The Internet is a living, growing, dynamic web of websites and information. It more than doubled in size in 2011 reaching a size of over 582 million websites according to Netcraft who keeps track of this.

78.3% of people in the US now use the web according to Internet World Stats. They perform 578 million searches per day, with 65.4% of these occurring on Google according to ComScore.

Where is the next big frontier in Internet Marketing? It is clearly in the area of mobile. Please enjoy the infographic below which pieces together what has happened in the last 5 years and predictions for mobile.

World Wide Web Infographic

How do the different generations interact with the Internet? Baby boomers and older will say “I want to meet someone and shake their hand before we do business.” Someone younger will say “I need to see their website and check them out with online research before I will do business with them.”

Are younger Internet users reckless? Are older Internet users overly concerned with security when offline transactions are fraught with a high risk?

Gen Y or Milliennials (18-33 years) are more likely to access the Internet wirelessly on their phone or laptop. They are more likely to use instant messaging, social networking sites, listen to music online and read blogs. This is according to a 2010 Pew Internet study.

Even though Gen Y’s like to read blogs, they are less likely to write a blog posting than they did in 2006. Blogging is increasing in popularity with older generations.

Gen Ys are the only generation that is more likely to own a laptop computer or netbook than a desktop. Desktop computers are most popular with adults ages 35-65.

Gen X (34 – 45 years) and Baby Boomers (46-66 years) are more likely to visit government websites and get financial information online. Searching for health information was done mostly by adults is now the third most popular online activity for all internet users 18 and older.

12-17 year olds are 42% more likely to text a friend than to call them on their cell phone. They are even less likely to talk to them face to face. These teens are 5X more likely to text than use email. This is according to another Pew Internet study.

All generations seem to regularly use email, seek out health information, get news online, book travel, rate or review products / services and make online charitable donations. Watching videos continues to grow by all age groups. The number of adult internet users who watch video online jumped in the past two years, from 52% in May 2008 to 66% in May 2010.

Selecting a domain name is as much about branding as is creating a logo for your business. Your domain should be memorable, recognizable and easy to type out.

1. Name Recognition: In most cases the domain name should match the company name. This may mean the full company name (wellsfargo.com, or bestbuy.com) oe using a recognizable abbreviation such as IBM.com or HP.com. You can also choose a keyword driven domain like GiftBaskets.com which is owned by Hayneedle Inc.
2. Choose a dot-Com: People naturally think first of a .COM before a .NET, .INFO or .BIZ. That is because in the US, 73% of all domains registered are .COM. If you use something other than a .COM, it forces you to emphasize the end (.NET or .BIZ) of your domain instead of the name itself when marketing. This hurts your branding strategy.
3. Keep it Short: This makes it easier to type. Don’t sacrifice making it memorable though. I made this mistake when I formed my company Doug Williams and Associates. I chose the domain dwassoc.com. This was a short name that no one could remember. I later went out and purchased dougwilliams.com which worked much better.
4. Easy to Type: Avoid the use of hyphens because people will forget to type them in. If your domain purpose is strictly for SEO, hyphens are fine. Including numbers makes your domain harder to type. Easy to remember should outweigh easy to type.
5. Older: Buying existing domains can be a good idea. Search for domains that have had a website for several years and have a good number of inbound links. This can be an effective way of getting a jump start on instant search engine rankings. You will pay extra, but this can be money well.
6. Check Copyright: Avoid copyright infringement by checking copyright.gov. Your domain name should be relevant to your business name or business model (products, services) to be defensible against infringement.
7. Check History: Check the Wayback machine to see what other site may have been on that domain. Sometimes these past sites may cause a problem for your future website. We had one client that purchased a short domain name for a children’s motivational site only to later discover that the site once was home to a porn website.

I am working on a project to help optometrists create websites that will best serve their patients. I identified 24 features that could be included in an optometrist website. I then created a survey asking people to rate the importance of the 24 features on a scale of 1 to 5. 1=very important, 3=neutral, 5=very unimportant. I had 43 responses. Results are listed from most important to least important from survey results.

1. Professional website design (Not one that looks amateurish) (Avg. rating =1.59)
2. Office hours posted on website (Avg. rating =1.66)
3. Listing of available services (Avg. rating =1.73)
4. Background on doctor(s) including credentials, education (Avg. rating =1.73)
5. Information on insurances that are accepted (Avg. rating =1.75)
6. Phone number and address prominently on every page. (Avg. rating =1.84)
7. Driving directions and map (Avg. rating =1.93)
8. Ability to pay for services via credit cards (Avg. rating =2.02)
9. Information on eye diseases and treatments (Avg. rating =2.04)
10. Good FAQ page (Avg. rating =2.09)
11. Ability to increase font size to make reading of site easier (Avg. rating =2.13)
12. Book appointments online (Avg. rating =2.20)
13. Bill pay online (Avg. rating =2.22)
14. Photos of Doctor and staff (Avg. rating =2.25)
15. Financing options available (Avg. rating =2.34)
16. Listing of professional associations or logos (Avg. rating =2.34)
17. Printable new patient forms (Avg. rating =2.36)
18. Background information on staff (Avg. rating =2.36)
19. Buy contact lenses online (Avg. rating =2.57)
20. Photos of office (inside and outside) (Avg. rating =2.59)
21. Links to news stories on the doctor(s) (Avg. rating =2.61)
22. Privacy policy (Avg. rating =2.63)
23. Links to online reviews such as Yelp or Google (Avg. rating =2.75)
24. Links to social media sites (Facebook, twitter) (Avg. rating =3.36)

In addition to ratings on the 24 features, I received suggestions for over 20 additional items. I have created a second, more comprehensive survey. Your participation would be appreciated.

