8 Tactics To Help Manage Your Marketing Campaigns & Boost ROI

As digital marketing becomes more complex, the more difficult it becomes for businesses to
manage an effective budget. Spreading resources across every avenue of the industry is a 
difficult task, and it can lead to key areas being neglected. 

Why is it important to get campaigns right? In 2014 marketing budgets went up by 10% - by 
2016 it’s expected to make up 35% of the average businesses’ budget. Maximizing your 
strategy for strong ROI is now all important, and understanding how to get a shrewd plan 
together should be at the center of any business plan. 

In this 8 point guide the vital tactics which can make a campaign work are explained. It’s an 
insight on how to spread a digital marketing budget across the right areas, ensuring the best chance of excellent ROI. 

1. Get A Plan In Order

Many businesses (particularly start-ups) have a habit of launching into digital marketing 
campaigns without a thorough plan. The idea of winging it and expecting good results can betempting, but the fact is it is essential you work out what your objectives are.

Promoting brand awareness and increasing conversion rates tend to be the key goals, but how do you intend to achieve this? Can it be managed on a long term scale? Who are you going to employ to make it happen? 

The questions can pile up, and there’s also the need to manage a budget between the likes of social media, PPC, and SEO. Knowing where your business needs to focus is the essence of a strong digital marketing plan, which means you need to understand your audience. 

2. Research Your Industry 

One of the forgotten factors is not all businesses can work with SEO and PPC. Not everyone is always looking for the keywords you may want to rank for, meaning there is no point in funding a SEO campaign. Conversely, a PPC strategy won’t work if you have low margins –all this tends to do is lose you money.

The solution to this is to understand your audience and get to know what your competitors are doing. Examine the market and your position in it – how authoritative do you genuinely see yourself? If you’re entering an established and competitive market, for example, then PPC is a great way to learn which keywords to focus on. In turn, this can shape your SEO efforts. 

3. Get Your SEO Structured

Capturing key SERPs is what SEO is all about. SEO is more sustainable than PPC, the problem is the results take quite a while to show, and you run the risk of facing a Google penalty if you get it badly wrong (such as with Black Hat SEO – steer well clear of it).  

For start-up businesses Google uses a cautious tactic to wait and see how the new site 
develops. Many new businesses can fold and the site is essentially abandoned – if this isn’t 
your plan, get on with SEO before your launch: ensure your site is streamlined on a technical front, is mobile-friendly, and structure excellent on-site content. 

Off-site work is also vital – with online buzz around your business, the signals sent to Google will be positive and will assist your ranking. In the meantime, PPC can generate interest in your site whilst Google’s algorithms crawls your site and organic traffic builds up. 

4. PPC Will Always Back You Up

PPC is a safety net of sorts as it can be used to drive relevant traffic to your site. In moments of marketing uncertainty, turn to PPC – even a budget of $1,000 based around broad keywords can have significant results. 

This tactic can help you understand top-performing keywords and popular new ones (again, 
which comes in useful for SEO activities). However, do be aware if you’re a B2B company 
as competition is rife and prices can be extremely high. Respect your budget and see what 
you can achieve with it. 

5. Take A Look Into PPC For Mobile

With Google’s mobile algorithms now in place (benefiting sites with mobile-friendly sites), 
now is the time to capitalize on mobile marketing features. For mobile PPC, there are brilliant CTA options which come in particularly useful for lead generation. 

6. Use The Power Of Remarketing

Setting aside budget for remarketing is another essential tactic which, when deployed 
properly, can deliver great results. Your marketing efforts can’t always win over your 
audience, as many will visit your site, show some interest, but then leave.

Remarketing is an unobtrusive way to get back into their field of vision – setting up tracking 
codes can ensure they return to your site with subtle imagery and clever wording. 

7. Take To Content Marketing With A Flourish

Having good content is now more important than ever. Google’s algorithms will notice poor 
copy and send the site plummeting down SERPs - sculpting quality content through a White 
Hat SEO campaign can build a strong link catalog, boost your authority, and have a steady stream of CTA driven social media output going. 

8. Recognize Key Social Media Tools 

Most businesses are on Facebook and Twitter – this is a given. However, many brands don’t put the effort in to taking advantage of other formats, such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and even the likes of FourSquare. 

YouTube, as an arbitrary example, offers an advertising format where companies can tap into utterly vast audiences. It remains largely underused by brands, so try setting aside some budget to get in front of a site which has a hundreds of millions of views a day. With its localized options and specific targeting services, you can effortlessly focus in on your 
demographic.   

