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Access eCommerce

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Access eCommerce

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    Slide 1:Access eCommerce Promoting Your Website

    Instructor Notes for Access eCommerce Session 3: Promoting Your Website Updated March 2007 – Rae Montgomery, University of Minnesota Extension Service, rae@umn.edu Workshop Time: 2-3 hours (including a break and hands-on activities). Less time is needed for small groups of 10 or fewer. Ahead of time: Print handouts of the PowerPoint presentation for the participants. Objectives: Participants will: Identify several techniques for promoting websites Use log analysis to see who visits a website Identify strategies for dealing with business email Hints: Move through the slides fairly quickly. Address the main points, but keep each slide to about 2 minutes or the suggested time. The hands-on activities should be given priority if time is an issue. Take a break every hour, regardless of where the suggested break falls.Instructor Notes for Access eCommerce Session 3: Promoting Your Website Updated March 2007 – Rae Montgomery, University of Minnesota Extension Service, rae@umn.edu Workshop Time: 2-3 hours (including a break and hands-on activities). Less time is needed for small groups of 10 or fewer. Ahead of time: Print handouts of the PowerPoint presentation for the participants. Objectives: Participants will: Identify several techniques for promoting websites Use log analysis to see who visits a website Identify strategies for dealing with business email Hints: Move through the slides fairly quickly. Address the main points, but keep each slide to about 2 minutes or the suggested time. The hands-on activities should be given priority if time is an issue. Take a break every hour, regardless of where the suggested break falls.

    Slide 2:Promoting Your Website

    Tell Everyone About It Help Search Engines Find You Paid Advertising Log Analysis Affiliate Programs Use Email Effectively Promoting Other’s Websites Icebreaker questions: If you have a website, how are you currently promoting it? How do you promote your ‘offline’ business? Introduce the topic: This session focuses on helping people find your website. Icebreaker questions: If you have a website, how are you currently promoting it? How do you promote your ‘offline’ business? Introduce the topic: This session focuses on helping people find your website.

    Slide 3:Viral Marketing

    “Any advertising that propagates itself the way viruses do.” Friends and relatives Customers Website visitors Exchange links Include URL on all materials Use traditional media Viral marketing is a fancy term for word of mouth advertising. It’s “any advertising that propagates itself the way viruses do." 'Word of Mouth' is still one of the most effective marketing techniques, online or offline. It’s the talk around the water cooler. Friends and relatives can be helpful in telling people about your website. “My son just started his website. You should see it. It’s at www…”. People will visit the site just because they are curious about what their friend has told them. Maybe they are not a potential customer, but maybe they know someone who is. Their line goes something like “ My friend’s son has this website that you might be interested in…” Customers Nothing is more valuable than a satisfied customer telling someone about their experience. Online or offline. Overstock.com sends a card along with every order from the CEO Patrick Byrne. The card says “Help Me Help You! Our prices are low because we don’t spend huge amounts on marketing. We pass the savings to you. Help me out: please try to tell 3-6 friends about your experience at Overstock.” Website visitors Make it easy for website visitors to let others know about your site, even if they are not purchasing something. Some ideas: -Put "send this to a friend' buttons on your content pages -Let visitors create online wish lists from your product catalogs and alert their friends and family -Make your own or co-brand free online greeting cards -Offer free screensavers, music clips, or printable checklists related to your website or products -Put coupons on your website or in your newsletter and encourage people to share them with others -Add promotional items in every package you send a customer including gift packs And of course, place your web address on all your business materials and don’t forget about using radio and newspapers to promote your site.Viral marketing is a fancy term for word of mouth advertising. It’s “any advertising that propagates itself the way viruses do." 'Word of Mouth' is still one of the most effective marketing techniques, online or offline. It’s the talk around the water cooler. Friends and relatives can be helpful in telling people about your website. “My son just started his website. You should see it. It’s at www…”. People will visit the site just because they are curious about what their friend has told them. Maybe they are not a potential customer, but maybe they know someone who is. Their line goes something like “ My friend’s son has this website that you might be interested in…” Customers Nothing is more valuable than a satisfied customer telling someone about their experience. Online or offline. Overstock.com sends a card along with every order from the CEO Patrick Byrne. The card says “Help Me Help You! Our prices are low because we don’t spend huge amounts on marketing. We pass the savings to you. Help me out: please try to tell 3-6 friends about your experience at Overstock.” Website visitors Make it easy for website visitors to let others know about your site, even if they are not purchasing something. Some ideas: -Put "send this to a friend' buttons on your content pages-Let visitors create online wish lists from your product catalogs and alert their friends and family-Make your own or co-brand free online greeting cards-Offer free screensavers, music clips, or printable checklists related to your website or products-Put coupons on your website or in your newsletter and encourage people to share them with others-Add promotional items in every package you send a customer including gift packs And of course, place your web address on all your business materials and don’t forget about using radio and newspapers to promote your site.

