by Angela Beasley on August 19, 2010
It seems there is a wave of Internship positions for Internet marketers or SEO specialists with either a huge list of qualifications necessary to obtain these (slave labor) oops, I meant “Internship” positions or (on the flip side) positions for Internet marketers where they don’t care if you have any experience whatsoever. What is even more interesting is when I dig deeper and research the organizations seeking this “slave labor”, free, uh “internship” labor and I find that these organizations are either practically giving away SEO or Internet marketing services, or they are charging huge amounts of money for the same “delusions of grandeur” (instant Google page rank) and aren’t delivering results – Sadly the clients don’t even know they aren’t getting results because they are not even sure how to measure results.
After which I dig even deeper to check out these so-called “SEO” organizations, do a Google search for their own keywords and find that they don’t even rank for their own keywords and are nowhere to be found on Google’s first, second or third page themselves. After noting that nearly 90% of these Internet Marketing Sweatshops don’t even rank themselves, I check out their client portfolios hoping that they have at least built you (the client) a functional, converting, aesthetically pleasing website and I am met with websites that:
- Do not rank
- Do not convert
- Have broken links
- Make no sense
- Have serious typos
- Look bad
- Is obviously a template that they probably paid $25 to $75 for once and have used about 100 times
- And In some cases the home-page does not even pull up
One of my favorites is the cookie cutter Silver, Gold, and Platinum packages offered by the IMS (Internet Marketing Sweatshop).
They look something like this:
| SEO Package |
Bronze |
Silver |
Gold |
Platinum |
| SEO Price |
$250 |
$399 |
$750 |
$1000 + |
| Directory Submits |
#250 |
#500 |
#750 |
#4000 |
| Keyword Research |
5 |
10 |
20 |
30 |
| Meta Tags |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Back links |
500 |
500 |
1000 |
2000 |
| Website Content |
Not included |
Not Included |
Yes |
Yes |
.
It all ends with a total price and an order form for you to submit your order right online without even speaking to anyone about your business or your business needs.
To top it all off, most of your SEO is not even being handled by an SEO specialist if anyone at all!
Remember the 80′s hit by Naked Eyes – Promises, promises? It went something like this:
You made me promises, promises
Knowing I’d believe promises, promises
You knew you’d never keep
Sound familiar?
Listen, if you are a business owner and you want to bring in business through the Internet you are going to need to do a few things first:
- Spend some money to promote your business, but spend it wisely
- Educate yourself at least a little about marketing on the Internet
- Have patience. Internet marketing, SEO or SMO results do not happen overnight
- Stop giving everyone you meet or call who offers you “delusions of grandeur” i.e. “Google ranking” all of your money
- Stop hitting submit on those package deals
- Hire someone who doesn’t promise you the world but shows you real concrete results (such as clients contacting you through your website, etc., to purchase your products or services)
- Realize that just because you have a website or website traffic does not mean you are going to increase your ROI through that website. You need the right type of website, social media strategies and SEO.
Last but not least, there is a huge difference between Internet marketing and street/mass media marketing (I have done both). Just because someone has a degree in marketing does not mean they know anything about Internet marketing and vice versa – It also does not mean they do not, but it is entirely different. The Internet is a “pull” marketing platform versus a “push” marketing platform.
If you want more of an idea of how a SEO or Social Media campaign really works or its costs, check out this great article by Mack Collier “So how much will a social media strategy cost?”.
by Angela Beasley on August 3, 2010
When it comes to local search, Google Places in one of the most effective, free, online marketing tools a small or new business owner might hope to find. It is by far one of the easiest and quickest ways to get listed on the Internet, and we all know how important it is to have web presence- at least I hope we do.
The great thing about Google Places is that its easy to use and edit. There is also a dashboard where you can check your stats to see how many visitors you had, what zip code visitors who clicked on your ad came from and you can use the words from the “impressions” list to help you determine what keywords to include on your website.
Here’s a quick story you may or may not relate to, but it will give you a good idea of what you can achieve simply from signing up for a free account with Google places.
I took my car in to have it painted at a local body shop that I found on Craigslist one day while searching for quotes on my paint job. Craigslist was actually a favorite spot of mine to look for electronics, etc., before it became “Spam’s List”.
I called the body shop to get more information and took my car over to them the next day. When I arrived at the body shop I was greeted by a very kind owner. Judging from the ad that led me to them in the first place, they were a much larger establishment than I ever thought they would be. The owner showed me around, gave me a tour of the facility and showed me some of their current projects.
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by Angela Beasley on June 20, 2010
When it boils down to having access to your target market on a 24-hour basis , “Mobile ads are where it’s at”. The cell phone or mobile device has become one of the most personal objects a consumer relies on. It has been said that the mobile device is as personal or as important as a person’s wallet or purse. Cell phones are used to; store phone numbers, addresses and other personal contact information, watch videos, store music, play video games, manage event calendars and more.
In an article by PC Advisor, Lexton Snol states that according to a recent study, “40 percent of mobile phone users would rather lose their wallet than their mobile device. Nearly all said they would be “devastated” if they lost their phone.” This only goes to show you just how important mobile devices are to consumers. It should be evident that marketing to consumers on such devices would prove advantageous. Many businesses are finding that mobile ads are exceeding other forms of marketing, particularly mobile-text ads. Moosejaw is one such company that has succeeded in creating an almost “cult-like” following through their mobile ads. Their first campaign included a text-message version of the popular children’s game “Rock, Paper, Scissors”
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by Angela Beasley on May 17, 2010
Many online marketers overlook one of the most important aspects of building a successful internet business – list building. Maybe you don’t know how to go about building a list of targeted subscribers, or you are afraid your email messages won’t be effective. No matter what the reason, building a list is absolutely essential if you want to experience true success in your online marketing efforts!
Consider this: When someone visits your website, they may stay a few minutes, and that is if they even stay that long. Most visitors leave within just a few seconds if they fail to see information that sparks their interest immediately. This means that you have lost that person as a potential customer forever! By building a list of targeted subscribers, you have the opportunity to market to that person over and over again.
Here are three very important reasons you should be building a list in your business:
1. Building Relationships
When you build a list of subscribers that are interested in your offer, you have the opportunity to form a solid relationship with that person. Through the information you offer in your messages, you can build their trust in you and your products. You have the opportunity to offer value to them, while at the same time they get to know you on a little more personal level. Once they trust you, they feel comfortable with you and the products or services you recommend. This means they are much more likely to purchase from you than from a total stranger!
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