Posts filed under 'Internet Marketing'
I know better than to contradict someone like Daniel Gross when he says, “… as businesses, blogs may have peaked.” But if this means that blogs are losing their edge as a business pr tool, I’ll have to cautiously differ. Small businesses and nonprofit organizations are just beginning to innovate successfully with blogs, and freelance professionals still can quickly leave a big footprint in the blogosphere.
What happens on a national scale with mega corporations may not impinge upon the effectiveness of your small business or non-profit organization’s use of a blog. However, since blogging is beginning to grow up and there is a glut of average blogs on the market, the truth is that success in blogging requires innovation.
Brief Case Studies
Two innovators that caught my attention recently prove the point that it hasn’t all been done already. Jim Boykin of We Build Pages (a client), and the Pennsylvania Tourism Office.
Jim Boykin: SEO Blog
Jim Boykin heads a prominent search engine optimization company in an industry with a reputation for shady dealings. His blog, launched in September 2005, builds trust and community by discussing current issues and keeping company followers in touch with the latest product offerings and free tools he has developed.
The result of his blogging is evident on this Alexa traffic detail graph. Has all this blogging paid off in terms of business? For a man who sells the ability to generate traffic, I’d say it is likely to help.
Visit PA
The Pennsylvania Tourism Office hosts a blog community called Real People/Real Roadtrips that unfortunately pays bloggers to chronicle their trips across the state of PA. The principle of paying a blogger goes against the grain of the blogosphere, but this still is a very innovative project that deserves attention. The front page of the site looks sanitized and marketing focused, but the blog posts are personal and authentic.
This blog community shows real people enjoying different types of tourism and will likely be an effective recruitment tool for the State of PA. I expect others to follow suit, and I am sure others already have, but there is still a chance to be at the forefront of blogging in a new industry.
For more information on tourism and blogging, search Google for roadtrip blog and tourism blog.
So while blogging may be peaking, especially in the mainstream corporate world. However, real opportunities to create positive PR still exist within the blogosphere.
February 18th, 2006
While I still hold to everything I said in my Social Bookmarking “Research” post, I am developing more respect for Reddit’s radical democratic culture every day. I credit this post with helping me reorient my thinking.
My initial frustration came from receiving negative feedback on bookmarked stories (sometimes a great deal) with no context provided by comments. Now that I understand why the feedback comes without context, I can put it in its proper perspective.
Reddit’s feedback mechanism is so heavily used, at least from what I can tell, because of its ability to predict stories that will interest a reader based on their likes and dislikes. After I voted several stories up and down (I’d rather just ignore the ones I don’t like), I started receiving recommended stories that interested me without having to filter through the entire list of submitted stories myself.
Though I’m not sure that Reddit will be an everyday tool, it is an example of the rapidly emerging software built around the come to me Web structure that is made possible by RSS feeds.
February 18th, 2006
In part two of this series, I mentioned taking advantage of the geo-location efforts of the major search engines. It seems to me that the association of a confirmed physical address with a Web site will count favorably. Perhaps moreso in the future.
Today, I want to mention briefly a content strategy that will help to drive traffic to your Web site for targeted keywords that you have preselected. How can this be achieved? By doing effective keyword research, and by carefully crafted content based on themes derived from your keyword research.
But how can you do effective keyword research? Search Engine Visibility author, Shari Thurow, has published an excellent article on this subject. She points to several reliable tools for keyword research. “Many of you probably already use the keyword research tools available at Overture, Google, and Wordtracker. By all means, keep using these tools.”
Creating themed content is not as simple as keyword research. However, using a systematic archiving approach and creating regular content relevent to the keyword themes you have researched will easily begin to return results.
Conceptually, it is not difficult to create articles based on keyword themes, however, it does take work and a commitment to continue developing content. When it comes to search engine results, a large number of pages of related content is very valuable.
February 13th, 2006
This post assumes you read part one of the series.
If you are a small business contacting me for Web design services, you will receive different treatment than a corporate client who comes knocking (by email of course!). Why is this? By experience, I have learned that I need to make some assumptions about types of clients.
Assumptions About Corporate Clients
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The first assumption I make is that a corporation knows its marketing challenges and that it has already set a direction for advertising/marketing/promotion that is working. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have the budget to call me.
- My second assumption is that my feedback to a corporate client will deal with content suggestions and design approaches exclusively.
Though these two assumptions may not prove to be universally true, they have been a relatively reliable guide. Usually, if a corporation has a marketing challenge their budget allow an expert consultant to advise them in a particular area. This takes the load off of me in regards to their success and failure and allows me to focus on my core competency, which is after all, Web design!
Assumptions About Small Businesses
- What small businesses usually need is a marketing solution. While I can’t offer all pieces of this, I can help them think through their product offering, their likely allies, and we can research together what experts might need to be consulted to reach their goals.
- Small business clients (at least those just getting started) rarely have clearly articulated, measurable goals. I will try to determine if these goals are in place and how a Web site might help reach those goals.
Once we have an idea of what goals are set and what challenges there will be to their achievement, we can begin working on a small business Web site.
Without very clearly articulated goals, most small businesses do not continue to maintain a Web site and will not likely gain much from having one. Since I am invested in the success of my clients, this is something I want to avoid.
I love working with small businesses, it is where the greatest rewards can be had … and the greatest heartbreaks and losses. This is why, potential small business client, when you open a dialog I am likely to tell you hard truths as I see them and ask you tough questions before I ever design a Web site.
