Merry Christmas from Optymise

Hi all

Welcome to our December Blog. Its Christmas time and it's been a fantastic year all round.

Happy Christmas from all of us!!!

The office will be closed from the 21st December to the 14th January, so if you have any urgent enquiries contact the team before the 21st and we're happy to help!

This month I'm writing about planning your internet marketing strategy for 2008. Now is a good time to get thinking about what your sites going to be doing for you in the New Year!

Good luck in your web marketing in the time ahead, I hope that it is not only a profitable, but happy time for you.

"Peace and goodwill to all"

Enough from me... gentlemen and gentlewomen, start your engines...

Happy reading,
Robyn


5 Keys to Planning Your 2008 Internet Marketing Strategy

As 2007 comes to an end and 2008 is just around the corner, now is the time to review just how far you and your business has come.

Did you improve your website, adjust content, include conversion; are you getting more out of this 24 workhorse than you did a year ago?

If the answer is no, you need to start looking at making changes.
And if the answer is yes, then you are most likely already planning changes for 2008.

So Where Do You Start to Plan Your 2008 Internet Marketing Strategy?

1. Review your web site
Does it meet your visitor's expectations? It is dated? Does the content motivate and sell while being search engine friendly? Does your site build a relationship with your customers or just provide information?

Many companies are not sure how there website stacks up, so consider hiring a company that can thoroughly does website evaluations. The benefit of this approach is that you get an outside, unbiased view of your site.

Answer these questions honestly and then start setting the plan, revised and new content, better conversion paths, new graphics, etc. Here is a tip - always start with the content first.

2. Review traffic sources
Where are visitors coming from Search engines, social networks, pay per click, banner advertising, banner advertising, other web sites, news sites, etc. and what is the value of these sources.

Depending on your business, loyalty of users, target audience and how you advertise you traffic will vary but...

Search Engine traffic can be some of the highest converting Social Networking in business to business can be some of your best qualified leads
Pay Per Click Services can drive volume and allow for geo-targeting
Direct Traffic - Success of Branding and off line marketing

Then you need to identify where you can get more traffic from and what you are will to invest to get that traffic, leads and sales.

3. Social Networking Strategies
How active is your company in social networking? MySpace, LinkedIn, FaceBook are the most talked about but there are many layers of social networking sites and various way to utilize them for business.

Do you have a corporate strategy for your business and each employee? Do you need one? We recommend that you set guidelines for your business pages, but know that social networking means that we are all connected. That includes past and present employees.

4. Blogging
Are you doing it and should your business be blogging? Well, blogging can be a powerful tool but companies really need to identify how they would like to use it. Some options include:

Share Business Information - Build Reputation
Commentary and Opinion
Custer Service - Product Updates, Upgrades, Solutions
Informational - News, Events, Company Information

While there are more options and these topics may overlap, the style and presentation of each could vary.

Note some of the best blogs deal with tough customer service issues online. Readers of these blogs quickly learn whether companies address issues or ignore them. Those businesses that quickly move to solve problems often win loyal followers.

5. Review, Improve, Repeat
Continue to improve and test new things on your website. Always keep testing new ideas, revise old ones and accept that some will fail. The knowledge you get from a test that does not succeed can sometimes be more valuable then those that succeed.

Looking back at some key clients who are now having record breaking success, the one common factor is that small improvement were made all year long. New copy, improved search functionality, revising the header, revising and improving ppc ads, keywords and bids and improving the navigation structure all have helped websites increase quality traffic numbers.

There is more but... My approach is build a solid foundation and build from there - a successful Internet Marketing Strategy starts with the basics and layers on more and more success, while continuously working to improve performance.

If you are looking for a company to consult, advise or review your 2008 Internet Marketing Strategy give Optymise a call (03) 377 0803.

We work with companies with all sorts of targets and have one objective - to make them more successful - and I know we can do it for you too.

Source: Search Day

Internet Ad Spend Set to Overtake Radio In ‘08, Magazines by 2010: Report

Despite growing pressures on global advertising dollars in general, ZenithOptimedia's optimistic outlook for online ad spending is undiminished, projecting that the category will surpass radio ad dollars in 2008 and the amount spent on magazines by 2010.

Some of Zenith's findings include:

Internet ad spend: Global online ad spending will rise 24 percent to $44.6 billion from $36 billion. On line's share of the world's ad market will increase to 9.4 percent from 8.1 percent.

Zenith expects online advertising to achieve three milestones within the next three years: it will overtake radio ad spend in 2008; comprise a double-digit share of global advertising in 2009; and surpass magazines in ad dollars by 2010, with 11.5 percent of total ad spend.

Overall: Zenith is predicting that advertisers will spend globally, $486 billion on ad expenditures in 2008, a 6.7 percent rise.

One things for sure: the switch to online marketing shows no signs of slowing down!

Source: Paid Content