Web Marketing Success 2012

VITPJanuary 2012

 Group – A diverse bunch of entrepreneurs and marketers. (Just hit me up afterwards if you need explanation or expansion on any particular topic). Rob’s Background.

 Cut through the noise. Empower and inform. Share practical ideas on where to start.

 Marketers now have a hard time faking it. True merit wins. The web is accessible – you can find out how to do anything. “Measurability” and transparency create great opportunities for those brave enough to be wrong!

 Know who you’re trying to reach. Find out how to get in front of them in relevant settings. Get good at “conversion” of web visitors.

 The act of getting someone to the next level of engagement: ◦ Purchase. ◦ Download. ◦ Phone call. ◦ Get directions to your business. ◦ Sign up... Critical to measure conversion elements through Google Analytics (free). Cont...

 Every page on your site should be optimized to be as persuasive as possible in getting your visitor to take the next logical step. ◦ Prioritize your visitors. ◦ Consider the context – how did they get there/whey are they there? ◦ Remove any obstacles. ◦ Build the necessary trust and credibility. ◦ Invite the next step with a relevant call to action. Small companies can beat large ones in this arena.

Trust and Credibility Call to ActionVisitor Priorities VERY Focused!

Prioritization of 5different offers whilestreamlining theselection process. 1 2 3 Trust and Credibility- building throughout. 4 5Removal ofobstacles Call to Action

 The A/B Test Email Example: ◦ Easier than ever (and free!). ◦ Dramatically powerful. Ads Landing Pages Calls to Action Email You name it!

ABCDEF

 Two types of currency on the web : Cash or Content. The fuel that drives: ◦ Search Engine Optimization (SEO). ◦ Social Media. ◦ Conversion. ◦ Advertising (i.e. Adwords Quality Score).

 Shouting/Broadcasting instead of conversing. Engaging without measuring. Focusing on platforms or activities without first considering overall goals.

 Social Media = Networking3 Principles are the same, but... ◦ Geography-Independent. ◦ Time Efficient. ◦ Can be highly leveraged (exposure to connections’ connections).

 Blogging – can work for either. Facebook = B2C (and rocks for it). Twitter/YouTube can work for both if leveraged correctly. Linkedin = Great B2B opportunities.

 Social Media works best when you use it as a platform to make your audience look good! Pictures and Video (ideally tagged ones) reach your audiences extended circles. Tracking is critical - i.e. Facebook reports & link tracking tools like Bit.ly

 People doing or saying something they are proud of will send people to see it. If tagged, this happens automatically!

 Typical user has well over 150 friends. Having 10 photos from an event tagged on your Facebook page can mean 1500+ impressions to the Friends of your tagged subjects.

 SEO can be likened to a 3 legged stool (we know what happens if one of the legs is missing). These legs are:1. Site structure and coding.2. Great, relevant content.3. Links from related sites. While some of the details have changed, this is a formula that’s always held true. Cont...

 Many see SEO as an awkward, artificial process. To succeed in having a site that appeals to both users and search engines you need to get beyond that. We advocate that you: 1. Use research to find the actual terms (keywords) people are using to search for your type of product or service. 2. Incorporate these keywords into your site copy. 3. Optimize the relevant pages on your site for the relevant keywords. Not so hard, but few people do it well!

 At a minimum, get basic Search Engine Optimization in place to get more visitors. Page Titles, Page Descriptions, sufficient text, SEO-friendly copy. Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide - Google Page Title Page Description

 Most online advertising is based on a Pay Per Click (PPC) model. This model means that you ONLY pay if someone clicks on your ad and comes to your site. This also means that advertisers favour higher performing ads. If you do a better job than your competitors at creating compelling ads, you’ll get better placement at lower cost. Google/Bing are easy to set up but have many hazards for the casual user (quite challenging for competitive areas). Facebook/Linkedin ads are both ridiculously easy to set up!

Sponsored Links/Adsfor a rather“broad” search.“whale watching VictoriaBC” will be an expensivekeyword to bid on as it’sso competitive.Note that “premium” toppositions are a result ofthose ads achieving greatperformance.Also note that it’s not justthe bid but Bid X Qualityscore that determinesyour placement.

A “narrower” search brings aresults page with zero ads on it.Lack of competition means arelevant ad (targeting at “whalewatching sooke bc”) would bevery cost effective.The challenge is that this termwill have low search volumeTo get traffic you must create a“portfolio” of keywords.As you learn to convert this lessexpensive traffic, you’ll learn totackle more competitivekeywords.

The Google Keyword Tool lets youconduct research on keyword searchvolumes by month.https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal• Volume of search is shown by regionfor the keyword you selected as wellas similar terms.• Consider all “match types” (Google“Adwords match types” for more info).• Bear in mind that figures may not beaccurate for low volume keywords.• You can download the results andsee seasonal patterns.

• Theme-targetedtext and bannerads set to displayonly to visitors inspecificgeographicregions.• Can be very lowcost. Theme/keyword Remarketing•Remarketing driven text ad Display Adopportunities! (Swimming Pools)• Geo-targeting…

Can target by:• Radius around a point.• Defined Geographic Region.

 Picking very specific targets (geographic, demographic or keyword targets) is the way that small companies can beat larger organizations with bigger budgets. Can make a meaningful, repetitive impression on select targets (get 10 people 100% of the way there instead of getting 100 people 10% of the way there). Think in terms of a “portfolio” of niches.

