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Marketing Blog
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January 9, 2008
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Is Your Web Site a Good Lead Generator?
Your web site is one of the most
important lead generation tools your company employs.
With it, you have the ability to reach and influence potential
customers whose names you don't yet know.
What those potential customers see in their first visit
to your site likely will make or break the opportunity
you have to do business with them. If they don't like
what they see in the first 30 seconds or few minutes,
they can easily back out and visit one of your competitors.
Aside from having a professional appearance, your site
should speak to that audience in the way they want.
You may prefer to limit the amount of technical information
that your company provides online, but it's technical
detail that business-to-business buyers say is most
important in their expectations of a web site. Being
able to buy online is way down the list of requirements;
it's having the ability to access enough information
about a company's products to determine the potential
fit that is key.
Other ways to make a good, first impression:
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Have site content that clearly explains what you
do on the home page, without requiring the site
visitor to hunt around. |
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Provide logical navigation to all areas of your
site so visitors can easily find the information
they need. |
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Give a good call-to-action and a way for prospects
to contact you on every page. |
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Put your best foot forward with professional photography
and graphic design - it may be the only chance you
have to wow a prospect. |
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Have your site tested in multiple browsers so
that you know site visitors will get the experience
you intend no matter what type of computer they
use. |
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If you have an e-mail contact form on your site,
make sure someone within your company has responsibility
for following up on all leads in a timely basis
that come through that form. |
For assistance in improving your site's "first
impression", contact Pilot Fish at 877-799-9994
ext. 2104 or fill
out this form.
POSTED
BY ANGELA CHARLES -- click
here to comment
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August 22, 2007
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B2B Buyer Report Supports Importance of Search Engine
Optimizaton
A new survey of business-to-business
(b2b) companies highlights the importance of investing
in a web site that is designed and optimized to perform
well on the major search engines and that has visibility
on other related industry sites.
According to the Business
to Business Survey 2007 by Enquiro, 65.3 percent
of b2b buyers say they would start their research with
a general search engine. Depending on which phase of
the purchase cycle the buyer is in (awareness, research,
negotiation, purchase), other online sources (b2b vertical
web site, vendor web site, and industry information
site) come into play as well to provide the buyers trusted
information.
The survey points to the importance of having a company's
web site perform well on search engines and industry
portals. The two factors cited as most influential in
a buyer's decision-making are the vendor's web site
and word-of-mouth recommendation. Given that nearly
two-thirds of the survey respondents would begin their
research with a search engine, it is critical that company
web sites be found easily in the search engines.
Also covered in the survey was the type information
that b2b buyers consider most important. In all cases,
b2b buyers said they preferred to get information in
a text format that could be downloaded and was portable.
The reason cited for this preference was that in most
cases, the person doing the product research is not
the person making the purchase decision; therefore,
the information needs to be available in a format that
can be easily shared.
For assistance in making your company's web site more
user- and search engine-friendly, contact Pilot Fish
at 877-799-9994 ext. 2104 or fill
out this form.
POSTED
BY ANGELA CHARLES -- click
here to comment
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June 11, 2007
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Multiple Tools Enable Broadest Marketing Reach
Companies truly committed to marketing
understand that there's no guaranteed one way to generate
leads. The best marketing programs recognize that people
vary in their sensitivity to various marketing stimuli,
that a combination of public relations and advertising
methods is the best way to target the broadest audience.
For example, some people respond well to advertisements
in print magazines; others only read the articles, some
of which might be generated from a company's public
relations activities.
Activities like direct mail and trade shows further
enforce brand awareness and can lead a prospect who
has seen a company's name several times in other ways
to finally take action. It's understood that the more
times you "touch" your prospect, the more
likely they'll contact you.
Internet visibility works in much the same way. There
are multiple opportunities for prospects to see you,
if you take advantage of all that the Internet offers.
The most important is having a search engine optimized
site. That means, making sure your content and site
coding is written in a way that enables the major search
engines like Google and Yahoo to properly index your
site and rank it high enough that your site can easily
be found.
