Don’t expect this to be a well formed and written post. This is going to be more of a log for an experiment I am running.

I have been doing some experimenting with a couple of niche sites and testing traffic and revenue obtained from Google vs Facebook. Keep in mind these were brand new niche sites and brand new domains. I want to see:

1.) How long it takes me to get these ranked in Google and the cost and time for that.

2.) How long it takes me to build up a decent fan base on a Facebook fan page and the cost and time for that.

3.) Which bring in more clicks and revenue.

I will post monthly status updates for at least the next 3 months and after that I will post the full results from this experiment including all costs and time spent. I will not share what the domains are until the very end of my experiment because I don’t want  external sources messing with things.

Update as of Feb 25th 2012

So far Facebook wins. One of the sites (very niche) which is now 3 months old is making on average $700 per month from Facebook, has a fan base of almost 24,000 and receives over 20,000 visits per month from Facebook. All from spending about 5 minutes per day posting status updates on the Facebook page. I am spending about $175 per month to obtain new targeted fans to the Facebook page. If you are a numbers geek running numbers through your head right now, you will know that so far Facebook is earning me about $210 per hour on time I am spending.

5 mins per day * 30 days = 150 mins per month/60 = 2.5 hours per month spent updating the Facebook page. $700 revenue per month – $175 ad costs = $525 net /2.5 hours = $210 per hour.

From Google organic traffic, it makes about $100 per month and gets about 7000 visits. Backlink building time and costs so far have been more than cost and time in building up Facebook page fans. So far I am spending  about 5 hours of my time per month building external content and backlinks and am spending about $150 per month outsourcing a very small chunk of backlink building. Going off the same logic as above, so far I am losing money from time spent obtaining Google organic traffic.

I do know however that if I can get the site to rank better organically in Google that the traffic will bypass what is being received from Facebook. It sure is harder now days though to get and keep organic rankings in Google.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next couple of months. If I can obtain better organic rankings, Google will by far bypass Facebook. But at what cost and time involved?

So far from these tests it is making me re-think some of our marketing strategies and where to put our time and dollars especially when launching a new site or product.

I choose not to fail…

• … in my business, because I know I have employees that count on me and because my family’s livelihood depends on it.
• … when life throws me challenges, because I know what it feels like to conquer those challenges.
• … in being happy, because the alternative is not acceptable.
• … as a parent, because I want my son to know he should choose “not to fail”.
• … as a daughter, because my father deserves to see the rewards from the values he taught me as a child.
• … as a wife, because the man I chose as my husband chooses not to fail as a husband.
• … as a sister, because I know the unconditional bond that comes from it.
• … as a best friend, because I believe my best friend is a sister that God forgot to give me.

But…

When I do fail (because, at some point, everybody does), I choose to learn from that failure and apply that lesson towards succeeding the next time around.

Times are challenging right now.  They are challenging for businesses, they are challenging for Real Estate, and they are challenging for our economy.  Will you choose “not to fail” during these challenging times?

Saving Business Cents Makes Sense

In a sea of competing businesses online marketing gives small businesses branding
opportunities. Solopreuners, small to mid-size business owners and even large
corporations are replacing traditional marketing venues like direct marketing
by use of newspaper advertising, bulletin boards, magazine ads, postcards, and
cold calling, for the newly improved internet methods found in web 2.0 offerings.
It’s no wonder with the number of warm handshakes these businesses receive from
their consumers online that small business owners wouldn’t migrate to online offerings.

Now with all generations active online it makes good use of business cents and
is business common sense to create online marketing strategies. The recent statistics
provided by The Pew Internet and American Life Project Study Survey- December
2008 prove that online advertising is integral to a business’s marketing plan
regardless of the age of your target market.

Here is the breakdown of the generations online noted in the study,

• 93%- 12-17 Year Olds
• 89%- 18-24 Year Olds
• 85%- 25-29 Year Olds
• 87%- 30-34 Year Olds
• 85%- 35-39 Year Olds
• 83%- 40-44 Year Olds
• 80% 45-49 Year Olds
• 78% 50-54 Year Olds
• 71%-55-59 Year Olds
• 62%-60-64 Year Olds

Clearly when it comes to online usage age IS nothing but a number.

