When you’re building a website for your online company, it’s important to have your SEO priorities in order from the beginning. So often, Internet marketers wait until after their site is designed and launched to think about SEO tactics, which leads to headaches that could have been avoided if they had started the process earlier in the game.

Whether you’re creating a brand new site or redesigning and re-launching an existing one, it’s important to keep search engines in mind from the start so you don’t end up with more costly changes once your site is up and running.

Getting an SEO expert involved early in the process can help you get the best search results for a new website and help you avoid a significant drop in traffic when a redesigned site is re-launched.

An SEO expert can help you make sure that your site is not only search engine friendly, but also assist you in researching and creating the best possible keywords and keyword phrases to attract your ideal clients and customers. Your SEO expert can then work with your web designer to integrate your keywords and phrases into the design itself, as well as serve as an additional set of eyes to watch for possible design flaws or inadvertent barriers to search engine traffic results.

Developing your SEO strategy early on in the design process will allow you to create an effective advertising campaign as well as get a jump on generating the right amount, and right type, of content for your pages to drive the most relevant traffic to your site.

Perhaps the most important aspect of developing an effective site is your navigation structure. Together your web designer and your SEO expert can develop a plan that will benefit your visitors as well as improve your search engine rankings at the same time. Win-win!

Although simultaneously hiring both a web designer and an SEO expert to create your new site may initially stretch your pocketbook a bit, getting a head start on your marketing tactics will not only give you a greater chance of having a successful site from the get-go, in the long run you’ll save (and make!) more money.

Picture this. You’re jumping online to check your favorite website for some information on a specific product or service. You know exactly what you’re looking for and where to find it. You type in the URL and when the page loads you move your cursor to … oh, let’s say, those fuzzy pink bunny slippers you’ve been wanting. Before you can click on the image of the adorable footwear, a popup fills your screen. You click the X to close the new window and continue your journey toward the fuzzy bunnies.

But then another popup arises … and another … and another. You end up clicking five different “close this window” boxes before you ever get the chance to check out the slippers. Irritating right? So, why would you EVER do that to your own clients? Sure, if someone were looking for your specific, unique product they might stick around and tolerate the many extra clicks to get to what they’re looking for, but in most cases, after the second extra click, your potential client would be moving on to another site where it wasn’t so cumbersome to get to what they wanted.

When you’re the owner of a commercial website, it’s great to be able to gain additional profit from incorporating ads either as popup windows or interstitials, but it’s really vital to keep your priorities in line. Sure, ads are important and, of course, the point of your Internet business is to make money, but what about your actual content? Your users are visiting your site to gain access to your products and services, or information about the two. And, if they’re like most web surfers, they’re in a hurry. The fact is, an extra ten or even five seconds feels like an eternity in this instant gratification era of ours where we want what we want right now, and where in most cases, we can get it.

Creating extra clicks/steps for your users or making them sit through a 30-second advertisement for each page they visit is not only frustrating, it gives the impression that you’re not nearly as concerned with imparting your wisdom and services to your clients as you are with making a few extra pennies from each person who happens upon your site.

Put yourself in your users’ pink fuzzy bunny slippers. Most web visitors expect an ad or two from the sites they visit, but if they’re bombarded with ad after ad and have to jump through umpteen loops to get to the content they’re looking for, they’re going to move on. Take advantage of the additional income from advertising, but not your clients who are dropping by to see what you’ve got going on. Respect their time and find a balance between the ads and content on your website that works for you and your clients.

Now, it may not happen a lot, but every so often an Internet entrepreneur comes up with a business idea that is so totally unique that it doesn’t fall into the usual search engine request categories. Particular startups, niche products or other distinctive items you might be promoting may easily make their way to the top of search engine results, but if consumers aren’t looking for them yet, that’s not really going to help, is it? So, what is a marketer to do?

Of course, there are ways to attract consumers that don’t depend on search traffic. Options like writing articles, social media marketing, email blasts, blog posts and so forth, can garner interest in a new product or service without relying on organic search engine requests. However, you shouldn’t give up on gaining traffic through SEO efforts –just realize that you have to be a little crafty about it.

