When you are competing in your local area it is a good idea to sign up for as many of these directory sites as possible.  Consumers have different directory sites that they choose to use and being listed in all of them gives you the opportunity to be found.  If you recall, in other lessons, we have said that the key with online marketing is that you want to be everyplace that your prospect is.

Another reason for signing up for the directory sites is that they are given favorable treatment for some keywords in the search engines.  That means that many times, when a consumer is searching for a particular product or service, they could see one of the directory sites in the top ten search results.   Additionally, these directory sites help you gain ranking power for the Google Places local directory which we will talk about in a future lesson.  In the same vein, when you connect your listings to your website or blog, your ranking power is helped then also.

You may have used some of these sites as a consumer.  You will recognize some of their names: 1) Yelp.com; 2) Citysearch.com; 3) Insiderpages.com; 4) YellowPages.com and 5) Angieslist.com.  In all there are well over 100 local directory sites that a company could be listed in.   You’ll want to make sure that your profile is filled out completely in all of the directories; however, the best way to complete this task is to contact us and allow us to help you with them.  Because we work with the directories, we will know how to structure your listings, integrate them with your website and determine your best keywords to give you the maximum benefit for the listings.

In our next lesson, we will discuss the most important of all of the online business directories: Google Places.  Call today so what we can help you to start getting more customers from being found in all of the directory listings for your chosen keywords.

The post Lesson 17 – Local Search Engine Directories appeared first on wLw.

Because of this fact, you will want to make sure that when you choose to engage in them, that you do so in ways that give your business the opportunity to profit from getting a message in front of buyers.   The easiest way to make all of your advertising more powerful and effective is to make sure that you give the person hearing it a reason to come to your location.  This reason should differentiate you from all of the other options that they may have.   If that ‘reason’ is one that matters to the buyer or prospect, then your advertising, in whatever form that you have chosen to use, will be effective when it reaches the eyes and ears of the prospect.

In marketing terminology, this is called having a USP or unique selling proposition.   When you state a unique selling proposition, you are staking out territory in your prospect’s mind and making a decision about where you are positioning your business or product.  This will determine, more than anything else, whether or not a prospect chooses to do business with you.

The reason for this is very simple.  Advertising and messaging is now affordable for small businesses to do and even to copy.  That means that if even if you are able to gain an advantage by being the first to engage in video marketing, social media or SEO, it will not be difficult for a competitor to do the same.   Therefore, when you choose to use these methods, you will need to make sure that your message is heard effectively.

Although it is vital for you to engage in mobile marketing, video marketing, SEO and social media, it is even more important to be doing so with a message that differentiates your business in a way that matters to the prospective buyer.  Without this, buyers will have no reason in their minds, as to why they should come to your business. What follows is disastrous.

That means that you can only compete on the basis of how often you can lower your price.   If you do not compete on the basis of the value your business provides, it will be very difficult to ask for a premium price for your best products and services.    These are the products and services that often provide the most profit for your business.

Our company works with businesses to determine how to position themselves on the basis of the value they provide.  We do that prior to any of our internet marketing campaigns so that your business gets the maximum effect from every resource you expend whether it is time or money.  Call us today so that we can help you to be effective in every marketing medium you choose to engage in.

The post First Steps in an Effective Marketing Campaign – Part I appeared first on wLw.

The tracking system that 52% of all websites currently use is maintained by Google and is called “Google Analytics”.  Companies primarily use it because it’s free of charge and because of its close association to the Google search engine.  It is arguably the most detailed system that you will be able to get at no cost.

However, Google Analytics makes a considerable amount of information available as it is really designed for webmasters and web marketers. Some of the information in their reports is written in jargon used by internet marketers, and as a result you will need to familiarize yourself with the important terms.   If there is a precaution to using the information that you get in Google Analytics, it is that you want to avoid being paralyzed with all of the data.

You will want to pay attention to how much traffic you are getting and where that traffic is coming from.  You’ll need to make a clear connection between new or experimental promotional efforts and the results that you are getting from them.   You’ll want to pay very close attention to the results of your efforts with social media, looking to find out which of the networks provides you with buyers or leads.

When it comes to implementing a tracking system it would be a very good use of your time to work with a web marketer or consultant.   A consulting company (like ours) can help you to get your tracking system installed and labeled so that you will know where your sales are coming from and how to make changes to your efforts.  We typically go one step farther to help you figure out what you can add to make your promotions effective.

In our next lesson, we will discuss mobile marketing and how it fits in to your overall promotions.

