New Online Marketing Blog

Securenet Systems now has an online marketing blog. This new blog will be updated with tips and techniques for a website owner on how to properly optimize a website to increase website traffic and conversion rates.

Small Business and Search Marketing

If you are a small business, whether in a local or national market, you need to consider getting involved in search engine marketing. You may have not thought about it because you think it requires a big budget. Now you can compete with the “Big Boys.” Internet marketing is not just for major companies but it is now more than ever for every business!

SearchEngineLand states that Fortune 500 companies are "woefully unrepresented in natural search." Just 8% of those companies got high grades for their search rankings.

If the big companies aren't taking advantage of search marketing then who is? Well it is small to medium size companies. Pay Per Click or Paid Search is mostly the realm of companies that have the marketing dollars to run high budget campaigns. But the natural or organic belongs to those who are most relevant. If your business has the right search engine optimization factors then you can get high rankings. That makes for quite an even playing field.

It happens quite often that major companies get lower rankings than their own distributors, partners, competitors, and affiliates for their prominent keywords. Too bad for the company as they should be aware of their position in the rankings to maintain proper branding. A major company will pay a lot of money for brand recognition and it’s a shame when lesser companies get the more favorable listings. This shows that the major is not paying attention to details and placing little emphasis on using high rankings on search engines as a branding factor.

It seems large companies find focusing on search not being an important part of their marketing efforts. For organic search success, all the proper elements of optimization must be in place. If you fail to properly implement any one piece, your organic search results could be affected adversely. Usually large companies have so many people involved in marketing that they don’t have anyone soley responsible for search. In reverse, when a small company implements search marketing, they can get one staff person or an outside consultant to totally focus on what is necessary to do and work toward getting favorable results. Just as a side note: the more resources involved in doing the job it makes it that much harder to get good results, which is a great advantage for small business.

Big companies in general will always have some kind of edge in most things because of their budget. But budget has less of an edge in natural search as it does in more traditional marketing. If you’re a small business and haven’t started or thought about search marketing then it's time to realize that any small business can take advantage of a great marketing opportunity that can put you ahead of bigger companies and your competitors. Get started now with either local, regional, or national search marketing.

Contact me anytime for a online marketing consultation about search engine marketing and search engine optimization for small, medium, and large companies. I can help you structure and implement a program that will fit your budget and get you great search results. Contact me at gdubec@securenetsystems.net.

Rankings are great but are you getting traffic and business?

If you have worked on getting high search engine placement, you have come to the realization that they don’t necessarily last. Rankings can shift and change dramatically. Rankings are not cast in stone! In fact they fluctuate considerably. Sometimes you can have a favorable position for years, other times it’s a battle just to stay on the first page. That's the nature of search engine algorithms. You or anybody else has no control over them.

Rankings are important for getting exposure on the search engines, but there is another factor that is even more important than being number 2 or number 7 for your keyword listing.

Top positions without getting traffic is worthless. And getting traffic without conversions to leads or sales has little value. In fact, while rankings can be a an important factor in growing the number of visitors to your site, traffic itself does not rely on rankings alone. You can be in the number 1 spot and still get less traffic than your competitor in the number 8 spot. Also you can often get more targeted traffic (which gives you higher conversion rates) and not be in that top spot.

The question is how do you get the full advantage of your rankings, regardless of position, and turn that into the kind of traffic which will produce strong conversions?

If you want to find out how to increase website traffic and increase your conversion rates, no matter where your rankings are, then contact George Dubec (http://www.georgedubec.com/), Internet Marketing Specialist, at gdubec@securenetsystems.net.

E-commerce Points to Consider (to get your business ready for online holiday shoppers)

* It’s very inexpensive to send e-mail offers to your customers. Plan and craft campaigns that target featured products and sales to generate orders

* Make sure the products or services you're offering online are recognizable to the prospect, has a USP (unique selling proposition) and make it easy to order

* "The prospect doesn't give a damn about you, your company or your product," says marketing guru Bob Hacker. "All that matters is: 'What's in it for me?'"

