Learn about web design, search engine optimization, SEO, & internet marketing.

I was at a local tex mex chain enjoying some lunch with a good friend last week.  We were catching up on recent business hapennings and discussing strategy etc.  The restaurant was a bit louder than usual as the lunch crowd came rushing in, but we could still hear each other at a relatively comfortable level….

UNTIL…

The manager of the restaurant starts strolling through the close quartered restaurant and starts yelling at the top of his lungs that he will be giving away ONE FREE LUNCH IF YOU CAN TELL ME THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ALLIGATOR AND A CROCODILE. No one was amused, there were no takers, so he decides to do it over and over and over.  Just as my friend an I would start a new sentence, the manager goes back at it, interrupting EVERYONE’s conversation in the entire restaurant. He must have repeated his message 5 times in a row. Each time he yelled, he accomplished one thing only: he successfully annoyed EVERYONE in the restaurant.  We weren’t there for a free lunch, we weren’t there to learn about free beer night on Wednesday. We were there to enjoy their food, their hot sauce and each other’s company. We did not give him permission to yell at us.

How are you spreading your marketing message?  Are you pushing your marketing down people’s throats without their permission? Are you yelling at people?

If you aren’t shifting your marketing to the Internet and getting found by people in Google, Facebook, Bing, LinkedIn, etc., your message isn’t getting to anyone. People are using the Internet to find you, to learn about your products, to engage you and to buy from you. The point is this: They Come To You… if they can find you. Screaming doesn’t work anymore. Asking people for permission to share your message is the new marketing.

If it’s time to SHARE your story, call us: 407-830-4550. Orlando Web Design and Internet Marketing Experts. We build web sites that pull your prospects to you and convert.

On Target Web Solutions is giving away FREE phone books / yellow pages for a limited time only.  We are overstocked with phone directories and simply need to make room for more relevant methods of marketing in our offices. We do have a few limited edition yellow pages in stock that feature irrelevant attorneys and real estate agents on the front page, so don’t be shy to ask for one.

To get your free phone directory, call the Orlando Internet Marketing experts at 407-830-4550: hurry, they won’t last long!

Isn’t it time you positioned yourself where people are actually looking for your products and services? Trust the search engine marketing and Orlando web design experts at On Target Web Solutions to get you and your products found where and when it matters.

Is your Internet Marketing broken? Does your web site send mixed messages?

Is your marketing broken?

Call the Internet Marketing Experts at On Target Web Solutions: Call 407-830-4550 or visit us here: http://www.ontargetwebsolutions.com

Photo from http://www.failblog.org

Anyone who reads this blog (all two of you….) knows that I am all about creating quality content for your web site visitors. Your visitors HAVE to come first, your seo rankings will follow. One of the biggest mistakes that I see people make is over-thinking their content. They mean well, they are excited about contributing, but they labor over EVERY single word and thought. Subsequently, their blogs are mechanical, they are stale, they are BORING and without life.

Surely your company has a personality. There is some unique quirk that you may have, there are surely some weaknesses, there are many strengths and talents. The point is, let that personality come out through your corporate voice. No one really wants to read statistics, numbers, equations, etc. They want to know about you, they want to know about your company and how your company can benefit them. When you compose a blog, be yourself, I’m not suggesting that you alert the world about your irritable bowel syndrome or your overwhelming desire to start a barbie doll collection, but let your true personality come out and come alive in your blog composition.

Bottom line: blog writing should NOT be a chore. It should be a voice, it should be your unique contribution to the Internet world.

Before I got started in Internet Marketing, I worked many years for a non-profit organization in the development / fund raising world.  I remember the passion that I felt about the organization, I remember the distinct passion that many other’s felt for the organization as well.  When it comes to development / fund raising work, people GIVE for a few reasons.  1.) They are so passionate about the mission of the non-profit that they feel compelled to be a part of it financially. 2.) They want to BELONG or be a valued member of the organization. 3.) They love to see their name and gather recognition.  Anyway you look at all three of these factors, there is one common bond. BELONGING.  People love to belong, people need to belong, people are passionate about belonging.

I was reflecting this AM on the way to work about how amazing it WOULD have been when I was in development if I had Twitter or LinkedIn, or Facebook.  Think about how quickly I could have built a TRIBE around the non-profit, I could have reached out to all of those folks on Twitter who had been touched in some way by the organization.  I could have located EVERY alumni of the summer camp rapidly and then discovered more about them.  I could have taken a poll to see what these folks value the most instantly, the bottom line, it would have revolutionized the way that fundraising and development work got done.  Here are some suggestions for your non-profit:

• Use search.twitter.com to find people who are interested in your organization’s cause and start following them.
• Use LinkedIn and it’s advanced search feature to start finding individuals who have been touched by your organization or know of someone who has.
• Use Facebook to start gathering fans of your organization and spread the word rapidly about upcoming events, fundraisers, etc.
• Inspire people on youtube with a video on your cause.
• Start blogging about the many lives that your organization has touched.
• Use online press releases to inspire and start reaching out to a whole new audience / segment of the population.
• Learn about your followers / tribe members and utilize that research in development.
• Use Twitter to share quick stories (under 140 characters of course) about the lives you continue to touch.

