It contains the following information for each candidate:

• Website Address
• Content Management System
• Analytics package
• Alexa Traffic Rank
• Indexed Pages
• Inbound Links
• Facebook Friends
• Twitter Followers

Click for a full size image.

“Let’s give them something to talk about”

In today’s world, PR, Advertising, Marketing and Salespeople are placing a focus on getting their customers to talk about their companies and products.

Below are some great video demonstrations that give customers something to talk about because of entertainment value, but also demonstrate products and reinforce the brand.

Example 1 – Will it Blend?

Example 2 – A Racing Helmet Made out of Sheet Metal

Both of these videos are great! They both take objections off of the table.
No customer is left wondering, will this blender handle my (insert random food item).
No customer is wondering if the CNC software can handle a program a complex part. 

The best part? The sheet metal video was done by one of OPEN MIND Technologies‘ customers, and OPEN MIND partnered with them to show off the helmet at the upcoming IMTS show. It’s a win-win. The customer showcases their ability to produce any part imaginable, and the software company is able to show it can supply a powerful tool for even the most complex geometry. 

The Takeaway

The next time you want to get customers talking, think about something that is:

• Visual or Tangible
• Demonstrates your products in an entertaining or inspiring way
• Easily shareable.

How does call tracking work?

Basically, call tracking provides unique, pass-through phone numbers to visitors that come from distinct sources (e.g. a different phone number for people clicking through from Yahoo vs. Google vs. Facebook vs. MerchantCircle, etc.). 

Then, the backend system documents the number of calls, the length of each call, the conversation and many other statistics enabling you to easily determine which ads are generating in-bound calls, and the quality of those calls based on comprehensive data.

Pricing

Call tracking is affordable, too. Rates range from $10-$20 per month per phone number. While there are minimum monthly spending requirements ($50-$100 per month) that can hold small companies back, agencies will often meet the spending requirements because they deploy call tracking for many small and medium-sized companies. There are also costs per minute on the telephone lines, but these costs are rather low ( ~ $0.03 – $0.10 per minute), and get lower as the agency adds more lines for customers.  

Call-Tracking Vendors

Below are a few companies that offer call-tracking services.

Marchex

IfByPhone

Dial800

This article was originally featured in Relevante Marketing's internet marketing newsletter. You can subscribe here.

Rather than make excuses for my inaction, I would like to challenge you to do something. Anything. In the next 30 days, start something or start working toward something.

It starts with an assumption.

• If I start learning how to trade stocks, maybe I can supplement my income in the future.
• If I start a blog, maybe I can publish a book in the future.
• If I start volunteering, maybe I'll meet some new people that can help me find a job.

Whatever it is, get started.

There is no better time than now.

Take the excuses off the table. Most things worth doing don't require a whole lot of actual time or money. We, humans, tend to use those things as excuses.

The legend has it that took Da Vinci 16 years to start, pause and ultimately finish the Mona Lisa. So, find your Mona Lisa, and get started painting it.

And, if you don't hear from me, assume that I am working on things I care about more than blogging at the moment.

Over the past 6-7 weeks, this lecture has motivated me. I hope it
has the same effect on you.

Video Credit: Laughing Squid and Clay Shirky

1. Convert strangers to friends

2. Convert friends into fans

3. Get your fans to talk about you to their friends (who are strangers to you before that conversation)

4. Rinse and repeat

You can replace the word stranger with prospect and friend with customer, if you must, but I wouldn't recommend using that language as it will affect the way you treat PEOPLE.

That's why I've created a list of 65 things you can do to improve your online marketing for under $65.

They don't require a ton of time, talent or capital. Most of them are free, and anyone in a company can do them. Not just the marketing, PR, advertising types.

Note: You don't have to do them all….today. Pick 2 or 3, and get started.

It's About Creating a System

It's the sum of all these parts that make up an internet marketing system that will help you be successful using the internet for business. Being relevant never hurt either.

Future Plans for This List

I plan to add links to related resources, but I wanted to get the list live, first. You can always Google anything you don't already know about.

