Driving tons of traffic to your website
is all well & good...
But...
How many of those visits result in a
Sale? Do visitors find your site
interesting?
How long do they stay?
Will they ever come back?
Will They Ever Buy
From Your Website?
Dear !-FIRSTNAME-!,
Did
you know that the average Internet surfer loses interest and clicks
away from your site in just 6 seconds if they don't see something
that catches their attention? And did you also know that if they
don't find what they're looking for in the next 16 seconds, they're
gone - forever!
So what's your solution?
How do
you get them to stay longer?
How do you get them to stay long enough to understand your value?
How can
you get them to make a buying decision in such a short time?
That's
Why They Invented Online Video!
Read on...
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TOP TIP...
Profitable
Link Building...
This is possibly the least understood
aspect of SEO. Search engines look at a link from another website to
your website as a popularity vote - as a power ranking for your
site. The more websites which link to yours, the better; especially
if the linking site has content relevant to yours.
Unfortunately, just like keywords and
meta-data, link building has been abused by developers using tricks
like 'link farms' where sites are created for the sole purpose of
containing links to other sites. These are frowned upon by Google
especially, which can penalize you for using paid links to boost
your site ranking artificially.
Be careful when using link building,
and only link to sites that are related to yours or through relevant
directorie sites & article banks.
Websites are a highly
cost-efficient and valuable promotional medium and a dull, static site is just a waste of
your time, money and resources! Our sole mission
is to raise awareness of
powerful & inexpensive New Media promotional tools and how they are
used to Convert Viewers into Customers!
The Internet has always
been an information superhighway, but till recently it
had only 2 lanes - text & images. Information in various
formats has always been available on-demand 24/7, but
always in the form of text and images.
No longer - 2 more fast
lanes have been added to this information superhighway -
Audio & Video. These have rapidly gained popularity to
the extent that most viewers today prefer to receive
their information in an audio-visual format. The
great quality experience has totally eclipsed dead
websites - and why? Simple - Audio & video is just more
appealing than boring old text.
So how do you maximize your marketing with web video?
The simple answer to this is "educate your
viewer".
Education is proven to make
a 'buying decision' easier for any viewer. A buying
decision is not necessarily about money - it could mean
buying into an idea or a concept. Many people browse the
Internet to find a solution or to research information
and video has been shown to be the most powerful medium
to transmit this knowledge.
Why is video preferred over text-based information?
One reason is quite obvious - because video shows proof
that real human being is involved in the process. People
tend to believe what they read but almost always believe
what they can see with their own 2 eyes. If your video
can present them with proof of any solution - whether
its using a particular book, machine, service or
whatever, it can then create powerful emotional triggers
in the viewer's mind which in turn stimulates a buying
decision.
The thought, "hey, it worked for him, didn't it? Why
wouldn't it work for me?" ends up converting the
viewer into a customer. On the other hand it is also
possible that after watching a video a viewer may
discover that this is not what they were looking for -
for which they would probably be thankful to you for not
wasting their time!
And so we see that education makes it easy for an
individual to make a decision quickly and guide him
towards the right path - and web video is the easiest
way to do this.
A huge benefit of web video is that it can be played
"on-demand". the video resides on your server or at a
video portal interested viewers can access it at any
time.
Web Video has already
become the preferred marketing vehicle for a new
generation of online marketers and Internet Viewers
alike so keep this in mind...
The Ten Commandments of
Search Engine Optimization
Moses Jr.
When a client says,
"Your competition has guaranteed top results and submission to
100,000 Search Engines and Directories", We need to start educating
them that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a process and not an
event - don't just add random keywords and submit the site to every
directory possible and assume you'll get a no. 1 ranking. Hopefully
this article will help distinguish the shysters from the genuine SEO
companies.
Commandment 1: Thou Shalt Not Guarantee Rank (Period!)
Search Engines alone control their indexing and ranking algorithms.
Trying to trick Search Engines is a futile process and the only way
to improve your rank is to play within the rules, which are very
simple: make it logical and provide valuable content for the site
visitor - after all, that's who the crawlers (little programs that
constantly crawl all over the web) are interested in serving.
If your SEO person tries
to sell you a magic formula like "Top rank on Google in 10 days
flat", forget it - there are no short cuts! A top ranking on Search
Engines takes time and effort. Hard work is imperative, especially
in developing the content on your website and links to your site.
Commandment 2: Thou Shalt Consider Ranking as Means but Not the
End.
Ask yourself what a top search engine rank means to you? While it's
great for your ego to be No. 1, you should be more concerned with
increasing sales on your website, or at the very least, in driving
qualified traffic to your site. Ranking for the right keywords
(keywords used by your target audience) is what is important. There
are SEOs who will try to demonstrate case results for keywords that
occur only on your website. Be careful of such gimmicks.
