Internet Marketing Strategies to Stay Ahead of Your Competition
Internet marketing is one of the fastest growing and least understood sectors online. If done strategically, it gives you exposure across the internet for your products and services and will give you a high rate of return for your efforts. However, since there are so many moving parts that you may not know what to do first, second, and so on, I’ve developed an Internet Marketing 101 Checklist:
1. Content Search Engine Optimization: Content is where it all begins. It engages the visitor and makes them react (buy, read more, bookmark, browse, etc.). Make sure it’s easy for people to read and easy for search engines to index and rank.
2. Create new, relevant, keyword-rich content: Once your website is optimized, you need to be proactive in producing increasingly relevant keyword-rich content. Again, all content must be searchable and optimized.
3. Use a pay per click campaign: Paying for traffic (visitors click on your ads online) is search engine advertising. You bid on keywords related to your products and services that you promote in your website content. It is one of the fastest ways to generate traffic if you are not ranking well on the organic or free side of search engines.
4. Merchandising of articles: Writing articles and more articles is an effective way to drive traffic to your site, position you as an expert in your field, help build more inbound links, and maintain your search engine rankings. Once written, articles should be submitted to directories, online PR publishers, and RSS feeds. Each article should be published on your website on an article or resource page with a bookmark button.
5. Social Media Networks: Face it, we are social creatures. The explosion of social networks is an extension of our egos or ourselves. Just think of Facebook or MySpace. Of course, there are many networking vehicles where you must have a profile to provide more information to hungry readers. It’s not just for friend-to-friend interaction. Companies are taking it to the next level and business is done through this social network.
6. Create and maintain a blog: Because the online consumer has more control over what they read and decide, businesses need to connect with them on a more personal emotional level. In essence, develop an online personality. Humanize your products and services and blog about their straightforward features and benefits, peppered with testimonials. And the more you blog, the more content is created about you.
7. Video marketing: With the growing popularity of video, people respond more to it than to simple audio or static web pages. Now there are even Internet TV websites where you can post your videos. Having a video on your website and placing it in directories will bring your offers to life and create a higher click-through rate.
8. Web Widget Marketing: Widgets are small icons that reside in HTML and highlight specific content on your website. They have the ability to rapidly introduce products and services to their target markets. They can reside on websites or blogs, ready to be downloaded to a desktop with a click, and are a new marketing technique to build brand awareness.
9. Mobile Marketing: This will take a bit of time to develop, but it’s good to prepare for the next web wave. Websites will emerge that mobile devices can easily access and read. Your website will essentially be a mobile ad.
10. Email Marketing Strategy: Continue to develop an online relationship with your visitors through ongoing email marketing campaigns and grow your online customer base. You want to engage your list with relevant content: newsletters, special offers, and information to improve their lives. Email marketing is still alive and well, as long as it’s permission-based. Customers will continue to expect your communications and do business with you.
Implementing these strategies: Following these 10 internet marketing strategies will help you stay ahead of your competition and position you for online success.