Short Term Website Marketing Strategies Continued… Thanks! - Thank your customers and clients with coupons, incentives and contests.

Posted by Salem Global on Nov 23, 2009

Over the past few weeks we have been talking about short term website marketing strategies using PPC or pay per click. But if you don’t want to give your money to Google, Yahoo or Microsoft, why not try a contest? It’s holiday season. 4th Quarter. The time of year that people don’t mind spending money like they do all year long. Ok lets face it… no one reeaaally likes to part with their hard-earned money, but during this time of the year, “giving” is in the air. After all, ’tis the season… Oh and by the way - its THANKSGIVING! So you SHOULD be giving “thanks.” But HOW you do it is another story…

As you can see from this newsletter, SalemGlobal is “thanking” our newsletter readers with the opportunity to win $100 in the form of a gift certificate or equivalent. Now I have to be honest with you. We are pretty good at what we do. We have thousands of people that read our newsletter. Thousands of people visit our website each month… after all, we are at the top of Google for keyword “website marketing.” We promote ourselves and our clients over Facebook, Linkedin and YouTube. And to top it all off, we have our own networking organization that you can sign up for at www.BreakfastNetworking.com. So every week I am really already reaching thousands and thousands of people.

So why incent to get even MORE traffic? The answer is simple. Just because we have thousands of fans, readers and visitors, it does not mean that we can’t use MORE business. The goal of every business should be to try to improve upon what they have going on already. If you have thousands, you need to go after TENS of thousands. 10s… MILLIONS! (Think Mike Myers in Austin Powers) So contests get people who are on the fence to act. Your call-to-action should never be for people to just read your newsletter - it should be to get them to call you to hire you.

Contests are fun, exciting, exhilarating and motivating. And you don’t have to give away $100, you could give away a Wii. An iPod. A Flip. A Starbucks giftcard, Barnes and Noble. Amazon.com. You get the picture… Post this on your newsletter, your blog, your website, your Facebook profile and linked in status, and maybe even in a press release. You will be happy you did

PPC Strategies for the Holidays: How to Write Your Ads, How to Budget and How to Use PPC in Local Listing

Posted by Salem Global on Nov 17, 2009

So now you are finally ready to take the plunge and give Google some of your money. Why? Well, you’ve heard all about this Google thing and were never quite sure what it meant to your business or practice. Then someone mentioned Google and you became curious. Then you talked with some friends and finally someone brought you here. Well congratulations but don’t get toooo excited. There are a few rules of advertising you must understand before you put up a budget and expect the phone to ring.

First - Do not expect your phone to ring off the hook. It still takes time for people to recognize you, trust you, and then have your ad show up at the right place at the right time. Mind you, Google, PPC (pay per click) and online advertising is the most targeted advertising you can participate in so you are in good shape.

Second - Put your phone number in your ad. So many people create ads that are really creative… and don’t say a thing or have any call to action. True, some people believe the call to action IS the ad but even before that people are thinking about you. And if you are lucky, or smart, they will call you from your ad and won’t waste your $10 to click on you.

Third - Use good marketing language in addition to telling people what they want to know. Use your keywords, your location, tell people how smart you are, you have great prices and that you are reliable. Depending on your industry you need to be able to compete. See what the competition is saying. Can you beat them? Match them?

Fourth - Make sure you activate your Google local business center and link this and your location to your ad. You will receive an extra line of exposure with your address showing that you truly are a local merchant.

Fifth - Make sure click through visitors go to a landing page relevant to what they clicked on and make sure there is a call to action on that page. Do not always direct to the home page.

Sixth - Connect your ad with a URL that reinforces what keyword people are searching for. Four Star Cleaning owns http://www.OfficeCleaningNY.com and http://www.CleaningServiceNY.com. So when people look for their keywords in NY they are perceived as smart and visionary to own the domain name + keywords.

Seventh - Test, test, test. Did I mention to test? No one, not even Google can tell you how much to budget for your ad. They can give you a mathematical, scientific and algorithmic number to plug in but as a human behavior expert, I will tell you that that all doesn’t matter. Google will take your money regardless. So what you need to do is start out with $100 per day and bid your CPC (cost per click) at $10 and see where that takes you. Basically, my rule is that if Google is eating up your whole budget and you haven’t received any phone calls or contact request forms you need to see what would happen if you increased the CPC to $15 and also decreased to $5.00. And then you have to account for the time of day, week, month and year as well as your industry to really determine what the best budget is for you. Don’t give up but also budget for this. Make sure you go into this knowing that click fraud exists and you will spend before you make. And of course if you are getting phone calls and closing deals don’t stop there. Keep going and be consistent.

Examples of the perfect ads: (IMHO )
* Office Cleaning NYC
* Low Rates, Free Est. 212-741-9400
* Environment Friendly Insured Bonded
* www.OfficeCleaningNY.com

LASIK Midtown NYC
* 212-764-2020, Ilan Cohen, MD.
* Free Consultation, 0% Financing
* www.WorldClassLasik.com

If you would like more information about PPC or any other aspect of website marketing, please give us a call at 212-993-5828, send me an email at raphis@salemglobal.com or visit www.SalemGlobal.com. Next week we will talk about Social Media, how it has really taken off and what you can do about it to get some business from it.

Short Term Website Marketing Strategies For The Holidays: Is PPC (pay-per-click) Right for Your Business or Organization?

Posted by Salem Global on Nov 10, 2009

Many people have been asking me recently about my Internet marketing services. I am hoping it is a sign of the economic times and that things are changing for the better. My theory is that after the crash of ‘08, people just were recovering in 2009 and have set their budgets for 2010. In anticipation of 2010 though, people are recognizing that the holidays are upon us and they don’t want to wait a whole year to start making cash. The problem is that people don’t realize that there is a major difference between a long term website marketing strategy and a short one.