Use This Handy 8 Point Guide To Keep Everything On Track

Now we’ve highlighted the areas to focus on, it’s time to take action and make sure your 
budget is spread over the most crucial areas of digital marketing. To get things moving you 
can:

1. Identify if your business is better suited to SEO or PPC – if both, set aside your 
budget appropriately. 
2. Setup a PPC campaign to identify keywords which and relevant to you and, 
importantly, convert.
3. Take the data from this to develop your on-site SEO efforts.
4. Set aside budget for off-site SEO/
5. Begin a major PPC campaign to attract your target consumers.
6. Monitor your progress in Google’s SERPs – perhaps subscribe to Moz to have 
detailed results of your search rankings. You can adjust your PPC expenditure based 
on the results, and focus your efforts on SEO areas which need work.
7. Put in place a remarketing campaign which will boost your conversions. 
8. Don’t forget about your mobile opportunities – accommodate your budget towards 
appealing to this vast audience. 

The award winning Soap Media is a digital marketing specialist from the UK. It has been 
delivering quality results since 2005.

15 Internet Marketing Stats of 2013

Creating a unique and compelling content marketing campaign is becoming increasingly important for modern brands that hope to distinguish themselves. With social media, high-speed Internet and mobile devices reaching a larger audience all the time, we’re witnessing a paradigm shift in the way that products and services are marketed.

Below are 15 marketing statistics from the past year. Some might surprise you, while others might be familiar from previous years

1. The outsourcing of content marketing is becoming increasingly common: 62% of companies now take part in the practice, which represents a 7% increase from last year.

2. The amount of money spent on online content marketing accounts for more than one quarter of the average marketing budget.

3. 72% of shoppers now trust reviews posted online at least as much as they trust personal recommendations from friends and family.

4. It’s now estimated that about 44% of online shoppers use a search engine to begin the shopping process.

5. When it comes to the frequency of posting, marketers see diminishing returns: a brand that posts twice per day receives only 57% as many Likes as it would have if they posted only once per day.

6. It is estimated that by the year 2016, more than half of all the money spent in the retail sector will have been influenced by the web in one way or another.

7. Over the course of the average week, fewer than 0.5% of Facebook users will actively engage with their favorite brands. This handily confirms how important it is for brands to provide the right kinds of content to their audience.

8. 20% of Facebook users have reported purchasing a product or service after seeing an ad or comment about it on the site. Facebook’s targeted ads have gotten a lot of hate, but their success rate continues to climb.

9. The average company only responds to about 30% of feedback provided by fans using social media. This is more than a little bit dispiriting, considering that social media is meant to be a conversation rather than a one-way street.

10. 91% of adult Internet users report using social media websites on a regular basis. In other words, it’s become a nearly inextricable part of our culture.

11. Blogs provide the average brand’s website with 97% more indexed links and a stunning 434% more indexed pages. If you don’t have a blog yet, now is the time.

12. Smartphones now account for more and more online shopping: 64% of smartphone owners now use mobile devices to make purchases online.

13. In an average month, YouTube users watch a total of about three billion hours of video. This confirms how useful it can be for brands to turn their Channels into a destination.

14. Of all smartphone users, 73% report using apps at least once per day to access their favorite social media sites.

15. Of all the accounts on social media websites, approximately 40% of them are spam. 

Special thanks to Alicia Lawrence for today's guest post.  Alicia is a content coordinator for an SEO and web development company and blogs in her free time at MarCom Land. Her work has been published by the Association for Business Communication, Yahoo! Small Business, and Spin Sucks. 

Great Website Marketing Tips You Shouldn't Go Without!

Internet Promotion can be a great way to earn a substantial income. But unless you know how to be successful at web marketing, you may be missing out on an even bigger income. What you are going to read in the following article will help you have a successful career in the affiliate marketing field.

In any internet promotion plan it is important not to push sales on potential customers before they are ready to buy. Selling is not unlike seduction-the goal is to make the customer want to buy of his or her own free will. A sales website should focus on providing seductive information. The option to purchase should always be present but it should always be unobtrusive.

If you are trying to build interest in your online site through your blog, make sure to read the sites of other bloggers. Other blogs will be a great source of inspiration for future posts, as you will be able to see what topics are drawing readers to other blogs and which topics are duds.

Image is everything. When selling something, your photographs need to be of professional quality. No matter how great your product is, people will not be interested if you have amateur-looking photographs. Remember that when shopping online, a person can only go by the picture as a representation of the product, so it needs to be top quality.

Although you've probably read countless tips about title tags and how they relate to Internet promotion, you should also know that these tags will need to be refreshed from time to time. The words and phrases people search change like the weather, so always remember to refresh your title tags every so often.

