Digital Marketing Strategy Proposal for Irish Folk Band Altan

Altan
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Digital Marketing Strategy
Proposal
By Matthew Nolan

Digital MarketingStrategy
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Table of Contents
Our Brief......................................................................................................................................3
Budget.........................................................................................................................................3
Situational Analysis....................................................................................................................... 3
Industry Overview ........................................................................................................................ 4
Target Market.............................................................................................................................. 5
Current Social Media Presence......................................................................................................5
Commercial Objectives ................................................................................................................. 5
Competitor Analysis...................................................................................................................... 5
SEO Analysis and Plan................................................................................................................... 6
Page MozRank.............................................................................................................................. 6
Page MozTrust............................................................................................................................. 7
Keywords.....................................................................................................................................7
Content Management System.......................................................................................................7
Domains.......................................................................................................................................8
Proposals for Meta and Data Optimisation..................................................................................... 9
Content Marketing Plan (Blog and Online PR)............................................................................... 10
Google AdWords ........................................................................................................................ 10
Google AdSense ......................................................................................................................... 12
Current Keywords....................................................................................................................... 13
Recommended Keywords............................................................................................................ 14
Social Media Analysis and Plan.................................................................................................... 14
Facebook ................................................................................................................................... 14
Twitter....................................................................................................................................... 16
Snapchat.................................................................................................................................... 18
Spotify....................................................................................................................................... 18
Pandora..................................................................................................................................... 20
LinkedIn..................................................................................................................................... 20
Pinterest.................................................................................................................................... 20
Web Design Usability.................................................................................................................. 21
Google Analytics Analysis............................................................................................................ 21
Bounce Rate............................................................................................................................... 21
Exit Rate..................................................................................................................................... 23
Web Site Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 24

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Ecommerce................................................................................................................................ 26
Mobile Marketing....................................................................................................................... 27
Affiliate Marketing...................................................................................................................... 29
Summary ................................................................................................................................... 30

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Our Brief
Altanare a verywell recognizedandrespected Irishfolkband. Theywere formedinCountyDonegal
in1987 by leadvocalistMairéad Ní Mhaonaighand herhusbandFrankie Kennedy. Theybrought
Donegal'srichcollectionof Irishlanguage songsandinstrumental styles toaudiencesaroundthe
world, andtheyremainthe world'sforemostIrishtraditional groupwith overamillionrecordssold.
Theywere the firsttraditional grouptobe signedtoa majorlabel whentheysignedwithVirgin
Records in1994. Altanhas establishedalarge followinginIreland,UK,Europe,UnitedStates,
Canada andeveninJapan. Theyhave workedwithawide varietyof well-knownmusiciansincluding
DollyParton,Enya,The Chieftains, Bonnie RaittandAlisonKrauss.
Theycurrentlyhave nounderliningissuesthattheyneed addressing. Theirmain objectiveisto
increase theirdigital marketingpresence andhelpuse digital platformssuchastwitterand Facebook
to increase theirfanbase. Theywouldalsohope thatthese social mediaplatformswillgenerate and
create salesof theirmusicmaterial andtheirbandmerchandise.
My brief istoreview theircurrentdigital marketingactivityandthenlookatpotential waysto
improve andbuildonitusingvaluable online toolssuchasgoogle adwords,klout,soundcloudetc.
Budget
Altanhas givenme a maximumbudgetof €20,000. I have assignedthisasfollows:
Description Budget Assigned
Consultancyfees €2,000
Managementof Google Analytics €2,500
Managementof Google AdWords €2,500
Complete SEOAnalysis,ActionPlanandManagement €2,000
Social MediaOptimisation €300
OrganisingandMonitoringAffiliateMarketingProgram €1,000
Managing Website DevelopmentProject €3,000
Google AdWordsCampaign €1,000
WebdesignandDevelopment €2,000
Total PlannedExpenditure €16,300
Situational Analysis
Altanbecame anestablishedIrishbandinthe earlyeighties. Theybecame recognisable through
theirunique combinationof oldDonegal fiddlemusicandtheirunusual Northernflute tunes. They
have beena leadpromoterinIrishtraditional musiceversince theirinceptionandtheirpopularity
and influence isevidentbothinIrelandandabroad. Theirinternational successwashighlightedin
1996 whentheysignedforVirginrecords,the firstIrishbandof theirkindtobe signedby a major
label.Altanhas a veryglobal fanbase. Theirdispersionof fansisasfollows
 USA 50%
 Europe 20%
 Ireland10%

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 UK 15%
 Japan5%
It isimportantthat Altan inform,connectandinteractwiththese fansona regularbasis. Currently
Altansmainsocial platformsare twitterandFacebook. Maireadisresponsible forthe bandsactivity
on these social platforms. Itisimportantall bandmemberscontribute tothe online social activity in
orderfor it to be effectiveandbeneficial forthe bandas a whole. Theyhave several aimsandgoals
theywouldlike toachieve throughthisdigitalmarketingplan. Theirmainobjective istodrive
awarenessandinterestintheirband/music. Fromdoingthistheyhope theircrowdattendance at
live gigswill increase. If theirattendance figuresincrease the likelyhoodof sellingband
merchandise will improve whichisvitallyimportantasitacts as a revenue streamforthe band.
Theyalsohope to reach outto newpotential markets. SouthAmericaandChinaare twoparticular
marketstheyare intriguedandinterestedin.
Industry Overview
The music industryisfiercelycompetitive.The dynamicsof it howeverhaschangedsignificantlyover
the last decade withthe introductionof free downloadsandonline listeningstraightfromyour
mobile device. A studycarriedoutbyStatista (http://www.statista.com/statistics/273308/music-
album-sales-in-the-us/) showshowUSrecord saleshave decreasedsignificantlyfrom2007-2013.
Sales in Billions $
Thisrecentchange meansthat Altan needs tohave a strong online presence inordertoentice
consumerstodownloadandbuytheirmaterial. In2011 inthe US, paidmusicdownloadsand
physical CDsalesaccountedforonly35 percentof all musicfile acquisitions. The remaining65
percentof musicacquisitionswere accomplishedthroughthe use of digital lockers,harddrive
trading,burningmusicfiles,orperson-to-personfilesharing. These statisticsshow thatdigital
downloadis becomingverycommonandAltanneedtoenterintothispotentialrevenue space.
Furthermore illegal musicdownloadshave decreaseddue tothe online radioserviceslike Spotify
and Pandora. Digital marketingrevenue fromsubscriptionsandstreamingreachedone billionUS

