Inbound Marketing Blog

We all want the best possible deal. However, the best possible deal is not necessarily the lowest price we can find. That is the point I try to make to people when showing them how to find what they are looking for online. The internet gives today’s consumers much more power than they had 20 years ago. Today, I can easily compare the selling price of TV in California with the same one selling in North Dakota. The problem this causes for sellers is that they have to put as much emphasis on added value as they do on price. Low prices are simply not enough anymore. Sure, it will get you listed at the top of an ascending search for having the lowest price, but that is just the starting point. Are you expecting all your clients to buy on pricing alone? What if your price isn’t the lowest in the world? Remember, this is the World Wide Web we are dealing with here. Users can research retail information from around the globe. You have to do more today than just deliver a low price. Don’t get me wrong, price is a great starting point…but do you want to build your business around first-time and one-time shoppers? Or, do you want to do business with shoppers that come back to the same place because they feel like they get more from their purchases than just a low price?more

The web, as many know, is a new beast. Long gone are the days of first grabbing your phone book, flipping to the “Moving Company” section, and looking for the best looking ad or simply the nearest company. Back in those days the “leg work” of the sale was done after the initial contact. The rise of the internet era has completely reversed this train of thought. Consumers are now looking to have the work done by researching online, reading other customer’s reviews, and gathering as many facts as possible BEFORE any contact is made with the business. As potential buyers, today’s shoppers first leverage the power of the internet in their shopping experience. They don’t want to be contacted until they are ready to be. A shopper empowered with search engines is able to gather vast amounts of extremely precise decision-making data before even thinking about contacting a seller.more

I received an email today from someone who is taking steps to get their company engaged in social media and now that they've got a presence, they'd like to know how to get followers and fans. I am sure this is a question you, and everyone else on the planet, has been faced with at one time or the other while wading into the social media-sphere. I know it was definitely a hot question for me in the beginning days. The famous line, "Build it and they will come," from the movie Field of Dreams is just that .... a dream! It's also NOT something that will happen within social media unless you are some HUGE celebrity and have an extreme amount of luck.more

I just received an email from Google Apps and am grinning from ear to ear. Google announced, "…we will be phasing out support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 as well as other older browsers that are not supported by their own manufacturers." Amen! IE6 was released in August of 2001! Yet people still use it today, not taking advantage of the latest technology. Could you imagine in 2001 using a browser from 1992. No, you wouldn't because the experience would be so much different (Mosaic was starting development in December of 1992!)more

I have had this same question posed to me several times over the last year and I thought it would make a good blog post. It's no secret the last year has been very difficult for people personally and professionally. The good thing, however, is that the economy is looking up and the downturn has produced a lot of opportunity. But here's the question: How can I stay motivated when things are hard? For me, motivation is assisted mostly from attitude. Keeping an upbeat attitude is key even when you feel like you're getting kicked in the gut over and over again. What else is a big motivator? Money. You need it to survive, and you really need it for your business to survive. So here's a quick way to think positive and get motivated. Start by thinking about how much money you NEED to make to pay your bills and be happy per year (that's X). Something very realistic.more

If you've ever been deep sea fishing I'm sure you remember how there were far more fishing poles with lines in the water than there were people on the boat. This helped increase the chances that each person on the trip enjoyed the awesome experience of hooking and reeling in a nice big fish. You should employ this same strategy when you are looking to build traffic to your website. The most effective way to do it is to expand your digital footprint by increasing the amount of content that links back to your website from other websites. You can accomplish this several ways which include: Online news releases Twitter Facebook Forum posts Link exchanges Etc.more

For some companies, times are tough. So when a marketing manager or CMO (chief marketing officer) receives an email from an "Internet marketing specialist" who can get their site to the top of the search engines for a specific phrase, the company might jump at the opportunity. Marketers beware...these "opportunities" from these "Internet marketing specialists" may not be as good as they sound. Here's a real world example that just prompted this blog post.more

So it's been a touch over two months since I posted my rant on the "posers" in the online marketing world. Believe it or not I am still fired up over the "hacks" that swindle business owners out of their money for services they are less than qualified to provide. I am quite sure I'll continue to be irritated because this type of junk will never stop. Rather than go off on another tangent, I want to provide some value and equip you with a step-by-step process I promised to post if enough of you asked for it. Well, I received several requests and although it's been awhile ... here you go!more

A very common statement made by clients to their design firm is, "Make my logo bigger." In some instances this might be a good thing, like on a billboard where your target audience is doing 70 MPH (on a slow day). But I'm here to help you understand why "make my logo bigger" regarding your website is actually, believe it or not, a pretty bad idea. Let's face it. You love your company. With the logo being your staple, why wouldn't it be BIG on your website? The answer actually has two parts: Your logo doesn't sell and visitors really don't care. Now, let me explain.more

