YouTube can easily be considered King of the online-video scene. No force has dethroned YouTube from its number one online-video platform—but it looks as though there may be a challenger. Hulu.

According to comScore, in March 2009, Google sites ranked as the top U.S.-video platform with 5.9 billion videos viewed. YouTube accounted for 99% of views on this video platform.

Rising quickly and steadily, Hulu has reached the number three spot on top online-video properties among U.S. internet users and is beginning to take a step into the international realm of online-video.

According to WebProNews, the UK is already beginning to provide full television episodes to viewers, and Bollywood is in negotiations with Hulu, as well.

According to eMarketer.com, comScore reported that Hulu’s total video streams grew 14.3% in March, and the number of unique viewers was up 19.7% in the same period. Although Hulu hasn’t yet reached YouTube’s video-guru status, it’s definitely on the rise and is something YouTube needs to consider as a major competitor. With video spending expected to rise past the $1 billion line by 2011, according to eMarketer.com, competition between the two video platforms could get fierce.

According to eMarketer.com, MAGNA Global stated that approximately $530 million was spent on online videos last year and this number is expected to rise 32%.  

Since there is a significant growth in professional video production, many advertisers are taking the online-video route for their marketing campaigns’, and it’s only a matter of time before online-video properties are advertisers’ main vehicle for advertising.

Are you ready to nurture your company into a successful online business? If so, check out our Facebook group,

The Path to Online Business Success.

This group is for businesses eager to grow their company online. If you are struggling with growing your online presence, getting traffic to your website, and converting site visitors into paying customers, then this group is perfect for you. Here’s what you get when you join The Path to Online Business Success:

• Invitations to free teleseminars where you can hear expert advice—from SEO to website design.

• Industry news, case studies, and updates.

• The Weekly Seed – a tip or stat once a week to help you grow your business online.

• Instant access to a network of companies and the opportunity for discussion.

**If you have an event or a teleseminar you would like to promote on The Path to Online Business Success, feel free to contact the administrator. So what are you waiting for? Isn’t it time you grew your company online?

Design a website that is clear and easy to use, and decrease your chances of customers leaving based on difficult navigation. You’re less likely to have customers leave your site when it provides clear navigation and a result-driven layout. Don’t leave website traffic to chance; do your research on effective website design and layout.

The main goal of your company’s website is to get your target client to take action. Before designing the website layout, decide what action you want your client to take. This action could be to call you for a consultation, apply for your services, purchase your product, make a donation, or join your cause. Make the action obvious on your website. This is where result-driven copy comes into play.

Copy works with design to help facilitate easy navigation through the site. You want visitors to be able to investigate your services / products easily on your website, which means links, contact information, the newsletter subscription box, and the company’s blog should be easy to find. It’s important to have well-written web copy to motivate viewers to move about the site.

For example, a travel agency wants clients to call for more information on booking a trip to Italy. This means, there should be a Contact Us tab on your tool bar, your phone number should be in plain sight, and your call to action on your homepage should motivate visitors to call your agency today. Placing your contact information in several spots decreases the chances of a client moving on to your competitor’s website. If your website navigation is confusing, visitors won’t take action because they won’t know how to find the button to contact you.

Many businesses lose their customers due to poorly designed navigation. Easy navigation is crucial. Eliminating any ambiguity about where to look for information within a site is important.

The four main things to remember about navigation: Make it simple. Make it fast. Make it clear. Make it work.

Are you concerned about how customers perceive your brand image online? Perhaps your website currently isn’t a strong branding tool for you. If not, it should be.

Many businesses find that their message isn’t clear, effective, and targeted to their correct market. It can be extremely difficult for businesses to project an accurate message, encompassing a combination of their company’s products, beliefs, mission, and goals. The message is a mixture of several key elements, including effectively placing keywords to increase SEO, which makes the task of projecting company image quite precise and complicated.

Crafting your brand image online is an extremely important client attraction tool. With a result-driven business message, your targeted website visitors will understand the language and tone of the web copy, and the client will feel a stronger connection to your brand. Once this bond is established, the customers will be more inclined to take action and purchase from you.

The customer wants to feel compatible with all your company stands for. For example, if your brand image is high-end, a high-end client will be attracted and comfortable with this image and, in turn, will want to buy from you.

Since fashioning a company message online is both complex and important, it would be highly beneficial for your company to hire a professional copywriter.

A professional copywriter:
· Interviews the company to pull out key elements vital to the business message.
· Recognizes the company image and puts this image into the written word—the message.
· Creates well-crafted copy that speaks the language of the target market.
· Strategically places keywords to increase SEO.
· Facilitates a connection between the brand image and the client through the use of a creative tone in the copy.

If you’re uncomfortable with the message you’re sending potential customers online, it’s time to change this message and solidify a strong brand image.

Designing a company website requires some compromising. It involves the perfect balance between visually appealing and functional elements. It’s important that one element doesn’t dominate the other. This is where many companies go wrong.

Many times company websites are polluted with too much flash, pointless graphics, and unnecessary copy. The combination of these elements is a major risk factor for decreasing website SEO.

