5 Most Effective Marketing Tools
e-Marketing Articles - e-Marketing: Strategy
Like any industry, Internet Marketing has its own special marketing tools and methods. Many of these marketing tools may already be familiar to you: autoresponders, SEO software, link-building systems, content management programs, affiliate software... and the list goes on.
However, Internet Marketing has other more effective, non-traditional marketing tools every marketer should know about if they want to reach their full potential as online marketers. Some of these marketing tools come cleverly disguised or camouflaged, with many surfers or customers completely unaware that they're receiving a sales-pitch. Yet, these innocent and simple sales techniques are some of the most effective marketing tools on the web. For anyone involved in Internet Marketing or for anyone wishing to become involved, a quick rundown of these marketing tools may prove helpful.
Here's a brief list and a few pointers on how to effectively use these marketing tools.
1. Domain Name. Lets start at the very beginning. Your domain name should be considered your first Internet marketing tool. Pick it right and your domain name can also be your most effective marketing tool. Get it wrong and it may spell game over.
Most marketers agree you should pick a short memorable keyword-related domain name. For example, www.hotels.com, it's easy to remember/spell and it tells you exactly what the site is about. Picking a domain directly related to the keyword or keywords of your site will help greatly in obtaining a high ranking for your site with the search engines. Not to mention, it will be a great marketing and promotional tool, telling your potential customers exactly what your site is promoting and displaying.
On the other hand, some marketers suggest you opt for a short jazzy name that can be easily remembered by your visitors. Ebay, Google, Napster, Yahoo... regardless of which route you take, make sure you examine all the marketing potential before you pick your domain name. The right domain name can be one of your most effective marketing tools on the world wide web.
Many experts also suggest you only set up a dedicated server for your domain or domains. A dedicated server only carries one domain. Most hosting companies (for economic reasons) often share hosting servers, i.e. your domain is co-hosted with hundreds of other domains on the same server. Since you will be using the same IP address this may have dire consequences if one of the domains is accused of spamming or some other unscrupulous behavior. Even if you can't afford a dedicated server, it would be wise (for SEO purposes) to have a separate IP address for each domain you own. Most hosting companies provide this service for a small fee.
2. Keywords. what surfers type into search engines to find what they're looking for, are the real building blocks of the web. They are the single most important element in any online marketing venture. Pick the right keywords and you're in business, pick the wrong keywords and again, it's game over.
Therefore, you must have special keyword software or use some online sites or services to help you pick the right keywords. Many top marketers use WordTracker.com, GoodKeywords.com, or the new Keyword Elite by Brad Callen. A superior keyword research product will supply valuable information: number of searches made each month, amount of competition and the top sites targeting your keywords.
Remember, you must target the right keywords with your site or online marketing. Targeted keywords draw targeted traffic (customers) to your sites or products. The right keyword software or program will have a direct correlation to the success or failure of your online marketing efforts.So choose wisely!
3. Articles. Many marketers believe in and rely upon purely organic SEO techniques for marketing their sites. One simple method of organic SEO is writing and submitting keyword related articles around the topic of your website with links back to your site.
As other sites display your articles you gain valuable one-way links back to your site. Search engines then follow all of these links and rank your site highly for the keywords in these articles. For this reason the modest article may prove to be the single most important marketing tool you have in your arsenal.As your site becomes highly ranked for these keywords, other sites will want to link to your site in order to become optimized for those same keywords... article keyword marketing is one of the most effective Internet marketing tools at your disposal. Used properly if can position your site in the search engines and bring in all that highly prized targeted traffic.
Keep in mind, many Internet marketers have side-stepped the whole SEO optimization process by going directly to search engines and buying their traffic with PPC pay-per-click advertising. Overture and Google Adwords program are good examples of this method. Marketers bid on clicks to their site's keywords and bring in targeted customers. In knowledgeable hands, PPC marketing is an extremely effective and lucrative marketing tool.
4. Lists. The backbone of any Internet marketing system is the list. It is another marketing tool you can't do without. The list is simply a large database of contacts, people who have given you permission to email or contact them. These are subscribers who have opted-in to your ezine or newsletter. Most successful marketers keep countless different databases for each product or topic they're targeting with their marketing.