Commandment 3: Love Thy Neighbor but Know Thy Competition.
"Rank" is just a relative position. How well you do in search
engine rankings is a function of how much hard work you've done
compared to your competition. Carry out a careful analysis of their
keywords, links, etc., don't copy them exactly.
Commandment 4: Love Thy Search Engine - Use Friendly Design.
A search and visitor-friendly design is a given. Your website should
be interesting enough to encourage repeat visits by search engines
as well as potential customers. Make sure you have search engine
friendly URLs and avoid those long URLs with query strings attached.
Commandment 5: Select Keywords that are Worthy.
You need to research your keywords before targeting them, since
there are an infinite number of variations which would be
cost-prohibitive to target, not to mention ineffective. WordTracker,
for example is a tool that gives you an idea of a keyword's search
potential. It is advisable to start a keyword campaign with moderate
competition and a high number of searches.
Commandment 6: Thou Shalt Write Great Content.
Even if a website site is technically friendly to search engine
robots (those crawlers again), it won't help unless you also fill it
with valuable information and content. Contextual and editorial
value are highly prized by Search Engines and good content brings
repeat visits - not just by search engines but also by viewers and
increases the possibilities of conversion. Your web page should have
your desired action embedded in the content and you must also make
sure that the content is fresh and regularly updated.
Commandment 7: Honor Thy Hyper-Linking Strategy.
Hyperlinks make your content accessible and put it in context.
Hyperlink in the right context within your website to cthe
appropriate content on other websites. Good links are appreciated by
the Search Engines and by visitors alike. No one likes to be taken
to a site selling "apples" when they're really shopping for a
"Macintosh"!
Commandment 8: Make Thine Meta-Content Relevant and Original.
Meta content is all that code stuff you see behind your web page and
it is much like a business card. Just as a business card tells who
you are and what you do, Meta-content tells the search engines
everything they need to know - like the relevance and context of
your web page. Resist the temptation to fill your Meta content with
as much as you can cram in, but do make sure it is reasonably well
detailed.
Commandment 9: Acquire Thou, Links That Are Relevant.
Incoming and Outgoing links are the roads in and out of your web
page for search engines and visitors. Good links improve your
webpage's value on the World Wide Web and bad links poke holes in
your credibility. Be carefully selective in reciprocal linking. Both
reciprocal and one way links work well, but only if you are prudent
in selecting who you link to. Submit your website to the relevant
sections in relevant directories - remember, relevancy is the key!
Commandment 10: Consult Thou An Expert.
If you are technically competent (and have the time to spare) there
are 2 ways to learn - from your mistakes or from others' experience.
SEO is a laborious process (remember, its not a one-time thing) and
if you have the time and expertise you can do it yourself. However,
if you're more interested in running your business instead of
wrestling with codes and techniques, you're much better off - both
financially and time-wise, if you consult the experts.
Sooner or later you're going to be asking
yourself these questions...
How do I get more customers?
How can I get my customers to spend
more money with me?
How can I get better quality of
leads without breaking the bank account?
Is there a better way of targeting
my advertising so that I win much more than I lose?
And here are 3 strategies to help you
answer those questions:
Strategy #1. - Understand The
Lifetime Value Of Your Clients
Strategy #2. - Build Up Your
Customer List
Strategy #3. - Develop A Strong
Relationship With Your Prospects And Clients
Strategy #1: Understand the 'Lifetime
Value' Of Your Clients:
Every business owner needs to fully understand the life time value
of their customers.
This is the total profit that a customer will bring to your business
over the lifetime of your dealings with that customer.
The following example will explain why it's important to know this
number: Let's pretend you own a book store. If your customer spends
$50 every time they walk into your store, and they visit once a
month for 4 years, a customer is worth $2400.00. The math would look
like this: $50 (average bill) x 12 (number of visits) x 4 (number of
years).
Think of how much money you're missing out on if you were thinking
of only one transaction?
Let's take a look at another example: John Smith sells a cd plus
manual kit on how to self-publish a book. The initial manual set is
worth $500. John knows that over the lifetime of a customer, a
significant number will spend somewhere between $20,000 and $40,000
with additional products!
By knowing his numbers he can afford to allocate a significant
amount of money towards his advertising budget to bring in more
customers. Why? Because he is equipped with information that he'll
make it up on average over the lifetime of the customer.
Strategy #2. - Build Your Client List
Always collect their names, emails, and other contact information
from your customers.
