Internet Marketing Traffic and Brand Building

Topics Smart browsing Traffic as value Traffic through visibility –Domain branding –Managing your portal presence –Publicity and word of mouth Paying for traffic –Alliance and co-branding –Online ads Evaluating traffic sources

Traffic as Value Value is based on scarcity of supply, not necessarily benefits The supply of Web content is growing faster than the number of users While the volume of online material provides ever-increasing value to network users, the the battle for attention is severe Value and Scarcity

Headline Paraphrase current articles on the battle for traffic Publication & Date

Traffic as Value Elements of a Web Traffic Plan Destination Site Search & Directory Publicity Paid Advertising External Links Domain Name/Brand Fig. 9.3: Sources of Traffic Acquiring traffic is expensive, and critical to Web marketing success First step: make the site easy to find by new users The steps in Figure 9.3 build on each other

Traffic as Value Elements of a Web Traffic Plan Table 9.2 Retaining traffic is profitable Site loyalty dramatically lowers the cost of maintaining web site traffic Fewer new users must be attracted to maintain a profitable user base

Traffic as Value Elements of a Web Traffic Plan Developing Traffic Requires Value Visit duration is the online equivalent to time in a store Long visit duration allows: –More time to communicate the message of the site –Additional opportunities to engage in commerce –More chances to build commitment and loyalty –Exposure to more advertising or alliance partner impression

Traffic as Value Figure 9.4 – Length of Time Visitors Spend on the Xerox Company Web Site Visit duration is a good measure of customer value The higher the value of a site, the longer the duration of visits Elements of a Web Traffic Plan

Threshold

Traffic Through Visibility Traffic Builders: Domain Names A domain name is the address a customer uses to find your site Poorly chosen names can hinder success Once chosen, domain names can be difficult to change without significant expense A domain name strategy should –Reinforce branding –Build traffic –Anticipate consumer behavior and mistakes

Traffic Through Visibility Traffic Builders: Domain Names Figure 9.6: Three Different Ways of Getting to the Coca-Cola Homepage

Traffic Through Visibility Guidelines for Effective Domain Names Table 9.4

Traffic Through Visibility Traffic Builders: Portal Presence Search engines and directories are common ways to find a company’s web site Problems –A single search often produces thousands of results –Less than 1 percent of Web pages show up in all four of the most popular search engines

Traffic Through Visibility Traffic Builders: Portal Presence Search engines retrieve pages on the basis of keywords, meta-tags, page titles & other content Secure a high ranking –Classify your site with proper keywords, descriptors and categories –Make sure important Web pages are listed with all major search engines Multiple listing is important to ensure exposure, as each search engine will return a different set of results to a query –Work with directories (like Yahoo!) to make sure they properly locate your site

Headline It’s usually possible to find current news on which search engines and directories drive the most traffic Publication & Date

Traffic Through Visibility A specialized portal focuses on a specific industry Special directories provide editorial control by industry experts, categorization schemes and the ability to reflect rapid change in a particular industry The Emergence of Specialized Portals Example – (real estate)

Traffic Through Visibility Electronic Word of Mouth and Diffusion Positive word of mouth and publicity motivate potential users into trial Loyal users are the main source of positive word of mouth Nonusers and disgruntled consumers are more likely to provide negative comments Figure 9.9 Influences on Trial

Traffic Through Visibility among friends and biz acquaintances Usenet groups listservs AOL and other online forums Industry portal discussion areas Online and traditional media coverage of the Net Net Word-of-Mouth Technologies The Net amplifies the power and accelerates the speed of user feedback

Traffic Through Visibility Opinion leaders are well-respected industry participants journalists, or lead users known for expertise Reaching opinion leaders is a key success factor of an e-commerce strategy Opinion leaders can be reached via and social networks Opinion Leaders Online

Traffic Through Visibility URL Placement Integrate your domain name wherever possible –Manuals, warranties, software programs –Familiar advertising settings Billboards, buses, bills, company brochures, radio advertisements, public speeches, menus in restaurants, park benches, shopping bags To track which medium is driving traffic –Use unique identifiers –Use different Web addresses with different media messages

Paying for Traffic Banner ads are the dominant form of online advertising –Clickable graphic images that take a user to another Web location Pricing is usually based on the number of impressions –Negotiated prices, volume discounts, and barter arrangements are common –Each banner also carries a unique identifier This allows a business to track the effectiveness of each placement in generating traffic Interactive Advertising

Paying for Traffic Online Advertising Effectiveness From Visits to Purchases Pool of Impressions Pool of Visitors From Impressions to Clicks Fig – The Declining Number of Viewers at Each Step of an Advertising Chain

Paying for Traffic Online Advertising Effectiveness Online ad banners are simple to create and implement –Experimentation is cheap and easy Click-through rates are fairly low Higher click-through rates associated with : –Bold colors –Top-of-page placement –Animation –Call to action –Limited frequency of exposure

Paying for Traffic Banner click-through rates are often as low as 2 percent This reduces the effect of online brand building Many feel that branding still requires the power and imagery of television and radio until users have better technology Brand Building with Banner Ads

Paying for Traffic Paid advertising may be necessary to create the initial visibility to search engines Several of the search engines use external links to traffic to determine a site’s indexing frequency and placement in result lists Advertising reinforces the effectiveness of free media Initial studies indicate that banner ads can help build brand awareness Even with no click-through, banners can trigger post-exposure visits to sites Brand Building with Banner Ads

Paying for Traffic Some sites generate sufficient traffic with other measures If a business has a regional market, it’s best to avoid online advertising on sites with national or international scope Regional sites, however, may be a great opportunity for online advertising –CitySearch, SideWalk, JustGo, Yahoo! Online Advertising May Not Fit All Companies

Evaluating Traffic Sources Measurable sources of traffic include: –Search engines and directories – promotions –Publicity campaigns aimed at building awareness and trial –Links from newspaper articles and press releases –Dedicated software updates and links –Paid advertising expenditures to steer traffic to the site –Alliances and co-branding to generate traffic from affiliate sites Web-log and commerce server data enable marketers to measure these sources Measuring the Returns

Evaluating Traffic Sources Tracking Search Terms Important to monitor the top-ranked keywords visitors use to find a site Provides useful snapshot of the ways visitors remember and categorize a site

Evaluating Traffic Sources Measuring the Returns Figure 9.18 Traffic Value Revenues per Visit and per Page View are quite high

Evaluating Sources of Traffic