Blog

The amount of video content will increase astronomically.
Online Marketing will continue to grow as a neccessary budget line item in american businesses.
Blogs will continue to grow as a great way for people to communicate thoughts.
MySpace will continue to grow as a networking community for the world.

Just some thoughts for now, will be sure to add additional soon.

Zach

Happy Holidays & Season’s Greeting from www.Exults

Analysis & Review of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article: Best (and Worst) Ads of ‘06

Major marketing campaign projects kickoff as the Super Bowl kicks off every year. Water cooler talk about your Super Bowl marketing campaign can either make or break your business at the level of corporate America. Corporate America is a great place for small to medium size businesses around the country to learn from because they have the budget to do macro research into the population’s behavior and reaction capability. It is evident that the successful (best) advertising campaigns of ’06 integrated a strong web component to bring users into interactivity with their brand which we will explore below.

As a marketing agency focused on Online Marketing, at Exults, Search Engine Operator Inc. we are always interested to see what trends are taking place in the overall marketing industry. Many of the marketing successes this year integrated traditional media with the means of interactive online marketing. We are always fielding questions by are clients in regards to how they can best integrate their traditional media with interactive online marketing.

Here we are going to identify some of the advertising campaigns the WSJ identifies in their article of best and worst advertising campaigns, and the goal of the organization behind the advertising campaign as to how they wanted the consumers to react.

CareerBuilder.com Example (Media Used: Television and Online)
The CareerBuilder.com monkey campaign which can be seen in video at the commercial YouTube links below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBFRBlXyzO4 – CareerBuilder Commercial Spot 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15XlmfTM0XY – CareerBuilder Commercial Spot 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVkRzY9ru7E – CareerBuilder Commercial Spot 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSy1EeRzShU – CareerBuilder Commercial Spot 4
These commercials drew people to the CareerBuilder.com website where they have a web banner at the bottom of the page to compliment the advertising campaign (destination URL of banner http://www.careerbuilder.com/monk-e-mail/default.aspx?sc_cmp2=JS_MONK-E-MAIL). At this link consumers could create funny ad campaign themed e-mails to send out to friends and colleagues. As a result of this advertising campaign e-mails from the above link continue to circulate more then 11 months later, site traffic rose 34% over the course of the year, and consumers going to the link to create an e-mail to send to their friends spent anywhere in the range of six to nine minutes on the site.

The CareerBuilder.com advertising campaign created priceless viral marketing. All advertising circulated was sent by friends whom network with one another. If you watch the commercials above on YouTube you will also see they strike humor into a situation that otherwise many people feel upset about (having to look for a new job). By portraying colleagues as monkeys the ad campaign identifies with the audience saying “don’t worry we understand, it’s them…not you.” This advertising campaign across the board shows the capability of cross-medium marketing.

KFC Example (Online, Newspaper, and Video)
KFC (a division of Yum Brands) took a new approach to advertising the product launch of their new Buffalo KFC Snacker by running a campaign across three various media: the newspaper, the television, and then drawing traffic to their website. Their attempt with the advertising campaign was to attract Tivo users to use the technology to rather than skip their commercial to tape it at the times identified in the newspaper and then watch the commercial frame by frame rather than to fast forward through it to get a code for a coupon to place on the website for a free sandwich coupon. Now the way this was strategically planned consumers had to go on a mission to find the free secret code. Once one consumer found the secret code, KFC had many ways to gain from the code including the priceless Word of Mouth endorsement. Once one person had the code to get a “free” sandwich they were bound to tell their friends and post the information to their friends Online.

If we check the Google rankings for “kfc buffalo snacker code” we come back with over 1,400 results, which means the message definitely was dispersed. The offer ended up on multiple message boards with large audiences looking for free items and codes and also received over 800+ mentions in the media. The ad was also broadcasted for free as a portion of various news segments. The company saw an increase of website traffic of 3 million page views, which is 40% higher then the amount of traffic it normally gets over the same period of time.

Yum Brands is very good at gaining free exposure in the media by giving away free items, for example their Worlds Series target gimmick from Taco Bell (Article about Taco Bell ad campaign with Major League Baseball http://money.cnn.com/2004/10/25/news/fortune500/tacobell_baseball/index.htmhttp://money.cnn.com/2004/10/25/news/fortune500/tacobell_baseball/index.htm) promising the country free beef tacos if the target gets hit during a major baseball game. This advertisement every year receives free press from many media outlets including but not limited to ESPN because of the sports related theme. If we check the Google rankings for “taco bell target baseball” we get over 200,000 results reflecting the vast expanse and reach of this campaign.

