Pathways to Success Workshop at Norwalk Community College September 2015

1. Randye Spina | Chief Solutions Officer
Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC

2.  Personal
 Family
 Digital Portfolio
 Events
 Aggregator
 Manufacturer/Referral
 Blog
 Business Services
 eCommerce
 Retail
 Non Profit
 Lead Generation
Copyright 2015 Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC

3.  Search for desired name
 If taken, play with wording/spelling
 Buy all .extensions – best competitive defense
 Shop around for hosting plans
 Backup service plans
 Consider buying https
 Engage URL email address immediately
Copyright 2015 Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC

4. Copyright 2015 Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC
Advantages Disadvantages
Free or very inexpensive Likely will spend for a redo
Learning experience Opportunity costs
Can be faster Time consuming in the
long run
Best for: hobby, family,
personal, school projects,
blogs, digital portfolios
Site won’t rank
Not right for an
ecommerce site

5.  Ask for referrals
 Understand rates
 Get timing up front
 Look at portfolio of work samples
 Make sure they’re on the same page as you
 Establish communication
 Run their sites through whois.sc
Copyright 2015 Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC

6. According to Act-on:
SEO = Putting content in front of people who
overtly and explicitly express a desire,
via keywords, for a particular product,
service or piece of information
 Write using search engine-approved SEO best practices
 How your site is found in searches when your customers
are seeking purchase information (don’t forget Bing &
Yahoo too)
 Online success depends on it
Copyright 2015 Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC

7. Get Found!
Increased Domain
Authority
Directory Listings
(start at Moz.com)
Copyright 2015 Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC

8.  Know your end goal
 Research sites you like
 Look at those in your industry
 Include email newsletter sign up
 Connect a blog to enhance content
 Activate statistics &/or Google Analytics
the day your site launches
 Incorporate many Calls to Action (CTA)
Copyright 2015 Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC

9.  Get all caught up in ‘pretty’ – it has to
perform to be successful
 Blow your whole budget on the site – still
need money to market your business
 Try to tackle what you can’t
 Let content get stale – update, expand as
necessary
 Expect miracles overnight
Copyright 2015 Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC

10.  Social media links
 Video
 Payment option
 Testimonials
 Email sign up button
 Blog follow button
 FAQs
 Links to outside resources
 Map/directions
 Hours
 Shopping cart
 Downloadable forms
 WordPress plug-ins
 Terms of Service
 Privacy Policy
 PPC
 Partner logos
 Membership logos
 Consultation Request
 Alternate Contact Info
 Checklists
 White Papers
 Case Studies
 Press page
Copyright 2015 Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC

11. Want a copy of this presentation?
randye@myaffordablemarketing.com
Copyright 2015 Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC

12. Questions?