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After setting up a website some online
advertising should be done to get more potential new customers coming
to your website. This is critical to take full advantage of the online
business opportunities that the Internet provides.
- Search
engine optimization (SEO).
Many readers will
find your website via search engines, so good
rankings in the search engines are critical. Readers focus primarily on
the first few pages of search results, so the goal should be to get
your site ranked in the top 30 for all of the keywords that describe
your business. If your site ranks below 30
it will not get
much traffic from the search engines. Your site's ranks at the search
engines are determined by:
- keyword usage within your site,
- quantity and quality of incoming hyperlinks.
- Local
Business Search. This is an important new category of
online
search that many businesses do not utilize fully. Make sure your
business is properly registered at Local Search sites to help potential
customers find your phone number, map & driving directions to
your store, pictures and other information about your business. Monitor
the online reviews that people post about your business.
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- Web
logs, RSS newsfeeds, online press releases.
Creative use
of these new web technologies and web services provides opportunites to
build the online presence of your business. Building and nurturing a
community of customers who use your products can then engage those
customers as viral marketing agents to help recruit more customers for
your business.
- Communication
with the public.
Email list servers, Internet forums (bulletin boards), and realtime
messaging provide a variety of online tools for communication with
customers and potential customers. Social bookmarking and social
networking services provide more opportunities for online interactions.
Is your company taking maximum advantage of all these new communication
systems?
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- Shopping
networks. Register your business and your products in
shopping networks to get access to
more potential customers.
- Affiliate
Marketing.
Merchants can register for affiliate marketing. Then other website
owners can register to become your affiliate, send customers to
purchase your products and earn a small fraction of the sale price.
- Online
advertisements. Pay-per-click. Pay-per-call.
These ads can be targeted quite precisely to the market that your
business serves, so even small companies can afford these online ads.
- keyword
targeting.
- geographic
targeting.
- language
targeting.
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- Register
with online directories. There are a
multitude of online directories which provide lists of websites in a
wide range of categories. Getting your site listed in many of these
directories will help bring readers to your site and help to improve
your site's ranking in the search engines.
- Link
exchange with other organizations. Webmasters of
sites whose topics relate to yours may be willing to post a link to
your site if
you post a link to their site. These need to be chosen carefully
because they can send away as many potential customers as they bring in.
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- Write
articles for online and print publications.
Create a reason to get yourself interviewed
by a news organization. Make sure that the articles include your
website address. These articles can build credibility and trust in your
organization because people will see you as a leader and an authority
in your field.
- Memberships
in business and professional
associations. Be sure to register your organization and
its employees
in the relevant trade associations. Newsletters and membership lists
provide additional opportunities for publicizing your website address
and building your online presence.
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- Build a
customer database including email addresses.
Use opt-in procedures to gain permission to send your marketing
information to them. Post a strong privacy policy to reassure your
customers that
their personal information will not be misused.
- Sales,
contests, free items, newsletters and
discounts. Registration for these free opportunites
produces another database of potential
future customers.
Use My Services for
Online Businesses
for help with development of your online organization.
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