Thursday, April 24, 2008

Internet Scams: Phishing

It's called "phishing" and pronounced just like fishing.


What is it? Simple: Someone is trying to get private and personal information about you, most likely your bank account information or credit card information, so they can use it fraudulently, usually via email (or sometimes via a website).

Often, it comes in the form of an email message with a warning aimed to get your attention. Something like: "... your account will be suspeneded within 24 hours... unless you click on the link below and "re-verify" your information."

Make NO MISTAKE...your bank, PayPal, your credit card company, the US Government, did not send you this. It came from a hacker trying to get your personal and private information.

Here's what to look for:

1) Urgency - they almost always tell you the world is going to end if you don't do something now.

2) No Phone Number - not always an indication of a fake message, but in most cases phishing ploys do not include a phone number - hackers don't like to use phone numbers.

3) Link - there's almost always a link and that link goes to a page that probably looks pretty much like your bank/credit card company... but it actually doesn't. If you copy/paste the link (Windows Users: right-click with your mouse, copy shortcut, paste into a text-editor) that link is not where you think it's going!

4) Misspellings - are very common with phishing as these often come from foreign sources. Sentences that are gramatically incorrect are another red flag.

Here's what to do:

1) Never respond to an email message with these warning signs by clicking on the link. The link might look like your bank, but trust me, IT IS NOT (the hackers have simply "masked" their link).

2) Never fill in personal or private information by following a link in ANY email message. Even if your bank DOES send you an email message, go to their website from your browser and login like you normally would - never through a different source (email or other website).

3) When in doubt, simply call your financial institution and ask for the Internet Security department.

4) Better still... hit the DELETE button.

Chris Jaeger
Book More Weddings
http://www.bookmoreweddings.com/


Get the ADVANTAGE for your website.
More traffic, more brides, more inquiries, more sales.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Don't Blame The Recession

If your inquiries are off don't blame the recession.

Sorry, but I don't buy it. Why?

First, I have too many clients who are doing just fine and on schedule to have their best year ever. Yes, inquiries are down in some markets, but in most cases I attribute that to more aggressive online advertising by the competition, not any recession (and I DO believe there is a recession in this country, right now).

Secondly, Google reports (4/18/2008 - Wall Street Journal) that their revenue rose 42% from the same period last year (Q1) and clicks on the ads it shows (Adwords) increased 20% in the first quarter compared to last year Q1.

It's also worth pointing out that they report showing "fewer but better ads in each cycle." In other words, Google wants to give brides relevant websites when they DO click on a Adwords sponsored advertisement.

I've always said Google Adwords works - 100% of the time.

In most cases, if people have set-up a Google Adwords account and didn't get good results it's a result of the program being incorrectly set-up (targeted keywords, poor ad copy, not using split-testing, national vs. regional campaigns, search network vs. content network).

The only other answer is that the website couldn't convert a qualified visitor (bride/groom) into an inquiry.

There is no doubt that there are economic pressures on the wedding industry but I attribute the majority of that to COMPETITION. And yes, the recession does have an impact. When the tide goes out in Gloucester Harbor all boats do float lower at the dock.

Now, more than ever, you need an expert behind you and "your cousin" who helped you build your website... please... don't get me started!




Chris Jaeger
Book More Weddings
http://www.bookmoreweddings.com/


Get the ADVANTAGE for your website. More traffic, more brides, more inquiries, more sales.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Webmaster "Code" Words

I always get a kick when I hear people throwing out acronyms like everyone in the room will know what they're talking about. Here are a few I heard at a meeting the other night. By the end of the meeting I was saying OMG! GMOOH!

Here are a handful of common search engine optimization related terms. Now, next time you're at a party you can really impress your friends - maybe even win a door prize! LOL

CPC – Cost-per-click
CSS – Cascading Style Sheet
DMOZ – The Mozilla Directory, same as Open Directory Project
ODP – Open Directory Project
PPC – Pay-per-click
PPA – Pay-per-action
PR – Page Rank
RI – Regular Index (Google)
SEO – Search engine optimization
SEM – Search engine marketing
SERP – Search engine result page(s)
SI – Supplemental Index (Google)
TR – Trust rank


OMG - Oh my gosh
GMOOH - Get me out of here
LOL - Laugh out loud

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

EMAIL Marketing Mistakes

EMAIL isn't what it used to be. In days gone by you whipped out an email and it got to the recipient - no problem.