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dollarsin2012, almostsurpassingdigitalalbumdownloads,whichaccountedfor1.2 billionUS
dollarsinrevenue. With50%of Altansexistingfansbasedinthe USA Pandorawouldbe an ideal
place to submitandstreamtheirmusicand helpthemgainfurtherexposureinthe USA.
Target Market
 Existingandpotential new musicfans
 Music promoterswhouse online tocheckbandavailability
 Music Bloggers
 Arts Councils –a strongsource of bookingsforAltaninthe past
 Noncasual musicfans – people whoprioritizeitasa pastime andfrequentlygotolive gigs
 Typicallytheirfansare olderwhomightalsolistentoAfricanaandIndian
 Theirmaintarget audience inEurope are agedbetween30-50yearsold
Current Social Media Presence
 17,350 likesonFacebookdatatakenon 24/03/2014
 2,648 followersonTwitterdatatakenon24/03/2014
 Currentlydonothave a YouTube channel eventoughone of theirYouTube videosreached
191,000 views
Commercial Objectives
 Theirmainobjective istodrive awarenessandinterestintheirband/music.
 To increase attendance figuresattheirlive gigs
 To improve theirinteractionwithexistingfans
 To tap intonewmarkets
 To create newrevenue streams
 Increase social mediaactivity
Competitor Analysis
The music industryis more interlinkedcompetitivelythanmostindustries.Inthe sense thatpeople
can like anytype of musicrap, rnb, hiphop,country,jazz andIrishtraditional music(Altans
genre/area). ItisimportantAltanengage withtheirmostlikelytargetaudience firstbeforetheytry
to expandandreach outto a potential new market. Theyhave afew noticeable competitorsinthe
traditional musicspace. Theyneedto matchand even betterwhatthese competitorsare doing
online andoffline.
The Chieftainsare a traditional IrishbandformedinDublininNovember1962. Theyare world
renownedandrespectedamongvirtuallyeverygenre of musicfortheirversatilityandmusicianship.
Theycelebratedtheir50th
year anniversaryin2012 and have a similartype of targetaudience as
Altan. Theyhave a verycleanand easyto navigate website. Theygive the user/visitorthe optionto
listentosome of theirmusicon theirhome page whichisclevermarketingasitgivesthemthe
opportunitytoconnectwiththe user’semotions instantly. I have alsoresearchedtheirpresenceon

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social media.Theycurrentlyhave 1,826 followersontwitter;howevertheirlasttweetwasonthe
28/03/2013 whichshowstheyare currentlynotusingtwittertoits maximumpotential. OnFacebook
theyhave 31,307 likesand432 people are talkingaboutthem. TheirlastFacebookpostwason the
04/02/2014 whichshowstheyare reasonably butnotoverly active onFacebookcurrently.
Lunasa are internationallyacknowledgedasbeingone of the finestIrishinstrumentalbandsof
recenttimes.Theyare renownedfortheirconstanttouring,havingperformedover1,500 shows
across the globe since the bandformedin 1997. Theirwebsite isclutteredwhichmeansitisnot
scannable friendlyforthe user.Inrelationtosocial mediatheyhave 3,715 followersontwitter with
theirlasttweetbeingonthe 05/03/2014. They have 21,669 likesand292 people are talkingabout
themon Facebook. TheirlastFacebookpostwason the 16/03/2014 whichshowstheyinteract
regularlywiththeirfanbase.
GaelicStorm isa Celticband.Theirmusical outputincludespiecesfromtraditional Irishmusic,
Scottishmusic,andoriginal tunesinboththe CelticandCelticrockgenres. Theirmostrecentalbum,
The Boathouse, wasreleasedAugust20,2013.Thier website isveryuserfriendlyandclearlylaidout.
They have 10,300 followersontwitterandtheirmostrecenttweetwasonthe 01/04/2014. On
Facebooktheyhave 94,642 likesand463 people are talkingaboutthem.
The bands mentionedare justsome of the competitionAltanface inthe traditionalIrishspace. They
all have theirstrengthsandweaknessesinregardstotheirsocial anddigital activitywhichwere
mentionedabove.
CompetitorComparisonTable
WebUsability QualityContent Website Navigation
The Chieftains 7 8 8
Lunasa 7 7 7
GaelicStorm 7 7 8
Altan 7 6 7
There were manysimilaritiesbetweenall the websites.Forexample headers, dropdowns, images
and page layout. Howeverthere wasone specificpluginthatall the other competitorshadthat
Altandidn’tpossess. I will discussthisinthe webrecommendationpartof the report.
SEOAnalysis and Plan
I have outlinedseveral considerations fortheirwebsitethatAltanshouldaddress toimprove their
SEO google ranking. The overall layoutof theirsite isgood. Theyhave clear dropdownheaders
whichensureseasynavigationforthe user. Google givessiteswiththistype of layoutpreferential
treatment.
Page MozRank
I have used an SEO trackingwebsite calledMozto assistme inassessingthe Altanwebsite. Altan
has a Moz page rankingof 5.53/10. MozRank representsalinkpopularityscore. Itreflectsthe
importance of anygivenwebpage onthe Internet. PagesearnMozRank pointsbythe numberand

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qualityof otherpagesthat linktothem. The higherthe qualityof the incominglinks,the higherthe
MozRank. Altansrankingisabove average whichmeansthe qualityof webpagesthatlinkbackto
theirsite are trusted and respectedbyGoogle. Altanneedtocontinue withwhattheyhave been
doingto ensure theirMozrankingstaysintact.
Page MozTrust
Moz trust is slightlydifferentthanMoz rankas itgaugeslinktrustas oppose to linkpopularity.
Trustedlinkscome fromvarioussources. Examplesof trustedlinksare homepages of major
universitywebsitesorcertaingovernmentwebpages. Altanhasa MozTrust page rankingof
5.92/10. Thisis a healthyrankingandmeansthatAltanhave trustedsitesthatlinktotheirwebsite.
Keywords
Identifyingandchoosingthe mosteffectivekeywordsisveryimportant. Altanmustensure that
theirkeywordsare embeddedintheirsite. Byembeddingkeywordsintheirsite withthe search
phrase typedinby the userit improvesthe likelihood of the userfindingthe relevantinformation
theyneed. Thiswill leadtocustomersatisfactionasthe userisfindingthe informationtheydesire
and mostimportantlyincrease organictraffictoAltan.ie.,Iwill studythe keywordsAltancurrently
have inplace on google analyticsandexamine if changesneedtobe made. The toolsthat will assist
us inour studyof comparingcurrentand future keywordsare the followingplatformsGoogle
Instant,Google’sKeywordTool,WordtrackerandRavenTool’sMarketingPlatform. Myresearch
and findingsonappropriate keywords forthe Altansite will be availableinthe Google Adwordsand
Adsense partof the proposed plan.
Content Management System
A website CMSor contentmanagementsystemissoftware thatresidesona webserverand
replaceswebpages. The pagesdonot existandinsteadare createddynamicallyfromadatabase by
CMS software. I have givenabrief summaryof the benefitsaCMS can provide. Firstlyitimproves
simplicityandmakesiteasiertomake changestothe website. Contentisseparatedfromthe
design,sotheydonot cross overand disrupteachother. Thismeansthe site ownercan change the
contentwithoutaffectingthe page layout. CMSalso bringsa new elementof control tothe website
owner. For example youcanlockdowncertainsectionsordesignelements. ImportantlyCMS
allowsexperimental workasthe ownercanchose whenparticularchangescan go live. Thiscouldbe
of value toAltanif theychose to employee someone tocontrol theirwebsite content. A trial run
wouldhelpsee if the candidate issuitable andskilledenoughforthe role. FinallyaCMS significantly
decreasesthe amountof time ittakesto implementpage changesonthe site. Itisjust as easyto
create a 100 page website asa 10 page site. For example anew page can be createdand go live on
the site inundertwo minutesif the standardpage layoutischosen. Altaniscurrentlyusing
wordpressand I believe thatisthe bestfree CMS inthe market and recommendthattheycontinue
to use it. Basedon myrecommendationsI will ensure thatAltanuse ittoitsmaximumpotential.

