Internet Marketing

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Ranking well in the search engines is critical to business success online. Showing up higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) usually translates to more traffic and more business. SEO is often considered the more technical part of web marketing and is the foundation on which the overall online marketing strategy is built. This is true because SEO does promote how well a website gets indexed by the search engines and it does require some technical skill. Search engine optimization is the process of optimizing web pages or whole sites to make them more search engine friendly (SEF). Although this will help a site rank better in the SERPs and definitely get it indexed accurately, this doesn't automatically guarantee top ranking results on its own. SEO is not to be confused with internet marketing, even though it's a crucial part that should not be ignored, it is only one piece of the overall online marketing strategy.

There is no "secret sauce" when marketing a business online. Those that are successful have come to understand that it's never one thing that gets results, but a combination of techniques that make up a complete marketing strategy. Anyone can optimize a website and build link popularity. However, properly analyzing keywords, integrating optimized meta tags, implementing carefully written content and managing a link building strategy designed to increase popularity (through strategic link volume, quality and growth) is key to a successful search engine marketing (SEM) strategy.

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Social Media Marketing

Search engine marketing (a combination of SEO, link building and PPC) has been the standard up until recently. With the inception of social networks and Web 2.0, traditional SEM alone is no longer enough.

Does your business connect with your customers? Social media is big enough to eclipse the search engines. This new form of marketing has become the most effective and popular way to generate business, build credibility and customer relationships to generate business, and the results can be immediate. Tapping into social media isn't a one-time process -- it requires constant maintenance and participation. A business blog is key in social media marketing, it's necessary to manage brand and identity, provide positive influence, inform, communicate with and entice potential customers.

What is social media? It consists of social networking, video, photo, and bookmarking websites. There are significant differences between them, but all have similar characteristics. Examples of social networking sites are Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, and other sites centered on user connections, meaning the social interaction forms the basis for the website. Social bookmarking sites, like StumbleUpon, Reddit, del.icio.us, and Digg differ in that they are user content based, providing a place for users to link and share content like blog posts, videos, photos, and articles from other sites with other users.

Social Media Revolution

Social Media isn't a fad, it's a fundamental shift in the way we communicate..

Social Networking in Plain English

A short explanation of social networking websites and why they are popular.

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Online Video Marketing

Did you know that YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world? It has more than 100,000,000 videos. Only 18% of traditional TV campaigns generate a positive ROI. 90% of people that can TiVo ads do. Hulu has grown from 63 million total streams in April 2008 to 373 million in April 2009. 70% of 18- to 34-year-olds have watched TV on the web... only 33% have ever viewed a show on DVR/TiVo. 25% of Americans in the past month said they watched a short video... on their phone. Blendtec quintupled sales with "Will It Blend?" YouTube videos.

In November 2009, Mashable reported some eye-popping numbers (84.4% of U.S. Internet users watched at least one online video in October and the average person watched 10.8 hours of video), but the central theme is the same: online video continues to grow and the end is nowhere in sight."

Online video gets results. Here are a few more numbers to consider:

77% of the U.S. Internet audience views online video - comScore Video Metrix, 2008.
Of consumers surveyed, those who had seen an online video advertising a product or service:

47.3% went to a website,
19.1% requested information about a product or service,
18.2% went to a store to check out a product,
16.9% made a purchase.

- The Kelsey Group’s User View Study, March 2008

A growing number of people take action (like visiting a website or making a purchase) after watching online video:

52% of viewers take action after watching online video,
30% of viewers visit a store after watching online video,
30-40% increase in clicks for more information after watching online video,
16-20% increase in phone calls after watching online video.

- MarketingSherpa, Video Marketing Survey, November 2008 | Kelsey Group Study

We live in a “YouTube” generation where billions of videos are served and streamed daily. According to a December 2008 survey performed by TNS, 63% of Internet users researched a product or service before buying it. You need to keep your buyers engaged. ByteMeGeeks puts your video in front of your target market, turning viewers into buyers.

Press Releases

Online credibility is critical today. With the explosion of social networks, opinion, and information, there's no shortage of places for users to find what they're looking for and credibility plays a large role in determining who's getting the majority of business online. There are countless reports of online scams and fraud and consumers are wary. Some reports estimate that people consider a portion of online information to be false or misleading. Taking that into consideration, online credibility must be established and maintained for a business to compete online.

What do you want people to find when they look up your company on the internet? A press release adds credibility to a business by solidifying their legitimacy and positioning it as a leader in the online market. An optimized press release will improve your visibility and increase the link popularity of your website with an search engine friendly design and links back to your website and blog.

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Link Building

Link building is the foundation for top rankings and is one of the best things you can do for your website. Link age, quality, quantity, and growth are what Google attributes more than 75% of their decision-making to when it comes to placing a website in their top 10 first page listings. Yahoo and Bing aren't trailing by much, but do give some credit to on-site optimization such as META tags and optimized text. Link building increases link popularity which is key to achieving and keeping top search engine rank.

The internet is the great equalizer. Links from relevant sites increase your site traffic improving your website's credibility, exposure, visibility, and revenue. Did you know that 90% of all search engine users never view sites listed under #20 on the search engine results pages (SERPs)? They will more likely reword their search phrase and try again.

Every day, ByteMeGeeks helps small to medium sized companies achieve top search engine rank. If you aren't on the first page of results for your keywords, how can you compete with your competitors that are?

Email Marketing

Regardless of how wonderful your service or product is, the reality is that most website visitors won't convert into a sale on the first visit. Research indicates that the average shopper will visit nine times before they click that "buy now" button. The "virtual" internet sales process requires repetition just like the traditional "brick and mortar" retail store does. But unlike the daily 'drive-by' traffic for a store or seeing a TV advertisement a dozen times, there is no repetitive 'drive-by' traffic on the web. In many cases, when your visitor clicks the exit button from your site or closes the browser, chances are they are gone forever.

In fact, if your visitor leaves your site without buying anything, there's a 90% chance you've lost the sale... unless you've managed to capture their email address. If you do get their email address, you get a second chance. You can email your monthly newsletter, coupons or information on a new product to them. The bottom line is capturing an email address gives you the 'Plan B' and allows you to follow-up with someone after they've left your website.

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