In the world of business the phrase, “the customer is number one” wasn’t just something people said, it was something people did. The true key to running a successful business is to figure out new ways to increase and improve customer service as a means of making your customers happy. Happy customers buy things. Happy customers come back and buy more things. Really happy customers tell all their friends about your business and the things you do to make them so happy.

E-commerce isn’t any different from any other business model in this regard. In fact, due to the nature of the Internet and the way people use it to constantly communicate and share experiences with others, it is even more important to create an excellent customer experience and provide top-notch customer service. This article will focus on some of the methods and ideas behind providing gold standard services and support to your customers as a means of keeping them happy and creating a positive reputation for your business within the online community.

Social Media
Literally 5 seconds after having a fantastic experience your customers can be out tweeting and posting comments to their friends about your business. Having confidence in your customer service, products and support helps you to implement ways to give your customers quick access to their social media accounts through icons, buttons and invitations to “tweet this” right on your web page. Business owners who aren’t confident in their customer relationships should probably not include links to social media.

Social media is beneficial in many ways. It helps you to communicate with your customers and build a relationship with them. It also gives you an opportunity to promote specials, discounts and new product offerings, while giving your customers a way to provide feedback to you about their experiences. The more communication you can encourage – the better. Create accounts for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and any other media site that will help you to reach your customers and establish a solid presence on each social media network, checking for messages daily, replying when needed and posting fresh information at least once a day.

Discounts and Coupons
One way to increase customer loyalty and return purchase visits is to offer discounts and coupons to your customers. The discounts don’t have to be huge, in fact they can be as small as offering “free shipping” on purchases of $50 or a straight-up 10% discount off all purchases within a limited amount of time. You can send invitations to participate in these deals direct to your customers via email marketing programs or as ads within the admin or shopping cart areas of their accounts. Experiment with different methods until you find what works best for your customer base.

Discounts and coupons can be the deciding factor for a customer that is weighing the decision of making a purchase. Some companies will even send out “abandoned shopping cart” emails that offer a discount on the items the customer selected by never actually purchased. Chances are the customer is still thinking about the items they put in their cart, so a quick reminder that they left the items there coupled with a special offer of some sort will usually get them back to your site to complete the purchase.

Overcoming Problems
No matter how well your site is run or how great your customer service is, there will always be problems. How you handle a problem is what will separate your business from your competitors. There are some business owners who see customer-based mistakes or errors as “their problem” and offer no support or solutions to make it right with the customer. That’s a huge mistake and will not only cost them future sales with the customer in question, but that customer will then tell on average another five to ten potential customers not to use your business.

If you need to provide a refund or make a change in an order, make sure to do it as quickly as possible. Don’t make your customers go through a bunch of red tape just to get their refund. The idea here is to build trust through solid business practices, open communication and excellent customer service. The way you handle this transaction will mean the difference between future sales by happy customers and a bad reputation from disgruntled consumers.

It is more important than ever before to stay on top of your website and keep it optimized for both your visitors and the search engines. Contact New Bedford Internet for a free consultation at 508-415-8648.

Sometimes the best way for today’s online marketers to learn how to effectively optimize and promote their business on the Internet is to observe and learn from the mistakes made by others. This article will focus on the four most egregious errors seen in the world of marketing and what you can do to use these lessons to boost your own search engine optimization and marketing efforts. It is important to have a solid online marketing strategy in place as a means of effectively targeting your primary demographic, particularly when there are so many more businesses doing business online today.

Mistake #1 – Not Using Analytics
There’s no excuse not to take advantage of all the amazing analytical tools that are now available to web-based business owners and marketers. Ask your professional developer about tools that can be integrated into your website to measure traffic, track leads and compare the results of all your marketing campaigns and traffic sources.

If you aren’t using one of these tools you are effectively working in the dark. Tracking your traffic and leads helps you to get more out of each marketing campaign and discover more effective ways to reach your target demographic. When you know which leads yield the best results, you can know which marketing sources to focus on the most.

Mistake #2 – Not Researching Keywords
One of the biggest mistakes made by website owners is to choose a couple of one-word keywords that best describe their business and not taking the time to research other options that could help them refine and target their traffic. Long-tail keywords and phrases that contain three or more keywords can help to boost conversions by pre-qualifying your traffic.

