What good is a web-site if it can’t be found? Your Internet Marketing Strategy is key to the success or failure of your web-site and it is important to plan how you are going to promote your site once it has been created.
The beauty of the internet is that you don’t necessarily have to have a large budget to spread the word about your product or service… and you can monitor the success of your activities quickly and easily using tools such as Google Analytics.
You might be thinking, “Where do I start? I know nothing about Internet Marketing!”, but relax – it’s less about technical ability and more about common sense. As always, it’s best to keep things simple.
Ask yourself… Who is my ideal client?
If your client is the general public, then building a fanbase for your business across the social networking sites may be an excellent place to start.
If you’re aiming to supply other businesses then Pay Per Click and Organic Search Engine Optimisation may be your best route to market.
Is your business product orientated? Do you have an e-commerce system that can support affiliates? If so you should seriously consider affiliating. Make the comission structure appealing enough for affiliates and you can build a network of keen sales people promoting your products across a whole range of mediums, including their own sites – and the best part is you don’t have to pay out unless you get a sale. See tradedoubler.com which is an excellent way to source serious affiliate marketing. More and more companies, including the major brands, are turning to affiliating.
Shopping feeds are another excellent (and inexpensive) way of getting your products listed when users search for the products that you stock. Through Google’s own shopping feed or the many more, such as CompareStorePrices and Kelkoo, feeds ensure that your products are found even when you’re not ranking highly in the search engines for that particular product.
It’s not just off-site marketing either, what you do with the visitor on-site makes the difference too. Obviously your web-site should look professional and secure – consumer confidence is key. Would you buy from your web-site?
Other on-site marketing opportunities include:
- Send to a friend. Ask your visitors for their friends e-mail addresses who could benefit from what you do!
- AddThis (addthis.com) – A free button (with tracking) which can help users link to you via their social networks, bookmarks or e-mail at the touch of a button.
- Coupon Codes – 10% off if they buy today? A Gift Voucher for referring a friend? Encourage your users to act!
A top internet marketing strategy considers all the points above and more, working to your budget (if any) to maximise your sales revenues – giving you a clear, manageable and monitorable plan for moving forward step by step.
E-mail “hello (at)robstanway. com” if you would like an internet marketing strategy creating for your business.
