Welcome back! We trust you are well rested and ready for all the challenges and opportunities that 2010 holds! The AlterSage team is back in full swing after a short break and what we are planning for 2010 includes more workshops, enhanced service offerings and more white papers and resources amongst other things. Client relationships and campaigns that show results remain at the core of all our planning and this year we intend to add even more value to our clients' campaigns by implementing a number of internal processes and tools.

The AlterSage team has been analysing and re-evaluating our marketing strategy and business direction and goals for the year to come. Since November last year we have been planning, strategising and documenting our new ideas and we can't wait to show you the results of our brainstorming during the course of 2010. If your brand's online strategy is "just another" aspect of the overall marketing plan we highly recommend giving online marketing more attention, we promise the effort will pay off! Not only is online marketing highly effective and completely measurable but it has also a proven higher return on investment than traditional methods . To kick-start your planning, consider the three online marketing elements discussed below which will help take your online strategy from tepid to smoking-hot.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

When working with a fresh online marketing strategy we recommend a bespoke SEO campaign for each client. SEO is one of the cornerstones of online marketing providing clients with a long-term marketing solution. As part of AlterSage's SEO packages, we tweak existing web pages as well as create new pages in order to optimise website content. During this process we ensure that the copy on each page is relevant to the keywords allocated to that page. This enables the site to rank for relevant queries in the search engines, as well as ensures that searchers entering the website through search engines land on pages with content relevant to their search query . As well as boosting the site's ranking for related searches, relevant content dramatically improves the chances of a visitor converting into a lead or client. If your website doesn't yet have SEO principles implemented, ask yourself:

• Is my website ranking for search queries related to my business activity?
• Does the content on my website provide visitors with high-quality information that will turn them into leads or clients?

If you answer no to either of these questions schedule a website audit to determine how your website's performance can be enhanced.

Pay per Click advertising (PPC)

Social or consumer-generated media

Social media is powered by people for people. Do you know if people are talking about your brand? And if they are, do you know what they are saying? Like they say, people can make or break your brand. This has never been more true than in social media. Social media marketing is so much more than just having a Facebook fan page or a Twitter account. It is a complete day-to-day consumer and brand strategy. When utilised correctly, social media is a great tool for stimulating brand awareness and turning customers into brand evangelists.

Measuring Success

It is of the utmost importance that you determine goals for your website and constantly measure, tweak and benchmark to determine what is working and which areas can be improved. This is why we spend many hours each month creating detailed reports for our clients.

If you would like to discuss any new marketing goals for 2010 or how we can enhance your current online strategy, let's meet for coffee and talk about the various options available.

See the possibilities,
Christine and The Sages