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Posts tagged ‘SEM’

Oct 19

Cost Savings

Alternatives to Google Adwords for Getting More Traffic and More Customers

Many small businesses have reaped significant benefits in the early 2000′s by using Google Pay Per Click (PPC) AdWords. Some also supplemented these  PPC campaigns with the PPC programs offered by Yahoo and Microsoft  (Bing). In the early part of the millennium, these PPC programs were a great idea, and they may be a great idea still for some businesses. However PPC pricing has become higher by as much as 100% or even more due to competitive bidding. The keywords that are being sold per click are actually auctioned, and the greater the demand for specific keywords, the higher the price goes. In some cases, businesses that started in the early 2000′s and relied on Google AdWords for their customer base have seen their budgets double and triple, and for many this was no longer sustainable. Businesses cannot spend more for advertising than their net income, yet this was the situation being faced by many businesses after 2011, when prices for most keywords have doubled or tripled over their cost a decade earlier.

Many businesses responded by hiring experts to optimize their campaigns including the text of the ads and the content of their sites. The problem is that almost every business using a pay-per-click program has been using the same tactics.

However there is a solution. There are many ways to substitute or replace Google AdWords or at least reduce AdWords use and supplement this advertising with other methods. The methods have been well documented and work for all kinds of businesses. This is particularly important in areas such as law, real estate, and financial service, all of which have extremely expensive costs per click on Google AdWords. Rather than trying one of these techniques, it is best to adopt most of them. Some of them cost time and others cost money, depending on how comfortable you and your employees are with doing these steps on your own as well as your collective writing skills. These techniques involve generating organic legitimate traffic from people who are looking for the kinds of goods and services you actually provide. They do require a great deal of effort and skill, either yours, your employees, or consultants like us that can be hired by the hour.

  1. Add content to your website at least five times a week.
    Google rates the quality of websites by many different measurements, but after their updates, of the last few years, content is the most important factor determining how high your website will rank organically for your given keywords in your location. The amount of timely content that is added on a weekly basis is measured and your website is ranked by blog importance. If you can get comments on your pages and articles, all the better because that counts as fresh content too. Content must be well-written as well as related to the keywords of your goods or services. Google has algorithms that reduce your rank for poor writing as well as writing that is copied from other sites or sources. Google indexes all text, and if your site has copied material, it is penalized with a duplicate content penalty. If you have a talent for writing that is great, if not, get an employee to write. Some companies have no resources on staff, and they should hire a copywriter. Our firm has copywriters and copyeditors on staff, and we are willing to write on any topic you can think of.
  2. Stumbleupon Paid Traffic.
    Stumbleupon has a pay-per-click advertising method that is keyword based and is a lot cheaper than Google Adwords PPC. As a supplement to writing more content for your site you can get traffic  from Stumbleupon. We have used Stumbleupon for our own traffic needs and we recommend it for yours. Our firm is capable of organizing such a campaign for you and can do so immediately.
  3. Press Releases through Reuters.
    Press releases take your best and most relevant content and put it in front of reporters everywhere. Make the content excellent because editors of major and minor newspapers and magazines are always looking for interesting free content. We can write and submit this content for you. We have experience writing and have success with PR Newswire as well as the relationships with them and reporters that can wind up in placement for you.

With these three techniques, we can transform your business to one that is leaking cash to Google to one that is sustainable and can get customers without ransoming all of your income to Google. Find out more now by calling us today at 646-853-0573.

Apr 2

web
3 Comments

Fifteen Hallmarks of an Effective Small Business Website

The Checklist for Websites that Get New Clients for Small Businesses

GLEN COVE, N.Y., April 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — Often those tasked with looking for a new small business website will place a great deal of importance with very unique designs. There is nothing wrong with a website that is very attractive, but if the goal of your website is to attract new clients and assist existing clients, then an austere design with great content to help guide consumers and businesses with an interest in your market to your website. Businesses on the forefront of ideas in their field and can take the time to document the most useful of the many things they learn can showcase this valuable content on their websites. It is this content that is found by search engines for people seeking answers to specific problems. Finding the answer also makes them find your business.