Ezines or newsletters are vital Internet Marketing tools that no online business should ignore. It is essential you keep in contact/touch with your past and future customers.You must build an ongoing relationship and connection with your customers.
Besides your ezine or newsletter, many marketers also set up lists of affiliates to help promote and sell their products. Never underestimate the power of an affiliate system as an effective marketing tool. It is the stuff Empires are made of! Once a marketer has acquired a large list of loyal contacts or affiliates - the flood waters open up. Opportunities for JVs or Joint Ventures with other online marketers make for serious cash flow.
5. Blogs. And RSS FeedsBlogging and RSS feeds have become essential marketing tools for savvy online marketers. Online journals or blogs are all the rage, especially in the marketing field. These blogging systems such as WordPress are great content management tools that will quickly build a content-rich site, pulling in targeted traffic from the search engines.
Search engines are enamored with blogs and RSS feeds mainly because blogs provide fresh content, the main lifeblood of every good search engine. For this reason no site should be without a blog and RSS feed, it will keep your content regularly visited and indexed by the search engines. In addition, all that information and content is a perfect tool for drawing potential customers to your products and services.
Along with your domains, lists, keywords, and articles - blogs are effective marketing tools that will play an important role in the success of your online marketing. In the right hands, these Internet marketing tools can work magic on any company's bottom line. They are some of Internet Marketing's most effective tools.
You don't have to think outside of the box, you just have to know what makes up the box!
Is this the most effective way to fill your e-commerce concept box for your business? What other components would you place in your box to create an effective & efficient e-marketing presence on the web based upon your knowledge from the course work, recent discussions and readings? (Due Feb. 22nd)
14 comments:
The 5 areas looked at in this article are very interesting. They all make complete sence from a marketing perspective. Especially the domain name, because no matter what specific area of marketing your tarketing,name means everything. Its a make or brake industry!
I liked the last line of this article, "...you don't have to think outside the box, you just have to know what makes up the box." When one stops to think about this, it totally makes sense, especially with regards to developing and maintaining an e-marketing plan.
Whilst I believe that all 5 components mentioned within the article are important, there are two that stand out in my mind as being more important; domain name and blogs.
Regardless of how big or small your business is, whether you're running it out of a huge warehouse or your garage your domain name needs to be something that can be remembered. I absolutely hate when online retailers have stupid domain names. The last thing that I want to do is type in a bunch of crap at such-and-such geocity website, slash and dash...it's not worth my time and effort to do so.
Regarding blogs, I love when smaller retailers choose to include a blog on their website, or when they develop a facebook group for their business. I think that it gives the business a more personal feel - plus for someone like me, there's a better chance that I'll check out the retaier's site if they update the blog on a regular basis - I'm even more likely to visit more often if the retailer has a sense of humour and includes witty comments and bander on the site...
Anyways, to wrap it up, I don't think that a retailer can be taught how to develop and e-plan that is going to work for him or her. Though there are a number of resources available, I think that regardless of how much experience one may have, there are going to be problems along the way - it's a game of cat and mouse so to speak. Then again, that's what makes business so appealling - the adventure and the thrill of trying something new.
In my opinion, one of the most crucial elements would be the keywords. With consumers getting hundreds (if not thousands) of web addresses getting thrown their way, a lot of people resort to search engines to find a solution to their problem. "Pick a good keyword and you're in business", is pretty much the most important thing. If you have a long address with a series of dot this and backslash that people will right it down and have constant access to it, but if they can just type in the keyword in Google, the possibilies are endless for the amount of hits the website could get.
I can definately see how all these tools are super important when Marketing Online. The keywords when setting up an address and using keywrods in general I thought was very important. With the internet being a huge place to find anything these days you need to have your link or address be short and sweet and more importantly easy to remember. Thats why Yahoo, Google, Ebay, Amazon, etc are so effective because they are so so simple to remember. Having blogs are important because that gives a chance for the marketer to see what people are thinking and how many people are looking into the site. And links on other related sites are also important as well because that gives you more coverage.
