AdTrak 360 Blog

Tips to Optimize Your Webpages for Mobile Devices

adtrak360 — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:48:54 -0500

With the increased use of mobile devices to access the Internet, it is truly in your best interest to ensure that your website is optimized for mobile devices. When people access your webpage from their phone, they need to be able to see and utilize that page fully. This requires some changes on your part so users can have a good experience with their smart phones and other mobile devices.

Finger Scrolling
With mobile devices, viewers use their fingers to click and navigate around a website instead of a mouse. Because some mobile devices have small screens, it is important to keep links and clickable areas large enough to “click” with a finger. Leaving enough space between links is important as well, as to not click multiple links at once.

Alt Tags
Because some mobile device users choose to turn off images’ visibility for quicker browsing, it is important to use alt tags on all images for your mobile site. This will tell mobile device users what the image should be so they will know what your website contains. The alt tags may help in preventing confusion where the images are lacking.

Readability
Depending on the size of the mobile device, it can be difficult to read websites. Therefore, it is extremely important to use fonts and text sizes that are easy to read on a smaller scale. Make sure you use colors that contrast enough so that users can see all text easily, but avoid harsh colors. Layout is important to consider for a mobile compatible page as well, arranging text in small blocks with enough space between lines and paragraphs.

Forms
Forms on a mobile device should be simple so it is as easy to fill out as possible. You should also keep images and other distractions to a minimum. It’s often good practice to have forms open in their own window, taking up the entire screen. This makes it easier to fill out the individual form fields.

Keeping your webpages optimized for mobile devices will ensure that users can access them in multiple ways, expanding your potential reach of customers. With the increase in popularity of smart phones and mobile devices for web browsing, it is important for your website’s success to keep up with this technology.

Top 5 “Don’t”s in Landing Page Design

adtrak360 — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:31:48 -0500

When trying to get visitors to come to your landing pages, your ultimate goal is to gain conversions. These “Don’t”s can cause many people to leave the page before taking action, therefore costing you valuable leads. Try to avoid the following…

1) Auto-Play Music
Setting your landing pages to music that plays automatically can be irritating to some visitors. If the volume is up too loud or they are in a setting where noise is disruptive, they may quickly leave the page. While it can be attention grabbing to include video or other sound features on your page, it is best to provide a mute or stop button in an easy-to-find location or require the user to manually click “Play”.

2) False Promises
You may feel pressured to make extreme promises in order to draw in viewers. However, when your visitors see a promise on your site, they expect you to follow through. Your CTA’s should match your actual offer, don’t exaggerate. If customers find out later that what you promised is not actually what they get, you will lose their trust and possibly gain a negative reputation.

3) Content Overload
It may be tempting to include a lot of information on your landing page and provide plenty of images to attract the attention of visitors. However, internet users want an easy-to-use site that isn’t overwhelming. Instead, provide your users with the basic information they need and clear CTA’s to guide them to take action.

4) Harsh Colors
In an effort to stand out from your competitors, you may try to use bold or bright colors on your website. However, remember sometimes less is more. Using harsh, or extremely contrasting colors such as red and black can be hard on the eyes and may drive viewers away. Choose colors that make for easy readability.

5) Boring Headlines
Boring headlines on your landing page will turn visitors off before they even have a chance to learn anything about you. Use interesting headlines that make your visitors want to keep reading. A headline should tell the reader what’s in store. Try using action or buzz words to grab interest.

Landing pages are the gateway to conversion. The entire purpose of using landing pages is to gain new leads. Therefore, you need to create a welcoming landing page that will lead your visitors to learn more about you and feel comfortable in taking action.

How To Incorporate QR Codes into Your Marketing

adtrak360 — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:28:00 -0500

QR codes are a new way for companies to draw visitors to their websites and are beginning to grow in popularity. These unique codes can be generated from numerous free sites, and then saved as a link or an image to be placed on almost any marketing material. The codes can be scanned with smart phones using code reader apps. Code readers translate the code and send the viewer to the corresponding web page. This gives customers quick access to a company’s website instead of having to type in a specific URL, which can sometimes be long and cumbersome.

