Almost everyone LOVES the Internet; and if they don’t, then they at least tolerate it. In a blog post where I wrote about the effect of Internet marketing as it relates to the Yellow Pages, one reader brought up an excellent point.  He pointed out that many small businesses do not have websites and therefore, they are still relying on things like the Yellow Pages for advertising purposes.  However, as time goes on, they will more than likely have no choice but to advertise on the Internet due to all of their competition using the Internet and growing because of it. 

Is the Internet really forcing people to change how they do business?  I think most would agree that that it is.  Perhaps we are a nation of people who are simply addicted to the Internet.  Think about how much time you actually spend sitting at your computer checking your six email accounts or looking something up throughout the course of a day.  I’m sure the results will surprise you.  What was life like before the Internet?  And how on earth did we survive?!  Like so many other people, I don’t even give it a second thought half the time.  Struggling to figure out how we made it without computers at all is like trying to remember a time when cell phones weren’t as popular.  Whenever I see a payphone, or even worse- someone actually using it- I have to stop and stare!

Is something or has something been lost due to the increased popularity of the Internet and it’s impact on the world today?  Playing devil’s advocate, I think this issue begs the question, “Is Internet marketing truly a good thing?  Is it changing how we do business for the better?”

Tags: Internet Marketing by Janelle - No Comments »

When you want someone to do something for you, how do you get them to do it?  You persuade them.  Persuasion, according to Wikipedia, is a form of social influence. It guides people towards the adoption of an idea or action by rational and symbolic means.  It is a problem-solving strategy that relies more on “appeal” versus strength.  Persuasion is quite different from the commonly confused “manipulation,” which is an extreme form of persuasion in which only one person benefits at the cost of another. 

How Persuasion is Achieved

There are several different methods of trying to persuade someone.  Usually these approaches are made by appealing to the following:

1. Appeal to Reason (ex: logic, rhetoric, scientific)
2. Appeal to Emotion (ex: advertising, faith, pity)
3. Aids to Persuasion (ex: body language, sales techniques, personality tests)
4. Coercive Techniques (ex: brainwashing, coercive techniques, mind control, torture)
5. Seduction
6. Other (deception, hypnosis, subliminal advertising)

Using Persuasive Technology in Internet Marketing

Persuasion isn’t about selling.  Persuasion isn’t about getting someone to do something for you.  At the heart of it all, persuasion is about communication.  It’s about reaching a shared understanding.  In the wonderful world of web marketing, persuasive technology combines traditional views of persuasion with modern technology in order to persuade a user to do something.  That “something” can range from anything such as buying a product to playing a game.  In order for persuasive technology to work, a web site has to be geared towards persuading a possible consumer.  This will only work if you have persuasive design, structure and copywriting.  If all of these things work together, then the effectiveness of the website will have a bigger impact on consumers.

Again, the main source of success stems from a general, shared understanding of what the consumer’s needs are.  By understanding what those needs are in conjunction with the business goals of that particular company, you can persuade an Internet user to go where you want them to go without being misleading- which will make both parties happy.

Tags: Using Technology, Internet Marketing by Janelle - 4 Comments »

Advertising isn’t as easy as you think, and it definitely isn’t as easy when it comes to electronic marketing.  All of the same rules involved in other forms of non-electric advertising still apply to internet marketing and then some.  For this reason, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has prepared guidelines in order to promote a healthy exchange of information as well as to protect businesses and consumers alike. 

What CAN’T I Do?

The Federal Trade Commission Act was created out of the FTC to act in the interest of all consumers in order to prevent unfair practices.  Things that advertising should not do are: mislead consumers and/or affect a consumer’s decision whether to purchase the service/product.  At the outset, this might not seem like a big deal, but you’d be surprised at how many people get in trouble for false advertising.  It’s one thing to misjudge your target audience; it’s quite another to purposely try to mislead them.

Protect Yourself

Good internet marketing begins with smart internet marketing.  The FTC holds website designers and/or advertising agencies responsible for reviewing any marketing information to make sure it is truthful.  To protect themselves, the FTC suggests that catalog marketers ask for material from manufacturers to back up claims.  If the manufacturer is hesitant in providing you with the materials, a red flag should fly up.

Some other points that the FTC wants Internet marketing agencies to consider include the following:

• If you’re advertising a service, disclaimers and disclosures must be noticeable where the consumer will be able to read or at least hear the information.
• Demonstrations of how a product is used must accurately show how the product will perform under normal use (ex: paper towels, glass cleaner, etc.)
• If you promise to give a consumer their money back, do it.
• Be careful of advertising to children.  Know all of the information and rules governing it.

By following this advice, you’ll be one step ahead of the game.

