McIntosh Marketing Blog

Living in Orange County, CA since I was 8, I have seen many changes, some good and some horrible – like the traffic. But the one form of traffic that I do enjoy is more coming to my blog posts. Please, give us all more web site traffic like the 55 North on a Friday.

In surfing the web, I found a list of the top 50 Blogs in Orange County, CA. I thought I would share the with you to see what others in OC consider valuable blogs. As well, here is a random video that gives the ideal life in Orange County, CA. Hope it takes you away to better thoughts, for those not having the type of traffic they were hoping for.

The most common question when discussing small business search optimization services and results is, “How much will this cost?’

In today’s economy, ROI is the king of the mountain in direct response marketing, B2B sales, outbound calling, small business branding and effective web marketing. Since every small business needs to see relatively instant return from their marketing dollar, SEO cost is of considerable concern.

While there are many factors in this equation, the question that one really has to determine is what is your marketing strategy as well as establishing your budget to accomplish your sales goals.  Both of these have to be clearly stated before one sets out to lay out a SEO marketing strategy.  A complete marketing strategy encompasses traditional off-line marketing methods with the full and proper use of internet marketing tools, such as keyword and long tail keyword research, social media, landing pages and blogging.

The ultimate determination is what are you willing to spend for a lead, an online sale or member, or a one-on-one interview?  All these are dependent upon your internet sales and marketing plan and budget. Some small businesses are willing to pay thousands of dollars for a good lead. Some are only willing to pay a hundred dollars for a one-on-one interview.

Your SEO costs can then range based on your willingness and the budget to get a qualified lead or online sale. Typical costs are from several hundred dollars per month, on an entry level of basic services, to tens of thousands of dollars for a complete suite of services that lasts a half of a year to a full year. These suite of services range from an in-depth research of keywords and long tail keywords, which can not only affect how you market your web site itself, but how to write your blogs, press releases and article submissions to the hundreds of online directories which have high SEO value.

One of the fastest methods to determining the ROI of keywords and long tails is to do some beta testing with landing pages. You can set a small budget aside and test which hot buttons and titles strike the best conversion. Other inexpensive, but slower ways, can be blogging and PR submissions, both of which have good SEO pricing/value for any small business search engine optimization strategy.

Once you have determined what the value is of the type of lead or response you want, as well as some initial testing, you can establish a safe amount to set aside. Smart companies set aside a percentage towards marketing expenses, determining where to invest those marketing dollars with a monthly review of statistics of hits, conversions, calls and ultimately the sales.  A good SEO specialist can employ many internet marketing techniques and analytics to narrow down the areas of success, so as t strengthen and areas of low revenue so as to adjust or drop altogether.

It was just a matter of time before social networks became the subject of Hollywood film makers. But let’s admit it, Facebook and Hollywood are in the same business: communications. And so here comes the new movie: The Social Network.

In October of 2010, everyone will get to see what drove Facebook to not only the largest social network in the world, but what has become a paradigm shift is how we associate and discover new information and friends.

And what is more amazing is that Facebook has 500 million people that they can promote to for absolutely free. Do you think that Facebook will ever start a movie studio? Imagine the leveraging power that Facebook has become in its media impact, not just within the social networking universe. Fans could be converted into paying customers for all types of brand extensions.

Yes it sounds unbelievable but it is true…

There is one company that is going for broke with their marketing. They sold $1.1 BILLION DOLLARS in 3 days …just this week-end!

They are selling items that cost hundreds of dollars each and for the most part their products require that you sign up for  1 to 2 years of additional (costly) monthly services.

In the midst of a massive and stifling recession this company moves forward using every tool in the marketing handbook.  Tools that you can use right now with only minimal prep time.

This company has utilized every Online Marketing tool and strategy.  By the way, this was done at very little cost as well.

I did a search for their new product and here is what I found online:

42,900.000 Blogs with with content about their product
9,730,000 Pages online with content about their product
363,000 Images of their product
18,338 “likes” on their product Facebook page
10,800 videos with content about their product
2,140 News Items online with content about their product

Most people consider this company to be a technology company. After reviewing these figures I am solidly convinced that this company is a Marketing company.

It generates BUZZ like no one else and as a result it moves product.

These are the same tried and true proven methods of Online Marketing that we deliver for our clients day in and day out.

And they too are reaping the rewards from this amazingly effective marketing.

Who is this amazing Company?

It is Apple!

This week end they sold an estimated $1,139,000,000.00 worth of the new iphone 4g.

Yes they did this over the week-end. With a minimal cost to them too!

So the next time someone tells you “Online marketing doesn’t work!”

Remove that person from your circle of trusted advisors for they know not what they speak of !

