Considering using traditional mail or “snail mail” to reach your customers?  Here are some startling statistics about direct mail in the U.S.  According to globaljunkmailcrisis.org, the average adult receives 40 to 167 pounds of junk mail a year. That’s 560 pieces each year your postcard or brochure has to compete with. Of that, the US EPA estimates that approximately 44% of direct mail pieces go into landfills unopened.

Not only could direct mail be a waste of advertizing dollars, but it wastes the planet as well.  The US Forestry service estimates that more than 100 million trees’ worth of bulk mail arrives in American mailboxes each year.  Additionally, nonprofit groups like New American Dream and Northwest Recycling Outreach are making it their mission to encourage potential customers to “opt out” of receiving solicitations by mail. For companies who want to present a “green” image, these statistics are worth considering as environmentally conscious prospects may not receive your mailers at all.

Other downsides to direct mail include the high cost of printing, mailing and postage cost. Mailing lists can cost companies as much as 3 to 20 cents a name, and when sending to a business address, print ads may be intercepted by assistants and other gatekeepers, never finding their way into a decision-maker’s hands.  Even in the hands of qualified postal workers, they can end up smudged, torn or lost between the pages of a magazine or catalogue.

Additionally, unexpected delays in printing or delivery can cost even more. If a flier arrives late, customers might learn of a promotion after the fact, or too near the deadline to take advantage of a sale or special event.

Email ads cost far less to send. The click of a button sends the same message to multiple prospects and, most of the time, it lands directly in their inbox. Unlike “snail mail,” (a nickname coined in the 1840s to contrast the paper mail with the speed of the telegraph), the delivery of electronic mail is almost instantaneous.

Email also may be read more than traditional mail. According to the Pew Internet and American Life project, based on data from September 2009, 77% of American adults use the Internet and 89% send or read email. Not only is your electronic message more likely to be read;it has no environmental impact, doesn’t get chucked into landfill, and won’t get lost in the folds of a magazine or catalogue.  With today’s emphasis on being “green,” electronic messages make a lot of sense.

If you’d like help getting started on an successful email campaign to your customers, contact Nick Andrews at Search Optics, Inc. at 858-678-0707 today.

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There is a reason Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become a buzz word in the Internet Marketing industry.  Since customers turn to Search Engines more and more often to find businesses, it becomes more and more important that they are on the first few pages of a search result.  Search Engines are used almost hourly, and the three most commonly used are Google, Yahoo! and Bing.  In 2009, a study showed that a grand total of 72.52% of people use Google when it comes to their search needs, 14.99% use Yahoo! and 8.81% use Bing.  These Search Engines all have the goal of returning the most relevant results to the user, but they each have major differences in how they decide what the most relevant result is.

Yahoo! Search is newer to the search industry but is becoming a major player.  Yahoo! claims to offer users a faster and more intuitive search experience.  To optimize for The New Yahoo! Search Web sites will have to cover every aspect possible.  This includes photos, videos, event listings and more.  Web site owners will need to become more involved with both social and media hosting online.

Google has some different criteria for what they rank first in their results.  It is more likely to pull up Web sites that have a strong introductory paragraph explaining what the site is about.  Google also pulls up Web sites that have text links to them, not just graphics.  It helps if the text links say something other than “click here”.  Google favors Web sites that use text, not images, for important content.

On page factors matter more in Bing than with Google and Yahoo!.  Bing also pays more attention to the authority of the site than Google and Yahoo!.  Search results are distorted in favor of older sites and/or sites of authoritative organizations.  Age of domain is also very important with Bing.  Fresh content matters less than with Google.  Whether this is because Bing is incapable of indexing sites that quickly or not, fresh content does not matter when ranking page results.  Bing is also more Flash -friendly.  Optimizing a Flash site for Google can be a bit of a nightmare, but Bing appears to be more Flash-friendly.

It might seem like a major challenge for companies and businesses to try and meet a variety of Search Engines’ optimization criteria.  At Search Optics, Inc. all search criteria is addressed and met when building the Search Engine Optimization of a client’s Web site.  Search Optics, Inc. is committed to converging face-to-face client care and forward-thinking 21^st century interactive marketing opportunities.  We specialize in driving targeted Internet traffic directly to a client’s Web site by optimizing Search Engine results.   Search Optics, Inc. covers all the criteria by creating a variety of social networking profiles for clients and customers.  Content is refreshed weekly and graphics are added to each profile.  Blogs are submitted to blog communities and drafted Press Releases are submitted to online Press Release distributing Web sites.  These efforts cover all search engine optimization criteria and maximize results on all Search Engine pages.

