Archive for August, 2009

Is Web Video Marketing Worth the Effort?

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Web video marketing first bounced onto the scene when the real estate market found how easy it was to bring people into a home for sale through virtual tours. Since then, web video marketing or Web 2.0 has been met by some with great enthusiasm and met by others without any enthusiasm. So is it worth the effort?

The truth is that you will reach a certain demographic with web video marketing. You will also reach another demographic via text. Some people prefer to watch a video, as the visual stimulation tends to stick with them better. Visual learners are often the first to appreciate a good quality Web 2.0 presentation.

Yet there will always be a relatively large percentage of the population that prefers to read their information. In a world where we still have to dig around search engines, some people find it easier to flip back and forth between text presentations in order to get the information that they need.

Serving both of these demographics is a vital part of promoting an online business or website. Provided that you use high quality video (NOT your camera phone) and you keep the clips short and to the point, you are likely to do well in the web video marketing genre. However, if you drop your text efforts for all video, you are likely to miss more than 50% of the population.

There are many ways to get the most out of your marketing efforts. Regardless of whether you are trying to sell coffee cups or you are promoting a drug free campaign, using a mix of video and text can help you reach the entire online population rather than just a portion. There will forever be some readers and there will always be some watchers. Reaching them all is just smart marketing.

Is Online Network Marketing Doomed?

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Network marketing used to mean going to a variety of meetings, making cold or warm contacts, and tracking down family and friends to come join your meetings. Many empires were built on this offline method of creating network marketing success, but yet the internet has changed a great deal of this.

Network marketing has intermingled with internet marketing and the entire face of the game has changed. Once incorrectly called ponzi or pyramid schemes, legitimate network marketing online was reaching its peak about ten years ago. Many companies went from the network marketing method to the affiliate marketing approach with much better success.

The internet has offered a wide variety of methods for making money with any type of business imaginable. Network marketing requires you to bring in people under you, mentor them, put time and effort into them, and build legs that create your success. Affiliate marketing and internet marketing allow you to put the same amount of effort into your promotional techniques while not worrying about filling legs or matrix requirements.

There are still many die hard fans of the online network marketing method. In most cases, these are very successful marketers who are able to catch wind of the next great product or business, and they invest in the early levels of the program. By the time it reaches the masses, their legs have already been filled and they have already made their fortunes, again. Most people who do not have many business tactics, cultivated email lists, or extensive connections or money to put forth into network marketing help the wealthy but often flail about in the bottom legs for a very long time.

Persistent efforts can create a network marketing success story. If this is where you put your money, then you can eventually be successful. Yet with all the other potential money making marketing businesses on the internet, network marketing doesn’t make much financial sense for the average newbie.

Is Article Marketing Permanently Viable for Website Promotion?

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Search engine optimization is a permanent part of promoting any web based business. Yet with so many different ways to promote your website, one must wonder about the viability of article marketing for the long haul. After all, most of us can remember methods like opt in emails and safelists that were sold to newbie marketers for those who wanted to start their own internet business.

Using a variety of methods for website promotion is always a good idea, but it is not recommended to skip over the necessity of article marketing. Articles are a surefire way to get the most pertinent aspects of search engine results linked to your website. If you can get the invaluable insight from an SEO expert you will find that articles market your site in numerous ways. Between keyword optimizing, back linking, and resource boxes, you might be surprised to find out how articles are the only way to continually boost your search engine ranking.

Long term success is vital when it comes to internet marketing. Fly by night methods only leave a marketer frustrated and struggling. Longevity of success often depends on the longevity of the marketing method. There is no question that article marketing is still blooming, still increasing search engine ranking, and still a growing aspect of marketing that will continue to create successful ventures online.

The concerns of yesterday’s marketing techniques are behind us. You are no longer receiving information that only works for a small percentage of the marketers out there while struggling with your own website. It’s not necessary to reinvent marketing the way many of us had to just ten years ago while we struggled to find a way to market our sites successfully. Article marketing is a long term, viable method of finding your own internet success.

Is a Native English SEO Professional Really Necessary?

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Is it really necessary to hire an SEO professional in order to experience internet business success? Isn’t it more cost effective to hire the cheapest possible writer to get some SEO articles done and to write some web content?

