Internet Marketing 101 - Tips
Think Internet marketing is only for optimizers? Think again. While we do obviously recommend hiring a specialist for search engine optimization services, there are still many steps you can take to market your website yourself. The following tips will help you get the most from your website.INTERNET MARKETING 101 - GET YOUR NAME & YOUR SITE OUT THERE!
Networking with Links: The Web is built on links. There’s a lot of information out there about linking — not linking, how to link, one way links, reciprocal links. An often overlooked aspect of building links is that it’s a great way to get traffic to your site and get your site name and your business noticed.
First, think about your site visitors - if you were going to create a page, or several pages, that links out to other sites - what places would you link to that would make sense? Create a section on your website and link out to those websites. These links can be similar businesses, local area businesses, industry associations, and industry specific search engines and directories. If you are in a tourist-related industry, you can link to local chambers of commerce, tourism bureaus, restaurants, museums, galleries, local attractions, hotels, motels and inns.
Don’t worry about links back! Concentrate on building a quality resource on your site that you are proud of. Once you have built this section to a point you are happy with, contact the people you’ve linked from and notify them you are linking to them and invite them to link to your site if they would like to. Do not make it a requirement. This is all about sharing links among your community. If you attend mixers or industry events, this is a great time to mention you are linking to their site and invite them to link back to yours. Create a business card for this very purpose that lists the URL of not only your site, but also the resource section you’ve developed.
Build a quality directory, and then put your networking skills to work on your Internet marketing and you’ll be surprised how many links you can develop.
Link Popularity Programs: Many SEO companies offer link popularity programs, including Mannix Marketing! When interviewing a prospective company, make sure you understand how they will be building your links. An experienced company should be able to pull together several quality links for you - many of them one-way incoming links. If you hire a company that is offering you a guaranteed number of links, especially if it’s a large number, make sure that links you “reject” do not count against the guarantee.
The strongest reciprocal links are from “like” sites that are high quality. Many people use the Page Rank Toolbar in Google to determine this, and we do recommend this if you are working on links yourself as it’s a quick and easy way to get a glimpse of how the site is rated by this search engine. Note, however, that Page Rank in and of itself should not be the only determination. Always go back to the question, does it make sense for me to link to this site and for this site to link to me?
A popular email request that’s circulating right now is built on the ‘triangle theory’. A company will buy an expiring domain name that has pretty good Page Rank in Google. They build a huge directory of links on existing page names that have Page Rank. You can usually recognize this by the domain name - it will sometimes seem like an ‘odd name’ for a seemingly random and huge collection of outgoing links. They will not be asking you for a link back to this directory. Instead, they’ll be asking for a link out from your site to a different site they are trying to place for. The email usually tells you this is great for you because you get a one-way link from this fabulous directory. Take a good hard look at the directory - is it linking to everything and anything under the sun? Do you think it will be around in a few months or even a few weeks? Does it make sense for your site to link out to the site they are requesting you to? If it doesn’t feel right or make sense, don’t do it just because their home page has a Page Rank of 6. Always go back to the question, does it make sense for me to link to this site and for this site to link to me?
It is sometimes hard to distinguish between tomorrow’s link farms and quality directories. A good tip is to see who is linking in to them. And, definitely seek advice from an Internet Marketing professional before agreeing to any type of “link program” where for so much a month or a year you get the next miracle answer to links. The better programs offer you leads - in other words, they have what is essentially a private directory of sites that have paid to be in this program, and it’s up to you to contact them for an exchange or they to contact you. The worst programs offer you ‘immediate link exchanges’ with 1500 other sites - which could be so different from your industry it’s just plain worthless - and potentially damaging - to trade links with them. Again, Always go back to the question, does it make sense for me to link to this site and for this site to link to me? If you can’t answer that, move on and let common sense be your guide.
Paid Links: Find out who’s coming up first for your target keywords and who’s reaching your market. Is it hairtransplants.com, www.lakegeorge.com, Albany.com, business.com, www.yourproductname.com? Often these sites have very good numbers (placements, traffic, and page rank) that can help boost you in the search engines. In addition, they often provide you with a lot of traffic, making a paid link on these types of sites a smart Internet Marketing decision.