February 11th, 2006
Fresh out of college with a BFA in Visual Communications, I thought what every client needed was an attractive Web site. The only real problem with the Web, I thought, was that it was filled with poorly designed, outdated Web sites that had navigation problems.
Imagine my surprise when I began to turn out Web sites for clients that met my standards for quality, design, and navigation and yet did not achieve the level of sales or public acclaim that I expected.
At Design Delineations, I am processing the fact that clients rarely come to me for a Web design or redesign even though this is their stated objective. They come for a marketing solution. As a small company with many small businesse clients whose budgets do not merit a marketing department, it is incumbent on me to learn how to deliver these solutions, and learning I am!
Some of this post’s content has already revealed my reluctance to partition roles, concepts, and processes rigidly. Most Web designers would just say that marketing is the responsibility of the marketing department or client, and it is. Yet, there is something in me that demands I try to draw it out of the client.
On occasion, there has been an assumption that a Web site IS a marketing strategy. Perhaps it can be such, but not if it is simply assumed. The days of the field of dreams have come and gone … at least as it pertains to the WWW.
Here is a question for passers by, clients, and potential clients: How can I chart a course for Design Delineations that will help my customers use their Web sites as part of a marketing strategy?
By the way, I define Marketing Strategy as a plan to achieve a specific customer response.
February 11th, 2006
Paypal and eBay phishing scams have been on the rise recently.
This type of crime usually consists of two main components: a branded email message that looks like it comes from the company (in most cases eBay or Paypal) and a web based form used to steal information. The email message contains a link to the Web based form, and in some cases a form is embedded in the actual email message.
A news brief in Practical eCommerce pointed me towards some resources that might help increase your security as you read email and browse. Several companies have released toolbar plugins for Internet Explorer that claim to block these scams.
The toolbars are:
Some excellent information on phishing and pharming can be found at the Anti-Phishing Working Group Web site. Also, Core Compenence has an excellent page on Anti-Fraud Resources.
February 10th, 2006
In part 1 of the series on increasing Search Engine Rankings, I talked about an approach that some may consider a bit old fashioned. However, press releases and offline press coverage can be an effective piece of the search engine visibility puzzle.
In this post, I want to point you to a simple way search engines are trying to clean up their listings. Helping them eliminate or lower the visibility of low-quality sites will be to your advantage.
Over the last few months, Yahoo! and Google have both released or upgraded their local search capabilities. While I admit to a bit of hypothesizing here, I believe that a major goal with these tools is to provide a carefully crosschecked means of geolocation. By affixing a physical address to a Web site they can reward companies who have a good record online and actually prove themselves to be businesses that have nothing to hide.
Why is this effective? No one with something to hide wants to expose their physical location to prying eyes. By increasing the page rank of those who participate in the local search results, search engines can increase the probability of higher quality information.
Admittedly, there is a bit of conjecture here, but if you haven’t submitted your Web site to Google Local and Yahoo! Local, don’t wait too long. There’s always more benefit in being among the early adopters.
February 8th, 2006
Back in April of ‘05, I wrote a short post called How to Succeed in Search Engine Marketing without Trying, in which I proposed that the only viable (sustainable) way to boost search engine rankings is to create valuable content and keep it coming. What does this have to do with today?
As I mentioned earlier, I am reading Naked Conversations by Scoble and Israel and a small statement caught my attention on page 29. “For now, it is clear that the shortest, cheapest, fastest, and easiest route to a prominent Google ranking is to blog often.”
I admit they said it better, but this is exactly the same point I made.
I’m validated.
Do you agree with this perspective? (Not on my being validated, but on content provision as the only viable way to boost search engine rankings!)
February 8th, 2006
Now more than ever, online retailers need to demonstrate credibility and integrity. Public inclination seems to be leaning away from doing business online.
According to John Soat of Information Week, an IBM survey on computer security reveals that people (in this case technical people) are more afraid of online fraud than of being held up on the street.
How can small businesses demonstrate that they are legitimate and have done their best to secure their Web sites?
- Post your privacy policy
- Demonstrate that your shopping cart is secure. First, actually secure it with an SSL. Then use a badge or link to your security information.
- Post your fair, open, and generous returns policy if you deal in physical merchandise.
- Post your physical address on each page
- Post your telephone number prominently and invite customers to call if they have any problems or reservations with purchasing online.
I’m sure there are many more steps that can be taken to combat the fear of online crime. I’ll share more as I think of them.
Related Links:
February 6th, 2006
Search engines have been getting more savvy about sifting through the content on the internet and finding ways of determining if it is useful content or search engine spam. Determining that you have an active business at a certain location is a primary focus of search engines. One way this can be demonstrated is by generating press coverage.
First, create a press room (a Web repository for press releases), then write press releases, submit them to the press and archive them on your Web site.
Your press release can demonstrate credibility by discussing and linking to the businesses involved or to information regarding your initiatives. Though these news releases boost your credibility with search engines, they also boost your offline credibility by gaining your business coverage in local media. This can help increase your clients’ or customers’ trust level.
For the last few months I have used Kathy Kelly-Ori of Stellar Marketing Solutions for my press releases. She has an excellent distribution network in the Northern New York area.
Tip: Always include your business URL and any links to relevant content in your press release. This will help reporters research the activities of your business.
Related Links:
Feel free to comment with any publicity initiatives that have worked well for your online business!
February 6th, 2006
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