Internet Marketing Tips, Tools and Strategies

In my mind, the first step to developing any business marketing strategy, or a business in general, is developing your target audience(s). Knowing who is going to be buying your service and/or product will allow you to develop the appropriate messaging, advertise in the areas they frequent, create a competitive pricing point (not only compared to your competitors, but also your clients wallet), and so forth.

Let’s look at some of the factors that could determine your target audience(s):

• Age group
• Gender
• Location
• Income
• Needs or pain points
• Decision making process

Now, not every single factor will come into play for everyone’s target audience, so remember it isn’t always necessary to limit yourself. For example, you wouldn’t want to exclude females if your product is not male specific.

An easy way to develop a better understanding of your ideal target audience is to run a survey. Ask the people around (previous customers, family, friends, community members, etc.) what they think – not only specifically about your product, but their needs and opinions in general. Focus on open-ended questions that will provide you information you need to promote in your industry.

Developing an outline for your target audience is not always the most glamorous part of any marketing campaign, but it is the cornerstone to any strategy foundation. If you need help understanding your audience you might want to consider working with a marketing expert; they can analyze your market and pinpoint the different factors that make up your target audience.

 

So, your company is already online and seeing some success – great! But, are you really doing everything you could to make your online marketing efforts a success? Here are a few things you might not yet being doing or forgot to do:

Make sure your content is able to be shared. Users who frequent your website, blog and social media networks will often want to re-share the content you are posting. Make sure they can not only do this, but that it is a quick and easy process for them. There are plenty of free widgets out there that are designed to help you do this successfully. Allowing users to share you content will make your online making efforts seen by a wider audience.

Create an email marketing strategy. Even if it is just a quarterly email newsletter or regularly scheduled follow-up blasts to current customers, keeping in contact will help them remember you are there. Build a strong email list and stay in touch with potential and current customers. Also, by including an email form of staying in touch to your marketing efforts you will have the added benefit of possible up-sales or referrals!

Don’t forget about customer reviews (& customer review sites). Not many people use the Yellowpages these days. A quick search online can not only make your company visible to a potential client, but it can also tell them experiences others have had with your product or services. Make sure you are not only on major review sites (Yelp, Angie’s List, etc.), but that you are actively encouraging clients to leave you reviews as part of your online marketing strategy.

Make sure your website is mobile friendly (or you have a mobile version of your site). With such a huge population of users accessing the web via mobile (and tablet) devices nowadays it is imperative that they can navigate your website easily. You want to be seen on mobile searches and have users be able to see your website properly on their mobile device. Also, it is good to note that mobile users are usually searching for specific information, so make sure this information is not only on your mobile site, but is easily found.

Adding these few to-do’s to your online marketing efforts can take you from seeing some online success, to being a major player on the Internet. Want to know if your current website is performing well for your current marketing strategy? Our Free Web Scan can tell you what you need to know.

During my Online Marketing Consultant career, I have often been asked what the key activities a company should be doing online to not only be visible, but also successful. Well, my first answer would be to hire an Online Marketing expert, but if your budget just doesn’t allow for it or you want to try a do-it-yourself approach there are five key areas a business should focus on when trying to have success online:

One, keywords. Any successful online business marketing strategy should begin here. You need to know what keywords are appropriate for your products or services, audience and industry. By doing your initial keyword research you will be able to –

• Write content focusing on these keywords, thus driving search traffic up.
• Understand your competition and what they are focusing on.
• Have a deeper understanding of what your customers are looking for online, and have the ability to tailor your services to them.

DO NOT skip or skimp out on your keyword research. This should be the foundation of everything else you do online.

Two, website development. You don’t have to go and spend thousands of dollars on a web design team to create your businesses website. The key to any successful website is to have:

• Clean look – no clutter!
• Simple to use navigation
• Valuable content (more on this later)
• Clear call-to-actions
• Strong branding

Three, quality content. Having quality and valuable content not only helps increase traffic to your site (Google gives big search bonuses to sites with quality content), but it also ensures users stay on your site and eventually convert into a lead. Your online business marketing strategy should contain creating keyword rich content that not only has value, but is also easily readable for users.

Also, you need to continue to create content (blog posts, news articles, etc.) as time goes on to keep your site fresh.

Four, target your local audience. Unless your business is a global online store, you should be focusing on your local city / county / state audience. This means letting the user know your products or services are for their specific location. Some simple ways of doing this are:

• Adding the areas you service at the top of your web pages – “Coffee Cabana services the Chicago, Illinois area”
• Creating listings for your company on location based websites and apps – Google Places, Yelp, Foursquare, Facebook Check-in, etc.
• Use geographical targeted keywords when writing content
• Get listed in local search directories online and offline
• If you service a larger area (usually state-wide), you might want to create geo-targeted landing pages for each major location/city around you

Five, take advantage of social media networks. You might skeptical of their value, but social media networks can be a powerful tool for anyone’s online business marketing strategy. Actually not being visible on the popular social media networks (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.) can almost send the message to users that you don’t exist. Not only do you want to be visible, but you want to also be sure you are engaging users and addressing any potential negative brand images you may have. Some companies even use social media networks as another form of customer service!

