Youtube Advertising

A couple of years ago I attended a social media/ Ecommerce conference.  A number of the subjects touched base on or referenced video marketing.  One of the keynotes didn't see the true value of video because an order could not be placed on the video.  Since you couldn't buy from the video it wasn't a true Ecommerce tool.

I would like to ask him today if he still feels the same way.  In today's market 80% of all online users view online video regularly.  Which makes sense because we are all so conditioned for a TV.  There are over 2 billion views on YouTube each day.

More searches take place from a handheld device than on a desktop, and hand held devices revolve around video.  Next year a large number of phones will be 5G (which will be so fast!) and a 5G fan will create a whole new online experience.

So what does all this mean?  It means that video will change (and is already changing) your customers web surfing, web shopping and social media experience.  It means if you are running an online business, you should probably start becoming familiar with online video.

Working with video on a number of levels is very easy to do.  Youtube has video editor that can make it easy and its free.  Of course you will have to pay for something if you want something with really heavy editing options.  Make a goal to create, edit and upload your first video soon.  Don't back down from the video marketing aspect of your business.  You can't afford to sit on the sidelines on this one.

At this point you still cannot place an order from a video, but you can convert visitors into buyers with it.  You can build your brand identity faster and you can advertise on a much higher level.   So take advantage of the video marketing in your websites area.

The Pros and Cons of a Custom Website

Pros and Cons of a Custom Website

Questions to ask yourself

• What is my budget?
• Who is going to do the work?
• What is my timeframe?
• How do I want to maintain that work that has been done?

These are not all the questions, but I think they are some of the most important.  If you are doing the work yourself then you need a working knowledge of multiple languages to create and maintain a successful site.  Some of the programming languages needed - HTML, CSS, Java Script, PHP maybe some flash.

It's difficult to create a "template" website that looks and has the functionality of a custom website.  In some cases it really is impossible.  A number of new online business owners look at the limitations of a website builder instead of looking at all the freedoms it creates.  

If you have the budget you can hire a designer and you can hire a PHP designer who knows java script, CSS, and HTML.  Unfortunately that guy does about 70-100K a year and he/she may or may not know something about SEO and how to create a search engine friendly website.  Regardless if they do or do not have an SEO background the website should turn out really really nice.

A web builder creates the bulk of what a designer and programmer would create for you.  You may have a few designer needs, but in the end you have a website that you can manipulate without a programming knowledge.  A website template builder will create your pages, and your products with little to no information from you.  While it may not have all the bells and whistles you may want, you may get everything you need for unders 1k instead of 10k custom.  

So as I state earlier, it all depends on budget.  If you have the budget, then hire out custom everything because in the end it is custom.  However if you are on a tight budget then look into the world of website template builders.  I suggest to clients, go with a web builder, till you have the budget to go custom and you probably should read a couple of programming books to just to help you carry the conversation with your designers.

Most Website Builders

1. pretty budget friendly
2. have really cool plugin options
3. you can do it yourself
4. you can maintain it yourself
5. have good support information
6. unfortunately it will look like everyone else's if you don't get creative
7. you market will know if you are lazy with your design
8. they may be some integration problems as more complex needs are there in the future.

Most Custom Website

1. It will be whatever you want it to be
2. it will really build your brand
3. you will have more sleep over the next 6 months
4. it can be really expensive
5. changes can take a long time depending on your guy.

Just some things to think about.  Either way good luck with your business.

Marketing Your Real Estate property on the Internet

Building Your SEO strategy

There are a number of areas to consider when looking at your SEO needs.  So lets diagram out some of your needs.

1. Do you have goals real and specific goals to accomplish?
2. Do you have a time frame to achieve these goals in?
3. Have you looked at the market?
4. Have you looked at your competition?
5. Keyword Research
6. Onsite SEO
7. Off Site SEO
8. Link Building
9. Social Marketing
10. Video Marketing
11. Analytics

The Alexa ranking of your site and your competition site should be part of your homework.  The Alexa page rank helps you see your competition, your site and your market in a whole new light.  This helps you really get an idea of the type of traffic you could get if you reach those top spots on Google.

Remember that broad words are not really your friend during your SEO planning and efforts.  Long tail words should be your focus.  Long tail words are there own market, and broad search terms really just bring tire kickers (that isn't always the case, but it is very common).

Off page link building is one of the most important steps for any new business.  So remember these areas

• Directory submission (but don't go overboard)
• Social bookmarks
• keywords for anchor text
• trading with niche sites
• Content  back links from the authorities
• Videos
• Web 2.0 properties
• Images
• Widgets 

Strategy should be the keyword here above all else.  You can easily be discouraged if you do not remember that this is a strategy.  It is a process and not a single event.

Marketing with Facebook - Keyword or Not to Keyword

With todays post I don't want to confuse anyone in regards to my love or hate for keyword search.  As an internet marketer I have grasp on keyword search.  During seasons of my Internet life I have had a passion for it, but I also want to point out a couple of important points with social media/Facebook advertising.  Hopefully you are not anti Facebook from a marketing view.  I definitely understand being anti Facebook from a personal view.

