Introduction

This article presents an overview of the primary facets of online marketing. You can use it as a checklist to ensure you don't forget something essential to the success of your business.

If you are new to marketing online it may be because you are starting a completely new business, perhaps to take advantage of the unique opportunities the internet offers, or because you wish to grow an existing business and your customer and products base.

Extending existing business activities

Here's an simple overview of what you will most likely be seeking to do ...

• Reach and support your current customers more (cost) effectively
• Reach new markets and customers
• Deliver products and services more (cost) effectively
• Expand your range of products and services

Starting a new business

Here's an simple overview of what you will most likely be seeking to do ...

• Find customers and develop new markets
• Deliver unique products and services, or offer a unique method of delivering existing products and services

Whichever of the above 2 strategies you are undertaking, you will need to ensure that

• your business plan is financially viable
• you can deliver on your promises to customers

Marketing strategy

Choosing the right domain name

There a couple of things to consider here.

If you are starting a new business consider choosing a trading name that matches available .com domains. Even if you are going to operate within one country (see below) you might want to buy the .com version of the domain to ensure no-one else can use it. It may well catch visitors who remember your site name but forgot that it is .co.uk etc.

If the domain name you want is already taken (it probably is), try adding a word, eg www.bmxbikeclub.com can become www.bestbmxbikeclub.com

Choose your domain level carefully. Use it to indicate the type of business ...

• If your business activities will be within a single territory/country then indicate this. eg www.planetoftunes.co.uk
• If your business activities will be worldwide use .com
• If your business is not commercial, use .info or .org etc

Profiling your end-users

All the usual business demographics and technical profiling apply here. Detailed stuff on end-user profiling is here.

Creating your web site to serve your customers, not yourself

Obvious really, but you'd be surprised how many business don't do this. Once you've profiled your end-users, you should be able to put yourself in their shoes or canvas the opinions and views of friends and relatives who match those profiles.

Branding

You must brand every page of your site, products, stationary, banner ads, flyers etc. Branding involves ...

• Design ethos
• Colour consistency
• Layout consistency
• Logotype
• Fonts
• etc

Visitors need to understand what your site is about within 4 seconds!

If you can do this visually, great. If not, then provide a clear and concise description of what the site is about on the home page (much like this site).

Name your internal pages and links

Don't name your links ambiguously , or organise your site into technical areas. What does "Archive" or "MP3" really mean? Think about what your end-user will understand and want. If you are a DJ try links like ...

• Hear me
• See me
• Book me
• Contact me
• Upcoming gigs

Geddit?

Getting new and repeat visitors to your web site

All businesses know its tough getting new customers. Therefore its very important to keep them.

SEO (search engine optimisation)

Approximately 50% of users looking for something on the web, use a search site, and many of these are looking for sites they have visited before but forgot to bookmark. Search engine optimisation is the process of ensuring your site achieves the highest position (or "ranking") is search results. Search engine optimisation is explained here.

Updating your site

Not all sites need content updates regularly but most do. A friend of mine builds and maintains sites for small building contractors and only adds new improved testimonials and product ranges (new recommended boiler, flooring materials or roof construction processes etc) when they are available. A site like Planet Of Tunes however, needs new updates at least every 2 weeks. That means a major new resource and home page.

What's new menu or page

Repeat visitors will want to find the newest stuff quickly, so help them.

Gaining the trust of new customers

Here's a few ideas ...

Endorsement branding

If your business is a member of or associated with an industry organisation, make this clear. Use logos and kitemarks etc

Known secure payment methodologies

Use known banking and card systems and services such as Visa, PayPal etc.

Customer care

If the business has no bricks and mortar high street presence, customers will want extra re-assurance. Use some of the following and make them visible and concise ...

• Explanation of shipping process
• Guarantees
• Returns policy
• Contact email (preferably a phone number)
• Tracking system that allows customers to view the progress of their orders

Customer product reviews

Setup a system whereby customers can rate and review the product you sell.

Testimonials

Essential for builder, landscape gardening, healthcare, car sales sites etc

Linking strategy

Reciprocal linking

Find sites that offer complementary products and services to your, not competitors, just sites that will be of use to your customers.

Using banner ads on other sites

Just like conventional print advertising, buy a banner ad present on sites that you think will drive traffic to your site. Analyse the click through's every month.

Pay per click ads

Use the services offered by Google (AdWords), Yahoo, Ask etc to place ads (ofen called sponsored links) on other sites and search result pages. Monitor the effectiveness and click through rates of your ads carefully each month to ensure they are appearing on sites that are driving traffic to your site and you are not paying for ads which are ineffective.

NOTE: Google AdWords is the service whereby you pay to place ads on other sites, Google AdSense is the service whereby you earn from having other sites ads on your site.

Affiliate programs

Affiliate programs drive customers to your site and you pay a fee to the referring site for each sale.

Shopping sites & price comparison sites

Where appropriate, register your site with appropriate sites such as Froogle etc

Mailing lists

Ask you customers if they would like to join your mailing list. Have a page for this on your site and an option towards the end of each shopping transaction.

Email campaigns

Once you have a mailing list you can direct market. Here are a few things to consider ...

• Individual customer targeted or block.
• Offer coupons and discounts.
• Loyalty schemes.
• Newsletters.
• Always use branded signature blocks.
• If you're going to use html emails follow good practice guidelines to ensure they will display correctly and provide an alternative for those customers who have html viewing disabled in their email clients.

RSS

Really simple syndication is a browser based technology that automatically alerts a visitor (who has subscribed to the RSS feed at your site) whenever your site is updated.

Text messaging

There is a lot of talk about targeted ads and offers using mobile phone technology. More on this in the future.

Sample products & freebies

Always a good way to get people visiting and interested.

Viral marketing

An article on viral marketing is here.

Podcasting

If you have the time and something to say/present, this is becoming very popular. Many technology equipment manufactures are creating video tutorial / commercials and creating podcasts and uploading to YouTube.

Blogs, message boards & discussion forums

People are savvy to outright misuse of blogs for marketing purposes, but if you're clever and subtle its still a great way to get a buzz going by word of mouth.

Word of mouth

Probably the most effective way to get the word out about your site is personal recommendation.

Tell a friend script

You can use a php script to allow visitors to email the url of the current web page to their friends. You get an email to let you know whenever someone does it. A good free script can be found at ... www.tamingthebeast.net

Press releases

There are lots of sites out there which rely on a steady flow of news. Are your new products and services newsworthy?

Conventional print and media advertising

TV and radio ads, business cards, flyers, magazine adverts etc

They're as popular as ever, and don't forget to brand them all.

Tracking the success of your marketing strategy

As with any good marketing strategy you will need to analyse its success by ...

• Asking how each customer found out about you
• Tracking conversion rates (how many visitors buy)
• Analysing your web site stats

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