Define Your Landing Page

In the world of online marketing you will often hear the term landing page – an important component in helping web sites appeal to unique visitors and measure their rate of success. Landing pages refer to the page on a web site that a visitor is taken if they click on a pay per click (PPC) ad or a link on a search engine results page. The page to which the visitor is taken is a continuation of that link or the full representation of the ad that is posted in the sponsored link section, so it is important that whatever is on that page is relevant to the click, so to speak.

In a pay per click campaign a company has placed a sponsored link at the top or along the side bar of a search engine results page. Those visitors that click on the ad are taken to the landing page – or lead capture page. With pay per click, the information that appears on the landing page speaks to the information provided in the ad and is optimized to include particular keywords relevant to the search. Such a page can be used for lead generation or for a specific call to action. Additionally, the landing page in a pay per click campaign can also be created to actually measure the effectiveness of the ad by measuring CTR (click through rate) which shows how often the ad was shown and how many people clicked on it during that time.

In a search engine optimization campaign, a landing page will deliver the visitor exactly to the page that has the information they are seeking. Again, the page is optimized to include those keywords that have been identified by the web site as being pertinent to what they offer and likely to be used in a search.

Commitment to SEO Starts Within, Part II

In the last post we talked about the practice of most companies to hire vendors to expertly handle those things that cannot be handled in-house. This is an important part of business; those companies that do not look behind their four walls to accomplish particular goals are missing out on a wealth of talent and expertise. In fact, such relationships help companies in all industries to be the very best they can be and to offer the most comprehensive service to their own customers and clients.

There are those projects that are best handled exclusively by expert vendors and from which companies can just step back. In this capacity such vendors ultimately become another arm of the company – working on the outside to meet internal goals. But when it comes to search engine optimization and other means to increase web site traffic, success is best achieved by a combined effort between the web site optimization firm and the client’s internal marketing team.

As we discussed previously, search engine optimization, pay per click, and other online marketing efforts are often looked at as something that can be done completely separately from a company. But while a reputable web site optimization firm will be able to completely manage and focus on a web marketing project it is most successful when an in-house marketing team is able to work alongside the web site optimization firm.

Why? Because marketing starts from the inside out and this is how it relates to online marketing:

• No marketing firm – including an online marketing firm – is going to be successful marketing a company that has not defined its branding. A company’s brand and message begins in-house and the web site optimization firm takes that brand and message and extends it into search engine optimization and pay per click programs with the use of keywords.

• No one knows their audience better than the company itself. Who do you want to reach online? Who are your customers? What are they searching for – what products or services? What keywords may they use to describe those products or services? Gathering this kind of information from the people who know best allows a web marketing firm to do its job most effectively.

• A web site marketing firm works on a company’s web site – tantamount to working in a company’s physical office space. The company knows it intimately and has the power to make the changes that can benefit their business. It is up to the online marketing company to make those recommendations – working hand in hand with their client to achieve success.

Commitment to SEO Starts Within, Part I

It is a natural thing for businesses to turn to professional vendors to help them achieve particular goals; and in an ideal situation business principals are able to turn over the project(s) to their vendor with confidence and not give it another thought. Also ideally, such a vendor acts as an extension of the company and fills a role that those within the company are not trained to fulfill. Working synergistically in this manner the company in question is able to get what they need without having to retain extra staff and the vendor is able to work together - but physically apart - from its client in order to meet pre-defined goals.

In many cases companies that retain professional search engine optimization (SEO) and other web marketing services think that they can turn over the helm and call it a day. While it’s true that any web site optimization firm worth its weight is more than capable of overseeing and completely handling such operations, it bodes well for the company involved to sit up and take notice for a variety of reasons. More than anything, it is often overlooked that SEO and PPC (pay per click) are all a part of online marketing; and those businesses that expect to reach a particular level of success without understanding online marketing are more than likely headed for disappointment.

Online marketing – like traditional marketing – is most successful when it is adopted as a companywide philosophy and practice – rather than something that is thought of in terms of project goals and completion. The entire company should always be thinking in terms of marketing, no matter what its actual purpose on a daily basis. A committed in-house marketing team is only a benefit to a web site marketing firm. More to come in the next post….

Working Towards Consistency in Online Marketing, Part II

In the last post we talked about the fundamental difference between pay per click (PPC) and search engine optimization (SEO).

PPC is a very effective marketing technique that allows for immediate results in that you pay the price for the program and earn instant placement on the search engines. But once payment stops, the placement is lost.

Search engine optimization provides for longer term exposure because the web site will have reached its ranking in the search engines organically. It takes longer to achieve results with SEO but the results hold up as long as someone is focused on the task at hand. The web site optimization firm offers this kind of focus.

Take, for instance, the difference between advertising and public relations. With advertising you pay for product placement – through an ad, a billboard, or whatever the case may be. You hire advertising experts to help you secure that space and to create an advertisement that will get people’s attention in whatever method you choose to advertise. The results are quick – your ad appears in the spot that you intended it to run and the audience that you intended to see it does indeed see it. The ad remains there for the amount of time for which the space was purchased.

In public relations you are counting on professionals to place your company in organic positions so that it is noticed – i.e. getting the attention of editors on a particular story angle so that they want to run an in depth editorial piece on the company, getting news coverage on television, and so forth. Just like advertising, public relations requires focused effort from professionals who understand the game.

