Hello -
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I would recommend testing the waters in 2 to 3 areas at a time. Don't
put all of your financial eggs into one basket. A multi-faceted
approach is ideal. There are no hard and fast guaranteed methods, so
you will have to play it by ear by dabbling in your chosen methods to
assess their potential for your particular business. Also, I would
HIGHLY suggest significantly increasing your budget for marketing.
This is the life blood of your firm. No marketing, no people, no
business. Dedicate as much funds as possible to this end of your
business. It will take some definite leg work, but this side of your
business is all too important.
1) SEARCH ENGINE PLACEMENT
Countless people everyday use search engines like Google to search for
words like "computer" or "buy computers". Search engines are the very
gateway to content on the web. You've got to get a piece of that
searching action by making sure your site is front and center when
people are searching. I would recommend finding a company that
specializes in search engine placement, and get your site as
accessible as possible when people are searching. People are most
inclined to pick the links that fit their given search term the
fastest. If your site is on page 54 of a search engine result list,
there's not a good chance you're going to see many clicks to it from
that particular search engine.
Here are some companies that "look" credible, but I would investigate
their record and methodology [to make sure they're not spamming search
engines] before patronizing them:
Meandaur
http://www.meandaur.com/landing_Pages/seo.cfm
SEO Logic
http://www.seologic.com/optimization-ranking-submission/
InfoScavenger
http://www.infoscavenger.com/engine.htm
Positioned1
http://positioned1.com/contact.nclk
Prime Visibility
http://www.primevisibility.com/?source=google2
I'd highly recommend visiting Search Engine Watch at
http://www.searchenginewatch.com and particularly
http://searchenginewatch.com/resources/paid-listings.html as a
resource in this area.
You will have to contact these agencies for quotes.
2) OPT-IN BULK EMAIL
A comparatively cheap and fast method of reaching the greatest number
of people on the Internet is via bulk, targeted, spam-free [or
"opt-in"] email. This method will afford you instant exposure to
millions of potentially the exact kind of people you're looking to
attract. Big, multi-billion dollar companies use email every day to
reach people. It's very important that the recipient list is opt-in,
which means people have "opted" to receive email from solicitors.
I would recommend an email containing a loss-leader or extremely
attractive sales offer, with a direct link to your site. People get a
lot of junk mail. Your email needs to stand out and be valuable to
not be considered junk. The subject line is very important. The word
"FREE" combined with something meaningful always attracts people.
Avoid impersonal suffixes to the end of your subject line such as
"xxysjjjj123".
There are literally thousands of companies that do targeted emailing,
so I would recommend that you do some searching under the keywords of
"opt-in", "spam-free email", etc. But beware of pie-in-the-sky
$30-for-millions-of-emails scams. Remember, you always get what you
pay for.
Here's a starting list of a few that seem to "look"
credible/professional, but I would thoroughly check into them
[possibly with the BBB, or other third party]:
Computer Product Mail Order Buyers
http://www.thelistexperts.com/viewcard.cfm?ID=45
Optinemail101
http://www.optinemail101.com/
.003 cents per name
All Access Marketing
http://www.allaccessmarketing.com/
Broadc@st
http://www.mailworkz-email-marketing.com/
targeted_opt_in_email_direct_marketing.asp
In addition, here's a general list of companies:
List of Bulk-Email Marketing
http://list-advertising.com/opt-in/
My recommendation is to test the waters with 2 different companies and
pay no more than $600 total. If you see results, consider investing
more money.
As with other forms of advertising, there's no guarantee, and no way
to concretely project what your response will be.
3) SEARCH ENGINE ADVERTISING
Almost as important to search engine placement is search engine
advertising. For relatively low cost, you can have banner or
banner-type links on prominent search engines such as Google.
According to Google, "The vast majority of Google advertisers renew
because search-based advertising converts users to customers." Google
has its Adwords advertising service, which enables you to specify what
keyword searches trigger your ad. After the $5.00 activation fee,
"you tell Google how much you are willing to pay per click and per
day. You can choose a maximum cost-per-click (CPC) from $0.05 - $50
and set a daily budget as low as 5 cents or as high as you want."
You've seen those colored boxes at the right hand side of the Google
home page that pop-up based on the search term you've specified?
That's Google Adwords.
See more at http://adwords.google.com
On the premium side of things, Google has Premium Sponsorships at
$5,000/month. You may investigate that if you see some traffic
increases from the AdWords program.
I'd also recommend the Overture advertising network at:
http://Keywords.com
"Overture search results reach 75% of all Internet users through their
affiliate partner network, which includes leading Web properties such
as Microsoft Internet Explorer, America Online, Lycos, AltaVista and
many others. That's $99 for 40 highly relevant targeted search terms
related to your site with professionally written search listing
descriptions customized specifically to drive traffic to your site."
4) GET LISTED IN INTERNET SHOPPING HUBS AND DEAL-FINDER NETWORKS/SITES
People who surf online malls looking for computer buys, or those
looking for the latest deals, should readily be able to see your site
in their quest. There are companies that do listings for you, or you
can list your site yourself. Prices will range accordingly. As
always, thoroughly inspect a company before doing business with it. I
would saturate your site in as many online malls and deal-finder sites
as possible. Here are some starter sites of interest:
Shopsmart
http://www.shopsmart-usa.com/listyourshop1.htm
ActivePlaza
http://www.activeplaza.com/
Majon
http://www.majon.com/malllink.html
WorldMall
http://www.worldmall.com/
Price Alliance
http://www.pricealliance.com/becaffil/advertis/adver.htm
Pricewatch.com
http://www.pricewatch.com
Streetprices.com
http://www.streetprices.com
5) AFFILIATE WEB SITES
Partner with other related web sites to offer "buddy advertising."
For example, you agree with a PC case manufacturer to display a link
to them on your site, and you do the same for their site. Get listed
on affiliate web site listings, and offer a special incentive to those
sites that provide links to your site on their site. There are
countless sites to explore in this area, but here's a few to get
started. I recommend trying some search terms containing the word
"affiliate". The more sites you are connected with, the more
connections you make, the higher your exposure. I recommend pursuing
multiple paths in this arena.
Affiliate Guide
http://www.affiliateguide.com/
Web Affiliate Programs
http://www.webaffiliateprograms.com/DisplayPrograms.cfm?linktype=affiliates&category=Computer+Hardware
Web Affiliate Manager
http://www.webaffiliatemanager.com/index.cfm?Rotateid=2479&page=1
Become an Affiliate
http://www.becomeanaffiliate.com/Computers/
ShowBehind
http://www.showbehind.com/companyinfo.html
Affiliate World
http://www.affiliateworld.com/
Search Strategy:
opt-in
spam-free
advertising online mall
search engine placement
affiliate web
deal find
deal finders
get listed online malls |
