Internet Marketing

4 ways quick ways to increase your traffic

2008-08-30T08:07:00.000-07:00

1: Write new content – Add some new content about some recent news, a review of a latest trend or even review the content and add to some of your services pages. This will give Google some new content food to eat and hopefully give you another chance to get more traffic.

2: Start search engine marketing – Get yourself on Google and run a little test of Google adwords. (Free guide at www.StartSearchMarketing.com.au) If you want to take it to another level hire a search engine marketer and do an audit of your website.

3: Send an email – Sending an email to your database with links back to new content on your website will get you instant traffic. People in your database already know who you are and have already shown interest in what you have to offer. Give them another reason to come back and you will see an increase in traffic.

4: Audit where you promote your website – make sure your website address is listed at every promotional opportunity such as :
• Business card
• Email signature
• Print advertisements
• Business shirts
• Promo cars
• Brochures
• Blog comments
• Proposals
• Whitepapers
• TV ads
• Signatures in forums
• Facebook profile
• And every single other interaction you have with the web

How to take a risk with your Online Marketing

2008-08-30T08:02:00.000-07:00

What do you think of the John Howard YouTube?

It is getting pounded by internet users, especially the YouTube community. I like what John and his team has done. Its good. Its getting press and its appealing to the younger voter. He is actually gotten with the times and realised that less people are watching the TV and has instead opted for the medium which most of us use all day. I think there are some lessons we can learn from this.

4 ways to minimise your risk with Online Marketing

1. Don’t piss on the things that are already working - If you are going to take a risk reduce the damage and put it somewhere else. If John posted the video on his website he could damage all of the good or perhaps maximise it. Its unsure yet what would happen. By putting the video on YouTube this has reduced the risk by controlling the potential damage to only the YouTube site.

2. Interesting content and good video quality - I think the video quality is quite good although the content is debatable. I think that is a good thing but. It causes commentary and allows people to discuss their views. The haters and the lovers can fight it out. But the best thing is its all centred around John and that builds his profile coming up to this election.

3. Video is better than text - If you want to try and make some impact these days you are going to need to turn up the power. There is and excessive amount of noise on the internet and its hard to get some airtime. That is why I like the usage of video. 10 years back it would be outrageous for Johnny to release something in print on the internet. Now he has taken a step up and gone to the video content. That was mandatory to get noticed. Otherwise it would have passed through the internet like another HTML page on some distant URL that no one accessed.

4. Feedback and adjust - If there was no way to measure response and instant feedback to the activity it would be doomed to failure. John is getting instant feedback and also quite a bit of PR attention from the main press. This is critical as you can guage activity and also determine success and what to modify in the future.

Finding out the number of visitors to Wikipedia pages

2008-08-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

You can see page popularity in Wikipedia with a newish tool which threatens to "disappear at any time". For example, you can see that the page on "SEO" gets around a maxium of 500 views per day.

* See Number of visitors to Wikipedia pages
* See top pages in Wikipedia

Since Wikipedia is in a top 3 position for many searches, it can be used to gain an idea of how important Wikipedia is, although different search terms will refer visits to it of course and then there are browsers.

SEO for Wikipedia & online PR implications

2008-08-30T07:58:00.000-07:00

With Wikipedia dominant in the Google Search Engine Results Pages, it is important for SEO, but it requires careful treatment. This post explains some approaches and shows how to find the number of visits in wikipedia for different terms

Wikipedia is important for SEO and perhaps more importantly, for online PR (E-PR) since:

* Dominant within Google SERPs (Google's biggest downstream site according and Wikipedias biggest traffic source according to Hitwise)
* Relevant links within introductory Wikipedia articles can generate significant visitors
* Most large brands have pages created for them which you need to monitor and respond to what others are saying about you.

It is less important than it was for inbound links since it implemented the nofollow hyperlink attribute in 2006 which means that PageRank / link juice is not passed onto the destination site for the link.

Here is an excellent post on SEO for Wikipedia. It reviews the main tactics you may want to try including:

* Building a reputation based on adding notable content
* Partipating in the discussion for the page
* Considering developing a separate persona from your official role to post

Many would disagree on the ethics of the last point.

E-consultancy has a more recent discussion on learning best practice in SEO from Wikipedia's own best practice

KolWeb’s Internet Marketing

2008-08-30T07:53:00.000-07:00

nternet Marketing is utilizing the World Wide Web to market your products, your services and your website to theglobal marketplace. Internet Marketing may include: online advertising, SEO or Search Engine Optimization (i.e. higher rankings in search engines like Google and Yahoo for key search terms), emailing campaigns, market research etc.

What can KolWeb’s Internet Marketing program do for my company?

