We have been working hard on keeping up-to-date with all of the latest ideas and ways to make the online part of your business grow.

Last week I spent the day in at Google's Sydney HQ getting up to speed with the latest in Search Engine Marketing (SEM) with a particular emphasis on small to medium business needs.

I have ten $75 Google Adwords vouchers for businesses that have never used Adwords before and would be interested in giving it a go.

If you want to be in, call us on 1300 884 553 to get your voucher code - then...

There are three easy steps to get your ad on Google:

1. Call 1800 117 538 (Mon - Fri, 9am to 9pm AEST) and speak to a Google Adwords specialist.
2. Quote your voucher code to your Adwords specialist to redeem your free advertising trial.
3. Your Google specialist will help you set up your first AdWords campaign and get your advertising off to the right start.

Alternatively, you can go to www.google.com.au/adwords and get started with your free trial on your own OR call us on 1300 884 553 to discuss your options.

To get the services of a Google Adwords Specialist you need to take up this offer and be running ads before 31st August 2011.

Have you seen some of those great custom Facebook™ Pages that show exactly what you want new followers or prospective customers to see as soon as they look you up.

Do they work or are they just a new way to spend money?

I have implemented a few corporate Facebook Pages now and the answer is; it depends. Yeah I know, that dreaded non-answer. Well, that's just how it is and any Web Design or Web Marketing expert worth the title will immediately follow that up with a bunch of questions such as:

• Who are you marketing to?
• Are you after new customers or customer communication?
• Do your followers potentially have stuff to share with you and each other?
• Are the people in their friend lists likely to become customers?

If you want more detail on the nitty gritty of campaign development see my post on The long answer to "Is Facebook Twitter and other social marketing strategies good business sense".

Case Study ATS Facebook Page Design and Implement

When Australian Training Solutions www.oztrains.com answered those questions (and more) it became clear that this was a valid marketing platform. ATS run hospitality courses and their key demographic includes school leavers, young international visitors on a working visa (backpackers) and I daresay, out of work actors. You can see their Facebook page here.

The brief was to create a Facebook™ Page landing page that showcases current courses and specials with deep linking into the main website. Past and current students are encouraged to engage in dialogue with the trainers and administrators and new information is posted where appropriate.

The page does account for hits to the website and vice-versa (details are confidential) and the number of followers is on a steady increase.

Staff can now interact with past, present and future students providing them with additional value in areas such as who's hiring, changes in qualification requirements and even providing them with the beginnings of a professional network.

Speaking of Spending Money...

Setting up is the easy part. Most Facebook page setups are fairly straight-forward. The real skill is in making sure that you are establishing a real community.

Off-hand, the cost of a basic Facebook page setup, contributor access setup and training will probably be around $500 - $700. A fancy custom page design without much FBML (Facebook's own language) adds around $700 - $800.

And, you're away!

Want to find out More about Facebook Pages?

Call Web Design Experts on 1300 884 553 or leave your details on their Facebook and Twitter Social Networking page for a fast call back.

The site is up and running. All of the vital information has been uploaded.

Where are my visitors?

Good Web Design and clever user experience setup are critical to guiding visitors through your website and presenting them with a credible and compelling call to action. The next question is; "How do I get them there?"

The answer, as with so many business questions is; "it depends".

So to that end, being a highly visual thinker I have mind-mapped the situation from a generic point of view. Have a look, download the pdf version and use it as a starting point.
Cross out the areas that are not doable - for example; TV advertising can be a little out of many small businesses reach so go ahead and cross that right off the list. If you don't know whether a particular method is right for you then ask an expert. Far better to pay for an hour's consulting than spend days trying to do the research yourself.

Once you have your own list together then it's time to look at ROI. Well the returns side anyway. Before you go off getting prices have a good think about the potential return of each method in terms of tangible as well as intangible benefits.

I say potential return for a reason. Namely, you will never really know what the ROI will be until you do it. This is where your innate understanding of your business and its goals will be crucial. Now you will probably need to enlist the services of someone who spends a significant amount of time keeping up to date with the latest trends and techniques and what is working for whom.

Get them to outline a plan and ask as many questions as you need to understand at a non-technical level just how this all works and, of course how much it might cost. Forget the old thinking that the internet space is free or low-cost advertising - concentrate on your returns and manage the process as you would a traditional media campaign (which may even be part of your plan as well).

In closing, it is important to note that the measurability of campaigns means that you can (instantly in some cases) see whether your campaign is performing adequately or not. On the web, almost everything can be measured. Get reports or ask your provider to include on-going analysis as part of the service. Find out what works and do that - lots.

One thing I find hard to explain to my clients is just how the black art of Google Adwords works. I came across this easy to understand video and thought I might share it here.