The Top Small Business Books For Dummies_10 doc

ߜ Get creative and come up with a name that describes your business offerings. For example, the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau site is www.gohawaii.com. ߜ Try to purchase your first-choice name from the existing owner, but understand that this process is typically expensive and time-consuming. A good place to begin your domain name search is Network Solutions ( www. networksolutions.com ). This site (see Figure 16-3) can tell you ߜ Information about how domain names work and how to choose one ߜ What domain names are already registered ߜ How to register your name Expect to pay $25 to $75 to register a domain name for a standard three-year period. Be prepared to renew when the registration period is up. If you forget, someone else can purchase your domain name. For a complete list of domain name registrars, go to www.internic.net/regist.html. Figure 16-3: Let’s see? Is this domain name available? 263 Chapter 16: Tapping the Internet’s Marketing Power 23_578391 ch16.qxd 12/28/04 9:14 PM Page 263 Driving Traffic to Your Site The big myth is that millions of people are cruising the Net looking for your business online. The truth boils down to something more like this: Opening a Web site isn’t all that different from getting a toll-free phone number. It is a huge convenience — but only if people know about it. Lead people to your site using the following means: ߜ Print your Web site address on letterhead, envelopes, and business cards. ߜ Include your address, along with a reason to visit you online, in brochures, ads, and news releases. ߜ Prominently present your address on your products and product packages. ߜ Post your address on business trucks, trailers, and cars. ߜ Mention your Web site and address in your phone voice-mail and on- hold messages. ߜ Include your address on each page of printed or electronic newsletters. ߜ Include a link to your site in articles that you write for other sites. ߜ Optimize your site for search engines and directories (there’s more on this topic later in this chapter). ߜ Build a Tell a friend feature into your site so visitors can refer others to your site. ߜ Establish online affiliations to gain links to your site. How search engines and directories work Search engines such as Google (www.google.com) and directories such as Yahoo! ( www.yahoo.com) are sites where customers go to find what they’re looking for online. The difference between a search engine and a directory is the way information is cataloged. ߜ Search engines collect information using a program called a spider that crawls around the Web, reading and indexing Web sites and sending key- words of sites back to the search engine index. Then when someone asks the engine to perform a search, it goes to its database to find the sites with words that match the request and connects those looking for information with sites that best fit their requests. 264 Part IV: Getting the Word Out without Advertising 23_578391 ch16.qxd 12/28/04 9:14 PM Page 264 ߜ Directories are site listings categorized by people who read the sites and index the information. The most recognized directory is Yahoo! ( www.yahoo.com). Registering your site for online searches The quickest way to have your site recognized online is to submit and have your URL accepted at directories. Google and other crawlers then pick up your address. For the latest information, go to Search Engine Watch ( www. searchenginewatch.com ) and click on “Search Engine Submission Tips” (see Figure 16-4). Minimally, register your site at Open Directory ( www.dmoz.org/add.html), the human-powered directory that AOL, Google, HotBot, Lycos, and Netscape use in their searches. Submit your site for free, wait three weeks, and if your site hasn’t been picked up, resubmit it. This is an essential link. Copyright 2004 Jupitermedia Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Figure 16-4: Visit www. search engine watch. com and click on “Search Engine Submission Tips” for current advice on getting your site recognized by search engines and directories. 265 Chapter 16: Tapping the Internet’s Marketing Power 23_578391 ch16.qxd 12/28/04 9:14 PM Page 265 Also consider registering at the following: Yahoo! This is the largest human-compiled directory. To register your site, go to https://ecom.yahoo.com/dir/express/intro. Registration involves a submission fee. Response is rapid, and although your listing isn’t guaranteed, most sites are accepted. Check first to see if your site is already included. Google: You can submit your site to www.google.com/addurl.html. Google will also find you if there are links to your site, which is what you’re building when you gain listings in Open Directory and Yahoo! All the Web (previously FAST): Lycos uses results from this huge search engine. Submit your main page and two inside pages for free to www.allthe web.com/add_url.php . Ask Jeeves: An annual fee provides inclusion in Ask Jeeves and throughout the Teoma search partner network, which includes ask.com, Excite, Hotbot. com, and Metacrawler, to name a few. Go to http://sitesubmit.ask.com. To see if your site has been listed, go to each search engine and enter your URL into the search box. If the search engine responds by displaying your link, you’re listed. Optimizing your site for search engines With Google powering the vast majority of all online searches, the ultimate goal of every site owner is to achieve good Google presence. The outstanding resource for achieving this victory is the book Building Your Business With Google For Dummies by Brad Hill. With his permission, the following are some top tips for optimizing your site for Google, which should also serve you well on other search sites as well: ߜ Build pages around core keywords that define each page’s topical focus. ߜ Incorporate core keywords into the page’s content. ߜ Place core keywords in each page’s <META> tags, which are the hidden HTML code commands that search engines scan. ߜ Fill in the <TITLE> tag using core keywords. ߜ Use <alt> tags, with keywords, on page graphics. ߜ Use text, not graphical buttons, for navigation links. ߜ Register and use domains that describe the site’s business. 