Looking for some basic Internet marketing tips for your small business? While there are hundreds of suggestions we can make, here’s a list of 10 that we think might be the most useful for 90% of small business owners.
1. In the words of Ron Simon, “What the hell are you trying to do?”
What is the goal of your website? Ultimately, it should be to drive
more business, but how exactly will it do that? Start with one goal –
such as increasing the number of phone calls – and branch out from
there. It’s important to set goals, but it’s just as important to come
up with a system for measuring those goals.
2. Evaluate your website’s content – Content is King.
What does your website say? Is the content unique and useful? Will
people learn anything when they visit your site? When was the last time
you added new content? Does your website have content worth reading?
Does your content match your business goals?
3. The <title> tag.
Visit your website. Look at the very top of your browser window. What
do you see? Does it describe the page you’re looking at? Is it a unique
description? Does it contain the keywords you want people to associate
with that page of your website? If you’re a local business, does it
contain your key local search keywords? If you can’t answer ‘yes’ to all
these questions, check out this article all about title tags.
4. Call tracking and analytics.
You can’t improve upon what you can’t measure. Analytics provide a
tremendous amount of incredibly useful data, such as where your website
visitors come from, how long they stay, and what they do on your site. Google analytics
is free and pretty darn good, and we recommend it. We also recommend
you make sure you can track every lead that’s generated by your website.
If you don’t have a dedicated phone number for the website that you can track calls on, visit Mongoose Metrics.
They’ll issue you a unique tracking phone number and then forward every
call you get to your main number while tracking the number of calls you
receive, who called, how long the call lasted…etc. It’s surprisingly
inexpensive.
5. Take advantage of free local business directories.
There are a few great local business directories that are completely
free. Get your business listed in each of the directories below and
you’ll see a boost in website visitors and hopefully a boost in business
too. (By the way, we don’t advocate paying for any directory listings anywhere unless you’ve got a very good reason.)
- Google Local Business Center
- Yahoo! Local
- Local.com
- SuperPages
- YellowPages.com
- InfoUSA
- Localeze
- Yelp
6. Check out your competition.
Visit your competitors’ websites. Do searches for keywords related to
your business. Find out what others in your vertical are doing and
saying. This is a great way to get ideas and take stock of your own
company’s online marketing efforts.
Does this dog look ugly to you?
7. Repeat after me – “I have an ugly baby.”
A lot of business owners love their websites, but the first step to
improving your website is to admit that it has some deficiencies. No
website is perfect, and every website can use improvement. If you have a website, you have an ugly baby [sorry]. Just how ugly your website is, however, is open to discussion.
8. Start blogging.
Every business, and we mean every business, has something to gain by
blogging and absolutely nothing to loose. The list of benefits is long,
but here’s a short list of reasons small businesses should blog.
9. Post online video.
Video is still a little cutting-edge for some, but the benefits can’t
be understated. Online video is the wave of the future, and every
business needs to have something on YouTube, Metacafe, etc. If you’re
concerned about expense here, keep in mind there are some low-budget
options that won’t damage your brand while still providing concrete
benefits.
10. Contact us. We can help your small business rise above the rest. Contact us so we can discuss your business and your basic goals – our initial consultation is free of charge.
