Advanced Marketing Techniques

On April 23, (Earth Day) Xeal launched GreenCountry.com, Oklahoma's Premier Phone and Web Directory. This directory includes events, articles, classifieds, and over 45,000 northeastern Oklahoma business listings. Advertiser's have the opportunity to upgrade all of these services in order to gain more exposure on GreenCountry.com and likewise create the opportunity to show up better in ranking in major search engines.

GreenCountry.com now offers radio advertising opportunities through our new 2-minute vignette, GreenCountry Today, which is broadcast on Talk Radio 1170 KFAQ weekdays at 11:31 AM.

GreenCountry Today is strategically placed directly after the bottom of the hour Fox News broadcast and during the most popular show on the station.

The Glenn Beck show, has over 5,000 listeners per 15 minute segment according to the most recent Arbitron ratings. Glenn Beck has a nightly television show on CNN. Glenn Beck is also the #3 radio talk show personality in the world with over 300 station affiliates and 22 million listeners per day. 1170KFAQ exclusively broadcast Glenn Beck in northeastern Oklahoma and also has exclusivity with Fox News Radio.

GreenCountry Today is also placed just in time for lunch. Our 11:31 broadcast is designed to highlight today's events, activities, specials, and quite appropriately lunch time discounts.

The first three shows are a work in progress and show definite long-term potential.

Wednesday - June 25
http://www.xeal.com/download/audio/gctoday-062508.mp3

Thursday - June 26
http://www.xeal.com/download/audio/gctoday-062608.mp3

Friday - June 27
http://www.xeal.com/download/audio/gctoday-062708.mp3

Tony D. Baker
Founder and CEO
XEAL INC.

There's no greater competition on the Internet than the fight to get to the top of the search engines. An entire industry has sprung up around search engine optimization and search engine marketing. Some companies make outrageous, tempting, but too-good-to-be-true promises about getting you to the top of Google, Yahoo, and other search engines.

Like any other business, SEO has its real gems and its terrible scams. Before you search for an SEO company for your site, here are a few SEO "tricks" that could get your site penalized, or worse, blacklisted for good.

1) Keyword stuffing is not the path to success.

Search engines are always looking for keywords, so the more you have on the page, the better, right? If you just repeat two or three keyword phrases 50 times on your home page, surely you'll rank higher than everybody else!

Well, no. Keyword stuffing is a big no-no in the world of SEO. It doesn't matter if you color the keywords the same as the background or put them into meta tags (both methods discussed below). Shoving keywords on your site – especially irrelevant keywords – merely for the sake of rankings will get you into big trouble with the search engines.

The recommended keyword density for sites is about 4 percent to 8 percent. So, if you've got 500 words on your home page, at the most only 40 of those should be keywords.

Search engine optimization is the art of strategically placing keywords in your content without making it look like you're putting plenty of keywords in your content. You want search engines to see what your site is all about, but you don't want to detract from the user experience. Keyword stuffing does exactly that, and will hurt you in the long run.

2) Hide your passwords, not your keywords.

Some websites hide keywords or links by making the text the same color as the background, or through other coding means (meta tags or putting text behind images, for two examples). The logic here is that users can't see them, so it doesn't detract from the user experience, but the search engines will read them, so it still boosts your rankings.

This is not the case. Search engines will actually penalize or even ban your site if you have text that is the same color as the background on your website. It's just another way of trying to "beat the system," and search engines don't like that.

3) Meta-tags are so 1990s.

A brief history of meta tags: Long, long ago in 1996, when there was no Google and search engines were not nearly as sophisticated as they are today, meta tags were a handy indicator that told search engines what your page was about. The meta description tag and meta keywords tag were only visible to the search engine spiders, not by somebody viewing your page through a browser.

For example, if you had a page about Acme widgets, then your description might have said "Everything you ever wanted to know about Acme widgets." Your meta keywords might have included "Acme widgets," "history of Acme widgets," and "building Acme widgets."

However, people got greedy and started stuffing the meta tags with keywords, repeating phrases like "building Acme widgets" over and over in an effort to boost their search engine rankings. Search engines now use more sophisticated algorithms and meta tags are all but extinct.

