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Newsletter
Editor's Note - 2/20/2002
Hello Friends,
Two issues ago I asked for your ideas on Internet Marketing Myths. We received many thoughtful responses, and today we present the results.
These Myths are concepts, ideas, and commonly accepted wisdom that just aren’t so. Take these into consideration as you build and promote websites and online businesses.
Thank you everyone who responded. It was great to read the emails and realize how many of the commonly accepted “fact” are pure bunkum. Space limits how many can include, but thanks to all who offered your thoughts.
Enjoy.
Dr. Jerry R. Perrich
Editor
editor@websitemanagementtools.com
Internet Marketing Myths
Myth # 1
Build A Website, Get Rich, Retire Tomorrow
Sure sure. As if a website were some magic road to riches.
Reality – a website is a tool. As with any other tool it can be used well or not. Tim Miller had another take on this with respect to being an affiliate/reseller - “A website alone won’t make you a nickel” He has been burned by many affiliate/reseller programs who make extraordinary claims just to sign you up. They might make money, but you may not.
Myth # 2
Building A Website Is Easy, Hard, Expensive, Cheap, Work, Fun, etc.
You have probably heard some variations of this – but who really knows?
Reality – as with any other product there are lots of variations. The key is – what is the purpose of the website and what does it take for the website to accomplish that purpose. Depending on the purpose, the development could easily be easy, hard, expensive, cheap, work, fun etc.
Here are some other comments about website development:
Sumanda van der Walt shared his experience of a University lecturer who recommended using PowerPoint to create websites – the program is cheap, easily mastered, and you can create great looking sites with it. The lecturer’s belief was that “anyone can build a top quality website and you don’t need specialized programs.”
Donna Elser commented “I’m surprised at how quickly my website get’s outdated, and how much work it is to keep it going. I could never do this myself. I had enough trouble just finding a host, getting the site built, I have no idea who to trust or how to find the right way to “market” my website!”
Leander Vandamme pointed out that “many companies have a website just to ‘have a website’, only to be on the web, because everybody does so… Many people think that a good website is an expensive one.”
Ron Partridge thought that websites are not too expensive for small businesses. “A fully functional site can be created for the small business using FrontPage or another WYSIWYG editor for a very reasonable cost as it takes less man-hours than coding ‘by hand’”.
Myth # 3
Spinning Gizmos, Cool Graphics, And Bleeding Edge Technologies Equals A Successful E-Commerce Website.
Reality – as Steve Harrison points out, the technical aspect of building a website can sometimes overshadow the marketing aspects - “sites built by graphic artists and whiz-bang programmers are often pretty, but far too inefficient at accomplishing the objective if serious marketing savvy isn’t incorporated into them.”
Myth # 4
Build It And They Will Come.
People who believe this don’t need to check their traffic statistics – they have none.
Reality – when you promote wisely, you will maximize your traffic. Ray Dom said that if you don’t have a product that is marketable, and promote your website, you are doomed to become one of the failed dotcoms. Just because a product has a website, does not mean the product fits a market niche and can become successful.
Myth # 5
Simply Convert Your Traffic Into Hard Bucks.
According to this myth, the mere fact that you have traffic to your website means it will be successful.
Reality – getting the traffic to your website is half the battle. The other half is converting that traffic to leads and customers. The design of the website is crucial to making that conversion happen.
Michael Eckardt noted that there are plenty of promoters who promise that if you try some email spam or banner ads then you can earn thousands of dollars a day. And if you put 40 banner ads on your site, really fill it up with ugly ads that you have no control over; you can be the next Internet millionaire next week.
Myth # 6
It’s Easy And Quick To Get Top Ten Placements in Search Engine.
This myth is based on a past semi-truth. It used to be much easier to get top placements in search engines.
Reality – Jeff Howey said it very well – “Without optimizing your site for search engines by 1) using proper keywords and meta tags, 2) creating context sensitive pages, 3) making pages ADA compliant, 4) studying the principles of search engine optimization, and 5) keeping up-to-date with search engines changes, you have almost no chance of getting in the top 50 or even 100 listings on any of the top 20-30 search engines”.
James Rossdale also observed the most of the advertising for search engine placements are come-ons and the vendor can’t fulfill their promises.
Myth # 7
Search Engines Level The Playing Field.
This common myth is often promulgated by promoters of search engine optimization services.
Reality – as Dan Ondra pointed out, the pay per click, pay per view, pay for inclusion schemes all show how incorrect this myth is. In their search for revenues, search engines abandon their focus on providing relevant results and instead figure out ways to charge fees.
Myth # 8
Internet Marketing Is Quick And Easy Compared To Offline Marketing.
Another myth that somehow the Internet has totally changed human nature.
Reality – effective marketing is totally in accord with human psychology. The tried and true principles of marketing apply to the Internet. It is a new technology to which the principles of marketing are applied.
Myth # 9
The Internet Makes Everything Cheap - Low Cost Rules.
Somehow there is the idea that if something is Internet related – then it is cheap.
Reality – the Internet allows for different pricing and business models, but this does not mean that all prices are automatically lower online. As with any market there are companies who compete on price.
Charles Morrison pointed out that the old adage “you get what you pay for” is always true. “The stable companies making money, by charging a little more for a quality reliable service, with excellent customer support, are there left to pick up the pieces after an amateur has gone through their 2nd or 3rd hosting company or domain registrar.”
Paula Saunders added that products in all price ranges can be promoted online. The consumer is not always looking for the cheapest price.
Thanks again to those who contributed their ideas.
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