Archive for: September 2008

Marketing a small business online can be both easy and effective, especially with the abundance of online marketing strategies available today. But since there are so many ways to market your small business on the web, it can be a challenge just to decide which online strategies would be right for you. Here are five online marketing strategies that typically work well for small businesses, and are popular with web users as well:

1. Video Marketing - Using videos to help market a business online has become very popular, and today it’s common to see videos on web sites and blogs, as well as in e-newsletters or e-campaigns sent out to subscriber lists. Users vary in how they like to “consume” information, whether it’s reading text on a web site, listening to a podcast, or watching a video, so it’s typically a good idea to provide them with several different opportunities to receive your marketing message.

   Studies have also shown that adding video to a small business web site can increase conversion rates and sign-ups, and can also help small businesses give a great first impression when customers and prospects visit the site.

2. Blogs - If you haven’t started a blog for your small business yet, now is a good time to consider it. Taking advantage of this technology is one of the best ways to get visibility for your business and create new traffic and inbound links to your site. Blog posts don’t have to be very long to be useful, but they DO have to be added regularly, at least once every week or so. Blogs are also a great place to post news items and upcoming events.
3. Social Networking - Social networking is a fairly recent internet phenomenon that enables people to use the web to stay connected to each other in a variety of ways. MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, You Tube, and others have recently gained attention for their potential business applications, and businesses have started using social networking to connect with their clients effectively. Depending on the type of small business you have, you may be able to use these new technologies to help you reach customers with announcements, build up your customer base (or following), get direct business referrals, and gain greater overall web visibility for your business. Using social networking as part of the marketing mix for your business can really give you an edge over your competitors, since this strategy is quite new to businesses and not everyone is using it yet.
4. E-Newsletters - Sending out regular E-Newsletters is a highly targeted online marketing strategy that can also help establish credibility and expertise with your readers. E-Newsletters also give your business a chance to communicate on a regular basis with customers and keep your company’s name and message in front of them. That way, the next time your customers need something that you sell, they will remember your company and may call you first before contacting your competitors! Consumers have come to rely on e-newsletters as a primary information source for the products and services they are most interested in, which makes it a great choice for small businesses that want to stay “top-of-mind” with their customers and prospects.

   E-Newsletters are also easily tracked, so results can be measured and analyzed. The tracking data can tell you if your message prompted any response (such as clicking on a link), or if your message was even delivered in the first place. Tracking stats can also reveal lots of other useful information, such as how many recipients actually opened the email, or how many emails “bounced” or were not delivered to a recipient (and why).

5. Web Press Releases - Distributing press releases to web outlets is a great online strategy for small businesses. Web press release outlets are typically lower cost and more accessible than traditional wire-service press outlets, and carry the additional benefit of generating new inbound links for your web site in several places on the web. The benefits can carry even further if your press release is “picked up” by other sources on the web, creating even more inbound links and improving overall web exposure for your business.

Of course, there are many other online marketing strategies available today, and depending on your type of small business, some will work better than others. But typically, the five strategies listed above (video marketing, blogs, social networking, e-newsletters, and web press releases) work well for most small businesses and are fairly easy and inexpensive to implement. The important thing to remember is that as online marketing continues to become more mainstream, small businesses can consider using these initiatives to improve their marketing results while keeping their marketing costs in check.

Have you noticed anything different lately when searching on Google? Google has recently added a new search tool called “Suggest”, which automatically gives users additional suggestions when they type in search queries. For example, if you type the term “web site development” into the search bar, Google automatically displays a list of other terms that may be related (see example below):

While this is likely to be very helpful to users as they perform searches on Google (I personally love this new feature and use it a lot), what does it mean for your small business?

It means that your business may have to adjust the keywords and phrases currently used on your site to include some additional general industry terms. As users become familiar with seeing a list of suggestions each time they search, they may be less likely to think of their own terms to search on, and instead begin to rely on the suggestions from Google.