In one word – SALES. By leveraging the internet, you can achieve increased sales on a low-cost basis. KolWeb’s approach to Internet Marketing is simple and effective.

How does KolWeb’s Internet Marketing program work?

KolWeb first determines exactly what you want the internet to do for your company. Then we determine the best approach using the various, specialized Internet Marketing skills. In a systematic manner the action plan is implemented and measured, with constant feedback to the customer.

How AdSense works

2008-08-29T10:24:00.001-07:00

* The webmaster inserts the AdSense JavaScript code into a webpage.
* Each time this page is visited, the JavaScript code creates an IFrame with a src attribute set to the page's URL.
* For contextual advertisements, Google's servers use a cache of the page to determine a set of high-value keywords. If keywords have been cached already, advertisements are served for those keywords based on the AdWords bidding system. (More details are described in the AdSense patent.)
* For site-targeted advertisements, the advertiser chooses the page(s) on which to display advertisements, and pays based on cost per mille (CPM), or the price advertisers choose to pay for every thousand advertisements displayed.
* For referrals, Google adds money to the advertiser's account when visitors either download the referred software or subscribe to the referred service. The referral program will be retired in August 2008.
* Search advertisements are added to the list of results after the visitor performs a search.
* Because the JavaScript is sent to the Web browser when the page is requested, it is possible for other website owners to copy the JavaScript code into their own webpages. To protect against this type of fraud, AdSense customers can specify the pages on which advertisements should be shown. AdSense then ignores clicks from pages other than those specified.

AdSense

2008-08-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

AdSense is an advertisement serving program run by Google. Website owners can enroll in this program to enable text, image, and more recently, video advertisements on their websites. These advertisements are administered by Google and generate revenue on either a per-click or per-impression basis. Google is also currently beta-testing a cost-per-action based service.

Overview

Google uses its Internet search technology to serve advertisements based on website content, the user's geographical location, and other factors. Those wanting to advertise with Google's targeted advertisement system may enroll through AdWords. AdSense has become a popular method of placing advertising on a website because the advertisements are less intrusive than most banners, and the content of the advertisements is often relevant to the website.

Currently, AdSense uses JavaScript code to incorporate the advertisements into a participating website. If the advertisements are included on a website that has not yet been crawled by the Mediabot, AdSense will temporarily display advertisements for charitable causes, also known as public service announcements (PSAs). (The Mediabot is different from the Googlebot, which maintains Google's search index.)

Many websites use AdSense to monetize their content. AdSense has been particularly important for delivering advertising revenue to small websites that do not have the resources for developing advertising sales programs and salespeople. To fill a website with advertisements that are relevant to the topics discussed, webmasters implement a brief script on the websites' pages. Websites that are content-rich have been very successful with this advertising program, as noted in a number of publisher case studies on the AdSense website.

Some webmasters invest significant effort into maximizing their own AdSense income. They do this in three ways:[citation needed]

1. They use a wide range of traffic-generating techniques, including but not limited to online advertising.
2. They build valuable content on their websites that attracts AdSense advertisements, which pay out the most when they are clicked.
3. They use copy on their websites that encourages visitors to click on advertisements. Note that Google prohibits webmasters from using phrases like "Click on my AdSense ads" to increase click rates. The phrases accepted are "Sponsored Links" and "Advertisements".[citation needed]

The source of all AdSense income is the AdWords program, which in turn has a complex pricing model based on a Vickrey second price auction. AdSense commands an advertiser to submit a sealed bid (i.e., a bid not observable by competitors). Additionally, for any given click received, advertisers only pay one bid increment above the second-highest bid.

History Of Pay Per Click

2008-08-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

In February 1998 Jeffrey Brewer of Goto.com, a 25-employee startup company (later Overture, now part of Yahoo!), presented a pay per click search engine proof-of-concept to the TED8 conference in California.[6] This presentation and the events that followed created the PPC advertising system. Credit for the concept of the PPC model is generally given to Idealab and Goto.com founder, Bill Gross.

Google started search engine advertising in December 1999. It was not until October 2000 before the AdWords system was introduced, allowing advertisers to create text ads for placement on the Google search engine. However, PPC was only introduced in 2002; until then, advertisements were charged at cost-per-thousand impressions. Yahoo! advertisements have always been PPC-based since their introduction in 1998.

For a more in-depth presentation of PPC's history, see Fain and Pedersen (2006).

Categories Of Pay Per Click

2008-08-29T10:17:00.000-07:00

Pay per click campaigns can be categorized into two major categories: sponsored match (or keyword) and content match. Sponsored match campaigns involve the display of advertisements on search engine results pages, whereas content match campaigns involve the display of advertisements on publisher websites, newsletters, and e-mails.

