Search Engine Optimization is Crucial

It’s one thing to have a great website that presents detailed information to consumers or sells them a certain product or service. However, if users can’t find their way to your website then all the effort put into the actual website will have been wasted. This is why search engine optimization has become so important since it makes websites easier to find and locate on the internet. Most users use search engines to find websites for whatever they are interested in and if your website is being passed over by a search engines ‘spiders’, or is not on the first few search result pages, then you are at a serious disadvantage. It has been shown that customers are 5 times more likely to purchase a product or use a service after finding a website through a search engine, rather than through online advertising. Essentially, the easier it is for a potential customer to find you online, the better chance there is of you being able to keep them as a long term customer and diminishes the chance of them finding any competitors.

The most popular search engine as it currently stands is Google, and the competition to be within its top 5 search results is incredibly fierce. Search engine optimization helps sites achieve the highest possible ranking on Google (and of course other search engines). When ranking a website, a search engine looks at a few different factors which help it determine where a website will appear on its search results. How often the searched words or phrase appears in the website is important, but the same words or phrase contained in a title tag or appearing on the site in bold produces even greater results. One of if not the greatest factor is other sites linking to the website. A high number of clickable links in most cases produces fantastic results.

Unless you are extremely confident with the entire process of search engine optimization, it may be worth it to look into hiring a professional firm to make sure your website is optimized for search engines since the importance of field is growing everyday.

Podcasting and Vodcasting – Essential Parts to Net Visibility

The World Wide Web is vast, with countless amounts of data being transferred daily, thousands of new sites coming online, and millions of people using the web at any given time. It is almost understandable how someone can find it exceedingly difficult to get noticed online due to the above mentioned information. One such way to garner attention on the web is to employ net visibility which includes blogging, RSS (Really Simple Syndication), and pod casting and vodcasting.

While all parts of net visibility are useful, podcasting and vodcasting are perhaps the most interesting. Podcasting is online audio content which is essentially radio on demand. Instead of users or listeners tuning in at a specific time to listen, such is the case for conventional radio; listeners can determine the time and the place they wish to listen. Podcasting gives many more options in terms of content and programming and allows users to decide what they want and when they want it. Podcasts are typically delivered through a RSS feed, which allows users access to recently-updated content from a variety of sources. Vodcasting is almost identical to podcasting, except for the fact that video is added to the downloadable sound files podcast listeners are used to. Users proceed much in the same way as podcasting, by being able to choose the time/place and on what media to view the vodcast.

According to Amanda Watlington, podcasting and vodcasting are useful since they provide another way of engaging with the customer. She explains further how someone can do a pod/vodcast on almost anything and they are very easy to do for the most part which is good for individuals or small companies since it is relatively cheap.

The amount of individuals releasing podcasts and vodcasts is continuously increasing. The list includes radio stations who have turned some of their programs into podcasts, large corporations such as General Motors who create podcasts and vodcasts about upcoming products, and museums who create broadcasts for users to listen to as they walk through, replacing the human guide that would do tours. Pod and vodcasts are not limited to the above mentioned few however, and include many more businesses and individuals that what is listed here.

Viral Marketing Can Be Useful, But Watch Out

Viral marketing has become a popular method for large and small firms to advertise their products/services or ideas. One of the main benefits of viral marketing is the fact that it costs almost nothing to implement. This allows smaller companies with large amounts of creativity to create and spread a message about a product or service without having to rely on spending vast amounts of money on an advertising campaign. The catch, however, is that whatever is trying to be made to go viral has to be remarkable. As Tim Ferris points out, you need some kind of hook to get people interested. This could be a remarkable product or idea, something cute or funny, or even a highly bogus claim. It just has to be something that grabs people’s attention and encourages them to spread the word about it to others. The worst response you can receive is that of none at all.

That’s not to say that viral marketing campaigns always succeed. In fact a large majority of them often fail. For example, a web site surfaced two years ago called alliwantforxmasisapsp.com (now defunct) and was supposedly created by a young fan of the PSP and Sony in general. The site featured an older teenager raping in a video about how all he wanted for Christmas was a PSP. Almost immediately, people were suspicious and after a few months Sony admitted that they had created the site and not a fan. They had wanted the video to go viral, but it backfired horribly. It didn’t help either that the video was terrible, annoying, and the rapper looked like he should have moved out of the house long ago. It was also a huge embarrassment to Sony that they had actually created such a poor video and hoped it would go viral.

