Content Management Systems (CMS) have become increasingly popular among small business website owners.  We have been asked more and more to build them along with a specific website project or to retrofit an existing website.  Offering the means for a non-web programming business owner to make an unlimited number of updates to their web site, it’s easy to see why.

Consider this: You have a shiny new website.  It’s got crisp images, a TON of information and a 10% coupon to encourage conversions.  It might even include a way to <GASP!> contact you.

Things are humming along rather smoothly.  In fact, business is so good, you had to bring someone on to help with day-to-day tasks.  Then you had multiple phone lines installed.  You may have even splurged on a brand new logo.

Almost as an afterthought you realize you haven’t updated your website with all the new changes. Shame on you… A new staff member, a different coupon, new contact info and don’t forget your new logo!

Obviously, you call your web company.  You’re not sure whether they’ll make these changes for free or whether they’ll bill you.  Either way, you need the updates on the website and you need them yesterday.

You could be in a sticky situation.  You can’t make the updates yourself, some web companies bill $75/hour, 1 hour minimum and they add you to the bottom of the stack to get to it by the end of the week.

Ouch. A ten-minute job for $75 and you have to wait a few days?

With a CMS, you don’t have that problem.  You simply login:

And make changes!

A lot of the CMSs out there are very similar in functionality to other text editors, like Microsoft Word, in that you can adjust font sizes, insert links or images and even create brand new pages.  They’re very user-friendly so you can have your helper make updates for you as well.  Depending on how many updates you need, having a CMS built for your site can pay for itself in a few months.

Whether you use a blogging platform or a traditional website, you will need your web company for high-level programming, but for simple website text and image updates, you can’t beat a CMS.

If you already use a Content Management system, leave us a comment and tell us what you like and dislike about them – we’d love to hear from you.

Don’t forget to subscribe to get more website tips from ODX Fusion!

Paying a website for each visitor they send you, known as Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, can be very effective marketing.  Your advertisement is displayed on a host page such as Google, a visitor clicks on your ad, the ad brings them to your website, and you pay the host website a few cents in thanks.

However, there is more to an effective PPC campaign then setting keywords and paying the ad host.  That’s not to say you can’t do it or even figure it out, but if you don’t have the time to invest in the campaign and measure the results, you might consider hiring a pro.

But how do you know if PPC advertising is right for you?

The first thing to think about is whether your product or service generate enough search volume to warrant Pay-Per-Clicks.  If you have a very niche market like “Paper Mache Potted Plants”, you might want to take a closer look at how many people are searching for your product or a variation of it.  A nice tool to find out is the Google Adwords Keyword Tool.

Then do a Google Search for your keywords to see if anyone else shows up in the sponsored results section at the top and right panel of the results.  Usually, the presence of others indicates a high enough search volume to make a PPC campaign worthwhile.

If you’re less of a reactive marketer and tend to be more proactive, don’t worry about whether or not the competition is using PPC, think about other keywords that might draw qualified traffic instead.   “Potted plants” or “plant art” are likely to garner a higher search volume for example.

Next, determine if you can afford your keywords.  Use the Google Adwords Traffic Estimator to figure what you might expect to spend per click.  If you can’t afford the monthly budget needed to run a successful campaign, don’t even attempt a half-baked one. That’s a good way to lose what little budget you commit to it.

When you begin a Pay-Per-Click campaign, you’ll need to have the resources to develop relevant landing pages for your ads.  Landing pages are the pages on your website to which your PPC ads link.  These should be very specific to your ad, should tell you customer what you want them to do and enable them to contact you.  If you are running multiple campaigns, very often you will need multiple landing pages.

The next question to ask before running a PPC campaign – will you test different aspects of your campaign and will you measure the results?  Simply because you think your ad is the most compelling doesn’t mean your customer does.  Which are generating the most clicks?  If one is generating more clicks than the other, are they high quality clicks (low bounce rate, decent time on site, conversions etc…)?  Even the most seasoned marketers test their ads to see what delivers the best results.

And if you’re not measuring your Return of Investment (ROI), why bother?  You need to be able to determine your conversion rate, the amount you’ve paid to get those conversions and difference to determine your return.  If you’re paying a lot for a few if any conversions, you’re doing something wrong.  Remember PPC is about generating sales or leads, not just website traffic.

Now you’re primed to decide if Pay-Per-Click advertising is right for you.  There are many resources on the internet that offer advice on running successful Pay-Per-Click advertising and there are many other PPC platforms than Google.  You have to determine what works best for you, then test and measure the results.

If you need help with your PPC campaign, contact us and we’ll help you determine what works best for you.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog – it’s free and you can keep up-to-date with more Internet Marketing techniques for your business.