Successful web marketing isn't just about keeping up with the competition " it's about outshining them. In order to do this, you have to be aware of what they are doing. Check out their website designs and product prices. Read their sales copy to determine its quality and keyword content. Do their sites take a long time to load? Are they consistently offering new services? What kind of external links are they employing? The more you learn, the better prepared you are to use that information to your advantage.

Post all of your articles on your website. This will help your readers and potential clients to know who you are and where to look for you. It adds to your aura of credibility and trustworthiness. Additionally, by adding your good articles to your website, you will attract lots of good, targeted, keyword traffic your way.

Updating content frequently is one of the best things you can do to capture the attention of the search engines. When customers are handed out of date information, they typically assume that the site is not viable or doing well. They will not waste their time on sites like this. A website that is regularly updated and working well encourages visitors.

As was stated in the beginning of the article, a person can earn a large income by web marketing. In order to make the most possible money, you have to know the ins and out of website marketing. Use the advice that was provided to you in the above article, and you will be astounded by the money you can make.

Marketing Knowledge: Do You Know?

There have been significant changes in the online marketing world.  From Facebook graphs to Real Time Bidding (RTB), the online marketscape continues to change and evolve.  How are you keeping up with these changes?

One thing I've realized over the last decade is that it's virtually impossible to be an expert in everything.  I've me a lot of smart people who seem to know anything and everything related to Internet marketing but when you dig deeper, you can always find someone who knows more than you do.

Leveraging Expertise
This leads us to the topic of today's post.  At what point do you rely on your own knowledge and when do you reach out to "industry experts"?  I like to stay informed and continue to learn more about the marketing discipline every day but there are really two types of knowledge:

1.  Understanding.

2.  Working Knowledge.

When you read, stay informed, and are generally in tune with whatever is happening the marketplace, you develop an understanding of what's happening.  When others ask questions you can respond based on your general knowledge.  However, this is very different than working knowledge of marketing.

A working knowledge means that you apply what you know.  Whether you consult, manage a client's account, or work on your own internet marketing, you're actually applying and learning how to dial in around a particular goal.  This experience provides a deeper knowledge than you can achieve by simply reading and listening to marketing related conversations.

Choose Your Strategy
With different ways of acquiring information it's important to decide the best type of industry expertise you need to successfully navigate your goals in objectives.  If you are getting paid to learn PPC for example, then having a working knowledge of PPC is paramount.  If, on the other hand, you are managing a team that is responsible for PPC but members of your team have a firm understanding of pay-per-click marketing, then a basic understanding may suffice.

Regardless of which avenue you chose, remember that knowledge is power.

How to Get ATTENTION

I want to start this post with a simple, yet profound question for you to ponder about your own business…

“What is the one thing and first thing you just do to get money in your business?”

The answers I hear when I ask this question from a live audience ranges from “Create a product” to “Make a sale.”

While these answers seem to make sense, the very first thing you must do in order to get money in your business is to GET THE ATTENTION OF YOUR TARGET MARKET.  It’s the critical first step to any marketing effort.

My mentor, Dan Kennedy, has this to say about this topic,

“It happens constantly and it is the hidden secret reason why so many marketing campaigns fall way short of their potential.  Not because the offer isn’t good or wouldn’t be welcomed by all the recipients; simply because many of the recipients never know about it because we fail to command their attention.”


Reread Dan’s statement.  It’s simple, yet profound.  Basically you can have the best product or service, yet if you are not getting the attention of your target market, you’re going to go broke.

Not too long ago I was visiting New York City.  While there, I strolled over to Times Square.  If you’ve ever been to Times Square you know it’s an overwhelming sensory experience.  There’s traffic noise, visual noise, people noise.  It’s a bombardment and if you stay there too long and your senses start to become numb.

Trying to market your product or services today is no different than standing in Times Square and yelling at the top of your lungs.  There’s no escape to all the marketing and advertising noise people face.  TV, radio, billboards, newspaper and magazines, direct mail, banner ads, pop-up ads, Google ads. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Your challenge is to cut through all the noise and clutter and create top-of-the-mind awareness with your target market.

Sadly… most marketing fails, because it is so “plain vanilla” and ordinary.  People are busy. They’re jaded, guarded, and skeptical. Some are cheap and down-right rude.

 Lots of folks have no time, no patience, and little interest in what you’re selling.  So how can you expect to get their attention by simply adding to the noise?

YOU GOTTA DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY!

One of the most effective techniques to grab the attention of your reader, either online or offline, is to use simulated handwritten notes and doodles.  In this day and age of computer-generated everything, the power of handwriting stands out.

You cannot help but see this technique used more and more.  It’s in the advertisements in your weekend paper; it’s on television commercials and in magazine ads. I’ve even seen it used effectively on book covers.  You are now starting to see its use on Web sites, blogs and squeeze pages.