    Slide 4:Getting to the Top

    It’s all about CONTENT! Offer good content and features Have a unique product Get listed in regional and industry directories Include address / phone # on site Buy traffic if you can afford it

    Slide 5:How Visitors Find Web Sites

    Search engines  81%     Link from another site 59      Word of mouth 56 Online advertising 20    TV 48       Radio 19      Direct mail 10 Guessed URL 41       Source: June 2000 Forrester Research Inc. While search engines are a very important method to be found on the internet, viral marketing (linking from another site, word of mouth and online advertising are also very important.While search engines are a very important method to be found on the internet, viral marketing (linking from another site, word of mouth and online advertising are also very important.

    Slide 6:Case Study: How Customers find KangarooKorner.com

    59% Referral from a Friend 17% Search Engines www.kangarookorner.com Kangaroo Korner is a home-based business that makes baby slings. They sold 4000 baby slings in 2004. Their marketing plan depends on word of mouth.According to Tanya Westerman, creator and owner, 59% of their customers are referred by friends or saw a sling in use. Slings come with business cards that customers can pass on to others.Kangaroo Korner is a home-based business that makes baby slings. They sold 4000 baby slings in 2004. Their marketing plan depends on word of mouth.According to Tanya Westerman, creator and owner, 59% of their customers are referred by friends or saw a sling in use. Slings come with business cards that customers can pass on to others.

    Slide 7:Advertise Everywhere

    www.CafePress.com CafePress lets individuals, businesses, nonprofits sell goods with their logo printed on them, without having to hold the inventory or handle the sale. You just put a link on your website to your goods at CafePress. CafePress handles the production, transaction and shipping. They charge you a minimum price for the item; you charge your customers anything over the minimum price. CafePress sends you the profits. Mugs, t-shirts, lunch boxes, mouse pads. CafePress lets individuals, businesses, nonprofits sell goods with their logo printed on them, without having to hold the inventory or handle the sale. You just put a link on your website to your goods at CafePress. CafePress handles the production, transaction and shipping. They charge you a minimum price for the item; you charge your customers anything over the minimum price. CafePress sends you the profits. Mugs, t-shirts, lunch boxes, mouse pads.

    Slide 8:Hands-On (10 minutes): Explore Café Press

    www.cafepress.com

    Slide 9:Send a Press Release

    Attract free publicity for your website and business products and services. Newspapers www.newspapers.com Internet News Bureau www.newsbureau.com/tips A newspaper story about your business is sure to attract people to your website. IF you can get one printed. Write a short but information packed press release that will draw folks to your website and, perhaps, generate free publicity. Create a targeted distribution list of local, regional, and national media sources. Make sure that they are likely to be interested in your product or service. Obtain email addresses and/or fax numbers of editors, key authors, or organizations. Press releases should be sent to a real person not just a mailbox. Email or fax press release. Follow-up with a personal call to the most important outlets.A newspaper story about your business is sure to attract people to your website. IF you can get one printed. Write a short but information packed press release that will draw folks to your website and, perhaps, generate free publicity. Create a targeted distribution list of local, regional, and national media sources. Make sure that they are likely to be interested in your product or service. Obtain email addresses and/or fax numbers of editors, key authors, or organizations. Press releases should be sent to a real person not just a mailbox. Email or fax press release. Follow-up with a personal call to the most important outlets.

