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So, you've made the decision to start your very own online website business. Good for you! Whether your decision to start an online business was personal or business driven, your going to need some exposure! This guide is designed for beginners and you “experts” too! No matter how long you have had an online business. It's always great to learn ways to increase your exposure to your online business. This guide gives you three simple ways you can use to increase your online exposure with little to no cost! Now that we have that covered. Let's get down to learning.
Here are the three marketing strategies I am going to focus on in this guide :So let's start off with SEO. Yay! My Favorite. There are a lot of ways to get traffic to your site but one of the biggest and most popular ways is via SEO.
What is SEO and Why should you care? Search Engine Optimization in simple terms is a process of improving your site or making it "search engine friendly" in order to increase the amount of targeted traffic you receive naturally by the major search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN.
What does naturally mean? Naturally means that you will show up in the "non paid" section of the search engines directories. Your ad or listing shows up under the paid advertising (pay per click) section of the search engines. The exception is that you don't have to have an “ADWORDS” account or a Search Marketing Account to do this. In other words. You don't pay Google, Yahoo or MSN to show up in their search engine results. It's all done naturally by making sure your website pages are relevant to what a searcher is looking for at that very moment.
How can I show up naturally in a search engine? You can show up naturally by making sure your website pages are relevant to a search query or a “keyword term” that someone uses while searching for a product, service or topic and that your content is top quality and kept fresh. I recommend researching keyword phrases that are being searched for on a daily basis and using these keywords in your meta tags and throughout your websites content.
You can use
Google's Free Keyword Tool to find keywords for your website pages. Although search engine optimization is definitely something you can learn on your own with enough research, time and patient. If your site is not properly optimized, your chances of showing up in the natural search results are very slim and you can take the risk of being removed from the search engine results if you optimize your site the wrong way.
I recommend hiring a
SEO expert to assist you with your search engine ranking needs especially if you don't have the time, patience or knowledge to make your site search engine and user friendly. Although you may not find a company that will be willing to do this for you for free. There are a lot of companies out here that are not just out here to drain your business budget.
Take a deep breath. I know that was a lot to take in. Since we have gone over what I consider a major part in your online exposure efforts. I would like to go over another topic that a lot of online businesses are not aware of and guess what! It's FREE!
The next most important marketing strategy is Social Networking and Bookmarking Sites. I am quite sure you have heard about Facebook, Twitter and hopefully Stumble Upon? If you haven't then let me introduce you to your next wave of constant daily exposure. Social Networking and Bookmarking sites are a great way to get exposure to your business. Like any social setting. There are right and wrong ways of marketing your business. Let's go over a couple right and wrong ways before I go into my top 5 Social Sites.
I always like to get the
DONT'S out first.
That way you don't have to get a dose of all things wonderful and pure, just to be thrown into the deep dark valleys of
Oh No You Didn't!
Don'ts: When marketing your business on social networking sites
Don't:
Be annoying! Remember that these are social places with real people. You don't want to spend 120% of your time on these sites marketing your site. If you do. You will eventually end up being ignored and labeled as one of the “Losers” of social networking. Now don't get me wrong, it's okay to market your site but make sure you are only marketing your site 30% of the time and being yourself 70% of the time (I'll go more into this in the last marketing tip.)
Be Inconsistent. Be consistent. Yes this may seem like a complete contradiction to what I just mentioned above but there is a difference. What I mean about being consistent is when you “do” decide to advertise your business , make sure you are giving the same message each time. Don't jump all over the place. Stick with the same logo. Don't change up your logo each time you post an update. The more recognizable you are the more memorable you will become and maybe intriguing too. The mind works in very funny ways. The more people see your brand name or logo the more curious they will become and will eventually end up clicking on your links or products.
Be unrealistic. Your human but try not to be unrealistic. Once you decide to step into Social Networking land. Don't expect everyone that has an account on these sites to coming flocking to your site just because you have joined and introduce yourself. Don't follow the concept that if you post it they will come. It just doesn't work like that in a realistic scenario. People have to get to know you and your business first. Research shows that a person may not click on your link until the 7th time they have seen your link.
