Archive for April, 2009

Word of Mouth Research - A Discussion For Marketers

posted by TheMarbellaSEO 6:01 AM
Thursday, April 30, 2009

Achieving word of mouth should be the ultimate goal of any business.This is entirely due to the fact that once your company operates using word of mouth, sales will commence without having to do any additional high-cost advertising.  However, if you conduct word of mouth research, you’ll receive an additional benefit with the same amount of buzz: the opportunity to evaluate your customers’ mindset.

So, how do you go about conducting word of mouth research?You should always understand what it entails before you begin.Word of mouth research is when you set up a marketing campaign to determine what the drives your customer's actions.Surveys are a great way to do this, especially when you give your customers a reward or some form of compensation to participate.

In my opinion, surveys without compensation or some type of "thank you" are a waste of time because they have no word of mouth value.Instead, there’s the expectation that the customer, of their own freewill is going to fill it out.  That’s not really going to happen unless they are genuinely enamored with you or your company’s objectives. 

However, things are different if you give your customer money or a free product in exchange for their participation.This is really the case if the compensation is given up front, without the participant having to worry about entering a sweepstakes, for example.  This is not to say that sweepstakes or free trials can’t work, especially if you’ve established a name for yourself.  But when you’re just starting out, you want to stay away from all that and give your customer more immediate satisfaction.

Anyway, after giving your customer decent compensation, you need to concentrate on the next step associated with good word of mouth research; making sure your survey questions promote an honest response. 

Now, by the fact that your customer is getting money or a free product for your survey, there is a risk that they could put down any old thing simply to receive their gift.To prevent that, consider giving surveys that require the participant to reveal very detailed feedback.Require them to actually complete sentence or two of why they answered as they did.Do not let them proceed with the survey until they’ve completed this portion and you get the information that you desire.

In some cases, people will not want to spend time doing your survey because they feel that they have to put in too much work.  So, to counteract that emotion, you’re going to have to try to award a bigger incentive.You could, for example, reward the participant $10, more than the $5 that the survey would normally give.If you cannot afford to do that, you might think about selling advertising space on your survey, especially if it is online.

GoogleDrive is coming in 2009

posted by TheMarbellaSEO 6:01 AM
Thursday, April 30, 2009

PS: In this YEAR u'll see some more millionaires Who bought all Googledrive or gdrive domains

##################

Google is to launch a service that would enable users to access their personal computer from any internet connection, according to industry reports. But campaigners warn that it would give the online behemoth unprecedented control over individuals’ personal data.

The GoogleDrive, or “GDrive”, could kill off the desktop computer, which relies on a powerful hard drive. Instead a user’s personal files and operating system could be stored on Google’s own servers and accessed via the internet.

The long-rumoured “GoogleDrive” or “GDrive” is expected to be launched this year 2009 according to the technology news website TG Daily, which described it as “the most anticipated Google product so far”. It is seen as a paradigm shift away from Microsoft’s Windows operating system, which runs inside most of the world’s computers, in favour of “cloud computing”, where the processing and storage is done thousands of miles away in remote data centres.

Home and business users are increasingly turning to web-based services, usually free, ranging from email (such as Hotmail and Gmail) and digital photo storage (such as Flickr and Picasa) to more applications for documents and spreadsheets (such as Google Apps). Restoring ur data in when laptop or desktop HD crashed.

The GDrive would follow this logic to its conclusion by shifting the contents of a user’s hard drive to the Google servers. The PC would be a simpler, cheaper device acting as a portal to the web, perhaps via an adaptation of Google’s operating system for mobile phones, Android. Users would think of their computer as software rather than hardware.

It is this prospect that alarms critics of Google’s ambitions. Peter Brown, executive director of the Free Software Foundation, a charity defending computer users’ liberties, did not dispute the convenience offered, but said: “It’s a little bit like saying, ‘we’re in a dictatorship, the trains are running on time.’ But does it matter to you that someone can see everything on your computer? Does it matter that Google can be subpoenaed at any time to hand over all your data to the American government?”

Google refused to confirm the GDrive, but acknowledged the growing demand for cloud computing. Dave Armstrong, head of product and marketing for Google Enterprise, said There s a clear direction … away from people thinking, ‘This is my PC, this is my hard drive,’ to ‘This is how I interact with information, this is how I interact with the web.’”

