Marketing to customers with a phone number that lacks vanity

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I believe it's pretty common for companies to use telephone numbers that when the numbers are converted to letters actually spell words that cleverly help customers remember that phone number when needed. These types of telephone numbers are called vanity numbers or phonewords.

This article considers the fact that you are considering the use of your telephone phone number that DOES NOT have a hidden when translated (lacks vanity), but you want to use your telephone number to market your business.

So now you ask.
Where can you find examples of a partial word, an acronym, abbreviation, or an alphanumeric combination being used to increase memorability and increase response rates to marketing?

First you should know why so much vanity.
Many companies use these phone numbers on radio, television, print, outdoor, etc. as they are proven to increase response rates by 30-60%

So you know now that I'm talking about phone numbers like 1-800-FLOWERS or 1-800-BUSINESS or 1-800-CONTACTS... Okay... I think you've got this part down.

Now let's see how you can take your marketing to the next level. Maybe your phone number doesn't have to be so inflated pride in oneself at all.

Let's think about this a minute.
Vanity numbers or Phonewords came about before the cellular phone and the Internet. And users or marketers had radio, print advertising and word-of-mouth marketing to spread the phonewords with vanity (pun intended). Anyway, the point here is the points of contact with consumers was limited.

Here comes the whammy.
We have the Internet now and Cellular phones that do most of the connecting for us. So why not use your telephone number for your website address? Look, you may have worked or are working for a company now where half of your email address is the companies name. So?

So!
If you starting a business and everyone knows your cell phone number; use your cell phone number as your website address. Only make since. If your a Real Estate Agent with the name John and your phone number is 202-701-9393 (which has no vanity or phoneword), people would visit your website at: www.2027019393.com

Things that make you say humm?
Let's take it a step further. With regard to Realtor John... your email address would be: john@2027019393

And as normal.
Your still John now... and people call you at 202 701 9393

Where you going, there's more!
When anyone gives out your phone number, they are also dishing out your website address and part basically your email address at the same time. There are still situations where we write down information... like phone numbers and website addresses. It's also normal that you will only be able to find a small piece of paper to write on. Using your phone number as a catch-all, 3 amigo, you'll not need as big a scrap to scribe.

We only use letters (domain names) for website addresses because it makes it easier for humans to remember. However if you work very closely with clients like Real Estate Realtors, Insurance Agents, Personal Trainers, etc.; you could benefit from this marketing edge.

You may be asking, how will people I don't know find me if they don't know my phone number? The answer is; you will also register a domain name with words as normal. You could even mask your phone number url so when people go to it, the domain name with the words is displayed in the browser.

Example: you website address is www.2027019393.com but when people get your your website they would see the domain name with words that you also registered, let's say it's www.jrpremierproperties.com.

This is called masking... and there are no negative aspects to harm your website or the FCC. Just make sure you or your webguy or webgirl setup your masking properly and if you are forwarding to a different domain name... make sure you domain is set as 301 permanent redirect.
You've just learned how to use your telephone number to secure 3 points of contact and they are:

1. How to use a telephone number as your Email Address
2. How to use a telephone Number as your Web Site Domain Name with or without masking
   
3. How Telephone Numbers can be your Email, Website, Phone Number that all lead back to you.

This is Gibron T. Williams, Head Honcho at Oevae Marketing Consultants and these are my opinions.
Find oevae marketing consultants on the first page of Google when you search for: the best marketing consultants or the best marketing consultants in the world

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Do you need business cards or website first?

Kadek Rudi - Tour Driver" style="border: medium none ; display: block;" height="180" width="240">Image by redteam via Flickr

This is a question I hear from time-to-time from small business owners and start-ups. You can actually have your cake and eat it too.

Here's how.
This article is for those of you who have some knowledge of conducting business using business cards without a website and the opposite - conducting business with a website and no business cards. Then there are those of you who need both.

