Marketing - Clothesnet.com - Womens, Teen, and mens clothing, jewelry and accessories from online retailers.

Marketing? - Clothesnet.com, linking online retailers of specialty items, jewelry, and accessories online... online since 1997.

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With so many sites, affiliate programs, out-sourcing companies and marketers jumping into the Web-Arena. What does a site owner do and where do they start?

The Internet is so vast, with thousands of sites in each retailers category, strategic placement is vital to business success. But where does a marketing professional start?

The following information is taken from experience since 1996, and follows traditional marketing theories applied to the Net. I get calls all the time from companies and markeing professionals. They usually leave the conversation with a new peice of information and marketing insight.

First and foremost, a site owner has to identify their "target market" or consumer. Internet traffic is useless to a retailer unless the users are purchasing products or services. A lot of online entrepreneurs spend a lot of investment dollars in advertising and marketing with little Return On Investment. By first identifying your target market and placing your web site link and information in the proper location, it has the ability to "potentially" increase the purchasing rate per visitor. I would rather have 50,000 users visit a site with the intention of purposely visiting to review the product line or service, than 100,000 casual web-surfers that are just "looking around".

Location, Location, Location! The same mantra holds true online. Everyone wants to be on the first page of every search engine. But there are other opportunities for placement, most of them free. Yes Free! To narrow the focus of the Internet user a lot of web portals and search engines have their own "category listings" compiled by so called "Editors" or "Guides". Did you know all it takes is an e-mail for your site to be reviewed to be included on these sites. In fact with my site, I have been included in several without asking. I usually discover the placement by reviewing my "new referring url's" on my stats page.

Directories are another location to assess. A lot of online malls and directories offer free basic ad placement. As do other competitors. A tip, * Did you know some search engines rate placement in the search results using a input from the amount of links to "your site" * So why not be located in as many directories, portals or 'links' pages in your product or service category as possible. After all, it's a good way to utilize those employees that are surfing the web at work!

Next stop, Search engines. Many top engines are using the "open directory project," or direct 'add url' pages. Submit your site there and you'll pop up on several search engines. learn about 'Meta Tags' and how to use them. A lot of search engine "spiders" still scour the Net visiting sites and reviewing content. How is your content? Get away from all graphic content and totally flash pages. Search engines still review html text. In-fact some review the first 25 words, say something to the user, throw in a few of your keywords without making it look like you purposely did it. You cannot effectively market your web site if you have every word in the dictionary in your meta tags. Narrow your focus to 10-15 primary search words or phrases that are specific to your site and put them first, include them in your site title, and in the "alt" tag on your images. Yes, some search engines look at the text in the image "alt" tag and input the result to final search engine placement.

Internet Marketing also includes the site layout and design. It's your online visibility, your catalog or brochure your marketing professionals use. Well the fact is, it's not a catalog with a nice fancy cover. Web Surfers want access to products or information, and they want it now! Get rid of the big logo that says "enter" or collage entry pages. Slam the surfer with the stuff when they hit the first page! And use the 2 click rule, if they can't get to where they are going in 2 clicks you may lose them.

Your company's marketing professional had better have input to the site design and keyword selection. The marketing professional should have knowledge in Internet site design to assist the programmers in coming together to produce a site that not only looks good, but has the proper elements for your users.

Want to talk? Basic Consultation on an e-mail basis is available. If you are at a loss I can call your company for a more in-depth conversation and help you get more information to see if you are on the right track. There is a wide range of opportunity and your job is to capitalize on every aspect of marketing, presentation, and site use.

LK
resume and experience