Jan
29
Written by:
Jon Edwards
29/01/2010 11:39
Your website is probably the best marketing tool you have so make the most of it in 2010. By committing to your website you will be committing to your business. I say your business website is the best marketing tool you have because:
- It is very cost effective marketing for your business – great return on investment for both time and money invested. The world is online, your customers and prospects are online.
- You will generate more customers – getting more visibility will increase your attraction and customers will follow
As with most things in life getting your online marketing working effectively is not a quick fix – sustainable results only appear after a period of time. Your website needs to be nurtured, constantly developed and worked on regularly. Internet marketing is just one activity, it a series of related activities which combined deliver results. We wanted to give you some key pointers as to what you should be thinking about when promoting yourself online.
Here are our 10 key commitments that you should make to your website and online marketing to bring you results, success and the prosperity you deserve in 2010.
10 commitments to your web site for 2010
1. Design
Is your web site design conveying the right image? Often your web site is the first image a prospect may have of your business. It is so important to have a design that reflects the character of your business.
2. Copy / content / message
Is the content succinct and flow naturally? Are you getting your messages across? Is the content up to date?
3. Calls To Action
Do you have clear calls to action (CTA) – are you telling your visitor what you want them to do? Phone now, email us with your concern, download this white paper. You can have multiple calls to action and they should be extremely clear and on every page. Just having a contact us page does not cut the mustard.
4. Information capture
With the CTA’s is there a way to capture visitor information so you can communicate with them in the future? Capture an email address in return for a useful article / white paper.
5. Blog
Your content needs to be refreshed regularly to make it attractive to search engines. Having a blog on your site is a wonderful way to achieve this, as long as you update the blog regularly.
6. Measure / Analyse
In a digital world you know virtually everything is measurable, so you can see what is working and what is not. What is the top content on your site; what pages are people leaving the site from; what is driving traffic to your site; etc. Use this to really refine your site and to direct your future online marketing activity.
7. Keywords
Understanding your keywords is imperative. What keywords are driving traffic? What keywords are driving traffic that convert to customers? What are my keywords?
Create a list of keywords – keep this refreshed. Use the free online tools such as Google keyword tool to see which are the best keywords. Think about keywords when you blog – make your blogs keyword rich.
8. Email marketing
This provides the highest ROI of any marketing activity. Build your own list of customers and prospects you want to communicate with and then communicate on a regular basis, remind them who you are; what you offer; your successes; special promotions; your latest blog the list is endless.
This drives traffic back to your site.
Use a professional email marketing tool such as AnsarsMail (www.ansars-email-marketing.co.uk )
9. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
No point having a site if it is not visible in the search engines. This is the most important element to attract new customers. So make sure you commit to optimising your site.
Take your keywords, put them in the meta tags (title tag is the most important), ensure that they reflect in the content and especially in page headings. Build inbound links to your site on an ongoing basis.
If this is going too far then engage an expert to optimise your site and work on it on a monthly basis – whilst you focus on the other activities.
10. Social Media
Twitter, Linked in, facebook etc are all ways of spreading the word. Social media is another communications channel – exploit it. Build up your following, communicate responsibly and appropriately. Again this will drive traffic to your site.
BONUS POINT (we like to over deliver)
11. Schedule (commit) time on weekly / monthly basis
Commit to your website for the year and then see the results at the end. To commit you MUST schedule regular time slots in your diary to do the necessary work. If you don’t then your commitment is likely to waiver after a few months and you will not reap the benefit.
So, take action now – put time in your diary for the whole year for different activities. If you do not know where to start or need some guidance then please contact the team at Ansars Internet Marketing and we will be happy to assist you.