WSI Matrix is an consulting company in Edmonton, AB serving local businesses. We specialize in building an online presence for local businesses, optimizing their websites and driving targeted traffic.
Tuesday, 31 July 2012
Promoting Your Business With Mobile Marketing
Do your customers use their mobile phones to go online or receive text alerts from the brands they are interested in? If yes, you should try developing a mobile marketing campaign.
There is more to mobile marketing than sending text alerts, even though text alerts are the best way to keep your campaign accessible to everyone. If your customers are likely to own more expensive devices such as smartphones, iPhones or tablets, you should think about developing some apps. You should also look into creating a mobile website: this site will be accessible to anyone who has Internet access on their mobile phone.
Have your customers answer surveys about their mobile phones. Find out which devices they own, which plans they subscribe to and whether or not they would be willing to subscribe to updates from your brand. Some niches will be more receptive to this campaign that others. You can get more people to answer to your surveys by offering free samples or giving out free products at random to the people who answer your survey.
If you decide to try text alerts, use a mass texting software. Place a subscription form on your website or blog and wait for people to sign up. Do not make your customers uncomfortable by requesting too many personal details: you only need a name and a phone number. Keep your text alerts interesting and do your best not to intrude in your customers' lives. Do not text them in the middle of the night and do not send text alerts too frequently. Keep your messages short and always send a link for your customers to unsubscribe from these alerts.
Create a mobile site to allow your customers to look up information about your products no matter where they are. Use a very simple design and a large font. Test your mobile site with different devices and browsers and make sure it loads quickly. Encourage people to visit your mobile site by optimizing it, sending links to it in your text alerts and sharing quality content, such as coupon codes your customers can redeem immediately.
Developing your own apps could be a great way to become a part of the daily life of your customers. If you come up with an app that is useful, fun and easy to use, people will start enjoying it on a regular basis. Ask yourself what kind of app your customers would enjoy using: you could create a game, a learning tool or an interactive catalog. Some apps even allow customers to order products from their phones. Get to know your audience better and create an app that is adapted to their needs. And keep in mind that your customers are more than likely using social networking apps: stay in touch with them via social networks and encourage them to upload pictures or videos of your products they took with their mobile phones.
Use these tips to develop a successful mobile marketing campaign. Take your time and monitor your results to find out which techniques seem to work best with your audience.
Sunday, 29 July 2012
Five Quick Steps To Boost Your Search Rank
When you are immersed in the world of building a website and promoting it through article marketing, you know just how critical search engine optimization is. It is perhaps the single most effective method of drawing traffic to your website from all over the Internet. On the other hand, while effective, it can often be hard. Read on for five handy tricks that are not so hard but can boost your search engine ranking.
Make your titles short and to the point. They should focus on exactly what your subject is. Longer titles can sometimes confuse search engine algorithms a little. Unfocused titles also do not help you, because search engine spiders check for relevance to the actual article content and area links. If not everything matches up subject wise, your material is downgraded in its usefulness to indexing.
Make sure that all your images have tags. Search engines can not yet really distinguish what is in a picture, but they can read words. Having good descriptions in your image tags gives your website more text for a search engine to evaluate by. Additionally, when your images are produced within search engine results for image searching, you get your website more exposure.
Make sure that you find websites very close to or similar to your own. Link to all of them. When a search engine sees that one website has links pointing out to other websites within the same niche or category, the search engine is more likely to assume that page is an authority within its field and display its pages far more prominently within its results.
On the same token, do what you can to have those identical or parallel websites link right back to you. Contact the webmasters and politely inquire about trading links. If you are something of an expert in your field, then consider guestblogging on other sites whenever you can. They get the advantage of having someone else come up with that day's blog post and maybe exposure to your followers. In return, you can arrange for a backlink within your post and exposure to their readers. Also make sure to have social media profiles set up on any sites you are comfortable updating constantly. Every Facebook post you put up about a new blog entry is a backlink.