* In e-commerce, you want the response to be instantaneous so always offer incentives to buy and special offers

* When you make an online offer, don't send the prospect to your website homepage, but rather to a special page (landing page) that directly relates to the offer.

* "Two basic tenets of selling are that (1) people buy from other people more happily than from faceless corporations, and that (2) in the marketplace as in theater, there is indeed a factor at work called 'the willing suspension of disbelief.' Who stands behind our pancakes? Aunt Jemima. Our angel food cake? Betty Crocker. Our coffee? Juan Valdez. Anyone over the age of 3 knows that it's all myth. But like Santa Claus and the tooth fairy, the myths are comforting."--Bill Jayme

* Find a spokesperson for your product or service or use a Site Greeter (check out standoutsalesman.com or http://www.ispeakvideo.com/). Also I recommend using testimonials (video testimonials especially are great)

* It is a good idea to check your competition as to what they are doing online for holiday shoppers and do a competitive analysis* "Always make it easy to order."--Elsworth Howell

Good luck on your online holiday sales and if you need help developing holiday campaigns contact online marketing expert, George Dubec at gdubec@securenetsystems.net or request a FREE 10 minute consultation with George at http://www.georgedubec.com/.

Latest Blog Statistics

Everyone should consider starting a company blog. A blog is one of the easiest and quickest ways to become part of web 2.0 and can be part of any industry, product or topic. Originally “blog” or web log was a space or location on the web where regular internet users could publish their thoughts and ideas, record their day-to-day lives, give advice and opinions plus share their expertise to a virtual audience. Now, the blogosphere is a global phenomenon with 94.1 million US blog readers in 2007 (50% of Internet users) and 22.6 million US bloggers in 2007 (12%) according to research by comScore MediaMetrix. Blogs are no longer just online diaries. A ready and willing audience is available to bloggers and is one important reason why blogging should be considered to be part of any businesses’ online marketing strategy.

If you would like to find out how to start your own blog or integrate it into your online marketing program contact Internet Marketing Specialist, George Dubec, at gdubec@securenetsytems.net and visit his website at http://www.georgedubec.com/.

Happy Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I will be in Indianapolis this Thanksgiving visiting my family. If you need any professional marketing help, feel free to contact the online marketing experts at Securenet Systems while I am gone. I shall be returning Monday, December 1.

Turbo-charge Your LinkedIn Profile

If you have a profile on LinkedIn, like every smart Publicity Hound should, you can really impress visitors by taking advantage of several new applications.

I haven't had time to experiment with them all, but I wanted to let you know about six that are particularly powerful for anyone who wants to promote their expertise or anything else on
LinkedIn:

--With just a few clicks, you can synch your Wordpress blog to your profile, great for pulling in traffic to your blog and letting visitors know which issues you think are important. Blog Link, a separate application, lets you synch blogs that are created on Typepad and other platforms.

--SlideShare lets you upload and display your own presentations, check out presentations from your colleagues, and find experts within your network. What a great way for consultants to share their expertise!

--With a similar application called Google Presentation, you can upload your PowerPoint presentation. Or use Google's online application to embed a presentation on your profile.

--My Travel allows you to see where your LinkedIn network is traveling and when you will be in the same city as your colleagues. Share your upcoming trips, current location and travel stats with your network. This is a super way for speakers to pick up one or two more speaking engagements, or perhaps even a consulting assignment, in a city where they're already booked.

--The Reading List from Amazon lets you share the books you're reading with other LinkedIn members--a handy way to find out what you should be reading by following updates from your connections or people in your field.

Try a few of the apps that appeal to you, then start incorporating them into your publicity campaign. Scott Allen, an expert on LinkedIn, explained step-by-step directions on how to use this site to promote any product, service, cause or issue. He was my guest during two teleseminars in June called "How to Use LinkedIn to Promote Anything--Ethically & Powerfully." The classes sold out quickly, but they're available as handy electronic transcripts and your choice of MP3 files or CDs.

