I have taken just a sample of them to answer today, as these cover most of the general topics asked about! So... Deep breath and here goes!
Jason Hampton Park VIC asked: "How do you set up your metadata names in order to gain top listings in search engines when someone types in the name of your business?"
A: There are some simple programs that you can use to do that, but it always starts with good keyword research. The research will tell you where the niches are and therefore how to set up or name each of your website pages.
The metatags must be relevant to that pages' content. In the SEO section of the course you will receive specific instructions on what to include in your metatags, what not to include and how to structure them for better search engine indexing
Armand of Gladesville NSW asked: "Do I need experience to manage an online business?"
A: Not necessarily, but no matter how much experience you have, there are always improvements, enhancements and refinements that you can apply to your website pages, your campaigns and your conversion rates.
This course is designed to take someone who is a beginner and get them started correctly, and to avoid the pitfalls of ' trial by error', and also for the established online marketer who wants to fast track their processes, and get some more advanced skills.
Jim of Toorak VIC asked: "How, with a low level of inhouse 'techo' expertise, does a business generate the desired high quality (high margin/profit) leads, most likely potential buyers, and track where they came from, without putting them through on overly administrative and impersonal process, to 'register'?
A: You are going to love the section in the course about Google Analytics, because that is precisely the kind of information you will be able to have. The level of detail you need or want will determine the tracking that you use. I suggest you start with Google Analytics and then try some of the other packages that are suggested in the course.
Tracking not only the keywords that give you the best qualified leads, but also the locations they are coming from, and the most/least productive pages of your site, will mean you can refine your processes and pages and target your market even more precisely.
Tina of Mount Waverley VIC asked: "How can I develop lead database with minimal effort and time spent trawling yellow pages?"
A: The short answer is to give something away. Online marketing is like a 'courtship'. You have to build trust and rapport and confidence with your visitor that you have something of value and that you're not 'just after one thing'.
So ask yourself what their biggest frustration is, or their biggest problem and write a short report that helps them solve that problem, then give it the, for free through a small form on your website.
Make sure you've got lots of good content on the same page as the form to build your credibility with them, so that they WANT your report. You can build a high quality targeted database over time with this simple strategy
Aran of Gladesville NSW asked: "If everyone else is investing in SEO and OLG, how can I keep in front of the competition?"
A: But not everyone is! It only SEEMS like they are because YOU are now aware of it! It's simply a game of testing, tweaking and optimising on a continual basis, a little like having to regularly top up the oil in your car - You don't have to do it every day, but you do have to check it regularly to see if it needs topping up.
Think of it as a more sophisticated form of marketing. In the 'old' days, you inserted regular ads in the publications your target audience were reading, or you made sure you booked your Yellow pages every year. Now you have no risk of a "Not happy, Jan" situation, and very few people are doing it systematically and regularly!
Iggy of Southbank VIC asked: "How do you do your weekly optimization in Google Adwords? How do you find the keywords for Adwords? How do you know the number of searches for a certain keyword?"
A: Good keyword research should tell you approx how many searches were done for a particular keyword last month, and should also show search results for related keywords as well. For example, lets say your keyword research shows 10,000 people searched the net for 'car rental' last month, and your business is Australia wide, then your potential market place is 10,000.
If you only operate in Sydney, which has approx 40% of the population, then your potential would be approx 4,000. Google has tools that will also give you a good idea of the potential number of clicks you could expect per day, based on location your ads are showing, your daily budget and how much you want to pay per click.
Optimisation processes will be explained in two chapters of the course, including an 'advanced techniques' section as well.
George of Glenhaven NSW asked: "How do I get the best quality lead possible?"
A: It all starts with first defining WHO your ideal lead is, what their problems are, what they most want to solve and what information they need to be able to trust you.
Then you brainstorm your initial keyword groups, do your research and then set up your website to provide the information and solutions they desire.
Make sure you have some sort of funnel process in your marketing like a newsletter, report or special offer that acts like a magnet and that sets you up as the industry authority or expert and make it easy for them to do business with you, with your online or offline sales processes.
Conor of Potts Point NSW asked: "Is it always best to get a new leads attention by having a title as a question?"
A: The brain's job is to solve problems and 'know' what is happening so it cam make decisions for you, and the quality of the decision can sometimes be based on the quality of the information available. If you just 'tell' the brain something it has to 'decide' if that information is something they have to act upon now or later, if at all.
But when you ask it a question it can't help itself but to provide an immediate answer. Coming back to getting someones attention... If you can get the attention of the brain, you have the attention of the body.
The more direct you can be in your question, the more likely you are to get the response you want, or to create a decision-making process that leads the person to make a decision in your favour. Test it yourself. How does YOUR brain react to a statement as opposed to a question. "Book here for a free holiday". "Do you want to go on a free holiday?"
Ana of Paynesville VIC asked: "I am assuming that this is a daily routine. How much of the office time should be set aside for this additional job with a small business? How much technical jargon do I need to know or can I make it work with plain language speak?"
A: Minimum an hour a week to at least look for trends and any sudden changes in your results, to make sure you have your finger on the pulse. This effort is like watching the petrol gauge in your car...
If you don't watch it regularly you can run out of petrol when you least expect it.
Depending on the amount of traffic you have coming though you campaigns would influence how often you would optimise them. Weekly is good, fortnightly is OK, monthly is too long between drinks.
No technical jargon needed, as most people using Google Adwords are just like you and me and they are not 'geeks', so all their systems are written with that kind of person in mind. I will also be including a glossary in the course, for those people who like to know everything.
Mike of Braeside VIC asked: "Will click management work and is the best manager Sensis the way to go?"
A: The best way to make decisions is based on actual numbers, that is, what are the facts telling me. A client in Sydney asked this question recently, because he had been approached by Sensis for advertising. Fortunately he had Google analytics set into his site and I was able to produce a report for him that told him exactly where all his traffic came from, over the past month.
For example, 2.100 of his visitors the previous month had come from Google search results, (with a percentage of that coming from his Adword campaigns), 68 visitors came from Yahoo search results, 31 from MSN and 8 from TrueLocal.
Based on this he was able make an educated decision about where to invest his advertising budget for the best possible return. Marketing should never be about guess work when we can 'split test' ads and have such detailed information at our fingertips, the likes of which we've never had before!
Thank you again for all the people who submitted Questions! I'll get around to answering more as we get the course launched.
And remember... Keep your eyes on your inbox for the next update on Australia's first "Online Lead Generation In A Box"
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