Search Engine Pitfalls

The main objective of search engine marketing is to be in the top few results. Being in the top few results of a search engine can be vital to driving traffic to your website because most adults who buy things online rely on search engines to research their purchases. The problem with search engine optimization is that marketers can try to buy specific key word positions (buy their way to the top) as opposed to previously receiving a top standing was based on optimization techniques. While some people play by the rules, there are others who try to manipulate or trick their way to the top of search engine lists. Some of these tactics include hidden text or hidden links, cloaking, doorway pages, phishing, malware, and other types of badware.

Hidden text or hidden links can be explained as white text on a white background and is something you want to steer clear from. Some forms of hidden texts or links are hidden text that also happens to by hyperlinked, using CSS to make tiny hyperlinks (1 pixel high text), and hiding links in the text (a period in the middle of a paragraph). This is a violation of many search engine guidelines and the sites that you are directed to are most commonly inappropriate sites. Another form of manipulative behavior is called cloaking and big time company BMW was caught using this by Google and their page rank was reduced to zero. You are not to deceive your users or present different content to search engines then you display to users, however when a user clicked on the link displayed in Google’s results window they were redirected to a regular BMW Germany page containing far fewer of the key words. The spokesman for BMW insisted the company’s intentions were honorable but on Google’s website the guideline was in violation because BMW designed the webpage for the search engine, not the users. Due to the breaking of the guideline BMW was hit with the zero ranking list result. Another deceptive technique is phishing. Phishing is done through sending emails from seemingly credible senders such as well-known bank institutions or online payment processing for online vendors. What goes on is the messages sent by phishers usually have a fake link to a credible company and the website contains a form that visitors need to fill out. The information that is gathered from the page can contain credit card information and other sensitive data. So in all, the competition for top search engine results can be a very competitive game and many people can get caught up in the destructive tactics that some businesses chose to use.

Online Public Relations

Online and offline public relations differ in their ways of pitching things but both try to do the same things. Online public relations involve activities that are geared towards influencing media, communities, and audiences that exist solely on the Internet using online channels. These things include search engines, blogs, news search, forums, discussion threads, social networks, and other online communication tools. Offline public relations deal with the same kinds of things just with print, radio, TV, conferences/events, and other “real life” venues.

The Internet provides valuable public relations opportunities that are now equal to or are even better then the standard marketing and public relations tools. There are many online public relations tools that we can use to try to spread the word about a product. Reaching the public can be beneficial because it allows us to connect directly with people with specific interests via internet newsgroups. One key to posting online in newsgroups is to try to soft sell your product. Making a blatant sales pitch will only get people to tune you out of the newsgroup very quickly. It is also important to try to share advice in your areas of expertise and always to include the name of your business and a link to your own site. Another valuable key is to return to the site often and post regularly to give you multiple exposures and it shows that there is a consistent presence on the site. A good idea when starting out blogging is to look at the blogs that other people have created in the corporate world. Even though there are many people that don’t want to hear what corporate people have to say, hundreds of thousands of others are tuning in. So even though blogging is easy to do and is being done by more than 8.5 million people today, there are public relations and legal hoops to jump through before executives can start writing about their ideas.

Viral Marketing vs Word of Mouth

Word of mouth marketing and viral marketing are very different marketing tools that can be easily confused as the same. Word of mouth marketing is a form of promotional campaign which operates through an individual’s personal recommendations of specific brands, products or services. It is much easier for someone to take a recommendation from a friend or family member then from an advertisement or advertiser. This is on the basis that recommendations are generally perceived as incentive-free, unlike the obvious motivation of advertisers. Word of mouth works in the form of a marketer doing something and then the consumer tells five or ten friends. It usually has a short life span because at first it amplifies the marketing action and then it fades, usually very fast. Most organizations are better of working with word of mouth marketing because it is more likely to occur, it’s more manageable, and it’s more flexible.

