Your Web Site: Expense or Profit Center?

Presented By:

Wynne Angell

Angell Marketing

Anthony Kirlew

Internet Marketing

How many seniors are using

the Internet today?

INTERNET USE INCREASING AMONG SENIORS

• 17.5 Million Seniors are using the Web!

• Between 2004 & 2009, the number of seniors using the Internet increased more than 55%.

• The Nielsen Company

• December 10, 2009

What about tomorrow?

Are we prepared to capture the increase in this activity?

In Fact…

The internet enriches many seniors’

lives, but many websites are difficult

for seniors to use.

Our Goal today is to help you identify ways to improve your online presence….

And to generate leads!

Website Elements

1. DESIGN

2. CONTENT

3. NAVIGATION

4. FUNCTIONALITY

5. INTERACTIVITY

1. DESIGN

The design of your website should capture the attention of the visitor and should effectively represent who you are and what you do. It should represent your brand – play off the strength of your logo.

1. DESIGN

2. CONTENT

Content is the information provided on the site. It’s what makes the site engaging, relevant, and appropriate for the audience. Good content takes a stand, has a voice or a point of view to convey.

2. CONTENT

3. NAVIGATION

Navigation or structure refers to the organization of the site. Good navigation allows you to find information quickly. The user can move through the site and knows what to expect when you click.

3. NAVIGATION

4. FUNCTIONALITY

The site functions or works well. It loads quickly, has live links. Good functionality makes the experience center stage and the technology invisible. For seniors, this equates to user friendliness, ease of use, clarity and simplicity.

4. FUNCTIONALITY

5. INTERACTIVITY

Interactivity encourages the user to participate, to become involved with the site. It’s the input/output, as in filling out surveys, responding to offers, searches, blogging, and real time feedback.

5. INTERACTIVITY

Usability Test for SeniorsHow can we make sure our sites are user

friendly?

• Visual – readability• Movement – click ability• Memory - navigation

Website Features

• Audio player• Blog page• Calendar• Contact form• Content

management• Flash header• File upload

• Photo gallery• Payment

calculator• Password

protection• Rotating

header photos• Search

function• Video player

Overall Experience - Results

The success is going to be based on the sum of these elements, including the intangibles that cause the visitor to stay or leave, come back, place a bookmark, or requests a brochure, emails it to a friend, or feels out an inquiry form!

Objectives

• Learn the 4 primary methods of online marketing

• Learn the two determining factors for obtaining top search engine rankings

• Learn why the online marketing process is not the same for every website

• Learn how to implement online marketing affordably

• Learn what you need to know about Social Media

Where to Start & What to Expect

• Keyword Research – Finding relevant keywords that people are searching on is critical to both SEO and Paid Search.

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – SEO can offer long term positioning, however it can take up to several months to see results; especially if the site is newer.

• Paid Per Click (PPC) Search – PPC is a great supplement to an SEO campaign as it allows for (immediate) targeted web traffic. It is optimal to run a PPC campaign as you build your organic (SEO) traffic.

• Social Media Marketing (SMM) – Utilizing Social Media can produce immediate results, however, the visitors are often less targeted and more curious due to how the information is shared.

• Local Search Marketing – Combines elements of SEO, PPC, and SMM with a focus on local search results. Also targets map based search results and local search directories (i.e. Cityscape, Merchant Circle, Yellow Pages, etc.)

Why Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is Important to Business Owners

It is Intentional vs. Opportunistic andusually Gives a Much Better Return oninvestment (ROI)

SEM solves a problem by connecting asearcher with a website and consumersgenerally trust search results.

Advertising relies on:

1. Opportunity – Does the person viewing the ad currently need my product or service?

2. Branding – Does the person recognize or trust my brand enough to do business with me?

What is Search Engine Optimization?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process ofarchitecting a website such that the search engines knowhow it should rank based on given keywords. The goal ofsearch engine optimization is to drive targeted visitors toa website by connecting their search queries to yourwebsite. It is a form of intentional marketing vs.advertising which is opportunistic.

The two primary components of SEO are:

– On page optimization – Coding the website with relevant keywords to tell the search engines that your website is about.

– Off page optimization – Ensuring that quality links point to the website to let the search engines know that your site is relevant to it’s keywords (and worthy of being ranked for them).

On Page SEO

On page SEO tells the search engines (i.e. Google) what

your website is about.

Content is KING Make sure to have a separate pages for each product or service that you offer. Each page is a unique opportunity to rank for a set of keywords.

Optimized Coding for Search Engines- Title tags are key

- META tags are great to have but have less effect than they used to for ranking.

- Optimized content. Write for humans, but keep the search engines in mind (don’t just repeat keywords).

Off Page SEOOff page SEO (also known as “link building”) – Tells the

search engines (i.e. Google) how important your website

is as each inbound link is a “vote” for your site.

- Directories (i.e. Yahoo, Best of the Web, Illumirate, GoGuides, etc.)

