We have talked a lot about conversion optimization and improving ROI for your marketing investments.  This of course has never been more important.  Most companies (though everyone is negotiating the waters of the rough economy) still undertsand they need to find cost effective and creative ways to market their products and services to their target audiences.  Understanding that marketing is essential is just the first step…spending your budget wisely is a whole new ball game.

There is no point is spending a a bunch of time and money building a fancy website if it is not optimized for the search engines.  Additionally, there is no point is spending time and resources driving traffic to a website or web page that is not set up to convert traffic into business.  A good Internet marketing company will help a client define their business goals (from an online prespective) and work backwards from there.  Defining these goals first is essential so that your website can be designed to reflect the conversion fatcors that will support these goals.

Remember that your website, and pages within your website should be designed to support all outside marketing efforts including online marketing like organic search engine optimization and pay per click advertising, as well as offline marketing like print ad or direct mail.  Let’s assume a website itself is set up well for basic conversions and has the proper calls to action necessary to take people through the sales cycle.  Even if this is the case, it does not mean that your PPC ads or print ads should be directing visitors to the home page of your site.  This is where landing pages come into play. 

A good landing page strategy has multiple advantages:

• Helps you focus on the ad campaign rather than redeveloping the actual website
• Gives you the opportunity to test multiple landing pages for optimial conversions
• Gives you the ability to constantly change just one page based on goals and conversions
• Can increase conversion by up to 40%
• Helps you focus on a specific message and call to action
• Can be used to capture business leads without any extra steps

What are the main components for landing pages:

• Clean, simple, but compelling design
• Very specific call to action (i.e. 7 day FREE Trial – REGISTER NOW) – in more than one place
• Simple content (short paragraphs or bullet points are best)
• The use of a Multi Step Process Guide (i.e. 3 Step Process)
• A registration form is necessary
• Trust Factors (i.e. certifications, testimonials, etc.)
• The use of the same keywords used in your advertisements

Here is an example of a landing page we designed for a client running a PPC campaign for their new Loft condos in San Francisco, CA.  Notice the simpe design, bullet pointed info, clear call to action, and short registration form on the right side of the page: 

The goal for this client is of course to capture registrations from interested potential buyers for their property.  This helps them build a database and get their sales teams involved in building relationships directly with the customer.

So remember, when launching new marketing efforts, even if you have just redesigned your website, consider using landing pages to support the campaign.  It will help you target the customer better and improve ROI.

The world is a crazy place right now and the economy is causing people to make major strategic shifts or even changes in their overall life plan.  The recent layoffs have actually spawned a new era of entreprenuers seeking to start their own ventures and follow dreams they have been pondering for a long time.  What do yo have to lose right?!  If you never try, you will never know what could have been.

Here are some basic but important tips for getting your start-up online business off the ground:

Have definable business goals:  Make sure you have completely defined your business goals and revenue streams with a clear plan on how to monetize them.  Usually this starts with some kind of business plan.  Even if you are not raising money and plan to boot strap for the first few years, writing a full business plan is a great exercise to help define the marketplace, competition, revenue model, break even analysis, etc.

Know your competition:  This would be defined of course during the business plan process but it is now more important than ever to understand what the competitors are doing.  The good ones are not operating the same way they were six months ago.  They will have created new revenue opportunities, found ways to cut expenses, and created a strategic plan for the next 12 months.  Many things might change between the time you start writing your plan for your online business and when you actually launch.  Follow the competition and makes adjustments accordingly.

Stop talking about it and do it:  You won’t grow a new business by only sitting around and planning.  You will have to eventually execute your plans.  Don’t be afriad to make mistakes…you will make them, and you will learn from them.  A proper amount of planning is very important but successful business owners execute their plans and keep things moving forward.

Build a great website:  You do not have to break the bank, but these days the first thing potential customers will do is research you online and look at your website.  People care about how things look and associate your website quality with your business…especially if you are running an online business!  Your site also needs to be set up to effectively support your business goals (i.e. foster conversions and new business).

Have an Internet marketing strategy:  Hiring an Internet marketing company that can help you build the most realistic strategy is important.  Trying to do it yourself if you do not have experience can lead to wasteful spending.  A good Internet marketing firm will help you define your goals, set benchmarks, and use analytics to continually refine the campaign to generate the best ROI.

Here are some good management tips that will keep your company going during tought times.  It does not matter if you run an Internet marketing company, a manufacturing plant, or a beauty parlor…these types of leadership guidelines translate across all industries.

Anyone can steer the ship in calm waters:  The sign of a true leader is one that will keep the team motivated and performing during the tough times.  Building a business in a good economy with the right resources is much different that understanding the strategic shifts necessary to keep you going during the hard times.

True leaders create change in their organizations:  If you can’t execute your business plans then you probably should not be leading the team.  The difference between a successful leader or manager and one that is not, is that they don’t just make plans…they implement those plans.

