Archive for August, 2009

As the owner of an online business, you should already know the value of forum and article marketing in attracting loads of targeted traffic. Both forum and article marketing are considered as traditional internet marketing tactics as they have proven to be effective in generating traffic and increasing online business revenues. However, there are other internet marketing tactics that you can use to enhance the volume of traffic you generate through traditional means. These include utilizing classifieds and distributing free reports and e-books.

1) Utilizing Classifieds

Classified ads sites are known to be visited by thousands of people who already have the willingness to make a purchase. Most internet marketers overlook the value of classified ads sites such as USFreeAds and Craigslist but they are actually effective platforms in generating tons of targeted traffic. By making your online business website visible and accessible through classified ads sites, you have the potential to be found by internet users who are already actively searching for what you have to offer. The possibilities for increasing your sales revenues then becomes higher.

2) Distributing Free Reports and E-Books

Internet users are known to be hungry for information. If you can distribute exclusive information that is relevant to your target market, you will increase your potential to gain much more traffic than you are currently generating. By offering free reports and e-books and allowing other people to pass them on to their own networks, your information has the potential to spread virally. As long as you include your brand name and your URL in your free reports and e-books, you can easily establish a good reputation for your online business and gain tons of targeted traffic at the same time.

There are limitless possibilities for generating targeted traffic but the two methods discussed above have proven to be effective in enhancing the results generated by traditional traffic generating activities. By using these additional methods along with forum marketing and article marketing, your online business will have the potential to attract a good number of people within your target market and consequently increase in sales revenues.

The most common mistake companies make when marketing on Twitter is the frequency of their tweets. Tweeting too much can lead to your followers becoming annoyed by your constant promotional messages. If you tweet too regularly you will find that your followers will start to abandon you. On the other hand, tweeting too infrequently is a problem also. Twitter users see tweets from the people they follow in chronological order. If you do not tweet enough then your messages will get buried in your followers’ time lines.

The goal when marketing on Twitter is to make sure that your tweets are seen by your followers while not annoying them. It is important to send out the right amount of tweets. Tweet your message every three to four hours. Make sure to vary each tweet slightly so that people who see more than one of your tweets will not view them as spam. Put a different spin on each tweet while conveying the message you want to get across.

Another mistake that companies make when using Twitter is not participating on the site properly. At its core Twitter is a social networking website. As a company marketing on Twitter you must actively participate on the site. Besides your promotional messages, send out tweets about other topics that may interest your followers. Tweet about current events. Reply to tweets from the people you follow. Participate in Twitter customs such as Follow Friday and Music Monday. Actively participating in the social aspect of Twitter will help you gain credibility when you send out your promotional tweets.

Although it is important to become actively involved on Twitter beyond your marketing campaign, many companies take this too far. You must remain professional. Do not get into online arguments or fights. If someone tweets about your company in a disparaging way either answer professionally or ignore them all together. Also, do not tweet about inappropriate things. It is fine to send a message about the great fun everyone had at the company picnic. It is not fine to send a message saying how drunk everyone got at the picnic. Portraying a professional, fun and interesting image on Twitter will help lead to success for your marketing campaigns.

Many companies run a promotional campaign on Twitter and then disappear from the site until their next campaign. It is important to stay active on Twitter even when you do not have anything to promote. Use this time between your campaigns to build relationships with your followers and tweet about issues other than your business. You will find that your advertising messages will be much more accepted if you stay active on Twitter. Also remember, even when you send a tweet that does not market your product you are bringing attention to your company when your followers see your logo or name on their time lines.

Appleton believes Twitter can be an exceptionally powerful marketing tool when used properly. Twitter marketing campaigns can become amazingly successful and provide profitable results if you adhere to the customs of Twitter and do not make the common mistakes that annoy and alienate your followers.

Call Appleton Creative if you are ready to start a social networking campaign and need help or direction. 407.246.0092

If you want to launch a PPC advertising campaign through programs like Google AdWords, there are a couple of things you need to take note of while you’re in the process of developing your advertisements. Listed below are some tips to guide you in the development of your advertisements and in making sure that they will be effective in driving targeted traffic to your online business website.

1) Keep Your Ads Short

When it comes to PPC advertising, short and concise ads are often the most effective. Try to convey your message in the shortest manner possible. Apart from encouraging people to read through your ad copy, concise ads assure you that those who click on it really understand what you have to offer and are actually interested in learning more. Keep in mind that click rates are not the most important success measures in PPC advertising but conversion rates. By keeping your ads short and concise, you will be able to keep your expenditure low but your sales revenues high.

2) Utilize Your Keywords

It’s not enough to sponsor search results for your keywords. You also need to use those keywords in your PPC ad copy. Keep in mind that keywords appear in bold when they come up in search engine results pages. If your keywords appear in your PPC advertisement copy, you will not only attract targeted customers but also allow them to realize the relevance of your offerings to their searches.

3) Strike Your Consumer’s Emotion

Apart from demographics, you must know the psychographics of your target market. You need to know what their concerns are and what communication methods work best with them. By knowing that, you will be better able to compose compelling PPC advertisement copy that will somehow strike your target market’s emotion.

4) Make Your URL Visible

URLs are always published in PPC advertisements but there are ways to take advantage of it. Be creative and capitalize the first letter of every word in your URL. This will help readers easily understand it and recognize your offerings. For example, publishing “www.MakeMoreMoneyHere.com” rather than “www.makemoremoneyhere.com” would make your URL more readable and recognizable.

5) Encourage Action

With PPC advertisements, it helps a lot to tell readers exactly what to do even if the required action is obvious. By adding action statements readers are prompted to act on the emotion they got upon reading your ad copy. Simple statements like “click here” can do wonders in making your PPC advertisements more effective.

By using these time-tested tips when creating your ads, you can rest assured that your PPC advertisements are effective in generating targeted traffic and income for your online business.

Appleton Creative can help you with your SEO questions and concerns. Give us a call at 407.246.0092 ext. 1#.