Tips

What is Online Marketing?

Danny Walcoff

You won't get the website traffic you expect without a comprehensive online marketing strategy. Understanding and utilizing all facets of online marketing will lead to more website traffic, more customers, and more money in your pocket.

Search Engine Optimization
This is the process of optimizing your website's code and content so search engines can easily find and index your website. This helps your website get higher up in search results "organically". To have successful online presence, customers must first be able to find you online.

Pay-per-Click Advertising
You know those "Sponsored Links" you see at the top of Google's search results? Those ads are paid for by businesses that bid on "keywords" related to their product or service (eg. lawyer, appliance repair, or Mexican food). The business then pays each time someone clicks the ad link. This type of advertising is also seen on Facebook, Yahoo, and Bing, all of which are important to incorporate into your online marketing mix.

Email Marketing
Using a mailing list of clients or leads is an incredibly affordable and effective form of online marketing. With email marketing software like Contactology, it's easy to manage an online marketing campaign complete with contact importing and comprehensive analytics.

Social Media
If your business is not on Facebook, Twitter, and Yelp, you're missing out on a vital opportunity to connect with millions of potential customers. Developing and maintaining an active presence on social networks will help customers discover your business and connect with your brand.

Hopefully you now have a good understanding of what online marketing really entails. Did you know that we can do all of this for you? Get in touch with us for more information!

4 Easy Steps to Get More Biz with Social Media

Steps Marketing Marketing Dept

For some reason many people seem to discount Social Media. They think it is only for kids and has no real business value to it. This is both untrue and great news for you! This means that many of your competitors do not use Social Media in their marketing mix.

The truth about Social Media is that yes, SOME of it is geared more towards the young. Myspace is generally used by a younger crowd than Facebook and LinkedIn. However, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are all very viable avenues for marketing and networking. Over 41% of all Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn users have a household income over $75,000. 38% of LinkedIn's users make over $100,000 a year. These are the people you want to reach.

Here are 4 steps to get you started with Social Media.

1. Ask your friends/family/customers/colleagues to add you.

Send out an email to everyone you know and ask them to follow you on Twitter, or to become your friend on Facebook. This will be the easiest way to get a network of Socail Media friends at the beginning. The best part is now that you are connect to them, you are also connected to their friends and followers.

2. Interact with other local businesses and organizations.

Start conversations with other local business owners, clubs, organizations, etc. on your Social Networks. Think of it as a networking event, except it is online. You are there to meet new people and to build relationships. Some of these people may become future clients, and some of them may become future partners. Either way, it helps you to spread your name and business to a group of people who are influential in your community.

3. Join other peoples conversations.

The great thing about Social Media is a lot of times you can join in a conversation without ever being invited. If you were at an event and just jumped into a random conversation with your opinion people might think you were weird. However, online this is very normal. If you see an interesting conversation on Twitter, go ahead and tweet in your opinion. You can do the same thing with Facebook. Chances are they will respond to you and you can start building that relationship. Aside from that, now their Social Media friends will see the conversation and they might join in as well.

4. Keep in touch.

Just like in your personal life, if you do not keep in touch people will start to forget about you. If you have a few people or businesses you think would be a good match for you, keep in touch with them. Every couple weeks just drop them a message asking how things are, telling them about something interesting, or just commenting on something they have written online. If you keep the conversation going they are much more likely to remember you, and even start to consider you a friend.

Social Media can be an extremely powerful networking tool when used correctly and consistently. Despite what you hear about MySpace, do not discount Social Media all together, it really can bring you in a lot of business.

E-mail Marketing Works and its cheap

Cody Sweet - Master of the Internets

Email Marketing is one of the most cost effective forms of marketing available to a business, large or small. It allows you an avenue to inform your clients and customers about anything you want them to know. Sales, new products, special events, whatever you want. Here are a few tips to help you get started when it comes to Email Marketing.

