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Online Marketing Success – A Small Business Guide

Written by: Jeff Werner

Article Overview: This article outlines the different types of Internet advertising available, and dispels some of the common misconceptions. It provides an overview of search engine advertising and provides a series of simple, actionable tips that small businesses can follow to improve, or get started in online marketing efforts to drive leads and gain new customers.

Online Marketing Success – A Small Business Guide

Online Marketing Success – A Small Business Guide



It’s a dynamic, online marketplace. In 2000, keyword-based advertising changed the Internet marketing industry forever. Leading search engines Yahoo! and Google developed advertising programs enabling businesses to create short, text-based ads and bid on keywords relevant to their business in an auction-style environment.

It launched a worldwide billion dollar revolution that has driven millions of new customers to local businesses. Imagine… a fallen traffic signal causes an accident in a heavily trafficked area of Chicago’s west side. The victims have minor injuries; their cars get the majority of the damage. They will need assistance from a variety of sources. Insurance companies need to be notified. Cars will require repair. One driver will need a chiropractor. Some may need attorneys.

How will they find them? Some may ask for auto repair referrals from their insurance company, consult with friends for attorney suggestions, and may even use the yellow pages. But none of these is the top choice for today’s increasingly tech-savvy community.

The Internet is now the Number 1 choice when people are searching for a local product or service! Finding a chiropractor in Chicago is as easy as typing “chiropractor Chicago.”


Advertising Everywhere, All at Once
The modern small business marketer has an enormous challenge to place advertising where consumers are looking, at the time they are looking for it. There are many options, but each requires an effort to make it effective and ensure a reasonable return on investment. If you manage advertising for a small business - a retail store, professional office, or a consumer service - you have probably grown comfortable with your yellow pages ad or Sunday newspaper insert.

In recent years, you may have noticed a decline in the response you get from your traditional advertising. It is likely because your local audience is moving online. Consumers are searching for local products and services. If they do not find you, they will certainly find a competitor! Advertising on search engines is a necessary component to a well-rounded advertising strategy. It is not meant to replace or compete with other popular forms of advertising, but unlike other forms, search marketing provides the ability to serve users with the information they are actively seeking, at the time they are looking. It’s an opportunity to connect to an audience that is ready to transact with your business.


How Online Advertising Works
There are many forms of online advertising. Display (banner) advertising, like traditional print, typically delivers a targeted message to a user based on the content they are consuming. For example, someone checking sports scores may see contextual-based display ads for running shoes, new golf clubs or a subscription to Sports Illustrated.

The Internet is a wonderful place where consumers are free to window shop the virtual local marketplace from their office or home, from a BlackBerry or a laptop, in the middle of the day, or late at night. The Web is always open and always available. But there are common misconceptions that should be clarified before advertising online!

Misconception #1:
Five hundred clicks on my ad = five hundred new customers.

An advertiser may believe this since a click indicates a customer is interested. After all, the customer went so far as to arrive at the advertiser’s Web site. But window shopping on the Web is a casual activity and the volume of information easily available fuels extensive comparative shopping and can lengthen the purchase cycle. Some experts say clicks to an ad may not result in a purchase for 90 or more days. This illustrates the importance of a Web site or landing page designed to enhance the customer experience and assist through the sales cycle.

Misconception #2:
Search isn’t right for me… consumers that search online buy online.

Relatively few small businesses have a Web site, and even fewer have e-commerce capability. And what if your business is not suited for online transactions, such as an attorney or consultant? Many small businesses have Web sites that simply act as sales brochures, offering business hours, contact info, products and services, etc. A Web site of this type should not shy away from online advertising! Research shows most consumers make offline purchases of local products or services from businesses they first research online!

Misconception #3:
I have a Web site, people should be able to find it… no need to advertise.

Is having a Web site a form of online marketing? Technically, yes. But having a Web site without online advertising is like having a store without a sign or telling anyone about it. Fundamentally, you need to advertise to invest in getting customers to visit your store or office. The same rules apply to Web sites. There are millions of consumers searching online, but they may not be able to find you! You need to utilize the Internet as a highly targeted advertising medium to direct local, interested shoppers to your business.

