Posts Tagged ‘Internet marketing company’

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IMI NY Celebrates the Holidays

Posted by Nicole on December 18th, 2009

Last Saturday, on December 12th 2009, Internet Marketing Inc.’s New York City office launched its first holiday party ever.  With little under a year of existence, IMI NY has won a strong book of business and surpassed many milestones these last few months.  Partner and President, Todd Soiefer, invited the team to a holiday party to celebrate this success and ring in the new year “Internet Marketing” style.

The party was a huge success, with the attendance of several staff members- interns, developers and all.  A surprising guest appearance was made by the CEO of Internet Marketing Inc., Brent Gleeson, who is based in the San Diego office.  His arrival not only added an element of surprise, but also much entertainment as well.

The party involved a champagne toast and then a sushi dinner at New Ashiya in downtown Manhattan.  It was hard to even hear normal conversation over the continuous ruckus of laughter that practically usurped the night.  I am honestly surprised anyone had time to eat.

So you may ask: what’s my point?  It’s the small things that count.  Having a holiday party for your employees really inspires good cheer and let’s them know how much they truly are appreciated when it really counts.  If you don’t already do it, I suggest you make it your next New Years resolution- not only will good memories be shared but the team bonding is priceless.

7 Things to Do Before You Start Designing a Website

Posted by Brent on October 11th, 2009

Website design and development can be a frustrating process for both the designer and the client because it is a creative process and there are usually several people involved on both sides providing feedback and guidance.  Everyone has a different opinion on what looks good and what will properly reflect the company’s brand image.

To avoid obstacles and communication issues throughout the website design process, it is better to spend more time on discovery and the initial planning.  Here are seven tips to help ensure the end result is a success for both the client and the designer  Internet marketing company.

ONE:  Gain an Intimate Understanding of Their Business

This seems obvious but this step is often rushed.  To truly provide value and show your client that your care about their business, you need to learn about their business model, revenue streams, financial goals, corporate culture, and future vision.

TWO:  Know the Competition

It is important as the designer to understand who your client’s competitors are.  Find out who their offline and online competition is.  There may be a difference in who they are competing with in the search engine results and who they truly consider their competitor.  You should know both sides and find out what their competition is doing right as well as where they are falling short. 

THREE:  Understand Their Design Goals

red crayon smallDuring the discovery process it is often helpful to provide the client with a questionnaire such as a “needs analysis” or “design questionnaire” so you can extract as much information as possible such as color pallet ideas, websites they like and don’t like, desired functionality, and basic conversion goals.  For example, is the purpose of the site to simply inform, or will it be meant to generate new business, or both?

FOUR:  Get a List of Website They Like

One of the best ways to get behind the “design” eye of your client is to have them provide you a list of three to five websites they like.  Make sure they provide you with details about why they like the designs and any aspects about the sites they do not like. 

FIVE:  Understand Budget Ranges

This can be a sensitive discussion early on because the client will not want to give up any negotiating power by simply answering your question, “What is your Budget?”  However, quite often the client does not have a sound understanding of how their vision for their new website will translate into design and development time…and money!  That is why the discovery process is so important.  Whether you are a freelance designer or a full scale Internet marketing company, the process should be the same.  The budget will immediately help you communicate to the client what is possible and what is not. 

SIX:  Understand Functionality and Optimization Goals

This part is very important.  Many times a designer may not be the individual actually developing the website.  This can be problematic of the designer has more of a graphic design background and a limited understanding of the development process.  Sometimes great designs don’t translate well on the web or may not be feasibly from a development perspective depending on the functionality needs of the client.  Make sure you communicate with the development team so they understand how you plan to lay things out.  All designers these days should also have at least a basic understanding of search engine optimization.  It is frustrating for a client when they spend a lot of time and money having a great website designed only to find out month later that it has to be rebuilt for SEO purposes. 