When you’re selecting keywords for your new, unique product or service, try using those that apply to markets that are similar to yours. Although they may not correlate directly to what you’re selling, they’ll get you into search results for things that people are actually searching for and extend your reach to potentially viable consumers. Even if there isn’t already a product on the market that you can hitch your services to, most likely you can find something that is similar enough that you would still be relevant to the folks doing the searching.

In cases when you can’t really find a product or service out there that is similar enough to yours, change your focus and think instead of your target market. What other kinds of things are they searching for? Think of their demographic aspects – age, gender, income, location, etc. – and redirect your efforts toward relatable content that will attract their interest. Once you get their attention, you can then introduce them to your cool, one-of-a-kind product or service that they don’t even know they need … yet.

Don’t be discouraged if your product or service fails to amass a huge search volume. Think outside of the search engine box and use that clever brain of yours to come up with marketing ideas that are just as unique as your super awesome product.

As you know, social media is huge with Internet marketers and everyone who’s anyone has a solid foundation in the top three communities: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Folks are diligent about maintaining their profiles, updating their statuses or feeds, and staying as current as possible to be an active member of the online communities. What a lot of those people forget about is the power of video.

Go into any eating establishment with a television to see what we’re talking about. Although they’re surrounded by friends and fried food, people are drawn to the screen and will crane their necks to see what’s going on, even if they can’t hear the audio or don’t really care about the content. Maybe it’s the flashing lights or maybe it’s because television was their babysitter – whatever it is, people love a video. Don’t you think it’s high time you take advantage of that fact?

With an inexpensive video camera and YouTube, creating and uploading your own videos is impossibly simple and there’s no better time than the present.

Maybe you could write a how-to video for one of your products. Perhaps put together a showcase of your company’s employees and skills. You can even do an introductory video of yourself and what services you provide for your clients. The point is to interact with your potential customers and create a relationship that goes beyond just buyer and seller.

Here are some tips to get you started:

• Make your content entertaining, engaging and informative.
• When you upload, make sure you make your video public so that it’s searchable.
• Be sure to put your video in the correct category.
• Use appropriate tags.
• Watch out when using music or other material that isn’t yours; copyright infringement is serious business.
• Respond to any and every comment you get. This conversation has to be a two-way street.
• Write a concise, accurate description of your video so your target market can find you.
• Make friends with other users in your field or target market to widen your reach.

Now that you know a little more about making your own YouTube video, write that content, have a great time shooting, smile for the camera and good luck. Once you get started with YouTube videos, you’ll see that it’s not only another effective way to use social media as a marketing tool, it’s also a lot of fun. Here’s to going viral!

Have you ever thought about creating a contest on your website to attract customers and clients? It’s a great way to garner interest in your company and to get visitors coming back to your website to see what new offerings you have after the initial contest is over.

Online contests are becoming more frequently used as marketing tools that help Internet businesses gain an edge over their competition and enhance their business reputation at the same time. You can promote your contest in social media by Tweeting or posting Facebook updates about it and thereby drive increased traffic to your website.

Contests are a great way to create a buzz about your company and generate excitement for your clients and customers. And because it’s your contest, you can create rules that will keep participants coming back again and again. You can either allow multiple entries at a rate of one per day or have fairly quick turnaround between contests so that even those folks who don’t win will return over and over to see whether they have another shot at getting a prize.

You can also use contests as a way to grow your client list and marketing contacts by requiring that they respond to consumer surveys or provide their email addresses prior to entering.

From a simple blind drawing of participants names to randomly select a winner to requiring a submission of some sort such as a short essay on, “Why I Am the Best Person to Win the Jackpot,” there are tons of different contest ideas and ways you can offer a shot at a prize. We suggest you find something that works with your field of interest and remember that the more you ask of your contestants the better the prize needs to be.

And, perhaps the best part of using an online contest as a marketing tool is that besides the prize, it’s practically free!

When it comes to the social media marketing game and trying as a business to amass the largest online community you can, there are some surprisingly simple formulas for creating and developing a mammoth following. In many ways, developing social media contacts for your company and services in cyberspace is a lot like making friends in real life. In order to make new friends in real life, you have to get out into the world to forge connections with new people and the same goes for Internet relationships. To build a tribe of clients and business contacts in social media communities, you have to actively pursue that world through making your own profile and putting yourself out there.

