Blog

Real Time Search and Social Media Convergence

September 17, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

Google has gone to real time search, and all the search engines are putting a lot of ranking value on Social Media. Now the two have converged. I did a Google search the other day for some of our trending keywords for that particular day and saw a plethora of our social media and blog posts. That really raised an eyebrow for me and my excitement grew. Anytime we post something on our 30+ social sites and blogs, we are seeing our posts immediately in the real time results (and even the “regular” results as well). These results included images as well so our results popped out to searchers. This is huge!

Some tips to get your Social Media and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tactics up to snuff to take advantage of Google’s real time search (and I am sure the other search engines are to follow)…

Searches are Universal

Google will show lots of web content, including blogs, social media posts, images, video, books, articles, press releases and more, all in the same search results. So consider using all these available platforms and mediums to get your message out there and increase your search engine ranking exposure.

Ping Your Blog Posts

I am picked up with in seconds and minutes of a blog post because I ping over 40 sites and let them know I have just posted valuable content. I find my topics trending for the day high in the search rankings, often in the number one or two place.

Use a Network of Social Media to Get the Word Out

I use the Ping.fm™ service to instantly update our 30+ social sites. I find these posts are very quickly picked up by Google and ranked well for its keywords.

Tie In your Social Media Strategy with your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

At the end of the day, getting noticed on the internet is all about SEO. Use Social Media as a powerful tool to implement your SEO content strategies in the various mediums and platforms available. Your SEO efforts will pack a power punch, and you’ll find your SEO efforts pay off instantly, instead of having to wait a day, week or month for the SEO to work. Social Media needs to be a major part of your Online Marketing Strategy.

Need SEO and Social Media Strategy help? Feel free to Contact Us or check out our Web SEO and Marketing Package.

Posted in Business Internet Strategies. 2 Comments

Blog for Business Success

August 11, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

A Blog is a really useful tool for any type of business, whether you sell a product or service. As a Business Consultant, I see blogging not being done by enough businesses, or I see the blogging being done with out any real commitment or passion. In this post I will review the reasons to blog, and how to do it well. Hopefully after reading this post you will see the merit of having a blog on your website or renew your commitment to your blog.

Why Blog?

Ø  Blogging Sets You Up as An Expert: Expert status will get you talked about on the web and bring you another level of customer.

Ø  Blogging Increases Web Traffic: Your blog subjects will bring in targeted web visitors who over time will become customers, or refer your blog and company.

Ø  Blogging Helps Your SEO and Ranking: Search Engines love fresh, new, relevant content. It helps tremendously in getting your website consistently spidered and well placed in the search engine results.

Ø  Blogging Tracks Prospects: If web visitors find your blog interesting, they will subscribe to your RSS Feed. Now you have an email to track and communicate with potential customers.

Ø  Blogging is Fun: Give it a chance and you will find it is a rewarding experience.

Ø  Blogging Brings You Customers: Some customers take time to become comfortable and buy. A blog is a great way to stay connected with them until they are ready. Blogging creates lots of real time opportunities to gain customers. Blog posts get spidered quickly by the search engines so you can pick up immediate customers.

Ø  Blogging Helps People: If you give it away, you will experience a return 10+ fold. People appreciate great information and will refer you.

Ø  Blogging Gives You Competitive Edge: If a prospect is comparing companies and websites, the one who has a good, fresh blog will stand out. It is a great way to show your expertise.

Ø  Blogging is Viral: Through the social networks and other bloggers, your good blog posts will be passed around again and again. The viral aspect really increases your customer reach.

How to Blog Well and Get Results

Ø  Blog on What You Know: Stick to your expertise areas and content areas you need better search engine ranking.

Ø  Blog 3 – 5 Times a Week: If you can, blog once or twice per day for the best results.

Ø  Submit Your RSS Feed: Submit to RSS directories so you gain a web presence.

Ø  Make Your RSS Feed Available: Make sure blog visitors see your Subscribe to RSS Feed prominently on your blog.

Ø  Set Up Automatic Pings: Set up your blog so that every time you publish a blog post it automatically pings the major search engines and blog directories. I ping 40 search engines and directories every time I post, all done on automatic. This gets the blog post in the search results instantly.

Ø  Use the Social Networks: Post your blog snippet and URL to Social Media to get exponential coverage and quickly spidered by the search engines. Increases the viral nature of your posts as well.