Keyword research should be thoroughly conducted before launching any campaign or completing any search engine optimization project. Once a series of base words are selected, it is important to assess the subject matter of each page to ensure relevance and popularity of the words to refine your selections. Think about how you search for things online, the words you use and the phrases you type in to narrow down the results, then apply those methods to your research.

Mistake #3 – Not Knowing the Type of Website You Need
Different businesses need different types of websites. Some businesses will do well with just a single introductory page and a contact or request form page. Others need a much larger website that encompasses product information, educational offerings or opportunities for visitors to interact. Hiring a professional web design company that understands the needs of your business is extremely important to the success of your websites.

Other mistakes within this same category include building a social media site and thinking that it can take the place of a full website. A Facebook Page is not a website and in most cases a simple blog won’t be sufficient either. When you meet with you developer for the first time, you should be sure to express your needs, desires and goals for the website to ensure that you and the design team are on the same page.

Mistake #4 – Not Creating an Effective Call to Action
A call to action or CTA, is any element that compels your site visitors to complete a desired activity. That activity could be anything from registering for a weekly newsletter to purchasing a product. Once the visitor completes the desired activity, it is considered a conversion. Many website owners will only relate the idea of a conversion as a purchase, but there are many other ways to get your visitors to convert that don’t involve making a sale.

A CTA can be quite simple, such as linked text that says “click here now,” “buy it now” or any other related phrase or it can be more complex. However you decide to do it, your CTA should be placed in a visible spot on your web page, be supported effectively by providing the promised content or offers, and should be included in some form on each and every page within your site.

For more information and assistance in improving your website’s design and SEO, contact New Bedford Internet (508-415-8648) and get a free estimate. New Bedford Internet has built a solid reputation for attentive service and products and systems, serving clients in the New Bedford, Dartmouth, Fairhaven and Southcoast, Massachusetts area since 1999.

A lot of marketers are forced to choose between direct and email marketing due to budget or time constraints. While there are distinct advantages to both, it is important to thoroughly evaluate each method to see which one works best for your business. While many marketers will tell you that cost is the primary reason why they choose to use one method over another, there are lots more things to consider.

Email Marketing
While email marketing costs a lot less than direct marketing, those considering it should also evaluate the amount of time required to properly use this marketing tool. Your time is money and it can take a lot of dedication to create, evaluate, tweak and promote an email marketing campaign.

However, email marketing will yield much faster results, giving marketers almost instant access to statistics that can be used to re-shape or adjust their campaign before sending it out to the next group. In fact, one of the biggest advantages is the ability to use A/B testing. Marketers can send our two or more versions of the mailer to see which one performs better. The differences can be as subtle as using different headlines or as dramatically unique as to feature different promotional offerings or deals.

The more data that can be collected by marketers, the better. It helps not only to learn more about your target demographic, but also helps to build ongoing information that can help in the development of future campaigns or offerings. Track all user actions, such as how many recipients opened or viewed the email, how many clicked on links or images within the mailer and how many converted those actions into an actual sale or completion of a required task. Proponents of email marketing will argue that this degree of instant feedback could never be achieved with more traditional direct marketing methods.

Direct Marketing
The cost to develop an effective direct marketing campaign will be much higher than any digital-based marketing campaign simply because it will utilize print materials and will involve mailing those materials directly to a targeted or opt-in mailing list. However, it is important to note that because of the methods used to deliver these marketing materials into the hands of customers or potential customers, marketers have access to a huge advantage over email marketing.

Geo-coding is an extremely valuable marketing tool that can be used via a set of web-based tools to track recipients based upon their latitude and longitude data. The people who receive these direct mailings can then be sorted or targeted with specific offerings and deals based upon their location. In a way, this is direct marketing’s way of A/B testing or comparing various campaign results to improve the future response of a target demographic.

Additionally, print materials can be used beyond post mail campaigns, allowing the marketer to bring them along to industry trade shows, promotional events or other in-person opportunities. Print materials are a great way to put your web-based business into a tangible format that can then be carried home for evaluation by the people you meet.

Making a Choice
So which type of marketing is better for you and your business? That still depends upon a number of unique factors within your own business structure. Will you be attending industry gatherings or other events to have the opportunity to share your printed materials with others? Or will you do better to take advantage of the A/B testing options found within email marketing methods? How much money do you have in your marketing budget? How much time do you and your staff have to promote such a campaign online?

