The book call Web Marketing for Dummies by Jan Zimmerman has a lot of information that explains the sales marketing and technical know-how on how to market your products online. Here are some highlights of the book that I thought were important.
Zimmerman states how to have a successful web marketing campaign. She points out that you should focus on what the customer wants. That products actually sell differently online than they do in a store. Your website must satisfy the needs and interests of your target audience, so that the customer keeps coming back. Your customers are your best referrals. The website must be easy for your customers to use. Featured items should be placed at the top of the screen where they can be easily seen. Your customers must be happy with the products that they receive. Always respond quickly to email and phone inquiries within one business day. If problems occur with their order, let your customer know as soon as possible with an email or phone call. Make it clear on your website, what the refund and return policies are.
You should update your site at least once a month to improve search engine performance. Some easy ways to update the site is: new products, special offers, changes in office hours, and changes in staff. Changing multiple pages on your site improves search engine rankings. Inbound links from blogs increase Google’s rankings highly. Automated service feeds such as: date, weather, news, stock tickers, rotating word of the day, jokes, etc., improve search engine performance too. Don’t use an automated page counter, visitors will think the count is too low and think your site must not be that good. The length of your URL does not matter to your search engine. Short and easy URLs get more user traffic. Use linkable footers at the bottom of every page and site indexes for search engine improvement.
The author talks about using different Web 2.0 technology to promote your business. For each Web 2.0 product the book offers sample software to get started.
Zimmerman mentions social networking like Facebook. I looked at businesses on Facebook. Some send you right to their Facebook page, others make you log in with your Facebook account. When first looking at their page. I found it very confusing. There are a lot of distractions on the right side like advertising, and people you may know. The first page that you see is the WALL where anyone can make a post. This is also confusing because I don’t know if the business is stating something or a customer is. On the left side you can click INFO, I like this page because it actually gives you information about the business. There are other pages on the left side you can click into, to get additional information.
The author talks about what a blog is and states its pros and cons. Businesses are starting to use this as a marketing tool. The business blogs I looked at, I liked. They were a good source of information. It is clear what message the business is stating. It is clear when a reader makes a comment.
Wikis are another great tool that makes everyone a writer. The author gives an example of HP Small Business Community Wiki that allows users to exchange marketing tips and resource. I logged on to it and it appeared to me as a HP website I did not see where I could personally contribute to the site. This appears to be a good way for business’ to advertise inexpensively. You can lock wiki pages from being edited and it will appear just like a normal website.
Was this book published in 2008 or has it been updated since then? Did you find any tips that would no longer be valid (if it was the 2008 book you read)?
ReplyDeleteWow, this book sounds like it really has a lot of great information. I am very interested in internet marketing and finding the best ways to do it. Thanks for the information.
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