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Domains
Altanare currentlyoperatingoff anie domain. AsdiscussedearlierAltanhave adomainauthorityof
5.92/10 accordingto Moz analytics. Thatisa reasonablyrespectedscore asthe average rankingon
Moz for websitesisapproximately4. Inorderto gain a highdomainauthorityyoumustincorporate
variouselementsinyoursite. Firstlylinksfrommore important,popular,trustedsitespassmore
(evenfromlessimportant pages). Forexample authoritysourcessuchaseducation,government&
organisation websites. Gettingquality linkstolinktoand fromyour site is the mostimportant thing
but gettingagood volume of linksalsoholdssome value. The diagrambelow clearlybreaksdown
the value of the numberof linksincomparisontothe value of the qualityof links.
As discussedabove Altanhave areasonablyhighdomainauthorityscore. The nextstepistoensure
that the domainiseasilyaccessiblefortheir respected targetmarketaroundthe globe. Below isa
breakdownof theirgeographictargetaudience,brokendownbycountry.
Linkbacks
Quality
Number

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Altanare currentlyworkingandoperatingunderthe domain .ie. The .ie domain ismostsuitable for
businesseswhose targetmarketispredominantlyIrish. Howeverasyoucan see fromthe graph
above Altanhave a veryglobal targetaudience. I suggestthatAltanconsidermakingdomain
changes. I carriedout some researchandcame to the conclusionthatif targetinga global market
whichAltanour then.com isdefinitelythe optiontoimplementandadopt.Iwouldsuggest that
Altancontinue usingthe .ie domainwhichissuitedfortheirIrishmarketanduse a.com domainfor
theirglobal markets.
As Altancurrently hasan .ie domaininplace theirwill isnoaddedcostattachedto that domain.
HoweverIfirmlybelieveitisworththeirwhile tobuya .com domainname. Basedonmy researcha
.com domainname shouldcostno more than 12 euro per annum. A .com domainisan
international domainandwouldbe suitedforAltansglobaltargetmarket. A .com domainis
universallyrecognisedandbyhavingone Altanwill be more suitedforinternationalsearches.
Proposals for Meta and Data Optimisation
Meta descriptionsare HTML attributesthatprovide concise explanationsof the contentsof web
pages. Meta descriptionsare commonlyusedonsearchengine resultpages(SERPs)todisplay
previewsnippetsforagivenpage. Metadescriptionsare notimportanttosearch engine rankings,
howeverare extremelyimportantingaininguserclick-throughfromSERPs. These shortparagraphs
are a webmaster’sopportunitytoadvertisecontenttosearchersandtoletthemknow exactly
whetherthe givenpage containsthe informationthey're lookingfor. Itletssearchbotsknow that
the informationpeople are searchingforexistsonthatpage. The Meta descriptionshouldemploy
and tie inkeywordsintelligently,butalsocreate acompellingdescriptionthata searcherwill wantto
click.Directrelevance tothe page and uniquenessbetweeneachpage’s Metadescriptioniskey.
The descriptionshouldoptimallybe between150-160 characters. My researchidentified44linkson
the Altanwebsite thatdidnothave a unique Metatag description. Examplesof importantlinksthat
don’tpossessaMeta descriptionincludeAltan·MairéadNí Mhaonaigh http://altan.ie/mairead-ni-
25.3
23.1
11
3.9
10.4
26.3
Fan Base Breakdown %
Ireland
USA
France
Germany
UK
Other

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mhaonaighandAltan· AltanLive http://altan.ie/live. Iwouldstronglysuggestthatwe arrange a
brainstormingmeetingwithAltananddiscussappropriateandeffectivedescriptionsforthese links.
By creatingaccurate andinformative Metadescriptionsforeachlinkitwill letthe google botsknow
whatinformationisdisplayedonthatpage and linkthe mostsuitable searchqueriestothat
particularpage.
Content Marketing Plan(Blog and Online PR)
“Contentmarketingispubliclyandfreelysharinginformationaboutyourbusinessandindustry.It
can include text(blogs,eBooks,pressreleases),video,audioandonline events”. –Bryan Haines. It is
all well andgooddisplayingfreeinformationtocustomersbutinorderforcontentmarketingtobe
successful itmustmeetcertainaimsandgoals. I outline specificdetail of variouscontentmarketing
toolslateron in thisreportand believe socialmediaplatformsandaudiowebsitesare the most
effectiveplacestopromote andshare informationwithAltansfans.
Google AdWords
AdWords(Google AdWords) isanadvertisingservice byGoogle forbusinesseswantingtodisplayads
on Google anditsadvertisingnetwork. The AdWordsprogramenablesbusinessestosetabudget
for advertisingandonlypaywhenpeople clickthe ads.The ad service islargelyfocusedon
keywords.
Businessesthatuse AdWordscancreate relevantadsusingkeywordsthatpeoplewhosearchthe
Webusingthe Google searchengine woulduse. The keyword,whensearchedfortriggersyouradto
be shown.AdWordsat the top ads thatappear underthe heading"SponsoredLinks"foundonthe
right-handside orabove Google searchresults. If yourAdWordsad isclickedon,Google search
usersare thendirectedtoyourwebsite.
WhenchoosingkeywordsforyourAdWordscampaignsdifferentmatchingoptionsare available.The
twomain keywordmatchoptionsincludethe following:
Broad Match: This reachesthe mostusersby showingyouradwheneveryourkeywordissearched
for.
Negative Match: Thisoptionpreventsyouradfrom showingwhenawordor phrase youspecifyis
searchedfor.
Phrase Match: Your ad is shownforsearchesthatmatch the exactphrase.
Exact Match: Your ad is shownforsearchesthatmatch the exactphrase exclusively.
WhenusingAdWordskeywordsare alsousedto determine yourcostof advertising. Eachkeyword
youchoose will have acost per click(CPC) bidamount. The bidsspecifythe maximumamount
you're willingtopayeachtime someone clicksyourad(the maximumcost-per-click). A higherCPC
bidcan allow yourad to showat a higherpositiononthe page.
I feltitwas necessarytogive youan understandingof whatGoogle Adwordsisandhow it works. To
my understandingof Altansgoogle analyticsstatisticsatpresenttheycurrentlydonothave any

