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The Importance of SEO and Online marketing For Small Business Owners
If you’re currently performing an Internet marketing campaign or are preparing to begin on an Internet marketing campaign, one factor you cannot afford to pass on is search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is one of the most popular buzz words in Online marketing. However, sadly enough, many Internet marketers just don’t understand enough about SEO to take full advantage of its benefits. Even those who know about SEO might have problems Carrying out their SEO tactics to create the desired affect.
Advertising is truly an extremely essential component of running any kind of business. You need to advertise to touch new consumers and market your products or services. Whether you run your business online or have a store front, you may already comprehendt how important it is to advertise— but if you are running your business online you should know there is a tremendous amount of free advertising available in the form of optimal search engine rankings.
Well established search engines Like Google rank websites based on complicated algorithms which are constructed to distinguish which websites are most relevant for distinct search terms. As such, taking the time and effort to optimize your website for relevant search terms can result in you being granted with high search engine rankings for these terms. This is important because for the most part Internet users depend closely on these rankings. It is not unusual for Internet users to only check the first few results after they search for a special term. This means if your website ranks high enough to actually show on the first page of the search results you will likely take pleasure in more website traffic. But, if your website does not appear on the first page or even the second page, it is improbable you will get a significant deal of website traffic from visitors who use search engines.
Now that you know why search engine rankings are so important, you probably want to know how to achieve these rankings. The simple way to optimize your website is to retain a SEO specialist to do the work for you. The world of SEO is complex and frequently evolving making it complicated for numerous small business owners who do not specialize in SEO to keep up with the changes in the industry. Consequently, business owners who go the extra mile and try to optimize their website by themselves could have problems keeping up with competitors who hire a SEO consultant to optimize their website.
The algorithms used by search engines are very intricate and include a number of varying factors. A few of the customary factors in the equation include keyword density, META tags, titles, inbound links, website traffic and content.
Keyword density refers to the amount of times a individual keyword shows up in the content of your website. The basis behind this concept is that websites which use a keyword often are likely exceedingly significant to that keyword, but, overuse of that keyword may perhaps result in penalties to the website if the search engine finds the keywords are not being used properly.
META tags are parts of HTML code that several search engines bring into play in evaluating the content of a website. Inserting keywords in these tags is beneficial in some search engines. However, attention must be taken to circumvent placing irrelevant keywords in these tags as this may perhaps result in your website being penalized.
Inbound links are additionally studied by many search engines to rank websites. Inbound links refer to links on other websites which direct to your website. In checking the value of these inbound links, certain search engines look at the rank of the website offering the link to your website. This means you must be sure the website providing inbound links to your website are high ranking websites to get the most benefit from these links.
As a final point, the content on your website can have a major impact on your search engine rankings. Most SEO firms have a workforce of writers who are experienced at creating quality content that is furthermore optimized for relevant keywords. If you hire a SEO firm who does not provide copywriting services,you should seriously consider hiring a professional writer. This will help to ensure That the content on your website is not just valuable to your visitors but also recognized as valuable to search engines.
As a service to our clients and other companies that want a solid understanding of SEO and online marketing, we now offer an 8 week online course on the tried, tested, and true web marketing strategies you MUST employ if you wish to survive in this digital age.
The greatest expense you’re going to incur in conducting a successful business is your advertising.
You have to advertise. Your business cannot grow and flourish unless you advertise. Advertising is the “life-blood” of any profitable business. And regardless of where or how you advertise, it’s going to cost you in some form or another.
Every successful business is built upon, and continues to thrive, primarily, on good advertising. The top companies in the world allocate millions of dollars annually to their advertising budgets. Of course, when starting from a garage, basement or kitchen table, you can’t quite match their advertising efforts – at least not in the beginning. But there is a way you can approximate their maneuvers without actually spending their kind of money. And that’s through “P.I.” Advertising.
“P.I.” stands for per inquiry. This is a kind of advertising most generally associated with broadcasting, where you pay only for the responses you get to your advertising message. It’s very popular – somewhat akin to bartering – and is used by many more advertisers than most people realize. The advantages of PI Advertising are all in favor of the advertiser because with this kind of an advertising arrangement, you pay only for the results the advertising produces.
To get in on this “free” advertising, start with a loose leaf notebook, and about 100 sheets of filler paper. Next, either visit your public library and start poring through the Broadcast Yearbook on radio stations in the U.S., or the Standard Rate and Data Services Directory on Spot Radio. Both these publications will give you just about all the information you could ever want about licensed stations.
Once you have a copy of either of these publications, select the state or states you want to work first. It’s generally best to begin in your own state and work outward from there. If you have a money-making manual, you might want to start first with those states reporting the most unemployment.
Use some old fashioned common sense. Who are the people most likely to be interested in your offer, and where are the largest concentrations of these people? You wouldn’t attempt to sell windshield deice canisters in Florida, or suntan lotion in Minnesota during the winter months, would you?
At any rate, once you’ve got your beginning “target” area decided upon, go through the radio listings for the cities and towns in that area, and jot down in your notebook the names of the general managers, the station call letters, and the addresses. Be sure to list the telephone numbers as well.
On your first try, list only one radio station per city. Pick out the station people most interested in your product would be listening to. This can be determined by the programming description contained within the data block about the station in the Broad casting Yearbook or the SRDS Directory.
Let’s say that you’re listed 250 different radio stations. It’s best to list the stations you want to contact alphabetically by the city or town they’re licensed to serve, with a tab
separating each state. The next step is either a phone call or a letter to the station manager of each of the stations.
