Creating Web Traffic

I would like to take a few minutes and discuss another main topic that we have been discussing in our Internet Marketing class at Laurentian University. It involves creating web traffic which is probably one if not the most important variables when determining the success of a web site.
Because web users are becoming more experienced all the time, they inevitably become less likely to visit new sites without cause. There are web traffic plans that can be implemented to help generate more traffic to your site. Some of these include: Search Engine Marketing, Online Banner Advertising, Social Marketing, and of course Email Marketing.
Creating effective traffic plans will help assess the volume and quality of traffic being generated. A key tool when anaylyzing traffic is using the cost-per-action method. This method is best explained as the number of visits that end in a particular action divided by the cost of the campaign.
Of all the marketing tools used to generate traffic, top placement in search returns is key to generating organic Web traffic. Of course, this also refers to one of our key topics: Search Engine Optimization.

AB

When was the first search engine launched?

The first search engine, Archie, was created for searching webservers. It was launched in 1990 by a student at McGill University. It was hosted by the CERN webserver which had a database where you could search sites using file names, but they were not indexed. But eventually there were too many servers for it to handle. A new server, NCSA, listed the most recent only and there was no longer a list of all webservers.

The first web search engine was Wandex which only searched for keywords in website titles. Soon afterwards WebCrawler was created. It was a crawler-based search engine that searched for keywords throughout the whole webpage. This how most search engines operate today. Some of the most successful search engines will be discussed on this blog.

To learn more about the history of search engines, visit:
1) Wikipedia: Section 2
2) Searchenginehistory: Comprehensive Overview
3) Webreference: Brief History

Guess what? I found that Archie still exists. Click the image below to visit the world’s first search engine. AR

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engines

You Tube

A very popular search engine, often used for personal use is youtube.com. Youtube enables people to upload, share and view videos. Youtube is owned by another popular search engine- Google.com. While personal use is most common, youtube is a source for ads often seen on TV commercials worldwide. When viewers log on to youtube and type in for instance Honda Civics (perhaps you want to watch a drift video), you get a general list of videos all pertaining to Honda Civics but it also brings up commercals, therefore indirectly marketing Honda's.

Youtube is also useful for school projects when you want to reinforce an idea with the use of video- humans are visual creatures and a video helps stimulate interest. Additionally, you are able to narrow search's down with specifics and the youtube search bar gives you a listing of potencial topics as you type it in. It can also be used for self help videos, as some users have uploaded how-to videos.

CL

http://www.youtube.com/

SEO or PPC?

I came across a great article discussing Search Engine Optimization and Pay-Per-Click marketing techniques and more specifically comparing the differences between the two and describing the benefits of each. I will add some of the main points of the article into this blog entry but I highly recommend to everyone even remotely interested in this topic that they read the whole thing by following the link at the bottom. 

-  PPC and SEO are the online marketing techniques that are used to attract the target audiences to specific websites. Both SEO and PPC serve as preferable marketing tools for starters entering the online marketing arena. Even though both SEO and PPC have their own advantages, marketers often get confused about which marketing tool to choose? To tackle this controversy, let’s first consider what each option offers.

Search Engine Optimization

• Let us first consider the definition of traditional Search Engine Optimization. It refers to the process of tweaking or optimizing your website by incorporating certain keywords or key phrases. These key words or key phrases are generally words related to your business for which you want to attract web surfers who are looking for these words on search engines. This tweaking is not only related to the home page of the website but it is done on all the sub pages as well to gain maximum results and maximum visibility.
• SEO is a time consuming process in which you will have to constantly update your content to attract traffic. One needs to make sure that all the crawler based search engines are able to locate your site and include the maximum pages possible in their indices. Crawler based search engines generally start from the first page of your website and then crawl into the rest of the pages. 
• Search engine optimization requires you to keep a constant vigil on your page rankings in search results and make the necessary changes and directory submissions through the course of time to keep your website on top. One also needs to ensure that the site is listed in major directories such has Yahoo and Open Directory.

Pay Per Click

• To put it precisely, Pay Per Click is a sponsored marketing strategy in which a marketer or website owner buys visitors or clicks from search engines. In this a marketer selects certain keywords or key phrases and then makes a listing that will come up each time someone searches for that word in the search engine. The marketer pays a specific amount for every click that is made on the listing created by him, which in turn leads the visitor to his website.

• Another added benefit of PPC is that if you pay for your listings in one search engine then those listings are distributed to partner sites as well. This means if you bid for one of the top five positions in a particular search engine then your listings will show up in top positions in its partner sites as well. Pay per click has allowed marketers to straight away pay their way up to search engine rankings rather than wait for the natural or organic processes like SEO to yield results, which take time and efforts.