Whichever method you think is best for your business, you need to stay in touch and on top of all the changes and technologies that arise in this industry. Use as many tools, links and consultants as you can find to help yu stay on top of the latest marketing methods and results to ensure that you are doing all you can to establish a solid campaign.

Need advice on your next email or direct marketing campaign? Call New Bedford Internet at 508-415-8648 for a free consultation and an evaluation.

Ask just about any website owner what two things they would like to improve about their website and you’ll usually hear “traffic and sales” in response. However, what many of these website owners are unaware of is that they can see huge increases in both of these areas just by learning how to effectively research and use keywords. Once you understand how it all works, you can use your keyword research to improve your search engine optimization, increase your overall traffic and, as a result, see a boost in sales.

The Basics

Keyword research is a very simple yet important technique that will help you to advance your website and online business in a number of areas. It is essential that you understand the importance and value of the keywords that you choose to use on your website and in your off-site advertising and promotions.

You are probably already aware that there are many different keyword and key phrase combinations that can be used to describe your website, business, products and services. These words are the “key” to helping your target customer base find your website through the use of SEO techniques that will benefit you in the search engines. The more relevant those keywords are to your business and what you are selling, the better your traffic quality.

Your goal is to attract a balance of quality traffic in a large enough quantity that you can increase your business. It is easy to get a massive amount of traffic to your website through keyword “cramming” and other tricks used to spam the search engines rather than adhering to proper search engine optimization etiquette. Unfortunately, this type of traffic is usually a waste your time, money and bandwidth. You want a lot of traffic, but it is important that the traffic be properly targeted to your business.

Proper Usage

You also need to know how to properly use your keywords on your website once you complete your research. Make sure that the keywords you use are relevant to the other content, products or services offered on each page. Use them in your meta tags, title tags, heading and subheading text, alt tags and throughout the text content on your page. Write articles, make blog posts, provide a FAQ section, add tutorials or anything else that will be beneficial to your visitors. Your efforts in creating this original content will also be very beneficial to the SEO and value of your site as a whole.

When you effectively use your keywords and key phrases on your website, you will attract visitors who are looking for the things that you are selling. You also will improve your relevance at Google, Yahoo and other top search sites, which will in turn boost your ranking, listings and reputation. All of these elements are essential to getting a front page listing on these major websites.

Keyword Research Techniques

Due to an increase in information available to marketers and developers these days, as well as many useful web-based tools, research is easier to conduct now than it was in the past. It is still always best to start with a simple list of keywords and phrases that you think up yourself that will appropriately apply to your business. You should have at least a dozen words and phrases to get you started.

To expand on your core list, you can use tools and software applications that are designed to help you find other relevant keywords and expand on them to create long-tail keywords consisting of three to four or more keywords each. Targeting longer key phrases can help you to get top listings in the engines by reducing the volume of competitors you will be going up against for ranking and can help you to better qualify your traffic in advance.

One of the best tools you can use is the Google Keyword Tool, which can be found at https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal. This tool is just one of the many tools available through the free AdWords marketing and development program. All you need to do is add in the keywords from your core list, type in your website URL and choose an applicable category. The Keyword Tool does the rest, giving you a list of relevant keywords and phrases along with information about monthly average searches and competition rating for each term.

Call New Bedford Internet at 508-415-8648 for a free consultation and evaluation of your current online search engine marketing efforts.

The traditional marketing model was successful for many years. This model included the yellow pages, radio advertising, TV commercials, direct mail, ads in magazines and newspapers, and much more. Now, the method in which businesses both large and small relay a message to the public is much different. Now, the model consists of search engine marketing in order to achieve top results on search engines such as Google. In addition, social media is becoming a primary method to reach a large audience because it’s faster and free. This has practically made the traditional model nonexistent. It has now reached a point in which only 14% of individuals trust the ads that they see and 76% are looking toward customer recommendations, which comes mainly from online.

Using social media to market products and services is what is called a Web 2.0 strategy. Search engine optimization is very effective, and some of the other traditional online methods are also still effective, social networking is proving to be an invaluable tool. Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Yelp, and a variety of others allow local businesses to touch base with their existing customers and tell potential customers who they are and what they are all about. The main feature of these Web 2.0 platforms is the ability to engage in two-way communication, which is something that was not before possible with traditional methods.

