Basic Internet Marketing Strategies Using Google Adwords to Market Your Small Business Online
December 23, 2009
Using these Internet Marketing Strategies to market your small business online will get the best return on investment and allow you to dominate your competitors plus you will be paying less for your clicks than your competition.
You don’t have to be afraid of the Google slap when you apply these basic rules when using Google Adwords.
When you are using Google adwords for an affiliate campaign your job will be to pre-sell the prospect before they go to the company sales page. There are several ways to do this.
When you are writing copy for your pre-sale landing page keep in mind you are helping someone find a solution to their problem or pain. People will always move away from pain into pleasure, you just have to show them how.
If you always keep solving the person’s problem your focus you will never have to sell them, they will want the solution you are offering them.
Google is doing the same thing. Their concern is on the millions of eyes that read their search results and ads. These are the people they are trying to please by giving them what they are searching for. So if you always keep your solution as relevant and targeted to the problem of your prospect the easier it will be to sell the product.
When you do this Google will reward you by charging you less for your clicks. The people in the number 1 spot of the Google sponsored links are paying less than the people below them. It is all about relevancy.
Give the people what they want and Google will give you what you want.
The best way to do this is to keep your keywords, ad copy, ad groups and landing pages, all congruent. If you do not follow these simple principles Google will raise your cost per click, ban your ads and slap your pages. Google can suspend your account for as long as they want also.
This is not a good thing because Google is really the only game in town for advertising if you are talking reaching the major part of the market. It is much more effective to learn to give Google what they want, which is to satisfy the people searching.
Buyers know what they want and are on Google searching for it. There are also other ways to use Google Adwords in the content network. Most marketers just focus on the search network because the buyers are more aggressive. The content network can be a goldmine if you write your ad copy with thought streaming in mind.
Keeping these basic ideas in mind when using Google adwords to market your small business online will help keep your expenses down and keep you from being banned by Google. These internet marketing strategies will greatly increase your ROI when you market your small business online.
Sherrie Chastain
http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/basic-internet-marketing-strategies-using-google-adwords-to-market-your-small-business-online-724109.html
Google Adwords for Small Business
December 13, 2009
It was in 2007 that I really got a breakthrough .I was reading and learning new techniques of business using the Internet. Google had introduced a powerful new medium called Google Adwords (adwords.google.com ) . It is basically a classified type of an advertisement but it appears in a large part of the Google network . It also appears as sponsored listing when someone searches for a particular product on the right hand side of the search result page . It just so happened that i was looking for ways to promote a small website I did for a small family owned business of grandpa and dad . After submitting in popular classifieds websites and business directories I was just checking different ideas.We did get some queries and references by posting in some classifieds websites
It was then that an engineer friend and me discussed at length about Google Adwords . After going through a few days of rough reading i decided it was okay to do it.What started as a simple thing multiplied into such a powerful platform and medium . My engineer friend was kind enough to allow me to use his Google Adwords account to make a account for myself.At that time I started making a small advertisement for the family business website I had made.
The advertisement would appear whenever some searched for used machines or other such terms and keywords mentioned below in detail. It would appear on the right under the column sponsored links and listings .Google would charge us only when someone would click our ad and visit our website.Though at that time the ads were costly per click . I still maintained a budget of around 125 USD a month .
I started getting inquiries on the email I had mentioned on our home page and also my fathers phone number was mentioned and people started calling up my father for their requirement of machines.In about a years time I had gained full understanding of how the adwords.google.com worked and how powerful a medium it is.Have u experienced or understood electricity as a powerful medium.As people started writing in I had a hard time keeping up with answering their emails and doing some other things. It was tough as I was going a through long term depression. And in the second year I started writing to people in greater details and started sending them photographs of the machines i had clicked.This gave the customers and clients some sense of security.We sold more than 30 machines in a brief span of time.It still was a difficult task as to how the machines were being sold and how I was able to get the contacts .Some key people from key companies came and bought machines.It was clear that the medium of Google ads was proving more than a help.As time passed by Google reduced the prices of their clicks and now it seems quite reasonable and sensible for us. Google also has a strict quality check on unwanted or invalid or fake clicks. If some company or person tries to do it the Google servers are able to detect it and label it as an invalid click.