From The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week
Publisher: Joan Stewart
mailto:JStewart@PublicityHound.com
http://www.publicityhound.com/
http://www.publicityhound.net/ (Blog)

If you would like to get “Linkedin” with George Dubec, online marketing expert, go to http://www.linkedin.com/in/georgedubec.

Internet Web Traffic Statistics for www.georgedubec.com

I started my personal business website in December of 2007. As you can see by the statistics below that by working at SEO (search engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing) plus other online and offline marketing activities I have been able to increase the traffic to my site considerably over time. As I always say, “Online marketing is like paddling a boat upstream. Once you get started you can’t stop or you will go downstream real fast. You must go steady and forward to make significant progress.” It takes time, effort and money to get increased traffic to your site. There is no “magic bullet!” The next important issue is to not only get general traffic, but targeted website traffic to your site, in other words, those that want your products and services.

If you need help getting targeted traffic to your website contact George Dubec, Internet Marketing Professional, to help you at 954-481-9402 # 222 or gdubec@securenetsystems.net.

Internet Users in the USA

The Internet has long been a mass medium in the US, but it just got a little more massive.

eMarketer estimates that 63.4% of the US population uses the Web at least once per month, and that nearly seven out of 10 Americans will do so by 2013.

Are you taking full advantage of the Internet to get leads and sell your products and services? If you are not then your competition is! Contact an online marketing expert to help you get more targeted traffic to your website – George Dubec, online marketing consultant at 866-568-9402 or gdubec@securenetsystems.net.

September Search Market Share

September Search Market Share: Query Volume Leaps on Back-to-School and Economic Concerns, Google Leads Growth

Written by Jeremy Crane - October 20th, 2008

Ah, September. When leaves begin to turn, school kids doff their backpacks, the economy tanks and Google sets a new record for search market share and hits the 2nd greatest month/month query volume growth in the past 13 months.Interestingly, most of the other search engines also grew query volume, demonstrating the magnitude of students and concerned investors returning to their web browsers. MSN/Live was the only search engine that lost query volume in September, and with Club Live factored in, that loss actually became a dive.

Google continued to impress, hitting 40.3% year/year query growth, same as last month, while most competitors took big hits compared to last year. Yahoo! slipped 6.1% versus September, 2007. MSN/Live fell 12.8% or, if you count Club Live, only 5.8%. And AOL lost a whopping 18.2% of queries versus 13 months ago.

The only bright spot, other than the Google sun, was Ask, which inched 1.2% compared to September, 2007. Perhaps that “The Algorithm killed Jeeves.” advertising campaign actually did help retain Ask searchers.

If you are not properly listed on Google with your most prominent keywords and keyword phrases, that relate to your business, then you need to contact George Dubec, online marketing consultant, and find out how to get there? Call 866-568-9402 # 222 or E-mail gdubec@securenetsystems.net.

Networking Seminar with George Dubec and Mike Owen - Oct 18, 2008

"How to Network Successfully for Business"

Presented By

Mike Owen
LearnBusinessNetworking.com

Special Guest

George Dubec
Senior VP Sales and Marketing of Securenet Systems
Radio Show Personality on "The Internet Business Hour"
Presenting "How to Use the Internet for Networking"




George Dubec & Mike Owen

Learn How to Network Successfully

Join South Florida’s top business networking professionals and get an education on how to be successful in networking to increase your business.


Mike Owen has been networking in South Florida for over 14 years, met thousands of people through networking, and has successfully built a network of contacts for his businesses. During this time, he has attended or orchestrated over 1,000 business events. He has successfully applied his networking system to getting more business. Come and learn the ins and outs of networking, avoid dreaded networking pitfalls, and what to say and do when meeting business people. Mike Owen will also invite up a few guest speakers who have successfully built their businesses through networking. Right after the seminar put your newly learned knowledge to use at our networking event!