Here are a few examples of useful places to use QR codes:

Business Cards
QR codes take networking to a new level when used on business cards. It allows new contacts who receive your business card to quickly access your website. Instead of waiting until they are near a computer to type in your website URL, they can instantly access your website to find more info on your company by using their smart phone. There are even special codes that will automatically fill your address book or an email with a new acquaintance’s contact information when scanned.

Advertisements
QR codes can be placed on many types of advertisements. For instance, if you hang fliers, or send out direct mailers, print the QR code on the corner. If you advertise in a local newspaper or magazine, include the QR code in your advertisement. It only takes a second for potential customers to scan the code and find themselves at your site. The key to QR codes is using them in materials that are easily able to be scanned with a smart phone.

Product Packaging
If your business offers products to your customers, including a QR code on the packaging works in two ways. If a customer is trying to decide between more than one product in a store, they may scan the QR code to gain information to make a decision. If the customer has already purchased the product, he may use the QR code to gather more information about the company.

Displays
Another good place to use your QR codes to give potential customers easy access to your website is in-store displays. Whether you include the code on your products or not, including them as part of the display in your store or others will give your customer the option to learn more through your website.

QR codes are still fairly new, but are becoming more common. Displaying them prominently on business cards, advertisements, products and displays can help your customers access your website quickly and easily from almost anywhere.

Introducing AdTrak to the Chamber of Commerce

adtrak360 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:52:43 -0500

Last week, we hosted our first Chamber of Commerce social event in our hometown of Williamsport. During this networking opportunity, we introduced AdTrak 360 to the local business community and exposed our attendees to powerful new ways of thinking about their marketing and advertising strategy.

Our employees answered questions at multiple stations around the room, each focused on a specific aspect of our marketing. Throughout the night we also presented high-level tours of AdTrak 360, giving our guests a sneak peak at the power of the console.

The event was a great success and we look forward to sharing our passion with all marketers.

If you’d like to see more pictures from the event, Like us on Facebook!

How to Format Great Online Content

adtrak360 — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:46:00 -0500

When you use website content to promote your business, it is important to format that content in the best possible manner. Readers prefer to see content in an easy-to-read format that is not intimidating. If you follow that format, you will find your readership will increase and your website will achieve greater rankings with the search engines as well. Try the following formatting tips:

Short Paragraphs
Your readers don’t want to wade through long paragraphs to find out what they want to know. Long paragraphs can be intimidating to your readers. If you keep your paragraphs short and to the point, you will find that your viewers read through the entire article rather than scanning. When readers scan, they may miss important information.

Use Headers
If your readers are looking for a specific piece of information, being able to scan bolded headers can tell them what your piece is about. They can then quickly decide if they want to read the whole thing or if they only need to read parts of your piece. Scanning headings before reading can also save your reader time if your article doesn’t cover their needs. If visitors feel your site is a waste of their time they may not return.

Bullet Points
Bullet points allow your readers to gather critical information in your article without reading complete sentences. If you have information that can easily be portrayed in list format, bullet points work well, especially when your points don’t have a specific order.

Numbered Lists
For the same reason as bullet points, using numbered lists when possible can help increase readership and impress search engines. If the information you are listing requires a specific order such as a step by step process, it is better to use the numbered list format over the bullet point format.

Images
Using relevant images in your text helps break up your content for readers. Some readers are intimidated by long lines of text with no break and may leave immediately without even scanning. If you include relevant images, a reader is more likely to read your article because he won’t feel like your piece is endless. Many readers like to have a visual element besides just words on the page.

When creating your online content, it is important to implement as many of these elements as you can. However, you should never use them at the expense of the quality of your content. Using just a couple of these elements is enough to keep your readers interested and returning for more.

Build Trust for Sucessful Landing Pages

adtrak360 — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:34:00 -0500

Arriving on a poorly constructed landing page is comparable to finding a fabulous sale on a highly desired item and racing to the store to find it’s sold out; disappointing to say the least. Looking around, you see an abundance of other items you don’t need, but that one item you wanted is nowhere to be found. Eventually, you leave. A bad landing page can often have the same effect, leaving potential clients and customers running to the competition to find what they’re looking for. Here, we provide a few tips to creating an intelligently designed landing page that your visitors will feel confident in trusting:

Affiliate Seals – Displaying the logos of larger, and perhaps well-known companies that you may be affiliated with establishes a sense of rapport. People often feel most comfortable with those which whom they share common interests. Your common affiliation with companies they know and trust is likely to earn you their trust and loyalty as well.
Contact Us – Hiding from your visitors is a surefire way to drive them away. Provide a telephone number in an easy-to-find location to let your customers know that you welcome their calls and questions.
Brand Consistency – If your potential customers feel they’ve made a wrong turn down a dead-end road, they’re likely to turn around. Therefore, it’s important to maintain consistency in brand image. Use logos and features similar to the originating site to assure the customer that he/she remains in familiar territory.
Customer Testimonials – Nothing makes or breaks a company’s reputation like word of mouth. Providing testimonials from real customers on your landing page allows your visitors the opportunity to see the impression you’ve left on other customers which can build the visitor’s confidence in your offerings which often leads to conversion.
Clear Communication - Provide simple, clear, and understandable terms and conditions, as well as explanations of your offers or promotions.

Today’s consumers like to find what they’re looking for quickly without having to sift through pages of unnecessary information. By providing a landing page which displays integrity and clearly states your objectives you will retain the attention of your visitors and gain higher conversion rates!

Why You Should be Utilizing Lead Nurturing

adtrak360 — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:32:00 -0500

Lead nurturing is the process of developing a relationship and building trust with your potential customers in order to continue the conversation. While many businesses already have a social media strategy, send out newsletters and perform analyses, many businesses feel they do not have the time, or knowledge to take their marketing strategy to the next level. If you want your business to really stand out, you need to implement a form of lead nurturing.

There are a number of concrete benefits that come from lead nurturing:

Ongoing communication that can increase engagement
Give your prospects a personal touch and make them feel like there is a human being on the other end of the email or phone call; no one wants to listen to robotic telemarketers. By taking the next step and nurturing your leads, your business can thrive because consumers are craving meaningful relationships.

A boost in word-of-mouth marketing and referrals
Another component of lead nurturing is following-up when you say you will. A simple way that your business can demonstrate its integrity is calling or emailing when you promise it; people will remember this about you. They may even go as far as to recommend you to others, opening doors for easy leads based off word of mouth. Luckily, through today’s technology, a follow-up email can be sent automatically. It can be as simple as asking if they have any problems or questions, making them feel comfortable and able to trust you.

Demonstrate your authority within your industry
You want your brand to constantly be in the back of your customers’ minds. While emails (automated and not) and phone calls are the easiest for small businesses to use, they are not the only method to nurture leads. Your small business can experiment with hosting webinars, sending out email blasts, to let your audience know about events or offers, writing relevant information with personality on your social media sites and blogs to position yourself as an industry insider.

Lead nurturing is the simple act but can be extremely meaningful. It is an opportunity to showcase your brand’s integrity, so take advantage of it. By using the abundance of tools in lead nurturing, your business is laying the foundation for long-term customers.

Tips for Producing Great Online Headlines

adtrak360 — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:43:00 -0500

One of the most important aspects of your web content is the headline. A good headline will attract readers and make them want to read your article. The headline is the first thing your readers see on the search results and will often dictate whether they visit your site. Producing great headlines is just as important as producing quality content, so keep the following in mind:

Use Your Keywords
Be sure to use your SEO keyword in the title. This will help your content’s rank within the search engine, as well as give your reader a good idea what the article is about.

Keep It Short
A headline should be a short, informative blurb telling your readers what to expect while piquing their interest. Keep it short and succinct, typically limiting it to about 15 words, or 65 characters.

Types of Headlines
There are a few different categories of effective headlines. Each type has a different purpose that can work well in different situations or for different audiences:

Questions. Asking a question for your headline helps you relate to your readers. Your readers are likely looking for the answer to the question you pose. If they want to know the answer, they will continue to read.
Commands. Using a command as your headline provides your readers with direction. These headlines tell your reader what they should do, providing them with a benefit in their lives. Your readers will want to know how they can receive the benefit for themselves.
How-To. If your content is intended to tell your readers how to do something, let them know with the headline. For instance, use “How To” followed by the action you will tell the readers how to complete. This encourages readers who want to complete the task to continue reading.
Witty. Creating a witty headline can be difficult, but if you can create a good one, it will draw in readers. A witty headline intrigues your readers and makes them wonder what your article is about.
Numbers. Telling your readers you will give them 10 reasons why, 5 steps toward something or 7 ways to do something, it will encourage them to read to find out what exactly is on these lists. Lists are usually effective because they are easy to read quickly, so readers may keep an eye out for these.