Lead by example:  This is especially true during a tough economy.  If you ask people to work late, you should be there too.  Don’t fly first class with the rest of your team in coach.  Don’t ask your people to make sacrifices that you are not willing to make yourself.  Lead fron the front and not the rear.  Bascially, do not ask your people to do something you would not be willing to do yourself.

Manage by walking around:  Get out of your office and walk around.  If you are at the top of the food chain do not confuse this concept with going around your middle managers.  However, it is important to get out there, talk to your team, ask them how things are going, etc.  You can gain a large amount of knowledge by doing this.

Work hard and market your business online:  Working hard and having a good product isn’t enough these days.  Lead your company by working hard, getting to the office first, staying late, and by all means…market your business online.  Internet marketing is the most cost effective way to enhance your brand exposure and increase revenue.  Give you team something to be proud of like a good website and powerful online presence.  It makes it easier to sell!

Twitter is the latest craze in the social media sphere.  Everyone from President Obama to homebuilders to the average internet geek is on Twitter posting updates and following and being followed.  I recently perused Twitter and I found The Washington Post.  I grew up reading The Washington Post and to see a news site with a Twitter account kind of baffled me and made me think about the power of this 3 year old website.  An Internet marketing company will tell you social media is extremely important to any internet marketing campaign – and for good reason.  This is a prime example of why using sites like Twitter will be beneficial for any social media campaign – and here’s why…

You know a site is worth being a part of when one of the top newspaper websites in the world uses that site to post updates about the news.  Online newspapers are great because of the fact that users can get current information (not always accurate, though) from not actually ordering a paper every morning but by simply logging on to a site and reading what’s new.  Also – having an online site allows the company – such as The Washington Post – to post new articles and breaking news when it happens so that readers don’t need to wait until the next morning to read the paper and find out what happened.  Now, these up-to-the minute sites like the Post are using social media sites like Twitter to broadcast the news – does anyone else find this ironic?  It’s quite incredible that a leading paper would be on a site like Twitter and use it to update their followers about what’s happening in the world.

I just finished watching the State of the Index 2008 address by Matt Cutts from Google.  Google now has a YouTube channel set up to post webmaster videos to keep the world informed about what’s new with Google.  Sure there is an element of “sales” to this but it truly is a fantastic information resource for webmasters and marketers. 

It is imperative for any good Internet marketing company or webmaster to stay on top of the new things happening at Google.  In his adress, Matt gave an overview of some great new tools that Google has launched including of course the Google Chrome browser.  Some of the general new things to look for include better machine translation, new and better voice recognition applications, Google suggest, SearchWiki (which is part of Google’s persnal search features allowing you to move or delete results), Personal search, Universal search, etc.

Some great new tools for Internet marketing companies or SEO consultants include Google Trends (analytics tool used to show trends for specific search queries), Google Trends for Websites (tool for comparing traffic between various sites), Goolge Ad Manager (helps marketers manage various ads they are running on multiple sites and channels), Google Ad Planner (a very helpful tool allowing marketers to really target their ads and make educated choices for where their ads will appear), and more advanced Google Analytics. 

Google Analytics now offers advanced segmentation which allows people to really compare the ROI betweenb their organic results and their paid ad results.  Interesting stuff! Another great tool especially for Internet marketing companies and SEO firms is the “on demand” indexing system for web pages.  This allows webmasters the ability to submit webpages for indexing automatically – this ensures indexing within 24 hours.

Some interesting points for webmasters to note are improved crawling for Flash.  This means that Google now has improved systems for extracting text from Flash files but the basic rules still apply.  Websites that achieve the best rankings still need a good balance of static HTML especially with more people reviewing sites from their mobile devices.  Google also has systems for better processing of JavaScript.

Unfortunately, we still have to deal with hackers and black hat tactics.  We are seeing a trend in more agressive black hat SEO strategies which border on felony behavior. 

Check out the video for the full details!

Every company out there today is trying to maximize the impact of their marketing budgets and strategy.  Most are embracing the cost effective and measurable aspects to online marketing.  A comprehensive Internet marketing strategy executed correctly can generate more business and reach a larger audience than traditional media…its that simple. 