Ø  Choose Your Title and First Paragraph Well: This is what the search engines and web visitor will read first. Be sure it is optimized for your keyword and reflects the content of your post.

Ø  Keep Your Blog Well Organized: Make sure you pick good categories that reflect your keyword areas so search engines and visitors can quickly find the relevant content. Each blog post should be placed in a category reflecting its content.

Ø  Give Your Newsletter Prominence: If someone likes your blog, more likely than not, they will sign up for your Newsletter. Another great way to stay in contact with prospects and customers.

Ø  Ask for Comments and Feedback: Blog visitor engagement is what converts prospects into customers and gets your blog post talked about.

Ø  Add Video: To really connect with the visual blog reader, have a short video synopsis of your blog post. Add the videos to You Tube as another way for visitors to find your blog. Video will help you to personally connect with your blog visitors.

Ø  Keep Your Blog Posts Short: Long posts will often lose the reader. Keep them short with valuable information.

Ø  Use Bold and Headings on Your Posts: Just writing a bunch of paragraphs will not be as well read as short paragraphs or sentences with Bold Headings. This way a visitor can quickly scan the blog post and get the information they want and need. They can always come back to read the entire post. This organization also helps with the search engine spiders.

Ø  Use Keyword Tags: Lets the search engines know what your blog contains and prompts spidering. Helps in your positioning for keyword searches.

Ø  Optimize Your Images: Gets spidered quickly. Use Alt Tags.

Do it Today!

I hope there is enough here to convince you that Blogging needs to be part of your Business Plan and Marketing Plan. You can set up a blog for Free with Word Press. No excuses! Good luck!

Today’s Video is on How Blogging is Relevant and Effective

More WebProNews Videos

Posted in Business Internet Strategies. Comment

Have You Noticed The Page Rank of Your Twitter Profile?

August 5, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

Have you looked at your Twitter Page Rank (PR) for your profile? I really didn’t notice mine until one day and then looked into it. Yes, Google does assign a PR to your Twitter Profile. And does it matter?

How Page Rank is Calculated for a Twitter Profile

PR of any web page helps it in the total score for a website in determining where it ranks. While PR isn’t everything in whether a website ranks well, it does indicate how authoritative and influential the website is. A Twitter Profile receives page rank from the quality of the links to your Twitter Profile (not the quality of your outgoing links). So if someone of influence links to your Twitter Profile, then you receive the benefit and receive Page Rank.

Does Page Rank Matter?

So if you want your Twitter page to rank well, your PR is a good indication of its chances of good ranking. If your PR is low, then look for stronger linking partners, as you would in any good Website Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategy. Don’t get obsessed with PR. Google says it is one of 200 different variables it uses to rank a website. You will see many sites rank well who have no PR or low PR. However, if you do have a good PR score, it shows the trend of the authority of your website. Higher authority generally means better ranking and exposure (and the respect of the search engines).

Twitter Does Matter

What you really need to learn about Twitter and Page Rank is the importance of Twitter that Google and the other Search Engines put on Twitter. Twitter needs to be part of any business marketing and SEO strategy because without it, you are simply missing out on getting noticed by the search engines and a lot of traffic.  

Quality Followers and Links

Now, the quality of your outgoing links on your Twitter Profile may not help your Page Rank, but it certainly does attract followers who read your tweets and re-tweet your tweets and links. The more quality followers with good PR who end up linking to you, the better your PR and possibility of better rankings. Moreover, the increase in followers adds tremendously to your web traffic and exposure.

As you think of quality SEO for your website, also think about the same for your Twitter Profile. Its importance can no longer be overlooked.

Today’s Video is on The Significance of Page Rank on a Twitter Profile

Posted in Business Internet Strategies. Comment

Use Google Alerts™ for Key Business Intelligence

August 3, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

Google Alerts™ is really an excellent tool to build your business intelligence. Here are some great ways to use this tool!

Learn When and Where You and / or Your Company Appear in the Search Engine Results

For instance, I have my name and company name entered into Google Alerts. So every time it sees those parameters in the Search Engine results for Google and its partners, alerts sends me an email and shows me the referenced URL and a summary of my information. I can quickly see what blogs and article sites are publishing my articles, who is linking to our website and blog, as well as see, the buzz and conversations about me and ABC Business Consulting.