The List

1. Research and listen to your customers
2. Conduct a survey of past customers
3. Ask your customers to review your products or services on popular web sites
4. Ask a customer for a testimonial
5. Figure out a new customer is worth.
6. Use SpyFu to check on your competitors
7. Do keyword research with Google Keyword Tool and Traffic Estimator
8. Improve your Web site's Page Titles
9. Improve your Web site's Meta Descriptions
10. Add more lists to your Web site.
11. Get rid of the slow-loading Flash intro and “Enter Site” on your home page
12. Add a form to your Web site. (free trial, request a quote, request information, etc.)
13. Add your office locations to each page of your web site.
14. Create a listing on Google Local Business Center
15. Create a listing on Yahoo Local
16. Create a listing on Bing Local Listing Center
17. Add your Web site to DMOZ
18. Add your Web site to Best of the Web
19. Create a listing on MerchantCircle
20. Create a listing on Yelp
21. Create a listing on YellowPages
22. Create a listing on SuperPages
23. Create a listing on HotFrog
24. Create a listing on iBegin
25. Create a Squidoo Lens
26. Create a listing on InfoUSA
27. Create a listing on MagicYellow
28. Create and Submit an XML Sitemap to Google, Yahoo and Bing
29. Test a new PPC advertising campaign
30. Test a new display advertising campaign
31. Advertise your products on shopping engines
32. Upload photos of your past projects to Flickr
33. Create a Facebook Page for Your Business
34. Create a LinkedIn Profile for Your Business
35. Create a video or slideshow for YouTube
36. Create a Twitter account for customer service, new product announcements, etc.
37. Create a Google Profile
38. Create a MySpace page
39. Tweet the media the a story idea
40. Join HARO
41. Create a Blog or a Blog Post
42. Submit your blog articles to Digg and Delicious
43. Register your Blog on Blog Directories
44. E-mail an industry blogger and ask to write a guest post
45. Create and distribute a podcast
46. Host a webinar
47. Post upcoming offline events to industry sites
48. Create and distribute a Top 10 List
49. Create a free newsletter on MerchantCircle
50. Send out an e-mail newsletter
51. Create a 48-Hour Sale and promote it via e-mail
52. Add your Web site address to your e-mail signature
53. Add a link to sign up for your e-newsletter to your e-mail signature
54. Host a free Q&A session via conference call.
55. Write an article and submit it to article directories
56. Post 5 products for sale on Ebay Store
57. Create a Yahoo! Store with your 5 best-selling products
58. List your 5 best-selling products for sale on Amazon
59. Integrate PayPal on to your Website
60. Create a data feed for Google Base
61. Write a whitepaper
62. Write or record a case study about a past project
63. Donate products or services to a silent auction
64. Answer questions on forums, LinkedIn, MerchantCircle, etc.
65. Ask a complementary business in your area to trade links

Thanks for reading. Now get started. You can do it!

Questions?

Leave a comment, tweet me @Crentmeester, or e-mail me ( craig at relevantemarketing.com ).

Well, the Google Webmaster Blog just released a blog post with their own internal SEO report card for their own products. Check it out, and use the factors they evaluated to better your Web site's rankings. 

If you're looking a Web site SEO Evaluation, email me at (craigrentmeester at gmail dot com) or click the link and fill out the form. They're free and full of information.

Often consultants will ask you to tell them about your situation. This is where you'll often want to describe the problems you have that you think they might be able to solve.

On the consultant's side, they're listening to what you're saying, but also playing Choose Your Own Adventure at the same time.

The Consultant is thinking….

If this, then Solution A is an option. If this, but also that, then maybe Solution B will work. 

Essentially, a consultant knows which strategic bucket to drop you into based on how you describe your problem to them.

My Advice, and an Example

I've found the best way to have a productive first meeting with a consultant is to determine ahead of time what my constraints are, and make sure to provide that information at the first meeting.

It may be something like:

My budget is endless as long as each lead generated costs less than $25.

Or…

My budget is $10,000 and my expectations are to generate 400 leads. 

Other Constraints to Consider Sharing

• Amount of Time or People You Can Dedicate to their Plan
• Timeline for Implementation
• Capital Allocated for the Project
• Competitive Information
• Successes or Failures in the Past
• Gatekeeper's Likes and Dislikes

Consultants don't come cheap, so figuring out this information prior to engaging them is often worth your time. It will also help you refine your thinking and confirm why you're engaging a specialist in the first place.

Why Take this Approach

Consultants are can be great at solving problems in their practice areas. However, without telling them what your constraints are their recommendations are often forced to be too generic.

The tools are free.

They are intended to help you forecast ROI for Pay-Per-Click Advertising or Internet Marketing as a whole. 

Give them a try. Any feedback you have is much appreciated.

Pay-Per-Click ROI Calculator

Internet Marketing ROI Calculator

Want more tools like this?

Subscribe to our Internet Marketing Newsletter to get more frequent updates on these types of tools, as well as other articles and resources.

Executive Summary: Google is displaying real-time data feeds from Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

Takeaways

1. Be careful who you bash.

2. The SEO game has just officially gone social.