Internet Web Marketing - 5 Key Components

Article summary: An explanation of the main parts of an Internet web site marketing program and how they interact with one another.


Any type of business can benefit from a strong web presence. That's where Internet marketing comes into the picture. By promoting your business online, you can reach a much larger audience than ever before, and with relative ease (compared to the pre-Internet days).

Here are some of the things you should have in place to ensure Internet web marketing success.

1. Planning & Strategy

You can't just rush into a web site marketing program and expect great results. Before you do that, you need to have a solid plan / strategy that accounts for such things as audience, message, selling points, techniques, etc.

The best way to address these things is by asking some key questions:

• What are the key selling points of my product or service?
• Who is my audience, and how does my product / service relate to them?
• How will I reach and communicate with my audience online?
• What are the primary (and specific) goals of my Internet web marketing program?
• What kind of information do I need on my web site to accomplish these goals?
• Who is going to manage my web site marketing program?

These are just a few of the question you should ask about your web site promotion and Internet marketing campaign. Obviously, the questions listed above will generate even more questions. And that's the whole point.

2. Online Visibility

So let's say you have answered all of the questions above and addressed the issues they present. Now you have a web site and you are ready to promote it in order to generate business. What next? The next key component of your Internet web marketing program is online visibility. By this, I mean the ease with which people can find you online.

The size of the Internet is measured in billions of documents / pages, and it's growing every day. Even within your industry and niche, there will be many web sites for your audience to choose from. So you need your site to be extremely visible and easy to find.

There are many ways to accomplish this kind of visibility. Search engine marketing can obviously help, but that's not the only thing you can do. You can also publish articles online to drive traffic and increase visibility, distribute press releases online, publish a business blog and more.

3. Lead / Sales Generation

Website traffic is important for Internet web marketing success. There's no doubt about that. But traffic is only one step along the path to your ultimate goal, which is to increase sales and grow your business via the Internet.

That's where lead generation / sales generation come into the picture. These are also referred to as online conversions. For example, if somebody visits your web site and joins your newsletter, then a conversion has taken place. The person has "converted" from just a visitor to a newsletter subscriber. Other forms of conversion include lead capture, sales, inquiries and other forms of contact.

Here are ten good ways to increase conversion rates.

4. Tracking & Analysis

How will you know what's working and what's not if you have no tracking system in place? The answer, obviously, is that you cannot. So in order to further your Internet web site marketing success, you have to track and analyze your results.

This will include such things as watching your website analytics program to a customer feedback form at conversion points. There are many ways to track and monitor performance, so the important thing is to find what works for you and stick to it.

One of the great things about Internet marketing is that you can get nearly instant results and feedback. You can try something, judge the success, and then try something new for comparison. But you can't do any of this until you track and analyze your web site marketing efforts. This is the strategic side of Internet marketing.

5. Constant Evolution

As consumers, we are motivated by the same things today as ten years ago. We still seek products and services that will help us in some way -- by making us smarter, healthier, wealthier, happier. etc.

But while the motivations of consumers haven't changed much, the methods for reaching those consumers are constantly evolving. This is especially true online, where new technologies emerge every year.

To ensure the long-term success of your Internet web marketing program, you need to keep track of emerging trends and technologies in this arena. For example, few business owners had heard of a blog five years ago, but now it seems that everybody has one. This is one evolutionary example of many.

Professional SEO Consultants - Let Them Be Judged

Article Summary: A look into what makes a "professional" SEO consultant, as well as some of the things you should expect from such a professional.



So you have a new website and you're ready for traffic and online success. You've done some research and discovered that search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the ways to get web traffic, so you are now searching for a professional SEO consultant to help you out.

What next? How can you tell one search engine optimization consultant from the next, when they all claim to be professional consultants and experts ... and all the other self-promotional claims that SEO professionals make?

Here's how:

How to Screen SEO Consultants

Here are some of the most important questions you should ask a search engine optimization consultant before signing a contract with them (much less paying them for their SEO services).

1. How long have you been an SEO consultant?

Sure, everyone has to start somewhere. But pricing goes along with that as well. In my opinion, a person who is new to the world of search engine optimization cannot justify the same prices as a professional consultant who has been doing it for years. It's just something worth knowing up front.