1. Collect emails like they are dollars.

Emails are actually very easy for you to collect from your customers and they can mean a lot of money to you. Make sure you or your employees ask everyone who comes into your business for their email. It is worth it to offer them an incentive to join, maybe a small discount or do free giveaways or specials only for people on your email list. Put up a small sign by your register letting them know about your list and why they should join. Many will join simply for the fact that they love your service or products and want to be a part of it.

2. Find a reason to email your list.

Email your list when you have a good reason, and if you don't have a good reason, find one! You want to email your list once every other week, or once a month. In any case, just be consistent. Here are some reasons you could email your list, you won an award, you are having a sale, you have new products/services to offer, an article was written about you, you are having a special event, you are changing locations(Big reason!), you are giving seminar, etc. etc. If you really look, there are many reasons to email your list that will be interesting to them.

3. Send a monthly newsletter.

A newsletter is a great way to keep in contact with your list and they generally get very high open rates. "Company Name - October Newsletter" seems to work very well. In your newsletter you can write about anything and everything you feel like about your business. Sales, products, discounts whatever you want. It is a great way to keep in contact and to keep them interested. Just be sure to keep them fairly short. Three solid topics and maybe a little extra is good. If it starts getting over 700 words you might want to think about cutting some of it out and sending it a couple weeks later.

Building an email list is one of my favorite ways to help promote a business. It keeps your current customers coming back for more and makes sure your past customers do not forget about you. For the price, you really can't beat it.

If you want help setting up an email campaign, give Steps Marketing a call. We're here to help your Steps toward success.

SEO for Local Search Results

Steps Marketing SEO Dept

A while ago Google introduced a "geographic box" at the top of its search results. This is tied in to its mapping feature, and, when it was first introduced, the engine would display three results at the top of its search results whenever somebody entered a geographic modifier into the search box ("Atlanta widgets," for example). The Google algorithm then has the intelligence to determine whether the query calls for results that are primarily local in scope

Since that initial trial, Google has obviously found that its users appreciate the feature. The engine now displays ten local search results at the top of the listings for certain queries, provided that they have a geographic modifier attached. For example, if you type in "Palo Alto Pizza" in Google, you will see ten results alongside a map that shows the location of ten Pizza places in Palo Alto CA.

It should be noted that you will not see local search results for all queries that contain a local modifier. In certain instances, it almost seems as if Google somehow "knows" when a geographic modifier really means that you only offer services in a particular area. Yeah, those guys are pretty good.

So how do you get your business's website on Google Local Search?

3 Steps...

1. Call Steps Marketing (we can help you with all that, but if you want to do it yourself...read on)

2. Sign up for Google Business Center (www.google.com/local/add) and make sure that your business profile is thorough and complete

3. Be sure that your website has a clear contact form with your name address and phone numbers all in text format, NO IMAGES!

There are many resources on the Internet to turn to if you are looking for local search engine optimization for your regional website, like Steps Marketing!

You'll find that many customers prefer to deal with people that are local, even if the business is national, or even global. A businessperson that is looking for, say, marketing consulting, may be inclined to work with someone with an address in close proximity found through local search. It just feels more comfortable - if something goes wrong, he or she can request a meeting, rather than calling an 800 number.

Thinking about an E-Commerce Website?

Steps Marketing Marketing Dept

E-Commerce is a great way to start your own business and not have to pay large expenses like rent, utilities, insurance, employees and maintenance. You can start your own business selling anything from clothing to digital products and have your store up and running in weeks instead of months with a traditional brick and mortar store. It is also much cheaper to get your store running as you do not have to worry about decoration, painting, carpet, safety codes and a million other details which will drive your costs through the roof.

Here are just a few of the advantages to starting your own E-Commerce store.

1. You do not have to steal little Johnnys college fund to start your new business.

That's right, little Johnny can still go to college after you start your new business. While starting a traditional brick and mortar store will cost you more than a brand new Mercedes, an E-Commerce store will cost you closer to a 1995 Honda Civic (but it looks better, I swear!).

You do not have to buy paint for the walls, pay to bring the building up to code, pay for cash registers, shelving, cabinets, or anything like this. All you pay for is a website and you are ready to roll!

