Small Business Internet Marketing Strategies...
Kenneth Doyle
Any small business that now thinks that the Internet is a passing fad is blind to the facts. There is still much confusion among small business owners about how to utilize the web to the marketing of their own small business. Marketing your small business on the Internet does not need to be expensive, nor does it need to be complicated.
Opportunities to market your small business are many and varied, just like in the real world.
Small business Internet marketing can be a very cost-effective way of promoting your bricks and mortar business locally and/ or to the world. All that one does is choose from the wide variety of marketing options available, and then consistently apply them to get measurable results.
So, let's hear these strategies I hear you say. And, how does one apply them?
In broad terms there are THREE main types of marketing strategies, which apply to small business Internet marketing, being...
1. Paid search marketing (Pay per click marketing, and its numerous variations), and... 2. In-context link marketing (being commercial links within content on a specific topic), and... 3. Natural search marketing (SEO, content marketing, blogs and its numerous variations).
And, what are the benefits/ costs (pros and cons) of these approaches?
1. PAID SEARCH MARKETING:
Paid search marketing works a little like the marketing you (as a bricks and mortar business owner) already know. It's paid advertising. You pay for placement of your ad, and it's placed before potential prospects who then find your PPC advertisement while searching the Internet for solutions to a problem. Who sees your PPC advertisement is determined by the keywords and keyphrases YOU chose for your individual PPC campaigns, and the effectiveness of your PPC ad.
The benefits to you (the pros). Well, when correctly targeted, you'll reach prospects, fast.
The CONS: A) Hire a specialist or do it yourself. If you DIY you can lose a lot of money, fast! B) Skilled specialists are expensive. C) You continually pay to play with this model. D) High demand keyterms are very costly (thus eliminating most small businesses).
2. HYPERLINK within CONTEXT LINK MARKETING:
By utilizing other people's keyword focused and existing content you're able to promote your local business (say you're an accountant) via other people's focused content. This is a commercial pay per click arrangement between the content creator, yourself (the advertiser) and the in-context web system that matches the two parties in the arrangement.
The PROS: This is a better approach for small businesses marketing on the Internet, because these embedded hyperlinks are not perceived by the reader as an advertisement. This reduces the visitors resistance to clicking through on these in context hyperlinks (ads) as the links are viewed by the reader as links to more information.
The CONS: A) Competition for commercial keyterms is fierce. This continually drives your costs up. And, you only get to play as long as you continue to pay. B) You have limited control over where these hyperlinks are placed, because it's the In-Context advertising system that places these links in the participating publisher's content for you. C) To get best results here one needs to utilize specific landing pages for the clickthroughs from your different ads. This is called the search path, and again it's a specialist skill that's needed to set up good search path landing pages.
3. NATURAL SEARCH MARKETING:
Think about this. How do YOU use the web? I'll guarantee you that if you're looking for a solution to a problem that you do what millions of other people do everyday. You go to your favorite search engine (usually Google) and type in your problem (a.k.a. keyphrase). Then, your search engine presents you will likely answers. When a small business interfaces with the fundamental reality of the way people use the Internet THEY win.
Note: Search marketing is different from SEO. SEO (search engine optimization) relates to the optimization of existing web sites to make them search engine friendly to the search engines.
The PROS: With natural search marketing tactics properly applied to the marketing of a small business it has a distinct advantage on the net. Why? Well, marketing analysis has determined that people purchase 90% of their needs from within a 10 miles radius of where they actually physically live. As people use the web more and more in daily life it is natural that if these same people find YOUR local business when they search the web for a solution to a problem that YOU then become their chosen solution. This is search marketing in action, locally.
The CONS: A) Content is King on the Internet, The continual adding of content to your natural search system is of paramount importance to its success. However, this content creation can be very easily outsourced. B) This is a slower approach than the PPC and In-context marketing systems. However, the (long term) ROI from natural search marketing for small business far exceeds the hit and miss results of using the other two approaches (and their ongoing costs).
To summarize... Marketing on the Internet for small businesses no longer needs to be seen as a mysterious event. There is still be a great divide between those businesses who are using the web properly, and those who don't. However, armed with this information, you now have a choice.
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