2. Be persistent.
Internet marketing is not a one-shot deal. It is
something that you will do on a regular basis using a variety of techniques.
Competition on the Web is getting very tough with millions of websites
competing for visitors and sales. Big businesses such as Wal-Mart have
started to move in on the Web. It will take a lot more effort to get the
traffic and sales that you need.
3. Use different techniques.
One of the cardinal rules of Internet
marketing is relying on a single marketing tactic. The risks are too high if
you put all your eggs in one basket. Take for example organic search engine
optimization where you rank high in Google – you may be #1 today in your
main keyword but if Google updates their algorithm, you can get hit and lose
as much as 80% of your traffic. Believe me, it is painful.
Make a list of what you can do given your resources to reach audiences
online. Investigate what your competitors are doing to market online and
whether you can use their techniques as well. Consider both paid advertising
and guerrilla marketing strategies, such as:
- Pay per click advertising
- Banner advertising
- Pop-ups, pop-unders, and interstitials
- Text link advertising
- Contextual text advertising
- Lead generation service
- Running an affiliate program
- Organic search engine optimization
- Online press releases (both online and print media)
- Article marketing
- Participation in forums and communities (without spamming)
- Email marketing
- Tapping blogs
- Link popularity
4. Track and measure your results.
You can only prioritize your
internet marketing activities if you know which ones work and which ones
don’t. Put more resources or dedicate more time in doing activities that can
actually bring in traffic. Regularly analyze your web logs or web statistics
software to get a clear idea of the most effective Internet marketing
strategy for you. Hard data can also help you look at how you can improve
the results of each campaign and strategy that you do.
This is especially true if for paid advertising – you want to know which
ad copy pulls in the most number of customers, what ad creatives are
working, and which websites you advertised in can give you the most. Only by
looking at the metrics can you assess how well your online marketing efforts
are doing.
5. Learn, learn, and learn.
Internet marketing is continually
evolving: what may be acceptable in 1999 may no longer work or frowned upon
in 2007. It also changes rapidly, that books with its lag time from writing
to publishing often do not capture the new techniques that people are
successfully using in marketing online.
The best resource on Internet marketing are online experts found in blogs,
webmaster forums and online publications. Spend time every time reading
something. One great resource is WebmasterWorld.com, where you can learn
about the latest updates of Google to new ways you can monetize your
website.
About the Author:
Nach Maravilla is the President and CEO of PowerHomeBiz.com LLC. For a step-by-step
information on starting a business, order the
"Checklist for Starting a
Business" ebook now.
November 2006
Copyright 2006 PowerHomebiz.com, LLC