How will you stay in contact with your customers if you don't
collect your information? And if you do ask for their contact
details on your sales slips and invoices, be sure you are using
them!
And if you are wondering how you collect them it is as simple as
asking them for it. This is best done during your customers'
purchasing process by asking them to fill out a form with their
details. There are many successful companies who did this for years
and would mail you catalogs in the mail.
Don't you remember getting them? And when you received these
catalogs you would find a comfortable place to relax with pen in
hand checking off or earmarking the items you would later order.
This enabled these companies to make more money from their
customers.
Another way to get your customers to give you their contact
information is by having a monthly drawing in which a prize will be
given. It will amaze you how many names you could collect by doing
this.
Let's say you own a restaurant, you can offer a free dessert to
everyone who drops their business card into a fish bowl. It's not
impossible to collect over 1000 names over the course of a month.
How much will a dessert cost? $2 - $3, if that much. If all business
owners were to implement this marketing strategy alone, they would
be protecting their businesses in the face of stiff competition.
They could send out snail mail to their customers with special
offers on slow nights and watch them come flocking in.
This can also be done with emails and faxes. You want to generate
more business? No problem. Send out a special promotion.
Strategy #3. - Forge A Strong Relationship With Your Prospects &
Clients:
If you want to generate new business that you can keep for a
lifetime then you'd better make it a number one priority to keep in
touch with your customers. The reason you'd want to do this is so
that you can remain at the top of mind with your clients. When
they're ready to buy, you're the one they'll think of first.
It's not unusual to hear cases in which a business will send out
newsletters to their customers for years before they buy. You want
to position yourself in such a way that when they're ready to buy --
you'll get the sale.
The lesson here: keep communicating and following up with your
customers until they're ready to place an order with you.
Blogging is hugely vital to boost
your Search Engine Optimization effort - it is a means of increasing
traffic to your web site and ensuring that it ranks high on search
engine results pages like Google and directories like Yahoo.
A blog (short for "weblog") is just a web site containing the
owner's thoughts & opinions, allowing readers to also post
their own comments. Blogs while commonly used as online diaries made
public, have now evolved into important channels of business
communication in getting their message out to consumers.
Blogs naturally attract search engine traffic because they have an
optimized site architecture with clear navigation, linked pages, and
the potential for well-linked, keyword-rich content - not to mention
that many of the more prominent ones are actually owned by Search
Engine companies, which naturally favor their own real estate when
it comes to indexing.
Keyword-rich text content will enable your blog to rank higher on
search engines, so make sure to use keywords in your post titles,
category names, and page names. Updating your blog regularly and
keeping it fresh and context-heavy, will rank it high on search
engine results.
Hint: you can create and update your blog using WordPress on your
Netfirms account. WordPress 2.0 Content Management Tool is included
in Netfirms PLUS, ADVANTAGE, and BUSINESS hosting plans. Just login
to your control panel, install WordPress, and start blogging!
Extend Your Reach
Allow audiences anywhere the
chance to participate in your Event in Real Time & share your event "Live!" with your
anyone, anytime, anywhere.
'Videocast' Your
Event LIVE!
Company AGMs
Product Launches
Corporate Events
Lectures
Free Seminars
Paid
Workshops
Online Training
Concerts
Sporting Events
Even Weddings & Memorial Services
and more...
While Webcasting your Event Live is often used to
broadcast sports or music events to the world, it is also
a very powerful tool for
companies who may wish, for example, to reach shareholders or
maybe to have more of their workforce involved
in a meeting - but without wasted time, effort or travel costs.
Live Event Streaming can
send video and audio of any event being held Live - events like a
company Annual General Meeting (AGM), weddings or just about any other event
to viewers around the world, allowing them to watch it from the comfort of their
own homes or offices. Anywhere you want to be, Streaming Media will help you
broadcast successfully. You can now reach a much wider audience over
a much larger geographic area anywhere in the world - an all this using a regular
internet connection.Read All about
it...
Free Offers & Promotions
Free Domain
Registration (depending on availability) and
Web Hosting for 3 months with your order of
any Streaming Video for your website
Bill Dyer of Dyer & Associates got
himself a professional new look with a neat little
package containing his own logo, a pro corporate-type
headshot and his short, online streaming web video all
on his own compact website, to better explain the value
of his service.
Check out his site at:
www.dyerandassociates.ca to see what a professional
look and streaming video will do for your image...
Thank
you for your interest in MediaStreams. We appreciate any feedback you
can give us. Please do let us know how we can serve you better and if there are any
specific areas
of interest you would like us to cover, do give us the heads
up - we will do our best to accommodate your requests.
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But...
How many of those visits result in a
Sale?
