All business owners need to understand basic data points in order to make future decisions, spend budget, hire, move, expand, contract, and succeed. However, not all business owners make it a priority. For example, when I ask "How many hits did your website get after you launched this ad?", I often hear "I don't know," or "Oh...should I have done that?" Well, yes!
I suppose because my background is direct marketing, I'm a bit more data-driven than most, but in today's online environment results are more measurable than ever.
Here are some basic data points that every small business owner should check on a regular basis, along with some of my best tips for how to make the best use of each:
1. Web stats - Without a doubt the most important one of all. Log in to your hosting account and look at them. If you don't understand what they mean, call your hosting company to help you. Basic web stats include number of hits, page views, where traffic came from, time spent on site ad more. Tip: Once you understand the basics, you can graduate to Google Analytics which delve deeper and allow you to set up goals for your site, give you good keyword information and much more.
2. Shopping cart - Website Magazine says that 64% of ecommerce shopping carts are abandoned before the purchase is completed! That is a huge opportunity cost. If you have a shopping cart be sure you've enabled the stats for the cart so you can read those too. Tips: Order from your own cart to see where the fallout might be; install a pop-up that asks for an email address to be reminded of their incomplete purchase (art.com does this really well); even ask your online users for feedback.
3. Every second counts - According to Website Magazine, 40% of online shoppers will abandon a website if it takes more than three (yes, that's right just THREE seconds) to load. Talk about a short attention span! Tip: Get your webmaster to help you cut load time by doing some rearranging of graphics and other items that slow it down.
4. Mobile search - If your business is retail then you might want to optimize for mobile devices. Some changes will need to be made to your site to accomplish this, but it will serve you well. Website Magazine states that 90% of mobile searches led to an action such as a store visit or phone call and 50% of those led to a purchase. Tip: Get input from your webmaster about how best to optimize for mobile devices. One easy change I recently worked on for a client's site was to move the navigation bar from the left-hand side of the page to the right-hand side so mobile users get a full screen of content when they land on your site.
5. Maximize your online presence - One of the great benefits of digital marketing is the ability to link to directories and listings - both general and industry-specific. Tips: Visit moz.com it's a great way to get the most visibility you can. Just follow the simple instructions to get your score and then take the action steps suggested by claiming all your listings; search around for industry-specific compiled directory sites and submit a request to link to your site.
6. Email newsletters - If you take the time to research, write and publish these on a regular basis then you should absolutely track the results. Don't simply email everyone from your business email address as this is not only illegal (you need to use permission-based software), but is useless for your metrics. And, your ISP could label you a spammer! Tip: Use email software. You can track opens, click throughs and more with their easy-to-use capabilities. But most importantly, you'll have the tools you need to know for sure who is interacting with your business and allowing those who no longer want to, the option to opt-out. Contact me for your 15 minute no-obligation, email best-practices phone consultation.
7. SEO stats - One of best measures of the success of your website is your Search Engine Optimization score. The higher the better so you want to be sure to know what needs to be changed to make this number as good as it can get. Tip: Go to whois.sc and follow the prompts to get your score. If it's low (anything below a 90 is a good yardstick), then your site needs work on it's phrasing and perhaps other coding to score higher.
8. Social media - If you've invested the time to set up your social media, then take a few minutes each day to quickly post an offer, update, tidbit, shareable idea. Very soon you'll begin to see which one(s) are paying off. Tip: There are tutorials to show you how to measure each of the most popular sites. Get a basic understanding of your reach, influence, page views and more so you can see what's working and what's not thereby becoming more effective with your time.
Remember, marketing TODAY keeps you in business TOMORROW!
This blog uses copyscape.com to protect against plagiarism.
Copyright 2014 Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC
Friday, September 19, 2014
Friday, September 5, 2014
14 Marketing Tools Small Business Owners Get Wrong - Part Two
8. Signage. RANDYE: A while ago I saw a very expensive four-color standalone sign for a Mexican restaurant at a bus stop. The sign said how great their burritos were and posted a phone number, but there was no location mentioned. Now, if you're hungry and you drive by the sign, or you're on the bus, are you going to call them and order a burrito? No! You want to know where the wonderful burritos are!
