Analyize This!

I used to hate marketing.

Why? Because you can't tell how effective it is. Is that giant billboard with the painting cows really helping you sell more chicken sandwiches? And if so, enough sandwiches to cover the $700 monthly expense? That's a lot of chicken! Of course that's just one example. Magazine ads, TV spots, radio blurbs, they're not free and may be costing you more than they are worth. The landscape is changing however, and now marketing comes with proof! By getting the right analytics you can see the powerful effects marketing can have on your business.

While old media still lacks many essential tracking features, online marketing will let you know exactly the kind of results you are getting. Using another Google tool, Google Analytics, you can track how many visitors come to your site each day. Beyond that you can see what pages they view, how long they spent on your site, where they came from, and much, much more! If you also display a different phone number on your site you can track how many calls you get from your web marketing each month. Now you can compare the number of calls you get to the number of visitors you get to your site. This will let you start to see how effective your site is in bringing in new business each month as well as what you would be willing to pay for additional web traffic.

The important thing with tracking is to start! Any data you gather will help you be more efficient and give you a place to start from as you implement new campaigns.

YES! We have maps!

If you've done any Google searches lately odds are you've come across Google Places, formerly known as Google Maps. Based on your location Google will display a map that takes up 30% of the screen showing local businesses that match your search description. Most of the time this map will even show up before the organic, or non-paid listings on Google. How would you like to have your business show up on Google Places?

As an owner you can edit information about your place of business in Google Places provided you have a gmail account. In Google places you can describe your business, display store hours, upload photos and videos, and even offer online coupons. Your profile can help attract new customers to your business and establish your credibility. If you would like more information about Google Places and to see how you can get the most out of your listing contact VAMPAS Marketing today!

When SEO is Useless

Search Engine Optimization, the once mysterious field accessible only to elite computer programmers and Internet marketing gurus is becoming a household term. More and more people are competing every day to become "Number One" on Google. And while working for that top spot is a worthy goal there is a crucial step you must take to get the most out of your SEO efforts. Welcome to the art and science of Keyword Research.

Keyword Research

Don't worry this task is not as scary or time consuming as it may sound. Keyword Research boils down to finding out how many people are searching for specific terms or "keywords" each month using Google. This information is essential if you want your site to show up for keywords people are actually looking for.

Rank for Terms that Matter

I once had a friend who learned some basic SEO techniques and excitedly called me in to his office to show me the fruits of his labors. "Look" he said, "Links to my blog posts are the top three results in Google!" "Not bad" I replied, "what is the keyword term you are ranked for?" And that's where things started to fall apart. To see my friend at the top of Google you have to search for his full name and unfortunately he is the only person in the world searching for that keyword.

In similar fashion I see many businesses excited when a SEO firm offers to get them a top spot in Google (for a handsome fee of course). While there are many potential pitfalls in such a proposition the biggest one is that often the SEO firm will rank businesses for terms that get little or no traffic.

Google's Awesome Tool

Fortunately there is a free tool that will show you the traffic different keyword terms are getting, and it's easy to use! The Google Analytics Keyword Tool let's you type in keyword terms and it will show you how many people conducted those searches last month. Additionally, it will recommend other keywords similar to the one's you are researching. Within a few minutes you can sort out the keywords worth ranking for and the ones that won't help out your business at all.

It would be a shame to spend a small fortune securing a top ranking for "Albuquerque's Best Rated Salons" only to find out that 3 people search for that term a month. Whereas a term like "New Mexico Hair Salons" may have thousands of customers ready to buy searching for it every month.

Driving Business in the Door

If you're like most business owners you want the time and expense of putting up a website to pay off in a big way. You want it driving new customers in your door 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Unfortunately, I find that very few sites are actually set up to achieve this goal. Here are a few basics to creating a site that is crucial piece in your marketing plan.

• Display your contact information. It's surprising how many businesses have their phone number, address, or email buried on an impossible to find page and written in 4pt font. Ideally all of this information should be on your home page and every other page should have a clear link to it. If people can't find you they won't do business with you.
• Direct site visitors to take action. What do you want a customer to do who comes to your site? Call to place an order, visit your store, or ask for a free consultation? People often do what they are told. For example put "Call 555-555-5555 today, for a personal tour" rather than just displaying your phone number.
• Include a lead form on your site. At VAMPAS we recently upgraded one of our clients' sites and created links to a lead capture form on every page. The lead form simply asked for a visitors' name and phone number if they would like to learn more about the services our client provided. In the first week our client got five leads from the new form and three of those people became paying customers. This form alone helped create thousands and thousands of dollars in new revenue.

By implementing all of these suggestions you'll find that more and more of the people who visit your website will turn into paying customers