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- QR Codes: To Scan or Not to Scan
- Why Not Use Free Online Marketing If Your Advertising Budget Is Limited?
- Save Big On SEO
- Mobile Payments Market to Almost Triple InValue By 2015
- The Biggest Web Design Trends of 2011
Posted: 31 Aug 2011 08:15 AM PDT   Have you seen those crazy looking black and white checkered boxes lately? They are not just in the Sunday paper, mail inserts, or at stores for fun. They are called QR Codes and they are the next generation of online advertising. These little boxes connect the consumer from a Point of Purchase directly to the product’s website in seconds. A Point of Purchase is a form of signage in a store that draws the consumer to a particular product and gets them interested. The signage may have information about the product, but lately they can also have a code on them.Recently, my boss Laurie went to Home Depot to pick up some flowers to landscape her yard. When doing so, she noticed QR codes on each information tag for each plant. If you scanned the code, it would take you directly to a mobile Home Depot site with tips on how to plant that particular flower and videos of Martha Stewart giving floral tips. So, not only do you get to buy your beautiful flowers right at the convenient Home Depot, but you also can get free tips from the pros on how to make your yard beautiful. It’s a win-win. Another cool use of the codes I noticed was when my husband and I were browsing through a Best Buy late last year. We both have smartphones and saw the codes on every hang tag for every electronic item. The reason these tags were so efficient is because they kept the information simple and organized in bullet points about the item. If you wanted more detailed information about the item, just scan the code that is conveniently located on the hang tag. We were really excited to see that Best Buy was paving the way for this modern and efficient use of technology. When it comes to marketing, QR Codes can be very beneficial to business. You can offer coupons that are only available when scanning one. You can give more information about your product directly to consumers like Best Buy does, or you can even give free how-to’s like Home Depot does. There is a plethora of ways to make the codes valuable in your business. Be creative. Send out post cards in the mail about your business and say, “Scan this QR Code to receive 20% off your next purchase!” Consumers will feel the urge to scan it in order to save money, and it will help your business earn more traffic to your store and website. Do not be concerned about QR Codes not taking off. They are. According to D3 Interactive Marketing, “In a 2011 survey, 65% of respondents had seen one and 49% had scanned one. 70% of smartphone users would be interested in scanning a QR Code. 63% would use a QR Code to access more information. Usage grew 1200% in just 6 months from July – December of 2010. 57% of Facebook users have scanned one at least 1 time in the past year. With 40% having done it 5 or more times. 66% of smartphone users actively surf the internet for content using their smartphone.” So what does this mean for your business? It means if you don’t already have a mobile website and a way for users to access it, you need to start now. Create a mobile site and QR Code that directs the consumer to it. You will generate more traffic and leads to your business. QR Codes are a win-win! Allison Kahn is the Marketing Assistant at Princeton Marketing Group in Greensboro, NC. She has a BA in English Literature from Wesley College in Dover, DE. She has a passion for Social Media Marketing. Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources QR Codes: To Scan or Not to Scan |
Posted: 31 Aug 2011 08:08 AM PDT   Business is all about minimizing costs and maximizing profits. For you to minimize the costs, you need to be cautious about the amount of money you commit to marketing your business. Whether you are new or old in the online marketing industry, you may have a limited advertising budget to market your website. Even if you had enough resources, you still have to minimize your costs for you to remain in business. Free online marketing is therefore a key ingredient in growing your business online. Do you agree with me?When I had just started online marketing, I spent much money, hoping to bring quick returns in the shortest time possible. I dug deep into my pockets to spend on several methods intended to drive traffic to my website. At first I thought I would make money online as fast as possible. Hmmm! That wasn’t the case. I realized that if I continued spending without going back to the drawing board to reorganize myself, I would end up wasting my resources on what could not work for me. I therefore decided to zero down on free online marketing. Do you know that online marketers are there to make money? Yes, that’s why we are in business. But in the quest of making money, some marketers really exaggerate a lot. I always visit websites with adverts that make me laugh. Do you know why? It’s because I once fell prey to such “Make $ 2,000 in 72 hours” adverts. Most marketers create some urgency for you to spend by prompting you to feel that you will make money within hours. But it’s not all that simple. While it’s possible to make quick money online, it may not be easy to new marketers. I am not discouraging you from using paid online marketing methods. They surely work. But what I am guarding you against is to spend your hard earned money on marketing methods you have not known very well how they really work. That’s why it’s good for newbies to use free online marketing methods first as they get the experience in doing online business. There are many free online marketing methods but I would like to share with you only six methods that I have used and found to be effective. 