You Built It - They Didn't Come

In the 1989 movie Field of Dreams Kevin Costner is told "if you build it they will come" and they do. Of course they do, it's Hollywood.

But the same doesn't work with your website. Marketing to brides online isn't anything like a Hollywood movie. You can build a website and no one, I mean no one, will find it or come - for weeks, months, maybe years.

Not unless you have an effective TRAFFIC BUILDING STRATEGY.

Here are the elements to consider when putting together a successful traffic building strategy:

SEO (search engine optimization)

* Optimizing your website for Google, Yahoo!, MSN
* Creating page content that is relevant to the search
* Developing keywords and keyword phrases
* Making sure they appear in your content (i.e. keyword density)
* Creating fresh information and keeping your website up-to-date
* Maximizing your website's "crawlability" (i.e. no FLASH)
* Developing inbound links
* Measuring results (i.e. Google Analytics)
* Patience: it can take 6 to 12 months to see results

SEM (search engine marketing)

* Pay-per-click advertising at Google (i.e. Adwords)
* Buying other links in directories
* Increasing your overall exposure using paid advertising
* Using search engines AND directories

Link Building & Exchange

* Exchanging links with people you know and work with
* Asking for links at other sites thematically the same as yours
* Buying positions at well ranked websites
* Optimizing this by getting direct links (not passed with scripts)

EMAIL Marketing

* Building repeat traffic opportunities
* Exchanging value for a visit
* Expert tips = come back for more = inquiries
* "Touching" a prospect up to 7 times

Web 2.0 (YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, bulletin boards, "social media")

* Developing additional exposure for your website online
* Jumping on the "social media" trend
* Blogging
* YouTube
* MySpace
* FaceBook
* Linked In
* Posting to Craigslist


Integration of Offline/Online Marketing

* Making sure your offline marketing and advertising programs fold in to your website and Internet marketing plans.

Without question this is a lot of work and it will take time to see the results you ideally want. But make no mistake, doing nothing is not an effective strategy and the amount of effort you put into the above items will be directly proportional to the results and traffic you get.

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

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

Online Mistakes: Part 1

Common Online Marketing Mistakes

1) Waiting For Things To Get Better By Themselves

This is the number one problem for people who are NOT getting the results they want from their website - waiting and thinking things will get better.

They don't.

Actually, they'll get worse.

In the online world MONEY is second to TIME. You can't make up time on the Internet and I believe that for every one day you "wait" you actually fall behind by TWO days. Why? Because (1) your competition gets ahead of you by one more day, (2) new competition comes online and further dilutes the marketplace and your visibility/position, (3) it is taking twice as long to get results at Google as it has in the past - what once took a few months is now taking up to year (or more!).

2) Misconceptions Related to Search Engines & Search Engine Optimization

Make NO MISTAKE, when your website is top ranked for your keywords/phrases you have a strategic and significant advantage over your competition. If you've ever listened in on my tele-clinics or heard me speak at a conference, you've heard me say a top ranked website at Google is "like having a money tree in your back yard."

In most cases, you don't have the expertise to get a top ranked position at Google (by yourself, or without the proper guidance and coaching). Adjusting a few meta-tags isn't going to do anything for your website at Google - trust me!

3) Thinking Long Term

You have to think of your online marketing strategey as a long-term plan. To get the results you want, and achieve the success you want, you'll have to have a comprehensive online marketing strategy for marketing to brides that includes:

Design (website design)
Site Content (marketing message)
Conversion (turning visitors into inquiries/sales)
Traffic Building
Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Marketing
Advanced Online Marketing (email, blogging, etc.)
Integration of Offline/Online

Food for thought on a cold and now snowing day in Boston.

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

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

Where's My Wall Street Journal Today?

Where is my Wall Street Journal today?

About 200 feet from where it should be. Not that I mind the walk, usually, but today it's 11 degrees out and blowing about 20mpg - so that probably makes it about -10 below.

By the time I got to it, my Wall Street Journal had been run over a few times and pretty ripped up.

You ask: Why don't you call customer service at the Wall Street Journal? Because I have about eight times already and don't have time right now. I'm busy preparing for tonight's kick off to my 11 week tele-clinic/webinar series!

Hope it's warmer where you are!

Chris

25 Things Your Webmaster Didn't Tell You

The world of Internet marketing is changing very fast. There's never been a more important time to leverage your presence on the Internet.

It was only a few years back when you could call up a computer friend and get their help building a website - and it actually worked. Today, it's a different story and for most business owners, do-it-yourself websites just can't compete with professionally designed sites that have a well-thought-out online marketing strategy. If you expect to get great results from the Internet and not lose sales and market-share to your competition you'll need expert advice in several areas: programming, online marketing, and graphic design. But without a doubt, investing in online marketing expertise pays off - and it can pay off big.

The trick is to bring all the pieces together without wasting time or money.

Let me share with you the top 25 things most webmasters don't talk about, or don't want to talk about with their clients.

1. Your webmaster probably knows nothing about online marketing.

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

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

How Important Are Your Page Title Tags? Let Me Show You...

Page Title Tags Are A Critical Element in Achieving Top 10 Positions

How important are your page title tags and why does it matter? Here is first hand proof that shows you that your page title tag is the key to top positions. More than 90% of the traffic I get at Book More Weddings where I focus on marketing to brides online is from organic search engine positioning at Google, Yahoo!, and a few stragglers from MSN. Organic = FREE.

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

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

Words of Wisdom: The First Meeting With A Bride & Groom

Claire Goodman, a wedding officiant in Charlottesville, Virginia has some sound advice that she's sharing today: 3 Tips on a Successful First Meeting With a Couple.

Enjoy!

Producing You Tube Videos

Venturing into the world of Web 2.0, also called Social Media, is a smart idea. It doesn't take a lot of money, it doesn't take a Ph.D, and you might even have a little fun with it.

It's a good way to inexpensively get more exposure for your company and website.

Here is a great link to tips and advice from the folks at You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/video_toolbox

Enjoy!

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

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