Twitter is a great network to get started with. People there are generally looking for ways to extend their communities so their own thoughts can be heard, so they tend to be very open to following new people. We’ve got three easy steps for building and growing your social network community of followers after you’ve set up your Twitter profile. Think of it like meeting new people at a party. So, treat your Twitter account like a community mixer.

<blockquote><strong>1.  Introduce Yourself</strong>

The way you introduce yourself to a new person on Twitter is to follow them – with the intention being to get them to follow you back. Start your core group by following your friends and people you know will follow your Tweets. Then extend your range to include people who share common interests with you and your business. To begin, find your competitors or experts in your field and follow the people who follow them.</blockquote>

<blockquote><strong>2.  Start a Conversation</strong>

You’re on Twitter, you’ve made the introductions, now it’s time to start making small talk. Tweet your thoughts, tips, ideas, current events or interests on a regular basis, but don’t be overwhelming. Keep the chatter professional and client appropriate, yet make your Tweets unique and authentic. You want to develop a rapport with your followers and the best way to do that is to be yourself.</blockquote>

<blockquote><strong>3.  Throw Your Own Party</strong>

Invite people to hang out with you by advertising your Twitter link on your website, in your email signature and in newsletters or articles. Encourage people who are already your mailing list contacts and blog readers to follow you on Twitter too.</blockquote>

Don’t be shy about approaching new folks to follow. Remember, in general, people who don’t want to meet people tend to avoid social gatherings. It’s the ones who do want to get out, make new acquaintances and forge new relationships, who go to all the events. Now get your virtual cocktail party gear on and enjoy your Tweeting!

Training executives for promoting their business via social media outlets is becoming a huge focus for many companies. Social networking communities hold great potential for marketing, branding and building your company image. In fact, many companies are hiring employees expressly to manage their social networking media for them.

As this popularity grows and more and more people turn to social networking communities as a top vehicle for communication and information, it’s vital that businesses become involved in them and use the potential of the interaction within those networks. Part of that involves training your employees on how to promote themselves and your company through social media, and how to keep their communities in check while making sure to not blur the lines between business and personal networks.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Make sure that your employees are savvy in social networking. Introduce them to the top three networks and give them brief rundowns on how each works.
• Take care to warn them about mixing business with pleasure. For example, your customers shouldn’t be given access to your employees’ photos of their beer chugging adventure at Oktoberfest.
• Help your workers get their professional accounts started by providing examples of appropriate profiles.
• Give your employees samples of suitable status updates they can use on their accounts to promote your business.
• Create a series of Tweets for employees to send out with links to your website.

With 90 million users on LinkedIn, 175 million on Twitter, and over 500 million on Facebook, social networks are insanely popular and are becoming a top resource for businesses from every industry across the board. In the past few years, the widespread use of these communities has changed the face of business and people are including their LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter links in their email signatures, on their websites and even on their business cards.

By making sure your company and your employees are well versed in the social media game, you stay current in the online conversation and up-to-date in the ever expanding world of social media marketing.

When it comes to building your social media tribe, you can’t just put yourself and your product out there and expect people to come running. For those of us who don’t have celebrity status, creating a large, thriving community on social networks takes a lot of time and quite a bit of work.

 

You may have a brilliant profile with a stunning image and customized homepage, but if no one’s dropping by to see it, what’s the point? To paraphrase the old saying: if you write the perfect status update and nobody reads it, does it exist? In this case, we’d have to say no. Because the unseen status update is just as inconsequential as if you had never written one at all. And because you’re not as well known as Oprah Winfrey or Justin Bieber (not yet), you aren’t going to get any friend requests pouring in just because you’ve shown up on the scene.

