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Archive for January, 2012
Jan. 31st 2012
Heres the lowdown on features that you need in email marketing software:
- An intuitive, Web-based interface
- Limitless email lists
- Affordability
- The ability to import lists
- The ability to do sequential mailings
- Flexibility
- Automated list management
- Limitless number of email lists
Check back tomorrow, when well explain why each of these features is critical to email marketing success.
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Jan. 31st 2012
As the Web has become more mobile, so has Internet marketing. According to the Wall Street Journal, Yahoo! is partnering (on a trial basis) with 4INFO, a leader in text-message advertising, to give Yahoo! the means to incorporate advertising as it publishes its content using text messaging. Apparently, both Yahoo! and 4INFO will be selling the ads, which are thought to have a much higher click-through rate than Web banner ads.
The Journal reports that eMarketer projects that, Mobile-message advertising is expected to reach $1.5 billion by 2008, up 82% from last year.
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Jan. 31st 2012
Web banner ads are ads that are placed in Web pages and delivered to the Internet by ad servers. These ads are made from JPG or GIF images, from a JavaScript program, or from other software programs like Shockwave, Silverlight, and Flash. These ads often feature video, sound, and animations so that they grab the attention of a lot more people. Running a successful web banner advertising campaign is not easy because the most successful campaign is when you get a click through rate of about 3%, but there are several tips that can increase your chances of success.
For successful Web banner advertising, ensure you have a strong and clear-cut statement that features a call for action. Use words like Press Now, Your Last Chance, and Enter Here to entice Web users and to create a sense of urgency. You should however, ensure that there is credence to the claims if you want to retain the people you attract.
According to a survey by ZD Net, which is a popular U.S. website, animated banner ads generated 15% higher click through rates compared to static banners. In some cases, the click through rate was as much as 40% higher. Simply having a basic animation that consists of 2 scrolling bars that fill up slowly in your banner advertising will increase the chances of your banner ad’s success.
Consider audience involvement for greater banner ad success. The involvement could be direct such as tic-tac-toe and similarly simple games or by inviting the surfers for games, quizzes, and giveaways in your site. Give something free to entice Web users.
Despite popular belief, including your brand name pushes people away instead of pulling them in. This is mostly because Web users often assume they know everything they need to know and they will therefore ignore such ads. Recent AOL and Internet Advertising Bureau surveys prove this.
A targeted banner advertising campaign is a banner ad campaign that focuses on bringing in targeted Web traffic. Targeted banner advertising should be your focus because quality beats quantity when it comes to Web traffic.
Buy banner ads from credible and reliable websites since this will tell potential customers that you are also credible and reliable. Use small banners byte-wise for speedy download and then wider ones after the download. Use sex and intrigue to catch people’s attention. Consider hiring a pro since pros have the necessary tools, experience, and training for an effective banner advertising campaign. Response rates usually drop from 200,000 to 350,000 impressions due to what is called banner burnout and you should therefore change your ads to different versions regularly. Test your ads before releasing them. Develop a Web banner advertising strategy and stick to it.
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Jan. 30th 2012
If you own a small business, its often hard to compete with the big guys when it comes to Internet marketing. Thats why email marketing is a cornerstone of a successful Internet marketing strategy for small- and medium-sized businesses.
While lead generation is important, email marketing can help to convert leads to sales. Similarly, it can help tremendously with customer retention. Whether you want to contact potential clients, distribute a company newsletter, or send offers to existing customers, email marketing is an inexpensive yet effective tool to add to your arsenal.
In the coming days, well discuss how to find the right email software to help you achieve your marketing goals.
Jan. 30th 2012
Even with our spam filters guarding our in box, were still inundated with unwanted email. Theres the eye-rolling medication-related spam (you know what were talking about), the spam from the exotic royal who wants to share his wealth if you only wire him some money, and the hundreds of emails that tell you that youve won some lottery or another.
According to the Associated Press, Yahoo! has filed suit against the senders of the latter or at least those who told recipients to click on a link to Yahoo in order to receive their prizes. Although the company doesnt know exactly who the senders are, it is confident that they will be identified during the discovery process.
Yahoo! is using state laws, federal anti-spam laws, and trademark-related laws to pursue the suit.
This aggressive pursuit of spammers is good news for companies who engage in legitimate email marketing. After all, most people welcome commercial email for products and services that appeal to them. If their in boxes are free of spoof and phishing emails, they are much more likely to be responsive to legitimate offers made by legitimate companies.
Jan. 30th 2012
Search engine marketing is very popular because of its many advantages. These include:
* Your website will be optimized for search engine, meaning you will have a global reach and consequently greater return on investment or ROI.
* The Internet has no national, regional, or geographical boarders, and you can sell your goods or services anywhere in the world.
* The Internet never closes and this means people can buy from you any time.
* The marketing gets you a targeted audience, meaning you do not need to waste your money on people who will not buy what you have to offer. With search engine marketing, the marketing strategy that is usually employed is inbound marketing and this means only those who are interested in whatever you have on offer will click on your ads.
