"5 Secrets to Internet Advertising Success"

Internet advertising success is comparable to the living intelligence contained in our mysterious oceans. They both hide secrets that only a select few know and they both contain treasure chests filled with wealth. Very few people hold keys that open these treasure chests and even fewer know where to look for their revealing, money-making, advertising information. I hold several of these salt-coated and wave-worn keys. I found them through 20+ years of research, experimentation and hard work and now I want to give you a few to put on your Internet advertising key ring.

Recently, I worked as "Corporate Media Director - Video Production" for an advertising agency that dabbled in website design. I felt sorry for our Internet advertising clients. These innocent believers were being charged $1,000s for mostly very well-designed and simple websites, but these loyal clients were being sold down the river because NONE of these new websites contained SEO copy, social networking graphics/links, no properly-conceived Home Page... the list is endless.

Simply designing a website that contains flash animation, a lot of multimedia, glitz and glamour will NEVER get a site ranked on page 1 in Google. In fact, without the required Internet advertising knowledge and applications that void-filled website will be lost on page 528 (if luck prevails)... in other words, that site will never be found.

I'm the worst car mechanic in the universe. If the truth were known, I would be in a bind if I were confronted with a flat tire on a lonely, long stretch of highway 73 at 3 AM. On the other hand:

• I compose SEO copy very skillfully.
• I build a great website.
• I fill the bill as an Internet advertising expert.

You are no different.

• If you write well, but don't or can't grasp the tenants of SEO copywriting, hire a professional.
• If your design skills are lacking, don't design your company's website... hire a professional.

Hiring experts to professionally handle jobs requiring skills you lack may be costly at first. In the long run, your ROI will triple.

You and I meet for the first time. I am going to check you from your hair (or lack thereof) to your shoes and everyplace in between. I'm going to judge your speech, I will mentally ask questions like: Accent? Intelligence? Sense of humor?. And in that split second while I execute the observation process, I am subconsciously forming perceptions concerning your abilities and overall knowledge.

This sort of interaction takes place all the time. Right or wrong, you are personally judged and instantly rated by people you interact with on a daily basis.

Your Internet advertising campaigns are similar, yet very dissimilar. The difference lies in the fact that your website is the first step in the ladder of Internet advertising AND IT'S THE FIRST ITEM THAT POTENTIAL CLIENTS WILL SEE! My description of meeting you for the first time is typically a non-threatening event; but the Internet is brutal with its power to say goodbye in 1 second with 1 mouse click. Your potential client will form his/her perception within 5 seconds, or less, so work with an agency that knows this often-overlooked detail.

Headlines are so crucial to SEO copy that many top-gun copywriters hire professional headline writers to compose every headline in the website they are penning.

Dull, boring headlines will immediately kill desire to read any further. These professional copywriters know that. Their minimal (a relative term) investment pays for itself 10 times over because the top copywriters can now concentrate on writing convincing copy that creates conversions.

A well-produced marketing or sales video is my primary weapon, and is being used much more frequently in 2010. Video is scattered all over the Internet. From news stories to actually watching your favorite show via streaming video is now common, and is a big factor in the Internet advertising formula.

Don't think for a moment you can't afford a video for your website.

$500-$900 buys a great-looking video and the perception factor favors the positive side exponentially. Think of producing a new video every 6 months and upload them to YouTube or Camtasia's video site... many others are available on the Internet.

Success in business is predicated on your ability to portray your company in a light that shows every positive role you play and every benefit offered... but that's not enough. You must make clients believe they are dealing with a winner, otherwise known as perception. Your job is to ensure that perception is positive. Do that, and the treasure chests of business are yours for the taking.