    Slide 10:Deal with Business Email

    Business email dilemma: read it or ignore it? Business email is big business Email tips & tricks Handling the flood of mail Using autoresponders Starting your own email newsletter Creating an email signature for marketing Smart marketers use email to continually draw attention to their Web sites. Many marketers publish a weekly e-mail newsletter that is sent to clients and prospects to inform them of the latest Web site offerings. Offer those who visit you on the Web the chance to sign up for the newsletter via e-mail through your site. About 15% of the companies surveyed by Customer Respect Group (www.customerrespectgroup.com) did not reply to email inquiries, and another 14% did so only partially. Overall, 40% of all inquiries sent to retailers resulted in a timely response, with 70% of those responses arriving within a day. Online customers, in general, expect to receive an answer within 24 hours. Tips: Use filtering to manage incoming mail more effectively. Delete junk mail immediately. Ignore "spam" rather than wasting time following up on it. Spam is the indiscriminate distribution of messages, without consideration for their appropriateness. Definitely don't spam. Only post messages to discussion groups when you are reasonably certain they're appropriate. Only send e-mail to people you believe are interested in your message. Remove anyone from your mailing lists who asks to be removed. Keep track of the email lists you subscribe to by saving the original welcome message. If you decide to drop your subscription this will be quite useful. Use a few boiler plate paragraphs for parts of email responses but avoid a totally "canned" message. Avoid opening email attachments from unknown sources; they may contain viruses. Smart marketers use email to continually draw attention to their Web sites. Many marketers publish a weekly e-mail newsletter that is sent to clients and prospects to inform them of the latest Web site offerings. Offer those who visit you on the Web the chance to sign up for the newsletter via e-mail through your site. About 15% of the companies surveyed by Customer Respect Group (www.customerrespectgroup.com) did not reply to email inquiries, and another 14% did so only partially. Overall, 40% of all inquiries sent to retailers resulted in a timely response, with 70% of those responses arriving within a day. Online customers, in general, expect to receive an answer within 24 hours. Tips: Use filtering to manage incoming mail more effectively. Delete junk mail immediately. Ignore "spam" rather than wasting time following up on it. Spam is the indiscriminate distribution of messages, without consideration for their appropriateness. Definitely don't spam. Only post messages to discussion groups when you are reasonably certain they're appropriate. Only send e-mail to people you believe are interested in your message. Remove anyone from your mailing lists who asks to be removed. Keep track of the email lists you subscribe to by saving the original welcome message. If you decide to drop your subscription this will be quite useful. Use a few boiler plate paragraphs for parts of email responses but avoid a totally "canned" message. Avoid opening email attachments from unknown sources; they may contain viruses.

    Slide 11:Create an email signature

    Jane Doe, Sales Manager jane_doe@fineproducts.com Fine Products: http://www.fineproducts.com (507) 123-4567 or (507) 123-4568 (fax) Be sure to ask about our Internet widget special! A basic signature file should include your name, email address, company, and company URL. Since you can have more than one signature file, you can use them to test various sales or marketing messages. Last lines of a basic signature can be used as an informative "brag”; as a more sales focused signature that tries to hook the reader; as an offer of something free to promote website traffic.A basic signature file should include your name, email address, company, and company URL. Since you can have more than one signature file, you can use them to test various sales or marketing messages. Last lines of a basic signature can be used as an informative "brag”; as a more sales focused signature that tries to hook the reader; as an offer of something free to promote website traffic.

    Slide 12:Develop an Email Marketing Strategy

    Purpose is to drive sales and customer retention Develop email lists, with permission! Have fresh content Resource: http://bronto.com/landing/tune-up “Proactive, permission-based e-mail marketing programs are the foundation of successful digital marketing. One of the best ways to ensure success is to build a relationship with existing customers and prospects. Get permission! This is the first step in a long-term relationship. To obtain permission, offer something of value, such as a white paper, survey, financial analysis, or weekly tip to help readers become better acquainted with your product or service.” -http://www.clickz.com/experts/em_mkt/enl_strat/article.php/3345331 Good article & worksheets at http://bronto.com/landing/tune-up/ “Proactive, permission-based e-mail marketing programs are the foundation of successful digital marketing. One of the best ways to ensure success is to build a relationship with existing customers and prospects. Get permission! This is the first step in a long-term relationship. To obtain permission, offer something of value, such as a white paper, survey, financial analysis, or weekly tip to help readers become better acquainted with your product or service.” -http://www.clickz.com/experts/em_mkt/enl_strat/article.php/3345331 Good article & worksheets at http://bronto.com/landing/tune-up/

    Slide 13:Offer E-Newsletters

    FreeTemplates:www.sparklist.com/services/htmltemplates.html M&M’s offers several different newsletters about promotions, recipes and collectibles. Free newletter templates can be found at SparkList www.sparklist.com/services/htmltemplates.htmlM&M’s offers several different newsletters about promotions, recipes and collectibles. Free newletter templates can be found at SparkList www.sparklist.com/services/htmltemplates.html