Another path through which prospects should find your
site is via industry portals and directories. In addition
to providing visibility to an already-qualified audience,
these sites also provide an important association by
which Google will measure you when determining how important
your site is compared to others in your industry.
Marketing material that you have ready at hand can
be multi-purposed for widespread visibility online.
For instance, new product press releases, white papers
or company news can be posted on article submission
sites. Company videos can be posted on video sites like
YouTube or Google Video with links back to your web
site. Technical tips or expert advice from important
company executives can be disseminated via Internet
blogs. Product updates can be sent out via e-mail.
Recognizing the validity of all these various forms
of information distribution, Google has begun implementation
of its Universal Search, which pulls content from its
vertical search engines (like News, Images, Video and
Maps) and displays a combination of these types of content
in the main Google search.
Internet offers the ability to effectively reach your
prospects with multiple touches - now you just have
to do it.
POSTED
BY ANGELA CHARLES -- click
here to comment
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January 15, 2007
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Visibility, contact info rate as most important functions
of web site
The two most important functions
of a company web site are visibility and ease-of-contact.
First, it's critical that a company's web site have visibility
Internet-wide. That's different than just being able to
type your business name into Google and seeing a link
to your site. Many people seeking your products or services
may not know your business by name. They'll use product
terms to find companies that supply what they're looking
for.
Internet-wide visibility requires the development of a
site that is search-engine friendly, meaning that the
major search engines like Google and Yahoo give it a position
on the first 3 pages of results for keyword searches relevant
to that business. Internet-wide visibility also means
links and listings on all the primary business and industry
web sites. The more places that your online prospects
see your company name, the more chances you have that
they will visit your site and contact you.
Once they find our site and click on your link, it's critical
that your prospect be able to easily contact you. That
means providing every means of contact viewable directly
from your home page: address, telephone, e-mail address
or contact form. If you force a prospect to hunt around
your site for a phone number, chances are you'll lose
them before they ever pick up the phone.
POSTED
BY ANGELA CHARLES -- click
here to comment
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August 1, 2006
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Internet Made Easy: Leveraging Third-Party Tools Saves
Money, Time
The true value of the Internet can be summed up in one
word: Links.
Links are the shorthand that enable us to disseminate
an enormous amount of information without having to recreate
it ourselves.
If you want to provide your clients with directions to
your plant location, you put a link on your web site to
MapQuest. If you want to promote your presence at a trade
show and provide prospects with registration information,
you link to the trade show web site. A plastics resin
supplier that wants to provide data sheets on its company's
materials can link to IDES' Prospector database. Plastics
and rubber industry companies can easily post their news
releases on Polysort and link to them from their web sites.
These are just a few of the many ways that companies can
leverage the power of the Internet to expand the value
of their web sites for customers and prospects without
having to absorb the costs or spend the time on reinventing
the wheel.
The Internet has created an enormous opportunity for companies
to easily tell their story to customers and prospects.
There's value in creating unique content that lends credibility
to your company as an industry leader. At the same time,
there are tools available that make your information dissemination
much more efficient.
For assistance in maximizing the value of the Internet
on your web site, contact John Inama at
877-799-9994 ext. 2104
. or fill
out our contact form.
POSTED
BY ANGELA CHARLES -- click
here to comment
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June 6, 2006
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Internet's potential requires attention to promotion
Ten years ago, we helped a local moldmaker develop its
first web site. Prior to the Internet, the company had
gained all its business from a five-hour radius of its
sole location in the Akron, Ohio, area - the distance
the company felt it cost-effective to send a direct salesforce.
A few months after launching its web site in 1996, the
company called with exciting news. It had received a request
for quote from a major Texas-based computer company with
which it had had no prior contact or expectation of an
opportunity.
A decade later, the Internet continues to deliver on the
promise to bring together businesses that otherwise would
never have known about each other.
But it's a bit more challenging today than it was in 1996.
Any firm with a web site 10 years ago had very little
competition online, and thus was considered pioneering
- making opportunities like that described above not only
possible, but common.
