Hi Visitor

In this newsletter I'm going to focus mostly on the power of social media and online marketing and sprinkle a little on top about reciprocal links explaining what they are and how to best use them (hopefully).

Please feel free to contact me to discuss anything I have put here or anything else you'd like to discuss as these are powerful tools that can really help your online business succeed.

Also, if there's anything you'd like to know more about please get in touch and I'll quite happily include a more thorough explanation in my next newsletter for you and others...

In this issue...

Social Media

If I mention the phrase "Social Media" to most of my clients they'll look a little like the guy in the picture here (which isn't surprising to be honest) but that's why people like me exist, not to make people confused but to help them gain the most out of social media. One client in particular (no names mentioned) developed their own Facebook page and within days was generating revenue from it. Great eh...? and not that difficult to do.

Take a look at Hitwise's Facebook Fan Acquisition and Analysis for an idea of what Facebook and other social media websites can do for your business. Paraphrased here: "...each new fan acquired on a Facebook page drives 20 additional visits to a typical retailer’s website over the course of a year...".

For a more detailed overview of how all these social media sites connect just click the image to the right.

Now this is by no means a thorough overview, it's simply an example of what is available and how they are used. Some, like Google Docs, may not be appropriate for your business while others like Facebook or Twitter may be ideal.

In essence all you need to do is decide what you want to do and why. Then get it done, either by yourself or with my help and in a lot of cases you'll be able to do this easily by yourself.

Reciprocal Links

This is simply a way of placing a link to someone else's website and they in turn do the same for you, reciprocate. But why is it so important...? Is it important and what benefits can it bring...?

Imagine you are a cobbler with a shop in a high street and two or three doors away there's another cobbler. Would you advertise his services in your window...? Probably not. However, in the world of the web it's actually beneficial.

Imagine I am visiting your website as a prospect and I don't find what I want or would like more information about what you provide, well I'm going to look around your website for that information and more than likely I'll find it under "Sites of Interest" or "Reciprocal Links". If I see a link to a similar product or service then I might be inclined to click it and see what's on offer there.

Now this may not be a good idea because people are leaving your site to go somewhere else. However, when you know (through looking at Analytics) which page they left on you can surmise why and rectify this.

So why are reciprocal links important...?

Reciprocal links are important for one very good reason. You, when you link to someone else, are casting a vote for that website. Where you place the link (home page, in an image or in a links page) lends weight to that vote and in turn when someone links to you they are doing the same. the more (good quality) links the better. however, too many can actually be detrimental.

Then there's another question... How do I know the link still exists 12 months later...? I had exactly the same problem with a property website I managed in the UK. It had over 1,000 links and it was just impossible to manage these and check them. That's why I wrote my own software to manage the links and check them on a monthly basis.

Links of Interest...

Newsletter Archive

Google Analytics Explained

Planned Maintenance

Hook, Line & Sinker

Blog Overview

Services Overview