B2B Search Marketing: Are You Losing Sales Because Your Site is Not Mobile-User Friendly?
By Kelly Larsen
A great synonym for “global economy” is “mobile economy.” Mobile devices like laptops and iPhones make it possible to do business 365 days of the year, 24 hours a day. Unfortunately, many firms don”t reflect this reality in their B2B search marketing efforts.
If your customer is stuck in an airport in Shanghai and wants to place an order from her iPhone to be delivered to her office in Seattle, can she?
This is the reality of your customer”s life today. Does your web presence reflect this? Are you as welcoming to the “stationary” web shopper as the mobile one? If not, following is some insight into how to go about remedying this.
B2B Search Marketing: How to be Open for Business to the On-the-Go Customer
Be the Mobile User You Want to Attract: The first step in finding out what mobile users experience when they attempt to use your site is to grab your iPhone, for example, and navigate it.
Following are some things to pay attention to.
Can all the content be accessed?
How long does the site take to load?
What do the images look like?
How long does it take to find the info you need?
Is it easier or harder than if you were sitting at a PC?
Do Some Data Mining: Now that you”ve experienced what your mobile users are experiencing when they come to your site, do some digging into your site”s data, ie, some data mining. The beautiful thing about B2B search engine marketing is that a wide variety of information is available about your site”s visitors.
Some specifics you want to look for are:
What percentage of your site”s users are mobile users?
Which browser(s) are they using to access your site?
How long do they stay on the site?
What their conversion rates are?
What you”re looking for are big disparities between your mobile users and your PC/stationary users. The areas where there are great differences could signal places where you need to make changes, which brings us to the last point.
Making Changes: If mobile users are not a vast percentage of your users, you may not feel a need to make your site more mobile friendly. However, this type of user is only going to grow. So getting ahead of the curve will not only endear you to this customer base now, but set you apart from the competition as well, who likely isn”t as forward-thinking.
Just some B2B search marketing food for thought.
About The Author
Need a better strategy to fill your pipeline with more qualified leads using Search Marketing and Social Media? Attend the b2b Search Strategy Summit and discover top ways to optimize your search campaigns to reach buyers before the competition. Learn best practices to shorten the B2B sales cycle and increase conversions. Senior level B2B Search Marketers can”t miss this exclusive full day of B2B Search Engine Marketing strategies.
B2B Search Marketing: How to Make Your Organic Landing Pages Convert Better
By Kelly Larsen
B2B search marketing falls into two camps — paid and organic (free). The really great thing about online marketing overall is that no matter which type you invest in, it can benefit the other. Unfortunately too many internet marketers marry one form of marketing and fail to take advantage of the other. Take landing pages, for example.
Even the phrase “landing page″ is associated with pay per click marketing. For example, if you do a search for “what is a landing page,” you”ll find definitions like, “the page on a web site where one is taken after clicking on an advertisement.”
But, as any B2B search marketing expert will tell you, a landing page is any page you click on from any marketing method. For example, what if you just invest in article marketing? It”s free. In your resource box, you direct readers to click through to a page on your site.
This is your landing page. They didn”t click on a pay per click ad to get there. They clicked through from a free article you distributed.
B2B Search Marketing: 3 Quick Tips for Getting a Better ROI from Your Organic Landing Pages
1. Change Your Mindset: As illustrated above, one of the first things you must do is change your mindset about what a landing page is. If you”re sending traffic to it – it”s a landing page.
2. Do the Meta: When you hire a B2B search engine marketing firm to help you increase you landing page ROI, one of the things they”ll do is look at the page”s meta tags. Do these accurately reflect what the page is all about?
Because an organic landing page may be thought of more as a support page than a “paid for” landing page, secondary SEO measures like writing the page”s meta tags may never have been done.
Remember, each page on a website should be treated as its own separate minisite. This means making sure that the meta tags reflect accurately what”s on that page – not just the general products and services on the whole website.
3. Capture Leads: Many only think to ask for leads on landing pages that come from pay per click ads. That”s why the first tip here is to change your mindset. Every page on your site is, in essence, a landing page. If a prospects lands there, you want them to do something (subscribe, request more info, call, buy, etc.).
If you adopt this line of thinking in your B2B search marketing efforts, you”ll be well on your way to getting a better ROI, no matter which type of internet marketing you invest in.