The use of simulated handwriting goes back a long way in advertising, however, many copywriters and marketers give me credit for this most recent and widespread use of handwritten doodles with the creation of CopyDoodles®. 

As a matter of fact, marketing guru, Bill Glazer called CopyDoodles, “the biggest enhancement I have seen in the last 10 years for people that are writing copy for bumping the response and making the copy much more interesting.” 

Before CopyDoodles, the procedure to add handwritten doodles was both time-consuming and tedious.  Now you can add these powerful doodles to your marketing in mere seconds.

Over the years, my clients and I have done a number of split tests and across the boards the materials that contain handwritten notes and doodles always perform better than those without them.

Of course you have to know how and when to use them appropriately (just slapping a bunch of CopyDoodles on your materials without proper context can be counter-productive).

So why is simulated handwriting so effective?

Legendary direct marketer and author of Common Sense Direct Marketing, Drayton Bird, says, “The use of handwritten notes in the margins can add variety and interest to the eye and brain.”  Quite simply, the widespread use of computers, word processing and laser printers has created “homogenized marketing.” Meaning 95% of everything looks the same.  When you introduce a handwritten or hand-drawn element to the mix, it becomes very different in a simple, human-personality kind of way.

The effectiveness of a simple red handwritten note and doodle to a web page or direct mail piece can be huge and over time this type of copy cosmetic technique can add thousands of dollars to your bottom line.  Try it and see for yourself!

++++

Mike Capuzziis a marketing strategist, author, speaker and newsletter publisher.  Since 1998, he has been helping entrepreneurs and business owners improve their marketing and response rates.  He is the inventor of the wildly successful CopyDoodles, which allows anybody to quickly and easily add handwriting elements to their marketing.  For a FREE ebook on how to increase your marketing response and more information about CopyDoodles visit www.copydoodles.com.

Marketing From Your Gut

The nice thing about marketing is that it's both art and science.  I was recently reminded of this while I was cleaning out some of my web browser bookmarks.  As someone who's constantly bookmarking different websites, my list seems to grow daily.

I was reminded of a great site that actually tests different creative and shows you which one produced better results.  In addition to being sucker for data, I know that sometimes marketing is something where you have to go with your gut.  Although I wouldn't recommend that strategy as your full-time credo, there is something to be said for going with what feels right.

Okay, now the moment of truth.  How good is your gut?  Check out Anne Holland's Which Test Won Blog and try your hand at determining which creative outperformed the other.  By way of full disclosure I don't know Ann personally but am a big fan of her blog.  On a regular basis she provides insight into marketing creative and shares performance results.

What this means for you
From my perspective, I believe that I never doing enough testing.  Don't get me wrong, its great fun to see if one can find the "winning" creative but the reality is that a larger message is being communicated here.  How often do you test your creative?  Are you learning from each webpage, every email?  If you're like me the answer is no.  Personally I think I'm getting better with the concept of testing but I'm not there yet.


Each time you plan a campaign, think about doing multiple versions of it.  Printing post cards?  Create version A and version B.  Considering some new web pages?  Use Google Website Optimizer and plan a couple versions of copy or designs to test.  For me, the easiest way to start has always been to simply test a headline or subject line.


This may seem too simple but the reality is that headlines and subject lines account for a large percentage of readership.  Prospects can't read your message if they don't open your email or envelope.  Break down each of your campaigns into specific components and consider which can be versioned or tested.


Take the next step
As is true with an marketing initiative, you must begin by taking action.  I hope this post at least opens your mind to the possibility of doing split testing or multi-variate (testing multiple elements simultaneously) testing.  The goal is to always measure and improve upon your marketing.  This enhances your return on investment and ultimately the profitability of your marketing programs.


Let me know what types of tests you're running and what type of results you're seeing.  I'd be happy to share them with the rest of my blog readers!

7 Benefits Your Business Can Gain From Blogging

Guest post from Jeremy Tan, Survivor Marketing 

The reality of starting a blog is both straightforward and low cost. Setting up a blog is virtually effortless and rather easy to manage. As a result, blogs are now part of our everyday lives. Thanks to the publicity that the Internet provides to bloggers and social media experts has led to the circulation of more than 100 million blogs online.

Many of these blogs or websites have received hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and also earned massive amounts of revenue from advertising. This has helped them to become establish significant status online. Yet, there are still a number of people who are not convinced that blogging can provide immense benefits for your business!

