Hiring an Internet Marketing Service – Plan Before You Leap!

Posted on February 4, 2023 by dayat

A frequent mistake that businesses make is hiring an internet marketing company too quickly — primarily based on price. Your website is a visual representation of your business and a poorly designed site can frustrate visitors, misrepresent your products and even lose sales. Before you hire a internet marketing firm, research the answers to these questions:

1. How Much Experience Does The Internet Marketing Company Have? Do They Have Any Special Qualifications Or Designations?

Longevity in the industry is a good indicator of stability and skill. Online marketing firms that have been in the business for a while and built admirable reputations are usually known for sound design work and customer service. Choosing an internet marketing company that has been around longer means they will be more likely to be around in the future for ongoing maintenance and updates to your website.

The answer to this question will give you a general idea about the skill set at the web company. Having a tertiary qualification is good. Having a lot of experience is better, and combining experience with a tertiary education is best.

2. How Many Staff Members Do They Have And What Are Their Roles?

Bigger is not necessarily better when it comes to effective web emarketing companies. Companies on average have one designer, a couple of web developers, analysts, and a few sales and support people. Some companies use Just-in-Time staffing, adding or removing staff as needed. This helps keep overhead low.

3. In Addition To Internet Marketing, What Other Services Does The Agency Offer?

Many prominent internet marketing firms are branching out and offering other services, including web development and design. SEO, Search Engine Marketing, Web Content Writing, Social Media Marketing, Blog promotion, and Google AdWords Management are services offered by many experienced online marketing companies. The key is finding a company that offers the services that you are looking for.

4. Does The Internet Marketing Firm Spend Time With You To Gather Business Knowledge And Give You A Formal Proposal?

It is good to select an web marketing company that will take the time to offer a custom solution for your website. Oftentimes, the online marketing firm will provide you with a questionnaire to fill out so that they can get a better feel for your goals, competition and overall website needs. Your website will play a large part in your overall brand marketing. Therefore, it is important that your internet marketing firm have a clear picture of your overall internet marketing goals.

5. What Are the Internet Marketing Company’s Payment Terms?

For anything from a small non-profit site to full corporate branding, most internet marketing companies will charge an upfront deposit and stage payments based on agreed milestones and deliverables. Be wary of any internet marketing firm that asks for payment in full before starting the project.

6. What Is The Internet Marketing Company’s Policy On Non-Disclosure And Privacy Of Information?

In order to create the perfect marketing plan for you, your internet marketing firm needs access to important information about your company — information you wouldn’t want your competition, or anyone else, to know.

This is particularly true if you are starting a new company. You don’t want others to steal your concept before you’ve had a chance to monetize it. Therefore, a solid non-disclosure and privacy policy will protect your information.

7. What Are The Average Timelines For Completing Your Web Design Project Including Ecommerce, Logo Design, And Corporate Branding?

If the company does both web development and internet marketing, ask what the firm considers a typical turn-around time for projects similar in size to your own. This should give you a fairly clear idea if the website designer/developer has time tracking and project management systems in place. If you have a hard deadline that you need to meet, be sure you tell the design company up front so that they can plan accordingly.

8. Who Will Be Your Central Point Of Contact For Your Internet Marketing Project?

It is important to have a single point of contact for your project to ensure nothing gets lost in translation. A Project Manager should be assigned to all web projects. If you are working with a small web company, however, the Project Manager may also be the web designer and/or web developer himself.

9. Does The Company Outsource Any Project Components To Third Parties Or To Countries Like India? If So, Which Components?

While outsourcing may be a valid business decision to save costs and keep overheads lower, you’ll want to be cautious with any internet marketing company who takes your project and out-sources large components to another country. If you have concerns about low quality, cheap labour, and remote project management issues when jobs are outsourced to India, be sure to bring them up before your project begins.

10. Can The Internet Marketing Company Help With Website Content Copy Writing?

SEO copywriting can make or break your website. Your website design may draw the reader in and focus their attention where it needs to be – but the words themselves do the selling. And if the content is optimized correctly, your website can be showing up on the front pages of the search engines for your chosen search terms.

Be sure the internet marketing firm you choose offers copywriting and ask to see samples — particularly samples of sites within your same industry. This will give you a good foundation on which to base your decision.

11. What Programming Languages And Operating Systems Does The Internet Marketing and/or Web Development Company Work With?

Ideally, your web development company should offer both the open source PHP/MySQL and ASP.NET programming languages. They should make a technical recommendation on which

Platform would best meet your needs and budget.

12. Do The Internet Marketing And Web Development Experts Build Websites To Web Standards?

Standards compliance, such as W3C and Web Standards Group are highly recommended industry practices. The main reason is consistency in how your visitors view your website on different platforms and future proofing.

13. What Is Covered In The Firm’s Website Testing/Quality Checking Phase? Are You Able To See The Website While It Is Still In Development?

Basic testing requirements should be browser testing, checking for broken links and general usability tests to ensure the website is easy for website visitors to use and interact with.

By seeing a development staging version, you will be able to check the website before the launch date and make any necessary adjustments.

