Global Marketing Plus

A: There are four key things that can make a Web site more searchable:

1. Insert keywords/phrases, tile and description meta tags into your Web pages. Limit the number of keywords on each page (to about 8 or 10 keywork phrases).

2. Submit your Web site to be indexed with the two most widely-used search engines, Google and Yahoo. If you have a website with Global Marketing Plus, this is available to you for free, plus you get listed on many other search engines!

3. Pursue mutual links to other businesses with similar but noncompetitive interests.

4. Keep your Web site clean and content-driven; avoid using flash and other complicated graphics.

Lately I have been getting lots of questions concerning search engines. So I thought I would answer some of those questions.

Q: What is search engine marketing (SEM) vs. search engine optimization (SEO)?

A: Search engine marketing (SEM) refers to “paid” or “pay-per-click” listings on search engines such as Google and Yahoo. These listings are essentially paid ads that show up as “sponsored links” or “sponsor results” on search engine results pages when someone searches for a keyword/phrase that your company has bid on.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is also called “organic” marketing and is free if you do the research and work yourself. It involves modifying your Web site to be more search-engine friendly.

More questions will be answered from time to time in this blog.

You can test just about anything, but here are the four most important things to test, in order of importance.

The Market. Who you market to is most important. A mediocre offer in a mediocre package can do reasonably well, if delivered to the right audience. No offer or creative genius can make the sale if it goes to the wrong person.

The Headline. It’s number two because if it isn’t right, your audience will never see the rest of your offer. It captures attention and converts it into interest. Without a powerful headline, you’re dead in the water.

The Offer. That unique combination of conditions and appeals that leaves your prospect saying to herself, “I’d be crazy not to order that thing.”

The Price. It’s the least-powerful motivator. People want value. You test price to find out exactly how the public values your product.

“Hello, is this here the Sheriff’s Office?”

“Yes, what can I do for you?”

“I’m calling to report my neighbor, Virgil Smith. He’s drillin’ holes in his firewood and hiding marijuana inside!”

“Thank you very much for the call, sir.”

The next day, the Sherriff & his deputies descend on Virgil’s house. They search the shed where the firewood is kept. Using axes, they split every piece of wood, but find no marijuana. They sneer at Virgil and leave.

The phone rings at Virgil’s house… “Hey, Virgil! This here is Floyd. Did the Sheriff come?”

“Yeah!”

“Did they split yer firewood?”

“Yep!”

“Happy Birthday, buddy!”

(who says rednecks ain’t real bright!)

Autoresponders are one of the top promotional tools available online today. They are also known as mailbots, automatic email and email on demand. (Remember the very popular fax on demand?) Autoresponders are designed to automatically respond to any email message sent to it with an automatic response.

Why are they so popular? Some reasons are:

· Autoresponders have a vast variety of uses.

· Autoresponders eliminates the need to manually answer every response, saving hours of your valuable time.

· Autoresponders make your information available to your prospective customer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

It is very satisfying to get your best ad copy ready, load it to your autoresponder and know that your business is set to autopilot. When your prospective customer sends a message to your autoresponder address, your information will be instantly delivered to their email address.

There are many ways of utilizing the power of autoresponders:

· Autoresponders can be used to tell a prospective customer that you have received their message and will get back to them soon. Such messages are important because it reassures your customers that their support request has arrived at its destination and will be attended to when you are available.

· Autoresponders can be used to send prospective customers information like product lists, the price list of your products, your FAQ (frequently asked questions) and other fixed information. People emailing that address will automatically get that message in reply.

· Autoresponders can be used to send free email course modules.

· Autoresponders can be used to send free Articles and reports.

· Autoresponders can be used to send order confirmations.

· Autoresponders can be used to send online brochures.

Advantages:

There are many advantages associated with the use of autoresponders. Not only do they automate the daily task of manually replying to requests for information, but they provide instant gratification for the recipient. They also enable you to track your ad responses and gather the email addresses of potential customers.