2. A fraction of the monthly expenses.

That's right, you will be paying next to nothing compared to the monthly costs of running a traditional brick and mortar store. Not only are you able to avoid the crazy costs of employees (not to mention the crazy employees themselves) you also get to eliminate your rent, utilities, insurance and maintenance costs. These are major costs associated with running a business that you don't have to worry about.

3. A fraction of the work!

This might be even more important to you than the monthly expenses you can save. With an a E-Commerce business you do not have to tear out the old carpet and put it in new, or paint the building, or clean trash out from the previous occupants, or install cabinets and shelving, or follow safety regulations, or, or, or! There is so much LESS work that needs to be done you won't have to drag your sleeping bag down to the shop and live there for the next 4 to 6 weeks. We handle all of the "work" for you and you can spend those 4 to 6 weeks doing important things like deciding if blue M&Ms really do taste better than the red ones.

Why does Steps Marketing make such awesome E-Commerce websites?

This is because we have been doing it since before Joanie loved Chachi. Well, maybe not that long but you get the point. We can create full E-Commerce solutions with the ability to list unlimited products, create user accounts, run online promotions and gift cards and about 937 other features for you to play with. We also use Google Analytics so you can track visitor information to your new store and learn where they are coming from, how often they come to your site, how long they stay, which products they look at the most, how long they look at products, which pages they are most likely to exit from and a whole host of other statistical information.

Your new store can also be integrated with all of your Social Media applications such as Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, etc. We can also help you collect your customers email address to send out newsletters, special promotions, information on new products and just about anything else you would like your clients to know.

Be sure to check out our Social Media Guide to learn more about how we can help you promote your new online store.

Twitter for Businesses

Steps Marketing Marketing Dept

Twitter is the latest in the social media craze, and for good reason. Twitter allows you to connect and network with thousands of people. You can keep in contact with your current customers, become friend with you customers friends, network with other businesses in your area, and you can even network with people in your same industry in other parts of the world.

Here are a few ways Twitter can help your business.

1. Network with other businesses.

You can use Twitter to meet and network with other business owners who you may be able to share business with. Do you own a hair salon? Maybe a local day spa will want to work with you and refer clientele back and forth.

2. Meet your clients friends.

You can look at your current clients profiles and start conversations with their friends. If one of your clients is having an interesting conversation on his Twitter page you are more than welcome to add your thoughts. This is the great thing about Twitter, people are not excluded. It is not weird for you to share your thoughts on someone else's conversations. This will then lead to others talking to you and you being able to get your business name out there even more.

3. Keep your clients updated.

Just like your blog, Twitter is another great place to update your clients. As a matter a fact, you can even integrate Twitter with your blog so every time you post a new blog it will show up on Twitter and vice a versa. If you are having a special or a sale or have a new product Twitter is another great place to let people know.

4. Share ideas and problems with others in your industry.

This is probably my single favorite use of Twitter. Say you own a Sushi restaurant in San Diego. Maybe you are having problems with your Saki distributor or youâ€™re marketing campaigns are just not doing as well as you would like. Well with Twitter you could ask your network of 37 other Sushi restaurant owners all across the US and get their advice and opinions. Maybe an owner up in Carlsbad has a great Saki distributor and he will give you their number. Or maybe an owner over in Chicago just created a new marketing campaign and would be happy to share his thoughts on what works and what doesn't.

I am sure you have a million questions you would love to ask other owners about but are unable to ask the ones you know because they are your direct competitors. Well now with Twitter you can ask other owners all around the county or even the world.

These are just a handful of the ways Twitter can help your business. Integrating Twitter with your website, blog and other social media is a surefire way to drive traffic to your website, and ultimately your business.

Business Website Marketing

Steps Marketing Marketing Dept

Still unsure exactly how a website is going to bring you business? Let us help you out.

Think of your website as the ultimate commercial. Scratch that, it is even BETTER than a commercial! Commercials only come on once or twice a day and people can't watch them when they want to. You can only show a limited amount of information and it costs you money every time they run.

