Online marketing news and resources.

Whilst the great British Summer has us reaching for the great British brolly its not all doom and gloom! With people not wishing to venture out into the wet weather, we have seen an increase in Internet usage.

With this increase it’s now more essential than ever to ensure that your website can be found online. Search engines like Google are the first place consumers head to when they are looking for a product or service. (more…)

A usual problem facing new Web Developers is how to split a Database query over several pages (paginate).  The example following is in a basic form so will not contain code or methods for content filtering or to allow dynamic options for the pagination but should give a good base to build from.

For this example we are going to use OOP and create a class.  This will enable an easy way to plug this code into existing database queries and to make it unobtrusive so that it can be modified and extended at any time. (more…)

Recently moved home and sgned up for Be There Broadband.  This service comes with a Be branded Thomson 585v7 Router, which is a very basic and horrid bit of kit.  While it is self explanatory using the basic web interface to this device to forward ports and services to the correct machine on your LAN, I found I could not forward port 443 (HTTPS) even though I had set up the rules to do so.

The reason why is that the router is using an HTTPS service for itself (I believe remote administration) so will not forward requests on port 443, and this cannot be turned off in the web interface yet it still gives you the option to forward this port.

The solution is to disable the HTTPS service on the router and to do this we need to use Telnet.

telnet 192.168.1.254

You wil be prompted for your User name which is Administrator the default password is bank but if you have set up a password in the Web Interface you will have to enter it here.

Next turn off HTTPS service

service system modify name=HTTPs state=disabled
saveall

Thats it.  Now you should be able to forward port 443

I’ve recently moved to a Laptop as my full time computer, replacing my Desktop.  My Desktop had an Asus Xonar D2X sound card and my Dell Inspiron has a very bad on-board sound card by comparison.  To make up for this I have purchased a USB sound card for use when my Laptop is “docked” at my home office.

A problem I encountered is while Ubuntu Hardy recognises my external sound card I have to go to

System » Preferences » Sound

to enable USB Audio for Sound Events and Music and Movies.  The only problem is that while Rhythmbox and Totem use my external sound card, the OS sounds and VLC do not.  Using asoundconf to set my default sound card does not rectify this solution.  I cannot also disable my on-board sound card in the BIOS as this option doesn’t exist and would also mean changing my BIOS every time I’m using my laptop on the move if I want sound. (more…)

Internet marketing is an indispensable tool in the survival and success of an online business. The facts are clear: those businesses that have a strong online presence generate more clients and more product awareness.

The power of the internet is not one to be trifled with, and as a result more businesses have chosen the road more traveled nowadays- that is to promote one’s existence both offline and online.

There are a few essential things that a company needs to master, in order to be a pro in internet marketing. Creating and developing a website is the first one. A website will serve as the platform with which to create a product or service offering, provide information and background on the business, accept payments for purchases, and even to communicate to the clients through e-mails and feedback.

Of course there are a number of web hosts that offer to set up a website for free. There are upsides and downsides to these so-called free services. The upside would be on terms of no or less expense- free websites mean you get to have your own website without having to pay anything. However, with a free website, there is lesser stability and lesser control on the part of the business owner, thus the restrained internet marketing efforts. The no-charge web host may choose to discontinue the free service anytime or to automatically delete the site account, and this could turn out to be detrimental for any online business.

Promoting and advertising the product through a number of means should also be given top priority in internet marketing. Even with a website, site traffic will not increase if efforts geared towards such traffic goals are not being done. Some of the means at promoting a business site would include article marketing, affiliate marketing, Pay Per Click advertising, Search Engine Optimization, web content writing and redesign, and even blogging. Anything that seeks to promote your site and offerings in a positive manner should be helpful, although you must find those that you believe are reaping the most benefits for your online business.

Maintaining good customer relations is always good for any business, whether land based or internet based. After all, in any business the customer is always king. Constant communication with clients through autoresponders would give the strong impression that the online business is taking the effort at improving awareness, and maintaining relationships.

Through all these, internet marketing is made more valuable in achieving a more powerful and longer lasting online presence for businesses.

The question of how to get quality clicks for advertisements placed on the web has been the concern of many companies for quite a long time. There have been thousands of advertisers who have lost money because of poor ads management.

There were those who ventured on presenting their products haphazardly by using keywords which were not intelligently selected. There were even those who used a lot of keywords, thinking that any style of presentation will do. Such ideas would of course yield results too, but such results could even be doubled or tripled with good Adwords Management.

So how could you get quality clicks?

Since advertising on the web is also a competition, you have to see it that you get a fair share of the clicks that visitors make in their searches. If you cannot place a high bid, then you can compensate this by focusing on other key areas.

Google Adwords can help you a lot along this line. With its systematic and highly efficient strategy of selecting keywords and phrases, your ads can surely get quality clicks.

Searchers have the tendency of searching through the use of popular keywords. This means that if you can supply the right keyword for your product, there is a greater chance of getting quality clicks because your advertisement will also appear together with those of the higher bidders.

Adwords start with clarifying your objectives. What do you really want to get? Do you expect your website to provide ecommerce and make direct sales, to capture sales leads, or both? Once your goal or goals become clear, then you will need a website to help you realize your objectives.

In order to catch the attention of searchers, your website should be visually appealing. The landing page should be well-organized through the use of texts, graphics and other devices. It should clearly present the products that you intend to sell, following the well-established principles of webpage design or any other effective methods of lay outing.

Aside from a well-crafted landing page, other more specific details for your website will depend on what you wanted to get with your ads. Your website should provide your contact details like email, telephone, or contact form. This will provide ease of contact for additional information about your products and services.

It is even better if your website could be tested by designated or identified users who could provide feedback on the ease of its use. This is very important before the final launch. This could take about a couple of weeks. These initial users could be members of your company or outsiders. This will help you evaluate how actual searchers would find using your website.

Getting quality clicks can earn the needed revenue for your company. With proper management of your ads, customers can just visit your website, be familiar with your products or services, and translate these into sales. When searchers get what they want from your website, your company becomes a specific target of search which makes your products or services available to anyone who wants to avail of it.