##################

Its good that we'll have some reliable backup source this year :)

ALSO ive seen 90% of googledrive & gdrive domains are booked & blocked by resellers … if U have GOOD Luck then try to buy the Rest 10% ( country ids)  & im sure one can sell it later for $ xx,xxx

John

CEO : TrafficLoot.com

Make Easy Money

TrafficLoot

Make Money Online With These Free Tools From Google

posted by TheMarbellaSEO 6:01 AM
Thursday, April 30, 2009

If you’ve been in the Niche Marketing field for any length of time, then you’ve seen all the advertising landing pages telling you about some Internet Marketing software that will make you a million dollars in a week. Or some marketing b.s. like that.

I’ve been in Affiliate Marketing since 2001. In this time, I’ve used a lot of software. There were only a few that I would have paid money for. The truth of the matter is, you don’t need a lot of software to be a successful Internet Marketer. I make a lot of money using free software available to anyone.

Google’s free Webmaster tools are great and free to use. Here are four important tools that I use and are available to anyone thanks to Google.

The first free program I use is Google Trends. This is a web based service that Google developed for you to see what the hottest trends are. This web based service tracks what is being searched for today.You can go back over time to see what people were searching for on a particular day as well. One you use this service a few times, it won’t take you long at all to figure out how profitable this service can be for you.

Google’s Keyword Research Tool will help you to make cash online. Ever since Google has allowed us a peek into their search data, this tool has become popular with many marketers. The Keyword Tool shows you how many times someone has searched for specific keywords, competition for those keywords and how much those advertisers are willing to pay. I use this tool to zero in on profitable niches. This is very important for those of you wanting to make money with Adsense.

Google’s Webmaster’s Tool. This is an important tool for those of you with websites. This tool does several things. The two most important ones in my opinion are that it shows you the top keywords your website ranks for plus it will show you how many backlinks your site has and how many backlinks each page has. This will help you know which keywords or keyword phrases your site needs optimized for.

Google Analytics is another important Webmaster tool that you’ll find helpful in pulling serious user data from your website with. Unlike Google’s Webmaster Tool, Analytics digs down deep to show you detailed information about your website. The list of features and benefits of this program are too numerous to list here, but it’s easy to say that this free tool does what other tools costing hundreds of dollars can’t do. Analytics will tell you whether each visitor came from a website or search engine amoung other things. This information is critical when deciding on which keywords to optimize your website for or trying to decide which affiliate offers work and which ones don’t.

This goes to prove you don’t have to have large sums of money to be successful in Internet Marketing. Google has given us Webmasters free tools to keep track of our online efforts. You can take the money you save and outsource some of those boring chores of Internet Marketing that you hate to do, like writing articles!

Word of Mouth Advertising - Recession Proof Your Brand

posted by TheMarbellaSEO 6:01 AM
Thursday, April 30, 2009

There are several ways that you can use word of mouth advertising to your advantage. Word of mouth advertising is something that you can get simply by how well you treat your clients and customers, and by what they are saying about you.

Word of mouth advertising is one of the most quick, cost-effective ways to gain motivated customers. It is one of the oldest ways of marketing, which means that it has stood the test of time. Word of mouth ensures that you have what it takes to create great advertising, due to the fact that it is the mmost natural way for people to communicate about your brand and services offered. Word of mouth advertising happens when someone says something good about you, or passes on a story about you, to someone else. This is free advertising – you aren't paying anything for it, and you are reaping the benefits of it.

There are a few ways to make sure that word of mouth works in the right manner for you. Make sure that you are doing something that sets you apart from your competition, this is a key factor. If you can be unique or interesting, or if you can be creative with a new idea, you'll be the one that everyone is talking about. The more that everyone talks about you, the more that they are going to see your company brand and the more that you are going to increase your sales.

Another way that you can benefit from this type of promotion is by encouraging others to talk about you. You can offer them incentives for talking about you or your company, and the quicker you reward them, the better. Mostly, things like this, otherwise called referrals, are great ways to make sure that people are speaking highly of your company.

The best way to encourage this method of advertising is to ensure that people know about your company, and that they have a chance to speak about. Remember that you can get a negative reputation as well, and if that happens, the word of mouth advertising that is done can actually harm you. So, its always best to provide your customers and clients with the very best that they can get, and to make sure that each experience is one that is worth talking about – so that they will talk about it!!!

