Last time (AdWords Article) I talked about AdWords and how to make a killer AdWords Campaign. This article will show you when and why to use Overture and how to get the most bang for your buck.I highly recommend using these two PPC engines together… Both have advantages and disadvantages and really compliment each other well. I have found that I get very similar amounts of traffic from each for the most part, but the type of traffic is very different. Basically, I use Google for the “Main Industry Keywords”, i.e. the more expensive keywords all-altrincham.co.uk . I try to list in the top 5 for these keyword in Google and do that by using the tips given in the last tutorial. I will alway list my sites for these keywords in Overture also, but I will only list them highly if they are affordable, which varies by industry.Overture Advantages1. You know your price. Unlike Google, Overture is based 100% on how much you are willing to spend. You know exactly where your ads will showup the first day you start your campaign and you can check them every day and tweak your cost to move up or down in the rankings.2. You can be more selective with your ads. Unlike Google, you don't have to worry much about your CTR. Overture will turn you off if it is horrible (or so I am told) but I have never had any turned off. This means you can really “pre-sell” your product or service from the ad, rather than just trying to get them to come to your site to keep your CTR above .05%. This means you can add the price of your product, etc. so they know EXACTLY what they are getting into before coming to your site. If they won't be interested, they won't click. This will save you money! Warning: Try this out, but don't oversell everything… some people need to get to your site and see your killer copy, promotional text, demos, and testimonials before they will buy!3. Overture always shows “Exact Matches” over “Broad Matches”. This means if you have a very specific keyword that you are paying just 10c for… and someone else is paying $1 for a more broad match your results will come up first. This give you incentive to find LOTS of keywords and customize ads for each one.Overture Disadvantages1. Usually more expensive, especially for the top keywords, and also the starting cost (10c rather than 5c for AdWords). This can be a substantial difference with the higher priced keywords, so often times I will list where my budget suggests rather than for position. 2. You have to do more research to get bargins and keep overall costs low. Like I said before, you can get great deals on specific keywords… you just have to find them all and write ads for each one… this is time consuming and sometimes difficult, but worth the effort.3. No “discount”. Unlike Google, your ads are only based on price. For marketing managers who need to know exactly how much they are spending, this is the PPC Engine for them… Therefore, most large companies eat up Overtures top keywords with $10,000+/month budgets. It can be a tough place for a budget of $300/month but you can still get results. Overture Tips1. Write an Ad for EVERY Keyword. Don't be lazy. Take the time and do this right. No one has every made their millions by taking the shortcut.2. Use the Keyword that the add is for in EVERY AD. Yahoo's Engine BOLDS your keyword to make it stand out. I just see that MSN now LINKS your Keyword in every Ad! This means you get more chances for your ad to be clicked if you put your keyword in the ad. This is another reason you need to write an ad for every keyword!3. You get a little more room and flexibility in writing your Overture ads. You aren't tied in to that 3 line box like AdWords has. BUT it is VERY IMPORTANT to say what you mean at the BEGINNING. Many of the users of Overture CUT OFF YOUR ADS and put a …. If you wait till the end to say what you are selling, it might get cut off. 4. If you are in the top 5 positions, you get a little bonus. For Yahoo's Engine, you get listed TWICE on the homepage if you are in positions 3-5. You will get listed on the SIDE and AT THE BOTTOM. Check it out! The ads are the same for 3-5 as the very bottom under the results. This used to be the same on MSN, but they are now repeating ads 1-3 AT THE TOP and AT THE BOTTOM. Therefore if you are not in 1-5, you are missing out on FREE exposure.5. Check, Check, Check, Monitor, Check, Monitor, Check. Don't create your Overture account and then leave it. You should go in at least once a week and make sure you are still in the position you want to be. You need to check your competitors and see what they are doing. You need to write down every time you think of a new keyword and add it to your campaign. Every time you launch a new product/service, tweak the ads that need to reflect it. 6. Be creative! Make Overture ads for Specials you are running on a product. Are you offering Free Shipping? Tell them in the overture ad! Are you giving away a prize? Promote it! Use it for things that no one else is!Kobesent Solutions ..:.. Internet Marketing and Promotionswww.Kobescent click here .comKyle@Kobescent.com
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Copyright © 2005 Off the Page Smooth Out Customer Choice PointsDeveloping a trusting customer relationship is a process. And sales seldom happen without trust. A relationship builds as a sequence of steps follow one another. Whether contact occurs in a single encounter or over time, each step is riddled with choices. As the sales process goes along, customers have to be willing to take another step - to make further commitments (however small) of their time and attention.When customers already trust you and are interested in what you?re offering, they?ll take the next step without hesitation all-hereford.co.uk . However, if they?re unsure about you (or had a prior negative experience), they?ll want to think about it - and just maybe that?s when they realize they aren?t all that interested after all.Each buyer choice point actually ups the ante. On some unstated level, buyers know they?re committing to the next step, bringing the transaction closer to happening. These steps get riskier (for you as well as them) whenever you specifically ask them to do something more.Choice points are precisely the places you?re most likely to lose them - when they bail out of the process.Kinds of buyer choice points - Come into the store - Read the ad beyond the headlines - Listen to this audio tape - Visit the website - Pick up the phone and call - Try it for 30 days without obligation - Take a test drive; check out the product - Write the check - Negotiate the monthly payments for a purchase - Present their credit cardSour notes that creep into the experience can break the inevitability of them taking the next step. These interaction points represent higher risk to sellers, because that?s when