1. Article marketing is a very effective free online marketing method, which most outstanding and experienced marketers use to drive a steady stream of traffic to their websites. All what you need to do is to write your own articles on topics related to your niche and submit them manually to article directories that will not charge you any penny. Your challenge here is to produce articles consistently and to have a list of the article directories for your article submission. 2. Open an account with Google to use their free online marketing tools like eBlogger, Google Webmaster tools, Google Analytics, Google Sitemaps, Google Adsense, Google Writely, Google Content Submission, Google Alerts and Google Froogle. These are advertising tools you can use without paying any coin to increase traffic to your website. Your challenge is to learn how to use them. 3. Use the word of mouth to tell people, with whom you personally get into contact, about your online presence. Do not underrate the word of mouth; it does wonders for me. I always ask people to visit my website and the response is always good. 4. Use social networking to reach many people with whom you share the same interests. Social networking is an effective free online marketing tool that came to stay. There are many social sites but the most popular sites include Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, My Space, Ning, Google Plus+, Tagged, badoo, mylife and friendster. 5. Forum marketing is another free online marketing method you should not miss using. It’s so much used by experienced online marketers. You only have to join forums and become an active member. You will begin to see traffic coming to your site from forums. 6. Social bookmarking is a system where members of the same network are able to list websites, which are made accessible to other members of the network. Just like social networking, social bookmarking is a method that has become a big thing to the internet users. Social bookmarking sites include mainly Twitter, Squdoo, StumbleUpon, reddit, Blinklist, Clipmarks, etc… After exploring and using free online marketing ways, you can now use paid traditional and online advertising to reach more customers, to grow your business. But do not undervalue the effectiveness of free online marketing. It really can help you greatly to build your business. You only have to commit your time to do something every day, you will win. No doubt! Charles Kiyimba owns http://www.CashWithGoleza.com and http://www.golezadesigners.com where popular home business ideas and opportunities are tested rigorously to find out what works and what doesn’t. Visit today to discover the secrets behind building a successful home business. Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources Why Not Use Free Online Marketing If Your Advertising Budget Is Limited? |
Posted: 31 Aug 2011 07:48 AM PDT  OK, so we know that SEO has become a lot more complicated than it once was, while also becoming much more competitive. This is not exactly new news to most of us. We already knew SEO was a big deal. Even if we did not know exactly how big a deal, it becomes apparent that it must be both valuable and difficult when you see how much it costs to pay an SEO company. As of June 2011, the average cost of SEO services in the United States hovers around $9,000.- to $14,000.- per year for a typical service industry company such as plumber or electrician. It is also about the same (high-end at 14k to 18k) for accountants and even more for legal practices going after ultra competitive keywords that bring in the big bucks in clientele (20k plus!). When all is said and done, the typical business owner will invest ten to twenty thousand dollars per year in SEO. And although it sounds steep, they would not be doing it if they were not making even more money in return. In most cases; much more money. As I guess as the old joke goes – why is SEO so expensive? Because it’s worth it. But how does that help you? Unless you have the money to invest, it does not help you at all. In fact, it hurts your position because now you are competing against those with a huge advantage. And that advantage is helping them pull even further ahead, steal your customers and make even more money. You have heard the old saying about the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer? This is a great example of how it happens in business. But it does not have to be this way. They might have money but you have brains. Now if you are willing to match those smarts with a little hard work, you can take on your biggest competitor and never look back. First of all, use a free keyword suggestion tool to find the best keywords to target. Just run a search for “free keyword tool” and try a couple out. If you use Google’s free keyword suggestion tool you can even just enter your domain name (or that of a competitor) and let it suggest which keywords are best to target. Second, make a list of three to five keywords that you think are right up your alley. If you sell items locally, be sure the keywords include your geo… IE/ “plumber in Boston” or “Boston plumber”. Of course, make sure there is plenty of search volume for the whole keyword, including the geo qualifier (city, town, etc.) Third, run a search for each of those keywords on Google, Yahoo and Bing to see if your site comes up. If you do not see it in the first page or two, there is no need to look any deeper because nobody is going to find it anyway. Tip: You can also look into a piece of SEO software to do this for you by running a search for “rank tracking software.” Now, make note of the keywords that show the most promise and make this your target list. Note: If any of these keywords show up within the top ten pages of the search engine results, then you probably do not have to do any onsite SEO like adding SEO copywriting or updating Meta tags. In fact, you can do it all by just building quality one-way inbound links so you can skip to that step. Finally, if you find you need to update the on-page factors such as SEO copy and Meta tags, follow these simple steps. 