Fuzion Fuzion Technology and Marketing are experts in providing marketing services, specialize web, email and social marketing, develop software and database design.

Your Customers are Already Being Reached…. By Someone

Most customers are going about their day unmotivated to do anything special.  They are advertised to through many reach tactics including Television Advertising, Radio Advertising, Magazine Ads, Word of Mouth or other mass market motivators that “wake them up” to desire to purchase something.

You need to understand that your competitors are also reaching those customers and motivating them also, spending their advertising dollars to do so.

You Capture Them

Once a customer is motivated to buy they “race across” a capture field.  In the old days they would go to the Yellow Pages to find a business that had what they wanted (and keep in mind most people search for what they want… not where you told them to go).

The strategy here, especially if you don’t have a mountain of advertising money, is to dominate the capture point.  Google has now trumped the Yellow Pages as the dominant capture point so the companies that own the search engine rankings for each keyword phrase in a dominant way are effectively “stealing” the advertising money of all those companies that “reach out” because they are trapping the customers as they Google for the products they are now suddenly motivated to buy.  This explains why Google has become so important to any business, whether you sell a product, a service, or even just need RFP candidates to send proposals to.  They are all Googling to find your products and services.

Converting Customers is the End Game

Now that your competitors are “reaching” with their ad money and you are “capturing” those motivated customers and bringing them to your website… you need to still finish the job.  Many customers need to still be convinced that your brand is better than the “default brand”.  An example of a “default brand” is Kleenex.  When you are ready to sneeze you don’t think to pickup a ScottTissue…. You always pick up a “Kleenex”… even if you are really picking up a ScottTissue.  Brands like Coke and Kleenex and Starbucks command the “default conversion” from customers that aren’t being told otherwise.  Our job is to convert them over to us and over time we may be able to dominate the “default brand.”

Once the customer enters your site, we need to be working hard to educate them and ease them into a purchase.  We will discuss how to optimize conversions in other sections, but the basic tenet of converting them into customers is to make it a fair trade.  If you ask for something, give them something back.  If you ask them for a Credit Card number, give them a sense of safety and security that their transaction is secure… If you ask them to sign up for a newsletter, give them a white paper in return as a thank you… If you ask them for their address, let them know that their information is private and you won’t sell their information to advertisers.  These steps will help you master the Reach … Capture … Convert concept.

ReachCaptureConvert.pdf (482.40 kb)

Are The Yellow Pages Are Dead?

Most human beings have a difficult time accepting change. We all have to be careful to avoid the urge to repeat the established and proven, regardless of the result. The temptation to continue doing what worked before is nearly irresistible. Whether it's using your “favorite” fishing lure, driving the same route to work each day, or buying the same meal at your favorite restaurant.

This concept seems particularly true in most marketing strategies, notwithstanding the fact that the foundational idea behind most marketing methods have changed! Most businesses have spent decades crafting messages to deliver to their potential customers. Those methods are known as outbound marketing. But now, your prospects aren't listening…unless they want to. In this present day of marketing, your challenge is to bring the prospective customers to your message, not the opposite. That's known as inbound marketing. Today, consumers choose you…

They Chose You Through The Yellow Pages

Until recently when someone wanted to find a “water damage restoration” company they did one of two things: 1) If it was a reasonable time of day they called their insurance agent or 2) they opened the yellow pages. But the yellow pages evaporated overnight. Instead of potential customers using the yellow pages to find the service they are looking for they now use search engines like Google to find what they are looking for. 

The Yellow Pages Are Dead

The Yellow Pages are no longer a viable capture tool. AT&T even realizes this when in May they sold the Yellow Pages and all of its assets to Cerberus Capital Management. The Cerberus is a Greek Mythological 3-headed dog that guards the underworld. Likewise, Cerberus is known for taking failed companies and chopping them up into little pieces then selling off the remaining assets.

 What Does This Mean

This means that you need to cancel those expensive Yellow Page ads and spend that money on more effective methods! Call us today to find out how we can help you decide how you can reallocate that money and maximize your return on investment!

Google Domination

We call our marketing strategy "Global Thermonuclear Google Domination" which is a bit tongue in cheek, but the reality is we simply love to win.  Here is a case study of one of our clients that we are very proud of.  First, Google for "Water Damage Pocatello".  