George Dubec has been an Internet Marketing Consultant for over ten years. He is also a radio show personality, national speaker, past Director of the Nightingale-Conant Speaker’s Bureau and sometimes referred to as “The Voice of the Internet.” Learn how to use the Internet to find prospects, get leads, promote your business, brand your name, and refer business to others. Find out how to use the Internet as a virtual networking tool.

Date:
Saturday, October 18, 2008
9:00 am - 12:30 pm: Seminar with Mike Owen and George Dubec
12:30 pm - 2:00 pm: Networking

Location:
Sheraton Suites Plantation
311 N. University Dr.
Plantation, FL 33324

Special Price - $25
Register at http://www.learnbiznet.citymax.com/HTNS.html

For more info contact Securenet Systems at 866-568-9402, or email info@securenetsystems.net.

Budgeting for your Website Project Including Internet Marketing

The following is a rule of thumb on how to distribute a budget for a web project (first year):
a) - Design, layout, and developing specifications (5%)
b) - Web development (40%)
c) - Adjustments, changes, additions and maintenance (10%)
c) - Web marketing and promoting (40%)
d) - Web hosting (5%)

Specifications:

1. You need to have your specifications developed with professionals and have a schematic design layout of the prominent pages with all the required elements displayed.

Web Development:

1. If you want a site built by a “Web Guy” who learned how to use Dreamweaver and Photoshop, expect to pay anywhere from $50 to $65 per hour and about $50 to $100 per page. Expect to have it finished whenever. They are also available to do any extra work, if you can get a hold of them, at your “beck and call.” There will also be additional cost for features, functions, backend programming and databases.

2. If you want a site built by a 5-10 person, *boutique-style agency, expect to pay anywhere from $65 to $100 per hour and about $100 to $200 per page based on elements required and optimization. There will also be additional cost for features, functions, backend programming and databases.

3. If you want your site built be a *top-notch agency, expect to pay anywhere from $100 to $300 per hour and about $200 to $400 per page based on elements required and optimization. There will also be additional cost for features, functions, backend programming and databases.


* These are experts and they deserve to be paid as experts. These companies require specifications and you will have to pay for additional work and ongoing maintenance. The work will be queued in their normal work schedules for completion.

Web Marketing and Promoting:

1. You will need to establish a budget for monthly SEO, SEM and online marketing work. That being said, much of the online marketing work can be done in house if you and your staff know what to do and how to do it? Anything you don’t want to do, know how to do or can’t do will have to be outsourced. Some companies use interns from local colleges to do a lot of the online marketing work.

If you need help in establishing a budget for your project contact George Dubec at 866-568-9402 #222 or gdubec@securenetsystems.net.

The Latest Online Marketing Trends for Business

Come visit George Dubec and Securenet Systems' staff at the ITEC Conference and Expo!

Visit us at Booth #212 for two days.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Wednesday, October 8, 2008
9:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Ft. Lauderdale Convention Center
1950 Eisenhower Blvd.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316

For more info contact Securenet Systems at 866-568-9402, or email info@securenetsystems.net

41 Percent of Adults Click Away From Problems

emarketingandcommerce.com
September 18, 2008

When consumers run into transaction problems online, 41 percent say they switch to an online or offline competitor or abandon such transactions entirely.

This was a key finding from a recent survey commissioned by Tealeaf Technology, a San Francisco-based customer experience management software provider, and conducted by Harris Interactive.

The survey was conducted online between Aug. 5 and Aug. 7, polling 2,010 adults age 18 years and older, and focused on shopping, banking, travel and insurance Web transactions.

Results reveal that nearly nine out of 10 consumers (87 percent) conducting transactions online have experienced problems. Here are some other key findings:

- 84 percent feel an online transaction should be completed on the first try;

- 84 percent have conducted an online transaction in the past year and 35 percent prefer to conduct their business online;

- 22 percent of those who've conducted an online transaction in the past year expect better customer service online than when shopping in person;

- 87 percent of respondents who experience problems when conducting online transactions get frustrated, and 41 percent said they come away feeling angry;

- 47 percent of respondents have contacted call centers after encountering problems using Web sites. Among those, 64 percent felt that call center reps weren't knowledgeable about the Web sites, while 38 percent said their issues didn't get resolved over the phone;

- Among the 72 percent of those who said they've experienced poor customer service from call centers when calling about Web site issues, 45 percent stopped doing business with those companies entirely, 37 percent decreased the amount of business they were doing with the company and 13 percent said they lodged a complaint with the Better Business Bureau;

- 84 percent who said they had problems with online transactions share their experiences with others.

