Investing in online marketing is no different from investing your cash in an interest bearing account or share portfolio - when you invest in a scheme you expect a return, but when the investment is done right the returns can be dramatic.

Online marketing is something that people either put into the 'too-hard' basket or don't even consider as part of their sales strategy. Considering that millions of potential customers now shop for services online it can be a very under-represented sales channel. Think about it for a moment - have you ever decided that a presence online would be too expensive or too difficult to achieve? Well think again! MD can help you capitalise on this lucrative market segment by improving your image and exposure online.

Providing your customers with an easy to use professional online sales experience is a must when competing in today's marketplace and converting leads into sales. It is a proven fact that the look, feel and usability of your website all have a direct impact on how many visitors actually buy something from your store. While fitting out a physical store front can cost in the order of $100,000 or more, an online store-front is much more affordable and you can be up in a snap. MD provides online solutions starting from just $500.

Once you have your online storefront you will want to attract more customers. Optimising your website for major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing is a breeze for our experienced marketing team. Using the most current search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques they can potentially;

1) Ensure that your website ranks higher than your competitors for popular search terms; and
2) Expose your website to millions of leads; and
3) Increase your sales and revenue; and
4) Give you the opportunity to achieve financial security

SEO has become a delicate art form and is today an essential tool to the modern online business. To prove it to you - when you are searching for something how often do you actually browse the second or third page of results? By utilising our expert marketing team we can get your website to the first page of results for important keywords in as little as 6 months. For a more direct approach our Google Adwords specialists can get you direct exposure on the front page immediately with advertising rates starting from just 15 cents per click. Our experts know what strategies and angles work best with Google Adwords to ensure you get the best bang for your advertising buck.

We're confident that after 12 months your return on investment (in either Web Design, SEO, or PayPerClick Advertising) will be far better than if you had kept that cash in your interest bearing bank account.

To illustrate what clever marketing can achieve for your business we've included one of the many Adwords success stories below (Happyhound.com). 

“I’ve always been crazy about animals,” Suzanne Golter explains amid a chorus of enthusiastic barking – the soundtrack to a typical day at Happy Hound. “I grew up with two horses, a cow, a goat, five dogs, and a bunch of cats. And it was my job to take care of them.” After 20 years in sales and marketing, Suzanne finally got the chance to return to her roots. She points to the dozing Dalmatian curled up at her feet. “Rennie absolutely loved her drop-in doggy daycare back in Los Angeles,” Suzanne recalls, “but when we moved up to the Bay Area eight years ago, I couldn’t find that same type of positive environment. So I thought, ‘Hey, maybe there’s a business opportunity here.’"

In March 2004, Suzanne rented out a warehouse in Oakland and opened Happy Hound, a boutique-style daycare and boarding facility for canines of all shapes and sizes. “My mission is to ensure the happiness, comfort, and health of each and every client – both dogs and humans,” she says. “I decided to use a state-of-the-art ventilation system, environmentally-friendly cleaning products, and a webcam so people can keep tabs on their pals throughout the day.”

Fetching clients

“Those first few days, it was just me and my two dogs in a huge warehouse,” Suzanne remembers. “They needed new playmates and I needed some business.” So she turned to the Internet to reach her market: working professionals who want nothing but the best for their loyal companions. “I knew that my target clients don’t open the Yellow Pages – they go on the Web. Because that’s what I would do.”

Suzanne signed up with Google AdWords™ shortly after kickoff. “Right here at my desk, I set up my primary means of advertising in one sitting,” she says. “As the founder of a new local business, I had to wear a lot of hats. AdWords let me do my marketing all by myself.” Rennie the Dalmatian gives her a wounded look. “Of course, how could I forget – my dogs came up with most of the ads and keywords.”

“At first, I set my geographic targeting options so my ads showed as far as Sacramento,” Suzanne continues. “I got so many calls I didn’t know what to do! So I scaled back and focused my resources on the Oakland-San Jose area. I like that flexibility. When I expand, I’ll just broaden the region I target with AdWords.”
Best in show

Since launching Happy Hound, Suzanne has tried out other advertising methods, but Google AdWords has stood the test of time. “I’ve tried running print ads in dog-related magazines with national circulation,” she says. “They were expensive and inefficient, especially for a local business like Happy Hound. AdWords has been my most effective means of advertising since the beginning – which is why it gets 90 percent of my advertising budget. And it even works nicely with our other main source of business: word-of-mouth. People tell their friends about Happy Hound, they go and type it into Google, and our ad comes up.”

“Given the nature of my business, it’s very easy to track exactly where my leads are coming from,” Suzanne continues. “Prospective clients are required to fill out an application with a question about how they found us. On average, we get 40 new clients a month through AdWords, along with almost as many applicants we can’t accept right away. Overall, AdWords generates 90 percent of our business.”

Groomed for success

Today, Happy Hound rarely has vacancy. Its 33 employees provide care, supervision, exercise, and fun to roughly 120 dogs per day and 30 per night. Suzanne plans to open new locations based on the same conviction: dogs and people alike deserve convenient and customized services that accommodate their lifestyles. “That philosophy – along with Google AdWords – has put us ahead of the pack.”

If you would like to talk to an Online Marketing consultant about any of these solutions (web design, SEO or PayPerClick Advertising) then feel free to contact us on 1300 734 660 or by filling out the sales contact form at http://www.mdwebhosting.com.au/contact.html