Creating headlines that draw the attention of your readers is just as important as writing solid content. In fact, it may even be more important. Don’t let your fantastic content go unread because of a weak headline.

Inbound Marketing New Year’s Resolutions

adtrak360 — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:15:53 -0500

Although some businesses don’t like to admit it, Inbound is the modern marketing. While traditional marketing still has a place in many marketers’ strategies, moving towards inbound can provide a whole new way of reaching engaged leads. 2012 is the year to develop your Inbound Strategy and help interested prospects find you.
With New Year’s Eve right around the corner, here are some of our suggested New Year’s Resolutions for you to start moving your marketing initiatives to inbound:

Target Your Audience
While outbound marketing sends your advertisements out to a general blanket in hopes that someone who views it will be in need of your services, inbound marketing allows you to provide specific information on your products or services to targeted people who are already interested in your industry and are looking for a business like you.

Use Social Media
Many businesses now make use of social media sites to gather lead information. You can use this to your advantage through inbound marketing. When you write web content or articles for your blog, make it easy for readers to share your information through social media websites. Social media users will most likely only share your content with others whom they believe will have an interest in you; therefore you gain more exposure and may attract more leads who are already interested in what you do!

More Leads for Less Money
Because inbound marketing focuses on audience who are already interested in your business this type of marketing campaign can save you money by having all of your initiatives work together. You can create a blog filled with relevant content that drives traffic to your website. Adding keyword-rich articles to your website will assist your search engine results. Whenever someone shares a link to your content, it has the potential to drive visitors to your website.

Choosing to take advantage of inbound marketing increases the odds of reaching your target audience. You also rely on your happy customers to spread the word about you to more potential customers. Outbound marketing may still have a place in helping your business, but your business will thrive in 2012 if you dedicate yourself to following through with your inbound marketing resolutions.

Happy Holidays from all of us at AdTrak!!

adtrak360 — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:10:09 -0500

Happy Holidays from all of us at AdTrak!!

Selecting SEO Keywords

adtrak360 — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:20:53 -0500

There is a lot of fuss about keywords in online marketing, and there is good reason. Keywords are used by websites to communicate their value and relevance to search engines like Yahoo!, Google and Bing. Good keywords are critical for search engine optimization (SEO). The better SEO keywords can be utilized, the better your search engine result pages (SERPs), and that adds up to more traffic to your website. Consider the following when thinking about keywords:

Keyword tool. A keyword tool from search engines such as Google can be handy for selecting SEO keywords. Keyword tools can generate search terms similar to the keywords you currently use and show how many searches your primary and secondary keywords typically receive. A keyword tool can also show which words are the most competitive amongst advertisers in your niche. A good strategy for smaller businesses is to put less emphasis on primary keywords, and more focus on less-competitive keywords that get a good number of searches but modest advertiser interest.
Personal Research. It pays to also do your own search engine keyword testing. Key in ten of your most competitive SEO keywords to Google, Bing and Yahoo!, and see where your site lands in the SERPs. Pay attention to the results of your competitors, as well. Niche keyword research can help build a robust and efficient SEO keyword strategy.
Alternates and phrases. SEO keywords can be a single word or a string of words that defines the way users search for products or services. For example, a site that sells dog toys would likely get more search action from the keyword “dog toys” than just “toys.” Alternate ways of saying the same thing should also be tested, for example, “toys for dogs.”
Accidental popularity. Sometimes a simple misspelling or incorrect term can end up being a good SEO keyword. Don’t ignore odd-sounding or unusual keywords if they get a high number of searches. People commonly make mistakes when they search for products or services, and web developers can leverage those mistakes by using them as SEO keywords.
Analytics software. Programs such as AdTrak can be a very helpful tool for selecting SEO keywords. Analytics can track visitor behaviors, including the keywords users may have used to find your site. Pay attention to the way users are finding your website on search engines and what types of keywords are used for your business or industry. This information can be used to drive more traffic to your site.

