panel of experts were asked what, if anything would be changing in regards to the search engines. According to Dave Naylor, “it will be the same, link analysis.” Based on these and other expert opinions, we can safely expect nothing major from the search engines for the next several years, or so. So while Wyatt is right to talk about the importance of the emerging trend of social networking, his announcement of the death of SEO as we know it is extremely premature.
If you’d like to discuss search engine optimization trends and/or other online marketing strategies, please feel free to contact us for a free consultation.
2007 - Predictions for Online Marketing
As we reflect on the year that was - and what a good year it was for many of us in the online space - it is important to know where we think we are headed. While I don't profess to have ESP, there are several indicators that have guided these forecasts.
Below are my 2007 predictions for the Online Marketing Industry:
Goodbye Radio, Hello Interactive - The Internet, finally living up to all of its promise for advertisers, will attract more advertising dollars than ever in 2007. Last year, the Online Marketing Industry surpassed outdoor advertising. This year, we will surpass radio.
Spam for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner - Even though advances in email filtering technologies will continue to improve, Spam will continue to flourish. Sophisticated spammers, however, have realized that you don't need to get people to click something to be successful. Variations/mutations of the stock tip email will continue to inundate our in-boxes.
Keep on Searching - Absolutely nothing will change within the search engine marketing field in 2007. While the search engines may deploy new advertising models (Yahoo!) or improve upon existing formulas (Google), we should expect very little change next year. As long as the search engines continue to provide relevant results, expect more of the same in search engine marketing.
Better Use of Tracking - One of the reasons why search engine marketing will continue to flourish is because more people will be realizing better results through tracking. While tracking is not new, the number of advertisers that finally start using it will rise. Today, only approximately 20-30% of all advertisers track their campaigns. In 2007, we'll see more accountability.
Web 2.0? – Last year, the buzz was all about the second generation of web applications. While site’s like YouTube, FlickR and Digg.com have enjoyed tremendous success; the truth of the matter is that the majority of sites are still in basic training. The promise of Web 2.0 is still in the distant future.
Client/Agency Relationship - Surprisingly, the majority of clients and potential clients I deal with on a regular basis still do not grasp the powers of Internet Marketing. In 2007, I fully expect that dynamic to start changing. In the coming year, we’ll see more and more clients as well versed in our trade as we are. This change not only will impact our dialogue for the better but will allow more collaboration and partnership between the teams.
With all of these changes in store, I personally cannot wait for the New Year to begin!
Read the BLOG here.
THE THREE KEYS TO BETTER CONVERSION
There are countless books, articles, white papers, and websites devoted to improving your website’s conversion rate. And while most of them are great books (one of my all time favorites is “Don’t Make Me Think” by Steve Krug), I have synthesized all of this great knowledge and advice into a more simplified approach and have been using it effectively for my clients for the past few years.
My method for better website conversions I like to call the “CIA Approach” – which stands for looking at your website in three specific unique ways – credibility, interactivity, and asking for the business.
If you following my approach, you can be on your way to better web results right away.
Credibility –Let’s face it, unless you are an Amazon or My Space, most visitors have likely never heard of you. How does your current site help you build your credibility?
- * Does your site have a professional look/feel?
- * Is your site design custom built or is it a template?
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* Do you have business, security and/or certification logos? (TrustE, VeriSign, BBB Online, for example.)
- * Do you have any Industry-specific logos that showcase your knowledge about your specialty that you can post?
- * Have you won any awards? Are they posted on your site?
- * Do you have a privacy policy? Is it easy to get to?
- * Do you have a toll-free number?
- * Is your contact information visible on every page? If not, is it easy to get to?
Interactivity – Unless you show them, most visitors don’t know what to do when they are on a site. We’ve seen too many sites with too little interactivity, which will cause your customer to bounce from your site, usually after only one page. How well does your site lead your customer to their desired result?
- * Does your site have a clean navigation system?
- * How crowded is your navigational bar
- * Does your site have clickable text links? Are they easy to see?
- * Does your site have a clear path for all visitors? Do you have specific paths for different market niches?
- * Is your site just a glorified brochure or do you have clear calls to action for your users?
Asking for the Business - Most sites fail this third yet crucial test – yet we learned this as one of our first rules in sales. Always ask for the business! Since we don’t know online exactly what our customer is looking for – we’ll need appeal to them equally. For example, some of your customers may respond better to a text call while others may respond better to a more visually appealing graphical call. Exactly how far does your site go to appeal to each of your potential customer’s unique needs?
- * Do you provide both text and graphical calls-to-action?
- * Do you ask for the business at the top of the page, middle of the page, and bottom of the page?
- * Do you have a unique selling point? And do you provide customers with a unique offer?
- * Do you provide customers with a sense of urgency?
- * Do you ask for the business on every page of your site?
While there are many additional factors that do go into improving your website’s conversion rate, updating your site accordingly so that it meets with the approval of the CIA Approach should bring you better web results quickly.
Ron Weber is the President of SD Interactive, a San Diego Based Interactive agency. He can be reached at ron@sdinteractive.com.
Read the BLOG here.
Better copy equals better conversions.
This is probably the most difficult selling point to get across to people when designing or redesigning a website. Sure, people know they need to have copy on their sites but most people are perfectly fine with having their brochure’s content on their website.
Unfortunately, it usually isn’t.
In order for your online business to truly achieve its objectives, the content on your site must:
Content optimization is a skill that few people possess. Words sell, graphic images don't. You need to get the user to take action! So, in that spirit, here is a list of things to do in order to improve your content:
- 1- Act like a reporter. Does your site answer the 5 w’s (who what when were why)? If your copy doesn’t, chances are your visitors won’t either.
- 2- Engage the visitor. Do you ask questions and lead your visitor to their desire goal? Hint: Hyperlinks work well.
- 3- Speak your visitor’s language. Your copy should reflect the same voice and tone as your primary target market. Avoid the use of jargon!
- 4- Create supplemental content. FAQ pages, tips pages, reference pages, how-to pages, industry glossary and related articles about your product/service work well.
- 5- Test & Track your results. A simple change can make a huge impact.
Whether the goal of your online business is to generate leads, sales, or to disseminate information, an effective content optimization strategy is needed to lead the visitor to the action you desire. Content optimization is a continual process of monitoring and updating. By staying true to this course, you will see the results in your bottom line.
Read the full BLOG here.