266 Part IV: Getting the Word Out without Advertising 23_578391 ch16.qxd 12/28/04 9:14 PM Page 266 ߜ Avoid splash (entry) pages. ߜ Avoid the use of frames. ߜ Devote one page to a comprehensive site map. ߜ Keep pages focused; write new pages for divergent subjects. ߜ Don’t use spamming, keyword stuffing, or cloaking. ߜ Build a network of incoming links from other sites to your site. Building your Business With Google For Dummies offers other valuable advice, including the suggestion that you test your keywords at www.wordtracker. com . This is a paid service, but it offers a free trial after which you can sub- scribe for periods ranging from one day to one year. Another free resource is the Google Keyword Sandbox. Go to https:// adwords.google.com/select/KeywordSandbox , enter a general keyword or phrase for your business or product, and see a long list of related terms to consider. The tool is for Google AdWords users (see “Advertising Online,” later in this chapter), but nonusers can benefit from it as well. Promoting your site The launch of your Web site should begin an intensive effort to integrate your site address into all your other marketing efforts. Start by coattailing on all communications that your business currently sends into the marketplace. Use this checklist: ߜ Your letterhead, order forms, invoices, fax cover sheets, envelopes, and especially business cards. ߜ Your building sign and other promotional signs. ߜ The closing paragraph of news releases (see Chapter 15). ߜ The signature of your e-mail messages. ߜ In ads and brochures. If your marketing includes an emphasis on televi- sion and radio advertising, try to choose a Web site address that is easy to hear, understand, and remember. Think about the difference in recall between www.cookiesncream.com and www.cookies.com. ߜ In your voice mail message. 267 Chapter 16: Tapping the Internet’s Marketing Power 23_578391 ch16.qxd 12/28/04 9:14 PM Page 267 Building links to your site Google especially relies on links from other high-traffic sites when it assesses the relevance of your site. By submitting your site to search engines and directories, you begin to establish links. Beyond that, consider exchanging links with other compatible businesses. Also, write articles for online publica- tion to get your site address into circulation. Establishing link exchanges Exchanging links with compatible sites builds visibility for your site and leads to increased traffic. Consider taking these steps: ߜ Locate sites that you think would interest your site visitors and whose visitors would also benefit from information on your site. Ideally, these sites already include links to other sites, therefore demonstrating inter- est in building reciprocal site visits. ߜ E-mail Webmasters at each site. Explain that you would like to include links to their URLs on your site and that you would appreciate reciprocal links. Provide your URL and information on linking to your site, includ- ing a description of the information visitors will receive upon landing, and how that information is mutually beneficial. Also check into link exchange organizations within your industry or interest area. Search link exchanges through a search engine for ideas. Publishing articles online To publish online, start by referring to the section on generating publicity in Chapter 15. Then create a list of Web sites that your prospective customers might frequent and where you might be able to place in-depth, newsy articles. A florist might write an article full of wedding planning advice for bridal Web sites. To get it published, the florist needs to follow these steps: ߜ Contact the Web site to obtain the name of the editor. ߜ Send an e-mail query. Provide a backgrounder on your expertise and a list of topics that you believe would be relevant to site readers — and why. Offer to submit articles for free in exchange for links to your site. Also, submit articles to ezines, newsletters and magazines that are delivered via e-mail to subscribers. Go to www.freezineweb.com for a list of ezines including editorial contacts. 