There is much to learn about choosing good keywords, but these points will give you a good, basic start. With a little practice, you can soon become a SEO wiz.

Using LinkedIn Company Profiles to Your Advantage

adtrak360 — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 09:58:00 -0500

Using LinkedIn Company Profiles is an excellent way to utilize social media to your company’s advantage. Part of marketing strategy involves having custom-designed ads running on multiple finely tuned media outlets. There is another important part of marketing strategy that involves taking social media into your own hands and using it to its full potential.

When you use a LinkedIn Company profile, employees as well as interested general public can ‘follow’ you. Anyone who follows you on LinkedIn is going to have all of your latest happenings in front of them on their home page and will have the chance to read all about what your business is doing.

TIP: Add follow buttons to your website homepage, your email messages and your blog to make people aware that you can be found on LinkedIn.

As you make new connections, they will be able to share what your company is up to with their connections. When this happens, news of what your company does spreads throughout the site. Even casual observers are going to be able to see information about your business and connect with you.

TIP: Be sure you consistently provide compelling content that your followers will be interested in and want to share. You can do this by connecting your Twitter and blog’s RSS feed into your page, or even displaying news stories featuring your business with the News Module.

Not only will you find new followers, but you will likely end up with new clients who are intrigued by your business, your services, or your products.

TIP: Take advantage of the Products/Services tabs to provide information to your interested followers. Making this available directly on your page makes it that much easier for your followers to take action if they are thinking about purchasing. Followers can even recommend your products to their connections, increasing your brand’s exposure.

The proper use of a LinkedIn page will allow you to network throughout your industry and others to find new customers that will help to expand your business.

There are numerous other features of LinkedIn Company pages, check out a complete overview straight from LinkedIn here.

7 Ways to Grow Your Email List

adtrak360 — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 09:28:30 -0500

Email marketing is an inexpensive, non-labor intensive medium for not only in retaining existing customers, but also in growing your customer base. It can greatly benefit the stability of any business, whether professional service providers or retailers.

To get the most out of email marketing, businesses can attempt to expand their lists by trying out the following things:

1) Educate/Inform consumers. As the saying goes, knowledge is power. By providing whitepapers and other educational materials, a business wins the trust of many consumers. Customers that feel they are being given valuable advice or information at no cost will usually continue to come back for more. To keep receiving the freebie, most customers will gladly join an email list.

2) Contests and giveaways. Contests and giveaways hold the promise of gaining something for little to no effort. Participants that don’t have to purchase a raffle ticket or buy a product for a chance to win will see the “risk” of simply signing up to be a small one and subscribing to the list to be worthwhile.

3) Enticements. Buy-One-Get-One, coupons and special deals all have inherent value. Customers are asked to give only a small piece of information in exchange for big savings. Unlike other methods, this one can be used on a continual basis, especially as loyalty rewards.

4) Special events. Holding events creates great exposure and positive image for your business. Giving your attendees the chance to become a part of an exclusive e-club can create a sense of camaraderie, so your list can grow faster.

5) Website traffic. Businesses with a strong Internet presence shouldn’t let the hit counts go to waste. By having a dedicated sign-up box on a business’ website, visitors truly interested in the products or services will join.

6) Outgoing email and/or newsletters. Every outgoing email should contain a chance to “opt-in”. Moreover, newsletters ought to have a “send to a friend” feature. When the newsletter is forwarded from a trusted source, it is likely to be received more favorably.

7) Embrace the power of social media. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are only a few examples. Upcoming sites like unation.com and pinterest.com are also valuable resources for collecting email addresses to build your list. Social media is a powerful tool, when used correctly. It allows customers to stay in constant contact and business owners to make announcements about sales, discounts, promotions and the like.

These are just a few opportunities for you to try when attempting to grow your list. Business owners should feel free to be creative in finding new and interesting ways to increase their email subscriber list.

Improve SEO with Link Building

adtrak360 — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:25:34 -0500

There is one acronym that all Internet marketers should familiarize themselves with. This term is SEO, and it stands for search engine optimization. SEO is the process of getting your site ranked as high as possible in search engine results for specific longtail keywords. The goal is usually to get your site listed on the first page of results in search engines such as Google and Yahoo.

