Online Marketing
Your chance to show them what you've got
Online Marketing Has Never Been Easier
Many businesses market their products and services online...it is literally an essential part of the 21st-century business’s revenue stream. Nowadays, would-be customers are increasingly turning to the Web for online research and comparison prior to making a purchase online. A company that does not take advantage of the Web and email to market their services is missing out on a potential goldmine.
Online marketing has never been easier or more cost-effective. There are innumerable Web sites, consultants, software packages, and other tools to help you put together a successful online presence.
Here are 8 key steps to successfully market your business online:
1. Obtain a Good Domain Name
Before you establish a Web site for your business, you need a domain name. A domain name is the internet address that allows computer users to find your Web site, such as www.dell.com or www.nike.com.. Good domain names are difficult to obtain, as millions have already been purchased over the years. The most common domain names end in ".com" or ".net" and are the most desirable.
It's simple to check whether a domain name is available. For example, sites such as Godaddy, Dotster, and Yahoo.com have a domain name service check which you can do in under a minute. The cost to purchase a domain name is usually quite low, sometimes under $10.
A few key tips on domain names:
Make sure that the domain name hasn't been trademarked by someone else (check www.uspto.gov)
Make sure it's easy to spell
Pick a name that is easy to remember. Simple and descriptive is better.
2. Build a Professional Looking Web Site
Your Web site is a reflection of your business and can determine whether your potential customers feel comfortable enough to buy your goods or services. People who come to your Web site will be impressed or turned off by the level of professionalism of your site.
3. Make Your Web Site Easy to Navigate
You don’t need to come up with dazzling pizzazz for your site. The key to a good site is to make sure that the viewers can easily find what they want. Your product should be simply and clearly displayed, and purchase should be easy. This means a clear navigation bar and a good "search" box. Review some of your favorite sites as well as competitors’ sites. That can help you plan how your site should be designed.
4. Build up Your Email List
Email marketing is one of the best and cheapest ways to sell online. It's a great way to communicate with customers and prospective customers. Therefore, it is very valuable to collect email addresses from visitors to your Web site. Offer them something worthwhile for their email address — such as a discount on their first purchase.
Make it easy to get someone's email address, but also be sure that you have set forth a Privacy Policy on your site describing how you will use any personal information. And be sure that you are up-to-date on the laws affecting email marketing, such as the CAN-SPAM Act.
5. Buy Banner Ads
These will enhance visibility and traffic to your sits. The keys to effective banner ad campaigns are:
Make the ad visually interesting with links to a particular offer or "landing" page on your site.
Place the ads on sites relevant to your business.
Constantly monitor and test the efficiency of the ads. Measure click-throughs from the ad to your site and resulting sales and return on investment ("ROI").
6. Optimize Your Site for Search Engines
Hundreds of millions of searches a day are performed on the Web through Google, Yahoo, and other search engines. The search engines "spider" billions of Web pages. “Search Engine Optimization" is a fast-growing technique that raises your Web site’s ranking in search results.
7. Make it Easy to Buy
If you sell products from your site, you will need a shopping cart system and a credit card authorization process. Many companies provide such systems off the shelf. The key here is to make sure that the shopping process is fast and efficient. Web sites whose checkout process is too cumbersome lose potential buyers who become frustrated with the amount of time and effort involved.
8. Provide Great Customer Service
A satisfied customer will return to your site, so go out of your way to offer great customer support and service.
Your Web site is finally live? Now the real work begins. If you don't spread the word, your fabulous new site will be like the proverbial tree in the forest, falling with no one to hear. Luckily, Internet advertising can help you reach millions of people at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods.
Next, give serious thought to where you want to place your ads. If you sell a particular type of product, do some research and buy ads on sites that offer complementary products or services that tie in with what you sell. If you need to reach a wide variety of people, a popular general interest Web site would be the best place to start.
Here are three of the most popular online advertising strategies:
Link exchanges can be great, especially if your advertising budget is limited (or nonexistent). Find merchants that sell complementary products, and offer to trade text links or ads with them. If you're just starting out and your site doesn't get a lot of traffic, you may not get a one-to-one trade; be prepared to make concessions, at least until you have a track record ? and traffic ? to point to. That said, most companies won't turn down an opportunity for more exposure, so you'll probably find a few willing to exchange links with you.
Newsletter advertising is a great way to reach select groups of consumers. For example, if you sell health products, you could advertise in a newsletter that offers health tips and advice. Because newsletter advertising is targeted, it can be expensive. If your budget is tight, you can always start your own newsletter campaign.
Budgeted advertising allows you to purchase a set of keywords, set a limit on how much you want to spend, and have your ad display until that limit is reached. This is a particularly useful way to track your campaign success, and has been a boon to small business owners.
Once you've graduated from these techniques, or if your budget allows it, try approaching popular news services, Web-based email providers, and other sites that reach a large segment of the population. While this can prove very expensive, in return, you have the potential of reaching millions of new customers.
No matter which avenue you decide to take, give serious thought to your "creative" ? the actual ad itself. Whether it's just a text link, or whether it's a complete banner-ad campaign, the creative can make or break your advertising initiative. Try several variations, track them, and see which ones perform best.