Mix business with pleasure. Keep your business separate from your personal account: When possible, try to keep your business accounts separate from your personal accounts. You sure don't want that friend from 10 years ago to post something not so nice on your Facebook account that you don't see right away but all of your friends/fans see before you do. Like those picks from high school that you wish would disappear, or they might have a serious potty mouth. Not so nice when you are trying to create a brand.
Things you should Do: Post your link after each comment made when possible. This is something that I do on Twitter. I make sure that my updates are short enough for me to put a link. It's like a signature at the end of my updates. I post it even if I am not referring to my business. It's not annoying but it's being consistent (there goes that word again.)
Mention Sales. Offer special discounts to your fans, friends or followers. Give them a code that they can use for a sale that you are having. Make sure to set codes for each account you have so you can keep track of where your sales are coming from.
Build Friendships. Build friendships with people that are related to your business. Although it's definitely okay to friend people who are not within your target market, but just to stick with the theme of marketing. I would definitely suggest to friend people who are related to your business. For instance, if you own an online children's business. Target Moms and Dads, Grandmothers and Grandpas.
So far we have gone over how to obtain natural search results and the do's and don'ts of social networking marketing.
Now let's go over my
top 5 Social Sites. These sites are sites that I have personally researched myself and have seen an increase in traffic and in some cases sales for my clients or networking friends. First I'll go over the obvious most familiar social sites which are Facebook and Twitter.
Below are my faves and a very small description of each.
Facebook: Facebook is a great way to gain exposure to your site. You can set up a business page and get fans for your business page. Once you set up a business page. You can post messages about sales, events, how to's , links to your articles, upload products etc.. And GUESS WHAT! When you post messages on your facebook business page or page it is sent as a news feed., and news feeds show up on all of your friends profiles on the right hand side column and their friends and on an on. Cool Huh?
Click the link below to create a Facebook business page.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php Note: If you already have a personal Facebook account, I would suggest setting up another account using a different email address for your business.
Twitter: Ah Yes, Twitter.
What is Twitter exactly. Think of Twitter as sending Text... online.
You can post little updates about what's going on in your life/business life but, the trick is, you have to say it in 140 characters or less. So if you are long winded, like me (SMILE), then you may want to work on cutting it down a bit. You can get your sales in and discount code and even your link if you are crafty (wink, wink). All you need are what Twitter calls Followers.
You can get followers by doing a People search on Twitter and follow others. But don't you go following thousands of people and you have no followers. If you do, you can find yourself kicked off of Twitter for not having enough followers. So make sure you only follow 20 people at a time. Nine times out of 10 they will follow you back. Just set up an account and add a brief profile and you are on your way to being an obsessed Twitter having people stalking you from all over the web!
http://www.twitter.comStumble Upon: One of my favorite traffic generators. Stumble Upon is a social bookmarking site. Members or “Stumblers” go to your site and give it a Thumbs up or a Thumbs down. The more thumbs up you get the more traffic you get. It's a simple as that. The key is to get as many thumbs up reviews as possible. You can do this by working with your online business buddies and asking them to review your site or give your site a thumbs up and you can do the same for them.
Sign up for a Stumble Upon account below:
http://www.stumbleupon.com Squidoo: Squidoo is one of my favorites too. It's a great way to share your interest with others. You can create a mini article, or flyer that is called a lens page. You showcase everything you know about that topic. From pictures of your products to mini descriptions. You can post links back to your site and prices of your products.
Or you can post little how to instructions (my favorite way of advertising), that will lead to viewers clicking on your links that you have in the content. Squidoo's lens pages are showing up on the first pages of Google. So your chances of having more venues of getting your product out there on the search engines have just greatly increased.
To get started with your lens pages. You can go to the link below:
http://www.squidoo.com Kaboodle: Last but not least KABOODLE!!! Phew! I never thought I would get to Kaboodle. Kaboodle is another only sharing community. Similar to Squidoo but a bit different. People can recommend your products to other Kaboodlers. If they see your product on your site they put it on their wish lists making it viewable to the millions of Kaboodlers.
