As Your Internet Marketing Consultant
Depending on your online business goals and budget, you may elect to incorporate any or all of the follwing aspects of strategic internet marketing. As your SEO consultant, I keep all of these internet marketing strategies in mind and am ready to go further in depth with them when you and your business are ready.
Search Engine Marketing Means SEO Knowledge Is Required
The Search Engine Marketing consultant is in a uqnique position, because his/her function requires the use of both the technical and creative sides of the brain. Not only must they be proficient in search engine optimization techniques, but they must understand marketing concepts, like what makes people buy and how to associate that knowledge to the client’s industry.
Affiliate Marketing In Your Arsenal
Whether you are selling other people’s products or you have others sell your products for you, being associated with affiliate marketing is a very good thing to have in your online arsenal.
Being an affiliate marketer means you typically promote products and services that are not your own. You are the middleman or middlewoman. Your marketing efforts go toward generating the sale or lead so that you will get a commission for your hard work. This model is the entry level model for estabilishing an online business. You do not need any employees, leases, inventory, etc. At minimum, you need some sort of online presence, a product or service to promote, and traffic.
On the flip side, if you already have product or service, you can expand your market reach by having other people (affiliates) do the promote for you or alongside your own promotional efforts. You can manage affiliates with a simple affiliate software application or hire an affiliate manager.
Avoid Social Media Marketing Mistakes
Social Media Marketing is in its infancy, and because of that, there are lots of pioneers trying to trail blaze they way through this vast realm. More often than not, mistakes are made due to the lack of understanding the visitor’s intent. The social brain and the buying brain are two different mindsets. Therefore, you have to approach each of them with a unique set of marketing messages.
When it comes to social media, the message is less market-focused and more about visitor engagement, building trust and likeability. This is a long term effort to convert the visitor, and the conversion rate tends to be lower than direct response marketing.
It is not to say that it is unprofitable. On the contrary, these conversions have the potential of being your repeat customers, therefore, you should treat them as such. Likewise, you need a social media marketing plan that is smart and doesn’t drain your budget. Small businesses have the potential to do well with this type of local internet marketing, because of the high likelihood of a face-to-face opportunity with your prospective customers.
SEO & Pay Per Click Marketing
PPC Marketing almost always involves some sort of knowledge in search engine optimization. Especially with Google Adwords having more and more stringent landing page quality rules, it is almost a requirement that the advertising domain be indexed in the Google search results as well as receive traffic from search engine listings. When you have a good quality score, it keeps the Adwords click costs lower, something all business owners like, I’m sure. Why pay retail when the discount is within your control?
Media Buying Not Just For Big Brands
Lots of people think that media buying is for major brands. Though it can definitely be a money-sucking venture, it can also be used for direct reponse marketing, also known as performance marketing.
This is where you have to be in complete control of your metrics on a real-time basis and be ready to change ads at a moment’s notice. There are tools available to automate this process.
Data Intelligence Through Suverying & Email Marketing
One of the things I like to implement almost immediately is a survey that engages website visitors. Since your visitors are the best source of data intelligence, it makes sense to ask them directly their intentions for visiting your website. Are they in the research phase and looking for information on a specific topic? Are they ready to buy and shopping around for the best solution to their problem? You won’t really know these answers until you ask them or you have enough statistical data on your website’s conversion rate and profitability. In my opinion, it is much cheaper to just ask them. From there, you can form your direct response message from your data analysis, instead of guessing your way through your first direct response campaign.
While you are survey them for information, might as well collect their email for future correspondence. That way, you can continue the conversation with them, and if you do it correctly, they will come to trust you as the authority on the topic. If you are sellign a product, they will at least consider buying from you when they are ready. Remember, people do business with whom they like and trust.
My Cusulting Goals For Your Business
With some effort in internet marketing optimization, you can find the sweet spot with your audience. You can establish a revolving door of new and repeat customers. As your internet marketing consultant, I start with establishing a solid foundation of a search-engine-optimized website, while keeping in mind your business goals and merging those with your target audience. Then, if you do not already have data on your ideal customer, I implement methods to gather this data in order to formulate a message that speaks to them in such a way that turns them into customers. Then, you simply rinse and repeat this methodology throughout your marketing efforts.