By Bob Speyer, Web Success Team

You are getting thousands of hits but no conversions. Why? You have done your homework, your website is up and running, and your site has been thoroughly optimized for search (SEO) and marketing (SEM). Here is why:

Confusion Leads to Desertion

First, you have to rethink how you do business online. An effective website is one that entices and motivates the viewer into taking action. It’s not about the “wow” factor. It’s about getting them to respond. The messages have to be clear, simple and direct(ed). If you have so much information, the visitor won’t grasp anything. Confusion leads to desertion (of your website).

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By Bob Speyer, President, Web Success Team

Field of Dreams

By now you probably have read numerous articles about driving traffic to your web site by implementing some proven techniques, such as SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Keyword Marketing, Pay Per Click, among others. But how many articles or techniques do you read on “How to keep visitors from leaving a website?” Chances are very few.

The adage, “If You Build It, They Will Come” may work for the movie “Field of Dreams,” but not necessarily in the real Web World. Like in the movie, there has to be a raison d’etre — a reason to keep watching, a baited hook. If you remember, the film featured baseball greats of yesteryear that tapped into the consciousness of the fan, giving people something of value, a need fulfilled or just plain curiosity. They will watch the game/movie transfixed for hours.

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By Bob Speyer, Web Success Team

BodyRock Sport by Kelly Dooley has combined sports fitness and fashion with an innovative line of active wear for women who don’t want to sacrifice style at the gym. Sports bras are ultra chic and also wearable for an evening on the town. When seen, or better still, when worn, they create a buzz among women who can’t wait to slip into her attractive sports bras, tanks and matching head / wrist bands. They all but sell themselves.

Great products… So how do we get the “buzz” going?

To penetrate the marketplace and get exposure, Kelly has asked the Web Success Team to help promote her outstanding product line using social media to spread the word.

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By Ellen Violette, the eBook Coach

The world of book publishing has been turned on its head. Like the newspaper and magazine industry, people are bypassing the more traditional medias and now searching the Internet for their information and education. Our habits in a few short years have dramatically changed. Today’s reality of getting a book to market can take years, if not at all.

Ebooks, on the other hand, are tailored made to today’s fast-paced, information hungry audience. Ebooks are shorter in length and to the point. They can be written in as little as 72 hours, position you as an authority in your field, help promote your services or draw interest in your company. Most ebooks offer self-help advice on a wide range of topics – from marketing strategies to motivational topics to growing an organic garden.

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By Bob Speyer, Web Success Team

Everyone wants to increase their social media followers quickly. Here’s a novel way to broaden your reach through a Facebook Fan Exchange championed by online marketer Michelle Hummel. It’s simple, innovative and most importantly stays true to the Social Media Mantra, “Give to Get.” Michele has used LinkedIn to promote this marketing concept. In only four months, Michelle has gone from 60 Facebook friends to just under 2,000 fans by promoting the Facebook Fan Exchange through 5 to 7 select LinkedIn groups.

How It Works: I Become a Fan, You Become a Fan

The strategy is very simple. First you join a LinkedIn Discussion Group, for example: Innovative Marketing, PR, Sales, Word-of-Mouth & Buzz Innovators. Of course, the more groups you join and implement this strategy, the more fans you will corral. Then you follow these simple instructions:

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By Bob Speyer, Web Success Team

There were some marketing fireworks over the 4^th of July holiday at the World Series of Poker Tournament in Las Vegas. Batman made his appearance as one of the entrants and turned the normally high roller tournament into a media frenzy.

Sure there were the predictable Hollywood and sports celebrities along with the well know poker superstars. People in amusing hats and sponsored shirts with their knuckle-duster rings and assortment of Vegas bling.

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By Bob Speyer, Web Success Team

Social Media has definitely arrived when it has its own day. Thanks to Mashable, June 30 will now be engraved in Internet history. I remember when Earth Day got started. I was a student at Berkeley and saving the planet and protesting the Vietnam War was all the rage. Flash forward 40 years later. Yes we have another “gulp” war and the Earth still isn’t doing very well. The BP oil spill is in its 70+ day and counting. The old saying, “the more things change, the more they stay the same” seems to hold true.

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By Janette Leon-Speyer, Web Success Team

Objective: Getting the message to your audience

Online marketing is very inexpensive and has widespread reach. Due to the aforementioned reasons most companies and individuals have jumped on the Online Marketing platform to advertise and share their products and services. However it is fast becoming highly saturated. As it stands we have banner blindness when it comes to online ads. Many of the “old and new” tactics are not as effective. The culprits are sensory overload, skepticism, and exhaustion.

Hard to monetize, difficult to get noticed and tough to achieve visitor engagement.

The lack of market segmentation in the online space is making it very difficult to get your message across. You find yourself competing with similar companies all fighting for a “viral moment” For example, if you have a Facebook Fan Page, getting people to “like”  and to “engage” on your page is becoming a monumental task. This takes time and resources for very slim returns.

Big search firms and social media platforms like Facebook, Google and Yelp are trying to address this issue with Community Pages, Google Places and Yelp Business Pages. It still is not enough to get your message across to your audience. There are many businesses out there vying for visitor eyes.

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By Bob Speyer, Web Success Team

The attraction of playing poker is the risk-reward paradigm. What separates a good poker player from a successful one is the skill employed in playing the hands. Effective content, whether it is for your social media activities or for your website, is based on how well you craft and communicate your message. In online marketing, you want to stack the deck in your favor. That’s why you need a coherent content strategy to amass more chips, or in web terminology — more desirable actions, conversations and conversions.

Poker Hand

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