As such, we at SurvivorMarketing have come up with 7 Benefits Your Business Can Gain From Blogging. We hope that you will be enlightened as to how your business may be losing out to your online competitors and better understand why you should start managing a blog to boost the growth of your business.  Here Are The 7 Benefits Your Business Can Gain From Blogging: 

1. Expose Your Business to A Wider Audience

The power of the Internet is massive and rapidly evolving with an escalating number of users who surf the web on a daily basis. Search Engines such as Google and Yahoo are immensely popular for users with queries of all kinds. Approximately 60% of all blog traffic comes from search engine results. By blogging high quality content regularly and targeting the right keywords, your blog can climb above your competitors organically, increasing online visibility, and thus exposing your business to a wider audience!

You might want to read my articles on the 3 Key SEO Strategies  or even download my free "Ultimate SEO Guide" Ebook  for more insights on how to rank even higher in search engines! 

2. Provides an Avenue To Showcase Your Knowledge
Utilizing blogs to showcase your knowledge or areas of expertise is an effective method for anyone to build their online reputation and credibility on the Internet. Blogs can be perceived as a powerful forum for all marketers to share their passions and clarify doubts. It may come in various forms -- be it a coffee enthusiast reviewing his cup of joe, or a touring agent sharing tips on what to do in various destinations! In any case, by blogging, you can position your business as the online authority for specific niche your business is in. When you are popular enough, you will generate an influx of traffic looking for your opinion! 

3. Provides an Avenue For People To Respond
Remember, blogs should never be used as a one-way communication tool. You must allow, or ENCOURAGE your customers to respond to you! Blog readers might find a particular article of yours helpful, leave a comment of appreciation, or reach out to you with questions about your content. You must be prepared to respond as well as be open to criticisms and negative feedback.

The key for your blog and your business to succeed is to always think like the customer. When you do, you’ll understand what the demands of your customers are and how you can meet them. By looking at how your customers respond, you will be able to know them better, establish a meaningful relationship and even sell them your products! If you can cater to their needs and demands, your sales will surely be soaring! 

4. Allows You to Project The Brand Of Your Business

Nobody relishes faceless corporate marketing messages or boring product catalogs -- People prefer to buy from people. This is possibly why advertisements do not focus on product attributes but rather attempt to project a brand and personality that customers can relate to and buy into. The overall tone of your blog should be an informal one. This is because you are actually expected to offer a human perspective, assume controversial positions, and showcase the uniqueness of your business to the public. 

5. Allows You To Remain Updated

In order for you to produce quality content, you have to do research and read extensively on specific areas or topics. Though it might be a tedious job, it allows you to be constantly up to date on new developments in your industry. Since the Internet is rapidly evolving, even on a daily basis, it’s vital for your business to keep in touch with shifting opinions and influential people! 

6. Provides a Platform To Convey News Regarding your Business
This is a very important point to take note of if you are managing a small or large business. Consider this: Are you aware of how many people actually read your press releases? I'm telling you now -- the numbers are truly few. This means that even your key customers might be oblivious to any new products or services that your business might be creating. This is truly a lost opportunity unless you broadcast your message through multiple channels.

Also, if your business were to face a problem, assuming you needed to issue a product batch recall for example, your blog could serve as an established platform to notify and communicate your position with your customers. While many people are blind to news conveyed through traditional media, an increasing number of people are actually seeking authoritative blogs for knowledge and advice. 

7. Allows Your Business to Stand Out From Your Rivals
Indeed, there might be more than 100 million blogs existing on the Internet. Yet, how many of them are actually company blogs, or to be more precise, how many of them are GOOD company blogs? Optimize your blog well, write good quality content, provide good customer service, and your business can achieve a valuable point of competitive advantage.


This article is written by Jeremy Tan, a Young Budding Internet Marketer and Webmaster of SurvivorMarketing. He specializes in ares of SEO as well as web marketing fundamentals. He enjoys receiving reader feedback and comments, which can be directed to support@survivormarketing.com.

Building an Effective "Jump" Page

Your jump page, also referred to as a "landing page" or "squeeze page" is an essential tool for generating revenue for your online business.

If you practice Internet marketing, you know the importance of a high converting “Landing Page”. Also called a promotional page, jump page, or squeeze page, effective development of these pages are essential for online marketing success.

After a web browser clicks on a search engine generated link (organic or paid), they are directed to a website or jump page. Depending on your promotional tactics, you may be using pay-per-click marketing to generate sign-ups, inquiries, or sales. Regardless of the specific purpose of your page, one fact remains the same – you want a browser to take some type of action.