14. Does The Internet Marketing Firm Allow Clients To Host Their Websites With Any Host?

Sometimes, for the sake of functionality or other good reasons, a web company may ask that you host your website with them, but this is not always the case. You may have existing commercial relationships with an ISP or web hosting company that you would prefer to use. It is important to know before hiring a internet marketing firm if they will require you to move hosting to them.

15. Do They Provide Any Training Once The Website Is Launched?

If your website project includes customized systems or software, it can be extremely helpful if your internet marketing company provides you with training documents for future reference. If your system is very detailed, it might even be optimal to arrange for a training program or ongoing customer support.

16. Is The Internet Marketing Firm Knowledgeable in Web 2.0? Is This Included In Your Quote, Or Are There Extra Charges?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a science in itself; an experienced Internet marketing company should be able to offer you a variety of options including organic, PPC and social media marketing including Facebook advertising. Depending on your business requirements, you should consider hiring an internet marketing company that can create a custom online campaign to help you achieve maximum results.

Usually there is an extra charge for single items like developing videos, commercials and ads, photo shoots, copywriting and so on. Ask about these if they are part of your marketing plan.

17. What Is The Charge For Website Updates After The Initial Website Is Completed?

While marketing is an ongoing process, the website is often considered a one-time effort. But there is always extra work to be done: changes and updates, new content and so on.

Be aware of the charging structure for updates to your website. Consider how often you will require updates and ask the internet marketing firm how they handle future updates and maintenance.

If you have frequent or large updates to your website, you could consider a Content Management System. A CMS is only really useful in the event of regular changes and if a staff member has good training in it. If neither are the case, it may just be cheaper to have the supplier to manage small updates.

18. What If You Find A Problem Or Code Bug After The Site Is Finished? Does The Graphic Design Company Have Any Kind Of Code Warranty Or Guarantee?

Often web companies will make the change if it is small for no additional costs. However, be aware that if it is a change and not a bug fix, you may be required to pay extra. Typically, internet marketing companies will give you several designs to approve initially and then involve you every step of the way. Each approved section of the project is considered finished. Going back and making changes — even if they seem simple — can be costly.

19. Is The Copyright For The Website Transferred To You When The Project Is Complete? What About Images in The Website? Logo Design?

Copyright law is a specialized legal field. You should ask to own the copyright on all of the work designed and developed after you have paid in full for the project.

20. Will The Website Development Company Comment Your Source Code?

Commenting code is part of good website development. If code is commented well, you won’t spend a lot of time if the unthinkable happens and you’re forced to find another website supplier either part way through the project or its maintenance.

Finding the answers to these questions may seem time consuming and quite involved, but it is an important part of the interview process. After you have interviewed several companies and had your questions and concerns addressed, you should be able to select a talented internet marketing and web development company that is knowledgeable and easy to work with. The firm you choose also needs to have the ability to produce a web design and website that represents and enhances your overall corporate branding.

Of course, you could choose to not follow our suggestions and just hire the leas

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Premier Internet Marketing Education – 10 Tips on How to Find the Best Internet Education

Posted on January 4, 2023 by dayat

Where do you go to get the internet marketing education that will truly make the difference? The difference in your understanding, or (if you’re building a business) the difference in how you approach the marketing of your business, or perhaps your job (if you’re responsible for directing the marketing tactics for a brand)?

I personally spent 12 months clicking around on the internet in search of that right company that provides the education and the tools to become a Master Internet Marketer. And, also provides the environment where you learn to start implementing, and start taking action on what you are learning. And, as a result, start making the difference and start achieving your goals.

And, why did I do this (click around for 12 months, that is)? Because, I believe in affiliating with the-best-of-the-best and it does take time to find just the right source that will work for your needs.

SO – Let me help you save all that time and share with you the steps, the thought processes, on how to find that right internet educational resource that will work for your online needs and goals.

[First, let me preface, however, the following steps with one thought. I know Internet Marketing is now being served up on the college campuses. Brilliant. If I was headed off to college, I would take what I could on the subject. Even, make Internet Marketing my major. But, I chose to learn (not from books), but from the leaders in the industry, who are making it happen and producing the results. Because at the end of the day - it's results]

One more comment:

As I’ve stated in other articles, knowing internet marketing is rapidly becoming the most valuable commodity you can own in today’s global economy. Learning how to leverage the internet, is becoming the most prized skill set you can capture. Internet growth has increased 362% in just the last 9 years, and reaches over 1.6 Billion people worldwide. And, the internet growth is expected to continue, since we’re only at a 24.7% world penetration level.

OK. So – once you’ve decided to get out of your comfort zone and to start learning this stuff, where do you go to get the education you want? What do you look for? How do you go about it all? What should you be asking before you decide if this is the company where you can really learn to become an Internet Marketer (or for some, A Master Internet Millionaire Marketer)?

10 Steps To Help You Find The Right Internet Marketing Education:

1) MINDSET:

Everything starts here. Entrepreneurial vision. Faith. The ability to see the potential of the future before it’s here. “Can Do” attitude. A level of perseverance and tenacity against all odds and challenges. The attitude that “the buck stops here” and you take accountability for the results. Ability to accept never ending change, because we are in an Internet Evolution.

