Best Practices in Video Marketing for Online Merchants - Part 1

Merchants, do you want to expand the reach and coverage of your Internet marketing tactics? Of course you do. Video marketing is one of the fastest growing elements on Internet marketing and YouTube is to video as Google is to search. I see three options with YouTube, perhaps more. You can create a one-time video for a specific marketing campaign, develop a dedicated channel for your brand, post a paid video-based lead magnet on YouTube via Google AdWords (paid advertising) or a combination of the above. YouTube's Creator Studio recently removed some of the "creation and editing" features from Creator Studio and thus you likely will need to use a free or fee-based 3rd party tool. While there are many such tools on the market I suggest trying "Kizoa" which closely matches the features removed from Creator Studio. Let us know how we can help your business. Bye for now. Lawrence, Genesys Internet Designs (https://genesysinternetdesigns.blogspot.com)  

Defining and Targeting High Demand Niche Markets (Avatars) - Part 5

Small Business Owners, as we conclude our series on high-demand "Avatars" for Internet Marketer's let's take a look at the "Self-Employed" niche. Unlike the Millennial, Work From Home and Baby Boomer avatars, the "Self-Employed" market spans the full gamit of age range, occupational status, education and income. Thus, research on the specific sub-niche, their need(s), interest(s) and buying motivation(s) can vary widely. Examples of the "Self-Employed" include everyone from professional business consultants (accountants, management consultants, attorneys and most definitely Internet Marketers) to small or micro business owners and construction contractors. Many Fiverr, Upwork and Freelancer consultants are "Self-Employed". Facebook has multiple Groups of interest including "Self Employed Friends". Entrepreneur.com, Consulting.com and Glassdoor.com are excellent Internet 'hangouts' where you can learn the nuances of Self Employed occupations, needs and interests. And let us know if you would like to discuss implementing an new Shopify or WordPress ecommerce storefront. Lawrence, Genesys Internet Designs (https://genesysinternetdesigns.blogspot.com)  

Defining and Targeting High Demand Niche Markets (Avatars) - Part 4

Merchants, so far we have defined key target niche selection criteria as well as profiled two Avatars ... Millennials and Work From Homers. "Baby Boomers" are roughly defined as being born between 1945-1964 ... numbering 75 million in the US alone. They typically are approaching (or in) retirement, yet the younger half of this cohort still may be seeking "second career" opportunities either as part of a larger corporation, small business or sole proprietor where they can apply these skills from their 'first' career' in a different environment. Their professional motivation is two-fold: First, stay active and add value as they have the for the past 2-3+ decades. And second, generate a supplemental income which will enhance their life styles. Boomers are prime candidates for products and services which help them reach a specific goal such as gain new tech skills, improve health-fitness or lower their golf handicap. Take a look at Baby Boomer Magazine(.com) and the Facebook "Baby Boomer - A National Movement" Group. Contact us to see if a Shopify or WordPress ecommerce store is right for you. Lawrence, Genesys Internet Designs (https://genesysinternetdesigns.blogspot.com)  

Defining and Targeting High Demand Niche Markets (Avatars) - Part 3

Online Merchants, in this post series we have defined the 'profile and selection criteria' for your target Avatars and examined the "Millennial" Avatar. What's next? Let's take a look at the "Work From Home" Avatar. Men and women work from home for a variety of reasons which you will want to include in your market "messaging" (copywriting and/or video). The age range can vary widely from 20s to 60s. Reasons for working from home can include caring for a young child, home schooling, employer perks to work on-site or off-site, the logistical benefit of having a 2 minute versus 1 hour commute, etc. Conventional wisdom is that Work From Homers are college-educated professionals employed by a medium-to-large business or freelancers-consultants ... generally with good middle class incomes. Others - younger or older - are forming their own business and need to keep overhead expenses low. I highly suggest performing searches on Facebook Groups and/or Google "work from home" to uncover trade publications, associations and web portals which cater to this Avatar to learn first-hand about the gamit of Work From Homer circumstances and needs, including "Work From Home Mom Revolution”. . Let us know how we can help your business. Lawrence, Genesys Internet Designs (https://genesysinternetdesigns.blogspot.com)  

Defining and Targeting High Demand Niche Markets (Avatars) for Online Merchants- Part 2