These tools are very effective and should be considered when doing online Marketing.
I believe that all of these features are importanrt to have. Once you have these things established you can then start to be creative and add to the marketing tools. The ones I am usually drawn to are the domain name and the blogs. The namwe is what originally will catch my attention and make me want to explore further. Blogs are just interesting to read what people have to say and how the opinions differ from one another.
While all five components mentioned in the article are important, I believe that keywords and domain names are the most important, with blogs following closely behind.
When it comes to searching for information internet users enter keywords into search engines in order to find the information they are looking for. A company needs to establish related keywords that are easy to remember, and that relate directly to the contents of of the website. I hate searching for information to find that the key word I was looking for is found once in the article and it is not even the focus of the article. Just a little rant there, no big deal.
Also, domain names should be closely related to the contents of the webpage, while being short and sweet. Domain names are a good promotional tool in that they promote the company behind the site and the information found on the site. An effective domain name will draw people to the site.
Blogs are also an effective marketing tool in that they allow marketers to discuss topics with customers and find out what that customers are looking for. Blogs give marketers a insight into the minds of consumers, which contains valuable information that could affect the success of a company.
I thought that the five areas of this article are very important for everyone to know about in marketing. The most important to me is the domain name since it is what people memorize to get to your site. I think it is very important to pick a name that is going to stand out to people and one that is memorable. Blogs to me are also a very important part of e-marketing it lets consumers know hoe you feel about everything and is a great way to promote your business. I also find it important for your website to show up on goofle or yahoo when certain search words are put in, the people that can look at your site are endless.
I think the five areas are great to build a strong frame for the box. Once you have a strong frame, you should start to think out side the box to make your self different from others.
Out of the 5 I believe that the name is most important. Really if you don't have a short and sweet name internet users aren't going to remember and come back. Plain and simple works best. All of the other 4 are great tools too. Blogs would probably be the next most important one because it a source where marketers can go find what customers like and disliek about teh service or product.
I truely believe that all of the features mentioned in this article are extremely important. Especially keywords. Making it easy for consumers to reach your site is very important.
I believe that the five areas are very important to businesses online. I think the most important areas to online businesses need to be domain names, blogs and keywords. Domain names are important as it is the way that your customers remember your business name and its products. Blogs are also important I believe because it is the means that customers can give feedback to you about your business and products that you offer. Keywords are important because it is the way that customers can search for your business on search engines and find out general aspects about your business and its products offered.
Each of the points presented in the article are important to consider to create an efficient e-marketing presence on the web. While each point should be carefully considered from a marketing perspective, I agree with the article in that the domain name should be considered first and foremost. A "right" or "wrong" domain name could determine the fate of the business's online presence right from the beginning. I also think that the list element is essential in ensuring success in terms of marketing. Keeping lists of clients, and other contacts is very important in maintaining good relations and promoting your products. With the trend of blogging becoming increasingly popular, it is also something a marketer would probably want to consider both to attract customers, and to remain competitive within the industry.
I agree all 5 components are important but I feel that having the right domain name is crucial. It is the one thing that a person should remember when surfing online. It doesnt even matter how big your business is or how small it is, its true that the right name can be helpful to any business.
Blogs can also help promote a business and draw in new customers. Being that they are often updated regularly it gives customers a reliable insight as to what your business has to offer.
When creating a new webpage the information that you put on your page will either make or break the number of consumers that are going to visit it. All five areas that are discussed when creating something new. I think that the domain name is the most important thing that you have to consider with a new webpage. If you have a domain name that has nothing to do with your business or if it is really long then no one is going to remember it. I think that it is best to have something short and sweet that really stinks out in the minds of the consumer. Overall what makes you stand out among the competitors is what is going to make you remembered. Even if you are a small business, if you have a kickin' webpage then consumers are going to flock towards it.
Still important, but not as important as the name are blogs and articles that may be on a webpage. These just add to a more beneficial webpage, but doesn't always make or break a webpage. So overall I think that new e-business' big or small need to really think about the five components if they want to have a business that is going to grow in the future.
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