iePlexus.com Premiers New Online Shopping Network buyPlexus.com

www.iePlexus.com announces launch of buyPlexus.com, a Web 2.0 online shopping network designed for users to easily connect and explore businesses, products and services.

Lynnwood, WA (PRESS RELEASE) August 18, 2008 — Social media marketing company iePlexus.com today announced the official launch of buyPlexus.com, a new Web 2.0 shopping network and online directory developed specifically to enable users to find detailed information on a variety of businesses, their products and services. The buyPlexus.com website allows both consumers and merchants the ability to post, search and discover business listings, classified advertisements, articles and coupons all in one location.

“buyPlexus.com is unique because it benefits both the shopper and business owner,” says Kris Themstrup, Director of Marketing at iePlexus. “Shoppers have a place to find the products or services they’re interested in, and merchants can utilize the site’s marketing tools to generate additional exposure in the search engines and social media networks. We’ve created a powerful shopping portal in buyPlexus.com that’s capable of rivaling some of the most popular online.” As an introductory offer to mark its launch, buyPlexus.com is offering top-level business listings, called ‘Showcase Listings’ for free to businesses for the first 30 days of membership. “The free business directory promotion is designed to allow more users to experience the benefits of the network and build a significant advertiser base – we’ve had a great response so far,” states Themstrup.

The shopping network fits well with the business services offered by iePlexus, a Web 2.0 marketing and social media advertising company in business since 2005. iePlexus provides online marketing services including business blog development and customization, press release creation and distribution, and social media integration for e-commerce websites. “Since buyPlexus.com was built with the new Web 2.0 marketing standards in mind, we were able to augment the listings with additional components like business blogs, RSS feeds, Google Maps, photo galleries, reviews, comments and social media functionality,” added Themstrup. “Our designers and developers knew savvy marketers would appreciate these extra features, and they did a great job integrating them into the site.”

Along with the myriad of features available to business owners, buyPlexus.com also caters to online consumers. Users can search classified advertisements, articles, or coupons in virtually every category of products and services, on a local or national level. The classified advertisements and articles can be posted by anyone and include the complete set of attributes available to each listing. Coupons can be added by product or service providers to help generate additional business and announce specials or promotions. “The goal with buyPlexus is to enable anyone to post and search products and services – not just business owners,” commented Jason Thurston, owner of iePlexus. “Many competitors simply don’t allow people to take advantage of a network’s popularity without paying high fees or having an established business, so we made sure buyPlexus was accessible to everyone and didn’t exclude those users.”

“We hope the launch of buyPlexus.com shows our continued commitment to being a resource for everyone, not just our clients,” says Thurston. “In terms of advertising a business, we know the best approach to marketing is a comprehensive one, so buyPlexus certainly meets that need by providing so many options.” To keep advertisers and visitors to the site informed, the buyPlexus Blog was launched in conjunction with the directory and will be regularly updated with new developments and website news.

For additional information on the launch of the buyPlexus.com shopping network and directory, visit iePlexus.com or buyPlexus.com.

About iePlexus:
iePlexus.com specializes in providing comprehensive Web 2.0 marketing strategies for online businesses. Services include professional business blogs, press releases, social media advertising and web content writing. iePlexus, Inc has been in business since 2005 and operates its corporate headquarters out of Lynnwood, Washington.

About buyPlexus:
buyPlexus.com is owned by iePlexus, Inc. and is an online-based Web 2.0 shopping network and business directory. Services include comprehensive business profiles, classified advertisements, article posting and coupons. buyPlexus is open to all users to search and post information and was officially launched in August, 2008.

Press Release Locations: buyPlexus on PRWeb | buyPlexus on Yahoo! News

Google Ranking Insights

Internet marketing wouldn’t be what it is today without Google. Higher visibility in such a popular tool has long been sought after by every online business as a vital component to success. With that desire to rank higher, the ins and outs of how ranking is determined proves to be an interesting debate. There are certainly standards that everyone, including Google themselves, will agree on, but beyond the official posted guidelines, the search engine leader has been pretty quiet.