Misconception #4:
Organic listings are free… why pay to advertise?

Search engines use complex algorithms to give searchers the most mathematically relevant results to their query. Many businesses benefit greatly from this algorithmic placement. Most are large sites with formidable inbound traffic and cross linking, while others hire expensive Search Engine Optimization (SEO) professionals. Ultimately, nothing is free. If you want to receive top placement in the organic rankings, be prepared to spend the time (and expense) optimizing your Web site. And understand that the algorithms are fluid, and different for each engine. A third place ranking can quickly drop to 133rd, so ongoing optimization is necessary. Organic traffic is a great way to drive consumers to your Web site, but it is not the only way, nor is it the most manageable or predictable.


The Role of a Web Site: Inform and Turn Searchers into Buyers
Businesses with quality Web sites gain the highest return on investment. And although businesses with less effective Web sites are still candidates for online advertising campaigns, but they should consider making enhancements to their site or consider a landing page to get more activity from their campaigns.

A well-designed Web site is like an inviting storefront. It will determine whether or not a consumer wants to shop with you. But ultimately, Web site opinions can be subjective. The best tool for determining if your Web site is capable of turning shoppers into customers is your own trained eye and intuition.

Use these tips to evaluate your Web site’s ability to turn browsers into buyers:
• Does your Web site accurately reflect your business and your strengths?
• Does your site seek to educate the consumer on your products/services in order to help them through the sales cycle? User reviews, customer testimonials, competitive reviews, and product videos all can be valuable resources to establish credibility and a rapport with visitors that will bring them back and give you the best opportunity to turn them into customers.
• Can your customers find what they are looking for easily?
• Are your hours of operation easy to find? What about your phone number, address, or driving directions?
• How many clicks does it take to find a phone number? Every page of your site should prominently display contact information such as your email address and phone number.
• Are sales incentives or calls-to-action posted? Coupons? Online specials or pricing deals? Offer online incentives and sale prices as you would to your walk-in customers.
• Do you offer “online only” specials to track your Web site-specific activities?



Search Engine Advertising
The most popular form of online advertising, and the most effective and trackable for local businesses, is pay-per-click (PPC) search engine marketing (SEM) sold by search engines. When a user performs a Google search on “spine decompression chiropractor in Chicago” she gets pages of results, both “organic” and “sponsored links.” When the consumer clicks on a sponsored link ad citing, “Specializing in Chiropractic rehab,” she is directed to the advertiser’s Web site. The advertiser determines the “keywords” that best describe his business, and determines a bid price (how much he is willing to pay to have his ads appear in the sponsored links). When someone clicks, the advertiser is charged. Based on the advertiser’s desire for many or a few targeted visitors, he can dedicate and manage a monthly budget for his campaign.


The Benefits of Search Engine Advertising:

Measurable
Tack exactly how many people saw your ad, how many visited your Web site, how many called your number, and more! Do you get that from a print ad?

Locally targeted
Reach local consumers, who usually purchase from local sources, with “geo-targeting”!

Predisposed buyers
Reach people actively searching for products and services just like yours!

Predictable
Budget your spend to receive a steady flow of leads, enabling you to predict (based on your conversion rate) sales over the course of the campaign.




Getting Started with Search Engine Advertising
A search engine marketing strategy is essential and the process is relatively straight forward.
1. Determine the keywords that best represent your business. These are the search terms you believe people would use to find your Web site.

2. Write your ad, or ads.

3. Visit the major search engines, set up individual accounts, bid on and buy keywords through a manual keyword bidding process.

4. Visit each of your accounts daily and manually adjust the bid prices to ensure your ads are seen as frequently as possible, based on your budget, over the duration of your campaign. To cover the entire market, you should utilize a variety of search engines including Google, Yahoo!, MSN and Ask.