9. Your Website. RANDYE: Success in Internet advertising depends entirely on how the search engines see you. You want your Web copy to be easily readable by humans, of course, but if you want to be found online you have to write for the search engines. A good search engine optimization (SEO) professional will charge around $500 - $750 for strategy and specific recommendations on how to do that. CLIFF: Also, you should look at your website statistics now and again to see where visitors are coming from, how they're searching for you, and how many page views are translating into actual sales (what Web professionals refer to as your "analytics"). Three excellent (and free) resources I use frequently are:
• Google Analytics (www.google.com/analytics);
• www.moz.com (which tells you if your website is showing up on the top search engines, not just Google); and
• www.whois.sc (which "scores" your website's visibility -if your score is below 90 you're likely not using the correct key words/phrases for the search engines to pick up).
10. Social Media Postings. RANDYE: The jury is out on how effective social media advertising is for small businesses, but if you're going to do it, then DO it. Update your postings every day. Set aside 10 minutes first thing in the morning or before you go to bed at night. You don't have to use all the available social media platforms. Choose venues that are appropriate for your business. For example, an accountant has no business wasting time with Instagram® or Pinterest®; he or she should be on LinkedIn®. Just the opposite, however, would be true for an interior designer or hair salon whose work needs to be seen visually.Once you have established a social media presence for your business, you need to link your website to your postings and tell people to "follow you" (on Twitter®) or "like you" (on Facebook®).Finally, you need to reach out to your clients to tell them you're on social media and make it easy for them to find you. If you have a retail outlet, put up a sign by the cash register, or have front line employees talk about it during the checkout process. CLIFF: One of the dirtiest secrets of Internet marketing is that most people learn about new Websites from offline sources such as newspaper articles and recommendations from fellow humans.
11. E-Mail Newsletters. RANDYE: Don't try to do this yourself. Use an e-mail marketing service, such as ConstantContact®, that looks professional and guarantees that your newsletters comply with federal and state anti-spam laws.If you do use your own e-mail account to send "blanket" e-mail messages, make sure that:
• you use ONLY the "bcc" function when you send your newsletter, so that individual recipients do not see other recipients' e-mail addresses; and
• you include opt-out instructions at the bottom of each transmission (with a link that works!).
12. Web Video. RANDYE: Video on your website should be on the home page. Why? Because Google® indexes home pages with video higher in its search engine rankings than it does sites that have no video, or where the video is buried on an interior page. A home page with video has a 54% higher chance of landing on "page one" of customer searches. CLIFF: A link to a YouTube® page is great, but won't have the same clout with search engines.
13. Live Appearances. CLIFF: When people are looking for contractors or professional help, they don't buy your services. They buy you. Getting yourself in front of prospective customers and letting them know you are easy to deal with and affordable can be a great way to build brand recognition and "buzz" in your community. But your personal appearances won't generate results if your audience comes away thinking they are glorified sales pitches. I personally find that talking as little about myself and my law practice works wonders when I give a talk to a local business group. I focus on the information my audience came to hear. RANDYE: Remember to make your talks both entertaining and informative: you can't teach anyone anything if you can't keep them awake. Be sure to give your audience lots of takeaway handouts with your contact information on them. And always - always - close your talk by offering a free consultation or other benefit to your attendees.
14. Advertising Specialty Items. RANDYE: Better known as tchotchkes these are a great way to stay in a prospect's memory long after an event such as a trade show or a speaking engagement. But, they're easy to get wrong. I recently worked with a client who had spent several hundred dollars on give aways that had only their company name. No URL, no phone number - no way to get in touch with them after, and to make matters worse, these were expensive items (calculators). So, for their upcoming trade show, I ordered labels with the logo, URL and phone number and we stuck them on the back of the item. And, we also inserted business cards in the box along with the item. Now, you're talkin'! CLIFF: Your promotional item should be cute, clever and eye catching -- think "conversation piece" -- so the customer or prospect has an incentive to put it in a highly visible place. I agree that contact info should appear on the item somewhere, but don't include any information -- such as a street address -- that is likely to change down the road. Remember these objects will be around for a long time. And don't forget to put a couple of items up for sale on eBay as 'collectibles.' eBay's search engine processes 250 million searches a day, and lots of people collect promotional items.
Now that you know these tips, go get 'em!
Remember...get started marketing TODAY so that TOMORROW your business will still exist.
This blog uses copyscape.com to protect against plagiarism.