To bring a little more transparency to their ranking philosophy and technology, Google has put together a series of posts on the Official Google Blog discussing different aspects of this mysterious algorithm and the reasoning behind it. Let’s take a look at some of the key points:

In the initial post, Udi Manber, VP of Engineering in Search Quality, put together an Introduction to Google Search Quality. He acknowledges the fact that very little is known about ranking at Google, and it’s their fault (by design). The two main reasons for this are competition and abuse. The secret recipe for ranking certainly shouldn’t be shared with competitors, and if the formula was too accessible, people would be more apt to “game the system” and manipulate the integrity of the algorithm (not that people haven’t already tried). PageRank, the most well-known part of the ranking algorithm is now referred to as part of a much larger system that includes language models, query models, time models and personalized models. The actual teams within Search Quality were also introduced, comprising of Core Ranking, International Search, User Interfaces, Evaluation, Webspam, and other teams. Udi provides a great introduction to how the Search Quality Team works and what they’re producing, but doesn’t dive to deeply into specifics on ranking, for obvious reasons.

In the second post, Amit Singhai, who’s in charge of the ranking team at Google, writes an Introduction to Google Ranking that covers the philosophy behind this system. Essentially, it consists of three main points: 1. Best locally relevant results served globally; 2. Keep it simple; 3. No manual intervention. Although these are pretty obvious in their context as part of the whole “Don’t Be Evil” mindset, Google also hints slightly at concepts brought up in the first post relating to how search results are delivered. We can assume localization is a big part of the ranking component and include that in the vague list we’ve already made, including language, query, time and personalization factors. 

Finally, Amit discloses some specifics when it comes to the Technologies Behind Google Ranking. Once again, Google is careful to discuss only the advances they’ve made in certain areas rather than what factors go into the result. To fulfill the expectations of their users and continue to innovate, Google has to grasp some very complicated groups. First, they have to understand the pages, meaning they have to consider what’s implied from a page rather than just what it says. Next, they must understand queries, meaning it’s necessary to figure out what their users are looking for “beyond just the few words in their query”.  The last piece of the puzzle is understanding users, or “what people really want, not just what they said in their query”. This part of the system starts in localization, goes through the personalization technology and ends up being coined “Universal Search”.

What does this all mean when marketers try and interpret these small insights from Google? First, this is nothing new. There’s no secrets spilled. As a reminder of best practices, Google refers back to the Webmaster Guidelines as default when it comes to how to perform better in search engine result pages. But we can infer that Google is moving away from a set list of criteria for rankings and including every aspect of the web in their algorithm. They stress the many filters, analysis and re-analysis search results are subjected to, depending on a variety of factors. As more people join Google and it’s many web applications, the less likely they’ll all see the same thing when performing a query.

It brings us back to when the web was originally conceived and the value of a page was determined by the community and not an algorithm. In simple terms, provide the right information, leave no marketing stone unturned, and (eventually) the rankings will follow.

Creating External Links for Exposure and Credibility

When it comes to gaining search engine exposure, the amount and value of the incoming links to your website is a determining factor when you’re measured against your competitors. We all know that search engines use this statistic as part of their ranking algorithm, most notably so with Google and its infamous PageRank Technology, which measures the importance of your web page based largely on certain linking criteria. But often ignored is the second benefit of these external links, company credibility. It’s obvious both exposure and credibility are important to the success of an online business, so let’s explore some of the why, where and how to create these external links.

External links have long been sought after from website marketers. Before the techniques we use today were developed, online business owners would routinely trade links with other websites in hopes of achieving greater ranking in the engines. Software, directories and forums were developed that specialized in these link exchanges, touting the benefits of joining their program and connecting websites. Although still in practice today, it was quickly discovered that these link exchange programs didn’t benefit a website in terms of traffic or ranking as much as it was thought. The engines had updated their algorithms to devalue the practice, noting the little value to the internet community these programs provided. So what next? Linking was still a fundamental practice, but now had to be earned. The solution? Get listed in relevant directories for your industry and location, exchange links with high value sites, start social media campaigns that include social bookmarking, and finally, create valuable content - encourage other website owners to link to your site based on the fact that users would like that information. Basically, practice quality linking that the engines had originally intended.