A good autoresponder service will automatically send you an email notification informing you each time someone requests your information.

Autoresponders can assist you in putting a lot of your day to day tasks on autopilot. Use it to your advantage.

You have autoresponders with your Global Marketing Plus package. Be sure you use them! If you have questions of how to access them and use them, call Ron now at 801-298-2336 or email me at ron@globalmarketingplus.com

Good relationships, with customers, technical support staff and ISPs are the cornerstones of a successful email marketing strategy.

David Hughes, director online marketing at Tank Group, said that abiding by best practice guidelines when using email marketing was a key part of building a strong relationship with consumers.

Claiming that brands should aim for “way above the legal minimum standards”, he said that “gaining a consumer’s permission to email, does not mean you can exploit them, customers need to be wooed.”

Lorraine Petit de Mange, European head of CRM, at Opodo discussed the “how much is too much” debate surrounding email marketing.

She said it was key that marketers did not bombard customers with too many emails just because they could, saying that some segments of a database were ripe for regular email communications, while with other segments too many emails would merely serve to alienate consumers from a brand.

Petit de Mange also said that email marketers needed to “recognize the role of the ‘techies’ in the process.

“Techies don’t want creative briefs or value propositions, they want highly detailed specifications to work from,” she said. Indeed, she advised working with a business analyst in order to better bridge the gap between the marketing and technology disciplines.

For retailers, the decision whether to advertise is easy, for the answer is always yes. Advertising is a great way to attract new customers who will, in turn, spread the word about your business to others. It also reminds previous customers that your business is still there to serve them.

However, which medium to use is only part of the decision-making process. Designing and implementing an advertising strategy requires thoughtful planning. Like a reporter, you need to ask some basic questions: Who is your target market and what media is best to reach to reach them — newspaper, magazines, radio, TV (including cable) or Internet? Also, what message(s) should be emphasized — price, selection, convenience, expert assistance or specialty items? When and where should the ads run? And most important, how will you measure their effectiveness?

The question now becomes how to budget and implement an effective advertising program. These expenses should be planned with a specific return on investment in mind. For every advertising dollar, the business must recoup a percentage as part of every sale. Keep in mind that discounts advertised in your promotions affect your ROI because they mean less revenue.

Remember that your ads should generate a positive response among potential consumers. That’s why the creative aspect of a clever and intriguing ad is so important. A well-crafted ad campaign will continuously draw customers, while a poorly conceived or executed strategy may make your business memorable for the wrong reasons.

Whenever possible, hire an ad agency or design firm to help develop the creative concept, layout and production of an advertising campaign. This need not be expensive; you can select from advertising agencies, graphic design firms and freelance marketing pros for as much or as little help as needed. If you can’t afford this investment, you may be able to get production support from the media outlet. For example, many newspapers and local shopper publications will include free in-house design for the cost of the ad. Just make sure you have carefully planned your messages and goals for the ads as well as their timing.

To review your advertising plans, contact an expert counselor from SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business.” At SCORE, you’ll find a wealth of valuable information and insights from working and retired business owners, executives and managers. And it’s free. Call 1-801/687-6339 for the Central Utah SCORE chapter, or go to www.centralutahscore.com. The services at SCORE are free!

Spend whatever time it takes to develop your own UNIQUE PURCHASE APPEAL. One sentence to one paragraph that describes how your business is different from the competition in a way that appeals to your target customer.

Then infuse your “UPA” into everything you do, everything you say. Make sure your customers know it, feel it and see it in every action taken by you and your employees. It should be reflected in every ad, every promotion, every customer service activity. This is the most powerful marketing concept on earth.

“The computer for the rest of us.”

That was the Unique Purchase Appeal that changed the world. It was Apple’s UPA for the Macintosh, and it enabled Apple Computer to bring the entire computing world to its knees. Macintosh is why there is Windows today.

But Apple wasn’t paying attention, and when Windows came along, the Mac lost its UPA. Apple was too slow to respond and many times, it’s been a company in trouble.