There are many Googles

This is a great case study that features the effects of ranking #1 in multiple search engines that Google manages, including:

• Google "Everything"
• Google Search
• Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIN)
• Google Video (YouTube)

Let's walk through the strategy behind this now.

1. Paid Advertising garners about 12% of the clicks on a search result page.  In this case we prepared a PPC strategy that allows us to claim the #1 position on Google Adwords through a blend of good copy, a strong call to action, and prominent keyword relevance (keywords in the title that matched the search query).
2. Social Media gives us a high quality ranking.  Google is now giving unprecedented power to social media pages and sites.  We are adapting to this trend by featuring our clients in custom designed Facebook pages that capture natural search ranking placements on Google.
3. Double Stacking bonus on Google Everything (Google Web Search) which means we have done a good job on something called "canonical hierarchy" which gives us a stacking bonus.  This means that because Google found a "parent" and a "child" page that both seemed relevant to the topic, it was giving us a bonus by listing both pages instead of just one.
4. YouTube domination.  In the Google world, video has extra power.  You will find recently that Google / YouTube awarded us four video placements on this search result page.  This is a combination of featuring topical videos, they have been there for a long time, and they are keyword relevant to the search with positive reviews.
5. Finally we see our #1 ranking in Google Maps or Google Local (as it's called now).  This comes from a variety of tactics that include high traffic, good conversion rates, and positive reviews.

Get a Free Evaluation of your Google Ranking

Please join me for my two seminar sessions on Saturday, August 13th in Ft Lauderdale as I cover the following two topics:

• Funding your Software Project in Two Easy Steps
• SQL and SEO - a DBA's Guide to Search Engines

You can download the seminar materials at the following link:

FundingYourWebProject.pdf (4.66 mb)

Google Implements Site Blocking by User Profiles

If you are logged in with a Google Profile, you can now "prune" your natural search results by telling Google what you are NOT interested in.  This is an interesting approach since it is fairly hidden.  For this example, we google for mortgage companies and we are presented with a list of Google Maps listings integrated into their search results feed.  If you click on one of their websites and then immediately hit the "back" button (what Google calls a "bounce") then Google changes the search result screen to ask you if you want that listing removed from your search results.

This is a powerful feature that further blurs the "omnipotence" of ranked pages because you can basically "vote them off the island" if you want to.  I don't know what impact this has on the website's overall ranking, but it is something you should know when you are ranking your pages in Google.

Google ends their Google Maps Location Tags Program in May 2011

Is it the end of an era? or just a way to kill off some competition?  Google maps had implemented a very quiet method of promoting your business (for free initially!) with the use of promotion tags.  These tiny yellow icons that would show up next to your Google Maps listing were very inexpensive and defied the pay per click model by offiering them up for a flat fee of $25 per month per location.

Why are they ending it then?

Google figured out that locations were one of the most dominant influencers in buying decisions for local businesses.... after the Groupon fiasco it became patently clear that local business search is where it's at.  We were early adopters of the Google Tags system for First Option Mortgage, David and Associates Dental, RPM Automotive and many other clients that used the Tags for bringing in local customers.

Despite our early adoption, Google finally came out with a program that would more effectively eat up our budget which they now call Google Boost.  While we love the program and we enjoy the "boost" in sales, the $780 per month price tag came as quite a big pill to swallow.  Needless to say it's worth it and that traffic converts really well.  I am suspicious that it likely cannibalizes some of our existing free search traffic, but leaving your Google Maps listings undefended to other Boost competitors simply isn't wise.  Best to just pony up the dough and make it happen.

Happy Googling!

Jared Nielsen
[email protected]

Google can't ignore the rejected acquisition of Groupon for too long... so to coincide with the transition of Google CEOs, Mashable is reporting that Google is launching a Group coupon buying site.

Generally if you are already taking advantage of Google Checkout, Gmail, Buzz or other Google offerings, you are in a good position to push your own offers into the Google Offers system.  Google Checkout is a "relationship" arrangement so if your business is not already setup with Google Checkout, you should be.  This is not a setup to be taken lightly however... We have personally witnessed horror stories when dealing with customer transactions through Google Checkout where there is no 800 number to call to sort out issues.  Google takes a relatively heavy-handed approach to dealing with customer issues, generally meaning that the merchant will have their Google Checkout account revoked without explanation and all escrowed funds returned immediately to the customers.

