Direct Response Marketing

Written by yatin patel


Continued from page 1

In fact,repparttar Internet boom all started with search duringrepparttar 108763 initial public offerings of Yahoo!, Excite, Infoseek, and Lycos in 1996 and 1997. Since then, search has “reinvented’ itself several times - from search engine, to portal, to traditional media partner, to struggling .com’s, to re-emerging survivors. Ironically, four years of “progress” reached this tipping point: search is now a business, not just a feature.

A Web search is like a three act play: it starts withrepparttar 108764 consumer who would like to makerepparttar 108765 search, who then usesrepparttar 108766 software and other technology in Act Two which makesrepparttar 108767 search possible, and ends withrepparttar 108768 protagonist’s arrival atrepparttar 108769 web page that was searched for. Value is added to this interplay when consumers are able to easily findrepparttar 108770 information they are looking for. Consumers gain value from arriving at sites that fulfill their needs or suit their interests; destination sites derive value from an inbound flow of visitors who are interested in what they have to offer; and search hosts and intermediaries extract value from makingrepparttar 108771 introduction andrepparttar 108772 link betweenrepparttar 108773 two.

It is estimated that approximately 60 million households, or 90% ofrepparttar 108774 online audience, use Web search services each month. Internet users typically conduct about 6 billion Web searches with over 10 million different search terms employed regularly. The most popular search sites today are Google.com, Yahoo!.com, Microsoft’s MSN, and AOL. The most-used search technologies are offered by Google, Inktomi, FAST, and AltaVista, which are cannibalizing each other at an alarming rate.

Paid Listing Phenomena Many online advertisers are finding thatrepparttar 108775 performance of Web banners, pop-ups and other forms of Internet advertising including e-mail is declining. Customers are starting to ignore anything on a page that looks like an advertisement. Because ofrepparttar 108776 decreasing effectiveness of these forms of advertising, paid search engine placement has emerged as an effective, important but controversial, alternative because they are not necessarily perceived as ads.

These paid listings allow you to truly buy your way torepparttar 108777 top ofrepparttar 108778 major search engines. All you have to do is bid on search terms related to your product or service, and then provide a listing forrepparttar 108779 search results. The amount of traffic you bring to your site is limited primarily by how much you bid.

Here is a summary ofrepparttar 108780 many unique advantages of paid listings:

• They generate large volumes of site traffic easily. • They let you avoidrepparttar 108781 complexities of web pages search engine optimization. • They give you immediate, measurable results. • You only pay for listings that get clicked on, so it’s a cost- effective way to do targeted marketing. Overture, Findwhat, Kanoodle, Espotting and Sprinks, are top-rated companies handling paid listings. You’ll find their listings showing up on most ofrepparttar 108782 major search engines, portals and directories except for Google.Google has a proprietary paid listing program that’s highly rated as well.

How can you capitalize on a paid- listing program? • Chooserepparttar 108783 web site pages and offers you want to promote with paid listings • Calculate your average profit-per-purchase forrepparttar 108784 items or services on these pages • Findrepparttar 108785 keywords and phrases consumers are most likely to use to find your listings • Write paid-listings results that include your search phrase • Place listings using a link to your landing pages that can be easily tracked • Figure ROI by monitoringrepparttar 108786 cost of your listings against sales • Re-write your ads and adjust your placement bids on a continuing basis to keep them inrepparttar 108787 optimal position inrepparttar 108788 marketplace

And good luck!

By Yatin Patel Published in http://www.siliconindia.com June 2003



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Are You Ready To Go International?

Written by Gihan Perera


Continued from page 1

6. Include international postage costs

If you're selling anything through e-mail or your Web site, cater for international orders, whether you expect them or not. Find outrepparttar cost of international postage and shipping, and publishrepparttar 108762 costs for your customers.

This is a complex area because ofrepparttar 108763 variety of options, depending onrepparttar 108764 source and destination countries, methods and speed of delivery, customs and duties, and more.

Simplify this as much as possible for your customers. It's better to start with something very simple (for example, one postage price for all international orders, regardless of destination) and adapt it with experience. Or eliminate postage costs entirely, as Rachel Green does on her site by offering free postage anywhere inrepparttar 108765 world:

http://www.rachelgreen.com

7. Explain your currency

If you use a currency that's common to other countries - such as dollars - make it clear which version you mean. Some Web sites quote their prices in American dollars as a kind of "universal currency", but most use local currency.

Include a link to a currency converter on your Web site to make it easy for your international visitors. Here's one to use:

http://www.xe.com/ucc

8. Be aware of time zones

If you're writing a time (for example,repparttar 108766 time when you're available in a chat room) for people in specific time zones, include their local times as well. When writing for an international audience, includerepparttar 108767 time in GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).

Include a link to a time zone converter on your Web site - for example:

http://www.timeanddate.com

9. Use icons carefully

Choose icons on your Web site carefully. For example, not everybody understands what a "STOP" sign means; and a "thumbs up" sign can offend people from some cultures.

In fact, it's so easy to misunderstand icons - even within a culture - that you should always supplement them with clear descriptions.

10. Tolerate mistakes

The more you userepparttar 108768 Internet,repparttar 108769 more you'll communicate with people who don't speak or write English as well as you do. Be tolerant of poor spelling, bad grammar and typing mistakes when you receive e-mail or take part in Internet discussion groups.

Of course, this is just common courtesy, but again it's surprising to see how many people attack others when they think they can hide behindrepparttar 108770 safety of their keyboard.

Gihan Perera is the author of "Make More Money From Your Web Site". Visit http://www.firststep.com.au and get your free e-book "The Seven Fatal Mistakes That Almost Every Business Owner Makes on Their Web Site" - PLUS free resale rights.


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