Web Marketing Microsites

It never ceases to amaze me how few companies have a suitable marketing plan, let alone one that is actively maintained. Many companies operate under the myth that their overall marketing plan can simply include an online component. The Internet however, is not just another channel. It offers an entirely new way of doing business. It deserves - and necessitates - a separate, in-depth marketing plan.

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Join us for a hands-on, one-day workshop on Internet marketing tactics, including search engine optimisation, copywriting, conversion, and web project management. Each module will be jammed packed with practical advice, online resources, tools, tips, case studies - including the “inside scoop” on what worked and what didn’t - and interactive critiques of attendees’ websites and online marketing efforts. With a live Internet connection, we will examine in-depth:

Search engine optimisation
You want to get to the top of the search engines? Ah… but which search engines should you target? What keywords are your prospects searching for? And how do you get your site to the top for those keywords and then stay there?

Learn the tactics that will make your site ’scream’ in the search engines - ethically and sustainably - without costing you a fortune ongoing.

• Hands-on keyword research
  
• Fine tuning your content, HTML, design, and site architecture for optimal rankings
  
• Workarounds for poor search engine practices (such as frames, question marks in URLs, Flash, pop-up windows, links that say “click here,” page titles like “Welcome to ABC.com”, pull-down navigation menus)
  
• Making your e-commerce or database-driven site “search engine friendly”
  
• Building links (directories, niche sites, etc.)
  
• Google’s secrets revealed (PageRank, hyperlink text, etc.)
  
• Pay-per-click search engines (Overture, etc.)
  
• Benchmarking & competitive intelligence
  
• Measuring the return on your search engine marketing investment

Improving conversion rate
So you’ve got visitors on your website, but will they “convert” to customers? Improving conversion on your site is an art and a science that involves a mix of clever copywriting, compelling offers, a follow-up strategy, meaningful metrics for measuring success, and more.

• Developing a unique voice / personality
  
• Active vs. passive tense
  
• Verbs vs. adjectives
  
• “You” vs. “we”
  
• Toning down the marketingspeak
  
• Fine tuning your offer
  
• The call-to-action
  
• Segmenting
  
• Personalizing the content and the message
  
• Marketing metrics: cost per click, cost per conversion, customer lifetime value, churn rate, etc.
  
• “Blogging”

Working with your web developer
What are the ingredients for sucess when launching a redesign or a new site? What processes are helpful in keeping the project and the vendor on track? What are reasonable expectations of the client and the vendor? What goes into (and what doesn’t go into) an effective brief or specification? How do you manage the legal risk?

• Writing a strategic brief, creative brief, functional spec, content plan, etc.
  
• Budgeting and resource allocation
  
• Vendor selection
  
• The art and science of estimating time and costs
  
• The web development process
  
• Change management
  
• The project extranet
  
• Web development contracts
  
• Liability and disclaimers
  
• Ownership of source code
  
• Terms & Conditions for your website users

We guarantee that after this intensive workshop you’ll walk away with loads of practical, actionable tactics and tips. So what are you waiting for? Register today.

BIOGRAPHY
Stephan Spencer, M.Sc., is the founder and president of Netconcepts, a full-service interactive agency with specialization in search engine optimisation, e-commerce, email marketing, and Web site auditing. They count amongst their U.S. clients: Birds Eye, Wella, Midwest Express Airlines, InfoSpace, Homestead.com, The Sharper Image, Cabela’s, and MP3.com; local clients include Westpac (NZ), The Fletcher Trust, nzgirl, SmokeCDs.com, TrustPower, and Business in the Community.

Stephan is a columnist for Unlimited. He has also written for Marketing Magazine, Management Magazine, Catalog Age, and Building Online Business. He has been featured on the cover of In Business magazine in the U.S. Stephan is a frequent speaker at Internet conferences around the globe - Berlin, London, Toronto, Santiago, Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco. He currently serves as a director of Sales & Marketing Executives International.