  1. Use a minimalist design that uses whitespace (the empty space in the page that is generally white) effectively. This will make content more accessible.
  2. Frequent updates of fresh text are necessary for feeding the search engines and increasing online reputation and exposure. The best practice is to keep the length to around five hundred words.
  3. Blogs should be interactive, with links to share on social networks as well as a mechanism to comment on appropriate posts and pages. Moderation of comments can make sure that only legitimate responses are approved as comments.
  4. Businesses need a call to action on all appropriate pages to make it easier for potential clients to contact and hire their businesses.
  5. A value proposition should be high up on a business web page.  Businesses can express your reputation and / or quality in ten words or less.
  6. Businesses should do some writing about what differentiates them different from other similar firms. This differentiation can be in the form of writing quality content that potential clients would be interested and using terms they might be searching for.
  7. Accessibility for multiple device types to have a quality experience on your Website is important because people will visit websites from a variety of mobile devices and IPads.
  8. Using Google Analytics or other statistical traffic measurement tools for your site is critical to helping you develop your Website over time. The information can include what people are searching for when they find your site, and pages or topics that generate unusual interest.
  9. Engage with existing and potential clients on social networking platforms. Use social networking to syndicate your content and spread as far as possible. Automation can save time and money when implemented as part of your syndication strategy.
  10. The most important work that is done on a website is not done by your website designer but by the author of your content. If you are not going to produce the content yourself, then hire competent writers and give them the best ideas of your business to work with as well as guidance to produce the content which would be most helpful to a business’s potential and existing clients.
  11. Effective use of keywords in the text and in your title tags and URL’s will help search engines identify and catalog website content more effectively.
  12. Pursue legitimate avenues for obtaining quality backlinks to websites in order to increase page rankings of your pages in search engines.
  13. Avoid possible search engine policy violations by reading the guidelines available on Google, Bing, and others.
  14. Avoid being blocked by searchers. Websites blocked from search results are not producing what is considered to be quality content in the market of the business being blocked. Businesses can avoid this with good content as well as reputation management and answering concerns all over the Internet.
  15. Excellent security for your Website against hackers. A business can be ruined with careless handling of information, but well deployed and maintained high-quality security can reflect well upon a business.

Whether you do more research or not, the items listed here are all required hallmarks for a successful website. The success of a website requires all fourteen of these conditions to be fulfilled, and the success of each of these key areas is what will determine the success or failure of a Website.

The Web and I is a cloud computing consultancy specializing in website design and web applications in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York. Their website is http://thewebandi.com.

Media Contact: Martin Low the Web and I, 646-853-0573, webmaster@thewebandi.com

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com

The original can be seen at:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fifteen-hallmarks-of-an-effective-small-business-website-145733325.html

Mar 24

SEO_11
2 Comments

Free Small Business Marketing Plans

The best ways to market your small business has changed drastically in the last twenty years, and recent years have changed marketing methods the most ever.

In an effort to provide education to fellow small businesses, the Web and I is taking the unprecedented initiative of offering an analysis of your existing marketing efforts and new marketing plans to suit your small business that when implemented can put you one step ahead of the competition.

We have experience helping small businesses of many markets, and our primary efforts at research and development are geared towards contemporary small business marketing. Let our experience open your eyes to the possibilities for growing your business now, call us at 646-853-0573 today!

