Do we search the web anymore? No, we “Google” it. Such is the influence of the most popular search engine that its name has become a synonym for the action. Moreover, Internet specialists are now talking about the “Google habit” and the possible ways to kick it out of our online experience. Some are suspicious about Google’s data gathering policies, other praise its efforts to protect users’ privacy. But what is this Google habit, anyway?

There are four main search services: Google, Yahoo, MSN and AOL that gather the vast majority of searches performed by Internet surfers. There are bunches of other -less significant- search tools, as well as country-specific search engines, that provide similar services. However, Google is the dominant player in terms of both organic and paid traffic and the one responsible for the success -or failure- of any given website. It’s able to provide great search results, it’s fast and extremely easy to use. But, what’s most important, it’s familiar. Google seems to be almost everywhere.

Here is the Google toolbar, just in the upper left of the browser, with the Google sidebar in the lower right of the window. And maybe, just maybe, Google’s homepage is bookmarked, so as not to miss on Gmail, Google News or Google Videos. And this could go on forever. This is why Google is such a tough habit to break.

Habits are cognitive shortcuts that allow us to perform familiar tasks almost automatically. They are reinforced by every successful result of such actions and any possible change is perceived as a cost. Because habits save us time, precious time to think of other -not so familiar- things. Google’s familiar interface and popular tools are a pretty good explanation of its huge market share advantage. Google comes in handy whenever a search is needed, thus becoming a part of our daily online presence and, eventually, a habit. If it’s good or bad, we still have to decide.

Lately there are many voices which argue that web users should pay special attention to the way Google (among other web giants) is handling their private data. Google’s data gathering policy may be considered by users a violation of their privacy, which can’t be shaken away just with the famous “Don’t Be Evil” motto. In its defence, Google points to Yahoo’s queries database, handed over to the US government, and Google’s battle in court for the right to refuse such a request, a battle Google ultimately won.

Nevertheless, Google’s cognitive lock-in (the loyalty to a certain interface, derived from its familiarity) as well as its personalization policies (delivering personalized ads according to the profile of the person logged in to one of its tools) are now challenged by Internet-savvy users, in their pursuit of breaking their Google habit.

By refusing to get swept away with the Google tide, they put their faith in niche strategies (personalized search for groups with similar interests, like YouTube provides for videos enthusiasts) and future substantial innovation in search engine experiences. Because, as long as Google remains substantially good, searchers with the Google habit won’t switch to any of its competitors, even if they might miss out on relevant information. After all, without a dramatic improvement, why bother shaking off your habits?

It is already yesterday’s news that a SE (search engine) unfriendly website is no website at all. No matter how exquisite the design, if search engines can’t easily find a website and rank it high in their SERP listings, the target visitors won’t like it. Because they won’t even be able to find it.

This is why SEM (search engine marketing) and SEO (search engine optimization) are such efficient online promotion practices. They generate the sought-after clicks and bring the online business one step closer to its customer. Pay-per-click and paid inclusion tactics, in addition to the must-have SEO strategies, are the means of getting search engines (and Google in particular) to put a business website right under the eyes of its targeted audience.

In Google’s opinion, the good news is that the price per click on most keywords has steadily increased as it managed to improve the quality of those clicks. These continuous efforts to guarantee a good ROI for its advertisers also ensure that online surfers obtain the most relevant results when actually trying to buy something on the web. It’s a Google-win situation.

Advertising and gaming industry alike focus now on what is called in-game advertising (or advergaming), already hailed as the most important new medium for 21st century advertising. In-game advertising provides the opportunity for brand messages to actually be displayed inside computer and video games played by hundreds of millions of users worldwide. Moreover, this new form of advertising is able to reach a key demographic already considered “lost” by TV advertisers, more narrowly defined and therefore even more valuable.

As recent statistics point out, the coveted demographic of males aged 18-34 is no longer interested in watching TV, being therefore less exposed to ads and almost immune to their message. Instead, the interest in PC and console games is now reaching unprecedent heights, surpassing by far other media options. It should come as no surprise that advertisers are planning to go where their audience is: at shooters, action, sports, FPS, RPG and racing games.

Advertising in games is not a completely new thing, as early examples can be tracked down to 1978, when the computer game “Adventureland” featured an ad for another game. But these incipient forms of in-game advertising were static, “hard-coded” (meaning that they could not be changed) and consisted of virtual billboards or product placements. This was, however, the first step of adapting such ads to their gaming environment, enabling players to perceive them as an integrated part of the game.

Static in-game advertising paved the way for dynamic, flexible adverts that are able to fit more naturally into a gaming environment. These ads can be changed according to their performance, the geographical location of the player or even the time of day, being closely monitored by the advertising agency that originally developed them.