 Still a tiny fraction of the ad click volume of Google. Relatively crude reporting tools. Fantastic demographic targeting. Great opportunities for targeted engagement.

 Think in terms of niches versus blanket advertising. Click-through rate (percentage of folks viewing the ad who click on it) is low, but this means you get tons of dirt cheap ad impressions.

 What’s the value of reaching your own portfolio of relevant niches for a few dollars a day vs paying $500+ on a one- time, untargeted print ad?

 Limited volume for broader offerings. Fantastic targeting for B2B. Overall, generally cost effective. Accessible through other channels as well...

 Permission email marketing. While no longer “cool” or cutting edge, is still the top growth tool for customer lifetime value. Lead generation (webinars, seminars, white papers, guides). Online PR (more to follow)...

 Google Analytics shows which keywords are currently bringing people to your site and which ones are bringing “qualified” traffic. This data give you direction on a broad group of keywords to experiment with in PPC advertising. Your PPC results (which you can get quickly and cheaply) give you a good idea of which terms you should invest your resources in for SEO. Cont...

 Your email article: ◦ Can be used as a blog post. ◦ Your blog post gets optimized for SEO (both for itself and to give “juice” to another related page. ◦ Your blog post provides something to Tweet about or post in Facebook on. ◦ Your Tweets boost the SEO for your post page and related page. ◦ Each Tweeted link is tracked. Watching which links/posts are most popular tells you what content readers will be interested in for your email. Done in isolation, the above activities have some value. Done together, over time, they are dramatically powerful and allow you to meaningfully improve each month.

 Google Algorithm Changes. ◦ Fresh, relevant content more important than ever (plus fresh links to it). ◦ Review sites. ◦ Links from other Google properties. ◦ Links from Social Media, including Google +.

 Last year just claiming your Google Places Page was a big help – this year you want to optimize it! Results in increased exposure in Google Maps, better/more placement in Google Search (for local businesses) and a great source of links for your site.

 Google is factoring in more 3rd party data than ever. Notice below how: ◦ Google results are pulled from Urban Spoon.com. ◦ The restaurant with the most and best reviews is at the top of the page! There are dozens of review and listing sites for almost every business vertical. You should claim and optimize your listings on as many as possible!

 Another great way that small companies can beat large companies. Still tons of value in traditional PR. A practice we call “online PR” or “niche PR” has emerged which is very accessible to businesses of any size. Much like picking the right level to compete at in other areas, you simply: ◦ Do research to develop a list of relevant bloggers/writers of a size you’re comfortable approaching. ◦ Contact them respectfully, commenting specifically on something they’ve written and explain why your launch/opening/etc is relevant and worth mention to their readers. ◦ Keep going! Over time you’ll build a great “house list” and grow to be comfortable approaching larger sites, blogs and publications.

 Google Analytics Source Tracking was updated last year. Through a simple process you can create custom “hooks” for your posted links that let you know exactly which “campaign” a visitor came from (i.e. Email newsletter, Tweet, Facebook Wall post). There’s a bit of a learning curve, but it’s well worth diving into.

 The majority of 25-34 and 18-24 year olds now own smartphones (64% and 53% respectively). 79% of smartphone consumers use their phones to help with shopping, from comparing prices, to finding more product info, to locating a retailer. 70% use their smartphones while in a store. 77% have contacted a business via mobile, with 61% calling and 59% visiting the local business.

 Most importantly, while this shift is happening before our eyes, few companies are acting on it, creating great opportunities for first- movers! Important to keep in mind that: ◦ Mobile searchers are typically looking to find or contact your business (so make these things VERY clear on your mobile site. ◦ Mobile searchers take action on their searches at a dramatically higher rate then desktop searchers.

 Traditional sites simply don’t translate to Mobile.

 Call. Get Directions. Book. Other?

 “List view” or custom display within one click of home page (might actually be on home page). Ideally, have actions for each location presented right on their listing.

 Tablets? Not clear yet how long term usage patterns will unfold. That said, even companies not currently concerned with Mobile (i.e. Traditional tech/software) will have to pay attention to how/where they are being used. Overall, a best practice is to embrace “light” sites that will display quickly regardless of connection type (3G, 4G, WiFi, Public WiFi). PPC Advertising already presents a HUGE advertising opportunity for some industries as you can target Mobile explicitly (and yet few people are). Ad opportunities? e.g.18% of searches related to “car batteries” in Canada are from Mobile. 30% for “tow truck”

 Find a couple areas to experiment in. Learn enough about them to make sure you’re making a meaningful effort. Keep costs and effort as low as possible until you’ve established there’s potential in the areas you’re targeting. Test and grow your efforts while building your own set of best practices. Try new things. Measure everything!

 Give me a call if you have any questions or are interested in any of the areas we talked about! Justin • SEORob Our Team • Link Building.• Creation of web strategies to match business goals. Coffee.• Cam Rian Nevin • Conversion Analysis. • Development • Content • PPC Advertising. (Mobile and Strategies. WordPress). • Data Stuff. • Online PR • Technical SEO Expert. • Social Media. Mentor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnSJBpB_OKQ

Web Marketing Success 2012

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Web Marketing Success 2012 Presentation Transcript