An awesome website can attract more viewers, give them more information and do it all at a much cheaper price. Here are a few ways you can use a website to help your business.

1. Put your web address EVERYWHERE!

That's right EV-ERY-WHERE! Print it big and clear on your business cards, your brochures, flyers, billboards, postcards, letterhead...want me to go on? Ok. Your shopping bags, business receipts, business sign and just about everywhere else you can think of. People may not always come into your business to see what you offer, but many people will go to your website to see what you offer.

2. Stop collecting change and start collecting Emails.

You know those crazy people who will run out into the street if they see a nickel? Yeah, be crazy just like them except do it with Email addresses. Email marketing is probably the most cost effective, and just downright effective, ways to keep your clients coming back and keep them spending money. Having a sale? Send an email to your list of current and post customers. Have an awesome new product you want to tell them about? 30 seconds and one click of a button later and they all will know.

The bigger your list, the more effective your campaign. Have a signup sheet by the register and make sure to ask each and every person who comes through the door if they would like to be included.

3. Use Social Media

Social Media is going to be right up there with collecting emails. It is free and allows you to connect with people instantly. Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, YouTube and the list goes on. These are all great ways to both stay in contact with current clients as well as get in touch with new clients. Be sure to check out our Social Media Guide for more information on Social Media.

4. Cross promotion.

This is another free and highly effective way to promote your business and website. Find a business owner who has a similar target market as you. Offer to send an email to your clients letting them know about his services if he does the same for you. For example, say your business is a bar and grill. You could team up with a mens clothing store and each one of you could let your clients now about the others services. Include their website in the email and your conversions will go way up. This is free and both of you are bound to gain new customers.

5. Ask clients to leave you a review on Yelp.

Ever used Yelp? It is a place where past customers can go to leave a review of you and your service for others to read. Once you start getting a dozen or so positive reviews you will start attracting a lot of visitors to your website, and also to your business. People put a lot of faith in testimonials and this is exactly what Yelp is for. An easy way to get reviews is to just put a small sign up by your cash register asking people to leave you a review. If you can get 1 review per day you will end up being the highest rated provider in your niche in no time at all.

These are just a small handful of the ways you can drive traffic to your website and to your business. Be sure to read our other articles and learn more about how to use your website to make more money.

Blogging for your business

Steps Marketing SEO Dept

Blogging for business

When I say "Blogging" what comes to mind? Some guy spouting off at the mouth about his personal opinions that no one cares about? Yeah, that's what I figured.

Unfortunately this is what comes to many peoples minds, but Blogging can actually bring you a lot of clients and make you a ton of money.

Here are a few ways Blogging can help you grow your business.

1. Blogging your way to the top of Google.

Every time you post a blog it gets indexed by search engines, namely Google and Yahoo. So each blog post slightly increases your chances of being found by potential clients on Google and other search engines. The trick is to blog consistently. Three to five times a week is a good number. These don't have to be long blogs, they can be short and to the point. If you use targeted keywords in your posts you will shoot up the rankings in no time.

2. Build a following.

If you continue to post interesting content you will quickly gain a following of readers. The more readers you have the more likely it is they will become clients. You can use your blog to keep these readers updated on new products, industry news, interesting information and a whole host of other topics. Soon these readers will start to think of you as an expert in your industry.

3. Keep customers informed.

You can use your blog to keep your current and past customers up to date on your business. If you are having a sale, offering new services, changing locations, etc. All of these are ways you can use your blog to keep your customers informed and increase your revenues.

4. Brand yourself as an expert.

The longer you blog and the more readers you have the better recognized you and your business will become. Before long people will be calling you for advice. They will start to see you as an expert in your field and you will be their go to guy. This can open up many opportunities not just in terms of clients but also in terms of partnerships with other businesses and organizations. Before long your phone may be ringing with offers and propositions you never believed possible.

