12 Web Marketing Ideas to Jump Start Your Business
You know those "new" episodes of your favorite TV show when a character gets hit by a car, and then all their friends gather by their bed side and retell their favorite stories through a series of clips?
Welcome to my clip show.
Here's a quick list of the 12 articles we published in flyte log, our monthly Web marketing ezine:
- Your 2008 Web Marketing Plan
- How to Use Social Media to Reach New Customers
- Business Blog Success: 10 Tips for a Profitable Blog
- Increase Your Search Engine Visibility: Three Things You Can Do Today
- Nine Indispensable Online Tools for Your Web-Based Business
- Four Tips to Maximize Your Email Marketing Results
- The Secret to a Web Site That Sells
- Six Blogging Myths That Are Holding You Back
- The Dangers of Relying on Google for Business
- Holistic Web Marketing: An Integrated Approach to Online Success
- Tracking Conversions: Does Your Web Site Turn Suspects into Prospects?
- Informational Products: Selling Your Knowledge Online
There's oodles of ideas in these articles that you can use to jump start your business and build it over the next year. If you'd rather not miss any new articles, please subscribe to flyte log in the box below.
Yes, We're Geeks
Today we (the Brookses, not flyte) was featured in a gifts for geeks article in the Portland Press Herald.
I was interviewed by Justin Ellis about what I wanted for the holidays. We started talking video games and I mentioned how my wife regularly kicks my ass in Guitar Hero.
Thus, a photo shoot was born.
Last week the photographer, Gordon Chibroski, came by to take some photos. In the small world that is Maine, Gordon had taken my Web Marketing for Entrepreneurs class over at USM.
Our girls, Maya & Sophie, were jumping all over the couches, getting in the way and disrupting our string of correct notes, so we sent them to the basement to play. After Gordon finished the photos he mentioned he'd like to get some photos of us playing with the Wii.
"Would you like to take photos of the girls playing?" Cybele asked. He thought that was a great idea so we called up the girls. While they were downstairs they had changed into the princess gowns making for another great photo opp.
Are Meta-Tags Important to Search Engines...Again?
For years there was an easy tell if a so-called search engine expert was a fraud. If they told a Web site owner they weren't being found at the search engines because their meta-tags weren't fully optimized I knew they hadn't read anything on the subject since 1997.
Meta-tags are pieces of information that appear in the source code of a page, but don't appear on the page itself. These tags--primarily the meta-keyword and meta-description tag--had been an important part of search optimization in the late 90's, but were then ignored by the search engines because they were often stuffed with mis-leading words to attract more visitors.
As search engines matured they became much more interested in the content that appears on the page, not under it.
Still, there is reason to pay attention to the meta-tags, specifically the meta-description. Major search engines such as Google and Yahoo often use the meta-description on their search results page. This means that you have some control over the words that appear when one of your Web pages is pulled up as a result of a given search.
By crafting a compelling meta-description you may get a searcher to click on your link as opposed to that of a competitor. Our own Carolyn Phillips also suggests putting calls-to-action and phone numbers in a meta-description tag to motivate searchers to click on that link or pick up the phone.
So, while it still seems like there's little help meta-tags can offer to your search engine rankings, a well-written meta-description, coupled with a keyword-rich page title can drive more qualified leads to your Web site.
For more details on how search engines might display your meta-tags, check out 7 Ways Your Page May Be Described in the SERPs by Jill Whalen.
Rich Brooks
Maine Search Engine Optimization
Social Media Segment on 207
207, the evening news program for which I play "tech guru" has begun putting clips from their show on their Web site.
Sadly, because of corporate rules they can't add them to YouTube which would make it easier for me to embed the video of my recent segment on Social Media here in the blog.
Rob Caldwell and I talked about Facebook, LinkedIn, and Ning.
Still, you're just one click away. (Windows Media Player required. Sigh...)
Rich Brooks
The Camera Adds 10 Pounds
Business Blog Workshop This Wednesday in Portland
There's a couple of seats left (no joking!) for our How to Plan, Build and Promote Your Business Blog this Wednesday morning. (12/12/07.)
In other words, there's still time to hit up your boss to pay for this workshop that's going to make you invaluable to the company!
The workshop will cover how businesses can build a successful blog to:
- increase search engine visibility
- establish your expertise and credibility
- generate more online leads
- and more, much, much more!
Time: 8am - 9:30am
Place: flyte's offices (136 Commercial St., Ste., 201, Portland, ME)
Cost: $50, includes a continental breakfast
See you there!
Rich Brooks
Stickler for Pre-Registration
Social Media Tech Segment on 207 Tonight
Social media describes Web sites where users can create profiles, upload photos and videos, and connect with friends, family, and people who share similar feelings on Barack Obama, windsurfing, or Spider-man.
Chances are your kids are spending time there, some of your co-workers are there, and your prospects and customers are there, too.
Why not get a 5-minute introduction to some popular social media sites on tonight's episode of 207? Yes, I'm back on, tackling Facebook, LinkedIn and social-media-platform Ning tonight (Monday, December 10, 2007) at 7pm on WCSH-6.
While you're waiting, you can read this recent article, How to Use Social Media to Attract New Customers.
Rich Brooks
Social Media Butterfly
Your 2008 Web Marketing Plan
There's light fluffy snowflakes falling outside my window this morning as I polish off another issue of flyte log, our Web marketing email newsletter...the last for 2007.
Rather than look back on 2007--as good as it was--it's time to look forward to 2008 and start making plans. Web marketing plans, that is.
Today's issue of flyte log is Your 2008 Web Marketing Plan, a month-by-month, itemized list of what you need to do to succeed in 2008.
Your Web marketing plan includes ideas on search engine optimization, blogging, social media, Webinars and more.
Why not take the first step in improving your chances for success in 2008 by signing up for flyte log now, so you never miss another issue?
How to Promote Your Event on the Web
How do you leverage a the Web and Internet marketing to promote your upcoming event? There are so many channels of distribution, the possibilities are almost endless. Here's a checklist of what I did to promote an upcoming workshop I'm teaching at flyte called "How to Plan, Build and Promote a Business Blog."
- Published the event on the Web Marketing Seminars page on my Web site. This is a no-brainer and the first, essential step.
- Added the event information (including a link to the online registration) on Facebook, both on my page and as part of the Portland, ME network so that other local people could find it.
- Sent out an email alert to the people who have signed up for my Web Marketing Alerts email newsletter. (You can sign up for this when you sign up for flyte log, our free, monthly email newsletter.)
- Added it as an event on MaineToday.com, the online presence for the Blethen newspapers.
- Added it as a class through Craig's list.
- Added it at MaineBiz's event calendar.
- Submitted to Maine Public Broadcasting Network's event calendar.
- Posted it to my Internet Marketing 101 blog at MaineToday.com (at least twice.)
- Posted it to my flyte blog: web marketing for small business blog (again, at least twice.)
- Posted to Eventful.com, which sends to several other sites including Podbot, Google Calendar, del.icio.us/events, Ping-o-Matic, Technorati, and Upcoming. Several of these sites extend that reach even further through their own network. (Found through Joan Stewart, the Publicity Hound, through Denise Wakeman tip.
- I also learned about EventCrazy.com that way.
I also plan on submitting this event to the print versions of MaineBiz and the Portland Press Herald.
Will I do this for every event? Probably not, but I will try and track which channel is bringing me attendees, by asking everyone at the event.
Your Turn: What tools do you use to promote your events in this 2.0 world? Leave your suggestions in the comments section below.
Rich Brooks
Business Blog Expert
Updates
Sign up to be notified when there's a new entryRSS
Subscribe
