What if there were a way to make sense of online marketing? Here’s the thing, it’s not just about the tools available to you. You also need to understand the fundamentals of marketing so you can get the most out of those tools. It’s certainly not easy when you’re a business owner by trade and a marketer by necessity.
Keep This In Mind About Online Marketing
If you were asked where most of your business comes from today, what would you say? Many small businesses tell me their best successes are “word of mouth.” situations. When done correctly, online marketing provides more opportunities to extend the word of mouth… and we all know how important that next sale is to your business.
As you know, business is built on relationships and ultimately sales. And as a marketer, it should be your goal to establish a rapport and drive repeat business through what I call “brand loyalty”. Online marketing further allows you to strengthen those existing relationships with current customers, and more easily build new ones with new customers.
If you are an experienced business owner or just considering getting started, you may already be overwhelmed by too many tools, never-ending expert advice, and the many marketing myths presented as fact. If you’re doing online marketing, you may be frustrated to find that it’s not as easy as many people claim it to be.
You Should First Know, You’re Not Alone.
If you’re like many clients, I know you’re busy trying to run and grow your business. From purchasing to merchandising to managing and more, you’re wearing many hats and don’t have the luxury of time to figure out how to navigate the cluttered and noisy world of online marketing.
I’ve mentioned that word of mouth now happens online. People are talking up their favourite businesses directly on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram; they are consuming and sharing content they find useful or entertaining from those businesses; they are asking for connections specifically for recommendations and your business has an opportunity to be part of more of these conversations.
So, How Do You Do That?
The more you can do to keep your business top of mind and make it easy for others to talk about you, the more you increase the chances of people recommending or seeking you out when they need what you offer. Beyond being part of the conversation, you must understand what people may find when they go looking for your business specifically by name, or a product/service that your business offers.
And, of course, be aware that if they don’t find your business when they go looking online, it begs the question, “Does your business even exist?”
It’s no secret that people are turning to search engines like Google to get more information about the businesses they’re investigating. Let’s take a look at some of the things that may show up on a search engine results page — or SERP — when someone searches for a business by name. If you are doing it right, people fund you via paid ads and organic (non-paid) search results, Google My Business listing, social media accounts, reviews, and info from other sites, just to name a few.
Definitions
- Organic Listings: Organic listings are natural listings of web pages that Google has crawled and deemed valuable for the specific search term. These listings do not require payment of any kind to show up on the search engine results page (a.k.a. SERP). Images Along with the listings, images appear in an “image pack” — several images in a horizontal row. Clicking on the images will take a searcher to Google Images search on that topic.
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As you can see, there are four different sections in this SERP. - Ads: This one is pretty straight forward. Ads (or Paid Ads) are paid listings on the search engine results page. Businesses will pay to showcase their products for this specific search topic, and most of the time, they only pay if someone clicks on the ad (known a PPC advertising).
- Google My Business: Google My Business is a free tool from Google where a business can create a profile and show up better on local searches. An example of how this specifically benefits you is; Imagine you are leaving for vacation the next day, and you realize you don’t have a good hat for travelling. You don’t have time to order one online, so you jump on your computer or mobile device and search “hat shops near me.” An example of what will come up is all the hat shops that have an online presence listing “hat” “shops” in your geographic area. Google in an attempt to deliver better results, bases your search on your geo-location, as such, your actual results will differ depending on where you are. Let’s talk more about Google My Business.
So, What Does This Mean For You?
Here’s the reality: If you’re not seen online, prospects can’t find you. Whether people search for your business by name or something related to your business, your customers and prospects should be able to find you.
You’ll want to make sure your business can be found, the information is accurate, and that you’re answering the questions your potential customers may have. As people visit your website and click through from various search results they’re starting to form opinions about your business.
Ultimately, they’re asking themselves, “Is this the right business for me?” If your business is present, engaging & interacting, and providing useful resources, you’ll increase the chances of people finding your business and choosing you.
What the Numbers Mean
PRO TIP: Sending short emails with a clear call-to-action to a segmented list helps increase your rates while keeping unsubscribes down.
Your business has an opportunity to be part of more of these conversations, but first, let’s get back to some basics.
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