    Slide 14:Encourage Visitors to Promote Your Site

    Create your own e-card and let people send it to each other. This is an example from the Fremont Oktoberfest website (http://www.fremontoktoberfest.com/) of an electronic postcard that website visitors can mail to friends. To send e-cards from a sites, you have to run a script on the web server. Here's a couple of free ones that looks pretty good: http://www.ginini.com/software/postcard-direct/ or http://www.sendcard.org/ You can also buy a service that does it all for you for a monthly fee, such as: http://www.eyucca.com/front/tour_ecards1.jsp Here's a good article: http://www.museummarketingtips.com/articles/ecards2.htmlCreate your own e-card and let people send it to each other. This is an example from the Fremont Oktoberfest website (http://www.fremontoktoberfest.com/) of an electronic postcard that website visitors can mail to friends. To send e-cards from a sites, you have to run a script on the web server. Here's a couple of free ones that looks pretty good: http://www.ginini.com/software/postcard-direct/ or http://www.sendcard.org/ You can also buy a service that does it all for you for a monthly fee, such as: http://www.eyucca.com/front/tour_ecards1.jsp Here's a good article: http://www.museummarketingtips.com/articles/ecards2.html

    Slide 15:How Search Engines Find Your Site

    Search engine ‘Spider’ or ‘Crawler’ visits your site Or you can register at search engines Your site information is added to the search engine index Search engine software finds your site in their index Resource: www.SearchEngineWatch.com Spiders are regularly crawling around visiting websites and will probably, eventually, visit yours. Registering with a search engine may dispatch a spider to your site sooner. Google and MSN state you don’t have to register your site with them, but you can if you want to. All 3 offer free URL submission. There can be a lag time between a spider visiting a site and the information being added to the index. Search Engine Watch www.searchenginewatch.com has in-depth information on how search engines work. Spiders are regularly crawling around visiting websites and will probably, eventually, visit yours. Registering with a search engine may dispatch a spider to your site sooner. Google and MSN state you don’t have to register your site with them, but you can if you want to. All 3 offer free URL submission. There can be a lag time between a spider visiting a site and the information being added to the index. Search Engine Watch www.searchenginewatch.com has in-depth information on how search engines work.

    Slide 16:How Search Engines Rank WebPages

    Keywords in the <TITLE> tag Placement of key words near the top of a webpage Frequency of key words in relation to others on a webpage Some look at link popularity Some look at metatags Pages could be excluded for spamming The TITLE tag is the first information a search engine looks at. Then search engines read the first 25 lines or so of a web page. Place words that are key to your business near the top of your business’s home page. The search engine will be looking to see if the words in the TITLE tag relate to the words on the web page. Search engines can’t read graphic images; refrain from using one big graphic as a home page and use “alt text” tags for all images. Some look at link popularity and some look at metatags. Spamming is using repeated keywords in meta tags, using words in the title tag that doesn’t match the content of the web page, using words that are invisible to the viewer but not the search engine, such as placing white text on a white background.The TITLE tag is the first information a search engine looks at. Then search engines read the first 25 lines or so of a web page. Place words that are key to your business near the top of your business’s home page. The search engine will be looking to see if the words in the TITLE tag relate to the words on the web page. Search engines can’t read graphic images; refrain from using one big graphic as a home page and use “alt text” tags for all images. Some look at link popularity and some look at metatags. Spamming is using repeated keywords in meta tags, using words in the title tag that doesn’t match the content of the web page, using words that are invisible to the viewer but not the search engine, such as placing white text on a white background.

    Slide 17:Title and Meta Tags

    <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>My Company Name(800)123-4567 and key words that describe company</TITLE> <META Name="description" Content="My company makes this or that. Put your 1024 character company or product description here"> </HEAD> <BODY>... Demonstrate how to see the source code of a web page (View, Source) of Lark Toys www.larktoys.com The major search engines give you a chance to control how your Web site is indexed through the use of TITLE and META Tags. TITLE and META tags are placed at the beginning of a Web page document within the <HEAD> tags. The TITLE tag is the most important. Every website should have one. When placed in the html code, it appears in: the text that appears in the browser banner at the very top of a Web page (DEMONSTRATE) search engine results the browser’s bookmarks or favorites the browser history “no title” or “home page” are not good titles. Title tag must fit across the top of the browser. META tags use to be a favorite tool to be found by search engines. Most search engines no longer look at the meta tags. Title tags are still extremely important however. META description and keyword tags: Emphasize that META tags are not the magic solution to be easily found by search engines. It is only one of the tools. Keep the META description to 25 words (about 1024 characters) or less to prevent the search engine from cutting your description short. Keywords can include up to 1024 characters (including spaces) of text. Maximize the effectives of using keywords by including singular and plural terms. Using two words as a phrase e.g. “sled dog” is more effective than sled and dog as separate words. Don’t excessively repeat the same word or the search engine may think you are trying to spam them. Demonstrate how to see the source code of a web page (View, Source) of Lark Toys www.larktoys.com The major search engines give you a chance to control how your Web site is indexed through the use of TITLE and META Tags. TITLE and META tags are placed at the beginning of a Web page document within the <HEAD> tags. The TITLE tag is the most important. Every website should have one. When placed in the html code, it appears in: the text that appears in the browser banner at the very top of a Web page (DEMONSTRATE) search engine results the browser’s bookmarks or favorites the browser history “no title” or “home page” are not good titles. Title tag must fit across the top of the browser. META tags use to be a favorite tool to be found by search engines. Most search engines no longer look at the meta tags. Title tags are still extremely important however. META description and keyword tags: Emphasize that META tags are not the magic solution to be easily found by search engines. It is only one of the tools. Keep the META description to 25 words (about 1024 characters) or less to prevent the search engine from cutting your description short. Keywords can include up to 1024 characters (including spaces) of text. Maximize the effectives of using keywords by including singular and plural terms. Using two words as a phrase e.g. “sled dog” is more effective than sled and dog as separate words. Don’t excessively repeat the same word or the search engine may think you are trying to spam them.

