Marketing | BizSieve.com

Your Business Website: Will Clients Like What They Find?

The purpose of a business website is to promote a company in some fashion. Whether a company is selling products or providing services, the site needs to incorporate all of the technical aspects that make it both web-visitor and search-engine friendly. The ability to do this is no small feat. That’s why serious businesses utilize professional web builder and SEO services to ensure that they can receive the best possible results.

Everyone has heard, time and again, that the customer is always right. The way that this is applied to web design is that when people arrive at the site, they need to feel welcomed. If not, just like in a brick and mortar store, they will leave. Added to the challenge is that web visitors are impatient – they simply are not going to stick around if there is nothing worth looking at on the site. Because there is so little time to engage them, every second counts when visitors arrive at a website.

What are Customers Expecting?

First, what are they not expecting? There is nothing more annoying to a web visitor than a poorly designed website. An ugly or outdated site is not fun and it wastes time. Therefore, your website simply must be designed properly – and that is best done by an expert web builder. Secondly, the site must be user friendly. The layout should be clean and simple, with links that make sense and work properly.

Who’s Looking Anyway?

There are generally three types of people who could arrive at a website for any given reason:

1) Random strangers – People who know nothing about the business have landed on the page due to a related search. Theoretically, they could still be converted to customers or refer the site to others they believe would find it useful. Therefore, the site should contain something of value to the average person, if possible, such as current and relevant articles that solve a problem.

2) Friends of Yours – They like your cause or business. These are people who probably know your URL and may visit on a regular basis. To keep these people engaged, there should always be fresh content to lure them in. One great way to accomplish this is by encouraging people to visit the site through a newsletter or membership.

3) Fans – These are more avid web visitors who regularly come to the site for — you guessed it – the same thing that friends come there for and more. These are often consumers who make regular purchases, so it is very important to ensure that they stay loyal.

Do You Have Fresh Content?

The one thing that all three of these types of web visitors have in common is that they want great, fresh content to be inspired for repeat visits. One added bonus about fresh content is that it also makes the website more search engine friendly. So it’s a win-win for everyone! Customers get something of value, the site stays at the top of the search engines and you have far more potential to:
-Keep customers engaged
-Engage new prospects
-Attract new customers
-Make more sales

Because websites are on the Internet and available for most everyone to see, it is important for serious business owners to ensure that their sites present the most accurate and relevant picture of their offerings possible. When a site is is visually appealing and constructed well by a professional SEO company, such as www.eversparkinteractive.com, it is more likely to attract, and keep, all kinds of visitors.

Since there is only one chance to make a first impression – a site really must make those clicks count! Professional web design is the only way that businesses can ensure that their sites will include both technical and marketing best practice techniques. This is absolutely critical in order to consistently gain and keep a loyal following and attract target markets.

As a writer in the arts and business fields, Ann Bailey sees the beneficial effects of good web design daily. The professional web and SEO builders at www.eversparkinteractive.com put every client’s web design on the cutting edge of internet business presence.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chasingdaisy/5843303770/

Expanding Your Business Online

The invention and eventual widespread use of the Internet has forced businesses to recognize the necessity of having a little corner of their own on the World Wide Web. Keeping these websites active requires a website hosting service, and there are many types to choose from. More and more individuals, however, are realizing that dedicated servers are the way to go. Different servers will benefit separate companies, but after fully understanding hosting services and specific dedicated servers, many business owners opt for the dedicated server route.

Expand-Online — Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seoplanter/7460436606/

Important Aspects of a Website

There are several factors that can make or break a website hosting service. Some of the most important considerations when choosing a type of hosting service are uptime, security, speed and reliability. Free hosting companies are cheap, but all of the aforementioned important factors are seriously lacking in these free options. Shared servers are better than free servers, but since the server in question is being used by multiple companies, the speed and reliability can often be compromised.

Some business owners also opt to host their own servers, but this leaves them susceptible to huge drawbacks if their server crashes. The sad fact of the matter is that a business owner will have to be a full-on computer and networking expert to run their own server. Luckily, dedicated servers avoid many of the issues related to self-hosting and the gamut of other server types.

