This is the final post of the series. To start from the beginning. click here.

In this post we will briefly explore the last example in that post. For a recap, the business up for discussion involves a toy company. The following bits of information were given.

1. The company’s website is subpar.
2. They are considering a radio campaign.
3. They are launching a new product shortly—so shortly, in fact, that they have determined that it is unlikely that they will be able to wait for a purely internet marketing campaign to return results.

This will likely be the most expensive of the discussed campaigns (though by no means are we going to forget about trying to reduce costs by developing a deliberate marketing strategy), so it may be a lesson that planning early is key to minimizing costs. Luckily, if the company is considering the use of a radio campaign, they already know that they may need to spend a couple bucks.

When conducting a radio or television campaign, the first step must always be to prepare the website. Quick changes which make the web presence presentable are key. The reasoning behind this argument is that in nearly every case, a radio or television advertisement drives potential customers to Google for a quick web search. In most cases, the consumer should not be left to respond to the call to action directly. Rather, the consumer, it should be assumed, will forget nearly all of the information from the advertisement. The use of any active marketing strategy, therefore, should only be expected to influence the desires, and therefore searching habits, of a desired consumer base.
The first step, therefore, is an emergency website facelift.

Next, quick optimization tactics (META information optimization, content generation, etc.) is key to try to tackle some of the keywords of utmost importance.

Third, frequent and directed press releases (and article directory submissions) can produce significant results in minutes to hours. Though these will do little to boost the company’s website itself, the press releases will give the company high ranking search engine results for difficult keywords.

Fourth, the radio campaign may be conducted. The building blocks are all set, and after the other steps are complete, the radio campaign can be a success. In order to minimize costs, the campaign should begin with an attempt to get free exposure from local and college radio stations. Frequently they want local content and will allow the company to get air time at no cost.

Fifth, the radio campaign should be complimented by an inexpensive direct marketing strategy (mailing, flyer distribution, etc.) to maximize the return.

This week I have been counseling a business owner on some SEO practices. We are redesigning his site, and while it is still in the design stages, it is a few shades better already to say the least. While discussing with him the implications of site design, consumer awareness, general marketing, and web marketing, I took note of the biggest confusions that he had. Here are the discussions I had with him on each of those issues, which I think may be of huge benefit to you guys out there.

1)      Design, design, design: The fact is that if you get to the top of Google and you cover the page for your niche, you will make money. Still, don’t forget that the end user is your actual consumer, and if your site is terrible looking or un-useful, you are killing yourself. Imagine what those top spots on Google could mean to you if your users actually enjoyed your website—you would be visible and awesome (a great combo). Invest some time and energy into the design of your site, and you will see a huge increase in revenue.

2)      SEO, SEO, SEO: Maybe this should have gone as number one. Heck, read it along as 1a, but no matter what, let it sink in. If you are investing time and/or money into a website, make an effort to appease the search engine gods. A recent statistic I read was that less that 10% of all websites put any work into search engine optimization—that means that with a little will power, you can beat the competition (at least on realistic keywords… it might take a lot of willpower for the harder ones)!

3)      Consumer focus: the business owner discussed above has an online franchise company, and he therefore has different facets to his websites. He has aspects of the site for consumers, some for potential franchisees, some for current franchisees, and some for advertisers. We are working to separate them so as to keep the content pertinent to the reader. If you are careful, it is possible to have a site designed for many users, with each of them seeing only the content they want and need.

4)      K.I.S.S.: Keep it simple-ish. Simple is good; clutter is bad. Most users read the top and bottom of a page. I have spent quite a bit of time in my career explaining to clients that it is great to have loads of content. After all, it’s good for SEO and for the user, but don’t just throw it all on one page, and don’t throw it on multiple pages without some serious planning, either. A lot of information can be a burden as well as a blessing.

5)      Abide by web standards. Check out the information from the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) at http://www.w3.org/. Live by the rules if you want users on different browsers to be able to access your content.

6)      On the same note as number 5, I must separate this point out, which I discuss with nearly every client. With the invention of WYSIWYG website design tools, many people who are creating websites probably shouldn’t. I don’t mean that with a tone which could stifle creativity, but make sure that the site is made for the end user, and don’t just trust your site designer. Check that it fits in a decently small browser window, make sure you don’t use crazy fonts, take advice from established and credible web designers, and you might just be able to do much of the work yourself. Again, though, don’t trust the WYSIWYG always really gives you “what you see.”

7)      Be social, but not too social: No matter what efforts you employ, don’t forget that you have a minion much stronger than yourself. If you have a decent size following, allow them to spread the word. Be careful with how you add social buttons to your web pages, however. Some “out of the box” buttons will leak out a lot of SEO juices by providing ungodly amounts of outbound link from your pages.

8)      Combine marketing efforts. There is no reason to stick to one marketing campaign or style. Cover more demographics and get a good return by analyzing multiple means. Often our marketing goals are to 1) manipulate interest and/or 2) enhance consumer awareness. Consumers are everywhere and not always reachable by one medium or another, so regard all marketing efforts as valuable if the ROI (return on investment) will be high.

There are loads more issues to discuss, but for now, take heed with these tidbits. I discuss these eight pointers approximately two to three times every day, so consider yourself a step above if you really implement them. In the future, I will discuss more tips.