Web-based Internet marketing is the norm

Custom web design solutions, based on business strategies, objectives, brand image, and target customer demographics, help business entities to survive and prosper in present day market scenario.  Logical methodologies, creative concepts and investigative strategies are adopted to ensure speedy and smooth transition of business from existing traditional set up into an online Internet marketing and Mobile marketing venture. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques help companies to improve visibilities and ranking of their sites based on different key search engine ranking.  They render the website usable to entice visitors and convert those visitors into customers into loyal regular customers, in turn, attracting more customers. These techniques reduce loading time of websites and initiate processes to make the search engine crawl through inner pages of the website easily. Efforts are made to select keywords to attract maximum traffic to the site. These keywords are continually monitored and evaluated to check their efficacies. Search engine marketing procedures help to place product ads in leading search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo. Using Google AdWords and Microsoft AdCenter, Pay-Per-Click ads appear on the search engine result pages and their partner sites. Proper optimising techniques, content optimisation, and usability of landing pages are ensured, so that marketing activities on the websites do not suffer from high bounce and low conversion rates. With eCommerce calling the shots in business transactions, an eCommerce portal can be integrated into the business corporate website.

Social media and mobile marketing rule the roost

Social media optimisation have helped SMEs and large-sized business firms alike, to leverage popularity and reach of sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn, to attract additional customers and increase their awareness to available products and services.  Facebook marketing has helped many companies to target more customers.  Web site designers carry out an in-depth research and evaluation of business concepts and ideas, competition in local and international markets, customers' expectations of products and services.  Existing websites are assessed for their effectiveness and functionalities in meeting complex demand and uncertainty related to modern-day Internet marketing environment. Accordingly, existing sites are modified to make them visitor friendly, and get improved visibility on search engines, with appropriate search engine ranking so that they can experience accelerated business online. Customers now seek product information on the go, on their smartphones. Their lifestyles, work ethos, and process of getting product information are undergoing a dynamic change.Mobile marketing has evolved as an important advertisement channel. This new channel attracts more customers.  Mobile application development techniques have helped mobile customers to use their smart phones to access business sites for product information. This helps in enhancing the product's visibility on the channel, opening up of new mobile marketing channel and acquiring new buyers.  Experienced android app development programmers and designers develop apps for various business categories and verticals at an affordable cost.  These apps are developed from the marketing point of view. They enhance the visibility and reach of the company's brand, help to entice new customers and make available an additional marketing channel.

Source; http://www.articlesbase.com/online-business-articles

Google Unveils New AdWords Innovations – Including App Ads Feature

Google has announced that it will launch three new AdWords updates over the next couple of months.

Unveiled on April 22, the updates will include app ads, more insightful reporting features and enhanced tools that will enable advertisers to carry out bulk actions directly from their AdWords account.

With the app ads feature, advertisers will be able to display ads related to the apps installed on a user’s mobile device. These ads will be displayed in the Google SERPs (search engine results pages) and YouTube, and through the Google Display Network (GDN).

On the Inside AdWords blog, vice president of product management at Google AdWords, Jerry Dischler, stated: “For example, if you exercise regularly and use an app to measure how far you run, you might see an ad for an app that helps you measure the foods you eat and calories consumed.”

The feature will also enable advertisers to encourage users to re-engage with their apps through a re-engagement campaign. When tapped or clicked, these ads will automatically take the user directly to the already-installed app in question.

Presenting an example, Dischler said a user with the HotelTonight app already installed on their device, searching “hotels in San Francisco,” could be presented with an ad that, when interacted with, would take them directly to the page in HotelTonight app relating to hotels in San Francisco, as opposed to its main landing page.

Google has also stated that advertisers will eventually be able to measure conversions from the “entire lifecycle of the app.”

Having launched Estimated Total Conversions last year (2014), which enables AdWords advertisers to more effectively measure the value of their campaigns, Google revealed at its innovations launch that it would continue to invest in the product.

It stated that it was experimenting with a solution to measure in-store transactions that would allow advertisers to track off-line conversions.

