Before the launch of that new website, have you considered having a second look at the content you’ve implemented? Making sure your website caters to your target audience with the right mix of information and relevance will convert more visitors to customers and keep others coming back for more.

Having a website is great, but it’s not enough.  The spread and extent of your online market is governed by how well your site content matches your visitors’ expectations – also known as usability.  Defining the target audience and their needs is an important factor in usability and in increasing the loyalty on your site.

6 Questions to ask yourself about the target audience of your website:

Who is your target audience?

Everyone, right?  While we’d all love to sell to everyone, there should be a definitive theme of who the ideal customer is – that is your target audience.  Examples of good target audience definitions are “post college health nuts” or “middle income families with small children”.  Defining your target audience helps you answer the next question…

What does your target audience expect to learn from your website?

If you know you your target audience is, you can draw conclusions or better determine what they are looking for.  In keeping with the above examples, the post-college health nut would like to see a calorie breakdown of your new breakfast bar line – let them see it.

Does your customer know how your process works, or how to go about doing business with you?

If I am a middle income family with a small child, how will you help my child learn to read after I send you my hard-earned money?  A customer may believe in your product or service, but if they don’t know enough about your process, they may decide to do business with someone more transparent.

Have you anticipated most of your customers’ questions and answered them?

You want to keep your visitor from going to the competitor’s website to find answers.  It also helps build your credibility with a customer and lets them know you’re the right business for them. Anticipating the questions of your potential customer puts you a step ahead of most of your competition.

Are the features and benefits of doing business with you clear?

If you don’t explain them to me, I might never know.  Try to steer clear of assuming your client has an even basic knowledge of your industry and make very clear the features and benefits of hiring you.

What can you do make your website more “sticky”?

… that is keep your target audience on your site longer in hopes of developing their trust and converting them to a customer.  Do you have a blog or other news outlet with frequently updated content?  Or a cool application / tool that aligns with your business?  (Think mortgage calculator on real estate websites).  These keep people on your site longer and help you develop a report with your visitor.

The ease of navigation and convenience in finding information are key areas of catering to your target audience.  Don’t require your customer to guess or assume anything from your website, spoon feed them in a relevant and engaging way for your small business success.

Let us know some of the target audience strategies you’ve used and how they’ve worked for you.

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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ODX Fusion is asked to speak to many businesses and professional groups about how Internet Marketing can help boost a brand and ultimately bring more sales.  It’s fun, we love to do it and further love seeing the “ah-ha!” moments on our audience members’ faces when they begin to realize what we’re saying.

But make no mistake, the one question that’s been asked Every. Single. Time. is… “How do I find the time?”

It’s a good question on the surface, we agree.  It appears that gaining any ground in the social media and online environment takes an inordinate amount of time.  Aside from being untrue, we believe the question is disingenuous even if the asker doesn’t realize how.

We make time for our books, we make time for our employees.  Let’s make time for our business marketing.

The real question then becomes: “Why am I resisting the internet marketing plunge?”

Read on to see the answers we believe businesses are resisting online marketing.

1. Fear of Change

You’re doing your offline marketing, you’re out there shaking hands and kissing babies and you get a few sales.  You’re comfortable with that.  Internet Marketing / Social Media brings a whole new set of headaches that you just don’t need, right?

Wrong.  Marketing online has given us a forum to engage our customers and put information out to them in real-time.  REAL-TIME! When was the last time your direct mail campaign did that?

Marketing is a necessary evil of doing business and the landscape is always evolving. You need to keep up.

2. Fear of Marketing

If you’re in business, you NEED to market your product!  In some way or another, you need to get the word out.  Too many business owners believe that their product or service speaks for itself.  I’m here to tell you – it’s not speaking to anyone if not a soul knows about it.

As with any other type of marketing, a good strategy is all you need.  Once you have that in place, it’s not so much a fear as much as a project to be treated as such.

3. Fear of Competition

Some folks are not comfortable in dealing with competition.  Marketing online puts you in front of a lot of people, including your competitors.  Be confident in your craft and let your competitors see you.  Ever thought they might fear you?

What you’re doing by not using the internet to your advantage is allowing your competitors to use it to theirs.  You’re letting them speak to your past and present customers.  And forget about future customers. You may not have any (maybe a bit harsh).

4. No Idea Where to Start

This is common and completely understandable. It’s a big online world out there and you have no idea how to get started.  Check out our recent series of posts on Getting Started on Social Media for Beginners.  If you don’t want to hire someone, you’re going to have to look around to determine where to start.  This blog is by no means the only one out there interested in helping you.  Sign up for a social media account.  Buy a book.  Start learning about search engine optimization.  Read about Pay-Per-Click marketing. Start a blog (it’s free!). If you don’t want to do all that leg work, we know someone who would love to help with your internet marketing efforts <wink>!