SAIGE_Methodologies

SEVEN:  Functional Specifications

The result of the discovery process should be a very detailed FSD (functional specifications document) that both the website designer/developer and the client sign off on.  This ensures that there is a blueprint to consult when there is confusion about what is or is not “in scope”.  This is the MOST important part of the project and should not be rushed.  The FSD should include details on design, functionality, timeline, budget, and all supporting details and documentation gathered during the discovery phase.  A good FSD will include the wire frames and maybe even some initial design mocks.  Make sure the FSD is in line with the contract and that deliverables are detailed.  Because website design is a creative process, the client will think of things along the way that they did not initially communicate during discovery.  Depending on how simple or complex these requests are, you can make a judgment call whether to include the additional requests or possible provide the client with an additional quote based on estimates hours.


Internet Marketing Inc SEO Director Speaking At SMX Advanced

Posted by Mike Martin on April 29th, 2009

I’m speaking at SMX Advanced

I will be representing Internet Marketing Inc. at SMX Advanced in Seattle on June 2nd as a speaker on the Mobile Search panel.

SMX Advanced is a two day event taking place at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center from Tuesday, June 2 to Wednesday, June 3 in Seattle, Washington.

There will be a Meet & Greet party at the Odyssey Maritime Museum on Monday June 1st hosted by Microsoft who has timed the announcement of its new search engine KUMO later at the conference.

SMX Advanced in my opinion is the pinnacle of all major Internet marketing conferences as such if you could only attend one conference all year this should be the one, although PubCon would be a close second.

This conference has sold out each year and the last chance to get the early bird lowest pricing is on Friday May 1st by saving $200 at this SMX Advanced Registration page.

Please let me know if you will be attending the conference or in the Seattle area in early June by emailing me at mike AT internetmarketinginc DOT com

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How to Build Your Online Marketing Plan

Posted by Brent on March 29th, 2009

So you have decided that you need a better online marketing plan to enhance your brand and maximize the return you get from your marketing budget.  Great idea!  Now its time to create that plan and execute!  The following suggestions can help you create and implement a plan the is suited specifically to your business. 

Research:  Just because you have heard that Internet marketing and online media is much more cost effective and measurable than traditional media doen’t mean you can’t waste money using it.  You first need to understand your industry, understand how others are using online marketing within your industry, assess the competitive landscape, and discover what interactive online marketing channels are best suited to your industry.  Take a look at your industry trade journals and do extensive online research so you can position your company ahead of the curve rather than behind it.

More Research:  Now that you have a better understanding of your online competition and how companies like yours are using Internet marketing to gain market share and improve brand exposure you can start looking at the specific marketing channels (i.e. improved website design and function, conversion optimization, search engine optimization, pay per click advertising, landing page strategies, social media, email marketing, online reputation management, etc.). 

Look at how companies like yours are using these channels and gain a better understanding of which components are best suited to your company.  Doing a little of everything may not be the best idea nor cost effective.  The next step will help you assess what channels are the most feasible and then you can work from there.

Budget Discovery:  Review your budget and see what funds can be allocated (or reallocated) to your online marketing plan.  Chances are you have dollars that you can pull from traditional media.  Just because you have been doing the same print adds for 10 years doesn’t mean you should still be using that strategy.  One $30,000 print add budget could be used to put together a great 6 to 12 month online marketing plan!  And guess what…its measurable, targeted, and more cost effective! 

Choose Your Channels:  Based on your budget, you can then start putting together your plan by first deciding which aspects of Internet marketing will give you the best ROI.  You may have used some of these before and not received a good ROI…don’t be gun shy.  Make sure you understand if you were using that channel correctly and measuring your success.  For example, maybe you have used PPC advertising before but you don’t think you got a great return.  A little research might show that your budget wasn’t appropriate, your ads were not targeted, your titles not compelling, you did not use proper landing pages, etc (i.e. the campaign was not properly managed).  Well, without all this you most certainly won’t get a great ROI so don’t be afriad to try again…but do it right!

In-house or Outsourced?  I will try to answer this in a non-biased way.  Most of the time companies will not have the in-house resources or expertise to handle a full Internet marketing plan.  Hiring people in-house to do this for you can be exptremely expensive especially if you are using many different channels.  For example if you are using SEO, PPC, and social media you will most likely need a good web designer (for conversion optimization and landing pages), an SEO expert and someone skilled in managing paid search.  If any of these people are not skilled in social media marketing then that is another person you may need to hire.  Just bringing on interns to handle these strategies will most likely not cut it.  It is much more cost effective to have an Internet marketing company help you with ALL of these steps to help you understand your budget needs, what channels to use, and how to implement it.