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Google Adwordcampaignsinplace at the moment. Below isascreenshot of Altans source/medium
visitors. In otherwordshowtheirvisitorsgotto theirsite.
VisitorAcquisitionEfficiencyAnalysis
As youcan see fromthe above informationover60% of Altansvisitorscame fromgoogle search
(organic). Due to Google’s dominanceandstature inthe techindustrytodaythat figure isnotthat
surprising. The mostimportantandvaluable piece of knowledge we gatheredfromthese figures
was the fact there wasn’tanynon – organic(PPC) evidentorlisted. This,tomyunderstanding,
meansthat Altan doesnothave a google Adwordscampaigninplace at the moment. Thisleads me
to address the questionisitworthAltaninvesting inagoogle Adwordscampaign? The mainreason
youcreate an Adwordcampaignis if youwant to reachpeople withyourmusictowhomyou’re not
directlyconnected with. Intoday’sInternetworld,whilethere are tonsof people youcaninteract
with,yousimplycannotspampeople intocheckingoutyourmusic,soPPCadvertisingbecomes
quite useful toreachpeople whowouldbe interestedinwhatyoudo. The reasonfor thisissimply
that websitesgatherinformationaboutthose people whouse thatsite andcan targetyour ads to
those users. Thismeansthat they’re more likelytoengage withyou.
Although Ifeel Altansfirstpriorityshouldbe toestablishthemselvesfurtherorganicallyandon
referral andsocial mediasitesbeforetheyinvestingoogle AdWordcampaigns. Ido feel itwouldbe
potentially beneficial toinvestinagoogle Adwordcampaign. The financial riskof agoogle ad
campaignisnot overlyhighastheyuse a Cost-Per-Click(CPC) system. Soevenif youradis
displayed,youare onlychargedif someone clicksthroughtoyourwebsite. Asaresultof this I feel
Altanshouldexperimentandinvestinashortad campaign. A campaignthat wouldbe worth
consideringis one thatwouldincrease exposureandawareness fortheirlivegigs inIrelandand
abroad. If that campaignisa success I wouldsuggesttheycreate anothercampaignfocusingand
promotingtheirAltanstore.

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I feel thata textAdcampaignwouldbe the bestformat forAltan,andhave givena brief summaryof
whata textAdcampaigninvolves.

Headline (25 Characters) Usersare more likelytoclickonyour ad if yourheadline is
relatedtotheirsearch.
Description(35 Characters a line) Thisshouldoutline benefitsandshouldincludeacall to
action.'Buy Now!‘,‘Call Now!‘,‘SignupToday'
DisplayUrl (35 Characters) Aswell asthe domainname thisshouldalsoinclude the
targetedkeywordorphrase i.e. www.altan.ie/live
Belowisa previewof apotential textadcampaign Idrew up.
I wouldhave tosit downwithAltantodiscussdailybudgetnumbersandattachingappropriate
keywordstothe campaign. Once they have agreedon these elements they cango live with the
campaignat any time.
Google AdSense
Google AdSense isafree,simplewayforwebsite publishersof all sizestoearnmoneybydisplaying
targetedGoogle adson theirwebsites.

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BenefitsofGoogle AdSense
–Get paidfor displayingtargetedGoogle adsonyoursite
–Customize adseasilytomatchyour site'slookandfeel
–Track yoursuccesswithonline reports
–Block competitorsfromappearingonyoursite
How it works
1. Choose where to show ads
•Specifywhere youwantadsto appear
•Choose whattypesof ads can compete forthose slots
2. Highest-payingadsdisplay
•Advertisersbidon yourinventoryinareal-time auction
•Alwaysshowthe highest-payingad
3. Getpaid
•Google billsadvertisersandadnetworks
•Get paidthroughour reliable paymentoptions
Since Altanhasno advertisementsontheirsite atpresence I feel thatitmakesperfectsensefor
themto allocate a small areafor google adsto appear. The revenue share isquite straightforward.
For displayingadswithAdSense forContent,publishersreceive 68% of the amountGoogle collects
fromadvertisers. If the Google adson the Altan site generate $100, withGoogle’s 68% revenue
share Altanwould receive $68 throughAdSense.
Current Keywords
Below is a table of the top content and searches on the Altan website.
Page Page views Keyword Visits
/ 3,629 (not provided) 1,944
/live/ 1,182 Altan 318
/recordings/ 810 Altan band 28
/band/ 795 Altan Irish band 9
/history/ 475 Mairead ni mhaonaigh 7
/gallery/ 304 Altan shanghai concert 6
/mairead-ni-mhaonaigh 198 dermot byrne 6
/press/ 176 Ciaran tourish 5
/glenn-nimhe-the-poison-glen 170 Altan music 4

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RecommendedKeywords
The current keywordsAltan hasinplace at the momentare veryinterestingandhave drawnup
several keywords whichI feel wouldalsobe suitableandeffectiveforAltan. The keywordsare
Altan,Altanlive music,Irishmusic,IrishBands,Irishgigs,Altantourdates,andI believe the most
befittingkeywordtype forAltantouse isthe broad match keywordformat. Thismeansthat
searchesusingtheirkeyword(inanyorderorcombination) will displaytheirad. Searchesforsimilar
or relatedquerieswill alsotriggertheirad.
Social Media Analysis and Plan
Social mediaisa powerful tool forengagingandconnectingwithcustomersata relativelylow cost.
Monitoringandlisteningto yourcustomeronsocial mediaisessentialtoyoursocial mediacampaign
beingsuccessful. Altanis currentlyactive ontwosocial mediaplatforms. Those platformsare
TwitterandFacebook. I will discusshow Altancouldimprove theiractivity onthose platforms.
Furthermore we will lookatotherplatformsAltancoulduse tocreate awarenessfortheirlivegigs,
drive engagementandpotentiallyconnectwithanew fanbase. At presentMaireadissolely
responsible forthe bandssocial mediainteraction. Herfellow bandmembersneedtoparticipate in
social mediatohelpAltangainexposure andattentionfromthe public.
Facebook
Facebook isthe most popularsocial mediaplatforminthe worldtoday.Itisnosurprise thatit is
Altansmostusedsocial platformatpresent. Altancurrently hasover17,000 likesontheirFacebook
page and 1,876 are talkingaboutthem. The talkingaboutthis feature meansthatyourfanshave
takenan actionon your page that will be visible toyourfriends. Soforexample if Ilikedaposton
the Altanpage all my friendswouldbe able tosee thaton theirnewsfeed. Atpresent1,876 people
are talkingaboutAltanwhichmeanstheyhave clickedonalike,made acommentor sharedan Altan
poston theirpersonal Facebookpage.
The talkingaboutfeature isa great wayto measure faninteractionandengagementontheirpage. I
believethatMaireadisdoinga lotof thingsrighton the Facebookpage howeverasalwaysthere are
a fewthingsthatcan be put inplace to furtherengagementwiththeirfans. Firstlyaskingaquestion
to yourfans isalwaysa good wayto create a buzzand increase engagement. IrecommendAltan
create postsaskingquestionslikewhatisyourfavourite Altansongandwhy?, orwhere wouldyou
like usto do a concert?,these type of questionsare enticingfanstogive theiropinion. Secondly
Facebookcompetitionsare agreat wayto increase interactionwithyourfans. Altancoulddoprize
focusedcompetitionstoencourage theirfanstocomment,like orshare anAltanpost.
For example gotoour website andanswerourtriviaquestiontohave achance to wintwo free
ticketstoour next concert. This will increase awarenessabouttheirsite anddrive traffictoit.
Thirdlyanotherwayto stayfreshinthe mindof yourfans isto do weeklygamesorpictures. For
example Altan couldpostapicture of eithersomethingthatisaboutmusicor just a randomfunny
picture. Theythenasktheirfansto commenton itwiththe bestcaptiontheycan thinkof! At the
endtheychoose the bestcaptionand that’sthe winner! Whentheychoose the winnertheycould
give the winnerapersonal Facebook mail congratulatingthemonwinningthe competitionand
thankingthemforsupportingtheirmusic. The bestcaptionweeklypostwill ensure thatyour