Philips Norelco (Example: Online, Radio/Video – Howard Stern plug)
Philips Norelco took a new approach to advertising their new razor created for shaving “everywhere” on a man’s body at the URL http://www.shaveeverywhere.com/. Their goal with this campaign was to attract young men and those concerned with their personal body parts being “hairless.” So to attract this audience guess who they choose as their targeted plug? Howard Stern your old buddy on Sirius. This campaign has been seen as highly effective and to date has drawn over 1.8 million viewers to the site. The goal of this campaign was to not make a public announcement to the world as to what their product could do, but to create buzz amongst their target audience. The site definitely plays in sexual innuendo humor and once again spreads the viral marketing which is very successful in today’s highly connected world. This campaign is a great example of targeting a segment within your targeted marketing audience effectively.

Conclusion
These are just a few of the examples from the Wall Street Journal article about the “Best (and Worst) Ads of ’06,” check out the article in its entirety at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06356/748285-28.stm. The statistics and data used in the above article were also taken from the source article from the Wall Street Journal. We highly recommend this article as a great read. We choose to expand on this article because of the particular campaigns they identify which had a strong web integration aspect involved.

Happy Holidays and Best of Luck in ’07…

Hope you enjoyed this newsletter, and feel free to pass it on to a friend. Also, if you have any questions or comments please write me at Zach@Exults.

To insure you receive our future newsletters be sure to sign up with us at www.Exults our website.

Thank You,

Zach Hoffman
www.Exults – Online Marketing Agency
www.DentistryWebsites.com – Bringing Your Practice Online
www.DentistSeminars.com – Dental Online Marketing Seminars
Zach@Exults
Dial Up: 954-763-1130
Dental Online Marketing Seminar – March 23-24, 2006 – Austin, TX -
ACESthetics.com

Topic: Major Marketing Paradigm Shift of Our Time: Internet Marketing

The Internet has become today’s mass form of communication. By definition every major shift in marketing has occurred by changing the way we communicate. Modern day communications and marketing began with delivered mail, followed by the radio, which progressed into television, and has evolved into the medium that marries all media: The Internet. There has never been a more rapidly adaptable form of communication.

We will discuss different avenues to grow and expand your marketing reach by leveraging the power of the Internet. An Internet presence goes beyond your website, and lives on by your use of it as a channel to communicate with your target audience. Your potential reach into the Internet economy is extremely expansive. Through our course you will learn how to capitalize on your traditional forms of media and turn them into an interactive manipulating force on the Internet.

Zach Hoffman – Bio

Zach Hoffman has lived in the dental industry for 20+ years (through the experiences of his father Dr. Howard J. Hoffman, DDS). He has seen the industry transition from a practice focused on insurance based patients to a practice focused on sedation, boutique style cosmetic treatment. Zach still contemplates becoming his father’s dental apprentice by keeping a keen eye on the dental industry, but has chosen to pursue marketing. His background in Economics and Finance, from the University of Central Florida, gives Zach a broad range of knowledge varying from demographics research to identifying business opportunities. With this skill set he has helped his clients maximize their returns on marketing investment dollars.

If you would like to be removed from our mailing list please contact me at Zach@Exults

© Search Engine Operator, Inc. 2006

Search Engine Optimization Expert: Lines, Lines Everywhere%u2026Fulfillment Becoming Today%u2019s HOT Commodity

So after pondering this weekend as to what I would be writing about this coming Monday I reflected on what bothered me most over the past week. More than anything it was the lines and the crowds of the old economy, or reality (sometimes I mix them up)? What does this have to do with Online Marketing you ask? Everything.

For consumers like me who are not fans of long lines and crowded places it is giving us evermore an excuse to join the growing number of online shoppers. Well if I don’t own an online commerce business, how does this affect me? Your consumers of yesteryear who have now made their first purchase online have made a virtual quantum leap into the extent of their comfort with online services and information.

Consumers are increasingly living in a society of what can you do for me. Reminding me of an old famous Kennedy quote:
“And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
Are fellow Americans today live in a society of asking, ask not what a company can do to get my business, ask what a company will do to get my business?
Will they provide me free information, free services, why do I want to shop with you?

We are moving into an evermore demanding economy where traditional lines and business conditions are being destroyed, and therefore our needs demand and need for fulfillment continue to increase exponentially. Fulfillment in today’s world is reaching critical mass and what was demanded today, people wanted to see fulfilled yesterday (hint hint for you dentist, got to love your CEREC).