So – because of the importance of “mindset”, find that resource that not only includes brilliant marketing minds on the internet, but also provides some of the industry’s top mindset coaches. Make certain your curriculum includes subject matter on the importance of leadership and developing leaders.

As you learn internet marketing and you become more visible online, you will begin to assume the role of a leader. And, it’s understood, not everyone comes with the ready made entrepreneurial visionary mind. So – go out and learn it. One of the best ways to develop a successful mindset, is to spend time studying other successful entrepreneurs.

Make certain you are aware of your associations. Your network of people you surround yourself with, will determine your financial networth. Associate with leaders. Once you are clear on your goals and the person you want to become, your daily actions will reflect this.

2) YOUR “WHY”:

What is your reason for learning internet marketing? This is huge. You need your reason in order to keep you motivated through the challenges. Take some time on this step if you need.

You may of heard this saying: What you believe, is what you do, and what you do, determines your lifestyle. If you believe in the power of the internet, then you will stop everything right now to study/learn/implement. If you study/learn/implement, then you will have the possibility of a lifestyle change.

It all starts with your “why.”

3) YOUR INVESTMENT:

You usually invest Time, Money and/or Energy. You can start out learning right now with little (or no) money. You do not need the big bucks to spend on your education in the beginning. Stay within your budget each step throughout your education.

As you progress, you will naturally want to expand your knowledge which then may require (if you desire) a specialist where your investment in money will start to kick in. The beautiful advantage of marketing “online” versus “offline” is money. You can learn the “online” marketing tactics that are FREE.

So – look for that educational resource that provides within their Internet Curriculum an education on the FREE internet marketing tactics, such as: Social Media (Facebook, My Space), Article Marketing, Press Releases, Blogging, Forum Marketing, Social Bookmarking, Squidoo, Hub Pages, Video Marketing, Keyword Research…

And, make certain the curriculum also provides the marketing masterminds (that I call the “specialists”) in such areas, as: Google, SEO, Copywriting, Personal Branding…

4) MISSION STATEMENT:

What is your Mission Statement, and is the internet educational resource inline with your Mission Statement. This may be a difficult question to answer for some. But if you are building a business, and have a mission statement, then having that educator with like type mission/philosophy helps to drive your education along the same lines as your goals.

Let me give you an example, if I may:

My Mission Statement: To help others throughout the world realize you do have options, and to help you understand those options that are available to you (over & beyond the corporate arena), and to guide you to where you can create & develop your own Financial Security – Online.

I then took my mission statement, which is based on Financial Security, and found the internet educational resource, that is ALSO based around: 1) Financial Security and 2) Education for the next wave of Master Internet Millionaire Marketers.

The reason for this approach is because it helps you to be in-line philosophically with who you are working with, learning from and growing your future with.

5) ETHICS/INTEGRITY:

This may be tough to determine. Try to get a sense of the company’s business model and business ethics. Find the company’s mission statement and ask if it is inline with your mission, or how you may want to approach your marketing education. And is the company’s branding and message consistent and uphold ethics.

So – is the marketing and branding of the company you are considering for your education, inline with how you want to ultimately approach your marketing? Can you see value that is being provided?

6) MARKETING POSITIONING:

Do they teach the type of marketing that you embrace. Are the company leaders/top producers “buying leads” or does the company have an extensive marketing curriculum being taught by the current Internet Mastermind Marketers. Or, is the education coming strictly from one source. One individual.

7) COMPREHENSIVE GLOBAL/INTERNATIONAL CURRICULUM:

If you are on the internet you have the potential to market globally. What you want to ask yourself, is if the curriculum is translated into languages worldwide where the opportunity to be an Internet Marketer is being provided to people throughout the world, no matter the language.

You want to look for a curriculum that is providing a new skill set to anyone, anywhere in the world, and educates everyone how to market online – whether that person has a product or business already, or not. A company’s curriculum that embraces this philosophy is inline with providing true value to others.

8) LONGEVITY:

How long does this company/curriculum plan on being around. Are they here to stay. The internet arena is constantly evolving and changing, and it’s nice to feel comfortable that who you are working with has a mission/game plan to be here for 5+ years.

9) CLICK-BY-CLICK TRAINING FOR THE NEWBIES:

I have to admit, this approach to training really helped me. Does the curriculum provide “click-by-click” training. Can you can see “click-by-click” how things online are actually set up. This really helps to cut down the learning curve. It is too time intensive to learn from a book.

And, does the curriculum include “in the office of a top producer” training, so you see “how” the leaders are getting the results, now.

10) Staying Current With The Ever Evolving Changes:

A curriculum that is staying on top of the evolving changes by bringing onto the staff the marketing masterminds to keep the students current (i.e. SEO, Google).

Conclusion:

We are in an internet evolution with changes and growth occurring very quickly, so you need to get out of the books, and onto the computer screen. You want to find the leaders, the top producers, the internet marketing masterminds in the internet marketing industry.

So, pick wisely based on your goals and marketing style you are comfortable with.

Get the education you need to learn to leverage the internet. To understand more, give yourself a few minutes to get to know and understand the system that will get you the premier internet marketing education. The system that you

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