Internet Marketing
By now, you should know that simply building
a website is simply not enough. If you still believe
that "if you build it, they will come",
then this page is not for you. This is for those
who have learned (often the hard way) that internet
marketing is hard work. Online marketing is an
ever-changing, fast-paced and dynamic field that
requires a high degree of expertise, creativity
and good old fashioned hard work.
Did You Know?
The average website gets less than 10 visitors
on average per day.
Look Out for Sharks!
Many firms today are out soliciting businesses,
trying to sell various “one size”
solutions to internet marketing. Whether it’s
SEO, SEM, Link Building ("submitting to 1,000
search engines", etc), Email Marketing, or
any other piecemeal solution, internet marketing
is not solved with a “silver bullet”.
Be sure you think about how any of these activities
impact the larger internet strategy. Let me share
one small example.
Costly Mistakes:
This is the story of one of our clients that
considerably undermined their ecommerce program
by a small error in judgment:
Our client was solicited by a firm that would
manage a paid marketing campaign on their behalf.
The promises were huge, the cost was reasonable,
so our client jumped onboard immediately. Unfortunately,
without considering how the implementation might
impact the rest of their ecommerce program.
Within 2 weeks of signing up with the paid marketing
firm, our client's website slipped from page 1
position 3 on Google (organic) for their primary
targeted keyword to the bottom of page 2. Our
client had invested considerable time and money
with 4word Systems to achieve this coveted top-5
unpaid position on Google. Because of the technical
implementation of the paid marketer's program,
our client's top 5 organic placement has been
immediately and severely compromised. Regaining
this unpaid, organic position ultimately will
cost more in time, money, and lost opportunity
than any value added by the paid marketing program
that caused the issue.
What Can Be Done?
What most businesses need today is a coordinated,
disciplined approach to their online strategy. All
of these “pieces” (SEO, SEM, etc) individually
do in fact make up the “puzzle” of internet
marketing, however only by arranging the pieces
properly can you see the big picture. I believe
this concept is the most important, and most neglected
aspect of internet marketing today. We approach
internet marketing not as a one-trick show, but
rather as internet business consultants, tending
to and coordinating every aspect of the online marketing
puzzle.
We often work with partners in these specialties
to deliver enhanced value in each of these areas,
leveraging our buying power and experience with
their platforms for all of our clients. Some examples
of this leverage include:
- Dedicated Google AdWords account management
and optimization team. We talk each week with
a dedicated team of 3 Google employees who work
to improve the ROI of ad campaigns under our
control. Not only do we gain from their direct
work and input on the campaigns, but we also
gain knowledge and valuable insight from directly
within Google. This level of support is generally
only offered to advertisers spending in excess
of $100,000 per year. Our clients, regardless
of budget, effectively benefit from a level
of support that is generally reserved for only
high-budget advertisers.
- We have a direct relationship with iContact.
This brings the cost of sending mass emails,
whether 100 per month, or 1,000,000 per month,
down to a wholesale level. This again provides
a level of capability and economy of scale generally
reserved for only high-volume users.
- We actively publish content on behalf of our
clients on well over 1,000 different web sites.
The time and effort required to seek out these
opportunities, set up accounts, write, and publish
content is shared over many clients.
- We have skilled copy-writers on staff who
research and produce quality, relevant, timely
content promoting the businesses of our clients.
Few small or medium-sized businesses would staff
such a person, and yet they are vital to the
success of any internet marketing effort. Our
copy-writing services are shared across many
clients, and are therefore cost-effective without
sacrificing quality.
- Our diverse group of employees are able to
promote businesses into many different demographic
groups. Through social networks, viral marketing,
emerging and new media, our employees know how
to reach the online audience because they literally
live and breathe internet and new media every
day.
Act Now.
Don't keep making mistakes, trying to piece together
"silver bullet" solutions from vendors
far and wide. Partner with a firm that understands
not only the intricacies of internet marketing,
but more importantly, understands your
business, and looks out for you at every
turn.
Contact 4word Systems
today, and let us guide you through the maze
of online marketing. |
