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When a Website is Simply Not Enough!

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When a Website is Simply Not Enough!

Unless your organization has significant brand recognition and awareness, just having a nice website is simply not enough. Remember, as of the writing of this article, there are close to 250 million websites on the Internet. Your website is simply one of them – a proverbial needle in the haystack!

It is challenging enough that the expectations of Internet users are constantly increasing and people want much more than they did previously. Technological advances have made the Internet an essential part of life for most people to the point where they rely on it for information, entertainment, research and a whole lot more! They expect fast load times, minimal distractions, user friendliness and attractive designs and more than anything else, they expect unique and meaningful content. And this challenge is augmented by the fact that search engines are continually improving and tweaking their search algorithms to make sure that relevance is maintained for every search conducted – so now you have to satisfy both your website visitors AND the search engines!

Consider the following questions:
1. How do you expect your potential website visitors to find you on the Internet?
2. Once your potential visitors find your website, what do you want them to do?
3. Do you have a plan to engage your visitors and lead them through a decision-making process?

When it comes to the Internet, there is no magical formula for success. In order to gain an edge, you must dot all your “i’s” and cross all your “t’s”.   With that in mind, at the very least, your website should:

-be well designed and architected with focus on ease of use
-have unique and relevant content that engages your website visitors and prospective customers
-be optimized to rank high on search engines using ethical SEO (search engine optimization)
-have properly laid out landing pages with clear call(s) to action that lead visitors to take action
-be constructed such that information is readily found without having to hunt around for it
-be optimized to load quickly without any broken links and missing elements
-make minimal use of distractive technologies and elements (excessive use of flash, for example)
-work properly on all major browsers and have no broken links and missing elements
-use effective technology that enhances the user experience without becoming cumbersome
-be easy to manage, update and keep current without having to rely on designers or developers for assistance

If your website is not generating the results that you expect it to, you need to take a hard look at its overall effectiveness and address the items listed above.

As an Internet marketing company, we can help you rank high on Bing and also on Google and other search engines via our Search Engine Optimization Services.

Landing Pages vs Microsites

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Landing Pages vs Microsites

While they are different from one another, microsites and landing pages are both used in conjunction with search engine optimization, search engine marketing and online advertising for more targeted content. Here is a short look at landing pages vs microsites.

Landing Pages
Landing pages are usually one-page creations that focus on a particular offer and specifically on leading the visitor to take certain action. Landing pages are used for direct marketing campaigns and are considered to be essential to the success of these campaigns. All savvy marketers use and test hundreds of different landing pages in order to optimize conversion rates.

Microsites
Microsites are one or more Web pages used for a number of purposes:

-Consumer goods companies may want market new products, because the main website may leave the product underexposed; a microsite will focus on that particular product or service and provide extensive details and information.

-A magazine may want cover time-sensitive and popular events, such as the upcoming presidential election or some world championship and may leverage a microsite.

-A software company may offer its clients more information on a product, which cannot be posted on a simple landing page and adding several pages to its main website would mean burying the information and relying on visitors to feel their way through to the specific information.

In most cases, microsites and landing pages are created to convert visitors into leads. A Microsite also results in increased SEO opportunities.  Microsites are typically hosted on a different domain than the primary website and contain sometimes multiple pages of topic-related content for high organic search rankings. Most savvy marketers tend to use both microsites and landing pages somewhere along the way. And if microsites are hosting on multiple-C IPs (SEO-hosting), the results can be even more considerable.

Creative Newsletter Marketing

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Creative Newsletter Marketing

Many businesses think that once they have built their opt-in lists, all they have to do is wait for customers to literally break their doors down for their product or service. Well, that’s not quite the case. In order to really acquire loyal customers, you need to communicate with them on a constant basis and offer them something of value.

Remember the old adage, what’s in it for me?

As long as you have your customers best interest in mind, you can win your their loyalty for your business.

Here’s how you can leverage creative newsletter marketing:

1. Offer valuable, rich content.
Don’t just throw subscribers a couple of bones, but give them solid information that they can actually use that would want them to read next month’s issue.

2. Create a theme and a name.
Create a newsletter that is meaningful and positions your company as a trusted source of information. Instead of cluttering your newsletter with everything you’ve done the past few month, choose a theme and a name that frames your information and grabs attention.

3. Keep it simple.
Keep your newsletter brief, but offer solid, valuable content. If you make it too long or stuffed with too much information, chances are that clients won’t read it all. Go for a readable length of around 1 to 3 pages, including a response area.  You can even use a dedicated blog to house your newsletters.

4. Call to action.
Always place a call to action, be it a request for more details, the option to place an order, a survey, etc. If you ask something from your clients, they are more likely to respond. This works in most industries as long as you offer a product or service that your customers would want.

5. Be Viral.
Use e-mail forwarding. Encourage your customers to share your newsletter with others who may be interested in what you’re offering. Make it easy for new visitors to subscribe through a link in each issue of your newsletter

There are many services that offer email & newsletter marketing services. One of our favorites is MailChimp. And the next favorite is MyEmma.

The Importance of a Solid Web Marketing Strategy

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Arnima-The-importance-of-a-solid-Web-Marketing-Strategy

Starting a business without a proper business plan is generally considered a recipe for failure. Similarly, a solid web marketing strategy is a critical part of your online success. It is even more important today to first establish your marketing strategy before you start to do any active marketing work and tasks. 

A solid web marketing strategy should cover the following aspects:

Understand Your Niche
Help you understand your niche market. This way, after you take the “pulse” of your audience, you can easily create and sell your product or service, in a way that would grab attention and produce visible results that are meaningful.

Sell Massively
To sell massively, you must ensure you attract potential customers and increase traffic to your website. You can do this by implementing SEO and PPC and by using other internet marketing tactics and strategies.

Conversion Funnel
Once you have consistent traffic, you have to do everything you can to turn your visitors into buyers. It’s best if you can provide a wide range of products and services at different prices and also offer your prospective clients all the information they need.

Maintain Open Communications.
Maintaining an open channel of communication with your visitors is essential. Allows your visitors to directly approach you and solve their queries so they can easily make a purchasing decision. Leverage social media, especially Twitter and Facebook, to open and maintain a channel of communication with your prospective and current customers.

Track and Measure
Be sure to put in place analytics and tracking systems to measure the outcome of your marketing strategy – both for online and offline ways (banners, billboards, wrapping vehicles with your brand – see the Fleet Wrap HQ for more). It is imperative to benchmark and then track results so you know where you can make improvements as you move forward.

To conclude, your web marketing strategy supports your business objective and defines how you will achieve your goals.