It’s clear that viral marketing is a powerful tool, and when implemented properly can garner serious benefit to an individual or firm. However, just like anything else on the internet, you risk annoying potential/current customers when viral marketing campaigns are not thought out very well or poor ideas are used.

Building a Strong Community Is of Great Importance

The 7c’s are a fundamental part of the customer interface for any website. However, one of the most important is that of community. Community gives users a feeling of membership, involvement, and shared common interest. In a way, it can almost be like belonging to an exclusive club. Being part of a community is also a great way to learn. For example, most users love to be up to date on the latest and greatest things and will often post and share things as soon as they become available. If a community is large enough, it can be an incredibly powerful tool in regards to being up to date on just about anything.

One aspect regarding a websites community that should be thought about is establishing a personality for the community. Being unique is very important since it helps a website differentiate from others. An individual can help establish the type of community he/she wants by how the content is handled on the site. For example, is the grammar and spelling correct in any updates? What type of tone are you using in your posts/written sections? Is any vulgarity used? Do you charge users a fee to access the message board/certain content? All of these questions are important in shaping the community and culture of the website since individuals who are attracted to your updates will continue to come back.

An example of a website with a very unique community is the comedy based website somethinawful.com. Somethingawful was created in 1999 and prides itself on mocking anyone who takes the internet too seriously. It also has humorous reviews and many other articles available. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of somethingawful is the forums. While they’re open to the general public, you are unable to post unless you buy a user account for $10. This also disables the majority of the sites advertisements. So by paying $10 you can suddenly become part of a very large online community, which has over 110,000 registered users with roughly 10,000 logged into the forums at any given time. Simply buying an account doesn’t mean you will be accepted however. Unlike many other websites on the internet, poor spelling and grammar are frowned upon along with low content posts. There is even a rules section which all new users are encouraged to read since breaking any rules can garner suspension of your account by the moderation team or an outright ban from the forums. This in turn has created a very large and tight knit community of users.

It is easy to see just how important community is to a website and there is no doubt this will continue to be the case in the future. Users, and the communities they become a part of, will continue to help drive websites forward and those who create great communities will garner a great deal of success.

Developing a Web Presence – Take the Time to Plan and be Thorough

As the internet has expanded, so has the ability for even small companies to garner a presence on the web. It is understandable that website design represents an issue of considerable importance to firms. An increasing number of businesses are choosing the web as an alternative channel for developing a brand reputation, for transacting with and servicing customers and investors, or simply for public relation purposes.

Although it is easier than ever for basically anyone to garner a web presence, it has also increased the amount of poorly designed and thought out web sites. It is very important for a firm, especially if it’s their first time, to plan and research their potential web presence. Otherwise, the endeavor may not turn out as expected.

Before starting the process of making a web presence, there are a number of rules that should be followed. The first step is to learn as much as you can about a web presence. It should be noted that online design is much different from print design and a strong understanding of the medium (the web) and how internet users interact with it is essential to developing an effective web presence. Such questions as “How do you fit in?” “Should we make the site ourselves or hire outside help?” “Are we going to let our information systems or marketing teams lead the way?” are all imperative to figuring out how you wish to proceed. The more you know the more prepared you will be for creating an effective web presence.

The next step is to begin with a plan. This should include developing a strategy and is often considered the most important stage of the development process. For example, would you go to a bank with only a couple of notes scribbled on a napkin and ask for a loan? You would most likely be laughed right off the premises. It’s important to take your time and develop an effective plan.

Once the above step has been completed, it is prudent to begin to think about why exactly you need a web presence. Is it to offer your services to users online, or is the site going to be used for simply informing potential buyers of your brick and mortar location?

The following step is to simply be realistic. Don’t let yourself or others promise too much. For example, it’s unlikely that a new site will reach an untapped market which will increase revenue by an unknown percent. Great websites take time and continued effort to be great so it is important to be honest with yourself and others.

A web presence provider is also an important service that is available to just about anyone these days. A web presence provider allows your website to be hosted elsewhere, instead of at your firm. This can save you the cost of purchasing and setting up a server to host your site. When selecting a web presence provider, it’s important to select one that will be able to provide the service you need. For example, if your website is going to include online ordering, you are going to need a provider that offers a secure server and encryption data base services. These types of providers can also assist with registering a domain name, bandwidth and traffic issues, e-mail support and many other potential problems.

Even with the many poorly designed and thought out web sites present on the web, it remains clear that as long as the proper step are taken when researching and planning a web presence it can be a rewarding and beneficial process for a firm.