Before you hire a web designer
Picking the perfect logo
Planning your web site
Search engine optimization
Marketing on the web
A common misconception is that all you have to do is build a web site, and the customers will be beating down your door. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Marketing on the internet is very much like marketing a storefront business. You have to get the word out. To further complicate matters, a new web site will not immediately be listed in search engines, (see our article on search engine optimization). In addition to finding your web site in a search engine, there are many web and non-web related ways to market your business.
If your goal is to have millions of people visit your site, and you don't mind spending thousands of dollars, then it is very easy to drive traffic to your web site. If you actually want those visitors to become a client or to purchase your product, it becomes a much more focused process. Knowing your target market is crucial to any effective marketing plan and the internet is no different. We have repeated this elsewhere, but one of the most effective marketing techniques is to promote your site where your potential customers already spend time. Does your business provide local services only, such as a dry cleaner or local construction company? Marketing to millions of people who will never take advantage of your services will waste your time and money. This is not to say that internet marketing won't work for you, but it is imperative to focus your efforts on the people who are likely to use your product or services. Community information web sites are a good place to start. You can normally list your business very inexpensively, and if you offer a product or service with unique or locally focused features, you can often get quite a bit of free publicity. At the bottom of this article we show an example of targeted local marketing. In keeping with focusing on your target market, make a list of the type of web sites your potential clients would visit. Suppose you have a little vineyard and are trying to promote your high end boutique wine. Obviously, the people interested in boutique wines will be wine and food lovers. Write an article about boutique wines and submit it to an online wine magazine with a link to your web site. Place advertising on gourmet food web sites. The opportunities are endless.
You've seen them. Those irritating, obnoxious flashing banner ads that promise you the world for free. Although the effectiveness of these particular banner ads to drive traffic to a site is doubtful, a well made, well placed banner ad can bring excellent results. Once again, targeting your market is the critical factor here. Although a banner ad on a highly trafficked web site with broad appeal may be out of financial reach, web sites with a smaller, more focused audience normally offer advertising that is a significantly better value.
Many marketing opportunities on the web cost little or nothing. Special interest bulletin boards, web logs and mailing lists offer tremendous opportunity with a captive audience. With a little research, you can find numerous low or no cost opportunities all over the web. Again, the blueprint for success is finding your audience and filling their needs.
John is opening a trendy restaurant with an eclectic, multi-ethnic menu that caters to young, successful professionals. Besides the obvious newspaper press releases and local marketing, he has decided to aggressively market his web site. First, John had the foresight to make sure his web site was equipped to handle instant online reservations. This now becomes the focus of several press releases, both print and online, that are targeted to the local community. He works with some of the larger companies in the area and asks that they release an email to their employees offering a special discount through the online reservation system. He partners with the local upscale gym to offer some of his healthier cuisine recipes and has them posted on the gym's web site with a link to his. He purchases a listing on the local community information web site, and negotiates an online article on his restaurant opening. John has a wine vendor who is interested in promoting a new cabernet. John partners with the wine vendor to do a special wine tasting dinner and the wine vendor promotes this through an online newsletter and sends out an email to their database. John offers a special Monday night cooking class and lists this on several bulletin boards as well as the web site of the local culinary club. John then contacts a successful local wedding planner and offers a complimentary dessert for all engaged couples and discounted rates on rehearsal dinners. The wedding planner of course, lists his restaurant on their web site.
Although we have just scratched the surface in the above example, it is easy to see how your local marketing efforts can snowball and reach a tremendous audience, making a significant impact in your online presence. Marketing your web site with little or no budget takes time and creativity. Develop creative ways to get the word out. Partner with other organizations and web sites and develop a consistent rhythm of taking action.