I've been a member of Digital Point for a few years now, during this time I have noticed a distinct lack of knowledge that surrounds the basic fundamentals of Internet Marketing. Make no mistake, running a successful online venture requires intelligence and the incorporation of a sound marketing strategy. Points to Note 1. On-site optimisation revolves around keyword research, if each page of a site is well structured and based around good quality keywords they will all have a chance of ranking highly. 2. Link Building - The process of building a sites profile is difficult, it requires hard work over a long period of time. Understand and monitor the strategy of your competitors and use diverse tactics, by this I mean, do not place all your eggs in one basket. 3. Incorporate a good quality social media campaign, Twitter, Facebook etc 4. Build your website by regularly adding good quality unique content, an ecommerce website is an open broadcasting channel 4. Make sure your website is well constructed, easy to navigate, understandable and trusted by your visitors 5. Do not become obsessed with the little green bar, unless you are chasing advertising revenue 6. Keep your eye on your visitor trends, if your site generates plenty of visitors but has a poor conversion ratio, the problems areas will be the website itself or the targeted keywords 7. Do not forget to use offline marketing techniques such as, magazines, newsletters, leaflets, local radio appearance and networking groups Branding a small business will take years, try and set yourself achievable goals Pitfalls I run a successful marketing company, during the last 12 months I have met a handful of online operators who suffer an enlarged ego, unfortunately we find these people in all walks of life. Remember to keep your feet on the ground you never know when you may need someone. Be flexible, the Internet is a fluid mechanism, what work's well today may not be good tomorrow Technical based websites are notoriously difficult to understand, if you are selling to the general public try and avoid 'technogabble' Conclusion Building a successful online venture can bring lots of satisfaction, in that regard the journey should be enjoyed. Be wise with the management of growth, so many good businesses go to the wall because the owners over commit or suffer from greed. Good Luck
Thanks for the good info! A big part of online marketing is about finding your potential customers, whether they are at Google, or Twitter. It will be more efficient if you can isolate where the real buyers are. People using Google to search your products and services are more likely to become buyers. People who hang out at Twitter or Facebook may be your potential customers, but are they real buyers? Maybe, maybe not. Online marketing's ultimate goal is conversion. It is very often the weakest link in a marketing campaign. Many business owners build a website that they like. They just assume the site will connect with users. Most often that is not the case.
Very true or worse the design team build a website they like without understanding the sector, demographics or the actual business. In regards to social media, I firmly believe in having a diverse strategy that combines all aspects of marketing.