We like to work with our clients to investigate what is working in their current promotional program and then suggest solutions as to what they could do more of or less of.  Call us today so that we can begin working with you.

The post Lesson 29 – Your Online Marketing Tracking Systems appeared first on wLw.

For instance, some of your customers may like to ‘hang around’ on social networks.  You want to make sure that you, at least have a presence there (we will discuss specific strategies later).  Some of your customers like to spend time on their mobile device.  Therefore, you will want to make sure that you have a presence in having a mobile website and mobile app.  Still others do most of their web activity by surfing the internet on their personal computer.  Therefore you will want to make sure that your website presence is inviting.

The fact of the matter is that you will need a strategy for all of the basic areas of online promotion; but even before you develop one, you need to establish a presence in the following areas:

Mobile: Mobile Websites, Mobile Apps
Search Engines: Blogs and Websites
Search Directories: Google Places, Yahoo Maps, etc.
Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest
Publication: Kindle, Traditional Publication
Public Relations: Online News and Press Releases
Online Communities: Niche Forums and Bulletin Board

This is the most basic of internet promotion where you will definitely need to make sure that you have a profile and presence.  Eventually, each one will require its own strategy.  However, when your marketing is working systematically along with the 7 foundational methods, you will find that you will be able to get people to see your website and come to your location.  In our next lesson we will talk about one aspect of promotion that is growing today that you will want to consider using in your marketing efforts.   Call us today and we will make sure that your basic promotions are in place in the online medium.

The post Lesson 8 – Basic Internet Promotion appeared first on wLw.

Search Engines: A Website and or Blog that can be found by your customers

Search Directories: An Account in Google Places, Yahoo Maps, Bing Maps

Multi-Media: YouTube, Podcasting and Pinterest (Images)

Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn

Mobile: A Mobile Website and/or a Mobile Apps

Publication: Kindle and Traditional Publication

Public Relations: Online News and Press Releases

Online Communities: Online Forums and Bulletin Boards

The key is to be able to systematically establish these properties without them taking your time away from the business to maintain them.  Additionally, you want to make sure that they are integrated and working together in the most productive way possible.  Working through these eight basic methods will begin a snowball effect for your promotions.  Each one will work together to feed the other seven.

You may have heard that some companies were on the Google Search engine at some point and easily found by their customers and then lost their ranking almost overnight.  This loss of ranking for some businesses was devastating.  They lost a considerable part of their business in a very short period of time.  By working through this list and making sure each one of the different types of internet promotion is working for you, you will be immune to any one of the eight sources changing or drying up your traffic.

That is also why we talked about all of the other promotions before this.  Your internet promotion will take all of your other actions and super-charge them.  In our next lesson we will start by talking about being found in the search engines and what you can do to help yourself.  Call today so that we can start integrating your internet promotions, your offline promotions and your professional network.

The post Lesson 12 – Internet Promotions – An Introduction appeared first on wLw.

Because Google Places’ directory listings often show up first before the top ten web pages, it is an important opportunity for every local small business to participate.   In our last lesson we discussed the importance of making sure that you fill your Google Places profile out completely and carefully, so that you get the maximum advantage from your most productive keywords.

One aspect of Google Places that every business owner needs to be aware of is that consumers are encouraged to share their reviews of the businesses that are listed.  That means that if a customer has an exceptionally good experience at your business, they will have the opportunity write a review.  That review will show up in your actual Google Places listing.

However, the opposite is also true.  When customers have a bad experience, they will be empowered to leave a review about your site on the Google Places page.  This scenario is now amplified because Google has now tied their social network to their business directory.  Therefore, the customer who reviews your business will be potentially sharing that review with their personal or professional network.

The nature of reviews online is such that most of the people who respond tend to do so when they have a bad experience.  Those who have the experience that they were expecting or that they feel they paid for are unlikely to respond.  Therefore, you will need to make sure to either have a staff person monitor your Google Places listing, or you will need to make it part of something you do personally if you don’t have a staff.  One bad review on your Google Places listing could be enough to discourage a prospect from trying out your product or service.

When you do get a negative review there is no need to panic.  Google Places gives you the opportunity to answer the person who left the review.  Additionally, Google is taking steps to make sure that the review that is left is authentic by connecting the permission to write a review to their social network.

In our next lesson, we will discuss what you can do when you have negative information that appears in the other business directory listings as well as in the top ten search results.  Call us today if you have already noticed negative listings near your keywords or in your Google Places reviews. We will share the best practices of other companies like yours when they too have received negative reviews.

The post Lesson 19 – Google Places – Online Customer Reviews appeared first on wLw.

