Along with the rise in the use of the net the world has seen an increase in the esteem of bedroom musicians. This increase in the use of the internet by the music loving public has been put down to the increased use of the home computer and can be said to have been sparked by the way in which technology has developed and changed. This has resulted in a new wave of players who have become prominent in a very short space of time due to the web (such as Bombay Bicycle Club). The internet has become the only marketing tool for a lot of bands and performers. The rise of the “internet band” has been caused by the new and innovative marketing processes now available to the general public. This is typically at little or no cost. These sorts of marketing processes take place in the form of Online Marketing which can be seen in sites like Myspace which allows users to upload their songs and music for free. This also can be seen on Youtube where users can upload their videos again at no cost or just a sign-up fee. This allows these artists and bands to obtain extensive popularity on the internet before they even have a record contract. Calvin Harris puts his popularit and success to the day he signed onto Myspace and therefore enabled the general public to experience his work. This shows the muscle of Online Marketing and also how the internet has transformed the music industry.

This rise in the internet performer, can, not only be attributed to the use of social networking websites but can also be attributed to the use of Search Engine Placement. Search engine placement is the use of search engines to market a product, company or business. This is done via the positioning of keywords on the home and sub pages of the company’s website and the subsequent registering of your website with the search engine. Without the use of search engines performers marketing just on the web would remain unheard of, and it is the effective use of Search Engine Placement that has permitted these performers to launch their careers; online marketing being their sole source of marketing and advertising usually down to a lack of money. If the site of a new musician is seen at the top of the list when searching online for artists in a specific genre of music, then it is more likely to be heard and to gain acknowledgement from the general public. It is recognised within the music industry that sometimes all it takes is decent marketing to give up and coming bands the credit required to get a record label interested or to help them sell records. Through the use of online marketing it is possible to produce a circumstance whereupon a website has thousands of hits and as a result of that the musician gets recognised by people high-up in the music industry, thus forcing a relative unknown to celebrity. This seems to have taken place for many of the new rising stars, especially those from poorer more impoverished backgrounds.

Search engine placement can be tricky to carry out if you do not have the relevant skills in the way in which search engines operate. It could therefore be wise to employ a Website Optimization Company which would without doubt be of benefit to the bedroom artist; the cost being considerably smaller than other traditional marketing costs; such as advertising. It is something that whilst seeming unnecessary is crucial because without the relevant knowledge concerning search engines and how they function, search engine placement can be pointless and a waste of time. On the other hand using a Website Optimization Company will probably do the trick, and quite quickly.

The media would have us believe that the web is the new marketplace, Online Marketing firms and sellers of Search Engine Placement services advertise on the basis that without a web presence that is optimised and situated on page one of all search engine front pages there is no point in being in business. There is of course an alternative opinion, and one that is based on putting website marketing into an overall approach and using a competent Website Optimization Company to add to traditional sales methods.

I can visualise at this point the Online Marketing fraternity would ask, what is the point in being on the web if no-one knows you’re there? Very true, but then my argument is that there are established sales techniques that will raise your company’s visibility on the Internet and feed Internet trade whilst making sure that the bill from your chosen Website Optimization Company is at the lowest.

Indicative trading data for the UK this Christmas period (2009) show that less than 10% of all retail sales were made via the internet. What makes this result even more unexpected is that there were a number of factors that should have made the Internet a much more attractive option. The UK was in the grip of the worst big freeze for 30 years and also still in the depths of a recession. Additionally, there has never been more quality internet businesses available and delivery problems caused by the postal strikes had been overcome by the majority of web based traders.

So why are the Internet trading statistics not a much more significant percentage of the retails sales figures just published?

There are a number of products that sell well on the Internet and there are those that do not. Electrical and digital products (DVD’s, music etc) plus hardware and gadgets sell without much effort. The vast majority of items do not – food, clothing etc. I would even go so far as to say that no matter what you lay out in Search Engine Placement the vast majority of services ( as opposed to products) do not sell well.

Why is it so? With website design processes which allow interactivity and visual experiences developing all the time one would expect any item to sell. Not the case. It comes down to habits and human nature. The practice of browsing in the real world and buying in the virtual is as common as ever ( although interestingly not as well publicised as it used to be), buyer habits haven’t changed for years and the vast majority of retail sales are made by women (genetically built to browse, touch and feel before making a purchase). The Internet shopping experience just isn’t satisfying enough for us.

Is the answer therefore, for those goods and services (which are in the majority), a high street marketplace presence? With traditional brand development through advertising and a website that supports the high street. As the brand develops then organic searching requirements will become minimal (I suspect very few people search for “trains to London on the West Coast” now that Virgin Rail is so well known).

