Can someone please tell me the point of Alexa rankings? I am a little flabbergasted by the point of them to tell you the truth. Many people use Alexa Rankings to get free “Site Ranking Statistics” that they then use to sell their dubious SEO wares and it’s really beginning to upset me because they are really not an accurate representation of the popularity of your site.

These rankings are allocated depending on the amount of people who use the Alexa Toolbar that visit your site. Now I don’t know about you but until I started working in this On-Line Marketing space I had never heard of Alexa. The only people who I know who actually have the Alexa Toolbar installed are Search Market Professionals.

So yes this does provide accurate statistics regarding people using the Alexa toolbar who visit your site but in reality they have no real relevance to Page Ranking or volume statistics at all. Other sites like Compete have a go as well but their estimations are dubious to say the least. These tools can be used to give a general idea of how your site is performing but they are in no way shape or form an accurate representation.

To get a real understanding of how your site is performing requires actual code to be written into your sites HTML and the site to be monitored over at least a period of a year. Then you can see the ebb and flow of traffic over seasons, what changes and updates work and what really resonates with your audience. Anyone who tells you any different is selling you nothing more than snake oil repackaged in an exciting new electronic way (now with AdWords)!

Don’t be fooled by these people. They will take your money and you will see little in return. We don’t mind if you use another company for your SEO and Search Marketing we just ask that you make sure that you know that they really know what they are saying and they are not just pulling stats and figures out of thin air to get a sale.

Web 2.0 -What is it?

Why is it so amazing?

Why are people struggling to understand it?

Why can’t people figure out how to make money out of it?

Why are so many experts pontificating and ultimately failing in this new market space?

Why are the next generation doing so well at it?

Who is going to ultimately rise above all of this?

There are new streams of study being created to cope with understanding this new world.

There are whole groups of bloggers who think they have the answer.

I know the answer.

I have been thinking about this for a long time and if you think 2.0 is the be all and end all , you’ve missed the point. This blog will continue to answer these questions.

In the meantime, here’s a video that will give you the basics of it real quick:

One of the keys to a strong marketing campaign is generating enough real-world buzz to bring people to your on-line presence. This is difficult because people are so frequently flooded by advertising and URLs that you need to give them a real reason to visit the site.

Adding competitions or giveaways to your website encourages a higher level of traffic and should be incorporated into your offline marketing strategy to increase awareness. On-line Auctions generate interest as well as other forms of standard marketing tools transferred to an online format. The list of possibilities in this area is endless.

Once all aspects of your on-line marketing strategy are in place it is now time to consider giving it the extra kick-start it needs to really put your site on the map. The latest craze to hit the internet is Social Media. You’ve probably heard about Facebook and MySpace but further to these are news aggregation sites like Digg, Reddit and StumbleUpon. MySpace probably has little to no benefit for your business at this stage but we will look at the other options in some detail.

On the surface Facebook is a social site that people visit and catch up with old friends on. But if you look a little deeper Facebook can help your business in a multitude of ways. The most obvious way is by setting up a Group that invites lovers of your businesss around the globe to join and discuss their passion. There is always space for more Facebook groups and if marketed correctly this could give you a strong foundation of regular internet users.

The other aspect to Facebook that would benefit your business is the use of Applications. Facebook Applications are basically small programs that people add to their Facebook homepage and it is the predominant way that people interact in this space. Applications usually have a hook that allows users to interact with their friends. An example of one popular application is the ‘Vampire Application’ which allows you to ‘bite’ your friends. The more friends you ‘bite’ the stronger your Vampire becomes. These novelty applications provide advertising and links to you site and if designed with the right hook can increase your traffic exponentially.

An even newer development in Social Media is the News Aggregation and Social Bookmarking. These sites allow users to post articles of interest to them and the rest of the community votes on the quality of the content. High Quality articles are voted to the front page which results in a massive influx of people visiting your site. To get to this stage does take time and only with the help of the members of respective communities (Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon etc.) will you achieve this.

Social Media is a passive form of marketing and needs to look as far from Marketing as possible. This may sound strange in a marketing report but people who use these sites are more about choosing what is right for them, not being told. As a result this type of marketing can be a little touch and go, but with the right content your site has the potential to become a serious player in the on-line world.

Search Engines like Google and Yahoo now use complex mathematical algorithms that determine the order sites are displayed when a search is requested. The site will be Search Engine Optimized and use search engine friendly page titles, filenames and keywords. The better the site is designed, the more often it will be displayed in the top of the list of search results, making it easier for your page to be found and by a wider audience.

Once your site is designed with Search Engine Optimisation you can now generate web analytics. Web analytics track the flow of people who visit your site. You can see how many people have visited, what sites they have come from to get to your page and then how they navigated through your page while they visited it. A web analytics report should be donne once a month to ensure your site is still working effectively.

Once gathered, the analytical information can be used to adjust site content to encourage users to move through the site in the desired fashion.

One of the key things to think of when designing a new web site is the use of Information Design. This is a buzz term that is used to describe the use of design to direct visitors to the site to areas that you most want them to visit. For example, if you want them to go to your on-line shop we can design the page to draw the eye specifically to this section of the site. You should prioritise the sections you want to be seen and design the site accordingly.

A good Website should be vibrant and interactive to encourage visitors to interact with your brand. Sites need to have elements that encourage users to visit or stay on your page regardless of their intent to buy. Studies have shown that if visitors can’t find what they are looking for in ten seconds they will most likely leave the site. An interactive site generates a word of mouth buzz that is invaluable to the success of your site and business.