There are other types of pay per click programs that target product or service searches and product comparison sites. Search engine companies may participate in more than one category. PPC programs do not generate any revenue solely from Web traffic for websites that display the advertisements: Revenue is generated only when a user clicks on the advertisement itself.

Keyword-based PPC

Keyword-based pay per click advertisers bid on search terms—keywords consisting of words or phrases, and possibly product model numbers. When a user searches for a particular keyword, the list of advertiser links appears, where the ordering of those links is based on the amount bid for the given keyword. Keywords are the very heart of PPC advertising, and are guarded as highly-valued trade secrets by the advertisers. Many advertising firms offer software or services to help advertisers develop keyword strategies. Content Match, a service offered by Yahoo!, distributes the keyword ad to the search engine's partner sites and/or publishers that have distribution agreements with the search engine company.

Product engines

Product engines (a.k.a. product comparison engines or price comparison engines) are search engines for products, and let advertisers provide "feeds" of their product databases. When a user searches for a product, links to advertisers are displayed for that particular product. More prominence is given to advertisers who pay more; however, the user can typically sort by price.

Some product engines such as Shopping.com use a pay per click model and have a defined rate card. Other engines such as Google Product Search, part of Google Base (previously known as Froogle), do not charge for the listing, but still require an active product feed to function.

Service engines

Service engines allow advertisers to provide feeds of their service databases. When a user searches for a service, links to advertisers are displayed for that particular service. More prominence is given to advertisers who pay more; however, the user can typically sort by price or other criteria. Some pay per click product engines have expanded into the service space, while other service engines operate in specific vertical markets.

Pay per call

Pay-per-call is a business model for advertisement listings in search engines and directories that allows publishers to charge local advertisers on a per-telephone-call basis for each sales lead (i.e., call) the publishers generate. The term "pay per call" is sometimes confused with click-to-call, which along with call tracking, is a technology that enables the pay-per-call business model. Pay per call is not restricted only to local advertisers: Many of the pay per call search engines allow advertisers with a national presence to create advertisements with local telephone numbers. According to the Kelsey Group, the pay per call market is expected to reach US$3.7 billion by 2010.

Pay per delivery

Pay per delivery is a variation on pay per click used in e-mail marketing. E-mail marketing campaigns are charged only on the basis of e-mails that are delivered successfully.

Pay per action

Pay per action (PPA) is a variation on pay per click adopted by many search engines. An advertiser pays a specified amount upon successful completion of some action (e.g., conversion, sales lead, or sale). PPA was a beta test for advertising distribution within the Google Content Network. However, Google announced in July 2008 that the program will be discontinued in August 2008.

Pay per click

2008-08-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

Pay per click (PPC) is an Internet advertising model used on search engines, advertising networks, and content websites, such as blogs, where advertisers only pay when a user actually clicks on an advertisement to visit the advertisers' website. With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market. When a user types a keyword query matching an advertiser's keyword list, or views a webpage with relevant content, the advertisements may be displayed. Such advertisements are called sponsored links or sponsored ads, and appear adjacent to or above the "natural" or organic results on search engine results pages, or anywhere a webmaster or blogger chooses on a content page. Content websites commonly charge a fixed price for a click rather than use a bidding mechanism.

Although many PPC providers exist, Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, and Microsoft adCenter are the largest network operators as of 2007. Minimum prices per click, often referred to as costs per click (CPC), vary depending on the search engine and the level of competition for a particular phrase or keyword list—with some CPCs as low as US$0.01. Very popular search terms can cost much more on popular search engines. The PPC advertising model is open to abuse through click fraud, although Google and other search engines have implemented automated systems to guard against abusive clicks by competitors or corrupt webmasters.

Security concerns

2008-08-28T08:39:00.000-07:00

Information security is important both to companies and consumers that participate in online business. Many consumers are hesitant to purchase items over the Internet because they do not trust that their personal information will remain private. Encryption is the primary method for implementing privacy policies.

Recently some companies that do business online have been caught giving away or selling information about their customers. Several of these companies provide guarantees on their websites, claiming that customer information will remain private. Some companies that purchase customer information offer the option for individuals to have their information removed from the database, also known as opting out. However, many customers are unaware if and when their information is being shared, and are unable to stop the transfer of their information between companies if such activity occurs.

Another major security concern that consumers have with e-commerce merchants is whether or not they will receive exactly what they purchase. Online merchants have attempted to address this concern by investing in and building strong consumer brands (e.g., Amazon.com, eBay, Overstock.com), and by leveraging merchant/feedback rating systems and e-commerce bonding solutions. All of these solutions attempt to assure consumers that their transactions will be free of problems because the merchants can be trusted to provide reliable products and services. Additionally, the major online payment mechanisms (credit cards, PayPal, Google Checkout, etc.) have also provided back-end buyer protection systems to address problems if they actually do occur.