Either is fine and useful in the right marketing arena. I've used a few questions and answers to help you see if you need business cards now that you have a website or if you need a website if doing business with cards already works.

I have a website but I don't have business cards. What can I do?
You can conduct business online without giving out a business card to get people to visit your website. Before you go out an have business cards designed and printed, look for websites that allow you to build online business listings, and offer you marketing tools to increase your business connections. Go to websites like MerchantCircle.com, Kudzu.com, Google Local Business Center, Yahoo Local Listing, Yellowpages.com, etc. These are just a very few so jump on the search engines and start listing your business online now.

People browse for local business reviews on every topic you can imagine. Choose the listing that best fits your business. Now go out and have at least 100 business card printed so you have another channel to drive traffic to your website. Best of all many of these business listings are free. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true. It probably is.



I have business cards. When should I get my website?
With the saturation of text messaging and email, it's very easy to pass along the phone number of your favorite salon to your friends. It takes about 1 minute. You can even send them the salon website address and name of your hair stylist if you want. So why do a business card design and printing for nothing? The truth is there are times when you don't have your cell phone or computer under your finger tips - or should I say you should think twice. A wedding is not a great place to do business, and being on your cell phone is even worse. So if you choose the lesser of the two; go with the business card pass over texting your business info. Since you have a channel for telling people about your business with your business card, now is the time you can add a website address to your business card.

You can gain information by having a simple form on your website, update potential clients on new offers or innovations in your industry. Your website can help you tell people about the benefit of conducting business with your company. Your web site need not be more then 1 or 2 pages to add value to your brand.

It's perfectly fine to conduct business when you have business cards but no website. Keep in mind that a website will offer your company additional exposure and potential for winning new customers. So it's really up to you when and if you want to turn up the volume. Take it one day at a time and make your best educated decision after your research.

I have a website. Why do I need business cards anyway?
Business cards are a great way to advertise and market your business or push more people to your website. They can help you give people a glimpse of what your business can do. You can start building your brands mood with different colors and images that represent or backup what you have just vocalized. The business card can be passed from one recipient to a third party. Most importantly the business card allows you more opportunity to give something physical and they are a powerful way to increase referrals to your small business.

The best answer in my opinion is to go ahead and knock-out both at the same time.
Have business cards printed and your website design at the same time – if at all possible. If you receive your business cards first, don't hold back on handing out your cards if you website is not finished. You may be thinking that potential customers will go to your website and see a big-fat goose egg, zero, nothing, nada, zilch, zip. To keep this from happening, tell your web guy to add a small statement to your website about your company that tells visitors how to communicate with you while your site is being "updated." Never say "under construction." Nobody wants to hear that there dinner is almost ready and that's what "under construction" sounds like. Additionally, your visitors will be hungry for information (main purpose of the Internet anyway) and you need to at least give them a nibble. Chick-Fil A does a great job at sampling. Take note and use the same principle.

This is Gibron T. Williams, Head Honcho at Oevae Marketing Consultants and these are my opinions.

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What do Tags mean to your website?

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The first thing Google tells you about meta Tags is that Google does not use the keywords meta tag in web ranking. So this article is more at understanding Tags and crafting Tags for your website in a way that will help your website communicate better with the search engines so people can find your website faster and with less effort in doing so.

So that you don't read my entire soapbox yet guide to generating great tags; here's the list of topics I will cover:

Proper Title Tags, Proper Description Tags, Proper Keywords Tags, Proper Heading Tags, Page Content, Duplicate Content/Tags, Word Density, and end with Web Site Analysis.

If this all sounds like a foreign language to you. Don't bug out yet. You should at least familiarize yourself with these topics as a small business owner. These topics are very important aspects of website development that make you or make it very hard for you to have the positive results desire.

So grab a cold beverage and about 20 minutes to refresh your knowledge about Tags, learn something you didn't know about tags, or make sure you know what you're talking about when it comes to Tags and your website.

Here you go.