This is a common misperception. Many people in the industry have some pretty good English skills. Others have impeccable English skills. Does it really matter if there are a few misspelled words or some grammatically incorrect sentences on your website? Maybe you’ll catch it when you read it over. Maybe you won’t.

Whether you’re looking for website content or SEO articles, or just some really great and engaging writing, you tend to get what you pay for. There are literally thousands of websites that claim to offer a professional product or service yet reflect less than professional websites. Poor English, misspellings, and awkward sentence structure should be avoided. It lacks the professionalism that most websites are looking for.

It doesn’t cost that much to find a great writer for your content or your articles. The internet is loaded with straightforward articles that are obvious and pitch oriented. Finding a writer that can spruce up the general theme of things, add in a sense of humor, or create a scene that is engaging and still deliver error free material doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. But fair pay for good work should be anticipated.

When you find a good writer that can give you everything you’re looking for and can do it with professionalism you have found someone who will only work to help your internet business succeed. Sure, some potential clients will overlook some typos or a few sentences that are improperly structured, but there are plenty of potential customers who see these kids of mistakes as the mark of an amateur. Playing it safe, going for quality, and reaping the benefits is always a good idea. After all, we’re talking about the success of your internet business.

How Effective is Anti—Virus Software When Battling Hackers?

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Anti—virus software is a common installment on almost every single computer these days. We all want to be protected. Yet there is a bit of speculation that the anti—virus software is not the key to staying well protected. While it is true that it will help prevent viruses from entering through your email with an alert system (you can still get the virus if you ignore the warning and open the attachment anyway) it doesn’t do much to help protect you against identity theft or credit card fraud. There is a common misconception that these two facts are interchangeable.

Anti—virus software is big business. Many of the software companies allow the public perception to continue that their products somehow help protect you against identity theft and credit card fraud. Anti—virus software is important to help protect your computer from the ailments that can shut down your computer and turn your $2000 machine into a very slick paperweight. It does not prevent hacking.

Hackers usually don’t bother with single accounts anymore. While hackers might be able to gather some basic information and maybe a credit card number, that’s an awful lot of work, hassle, and risk for one credit card number. A hacker can just as easily expend the same amount of work, hassle, and risk for 500 credit card numbers by hacking into large companies that keep such pertinent information on file. A smart hacker will keep the charges to these credit cards at just a few hundred dollars or less because the banks do not feel this is enough to spend the money tracking down the culprit.

Having 500 various credit card numbers, verification numbers, and social security numbers is much more profitable than breaking into your personal computer. 500 credit cards with a mere $200 charge is still $100,000 worth of monetary gain. Gift cards make the card use even harder to track down. Your bank or the company attacked is liable for informing clients and customers to ensure that any compromised cards are replaced, but it’s much better to track your own account and keep your own records. You can protect your computer, but you can’t guarantee that the electric company is protecting theirs.

How Bing.com Changes SEO Protocol

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Search engine optimization has been narrowed down to a science for those who know the process. With the introduction of a new search engine, Bing.com, many are wondering how to get or keep their website on top of the field. Will Google and Bing have two different requirements?

Fortunately, Microsoft realized the relevance of SEO and kept the basic protocol the same for Bing. Should Bing and Google become equal competitors, which is quite likely, the introduction of a high ranking search engine could actually benefit many internet businesses. Those who are happy sitting in the top ranked Google results will have to aspire to reach the top search results on Bing as well. SEO protocol will allow the giants in search engine use to create different playing fields for all the various search engines.

Keyword use, web addresses, and article submission are still just as relevant when submitting to Bing as they are when submitting to Google. Indexing procedures will remain the same and even the relevance of indexing a site map can improve your search results.

The developments between Bing and Google will be interesting to watch. One giant search engine has a way of monopolizing the industry. Bringing in another potential giant can help keep many aspects of search results in balance.

While everyone from website owners to SEO consultants have been wondering how Bing will change the industry, many have breathed a sigh of relief to learn that the skill set currently in use will still be a viable method of creating online business success for many years to come.

For anyone wondering whether they should opt for Bing or Google to focus their SEO efforts, it’s too soon to tell. Those who rank well in one search engine should most definitely spread their efforts to include more than one search engine. Let’s not forget that there are other search engines out there, like Yahoo!