Niraj Chandan
http://www.articlesbase.com/ppc-advertising-articles/google-adwords-for-small-business-747058.html
Large Us Bank – Roi Case Study – Nucleus Research
December 5, 2009
“The company’s main returns have come through the elimination of training-related travel costs and the increased productivity of its sales representatives.”
– Nucleus Research, Research Note D58, December 2004
The bank’s Private Client Services division has been able to provide online courses to a geographically diverse student population through SumTotal learning managment system (LMS) The company’s main returns have come through the elimination of training related travel costs and the increased productivity of its sales representatives.
“The company’s main returns have come through the elimination of training-related travel costs and the increased productivity of its sales representatives.”
– Nucleus Research, Research Note D58, December 2004
Sumtotal Systems
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/large-us-bank-roi-case-study-nucleus-research-56694.html
A Website is not Enough
December 5, 2009
Your small business needs an appealing and professional website but that is just the beginning. If no one visits your website and — more importantly — if it does not bring in new customers and allows you to sell more to your current customers, then your site is not effective. What do you need to improve your online marketing efforts?
The first step is to decide on a primary goal for your website. Is it to directly sell products or services through e-commerce? Or is the goal to capture leads so you can follow-up and make the sale by email and phone?
For e-commerce you need a website design with a shopping cart system, that encourages people to purchase products using the shopping cart. Both the design and written content should maintain this focus.
If your goal is to capture leads, the key is to have the content that provides initial information about your products and services that interests prospective customers. It should be easy for the prospective customer to fill out a contact form and hit the submit button or call your 800-number. The form should be submitted to a contact management system such as Salesforce or SugarCRM.
Getting it Done
Your business needs a professional website, which can cost between $2,000 — $15,000 to design. This is not only more than most small businesses want to spend but also unnecessary to succeed on the Web.
For small business there is usually little need for an elaborate, expensive website. You can get an appealing and professional website design for as little as $250.
The key to a professional website design is to work with a good designer who takes the time to listen to you and translate your vision into an effective website. Your designer must be as skilled in listening as in design.
Once the site is completed there must be an easy way for you – or someone on your behalf — to maintain the website. The designer should provide you with an easy-to-use content management system (CMS), enabling you to edit your website without having to contact your designer. This saves you money.
Once you have a professional website you have the foundation for marketing online. You can build on that foundation and use the Internet as an effective marketing tool.
Search Engine Marketing
Search engine marketing can be divided into two main categories: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and pay per click (PPC).
Please do a Google search right now for something pretty popular (e.g., coffee). The results on the left side of the browser window that reach down to the bottom of the page are the organic search results. The top results are generally the more popular sites. The highest ranking sites are those sites that have the most links from other websites (especially other high ranking sites). In a sense, other people have voted for the high ranking sites by linking to them. Often, the high ranking sites are the most popular but there is also a lot of gaming of the system. You cannot, however, pay Google to increase your site’s ranking.
On the right side of your search results and, sometimes, up at the top of the page are the “Sponsored Links.” These links are paid advertising through a system called Google Adwords. Look for the “Sponsored Links” heading and compare how these links look with the non-sponsored organic links.
Search Engine Optimization
To increase your search rankings in Google (and other search engines), you can do a number of things. We will focus on Google because of its dominant position as a search engine.
The truth is that it is a crowded field out there for most keywords. Your best bet is to find some niche keywords and work on those. It would be very difficult to achieve a high ranking for the keyword “coffee” but if you have a more specific niche you have a better chance of succeeding.
For example – and this is just an example for illustration, not necessarily a good keyword combination – “Guatemalan shade grown coffee” would be an easier space in which to compete. You would have a chance of rising to the top or at least getting on the first page of results.
The primary way to increase your ranking is to have other high ranking sites establish links to your site and have those links associated with specific keywords – such as “Guatemalan shade grown coffee” as in our example. What follows is a few ideas on how to do that in an ethically and effective way. Don’t be tempted by gimmicks because Google and other search engines are becoming more savvy, and can penalize sites that try to game the system too much.