buyers are is most likely to reconsider or flee.Anything that breaks the steadily building momentum puts the sale at risk. And just because the deal?s complete, don?t relax. There are always plenty of reasons why a person changes her mind and wants out (or returns the product) afterwards.That?s why even free offers can be a hard sell. A person has to think about whether it?s worth the effort or inconvenience to try or assess something new. Whether it?s worth changing their existing preferences to consider what you?re offering.Reduce Obstacles that Make Customers Walk AwayImagine a typical sales process that takes eight-steps, from the time the person steps into the store (or website) looking for a particular product, until she walks out with it. What percentage of your potential buyers taking the first step make it through to the last one? If you want them to complete the whole sequence, it?s critical their entire experience moves as smoothly as possible.Identify each place where your procedures impose upon customers. (Who cares if the competition does it, too! Solving the ?glitch? gives you an advantage, while showing respect for buyers.) Do they add extra aggravations or increases the likelihood of them walking away? What could be done to make interaction points less risky or annoying? Become obsessive about getting them so smooth and trouble-free that they?re hardly noticeable at all.Assess each obstacle/choice point you?ve got built into the buying and paying process. These are the exact places where you?re losing customers - and sales. When customers can?t get the help needed, can?t find the product in the model or size wanted, can?t navigate through the check-out without mishap, she?s likely to stop midstream.Let?s assume that she gets all the way through and completes the purchase, despite the obstacles. What are the odds she?ll be in a hurry to come back?Online, seventy to ninety percent of those who start to make a purchase don?t complete the process (abandoned shopping carts, etc.). These were people motivated enough to attempt to buy, and gave up. It?s unlikely that figures are anywhere near that high in retail situations, but they?re still much higher than they need to be. Anything that cuts customer bail-out goes straight to the bottom line click here .Keeping Customers is Much Easier than Getting New OnesYellow Pages ads are primarily a tool for acquiring new customers (your ?unknown? market). And a business needs to do that routinely. But with all the effort spent finding more business, it?s easy to forget that getting buyers to come in is easy compared to building a long-term relationship with the ones you have (your ?known? market). That?s at the heart of repeat business. As you eliminate the aggravations of doing business with you, you?ll see more of that. –Dr. Lynella Grant An expert in Yellow Page ads and Local Search. Stand out online and offline, so you capture more Internet-savvy buyers for your brick and mortar business. Free resources http://www.localsearchresources.com
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Copyright © 2005 Debt Management Credit Counseling Corp. Plan your financial future after college, through your twenties and beyond.By Pete Glocker DMCCA new car is the first purchase most college graduates want to make directly after graduation. You may ask yourself, what is the matter with being rewarded with something nice after completing such a hard task that you have been working towards your whole life? Depending on what your entry-level job pays; it would be wise to spend accordingly with your available income. Many graduates think they are getting better paying jobs than they actually get after college, so they purchase a vehicle way out of their price range all-hove.co.uk . ?I know when I graduate in December, it will be nice to get a new car, but I know there will be student loans and other living expenses to pay off first,? says Jayne Santucci, a senior at Florida Atlantic University. ?When recent college graduates get their first job, they see their co-workers with brand new cars, so they think they should get one also, not knowing the co-workers experience and salary,? Santucci adds.If you are going into a career that coincides with your college major, you may want to consider starting with an entry level position rather than taking a higher paying job in an unrelated field. The entry level job will be better for you in the long run because it will give you more opportunities to advance in a field that you were trained in. If you start with a higher paid job in a different career, you might lose interest quickly and have little room for advancement. Stick with your career, and the money will eventually come.When you get hired for your first job in the ?real world,? find out what kinds of retirement plans are available. The majority of employers offer 401(k) plans or other tax-deferred retirement options. With every paycheck you receive, you can contribute money into the 401(k) and many employers will match some part of your contribution. This will help you save for your future. Start your savings account immediately and if at all possible have your money directly deposited into your account. Learn to pay yourself first!According to CNN Money, college graduates of 2005 are being paid more in starting salaries than the class of 2003-2004. Here is a list of the average salaries for college graduates.Accounting - $41,039; Management - $35,811;Teaching - $29,733; Sales - $37,130;Nurse - $38,775;Financial /Treasury - $45,596; Software -Design - $53,729; Consulting - $49,781;Source: CNN Money 2005After obtaining their landing your first job, many college graduates think it may be a good idea to move back home with their parents so they can save money. Saving money is not always the case when moving home. Having the feeling of fewer bills can provide you more freedom for going out and buying an expensive car, stereo or designer clothes. So, instead of saving your money, graduates could be spending it on items they do not really need. It might be a smarter idea to actually stay independent because you will grow and may learn faster what it means to be self-reliant. As a college graduate, you may struggle starting out at first, but it will be beneficial to you in the long run.The most important word to you, a recent college graduate, should be ?b-u-d-g-e-t.? By creating a budget, it will give you the opportunity to design a method to pay your bills and save for something you really want. The better you are at sticking to a budget, the more peace of mind you will have when it comes to your personal finances.A person?s twenties could be the most important years to start achieving your financial goals. The earlier you invest the better. If a 25-year-old who invests $2,000 a year at a 6 percent compound