A blog to discuss web marketing…
Posts tagged online marketing
Three Tips for Increasing the Visibility of Your Linked:In Profile
Dec 1st
Linked:In can be used to find jobs, new leads, clients or customers, gain valuable information related to your industry, and more, but of course, in order to achieve any of these goals, ample time must be spent associated with others on the site (it is a SOCIAL media site, after all). Additionally, Linked:In can be very lucrative for those who know how to properly optimize their profile for increased visibility.
Display your website along with keywords on your Linked:In profile
Linked:In is all about networking, and getting your information in front of others who might find it interesting and/or useful. To help you accomplish this, Linked:In allows you to showcase a link to your website, along with a tagline that can be customized to include keywords or key phrases, thus increasing the chances of your profile ranking high in organic search results. Additionally, you can also showcase your blog, and any additional websites you deem valuable.
Syndicate your blog feed on your Linked:In profile
If you desire, you can also syndicate your blog feed directly on your Linked:In profile page by utilizing the blog feed application made available through Linked:In (access this through the “Edit Profile” page.)
Display your Twitter account and Twitter updates on your Linked:In profile
Linked:In, like many other social networking sites, now also works in conjunction with Twitter. Display your Twitter account on your profile, as well as any Twitter updates if that is your preference. This can also be especially useful if you make sure to insert keywords into your tweets!
Five Simple Ways to Increase Website Traffic
Nov 5th
1. Thoroughly examine the features of your website. Ask yourself if some things are totally necessary, and if there is anything that might be missing. More importantly, is your website user-friendly? Imagine yourself a user visiting the website for the first time. Is navigation easy? Can you find what you are looking for quickly? It’s understandable that you might be proud of your website and object to making any changes, but at the same time, ego should never stand in the way of progress.
2. Keep information fresh, concise, and interesting. Visitors to your site don’t want to wade through several paragraphs of information to find the one key element they might be searching for. Cut out the fluff and give them exactly what they want.
Additionally, maintain an area of your site to provide interesting, industry-related news, expanded product information, or articles and press releases. This type of rich, informative content is what keeps users coming back, and also serves to increase brand awareness. It also reinforces your image as an authority in your relative industry.
3. Analyze the best and the worst of your site, and make any necessary changes. Utilize your in-house website technician or an outside source if necessary to analyze your site for things like broken links, pages that display incorrectly, pages that load slowly because they might contain too many pictures, movies, music, etc., and other factors that may annoy and frustrate visitors.
Additionally, analyze what areas of your site appear to be the most popular: which pages are users visiting the most, which pages do they spend most of their time on, and perhaps most important, how are they discovering and arriving to your site. Knowing these things can give you greater insight into what paths to take to ensure your website traffic remains consistent, and what steps you might take to keep it growing.
4. Build a community. Whether you utilize the advantages of social networking, or pass out business cards at a tradeshow, or even if you start a conversation with someone in passing on the street, there is potential to build your community. Consider everyone you meet, speak to, email or connect with a potential visitor to your site. Remain active in your community. Engage, interact, ask and answer questions, send out newsletters, start a blog, leave comments on other blogs (with a signature linking back to your site), etc. There are endless possibilities enabling you to build and expand your community.
5. Repeat steps 1-4. Regardless at how successful your efforts might be to increase traffic and improve your website, there is likely still always room for improvement. Set dedicated intervals to refocus your efforts on the above steps. The Internet is constantly changing, and competition is always active, possibly engaged in the same thorough examination, analysis, and community building as you. You must remain ever vigilant to ensure that your website traffic does not decline as you lose visitors to the competition or as a result of other factors, such as outdated information or lack of contact with the community.
Russell And Miller, National Clothier Supply, Shopsalesigns, and More Go Live on ‘Superengine’ Website
Nov 2nd
New Century Direct (NCD*), a manufacturer and direct marketer of archival quality storage products and printed merchandising products, through its strategic partnership with Active Web Group, converts five websites to New Century Direct’s new ‘superengine’ web technology.
In addition to creating the ‘superengine’, the Active Web Group helps supports NCD’s team in building three main marketing platforms of improved Search Engine Optimization (SEO), managing Pay-Per-Click (PPC) programs, and creating targeted email blasts with unique and compelling promotions.
Findley continues, “Each one of the ‘superengines’ marketing efforts have a positive ROI. We will continue to drop catalogs in a manner that supports the dual approach of a modified catalog circulation plan with aggressive web marketing techniques.”
