This one is for the
newbies.
A few years ago, a small group of
entrepreneurs were invited to a talk regarding online marketing and why it is
an inevitable advancement that can no longer be ignored. Small businesses have thrived for years using
conventional marketing strategies but technological developments have changed
market behavior drastically. The market is getting more tech savvy every minute
– and gadgets get smarter as they get smaller, browsing and shopping online is
now more commonplace than ever.
Now, you may imagine that the said group
of entrepreneurs found themselves completely overwhelmed – some even have an
aversion to opening an email account because they might break something somewhere
and it will cost them an arm and a leg.
And if you are like these entrepreneurs, what I am about to say will
come as a surprise. Here is the truth – having
an online store or a business website is the beginning but that is just the tip
of the proverbial iceberg. But before
anyone goes on a panic attack, here is another truth – internet marketing it is
not rocket science. If you have managed
to pull off running your small business, then learning and understanding internet
commerce is not a big deal. I am not
saying that reading a few How-To articles will get you the website traffic that
you want but it will ensure better planning with your marketing manager or SEO
service provider.
The Search Engines
In the beginning, there were five – Yahoo!, Google, Bing, Alta
Vista and MSN. Then there’s three,
Google being the most used search engine and Bing and Yahoo! coming into second. Search engines are the gateway into the daily
internet experience, and what the SRPs (search engine result page) say will
dictate where the internet user goes. The goal is to get your website URL on
the first page of the search results, because there is a perceived relevance to
the first few results. Google has worked hard in the past few years to give the
most relevant results for every keyword searched and these innovations have
placed Google on top of the search engine race.
Keyword Searches and
Web Content
Search engine results are dictated by the keywords typed
into the search box. This is why
keywords are so important in writing the content of your website. And the
choice of keywords is crucial to get you on page one of the SRPs. The idea is to identify what word, phrase or
group of words your target user/customer is most likely to type in when looking
for a product or service that you provide.
Once the intended user gets to your website, it is the magic that was
done by the web designer and developer that will ensure that your visitor
converts into your customer and hopefully a regular one.
SEO or Search Engine
Optimization
SEO is just one of a number of marketing strategies
available today. It is the strategy most small businesses employ because it is the most cost-effective. As the term implies, SEO
means to optimize your website or landing page so that search engines
especially Google, consider it a high ranking page and therefore listed on page
1 or 2 of the SRPs.
Making Your
Investment Do Its Job
Setting up a business website, especially if it’s an online
store is a big investment, and the costs should be justified by the income it
makes. In the world of e-commerce,
generating substantial online traffic is the next and crucial step after creating the website, otherwise,
consider your website a classified ad entry on a little known national newspaper
– you know it’s there, but no one else does.
References and links:
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