On Line Selling Tactics for Products and Services
Selling products and services on line via the internet has become the main method of recruiting new customers. Attracted by low overhead sales costs, organizations have chosen on line marketing as the preferred method of competing. Many companies stumble in marketing their products though, by producing only main company web pages that they hope will attract new business. Prospective customers generally search for specific products though, and may not find the company web page when researching purchase of a new product.
Search Engines such as Google and Yahoo! catalogue most company web pages and all their sub-pages so that when customers ask them to find information, the search engines can offer them as possible results. Search engines have become such a powerful sales generation tool, that many companies invest in the process of ‘optimization’ so that their website will appear when customers are researching a purchase. And getting in front of a prospective customer during the buying process is of course essential to making sales.
Major companies have further determined that increasing on line sales can be accomplished by posting individual web pages within the main website that focus on specific products or services. This strategy works well for companies that have a diverse product or service offering. Selling on line then involves optimizing each product page within the website environment to maximize exposure on the search engines. SEO Consultants in Denver optimizes company product pages to increase sales for its clients using this methodology.
Independent Insurance Agents provide a good example of how product pages can be used. Most agents provide a variety of products and services ranging from retirement planning to life insurance sales. There isn’t a practical way to combine all the products and services provided into a single, well-optimized web page, so the agent would be well advised to optimize the pages that describe his individual product and service areas. This also expands the number of pages within his website that can compete for different types of search engine traffic.
Separating the pages according to product or service line usually won’t attract additional reader or internet traffic though. The individual product or service page must be optimized separately, just as the main page would be. So, following completion of the product or individual service page, there are still a couple of necessary tasks to turn the individual web page into a powerful sales tool.
- Develop unique keywords to support the product – Establish Link-Building Strategy for each page
Keyword Strategy – Developing unique keywords for each page is important because once these keywords are identified, they must be applied to the page title, headline and tactically inserted into the text of the page. In keeping with the Insurance Agent example, a page describing retirement products might take the form of something like “401K management in Cleveland.” (Although this is far too general, it is just provided here as an example.) The specific product as well as the geographic area the agent primarily serves are all included in the keyword string. Using this phrase in the page title, again in the headline and within the copy should help search engines understand that the page is about 401K products sold in the Cleveland, area.
Link Building – Getting other sites to link to link to the product page is probably the most time-consuming part of the optimization process. However, the value of links that point directly to this page and bypass the main page can be extremely valuable. Linking to product pages is also termed ‘deep linking’ and allows internet users to get exact product information without having to journey through the company’s main website and pick his way through the site to find important information.
Investing the same effort in optimizing individual product pages as the main page can really pay off. Although it can take several weeks to see traffic directed to a page dedicated to single product or service areas by the search engines, these product pages provide the bits of information prospective customers seek prior to buying. To increase sales of your product then, optimize each product page to compete for reader attention on the search engines.
Denver SEO Consultants assist organizations of all sizes increase income and improve on-line sales by attracting new customers via the world wide web by attracting internet users to well optimized web pages. Click here to get your own unique version of this article with free reprint rights.
Any Business Type Can Profit With SEO
Utilizing common search engines such as Google and Yahoo to attract new business could be just the plan to increase sales. Global companies invest heavily in optimizing their web presence so that company web pages will be more likely to attract viewer traffic from prospective clients. Search Engine strategy though, is not only for large companies. Businesses of any size can use SEO strategies to win new customers and attract internet traffic.
What types of organizations or companies can effectively use Search Engine Optimization and Marketing processes? Simply put, any organization can use the technologies and techniques of SEO to attract visits and customers. There are differences among organizations though, that should be considered when crafting an SEO strategy.
There are factors that need to be considered when developing an SEO strategy. Different organization types generally require different strategies, so before taking on an SEO effort, take these questions into account. Is your business:
Small or Large? Local or National? Product or Service Oriented (or both)?
The answers may help guide your SEO planning:
Small or Large? Companies of greater size generally invest in Search Engine plans, but these can be very expensive. Large companies usually compete on a product or service level that requires presentation of a great deal of information. Optimizing this information generally requires the company to break down individual products and services into separate product pages so that each might be optimized to attract a specific type of customer.
Smaller businesses don’t have anywhere near the SEO budgets found in large companies. Still a website is highly effective for these enterprises if it can be focused on the unique qualities offered. Location, understanding of local buyer behavior and local support or service can all be inexpensively presented on the web page as unique assets or advantages that the local company provides. People prefer to buy from people they know. Small companies can present ownership information and make local buyers comfortable with the business relationship much more than large companies. This can be a huge advantage over the mega-chains.
Local or National Company? Large companies usually have the benefit of a central web site with lots of established traffic and link value. These companies can afford to utilize keywords that attract a lot of search traffic and competition. A well optimized internal page focused on these keywords can frequently return a great deal of traffic by itself. Large companies can also invest in ‘product pages’ or pages dedicated to a certain product type and focus on keywords relevant to that product’s use.
Organizations that do not have existing high-traffic websites require a different strategy. Link building in particular needs to the central focus of the SEO plan in the early stages to get the website recognized and indexed on the search engines. Further link-building then establishes the page as significantly relevant. Link building differs from large SEO projects in that they should include a location parameter or value for the local business. Searches for “refrigerators” will return links to websites owned by major manufacturers. Searches for “SEO Consultants in Denver” will return pages for local SEO consultants in the Denver area. Larger firms typically do not compete effectively on a local level, so this could be a significant advantage in drawing relevant traffic.
