Advances in the Internet have completely changed the playing field for small businesses trying to build a brand identity and establish a web presence for themselves. The changes have come so fast and have been so dramatic that it can be intimidating to try to keep up with them, but it’s important to know the landscape, and to have an understanding of some web marketing basics. The more small businesses understand about SEM (search engine marketing), the better they’ll be able to take advantage of the benefits of web marketing and avoiding SEO schemes and companies that use unethical marketing and execution practices.
Web Marketing is a broad term that can include Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Sponsored Search or Pay per Click (PPC) Advertising, Banner Advertising, Affiliate Marketing, Social Media Optimization and much more.
SEO – this is what you need if you seek a long-term strategy to get your business found through keyword searches on Google, Yahoo and Bing et al. You might guess and you would be correct that since this involves keywords, text is at the center of all SEO strategies. SEO involves processes that are both on-site, so that Google understands what your pages are all about / indexed, and off-site to promote the website to create Backlinks to increase your popularity, credibility and relevance in the eyes of all of the search engines. Go to our articles section and search for SEO or Backlinks and you will find a wealth of great information
PPC – While SEO gets you found, ideally on page 1 for your most important terms, PPC allows for ad placement on those very same pages. PPC involves keyword research just like SEO; however, it is used for advertising by bidding for Cost per Click so that you can place a textual ad that will link directly to a landing page for customer sale et al.
Banner Advertising is actually closely associated with PPC except it is not place on search engine pages but rather by websites that offer advertising space, even promote the advertising space. This can be well-targeted through website research to identify those sites attracting visitors most likely to be attracted to your ad or offer. Google Content Network is a good place to start banner advertising.
Affiliate Marketing is pretty complex stuff. However, this is very lucrative for the right business model. Affiliate Marketing provides you the opportunity to market your products and services through networks or individual affiliates. The affiliate is only paid when you have made a sale so it is completely merit-based. Setting up an affiliate program with the right network of affiliates takes time, patience and an ample budget. However, a website must have conversions before setting up an affiliate program. That’s Affiliate 101.
Social Media Optimization & Social Bookmarking – Everyone is familiar with Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. However there are hundreds of social sites and social bookmarking sites that are great sources of marketing, especially for those paying attention to long term issues of PR and brand name awareness. SMO is often (should be) integrated with SEO strategies as part of the content syndication process. This is an exciting and rapidly expanding web marketing area.
Many small businesses are also local businesses that seek to market themselves and be found in a defined geographic area. All of the web marketing strategies briefly described above are easily applied to local campaigns and in various means and methods. For instance, Google Maps is integrated into Local SEO strategies to provide first page listings in the Maps section which is obviously focused on local results. PPC can be also be locally-focused through custom settings like those found in Google Adwords.
Also, as in all marketing, pay major attention to content and presentation. Once you get website visitors, you need to get them to convert into customers. So, a well thought out design with clear navigation and conversion funnel is essential to bring the results to reality.
Are you a small business looking for online success? Contact us today for a free initial consultation.
Small Business Web Marketing
Web Marketing is a broad term that can include Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Sponsored Search or Pay per Click (PPC) Advertising, Banner Advertising, Affiliate Marketing, Social Media Optimization and much more.
SEO – this is what you need if you seek a long-term strategy to get your business found through keyword searches on Google, Yahoo and Bing et al. You might guess and you would be correct that since this involves keywords, text is at the center of all SEO strategies. SEO involves processes that are both on-site, so that Google understands what your pages are all about / indexed, and off-site to promote the website to create Backlinks to increase your popularity, credibility and relevance in the eyes of all of the search engines. Go to our articles section and search for SEO or Backlinks and you will find a wealth of great information
PPC – While SEO gets you found, ideally on page 1 for your most important terms, PPC allows for ad placement on those very same pages. PPC involves keyword research just like SEO; however, it is used for advertising by bidding for Cost per Click so that you can place a textual ad that will link directly to a landing page for customer sale et al.
Banner Advertising is actually closely associated with PPC except it is not place on search engine pages but rather by websites that offer advertising space, even promote the advertising space. This can be well-targeted through website research to identify those sites attracting visitors most likely to be attracted to your ad or offer. Google Content Network is a good place to start banner advertising.
Affiliate Marketing is pretty complex stuff. However, this is very lucrative for the right business model. Affiliate Marketing provides you the opportunity to market your products and services through networks or individual affiliates. The affiliate is only paid when you have made a sale so it is completely merit-based. Setting up an affiliate program with the right network of affiliates takes time, patience and an ample budget. However, a website must have conversions before setting up an affiliate program. That’s Affiliate 101.
Social Media Optimization & Social Bookmarking – Everyone is familiar with Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. However there are hundreds of social sites and social bookmarking sites that are great sources of marketing, especially for those paying attention to long term issues of PR and brand name awareness. SMO is often (should be) integrated with SEO strategies as part of the content syndication process. This is an exciting and rapidly expanding web marketing area.
Many small businesses are also local businesses that seek to market themselves and be found in a defined geographic area. All of the web marketing strategies briefly described above are easily applied to local campaigns and in various means and methods. For instance, Google Maps is integrated into Local SEO strategies to provide first page listings in the Maps section which is obviously focused on local results. PPC can be also be locally-focused through custom settings like those found in Google Adwords.
Also, as in all marketing, pay major attention to content and presentation. Once you get website visitors, you need to get them to convert into customers. So, a well thought out design with clear navigation and conversion funnel is essential to bring the results to reality.
Are you a small business looking for online success? Contact us today for a free initial consultation.