2. Can I speak to a few of your current clients?

If a professional SEO consultant says no to this question, then they are not a true professional. It's a red flag that either (A) they have no current clients, or (B) they have burned a lot of bridges by providing a bad service to clients. In either case, they are not a professional SEO consultant worth your time or consideration.

3. What SEO techniques do you use?

Some search firms will tell you that it's all "proprietary" and they don't share their "secrets." Let me deflate that statement for you. There are no secret techniques in the SEO business. It's public knowledge. Most of the work revolves around content development and link building work. Hardly proprietary techniques, if you ask me. If a so-called professional SEO consultant keeps their techniques hidden from you, it's probably because they use black hat SEO techniques.

Learn More About Professional Consultants

I hope this article has given you the kind of confidence and insight you need to choose a professional SEO consultant who will serve you well. Here are some more articles on the subject:

• Search Engine Optimization Firms - 5 Key Qualities
• What to Ask an SEO Firm

Website Marketing Strategies - More Than Chess Pieces

Message on home page: "Our strategic website marketing services are designed to help you leverage your resources in a way that maximizes your response while ensuring optimum performance at all times." [Usually supported by a stock photo of chess pieces on a board]

Jargon-free translation: "Our website marketing services are designed to work."



If you've been operating a business website for any length of time, you've probably encountered an example of jargon-infused puffery like the one I've translated above. Perhaps it came to you in a spam email from some company that claimed to take your online success "into the stratosphere." Or perhaps you read it on the home page of a web marketing firm, right above the ubiquitous stock photo of chess pieces on a chess board.

But what is "strategic" website marketing anyway? If you ask me, it's one word too many, because the first word is a given and therefore completely unnecessary. Strategic marketing is the only kind worth pursuing, online or offline. It's common sense. It's a no-brainer. It means, basically, that you have some goal behind your website marketing program -- a strategy of some kind. Marketing programs without strategies are like cars without engines.

So in essence, a company that uses the "strategic" adjective to describe their services is simply trying to impress you with big words. After all, if you have no strategies behind your website marketing program, then you have no objectives either. And if you lack a clear objective, you have no way to measure your success.

So let's strike the word "strategic" from the record, and replace it with the word "successful." No we have something worth pursuing -- successful website marketing. Who cares about chess pieces? You want results, right? Right!

Beyond Chess Pieces - 5 Parts of Website Marketing Success

So let's put the jargon aside and speak frankly for a moment. Here are the five things you need to ensure your success in the online arena:

1. Your Product or Service -- We should get this straight before we go any further. A bad product with effective marketing is still a bad product. So the first step to online business success is to have a product or service that's worth talking about in the first place. If what you have to offer is no different than what your competitors are offering, then your website marketing program has already failed. Back to the drawing board!

2. Your Intended Audience -- Quick, tell me five things about your intended audience (the people to who your are marketing your product or service). In other words, five characteristics that define your prospective customers. Are you stuck? Can't past item #1? Then you haven't done the proper homework to make your online marketing successful. Regardless of all the shiny new technologies the Web has brought, people still need solutions to their problems. How can you address these problems if you don't know your audience?

3. Your Online Messaging -- Flashy websites and animated "greeters" will not motivate people to act. On the Web, people respond to clearly explained benefits and helpful instructions, not glitz and jargon. At some point you will have to tell your audience, in plain English, why they need your product or service. You also have to explain how it's different or (ideally) better than similar products on the market. Does your website currently do this? If you have trouble explaining these things, see item #1 above.

4. Your Observation and Tracking -- One of the best things about marketing online is the fact that you can get nearly instant feedback. For example, let's say I get 1,000 visitors per day to my website's home page. I have a call to action on the home page that is intended to generate inquiries from visitors. I can swap out the home page message for an alternative version, and within a day or two I'll know which one works better. Of course, before you can track results, you need some form of analytics in place to tell you everything about your website traffic, marketing results, website conversions and more.

5. Your Eternal Vigilance -- Success comes from trying things, learning from your mistakes, and adjusting your approach. This is true of sports, the arts, and -- yes -- website marketing as well. To get the best possible results, you must constantly try new things, test one approach against another, and analyze your results to learn from them. And don't every listen to somebody who says, "Oh, that technique didn't work for me, so it won't work for you either." There is actual experience, and there is hearsay ... only the former will reveal the truth.