First, submit your site to as many directories and other clearinghouse type sites in your industry as you can. That should probably be your first step in SEO. Again, use the keywords that you are most interested in associating with your site.
Submit your site to general directories that are organized by topic. Some sites charge money for fast consideration of your submission, and are probably worth it. For example, Yahoo Directory charges $300/year for expedited consideration of your submission. For other highly prized directories — such as the Open Directory Project — you just have to submit your site and hope it will be considered reasonably soon.
Next, talk to your vendors and people in related industries and see about arranging for link exchanges or perhaps even success stories that include a link. They link to you and, in exchange, you link to them.
Then start writing articles. The key to articles is to write about something you know and that has information that is genuinely interesting to your audience. Publish your article in publications that are related to your industry. If your article is published in web publications, you will not only get direct sales leads from your article but your article will also help your search engine position.
For example, our fictional coffee vendor could write an article on exactly why shade grown coffee is superior to non-shade grown coffee. Or, better yet, why “Guatemalan Shade Grown Coffee” is truly the best. The article would have to include facts to support this claim and not just fluff. Maybe the next article could be on how to make the perfect cup of coffee. I would be first in line to read that one.
The key thing to remember is that SEO is a long process. You rarely get instant results. It can take 8-12 months to see any significant progress. You have to keep at it.
Pay Per Click (ppc) Advertising
There are a number of PPC providers but we will focus on Google Adwords as they are currently the dominant PPC system.
First, you decide on the goal (called a conversion) of your Adwords campaign. Is it a direct sign-up? Is it capturing sales leads?
A conversion when the goal is achieved and Google Adwords keeps a running tally of your conversions and the cost per conversion. You can see the cost of obtaining a lead or the cost of getting a customer. You can determine if Adwords is working for you, and whether you should make adjustments or discontinue it completely. Generally, it takes a bit of experimentation to get it right but it can be a steady source of business for you. It is worth some effort as once it is set up well it runs and can bring in a steady stream of business.
You set a daily budget (say $35) and a maximum bid on specific keywords (say $2.75). You only pay when someone clicks on your ad click. So if you are bidding $2.75 you might only pay an average of say $2.60 per click. It depends on the keywords and how much you want to bid. Spend some time choosing good keywords. Google Adwords has tools to help you choose the most powerful keywords. You will also need to embed some special code in your website to enable Google to track conversions.
Google Adwords really works. Try it and see if it will work for you. It does not require a big investment to get started. In fact, some web hosting and design companies offer a coupon so you can get started with Adwords for free. Google Adwords is easier to use than you might think.
Permission-Based E-mail Marketing
Spammers have given Email marketing a bad name in much the same way that unethical salespeople have given sales a bad name. This is unfortunate as a knowledgeable salesperson can be an essential part of making good buying decisions. The same is true of good email marketing.
With permission-based email marketing – as opposed to spam – the receiver of the email has expressed interest. Think of spam as the wily salesman in the polyester suit — and think of permission-based email as the knowledgeable salesperson we respect.
For example, I am on an email list at a bookstore that I frequent. I look forward to the e-newsletters as they often have interesting content and good discounts. I enjoy receiving this e-newsletter and the bookstore gets more business from me as a result. I rarely go anywhere else to buy books. They have retained me as a customer and I buy more often at least in part because of their e-newsletter.
Email marketing can help you increase customer retention and help you earn more revenue from each customer by cross-selling and up-selling to your current customer base. It can also help you expand your client base.
Email marketing is becoming crucial to online marketing and – when done ethically and well — can be extremely effective. Sign up for a free trial with an email marketing service and see if it works for you. If not, try another service. Find a service that meets your needs.
You can grow your own email newsletter list with a sign up form on your website, and by asking for opt-in in your sign-up and lead capture forms.
What to look for in an Email Marketing Provider
At a minimum an email marketing service should make it easy for you to create eye-catching emails, manage multiple email lists, and place newsletter sign-up forms on your website. There should be powerful list management, robust reporting, and reliability. Your provider must also have excellent customer service.
