Search:
Site   Web

SiteProNews

SiteProNews

Article Categories





By Resource Nation in Featured

Too many internet developers feel as if all they have to do is provide the right information and the right SEO marketing and everything else will take care of itself. In fact, many consumers are looking for good customer service to help them in making decisions as well as to help in resolution for the problems that they might be encountering. By making sure that your website has the right amount of focus placed on customer service, it is possible for you to make sure that your website will be able to give your consumers everything that they are looking for in order to return.

Customer service can be accomplished in a few different ways when dealing with websites. First, you can offer those who are visiting your site the ability to interact directly with a customer service representative. You can also allow your customers to ask questions through a phone number which goes to a live call center. Another way that you can offer better customer service is to provide a forum on the website which allows your customers the ability to sound off about things which are bothering them or to ask questions. The more you provide your customers online, the more effective your customer service program will be.

Talking Directly with a Customer Service Representative

When customers land on your website, it is a good idea to make sure that they have the ability to talk with someone in customer service directly. While there are programs available which can fake this kind of interaction, it is a better idea to make sure that someone is live on the other end of the chat. Providing answers to questions about products, services or even navigation will help to improve the feeling that a client or potential client will feel towards your business and help to increase the chances that they will do business with you.

Call Customer Service

It is important to offer a phone number which your customers can call if they have problems. You can employ the use of call center companies to make sure that the phone lines will always be open to those looking to contact your company. A telephone answering service will make it possible for your clients to feel as if your company cares about the service that they receive. By giving them the feeling that you care, you make it possible that they will do business with you again in the future.

Provide an Interactive Forum

Forums are becoming more popular because they allow the customers the chance to sound off about anything that they want to. They can promote or denounce your company. While it may be tempting to sensor the content which is submitted to the forum, it is a chance for your company to come out ahead publicly on what would normally be a one sided conversation. You can provide solutions of suggestions which will help those having problems with a product of yours to not have the problem anymore. In some cases, it will give you the opportunity to show your willingness to replace a bad product.

Resource Nation provides free tools, tips, and purchasing advice for business owners and entrepreneurs in over 100 business categories ranging from call center companies to credit card processing. Whether it’s connecting businesses with local and national pre-screened vendors, or offering easy service comparisons on a telephone answering service, Resource Nation empowers business decision makers by providing the information they need to make smart choices.

By John Sylvester in Featured

A writer at LinkedIn posed the question: “Will businesses pay to have a social media consultant manage their Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc…In my opinion, most business owners don’t have a clue where to start regarding social media and mobile text advertising. Dan Hughes

Before we start with a precis of certain opinions on the subject, it may well be worth reading an article on The Guardian website, which headlined as: “Social networking under fresh attack as tide of cyber-scepticism sweeps US” where it is argued that: “The way in which people frantically communicate online via Twitter, Facebook and instant messaging can be seen as a form of modern madness, according to a leading American sociologist…A behaviour that has become typical may still express the problems that once caused us to see it as pathological,” MIT professor Sherry Turkle writes in her new book, Alone Together, which is leading an attack on the information age.” For the full report, see http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jan/22/social-networking-cyber-scepticism-twitter.

Now, getting back to the debate on LinkedIn, I think, besides the “pathological” desire to be “connected” even at the most enduring moments of one’s life that it is extremely rare for senior management to understand the benefits and economics of SEM in organic search and how it can lead to extended market reach and more customers.

Too much of the time they seem to take the view that to increase revenue, or in a recession to maintain it, they need to fall back on the reliance of traditional media. The result of this is that migration languishes and profitability targets stagnate. We somehow need to convince them otherwise, but I would estimate that only 10% of my clients actually have an understanding of the mechanics and involvement in successfully promoting social media campaigns. SEO is a tricky enough subject to convey, but social media?

By Debs Williams in Featured

twitterTwitter is a wonderful business tool, not least because it’s free. All it will cost is your time (and if that’s in short supply, you can hire a social media marketer to manage it for you).

Used well, Twitter can provide good exposure for your business, but you can also damage your brand with social media marketing if you’re not careful, so it’s worth learning the biggest do’s and don’ts before you start using Twitter.