Many people also confuse what I do as SEO or search engine optimization. They don’t realize that website and Internet marketing is a comprehensive strategy that includes a process that strives to achieve your goals whatever they may be. The best marketing strategy any organization can have is one that achieves long term and short term goals. That being said, the goal for ANY organization should be to make money now and make money in the future. Put in more professional terminology, you have to achieve profitability. Put in layman’s terms, MAKE CASH!

So if you are seeking to make cash today, the only way to do it is to get on the PPC or pay-per-click bandwagon. Now when I say PPC, I mean Google. True, millions of people are using Yahoo and Bing, but the way that I see it is that BILLIONS of people are using Google. So certainly there are people using those other search engines, but why not go with the most traffic…. and the answer is that it is more expensive. My answer to that is “so what!”

But before you set your budget and think you are going to start selling, please note that click fraud still exists. And by click fraud I don’t mean someone in India or Russia or Israel setting up a bot to click on your ad so that Google gets paid and you don’t. I mean Google will still take your money regardless of whether it’s some guy in California, some SEO firm in New York, some craigslist freelancer in Chicago or whatever. You always have to account for click fraud or whatever you want to call it.

And the old advertising adage about consumers needing to see your ad 5-7 times still applies. Though my theory is that it is probably more like 2-4 times instead. Regardless, you should know that you are not going to have a 100% click through and conversion rate. (Even the shamwow guy doesn’t have that rate of return… and look where that guy is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMMxIAn_76g)

So in conclusion, PPC is the way to go for today and the next 2 months of holiday selling. Next week we will talk about more PPC strategies, how to write your ads, how to budget and how to use PPC in local listings. If you want to know more about PPC and website marketing - give me a call at212-993-5828 or email me at raphis@salemglobal.com or check out www.SalemGlobal.com. Time is running out so don’t delay! Order yours today!

How to Script Your Online Video

Posted by Salem Global on Nov 3, 2009

Last week we spoke about the importance of using online video to promote your business. “But Raphi,” you say. “YOU are a natural. How can I become an Internet celebrity? I am too shy.”

Ok. Ok. I hear you. True, I am not shy. True I have a high self-esteem. True, I own a flip cam. But also true is that I know my business cold and inside-out. I can talk website marketing and strategy with the best of them. So I believe I am a true expert and authority in my field. In conclusion, I have the confidence to not only say what I know, but also to present myself.

YOU TOO should be an expert in your field. I don’t care whether you are a doctor or lawyer or business owner. If you AREN’T an expert in your field, no one is going to hire you anyway. So there is no assumption in our working together. Now that we have established that you are a knowledgeable and expert competent professional in your field, all we need is a script.

Ready? Ok. Here we go…

Introduction
Bio
Staff
Office
History of Industry/Field
Our services (how many services do you perform? We have 20 in the field of website marketing. But each service has many different components. So just as an example, today we are talking about online video. Scripting an online video is different from talking about online video. So now I have 2 blog posts within 1 category. Of course there are going to be MANY different examples of services and sub-services. Each one of those components gets a video.)
Tips for… Keeping a clean office…. Staying compliant with the IRS…. Keeping your teeth and gums healthy…

The above is a great strategy for you and your business. There are 52 weeks in a year. After the 52 videos and blog posts you should repeat what you did last year.

Next week we will revisit PPC (pay-per-click) for your business. The holidays are coming. That means you need to act now. Not only for the long term. But right now. If you want to know more about website marketing, video or anything related to making money on the web, give us a call at 212-993-5828, email at raphis@salemglobal.com or check out www.SalemGlobal.com. You’ll be glad you did…

How to use YouTube and Online Video for your Business

Posted by Salem Global on Nov 2, 2009

I frequently tell people that I have over 200 videos on YouTube. But I am not telling the truth… I actually have MANY MORE than 200 videos but even more on other online video sharing and distribution websites. Perhaps you have heard of Google and Yahoo? Did you know that they have their own video sites as well? And then there are the lesser known video sites like FUNNYorDIE.com, a website supported by Will Ferrell and Judd Apatow (FunnyorDie). But for you and your business, you will want to check out Tubemogul.com. From here you can upload 1 video to several dozen video sharing websites. That means that with 1 video you are able to reach the people who aren’t hanging out on YouTube all day. And that means that your video aka your “business commercial may be seen by not just millions, but BILLIONS! But wait - there’s more. If you act now, we will also tell you about the fact that each of these video sharing sites also come with tags and links that are extremely valuable to your online presence.

If you have been paying attention for the last 2 years of my blog posts and newsletters, the most relevant results at the top of the search engines for your keywords will be the most popular and authoritative sites. To be the most popular, you need to have INbound links to your website. Videos are another way to get those links.

And if you act now and call me, I will even throw in a full year subscription to my newest video here: Salem Global Internet Marketing Videos

In all seriousness, in addition to the links, you never know WHO is going to be watching your video. And don’t make it all Steven Spielberg and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on your video shoot. Get a flip cam like we do and use a Mac or Windows, and Adobe or Pinnacle software to edit your video. Have your kids do it. An intern. Create a library of videos. Become not only the wordsmith authority on the internet for your industry, become the video authority as well. Tell people who you are, what you do and what procedures you perform. What services your company has. What products you sell.

If you want to know more about me, my company, and my videos, check out our YouTube channel: Youtube. And if you want know more about internet marketing, call me 212-993-5828, email me raphis@salemglobal.com or visit my website at www.SalemGlobal.com. Next week we will get more into videos, what you should say, how you should act and some directors and producers tips.