How to Choose and Internet Marketing Company:  Get ready for more research!  Look online for some Internet marketing companies and develop a list.  Ask people you know that have used firms they liked and trust.  Once you have a list you can send out a Request for Proposal.  This can be a good place to start but not necessarily recommended.  This is a very impersonal way to “interview” companies.  I suggest contacting them and setting up face to face meetings.  Give them some information about what your goals are and what Internet marketing options you might be interested in.  Let them present to you in person so you can meet them, see how they present, and see how much research and time they put into their presentation.  If the presentation is “vanilla” and not specific to your company, you may want to think twice.  If they do not want to go the extra mile BEFORE signing you as a client they most likely will not once you are a client.

Choose the company that:

  • Gives you a great presentation
  • Makes you feel a connection and trust
  • Has a good client list with testimonials
  • Understands your industry and has done their homework

Now you are ready…get adter it!


Homes and Websites

Posted by David on March 27th, 2009

When one builds a house, you need a solid foundation and a good development team so that your home can withstand all types of weather and it will conform to all city restrictions and deeds.  Also, you want it done right the first time.  You don’t want to call back the contractor and have him redo anything again.  You paid your entire development team to build your home correctly and the only time you should call the contractor back is when you wish to add that new wing.

The same principles apply to creating a website.  Your firm should hire an reputable Internet marketing company to develop your site for you.  Yes, there are some applications you can use to build a site on your own but why would you risk building a site that may not be built correctly?  Would you build your own house if you read a book on how to build a house for beginners?  Probably not.  So why would you not hire a professional internet marketing firm to build your site?  Building a site is like building a home.  You probably don’t need as many trees but you still need to follow certain guidelines.  Internet marketing companies know these types of guidelines to follow and can make solid recommendations about your site should you want to make a solid ROI.  Your website should be the most valuable asset to your company next to your employees.  Your site is a symbol of your company that needs to be respected and cherished.  Don’t cheat yourself or your company – invest in your site because like your home, this will hopefully be forever.

Testing for conversions

Posted by Ceci on March 23rd, 2009

Having a tracking and reporting tool installed to your website is a very important factor for conversion based websites and your SEO strategy. Make sure you have a tracking code on your site to track visitors and their behavior on your site. For example the bounce rate tells you how many people are coming to your website and leaving within 5 seconds this way you are able to identify which web pages are turning away the most visitors and which are making most conversions.

With today’s internet marketing technology you can run tests on different pages of your website and let your visitors decide the best version of that page. A – B testing serves the user 2 different versions of a particular page on a random basis. This way instead of just going with a gut feeling you will actually have the statistics from your users to prove usability.

The first step is to think of 2 variations of your page. The current one as the first and the second you can make a few small changes to the page. Maybe try changing photos or making links into buttons using large calls to action. Using tools like the Google website optimizer you can test your changes by randomly showing different visitors different versions of your site. These tools will then report back to you about the conversions and goals reached by each design. From these reports you can decide which design had the most valuable conversions dependant on the goals you set for your pages. These can be sales, links clicked, forms filled, etc.

Many think that there might be too many aspects of the website to change so why test at all? This is true there are many different components to each and every website but you can just start with your current most prevalent call to action on your page. Try changing simple links to buttons with calls to action. Try cleaning up the page to not be text heavy and insert some great images relevant to your business.
• Have a friend take a look! If you have a friend that doesn’t know your business very well have them take a look at your website. Give them 10 seconds to look and then ask them what you think the site is about?

• Give, Give, Give! Tell the user why they should stay on your website. Tell them the benefits of being your website: to look younger, to be healthier, to save money.

• Make your website relevant! Make sure that all of your client see your website as relevant starting with the content and pictures on the site! Make them personal and relevant to your website and your brand.

• Users love to shop and that is why they are on your website don’t make them search. Make it easy for the user to find what they want and make it even easier for the to convert. If you are basing your conversions on sales make the “buy Now” prominent if your conversations are tracked by sign ups make sure to have a quick and easy form on every page!


