Layout Image

Archive for Internet Marketing

Using Google Alerts for Brand Monitoring, Content ideas and More

Posted by: Tony Mandarich | Comments (0)
Monday, September 6th, 2010

NOTE: If you noticed that I’ve been slightly lax on writing for the blog, don’t worry – I noticed too. But with photo shoots, the 2010 NFL season coming up and actually taking some time off, it’s been a busy schedule. And right now I’m in Las Vegas for the Photoshop convention. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of everything. Speaking of keeping track, here’s a post on that topic…

Using Google Alerts for you and your business

It doesn’t matter how famous you are (or aren’t) – it’s always good to see your name mentioned online. And when you’re in business, it’s not just good, it’s important – no matter what people are saying about you.

But with all the newspapers, websites, blogs, forums, tweets and more out here, how do you effectively monitor the web for your name orGoogle Alerts for Your Name and Business your business name during the course of your Internet marketing?

One of the best ways is to use Google Alerts.

As usual, Google offers an easy way to monitor your brand and your name online. Google gives you plenty of options by letting you select:

The type of results you’re looking for in your Google Alerts:

- News
- Blogs
- Updates
- Video
- Discussion

How often you receive Google Alerts for the terms you select:

- As-it-happens
- Daily
- Once a week

How many results you’d like at a time:

- Up to 20 results per email
- Up to 50 results per email

Where you want to receive your Google Alerts:

- Email
- Feed

Let’s take a closer look at some of the ways Google Alerts can help you monitor mentions of your name, your business name and more online:

Your Name
You need to know when and where people are talking about you online. Google Alerts make it easy to know who these people are and the places these conversations are taking place.

Example: Someone mentions your name on a forum and, even though they were well intentioned, the person said something that was inaccurate about you. If you hadn’t received a Google Alert with a link to the page, you might not otherwise have a chance to address the inaccuracy and give more information to the forum.

Brand Monitoring
It’s impossible to have a brand that everyone loves. It’s also impossible to keep people from saying bad things about you – regardless of whether or not they’re true. Google Alerts makes it easy to see what people are saying about you, and address any negativity with a measured response.

Example: Someone write a negative blog about your company and the poor service they received. Google Alerts lets you know when and where the content was placed so you can respond accordingly.

Content Ideas
Set up Google Alerts with keywords for your business and see what kind of content is being created to match. Get creative content ideas from the alerts you get.

Example: An industry blog writes a post with an opinion that you don’t exactly agree with. Write content of your own (blog post, article, press release) with your opinion and leave a comment on the industry blog with a link to your opinion and see what kind of traction you get. It’s ok to respectfully disagree or disagree on certain points.

Conversation Starters
Google Alerts for your keywords are also a great way to start conversations with customers, potential customers and even the media who cover your industry.

Example: An industry publication writes an article about something relevant to your industry. You receive the alert with a link to the article and take the opportunity to introduce yourself to the publication and offer your personal point of view through your subject matter expertise. If the publication sees you as a subject-matter expert, you may be called upon for informed comment on upcoming stories.

Competitive Data
Create Google Alerts for your competitors – business names and names of executives – and see what they’re up to. Maybe they’ve found a media outlet that you haven’t yet or are marketing their product in a way that’s taking away from your customer base.

Example: A competitor begins marketing heavily on their product’s specifications, while you’re concentrating on price. You realize that specifications AND price are both important in your customers’ buying decision so you work with your marketing team to create a strategy that incorporates price and specs to gain more customers.

Need more ideas about how using Google Alerts for your business can help you compete more effectively for customers, media attention and more? You know where to find me.

Categories : Branding, Internet Marketing, SEO
Comments (0)

Mandarich.com 2010 Internet Marketing Outlook

Posted by: Tony Mandarich | Comments Comments Off
Monday, January 11th, 2010

Tony Mandarich is more than just a successful college and NFL football star, he’s also built a successful Internet Marketing business and is an expert in the field.  Over at Mandarich Media Group LLC he provides complete Internet solutions for his clients with search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click campaigns, videography, and more! At Mandarich Media Group LLC clients receive unique, memorable and effective products.