Tip 1: Be Yourself and Be Human

The beauty of Twitter is that it’s a huge global community of human beings (mostly; there are spammer accounts but they’re easy to spot, block and report). So do show your human side, especially when using your business account. Talk about things that matter to you: funny things your children say, recent achievements, your favorite band or TV show, and so on. Join in with conversations that interest you – be friendly, show emotion, and use smilies if you want to.

By Bob Leduc in Featured

marketingmixYou may be surprised to learn that postcard marketing still works in the 21st century. In fact, postcards usually produce better results today than in the past – especially when used for generating traffic to a website or sales leads.

One reason postcards work so well is because they almost always get read. Think about it. Do you remember ever discarding a postcard without at least knowing what the message was about? It’s almost impossible to do.

Postcards are small. Most are about 4 x 6 inches in size. That means your message must be brief. Plus, postcards get delivered with your message exposed and “ready to read”.

This guarantees that almost 100 percent of the recipients will actually see and at least scan your sales message …whether they intend to or not. They can’t avoid it.

Tip: Don’t to try to close sales with a postcard. In most cases, there’s not enough space on it to provide all of the information needed to close sales. Instead…

Design your postcard to attract attention to your product or service and create a desire to find out more about it. Then tell the reader to get more information from a source where you CAN close sales – like your website or by calling you.

Postcard marketing offers a number of other major benefits for marketers too – especially for new businesses and small businesses. Here are just a few of them…

1. Creating Effective Marketing Postcards is Easy

You don’t need any special skill to create a postcard that will generate a big response. The key is to set up the postcard so it can be read and understood by just glancing at it for a few seconds.

For example, start with a brief headline to get the readers attention. Then include a bulleted list of 3 to 5 major benefits followed by instructions to call you, visit your website or come into your place of business.

2. The Cost of Marketing with Postcards Is Very Low

The cost of material used to make typical 4 x 6 or similar size postcards is very low. Even the process of printing them is simple and inexpensive too.

Best of all, you can send postcards by First Class Mail in the US for about 36 percent less than the cost to send letters by First Class Mail. Currently, it costs only 28 cents per postcard. To get this reduced rate, your postcards must be between 3 1/2 X 5 inches and 4 1/4 x 6 inches in size.

Tip: You can create and print your marketing postcards with your own computer and printer for just a few cents each. This is not only cost-effective, it’s fast.

3. Postcards Can Produce Quick Results

Because postcards are simple to create, print and send, you can get them in the mail fast. Plus, they will be delivered in just 2 to 3 days if you send them by the special reduced First Class postage rate for postcards I mentioned above.

That means you can often enjoy the results generated by your postcards within a week or so of deciding to use them.

If you’ve never used postcards for marketing or haven’t used them recently, test them now. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how well they work in the modern era.

Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards …and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You’ll find his low-cost marketing methods at: BobLeduc.com

By Rama Banerjee in Featured

SEO2

SEO or search engine optimization is not rocket science, but for some companies this technology sounds too much complex process. Let me try to explain you what is the process of SEO:

On page SEO aspect:

1. The cross internal link building among the various pages (analyzing the keywords using tools)

2. The Meta keywords, meta description, Meta title placement in all pages and publish those pages.

3. Create Sitemap.xml and place in the site.

4. Name all the elements you are using in the site properly.

So those are the basic on-page aspects isn’t it simple?

Now the other aspect the off page search engine optimization activity if you are having a team for making sure the work:

1. Need to train the team, about your business, who will work in those as per your business vertical for off page activity.

2. Find all those 3rd party sites where we will place the site links and to make the site popular among those site which will increase the back link, this will be very big document of more than 2000 + sites where you will need to publish the areas for various activity.

3. After the creation of list the team needs to create the login details in those sites and need to fill proper information and need to prepare a base in those sites for future activity.

4. After those account creation the team will publish the content that content writer will produce as per the proper keyword placement and link placement and team will popular in those 3rd party sites.

5. After the submission the links or content the publication check list and status need to me maintain in the report.

6. This process of submission and this process of submission and the report management need to be done for next 4 – 5 months for those specific targeted keywords and more the pages will be published with proper keywords, the back-link will generate.

