Don't Let Your Internet Marketing Fail ...

From Mashable.com

The death of British songstress Amy Winehouse was a stark reminder of the dangers of drugs and alcohol, but also reminded Internet marketing gurus why death is not a good marketing ploy.

Microsoft and Apple came recently under heavy fire for, as critics accused them, using Winehouse’s death to encourage the purchase of her albums on the Zune and iTunes services. Both companies offered an apology for their “tacky” tweets and advertising efforts.

So, it’s never a good idea to use any celebrity’s death for marketing a product. What else shouldn’t you have used in your Internet marketing efforts? Here are three things that are sure to set back any campaign, and that WebDrafter.com will never do:

1. Lack of research

When your SEM company launched your campaign, did they ask for your input about keyword research (i.e. what people are/you want people to find you under on Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.)? Or did they just decide the list on their own?

When it comes to search engine prominence, you should be asked for what words you wish to rank under. There should be a dialogue between you and your SEO company about what keywords are likely to best serve you, and which aren’t. If you were kept out of the loop, this is an indicator the company didn’t put much effort into researching the keywords and what is being targeted will probably not result in the best ROI.

2. Sending unsolicited e-mail

Everyone hates spam. Blog spam, forum spam, e-mail spam, Facebook spam, etc. It’s annoying, but most spam can be ignored. E-Mail spam, however, is a little different. Even though most e-mail providers (GMail, Hotmail, etc.) have great spam protocols in place, unsolicited mail will every so often make its way into our inbox.

Spam will not gain you any customers. It will not increase your search engine results. It will not result in traffic to your website. It may, however, drive away business and cost you rankings. Offer persons a newsletter for which they can sign up, so those who are interested can receive it and you won’t pester those who don’t.

3. Deception

You should never lie to your customers. If you promise savings on a product, you better be willing to come through, lest you anger buyers and cause business to take a nosedive. Your clients will want to deal with a company that is forthright and honest. If you’re not going to be true to your word, then there’s no use for customers to deal with you. 

Long-Term SEO/SEM Gains

You’ve seen the banner ads: “We will get you to the top of Google quickly!” ”Guaranteed High Rankings Fast with Our Services!” “We’ll make you No. 1 in no time!” Self-proclaimed SEO and SEM (search engine marketing) experts touting their expertise, proclaiming themselves to be the Pied Piper of Search Engine Results: they blow their flute and the high rankings simply follow.

Oh, if it were only so simple.

Yes, these companies might be able to quickly get you to No. 1 on Google, Yahoo and Bing. You’ll see success: with more traffic comes more business.

However, it won’t last long.

Companies that boast how they have the “magic formula” or the “secret recipe” to search engine marketing success are blowing hot air. And businesses swayed by these braggers often end up to be Internet marketing victims.

How?

Say you own a restaurant in the Finger Lakes, NY region. Your specialty is Italian food. But, you find your business losing customers to the diner down the street, thanks to their aggressive marketing tactics. You decide to call XYZ Internet Marketing, which gloats about its amazing Internet successes. “We’ll get you to No. 1 on Google for ‘restaurant finger lakes,’” they tell you. They’re so convincing, how could you not believe them? A month later, your site is the top result for that query. Business picks up.

Then, business falls sharply. You find out your site is nowhere to be found on Google. You panic, wondering how this could happen. Then, you hear the term “Black Hat SEO” and wonder if that’s the reason why.

“Black Hat SEO” is everything that is wrong and unethical with SEO/SEM. Companies that specialize in these practices focus more on short-term gains, winning you over early, and once the bottom drops out, they’ll say, “Well, we just need to do this and everything will be fine!” Of course, it’s going to cost you more money, and the results will be nil.

True SEM professionals look at your industry’s market down the road, and will be straightforward with you:

• SEM/SEO is not an overnight process
• SEM/SEO is not a magic bullet
• SEM/SEO is a great effort
• SEM/SEO can and will take a while for results
• SEM/SEO patience can reap great rewards

Do the terms “honest” and “forthright” describe your SEO company? Or are they focusing more on the short term rather than the long term?

