On-Page SEO... The Forgotten Art.

If you're like most people, then there's a good chance that the thought of doing SEO gives you an immediate stress migraine. Where to start? What to focus on? What are my keywords? How much do i spend on PPC? ... the list goes on.
Any SEO expert could write a 50 page blog on each one of the individual components of SEO but today I want to talk about the often undervalued "On-Page optimization."

Its true that Google now puts about 65% weight on off-page factors, as they are harder to manipulate, but that still leaves 35% to on-page factors that cannot be ignored. Ignoring on-page SEO is kind of like ordering an ice cream sundae without fudge or peanuts....."I'll just have a scoop of vanilla, please." And yet, many SEO's are quick to dismiss the necessity of on-page content, i will fight that claim to the death.... or at least as close to death as I see fit.

Here is a list of a few basic important things to remember about On-page SEO when you are optimizing your website.

1. Keywords are Key
Take some time to really focus on what your keywords are and how you can fit them into your content. Many people make the mistake of thinking that keywords are simple words thaty relates to their product or service, when in reality your best keywords are 2 to 5 word sentences that DESCRIBE your product or service. It makes no sense to try to optimize your page for a word like "gifts" as it is such a competitive word that the odds of you ranking highly for it are very slim. Instead, you should make your keyword "Toronto specialty gift boutique" so that you can more effectively corner your market and rank higher.
When deciding on your keywords think about what types of problems your company solves, and what people will be searching when looking for your type of company.
Keep in mind that "short keywords attract shoppers, but long keywords attract buyers"

2. Titles
Some of the most important elements of On-Page SEO are the Titles and Tags of your pages. Be sure that the titles (what you see come up at the top of your browser, NOT your page) are descriptive, succinct and contain your most important keyword.
Google shows the first 65 ot 70 characters in your Title, so you should try to keep it within those boundaries... keep in my that words earlier in the title are weighted heavier.

3. Meta-Tags
Meta tags are also an integral part when optimizing your on page content. Meta tags are basic descriptors of what your page is about. There are a couple types of meta tags, but the most important to SEO is the Descriptor Meta-Tag. The easiest way to see an example of descriptor meta tags is to perform a search in google; in your search results each link will have the bolded and underlined webpage and underneath it will be a short blurb about the page.... the blurb is the descriptor meta-tag.
Descriptor meta tags are limited to 150 characters... so get to the point with your keywords.
You should also try to be unique, say something catchy or interesting.... what elements of a description would make you click a link? If you can put your finger on the answer to that question, then you are proably a great meta tag copywriter!

4. Keyword spamming is so 2003!
Google has out smarted the oldest SEO trick in the book, Keyword spamming. This was done by SEO's who simply overloaded pages with keywords to rank higher in searches. Google crawlers can now identity if you are overloading keywords into your content. If Google catches you doing this, you will be marked as spam and taken off all search results. So make sure you mix up your keyword phrasing and structure. For example if you have "Carribean travel agency" a few times in your content, you may want to say "Travel agent servicing the Carribean" a little bit further down the page. This way you are still getting quality keywords into your content, without becoming a spammer.
Simple changes can make a big difference.

5. Break It Up
Be sure to break up your pages (especially text heavy pages) into headings and subheadings. Althought bolding or italicizing words makes little to no difference to search engines, once people get to your site it makes a huge difference. I recommend using plenty of subheadings and clear calls to action in your on-page set up. Always remember that web surfers dont have time to read, they scan, and read headings... anything else is filler.

6. Dont Be A Quitter
A common mistake when optimizing on-page factors is to optimize solely on the homepage. This is a HUGE mistake. Each page on your website should be optimized for specific reasons with specific keywords. Most pages on a website serve different purposes (to contact, t0 read services, to read a blog) so optimize them accordingly. If you are an Internet Makreting company, you may try to optimize for "Internet Marketing Firm" on your homepage but on the blog page of your site you may want to optimize for "SEO Blog" or "SEO Tips".... the more pages you optimize the more chance you have to be found.
So be sure to take the time to optimize each page on your site using unique keywords... it simply gives you that much more exposure.


Follow these steps and you should be on your way to putting the fudge and peanuts on your sundae!


Alex Arnold
Founder,
2AM Marketing
2amCanada@gmail.com

Copywriting for the Online World

Being an effective copywriter for the web isn't as easy as one might think. In fact, its a complicated and precise science which can hold the key to making or breaking your web presence. If you want your valued website visitors to turn into valued CUSTOMERS, effective copywriting is essential.
Below are several things to keep in mind when creating both marketing web copy (buy my stuff) and navigational web copy (click X to find Y).