In my next post I will add the advantages/limitations of each as well as a look at the initial investment required and the ROI potential of each as well as a summary of the articles conclusions that are made. In the meantime have a look at the article: SEO or PPC?

PL

Internet marketing and mobile devices - a personal opinion

Having recently purchased a phone with Wifi and 3G network capabilities, I was shocked to find two things:

a) my pattern of usage has changed. Before I would only surf using a computer and figured that my cell would only be a means to get emails. However, this is far from the case.
b) the number of sites that are not optimized for mobile browsing, both in layout and design and regarding their SEO focus.

First, my mobile browser surfing time now takes up approximately 50% of my overall online time. This was a shock to me as I was under the original impression that I would barely surf at all. However, I find now that whenever I'm bored or have the opportunity, i'll quickly reach for my phone and go check out one of my favourite sites just to catch up on current events. Whether it be checking on a social network like facebook, the news, or sports scores, I always seem to be taking my phone out to surf, even if only for a few seconds at a time.

This brings me to my second point, which relates more to the topic of this blog.

Having recently switched from regular browsed to mobile browser surfing, I am appaled at the number of sites who completely ignore the mobile browsing community, and feel that anyone who ignores this potential revenue stream is putting themselves in a very dangerous position of missing a new and powerful trend. Based solely on my own usage, I can attest to the fact that I have switched my main news source sites (for local, international, and sports related news) from my old favourite sites to different companies alltogether, based solely on the browsability and ease of use of their 'made for mobile' sites.

While designing a seperate layout for mobile browsers may seem unnecessary, as the browser can still read non-mobile specific sites, I argue that the relatively minor amount of investment required palls in comparison to the potential for increased visitor hits as a result of being one of the few / new sites that offer a specific mobile site. This seperate layout is made even easier to create given the popularity and widespread / easy use of CSS layouts, which allows for a single site to have very different layouts, and can be switched by the type of browser requesting the information.

Below I have included some code that will check to see if the user agent is an iphone browser or not.







(Taken from http://www.askdavetaylor.com/detect_apple_iphone_user_web_site_server.html )

While configuring this blog for mobile browsing is a bit outside the realm of this project, I would certainly recommend to anyone looking to expand their potential client case to be sure to take care of the mobile browsing community, as trends indicate that this market segment will continue to grow in the near and long term futures.

AA

Money Well Spent

Companies are continually freeing up money in the budgets to increase their marketing campaigns on the internet. To receive any perceivable traffic from search engines, you must be in the top 30 results, and preferably in the top 10 (considering that approximately 90% of users do not look past 3rd page). 55% of UK adults have purchased something over the internet, 81% of those purchases have come in the past 3 months. It is no wonder why it is important for major companies to spend millions of dollars on trying to get to the top of the search engine pages. This trend is expected to increase; 55% of companies are planning to increase paid search spending in the next 12 months. A recent survey in the US has found that by the year 2013, 221.1 million (69.2%) of all Americans are expected to use the internet. This is 34.1 million more than 2007. With the holidays coming it is even more important for companies to get to the top of search engine results. This upcoming year it is expected that sales online will increase 10.1% from last year to $32.1 billion. So if you are a company looking to increase sales it appears that it would be in your best interest to start investing in internet marketing!

DT

http://www.searchenginepeople.com/seo/search-engine-optimization

How do I use search engines?

Search engines are designed so they are very simple to use. All you need to do is use the search engine that specializes in the information you are after and then type in a keyword or keyphrase.
For example, if you want some ideas for Halloween costumes you could go to google.ca and search for ‘Halloween costumes’ websites. The result is a list of over 10,000,000 sites but the most relevant are listed first. You could also narrow your search by using more specific keyphrases, such as, ‘homemade Halloween costumes’, ‘best Halloween costumes’, ‘Halloween costumes for kids’, etc.

To learn more about how to use search engines effectively, visit:
1) Wikipedia: Web Search Query
2) Google: Web Search Help Center
3) aarp.org: How To Use Search Engines

AR

SEO - Search Engine Optimization

Now that our readers have had a chance to view some Internet Marketing terminology and have been presented a general overview of the topics we discuss in this class what we will do now is get into our more specific topics: 1-) Search Engine Optimization and 2-) How search engines aren't just for porn. Essentially what this means is that we will discuss methods and techniques for SEO meanwhile depicting to the readers of this blog the many uses of search engines (both in a marketing sense for companies as well as for personal users). In marketing Search Engine Optimization is very important. For a quick overview I have selected a short snippet from a Wikipedia article discussing what SEO is. For the entire article follow the link I have provided at the bottom. 

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Usually, the earlier a site is presented in the search results, or the higher it "ranks," the more searchers will visit that site. SEO can also target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines.