Fulfillment in demand? Demand for something intangible, yes the demand for the service of being fulfilled. In a service based economy this fulfillment is a major gap that companies need to learn to close. The best example is holiday consumer demand for gaming systems. We see gaming systems bought last week in the store for $400 going for near $1,000+ on eBay talk about value of fulfilling a “brats” holiday needs. That’s a 150% increase in value only justified by the fulfillment period. On that note, hope you enjoyed this food for thought.

Article with data that inspired these writings http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/news/trends/print.php/3524581
Happy Holidays and Best of Luck in ’07…

Hope you enjoyed this newsletter, and feel free to pass it on to a friend. Also, if you have any questions or comments please write me at Zach@Exults.
To insure you receive our future newsletters be sure to sign up with us at www.Exults our website.

Thank You,Zach Hoffman
www.Exults – Online Marketing Agency
www.DentistryWebsites.com – Bringing Your Practice Online
www.DentistSeminars.com – Dental Online Marketing Seminars
Zach@Exults
Dial Up: 954-763-1130
Dental Online Marketing Seminar – March 23-24, 2006 – Austin, TX -ACESthetics.com

Topic: Major Marketing Paradigm Shift of Our Time: Internet Marketing

The Internet has become today’s mass form of communication. By definition every major shift in marketing has occurred by changing the way we communicate. Modern day communications and marketing began with delivered mail, followed by the radio, which progressed into television, and has evolved into the medium that marries all media: The Internet. There has never been a more rapidly adaptable form of communication.

We will discuss different avenues to grow and expand your marketing reach by leveraging the power of the Internet. An Internet presence goes beyond your website, and lives on by your use of it as a channel to communicate with your target audience. Your potential reach into the Internet economy is extremely expansive. Through our course you will learn how to capitalize on your traditional forms of media and turn them into an interactive manipulating force on the Internet.

Zach Hoffman – Bio

Zach Hoffman has lived in the dental industry for 20+ years (through the experiences of his father Dr. Howard J. Hoffman, DDS). He has seen the industry transition from a practice focused on insurance based patients to a practice focused on sedation, boutique style cosmetic treatment. Zach still contemplates becoming his father’s dental apprentice by keeping a keen eye on the dental industry, but has chosen to pursue marketing. His background in Economics and Finance, from the University of Central Florida, gives Zach a broad range of knowledge varying from demographics research to identifying business opportunities. With this skill set he has helped his clients maximize their returns on marketing investment dollars.
If you would like to be removed from our mailing list please contact me at Zach@Exults

© Search Engine Operator, Inc. 2006

Multiplying Factor of Search Engine Name Branding
By Zach Hoffman

Google being used as a multiplying factor in current (Q4 2006) marketing campaigns is proving to become a popular model. Two major spots where Google has been featured is in Pontiac’s current commercial campaign (YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtCJvxuIYDk ) and in time square with Google co-branding the fact that you can visit their site on the Palm Pilot wireless device (image below). Associating yourself with search engine positioning in today’s marketplace builds popularity and credibility. 91% of US adults visit search engines to search for information (source: PewInternet.org, Nov. ’04) and 79% of US adults use the search engines to find health/medical related information (source: PewInternet.org, Dec. ‘05)

Once you get a potential consumer to visit the search engine to search for you they now become opt in consumers. They find you as a more credible resource because you are listed at the “top” of their topic of interest. Now if you take the approach Pontiac uses and reinforce your presence on the Internet the consumer who now only had a 5-30 second interaction with you, has now been multiplied to a brand building experience that may last anywhere from 3 minutes to an hour once they visit your site on the Internet. Your MFT (multiplying factor of time) has now improved to somewhere over 600%. This should be a factor in your marketing effects equation. We analyze the life of marketing in newspapers and magazines with shelf time, but now with the Internet we should be measuring the average period of time of interactivity we can create with potential end-users.

Years ago companies were paying exuberant rates to sign up to be an AOL Keyword exclusive and the same value should be placed on a Google keyword in today’s market. The astronomical returns we have seen local businesses achieve by being at the top of a search engine ranking prove its extreme value. Search engine branding will continue to grow in value exponentially as an increased number of consumers continue to seek their information from search engines. With a number like 91% of consumers using the Internet to search for information the only question left in your mind should be,
where am I?

Good Luck in ’07.

Hope you enjoyed this newsletter, and feel free to pass it on to a friend. Also, if you have any questions or comments please write me at Zach@Exults.
To insure you receive our future newsletters be sure to sign up with us at www.Exults our website.