Step 1. The first step in this process is to pick out a set of keywords that are related to your niche. These should be keyword phrases that get a decent number of searches while not being overly competitive. Once you have a list of keyword phrases, use a tool like the Google keyword toolbar to determine how often those keywords are typically entered by web surfers. This tool will also show you how competitive a keyword is.

Step 2. Once you have your list of keywords, the next step is to begin a link building campaign. The purpose is to link back to your site on other sites, such as blogs, using your keywords as the anchor text. Anchor text is the clickable words in blue representing it as a link. Search engines take the anchor text into consideration when determining the relevance of your site. This is why it is vital to select good quality keyword phrases.

Step 3. Ultimately you want other websites to link back to you as well. The best way to do this is to provide interesting content that other websites find useful and want to share. The more sites that link to you, the more authority your site will have. Higher authority leads to a higher rank in search engine results. Sites that are well established and get a good number of visitors have higher authority. Ideally, the inbound links should come from other high authority sites, because these carry more “weight” and will boost your own site’s authority faster.

Step 4. Article directories are also a great place to leave a backlink. Just write a 350-500 word article with quality content related to your niche that potential customers could find useful. Within the article you can promote your site and leave a link prompting people to visit.

Link building is an ongoing process that takes time and work. While you can build your links manually and one by one, many online marketers use an automated software or outsource the link building work to other people. However you approach it, improving your SEO with link building is a process that can really pay off if you take the time to learn and implement it.

Maximize the Effectiveness of Your CTA Buttons

adtrak360 — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:09:34 -0500

One of the major elements of a landing page is your call to action (CTA). It seals the deal. It creates the conversion. Maximizing CTA button effectiveness adds directly to the bottom line.

After all, the prospect is on your page, you have presented your benefits, now you are asking them to take action. A/B testing to improve your call-to-action buttons can add up to higher conversion rates. Here are some elements to take into consideration when testing and creating CTA buttons…

5 Elements to Maximize in CTA Buttons

1) Button size. Large buttons can catch the eye, however you often need other information on the page to ensure the conversion takes place. Depending on what other content is on your page, and the overall message you are trying to convey, the best size of your button may differ. Test the size of your buttons to find the right balance for your product and customer base.

2) Location. Most landing pages benefit from a button that is above the fold so visitors to the page always see it as soon as they open the page. You might experiment with placing your CTA button in the upper right of the page or centered on the page. Testing will reveal the best position for your target audience.

3) Color. Your CTA button should contrast with the background in order to draw the eye’s attention. Different colors elicit different responses in people, and this should be taken into consideration based on your brand, product, or message. Reds have an advantage in drawing the eye and instilling a sense of urgency, but any dark against light contrast is good for readability.

4) Button Text. Stating the action you want the prospect to take helps nudge them confidently in the right direction. Again, words and associations can vary depending on your demographic. Testing a variety of CTA button text can improve your conversions dramatically.

5) White Space. Finally, you want to be sure your page is not overcrowded with other elements that distract the eye or hide the CTA. Don’t forget that white space can be a benefit.

Many times you will find that improving your CTA’s is a great conversion rate booster. Make sure you maximize the effectiveness of your CTA buttons to capitalize on extra web traffic and conversions that can come from landing pages.

Importance of List Segmentation in Email Marketing

adtrak360 — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:33:01 -0500

List segmenting is something that many business owners may overlook when designing a strategy for their email marketing campaign. Simply put, list segmenting is when email marketers divide their email subscribers into smaller groups, allowing the marketer to send more targeted emails to multiple groups. Segmenting your lists will take a considerable amount of time and effort, but it can really be worthwhile. Studies have found that segmented lists tend to have increased open rates, lower unsubscribe rates, and amount of conversions. Here are some tips to help you create and manage your list segments.

Initially, many email marketers divide their lists into two or three groups, such as customers, leads and prospects. Obviously, the content for emails for your existing customers will not be the same as the emails you send to prospects. The message you are trying to instill in them will be quite different, which is why it is important to create these different groups for your list segments.
Start segmenting your lists with data that you already have, for example leads vs. prospects, then work to define your lists into more precise groups as you gain more data. For example, you could ask your customers via short surveys what type of content they’d prefer to see more or less of.
As a business owner in the world of online marketing you are probably no stranger to analytics. You should also analyze how well your email marketing campaign is progressing over time. Keep track of what types of messages are working and what groups of people are responding best to your multiple emails. Keep track of statistics for various aspects, such as opt-out rates, conversion rates and open rates for each message. With this information you can then create more and more specific segments targeted to the people who responded best to particular messages.