About The Author
Is your ʖB Search Engine Marketing Driving More Leads Through Your Sales Funnel? Join the b2b Search Strategy Summit and discover top ways to optimize your search marketing campaigns to reach more buyers faster. Learn best practices to shorten the ʖB sales cycle and increase conversions. Senior level ʖB Marketers can”t afford to miss this intensive day of ʖB Search Engine Marketing strategy sessions.
Affiliate Marketing As a Home Business Opportunity
By Bob Withers
According to Wikipedia, affiliate marketing is a marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate”s marketing efforts. Examples include rewards sites, where users are rewarded with cash or gifts, for the completion of an offer, and the referral of others to the site.
Many people making the decision to start a home based business online are opting to try the affiliate marketing field and for obvious reasons. Affiliate marketing offers many advantages to the home business owner who is just starting out online.
The biggest benefit may be the fact that there”s no need to develop your own product to market online. There are such a wide array of products and opportunities available from numerous merchants online that just researching which one is the best fit for your needs may take awhile. But the key in this situation is making sure you do your home work and make sure you know what you”re getting into and with whom you”re getting involved. There are some dubious situations out there so be careful.
Another plus stemming from the fact your product is provided for you is the merchant usually handles all the shipping and storage, so there”s no overhead involved. You simply market the product or opportunity and pass the orders on to the merchant who will take it from there.
Another pro, especially if you”re just starting out online, or as they say a newbie, the merchant usually supplies you with a web site to help market your product. This is more often than not ready made and ready to go. And if that weren”t enough this web site usually contains all the marketing tools and tips you”ll need to get started promoting your product immediately.
Something else also provided by the merchant is twenty four hour support for both you and your customers. As I mentioned if you”re a newbie and trying to establish your home business online this certainly comes in handy if you run into any problems with your web site or marketing your product. And also related to this training is usually provided to show you the best ways to advertise and market your opportunity.
Affiliate marketing programs are also free to join and not only do you receive a commission on sales but most merchants offer another stipend for referring someone who”s interested in joining the program.
There are many affiliate programs available online and you don”t have to limit yourself to just one home business opportunity. You can market several different affiliate marketing opportunities at the same time thereby creating several streams of income.
Affiliate marketing can offer the best of both worlds to the home business owner. Not only can you set your own hours and work from the comfort of your own home, but you can make a comfortable living doing so. Therefore, after considering all the associated benefits affiliate marketing seems to be a wise decision.
About The Author
Bob Withers is a professional sales and marketing person with over twenty years in the field. He has now set his sights on Affiliate Marketing and creating successful Home Based Businesses online to apply his trade. If you want to get in touch with Bob or learn more about Affiliate Marketing or setting up an Internet based Home Business please visit:
Free Home Business and Affiliate Marketing Advice
Ways To Advertise And The Most Effective
By kieran cassidy
When running your own business it”s important that you keep costs to a minimum especially with the credit crunch still looming over our heads. Everybody has had to adjust their belts accordingly with companies looking at their overheads to see where they can trim down the bills in order to stay afloat. One of the main things that businesses tend to look at is advertising.
In recent years companies used to concentrate on print media, for instance local newspapers and magazines. But do these really work? How many people actually use the service you”re providing through these adverts? How do you tell? Is it possible?
One effective way of testing your advertising is to print a voucher code and then run the advert to see if you get any response, maybe 10% promotion or buy one get one free. Another popular one is to use a different phone number or e-mail address to try and gauge results. When advertising the majority of companies will have a website which will be their point of contact. So how do you know who has looked at your website?
The two major search enines Google and Yahoo! offer a very useful free tool to track and analyse search traffic/visits. The other major search engine Bing announced at MIXX Conference and Expo 2009 in New York that they were releasing their own version but is yet to be seen. The tool is able to tell you where the visitor came from (search engine or direct for instance) how long they were on the site, which pages they entered and left the site, what keywords they used to find the site and many many more features.
The way the analytics operates is by inserting a cookie or tracking code into the pages you wish to track, this is a very easy thing to do and should not take longer than one minute, which then captures all the data nad stores it in an easy to use interface. The list of things it can do is endless, you can even compare two different sales pages to see which one is more effective.
