Web Marketing 101: A Guide to Marketing Your Business on the Internet

Posted on by

If you’re looking for a quick guide to online marketing, then let’s not waste your time and get right down to the point. Here are some of the more important marketing tools you can use to boost your online presence:

Search engine optimization

One of the first things we’ll discuss in this web marketing 101 guide is increasing the visibility of your website by applying search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. SEO involves “optimizing” a website around a set of keywords to make it more attractive to search engines like Google or Bing.

When a search engine user types in a specific set of keywords, a well-optimized website can rank in the top listings of a search engine’s results page. This makes it easier for potential visitors to find and visit your site instead of the competition.

Create content with backlinks

Any good guide to online marketing needs to cover backlinks. This involves creating online content that people find relevant, useful, and interesting, and then adding a link within the content that links them back to your website. Some of the more common examples include writing articles related to the content of your website, creating how-to tutorials, posting videos on You Tube or, posting a comment on a blog. All these content-based items should include a link back to your own website.

Opt-in programs

All websites that sell products or services should include an opt-in box. Visitors have the option to receive a “special offer” or free giveaway when they give you their email address and opt-in to your mailing list. The special offer or giveaway should be a reward for potential visitors and customers to receive in exchange for allowing you to send them emails. Examples of good giveaways include e-books, e-courses, downloadable audio or video, newsletters, success tips, and/or strategies. The content needs to be extremely relevant to the visitor. In the long run, you hope to convert casual visitors into paying customers while encouraging current customers to stay loyal to your business.

Social networking

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+ are great marketing tools if used strategically with other marketing 101 strategies. These tools allow you to reach out to a wider audience while keeping touch with the needs and wants of your current audience. You need to be careful with social networks because an unhappy visitor can instantly post less than positive feedback about your business, or products and services to a big online audience. It’s best to use social networks as a place to post information of interest to your potential customers-rather than using these platforms to sell products. The object of the game is to build relationships with your visitors-and eventually make them your customers or clients.

Other Online interaction

One of the simplest methods that many overlook is simply interacting with potential customers in online communities. Go out and talk to people – give advice and share your expertise.

Online forums and blogs can be great places to interact with people and share your expertise on a particular subject matter. You can then discreetly insert a link leading back to your website. In these communities be careful not to self promote too aggressively. You want to appear as someone trying to give help-this gives the perception of being an expert in your field. People want to establish relationships and ultimately buy from people they perceive as experts.

Your web marketing 101 guide should include: SEO for your site, create web content and distribute it with links back to your website, develop attractive opt-in programs, use social networks to keep an open line of communication, and interact with the people you want visiting your site. Make these simple strategies part of your own online marketing guide consistently and you’ll see an increase in your web traffic and ultimately your customer base.

An Internet Marketers Guide To Using LinkedIn Effectively

Posted on by

By using LinkedIn effectively, it is possible to open doors that otherwise would not be available and to build relationships that can lead to bigger profits. Read on to find little known tips and techniques.

By using LinkedIn effectively, an online marketer can generate many leads for the products that they sell. In this article we look at how you can use LinkedIn to build relationships and bring traffic to your website.

There are various levels of membership sign ups on LinkedIn. Each offer a number of credit for directly emailing to people that you don’t know or are not connected to. Another point of difference is that you can also elect to receive a higher level of search results.

By starting with the free membership, it is possible to build a powerful profile with a keyworded link back to your site and to network and create groups. Once you have spent time working with LinkedIn, then it might be worth your while to upgrade to benefit from the extra credits.

Profile

Complete your profile with as much information as you can. There are sections for education, previous roles as well as what you are hoping to gain from being on LinkedIn. By providing as much information as you can, you will allow people to know your history and your skill set. This will help them feel more comfortable with you as they will know your full background. Upload a professional looking photo of yourself in a head and shoulders style, as people prefer to do business with people that they have seen, even if it is only online. Use a photo that says ‘approachable and friendly’ for the best results.

Connect

The more people that you can connect with on LinkedIn – the better. If you are in position to, spend time giving recommendations and asking for recommendations from your contacts. These personal testimonials will support your credibility and sales efforts. Adding more connections, means that more people will see you.

Optimise Your Profile

By optimising your profile for the search engines, you can get onto the front page of Google for a name search. Add your profile name like this: http://uk.LinkedIn.com/in/yourname, where ‘yourname’ is in this URL should be your own name once you’ve set it up. It is changeable – so you can add your business niche instead of your name if you prefer at a later date.

Then within your profile, under the Website section – select other and add a keyword for your website. Then add the http:// url address to your website, so that it will work as another link for SEO purpose to your site. The result is a nice PR8+ backlink to your site from LinkedIn affirming the keyword for your site. You might want to add your social networking pages to the other sections.

Groups and Answers

Using the Answers and the groups sections are a great way to build your reputation on LinkedIn. You can share your knowledge, your blog posts for more traffic and generally help people out so that you can connect with more people and be seen as a valuable contributor of LinkedIn. Don’t spam and interact in a professional and positive manner for the best results. You can ask your own questions too, make these short and to the point and don’t waste time by asking for information that you can easily find with a Google search.

By using these tips and techniques, you will soon be using LinkedIn effectively to build your connection, your reputation and your profits.

Copyright (c) 2010 Andrew Holtom