WSI Blog - Internet Marketing Tips and Strategies

Before you can market your website with tools such as social media marketing and PPC ads you need to make sure your site is doing the best job it can do. Here are 6 tips to ensure that your website is ready to be promoted.

1. Research Keywords
People are searching for your services and you need to find out what words they use. They may not use the proper words to describe your product but their words are the words you need. Put these keywords on your site thus making it easier for the consumer to find you because you'll show up on the search engine results page (SERP).

2. Be an Expert in Your Field
In order to trust you and your services a customer needs to view you as a resource in your field. Include content on your website that can help educate your consumer thus building their trust in a partnership with you.

3. Communicate With Your Target Audience
If you have a blog on your website open it up for public comments. Let your community converse with you and each other about products, services, trends and more. Communication builds a relationship on a more personal level.

4. Make Your Website Available
A website does not keep office hours. It needs to be open 24 hours a day. If you are an online retailer you need to be able to process orders at any hour, any day of the week.

5. Network
If you are an expert in your industry your consumer should see you around. Join professional organizations and participate in your professional community. Get your name and brand on other sites and social media networks.

6. Update, Update, Update
Keep your website new and fresh. Add new content frequently and keep up with current market trends.

As companies continue to struggle in the current economy, many are seeing their marketing budgets cut with more cuts anticipated for the last quarter of 2009 into 2010. During this time of change and scrutiny over every advertising dollar spent, it is important to note that the online advertising sector continues to grow as business are taking their marketing strategies online. According to eMarketer, digital spending will account for 17% of total ad spending in the US by next year, up from 15.4% currently and 13.9% last year. An "Interaction 2009" report done by GroupM Interaction indicates that companies are also increasing spending on search and mobile marketing and decreasing traditional media spending. According to this report, the future of marketing is so-called "intention marketing" with a combination of paid and organic search along with mobile and social media marketing.

Savvy marketers are already following this trend, according to a 2009 accountability study done by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and Marketing Management Analytics (MMA). The number one strategy is taking offline marketing online, and reallocating spending into lower-cost digital media like SEO, PPC and Social Media Marketing.

WSI can take a look at your current marketing strategies online (and offline) and provide the online marketing how to that every business needs in this economy. For every industry, there is a correct marketing mix online that will get you the best ROI possible. And one of the significant benefits of WSI's online marketing strategies is that everything we do is 100% trackable so you know almost immediately how well your campaigns are working and where there is room for improvement.

To find out more about the online marketing strategies WSI can provide, as well as a complimentary analysis of the marketing mix online for your business, please contact us today. As we kick of the fourth quarter of 2009, there's still time to end the year and start off the new year with a bang!

In internet marketing, we constantly have potential clients who are hung up on the cost of search engine optimization and aren't sure if they can justify the cost. While it may seem expensive, search engine optimization is perhaps the most important part of your internet marketing mix. Why? Because while you may not be willing to spend the money to have it done correctly to yield the best results, your competitors are. And every month that goes by that other websites are benefitting fromSEO, your site is falling farther and farther behind.

It may help to look at SEO as a long term investment rather than a one time or recurring cost. Unlike pay per click campaigns, where you are essentially "renting" the space at the top pages of the search engines, SEO helps you "own" the space and ensures that you will continue to stay at the top once you get there. And because SEO is an investment, keep in mind that as with most investments, you get what you pay for. There are certainly SEO packages at every price point, but you need to ask yourself how one company is able to provide this costly service for so much less than others in the market. Search engine optimization is extremely time consuming, which is reflected in the pricing of most reputable internet marketing companies.

Is search engine optimization expensive? Yes and No. It's really only considered "expensive" if the service does not help you increase revenue above and beyond what you invested into it. But we assure you, it's the best internet marketing dollars you'll ever spend if it's done correctly.

Twitter is a social networking site that people and businesses use to stay hyper-connected to other people and businesses. By "following" a user on facebook, you receive up to the minute updates ("tweets") as often as they are posted. If you're like most of our clients, you've heard of Twitter - maybe you're even a member - but you're not 100% sure how it fits in with your overall Internet marketing plan.