If anybody tries to tell you that meta keyword tags are a magical solution that will shoot you to the top of the rankings, they either don't know what they're talking about, or they're trying to scam you. Leave behind the era of spinning gifs and blinking text and bring your website into the 21st century.

4) Avoid duplicate pages and duplicate content at all costs.

We had a marketing client recently who had three websites with identical home pages with identical title tags and identical content. Guess what Google did to his site? If you picked "flagged him for a duplicate content penalty and quit listing the site in search results," you would be correct.

Duplicate pages and duplicate content negatively affect your search engine rankings, and also detract from the user experience. If you visited a site and saw the same article on three pages, even if the major keywords were changed ("constructing Acme widgets" instead of "building Acme widgets"), wouldn't you feel cheated?

Unique and useful content on all of your pages will make both search engines and your visitors happy.

5) Don't harvest from link farms.

It's not just keywords that are considered with search engine rankings. Incoming links are also important. If other sites think yours is worth linking to, then search engines will give it more weight as well.

Link farms horribly twist this concept to be about the quantity of links rather than the quality. Link farms are groups of sites that all link to one another, regardless of how relevant those links are, in an effort to boost traffic and rankings.

Link farms can grow to encompass hundreds of thousands of links, but they're shallow, meaningless, and unprofessional, and search engines HATE them. When it comes to links, link to sites that are relevant to your users, and see if those sites will link to you. A hundred relevant inbound links will help you much more than 10,000 from a link farm.

Remember the user experience

Search engines are here to serve the users and deliver them good content that's relevant to what they're looking for. Search engine optimization is simply doing your best to ensure that your quality content is catching users' eyes and search engines' spiders. Keyword stuffing, hidden links and keywords, meta tags, link farms and duplicate content will drive both users and spiders away.

A good SEO company will know this, and they won't promise you some "magical" solution that will shoot you to the top of the rankings in three hours. They'll give you good, keyword-rich content that will work together with your website to increase your rankings organically. Where bad SEO will get your site banned and blacklisted, good SEO will make your website better than you ever thought possible.

About the Authors
Jessica Cox and Michelle Pierce are graduates of the University of Oklahoma’s College of Journalism with a background in Internet marketing and writing for the Web. They currently provide PR services at Xeal Precision Marketing. You can email them at jessica at xeal dot com or michelle at xeal dot com with any questions or comments.

Maybe you're excited about the possibility of a new webpage, or just looking to overhauling your current site. The Internet offers incredible possibility for your organization, but you need to find the right partner to bring your dreams to reality. We've put together a few things you should know before settling on a webmaster.

1. What are your goals for the website?
It's always easier to get what you want when you plan for it. Before you decide on a webmaster, you need to know what you want from your website.
Do you want customers to buy from your website? If you want to do business online, you may want to feature products in an online inventory and process orders. In that case, you need to ask your potential webmaster about their e-commerce and database capabilities.
Are you looking to provide information to a community? You may want to incorporate community management tools such as a blog or newsletter. Finding one place to handle all your internet work will keep your process streamlined.

Template websites - are you cutting costs or losing customers?
Some companies make the mistake of judging websites by cost alone. They can't justify the hiring a webmaster when they can buy a template for $50.
Think of your website in terms of cars. You can pick through the junkyard of discarded cars and have your company logo stenciled on the side of a dented '70 Chevy truck. As the car behind you chokes on black clouds of exhaust, they'll notice a faint company logo smeared with dirt and vow never to do business with that company. But you got a GREAT deal.

2. How will the website reflect my company image?
Or you could select with an eye for performance. Your website should operate as the flagship of your company, and clients will judge you accordingly.
Think of a Mercedes Benz or Jaguar, each sleek turn executed with precision and power. Your company website should conjure the same impression of excellence. Which type of business do you think your clients prefer to do business with? Which one matches your level of service?