There’s more to the formula than just ranking. An experienced marketer or business owner will be the first to comment that exposure and ranking is not enough to start the potential for commerce, a business needs an identity that will convey credibility, reliability and trustworthiness. Otherwise, the choices out there make it easy for the consumer to move on if they aren’t satisfied that their money will be well-spent. Linking certainly falls into this category, in that research done on a company should reveal and instill the kind of confidence a buyer needs to feel good about that purchase, and finding the company in question to be transparent definitely helps. Directories and the like are great examples of places a business should include when developing this identity. In addition to external linking, it’s important to establish a comprehensive online presence. This includes managing a social media campaign, utilizing a business blog and press release,  essentially ensuring you’re everywhere that potential customer may be looking.

Where do we start? Take a look at some examples below of where iePlexus is listed to get an idea. The majority of these sites are directories or similar, basically large, editable sites that allow input of company data by the owner for listing purposes.

AboutUs.org for iePlexus.com	CrunchBase for iePlexus	HotFrog for iePlexus
Zimbio for iePlexus	Nomao for iePlexus	InLocal.com for iePlexus
Ziipa for iePlexus	Compete for iePlexus.com	Alexa for iePlexus.com

For more information on building exposure and credibility by utilizing techniques like external linking and Web 2.0 marketing, visit iePlexus.com.

Recommended: Google Advertising Services

Website owners have a variety of programs that they can take advantage of to increase their online revenue and drive additional traffic to their site. The most popular of these is through Google, utilizing their two basic advertising services Google AdSense and Google AdWords. Both of these provide excellent opportunities to take advantage of Google’s huge advertising network for positive online results.

Google AdSense: In terms of simplicity, integration and control, no online advertising program rivals Google’s AdSense program. Essentially, Google AdSense provides website owners with the ability to place relevant ads on their sites and earn revenue when the visitors to their site click on one of the ads. Google AdSense is free for website owners upon approval from Google and is easy to setup and customize.

Once a website owner becomes an AdSense publisher, implementing the ads is a simple procedure where a block of html is copied and pasted into the website. Once completed, relevant targeted ads start showing up on the website and are ready to start making the publisher money. The best thing about Google AdSense is the extent of the advertiser network that is available to publishers. There are ads available for every type of business imaginable, from major companies to small local businesses and everything in between. The publisher has a good deal of control over which ads are displayed on their site, including filters for competing and inappropriate ads. AdSense publishers also have the ability to customize the look of the ads to ensure they integrate well into the overall design and feel of their website. One of the best ways to utilize Google AdSense is on an information based website, like a business blog. Because the blog isn’t directly trying to sell products online, AdSense provides a method for converting visitors to revenue.

Google AdWords: All website owners know that driving relevant, targeted traffic to their site is at the core of any successful online business. This traffic has a better chance of converting and providing a higher return on investment (ROI). The Google AdWords program allows website owners to target their traffic through Google’s extensive advertising network, including ads on search engine result pages as well as relevant websites participating in the AdSense program. At the root of the AdWords program is an auction-based bidding system that allows advertisers to keep costs at a minimum and focus their campaign on specific keywords.

To start an Adwords campaign, the advertiser must first setup a Google AdWords account, write their brief advertisement, and decide on what kind of keyword phrases they’d like users to be researching when their ad is displayed. Once selected, the advertiser will decide how much they’d like to pay for every time their ad is clicked or their cost for a certain number of ad impressions. When the campaign is active, Google will display the ads on the right side of search engine result pages that appear after specific searches are performed or on relevant websites that have been pre-approved for the AdSense program. The more advertisers are willing to pay, the higher their ads are displayed in search results and the more traffic they subsequently receive. Advertisers will only pay when a user visits their website.

It’s important to remember that being specific with keyword choices will be much more beneficial in an AdWords campaign. For example, if a website sells electronics, it’s more beneficial to bring in a user who is searching for a specific brand or model than someone just searching for “electronics”. The former will be less frequent but more likely to be a potential buyer. Google AdWords can be an excellent way to supplement website traffic and see immediate results while waiting for other marketing campaigns to show results.

To learn more or sign up for either Google AdSense or Google AdWords, click the boxes on the top right side of the page.

Marketing Basics: The Online Press Release

Think a press release is an outdated, “old media” approach to marketing? Think again.

