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Eight Deadly Web Site Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Copyright 2005 Marcia Torrey Jay Creating and maintaining an effective presence on the Web has become increasingly complex and challenging as the power of the Internet as a marketing tool becomes more and more necessary to entrepreneurs and...
Five Steps to Profit from Google Adwords
Although I was marketing online since 1997 and was making money on the Internet, as soon as I discovered the famous GoogleCash ebook I was instantly hooked. It seemed so easy to profit from Google Adwords: just join an affiliate program, promote it...
SEO Advertisting & Pay Per Click PPC
Advertising can be an easy way to break into the internet but there are many downsides to it. Unless you are running a community based site, have a site offering very unique content, a valuable service or product the traffic usually only comes as...
The Basics Of Pay Per Click Search Engine Advertising
Not long ago, Forbes magazine has reported that pay per click ad sales are expected to increase to at least $8 billion by 2008. There are three fundamental elements that form the basis of a successful pay per click ad program and they are...
Where Are Search Engines Going? Paid Inclusion Trend Emerges
The Search Engine Strategies conference and show, sponsored by AltaVista, Search Engine Watch and Internet.com on August 16-17 provided a glimpse of several emerging search trends, the biggest trend is toward "Paid Inclusion." The show, held in San...
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Short Term vs Long Term Marketing Efforts
Copyright 2005 Sharon Housley
In order to create consistent sales cycles and a positive growth trend businesses usually engage in both short and long term marketing efforts.
Short-term marketing efforts tend to cause sudden sales spikes which rarely last. These sharp sales increases are usually the result of a targeted marketing campaign or time limited offer. While short-term marketing produces sales, long-term marketing efforts must be mixed in to sustain sales.
Short Term Online Marketing
Mentions
Positive product mentions in forums, newsgroups or within trade organizations can result in a traffic or sales surge. Product endorsements and newsgroup conversations are difficult for marketers to control and time, so while product mentions in forums are short-term marketing, they lack the organized exposure necessary to maintain sales momentum.
Discounts
Marketing campaigns that involve coupons, discounts or time-limited offers can also generate product interest. It is important to use promotional offers sparingly or long-term sales could be jeopardized by having customers "wait" for the next offer to purchase.
PPC / Advertising
The easiest and fastest way to generate product interest is, of course, to pay for it. Pay-per-click campaigns are known to drive significant targeted traffic. Sadly, when the campaign funding ends, the traffic and sales generally do, too. Regardless, it is important for marketers to realize that with short-term marketing, sellers can often control sales and infuse cash into a fledgling product, service or business.
Short-term marketing is also useful for test-marketing new products or split-testing to find the appropriate price point. With pay-per-click advertising marketers can control the ebb and flow of site visitors and make a determination about what banners, keywords, text copy and graphics convert at the highest rate. The lessons learned in short-term marketing can then be implemented in the long-term marketing strategy. Marketers can determine the effectiveness of sales copy and landing pages, implementing them in a long range of marketing activities.
Long Term Online Marketing
Search Engine Optimization
Undoubtedly the most time consuming, yet important aspect of long-term marketing involves preparing and
optimizing a website for search engines. Currently the majority of Internet surfers seeking a product or information look to search engines. Most Internet surfers use keywords to search for the product, service or information that they are looking for. Knowing your audience and optimizing a site for keywords and phrases that potential consumers would use in their search for a product or service is critical to being found on the Internet.
Search engine optimization pays long-term dividends, but is an ongoing process, as the search engines themselves are constantly evolving their algorithms. The goal of search engines is to provide web surfers the best sites suited to the web surfers' search terms.
Often, changes implemented will not be "seen" by search engines for several months. It is important to follow search engine guidelines and be patient.
Fresh Content & Communication
A stream of fresh content like newsletters, tips or blog posts will result in long-term quality traffic. Fresh content that is posted and updated on a regular basis will encourage visitors to return. Archived content will build a base for a variety of related keywords.
Syndicated Articles
Related industry articles will result in genuine interest from a very targeted audience. Providing related content articles that are available for syndication will result in links back from websites that contain similar content. Over time, articles can define a company's expertise on a subject area. Ultimately, syndicated articles can build confidence with prospective customers and a level of trust.
When designing a marketing campaign, consider threading long-term and short-term marketing efforts so that sales are stable and consistent. By implementing a marketing plan that involves both short and long-term efforts, sales success can be achieved.
About the author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.comsoftware for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for NotePage http://www.notepage.neta wireless text messaging software company.
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