Basically, social networks have provided businesses with the ability to get out their messages in completely different ways. It’s in real-time rather than having to wait for that ad to come out or the commercial to air.

Here are some of the benefits of SMM:

• Increases customer base: The networking possibilities are endless and this is very important when working to make an impression on the masses. Existing customers can remain connected and new customers can be acquired.

• Word of mouth: When using social networking, fans can promote products and services by sharing what the business posts on their own pages. This makes it very important for all interaction to be valuable.

• Raising brand awareness: Customers won’t know about the business unless they see something about it. Social networking allows for a lot of exposure.

• Retain current customers: Being able to communicate with customers makes it possible to keep them. Networks such as Facebook allow plenty of interaction with customers, including existing ones. Such platforms also make for ideal places to hear what customers have to say and turn their wants into reality.

• Fast results: There is no waiting around for ad publishing or commercial airings. Everything posted is real-time, making it seen by the business’s fan base immediately.

So why are more businesses not using social networks to market themselves?

More businesses aren’t utilizing this amazing way to market because they simply don’t know where to start. There are several options available and they include:

Hire someone- If the business has the funds and the space to hire an employee, that works fine. There is a lot of time involved in social networking. Pages have to be monitored often with frequent status updates occurring.

Do it yourself- Again, there is a lot of time involved. If you have the time, then you can take on the task yourself.

Outsource- There are companies (like New Bedford Internet) that specialize in helping businesses with their social networking. The reason is because of the time and the effort that is involved. Companies that specialize in these practices have streamlined methods that enable them to manage the many companies that they work for without neglecting a single promotional activity.

Utilizing social networking to market products and services is becoming the primary way in which businesses reach a large audience. However, there is a lot of time and effort that goes into such practices and hiring someone can be expensive. To utilize an affordable way to market through social networks, let New Bedford Internet help by calling 508-415-8648 for a free consultation and evaluation of current search engine marketing efforts or to get you started toward reaching a larger audience.

Email marketing is an effective sales approach. Online companies, and brick-and-mortar businesses alike, are using this valuable technique to increase their sales. Email marketing allows businesses to maintain contact with their readership and create new customers. There are numerous ways to improve the quality of your emails in order to increase your sales.

Create Sincere and Accurate Subject Lines

One of the first aspects of an email that people come in contact with is the subject line. The information in the subject line will lead a person to either open the email or delete it. Make sure your readership and customers open your emails by creating subject lines that are direct, striking, honest, and relevant to the email content.

Personalize the Emails

Tailor your emails to your readers’ interests and demographics so that they will feel the content is made for them. If you do this successfully, your readers will be able to relate to the content, because it will be familiar to them and coming from their level. They will then be more apt to click on the links in the email and buy from you.

Build a Rapport with Your Readership and Customers

Trust and familiarity in a business is important to people when they buy a product or service. Creating and maintaining a relationship with your readers and customers will make them more apt to go to you for your products and services. A rapport with your readers can be developed by putting positive customer comments and reviews in your emails to show how great of a company you are and the good deeds you did in the past. This will give your business credibility, build a client-base, and increase your sales.

Use a Unique Marketing Strategy in Your Emails

When it comes to selling, it is important for a business to stand out from the crowd. In order to do so, use a distinct and creative marketing strategy in your emails. Use your imagination to avoid being typical and repetitive of what has already been done with marketing in the past. To do this, create emails that will leave an impression in your readers’ minds and cause them to look favorably on you. Impressing your readership will make them want to buy from your company.

Offer Free Items and Services

Free trials, services, and items, and newsletters, coupons, and discounts, will cause people to be interested in your business and more likely to purchase from you. A free trial will allow them to try your service or product without the obligation to buy, and those who are happy with it will often pay to continue it or to keep it. A first-time free service or item is similar to a free trial, except the customer gets to keep it for free no matter what. Newsletters will give you the opportunity to advertise your products and services. Everyone loves coupons and discounts, because they automatically make people want to purchase the item, because they think they are getting a good deal. The main strategy with giving things away for free is that everyone loves free stuff, and it gives customers more desire to buy from you.

