The online frontier is expanding every day and both storefront and online businesses are vying for the attention of an enormous online consumer market that has remained virtually untapped until now. Whether you run a brick and mortar business or you are focusing your efforts on creating a virtual storefront, it is imperative that you invest a portion of your resources into managing your online reputation. Business owners that fail to build proactively a healthy online reputation can potentially suffer at the hands of competitors and disgruntled customers, out to dissuade prospective customers from discovering your business online.
Why Search Engines Matter
Most online consumers research new products and services using their favorite online search engines. These search engines take the specific keywords entered into their query fields and connect browsers with the websites that contain the most relevant, cutting-edge information surrounding the entered keywords. Since search engines are designed to provide unbiased results for web browsers, they link individuals indiscriminately to websites that provide both positive and negative information about your business. This opens search engines up to the potential negative influence of competitors and disgruntled clients that are out to ruin your online reputation by seeding search engine results with sites that paint your business in a negative light.
Search engines are easily influenced by Search Engine Optimization techniques that infuse websites with the specific keywords that web browsers are likely to enter into their search fields. If any given website can get noticed and listed by a search engine, it has the potential to either direct an enormous amount of traffic to your website or to dissuade prospective clients from ever visiting your online business site at all.
Why your Online Reputation Matters
As in all other arenas in life, your reputation is one of the most important possessions you have. A business owner can literally spend years building a good reputation amongst other business owners and in consumer markets, only to have their good name completely dragged through the mud by one false press release or news story.
In the information age, the usual threats of negative bad press have been amplified a thousand-fold. If a few negative reports about your business land at the top of major search engines’ results, your business reputation can be dashed in a matter of just a few days. Conversely, if you invest the necessary time and money into building a positive online reputation, major search engines can send more new business your way than you ever imagined was possible.
In short, your managing your online reputation matters because your online reputation possesses the potential to literally make or break your business venture.
Internet Bullies
The internet is fraught with cranky men and women that understand Search Engine Optimization techniques and use their knowledge to destroy the online reputation of respectable businesses anywhere. These bullies are either hired by competing businesses or they are self-motivated cancers that thrill in the destruction of healthy and honest commerce.
Virtually anyone with an internet connection can release inaccurate and mean-spirited information about your business on their own website and can then optimize that website via SEO techniques to have it appear at the top of search engine results. These internet bullies can be overcome by a few simple proactive online management techniques that can save you a lot of grief in the long run.
Client Communication
As a business owner, making sure that your clients receive forthright, honest information about your business is of the utmost importance. These days, a prospective or current client can log on to an online forum and get fed a veritable feast of information about your business via anonymous online sources that do not have to back up their information with any proof whatsoever. While these forums can promote your business by gaining exposure amongst a broad range of online viewers, they also have the potential to feed your customers errant information about your business.
For instance, if your company is offering a summer promotion for 25% off shipping for the month of June, this information may be repeated inaccurately by a website that is ranked high in search engine listings. If you have not proactively built a good online presence and reputation, prospective and current customers may see the inaccurately posted information instead of discovering the right promotional information on your own business website. The result of this can be confused or even irritated customers who feel that they were promised a promotion are being denied unjustly by your company. Proactively building a reputation on the internet will make this confusion a thing of the past, ensuring that when a customer searches for your current promotions via major search engines, they are only connected to the correct information, supplied by your own website.
Taking the time to manage your online reputation will result in happy clients, who are confident that they can trust your company to provide them with correct information and a transparent style of business-client communication.
Cost Comparison
Some business owners fear that it will cost too much money to maintain their online reputation. In truth, however, proactively building your online reputation can save your business thousands of dollars in the long run. This is due to the fact that cleaning up a mess after the fact is always more costly and difficult than investing your efforts in making sure that the accident does not happen in the first place.
For example, if you discover that a number of customers have posted negative reviews on a popular social review site, it may cost you a small sum in manpower to respond to each of the negative reviews personally and iron out any confusion or irritation a client may feel toward your company. However, if you do not spend the initial manpower solving the problem in a proactive fashion, that one disgruntled customer may negatively report your business on several different popular websites, turning business away from your storefront forever. In a very real way, investing the necessary time and money it takes to proactively manage your online reputation can save your business a fortune.
