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An Introduction to Web Marketing
Marketing on the Internet
12 Critical Tactics, Strategies and Tips to Make Web Marketing Increase Your Profits
Smart marketers know the Internet is a direct marketing medium. Just like direct mail, display advertising, television, and radio are most effective when direct response strategy, copy and graphics are used, the same is true with web marketing.
And, however exciting this new technology may be, it only opens doors. In and of itself, technology doesn’t result in sales.
While opportunities to grow a business, increase profits and expand into the global marketplace abound on the World Wide Web, disappointment strikes (and sales are lost) when people focus only on the technology and forget the direct marketing rules.
You may recognize some of the 19 tactics, strategies, and tips outlined here, since they’re based on good solid direct marketing basics. Others have evolved specifically to help you build a marketing message that’ll make your product or service “stand out” in cyberspace. Combined they just may help you make the web a key source of your most successful revenue stream.
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Marketing Key #1 |
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| Don’t create or use a product site. You want only a direct marketing site for a prospect to see. |
Millions of dollars are now lost as people are drawn to a site that destroys a sale, not helps. Over 84% have said they are disappointed in the sites they visit.
Good Marketing Starts with
Good Direct Response Strategy
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Marketing Key #2 |
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| Choose the direct marketing sales model that’s right for your business. |
If your product costs less than $100, the classic “one-step” direct response sales model will probably work best for you. Ask for the sale right on your web site order form.
If your product costs more than $100, however, the Internet will probably work best for you if you use it to generate leads. Accomplish this by adding a toll-free number to a live telesalesperson, offering visitors a free trial offer, capture the e-mail addresses and motivate a response, ask for more information or special report, or receive a sales call.
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Marketing Key #3 |
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| A good web site should be well organized and easy to use. |
- Keep the Home Page simple with a navigation design that is easy to understand and easy to use. And, use simple words and short paragraphs throughout the site to keep the reader interested. Remember, when someone visits your web site they have no idea who you are or what you offer. You must make this very clear to them in a short period of time.
- Keep the “sales process” easy to follow. This is one of the most common mistakes made in web design today. Build credibility with the visitor and create excitement and desire before you ask him or her for their order. Give the visitor several clear ways to order the product or service both on and off line. Guide the visitor through all of this step-by-step.
- Have text links or icons on every sub-page so visitors can click back and forth through your site without having to use the back and forward buttons on the browser. Wherever possible, simply allow the prospect to scroll.
- Remember also to have text alternatives for all graphics and links on your site. These are the words that appear in place of graphics, if the graphics are slow to fully load.
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Marketing Key #4 |
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Use graphics for pleasant decoration, functionality or to make the sale, but don’t let them dominate your site. |
The answer isn’t high tech graphics. The answer is a direct marketing site with one objective: the sale.
It must use the proven, time-tested direct response
Just like a great direct mail piece will produce better results than a mediocre package, so will a great site vs a mediocre site.
The sole purpose of the graphics is to direct eye flow in a logical way. The key to graphics is to improve readability.
Bold important sentences in any paragraph and don’t be afraid to dress them up with a little color. Substitute text coloring for a graphics file if possible.
Many sites use animated “GIFs” and Java scripting that will make logos and icons (and just about anything else) spin and characters walk across the screen or do a myriad other tricks. This not only increases download time, it distracts from your sales message as well. Internet people are information people, so make sure you spend your time with quality content and not an overbearing image. If they want to be entertained, there’s always Disneyland.
Good Marketing Continues with Proven Direct Response Presentation
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Marketing Key #5 |
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| Structure your website tease copy as if it’s a direct response mailing package. |
When you build your web site, think of it in the same terms as you would a direct mail package. For example,
- Craft your title, metatags, banner ads, links, subheadings, web site URL, as you would the outer envelope of a direct mail package.
- Create a hook your prospects can’t ignore. Tease them into your web site once they’ve arrived at your Home Page with an intriguing phrase, headlines that are attention grabbers, a special free trial offer or discount. Discounts, premiums and free gifts work in traditional forms of direct response marketing and they work on the Internet, too. But, keep your site fresh to keep visitors coming back. Change the teaser copy and offers and discounts often (daily, for some).
- Give your prospect information in small, easy-to-read, vital chunks, but be sure to give them enough vital information to anticipate their questions, excite them, and sell them.
- Carefully structure your internal links so that your prospects are led through basic components that serve like a lift note, buck slip, response device, and letter.
- Keep your prospect continually moving toward your goal, whether it be lead generation or an actual sale.
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Marketing Key #6 |
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Add your company address, phone number, fax number and e-mail link (and the person to contact, if appropriate) to every page of your web site. |
IMPORTANT NOTE: A response within 48 hours is presently the accepted rule. Look into an autoresponder that will automatically let the prospect who has sent the email know that his or her email has been received. This is also a way for your company to reinforce the relationship with the prospect and send a bit more information him or her.