interest annually for fifteen years and never invests another dollar, after the age of 40, the 25-year-old will earn more by the age of 65 than a 35-year-old who invests $2,000 a year at 6 percent compound interest annually for 30 years, even though the 35-year-old would have invested twice as long.Last but not least, it is important to identify a short, medium and long-term goal for yourself. A short-term goal may be a new car, a vacation or a television. A medium-term goal could be buying a business, a house or paying for your child?s education. A long-term goal can be retirement and traveling.Managing money as a young adult can be the most important in terms of your financial situation. It is best to do research and want to learn about how to manage your credit, bills, and any extra expenditure before it is too late all-gillingham.co.uk . Be smart with your money. Pete Glocker is employed in the Education and Charitable Services Department at Debt Management Credit Counseling Corp. (?DMCC?), a 501c(3) non-profit charitable organization located in Boca Raton, Florida. Pete graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a BA in Multimedia Journalism and is an experienced web producer for Tribune Interactive products Sun-Sentinel.com and SouthFlorida.com. DMCC provides free financial education, personal budget counseling, and debt management plans to consumers across the United States. Debt management plans offered by DMCC help consumers relieve the stress of excessive debt by reducing credit card interest rates, consolidating and lowering monthly payments, and stopping collection calls and late fees. DMCC financial counselors can be reached for free education materials, budget counseling and debt management plan quotes by calling 800-863-9011 or by visiting http://www.dmcccorp.org . Pete Glocker can be reached by email at pete@dmcccorp.org
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Sharing knowledge on the web can be a very powerful way to establish your online presence and credibility. First, you write a thoughtful and informative article on an topic in your area of expertise. Then you submit it to e-zines to be read by the general public and possibly re-published on other web sites. Appended to the end of your article is a resource box containing a brief promotional message linking to your web site. Webmasters who wish to reprint your article on their sites are required to include your resource box along with any live links to your site. For example, an article written by me might have the following resource box: Article by Oudam Em. Oudam is the publisher of ArticleWorld.net, www.articleworld.net, a free online article directory. Oudam is also the webmaster of many other web sites, including WebLaunch, www.nexcomp.com/weblaunch, and SiteSeek.net, www.siteseek.net. The benefit that you get from your article is two-fold. First, your article will be read by visitors to the e-zine site. If they find it helpful and interesting, they will likely visit your web site to see what else you had to offer. Second, webmasters who find your article useful to their visitors may re-publish it on their sites, giving your article additional exposure. Every time your article is re-published on a web site, you gain an additional one-way link to your site through the live link in your resource box. This adds to your link popularity and ultimately increases your search engine rankings. As you can see, the true potential of your article lies in its ability to propagate virally in cyberspace. For your article to propagate virally, it should appeal to both readers and webmasters alike. Keep in mind that your goal is hold your readers' attention long enough for them to get to the resource box. If your article is boring and uninformative, few people will read it beyond the first or second paragraph. Below are some pointers to consider when writing an article: 1. Give your article a catchy title. Your title is the first and often the only thing that visitors see when they skim through a list of articles on an e-zine page. Put some thought into coming up with a title that grabs the reader's attention right away. Words like “Secrets”, “Free”, and “Successful” tend to attract more attention than others. 2. Your article should not read like an ad. Most people read articles to find information they can use, not to see a pitch about your products or services. If they see your article as nothing more than a shameless act of self promotion, they'll get turned off and hit the “Back” button right away. Put yourself in the reader's shoes. What benefits do you want to get out of reading an article? Cater to your reader's interests rather than your own. 3. Offer lots of free, useful information. Following on the last tip, keep in mind that your readers are looking for specific “how-to” instructions to help them achieve a certain goal. Offer lots of tangible information that is immediately useful to them. Do not lead them through hoops just to get to an order form for a $29.95 “Make $50,000 in 30 Days or Your Money Back!” e-book. 4) Avoid gimmicks. While it may be true that a sucker is born every minute, most internet users are sophisticated enough to tell what's legitimate and what's not. Write with the intention of offering something substantial to the reader. Be honest and forthright. Your article should not cause the reader to think, “What is this guy trying to sell me?” 5) Be succinct. Get to the point quickly, preferably in the first or second paragraph. Avoid lengthy paragraphs. Use lots of white space to separate your paragraphs to make them easier to read. 6) Your article should not be too short. Certainly, it's possible to write a good article packed with useful information using just a couple hundred words. If your article is too short, however, some webmasters may feel hesitant to reprint it on their sites. They may, instead, borrow your ideas and write their own articles, gaining authorship without having to give you credit for your ideas. How long should your article be? I suggest at least 500 words, preferably longer. Longer articles give webmasters the impression that you have put some time and effort into your work and, thus, are deserving of being reprinted on their sites. 7) Use live (clickable) links in your resource box. Many e-zines permit clickable links in resource boxes. Yet, many authors forgo this privilege by simply spelling out their URLs. Whenever permitted, you should spell out your URL as well as make it clickable (e.g. http://www.nexcomp.com/weblaunch). The advantages of a clickable URL are, (1) readers can go to your site simply by clicking on it, and more importantly, (2) search engines will be able to record the ezine page containing your article as a link your web site, adding to your link popularity and search engine rankings. 