    www.larktoys.com

    Slide 18:Lark Toys (Kellogg MN) was contacted by Disney Fall of 1999 to create wood toys for their Spring 2000 movie, “Geppetto”. Disney found Lark Toys by searching for “wood toys”. The phrase “wood toys” is found in the Title tag for Lark Toy’s website. Lark Toys (Kellogg MN) was contacted by Disney Fall of 1999 to create wood toys for their Spring 2000 movie, “Geppetto”. Disney found Lark Toys by searching for “wood toys”. The phrase “wood toys” is found in the Title tag for Lark Toy’s website.

    Slide 19:How Google Ranks Web Pages

    Link popularity Page content "The best way to ensure Google finds your site is for your page to be linked from lots of pages on other sites. Google's robots jump from page to page on the Web via hyperlinks, so the more sites that link to you, the more likely it is that we'll find you quickly." Traditional search engines rely heavily on how often a word appears on a web page. Google uses PageRank™ to examine the entire link structure of the web and determine which pages are most important. It then conducts hypertext-matching analysis to determine which pages are relevant to the specific search being conducted. By combining overall importance and query-specific relevance, Google is able to put the most relevant and reliable results first. PageRank Technology: PageRank performs an objective measurement of the importance of web pages by solving an equation of more than 500 million variables and 2 billion terms. Instead of counting direct links, PageRank interprets a link from Page A to Page B as a vote for Page B by Page A. PageRank then assesses a page's importance by the number of votes it receives. PageRank also considers the importance of each page that casts a vote, as votes from some pages are considered to have greater value, thus giving the linked page greater value. Important pages receive a higher PageRank and appear at the top of the search results. Google's technology uses the collective intelligence of the web to determine a page's importance. There is no human involvement or manipulation of results, which is why users have come to trust Google as a source of objective information untainted by paid placement. Hypertext-Matching Analysis: Google's search engine also analyzes page content. However, instead of simply scanning for page-based text (which can be manipulated by site publishers through meta-tags), Google's technology analyzes the full content of a page and factors in fonts, subdivisions and the precise location of each word. Google also analyzes the content of neighboring web pages to ensure the results returned are the most relevant to a user's query. –the above from http://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html#A2 "The best way to ensure Google finds your site is for your page to be linked from lots of pages on other sites. Google's robots jump from page to page on the Web via hyperlinks, so the more sites that link to you, the more likely it is that we'll find you quickly." Traditional search engines rely heavily on how often a word appears on a web page. Google uses PageRank™ to examine the entire link structure of the web and determine which pages are most important. It then conducts hypertext-matching analysis to determine which pages are relevant to the specific search being conducted. By combining overall importance and query-specific relevance, Google is able to put the most relevant and reliable results first. PageRank Technology: PageRank performs an objective measurement of the importance of web pages by solving an equation of more than 500 million variables and 2 billion terms. Instead of counting direct links, PageRank interprets a link from Page A to Page B as a vote for Page B by Page A. PageRank then assesses a page's importance by the number of votes it receives.

    Slide 20:Hands-On (10 minutes): Link Popularity

    Check the link popularity of one of the following at: www.MarketLeap.com www.ArtSuppliesOnline.com www.OldWorldVenison.com www.LenasLefse.com Or see what the most popular sites are in several categories Looking at the most popular sites by category can help you identify online competitors.Looking at the most popular sites by category can help you identify online competitors.