Tags: Marketing, Internet Marketing by Janelle - 1 Comment »

What message or messages are we trying to convey to possible consumers, and how can we successfully achieve that?  This is a question that many business owners ponder.  When dealing with Internet marketing, writing is a key element for success.  According to Wikipedia, marketing is defined as “a societal process which discerns consumers’ wants, focusing on a product or service to fulfill those wants, attempting to mold the consumers toward the products or services offered.” 

So, how does writing play into all of this marketing stuff?  It doesn’t take a genius to see which websites are well-written and which ones aren’t; simply look at the number of people visiting and re-visiting that site.  The Internet is often referred to as the “world wide web” for a reason; it’s supposed to connect people to each other.   With regards to internet marketing, writers must be able to convey a message to readers.  They must be able to tell potential consumers what the web site is about and how it can help that particular consumer.   The Internet is a valuable tool; it’s also the wave of the future.  Increasingly so, business owners are no longer necessarily relying on newspapers to advertise; instead, they are turning to the computer for assistance.  And it’s not just business owners who are turning to the Internet for help when it comes to marketing; it’s regular people like you and me; it’s organizations and volunteer groups. 

The Internet provides an easy, quick, cost-effective medium where everyone has a fair chance at getting their message out there.  What separates the cream of the crop is effectively being able to convey that message through writing.  If they’re wise, business owners are going out of their way to hire the best writers-whether it’s to help them get their message across about a particular issue or whether it’s to sell a product. The importance of writing to the Internet marketing industry is invaluable. As writers,  we need to gain the reader’s trust and somehow convince them to keep reading.  Words are a powerful thing as it relates to the Internet.  Let’s face it; writers are the backbone of the Internet marketing industry.

Tags: Internet Marketing by Janelle - 3 Comments »

When the Yellow Pages (Phone Book) charges a business hundreds if not thousands per month to run a 12 month ad that the business is locked in to, do they guarantee in writing a certain ROI? I don’t think so.

What about Direct Mail through something like Money Mailer that usually costs about $500 for 10,000 addresses. Again, I don’t think so.

What about a newspaper ad that may cost $500, $1,000, $2,000 or more for 1 ad depending on the city and the size of the ad. Again, I say… I don’t think so.

So what’s up with people concerning Internet Marketing? Is there a guarantee that the phone will ring from it? No, it’s marketing. It’s advertising. There are lots and lots of variables…consistency…budget…the client…etc.

Marketing and advertising should give a higher ROI than the investment, but that is not always the case. In our Internet Marketing Business, the clients who get the biggest ROI are the ones that let us do what we were hired to do and trust our expertise in the field. These clients are usually very happy. The clients who are not happy are the controlling ones that often expect next day results. O.K., realistically not next day just the day after.

Two simple case studies…Both in the same field but one targets men and the other targets women. That’s why we worked with both at the same time.

Client 1: Knows exactly what the business is about
Client 2: Doesn’t have a clear business focus

Client 1: Approves our work fast
Client 2: Continuously revises copy

Client 1: Has a phone number that rings to a live person during business hours
Client 2: Phone number is a cell phone that doesn’t get reception at their office

I could go on and on. Needless to say,client # 2 decided that since their phone wasn’t ringing from the internet that they’d no longer use our services. We think it’s best if they find another marketing company.

Share your thoughts below…

Tags: SEO, Marketing, Internet Marketing by David - 4 Comments »

Did you know that you can advertise on Stumble Upon for .05 per click?

It’s easy to get started if you already have a Stumble Upon Account. You can simply click on Create Campaign, Choose a Category, Put in your URL and Ad Funds…You’re Done!

What about Bidvertiser? Have you ever used it? Like Stumble Upon Ads, it’s easy. It only takes a few simple steps. You should try it out if you are looking for an alternative form of internet advertising.

Traffic Help:  I’m open to comments on how to drive traffic to The Open Door over the next 2 weeks. Any suggestions?

Tags: Pay Per Click Advertising, Internet Marketing by David - 7 Comments »

It amazes me how many people in the tech world like to speak Geek to potential clients. I’m guessing that they do it to impress and to appear knowledgeable, but it usually turns a potential client into someone who feels like an idiot. I wouldn’t want to do business with someone who makes me feel like an idiot… would you?

Plain English gets us way more business than Geek speak. Yeah, sure, there are times when we speak Geek speak to someone who has some knowledge about the topic. But in many cases, they have read some Geek speak article somewhere and have just enough knowledge to be dangerous. On the other hand, some potential clients have too much knowledge for their own good. We like leaving these for the Geek speaker SEO’s to deal with not us.

In closing, here’s two simple examples.