- Links from other related websites

- Press / Media links - Online press releases

- www.HelpaReporterOut.com

- Blogs (start your own, comment on others)

- Social Media sites (LinkedIn, Plaxo, Twitter)

- Links NOT to acquire (link exchanges, link farms, bad neighborhoods)

One Size Does NOT Fit All in SEO

Every website presents it’s own unique set of

obstacles to overcome.

Obstacles for newly launched websites:

- A brand new site is unknown to the search engines and will take longer to obtain organic search rankings because it will take time for the search engines to discover it’s content.

- There is no way to “speed up” the process or the search engines will suspect that you are doing something “shady” and could penalize your website.

One Size Does NOT Fit All in SEO

Obstacles for older / existing websites:

- Poor website architecture such as a dynamic platform that the search engines cannot read well.

(dynamic URL) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001PIBE8I/ref=s9_simz_gw_s2_p23_t1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0K07H8PK66XB2H8Y6KRN&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

(static URL)http://www.akaim.com/online-reputation-management.php

One Size Does NOT Fit All in SEO

Obstacles for older / existing websites:

- Poor use of technology such as a website built completely in Flash which the search engines have a hard time reading.

- Lack of on page optimization (i.e. poor keyword usage or limited content).

- Lack of inbound links. Age alone does not give the site much credibility, but the older a site is the more time it has had to develop links to it.

SEO Pricing – How it All Adds Up

Some factors that impact the cost of an SEO campaign:

- Effective keyword research, code development, and copy optimization takes several hours per page. More pages = higher cost.

- First year directory fees can cost in excess of $1,000 if the site is not listed in quality directories. Some (Yahoo & Business.com) even have annual fees of up to $299 per year.

- Higher competition requires more linking power to obtain top rankings.

- Larger outreach often equals more competition (local campaigns are generally less costly than national or international campaigns)

Making it Affordable

• Get Started – Do “something” as opposed to nothing. If you cannot afford to compete on page one all up front, don’t give up. They key is to start small and continue to make improvements along the way; ideally reinvesting your profits.

• Here are some low cost entry level SEO strategies:

• Basic on page optimization. At a minimum, optimize your home page since this is usually the top entry page.

• Focus on a few top search engine directories (Best of the Web, GoGuides, etc.)

• Local directory submissions. Even if you are a national company, this will get the link building process started and perhaps get you some local business.

• Online Press. Many small companies neglect to use the media, but it can produce amazing results.

Pay Per Click (PPC) Search

PPC allows you to bid on keywords relevant to yourbusiness to generate targeted search enginevisitors.

Optimal platforms for paid search:

• Google (AdWords)• Yahoo • BING (formerly MSN)• Facebook - Can provide lower cost per click in

some verticals, but mostly this is a branding effort.

Pay Per Click (PPC) Search

Keys to success with PPC:

1. Set daily limits on spending.

2. Test multiple ads.

3. Targeting clicks to specific pages and not just to the home page will produce better quality scores (Google) and will result in lower cost per click

4. Geo-Targeting for local markets

Social Media Marketing A successful Social Media campaign can produceamazing results, but it can take a fair amount ofplanning and execution. Here are some basic SocialMedia Strategies you can employ (for FREE):

1. Blogging. Can be used to leverage additional Social Media sites.

2. Leverage LinkedIn (has 50 million professionals)– Create a company page– Create a personal page– Engage in Q&A

3. Create a Facebook Business Page

4. Upload a YouTube video

5. Create a Twitter account and search for local inquiries.

Local Search Marketing

• Use of locally targeted keywords in tags and copy.• Locally targeted Pay Per Click campaigns• Listings in Google, Yahoo, and Bing local (map

based) search results.

Analytics and Tracking

It is critical to measure the success of your onlinemarketing to calculate your return on investment.

Google Analytics is a free tool that can providerobust reporting.http://www.google.com/analytics

What should you monitor?

• Visitors• Page views• Referring sites• Referring search engines (and corresponding

keywords)

Google Analytics dashboard screenshot

Summary • Bottom Line - Your website should be a profit

center not an expense. If not, let’s talk about how to change it.

• It is more prudent to spend money on getting people to the site as opposed to having all of the bells and whistles which can actually be a distraction. Don’t get caught up in spending lots of money on enhancing a site that no one knows about.

• Online marketing is only part of the battle. Once your customers get to your site, the site has to solve their problem and convince them to take further action by calling you or making a purchase. Also, make sure to capture your visitors information (legitimately) to continue marketing to them.

• A comprehensive online marketing plan leverages components of SEO, Paid Search and Social Media and provides the maximum benefit in terms of both targeted visitors and brand building.

Contact Information:

Anthony KirlewPrincipal / Online Marketing Consultant

a.k.a. Internet MarketingTel: 480-338-6744

Email: akirlew@akaim.com http://www.akaim.com

Wynne Angell

Angell Marketing

Tel: 602-595-4377

Email: wangell@angellmarketing.com http://www.angellmarketing.com