3. Should I try to work with a one-man operation?
You may see a one-man webmaster firm as a great savings opportunity, but what are you trading for that savings? Many solo webmasters carry part-time jobs in addition to their freelance work, which means your project could suffer as their other projects intrude. They may also close their doors at any moment, leaving you high and dry.

4. Are larger firms capable of handling my project?
Larger firms have an established reputation to uphold. They have been around long enough to provide accountability, and have the resources to give your company personalized attention. They can also offer an entire suite of web
Try to locate a firm that's large enough to offer you good service, but not so large that your project will be lost in the corporate shuffle.

5. What am I looking for in a portfolio?
Diversity in design and past clients can give you a clue to their abilities. If every site looks the same, your webmaster probably won't consider your needs as important as their personal style.
Look for a good range of design and client experience to ensure your company gets personalized treatment. When you're trying to establish your company's unique value, the last thing you want is a glorified template website.

6. How can I tell if I'll be treated well?
Looking at the past is a good way to predict future results. If you want a good customer experience, you need to look at what your webmaster's past clients have to say about them. Case studies, testimonials, referrals, all offer clues as to what you're really getting into with a webmaster.

7. What happens after the site goes live?
Make sure you understand your support options for your site. Many webmasters tend to disappear after the website goes live. You may get stuck in voicemail trying to get updates, only to find that each edit comes with a hefty price tag. Ask your webmaster about their policy on updates, and see if they offer a retainer for updating your site.

April 22, 2008 -- Over 1,000 phonebooks were recycled at the Earth Day grand opening for GreenCountry.com, an online directory service for Tulsa, Bartlesville, and northeastern Oklahoma. Xeal Precision Marketing sponsored the event in partnership with Community Club Awards (CCA).

"We had some people show up to our office with vans full of phone books," said Tony D. Baker, creator of GreenCountry.com and host of Results Radio Show. "Many of them were still shrink-wrapped. I think this goes to show how many people just aren't using the phone book anymore."

Baker created the GreenCountry.com directory as a local alternative to phone book advertising. "In a recent Nielson survey of U.S. consumers, over 70 percent prefer using search engines over traditional phone books," said Baker. "It's time for businesses to recycle phone book advertising and start reaching customers online."

For each phone book turned in, groups gained points towards cash rewards through Community Club Awards, a partnership formed between Journal Broadcast Group, local 501(c)(3) nonprofits and local business owners.

"I think that the results are just overwhelming for the first year. We had no idea," said Margaret Ames, CCA program director.

Phone book donations came into the GreenCountry.com launch party from dozens of groups such as Ripley Project Graduation, a parent-driven organization of Ripley Public Schools who has been a part of CCA for over eight years.

"We put on a graduation party for seniors who are graduating. We try to give them a safe place to go. This will go towards the class of 2009," said Jimmie Sue Blose, founder of Ripley Project Graduation.

Many other groups showed up to donate phone books, including the Oklahoma Women's Christian Association, Friendship Chapter OES # 492, Operation Hope, Taking Off PoundS (T.O.P.S.) # 667, and several local churches.

Angela Smith of Sand Springs Chef brought in 101 phonebooks, while Richard and Peggy Ziglar of NEATS brought in 275 phonebooks.

GreenCountry.com is owned by Xeal Inc.

Contact:
Tony Baker
918-491-4731

High Resolution Photos
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Congratulations to Evolve for landing an article in the April 2008 issue of Industrial Heating!

We created this piece for Evolve as a part of our Power Package. The article allows them to showcase their expertise and help educate industrial clients.

Industrial Heating, the Largest and Most Preferred Industry Publication, has been applying the latest advances in thermal technology to practical use since 1931. With over 23,030 BPA audited circulation comprised of mostly thermal processing engineers, Industrial Heating's technical articles cover heat treatments, brazing, sintering, melting, process control, instrumentation, refractories, burners, heating elements, and other thermal processes typically in excess of 1000°F.

Evolve provides advanced learning management software for industrial and business clients. They have recently branched into the health care industry with complete HIPAA training options.

In our previous articles, we've talked about the present state of the market and how to defeat and/or offset it by using a few wily marketing techniques. So what's your next line of defense as a business owner? Why, a little self-education, of course!