Get a spot on the high street I say.

If your company has a website then it is at the moment one of over 2 billion on the Internet. Unless all your customers know the unique location of your site ( url ) the chances are that they have arrived at your site by searching on some word of interest to them. Do you understand why or how this process takes them to your site ?

Search engines first came into being at the beginning of the 1990s and the understanding that web sites could be optimised to make use of this indexation started to develop a few years later. The early versions of search engines such as Altavista simply took the supplied url of the web page and stored it on it’s own server. A separate indexer program would subsequently extract the relevant links and cross references for use by the searchers.

The number of companies owning web sites grew and marketers began to realise the benefits that a high ranking or Search Engine Placement gave. Online Marketing came of age and slowly online retailing increased in number of transactions and turnover. Some companies were more appropriate for on-line retailing than others, for example electronic goods. Others may never quite replace conventional retailing e.g. women’s clothing as the need to touch, feel and try on dictates purchasing habits.

The success stories have been in the service sectors where online references have thrived because of advertising revenue. to access crossword dictionaries, thesauri and a host of other facilities to help solve a variety of puzzles, quizzes and simply to answer general knowledge questions. Travel companies such as RyanAir now take most of their bookings and over the last year have tried to people to check in online to avoid extra luggage fees.

The US Census Bureau recorded in 2007 that some 3.2% of retail sales were done via e-commerce. Within this overall total the percentage of e-commerce transactions between different business trades varied widely with food and beverage stores less than 1% and mail order and electronic shopping at 44%.
In the UK Ocado has revealed this week that sales soared 49% in the week before Christmas, reaching £8.9 million, as the online grocer delivered 3.5 million items to 42,000 customers.
The IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index reveals that British shoppers spent £5.3 billion online in November 09.

The requirement for a high Search Engine Placement also gave rise to a sector of web business called search engine optimisation and with it came the Website Optimization Company. Today there are various companies who will offer a service designed to get your company web site a high Search Engine Placement. Not all of them will do it necessarily in an ethical manner. A Website Optimization Company has often been classified as white hat or black hat, this is because black hat refers to the use of aggressive techniques and strategies that focus only on the search engines and the short term rewards that come with visitor numbers. White hat companies focus on the customer or human audience with a view to build trust and empathy for a site.

There are many techniques to bear in mind when designing, developing and promoting a web site. If you do not have the people in your company to maximise the number of visitors to your site make sure that you get a trusted Website Optimization Company to work with you to accomplish this. The rewards will more than pay for the effort.

Firstly it is critical to understand that, despite what Online Marketing firms may say, not every company will benefit from having a decent Search Engine Placement listing. The most obvious reason for this is that not every kind of product, and in particular service, can be sold over the web. So if you are in an sector that does not lend itself to online purchases you could throw your money away.

A good illustration of this kind of company is a local convenience store. Of course it fills a gap, making sure that local residents are able to get hold of the standard items that can cause problems if you don’t have any in. However there is certainly no market for these stores on the web. Their customers are local by their very nature and because they do not normally buy in massive quantities their prices are high and therefore not suitable for online buyers. The only concrete benefit to a company such as this being on the web is if there was a listing of their opening times and possibly address and telephone number. Then those people who live locally and don’t know they are there can find them. Definately not enough benefit there to warrant the spending on Online Marketing.

So the businesses that will gain from the extra sales a high Search Engine Placement listing can bring are ones who have a product that is simple to buy online, electrical goods, CD’s, DVD’s Books, etc. If a company with this kind of an offering is to make the most of it’s outlay in getting that high search engine placement then it needs to be geared up. Prepared for a huge rise in demand. So sales staff, stock, storage and delivery all need to be taken into account, will every aspect of the process stand up to the increased demand or is there an section that will flounder? The Search Engine Optimization Company that put the business in the top few listings will still want their money whether the business has made the most of the chance or not.

Also a business must be prepared for the number of foreign enquiries. Can you ship overseas, what are the requirements and are there any special packaging repercussions? If the business sells a service, can it deliver that service abroad? If not you will need to find a way to cope with the many enquiries that you get from overseas and do so in a cost effective way, maybe by selling them on to a provider in their own country. Either way it is vital that there is a process in place.

Finally a business that will gain the most from online marketing, if it has dealt with the above two main criteria, is one which wants to expand. There is very little point in spending money on obtaining a decent Search Engine Placement if the business is content with current sales figures and does not particularly want to grow. It is almost certain that the online marketing will force this and of course will cause an issue for those at the helm.