Copyright 2014 Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC
9. Your Website. RANDYE: Success in Internet advertising depends entirely on how the search engines see you. You want your Web copy to be easily readable by humans, of course, but if you want to be found online you have to write for the search engines. A good search engine optimization (SEO) professional will charge around $500 - $750 for strategy and specific recommendations on how to do that. CLIFF: Also, you should look at your website statistics now and again to see where visitors are coming from, how they're searching for you, and how many page views are translating into actual sales (what Web professionals refer to as your "analytics"). Three excellent (and free) resources I use frequently are:
• Google Analytics (www.google.com/analytics);
• www.moz.com (which tells you if your website is showing up on the top search engines, not just Google); and
• www.whois.sc (which "scores" your website's visibility -if your score is below 90 you're likely not using the correct key words/phrases for the search engines to pick up).
10. Social Media Postings. RANDYE: The jury is out on how effective social media advertising is for small businesses, but if you're going to do it, then DO it. Update your postings every day. Set aside 10 minutes first thing in the morning or before you go to bed at night. You don't have to use all the available social media platforms. Choose venues that are appropriate for your business. For example, an accountant has no business wasting time with Instagram® or Pinterest®; he or she should be on LinkedIn®. Just the opposite, however, would be true for an interior designer or hair salon whose work needs to be seen visually.Once you have established a social media presence for your business, you need to link your website to your postings and tell people to "follow you" (on Twitter®) or "like you" (on Facebook®).Finally, you need to reach out to your clients to tell them you're on social media and make it easy for them to find you. If you have a retail outlet, put up a sign by the cash register, or have front line employees talk about it during the checkout process. CLIFF: One of the dirtiest secrets of Internet marketing is that most people learn about new Websites from offline sources such as newspaper articles and recommendations from fellow humans.
11. E-Mail Newsletters. RANDYE: Don't try to do this yourself. Use an e-mail marketing service, such as ConstantContact®, that looks professional and guarantees that your newsletters comply with federal and state anti-spam laws.If you do use your own e-mail account to send "blanket" e-mail messages, make sure that:
• you use ONLY the "bcc" function when you send your newsletter, so that individual recipients do not see other recipients' e-mail addresses; and
• you include opt-out instructions at the bottom of each transmission (with a link that works!).
12. Web Video. RANDYE: Video on your website should be on the home page. Why? Because Google® indexes home pages with video higher in its search engine rankings than it does sites that have no video, or where the video is buried on an interior page. A home page with video has a 54% higher chance of landing on "page one" of customer searches. CLIFF: A link to a YouTube® page is great, but won't have the same clout with search engines.
13. Live Appearances. CLIFF: When people are looking for contractors or professional help, they don't buy your services. They buy you. Getting yourself in front of prospective customers and letting them know you are easy to deal with and affordable can be a great way to build brand recognition and "buzz" in your community. But your personal appearances won't generate results if your audience comes away thinking they are glorified sales pitches. I personally find that talking as little about myself and my law practice works wonders when I give a talk to a local business group. I focus on the information my audience came to hear. RANDYE: Remember to make your talks both entertaining and informative: you can't teach anyone anything if you can't keep them awake. Be sure to give your audience lots of takeaway handouts with your contact information on them. And always - always - close your talk by offering a free consultation or other benefit to your attendees.
14. Advertising Specialty Items. RANDYE: Better known as tchotchkes these are a great way to stay in a prospect's memory long after an event such as a trade show or a speaking engagement. But, they're easy to get wrong. I recently worked with a client who had spent several hundred dollars on give aways that had only their company name. No URL, no phone number - no way to get in touch with them after, and to make matters worse, these were expensive items (calculators). So, for their upcoming trade show, I ordered labels with the logo, URL and phone number and we stuck them on the back of the item. And, we also inserted business cards in the box along with the item. Now, you're talkin'! CLIFF: Your promotional item should be cute, clever and eye catching -- think "conversation piece" -- so the customer or prospect has an incentive to put it in a highly visible place. I agree that contact info should appear on the item somewhere, but don't include any information -- such as a street address -- that is likely to change down the road. Remember these objects will be around for a long time. And don't forget to put a couple of items up for sale on eBay as 'collectibles.' eBay's search engine processes 250 million searches a day, and lots of people collect promotional items.
Now that you know these tips, go get 'em!
Remember...get started marketing TODAY so that TOMORROW your business will still exist.
This blog uses copyscape.com to protect against plagiarism.
Copyright 2014 Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC
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