Did you know that 94% of consumers research products online before buying? Or that three out of five people use search engines as a go-to shopping resource?
There is no longer any doubt that buyers go online to research and purchase products and services. Companies that have websites and market online can reap the rewards of connecting with these shoppers.
From affiliate marketing to online classifieds, there are many ways to build your business online. Here’s a look at ten popular online marketing options:
. Create your business listing on listing sites such as India mart to ensure that consumers searching for nearby businesses find yours. Some listings allow you to promote offers such as sales and new products. Customer review sites are basically local directories like just dial.
Search advertising is a method of placing online ads on Web pages near search engine results. With Google AdWords , you can deliver your message at the moment someone is searching for the type of product or service you offer. Choose keywords that relate as closely as possible to your offerings so you receive the most likely prospects. For PPC ads, you pay only when someone clicks on your ad.
Contextual advertising takes display ads to the next level, by placing them on sites related to your offerings; for example, if you sell sporting goods, your ad may perform better on sports-related sites. Services are available that automatically distribute ads to sites based on the content of those sites.
You’ve probably seen the variety of ads ; maybe a display, or banner, ad. Do-it-yourself display ad builders, including Google’s AdWords display ad builder can help design your ad. You can also distribute your display ad via ad networks and ad management systems.
Geotargeting simply means advertising to prospects in specific locations – which could be very useful, for example, if you sell dresses only in Hyderabad. One way to get started is to create a listing on Google Places based on that region.
Connect with new customers through programs that offer multiple buyers collective purchasing deals. There are many popular group buying sites available to use.
Many smart phones and mobile devices provide web browsing, GPS, cameras and video capabilities. This means you can develop creative promotions with text messages and location-based social networks.
Cultivate new business through social networking sites where members share stories and recommend products and services.
Affiliate marketing lets you get other businesses to drive prospects to your website. Some affiliates may allow you to set up a store on their domains, such as comparison shopping sites.
Reach new audiences by posting videos on video-sharing sites. The best videos tend to be short (less than three minutes) and have an offer, such as a free copy of a report or a product discount, to motivate viewers to take action
Online marketing generates a wealth of data to let you assess and refine your marketing programs. Start with these easy-to-track performance measures:
Dig into your visitor data to see where your most promising leads come from. The quality of your traffic usually trumps quantity – for example, a referral site that delivers four buying customers may be worth more than one that delivers 50 window shoppers. Google Analytics is a great place to start, and it’s free.
The basic measure of an online ad’s impact is how many people click on it to visit your site. Click-through rates are often strongest with a compelling visual, message or offer, combined with placement on the right sites.
How many people who see your ads “convert” into buyers or take a specific action, such as subscribing to your newsletter? Take a look at your conversion rates to help determine which outreach efforts are most cost-effective.
Using a unique phone number in your ads lets you see exactly how many calls your campaign has generated. There will be Platforms that make this easy by assigning a different number to each campaign. This feature, which lets you track calls by ad and shift your spending, provides clear evidence that online marketing can lead to real leads, customers and offline success.
A landing page is any page on your website where traffic is sent specifically to prompt an action. For example, you might create different landing pages for different display ads. Landing pages let you customize your message and track program performance accurately. Keep the landing page simple — if you want visitors to buy, make that the focus of the page; don’t distract them with newsletter links, webcasts, blogs, Facebook links or cute puppy videos.
If it gets hard on to take everything on yourself, you can always choose a best digital marketing agency to do all this for you. If you ask us to suggest, we will choose marketing weapons. They are the best!