Controlling well over half of the search engine market, the name “Google” is almost synonymous with the Internet. You may have even used Google to find this page. However, their services aren’t limited to what you can find on-line: Google Local uses their search technology to help people find products and services in the real world. With just a little effort you can put this service to work for your own business.
How does Google Local Search work?
Google Local combines Google Search and Google Maps with a user-created database. It does this by combining search terms for products and services with locations to let users find what they need at a specific location.
Unlike Google’s other services, Local hosts information on these businesses, created by business owners as well as patrons. This includes general information on the business as well as reviews.
How do people find my business on Google Local?
Thanks to Google’s integration of services, there are several ways to access information on Google Local:
Google Local can be “accessed” directly at local.google.com, but this redirects you to Google Maps, as this is where searching for businesses is done.
If you look at Google Maps, there’s an option under search options to look for businesses. With this option switched on, typing in a product, service, or business name along with a location will return a map that shows matching businesses near that address.
Typing in an address by itself on Google Maps will bring up a map of the area, along with a few options including “search nearby.” Here users can type in what they’re looking for and will see results around the area they just searched. For example, if someone is planning a trip to Mt. Rushmore, they could find the monument and then search for hotels nearby.
Typing a search term with a location into Google Search will also place local business results at the top of the page. Unlike searches on Google Maps, the first link listed will redirect to the business’s web page, not the Google Local page.
As smart phones become more popular, people are using them in the same way they would a browser on their home computer. Some devices have applications tailor-made to work with Google. Cell phones with GPS built in, like the iPhone 3G, can search Google based on the phone’s location. This way the user can find a nearby business with what they want, as well as directions on how to get there from their current location.
Even those without web access can use Google Local, thanks to Google toll-free 411 service at 1-800-GOOG-411. This uses an automated voice system connected to Local’s database to help callers find information beyond a business’s address and phone number.
Who uses Google Local to find businesses?
Google Local Search is often replacing the phone book as the way people look for area businesses. People searching for businesses on Google are looking for you. The availability also lets people new to the area find places that are more out of the way. Once your business has been found, possible customers can act immediately.
Local search isn’t just for businesses that sell on-line. In fact, the opposite is true: people using it aren’t looking for just a product or service, they’re looking for a product or service that’s nearby.
How do I get my business listed?
You can enter information directly into the database at Google’s Local Business Center:
www.google.com/local/add
You will need a Google account, which you may already have if you use Google’s other services, like Gmail.
Here you can enter where you are, when you are open, how you can be contacted, and what forms of payment you accept.
How do I make an entry for my business that will attract customers?
Photos
Like any medium, photos will get your ad more views than just text. Google allows ten photos to be uploaded. If your business is in an area covered by Google Streetview, a link to a photo of the business will also be visible to searchers.
Coupons
Like Google Local, Google Coupons has its own URL, google.com/coupons, that redirects to Google Maps. Coupons will automatically be shown with your Local entry. Google allows some XML coding to be used for setting up coupons, allowing for easy updating if you understand how to use this feature properly. More information can be found at http://code.google.com/apis/coupons/
Customers can add reviews of your business. They can leave a description of their experience, and rate your business one to five stars. If you have any reviews, this rating shows up alongside your business listing; a good rating is sure to draw attention.
The description area is limited to 200 characters, about the length of this paragraph. Here you need to describe what sets your business apart in plain English: SEO should be left to the category section.
The category section is key in getting your page to show up in searches. Unlike a phone book, these categories can be much more precise. If you have a bakery, you would include what you bake: wedding cakes, cupcakes, pastries, birthday cakes, etc. This also helps searchers narrow down businesses to those who have exactly what they want. Google limits acceptable categories, but will make suggestions based on what you type in.
Once you’ve added your business, Google will keep track of how people find your business. Using this information, you can fine-tune your entry to attract more customers.
Even if you don’t sell on-line, consider setting up a website is useful to help explain what you do beyond what you can fit on your Google Local page. This will also increase your business’s visibility when searched.
Does this cost anything? Will paying Google help people find my business?
Adding a listing does not cost any money.
Advertising with Google will not move your business up higher in search results. People use Google because it gets unbiased results, and advertising is clearly listed. However, these ads will show up when people do searches for businesses of your type, giving people more of a chance to find you.
