One of the most effective and most cost-efficient forms of promotion is, by all means, internet marketing. The internet is not only a portal to contact your customers, but also a genie in a bottle that will help you fully understand your customer’s wants and needs. Google analytics and other website/keyword tracking tools provide webmasters with invaluable information on what pages are viewed by visitors, how long they’re on a site, how they found the site, and much much more.  

Magazine ads, TV commercials, direct mail and other Stone Age methods provide almost no way to track a customer’s reaction. Ask yourself this: how much time does a potential customer spend reading one of your print advertisements? The answer is you have no idea. On the other hand, if you ask me the same about internet marketing, I will not only provide you with how long they viewed the ad, but also what operating system they’re on, what browser they’re using, their screen resolution, and the color of their underwear (only kidding, I tossed my x-ray goggles in the trash years ago). Ultimately, more knowledge on potential customers provides you with a better ability to tailor your marketing campaign for their wants and needs. 

Aside from being able to track customers more precisely,  internet marketing is timeless and offers far more bang for the buck. I always tell clients to shy away from print/tv ads because once published or aired, and a short amount of time passes, the ads are forgotten. They’re over quicker than a Clipper fast break (lol, only kidding! A longtime friend of mine plays on the Clippers and he’s going to hate me for this one  ). On the flip side, internet marketing and search engine optimization gets better with time; like a fine wine. As online content remains on the net, and obtains more views and incoming links, it builds “weight” and ranks higher in search engines. 

Now, you’re probably wondering where the heck to start. I mean, internet marketing sounds uber-cool, but how should you use the internet to market your business? My answer: A-HAAAAAAA!!! (from the taste the soup scene in Coming to America)

On to the best stuff…See below my fellow ninjas:

Banner Advertisements

If you’re stuck on print ads (they have sentimental value or something odd) and like their look/feel, then banner ads are for you. Creating a cool Flash banner and slapping it on a high-traffic website such as a forum or blog costs far less than a magazine ad and generates a higher conversion rate more often than not. Simply having the ability to animate images is a step above and beyond anything print advertisements can do.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

I’m an SEO geek/fanatic and push this method of marketing to all of my friends and clients. I look at it like this: why would I pay for any advertisement that has a limited shelf life (disappears quickly) and costs more than another, more effective medium? Well, unless I accidently huffed paint on that particular day, I wouldn’t.

Search Engine Optimization allows website owners to truly plan their future. I’m not blowing smoke, I really mean this. By mapping out where you as a business want to be in 5-10 years, you can structure your website and keywords around such. For example, if you’re a broker and want to sell luxury homes in Beverly Hills, you can implement various keywords that directly pertain to your goal. Keywords like the following are a sample: Beverly Hills mansion for sale, luxury homes in Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills estate sales, Beverly Hills real estate broker, etc. Once keywords are implemented, backlinks from relevant sites should be obtained.

Increasing the quantity of relevant backlinks to your site is just as important as keyword selection. In the eyes of search engines, a site with thousands of relevant backlinks will rank much higher than the same exact site with only a few backlinks. More links to your site means more “points” in the eyes of search engines and ultimately higher rank, increased traffic, and most importantly increased profit. The goal is to focus on “do-follow” links to ensure website “points” are distributed to your site.

If I can suggest one thing about search engine optimization, the absolute most important thing, I say you optimize your meta title and meta descriptions ASAP. This is key.

Proper search engine optimization will significantly cut down the amount of money to be spent on marketing in the future. Plus, it will build a stronger online brand.

Directory Submissions 

For specialty products and niche websites, online directories are an excellent medium. They closely resemble an online version of old school phonebook ads and allow company information including phone number, address, a short description, and sometimes keywords to be displayed. Many directories rank very high in search engines, therefore causing business listings on the sites to rank high in return.

There are directories for everything from jewelers to web design companies to restaurants. Do some research and I guarantee you will find directories that fit your product or service. 

Sincerely, 

Aaron Schoenberger 

The Brainchild Group 

Compared to eating healthy, low-fat or low carbohydrate foods, plus counting calories… activating your ability to move takes excess fat away from your body by enhancing your metabolism. Yet, still (in addition to improving weight loss ability), there is more reason to appreciate and utilize your number one weight loss ally.

Imagine for just a moment that you are without an arm or missing one of your legs. Now, try this small yet enlightening experiment. Choose one or the other (missing one arm, or missing one leg). Then, simply lie down flat on your carpeted floor (or, use a floor mat on hard surfaces, for added protection). Now, just try to stand up!

What does this little experiment have to do with losing body fat? It shows you how to summon your best weight loss ally. And, here is the big weight loss secret. Losing body fat is all about creating ACTION. In fact, you have to move your body around at exactly 115 heart beats per minute, just to activate the fat-burning metabolic sequence.

And, this sequence contains a complete chain of about five or six events that start with transporting your cellular chemicals, and it ends with placing your broken-down food ingredients into what you call a mitochondrial FURNACE.

This mitochondrial furnace is nothing but the inside of each of your body cells that has the power to oxidize (transform) fat into its final by-products: heat, sweat, and exhaled air.

Using movement as your weight loss ally, you complete the weight loss process. It starts with movement. Therefore, your capacity to accelerate turns out to be your finest, most effective, and most dependable weight loss ally.

Have you ever seen a child huffing and puffing, nearly grasping for every bit of fresh air that surrounds him or her? Yet, at the same time, there is this big smile, plus a wonderful look of exhilaration on that kid’s face because, if you notice, the child is highly engaged in the act of MOVEMENT. This is their secret weight loss tool — the ongoing method in which children manage to remain slim, trim, lean, energetic, and happy. They MOVE… a LOT.

Adults usually have to lovingly restrain kids from moving… providing well-meant warnings like… OKAY, SIT STILL NOW. Or, STOP JUMPING AROUND SO MUCH.

Ironically, the child is actually showing YOU how to lose weight and keep it off – while neither of you even may realize what you are doing.

Children can be your best weight loss ally, as losing weight is all about movement – and this is what they do.