The last of its PPC advertising updates, Google will  also introduce enterprise-class optimisation, reporting and workflow tools to AdWords. It will support bulk actions, enabling advertisers, for example, to update thousands of ads with a few clicks across numerous campaigns from one interface.

Google will make improvements to conversion optimisers and automated bidding to provide advertisers with the option to set efficiency targets, whilst enhanced reporting tools will let users analyse results directly within AdWords in more depth.

Meanwhile, the update will also encourage PPC account managers to experiment with campaigns at draft level, allowing them to determine the elements that do and don’t work before committing to running a full campaign.

Dischler commented that the updates were motivated by the desire to “connect people to the content they care about, whether online, mobile sites, or on apps.”

Source; http://www.clickthrough-marketing.com

An interview with Eddie Howard, Product Manager for Vocus: Email’s best days are still ahead

Eddie Howard is the Product Manager for Vocus, a leading provider of cloud marketing software. He talks about the different aspects of email marketing and shares his insight on how businesses can take full advantage of email marketing – the most proven and cost-effective marketing tool for promoting products and services. Enjoy!

1. Can you start off telling our readers a few words about yourself? How long have you been involved in the online marketing field?

My name is Eddie Howard, I am the Product Manager for Vocus email marketing tools. I’ve spent the past 9 years in product management and 7 years in email and online marketing. I worked with digital marketing technology company Datran Media (now Pulsepoint), and the largest privately-owned Internet advertising network, Adknowledge, before starting with iContact and Vocus.
  
2. Tell us about Vocus and how your services can help small businesses better communicate with their customers and prospects.

Vocus is a leading provider of cloud marketing software that helps businesses reach and influence buyers across social networks, online and through media. Our integrated suites combine social marketing, search marketing, email marketing, and publicity into a comprehensive solution that helps attract, engage, and retain customers. In addition, our software sends real-time marketing opportunities directly to marketers in the form of leads, prospects, social media conversations, curated content, and inbound media inquiries.
  
3. Recently, Vocus commissioned Edge Research to survey 601 email marketing decision-makers at small to medium sized organizations. What are some of the key findings from the survey?

The Edge Research survey had some exciting and interesting key findings regarding email marketing. Email marketing remains the top type of marketing among SMBs by budget share, which is due in part because 91% of SMBs continue to find email marketing helpful in their company’s marketing. We also found out that over two-thirds of SMBs said the cost of acquiring a new subscriber is either reasonable or too low—and they can afford to pay more per subscriber if they had to. Not surprisingly, most SMBs have a list size under 10,000, and 24% have fewer than 1,000 contacts, and on average, SMBs are hoping to increase their list size by a modest 25%.
  
4. How are businesses currently using email marketing?

The most common use of email marketing is to share news about new products or services, the organization in general, or to advertise special events. In addition, the vast majority of SMBs are using email marketing for regular customer/client contact like email newsletters or soliciting feedback from subscribers.
  
5. Based on your experiences, what share of the marketing budget do the companies typically allocate to email marketing activities?

Email marketing remains the top type of marketing among SMBs by budget share. On average, SMBs are spending 15% of their marketing budget on email marketing, followed by Events/Tradeshows and other person-to-person contact. This pattern is consistent for SMBs of all sizes.
  
6. How can businesses measure the success of their email marketing campaigns?

Click-throughs, increased web traffic to the organization’s website, and new sales leads found through email are the top measures of email marketing success. SMBs are also measuring the success of their email marketing campaigns by monitoring the general increase in revenue or sales following email campaigns.
  
7. Are there any barriers to effective email marketing campaigns?

No one barrier stands out as a major problem for a large number of SMBs, and the overall rate of problems is on par with similar types of marketing. Of the barriers observed, worries about sending too many emails or overusing email lists were the most common, as well as concerns about SPAM filters.
  
