According to Nielsen Online, as of June 2009, there are approximately 228 million American Internet Users, which is 74.1% of the US population. This percentage is up from 44% of the population in 2000. How does your business deal with this overwhelmingly obvious trend? Do your business objectives fully take this into account?
There’s no doubt that more and more businesses are realize the significance of a strong online presence. Perhaps old-fashioned businesses and companies never thought about having a website or investing in online marketing during the internet’s boom in the 90s. However, ever-growing competition effectively using internet marketing has transformed internet websites from a novel idea into an absolute necessity in the early 21st century.
So, if you have made the decision that you can’t afford to not be in the internet arena, you’re probably wondering “what’s the next step?” Many small and medium sized businesses do not have an internal IT Department; even if they do, an IT Department knows little about internet marketing. There are only three universities in the US that provide courses geared towards online marketing, as of June 2009. That means that most of the industry is self -taught or learn from hard “seat of the pants” experience.
With this backdrop, we offer the 5 most significant elements required for online marketing success.
- Schedule and Process: This is a must for successful internet marketing campaigns. There must be a plan and a set execution schedule that extends over the course of at least the first 12 months replete with all of the milestones involving specific tasks and dates.
- Content: Content is king! If you search Google for Internet Marketing or Search Engine Optimization, you will see and read some of the very same advice and specific suggestions; none more important than the absolute necessity without unique, non-duplicated and targeted content for the benefit of readers and the search engine spiders.
- Backlinks: “Back Links” are the single most important objective of content; Google uses backlinks, their quantity and quality, to generate their rankings which is so well received by Googlers globally. It is their success using backlinks that actually serves to drive their Google Adwords business … it’s the advertisers that want to be seen and found right next to the highest ranking sites. It’s all about the backlinks.
- Variety: Internet Marketing is a numbers game and you cannot put all your eggs in one basket. This strategy necessitates a broad, well coordinated strategy using SEO, Social Media, Social Bookmarking, Backlinking, Viral Marketing and Conversion Optimization. Without this complete strategy, stable results are hard to achieve.
- ROI: All the numbers need to make sense. You must be able to calculate exactly how many cents you invest to yield a dollar. If you cannot calculate your ROI, or the outsourced company does not care for this info, ask why! Are they paid strictly based on services or are they also paid based on results? Are the results directly in sync with your ROI objectives? The company you outsource Internet Marketing to must have some skin in the game.
Most important of all, ask the right questions and make sure that everything makes sense from a business perspective. Have questions? Need clarification? Need Help? Please contact us for a no obligation consultation.
September 9, 2009