Author: Carlos Gamez
Business Development, McIntosh Marketing
[email protected]

Image by:   Garret Albright

Now this is a question that I hear over and over from client’s and co-workers alike.  Everyone wants to know if Affiliate Marketing is not only worth it but if it is really beneficial?  Or what the risks are of marketing for a company and then finding out their unethical?  Just like everything else, it really depends on what products your sign up for and how you market them.

One of the most important things you must do before deciding to market for a company is to inspect the website.  Take your time to check and make sure they have accurate contact information by calling them or looking them up in an online phone directory.  You can also take this time to verify their address.  If you notice the address varies with other listings online then this may be a flag that the business is not legitimate.  This is not always the case as others may be marketing this product as an affiliate as well but the corporate information, address and phone number should all match up regardless.

PAY ATTENTION!!!   You should always make sure their site offers details, images and a full description of the product or service that they are offering.  You are responsible for what you are promoting so it is very important that you educate yourself on the product or service prior to any affiliate marketing promotions.

Always check the sites disclosure on what the charges will be to the users/client’s.  This will show you that there is nothing the company is trying to hide and that it is not a scam.  If there is no disclosure on the site it may be a real good sign to take your business somewhere else.

Next you should search for their company name on Google.  This will show you how well they are ranking currently which can give you some insight on how easy or difficult it may be to market the product.  Like I said, this is just for insight and it may not be accurate for a product that is brand new.  Also at this time you can see what kind of feedback people are giving on the product prior to committing to selling it.  You can see if there are lot’s of customer complaints or satisfaction which can help you make your decision before investing any time or money into it.  You have to be realistic when using this tip to make a decision because many companies will have complaints, regardless of their legitimacy, so you may need to feel them out to see if the complaints are valid.

Allot goes into finding an legitimate affiliate with a good offer besides just how much they pay out.  Always make sure you feel 100% informed about your product so you are totally comfortable prior to selling it.  Confidence and believing in your product truly is the key to increasing your online sales and making your affiliate marketing really worth it!

YouTube is missing a huge marketing opportunity with no category for Business & Finance.  It is hard to believe that the categories of  Education and Travel & Events could be in more demand, particularly into today’s economic environ. YouTube needs to offer at least a category of small business resources. Additionally such a category would direct entrepreneurs to find opportunities to learn new and more effective ways of doing or even starting a business, as well as helping consumers to find access to products that they could purchase, that would in turn help them with their financial needs or questions.

On the other hand, social bookmarking and news site Digg has recognized this need by providing such a category on their website.

I am sure that the amount of potential market that YouTube is not taking advantage of is enormous. Imagine how many businesses, banks, insurance agencies and those with money and knowledge could be put to work to build a network for opportunity and pay YouTube dearly to do so. Sounds like an opportunity to take advantage of for someone.

Quality dentistry is the backbone of building your practice and your brand. Quality care inspires word of mouth which is the most powerful and time-honored marketing there is for any dental practice . But how can the power of dental website marketing be utilized to take your monthly influx of new patients to a completely new level?

This is a simple, easy-to-implement list of dental marketing ideas that could literally attract dozens of high-end patients every month. Now let me be completely real. It takes some consistent work, but it is not that hard. The difficulty, really, is staying the course and being consistent. Get this – consistency with your dental website is where 95% of the dental practices fail and where the other 5% rake in the new patient income. In helping hundreds of Dentists and other professionals to market their practice, this has been the most crucial marketing discipline in local online marketing.

While there are many dental patient marketing consultants and books, there is not better way to attract new patients that to have these elements being consistently being performed by you or your staff within your own website. Most dental website designers tend to be strong on graphics but not how to how to get your pratice website actually found online. Being found is 85% of the work, in reality. Regardless of the aesthetics of a web site, it is effective to the degree that it is found by thousands of potential patients. This is where you need an effective website marketing strategy.

Blogging – Yes it works. In fact, it works well. But studies have shown that it takes about two to three dozen consistent and quality posts to have the search engines start to rank your website into a higher range. Search engines, particularly Google, have advanced software that determines your web site “brownie points” by the amount of blog postings and that you are doing them consistently. Once a week is considered the rock bottom minimum. These do not have to be sexy, just on point about what people are searching for and that are on-point.

Landing Pages – Your patients are searching for specific solutions and procedures. Done well, landing pages with a properly set up Google Ads strategy can be a major source of new leads, calls into the practice and eventually more new patients.

Online Press Releases – The search engine value of an online press release is quite high. A good web marketing agency can get these written and broadly distributed. The events or reasons do not have to be earth shattering. New employees hired on, price specials or just your participation in local community events are worthy enough to send out an online press release. Any competent internet marketing expert should be able to do this easily.

Local Search Marketing – This video illustrates some helpful tips and strategies when it comes in developing better results from your local marketing on the internet.