Product or Service? “Value” is the central theme here. Product pages handle a great deal of data regarding product specs, features and service availability. Product sales organizations then focus on these features and upon the value of the product.
Service providers must rely on creating a value statement to characterize and quantify the value of the service provided to customers and clients. Saving money or time with the service is a good economic argument to present, but in the end, service companies have to state and restate the value of what they provide in terms customers can grasp. Service web pages an often focus on key phrases that customers would commonly use in asking questions.
Search engines are the primary method cnsumers use to research product and servic einformation. These engines are so highly used by prospective customers that any company can make use of SEO to attract new sales. However, each organization requires a specialized strategy to make it all work effectively. Developing and implementing an efficient SEO program requires a differentiated message strategy and roll out of a unique SEO plan for that company.
SEO Consultants in Denver helps businesses win new clients using the search engines. Find out more about Low Cost SEO in Denver! Also published at Any Business Type Can Profit With SEO.
categories: Search Engine Optimization,SEO,Search Engine Marketing,Link Building,eCommerce,eBusiness,B2B,Business,Sales,Marketing,Selling,Revenue,New Business,Customers
Ethical Link Exchange, You be the judge….
Webmasters understand that quality and relevant inbound links
can increase site visibility; your search engine rating; and
with any luck increase your traffic and revenue.
While working to locate relevant links for our site, we
discovered a disturbing practice apparently being used to
increase link popularity and search engine ranking. The
following are the sorted details of our journey and discovery.
1) Most webmasters understand the hunt for quality relevant
sites is, like most things of value in life, a time consuming
and difficult task. Being limited on time, we first tried to
hire a leading SEO expert to locate relevant links. When the SEO
expert did not return emails, we tried a few link exchange
sites. While a few good quality links were unearthed, the link
exchange sites simply did not offer a large quantity of good
relevant sites. After all, our competitors had hundreds of
thousands of inbound links and we had less than 900. While
tempting, we skipped over the advertisements for traffic as our
desire was for prospective customers not traffic.
2) We finally decided on the DIY approach. First step, check
current reciprocal links page to insure all was well. A few
sites no longer linked to us, so our webmaster links page
required a few updates.
3) Next we chose to use Link Popularity Check to locate links
that our competitors have, that we perhaps missed. The first
thing we noticed was hundreds of inbound links a competitor had,
all coming from a few specific sites. Upon visiting the sites,
we noticed that one was a “directory” and several others were
normal sites that contained very little content. In short, the
directory and other sites were nothing a competent webmaster
could not create in a day or two.
4) We found it odd the inbound sites all have the same visual
look, color scheme, and navigation. Our competitor’s site was
also listed in the “Related Resources” area on each and every
page. The light bulb suddenly switched on! The inbound sites
appeared to have been created for the sole purpose of increasing
link popularity and therefore the competitor’s search engine
ranking!
5) Ping the four sites to locate the IP addresses. Four
different addresses, not in consecutive order. Perhaps we were
mistaken.
6) A few mouse clicks to see who owned the domain names of the
four sites. All the sites are owned by the same company, are
housed at the same ISP, and have the same email address listed
for the administrative and technical contact names.
7) A few mouse clicks at Alexa.com to review traffic patterns
show the sites have very little traffic, yet all have a PageRank
score of 6 or higher. Site traffic is increasing for each.
Nope, it does not appear we were mistaken. It appears a
competitor actually created web sites for the sole purchase of
increasing his/her link popularity and search engine ranking for
their primary business site. To recreate such a process:
* Register a domain name that is tied to your primary sites
keyword list. For example, if your primary site sells widgets
and has a domain name of Widgets.com, something like “Widget-
Directory.com” would be ideal;
* Setup a new hosting account with your ISP, using a different
IP address, for Widget-Directory.com;
* Create a few pages that use the keyword list from Widgets.com,
then setup a link system that invites webmasters to exchange
links. Remember, no need to get carried away with content as the
purpose of Widget-Directory is really keyword tie-in and link
exchanges;
* Now, code every page of Widget-Directory with a link back to
Widget.com;
* Sit back and watch. As webmasters enter their sites and
subcategories into Widget-Directory, the results will increase
the link quantity and apparently your search engine ranking of
Widget-Directory AND Widgets.com.
We were curious to see if this was an isolated incident or a
rampant practice. While not rampant, it did not take us long to
find others companies utilizing this technique. Is this ethical?
I am sure some would argue this is a savvy internet marketing
practice, while others will view the practice as repulsive.
Ethical or not, this technique is simple, cost effective, and
apparently will increase your search engine ranking. One thing
is clear, I will never look at directory sites or link exchange
pages the same.
Hopefully, the search engine will adjust their algorithms and
nullify this practice. In the interim, for those that take a
negative PR and/or link exchange hit, remember that honesty
builds longevity and lasting relationships. Remember the SEO
expert we previously tried to hire? We went back and checked his
site, and yes he utilizes the same technique. Odd thing however,
his sites no longer enjoys top ratings on the major search
engines. Perhaps, the search engines are starting to figure this
one out.