Always know which keywords you are focused on, and keep your optimization around them. Go for at least five, otherwise your density might be too high for search engines to think your site is genuinely designed for readers and not just rankings. Going as high as twenty keywords makes even more sense, because it gives you some room to catch on to newer keyphrases and dump older ones that are not working out so well.
When you stick with just these give basic tricks, you will soon see your website climbing up the rankings. However, while these are a great start and timesaver, they are not the only tricks out there. Remember that your competitors probably use these same tricks as well as you do!
Friday, 27 July 2012
Online Reputation Management
According to a 2011 online study by Lightspeed Research, a majority of people (62%) read online review sites before making a purchase decision. A poor online reputation is most likely to prevent a customer from making a purchase, according to the study. Maintaining a positive online reputation is therefore critical to attract new customers.
Thursday, 26 July 2012
Boost Your Traffic With Search Engine Optimization
With everything you do, a little research will help you to succeed. Search engine optimization may seem a little daunting at first, but this article is here to help. Check out the tips presented here and you'll be driving traffic to your site.
The first thing you're going to want to do is look for places to market your site to get people interested. This helps because it makes people search for more information on search engines, plus it's always good to generate traffic. Use social media and put your site in your signatures of forum posts. Try everything you can to get people interested, but don't bombard them with your link either. Make sure that before you post your link anywhere that it doesn't violate their terms of service.
Websites should be kept nice and tidy. Most people wouldn't live in a messy space, and people don't really like messy websites. Make your navigation easy to use and keep things streamlined. Also code your website well so that search engines have no problem crawling your site.
Even if your site is high in the results already, it won't always stay there if you don't update frequently. You'll notice that from time to time, search engines will start changing things around and rankings will be shifted. Stay on top of everything that's going on and update your site accordingly. Keep all of your content fresh too, so that the search engine has something new to index every once in a while.
Writing content that people are interested in while maintaining a certain keyword density is a skill you need to learn. Basically, when someone's going to search for something to find your page, they'll use a few words. Figure out your target audience and what they are searching for to find pages like yours. Incorporate those words into your text, but don't overuse them. Keyword stuffing doesn't work at all and neither does writing randomly just to fit keywords in.
What do you do if you try everything you can and you are still not ranked high enough in the results? It's probably time to rethink your plans. Sometimes, a niche is already too overcrowded by big sites that aren't going to go away anytime soon. If you find this to be the case, you don't necessarily have to change your whole site's theme, but you want to change it so it's not as closely related to bigger sites.
When all else fails or you just don't have enough time, hire a professional to help you. You will find many skilled businesses that offer search engine optimization services. Make sure you ask them for references of their work so you can see if they're able to meet your needs. Check with a few professionals first and go with the one that you feel has the best prices for their services.
You should now have a grasp on the basics of what search engine optimization is about and how to implement it. It may seem like a lot of hard work at first, but with time you'll develop a system and things will become a lot easier. Keep trying at it until you find what works and what doesn't.
Monday, 23 July 2012
Staying Ahead Of The Competition Using Internet Marketing
If you haven't already started marketing online, then it's about time for you to look into it. Your competitors are probably already getting customers, so why shouldn't you be as well? The Internet can be accessed by so many people from a lot of different places, so it only makes sense. Below, you'll find out how you can take advantage of the internet to get your name out there.
Figure out what works and what doesn't work. Sure, people still use things like popup ads and graphical ads, but there are so many more ways to advertise now. Go to any one of your favorite sites that are popular and chances are you'll see some kind of ad. If you're watching a video on your favorite site, there may be a commercial before it or a text link during it at the bottom. You will also see people on social media sites sharing content from other sites. Your favorite search engine will have links to things relevant to what you're searching for. Find something that works for these companies and take advantage of it too.
You've probably listened to the radio before and have gotten a jingle stuck in your head. This is what you want your ad to do to people. Create something that they will remember and will associate your business name to. Your business name shouldn't be too long or too common. Make sure it's not taken yet either, which may seem obvious, but it's very important.
