Posted by:
Wendy Montes de Oca
November 24, 2009
Issue #806
Many people have been using social media because they "think" it’s what they should be doing. After all, it’s all the rage. Everyone seems to have a Twitter or Facebook account. But social media may not be the right channel for some businesses. Even more disturbing, some businesses are putting all this time and effort into SMO because "everyone else is doing it" and they’re not even measuring their efforts to see if all this work is really paying off.
It’s not that they’re lazy or sub par marketers, it’s just that they may not have a direct response or PR background — in other words, they’re not familiar with how to measure ALL of their marketing efforts … including social media.
Well, I’m here to shed light on this important topic.
If you’re an online marketer or publisher, chances are you’re well aware of the power of social media optimization (SMO). If you’re new to the world of Internet marketing, you’ll be interested to know that this breakthrough method is a truly inexpensive (practically free) way to create buzz about your products, increase traffic to your site, build trust about your company, and boost your sales.
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Posted by:
Wendy Montes de Oca
September 22, 2009
Issue #764
Most every marketer knows that it costs more to bring in a new name than to leverage the power of an existing customer. That said, in the current environment we find ourselves now in, business owners are taking a closer look at getting the most out of their database … slicing and dicing their lists in efforts to better monetize it.
The timing is very apropos to discuss how to segment your list and deploy database marketing, or data mining, tactics.
The following is an article I wrote while I was Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Early to Rise (a subsidiary of Agora Publishing). It was published in the popular Early to Rise daily e-Newsletter. It covers this very poignant topic and can not only save you marketing dollars, but also increase the lifetime value of your customers.
Check it out …
One of the best ways to build your online business is to build your house list of potential customers. But you can also do it by changing the way you market to your existing customers. Today, I want to show you how breaking up your existing customer database can boost your sales.
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Posted by:
Wendy Montes de Oca
August 18, 2009
Issue #739
Recently a consulting client of mine asked me if I agreed with a colleague of his about Google disliking duplicate content and to reduce or refrain the amount of content he syndicates (distributes) on the Web.
I think there’s a huge misunderstanding out there about how to distribute your content without hurting your website in the eyes of search engines.
If you publish content, you should have the first, original content on your website. No doubt. However, you can "repurpose" it and strategically distribute it on the Web, and this will not hurt your search engine/Google SEO efforts.
This is something I refer to in my SONAR Content Distribution Model TM and has helped my clients’ quantifiably increase traffic rank, traffic visits, leads and sales.
SONAR is a cost effective, yet powerful, method of repurposing and synchronizing content (albeit text, audio, video) distribution into various, targeted channels. And it allows companies, publishers, entrepreneurs … basically anyone with content on their website … the ability to ultimately turn traffic into sales.
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Posted by:
Wendy Montes de Oca
April 11, 2008
Issue #394
"We can believe that we know where the world should go. But unless we’re in touch with our customers, our model of the world can diverge from reality. There’s no substitute for innovation, of course, but innovation is no substitute for being in touch, either."
– Steve Ballmer
You’ve probably heard about Web 2.0. It’s all the rage these days. But do you really know what it is? More important, do you know how to use it to your advantage?
Today, I’m going to reveal one Web 2.0 technique you can use to help attract targeted, qualified prospective customers to your website. But first, here’s the 411.
Web 2.0 isn’t a newfangled Internet technology or software. And it’s not a marketing tactic, per se. It’s simply the evolution of the Internet into an environment of interactivity, reader participation, and usability. This, in effect, changes users’ Web behavior. As Tim O’Reilly – founder of O’Reilly Media and the guy who coined the term "Web 2.0" – puts it … it’s "harnessing collective intelligence" through user-generated content.
Web 2.0 opens up the dialog between user and website or blog. This connection can help generate traffic and a viral buzz. Patrick Coffey pointed out in a recent ETR article – How to Get a Bunch of Useless Traffic to Your Website – that not all Web 2.0 traffic is a good thing. But from a search engine marketing (SEM) standpoint, the benefits are clear and measurable: More traffic and frequent interactivity (or posts) equal better organic (free) rankings in search engine results.
Getting good organic rankings is a powerful way to find qualified prospective customers. A recent eye-tracking survey of people doing an Internet search showed that 70 percent of the time their eyes go to the upper-left side of the search results (the organic listings). Their eyes go to the right side of the search results (the paid listings) only 30 percent of the time.
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Posted by:
Wendy Montes de Oca
February 22, 2008
Issue #360
"We can believe that we know where the world should go. But unless we’re in touch with our customers, our model of the world can diverge from reality. There’s no substitute for innovation, of course, but innovation is no substitute for being in touch, either."
– Steve Ballmer
You’ve probably heard about Web 2.0. It’s all the rage these days. But do you really know what it is? More important, do you know how to use it to your advantage?
Today, I’m going to reveal one Web 2.0 technique you can use to help attract targeted, qualified prospective customers to your website. But first, here’s the 411.
Web 2.0 isn’t a newfangled Internet technology or software. And it’s not a marketing tactic, per se. It’s simply the evolution of the Internet into an environment of interactivity, reader participation, and usability. This, in effect, changes users’ Web behavior. As Tim O’Reilly – founder of O’Reilly Media and the guy who coined the term "Web 2.0" – puts it … it’s "harnessing collective intelligence" through user-generated content.
Web 2.0 opens up the dialog between user and website or blog. This connection can help generate traffic and a viral buzz. Patrick Coffey pointed out in a recent ETR article – How to Get a Bunch of Useless Traffic to Your Website – that not all Web 2.0 traffic is a good thing. But from a search engine marketing (SEM) standpoint, the benefits are clear and measurable: More traffic and frequent interactivity (or posts) equal better organic (free) rankings in search engine results.
Getting good organic rankings is a powerful way to find qualified prospective customers. A recent eye-tracking survey of people doing an Internet search showed that 70 percent of the time their eyes go to the upper-left side of the search results (the organic listings). Their eyes go to the right side of the search results (the paid listings) only 30 percent of the time.
(more…)