Universal Search: Out with the Old, In with the New

Posted by Brent on March 18th, 2009

The days of simple on page optimization are over and have been for a while.  A year ago most search engine optimization strategies included the simple practices of basic site structure, seo copy written content, and building inbound links.  As Google continues to progress and make new updates to the algorithms, we must also adapt and develop new strategies that will keep us competitive.  A well-rounded approach is imperative which is why a good Internet marketing company can take on all aspects of search engine marketing and combine them to create a truly united front.

I tend to use the analogy of military combat when analyzing business and marketing situations.  For example, the reason a small special operations force that has superior training and works as a team will always defeat a larger force with mediocre training is becasue each person on the spec ops team works in complete synergy with one another.  In Internet marketing, it will no longer suffice to use one approach with a non-targeted strategy if you want to be competitive.  A comprehensive online marketing plan will ensure true optimization of all online assets and maximum exposure and conversions.

So what does all this mean?  What is Universal search?  What are digital assets?

Bascially, it means that optimizing all of a company’s digital assets is the best way to ensure good rankings as they apply to Google’s new “universal” search.  Universal search means that Google gives rankings to not only web pages anymore but also news results such as press releases, video content, images, local buiness results, etc.  Simply optimizing the pages of a website will not ensure that a site will rank as well as its competitiors.  Websites that use well rounded internet marketing strategies are getting traffic from other assets that appear in the search results pages.  For example, a company’s web page might not appear for a specific result but a SEO optimized press release might.  That press release if optimized properly would then have links back to the website which would drive trafic.  The same situation would apply for video content appearing in the results.  The vidoes if well optimized could then have links or calls to action noting the URL that people should follow. 

So are we taking about social media?

Basically, yes.  Social media is popular for many reasons other than viral marketing and online reputation management.  Social media can be a fantastic provider of inbound links which of course supports the ongoing organic search engine optimization campaign.  A good SEO company will optimize all a company’s digital assets to ensure the best possible ROI.

Where does conversion optimization come into play?

True conversion optimization is at the root of all online marketing strategies…or at least it should be.  Nobody wants to spend time and money implementing any marketing plan unless there is a strategy to ensure conversions and ROI.  Conversion optimization is more than just manipulating a web page to make the user do what you want.  All marketing strategies should be completely complimentary and support the same goals…that goes for offline and online components. 

Not so long ago, an SEO team would work independantly from a PPC team, and nobody would be communicating with the print team.  These days that is just poor marketing.  Everyone must be in constant communication with each other…that is, if you were to use different teams for each component.  The best practice for having a truly effective online marketing plan is to use the same team for all aspects and make sure that team knows how to coordinate with traditional media aspects as well.


Social Media Hard at Work

Posted by Brent on March 16th, 2009

Everyone wants to know more about social media marketing and how to use it cost effectively to improve online brand exposure and develop creative marketing strategies.  Social media optimization can also be a powerful tool for improving natural/organic search engine results through continually creating more inbound links.

Here are some great examples of current social media campaigns we are doing and how simple efforts can have a huge impact.

Twitter Campaign

Services Performed:

  • Ongoing campaign on Twitter.com
  • Building brand identity
  • Building “followers”
  • Post comments and offerings on a regular basis

Social Media Marketing Example Result:

  • IMI posted a comment on Twitter.com about the website and provided a link
  • The comment prompted a Twitter.com user to follow the link and purchase flowers
  • The customer was so satisfied with the experience they then posted a comment about the website
  • The complimentary review spurred others to follow the link and purchase items!

“A Small World” Campaign

Services Performed:

  • Website development
  • Organic SEO
  • Running campaign on “A Small World”

Social Media Marketing Example Result:

  • IMI developed a profile and gained user following
  • IMI posted a comment on ASmallWorld.net about the new homes for sale
  • The comment spurred multiple inquiries from investment groups and buyers
  • The leads were sent to the client
  • Interested investors flew from Europe to Mexico to visit the property

Social media marketing can of course be much more in depth than this as well as include very creative/specific marketing strategies.  These examples are meant to show how social marketing efforts can foster viral results that lead to actual sales!

Grand Opening: New York Office!