Benefits of Dedicated Servers

As already mentioned, dedicated servers solve many of the issues that other server types leave wide open. Dedicated servers, for instance, have only one website on them. This means that lax security on another website that shares the same server will never affect the website on a dedicated server.

In addition, dedicated hosting services ensure that all space on a server is dedicated to that one site. This means that large amounts of traffic visiting another website on the server won’t cause any downtime issues for the website. Also, shared servers have an inherent constraint on space. Dedicated servers, on the other hand, have plenty of space for the website that it’s hosting. This means that if a business owner decides to expand their website, it’s extremely simple.

Managed vs. Unmanaged Dedicated Servers

Many business owners are left with the tough decision of choosing between managed and unmanaged dedicated servers. They both have their own advantages, but for companies that are still growing, unmanaged hosting services are likely their best option. Managed dedicated servers come prepackaged with certain attributes. Security capabilities, for instance, are chosen by the company hosting a managed server. Unfortunately, these can sometimes provide too much or too little security for a website, but this problem doesn’t exist for unmanaged servers.

Unmanaged servers still have the basic infrastructure support that managed hosting services provide, but business owners with unmanaged servers can pick and choose exactly what they need and only pay for those features. They can expand these features at any time, but while waiting for this need to arise, they can definitely save money. Businesses can even choose their own easy to manage control panel and companies like www.roboshift.com sell full cPanel licenses at a cheaper price than they can get when buying direct from the manufacturer.

In addition, business owners can use the exact programs and procedures that they want on unmanaged servers. This means that they can upload their own control panels or the exact right amount of security. The options are almost limitless, and the unmanaged tag keeps the price reasonable.

Selecting the right type of server is absolutely essential for any business owner who hopes to run a successful online campaign. In fact, the lack of a great Internet presence can sometimes be detrimental enough to cause a company to fail. Luckily, dedicated servers allow individuals to get reliable service for their website, and unmanaged servers give them incredible leeway over how their website operates and how much it costs. Understanding all of these things is essential for every company, group or organization out there.

About the Author: Researcher Shelby Warden writes articles to help businesses compete in a digital world. www.RoboShift.com is an authorized cPanel partner that sells the full range of external cPanel licenses at low prices and backs them up with their friendly customer service and support. cPanel/WebHostManager is the leading web hosting control panel used by Web Hosting companies and Internet Service Providers.

5 Top Ways to Advertise Your Business Locally

Marketing is central to the success of any business, but the size of a business substantially affects its ability to reach its customers. Small businesses often have a limited budget for marketing activities and generally confine their marketing activities to advertising. When advertising, all businesses must seek a cost-effective medium that provides a suitable number of exposures to the greatest number of customers for the least amount of money.

1. Sponsorship Banners: Promotional sponsorships like vinyl banners can be a valuable tool when advertising to the local community, and are remarkably low cost to produce. Sports programs at local schools will often allow businesses to display these types of advertisement at games in attempt to raise money. Advertising at local academic institutions allows businesses to improve their local community and raise brand awareness at the same time. Local game advertisements allow businesses to target individuals who live within a specific school district and maintain a captive audience for the duration of the sporting event.

2. Direct Mail: Direct mail is one of the most common forms of advertising for local businesses. Direct mail campaigns involve sending advertisements directly to customers in order to communicate the marketing message. Direct mail advertisements have the advantage of being highly customizable in terms of both content and format. Sizing, laminates, length, and even thickness are all variable. Businesses can produce small flyers or send entire catalogs. Unfortunately, direct mail campaigns present problems of clutter, where the recipient is so overwhelmed with marketing messages that any one particular message is likely to be lost. Additionally, many advertisements go directly into the wastebasket, thus losing any repeat exposures that a permanent advertisement might ordinarily provide.

3. Radio Advertising: Radio is a valuable advertising medium for local businesses. Radio advertisements are inexpensive to produce, offer businesses a high reach, can be targeted at listeners of specific programs, and airtime is inexpensive to buy; this results in a low cost per thousand exposures. The limitations of radio include a highly variable reach depending upon the station, the region, and the time of day, and the fact that many people rarely sit and do nothing other than listen to the radio. Listeners are often completing other tasks while listening to the radio, such as driving or working. This reduces comprehension, which necessitates additional exposures.