To avoid running afoul of a permanent Google ban when using Google Checkout, be sure you have a generous returns policy and ensure that you require each customer to personally go through the hoops necessary to link their personal email directly to their own Google Wallet.  Gone are the days of taking a credit card over the phone and processing it manually... at least through Google Checkout.

Google Offers builds upon the territory already carved out by Google Maps, Google Adwords and Google Boost.  For a complete explanation of all of these programs, please call us and we can explain them to you and help you capitalize on them to your best advantage.

While Groupon prepares for its $15 billion dollar IPO filing, expect to see some aggressive moves by Google and you want to be riding that wave (and taking advantage of Groupon by the way) so you're not letting a competitior get the jump on you.

My name is Jared Nielsen and I am the principal of the FUZION Agency with 32 years of experience in online marketplaces, database driven web applications and building Internet businesses.  Thats a lot of talk that simply says that I "get" technology AND marketing.... not one or the other.  To my friends I tell them that I'm a geek that knows how to speak English... a rare commodity these days in the technology field.

Your business will be out of business without a comprehensive Internet marketing strategy, so let me do a free analysis for you and help you take advantage of the latest resources and tools available online.  Call me right now to get started.

Jared Nielsen
[email protected]
904-638-2455

Jared Nielsen is presenting a seminar titled "SQL and SEO" the FUZION of data and marketing

"Bringing marketing together with technology is a fine art that involves high tech tools, real life solutions, and most important human buy-in from the marketing and IT departments. This lecture will delve into the use of the latest SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008 technologies including recursive common table expressions (CTE), hierarchical data models, and CLR stored procedures for the IT side of the house while also delving into the use of analytics, webmaster monitoring tools, web marketing tactics and search engine optimization techniques for the more marketing minded. Neither SQL nor SEO are four letter words and they go together perfectly! So too can your IT and marketing departments as you tackle the new age of IT Marketing."

You can sign up to attend this seminar at the SQL Saturday #61 website for the DC event at the following link:

http://www.sqlsaturday.com/viewsession.aspx?sat=61&sessionid=2784

Google announced today the launch of the beta of www.Boutiques.com which takes search engines to a completely different level.  Since most products on the planet are listed with the Google / Froogle search engine, Google now has unparalleled access to create new types of search engines that defy the typical Search Engine model.  This new search engine is called "Visual Search" and is the result of a visual search engine company that Google bought out last year called Like.com

Try out www.Boutiques.com and see for yourself!  Google will find out about you and then match clothing from various online retailers to match your body type, preferences and other style considerations (whether the items will match, etc).

This is NOT an online store so it doesn't compete with manufacturers, so online retailers should be sure to syndicate their product data to this unique online comparison shopping site.

As a qualified Google developer, we can help you accomplish this as we already have the database expertise necessary to deliver your products to these new comparison shopping engines.  With over 400 comparison shopping sites at our disposal we can help ladies apparel vendors get the jump on new opportunities like this.

Contact Jared Nielsen at 904-638-2455 immediately to do a walk through.

Other articles talking about how Google's Computers want to Dress You:

CNN - Google's Computers want to Dress You

ISEdb.com- Google gets into fashion shopping with Boutiques.com

techshrimp.com - Google launches Boutiques.com : a new way to shop for fashion online

PC World - Google gets into High Fashion with Boutiques.com

Does Sex Sell? - October 27 Meetup

Announcing a new Meetup for Internet and Direct Response Marketing Group!

What: Does SEX Sell? A look at chemical marketing and the human response.

When: Wednesday, October 27, 2010 6:30 PM

Where: FUZION Seminar Facility
7235 Bonneval Road
Jacksonville, FL 32256
904-638-2455

The colloquial phrase "Sex Sells" permeates the marketing and advertising sphere, but we rarely delve into WHY. This meetup will be a proper (albeit humorous at times) forum on how the human chemical and hormonal response lends itself to accomplishing marketing, branding and advertising objectives.

Topics will include:

* The Physiology of Marketing - Frontal Lobe, Pleasure Zones in the Brain
* The Chemistry of Marketing - The Human Meth Lab, Endorphins, Adrenaline
* Branding as Addiction - How Marketers Manipulate Us ... ethically or not

I guarantee that this will put a real different spin on your branding missions and will also arm you against manipulation in your own life as we explore the scientific basis for human chemical response and how marketing tactics and strategies actually function.

See you there!

Jared Nielsen
http://www.meetup.com/Internet-and-Direct-Response-Marketing-Group/calendar/15019817/