This first contact should be in the way of introducing yourself, and inquiring if they would consider a PI Advertising campaign. You tell the station manager that you have a product you feel will sell very well in his market, and would like to test it before going ahead with a paid advertising program. You must quickly point out that your product sells for, say $5, and that during this test, you would allow him 50% of that for each response his station pulls for you. Explain that you handle everything for him: the writing of the commercials, all accounting and bookkeeping, plus any refunds or complaints that come in. In other words, all he has to do is schedule your commercials on his log, and give them his “best shot.” When the responses come in, he counts them, and forwards them on to you for fulfillment. You make out a check for payment to him, and everybody is happy.
If you’ve contacted him by phone, and he agrees to look over your material, tell him thank you and promise to get a complete “package” in the mail to him immediately. Then do just that. Write a short cover letter, place it on top of your “ready-to-go” PI Advertising Package, and get it in the mail to him without delay.
If you’re turned down, and he is not interested in “taking on” any PI Advertising, just tell him thanks, make a notation in your notebook by his name, and go on to your next call. Contacting these people by phone is by far the quickest, least expensive and most productive method of “exploring” for those stations willing to consider your PI proposal. In some cases though, circumstances will deem it to be less expensive to make this initial contact by letter or postcard.
In that case, simply address your card or letter to the person you are trying to contact. Your letter should be positive in tone, straight-forward and complete. Present all the details in logical order on one page, perfectly typed on letterhead paper, and sent in a letterhead envelope. (Rubber-stamped letterheads just won’t get past a first glance.) Ideally, you should include a self-addressed and stamped postcard with spaces for positive or negative check marks in answer to your questions: Will you or won’t you look over my materials and consider a mutually profitable “Per Inquiry” advertising campaign on your station?
Once you have an agreement from your contact at the radio station that they will look over your materials and give serious consideration for a PI program, move quickly, getting your cover letter and package off by First Class mail, perhaps even Special Delivery.
What this means is that at the same time you organize your “radio station note book,” you’ll also want to organize your advertising package. Have it all put together and ready to mail just as soon as you have a positive response. Don’t allow time for that interest in your program to cool down.
You’ll need a follow-up letter. Write one to fit all situations; have 250 copies printed, and then when you’re ready to send out a package, all you’ll have to do is fill in the business salutation and sign it. If you spoke of different arrangements or a specific matter was discussed in your initial contact, however, type a different letter incorporating comments or answers to the points discussed. This personal touch won’t take long, and could pay dividends!
You’ll also need at least two thirty-second commercials and two sixty-second commercials. You could write these up, and have 250 copies printed and organized as a part of your PI Advertising Package.
You should also have some sort of advertising contract written up, detailing everything about your program, and how everything is to be handled; how and when payment to the radio station is to be made, plus special paragraphs relative to refunds, complaints, and liabilities. All this can be very quickly written up and printed in lots of 250 or more on carbonless multi-part snap-out business forms.
Finally, you should include a self-addressed and stamped postcard the radio station can use to let you know that they are going to use your PI Advertising program, when they will start running your commercials on the air, and how often, and during which time periods. Again, you simply type out the wording in the form you want to use on these “reply postcards,” and have copies printed for your use in these mailings.
To review this program: Your first step is the initial contact after searching through the SRDS or Broadcasting Yearbook. Actual contact with the stations is by phone or mail. When turned down, simply say thanks, and go on to the next station on your list. For those who want to know more about your proposal, you immediately get a PI Advertising Package off to them via the fastest way possible. Don’t let the interest wane.
Your Advertising Package should contain the following:
1. Cover letter
2. Sample brochure, product literature
3. Thirty-second and sixty-second commercials
4. PI Advertising Contract
5. Self-addressed, stamped postcard for station acknowledgment and acceptance
of your program.
Before you ask why you need an acknowledgment postcard when you have already given them a contract, remember that everything about business changes from day to day – conditions change, people get busy, and other things come up. The station manager may sign a contract with your advertising to begin the 1st of March. The contract is signed on the 1st of January, but when March 1 rolls around, he may have forgotten, been replaced, or even decided against running your program. A lot o f paper seemingly “covering all the minute details” can be very impressive to many radio station managers, and convince them that your company is a good one to do business with.
Let’s say that right now you’re impatient to get started with your own PI Advertising campaign. Before you “jump off the deep end,” remember this: Radio station people are just as professional and dedicated as anyone else in business – even more so in some instances – so be sure you have a product or service that lends itself well to selling via the radio inquiry system.
Anything can be sold, and sold easily with any method you decide upon, providing you present it from the right angle. “Hello out there! Who wants to buy a mailing list for 10 cents a thousand names?” wouldn’t even be allowed on the air. However, if you have the addresses of the top 100 movie stars, and you put together an idea enabling the people to write to them direct, you might have a winner, and sell a lot of mailing lists of the stars.
At the bottom line, a lot is riding on the content of your commercial – the benefits you suggest to the listener, and how easy it is for him to enjoy those benefits. For in stance, if you have a new book on how to find jobs when there aren’t any jobs: You want to talk to people who are desperately searching for employment. You have to appeal to them in words that not only “perk up” their ears, but cause them to feel that whatever it is
that you’re offering will solve their problems. It’s the product, and in the writing of the advertising message about that product are going to bring in those responses.
Radio station managers are sales people, and sales people the world over will be sold on your idea if you put your selling package together properly. And if the responses come in to your first offer, you have set yourself up for an entire series of successes. Success has a “ripple effect,” but you have to start on that first one.
