Embarassing Online Marketing Questions

Forbes answers the 8 Online Marketing Questions You Were Too Embarrassed to Ask, in this super great article.

While the Internet (and marketing for it) has been a hot topic for several years now, there are still some companies and executives that don’t know how to blog or what PPC means. So for those of you may feel this way, here’s a little recap for you.

How to Blog? 
Be consistent – don’t start a blog, write for a few weeks, then once a month… maybe. NO! If you’re going to do it – Commit.

It’s not hard. Create a strategy. What topics and trends will you cover? What will your audience want to know? What kinds of video and photos can you add? Stick to a plan and make it a part of your weekly routine. Keep it interesting with educational articles, research, new ideas, recent news. Once you’re established consider guest blogging or having others as your guest.

SEO versus PPC
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of getting Web pages to rank high on search engines through links from other websites, quality content on those pages, and other factors that cost workers’ time, not money. Pay-per-click (PPC) ads show up above and to the side of organic search results. As their name implies, these ads are placed atop search engine results based on how much companies are willing to pay to put them there, and they pay the search engine each time someone clicks their links.

Is Youtube useful for marketing?
When it comes to content, video is still king. Youtube offers a large, diverse audience. The best videos are under 3 minutes (shorter the better), relevant and engaging enough to keep viewers to the end.

Youtube offers analytics to help make your videos more successful and channels if you plan to do a long term campaign. All your videos should have a call to action and a link back to a relevant landing page on your site where people can learn more about your products or services.

Why should I buy links?
I don’t know. Paid links are generally a waste of money, so don’t!

How do I get links?
Produce great content people will want to read and share. When you link to your blog posts, videos, photos and you link to their content, you start creating webs of links. There are many ways to get links from relevant sites in legitimate ways without resorting to purchasing them.

How do I get listed on Google, Bing and other search engines?
Truthfully you don’t. Once you have a website and create content – you’re there. Just be sure you take full advantage of your SEO, keywords, tags and titles when programming your site.

In fact, when you search for your business (which I recommend you do) and find it, claim your listing. Many of the sites have a “Is this you” type question and link so you can add your own information to make the listing better and link it directly to your website, email, etc.

How do I use LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter?
You need to engage with people, ask questions, listen carefully to what they say, join discussions, and most of all, be real! As Twitter improves its ability to judge users by the quality of those who follow them, you don’t want to be caught with thousands of fake friends just to boost your image.

The Forbes article suggests:
On Twitter, it’s a good idea to use hashtags (#onlinemarketing, for example) to track conversations on a particular topic and invite others to join. On Facebook, you should post on relevant people’s and companies’ walls to open the door to communication. Build networks of relevant friends and offer useful content to them as well as some promotional materials sprinkled in. Remember, the key is not to go too far to one extreme or the other. Be moderate!

How do I measure online marketing success?
Google Analytics, Adobe, and many other tools help you track the keywords and links people use to find your site, how they interact with your content and tools, and which pages are the most effective at turning visitors into leads.

By tracking the number of visitors that request your newsletter, download, call or take action on whatever your request, you can test what works and what doesn’t to see how to engage visitors and inspire them to make a purchase.

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