Customers Are Looking For You 'Online'

Every local business needs a website; that is if you want to attract customers. Every lawyer, doctor, dentist, construction company, car dealership, restaurant, supply company, service provider etc. should have a website.

You do not need to actually do business on the internet to have a website. If your business is listed in the Yellow Pages then you will also want to be available to your customers on the internet – after all, they are expecting to find your there.

A simple website is very effective and more affordable than you may think.

How a Website Will Benefit Your Business

Even a simple website will help connect your advertising offline and online to your customers and to your front door. Would you not agree that it is easier to get prospective clients to visit your website than it is to stop what they are doing and come to your store front? The majority of the population is simply too busy to come to your store and commit to several minutes if not hours working with you to decide what best fits their needs.

Your website can act as a detailed business listing with contact & location information, be a relationship builder, a sales person or even a cashier depending on how your business is setup.

• Detailed Business Listing

This may not seem important but realize that customers look for your contact information and location exactly when they are ready for what you have to offer. In today’s world that isn’t from a phonebook! Rather it is from their computer, and more times than not, directly from there mobile phone.

• Build Relationships

People will do research looking for a reputable company to spend their money with. Allow you website to educate possible clients about your business’s strong suits and inform then why they can buy from you with confidence.

• Improve Sales

Giving detailed information to clients about your products and services from your website allows them to shop with you no matter where they are and no matter what time of the day it is. How much more effective would your advertising be if customers could visit your store front 24 hours a day 7 days a week verses only during your operating hours. How many more sales would your team close when interacting with customers who have already informed themselves about your company, researched the products or services you offer and are initially ready to do business. Customers strongly prefer to know what they’re coming to buy before they walk in your door.

• Make Money While You Sleep

If your business sells products, an e-commerce website offers huge advantages. Sale your products any time of day from anywhere in the world, while you sleep. Though an extensive website increases initial investment, imagine the possibilities.

How Much Will it Cost

With the vast number of website designers available today a website is probably one of the least expensive ways available to market and promote your business.

A basic informational website will provide a way for customers to contact you, learn about your company history and values, and research your products /services. Starter website like this will range from $500 – $1000. Larger websites for businesses with a broader range of commodities could range from $1000 – $20,000. E-commerce will add more depending on the mass of products you sell. The best an only way to find out for sure is to decide what all you want to promote and talk to a designer or consultant. Most websites are custom priced per individual need.

A Business Website Is a No Brainer

• Builds customer relations & describe products /services 24/7
• Allows customers to find & contact you effortlessly
• Helps improve your sales process by connecting your advertising
• Brings qualified buyers through the door
• Affordable & Effective

Contact us for more information and to learn how a website may help your business. See a list of all the Turnkey Business Solutions offered by Carbon Copy Consulting offers for your business needs. We are always happy to help you make the right choice in growing your business.

Don’t think for a moment that your customers aren’t already online.

In today’s rate race of life, online exposure is your highest priced real estate! The number of people who search out businesses on the internet is growing at a staggering rate everyday. People want to locate you, contact you and Buy from you. Are potential customers finding your business Online?

Quick & Free:

The quickest way to the top of search engines for branding your business and providing customers with contact information is a Face Book page. Simple to create, easy to update, and allows customers to react with you and your business on a personal level. Using the leverage of the largest web sites in the world you can have first page rankings in no time!

What to do in a Nutshell:

• Create a Face Book account
• Create a Page specifically for your business
• Fill in all profile information in detail
• Use a clean picture or company logo
• List your website, email and phone
• Use keywords relating to your business (business name)
• Publish page & update at least 3 times a week
• Rank in the search engines

It is that easy and can be an extremely effective form of online advertising and company branding.

Already Have a FB Page?

Optimize it to rank better in search results. Use keywords, images and text relevant to your business and brand. Update status, post, links, photos, etc. a minimum of 3 times a week.

If you have a blog, post your articles to your FB page to add additional rankings.

Many people are using Social media website like Face Book, Twitter and Linked in to harness the power of free rankings. Use it to promote your business on the search engines and produce more traffic by simply showing up when people are interested in your business services.

Does it Work?

I use it and have a 3^rd and 4^th place ranking from FB as of today 6-30-10, when some one searches for my company name directly.  Type “Carbon Copy Consulting” into your search bar and take a peek!

Every do much rabbit hunting? No worries, this is not and long winded story about one of my adventures and no one gets shot.

