Using A CDN For Effective Online Marketing?

I know, I know. Many of you are wondering what this title even means, while some of you know bits and pieces and are still trying to figure out how these two possibly tie into one another. Well, the answer is not a one-liner, but rather a bit more complex with multiple parts. First we're going to explain what a CDN is, then we'll get to the marketing aspect of it all.

A CDN, according to Wikipedia, is a content delivery network, which is "a system of computers containing copies of data, placed at various points in a network so as to maximize bandwidth for access to the data from clients throughout the network. A client accesses a copy of the data near to the client, as opposed to all clients accessing the same central server, so as to avoid bottlenecks near that server."

"Content types include web objects, downloadable objects (media files, software, documents), applications, real time media streams, and other components of internet delivery."

Hopefully, this is a clear to understand definition of what a CDN or content delivery network is. Now, where does a CDN fit into the realm of successful online marketing? Let's explore two ways that a CDN can increase your online marketing efforts.

Marketing and online marketing is not limited to you or your company's ability to effectively create an "aesthetically pleasing" or easily searched and found topic or campaign. There are technical issues that you must have in place to back-up your marketing effort's abilities to even function correctly.

The most basic example is that of simply marketing your website. You either decide to get a boost through various forms of display ads, image ads, off-site video ads, or to take the slower, more organic approach through search engine optimization. While it may not be necessary for your site's needs in the beginning, as site traffic increases and you start adding videos, photos, and other forms of media...guess what? Do you notice that your website starts to slow down?

One thing that any SEO expert will tell you (and Google too, just not directly!), is that a slow website is a no-no. Users are immediately turned-off by slow loading sites. They are just as quick to hit the return button in their web browser and find the next site or article listing in search engine results. Making use of a CDN will correct this, quickly.

Recently, my small marketing firm announced the launch of a new, unique social (multi) media social networking site, Blog Interact. Blog interact allows registered users to exchange ideas and information in a mass array of categories, as well as multiple forms of journalism. Whether you are a blogger, photo or video journalist, or a podcaster, Blog Interact was designed to accommodate you. Without the use of a quality CDN, the site simply could not function. These features would not be available, therefore defeating the "marketing efforts" of the site.

So, if you find yourself beginning to offer on-site video tutorials or free ebook with newsletter sign-up or some other type of "eye-catching" media to attract your viewers and make a "call to action", you may want to consider adding a CDN service to your site. For basic users, there are a number of free (but limited) CDN services. These can easily be found through your favorite search engine.

Hopefully this article has been useful and added some value to a new or intermediate online marketer or website owner. Don't let all of your marketing efforts and new site creations go in vain by not having all of the necessities to properly run your site and the features you would like to offer!