 

Referral Marketing Beats Out The Competition

posted by TheMarbellaSEO 6:01 AM
Thursday, April 30, 2009

If you’re low on money, you might want to consider using referral marketing to promote your business.  How does referral marketing work?In fact, you use the general public to help advertise your company.They would accomplish this through a separate referral site that they would share with friends and family.If someone buys through this site and/or signs up for the referral program, the original referrer would receive an gift certificate or other incentive.This incentive can be virtually anything, whether it’s cash, discounts, or give away merchandise. 

Now, there are two ways you can achieve referral marketing.  The first involves utilizing it as a secondary form of advertising, especially for time-sensitive promotions.You try to create as much buzz as you can before your promotion ends.  The second method involves incorporating referral programs into your business model.If you do this, technically your business becomes an MLM company, which stands for Multi-Level Marketing. 

I have an idea of what you might be thinking.Isn’t an MLM a pyramid model scheme?No, but MLMs can go in a downward spiral if they are not done carefully.  Specifically, this means that they rely solely on referrals for their business.  No legitimate sales of products or services are incorporated into their business model.

12 Daily Pro is an example of such an entity.This was an autosurf website that was able to create profits in the millions of dollars during its heyday.However, over 95% of these profits came from referrals who invested their own money into the program; very little came from typical business transactions.Consequently, older members were getting paid from the new members’ money.   But as the scheme continued, many new members weren’t getting paid because there weren’t enough leads to keep the pyramid going.

nd this is the sad fate of pyramid scheme, even those that last many years….just like the Madoff scandal.The Madoff scandal was a ponzi scheme, which is a way more complex than your everyday pyramid scheme.  Either way, the concept is the same.

So, to prevent these problems, always make sure that you’re paying referrals from the profits of your business.  If you find this is difficult to do, consider compensating them on an affiliate basis, where they would receive a commission only if their referrals actually buy something.

In conclusion, if you can’t afford an elaborate advertising campaign, consider utilizing referral marketing.Implementation is a snap, and once it’s established, you’ll have tons of people promoting for you with no cost to your business.

As you begin creating and writing compelling ads for your Google Adwords campaign, it’s important to know which keywords and keyphrases to use so that people can identify your ad with ease. Perry Marshall (a Google Adwords expert) teaches pay-per-click users and advertisers to utilize the Google Adwords Keyword Selector Tool when creating their ads. This free resource will allow users to uncover the best keywords in a niche, and may also assist in locating other related phrases for your campaigns, or in your keyword research. Google’s Keyword Tool is very helpful at focusing your efforts if your ads aren’t working; if your ad is only using low volume keywords, there’s a possibility that your Adwords ads won’t be clicked on enough to make your ad profitable.

Here are some additional methods for using Google’s Adwords Keyword Selector Tool to successfully create your Adwords campaign

1. Start with a broad search. Most people use very specific keyword phrases when they first begin conducting research with Adwords, and this might be a mistake because it will typically leave you only with average results. Begin with broad search alternatively and dig into the results with the “synonyms” tool that provides variations and more suggestions as a part of the results.

2. Using a similar set of keywords, create different ad groups. Try to be certain that you are creating completely new ad groups for each campaign you create, so you can monitor what’s working – and what is not. You can also make use of the ‘relevant keywords’ feature already built into the Google Adwords Keyword Selector Tool that helps you narrow down your search with ease.

3. Use a ‘negative keywords’ strategy. Sometimes optimizing your Google Adwords campaign will involve taking away words that do not work for your market; the Google Adwords tool can be tweaked to stop showing certain words that may not be relevant to your particular niche. An example of this would be, using the negative keywords to eliminate the word “free” from triggering your ad, thus improving your ROI by only displaying your ad to people who are looking to potentially buy. The Google Adwords Keyword Selector Tool will now only show you results without the word ‘free.’

4. If you aren’t sure where to start, you can use the Site Content feature. Google can scan your web page and offer suggestions of keywords based on your site’s content. For example, if your website displays info about trends or services in your niche, these might also be good keywords to use in your market. When the scanning process is complete, you will see a list of highly targeted keywords related to these ideas and topics in your results.

