Marketing research isn’t what it used to be. It has expanded to include the world of websites, blogs, social media, online advertising, and other web-based media. The great thing about this all is that there are lots of tools you can use conduct market research and gather competitive intelligence. Our top posts on Lakeshore Branding have been about social media monitoring and competitive intelligence. So I thought we would share some our favorite tools and this list turned into a description of 29 tools for competitive intelligence. So check out the list and please let us know if we are missing any. 1. SpyFu: Spyfu is a tool that lets you find out what keywords your competitors are targeting in the search engines. Not just keywords, mind you, but AdWords, too. All you have to do is type your competitor’s site in SpyFu’s search bar, and voila! Immediate results that show you the keyword and AdWords landscape for that domain. – Read the full article
Looking to stretch your advertising dollars? Try implementing a PPC (pay per click) campaign. It’s cheap. It’s ideal for small businesses. It’s not as costly as producing a full-blown advertising or Internet marketing campaign. It’s also can be very effective if executed correctly. Getting your money’s worth on PPC advertising means coming up first with a good strategy. A lot of people think that a PPC campaign can be hastily thrown together – “okay, I’ve chosen my keywords – I’m done!” – and they are the ones who are most prone to making costly mistakes. So, before you go about launching your own PPC campaign, take a look first at these helpful tips. They won’t just help you save money; it will also maximize your money and, subsequently, your sales potential. Keyword Selection Choose keywords wisely, and cast your net broadly. Of course you want a high PPC ranking. But that doesn’t mean you have to get the most popular – Read the full article
So you’re thinking of implementing an E-mail campaign. The challenge is obvious: what can you really do to make sure that those E-mails get opened and read before they’re sent to trash? Cool, sleek graphics? A hard-to-resist subject line? Persuasive copy? Below we explore more tips and strategies for creating a successful E-mail campaign. Of course, these extend beyond hiring the best graphic artist in the world, or waxing poetic on the sales pitch contained in your E-mail. Use A/B split testing Success often comes after lots of trial and error. Better, of course, if it’s trial instead of error. So try A/B split tests. These entail experimenting with E-mail campaigns by using different headlines and content. Find out from these tests the answers to questions like: Which subject line gets me better open rates? What time and what day works best for my E-mail campaign? Are times and dates even factors in my click rate? There’s lots of A/B – Read the full article
The holiday season is right around the corner – and with it, shopping galore. Are you ready for Christmas? Is your E-commerce site optimized for maximum sales? People will certainly be looking up holiday items and ideas on the Internet, and – to help you gain greater visibility and maximize search traffic – we’ve come up with a list of 7 SEO tips for your retail website. 1. Refresh your content. Don’t just copy and paste from your manufacturer’s website. Be creative. Yes, it takes a lot of effort, but it is worth it to have unique product descriptions, catalog and category descriptions, case studies, industry news, and shopping tips that not only make your E-commerce site a lot more interesting for visitors, but also improve your sales through better search engine visibility. 2. Create a blog. Why not? The fact that holiday season is forthcoming should give you enough things to write about. A blog not only enhances the – Read the full article
Many Internet marketing experts have said that “content is king”. If so, Lakeshore Branding is your army and navy. And we’re here to help you conquer the competitive battlefield: that is, the online marketplace. We have an array of content creation services designed to help you make a powerful impact on the web and trigger your business success. Our strategy isn’t purely linguistic – we are driven not only to write with accuracy, clarity, and creativity, but also with awareness of what works for your target online audience. We develop original, informative, and attention-catching content that serve as an extension of your brand, and we optimize these in a way that brings in qualified traffic to your website, either from search engines or from other authority sites related to your industry. Our areas of expertise include SEO writing, social media communications, online advertising copy, online press releases, and website content. Our content creation services include: Website Content Development Blog Development – Read the full article
So you have an idea for a business website and you’ve hired a web designer. It’s a simple enough collaboration. You’re raring to go live. If, however, you wish to encourage people to keep coming back to your site, understand that this takes more than stylish, colorfully designed pages and great Photoshop skills. After all, there are things that a web designer won’t tell you – or can’t tell you – but which you should know anyway. Here are some of them: 1. “Shiny, sparkly, and splendidly bright” doesn’t cut it. It might work as a lyric for a Michael Jackson single (“Gone Too Soon”), but not as an agenda for web design. Out of propriety, or shyness typical of people with artistic temperaments, a web designer might not tell you to keep off the electric neon-colored background, or the blinking rainbow font, or the head copy that scrolls like a snail. Keep off them anyway. You want your website – Read the full article
“Chris is a brilliant and innovative marketer. He understands the industry on a strategic level and yet has the acumen to grasp technical tactics. Chris has developed key relationships in the industry and has an impressive network. He has the business savvy to identify new market opportunities and the discipline to deliver results. I highly recommend Chris without reservation.” – Ryan Evans, President, Rand Media Group “Chris Campbell has generously volunteered his marketing expertise for our not-for-profit organization for the last four years. He has been willing to share his skill in online marketing with both our organization and with the high school students we serve as a workshop presenter and as a consultant to new businesses. I am always impressed with his willingness to share his knowledge with our state wide organization and with other businesses. He is energetic, creative, fast on his feet, thoughtful, a great net worker and he follows through on his commitments. We love having – Read the full article
Some of our fantastic clients include… E-Commerce Websites Chicago Bears Pro Shop (Internet Marketing Consulting) Elevate Printing (E-commerce, Custom Web Application- Banner Creator, Internet Marketing, Social Media) So Cute and Cozy (Custom E-commerce Solution, Internet Marketing, SEM optimization, Social Media) Buji Products (Internet Marketing Consulting) Retail Stores Colori Chicago (Internet Marketing Consulting) GreenMaker Supply (Internet Marketing Consulting) Service Companies Green Dream Group (Internet Marketing Consulting) GreenWerks (Web Development, Website Copy, Social Media, Graphic Design, Internet Marketing) Hooked Up Installs (Internet Marketing Consulting & PPC Optimization) Executive Home Theaters (Internet Marketing Consulting & PPC Optimization) Berk Legal (Web Design and Development, Local Search Engine Optimization) Pallandrome (Internet Marketing Consulting) Chicago Blueprints (Web Design and Development & Search Engine Optimization) WBS Equities (Web Design and Development) Blank Canvas Chicago (Web Design and Development & Search Engine Optimization) Chicago Solar Panels (Web Design and Development & Local Search Engine Optimization) Dialogue Consulting (Web Development and Internet Marketing Consulting) Cause Strategy (Web Development) Hooking – Read the full article
