Internet business will exceed $250 billion in 2006 and the competition for that business continues to increase exponentially.
How do small businesses and mid-sized businesses compete on the Internet? With online advertising expenditures expected to exceed $300 billion in the next two years, small business and mid-sized businesses must looked towards integrated e-marketing to succeed.
Investing in a website is only the first step towards succeeding online. True success on the Internet is available for the taking for those businesses willing to invest in integrated solutions including: search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) and/or pay-per-call advertising, e-mail marketing, affiliate programs, etc.
Every business has a different target audience or target audiences. Reaching your target market is best achieved using an integrated solution. For the broadest terms, your traffic builders, the most cost effective strategy is search engine optimization.Â
Building traffic to search engine optimization maximizes your return on investment. The traffic reaching your website will be at various stages of the buying cycle. The key to success will be having different sections of your website specifically designed for potential customers/clients at the various stages of the buying cycle.
Websites that only concentrate on the final sale will lose, by some estimates, up to 70% of potential customers. Websites that attempt to influence early-stage customers, and then usher them through the buying cycle, can maximize their return on investment (ROI).
Think of your approach as multi-tiered. Stage one is getting the potential customer in the door, even if they are just a window shopper. The right “sales rep” or in the case of online, the right marketing spin can change the window shopper into a more serious consumer.
SEO is the best means for garnering this volume of traffic.
As people progress in the buying cycle, pinpointed PPC advertisements will have a high ROI as searchers begin to hone their searches to more specific terms…the already know what they want, now they are looking for the source to get it from.
A detailed and well managed PPC campaign will have a high ROI for consumers at this stage of the buying cycle. One of the keys to succeeding will be making sure the people who click on the ad are ushered to the right page, with the right marketing and sales message.
Blogs and newsletters are great ways to help build brand recognition and help consumers be ushered along the buying cycle from “window shoppers” to “buyers”. Providing honest and straight forward information is the best way to turn a website surfer into a customer.
In addition to the above, optimized press releases assist with search engine optimization, branding and credibility and should be part of the overall Internet marketing strategy you use.Â
The most success can be obtained by integrating: SEO, Internet marketing techniques (affiliate programs, blogs, PPC campaigns, etc) and online public relations.Â
Business that shudder at monthly campaigns ranging from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars should consider the high return on investment. Succeed in building traffic and conversions and you will see profits soar, it is as simple as that.
An investment in integrated Internet marketing is your key to success in the $250 Billion e-commerce industry.
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