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[W203]Web Marketing And Advertising

by Tom Mccarrick, Tom

It is possible to be successful at Internet Marketing, and many people are making a nice living at it right now. For the most part, It is not (as many advertisers would claim) a “get-rich-quick” method and it's not something that can be set up to run on auto-pilot. It will take work and lots of time, and the more time spent putting a good foundation in place, the better guarantee there is of future success.

For a newbie Internet Marketer, there is a bewildering variety of products currently available (both free and subscription-based) and it can be a daunting and a time-consuming prospect to sift through all the offers and promotions available, and choose something definite to promote and market. Anyone starting out could be forgiven for thinking that it's all a “walk in the park” to be an online success. “Spin” is rife among marketers and it is difficult to get sound, unbiased information.

At the end of the day, to be a success online, two things are essential. (I am assuming here that you have a personal website, or blog. If not, it is very easy to set one up).

1.You must drive traffic to your website

2.You must have a list of subscribers

No. 1 will provide growth to no. 2. Your subscriber list will be your main source of revenue, so it's important to work on the marketing of your site and build your online presence.

It is possible to earn a good living on the Web if you don't have either of these. For example, you can carry out your business through affiliate marketing or through selling on Ebay. There are many others, like report writing, that are beyond the scope of this article. Two things that will be necessary however if you go the “no-website” route: an email address and a PayPal account.

But for the purposes of this article, the assumption is that you have your own website. Cast an objective look at the home page, and ask yourself if it is a website that you would spend some time looking around. There must be something unique about it, something that will intrigue visitors and make them want to find out more. Have your “opt-in list” panel in a prominent position, near the top with a heading referring to a free offer. This could be a useful guide that you have resell rights to, or a weekly or monthly newsletter. If you can juxtapose a graphic of the report , better still.

And it's very important to aim for “repeat traffic”. So that your readers will want to revisit again and again, keep your blog updated frequently. This will help to increase the interest level, and it will give you better page rank with search engines, because they always register new content.

Trackbacks are another great marketing tool – that is, html links to other blogs which have content relevant to yours. They help to increase visibility with search engines, and with other readers.

Sounds obvious, right? Yet during my judging of sites for the Webby Awards this year (my eighth time), failing to state clearly and prominently where the business operates is a common error, made by architectural firms, real estate developers, a one-state restaurant directory, a regional chain of hospitals, environmental engineers and others.

If you work nationally or internationally, web visitors might not realize that unless you say something like "From our headquarters in St. Cloud, Minnesota, we work with clients throughout North America and Europe." Or, "Thanks to telephone conference calls and web-based collaboration tools, we can serve you regardless of where you live."

Specifying your location and service area also helps you rank higher when shoppers search for a provider via geographical words. When you have a location-relevant business, don't use only one geographical phrase, use many of them.

For instance, let's suppose you have a pest-control business in Milford, Connecticut and serve customers within a 20-mile radius of your headquarters. One option that would help you come up in web searches would be to list all the towns you service. You could place such a list in a sidebar column and introduce it with ?Getting rid of bugs and rodents in??

Besides naming towns where you operate, you should think of general terms for your area, including the name of the county, the nearest big city, town neighborhoods and any local nicknames for your surroundings, so that you incorporate phrases like ?Greater New Haven,? ?New Haven area,? ?New Haven suburbs? and ?Naugatuck Valley.?

Where should you insert your location terms when location is central to your business? Always insert your most important location term in at least these four places: 1)Your graphical top banner. This is the picture that appears not only on top of your home page but also on top of major every page of your site. 2) Your page title. This is the wording that shows up in the upper left corner of your visitor's browser. 3) Along the bottom of every page (designers call this the ?footer?) along with your telephone number. 4) On the Contact page.

In addition, search engine optimization experts recommend you include location words: 5) In the alt-tag for the site's top banner. The alt-tag is the little label that shows up when a user puts their mouse over an image. 6) In alt-tags for other graphics and photos included in the site. 7) Wherever appropriate, in photo captions. A caption is the line or two below a photo that identifies what's in it.

Finally, try to include at least your most important geographical term in page headlines and subheads. These should be coded with the html command ?h1? and ?h2,? respectively.

By taking these measures, you maximize the chances that people looking for what you sell where you sell it can find you online. You also maximize the chances that when they reach your site, they realize quickly that you operate in the area they're searching for. You then have the opportunity to turn your web site visitor into a customer.

Article Source : online marketing objectives

About Author

Both Tom Mccarrick & Marcia Yudkin are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Tom Mccarrick has sinced written about articles on various topics from Computers and The Internet, About My Space and Computers and The Internet. Internet Marketing & List Building . Tom Mccarrick's top article generates over 18100 views. to your Favourites.

Marcia Yudkin has sinced written about articles on various topics from Internet Marketing, Writing and Marketing. Marcia Yudkin is the author of 11 books and publisher of the popular newsletter, The Marketing Minute. Ideas and techniques for getting found in geographical searches are part of her report, "Do-It-Yourself SEO." It's easy to follow and just $29.95:. Marcia Yudkin's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.