Online Business Marketing Constants

1. You need a strategy. Like all marketing your online presence shouldn’t be based on a hit and miss or scattergun approach.

A sound strategy is based around your market. One of the biggest mistakes I see businesses make is trying to think of the market in terms of social demographics. Age, sex, location etc rather than common problem. The people in your market all have one thing in common – the reason they need you.

2. You need to own your assets. Unlike in the bricks and mortar premises of businesses where there are premises to lease in place of owning your own. Online when you are using some one else’s property such as social networking sites, web 2.0, you do not have any lease or control. Too many businesses are putting all their eggs in one basket online which is a problem if they don’t own the basket.

3. You need a clear call to action. The best websites are direct response marketing tools. They aren’t brochures and nor should they be. What do you do as a searcher when you land on a business brochure online that is all about the business. Yawn, click away? As opposed to a website that answers your question and gives you what you were searching for. When they ask you to click through to another page or sign up to get the answer to your prayers you very often do.

Basic Online Business Marketing Strategy

Consider what you are trying to achieve.

Why are you going online in the first place. Because everyone else is, isn’t really an answer! It is certainly not a starting point for a strategy.

Are you local or global?

Know who your market is.

Know what your market is really looking for and why they haven’t found it yet – what is the gap everyone else is missing.

Know what your market does online – where they go, how they interact and what they interact with. Know who the movers and shakers in their online world are.

Know what you want them to do when they get to you – what action you want them to take.

Leverage the above information into a strategy.

Online Marketing Strategy Development

Your website needs to be optimised to the searchers your market do. So you need to build your strategy on research. Competitive market analysis and keyword research. Who is doing what well and how can you do it better.

Plan the sitemap for your website. A clear, funnel, path, map for visitors. A simple navigation and flow to your site so it makes sense to searchers and search engines alike.

Get the content. Good market based, targeted, problem solving optimised content. One purpose per page. Remembering through this process that you can rank every page of your website not just your home page. You can drive SEO strategy so searchers land on the page most relevant to them rather than your home.

Plan how regular, relevant content will be added. How it will be syndicated to leverage. What social media and social networking sites need to link into, connect with and syndicate your content.

Build It and They Will Come

Unfortunately no! When you have built your assets and begun your syndication to other channels online you need to ramp up your rankings with SEO.

SEO can drive targeted traffic to your website. It is an essential part of an online business marketing strategy because it is what gets your website seen online.

How you fit your website, SEO and social media together goes back to one thing – getting more qualified leads from your market – which is based on everything you know about your market.

Online business marketing is about bringing your market to you cost effectively.

Online Business Marketing is a post from: INSYNRG connecting businesses to customers online

That is not the case for SEO. Small business can benefit hugely from strategic search optimisation.

Small Business Search Optimisation is Local

For many in small business optimising their searches is a local affair. This is certainly the case for small service based bricks and mortar businesses where the majority of customers are drawn from a 10km radius of the business.

That small geo targeted focus can make small business search optimisation very cost effective indeed.

It can be as simple as claiming and optimising the Google Places listing for the business to get the ball rolling.

Local Search Optimisation

A number of small businesses get this badly wrong. If you are targeting training for example you will have great difficulty ranking for that search but if you are targeting training keywords for local suburbs, larger towns and capital cities you give yourself a fighting chance.

The on page and off page local search SEO on your website coupled with Google Places optimisation gives you the best chance of being seen by the searchers in your market online.

Affordable Local Search Optimisation

Local searches are generally easier to target and require less work to rank. Therefore they can be incredible affordable and effective for small business search optimisation. Local search keywords can help put small business back on the map online.

Small Business Search Optimisation is a post from: INSYNRG connecting businesses to customers online

One person does it and everyone else follows.

You’ve seen the patterns. When businesses started to build websites they were like brochures online. Welcome to our website. We do, we are. we’ve won….