Ad placement is important. Make sure that if you have ads somewhere, that you view them through various different browsers. This is important because sometimes, your website could show up differently and your content could obscure your ads. It's not too wise to use popup ads anymore because most browsers have popup blocker software that comes with them. All ads should be easily seen, but not too invasive either. Figure out a good balance so that people won't ignore them but won't get turned off by them either.
Have something to offer that others don't. Try marketing a sale when other people aren't having one. Try having a contest that's exciting that will draw people in. Another idea would be to sign up for a social media site and give everyone that networks with your business a deal. Just be creative, and try to offer things that others aren't at the time.
Search engine optimization is a great way to build traffic and get the word out about a website. SEO is basically arranging content on a site to appeal to make a site rank higher in search engines. When someone types in a word into a search engine, the results are ranked by their relevance based on a number of factors. Do some research on this or hire someone to optimize your site for you.
Now that you know about Internet marketing, you'll be able to sell more products or services to others. Take what you've learned and apply it and watch your business grow. It takes time and a lot of work, but it's worth it if you're willing to do what it takes.
Friday, 20 July 2012
Increasing The Traffic To Your Site
What is great about the Internet is that you can market all day and every day. This is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to get their business out there or who wants to market themselves on the Internet to gain popularity. If your goal is to become popular then you are definitely going to want to start marketing on the Internet. Go ahead and use this article as your guide so that you can start increasing the traffic to your site and so that you can make the most out of marketing to reach your goals.
Start putting up ads on websites. If you want to start generating more traffic through marketing on the Internet, then you are going to want to put up ads on websites. This is the perfect way to market yourself and to look professional doing it. Although ads might cost a little money, they are worth it in the end because you'll have a lot of people come visit the ad link that you put up. This little investment will be well worth the cost after a little while when you start to see your traffic rise.
Make a social media account to market to more people on the Internet. The best way to market for free on the Internet is to make a social media account. Social media accounts will make it possible for you to market to people that you know from your social media accounts. If you don't have a social media account right now then you are going to want to make one as soon as possible. If you don't make a social media account then you are going to neglect yourself from joining one of the most popular places on the Internet.
Go ahead and send updates to your email list, and invest some time into email marketing. If you have a lot of people's emails then you are going to want to email them with updates that you have regularly. Email marketing is one of the best ways to reach people and to get them to take you seriously. You can update people about the special promotions that you have going on at the moment, and you can redirect people to all of the things that you want them to visit on the Internet through email marketing.
Write articles about your website or whatever you are trying to market, and try and put them on as many websites as possible. Another good way to market yourself on the Internet is to write a little bit about yourself.
A good thing that internet marketing does for everyone is that it allows you to be able to market on your own time. Dedicate enough time to market on the Internet every day because you will always increase the amount of traffic that you have when you do so. Generating traffic is going to be your number one goal when you want to market on the Internet, so reach that goal with all of the tips that you learned today.
On and Off Page SEO
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is one of the most effective Internet marketing strategies that can help your business establish a solid web presence and connect with current and prospective customers. There are two ways to do this, On Page SEO and Off Page SEO.
What is On Page SEO?
• Onsite optimization of page structure and content for search engines and site visitors
• Including html codes, meta and body tags, page architecture, keyword-rich subject matter, links, etc.
• The focus is on offering the site visitors a satisfying experience in a format that is easily accessible and acceptable to search engines
• It is a continual effort that requires regular monitoring and tweaking to stay up-to-date and enhance rankings and conversion rates
Thursday, 19 July 2012
The Basics of Internet Marketing
Trying to figure out the basics of Internet marketing? Marketing your service or products online is complex business. It’s not a quick fix that involves electronic brochures. It’s a live world where substance, strategy, persistence and hard work can help you achieve your objectives.
Here is a brief guide to put you on the right track.
• Have an Internet marketing plan. Outline your goals and create a detailed blue print of how you are going to make it happen.
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Putting Your Company Into Cyberspace With Internet Marketing
Maybe you just have a small store and would like to expand. Maybe you're the owner of a big local company and would like to go worldwide. This is all possible by harnessing the power of the internet. Here you will learn what you can do to make this happen so read on for more.