Things have moved on a bit and with digital marketing really make a huge difference to sales lines. Companies are spending more money on Internet marketing than ever before. Search engine optimisation is having a major say in converting traffic to sales. Why? Well with the internet has come search engines and social media. These can be used to create brand awareness that is not only cost effective but also sustainable. Why spend thousands on a newspaper advert or magazine advert when its shelf life is a few days or a month maximum when you can spend the same on results that will stay with you forever?
Consumers are using search engines for all their needs. Whether they are looking for a solicitor or roofing company most people will do their research using a search engine, normally Google Yahoo! or Bing. It is important therefore to be in the first set of results to be seen. Thats where a search engine company or Search engine marketing company gets involved. The beauty of this is that once they have started work for you and achieved results you can sit back in the knowledge that your site is ranking well and you do not have to pay to readvertise every month.
Remember inserting analytics is simple so do not let anybody charge you to do this as their are lots of good internet marketers who will happily do it for free!
Good luck with all your marketing especially digital.
About The Author
Kieran Cassidy writes for SEO Essex and Search Engine Optimisation Essex. We provide internet marketing, Search Engine Optimisation and Email marketing.
How To Distinguish Yourself From Other Affiliate Marketers
By Don Alexander
Considered today as one of the best and easiest way to earn some money, affiliate marketing is now attracting many people to represent themselves in this type of business. But as competition is getting a bit bigger, you may need some ways to distinguish yourself from the rest of the affiliate marketers.
For the major reason that many of your competitors including you are promoting the exact same program, in the exact same zone or on the exact same websites perhaps. Now here are some tips that you may consider in order for you to stay in this business and have the chance to outwit and outplay other competitors of yours.
The first thing is for you to have your own website. It is very essential for you to have your own website in considering affiliate marketing as your professional career. Secondly, potential customers primarily go to websites in order for them to search and sometimes purchase items they were looking for. For the same reason that it is much easier to remember than a certain URL that you may be using and you can just point to your visitors the affiliate page in your website.
Another thing to remember is to have your own ad. A lot of times affiliates marketers have published the same ad two or three times done by advertisers. In this case, you may email the owner of your affiliate program asking that you make your own ads.
This way, people may not become immune to ads, because sometimes seeing the same ads over and over again, may just make your potential customers to just skip it all together. Besides, your primarily purpose is to attract or encourage people to click and read your ads and be curios enough to click through your website.
Step three, have some products of your won which are only available through your website. Once you have your website going, it is important to have some products or services that your customers can”t find with other affiliate”s site.
You want your customers to keep coming to your site and the best way to do that is to have something on your site that they can”t find on others. Being an affiliate marketer we must then choose a certain market segment where you can have a potential leadership or at least a strong challenger role.
The fourth step is to build a strong relationship with people who already buy your product. Now, in order for you as the marketer to fully answer the query of your potential customers, it is best to try and buy the product by yourself. With this particular notion, you can better sell the product that you are trying to market. You can share to your potential customers what a great experience you had with the product, and this can make them interested enough to buy the product.
You may also be able to provide a support if necessary or you may provide a confident tutorial or steps on how to use the product that you are trying to market based on your personal experience. Entailing this idea is to be totally honest about the product that you are trying to market. If you find out that the program you were promoting is a scam, stop promoting it and inform your readers about it. This will help you build credibility with your lists.
We all make mistakes and admitting your mistake will boost your reader”s confidence in you. Lastly, don”t try to market everything you see. With services such as click bank, it is easy to become overwhelmed and try to market everything in the click bank marketplace. That is not a good idea. It”s better to focus on one market and market products that they would want. This is called niche marketing.
Try also to promote a certain product, which conforms to the specifications measured through indications of customer-satisfaction, rather than indicators of self-gratification. It is the customer who decides what to buy and not the company or the affiliate marketer. The company simply produces products catering to the needs and wants of their chosen market segment.
Today, different types of business are emerging from all over the world in a multinational level to reign supreme on their specific market segment that they are trying to dominate, and affiliate marketing is one of them. Affiliate marketing is definitely here to stay and it can become a great way to earn extra or even part time income. However, it won”t happen overnight. Like everything else in life, you”re going to have to put a lot of hard work into it. Good luck to you in your new venture.