Advertisers are now able to collect valuable data regarding the time spent by players when looking at certain ads and their viewing angle, all this having a considerable impact over advertising campaigns and even game design. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that “static in-game advertisements are now giving way to dynamic adverts, which accounted for $26m of the $76m spent on in-game advertising last year and will account for 55% of the $182m spent this year”, according to the Yankee Group.

However, in-game advertising still has to face a tough challenge: how to make ads relevant to game players without seeming obtrusive or inappropriate. For example, billboards can actually enhance the gamer experience when placed in sports games, but are totally out of context in a fantasy adventure. Since games are mostly seen as an escape from the real world, ads which are not well implemented might be seen as an intrusion and the games displaying them boycotted altogether. Even if ads manage to fit the game context, some statistics point out that gamers are not very enthusiastic about it. According to a recent survey, about 93% of gamers had a positive response to such ads, although less than 30% were enthusiastic and the majority of 43% were merely apathetic. Some believe that subtle ads can enhance their playing experience, others find them irritating or choose to ignore them completely. But the overall impression is that ads have to adapt to the gaming environment, not the other way around.

In order to do this, ads have to rely heavily on the creative options that are currently available. These may include billboards, banners, video-audio and 3D objects, all having to be naturally integrated in the game which displays them. As a consequence, original adverts now enable players to order pizza while they are still playing their favorite game (like in EverQuest II, a massively popular MMORPG), jump over obstacles consisting of products in their shooters or use branded tools while taking a virtual walk through Second Life, the amazingly realistic online world everyone is talking about.

According to some industry figures, in-game advertising can be very efficient in driving persuasion, provided that the products advertised are relevant to the game. Therefore, if adverts are able not to hinder the gamer’s experience, but actually enhance it, gamers are likely to have a positive response to such new forms of advertising. Various studies point out that in such cases gamers demonstrate better brand awareness and recall than those had after watching a normal TV commercial. Moreover, researchers are now interested in developing psychological profiles of individual gamers, to further increase the power of persuasion of interactive ads.

This can only mean that the advergaming potential is huge and will continue on its ascending path. “Statistics project that videogame marketing would blossom from $118 million last year to $1.05 billion five years from now”, says Yankee Group representative Michael Goodman. This could bring a significant increase in profit for game publishers, offsetting their growing game development costs and allowing them the financial freedom to further create and innovate. For the advertising industry, this new opportunity implies new creative options, huge commercial potential and new types of advertising agencies dedicated to the professional delivery of advergaming to its much sought-after audience.

This article tries to offer a brief description of how online advertising works and how entrepreneurs can benefit from it, summing up the steps that need to be taken from the start-up of a business.

If you are a start-up business, the first thing you should do is to find clear answers to a few important questions. Here are the questions:

• Where are you positioned onto your niche market and where are you aiming to reach?
• Which are your objectives and aspirations?
• Who are/will be your clients, how are your products/services different from others and why will clients buy from you and not from the competition?

These are questions that only appear to be simple, but once answered, it will be a lot easier for you to identify the most appropriate follow-up (next step).
Therefore:

• Don’t overestimate yourself, even if your budget may seem sufficient. In time, only the correct measures will help you meet that budget or exceed it. It’s better to have a more timid start until you can consolidate your company than set yourself for a lot of ambitious things and miss most of them - the stake can be your business itself.
• Define your short, medium and long term objectives realistically, always taking into consideration the fact that you cannot take everything into consideration. A good business plan backed by the appropriate strategy is the key to success.
• Identify your target profile as accurately as possible and always address it first. You should always have a stable and solid (even loyal, if possible) start-up base before venturing to attract new categories of clients;
• If you are overwhelmed by these issues, you can ask for the advice of a specialist to guide you, but don’t forget you are the only owner of your vision and the one who has the most to win or lose. In other words, a specialist can help you but you are the one making the decisions.

If these things are clear enough, you can proceed with the next step:Create Your Brand – To start with, you need to develop a company image. As every person has their unique identity, each company has to transmit a powerful and distinct image. Image means first of all the Corporate Identity which is based on a sign - a Corporate Logo, which should be found on all the materials that represent you. A standard Corporate Identity Package usually includes the Logo, Business Cards, Letterheads and Printed Organizational Collateral. A company must leave its stamp on every business interaction. In time, Your Brand will have to be found both in all the elements of communication used, as well as in the company philosophy and the values expressed/promoted/encouraged by it. More complex packages may include Advertising Materials and your Web Presence/site.

Create Your Website – Usually the web presence is seen as an extension of the company image to the virtual environment. Sometimes companies set their electronic environment from the start, so that their website becomes their main or only sales & promotion tool, not just a means of presentation.