Avoid hyping in your resource box. Your resource box, while promotional in nature, should be brief and tasteful. The purpose of your resource box is not to sell your readers something, but to lead them to your website which does the actual selling. Your resource box should contain your name, your company name, a brief description of your products or services, your web site's URL, and a clickable link to your site. 9) Put some thought and effort into your writing. E-zines have varying standards for accepting articles, and some accept and publish all submissions without any human review at all. However, this does not mean you should write an article just for sake of having it published somewhere. If your article comes off as half-baked, readers may make a similar assumption about you and your business practices. 10) Submit your article to as many e-zines as feasible. There are dozens of e-zines on the web that welcome submissions from independent authors. Ideally, you'd want your article to be exposed on as many of them as you can. But it takes time to register and submit to each one of them. Therefore, I recommend that you submit to only a handful of the more popular ones. Below is a list of e-zines along with their Google PageRanks (PR). The higher the PR of an e-zine, the greater its online visibility. Amazines - www.amazines.com - PR4Articles411 - www.articles411.com - PR0Article Alley - www.articlealley.com - PR5Article City - www.articlecity.com - PR6 Article Emporium - www.article-emporium.com - PR4Articles Factory - www.articlesfactory.com - PR5 Article Finders - www.articlefinders.com - PR5ArticleSubmissions.com - www.articlesubmissions.com - PR3ArticleWarehouse - www.articlewarehouse.com - PR4 ArticleWorld.net - www.articleworld.net - PR4AuthorConnection.com - www.authorconnection.com - PR5 Business Know-How - www.businessknowhow.com - pr6BusinessToolchest.com - www.businesstoolchest.com - pr3 Buzzle.com - www.buzzle.com - PR6 Common Connections - www.commonconnections.com - PR3 Connectionteam.com - www.connectionteam.com - PR3 Constant Content - www.constant-content.com - PR6 Createonlinebusiness.com - www.createonlinebusiness.com - PR3 Digital Women.com - www.digital-women.com/submitarticle.htm - PR5 Ezine Articles - www.ezinearticles.com - PR7Family-Content.com - www.family-content.com/articles - PR4Free Content - www.certificate.net/wwio - PR5 FreeTrafficTip.com - www.freetraffictip.com - PR4FreeZineSite.com - www.freezinesite.com - PR2 Fresh-Articles.com - www.fresh-articles.com - PR3 GoArticles.com - www.goarticles.com - PR6 Home-Business-Directory.com - www.home-business-directory.com - PR3Home Based-business Opportunities - www.home-based- business-opportunities.com - pr5Home business Tips Newsletter - www.home-business-tips-newsletter.com - PR3HowToAdvice.com - www.howtoadvice.com - PR4 IdeaMarketers.com - www.ideamarketers.com - PR5 isnare.com - www.isnare.com PR5 Jogena's - www.jogena.com - PR4 jorbins.com - www.jorbins.com - PR5 Li'l Engine - www.lilengine.com - PR7 LinkSnoop.com - www.linksnoop.com - PR3 Main Street Mom - www.mainstreetmom.com - PR5 Marketing PitBull - www.marketingpitbull.com - PR2 NetterWeb.com - www.netterweb.com - PR4 OpportunityUpdate.com - OpportunityUpdate.com - PR3 Organic-Rankings.com - www.organic-rankings.com - PR3PromoteNewz.com - www.promotenewz.com -PR4 PromotionWorld.com/articles.html - www.promotionworld.com -PR4 Sales Masters World - www.sales-masters-world.com - PR5 SearchWarp.com - www.searchwarp.com -PR4SmartAds.info - www.smartads.info/articles - PR4StoreBuilder.co.uk - www.storebuilder.co.uk - PR4 T & I Grafix - www.tigrafix.com/articles.htm - PR3 TheEzine.net - www.theezine.net - PR4Top-Web-Marketing.com - www.top-web-marketing.com/article - PR3 Web Host Industry Review - www.thewhir.com/find/articlecentral - PR5 UniTerra.com - uniterra all-edinburgh.co.uk all-halifax.co.uk .com -PR3 upromote.com - www.upromote.com - PR3 The Warrior Forum - www.warriorforum.com/forum - PR4Web Host Industry Review - www.thewhir.com/find/articlecentral - PR5WebMomz.com - www.webmomz.com - PR3 WebProNews.com - www.webpronews.com - PR7 WebsiteFuel.com - www.websitefuel.com - PR3 website-promotion-ranking-services.com - www.website-promotion-ranking-services.com/article.htm - PR4Web-Source.net - www.web-source.net -PR6Womans-Net - womans-netnews.com - PR4 WorkAtHomeArticles.net - www.workathomearticles.net -PR3Work-at-Home-Jobs-Iowa.com - www.work-at-home-jobs-iowa.com -PR3 Work911.com - www.work911.com - PR4Xongoo.com - www.xongoo.com - PR6 zinos.com - www.zinos.com -PR6 Article by Oudam Em. Oudam is the publisher of ArticleWorld.net, www.articleworld.net, a free online article directory. Oudam is also the webmaster of many other web sites, including WebLaunch, www.nexcomp.com/weblaunch, and SiteSeek.net, www.siteseek.net.
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How it fits into your Internet marketing strategyIan Lurie, Portent Interactive, Seattle, WADecember 29, 2003Pay-per-click marketing is a great way to get visitors when you need traffic and you need it now. But it's risky: You can spend a fortune, generate many visits, and end up with nothing to show for it. This article will provide you with a high-level view of pay per click marketing, provide some general strategies and provide an example of what to do, and what not to do.What is Pay-Per-Click Advertising?On its face, pay-per-click marketing, or PPC, is pretty simple: Search engines and services, such as Google or Overture, provide listings on a per-bid basis. This is in addition to their 'natural' search results, which are still powered by a combination of keywords found on your site, link popularity and other formulae. If you place the highest bid for a specific keyword or set of keywords, then you rank number one in these paid listings. On Google, , PPC listings show up in the Adwords column on the right-hand side of the screen. Other engines, such as MSNSearch or Yahoo, display P P C listings as 'sponsored listings' in the same column as the natural search results.If someone clicks on your PPC listing, they arrive at your web site. And you are charged the amount you bid business . So, if you bid $.15 per click on 'widgets', and that's the highest bid, you'll show up first in line. If 100 people click on your P P C listing, then the search engine or PPC service will charge you $15.00. Why PPC Advertising is BadBut PPC advertising can cost a fortune. It's easy to get caught up in a bidding war over a particular keyphrase and end up spending far more than your potential return. Some PPC engines, such as Overture, offer convenience features such as 'autobid' that will automatically increase your bid amount to maintain a particular rank. That sounds great on its face, but it can get expensive in a big hurry.Also, ROI can be very hard to measure. Some PPC engines (Adwords and Overture, specifically) provide conversion measurement tools, so that you can track whether your pay-per-click campaigns are generating the desired result. But these tracking tools aren't 100% accurate, and at the time of this writing the smaller PPC providers don't deliver any conversion tracking.And watch out for junk traffic. Most pay-per-click services distribute a segment of their results to several search engines. While you certainly want your listing displayed on Yahoo, AOLSearch and MSN, you may not want your listings showing up and generating clicks from some of the deeper, darker corners of the Internet. The resulting traffic may look good in statistics reports but is very unlikely to generate a return.Finally, pay-per-click advertising does not scale. If you get more