There’s countless studies and articles highlighting the benefits of a press release for online businesses. From generating traffic, inbound links and business or product buzz, to getting positive press and top billing on search results, the new online marketing standards certainly include press releases as a vital and important component for better exposure. But it isn’t as simple as writing a release and sending it off; there are many factors when it comes to effectively using a press release to market your business. Here’s some things to consider to ensure you’re getting the most out of a press release and why you should have done one yesterday:

1. Good writing - it’s in there.
Your press release is only as good as its content. Don’t be fooled into thinking you can take a look at some samples online and put together a blockbuster press release for your business. There are industry experts for a reason; a well-written press release will draw more attention, generate more traffic, and put a professional shine on your business that will scream “do business with me!” Press releases can get rejected or find the trash very easily, so make sure your release will catch the readers interest quickly and meet all the industry standards, or don’t expect much of a response.

2. Optimization is not an option.
Your press release must be optimized for search engines, news sites and online media. Not optimizing your release is like making a fantastic bottle of wine and super-gluing the cork in. Every online extension of your business should be optimized these days to get the best potential exposure, including your website, press release, business blog, articles, social media advertising and links. With optimization comes an easier road for your customers to find you, so swing that door wide open.

3. Distribute. Everywhere.
Distribution of your press release is just as important as content or optimization - once you’ve had the masterpiece created, it’s time to unveil. Distribution is a numbers game; the more avenues of publication available to your release, the better chance of discovery, syndication and popularity. Again, don’t fall victim to the “free press release” services - typically they’ll only submit your release to a limited number of sources, stiffeling its potential to both engines and readers. Professional services are the best bet, reaching all major publications and opt-in freelance journalists through RSS, email and the like.

Stats for Press Releases:
The potential benefit from a well-done press releases is pretty incredible. It can build your brand, generate link popularity, increase company credibility and be a great source of immediate traffic and business, among other things. Let’s look at some sample stats so we can get a snapshot of the potential effect this simple marketing practice can deliver (keep in mind that this is one experiment - results vary from market to market and depend on many variables).

Stats taken from marketingexperiments.com “Press Release Tested“

9 press releases issued over a period of time generated:

• 5442 direct visitors, an average of over 600 visitors per press release (distribution limited to a single state, and an average of 530 distribution editors per release).
• A five-fold increase in the number of direct incoming links to the website, 1250 links to 12,500 links (over a six-month period).
• 14 interviews with media reps, resulting in additional traffic and links.
• On average, traffic that was 38.9% less expensive than comparable traffic from a PPC campaign.
• A CPC (cost per click) much lower than the relevant targeted keywords in Google.

In summary, this example shows the vast reach and benefit of online press releases, even when they’re distributed on a small scale. Some of the professional press release services average 10,000-20,000 distribution points these days, so keep that in mind when viewing the numbers. The bottom line is that every piece of expert advice and research available online points to the fact that press releases are a valuable practice for an online business, and done correctly, can greatly increase multiple areas of exposure. The question is, have you done a press release for your business?

Here’s more information on press release services for online businesses.

Small Business: 6 Online Myths Revealed

The e-commerce industry is filled with different ideas on what’s the best approach for a small business owner. Having spoken with many small business owners, I know there’s some common myths that seem to resonate with website owners more than others. No matter who, where, or how far along in the process they are, an industry like this can spread some serious rumors and propagate some strange ideas. SmallBusinessNewz has been profiling some of these most common myths in two-part video series based on findings from Homestead.com’s CEO & Founder Justin Kitch. The second part in the series, featured below, covers common myths on marketing strategy that really speaks volumes. From my experience, these are definitely some popular misconceptions when it comes to running an online business.

In summary, the video lays out the work that must be done after establishing an internet presence.

• My website is only for new customers.
• My site is just for customers.
• My internet strategy is my website.
• Being small is a huge disadvantage.
• The internet will make me rich.
• OK, I’ll do whatever you say.

See the first part of the series here.

