Online Marketing & SEO

It has been predicted that magazine display advertising revenues will be overtaken by web advertising revenues in 2007 (Carat). TV advertising companies are looking to the World Wide Web as an alternative to traditional advertising (JupiterResearch) as an increasing number of viewers are switching to ad-free services (Alan Sugar).

Online marketing is an attractive alternative for small and large brands to reach their target audience. Search engine optimisation is an essential element of online marketing and increases the visibility of a web site in the organic, unpaid results of the major search engines.

Effective SEO is a complicated process. An experienced and professional SEO supplier should be able to provide the following services:

Code optimisation

For maximum visibility in the major search engines, a web sites code needs to be clean and well organised. Infrastructure considerations also need to be made to ensure that search engine spiders are not faced with obstacles or given inappropriate information when attempting to access content. Code optimisation involves meeting certain web standards, applying logical structure and meaning to information and clearing the path to content.

Content optimisation

Body content must be relevant to a users search query if a page is to be selected by the search engines for the results pages. More importantly, content should be engaging, original and updated regularly to gain both the search engines and a users interest. Organisation of content, on the page and throughout the site, is paramount in determining the relative importance of chosen keywords and phrases. Content optimisation increases the relevancy of a page to a users search query and therefore its chances of being considered a good match. It can apply to copy, images, rich media and the accessibility of content.

Off-site optimisation

Due to the democratic nature of the internet, a web sites reputation is based on the volume of relevant and trusted inbound links. These are interpreted as votes by the search engines. The more votes a websites receives, the stronger its reputation will be, and the higher it will usually rank. Off page optimisation seeks to encourage the linking behaviour of relevant and trusted web sites to the target website, and thus bolster the target websites reputation.

Analytics & reporting

Understanding user behaviour and where they came from is essential for judging the effectiveness of SEO strategies and the usability of a website. Analytics can also be used to measure return on investment (ROI). Monitoring navigational paths, referring sources, content performance and conversion goals gives the information necessary for making informed decisions and visitor cost per acquisition.

Mini Audits

An initial review of a website will quickly determine exactly how much effort is required to meet objectives and a web sites potential for generating revenue. Mini audits are by no means a full search engine optimisation strategy. However, they provide a cost effective way of establishing the strengths and weaknesses of website and identifying areas for improvement.

Agency Solutions

On occasion, web design or marketing agencies require assistance with their client-side SEO work. This can either be because they lack particular skills in-house or simply don’t have the resources at that point in time. In these situations it is sometimes necessary to hire a freelance SEO contractor for consultancy, training or outsourcing of services.

Online Internet Marketing – 3 Top Tools And Services For An Effective Internet Marketing Solution

Everyone knows the Internet is growing exponentially and continually evolving. The major players in the continual evolution of the Internet are the major search engines and consumer generated media such as blogs. Because of the continual changes, a well rounded Internet marketing strategy must include a variety of proven marketing options to ensure success. I will outline 3 of the most effective Internet marketing solutions available and how they relate to your marketing strategy.

SEO Optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the first because the free advertising afforded by the search engines is partly determined by on-page optimization techniques. With thousands of new Websites being created daily, the competition for a listing on the first search result page is increasingly saturated for the popular keywords. Statistics show better than 75% of people only look at the first search result page, and a similar percentage only click on the top search listing.

In order to compete effectively, a Web page must be designed around a keyword or more effectively, a keyword phrase. The keywords should be included in the page’s title, keyword META tag, page’s description, the first heading (using the H1 HTML tag), throughout the body of the page and within the last 25 words on the page. These are just a few of the basic SEO on-page options that although will not guarantee a first page listing, are definitely required as a starting point in an effective Internet marketing strategy.

In most cases, there is too much competition for certain keywords such as “golf clubs”. A better strategy would be to use “golf clubs Chicago” or “handcrafted golf clubs”. The more specific you make your keyword phrase the better. A number of free tools are available that will show the popularity of keywords and how often they are used in the search engines on a monthly basis. These will allow you to customize your Web page knowing the keyword phrase’s popularity. If you get the first page listing for a keyword with less than 100 searches per month for instance, then it doesn’t matter because your traffic will be very limited.

Link Exchanges

Once the on-page optimizations are complete, the off-page optimization options need to be addressed. Link exchanges are perhaps the best off-page SEO technique available. Google uses an algorithm to determine a page’s rank, which is determined by the number of other sites linking to it; and the QUALITY of the link is a major consideration. Pages are ranked from 1 to 10. The higher the PageRank of the site linking to yours, the better. Sites with a PR7 and above are considered as authority sites and a back link from them will send Google’s spider to your page on a regular basis.

There are a number of ways to get a back link to your site. You can email a request to the Webmaster for a link exchange. If they agree, you would return the favor by placing a link to their site on your page. You can also purchase the link. A number of sites offer this service for a monthly fee. So if you want to quickly get your site listed by Google and the major search engines, then paying for a PR8 back link for a month or two might be well worth the investment in the long run; as new sites are placed in a “sand box” by Google for several months until they prove their longevity.

One back link from a PR8 site is worth hundreds of back links from PR2 or less sites. As a matter of fact, numerous links from low ranking sites will actually be detrimental to your site. Each back link is like a vote for your site. If you have too many low ranking sites voting for yours, Google will be reluctant to reward your site with a higher PR. You have to do your research on the site that offers to link to yours because if they were blacklisted by Google, your site will receive the same fate and you probably will never recover from this.

A PR 4 or 5 is relatively easy to attain. So your best bet is to limit your back links to PR5 and above for the best results. And by all means avoid link farms. Before Google upgraded its algorithm, just the number of back links was considered. But now the actual PageRank of your back link is considered AND the PageRank of the sites linking to THAT page. Links from link farms are now looked upon as basically spam links. You would be better off purchasing a listing in a major link directory like Yahoo or DMOZ. It’s definitely worth the investment as these are authority sites and are a major vote for your site!