Mar 24

SEO_11
1 Comment

Local Search and Small Businesses Face New Challenges and Opportunities in Marketing

Many small business owners think that having a Website and getting search engine optimization (SEO) consulting is not important for small business. Indeed in years past it used to be mostly important for large businesses to be found on the Web. Small businesses were still found in the Yellow Pages and through newspaper ads and circulars. Small businesses were very focused on advertising methods which had served them well for a century. Those marketing methods served small businesses well because their marketing efforts were spent where consumers and other small businesses were looking: telephone directories and newspapers. Today’s consumers and businesses are looking for small businesses in a completely new way: the Internet. Most are looking on Google on their PC’s. Some search on Yahoo and Bing. Holdouts for the Yellow Pages are finding that the Yellow Pages and White Pages are also online. Occasionally, consumers are finding businesses to serve them using social networks they post in every day. If that is not enough of a shift in the way people find businesses to patronize, some people are searching with their mobile phones and their I-Pads.

Even search engines are not the same as they were since Google changed the way people look for things. Search engines originally produced one set of results. A search for supermarkets in the original Google would produce websites for the major chains of supermarkets in the Country. These sites were, in the early stages, geared towards their stockholders and potential stockholders as well as the news media. The fundamental problem with this kind of search is that it is useless to type “supermarket” into a search engine if you are looking for a supermarket. Google shifted focus to make this more useful by completely changing the way results are delivered. Most searches are consumer searches, and most people make their buying decisions based on what they find in the first page or two. The nature of most of these searches when it comes to local brick-and-mortar small businesses is that they are near to the people who are using the search engines. Google can determine to within an average accuracy of 20 miles automatically, and they found an important way to put it to use. When Google introduced Local Search, users found most of the first search page was devoted to local results. Businesses do not need to have a Website to be in this listing, but a lot of businesses are not listed. The listing is easily added by small businesses either on their own or through a consultant. To add to the complexity, Google is not the only source for local listings on the Internet. In the world of search engines, many prefer Bing or Yahoo. Each of these search engines require your business to be manually listed in order to give you proper representation. Even if your business has been automatically listed, you should verify ownership and gain editing privileges. Again many businesses find that this is best done by a consultant. If you are comparing the marketing of the 20th century to marketing today, these search engine listings correspond in use and importance to the Yellow Page listings which used to be of prime importance. The people who used to use the Yellow Pages are mostly using these three search engines or 120 others worldwide. The best way to be listed is to communicate updates regularly to all search engines as well as other sources of search. Other sources of search can be social networks, news sites, blogs, video sites, and bookmark sharing sites. Increasingly, people are finding businesses through Facebook and to a lesser extent, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn. Search engines also add importance to your business when mentions of your business and links back to your site are present in these other online venues. This is what is known as social buzz, and it can really provide an outstanding marketing opportunity for small businesses who are early adopters. As people start to rate their experience with businesses online, it can also present a peril for the unprepared business. The search engines and all of the other Internet venues present opportunities for consumers to give reviews. The popularity of these reviews is increasing, as consumers are using all of these venues as a way to record their positive or negative impressions of the businesses they have used. Businesses that may not know of a negative rating on one site or more risk lost business. Professionals and dedicated do-it-yourselfers can ameliorate the effects of bad reviews and increase good reviews by offering incentives. We recommend that incentives for good reviews come in the form of a one-time rebate for services or products from one’s company. In most business models this serves to increase loyalty, raise online good reviews from people who regularly patronize your business and increase repeat business by tying it in to the incentive. Reputation management becomes a great tool for businesses that are familiar with current marketing realities.

For more in-depth information on this topic, read about five marketing strategies that will help you compete effectively in today’s market.

Jan 8

1 Comment

Public Relations Services

Visibility in your target market is a goal that every business shares, and effective public relations campaigns are a great way to gain that visibility while also increasing website visits, sales leads, and driving more sales. More cost-effective than television and newspaper advertisements, public relations are getting results for businesses just like yours every day.

The role that public relations can play for your business in a competitive market is vital. The Web and I has valuable relationships with many major media outlets that your customers are looking at on the web, and we get our customers articles exposed there on a regular basis. These news outlets are always looking for reliable sources of articles, and we will help by writing the kind of articles that get picked up by the major news services.