    Slide 21:Hands-On (15 minutes): Test your “findability”

    Google a business name Who links to your site? In Google put quotes around your site name “www.nameofmysite.com” Or use www.linkpopularity.com or www.marketleap.com

    Slide 22:Log Analysis

    Learn how your site is being utilized Record of every time a webpage is accessed Measure progress and potential Identify strengths and weaknesses of a site Counters Free Tools: www.StatCounter.com, www.SiteMeter.com Log analysis is a valuable tool for finding out who is visiting your site. It tells you how often your site was visited, a bit about who the visitors are and how they got to your site. It tells you what keywords people used to find your site. Every time you visit a website, your computer address (IP address) is sent to a log file on the web host computer. Your web host should provide either the raw data or analyzed data from the log file. Counters can be deceiving because they count the page visit AND all graphic elements on the page. Counters don’t tell you who is visiting. A low number could be embarrassing. Software used to analyze data: StatCounter.com and SiteMeter.com are free online services. Demonstrate the Main Street Log Analysis: www.extension.umn.edu/mainstreet/log In the General Statistics section, explain the difference between the following: Number of Successful Hits for Entire Site (counts every graphic on the page) Number of Page Views (Impressions) (the number of pages viewed by visitor) Number of User Sessions (best indicator of number of users for the month) Log analysis is a valuable tool for finding out who is visiting your site. It tells you how often your site was visited, a bit about who the visitors are and how they got to your site. It tells you what keywords people used to find your site. Every time you visit a website, your computer address (IP address) is sent to a log file on the web host computer. Your web host should provide either the raw data or analyzed data from the log file. Counters can be deceiving because they count the page visit AND all graphic elements on the page. Counters don’t tell you who is visiting. A low number could be embarrassing. Software used to analyze data: StatCounter.com and SiteMeter.com are free online services. Demonstrate the Main Street Log Analysis: www.extension.umn.edu/mainstreet/log In the General Statistics section, explain the difference between the following: Number of Successful Hits for Entire Site (counts every graphic on the page) Number of Page Views (Impressions) (the number of pages viewed by visitor) Number of User Sessions (best indicator of number of users for the month)

    Slide 23:Hands-On (10 minutes): Log Analysis

    Look at a sample log analysis www.extension.umn.edu/mainstreet/log Hands-on 10 minutes followed by a group discussion. What surprised you? What can you do with the information? Why is Reston, Virginia so active? (Answer: Home of AOL) Hands-on 10 minutes followed by a group discussion. What surprised you? What can you do with the information? Why is Reston, Virginia so active? (Answer: Home of AOL)

    Slide 24:In Google, the links on the right are paid listings. These are Google AdWords. Yahoo's Overture is similar.In Google, the links on the right are paid listings. These are Google AdWords. Yahoo's Overture is similar.

    Slide 25:Pay Per Click

    www.TheFitnessStore.com Pay Per Click “In Manitowoc WI, small businesses are tapping into the online sales world primarily through pay-per-click advertising offered by Google's Adwords and Yahoo's Overture. Both companies require e-commerce retailers to bid on keywords and phrases to drive customers to Web sites. Mr. Brunner of the Fitness Store in Manitowoc said he spent $6,000 a month on Google and $2,000 a month on Yahoo. But he also gained $240,000 in revenue in August (2005). "I expect to do more than that in November and December," he said. Source: NY Times November 16, 2005 Small-Town Shops Bulk Up on the Web By KEITH SCHNEIDER Pay Per Click “In Manitowoc WI, small businesses are tapping into the online sales world primarily through pay-per-click advertising offered by Google's Adwords and Yahoo's Overture. Both companies require e-commerce retailers to bid on keywords and phrases to drive customers to Web sites. Mr. Brunner of the Fitness Store in Manitowoc said he spent $6,000 a month on Google and $2,000 a month on Yahoo. But he also gained $240,000 in revenue in August (2005). "I expect to do more than that in November and December," he said. Source: NY Times November 16, 2005 Small-Town Shops Bulk Up on the Web By KEITH SCHNEIDER

    Slide 26:To Create a Google Ad

    Choose target languages & currency Create ad groups Set your daily budget Create your account www.adwords.google.com You choose the keywords you want to purchase and decide how much you are willing to spend per day. When your daily budget is reached, your ad will no longer appear near the top. You choose the keywords you want to purchase and decide how much you are willing to spend per day. When your daily budget is reached, your ad will no longer appear near the top.

