Websites, SEO, Social Media — what do I need to know?
The internet has dramatically changed marketing in the last fifteen years. Sometimes it seems difficult to keep up with everything when your hands already full just taking care of the business of running your business! Here are some of the basics of internet marketing:
Websites
Every business needs a website. Even those businesses that are unlikely to ever do much e-commerce, still need at least a basic, one-page site with contact information. Websites are necessary because a large segment of our population is increasingly relying on search engines to find the products and the services they need. These people use search engines to find websites in the same way the last generation used yellow pages. Make sure that you’re one of the options these people see when they are looking, and give them what they want once they get to your site.
I often speak with small business owners who describe their situation like this: they already have a website, but they rarely look at their site, and don’t think much about it. They do, however, have this nagging feeling that they should be paying more attention to their internet presence. They know that their website could be better; they’ve heard that other companies are generating a considerable amount of business from the web; they have some sense that people are using search engines to find products and services – they just aren’t sure what to do about it.
Every company should have a website that does two things: First, it must look decent and offer good information. Second, it must also attract new business. If your website only does the former, and not the latter, then your competition is probably eating your lunch.
Here’s what to do: First, take a good look at your website to see if it is an attractive and useful source of information. If not, you will either need overhaul it or hire someone to build a new one. For a nice-looking semi-customizable website, you should expect to pay about $1000-$2000 upfront to a company who has experience with commercial websites.
Once you have a nice-looking site, with good information, you need to research how much business you are currently generating from the web. If you use call tracking numbers (which are cheap and simple to use – get them now!), look at how many calls are coming through your website phone line. Your team should already be asking people how they heard about your business. Do people frequently mention the website?
If your web host provides you with analytics, look at the data, and pay special attention to how people are finding you. Are you getting much business through search engines? Perform searches of your own, as if you were a prospective customer. If you own a hardware store in Narberth, Google “Narberth hardware”, to see how close to the top your listing is. Google a couple of other terms that you consider important, along with your location. Try “Hardware Narberth” and “Narberth Tools”. Are you in the top five? Are you on the front page? Are you even a blip on the radar screen?
If you don’t seem to be generating much business from the web, you should be a bit concerned. Contact your web host/provider to see what you are supposed to be getting in terms of SEO. Make sure you are getting what you pay for, and also ask them what supplemental SEO services they offer.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
In very general terms, SEO is either paid or organic. There are many positioning techniques for generating a high organic listing, using keywords, relevant activity, and inbound links, just to name a few. Any website company worth its salt should at least be doing the basics. For an additional monthly fee, many web companies will actively work on your SEO through a variety of techniques. If your provider is unable or unwilling to offer much in this area, there are third party companies who will optimize your site even if they haven’t designed it and don’t host it. Their techniques, prices and effectiveness widely vary.
SEO can also be directly bought through sponsored links and pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. You can do this directly through the search engines, like Google and Yahoo, or you can hire a third-party company to manage a sponsored link and/or PPC campaign for you.
Social Media
Twitter users post “tweets” more than 50 million times a day. Facebook gets 6 million page views per minute. While social media may not be the keystone of your marketing campaign, it’s too big to be ignored. We can teach you the basics, help you get a presence on social media networks, and then assist you in maintaining that presence to whatever degree you wish.
Websites
Every business needs a website. Even those businesses that are unlikely to ever do much e-commerce, still need at least a basic, one-page site with contact information. Websites are necessary because a large segment of our population is increasingly relying on search engines to find the products and the services they need. These people use search engines to find websites in the same way the last generation used yellow pages. Make sure that you’re one of the options these people see when they are looking, and give them what they want once they get to your site.
I often speak with small business owners who describe their situation like this: they already have a website, but they rarely look at their site, and don’t think much about it. They do, however, have this nagging feeling that they should be paying more attention to their internet presence. They know that their website could be better; they’ve heard that other companies are generating a considerable amount of business from the web; they have some sense that people are using search engines to find products and services – they just aren’t sure what to do about it.
Every company should have a website that does two things: First, it must look decent and offer good information. Second, it must also attract new business. If your website only does the former, and not the latter, then your competition is probably eating your lunch.
Here’s what to do: First, take a good look at your website to see if it is an attractive and useful source of information. If not, you will either need overhaul it or hire someone to build a new one. For a nice-looking semi-customizable website, you should expect to pay about $1000-$2000 upfront to a company who has experience with commercial websites.
Once you have a nice-looking site, with good information, you need to research how much business you are currently generating from the web. If you use call tracking numbers (which are cheap and simple to use – get them now!), look at how many calls are coming through your website phone line. Your team should already be asking people how they heard about your business. Do people frequently mention the website?
If your web host provides you with analytics, look at the data, and pay special attention to how people are finding you. Are you getting much business through search engines? Perform searches of your own, as if you were a prospective customer. If you own a hardware store in Narberth, Google “Narberth hardware”, to see how close to the top your listing is. Google a couple of other terms that you consider important, along with your location. Try “Hardware Narberth” and “Narberth Tools”. Are you in the top five? Are you on the front page? Are you even a blip on the radar screen?
If you don’t seem to be generating much business from the web, you should be a bit concerned. Contact your web host/provider to see what you are supposed to be getting in terms of SEO. Make sure you are getting what you pay for, and also ask them what supplemental SEO services they offer.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
In very general terms, SEO is either paid or organic. There are many positioning techniques for generating a high organic listing, using keywords, relevant activity, and inbound links, just to name a few. Any website company worth its salt should at least be doing the basics. For an additional monthly fee, many web companies will actively work on your SEO through a variety of techniques. If your provider is unable or unwilling to offer much in this area, there are third party companies who will optimize your site even if they haven’t designed it and don’t host it. Their techniques, prices and effectiveness widely vary.
SEO can also be directly bought through sponsored links and pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. You can do this directly through the search engines, like Google and Yahoo, or you can hire a third-party company to manage a sponsored link and/or PPC campaign for you.
Social Media
Twitter users post “tweets” more than 50 million times a day. Facebook gets 6 million page views per minute. While social media may not be the keystone of your marketing campaign, it’s too big to be ignored. We can teach you the basics, help you get a presence on social media networks, and then assist you in maintaining that presence to whatever degree you wish.