Small businesses copied the trend. The lead had been set. That must be the way to do a website and of course they were being built by the same people so they were built the same way.

Back in the beginning there was not the same opportunity and flexibility there is today. Businesses were really beholden to their website designer for changes and updates. That was part of the issue with the tools available for website at that time.

Website U-Turns

When did it happen that smart marketers turned brochure websites into direct marketing websites. It was a dramatic shift and I can almost hear the arguments now. But everyone is….

The u-turn thinking that turned brochures online into direct response tools was revolutionary for searchers and businesses alike.

For searchers suddenly – like the great direct response sales letters of old – they were getting what they wanted, websites they couldn’t stop reading and reasons to take action. For businesses their websites were bringing new clients!

However it is hard to turn away from what everyone else is doing. Therein lies the problem unless you set some new filters.

Instead of Everyone How About Just the Best

Instead of looking at what everyone else in your market is doing why not start looking at only what the most successful are doing?

How do I know who they are? Firstly I wouldn’t go by what people say! In the online world as in all walks of life there is a lot of boasting without much substance. Ask an SEO professional to investigate the best players in your market. Who you think are doing well and who are ranking at the top across the board.

Your professional should be able to give you

• indications of keywords,
• the cost to buy those keywords to target through ads,
• the % of traffic those keywords drive to the site,
• the bounce rate ie how many visitors hang around and click on
• even the audience demographics

These are all useful tools and should start your focus back onto your market. What is it your market wants and responds to. Give it to them. You can be the leader when you make a swift u-turn on web marketing to focus on your market not what you want them to want.

Small business internet marketing tools can be very powerful indeed. When used well with a sound strategy driving the use to ensure you are getting in front of the market and connecting with them. There is no more strategic, measurable, affordable and leveraged way to get ahead in small business than small business internet marketing.

Small Business Internet Marketing U-Turns is a post from: INSYNRG connecting businesses to customers online

Marketing needs to be leveraged, affordable and deliver a return on investment which is why internet marketing for small business can be a successful strategy.

The issues with many forms of marketing is firstly expense. Newspapers, radio, magazines, leaflets for example can be expensive and do not always deliver results.

Secondly is targeted. Advertising is not necessarily targeted with a laser focus on your market. That may be unless you are targeting all accountants and advertising in an accounting journal for example.

Thirdly is leveraged. With much advertising you are unable to turn one piece of advertising content into many. Mostly it is one throw-away attempt. if you don’t hit the mark you miss badly.

Internet Marketing for Small Business Allows

Businesses to target their market quite specifically.

Targeting is a key to online success and nowhere is targeting a specific market as easy as it is online. You can research your market, what your market search for and then write specifically to target that market. You can deliver your content online where your market is. You can engage with your market using social networks.

Business to market effectively and affordably.

If marketing is bringing your market to you placing your business in front of the searchers in the market certainly would be the first step. A well optimised website with a sound SEO strategy is an effective and affordable way to place yourself in the sight of your market.

Business to Leverage Marketing Tools

When a business writes a blog post it can be recorded as a video. The audio can be stripped to become a podcast. The article can become a pf and be shared on document sharing sites. Each piece of content article, podcast and video can be optimised and distributed online. Each can be posted onto social networking sites to encourage engagement.

One piece of content turned into many blasted to the market via different marketing channels is leveraged.

The Way Forward for Small Business Marketing

Small businesses don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on branding and advertising. They just need a marketing strategy. The best marketing strategy when the budget is tight or the focus is on return on investment rather than brand – is internet marketing.

An affordable, well optimised website, stocked with frequently updated fresh content.

An SEO strategy and social media strategy to place small business directly in front of their market in an engaging way.

Direct response copy to encourage readers to take action.

These are the things that targeted traffic are made of and conversions are built on.

Strategy

Strategy begins with knowing your market. This isn’t about age or location. This is about problem. What problem does your market have?

What do people with that problem search for? This is the first step to keyword research.

