Internet Nielsen RatingsWritten by Bryan Brandenburg
What if you were able to have access to your competitor's web statistics? What if you knew how much traffic they had, average number of page views, what other sites their visitors went to? What if you could tell how successful a campaign was or if their recent press release had any impact? Would that be a strategic advantage?The Nielsen Ratings of Internet There is an incredible marketing research tool called Alexa Toolbar that you can find at Alexa.com. Alexa is owned by Amazon and is essentially Nielsen Ratings for Internet. Relative Traffic Rankings When you install Alexa Toolbar you will be able to see a ranking of every important website on Internet. It's a relative ranking and biased towards US but it's incredibly useful information. A traffic ranking of 10,000 means that there are 9,999 websites more popular and every other website on Internet is less popular. So if your competitor is claiming they are most popular website of their kind on Internet you'll be able to judge for yourself. No Data means that although website may have some visitors, none of them use toolbar or it's not significant enough to measure. Historical Traffic Trends Shown Graphically As a consumer you'll be able to determine how popular a website is and if "they're real". Alexa shows historical trends graphically for top 100,000 websites on Internet so you can see if a website is getting more or less popular. You can even do a graphical comparison between two websites, like you and your competitor, to see how you're doing. The site also details reach per million surfers and average number of page views per visitor in both table form and graphically.
| | Will Seminars Get You Clients? Written by C.J.Hayden
I often suggest public speaking as a powerful way to show prospective clients what you can do. Many professionals and consultants have built successful practices by giving free presentations to associations, businesses, and educational institutions. But what about producing your own seminar, where you arrange logistics and invite guests? Does this work as a strategy for landing clients? Offering a seminar can be an effective means to become more visible to your target market. If you are a good (or even fair) presenter, and right people come to your seminar, you will definitely get new customers. But to use seminar marketing successfully, you need to be very clear on your goals, and plan each seminar carefully. If purpose of your seminar is primarily to get clients, you shouldn't be expecting to make money on seminar itself. You may wish merely to cover your expenses, or maybe even spend a little extra. For this type of seminar, key to making it pay off is to attract people who are good prospects for your business in first place, rather than just filling room. Instead of making your seminar free, it's a good idea to charge a small fee. That way, your prospective clients will perceive you as offering something of value. The fee will also discourage attendance by people who can't afford your product or service. It's quality of participants that matters, not quantity. If what you really want is for your seminar to turn a profit, you must recognize that by offering full-fee seminars, you are adding another line of business to your company. Operating as a seminar producer will require same kind of planning and ongoing management as your existing business does. It can be as difficult to make a profit on your first seminar as it was to originally launch your business. Many people won't sign up for a seminar first time they see it; others would like to come but can't make date. You'll have a better chance of making money if you plan at outset to offer your seminar on a regular basis. You may find, though, that this takes away too much time from your core business.
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