This is an extremely difficult question to answer because there are so many complex factors involved. Specifically, the techniques you employ in your Internet marketing campaign as well as the execution of those techniques can determine whether Internet marketing will work for your business. Additionally, the likelihood of your target audience using the Internet and responding to your marketing efforts should also be factored into the equation. This article will outline the potential for success in an Internet marketing campaign.
When is Internet Marketing Worthwhile?
In general, the answer to this question is always but the answer is much more involved. Sure, Internet marketing is worthwhile but as with any type of marketing it is only worthwhile if it is done well. For example, you can spend thousands of dollars on a television marketing campaign but if no one sees your commercials or your commercials do not reach your target audience and generate sales, the advertising was not worthwhile. So, perhaps a more appropriate answer to this question would be that Internet marketing is worthwhile when it works.
What is your target audience?
Before making the decision to embark on an Internet marketing campaign you should carefully consider your target audience. One of the most basic principles of marketing is to make sure that you reach your target audience. This is so important because your target audience is composed of the people who are most likely going to be interested in purchasing your products or services. It is much easier to sell your products or services to those who already have an interest in the products and services you have to offer than it is to convince those who are not interested in your products or services at all. As an example, consider a business that sells fishing rods. You will want to market your products to those who enjoy fishing either competitively or as a leisure activity because, with this audience, you are likely to find people who may be interested in purchasing a new fishing rod. It would make sense to place an advertisement for your business on a website selling bait and tackle or a website that organizes fishing trips in exotic locations. Conversely, it would not make sense to place your advertisement on a website selling telescopes because you are not likely to reach a large target audience there. There may be some stargazers with an interest in fishing but your advertising dollars and efforts would be better spent placing advertisements with websites more closely related to your business.
Analyze your competition
Conducting a competitor analysis can do a great deal to help you determine whether you should invest in an Internet marketing campaign for your business. This step is very important because it will give you a good indication if you should even begin marketing your business on the Internet. Hiring a firm that specializes in Internet marketing is recommended because they can conduct this research quickly and efficiently and will likely gain a great deal of valuable information as a result of their research efforts. If they determine that your business can benefit from an Internet marketing campaign, it is time to start thinking about how you want to advertise your business online.
Again, seeking the help of professionals can be an extremely worthwhile investment. If you are not well versed in the industry of Internet marketing, hiring a firm with a great deal of expertise in this industry can be very helpful. They can assist you by consulting with you to determine which marketing strategies will be most effective, designing advertisements for your campaign, helping you to orchestrate your Internet marketing campaign and evaluating the results of marketing efforts to determine which strategies are working and which are not.
Optimize your online marketing
The potential for success with an Internet marketing campaign is virtually limitless. The success you enjoy is only limited by your ability to promote your products and services and execute effective marketing strategies. Some of the marketing strategies you may wish to employ may include optimizing your website for relevant search terms, placing links to your website judiciously on the Internet, writing and publishing e-newsletters and using affiliates to promote your website.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most important aspects of any Internet marketing campaign. SEO is so important because it dictates the ranking of your website on popular search engines. Internet users value these results and are not likely to seek out websites that do not rank well with search engines. Conversely, high-ranking websites can enjoy a great deal of increased website traffic as a result of these rankings.
There are several elements to consider when attempting to optimize your website for search engines. This may include keyword density, prominence, META tags, titles and inbound links. Keyword density is one of the most common SEO strategies and essentially involves using relevant keywords often in the content of a website to demonstrate the relevance of these keywords to the website. This is important because search engines are likely to reward websites with optimal keyword densities with favorable search engine rankings in an effort to provide Internet users with the most relevant websites for particular search terms.
The prominence of keywords should also be considered. This includes how close the keywords are placed relative to the beginning of the website. The common mistake with this strategy is to believe the first opportunity to incorporate keywords is in the first line of visible text on the webpage. This is not true because search engines crawl the code of a website as opposed to the visible content on the website. This means that there are multiple opportunities to incorporate relevant keywords long before the actual visible content on the website. This might include the code for the title as well as the META tags. Business owners who realize the potential for incorporating keywords into the code gain an advantage over competitors who only incorporate keywords into the content on their website.
Inbound links to your website are also important in Internet marketing. Inbound links are links on other websites that direct users to your website. These links are important in an Internet marketing campaign. First of all, many search engines factor inbound links into their ranking algorithms, which means that inbound links can result in higher search engines rankings. Also, these links can be used directly by website users to access your website. This means that you can gain traffic directly from these links.
Do not spam
When it comes to Internet advertising, there is a fine line between great advertising and spam. Some business owners get carried away trying to get as much exposure as possible and can sometimes go overboard and wind up posting what is considered spam. Internet users who see your advertisement in a couple of key locations will likely notice the advertisement and may be compelled to visit your website immediately or may keep your website in mind for future use. However, Internet users who see your advertisement everywhere they look are likely to view your advertisement as spam. This can be harmful because they are not likely to visit your website because they expect it to not be worthwhile.
Conclusion
In any Internet marketing campaign, it is important to carefully monitor the results of your marketing efforts and to make changes to your campaign as necessary. This is important because you want to make sure that your marketing efforts are paying off and the best way to do that is to evaluate the results of your advertising carefully. One way to do this is to place special coding in each one of your advertisements so that you will know which advertisements are generating business for you and which ones are not. You can use this information to decide whether you should modify the ineffective website or stop running those advertisements. If you decide to modify them, you will want to continue to monitor the results to determine whether or not the changes made the advertisements more effective.
We are pleased to provide you with the insightful comments contained herein. For a complimentary assessment of your online presence, let’s have coffee.
Michael Cohn is the founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of CompuKol Communications. He has over 25 years of experience in IT and web technologies. Mr. Cohn spent a significant amount of time at a major telecommunications company, where his main focus was on initiating and leading synergy efforts across all business units by dramatically improving efficiency, online collaboration, and the company’s Intranet capabilities, which accelerated gains in business productivity. He also reduced company travel and travel costs by introducing and implementing various collaboration technologies.
His expertise includes business analysis; project management; management of global cross-matrix teams; systems engineering and analysis, architecture, prototyping and integration; technology evaluation and assessment; systems development; performance evaluation; and management of off-shore development.
Mr. Cohn earned a Master’s degree in project management from George Washington University in Washington, DC; and a Master’s degree in computer science and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.