If your website is that is not properly e-commerce enabled and has an ineffective or poorly structured shopping cart you will lose business. The key to making money with your website is increasing your conversion rate. As you can see by the statistics above, if you have any glitches on your site you will lose customers and that directly affects your bottom line. Contact the e-commerce experts at Securenet Systems to get your website up to speed and working efficiently and effectively to get more business. Call 866-481-9402 or info@securenetsystems.net.

Free Online Marketing Seminar

Strategic Business Institute

presents

George Dubec

"How to Get Targeted Traffic to Your Website"

6:00PM - 8:00PM: Presentation

Wednesday, September 24th, 2008

Securenet Systems Corporate Offices
356 SW 12th Ave.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Find out:
*How to develop a twelve month online marketing plan
*How to design a website that is search engine friendly
*How to select effective keywords
*How to optimize your website for search engines
*How to establish an Opt-in E-mail program
*How to develop a link building program
*How to use blogs, newsetters, press releases and RSS feeds
*How to establish Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
*How to get more targeted traffic to your website

Seating is limited, please RSVP
For more information, call Securenet Systems @ (866) 568-9402 or email info@securenetsystems.net

Free Online Marketing Seminar

iConsulting, Inc.

presents

George Dubec

"How to Get Targeted Traffic to Your Website"

5:30PM - 6:30PM: Networking
6:30PM - 8:00PM: Presentation

Wednesday September 17th, 2008

Ana G. Mendez University System
South Florida Campus
3520 Enterprise Way
Miramar, FL 33442

Find out:
*How to develop a twelve month online marketing plan
*How to design a website that is search engine friendly
*How to select effective keywords
*How to optimize your website for search engines
*How to establish an Opt-in E-mail program
*How to develop a link building program
*How to use blogs, newsetters, press releases and RSS feeds
*How to establish Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
*How to get more targeted traffic to your website

Seating is limited, please RSVP
For more information, call Securenet Systems @ (866) 568-9402 or email info@securenetsystems.net

Link popularity is "page specific," NOT "site specific

Link popularity is an important part of obtaining top rankings in major search engines. In fact it accounts for almost 60% of why the search engines rank your site highly or not. But don’t think that link popularity is only about your site.

Link popularity is "page specific," NOT "site specific."

Which of your pages are prominent and should be considered as part of your SEO (search engine optimization program)?

Create a plan to work on increasing link popularity, directly to those pages individually. Part of the problem with link building is that it sometimes seems overwhelming. Not only does the work seem too involved but there is a never ending stream of strategies, information and advice about link building.

I recommend that you start with some initial pages and do it in phases. Make a consistent effort over a period of time and you will start seeing results.

So what's your plan? If you don’t have one, call the experts at Securenet Systems and find out how they can help you with your link building program, either outsource it to them or let them educate you or your staff. If you would like to schedule a consultation about link building contact me, online marketing specialist, at 888-481-9402 # 222 or gdubec@securenetsystems.net.

Get the Best Technical Advice Possible

Want a sure-fire way to get the wrong advice? Ask the right technical question... to the wrong person.

Most of us are conditioned to be helpful. When someone asks advice or information from an expert, it's difficult for them to admit they don't know the answer. Because everything is so technical and detailed in today’s high tech world only those with in depth knowledge and actual work experience need apply to provide the correct answer.

An example would be asking someone who is an expert and works in PPC (Pay Per Click) a question about HTML programming. They will do their best to respond, but because they are used to working in PPC, not working in programming, they may not fully understand the implications of the question. So instead of providing a correct answer, they inadvertently offer misinformation and they reinforce incorrect ideas or outdated information.