Well-constructed Title Tags
Well-constructed title tags contain the main keyword for the page, followed by a brief description of the page content. It will be less than 65 characters and avoid using stop words such as: a, if, the, then, and, an, to, etc. Your title tag should also be limited to the use of alphanumeric characters, hyphens, and commas.

Good Description Tags
Good description tags contain information about the page's content and persuade search engine users to visit your web site. They should be between 25 and 35 words in length.

Proper Keywords Tags
Proper keywords meta tag should contain between 5-10 keywords or keyword phrases that are also found in page content.

Proper Heading Tags
Each page of your site should use at least the H1 heading tag for the search engines that examine it when crawling your site.st the H1 heading tag for the search engines that examine it when crawling your site.

Duplicate Content/Tags
Because search engines treat web sites as a grouping of pages and not a single entity, each page on your site should be unique so that the tags and content differ between each page. Doing so increases the number of pages that will rank.

Word Density
Pages should contain 300 to 700 words of unique and descriptive content. A page's meta tag keywords should also be those that occur most frequently on the page.

Web Site Analysis
A robust analysis (including keyword usage, spiderability, and Robots.txt files and Robots Meta tags) of your website's strengths and possible weaknesses helps you remain search engine friendly. Monitoring your website analytics aka performance will help you get detailed, site-specific results faster.

That's it.
Now REMEMBER not to be discouraged if you don't see instant results. This is not minute rice we are cooking. No, knowing what Tags means you can make sure your website is and remains search engine friendly. Knowing your Tags also helps you build your online brand with maximum impact. So take your time and make subtle adjustments and monitor your website analytics.

This is Gibron T. Williams, Head Honcho at Oevae Marketing Consultants and these are my opinions.

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Custom Website Design vs Template Web sites

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I like this topic because it helps you decide the pros and cons of two very powerful outlets for brand building.

This article assumes that you are undecided as to which (custom web site design or template website) would serve your needs best and which is better to use for your website.

I'm the perfect person to ask because I actually offer both to my clients at my firm. I'll start off by giving you the Pros and Cons of having a custom website (like a tailor made suit) or a template website (like blueberry muffins) design for your business.

Custom Website Design PROS:

• Graphics are unique to your personality
• One-of-a-kind Brand Ability
• Allow brands the most room for brand difference

Custom Website Design CONS:

• Longer production time
• Higher Cost
• More input required of company

Template Web Site Design PROS:

• Fastest production time
• DYI (Do it Yourself) normally the main reason for use
• Lowest production cost
• Stronger Search Engine Optimization Possibilities

Template Website Design CONS:

• Limited room for personalization
• Don't normally score to high on the uniqueness scale
• Limits branding possibilities
• Cookie cutter / clone development can limit search engine optimization

Now that you know the PROS and CONS you should also know that this is not true in every situation or for every website solution.

Winner template website design: If you need several websites at one time with limited graphics. Maybe a website where people go to to sign-up to vote. There's no need for these website to be so unique and different... No, you would probably want keep information simple without advertisements, bells or whistles. In this case the Template Website would be a perfect fit.

Winner custom website design: if you are Brownie Lee Whitmill (I made that name up) and you are running for the Governor's Seat in your state... Yes, you might want to be a bit unique, different, and certainly not ware the same suit as you competition. In this case the Custom website design would be best.

This is Gibron T. Williams, Head Honcho at Oevae Marketing Consultants and these are my opinions.

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Keywords: The best marketing consultants in the world.

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Keywords keywords.
What is all the fuss about these keywords you've heard about?
It's really easy. The same words you would use to find some information on the world wide web.

