Have you been thinking about jumping on the bandwagon to gain more exposure through the use of the internet? If yes, you have made a great decision. Marketing your business online can be a time consuming and difficult task. First, you have to have a well developed website that is user and SEO friendly.
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. In short, it is the process of modifying a website to perform well in the organic results on search engines such as Google, Yahoo or Bing. This is done by adding content and optimizing the html code on the site. Sounds complex doesn’t it? In reality it can be complex depending on the size of your site. Many large ecommerce sites with hundreds of pages of products will make it even more difficult.
Unfortunately, SEO is not the only answer to becoming a top ranked competitor on search engines. The next piece to the puzzle is Search Engine Marketing (SEM). To explain this concept clearly, consider SEM in the same way a public relations manager would gain exposure for a business in the offline world. They establish networks and get to know the right people. If done correctly, these partnerships can help gain interest and new customers.
This is done in the online world by establishing a reputation with individuals across the globe. One of the most influential ways to grow your business online is to have a dominant prescience in the social media network. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Myspace are just a few of the resources a business can use to establish an online prescience on the internet.
Facebook and Myspace are relatively the same. Individuals can create accounts for free and can find old friends and look at their pictures and even comment back and forth to each other. The best part is that businesses can use Facebook and Myspace to build a fanbase. Businesses can request individuals to add them as a friend and if the user accepts the invite, the business can then reply with messages that help gain interest. Best of all it is free!
Stay tuned for an article on “How to market your business using Facebook” soon!
Twitter is another great online tool to establish a loyal following on the internet. It can be considered a micro blog. Businesses can post short messages to users about upcoming events and sales. These messages can be written and posted on phones too. So you can always be in touch with your target audience.
Another way to market your company online is to write and comment on blogs, much like I doing right now. Have your blog link to your website. That way you can tell people more about your product or service and even educate them. If implemented correctly, your customers will come back to do business with you!
Here is an important fact about internet users; People search the internet in different phases. Users will first use the internet as a research tool. Once they find exactly what they are looking for, they will then be in the buying phase. Many companies only focus on one phase for the internet marketing agenda. A successful website and company will need to be available in both phases. They should first educate the public and answer the common questions about the product or industry. If the user is satisfied with the answer, they will come back to your site when they are ready to make their purchasing decision. Let me further clarify myself here with this example using a fictitious website.
I want to travel to Tahiti to see the beautiful beaches and the women that wear far too many layers of clothing. Sarcasm aside, I realize that I need a passport to travel overseas.
I have never been in a plane and I rarely travel outside of Northwest Ohio. I decide to look online to find out how to get a passport. After typing that keyword into Google, I find many results. The first results are for USPS and a government website. I choose the third result; www.goldenpassport.com. I visit the site and see information about fees, where to send the passport and four sentences that describe the process of getting a passport. However, I want to learn more about the whole process. I then promptly leave the site and I find a blog on page two on Google that is well informed, reputable and answers all my questions. The blog is for www.speedypassport.com. Since the blog answered all my questions and seemed trustworthy, I used www.speedypassport.com to get a passport. Why would I go somewhere else? The website and blog was very useful.
My point is that www.goldenpassport.com missed a “golden” opportunity to convert a user by not having the right presence on the internet. Even though the site was well designed, it was not the content I was looking for. Generally, users will only browse a site for twenty seconds and if they do not find what they are looking for, they will leave your site. Since most blog platforms are free anyways; you are not getting the most out of your website and your online marketing strategy.
As a homeowner in Toledo, Ohio I can feel the tension in our economy. Most companies have to be very tight with their advertising spend. Many of their traditional marketing efforts such as T.V advertising have been put on hold. However, if done correctly, marketing your business online can prove to bring you a high return on your investment. I hope you enjoyed this blog and this is only the beginning to understanding the idea of marketing your business online.