Link to new updated survey: Optometrist Web Marketing Survey (2012)

These are our top ten blog postings for 2011. What did others find most interesting? These had the most visits, views and searches.

1. Mobile Website Design Best Practices: Discusses the 4 most important design considerations for designing a mobile website. These include simplifying content, valid markup, designing for smartphones and trends in display sizes.
2. Review of GoToMeeting Vs Join.Me: Comparison of the business standard online meeting software with the new free Join.Me that has become very popular this last year.
3. How to Write an About-Us Page For Your Business: How to instructions for writing a compelling About-Us page for your website. Includes writing tips and what information to include.
4. How To Test Your Site Using Web Based Mobile Emulators: What will your website look like on the iPad or iPhone? Listing and links to four online mobile emulators.
5. How To SEO Secure HTTPS Pages: HTTPS are secure pages that allows encrypted information to be transferred over the web. This requires special SEO considerations and has some limitations.
6. Create Microsites as an SEO Strategy: How to use focused, single topic websites as part of your SEO effort on your main website. Gives examples of how to deploy this strategy.
7. Mobile SEO: Mobile Results Are Different Than Desktop Web Results: Discusses why mobile search results are different and how to optimize a mobile website taking these factors into consideration.
8. 7 Website Trust Logos, What They Mean and Where You Can Get Them: Seven of the most popular logos or seals that you can add to your website to increase visitor trust. Where you can get them and how much they cost.
9. Top 100 Most Searched for Business Services: Listing of the top 100 B2B keyword phrases. These are the high volume phrases from many different market segments. These are B2B services such as accounting, temporary personnel, etc
10. Website Footer Best Practices: Explains why footer navigation is important to SEO and website visitors. Explains how to deploy it on both large and small websites.

One of the purposes of a physician website is to build trust and credibility. You want to attract potential patients that are searching for a doctor. Having patient testimonials on your site help provide third party validation of your good work.

Benefits: A patient’s own words expressing gratitude and appreciation for you, your practice and results they received are very convincing for potential patients. Reading testimonials helps overcome the apprehension and resistance of prospective patients. Patients that give testimonials become more loyal.

Process: Create an easy mechanism to collect testimonials. Create forms that can be completed at your reception desk. Ask patients about their opinions and experiences. Include a release where the patient that allows you to use their testimonials in the marketing of your practice. Maintain a record of these testimonials and consents.

HIPAA: HIPAA in general protects patient privacy. HIPAA doesn’t restrict the use of testimonials. They should be accurate and in the patient’s own words. You should avoid sharing information that may identify any of your patients with any specific treatments.

FTC: The FTC has rules on how any business may use testimonials from their customers. An endorsement or testimonial is essentially a public claim by an advertiser. The advertiser is responsible for the accuracy and to ensure it does not mislead in any way. Avoid false, misleading, or untrue statements.

Regulations: Before using testimonials on your website, you should check with your state licensing boards. Every state has different standards. According to Etna Interactive, Illinois, Kentucky, New York State, and West Virginia entirely forbid the use of patient testimonials in healthcare marketing. You should check with your attorney to see what rules or statutes may affect your practice.

A rule as defined by Merriam-Webster is an accepted procedure, custom, or habit.

Conformance to rules means doing things the way everyone else does. If you want to be a market leader, you need to separate your company from the pack. You need to be the innovator.

If you want to be outstanding, then you need to stand out. In a world full of people doing similar things, the person with new ideas and new ways of doing will draw the interest and attention of the market.

Are Rules Meant to Be Broken? If you want to be a market leader, then the answer is a resounding YES!

Leadership is focused on outcomes, not necessarily the process to achieve it. Rules tend to focus on the process. A leader has to be creative and willing to introduce change.

A market leader is developing new business models, new strategies and new ways of doing things. Leadership requires the pursuit of innovation, a flow of fresh ideas and a culture that does not accept the status quo.

A leader understands the rules, but is constantly challenging the status quo to come up with a new and better system. If it isn’t broken, a market leader will fix it anyway.

What does it take to be an innovator? It takes a belief that there has to be a better way. It takes constant creativity. It takes observing, networking, questioning, experimenting and challenging the current rules.

The web is one of the fastest changing environments that you can find. It doesn’t matter if you are a web business owner, a web designer or web marketer, you need to be an innovator. This means constantly challenging today’s rules.

The web allows you to measure everything. Website strategy needs to focus on outcomes and innovation. The web allows you test and measure if your new idea is working. If your idea didn’t work yesterday, it may work tomorrow.

