Internet Marketing Architects » Search marketing

No Credit Card? No Problem Internet Retailers Allow Consumers To Shop Online With Cash

Chaosmap — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:54:41 +0000

In today’s economically depressed climate, many retailers are feeling the affects of limited consumer spending first hand. Online retailers, in particular, have been offering sales, special deals, and promotions in an effort to attract buyers, and are expected to increase their efforts as the 2009 holiday season approaches.

But what about those consumers who don’t have or use credit cards and/or debit cards? Believe it or not, there are quite a lot of them, about 72 million in fact, according to eBillme.com. Ebillme is trying to capitalize on this demographic by offering them the option to pay for their online purchases in cash.

How does this work?

Through the site’s “walk-in” payment option can purchase items online from 840 different ecommerce sites, and then pay for their purchases in cash at one of Ebillme’s payment locations. Once payment is confirmed, the merchant is notified, and the product is sent.

If this service catches on, more online retailers may have to rethink the types of payment options that they offer their customers, and expand these options accordingly.

While paying in cash for online purchases may allow customers to take advantage of special online deals, critics also point out that it may also be time-consuming and confusing for some “cash only” customers who are, according to eBillme CEO Marwan Forzley, primarily seniors or recent immigrants without access to banking.

Cat Food: The Next Big Thing In Social Media Marketing?

Chaosmap — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:54:16 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

As more businesses realize the value of interactive website
features and social media techniques, DelMonte, makers of Meow Mix cat food, has recently debuted a new interactive website and a game show to promote its new Wholesome Goodness line of cat food.

The website features interactive games called Cat Capades, which allows players to use their “house cat” instincts to overcome household obstacles and challenges.

“We know that cat parents feel a kinship with their cats,
and it’s not uncommon for them to ‘know”
what’s going on their heads—what they think and
feel,” Alison Olsson, account executive for Agency.com,
said in a recent email to DMNews. “We knew this would be
especially fun for cat lovers, because they are familiar with
many of the cat behaviors highlighted in the games.”

Social media strategies are being employed by many companies in
the hopes to reach an increasingly Internet savvy and Internet
based audience. Cereal companies, like General Mills, have
offerings similar to the Meow Mix Site, including an interactive
avatar-based town called Millsbury, which is designed to provide
a place for children to share avatars and items with other
Internet users in their demographics.

Based on trends in Internet usage and social media prevalence
and popularity, it isn’t a stretch to imagine the
websites of the future as increasingly more interactive and
geared toward specific interests and demographics.

The Search Marketing Trinity: Brand, Category and Geography

Chaosmap — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 21:02:09 +0000

It is important for both clients and online marketers to remember that Google, YAHOO and MSN haven’t invented Marketing Strategies and Methodologies, although there is a healthy ongoing debate as to whether they are actively reinventing them that is occurring daily.

Online Media Buying Campaigns have simply repurposed traditional marketing and advertising concepts – by integrating them with a new and emerging internet based delivery platform and technology, Internet Search Marketing.

“Local Search” and “Metro Targeting” are recent examples of this evolutionary phenomenon being ported over from traditional media distribution channels to online marketing delivery platforms. Although these strategies are relatively new advances for online marketing professionals, geo targeted strategies and options are old news to the Radio and Cable TV Spot Market Professionals and Media Buyers.

Brand, Category and Geography – Marketing Strategy and Brand Positioning

Identifying and using Brand, Category and Geography as thematic elements of a Search Engine Marketing Campaign allows for both a strategic and a structural alignment between the Advertising Client and their Online Marketing Agency.

Using these targeting parameters will better focus each Client’s Marketing Plan and Strategy and more effectively manage their online ad budget, whether the account and their clientele are local, regional, national or international.

Information vs. Interpretation

I saw an Ad for a financial company recently on TV. It stating that success in the financial marketplace was 40% information and 60% interpretation and that the level of skilled interpretation the advertiser was offering to its clients was its added value benefit.

This holds true for online marketing too – information is extremely important but it is the interpretation of the information that leads to the effective creation of successful online marketing strategies.

Information

Brand, Category and Geography are informational elements.

Brand represents product identity, product associations, positioning strategy, added value, company profile, brand history and brand perception. If a company is a new company – than there is no “brand perception” and building a brand and a brand strategy is the task at hand.

Category provides data on the competition/key competitors as well as keyword strategies and inventories, Ad display channels, trade mags/websites and social networking opportunities.

Geography focuses on local, regional and national ad campaigns as well as other demographic informational targets like male/female, age targets, trend data and distribution channel related geo-delivery factors.

Interpretation

The strategic interpretation of this collated information allows for a trusted and detailed communication between the client and their online marketing agency – centered on goal setting and on obtaining specific, measurable results for the client’s products and/or services through online marketing advertising channels.

The integration of traditional marketing concepts with online marketing distribution channels allows for innovative planning and engagement – while simultaneously creating standards with milestones for the client and the marketing agency to track and analyze over a given time period or during the run of a specific ad campaign.

Benefits to Clients using Brand, Category and Geo Targeting

A unique marketing strategy and plan developed for each client
Effective integration of traditional and emerging marketing technologies
Strategic implementation of online marketing via multi-disciplinary team
Efficient management of client’s resources and time
Targeted traffic that converts to sales

By: Terry Hayes – Sr. Creative, SEO Copywriter – www.ChaosMap.com Email Terry with comments and feedback at: thayes@chaosmap.com

One Size Fits All Search Marketing?

Chaosmap — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 18:58:08 +0000

What is it with this industry we know as search marketing?It seems customer after customer has worked with a previous vendor that when asked about their services simply hands the customer a “Chinese menu” price list and lets them order a solution a la carte.How can this method work?How can you be sure of successful results when you are buying the same size solution offering as every other company in any industry is buying? If you sell products are your needs the same as someone that provides service? Are you in the consumer market or business to business? Every company has different goals, objectives and needs.And further, every company is at a different maturation phase of search marketing.Do yourself a favor, pass on the two egg rolls and chicken fried rice and partner with a firm that is interested in your business, the direction you are heading as an organization and is willing to tailor a solution specifically for you. Make them demonstrate they know you, your competition and your marketplace before beginning an engagement.One size never fits everyone and your business should not be forced into a too big or too small solution but one that is tailored just for you.Tip: Find out the top 10 questions to ask before hiring an SEO consultant.

Back to Basics: What is Search Engine Marketing and Why Is It Important?

Chaosmap — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:48:13 +0000

Traffic is important, but even more critical factors are click-through and conversion. Traffic is great, but traffic alone on your site does not pay the bills.What makes the ROI in Search Marketing so powerful is when visitors to your site are encouraged through best practices to click through, or look deeper into the site. Remember that your site is like a virtual salesperson. It must attract visitors, engage them in conversation, answer objections, present solutions to their needs and finally close the deal.Last and even most critical is the ability to generate and improve upon Web site traffic conversions. In a conversion, a visitor agrees to take the next step, to sign up for a white paper or account and even to purchase something from the site. This is the close, and without it you simply have visitors rather than customers.A properly thought out and executed strategy will include all of the facets mentioned above. This comprehensive approach can lead to dramatic improvements in all of these areas.