But today, there are real issues with delivery.

Avoid these EMAIL Marketing mistakes and your messages won't end up in someone's Junk EMAIL box and it's unlikely your messages will get flagged as SPAM by an Internet Service Provider:

---> Avoid putting your subject line in ALL CAPS. Your email might get flagged as SPAM and not end up where you want it (in someone's junk email box or worse not even delivered).

---> A subject line that contains the word "free." FREE in CAPS would be even worse!

---> A subject line that contains the words "As Seen" is another potential trigger for SPAM filters.

---> An .HTML font size that is larger than normal (14pt or greater).

---> Over use of colored text. Red text particularly.

---> Over use of exclamation marks.

---> The word SPAM (i.e. "this isn't SPAM")

---> The domain in the sender line doesn't match the domain in the "received" line in the email headers.

Will ONE of these things doom your email message? Probably not.

Still, you can see how IT MIGHT BE EASY to end up using two or three of these things AND next thing you know your FREE email newsletter has been flagged as SPAM and didn't get to a subscriber!!!.

EMAIL marketing isn't really difficult, but like most things if you don't know what you're doing (or you use the wrong tools) you probably won't get the results you want or could if you did know what you're doing!



Chris Jaeger
Book More Weddings
http://www.bookmoreweddings.com/

Get the ADVANTAGE for your website. More traffic, more brides, more inquiries, more sales.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Should You Advertise at The Knot?

Marketing to brides online is getting more and more competitive.

I get asked this question about 100 times a month:

"Chris, should I be advertising at The Knot and is it worth it?"

The Knot is certainly one of the most visited wedding planning websites on the Internet. As a result, chances are pretty good that some of the brides and grooms in your local market have visited and may even use the website regularly.

Generally speaking, I like The Knot (http://www.theknot.com) because it has done a great job at building a highly recognized brand in the wedding planning space.

There are a couple things I find interesting about their online advertising model and almost all of the people I know who have advertised there seem frustrated with their rotating-account-managers (or inability to communicate with an account manager). But make no mistake... The Knot is one of the places brides visit once they're engaged.

Like with any advertising, and relatively easier with online advertising, you'll want to do some homework and plan on measuring the results you get.

If you are a current or former advertiser at The Knot I'd love to get your feedback. Drop me a line.

Should You Advertise at The Knot

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Google Blog Directory

Did you know Google had a separate directory, or search engine, specifically for blogs?

Yes it does.

Finding it is interestingly difficult.

Here it is: http://blogsearch.google.com/

Blogging is smart. It's an effective way to generate more online visibility for your business and it plays a role in your overall search engine optimization strategy.



Chris Jaeger
Book More Weddings
http://www.bookmoreweddings.com

Get the ADVANTAGE for your website. More traffic, more brides, more inquiries, more sales.

Friday, April 04, 2008

Marketing To Brides Q&A - Leads List Delivering Poor Results

Q: Chris, I get a list of leads from a website that I advertise at and I'm frustrated with the chasing down and lack of response I get when I contact these people. I send these people email and never hear back from them. Any suggestions?

A: Time and time again I hear this. The bottom line is these are poor quality leads and they come from a bride/groom who has visited a wedding planning website, signed-up for "something" and has now made it to a list. I'm not saying they are NO GOOD, I'm just saying come on, get real, this isn't what I'd call a high-quality lead.

The best leads are the ones you get from your website. If you have good traffic but no inquiries or phone calls you have a conversion problem. Conversion problems don't get better by themselves and you'll want to address this immediately.

Keep in mind, if a bride finds your website and doesn't like what she sees with just a click of a button she's on her way to finding someone else. The average bride who uses my Wedding Planning Links website clicks on three links before she leaves permanently.

You may like your website, your web designer might like it, your mother might tell you "it's lovely."

Only one thing really matters: is your traffic turning into inquiries and sales?

If not you have a conversion problem.



Chris Jaeger
Book More Weddings
http://www.bookmoreweddings.com

Get the ADVANTAGE for your website. More traffic, more brides, more inquiries, more sales.