Pixel Hander Radio : Internet Marketing

 

 Internet Marketing Report and Social Media Highlights Newsletter - May ‘08 [0:07:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Well, it’s about time! I finally committed myself to personal branding and sharing both professional topics and personal insights/news via an email newsletter. This mailing is managed by an online database for easy opt-in and out-out choices. I am sending you this message since we have been in contact either professionally or personally (friends and family included).

This newsletter will mail out the first week of each month, please visit the link below to opt-in http://lists.pixelhandler.com.

Internet Marketing Report and Social Media Highlights Newsletter…

‘Bill’s Internet Marketing Report’

-  An ongoing theme in my newsletter. I will publish strategies and topics relating to the happenings I experience in the race of marketing, publishing and selling on the web.

This month’s topic is linkbait. One of the best ways to increase search engine optimization performance is improving your rankings by growing your list of inbound links to your Web site. This is one strategy that takes persistence and pays off over time. Without a strong link building strategy it can be very difficult to gain higher rankings in the search engine results pages (SERPs), especially for competitive keywords or search phrases. The goal is to be number one on the first page of your favorite search engine using a phase that is searched for very often by your desired audience. The linkbait that I am currently offering is a free website theme for bloggers.

This month I released downloadable file as blog theme for photo enthusiasts in order to gain more inbound links to my personal blog. My site is managed using WordPress, one of the most widely used open source Web applications for online publishing. The WordPress site has a large community with a high volume of online traffic, of which a large segment of users desire to customize their own blog with a custom design, free of charge!

Because I enjoy the benefit of the contributions made by this online community, I finally took the opportunity to give back, by offering Shoot It! a free photo blog theme. This professional web design should prove to be a favorite among photography enthusiasts and professionals alike. Within a couple days of uploading the Shoot It! theme to my blog, I noticed ten downloads have taken place. I believe the numbers will grow even faster once the theme is listed on the WordPress theme site.

As a demonstration site, I launched a pro photo tips blog, Take Better Photos Now, with content provided by a very seasoned photographer with a passion for sharing tips to help people take better photos. Michael Kitada plans to publish tips for photography enthusiasts and this will benefit his photography business as well by providing inbound traffic to his main Web site. His new blog using this photography theme already has about 100 unique visitors with the first couple weeks while creating the Web site design. I anticipate that the volume of links will be begin to grow from the promotion of this free offer and also from the links created by bloggers using the free theme.

Sites referenced:
http://takebetterphotosnow.com

‘Highlights in Social Media’

- Second theme with a focus on building your personal brand using online networking. The Internet is bringing people together and making connections for personal and professional development. Being involved socially online is a way to build new relationships with like-minded individuals.

Last month, my wife and I attended a meetup in Irvine on the topic of internet marketing. We both were able to learn new information and meet others involved in selling and promoting on the Internet. This came about by visiting meetup.com and searching for internet marketing. This is the second time that I have searched online with the intention of learning something new, then followed up by meeting a group of like-mined people (offline and in person) who share their knowledge openly among the community. Some time ago, I wanted to learn about podcasting (broadcasting audio using electronic media); then ended up at a very open convention, podcamp, where I was able to ask seasoned veterans specific questions about new media publishing - giving me a kickstart with my own podcast. Both of these experiences proved to be great networking events as well.

I recently became a fan another very popular social media Web site, twitter.com, which works the opposite of email. You choose who you want to follow (allow to speak, or tweet, with you) rather that filter out the messages you want to block. On a Saturday afternoon, you may find very influential people online sharing breaking news like Microsoft (MSFT) backing out of their offer to buy Yahoo (YHOO). The news appears between highlights of someone bragging about a great meal or fun with friends. Twitter (micro blogging) is fun. At times, I will read a short comment (currently twitter only allows up to 140 characters per micro message) then I’ll hear the story on the evening news and think to myself, wow, publishing has really changed. For example,  on May 3rd, I first heard about this MSFT/YHOO story on twitter; then later, on May 4th, I see the story published on the New York Times Web site. The internet is bringing conversations together among like minded individuals who naturally attract an audience with similar interests and speeds faster that ever before.

Sites referenced:
http://www.meetup.com/
http://twitter.com/pixelhandler  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/technology/04soft.html?_r=3&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Found on the PodSafeMusicNetwork:
Get Three Coffins Ready is a Denver based Instrumental Surf-Rock band. Listen the track titled, Action! - at the end of the broadcast!

