When engaging in Web site development today, it’s critical to evaluate return on investment. In order to foster results and return on investment for a Web site development project, there are several elements which require consideration. In this discussion, we will not touch on the obvious creative development, but rather emphasize other process elements.

Brand Recognition and Strategy
How will your business name and brand interact with Web site visitors? What will these visitors take away from the Web site; and how will this strategy impact your marketing outside of your Web site later? (A very simple example that tends to be overlooked is your Favorite’s Icon for your brand, since this Icon may carry over into traditional print marketing pieces.)

Research, Strategy and Planning
Every page of your Web site has to be optimized differently and adhere to content relevancy algorithms of the search engines. Understanding how each page will be optimized is important to facilitate Web site marketing. You do not need to guess how to do this, rather use various existing tools that will help you.

Competition and Competitor research helps determine why other Web sites are ranked before yours and how to plan the development accordingly. Also, the ways in which competing Web sites are designed, how they flow and how their Web site metrics are performing will help determine what needs consideration in the planning process.

Subsequently, if every page is optimized differently then each page can become an entry point to your Web site. The impact this has significantly changes the content of each page of your Web site too.

Business and Creative Objective
This objective will determine how to develop the Web site flow. What is the call to action to get the visitor from the entry page to an information page to an action page?

Content Management Systems (CMS)
CMS gives you the ability to manage your Web pages without having know HTML code. It is an interface, in most cases, similar to using Microsoft Word. CMS uses a database and program infrastructure in order to give you this ability to present the Web pages to visitors. To use CMS, a Web site may be prepared using templates and needs to be planned for current and future considerations.

In the above items, you will find that the disciplines needed for Web site development in today’s business environment cover:

1. Brand and Marketing Intelligence
2. Creative Design
3. Technical Programming, Software and Databases
4. Web Site Assembly, Management and Maintenance

We have seen many times where clients expect their Web developers to have the knowledge and experience to plan around Web site that has results. While some developers possess this capability, unfortunately, the time and discipline required to understand these aspects are not necessarily a part of the average Web developer. Sometimes clients and Web developers have a mis-communication or misunderstanding around the expectations of the realistic results that could be better managed with the appropriate skill set.

As we think about business Web site development, we have to realize the project is not only a minimum of 3 months from start to finish, but also plan around the expected results and return on investment. You are no longer developing a brochure, but a business tool that will help generate revenue. Does your Web site perform to your business objectives?

It may seem counter intuitive to fight the noise of information by adding to what’s already out there, but information’s is among the most valuable tools in any marketing strategy. And in order to deliver effective information, you have to listen first. What is the market saying about your industry, your products or your services? Understanding through listening will help you target your information to meet the market interest.

In fact, listening is the basis of trust in relationships, be they business or personal. Listening enables you to determine what information will be most valuable and relevant to your customers. That information, then, becomes the key to building trusted relationships. Listening is accomplished through research from everyone about keywords being typed into the search engines to discussions in forums and social communities.

The new marketing isn’t about self-promotion; it’s about giving customers what they need to become educated consumers. This is the age of:

• Information marketing,
• Education marketing,
• Content marketing

If you want customers to see your brand as a trusted information source, you need to think like an information provider, not just a provider of goods or services. By empowering customers with relevant news and information, a company becomes one-half of a trusted relationship.

So, what are some methods for you to distribute information through content marketing on the Internet? First we would recommend reviewing a previous post on our blog related to Content Marketing here. Content Marketing is not directly about your website, but rather what is happening overall within your business and industry sector. This is a communications art and outreach effort that does not involve direct selling, but is rewarded with sales and loyalty. Content Marketing is a supportive method of selling via quality, relevant and valuable information which:

• Educates your customers
• Shows your authority in your field
• Allows prospects to find you through multiple sources

Your brand is what people read about and talk about online. Isn’t it better to be part of shaping the conversation?

The amount of data available about a company’s Internet presence, brand, Web site, and competitors is staggering. Tapping into this publicly available data is only half the battle. Interpreting this information in a manner that helps a business grow and increases revenue is the most critical component. I believe the latter motivated the client to comment “We didn’t know what we didn’t know.”