In order to ensure your website ranks #1 in search engines, you must adhere to some kind of compromise. Make sure your entire website isn’t in flash. Many people might think flash is more appealing—and it is at times—but it greatly reduces your SEO if overused. Flash limits the amount of copy you can have on your page. Great copy is your best chance at ranking #1 in search engines and should never be substituted for unnecessary elements.

Result-driven copy . . .
· Increases SEO with effective keywords placed throughout. It’s important that these keywords add to the message and mission of your company.
· Converts leads into sales and motivates visitors to take action on your website.
· Increases site traffic.
· Targets your company’s specific market and keeps them on your website.
· Works to reinforce your brand image. Compressed, informative, and concise web copy is easy to read, gets to the point, and expresses your brand image in merely a few sentences without compromising important details.

It’s important to hire a web designer and web copywriter who work toward expressing your brand image online. An excellent web designer will ensure your site is attractive and functional, while an effective web copywriter will guarantee your company message comes across accurately and thoroughly.

The functionality and visual elements of your website may require a slight compromise, but you shouldn’t compromise on a web copywriter and web designer who don’t understand your needs and message. Grow your business. Grow to success. Hire the right copywriter and web designer.

The main goal of your company’s website is to get your target client to take action. If your navigation is confusing, they won’t take action because they won’t know how to.

Caution: This is where many businesses lose their customers. Easy navigation is crucial. Eliminating any ambiguity about where to look for information within a site is important.

Web copy works with design to help promote navigation through the site. Your website should encourage visitors to click on certain links, such as contact information, newsletter subscription, and the company’s blog. It’s important to have well-written web copy to motivate viewers to further investigate your site.

The four main things to remember about navigation: Make it simple. Make it fast. Make it clear. Make it work.

In a nutshell, your customers shouldn’t have to make too many decisions on your website. Too many websites have extra links they don’t need. If you give too many choices, you overwhelm the visitor, and they get frustrated and click out of your site.

People who visit your site are busy and can become impatient if they have to search your entire site to find what they need. Chances are, they won’t stick around to do that. Visitors want to get to what they need quickly and easily. If you make it too difficult, they’re gone, and they’ll buy from your competition. The more copy and graphics you throw at them, the more confused they’ll be, and then you’ve lost them. Your site needs to have strong focus.

One of the greatest challenges companies face with their online presence is lack of time and effort to market their company online. One of the most important aspects of growing a booming business is to market your company online in the most efficient way possible.

Using social media resources to promote the presence of your business online drives website traffic, reaches thousands of potential clients, and gets you involved in your industry’s online community.   

Since social media marketing is one of the most important ways to grow your business online, it’s important to set aside a minimum of three hours a week to promote your business on various social media sources. You can reach out to thousands of potential clients by simply adding three hours a week of social marketing to your schedule. Your business will thank you.

Below are important social media marketing vehicles to utilize.

Video Posting

Videos are an excellent way to allow customers to see the face behind the business. According to comScore, a global internet information provider, internet users in the U.S. watched 13.5 billion videos in October 2008, which was a 45% increase from October 2007.

Video provides a personal connection to customers and allows you to show them how certain services are done, how you work, how the company works, how your product works, and so much more.

YouTube is one of the most popular sites to post videos, since thousands of potential clients view them. Developing a video for YouTube is simple and benefits your company tremendously. You can place the YouTube video on your website or blog to further promote your company.

Blogging

Posting professional advice, information relating to your industry, company projects, and more on a blog, shows customers you’re an expert in your field and are passionate about getting the word out to the online community.

Commenting on other blogs relating to your industry, adding companies to your blog roll and vice versa, and using interactive media on your blog, all create an excellent haven of company / industry information. Using a call to action at the bottom of each blog post and linking it back to your website is an excellent way to bring in potential clients. 

Social Networking

Social media is the key to successful networking. There are many social media websites where you can post your company profile, interact with other companies, integrate yourself into the online community, and share information. Facebook, Twitter, Stumbleupon, MySpace, and discussion forums are just a few places worth checking out. Facebook, for example, allows you to create a company page with your mission statement, basic information, photos, events, video, a place to put your logo, and an area where your blog is fed directly onto the page every time you add a post. Stay active on these sites by posting comments, joining groups, joining causes, and becoming a fan of company pages.

NOTE: Social media sites are not a place to simply promote your company / product / service. They’re a place to build relationships and network with others.

What’s going on? To get potential visitors to purchase your products or services, you must effectively address concerns and answer additional questions. Remember, less is better. Keep it simple.

 The best way to do this is with a Frequently Asked Questions and Answers page—a separate FAQ section. Bold the question, and then answer it. The secret is to answer it as clearly and concisely as you can—in the shortest amount of words possible. List the most commonly asked questions first.

A great way to know what potential customers need and want to know is to email a satisfaction questionnaire shortly after they have taken your garden tour or purchased your hand-designed jewelry. Ask relevant questions that are clear and direct; then use this information to narrow your FAQ section.

Client testimonials are also a great way to learn more about your company: how clients perceived the level of service, what they liked and disliked, and why they chose to do business with you. Paying attention to these statements and mining them for valuable information will also help in determining what potential customers want and need to know.

Do not forget the power of offering free information. Posting online articles or blog entries will help you establish credibility and help with your online presence. Remember, the information must be useful. The more useful it is, the better credibility you will have.

The key is to make sure it will work to your benefit and turn potential clients into customers.