ins3080: it in insurance – james abela – [email protected] – 2011/12 – v2.0 online...

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – [email protected] – 2011/12 – v2.0

ONLINE MARKETING TECHNIQUESAN OVERVIEW OF ONLINE MARKETING TECHNIQUES

Topic 9


Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques

Topic Overview

During this topic, we will have a look at a few on-line marketing techniques and tools to help promote our

websites and products



Traditional vs. On-line

Offline, bustling crowds pass by your place of business. Some of the passers by traffic notices you and walks in.

"Location, Location, Location"

Online, people search for information. Millions of people. Each searches alone.

"Information, information, information"



Background Info• The internet is a crowded place nowadays!!

• Some statistics for your consideration*:– 234 million – The number of websites as of December

2009.– 47 million – Added websites in 2009.– 1.73 billion – Internet users worldwide (September

2009).– 81.8 million – .COM domain names at the end of 2009.– 126 million – The number of blogs on the Internet (as

tracked by BlogPulse).

*Source: http://royal.pingdom.com/2010/01/22/internet-2009-in-numbers/

http://royal.pingdom.com/2010/01/22/internet-2009-in-numbers/



Always keep in mind:

HOW WILL I MAKE MY WEBSITE STAND OUT FROM THE REST?!?!!?



How will I make my website stand out?

• There are a number of tools and techniques to do this

• We will have a look at the following during the lecture:

1. SEO

2. On-line Advertising (Example: PPC)

3. Social Media

4. Newsletters

5. Blogs



1. What is SEO?



First Things First

What is a Search Engine (SE)?

• A web search engine is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web and FTP servers.

• The search results are generally presented in a list of results and are often called hits.

• The information may consist of web pages, images, information and other types of files. Some search engines also mine data available in databases or open directories.

• Unlike Web directories, which are maintained by human editors, search engines operate algorithmically or are a mixture of algorithmic and human input.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine



Top Search Engines



SEO• SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation

• It is a form of on-line marketing

• It is the process of making a site and its content highly relevant for both search engines and searchers

• Successful search engine marketing helps a site gain top positioning for relevant words and phrases.



SEOHow do search listings work?

• A spider or crawler which is a component of a SE gathers listings by automatically "crawling" the web

• The spider follows links to web pages, makes copies of the pages and stores them in the SE’s index

• Based on this data, the SE then indexes the pages and ranks the websites



SEO – Adding useful keywords to website

Example: A web development company (NIU) may have the following keywords used in its website:

About NIU, NIU Malta, Web Development Malta, Web Design, Malta Marketing, Photography, Mosta Malta, Design, E-Commerce, ecommerce, outsourcing

HTML Code:



SEO – Adding a Sitemap

Example: www.niu.com.mt/sitemap



SEO – What is NOT recommended

• Flash Technology- spiders do not pick up these files

• Image only sites - spiders do not pick up images. It is important to add tags....

• Spelling mistakes, JavaScript or HTML errors (validate your code)



Ever heard about the internet archive?


Did you know about the Internet Archive? (aka Way back machine)

• http://wayback.archive.org

http://wayback.archive.org/



• http://wayback.archive.org• Example: www.niu.com.mt in 2008/2009




• http://wayback.archive.org• Example: www.niu.com.mt in 2011




2. On-line Advertising. What is PPC?



PPC• PPC Stands for Pay-Per-Click

• It is an Internet Advertising Model used on websites, where advertisers pay their host only when their ad is clicked.

• With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market. Content sites commonly charge a fixed price per click rather than use a bidding system.



PPC Examples• Many websites use it

• Best examples – Google and Facebook



PPC - Examples



PPC – Setting up• Very easy to set up...



PPC – Setting up• What more does a Marketing Manager need?!?



PPC

Some Advantages of PPC Advertising:

– VERY cost effective

– Can target very specific audiences (males, over 21 and living in Valletta)

– Extremely Accurate Reports (unlike other traditional marketing channels where you do not how how many people have seend the advert)



3. The importance of Social Media in On-Line Advertising



Social Media

• With the introduction of social networks, a different marketing approach was introduced

• Users look for other user’s reviews nowadays

• This can have a postive effect or a negative one



Social Media - Example

• When planning a trip or holiday, most people visit tripadvisor - http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/

• It contains Users added reviews of the hotels and places to visit

• This often gives the user the truth (negative or positive) of the place they are about to vist

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/




• Example – Maritim Hotel in Mellieha




• TripAdvisor also allows Hotel management to reply to complaints:




• Facebook Like button




• Facebook Likes button– Free advertising!– Personal experiences are shared– If James Abela is “respected” when it comes to IT,

“Liking” a product will arouse interest and friends will visit the product or website



• Create a Facebook page with the largest possible number of Fans– Largest Maltese owned pages include

• The Point (39,273 fans)• GO (26,330 fans)• Frankie (23,163 fans)


Expand your fan base...How?

Keep the page interesting bya) Sharing news and exclusive content (RULE

NUMBER 1)a) Keep it human: be conversational, personal and

authentic.



Keep the page interesting byb. Encouraging fan participation (Polls,

Comments...)

c. Develop a conversational Calendar (Plan your updates...)



Partner with other brands or local organisations– Example: Cafe Cuba posting comments on the

Frankie Page – This means that all fans on Frankie have seen

what Cafe Cuba have written....



Answering complaints... the bad way • Typical Scenario

(taken from The Point Fan Page):



Answer complaints...the proper way

• Typical Scenario (taken from the Construct Furniture fan page)

• Answer in a professional manner

• Avoid spelling mistakes and incorreect grammer



4. Newsletters



Newsletter

• A newsletter is an e-mail shot sent directly to a person’s inbox– 1.4 billion – The number of email users worldwide (2009)

• Extremely cheap (if not free) marketing

• Frequent (or stupid) newsletter shots may annoy users and render them ineffective



Newsletter

• Newsletters need to be informative, short and attractive

• They may end up marked as SPAM. Various tips and tricks found on-line to avoid this.



5. Blogs



Blogs

What is a Blog?

A website that allows users to reflect, share opinions, and discuss various topics in the form of an online journal while readers may comment on posts. Entries typically appear in reverse chronological order.

• The www.ITInInsurance.com website is a blog for example!



Blogs• People may write anything about anything –

restaurants, car insurance....

• Keep in mind that blogs are also ranked within Search Engines– So anything written in a Blog can be fairly easy to

find using search engines

• Negative reviews written in blogs may also feature in the search results and unlike TripAdvisor, there is nothing much one can do about it!!!



Blogs - Example



Blogs - Example• When reading Blogs it is important to:

– ALWAYS look at the date when the post was written• A restaurant review written two years ago may not

necessarily reflect the present situation!

– Preferably use respectable sources• TripAdvisor• Friends whom you trust, within your social network



Recap

• Know and understand the 5 on-line marketing techniques described in today’s lecture.



Merry Christmas

• This topic contains the last of the examinable material

• Read through notes during the holidays at least once.

• First lecture in January (Friday 6th January 2012) will be a revision lecture / discuss exam paper...

• Remember the assignment deadline (5th January 2011)

Enjoy your Holidays!!

Any Questions???

ins3080: it in insurance – james abela – [email protected] – 2011/12 – v2.0 online...

Documents