Where are people in that market searching? These are the places you need to be seen.

Why should people with that problem listen to you?

What do you have to offer they can’t get anywhere else?

Answer these questions and you start to build a strategy. Connect the dots between your website, the searches and how your market behave online to develop a clear strategy that will work for you business to drive targeted website traffic to you.

Strategic Internet Marketing for Small Business is a post from: INSYNRG connecting businesses to customers online

Small Businesses Tied To Website Providers

After a talk to small business in my local area, a number asked for advice or assistance. I was disturbed by how many are tied to a website they can’t use, change, or that doesn’t work.

Businesses are still being tied to a website for 2 years. They are new to business so they start up not knowing what they want or need and instead of having the flexibility to grow and change with them, their website stays static, with limited changability, or flexibility and they are stuck.

Its 2011! Your Website Needs to Work

OK people hear me now – it is 2011. There are so many affordable website options available to you. There is no excuse for you to be tied to your website people anymore. Ask yourself this? what kind of service or value do they give if they have to tie customers into fixed contracts for several years.

A business who gives you great value, and service doesn’t need to lock you in because you won’t want to go!

From what I’ve seen recent;y these businesses are taking advantage of newer, small businesses and locking them in as clients because their product and service aren’t good enough to stand alone. After they’ve made their website investment on top of their business startup, they either don’t have the cashflow, or are too scared to move. They wait out the contract.

Website Customers Are Still Being Burned

When it comes to websites and SEO business owners are still being burnt. People are still spending ridiculous amounts on websites no one will see. Or spending large money on SEO that doesn’t deliver results.

It amazes me how many people still aren’t asking good enough questions about their website and SEO. How many customers will this place me in front of? What keywords and how many people search for them? How will this build my business?

If you would like no holds barred website advice with no longterm, unbreakable commitment required call INSYNRG on 1300 887 595.

Tied To Your Website? is a post from: INSYNRG connecting businesses to customers online

Your Market

Who is in your market? Really drill down and identify your market. Know your market by an avatar with a name, agem occupation, interests, needs and desires. Personalise your knowledge and understanding.

Is Your Market On Social Media

This just doesn’t mean Facebook. There is more to social media than Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. It can mean LinkedIn but beyond those there are many social platforms in use and vying for supremacy!

If you’re not sure whether your market is active online and engaging with social media – go searching. Do a Twitter search, look at Facebook groups, check out LinkedIn questions and answers.

Look at different social media demographics compared to the demographics of your market.

What Are You Looking To Achieve With Social Media

Too often I hear business saying they want a social media presence. They think getting onto social media will miraculously make everything else that isn’t working – work!

It won’t. The chances are it will just compound the mess and cost more money. You can effectively engage with your market on social media and drive them to your website but if you’re website isn’t working you might want to fix it first before driving more visitors to it.

Working? Converting searchers into clients or sales!

Have a Social Media Plan and Measure It

Social media is different from what most business is used to. It is not about selling but about engaging. It can build huge brand loyalty and trust. Know why you are using it and what you want to achieve. Develop a strategy to deliver it and how you will measure your success.

Social Media Strategy Tips is a post from: INSYNRG connecting businesses to customers online

Everything online is essentially about making the connection.

Too many small business owners are so busy being their business that they are being too slow to make that connection.

Google is now a word in our vocabulary. Google it, I google-d it… When we want something most of us – you know what I’m going to say!

Yet how many small businesses still don’t have a presence on the Big G!?

How Do You Search?

I Type Words Into G00GLE

So do you type in a business name, or a topic, a question, or phrase. Almost never a business. Almost always keywords. yes that’s right keywords. So don’t you think that’s what your potential customers do? Yes!

Let’s make the next logical leap then – for potential customers to you find you online you have to come up for the keywords searches they do. Therefore you need to know what they search for! That is keyword research!