Keep Up on Your Competitors and Partners Alike

Entering parameters like your competitors’ company names, product names and personal names will provide you a wealth of information on a daily basis. Same goes for your partners. This really is invaluable intelligence to keep your company well positioned in the markets and strengthening your competitive edge.  

For SEO Keyword Opportunity

Getting alerts in certain keyword strings can quickly help you determine whether the keyword string is good for you and if so, how to approach your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) so you can take advantage of the market opportunity. The internet changes quickly, but these alerts can keep you ahead of these changes, capitalizing on the opportunities presented.

For Industry and Market Updates and Trends

See what the experts are writing about concerning your industry and market. Another great data input for your Market Positioning Strategy.

Track the Social Networks

Understanding how your social media strategy is working is key. Google is paying more attention to social networks so use the alerts to gain that intelligence of what is happening in those networks. This keeps you supplied with data in real time, providing you opportunity to address emerging opportunities and problems very quickly.

Unlimited Amount of Uses

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I am sure you have a bunch of ideas on how you can use alerts to bolster your company’s business intelligence.

Today’s Video is on How to Use Google Alerts™

Posted in Business Internet Strategies. Comment

SEO Basics to Get Good Rankings on the Search Engines

August 2, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

SEO can get complicated and involve a lot of different White Hat strategies to get a website positioned on the first page of the general results for the Search Engines. I wrote an article on SEO Strategies which is comprehensive and covers all the angles of White Hat Search Engine Optimization. Employing the multitude of SEO Strategies can be time consuming, and if not well thought out and coordinated, will end up having lackluster results. So I am writing this blog post on the Basics of SEO Strategy that you can concentrate on to get your website well positioned in the general (organic) search results. Keep it simple to start, then later on you can try some of the other strategies I wrote about.

Optimize Each of Your Web Pages

Ø  Determine your best targeted keywords and create quality content around those keywords.

Ø  Optimize each web page title tag, keyword tag, description tag and URL address.

Ø  Utilize good website navigation and an organized webpage hierarchy.

Submit The Optimized Website to the Search Engines

Ø  Submit an XML Sitemap to Google, Bing, Yahoo and Ask

Ø  Use Social Bookmarks and Networks to publicize your quality content so these pages get quickly spidered and indexed.  

Get a Ton of In Content Relevant Back Links to Your Quality Content Pages

Ø  The more websites with content relevant to you that point back to your website from their own content will increase your SEO juice and result in rankings.

Ø  In content links verses a “mention” or directory listing on a linking website is a much better back link. Obtain these in content back links by getting published on blogs and article sites. Write quality content around subjects that relate to your main keywords and submit to blogs and article sites with links back to that content. Be sure to link back to your quality content that is relevant to the anchor text you are using. In other words, don’t just link back to your home page, link back to your inner pages that contain relevant content to the link text you are using.

Ø  Submit unique content to other sites. Too much duplicate content on the web won’t help you.

Ø  The higher the competition for a keyword, the more links you need. It could take thousands of back links to get positioned on page one of the search results (depending on the quality of the back links).

Ø  Look for quality back link partners to increase the effectiveness of your back links. These are harder to find and obtain so a good mix of PR 1 – PR 6 websites is best. Use quality and quantity back link strategies.

Consistency is Key

Concentrate on SEO an hour a day for 6 months. Then see where you are. You can’t do this overnight but the results are worth the effort.

Quality Content + In Content Back Links = The Keys to SEO Success

You will be ranked well if you develop quality content for web visitors, get that content indexed and then get that content noticed by other sites. This way the search engines see your content as relevant and important, and thus, rank you well.

Does this sound like a lot of work? Well, it is. This is why companies opt to use Search Engine Optimization Services of SEO experts. Be careful to find one that you can afford (many are highly expensive), and use an seo firm that clearly shows exactly what they will do and how they are accountable to results. Also ask for case studies of how they got clients ranked for hard to rank keywords, as well as, look to see how they are ranked for their own website. Be certain that they use White Hat SEO Strategies so you won’t be penalized by the search engines for seo trickery.  