    Slide 27:Cost Per Click Keyword Examples

    $3.40 tennis shoes $2.21 bed and breakfast $2.01 houseboat $1.69 chocolate $1.41 turquoise jewelry $0.18 wild rice $0.05 birch bark basket Keywords entered in Google. These are examples of the amounts per click you would have to pay to be listed first. You can choose a lower cost-per-click, but your ad will appear lower on a page and not as often. Some keywords are still affordable. If you have a niche market, like birch bark baskets, AdWords could be an affordable promotion strategy for your business.Keywords entered in Google. These are examples of the amounts per click you would have to pay to be listed first. You can choose a lower cost-per-click, but your ad will appear lower on a page and not as often. Some keywords are still affordable. If you have a niche market, like birch bark baskets, AdWords could be an affordable promotion strategy for your business.

    Slide 28:Hands-On: (10 minutes) Test keywords

    Enter keywords to see how often they are searched for at: www.digitalpoint.com/tools/suggestion Scroll down to see results. The more popular the term, the more you will pay to have that term related to your site Digital Point has a free tool to let you quickly see which phrases are searched upon the most (for determining the best phrases to target for your website). Digital Point has a free tool to let you quickly see which phrases are searched upon the most (for determining the best phrases to target for your website).

    Slide 29:Promoting Other’s Websites

    Reciprocal Links Affiliate Programs Google AdSense

    Slide 30:Exchange Reciprocal Links

    Research sites relevant to the subject of your site, either similar or related. Draft a one-paragraph letter to the webmaster or contact person at each site. IF you get a response, place a link to their site. Check their site for your link. Be patient and polite. Example of a letter (from http://www.igoldrush.com/missing/): “Hello there. I visited your site on Nature Photography earlier today and found it very interesting. I was especially interested in your article on taking pictures of birds in the wild. I run a site about bird spotting [http://URL] and I was wondering if you might be interested in exchanging links with me. I am sure that visitors to my site would benefit from your information when taking pictures of their feathered friends. I look forward to hearing from you soon, John Doe WebMaster, Bird Spotting Paradise” Example of a letter (from http://www.igoldrush.com/missing/): “Hello there. I visited your site on Nature Photography earlier today and found it very interesting. I was especially interested in your article on taking pictures of birds in the wild. I run a site about bird spotting [http://URL] and I was wondering if you might be interested in exchanging links with me. I am sure that visitors to my site would benefit from your information when taking pictures of their feathered friends. I look forward to hearing from you soon, John DoeWebMaster, Bird Spotting Paradise”

    Slide 31:Affiliate Programs

    Your website advertises others Pay for performance, not clicks May generate a lot or next to nothing Can be time consuming What’s a good way to tell everyone about it? Get lots of other people to tell everyone about it. Affiliate programs are revenue-sharing programs; merchants pay affiliates to advertise for them and give them a commission for sales they generate. Affiliate programs are similar to banner ads, only the merchant doesn’t have to pay the affiliate up front; the merchant pays after the affiliate has brought a paying customer to their site. Example: Amazon.com pays the affiliate 15% of the purchase price of individually linked books and 5% on anything else. Amazon has 500,000 affiliates. Consider whether you want to give up your valuable web space to advertise for others. Some affiliates report incomes over $1000 a month but even more report earning barely enough to pay their web hosting fees.What’s a good way to tell everyone about it? Get lots of other people to tell everyone about it. Affiliate programs are revenue-sharing programs; merchants pay affiliates to advertise for them and give them a commission for sales they generate. Affiliate programs are similar to banner ads, only the merchant doesn’t have to pay the affiliate up front; the merchant pays after the affiliate has brought a paying customer to their site. Example: Amazon.com pays the affiliate 15% of the purchase price of individually linked books and 5% on anything else. Amazon has 500,000 affiliates. Consider whether you want to give up your valuable web space to advertise for others. Some affiliates report incomes over $1000 a month but even more report earning barely enough to pay their web hosting fees.

    Slide 32:Google AdSense

    Google AdSense – Promoting other’s sites. Google pays you for clicks on the AdWords ads on your site. From Google: The Google ads you are able to display on your content pages and WebSearch results pages are cost-per-click (CPC) ads. This means that advertisers pay only when users click on ads. You'll receive a portion of the amount paid for clicks on Google ads on your website. Although we don't disclose the exact revenue share, our goal is to enable publishers to make as much or more than they could with other advertising networks. Google AdSense – Promoting other’s sites. Google pays you for clicks on the AdWords ads on your site. From Google: The Google ads you are able to display on your content pages and WebSearch results pages are cost-per-click (CPC) ads. This means that advertisers pay only when users click on ads. You'll receive a portion of the amount paid for clicks on Google ads on your website. Although we don't disclose the exact revenue share, our goal is to enable publishers to make as much or more than they could with other advertising networks.