Make Your Contact Information Easy to Find

Make sure your website, email address, and phone number is visible and accessible to your readers. Provide links for your company’s contact information at the top of every email so that your readership doesn’t have to read to the bottom to find it. Create the ability for your readers to effortlessly learn more about your company and get in touch with you.

Provide Your Readers the Option to Opt-Out of Your Emails

People appreciate the freedom to make decisions for themselves, so it is important to provide a way for your readers to opt-out of your emails. Allowing for this increases the number of your readers, because people will be more likely to subscribe to your emails if they have the option to unsubscribe at any time. And, an increased readership leads to more sales.

You need a readership for your emails in order to sell your products and services. The way to do this is to satisfy your readers’ personal interests and purchasing needs. Doing so – as well as incorporating all of the email tips above – will increase your sales. In order to make sure your email marketing strategy is effective and impressive, call New Bedford Internet at 508-415-8648 for a free consultation and an evaluation.

There is no question that Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, and the many other social media platforms are important to the small business. When used correctly, social media marketing (SMM) is an important tool to be used in order to acquire a strong customer base and enhance the bottom line.

Nevertheless, there is a great deal of etiquette involved in SMM and it is important to avoid the “no nos” of marketing through social networking. Here are some of the aspects that should be avoided when marketing through social networks:

1. Don’t forget about the competition: It is very important to keep track of what the competition is doing in order to respond to the tactics they are using. The goal is to take what they are doing and do it better.

2. Don’t ignore feedback: It is customer feedback that is going to make a difference in how business is done. Knowing what the customer thinks of a product or service means improving where improvement is needed and continuing where customers are satisfied. Knowing what customers are saying also means being attuned to any negative press, which requires an immediate response so that it doesn’t affect business.

3. Arguing is counterproductive: Responding is good, but responding in a bad way is not. It is a must to remain professional no matter what. Arguing in public is especially damaging. If a mistake is made, don’t be afraid to admit it and do what is necessary to remedy it.

4. Don’t break promises: If a promise is made, it needs to be honored. It can be easy to post a promise on Facebook or another network, but it must be fulfilled or comments could be made where everyone can see that the promise was not fulfilled. This can be devastating to business.

5. Don’t get too comfortable and become inefficient: It is important to be consistently efficient. Any breakdown in efficiency can be detrimental to business. Don’t be afraid to be experimental and do what is necessary to ensure momentum continues throughout all business practices. For instance, don’t post a Tweet on Twitter just to Tweet, but make every word mean something. Post anything that will help the business.

6. Don’t lose touch with manners: The words “please” and “thank you” can go a long way within a business. Customers appreciate these words very much. Even when it is difficult to be polite, it is important to do so anyway in order to retain respect and not cause negative press or cause gossip.

It is important to avoid the “no nos” of social media. It is a must to engage in positive maneuvers in order to ensure a positive impression on the public. The last thing a business wants to do is find reviews through a Google search that sheds a negative light. Reaching customers through social networking has its place within a search engine such as Google and not just within the social network. In the end, it is important to utilize all of the tools that social networking provides and to have fun with them, while also being professional in all interaction. There will be negative comments, but knowing how to deal with them and other negativities is what will strengthen the business in the eyes of the public.

Social media marketing will make a difference in your business and New Bedford Internet can help by using the latest techniques that are known to get results. Simply call 508-415-8648 for a free consultation and evaluation of your current search engine marketing efforts.

With the increase in popularity of social networking, some people may wonder if they should continue to use email marketing. Does it still work? The answer is yes. Not everyone uses social networking websites, and those who do, don’t read all the posts. However, nearly everyone has an email account that is active and that they use, and often it is daily.

Email marketing serves many purposes. It makes your business well-known; it advertises your products and services; it gives your business credibility; it creates and maintains positive relationships with readers and customers; and it helps you acquire more customers, and therefore, more sales.

Email marketing is most effective when it is done correctly. By using the following email tips, you will certainly be successful with promoting your business.

Create an Objective, a Plan, and Goals for Yourself

Any business decision needs an objective or a purpose, such as to introduce your company to the public, create a larger client-base, improve your status or reputation, or increase your yearly profits. It is then important to formulate a plan, or ways to meet your objective, like obtaining leads for emails, sending out “X” number of email offers each week, or designing a newsletter and putting a signup option on your website. Finally, create definite short and long-term goals as well as desired completion dates.