Today’s Video is on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Fundamentals

More WebProNews Videos

Posted in Business Internet Strategies. Comment

SEO Can Be More Effective and Profitable Than Pay Per Click

July 28, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

I use both Cost per Click (CPC), or commonly refered to as Pay Per Click (PPC), and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to be found by clients on the internet. With out a doubt, SEO is the preferred way for a multitude of reasons I will discuss in this post. I actually use Cost Per Click to help my SEO efforts and use CPC in keyword areas I am not naturally ranking well yet.

Reasons Why SEO is Superior to CPC

ü  You don’t have to pay CPC fees every time someone clicks on your link, whether they are a hot buyer or someone just surfing for info.

ü  Top five positioning in the General Search Results shows credibility and relevancy, which turns into high click thru rates and conversion rates. CPC ads don’t necessarily have either.

ü  SEO can be as targeted as CPC so you can zoom in on the right type of customer.

ü  The general search results normally grab the initial attention of an internet searcher and then CPC. Don’t you want to have first dibs?

ü  A general search result displays a page title and detailed description of the page, which is much more comprehensive than a CPC ad’s title and description. This gives you a much better chance of being clicked on.

SEO is Hard Work

While there are a lot of reasons why SEO is superior to CPC, it takes a lot of work. You need to have solid, relevant content and lots of back links from other sites validating your website to get in the top 5 general search results. With out top 5 placement in the general search results, you won’t receive quality traffic. SEO takes time and consistency, while CPC can be implemented in a day and be on page one of the search engines.

SEO can Help Your CPC Ads

Good SEO can also help you rank better in the CPC sponsored ad area for a lower cost per click. Optimized web pages and relevancy work in favor of your CPC ads.

Use CPC to Help Your SEO

Determining where to spend your energies in SEO is very important. Identifying what keywords will be most profitable for you is absolutely key in SEO, so you know what keyword areas to optimize for the type of business and customer you need to be successful. CPC campaigns can quickly determine what keywords and pricing levels work the best. Then take that research and optimize your website for it.

Use CPC with SEO

Since SEO takes time to work, especially if you are going for top 5 placement, using CPC where you aren’t ranking well is effective until you are well positioned and/or are receiving enough organic business from a particular keyword. Also sometimes you will rank higher on one search engine verses the other so CPC can help you on the search engines where you need better exposure.

For more help on SEO Strategies, please see my Search Engine Optimization Article.

Video Resource: PPC vs SEO

Posted in Business Internet Strategies. Comment

Create a Link Wheel For Great SEO Results

July 1, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

I was speaking to a client this morning about his website and our SEO Services. I noticed he had his Squidoo Lens link on his website.  Undoubtedly his web developer had put this link on the site for the social networking benefit. However, as I explained, he will get a lot more benefit from the Squidoo Lens, both from a Social Networking and SEO basis, if it is treated as a separate website and links to his website and not from his website. Moreover, the SEO impact and results will be even better if he creates a Link Wheel, which is a great Top (White) Hat SEO Strategy. And he will still get all the social networking benefits of the Squidoo Lens as well. In fact, the social networking impact will be even better.

Here’s a simple way to create a solid SEO strategy which is looked on very favorably by the search engines and it costs you nothing, just some time. It will have some great SEO benefits, and result in new customers, and better social network positioning and results.

Step One: Create a Squidoo Lens, Hub Page, Weebly Page and Wetpaint Page. All of these social network web platforms are seen as authority websites by the search engines and carry a lot of SEO and ranking weight. Each of these four social websites should concentrate on a unique content area which is important in your keyword ranking strategy. For instance, for my business I could develop a website for each of the following content areas: Business Plan,   Marketing Plan,   Strategic Plan and Executive Summary. Each of these are services I offer and want to rank well for. So on one social website I could write an article on “How To Write A Business Plan” and the next website write an article on “How to Write a Marketing Plan”, and so on.

Step Two: Each Social Website should contain contextual links back to your main website for pages and content you want to rank well for, as well as, link to the other respective social websites for more information on a related keyword and content. So, each of these social websites will link to your main site and to each other, thus, creating a Link Wheel.

Step Three: Find the RSS Feed for each of the social websites. You will need to enable the blog feature to get the RSS Feed for some of the social websites.

Step Four: Publish the ancillary websites. Submit the RSS feed of each site to the major RSS directories. Promote the sites on the major Bookmark sites.