Hopefully these tips help you to not only understand list segmenting, but also give you ideas how to utilize this effective technique in your email marketing campaign.

Happy Thanksgiving from AdTrak 360!

adtrak360 — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:27:07 -0500

Blogging Basics - The Importance of Business Blogging

adtrak360 — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:47:45 -0500

When it comes to attracting more potential customers to your website there are several things you can do, but one of the best strategies for achieving online business success is through a blog.

A blog with interesting content attracts visitors that can turn into customers. Your business blog doesn’t have to be elaborate. In fact, most readers of blogs are looking for easy to understand content. The information must connect with the reader and keep them coming back for more. Blogging, if done correctly can generate web traffic as well as leads for your business.

Blogs are also great for SEO. The best way to build great SEO blog posts is to understand what keywords you want to target. When you have your selected keywords, it’s time to build your posts around them. The title of the blog post should contain your targeted keyword; also, the targeted keyword should be in the body of the post 3 to 5 times. The word count of the post should be at least 300 words. This allows you enough space to get your point across.

One of the benefits of building a blog for your business is that it can increase your brand awareness. One of the ways this is accomplished is because blogs are a more relaxed form of gathering information than a traditional search of your website. Visitors can feel a sense of personality through blogs and this causes readers to feel connected to the business.

To ensure more readers, and more exposure of your business, you should have a RSS feed subscribe link within your blog for visitors to receive email updates of your posts. You can also link back to your blog from email newsletters, on your website and on your social media sites.

How to Create the Most Effective Form

adtrak360 — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:55:09 -0500

Since the goal of landing pages is all about trying to get the consumer to take some sort of action, your forms should make it easy to do just that. Within AdTrak, a form filled out is one of the ways we classify if you received a lead from that tracked advertisement.

Forms are a way to gain information from a consumer—it could be asking them to sign up for a newsletter, download a PDF or register for a special offer, giveaway or contest. Because the benefit of gaining this valuable information can be so high, creating effective forms should be something you put careful consideration into.

Best practices for creating effective forms

1. Do not ask for too much information from the consumer. They shouldn’t feel as if they are filling out a lengthy survey just to sign up for your newsletter. If they feel overwhelmed by the number of required fields, they will likely give up, and you will lose a valuable lead and perhaps a conversion. Typically all that is really needed in order for you to follow up with them is name and email address.

2. Reassure the consumer exactly what they are signing up for; if the consumer is skeptical as to what they are really doing when filling out a form, they may get scared off. Be specific with the form’s heading, such as “Register here for Newsletter”, “Sign up here to enter contest”, etc.

3. Provide incentive. If you are not receiving as many forms as you would like, you may need to “up the ante” or provide more value to the consumer in order to get them to take action. Why are they filling out the form? Is it worth their time? Try to provide some benefit for the consumer, in exchange for their information.

We hope that these few tips can help you to get more leads and ultimately more conversions from your landing pages.

AdTrak Terms: What is a Path?

adtrak360 — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:38:11 -0500

If you are already an AdTrak customer, you have probably heard the term ‘path’ tossed around a few times. For those who are in need of a quick refresher, here is our definition of a path…

In AdTrak, a path enables you to follow a lead opportunity throughout the entire process leading up to conversion. We define a path as three things:

Advertisement with tracking URL and/or phone number —> landing page —>follow up email

The path starts at the tracked advertisement that contains an offer as well as a tracking URL and phone number. If the consumer sees this ad and wishes to take action on it, they go to the specific tracking URL. This URL takes them to the landing page assigned to that particular advertisement. This landing page should prompt the consumer to take some kind of action, using a form. Once the consumer fills out this form, they will receive a sequence of 3 follow up emails, one sent immediately, the second 3 days later and the last 7 days after the initial action. These emails are meant to be a friendly reminder, nudging the consumer to follow through on their original thought process of converting.
The path process can be very beneficial because it keeps the conversation with the consumer going, and keeps your brand in their mind. This ultimately can lead to more conversions.