EZ Indie Publishing by Author Elisabeth Zguta ~Simple Pointers On How To Market

Defining Web Marketing Terms

It helps to know the jargon when you venture into new territory, like web marketing. To make the most of your online marketing strategies, make yourself familiar with the terms in this list:

above the fold: Content and/or ads that appear on a page before a viewer needs to scroll.
B2B (business to business): Companies and sites that market to other businesses.
B2C (business to consumer): Companies and sites that market to individual customers.
banner ad: A graphic ad that links to the advertiser’s site.
call to action: A marketing technique that asks prospects to take a specific action to move toward a sale.
cookie: Identifying code downloaded to a user’s machine to recognize repeat visitors or track online activity.
conversion rate: The percent of site visitors who take a particular action or make a purchase, often called converting browsers to buyers.
CPC (cost per click): Amount actually paid for a click-through to a site from an ad.
CPM (cost per thousand): The advertising cost to reach 1,000 viewers or listeners; allows comparison among various advertising methods.
CTR (click-through rate): The percent of people viewing an ad who click on it.
PPC (pay per click): Payment method for online ads in which advertisers pay for each click-through, rather than by number of impressions or flat rate (see CPM).
ROI (return on investment): The amount of money earned (or lost) as a percent of the amount invested, usually stated for a period of a year; can compute for a website, an ad campaign, or an entire business.
SEO (search engine optimization): The process of making a website search-engine-friendly to improve ranking in search results.
SEM (search engine marketing): The combination of SEO with paid search marketing through PPC, paid inclusion, or paid appearance.
social media: Two-way communication channels online for networking, sharing news and views, contributing content, and soliciting comments from customers and prospects.
URL (uniform resource locator): Address designating the location of information on the web; includes a registered domain name.
widget: Small application tool placed on a website to add value.

Tips for Marketing on Your Own Website

As a smart businessperson, you want to make full use of the web to market your goods and services. This includes running your own website. Use these quick tips to optimize your site for marketing effectiveness:

Attract attention with your home page and headline.
Maintain interest with text that’s about “you,” not about “me.”
Build desire with frequently updated content.
Include many calls to action.
Make your site easy to use and navigate.
Post your phone number, street address, and social media links on every page.
Collect e-mail addresses to communicate with prospects and customers.
Test your site before launching it.
Use results of your traffic and sales statistics to improve your site. (Google Analytics)

Essential Tasks of a Successful Marketing Website

Your website can be your strongest marketing tool. It serves as the face your business presents to the online world. If visitors find that face engaging, you’re on your way to increased sales.

You should see those increased sales once your site accomplishes these goals:

Draws new visitors to your site.
Keeps them there for several pages.
Brings them back for repeat visits.
Answers “What’s in it for me?”

Use Social Media to Enhance Your Web Presence

Use social media to entice visitors to visit or return to your hub web site where they will receive your full message. Double the benefits by optimizing every social media channel to improve your search engine ranking. Remember to listen twice as much as you talk.

Use Facebook for brand loyalty, customer support, and to solicit opinions and reviews.
Use Twitter for news, local color, events in progress, and time-dependent offers.
Use LinkedIn to reach business-to-business clients, qualify prospects, and to find new vendors or employees.
Use content-sharing sites like YouTube (video), blogs, podcasts, and Flickr (photos) to encourage customer participation.

I still get confused with it all…

Success is – hard work, endurance, and lots of time.

I hope these basics help you stay focused on the end goal.

No matter which way you turn, we’re confronted with the fact that a self-publisher needs to think like a business person, especially when marketing. As with any business, there are some tasks that need to get done, whether we like it or not. It is not easy to Market. I remember companies I worked for in the past life, and we had a fleet of people to generate marketing ideas and to implement them. My job now, of course is much smaller scale – I only have to sell my platform.

I read that we should check our meta data and keyword tags to see how well our keywords work to drive clicks. Google tool is out, no longer used. Now, the Google search is replaced with Google Analytics. There are some free services to track how a website is doing. You can also drive a marketing campaign and buy ads here.

Remember with all marketing use common sense before you buy any advertising. Check out from others what works, and don’t panic. Things take time for most authors, unless you have great timing and luck!