1.) Make sure you have at least 300 words of text per page and that your keyword in question shows up at least once per 100 words (1.5 times is optimal), without going over five mentions total. 2.) Most search engines will expect to see your main keyword mentioned more at the top of the page and less as you get toward the bottom. Please note however that you need at least one mention in the final paragraph to keep it feeling legit. 3.) Pay special attention to your Title Meta tag and keep it simple. Having each keyword separated by a “pipe” is a great way to handle this tag with the company name put toward the end. Just don’t use the geo too often and feel free to follow-up with the state abbreviation and state name spelled out. For our example it might be “Boston Plumber | Boston Plumbing Company | Emergency Plumbers | Boston | MA | Massachusetts.” 4.) Get as many high quality backlinks as possible from authority sites. An easy way to do this is to register with as many directories as possible. Easy, but it can be very time consuming as it typically involves setting up a user account, writing a good title, writing an SEO optimized description, verifying your account setup through an email, submitting your request and entering a captcha code to prove you are human and not an automated bot, and finally verifying your submission via email. There are plenty of other ways to get links, and you will need several to really succeed. If you do not mind spending $75 you can hire a link building company. If you don’t want to continue spending that money you might want to look into buying a piece of SEO software for $150 to $200. if you go this route, get one that does automatic rank tracking for you too and save a ton of time and effort. Please note that as an SEO professional I am happiest when people choose to hire out the work. However, as a small business owner, I must say that if you can invest $150 or so, you can scoop up a tool that does it all for you. Most SEO professionals have at least this one in their toolbox; http://www.seoeliteweb.com but there are many out there. Just shop around and spend wisely. You can save an absolute bundle on your SEO efforts, and eat your competition’s lunch, if you do. Mike Little has been a search engine optimization professional since 1996. In 2003 he joined one of the oldest established SEO companies in the US; DotCom Pirates and has worked with over 200 companies worldwide since that time. Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources Save Big On SEO |
Posted: 31 Aug 2011 07:36 AM PDT   Mobile Payments Market to Almost Triple in Value by 2015 Reaching $670bn, According to New Juniper Report HAMPSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM–(Marketwire – Jul 5, 2011)A new study from Juniper Research has determined that the total value of mobile payments for digital and physical goods, money transfers and NFC (Near Field Communications) transactions will reach $670bn by 2015, up from $240bn this year. These forecasts represent the gross merchandise value of all purchases or the value of money being transferred. The new Mobile Payments Strategies report revealed that all segments will exhibit 2x to 3x growth over the next five years. This growth will be driven by the rapid adoption of mobile ticketing, NFC contactless payments, physical goods purchases and money transfers as people in both developed and developing countries use their devices for everyday transactions. Some 20 countries are expected to launch NFC services in the next 18 months, resulting in transactions approaching $50 billion worldwide by 2014. Meanwhile the need for financial access in developing countries is such that active mobile money users will double by 2013 and drive transaction values accordingly. Senior analyst David Snow explained: “Our analysis shows that emerging segments such as physical goods payments, NFC and money transfers will fuel market growth by a factor of 2.7 times by 2015. Digital goods is the largest segment and, although forecast to more than double, it is not growing as quickly as some of the newer segments.” Other key messages from the report include: The top 3 regions for mobile payments (Far East & China, W. Europe and N. America) will represent 75% of the global mobile payment gross transaction value by 2015. Digital goods payments will account for nearly 40% of the market in 2015. The study provides the big picture of mobile payments, providing forecasts of the main market segments of digital and physical goods purchases, contactless NFC and domestic and international money transfers and remittances, providing regional forecasts of gross transaction values. A new Mobile Money Whitepaper and further details of the study, ‘Mobile Payment Strategies: Opportunities & Markets 2011-2015′ can be freely downloaded from www.juniperresearch.com. Alternatively, please contact John Levett at john.levett@juniperresearch.com, telephone +44(0)1256 830001. Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, providing consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary. Rick Berry is President/CEO of ABC Mobile Pay, a merchant services provider and a registered ISO/MSP of Wells Fargo, N.A. Over the last decade Rick has earned the title of ‘Expert’ in the payments space and the mobile technology arena while developing customized products and services for the mobile payments sector. ABC Mobile Pay brings a robust mobile POS payment solution to retailers and wholesalers of all types and sizes across America like the one in use at retail Apple stores and Nordstroms. www.abcmobilepay.com – 877-258-5223 rick@abcmobilepay.com http://www.abcmobilepay.com/demos.html Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources Mobile Payments Market to Almost Triple InValue By 2015 |