PLASTER YOUR ADDRESS EVERYWHERE
This is an Internet Marketing tip that’s an oldie but a goody. Every time you get something reprinted, make sure that your website address gets listed on it. For example, if you’re a restaurant, print your address on your menus, brochures, business cards, signage, advertising, email signature, door, handouts, hats and t-shirts! Don’t forget receipts - almost everyone walks out with one! If you are a shopping site, make sure your invoices, shipping labels, boxes, envelopes, catalogs, everything has your address. If you have a bricks and mortar location, is your address on your advertising sign? Your door with your store hours?
MAKE SURE YOUR SITE IS WORTHY OF INTERNET MARKETING
Does your site contain all the basics? Hours, phone number and address… all pertinent contact information. Is it easy to navigate? Allow secure purchases? For the tourist industry, does it allow secure purchase of gift certificates? Invite comments? (You can learn a lot from a contact us page.) If you are a restaurant, do you have your menus, special events, directions, banquet menus online? Do you visually sell the restaurant? Allow online sign up for email specials? What about take out menus? An email sign up would be perfect for this if it is a big part of your business. Does the site list a dress code? How to make a reservation? And don’t forget added benefits for you: links to other area businesses, employment opportunities, printable employment applications. Good Internet marketing will impress your market audience and provide you with a website that does more than look pretty.
INTERNET MARKETING 102 - KEYWORDS
The first step to any Internet marketing campaign is the keywords. How will potential customers find you in the search engines? Work with different keyword combinations to determine the keywords you want to be found under. Make sure you balance broader keyword combinations with more specific keyword combinations. The average person searching on the Internet may start with a broad query, but they quickly narrow it down as they see returned results and learn more about what they are searching for. For example, someone searching for digital cameras may start with “Digital Cameras”… after clicking a couple choices, they may then search on “Nikon digital cameras”… after clicking a couple more choices, they may search on Nikon Coolpix cameras, then narrow it even further to Nikon Coolpix 4800 Digital Camera. The more specific they become, the more likely they are to purchase. Use a search engine like Ask Jeeves where alternate searches are suggested in the upper right hand corner based on what you searched on. This may give you ideas for keyword combinations you hadn’t thought about. Also, use a tool such as www.wordtracker.com to gauge how many people are searching on your keyword choices on a daily basis.
Make sure the keywords are used within the context of your pages and that the pages have a great Title, also incorporating your keywords. Use anchor text where appropriate. Never stuff keywords anywhere and especially in the title tag as that’s how people choose your site in the search engines. Do you think people will want to read a site that uses this as a sales pitch “nikon digital cameras, nikon digital cameras, coolpix nikon cameras….” Or do you think they will want to visit a site that says “Find Nikon Digital Cameras In-Stock Now! Low Prices on ALL Digital Cameras!”
RESEARCH YOUR COMPETITION & MAKE SURE YOUR SITE IS BETTER
A basic component of any marketing strategy is to know your competition. This is especially true in Internet marketing. Do an online search for the keywords you want to be found under. Who is your competition? What is their pricing structure? What keywords do they target? Honestly appraise their site against your own. Is their site better than yours? Why? What do they do better on their site that you may be able to improve upon on your site? Is their site more informative? Is it easier to navigate? Do they have a newsletter you can sign up for? Join it and learn what they are telling their potential customers.
Are you the “expert” in your industry? If so, share your knowledge on your site. Write feature articles for your website. Volunteer to write articles for others with the stipulation that they link back to your website and your business. This is a great way for you to not only improve traffic to your website, but improve brand recognition for your company.
BUILD LOYALTY AND TOP OF MIND AWARENESS THROUGH EMAIL CAMPAIGNS
Your customer base may know who you are, but do they think of you FIRST when they need your type of product? If not… keep your business in the minds of anyone who has been to your site or business through email marketing. Offer a sign-up on your site so they can be the first to find out about your new products. Offer “weekly tips”, or send out monthly coupons. Make sure you only send email to those you’ve requested it through your site. And, make sure the email has a BENEFIT for the customer… not just free publicity for you.
TRACK YOUR WEBSITE STATISTICS AND ANALYZE!!!
Most hosting packages come with stats. If your site doesn’t, ask for it or change hosting companies. Don’t just look at hits - look at unique visitors, referrers, exit and entry pages, time spent on site, and keyword combinations used to arrive at your site.
Any site that can measure a conversion (a sign up, a purchase, an action) should truly analyze traffic patterns, keywords and pay per click programs with a good tool. Our favorite and the one we use for our clients is: Click Tracks Web Stats software program
HANDY RESOURCES FOR THE “DO IT YOURSELFER”
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