As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work and what people search for. Optimizing a website primarily involves editing its content and HTML coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines. Sometimes a site's structure (the relationships between its content) must be altered too. Because of this it is, from a client's perspective, always better to incorporate Search Engine Optimization when a website is being developed than to try and retroactively apply it.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search%5Fengine%5Foptimization

PL

Facebook More Popular than Porn

"Visits to porn sites have dropped from 16.9% of all site visits in the U.S. in October 2005 to 11.9% as of last week, a 33% decline. Currently, for web users over the age of 25, Adult Entertainment still ranks high in popularity, coming in second, after search engines. Not so for 18- to 24-year-olds, for whom social networks rank first, followed by search engines, then web-based e-mail — with porn sites lagging behind in fourth." Found this article and thought this excerpt was a perfect example of how search engines aren't just for porn. Click the link below to have a look at the rest of the article. Essentially what we are seeing is a decline in users seeking porn and an increase in the use of social-networking sites (Facebook of course being the most popular). 

Speaking of Facebook...do us a big favour and join our group at this link: SEOIM Team Facebook Page

PL

Source: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1678586,00.html?xid=rss-topstories

The importance of search engine marketing

Following my discussion last week with Mr. W from Back2Front, I figured i'd again take advantage of the oppourtunity to speak with him about a question that had been on my mind.

Specifically, I was wondering whether or not focusing on search engine optimization as advertising would be enough for a business to succeed in the new e-marketplace?

After discussing the topic with Mr. W, the summary of the conversation is below:

Depending on your particular industry, relying on search engines alone to drive traffic to your web site and lead to sales may not be sufficient for running a successful business. Search engine performance is an indicator of supply and demand market forces: If online demand is high, then even low-ranking sites will see traffic and sales, and similarly if online supply is low, then it should be easy to rank high on search engine results. However, if your business is in a highly competitive market, or if you are selling a product that is not in demand or not well known, then search engine performance will probably not be as successful.

The following are a couple of additional suggestions Mr. W provided for generating additional traffic and ultimately sales for your site:

• Cross-linking: The practice of trading links with other (related) web sites is called cross-linking, and can be extremely effective for driving traffic to your web site, improving search engine rankings, and generating qualified leads. Find other related web sites (eg, suppliers, complementary products, associations, etc), and offer them a link on your web site in exchange for a link on theirs. You can include links to other web sites on any of your existing pages (eg, Home, Contact, About), or if you are very active and collect many links, you can have a dedicated Links page added to your site.
  
• Business directories: There are many business directories online where you can list your business in a category or region-specific location. If your budget is tight, there are several directories that provide free listings, and if you are willing to invest in the advertising, premium listings are available in many more directories. As with cross-linking, business directory listings can help drive additional traffic to your web site, improve search engine performance, and generate qualified leads. Free directories may request a reciprocal link from you, so they work just like regular cross-linking.

It appears that while search engine marketing is an important piece of the pie of success for the e-marketplace, additional methods (cross linking, business directories) are also recommended to try and generate maximum exposure for the lowest costs.

AA

What are search engines?

A definition for search engines was mentioned earlier. But they can be described in much more detail. Search engines are a service where you can look for specific information online. Users (the searchers) can use keywords to find the information or answers they are looking for. A list with the most relevant matches will be generated which saves us from searching through millions of hits. There are many different types of search engines. Some will find you videos (YouTube), images, data, articles and other file types, but most search engines will search for web sites.

To learn more about how search engines operate, visit:
1) Wikipedia: How Web Search Engines Work
2) Wikipedia: Web Indexing
3) SearchEngineWatch: How Search Engines Rank Pages
4) HowStuffWorks: How Search Engines Work

AR

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engines

A Few Basic Definitions

The following definitions will be relevant to the blog’s focus on search engine marketing and optimization:

Banner Ads = "A form of online advertising. Banner ads are graphic images that can be animated and clicking on the banner takes the user to another web location."

Blog = "A website containing frequent postings of material, often centered on a specific topic, and typically organized chronologically. Blogs may be the product of a single indiviual or a collaborative effort among many contributors."

Cost-per-action = "The conversion rate of a marketing campaign for that action, such as registration or purchase, times the cost of the campaign."

Cost-per-visit = "The cost-per-action when the desired action is a visit to a web site."

Organic Search Traffic = "Unpaid visits arriving from search engines and their results."

Pay-per-click = "A system of advertising in which an advitiser only pays for an online ad if the web user clicks on that ad."

Search Engine = "A service cataloging online information and providing relevant responses to user inquiries."

Search Engine Marketing = "Efforts to attract web site visitors as a result of search activity."

Search Engine Optimization = "Spending to ensure that search engines rank a site highly on the relevant search criteria and searchers find the listing and the site."


