Goongee Blog

When you are exploring methods of advertising, don’t overlook the potential of viral marketing.

Viral marketing is a term to describe marketing done through word of mouth that spreads like wildfire throughout a community or group of people. Viral marketing doesn’t cost a lot of money, and 1 happy customer could easily turn 10 or 15 friends, family members or collegues into new customers for you.

So how do you get a viral marketing campaign started? This depends on your product and your target market. For instance, viral marketing for a new restaurant will be much different than one for a product oriented website.

A viral campaign for a new restaurant would be as easy as making a customer happy with their experience there. If this customer is happy with the level of service, the food, the prices etc. she’ll likely spread the word to others or even bring them to dine there… and almost everyone will try a place once, if nothing else. You might consider inviting local media to have a free
meal for coverage in the local newspaper.

A website is a little different, but once you’ve hit a groove the power of viral marketing can be truly amazing. Offer a free tool that is helpful to the customer or a limited time offer on a product that is in high demand.

The viral game is getting people to recognize the fact that you exist. Places like YouTube, and Google Video allow users to upload videos for no charge and should be considered as a viable way to promote your product or service online. This could be used for both a restaurant and a website if it was done cleverly.

Bottom line is, people will talk to other people.. so get the conversations and the powers of viral marketing working for you!

Today Google announced they’re offering coupons to surfers on their Maps site.

This new service is available today and will serve up 20,000 different ads supplied by
Val-Pak Coupons, which is a leading direct mail advertiser. Val Pak will update with coupons every night and they’ll update on Google maps. These mailers are stuffed with coupons from local pizzerias, tanning salons, home improvement services, fitness centers and restaurants. Consumers will be able to print these coupons from their computer and redeem them in store.

Businesses that offer online coupons can submit their URL directly to Google and they will be displayed with “local” results when someone searches.

This isn’t exactly a new idea, since Yahoo has offered this same service at no charge since
2004.

At this time there is no charge for the service, but that there are plans for a paid program in the works.

Google Coupons

Don’t forget about offline advertising as part of a well balanced promotion campaign. Offline promotions help target people that might not see your online advertising.

Here are some suggestions for promoting your business offline.

1. Business Cards. Business cards are still a great way to make contacts. They are small enough to carry with you and an easy way to give your contact information to people that you meet casually or through business dealings. Make sure that your business card has your websites URL and other important contact information.

2. Print Advertising Consider using traditional media such as newspapers, an industry newsletter, direct mailers, or a yellow pages listing. Print advertising has more longevity than
PPC advertising in that people can save the ad for when they are ready to buy. Print advertising might also be passed along to friends or relatives. To make this sort of advertising sell, offer a limited time special
offer that offers a discount or something free with their purchase.

3. Radio or TV advertising Radio or television ads put your business on the “mainstream airwaves”. Many cable companies offer local advertising at affordable pricing and are happy to work with you to produce a quality advertising spot. With radio advertising, you can buy 30 or 60 second spots to showcase your product or service.

4. Plain old Word of Mouth. This is the best kind of advertising your business can hope to do. Your customers spread the word for you. Keep your customers happy and they’ll return again and again, and tell others to buy from you, too.

These things integrated with an effective online advertising campaign will rocket your sales and grow your business by leaps and bounds.

PPC, short for Pay Per Click advertising is when an advertiser “pays” for a visitor to “click through” to their website.

There are many different PPC programs available to advertisers, including Adwords, Overture/Yahoo, and MSN Adcenter to name just a few key players in the PPC arena today.

Is PPC advertising worth the money?

That’s the question many advertisers are asking themselves after revelations of click fraud within Google adwords, the longest running PPC program being used on the internet, have come to light.

There are no guarantees on the success of your advertising campaign, and the only faster way to lose $500.00 might be be to go to Las Vegas and lose a few hands of Texas Holdem’ Poker, and even there you might have a chance of making your money back with a little luck.
Not all clickers will turn into conversions (sales), but all clicks are billable to your bank account or credit card.

PPC campaigns are more complicated than other forms of advertising available because in most cases you have to “manage” the account in order for it to deliver traffic that converts into a sale. This would include choosing your desired keywords and placing your minimum and maximum bids (lowest and highest amounts you’re willing to pay for clicks) Maximum bids will place your advertisement higher in the sponsored results with no promise of sales.

In order to run a highly successful PPC campaign you should be willing to spend some time learning about the nuances of the program you’re participating in. Permanent one way links are often more cost effective than “disposable clicks” that have no lifeblood after they’ve been extinguished and you’ve been charged.

If you decide to use PPC, consider turning your ad campaign off during the night. In my experience with PPC very few clicks converted during the hours of 10 PM- 9AM. If you want to continue to run your campaign through the night, consider dropping to a minimum bid. This can save you a few dollars. This might also be said for weekends and holidays, depending on the nature of your product.

PPC shouldn’t be overlooked as a way to drive traffic to your site, but it can come with a significant pricetag if you aren’t careful.

Recently, Yahoo announced that they have updated their Site Explorer which gives webmasters access to various information that Yahoo has regarding your website.

You can track feeds, links, Yahoo! crawl dates, and even subdomains.

To use Yahoos Site Explorer, please click Yahoo Site Explorer

If you have just started a website, the one of the most important things that you can do is make sure that visitors can find you!

Part of this strategy is going to be through internet marketing (since that’s where your website is at.)

Here are a few tips for getting your website found by people that want to buy your product or service.

Submit your website to search engines. Yahoo offers many different submission options for websites, mobile content, media content and directory listings. They also offer product listings, sponsored search and non commercial listings. Some of these services require payment.

Google allows webmasters to submit their websites for free. This submission will schedule your site to get indexed by Google’s spiders.

List Your Website in Categorized Directories. Being listed in trusted web directories help to establish you in your preferred market segment. These types of directories can also send traffic, which is the lifeblood of the internet. If you’re a local or regional business, look for directories that offer “local” listing such as states or regions.

Find related websites to trade links with. Look for websites that have synergy with yours. For instance, if you sell auto insurance, a link trade with a local auto dealer or your local Chamber of Commerce website.

Offer a free tool. Visitors love tools.. especially ones that are free. Tools can help you forge business relationships.

Keep in contact with your customers. If a person signs up for a newsletter, don’t let them down! If you are having a sale or special offer be sure to let your mailing list know about it. Offer a mail to friend option, in case they want to tell someone else about your deal.

These 5 very basic tips are a great place to get started in your internet marketing strategy.