That's the simple part. Now that you and everyone building with a website knows, we have a problem Houston. If you are ABC Moving, you can bet that some other brand like ABCD Movers will have similar keywords. So you want to direct your attention to the mild differences and keywords that someone might use (type in Google, Yahoo, search engine) to find your company online over the next company offering similar products

Example: Open your browser and go to Google.com. Then type: the best marketing consultants in the world

What did you get? Well I can tell you that my company is there on the first page of Google. Oevae Marketing Consultants is my brand design and creative marketing firm. We consult small business owners to share what is possible within the world of marketing and brand development. It's nice to see how choosing the right keywords for your website can make it or break it for you. So be very critical about the keywords you opt to promote an staple your brand name.

As part of our Search Engine Optimation we also own the domain name TheBestMarketing ConsultantsInTheWorld.com And we will continue to make like Charloette's Web to maintain our brand name recognition.

Think now about your brand and how you want to be found on the Internet. What frame of mind will people looking for your product be in? Will people be in a hurry, looking for the best, trying to dyi, planning, price hunting? Keep thinking and challenging.

Your keywords are the door to your website. Make them fit your brand and build around your brand.

Here's a bone.
Search Google: Wonder Wheel
Read the details of what it is and what it can help you do for your business.

Oevae offers you a really easy to use Search Engine Visiblity Tool that takes the hard work out of finding the right keywords for your website at under $30 a year. It's pretty powerful too, but the biggest bonus is No technical skills needed! Here are a few bullet points from or other website World Wide Web Window:

• Bring more traffic to your Web site
• Increase customers
• Get your site listed on major search engine rankings
• Contact Manager (CRM) included FREE

This is Gibron T. Williams, Head Honcho at Oevae Marketing Consultants and these are my opinions.

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How many pages should be in a good website?

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The number of pages in your web site can be a minimum of 1 and there is no maximum that I've heard about; I remember learning about a large number in 3rd grade... called Googleplex?

Now lets get real.
I ask my clients "why are you building a website?" If you think about the question it may seem a bit simple at first... the answer might be that you want to sell some new crayon that tastes like M&M's or a new reversable running shoes? The deeper point we are trying to get to is what will it take to get whomever to do what you want.

Ask yourself a few questions:

1. Will your product or service take a bunch of explaining to do?
2. Do you have a product or service fit for everybody or a select few?
3. Are you wanting to amaze, tease and tickle minds?
4. Want to give visitors everything you've got?

This list can go on for some time... and you want to explore as many windows of opportunity as possible.

Let's move now.
Before you can decide how many pages should be in a good website, you must have good content. Content that makes visitors do what YOU do when you find something on the Internet. You bookmark the page or send the information on to a friend or family member. If you're at work, you may even share the new find with a co-worker. The website becomes a point of reference for whatever topic you need.

You want your website to be Worthy! Everyone who knows anything about making a website that people really enjoy, know how important it is to have unique and relevent content on a specific topic.

A big mistake. When you create content for your like in hopes to be like some other website you've seen. Do not do this. This is a no-no. That would be your first step away from being unique. Wrong direction. Yes, I hear you... there are companies online that you probably admire and that's a good thing. This means you do have some marbles rolling round upstairs. You may even sell the same product. But taking it to the point/mission of being a copycat doesn't work on the Internet. Oh, you can fake-it for a while, but soon enough the search engines will find out you're a ghost and this means it's back to the drawing board for you. All because the search engines no longer find you unique and more like a Twinkie.

One thing you can do to be unique is be Yourself. I mean you want to be original at a whole new level. Take you imagination on a road trip. Think about the dumbest way you could sell your product. Think of the worst customers you could have. Think what you would do if your product was the only thing on earth you had left. Imagine what your product would be in 20 years. These may seem like hard places to go in your mind, but forcing answers to imaginary situations has brought every good invention I know about.

I must admit this is where many client cave. The whole world of imagination can really get you lost within your own world and looking rediculous. So hire a marketing professional when you need one. Someone to guide you and not take the wheel.