1. Give Them What They Want... Fast!
Anyone arriving at your site wants to know 4 things, and fast.
a) What is this site?
b) What are they offering me?
c) How does it benefit me?
d) How do i get it?

Be sure to answer all those questions quickly and precisely without delving into deep explanations and you will be on your way to converting your visitors into customers. If you want to expand on some of these points, do so in another section of your site... but for the homepage, answer these questions quickly and effectively.

2. Dont Be Stupid!
The most obvious thing to keep in mind is proper grammar. Even though we have all endured hours upon hours of education to perfect our grammatical skills, we still make mistakes... so be sure to read your copy over, and over and over again before you go live with it. The more professional your writing, the more professional you will appear... pretty simple.

3. Keep Your Audience in Mind
When creating your copy, be sure to keep your target market in mind. It is important to make your audience feel like they can relate to what you are saying. As an example in its simplest form... if you are creating copy for an online advertisement for a Toronto sporting goods store it might be good to use some sports references (ie "The prices are lower than the Blue Jays playoff hopes")... ok maybe not that blatant, but you get the idea. In just that one sentence, Toronto sports fans have all identified with your advertisement.
As well as using references, it is also important to use language that suits your target market. Word choice is a delicate balance that needs to be managed effectively. If you are targeting adults between the ages of 40 and 60 and you want to sound hip, you might want to use a word like "cool" but not go as far as to use the word "awesome". Finding this balance may take a while, but its well worth the research.

4. We Can't Focus.
The average website visitor will decide within the first few seconds of visiting your site whether or not they will stay, so be sure to keep your copy SHORT, and to the point. If your homepage has too much text, nobody is going to stick around and read it. Point form is always a good choice, but if you are going to use sentences be sure that they are short, with very few descriptors.
Good = Online marketing will reduce wasted media funds.
Bad = Discover how online marketing can help you lower your marketing budget by covering huge markets for a fraction of the price of traditional marketing mediums.

5. No Tricks
Try not to build yourself up too much. Over hype of your company or product can be very transparent and is often interpreted as weakness by web readers. Outline what you offer and how you do so, let your successes speak for themselves in a "Portfolio" or "Clients" page.

6. Be Human
To most people, it is important to know that there is an actual human being behind the web copy. So try not to sound like a robot. Keep your copy light, and not bogged down in technical jargon (unless absolutely necessary). Try to think of it as having a conversation with everyone that comes to your site. If you are boring, people will want to leave the conversation asap, but if you're engaging and interesting... you're the life of the party!


So there you go, a couple quick tips on creating effective copy for web purposes... get writing.


Alex Arnold
Founder,
2AM Marketing
2AMCanada@gmail.com

Facebook or Twitter??

If you are like most people being swept away by the social media tidal wave, you have likely considered the question..... Facebook or Twitter for my online marketing campaign?
Well, in my perfect world they wouldn't have to be mutually exclusive, it wouldn't have to be one or the other. But it does seem that one of these two giants will eventually reign supreme and doom the other to the same fate as Beta-max videos and HD dvds... so in which one should we invest more effort? At this point its almost a coin flip, but i will outline the pros and cons of both... and you can decide your self.

Facebook (aka The Book, Face, F-book, FB)
By far the more widely utilized platform of the two, its almost emms possible that FB has stolen the title of "America's favorite pass time" from baseball...dare i say that Zuckerberg is the new Jeter?
FB offers a range of services from video/pic sharing to online gaming to instant messaging. In only 4 or 5 years, FB has changed how we all interact. For dedicated FB users, email and instant messaging services such as Hotmail and MSN Messenger have been rendered almost useless. FB now acts as a one stop shop for email, IM and image/video sharing, pretty powerful stuff right? Lets examine FB's Pros and Cons

PROS
- Extremely large user base, which is growing exponentially. Allows for large audience for ads
- With the user friendly advertising platform, FB ads can be set up in a matter of minutes
- Easy to find and stay connected to friends and business associates
- Usefulness is easily recognizable to new users
- Wide range of applications allowing users to share media, chat, email, send gifts
- Extremely addictive (this could also fall into the CON category, you make the call)

CONS
- Not as easy to navigate as Twitter
- Users are inundated with so many "invites" that ads can easily be lost in the clutter.
- The massive accessibility to application creation has bloated what was once a trim interface
- Users must be willing to invest extended amounts of time to effectively use FB
- So much going on that simple (often the most important) messages can be hard to convey
- Seems to lack focus, instead of sticking to its original platform, FB continues to expand into new and sometimes distracting realms

Bottom Line - Facebook is an extremely powerful social tool with an exceptional user base... but its clutter takes away from its attractiveness as a marketing tool.