People hop around the internet bouncing off websites all day long. Ever wonder how you get them to stop hopping once they land on your page? An opt-in form is one way. Here is how it works…

So, you have traffic coming to your site through pay per click, social media, or article directories and so on. Now what do you do with these visitors and more importantly how do you make money from them.

One Way is Through an Email Opt-In Form.

This type of marketing is tricky and takes some hard work on your part; however it provides you will a means to keep people in front of your information, products or services. In essence, it builds a client base that you can communicate to!

Why…?

When a person visits your website they are looking for information on how to solve a problem in there life. And, they are looking for someone that is ‘going’ to help them solve that problem.

Some visitors will like what you have to offer but may not be ready to buy your product or service. People that are not ready to buy simply wont contact you. At most they are going to loose your site in the thousands of bookmarks they never use. If you get them to “opt-in” to your email list then you have permission to contact them by email.

The more customers you keep in your sales funnel, the more people you are marketing to with latest sales specials, once in a lifetime opportunities, or recommended affiliates?

“It is how you stay in front of your customers and build a relationship with them over the internet”

How does it work…?

An opt-in list allows you to provide newsletters, free tips, helpful information or even a free product to your subscribers with their consent. When people sign up, they know that they will be receiving updates and news from your site and the industry your represent via an e-mail.

Not all opt-ins will read your emails, some will just want the free goods, and then they send you to the trash or simply delete the account.

However, your true customers, the ones who are serious about what you have to offer will be tickled to receive your email updates. Get them to read your emails with catchy headlines, then give them short, concise sales copy and interest them enough to visit your website again and purchase from you.

Have a lot of people to market to every week and your percentages of making sales goes through the roof.

How to make it happen?

• Have an offer

An offer is something useful and valuable to your customer that they are willing to trade there name and email address for. Monthly newsletter, free sales tips, latest techniques or free e-book.

If you do not create valuable content to distribute you can simply make a product or purchase a product to give away if the person opts-in to your email list.

• Sign For For an Autoresponder Service

Your next step is to sign up for an autoresponder service to manage your email marketing. Good email marketing service providers will teach you what email marketing is, how it works and give you step by step tutorials to get you up and started quickly.

Hands down Aweber Communications is by far the easiest to use, with the most training and they offer awesome pre-designed opt-in forms. Cost you Less than 20 bucks a month.

Once you have signed up, simply follow the steps provided to set up your preferences. Once you have this finished it is time to design your opt-in form with layout, title, content, and disclaimer information. Copy the html code and embed it on your website.

You now have a great offer and are gathering customers to market your products and services to when ever you want.

So here it is again:

• Offer Valuable content in return for customers name and email
• Stay in front of  customers using e-mail giving them reasons to return to your site
• Update everyone on your list with this month’s sales special or latest product launch all from one place, Automatically!
• Set up your autoresponder emails and market to your customers everyday and never lift a finger.

That’s simply enough, right? Ask questions below in the comments box or share this with a friend. Until next time!

Brian McDaniel | Carbon Copy Consulting

“Trusted Resource for Free Online Marketing Education”

P.S. Aweber Communications will explain things more in depth for those of you who are ready to monetize more website traffic. Visit their site now and learn more on how email marketing can work for your business.

P.P.S. Want to learn more? Never miss any of the tips, training or strategies we share with you about marketing your business on the internet. Put your first name and primary email in the boxes below and click submit. It’s that easy.

It’s been crazy here at Carbon Copy Consulting for the past few weeks. One of my highest priorities as been helping people create better landing pages for there online marketing and PPC campaigns. Below are 3 suggestions for creating an optimized landing page on your website.

So you have a website, you are sending traffic (customers) to that site but you are not seeing any response. Chances are, your landing page is the problem. Change your landing page (page a person “lands” on when they come to your site) and increase your response rate overnight.

It took me a long time to figure this out but once I did my business took off. Perry Marshall (great Google Adwords guru) once said, “People do not want to buy a drill; they want to make a hole.” It is all about giving the customer a solution to there problem.

Here are 3 suggestions for designing a landing page that will convert visitors into sales.

• Give customers what they searched for:

This is by far the biggest mistake I see business make on their website. When a customer decides to visit your website for more information, you need to provide them with the “right” information.

What do I mean by this? Let’s say for instance you sell backpacking equipment. When someone lands on your website they are expecting to find information about backpacking equipment. You should have a list of backpacks you sell and possible a selection of navigational buttons linking them to the specific item(s) they are looking to buy.