Which brings us to six questions that we hear quite frequently, or what I like to refer to as "The Six Sacred Trees of Internet Marketing." Like ancient, magical trees of yore, these questions have remained shrouded in mystery throughout the past few years. The purpose of this post is to unveil their mysteries to you, the public.

So let's begin. "What in the heck is Internet marketing?" would have to be the most commonly asked question (although I personally have enjoyed the more direct variant: "What do you guys do, anyway?"), so that's the one we'll address first.

What In The Heck is Internet Marketing?

Internet marketing is a blanket term that covers a multitude of internet marketing methods. There isn't a formal list of these methods (and indeed, by the time you'd finished writing it there'd be a dozen more), BUT! They can be broken down into several basic categories.

1. Internal optimization (professional website development and content)
2. E-publicity (keyword-optimized, professionally distributed press releases, articles, blog posts, etc)
3. Lead acquisition (the process of converting traffic to highly qualified leads and sales)

The art of Internet marketing has evolved (and continues to evolve) exponentially over the last 10 years as search engine standards grow more complex and consumers become more educated.

The benefit to this increasing complexity is that the system is becoming better at filtering out people who acquire high rankings through unethical business practices, such as spamming and keyword stuffing. Businesses who work hard to acquire traffic, rankings, and notoriety are seeing an increase in returns every year.

Why Internet Marketing? What's in it for me?

The end-goal of a good Internet marketing campaign depends on the type of product or service being sold.

For example, if you're in the retail business with products priced under $500, your goal will probably be a direct conversion of traffic to sales.

If you're a manufacturer establishing your product online, the goal will probably be to acquire highly qualified leads for your sales team to follow up on.

If you're in the information business, the object of your campaign may be to build notoriety and credibility, or to generate media buzz about your service.

Whatever your industry, the ultimate goal of any Internet marketing campaign is to increase revenue, visibility, usability, and trust with your customers (or prospective customers). Here's an example:

The other day, I was shopping for dates (the fruit, not the social event) online. In my Google searches for these mouth-watering little jewels, I came across a couple of sites. Like most folks, I clicked on the highest search result first. Two minutes later, I left the site. Why? I couldn't find an easy way to order dates. I had to fill out some kind of an information form, then fill out all my information, hand-type what kind of dates I wanted, how many I wanted, and so on. I was so out of there, it wasn't even funny.

The next site I visited wasn't first in the list, but good night! They had dozens of delectable pictures up of their scrumptious dates, a description of each kind, and Hallelujah! An order button under each one.

After ordering my dates, I received a confirmation e-mail with a tracking number for my order, a thank-you for visiting their site, and a convenient little link back to them if I wanted to leave a testimonial about their order process. I'm now a customer-for-life of that little fruit and nut site.

This is a great example of what Internet marketing can do for you. Sure, we all know a big part of it is rankings. But that's not all there is to it, and it's not even the most important part. Through Internet marketing, the above company won my interest, my money, and my undying loyalty. And that, my friends, is what a good marketing campaign is all about.

What kind of returns should I expect?

Although this is one of the most frequently asked questions in our business, it can be one of the most difficult to answer. A good Internet marketing campaign is a long-term investment. Like most long-term investments, the returns you get are heavily dependent on how much you invest, how long you invest, and how involved you are with your investment.

However, the common trend is that the best returns come when there's a high level of communication between the client and the Internet marketing provider. The truth is, nothing that relies on a third party's buying decision (the consumer) is certain until you've been doing it long enough to actually generate real statistics for your company to use. Like most investments, there is a certain degree of risk. Also like all investments, that risk can be dramatically reduced by a little self-education, and good handling.

But as to the legitimacy of Internet marketing as a money-making concept, all you have to do is look around. Run a couple of Google searches on the shift in spending from traditional forms of media to marketing on the Net. What you'll find is this: The biggest, baddest companies are shifting a massive amount of investment capital toward getting the word out on the Web.

How do I know what company to choose?