About The Author
Don Alexander is owner of leading-online-business.com
and writes on a variety of subjects. To learn more
about this topic Don recommends you visit www.leading-online-business.com
What Affiliate Programs Make The Most Money?
By Michael Laleye
If you own a website and interested in getting involved in affiliate marketing, you will have several options from which to choose. The best affiliate marketing program may not be the one that provides a very commission on sales, but may be the one that provides the best opportunity to make more sales. Some very popular and highest commission sites tend to be those that offer gambling and adult entertainment. These sites may not fit into the focus of your sites or your visitors.
The best affiliate marketing program will be the one that fits into your site and offers a regular opportunity to turn your visitors into sales for the company and improved profits for you. You can develop affiliate options based on the main focus of your site and that appeal to your site”s visitors. If your site promoted sports, affiliating with sport related companies, may be your best affiliate programs.
Where to Look
Affiliate networks are the middle man between affiliates and web sites with affiliate programs. Look for affiliate networks that provide all the tools needed to set up and maintain an affiliate program. AssociatePrograms.com is a popular directory with information about merchants that pay you to sell their wares.
Commission Junction is a free network that offers access to thousands of the best affiliate programs. Commission Junction combines all your affiliate earnings (product sales, on-line ads, links) into one monthly check.
What to Look for
The best affiliate programs will be those that target your customer base. An on-line florist undoubtedly get little traffic from a pet supply website. You want an affiliate whose business is similar or comparable to your product. Avoid affiliates with low quality products. Ask to speak to existing affiliates to find out if a company is reputable.
Referral traffic may link to the merchant site and not buy initially but return to make a purchase weeks later. Look for affiliate programs that remember your site was the reason for that customer. The best affiliate programs remember you for 60 days by using cookies to tag the customer”s computer when he visits the merchant site.
The best affiliate programs offer reliable support such as ads, logos, and sales advice. Good programs provide timely updates on click through sales and earnings, and, respond to questions or problems within 24 hours.
Also, a flourishing home business needs time to grow. You should never think that you are going to take off within a couple days of opening up shop. It is going to take you a bit of time to get your bearings and take off. For this reason, patience is necessary to the success of your home business. With patience you”ll be able to wait out the rough times that are bound to show up time and time again. No home business starts making big time money in the first day. But if you take your time you will get to where you want to be.
About The Author
Visit the Super Affiliate Handbook Review and learn What Affiliate Programs Make The Most Money.
Four Important Considerations When Starting Your Home Based Business
By Bob Withers
When starting your home based business there are many things you should consider before beginning the process but the following should be your top four considerations:
First of all, what product or service am I going to make available? This one question alone raises a number of other concerns. For example; Is there a market for my product or service? What is the demand for it? How many other, like or similar, providers are in the market place at the moment? What is the going rate for my product or service?
Can it easily be made available to my potential customers? How much will it cost to deliver? Should I make it available anywhere else or just online? Is the product or service compatible with an online home business? These are just product related queries which must be addressed before starting up your home based venture.
Secondly there are many financial concerns which have to be addressed before you hang out your shingle. Concerns such as; How much start up capital will I need? Will I have enough financing to make it through the first year without making a profit? How much should I budget for advertising? Will I build my own web site or hire someone to design it for me?
Which financial service provider am I going to use to handle my sales online? Will I finance my home business on my own or will I approach an outside party for financial assistance? And finally and perhaps most importantly, what is my total budget for this online concern?
A third and very important decision asks, how am I going to market my product or service? Depending on what you”re providing there are many different ways to make your home business and product or service known to your potential customers. Are you going to advertise online exclusively or are you going to use a combination of online and offline methods?
Which Internet marketing strategies are you going to employ. Are you going to use several different techniques or are you going to concentrate on one online marketing strategy? In relation to this you should try to discover, through research, which Internet marketing technique would be most successful for your particular product or service. And finally with regard to marketing, as mentioned earlier, how much am I going to direct toward each of my different Internet Marketing techniques.
A fourth and perhaps most important point to consider, because it may well ultimately determine the success or failure of your home business, is what are my skills and what do I enjoy doing. It”s very important to take into account what skill set you are bringing to your online venture. You should ask yourself which areas you enjoy and which ones you are most experienced with. For example, are you a good marketer?