• What are your Internet metrics? In other words, how does the Internet community perceive your Web site? The basic components of this data would include – but are not limited to, your Google Page Rank, your Traffic Rank, and your link popularity at each of the major search engines.
• What are your competitor’s Internet metrics?
• What is your ranking for your selected keywords?
• How many searches and competing Web pages exist for these keywords?
• Are there additional keywords to consider which provide a balance between high searches and lower competition?
• If you type in your company name or a variation of your company name into a search, what are the results? What about typing in your domain name?

(This is all publicly available data that does not require access to your Web site statistics or Webmaster Tools.)

After gathering the information, the next, most critical step is to interpret the data to determine which Internet strategy will best benefit your business.

It is important to understand the process is about more than your Web site; Ensuring your Web site is technically effective, that your pages have relevant content, and that keyword landing pages are developed is only part of the equation. Many businesses quickly flock to spending too much time on their Web site and adding pages, without realizing they also need an outreach program outside of their Web site on the Internet to truly affect their Internet metrics and analytics.

Enlisting a content marketing program along with developing a technically effective Web site coincides for a cohesive strategy. Doing one without the other does not produce the desired results. Here’s a brief look into both elements:

Web Site Technical Effectiveness
Most of the technical requirements are within the Web site and on the server. We’re talking about sitemaps, having W3C compliant code, link title descriptions and image descriptions to mention a few. Then there is content relevancy which involves tailoring the written content so search engines can identify a Web page’s authority on a search topic.

If you want to start by setting up your website’s sitemap, check out the sitemap generator from XML Sitemaps.

Content Marketing
For this conversation, let’s define content marketing as “the convergence of editorial and advertising, using multiple formats that allows for viral distribution to raise awareness about your business and Web site.” When we talk about content marketing, we’re talking about posting information that will have a shelf life of years.

Content marketing is about establishing your business as an authority on a topic or multiple topics relevant to your business, products, services, and industry.

Content items may include articles, news releases, photos, PowerPoint presentations, social media marketing, and videos, to name a few. As this information is distributed, you are increasing the critical mass of information about your business.

What Don’t You About Your Internet Presence?
If we consider your Web site and the amount of Internet information that is available about your Web site, how much of this are you aware of? Do you know how the Internet community perceives your Web site? Take a look at your metrics or share your feedback, and let us help you interpret this data.

Perhaps your strategy is to circulate positive information about your company as a digital public relations tool. Or maybe you’re working to promote specific products and services. Whatever your objective, the starting point is the same: research. Your research will help ensure your content is found under the right circumstances, as well as angled toward the areas in which people are most interested.

Your Products and Services Strategy

When beginning the keyword selection process for a web site, many of our clients initially gravitate to words which they personally associate with their business. Their first response tends to be, “we are currently ranked number one for this particular term or terms.” As part of our early research, SmartFinds Internet Marketing identifies how many people are actually searching the term(s) – and more often than not, we find there are no searches – or not a very significant number of searches.

Of course, the more meaningful data comes from our identifying which types of term(s) are actually being searched relative to a client’s products or services. The old days of guessing which keyword term(s) will bring results are gone. All three major search engines and many other resources can help you zero in on viable keyword choices. Terminologies, monthly search volumes and number of competing web pages are all data points that are available.

Use this research when developing your content for articles and news releases – as well as postings for social media marketing. The research is also valuable in determining how to strategically tag and describe your videos and photos. Furthermore, your analysis will assist you with terminologies for your web site and in developing landing pages.

One interesting situation which raises issues is when the world is seeking your business products and services in one way, yet you want to be known in another way. The business focus will need to lean towards bringing the traffic to your web site; and then, educate the visitors towards your focus. One good example of this is “dental benefits” versus “dental insurance.” Most dental coverage is legally known as “dental benefits,” but the consumer market seeks this information out as “dental insurance.”

Using Content Marketing for Business Digital Public Relations

Business digital public relations are all about your company name and your company’s domain name. There is less research required in this process since both items are easily located. The process begins by going to the major search engines and typing your company name in quotes to see what the results display.

The questions to ask and answer about these results are:

• Are they positive or negative about your company?
• How much of this information is on 3rd party web sites?
• Ideally we are not looking for those listings on your own web site, but on others. Prospects are typically more interested in what is on third party web sites than what is on your own web site. (Similar to how a magazine article about your business might be of more influence than your company brochure.)

• Does the information support your sales team when they drop off a proposal with a prospect?

