Web Definitions - August

Bandwidth
The range of frequencies a transmission line or channel can carry: the higher the frequency the higher the bandwidth and the greater the information carrying capacity of a channel. Bandwidth is most accurately expressed in cycles per second, or hertz (Hz), which measures the amount of information that can flow through a channel. But, it's also common to use bits or bytes per second instead.

IP Address
When you get on the Web, your computer is assigned an IP address. This is a number that looks like 192.168.123.100. These numbers belong to a host name, for example AOL or your local ISP or company where you work (if they have their own server). If you access the Internet via a dial-up service, your service provider assigns you a different temporary IP address every time you log on. If you access the Web via cable modem or DSL, your IP address remains static - it is always the same one.

Keyword Prominence
Denotes how close to the start of an area of a Web page that a keyword appears. In general, having the keyword closer to the start of an area will lead to an improvement in the search engine ranking of a page. However, in some cases, having the keyword in the middle or the end of an area may lead to an improvement in the search engine ranking of the page.

Mobile Marketing

How do you know if mobile marketing is for you? Are you confused by terms such as SMS and an App? What's the difference anyway? What will it cost me to get involved? These are all fantastic questions and the questions many small businesses are asking themselves when it comes to mobile marketing. Just like any marketing endeavor it's important to be educated, so that you can make the right decision for you and your business.

What is mobile marketing?
As it pertains to this article, mobile marketing is marketing on or with a mobile device.

We hear a lot about SMS and Apps. What do you suggest for the small to medium sized business?

It's important to keep your goal in mind which is to provide your consumers information that is easy to find. An application will require a Smartphone. Using SMS will connect directly to most mobile phones and can be used as a great connection tool. It boils down to selecting an application or optimizing for your consumers. Not all consumers have smart phones, but the majority can receive SMS. You want to select the option that is available, discoverable and presentable to your specific target market.

SMS doesn't limit the type of phone consumers have, this is important to remember.

Over the next few years you will see trend that mobile marketing effectiveness will have a lot to do with mobile browser capability and less about apps. Mobile web browser capability is important and it's where we will see the growth. Invest in something that is more open - don't limit who can see or receive your information.

When most business think about mobile marketing they think it's expensive. How much should a company expect to pay for mobile marketing?

There are mobile marketing tools that can fit every budget. You can do mobile marketing on a shoestring budget. Companies should look for off the shelf standard tools. They can be cost effective.

A client can expect to pay as little as $200 to several thousand for a consultant to show them how to get involved with using mobile marketing tools. Recurring costs vary. You can pay anywhere from .05 to .20 per SMS message sent. The amount you pay really depends on the volume of messages that you plan to send.

There are requirements that a company will need in order to participate in mobile marketing. They will need a shortcode and a keyword. Now, companies can buy their own shortcode, but that will cost them between $1000 to $1500 per month. Due to the cost I suggest that they look for a shared shortcode, small businesses will find this is the most cost effective and it won't diminish the results.

What some common mistakes you see when it comes to mobile marketing?

The biggest mistake that I see is when a company thinks that mobile marketing is going to be the one thing that will cure all of their problems. Mobile marketing has to be incorporate and integrated in your marketing mix in order for it to be successful.

It's about engagement and reach and without that integration you lose the power the mobile marketing holds.
Mobile marketing is the ultimate permission based form of marketing - so make sure that your offers are unique. Don't use mobile marketing to repeat offers that you are broadcasting elsewhere - make the offer unique and something that they won't find elsewhere. Offerings must be unique to be valuable.