Are you a good sales person? Are you better equipped for the customer service aspect of your venture? If you enjoy what you are doing and concentrate on areas you are good at then your odds of success with your home based business will increase greatly.
Each and every question raised in the above article is best answered by compiling a comprehensive Internet Marketing Plan for your home Internet business. Armed with a wide ranging and all inclusive Internet marketing strategy along with a good reason why and you should enjoy all the benefits of being successful online.
About The Author
Bob Withers is a professional sales and marketing person with over twenty years in the field. He has now set his sights on Affiliate Marketing and creating successful Home Based Businesses online to apply his trade. If you want to get in touch with Bob or learn more about Affiliate Marketing or setting up an Internet based Home Business please visit:
Free Home Business and Affiliate Marketing Advice
Security Directors Act on Lessons from Vehicles Used as Bombs
By Brad Done
As North America recently marked the fifteenth anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1994, in which Timothy McVeigh”s truck full of explosives killed 168 people and injured more than 500, including children in a day care center in a United States federal building, security directors are looking for innovations in building perimeter security. McVeigh didn”t actually drive the truck into the building he parked it in front of the building and used a remote detonator. The first World Trade Center bombing in 1993 was caused by a truck parked in the building”s garage. Around the world, hundreds of suicide bombers have driven vehicles packed with explosives into buildings.
Today, security directors choose a variety of methods to prevent building penetration and explosion by vehicles; setbacks, security gates, anti-ram walls, bollards, protective glazing, structural hardening, etc. Bollards, specifically, have become more and more commonly used in todays architectural and construction projects. Bollards are those often-unnoticed posts people walk by every day going in and out of public buildings, designed and spaced to prevent vehicles from getting past a safe perimeter. Many are plain cement, which are effective, but detract from the appearance of the building. More and more building owners, security directors, architects and specifiers are choosing to use security posts with decorative bollard covers that enhance the building”s landscape while keeping those inside safe.
Engineered security bollards can effectively block even the largest trucks, up to 66,000 pounds or 30,000 kilograms when properly installed into new concrete foundations, according to Done. Security bollard manufacturers, such as Delta Scientific Corporation (Palmdale, CA), RSA Protective Technologies (Upland, CA), and Secure USA, Inc. (Atlanta, GA and Int”l) offer perimeter defence and security bollard products for such high security needs. However, these security bollards by themselves, generally concrete filled steel pipes and embedded steel fabrications, can create an architectural eyesore. Decorative Bollards and post covers – available in various materials including iron, steel, aluminum, stainless steel and plastic – are available to fit over top of these permanent security bollards, creating an aesthetic feature out of the security necessity.
Other safety and security bollard products can help to prevent unwanted vehicle entry near or into buildings. By themselves, traffic & parking bollards provide safety and security by their mere presence, deterring traffic away from pedestrians and buildings. Retractable bollards retract into the ground, and are often used for driveways that must be open for deliveries, maintenance or emergency vehicles. Removable bollards function in much the same way, providing roadway and pathway definition, while diverting vehicle access when required.
There are unlimited Bollard products in the market, available in a variety of materials, colors and finishes. While many bollards can be installed by themselves for aesthetic or traffic deterrence purposes only, those interested in using Bollards for security should insist on using decorative bollard covers that can be installed effectively over steel security bollards. Bollards are the simplest, most secure and least expensive way to protect structures from security threats – from break-ins to terrorism. They are becoming a routine architectural feature in the design of new buildings, and additions to existing structures. Many designs use standard bollards in utility areas, but add covers in public entry areas.
Further Reading
Security for Building Occupants and Assets
Written by the WBDG (Whole Building Design Guide) Secure/Safe Committee; last updated 11-05-09
http://www.wbdg.org/design/provide_security.php
Architecture and Structural Security
Information from Answers.com
http://www.answers.com/topic/architecture-and-structural-security
Balancing Security and Aesthetics
Protecting Washington landmarks from truck bombs is a monumental task
Written by CATESBY LEIGH on Thursday, June 30, 2005 12:01 A.M. EDT
http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110006888
About The Author
Brad Done
Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Reliance Foundry Co. Ltd.
Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
http://www.bollards.ca
e-mail: brad@bollards.ca
Reliance Foundry has been a family-owned business since 1927. Bollards are one of its main product lines.
