The 7 Deadly Sins of Web Marketing ... and How to Avoid Them

1. The 7 Deadly Sins of Web Marketing...and How to Avoid Them Shari L.S. Worthington, President Telesian Technology Inc. Marketing, Web, & e-Business Services for the Technology & Manufacturing Markets Author,e-Business in Manufacturing: Putting the Internet to Work in the Industrial Enterprise

2. To Reach 50 Million People... • Radio took 34 years • Television took 13 years • Internet took 4 years • 2005: Google indexed 8 billion pages of information • So why can’t you just run some PPCs…?

3. Sin #1:A Dead-End Web Site • People rely on web for product and service information (nielsen/netratings) • 83% of businesspeople start online • US broadband reaches 72% at home • 136 million adults researched medical info 2006 • Corporate web site must be focal point of marketing program

4. The Data Speaks for Itself • Driven by content and interaction • Compelling & differentiated • Updated frequently • Engage site visitors • Actively pull prospects along buying cycle • Integrate marketing, sales, customer service

6. Move Beyond “Me-Me-Me” • Speak to customer needs and desires • “Cosmetics at a discount” OR • “You could buy a new wardrobe with the money you’ll save on our cosmetics” • Develop rich content • How to articles, top 10 lists, podcasts • Provide interaction • Webinars, discussion lists, blogs

10. Sin #2Ignoring the Search Engines • Online search hit 5.7 billion in January 2006 (nielsen/netratings) • Businesspeople & consumers rely on search engines • Natural search is very different from pay per click advertising

11. Pay Per Click Ads Natural Search Rankings

12. Search Share Rankings, January 2007 Source: Nielsen/NetRatings

13. Use of Search Engines • 64% of businesspeople start research for new products & services on a search engine • Budget items of $50,000 and more • 53.7% of purchasers start 3-6 months out • Smaller purchases of $500-$1000 • 77.4% of purchasers start 1 week – 1 month out Source: Google

14. Search Engine Marketing:Challenges • Weak web site • Confusion and deception • Search engine marketing • SEO: Search engine optimization • PPC: Pay per click advertising • Paid inclusion • Sponsored links • Sponsored ads • Illegal tactics: “spamdexing”

15. Search Engines: Who’s Who? MSN YAHOO! LOOKSMART Overture Inktomi ASK JEEVES AltaVista GOOGLE FAST Teoma VNU Pyra (blogs) AOL Reed Publishing

16. Natural Search vs PPC Ads • Natural search listings are chosen more often than sponsored listings • 70% choose natural search listing prior to a paid advertisement, but depends on search engine • Bid position counts • For natural search, 59.7% of respondents chose one of the top 3 links • For paid search, 51% of respondents chose the top link. Source: Google

17. Search Engine Marketing:Best Practices • Create a solid system architecture that’s user & search engine friendly • Fill with relevant content • Start with SEO: optimize site code and avoid illegal tactics • Add Pay Per Click ad program to get rankings fast

22. Avoid Illegal SEO Tactics:BMW Blacklisted

23. Sin #3Not Targeting Your PPC Dollars • Pay for performance, aka “pay per click,” is target marketing at its best • Not the place to push for volume • Target the message • “Buy Gift Cards” OR • “Motivate Employees with Gift Cards”

26. Sin #4Wasting Your PPC Efforts • The price is right • Direct mail: $1-3 per impression • PPC advertising: $0 per impression, $1-3 per click • Combined SEO & PPC: 6x response • Buy your way into the right search engine partnerships • Overture & MSN • Google & partner network

27. B2B Search: Impact of Rank on Clicks Source: Millward Brown for Google

28. Impact of Text Ad Elements Source: Millward Brown for Google

29. Web Marketing Power Tips • Landing pages matter – a lot • Know your objectives, then write copy • Provide alternative actions: learn more, register, buy • Make pages skimmable, scannable • Cross-sell • Test different screen resolutions, browsers • Provide interaction options: phone, chat

30. Target: large company Source: MarketingSherpa 2005

31. Target: mid-size company Source: MarketingSherpa 2005

32. Target: small company Source: MarketingSherpa 2005

33. Sin #5E-mail Caught in Spam Filters & Firewalls • Spammers have created a huge problem for legitimate e-mail marketers • E-marketing’s enemy #1: Spammers • E-marketing’s enemy #2: IT • IT’s best friends • Firewall filters • Anti-spam software

34. e-Mail Marketing: Challenges • “If it walks and talks like spam, it must be spam” • Minimize graphics • Avoid attachments • Know thy spam • Don’t overdo the HTML • Consider text-only & track click-throughs

35. e-Mail Marketing:Best Practices • Only use highly targeted, opt-in lists • Nurture in-house lists with e-newsletter • Push to microsites for customized content • Be educational & compelling

37. e-Newsletters Performance Metrics • Average open rate: 30% • Average click rate: 3-6% • E-mail/direct mail combination can lift rates by 3-10% Source: MarketingSherpa 2005

38. Sin #6Forgetting Lead Generation Basics • Mail lists and message count for most of direct marketing success • Don’t let creative get in the way of the message • Determine campaign goal up-front: quantity vs quality

39. Low Company PR & events Banner ads, static web Medium-Low Brand & product ads in print E-mail to purchased lists Industry trade shows Quantity vs Quality: Likelihood of “Leads”

40. Quantity vs Quality: Likelihood of “Leads” • Medium-High • Product ads on search engines • New product PR • Highly targeted direct mail • High • E-mail to in-house permission list • Telemarketing

41. Test Your Offers • Low: No offer (PR, brand ads) • “For more info” • Medium-Low: Soft offer (related to USP) • Low risk/high perceived value • “Free flow calculator” • Medium-High: Lead development offer • Free white paper (info of value) • High: Hard/closing offer • Presentation, demo, audit

42. Sin #7Forgetting the Back End • Capture qualified inquiries • Nurture in-house database of contacts • Integrate online & offline promotions • Use technology to empower sales channel

43. Assortment of Reply Vehicles • Web site forms • Request more information • Sign-up for e-newsletter or RSS feed • Register for event • Download podcast • E-mail promotions • E-newsletter offers

44. Sell to No Lead Before Its Time • Stop annoying the sales team • Sort inquiries by buying stage • 10-20% just curious or unqualified • 30-40% early buying process • 20-30% actively engaged in evaluation and will buy soon • 10-20% close to buying decision and should be handed off to sales NOW

45. Drip Marketing • Lead conversion process must nurture inquiry and match needs with appropriate information • Direct marketing strategy that involves sending out a number of promotional pieces over a period of time to a subset of sales leads • Avoids sell-produce curve • Grow best prospects with one-to-one messaging

46. Drip Marketing Vehicles • Consistently send something every month to customers and prospects • Postcards • Newsletters, e-newsletters • Customized letters & brochures • Case histories

47. Integrating Online & Offline • Fundamentals remain the same • Segment the market based on product, service, channel • Customize the message to address specific segment needs • Measure and test…measure and test… • Use technology to empower sales • Coordinate in-depth attacks • “Push-button” sales tools

48. Source: MarketingSherpa 2005

49. Source: MarketingSherpa 2005

50. What Works in e-Marketing? Source: MarketingSherpa 2005