Social media is here and it's probably not going away any time soon. People spend countless hours sharing links and talking about everything that they do in their day to day lives. It only makes sense to market to these people, which is what most companies are already doing. Create your own social media site that's only about your company and build a network. Tell your current customers to join. Offering an incentive may draw them there and to keep them there you need to post interesting content. Once one person shares something from you, it could end up all over the world.
Think about holding a contest for your customers that require them to do something online that promotes your business. Some places tell their customers that after they reach a certain number of friends on an online site, they'll offer a reward to everyone that has joined. Make things interactive too, let people vote on certain aspects of your business, like what color the next product should be. The more people feel like they're involved in something, the longer it will keep them interested because they'll wonder what's coming next.
Create a blog and start blogging about what your company does and what things are going on in your field. Keep the content fresh and on topic. Stay away from bad mouthing other businesses because you never know when they may want to help you out in the future. When people comment on your blog, respond when possible and delete the negative comments or those containing spam away. If someone has a legitimate complaint, then it's fair to respond in a polite manner. If they are badmouthing you for no reason then don't let them ruin your reputation.
People love to interact with each other in communities online because they feel like it's a group that understands them. You may just get people coming back to your site time and time again if you provide them with a forum to speak their minds on. If you can get them to come back to your site just to log in to reply to each other, they're probably going to tell their friends about your site. The more curiosity and interest you build the better.
It's difficult to get your marketing campaign out there into the world wide web, but it's a great place to get business from anywhere in the world. Without the internet you never know who is going to miss out on what you're offering. Start building a good internet marketing campaign as soon as you can so that your competition doesn't take away any more of your potential clients.
WSI Matrix Consulting in Edmonton
Watch video below to learn more about Wsi Matrix Consulting and the type of the serviced we offer:
Saturday, 14 July 2012
Internet Marketing And Social Media's Advantages
Whether it be Facebook or YouTube, there are all kinds of companies out there using these sites to market to others. Social media has been here for a little while now, and isn't going away any time soon. It only makes sense to get your business onto one of these sites. Here are the basics on what you can do to market your business on social media websites.
To understand why social media can help with your Internet marketing campaign, it's important to know what they are. Basically these sites are where people gather together with people they know, or that have similar interests to theirs, and share things. They post about what they did during the day, what their favorite movies are, share links and pretty much everything. This makes it a great target to start marketing towards because you never know when someone will take something you're selling and share it with their network, who will share it with theirs and so on.
Social media has many advantages that traditional websites do not have. They're free to use, which is a big factor in why people use them so much. It's very easy to set one of these sites up as well. You don't have to learn any kind of programming, all you have to do is fill out a few things and click some buttons. There's also the fact that you can get in touch with people that you may have never seen. Most people are social by nature and like to have conversations with others and it's very easy to just log in and talk to others.
Some of the disadvantages of using social media are important to know too. Like the advantages, the site is easy to create because you only have to fill out a few things. This is a disadvantage if you want to customize it more because you cannot operate outside their parameters. Another thing would be privacy. Everything you share on the Internet will be kept by someone, somewhere. Your pictures and everything will probably exist for some time even if you delete everything.
Once you have a social media site setup, you should add a link to it on your business website. You can also set up comment fields where people sign in with their social media account to talk on your page. This is beneficial because they won't have to go through anything to sign up and can just log in with their social media name and password.
On your social media website, advertise when you can, but don't go too far with it. If you post way too many things about how you want others to buy something, they're going to get rid of you fast. However, the same thing will happen if you don't update people frequently enough. Find a balance.
Pretty much everyone online is involved in some kind of social media website. It's a fantastic way to get your company's name and product out there. Internet marketing is a lot easier with social media, so get your site up and running today.
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
You want to tune your mobile marketing efforts towards SMS and you desire to know the tips available to you. Remember the tips and advice that you read in this article, and you will be on your way to effective SMS mobile marketing.