Are you a future website owner looking into new and successful ways to draw attention to your website and or business? Does your web page rely on drawing in traffic to produce sales and increase customer relations? Maybe you are more interested in ways to put advertisements on your own website, which are in relation to your websites content, to make you extra income off of your already successful or growing website? But how is it possible? How can one single website be capable of pulling in hundreds, to thousands of dollars in income a month? The answer may just be Google Ad sense and Ad words.
What is Google Ad words and Ad sense?
Google ad words and ad sense is a company program ran by the internet engine Google to provide web page owners with the chance to draw in new frequent traffic, and also making extra profits off of websites which already have frequent successful web activity and traffic.
How do Google ad words help target customers to the business owners who use it to advertise?
When using Google ad words, you are able to choose directly from a list of websites, along with logs of that websites daily average of unique visitors. This provides businesses with the ability to decide which websites they would like to display their advertisements based on targeting visitors with common interests making it more likely that when someone clicks the business owners advertisement that the visitor will utilize the businesses services.
How does Google ad sense help websites who are not trying to drive traffic, but to make profit?
Google ad sense gives web builders the option to join the program free of charge and implement the programs coding into their own websites where potential businesses can put their advertisements, the web builders who do this and comply with the rules of the program will receive payments from Google for every individual click on the ads by visitors, along with for every 1,000 page impressions made by visitors.
This gives very successful websites the opportunity to make thousands in profit from Google.
How expensive is Google ad words for advertising?
Google ad words are actually very affordable for businesses to advertise on. The program works on a pay per click program, meaning the business purchasing advertising only pays a small cent flat fee for every click on the advertisement, usually around 10 cents or so a click.
The company purchasing advertising can set a monthly spending limit as to where once so many clicks have been reached in a month’s time the advert disappears until the following month. Or the business runner can chose to simply put so much payment down ahead of time and once the clicks exceed this payment amount the advertisements stop until the payment account is re-charged. Google also provides payment programs as to where at specific promotional periods business owners can receive trials as to where they can join and receive 5 to 50$ of advertising credit free, to see if the program will bring them future profit or not.
When it comes to internet searches, there is no name more recognized than Google. However, despite Google’s widespread fame, it is certainly not the only option when it comes to scouring the internet. Though there are many smaller search engines vying for internet superiority, Google’s biggest competitor is Yahoo.
Unlike Google, Yahoo has a more diversified service base. Because of this, users are attracted to Yahoo for many reasons. For example, Yahoo is well known for its news, email, and groups in addition to its search engine. While Google may receive more press, Yahoo actually performs a sizable chunk of total internet searches and is especially popular among young professionals.
The key to understanding what sets Yahoo apart is to look at how it evolved. In its early years, Yahoo Search was a web directory rather than a standard web crawling search interface. This means that Yahoo’s search served more as an archived directory of sites approved and ranked by Yahoo’s criteria. Therefore, the scope of early Yahoo searches was more limited for the user but much more directed by Yahoo itself, ensuring that users were more likely to see sites chosen by Yahoo.
This web directory system changed quickly as Yahoo grew in popularity, and was soon supplemented by an outside index of pages. Though the results were still displayed under the Yahoo brand, the hits from the searches were often conducted by other sites and providers. However, in 2004, Yahoo Search became independent, giving Yahoo Search a new life.
Now, Yahoo Search has distinctive features that set it apart from other popular search engines. One such feature is a selection based search mode called Yahoo Shortcuts. This method of searching allows users to look for information related to various popular keywords. By clicking on a keyword in Yahoo Shortcuts, users are then given access to sites and content that relates to the keyword. In this way, Yahoo Shortcuts enables users to search more efficiently on certain topics, since it provides only a select number of hits that are directly related to the chosen shortcut.
Yahoo Search has also worked hard to both protect its users as well as give them more variety in hits. For safety purposes, Yahoo Search now features SearchScan. When activated, SearchScan can alert users to any suspicious content, such as Spyware or websites that are likely to have viruses or spam. For the sake of variety, Yahoo also utilizes search verticals, which display a variety of link types in search results and not simply standard websites. Now users can search videos, images, shopping, news, and much more. Yahoo also has features such as SearchMonkey and BOSS that are specifically designed for developers who wish to use Yahoo in order to create a customize search experience.