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Who doesn’t want to rev up their Internet Marketing in 2010?  Drawing more attention to your business, increasing sales, and gaining new customers are all great things to aim for in the New Year.   To help you achieve these goals, Search Optics suggests trying these Internet Marketing New Year’s Resolutions tips for 2010!

1.       Try a Web 2.0 Campaign: A Web 2.0 Campaign will allow your company to reach out to Web-savvy customers in an easy, exciting way.  On top of that, it will provide you with increased organic search engine result listings and let you better control your company’s reputation online.

2.       Try a Newsletter for your business or company: A Newsletter allows your company to provide clients with information about your services and keeps your name in front of them on a monthly or weekly basis.  You control the content so, you can be sure to present the images and messages you want customers to see.

3.       Try a Mobile site:  A Mobile Web site will allow customers to view your information directly from their phone.  Customers on the go will be able to find your numbers, hours, and even specials more easily while they are out shopping or away from a computer.

4.       Play a more active role in monitoring your site’s traffic:  It’s a good idea to keep track of who is visiting your Web site, when they are visiting and how often.  Make a resolution in 2010 to learn more about how to access and understand your site’s analytics.

5.       Keep your Web site fresh with frequently changing specials and incentives for customers:  Specials and Incentives will give customers a reason to buy your product and will result in more sales!  If you change your sites specials on a weekly basis, customers will be likely to check your site frequently for new content and deals.

Search Optics can help you keep these, and any other Internet Marketing resolutions you may have.  For more information, feel free to contact us!

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As our economy continues to struggle, automotive dealerships have been backing away from leasing specials.  As it has become increasingly harder to get vehicles off their lots, dealerships have been in turn lowering vehicle prices to move them off the lot for good. This makes finding a lease for car buyers that much more difficult.  It may be in an automotive company’s best interest to target customers with leasing specials this season.

For many car buyers, a lease is the only way to get monthly payments to fit their budgets.  Leasing monthly payments are typically lower than financing monthly payments.  For some, this is the only way they can have a vehicle to drive.  The scarcity of leasing specials means that an auto company who chooses to market one would have little competition for customers.

Providing a leasing option will attract customers that would not even consider visiting their local dealership otherwise.  Car companies who cease their leasing plans will be forced to tweak their sales incentives to keep vehicles moving out the door.  With a leasing option, sales prices will not have to be altered and vehicles will still be moving off the lots.

Leasing options serve the customer as well.  It is an economical way to provide vehicles for business use and a way for private individuals to drive more cars than one could typically afford.  A significant amount of the Mercedes-Benzes, BMWs, and Lexuses you see on the road are leased.  If you find yourself mainly driving exclusively for work, leasing a vehicle is the only way to go.

It seems to be that trying out a leasing special this month is in the automotive dealerships’ best interest.  The significant amount of automobile customers that prefer leasing specials to buying or financing cars are left with no options for their automobile needs.  The competition is scarce and that is definitely in an automobile dealership’s favor.  Providing a leasing special could only work in an automotive company’s favor this season!

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The number one search engine is at it again…and this time, they’re changing the way you communicate online!  Google recently debuted Wave, a place where people can communicate and work together with formatted text, photos, videos, maps and more.  This program allows users to organize events, share photos, enhance group projects, play interactive games, brainstorm, and go over things such as meeting notes, agendas, and more.  This online tool provides people with real-time communication and collaboration.

What is a wave? The creator of Google Wave best describes a wave as equal parts conversation and document.  This wave is shared, which means that any participant can reply anywhere in the message, edit the content and add participants at any point in the process.  The ability to playback lets anyone rewind the wave to see who said what and when.  A wave is live.  With live transmission as you type, participants on a wave can have faster conversations, see edits and interact with extensions in real-time.

Google Wave is not available yet, but soon will be.  You can request an invitation to Google Wave at https://services.google.com/fb/forms/wavesignup/.  This new program is sure to take over offices and meetings as well as friends and family interactions.  As the number one search engine, Google never disappoints!

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When the craze of MySpace began back in the early 2000’s, people would never have guessed that social networking would be as widely known as it is today.  As we near the end of our first decade in the millennium, we find ourselves constantly hearing about Twitter, Facebook, and Linked In…and not in the same context as we had been about 10 years ago.  Today, these social networking sites are critical in any marketing strategy, and agencies are seeking internet savvy professionals to implement these techniques via these Web sites for clients.

