UNDERSTANDING INTERNET MARKETING AND WEBSITE PROMOTION

 

As we now live in the 21^st Century, we have to learn to adapt to new marketing trends.

I have personally been involved in Business Marketing for most of my long working life and I am really

amazed at how the world has changed in our everyday lives over recent times. The internet has also

changed the way we live. I could probably write a book on this topic, but I will try and keep it brief and to

the point. (:

 

Since the internet gained in popularity, many traditional marketing strategies have become outdated.

Printing Companies have been hit really hard as many businesses have now developed newer strategies

to promote their websites and online business instead. Traditional printed publications have declined or

shrunk in size over the past ten years. You only need to pick up a recent copy of your local yellow pages

book and compare it to what you had in the home ten years ago. I bet it is less than half the size. You no

longer have to be Superman to tear a phone book in half (:

 

Why? … Because:

 

1. The internet is the cheapest and most effective form of

marketing ever devised.

 

A business would have paid a few thousand dollars some time ago to have a brochure printed which

would only get into the hands of a small number of people. The same brochure if turned into a website, for

a lot less money, now has the ability to be seen by 4 billion people! Plus it is always up to date, in contrast

to a brochure which could date very quickly.

 

2. As there are now 4 billion internet users online, your target

audience is easier to find. In Fact … they Find You!

 

With the help of search engines, your business can be readily found if your website is set up

correctly. We call this SEO (search engine optimisation). But in contrast, there are 600 million websites

now online and in a lot of cases you are competing for your slice of the action and nowadays your website

may be a lot harder to find as the search engines do what they do best and try and provide users with the

most valid website that fulfils their search criteria. This is why nowadays you must avoid “free websites”

and using a “mate of a mate” that has built a “few” websites. Your website should now be taken more

seriously as it is now plays a crucial role in your overall business marketing. Treat it as such!

 

Online shops too are slowly replacing the traditional stores we have come to enjoy over many years.

It is understandable though, as rent on commercial premises has become more expensive, staff wages

are still climbing and suppliers credit terms have toughened up as well, meaning the smaller players

aren’t able to hold the same levels of stock that they used to several years ago. Online Stores, in a

nutshell, have lower overheads so they are able to be more competitive and they have a vast audience

already looking for your products online. The internet has also levelled the playing field considerably and

the smaller businesses can now compete favourably against the “big boys” with a well-structured

website. I truly cannot understand in this day and age why a business that sells products still doesn’t sell

them online. They are being left behind and in reality retailers are there to make a living surely? They must

now start to move with the times. Their competitors are “stealing” their sales. It is easier nowadays and

less complex to setup an online shop, than most people think. Sure, you have to add your products, but

that takes a mere minute or two to add one. Your online shop would be full in no time if you devoted some

time to doing it.

 

We will see more and more “Online Shopping Centres” around the world crop up and this is usually the

safest option for someone considering selling their goods online as the larger online shopping centres

have a great flow of “traffic” already. A good example is www.ourshopping.co.nz   You can rent a shop-

space for around $25 per week to sell your products in. Compare that to the hundreds of dollars in rent

being paid in a traditional shopping centre.

 

To have a successful online business, there are many things you need to consider:

 

Ensure you have your website buit by a SPECIALIST

.

 Too main businesses try and cut cost and go for the cheapest option available. This is dumb. Specialists

should know what 473 things google needs (algorythms) to give your website favourable results. If your

designer has built less than 30 websites in the last two years, then find one that has. Then ask him/her for

some example sites and “test them” for yourself in the search engines before you engage them. This

should be paramount in your mind. Pay a bit more and get a website that WILL work for you.

 

You MUST also ensure your website displays well on a mobile

device now

.

 60 percent of searches are done online on a smart device. Poorly optimised mobile sites take too long to

load, use excessive bandwidth and in the end your customers leave your site pretty quickly.