With all this, it is easy to see why Yahoo does so well. In fact, while Google may be touted as the search engine king, Yahoo is in fact more popular with young people. Most notably, recent figures suggest that Yahoo is actually the search engine of choice for people between eighteen and twenty-four years of age. Yahoo’s dominance is even more noteworthy among individuals between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-four. This data demonstrates Yahoo’s popularity with younger generations. Those who are young and aspiring professionals seem to lean strongly toward Yahoo’s focused searching capabilities.
All in all, Yahoo has emerged as a strong and diverse search engine that provides users with an inclusive online experience. With so many perks and a multitude of features, Yahoo is likely to continue to thrive as a powerful internet search engine.
Starting a business can be challenging as there are so many tasks that must be accomplished before everything can start running smoothly. If you happen to neglect some important matter, your grand opening or kickoff might be a big disappointment.
In order to ensure as flawless a startup as possible, it is a good idea to have a checklist of items to run through. That way you can make sure that you have covered all your bases.
Here is a checklist of important items to complete when starting your own business.
The importance of a business name
Choosing the right business name is more important than a lot of people think. Name recognition plays an important role in how customers find goods and services. So having a name that sparks people’s interest and also is easy to remember can be advantageous to your business.
Deciding on a legal entity
A new business can form as a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a corporation, or a limited liability company/partnership (LLC/LLP). If there is only one owner, then you cannot form a partnership. Both limited companies/partnerships and corporations help protect owners from personal liability. A corporation tends to act as a “person” legally and must file taxes separately.
Coming up with a business plan
A business plan is like your roadmap that you can refer to whenever you lose your way or direction. Make your business plan as detailed as possible while still allowing for flexibility in case things do not go as planned. Sometimes it is good to have a “Plan B” when devising a business plan.
Professional help?
Some businesses may require the assistance of licensed professionals such as attorneys or certified public accountants (CPAs). And business owners may have more peace of mind if they consult with an attorney just to make sure they have all their legal ducks in order.
Opening bank accounts
Businesses should have business accounts to make tax filing simple. You may want to have separate accounts for handling payments, expenses, etc.
Licenses and other legal requirements
Generally, a business will need at least a business license to operate, including businesses that operate from home. You may also have to file for a fictitious business name (DBA). Check with your county for all license and other legal requirements. They should also be able to inform you of state requirements.
Capital and financing
Businesses must determine how much money they will need to operate before turning a profit. Will your business need multiple rounds of financing? Many businesses start by obtaining financing from their close network including family and friends, and then work out from there to more conventional businesses sources of funds like banks, angel investors and venture capitalists. Small businesses will be limited in the types of funding they can receive, but they can look into the possibility of small business loans from the government.
Finding an office or storefront
Choosing the correct office space or storefront is very important. You need to consider things like expense, visibility, parking and services. Many business owners find that the best place to locate their office is at home. This saves money on overhead, and in some cases you can deduct part of your home expenses from your taxes. Generally this requires that you have a part of the home that is used exclusively for business purposes.
Logistics
A new business will need equipment and supplies to get started. Generally this will at least include the items needed to maintain records and to process all the necessary paperwork. If your business consumes lots of supplies, then logistics become a very critical part of your planning. Location of the office can be very important in this case. Planning a bit on the safe side is usually a good idea when it comes to logistics unless you have a lot of prior experience in your business.
Recordkeeping
All good businesses will keep meticulous records. Most use computer-based software systems in which data is kept in electronic databases. Such software makes it easy to call up data based on specific criteria and to create reports and analyses. As a backup, it is still a good idea to keep an extra copy, if not on paper at least on disk-type media in case your computer system crashes. Remember that CDs and DVDs do not have unlimited shelf life, so if you choose this route you will have to periodically recopy to new media.
Don’t forget marketing
Many businesses fail because they do not put enough resources into marketing. Unless you already have an existing clientele from your previous job or business, no one will know about your new business unless you get the word out. Usually this will include at least some paid advertising or other paid marketing schemes, but you can also do plenty of free “guerilla” marketing. Typical marketing tools include business cards, flyers, newspaper ads, radio ads, TV ads, internet ads, etc. depending on one’s budget. To save money, think of attending plenty of community events and joining local chambers of commerce. Successful marketing often involves learning to create a “buzz” about your business.