In the steps that follow, I will share some landing page best practices that have been provide to increase conversion rates and have those browsers taking the action you’re hoping for. Keep the following concepts in mind when designing your jump-page:

Big, Bold, Relevant Headline. If you don’t catch the attention of the browser with a big, bold, headline that is relevant, than nothing else matters. This is why expert marketers test multiple jump-pages at once – to see which page proves most relevant to browsers. For example, if a user is searching for tinker toys, the headline should be targeted as such - versus saying, “Hey check out these toys you can build with”. Doing so is not particularly relevant and as a result individuals will never get past the first few sentences of your jump page.

Use Visuals. If people have to read beyond your headline and sub-headline before understanding what you’re selling (or offering), you’ll have a difficult time getting them to read any further. This is where visuals come in. Pictures are worth a thousand words and can convey your message quickly and with less effort. Make sure your jump page goes beyond plain text and integrates visuals in the form of a different colored font, pictures, and/or video.

Testimonials Sell. Would you buy a product you never heard of? What if your best friend told you all about it? People like to buy based on recommendations. This is particularly true of online purchases. Having proof points validated through like-minded individuals removes fear and breaks down skepticism. There are a variety of ways to share a testimonial and they all work (photo and quote, audio recording, video).

Provide Something for Free. Encourage action by offering something free in exchange for name and email address. If you’re actually selling a product from your page, consider giving added bonuses for making a purchase. The more you offer at the price point you’ve identified, the more value you create for your potential customer.

Limited Offers. Create a sense of urgency with an offer that is only valid for a short time. You may also make your offer available to a limited number of new registrants. Either method works for creating urgency and encouraging a purchase. You will need to test your time-bound offers to identify the time frame that works best for your potential customer base. The same is true for limited-time offers.

Your jump page can be your livelihood. Don't leave jump page development to chance. Use the tips noted here and be sure to think through your jump page strategy. Lastly, make sure to test multiple jump pages at the same time to determine which is most effective.

Internet Marketing on the Cheap

Are you trying to get more traffic to your website? Welcome to the club. If you're like me, you want to improve your popularity with a small or non-existing marketing budget. In this post, we'll look at a few strategies you can use to promote your website.

Traditional advertising. Let's start by eliminating the type of marketing you won't be doing; magazines, TV ads, radio, and print advertising. These forms of advertising are cost prohibitive and won't meet your expectations for driving traffic. Much of the marketing costs associated with this type of advertising start at around $5,000.

Since you do not have an unlimited marketing budget you will likely have to use online marketing. You can get much more expose with online marketing versus traditional advertising alone. Marketing on the internet is cheaper, and if done correctly, can give you much more bang for your buck.

Obviously, the cornerstone of internet marketing is search engine submission and optimization. There are hundreds of different search engines and directories on the internet where you can submit your web site for a listing. This is fairly easy to do. Simply sign up for a monthly submission plan with a credible search engine submission service. There are literally hundreds of these submission services on the internet; you can find them by performing a search on Google.

However, be wary of submitters that claim to be able to submit your site to 50,000 search engines. Such services are scams, and they will submit your web page to bogus link pages that can actually get you banned from the search engines. Only do business with submission services that submit to the major search engines and directories.

Now that we have covered submission, we need to talk about search engine optimization (SEO), which is even more important. To optimize your website, you need to maximize keyword density and optimize the positioning for the words or phrases that best characterize the subject matter of your site, and you need to use proper Meta tags so that the search engines can interpret your web pages.

If you do not know how to optimize your web site, you should search for a search engine optimization specialist at MarketingScoop.com. Steer clear of SEO experts who want to charge $1,000 per month or more. Their goal is to bleed you dry before you figure out that they really can not help you get to the top of the rankings. Stick to providers who will optimize your site for a one-time fee.

More important than SEO is link popularity. Link popularity is the number of web sites that currently link to your site. The more inbound links you acquire that have a higher Google PR, the higher your search engine ranking will be. There are more than a few ways to acquire links, but here is an effective strategy that I use on a regular basis.

Write articles and press releases and submit them to article directories and press release distribution services who will then distribute your articles and press releases to other websites who will publish them and in return link back to you. Also, you can submit your site to bloggers through a popular service called Blogitive (Blogitive will get blogs to post one-way anchor text links to your site in their blog, which will greatly enhance your search engine ranking).

Another way to attract visitors to your web site instantly is by using pay-per-click advertising. With PPC, you pay a certain cost per click to have an ad for your web page run at or near the top of the search engine listings for certain keywords. This can be extremely costly and ineffective. It is not uncommon for webmasters to blow thousands of dollars on PPC advertising and make only a few sales.

The best way to promote your site, if you are actually selling something, is through an affiliate program. You need to provide an affiliate code to other online merchants so that they will place your banner on their site; every time you make a sale that resulted from an affiliate referral, the affiliate gets a commission. Some internet companies have thousands of affiliates, and get all the business they would ever need or want this way; and it costs you nothing.