Thank You,Zach Hoffmanwww.Exults – Online Marketing Agencywww.DentistryWebsites.com – Bringing Your Practice Onlinewww.DentistSeminars.com – Dental Online Marketing SeminarsZach@ExultsDial Up: 954-763-1130Dental Online Marketing Seminar – March 23-24, 2006 – Austin, TX -ACESthetics.com

Topic: Major Marketing Paradigm Shift of Our Time: Internet Marketing

The Internet has become today’s mass form of communication. By definition every major shift in marketing has occurred by changing the way we communicate. Modern day communications and marketing began with delivered mail, followed by the radio, which progressed into television, and has evolved into the medium that marries all media: The Internet. There has never been a more rapidly adaptable form of communication.

We will discuss different avenues to grow and expand your marketing reach by leveraging the power of the Internet. An Internet presence goes beyond your website, and lives on by your use of it as a channel to communicate with your target audience. Your potential reach into the Internet economy is extremely expansive. Through our course you will learn how to capitalize on your traditional forms of media and turn them into an interactive manipulating force on the Internet.

Zach Hoffman – Bio

Zach Hoffman has lived in the dental industry for 20+ years (through the experiences of his father Dr. Howard J. Hoffman, DDS). He has seen the industry transition from a practice focused on insurance based patients to a practice focused on sedation, boutique style cosmetic treatment. Zach still contemplates becoming his father’s dental apprentice by keeping a keen eye on the dental industry, but has chosen to pursue marketing. His background in Economics and Finance, from the University of Central Florida, gives Zach a broad range of knowledge varying from demographics research to identifying business opportunities. With this skill set he has helped his clients maximize their returns on marketing investment dollars.
If you would like to be removed from our mailing list please contact me at Zach@Exults

© Search Engine Operator, Inc. 2006

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An iEntry.com Mailing =====================================================================
WebProNews – Google Invades The Airwaves
December 09, 2006
http://www.WebProNews.com
====================================================================
Google Invades The Airwaves
Joe Lewis Staff Writer
Google announced in a corporate blog that it has officially begun beta testing its Audio Ads marketing platform. Earlier this year, the company acquired dMarc Broadcasting as part of its plans to crossover into radio advertising.
Google has made waves in recent months in its efforts to expand beyond the online marketplace into traditional advertising platforms such as print and radio. The strategy, bold to be sure, has been met with both praise and skepticism from industry analysts and prominent bloggers alike.
At the Inside Adwords Blog, a member of the Audio Ads team gives a little more elaboration on the company’s vision for the project:
“Over the last year, we’ve been partnering with both terrestrial and satellite radio stations across the U.S. so that our advertisers have many options for broadcasting their ads — whether it’s a Country station in Tyler, Texas or an Adult Contemporary station in New York City.”
“Currently, there are hundreds of stations to choose from and we hope to grow the list over the coming year. Our broadcast partners are looking forward to making their ad inventories available to thousands of new advertisers, especially since they aren’t easily accessible today.”
So how will the beta test work? The company offers further insight:
“We’re giving a select group of AdWords advertisers early access to Audio Ads, so that we can gather feedback that will influence product features and direction. By testing with a small group, we can see which features are most-used, which are least-used, and which could benefit from redesign. Early testers help Google to create the best possible product before releasing it to a larger group.”
Will the venture pay off for Google? Sure, the company has a stranglehold on search marketing, but is it possible that it could be extending its reach a little too far here?
Hugo Guzman at Search Engine News gives his take:
“Google’s grand ambition is to take over advertising on all facets of mainstream media, which includes online (which they already dominate), print, television, and radio. However, an undertaking of this magnitude will likely take years to accomplish, and that’s assuming that it ever comes to fruition.”
“In fact, some pundits believe that Google has bitten off more than it can chew by attempting to transition their AdWords platform to radio, and that their progressive approach to advertising will never catch on because it flies in the face of the establishment over at Madison Avenue. They also point to Google’s unmitigated failure (three times over and working on a fourth) in penetrating the print market.”
Another blogger questions Google’s motives for taking up such a
challenge:
“I absolutely believe that radio is a better fit for them than print (more tech-heavy method of delivery, longer shelf life, stickier than print) but I’m still having a hard time figuring out why Google would even want to expand into traditional media in the first place. Is it a sincere desire to positively affect all forms of media or is it an arrogance that thinks they’ll change the face of everything from radio advertising to the way you buy chicken?
“Let’s see, you’re a white female in her mid thirties, registered Democrat, married with 2 kids, a dog and a minivan. You want white meat only, right?”
CNet’s Elinor Mills, however, feels that the proverbial iron is just hot enough for Google to effectively strike into the world of radio:
“If Google radio ads actually catch on, they could have significant implications for the way radio ads are sold. That could be a good thing for an industry that saw April revenues, for example, drop
5 percent from a year ago, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau trade association.”
While opinions remain divided about Google Audio Ads, the fact remains that with nearly $11 billion in liquidity (straight cash, homey), the company can afford to take a gamble like this. It’s your classic risk/reward scenario, and the potential reward could prove to be quite fruitful for both Google and its advertising partners.
One particular hurdle the company will have to address is measuring traffic. Clicks, page views, and unique visitors all offer a particularly reasonable method of quantification when it comes to tracking advertising metrics.
The question remains, however, what analytical method Google will choose to implement for radio, as the aforementioned measurements are unique to the Internet.
So as Google takes to the airwaves, it seems we are left with more questions than answers about how Audio Ads will take shape.