Social Media for your Business

Steps Marketing SEO Dept

Simply put, Social Media is the online version of Networking and Word of Mouth Marketing. Social Media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and YouTube are places where hundreds of millions of people can connect and communicate through the internet. They can communicate with groups and individuals in other countries, in other states, or even individuals in their own town. This is what makes Social Media so powerful. Ever joined a networking group for your business? Social Media is your networking group on steroids.

96% of Generation Y'ers have joined a Social Media network. This means that if you are looking to bring in more business from 20 and 30 somethings, a strong Social Media presence is will suit you well.

Let me paint a picture for you.

Jimmy is one of your Twitter followers. You have just sent out a tweet about your brand new product. Jimmy is interested and he comes in to buy your new product. Jimmy loves your new product so he posts a bulletin to all of his Myspace friends and also tweets about his favorite new product to all of his Twitter followers. This amounts to hundreds, if not thousands, of new people reading about your business and your product.

Now, here is the best part. 6 of Jimmys Social Media friends come in and buy your new product as well. They also love your new product so much that they tell all of their Social Media friends about it and the cycle is repeated. Except now you have 6 times as many new faces reading about you than when it was just Jimmy spreading the word.

How many of those 6 new customers Social Media friends will come to buy your product now? 15? 20?

And the cycle repeats again.

Pretty awesome right? Now imagine if you are able to do this once a week. New product? Tweet about it. Holiday special? Let your Facebook fans know. New item on your menu? Post a video to your YouTube group. Before you know it Social Media could be your number 1 form of advertising. And it is FREE.

Call Steps Marketing for more information how we can harness the power of Social Media.

Putting your website at the top of Google, Yahoo, Bing Search, etc.

Steps Marketing SEO Dept

Chances are your new website won't be at the top of any search engines right away. It just takes time. But here are some great tips to get you going.

One way to shortcut this seasoning period is to pay to get your website at the top of the list. These paid options are very effective and are not usually very expensive. Contact us about setting your site up for this option.

To have your website come up "organically" or naturally (without paying for it), we have compiled some tips on how best to make that happen.

Keyphrase Research

Before you can optimize your website for keywords and content for the search engines, you need to know which keyphrases you are going to optimize your site for. Once this is decided, everything becomes a lot clearer.

You should be able to get a rough idea of target keyphrases from the content on the pages within your site. At the end of the day, if there's not any content at which to target optimization, achieving good search engine rankings will be very difficult and ultimately pointless! Visitors will leave immediately if they are not provided with the content they are searching for.

Traffic and Visitors

Another way your site is ranked is on popularity. The most visitors you have the more popular your site will be to the search engines. A popular site deserves to be at the top of a search engines.It is very unlikely that a small, low traffic site will be at the top of a major keyword search. So link up! Start putting your website domain out there. Social media sites are great for that as well as getting your friends and colleagues to link to your site from their websites and blog posts. Which reminds me, blogging is one of the easiest and cheapest way to promote your business online. To Learn more about the benefits of Blogging, check out our Blogging for Business article.

Content

The more text you have on your site the more the search engine is going to index. Search engines thrive on content, so the more content on your site, the better for search engine rankings. The trick here is putting content that is relevant to your product or service. You want to maximize your keywords and content and make sure that they are related to your core business. Beware - don't fall into the trap of keyphrase stuffing! Search engines employ advanced techniques to track this and will more than likely pick up on it immediately and you could end up with a blacklisted site that is impossible to rank.

Page Titles

This is one of the key on-page elements that can be optimized. Each title should be different, and full of keyphrases related to the content of its page. Search engines often only display the first 65 or so characters of the page title, so it's important to get the most important keyphrases at the beginning of the page title. Also, the characters near the front of the page title are given more significance in algorithms.The page title is displayed in the search engine results, so must make sense and encourage browsers to click the link. Create good page titles that have a balance of readability and keywords for best results.

Steps Marketing SEO / SEM Packages

Steps Marketing can help get you to the top of the search engines, especially in targeted local markets. To inquire about our Search Engine Optimization and Marketing Packages, check out our services page and contact us today.