About Us
Mission Web Marketing™ helps companies sell more and become more profitable online. We provide a full suite of web marketing and advertising services, including search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, WordPress website develoment, E-Mail marketing, analytics and more, all designed to help drive more traffic, generate sales and make your business more profitable.
The products and services we offer
Recommendations Received (23)
"Eric is very professional and knowledgeable in his field!"
"Eric has a great skill set for web design and dev. I enjoyed working with him."
Products & Services
Search engine marketing allows you to bid on certain phrases to "buy your way to the top" of Google. This is the fastest way we know of to start dr...
Our Santa Barbara web design team has been developing top-notch websites since the very first commercial web browser launched back in 1993. Since t...
Search engine optimization is the art and science of getting your website listed at the top of the search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing to...
Recommendations Given (21)
"We ordered some custom embroidered hats from Arosha a couple of years ago and they did a great..."
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"We ordered some custom embroidered hats from Arosha a couple of years ago and they did a great job. Highly recommended."
"This is one of my favorite places for breakfast or lunch at the harbor. It's a good, casual..."
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"This is one of my favorite places for breakfast or lunch at the harbor. It's a good, casual restaurant with an outdoor patio offering great views of the harbor and mountains beyond. The prices are reasonable and the staff is always super friendly. "
Recent Activity
Hire a bookkeeper as soon as possible...Unless you're an accountant :-) Early on I was doing everything myself. At the end of the month, I would get overwhelmed and stressed out about invoices, entering hours, collections, sending out statements, etc. For a few hundred dollars per month, this...
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Hire a bookkeeper as soon as possible...Unless you're an accountant :-) Early on I was doing everything myself. At the end of the month, I would get overwhelmed and stressed out about invoices, entering hours, collections, sending out statements, etc. For a few hundred dollars per month, this was perhaps the best, most liberating decision I ever made. It freed me up to focus more on my business and the things that matter most.
I think most businesses are obligated to have a Facebook account, however, in 10+ years I've never seen social media convert into actual customers, at least not for our marketing business. We see at least 10x as many conversions and revenue coming from either Google organic or paid search. Apply...
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I think most businesses are obligated to have a Facebook account, however, in 10+ years I've never seen social media convert into actual customers, at least not for our marketing business. We see at least 10x as many conversions and revenue coming from either Google organic or paid search. Apply your time and money accordingly.
With the above said, I highly recommend networking. Reach out to people and offer to take them out for coffee or lunch, just to learn about them and their business. Don't try to sell them on anything, just listen and learn. You'll be surprised at how many of these people become friends over time and will start sending business your way.
1 Reply
First, referrals are our largest source of business. It didn't happen overnight. Establishing a proven track record is key and it can take many years to develop a solid referral network based on trust and the belief that you are the best person/team for the job.
You should also make the time to...
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First, referrals are our largest source of business. It didn't happen overnight. Establishing a proven track record is key and it can take many years to develop a solid referral network based on trust and the belief that you are the best person/team for the job.
You should also make the time to stay in touch with people, otherwise, they may forget about you and refer business to someone else. Take people out for coffee or lunch every quarter or so just to catch up and see how they're doing(Networking). This goes a long way toward developing friendships and establishing trust. This also allows you to remain front of mind, so when opportunities do come up, people in your network might think of you.
Although we do both high-end web development and online marketing, we refer complimentary companies to our friends and clients all the time. For example, if a real estate professional needs a top-notch photographer, there are several local pros whom I would recommend.
On a related note, if we don't have people on staff to perform a certain function, such as app development or high-end print design, we would hire that person as a contractor to be part of our team for the duration of the project.
It's also worth mentioning that we don't pay commissions for referrals. In other words, if somebody recommends us in exchange for a 10% referral fee, we feel like this muddies the waters and the referrals may not be for the right reasons. Companies should refer each other for free, because they truly feel that those companies will do the best job.
I hope that helps.
Eric
There sure is...to THEM. They get $400+ of your hard-earned cash ;-)
I think good client or customer testimonials and a solid website would accomplish the same thing, or better. That said, I have been a BBB member in good standing for the past several years, although I don't think it's really...
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There sure is...to THEM. They get $400+ of your hard-earned cash ;-)
I think good client or customer testimonials and a solid website would accomplish the same thing, or better. That said, I have been a BBB member in good standing for the past several years, although I don't think it's really needed.
