3 Do’s and Don’ts of Internet Marketing

 Without a doubt, Internet Marketing is at the centre of any successful business. There are few marketing options that can be said to have the same success and efficiency as that provided by Internet Marketing. However, not all Internet Marketers are successful. The secret to successful marketing lies within the methods used. To achieve this success, every serious marketer has to understand the dos and don’ts of the trade.

 3 Dos

 1.       Provide quality content

 

Although this may sound like a no-brainer, it is just what you need. Consistent uploading of quality content onto your website will always win you new readers and you stand no risk of losing your old traffic either. Do thorough research and only upload content that adds value to your readers. While you are at it, make sure you only have content that is relevant to your niche. Trust you me, you do not want to attract the wrong type of traffic. At the end of the day, you need meaningful traffic that easily transforms to potential customers.

 2.       Website Design

Design sells! Your website design matters. Check out some successful websites like those of Apple, Nike, and Pintrest. One thing they have in common is that their designs are stunning! This is no coincidence. A company like Nike though primarily dealing in shoes, has obviously invested significantly in website design. You do not need to procure a very expensive website. Just find a good web designer who will create a good looking and easy to navigate website.

3.       Go Mobile

With over 1 billion Smartphone users, there is no reason why you should not maximize on the business opportunity created by mobile users. It is clear that many people nowadays prefer conducting their business on the go. There are hundreds of Apps being developed every day and investing in them will see your business grow.

3 Don’ts

 1.       Avoid Duplicating Content

 

To avoid being punished by Google, just keep your content fresh, entertaining, and informative. Last year (2012), many websites fell victim to the algorithm update that saw sites with duplicated content fall in rank. To keep your visitors, provide them with regular fresh content.

 2.       Don’t ignore Social Media

One bad word about your product can completely ruin your reputation. Online, word spreads like wildfire. Intel once made this mistake, ignoring a review from one of their customers about a flawed Pentium chip. This dissatisfaction quickly became the topic in social media circles and technically boiled over to any other forum on the Internet. This in the end forced Intel to make a recall. The lesson here is, always listen to your customers and quickly respond to any concerns/issues they might have regarding your product(s).

3.       Don’t be Rigid

When it comes to Internet Marketing, nothing is cast in stone. What works today might not work tomorrow. For instance, a decade ago, knowing how to manipulate the metatags would have easily won you a top page ranking. That quickly changed when keywords started being used. Today, the type of backlinks a site gets, highly contributes to its ranking. So, the bottom line is, be open minded and flexible. Flow with the river and expect changes. Do not rely on “what always worked”.

 

Why Content Marketing?

Content marketing is the creation and sharing of original media and publishing content aimed at acquiring and enlarging customer base by providing valuable and entertaining content. It’s widely gaining acceptance and usage as a crucial marketing method. As per Content Marketing Institute, over 85% of marketers are now using it due to its effectiveness.

What is Content Marketing?

This is Informative published content in an online environment that can be images, infographics, blogs, YouTube videos etc. It also involves utilisation of keywords to develop content, ensuring website’s visibility. The wealth of content creation methods available means a business is only limited by its imagination. Fortunately, businesses can outsource content creation to creative personalities who, if the internet is anything to go by, are an endless commodity.

What are its benefits?

First, this method is informative. Consumers tend to listen more closely when you aren’t asking them for money or hyping product.  By providing relevant and valuable information you develop a unique relationship with your clientele. This builds customer equity, trust and loyalty.

Secondly, it is neither intrusive nor distracting as conventional advertising is; a survey showed that conventional online advertising is disliked for being distracting, non-engaging and for fear of spam and viruses. Good content is engaging and entertaining; people will trust and like businesses they identify with.

Thirdly, a simple cost benefit analysis shows that content is cheap and easy to create and share as opposed to conventional ad-spaces; simply put, you get more bang for your buck. This effectiveness has huge corporations out of their corporate castles engaging the consumer at his level – and he is responding.

Fourth, most people when making business decisions prefer to rely on informative articles rather than advertising puffery. By engaging in content marketing they are better informed and educated about the product/business. They then are likely to become clients, forming fierce brand loyalty.

Lastly, proper content marketing utilizes keywords and tags to ensure wide and effective reach. This boosts visibility to potential customers and uses existing customers’ equity to reel in new business.

How to do it most effectively?

Study your target audience in order to develop a strategy for effective communication.  Guarantee the highest standards, creativity and variety by hiring a professional. Insure content is informative and entertaining and mirrors the business’s attitude and goals. Last step is ensuring that the content reaches the targets through social media channels.

Read more about SEO and Social SEO here.

Why Social SEO is a Must for Your Business

Traffic to a website is no longer solely determined by its content and effective use of keywords and Meta tags; now due to changes in the SEO landscape, a business’s total online presence has become a considerable factor. Google updated its SEO algorithm to now track the total online presence of a business by checking its Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube presence to determine how high to rank it in their search engine. This means businesses have to keep evolving their SEO strategies to ensure that they remain relevant.

 Using Social SEO to Promote Business

For any business seeking to succeed, a well formulated online marketing strategy is an indispensable necessity. The new Google algorithm takes into account the social media presence of a business and has thereby transformed Social Media from just a place to post funny pictures of cats to a significant marketing platform. The number of mentions your website gets on social media helps determine how relevant your website is; other factors that have become increasingly relevant for example are the existence of a Facebook and/or Twitter page, the number of likes or followers and the relevance of your status updates and tweets to your clientele.

Do Businesses need  Social SEO?

YES! The answer is a most emphatic and no holds barred yes. Google as the single largest search engine has an immeasurable impact on the visibility and therefore success of an online venture. It has updated its search algorithm directed towards SEO’s with two crucial updates, Penguin and Panda, whose mission is to weed out the websites that do not meet quality standards in relevancy, content and uniqueness.

You might be wondering whether not having a social media presence is detrimental to your business; lack of a social media presence can be as detrimental to your online presence as having a poor presence. The new parameters of SEO visibility takes into account customer satisfaction and appeal and this is best measured through social media feedback.

The Social Media presence needs to be dynamic, effective and relevant to clients in order to create positive feedback which boosts a business’s visibility and can even drag it from the murky waters of inconspicuousness to the heights of high traffic popularity. Achieving this requires a properly integrated Social SEO strategy.

Find more tips on how to properly optimize your content here.