For example, if you are plumber in Chicago, you want people to see your website when searchers go to Google and type in: “plumber in Chicago”.  But then, you have to also think about all of the other things that people might type in if they have a plumbing problem.  You would want people to see your website when they typed in those things also.  The process of making your website findable for all of those keywords is called optimization.  You may have heard the entire term before from marketers or magazines as “search engine optimization”.  Some shorten the name by calling it SEO.

The most important part of SEO is knowing what keywords your potential customers are using to find businesses like yours in the search engines.  Once you know that, there are processes that you can follow in order to get your website to be seen. It is important to note that SEO is a very time consuming process and having someone to do this part of your marketing for you is sensible.

You have probably received visits and calls from potential consultants who were willing to “get you to the top of Google” for what seemed to be a modest fee.  In our next lesson, we will discuss what you need to look for when you are choosing a partner to help you to be found in the search engines.  There are some very important factors to consider.  Call today so that we can help you determine what keywords and what strategy is best for your business.

The post Lesson 13 – Being Findable In the Search Engines appeared first on wLw.

When people are ready to buy there are certain ways that they might indicate that, by what they actually type into the search engine bar.  The marketing community calls these buying keywords.   When you are paying for SEO services, you want to make sure that you optimize your site for as many buying keywords as you can.  This will help you to get a return on your investment much faster.  A good example of using a buying keyword would be typing in the exact model name of a product: “Casio EX Z550 14.1 MP”.  Or a user might add on a word to the phrase that signals that they are buying.  For instance, it is likely that someone searching with the phrase “deals for Casio EX Z550 14.1 MP” or “affordable Casio EX Z550 14.1 MP” is close to making a purchase.

Other related keywords that don’t indicate a desire to buy are called research keywords.  These words indicate that the customer is in the research phase.  You would want to optimize (be found in the search engines) for these keywords differently than you would buying keywords.  You may be more interested in enticing these site visitors to sign up for your newsletter or mailing list so that you can market to them later.

In our next lesson we will move on from SEO for your website and blog to discuss local search engine directories like Google Places.  Call us today so that we can help you to find the buying keywords for your business and make your website findable for them.

The post Lesson 16 – Search Engine Keywords appeared first on wLw.

That means that you will need to do what you can to make sure that your website is found for those who type in keywords related to your business.  We closed our discussion by mentioning that it is important to choose the right person or company to help you with this process.  Working with a company that cold calls your business may or may not be the right thing to do.

SEO is a time consuming process, but a consultant who is really working with you and looking out for your business can help you to be visible to your customers.  When you are approached by someone who says that they can do SEO for you, you will want to make sure that you know what keywords they intend to work on before you pay any of your money.  This would be a simple question to ask them: what keyword do you want to attempt to make me visible for?

Your follow up question is equally as important.  You should ask about how many searches those keywords get on a regular basis.  If your consultant intends to make you first for a keyword that isn’t searched, this will not do you any good and will be a waste of your money.  No consultant can guarantee you business by getting you to the top of Google.  However, they can get to places where your customers are searching if they are willing to do the work.

In our next lesson, we will talk about why you may want to consider using a blog as a second website.  Call today so that we can show you what keywords make sense to work on to make you visible.

The post Lesson 14 – How to Choose an SEO Consultant appeared first on wLw.

The strategy is not much different for executives closely associated with your company.  Consumers and business people will often conduct a Google search about a company’s executive as well as their company.   In the mind of customers, you the owner or manager  ARE the company.  Therefore, if negative information about a company seen online can keep a prospect away; the same is true of negative information about the owners and visible executives.

Executives should take care to post positive information on their site and platforms with their personal/professional name.

1)      Blogs-Executives and owners should attempt to make sure their name is secured and if possible populated with an active blog.

2)      Social Media-Executives and owners should make sure their personal account reflect what they would want their best customer to see.

3)      Videos-Executives and owners should make sure that videos posted with their name and/or the company’s name should be complementary.

Because the situation gets more complex as the internet grows more varied in the different kind of platforms it has, it is prudent to call on someone else to manage your personal internet profile.  The profession is now called ‘Reputation Management’ and the service can be found amongst independent online marketers.

However, you will want work with someone that you know well and that knows you well to undertake this kind of service.  Call us today so that we can evaluate your online reputation and show you what you will need to do next to weed out information that will reflect negatively on your company.

We will now move away from reputation management and SEO and on to Social media in our next lesson.

The post Lesson 21 – Managing Your Personal Reputation appeared first on wLw.