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Facebookpage staysinterestingandenjoyablefor yourfans. FinallyIfeel itwouldbe beneficialfor
Altanto change theircoverand profile page everyfewweeks. Thisisonlyaminorthingbut itgives
the Altanpage a newandfreshlook on a regularbasis.
Beloware screenshotscomparingthe amountof FacebooklikesAltanhadonthe 24/03/2014 and
on the 04/05/2014. I chose to put thisinour reportbecause itdemonstratesthatsocial medianever
sleepsandpeople are constantlyengagingwithitonadailybasis.
Screen shot taken on the 24/03/2014

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As youcan see the differenceinFacebooklikesisquite substantialconsideringthe shorttime frame
betweeneachscreenshot(justoveramonth).Altanhad17,350 on the 24/032014 and justovera
monthlateron the 04/05/2014. Theysaw theirFacebookfanbase grow by over1,000 people.
These statisticshighlight andreinforcewhyFacebookisthe mostpowerfulsocial mediaplatform
and one whichAltanshouldcontinue touse regularlyandconsistently.
Twitter
Altanisactive on twitter. Theyhave 2,648 followers,following46people andhave tweeted828
timesasof 24/03/2014. Theyare reasonablyactive anduse the crossover feature fromFacebook.
Thismeansthat anythingtheypostonFacebookcrossesoverdirectlytotwitter. SimilartowhatI
didwithFacebook Icollecteddatacomparinginformationfrom the 24/03/2014 andthe 04/05/2014.
Thisdata will helpshow me if Altanare usingtwitterinthe correctmanner. Below are the two
screenshotsof the Altanfanbase on twitter.
Screenshottakenon the 24/04/2014

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As youcan see the growthrate issignificantlylowerthanthatof Facebook. The Altanfanbase on
twitteronlyincreasedby103 whereasthe Facebook page increasedby overathousandoverthe
same time frame.
My aimand goal isto increase theircurrentfollowersandencourage fanstotweet@Altan. The best
wayto achieve these goalsistogive ourfollowersreasonstotweet@Altan. Twitterhashtag
campaignscan be a veryeffective waytogenerate @Altantweets. Thisinvolvesaskingyour
followersaquestionandaskingthemto do a specific#at the endof the tweet. For example can
youname the venue of ourfirstlive performance?#AltanConcert. Thiswill hopefullyincreasethe
amountof tweetsreceivedandimprove yourinteractionwithyourfollowers. Ialsorecommend
that Altantweet@theirfollowers. Thiswill make theirfansfeel valuedandappreciatedbyAltan.
These mightseemlike smalladjustmentsbut theycanmake a huge difference. Personal
engagementwithfansespeciallyinthe musicindustrymeansalotand a personal tweetcanresultin
a potential sale. There are variousfree toolsAltancanuse tomeasure theirtwitterinfluence and
activity. Howeverthe one Ifoundtobe the mostrecognisedandhighlyregardedbyother
businesseswasKlout.
KloutgivesFacebookandTwitterusersanoverall influence score basedontheirinteractionrate.
Kloutisan easyand quickwayfor Altanto checkif theiractivityontwitterishighor low. The Klout
score workson a scale of 1-100. Highscoresmeanthat the user isbeingactive andeffectiveon
twitter. A highKloutscore meansyour tweets
 Encourage repliesandinteraction
 Are oftenretweetedwhich increasesthe amountof peopleyourtweetreaches
 Holdmore weightthanuserswitha low score
I am recommendingthatAltansetup a private Kloutaccount. A Kloutaccountwouldtrack how
active Altan isand howresponsive theirfollowersare. Kloutgivesweeklysummariesof yourtwitter
Kloutscore which I feel isthe ideal time periodformeasuringyourtwittercampaigns. Below isa
screenshotof myKloutscore I recentlysetupjust togive Altan an ideaof the set upand layout.

18
As youcan see the score isbrokendownin3 categories.
 Contentyou’ve shared
 Reactions/engagementtoyourcontent
 Audience size –increase ordecrease innumberof followers
Those 3 categoriesare combinedtogive you anoverall Kloutweeklyscore.
Snapchat
Snap chat isa video/photosharingappthathasgainedpopularityinthe pastfew months. Itallows
up to 10 second videosthatuserscanshare withtheirfellow snapchatusers. Once the videoendsit
disappearsandcan’tbe viewed again. Originally itwasseenasan app that wasonlyreallysuitable
for friendssharingcontentamongeachother. Inrecenttimesbusinesseshave startedto
incorporate snapchat intotheirsocial mediacampaign. Ipersonally feel itwillcontinuetogain
popularityoverthe comingmonthsandbrandswill begintopayclose attentiontoit. Alreadyglobal
companiessuchas McDonaldsand Taco Bell have usedsnapchat to promote theirbrandand
personalisetheirengagementwiththeircustomers. Istronglyfeel that Altancoulduse snapchatto
showtheirfansreal time photosand videos. Inmy opinionthiswillmake theirfansfeel closerand
more connectedwiththe band. It isa veryeasyprocesstoset upa snapchat account. I will arrange
a meetingtodiscusswhat snapchat name will be the mostappropriate andshow Altan how touse
all the snap chat features mosteffectively. Once they have decidedona name the nextstepwould
be to create awarenessandexposure abouttheirsnapchatname/account. The bestwayto do this
isthrough theirFacebook andTwitteraccounts. Tweetingandpostingtheirsnapchatname will
openthe door forfans to addand interactwiththemonsnap chat. Thisis a cost free mobile app
and one we feel will helpAltancommunicate withtheirfansbothgloballyanddomestically.
Spotify
Altanisalreadya subscribedbandonSpotifywhichisamajor plusas more and more people are
usingSpotifyontheirdesktopaswell asthe appon theirmobile devices. CurrentlyAltan has3,169
followersonSpotify.Byhavingfollowersitallowsyoutoshare musicwiththem. Forexample
introduce themtoa newalbumor single. Ihave beenfollowingAltanmyself on Spotify andI
haven’tseenthempostone songor albumyet. Therefore I suggestAltanuse the share feature
more activelyonSpotify. Itisa simple andfree feature whichhelpsinformfansof recentmaterial
concert datesalbumcoversetc.
Anotherfree feature onSpotify thatcanbe beneficialto Altanisthe ArtistLink. It isbasicallyfour
servicesrolledupintoone.

