Web Marketing Strategies, SEO, Web 2.0, Social Media, Trends & Tips

I frequently deliver a presentation on Web 2.0/Social Media Marketing.  It’s a high level presentation that explains to business professionals what Web 2.0 is about.  I cover RSS, blogs, podcasts, social networking, micro blogging, wikis and trends to watch.  The presentation is available for download.

In my presentation I reference an article written by BusinessWeek in May 2005 which foretold the prominent rise of blogs in the corporate setting.  The May 2005 cover story actually uses this phrase in reference to blogging: “Our Advice: Catch up or catch you later.” 

The June 2nd issue of BusinessWeek is out and it’s a doozy!  I recommend your read it!

The editors did a gem of a follow up story to the May 2005 article.  Apparently, the web traffic to the May 2005 article is huge, not to mention the comments posted on their blog about it.  Additionally, BW (much to their credit) felt compelled to update the story and particularly write about predictions they missed. 

Remember, you should read the entire article.  But, here are some excerpts:
“….Three years ago, we wrote a big story - but missed a bigger one….Blogs, it turns out, are just one of the do it yourself tools to emerge on the Internet.  Vast social networks…now offer people new ways to meet and exchange information…These social connectors are changing the dynamics of companies around the world.  Millions of us are now hanging out of on the Internet with customers, befriending rivals…It’s as if the walls around our companies are vanishing and old org charts are lying on their sides…Ambitious workers use these tools to land new deals and to assemble global teams for collaborative projects.”

Did you catch that last sentence???  These social tools are not just for teenagers.  We (you, me and our colleagues) have figured out how to use them productively in our businesses.

The article goes on to talk about tools that have become very popular to include Wikipedia, Twitter, YouTube, iTunes and Facebook.  One person is quoted as saying “the new resume is 140 characters,” referencing the paradigm for communicating on Twitter.   BTW, you can follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/berniebay.

The article gives a few examples of large corporations - BT, IBM - getting real work done on inhouse social networking sites.

One point I feel is very well made (and resonates loud with me) is their first fix to the May 2005 article is to revise the title from “Blogs” Will Change Your Business to “Social Media Will Change Your Business.”  Yeah!  That hits the nail square on the head!!!

Another well stated point in reference to how people use social media is: “A new class of supercommunicators has emerged.”  Another point nailed!

The article closes with this: “Even if the bubble burts - and we predict it will - the power of social media to transform our businesses and society will only grow.”

If you are hungry to learn more about the global impact of social media and how you should be participating, this article is a must read.  Here is the link again: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_22/b4086044617865.htm

Over the course of writing tips and best practices in this blog, I have often written about SEO and PPC tips.  It’s time to focus on a topic that can really make a difference in results: landing pages.

A landing page is a page someone clicks through to from search engine listing, whether it is a paid listing (a PPC ad) or an organic listing. In the age of long tail keyword marketing, it is important that we drive people to a landing page which is relevant, meaningful and (for heaven’s sake) simple, uncluttered and clearly communicates what the user wants!

Too many landing pages are too busy and confusing.  What do you want me to do when I land there?  Which section do you want to me read?  And, how does it relate to the listing I just clicked through?

There are several factors that should be considered in landing page design and testing.  In this post, we’ll focus on the landing page design.  I’ll cover testing in a future post.

First, it’s important to understand that landing page design impacts your results.  And, after all, results are what we’re after in search marketing, right?

The better your search marketing results, the more you can reinvest in search marketing because you can measure ROI (return on Internet).  For those who have number’s oriented bosses, take note of these guidelines.

Begin with the end in mind.  If your objective is a “conversion” have a clear definition of conversion.  Let’s assume for this post that a conversion is when someone fills out a form to request information.  In today’s web information overload, that’s not an easy task.

Once you have identified your objective, define your target audience.  As in all marketing tactics, it’s important to understand your audience behaviours, likes and dislikes.  For example, if you are marketing a technical product to a technical audience, you can’t give them a lot of fluff.  That audience wants the facts and they want them quickly. 

The layout of the landing page is very important.  As stated above it should be uncluttered and clear. Use a headline which represents the main theme of the page content.  So, if you are marketing a laptop carrying case, spell it out in the headline. 
The opening paragraph should describe the product in short and clear detail.  Don’t waste space and valuable time describing how handsome the user will look with the carrying case.  Describe the attributes of the carrying case and how it is different than others. Use pictures to illustrate the carrying case.

Allow the landing page to have some empty space.  Studies have proven that people read landing pages from the top left and down.  If possible, have a picture or headline in the top left to immediately capture the attention of the visitor.