 

So, until your big break hits, here are a few tips for increasing your friends, followers and connections:

 

1. You’ve got to give to get. When Tweeting or updating your Facebook status, remember to provide good content for your friends and followers. Rather than using every Tweet to plug a product or a service you provide, try offering handy tips that are relevant to your market. People love a freebie and sharing bits of your knowledge shows that you care.
2. Do some back scratching. If you want tons of people to follow you, you need to start following tons of people. If you want other experts in your area to make comments on your blogs, you need to make comments on their blogs. See where we’re going with this?
3. Reach out and touch someone. Look around online and find places where you can insert yourself into the conversations going on in your market. Join forums, LinkedIn groups, and the like and be an active participant. Make yourself known in the webosphere amongst your peers and your potential customers.
4. Get out once in a while. Stop spending the majority of your work time sitting behind a desk, glued to a computer; find out what the real people are doing these days. Attend live events and networking functions to talk with other people in your niche face-to-face. Make real live connections and get to know a different aspect of your market. Invite your new friends to follow you or visit your Facebook page.
5. Scratch your own back. If your Facebook page is busier than your Twitter, make a few status updates promoting your Twitter page. If you’ve got 500 followers on Twitter and only 16 connections on LinkedIn, update your LinkedIn profile then Tweet about it. Don’t be afraid of cross-promotion.

 

The most important tip we can give you for growing your social media network is to stay active. You have valuable products to offer and services to promote and things you want to say about your industry, and there are people out there who want to hear about all of it. But they can’t listen if you’re not talking. It’s just a matter of getting out there and doing it.

Knowing how to determine whether the time and energy you’re putting into your business is earning you the payoff you’re looking for is especially vital when it comes to paid search marketing campaigns. Sure, pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns can help increase your visibility online, but by how much and is the margin of increase worth the money you’re spending? More importantly, are you seeing results in your bottom line?

 

By analyzing your return on investment (ROI), you can more effectively determine which ads and keywords to keep using and which ones to let go of as you continue to develop and hone your SEO efforts. Understanding if the money and time you put into projects, equipment or materials is worth the payoff at the end of the day is fundamental to making decisions on whether to continue your current efforts or determining that it’s time to refocus your funds and energies.

 

Particular areas to examine are ad cost, the number of clicks you receive from paid listings, the number of orders resulting from those clicks and the revenue generated on the product you’re paying to list. To get your ROI, you can simply crunch a few numbers to see whether you’re getting the payoff you’re looking for. For example, the difference between the amount you paid for your ad and the revenue generated is your ad profit. Take that number, divide it by the initial cost and multiply by 100 to get your ROI for that ad.

 

Not a math person? Luckily most bid management programs offer click-through reports so you can see how your ad is doing. You can get data on how many times your site was listed in a search, how often a user clicked on your link and how much you’re paying for each keyword. These reports don’t offer the most in-depth information, but they are valuable in that you get an idea of where your marketing efforts stand.

 

More thorough reports from ROI tracking systems like AdWatcher, Trak4U and others make it easier to effectively and efficiently decide which campaigns to continue and which to drop, thereby making you a smarter business owner and ensuring that you spend your money and time in the best ways possible.

 

Whether you’re explaining a service that your company provides or offering an instructional reference for a product you sell, video is a fantastic way to reach out to your customers and connect with them on a level that is hard to achieve with mere copy on a webpage. Because your customers can get a glimpse of you and your products in action, you can further personalize your services and create a relationship with them that you may not otherwise achieve.

 

No longer restricted to holiday gatherings and family vacations, personal videos these days span a wide range of subjects from pranks trying to capture the big prize on America’s Funniest Videos to DIY marketing and promotional materials. Thanks to the Internet and easily accessible video cameras, you can create and upload your very own product commercials in less time than it will take us to finish writing this article.

 

With your marketing videos, you have fresh, inexpensive content that you can add to your website, electronic marketing materials, Facebook page and link to via Twitter. Then, of course, there’s Youtube, the online video distribution platform that has skyrocketed the success and notoriety of businesses of every kind imaginable.

 

As they write on their site, “YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe,” and, it’s free! Similar to other social networking sites, YouTube allows you to create a personal page and solicit followers so that you have one more avenue for reaching out and communicating with your community.

 

Grab your best products, pull out that Flip camera you got last Christmas and get ready to reap the benefits of video marketing. Lights, camera, action!