Sometimes it is so easy to get lost in the fast paced world of overwhelming terminology and techniques that you forget the basics. Why small business marketing ideas succeed or go flat is much more simple that some would want you to belive. While there is much to know about online SEO tools, social media, using keywords effectively and a seemingly endless host of other online paraphernalia, the difference to success or failure really is determined by two crucial points. And unfortunately, these are not taught well enough in our universities or even our business and trade schools.

After basketball coaching John Wooden passed away, I was listening to a radio interview with Bill Walton talking about his mentor. Bill shared the story of how he came to UCLA many years ago and finally had the opportunity to finally meet the legend that would eventually propel his professional NBA career, as well as leave a lasting impression upon him as a father and as a man. Expecting his first talk with John Wooden to be inspirational, John’s first lesson was on how to properly tie a shoe. You see, when a shoe comes undone during a critical moment, you can trip and then lose an entire game. John Wooden started with and kept in the basics of success.

In running a small business we have to score during critical moments, such as during a challenging economy or from a fierce competitor within the market place. Our prosperity is determined whether we are totally certain of our basics, perform in a deft manner and act fast even under the most excruciating pressure.

This is not a pep talk or in any way an attempt to conjure up the spirit of John Wooden to inspire you. This is to point out what are the two critical factors in small business marketing success. There is no lack of ideas, opportunities nor methodologies in which to build a successful business. Without these two underlying and primary elements, I have found that somehow the tools and techniques just never come together to give lasting success and profitability.

Those two critical factors are, and will always will be, Competence and Execution. Those two crucial human dimensions roll over and solve so many other business problems that it could not be overstated.

Competence is defined as, “The ability to perform a specific task, action or function successfully.”

Competence is easy to see. It does not have to be “sold”. It is demonstrated in motion, emotion, dress, manner, how you answer another’s questions, as well as how you treat others and yourself. Competence is knowledge and mastery all synergized into one. While we celebrate this in our favorite athletes and even our nation’s soldiers, it can be achieved in business and marketing. It takes burning the midnight oil, reading books, asking questions and then ensuring that one has the follow through to ensure one can perform the needed actions through drilling and repetition.

But then there come the second factor, Execution. This simply means “Getting it fully done.” No excuses, apologies or claiming one conveniently has ADHD or some other pathetic, non-scientifically substantiated reason. Call it guts, courage, determination, carry-through, fortitude, responsibility or whatever else you want to name it. In other words, can you Cowboy-up or not?

The world of internet marketing is not only exciting, but it can be very rewarding personally and financially. But in reality, with these points in all the tools become much more effective.

When my wife and I want to take some big strides around the house by accomplishing some major home improvement tasks, we plan a party.

As the party gets closer, we find the time and money to get stuff done because we hate the idea of our friends, many of whom have never been to our house, seeing an eyesore.

Our daughters room was supposed to be painted before she was born and now she is 6 months old. Our picture wall has been less pictures and more wall for 10 months. Our bathroom had ugly yellow dots on the ceiling for over a year.

Now that the party is almost here, our picture wall is done, our daughters room is a bright pink and yellow and our bathroom doesn’t make us sick. Oh, and we built a built-in desk.

At McIntosh Marketing, we also “plan parties” to accomplish major tasks. We have been known to even announce a website service or new product before it was even built yet!

How could you “throw a party” at your company to accomplish a major goal?

Years back, a blog was the new social media outlet where somebody commented about their favorite restaurant. Not anymore. Businesses at all levels are discovering that the company blog can be a highly effective means of  quickly changing and publishing power content, particularly when it is coupled with a search engine friendly web design. While many businesses are working to incorporate blogs into their websites, many more are using WordPress to build their entire website.

Small businesses and many startups are discovering WordPress’ ease of use and capability to empower their SEO strategies. And it’s not just small business entrepreneurs using WordPress to build their sites. Companies like UPS and The Wall Street Journal Magazine are building advanced websites using WordPress that is driving web traffic out the roof.  And for the doubters and skeptics, just take a serious look at WordPress Showcase and tell me if you can see the difference between a website and a blog.

With your web site and blog built within one format, one is now building links to one main site versus links to a web site and then other links to a separate blog.  With WordPress, any small business can now publish original content, company news, product releases, acquisitions, reports on events and seminars, educational tips and about everything imaginable with all website link building to one domain. Your WordPress blog literally becomes your online Gutenberg Press on ginseng.

Many leading best-selling authors, bloggers and SEO experts have determined that blogging was their most succesful action in reaching people, opening doors to Fortune 500 companies, as well as the secret to success in taking their game to a higher level.

McIntosh Marketing has successfully been building hundreds of profitable websites on the WordPress format, due to its incredible capabilities, the access to blogging as well as its SEO friendliness. We cannot stress enough that your company blog and website should be built on a WordPress format.