Do your homework. Testimonials are a great way to gauge the efficiency of a company. Check out the company's testimonials page if they have one. The number, quality, and amount will tell you a lot about who you're doing business with. If the testimonial gives you a company name, Google search them. See how high they rank, what kind of publicity they've gotten, and of course, if they exist.

Avoid any company that offers you a magical cure for your problems. Promises of massive returns and instant wealth are usually an attempt to scam consumers into buying.

Also, look at how the company plans to increase your traffic. If they use "gimmicks" to trick search engines into higher rankings for your site (such as keyword spamming), run for the hills. "Black Hat" techniques like this are taboo, and will get your website permanently banned from search engines.

The bottom line here is that you're looking for a company that's upfront about what they do and how they do it (no ultra-secret voodoo techniques, please), that has happy clients willing to provide testimonials, and particularly a company that provides a lot of content for what you're paying.

Content: That's the magic word on the Internet. I'm talking articles, blogs, press releases, social media sites, pod-casts, vid-casts, and newsletters. If you're paying hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars a month to a third party for pay-per-click? Hit the road, Jack.

Is Internet Marketing a good choice for my business?

Internet marketing is most effective for businesses with an existing website or the capital to invest in one. If you've got any kind of marketing budget at all, put it in Internet marketing. If a marketing budget is out of reach for you at the moment, don't break the bank! Most marketing campaigns take time to establish themselves.

A recent example I used with a client is that it's akin to rolling a snowball downhill. That is to say, it's a compounding investment that grows larger and more effective with time. Businesses seeking a quick solution to a decrease in revenue should not view Internet Marketing as a cure.

How do I get started?

This is the easiest one! To find out if Internet marketing can work for you, give us a call at 1-866-XEAL-WEB or email us at info@xeal.com, and thanks for reading.

Jonathan Cox is a writer and Internet marketing consultant for Xeal Precision Marketing. You can e-mail him at jonathan@xeal.com with any questions or comments.

Last time, we talked about the emotional appeal of advertising on TV. This time, we'll talk about a great way to educate your customers on your products or services: Radio Marketing.

In the recent SIMM 11 study conducted by BIGresearch, it was shown that 44.2 percent of consumers who hear information that interests them on the radio go online to look into the product or service further. Further studies showed that 22 percent to 28 percent (depending on the industry) of consumers go on to buy the product that caught their attention.

A recent recession marketing survey by BtoB Magazine shows that companies who normally invest in radio advertising are estimated to cut back in 2008 by 10 percent. So what does that mean for the clever business owner?

It means you can acquire one of the most powerful marketing tools for influencing buying decisions at a significant discount this year.

When radio stations experience a 10 percent loss in revenue, slots that are normally extremely competitive or pricey become available at discounted rates. So how do you take advantage of this?

Negotiate with your radio stations. Radio stations may claim that their prices are fixed, but any good salesperson will adjust their pricing in order to close the deal, especially when their revenues are down.

One of the best ways to increase your buying power is to offer to increase the duration of your marketing campaign in exchange for a lower rate. For example, rather than buying a 13 week campaign at $1,500 a week, offer to commit to a 26 week campaign at $1,200 a week. You'll save $7,800, which is like getting five weeks of valuable advertising for free, and the station gets the extra revenue they need.

Another powerful buying method is to negotiate to buy filler inventory. Radio stations often have 10 to 15 seconds where they have to push filler in order to start a show on time. Those 10 to 15 seconds could easily be your ad at a significant discount.

Try AM radio. News, sports, and talk radio have amazing followings, and unlike FM or music radio stations, their listeners are much less likely to surf stations and are much more likely to be attentive to ads they hear.

So now that you've landed a sweet deal for your marketing campaign, how do you maximize returns on your investment?

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Keep your ads simple. Don't try to cram too much information into your ad space. I say that for two reasons. First, you don't want to confuse your listeners. Second, curiosity is one of the most powerful tools in marketing. You want to grab their attention. Pique their curiosity to the point that they'll call the number or visit the website you mention in your ad.

