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Like any industry, Internet Marketing has its own special
marketing tools and methods.
Many of these marketing tools
may already be familiar to
you: autoresponders, SEO software,
link-building systems, content
management programs, affiliate
software... and the list goes
on. However, Internet Marketing
has other more effective,
non-traditional marketing
tools every marketer should
know about if they want to
reach their full potential
as online marketers. Some
of these marketing tools come
cleverly disguised or camouflaged,
with many surfers or customers
completely unaware that they're
receiving a sales-pitch. Yet,
these innocent and simple
sales techniques are some
of the most effective marketing
tools on the web. For anyone
involved in Internet Marketing
or for anyone wishing to become
involved, a quick rundown
of these marketing tools may
prove helpful. Here's a brief
list and a few pointers on
how to effectively use these
marketing tools. 1. Domain
Name Lets start at the very
beginning. Your domain name
should be considered your
first Internet marketing tool.
Pick it right and your domain
name can also be your most
effective marketing tool.
Get it wrong and it may spell
game over. Most marketers
agree you should pick a short
memorable keyword-related
domain name. For example,
www.hotels.com, it's easy
to remember/spell and it tells
you exactly what the site
is about. Picking a domain
directly related to the keyword
or keywords of your site will
help greatly in obtaining
a high ranking for your site
with the search engines. Not
to mention, it will be a great
marketing and promotional
tool, telling your potential
customers exactly what your
site is promoting and displaying.
On the other hand, some marketers
suggest you opt for a short
jazzy name that can be easily
remembered by your visitors.
Ebay, Google, Napster, Yahoo...
regardless of which route
you take, make sure you examine
all the marketing potential
before you pick your domain
name. The right domain name
can be one of your most effective
marketing tools on the world
wide web. Many experts also
suggest you only set up a
dedicated server for your
domain or domains. A dedicated
server only carries one domain.
Most hosting companies (for
economic reasons) often share
hosting servers, i.e. your
domain is co-hosted with hundreds
of other domains on the same
server. Since you will be
using the same IP address
this may have dire consequences
if one of the domains is accused
of spamming or some other
unscrupulous behavior. Even
if you can't afford a dedicated
server, it would be wise (for
SEO purposes) to have a separate
IP address for each domain
you own. Most hosting companies
provide this service for a
small fee. 2. Keywords Keywords,
what surfers type into search
engines to find what they're
looking for, are the real
building blocks of the web.
They are the single most important
element in any online marketing
venture. Pick the right keywords
and you're in business, pick
the wrong keywords and again,
it's game over. Therefore,
you must have special keyword
software or use some online
sites or services to help
you pick the right keywords.
Many top marketers use WordTracker.com,
GoodKeywords.com, or the new
Keyword Elite by Brad Callen.
A superior keyword research
product will supply valuable
information: number of searches
made each month, amount of
competition and the top sites
targeting your keywords. Remember,
you must target the right
keywords with your site or
online marketing. Targeted
keywords draw targeted traffic
(customers) to your sites
or products. The right keyword
software or program will have
a direct correlation to the
success or failure of your
online marketing efforts.
So choose wisely! 3. Articles
Many marketers believe in
and rely upon purely organic
SEO techniques for marketing
their sites. One simple method
of organic SEO is writing
and submitting keyword related
articles around the topic
of your website with links
back to your site. As other
sites display your articles
you gain valuable one-way
links back to your site. Search
engines then follow all of
these links and rank your
site highly for the keywords
in these articles. For this
reason the modest article
may prove to be the single
most important marketing tool
you have in your arsenal.
As your site becomes highly
ranked for these keywords,
other sites will want to link
to your site in order to become
optimized for those same keywords...
article keyword marketing
is one of the most effective
Internet marketing tools at
your disposal. Used properly
if can position your site
in the search engines and
bring in all that highly prized
targeted traffic. Keep in
mind, many Internet marketers
have side-stepped the whole
SEO optimization process by
going directly to search engines
and buying their traffic with
PPC pay-per-click advertising.
Overture and Google Adwords
program are good examples
of this method. Marketers
bid on clicks to their site's
keywords and bring in targeted
customers. In knowledgeable
hands, PPC marketing is an
extremely effective and lucrative
marketing tool. 4. Lists The
backbone of any Internet marketing
system is the list. It is
another marketing tool you
can't do without. The list
is simply a large database
of contacts, people who have
given you permission to email
or contact them. These are
subscribers who have opted-in
to your ezine or newsletter.
Most successful marketers
keep countless different databases
for each product or topic
they're targeting with their
marketing. Ezines or newsletters
are vital Internet Marketing
tools that no online business
should ignore. It is essential
you keep in contact/touch
with your past and future
customers. You must build
an ongoing relationship and
connection with your customers.
Besides your ezine or newsletter,
many marketers also set up
lists of affiliates to help
promote and sell their products.
Never underestimate the power
of an affiliate system as
an effective marketing tool.
It is the stuff Empires are
made of! Once a marketer has
acquired a large list of loyal
contacts or affiliates --
the flood waters open up.
Opportunities for JVs or Joint
Ventures with other online
marketers make for serious
cash flow. 5. Blogs And RSS
Feeds Blogging and RSS feeds
have become essential marketing
tools for savvy online marketers.
Online journals or blogs are
all the rage, especially in
the marketing field. These
blogging systems such as WordPress
are great content management
tools that will quickly build
a content-rich site, pulling
in targeted traffic from the
search engines. Search engines
are enamored with blogs and
RSS feeds mainly because blogs
provide fresh content, the
main lifeblood of every good
search engine. For this reason
no site should be without
a blog and RSS feed, it will
keep your content regularly
visited and indexed by the
search engines. In addition,
all that information and content
is a perfect tool for drawing
potential customers to your
products and services. Along
with your domains, lists,
keywords, and articles --
blogs are effective marketing
tools that will play an important
role in the success of your
online marketing. In the right
hands, these Internet marketing
tools can work magic on any
company's bottom line. They
are some of Internet Marketing's
most effective tools. You
don't have to think outside
of the box, you just have
to know what makes up the
box! ---- The author runs
an Internet Marketing website
featuring all the latest marketing
tools and techniques. Click
here to visit Internet Marketing
Tools Copyright © 2006 Titus
Hoskins. This article may
be freely distributed if this
resource box stays attached.
Anyone wishing to learn about
Internet Marketing and don't
want to spend a bundle should
try these: Free Internet Marketing
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