1. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 1
Web Marketing to the Max!
Building an Effective Online Presence
Amber Wallace
Dowitcher Designs
805.681.1930
www.DowitcherDesigns.com
2. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 2
Effective Web Communication
• In 2010, an estimated 1.83 billion
people will be online worldwide
• Of the approx. 307.21 million
people in the US, 223 million users
are online
• 73% of US population uses the
internet
• What are they doing?
7. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 7
Effective Web Communication
• People use the internet to access
information & to communicate
• View your website as a primary
communication tool
• what should people know about your
business?
• could be your unique sales
proposition
8. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 8
Effective Web Communication
• Present unified branding
• Inquisitive Canine, case study
11. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 11
Effective Web Communication
• What do you want people to DO?
• Present clear call to action
• Buy a product, sign up for a newsletter,
download free trial, contact you
• Make it as easy as possible
• Use your website real estate
• Place calls in prominent locations, above
the fold
12. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 12
Search Engine Optimization and Marketing
• If I build it, will they come?
• Generally sites must be submitted
for inclusion to search engines
• Submit new sites, and when a site has
undergone significant changes
14. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 14
Search Engine Optimization and Marketing
• My site is indexed… now what?
• Drive traffic to your site
• Organic vs. Paid Search
16. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 16
Search Engine Optimization and Marketing
• Organic Search—Search Engine
Optimization (SEO)
• Rankings based on a number of
factors, including
• age of domain
• number (and quality) of incoming links
• site content
• traffic
• Keywords & title tags
17. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 17
Search Engine Optimization and Marketing
• SEO you can do now
• Use HTML text on your home page,
with keywords
• Limited use of Flash (know your
audience)
• Build quality links to your site
• Update title & meta tags
• Explore social media marketing
18. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 18
Search Engine Optimization and Marketing
• Paid search engine marketing
• Multiple outlets
• Google adwords—pay-per-click (PPC)
• CPA (cost per acquisition or action)
model
• Inexpensive to establish, easy to use
• Buy your way to the top!
20. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 20
Search Engine Optimization and Marketing
• PPC advertising
• Target specific keywords
• Broad keywords result in multiple
matches, but higher expense
• Look for your target market—quality over
quantity
• Use tools like the Adwords & Analytics
interface to monitor campaigns
21. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 21
Social Media Marketing
• Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing
• Inbound marketing
• People subscribe, sign-up, “follow” or
“friend” you
• Build a network & audience online
22. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 22
Inbound Marketing
Search Engines Social Media
23. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 23
Social Media Marketing
Outbound
• Telemarketing
• Print ads
• Direct mail
• TV or radio ads
Inbound
• Blogging
• RSS
• Social Media
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Twitter
24. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 24
Social Media Marketing
• Social Media
• 41.2% of businesses have employees
who spend time on social media
• How do businesses use social media?
• What do they use?
25. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 25
Inbound Marketing
How organizations use social networks
26. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 26
Inbound Marketing
LinkedIn 79.3%
Facebook 77.2%
Twitter 75.3%
Blogs 68.0%
Social networking tools used by organizations
27. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 27
Social Media Marketing
• LinkedIn
• 43 million members in over 200
countries
• networking
• Connect with others
• Get introduced
• Showcase your experience
• Create a free profile
28. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 28
Social Media Marketing
• Optimize LinkedIn Profile
• Use a photo
• Authenticity and honesty are important
• Add connections
• Fill out background information
• Make your profile public
• Add links to your blog & website
29. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 29
Social Media Marketing
• Facebook
• More than 250 million active users
• More than 120 million users log on to
Facebook at least once each day
• More than two-thirds of Facebook
users are outside of college
• The fastest growing demographic is
those 35 years old and older
30. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 30
Social Media Marketing
• Facebook
• Decide how to market and brand
yourself
• Individual: Profile page
• Business
• Fan page
• Can be indexed by search engines
• Group
• Is not publicly indexed, but can allow for
greater interaction by members
31. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 31
Social Media Marketing
• Twitter
• micro-blogging service allowing users
“tweets” with up to 140 characters
• Users choose to follow others, post
tweets, reply publicly or privately
• Very similar to Facebook status
updates, and can be used to feed into
Facebook
32. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 32
Social Media Marketing
Twitter Demographics
33. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 33
Social Media Marketing
Twitter’s International Growth
34. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 34
Social Media Marketing
• Twitter Stats & Tips
• 60% of US users fail to return after
first month
• Users should be prepared to tweet
regularly
• Follow others & engage in discussion
• Search for interesting topics/markets
• Use URL shorteners to save space
• Bit.ly, tinyurl.com, hellotxt.com
35. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 35
Social Media Marketing
• Blogging
• 3 important aspects in Blogosphere
• Read
• Comment
• Write
• Blog weekly for readership
• Promote through social media
channels (Twitter, Digg, etc.)
36. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 36
Social Media Marketing
• More Blogging Tips
• Blog on your domain if possible
• www.yourdomain.com/blog vs
www.yourdomain.blogspot.com
• RSS (Real Simple Syndication)
• Allows users to subscribe to feeds to
receive blog posts by email or through a
Reader like Google Reader
• Build and track readership using tools
like Feedburner
37. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 37
Social Media Marketing
• General Social Media Tips
• Provide information & connect with
others
• Don’t be “salesy”
• Provide an authentic voice
• Engage in discussions, have opinions
• Be an authority on your topic
• Give a little to get a lot
38. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 38
Search Engine Optimization and Marketing
• Monitor Progress
• Use analytics software such as Google
Analytics or paid solutions to track
progress
• Closely track traffic sources & paid
campaigns
• Allow time for changes on organic
search
• Remember, SEO and SEM are never
quite over...
41. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 41
Hiring a web designer/developer
• Websites should be collaborations—
you know your brand. Think of it as
adding to your team.
• They should know something about
SEO
• Even if you hire a firm for marketing,
there are basic best practices.
42. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 42
Hiring a web designer/developer
• You need options
• A good designer will discuss CMS options
with you, whether or not you need a
custom design, who will handle updates.
• Fees
• After the initial design and development,
is there a monthly fee? If yes, what does
it include?
• Maintain some control
• Own your domain name, even if someone
else registers it for you.
44. Amber Wallace • (805) 681-1930 • amber@dowitcherdesigns.com 44
Key Points
• Websites are critical tools—develop
one for your target market
• Drive traffic to your site with
strong SEO & SEM
• Use Social Media to connect
• Monitor progress & adapt
• In the end, it’s all about
communication...