Now, here is a strange concept I want to get across….The main purpose of the landing page is to get them to click to another page. If you think the main purpose of a landing page is to fill out a form or to buy, then unless you are selling a commodity, low cost item you are in for big disappointments.  When someone visits your landing page, they decide in less than 10 seconds if they are going to leave (bounce) or stay. 

So your objective is to give the visitor just enough content, supported with a picture or two, a testimonial or two, maybe some pricing info (if that’s appropriate) and a hyperlink to click to another level of detail.

The click through should take them to another page which is designed to keep the visitor engaged and drive toward the desired action (the conversion). 

Back to the laptop carrying case example (which is not focused on a lead but rather a sale),  I Googled “laptop carrying case” and found no less than a dozen organic and paid results.  I clicked on 10 of them, many of them from brand name e-tailers and the only one I found that didn’t distract me with too much detail and kept my attention was http://www.ebags.com/landings/index.cfm?fuseaction=laptop&sourceid=ADWEX19571&couponid=57983602&keyword=%5Blaptop+carrying+case%5D&gclid=CKezouLHv5MCFQ3_sgod9VjHCw. 

Notice how this landing page has “Laptop Cases” in the headline.  I just searched on “laptop carrying cases” so this headline speaks to me.  Hint: a headline that matches the search query gets the best results. The rest of this landing page uses product photos and not too much other detail which can distract me.

For those marketers selling  non tangible goods like software or services the same principles apply.  Marketing a “contact us for more info” is very “me too.”  It’s simply not compelling.  Consider marketing a white paper or a webinar. The same headline principle always applies.  Use a well designed graphic of the white paper or webinar event, or whatever you’re using as the hook to get people to click through to the next level of detail.

And, to those marketers with long sell cycles, remember that people who find your landing page are not there to make a buying decision.  They are conducting research.  Help them out!  Don’t send the message “fill out this form so our sales team can hound you to death.”  Feed them information in bite size chunks.  You must know your target audience.  Feed them the right amount of information.  If it’s good information, they’ll eventually contact you, whether online or offline. 

It’s okay to invite them to register for your white paper or webinar, just don’t be overbearing about it.  One way is not to ask them to do it on the main landing page.  Just feed them good content and invite them to click through to another page where they can register. 

Of course, inviting people to sign up for a “free demo” is one of the favorites among software marketers.  Depending on the industry, the product’s price point and the buying cycle, this can be effective on the first level landing page, or not.  You must consider all the variables discussed here.

Tracking conversions is very doable depending on the tools you use which range from Google Adwords Conversion Tracker, Website Optimizer (Google), Google Analytics as well as tools such as Omniture and various other testing and optimization tools.  The pricing on these tools varies from free to big bucks.  Assess your needs and your budget to select the tools that best fit your landing page optimization needs.

In the next post on this topic, we’ll examine testing optimization tips for landing pages.

Last week I gave an updated presentation on “What B2B Marketers Need to Know About Web 2.0.” The venue was TechSelect in Las Vegas (a private conference put on by TechData). The audience was VARs and Systems Integrators who purchase products through TechData. I presented once each on Friday and Saturday.

In both sessions I encountered many similar questions and concerns. Many people had limited knowledge of Web 2.0. Some attendees had profiles in LinkedIn, Facebook and a few in MySpace. Some were familiar with blogging, but surprisingly few. A few attendees had corporate blogs. Most were very interested in learning how to implement a blog strategy.

My advice to those interested in blogging was to start an internal blog first. Even for a small business that can include extensions of the company such as partners, suppliers, customers, etc. This is a relatively safe way to experience the dynamics of a blog. Beyond that, starting a public blog starts with studying the industry landscape to determine a sound blog strategy.

We also discussed micro blogging (Twitter), podcasting and social networking. There was very little awareness of Twitter, but we had interesting discussions around Twitter’s potential business applications.

There was particular interest in podcasting, especially as we discussed how technology buyers often rely on podcast content to help shape their opinions of products and services they consider before making a purchase decision.

We also discussed SEO at a very high level.  In particular we reviewed the growing importance of delivering content through social media platforms to help create links and to contribute to organic rankings. 

I provided up to the minute statistics on most of the topics mentioned above.  The two presentations were very interactive and were interesting and enjoyable for me to deliver.  Based on feedback I received it was informative for the attendees.

The full presentation can be accessed here.  I welcome comments.

A concept that I find some clients have resisted is the use of long tail keywords and long tail copy in their website. The concept seemingly goes against common sense and intuitive interest in being found for some of the most desirable keywords.