Hope you are able to understand the whole Search engine Optimization aspect. This is really not such complex process but yes extensive process of execution and manage the areas. So I should say, SEO is not rocket science but an exhaustive process to maintain. If you want to review your site for free, just check Request a Quote section of a professional service provider website.

Rama Banerjee – Professional Writer, in Ours Group of Companies, invites you to Submit Unique Content to Free Article Submission site. We welcome you to be part of Ours Group of Software Company.

© Copyright – Rama Banerjee. All right reserved Worldwide

By Nick Stamoulis in Featured

search-engine-marketingIt’s a rarity for businesses to not operate a website these days. Even small mom-and-pop shops that began long before the era of the Internet have gone digital, albeit some were a little more hesitant than others. But while launching a website – whether for a multi-national, billion dollar corporation or the local pizza place – may be easy, to have that website actively help grow the business is another matter all together. Simply having a website (one among the ever-expanding billions) isn’t enough to earn a business any attention, promote its brand or increase its profit margins. Search engine optimization, the practice of making changes in different areas of a website so that search engines can help find and deliver targeted audiences to the site, is practically meaningless unless companies first consider several issues.

The first issue to launching a successful site is determining the purpose of that site. Is a business looking to generate leads or sales? Is the site simply a branding tool, perhaps to promote a new line of products? It’s critical to decide what actions the site is supposed to encourage visitors to take. Say the website’s goal is to encourage visitors to call an office. Are there phones and staff ready to handle the incoming calls when the site delivers them? Having a call to action for website visitors but no follow through on the company side is just as bad as having no call to action in the first place.

Next, a business needs to take a serious look at who its audience is. This should have been decided when first developing a business plan, but maybe the demographic need to be tweaked for online audiences. Different demographics “Millennials vs Boomers for instance” approach the Internet in different ways and businesses should carefully hone in on the best prospects.

Finally, businesses need to realistically determine competition. While the audiences might be the same, the Gap is not necessarily competing with a local boutique in Raleigh, North Carolina. It’s important to consider geographic and business factors when determining true competition. Who is directly competing in the same market space, with the same products and looking to target a similar audience. While both the Gap and the boutique are clothing stores, they cater to different clientele and operate on much different budgets. At the end of the day, that local boutique cannot compete with the advertising budget of the Gap, so it should look to be competing with the other boutique across town.

Many of the aforementioned factors should already exist in a business plan or marketing plan. But it is easy to forget the basics when faced with the daunting task of implementing a successful website and SEO plan to promote it. There are several tools that exist to help a business determine the best keywords for its site, provide the traffic sources of its competitor’s site and grad the site on its content, trust value and more. Once the ground work is in place, successful, long term SEO and SEM strategies can be created.

Nick Stamoulis is the President and Founder of Brick Marketing. With over 12 years of experience Nick Stamoulis has worked with hundreds of companies small, large and every size in between. Through his vast and diverse SEO, search engine marketing and internet marketing experience Nick Stamoulis has successfully increased the – online visibility and sales of clients in all industries.

By Resource Nation in Featured

webdesign3When running a website, it is tempting to get engrossed with the technology which is being used. You want to make sure that all of the gadgets help to highlight all of the cool aspects of the company which you want other people to see. The problem is that this might not be what people came to your website to see. What you think might be really cool, others might see as a desperate ploy to grab attention. It is the reason why so many of these same companies have been starting to turn to those that they do business with for advice on how they can improve their website.

There are a few different ways in which you can get insight into what it is that is important to those who visit your website. One of the best ways to get information about what is important is to simply ask them. Another way that you can get information is to start a forum on your website. A forum can be a quick way to get the responses you are looking for from your customers and other within your industry. This is why it is important to find a great web design which can support such media. Still another way that you can gather information is to allow people to connect their social networking pages to your page. The more valuable information you can obtain, the better chances you have in providing your customers exactly what they are looking for.

Asking through Questionnaires
Questionnaires are useful for everything from guest satisfaction surveys to surveys about payroll services. Simply, offer those who visit your site the ability to answer a few questions. The more concise you answer the questions the better. In many circumstances, the best way to get more people to answer the questionnaire is to offer a reward for their opinion. One of the best ways to do so is to offer their name to be submitted into a drawing. They will give you their contact information which can be used for other marketing purposes.