The only website marketing strategies worth pursuing are those built around solid objectives and planning. The process begins with the product or service, which must be worth marketing in the first place. Then the process should identify the intended audience. It must include a clear message about the genuine benefits of the product or service. And lastly, the process must evolve over time through trial and errors.

Strategic Internet Marketing Services - Explained

I see a lot of companies offering strategic Internet marketing services these days. And I know from my own keyword research that a lot of people are researching this subject online. But what makes and Internet marketing service "strategic" to begin with. Let's explore this further...

A Strategic Approach to the Web

In my mind, anybody who launches an Internet marketing program without a solid strategy in mind is going to waste time, energy and money. Having a strategy in place will ensure that:

• You understand the goal of your Internet marketing campaign
• You know who your audience is and what they want
• You have a plan for reaching your ideal audience online
• You know where to focus your time, energy and money
• Other people in your organization understand these things as well

In other words, strategic Internet marketing could also be referred to as common sense Internet marketing. It takes into account all of the pieces of the puzzle ... the product or service being marketed, the intended audience, and the message and technology that will connect the two.

The question is, do all of the companies who claim to offer strategic Internet marketing services truly understand this concept? As with everyone else in this industry, I'm sure there are some that understand the concept of an Internet marketing strategy, while other are merely spinning buzzwords (and using pictures of chess pieces) to try and impress would-be clients.



A company who is shopping for this kind of marketing service must know exactly what they want. More specifically, the company should set its own goals and create its own definition of success. Otherwise, the Internet marketing company will define your success for you, and that is not what you want.

Choosing an Internet Marketing Company

So, let's say I operate a small business and I am looking for a strategic Internet marketing firm to help me promote my business online. Here is the wrong way to go about it, and the right way to go about it:

The wrong way: I do a Google search for the phrase strategic Internet marketing services and visit the top-three websites listed. I contact one of the companies and ask how they can help me. They give me a basic spiel about their services, after which I sign on with them.

The wright way: I do a search for strategic Internet marketing services as before, but this time I make a list of 10 to 12 companies. I realize that for every one company that truly excels at Internet marketing there are several that have no idea what they're doing. So I create a longer list this time around.

Next, I visit the websites of these companies and see if they are full of puffery and jargon, or if they offer straightforward information. After all, if an Internet marketing company can't even explain what they do, how are they going to help me with my online messaging?

Next, I will do some research to see what I can find out about the companies on my list. Are they active online, publishing articles and news, or are they stagnant. Is there any bad press about the company? Any good press?

After narrowing down the initial list to about five so-called strategic Internet marketing services, I will contact them to see if they truly understand the strategy marketing online. I will also present them with my clearly outlined definition of success (i.e. what my Internet marketing objectives are). Otherwise, they will define my objectives for me, and that's the last thing I want.

Lastly, I will listen to them explain how they can help me achieve my goals. If they beat around the bush or seem to lack any sort of plan of attack, I will scratch them from my list.

After all this, I should have two or three strategic Internet marketing services who are worth considering. Is it hard work to find a reliable marketing service these days? Well, it does take some time and effort on your part. But it's time well spent. Because in the end, you will have chosen a carefully screened Internet marketing partner to help you achieve your goals, instead of choosing some company that simply knows how to throw jargon around.

Good luck with your strategic Internet marketing campaign!

How SEO Services Are Like the Wizard of Oz

In the Wizard of Oz, people were mystified and amazed by the powers of the wizard. But when they looked behind the curtain, they realized he was no wizard at all, and that his powers were all smoke and mirrors.

Unfortunately, this concept is alive in well within the search engine marketing industry. Let me give you a real-life example of what some SEO companies will do to drum up business. Then, I'll tell you how to evaluate the true skill and results of a search engine marketing company.

So let's take a peek behind the curtain to see what the wizard is up to, shall we?

The other day I came across something online that I found appalling. It was a promotional page that described the search engine marketing services provided by a certain company. Specifically, the page was aimed at real estate agents and the SEO services was being offered by a certain "Homes" related company that shall remain nameless.