5. You Hate Your Website

Internet Marketing is really about bringing qualified (primed to purchase) customers to your website. But your neighbor’s 11^th grade son built your website a few years ago and frankly you’re embarrassed to send anyone to it.

When you can’t afford a professionally designed website, it’s an even better argument for using social media. While customizable, your profile can give you a look that’s on par with everyone else.  For the record – a Facebook page does not replace the need for a well-designed website, but it can act as a lead generator in the absence of one or until you can afford one.

6. Fear of Leads

Make no mistake about it, some people have anxiety attacks when it comes to following up on leads. “what do I say to put my company in the best light?” or “what if they ask me a question I can’t answer?” and you might be surprised how scary it is for some people to ask for money.

When your internet marketing efforts are working and generating qualified leads for you, these people WANT to give someone their money, it’s your job to convince them that someone should be you.  They’ve reached out to you, now go shake your money-maker.

Any questions?

This is just the surface of why you’re resisting online marketing and social media.  If we’ve missed the boat then we want to hear from you.  Why ARE you resisting?  If “time” is all you come up with, look deeper and really ask yourself what’s keeping you.  If you can’t answer the question, let us know and we’ll get you there.

Your Comments Welcome

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.

At ODX Fusion, we cherish the little things.  Of course we love “Boosting Brands Online,” it’s what we do.  But when college senior Delores Huffman asked to interview our Patrick Shaughnessy for her Business Management final we thought it was cool.  When she sent us the term paper itself with a big red “A” stamped on it, we got a little giddy.  We offer you the excerpts (with links, of course):

“…the internet can work for small business owners, you have to know where to look and who to ask.  There are businesses dedicated to building webpages that are eye catching and informative.  There are also businesses that develop online strategies to bring customers to your small business website.  One such company that does all the above is ODX Fusion Internet Marketing based in Syracuse, New York.

As a young and upcoming web development, enhancement and marketing business, ODX Fusion helps small businesses reach their customers online.  They believe too many businesses build online fliers for their products and services, they never solicit any traffic and definitely do not bring qualified traffic.  Additionally, the ODX Fusion website includes a blog on how to make the internet work for small business and they answer common questions of the small business owner.  Their posts include, “Why Every Small Business Needs a Website“, when to use a shopping cart on your website and the ins and outs of using PayPal.

…they also cover the ever so intimidating social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and how a small business owner can leverage the power of social media.  They also offer their services to those who are less computer and internet inclined, which describes many business owners.

Their motto is simple: “Boost Your Brand Online”.  They’re able to design a business webpage, optimize potential on the most popular search engines, link in to the social media networks enhancing popularity, assist in content development and put your brand anywhere your customer may be.

So why do small business owners need the internet to market their business and products online?

ODX Fusion has broken it down into ten very simple reasons listed here in no specific order:

• your competition is already marketing online,
• your website is open 24/7 when your storefront isn’t,
• sharing information with your customers online has never been easier,
• it keeps you competitive in your market and lends credibility to your offering,
• it sells your product,
• it allows your business to be found online when customers search for your product/service,
• enables you to offer specials and coupons without print and distribution concerns,
• provides descriptions and pictures of the products/services you are selling,
• helps others to promote you,
• an online presence helps you expand beyond your current offline market.”

Delores goes on to explain Patrick’s take on Search Engine Optimization and Social Media:

“…is Google is number one?  Mr. Patrick Shaughnessy, the founder and co-owner of ODXFusion.com believes so.  He quotes a recent article from Searchinsider which states that Google holds over seventy percent of the market share and the other top three search engines are losing large percentages of users to Google.  While Google’s usage is rising, Yahoo Search, MSN and Ask.com are decreasing by 17%, 20% and 10% respectively.

To the small business owner this may mean Google delivers while other search engines don’t, so why look anywhere else when Google is obviously the search engine of choice.  Mr. Shaughnessy’s answer is that you cannot ignore other search engines like Yahoo! and MSN because there are still customers loyal to those services.  Many small businesses make the mistake of only targeting Google.

Where else might a small business owner who is looking to expand their client base to include customers from the internet look to find these customers?   The social networking phenomenon of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace are also on the rise in business marketing.   There are many blogs about how these websites and how they can help the small business owner.

Mr. Shaughnessy from ODXFusion.com recently posted a blog on his website that told his users not to listen to him talking about how great Social Media is for business but to experience it themselves.  Mr. Shaughnessy chose Model Airplanes as his test subject.  He then described how each of the above listed social media networks had vendors blogging, tweeting and posting about Model Airplanes.  This little experiment proved that even for something so obscure as a Model Airplane business, there is still a market for it online and there are customers out there willing to buy Model Airplane products.