268 Part IV: Getting the Word Out without Advertising 23_578391 ch16.qxd 12/28/04 9:14 PM Page 268 Online referrals Referrals are the way that marketers warm up cold calls. A referral allows you to contact the friend of a friend instead of contacting a stranger. The Internet is rich with opportunities for cultivating various types of referrals online: ߜ Manufacturer referrals: If you’re a retailer, ask manufacturers of the products you carry to include links to your business on their Web sites. ߜ Professional referrals: If you belong to a professional organization with a Web site, ask that a link to your Web address be included in the mem- bership roster. ߜ Associate referrals: If you receive frequent leads from other businesses or organizations, consider swapping links so that a visitor to your site can link to your associate business or organization. An easy way to increase referrals to your site is to have your Web site designer add a button that allows visitors to send a Web page from your site to a friend. When adding this feature ߜ Be sure that the process sends the friend to the exact location on the site, not just to the home page. ߜ Include a feature that allows visitors to write brief notes telling friends why they are receiving the message. Gaining referrals through affiliate programs Online affiliate programs were the brainchild of Amazon.com, where they were created as a way to entice publishers and other businesses to promote their offerings on the Amazon site. An affiliate program includes two key players: ߜ The fulfillment company: Becoming a fulfillment company takes com- puter savvy and retailing expertise. It also requires software to track who visits the site, which merchant referred the visitor to the site, and what the person purchased on arrival. The fulfillment company also recruits, manages, and pays commissions to the reseller companies. ߜ The merchant, or reseller, company: This company directs customers to the fulfillment site in return for a commission on all resulting sales. For information, visit www.affiliateguide.com. Also visit the affiliate mar- keting area on the Commission Junction site at www.cj.com. 269 Chapter 16: Tapping the Internet’s Marketing Power 23_578391 ch16.qxd 12/28/04 9:14 PM Page 269 Evaluating Your Online Activity On your own, you can and should keep track of the number of leads gener- ated by your site. Additionally, Web site activity reports allow you to measure the nature and number of visitors or visitor sessions that your Web site is hosting, as well as the pages viewed, files downloaded, dates and times of visits, referral sources, session length, features used, navigation path fol- lowed, errors encountered, even the keywords entered to find your site. Ask the business that hosts your site about the kinds of reports available, costs involved, and ways to adjust your site to allow capture of valuable information about your site visitors. To evaluate the success of your traffic-building efforts, consider setting up a redirect. This is a page where referrals will land before being redirected to the appropriate page on your site. By creating a redirect, you can measure traffic coming to your site from each link. Use redirects only if people are clicking on a link to reach your site. If people have to type in your address, forget about redirecting them because you may lose them in the process, defeating the purpose of measurement altogether. Advertising Online Banner ads. AdWord ads. Click-throughs. Advertising online is expanding at a dizzying rate. Some studies see online advertising revenues surpassing maga- zine advertising revenues over the next few years. Whether or not the fore- cast will hold true, advertisers are flocking to online opportunities in large part because they can be so specifically targeted and clearly measured for effectiveness. Banner ads These narrow image ads — 480 x 60 pixels or about 1 1 ⁄2 inches high and 4 inches wide — run on third-party Web sites. When viewers click on the banner (called a click-through), they go directly to the advertiser’s site. Interest in banner ads waned largely due to consumer resistance, but a Google program allowing banner ads on sites that participate in the Google AdSense program was announced in mid-2004, inspiring new interest in the format. 270 Part IV: Getting the Word Out without Advertising 23_578391 ch16.qxd 12/28/04 9:14 PM Page 270 Here are some factors that influence the effectiveness of a banner ad: ߜ Creative design including questions that invite interaction, free offers, and good use of colors. ߜ Targeted placement on sites where prospects are likely to be visiting. ߜ Frequency: Place a number of ads with similar messages. Try them out and then quickly — within a day or two — watch click-throughs to see what’s working and yank all but the top performers. A distant cousin to the banner ad is the pop-up ad, which appears in your browser window when you open some Web pages. Pop-ups (and pop-unders, which hide beneath Web pages) represent a very minor percentage of online advertising, largely due to the fact that consumers rank them among the least popular of all advertising approaches. Pop-up blocking software is in wide use and Google, for one, does not allow pop-up ads on its site. AdWords advertising program Each time Google displays results of a search, up to ten all-text ads focusing on the same keywords as those requested in the search are displayed down the right-hand side of the screen. The ads are part of the AdWords advertising program. To participate, go to http://adwords.google.com/select. Once there, do the following: ߜ Choose the language for your ad and the countries, cities, or areas you want to target. ߜ Write a three-line ad, followed by the URL you want users to land on after clicking on your ad. ߜ Select the keywords that you want your ads matched to, choosing words specific to your site or product. ߜ Choose your preferred currency and the maximum cost per click (CPC) you wish to pay. A traffic estimator will calculate how much your requested program will cost per day. Based on this estimate, you can specify your daily budget and enroll in the program. Google will time your daily ad placements to spread exposures over the 24-hour period. A companion program to the AdWords is the AdSense advertising program ( www.google.com/adsense), which allows information sites with reasonable traffic to earn revenue by displaying AdWords ads on their Web pages. 