Anyone can find success online; the key is to have a strong online business marketing strategy that creates results! If you are thinking about developing your own online marketing strategy or you want to see if your current strategy is working, start by taking our Free Website Scan.

There are many aspects of Online Marketing that some people just don’t feel comfortable handling themselves. Worrying about Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Monitoring Analytics, Writing Content, Managing a PPC Campaign, Mobile Marketing, Landing Page Development, etc. – it is enough to make anyone’s head spin! Because of this many businesses decide to hire an Online Marketing Expert instead of a DIY approach.

At the end of the day, you want leads and sales and have decided to bring in some experts. Here are some tips on what you should avoid when hiring your own Online Marketing Expert.

Guaranteed lead amounts. Any Online Marketing Expert will tell you that every account is different. Different industries, competition, etc. - which makes predicting the initial success of any marketing campaign near impossible. Be wary of any expert guaranteeing an amount of leads without understanding your company completely.

Instant results or top placement. This promise can be just as telling about an Online Marketing Expert as guaranteed lead numbers. Running a successful Online Marketing Campaign requires lots of analyzing, competition monitoring, and hard work. While 99% of our organic campaigns get results within 30 days, there is no legitimate way to guarantee instant results.

Why? Because its important to remember that we don’t control the search engine results, only the search engines do! We can only do what we know works well, but guaranteeing any placement or traffic within organic search results is ridiculous.

Bulk Backlinks or Permanent Backlinks.  A tactic some Online Marketing Experts will use is a flat fee for X number of backlinks (usually in the thousands); the problem with this is that the techniques often used to get these backlinks can hurt your company and take your site down. You can be penalized by search engines for your “experts” automatic or spamming backlink methods. If it sounds to good to be true it probably is. There are no instant/quick fixes in regards to building links, it just takes time and knowledge to get it right.   

You should also be wary of promises of permanent backlinks, as there is honestly no way to guarantee this. The Internet is always evolving and changing, sites will close down or remove pages; someone needs to monitor and replace these lost links on a consistent basis, especially if they are providing value to your site.

Now that you know what to avoid when hiring an Online Marketing Expert you might want to consider running our Free Website Scan to see where your website currently stands.

Online Marketing isn’t just for large companies. Actually, because it’s so accessible, Online Marketing is a perfect tool for small (to medium) businesses. Developing an Online Marketing Strategy gives small companies the potential to not only develop their brand and become a name in their industry, but also improve their bottom line from increased leads that turn into sales.

Here are a few tips for small businesses looking at promoting their businesses online:

1. Be sure that you have Google Analytics installed on your website. Obviously you want to be sure you are monitoring this data as well and using it to make improvements to your strategies.
   
   
2. Don't shun social media. You may think Social Media is just for fun, but in actuality these platforms are powerful Online Marketing tools that you should be taking advantage of. Social media plays an important role in organic search rankings, so ignoring this may be affecting your organic traffic and rankings. 
3. Develop a list of keywords. What are some words or phrases you would use to describe your company? If you wanted to find a competitor online, what would you type into Google’s search engine? Really think about these and develop a list of keywords that you can use for future content writing, PPC ads, etc.
4. Write a blog. Blogging has numerous benefits when it comes to Online Marketing – drive traffic from search engines, a platform for interacting with your customers, etc. Not to mention it shows users that you are an expert in your field. More content in more places = More customers. Several studies have been conducted to prove the previous point, and there is actually a strong correlation between how much quality content you produce and amount of leads/sales you get online. Think of your website and all your social profiles as an asset. You need to build those assets each and every month and the rewards will pay off.
5. Consider calling in an expert. You aren’t an Online Marketing Professional, right? There are consultants out there that understand what it takes to get a company online, generating traffic, and creating conversions – let them do what they do best and help you!

Online Marketing gives small businesses the ability to compete in today’s market. So why not give it a try? Get started by signing up for our FREE website scan which will give you the information you need to be successful online.

Marketing on the internet has grown leaps and bounds in the past few years. If you're thinking growing your business, opening up new lead channels, or starting a new business, you need to determine if there is a market online for your product or service.

If there is a market for your company, what kind of competition do you have? What are your competitors doing and is their business successful? Understanding the potential market and competition will ultimately make you more informed and more likely to be successful. Marketing online is very difficult if you don’t understand what your competition is doing. Getting to #1 in the search results may not even be possible depending on the keywords you want to target.

Speaking with someone who specializes in internet marketing consulting can help you realize what needs to happen for you to grow your business online. I highly recommend that you at least take us up on our Free WSI WebScan offer. This free report is invaluable and will show you how your site is currently performing and what you can do to improve it.

If you are providing a product or service that is in high demand it is important to keep in mind that if you're not getting your target prospect’s business, someone else is. Marketing online you have to expect to compete heavily to attract customer attention.

As your website grows in popularity you need to ask yourself:
1. How do I grow my relationship with my current customers and visitors?