When Filing Cabinets Attack! How To Organise Your Business
By Dan Jo
Imagine the scene, you are running late for a big meeting and you can”t find the documents that you need. Then imagine that these documents could have resulted in a big promotion or on the other hand, it could have saved you your job. All too often, documents are lost, stolen or damaged and can have devastating effects of a business. If for example, customer order details are misplaced this can affect productivity time scales and the reputation of the business for demonstrating excellent customer service. Think of it also from a legal perspective, loosing confidential reports or medical records can often lead to big trouble!
So how do you stop the threat of losing documents? Yes you could install a high tech, Bond-esque security system but this often wastes time, space and most importantly, money. By taking advantage of a professional document storage company you can entrust the safety of your documents to people who know how to look after them. Whether you choose to physically move your paper information to an off-site location or choose an electronic document management system, you are guaranteed instant peace of mind.
You may be asking, what are the benefits to splashing out on a document storage system. Well first of all have you ever stubbed you toe on a filing cabinet? Had to spend time frantically organising large piles of paper to find on specific piece of information? Perhaps you have even had the dreaded job of organising and scanning individual letters or invoices onto a computer system? All of these factors will be eradicated when you opt for professional document storage. However these benefits are just small bonuses when you consider the amount of time and money you will save, especially if you choose to electronically archive and store your documents. All of your business information will be at your fingertips, accessible with just a few clicks of a mouse ready to be used. This is especially welcome if your business deals with customer enquiries, letting you deal with a customer query within seconds.
If you are considering updating your business, what better way to do it than transforming your document storage needs? Don”t let your business fall into the trap of lost or damaged documentation, take charge now and ensure that your information is always safe from outside factors. You may find that once you implement an efficient system, you won”t be able to imagine living without it!
About The Author
For a range of document storage and archiving services head to http://www.dajon.co.uk
Where to Find Core Drilling Equipment
By Lawrence White
Core drilling on site can be a relatively easy and uncomplicated task as long as you have the proper equipment to get the job done. There is a wide range of both hand held and rig mounted diamond core drilling equipment available throughout the UK.
Good drilling equipment offers the user great ergonomics and the capacity to perform different types of drilling jobs. Regardless if you are drilling by hand or using a stand, both the motor and the other equipment has to be lightweight, efficient and easy to use. You should be able to get through concrete, asphalt and granite with top notch equipment.
You can either buy the drilling equipment you need or you can hire it. If you wish to purchase new all you have to do is to look for industrial tool dealers in your area who sell core drilling tools and equipment. If possible, visit a few tool stores and see what type of equipment each offers and write down the prices and specifications. As you probably know, this type of heavy duty equipment is not cheap so take the time needed to do your homework so you can get the best deal possible. The top dealers will offer a variety of diamond drilling systems, dry cores, core drills and drilling accessories. Take a look at the brand names of the equipment and the types of warranties offered by the different dealers and compare the list of prices you have compiled. If you were to consider buying used equipment you could expect to save a great deal of money. When taking this route, be sure that the equipment has been recently inspected and certified to be in good working order.
If you decide to hire the core drilling equipment, you can start by contacting some tool contractors in your area who rent heavy duty drilling equipment. Again, be very certain that the equipment offered has been tested and is certified to be in good working order. Most companies hire this type of equipment out on a ”per day” basis and the prices vary greatly.
Instead of driving from one tool dealer to another, the easiest ways to hire this type of robust equipment is to conduct a local search on the internet. There are quite a few rental companies located throughout the UK that do nothing but hire out construction equipment of all kinds. In order to make easy work of locating the exact type of equipment you need, there are some terrific websites you can use. These sites allow you to find the best rental deals in your area. You simply type in the type of equipment you are looking for along with your location and then check the availability. The cost of hiring is automatically calculated for you. The supplier will contact you to hammer out the rental terms and to finalise the booking. Normally arrangements will be made to have the equipment delivered to your work site. Once you are done using the core drilling equipment, you return it to the supplier according to the hire agreement and leave your feedback on the website so that other people can identify the most trusted hire companies.
About The Author
Are you in need of Water Well Drillers? Bulroc(UK) Ltd is a Derbyshire based company that can help you find just what you need. For more information on this company please visit the website at http://www.bulroc.com/