traffic, you pay more money in direct proportion to that traffic - your cost per click stays constant, and your overall cost increases. Compare that to natural search engine optimization, where you invest a fixed amount of time and/or money to achieve a better rank, and your cost per click goes down as you draw more traffic. Why PPC is GoodPay-per-click advertising can generate traffic right away. It's simple: If you spend enough, you can get top placement, and potential customers will see you first. If folks are searching for the keyphrases on which you bid and you've placed a well-written ad, you will get clicks the moment the ad is activated.So PPC advertising is fast: With some systems, such as Google Adwords, you can generate targeted traffic within a few minutes of opening an account.PPC advertising is also nimble: Where natural search engine marketing or other forms of advertising can lag weeks or months behind changing audience behavior, you can adjust most pay-per-click campaigns in hours or days all-bournemouth.co.uk . That provides unmatched ability to adjust to market conditions.PPC can also be a bargain: Sometimes, you can find keyword 'niches' for which the top bid is around $.10 - in that case, PPC is a great option, because you can generate traffic to your site for a fraction of the cost of any other form of paid advertising.So, balancing the good and the bad, where does PPC fit in? As a focused advertising tool. The Role of PPC AdvertisingMost businesses can't afford to solely rely on PPC advertising. It's too expensive, and bid amounts inevitably climb. But pay-per-click can fill a few important roles: Campaign- and issue-based traffic: If you have a short-term campaign for a new product, service or special issue, pay-per-click can be a great way to generate buzz. You can start a pay-per-click campaign within, at most, 24-48 hours, and you can generally change the text of your ad in mid-campaign, so adjusting your message is easy. If you need to focus attention for a finite amount of time, PPC is perfect. Direct-response business: If you sell a product or offer a service that folks can purchase the moment they arrive at your web site, pay-per-click is a great tool. Online stores are a great example: You know that each click generated is a real potential customer, so spending money to increase the number of clicks makes sense. Niche terms: If you are trying to generate traffic for a highly specific keyphrase, PPC can often provide bargains. For example, you might not want to pay the top bid for 'bicycles', but 'Landshark Bicycles' is probably a lot less expensive ($.10 per click as of this writing, actually). The overall rule of thumb? Focus, focus, focus. Natural search engine optimization is a PR-based, long-term attempt to grow your brand and image. Pay-per-click advertising, however, should be handled like any other form of paid advertising: Gingerly, and with a clear, quantifiable short- or medium-term goal in mind. In other words, concentrate on conversions, not clicks.
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You have all read them, offline anyway, in papers, magazines and journals among other places. Well online classified ads work the same way. You write a headline, description and post some contact details for potential buyers to get in touch with you. Offline classifieds would direct people to a phone number while online classified ads would contain your URL and an email address. Offline you'll have to pay for almost all classifieds you post, however online there are thousands of free sites which will allow you to post your ad and of course there are plenty of low-cost sites which will also except your ad. Apart from the fact you can get free classifieds online, online ads have a few advantages compared to offline ones. The Internet has a much much larger audience than your local or national newspaper has so more people can potentially see your ad and act upon it. You can post your ads online and you could have feedback and sales within a very short time as usually people just have to click on your URL for more info rather than make a phone call or send a letter. Ads that are placed online are much cheaper than their offline counterparts, this is because space is not tight on the Internet as it is in a magazine or newspaper. A user looking for a particular product can usually perform a search for a particular word or phrase from the classified ad site whereas offline people have to manually scan through the different categories. A disadvantage of online classified ads to the webmaster is that it can be quite time consuming to do especially if you want any sort of success with them, which you obviously do business . However many good pieces of software are becoming available which can automatically submit your ad to lots of these sites, they aren't cheap but if you're interested try doing a search for 'classified ad software' or something similar on Google.com or Yahoo.com. Let's get on to the good part, how to make the most out of posting to classified ads. Stay specific, always post to the most appropriate category or categories there are, this way you'll be posting to an area where people will actually be interested in your product, this is vital. Remember especially with free classified sites that a lot of other webmasters will be trying to promote their products and websites with ads too so you'll have to repost your ad regularly to stay near the top of the bunch, nobody will even see your ad if it's at the bottom of another 50 ads, will they? Now on to the actual copy of your ad, since few classified sites allow you to post graphics you'll have to rely on your headline to grab the attention of the people scanning the ads in front of them. You can do this by using words like 'free', 'secrets', 'how-to' and other words which will make them curious to find out more. If you can, include your keywords in your headline as some classified sites will use the headline as the link to your site this in turn will help you when the search engines examine your link popularity. Always target your market, if you sell a product for webmasters mention 'webmasters' in the headline and body, next you should mention what your product will do for them (i.e. the benefits of it. - how will it make their life easier). I have read this in numerous places and now you're going to read it too, the idea with classified ads is to generate interest and not to actually sell anything there and then, that's far to hard to do, you want to get the reader wanting more information and you should give this to them through your website or autoresponder. This is why your ad body should always be short, concise and to the point, a big long page sales letter will scare people off. Follow the above few tips and you should see some results, before you go I want to put this to you click here . Which is better paid or free classifieds? Well for me paid classifieds have always produced much better results, I think this is because advertising in “Free Classified Sites” has now become an almost automated task which means not many people actually visit and respond to classified ads. Submission spiders are wonderful creatures but aren't often interested in clicking on your well-crafted classified ad. Two of the best places where you can place fee based ads which do bring results are AOL.com and Yahoo.com. Good luck!Article by David Callan. David is an Internet marketing professional and webmaster of AKA Marketing.com webmaster forums. Visit his webmaster forums for the latest discussions on search engines, website authoring and Internet marketing related issues and topics.