Marketing Purpose

1. What is the business purpose for your website? This could include sell products, generate leads, build your brand, reduce operating costs, etc.
2. Who are your direct and indirect competitors? Indirect competitors may not sell what you sell, but they satisfy the need. Example: If you are a plumber, then the local home improvement store can satisfy the need for the do it yourselfer.
3. What do your competitors do well and what do they do poorly? What they don’t do well creates opportunities for you.
4. How are you positioning your business? High price, high quality, high service or? This will affect the look and feel of your website.

Audience

1. What is the demographic of the person you are trying to reach? There could be several groups.
2. What is there role in the purchase decision? This could be the decision maker, influencer, etc.
3. Are they B2B (slow, rational and a longer buying cycle) or B2C (fast. emotional and prone to an impulse buy).
4. What problem or need are they seeking a solution to?
5. What typically appeals to your target audience?

Action

1. What is primary action for your visitor? What do you want people to do when they come to your website? Buy, request a quote, signup for your mailing list?
2. What is your central message? Are you trying to educate? This will affect your content, your tone and your writing style.
3. What is your selling sequence on your site? This is from when you first grab their attention to the point that you convince them to purchase or request a quote.
4. Will you collect email addresses? Are you going to offer an incentive such as a free sample or free report?
5. How will you build their confidence so they trust you?
6. How will you make it visible and clear so they see your offer?

Traffic

1. How will you attract people to your site? This could be organic SEO, pay-per-click advertising, social media or even offline methods such as radio or TV.
2. Decide on your keyword phrases early and build them into your site.
3. How is your competition reaching out to your target audience?
4. Are you willing to blog regularly? Blogging reaches out with its RSS feed and attracts visitors. Each blog posting adds one more page of keyword rich content that helps with SEO.

For more on website strategy development.

Measurement

1. How will you measure success? How will you measure the return on your investment? Some types of websites are easier to quantify than others.
2. What will you measure? Sales? Bounce rate? Time on site?
3. What are your specific goals you want to reach? By when?

I encourage clients to continually add real testimonials to their website to give the social validation that they provide a quality service or product.

The willingness to post customer reviews on a website is a clear signal to buyers that this company is customer focused and will work to create a positive buying experience. The problem that most small business owners have is they don’t have the time, systems or resources to regularly add testimonials to their website.

Ways to get customer reviews

Ask for it: Encourage reviews on your website, at your retail location (if you have one), or with a follow-up email or phone call. For email and phone calls make it timely. Follow-up should be within 3 days of a transaction.

Make it easy: The more steps or answers that you require, the fewer reviews you will receive. A simple star rating (1-5) with optional comments is effective. The downside is that your website visitors want to see the comments.

Keep it real: Resist the urge to offer incentives in return for testimonials. Your best advocates will do it for free. You want your testimonials to be real and not have the appearance of being “purchased”.

Third party service: One solution is to use a third party service to contact recent customers and interview them by phone or an email a survey. Some of these firms will have you add a widget to your website and then they can add testimonials and reviews to your site.

Customer Review Services

1. Customer Lobby
2. Customer Rating
3. Proven Credible
4. Verified Credible

The core story uses market data to engage prospects and show that your company is the logical one to do business with. Core Story is a product of Empire Research Group. This is a great example of education based marketing.

The idea is to educate buyers about their own niche using market research data and market trends. The product is delivered as a polished PowerPoint presentation that is ready to use as a webinar. Once you have a core story built, how should you deploy it on your website?

1. Messaging: Use the core story to position and differentiate your company. Educate web visitors on hidden trends and problems in making purchases in your market. Show how you are part of the solution. Weave market data into your marketing message.
2. Animated Header: Put together an animation sequence based on the core story and place it in an animated header on the home page.
3. Tagline: Use the core story to create a new tagline. This is the short text under your logo. This should be a slogan or a positioning statement.
4. Video: Create 2-4 minute videos that inform and educate. When presented by your CEO it puts a friendly face on the company.
5. Webinar: Put on live webinars and allow sign-ups on your website. As an alternative, have a recorded version of your webinar that visitors can sign-up for and then watch at their convenience.
6. Report: Create a free report that can be used as a sign-up incentive for building your email list. Make the title of your report compelling so that buyers of your products / services are intrigued.
7. Drip Marketing Campaign: This is an email campaign where pre-written emails are delivered at regular intervals. Use the core story content to write educational emails to people that sign-up to your email list.
8. Articles: Write and publish articles that will position you as a leader in your market. Always include a link back to your website in your byline at the end of the article.
9. Whitepapers: Include downloadable white papers on your website that are created based on core story data.
10. Blog: Add a blog to your website and use the core story content as the basis for many posts.
11. YouTube: Host your videos on YouTube and create your own YouTube channel. Use keyword driven tags on each video and show your website URL in the video. You will drive traffic from YouTube to your website.
12. Social Media: Spice up your Facebook page and create compelling tweets using core story content.

Disclosure: I am the president of the website division for Business Breakthroughs International and my team regularly is asked to deploy core stories onto websites. These are the techniques that we use.