19
How does it work?
 Merchandise listingswithinSpotifylinktoyourexistingmerchandiseanywhere onthe web.
That meansthat youdon’tneedto change how yousell merchandise,the Spotifylisting
simply pointstoyourexistingstore.
 First,you’ll needtocreate a TopspinArtistLinkaccount. Whencreatingthe accountyou’ll be
askedwhichartistsyouwishto manage usingthe account. To ensure thatonlyofficial
representativesof anartistcan manage the bandTopspinwill require youtoverifyyour
relationshiptothe artisteitherbyconnectingone of the artist’ssocial mediaaccountsorby
emailingTopspin.
 Once you have beenverifiedyoucancreate yourlistingsimplybyaddinganimage,a title
and a descriptionalongsideaURL to the itemof merchandise inyourstore. Each listingwill
be moderatedandapprovedtomake sure it’sa legitimatemerchandiseoffer. Once
approved,the listingwill show uponyourartistpage in Spotify,typicallywithin24to 28
hours.
 Up to 3 itemsof merchandise canbe listedwithinSpotifyatanygiventime. Youcan use the
ArtistLinkdashboardtomanage yourmerchandise listingsdirectlyshouldyouneedtoedit,
remove oradd a listing.
 Altancurrentlysellsbandmerchandise itemssuchasshirtson theirwebsite. Thisfree
feature onSpotifywill actasa new avenue tolinkfanstotheironline store.
 Altanisin a partnershipwithbackstreetmerch.comwho sellstheirmerchandiseontheir
respectedwebsite.
 By availingof the Spotifyfeature itcanhelpbringuserstothe backstreetmerch.comsite
where theirproductsare beingsold.
 As of today the 05/05/2014 Altanhave 3,194 followersonSpotify. Thatisonlyan increase
of 25 followersinjustoveramonth. AsSpotifyisinthe growthstage of itsdevelopmentwe
wouldn’tbe tooconcernedbythat minorincrease. But itwouldbe no harm to become
more active on thisservice.

20
 Belowisa screenshot of the informationwe spoke aboutabove.
Pandora
Pandorais a radiosharingservice thatisalmostidentical toSpotify. Howeverthe mainandmost
importantdifference isthatPandoraonlyoperatesinIPaddressesinAustralia,New Zealandandthe
USA. As 23.1% of Altan’sfansare basedin the USA and Pandoraisa recognisedandestablished
service inAmericaitmakessense forAltantosubscribe toPandora. I have googledAltanon
Pandoraand believethatAltanare signedupto Pandorawhichis vital as itgivesthemexposure and
reach inthe US. Unfortunatelydue tobeinginIreland Iunable togoonto the Pandorasite and view
the Altanpage and theirnumberof followersandotherrelevantinformation. Iwill arrange a
meetingwithAltanandsome of theirUSfans and setup a focusgroup withthe aimof discovering
howthe US market think,engage andlistentoAltan.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn isaplatformspecificallyforbusinessesandindividualslookingtoconnectanddevelop
relationshipswiththe hope of findingjobopportunitiesandpossibilities. Ibelieve thatthis
particularplatformisnotsuitedtoAltanstargetaudience andisone platformtheyshouldnotinvest
time in. Simplyput,LinkedIn isnotaplace where people gotolistentomusicor researchlive
concert datesinIreland. Therefore itisaplatformAltan doesn’tneedtowaste theirvaluable time
on.
Pinterest
Thisis an image/photosharingplatformmainlyusedforpromotingfoodandfurnitureitems. An
interestingstatisticisthatwomenare 5 timesmore likelytouse Pinterestthanmen. Personally Iam

21
a huge fan of the platformhoweverlike LinkedInIfeel itdoesn’tappeal toorattract a large enough
percentage of Altanstargetaudience tomake ita platformthatwouldwarranttheirtime and
attention.
Web Design Usability
Altanhas theirownwebsite. The bestpossible waytofindoutif the website isuserfriendlyandhas
the informationthatthe usersare lookingforisto ask the usersdirectly.
 I recommendorganising afocusgroupwithAltanfansdiscussingthe prosandcons of the
website designandqualityof the contentitdisplays.
 A simple customersurveyaskingusersif theylikedordislikedthe site andtobriefly explain
whycouldbe an easywayto gainvaluable informationatnocost.
 The surveyshouldbe made available once the userhascompletedaparticulartaskonthe
website. Forexampleonce they’ve boughtaticketforan upcomingconcertor purchased
Altanmerchandise online theywillbe directedtoanoptional simple surveytocomplete.
 Surveymonkey.comisauseful tool forcreatingsurveysatalow cost and we recommend
Altanutilise andavail of thistool.
 It isalso useful toknowwhatpagesare being visitedthe mostandhow longisbeingspent
on eachpage. Exitandbounce rate figuresare alsoveryimportantastheygive us a good
indicatorif the page is displayingthe contentthe userswantoris the informationpointless.
 The Google Analytics inpage featureswillgive usthistype of informationandwe will have
a feel forthe currentnavigational pathof the users. Thisinvaluable informationwill show
us whichareasof the site are workingeffectivelyandwhichareasneedchanges.
 Achecker.comisanexcellentonline tool Altancanuse tohighlightanyconcernssuchas
HTML coding,page colours,contentandlanguage.
 I feel the locationof the Visitthe AltanStore clickthrough linktoblackstreetmerch.comis
not inthe most ideal place andwill discussthe placementalternativesinthe website
recommendationsectionof thisreport.
Google Analytics Analysis
 I have analysedandviewedall the pageswithinthe Altanwebsiteusinggoogleanalytics.
 Duringthisanalysis Ifocusedon2 mainelements,bounce rate and exitrate figures.
 Bounce Rate
o Bounce Rate is the percentage of single-page sessions(i.e.sessionsinwhichthe person
leftyoursite fromthe entrance page withoutinteractingwiththe page).
o There are a numberof factors that contribute toyourbounce rate. For example,users
mightleave yoursite fromthe entrance page if there are site designorusabilityissues.
Alternatively,usersmightalsoleavethe site afterviewingasingle page if they've found
the informationtheyneedonthatone page,andhad no needorinterestingoingto
otherpages.

22
o A highbounce rate can be causedbya numberof factors
1. Website DesignandUsability
2. Website Content
3. Website Navigation
4. Scanability
1. Website designandusabilityisanimportantinternal factorthatmustbe monitoredand
updatedregularly. If awebsite isnotdesignedsuitablyitcancause the userto have an
unfriendlyexperienceandmake themleave thatsite immediately. Presentationisimportant. If
your webdesignis cluttered,orhas some coloursthat reallyhurtthe users eyes,full of jumping
flashanimationsorhassome otherdesignflawsthatmakesyourvisitorsfeel uncomfortable it
couldbe reasonswhythat page wouldhave a highbounce rate. On a similarnote if yourusers
needtospendtime tryingtounderstandyourwebsite orcomprehendthe featuresyouprovide,
evenif yourcontentisthe bestin the worldyourbounce rate wouldtendtobe on the higher
side.
2. The qualityof your website content isalsoextremelyimportant. Make sure that your content
adds some value toyourvisitorsandalsothe contentand informationflowisgoodenoughto
carry your visitorsfromone page to the other. You mighthave goodcontentbut if there isno
spontaneityinwritingandif the informationflowisnotproper,afterreadingthe firstpage your
userwouldthink“whatnext?” Thisisthe pointtheybounce off yoursite.Ensure thatyour
contentiswrittenwell andgive prominentcluestoyourvisitorsasto what isthe nextstep. Your
website islike yourhome,if youwantyourguesttosee the entire house youneedtotake them
around,whenyourvisitorscome tothe door and youdon’tinvite themintheyare likelytoleave
fromthe dooritself. Souse yourcontentwiselytoinvite theminandkeepthementertained.
3. Website navigationtiesinwiththe designandusabilityaspectof yourwebsite andisanother
importantfactorin keepingbounce rateslow. Userswantto be able to move aroundand find
the informationtheywantina clearand simple way. Itistherefore importanttoprovide aclear
intuitive navigationsystemonyourwebsite. Don’tleaveanyaspectof yourwebsite ata stage
where the userisguessingwhere togonext.
4. I have done some researchinregardsto website scannabilityandcame acrosssome interesting
statistics. Navigationmenusshouldbe placedinthe leftsidebar:accordingtoUseIt.com eye
trackingstudy,users’mainreading(orscanning) patternlookslikeanF witha horizontal
movementbeingthe firstscanningcomponent. Left-justifiesnavigationmenusincreases
“scannability”of the page,andenhance user’sexperience asvisitorsare able tofindthe
navigationmenusreallyquicklyandeasily. Below isastudycarriedout byUseIt.com eye
trackingstudy.