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Banner ads, search engines and link exchanges. We've all tried them while promoting our sites and online businesses, some have worked more successfully than others mind you but just because you run an online business doesn't mean you've to always promote it online. In fact on many occasions a websites marketing budget can be spent just as effectively using offline methods as it can be using online methods such as the ones mentioned above. Indeed website branding seems to be much more successful using offline methods such as TV and Radio. This article is your guide to promoting your website offline, I hope you enjoy it. Your URL is very importantThe basis behind any offline promotion campaign for your website is of course to get your website visited more often and if your sales letter is good enough to get more sales from these extra visitors. This can only be done by getting the address of your site 'out there' and visible to lots and lots of people. It's for this reason that your URL is very important, it's your lifeline in the offline world, the amount of exposure it receives will make or break your offline campaign. It should appear on any material you send to customers or clients, others businesses you deal with and most importantly potential customers. More on where you can put your URL offline a little later, but for now here's a little paragraph or two regarding things which you can do online to help your offline marketing efforts. First off your website should always have a banner (a standard 468 x 60 or larger banner works best) at the top of every page with your website address clearly visible on it. The reasoning behind this it that many people prefer to print out larger webpages with articles, stories, tutorials and the like to read later and then keep for reference rather than read them online as they're surfing. Without your URL on your banner people may re-read your content but never revisit your site due to them simply forgetting your website address and you may have lost a customer. It's also a good idea to make available online any recent press releases you may have issued. This is due to the fact that many journalists and editors surf the web, if they like your company and product they might be inclined to let their readers know why. A press release will provide them with the latest information regarding your company helping them to do this. Now we'll go through where you can promote your site offline.Put your URL on all day to day business items In the day to day running of your business you'll use many document type items. By these I refer to invoices you send, faxes you send, checks you send, product packaging, business cards etc. Your URL, email address and an attractive website slogan which makes people want to visit should all be present on each of these items either in the form of a banner used with faxes, invoices or other letterhead paper items or simple text which is generally used for business cards and checks click here . You could even include your URL and if space permits your website slogan on all the simple letter envelopes you send out. TelevisionNext we'll talk about the big one - TV. This may well appear to be financially out of reach of all but the biggest websites with very large advertising budgets, but no this is not true. OK admittedly you probably don't and never will have the financial capability to run ads on mainstream Cable such as Fox in America or Sky in Britain and Ireland, not to worry though as such advertising is usually targeted very generally and is useful only to sites with broad appeal such as Amazon.com or Yahoo.com. Local cable television advertising is much more feasible and effective for the more 'ordinary website'. This type of advertising appears to be very reasonably priced at the moment and is particularly effective if your product or services is oriented toward a specific geographic target market, for example imagine if you were a Detroit web design company, simply advertise your company and URL on a local Detroit channel. Contact a Sales representative from your local cable company to find out more business . You should of course mention your URL on numerous occasions within your ad spot. RadioRadio advertising can be very effective in advertising your URL if your domain name is short, catchy and easy to remember. Creative webmasters could develop short scripts themselves whereby their ad incorporates their slogan which in turn incorporates the benefits of visiting their URL. As with TV advertising radio ads work best when targeted towards a specific demographically segmented market such as a certain cities residents. Again price wise you mightn't be able to compete with the big boys and have ads on very popular stations, but local stations offer good prices. Keep in mind however that prices all depend on when and how often your ad is run. Newspapers, classifieds and related magazinesThe print media which includes newspapers, journals and magazines is another avenue where your can have your URL exposed for everyone to see. It's best first to start advertising your products, services and URL in local newspapers and then if successful continue onto regional and national publications. If you can't afford the common graphical advertisement as seen throughout newspapers and journals related to your industry don't worry as most of these publications have classified ad sections. Classified ads allow you to reach a targeted audience very cheaply with a simple short message and of course your URL is included in there somewhere too. Company vehiclesWe all see vehicles with company names and telephone numbers on them driving our streets and motorways. This is a great idea as it gives potential customers the chance while out and about to learn about the company and also learn about how to contact them should they need the service or product they offer at some stage in the future. I often wonder why more websites aren't promoted in this way by simply adding the company website URL also, you definitely should do this. If your business is an exclusively online entity then your URL should be large and very visible to anyone who glances in the direction of your vehicle. Again many people would be driving or walking by as your vehicle drives by and wouldn't be able to write down a long website address so it would be an advantage to have a short, easy to remember URL. A word of advice before we move on, if you do choose to brand your personal or company vehicles with your URL have it done professionally, if your design looks poor people might be inclined to believe your site and products are poor too. Check a local business directory to find out who can do this for you.