Which keyword is going to be your main focus? You need to use much discretion when choosing the proper keyword. You want one that is going to be popular, but you also want to choose one that everyone isn't already after. Most importantly, you want to choose one that fits your specific niche well enough. This can be a trial and effort task as well as one that defines your mobile marketing efforts.
Make sure you keep your message short, concise, and to the point. If you fail to do this, you are not going to keep the attention of your targeted audience. Not only that, but you will confuse them, and ultimately, most people will just ignore your messages.
Make sure you always provide an option for your customers to opt out of your mobile marketing campaign. It is easy for them to opt-in, so they need to have an easy time if they choose to opt-out as well. This helps ensure you keep the trust of customers, even as they come and go.
Having the customer sign up in a two-fold process eases them into it, and it helps your conversion rate as well. This gives the customers the information and the form a little at a time and not all at once. While it is important to stay up front with your customers, this helps ease them into it and also protects their privacy at the same time.
Make sure you personalize the messages as much as you can. If you have the ability to use the customer's names, then you should definitely do that. People respond to the use of their names, and it just helps establish a communicative relationship. Anything else you can do that is personal is a good idea as well.
Make sure you reward your repeat customers. Offer them special offers and promotions that they can benefit from, especially ones that will urge them to make further purchases. This benefits both them and you, keeping them happy and growing your business.
Make sure you have contact information for your customers so that they know they can keep in touch with you. If you fail to do this, your customer service skills are going to be the end of your campaign and business.
Make sure that you end each message with a desired action for the customer to take. If you don't urge the customer to do something, they aren't going to do anything. They won't know what to do because you haven't laid it all out for them. Make sure you give them an action to take that scores your business some points.
SMS marketing is rather cheap and it can be very personable for your targeted customers. Remember the tips you have learned in this article to help you as you continue your mobile marketing endeavors.
Saturday, 7 July 2012
Tips For Successful Mobile Marketing
Mobile marketing is among the latest methods of advertising businesses. Knowing the best way to go about it will help you create a plan that is successful in boosting your business through this method. Use the information that follows to develop a mobile marketing plan to move your business forward.
Large file text messages should be avoided! The larger the message, the longer it will take to both load and for the recipient to read. Many times, if a message is very long, the recipient will disregard it without even reading it.
When sending text messages out to your mobile list, be sure to include a link to the mobile version of your site. This will make it very easy for customers go directly to your mobile site and maybe become interested in the things that you have to offer.
This type of marketing is mainly for your current customer base. The chances of new customers being interested in text messages from you is slim to none. It is considered spammy to send text messages to consumers who have not signed up to receive the text messages. If the consumers report you for sending spam text messages, you could quickly end up getting black listed and lose your ability to send text messages to anyone.
When a customer makes a purchase on your website or becomes a member, request their mobile phone number. Be sure to include a consent to send them text alerts about the latest offers from your company.
Include a link that directs recipients to a blog or video sharing site. You can use the blog and the videos to promote your latest products or special sales you are offering.
Do not send out any messages during odd hours or on holidays. Very few things about mobile marketing will turn customers off faster than getting a text message while they are in bed, at the dinner table or enjoying the time with their family on the holidays.
Send out reminders and announcements of any events your company is having. Your customers will appreciate the reminder that you are offering a special sale or holding an event before the day of the event.
Do not send messages that seem spammy. It is good to let your customers know about the products or services you offer, but it is not good to sound demanding that they buy it. Sending out too many messages about the same event is going to seem spammy to many customers. Limit the number of messages you send out to avoid getting blocked from people's phones.
Do not make your customers jump through hoops to unsubscribe from your messages. Just because they are unsubscribing from the messages does not mean that they will no longer continue to use your services or purchase your products. If you make it difficult for them to opt out of the messages, they are likely to get completely turned off by your business and take their business elsewhere.
Nearly any business can use mobile marketing as a method to get word out about their services, products or promotions. Use the tips you learned here to develop a plan that successfully promote your business.
