Getting Your Website Found Online

This last week I ran an online marketing workshop where no less than 140 people attended – primarily marketing managers – on the subject of word of mouse marketing.

With marketing budgets decreasing or at least being under pressure, business leaders are realizing that they need to integrate an online marketing strategy to attract more leads to their business.

One business owner I spoke to had also recognized that their business needed to be online to help them with cash flow. Some of their customers were waiting 120 days before paying them. However, making their products available online eliminated the wait for payment – something people rarely evaluate when they are looking at the pro’s and con’s of developing a business online.

One of the attendees of the workshop wanted to know how to get their business found online – the business is totally online. In fact here is their question:

I have just launched my new website but am struggling to get it found. I am wondering if you have any quick and easy formulas.

During the workshop we had covered strategies including understanding the key words that people search for you online, how ad where to use those key words on your website and in your blog, and the benefits of building links to your website or business blog.

Getting found at the top of the search engines is not I am afraid a quick and easy thing to do – if it were, wouldn’t we all be at the top of the search engines?!

When you are considering your online marketing strategy, especially if you are a totally online business as in the case of the delegate from the Word Of Mouse Marketing Workshop who asked the question, it’s important to recognize that you need to develop and implement an online marketing plan. It may seem obvious, but many people think once they have built a website their work is done.

Make sure that you allocate resources to your online marketing strategy – that may be time for training yourself and your team, time to update your own website or blog, writing articles and implementing inbound link building strategies or investing in hiring an expert in search engine marketing to assist you with this strategy.

Online marketing is going to become an increasingly competitive area in the year ahead as marketing managers look to make their marketing dollars go further.

Perhaps it’s time to assess your marketing plan for the next 180 days so that you make sure that you are investing your marketing dollars and time wisely? Are you planning to allocate more resources to online marketing next year?

Chris

an interesting post. I will recommend this post to be read by my friends who have an online business. They need an assistance in promoting their website. Thanks for the post.

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Ed Roach

"Waiting for future funds" - you know I can't recall a time when those elusive future funds ever materialized. It's more a lame excuse to do nothing. It's those same folks who run one ad and state that advertising doesn't work. These types of businesses look for those convenient whipping posts to blame their inaction on.

Classic stupid.

Affordable Shared Web Hosting

The if they build it, they will come is so true Ed Roach. I've had numerous clients with that mentality. Mainly they just don't understand how it works. I've even had clients who understand just building it wont guarantee traffic, but they don't want to take effort into building their online marketing presence. It's almost a waste to build the site if you don't plan to market the site. They always say in the future when funds happen I will spend the time, but you have to start from day 1.

I'm afraid Krishna that many people are still of the belief that if they build it, they will come. I can' t recall the number of times I have to explain to people that they must take an active role in their web presence. That not unlike traditional marketing, results are not going to be had with one exposure. They must be consistent and patient.

Take blogging. I'd say it took me about a year and a half before I got my first client as a result of blogging. Publicity came sooner. The person's request in your pull quote is typical - "what's fast and easy?" I think this attitude is fed online by those exaggerated sales letters that speak to quick money. SEO, PPC, banner ads, article selling and a host of other avenues all do their part, but a persistent attention to your marketing initiatives is key.

Take myself, I've given myself a two year goal of building an opt-in mailing list of 5,000. This is supported by coordinated efforts, all cross referenced. I don't believe there is any true, fast and easy way. Some do get lucky, but it's not the norm.

The main thing is, you'll never get there if you don't jump on. I view the web as a massive expanding of my potential market.

Conrad Walton

The quickest way to get to the top of the search engine results pages is to use a site map to tell them where you are. When I started using one on my site at survivor.com, it became the top result and had links to multiple pages below it. I've started to write about these techniques on my blog at www.walton.com.

Site maps rock.

Roger Hamilton

Online marketing is a big thing and definitely a must for companies to expand. The amount of people on the internet is massive and thus is a good thing.

kouji

and without that online marketing, a huge opportunity is lost, given that so much targeted search takes place online, via google. people everyday are looking for solutions, so it pays to find a way to reach out to these people.