Because most companies have web pages today, being online
no longer is a differentiator. Besides having an attractive,
easy to navigate and informative web site, it's imperative
that your company make its site easy to locate. That means
an investment in search engine optimization so that Internet
users can easily locate your site via Google, Yahoo and
other search engines.
User surveys indicate that technical buyers also rely
on business-to-business Internet directories, so links,
listings or ads on sites like Polysort are equally important
to get the right eyeballs to your site.
A web site absolutely has the ability to generate leads
and new business - but it requires appropriate attention
and investment to maximize its potential.
For assistance with your web design project, contact John
Inama at
877-799-9994 ext. 2104
. or fill
out our contact form.
POSTED
BY ANGELA CHARLES -- click
here to comment
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May2, 2006
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Effective Online Marketing Strategy Leverages Three
Elements
Now that the Internet has taken hold as a legitimate marketing
tool for businesses, your web site is competing for your
potential customers' attention against many more competitors,
both known and unknown.
With more than 3 billion web sites, it's getting more
complicated to get your site in front of your target audience,
and to get that audience to take the desired action once
on your site.
Companies seeking better results from their web sites
oftentimes get stuck focusing on one area and become disenchanted
when their efforts fail to bear fruit.
Just like a young tree that needs well-nourished soil,
water and sunshine to grow, your company's web site will
bear fruit when you pay attention to the three elements
required for success:
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User-friendly content that leverages the critical
Performance Keywords important to driving qualified
traffic and leads; |
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Site design and structure that conveys a sense
of brand leadership and accommodates the indexing
needs of search engine robots; |
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A comprehensive online promotion program that
reaches all potential buyers throughout the Internet
environment. |
Because of the competitive nature of search engine visibility,
a haphazard web site strategy -- one that fails to coordinate
the three elements above -- no longer is acceptable for
companies seeking true results from their Internet marketing
dollars.
For more information about improving your web site's performance,
call 877-799-9994 ext. 2104 or fill
out our form.
POSTED
BY ANGELA CHARLES -- click
here to comment
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March 15, 2006
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How to save money and time on SEO
You've just recognized that your company web site needs
optimization, and you need it now! The site's not performing
on search engines, leads have dried up and you need something
done.
It's possible to turn the situation around, without losing
your shirt in the process. For best results, take into
consideration the following points as you begin your SEO
project:
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One-stop shopping: If you plan
to redesign your site, select a web developer that
also is skilled in SEO. Integrating optimization
during the redesign process will save you time and
money. |
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Research keywords: Don't accept
an SEO plan of trial and error. Your SEO vendor
should have a program to research appropriate keywords
that will generate the best quantity and quality
visitors to your site. |
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Ask for references: There are
many companies that claim to do SEO. Ask for references,
and check them. It's important to avoid companies
that overpromise - they usually employ illegal techniques
that can get your site banned. |
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4. Respect the timeline: Going
from nowhere to page 1 on Google can take several
months from the time your site is optimized. Don't
delay the project further by second-guessing your
SEO's recommendations or turning over the approval
process to an in-house committee. |
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Don't mess with success: Many
companies have the capability to update pages on
their own site. That doesn't mean it's a good idea.
If your site has been optimized by an SEO firm,
it's important to consult with them before making
any changes to pages they've optimized. Otherwise,
you may unknowingly undo the optimization work you
paid for. |
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Understand what you're paying for:
If your site has zero visibility on the search engines,
you need a professional SEO firm's help. Getting
your site to perform on Google, Yahoo and MSN takes
part science, part art, and someone experienced
in the process. Legitimate SEO companies will charge
anywhere from $4,000 and up, depending on the number
of keywords and scope of project. As part of a full
redesign of the site, this cost will partly be absorbed
into the development of new content. If you truly
want your site to generate leads, it's worth the
cost. |
For more information, about SEO, contact John Inama at
877-799-9994 ext. 2104
. or fill
out our contact form.
