You know, I try to visit the top webmaster forums at least once a week to see what’s cooking in the industry. These forums are normally real hub of information, with some of the best brains in the business engaged in free exchange about all matters related to running a website.
However, at certain times of the month, most notably around about 20th of each month, the mood changes dramatically, and becomes more akin to that of the bar next to the horse track or stock exchange, with people loitering aimlessly, telling stupid jokes about nothing much.
What’s happened? Are they having a day off?
No.
Worried about impending war?
No.
They’re simply awaiting the beginning of….GOOGLE DANCE!
Google Dance is the nickname name given to the monthly revision of positions on Google, currently the most important search engine for commercial websites.
After Google Dance has taken place, the gamblers’ bar atmosphere continues. You can virtually read people’s moods; some practically leaping with smug glee, others cradling their heads in their hands as they watch their traffic and sales being wiped out OVERNIGHT by a dramatic swing in their position.
It’s obvious that many of these webmasters limit their marketing to just one area – the search engines. Each month I wonder why this is; if we had capital to invest, we wouldn’t put it ALL into ONE market or company, so why do it with our businesses?
It’s very easy to kid ourselves that search engines are the key to a healthy business. It’s certainly true that they’re an important component, which shouldn’t be neglected, particularly when it comes to the giants like Google, but given that they are the one area of your business over which you have the least CONTROL, it seems madness devote all of your energy to them.
As Corey Rudl, one of THE marketing gurus, and turning over $5-6 million each year points out;
“The search engines WON’T make you rich”.
He estimates that in a healthy business, sales from search engine traffic won’t be more than about 40%!
Anyone who has relied purely on the search engines to do business may find this figure difficult to believe, but that’s because your brain has become blinkered to the sales possibilities you’re MISSING.
It’s absolutely VITAL to the long-term viability of your online business that you take your thinking and efforts beyond vying for a place in the Top 30 of the search engines, and focus instead on the many alternative strategies.
I thought it might be useful to lay out exactly what the range of possibilities is for pursuing sales as a webmaster.
The list that follows isn’t exhaustive – there is always room for more ideas. Some of those listed below won’t be appropriate for all types of business, others may not be your style, but at least you’ll have the possibilities at your finger tips rather than trying to sit and figure out what they might be!
1. PAY-PER-CLICK SEARCH ENGINES. Great if you have a medium to high priced product and not to much competition. Otherwise steer clear, as you’ll lose a ton of money.
2. YOUR OWN OPT-IN LIST. Capture the e-mail addresses of visitors to your site, then send then information or enticing offers.
3. AD CAMPAIGNS. This includes focussing on targeted opt-in traffic sold by e-mail marketing companies, as well as solo and classified advertising to subscriber lists held by webmasters in your sector. If purchasing solo advertising of any description, be careful to ensure that this traffic really is i) targeted and ii) opt-in, otherwise not only will you lose money, you may also find yourself banned for spamming as well.
4. POP-UP/UNDER EXIT TRAFFIC. You’ll have seen those pop-ups which appear when you leave a site. Most webmasters simply put up windows which advertise stuff from their own site, but others have agreed to be paid to run ads from other webmasters. When the second webmaster does this, he’s buying what is known as exit traffic, which he does by paying for a fixed number of page views.
You need to be careful about spending on this type of traffic. It CAN produce results, particularly if you have moderate to high priced products, as one or two sales will probably pay for the price of 10,000 page views.
However, you need to be sure that your pop-up is i) dramatic enough to capture interest, ii) going to be seen by a targeted audience, iii) is not going to be counted as “viewed” if it merely opens. Instead look for companies which set a minimum time the pop-up has to stay open before it’s counted. These are more expensive, but the only way to go if you’re going to invest your money in this strategy.
5. SUBMIT ARTICLES. You can do this to other websites, or ezines. You could even seek to become a regular columnist on a popular website, and have your name quickly become familiar and respected by a large number of prospects. Make sure your articles have biographical by-line with your website address!
6. WRITE TESTIMONIALS AND REVIEWS FOR POSTING ON OTHER SITES. Has much the same effect as #5.
7. BACK-ENDERS. Most successful webmasters are affiliates for a least a few select companies, which they promote to a greater or lesser extent on their website and newsletter. If you have the trust of your readership, they’ll be winning to consider your opinion before making buying decisions. If they buy via a link you’ve set up, you’ll make a commission.
This can be very useful source of extra income, even if you already have your own successful product or service. Just make sure the back end products you recommend are reliable and things that you would purchase, or have already purchased yourself.
8. LINK BUILDING. This strategy has two-fold importance. You definitely need link popularity to show on the search engines, but well placed links will also bring in extra traffic.
It’s well known that a text link is worth several banners to a search engine spider. This is true for human visitors as well. Create a text link which lets surfers know what to expect when they visit your site, then you won’t just get extra surfers, you’ll have prospective BUYERS.
9. START AN AFFILIATE PROGRAM. This is a marketing strategy employed by 99% of successful webmasters. You provide a product and a website describing that product, but you get a team of people to promote it for you in exchange for a commission.
The theory goes that 100 webmasters will sell better than one. The reality however is that of those 100 extra webmasters, only 5 will do any real selling, because the rest will be inexperienced, too busy, or just plain disheartened!
Wait until you’ve got your own site under control and SELLING before you set up an affiliate program as it takes more than a couple of banners to run a successful affiliate program.
10. CALL IN THE BIG GUNS. Get the 5% who CAN sell on your side by entering into a revenue sharing scheme with them. They’ll shift your product big-time!
If you’re daunted by the prospect of setting up a full-scale program, entering into private business relationships with individual super-affiliates provides an ideal half-way house, which will also help kick start your sales figures in a serious way.
OK, ten marketing strategies to take you beyond the monthly Dance of Joy And Despair. Don’t let me catch you with your head in your hands on one of those forums now!
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