5. Location, location, location. There are many advertisers that don’t realize how important adding geographic modifiers to your search phrase (like a city or state) really is. This is especially important if you offer products or services within a particular zone or area; the traffic you can generate from these keywords may be much higher than a general search, and will get you highly targeted, even qualified traffic. Consider appending a keyword or keyphrase with a location to determine the best combinations for your ad campaign.

Marketing with Google Ad Words is a powerful technique that most online-businesses can use to attract more customers. Creating quality Google Ads is one of the most important skills to have when using Ad Words – and there are many quality training resources available online. .

A Word of Mouth Blog - Get Your Sales To Talk The Talk

posted by TheMarbellaSEO 4:08 PM
Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Are you interested in creating exponential buzz for your company without waiting months or even years?  If so, you might want to create a word of mouth blog.  This is like any other blog in that it will still contain online diary entries of whatever you’d like to write about.So, it will differ from a regular blog because it will be created to promote itself.This specifically means that it will have elements that are so memorable, the audience will feel motivated to share it with friends and family.

So, how do you begin a blog like this? Well, it depends on what you’re writing about.  Some topics are so noteworthy that they create their own word of mouth blogs.A few months back, my mother was telling me about a fat loss blog that became wildly popular, so much, that publishers contacted the author to turn it into a book.  Now, she’s a millionaire, despite the fact she never even intended on creating a word of mouth blog.

Of course, if you can do a little planning before you publish, that will ensure that your blog will effortlessly become buzz-worthy.  And when I say planning, I mean you need to choose Internet marketing keywords that target the types of audiences who would create buzz on their own. 

One of the best ways you could do this is to give free tips or advice on how to make or save money.  However, this is assuming your business relates to that type of thing.  If it doesn’t, you’re still free to create such a blog.  Just keep in mind that your conversions may not work as well because your audience is not directly interested in what you’re selling or promoting.  Also remember that they will connect such a blog with you as a person, and not you as a business.

There is an exception here in this case.  If you’re willing to give a free product or a free trial of something, people are more likely to pay attention even if the blog doesn’t directly relate.If it does relate, you’ve pretty much ensured your word of mouth reputation. 

As far as creating your word of mouth blog, you can use free services such as Wordpress or Blogger to get you started.Free blogs may be a better option, especially if you don’t know much about web design or HTML.Through these services, you will receive a blog that’s turn key.You just have to enter in the relevant content and also add advertisements.

In conclusion, don’t write-off blogs as only a personal pastime.Just because they’re enjoyable to write on doesn’t mean they can’t double as a powerful word of mouth marketing method.

Is Your Google Adwords Campaign Paying Off?

posted by TheMarbellaSEO 4:08 PM
Wednesday, April 29, 2009

In the realm of online marketing, designing an ad campaign can either empty your resources or give you massive gains depending on how you maximize Google Adwords’ potentials and how you sustain it.

Google Adwords pioneers such as Perry Marshall, the author of The Definitive Guide to Google Adwords discusses this aspect of Google Adwords campaign management in great detail. Specific techniques were shared by Marshall in relation to significantly building results for your campaign and recommended some essential tips to better refine it.

Learn and familiarize all the strategies used by Adwords experts and affiliate marketers and you’ll get your money’s worth; in fact, you can minimize your ad campaign’s cost and get ahead of your competitors just by being meticulous on your choice of keywords. Here are some essential tips for getting results with Google Adwords and spending as little money as possible during the process:

First, don’t pay for top spot placement. The first or top spot in the Google ‘Sponsored Searched’ results is typically seen as the one producing the most conversions from visitors, but this is a fallacy because in reality, the second and third spots usually get the higher conversion rates. Bidding for the second and third spots respectively, instead of the first one, can afford you greater exposure in your market at a lesser expense. For example, it’s more likely that a visitor looking for information goes through the entire list in the search and as thus gives the same focus to all the ads.

Second: your list must not contain any negative keywords. Hundreds of clicks can be generated by certain keywords or keyphrases, still, you have to be cautious since your ad’s conversion rate depends on them. When you encounter this same situation, choose other words or synonyms to replace the negative keyword; you can be assured of an increased CTR with this simple yet tested Google Adwords optimization technique.