So how many pages you should your website contain... 1 - 2 - 10 - 50? You will soon realize the answer to this question comes to you when you know what you want to say, how you want to say it, and if it will make you famous? Ever since Minute Rice nobody wants to wait for a cotton-picking-thing. With this in mind I suggest that you not waste my time telling me how much better your tires are. I (website visitor) want it now and I want it to be good for me now. If you're an accounting firm... I better feel very confident and please don't puzzle me with a bunch of verbage... Heck, I only want to know how I can spend my money and save more of it at the same time. Can you do that? If you could. I would do business with you in an instant like everyone lined up behind me to do the same thing.

It's time to start thinking.
Do you know who would even want to visit a business like yours on the Internet? Maybe you have a car was. Why would you need a website? Well, maybe you want customers to go to your website to type in a code from the receipt to download special deal... Free Wax anybody?

Yes, your website can be just 1 page. Maybe that page is long... or maybe wide. Who says you have to go to a new page... why not scroll?

The sure thing is you must tell visitors what you are, what you do, and what they can do because of you. This gives you a total of 3 maybe 4 pages. If you think about it... as the Internet is that we use today... when you search lets say Google for a really cool axe called AXEED and it that actually has a heating element in the handle that keep your hands warm? Pretty cool. So you search Google "axe with warm handle" and you get a list of pages on the web about similar topics... never do your really go past the 3 or fourth page if you don't find you AXEED... you will then type in a little different search this time... "hot handle axe brand" ENTER. Again, you have a list of pages... still you don't go past the 3 or fourth page before your changing your keyword search.

Why would your web site be any different. If a visitor hits your website and you can't get the point accross in 3 to 4 pages... Bye-bye.

This is Gibron T. Williams, Head Honcho at Oevae Marketing Consultants and these are my opinions.

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How many years do you register a domain?

If you've had your business online since 1999 or before, this topic may not be of great concern to you.
However, I do know that there are many out there who have no idea how long a domain name should be registered. The truth is there's no strict rule that says you must register for more than 1 year. Of course there are deals available that offer your discounts based on the number of years you choose to register. It's likely you will pay less if you register for more years.

In a slow economy, saving money can be a real treat. What you may not know is registering your domain for more years (paying upfront for 10 years rather than only 1 year) can help you secure the respect of the search engines. Why? As I do when consulting my clients; let me tell you a short story to help you understand the logic:

Here goes...
All those with the gift of having two good working eyes have seen small business owners driving around town with magnetic signs on utility trucks, suv's, and all car types really. Now with this in mind, lets say a perfect stranger pulled her (Nene) vehicle next to yours at pump #7... As you stand there pumping your gas, you notice a magnetic sign on Nene's car that reads Financial Planner, Take The Cap Off Your Income! Call Today! Your first thought might be that Nene might have a special strategy for helping you take control of your finances, right? Well this may be true. However there is another question. That question might be: Magnetic signs are not exactly a big commitment. I mean one could keep a stack of magnetic signs in the trunk and change town-to-town or state-to-state. Sounds a bit like selling snake oil.

You want to conduct business with a company that shows a real commitment - a company that appears to be stable. Now before some of you get yor shorts in a knot... I do know that there are perfect reasons and situations where/why a magnetic sign should be used over something better (vehicle wraps, etc.). But what I'm talking about here is the Internet where you can start a company in 5 minutes and desolved in an additional 5 minutes. So the risks are much higer. Unlike Nene whom you can have a brief disccussion and ask for her business card, such options are not available online.

So here it is...
Let's replace Nene with the name of your business and I'm a search engine trying to determine the worthiness of your company. If you're a business with a domain name registered for 1 year. I might assume that you are new to the world wide web and you don't think you'll be around in 366 days. On the other hand you may be a business with a domain name registerd for 5 years. This might tell me that although you could be new to the world wide web, you may have a plan, you may have joint commitments, you may be in a joint venture or you've planned to keep your information available for a descent amount of time - I can index your company in my listing and not worry about house cleaning for at least 5 years.