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Presented by Stephan Spencer, Managing Director of Netconcepts:

• Search engine optimization
  You want to get to the top of the search engines? Ah… but which search engines should you target? What keywords are your prospects searching for? And how do you actually get your site to the top for those keywords and then to stay there? Learn the tactics that will make your site ’scream’ in the search engines - ethically and sustainably - without costing you a fortune ongoing.
• Improving conversion rate
  So you’ve got visitors to your site, but will they purchase? Improving conversion on your site is an art and a science that involves a mix of clever copywriting, compelling offers, a follow-up strategy, meaningful metrics for measuring success, and more.
• Email marketing
  Email can get you in front of your customers and prospects without relying on them to remember to come back and visit your site. But pitfalls abound. Get it wrong just once and you’ll significantly trim your list and burn your relationships. Learn what it takes to make great campaigns and newsletters, get the permission you need from your intended audience, and then test your assumptions scientifically.
• Working with your web developer
  What are the ingredients for sucess when launching a redesign or a new site? What processes are helpful in keeping the project and the vendor on track? What are reasonable expectations of the client and the vendor? What goes into (and what doesn’t go into) an effective brief or specification? How do you manage the legal risk?

Presented by Kelly Goto, Principal, gotomedia, Inc.:

• Usability
• Information design
• Workflow
• Metrics for ROI from a user experience perspective

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In an intensifying effort to capture internet users’ attention, online advertisers are resorting to ever more intrusive - even dodgy - tactics like…

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In this fundamentals workshop, discover the basics of search engines as a tool to promote your organization. Examine which search engines to target, which keywords that are both relevant to your business but also popular with searchers, and the secrets of pay-for-performance search engines. Best and worst practices and case studies give the inside scoop on what worked and what didn’t, and make your e-commerce or database-driven site search engine friendly. Walk away with a search engine marketing plan.

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Research shows that up to 85% of Internet users find what they need on the Web using search engines and directories. As marketing and advertising budgets have been in decline, return-on-investment (ROI) has become an increasingly important metric in evaluating a campaign’s effectiveness. Learn how to use search to effectively to market your product and service and gain the highest ROI.

Moderator: Stephan Spencer, President, Netconcepts
Panelists:
Paul Schulz, Senior Vice President, Marketing and General Manager, Online Business, Overture Services, Inc.,
Christine Churchill, Founder, Key Relevance
York Bauer, Executive Vice President, Wireline, Infospace
David Fischer, U.S. Manager, AdWords, Google Inc.

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• Launching an online brand
• Driving more traffic to your site
• Search engine marketing

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Step-by-Step Web Marketing (produced by IIR, sponsored by Google, and endorsed by the American Marketing Association) held in Atlanta, GA

Imagine an online ad that costs you nothing per impression, guarantees both a local and worldwide audience actively seeking your products and services, and offers 6 times the click-through rate of a banner ad… a search engine listing.

Search Engine Marketing is the ultimate targeted, low cost and high return weapon in the e-marketer’s promotional arsenal. Using search engines is the second most popular Web activity behind email. 80% of Internet sessions begin at search engines. 55% of online purchases are made on sites found through search engine listings. If you want to grab people’s attention online, you need to know how to get your message to people through search engines.

Companies who do not aggressively address search engine marketing are letting their competitors eat their lunch. Consider that Macys.com has nearly 500-fold more pages in Google than MarshallFields.com, Bloomingdales.com, Nordstrom.com, and NeimanMarcus.com combined! There is a serious gap in your e-marketing strategy if it does not include search engine marketing.

Join us for a hands-on, day-long workshop on search engine marketing, where, with a live Internet connection, we will tackle:

• Which search engines to target
• Hands-on keyword research
• Benchmarking against your competitors
• Google’s secrets revealed (PageRank, hyperlink text, etc.)
• Pay-for-performance search engines (Overture, etc.)
• Building links (directories, niche sites, etc.)
• Developing a search engine marketing plan
• Best and worst practices (emulate the leaders, squash your competition)
• Case studies, including the “inside scoop” on what worked and what didn’t
• Making your e-commerce or database-driven site “search engine friendly”
• Measuring the return on your search engine marketing investment
• Criteria for selecting a search engine marketing agency
• Online tools and resources

You’ll walk away with loads of practical, actionable tactics and tips. For example:

• How many pages of your site (and your competitors’ sites) each search engine has indexed
• The best sites in your industry to get links from for increasing your position in the search results
• Relative popularities of keywords that your target audience might use (e.g. what’s more popular with searchers - apparel, clothes, or clothing?)
• Workarounds for “spider traps” and poor search engine practices such as frames, question marks in URLs, Flash, pop-up windows, links that say “click here,” page titles like “Welcome to ABC.com”, pull-down navigation menus, etc.

This workshop is designed with non-technical marketers in mind. But even the Internet-savvy techie will get a lot of this tailored, intensive workshop. Sponsored by Google and endorsed by the American Marketing Association, Sales & Marketing Executives International, and the eMarketing Association.

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