by Francois Muscat | May 13, 2011 | Online Marketing
Why do you have a personal or a business website? What is the purpose of your website? Your website, the same as your business, needs to have a clear call to action with measurable results that you expect. The purpose of your website, the design, the content and all the call to actions should all support the goal with your website.
The goal of your website could be to generate sales leads, direct sales or to build a list of email addresses to name but a few. You may say that you want your site to have all these goals. They are all very important. The only problem with this is that your website needs a good purpose. When you have a couple of important goals, then you might create confusion with your website visitors and you might achieve none of your goals – you then create a conflicting purpose for your website.
If you have multiple goals on your website, define one of your goals as the primary one. Take this primary goal and make sure you have answered these two questions.
- What is the purpose of your website?
- Who are you trying to target (audience) with your website?
Identify your target market
Identify your target market and research what they are looking for. What will your website help them with? Always create a focused message that answers the needs of your best customer. You need to show them what you are offering is what they are searching for and grab their attention. You can build their interest by doing it this way.
What is the purpose of your website?
Every web page on your website should have a clear purpose and optimized content. I’m not talking about the search engine optimization aspects that needs to be done as well but, these pages should be focused on getting your visitor to take action or at least direct them on where to go next. The ultimate goal is to get your website visitors to take action.
To help your website visitors to take action, provide a visual and clear path for them to take. This will help you accomplish the purpose and goal of your website. Without any value and action on your website, your website provides little value.
by Marianna Muscat | Apr 29, 2011 | Online Marketing
What can a web site do for me you may ask? You may think that you are one of many and just a mere dot in cyberspace but you’re wrong! Don’t under estimate and undervalue the power of the virtual world. Make it real by exposing yourself online. That may sound somewhat crude but the best way to grow your business is to expose it and bare all.
In today’s global village a web presence is a necessity for any business and, most of the time, this is how a copywriter can prove his or her credibility. Show some examples of your writing, some testimonials and link to a few blogs you have written to showcase your work. Whether you already have a website or no web presence at all you need to make the most of the internet.
In addition to communication, web sites provide a simple and easy tool through which companies can increase access to their products and services beyond the “normal” geographical constraints.
We all know a web site provides your business with a 24-hour web presence, and can attract many customers you would not otherwise reach your business in particular.
A web site can help in providing you and your clients with a competitive edge over the competition by establishing an Internet presence. No longer are your clients 5km down the road they are just a click away on the internet.
For a copywriter, a website has the fringe benefit of not just exposing your services on a marketing level but also your style standard and quality of work. It serves as visible proof to your potential client that you’re the one of choice!
Having said all of this, there is still the crucial element of standing out and making yourself different. And now you’re wondering how!
- Have a competitive edge.
- Be eye catching.
- Use words that search engines will draw traffic to your site.
- Be clear as to what you can offer and keep it simple.
- Whet the potential client’s appetite so that you get the enquiry.
Needless to say once you’ve received the enquiry you have their interest. Now you need to get them to bite by listening to their needs and offering excellent customer service, competitive prices and fulfilling the task with precision.
by Marianna Muscat | Jan 28, 2011 | Online Marketing
“Go to this website, click that link, call this number, fill out that form,” we internet marketers tend to be very prescriptive when dealing with prospective new or existing customers!
When you ask people to do something, you are creating a point of friction and your audience will not continue unless the reward is greater than the friction they might be experiencing at that particular point
If you want to improve the performance of your landing pages, I would tend to argue that you should try to remove as many points of friction as possible.
Case in point: When examining a B2B case study on how to increase response rates online for free trial software offered on a large corporate company’s website recently, I found……
The instructions were much too complex
Visitors who clicked through to their email offers to download the software had to wade through instructions for a four-step process.
Information was presented in the wrong order
Before discussing the offer that brought visitors to the site, the landing page asked for an email address. The actual links to the free trial downloads [were] much lower on the page and it is very likely that the potential prospect was frightened off before they even reached that point?
The landing page offered multiple versions of the product
My understanding of a sales process is that you would want someone to make the decision about which version they need after they have decided they want to download it,” he advises. Showing multiple versions and system requirements made choosing this product look more complicated then it needed to be and the initial response rates proved that they were losing customers as the bounce rate from this particular page was extremely high.
After some discussion their Internet Marketing Consultant convinced them that it was in their best interests to redesign the form and after obtaining permission to do so was pleasantly rewarded and the average email subscriber rate jumped by more than 300 percent, proving that it’s always a good idea to work with professionals and online experts who can quickly analyse and work with you to increase responses. Here’s what the new form offered:
- A large image of the product’s packaging
- A pull-down menu pre-loaded with the most popular version
- A field for an email address with a brief explanation of benefits
- A “download now” button
The Point: Clarify and simplify. Take care to remove any roadblocks that keep visitors from doing what you want them to do at your landing pages. You just might boost your conversion rates!
by Marianna Muscat | Jan 21, 2011 | Online Marketing
Anyone who uses internet marketing on the WWW knows that the landscape is always in ebb and flow, and you need to keep on top of new developments to make sure you’re current. Particularly with the latest techniques and gizmo’s that are coming out of using social media effectively, but there are some more traditional values in the Internet marketing world that hold true and can still be considered old standbys.