Limitations

2008-08-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

Internet marketing requires customers to use newer technologies rather than traditional media. Low-speed Internet connections are another barrier: If companies build large or overly-complicated websites, individuals connected to the Internet via dial-up connections or mobile devices may experience significant delays in content delivery.

From the buyer's perspective, the inability of shoppers to touch, smell, taste or "try on" tangible goods before making an online purchase can be limiting. However, there is an industry standard for e-commerce vendors to reassure customers by having liberal return policies as well as providing in-store pick-up services.

A survey of 410 marketing executives listed the following barriers to entry for large companies looking to market online: insufficient ability to measure impact, lack of internal capability, and difficulty convincing senior management.

Advantages

2008-08-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Internet marketing is relatively inexpensive when compared to the ratio of cost against the reach of the target audience. Companies can reach a wide audience for a small fraction of traditional advertising budgets. The nature of the medium allows consumers to research and purchase products and services at their own convenience. Therefore, businesses have the advantage of appealing to consumers in a medium that can bring results quickly. The strategy and overall effectiveness of marketing campaigns depend on business goals and cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis.

Internet marketers also have the advantage of measuring statistics easily and inexpensively. Nearly all aspects of an Internet marketing campaign can be traced, measured, and tested. The advertisers can use a variety of methods: pay per impression, pay per click, pay per play, or pay per action. Therefore, marketers can determine which messages or offerings are more appealing to the audience. The results of campaigns can be measured and tracked immediately because online marketing initiatives usually require users to click on an advertisement, visit a website, and perform a targeted action. Such measurement cannot be achieved through billboard advertising, where an individual will at best be interested, then decide to obtain more information at a later time.

Internet marketing as of 2007 is growing faster than other types of media.[citation needed] Because exposure, response, and overall efficiency of Internet media are easier to track than traditional off-line media—through the use of web analytics for instance—Internet marketing can offer a greater sense of accountability for advertisers. Marketers and their clients are becoming aware of the need to measure the collaborative effects of marketing (i.e., how the Internet affects in-store sales) rather than siloing each advertising medium. The effects of multichannel marketing can be difficult to determine, but are an important part of ascertaining the value of media campaigns.

Differences from traditional marketing

2008-08-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

One-to-one approach

The targeted user is typically browsing the Internet alone, so the marketing messages can reach him personally. This approach is used in search marketing, where the advertisements are based on search engine keywords entered by the user.

Appeal to specific interests

Internet marketing places an emphasis on marketing that appeals to a specific behavior or interest, rather than reaching out to a broadly-defined demographic. "Off-line" marketers typically segment their markets according to age group, gender, geography, and other general factors. Online marketers have the luxury of targeting by activity. For example, a kayak company can post advertisements on kayaking and canoing websites with the full knowledge that the audience has a related interest.

Internet marketing differs from magazine advertisements, where the goal is to appeal to the projected demographic of the periodical. Because the advertiser has knowledge of the target audience—people who engage in certain activities (e.g., uploading pictures, contributing to blogs)— the company does not rely on the expectation that a certain group of people will be interested in its new product or service.

Internet marketing

2008-08-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

Internet marketing, also referred to as online marketing, Internet advertising, or eMarketing, is the marketing of products or services over the Internet. When applied to the subset of website-based advertisement placements, Internet marketing is commonly referred to as Web advertising (also Webvertising) and Web marketing.[citation needed] The Internet has brought many unique benefits to marketing, one of which being lower costs for the distribution of information and media to a global audience. The interactive nature of Internet marketing, both in terms of providing instant response and eliciting responses, is a unique quality of the medium. Internet marketing is sometimes considered to have a broader scope because it refers to digital media such as the Internet, e-mail, and wireless media; however, Internet marketing also includes management of digital customer data and electronic customer relationship management (ECRM) systems.

Internet marketing ties together creative and technical aspects of the Internet, including design, development, advertising, and sales. Internet marketing does not simply entail building or promoting a website, nor does it mean placing a banner ad on another website. Effective Internet marketing requires a comprehensive strategy that synergizes a given company's business model and sales goals with its website function and appearance, focusing on its target market through proper choice of advertising type, media, and design.

Internet marketing also refers to the placement of media along different stages of the customer engagement cycle through search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), banner ads on specific websites, e-mail marketing, and Web 2.0 strategies. In 2008 The New York Times working with comScore published an initial estimate to quantify the user data collected by large Internet-based companies. Counting four types of interactions with company websites in addition to the hits from advertisements served from advertising networks, the authors found the potential for collecting upward of 2,500 pieces of data on average per user per month.