4. Newspaper and Magazine: Print media is a classic source of advertising. Newspapers and magazines offer businesses the chance to present their advertisement to a highly targeted demographic. Nearly every town has its own paper and every hobby has its own magazine. Businesses can create and place advertisements in such media at a low cost. It is not perfect; the limitations of modern print media include a potentially low circulation and clutter. However, for businesses who can produce eye-catching advertisements and identify publications with a high circulation, print advertisements are worth including in any advertising campaign.

5. Television Presence: Television advertising is highly effective at presenting a message to customers. Unlike most media, television advertisements allow the business to provide both visual and auditory stimuli; even if the viewer is not looking at the television or if the viewer has the television muted, the business can present its brand and its offerings to the potential consumer. Using both auditory and visual stimuli, businesses can present far more information in a television advertisement than they can in other media.

Unfortunately, airtime is expensive relative to newspaper or radio advertising. It is also less precise than other media. Confining the advertisements to a local market is always possible, but if the business specializes in a particularly narrow field, there is no guarantee that the audience is even interested in the products or services. Producing television advertisements is also more challenging than producing other forms of advertising. Creating brand awareness requires a refined touch and businesses with no video experience may be better off hiring an expert, who will usually be expensive.

When advertising a local business, the direct costs are important but targeting is critical. Advertisers must seek out media with a low cost per thousand exposures. These exposures must be aimed at a targeted audience. The advertisement should not blend in with clutter. Finally, the advertisement itself should not be excessively expensive. While every medium has its limitations, local businesses will generally benefit from community-based advertising.

Photocredit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/luahiwa/4915540290/

Business Marketing on a Budget

Even the most inexperienced entrepreneur will recognize the importance of marketing for business success. The problem, however, is that marketing can be rather expensive. Many small companies find themselves incapable of doing the right kind of advertising due to the high cost.

Creativity and internet will help you do amazing marketing on a budget. Sometimes, a great idea can be carried out free of charge. The following marketing techniques are perfect for businesses that are trying to do promotion on a tight budget.

The Power of Internet

Internet marketing is one of the best options for you. The web is one of the most inexpensive channels and it provides the added benefit of a highly targeted audience. No other communication channel will help you reach such a demographically appropriate group of individuals.

Social networking brags high efficiency, while it typically happens free of charge. Websites like Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Twitter are perfect for marketing on a budget. Even sms marketing software can have great returns for minimal start up costs. Even if you decide to pay for the campaigns, the sums will be minimal in comparison to other kinds of promotion.

Always go through your bills and examine the internet marketing reports that you receive in the end of the month. Stick to reputable websites because you may otherwise fall into a scam trap. Forensic accountants can help you figure out the best online promotional tools for your business.

words of mouth — photo credit: Pricklebush via photopin cc

Word of Mouth Promotion

Happy customers will be willing to spread the word. Provide a stellar service and your clients will do the promotion for you.

Word of mouth promotion is highly efficient. Most often, people remain skeptical about marketing messages and commercials. When they need a service or a product, however, many people are likely to turn to friends and relatives for recommendations.

Support Events and Fundraisers

Participating in community events and fundraisers will help you increase brand awareness without spending a fortune on it.

Support causes and charities that are of paramount importance for the community. You will be creating an image of a socially responsible business. People like such initiatives and they will be willing to check your company out in the future.

Help for the organization and the popularization of the event. You can donate a sum to the charity, as well. It does not have to be a large amount. People will still notice you and remember your company.

Article Marketing

Article marketing is one of the newest and most efficient forms of online promotion.

In its essence, article marketing is the creation of content for popular websites and blogs. In return, you will get a link to your corporate website.

Writing useful articles about the topics you are knowledgeable in will help you establish yourself as the authority inside a particular niche. Clients will be more willing to turn to a well-established business. Article marketing takes place free of charge but you will have to spend some time thinking about interesting and informative content.

