Internet Marketing Newsletter by Charlotte Howard
May 25th, 2009

Hello friends and clients.

Wow, it has been a very busy spring! I haven’t had a chance to write this newsletter in a while!

I thought I would tell you what I have been up to, so you can learn from my Internet Marketing activities and apply them to your own business.

First, we launched some great websites within the last couple of months.

Please take a look at:

Sedona Massage at Stillpoint…Living In Balance with Joy and Cynthia (wonderful, WONDERFUL people). Link in the right column.

Dream Wedding of Sedona with the delightful Reverend Kate Freeman

And Caring Hearts of Sedona, In-Home Care for the People You Love.

Putting up a quality website is a lot of hard work. Just ask any of the people above.

There is design, research, planning, organizing, optimizing, collecting images, writing, writing, and more writing. It is not easy if you want to do it right. There is a lot of soul searching involved. A website has to do many things. It has to accurately and impressively reflect your products and services, it has to show up in the search engines for the right keyword phrases (the money terms), it has to stand out from the competition, and it has to work. Meaning, will your perfect customers find you, click on your listing, read your copy, and become your paying customer? Or will they bounce off, never to be seen again?

Creating a great website is about getting inside the mind of your customer (not yourself), finding out what they want or need, and giving it to them for the perfect price.

Once we get through all this hard work and the website gets published, I usually get asked two questions:

1) Now what do I do?

2) How soon before we will start to show up on Page 1 of Google?

The answers always depend on many factors. The most important ones being how competitive the landscape is for your chosen industry and location, and how sophisticated your competitors are.

So, if you don’t have a lot of competition or your competition has been dozing off for a while, it is possible to get you to page 1 of Google in less than 1 week with a few good links. Typically though, these are low-traffic locations. You could get rich here, but I doubt it. (I’m generalizing…)

Or, let’s say the competition is a bit heavy for your industry and your chosen keyword phrases, and your competition is pretty savvy. Then you’ve got your work cut out for you. You have to do what everyone else is doing, and these days, that’s a lot!

Your business is not just about a website anymore, it’s about your Internet Presence – ALL the places you are on the Internet.You need to be in as many places as possible and other people (websites, blogs, social media, bookmarking, forums, etc…) should be talking about or with YOU!

Here’s my Top Ten List of all the things you should start doing right away to maximize your Internet Presence.

1) Sign up for an account at Google and submit your business listing. You can upload a logo, place yourself on the map, write a description, set your hours and more.

2) Online Press Releases. Go to www.PRWeb.com and submit press releases as often as possible. Always be thinking about how you can turn information about your business into a news event. More information about online press release can be found here.

3) Start writing articles. Write one every week. You are an expert about many things. Start writing and publishing your articles at www.ezinearticles.com. (Go to my website for more information about Article Marketing.) Keep a journal with you at all times. You never know when you will get a great idea for an article. Always be ready for when inspiration strikes. The more you write, the easier it gets. Also go to http://www.copyblogger.com and sign up to get their feeds or email. Their copy writing tips are THE BEST!

4) Start blogging. Participate on other peoples’ blogs. The search engines love active blogs and will reward your efforts.

5) Start Video Marketing. This is huge right now. I just published 4 videos with filmmaker Tara Golden for a local Waldorf school and they turned out fantastic. They are very prominent in the search engines. Google LOVES video. You can get to page 1 of Google sometimes in MINUTES using video. Here is an example: Type “arizona waldorf school” into the Google search box. Next, click on the link at the top of Google’s page that says “Video”. You will see that the first 4 videos are our videos! They are wonderful, by the way. You should watch them if you have young children and would like to know more about an awesome school in the Sedona/Verde Valley area for grades k-7. Did you know you can do video marketing even without video? Call me about this. It is very cool. Here is an example of a “video” I posted less than two hours ago. http://video.yahoo.com/watch/5160806/13654144 This “video” is all over the search engines promoting an e-book that helps people manage and cure their asthma naturally.

6) Start submitting your site to directories and portals. Yahoo! Directory, DMOZ, Best of the Web!, GoGuides, Business.com, etc… Here is a link that list the “Best” directories on the web. Some are free. www.seocompany.ca/directory/top-web-directories.html. Use your main keyword phrases in your links as often as you can. Get one-way links coming to you from good quality, reputable websites. Your industry or complementing industries will also have directories and portals you should consider advertising on.

Keep an excel spreadsheet going that organizes your online marketing efforts year after year. You are going to want to KNOW which internet property is sending you good customers, particularly if you are paying for the traffic. Log your username, password, date established, renewal date, title, description, link, tags, price, etc… Also, remember, some links are for traffic, some are for juice. They are both needed for a strong Internet presence.

7) Get links from local businesses and organizations. Sedona.net, GatewaytoSedona.com, and SedonaInformation.com. Belong to any groups, chambers, clubs, or associations? Get links from them.

8) Venture up with other business owners to create packages, seminars, and email marketing opportunities.

9) Social Media. FaceBook, Linked In, Merchant Circle, YouTube, Twitter, MySpace. Create your accounts, set up a good profile, read the rules, learn from the pros how to use these web 2.0 properties the right way.

10) Build Squidoo pages. These are free websites! We can do these for you as well. Give us a call. Here is a quick example we set up for Sedona. www.squidoo.com/SweetSedona


Caution.

Do these Internet marketing activities yourself. Do not automate any of this work. Google can tell and you will be penalized if you pay a firm to “Submit Your Site” to who knows how many places. It is actually a good thing to do this kind of a work a little at a time, consistently.

Dedicate one or two mornings a week to these sorts of activities so you don’t get overwhelmed. You will always have to “work the web”. All your efforts will build your exposure over time and you will reap the benefits of having a solid and profitable business whether it is web-based or not.


Keep in mind all the activities mentioned above you can do yourself, or we can do them for you. Give us a call if you would like information about these Internet Marketing Services and their prices.

Have a great summer!

Till next time...

Quick Links On My Website:

A GREAT Web Page Checklist

Grow Your Website Inexpensively

The Power of Persuasive Content Writing: Why Hot Leads Turn Cold On Your Website

Understanding Website Stats, Traffic, Conversions, and Calls to Action: The Basics

Internet Marketing: Learn How To Get Your Website in Front of More PEOPLE




Talk to you soon!


Charlotte Howard
Lead Designer, Internet Marketing Brain
Charlotte Howard SEO Web Design

Check out my new website for PREMIUM Website Packages! SedonaWebDesigner.com