1 Reply
Hi Bobbie,
If you're talking about 1-star vs. 5-star reviews, if there are only three reviews and one of them is bad, this will drastically skew the average and this is not a good indicator of the quality of the product or service. If you have 5000 reviews, however, and they average 4.5 out of 5...
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Hi Bobbie,
If you're talking about 1-star vs. 5-star reviews, if there are only three reviews and one of them is bad, this will drastically skew the average and this is not a good indicator of the quality of the product or service. If you have 5000 reviews, however, and they average 4.5 out of 5 stars, the odds are good that this is a decent business(statistical viability). If I'm shopping on Amazon, for example, and I see that 7500 people have rated a product 5 stars and only five people have given it 3 starts, it's probably a pretty solid product.
On the other hand, if you're reading dozens of written reviews about a home service company that describe a terrible service or experience, I would run the other way. Why would you even pursue a company like this in the first place?
It's also worth mentioning that no company gets 5 stars all the time. If you come across a company and all you see is 5-star, glowing reviews, I would seriously question the validity of these. If this is the case, chances are that the business owner hired a company to post only positive reviews for them. Be skeptical.
Also, to Gary's earlier point, if the business owner has the opportunity to respond, address the issue and try to make things right, that lets you know that the service provider cares and is trying to make things right.
Some online directories such as the Open Directory are important for search engine ranking, however, some "directories" are nothing more than link farms, run by shady operators, which can get you into trouble with Google. When working with directories or local listings be sure you're working with...
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Some online directories such as the Open Directory are important for search engine ranking, however, some "directories" are nothing more than link farms, run by shady operators, which can get you into trouble with Google. When working with directories or local listings be sure you're working with reputable companies to avoid ending up in a "bad neighborhood" and being penalized.It's also worth mentioning that several directories, especially those that are paid directories, have a no-follow rule, which is basically telling Google not to give you any credit or "link juice" for the link. When this happens, you may still end up with a little bit of traffic from the links, however, they will do very little, if anything, for your SEO. Here's an interesting article that elaborates on this: https://www.brightlocal.com/20... It's also worth mentioning that Google is looking for a natural link building pattern, so they expect to see a mix of follow and no-follow links being built up gradually, over time. In other words, if you suddenly acquire 500 follow links within a month, this would likely appear unnatural to Google and could end up causing you more harm than good. Finally, it's better to get links from a dozen popular, relevant and reputable sites or directories than it is to get 100+ links from irrelevant sites that have very little traffic and nothing to do with your business.I hope that helps. Good luck.Eric
Hi Sharhonda,
First, you need to make sure your site looks professional and works well to inspire confidence in your visitors. If not, people will leave and never come back. This should be your first order of business.
Next, learn a bit about Google Analytics and make sure that it is installed...
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Hi Sharhonda,
First, you need to make sure your site looks professional and works well to inspire confidence in your visitors. If not, people will leave and never come back. This should be your first order of business.
Next, learn a bit about Google Analytics and make sure that it is installed on your website so you can see how much traffic you're getting, where people are coming from and whether or not these people are buying anything. You should do this before spending any money on advertising or you'll end up wasting money. Google Analytics helps you see what's working and what's not. If you're using an e-commerce platform such as Shopify, they have some pretty good analytics built in too.
After the above is handled, you should learn a bit about search engine optimization or SEO in order to rank better on Google. Moz, one of the authorities on SEO, has lot of great information on the topic. Start here: https://moz.com/learn/seo. This can be a great way to drive lots of qualified traffic to your website. At the risk of sounding shameless, here's an article I wrote awhile ago, which should help too. https://www.missionwebmarketing.com/marketing-serv....
Next, consider signing up for a FREE MailChimp account and start sending Emails out to customers, potential customers, friends and family. Be sure you're sending to people who know you who are opted in to your Email list so you don't get into trouble. See https://www.mailchimp.com.
You might also take some online courses to learn a bit more about online marketing in general. Take a peek at https://www.lynda.com.
If you're a bit extroverted, you might dig in to social media, starting with Facebook and maybe Instagram if you're into photos. You can get some good visibility on Facebook, however, we typically see Google generate far more business for our clients, so if it were me, I'd focus on Google and SEO first.
I'm sure that's WAAAAY more than enough to get started.