Developing a daily routine
One thing that many successful people have in common is that they are highly organized. They do not waste time on a daily basis trying out what to do next. Many have tight schedules that allow them to maximize their work output every day. One trick to managing your time is to have a daily routine that you follow religiously. After a while, this routine becomes a matter of a habit, and because you do it every day you get better and better with practice. However, make sure that your routine is also producing results. A good thing to do is to ask yourself daily “what have I done to make money today?”
By running through this checklist and making sure you address each item, you can help yourself avoid many of the pitfalls encountered when starting up a new business.
As an internet business owner, there are quite a few ways to make money. Google provides some excellent money making opportunities and you can obviously sell advertising on your own site. But any good internet entrepreneur should be able to use affiliate marketing to produce a significant amount of revenue. Affiliate marketing is the practice of taking advantage of your ability to direct traffic to other websites. It does not matter if you have a website talking about online poker or you have a website talking about books. Whatever the case, if you can send traffic to other websites, there is significant money making potential for your own business. So what are the true advantages of affiliate marketing?
Playing both sides of the coin
The cool thing about affiliate marketing is that you can benefit from being on both sides of the coin. Many business owners have found that using affiliates to drive traffic to their site is an excellent way to attract more visitors. This is a truly performance based marketing system, because you are only paying out money to affiliates when someone actually signs up for your products or services. That means that these are people who probably wouldn’t have been signing on with you unless they had come through your affiliate. It is a no risk way of marketing that you can take advantage of if you are selling a product or service.
You can also be on the other side, acting as the affiliate. This is a very easy way to get going and make money with an internet business. When you use your own website to write reviews and convince potential customers to visit a site, you are contributing directly to their bottom line. They are making money and it makes complete sense for them to share that money with you. It’s a new form of the old idea of revenue sharing and everyone gets a piece of the pie.
Affiliate marketing is easy and doesn’t require a huge time commitment
One of the top reasons why affiliate marketing is a must for new online business owners is that it is not something that requires a huge time commitment. Simply put, it takes only a couple of minutes to write up a really nice review of a product or a service. If your website is already attracting a good amount of traffic, then you will likely have a significant visitor base to help you out. If you aren’t into writing articles or writing reviews, then you can contract someone to do this for at a low cost. It will take you a couple of minutes to post this article on your site, and then the rest requires little of your own effort.
A passive income revenue stream
As an online business owner, you have to be looking for passive streams of income if you want to have prolonged success. The cool thing about affiliate marketing is that many companies will give you residual rewards. In some cases, you will get a one time payment for something that they purchase. If it’s a situation where your referred client pumps lots of money into a site, you might get a percentage of what they spend. This is constant, continuous money that you will make without having to do any additional work. As a business owner, that is what you want because it gives you the possibility of making big money. Passive revenue streams provide you with huge growth potential, and you won’t have to do additional work for it.
Ultimately, if this opportunity is out there, you owe it to yourself to take advantage of it. Affiliate marketing is easy to implement, so there is no excuse for new business owners neglecting it.
Membership Sites
In our fast paced society, there are so many ways in which we can make money. The internet, for one, is a very convenient and efficient source of income. With the right tools, knowledge, and strategic approaches, one can surely make use of it as an income replacement. Perhaps the most popular types of revenue generating websites are those that involve advertising. Advertising can come in a lot of forms. Some of them include pay-per-click, CPA (cost per action), and CPM (cost per impression). Additionally, people can also do internet marketing, wherein they sell products and receive a commission from the final price. One revenue model, membership sites, is considered to be the best way to make money online. In a nut shell, membership sites are websites that generate income by letting individuals sign up for a service, information, or affiliation that is rendered by the site. The website makes money by charging their customers a fee in order to become part of the services offered. Commonly, these sites offer a monthly payment plan, in which customers have the option to stay within the site or leave. The possibilities of membership sites are endless. As long as you have a good business plan and a way to execute the proposition, your membership site should function accordingly.