Sometimes the answer given isn’t totally wrong. It's just that it isn’t exactly right, either. It’s just enough information to make the answer sound good to the questioner. It’s recommended that you ask experts for advice, but make sure they are the right experts!

Asking a PPC expert about HTML programming makes about as much sense as asking a graphic designer how to fix your car. You might get lucky and get a good answer, but wouldn't it make more sense to just ask a mechanic in the first place?

This happens all the time in my business. A business owner hires a web firm or web developer to create their website. The firm or developer mentions they also do SEO (search engine optimization) work. The site owner then pays additional monies to have a “web expert” optimize their site. Then after a period of time they are disappointed with the results. Then the business owner blames the fact that SEO doesn’t work! The problem isn't with SEO, it’s with the site owner relying on the wrong expert. Business owners need to do their homework and select the companies that have the experience, background and knowledge to do the right type of work in the proper way.

Just because someone's a superstar graphic designer, or an experienced PPC expert, or an excellent programmer doesn't make them an expert at SEO and vice versa.

The moral of the story is ask a graphic designer to get your car going and you will be left stranded! Someone knowledgeable in one aspect of Internet services or online marketing will not make them an Internet expert that has a answer to everything technical. Make sure you choose the right person to ask for advice or do business with.

If you want the right person to steer you in the right direction call George Dubec, Online Marketing Specialist. I can help share ten years of knowledge, background and experience with you. If I don’t know the answers or solutions I know who the experts are that can help you. To set-up a consultation to get the right answers for your project call 954-481-9402 # 222 or gdubec@securenetsystems.net.

WHY WEBSITES ARE NOT SUCCESSFUL

80 % of websites are dysfunctional and are not effective!

1 – Poorly designed and not set up as a true sales and marketing tool.

2 – Visitors don’t understand what your site is about

3 – Contact information not frequently and properly displayed including “calls to action!”

4 – No budget for ongoing marketing, site maintenance and site updating.

5 – No “point person” within the organization responsible for the website. If they have someone assigned, it may not always be someone knowledgeable about the business or a high level staff member.

6 – No marketing elements designed into the site.

7 – No “stickiness,” meaning when visitors come to the site they must have a reason to stay on the site and then communicate their interests in your business and/or products and services.

8 – No online marketing plan (at least a twelve month plan should be in place) and no consistent, ongoing effort.

9 – No incentives, call to action, promotions or special offers.

10 – No “Unique Selling Proposition” displayed, in other words what separates you from the competition, and information about why anyone should do business with you.

11 – No adjustments and updates on the site after being launched. A site is dynamic and needs to be constantly worked on for ongoing improvements, changes and adding features and functions. Focus group studies plus surveying family, friends, associates and clients about site usability.

12 – Not analyzing the competitions’ online efforts.

13 – Site or marketing plan not designed to go after your target market.

If you want to know if your website is dysfunctional and get a FREE Web Traffic Report, contact Internet Marketing Specialist, George Dubec, at gdubec@securenetsystems.net and find out which of the above items you are lacking or not properly implementing.

Spend Online Marketing Dollars Wisely

A recent study from the Corporate Executive Board said that the best thing a company can do in terms of its digital strategy is to master its own website. Despite the strategic importance of this finding, most companies are not committed to their websites and still spending the majority of their marketing dollars on offline activities.

Website conversions require an end-to-end process. Customers expect websites to speak WITH them, not AT them. It is recommended that businesses and organizations, both large and small should be spending 15% of their marketing budget on search engine optimization and another 15% for online marketing programs, such as affiliates, opt-in email, pay per click, blogs, etc. In other words at least 30% of your budget should be allocated to Internet marketing.

To find out how to spend your online marketing dollars wisely and effectively contact George Dubec, online marketing specialist, to help you develop a twelve month online marketing plan. gdubec@securenetsystems.net.