Posted by Brent on March 16th, 2009

Internet Marketing Inc. is now proud to announce the formal opening of our New York office at 25th and Broadway!  Internet Marketing Inc. is growing fast and setting up new office across the globe to continue our personal touch approach to online marketing.

Our new office will offer all of the same great cost effective services as provide a direct line of communication to our current and new clients in the Northeast.  IMI can now officially call ourselves an Internet marketing company in Manhattan!

Stay tuned…more to come!

Is Keyword Research Necessary for Website Development?

Posted by Brent on March 8th, 2009

It certainly should be!  I will start by saying this…if you have a website design company or website development firm building you a site but they do not know anything about organic search engine optimization (SEO), your site will not be set up properly for achieving natural rankings.  It is often a tough pill to swallow when someone just spent $50,000 on a website but then find out that it is invisible to Google.  There are many important steps that should be taken during the website design phase of an Internet marketing campaign that will ensure long term visibility in the SERPs (search engine results pages).

So what does this have to do with keyword research?  Let’s first define keyword research and then apply that definition to help answer this question.  Keyword research is a process used by search engine optimization professionals to determine what key terms and phrases best apply to a given website or online marketing campaign.  For example, if a company that sells shoes on their website, they would first want to begin by defining their exact goals and brand niche.  Keywords associated with “shoes” are going to be very competitive so the company would want to narrow the focus and generate a list of terms directly associated with their products. 

Here are some steps to take when starting keyword research:

  • Determine the business goals you want to achieve through your online platform
  • Define your brand, products, and services
  • Start an initial list of terms you would want your site to appear for
  • Use both broad terms and very specific terms (and combinations of them)

A good Internet marketing company will use your initial list to begin research but will also do extensive research on your industry as it applies to online searches.  Many times the terms and keywords a company thinks they should appear for may not be the most appropriate terms for traffic and conversions.  For example, a company owner may want to appear for terms more associated with their brand.  During the research process though it might be discovered that those terms are never searched.  This of course means that the terms are not competitive but there may not be a need to use resources to focus on them if they won’t drive targeted traffic.

The difference between broad/generic terms and “long tail” terms:  Broad terms are generally defined as the more competitive and less specific keywords associated with a search.  For example, if you sell used cars in downtown Philidelphia, you may not want to try to focus on just the term “used cars”.  Broad terms like this are very competitive and some sites will not have the ability to reach page one of Google.  Many experts believe the broad terms are useless for conversions anyway.  If your site appears for broad terms like this it will drive large amounts of traffic and be great for brand exposure, but in the long run it will be the more specific terms that will convert. 

Using this example, someone who types in “used car dealer downtown Philidelphia” will be much more likely to convert than someone just searching the terms “used cars”.  This is why using a mix of long tail keywords is so important too.  Long tail terms are the more specific and often geographically targeted keyword phrases.  Another example would be to compare a broad term like “Manhattan apartments” and a long tail term like “Manhattan highrise apartments near Central Park”.  The long tail terms like this generally have a higher conversion rate for obvious reasons…they are more specific and will drive more targeted quality traffic.

We won’t go into the intricate details of developing a good keyword list right now because I want to get into the discussion of how important it is for website development.  Why spend time and money building a site if it will never have the ability to appear in the natural search engine placements.  Makes sense right?  Unfortunately, this is where many website design firms fall short.  It is imperative to understand at least the basics of SEO in order to build the proper framework for a website. 

A good Internet marketing company will build a website keeping the following things in mind:

  • Proper keywords associated with each page
  • On page content – ensuring those keywords are used
  • Title tags – using most relevant keywords associtaed with each page
  • Meta descriptions – the source code must contain a description that uses the keywords associated with the page
  • Keywords – the source code will also show a list of the most relevant keywords for each page
  • H1, H2 tags – these must be embedded in each page as well to support the title tags and content on the page – again, keywords must be used
  • Site map – I don’t know how many times I have seen fancy websites that do not even include a site map; without this the search engines can not properly index your pages and you will not rank

All of the elements above can of course be handled during an orgainc search engine optimization campaign but they really should be handled during the development process…otherwise, you will just have to spend more time and money having an SEO company or online marketing company redo the work!  Save yourself time and energy and hire a website development company that knows SEO!


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