AR

Source: Hanson, W. (2007). Internet marketing and e-commerce. Thomson South-Western. pp 253, 593, 595, 596, 600, and 601.

Marketing on the Internet Through Search Engines

One purpose of this blog is to provide a clear understanding of search engines and how they relate to internet marketing. We will also provide detailed information about:

• S.E.O
• Adwords
• how companies use search engines to market their products and services.
• how search engines earn their money
• successful search engines
• tips and techniques to successfully market your product/service/ideas
  

We will use only the most credible sources for this blog, including Internet Marketing & e-Commerce by Hanson and Kalayanam (published in 2007), as well as trusted websites for the most updated facts. Check this blog often as we will be posting information, about these topics and others, as frequently as we can.

AR

SEO and ethics

While working on this site I wondered to myself: "Aren't there any "tricks" to help with SEO results?"

I remember seeing websites in the past embedding invisible text into the background of their sites, listing inaccurate meta-data in the headers, or a combination of the two combined with an automatic redirect, all of which would add up to not arriving at the information I was searching for. Over time, the number of sites that I noticed doing this decreased and now it occurs seldom at best.

After researching the topic, I discussed the topic with the owner and operator of Back2Front, a web management company who focus their efforts on SEO. When I asked about the use of tricks with SEO, Mr. W replied with the following:

"Think about the service that search engines provide: Useful search results! It is in their best interest to detect and avoid SEO "tricks". Over time, all such tactics are detected, and possibly penalized. Be an ethical web site owner instead, and provide the search engines and human visitors alike with lots of clear, specific, organized, readable content. "

Essentially, it appears that although unethical behaviour may get your site some more hits than you would normally at the beginning, over time these actions can lead to negative ramifications for your site, ranging from being blacklisted to being shut down or forced to move off of their current server.

Therefore, acting ethically can not only lead to happy users who are finding what they are looking for, but it can also avoid a number of negative ramifications that could jeopardize the success of the site.

AA

Introduction to Major Topics

Hello Readers,
The purpose of this post is to introduce the major topics that have been discussed throughout the classes of Internet Marketing at Laurentian University.
Myself and my team members encourage any insight and feedback regarding these topics and look forward to discussing them with everyone.
In addition, because this blog has been created mainly to discuss Search Engine Optimization, it would be very much appreciated to hear from individuals that possess knowledge of this topic.

Since the start of the Internet Marketing course we have discussed such major topics as Networks and Networking, Becoming Digital, Web Individualization, and Web Business Models. I have created a quick summarization of these topics for anyone that may not understand what these topics entail.

Networks and Networking:
The main focus of this topic is to understand the nature of the Internet's content and its most widely used tools including email, instant messaging and of course, blogging. Networks have a very strong influence on internet marketing, and knowing the value of a network is extremely important. In addition, understanding how Virtual Value Activities can turn large quantities of online information into valuable marketing tools. Networks are a social technology and for internet marketers they imply ubiquity, expectations, sharing, and specialization. Developments such as Instant Messaging and text messaging have helped create a new frontier for internet marketers.

Being or Becoming Digital:
In its most basic form, being digital is defined as when all of somethings properties and information is stored as a string of zeroes and ones. That being stated, everything on the internet is digital. The falling cost of digital technology is said to be one of the most major forces in the modern economy. To better understand this concept, we can refer to Moore's Law, created by Gordon Moore the co-founder of Intel which states: Each new generation of chips (microchips), packs 2x components into the same surface area to create 2x power. Computer speeds have increased by 75 billions times since the 1970's, while costs of technology and storage has continued to decline sharply. Digital environments are procedural, spatial, participatory, and encyclopedic. All of these properties help create opportunities for internet marketers.

Individualization:
When discussing the topic of individualization, we must comprehend the importance its ability to profoundly change the way companies and consumers interact. Another key aspect surrounds the privacy concerns in marketing efforts. Understanding emerging patterns of individual-level Internet use, and the trend lines that are affected by demographics. More online interactions means more Internet Marketing opportunities to the individual. Web sites and online systems are now processing individual data and anticipating future usage.

Web Business Models:
I will be discussing this topic in my next upcoming post because I know that this has been a lot to read so far and I have to go to class:)

As mentioned previously, we look forward to any feedback regarding these topics as well as fututre topics to be discussed.

Cheers! AB

Welcome!

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to our blog. We have implemented this blog to bring you information about Internet Marketing and more specifically Search Engines and their many uses outside of searching for porn sites. In reference to "we" it is a team of 6 people that will be updating this blog on a regular basis. We do appologize for the delay and hope to have more information and such up in the next few days.

Thank you everyone for your patience,
C.L.