INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 ONLINE MARKETING TECHNIQUES AN OVERVIEW OF ONLINE MARKETING TECHNIQUES Topic 9

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Topic Overview During this topic, we will have a look at a few on-line marketing techniques and tools to help promote our websites and products

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Traditional vs. On-line Offline, bustling crowds pass by your place of business. Some of the passers by traffic notices you and walks in. "Location, Location, Location" Online, people search for information. Millions of people. Each searches alone. "Information, information, information"

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Background Info The internet is a crowded place nowadays!! Some statistics for your consideration*: –234 million – The number of websites as of December –47 million – Added websites in –1.73 billion – Internet users worldwide (September 2009). –81.8 million –.COM domain names at the end of –126 million – The number of blogs on the Internet (as tracked by BlogPulse). *Source:

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Always keep in mind: HOW WILL I MAKE MY WEBSITE STAND OUT FROM THE REST?!?!!?

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques How will I make my website stand out? There are a number of tools and techniques to do this We will have a look at the following during the lecture: 1.SEO 2.On-line Advertising (Example: PPC) 3.Social Media 4.Newsletters 5.Blogs

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques 1. What is SEO?

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques First Things First What is a Search Engine (SE)? A web search engine is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web and FTP servers. The search results are generally presented in a list of results and are often called hits. The information may consist of web pages, images, information and other types of files. Some search engines also mine data available in databases or open directories. Unlike Web directories, which are maintained by human editors, search engines operate algorithmically or are a mixture of algorithmic and human input. Source:

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Top Search Engines

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques SEO SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation It is a form of on-line marketing It is the process of making a site and its content highly relevant for both search engines and searchers Successful search engine marketing helps a site gain top positioning for relevant words and phrases.

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques SEO How do search listings work? A spider or crawler which is a component of a SE gathers listings by automatically "crawling" the web The spider follows links to web pages, makes copies of the pages and stores them in the SEs index Based on this data, the SE then indexes the pages and ranks the websites

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques SEO – Adding useful keywords to website Example: A web development company (NIU) may have the following keywords used in its website: About NIU, NIU Malta, Web Development Malta, Web Design, Malta Marketing, Photography, Mosta Malta, Design, E-Commerce, ecommerce, outsourcing HTML Code:

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques SEO – Adding a Sitemap Example:

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques SEO – What is NOT recommended Flash Technology- spiders do not pick up these files Image only sites - spiders do not pick up images. It is important to add tags.... Spelling mistakes, JavaScript or HTML errors (validate your code)

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Ever heard about the internet archive?

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Did you know about the Internet Archive? (aka Way back machine)

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Did you know about the Internet Archive? (aka Way back machine) Example: in 2008/2009

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Did you know about the Internet Archive? (aka Way back machine) Example: in 2011

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques 2. On-line Advertising. What is PPC?

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques PPC PPC Stands for Pay-Per-Click It is an Internet Advertising Model used on websites, where advertisers pay their host only when their ad is clicked. With search engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market. Content sites commonly charge a fixed price per click rather than use a bidding system.

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques PPC Examples Many websites use it Best examples –Google and Facebook

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques PPC - Examples

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques PPC – Setting up Very easy to set up...

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques PPC – Setting up Very easy to set up...

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques PPC – Setting up Very easy to set up...

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques PPC – Setting up What more does a Marketing Manager need?!?

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques PPC Some Advantages of PPC Advertising: –VERY cost effective –Can target very specific audiences (males, over 21 and living in Valletta) –Extremely Accurate Reports (unlike other traditional marketing channels where you do not how how many people have seend the advert)

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques 3. The importance of Social Media in On-Line Advertising

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Social Media With the introduction of social networks, a different marketing approach was introduced Users look for other users reviews nowadays This can have a postive effect or a negative one

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Social Media - Example When planning a trip or holiday, most people visit tripadvisor - It contains Users added reviews of the hotels and places to visit This often gives the user the truth (negative or positive) of the place they are about to vist

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Social Media - Example Example –Maritim Hotel in Mellieha

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Social Media - Example TripAdvisor also allows Hotel management to reply to complaints:

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Social Media - Example Facebook Like button

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Social Media - Example Facebook Likes button –Free advertising! –Personal experiences are shared –If James Abela is respected when it comes to IT, Liking a product will arouse interest and friends will visit the product or website

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Social Media - Example Create a Facebook page with the largest possible number of Fans –Largest Maltese owned pages include The Point (39,273 fans) GO (26,330 fans) Frankie (23,163 fans)

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Expand your fan base...How? Keep the page interesting by a)Sharing news and exclusive content (RULE NUMBER 1) a)Keep it human: be conversational, personal and authentic.

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Expand your fan base...How? Keep the page interesting by b.Encouraging fan participation (Polls, Comments...) c.Develop a conversational Calendar (Plan your updates...)

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Expand your fan base...How? Partner with other brands or local organisations –Example: Cafe Cuba posting comments on the Frankie Page –This means that all fans on Frankie have seen what Cafe Cuba have written....

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Expand your fan base...How? Answering complaints... the bad way Typical Scenario (taken from The Point Fan Page):

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Expand your fan base...How? Answer complaints...the proper way Typical Scenario (taken from the Construct Furniture fan page) Answer in a professional manner Avoid spelling mistakes and incorreect grammer

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques 4. Newsletters

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Newsletter A newsletter is an shot sent directly to a persons inbox –1.4 billion – The number of users worldwide (2009) Extremely cheap (if not free) marketing Frequent (or stupid) newsletter shots may annoy users and render them ineffective

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Newsletter Newsletters need to be informative, short and attractive They may end up marked as SPAM. Various tips and tricks found on-line to avoid this.

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques 5. Blogs

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Blogs What is a Blog? A website that allows users to reflect, share opinions, and discuss various topics in the form of an online journal while readers may comment on posts. Entries typically appear in reverse chronological order. The website is a blog for example!

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Blogs People may write anything about anything – restaurants, car insurance.... Keep in mind that blogs are also ranked within Search Engines –So anything written in a Blog can be fairly easy to find using search engines Negative reviews written in blogs may also feature in the search results and unlike TripAdvisor, there is nothing much one can do about it!!!

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Blogs - Example

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Blogs - Example When reading Blogs it is important to: –ALWAYS look at the date when the post was written A restaurant review written two years ago may not necessarily reflect the present situation! –Preferably use respectable sources TripAdvisor Friends whom you trust, within your social network

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Recap Know and understand the 5 on-line marketing techniques described in todays lecture.

INS3080: IT in Insurance – James Abela – – 2011/12 – v2.0 Topic 9: Online Marketing Techniques Merry Christmas This topic contains the last of the examinable material Read through notes during the holidays at least once. First lecture in January (Friday 6th January 2012) will be a revision lecture / discuss exam paper... Remember the assignment deadline (5th January 2011) Enjoy your Holidays!!

Any Questions???