Building a website is the first step to developing an online presence. The next step is to get the word out. However telling people about your website and new business is only the start. Using the internet, and mass communication technologies associated with the internet, you can reach thousands of potential customers every day.
Social Networking
Social networking is an amplified version of what goes on at a local business association meeting. Social networking occurs on forums, membership sites, chat rooms, social networking sites like Linked In, and even on blogs and it offers many unique benefits.
Social networking gives you the opportunity to network on your down time. Rather than, or in addition to, attending local networking events, social networking can occur from your couch. Social networking also offers the added benefit of connecting with people more frequently than a monthly business meeting.
The benefits of social networking include not only spreading the word about your business, it also offers business owners a valuable way to connect with other like minded individuals to form partnerships, mentorships, and of course customer relationships.
To get started in social networking there are two basic approaches:
Network where your prospects and customers hang out online. For example, if you’re in the health and fitness industry then you might want to join a fitness forum.
Network where your industry hangs out online. For example, if you’re in the health and fitness industry you might join a membership site for fitness trainers.
Find a few sites that have a fair amount of members and register. Create your profile and be sure to include your website address in your signature. That’s how you’re going to promote it. Spend a little bit of time each week participating in the community. Offer valuable insight and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Article Marketing
Article marketing is an easy way to begin to generate traffic. The concept is pretty straight forward, you write articles (or hire someone to write them) submit them to an article directory like ezinearticles.com. Within the body of your article you may sometimes embed text links that lead to your website or sales page and you may include a link in your bio. The article directory publishes your article on their site.
People search for information on your topic, their search brings them to the directory, they read your article and then visit your site
OR
They publish your article on their website, keeping all of the content, links, and your bio 100% in tact. People visit their website, read your article and then click through to visit your website.
Article marketing is free. The only cost is your time and if you outsource your content. Additionally, it is a superior way to promote your business and related website.
Pay Per Click Ads
Pay per click advertising is another method to drive traffic to your website and Google’s AdWords is by far and away one of the most commonly used form of this kind of advertising. It has reached such widespread appeal and popularity because businesses only pay for results. When you advertise in a magazine for example, you pay a flat fee for the ad. Perhaps the magazine has a subscription base of 100,000 so you can assume that 100,000 people see your ad but you don’t know for sure and there really isn’t a good way to test it.
With Google AdWords, you basically set a budget and only pay when someone clicks on your ad. Clicking on your ad takes them directly to your website – where your sales copy will work its magic. So for example, you only want to spend $50/month on advertising once you’ve tallied enough click throughs and your $50 is spent, your ad will stop running. It is important to note that all keywords are not the same. Some words are more popular than others and therefore ads placed for those keyword searches will cost more than less popular words. For example say someone searches for “cardstock paper” and ad targeted to prospects searching for ‘Cardstock paper” may cost $.25 per click, however someone searching for “laptop computer” may cost $5.00 per click.
The beauty is that the budget is yours to establish and it directly relates to your traffic. As your campaign progresses you can fine tune your ads for the most effective click-through and conversion rates.
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