But, effective SEO strategies are about creating winning strategies. In some cases (actually in many cases) optimizing for the most desirable keywords for a business can be quite challenging. Everyone wants to be on page one. But, often page one is filled with mature, keyword rich, link rich websites. Penetrating the page one list can be difficult at best and impossible in many cases. So, we must go after winning strategies.

How do we do that? Long tail keywords, that’s how…Consider this example in our industry.

If we want to be search engine optimized for “Internet marketing” there are more than 79 million results in Google! Considering the age of www.findandconvert.com and current content and link count, the reality of ranking even on the first three pages for “Internet marketing” is nill in the near future. Consider that we are an “Internet marketing company” and not everyone searching on “Internet marketing” is necessarily searching for an Internet marketing company like Find and Convert. So, if we optimize for “Internet marketing company” we’re still dealing with a very competitive keyword that has over 13 million results in Google. In fact, we rank on page 6 for “Internet marketing company” (at the time of this writing).

As I browse the results, there are many Internet marketing companies with geographic descriptors in their titles such as “Philadelphia Internet marketing company” and “Dallas Internet marketing company.” So, a winning strategy for us is to optimize for “Internet marketing company Florida.” There are only 635,000 results in Google for this phrase. Obviously, the search volume for “Internet marketing company Florida” is lower than the broader phrases mentioned above. But, the likelihood of someone who finds us for this phrase being a qualified opportunity for Find and Convert is pretty high.

If this “long tail keyword” stuff sounds a little like shooting with a rifle, or being laser focused (or whatever cliché you prefer) that’s exactly what it is. Consider that long tail keywords allow you to write copy to accommodate it with relative ease. It’s easier to write content about specific topics than it is about more general topics. It’s also easier to rank well for various combination of long tail keyword phrases such as “Florida Internet marketing company.”

Go for a winning strategy with long tail keywords supported with long tail keyword copy that will drive the most qualified traffic to your website.

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2382)

Pay per Click Advertising, aka, SEM, PPC. 

PPC results are displayed along the top and right side.  The results are paid results.  

Target audience for this podcast is for marketers who are spending $1,000 to $10,000 per month in paid search advertising.

Measuring for conversions, not clicks.
Paid search is not the answer to all Internet marketing goals.
Paid search not good for Brand promotion unless you have a big budget.
Paid search is all about lead generation or direct sales on the Internet.
Know the difference between Search and Content networks.

Search network is primary Google and select other search engines fed by Google, e.g., Business.com.

Content networks are comprised of any website which chooses to display Google ads.
Results can vary greatly between Search and Content networks.
Be selective in the use of keywords.
Mix it up between competitive keywords and long tail keywords.
Do your research to identify long tail keywords.
Long tail keywords increase your probability of winning in paid search marketing.

Use Campaigns to distinguish themes.
E.g., product families
Break down campaigns by using ad groups to distinguish products within a campaign.
E.g., individual products
Set up a limited number of ads in each ad group.
3 to 5 ads per group.

Set up a reasonable number of keywords per ad.
Make sure they are relevant to the ad group or you’ll compete with other ad groups.
Test keyword variations: broad, phrase and exact.
Don’t display all your keywords as broad keyword variation.
You can use broad version, phrase version and exact version of keywords.  Test each version to see which variation can produce the lowest cost conversions.

Use dedicated landing pages!!!  Good landing pages can make a PPC campaign.
Generate dynamic landing pages with headlines that match the ad.
Design landing pages which are,
Uncluttered
Supported with a strong headline
Has a strong call to action
Use graphics sparingly (don’t distract)

Track conversions
Tracking impressions and click through rates don’t mean anything.  Track conversions.
Use conversion tracking (Adwords) to measure results.
Test, measure, revise and repeat.
Test variables which are measurable.

Geo target if appropriate.  Display your ads in the geographic regions that you want to sell to.

Stretch your budget using the ad scheduler.
Review results often, print reports, study them, get input from others.

Sweat the PPC details for improved conversions.
 

Our blog is focused on providing tips, ideas, best practices and advice on Internet marketing.  My hope is our readers benefit from this blog. 

The Find and Convert blog has just been recognized by Junta42 with the #7 rank on its top 42 Content Marketing blogs, out of a total of 118 total content marketing blogs.  Our blog is recognized for Internet marketing content. 

The complete Junta42 listing of content marketing blog sites is here: http://www.junta42.com/top_42_content_marketing_blogs/.

The press release from Junta42 provides more detail including their criteria for selection.

While the recognition for good marketing content is cool, the best thing about this is the convenient access to so many other great content marketing blogs on one list! 

I hope you get value from the complete list of content marketing blogs and the Find and Convert blog.