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Marketing Your Web Business:
Essential Tips
After you build and publish your web site, it's time
to get the word out. There are a lot of sites out there, and the Web is only
getting bigger. Search engines are a great place to start, but the Web offers
many more opportunities, such as online yellow pages, email newsletters,
reciprocal linking, web circles, and ad banner exchanges. Remember to use
plenty of offline techniques, too! Here are a few tips to help you rise above
the crowd.
Make Sure You Have the Right Web Address
The first time potential clients and customers encounter your business on a
search site, they'll see your web address (or URL) right off the bat. Make sure
you have the right one!
Try to pick a web address with the name of your
business or some variation of it. If your business name is already taken, try
picking one that describes what you sell. A good web address makes your site
easy to remember, find, and return to.
You might also consider registering a personalized web
address, such as www.yourcompany.com. Personalized web addresses are easier to
remember, which can really make a difference when you're trying to create a
brand name and get recognized. Furthermore, web sites with personalized web
addresses are ranked higher by search engines.
Submit Your Site to Search Engines and
Directories
Research continually shows that as much as 80 percent of
web users start at search engines to find what they're looking for. As a small
business, it's worth your while to get to know search engines.
Don't use
FFAs (Free for Alls) or "easy submit" services that send your information out
to zillions of directories and search engines. These can actually hurt your
site rankings on search engines that really matter. There are free submission
tools that you can use that are quality tools, such as iNeedHits.com's free
submission service.
Other Methods
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Online Yellow Pages and Directories
You can drive traffic to your site by purchasing a listing on online yellow
pages and directories. Online yellow pages and directories are indexes of local
stores and businesses, just like print yellow pages. They're a great way to get
targeted traffic, because people who see your listing have already searched for
your category — so they're looking for businesses just like yours.
Web Marketing
Another great way to
find customers is reciprocal linking. Consider creating a page with links to
other sites. Then encourage those same sites to link back to yours. For
example, a bike shop owner might always recommend a certain bike mechanic to
customers and vice versa. Using reciprocal linking, they could link to each
other's web sites from their own. Furthermore, many search engines use links to
rank web sites. In other words, good links can improve your search engine
rankings as well as increase your traffic.
Banner Ad Exchanges
Many small
businesses on the Web participate in banner exchanges. To participate, you put
your banner ad in a pool of other participants' banners and reserve a place on
your site for ads to appear. The ad banners then rotate through all
participants' sites. (For a monthly fee, you can also opt not to display the
banners on your site.) However, results from banner ads are said to be nominal,
at best.
Auctions
Sell your products on an
auction site, such as eBay, Yahoo!, or Amazon.com. You'll be able to increase
your sales (studies show that seven out of 10 auction listings close in a sale)
as well as reach new audiences. Satisfied buyers can become repeat customers
and drive business to your site.
Offline Marketing
Be sure to include
your web address on all your advertising, letterhead, business cards, and
brochures. Put it anywhere you'd put your phone number. And never underestimate
the power of word-of-mouth referrals. Tell your friends, family, and neighbors
about your online business. Spread the word!
Permission Marketing
Simply finding
customers isn't enough. You need to keep in touch with them, too.
Keep your business fresh in the minds of your
customers. Implement a "Permission Marketing" strategy. Capture names and email
addresses from the visitors to your site by offering them a "Value Trade" such
as a newsletter, give-away, or the like. Build your database of names and email
addresses and you have the best tool ever for creating success
online.
I've also used this service to build my opt in list:
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