Beat This Economy And Your Competition Tip #5
Oct 30th
Email Marketing
Email marketing is cost-efficient, effective, quick, and easy. Create email lists based on specific target markets and launch a campaign based on those particular markets. Have that newsletter yet? Email it. Wrote a press release about a new product, or an important industry event? Email it. People spend a good portion of their day reading email, and if your emails are creative, informative, and engaging, you can reach thousands in an instant. For more information about the benefits of email marketing, visit Active Web Group.
Depending upon the nature of your business, there may be other things you can do to increase revenue and beat the competition, but these five fundamental concepts should be applicable to any company.
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Beat This Economy And Your Competition Tip #4
Oct 29th
Offer Information
You might offer a great product or service, but couple that with valuable information, and you’ve got a winning combination that keeps customers coming back consistently. Offer a newsletter on at least a monthly basis, create press releases, and start a blog and keep it regularly updated with industry-related news and information. Many businesses tend to underestimate the high value of a regularly updated blog or periodic newsletter. These simple company expansions are a great way to reign in new customers and keep the existing ones.
Beat This Economy And Your Competition Tip #3
Oct 28th
Embrace New Technology
E-commerce isn’t actually new, but many companies still haven’t even taken that crucial step toward establishing a strong online presence, much less integrating e-commerce into their corporate website. Additionally, terms such as Web 2.0, SEO and Social Media are still foreign concepts to many that simply don’t take the time to understand them. But they are all vitally essential to continued success in today’s competitive marketplace. For more information on these and other online marketing solutions, visit Active Web Group, Long Island’s leading online marketing agency.
Beat This Economy And Your Competition Tip #2
Oct 27th
Offer A Unique, Valuable Product or Service
These days, it is difficult to offer a product or service that is 100% unique, but if you can attribute at least one particular aspect to a product or service you offer that the competition doesn’t, then you have a critical edge. Make sure your customers know how your product or service can benefit them, and what makes it better than what is being offered by the competition.
Beat This Economy And Your Competition Tip #1
Oct 26th
Never Forget About The Customer
It’s no secret that customers will always prove to be a company’s biggest asset. Yet many businesses have either forgotten this key principle or willingly choose to ignore it. This is the first step on the road to failure. Treat your customers with respect, honor their requests when feasible and practical, and go the extra mile to let them know how valuable they are. Most customers remain loyal to the company that provides quality customer service, not discount pricing.
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Check back each day this week for a new tip.
Mobile Marketing WAP Sites – The Next Step in Online Marketing
Oct 21st
The rising popularity of wireless mobile devices such as the iPhone and similar products that feature full web-browsing capabilities has enabled companies to expand into mobile marketing. New and creative options for reaching new consumers and clients through mobile marketing are being integrated into marketing budgets. But before a mobile marketing campaign can be initiated, companies should take steps to ensure that their website will be displayed properly on mobile devices.
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) sites are also commonly referred to as mobile sites. Mobile sites are mini versions of a website that has been reconfigured, so that the website layout is compatible with the smaller screens of wireless mobile devices.
Approximately 25% of wireless mobile device owners now use their cell phones to browse the internet, and that percentage is certain to rise steadily. As branding is such an important factor in marketing, it only makes sense to ensure that your own company brand is well perceived on mobile devices.
With mobile sites able to viewed from any location in the world using a WAP enabled cell phone or mobile device (the majority of cell phones with internet browsing capabilities), the potential for increased visibility and web presence is obvious. WAP sites can also be designed as an extension of your corporate website in order to maximize exposure in new markets, and can include the ability to interact with your audience, share files, and quickly post important news updates.
Mobile Marketing – A New Industry for a New Economy
Oct 7th
Mobile marketing has yet to be fully embraced by many corporations, but it’s positive impact on promotion, branding, and quick access to information cannot be denied. Wireless mobile devices with Internet access capabilities are finding their way into the hands of thousands of new wireless subscribers every day, creating a new fertile market. Corporations are moving progressively forward and are ready to embrace the advantages of new and ever-changing technologies.
According to the Mobile Marketing Association, the majority of major brands are already utilizing mobile marketing or planning for it in future marketing budgets. Mobile marketing allows companies to expand upon positive marketing efforts generated by email and websites and reach consumers in a more direct manner. Closer interaction with consumers means increased brand recognition and a stronger ROI.
As mobile device capabilities increase with nearly every new offering from major cell phone manufacturers, the ability to reach consumers also increases. Of course, as consumers have always shown an aversion to forced advertising interrupting their browsing activities (i.e. popups), there is bound to be a thin line between effective, acceptable mobile marketing and overdone, irritating marketing. Companies would be advised to learn how to recognize the difference.