    Slide 33:Hands-On (5 minutes): Google AdSense Ads

    See what kinds of ads Google AdSense will place on your site Enter your web address at: www.digitalpoint.com/tools/adsense-sandbox

    Slide 34:Be Included on Comparison Shopping Sites

    www.Froogle.com www.Shopping.com www.Shopzilla.com www.NexTag.com www.PriceGrabber.com If you have product for sale, explore how to be listed on comparison shopping sites. Each site will have Information for Merchants or Join Our Merchant Program, usually at the bottom of the home page. Some are free listings; some are pay per click. If you have product for sale, explore how to be listed on comparison shopping sites. Each site will have Information for Merchants or Join Our Merchant Program, usually at the bottom of the home page. Some are free listings; some are pay per click.

    Slide 35:Get Listed in Business Directories

    Large general directories (Yahoo) Online yellow pages Find small niche directories Use search engines Use directory searches Find out if any directories link to your competition “www.competitorswebsite.com” “Web directories are an important component to search engine positioning. Being listed in a directory not only brings in targeted traffic, it provides a one-way link from a website with similar content. Directories are generally highly ranked in search engines, and are considered well respected resources. While smaller directories that focus on a specific niche might generate less traffic, the quality of the traffic from a niche site is usually highly targeted and will be superior to that generated from general search engines. Large directories like Yahoo tend to have general themes and may charge for listings. While smaller niche directories offer free listings and profit from advertising revenue or pay-per-click models like Google AdSense.” Source: http://onlinebusiness.about.com/od/seo/a/directories.htm Finding Free Niche Directories Method 1: "Search Engine Search" Go to your favorite search engine (mine is Google), and type in general keyword(s) related to your site. For example, if I have a wedding caterer site, I would type in "wedding." Usually, well-ranking niche directories will place in the Top 10 results. In this case WeddingLinksGalore.com is ranked #1 and mentions in the description that the directory offers free links. Click through to the site and look for an "Add a Link" or "Join Vendor Directory" button or link somewhere in the navigation. Method 2: "Directory Search" Go to a standard directory, like the Google Directory, and click on "Reference." Click on "Directories" and then select the major category that relates to your web site. Method 3: "Competition's Links" Go to your favorite search engine and search for the web sites linking to your competitor by typing in the URL of the website in Google with quotes around it. “www.competitorswebsite.com”. Then click on each link and find directories that your competitor submitted their site to. Keep in mind that you might have to go through several directories before you find some quality, free niche directories that are right for you; however, your persistence will pay off. You will find some great directories that will boost your link popularity and maybe even bring in some quality, targeted traffic as well. http://www.highrankings.com/issue064.htm#guest“Web directories are an important component to search engine positioning. Being listed in a directory not only brings in targeted traffic, it provides a one-way link from a website with similar content. Directories are generally highly ranked in search engines, and are considered well respected resources. While smaller directories that focus on a specific niche might generate less traffic, the quality of the traffic from a niche site is usually highly targeted and will be superior to that generated from general search engines. Large directories like Yahoo tend to have general themes and may charge for listings. While smaller niche directories offer free listings and profit from advertising revenue or pay-per-click models like Google AdSense.” Source: http://onlinebusiness.about.com/od/seo/a/directories.htm Finding Free Niche Directories Method 1: "Search Engine Search" Go to your favorite search engine (mine is Google), and type in general keyword(s) related to your site. For example, if I have a wedding caterer site, I would type in "wedding." Usually, well-ranking niche directories will place in the Top 10 results. In this case WeddingLinksGalore.com is ranked #1 and mentions in the description that the directory offers free links. Click through to the site and look for an "Add a Link" or "Join Vendor Directory" button or link somewhere in the navigation. Method 2: "Directory Search" Go to a standard directory, like the Google Directory, and click on "Reference." Click on "Directories" and then select the major category that relates to your web site. Method 3: "Competition's Links" Go to your favorite search engine and search for the web sites linking to your competitor by typing in the URL of the website in Google with quotes around it. “www.competitorswebsite.com”. Then click on each link and find directories that your competitor submitted their site to. Keep in mind that you might have to go through several directories before you find some quality, free niche directories that are right for you; however, your persistence will pay off. You will find some great directories that will boost your link popularity and maybe even bring in some quality, targeted traffic as well. http://www.highrankings.com/issue064.htm#guest

    Slide 36:Discussion (10 minutes)

    Discuss promotion strategies you may consider using for your business

    Slide 37:Summary: Advice From a Small Business Owner…

    Tell every person you meet Pay attention to the major search engines Encourage visitors to subscribe to a mail list Always respond to email and be personable Keep site fresh looking Connie Berg, www.flamingoworld.com Promote to every living being on the planet, and then promote some more.

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