271 Chapter 16: Tapping the Internet’s Marketing Power 23_578391 ch16.qxd 12/28/04 9:14 PM Page 271 272 Part IV: Getting the Word Out without Advertising 23_578391 ch16.qxd 12/28/04 9:14 PM Page 272 [...]... notice the ad, only a portion will have interest The others may be committed to a competitor, they may not be in the market for the offering, or the message may not motivate them Of those with interest, only some will look further into the offer If 100 prospects are interested, a portion of that number will take action by starting the buying process The others may decide, based on the specifics of the. .. Table 17-1 Where Do All the Prospects Go? Where Prospects Disappear Why Prospects Disappear The majority of prospects won’t get “caught” by the ad If the ad reaches 500 qualified prospects, it might gain the awareness of a few hundred The others, though they fit the prospect profile, aren’t tuned in to receive the message, or it doesn’t grab them, or they’re too busy to notice the offer Many who become... prospect Closing the Deal There’s a moment that many salespeople miss, and that’s the moment when the seller needs to quit selling and give the prospect a chance to buy Instead, too many salespeople keep talking They unconsciously undo the sale by 285 286 Part V: Winning and Keeping Customers raising issues that confuse rather than comfort the decision maker As a result, they miss the moment when the prospect... time to complete the transaction, get the contract signed, collect the money, and begin to deliver all the promises you made as you presented the attributes, benefits, and values of your offering This is the point at which loyalty or dissatisfaction begins to grow Opt for the former by doing the following: ߜ Make the transaction flawlessly easy In professional service businesses, see that the contract... preceded the enrollment request with a program that builds awareness, interest, and trust They might begin with a message saying: Our brand-new preschool and playground is ready to serve 30 lucky 2- to 5-year-olds Please join us Thursday afternoon for an open house and tour, or call any time for an appointment The first approach calls for the order before the prospect is ready for the question The second... that will help the person before you to either make the purchase or introduce you to the ultimate decision maker 283 284 Part V: Winning and Keeping Customers Successful presentations share three attributes: ߜ They describe the product or service by showing how it will deliver benefits, solve problems, or provide opportunities for the prospect ߜ They focus on a few major points that the prospect can... including who in the organization has the authority to say yes to your proposal ߜ Know what message your prospect is ready to receive Especially if yours is a new or unusual offering, you may need to help the prospect see the need before asking for the order (In the 1960s, Wisk detergent built a success story by establishing Ring around the collar as a personal embarrassment before suggesting the purchase... enter your business and the number who walk out with shopping bags or other purchase indicators Divide the former number by the latter one to benchmark your current situation And then set a goal for improvement The fastest route to sending retail conversions on an uphill climb is to increase the number of prospects who have staff contact It sounds too simple to be true, but retail scientists (there are... inspiring action And finally, they need to be asked for the order in a way that prompts them to actually make the purchase Figure 17-1 shows the steps that prospects take as they move from awareness to the cash register In rare instances, the awareness-to-sale scenario happens with a single communication — sometimes infomercials or direct mailers lead prospects through all the steps in one fell swoop... remember ߜ They are appropriately entertaining — grabbing and holding the prospect’s interest while reinforcing rather than detracting from the sales message Translating your message into prospect benefits People buy benefits, not features They don’t buy all-natural, algae-based facial moisturizer; they buy the promise of firmer skin in four weeks They don’t care about lists of ingredients as much as they . time for an appointment. The first approach calls for the order before the prospect is ready for the question. The second approach seeks to build rapport. Which would you respond to more comfortably? Prospect. presence. The outstanding resource for achieving this victory is the book Building Your Business With Google For Dummies by Brad Hill. With his permission, the following are some top tips for optimizing. notice the ad, only a have interest. portion will have interest. The others may be committed to a competitor, they may not be in the market for the offering, or the message may not motivate them. Of