Fundamentals of Membership Sites
The beauty about membership sites is that it has a recurring revenue stream. Typically, 1% of visitors to the site sign up for a paid membership. This means that if you have 10,000 monthly visitors, 100 people will sign up for the membership. Furthermore, the value of a membership site is considered to be higher than its revenue. Normally, websites that make money through advertising only have values that range within their yearly revenue. Membership sites’ value on the other hand, cost nearly twice their annual revenue. This is primarily due to their recurring revenue stream. Membership sites usually charge around 10 up to $35 per month. This value though, is just an estimation. The price that should be charged ought to be determined by the website owners and should be based on the services that they offer. With that, it is safe to say that membership sites are definitely sound investments. They’re great income generators and they possess a high market value compared to other money making websites.
Making Membership Sites Profitable
Ultimately, you would like your membership site to be profitable. The success of a membership site primarily relies on three main factors- traffic, service offered, and website click through rate. Traffic is one of the most important components of making a membership site work. A website that receives 10,000 visitors a month should have at least 100 people signing up. This number translates to around $1500-$3000 a month in revenue. The service offered is also very important. If your business model is in demand, more people will want to join your site. The last factor is the click through rate. Click through rates are usually 1%, but with some tweaks and redesigns you can bring this up to at least 2%. A jump from 1 to 2% means a 100% increase in overall revenue. This number is very impressive considering the adjustments are very minimal.
For any new business, there are lots of tools that you have to utilize if you want to be successful. Many business owners get overwhelmed by all of the resources at their disposal and they choose to ignore some things that could ultimately make them very successful. With advertising, client building, affiliate marketing, and everything that goes along with that, it can be easy to forget about one of the most important ways to market your business. That is email marketing, and it’s incredibly important for keeping up with your clients, developing relationships, and putting your best foot forward as a business owner. There are many advantages to this sort of marketing approach.
Establishing new relationships with clients
If you are going to be successful as a business owner, you need to have clients. It doesn’t matter if you are selling financial products or you are selling widgets, you won’t have any success if people aren’t interested in your site and your offerings. With that in mind, there is a premium in the business world on new client development. Email marketing is one of the ways that you can establish these new relationships with clients. If they aren’t familiar with your website or what it is that you do, explaining to them through email will be a great idea. This way, you let them know that you and your business are all about from the very beginning.
Cultivating and improving those relationships
Some of the best and brightest business minds have come to the conclusion that enhancing client relationships is a big part of the success equation, no matter what your business happens to be. With email marketing, you can take those hot, active leads that you have gotten and you can keep in contact with them. A business relationship is only as strong as the last contact you have made, and email is a very non-invasive way to get in touch with people. They don’t have to deal with a phone call and you can give them an update on your business in a matter of minutes. With some of the automated email marketing programs available today, this is a very efficient way to market your business.
Developing credibility through email marketing
One of the ways that business owners are using email marketing is in an attempt to build credibility. In order to really get the most out of your customers, they have to trust what you are saying. Some email marketing campaigns will be intended to sell your products to customers. Other campaigns can just offer some business to business advice. If there is a way to write an article type of email that will help out the people on your mailing list, then that is the approach to take. Ultimately it is this type of help that will make customers trust you more. When they gain trust in you as a business owner, they will be more likely to hop on board with what you are selling.
Advertising products through email marketing
Finally, you have to use email marketing to keep your clients abreast on your new products or services. Sometimes these people would have purchased something, but they never knew what you had available. When you use email marketing to make it happen, you can make life really easy on these potential clients. This is a great way to advertise a sale that you are having or any limited time offers that your company is providing. People like to hear about these things because they are going to save money, too. Email marketing is fast, cheap, and time effective for these specific purposes. For that reason, it must be a part of your overall marketing plan.
In today’s highly technical economic climate, having an effective Internet presence helps ensure financial success. As more consumers depend on locating information online to purchase goods and services, the need to design and maintain a functional website becomes imperative. One of the issues, however, involves understanding how potential customers find a specific business. There may be dozens of similar companies offering competitive products that appear during a customer search. The consumer may quickly select a website listing that closely meets their criteria and never reach the other possible options.
The key to creating an effective site involves understanding a few techniques about search engine optimization and marketing. Whether the business is a one person operation or a multiple office endeavor, knowing how to direct customers to a specific website becomes an important aspect of sound business management.
