BE A PART OF THE 1ST CANADIAN ECOMMERCE CHALLENGE!

Transcription

1 BE A PART OF THE 1ST CANADIAN ECOMMERCE CHALLENGE! RFP Questions Due Date: May 31, 2013 Response Due Date: June 6, 2013 Please submit all questions to tema@frankonlinemarketing.com prior to May 31, CONTENTS Overview and Project Objectives... 2 Why Become A Part of This?... 3 What Are We Looking For?... 4 Section 1 Methodology and Experience... 4 Section 2 Organic Optimization Strategies... 5 Section 3 Paid Strategies... 5 Section 4 Tracking and Reporting... 5 Section 5 Implementation and Development... 6 Section 6 Proposed Budget... 7 Are You Up To The Challenge?... 7

2 OVERVIEW AND PROJECT OBJECTIVES What is the Canadian ecommerce Challenge? The Canadian ecommerce Challenge will turn Canadian companies into winners on the world s Internet stage. It will encourage and help Canadian companies use the Internet to increase their sales, either by selling directly online or by using online tools to increase referrals and/or store-based purchases. It consists of three main elements: 1. A weekly podcast/videocast 2. Success stories from Canadian companies (including Canadian suppliers of internet-related services) 3. A Canada-wide competition 1. The weekly podcast/videocast teaches participants in clear, non-technical language how to do essential components of effective online marketing. Each episode provides free Canada-specific information, lessons and tutorials to Canadian businesses wanting to get more involved in e-commerce. We are already laying the groundwork for this aspect of the Challenge with the Frank Online Marketing Show ( which is sponsored by IBM Canada and launched in October There is currently no other show like this targeted specifically at a Canadian audience, and profiling Canadian success stories and Canadian suppliers. Once the Challenge begins, each week we will issue a challenge to participants to try a specific technique we have taught in that week s episode. By providing bitesized activities each week it becomes easier to find chunks of time to make progress. The goal is to launch the official Challenge in September The podcast series will take Challenge participants in an orderly fashion through topics such as: a. Thinking through your e-commerce strategy

3 b. Tools of the trade, including video demonstrations of things like how to set up a Word Press website, how to install Google Analytics, how to set up and monitor social media accounts c. Essential web content elements d. SEO e. Social media essentials f. Website usability and sales funnels g. Security h. Payment systems i. marketing tools j. Video basics k. Testing, measurement, monitoring and improving 2. Success stories. Most weeks podcasts include an interview with a Canadian company that is doing e-commerce successfully. They discuss how they got to this point, what hurdles they faced, how they overcame them, and their future plans. (We are already doing this on the Frank Online Marketing Show.) We may also pick a few companies to follow throughout the Challenge, and do interviews with them as the program progresses. This could add a reality TV show type of element to the Challenge. 3. The Challenge. All Canadian companies will be eligible to participate in the challenge. The goal of the Challenge is to get them involved in e-commerce, and to grow that involvement in ways that strengthen their business (and, thus, Canada s economy). Awards will be based on measureable progress made and ROI results, not just popularity votes. WHY BECOME A PART OF THIS? Companies that participate will gain tremendous exposure to prospective clients across Canada. We are already collaborating with IBM Canada (which sponsors the podcast), Google Canada (which sits on the Advisory Board), and luminaries such as Mitch Joel (also on the Advisory Board). It will bring your company to the attention of a large number of prospective clients who are actively looking for services like yours; it will help you stand out among a sea of competitors.

4 WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? We need a Canadian search engine marketing partner (SEO and PPC) and sponsor who shares our vision of making Canada take its place on the world s Internet stage. You will provide search services to help the Challenge gain massive traction over the coming months. You will be a recommended supplier for companies participating in the challenge. This will include promotion on the Challenge website, the Frank Online Marketing website, our social media profiles, and the podcast. You will be the expert company we interview on the podcast about search engine optimization and marketing issues. To get maximum exposure, we recommend that you also provide SEO/SEM services as one of the prizes to the winners. SECTION 1 METHODOLOGY AND EXPERIENCE 1.1 Philosophy and Approach Outline your company s philosophy for search engine optimization and online marketing in general, and give a generic outline of your typical approach to improving a site s traffic and rankings. Also, describe how your techniques qualify as white hat, or follow the industry standard and best practices preferred by the major search engines. Be sure to outline both immediate and ongoing efforts. 1.2 Personnel Provide the name, job title, expertise and project responsibilities of the key members of your SEO and online marketing teams that will most likely be involved in our project. 1.3 Portfolio Provide a list of four clients that you have completed or are currently working on SEO and/or online marketing projects for that best exemplify the full range of your capabilities and services. At least two should involve organic SEO and two should involve PPC campaigns. Be sure to include statistics showing the impact of your services.

5 SECTION 2 ORGANIC OPTIMIZATION STRATEGIES 2.1 Research Outline your research offerings, including what data you will gather and what impact the information will have on determining how you will proceed with our site. 2.2 On-Page Optimization Outline your actual on-page optimization offerings and describe the intended impact each is to have on our site s performance. 2.3 Ongoing Strategies Outline your short-term and ongoing SEO and marketing campaign offerings and describe the intended impact each is to have on our site s performance. SECTION 3 PAID STRATEGIES 3.1 Pay-Per-Click Campaigns Describe a typical PPC campaign as run by your company, including initial research, setup and management services. SECTION 4 TRACKING AND REPORTING Outline the information that is tracked when conducting an ongoing SEO campaign, how these items are tracked and what information will be reported to the client on a monthly basis.

6 SECTION 5 IMPLEMENTATION AND DEVELOPMENT For each of the following, please indicate whether it is a service you provide. 5.1 Creation and Distribution of Press Releases If you provide them, please outline your press release creation, optimization and distribution services. Be sure to include your qualifications in each and how you typically group these services to form a campaign. 5.2 Landing Page Creation If you provide them, please outline your landing page development, optimization and promotion services. Be sure to include your qualifications in each and how you typically group these services to form a campaign. 5.3 Original Design Capabilities If you provide them, please outline your original design capabilities and services as they relate to SEO and marketing. Be sure to include your qualifications in each and how you typically group these services to form a campaign. 5.4 Ad Creation Outline your ad creation services, including design, copywriting and distribution. Be sure to include your qualifications in each and how you typically group these services to form a campaign. 5.5 Code Changes and Additions Outline your in-house capabilities for altering, developing and implementing existing page code and backend programming to maximize a site s impact and indexibility. Be sure to outline your approach in determining what changes are necessary.

7 SECTION 6 PROPOSED BUDGET Although your work for the Challenge will be a contribution in-kind for the sponsorship, we need to have a realistic estimate of what it would cost if we were paying for it in order to: a) Provide you with a sponsorship valuation for your taxes. b) Know whether or not your services would be affordable to typical Challenge participants. Please submit an outline of the services you would recommend for our project along with pricing. If exact pricing is not possible, please provide ranges for each service. ARE YOU UP TO THE CHALLENGE? RFP Questions Due Date: May 31, 2013 Response Due Date: June 6, 2013 Send proposal to tema@frankonlinemarketing.com