For example, if you sell pizza, you might structure the last few seconds of your ad like this: "Free BOBBY'S Pizza today! Find out more at 918-555-1212. Call now! Tulsa's best pizza…guaranteed. That's 918-555-1212." Now, don't you want to find out how to get a free pizza?

If you sell a service or information, hook their attention by offering a free report or a free "how to" article on your website. If you sell retail, offer free coupons or a sales calendar online.

And remember to mention your contact information twice. They won't be ready to take it down the first time, and odds are, they'll be scrambling for a pen. The second time you mention your contact information, they'll be ready.

Most importantly, avoid confusing domain names or names that are difficult to spell. It's better to buy an expensive domain name than to spend $15,000 on radio advertising for a website no one can spell. Be creative with your domain names and avoid domains with the word "and," confusing symbols like dashes or underscores, and the number 4.

At Xeal every commercial ends with "Visit Xeal online at X E A L dot com…that's Zeal with an X, and X E A L dot com." In this case we actually spell it out for the listeners.

Also, a great way to track your ad response is ask your radio station for permission to use their name in your tracking URLs. Using our pizza example earlier, you could use "KFAQ LOVES PIZZA dot com." Saying that in a commercial would be much easier than saying "BOBBY'S Italian Eatery dot com."

If they say no, then try something like "TULSA LOVES PIZZA dot com," or make it campaign specific: "TULSA FREE PIZZA dot com" or "5 BUCK PIZZA NOW dot com." Notice I say "buck" instead of "dollar" so that people won't confuse the word for the dollar symbol when entering the address.

That's it for today. Keep an eye out for our next article. We'll talk about the state of the market, projected spending, and how to come out of the recession stronger than ever before. You're going to love it.

Last time we covered Internet Marketing, an excellent way to inform your customers about your business and generate publicity. This week, we'll talk about one of the best ways to tell your story…Television Marketing.

There are a lot of ways to advertise and get prospects excited about your business, but very few are as attention grabbing and emotionally evocative as a well-done video. If you've never taken this angle for your business, this is an excellent time.

Television, like any other industry during a recession, becomes extremely competitive for business. Prime spots and inflexible rates become available and discounted. So where should you start? The first step, and you'll start to see a trend in marketing here, is to identify your target demographic.

The television broadcast day is divided into "dayparts," and each daypart caters to a different kind of viewer. Following is a list of the daypart categories and their audience demographics:

Early AM:
Programming: Local news, network news and information programs.
Demographic: Reaches opinion leaders, business owners.

Day:
Programming: Syndicated talk shows, game shows, soaps.
Demographic: Reaches women 25-54 and women 35+. Average education is high school.

Early fringe:
Programming: Syndicated talk shows, sitcoms, and tabloid TV programs.
Demographic: Reach is similar to day viewers.

Early News:
Programming: Local news, network news.
Demographic: Reaches well-educated consumers.

Access:
Programming: Syndicated sitcoms, game shows, tabloid TV programs.
Demographic: High ratings, cost-efficient reach, varied viewer profiles.

Prime:
Programming: Local spots sold in adjacency time slots between network programs.
Demographic: High ratings, varied demographics, frequently a premium audience.

Late news:
Programming: Local news.
Demographic: Reaches highly educated most likely voters.

Late fringe:
Programming: Network late night programs, syndicated sitcoms.
Demographic: Wide variety of audiences.

Once you've identified your target demographic and purchased the appropriate spot, the next step is outlining what you want to accomplish through your advertisement and scripting your commercial.

Keep this in mind while you're outlining the purpose of your spot: human beings are more influenced by audio and video than any other stimulus. Your commercial should lend credibility to your organization, build trust, and convey a positive, upbeat image about your products or services.

When producing a script, remember Mark Twain's cardinal rule for writers: Less is more.

It's tempting to try to squeeze as much content as you can into your spot, but remember, even 10 seconds is a long time on TV. A barrage of images isn't far removed from staring at a strobe light, and we've all heard used car commercials enough to be unpleasantly familiar with 100 mile-an-hour dialogue.

Keep your script clean and simple, showcasing only a few of your best products or services elegantly and articulately.