Last, avoid bidding on keywords that are too general.It can be a valid practice but try to avoid doing this as you may be putting your valued money and precious time into waste. Before you start, consult those keywords under the ‘advertiser competition’ results; then observe if the bar gets colored more than halfway because this may be a sign that your chances of bidding the word at a lower price are slim. Instead, observe those that have low color indicator although this may require you to go through the list; remember, any keyword that is not highly competitive can also allow you to bid for a lower price. You can use the ‘exact match’ feature on the Google Adwords Keyword Selector Tool to drill down your search.

There are many ways to improve conversion rates for your Google Adwords ad campaign and ensure that you are really advertising to your target market. Maximize your campaign with any of these strategies and start bidding on winning combination of keywords without spending too much.

The implication of sales by word of mouth is that influence has been exerted on a decision making process to alter a previously held view, or to be made aware of a new position or product, on a specific subject matter, be it tangible or not. As all such statements are inherently ambiguous, there is a large area of ‘grey’ around this, as nothing in anyone else’s mind can be one hundred percent taken as an immutable fact. What exactly does this mean?

An example of sales by word of mouth would be a personal experience relating to an event or an imparted understanding. John went to have his oil changed, but when he got to the service provider, he was alerted to other defects in his vehicle that needed to be rectified for the vehicle to be driven safely. Being aware that the service station took exceptional care of their customer propels John to recommend them to a friend, April, who uses that station as her service provider the next time she needs her vehicle serviced. In that case, the service station would consider that to be a word of mouth transaction.

The ancillary products and services provided are also benefactors from this sale, as consumables are also used to complete April’s vehicle service, thereby continuing to bring an extension of consumption into a multi-level business transaction. As illustrated above, you can see how increased sales via word of mouth can transfer to other areas, which is the main reason why companies would be wise to take heed of this and make plans accordingly.

It has been documented that numerous successful businesses, especially in the start-up phase, had created organic growth via word of mouth sales. Those companies that grew in this manner have been shown to have an increased longevity, and have the accompanying stamina to beat the odds when the economy has shown a decline.

Gathering sales by word of mouth is a combination of using good business practices to make sure the product or service offered is of a high quality for their price point and pricing the service or product correctly so that when a consumer purchases they are left with the feeling and the knowledge that they have received value for their money.

Sales by word of mouth is probably the most influential of all types of sales, for the simplest of reasons – people do not recommend bad products or services. This in itself has been the downfall of many companies through the years, so it is definitely to be taken seriously for all types of marketing and sales.

Word of mouth publicity is the best kind of publicity there is, it’s free. Generating word of mouth publicity is another method completely. The competition bar of success is being raised every day, to simply offer a great product at a reasonable price will no longer guarantee a sale.

Consumers today are at a much higher level of sophisticated than as only a couple of years ago.  With the advent of shopping comparison sites, consumer review sites and channels, social networking and review sites allowing everyone who can type on a computer the ability to put forward their opinions on all subjects that they decide to, it’s obvious that good PR is needed to come across as that product or service that stands out. To achieve these results, there are methods out there that work brilliantly.

1.  Offering something that’s above what’s needed, such as an additional product or a new and innovative type of product  is always great, as it makes the consumer believe that they’ve gotten a better than expected deal, which is more likely to have them positively comment on your offering.

2.Always give your clients excellent service and make sure to listen to any potential feedback they may have. Always exceed the expectations of your valuable cusotmers, especially in light of the way that online commentary influences the purchasing decisions of others. Address needs as they arise, and rectify publicly pointed out problems with your product or service as soon as possible.

3.Generate ongoing “buzz” about your product by designing your own dialogue sourced from a recognizable brand or personality, this will create a spotlight on your product and create new sales. This too will get your word of mouth publicity, and make sure ahead of time that the necessary outlets are aware of your upcoming known figure’s participation.

4.  Talk about your product yourself, anywhere and everywhere you can. Ensure that this is reported for you, or ensure that it’s posted to all relevant media outlets that you would want it reported in. Join in the commentary on your industry in general, so that when the time comes that your name or company brand is mentioned, you are recognized as more of an expert in your field and not just an individual providing lip service here and there.

With all this, you are taking great measures to achieve effective word of mouth publicity you need to have your product or service spoken about by those who can be influenced, and those who can exert an influence. As with other types of attention gathering methods, this will parlay itself to sales of your product which in turn will generate more interest for your product and further proof of its effectiveness as a means to creating more sales.

 
Marbella SEO | Website Marketing Marbella | SEO Consultancy Marbella