Most businesses send all traffic to their home page with an explanation of who they are, what they sell or a brief history of there company. Searchers simply Do Not Care about you or your business. What they care about is finding a solution to their problem or desire.

If you think about it, you are the exact same way. When you visit a website looking for information about a specific item or desire and you do not find it immediately; you hit the back button and continue to the next competitor hoping someone will provide you with a solution.

• Eliminate Distractions

Keep your landing page short, sweet and to the point. This is not the place to bombard customers with additional information or links. Do not overload it with tons of pictures, long videos or extensive explanations.

Tell customers that you have precisely what they are looking for, give a brief description of product or service offered, why it is the right solution for them and then give them a call to action. If you dump visitors into a barrage of information forcing them to hunt for information they will poke around briefly then leave.

You obviously want people to know who you are, what you do and why your business is the best choice for them. However this should not be the main focus. Once you have shown a visitor that you can solve their problem, they will search around your site to see exactly who they are dealing with.

• Have a Call to Action

Once your customer has been given the valuable information they were seeking you then present them a way to learn more, make a purchase or speak to a sales representative. This could be a phone number to call for more information, an opt-in form for email follow up, or a simply click to purchase button. Either way you need to convert the customer into a sale by giving them an opportunity to take action.

Here is an example of how it should flow:

• Opening Statement: Backpacking Equipment For All Applications
• Products Provided: Columbia, JanSport and Northface Equipment Available
• Why you: We Have the Largest Selection in Nashville
• Call to Action: Order now / Contact us / Request more information

Hopefully this helps you understand how and why an optimized landing page is imperative to your website’s success. Keep in mind that you may have one main landing page with links to other landing pages explaining individual products or services.

Brian McDaniel | Carbon Copy Consulting

“Trusted Resource for Free Online Marketing Education”

Here is an example of a Landing Page Design working well for one Nashville business.

Are you ready to take action and start converting more website visitors into sales? If so,  Click Here for more information about having a professionally designed landing page built for your website.

Today I bring you a very good reason to start paying for website traffic. If you have a company website, a social media business page or any other information about you or your business online that you want people to find, then you will want to have a look at this.

You will hear a gazillion stories about businesses making it big on the internet. However, the troubling thing is that there are many more examples of people and businesses that failed miserably when using the internet. Many will launch a business website in hopes of increasing business but only a handful will ever succeed.

What is the reason? Well, it takes good business sense, targeted education and outside help to succeed with online marketing. Most importantly, it is the eagerness to succeed, the determination to learn and the willingness to invest your time and money. Let me explain…

The Basics

Traffic! Plainly put, you must have visitors coming to your website. Without traffic, all your efforts and investments will go to waste. Every business needs customers to sell products to. In the internet world traffic is the walk-in customer. The more traffic you receive, the more people see what you have to offer and the more people buy your goods and services.

But like any typical storefront business, not everyone that comes in will buy, but the greater the number of customers that come in to browse your merchandise, the greater number of people that will buy your products. It is known that the more people you talk to the more people you sell.

So, how do you get traffic, traffic large enough that could make a small percentage of eventual buyers enough to make a good profit? Many big companies generate traffic of tens of thousands a day and a measly ten to fifteen percent actually buys, but that small percentage is enough to provide them with good business.

Many of these success stories get their traffic from paying others. Yes, that’s right, you have to spend money to make money. Advertising is the key. The more people you put your site in front of; the more people whom know about your site, the more people would of course go to your site: that’s common sense.

While there are many ways you can get online advertising for free, this does not generate the kind of targeted traffic it will take to make online advertising work. These paid advertisements include schemes by Google and Yahoo.

The Value of Search Engine

Search engines are the easiest and fastest medium for finding what a person needs or wants on the internet. Search engines are very popular because they provide a vital service to many people. They are free and easy to use. Because of their popularity, they get many visits per day. It is easy to understand why so many small businesses would pay to advertise with these search engines.

Search engines provide information to the millions of users who visit them each day. They provide links to many sites that a user may be looking for. If your pay per click, banner or other sponsored ad pops up in the higher ranks of the search engine results, your business has a great chance of targeted customers visiting your website. Search engine optimization is a great long term way to advertise for free; however it takes time and money to make his happen.  Paid online advertising brings your business instant traffic, higher rankings, and can also be built upon in order to spread your reach and grow you business.