* This is one of the cheapest methods of advertising. There are no logistical costs and this makes it cheaper than traditional marketing such as classified ads.
* There is predictability of growth with search engine marketing. This will help you plan better and to modify your product according to what the market expects.
* The marketing is paperless and no travel is necessary, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of your website.
You could do the marketing yourself, but there are several advantages of hiring a search engine marketing agency. You should enlist the services of a search engine marketing agency because:
* You get professionalism. These agencies have trained and experienced personnel and this increases the chances of search engine optimization of your website in a short time.
* Hiring an agency is advantageous in that you do not have to hire a permanent IT professional and this means cost savings.
* Hiring an agency is convenient and it allows you to concentrate on running your business – search engine marketing is very time consuming and tedious.
To get a good search engine marketing agency, you must consider the credibility and the reliability of the company. The best way to get a reliable and credible company is to get recommendations from people who have used the services of such an agency. You should consider whether the agency is registered with the relevant government and industry regulatory bodies and you should check with consumer protection agencies to find out whether the agency has been blacklisted. You should consider the success rate of clients who have used the services of such agencies. You should also consider the tactics employed because Black Hat tactics may get your website banned by search engines. You should not let cost considerations affect your decision.
So, what are the services to expect from a search engine marketing agency? Different search engine marketing agencies have different services, but some services are offered by all such agencies. One such service is search engine optimization. This is basically the increase of your site’s PageRank so that you can rank high in SERPs or search engine results pages. Other services on offer include link building, PPC or pay-per-click, Web design, link baiting, social media optimization, and reports and analysis on the progress of your website.
Jan. 29th 2012
With Internet advertising and search engine acquisition in the news, its no surprise that Yahoo! is pushing back its annual meeting. Originally scheduled for July 3, the meeting will now be held sometime in late July. Perhaps Yahoo! will find common ground with Microsoft and the two giants will find a mutually beneficial deal.
Jan. 29th 2012
Microsoft didnt succeed in its bid to buy Yahoo!, but the company is going head-to-head with Google by rolling out cash rebates to people who buy products after using Microsofts Live Search.
When online buyers purchase products, they will receive a percentage of the purchase price as a rebate. When their total rebates reach $5, they can withdraw it through PayPal.
The move may attract merchants who have incorporated Googles pay-per-click cost into their Internet advertising budgets. In contrast, Microsoft is offering a pay-per-conversion approach, and delivering part of the fee directly to the consumer.
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Jan. 28th 2012
On May 18, Microsoft indicated that, although it was abandoning its attempt to buy Yahoo!, the company will still seek out ways to work with Yahoo!. Microsoft’s statement said,
In light of developments since the withdrawal of the Microsoft proposal to acquire Yahoo! Inc., Microsoft announced that it is continuing to explore and pursue its alternatives to improve and expand its online services and advertising business. Microsoft is considering and has raised with Yahoo! an alternative that would involve a transaction with Yahoo! but not an acquisition of all of Yahoo! Microsoft is not proposing to make a new bid to acquire all of Yahoo! at this time, but reserves the right to reconsider that alternative depending on future developments and discussions that may take place with Yahoo! or discussions with shareholders of Yahoo! or Microsoft or with other third parties.”
It’s clear that the Redmond company still considers Yahoo’s Internet marketing and search capabilities to be coveted assets.
Jan. 28th 2012
On Thursday, Yahoo’s Chief Executive Jerry Yang attempted to send a clear, feel good e-mail message to employees telling them that the Internet company is indeed executing well its strategic plan to strengthen its “leadership position” in online advertising. Yang also wanted the employees to put aside “the rumors and speculation” and remain focused on the company’s business.
“Yahoo is a great company with a truly unique set of highly-valuable assets that is growing, profitable and executing well on its strategic plan to enhance our leadership position in online advertising,” according to the copy of the e-mail included in a filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “Our solid results for the first quarter of 2008 are a testament to this,” Mr. Yang added.
All of this comes at the same time that the legendary activist investor and billionaire Mr. Carl Icahn launched his own proxy fight with the goal to unseat Yahoo’s board, accusing its directors of acting “irrationally” and saying they “lost the faith of shareholders” and Microsoft Corp. Mr. Icahn’s move was preceded by his purchase of roughly 10 million Yahoo shares and options to acquire 49 million more.
The hedge fund Paulson & Co., which manages $33 billion, on Thursday revealed in a regulatory filing that it has acquired 50 million Yahoo shares and said that it would support Icahn in a proxy fight if necessary.
The general feeling around a lot of watercoolers is that Yahoo isn’t acting in the best interest of their shareholders to whom they should show some respect for their investment of Yahoo shares. This storyline continues to unfold with great unpredictability to many who follow.
Today, Yahoo has said that it will team with WPP Group PLC on digital display advertising.
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