Posted: 31 Aug 2011 01:00 AM PDT   Since we are over seven months into the year I decided it was time to give my take on what may happen in web design in 2011. (At least I thought I should probably write it before the year was over.)So, over the past several weeks I have read a number of my favourite web design magazines, web design blogs and articles and viewed a number of cutting edge websites, particularly outside of North America, so that I could share some thoughts about what appears to be some of the major trends in website design for 2011. There is nothing scientific contained here, just some observations. 1. Less Use of Flash It is not the fact that Flash is not a great technology…(when used appropriately it is)…but in the past year or so it has been over used, misused, abused to the point that it has developed a bad reputation. Certainly, the ongoing shenanigans between Adobe (creator of Flash) and Apple (iPhone and iPad) are not helping the situation. Today, websites need to have a clean, uncluttered design, fast loading and above all must be Search Engine friendly. This is a problem for Flash and now with the coming of the new web coding languages of HTML5 and CSS3, together with the explosive growth of web surfing on mobile devices perhaps it is the beginning of the end of Flash in web design. 2. Simpler and Cleaner Design Simple. Minimal. Uncluttered. There’s nothing quite as “attention grabbing” as an honest, straightforward message on a quiet backdrop. Quiet can be interpreted several different ways. Forget black and white or shades of gray, although these are still very popular in certain industries. Think of green, yellow, red or even blue as your primary color. However, limit your palette to two or three colors. Work within the shades of each color for variety and depth. It can be truly remarkable what a few colors can do for effective messaging. 3. Mobile Ready Design Smartphones, tablets, netbooks, the list goes on and on. There’s a dizzying amount of mobile products available to the consumer in 2011. This means your web design must be responsive to multiple devices. Creating a mobile ready website is not simply removing the bells and whistles from your existing design. One of the most important advances is that you can design a whole site and allow your coding to conform to the user’s viewing medium. It may be tempting to just create a dedicated mobile site, but that may no longer satisfy your audience. Increasingly, mobile sites include the option to visit the original site. If you do not offer this option or if your original site is not optimized to mobile standards, you are simply not ready for 2011. Forecasters predict that smartphones will outsell personal computers this year, and by 2013 more time will be spent surfing the internet on a mobile device than on a personal computer. 4. Large Photographic Backgrounds Large scale backdrops will surge in 2011. These images will be high resolution, and covering the entire site. Large photos are an instant way to grab your audience. Massive images were once taboo for web designers, but thanks to better image optimization, faster internet connections, and smarter loading methods, designers can gain a lot in some sites by pushing image sizes to the maximum. Trends also point to soft and slightly transparent imagery that does not overshadow your content, but harmonizes with it. 5. QR: Quick Response You may have noticed those square barcodes (looks like lots of squiggly unrelated lines) popping up on business cards, magazines or elsewhere, so you may already know that they are a hot trend for 2011. These barcodes are called QR, short for Quick Response. And how exactly does QR translate into web design? Quite well, in fact. Simply take a photo of the unique barcode with your camera phone. Like magic, your phone will call up the website associated with that barcode. The beautiful thing about QR is the flexibility. Feature your QR on your website, in order for site visitors to have a shortcut to your mobile site. 2011 is all about mobility and it will be smart to take advantage of this new medium. 6. Thumbnail Design Our good friends at Google have introduced the average internet user to thumbnail browsing. The days of clicking through to see the content of a website are now gone. Now, you just click on the magnifying glass and hover. And just like magic before your eyes is a glimpse of what waits on the other side of your click. This is another issue for Flash-based design that is definitely going to be a problem. The preview will not display those elements of your design. As the average internet surfer becomes more internet-savvy in 2011, expect to see more people navigating by these means. These are by no means a complete listing of all the trends. In fact, we could probably write an entire posting on the trends in the use of different fonts alone. Drop me a line and let me know what trends you have noticed and what you think of them. Steve Loates is an entrepreneur who has owned and operated his own retail business for over 25 years. He has been involved in web design and internet marketing for the past 10 years and is passionate about helping small business to grow and succeed by leveraging the full power of the web and internet marketing. If you are a small business owner with questions please contact us to learn more about website design and internet web marketing. http://www.aissolutions.ca Post from: SiteProNews: Webmaster News & Resources The Biggest Web Design Trends of 2011 |
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