Mozak Design Blog

Craigslist – Advertising for Free!

Craigslist is one of the most popular websites on the Internet and presents you with a great marketing opportunity for your small business. The Internet has provided the world with a huge marketplace where people can advertise and market their goods or services.  Craigslist is a website that allows users to sell anything from furniture to real estate. It is a listing of classified ads that include job placements, personal ads, ads for home supplies, ads for pet food, ads for website designs for small business, etc. Craigslist is a flea market that is online and used by millions all over the world. 

People who visit Craigslist are looking for something that they want to purchase. If you advertise some product or service that suits their interest, you are bound to have an increased traffic to your website that converts to sales. For instance, a web design company based in Portland may advertise their services in Craigslist to expand their business worldwide.

Since the Craigslist site is conveniently divided into regions, it is very easy to place your ads in the city or country of your choice. Your ads will be displayed on the site for 45 days, but after that you can re-list them if you so desire.

Craigslist ads are given top rankings by search engines, especially Google. So, expect an increased flow of traffic to your site within a week of posting your ad at Craigslist. SEO web design for your web page ensures a good ranking at search engine listings. Make use of the same SEO techniques to design your ad by using the relevant keywords to ensure top-ranked listings.

There are a number of websites that allow you to post free ads. Posting ads at sites like Yahoo Classifieds, Backpage, Highland Classifieds or USFreeads will also help to increase traffic to your site. However, the volume of traffic generated through Craigslist posting is much higher than any of the other free classifieds sites available. This is the reason that Craigslist is so popular among net surfers.

Squidoo – It’s Truly Amazing!

There are numerous websites that allow you to create a web-page for any topic under the sun. One among them is Squidoo.com. It is a fairly recent site, created by Seth Godin, a marketing expert. The site is greatly popular among internet users for driving traffic to their own sites; in other words, it is a great marketing tool.

Squidoo web pages are known as ‘lenses’. Anyone can create a Squidoo lense. For this, you need not be a technical wizard, as you can have a lense of your own in three easy steps. The best part is that you can include all kinds of modules to make a site that is interactive and keeps your visitors involved.

Here are some examples of what you can include in your lense to SEO your small business:

• Creating Text Blocks enables you to make blog entries or post your articles.
• Setting up an interactive poll will keep your visitors involved in your business.
• You can keep your lense updated and active by allowing the visitors to give their comments. You may ask them to link their own lense to yours.

The best part of Squidoo is that it has the capability to drive appropriate traffic to your website, which in turn translates into large volumes of sales. Besides, you can also provide links to products sold on eBay, Amazon and other product vending sites. What’s more, you earn a commission for any sale that has taken place from these links!  And mind you, Squidoo.com is completely free!

Search engines like Google usually top rank long tail keyword phrases at Squidoo. You can thus create a network of lenses on Squidoo to target keyword phrases that will direct the search engines to your site. It is always a good practice to include some readable and informative content in the lense in order to target the visitors to your main site.

However, if the lense for your particular keyword is already in existence, you may need to get it transferred or purchase it. This is an ideal situation for you because you are getting a readymade lense without making any effort.

The early bird small businesses users of Squidoo.com are already earning the benefits. You can do it too. Since search engine optimization or SEO is the backbone of internet businesses, each relevant keyword phrase can have a squidoo lense devoted to it.

Building Customer Relationships

Shopping online is becoming increasingly popular and many enterprises are doing business through the Internet. However, a traditional store instills a greater sense of security and reliability for the customer as compared to an online store. Online stores cannot ensure the physical assurance but they can develop their relationship with the customers by building trust and familiarity through their websites.

• A well designed website will create a good first impression.
  The one principle that is common to both traditional and online stores is that business owners must think like their customers. This helps to get to know the customers better and anticipate their needs. Traditionally, methods for building customer loyalty ranged from offering dedicated customer service to conveniently placing the goods in the store. Similar methods can be extended to an online store/ web business in the form of a well designed website that is easy to navigate and provide customer service that includes prompt shipping of the goods.

• Familiarity builds trust.
  In order to make a lasting impression on the first time visitor the webpage must convey a feeling of familiarity when he /she views the home page. A website that sells clothes should have pictures of the items of clothing being marketed by it. A website selling garden supplies can be designed to look like a garden shed in order to incorporate the familiar concept of a garden store that the customer is used to. Retaining the visitor’s interest is the beginning of a good business relationship.

• Customers appreciate assistance while shopping.
  In case of an online store, you must have a web page where customers can get information on the products you are marketing. This may be in the form of an FAQ page or you could provide the product descriptions along with a picture of the product. You may also place testimonials received from your customers at strategic locations on your site so that visitors are assured of the reliability of your goods or services.
  Assure the customer that your financial transactions are performed on a 128-bit encryption system. This can be done by displaying the fact prominently on the sales confirmation page so that customers are aware of this security measure.

• Make efforts to improve on the relationship that your website has created.
  Once the visitor makes the first purchase, you must make sure that he returns to your site for more. You may do this by offering helpful tips and helpful material on the relevant subject. Offering perks and discounts on purchases made can be other options. You may invite visitors to subscribe to your newsletter and interact with them on issues related to your business and products.

Building customer relationships in the online world may be a difficult task, but by letting your website speak for itself, you can build up trust among your users.