Yet I still speak to many businesses who only ever search for themselves online using their business name and feel so proud that they rank number 1 for something almost nobody searches and almost nobody is competing to rank for.

The Penny Drops

That is why dodgy SEO services can sign you up with a guarantee that you only pay if they get you to number 1. Its a given you are going to have to pay and many small businesses have been burnt paying for a number 1 ranking for something nobody searches.

You need to rank for keywords customers actually search for. Your customers search habits are just like yours!

Making It Easy

The next funny thing is what you do when you land on a really busy site. Or you land on a site where you can’t easily find what is relevant to what you were looking for.

You click away and try again on another site.

Yes – me too. So guess what your customers do!!

Yet so many small businesses are still not willing to invest in their website – or invest with a website designer who does not listen to them, or consider their customers.

Your website needs to give your customers what they’re looking for – or you lose them. Just as website who don’t give you what you want lose you!

I’ve heard the 7 seconds but honestly I go with the 3 seconds. These days I think 3 seconds is generous.

3 seconds – are you kidding?

I’m not kidding I heard someone say people give you 3 seconds online. I remember thinking it was ridiculous so I started counting aloud when I was searching online. 3 seconds on some sites is generous.

3 seconds is actually a long time when you land on a website.

Therefore does you site pass or fail AIDA
Attention
Interest
Desire
Action

An Example

I recently worked with a business woman to reword her home page. It was a battle to connect to the problem the customer had and then solve it.

It took some thought and tossing around of ideas – and more than a little convincing from me to trust me!

What happened was a huge increase in conversions. Before the home page had distractions removed and new customer focused content there was traffic without sales. After there has been a huge increase in sales with the same traffic – 2200% or so increase in conversions just by connecting with customers and giving them what they’re looking for!

isn’t it time you evaluated your website against the criteria you use as a searcher? Take a fresh look through your customer’s eyes – you might be surprised what you can’t find.

G-o-o-g-l-e It is a post from: INSYNRG connecting businesses to customers online

SMALL Business Mindsets

A few small business owners I meet have what I consider to be a small business mindset. They choose to think like small businesses and focus on how hard small business is, how unfair it is and how hard it is to compete.

Then there are the other small business owners – the ones I prefer to work with. They have BIG business mindsets – focusing on the advantages and the opportunities. To work the cliches working on their business rather than it through outsourcing, systems and scalability.

Small Business internet Marketing – The Revolution

Once upon a time the biggest budget got the furthest with marketing. The opportunities were limited and often costly – print media, electronic media and sponsorships, catalogues and the like.

Internet marketing has created a level playing field. With affordable, leveraged, targeted marketing opportunities online. With social opportunities where engagement counts most.

Even better – internet marketing for small business has given savvy small business owners the edge.

The Edge for Small Business Marketers

Big business deal with big agencies. Big agencies are not always sophisticated internet marketers and have taken time to adapt their marketing style to markets.

Small businesses are more likely to find savvy internet marketers who can take them online with up-to-the minute technology and market understanding often for a lot less than an agency charges. Small business has the edge in being able to partner people who will work for a smaller up front fee and a profit share arrangement when they believe in their product and their marketing skills.

Small business owners can be quick to change, quick to implement and quick to adapt because decisions do not need to be channeled through multi layers of bureaucracy.

These give small business the edge when it comes to internet marketing their business.

In fact surveys now show that the most influential factor in decision making processes for consumers are positive social reviews and feedback. Small business owners with loyal local followings are able to translate that into positive social comment and engagement easily.

It is time for small businesses to get savvy and sophisticated. To stop thinking that internet marketing their small business needs to be expensive or is something they can’t do.

Words of Caution

Choose your providers carefully. Think about your market before you start and what you want to achieve by going online. Know what problem(s) you are solving.

The small businesses I’m over want to get a website because everyone else has one – not because they understand the power and leverage it gives to grow business.

They tend to be the same businesses that only want search engine rankings for their name – not understanding that the people they want to find them online don’t know their name yet.