You may find that there are other companies that have similar names; or there is other information unrelated to your business creating content noise that does not support your business. Inconsistent information about your business or neutral responses will not support your sales team.

Take the next step in this exercise by entering a search of your domain name in quotes. We find that companies may have more information on the web about their company name and significantly less with their domain name link. It is imperative that the two reach similar volume over time in order to build the story around your business.

The idea now is to develop content around articles, news releases, videos, photos, social media communities that is all about your business name and with your domain name as the link.

Stay tuned to this SmartFinds Digest; and we will tackle benefits, measurement and search engine ranking effects of content marketing. You can visit our recent post about content distribution at this link.

For now here is an exercise you can perform yourself. Do you know how much information exists on the Internet about your business? Have you performed a search at the major search engines on your company name? What about a search on your domain name? Now compare that to your competitors. Tell us what you found!

We are here to strategically help your business revenues using a unique approach that encompasses the entire web. No longer is the story just about your website, but also how involved you are in the Internet community. How many links are on the outside world pointing back to your website? Many businesses require Internet Marketing Businesses and you will need a firm that can help you market your business online.

Reviewing your Internet marketing analytics, keyword reports, website statistics, Internet metrics and many other data points help to prepare a Internet marketing strategic plan. This plan can then be executed and subsequently measured.

We enjoy internet marketing and have been engaged in the Internet since 1994. As a business in the advertising and marketing industry we have been thriving since 1987. We provided Business to Business (B2B) Internet marketing to insure our sales team is supported through information on the web as well as insuring your business is seen as an authority in your industry. SmartFinds Internet Marketing is here to work with you with an online business strategy for revenues.

Feel free to contact us toll free at (866) 501-5758 or email as through our contact form to the right. We look forward to helping you get started with Internet marketing consulting.

Now that the second quarter is underway, are you maneuvering towards your goals and effectively moving the needle forward or just idling on fumes? With a sour economy still looming, budget cut hangovers are still pounding in everyone’s heads and resources are “busting-at-the-seams.” Yet, many savvy businesses are staying ahead of the competition by learning from and embracing the maturing “new media” technologies – cultivating well planned digital marketing, digital advertising and social strategies.

A well-executed digital strategy can drive businesses forward. Advertising can help you with the ability to connect with your target audience across multiple digital touch-points. Content marketing helps you become an authority on topics that will allow you to have “a shelf-life of years” out on the web. Social strategies can build one-to-one relationships that help your enterprise grow credibility and relevance over time. In addition, if done correctly a well-executed digital strategy can aide in building brand champions and hand raisers that facilitate your message – genuinely.

Traditional or poorly executed digital methods that lack effective measurability to track an accurate ROI can be painful. In addition, many times they can even fall short of providing valuable baseline data benchmarks and reliable consumer insights for future use.

Is New Media New?
So, when it comes to “new media”, is the media new or is it how the technology is maturing that is – in fact – new? It has matured – nicely – sort of, since I graduated from college nine years ago.

So Today, What Is New Media…?
For the later part of the 20th century, we can simply define new media as the emergence of networked information and digital communication technologies. When I was in college in the late nineties, I used every aspect of the web that was available at that time from early social communities (e.g. CollegeClub.com) to search engine research. (An MSU professor first told me of Google in 1999.)

Swingers (1996): "Our Little Baby's All Growns Up!"

New media today is “all growns up” Or is it? We continually see the maturation process happening on a daily basis. Content relevancy is rising and digital communication is flowing “over capacity” at times.

Twitter Over Capacity - Source: Twitter

Is digital a realistic approach for our brand?
We have a saying at SmartFinds, “We take a rational approach to an irrational medium,” which was coined by our colleague, Gene Brady, in the Fall of 2008. As is the case in any good creative, marketing, social or advertising strategy, the first step is developing a strategy based on solid business objectives and intense research – or “listening.”

Recently, I was talking with a friend about a social strategy and as I was speaking on this “listening” business he stated, “yeah, but you’re not actually “listening,” you or your marketing team is reading stuff on the Internet.” I said to him… “Shhh… listen…, with the expertise of our analysis software and technology tools, can’t you hear the sweet music of ones and zeroes playing 24-7?” Is your brand in harmony, out of tune or not even audible on the web?

Finally, don’t just throw your time or budget away!
Don’t think that you need to do everything at once. Develop your plan with solid business objectives. The new media flow begins with a review of the business objectives followed by – Research, Strategy and Planning to derive trustworthy marketing, advertising and/or social objectives.

