What is Web 2.0? Most of us have been hearing this term "Web 2.0" for quite sometime. It has been tagged as the ?next big thing' in marketing one's website. It has also been touted as a marketing tool that can help websites stand apart from the crowd of the millions of other websites scrambling to get more traffic. So what is Web 2.0 exactly? You will find lengthy pages of text describing what Web 2.0 means but no one has been able to exactly get down to the crux of it. To cut a long story short, Web 2.0 basically implies a protocol that comprises a common set of characteristics that separate the successful dot com companies from the failures.



Web 2.0 marketing tips So now that we have an understanding of Web 2.0 and what it signifies, let's discover a few simple tips and tricks to help market Web 2.0 better. Web 2.0 can present a powerful mechanism to market one's website better.

Web 2.0 design characteristics: Usually a website that employs a Web 2.0 design has a better chance at being more successful. Some of the common characteristics of a Web 2.0 design include:

A clear, uncomplicated layout and design

All the content will usually be laid out around a central axis

Rather than focus on the page design these websites focus on designing the content to attract more traffic.

These websites also use a lot of centrally placed designing which helps to give an impression of clear, uncluttered content and a simplistic view of the website.

Neutral tones and color combinations work best because they serve to complement the content itself rather than distracting the viewer.

The same concept goes for the usage of 3D graphics. These are used only where necessary. The basic idea is to provide enough of free space on the webpage, not cluttering it unnecessarily with loads of content. It's quite like when you put way too much makeup. It begins to look ridiculous after sometime.

Usage of large sized text helps in readability and getting the point across.

Web 2.0 provides great independence: Web 2.0 is essentially a concept that facilitates creative freedom. It empowers users to alter content in a manner that will be of use to them. It helps active reading vis-?-vis a passive student teacher kind of environment. That way any small sized start up can use Web 2.0 technologies to promote their website and products and services. By using a combination of mix and match of the right software and technologies, companies have helped increase targeted traffic to their websites.

Reaching the ?right' audience at the ?right' time: Successful marketing and sales is all about being there at the right time, in front of the right kind of people and creating the right impression. This may seem like an uphill task in a more passive environment like the television or radio, but on a platform like Web 2.0, the possibilities are endless. As a website owner, using Web 2.0 means getting to control the content you send to viewers, shaping this content to reflect the right image of your company and most importantly getting people to actively participate in two way dialogues with your organization. This is not just sales where the job is done once the product is sold. It is marketing and the results from Web 2.0 are long lasting and far reaching.

A start from the bottom: Web 2.0 presents an opportunity for employees in an organization, no matter what level to communicate and converse in a manner that eventually trickles upwards to the higher management. This is pretty revolutionary in its concept. While earlier one had the traditional concept of top down marketing, now it's the other way round. This one seems to be working even better. Be it strategic feedback from employees on the performance of a firm or better tips and ideas to market one's website better, Web 2.0 can be the platform of choice

All in all, Web 2.0 has great potential, just as millions of companies have realized and now everybody is jumping on the ?Web 2.0 bandwagon'.