By Joe Lewis, Staff Writer for WebProNews

Reposted by:
— Zach Hoffman
www.Exults – Online Marketing Agency
www.DentistryWebsites.com – Bringing Your Practice Online
www.DentistSeminars.com – Dental Online Marketing Seminars
Zach@Exults
Dial Up: 954-763-1130
Dental Online Marketing Seminar – March 23-24, 2006 – Austin, TX – ACESthetics.com

MySpace – To Believe or Not to Believe

Hope this answers your questions about the MySpace marketing environment…

Who are the demographics of MySpace?

Demographics of MySpace

More than half of the visitors are over the age of 35 years old. If you add visitors 25 or older the site is comprised of 68.3% of this audience (Source: TechWeb).

The demographics are working adults with disposable income. The property was bought by Fox in July of 2005. As a result the unique visitor traffic has increased by 156% year-over-year, this increase has equated to over 55.8 million visitors in August 2006, from 21.8 million last year. These numbers have placed MySpace in the top 3 websites in the US as of last month.

Top 10 Sites in the US 10-30-06
According to Alexa.com

1
Yahoo
2
Google
3
MySpace
4
MSN
5
Ebay
6
Amazon.com
7
YouTube.com
8
Craigslist.org
9
Wikipedia.com
10
go.com

In-Direct Media Dollars Going Toward MySpace

The next movie and television show ads you see, look how many plug their MySpace presence. Being on MySpace today is the equivalent of having your own channel on a network.

Numerous radio station jockeys are plugging MySpace profiles giving added legitimacy to the media.

Search engines tend to be searching the MySpace network for information relevancy so this can also help your search engine rankings.

Your Friend Network – Do I want to identify with these people?

Thanks for the feedback shortly you will not be able to see our clients friend networks. The friend network pictures just go to show you how comfortable people are in their MySpace environments. They are on there for fun, networking, and browsing which is similar to a trip to the local mall.

MySpace Management Time Consumption

Yes, getting views on MySpace takes time, and therefore cost money. Would Jon Hackbarth be getting his two patients a month if his in-house team didn’t use their time to promote his MySpace? Probably not, is he in the ideal market for MySpace I don’t know. Do major metropolitan areas have huge MySpace hubs? Yes, for example Atlanta is by far one of the higher costs per click markets in the country. Now I could spend $6-$7 per a click every day, every month or build a community network on MySpace to compliment my pay-per-click campaign and my web presence.

Now if I draw my existing patients from my website to my MySpace extension just think how much easier you made it for their friends to find you (their potential new dentist) and for people to refer to you. Just another step toward simplicity in a complex environment.

MySpace Functionality

MySpace functionality includes but is not limited to:
Easy blog posting,
Picture portfolio,
Friend network,
Message boards,
Easy video uploading,
Audio uploading (radio ads),
Schedules for events,
And much more.

Search Engine Appeal

Google has a $900 million advertising commitment to market on MySpace for 3 years. Google knows where the eyes are going on the Internet and which surfaces are sticky. MySpace is a very sticky network and if you have a presence on their people are likely to click around and even end up at your website if your MySpace is setup correctly.

The search engines tend to be searching the MySpace network for information relevancy so this can also help your search engine rankings. MySpace is known to be a dynamic environment for web content.

MySpace Marketing

MySpace marketing is not for everyone nor or most forms of marketing. Most market players do not even have the media assets to feed a fire like MySpace or YouTube properly, but if you do what are you waiting for? Your competition?