Three Effective Methods of Social Media Marketing

Each business should develop an online marketing mix that suits its current goals
and objectives. Small businesses who take internet marketing seriously develop
strategic media marketing strategies that incorporate several facets of interactive
(web 2.0) online marketing or sometimes only a few based on the individual business’s
needs.

Here are three examples of effective Social Media Marketing mediums.

Blogging

You don’t have to be a penned wordsmith to be a good blogger . Blogging comes
in many formats and the key is that blogging is conversational. You can try traditionally
penned blogs. You can record audio tracks which is known as podcasting. A third
method is microblogging and a popular platform for this is twitter. In 140 characters
or less microblogging allows you to engage prospects and carry out easy conversations.

Blogging is a critical component of social media marketing because it allows businesses
to provide information through the use of fresh, relevant content. Incorporating
blogging as par of a company’s internet marketing strategy provides the company
with a good opportunity to be found in the search engines for the company’s desired
markets.

Social Networking

One of the most popular and highly addictive web 2.0 mediums for online consumers
are the social networks. Social networks allow consumers and business professionals
to network among friends, strangers, acquaintances, and professionals all in
one place. If small businesses keep an open mind and keep their networks open
they have the potential to grow their networks exponentially by allowing other
consumers into their fold.

Social networks also allow businesses to update the public on new improvement
in product lines, what an average day is like at xyz company. Social networks
are varied in purpose and the amount of social networks can be mind numbing,
but the most popular platforms determined by marketing research about consumer
online behavior are currently Linked In, Twitter, and Facebook.

Syndication

Social networks and blog platforms are relatively low on cost investment, but
they are far from maintenance free marketing endeavors. To blog and create viable
weekly online content the time commitment involved is a minimum of 5-10 hours
a week. How can you effectively communicate online through providing fresh and
relevant information AND then market that information to all of your contacts
across all of the social networks? The answer is syndication.

Syndicating content allows your message and your information to be reached across
the worldwide web. You can syndicate your content by using an online social service
that will broadcast your updates across the social networks. You can also use
listing syndication for your marketing collateral by using a service that will syndicate
your ads across social networks.

There’s No Time Like the Present Online

The thing most online traveler’s love about the internet is the ability
to peruse stores and services as well as to interact with people online anytime.
More importantly, anytime means on their time in online marketing. If your business
has not yet engaged heavily in online marketing there is no time like the present
to get started. The reach small businesses have online is global and timeless.

If you run a business, own a brand, write a blog, provide a service, or sell a product, then you should have some kind of marketing strategy. With web development and technology making huge strides every day, there is no shortage of tools available for developing an effective plan for promoting your business. Among the commonly mentioned “Web 2.0″ marketing methods are blogs, social networks, Twitter, podcasts, and video, which all allow you to engage your audience, develop meaningful connections with clients and other like-minded people, and promote your business to people who actually want to learn about it. SlideShare is another (free) tool to slip into that marketing belt.

If you know how to use Powerpoint, then you already have what it takes to market on SlideShare. The site allows you to upload presentations from Powerpoint, OpenOffice, or a PDF file, and share it publicly on the web. As is typical with most social sites, you can connect with other people, comment on their presentations, and develop conversations and relationships with people who are interested in what you have to say. Easily share a tutorial, embed the slideshow into a blog post (like on the Influential Marketing Blog), show off your accomplishments (like Guy Kawasaki), share about your business (like Zappos), promote a property listing (like Realtor Teri Michon), or include links to it from your blog and online marketing material. There are a hundred other ways to use the service… what ideas do you have?

SlideShare presentations are placed into categories for easy visitor searching and can include hyperlinks back to your site, YouTube videos, and voice narration. This can be a very powerful companion for your existing marketing strategy; it’s easy, effective, and free.