Invest in Proper Email-Campaign Software or Services

It is worth the costs of obtaining quality, email-campaign software or services. The emails will be more pleasing to look at, so they will be more favored by your readers and more thoroughly read. The appearance of an email affects your readers’ view of your company. Special software or services will make emails less likely to end up in junk email folders and instead be opened, read, and enjoyed. Email software ranges in price, and services go from free to pricy. Purchase a program or service that will meet your company’s needs. It will benefit your business much more than if you undertook the endeavor on your own.

Use Less Graphics and More Simplicity

Most people find email graphics bothersome. And many people have their email programs set to block them. Graphics that do not upload entirely look terrible on the screen. Limit your use of graphics or do not use them at all, because they may decrease your business’ credibility. People want to look at pleasing and pleasant emails – ones that are simple and attractive.

Provide Content that is Clear, Concise, and Correctly Written

People do not have much time to sort through and read emails. They want to obtain the message and purpose of an email immediately, or else they will lose interest and move on to the next email. Therefore, it is important to begin creating efficient emails by using direct and compelling subject lines, which will encourage your leads to open them. Then, put the calls to action in the beginning of the emails so they won’t be overlooked. Use short sentences and clear words in the email content to get your point across quickly and effectively. Make lists and use bullets and formatting, to help your leads read through the information easier. Lastly, use correct spelling, grammar, and sentence structure to communicate precisely and intelligently.

Present Quality Information in a Skillful Way

Only send emails that provide important information and a valuable message for your readers. Do not waste their time with frequent sales pitches or “fluff” content. Instead, give them information that will benefit them and that they will find useful and interesting. Create quality content that will leave a positive impression on your readers and will make them view your company favorably. Examples would be: newsletters with informative articles, weekly sales, and free services. Make the types of emails vary and make them well-rounded, by both educating your readers and offering them deals and discounts. They will feel appreciated and will welcome your products and services.

You may want to hire professional writers and editors to make your emails come across in the best possible way. Your readers are investing their time into reading your emails, so make sure you give back to them for their efforts. Also show you appreciate your customers for their loyalty. Customers make a business exist and effect its success, so make sure your customers are happy. But before you send out any emails, check to make sure your marketing strategy is effective, by calling New Bedford Internet at 508-415-8648 for a free consultation and an evaluation.

Writing a great email can be a challenge for businesses. For one, many people delete an email – before they even open it – if it is from someone they don’t know or looks like spam, because they want to avoid possible computer viruses.

Then how does a business effectively market their brand through email? It takes several techniques: a familiar name or business in the “from” line, a striking and compelling subject line, content that keeps the reader’s interest, less sales pitches, and only a few calls to action. By adhering to those email tips, you will surely be connecting with customers in no time.

A Familiar “From” Line

When people check their email, they first look to see who it is from. Therefore, it is best to use a person’s name, a business name, or an email address that people can recognize. The “from” line is the name of the sender, which can be adjusted in any email program. Make sure spelling and grammar is correct and the name sounds genuine. If you are emailing people in the US, it is best to use a name that Americans are familiar with. Likewise, if you are emailing people in China, using a Chinese name would be best. People like familiarity; so give them what they want and they will be more apt to open the email.

An Enthusiastic Subject Line

Next, they will look at the subject line. Does it strike their interest? Make sure it is not overpowering with too many capital letters in a row, which is the same as “shouting” on the web. Also avoid excess punctuation, which can seem phony or desperate and may discourage the reader from opening the email. Instead, create a short subject line that is simple, to-the-point, and compelling.

Email Content that is Engaging, Interesting, and Easy to Read

By now the reader wants to learn more about what you have to say. Make the message easy to read by using simple words and short sentences that quickly get the point across. Make the content interesting by providing intriguing facts. Lastly, engage the reader by asking them questions and by speaking to them on a personal level. In order to do this, be aware of the demographics of your readership, so that you can mention information that matters to them. If the readers can relate to you, they will feel more at your level, and will be more willing to accept your offers.

Less sales pitches

People do not want to be bombarded by pushy sales tactics or overpowering demands. They want to make up their own mind. So let them. But it doesn’t mean you can’t help them with their decision. You can help them by giving them the facts, and making them want to learn more about your products. You can convince them by being sincere and straightforward, and by making your product sound right for them. Just make sure to give them some space to make a decision.