Geek Speak: Your site is coded in Dream Weaver using tables and we need to transition it to CSS and XHTML while limiting the use of Javascript. We suggest doing a new PSD Mock for you to review in order for us to put a new skin on your website. We’d also like to change your pages from .htm to .php and potentialy need to set up a MySql database to dynamically generate data. Oh, and by the way your URL query strings are all screwed up and we need to rename them to something more SEO friendly with 301 or 302 redirects. With the redirects, we need to speak with our Geek speak programmers on using a 301 or 302. In addition to all this, we need to update your meta tags, provide more internal and external linking using anchor text while balancing the optimization of the on page content. It’s really important that your on page SEO and off page SEO be completed properly. We’ll be able to give you a better idea of all this after doing a site command in Google, running a backlink analysis on your site and your competitors sites.  We will also check the anchor text of the backlinks. Finally, Mr. Totally Lost by Now Client, we’ll do an XML sitemap for the major search engines.

Translation: Us: “Here’s what we will do in KINDERGARTEN ENGLISH.” Client: “Oh, I get it. When can you start?”

Tags: Internet Marketing by David - 8 Comments »

Several years ago I built my first website and realized very quickly that without traffic… having a website was pointless. That sparked my quest for how to get visitors to a website.

One of the very first resources that I came across was SEO Book by Aaron Wall which at the time sold for $39 and had about 125 pages. Today, it sells for $79 and has over 325 pages. Aaron has utilized his fantastic e-Book to establish himself as one of the top SEO Experts in the field of Search Engine Optimization.

The eBook by Aaron was a key element in launching my own SEO career. Thanks to a $39 investment along with many hours of trial and error, I have since made thousands upon thousands of dollars in the field of Search Engine Optimization.

Aaron’s book alone will not be the only SEO Tool that you will need, but it will help you get well on your way to understanding the wonderful world of Search Engine Optimization.

Some Helpful Links:
Aaron Wall’s SEO Blog.
Aaron Wall’s SEO Tools.
Aaron Wall’s SEOBook Videos

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Tags: Internet Marketing by David - 5 Comments »

And by $$ I mean more ability for profit and possibly cost as well. Announced August 8th Google will be making “an improvement to the top ad placement formula.” This change is supposed to bring “increasing control for advertisers.” However this means that they will swing focus on “actual” CPC to maximum CPC. In the past your CPC/actual CPC has been a large factor of what those BELOW you have been bidding. This new formula means that “your ad’s eligibility to be promoted is no longer dependent on the bids of advertisers below you” but more so on how high your Max CPC is. Don’t worry Quality Score is still a big key to your CPC and Position. Although we may see more CPC’s near our maximum bids instead of where they are now. For several of my clients our CPC is always about 1/2 of our Max bid, and we place in the top 3 every time. From my understanding this could mean that what you put down as your max will be what you pay, or closer to. We will have to wait and see how this really affects things. For some of my clients it could mean a lot of cash in increased CPC, the need to use position preference, and closer monitoring day in and day out. They say “We anticipate that most of your ads will continue to perform as they have in the past.” But only time will tell on this change. It could be really cool at the same time. It may mean that some of my clients competitors with a little bit better quality score that have a lower max CPC we can now beat out in position. And that could mean a lot more cash in profits in the end. Please comment on any changes that you notice in your own campaigns. More feedback from other AdWords advertisers on the results of this change could help us all.

Quotes from: Inside AdWords The official source for information about AdWords

Tags: Announcements, Pay Per Click Advertising, Internet Marketing by Noah - No Comments »

Google Radio ads are in full effect. A very simple and easy to use interface allows you to target your audience by Location, Age, music genre, and other demographics. There is a pretty smooth process. And if your a small business owner the price is right! Sounds a lot like AdWord’s doesn’t it?

I am Currently running ads for LookToTheRight in Charlotte and Raleigh NC for around $3.00 per thousand impressions (estimated). Of course the more exposure you want and at peak times the more it is gonna cost you. Still far more affordable than going direct with a radio station. Those guys can be mega expensive and require long terms to commit to.
With Google Audio ads you can edit your budget, bid, and pause and resume advertising very easily! I know I love it already. I will be putting some of my best clients on it! I suggest you also give it a shot. At least do your self a favor and go through the process to get some estimates for your target audience. Google will also generate a local or 800 number for FREE to track the calls. How great is that! I love anything Free!

The only things that take time are getting the audio ad done professionally if you dont already have one and the approval process. Each taking up to a day or two. Chris Davies over at www.provoiceusa.com Is very affordable, fast and great at communicating on the process of your ad. He can do script, voice over, music, the whole deal. He also has many payment options available also!

If an ad gets rejected for any reason they will give you feedback quickly on what you need to change to get it approved. I even got suggestions on what to change and how to say some things better to not be misleading or infringe on any trademarks.

All in all I give Google Audio Ad’s a thumbs up for helping business’ large and small get the word out on their products and services.

Tags: Announcements, Marketing, Internet Marketing by Noah - 3 Comments »