Hello everybody, I dis post that questions a week before and got one answer (by the way, thank you to the answerer!)... So I'll just try again, hoping to get some more useful tips... The situation: My name is Dirk and I'm working for the suspension producer Wilbers Products GmbH in Germany. Our company is well known (in Germany) for its quality and the copatitive prices. We are in this branch since 1985 and are supporting all possible kinds of vehicles (motorcycles, cars, quads, atv's, scooters and so on...) We did launch our internet appearance for the american market (our online shop is still worked on yet) at the beginning of May. To support our business, we started some advertising in motorcycle magazines as well as by making press announcements. However the reactions are few to say the least... The advertising agencies say that it would take at least 3 issues (months) until recognizable reaction from our customers becomes visible. Needless to say that we do not want to wait that long... Can you help me with advice? What would be the best start for our webpage, should we work with google or yahoo PPC? As you have more background knowledge how successful advertising in the USA works, maybe some of you got useful tips for me? If you would like to take a look at our page: www.wilbers.de/usa Thank you in advance, any information will be much appreciated Greetings and enjoy your weekend! Dirk Wilbers Products GmbH
I think you would want to research what search phrases your potential customers are using when they are looking for the parts you supply when developing your PPC campaign. It has been my experience that specific phrases (BMW motorcycle suspension parts, or even 1995 K1100LT suspension parts) are usually cheaper to bid on than general phrases (motorcycle suspension parts), and yet they yield better click thru percentages and sales percentages. Now, depending on your budget you may want both specific and general phrases, but make sure you track your success rates for all phrases. I would also consider banner ads on sites like http://www.bmwmoa.org/ (if they run banners ads, looks like this particular site may not), with the intent of increasing brand recognition. And one other thing. I have not seen your site and I am not saying this to offend you or anyone else, but only to help. Make sure your site is written in perfect American English, preferably by a native speaker. I think Americans in particular are unaccepting of translated sites. There should be zero spelling errors. Good luck.
I think it is a good idea to find some business directories and to feature your website in the relevant categories! This way you'll boost your search engine rank and will attract more targeted visitors. I do not suggest you to use PPC advertising when yo uwant to enter the US market. You need low cost and targeted solution.
I suggest hooking the website up to all the directories you can find. There's a good list in the post by Discreet, I think it is called "Marketing resources." Before I can offer any advice: What kind of research have you done so far on the market niche in US and what marketing channels work with that niche?
it all depends on your budget and timeframe. if it is brand building then you should be investing 100% in long term SEO. if you are wanting short term sales and long term branding then i would suggest something like 60%-80% PPC and 20%-40% SEO