The providers that small business need to get over are the ones that want to tie you into a 2 year contract. That do not respond to inquiries. The providers who are nameless and faceless. They have no personal names or company details or phone numbers on their own websites. The ones who can’t explain how this strategy will increase the business or by what potential or explain in terms of return on investment.

The way I see it is – if I need to be locked in to a contract for several years they don’t believe the product is good enough that I will stay by choice.

A business person who doesn’t understand return on investment isn’t a partner for my business that I want to work with. An online partner who focuses on having a website and getting number 1 rankings, over and above the number of searchers I can connect with or how my website will convert them to customers is not the right partner to help grow my business.

A website is important because it is a 24 hour salesperson you can leverage online. For that salesperson to make sales searches have to come looking. That search traffic comes from high traffic keywords – not just rankings in search engines but rankings for high traffic buying keywords. Without traffic and conversions websites are wasted.

Are You Over Small Business? is a post from: INSYNRG connecting businesses to customers online

How PPC Ads Work is a post from: INSYNRG connecting businesses to customers online

Marketing Is Bringing Prospective Customers To You

Having a website doesn’t mean prospective customers can find you.

Have a website optimised for the searches your prospective customers are doing gets you found online. Your market and keyword research form the basis of your on-page SEO. On page SEO is what makes it easy for search engines to offer your site up as the most relevant listing to searchers.

Bringing your market to you is about having your research, content, website, traffic and conversions all working seamlessly together. Working for you.

Online Business Tools

Your Website
Many business owners miss the opportunities a website places before them. A website is a 24 hours sales person. Your website should remove your prospective customers’ resistance to saying yes – not increase it. Yet, how many websites do that well. How many searches do you do where you get turned off buying rather than sold on it?

Your website isn’t a brochure.

It shouldn’t be all about you. it isn’t a showcase for how great you are because your prospective customers don’t care.

Your customers simply want to know “what’s in it for me”. They want to know what problem you will be solving for them and how. That’s all. Do it well and you will make the sale.

Your Website SEO
Having a website is not enough. A website does not automatically jump out in front of searchers online – like magic.

You are competing with every other website online to be seen. You get seen as search engines deem you are relevant to the search. Therefore you want to make it as easy for the search engines as you make it for customers.

Fail to do SEO and you fail to drive traffic. Great SEO drives targeted traffic – in other words buyers. Who couldn’t use more buyers stopping by?

Not doing SEO is not a cost saving it is a huge expense if you want to do business online. Isn’t it time you weighed up the value of the customers you miss without SEO against the cost of doing SEO.

To compete online you can’t afford not to invest in SEO.

Online Business Strategy

If you are really ready to succeed online – you need to develop a strategy.

As a business owner if you focus your strategy on building your business, getting and retaining more customers and creating more profitable sales then you will find the online business partner who can help you do more business than you dreamed possible.

Focus on websites and you will get a website. A website alone doesn’t equal better business.

Social Media
Social Media has become the latest buzz. However it won’t solve what already isn’t working online. It is part of a strategy but shouldn’t be your strategy in itself. If you have a website that isn’t getting traffic, or converting into sales you need to get help to fix that first.

You don’t want to risk being fooled to use social media to drive people to a sales tool that isn’t making sales!

There are many forms of social media. Each will only be as effective as your strategy and the use of that media by your market.

Social media has become the buzz but without market and strategy it can be a dismal failure and a huge expense. Don’t be fooled into thinking social media is the way to go because it is free. It can be a hugely expensive time and energy sucker. It can damage reputations when not managed well.

Conversely it can be a huge success as was the Ford Fiesta Movement campaign which generated not only a lot of buzz but huge sale in the first 6 days of the launch.

Need help kicking it in online business? Call INSYNRG on 1300 887 595 today for your complimentary consultation.

About Online Business is a post from: INSYNRG connecting businesses to customers online