The purpose of newsletters is to sell your services, and people are aware of this. When people sign up for a newsletter they are interested in the company and are open to what they have to offer. This is the right time to advertise your products. However, don’t be overly demanding. Just express the importance of your products and the readers will be receptive.

Only a Few Calls to Action

Calls to action are various offers and opportunities within an email. You need at least one call to action for effective email marketing. Be direct about your call to action so that the potential customer doesn’t walk away because you were too passive. Three calls to action is the maximum to include. Any more than that and the reader will feel overwhelmed and confused, and will likely freeze up or back down before selecting any opportunities. Sometimes just one call to action in an email is most effective. It gets the business’ marketing purpose out in a simple way and the reader will be more receptive.

An effective perspective to keep in mind – while applying all of the above techniques – is to form the emails according to the type of readership. It would be additionally effective to compose several emails for different types of readers. Overall, remember to be sincere, easy to relate to, and compelling, and make the emails easy to read and inviting. To ensure your email marketing strategy is effective, call New Bedford Internet at 508-415-8648 for a free consultation and evaluation.

If you run an online business in any capacity, it is important to have at least a basic understanding of search engine optimization or SEO. Once you understand how it all works, you will know what is required in the development phase of your website. This knowledge will help you not only to better optimize your pages for the engines, but will also help you to design and build a better website.

How Do Search Engines Work?

Today’s popular engines, such as Google, Yahoo and Bing, work by finding, categorizing and then listing web pages based upon the keywords that are used on each page. If the text on your pages is relevant to whatever you are selling or promoting, your target keywords should naturally occur without having to add them artificially. Other elements, such as relevance and popularity, are also used to help determine the weight and rank of each page within Google’s index, however keywords are the most important element of SEO.

Building A Strong Foundation

The first thing you need to do is build a basic list of keywords that are relevant to the content on your page. Keywords can help you to build your company brand, promote the products or services you sell and get visitors to your pages. Create a list of at least 10-12 keywords to get you started. If you are having trouble with your keyword research, try looking at competitors’ websites, use a thesaurus or try an online tool.

Then expand on your basic list through the use of long-tail keywords. Long-tails are comprised of 3-4 keywords or more, and are based upon the words real people would use to find your website. One way to create long-tail keywords is to use the Google AdWords Keyword Tool. Just go to https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal and add a keyword, your website address and the category that describes your page. This tool will give you a list of results, as well as some details on monthly search numbers and competition.

Check Your List

Once you have a created a good list of keywords it is important to filter through the list to ensure that your choices are focused and relevant. Unfortunately, many website owners overlook this important phase of keyword research and end up wasting time and money using keywords that don’t work. Re-run your list through the keyword tool, removing options based upon competition rate and average monthly searches.

Some keywords will be used to purchase advertising in programs like AdWords or Facebook Ads. Others will be used on your website to help advance your search engine optimization. You can further refine your list by separating the words that you will use in each area. This can help you to more easily implement the words and phrases you have chosen as you continue to develop your marketing campaign.

Keywords Are Key!

Once you have a well-rounded and relevant list of keywords its time to put them to use. Keywords should be used in every aspect of your website. Unless your domain name is your company name, you should choose a domain based upon the most relevant keywords in your list. Keywords should be used in your meta tags, alt tags, headings, subheadings, product or service descriptions, about us and contact us pages, home page and of course any articles, blogs, tutorials or FAQ pages you offer to your visitors.

When adding articles or other informational text to your website, use your keyword list to help you think of relevant titles or subjects. They can also help you to create marketing campaigns, develop e-books or other helpful consumer downloads. Keywords keep you focused on the primary theme of your website, which in turn will help you to create a more useful and focused website for your visitors.

While keyword density is not a major focus of optimization for today’s developers, you should still take care not to “over-stuff” or add too many keywords on one page. Include keywords in the first sentence, first paragraph and last paragraph of your page, creating between 400-750 words per page. The quality of your writing should always be more important than the number of keywords you add to a page. In fact, writing that is of high quality should be naturally relevant and keyword rich without the need to add keywords as an afterthought.

If you would like a free consultation and evaluation of your current search engine marketing efforts, call New Bedford Internet at 508-415-8648.