Follow these six steps to maximize your Internet marketing impact in 2009:

• (Step One) Analyze your current online presence and understand your competitors:  The most effective way to set initial benchmarks is to analyze your current website and any current or past Internet marketing campaigns.  From this research you can determine if your current website will support your new goals or if you need to redevelop it.  Equally as important is to research your online competitors so you can see what kind of strategies they use and how effective they are.  Knowing your online competitors is imperative to understanding how to beat them!
• (Step Two) Set specific goals:  Goal setting is the most crucial aspect to developing any marketing strategy.  These are not just marketing goals but true business goals (i.e. what are you going to do to grow your business and stay competitive). Your online marketing campaign should be a direct reflection of your goals and be designed specifically for achieving those goals.
• (Step Three) Set budgets for the year:  Determine what you can realistically afford to invest in your marketing strategy.  Internet marketing is NOT like buying advertising…it is s true investment in the future of your business and can have lasting effects that will increase revenue and brand awareness.  Your budgets need to be placed intelligently and be realistic according to the competitiveness of the industry. 
• (Step Four)  Determine what Internet marketing channels are most appropriate:  Internet marketing can include some or all of the following:  consulting, website design, organic search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click advertising (PPC), social media marketing, email marketing, online video marketing,  conversion optimization, online reputation management, and online media buying.  All aspects of your strategy need to compliment one another…including offline and online components.
• (Step Five)  Prepare the foundation for your campaign:  Many times the best foundation starts with a new website that is designed for conversions depending on your goals.
• (Step Six)  Execute, analyze, and adjust:  Constant monitoring and adjusting will drastically improve the ongoing effectiveness of your campaign. 

So how do you accomplish all this and still stay focused on running your business?  Hire an Internet marketing company that can put all these things in motion!

Any Internet marketing company, website design company, or SEO firm will understand this post.  Managing the expectations of a client is just as important as managing their project.  We all want to help our clients meet their goals and be happy with the service we provide.  In this economy, I feel strongly that what we offer will provide a long lasting positive effect that will help companies not only sustain during this recession, but grow.

So how do you effectively manage a client and their expectations?

1. Communicate, communicate, communicate:  From day one, you must be communicating with them to understand their business goals, the goals they have in mind for their Internet marketing campaign, the purpose and desired conversion for thier website, etc.  Part of this communication involves educating them on exactly what you plan to do for them and why.  Too many companies in this industry are afraid to be transparent.  You will earn their trust and you might even impress them with your knowledge if you teach them…give it a try!
2. Help them understand from the beginning what they have done right in the past and what they have done wrong:  Of course, always be tactful in this communication.  This is part of the learning process and important for the client to understand.  Many clients are willing to listen about the impactful nature of Internet marketing and improving ROI from their online platform, but then are not willing to make changes to their websites!  Help them understand that they hired you for a reason and that they need to let you do what you do best!
3. Don’t hide behind email:  Pick up the phone and call the client regularly even if you are not looking forward to the conversation.  An unhappy client will be easier to turn around through personal communication than through email.
4. Do not let the client control your time and resources:  Most clients naturally assume they are your only important client, right?!  If you over promise at the beginning they will call you on it every time.  Set realistic boundaries, timelines, and communication guidelines.  You can’t afford to let regular 30 minute conference calls last an hour and a half so it is up to you to set the parameters and create an agenda.  Keep the calls efficient and have action items for everyone at the end.
5. If you missed a goal or made a mistake, own up to it:  It won’t help you to dance around an issue and you know the old saying, “The client is always right”.  Even is you think you didn’t mess up and its really the client who is missing deadlines, be tactful in how you handle it.  However, you do need to make it very clear that if the client slows you down, the timeline needs to be adjusted. It is OK to let them know they are holding up the works!

The best thing any online marketing company can do is communicate openly and regularly with the client…this will prevent more issues than you can image!

Conversion optimization:  The process of manipulating a web page to improve the visitor’s perception of the page and increase the conversion rate.  A “landing page” is generally referred to when speaking about the page a visitor is directed to when clicking on an advertisement, email marketing piece, or search engine result link.  The page should be a logical extension of the ad, support the “promises” made in the ad with more detail, and have clear and simple calls to action.

Three types of LPO:

• Associative content targeting:  the page content is dynamically modified for each user based on parameters such as search criteria and geographical location.
• Predictive content targeting:  the page content adjusts based on any “known” information about the user such as demographics, browsing patterns, and possibly purchasing behavior.
• Consumer directed targeting (social targeting):  page content is created using public information through metrics based on reviews, ratings, referrals, tagging, etc.

(Wikipedia)

Below is an example of a nicely laid out landing page with a very clear call to action.  Notice how the layout gives the visitor a very simple multi-step process, additional content about the page and offering, a short registration form, and the appropriate “trust” factors associated with the serrvice.  All of these elements exist to improve conversion rates.

All website design elements should define a specific conversion.  The client should be first asked to lay out their business goals and goals associated with their online presense and Internet marketing plan.  If you haven’t defined the conversion factor you can not take the necessary steps to design the site appropriately.  The website and its landing pages are probably the most crucial element and the key foundation to the online marketing strategy.  There is no point in building a fancy site that noone will see.  More importantly there is no point in spending time and resources to drive traffic to a site that is no set up to convert visitors into customers.  Until “traffic” is converted, it should always be considered a cost, not an asset.