We can provide the following related services:

  • Writing and submitting press releases.
  • Capitalize on article submission opportunities.
  • Link your public relations campaign to an overall Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign.

For more information or to get started on the path to increased visibility, call the Web and I for a free consultation today at 646-853-0573.

Jan 8

1 Comment

Landing Pages for Pay-Per-Click Advertising

The landing page design professionals at the Web and I are ready to provide you with results in the form of great conversion rates for your pay-per-click advertising campaign. To make sure you have the best possible landing page to make the most return on investment, we test two landing pages side-by-side for results in a process known as A/B Testing. We do our best to match the content of your potential customers to the search terms they are using.

Landing pages which are not properly thought out and are under-designed are not able to hold the attention of your potential customers, resulting in poor conversion rates and wasting advertising dollars. With the increasing costs of pay-per-click advertising campaigns, it is essential to have a very optimized and targeted landing page.

Our professionals will make landing pages that are specific to your campaign and reflect the needs and wants of your target audience. Our team will put each page together from scratch, with carefully chosen images and language while using proven technologies and techniques to increase your sales.

Testing, Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement

What kind of advertisement is the best to accentuate your products and services? Many original ideas will come from you, but there is always room for improvement. The landing page optimization process involves the study of your target market and the behavior of online consumers. Each page must be put together to attract your target market, but the page design will be in testing phase until the performance can be tested by comparing to similar landing page designs in what is called A/B testing. We will test different ideas until we find out what works and doesn’t work for you in practice, rather than going with our first design. This will make a great deal of difference to your bottom-line.

Ideas From Other Important Pages on your Site

Gaining a conversion on your landing page is great, but what about cross-selling of other related products on your site? A well-designed landing page takes content from other pages of your site, and has suggestions for other related purchases on your site which your potential customers may be interested in. Additional suggestions or enticing copy can be placed which will be of interest to a consumer who has already made a purchase.

An Effective Call-To-Action

Having an effective call-to-action is an intrinsic part of creating a great landing page. The call-to-action is the part of the page that draws to consumer and urges them to act, making a purchase or requesting additional information. The call-to-action should be alluring and enticing. This part of the advertising is very similar to traditional advertising, and involves a collaboration between graphic artists and content writers.

The most important part of our landing page designs, is that they are designed to work with your pay-per-click advertising campaigns. Each landing page is crafted to compliment  they keywords you have selected in your pay-per-click ad group. Together with us, we will team up to maximize your return on investment. Call us now for a free consultation to discuss how we may make your sales dreams come true at 646-853-0573.

Jan 6

Pay-Per-Click Management

When your firm needs pay-per-click (PPC) management, it is because you understand the complexity of running a PPC ad campaign and you are aware of the dangers of running your campaign in-house. A great deal of money can be wasted on an improperly run PPC campaign. If you do not have an in-house PPC expert, then you definitely need to hire a firm to do that for you. The Internet has undergone a great deal of evolution, particularly in the area of advertising. For the inexperienced PPC manager, a campaign can incur great losses through ineffective use of your advertising budget. The Web and I has experts who can analyze and maintain your campaign to ensure that you have a great return on investment.

During our time in business we have heard many stories of people who have blown a great deal of money trying to manage their own PPC advertising campaigns. The Web and I itself has been one of those companies. Through time and effort and hard experience, as well as from other companies, we have compared technologies and techniques, and we have found out what works and doesn’t work in practice.

The things we have learned through our experiences is that there are several vital areas to focus on to give you a well-run campaign.

  • Making a targeted campaign with a realistic budget using the most efficient keywords for getting the right people to click on  your ads.
  • Through the development of the right landing pages, maintain a high quality score, that fits your ad group.
  • Creating engaging ad copy that is targeted and has a call to action for the consumer.
  • Tracking and adjusting the bids using both manual and automated techniques to ensure ad delivery at the desired rate.
  • Daily monitoring of your campaign for quality control purposes.
  • Providing through analysis of the performance of your campaign.

