If your business needs more customers (or more qualified customers), effective website marketing may be your most successful and cost effective channel for creating traffic (promoting brand awareness), leads and customers.
Becoming familiar with the best strategies and tools for effective website marketing is essential. There are several fundamental steps to effective internet marketing for generating leads and producing a positive return on your investment. Using these strategies efficiently can reap fruitful results in a short period of time.
If you are marketing online, it is imperative for you to understand the perspective and needs of your target customers in order to formulate the best internet marketing strategy and create irresistable content. Compelling content can allow you to bring about an innovative change to your overall marketing and increase qualified leads and sales for your business.
1. Optimize Your Website for Search Engines
Ranking high on search engines is no longer optional, it’s critical.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a prime element of effective internet marketing; it makes certain that your business receives the maximum exposure on the web. The more keyword-rich, compelling content you generate, the more search engines will find (and love) you.
Search engine optimization using long keywords phrases has proven to be a winning strategy capable of driving heavy traffic to your website. In addition, long keyword phrases can actually filter and purify the search items and result in a better conversion rate. They target the prospective client further in the buying or sales process. For instance, a person searching for “black jacket” is probably just browsing the internet and may not be as interested in buying the product as a person searching for “black leather jacket by Marks and Spencer.” In this example, “black leather jacket by Marks and Spencer” is more likely to become a qualified lead.
Another advantage of long keyword phrases is that they are not as competitive as short phrases. That means that you have a higher chance of obtaining the top place on the search engines for that keyword phrase.
2. Build Traffic with Blogging and Article Marketing
Businesses that blog more than 20 times a month get 5 times more traffic than those who less than 4 times a month.
Businesses that blog more than 20 times a month get 5 times more traffic than those who less than 4 times a month.
1 Blogging can increase your customers interaction with you as well as help reveal their demands and requirements. It can also give you a clear insight through their criticisms and appreciation about your product or service. A blog can be an ultimate platform to build a quality network for your company. Increased visibility, traffic and establishing your company as an industry leader are direct benefits.
Customer-centric articles produced with a strong keyword focus can be effective internet marketing tools. Marketing experts look for frequently searched topics to these generate keywords. Then these articles are published on websites, blogs, and PR sites. These articles often contain back links to the website to create more visits and improve SEO.
3. Get Active in Social Media
63% of companies using social media say it has increased marketing effectiveness—among other benefits.
Social media plays an important role when it comes to efficient internet marketing. Social media hubs like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Pinterest have made it easier for businesses to reach people at a vast level. Business promotions are taking place through facebook pages, Pinterest visual content, Tweets, video clips and status updates. Links and calls to action are provided within the content displayed on social media websites.
63% of companies using social media say it has increased marketing effectiveness—among other benefits. This clearly reflects that it is working as an efficient internet marketing tool. In addition, Social media helps B2B marketers improve search results by influencing keyword purchases, influencing organic SEO, increasing page rank and driving inbound links.2
4. Convert Traffic to Leads with Landing Pages
Businesses with 31 to 40 landing pages get 7 times more leads than those with only 1 to 5 landing pages.
are a great way to build relationships and leads for your product or service. Start by helping your potential customers find solutions to their problems or answer their questions via a downloadable Ebook or checklist. Not all of the directed leads or traffic will be engrossed in buying your brand or order your services, but offering killer free content is a great way to build a relationships (and potential customers). Here’s an example of a landing page on this site:
The Essential Step-by-Step Guide to Internet Marketing
Once customers download your content, don’t forget about your thank you pages: A notable and efficient internet marketing tool, the thank you page on your website can tempt more leads and connect you with your clientele. Use the page to show gratitude to your website visitors and propose connecting with you via social media, such as facebook and twitter. To make it more promising, you can request the visitor to subscribe to your blog or newsletter.
5. Nurture Leads with Targeted Email Marketing
Companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads.
is a very cost effective tool of efficient internet marketing. Special targeting can be done through
promotional emails, or “lead nurturing” campaigns. Good email marketing builds a timely and trustworthy communication with potential clients and can generate more registrations, downloads, direct sales, and inquires. You can also use emails to keep clients posted about your new events, product launches and addition of new content or any information which supports your brand awareness.
6. Experiment with Pay Per Click Advertising
Top 3 Sponsored links at the top of the Google search page account for 41.1% of the clicks.
Although it has a higher cost per acquisition than other inbound marketing techniques (discussed above),
pay per click advertising (like Google Adwords) can be an efficient marketing tool for online businesses. With pay per click ads, an advertiser pays only if the client clicks on an internet ad. In Google Adwords for example, advertisers place a particular bid on specific keywords, when a search results page related to that keyword is presented, advertisements linked to it are also shown, therefore creating a chance that the users will click on them. The charges are determined by the number of clicks received on the advertisement. These advertisements are put into the section of sponsored links on search engine results pages.
7. Analyze, Refine and Track Your Progress
Effective Internet marketing involves experimenting and then analyzing the results. Tracking the effectiveness of your current efforts will tell you where to focus your energies for future campaigns. Learn what channels work best for you, and pay attention to improving traffic, leads and customers, and your customer acquisition cost.
With some knowledge, understanding and careful planning of these efficient internet marketing tools, you can set your business on the road of success!
Wondering if you are on track? Find out with a custom inbound marketing assessment.
1SOURCE: HUBSPOT, LEAD GENERATION LESSONS FROM 4,000 BUSINESSES, 2011
2SOURCE: BTOB MAGAZINE, JULY 2010
Additional Sources: GoogleCommerce.blogspot.com, 2012