Incidentally, there were more than just those four social media networks talking about Model Airplanes.  Other websites like Digg and Google Blog Search also came up with results to the Model Airplane search.  As Mr. Shaughnessy points out “get connected or get left behind”. (Shaughnessy, 2009) Imagine if you had a more mainstream business and what a social media network could do for you.  It could help launch your site, your brand and your product into a whole new market and bring business like you have never seen before…”

We happen to agree… And we’re done bragging.  Thanks Delores – we were glad to help!

I recently attended a local small business conference regarding a myriad of online marketing topics that range from search engine optimization to social media and ecommerce websites to blogs.  I hate to say there is still a lot of confusion out there about these topics and others.

In this post I will try to dispel a few specific rumors and misinformation in a non-technical sense so that it becomes more clear what online marketing really entails.  My hope is that you will take what you see here and identify how it might work within your own web marketing strategy.

This may seem random, but it’s in the order of the discussions as we had them.  Enjoy!

Shopping Cart

The first note I had was about the advantages and disadvantages of a Shopping Cart on your website and when to implement one.  Shopping carts are for ecommerce websites selling a product and may make it easier for your customer to find and purchase multiple products within a single shopping experience.  You can collect payment information right from your website, offer receipts, make other purchase suggestions at checkout time, coupons and much more.  A disadvantage to having a shopping cart is its potential for more maintenance, legwork and upfront cost.

When should you get a shopping cart for your website? If you’re selling one product twice a week, a shopping cart is probably not for you.  But if you have multiple products, a shopping cart could be a very viable option so that your customers may purchase many items all at once.  A shopping cart on a website also lends credibility to the merchant and your customers may appreciate it.

PayPal

PayPal is a no-contract, secure and easy solution for buying and selling goods /services online and an alternative to a merchant account in some instances.  If you offer purchases via PayPal, the buyer can pay with a credit card without even having a PayPal account.

PayPal takes a small portion of the sale (often 1.9% – 2.9% + $0.30 USD), which may be feasible depending on the size of the sale.  You’ll need to determine what’s best – a merchant account where you need secure payment pages and all your payments occur on site or allow PayPal to take a small cut for the convenience of using their secure payment pages and transactions.

Some websites offer both.

Social Media

Many small business owners are afraid of Social Media or feel it is no place for their business. I’m here to tell you this – if your customers are using social media, so should you.

One topic that has come up recently was a Facebook issue where their Terms of Service assumed rights to users’ content.  That’s not so anymore… we spoke, Facebook listened. Your content is your content.

Of course as a business owner you’ll need to practice discretion with what you decide to upload.  There are also many privacy settings on all the major social media sites so that YOU determine what others see.  Privacy is only a concern when you don’t address it in your social media strategy…

Hosting Your Own Blog or Go With Free Hosting

This is a common question that you’ll hear a million different answers to.  Our stance is this: If you’re just starting out, use the free WordPress , Blogger or other free blog services to determine if blogging is for you.  Once you’re serious, pay a few bucks a month and host your own.  You look more professional and have more options when you host your own blog.

Free Hosted Example = www.mybusiness.wordpress.com

or

Host Your Own Example = www.mybusiness.com

You decide.

Forums vs. Blog

In its very simplest terms, forums are predominately user-generated content (threads) which users interacting with other users on a broad topic. Here is a great example of a Syracuse, NY forum.

A blog on the other hand is a website or blog owner offering information and interacting with his/her readers through posts.  In our blog we give small business owners tips and tricks with regard to online marketing.  If you’re so compelled, you may leave a comment but you cannot start a post on our blog the way you can a forum.  Blogs also have more options and offer more diversity than forums, in my eyes.

SEO and Metadata (Meta Tags)

Meta tags are a great place to optimize your website for search engines.  Aside from the keyword meta tag,  this is not for keyword stuffing as much as it is for including relevant keywords, location, robots direction etc…  It can certainly get confusing, but if you are a DIY Search Engine Optimizer, you cannot ignore the meta data.

SEO and Flash / Images

Flash and Image SEO can be very tricky but is not impossible.  Keep in mind that a search engine cannot read an image for what the image is and it cannot view a Flash Animation.  Search Engines can only read the text associated with it and whatever text lies on the page.

Frequently Updated Content

Frequently updated content is about keeping your site current, fresh and interesting so that visitors and search engines come back to your page again and again.  It’s not changing the color of your background  or redoing your entire website every two weeks, but it is making sure you offer your customers timely information and removing information about an upcoming event that happened last year.  Having a blog or “News” section are wonderful options for fresh content offerings.

That’s it for now – I hope this has been a bit enlightening.  There is much more information on each of the topics above and I’ve only offered an abbreviated overview.

If you have further questions or would like more detailed information, subscribe to this blog, leave a comment or contact me at julia @ odxfusion .com.