8. What are your predictions for where email marketing is headed in the next 5-10 years?

Email and social media are the two fastest growing marketing channels for SMBs, with 56-60% of SMBs planning to increase budgets in these marketing activities. We’ve heard for years speculation that email is declining, but the numbers just don’t agree. I think email’s best days are still ahead— especially with social media forcing companies to rethink about their overall marketing strategy, which tends to start with a foundation of successful email marketing. I’m also seeing a transition to suite products that combine email, social media, and other marketing channels into one cohesive product, rather than SMBs using separate, ad hoc systems to accomplish this.
  
9. Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, has really changed how we communicate. How has this shift affected small businesses attitudes toward email marketing?

Combined marketing strategies between email and social media campaigns have become much more commonplace. Nearly two-thirds of SMBs now coordinate their email marketing with social media. SMBs are now able to complement their email marketing campaigns with effective social media strategies, and vice versa. This is ideal because exposing your company to prospects and customers in multiple channels is crucial to brand success.
  
10. Would you agree with the statement that email is the most cost-effective marketing tool for promoting products or services, and why?

Not only is email the most cost-effective marketing tool for promoting products and services, it’s also the most proven method for SMBs. We see this year after year with increases in email marketing budgets and resources. Email is relatively easy to monitor effectiveness and ROI, which is why SMBs trust and rely on email marketing more and more.
  
11. What’s the most important component of an email marketing campaign?

The most important component of an email marketing campaign is to remember to have a conversation with your subscribers, and be sure to really listen to them. Even though email campaigns are easy and inexpensive to deliver, we can’t lose our subscribers’ trust by sending stale content or too many emails. If we treat email marketing like any other method of conversing with our customers, we will undoubtedly be successful in our marketing efforts.

Source; http://www.sbinformer.com/guides/

The Year Ahead: 5 Social Media Trends Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know

Technology is transforming how modern entrepreneurs stay connected to their business, their team and their industry. In this series, learn more about the cutting edge tools and thinking allowing innovators to stay ahead of the trends.

The social media landscape is evolving rapidly, and therefore, your social media marketing strategy cannot remain static. Instead, it’s important to reevaluate business goals, social media campaigns, platform results and revise your strategy at least once a year -- if not quarterly.

Being aware of trends in the social sphere can help you design better strategies, apply the most effective tactics and choose where to invest your staff as well as financial resources. Here are the top five social media trends every entrepreneur needs to think about for 2014 and beyond:

1. Diversify. You've probably seen headlines about Facebook’s algorithm changes. If you currently operate a brand or business page, one study found that only six percent of followers currently see your posts. Experts suggest that that number will continue to plummet, eventually reaching one percent.

This bid by Facebook is aimed at increasing advertising dollars. But it highlights a potential weakness in many business’ social strategies: overdependence on any single platform puts you at the mercy of that platform’s whims. Whether it crashes or simply changes its rules, too much is at stake.

Related: Stop Talking About Yourself So Much on Social Media and Listen

2. Google+ is for real. If there’s one social network businesses should pay specific attention to, it’s Google+, which is already playing a more important role in Google’s organic ranking algorithm. I expect this trend will continue.

To the surprise of many across the SEO industry, Google’s Matt Cutts confirmed in a recent video that Facebook and Twitter have no impact on SEO rankings as a result of crawling and accessibility issues. So it stands to reason that if Google wants to use social signals for organic search rankings, it could easily mine Google+ data, where its crawler access is unhindered.

Google+ is also the best way to get access to Google Authorship, which will play a huge role in SEO by the end of the year. Google Authorship helps the search engine identify your content, attribute it to the correct author and build a portfolio for each author that may include what many are calling “Author Rank” -- algorithmic scoring based on author expertise and publishing history.

In most cases, an image of the author appears next to their content in search results, which also increases visibility and click-through rates.

Related: Contrary to Popular Belief, These Popular Social-Media Habits Are Bad for Your Brand

3. Integration of social media, SEO, and content creation. The online marketing industry is moving away from the idea that social media, SEO and content marketing happen in isolation. Social media marketing decisively impacts how content is seen and shared.

Content creation and marketing have direct implications for your SEO performance -- especially in light of Google’s latest algorithm updates. It’s important that you think of the three pillars of online marketing -- SEO, content and social media -- as a system that works synergistically to increase visibility, build your brand and ultimately garner customers and sales.

