10.01 | 2004
Internet Marketing
The U.S Census Bureau states that the third quarter of 2004 showed a 21% increase in internet purchases
over the same period last year. This trend of increasing consumer confidence and use of the internet for
retail transactions cannot be ignored by any business looking to maximize sales through all available avenues.
Surprisingly, the vast majority of businesses are doing very little or nothing to leverage the internet
in their favor.
“Build it and they will not come.” Although cute, this phrase is 100% accurate in describing the main
problem a new website will encounter. We’re not talking about putting a new look on an existing site, but
creating and launching a site that never existed before. Putting a new site on the internet is even more
challenging that placing a traditional “brick and mortar” business in a shopping mall. At least in a shopping
mall you will get people walking by and taking notice of your store, and probably even walking inside to
look around. The internet is a whole different game. Your site is one of millions and the chances of someone
happening upon your new site are slim to none. Now, this may seem a bit hopeless, but it’s not too hard
to start driving traffic to your site. All you need is a well thought out plan by people with experience
in this field.
Let’s take a look at some of the things you can do to get customers walking through your virtual front
door:
Define your target audience
Don’t make the mistake of trying to be all things to everybody. The internet is too big for that. You need
to identify your customer in as much detail as possible so you can precisely target their wants and needs.
Once that is accomplished you can figure out where they’re hiding, the best way to approach them, and how
to provide exactly what they're looking for.
Take a realistic look at how your company image and products are packaged on your site
Is your site packaged to appeal to your specific audience? You may think that websites with a black background
are cool, but what if you're selling flowers? The main point here is to listen to your customers and provide
them with an environment that makes them feel relaxed and willing to spend time on your site.
Research and refine your Meta tags for optimal SEO
Search Engine Optimization. Ah, the good old days when it was easy to get listed relatively high on search
results pages. Unfortunately, those days are long gone and you have to be a bit more knowledgeable on how
all the different search engines index their results. Gaining intimate knowledge of search engine spiders
and what they’re looking for is paramount to achieving those coveted top level listings.
Research the cost and effectiveness of PPC advertising
Pay Per Click advertising is the easiest way to have your site listed at the top of the search engine results
pages, but it’s increasingly expensive as more companies vie for the top spots. Unless you are quite familiar
with how this works, you may want to consult with someone with experience in this field. You’ll soon learn
that keywords have many meanings to different people and you most definitely don't want to pay for clicks
that don't have potential for sales. Take “baseball” for example. Typed into google or yahoo it could mean
that I’m looking for information on teams, maybe I want to buy a ball, or I like trading cards. The point
being that you don’t want to waste your money paying for Clicks that have nothing to do with your business.
Precisely define who you are trying to attract and what they are entering on search forms
Reach out to your existing customer base
An often forgotten goldmine of customers is just that, your current or past customers. Be sure to use an
ongoing print and email campaign to drive customers to your website. It’s much easier and less costly to
point someone to your site that has already engaged in business with you than it is to look for new shoppers
and try and convert them to new customers.
Marketing your business on the internet has it’s own rules and frisky acronyms, but in the end it’s just
marketing plain and simple. You'll need quality research to identify your customers, what they want, where
they're hiding, and how to reach them. Once you define these things, you can put your internet marketing
plans into action and watch your website’s visibility and profitability start to increase day by day.