Tony has built his successful Internet Marketing firm with the help of his wife Char.  Over the past five years he and his wife have expanded their business from Mandarich Photography to a full service Internet Marketing firm with a location in North Scottsdale, AZ.  We’re pleased to have Tony join us in our video series, as his advice and predictions in the industry are well regarded.

In the video below Arnie asks Tony:

1.) What are your predictions for the internet marketing industry in general for the year ahead?
2.) How about specifically paid search, where do you see that headed?
3.) What one critical issue should those in the internet marketing space be concerned about or focused on in 2010?

Tony Mandarich of Mandarich.com Makes Predictions for 2010 from Vertical Measures on Vimeo.

Categories : Internet Marketing
Comments Comments Off

Online Marketing: Advantages and Drawbacks

Posted by: Tony Mandarich | Comments Comments Off
Friday, June 19th, 2009

It seems that the Internet has become so pervasive you would have to go to the most remote corner of the world to be outside its influence.  Perhaps a desert island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean comes to mind.  But even then, with the proper hardware, a determined individual could get onto the Internet via a satellite connection.  By now it should be no surprise that online marketing has become such a prominent part of many businesses’ strategy for brand exposure and product/service placement.  However, despite the fact that the Internet is such a valuable arena for marketing, there are still certain shortcomings.  This article will briefly examine both the benefits and the drawbacks of online marketing.

One of the most obvious benefits of online marketing is reach.  The widespread use of the medium, along with its ease of accessibility and myriad facets of interaction, has resulted in a user base numbering in the hundreds of millions (if not more). The speed at which new advancements are being introduced to the Internet continues to broaden its scope and appeal. For example, in recent years, the Internet has expanded to cell-phones, allowing people to access the web, instant message, and upload images and videos.

The plurality of uses allows the “online experience” to be unique for each individual. One person’s daily Internet routine (and I would contend that many of us have one) may be vastly different from someone else’s. We may each have our own set of websites we cycle through on a daily basis – blogs, forums, and news pages for instance, and we may have our own schedule of checking our email account(s). Additionally, information “gathering” on the Internet can be a dynamic experience, underlain by the abundance and accessibility of online multimedia. Missed the news broadcast last night? Log on to the website of your preferred news source and check out video clips of broadcasts. This breadth of options, and the dynamism of the various features, has opened up a tremendous spectrum of opportunities for online marketing.

But perhaps on an even more practical level, there is great upside in potential cost efficiency of Internet marketing. With the know-how and proper tools, a marketer can reach millions of people at a relatively minor cost. Knowing how to “optimize” for search engines, for instance, can raise the exposure of a website (and the individual/organization/product it represents) to a much higher level. Also, one can reach a large number of people via email at a relatively low cost of time and effort. Contrast this with the more traditional means of mail marketing.

Along with the positives there are also some drawbacks to online marketing. On a very general level, when something becomes so popular and easily communicated, certain traditional barriers of entry that maintained a kind of quality control are no longer present. In this way, it often seems that quality (however this may be construed in the world of marketing) becomes eroded by the surge of quantity. While there was (and still is) a definite amount of irrelevant material that comes into our mailboxes via “snail mail,” that quantity can seem to pail in comparison to how pervasive spam is. In 2008, an estimated 62 trillion spam emails were sent. On one level or another, we have all probably encountered this phenomenon.

Although there are some undeniable shortcomings to online marketing, the field remains, on the whole, a very worthwhile area for further exploration. The Internet is here to stay. Even in times of national an international economic distress one can expect millions upon millions of people worldwide to log on to their web browser, check their emails, or go onto a popular search engine. And, just as the Internet isn’t likely to go away, neither is online marketing.

Categories : Internet Marketing
Comments Comments Off
Next Page »