Like everything else you need to learn to crawl first on the Internet and that means you need to start by having a professional web design put together (don’t stint on this one and go the ‘cheep’ route as it will cost you more in the long run) so you can put your best image forward when you venture out into the global economy.
It’s still the case the best websites are the simplest and the old adage about content being king is still true because you need to have a good blend of the visual and the written to sell your customers on your goods and services. You want your landing page to be concise and easy to use as well because many studies have shown you only have up to nine seconds to hook your customer and if they need to go looking for the right tab or button to take them where they want to go for too long, the chances are they might just click away.
Of course there are things you need to look at outside your website to get it noticed and one of the great techniques that has been working for years and is showing no signs of abating is article marketing which now incorporates well written Blogs as well. You need to find a good content supplier that understands the nuances and strategy of your online marketing efforts. Once you do, you can start positioning yourself as an expert in the field and pointing several links back to your website to get both reputation and traffic in a one-two punch.
E-mail marketing is another of those traditional techniques that still seems to be in widespread use today. It’s important to keep in mind here that you want to have a responsive opt in e-mail list of clients and prospects you can send a newsletter to.
Once again, it’s in your best interest to use a professional content writer so your newsletter has a professional edge that will draw prospects and clients to it.
You should also be aware research has shown that men and women use the Internet differently and this can affect your content choices once you narrow down your niche market. For example, men are more apt to stay updated on political news while women are more interested in health-related issues. Women are more spiritual in the type of content they search for on the Internet while men are more likely to buy travel reservations online.
While this information may have nothing specifically to do with the kind of newsletter or Internet marketing techniques you use, it’s still a good idea to understand the background of the people you will be targeting so you can adjust the kind of language you use accordingly.
Myths about Online Marketing
If there’s any one myth that refuses to die it’s the one that says, “If you build a website, then traffic will come to it.” Completely untrue. Totally untrue, yet it’s still around, and we know that because we still read comments, in forums, that reflect that type of belief.
Before you ever finish that website you’re working on, hopefully you already have some kind of plan or idea in mind about generating traffic to it. If you do nothing at all and just hope “they’ll come,” then you will starve if you’re depending on it for food. Should you be interested to be number one for your keywords in Google; then you will have to do the appropriate on and off page search engine optimization.
Another myth is that marketing on the Internet requires only a few hours of your time to manage. This is not true because you will eventually have to work hard in order to see any results. This means that you have to test and do more testing if you want to be successful.
You will have to try new methods and tweak website details in order to find out what performs better for your site. In addition, monitoring different campaigns and talking to your targeted market will require hours of your time. Sometimes you will have to spend days working on a campaign just to get it up and running.
So do not believe that you only have to commit 2 hours a day to internet marketing because this is false. Again working with an SEO professional will reduce the ‘learning; time and fast track your site.
The easiest way to get traffic is pay per click – or is it so? This is actually a myth because dabbling with PPC and actually finding success with it requires you to put in a lot of time, effort and above all, money. It’s really not recommended for brand new marketers if you are going to do it yourself only because it requires knowledge about a lot of areas to do well in.
Once you’ve made enough money, you can go ahead and experiment. All we can tell you is to get some learning on the subject, then proceed with caution if you’re new to it. What may seem like common sense may not be that way for another, and that’s why it will help to work with an SEO professional to assist you to learn what works and what does not and doing it this way will allow you a ‘tactical’ tool for driving up traffic and conversions but be prepared to allocate a budget for at least six months.
by Marianna Muscat | Jan 13, 2011 | Online Marketing
The optimization of your website for search engines and submission to search engines and directories should stay your number one priority in 2011 for internet marketing. By researching keywords your ideal customers might be using in connection with your products or services and writing content based on these keywords, you can further increase traffic to your website.
Search engines love fresh and relevant content. Adding a blog to your website and writing regular articles is another way of adding fresh content on a regular basis.
Link Building
Link building is still the most effective way to increase your website’s popularity and with that your rankings in search engines search results. If you haven’t embarked on a link building campaign yet, start by exchanging links with other establishments and businesses. Our SEO packages, including article submissions to hundreds of article directories and blogs have also proven to establish a reputable amount of one-way links.
Google Adwords
Between 20 – 30% of visitors searching Google click on the first 3 adds, which are sponsored adds. That should be reason enough to convince you that Google Adwords are able to get you more targeted traffic.
Google Places
Google has changed a lot of things recently, but three of the most obvious changes are the introduction of Google Instant, Google Preview, and the fact that Google is promoting Google Places listings more, spreading them throughout organic search results. In some cases, we have seen over 100 visits per week to some businesses on Google Places listing. You can also post news on your Google Places listing and offer visitors one or more discount coupons. With that, we believe your business listing on Google Places should receive as much attention as your best directory listings.
Conversion Optimisation
Conversion optimisation ensures that all the efforts spend on getting visitors to your site will pay off by turning lookers into buyers. Landing pages that are linked to your Google or other online ads provide increased conversion rates by putting the call to action in front of the potential customer.