Viral marketing is any marketing technique that induces web sites or users to pass on a marketing message to other sites or users, creating a potentially exponential growth in the message’s visibility and effect. Viral marketing is like a compounding function. A marketer does something and then a consumer tells five or ten people, then they tell five or ten people. All the while the message grows enormously like a virus spreading through a population. Starting that one marketing message is all that the marketer has to do. Viral marketing is advantageous to use because of its easy execution through email, instant messaging, and using other web sites. It is a low-cost method of marketing because with just a little investment on viral advertising, its power can reach even hundreds of thousands of people as compared to spending the same amount of money to traditional advertising methods. Viral marketing is good for targeting people who are likely interested because the people who see the message generally pass it along to their friends who are also interested in the same things. Due to the widespread effect of going viral is has a high and rapid response rate. Viral marketing can be very effective, but it’s odds of great success are much like wining the lottery. So for an effective viral marketing campaign to go big it is a very good idea to start by focusing on who the target market is and then placing the viral agent in the most effective websites, blogs, or any other influencing places.

Website Usability and Testing

An important aspect of creating the customer experience is website usability. Website usability testing is important because it provides designers and businesses with valuable information about whether or not customer’s needs are being met on the website. The word usability has five quality components attached to its meaning. First there is learnability and this tells us how easy it is for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they see the site. Website efficiency would help us learn how fast consumers can accomplish tasks once they know the design and memorability which helps show when users return to the site after some time has passes how easy they can pick up the design again. Errors tell us how many errors users make, how severe they are, and how easily can they recover from them. Lastly there is satisfaction and this shows us how pleasant it is for users to use the site. One other good function is utility and this element would show us if the website is doing what the user needs it to do. By focusing on all of these components an easy to use interface design can be created.

Usability of a website is important based on 3 different aspects. An effective website will allow consumers to achieve goals, have a high conversion rate, meet business objectives, and also deliver a positive brand image. An efficient website provides answers quickly to consumers, will follow a logical sequence, doesn’t waste resources, and requires less management time. A satisfied user achieves their goals, enjoys their experience, tells others, and comes back again. Having usability testing will help in first telling you where these aspects are not effective and secondly help with improving those areas.

Website usability testing can be a vital tool in creating a website that creates an enjoyable experience to users. Appropriate times for usability testing are the web site’s conception, before planning a redevelopment, repeatedly during redevelopment, and when traffic analysis shows an anomaly. When doing usability testing it is essential to know what you hope to discover and also you want to find out if the user gets the point of the page, understands the navigation system, and can guess where to find things. When conducting usability testing it should be shorter then 5 minutes or longer than an hour. The participants for testing should not be involved with the website in any way, be completely new to the site (don’t ask the same person twice), and somewhat familiar with the web in general. Ideally usability testing should be done in the home of participants or at their workplace because the atmosphere is more relaxed and it also gives you a chance to see how the website works on multiple computers, browsers, and modems.

Developing a Web Presence

It’s becoming very easy to create websites but it’s become harder to create websites that attract and maintain consumers. It’s become quintessential to understanding the Internet as a medium and how web users interact with it. When creating a website there is a six step process that can be used as a guide to ensure everything is staying on track and meeting the wanted objectives of the company in need of a website.

The web development process begins with discovery where we begin to study and analyze the requirements needed through emails and questionnaires. The next phase is defining the proposal and specifications which will create a further understanding about the system that is needed. Next, the designing of an actual prototype website is created to check that the client is seeing eye to eye with the designer and that the interface, navigation, and all the specifics wanted are being implemented into the site. Once we have a prototype the actual development of the site can being. This is where integration of content and databases are applied as well as usability testing and any further programming that is needed. Now that there is a working, running website it’s time to begin final testing and the actual launching of the site. Final testing would include load testing, cross browser compatibility testing, resolution testing, and integration testing. All of these final tests will help work out any undetected bugs in the system before the launch of the site. The last step, and it’s by no means the final step, is maintenance and evaluation of the site. This process is constant once the site is launched and it’s purpose is to refine, implement, and retest any changes that were made.

When it comes to establishing a web site another important aspect is picking a service provider. There are many questions that should be thought about when trying to make an informed decision for who fits best with the needs of the company/website. Some common ones are: how long have you been in business and who are some of your clients; what industries do you specialize in; what qualifications do your team members have; and also what devices will a web site be available from. All of these things are important things to know about your service provider to help chose an appropriate provider. Another issue that is very important is whether the provider is national or regional. It’s not always a good plan to go with the bigger company because there are pros and cons to using either size of provider. While national providers are usually established and have been around for years they may be less responsive to small business customers. Although regional providers are most often just as established as national providers they may not survive in a competitive market in the long term. There are many important things that should be taken into consideration when choosing a service provider including business size and the future needs of the website.