In conclusion, you should first optimize your website and submit it to search engines. You should then begin submitting articles and press releases to article directories and press release distribution services. You should also submit your site to Blogitive so that bloggers will write a review of your site and link to it, further boosting your link popularity. You might want to join a link exchange, but trading links often proves fruitless. Also, you should set up an affiliate program. And finally, you should budget a small amount of money to spend each week on pay-per-click.

Is Your Web Site Search Engine Friendly?

One of the keys to obtaining top rankings, or ANY rankings for that matter is making sure that the search engines can properly spider and index your site. This means doing whatever you can to make sure the search engines are able to reach each page of your site as easily as possible.

When I talk to my clients about spiderability, I'm generally referring to two things...

1) Are all the links in the site true hyperlinks that can be picked up properly by the search engines.

2) Are all the pages within the site reachable within 2-3 clicks from the homepage.

So let's go over the above two areas of concern.
1) Hyperlinks. This may seem almost silly, but you would be amazed at the number of sites I run into when doing consultations and website analyses that have non-standard hyperlinks. By "non-standard", I'm referring to javascrípt generated hyperlinks or hyperlinks embedded within flash files.

There is nothing inherently wrong with java script or flash when used properly, but the simple fact is that java script and flash are NOT search engine friendly. Google is pretty much the only engine that is able to pick up links within java script or flash code. At this time, I have seen no evidence that either Yahoo or MSN have this ability.

While Google may be able to pick up links, it is unclear as to whether or not Google places any VALUE on the links it finds in this manner. Remember, much of a page's ranking in Google is determined by links, so you want to be absolutely sure that each and every link is valued.

So, be absolutely sure that your links are true hyperlinks (by "true" hyperlinks, I'm talking about hyperlinks coded with the normal href tags) if you want to make sure they are found, followed, and counted by all the engines.

2) Distance from Homepage. Ideally, you want your visitors and the search engines to be able to reach any page within your site within a maximum of three (3) clicks and preferably two clicks. The more clicks it takes to reach a page, the less chance there is that the search engines will index that page.

It is for this reason, that site maps have become so popular. By utilizing a sitemap, you are able to link from your homepage to a page that lists all or most of the links to the various pages of your site. The search engines (and visitors) are then able to get to virtually any page of your site within just a couple of clicks.

You'll notice I've mentioned not only the search engines but the visitors as well in the above paragraphs. By reducing the number of clicks it takes to get from your homepage to any page on your site, you will find that you also increase the overall usability of your site.

While site maps can definitely help to increase the spider-ability of a site, it is important to remember that they are not a total fix for bad navigational structure within a site. As mentioned, all of the search engines utilize page link popularity in one way or another in their algorithms.

In general, the homepage of a site will have the highest link popularity of any page within the site. This is because most inbound links to a site are pointing to the homepage. It's from the homepage that all the internal pages derive their link popularity from a sort of "trickle down" affect.

A site map will only derive a certain amount of link popularity that it can pass on to the pages it links to. To understand this best, think of the homepage as a large river with each link on the homepage a smaller river branching off from the main river. Each river will be fed a similar amount of water by the main river. Alone one branch of the river will never be able to deliver as much water to the various areas as all the branches of the river can combined.

The site map is one branch of your sites link popularity river and it has value, but it will never have the same impact as a well thought out and implemented links structure that makes use of all the rivers of link popularity within your site.
To make the most use of the link popularity of your site, you should try and setup your sites navigational structure so that even without a site map, the search engines and visitors are still able to reach any page on your site within 2-3 clicks.

So...to make a long story short...Always be sure to utilize true, standard hyperlinks throughout your site and be sure that your sites navigational structure allows any page of your site to be reached within no more than 3 clicks. See you at the top!


About The Author
John Buchanan is a veteran search engine optimization specialist with over 9 years experience. For more information, visit his site at SESecrets.com or his newest site SEOVideoanalysis.com where he will provide you with a professional SEO Video Website Analysis of your site.

How to Effectively Promote Your Book Online

Your published novel or ebook? Generate sales with proven online marketing strategies.

If you’re looking to market your personally authored book or ebook, learn from the Internet marketing experts. Selling books online is a great way to promote your product and increase sales. Although many marketing methods are available, there are some in particular that have proven to generate above average results for selling books – printed and electronic.

Learn more about each of the following if you’re ready to start selling and be sure to seek guidance from those who have already successfully marketed online.


1. Develop a Website or Blog.

Thinking that it’s not worth developing a website or blog for a single publication? Think again. Today, acquiring a domain name is easier than ever – and it costs less than $10. Additionally, you can buy a website or a website template for about $75. If you know some very basic HTML, you can develop a website for less than a hundred dollars. Having a website that is only focused on a single publication can work wonders for promoting your product.