Deliver on your bold promise
Now that you went through all the effort to attract your ideal guests, it’s time to deliver on your bold promise portrayed on all your marketing material. Now you need to “wow” them with your service and experience, making sure that your guest’s stay will become a memory of a lifetime for all the good reasons. All your marketing efforts boil down to the one chance you have while your guests are staying with you, thus every single person involved in creating this experience is part of your marketing team.
Reviews
Your reviews are everywhere and it is hard to hide them. The best method of ensuring that you are getting positive reviews is by managing your customers expectations. Rather under-promise and over-deliver and make sure your product images and service descriptions are detailed and 100% accurate.
Social Media
While Social Media made everything more dynamic and less controllable, it is very important that you, if you haven’t done so in the past, start embracing social media. Are you on Facebook? Do you ask your customers to ‘like’ you on Facebook ? There are incredible opportunities for your company to stay in touch with your customers and let them share their experience with their family and friends. Your customers are your #1 ambassadors of your company, they share their experience with their friends and family and influence who will and who will not be your next customer. Social Media offers them the tools to share their experience and you the opportunity to provide them with the right “marketing material”. You don’t need to be a computer geek to start embracing social media, come along with us on this exciting journey to learn more about social media and how to integrate a strategy that can benefit you.
E-mail Newsletters
A regular e-mail newsletter sent out two to four times per year to your existing client base is a great way of keeping in touch with your customers and to maintain top of mind awareness Wouldn’t a good friend of yours be happy to hear from you from time to time? Wouldn’t a great special or an upcoming event be a reason to come back? Wouldn’t it help to remember your name if next time a friend asks them for their recommendation on where to buy…? Well, we know it would.
During the recession and the past months, it has become very clear that those companies with a high percentage of repeat and referred visitors have been able to sustain good sales levels. With so much choice and extremely competitive pricing, a customer who has been referred to you will not browse the internet ending up at your competitors door step.
We thank you for reading and hope you could pick up the one or other idea for 2011 – We look forward to working with you in 2011.
by Marianna Muscat | Nov 25, 2010 | Online Marketing
So, you’ve decided to hire an internet marketing company. Congratulations! Before you kick back your heels and say “go do it” to your newly hired partners, though, here are a few things you’ll need to know about internet marketing.
Change your website: You’ll have to change your web site. A lot. Search engine optimization will require changes to content, code and maybe your entire server infrastructure. Conversion optimization and testing will require tweaks to your site design. Make sure you’ve got access and resources to handle that.
Social media is everywhere: You will end up on Facebook, and Twitter, and who knows where else. Get used to it.
Branding: Your branding people will freak out. Lose their minds. Swallow their own tongues. Because your internet marketing firm is going to push things. In social media, nut cases win…. It’s true. Everyone is eccentric, one way or another. Some people sing to themselves all the time. Others clean their houses compulsively. I’m a wild biker type when not presenting myself professionally. I have a stamp on my desk that reads “Customers find them. AND KILL THEM.” There you have it.
Test everything: Your assumptions will be challenged. A good internet marketing agency will want to test everything. They’ll add a big red ‘buy now’ button to the home page, or move navigation around, or tweak your e-mail marketing creative.
Turnaround times: Turnaround times will shrink. Rapid iteration is the best way to win at internet marketing.
Content is king: Someone’s gonna have to write. No content, no marketing. Period.
Social media requires characters
Sanity is boring. In social media, sanity is also fatal. If you want to stand out in social media, you can’t afford to be ‘low-key’ or ‘mainstream’. You can’t ‘have wide appeal’. You need to be a character. Just a teensy bit nuts. Loopy, in a friendly kind of way. Some people might even call it ‘passionate’.
I’m not talking about being fake, or pretending you’re someone you’re not. You don’t need to fake craziness. You need to tap into your own personal form of craziness. You have one.
There’s no way you don’t. You do something that makes people avoid eye contact and back away slowly. When you do that, you’re also tapping into whatever it is that makes you great at what you do.
I’m a salesman with a yen for writing. Of course I went into marketing! Letting my inner Woody Allen out, just a little, makes writing this blog fun. It also attracts a certain kind of reader – the kind I like to talk to.
It’s about getting crazy in a good way. Sort of like me right now. I’m typing like a caffeinated Tasmanian Devil. It’s not the most focused thing I’ve ever written, but damn, it’s fun.
Go crazy
Too many companies approach social media like it’s going to explode. They’re tentative, nervous, and afraid to show any personality when that’s precisely what they need to do. So, Ms./Mr. Blue Chip CEO, give it a shot. Give us just a teensy taste of what makes your company a nut case. We’ll thank you for it
The short version: Everyone on your team, from the web developers to the designers to the CEO, are going to be uncomfortable. A good internet marketing firm will work just as hard to fit things to your own culture, to a point. but a good firm will also be brutally honest if they feel you’re hurting yourself.
Nothing ventured is nothing gained and what better place to test than online marketing which is completely measurable and where you can change stream in an instant providing you with marketing nirvana.