 

 Answers for Internet Marketing, SEO, Business and Promotion [16:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This week I spent some time getting social with LinkedIn.com I answered a few questions related to my profession. This episode (6) covers the questions in short form with links to the original questions with the linkedin community answers, you will need to log-in at linkedin.com to view the links in this post. The audio player above includes the additional explanations to these questions and comments on the answers submitted by the linkedin members. Also, I play a song titled, "Finish What We Started" by Headway and can be found online at… http://www.podsafemusicnetwork.com

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 Book Review: Web Design for ROI [0:10:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Book Review: Web Design for ROI by Lance Loveday & Sandra Niehaus

Each year I find one or two books that really stand out. This book, Web Design for ROI, changed the way I look at current eCommerce projects and helped me identify better strategies for building web sites. This 10 minute review highlights the key points in the book that helped me learn the process for ‘conversion optimization’ – converting my site visitors into customers.

Here is my situation, I am working on an eCommerce site with over 4,000 unique visitors each month but the checkout rate seems fairly low, and the analytics show a large percentage of potential customers exiting the checkout process at the confirm stage. Also, a large volume of visitors landing on the home page bounce without entering in to key areas of the site and responding to my calls to action (buying product or completing a form).

The major shift for me will be creating a larger return on investment for my search engine optimization and marketing efforts by creating a larger percentage of goal conversions with my current volume of web site traffic.

This will have a lasting and recurring benefit since a small decrease in bounces and abandoned goal funnels will generate a higher percentage of growth without buying more traffic. This process of conversion optimization has the biggest band for my buck (or sweat) and helps with growing conversions with my current pay-per-click campaigns. Also, the strategies presented will help me communicate more effectively with my audience. The book inspired me to apply a conversion optimization beginning at my check-put pages, working my way back to the home page. After adding a secondary goal on my detail pages I noticed an increase in online sales. This optimization process creates results!

 

 Indexed by Google within 3 Days after Launch [22:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Question: How long does it take Google to index my new Web site

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 Twenty Web Project Questions - Pixelhandler 003 [8:03m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Every Web project needs a solid plan to work through the estimate to the site delivery. Here is a list of project questions to plan your Web site with considerations for marketing, design, SEO, unique selling position, E-commerce, and more…
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 YourWebProject-Pixelhandler-002 [17:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Pixel Handler Episode 2, Your Web Project, features web project elements and how they mash up with your marketing strategy. Questions addressed:

1. How do the following mash up to produce results… design, development, search engine optimization, Web standards, current trends, Web analytics, content, SERPs, usability, marketing strategy, and goal conversions?
2. And, why does it matter?
3. So, what can I do about it?

Wrap up: Keep the main thing the main thing! If your unique selling position is intimately related to your passion then it will be easy to communicate your message to your target audience.

 

 Pixelhandler 001-PodCamp SoCal 07 [5:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This event is attended by both techies and non-techies alike. Many in the group are advocates of media publishing, including musicians, macintosh computer enthusiasts, Christian media publishers, businesses and people just in it for fun. The beauty of this event is the collaboration of people who share their expertise and experience in a free flowing mix of presentations and audience participation with questions, answers and advice.

The podcast concept is taking up speed as more publishers join the movement. One caveat is that many potential listeners (target audience) have a learning curve prohibiting them from becoming a podcast listener. A common opinion among media publishers is to promote their broadcasts using alternative terminology like internet radio or web tv show instead of the `P-bomb`. Many listeners may get turned off by the technical terminology, “podcast”. The movement began in 2003-2004; one proposal is that the first podcast was as early as 1945.

The main difference between radio and podcast broadcasting is that the latter can be repurposed across many delivery systems: mp3 players, internet, iPhone, email; and, the potential distribution is world-wide. A common misconception is that a podcast is recorded (not live) and radio with a live presentation is more interactive and appealing to the listener. This is just not true, many podcasts are broadcast live, using the internet with call-in and live chat interaction. While the podcast will not replace TV or radio it has the added value of a more select and targeted audience. This type of focus and trust relationship between the host and listener will most likely be sought after by advertises who would like to chime-in with a message to consumers.

For businesses this may prove to be a big bang for your buck promotion tool, or another vehicle to extend their brand impression. The key is targeting a niche market, many business will likely become a podcast advertiser in the not-so-far future. Also, business may find a creative way to provide value to their clients using this form of audio and visual broadcast over the internet. With tight or empty advertising budgets, many companies may begin to publish a promotion series on podcast and even distribute their message on an MP3 player or video iPod.

Also with this post is a video (click to download) featuring Chris Brogan co-founder of PodCamp, a free unconference that explores the benefits and uses of new media community tools. Brogan begins with an anecdote from a Bradey Bunch episode then wraps up with encouragement for a community of new media enthusiasts at PodCampSoCal 2007 in Ontario, CA. Click the gray arrow below to play a sound clip from the presentation.

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This is brand new, I’m getting ready to put together some articles on what I do best, online marketing, web site design and search engine optimization. Tomorrow I will attend my first podcamp, the unconference for new media publishers; and I’m looking forward to posting the experience on my new blog.