You may also want to consider registering multiple domain names to:

• Keep your competition from registering a domain name that draws customers to them instead of you.
• Promote the different products and services you offer.
• Drive more traffic to your Web site.
• Enjoy more opportunities to market to, and be listed on, search engines.
• Create distinct advertising strategies that reach different target markets.
• Provide customers more ways to find you when searching the Internet.
  
• Capture common misspellings of your domain name, instead of sending visitors to an error page.
• Protect your brand and online identity from those who may have unsavory purposes.

That's it.
You can save money when you register your domain names longer terms and be seen as a company with a commitment to your product, services and existance.

This is Gibron T. Williams, Head Honcho at Oevae Marketing Consultants and these are my opinions.

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Avoid Web Design Disasters

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The information you send to the person designing your website can be a great step towards learning more about creating your and your company brand online.

Your designer may have a few questions answered so that they can fine tune a cost and action plan for the design and development of your website; you should secure your website design with a least a single page Web Development Agreement after you have answered any questions.

First, if we agree that most people you may have spoken to about website design and development, generally say it's the number of pages that determines the cost of a website. This is really a novice way of looking at the Internet. 5-7 years ago technology was different and the learning curve or those hesitant to learn has enabled this way of thinking to linger. It's changing as I type this website article to be honest.

Today's technology allows users to have incredible control over website content, thus allowing for interactivity and personalization - ownership of brands they believe in and trust with minimal investment. Today a web site can give you more bang for the buck. What's the big deal today? Today, a website can be 1 page. If your product was an apple, you would use various avenues to get customers to buy. The apples need to be worth the trip. This could include affordable,tasty/appealing, nearby, social chatter, fresh and clean, something for you to share or a great experience. With this in mind, a web designer can usually design and develop your website using a combination of today's most desired features that express your vision of excellence in XZY and show you ways of drawing/pushing traffic to your XYZ website in 1 page or many pages. We all know despite the size of a restaurant, it's the food, the service and the price that determines who returns - on the Internet nobody drives and rarely do we return to a disorganized restaurant, with lousy communication, around people we'd rather stay clear. The same is true for an Internet businesses.

Your custom website today should include website design/development, hosting, email and Google alignment somewhere between $650.00 and $1100.00 at the date of this article and dependent on your timeline, number of topics on your website, the website features and visitor interactivity requirements. The lower amount may include a contact form, bio or about us, services or products, and maybe XYZ No-no's or XYZ Bloopers similar to a FAQ. In old Internet days I would say the website would have 5 pages. The higher cost would include more pages, more user interaction and overall dynamics.

Think about Disney.com vs. Google.com, both have incredible depth and entirely different packaging. Make sure your custom design website is not use a template. Make sure web designer is offering a custom design for the best branding. How often do you like waking into a fine place to eat and somebody has the same top you are wearing, the one it took you 20 minutes to decide to wear? You don't and nobody like waking into a McDoniells when they are looking for a Big Mac. The production time could be 2 weeks for a small micro website or 45-60 days for the high end site. This would allow you time to share the layout and design with your business partners or peers during the whole Internet business experience.

Summary
If you have defined the number of topics you feel your website should cover and how you want visitors to communicate with you from the website, please explain this in detail to your web designer. In fact, this is really the person you want to convey your deepest aspirations and visions of your website. Sometimes with too many people involved details get lost or skewed. Also, knowing your target date for completion will help the web design firm define their production timeline which should include benchmarks. Make certain you receive a copy. One of my strategic marketing friends Vincent Jackson (mktgmoves.com) with whom I've partnered on several project calls it a Brief. I relish in my close network of marketeers for insight and feedback and bounce ideas. Oy Vey!

If you need any question answered or comments explained in more detail, please call me or comment on this article. It's normal that you allow a design agency or marketing firm like Oevae.com 1 or 2 days to produce your Web Development Agreement which should be easy to understand and in language you truly understand. Keep a signed a copy with your design company's signature to help secure your investment and avoid a disaster.

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