Small businesses often think their only consumer-base is that within reasonable distance to their store-front; however, they are missing a golden opportunity online. Many small business owners assume Internet Marketing is for larger corporations or big business with big budgets. But, if you want to increase your sales and customers, then it’s time to learn more about internet marketing for small business.
Studies now indicate that 86% of consumers who use Internet search engines to find a local product or service later follow up with a phone call or an in-store visit. Not to mention, 61% end up making a purchase offline.
So, even if you don’t offer e-commerce (the ability to order or purchase online) on your site, it’s important to not only host a site, but make sure your prospects can find it. As long as they find your business online, more than half are then likely to purchase.
The results are clear: You must utilize internet marketing for your small business.
You might be asking, “What’s involved in Internet Marketing for Small Business?”
- Depending on the nature of your business, you’ll need to determine if you are going to offer e-commerce on your site and, if so, what products will be sold. Ask a website professional to develop this for you.
- Develop an Internet Marketing Plan for your business, including what tools you will use to market your site effectively.
- Establish attainable goals. For instance, website design (or re-design) by the end of the first quarter, followed by updated content, new product reviews, videos, articles, and so on. If you are ready to create a new website, keep in mind the utter importance of your domain name. Make it memorable!
- If you do already host a site, monitor your website rankings. You have the typical online researcher’s attention for approximately 1.8 pages. If you aren’t ranking in the top, it’s time to implement search engine optimization (SEO) methods. SEO will give you the longest-term ‘bang for your buck’ for internet marketing.
- Review your existing website. Remember, your homepage is your literal ‘virtual busines scard’ to the world. Make sure it is high-quality, informative, and best represents your small business.
- Engage in weekly email marketing. This is an excellent marketing tool for your small business; however, only for email addresses that have ‘raised their hand’ and said, “Yes, please send me emails!” In other words, don’t purchase a list and blast out tons of emails. This is known as the unethical practice of spamming.
- Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Another form of internet marketing for small business is through the use of pay-per-click advertising. These are the paid ads on the outer edges of search engines when you do an online search. The advertiser pays for each ‘click’ it gets to its ad. These PPC ads are highly targeted, but can also be quite expensive. Either outsource this function to an expert or learn the process before bidding on your ad.
- Videos. Videos are gaining in widespread popularity for internet marketing. Utilize these to promote your brand further or to launch a new campaign. Make sure it is unique and something others will want to watch. For instance, if you offer heating and cooling services, perhaps your video demonstrates the energy savings of certain filters, systems, etc. Videos can be uploaded to YouTube with a link to your website.
- Get your business on sites like Facebook and Twitter. They are both free and offer an excellent resource for staying in touch with your client base. You can offer updates, videos, share industry news, press releases, new products or services, promotions, etc. Just be sure each post you make to your ‘friends’ aren’t solely about buying from your business. Keep it engaging and light, with ‘soft advertising’ posts distributed.
And, finally, track your progress! Monitor the feedback and results from your internet marketing to track where your leads are deriving. Most hosting companies offer this service to enable you to establish a well-informed marketing plan and budget. This will assist you in determining what internet marketing tactics your customer base responds to the best.