The management of pay-per-click advertising has come a long way, and our management process is one of the most sophisticated programs in the industry. The Web and I is prepared to take on campaigns from $500 to over $200,000 per month in online PPC marketing. Nobody can guarantee that you won’t experience some click fraud, but proper monitoring by our hands-on team will minimize losses due to false clicks by competitors and others. Our pay-per-click management program will ensure that you have great conversion rates and all in all you will have a greatly improved return on investment. Experience the Web and I difference and see what we can do for you. For a free consultation call us today at 646-853-0573.

Jan 5

Join us on Google
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Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

The Web and I is a premier provider of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Services. Search Engine Marketing is the management of pay-per-click advertising campaigns on Google, Yahoo, Bing, and other networks. There are three aspects to SEM, and the Web and I is an industry leader in all three: pay-per-click advertising campaign management, ad landing page management, and public relations.

The popularity of pay-per-click advertising with businesses has increased dramatically in the United States and abroad. The great demand for pay-per-click advertising is evident in Google’s recent earnings report: they reported a 23% increase in their paid search advertising business. Businesses of all sizes are using pay-per-click advertising, from Fortune 500 enterprises to sole proprietorships. In fact, companies are spending more on pay-per-click and less on traditional advertising such as newspaper advertisements, radio spots, television, and billboards: they are finding a greater return on investment with pay-per-click. The Web and I founder Martin Low noticed this change in the market and positioned the Web and I to enter this new, growing field with a strong reputation. What you get with a campaign managed by the Web and I is a systematic revenue generating machine which provides great return on investment to our clients.

The optimization of landing pages is an intrinsic part of search engine marketing ad campaigns. Google has stated that pay-per-click ad visibility is assigned more favorably to companies that have keyword-rich well-written landing pages. The goal of our landing page optimization is to create pages that have strong content, a compelling call to action, and a good record of conversion of potential  customers.

With the high cost of pay-per-click advertising and the need for conversions, it is important to contract with a pay-per-click firm that has a proven track record of expertise. We research and cultivate our technologies and techniques on a regular basis. We ensure that our practices are effective, ethical, and provide a good return on investment. Don’t be fooled by other less experienced companies and their claims of being able to help you with your campaign: you will just spend extra money and get burned.

Public relations services are also a very cost-effective method that will increase visibility and exposure for your firm and expose your message in the media. The Web and I has an excellent reputation with media networks both online and in print. We offer comprehensive public relations services. Secure your market share and take advantage of the opportunities today by calling the Web and I at 646-853-0573.

Jan 5

1 Comment

Managing Pay Per Click Ad Campaigns – Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

The Web and I can help you to manage your pay-per-click ad campaigns on Google, Bing, and other networks. In order to build revenue, your website needs exposure, and pay-per-click advertising is a good strategy for supplementing your search engine optimization campaigns.

Our advertising and publicity experts manage our clients’ campaigns on Google AdWords Bing, Yahoo, and more. We take the time to research the best advertising methods online and the best networks. We will deliver a greater variety of options than the competition. Pay Per Click advertising can be a great way to increase revenue while concentrating on your firm’s core needs.

Limitations of man hours and expertise may prevent you on your own from locating the right networks and advertising strategies to take full advantage of pay-per-click advertising. Our team employs marketing specialists with years of experience managing online advertising campaigns and delivering solid results.

The Web and I will be your partner from inception to finish. We will put together a customized plan that suits your needs. We will find the advertising networks, put together the text and images, track the data, and we will ensure your return on investment.

Your potential customers are online right now while you read this message. Are your advertisements in the right places? Can you use our help finding more places to advertise? Do you need a landing page designed that will bring you higher conversions? Do you need experienced advertising professionals on your side? If so the Web and I is here to help.

If you have any questions about pay-per-click advertising or are ready for a free consultation, give us a call today at 646-853-0573.

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