Your email marketing service should include an easy way to track the results of your email campaigns. Who opened your email, how many times, and when? Did they click on the link you provided? Did they purchase anything or submit a lead? The service should enable you to track message reads in real time, and read detailed reports online or export them to a spreadsheet.
In addition, your email marketing service should give you the ability to manage multiple lists and divide lists into multiple segments.
Conclusion
Obtaining a website and marketing your products or services online does not have to be expensive. An economical way to accomplish these goals is to hire a company to design your website and provide you with bundled web hosting and permission-based email marketing services. It would be an added bonus if they can get you started using Google Adwords with a free coupon.
Shawn Hickman
http://www.articlesbase.com/seo-articles/a-website-is-not-enough-81377.html
How To Make PPC Work For Affiliate Marketing
December 5, 2009
As mentioned earlier, PPC stands for pay-per-click. PPC is an effective option for affiliate promotion, if it is done correctly. You should be aware of the word ‘pay’ in PPC. You will be required to pay for every click you receive on your link, and if you don’t pay close attention, your PPC costs can become astronomical!
PPC doesn’t always work for affiliate marketing. First, you must be aware of the rules at the site where you are getting your PPC. For instance, Google has rules about promoting affiliate programs with Google AdWords PPC program.
Google does permit affiliate links in their AdWords, but they will only display one affiliate ad per search query, and this includes that of the parent company. They also will not allow links to replicated affiliate websites.
So, what you must consider here is that since there are other affiliates selling the same product you are selling, the chances of your ad actually being seen and clicked on are very slim. Second, if you have a replicated website for your affiliate programs, your ad won’t show at all.
You must get more creative if you hope to profit from your affiliate programs using PPC. First, don’t use an affiliate link. Use your own link for your own domain, and send the visitor to your website first. You should also have them pass through a squeeze page first to collect their name and email address!
Start small with your PPC campaigns. Do your keyword research, and set yourself a budget. Work within that budget to test different ads. Also, avoid using long affiliate links. These links are obvious to people, and many people avoid them. Again, people do not like to be sold to.
Instead of using PPC to sell a product, use PPC to get qualified leads and to build a list. You will find that this is a much more economical and effective use of ppc in the long run. It may take just a little longer to make the sale, but if you are patient, you will earn more money than you would have otherwise.
Even if you use a PPC company that does allow the use of replicated websites, or will show more than one affiliate ad at a time, where your ad does have more potential for being seen and clicked, it is important that you drive your PPC traffic to the right place.
Again, the squeeze page is essential, as this will help you build a quality list of qualified leads. Many successful marketers use PPC for this purpose and this purpose only. If you drive the traffic straight from the PPC ad to the affiliate link, you won’t have any way to contact that visitor in the future.
Further more, you will most likely be driving the visitor to a sales page that may or may not convert the visitor. It is better to bring the visitor to your site and prep them for the sale. By the time they click on your affiliate link, they should have their credit card in hand, ready to make a purchase. This typically won’t happen if they are going from Google Search to your affiliate sales page.
The majority of buyers do not start out with the intention to buy. This is especially true on the Internet. On the Internet, where everything is free (according to many people), what buyers are looking for is free information or help.
If you can provide these people with the free information that they are looking for, or free tools that help them with their problem, you’ve won half the battle. Now, you are building a relationship, and you will profit greatly from that relationship over time.
When setting up a PPC campaign, become the customer in your mind. What does the customer want or need? How can you provide them with this free of charge in order to build a relationship? At what point is the customer primed to buy?
Only you can answer these questions, based on your niche, but in answer to the last question, you can bet that in most cases, the customer is not ready to buy when they click on your PPC link! You’ve got to get them into your process, and groom them for the sale.
Affiliate marketing isn’t just a question of signing up and then using PPC to sell the product, no matter what you’ve read elsewhere. Again, it’s about building a relationship with your future customers, so that they become life long customers.
Kurt Naulaerts
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-opportunities-articles/how-to-make-ppc-work-for-affiliate-marketing-54101.html