Offering a Forum
Allowing your customers the ability to take openly and freely about your products and services is a great way to find out what they really think about your company and your website. Do not sensor the information which is being entered into the forum as it will discourage people from being honest. Rather than stopping people from entering negative information about your company, have the conviction to do something about it instead. You will have a public record that you can draw from as well as the ability to show others your dedication to customer service.

Allowing Connections to Social Networking Sites Social networking sites are still among the most used internet sites in the world. Sites like Facebook have emerged as one of the biggest online hangouts because people can interact with the people that they already know as well as the ability to meet new people. Social media is not just for the tech 3.0 company, even companies like small business payroll services are interacting with their customer to improve their services or promote selling. When you allow them to connect their social media site to your site, you have the ability to get to know your customers as well as the ability to further advertise. Those who visit your site will be able to see all of the things which their friends like or dislike about your company as well.

Resource Nation provides free tools, tips, and purchasing advice for business owners and entrepreneurs in over 100 business categories ranging from payroll services to credit card processing. Whether it’s connecting businesses with local and national pre-screened vendors, or offering easy service comparisons on small business payroll services, Resource Nation empowers business decision makers by providing the information they need to make smart choices.

By Luigi Koechlin in Featured

multiling2010 has come and gone and even now many online marketers and web designers are still ignoring the importance of adapting their websites for other languages and cultures. While English was still the number one language on the Web in 2010 with 536.6 million users viewing pages in English, Chinese is closing in with 444.9 million users.

This means that there are almost the same number of Chinese users as there are English and if your website is in the business of selling, then you are missing out on a potential 78% of internet users if you only provide an English version of your site.

We explore some of the main areas you need to consider when creating and optimizing your site for a multi-lingual audience.

Keyword Research

One of the most common pitfalls of localizing your website into another language is not spending enough time researching language specific keywords. Simply translating your English keywords is a step on the road to failure. The classic example Google Translate gives for ‘car insurance’ in French is ‘l’assurance automobile.’ While this is an accurate translation French users will more than likely not use this keyword at all and type something along the lines of ‘assurance voiture.’

By Jill Whalen in Featured

googlelogoMost of the time when I have a bit of a rant in the newsletter or elsewhere it’s because I’ve seen or heard things that bug me or are just plain wrong. Writing about it gets it off my chest and that’s usually the end of it. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case with the Dear Google rant I had back in Sept.

It’s not out of my system in the least.

In fact, the feelings I had in that “letter” are growing stronger every day. Most often I notice it when I analyze why certain pages show up highly in Google. It enrages me when I see many pages in the top 10 results that appear to have gotten there through anchor text comment spam. So I think to myself, “Write about it, you’ll feel better.” Then I remember that I already did write about it and I still don’t feel better.

So I tweet snarky comments to Matt Cutts, as well as leave them on Sphinn, but it only makes me feel worse for being mean to Matt, who is a nice guy.

Then I remember what I wrote many years ago in issue 038 of the High Rankings Advisor:

“If Google goes public in 2003…we will see it start to suck by 2004. By ‘suck,’ I mean ‘become like all the other engines.’”

By John Beaumont in Featured

There are five important fundamentals to consider when you are marketing information products.

They are:-
1) You must have a quality product
2) Every successful business is marketing driven.
3) A simple marketing system can increase your sales exponentially
4) It is the back end products which are the real profit makers
5) You must adjust to the changing demands of the marketplace.

Quality Products

What do I mean by quality products? In the information marketing area I am talking about giving information of exceptional value. It is the quality of the information which is important. Obviously if you are providing printed material then the quality of the paper etc should be good but it is the quality of the information which must be the prime consideration. The whole basis of a successful long term business is built upon repeat sales so if your information material is not of the highest caliber then you are unlikely to get further sales. Besides, if you are offering a returns policy as a guarantee (which you always should) then if your material is of a poor quality you are liable to get a lot of requests from customers for the return of their money.

However it is the repeat sales and referrals to other customers which will make or break your business. Basically without quality information you do not really have a business.