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Google+: A Plus to Social Media?

It was a day all interested in social media and search engine marketing were waiting for: Google’s answer to Facebook.

What would it look like? Would it change the face of social media, and make Facebook the new MySpace? Would the Google Buzz disaster repeat itself?

Then it rolled out …

The Google+ Project. “Real-life sharing rethought for the web.” The service currently isn’t open to the public, but two WebDrafter.com (@WebDrafter) staff members, lead developer Kevin Crider (@WDKevin) and Internet marketing head Thom Casey (@WDThom), managed to get their hands on invitations.

Despite the service not being open to the public at large, Google+ has gotten a lot of buzz (no pun intended). Is it the “Facebook killer”? Will people leave the nation of Zuckerberg to align themselves with the republic of Page and Brin? Kevin and Thom decided to tackle this question, as well as give an overall review of the search engine king’s newest offering.

Comparisons with Google Buzz

Thom: “Google Buzz came and went without much fuss, except the privacy issues. I never used Buzz that much, and it’s now being replaced by Google+ and the +1 button. I don’t think it’s fair to compare Plus and Buzz, except they’re both used to share content. Hopefully, Google worked out all the privacy kinks and Google+ won’t suffer the fate of its older, less liked brother.”

Kevin: “I disabled Google Buzz the day it went live. I never used it, never had the desire.”

Design

Thom: “Google is the perfect example of a ‘Keep It Simple Stupid’ company. The default profile theme is atypical Google: black text on a white background. Google themes allow users to make it look anyway they want – yes, including giving it a Facebook look – so if one of your gripes with Facebook was the look, then Google’s newest addition might better whet your Internet palette.”

Kevin: “It's been said before, but I absolutely love the new look and feel. Google has done 'just enough' to make it right. It's strikingly similar to Facebook, yet different enough to establish its own identity. The concept is close enough to Facebook, with a Twitter twist thrown in, that it just might succeed.”

Usability

Thom: “I’ve used Facebook since college, so I’m too used to expecting all social networks to operate the same way. I’m not quite getting Circles, which allows users to organize people into groups. However, I give the developers credit for seamlessly integrating most of Google’s offerings in here, including +1 and GTalk. The Sparks feature is interesting as it will feed you news related to your interests, almost like a hashtag or RSS. The overall navigation is very easy to use, even if some of the features are confusing.”

Kevin: "I find the interface to be strikingly similar to Facebook, but when you're taking on a conglomerate as big as the ’Book, too much change will deter the 500 million-plus users you are targeting. Google+ has done it right, so far. They have capitalized on the weak points of Facebook, while improving upon the stronger points. Circles is a way to categorize your different friends, but that's only the beginning. Google also allows content sharing based upon these Circles, as well as so much more. The main difference is the lack of a friendship request. You can add anyone you want to your circle, a lot like following them on Twitter."

Is Google+ the Facebook killer?

Thom: “As of this moment, no. Could it be? It’s possible. No one thought MySpace would lose its footing as king of social network mountain. Facebook has over half a billion users, and while Google might be the authority on search engines, it still has a long way to go when it comes to social media. Facebook’s appeal is that brings everyone together. Until Google+ comes up with a feature akin to Facebook pages (be sure to like the WebDrafter page), it will never truly compete with Zuckerberg’s monster.”

Kevin: “There will be no motivation for most people to switch with the sheer amount of children and older people using Facebook. When Facebook launched, it was targeted at college students, who make up the majority of the trendsetters in today’s eWorld. Soon after, the kids looking up to them wanted to join and the grandparents wanting to stay in touch followed suit, and that demographic created the desire for everyone to be on Facebook. If Google can continue to capitalize on Facebook's downfalls while outdoing them at what they've done right, it absolutely could be the Facebook killer. Until then, we wait.”

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