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Do you know how visible your business
is on the internet? September 2010
And do you know
how many different ways your business can be found on the web. This is more than
bringing your web site up on a search for your business name. It should include
entries and references in blogs, directories and social networks.
Does it matter how
visible your business is on the internet?
Yes because while you
are working on your business offline your competitors will be busy working to
improve their business visibility on the internet. Making your business visible
on the internet will provide give you more contacts and potential sales from
contacts you would not have otherwise reached.
How can you
discover how visible your business is on the internet?
A general search for
your business name on Google will bring up all listings and mentions of your
business. Make a note of how many listings are returned and where the link is
from, e.g. your web site, directories, social networks, blogs and other links.
Add your business
name to Google alerts. You will then receive an E mail every time your business
name appears on the internet. This might be from sites linking back to your
site, a press release that has been published online and blogs linking to your
site. You might be aware of the initial link or news items, but alerts and
online searches will pick up newsworthy stories and information we are
circulating on the internet.
What can you do to
improve your web site visibility on the internet?
Improve links to your
web site from your suppliers, business networks and to trusted directories such
as:
Hot Frog
The Business List
smallbusinessdirectory.co.uk
Blueboomerang.com
Make sure your web
site is included in your social network profiles. This provides an important
link back to your web site.
Add your business to
Google local )
Submit your blog to
blog directories such as fill in details
UK and US depends on
who you are selling to home or abroad
How are your
competitors doing online?
Add your competitors
name to Google alerts so you receive an e mail alert every time their name comes
up on the web.
Check your
competitors name on a Google search to see how many listings they have and who
is listing them.
Who brings in
multiple listings on the Internet?
It doesn’t
necessarily have to be big businesses or top brands. Search for ‘pet planet’ and
see how many listings are returned. A last check of listings on to page 2,
mainly from directories, but also from a blog and review sites.
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Is marketing and
promoting your business confusing? August 2010
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Marketing and
promoting products and services for many small businesses when sales are coming
in and your business is busy is often forgotten. Factor in managing web sites
and marketing and promotion becomes random. Social networking and quick changes
on the internet add to the pressure.
To avoid this you
need a plan, a plan for marketing your business for one year. A simple easy to
use marketing plan is a powerful tool. Incorporate goals and timescales and it
becomes a motivational aid. Surprisingly a marketing plan can also save you
money.
Start your plan in
any quarter of the year, but make sure it’s in a form you find easy to use. A
table of marketing activities listed by month or quarter works for most people,
but using an
online calendar, a calendar on your computer or in Outlook also work well.
Having a plan and a setting a budget will help you avoid impulsive spending on
speculative offers of advertising and other promotions.
As well as a budget
include in your plan marketing goals based on your business goals. Say for
example your business goals are to sell 1,000 widgets per month by December.
Your marketing goals for one month could then be:
Send out a 3 for 2
offer by E mail
Optimise your web
site for the offer
In store promotion of
3 for 2 offer
Tweet your offer
Connect marketing
together in this way in mini campaigns to increase coverage of campaign. Include
for example your shop or tourist attraction, your web site and the social
networks you belong to. The aim of connected marketing is to maximise sales and
to connect with all your contacts and customers on and off the internet.
Plan your activities
monthly or quarterly and update your plan as you develop products and services
for customer requests. Add SWOT (Strengths, weaknesses, threats, opportunities)
analysis to your plan. Do this quarterly and SWOT your business and your
competitors. Doing this will help you to:
Develop new products
and services
Seek out
opportunities
Promote the positive
aspects of your business products and services
Take advantage of the
weaknesses of your competitors.
Finally monitor the
results of your marketing and promotion. Monitor how many enquiries and sales
you have had from each campaign. In this way you will be able to build on your
marketing successes.
To view a marketing
plan click here
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