Internet Marketing for 2005: Making Your Web Site Visible to Your Audience

The Internet is a free medium, just like roads and highways. There are those who walk and those who run, some who drive taxis, some Ferraris, and others tractor-trailers. To each his own-the roads are all free. Thank heaven. With such a powerful tool at our command, why is so much of the Internet so underutilized, and why is so much of Internet marketing so increasingly ineffective?

Javed, Naseem. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Web Design>Marketing

Introduction to Search Engine Optimization

This introduction to search engine optimization will outline some of the basic principles of SEO and explain how they can be used to improve your web pages' performance in search results.

Mercurytide (2007). Design>Web Design>Marketing>Search Engine Optimization

Laws of Web Site Management and Digital Branding

We urgently need a quick crash course on web site management; otherwise, connecting with potential customers will become a very tough challenge. Lucky are those who have a unique domain name without the additional baggage of extraneous language, numbers, dashes or slashes. Studies have shown that 90 percent of business names are problematic. These problems are serious issues for achieving higher visibility.

Javed, Naseem. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Web Design>Project Management>Marketing

Making Web Advertisements Work

There are many reasons why advertisements don't work well on the Web, but it is most unsettling when an ad actually portrays something relevant to users and still fails. Why would this occur? Well, to start, we must consider why text ads work so well on search engines. Each user has a goal -- perhaps it is to learn about digital cameras, perhaps to purchase a book. In either case, users' attention is focused on whatever gets them to their goal; they ignore everything else. When users enter search queries, the targeted ads that the engine returns relate directly to what users are after. Hence, they look at and follow the ads. Indeed, such advertisements probably have an advantage over the plain search results because they show both that the advertiser is competent and has a direct interest in serving consumers.

Nielsen, Jakob and Donald A. Norman. Alertbox (2003). Design>Web Design>Marketing>Usability

Measuring Search Engine Marketing ROI

Spending on search engine marketing (SEM) is rising dramatically, yet surprisingly few companies are measuring the effectiveness of their campaigns. In a short survey conducted by web analytics vendor NetIQ, more than 800 participants responded to questions about their search engine marketing efforts and their attempts to measure success. The survey responses provide interesting insights into the state of search engine marketing ROI.

Sherman, Chris. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Articles>Web Design>Marketing>Assessment

My 50 Cents Worth: Web Sites and Pinball Machines

Instead of thinking of your web site in terms of flowcharts and site maps, consider these five reasons your web site is like a pinball game.

Janisch, Troy. icon Interactive (2004). Articles>Internet>Web Design>Marketing

The Permanent Sponsorship of Web Content

I asked folks if they wanted to permanently sponsor some of my web content on WebWord.com. The idea is rather simple. You give me money, and I give you ad space on some of my web pages forever. No one else will ever advertise on these pages at WebWord.com. Your ad is forever bound to that page. You get long lasting, and repeated value for your sponsorship dollars. I thought I had a good idea. But, I didn't get any responses.

Rhodes, John S. WebWord (1999). Design>Web Design>Marketing

Personalization vs. Customization

The concept of personalizing for customers is certainly not new. But the Web elevates it to a near art form. The Web is the perfect marketing environment for precision marketing, because individuals can be uniquely identified, and a message can be tailored specifically to them.

Allen, Cliff. Allen.com (2003). Design>Web Design>Personalization>Marketing

Planning for One-to-One Web Marketing

The key to a successful advertising campaign is repetition. The same is true for a successful Web site. Marketing managers know that repeat contact with prospects develops an affinity for your products and services - and therefore, greater revenue.

Allen, Cliff. Allen.com (2003). Articles>Web Design>Marketing>Writing

The "Right" Keywords

Since finding the right keywords is the most important step in any SEO endeavor, it is imperative that you find the ones your target audience is using.

Leonard-Wilkinson, Theresa A. W-edge Design (2004). Articles>Web Design>HTML>Marketing

ROI: How Hard is Your Web Site Working?

Every web site needs to provide a tangible and timely return on investment (ROI). Your company's web site should be one of the most active and accountable members of its marketing team.

Janisch, Troy. Icon Interactive (2005). Articles>Web Design>Assessment>Marketing

Search Engine Marketing in Multiple Languages  

You can hear the sighs of relief as the website localization project comes to a close or enters maintenance mode. However organized the client and however professional the localization vendor, website localization is a painful process. Now it's over--at least we can tick the box that says 'have multilingual website.' After all, is that not the reason we localized in the first place?