Let me paint a picture, when you focus on a specific term you can loose the larger searches.

Example Larger search = Jewelry

Understand that when you are just looking at the next big "sale" you are purposefully getting rid of the larger searches.  That is the reason you go after specific terms and get rid of the "tire kickers".  In this process it's all about profit margin and the competition of going after the same words.

Now shift your thoughts from Adwords and Search Engine keyword phrases to Facebook advertising where CPC (cost per click) is 2-10 times cheaper or you can create the FB page and just build "fans".  In this arena the specific keyword search isn't as important.  It is important just not as important.

In the Facebook platform you can post to your fans daily and there is a lower risk of people "de-faning" you than if you are running an email campaign and people unsubscribed to your newsletter.  The Facebook platform gives you the chance to build a relationship faster.  The faster the relationship is created the faster the true conversion is completed.

In my mind Facebook advertising has its place just like google adwords.  Please don't dismiss the power of facebook advertising.  With tools that now allow you to place your entire website inside your FB page (Iframe) or tools that allow you to just build a site within your Facebook page, there is real traction there.

Good luck using your Facebook resources to build your online business.  

Building Links? Then build correctly

Building Links for your site can be a waste of time if you do not do it correctly.  So we wanted to spend some time talke about the link building process and what you should be looking for during your linking building efforts.  


There are all types of links that you can target and spend your time on.  Most people just look at links within their own website and that is good, but the world of link building can go far beyond just those efforts.  Here are a few to consider while working on your strategy.  


Internal Hyperlinks - these are the anchor links that are so popular.  This is the process of creating a link within the content on a specific page to another page.  These links you can be creative with, titles to another page, images to another page, etc.  This is its own world all by itself, the links created here can do wonders for a campaign and we could spend hours discuss its finer points.  it really could be its own post.  


Name Hyperlinks - are also a link strategy to remember.  An example of this would be creating a link out of a name that is would then point to a page that would explain that link in detail.


Contextual Linking - these are a type of hyperlink that basically links to any body of context, sentence exactly where the link would appear.


Directory Hyperlinks - These are acquired through the title that each directory will ask for during a submission process.  These links come from a page that is in a category that you want pointing to your site.

A good tool that may help is the link diagnosis firefox extension


Places to start building your links would be directories, blogs, niche sites.  Remember that each page of your site can have some link building done for it.  It's not all created for the home page/landing page of your site.


Remember the world of link building is big and sometime is can be time consuming but building links correctly is part of your sites SEO foundation so make sure you don't waste your time.  Good luck with your link building efforts.

Creating A Successful Online business

Creating A Successful Business On The Internet

Creating A Successful Online business really is easier than what you might think.  In our experience the majority of the problems for new online business owners are the ones that they've created themselves.  Here are a few of the concerns that we hear most often.

• I don't know what product to sell
• I don't know how to build a website
• Should I set up an additional company, bank account, office space for this
• How long does this usually take
• When is the earliest I can start to make money
• How do I choose a product
• Should I use a drop shipper
• Should I just buy wholesale
• How do I get the money from my customer

These are probably the most common questions/statements and here is some information I think can help if you have these questions.  Depending on who you're talking to there may be some variations, but for the most part I think consultants can agree with almost all of what I am sharing (unless they just want to argue).   So I will use the next few post to go through these bullet points.  Hopefully this will help you.

I don't know what product to sell - Most new online business owners don't know what to sell online.  Most seasoned online entrepreneurs have no idea what to sell next, but there are a few exercises you can go through to help.

SIDE NOTE - Most seasoned online business owners really don't care about the "what will I sell next" as much as the newbie because they already know the information I will cover with you.

When choosing a product, try to choose something that you have a genuine interest in.  If there is a passion for your product ideas that makes it even better.  The reason for this is simple, there is a commitment of time and learning that will take place as the months go on.  It is difficult to keep your dedication if you do not have a genuine interest.  In the future, you may be required to create product descriptions and specific product content for your site, blog, etc.  If there is a general interest then it is fun and exciting.  

One of your first steps in deciding should be a brainstorming session.  Brainstorm your ideas with a friend, isn't a bash session, it should be open and without ridicule.  Ideas should be able to flow without any worry.  Make a list of as may ideas as possible.  The process of brainstorming doesn't begin and end the process, there is product, niche, and market research that follows but brainstorming should be the beginning.

While brainstorming remember the world of web based search revolves around keywords.  In the case of online shopping keywords = products of interest.  What this means is you should brainstorm product lines and not just Genres.  Example - "bull dog shirts" not "pet supplies", "dog grooming kit" not "pet supplies".  

The process of choosing your product to sell online can be really fun.  It isn't difficult unless we make it so.  Remember this is business, and there are no guarantees so in the beginning don't marry your 1st idea.  Use the list your brainstormed in the beginning and if it works out then great.  If it doesn't work out then just choose another from your list.

Good luck - we will be covering more points soon.  Brainstorm your ideas and have fun.