Twittter (aka What's Twitter?)
The new, sexy and intriguing social media. Twitter is like the new kid in school. But more than that.... its like the new kid in a rural school who just moved from the city. Just as we were all getting used to the unbelievable power and scalability of FB, Twitter hits the scene, with a simpler and less distracting interface. As backwards as it may sound, Twitter offers less but has the ability to provide more (if Twitter steals that tag line, I want you all to remember where you heard it first)... Limiting its users to status updates (140 characters or less) and the odd picture upload... Twitter seems to be a scaled down and focused version of Facebook. But don't sell all your Facebook stocks just yet... lets examine the new kid's pros and cons first.

PROS
- Focused, simple, easy concept to grasp
- Allows users to create instant updates from different mobile platforms (web or cell phone)
- Focuses mainly on updates which allows for better access to things important messages (band's concert listings, important business developments, news article links)
- The mobility of the Twitter model can act as a reliable mobile news source... see examples HERE and HERE
- You dont have to be logged in to an account to receive updates (RSS feeds are readily available from anywhere)

CONS
- Many people cannot quite understand the inherent usefulness
- Limited to only short updates (140 characters)
- Messaging directly to one of your followers requires a strange "@" or "RT" process
- Does not allow for extensive media sharing
- Fairly limited capabilities

Bottom Line - Smaller user base than Facebook, and not as diverse. But much easier to disseminate ideas, and easier to get your business/message noticed.


So... what's the answer?

With a much larger user base, Facebook seems to be the more powerful raw tool at this point in time. If you are using these sites to stay in touch with friends and have fun, Facebook is the unequivocal winner over Twitter.... but due to the "scatterbrain" nature of facebook's interface, it simply doesn't stack up to the effectiveness of Twitter as a social media marketing tool.
Facebook has gone the way of the 13-24 yr old demographic by allowing for a vast selection of applications that in the grand scheme of things are essentially trinkets. These trinkets serve as distractions from any important messages and ads that are trying to be shared. Finding a relevant business message on Facebook is kind of like trying to find a toothpick in a stack of wood chips.
Twitter on the other hand has focused on the sharing of instant and relevant information without any distractions. Twitter's usability and accessibility is far simpler than Facebook's and thus is a much more powerful business tool.

It remains to be seen how these two sites will evolve, but for now it seems that Twitter is much more useful from a business standpoint.... Isn't the new kid always the coolest?


Alex Arnold
Founder,
2AM Marketing
2AMCanada@gmail.com

Why Internet Marketing??

What a loaded question! Especially coming from an Internet Marketing blog. But before you dismiss it as shameless self promotion, have a quick read.

Like it or not, our marketing culture is becoming less and less about the big dollar media buys across large markets, and more and more about focused, precise campaigns that target only potential leads. It is because of this shift in marketing ideologies that Internet Marketing has bullied its way to the top of the proverbial marketing totem-pole.
TV, Radio and Print ad campaigns blanket large demographics while putting only limited efforts towards hitting your company's precise target market. Whereas Internet Marketing campaigns focus their marketing scope down to an extremely small scale, and for a fraction of the price of other marketing tactics. It may seem like I'm starting to paint a picture that depicts Internet Marketing as the second coming (Tis' the season), but that's not the case. Radio, TV and Print ads are still very relevant and without them, it would be difficult if not impossible to build a recognizable brand.. BUT, what I AM saying is that those mediums no longer hold the clout they used to, the fall of the so-called marketing "kings" has begun, and it is due to the accessibility and affordability of Internet Marketing.

Lets look at a couple numbers, for comparison sake.

The Toronto Star circulates 450,000 copies per day hitting a demographic of both males and females between 17-70. The Star Charges anywhere from $500 to $1500 to advertise in their paper.
Ad Views per Dollars Spent Ratio: 450/$1.00

Now, lets compare that to what we can achieve online. 2AM Marketing is currently running a targeted Facebook ad campaign that (by client's request) has been focused to appear only on Facebook pages of males between the ages of 18 and 30. This ad is yielding 535,000 impressions (appearances on Facebook pages) per week with a weekly cost of $30.00...
Ad Views per Dollars Spent Ratio: 17,833/$1.00

How would you rather spend your dollar?