Merchants, our first post in this series on target niche market Avatars we looked at the key profile and decision-making criteria to help you assess the best Avatar(s) for your Internet business. So what are some of the ideal Avatars to consider? Well, in this and coming posts we will put several Avatars under the microscope to aide you in the assessment process. Let's begin with "Millennials". Millennials are aged 18-34 in 2015, now number 75.4 million, surpassing the 74.9 million Baby Boomers (ages 51-69) and Generation X (ages 35-50 in 2015). They have grown up with technology, spend significant time on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, and are comfortable purchasing products and services on Amazon and other online businesses. Finally, Millennials tend to have strong purchasing power. Let us know how we can help your business. Bye for now. Lawrence, Genesys Internet Designs (https://genesysinternetdesigns.blogspot.com)  

SEO Best Practices for Online Merchants - Part 7 (“Google-friendly Content”)

Merchants, as a postscript to our SEO series I wanted to share with you the most up-to-date version of Google's Developer Documentation Style Guide dated June 8, 2017 (https://developers.google.com/style/). Do not be misled by the phrase "Developer Documentation". This guide provides an invaluable description of what Google deems to be best practices for almost any type of Internet "Content" such as articles, white papers, blog posts, lead magnets and even video. To what benefit for IMers? You guessed it: Boosting search engine rankings and ultimately Traffic. A few very basic golden nuggets include: 1) Sound like a knowledgeable friend, 2) Use clear, concise, short sentences, 3) Include numbered lists for sequences of events, 4) Write in a friendly, conversational tone with a clear purpose ... and much, much more. We are here to help build your business. Let us know how we can help.  Lawrence, Genesys Internet Designs (https://genesysinternetdesigns.blogspot.com)  

SEO Best Practices for Online Merchants - Part 6 (“Backlinks”)

Online Merchants, as we conclude our SEO post series let's take a look at "Backlinks". So what are Backlinks and why are they vital to your success? Backlinks are links from outside ("referring") domains that point back to pages on your domain. Your backlink profile is made up of backlinks from external sites. They contribute to the overall strength, relevance and diversity of your domain’s backlink profile which boost your sites "Authority" and "Page Rank" among Google, Bing, Yahoo! Search engines assess both the number of Backlinks and the Authority of the "referring domains" - thus the quantity and quality of Backlinks are essential. "Do-follow" links pass on the SEO benefits of the website where it is built from to the hyperlinked site. "No-follow" links do not have any SEO value and will not add up to the link profile used by search engines. SEO gurus believe you should use both types of Backlinks, yet a much higher percentage of your Backlinks should be "Do-follow" links. Let us know how we can help your business. Bye for now. Lawrence, Genesys Internet Designs (https://genesysinternetdesigns.blogspot.com)  

SEO Best Practices for Internet Merchants - Part 5

Merchants, this SEO series has focused so far on Domains, Hosting, Keywords, Content, Portals-Resources and the value of your own Blog. Let's now take a look at Guest Blogging. Why is Guest Blogging essential for successful IMers? First, Guest Blogging allows you to strengthen the "Value" of your "Content" and in turn generate incremental "traffic" from large pools of new prospects who read these 3rd party blogs. Second, assuming your "Content" is in fact valuable to the other blog's readers their blog owners are more likely to link back to your own blog ... which leads to a boost in the "Authority" of your blog from the perspective of Google, Bing and Yahoo. The more links to your blog from 3rd party blogs and portals resonate well with search engines. Bottom line: Guest Blogging on 1st and 2nd tier blogs which are in the same market or technology niche as your blog (or web site) is a vital SEO asset. While there are numerous blog directories I suggest simply performing a Google search such as "ABC blog portal" where ABC is your target avatar and/or solution area. Let us know how we can help your business. Bye for now. Lawrence, Genesys Internet Designs (https://genesysinternetdesigns.blogspot.com)

SEO Best Practices for Online Merchants - Part 4

Merchants, so far in our series SEO we have looked at domains, hosting, keywords, content (is "king") and WordPress plug-ins. What comes next? Developing and managing your own blog dedicated to your target avatar(s), their needs and solutions to their problems is vital. Your own blog provides two important opportunities: 1) Establish an on-going "conversation" with your prospects and consumers, and 2) Build "authority" with Google, Bing and Yahoo! search engines. Note: Keep your focus on Google. A few tips - post frequently, include keywords ... but don't "stuff" your posts with them, understand your avatar(s) pain points (adder ss them succinctly and offer high "value" solutions). Experts vary widely on the optimal "length" (e.g. word count) for blog posts. You can address a given need in-depth via one long post or via a series on posts on a precise topic. Bottom line: Best-of-breed blogging serves your prospects and helps convert them into customers, can dramatically boost traffic, and is largely free of charge. Thus, you are building free, organic traffic. Be back soon. Lawrence, Genesys Internet Designs (https://genesysinternetdesigns.blogspot.com)  