Harvard Business School recently published a working paper titled Do Friends Influence Purchases in a Social Network. And I read it, of course. So I'll save you some time and give you a simple overview on what they learned, and what I learned from them. First, I had to get back to my Trigonometry and Calculus classes to get my head around all the equations they have in the document to define their findings. Very interesting. Very amazing. Very intelligent. And I am not pretending to really understand what all of it was. Ha. Second, the paper is a working paper, so a bit of duplicate content to get through. Unless they were just trying to really drive the point home. :) Third, I found it odd that a paper from 2009 would use data mined in 2004. Sure seems like behaviors could change over this 4+ year span. Ok, so this is what I gained from it:more

It drives me nuts when I'm helping a client who trusted a, so called, "professional" to help them with their optimization or pay-per-click campaign, and all they did was flush their money down the toilet. I'd like to take a second to make an announcement to all those "professionals" out there who insist on preying on the naivity in the marketplace ... STOP PRETENDING YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING MORONS!!!! Sorry for the harsh words and tone but I am tired of it. The more of this garbage that happens in the marketplace, the more the industry I love gets muddied up.more

It's interesting to look at the process people go through when starting a new website ... Once they decide they need a site they begin to plan what content they'd like to have on the site. The majority of the companies decide they need a page that talks about them so they add an "About Us" page to their site. Secondly they would like to talk about their products or services so they add a "Products" or "Services" page to their site. The most important part to the new website is giving it's visitors the ability to contact them to do business or ask questions which is where the infamous "Contact Us" page comes from. I could go on and on but I am guessing you've seen these types of pages on almost every website you've ever been to, so I won't bore you. I am sure when you decided to get your first website online you had the intention of increasing your business and tapping into the "gold mine" the Internet makes available to us all. Heck, this was my initial motivation as well and I'm sure this is no earth shattering revelation. Well the problem with this process of developing a website is unfortunately absolutely wrong. No, I'm not saying you won't make any sales or receive any phone calls by structuring your website this way. I am just saying you are limiting the potential revenue by doing it and you could do MUCH better.more

Today was an amazing day down here in the Dominican Republic on many levels. Although I leave tomorrow to come home, I am not returning alone. I'll be bringing memories of all the kids we had the opportunity to help and meet while we were down here home with me. I've been feeling like I wanted to help others who were less fortunate than myself for the past six months or so. I didn't know what I wanted to do, or how I could help, and then this opportunity arose. I personally believe that everything happens for a reason and I immediately decided I wanted to go. I purposefully decided to not draw any preconceived notions of what it was going to be like. I've seen presentations from people who have attended mission trips in the past, so I had an idea of what it MIGHT be like, but I decided to just go and let the experience happen. WOW am I glad I did. I would have never guessed in a million years how powerful it would be!more

Well I am on day three down here in the Dominican Republic and somehow my body is still functioning. I won't lie ... I am not someone that partakes in much physical labor. It's not that I don't enjoy it ... well ok, I don't, but I am loving every second of it down here. :) Today we were up early and headed back to the school in Herrera to do some painting. Our little 12 person team painted four classrooms and the kitchen! The walls were quite dirty to begin with but once we were finished everything looked fresh and new! If only we could see the looks on the students faces when they return to the newly painted walls. I am sure they'll enjoy it since they are some of the most appreciative people I've ever met.more

I can't tell you how many times I've came up with what I believed was an incredible idea, and either came up with a reason why it wouldn't work or simply didn't take any action toward making that idea a reality. I'm sure you have found yourself in the exact same situation. Think about how many times you've heard yourself saying one of the following statements... I am just too busy. I would love to do (insert goal here) but I just can't afford it. That may work for some people but I don't think it will work for me. or the infamous ... I will get around to it someday! I read a statement in an article earlier this year and was compelled to write it on a post it note and stick it to my desk. The statement was, "There is never a lack of good ideas, only a lack of follow through." I don't think there is a statement that could be a truer reflection of REALITY!more

I know I typically use this blog to write about Internet marketing strategies, web marketing tactics, and basically whatever it takes to be successful online. Well, in my opinion there is no reason to do all the hard work to become successful online if you don't GIVE BACK! Call it good karma, call it blessings, call it whatever you want. We are all human beings inhabiting the same planet and it's very easy to get caught up in ourselves and forget there are many less fortunate people who could use our help. I personally have never either had the opportunity, or found the motivation to make the decision to pitch in to help make the world a better place. Until now!more

How many times have you purchased something where you knew you weren't getting all the benefits that you could? A perfect example of this is one that all of us in our mid-to-late thirties, and up, can think of. Remember way back in the old days when they created that thing called a VCR? I still have one of those prehistoric machines and you know what? It's still blinking 12:00 over and over again. :) Not only that but I still have no idea of how to program it to record a show at a pre-set time. Read the instruction manual you say? Whatever! I don't have the time or patience. This isn't just a problem with hard products. It relates to services as well, and it's even more critical for you to address if it is tied to a membership type product.more

It's amazing how many sites I end up on these days that have still not embraced the interactivity available online.more

You might be saying, "Come on now! The only thing social media does is add to my waistline since I spend too much time in front of the computer."more

I remember the days before cell phones. Remember when you needed to wait until your friend returned home from the beach, or from thier cross-town visit with Aunt Bernice?more