In the same vein, it is important to hire professionals who specialize in each component of online marketing to achieve the best results for your web site.

Working Towards Consistency in Online Marketing, Part I

We are a society that is used to getting what we want when we want it; no questions asked, no waiting required. Because we are so accustomed to instant gratification it may seem absolutely ridiculous that we should wait for anything as important as web site traffic to come our way. After all, we built the site and we did it right. Where’s our traffic? But here’s the thing…web site traffic doesn’t come just because you want it to; just because you launched your site. Getting web traffic to come to your site is all about putting the work in and making a consistent effort. Consistent effort results in consistent marketing results and there’s no way around that.

A great number of web site owners feel strongly that pay per click (PPC) is the way to go in terms of marketing their site and they wouldn’t be wrong. PPC is very effective in terms of getting the web site out there and getting noticed by the search engines and by an audience. But it must never be forgotten that once payment stops on a PPC program the placement that the site has enjoyed on the search engines ceases as well.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a longer term approach to marketing. It requires consistent “elbow grease” to get the job done. But really, the job is never done because as quickly as a site can reach the higher elevations of search engine results is as fast as it can fall again in rankings. It requires consistency and focus and that is where a web site optimization firm can come into play. Working in tandem with a web site optimization firm means that someone’s eye is always on the ball and that the business at hand is always being considered. More in the next post…

Taking Aggressive Steps to Market an Online Business, Part I

This is not the economy for those who are willing to take a back seat to the competition. Now, more than ever, in order for businesses to survive they need to do more than just assess the situation and consider their next steps. They need to act. They need to move. And they need to do it like they mean it. There are too many businesses making last ditch efforts to stay alive and not enough of them are finding success because they are taking too much time to react and time, it has been clearly demonstrated, is of the essence.

Whether you are exclusively operating an online business or if you are a traditional business that runs an online entity as a part of your operations, you must know the impact that a successful online presence can mean for your business as a whole. And yet far too few people take the immediate steps necessary to market their online business with the same fervor that they reserve for their traditional bricks and mortar shop. What is it about placing a print ad in a newspaper that is so much more comforting to people than working with a web site optimization firm to put an aggressive search engine optimization plan into place? Is it a limited understanding of the online environment and how successful marketing can impact a business?

Now is not the time for indecision or a commitment to learn about online marketing later when there’s more time or when it looks like it’s your last bastion for survival. Those who don’t get moving when it comes to online marketing may have to just go home. In the next post we’ll talk about taking some next steps in getting your marketing moving and jumpstarting your online presence with the help of some experts with a plan.

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Taking Aggressive Steps to Market an Online Business, Part II

Previously we discussed the inability of some businesses – whether the entirety of their business is their web site or their web site is another leg of their business – to abandon all their excuses and simply get moving into the world of online marketing. This indecision or inability and unwillingness to act can have huge ramifications in an economy where those who are slow on the uptake are left on the side of the road. Competition is always fierce in business but we’ve never seen fierce like this as we all fight for the scraps that will keep us alive.

Online marketing may have once seemed like an option but it hasn’t been for a long time. It’s a necessity if any web site is really going to make a go of it online. So what aggressive steps can you take – today, right now – to make sure you are on the path for survival and ultimately success?

• Find yourself an expert. No one is expected to know about every facet of running a business. If you sell widgets then you had better be an expert in widgets but that doesn’t mean you’re an expert in manufacturing or human resources or marketing – all components of your business for which you call on the experts who DO know about these things. Online marketing is best orchestrated by a web site optimization firm that can chart a very reliable course towards success.

• Learn the tools. It’s important to understand what is out there when it comes to online marketing – from search engine optimization to pay per click, and the ways in which these differ. Know your budget, know the resources available to you, and commit.

• Do what is asked of you. Chances are, with an expert in the mix you’re going to have to make some changes to your site or include some additions. Your job is to sell your products and services to your customers; the job of online marketing experts is to make sure your products and services get into the hands of those potential customers.

Looking to the Future When it Comes to Online Marketing

There are those marketing efforts that businesses do to garner speedy results in order to get them noticed. But it is the more comprehensive marketing plans that allow for more long term and sustainable results; those marketing plans that require commitment and consistency. For web sites, this kind of long term sustainable marketing plan includes search engine optimization.
Pay per click is a very effective marketing effort that consistently draws attention to a site - positioning a web site in a choice position on the search engine results pages. But search engine optimization can provide a longer term solution to sustainable marketing efforts by organically and highly positioning a site on the search engine rankings.
Of course achieving such a position and maintaining it means committing to a marketing plan that is in line with your company’s branding strategy and is best positioned to propel a site ahead of the competition.
When looking to the future for your web site it can have the most impact to work with a web site optimization firm to lead the way towards success. A web site optimization firm is charged with marketing a web site and they are consistently and completely focused on this effort. This is a huge bonus for companies that don’t have the resources for an in-house online marketing team. A web site optimization firm acts as an arm of a company – an off-site marketing team whose role it is to strategize a customized and affordable plan for marketing a web site to the top.
Shortsightedness will not deliver longstanding success online. Look to the future of your site by putting solid and consistent marketing plans into place and professionals in charge of the journey. A web site optimization firm can help deliver more web site traffic now and well into the future.