SEO Best Practices for Online Merchants - Part 3

Merchants in our recent posts we have addressed SEO Basics along with KeyWords and Content. But why should Internet entrepreneurs be so concerned about SEO optimization? Simply put, because SEO optimization is truly the lifeblood which will ensure maximum free organic traffic to your web sites, blogs, videos and landing pages. We all need to be SEO "literate", yet may not have the time and/or resources to become gurus in this critical area. Thus, let me suggest a short-list of the best SEO portals on the web which will help you stay abreast of key trends and techniques which will benefit your business. Search Engine Watch, Search Engine Land, Search Engine Journal (SEJ), Tutorials Point - SEO page and the Moz Blog. These sites offer free newsletters, video tutorials and/or eBooks which will keep you up-to-date without having to invest large blocks of time to become and stay SEO proficient. So take a look. Let us know how we can help your business. Lawrence, Genesys Internet Designs (https://genesysinternetdesigns.blogspot.com)  

SEO Best Practices for eCommerce Merchants - Part 1

Merchants, do you want more high quality traffic to you web site, blog, videos, social media sites and landing pages? Yes, we all do. In this SEO series we will start by looking at the basics of SEO and then move into move advanced topics in later posts. For starters, define own your unique domain and use a reputable hosting service. Google Domains (my favorite) and GoDaddy are just two of many domain providers. Likewise there are countless hosting services. I use Hostgator. Bluehost, iPage, Domain.com and SiteBuilder are among the top-ranked domain providers. Creating and publishing "original" content - regardless the format and packaging - which solves tangible problems for a well-defined avatar is another SEO success factor. If you use WordPress use SEO plug-ins such as Yoast, SEMrush, LinkPatrol and All In One SEO to name a few. Finally, spend the time to build out robust social media "Profiles" (including your domain). Bottom line: Investing time, effort and modest budget is one of the best methods for generating long-term, low-no cost, organic traffic for your Internet business. Let us know how we can help your business. Lawrence, Genesys Internet Designs (https://genesysinternetdesigns.blogspot.com)  

Build Your Mailing Lists and Launch Marketing Campaigns the Industry Leader (AWeber)

Merchants, while there are many players in the crowded email marketing niche one vendor stands alone - AWeber. In almost every ranking of email list building and campaign management firms Aweber comes out ahead. Over 100,000 small businesses and entrepreneurs use Aweber. Their solution allows you to create HTML-rich product promotions, email newsletters, and plain-text messages. You can establish email automation flows using their campaign editor. Create personalized welcome emails, educational courses and lead campaigns. AWeber offer Autoresponders, Third Party Integrations, Sign-Up Forms, Avatar Segmenting, Email Newsletters, HTML Templates, a Drag and Drop Editor, Blog Newsletters Template Design and a lot more. Visit AWeber today and start generating revenue for your business today! Lawrence, Genesys Internet Designs (https://genesysinternetdesigns.blogspot.com/)

Increasing Conversion Rates Boost Your Revenue ("Customer Testimonials")

Friends, in our first post we affirmed that "Value and Trust" are the essential starting point for boosting conversion rates for both a prospect's initial "Opt-In" as well as product or service "Purchases" (and repeat purchases). So what else can you add to the mix? We recommend using "Customer Testimonials" through your marketing materials ... whether text, graphics and/or video. A focused, relevant "Testimonial" from a customer in the same Avatar is powerful. From the prospect or customer's perspective, testimonials further boost "Value and Trust" while reducing perceived "Risk" in the minds of your target niche. Bottom line: Follow-up online and if necessary via phone with your customers to inquire both "Why" they opted-in to your list and confirm the "Value" they received from their purchase. Be back soon. Lawrence, Genesys Internet Designs (https://genesysinternetdesigns.blogspot.com)  

Increasing Conversion Rates Boost Your Revenue ("Congruence")

Merchants, would you like to increase your online conversion rates? Of course ... every eCommerce pro would. This series will offer techniques and tools which collectively help strengthen your conversion rates. Even a 1% increase in your conversion rate can have a big impact on revenue. Key principle: Congruence - Offer the "Highest Value Solution" (product or service) which solves the prospect's greatest "Need". This is easier said than done. Researching and verifying your target avatar's "Needs". We recommend spending abundant time one avatar-specific portals, forums, publications and/or social media groups to understand your market needs. Facebook Groups, Warrior Forum, Work From Home Mom's, Reddit Sub-Reddits are just a few among countless excellent resources. A simple Google search on "AVATAR needs" will provide additional information. Bye for now. Lawrence, Genesys Internet Designs (https://genesysinternetdesigns.blogspot.com)