How Search Engine Optimization Works
The basic concept of search engine marketing revolves around the use of keywords. A potential customer will start their Internet search by typing in a few words that relate to their task. The keywords may be specific or general, for example, if a potential customer searches for a known product they would normally enter the company name “NIKE shoes”. But if they are searching for athletic shoes to compare brands and prices, they may perform the search by entering “tennis shoes”, “running shoes”, or “sports shoes”. Other customers may be looking for stores in a specific location, for example, Boston. The search may include any combination of these terms such as “tennis shoes, Boston.”
If a business selling these products includes all potential versions of a customer search command within their website, they will increase their chances of a higher ranking. Keyword positioning, using specific keywords in headings and throughout the text, also impacts search engine optimization. A well designed website will include multiple keyword combinations that reflect all aspects of the business.
Another important consideration in search engine marketing includes the use of external links within the website. By directing viewers to other pages and tying searches to other sites, the potential for increased traffic increases. Both keyword usage and links should be well integrated into the site so that the viewer receives the information in a logical method.
Why SEO Marketing Affects Small Businesses
Using effective keyword placement helps small businesses gain recognition from viewers who visit their website. Where a large company may be easily found through name recognition, lesser known businesses must rely on positioning themselves on the Internet. Their marketing strategy must include methods that ensure an effective number of “hits” to their site.
The need for effective online marketing continues to increase at a rapid rate. Once a marketing strategy is in place, monitoring the number of visitors is also important. Adding fresh text, evaluating new keywords and incorporating additional links may also be required. By creating, updating and maintaining an effective website that utilizes search engine optimization marketing, a business improves their chance for success.
Effective marketing has become incredibly difficult in an age where incessant advertising constantly bombards jaded consumers. Amidst all the billboards, 30 second TV spots, telemarketers calling at all hours, and Jehovah’s Witnesses leaving fliers at the door, Joe six-pack wants some quiet time alone with his six-pack more than ever. The average consumer these days picks up the phone less often, reads less of the newspaper, and even watches less television. They avoid these media not only to escape from the constant stream of advertisements, but also because of the modern alternative: the Internet.
Advertising on the Internet has several key advantages over traditional media. For one, Internet advertisements target their intended audience far more effectively. The average newspaper reader or television viewer doesn’t give two hoots about the latest advances in deodorant technology, and advertisers take a gamble hoping that enough people will care to make their ad to make it worthwhile. However, someone doing a Google search for “deodorant technology” probably does care about it, so ads they encounter are much more likely to lead to a sale.
We’ve all come across spam, flashy banner ads, and other annoying, ineffective Internet marketing ploys. The problem with these strategies parallels the problem with old media advertising: it irritates and alienates potential customers. Even targeted consumers with a strong interest in a product may get scared off by such aggressive tactics. The Internet encourages social interaction and community participation on a level that other media can’t. An optimal Internet marketing strategy will take advantage of these unique features, and one of the easiest ways to do that is with a blog.
Blogging, if done effectively, can cause business to blossom at far less cost than traditional advertising. In addition to providing a platform for keeping people up to date on the latest products and services, it allows for valuable customer feedback. Starting a dialogue with customers can answer important questions the public has about a business while generating buzz at the same time. More blog activity means more keywords for a search engine to encounter which means more hits, creating more sales and even more blog activity.
Blogs must update often to remain effective. Stagnant blogs are occasionally stumbled across, but active blogs attract traffic like a magnet. The best blogs make it easy to subscribe, so visitors can see whenever you update. Place links to RSS and Atoms feeds prominently on the main page. Though repeat visitors are important, nothing’s more important than drawing first time visitors. For this, maintaining a balanced keyword density leads to the highest search engine rankings. Utilize chosen keywords often, but not unnaturally. Spamming a keyword will scare off visitors and lead to red flags from search engines, but not using it enough will lead to low page rankings. The highest ranked pages maintain a keyword density of about 2-3%.
Keep these practical tips in mind while blogging for business, and traffic will appear from the unlikeliest of places. The Internet extends around the world, so your next customer could live anywhere from Australia to Zimbabwe. There’s never been a greater opportunity to expand a business’ marketing strategy so widely for such little cost.