Blogs are even easier to create. Already have a website but need a blog? Visit Blogger.com, WordPress.com, or simply type in “free blog” into Google. You’ll quickly find a whole host of free blog sites that help you set up a blog in less than five minutes. Once you’ve created your blog, enter a post about your ebook and provide a link to your online store or order form.

If you’re looking for a way to process online transactions, visit Paypal.com. For about twelve dollars per month, you can process transactions for those wishing to purchase your book online. There are other online transaction management tools you can use, but Paypal is one of the easiest I’ve used to set up and accept online transactions.


2. Use Online Marketing (PPC) Programs.

By now you’ve heard of Google Adwords. Other providers such as Yahoo! and MSN also offer pay-per-click programs. These online marketing programs allow you to promote your book or e-book to a very targeted audience. For example, if your book is about “antique lamp shades”, you can purchase the keyword phrase, “antique lamp shades” to display on sites that offer related content. As a result, those seeing your ad can click through to your website or Jump Page.

The best part about pay-per-click advertising is that you only pay when someone clicks on your advertisement. Be careful though, you could end up with a lot of clicks and only a few conversions. Test multiple campaigns and evaluate their effectiveness on a daily basis. Google offers you free tools that can help you evaluate the results of your campaign in greater detail such as Google Analytics.


3. Develop a Specific Jump Page.

Short of building an entire website or starting a blog, you could simply build a single jump page. A jump page is a promotional page that pitches your product or service. There are tons of successful jump pages out there that you can reproduce with your own content.

The most successful jump pages are those that are easy to read and include testimonials. Testimonials from book reviewers are very influential. To make your jump page even more compelling, offer print and audio testimonials. A good site to follow is SEO Elite.


4. Give Samples.

One of the most effective marketing strategies on the planet is sampling. You see companies offering samples to invite users to try their products or services. The same can be true for book purchasers. Share a summary, a chapter, or let them peruse your book. Just spend some time on Amazon.com and you’ll quickly see how promotion and access can play a major role in the purchase decision.

One great technique is to offer a small sample for free. Offer additional access (perhaps to a full chapter), after users provide you with their name and email address. This allows you to touch prospective purchasers via email after they’ve contacted you, keeping their interest high and continuing to promote your publication.


5. Email marketing.

With the 2003 introduction of CAN-SPAM legislation, email marketers must be very careful about who they email and how. Learn CAN-SPAM basics before you begin emailing people. A couple of things to keep in mind from an email marketing perspective is that your own list (of emails collected via your website) will almost always perform better than a purchased list. Think about ways you can collect the names of individuals visiting your website such as offering a free summary or excerpt in exchange for their name and email address.

From a CAN-SPAM perspective, make sure your physical address is included on each email and offer an opt-out. If a recipient asks to be taken off your list, remove him/her within 10 days. You can also use an online service to help manage your email marketing. Online email providers are very careful about conforming to email marketing standards and will lead you through the process step-by-step.


6. Refer a friend

Your current customers can be your best marketers. Once an individual has purchased your book, be sure to give them a reason to refer others. Perhaps you can offer them a special promotion on a different product or perhaps additional content that wasn’t available with their first purchase.

Offering a friends and family coupon is another great way to generate additional sales. Something as simple as a $5 off coupon is a great way to promote your product and create buzz. Whatever tactic you use in your email, be sure to encourage customers to refer others.


7. Leverage an affiliate program.

Are there other websites that attract the audience that would be perfect for your book? If so, contact them via phone or email and see if they’d be willing to sell your publication in exchange for a commission. This is a great way to reach an audience in an affordable way and is considered an affiliate program.

Most of the successful products being sold online today are not being promoted from a single website. Rather, many sites are promoting a given product or service. These sites are often referred to as niche sites as they cater to specific audience or segment. In addition to doing some research on your own, you can also investigate affiliate program sites that you can use to promote your product.

Affiliate sites bring together advertisers and publishers. The publishers provide the content, software, or resources, and the advertisers promote these products in exchange for a sales commission.

Marketing your book or ebook takes time but can have significant pay-off. Utilize some or all of the marketing methods described above to sell you book online. These methods have been used by some of the most successful internet marketers promoting print and electronic book products online. Internet marketing doesn’t have to be complicated. Learn from the experts and follow internet marketing strategies like those above which have already proven successful.

*Michael Fleischner is an Internet marketing expert, search engine optimization specialist, and the President of MarketingScoop.com. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and had appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit MarketingScoop.com for further details and more free marketing articles.