Small Business Advice:The 10 Key Steps to Successfully Market Your
Business Online
More and more small businesses are finding it
essential that they market their products and services online. Customers are
increasingly turning to the Web to research companies, compare product features
and prices, and to purchase online. A company that does not take advantage of
the Web and email to market their business can lose valuable customers.
It
has never been easier or more cost-effective to market online. There are
numerous Web sites, consultants,packages, and other tools to help you implement
a successful online presence.
Here are 10 key steps to successfully
marketing your business online:
Small
Business Advice,Marketing,Idea,Online,Opportunity
Small
Business Advice : 1. Obtain a Good Domain Name. Before you establish a Web site
for your business, you need a domain name. A domain name is the internet address
that allows computer users to find your Web site,such as www.Microsoft.com or
www.BananaRepublic.com. Good domain names are difficult to obtain, as millions
have already been purchased over the years. The most common domain names end in
".com" or ".net" and are seen as the most desirable.
It's easy to check
whether a domain name is available. For example, Yahoo.com has a domain name
service check and you can do a check in under a minute. The cost on Yahoo to
purchase a domain name is under $10.
A few key tips on domain
names:
- Make sure the domain name hasn't been trademarked by
someone else (check www.uspto.gov);
- Make sure it's easy to spell;
- Make the name easy to
remember. But simpler and descriptive may be better - you don't have to come up
with something as catchy as "Google" - and non-descriptive names require more
branding effort.
Small Business Advice :2. Build a Professional Looking Web Site. Your
Web site is a reflection of your business. People who come to your Web site can
be impressed or turned off by the professionalism of your site. There are
several approaches to building a Web site. First, there are plenty of
sites that will give you templates for a site either for free or very
cheaply. Second, there are professional site building consultants who will
custom-build a site for you to see what you need to do to negotiate a contract
with such a consultant). And, third, there are multiple software packages
available to help you build your own site.
Small Business Advice
:3. Make Your
Web Site Easy to Navigate and Make it Easy to Find What You Are Trying to
Sell. Don't get caught up in trying to come up with dazzling flash and color
for your site. The key to a good site is to make sure the viewers can easily
find what they are looking for. This means a clear navigation bar and a good
"search" box. Take a look at some of the great sites out there, and sites from
competitors. That can help you plan how your site should be
designed.
Small Business Advice :4. Build up Your Email List. One of the best and
cheapest ways to sell online is through email marketing. It's a great way to
communicate with customers and prospective customers. So it is very valuable to
collect email addresses from visitors to your Web site. Offer them something
worthwhile for their email address-such as a discount or a free
newsletter.
Make it easy to get someone's email address, but also be sure
that you have set forth a Privacy Policy on your site describing how you will
use any personal information. And be sure you are up-to-date on the laws
affecting such as the CAN-SPAM Act.
Small Business Advice :5. Send Periodic Email
Newsletters. Email newsletters can prove to be effective communication tools
for existing customers, prospective customers, and other key audiences. What are
the hallmarks of effective email newsletter programs? Here are 6
tips:
- Keep it reasonably short. Nobody wants to read lengthy
emails.
- Make it well designed and visually interesting. Include
photos and graphics. Provide multiple links back to
- Make it look
professional. Don't have typos, a sloppy look, or broken links.
- Include an easy way
for the viewer to contact you and to unsubscribe from your email list.
- Constantly test and
track how your newsletters are doing.
Small Business Advice :6. Buy Banner Ads. You
can enhance visibility and traffic to your site by buying banner ads. The keys
to effective banner ad campaigns are:
- Make the ad visually interesting with links to a particular
offer or "landing" page on your site.
- Place the ads on sites relevant to your business.
- Constantly monitor and
test the efficacy of the ads, measuring not only click-throughs from the ad to
your site, but also the actual resulting sales and return on investment ("ROI").
Small
Business Advice :7. Optimize Your Site for Search Engines. Hundreds of millions
of searches a day are performed on the Web through Google, Yahoo, and other
search engines. The search engines "spider" billions of Web pages. There is a
fast growing area called "search engine optimization" that refers to efforts you
can employ to get your Web site to show up higher in search results. To get more
information on this, go to the search box on the AllBusiness home page
<http://www.allbusiness.com/>, select "the Web" from the drop-down menu, and
type in "search engine optimization."
Small Business Advice :8. Buy Keyword Ads on Search
Engines. Many businesses are finding that key word advertising on search
engines can be quite beneficial. Here's how it works: If you sell computer books
from your Web site, you might buy a small ad or listing on Google that would
show up when someone types in the search box a term that you designate (such as
"computer books" or "PC books"). If the searcher sees your paid ad and clicks on
it, he is transported to your Web site and you pay on a "CPC" basis to Google (a
cost per click, such as 30? a click). The goal is to get qualified prospective
customers to your site.
The key elements of successful key word ad buying
programs include:
- Purchase the most relevant key words.
- Write the ads in a way
to compel qualified buyers to click on the ad.
- Send the user from the
ad to a landing page to your site that sets forth the precise product or service
related to the keyword ad. Sending a viewer to your home page is generally not
as effective as sending them to a specific product page.
- Constantly review the
amount you are paying per click, and the conversion of that click into buyers.
- Constantly test
different ad copy and different landing pages to determine what works best for
your site.
Small Business Advice :9. Make it Easy to Buy From Your Shopping Cart.
If you are selling products from your site, you will need a shopping cart system
and a credit card authorization process. Many companies provide such systems off
the shelf, such as Yahoo! Small Business. The key here is to make sure the
shopping process is fast and efficient. Many Web sites have found that their
checkout process was too cumbersome, and that they lost potential buyers who
became frustrated with the amount of time and effort
involved.
Small Business Advice :10. Provide Great Customer Service. A satisfied
customer will return to your site. So go out of your way to give great customer
support and service. And for those who are not happy with their experience, try
to turn them around with an offer of a discount, a free product, or some other
benefit.