23
The areas where userslookedthe mostare colouredred;the yellowareasindicate fewerviews,
followedbythe least-viewedblue areas. Greyareasdidn'tattract any fixations.
The F pattern'simplicationsforWebdesignare clearandshow the importance of following the
guidelines forwritingforthe Webinsteadof repurposingprintcontent:
• Userswon't readyour text thoroughlyin aword-by-wordmanner. Exhaustive readingis
rare, especiallywhenprospectivecustomersare conductingtheirinitialresearchtocompile
a shortlistof vendors. Yes,some people willreadmore,butmostwon't.
• The firsttwoparagraphs muststate the mostimportantinformation. There'ssome hope
that userswill actuallyreadthismaterial,thoughthey'll probablyreadmore of the first
paragraph thanthe second.
• Start subheads,paragraphs,andbulletpointswithinformation-carryingwords thatusers
will notice whenscanningdownthe leftside of yourcontentinthe final stemof theirF-
behaviour.They'llreadthe thirdwordona line muchlessoftenthanthe firsttwowords.
Exit Rate
Exitrate referstowhich pagespeople exityoursite on. The significance of anexitrate varies
accordingto each page. For example,itmaybe commonforvisitorstoexityoursite froma receipt
or "thankyou" page because theyhave completedaconversionactivity. Incontrast,a large number
of exitsfromanon-goal page (froma funnel page,forexample)mayindicate thatthe page is
confusingorthat it generatesusererrors.
I have lookedatthe exitrate percentagesonthe relevantAltanwebsitepages andcomparedthem
againstthe bounce rate figures.
 By comparingthe twowe can tell whichpagesare correctlylaidoutand holdthe
informationusers’ needandwhichpagesare noteffectiveandcause confusiontothe user.

24
 It isimportantto understandthe differencebetweenexitrate vsbounce rate. If you don’t
understandthe differenceitcancause youto make false assumptionsinrespecttothe
effectivenessof yourwebsitespages.
 Belowis a brief descriptionidentifyingthe difference betweenthe twoterms.
o A bounce occurs whenavisitorcomesto your website andonlylookedatasingle
page before leavingyoursite. Whenavisitorbouncestheydonotvisitanyother
pageson yoursite.
o The exitrate doesnot take intoconsiderationhow manypagesthe visitorlookedat.
It onlylooksat the exitscomparedtothe total visits.
Web Site Recommendations
 I usedthe above informationandappliedittothe homepage of Altanswebsite. Ontheir
website theyhave alotof informationstreamingdownthe centre of theirpage. All that
informationisn’treadby the user.
 On theirhome page theyopenwithashort paragraph describingasix partseriesstartingon
the 14th
March that will be presentedbytheirleadsingerMairéadNíMhaonaigh.
 Theyalsotalk abouttheirtoursin ChinaandAustraliain FebruaryandMarch whichin my
opinionshouldn’tbe onthe homepage.
 I say that because the contentisnow outdatedand of nouse to the user. If you lookat it
practicallyitisveryunlikelyusers/fanswouldgotoa site lookingforinformationaboutan
eventorgig that has alreadyhappened. Theyneedtomake the contentontheirhomepage
relevant,uptodate and stimulatingforthe user.
 Furthermore theyhave alinkdirectinguserstothe 6 part seriesshow on RTE, howeverthe
linkisno longeravailable. Thisisthe kindof thingthat will infuriate usersandresultin a
highbounce rate. It is a seriousissue andisone thatneedstobe addressedassoonas
possible.
 I wouldsuggestarrangeingameetingwiththe bandtopitcha few ideasof what wouldbe
the most upto date and effective contenttogenerate userengagementandinterest.
 A plugin application whichwe discoveredthroughourcompetitoranalysisresearchwasthe
soundcloudapplication. All 3competitorshada soundcloudfeature on theirwebsite. Itis
a free musicstreamingservice whichcanbe setupthrough yourFacebookor yourown
personal account.
 I recommendthatAltansetup a soundcloudapplicationliketheirfellow competitorshave
done,andplace it onthe website homepage.
 Thismusicfeature will enableuserstolistentoAltanmaterial forfree. Asthe application
will be locatedonthe homepage itwill be easilyvisible tousers. Asmentionedbefore I
came acrossthe soundcloud application while carryingoutourcompetitoranalysis
research. I lookedatwhere theyhave positionedthe feature ontheirrespectedwebsiteand
feel thatthe app shouldbe placedonthe righthand side of the homage like their
competitorshave done. Below isascreenshotof the chieftain’shomepage. Asyoucan see
the soundcloudapp isclearlyvisible. Therefore I feel thatAltanshouldreplicate where the
chieftainsplacedtheirsoundcloudapplication.

25
 The bounce rate figuresincomparisonwiththe exit rate figuresisalsoanarea which needs
to be addressed.
 The homepage, live page andrecordingspage are the 3 most popularpagesonthe Altan
website. Icomparedthe bounce rate andexitrate figuresof these pagesandformulatedan
overall opinion.
 I researchedandstudiedwhatisa healthybounce rate figure andwhatisan unhealthyand
negative bounce rate figure.
o Awful – 80%-100%
o Bad – 55% to 80%
o Average – 40% – 55%
o Good– 26% – 40%
o Very Good– 0% – 25%
Source:http://www.techwyse.com/blog/website-analytics/improving-website-bounce-
rates/
 The Altanhomepage hasa bounce rate figure of 46.20%. Asyou can see thisfallsunderthe
average/acceptable bounce rate category. Howeverbecause itistheirhomepagewe feel
theyneedtosignificantlylowertheircurrentbounce rate figure. Asmentionedbefore their
homepage contentneedstobe changeddrastically. Thiswill be addressedat ameetingto
discusstheirhomepage content anddependingonhow well the meetinggoes Ifeel that
investingmoneyinadigital websiteagencycouldbe the mostideal solution.