Harris, Ian. TC World (2006). Articles>Web Design>Search>Marketing

Segmenting the Market

Profiling individuals on the Web allows us to not only select which message to deliver to each individual, but also helps us learn about the needs and interests of each person. This can be used to segment an audience in ways that traditional direct marketers have only dreamed of.

Allen, Cliff. Allen.com (2001). Design>Web Design>Marketing

Selling Your Brand by Using Your Web Site as a Customer Research Tool

With companies moving business online, the Internet has become a source of profit for them. We all know how this works. You establish an online presence, sell your brand well—and you make money. Let’s rewind. We are selling our brands online, but doing it well is the challenge. To do it well, keep the following in mind: customer research is an important factor in generating business revenues, so it must be done right—that is, at the right place and at the right time; the online medium should not be the only way of gathering customer information; recognizing emerging trends—behavioral, demographic and emotional—helps companies move forward strategically.

Kirmani, Afshan. UXmatters (2008). Articles>Web Design>Marketing>Audience Analysis

Ten Keys to Increasing Your Web Site's International Impact

People and organizations generally understand the concept of the Internet's global reach. However, few see their Web presence as international, and even fewer have sites appropriate for audiences beyond their borders. As global competition grows and new markets emerge, building an effective international Web presence is becoming ever more critical.

Tindal, Richard. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Articles>Web Design>Marketing>International

Testimonials - Friend or Foe?

Learn how to write the perfect testimonial and enhance your website's credibility.

Aull, Diane M. Webcredible (2004). Design>Web Design>Marketing

The Text Ads Deliver What You Pay For -- And More

Search engine text ads can outperform most banner ads, even when users aren't clicking. Five tips to make your text ads more effective.

Janisch, Troy. Icon Interactive (2004). Articles>Web Design>Marketing

Trends in Online Advertising

Regular web users will almost certainly be aware of an increasing amount of ‘invasive’ advertising appearing online. A variety of methods are now being used to make online advertising almost unavoidable for the user.

Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Articles>Web Design>Marketing>Usability

Usability and Online Branding

Improving ‘brand experience’ online is not normally regarded as the primary goal of a usability strategy. In some circles usability and branding would even be seen as mutually exclusive, based on the assumption that successful branding relies on ever more garish visual design and an extensive use of animation, audio streaming, or whatever the latest cutting-edge technology might happen to be.

Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Design>Web Design>Marketing>Usability

Usability Perspective on Banner Ads

I recently have read a lot about the use of banner ads. My short answer is that they don't work. They might be useful for branding and image campaigns but they are not usable and users don't like them at all.

Rhodes, John S. WebWord (1999). Design>Web Design>Marketing>Usability

Use Your Website to Pre-Qualify Customers

Not only should your website be clear on what your company delivers, it should also indicate what you do not deliver. Below are some tips for achieving this clarity.

Bennaco (2004). Design>Web Design>Marketing

User Payments: Predictions for 2001 Revisited

Advertising-supported websites will soon be a thing of the past. As I predicted a year ago, sites began charging for services in 2001. Although most sites are still not handling payments right, two innovative European projects hold much hope for 2002.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2001). Articles>Web Design>Marketing

Using Ezine Articles to Promote Your Business

Writing ezine articles can be a massive benefit to your business - find out exactly why!

Beckart, Loren. Webcredible (2005). Design>Web Design>Marketing

The Web for Your Company: Magic Bullet or Poison Pill?

There are basically two types of companies. The first see the Internet as a poison pill, the rest see it a magic bullet. The poison pill companies fear the Web. They see the rush of companies onto the Internet, and they feel that they must join the stampede. They are bitter, they feel slow, and they are angry that the Web has changed the game. The magic bullet companies see the Web as a new frontier, they embrace change, and they capitalize on the Internet hysteria. Rather than simply throwing a Web site out there, they are making the Internet part of their business. They are building the Internet into their strategic plans, and they are taking it for a ride.

Rhodes, John S. WebWord (1999). Articles>Web Design>Marketing

Web Personalization for One-to-One Web Marketing

Web personalization allows you to have a Web site that tailors Web content to a Web user's preferences and other profile information. In addition, a personalization system logs every Web page displayed to every user so you can develop a "clickstream" view of what they saw, when they saw it, and for how long. Just imagine what you could learn about your audience with a complete understanding of their Web usage.

Allen, Cliff. Allen.com (2003). Design>Web Design>Personalization>Marketing