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Last time (AdWords Article) I talked about AdWords and how to make a killer AdWords Campaign. This article will show you when and why to use Overture and how to get the most bang for your buck.I highly recommend using these two PPC engines together… Both have advantages and disadvantages and really compliment each other well. I have found that I get very similar amounts of traffic from each for the most part, but the type of traffic is very different. Basically, I use Google for the “Main Industry Keywords”, i.e. the more expensive keywords. I try to list in the top 5 for these keyword in Google and do that by using the tips given in the last tutorial. I will alway list my sites for these keywords in Overture also, but I will only list them highly if they are affordable, which varies by industry.Overture Advantages1. You know your price. Unlike Google, Overture is based 100% on how much you are willing to spend. You know exactly where your ads will showup the first day you start your campaign and you can check them every day and tweak your cost to move up or down in the rankings.2. You can be more selective with your ads. Unlike Google, you don't have to worry much about your CTR. Overture will turn you off if it is horrible (or so I am told) but I have never had any turned off. This means you can really “pre-sell” your product or service from the ad, rather than just trying to get them to come to your site to keep your CTR above .05%. This means you can add the price of your product, etc. so they know EXACTLY what they are getting into before coming to your site. If they won't be interested, they won't click. This will save you money! Warning: Try this out, but don't oversell everything… some people need to get to your site and see your killer copy, promotional text, demos, and testimonials before they will buy!3. Overture always shows “Exact Matches” over “Broad Matches”. This means if you have a very specific keyword that you are paying just 10c for… and someone else is paying $1 for a more broad match your results will come up first. This give you incentive to find LOTS of keywords and customize ads for each one.Overture Disadvantages1. Usually more expensive, especially for the top keywords, and also the starting cost (10c rather than 5c for AdWords). This can be a substantial difference with the higher priced keywords, so often times I will list where my budget suggests rather than for position. 2. You have to do more research to get bargins and keep overall costs low. Like I said before, you can get great deals on specific keywords… you just have to find them all and write ads for each one… this is time consuming and sometimes difficult, but worth the effort.3. No “discount”. Unlike Google, your ads are only based on price. For marketing managers who need to know exactly how much they are spending, this is the PPC Engine for them… Therefore, most large companies eat up Overtures top keywords with $10,000+/month budgets. It can be a tough place for a budget of $300/month but you can still get results. Overture Tips1. Write an Ad for EVERY Keyword. Don't be lazy all-scarborough.co.uk . Take the time and do this right. No one has every made their millions by taking the shortcut.2. Use the Keyword that the add is for in EVERY AD. Yahoo's Engine BOLDS your keyword to make it stand out. I just see that MSN now LINKS your Keyword in every Ad! This means you get more chances for your ad to be clicked if you put your keyword in the ad. This is another reason you need to write an ad for every keyword!3. You get a little more room and flexibility in writing your Overture ads. You aren't tied in to that 3 line box like AdWords has. BUT it is VERY IMPORTANT to say what you mean at the BEGINNING. Many of the users of Overture CUT OFF YOUR ADS and put a …. If you wait till the end to say what you are selling, it might get cut off. 4. If you are in the top 5 positions, you get a little bonus. For Yahoo's Engine, you get listed TWICE on the homepage if you are in positions 3-5. You will get listed on the SIDE and AT THE BOTTOM. Check it out! The ads are the same for 3-5 as the very bottom under the results. This used to be the same on MSN, but they are now repeating ads 1-3 AT THE TOP and AT THE BOTTOM. Therefore if you are not in 1-5, you are missing out on FREE exposure.5. Check, Check, Check, Monitor, Check, Monitor, Check. Don't create your Overture account and then leave it. You should go in at least once a week and make sure you are still in the position you want to be. You need to check your competitors and see what they are doing. You need to write down every time you think of a new keyword and add it to your campaign. Every time you launch a new product/service, tweak the ads that need to reflect it. 6. Be creative! Make Overture ads for Specials you are running on a product. Are you offering Free Shipping? Tell them in the overture ad! Are you giving away a prize? Promote it! Use it for things that no one else is!Kobesent Solutions ..:.. Internet Marketing and Promotionswww business .Kobescent.comKyle@Kobescent.com
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Copyright © 2005 Off the Page Smooth Out Customer Choice PointsDeveloping a trusting customer relationship is a process. And sales seldom happen without trust. A relationship builds as a sequence of steps follow one another click here . Whether contact occurs in a single encounter or over time, each step is riddled with choices. As the sales process goes along, customers have to be willing to take another step - to make further commitments (however small) of their time and attention.When customers already trust you and are interested in what you?re offering, they?ll take the next step without hesitation. However, if they?re unsure about you (or had a prior negative experience), they?ll want to think about it - and just maybe that?s when they realize they aren?t all that interested after all.Each buyer choice point actually ups the ante. On some unstated level, buyers know they?re committing to the next step, bringing the transaction closer to happening. These steps get riskier (for you as well as them) whenever you specifically ask them to do something more.Choice points are precisely the places you?re most likely to lose them - when they bail out of the process.Kinds of buyer choice points - Come into the store - Read the ad beyond the headlines - Listen to this audio tape - Visit the website - Pick up the phone and call - Try it for 30 days without obligation - Take a test drive; check out the product - Write the check - Negotiate the monthly payments for a purchase - Present their credit cardSour notes that creep into the experience can break the inevitability of them taking the next step. These interaction points represent higher risk to sellers, because that?s when buyers are is most likely to reconsider or flee.Anything that breaks the steadily building momentum puts the sale at risk. And just because the deal?s complete, don?t relax. There are always plenty of reasons why a person changes her mind and wants out (or returns the product) afterwards.That?s why even free offers can be a hard sell. A person has to think about whether it?s worth the effort or inconvenience to try or assess something new. Whether it?s worth changing their existing preferences to consider what you?re offering.Reduce Obstacles that Make Customers Walk AwayImagine a typical sales process that takes eight-steps, from the time the person steps into the store (or website) looking for a particular product, until she walks out with it. What percentage of your potential buyers taking the first step make it through to the last one? If you want them to complete the whole sequence, it?s critical their entire experience