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YouTube and other online video services are great platforms for marketing your business, but it’s also a wonderful tool for learning about topics of interest that you know little about.
In keeping with the Internet Marketing theme, I’ve compiled 10 of my favorite YouTube vids for your viewing and learning pleasure.

Interested in podcasting? MobilePhone2003 uploaded the video above and it offers great information for the beginner.

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David Skul from the Skul of Relativity has put together an incredible library of videos to help business owners use Social Media and Blogs to promote their business. Above is just one of the many Blog Marketing vids he’s offered.

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You’re not using Google Alerts to keep up with what’s being said about you or your brand online? Shame on you. Watch this video and learn how.

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If you can get past the Crocodile Dundee accent, here is 10 Things You Can Do For Your Small Business Online. Great beginner video.

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Gary Vaynerchuk is an amazing speaker, especially when it comes to social media and business. And he’s not interested in keeping it Rated G either.

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Perry Belcher on the most common question I receive with regard to using social media and time constraints. This is right on in addition to Perry always sporting an awesome shirt.

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Don’t Be That Guy. No really, please don’t be that guy. Chris Brogan talks about aggressive selling on social media. Oldie, but a goodie – and unfortunately too many people are still that guy.

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Ian Lurie is the grumpy Internet Marketer that knows his stuff and co-author of “Internet Marketing for Dummies”. This is setting up Google Analytics, which is a must have for any business with a website. It’s an older video, but the setup is virtually the same.

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Another of Ian Lurie’s tutorial vids, this one for finding out what you should pay attention to within Google Analytics.

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This is an easy and basic video tutorial for setting up Google Adwords, Google’s Pay-Per-Click service. A great way to get started.

Sometimes Internet Marketing can seem daunting, but these videos are a good way to become familiar. If you have questions about any of the services covered above, contact me and I’ll guide you through.

For newcomers, the wikipedia definition of Twitter is the free social networking and micro-blogging service, that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.

Syracuse.com setup a Twitter-feed in order for Syracusans to keep their fellow cold-weather mates up-to-date on the holiday shopping happenings around town last week. Tweeters merely type “#cny” or “#syracuse” in the micro-blog for it to post to this feed.

Not only has this been fun for social media users to connect with others locally, and an ingenious idea for a fledgling newspaper industry, it also reinforced how others in the local area believe in the power of web interactivity.

More and more small business owners will see the limitless possibilities with social media marketing. As I’ve said many times before – interacting with your customer builds brand loyalty. Beyond that, it’s an easy and fun way to generate new leads and keep previous customers up-to-date. Best of all, it’s FREE! And isn’t that what it’s all about when your business is small and up & coming?

If you’re interested in Twitter for small business, here is an introduction from Small Biz Trends (with Twitter tutorial video).

Now that you’re a pro, come and follow what I’m doing right now.

Until next time!

I believe I have to tweak my settings a bit because when I wanted to update my blog, it updated all my “micro-blogs” as well ( Twitter, facebook Status updates). The micro-blogs only allow a set number of characters so those items were cut into a short and incomplete sentence – not what I was looking for!

On another note, the our web design is now available!

Pinging all over the place

Harnessing the power of Social Media networks has become a huge craze for many Internet Application companies. Just think of how many facebook and MySpace “apps” we’ve seen spring up in the last year. These are very valuable streams of revenue for these companies and there is no shortage of batters stepping up to the plate.

It is only natural then, that these application companies would try to take it a step further. Enter the “Mashup”. Mashup is the term used to describe a web application that brings two or more sources of information into one integrated tool for the convenience of the user. One example of a mashup is WikiCrimes.org – this application combines Google Maps with an interface that users report crime happenings in a geographic area by placing color-coded pins describing the crime and where it took place. Kind of interesting but not something I would use daily. I just don’t have a need for it.

One mashup I do potentially have a use for is one to help me reign in my Social Media outlets. In fact, this post is actually intended to test a “new” mashup called Ping which recently came out of beta testing. Ping is used by people like me to update different Social Network accounts in one fell swoop. When I think of how many times a day I log into my facebook, MySpace, and Wordpress account, if Ping delivers on its claim, I am already a fan. A huge one.
I have this post set to update my blog on facebook, MySpace, Wordpress and Twitter. Once I post, I will report back with my thoughts on the integration. Alas, I have already found one issue with the service that bit me as I was writing this post. In my effort to keep you informed, here is my gripe:

If you use the Ping textbox to input your message (as opposed to copying and pasting from Word or other word processing software) DO NOT CLICK on the helpful links on the page. You would think the helpful tips that are listed below the text box (which means a user might click on it AFTER they input a post) would bring up a pop-up text box or at least a new page. It doesn’t. When clicked, it will take navigate to the link from the current page and you will lose your post. All of it.

Learn from me – writing a post twice is a pain.