Not only do the numbers lean towards the Facebook advertisement, but the numbers are also similar with advertisements on deployed on Google, Yahoo!, MSN and many other online venues. Whether it be organic ranking or PPC ads, online advertising has left conventional marketing in its dust.

Internet Marketing is becoming such a power that it is now hard to ignore, but the beauty of it all is that contrary to marketing mediums of the past, Internet Marketing is cost effective, easy to use and can be focused directly on your target market. These are qualities that we can all embrace.


Alex Arnold
Founder,
2AM Marketing
2AMCanada@gmail.com

5 Basic Steps to Social Media Marketing (SMM).

So you have decided that you want to utilize Social Media Marketing (SMM) to bolster your company's marketing reach but have little to no experience with Social Media sites... what to do? This blog will explore the benefits of SMM and give you 5 basic steps needed to get you started down the long but exciting road to SMM success.

First off, what is SMM?
Online marketing has jumped to the top of many company's marketing agendas in the past few years due to the explosion of social media sites. With a reach far greater than most other mediums readily available and a "barely-there" cost structure, SMM is the sexy cornerstone for most online marketing campaigns. The process, simply put, is the sharing of content (blogs, video, images, audiobooks etc) across vast online communities. SMM spans across an imeasurable amount of markets and is realized through numerous user-friendly website platforms. It can be a daunting task, but if it is executed effectively an SMM campaign can yield substantial results for you and your company.

There is no cookie-cutter approach to creating an effective SMM campaign, but listed below are 5 basic steps to help you get an effective SMM campaign off the ground.

The Steps!

Step 1 - Map Your Course
On any journey, you need a map, the SMM journey is no different. So take some time to map out how your are going to tackle your SMM campaign. Every good campaign should start with the basic step of identifying your target market, and how they interact with specific social media sites. You should understand which sites best hit your target market and focus on those sites as ground zero for your campaign. Most of you will want to stick to the larger, user-friendly sites like Facebook, Digg, Linkedin, StumbleUpon etc. With every new site you create a presence on, be sure to keep your profiles consistent both textually and visually. It is only through this consistency that you will start to solidify your online brand. Remember to be careful about how many social media sites you create a presence on, the more profiles you have to maintain the higher the likelihood of your campaign becoming sloppy and less cohesive.

Step 2 - Control Your Content
No matter how hard you work on your SMM campaign, if you dont have effective content you will not reach your goals. The trick to creating effective SMM content is to find the balance between having fresh content and having too much content. It is important that you dont let your content go stale, but be sure that you do not over saturate your profiles with walls of text and content. There is nothing more unattractive to potential customers than an intimidating amount of material on your profile. So keep your profile clean, fresh and simple. Remember that although blogs and textual content is great, rich content like videos and audiobooks/podcasts are even better.

Step 3 - Take Part
The beauty of social media is that it is a participatory function. So be sure to involve yourself. It is not enough to simply create a profile, add some content and hope that people find you. Get out there, add some friends, join in on conversations and exchange ideas with like minded individuals. It is through your participation that people will find you, and you will maximize your marketing power. For lack of a better cliche: The more you put in, the more you will get out.

Step 4 - Be a Sponge
The best part about advertising on the web is that it is constantly changing. So change with it. While you are involved with your SMM campaign you will be in tune with new trends, developments and marketing possibilities that are popping up all the time. So make sure you remain flexible, open minded and dont be scared to try out the new trends and see how they work within your camapign. If you can stay plugged into the constantly changing trends of social media you will undoubtedly be one step ahead of your competitors.

Step 5 - Embrace the Process
The final and most fundamental step of all is to relax and enjoy watching your company's online brand grow through SMM. Take pride in the fact that the maintenance of your profiles will directly effect your revenue. If you take pride in maintaining and updating your profiles, it will show, and people will notice. There is nothing worse than coming across a profile that has obviously been neglected, it shows a lack of professionalism and that reflects poorly on the entire brand. Keep in mind that SMM reaches a larger market segment than any other medium for little to no money, if you keep that in mind its almost impossible not to enjoy the process!

Good Luck!


Alex Arnold
Founder,
2AM Marketing
2AMCanada@gmail.com