As I mentioned previously, each of these social websites are seen as authority sites to the search engines so they give your website a lot of great link juice and SEO credibility. If the content is useful on the sites, then people will notice, comment on them, rate them and spread the word through the social networks. The SEO value will increase, as well as, the different avenues highly targeted customers can find your business. It also has great social network viral marketing potential. A win-win all around…

Here’s a Link Wheel Strategy Picture To Give You an Idea How it all Works (Click on the Picture to Enlarge It)…The Inner Social Websites contain the main content and the outer Social Bookmark Sites promote the inner social websites.

Resource: Here is a Video on How to Set Up a Link Wheel

Posted in Business Internet Strategies. Comment

Combine Direct Mail With Social Web Marketing

June 30, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

Direct Mail is now often seen as yesterday’s marketing as compared to email marketing and other marketing technology replacements. Also direct mail is seen as an expensive proposition since you need to mail out a lot of pieces to get a decent response. However, there are web marketing tools and platforms to combine with direct mail which make it much more cost effective on a per customer acquisition standpoint, as well as, increase the response rate.

Think about putting a web sales landing page URL on the direct mail piece which offers a Free product or service, or provides a great discount. Give each mail piece its individual code that the responder has to enter on the web page. This gives you an excellent way to track results and stay in contact with individual respondents.

Now here is how to take it up a notch. Put a Social Networking element in the web sales page by offering an incentive for the respondent to spread the good news through their Twitter, Facebook, My Space and other social networks. Maybe a double discount or two items for free will be a big enough incentive. Make sure to make it easy for the respondent to spread the viral social offer by putting automatic links to all the social networks.

Be sure to offer the social network recipients similar offers of free stuff or discounts so they continue to spread the great marketing offer to their friends and associates. Be sure to keep the code in place so you can track how deep one respondent can send your marketing message virally on the social networks. Also always ask for a name and email so all the respondents and their friends can ne re-marketed to in the future and sent a newsletter, etc.

What is the potential here? It is exponential. Say you send 1,000 direct mail pieces. You can leverage that to upwards of 3 times the people through social networking. That is 3,000 people for 1,000 mailers! You will also see your response rate go from the typical direct mail range of .5% – 2%, to pushing 20% – 30%. Wow! And your marketing cost is still pretty much the same provided you can handle the web marketing side in-house. That doesn’t count all the email addresses you have mined for future marketing, which in this scenario could amount to 500 – 600 email addresses!

Here’s an idea…If you market to consumers. Target prospect rich neighborhoods by putting the same offer as a Stick Um on a pizza delivery box. This way you get around the clutter of the mail and all the junk mail competition and go straight on the refrigerator of your target market. Throw in the social web viral marketing platform, and you have a killer, cost effective marketing campaign.

Think about all the possibilities!

Resource: Here are some Marketing Articles I have written which may be helpful for you…

Cost Effective Marketing Strategies (has a section on Direct Mail)

Profitable Online Marketing Methods and Strategies

Resource: Here is a Video on Understanding Social Media…

Posted in Business Internet Strategies, Business Marketing Strategies. Comment

Effective Web Marketing Tips to Bring in Profits

May 14, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

Are you looking for more ways to cash in on the internet with out breaking the bank? Well, for the last 10 years I have learned from experience what works and doesn’t on the web, including what is working right now. Here are some valuable tips to help you pave the road toward web profits for your business.  

Outsource:  Build a cost effective Virtual Team. Consider using professionals offshore can really save you hundreds and thousands of dollars. Offshore web pros often have quick turn around times as well. Be careful to do your due diligence to find the good ones.

Place a Classified Ad to drive traffic to your site.  Offer a Free Guide!

Make Presentations at your Chamber of Commerce on Web Marketing Strategies.

Affiliate Programs are Powerful! 

Offer Discounts, Add-Ons, Packages and Opt Ins on your website.

Subscribe, Advertise and Write Articles for your Industry’s Online Newsletters and E-Magazines.

Offer Free Classes:  Checkout TeleClass

Use Technorati to find Blog Subjects

Have a FAQ section on your site

Submit your Online Articles to the top article directories

Opt In to your competitors Websites to see their offering and strategies

Outsource using Elance, Script Lance, Content Divas and Rent a Coder

Ideas for a Webinar:  Go to Ideas-To-Income

Create an Online Marketing Calendar to cue you to initiate certain campaigns, review stats, have certain elements on your website completed, etc.  Remember:  Automate your Business with Technology so you can set it up once and then let it go.  Automate!