 

Your website also needs to be:

Pleasant to look at

Easily navigable

Properly optimised

Designed to gain enquiries

Easily edited by you. CMS (content management systems) can be built cost effectively these days.

Promoted … I will go further into this below as this is the key to getting more online business.

 

Most business owners understandably don’t even know where to start with marketing their website …

.

(This is generally not the job of your web designer either as their job is to merely build a website that looks

good and functions correctly)

 

SEARCH ENGINES ARE NOT THE ONLY WAY TO DRIVE TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE!

YOUR WEBSITE NEEDS TO BE PROMOTED TO GET HIGHER RANKINGS AND MORE TRAFFIC!

 

WEBSITE MARKETING - how to 'market and promote your website'

 

Search Engine Optimisation

 

There are hundreds of 'rules' that need to be adhered to and failure to ensure these are done WILL lower

your results.

 

The most important part of any website is your CONTENT.

 

>Ensure your keywords or phrases are present between 2-5% of the overall content.

>Ensure you provide GREAT CONTENT on your website and it will get noticed.

>A website that is not properly optimised is like building a shop without windows and a door!

 

I would strongly advise you to engage a specialist in this field too.

 

Search Engine Marketing

 

 

Little is really known about this term. This is where you need to put in extra time and effort.

It is merely “marketing your website online”. It is the follow on from SEO and this is like “opening your

door” for visitors to enter and find out more about your business.

 

To get top results there are several things you need to do (or pay someone to this for you)

 

- List your website on MANY local or relevant directories (most are free)

- Contribute to online Forums, Article and Blog Websites, where you can link back to your own website.

(ensure they are relevant to the site you are submitting to as well as being well ranked and popular sites)

 

These are called “back-links” that count like a personal vote and the search engines will reward you.

 

- Submit your website to the Major Search Engines regularly.

 

(these steps will increase your google page-rank (PR) and Alexa Worldwide ranking OVER TIME)

 

Our site online.net has taken four years to achieve an incredible PR5 (the top 0.05% of websites in the

world) and an Alexa Rank of around 350,000 (top 1% websites worldwide). It is now “well-respected” by

the search engines so we now enjoy more “free website traffic” and we willingly “share” our rankings with

our clients “by association”.

 

 

Internet Marketing

 

This term refers to marketing your website generally 'offile'.

 

This is how you do it successfully ( of which most businesses overlook)

 

- Display your www on ALL stationery, motor vehicles, signs and in advertisements.

 

This simple step invites customers to find out more about you and your business.

 

- Use QR Codes in your marketing … a 2d bar code system (see more here  www.qrcode.olnz.co.nz)

- Setup Social Networking Pages … (eg Facebook, Twitter, etc) … these are now taken more seriously by

the search engines as a “like” from a Social Network Member is considered as a “human vote” in favour of

your website and can increase your rankings over time.

 

- Place compelling “call to action” on your website eg “BUY NOW”, “FREE TRIAL”, etc

 

Email Marketing

 

Use creative ways to get visitors to subscribe to your site and keep them up to date with regular

newsletters, items of interest or humour, special offers, etc.

 

This is a great way to create a relationship with your “visitors” and this way you gain their trust, so they are

more likely to be converted into your “customers” over time.

 

Once again get your “specialist” to do these for you as they now how to present your content well and

portray your message.

 

I trust this has been of value to you and you can always drop me an email  if you need any assistance.

Bruce Gibson

Online NZ - Website Promotion Specialist

 

Seven reasons - WHY YOU SHOULD ENGAGE ONLINE NZ for your

Internet requirements

 

Online NZ is N.Z.’s #1 Internet marketing Company.

 

We willingly “share” our rankings with our clients by “association” (unique to OLNZ clients)

 

We do this full-time and know what we are doing because we are specialists. (:

 

We guarantee our results

 

We have assisted many clients develop their online presence.

 

We get consistent GREAT results for our clients

 

We are NOT expensive