26
 Theirsecondmostpopularpage /live/ receivedanalarminglyworryingbounce rate figure of
76.17%. I lookedatthe live page andat firstglance can see exactlywhyuserswouldfindit
frustrating. Itgivescleardetailsof whenandwhere theirupcomingconcertsare,howeverit
onlygivesclickthroughlinksdirecttothe venue of the concertwhere the usermustthentry
and navigate where tofindAltanticketsonacompletelydifferentwebsite normallyina
foreignlanguage.
 I recommendthatAltanensure thatwhentheirusersclickthroughto the various concert
sitesthatthe site will appearinEnglish. Thiswill make iteasierforthe usertopurchase
theirticketsandnot require themtochange the language settingsof the page.
 Theirrecordingspage receivedverylow exitandbounce rate figuresof 18.40% and35%
respectively. Thismeansthatthe informationonthatpage is engagingandstimulatingthe
user. As a resultI believe Altanshouldkeepthe layout,contentanddesignof thatpage
prettysimilarinthe future onlyaddingrecentrecordingstothe page astheyrelease it.
Ecommerce
Altan.ie isnotanEcommerce site.Itis howeverinpartnershipwithbackstreetmerch.comwhosells
theirmerchandise forapercentage fee of the sale.
I therefore studiedthe backstreetmerch.comsite tosee if itisaneffective anduserfriendly
ecommerce site. A successful Ecommerce site shouldprovide clearandeasypaymentoptionsfor
the user. I analysedthe paymentpage of backstreetmerch.comandfeltthat ithad seriousissues
that neededtobe addressed. Firstly Ifeltthattheyaskedforfar too muchinformationfromthe
customer. Secondlythe time frame itwouldtake someone tofill outtheirpaymentformwasalso
wayover the normal rate. Belowisascreenshot of the informationyoumustfill outbefore youcan
purchase an Altanproduct.
Backstreetmerch.com - PaymentInformationPage

27
These three formsare mandatoryand the consumerwill notbe allowedmake apaymentif anyof
the above informationisnotcompleted. Thisprocessisone thatneedstobe reviewedby
backstreetmerch.com. Icouldnotdetermine the bounce rate figuresof thischeckoutpage but
wouldbe shockedif it’snotextremelyhigh. Thispoorcheckoutpage hasthe potential toaffect
Altan’ssales. Customerswishingtobuyan Altanshirtfor example maynotcomplete the purchase
due to thisovercomplicatedpaymentpage.
I recommendAltanhave discuss thiswithbackstreetmerch.comrepresentativestofindif anew
more simplisticanduserfriendlypaymentpage canbe deliveredaspartof theirservice. A possible
optionisto use and create a buy nowbutton. Buy now buttonsare simple websitepayment
buttonswhichallowthe merchanttotake payments,butprovide nootherfunctionality. They
completelyreplace the merchant’s checkoutfunction. Itwouldmeanchangingthe currentpayment
page but it wouldcreate ahugelypositivecustomerexperience. The mostestablishedand
renownedbuynowbuttonisPayPal.
How doesPayPal work?
• Openupa PayPal account foryour business
• Enteryour productdetails(e.g.productname,descriptionandprice)
• PayPal createscode thatformsa buttonforthe particularproduct
• You insertthe code inthe appropriate place onyourwebpage
(A small knowledgeof HTML is requiredforinsertingcode)
• CustomerclicksbuttonandisdirectedtoPayPal fortransactioncompletion
As youcan see,the setup processof creatinga PayPal account isstraightforward. Howeverthisis
justa suggestion. UltimatelyAltanwill have tositdownwithbackstreetmech.comanddiscusswhat
wouldbe the bestoptionforbothparties.
Mobile Marketing
Wouldyoubelieve thatthere are more mobile phone devicesinthe worldthanthere are
toothbrushes? Yesincredible! The levelof internetusage onmobile phoneshasincreased
significantlyoverthe lastdecade. Mobile devicesare now beingusedmore thandesktopintermsof
searchingandlookingforcontent. ThismeansAltanmusthave a mobile responsivesite inorderto
increase traffictotheirsite andensure thatusershave an enjoyable andfriendlymobile experience.
It isimportantthat no matterwhatdevice the userison that theycan accessthe informationthey
needeasilyandeffectively. Belowisasimple diagramshowinghow the websitesdesign andlayout
can change from device todevice.

28
CurrentlyAltansmobile anddesktopsitesdiffer slightly.Beloware twoscreenshotsof the Mobile
and Desktopsiteswhichdeliverdifferingcustomerexpierences.
Mobile Site

29
Desktop Site
As youcan see the two sitesdifferslightly. The mobile sightwasalertedtoaidthe user. Itis user
friendlyandisone we feel isadequate intoday’sindustry. Ithas a drop downmenutabwhichgives
usersthe optionto clickthroughto the website page theywouldlike toview. Asa resultwe believe
no changesneedtobe made in regardsto the layout of the mobile site butrecommendthatAltan
endeavourtoalignthe customerexpierences.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketingisatype of performance-basedmarketinginwhichabusinessrewardsone or
more affiliatesforeachvisitororcustomerbroughtbythe affiliate'sownmarketingefforts/website.
The industryhasfour core players:the merchant(alsoknownas'retailer'or'brand'),the network
(thatcontainsoffersforthe affiliate tochoose fromandalsotakescare of the payments),the
publisher(alsoknownas'the affiliate'),andthe customer. Affiliate marketingisaverycost effective
tool,inthat youonlypay for salesorleadsachieved. ThisCostperAcquisition(CPA)paymentmodel
guaranteesROI. Altanhas a verycleanwebsite. WhatI meanby thisis to our understandingthey
have no advertisementsthroughouttheirwebsite. Signinguptothe rightmusicfocusedaffiliate
program couldprovide anewrevenue streamforAltan. The iTunesaffiliateprogram isone Altan
shouldseriouslyconsider.
The iTunesAffiliate Program isfree andyoucan linkandsell yourownmusicviaany Webpage or
email.
Witheach sale fromiTunesthatoriginatesfromyouraffiliatelink,youwill earna5% commissionon
all qualifyingrevenue generated. The affiliate programauto-generateslinksforyou. All youhave to
do isplace themon any Webpage or withinanemail. It'sa simple andveryeffectivewaytosell
your music.

30
I have attacheda linkto the iTunes affiliate program. Thisgivesyou all the informationyouneedto
knowaboutthe affiliateprogram
http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/
In summary I feel iTunesisthe ideal affiliateprogramforAltanandwe stronglyadvise them tosign
up to itas soon as possible. Itisa free service sothere isno financial costforAltan.Altanwill
howeverhave togive upa small percentage of theirwebsite space foraniTunesadvertisement.
Howeverthiswill notnegativelyimpactonthe user’sengagementandnavigationwiththeirsite and
believethatbecomingapart of the affiliate programisaverywise andsensible move.
Summary
Altanhas a loyal fanbase inplace at present. Ifeel thatthis digital marketingproposal will see them
evolve andgrowontheirvarioussocial mediaplatforms. Furthermore withguidance andassistance
inregards to theirwebsitewillshouldseetheirgoogleanalyticfiguresimprove. Thiswill helpcreate
a more efficientandfriendly website fromthe userperspective. These website recommendations,if
implementedcorrectly,will complywithSEObestpracticeswhichwill improve theirgoogle ranking.
Overall thisplanwill help andassistAltanmove forwardanddevelopinthe digital marketspace.

Digital Marketing Strategy Proposal for Irish Folk Band Altan

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