Consider the use of a Virtual Assistant to free up your time to market more to your customers.

Enroll your company in E-zine Directories:  try EZine Seek and Topica

When Researching on the Internet, try Dog Pile

Consider streamlining and organizing your Business Processes in relation to your Online Marketing Strategies using Smart Draw

Loads of Free Downloads at Downloads

Cross Link or One Way Link with highly ranked, respected websites which relate in content to your site. 

Develop Relevant Content on your website.  This is KEY!

Try Biz Stats to research your Industry.

Gauge the validity of your Website’s Content at Diggs and Shoutwire.

Sponsor a local Community / Charitable Event and publicize it on your website.  Remember to send out a Press Release and an RSS Feed!  Blog it!

Use an Online Backup Service, like Carbonite to back up your Marketing Campaigns, as well as your entire computer, securely.

Online Surveys can be a very effective way to determine the needs and wants of your market.  Be sure to keep them short and have a Privacy Statement.

To Research a Business or Person go to Any Who.

For affordable Biz Reports visit DNB.

Free Alternative to the MS Office Suite:  Open Office.  Note:  Does not have an Email Program, you can use Endora for free.

For Customer Polls, try Ask Data Base and Survey Monkey.

Offer Discounts and Free Upgrades to get Online Referrals.

Be sure to Post Specials on your website conspicuously at the top of pages.  May want to consider a Soft Impact Pop Up Box.

Offer an Automatic Payment Option to your Customers.

Have pages on your website explaining in full detail your Privacy Policy, Return Policy, Guarantees & Warranties and, if applicable, Confidentiality Statement

Market in your Market’s / Customer’s Trade Organization.

Use Skype to Communicate with Customers for FREE on your computer.

Upload your Books in an Audio Format to Audible.

If you offer Services, consider marketing on Elance, Guru, and Kasamba.

Firefox offers excellent Extension Tools.

Check out Alexa to see how your Website Ranks.

Personalize and add Credibility by putting your picture on the About Us web page.  Consider doing the same for your Networking Sites.

For help driving traffic to your website, go to Online Traffic Now.

Submit your Articles to Submit Your Article, Ezine, Library, Go Articles or Articles Alley.

Add Google-Page Rank to your Browser’s Tool Bar.

For ideas on incorporating Video and Audio in your websites, visit Internet Video Guy and Audacious Audio.

Research your Competitors’ Keywords, descriptions and meta tags in their page headers.

Partnership Marketing: The Web is a fantastic way to partner with other web pros as Joint Ventures, or Strategic Alliances to cross promote products and services, create more buzz and hype, and provide customers with info packed E-newsletters, E-Zines, Seminars, Courses, Classes and the like.  Integrity and Credibility are Key when approaching potential partnership relationships.  Anyone can be an Affiliate, but be particularly careful who you partner and ally with.  Finding commonality in business philosophy and ethics is a great place to start.  With that determined, then you can move into whether a partnership or alliance makes sense for the companies involved. 

Posted in Business Internet Strategies. Comment

Increasing Your Web Profits through Web Video, Automation and Conferences

May 13, 2010 by Frank Goley, Business Consultant

The web is an awesome platform to increase your company’s profitability. There are some great technologies to help you easily and effectively put your website on the map and generate income for your business.

Add Audio and Video to Your Online Marketing

Ø  What Audio Can Add to Your Web Offering:  Here are some ideas on using Audio to maximize your Marketing Efforts Online:

ü  Customer Testimonials:  very powerful!

ü  Website Navigation Tips

ü  “A Message From the President”:  personalize your website

ü  Risk Free Programs & Privacy Policy

ü  Special Messages:  Specials, Discounts, After Hours Support

ü  Publicize upcoming Events, Courses, Articles, News, Sales, etc.