Now that you've got your script written, it's time to produce the video. The most important thing to make note of at this stage of the process is continuity. Make sure you match the mood of your commercial with an appropriate selection of music, and that your narration ties in with the action.

For example, when you're talking about your excellent customer service, have a pair of smiling professionals shaking hands or talking animatedly. When you're talking your new facilities, be sure to showcase its best angles during the narrative.

Still stumped? Watch TV! You don't have to recreate the wheel to be successful in your marketing campaign; look at what some other companies are doing and learn from it. What commercials grab your attention best? Which ones make you laugh or excite you to buy?

There's no teacher like experience. One of the best things about marketing is that it's an excellent field to learn from others.

So that's a wrap! Stay tuned for our next article, Recession Marketing Part 4: Radio Advertising.

We've talked about the four major categories of marketing and the importance of balancing your marketing effort in Part 1: Beating the Recession. So where do you begin?

If you had the time and resources to only pursue one avenue of marketing, make it internet marketing; it's one of the least expensive and most effective ways to get your name out there and it has the potential to reach the full spectrum of your client demographic.

There are four crucial investments you need to make to ensure a long-lasting return on your internet marketing. These include a professionally designed website, press releases, articles, and social media marketing.

Think of your website just like you would a brick-and-mortar location. What are some of the most important considerations when opening a store?

1. You want a good location that's easy for your customers to find.
2. The storefront should have good curb appeal; it should capture the attention of prospective customers and be pleasing to the eye.
3. The interior of the store should be easy to navigate, and customers should be able to find what they want quickly and easily
4. Maximize your layout by positioning items so that customers can find other products or services on the way to their original objectives.
5. You should have a quick and painless means of capturing customer information so that you can follow up with them in the future. (Ever given your name and phone number to a sales rep while checking out?)

The same timeless principles above apply just as readily to your website.

Location: Your domain name should be short and to the point. The longer and more difficult it is to spell or remember, the less likely it is that the customer will ever make it there.

"Curb appeal": Your front page is your image. It should convey the order and professionalism you want your company to convey to your customers.

Layout/Navigation: Your website must be easy to navigate. Customers who can't find what they want generally leave a website after SIX SECONDS, never to return.

Optimization: Buddy up your products. If you have a product that sells very well and a product that's suffered in the past, place them close together in your site navigation. Coupling a popular product with a lesser-known product will dramatically boost your traffic and sales for less popular lines.

Lead capturing: Placing your company's phone number in a highly visible location on your front page and placing a tasteful contact form in a prominent location will increase the amount of leads you get by as much as 300% in many cases. Better still, offer coupons, a free quote, a free newsletter packed with useful tips, or a chance to win a product or service to entice visitors to complete contact information.

Now that you've finished your website, you need to get the word out to customers. Of course, you'll want to do this in the most powerful, long lasting way possible for the least amount of money.

Well written, internet optimized press releases and articles are an incredibly powerful means of getting publicity, generating buzz, and attaining highly qualified leads for your business. Unlike running an article or a press release in a print publication, press releases and articles on the internet stay on the web permanently, getting you traffic and qualified leads for months or even years to come.

An experienced PR firm will get your press releases into venues such as Google News, Yahoo News, MSN News, and Reuters, and your articles into high traffic information sites such as about.com, ehow.com, and work.com. If the pieces are properly optimized, they'll include a link back to your website and tastefully include keywords related to your business to boost search engine results.

Lastly, we have social media marketing. Think of it as business networking online. By utilizing pre-existing networks such as Face Book, MySpace, LinkedIn, and business forums, and even creating your own business blog, you can forge partnerships, acquire affiliates, and generate word of mouth with thousands of prospects and business owners. Better still, you can repurpose all of those excellent articles and press releases as blog content.

Following the advice in this article and I guarantee you, you will get results. Keep an eye out for the next article in our Recession Marketing series, Part 3: Television Marketing.

An unspoken air of tension hangs over the populace. Whispers spread back and forth…"The market's down, hard times are coming."

Sound familiar? There's a lot of negativity about the state of the market right now, but let's look past the gossip and examine the facts.