Feel free to reply with questions and comments.
Thanks,Zach Hoffman
www.Exults – Online Marketing Agency
Zach@Exults
Dial Up: 954-763-1130
Acesthetics Marketing Seminar Speaker – Austin, TX – March 22-24, 2007 – Topic Below

Upcoming Engagements for Zach & Exults:
Greater New York Dental Meeting – New York, NY – November 26-29, 2006
Acesthetics Marketing Seminar – Austin, TX – March 22-24, 2007
AACD Meeting – Atlanta, GA – May 16-18, 2007
www.DentistSeminars.com – Online Marketing Seminars
www.Exults – Online Marketing Agency

To book Zach for your event contact him at Zach@Exults or 954-763-1130.

Upcoming Seminar Topic– Acesthetics Marketing Seminar – Austin, TX March 22-24

Major Marketing Paradigm Shift of Our Time: Internet Marketing

The Internet has become today’s mass form of communication. By definition every major shift in marketing has occurred by changing the way we communicate. Modern day communications and marketing began with delivered mail, followed by the radio, which progressed into television, and has evolved into the medium that marries all media: The Internet. There has never been a more rapidly adaptable form of communication.

We will discuss different avenues to grow and expand your marketing reach by leveraging the power of the Internet. An Internet presence goes beyond your website, and lives on by your use of it as a channel to communicate with your target audience. Your potential reach into the Internet economy is extremely expansive. Through our course you will learn how to capitalize on your traditional forms of media and turn them into an interactive manipulating force on the Internet.

Why is your website on a dead-end road?
By Zach Hoffman

Would you buy commercial real-estate preferably on an intersection or a dead-end road? For most this is not a question and they would prefer the intersection.

This brings me to the topic of the day:

Macro-Development on the Web vs. Micro-Development on the Web

Macro-development refers to the aspect of creating your own website, the parent site that hosts your information.

Vs.

Micro-development refers to using sites like Google, Yahoo, MSN, MySpace, Craigslist, YouTube, and many more to feed your site traffic. It means having a micro-presence on these larger macro-sites.

Macro-Development

Well back in 1999 when I first started buying domain names I focused on monopolizing an industry I could network with relevant content. At this time I was hot into the stock market and bought a majority of my properties going into the finance industry, an example of the name set bought included, but are not limited to:

StockFN.com
BondFN.com
CreditFN.com
EquityFN.com
AnnuityFN.com
CommodityFN.com
InsuranceFN.com

And the plan is to eventually marry them under the name ParthenonFinancialGroup.com well if you check most of these sites they are not currently developed, but the point is the infrastructure is laid out for a thriving macro web presence. The overall picture is setup and waiting for content. As soon as content is placed on this infrastructure, a web will be created over night that brings these units all under one roof and leads to exponential traffic growth.

Micro-Development

Have you been to an individual’s MySpace account? Or, a website that says “Designed and Maintained By”? Well in both cases you fall within someone’s web, you are now a microcosm of a larger picture. You are an individual under the parent, and the hope of the parent is that you bounce back into their web of content. One benefit to this is it helps your site build search engine rankings as an individual because it classifies your site into a directory unit under a parent site, and the down side is it becomes a traffic leak.

So which presence holds more value?
The parent of the macro-developed network contains the most value. They are the unit similar to Rome, the city all roads lead to and through. The financial commitment to build a macro web presence is more significant than that of a micro web presence, but the benefits are also greater to the macro presence. An ideal situation will play out where you have both, a macro presence fed by a micro presence on larger sites. Beneficial micro presences will include relevant industry directories, search engines, community networking web presence, and many more.

So how does this relate to local businesses?

The web is still young and the in-roads too many sites still lay under-developed. Your goal should be to develop the in-roads to your site, stop thinking of it as Search Engine Optimization. Start doing what is right and relevant, and you will be justly rewarded with results.

Thanks for Reading,
Zach Hoffman – Optimizing One Industry at a Time…
Upcoming Engagements for Zach & Exults:
Greater New York Dental Meeting – New York, NY – November 26-29, 2006
Acesthetics Marketing Seminar – Austin, TX – March 22-24, 2007
AACD Meeting – Atlanta, GA – May 16-18, 2007
www.DentistSeminars.com – Online Marketing Seminars
www.Exults – Online Marketing Agency

To book Zach for your event contact him at Zach@Exults or 954-763-1130.

Upcoming Seminar Topic– Acesthetics Marketing Seminar – Austin, TX March 22-24

Major Marketing Paradigm Shift of Our Time: Internet Marketing

The Internet has become today’s mass form of communication. By definition every major shift in marketing has occurred by changing the way we communicate. Modern day communications and marketing began with delivered mail, followed by the radio, which progressed into television, and has evolved into the medium that marries all media: The Internet. There has never been a more rapidly adaptable form of communication.