When you pay for your advertisements, it is like paying for your traffic. This may sound like a bad idea, but the payoffs would tell a different story. When you pay for your traffic, you are guaranteed a consistent traffic flow to your site. Paid search marketing is not for the weak of heart and is a long term strategy, but pays for itself much quicker than search engine optimization.

Cost of This Traffic

Now, here is the great thing. You control the monthly cost of your advertising by setting a budget. Usually, you will be charged according to the number of hits a link gets when your ads is clicked, this is called pay per click. For some search engines, you will be charged for the number of times your ad shows up when a certain keyword or keyword phrase is searched. It is imperative that you have good keyword content in your ad. There are many tools that aid you in using the right keyword for the right moment. We will talk about keyword optimization and research another day.

In conclusion, you have a plethora of different options for building your business online however if you are not driving traffic to your website then your chances of succeeding are slim to none. Paid search engine marketing is a great way to grow your business fast and begin making progress towards your long term goals.

Start driving traffic to your website by taking advantage of the most popular sites in the world; Search Engines like Google and Bing can bring you targeted customer traffic and sales literally overnight.

SEO goes hand in hand with paid search marketing for best results. The good news is, by advertising first, you will begin to understand your businesses “True Customer” better and can use that data to search engine optimize your site more effectively and in return save a lot of wasted time and money

Learn more about Pay Per Click Advertising by clicking here now.

Want to know more, submit a comment below. I look forward to assisting you by answering your questions.

Brian McDaniel | Carbon Copy Consulting

“Trusted Resource for Free Online Marketing Education”

By the way, help your business friends and associates by sharing this information with them. You can use the Re-Tweet button at the top of he page or pick from any of the sites listed below.  Appreciate Ya!

Ever wonder how to bring local visitors to your small business website with out spending a lot of money on advertising. One of the easiest ways to drive traffic to your local business is to ensure that your website is indexed in the search engines. By implementing these three strategies you will provide your local business website with an online presence, visibility and often times first page rankings. Make sure to do it right the first time and you will see increased traffic to your website.

No matter if your website is brand spanking new or you have been promoting your business online for some time now, this is by far one of the most beneficial free marketing and advertising avenues to drive internet traffic to your site.

Optimize For Best Results

It is very important to start by optimizing your website with relevant keywords including, but not limited to, your location and the areas your service. You may have offices in Cookeville, Nashville and Knoxville so make sure all locations are indexed and listed on your site. No matter what part of the country you maintain clients in you will want to make sure that search engines can detect what region you are targeting. For instance: Let’s say for example sake you own a service station in Cookeville, TN. Obviously you want customers from the Cookeville area to find your business. Chances are people with car troubles in Memphis are not going to use your services and finding your website will not benefit them.

You will also want to use keywords that closely target your exact services and products. When looking for a service station in Nashville, online searches will generally include the terms “Mechanic” or “Car Repair.” Having these keywords on your website will tell the search engines what types of customers to display your website to.

Google Is King

Next, you will want to list your URL with Google. What about the rest of the search engines you may ask? Well, I will get to that in a bit but for now I want you to focus on the biggest dominating search engine in the world. Google is king and will drive more traffic to your website than all the other search engines combined.

This will be the easiest thing you do all day. Simply click here and add your URL to Google. Once on the page you only need to type in your website address and click the button that says “Add URL.”  After you receive your conformation email follow the instructions given to verify that you are the owner of this website.

Now, we are not quite done with Google yet. Your next step is to visit the Google Local Business Center. Here you will add “New Business Address.” Simply follow the instructions and in a week or so you should have a business listing under searches for businesses in your category of choice. Be patient, this does not happen over night due to the verification process but it is well worth ten minutes  of your time.

Submit Your URL to Other Search Engines

You will also want to take the time to submit your website to other available search engines and website directories. For the most part this is a free service provided by a handful of reputable companies. Here are a few recommendations but you can find more by simply doing a search for “Submit or List My Website.”

http://freewebsubmission.com/

http:/submitinme.com/

http:/directorym.com/

Get your website listed today and start driving targeted local customers to your business.

P.S. Hey, did you notice that spiffy blue Facebook Share button up top? If you like this post and would like to help your friends then click that little blue widget at the top of this post. It’s definitely appreciated. Thank you.

Can you produce free website promotion? Is that even feasible? Of course! Nowadays, your baby website can amass huge amounts of traffic in no time flat thanks to free website promotion. How does this free website promotion work for you and your business? What are things to be done?

