Well, calm your fears and worries because a website properly optimized for Web 2.0 can and will make money. The concept behind Web 2.0 is simple enough. The internet is entering a period of increased interactivity. Small business website design is now built and optimized around users taking an active role in building, defining, and even moderating the content and direction of the site.

The short, short version is basically this: All of those people who visit the internet everyday now add their own feedback, content, and videos to the majority of the most popular sites online.

Taking a step back for a second, you realize that this isn’t exactly a ground breaking idea. After all, blogs, forums, and networking sites have been around since the beginning of the internet and their reputation of interaction and user contribution has long been known.

What makes Web 2.0 different now than before is the shift in focus rather than in actual technology. Popular websites like MySpace and Facebook brought this concept of social Web interactivity to forefront of daily internet users, instead of just dating sites and focused discussion groups, no offense WOW fans. The average user now has their very own voice and face, hence the idea of a new focus in website design and small business search engine marketing.

So the last thing you, as a savvy small business owner looking to get involved in ecommerce, should do is allow yourself to be intimidated by all the hype of Web 2.0. It doesn’t take any expensive new software or programs. Nor do you need to completely overhaul your marketing mentality to find success in the midst of this new social media optimization movement.

What you need to go is jump in and get involved. Your customers, the ones you communicate and do business with over the internet, expect greater access to your business and increased input in how your marketing plan is run, so it’s only natural that your business incorporates this Web 2.0 interactivity into its daily activities.

The real results of Web 2.0 hype is improved customer relations, readily available market data, and new and exciting ways to promote your business’s products and services. This new era represents a leap in the human consciousness more than it does an advance in Internet technology and Mystic Liquid wants to be there to help you make that jump.

Contact us to get started with your very own small business search engine optimization and social media optimization campaign today.

]]> http://www.mysticliquid.com/seo/the-progress-of-web-20-and-your-business/feed/ 0 http://www.mysticliquid.com/sem/ppc-vs-seo/ http://www.mysticliquid.com/sem/ppc-vs-seo/#comments Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:11:29 +0000 admin http://www.mysticliquid.com/?p=566 PPC vs SEO
After a business establishes its website to promote its goods or services, it has two basic choices as to how to focus its marketing efforts. The two most powerful online marketing tools available are PPC “pay per click” and SEO “search engine optimization” marketing.

PPC is an approach where a marketer bids on specific keywords that are tied to specific ads. These ads appear when any of the keywords are searched. You do not pay for this type of advertising unless an ad is clicked on. This approach allows businesses to bid against each other and compete for better ad position. SEO is the approach where improvements are actually made to improve the richness of web sites content in relation to specific keywords with the intention to improve its quality score in the eyes of search engine spiders.

So, which approach will best meet the needs of your businesses online marketing efforts?

Cost Effectiveness
Marketing efforts are an expense. That has to be taken into consideration when deciding which of these two strategies will yield the best return on investment. Many industry studies have found that SEO does indeed deliver a greater return on investment then PPC campaigns over long periods of time.

This is true because with SEO the cost is based on the maintenance efforts and not the cost per click biding structure. That is due to SEO being based on organic search listings. Most top search engines want to maintain their integrity and provide searchers with objective non-biased information related to the end users search. In other words the natural search will continue to be the search engines main objective and can only be reached through SEO because this section of real estate is not for sale.

Time Efficentency
In the modern business environment, performance is judged on a short term scale. Quarterly earning reports and projections can have drastic impact on a businesses stock price. When it comes to choosing an internet marketing strategy, PPC is far more time efficient than SEO.

PPC ads start to show on search engines instantly while the effects of SEO are more of a long term process. This allow a marketer to test and isolate what combination of keywords, landing pages, and ads perform best and focus on them while at the same time eliminating what is not working.

No matter if the purpose of the web site is to increase and capture sales or leads the benefits of PPC can be measured in almost real time from when the campaign is launched.

Best Of Both Worlds
The best strategy for an entrepreneur to consider when entering the world of internet marketing is to take advantage of what both PPC and SEO has to offer. By applying both strategies you can be assured that your target market will find you. This approach can also give you the needed upper hand in today’s ultra competitive market place.

Use both to gain more exposure on search engines and take up more valuable advertising real estate. The end result will be more traffic and ultimately more sales.