POSTED
BY JOHN INAMA
-- click
here to comment
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February 10, 2006
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Don't let panderers turn you off of SEO
I was deleting some errant spam that had found its way
around my filters and came across a couple e-mails touting
"quick fix" search engine optimization. In each
case, the company touting its services claimed to be able
to effect significant improvement in my web site's search
engine position at a very low cost of less than $50 per
month.
One company was offering to submit my site every two to
three months to all the search engines, which "would
guarantee higher visibility." They didn't really
explain why, if the search engines have already indexed
my site, that re-submitting them would change the ranking
order (it doesn't).
In the other case, the company was more vague about how
it could accomplish its task of first-place ranking on
search engine results. But, it touted a very intriguing
pricing strategy - I'd only pay for as many visitors as
I'd wanted each month, so, presumably, they could "turn
off" at will this promotion. It became clear that
this was a bait-and-switch campaign. Sell the reader on
the benefits of search engine optimization, but then actually
deliver a pay-per-click advertising campaign.
Like fad diet ads in the Sunday magazine, search engine
optimization spam has given legitimate practitioners a
bad name.
It occurred to me that, as is our practice, we would arm
you with the truth; so, here are the facts about optimizing
your web site to perform on the major search engines:
You CAN improve your search engine performance.
And, if you are serious about having your company web
site become a reliable lead generator for you, this will
require some investment.
Why is search engine optimization so important? Human
nature. People naturally seek the path of least resistance.
When seeking a specific product or service on the Internet,
people generally will stop their search after the first
three pages of results. They either find a suitable choice
on those first three pages, or they decide to try a different
keyword. Internet user studies support this. But, you
don't need to read them to know it's true. Think about
your own Internet research habits. At what point do you
become frustrated and leave if you haven't found what
you're looking for?
In optimizing your company web site, Pilot Fish uses our
knowledge of user habits to position your company so that
prospects find you before they become frustrated and abandon
their search. Even so, it's not an easy fix.
To obtain the type of position that will help your web
site succeed, it needs to have the right content. And,
once you've got the visitor there, you need the right
presentation to get them to act on the information you've
presented.
Keep deleting that "quick fix" SEO spam - you're
right in thinking it's a waste of your time to pursue.
But, don't throw out the idea of search engine optimization.
Done right, and your web site can be a top-performing
salesperson for your company.
For more information about search engine optimization,
contact John Inama at
877-799-9994 ext. 2104
or fill
out our contact form.
POSTED
BY ANGELA CHARLES -- click
here to comment
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January 18, 2006
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Research Lauds Vertical Search Engines
A recent article in B2B magazine cited vertical
search engines or portals as an advertising medium that's
gaining interest among business-to-business executives.
According to industry research, vertical search engine
advertising offers:
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Higher rate of relevancy: "Vertical
engines attract people looking for a specific genre
of information, unlike traditional search engines,
that count both consumers and businesspeople among
their users," the B2B article said. |
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More affordable: Vertical engines
can be much more affordable in the long-term than
pay-per-click advertising on traditional sites.
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Better quality leads: Traditional
search engines may charge less per-click for very
specialized terms but, generally, the advertiser
may get fewer qualified click-throughs, according
to a recent Jupiter Research report. |
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Custom options: Vertical search
engines offer more advertising options than traditional
search engines. |
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Measurable results: Vertical
sites usually provide advertising analytic tools
to track the client's investment. |
In our experience assisting companies with their SEO and
Internet marketing strategies, vertical sites are also
a preferred way to create incoming links that will improve
your site's position on the major search engines. These
types of sites generally are regarded as "expert"
sites by the search engines, offering very relevant, targeted
content that enables them to earn high page rank with
Google and strong SE positioning on important industry
keywords. Your company's association with these expert
sites, via incoming links, helps your web site's relevancy
rating in the eyes of the search engines.
As you plan your 2006 advertising budget, look for online
advertising opportunities that maximize your reach and
provide you the kind of positioning to drive traffic and
leads to your web site. Programs on vertical sites that
offer premium positioning on the home page or on the first
page of a directory featuring a list of companies like
yours are among the most valuable in directing qualified
prospects to your web site.
POSTED
BY ANGELA CHARLES -- click
here to comment
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