Increasing Your Online Marketing ROI

One of the main challenges small and medium sized businesses face is how to market their products/services on a limited budget. You know you need to get your message out there, but how do you do that in a way that is both cost-effective and still gets results?

When I launched BreakthroughCoach, I focused my efforts on internet marketing and social media. Nearly 70% of my clients have come from these sources! I am more convinced than ever that if you’re in business but you’re not on the internet, then you’re not in business!

This week I am pleased to introduce you to Nathan Richer, a friend and colleague of mine. As the owner of Virtual Alchemy, a company devoted to helping you maximize your online marketing, he possesses a wealth of information on the subject. I hope you enjoy his post!

Over to you Nathan!

Eric Deschamps – Business Coach, Ottawa

 

Why Does My Business Need to Be Found Online?

• Do you have a website?
• Can your website be found via Google?
• Would you like more customers?

With over 1.9 billion internet users worldwide, you shouldn’t be asking yourself if your business needs to be found online. Instead, you should be asking yourself what you can do to tap into this vast resource of potential customers!

If you have a professionally designed website, you may think that you have already done what you can to market your business on the Internet. However, that is just the tip of iceberg. The key to being found online is so much more than a well designed website; it’s what is hidden beneath the surface that determines your results and returns!

Dominate Google and Get More Leads!

When you want to find a service or a product, where do you go? Most people head straight to Google to find a business that meets their needs. Is your website showing up on the first page of the Google search results? If it isn’t, you are missing out on a TON of potential customers. Statistics show that 95% of people never make it past the first page of the search results!

Although there are some website designers that will optimize your website (for an additional cost), this isn’t always the case. For instance, think about the person you had build and design your brick and mortar store. They decorated the office and made sure the chairs, desks and computers were ergonomic; however, they probably didn’t stand outside with a sandwich board and pass out flyers to attract customers to your business.

The same applies to the virtual world. A website designer will design your virtual “office”, but unless it was specified in their contract, you should not expect them to market it in Google and other popular search engines. This is a separate – and very crucial – job!

The great news is that it is not too late to get your business on the first page of Google. There are certain things you can do that will get your business’s website found online by people looking for – and ready to – buy your product or service. This includes, amongst others, tactics such as using appropriate titles, keywords and back-links.

Grow Your Business with Social Media

In addition to getting your business found via search engines, you should also be using social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Why?

• If Facebook were a country, it would be the 3rd largest on the planet.
• There are more than 101 million users on LinkedIn.
• More than 200 million tweets are sent each day.

These three statistics all say the same thing – Social Media is a great way to get in front of a large crowd. The key with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and any other social sites is to utilize them properly.

If you sign up for Twitter and do nothing but blast out sales pitches all day, you aren’t going to have many followers. Social media is all about building relationships with potential customers. It’s about carrying on conversations, sharing posts or tweets and being responsive on a regular basis.

Not only will this make your Social Media experience more enjoyable but you will build trust with those in your network. And, what is something that buyers need to have before they invest in a service or product? Trust.

While it may sound like a lot of work, it can be quite fun and rewarding, both on a personal and professional level. The more you put into social media, the more you will get from it.

There are many other forms of internet marketing, such as mobile marketing, reputation management and video marketing, that will help you attract and convert more customers. However, if you start by getting your business found online through popular search engines and by building relationships using Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, you will be well on your way to a more prosperous business.

If you have been trying to find a way to get more customers and make more money, you must invest the time and resources to develop a sound internet marketing campaign. It is simple.

Get found Online… Increase your bottom line!

Nathan Richer
Virtual Alchemy
www.virtualalchemy.ca
[email protected]