Here are the mandatory things to consider, regardless of the importance your web site will have in your business:

• A Good Domain Name - the address by which your business is found on the Internet and one of the important criteria for achieving online success;
• Professional Design – the first impression your clients have is mostly based on the aspect, the “look and feel” thing;
• Usability and Accessibility Website Architecture – visitor-friendly website, accessible links, pleasant and intuitive interface;
• Content Quality, Relevance and Size – these days size matters when it comes to the site content, but the content quality and relevance should nevertheless come first;
• Search Engine Friendly Content (URLs, Titles, Meta tags, Texts).

As you may have noticed, I only listed the basic elements, without a detailed description of how each has to be done. Be it choosing a website domain name or your logo design, this is a science/art on its own and being successful requires talent and experience. This is why is preferable to resist the temptation of making false savings and resort to actual professionals who, although not the cheapest solution, will bring more long-term benefits than the savings brought in by working with amateurs. Also try to clearly define the role the website will play in your strategy and listen to expert advices and suggestions, as they are based on experience and an in-depth knowledge of the complex aspects regarding a web site’s performances. Now, having a well done Website based on a powerful Brand Identity, it’s time to proceed with the Online Promotion phase.

The Internet is a huge place, with billions of websites and constantly increasing traffic. This is why reaching the target audience is vital for a business website that wants to stand out from the crowd.

Online promotion is the mechanism through which a website can increase its number of visitors (and thus potential customers) by using specific techniques: SEO, online advertising, viral marketing, etc. Online promotion generates leads (making it easier for customers to find a website they may be interested in) and enhances the attractiveness of a business website.

Online Advertising is a form of advertising using the Internet in order to deliver marketing messages and attract customers. Examples of online advertising include contextual ads on search engine results pages, banner ads, advertising networks and e-mail marketing.

Online Advertising Campaigns – Every successful online campaign correctly begins by identifying its target market, the best advertising channels and methods, followed by the implementation of the appropriate strategy.

I will now list the elements involved in such a campaign in their normal order:

Search Engine Optimization

Why does your website need a SEO campaign? Simply because correct/ethical SEO techniques encourage a higher website positioning in organic search engine listings. This means that your target visitors can find your website more easily on the Internet if it is optimized for certain keywords which define your business products or services.

Presuming that the On Page Optimization phase is already completed (Website Architecture & Accessibility, URLs, Titles & Meta Tags, SEO Friendly Copywriting), the following components should be taken into consideration, in the order of their listing:

Search Engines Submissions – with this your site will be indexed in as many search engines as possible (although 90% of their traffic is managed by 4 of them: Google, Yahoo, Live Search, AOL).

Directories Submissions – a part offer free submission services, others link exchange and others (usually the most important ones eg: business.com, dmoz.org, yahoo.com) based on a monthly or annual fee.

Join Forums focused on your niche.

Business Blogging – in the last 2 years this method of promoting the company image and message has become increasingly popular.

Constant Publishing of Articles, Press and News releases – both on your own website as well as on other websites from your industry.

Viral Content Development - Apart from classical direct communication, there are other modern methods of attracting additional traffic to a website, including Social Tags, Forums, Specialized Articles and Press Releases. These would be original SEO-friendly texts, based on client directions and our documentation and research.

Paid Campaigns

I always recommend my clients to go to paid campaigns after starting with the above-mentioned measures. Here the order is aleatory:

Pay-Per-Click Campaigns - this implies keyword research, creating text ads according to the keywords chosen and the landing pages targeted, managing the campaign budgets, monitoring the results and creating monthly reports. According to Forbes Magazine, by the year 2008, companies will spend $8 Billion a year on PPC advertising. This means PPC is not a waste of money, but a very efficient means of online promotion.

Banner Campaigns - this consists in using certain graphic means (banners) to attract leads (potential customers) to your business website. The development of a banner campaign has two parts:
- the first implies the creative part, consisting of a message that has to be transmitted to a targeted segment through a multimedia concept; the next steps are the banner design according to the concept and, if necessary, animated sequences;
- the second part consists in correctly identifying the most efficient channels to be used for transmitting this message.

Purchase Ads in Ezines and Newsletters addressing to your targeted segment

Measure and constantly analyze your results – to see where things are going well and where they need changes.

All these measures can bring in remarkable results if implemented and done the right way. After starting such an online promotion campaign, the first notable results will be seen in approximately 2-3 months, followed by a complete absorption of the initial investment and significant results in the first 6 months.

The online promotion should be, however, a constant effort, as the data and principles (by which the information available online is analyzed and indexed by Search Engines) continuously change. Periodically or occasionally, campaigns with a precise time frame and/or target (promoting certain sets of products/services or just the brand) will prove to be extremely efficient in boosting product sales or the online visibility of your brand.

These are the basic steps for having an efficient online promotion of your website. Simply take advantage of the Internet and follow some basic, yet very important rules that can make the difference for your business.

We are inviting you to visit our website www.zeppelindesign.com and contact us directly to receive more information or to request a free quotation for your project.