Participate in Conferences

Being a guest lecturer will help you increase corporate awareness, as well. You can easily get invited to participate in conferences and seminars. Work on your biography, increase your portfolio and contact the right people in order to benefit from this kind of promotion.

Participation in conferences and seminars is the perfect form of business-to-business marketing. You will get to make a presentation in front of industry specialists. The B2B sector is exceptionally important for corporate success and you should make use of such opportunities.

Local Online Marketing

Google+ and Foursquare have added a local dimension to online promotion.

Create a Google Places page dedicated to your business. These pages are used by people looking for products and services in their city or neighborhood. Local marketing is the most practical form of online promotion because it translates in the biggest number of actual sales.

Business promotion is all about making use of the available channels, even if you have a very limited budget. It will require time and effort but you will easily increase your popularity without spending too much on marketing campaigns. Take your time, think about it and be original – this is the only way to set your business apart.

Author Bio: This guest post is written by Nick Anderson an experienced finance writer.

The Benefits of a Viral Video- Besides Money

Marketing has changed substantially over the past few decades. Advertising has stepped out of the traditional arena of television, radio and billboards and infiltrated the all reaching world of the Internet. Marketers can use methods like social media, search engine optimization (SEO) and many others to get their message out there. One of the most powerful marketing tools to have emerged, however, is online video marketing.The Power of Video Marketing Blogs

It’s an absolute necessity for every business, corporation, entrepreneur or anyone else hoping to gain exposure to have a video marketing blog. Some individuals ask why it’s simply not enough to run television ad campaigns since they’re making videos anyway. The answer is quite simple: exposure. Television commercials are now easily skipped using digital video recorders (DVR), but this, of course, isn’t the only reason.

Most traditional marketing techniques, such as television advertisements, are referred to as “outbound marketing”. This means that marketers are throwing their advertisements out at absolutely everyone with the hope that a few will pay attention. Online marketing blogs, on the other hand, are a type of inbound marketing that entices people to seek them out. A person who actively searches for a company’s content is much more likely to convert than one who just happens to catch a commercial.

Video blog marketing also helps a company build authority, but it’s important that they’re posting the right types of videos. The majority of people are most captivated by videos that offer value. These marketing videos are usually educational. A bait and tackle shop, for instance, could post a video entitled: How to clean a Catfish. This type of video is informative, not overly zealous and even has the potential of going viral.

How Videos go Viral and their Benefits

One of the most powerful factors involved in video marketing is the opportunity to go viral. One company, for instance, that sells blenders decided to start a sort of video marketing blog. It is an ongoing series entitled “Will it Blend?” and showcases their blenders blending several different types of objects (ie. iPods, and other blenders). The campaign skyrocketed the company to success, and their latest video produced over 160,000 views in only four weeks.

There are a few things involved in making a video go viral. The most important factor is that the video must be shareable. This means that someone who watches the video must be tempted to share it with all of their friends. It’s also important that these videos target the right audience. This can be done by using social media and SEO (keyword targeting is especially important). Both of these methods will help increase a video’s exposure and move it up on search rankings.

Viral videos have numerous benefits for a company that’s lucky enough to produce them. The most obvious benefit is exposure. Many viral videos end up having millions of views. An often overlooked benefit, however, is the low investment cost that viral videos and video marketing in general have. The amount of exposure that a viral video can get makes the price of producing them negligible.

Anyone out there with even a small amount of advertising knowledge knows that online video promotion is an absolute necessity in any marketing campaign. The sheer reach that the videos can have is astonishing. With minimal investment, an individual can enlist the services of a marketing video production company and have promotional material that will consistently show a good return on investment (ROI). Plus, if a video is produced well and manages to go viral, the sky is the limit on how much profit the company will turn on their investment.

An art business owner, author Ann Bailey relays these viral video tips for those looking for the best strategies for their advertising. The Washington DC metro firm of 522 Productions acts behind the scenes to help businesses with a video marketing blog by working out all the design, shooting, and editing steps.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebluewig/5775583280/