moves as smoothly as possible.Identify each place where your procedures impose upon customers. (Who cares if the competition does it, too! Solving the ?glitch? gives you an advantage, while showing respect for buyers.) Do they add extra aggravations or increases the likelihood of them walking away? What could be done to make interaction points less risky or annoying? Become obsessive about getting them so smooth and trouble-free that they?re hardly noticeable at all.Assess each obstacle/choice point you?ve got built into the buying and paying process. These are the exact places where you?re losing customers - and sales. When customers can?t get the help needed, can?t find the product in the model or size wanted, can?t navigate through the check-out without mishap, she?s likely to stop midstream.Let?s assume that she gets all the way through and completes the purchase, despite the obstacles. What are the odds she?ll be in a hurry to come back?Online, seventy to ninety percent of those who start to make a purchase don?t complete the process (abandoned shopping carts, etc.). These were people motivated enough to attempt to buy, and gave up. It?s unlikely that figures are anywhere near that high in retail situations, but they?re still much higher than they need to be business . Anything that cuts customer bail-out goes straight to the bottom line.Keeping Customers is Much Easier than Getting New OnesYellow Pages ads are primarily a tool for acquiring new customers (your ?unknown? market). And a business needs to do that routinely. But with all the effort spent finding more business, it?s easy to forget that getting buyers to come in is easy compared to building a long-term relationship with the ones you have (your ?known? market). That?s at the heart of repeat business. As you eliminate the aggravations of doing business with you, you?ll see more of that. –Dr. Lynella Grant An expert in Yellow Page ads and Local Search. Stand out online and offline, so you capture more Internet-savvy buyers for your brick and mortar business. Free resources http://www.localsearchresources.com
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Copyright © 2005 Debt Management Credit Counseling Corp. Plan your financial future after college, through your twenties and beyond.By Pete Glocker DMCCA new car is the first purchase most college graduates want to make directly after graduation. You may ask yourself, what is the matter with being rewarded with something nice after completing such a hard task that you have been working towards your whole life? Depending on what your entry-level job pays; it would be wise to spend accordingly with your available income. Many graduates think they are getting better paying jobs than they actually get after college, so they purchase a vehicle way out of their price range. ?I know when I graduate in December, it will be nice to get a new car, but I know there will be student loans and other living expenses to pay off first,? says Jayne Santucci, a senior at Florida Atlantic University business . ?When recent college graduates get their first job, they see their co-workers with brand new cars, so they think they should get one also, not knowing the co-workers experience and salary,? Santucci adds.If you are going into a career that coincides with your college major, you may want to consider starting with an entry level position rather than taking a higher paying job in an unrelated field business . The entry level job will be better for you in the long run because it will give you more opportunities to advance in a field that you were trained in. If you start with a higher paid job in a different career, you might lose interest quickly and have little room for advancement. Stick with your career, and the money will eventually come.When you get hired for your first job in the ?real world,? find out what kinds of retirement plans are available. The majority of employers offer 401(k) plans or other tax-deferred retirement options. With every paycheck you receive, you can contribute money into the 401(k) and many employers will match some part of your contribution. This will help you save for your future. Start your savings account immediately and if at all possible have your money directly deposited into your account. Learn to pay yourself first!According to CNN Money, college graduates of 2005 are being paid more in starting salaries than the class of 2003-2004. Here is a list of the average salaries for college graduates.Accounting - $41,039; Management - $35,811;Teaching - $29,733; Sales - $37,130;Nurse - $38,775;Financial /Treasury - $45,596; Software -Design - $53,729; Consulting - $49,781;Source: CNN Money 2005After obtaining their landing your first job, many college graduates think it may be a good idea to move back home with their parents so they can save money. Saving money is not always the case when moving home. Having the feeling of fewer bills can provide you more freedom for going out and buying an expensive car, stereo or designer clothes. So, instead of saving your money, graduates could be spending it on items they do not really need. It might be a smarter idea to actually stay independent because you will grow and may learn faster what it means to be self-reliant. As a college graduate, you may struggle starting out at first, but it will be beneficial to you in the long run.The most important word to you, a recent college graduate, should be ?b-u-d-g-e-t.? By creating a budget, it will give you the opportunity to design a method to pay your bills and save for something you really want. The better you are at sticking to a budget, the more peace of mind you will have when it comes to your personal finances.A person?s twenties could be the most important years to start achieving your financial goals. The earlier you invest the better. If a 25-year-old who invests $2,000 a year at a 6 percent compound interest annually for fifteen years and never invests another dollar, after the age of 40, the 25-year-old will earn more by the age of 65 than a 35-year-old who invests $2,000 a year at 6 percent compound interest annually for 30 years, even though the 35-year-old would have invested twice as long.Last but not least, it is important to identify a short, medium and long-term goal for yourself. A short-term goal may be a new car, a vacation or a television. A medium-term goal could be buying a business, a house or paying for your child?s education. A long-term goal can be retirement and traveling.Managing money as a young adult can be the most important in terms of your financial situation. It is best to do research and want to learn about how to manage your credit, bills, and any extra expenditure before it is too late. Be smart with your money. Pete Glocker is employed in the Education and Charitable Services Department at Debt Management Credit Counseling Corp. (?DMCC?), a 501c(3) non-profit charitable organization located in Boca Raton, Florida. Pete graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a BA in Multimedia Journalism and is an experienced web producer for Tribune Interactive products Sun-Sentinel.com and SouthFlorida.com. DMCC provides free financial education, personal budget counseling, and debt management plans to consumers across the United States. Debt management plans offered by DMCC help consumers relieve the stress of excessive debt by reducing credit card interest rates, consolidating and lowering monthly payments, and stopping collection calls and late fees. DMCC financial counselors can be reached for free education materials, budget counseling and debt management plan quotes by calling 800-863-9011 or by visiting http://www.dmcccorp.org . Pete Glocker can be reached by email at pete@dmcccorp.org
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