For example, at a high level, approaching an effective digital marketing program requires:

Industry Research – In developing your strategy, we need to understand your business, your products and services to provide solid gap analysis to guide you to get the results you need and catapult you ahead of your competitors.

Market Research – We must answer all questions that will allow us to reach your target market. This includes analyzing items such as, key phrases searched, the volume of those searches and competition that is out there. We will also find websites, forums, blogs, communities, micro communities, et al. – to learn (“listen”) how your target audience uses the Internet.

Competition Research – We generate Internet metrics about your site with the public information such Page Rank, Traffic Rank, Link Popularity and Keyword Density. These metrics not only allow us to perform technical marketing (including SEO) but also give us guidelines and goals to reach for a content marketing campaign for sustained presence within the Internet community.

Competitor Research – You need to distinguish between Competitors and Competition online. Competitors are companies that provide the same products and services with the potential of acquiring business away from you. Competition – Any web page that happens to have the same keywords or phrases that are part of your content marketing campaign. Competition research gives us information why a certain web page is ranked, while Competitor research will help us identify how well the competitors are actually performing on the Internet.

Strategy Development – Analysis of the research data helps determine the type of content marketing needed. It helps to guide the changes needed on your website for visible text or the effectiveness of the campaign as your brand is marinating on the Internet.

Business Plan Development – Does the strategy have potential to increase revenues? How much revenue can it potentially increase short term and long term? Based the campaign objectives and your profit margins we can provide you with an estimate for the return on your investment into your own company.

Are you already embracing new media to help drive business forward? Need help getting started? What are some of the pain points in your business world today? Let us know what’s working for you or what questions you may have. Remember, at SmartFinds Internet Marketing, “We take a rational approach to an irrational medium; and we are dedicated to one thing: helping you drive business through Internet marketing.”

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Of course, developing and writing content is only the first step. Where and how to distribute your content is even more important!  Consider this:  If you post 1,000 content items on the Internet, but they are posted in a way that lacks viral capabilities, the reach will not expand and will be constrained within the 1,000 original websites. As a result, these content items do not provide much value.  If, on the other hand, those same 1,000 posted content items virally find their way onto 100,000 websites, your business achieves a much bigger impact from the outreach effort.

Let’s dig into this process of content marketing.  First, let’s define content marketing:

“The convergence of editorial and advertising using multiple formats that allows for viral distribution to raise awareness about your business and website.”

Content Marketing is not directly about your website, but rather what is happening overall within your business and industry sector.  This is a communications art and outreach effort that does not involve direct selling, but is rewarded with sales and loyalty. Content Marketing is a supportive method of selling via quality, relevant and valuable information which:

• Educates your  customers
• Shows your authority in your field
• Allows prospects to find you through multiple sources

There are a variety of types of content, including:

• Articles (informative and educational, not featuring your business)
• News releases
• Photos
• Social Media
• Videos

The above tends to have the most viral impact, however, additional types of content are as follows:

• E-Newsletters
• Powerpoint Slides & Presentations
• Podcasts
• Webcasts or Webinars

…So you get the idea that there are many other items which might be included as types of content

Unfortunately, the process of physically distributing content on the Internet is far from an automated task. Instead, the process is laborious. Many of our clients simply do not have the time and resources for this important outreach effort; therefore, they outsource the management of their content marketing efforts to SmartFinds Internet Marketing. For companies who directly engage in content distribution, it is typically something to pursue at regular intervals over weeks and months.  Locating websites that accept your content, specific to your business and industry is not as important as casting a wide net on the Internet.  Some distribution point categories to consider include:

• Article Networks
• Blogs
• Directories
• Forums
• News Networks
• Wiki Communities
• Photo Communities
• Video Communities
• …and many more

You will notice that many of the above are plural.  Content marketing allows you to support your identity on the Internet and as such, acts as a public relations tool through a variety of distribution areas.

Stay tuned to this SmartFinds Digest; and we will tackle strategy, content development, benefits, measurement and search engine ranking effects of content marketing!

For now here is an exercise you can perform yourself.  Do you know how much information exists on the Internet about your business?  Have you performed a search at the major search engines on your company name?  What about a search on your domain name?  Now compare that to your competitors.  Tell us what you found!