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Interview with Tony Martin – Internet Marketing Strategist for AmericanAgent.

Q: What are the key strategies one must implement to successfully market their products or services on the Internet?

Tony: There are no absolutes. People have tried to define rules for Internet marketing for years. Success tips have been published - so called "immutable laws" that would guarantee one's success. In reality, many of the rules that once brought success have, in retrospect, applied only to that particular season in the evolution of online marketing. The Internet is much more than just an innovative communication tool. Ever-increasing connection speeds and the colossal explosion of online users have shifted the playing field from what it was just a couple of years ago to a whole new ballgame today.

Q: How about utilizing the Internet as a marketing vehicle in the USA versus Europe?

Tony: The US tends to be much more competitive and less forgiving than Europe. The novelty of the Internet has long since disappeared. The average middle manager is extremely intolerant of second-grade websites. A simple search on some keyword or phrase will return a million plus search results to their screen – 10 results per page for them to scan through. Most will only view the first 3 or 4 pages of results. Of the sites they do click on, many will receive little more than a brief glimpse before the manager has moved on to the next site. Perhaps a number of these sites may have been worth a pause to investigate further. But the dated appearance of the site combined with a few small spelling errors they saw in the introduction was enough to turn them away. In addition company websites are the number one source for information when American companies do research on products and services. European companies wanting to enter the North-American marketplace, simply can’t afford to have an unprofessional website.

Couple of important points I would like to make:

One: If you want clients to find your site, you generally must rank in the top 30 sites of the search engine.

Two: Once they have found your site, you must leave a positive impression; your site must be professionally designed, your content must well written and up-to-date, and your entire website must be free from spelling and grammatically errors.

Bottom line: if you want your site to attract interest in the US, get it developed by a US company.

Q: Let’s look at “Point One” a little more. How does one rank well on US search engines?

Tony: I always advise clients to “Strategise before they Enterprise”. Get your strategies right before you launch your business online. Target a defined market with a concise message – have this in place before developing your site. This message must thread its way through all your marketing and sales collateral – including your website.

Building a great website is only half the battle. Some people still believe that “if you build it, they will come.” They think all they need to do is get a website submitted to a few search engines on the World Wide Web and magically thousands from around the world will find out about their product or service, and the dollars will start rolling in. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are close to 500 million Internet users around the world - over 170 million users in the US alone. There are an estimated 300+ million websites in the world today with around 900 new sites being added every hour. Latest data show that there are approximately 320 million separate searches conducted on the net every day.

In most cases, professional help is required to rank highly on search engines. However, be very cautious about who you choose. Some companies offer submission to thousands search engines and directories - all for only $?? per month. But they fail to rank you highly on the engines that really count, they fail to research the best keyword phrases for your products and services, and they fail to optimize your pages properly. As one writer in the Wall Street Journal recently said, "..stay away from submissions to "300,000" search engines. Those are no more likely to bring high rankings than sticking your tongue in an electrical socket."

Once again, consult with Web developers and marketers who have a proven record in achieving higher rankings.

Q: On to your second point: how does one get their site up to scratch for the US market?

Tony: The first thing I would say is this: if you already have a site in Europe, leave it where it belongs - in Europe! Don’t expect your European designer to produce a relevant site for the US Market. It makes sense to start fresh with a professional in the USA who is much more adapt to local style, US trends, and western language.

Creating a website with a professional look and correct language doesn’t have to cost a fortune. And whatever it does cost is well worthy the investment. Naturally, complex back-end database applications and e-commerce sites require more than simple brochure ware.

You will be hiring professionals, so expect to pay an hourly rate of $55 - $85 per hour for good front-end web design. Customized backend database applications attract a higher hourly rate of up to $100 an hour or more.

To the uninitiated, using a professional service provider is simply an unnecessary cost. To those in the know, it is the best investment they ever made.

Q: What are some of the key issues to consider when formulating an online strategy?

Tony: Here are some key questions you should ask:
• What are the objectives you would like your site to achieve? Sales? Sales support? Education? Training? Product information?
• What impact would you like your site to have on your customers and visitors?
• How do you expect your site to complement your overall strategic goals?
• What are your clients' most important requirements?
• What do you want to offer them?
• How will you measure your level of success?

Q: If I decide to launch my business online, what methods can I employ to reach a wide audience in the USA?

Tony: Brand name recognition should be the ultimate goal of your online and offline marketing endeavours. However, brands are largely invisible on the Internet until you input the brand name into the keyboard. If potential clients don't know the brand name or how to spell it, they may never reach your site. If a potential client inputs your general category name into Goggle to search for a product or service, your website is thrown into a mix of hundreds - sometimes millions - of other suppliers who are competing against you for the business. If the same customer knows your brand, inputs your brand name, it is likely that you’ll come top of the list on the first page of their search results.

However, brand recognition takes time and money. Until you achieve a high level of brand recognition you are really reliant on a sequential marketing plan that begins with achieving the highest possible ranking on search engines within your product or service category.

This is the first step and it cannot be under-estimated. Approximately 175,000,000 Internet searches are performed in the US every day! A recent survey indicated that 80% of all Internet user sessions begin at the search engines.

Once again, your web developer should help you select suitable keywords to optimize your site in order to gain the highest possible ranking. Sponsored advertising is also available which guarantees 1st or 2nd page placements.

Once high search engine ranking is achieved, other online marketing strategies should be employed to help elevate brand recognition and bring people to your site. These may include:
• banners on selected sites that are frequently visited by your target market
• sponsoring industry specific e-newsletters
• bulk emailing using “opt-in” email lists (lists composed of people wanting to received information about certain products or services – not spam)
• writing regular press releases to online industry publications (some may be published for free providing excellent exposure)
• online classified ads
• posting your company details to business directories

Q: Thank you very much Tony, very interesting and educating.

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