Web Design, SEO, Online Marketing, iPhone Development

Gordon Ramsey demonstrates a perfect Lemon sole Papillote, his show the F-Word revolutionized cooking shows and how food methodology is presented.

As the web becomes more and more sophisticated so does online advertising. The dept and richness of consumer information is tremendous online; just think about all those online-forms you have filled out or anything you have posted on social networks. This richness of information allows marketers, like Async Minds, to target extremely niche consumer segments through various online tactics. Here are some examples.

• LGBTQ individuals aged < 30 living in Los Angeles interested in extreme sports and alternative medicine.
• Women aged 30 and above with one or more children in New Jersey who are interested in cellulite treatment.
• New Yorkers who own downtown Manhattan properties with a salary > $200k and loves cooking and pets.

The granularity of targeting that online marketing allows should be utilized by your business; we have noticed that in almost every situation, businesses functioning in most industries can benefit significantly from a well planned online marketing strategy. But what are your options and when should you use them? Here the top 3 online marketing strategies to wet your appetites.

1. Paid search (Google, Yahoo, Msn and more)

Paid search is the most common online marketing method, in most cases the most effective too. Your advertising dollars will be spent towards obtaining a higher search ranking and a sponsored search result on major search engines.

Targeting for paid search marketing is limited to geographic locations and time of day, however, because your ads correspond to the context of the users search, relevancy is high and bounce rates are kept low. In addition, exposure is extremely high as your ads get millions of impressions each month.

Paid search uses a cost-per-click model, which means you only pay for the ads which are clicked not the ones which are only displayed. A reasonable budget to kickoff a paid search campaign ranges between $1000 - $2000 a month and can be increased as your clientele grows exponentially.

2. Social advertising (Facebook, Linked-In, Myspace)

Social advertising is really 'hot' right now, each social network has detailed information on its users and their habits; that user data allows marketers to target market segments once thought unreachable.

As its name suggests social advertising is based on users social habits, so if your service or product is remotely related to any social activity (all businesses are!), chances are social ads are right for you. In addition, geographic, demographic, interests, and activities can also be segmented in social advertising.

Cost to entry for this variation of online advertising is low to nothing, you can either pay for ads to be driven to your target market or you can create 'social' groups which uses your network to organically push traffic for free!!! A good starting budget for online social ads is measured in time rather than dollars, 10 – 15 hours a week should be utilized towards a successful social campaign.

3. Traditional banner placements

Placing animated banners on specific sites such as the New York Times is a tried and proven method of advertising. Many sites offer sophisticated tools to manage and track conversions; the big players are DoubleClick's Dart and Atlas. Google also provides a system of banner ad placements; the chances of you getting onto the frontpage of premium sites ( like newyorktimes.com) through Google is slim although there's a high possibility for sub category main pages.

Costs for traditional banner ads can be high, most sites recommend a monthly advertising budget of $5k - $10k and some premium and niche sites charge even more. Bnner advertising is significantly cheaper through Google's ad placement services where our recommended budget to start such a campaign is around $2000/month, an excellent method of raising brand awareness and market reach.

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With so many options out there online advertising can be confusing, just set marketing goals and start with a small budget. Once you see results, increase it. Follow this basic methodology and you can't go wrong.

Async minds is a boutique interactive and marketing agency specialized in the synergy of marketing and technological processes. Nicholas Lin is a partner, marketing, at Async Minds and specialized in online growth strategies.

Obama will abandon complex policies on emissions, clean coal and refocus on achievable goals like applying deodorant daily, learning what to say when you burp. [Onion News Parody]
 

The mid week update informs you about marketing and tech happenings which are just too urgent to be published in the weekender.

This week we find out that orange is the color of choice for 2009 - 2010 and, more importantly, Google now captures 64% or more of all online search esquires.

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It seems like everyone has an ecommerce site these days, - I was walking a small pet shop in the Upper East Side and they were agressively pushing online sales; what you have to understand is that selling online is harder than just dumping your products online and waiting for orders to come in, because they won't.

The beauty of ecommerce is the ability to target new markets; those separate from your business geographically or social-graphically and It provides your customer the level of convenience which cannot be replicated offline. It is reasonable to assume that your online consumer is starkly different from those walking into your office.

Here's 4 things you need to know before considering online commerce.

1. Establish credibility online

You have to instill confidence in your clients, if you have a dodgy looking website customers might feel uneasy with placing an order online. Web design is critical; less is more and 2nd opinions count; when designing a website always ask an expert if it looks credible enough for a long term ecommerce solution. If it dosent look as clean, use friendly and professional as the top ebusinesses out there, chances are you'll need it redesigned.

2. Sell using multiple channels

Sign up for ebay and amazon.com to sell your products there, sure theses merchants take a cut from your sales but having an enlarged distribution network increases your brand visibility and credibility; associating your brand with an older more credible brand instills a sense of presence online and will definelty help your customers feel safe purchasing with you online.

3. Ensure transaction security and safety

If you developed your own ecommerce system (if you didn't you should contact Nikita for a ecommerce solution) add security certificates from Versign, you will have to spend some money buying the security certificate, but it is worth it.

Alternatively, use paypal or google checkout as part of your ecommerce processes, this helps secure your online transactions.

4. Have a sound marketing plan

Just like how the internet enables multiple distribution and sales points for your products, marketing must be equally robust and diverse. Without sound marketing practices your company can easily get lost online, and when you're lostonline you migth be lost forever.

Time and time again credibility of good companies are tarnished online because of bad management and poor marketing, so plan your marketing mix out before even thinking about selling online.