Are you looking for more traffic, greater brand recognition and new leads!

Here is your opportunity to tap into targeted keywords, optimized images and provide up to date business information.

Right now, less than 3% of all businesses have taken advantage of this!

This is a very cost effective way to promote your business online and view the activity that your business is creating on the web.

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Once you have claimed your listing you will appear in Google search results for your chosen keywords. You can keep your page current with new posts that are relevant, offer special coupons to visitors and solicit reviews. In addition there is the added benefit of adding Mobile features for any business that has a web presence.
All of these efforts will increase your targeted visibility and increase your profitability.

The question you need to ask here is just how can you effectively communicate on the internet? You will need a solid website presence and  you can also consider online advertising to bring  initial website exposure. For our clients the website presence always comes from a WordPress website that allows you to control and refresh content.

To put this in terms that their previous customers might find useful is to view internet exposure as being similar to billboard advertising and Yellow Pages ads.

Google AdWords campaigns, and other online ads, are based on the “auctioning” of ad positions based on bids that allow any business to place an ad on the first page of results, for the keywords that they purchase. In a chosen keyword category you can pay more for your ad placement, but your competitors can also increase the price that they are willing to pay. While this strategy can be leveraged to move up to the first page, in the long run you will continue to drive the cost of that placement higher and higher. Because the auction process is ongoing, there is also no guarantee that your placement won’t be bought out at any time.

If Yellow Page ads are compared to Google Adwords, we can see that the placement of the ad is not static but can be very dynamic in terms of content. However, if you are not willing to spend the amount of money required to be at the top of the category, then you need to concentrate on the keyword content. However, content is limited to 2 lines of 26 characters, and can be copied by any competitor at any time. In the Yellow Pages model a business calling itself AA Websites always got the first position for one year, until the next year when a business named AAA Websites got that slot.

Your WordPress website installation can be compared to billboard campaign. If you had a billboard site, then you could continue to occupy that location as long as you wanted. Your WordPress website however has very low fixed costs in comparison to billboards and the content can be refreshed on a timely basis. In addition, that content can be delivered 24 hours a day across many different Social Media platforms and  directed to mobile devices. A billboard only delivers content to the cars driving by.

To put it in context, this is the way of the future and the old way of doing things is falling by the wayside.
See the article from the New York Times News Service that quotes Eric Lefkofsky the founder of Groupon.

If you you want to succeed in social media marketing, you have to be willing to share your brand experience. Having effective control is affordable.

The opportunity to capture user data and develop that information should be utilized. Since the entire process is without cost, and tutorials to understand and interpret data are readily available, the cost of implementing this feature affordable. If you do not have an IT specialist on staff, this a task that can easily be handled by the marketing department. If you are just starting a website or considering a blogging site, such as WordPress, this will be one of the first steps in that process.

Small to medium businesses need to take advantage of the many free software programs that exist to improve data gathering and putting that information into context. While large companies are investing significant dollars in their IT departments, the trickle down theory of software and computing power make your entry to this field very affordable.

Simple exercises in Analytics can show where users are logging on from (Geo location), how they are accessing your site (DSL, cable or mobile device), the time spent viewing the site, the pages viewed and what content is attracting the most viewers. This  important data is just waiting for you to mine for your use. Website optimization (SEO) costs can be controlled.

While we surf with the best of them, there is still a reluctance to make online purchases in Canada. If you are operating a website and you are not using an online ad strategy, perhaps you feel that this is justifiable because Canadian consumers are slower to convert their shopping behavior. You could be missing out on a ground floor level of opportunity, as business and consumer internet behavior patterns start to shift.

Online advertising campaigns can deliver viewers to websites in many different ways. Not everyone is selling a product over the internet. Many businesses are using social media and e-marketing strategies just to build connections. Cost effective ad campaigns can quickly boost your websites visibility when it is brand new or when you have an important new message to deliver. The key is understanding and analyzing website performance and knowing where your visitors originate. Gathering the data and understanding the context of the results will allow you to refine your web presence.

The person they are looking for should be ” dynamic, results orientated and data driven.The ideal candidate should be enthusiastic about learning, energized by the prospect of heading up this initiative and capable of working marketing talents”. Also, the position would appeal to one who is a self starter, entrepreneurial in nature and someone who thrives in an action paced environment that emphasizes creativity, initiative and team work.

Who wouldn’t want an employee with those skills on their team!

Perhaps you already have someone with that skill set and would like to put their talents to greater use?

Context Canada has all of the above mentioned skills and is actively looking for companies that would like to partner with us to kick start their e-marketing or social networking campaigns. Our expertise also includes the training that will provide your marketing “guru” with the  skills to implement an online presence at a very low cost to start and will remain cost effective for the future.

The number one rule is to have an agenda and stick to it. A dedicated staff member, or virtual assistant, will allow you to capitalize on the opportunities that arise. You need to have goals and measure the results.

Make your website accessible to the public. Website development should be carried out with a view to functionality in the architecture. Do not overload your presence with features designed to sell products and service at the expense of not providing an effective means of communication with your audience. Social networking on the web will allow you increase your exposure and visibility, but make sure you are able to respond with different feeds such as RSS and other blog feeds. If you have a Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter account, be sure to provide links on your homepage. Monitor your email daily if you have provided a comments feature on your blog.

YouTube can help deliver promotional messages, but take care that you are providing relevant content. Everything from Tweeting to targeted marketing on Facebook can work to your advantage if you have prepared properly. Engaging with customers should be the focus of social networking strategy on the internet.

Canadian internet data continues to suggest that consumers are not so much shopping on the internet as they are using it to compare products and services before they buy. Even if you don’t sell online, consumers may regard your website more favourably when they know it is secure. Listing memberships in trade associations and identifying if you are listed with the Better Business Bureau is also useful.

There is also an effort underway to improve privacy protection and standards regarding the collection and use of personal information for mobile applications and social networking.