You create an account and add your products to your account. You can also become a retailer and have a store on Kaboodle, just make sure you use the same exact email address that you have on your website when you go to create your retailer account so it can be approved right away. If you don't it will take a while for your account to be approved.
Sign up today:
http://www.kaboodle.com So you should be a pro by now! We've covered SEO, and Social Networking. What's next you ask?
Forums and Groups! Forums and groups are an excellent way to market your site BUT, oh yes there's definitely a but. Joining a forum or an online group is a big benefit to your online success. If done properly you can see an increase in traffic and sales just by being a dedicated member of a forum or group. There are rules to using forums as a part of your marketing tactics. Here are a few rules that I recommend and have used and tested myself over the years.
Forum Rules In My Opinion: 1.
Join forums that are related to your products or services. If you have an online pet business, join forums or groups that are related to pets. Preferably a pet lovers forum.
2.
Include your website in your signature: Where allowed make sure to include a link to your site with a very small description about your business above your link. Make sure you check the forum rules before posting your link in your signature. Some forums do not allow you to advertise your business in your signature.
3.
Join for lasting relationships: If your going to join a group, make sure you are going to join to make friends and possible business relationships. Make sure that you post on your group(s) at least three to four times a week. What I mean by post. Is respond to other members post about topics that you have an interest in. If someone is talking about the latest recipe they tried. Chime in and mention a recipe that you like. The key to building relationships is to let people know who you are personally. Once they get to know who you are on a personal level they will be more inclined to visit your site and purchase or recommend your products to their family and friends.
4.
Take advantage of advertising opportunities: If a forum has a section where you can post sales or plug your site. Make sure you post your sales only twice a month. That gives you the opportunity to post a sale bi-weekly. You don't want to go over board because members will start to ignore your posting if you are posting an ad a day. Boring.
5.
Be informative: There's nothing more attractive than a person who knows their stuff. If you see someone posting a question that pertains to a product or service you offer on your site. Respond to it and be informative about it. Give the pros and or cons about it. Tell them your experiences or knowledge about it. Only tell them that you have the product if they ask where they can find the product at, but also let them know other places that it can be found locally.
6.
Don't bite off more than you can chew: Forums and Groups can become time consuming. If you are a person who is not very organized. I recommend only joining one or two very popular forums or groups. Don't join tons and tons of forum if you can not handle posting on every one each week. If you are an organized person. Then join as many as you can and make sure you post on them at least three to four times a day. Even it's just a simple How are you Doing post.
That's it. Those are my rules.
Below are some of my suggestions as far as forums: University of Moms
http://uofmom.com/forums Justmommies
http://www.justmommies.com/forums/ MomTalk
http://www.momtalk.com/forums Pet Lovers
http://www.petlovers.com Pet Peoples Place
http://www.petpeoplesplace.com Networking Forums Are you a circler?
Get fans for your Facebook business page, followers for your Twitter account, help promoting your contest, sales and coupons. We recommend your site on our blogs, and social networking sites. Join for free.
http://www.myseogal.com/networkcircle Groups: Yahoo groups: Go to yahoo groups and do a search for groups using your niche name. For instance, if you have an online baby boutique. Use the keywords mommy or mom. You are more likely to get orders from other mothers than joining a forum about insurance or affiliate programs.
http://groups.yahoo.com/ Also make sure to check out Yahoo Answers. This is another great way to market your site and you don't have to post every day. The key to your success on Yahoo Answers is having the answers to questions being asked everyday.
Try it out at the link below:
http://answers.yahoo.com/Well, That's all folks! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. I hope this guide brings you in some much deserved traffic and sales to your site!
Written and Narrated by:
Carla Phillips http://www.myseogal.com http://myseogal.blogspot.com Copyright 2009. This guide is copyrighted. No information within this guide can be duplicated, copied, or reselled without written permission. If it does then I will hunt you down and prosecute you to full extent of the law!
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