While budgets are still tight, companies are looking for more cost effective ways to market their business. That’s where your website comes in. The true beauty of online marketing is the multitude of choices available that are cost effective. Below is a list of various marketing tactics you can use that won’t break the bank… and if anything they’ll add to it.
SEO is a great long-term strategy to drive qualified traffic to your site
Start with the end in mind by making a highly relevant, tiered keyword list that you’ll use for all future web work and content creation. Aim to end up with a tiered list of short head keywords followed by long tail keywords. SEO is a long-term method, but also very effective. It can drive the most qualified traffic to your site.
Long Tail Keywords v. Short Head Keywords
In order to focus on what to market, you need to have a solid foundation of the main keywords that describe your business and/or products that you are selling. These main keywords are one to three word phrases, and are more than likely highly competitive. These types of keywords are known as “Short Head” keywords. For example, “car insurance.”
Once you know your short head keywords, you will want to market directly to more specific, longer keywords related to the main short head keywords. These longer, more specific keywords are known as “Long Tail” keywords. For example, “car insurance discounts in Georgia.”
Create and submit your sitemap to Google
There are various programs that do this for you, and doing so ensures your new site content gets spidered ASAP, rather than the weeks or months it might take otherwise.
Use Google Analytics or similar website analytics program
Knowing where your customers are coming from, how they are getting there and what pages they frequent vs. those they don’t are invaluable tools to making the right business decisions and generating revenue.
Check out Google’s Ad Planner
Even if you don’t intend (or can’t afford) to buy traditional online media, Google’s free tool lets you identify sites for targeting with either online media or their own content network via placement targeting. You can use the tool to export a targeted list of sites you feel offer opportunities for a link exchange, banner exchange, newsletter co-registration, or just sites to keep an eye on.
Check your keywords
Use tools such as Google’s Insight, Adwords keyword/traffic estimator and Wordtracker to ensure you’re covering all the possible keywords related to your business. Keep adding to your tiered keyword list, and keep adding new, fresh, keyword-rich content to your site.
Add a ‘subscribe now‘ field to your website along with a sample of your newsletter
Take the time to make your newsletter design, content and angle unique enough to entice new subscribers. The communication channel you open with new or potential customers is extremely important. By nurturing this relationship properly using email marketing, you can drive increased revenue with very little upfront costs.
Create a blog
Use a hosted version (such as WordPress.com) or a self-hosted one (such as WordPress.org). The power of blogs these days can’t be overlooked; they’re a great way to generate fresh, keyword-rich content for SEO, and they can do wonders for building online relationships and customer loyalty. Basically, blogs (specifically self-hosted versions like WordPress.org) can do a lot of things a flat site can’t.
Let your target market know that you know what you’re talking about. Evangelize your product or service through your blog, and have the community disseminate your information in their own way. Best of all, it’s free and puts the years of experience you have to good use.
Create a LinkedIn or Facebook page for your company
Start with your peers and close customers to get the ball rolling. Once the momentum grows, you’ll get more fans, and more recognition of your brand. Link your profile to your existing company site.
Create an online dialogue with your potential customer base
Comment and interact in places you know your audience frequents such as forums, other blogs, and review sites. Stay above board, transparent, and make it clear who you are. Provide linkage back to your site for free, qualified traffic.
Add your site to all of the appropriate web directories
DMOZ still represents the largest web directory and it is always a good starting point. Others are Yahoo’s directory and Google Maps.
Get your site’s visitors or customers involved
Ask them for their opinions, get them talking, and have a pen & paper handy. By engaging your customers (using an online survey, telephone interview, or other) in an open and friendly way, you can get priceless feedback about your product that you’d have to pay thousands for from a consultancy.
Go OFFLINE!
Be sure to include your website, blog and social media addresses on your business cards, brochures, vehicles and all other promotional items.
Online marketing continues to grow, and Strategem can help you by putting a package together that includes a website redesign, a monthly SEO program and monthly statistical reporting to track the results. Contact us today at 630.584.9380, or visit our website.