ü  Downloadable Audio Seminars for MP3 Players and IPods

ü  Personalize your emails

ü  Audio Resources:

·         Recording Equipment:  Online Marketing Superstore

·         Web Audio Service:  Live Audio Email & Web Links:  Audio Acrobat

·         Add Audio or Video to your Blog or Website:  Word Press and Drupal

·         Creating, Editing, Recording & Sharing Audio:

o    Instant Flash Audio

o    Copy Talk

o    Sonic Memory

o    Sony Creative Software

o    Plantronics

o    Giga Voxo    Real

o    Web Audio Video Tools

o    Telephone Recording

o    Sound Forge

o    Audio Strategies

o    Rhapsody

o    I Tunes

Ø  Video:  Demonstrate your products and services; engaged testimonials from partners and customers; jazz up Power Point Presentations; Interviews; Mini-Courses; Mini-Seminars; etc.

ü  Make it a part of your Viral Marketing Program

ü  Keep them short & to the point

ü  Be passionate

ü  Always include your Blog & Website URL

ü  Address your customers’ Problems

ü  Package Videos with other information packed products, articles, guides, newsletters, etc.

ü  Capture attention in the first 20 seconds (like a Sales Page Headline)

ü  Use Video to demonstrate so customers can Visualize

ü  Post your Videos in a Video Section of your Website whose link is conspicuous in your Website’s Main Menu

ü  Upload your Videos to:

·         You Tube

·         My Space

·         Google Video

·         Squidoo

·         Jumplut

·         Sticka

·         Joost

·         Daily Motion

·         REvver

ü  Video Resources

·         Software and Equipment:

o    Instant Video Generator

o    Online Marketing Superstore

o    Microsoft’s Movie Maker

o    Apple’s IMovie (for Macs)

Web Automation

As you drive more and more targeted traffic to your Website, it is important to have Automation Programs and Services installed to manage the sales flow.

Ø  Merchant Accounts:  To process your customer payments, try these:

ü  Charge

ü  Merchant Warehouse

ü  Easy Web Merchant

ü  To add More Security to your Merchant Processing Program try VeriSign or Authorization.net.

Note:  A lot of online marketers use PayPal but there are some negatives:

§  Higher Transaction Fees

§  Less Flexibility

§  Long set up process for the customer

§  Can take up to 3 days for funds to transfer to your bank account. 

Ø   The One Stop Shopping Cart:  I suggest Easy Web Automation or similar product as it has a complete solution, which is absolutely essential for a good Shopping Cart system.  I like this Cart Program because:

ü  Good Security

ü  Allows you to up-sell

ü  Tracks your Promotions, Ads and Test Offers.

ü  Easy to include Special Offers & Discounts

ü  Easy set up and self-manages

ü  Very Flexible:  handles packages, downloadable products and services in one transaction.  Adds security to your downloadable products to minimize pirating.

ü  Great Post Sale Support, which is critical!

ü  Calculates Taxes & Shipping Costs

ü  Easy to use Administration Interface

ü  Affiliate Program Management:  this is vital and key for your Shopping Cart Program!

ü  Auto Responders Integrated System:  another essential for a shopping cart so you can sequentially follow up and respond to the “Browsers, Opt-ins and Buyers”.  An automated, sequential Email Delivery system, integrated into your shopping cart, is your most powerful web marketing tool.

Web Conferences and Seminars

Ø  These are ideal Web Marketing Platforms to:

ü  Increase Web Income:  Turn an E-Book into a Web Seminar or Combine Mini-Courses into a Web Certified Class.

ü  Allows you to get face to face with customers and partners on a remote, global basis.

ü  Offer Free Courses & Conferences

ü  Demonstrate the Power and Benefits of your Products & Services

ü  Solve Customer Problems

ü  Great for Team, Partner & Customer Collaboration:  For resources and information in this crucial area, see the ABC Biz Success Blog, Collaboration Technology – Productivity Software and Platforms

ü  Use Web Conferences To Build Your Marketing Opt In Email Database

ü  Great Platform to enhance Interactivity with Customers and Affiliate Partners, such as, Questions and Answer Sessions, Troubleshooting, Product / Service Support, etc.

ü  Very Efficient and Cost Effective Platform

ü  Always Record Your Classes, Seminars, Meetings (if allowed), Interviews, etc to have available in your Website Video Section.  Get In the habit!

Ø  Web Conferencing Resources and Tools:

ü  Easy Live Conference

ü  Camtasia

ü  Moodle

ü  Free Conference Call

ü  TeleConference Line

ü  Sketch Cast

ü  Dim Dim

Posted in Business Internet Strategies. Comment