New Study: Social Media Important In Buying Decision

Most businesses are just starting to figure out how to get their feet wet with social media. From managing an attractive, trustworthy identity in social networking sites to getting their product and company information posted in social bookmarking sites, this part of a marketing campaign usually takes a back seat to what businesses consider the more immediate concerns, statistics like traffic, sales and conversions. But a new study shows that consumers are using social media more than ever to do research on a company and their reputation before buying, and businesses better start listening, responding and improving if they want to compete in a Web 2.0 marketplace.

The Society for New Communications Research (sncr.org) released the new study on April 22, 2008 entitled “Exploring the Link Between Customer Care and Brand Reputation in the Age of Social Media.” Among other things, the study indicates consumers use social media to share customer care experiences and research companies’ customer service reputations. More than 300 consumers who are active online were interviewed for the study, focusing on how customer care influences brand reputation with social media. Some of the most interesting findings of the study include:

• Over 59% of consumers use social media to “vent” about a customer care experience
• Over 72% of respondents research companies’ customer care online prior to purchasing products or services
• 74% choose companies/brands based on others’ customer care experiences shared online
• 81% believe that blogs, online rating systems and discussion forums can give consumers a greater voice regarding customer care

The complete study is available here.

“This study indicates that there is a growing group of highly desirable consumers using social media to research companies: 25- to 55-years old, college-educated, earning $100,000+ – a very powerful group in terms of buying behavior,” said Dr. Ganim Nora Barnes, senior fellow over at SNCR. “These most savvy and sought after consumers will not support companies with poor customer care reputations, and they will talk about all of this openly with others via multiple online vehicles. This research should serve as a wake-up call to companies…”

With studies like this showing the power that a credible online reputation holds, it’s obvious companies need to have effective tools to manage their online identity and company brand. More and more, with so many choices available online, company reputation and online credibility are becoming the most important factor when it comes to a buying decision for e-commerce consumers. With the growing transparency of company records and availability of reviews on everything from customer service to product quality, it’s unrealistic to think an e-commerce business can survive, much less thrive without having an effective, consistent presence in Web 2.0 and social media.

The question is, what is your business doing to satisfy these new, savvy web consumers?

What Your Customers Want

Getting inside the head of an e-commerce shopper can be a daunting task. There are many variables when it comes to the question of conversions; including product cost, professionalism of your website, shipping factors, payment options and much more. With the rise of e-commerce comes increased competition. Don’t think that your customers won’t search out your exact same product on your competitors site to find the lowest cost. With seemingly endless availability, how can you ensure your business gets the attention and the customers it needs to survive?

Today, online shoppers want to deal with a credible business and buy a product that will last. Assuming your website receives a healthy flow of traffic, you need to take those prospects and convert them into sales. Because shoppers can find what they’re looking for in a variety of places, you need to provide them with the additional information, the extra mile that makes them comfortable with an initial purchase, and keeps them coming back for more. With that being said, the most important factor in the purchase decision is by far one word; trust. And not only trust in the company they’re purchasing from, but trust in the product they’re purchasing. Without this, your competitor is more likely to garner your business. Here’s some tips on how to ensure your website isn’t losing business due to lack of trust:

1. Include your business and contact information on your website (including your phone number), and any organizations that you belong to that have to deal with credibility. Shoppers may research you before making a purchase and definitely want more than an email address in case something goes wrong.
2. Showcase positive customer testimonials. Nothing is more powerful than another consumer giving their recommendation on a business or product.
3. Highlight the fact that shopping on your site is secure. Whatever layer of encryption or method your merchant account uses, make sure your customers know it’s safe to give out their credit card information.
4. Give your business a voice and personality. Let people know who you are, why you’re in this business and how important customer service is to you. People want to know who they’re buying from.
5. Professionalism. Make sure your site is easy to navigate, designed well, and conveys the idea that it’s a real business so customers know how to find what they’re looking for. There’s a standard that people are used to, and you need to be at or above that line when it comes to your website.

The easiest way to meet all these requirements is to implement a business blog. This will provide a forum for you to give your shoppers what they need when it comes to trust, and it will also ensure they have the best opportunity to become your customer for a lifetime. A blog allows you to post testimonials, reviews, company information and also give your business that all-important voice. When it comes down to a decision on whether or not to purchase from your site or a competitors, a business blog that conveys professionalism and trust could be the deciding factor that allows those sales to start rolling in and your website to start becoming profitable.