Bottom line: non-profits tend to be the last to embrace technology and new ways of doing things.  Transform your Church, your College or Institution, your health care organization, whatever your cause may be by reaching out and building a tribe.  Help your prospects belong by a few keystrokes.

To learn more about social networking and how it can help your organization, call us at 407-830-4550, or visit our site for more information. Internet Marketing Experts.

SEO Myth # 12,435

How many times have you seen the following statement: “We submit your web site to over 20,000 search engines and directories”? This is usually followed by “for the low low price of $19.95″.  

If you happen to see this pitch on a so called SEO company’s web site, it’s time to hit the back button on your browser and move on.  

Which search engine do you use? What search engine do you think your customers and / or prospects use? After you’ve answered that question, where do you think your web site should be found?  Getting your company found WHERE your prospects are shopping is the name of the game.  ’Submitting’ your corporate web site to the ‘chessplayerdirectoryofamerica.com’ probably won’t yield many results.

There is so much more to SEO than mashing buttons and submitting web sites.  SEO should start BEFORE you even begin to design that pretty new web site.  Call the Internet Marketing / SEO experts at On Target Web Solutions today: 407-830-4550 or visit our web site for more information on Internet Marketing.

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As twitter grows, so does the amount of spammy junk from greedy, simple minded, get rich quick multi level so called marketers.

Twitter is NOT meant to be one sided. Twitter is a social networking tool, NOT a PUSH marketing spam tool. If you aren’t engaging your followers, contributing to the conversation or providing USEFUL tidbits of information under 140 characters, there’s no point for you to be there:  pack it up and head back to spamming unsuspecting gmail users.

Stop shouting at people, start talking and listening to people.

My wife loves chick flicks, God forbid we get some bombs, explosions, etc. every once in a while, but I knew she loved Chick flicks before I ever married her.  So, naturally, it should come as no surprise to tell you that I endured the movie “Failure To Launch” recently.  The movie is about a guy who cannot leave the roost. He is pushing his thirties and just can’t commit to the ‘real life’ he may encounter once he leaves. His mom and dad would love for him to leave the nest, so they hire a professional ‘launcher’ for lack of a better word, to get him OUT of the house and on with his life.

I got to thinking on my way home today how often clients, prospects, business owners, marketing professionals FAIL To launch.  9 times out of 10, it is a fear factor.  A Fear of getting on Twitter, a fear of joining LinkedIn, a fear of optimizing their web site or even creating a web site for that matter.  I had one person tell me this AM at one of our Internet marketing classes that they were afraid that they would receive more business if they spent some time marketing themselves.  WOW. They were afraid that they could not handle additional business. That could be a legitimate concern if your infrastructure isn’t there, but shouldn’t we all take some of those risks and adapt as the need arises?

As a business owner, I’ve learned MANY valuable lessons. I’ve learned to listen to my gut. I’ve learned to take risks. I’ve learned that if I don’t pull the trigger on marketing initiatives, my competitors will.

When it comes to YOUR web site, it’s time to pull the trigger.  You’ve no doubt heard about social marketing, you’ve heard about SEO, you’ve heard about Google adwords, etc: why are you afraid to jump in? Is it fear of failure? Is it fear of success? It’s time to name it,  claim it and jump in.  After all, you got into business to succeed and thrive didn’t you? Take the leap, fake it until you make it if you have to, but it’s time to leave the comfy nest and time to get your hands dirty.

I review web sites all day and I have to say, short of folks leaving their phone number off of their web page so that people can actually call them, I see mixed signals.  I see content that’s all over the place with no clear directive or mission.

When it comes down to organic search engine optimization, your web site needs to have a focus and a clear directive.  If you are telling Google that your web site is all about widgets and you are constantly blogging about the weather in Sri Lanka, you are sending mixed signals.  Essentially, the more scattered that your web site becomes in terms of content, the more diluted your message gets. The more diluted your message gets, the less relevant you become for your once intended audience.

I tell all of our clients to become the online expert in their particular field.  This gets accomplished by creating content relevant to your business, not your personal take on Global warming or the quality of the Starbucks coffee you had this AM. The more you exercise your expertise, the more targeted your content becomes: therefore, you feed Google more relevant non-diluted content.