Thursday, 5 July 2012
Take Advantage of Mobile Marketing To Expand Your Business
One of the best ways to run a successful business is staying in tune with what is the most popular way to attract customers. Mobile marketing offers a different avenue as far as advertising and increasing exposure, especially with the prevalence of Smartphones and QR codes. Read the tips in this article to find out ways to improve your campaign with the use of mobile marketing.
One of the best ways to make sure that your consumers purchase or download your mobile application is to give them an incentive to do so. Letting them know they can have a coupon or free trial of a premium service beforehand is a great way to lure them toward your application. Don't forget to use e-mails and text messaging after they have already signed up so they can use codes to redeem free offers.
Always allow your customers to unsubscribe and don't send out too many messages, or your consumers may get annoyed. E-mails should be mobile friendly, so do not make them too long. Avoid huge blocks of text or flashy formatting so it can be read easily. Including some links for relevant web content is also a good idea, as many people can access the Internet on their phones at any time.
Never neglect social media networking when you are using mobile applications. Those who tend to have the most applications on their phones will probably be on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare or other web sites. Create pages for your consumers to "like" and "share" to increase your exposure. This will allow the friends of your consumers to have an instant reference for your business. If you have a physical location, allow them to "check in" on Foursquare so others know that they like your products or services. Having a Twitter hashtag is also a great idea, as this allows you to monitor your consumer base while getting instant feedback.
Give your customers a reason to review your product, like a free coupon or trial of a service. Not only will this give you some reliable feedback on improving your business or the application, but it will give the application a more legitimate appearance for other mobile users. If you have a physical location, always let your consumers know that you are concerned with how they feel about your business. Try including the information of your business on a review site like Yelp! so others can Google relevant businesses and find your company online. With your mobile application, make sure that the business hours and contact information is up to date with other advertisements as to avoid confusion.
Using mobile marketing is one of the smartest ways to access adults in America, as the majority have Smartphones. Increased Internet access and usage means that businesses cannot ignore this market, or they will be missing out on a lot of new customers! Remember the tips in this article so you can use mobile marketing to your advantage and increase exposure.
Sunday, 1 July 2012
What To Look For In A Web Hosting Solution
A good web hosting solution will provide you with a solid basis for your online business. Read this article to find out more about web hosting solutions.
Read reviews about different services and look for one with a good uptime rate. Most services advertise an uptime of 99.9%, which corresponds to regular upgrades of the servers. If a web hosting service experiences technical issues on a regular basis, you should find a lot of negative reviews. Find out when the maintenance are scheduled and how often they occur. Select a service with regular updates scheduled at times when your site is not likely to get much visitors. If possible, choose a service that notifies webmasters of updates ahead of time.
You need to subscribe to a web hosting service with a good customer service. Call the service you are interested in before subscribing to make sure you can talk to a representative immediately. Make sure the technicians you talk to know enough to answer technical questions. Look up reviews online to find out how helpful the customer service usually is. A good customer service is essential because you cannot afford to have your site offline for extended periods of time. If your site is offline regularly, you will end up losing a lot of sales and customers.
If you choose a shared server, you should make sure you are not going to share a server with illegal or offensive sites. This means the I.P. address of your server could be block by certain antiviruses. Look up the I.P. address of your server to find out if there are any complaints associated with it and read the terms and conditions of your web hosting service. Make sure you select a service with a strict policy regarding the content of the sites hosted. Generally, sites with illegal content or purposes are hosted on servers that belong to a service with less than five years of existence.
If you are not familiar with website coding, you might have to use a plugin to build your site. Make sure you select a web hosting service that supports the plugin you intend on using. Some services provide you with a plugin: test this plugin and do not hesitate to install a better one if you are not satisfied with it. If you are not sure which plugin you should use, try the WordPress plugin: it is supported by a lot of web hosting services and very easy to use.
Look for a web hosting service that will update your site within the hour. It is important that you keep your site up to date and post new content on the days you usually get the most traffic. If you can count on your web host to update your site right away, you will not have to worry about scheduling your updates ahead of time or posting news well after your competitors.
Keep these tips in mind when selecting your web host and take the time to compare different plans. Switch to a different server if you are not satisfied with the solution you selected.