A Market Driven Business

Whilst having quality products to offer your potential clients is the prime consideration, being able to market them effectively is a close run second. Let’s face it, however brilliant and helpful your information product is if no one hears about it – you are “dead in the water.”

Perhaps one of the best ways to think about this is to consider your business as a marketing business rather than an information products business. This will keep you focused on the needs of your customers. Always keep to the forefront of your mind that we are all human and “what’s in it for me” will always be the first thought of your customer. That is not being cynical just realistic! To avoid wasting time and money it is important that you have targeted potential customers. What do I mean by a targeted customer? One that “wants” your product (note: not necessarily “needs”), has the ability to pay for it, and more importantly has the authority to purchase it. This last point is often overlooked particularly if dealing with an employee of an organization.

A Simplified Marketing System can Increase your Sales Exponentially

By this statement I mean that your marketing system should be set up so that it runs like clockwork. From the very start you should install a system that organizes every stage in a simple, automated progression. The more simplified you can make the system by the use of autoresponders etc., the less time and hassle you will incur. It is certainly worth spending time and thought on this aspect before plunging in!

It is the Back End Products which are the Real Profit Makers

A back end product is one which you offer to an established customer. People are very reluctant to buy from you if they don’t know you or have not been recommended by a trusted friend or colleague. So, initially you offer some information product which is quite “cheap.” By cheap, I mean in price not quality! If not too expensive a potential customer is likely to “give you a whirl” as they haven’t got much to lose.

Once having purchased from you and liked the product then they are much more likely to spend more by buying even more information from you. Thus you will be able to offer more expensive and profitable products. Bear in mind however that you still wish to maintain this person as a client so you should still be offering greater true value with the higher priced products.

You Must Adjust to the Changing Demands of the Market

Market conditions change.

Fact! What does this mean to you? You have to be flexible and in tune with market trends. There are many factors to be taken into consideration. New Government regulations, new technology, fads, changes in people’s circumstances and economic climate can all have an effect on your market.

So be aware of how trends are developing and try to think ahead so that you can change your offer as and when necessary.

There are of course no guarantees that your information products will be successful but if you follow the above guide lines you will have a better chance of meeting your goals.

To YOUR success

John Beaumont is an internet marketer who has published over 50 articles. Visit his blog at johnbeaumont.blogspot.com Discover the Top secret tactics that the Heavy Hitters are using to make thousands of dollars with little or no effort. http://tinyurl.com/35yrl82

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Subscribe to SiteProNews Articles

Receive New Articles As They are Posted


Webmaster Headlines

Apple's stingy employee discount

iOS and OS X: Time for Some Real Convergence

Anonymous Strikes: Symantec Says Stop Using pcAnywhere

Google+ Is Now Open To Teens, Offers New Safety Features

SOPA's Big Brother Signed By EU Nations Amid Widespread Protests

Why Your Business Needs to Be on Google+ Now

5 Simple Ways to Explore Your Social Media Following

5 Basic SEO Troubleshooting Tips for Content Marketers

The Glee Guide to Attracting a Raving Horde of Social Media Fans

10 Clever Ways Your Email Signature Can Support Your Marketing

Recent SiteProNews Articles

RecentSiteProNews Articles

Write Current Content and Explode Your SEO – A SPN Exclusive Article

Best Free Business Cloud Apps You Probably Haven’t Heard Of

Has Google Replaced Content as King of the Web?

SEO Short Cheat Sheets

Beef Up Your Internet Marketing and Your Body At The Same Time!

Optimizing Your Business Facebook Page for Maximum Hits and Return Visits – A SPN Exclusive Article

SiteProNews Blog News

Google Celebrates Art Clokey’s Birthday
Not many people will recognize the name Art Clokey. But a lot more people will recognize the green c...
more >

Reader Rescue : Should My Meta Description Tags Just Duplicate My Title Tags?
Hi Everyone From early days learning SEO, I went ahead and did all my meta descriptions with a bi...
more >

Death of Steve Jobs Fails to Break Twitter Record
We all heard the sad news yesterday that Steve Jobs, founder and visionary at Apple, had died at...
more >

Recommended Links


   Get Facebook Fans

   Submit Express - SEO Services

Wordpress 3.3.1