2. How do I increase my customer base and convert prospects into customers?

3. How do I make sure my current customers are happy and stay with me? If you are selling a product or service that typical is a one time sale, think about how you can upsell something else to increase sales more easily.

The first thing you want to do is build a database with contact information for all your current and prospective customers. Communicate with these people through email and social media. Build relationships and loyalty through communication, promotions, discounts and benefits. Keeping contacts engaged and happy is a great way to get them to spend money with you.

Organize a search engine optimization campaign so that your customers find you when they are searching for products or services like you offer. Then build a website that is filled with valuable and keyword rich content. I can’t stress this enough, content is king in the online marketing world. This will ensure that your website ranks well with Google if you are targeting the right phrases and writing good quality stuff.

Ultimately you need to grow and build relationships as well as nurturing your public appearance to ensure success marketing online.

Website content that utilizes your keywords and provides valuable information that your consumers are looking for is a valuable addition to your website.

Keyword rich content can improve your SEO but it can work even more successfully when paired with social media marketing.

Building strong social media profiles allows you to nurture relationships with your target audience. They can follow you and engage in conversation about your company or product.

When you write new content for your website you can share it with your followers through your social media profiles. This extends the reach of your content while also improving your social media marketing.

The more internet marketing tactics you utilize the more they overlap. Taking the time to link all of your marketing campaigns together will make them all work harder and be more successful for your business.

During a recession all business owners need to be more careful about where they are spending their money. Marketing campaigns should be measured to ensure that they are performing but also that they are generating quality leads. Keep in mind that your more traditional TV, radio and print campaigns are harder to measure than your internet marketing campaign.

If one component of your marketing campaign is bringing in a decent number of leads but if all of the leads are 'junk' leads then that portion of the campaign is not working. By analyzing your campaign you can stop this 'junk' lead producing initiative and redirect those funds into something more effective thus increasing ROI.

Online marketing is the most measurable tactic available today however you still need to choose quality keywords and properly identify your target audience to have a successful search engine optimization or pay-per-click campaign.

This sounds simple enough but measuring campaign success can be challenging if you do not have the proper tools. Here are a few steps you can take to get started:

    •   Enlist the help of your staff. Educate them on why it's so important to track and measure marketing campaign success (i.e. cost savings & increased revenue, etc.)
    •   Request data, reports and numbers on all marketing initiatives in your budget.
    •   Keep current on new trends in your industry. What is your competition doing?
    •   Familiarize yourself with online marketing areas such as SEO, PPC, keywords and conversion rates. Online marketing is much more measurable than traditional marketing efforts.
    •   Ask for help. Enlisting a qualified internet marketing consultant is well worth the investment and will increase your ROI.

It's safe to say that 2009 was a year of economic crisis for markets across the globe.  Budgets were tightened and businesses have had to re-evaluate themselves  and make changes in order to surpass the economic conditions.

With 2009 behind us many believe that 2010 will be a year of recovery. As businesses re-evaluate their budgets and practices as a result of 2009 they are spending drastically less money on traditional advertising mediums such as radio, newspaper and television. Advertising in these areas involves costly ad production and media buys that are most effective by investing a significant amount of money.

One medium that has grown both in users and in advertising spending has been the internet.
In 2010, the US Internet population will grow to 205.3 million users, or 66.2% of the total US population. It is anticipated that this number will increase again in 2011 to 210.9 million (67.3% of the total population.) By 2013, 221.1 million people will be online (nearly 70% of the US population.)
With the number of people using the internet steadily increasing internet advertising has done the same. 2009 saw an increase despite the economy with $20.34 billion spent on advertising online in the US and for this year that number is projected to increase to $23.42 billion. It is estimated that by 2012, marketers will spend $31.05 billion in advertising dollars online.
Recent economic set backs have made businesses leery of investing in marketing and advertising however it is an important method of contacting your target audience and growing new business. Focusing on internet marketing such as PPC, Social Media Marketing and SEO, is a cost effective way of reaching that audience and achieving growth. Usage of the internet is growing and advertisers are listening. 

Before you can market your website with tools such as social media marketing and PPC ads you need to make sure your site is doing the best job it can do. Here are 6 tips to ensure that your website is ready to be promoted.

1. Research Keywords
People are searching for your services and you need to find out what words they use. They may not use the proper words to describe your product but their words are the words you need. Put these keywords on your site thus making it easier for the consumer to find you because you'll show up on the search engine results page (SERP).

2. Be an Expert in Your Field
In order to trust you and your services a customer needs to view you as a resource in your field. Include content on your website that can help educate your consumer thus building their trust in a partnership with you.

3. Communicate With Your Target Audience
If you have a blog on your website open it up for public comments. Let your community converse with you and each other about products, services, trends and more. Communication builds a relationship on a more personal level.

4. Make Your Website Available
A website does not keep office hours. It needs to be open 24 hours a day. If you are an online retailer you need to be able to process orders at any hour, any day of the week.

5. Network
If you are an expert in your industry your consumer should see you around. Join professional organizations and participate in your professional community. Get your name and brand on other sites and social media networks.

6. Update, Update, Update
Keep your website new and fresh. Add new content frequently and keep up with current market trends.