Just like most of the world’s most ingenious inventions, the idea of using digital social networking to implement marketing strategies has proved itself over these past 10 years with extensive research, observation, trial and error, and collaboration.  Social media is no longer a new concept to the business world, whether professionals are ready to accept it or not.  It is out with the old and in with the new - and for good reason too.  Word of mouth has been a fervent and prevalent influence since the beginning of time.

With networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, these words are now at everyone’s fingertips instantly; a marketer’s dream come true!  Immediacy plays another huge role in the impact of social media.  Marketing material posted on social media Web sites is instantly available to the customer.  These are results that a magazine or newspaper can never provide.

Who better to implement these marketing strategies through social networking sites than digital agencies?  Digital agencies understand that brands are being held to higher-than-ever consumer expectations and know how to effectively market their clients through these proven effective Web sites.  They bring to the marketing table a fresh perspective and flexibility that mainstream media just cannot deliver.

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Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your Web site so it appears higher in the organic, natural, unpaid results in search engines. The varying techniques used for SEO can be lumped into two main categories: White Hat SEO & Black Hat SEO.

Both practices share the same goal of bringing a website to the highest possible organic position. However, as their names suggest, White Hat SEO techniques are safe, reliable, and accepted by Google. While Black Hat SEO techniques use “methods such as link farms, keyword stuffing and article spinning that degrade both the relevance of search results and the user-experience of search engines. Search engines look for sites that employ these techniques in order to remove them from their indices,” says Wikipedia.

If you hire a company who uses Black Hat SEO techniques it’s very possible you will get banned from Google.

Black Hat SEO is the equivalent of SPAM in your email inbox. Unwanted email makes it to your inbox just like unwanted search engine results make it into your search results. With potentially equally harmful results as many who use Black Hat SEO techniques will optimize harmful websites that will automatically download viruses to your computer.

Search Optics, Inc. only uses White Hat SEO techniques when optimizing your Web site. White Hat techniques also produce longer-lasting, more stable results. While a Black Hat technique might get a top ranking one minute, it will most likely be banned the next. Once you have a very solid ranking, continuing to optimize via White Hat techniques will give you a great chance to retain the ranking.

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In case you haven’t heard Search Optics, Inc. offers a new Reputation Management via Social Media (RMSM) package. (Email nick@searchoptics.com for more information). RMSM takes advantage of popular social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to fill the Search Engines with positive / relevant results for your dealership.

However, signing up for RMSM is half the battle. What you need to do on a regular basis is provide information about what’s buzzing down at your dealership (read related article: Importance of gathering customer reviews and testimonials). Do you have any specials that you’d like to announce? Have you won an award recently?

The more we work together on your RMSM campaign the better the results will be. With RMSM it’s possible to be in direct control of majority of the first page listings for your brand name - very powerful stuff.

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When Fall rolls around, customers start thinking about making sure their vehicle is ready for cooler weather. Customers come in for fluid checks, preventative maintenance, and tune-ups, all with the hope of avoiding a break down in the snow.

All of this makes Fall a great time to think about adding some specials to your website. Adding specials is also a quick way to customize your site and create customer excitement and interest. Since customers are already thinking about getting their car ready for winter, why not take advantage of the time to present them with specials that get them to YOUR store. Here are some ideas for specials to build excitement and business:

· Car Care Month Check Up: Put together an November service package for customers to get their car ready for winter.

· Fall Tire Service: Fall often brings wetter road, whether it is with rain or snow. Offer your customers a discount on new tires or rotations so they can be sure to drive safely.

· Cold Weather Car Wash: If you live in a really cold area, ice and snow might start early. And that means salty roads. A car wash special, so customers can get damaging road chemicals removed from their car, is a great special.

· Cold Weather Accessories Package: If your dealership sells accessories, fall is a great time to put together a package of everything a customer could need in the cold. Ice scrapers, jumper cables, or tire chains are all great ideas.

Think about adding some Fall Specials to your site! It keeps your content fresh and exciting, and your customers bringing their business to you.

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Our Search Optics Newsletter is adding a new feature… a monthly poll. Each month we will be asking questions on different Internet Marketing topics and then posting the results the following month. For our inaugural poll we are asking a couple of questions about Social Media and Web 2.0. Click here to participate!

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