Here are 7 forms of  free website promotion that will bring results.

Keep in mind that there are many more free promotional avenues available to your business website. Simply do a Google search for key terms in this post…such as “Free Website Promotion” or “Free Online Advertising.” You get the picture.

1. Enlist your website.

Look for the hottest Internet directories and enlist your site there. This is the easiest and most effective free website promotion tactic.

Important Tip; you need to prep your website and make it relevant to your targeted audience, easy to navigate and see that it has good eye appeal for a higher chance of getting accepted in your directory of choice. This will bring your business website more visitors, keep them on the site longer and help in the long term promotion of your website.

2. Know your Social Media sites and forums.

One reason social media sites forums were created is to get free website promotion for everyone.

• Set up a profile on forums about your business and participate by answering questions potential customers are asking. When you help them they will trust you and check out your site. Log in, post actively, let them know about your site in every post and you attract instant visitors right there.
• Social Media sites are the Hottest Trend. I strongly recommend, if you haven’t already, setting up a profile on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Interact with your friends, family and Their Friends. Be social here and build relationships.

3. Write a press release.

Release your writing skills and write a press release that advertises your site! This is a free website promotion tactic that you can do anytime. Type a brief paragraph or two and email it to your friends, colleagues, internet e-zines, newspapers and other media and massive traffic will come to you pronto!

4. Be friendly and courteous online.

Free website promotion means you need to be friendly to other webmasters. Why, you ask? So they can link you immediately! Establish contacts and never tire of link requests and exchanges.

5. Write an article.

Say, your website is about your travel agency. Write an article about the perks of traveling or the hottest travel spots in the world. On the concluding paragraph, mention your website in passing. Search for Free Article Directories. Post your article on several different directories, to your blog, and to your social media site. Not only does this bring free traffic, it gives your site back links which helps in the long term promotion of your website.

6. Let the whole world know about your site.

What is free website promotion without word of mouth referrals? Insert your website, its URL and features in daily conversations and let the good news spread from one mouth to another. This takes us back to social media. Conversation online spreads faster than the gossip at your local beauty shop!

7. Take up a free website promotion course online.

Yes, there are free website promotion tutorials. But did you know that you can actually take a free website promotion course that can help you out further? Free website promotion training can be found by signing up for newsletters, blogs, and RSS feeds. When you find a blog that gives you beneficial information on free website promotion, opt-in to their mailing list and when something new is posted you will be informed immediately. This free information and training will teach how to promote your website and keep you up-to-date on the latest and greatest trends.

Spread the word and help others who may be interested in promoting their website. You can share this with your friends by clicking on the Re-Tweet icon at the top right of this post. There is a list of other share sites listed at bottom of post. Much appreciated…

Stay up-to-date with the latest marketing and advertising tips for your small business. Enter your name and primary email in the boxes below and hit submit. It’s that easy.

It is no surprise that many of you are disappointed in the results of your website. The time, energy and money you’ve poured into this project have failed to provide the results you had hoped for. Could be you had it working and all of a sudden the traffic stopped and you are unable to find the cause.

When I first set out to make a website on my own was back in 2004. After failing miserably, I decided to have a professional create a website for me. It took some time and quite a bit of money but it looked awesome. I was set up now looking forward to endless numbers of fresh clients coming in from the internet. Wrong!

Having a website doesn’t mean “squat” unless people are visiting it, finding relevant content to what they searched for and at some point buying your goods and services!

Here are three things you must do to make a website investment pan out for you and your business.

1. Drive Traffic

People must view your site and the only way for them to know about it is to promote it. Much the same as traditional off line advertising and marketing works for bringing potential customers to your store front location, online marketing does the same for your website.

1. Have Relevant Content

When a client visits your website make sure when they get there they find what they are looking for. Example; Lets say you own a hardware store and someone searches online for sixteen foot 2 x 4’s. If you have marketed your website properly they will find your site. When they click to view your site they need to be taken to the page where you sell 2 x 4’s. If they land on your home page explaining your business chances are they will leave.

1. Make It Easy

Make it easy for your customer to go ahead and purchase your products right there on the site. If you are in the service industry make sure your contact information in readily available so you can be contacted to answer questions, give support, make the sale and a more importantly earn that new customer.

Learn more on how to drive traffic, be relevant to your customers needs and make your website easy to navigate buy opting in to our email list. All new training, tips and techniques will be sent straight to your inbox.