Blogs

As previously indicated, consumer generated media is a major factor in the evolution of the Internet. Case in point is the enormous effect blogs had on the last Presidential campaign. A very large percentage of most searches will include blogs on the first page listing. Over 50% of purchases, online and offline are preceded by an online search for more information. And a large percentage of the information is offered by blogs. People are very interested in the opinions of others on their topic of interest.

The major blogs are updated on a daily basis, which is very important to Google’s algorithm, which uses the frequency of updates (daily, hourly and by minute) as a determining factor in the search result ranking. A powerful marketing method used by the major blogs is to submit articles on a particular topic to the major article hubs such as http://EzineArticles.com. The article hub benefits by having continually updated information (which Google likes) where they can place their money making AdSense ads. The blogger benefits by having a back link to their blog in the resource section of the article.

As numerous other bloggers and Webmasters access the article hubs for fresh information, the article can be syndicated virally to a number of sites on the Internet. This creates a number of back links to your blog or your site; generating an enormous amount of pre-qualified free traffic.

In Summary

These are just a few of the more effective online Internet marketing options available. Other options such as auto-responder email, EZine advertising and pay per click advertising should be included in a well rounded Internet marketing strategy. No matter what options you use, you definitely need to start with your on-page SEO techniques. Your listing in the search results will be enhanced by a properly optimized page.

Further optimization must include the off-page SEO techniques such as generating back links with the major site directories, link exchanges and articles submitted to the major article hubs. Using a blog for a reference in your article can be a good thing as people will be more inclined to visit a blog since it’s not a sales page. Once they have received enough information and you have generated their confidence in your opinions, you can end up with a lifetime customer.

Polling And Campaigning Made Easier Using Online Surveys

Whether campaigning for government, a local chapter or for election to the school council online surveys are the easy and effective election tool that will benefit any campaign. Use surveys to discover more about the electorate, to identifying the issues that really concern them so that each campaign can be tailored to reach the hearts and minds of the voters.

Objective

For any survey it is important to decide from the beginning what the objective of the survey is and when considering conducting a survey in support of a particular candidate consider if the purpose of the survey is to discover what the ‘issues’ are; or is the survey to be used to promote the candidates image and policies?

In many cases objectives will be in line with the different phases of an election process.

Pre-Campaign

Before campaigning begins a survey is an ideal method to canvass the voters and to determine what the important issues are likely to be. To gain a wider response across the whole political spectrum the survey will preferably be conducted through an independent channel so that people’s opinion of a particular candidate does not influence the research.

For a political survey it is essential that the demographics of those surveyed are established as different groups are likely to have both common and varied views. With demographic information there is an opportunity to establish what the main issues are by age group, by income and by gender; do people who rent have the same concerns as those that own their own homes?

A pre-campaign survey will be able to monitor the mood of the voters. Some may, if asked, even indicate who they are likely to vote for in a future election. By listening to the electorate a campaign can be planned better and will allow printed and oral marketing to be properly targeted at the issues that people want addressed.

For candidates that appear out of step with the electorate surveys can provide a measure of how much effort will be required, and in what areas, so that people are convinced and change their views.

Campaign survey

During a campaign an online survey is an effective way to market a candidate’s position. Tradition methods of leafleting rely on the recipient reading and taking onboard the message. Leaflets are a one way marketing effort and more often than not dismissed and discarded along with other ‘junk mail’.

Consider on the other hand an online survey that can phrase questions such as:-

Do you support candidate Jones’s pledge to cut the budget deficit in half to $250 billion over four years; and to reintroduce budget rules capping spending?

To answer this question the respondent has to engage mentally with the survey by reading and then considering the statement before forming an opinion. Because the respondent is able to express their view they are also more likely going to consider the argument. An online survey is not only able to deliver an important policy statement but will also allow the campaign team to monitor the level of support that the candidate has on specific issues.

With the new breed of online survey web sites generators such as http://www.surveygalaxy.com/ multiple online surveys can be created and published in minutes making it feasible to target specific groups on specific issues. There is no longer a need to devise a ‘one size fits all’ survey. Surveys that promote policies that are aimed at retired voters can be sent to retired voters, while younger people can be sent surveys that promote the candidates policy on issues that are only important to them.

Using the pre-campaign survey data the ‘undecided voter’ can be targeted and engaged, with perhaps the opposition’s policy being used to highlight the benefit of voting for a candidate.

Do you support the opposition’s plans that will reduce the tax burden for high earners and result in middle income families paying more tax?

A well written campaign survey will promote the candidate, measure opinion and monitor how effective the campaign is. Online surveys allow this to be done with considerable ease, they are extremely cost effectively and allow the results to be analysed on the fly.

Comparison

Compare the benefits of online surveys over other forms of campaigning such as door to door and telephone canvassing, leafleting, advertising and personal appearances.

If not already, the Internet is fast becoming the primary method of communication for both business and personal use and provides direct access to a broad cross section of any voting population.

Through the use of email, websites and search engine advertising online surveys are able to target a large proportion of a population at a fraction of the price compared to traditional marketing methods. With the online surveys ability to provide market research, marketing and education there is no other single form of marketing that is as cost effective and versatile.

With the speed of deployment being measured in hours and minutes, not weeks and day, online surveys are able to deliver a flexible and dynamic campaign message keeping pace with the political mood that can change on the basis of a single comment or headline.

With each survey’s demographic data a campaign is able to accurately and instantly measure the scale of success in terms of the number of ‘messages’ delivered, the target group and, based on the results, the effectiveness of the online survey marketing campaign.