We will discuss different avenues to grow and expand your marketing reach by leveraging the power of the Internet. An Internet presence goes beyond your website, and lives on by your use of it as a channel to communicate with your target audience. Your potential reach into the Internet economy is extremely expansive. Through our course you will learn how to capitalize on your traditional forms of media and turn them into an interactive manipulating force on the Internet.

This past week in Las Vegas, at the Hyatt Lake Las Vegas, our company Exults had our first official booth space at the Acesthetics group conference. The experience was awesome and we learned a lot. It was amazing to realize being at the event that it had very little to do with actual sales, but a ton to do with learning about our potential clients and industry networking. This is when I realized it is a whole new level of marketing for any type of business out there, from the local business to the large national corporation.

The lessons we learned included, but were not limited to:
What our clients would like to see available on the marketplace,
Our competitor’s image and how they communicate with their clients,
Our place in the Industry,
and, Potential lucrative alliances with other industry players.

What our clients would like to see in the marketplace:

We had many people approach us about problems they currently face working with current suppliers in our Online industry. We were able to understand from our potential client’s eyes how they see our industry, and the potential upside value they see in our services, and where they are currently being short served.

They also expressed growing concerns of the dynamics of our Industry and how they do not understand all cost’s to do business in our marketplace but understand there is large upside value. This communication allowed us to realize the expanse of market opportunity beyond the services we currently offer. It also allowed us to see what services we can package and in particular how to package them to give our clients this wanted value.

Our competitor’s image and how they communicate with their clients:

For the first time we were able to see eye to eye with our competitor’s and how they present themselves to the public eye with the display at their booth space (or lack there of). How a company decided to setup their displays spoke a lot about them because at this point it became their satellite office to landing business, communicating with their clients, and communicating with their industry.

For the first time I understood how market leaders could become yesterday’s leaders. This could happen many ways, but mainly through lack of communication of not being there to field your current clients’ concerns. This could have happened with many types of companies there from equipment suppliers, your lab guys, to technology suppliers. If your provider wasn’t there to field your concerns you just as easily went to their competitor who was there to field your concerns.

The week before presenting at this event, I went to the boat show in Fort Lauderdale and spoke to some exhibitor’s who told me “It’s not being at the show that gets your client’s attention, but your lack of presence there.” Well I finally understood it and saw it first hand. The importance of a credible presence at the show spoke volumes about your regard for your current client base and concern to keep your company innovative.

This relates to many marketplaces, it would be like Intel figuring they have a complete upper-hand in the semi-conductor industry so they decide to slack on their presence at the upcoming computer expo. They setup their table and let their computer’s do the talking, where AMD has their engineers on the floor fielding concerns. Well who will be the one picking up the contracts in the future? Or, at least looked to as an option for a solution? Pretty cool the way business works similar to war, it’s as if we can really see how an early troop pull-out may affect an extended war effort. The reaction to a lack of presence will almost have twice the back-lash of not being there at all.

Our place in the industry:

Well at this event there were at least four companies that offered similar services/products as us. Well considering we knew at least one of them would be there we spent a good amount of money and time focused on educating the marketplace as to what services we had to offer. At the end of the day in our commoditized economic environment we face two types of shoppers those concerned with price and those concerned with value (service). We are more oriented on the value (service) portion of the environment because we understand our potential clients are not necessarily operating a price oriented business. Their clients expect value (service) which is what they sell, and our clients expect value (service) from those they do business with.

Our position in the industry is very niche oriented and focused at helping our client’s increase conversion rates and exposure. We realized at the meeting there is a solid fit for us within the cosmetic dental industry in helping higher end practices market their value to clients through the power of the Internet as the Yellow Pages becomes increasingly obsolete.

Potential lucrative alliances with other industry players:

We found that many other companies in the industry could increase their sales if we helped their end users increase sales. This is where synergies/alliances kick-in and companies stand to gain value from working with one another. In all types of business there is always an opportunity for a beneficial partnership, examples: a cosmetic dentist referring to a cosmetic surgeon, McDonalds sending their customers to Blockbuster for a rental special, to a corporate attorney referring out to an intellectual property attorney. Wow talk about varying business goals, huh? But at the end of the day they all want to be the provider providing the solution someone wanted. This creates a happy person and the likelihood they will return to you when they need the service you provide.

So now you’re wondering…What does all this mean to my business?