8 Simple Tips to More Effective Online Marketing

Tip 1: Do Some Sleuthing.
When doing your own shopping, use Internet search engines to find local businesses. See what comes up and use your own shopping behavior as an indicator of what a consumer is likely to do when they are looking for a business like yours. Do you know the search terms your customers use to find you online?

Tip 2: Look Beyond Online Directory Listings.
Having a listing in the online yellow pages is good. But it is not enough. People use search engines. Also, in online listings customers will also find your competitors, because online listings are categorized by business. You have very little control over the content and how you are shown to prospective customers. Invest in online search engine advertising to get as close to your potential customers as possible. Make sure they find you and not your competitor.

Tip 3: Understand the Relationship Between Online and Offline.
Offline advertising such as print, local cable TV, radio, and direct mail helps drive awareness and interest. But when in need, consumers use search engines to research and find solutions. You need to be there. And it’s not just about online commerce. Use traditional media to build your brand and increase awareness. Use search to bring ready-to-buy customers to your door.

Tip 4: Pay Attention to Your Competition.
You probably know your local competition well. Or maybe not. The Internet has broken down many geographic competitive barriers, and there are probably many outside of your area you can learn from. What are they doing online? Pretend you’re a consumer. Are they easier to find than you? Why? Does their Web site make it easier to learn about their products or services and help the reader make a decision? How? Make no mistake, regardless of the business, some of your competitors are no doubt investing in SEM to drive traffic to their Web sites. Shouldn’t you be as well?

Tip 5: Make Your Web Site Compelling.
First impressions are critical, especially on the Web. Ask ten people to provide feedback on your Web site. What is their first impression of your credibility? Does the content instantly convey your business and the value you provide? Use your Web site to not only to display your qualifications, but also as a way to capture the attention of the visitor. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. What need are they trying to solve? Think solutions, testimonials, advice, discounts, offers… capture their attention and help them through the purchase cycle. Make contacting you easy – display your phone number, hours of operation, etc. prominently.

Tip 6: Believe It – Marketing is an Investment.
Marketing should be an investment, not an expense. An investment means return. When making a decision on how you will market your business, demand to know how a return on your investment will be determined. Search engine advertising offers a quick, affordable and measurable way to get the tangible returns on investment (ROI) for your dollar. Weigh this in when factoring the allocation percentages of your marketing investment, and put your money where you can measure the value.

Tip 7: Do the Math.
What’s a good example? What should the math look like? With search engine marketing, the math should be easy to calculate. A hypothetical example… let’s say a window contractor wants five new jobs each month. Based on experience, he knows he can convert approximately one of five leads into customers. With search engine advertising, he can back into a model that will deliver a predictable number of clicks to fulfill the goal.

He’ll need about 250 clicks to generate 25 leads (at an example expected click-to-contact ratio of 10%). At a sample cost-per-click of $4, the total monthly spend is $1,000 (the cost-per-click varies based on competitiveness, industry and “quality score” - how relevant the landing page and ad is compared to the search term).

If he converts two of those 25 leads into jobs with an average bill of $10,000, the contractor can expect to generate $20,000 of new, predictable, business each month!


Tip 8: Let Experts Help.
Do you know how to create the most effective search engine ads to attract the right customers for your business? As a small business owner, how much free time do you have? If you do have extra time, do you want to spend it learning the complexities of Internet marketing, managing multiple campaigns and constantly fine-tuning to keep with what gets displayed and when? When it comes to acquiring new customers and growing your business in a tightening economy, don’t let the process become an obstacle! And don’t go it alone. Let the experts help. After all, you hire an architect to design a building or home, so why not hire a search engine marketing expert to design your online marketing and customer acquisition strategy?

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Article Tags: auction style, chiropractor, google, insurance companies, insurance company, local businesses, local products, marketer, marketing industry, minor injuries, professional office, repair referrals, retail store, return on investment, search engines yahoo, style environment, top choice, traditional advertising, traffic signal, west side



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