Internet Marketing Tips By SEO Experts in Houston
What is internet marketing and why is it important for your business? Internet marketing, also known as digital or online marketing, is the terminology used to describe the online process of using specific marketing strategies to drive revenue, traffic, sales, and attention to your online products or services. This is vital to your business success because having the greatest business in the world is useless if no one knows about it. That’s where your digital marketing strategy comes into play.
The great news about internet marketing is that almost anyone is capable of doing it. The bad news is how do you find ways to do it well or even effectively? When internet marketing is done right, it should become your key to financial growth. When done incorrectly, you can find yourself exhausted, frustrated, and can watch your marketing budget become an expense versus an investment. Let’s face it, if your business isn’t making a profit then it won’t be a business for very much longer. Luckily, throughout the years of our marketing experience, we have found several tips that we can share to help you use your marketing to drive traffic, gain qualified leads, and increase your revenue.
So, for starters, how does digital marketing drive revenue for businesses? Some of the most effective online forms of this type of marketing would be:
E-commerce
Website
SEO
Online advertising
Social media marketing
Blogging
Pay-per-click
Video Marketing
Tip #1: Provide an Effective Website!
With over 93% of internet users finding their products and services on websites through Google searches, it’s important to make sure you can be found there as well. This all starts with having an effective, eye-catching, professional website. Your website should be the key and center hub for all of your marketing efforts. Investing heavily in this marketing form makes the most sense.
Having a great website may not necessarily sell things for you, but providing an ineffective, cheap, and poorly formed website can absolutely COST your business. How can this happen? A website will represent what you provide for your customers. If your website lacks quality then a customer can assume that what you will provide them may lack in quality as well. I have lost count on how many clients I’ve heard say before starting with us, how they lost out to their competitors due to their lack of quality or ineffective website design. Business owners are generally very cost-conscious and quite often make the mistake of building a very cheap website that:
lacks quality,
runs poorly,
has a terrible flow,
provides little to no information,
lacks a call to action,
has low-quality images or
is not even on brand
Your website represents YOU and whatever it is you provide, so be sure that it’s your best representation possible.
For more information on website design Click Here!
Tip #2: Don’t say no to SEO!
Now that you have a website that says here I am open and I’m ready for business, you have to be sure that people who need you can find you online through online search engines such as Google and Bing. Google itself gets over 77,000 searches per SECOND!!! Wow! That’s come to over 2 TRILLION searches per year. This means that getting found on the first few pages with the right keywords is important if you want to be seen before they see your competition.
Remember, if you skip out on search engine optimization, your competition is certainly not. To become effective, SEO takes 3-6 months to truly show results. This means that the earlier you invest in search engine optimization, the better. This involves extensive keyword research, backlinks, blogging, and so much more.
For more information on SEO, click here!
Tip #3: Use Email Marketing!
No, email marketing is not dead (Insert the link to the other email marketing blog here) as we’ve said before. Not only is it alive and well, but it’s still one of the most effective forms of marketing. We know this because the average open rate for emails is still 82%. What can emails be used for? They can be used as a follow-up to thank a customer for their purchase or even suggest an additional item to complement their current purchase.
An email can tell current customers when you are running a special or encourage them to book appointments via calendar or app. This keeps clients coming back, filling your schedule if you have a service-based business, and can help build the relationship between seller and buyer by keeping up with communication. The more engagement you have with customers, the more likely you are to increase your rate of sales. Remember, emails aren’t just for sales or add-ons. Emails can help give directions to your facility, provide helpful information before visits, and keeping clients informed on days you may have altered hours due to weather or other circumstances. Hands down, email is truly effective all around.
For more information about email marketing, click here!
Tip #4: Utilize Social Media!
The experts always say you should go to where your customers are and social media is definitely where the purchasing crowds have gathered. On the Facebook platform alone in 2021, there are over 2.8 BILLION users. That’s a lot of opportunities to display your message, brand, product, or service to potential buyers. With so many opportunities to get your message seen, be sure to provide creative content that fits your specific brand. For example, if you see golden arches you instantly think of McDonald’s and the colors yellow & red. Find what fonts, colors, and branding resonate with you as well as your potential customers.
Your next step is to find which channels are right for you. As a rule of thumb, Facebook is one of the most popular platforms while Instagram closely follows behind it. Both can be great for you and your business but both also have different demographics. For example, Pinterest is great for e-commerce and featuring unique crafts, shops, and even food-related products. TikTok generally holds a very young demographic and is perfect for people who are great with creativity.
After you find your platform and host your content, it’s time to promote your content. The great thing about social media is compared to traditional media (radio, TV, print), the cost can be FAR less expensive. This is perfect for the price-conscious business owner who doesn’t have thousands to spend with Television advertising.
For more information about social media marketing, click here!
We hope these tips have been helpful to you and your business. With over 20 years of marketing experience and plenty of research, we know that internet marketing has been shown to have great success not only for our business and our clients but for so many other brands and businesses online. If you have any questions, send us an email or give us a call.
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