January 1998 Issue
Submit It! Traffic Tribune is a free newsletter for Webmasters,
online
marketers and Web site owners. STT is dedicated to covering the
latest
methods for building and sustaining Web site traffic, as well as
related
Web site marketing topics.
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Submit It! Announcement:
Got Your Link Partner Program Yet?
==================================
We're pleased to announce our new ClickTrade service. ClickTrade
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your site and build sustained Web site traffic.
You reward link partners on a pay-per-click basis for linking to
your site.
You set the amount you are willing to pay them, and Submit It!
handles all
the tracking, reporting, and payments.
The service is available immediately in an early release version.
For more
information about ClickTrade including a complete on-line tour
please
reference: http://www.clicktrade.com.
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In This Month's Issue:
Search Engines & Directories:
*Are Your Meta Tags Legitimate?
Advertising:
*Factors for Success in Web Site Publishing
*How Much Should A Visitor Cost?
News Bytes
*Staying Informed Through Discussion Lists
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ARE YOUR META TAGS LEGITIMATE?
By Bill Younker
The furious competition to show up in the top 10 results of a
search engine
query is leading some companies to challenge proper trademark use
by
inserting competitor trademarks in their meta tags. The content
of meta
tags are used by most search engines to index sites. So if you
use "YOUR
COMPETITOR'S PRODUCT NAME" in your meta tag, you may improve
the chances of
having your site listed higher than your competitor's in a search
result
when someone searches on "YOUR COMPETITOR'S PRODUCT
NAME". Which is what
you want, don't you?
Well, no. While you just might attain a higher listing on keyword
searches,
there are three compelling reasons for not resorting to this
questionable
tactic. First, your competitor may take legal action, even though
there
have been no court decisions on this issue to date. While it's
uncertain
whether using invisible trademark terms causes confusion or
constitutes
trademark infringement, you can be sure that the lawyer you need
to call
will cost you money.
Second, you run the risk of creating negative word-of-mouth among
customers
and business partners. The hope of generating some extra traffic
to your
site isn't worth the fall-out.
Third, it's relatively easy for your competitors to beat you at
your own
game. It's much easier for them to optimize on their trademark
because they
can also use it in visible places such as their HTML text. Since
most
search engines work on frequency of use, your competitor will win
out.
So what do you do to avoid being a perpetrator or victim of
illegitimate
trademark use? Try these four simple steps:
1. Instruct your Webmaster on your ground-rules, especially if
it's a third
party service provider.
2. Don't ask your Webmaster or marketing consultant for a
guaranteed top 10
placement. You just might get what you asked for.
3. Remember that there is more to the Web than the search
engines. Work on
getting links placed in non-search engine sites that attract your
target
audience. Georgia Tech's GVU 7th WWW User Survey results
demonstrate the
importance of links. Published this past April, it revealed that
while 86%
of people found out about Web pages from the search engines, just
as many
(85%) found out about them from links on other sites.
4. Check on your competitors. Periodically do a search on your
own
trademarks to see if the results favor them over you. If the
latter is the
case, go to their site and view the source code.
Bill Younker is co-founder and CEO of Submit It! (http://www.submit-it.com).
*************************************************************
FACTORS FOR SUCCESS IN WEB SITE PUBLISHING
By Andrew Bourland
Ultimately, there is only one question which people ask me: How
do you make
any money as a web site publisher?
I am here to tell you that you can in fact make a living -- in
fact a very
NICE living -- as a web site publisher. You just need to think
and act like
a business person. And truth be told, that is the most important
factor:
Think and act like a business person.
I'm a pretty good cook. Should I therefore open a restaurant or a
catering
business? It depends on how well honed my business skills are.
People launch sites every day thinking that just because they are
a great
cook or games player or parent or skateboarder that they will
therefore
make zillions by launching a cooking, games, parenting or
skateboarding
site. Your skill in any one of those areas is an asset, no doubt.
But you
primarily need to approach web site publishing like any other
business.
So how DO we look at web site publishing as a business? Isn't it
just a
matter of launching a site, driving traffic, throwing up some ads
and
waiting for the bucks to roll in? Perhaps in 1995, but this is
1998.
Your content must attract a definable, measurable, and most
importantly
DESIRABLE audience. You must not only attract that audience, you
must keep
them coming back for more again and again and again. You earn
brownie
points if you can capture their names. More with their email
addresses.
Even more with complete contact information. And a whole bunch
more if you
can capture their demographics and preference information.
The bottom line is that the product you sell is NOT your content.
I'll
repeat that: The product you sell is NOT your content. Your
content is what
you use to attract a desirable audience.
What you sell is your audience!
If your audience is comprised of runny nosed teenagers with no
money to
spend, people who are, could we say "demographically
challenged" or people
who for one reason or the other do not represent a group of
people who are
likely and quite capable of buying particular products or
services, nobody
cares how many page impressions you are getting. Why should they?
Have you noticed that the sites that attract well heeled business
professionals who have budgets to spend are doing pretty well
these days?
And if you ever bothered to look at their rate cards, you will
see they are
demanding top dollar for the quality of their audience. They are
no
dummies. They understand what I am telling you now: cultivate a
desirable
audience and keep them coming back for more.
Part two of the equation is that you should pay close attention
to who is
spending money advertising on the net. Not who you WISH were
spending lots
of money, but those who ARE spending lots of money advertising on
the net.
Unless you are a particularly gifted sales/marketing
professional, it's
pretty difficult to persuade those who don't have online
marketing budgets
to create one for you. Let the big guys develop that market. They
have the
sales guys in suits with nice expense accounts to do that ground
work for you.
You need to pay attention to what advertisers ARE spending money
on the net
and the kinds of sites they are advertising on. What keywords are
they
buying on the search engines. What kinds of sponsorships are they
buying.