Pulling Back the Curtain of Mystery

Having a background with search engine optimization, I found the company's sales points to be shocking and downright deceptive. One of their claims was that "your website is guaranteed to be indexed by Google within 60 days!" Yes, it had exclamation points and everything, as if this were the biggest and boldest selling point ever made by such a company.

Of course, those of you who are familiar with SEO and the process of search engine ranking are probably wrinkling your noses at this statement already, because you realize this is no major accomplishment (to say the least). If you are not familiar with the process of search engine optimization, then let me explain why this "selling point" is anything but...

If you publish a new website online and do nothing with it (no promotion, no networking, not link building, no nothing), the major search engines will still find it through their routine web-crawling process. And they will probably find it in less than 60 days. In fact, as the fastest of the search engines, Google will probably find the new website in a couple of weeks.

Now let's say that you point a few links toward your new website from other websites. You could do this by submitting the website to a few web directories, by publishing a press release online, or by some from of networking. Now the search engines will probably find your website within a matter of days, not weeks.

You can see my point.

It's Like Selling the Sunrise...

This company (and the many like them who make similar claims) is taking something that will happen automatically and passing it off as a selling point for their search engine marketing service. They are guaranteeing to get their client websites indexed by search engines, which is something that will happen anyway.

It's also worth nothing that being indexed by a search engine simply means that you are listed in their database -- it doesn't mean you will be ranked well for key phrases. Getting your site indexed is the first baby step in a long journey to good rankings. It is not, by itself, an accomplishment.

It's almost like me promising to make the sunrise tomorrow if you pay me a fee. For only $99 we will provide a service that is guaranteed to make the sun rise within 12 hours of your payment!

From where I'm standing, this service is being marketed to folks with lower expectations, or folks who are afraid to look behind the curtain and question the wizard.

Search Engine Marketing With Higher Expectations

But what if you expect more from your SEO investment? What if you actually want good rankings and higher traffic levels? Well, if you do, I salute you. It's important to expect something worthwhile in exchange for they money you pay.

Here's how to deflate the empty claims of search marketing "wizards" and get right to the heart of the matter:

First, do a little homework of your own to come up with a list of key phrases your audience might use to find the types of products or services you provide. Use a keyword-research tool such as WordTracker or Keyword Discovery to validate the phrases, and to rank them based on how often people are searching them.

Next, create a spreadsheet listing about 10 - 20 of your most important search phrases. Present this list to any search marketing firm you are considering, and tell them that you will measure their success by how well you eventually rank for these phrases.

What you are doing here is setting a proper goal for the SEO campaign by defining your own success. If you allow the search marketing company to define success for you, you may find that it falls short of your own definition. And you may have a wizard behind a curtain trying to mystify you with smoke and mirrors.

Brandon Cornett is an SEO consultant in Austin, Texas. Through his website and blog, he educates clients and non-clients alike on all aspects of Internet marketing and search.

Web Maintenance Services for Small Business Websites

Recently, we were fortunate enough to have a Client Services Manager join our ranks. This "liberates" me to offer a broader range of services to clients. The latest addition is our web maintenance service for small business websites.

In the past, we have only performed website maintenance tasks for our SEO clients, and only in conjunction with certain SEO tasks that made the maintenance necessary. But over the years, I could not count the number of web maintenance requests I've received from non-clients.

I hate to turn down business as much as people hate being turned down, so I now say ... bring us your web maintenance tasks and we will accommodate you!

For example, what if the person who built your website is no longer around, but you need to add some new content (or remove some old content)? Our website maintenance program can help you.

Types of Website Maintenance

We have a lot of in-house expertise in this area. I, for one, have been working with websites for a decade now. So no matter kind of web maintenance you need, there's a 99% chance we can help you.

Cost is another big consideration when having maintenance performed on your small business website. For example, let's say you had your website developed by a firm that charges $150 / hour for basic maintenance. Ouch! That will add up fast.

Our web maintenance services are affordable and efficient. We charge a flat rate of $55 per hour, for most types of work. You can see the savings here.

Some of what we can do for you:

• Updating content on web pages or adding new pages
• Adjusting navigation to reflect new content
• Creating photo galleries / adding photos to existing galleries
• Graphical work to create buttons, improve website appearance, etc.

So if your small business website has been "languishing" without a webmaster for some time, and you need some basic maintenance to freshen things up, please contact Melissa with Client Services.