Successful websites must be both visually appealing to their visitors and content-rich for the crawler-based search engines. They should be able to impact the targeted audience and obtain top rankings in organic search engine listings. But how can all that be achieved?

If people are primarily drawn to pictures, search engines can only read texts. Therefore a website should have relevant text added to every image, Flash and video put at the disposal of its online viewers. So that both human and robot visitors can get the right information on what that particular website is all about. Keep in mind that people use keywords to find a website and search engine spiders feed on keywords to power listings.

Another thing of vital importance to a website is to have an error-free HTML code. While undetectable in a web browser, such errors may misdirect search engines and make them ignore otherwise relevant text found on page.

Moreover, dynamic URLs (long URLs generated from specific search to a website’s database) are search engine unfriendly, as they may be considered too complex to spider and their content changing too often to be valuable. All this in contrast to static URLs, in which the content of the web page does not change unless the changes are coded into the HTML.

Most search engines also focus on the text appearing in a website’s title tags, as this is part of their algorithm to determine what each page is about. This is a very good spot for major keywords, as a meaningful title will automatically increase the relevance of that page for a certain topic.

A search engine friendly website should make it easy for spiders to visit all its pages in their quest to find relevant content. This only requires simple HTML links and, additionally, a sitemap for quick and clear navigation throughout the website. Google Sitemap is another valuable design element worth to consider adding. This will ensure that all pages are correctly indexed and the overall website can be found relevant for some specific keyword phrases.

Your website domain is the address by which you (and implicitly your business) are found on the Internet by web users. It is also the first assessment made by visitors regarding what your website is about and, therefore, one of the first criteria for your online success. A good domain name can do wonders for your business, as long as you know how to put it at work.

There is much debate whether your domain should be your website name or just a cluster of keywords stuffed in the URL. Most online experts agree that your domain name should be your website name, as your business must strive to become a brand instead of an easily forgettable name. Keep in mind that, when people think of your website, they will first think about its name; if the name is part of your URL, they will automatically know where to go.

A good domain name can also include one of your top keywords and be suggestive of your business category. This is recommended especially for a growing business, which doesn’t have the mesmerizing power of a major brand. Google gives you a small boost for your domain name and if it contains your targeted keywords, this can help you get higher search engine rankings. You may also want to consider hyphens between your keywords, although your name would be more difficult to spell out loud and more affected by typing mistakes.

In general, you should try to keep your domain name short and meaningful. Nevertheless, avoid sequences of unrelated letters which are in fact abbreviations of your longer business name. These are more difficult to remember and subject to much more typos than their unabridged versions. Longer names also have the advantage of keyword combinations, but try to keep them under 67 characters in length. No one would remember an extremely long name, no matter how good-looking.

Everybody knows that good domain names are hard to find, especially those containing the most sought-after keywords. Very often, the domain name registrar will suggest alternate forms instead of the one you wanted to get in the first place. You are given the possibility to add “the”, “my” or plural forms to your original choice, which means that you must always remember to promote your website with the full form of the name. You can also change the popular “.com” extension to the less frequently used “.net”, “.org” or other country-specific domains. While these may not be a bad choice after all, you must be very careful in choosing them according to your business purposes. If your website aims at getting international traffic, then the above-mentioned method is not a solution. For local businesses, however, it’s wiser to pick a country-specific domain, which is more likely to become popular with their targeted audience.

All in all, you must strive to get a domain name that best represents your business. It is your online calling card and must be easy to remember, meaningful to your targeted audience, search engine friendly and, above all, able to be smoothly turned into a brand.

We live in the Internet era and so does our business. It’s like getting out of the Dark Ages of technology and embracing the advantages of instant information and communication. Now we’re talking about online marketing, online advertising and online popularity. About having a well-designed website and getting top rankings on Google using the latest SEO methods. The online environment is where real fast money is made these days.

So why isn’t your business already on the map? Why not advertise your special services where your audience is constantly looking? Why not draw targeted traffic to your one-of-a-kind product? Why not make the real money your business is worth? Try these answers: either you don’t have a competitive website, or you don’t have a website at all.
Nowadays every business needs a website. However, a really successful business requires a professional online presentation. This is because, just like in the real world, your virtual presence has to be noticed. It means combining several technologies which allow a maximum exposure in the most frequented areas. Getting a Top 10 ranking on Google, for example, involves everything from clean-cut web design, correct web development/programming, excellent copywritting and constant SEO assistance. All of that professionally done by IT specialists.

Basically, you need all that would make a website search engine friendly, so the potential customers are able to find it.

Keeping in mind your position on the market, your business goals and exactly what your company provides, you have to put your website at work. Make it jump-start your business or constantly expand your already-developed client portfolio.

Prepare to reap the benefits of a well-targeted online advertising campaign, but don’t lay back on your newly achieved success. There is even more to come, if you are determined to use the right tools. But this is another story…