4. Visual content will win. An estimated 63 percent of social media comprises imagery. As such, visual platforms are playing an increasing role in social media for businesses. One study found that 29 percent of Pinterest users bought an item after posting or re-pinning it on the network.

Video content is also hotter than ever, with the addition of networks like Vine and Instagram featuring microvideos. Infographics are another effective promotion tool for businesses with both a bounty of data and absorbing stories to tell.

Not every platform will be right, but spending the time to find the visual angle to your business’ story and experimenting with different content formats can help revitalize your social media marketing strategy.

Related: Want to Gain Influence on Social Media? Get to Work.

5. Social media as a brand builder. Social media channels should be managed according to a brand-oriented approach. Building your brand on any platform impacts your SEO and improves sales over the long term.

Are the visuals of your social media accounts consistent with the rest of your visual branding? Is your account name or any other copy branded? Are you regularly filtering your status updates to ensure they’re on-message and consistent with the overall brand that you’re building? Focusing on building your brand through your social interactions should be a key focus this year.

If evolutions in social media have taught us anything so far this year, it’s that entrepreneurs with flexible and engaged approaches will have the highest ROI. Take the time to understand general trends and focus on core goals, but also take action to experiment with specific tactics that will grow and change as your business evolves.

What major trends are you seeing at play in social media? Let us know in the comments below.

Related: Your Customers Are Likely More Engaged on YouTube Than on Facebook or Twitter

Source; http://www.entrepreneur.com

37 Marketing Tools to Spy on Your Competitors

Numbers 35 to 37

Final Thoughts: Other Ways to Spy on the Competition

Don't forget that there are three more ways you can find out what your competitors are doing, and they are all free.

35. Follow them on social media, add them to a list or interest group, and track what they are talking about.

36. Subscribe to their blogs so you can see what kind of content they are covering and check out announcements of forthcoming launches.

37. Sign up for their newsletter, which is hands-down the best way to see how they are targeting your ideal customers.

Source; http://www.entrepreneur.com

37 Marketing Tools to Spy on Your Competitors

 Numbers 30 to 34

A Mixed Bag

There are a few tools that don't fit in any of the categories above, which can provide additional insight into what your competitors are doing.

30. BuiltWith investigates the technology behind your competitors' sites, covering servers, content management, underlying technology, analytics, advertising, and much more.

31. Marketing Grader is a free HubSpot tool that assesses websites in terms of blogging, social media, SEO, lead generation, and mobile, giving an overall score. It's a good way to see what your competitors are getting right, and wrong

32. Simply Measured rolls many of the tools on our list into one, including analysis of influencers, brands, trends, traffic, conversions, competitors, and more. It covers all the main social media channels with 35 different reports. The basic plans start at $500 per month, though there are free reports available for your own accounts.

33. The Wayback Machine from the Internet Archive lets you see how your competitors' pages looked in the past. You never know, you might learn something about how website changes improved conversions.

34. Check out your competitors' direct mail, email, and social campaigns with Who's Mailing What. It's a good way to keep track of trends, get ideas, and see what the competition is up to. This tool costs $747 per year.

37 Marketing Tools to Spy on Your Competitors - No's 26 to 29

Social Engagement and Social Sentiment Tools

This next batch of tools will help you to see how your competitors are building engagement and how their key audiences feel about them.

26. Commun.it is best known as a free tool for building engagement on your own Twitter account. Why not plug in the URL of your top competitor to see how that company is performing online?

27. Fanpage Karma allows you to input the URL of any Facebook fan page and assess the number of fans, growth, and a range of other performance metrics. There's a 14-day free trial of additional features, and the premium package includes Twitter monitoring, too.

28. Login with your Twitter account and you can analyze any profile's followers for free with Followerwonk. There's a wealth of detail available on the authority of followers, recent tweets, bios and locations, enabling you to build a comprehensive picture of your competitor's Twitter presence.

29. Open Social Buzz provides real time search of Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Plug in your competitor's name and see how much social prominence they have.