The information provided can fit into any field of work and the importance to understanding your clients and their needs. Stop asking yourself what people want and get out there and find out. Whether it means taking a booth at a local mall expo, or a convention aimed at your particular business field. Yes, the quality of traffic will differ depending on the event you choose but you will have the chance at traffic. Survey these people and find out what they want and not what you want to sell them. It will help you make an increasingly compelling pitch and at the end of the day help your close.

Best of luck in your future business endeavors. And, Carpe Diem.

Zach Hoffman
www.Exults – Online Marketing Agency
Zach@Exults
Dial Up: 954-763-1130

Marketing Online – Changes Day by Day – A Dynamic Industry

Marketing online is becoming or already is the most dynamic marketing industry in existence. For example, how often is a new ABC, CBS, NBC, or FOX going to come along on television? Rarely, but in the online world we have seen king of the throne change quite a few times. It is a never ending game of musical chairs. To see an example of how quick top 100 rankings change on the Internet check www.Alexa.com to see how traffic trends continuously change.

Top 10 Sites in the US 10-30-06
According to Alexa.com

1 Yahoo
2 Google
3 MySpace
4 MSN
5 Ebay
6 Amazon.com
7 YouTube.com
8 Craigslist.org
9 Wikipedia.com
10 go.com

Keeping our clients listed in at least 30% of the top websites in the United States is a priority for us. Currently we keep our main clients ranked in 50% of the top 10 websites in the country. Is this priceless? Does your website sell? If it does we can get you all the right traffic. We are even working to help our clients increase their conversions and sales using a great new tool called Google Analytics. We are mastering the features of the program to apply are findings to our clients sites to deliver maximum results.

We are doing well marketing our clients, but getting better every month. As a result we decided to cap the number of clients we are taking per a marketplace. Two lucky people per a marketplace. Because after all there are only 10-20 results people look at on the major sites and search engines. We are also helping our clients become the most informative people in their industry hosting and maintaining their blogs. This is important because people tend to feel more comfortable purchasing from the people that inform them the most about their services.

Online Marketing will never stop evolving and for all we know and neither will we, search engines may not exist in five years. That is why it is critical to choose an Online Marketing Agency dedicated to creating you an Online Presence beyond the search engines. Today’s market is still driven by Word-of-Mouth along with other forms of marketing. This means that Joe’s brother may tell him about what he found on the Internet. Or Jane may tell Susie about a great blog she read on rejuvenating her smile with porcelain veneers on her dentist’s blog.

Our client’s still see results surfacing from marketing they were doing 1 month ago. How is this so? Well how many domain names do you have written on a piece of paper on your desk? How many sites have you added to your favorites (bookmarks) intending to do business with them one day? Traditional SEO is over, yes I said it done/dead, and depending on strictly SEO is a facade. Online Marketing is the key and SEO is just one of the pieces of this puzzle.

We practice what we preach, are business has rapidly evolved over the past 9 months to deliver the results our clients should expect. This is a multi prong approach and not suitable for every client.

How many successful marketing campaigns depend on one medium of marketing? Very few, it takes multiple angles to communicate a message in today’s complex and dynamic world.

Here is just a sample of a couple of our dental clients’ results, in the top 10-20 on all three major search engines for their local market. Does it get better than this? And how many clients can we supply these SEO numbers for? Very few, and that’s once again why we are capping the number of client’s we are taking on per a locale and industry.

10/3/2006
Keyword Positioning Results on: Positioning Results on:
Targets Google Yahoo MSN Google Yahoo MSN

city + cosmetic dentist 1, 16, 18 3, 10, L 15 3, L1 3, 4 4, 7, 11, 14, 20 5, 6
city + sedation dentist 1, 10, 11 1, 3, 9, 10 3 3, 4 3, 5, 8, 12…16 5
city + cosmetic dentistry 1, 9, 16, 18 8, 19, L1 5, L1 3, 4 3, 6, 13, 15…20 7, 8
city + sedation dentistry 1, 3, 6, 7, 9 1, 3, 5…7, 9, L1 3 3, 4 1, 14 3, 4
city + dentist 1, 17, 19 11 10, 11 8 8, 9, 15 3, 4
dentist + city 1 6 7 11, 12 5, 12, 17 5, 6
city + dentistry 1, 19, 20 4, L2 6 9 10, 20 7, 8
city + dental NA 17 19 12, 13 10 13, 14

Best of luck with your Online Marketing and I hope we can service your needs.

Thank You,

Zach Hoffman
www.Exults – Online Marketing Agency
Zach@Exults
Dial Up: 954-763-1130
www.DentistSeminars.com – Dental Online Marketing Seminars