Lubbock Web Guy on Internet Marketing

In the past, websites were simply a convenient way for most companies to show brochures and portfolios to existing clients and potential consumers with whom they had already been in contact. While this is still the case for a very large percentage of websites (especially in Lubbock , Texas ), the advantages of having a website have drastically increased since the implemetation of the simple brochure-style website. I want to start with the single most important reason for having a website: marketing. The fact is that there are over 500,000 searches conducted every month (using search engines) containing the word "Lubbock." This means that more and more people are using the internet as their yellow pages. And why not? It's faster, easier, more specific, typically more frequently updated, and the search results contain maps, directions, and even photos and videos of products and services. It just makes sense.

Let's take a brief look, for a moment, at common forms of traditional marketing:

Television: Television advertising is continually being watered-down by digital recording devices, such as cable's DVR and satellite's TiVo (which contains national advertising). With these recording devices, consumers are able to simply skip all advertisements that occur during the program(s) they have recorded. Also, in February of 2009, the Untied States Government will require that every televised broadcast be digital. This basically means that everyone who wants to watch TV will have to have a digital television, thus naturally causing the number of DVR users to explode.

Newspaper: It is no secret that the number of newspaper readers is quickly dwindling in this digital age, simply because you can get local news faster and "free-er" over the internet. Even personal ads in local newspapers are becoming fewer and fewer because more and more people are searching for items such as used vehicles, equipment, appliances, pets, etc on-line, and are achieving faster, more specific results from the internet searches they conduct.

Radio: Radio and television have a lot in common when it comes to marketing. While many consumers still listen to primarily local radio stations, most of them also switch to other stations when there is a commercial break in the music or program they are listening to. In addition, satellite radio is quickly becoming local radio stations' biggest competitor because local advertising will not be heard by any satellite subscribers.

I could continue to talk about the changing industry of marketing but I think we can all agree just that: it is changing! While all the other forms of marketing seem to be on a downward slope the internet keeps getting stronger. As local Lubbock businesses, we need an internet presence that will be easy to find, no matter who is looking for our products and/or services. This is why I believe that getting high volumes of traffic to your website must to be the number one priority of any great website. The most obvious and cost effective way to achieve this is through natural search engine placement. This means that your goal is to be as high as possible in the search engine listings for as many terms as possible. Although there are a few other internet marketing options that I discuss with certain clients, this option is a priority and is one that is included in all my website packages.