The Suggestion List
How does Google determine which terms to display in its list of suggestions? According to Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Land, Google looks at all of its searches, then lists some additional popular terms that contain the word that the user types into the search bar. Right now, it appears that the suggestions are fairly general, although they are based on the most popular searches related to each specific term. However, it’s quite possible that as the suggestion tool “learns” new queries from users, the list of suggestions that is displayed could change based on how users actually search and which terms become most popular.

But as you consider adding some general industry terms to your keyword mix, that doesn’t mean that you should abandon your existing keyword strategy, especially if it is performing well for you. Company-specific keywords, long-tail keywords, and geographic terms are still worth targeting, especially if these keywords continue to rank or show good search activity in your analytics. Yet, this could change as searchers become accustomed to using the broader terms in the suggestion list, so you will need to monitor your analytics closely to watch for this trend.

Tougher Competition
Over time, if searchers indeed prefer the broad industry terms that are displayed in the suggestion list, then you can bet that these terms are going to get even more competitive than they already are. Be proactive; as you see your monthly stats changing, make sure you respond quickly and don’t be afraid to update your pages to establish a broader industry focus rather than highlighting only your specific products and services.

To learn which keywords and phrases are most likely to be displayed for your business, you may need to do a little research. Go to Google and type in the most common industry terms that your customers use, then take note of what is displayed in the suggestion list. Do the same for the terms that your competitors use as their keywords, and also test your own keywords as well. The phrases that are displayed in the suggestion list are the phrases that you may need to optimize for.

A Change in Strategy
Another strategy is to build additional content pages that focus on the broader industry terms that Google Suggest displays to its users. Not only does this make your site more relevant to these terms, it also provides fresh content for your site which in turn gets the attention of search engine spiders that are always looking for new or updated content.

As search engines continue to evolve, improve, and change, so must your optimization efforts. SEO is truly not a one-time activity; it is dynamic and ongoing. With each new initiative (such as optimizing to include Google’s suggested keywords/phrases for your industry), you must monitor your analytics carefully to see the results of your efforts, and make adjustments based on those results. The more you are able to keep up with search engine changes and improvements, the more likely it is that your customers and prospects will be able to find your business when they search for the products and services that you offer.

The new Google Suggest tool may change the way users search for information, but it will probably be months before we know what effect it will actually have on keywords and the way in which web sites are optimized. But for now, small businesses would be wise to find out what broad industry terms Google displays, and include those terms in their ongoing SEO strategy – sooner rather than later.

Getting visitors to your web site is important, of course, but what happens once they get there? Your web content must convince visitors that they have found the exact information that they need, reassure them that your company is credible and trustworthy, and lead them into taking action – whether that’s clicking on a link, making a phone call, or purchasing something online. Here are some tips for building web content that motivates visitors to take action, which typically leads to improved conversion rates, better response ratios, and ultimately more sales!

• Focus on the benefits. Make sure that your web site focuses on the benefits to the customer, instead of puffery about you and your company. When readers see “we” this and “our” that, it tells them that you are more focused on yourself than on how you can help them solve their problems.
• Repeat the “landmarks”. If visitors come to your site through a click ad, make sure they land on a page that has the same text as the ad. If a visitor clicks on an organic search result, make sure you repeat the search term (i.e., keyword) on the landing page, preferably in a headline or near the top of the first paragraph.
• Make it easy to take action. Use a strong call to action, and make sure it is highly visible on the page. If you want visitors to call, make sure your phone number is big and bold and not buried in the text. If visitors are there to buy, use a large, colorful “Buy Now” button so there is no question about how to make a purchase.
• Establish credibility. Your web site visitors may not already be familiar with your business, and you have very little time to enlighten them. Highlight your customer satisfaction guarantee, privacy policy, client testimonials, case studies, and your project portfolio to reassure visitors and build trust.
• Use the subliminal to your advantage. The quality of the design and layout of your site sends a subliminal message to your visitors the instant that they first see your site. Make sure this communication is working in your favor and reflects an image of quality and professionalism.