I’ve looked at a lot of marketing ideas for business owners in the past, but today, I thought I would strip everything back to basics. So, if you are planning on starting a new online arm for your company or have an online business idea that you think might work, read on. I’m going to go through three of the most important marketing techniques you can use to make things happen. And, I’ll also point you in the direction of some fantastic resources.
SEO
OK, so I’m going to assume that you already have a domain name, web host and website set up. If not, then follow this guide from LifeHacker. It’s thorough, easy to follow, and will tell you everything you need to know. Now you have an online presence; you need to be able to position yourself in front of your customers. And, your first step in this process is to look at search engine optimization or SEO.
You will hear a lot about SEO as soon as you begin any online marketing project, and it is important to get it right. There is plenty of info available online that can talk you through it. But if you want to get ahead quickly, I would advise finding a reputable SEO company to do it for you.
As a beginner, you should make sure that you follow their processes and find out how and why they do things – it will save you money in the long-term.
Conversion Rate Optimization
So, if you have worked your SEO well, you should have a steady stream of visitors arriving at your website. The trouble is, they aren’t sticking around for long. And, they certainly aren’t buying anything. Why? The answer lies in conversion optimization – or CRO.
This is the process of refining your website to make people take the action that you want them to take. You will need to look at the words that you use on your sales page, and you will also have to think about how easy it is to get what they want.
For example, if your customer knows what they want to buy, they don’t want to have to trawl through dozens of pages and processes to buy it. They just want to come to your website, enter their details, pay, and leave. Take a look at this CRO resource for some great articles on the subject. Despite what you might hear, conversion – not SEO – is the most important thing to look at on your website. There’s no point in spending money on getting more traffic if nobody buys anything.
Content & Social Media
Content and social media marketing are two other marketing techniques you will need in your armory. Now, there’s a lot of talk about how both of these subjects are vital for your business. They aren’t – but they can be useful.
Your product or service is the most important thing about your business, by some distance. But, using content marketing, and spreading the word on social media, can be a great way of underlining your industry authority. Check out this excellent guide to content marketing from WPCurve, and take a look at my blog on the top social media mistakes for more details.
This should be enough to get you started with your online business. Stay tuned for more business insights coming your way soon!
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