A brief introduction to online marketing for small businesses

If you’re a small business owner, you’ve probably thought about either getting an online presence or some kind of online marketing at some point. For many businesses however, online marketing remains something that ‘other people do’ – considering it either too costly, complicated or both. Yet online marketing needn’t be a mystery. Following a few basic rules of thumb, it need only be as complicated as you make it, and how much you spend is entirely up to you. When you consider that approximately 80% of worldwide offline transactions are now started online, an internet presence is certainly something to be taken seriously, no matter how small your business.

Consider your market

One of the first things you need to consider is who your audience (demographic) is. If you have an established business you probably already have a good idea of who you’re pitching to. If you’re a start-up business looking to trade online then take a moment to consider your audience – their needs, shopping habits, core values and so on. Here’s where a little research goes a long way.

Take some time to study other businesses selling similar products. What works? What doesn’t? What image do they convey? Does their approach speak to you on any level? If the answer to these questions is mostly negative, then they’re not marketing their business effectively.

Does online marketing involve having a website?

A website is certainly an effective way to market your business online – providing it is designed well, speaks to your audience and works for you, rather than the other way around. Too many sites are poorly designed and worded, doing more harm than good to the business concerned. It is important to remember that a potential client looks at it this way – “If they can’t be bothered to do it right, what does that say for their product or service?”

However, simply buying a domain name (site address), designing and then launching your website into cyberspace isn’t going to be enough on its own. An attractive brochure site on its own is useful if part of your strategy involves directing traffic (or visitors) to your site, but otherwise you’ll need an extra helping hand. If you’re hoping to reach your target audience without doing all the work yourself you’ll need to consider search engine optimisation – or where your site ranks within a particular search engine such as Google, for example.

SEO (as it is better known) is based on the principal of keywords, or search terms that people commonly type into search engines to locate a particular service. SEO itself is a wide ranging subject and too complex to cover here, however there are plenty of online resources available. It’s also worth considering paid SEO services such as Google Adwords.

To blog or not to blog?

A blog is an effective online marketing tool for small businesses. Sites such as Wordpress offer free blogs with templates and SEO ‘plugins’ allowing you to reach your audience quickly and easily. Blogs are commonly used as online diaries – a way of telling the world about what is going on in your life.

Many small (and not so small) businesses now use blogs to compliment and create links to their main website and/or online shop. It can be a relatively simple way of getting your message out and about, selling your services in a fun and informative manner. Although e-commerce plugins are available, ideally a blog should be used as part of a wider online marketing strategy.

Article Directories

It’s worth giving a quick mention to article directories such as Ezine Articles - a great way of drawing traffic to your blog or website. Not a direct online marketing tool as such, they’re usually a one or two page article on a generic subject linked to your business targeting specific keywords. They are, however SEO gold and appear high in search engine rankings. Just don’t forget to include a ‘useful link’ to your own website or blog at the bottom!

How useful is Wordpress in marketing my business or selling products online?

More and more businesses are using Wordpress to design basic websites to market and sell their products online. Wordpress is an extremely useful tool given that it is free, provides web-ready templates and is relatively user friendly. A word of warning though – a degree of expertise is till necessary to get the most out of what the platform has to offer. Most premium templates also cost money and you will still have to pay for domain registration and annual hosting.

How can e-commerce sites help me to sell products or services online?

Online marketplaces such as Ebay can prove to be an effective tool – you’ve no doubt heard of Ebay ‘shops’ and sellers running a business solely using the site and its services. Ebay’s marketplace is wide however, and you will always be at a disadvantage competing against a huge number of sellers auctioning the same product.

A great way to sell - e-commerce sites are a growing trend and offer a simple, cost-effective way to sell your products or services online. No site design, online marketing or website hosting is required meaning all the hard work is essentially done for you. Utilising a ready-made, SEO friendly and high-profile selling platform – they’re a great option for small businesses branching out onto the internet.

USEFUL LINKS

Kerpidex are one of the internet’s fastest-growing e-commerce sites offering a cost-effective, simple portal through which to sell your products or services. By far the easiest way to market your business online - sign up in minutes and reach millions of potential customers via the web. Kerpidex provide your own dedicated page, shopping cart and image hosting - all for a low monthly fee. 

Visit www.kerpidex.com for more information.