Feel free to reach out anytime if you have any questions.
Good luck!
Eric
In addition to referrals and repeat business, which implies that you're actually doing a good job, you should reach out to local folks via Alignable or LinkedIn and offer to take them out for coffee or lunch(Offering to split the bill is a major turn-off!). When you meet, it should not be a sales...
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In addition to referrals and repeat business, which implies that you're actually doing a good job, you should reach out to local folks via Alignable or LinkedIn and offer to take them out for coffee or lunch(Offering to split the bill is a major turn-off!). When you meet, it should not be a sales meeting but just an exploratory meeting to learn more about each other and see if you have anything in common. The goal here is not to sell but to expand your social network, plant a seed and be front of mind in the event that this person or their connections might have a need for your services at some point down the road.
I have done this successfully for many years and I've generated a lot of business and friendships along the way. Often times I'll meet with somebody months or even years before that introductory meeting actually turns into business or a referral. Sometimes nothing comes of the meeting but more often than not, it eventually works.
An added benefit is that you get away from the computer to socialize face-to-face and meet new and interesting people :-)
Hi Melody,
My sense is that you have a TON of competition. Competing for eyeballs and traffic will not be easy for you.
The first thing that comes to mind is SEO and focusing on just a handful of very qualified phrases. "Women's fashion" for example, is an incredibly broad, unqualified phrase,...
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Hi Melody,
My sense is that you have a TON of competition. Competing for eyeballs and traffic will not be easy for you.
The first thing that comes to mind is SEO and focusing on just a handful of very qualified phrases. "Women's fashion" for example, is an incredibly broad, unqualified phrase, which would likely be a poor choice for keyword emphasis. You should perform some keyword analysis using a tool such as Moz, Google Adwords or WebCEO to find out which phrases are generating actual traffic/demand, then focus on those phrases to drive the highest volume of qualified traffic as possible. Consider focusing on lower volume but more qualified three and four word phrases such as "Beauty and Fashion for Older Women." Sorry if that offends you.
Once you have decided upon a half dozen or so "golden phrases", you then want to pepper these phrases throughout your website in the form of page titles, meta descriptions, body copy, image names and more. This will help provide a consistent theme and present a strong signal to Google, telling them that you are an authority on a particular topic. This will help you rank better and you will receive more traffic from Google.
Since you are a writer, it seems only natural that you are a blogger. I think you're on the right track here and participating in affiliate programs could become very lucrative for you as you develop a loyal following. Also, when blogging, don't forget about SEO. Keeping your handful of focus keywords/phrases in mind, blog about those particular topics over and over in various ways to establish your site as a keyword-rich authority on those specific topics. Avoid going too broad with your topics and stick to a dozen or so blog categories to avoid keyword dilution. This will help establish you as an authority and contribute to better Google rankings.
With your writing talents, you should also be reaching out to other, related websites, blogs, magazines and publications to see if they're interested in using your syndicated content, with credit and a link back to your site. Going this route will help build your brand and will get more links back to your site, which will help with SEO and affiliate revenue.
Advertising is another option but could be extremely expensive. Using Google Adwords, you can buy your way to the top of the search results but this can cost you many thousands of dollars per month. Likewise, print ads with major publications could cost you tens of thousands of dollars or more.
Finally, don't forget about Google Analytics so you can see where your traffic is coming from, which sources stick around the longest and various other metrics.
I hope that helps. Good luck.
Eric
1 Reply
Traffic exchanges can bring in a little traffic but the biggest issue is related to SEO or search engine optimization. The more links you have from relevant and reputable websites, the more likely you are to rank well on Google. Google views links as votes, so the more "votes" you get from...
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Traffic exchanges can bring in a little traffic but the biggest issue is related to SEO or search engine optimization. The more links you have from relevant and reputable websites, the more likely you are to rank well on Google. Google views links as votes, so the more "votes" you get from quality websites, the more likely you are to rank well on Google. This has the potential to send you WAY more traffic than traffic from other sites.
Now if you have a bunch of links from irrelevant sites or sites that are on Google's bad list, this could cause you a lot more harm than good.
Link building is a HUGE part of search engine optimization, but to do it right takes a lot of time and effort. Do not be tempted by link farms that claim to get you 100 links per month or something. These can only get you into trouble.
I hope that helps.
Eric