Submit Your Site Right the First Time
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Marketing Key #7 |
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It is absolutely critical to take your time and submit your site “right” the first time and that includes testing your site completely prior to submitting it to the search engines and directories. |
Search engines receive thousands of requests everyday from people who want to make changes to their web site listings. These requests wind up at the bottom of any search engine’s list of priorities. Actually, in most cases, you are better off trying to completely remove your listing rather than change it. That is why it’s absolutely critical to take your time and submit your site right the first time.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Be careful about using an automated URL submission service. The only way to get properly listed with a search engine, since they all operate very differently, is to know what these differences are and for someone to enter your information by hand. That can be done by you or through a professional company.
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Marketing Key #8 |
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It is imperative that you understand the basics of how various search engines work. |
Basically, there are three main types of search engines/directories. The first is a directory (sometimes called a category database). This is not a true search engine, but a listing of web pages by category. Many directories allow you to enter the description and keywords for your site exactly as you would like them to appear. You usually have to select the category you want to be listed under too.
A directory will not list your URL and will never become aware of your site if you do not register with it. They do not make use of “indexing software” (robots that crawl the web looking for new sites and indexing them). Yahoo is an example of a directory.
Search engines (also called crawlers, spiders, robots and worms ) vary to a large degree. They will automatically index your site using “indexing software” or “indexing robots.”
Depending on the complexity of the software, these different search engines might do one of the following:
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Index a web page (not the entire “web site) you give them |
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Index every word of every page at that site |
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Visit external links to crawl through the web looking for any new sites 24 hours a day, 7 days a week going from URL to URL until they have visited every web site that can be found on the Internet |
By simply telling the search engine what your URL is, its software robot will go there automatically and index everything they need.
Every search engine uses different search and techniques for handling results. It is important to realize that many search engines change their algorithms on a regular basis (i.e. weekly, monthly, etc.). If you’re listed prominently today, that may not be true tomorrow.
Then there are META search engines. These perform searches on multiple search engines simultaneously. In this instance, your ranking for the keywords inputted is calculated by the combined ranking of all the search engines simultaneously used. The key to getting ranked high is to make sure you’re listed in all the search engines used by the META search engines. The META search engines use OpenText, Lycos, WebCrawler, InfoSeek, Excite, AltaVista, Yahoo, HotBot, and Einet Galaxy. The two most popular META search engines are MetaCrawler and MetaSearch. It is not necessary to submit your site to META search engines, since they use the results of the major search engines, not their own.
Alas, even the process of learning about Web site promotion can be an expensive lesson for the unwary Web business person. We recently read about someone who paid $1,299.95 to download an “incredible” web site promotion tool. This “incredible” tool turned out to be a list of search engine URLs. Useful information, indeed, but available free at several Web sites on the Internet. Think twice before you leap for that great Web promotion deal. Chances are you can do better yourself.
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Marketing Key #9 |
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If your site has an international angle, it’s wise to submit it directly to each appropriate foreign search engine. |
If your site features a language other than English or serves a market outside the United States, make sure you submit your site to foreign search engines and directories, too. The major American sites, such as InfoSeek, AltaVista, Lycos, Yahoo, and Excite all have various international versions.
The search engine companies lead you to believe that if you’re listed on one site’s engine, then you’re listed on all of its foreign variants. It’s better to be safe than sorry, though. If your site has an international angle, it’s wise to submit it directly to each appropriate foreign search engine.
There are also several directories that only list sites from a particular region, so if your site is based outside the Untied States, seek them out. SelfPromotion.com has a huge list of these specialized and international indexes.
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Marketing Key #10 |
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List each and every page or part of your web site that is appropriate. |
However, there are probably some pages - templates, experimental sections, and so on - that you don’t want search engines to index. Include a file called Robots.txt in the root directory of your web site with a list of files or directories that shouldn’t be indexed. And, remember to link each page to your Home Page (and other pages as appropriate) so that if a visitor reaches your site through the “back door,” so to speak, he or she can easily find their way to other parts of your web site.
Promote Your Web Site
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Marketing Key #11 |
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Make your web site URL as commonly known as your phone number. |
Place your URL on every piece of marketing literature, advertisement and communication your company generates, e.g. business cards, letterhead, brochures, data sheets, fax cover sheets, print ads, etc.
Remember, this recommendation is based on being a great direct marketing site. If you don't, you could depress results.
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Marketing Key #12 |
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Beware the hype about banner ads and link swaps. |
Exchanging links with related sites is one of the best ways to increase traffic to your site, but is only worth doing with sites that have a logical connection to yours. Of course, if you can talk other sites into giving you a link without promising to reciprocate, then good for you.
The danger: putting links or banners on your site that could cause a distraction from your message and send your prospect away.
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In the meantime, don’t hesitate to call me at 1-310-212-5727 for a special-value critique (and it’s a thorough one) of your web site or marketing materials, or to help with your Internet marketing campaign.
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