I built my first web site in 1995, and over the past thirteen years I’ve seen them go from a novelty to something that every business is expected to have. Yet as the owner of a web development, hosting and online marketing company, until recently I saw most businesses thought building a site was enough, and they did little or nothing to promote it online.
Now more and more businesses are starting to take advantage of the cost effectiveness of online marketing. Pay-per-click advertising on Google and other search engines has revolutionized the ad business. Not only can businesses advertise their product or service worldwide to people actively looking for what they have to offer, but unlike traditional mass media advertising, the results can be measured down to the last penny. I hope this booklet helps more businesses successfully join the online marketing revolution!
If you’re stumped by any of the technical jargon in this booklet, please see the glossary on page 18.
Instant downloads of this booklet and other titles in the Top Ten Tips™ series can be purchased online at www.bitmojo.com/tips. Print copies are available at Amazon.com or can be ordered through your local bookstore.
CMS
A Content Management System is a computer program and database used to update the text, images and other information shown on a web site.
Cost Per Lead
The cost of obtaining a sales lead. Computed by dividing the total dollars spent on pay-per-click ads by the number of leads obtained from those ads.
HTML Hyper Text Markup language is the code used to build web pages. Web browsers interpret the HTMl in order to show users the web site.
Hit Reporting
A system for reporting on the traffic to a web site. Typically includes the number of visitors, the number of pages viewed, and search phrases the used to find the site.
JavaScript
HTMl code that adds functionality to a web site.
Keywords
Words that people type into a search engine like Google in order to find something related to those words.
Pay-Per-Click
An advertising system that only charges the advertiser when someone clicks on their ad. For example, Google displays pay-per-click ads on the right and sometimes at the top of its search results.
Ranking
The position of a web page in the search results of a search engine like Google. Pages with a higher ranking receive more traffic because searchers are more likely to see and click on that result.
Return on Investment
Also known as roI, this is a percentage computed by dividing the dollar amount of the return by the dollar amount of the investment, then multiplying by 100. For example, a $50 investment with a $200 return gives a return on investment of 400%.
Signature
An email signature is any text or image that is automatically included at the bottom of email messages by an email program. Signatures typically include contact information and the company logo.
URL
Uniform resource locator is another term for a web site address, for example "www.bitmojo.com."
These tips will help you make more money by bringing more targeted traffic to your web site. Paid advertising such as pay-per-click ads and e-zine ads are a great way to quickly jump-start traffic to your site, since they deliver immediate results.
Optimizing your site and publicizing it online through directories and other sites, as well as offline on print collateral, is a great way to build traffic over time. Increasing your ranking in search engines is an inexact science that takes persistence, since the engines constantly change the criteria used to rank results. Above all, make sure to update your site frequently.
Search engines as well as your visitors will reward you for it!
Building an email list helps you make sure the hard work of getting traffic to your site pays off, by giving you a way to stay in touch with people who didn’t call or buy during their first visit. A monthly email newsletter is a great way to convert those leads into paying customers.
We welcome your feedback and will incorporate reader suggestions into future editions of this book. Please share your thoughts at: www.bitmojo.com/tips/feedback.