Although Twitter has been around since 2006, it has only recently blown up to the 30,000,000 users it currently has. And even with those astounding numbers, according to a recent article by eMarketer, 25% of users have never "tweeted." Obviously there is a tremendous opportunity to reach businesses and consumers using this service, but industry experts have yet to pinpoint exactly how.

We're using Twitter to update our followers and drive traffic to our website, and a handful of our clients are doing the same. Twitter is a great complement to the rest of our Internet marketing solutions, but it doesn't appear that it will replace any of the tried and true methods of revenue generation like search engine optimization and pay per click.

Top 9 Ways to Brand On-line
By  Bob Baker

1. Define your brand up front.
When visitors arrive at your web site, let them know immediately what you do and why they should care. Far too many web sites shroud their identity in flashy graphics and ambiguous slogans without telling people what the company or person actually does. View your Web site through the eyes of a new visitor. Does it spell out exactly what your brand stands for? If not, redesign it so your purpose and identity are unmistakable

2. Lead with what you do, not who you are.
It may defy logic, but making your company name the most visible element on your home page may not be the most effective way to reinforce your brand. A Web-based or e-mail marketing message should state a benefit right off the bat. Which of these paints a clearer identity: The business name "Dog Owner Central" displayed in large letters or the more specific description "Training tips for busy dog owners"?

3. Use a real person as a figure head.
The online world can be a cold, mechanical place. Your branding efforts are more effective when you add a recognizable, consistent human element. Think of the way Dave Thomas promoted Wendy's. If your company has a CEO or spokesperson who is closely identified with the company offline, make sure that connection carries to the cyberworld. If you run a business by yourself, by all means, put your name, photo and personal message on your web site. Nothing creates mystery and distrust more than a site that is void of a human contact and asks visitors to send e-mail to the "webmaster."

4. Develop a fan-club mentality.
Most online marketers try to generate readers, visitors or users. I encourage you to switch gears and create fans. "Users" are people who visit your web site, subscribe to your newsletter or buy your products and services. "Fans," on the other hand, cheer you on, rave about you to their friends and eagerly follow everything you do. Which would you rather have?

5. Make good use of words.
Verbal content is not only king, it's the entire kingdom. Even though designers try to squeeze as much graphic impact as they can out of limited bandwidths, what matters most online are the words you use. I don't buy into the less-is-more, bullet-point mentality of writing for the web. To create fans online, you must deliver useful brand-related information and speak to readers in a conversational tone. If it takes more than one or two scrolling screens to do that, so be it.

6. Make sure visual elements reinforce your identity.
While words are important, the look of your Web site must also support your brand image. Is your brand best served by hard edges or softer, rounded shapes? Do primary colors capture your personality or would earth tones be a better match? Find the design scheme that best compliments your identity.

7. Become a one-stop destination.
Let's say your company sells unicorn-themed knick-knacks, posters and greeting cards. You might simply post an online catalog and a few profiles of your products. However, a far better approach would be to set up your site as a clearing house for all things unicorn-related -- articles on the history of unicorns, personal stories from customers who have been touched by their unicorn possessions, unicorn-related photo galleries and message boards, etc. Your online presence should establish you as the primary resource in your field.

8. Publish an e-mail newsletter.
Having a brand-centered web site is great, but you must rely on people taking it upon themselves to visit it. Offering a free e-mail newsletter allows you to build a database of subscribers who are specifically interested in what your brand represents. Best yet, being able to deliver your message by e-mail puts you in control of the frequency with which your audience is exposed to your brand. Repetition is crucial. To generate subscribers, place a newsletter sign-up form on every page of your site.

9. Be visible through online forums.
Small business owners should also regularly post to online forums, such as message boards and discussion lists widely read by people likely to be attracted to the brand. If your area of expertise caters to motorcycle enthusiasts, make sure you offer useful information -- not just a sales pitch -- in the places where motorcycle enthusiasts gather. Be sure to include a link to your web site in a signature file at the end of each message.

The Internet is still a gold mine of opportunity, especially for those who use it to create a recognizable brand identity. Use these tips to create your own indelible image online.