All markets fluctuate to varying degrees. Economic cycles come and go, businesses rise and fall. But look at companies like McDonalds, Johnson & Johnson and Colgate that have survived and even grown in periods of economic recession. What's their secret?

If you've ever been busy and on a budget, you've probably eaten at McDonald's. What makes them worthy of the title of "largest fast-food chain in the world?" Ba-da-ba-ba-ba, I'm luvin' it! Ever had that stuck in your head, followed by a slight tinge of resentment because you're now craving a burger, fries, and a Coke? Super-size it!

And after that, don't forget to brush your teeth. How do you protect your teeth for 12 hours after brushing? Colgate!

If you're a parent, you've probably used Johnson's Baby Powder at some point; it's almost a conditioned response. Why? Because we hear that warm, maternal voice articulating how smooth and clean it leaves our skin feeling. We see the happy, giggling baby laying in the sunlight, clutching her parent's finger after a changing.

All of these companies have one thing in common, and this is their secret:

They all understand the value of marketing. Each of these companies continued to market and even expanded their marketing during past recessions.

Marketing during a recession

A series of six studies conducted by the research firm of Meldrum & Fewsmith showed conclusively that advertising aggressively during recessions not only increases sales but increases profits. This fact has held true for all post-World War II recessions studied by American Business Press starting in 1949.

With that being said, marketing can be a costly enterprise, and there's never been more information to absorb or avenues to choose from. How do you make the right choice?

What are my options?

A combination of marketing techniques is the most effective strategy.

Here are the four major categories of marketing media you can focus on:

1. Internet
2. Television
3. Radio
4. Print (newspaper, magazines, journals, etc)

Be aware that each category is generally more effective within different age groups. Internet marketing has the highest impact on the 18-35 age group. Television is more effective with the age 35-50 crowd. Radio reaches a fairly broad age range, but doesn't always grab attention as effectively as the other venues. Print media marketing is generally more effective for an audience of ages 35-75.

So how do you get the most out of your marketing dollar?

• Tailor your marketing mix based on your client demographic
• Get better results and save money with traditional advertising (by cutting excess spending and integrating your website with traditional marketing)
• Shift spending towards more traceable marketing venues (internet, track, capture info/etc)

Here are a few tips for recession marketing that will save you money and keep your company at the head of the pack:

Know Your Clients

Consider your own client base. What are the average ages for the top 20% of your clients? How many of your clients are over 50? How many of them are over 35? This will help you narrow down where your clients go for information. Identifying the strategic ground is crucial to winning market share.

No matter what form of advertising you use, everyone's favorite radio station, TV station or blog is W.I.I.F.M., "What's In It For Me?" That's what everyone's tuned in to. Make sure your ads answer that question in 10 seconds or less.

Run a Lean, Focused Campaign

Look for ways to cut excess spending while still maintaining visibility. Focus on results by driving marketing and traffic to your website. Then you can convert those visitors into leads and a database of contact information.

Waste not, want not. A ¾ page ad in the yellow pages can be just as effective as a full page. Rather than running a full page sales letter in a magazine or tabloid, offer a free report that people can print out online once they visit your web site.

Negotiate with your stations to buy filler inventory. Often radio stations will have 10 to 15 seconds where they have to push filler in order to start a show on time. Those 10 to 15 seconds could easily be your ad at a significant discount. The station gets the extra dollars they need during a recession and you get the extra exposure.

Invest in a Strong Web Presence

Think of ways to drive people to your website. Consider using an easy-to remember URL with your promotions, like "KFAQLovesPizza.com." Make sure your URL is easy to spell and contains no symbols. This strategy makes it very simple to track your promotions.

In addition to your phone number and URL in your advertisements, offer a free report, a free newsletter, coupons, or some other free information of value to your target market. This is always appealing to customers, even more so in difficult times.

One crucial aspect of your website marketing mix is capturing your visitor's information. A simple contact form tastefully placed on your front page with places for name, e-mail address, and phone number will dramatically increase the amount of leads you receive.

Stay tuned for the next article in our Recession Marketing series, Part 2: Internet Marketing.