Try to understand as well as you can what kind of AUDIENCE they
are looking
for.
Then going back, get to understand what YOU could offer that
audience that
isn't already being done, or is being offered rather poorly.
Create
compelling content to attract, maintain and build that audience.
Get to
know your audience intimately.
And when the time comes for you to talk to the rep firms, tell
them about
your audience, their preferences, the products they buy, the
money they
have to spend. Talk about the kinds of advertisers who would do
well with
your crowd, as well as those who wouldn't. A rep firm would LOVE
to do
business with someone like you who understands the business. They
get
dozens of calls daily from idiots who don't know the first thing
about
business.
So approach it like a business. Create content that attracts a
measurable,
definable, attractive audience. Understand what advertisers who
are NOW
spending money on the net would benefit from getting in front of
your
audience. Sign up a rep firm who knows them on a first name
basis.
You'll do well...
Andrew Bourland is the publisher of ClickZ Today, a daily
newsletter for
Internet marketers (http://www.clickz.com).
mailto:andy@clickz.com
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HOW MUCH SHOULD A VISITOR COST?
By Robert Risse
Everyday potential clients ask me how much they should spend on
Internet
marketing, and they typically want a quick answer. Their
expectations vary
widely, and most unfortunately, have been led to believe that
millions of
visitors can be secured for a rather nominal amount of money.
In order to set expectations and to help prospective clients in
budgeting
their Internet marketing activities, the marketing team at
MercurySeven,
Inc. established this index of Internet marketing
practices. The
associated per visitor audience development costs reflect
averages for
dozens of client marketing programs operated by MercurySeven over
the past
six months. Updates to this index along with a more
thorough review of
Internet marketing case studies can be found at ChannelSeven.com
(http://www.channelseven.com).
In evaluating the cost effectiveness of a
program, it's essential to evaluate the nature of the targeted
audience you
are seeking to develop. Some of the more expensive programs
may be better
suited to building highly specific audiences.
Per Visitor Audience Development Costs:
Search Engine Banner Advertising Against Targeted Keywords:
Average: $1.40
per visitor for media purchases. (Banner creatives may run
an additional
6-50 cents per visitor depending upon the overall size of the
campaign).
Targeting Level: Very High.
Web Site Banner Trade Advertising: Average: $2.00 per
visitor for media
purchases. (Banner creatives may run an additional 12-50
cents per visitor
depending upon the overall size of the campaign). Targeting
Level: With
proper media planning and ad creative, targeting can be very
high.
Web Site Banner Consumer Advertising: Average: $0.83 per
visitor for media
purchases. (Banner creatives may run an additional 6-25
cents per visitor
depending upon the overall size of the campaign). Targeting
Level: With
proper media planning and ad creative, targeting can be very
high.
LinkExchange Consumer Advertising: Average: $0.80 per
visitor for media
purchases. (Banner creatives may run an additional 6-25
cents per visitor
depending upon the overall size of the campaign). Targeting
Level:
LinkExchange provides for a very high degree of editorial
targeting.
ValueClick Network Advertising: 20 cents per visitor for
media purchases.
(Banner creatives may run an additional 3-12 cents per visitor
depending
upon the overall size of the campaign). Targeting Level:
moderate to low;
Ideal for sites of general interest to young male adults..
Opt-In Targeted eMail: 55 cents per visitor using purchased
"opt-in email
services" (eMail copy may cost an additional few cents
per visitor.)
Search Engine Positioning & Submissions: Average 35 cents per
visitor.
Targeting Level: Very High.
ClickTrade Linking Programs: Average: 7 to 15
cents per visitor. Button
and link creatives may run an additional 3-10 cents per visitor
depending
upon the overall size of the campaign). Targeting Level:
Low to high
depending on specific linking practices.
Internet-based Sweepstakes: Average 40 cents per visitor.
Targeting Level:
Moderate to high based upon sweepstakes prizes used.
Whereas, a year ago it was anyone's guess as to how many visitors
we could
generate for a client's web site for a given budgeted amount, we
can now
predict quite accurately the results of any client marketing
program in
advance based upon considerable client marketing
experience. Our
projections, as well as the actual results will depend largely
upon the
specific audience you are targeting.
Robert Risse is President and Co-founder of MercurySeven, Inc.,
and the
Publisher of ChannelSeven.com (http://www.channelseven.com),
the
Information Network for Internet Advertising and Marketing.
Mr. Risse will
be speaking on January 14 at Ad:tech West in Los Angeles, on
February 2 at
Web Advertising '98 in NYC and on February 26 at the European
Cyber-Marketing Forum in Brussels. mailto:risse@mercuryseven.com
************************************************************
STAYING INFORMED THROUGH DISCUSSION LISTS
STT editor
E-mail discussion lists are online community discussions on a
specific
topic. They are an important means of staying informed
according to Adam
Boettiger of Eyescream. His three articles contain
suggestions on which
lists to join, proper netiquette for contributing and ways to
find
customers through this forum. He notes that participating in
discussions
not only creates awareness of your business but establishes you
as an
expert in your field as well.
For the full articles, see:
http://www.clickz.com/archives/index.html
(December 22, 23, 26)
*************************************************************
Send comments to the editor at:
stt@submit-it.com
For previous issues of STT: http://www.submit-it.com/sttarchive.htm
*************************************************************
The best services for driving traffic to your Web site.
Submit It!: Announce your web site to search engines and
directories.
http://www.submit-it.com
ClickTrade: Reward web site owners for linking to
your site.
http://www.clicktrade.com
PositionAgent: Monitor your web site rankings.
http://www.positionagent.com
ListBot: A mailing list for every web site.
http://www.listbot.com
DirectoryGuide: Catalog of search engines and
directories.
http://www.directoryguide.com