5 Critical Marketing Strategies Each Site's Owner Needs to Know
When it comes to marketing on the web There are several proven and tried methods that have proven to bring positive outcomes. This time, I'd like to present to you five fundamental marketing strategies each webmaster should be aware of. You can use one of these, a couple of them, or even all of these, depending upon the specifics of your web-based business or membership website.
1. Pay Per Click (PPC)
Pay per click is an online advertising model where advertisers place advertisements on their websites and search engines, but only pay for when the advertisement is clicked. It's a great, quick method of marketing since you're basically paying for visits to your website however it's a wildly popular method of advertising which can be very affordable and efficient if you know a bit about the process you're using. As opposed to pouring thousands of dollars into blasting out advertising to the masses, with little or no ROI, with the pay-per-click method, you only pay for those clicks that actually go towards your site. Additionally, in contrast to more traditional advertising methods, PPC is ultra trackable and you will always be able to determine how effective its going to be.
It is highly recommended that you keep track of your PPC campaigns every day and set sensible, daily limits or things can get out of control. For people just dipping their feet into PPC I'd suggest beginning with Google PPC and make sure you only have campaigns running through "Search," not everywhere. I've found that for small campaigns, search will give the greatest value to your dollar. I also recommend you do your research into the keywords you want to target and use "exact match." This ensures that your words only appear on the most relevant search results which can reduce costs and give you the best ROI.
This post has a lot of useful information on how to design a successful PPC campaign, with everything from choosing the most relevant keyword to designing PPC landing pages designed to convert.
2. Blogging + SEO
It's important to note that Blogging and SEO are both long term strategies as they take time and constant concentration to grow. If you're seeking immediate traffic, you might consider launching PPC campaigns. PPC campaign in conjunction with SEO and blogging techniques.
3. Email campaigns
An email list should be essential because it will serve as a buffer against the winds of change that occur as Google alters its algorithm, competitors enter to your area and the landscape generally changes. If you have a an email database that is healthy has the potential to reach people and drive visitors to your website.
4. Social Media
A great idea is to not only promote your own content, as well as share relevant industry information. When you do this, you show your fans and followers that they are a thought leader and not just a salesperson who keeps your followers coming back to you for the latest and greatest in your field.
5. Affiliate programs
Affiliate programs may be dependent on rewards (an affiliate receives a percentage cut of every sales they send your way) and blog-based (an affiliate is able to write a guest post for your blog, or have you featured as a guest blogger on their own blog), email based (an affiliate is able to send an advertisement for your services or products to all their mailing lists) and social media related (an affiliate can schedule out tweets or Facebook posts in advance of an event coming up or a launch that you're hosting).
That'll about do it! As with any marketing strategy make sure that it's crucial to monitor your progress. The process of marketing requires continuous monitoring and adjustments: what was successful last month, might not be effective this month. Switch it up and see how your customers react to it most effectively. Are they more likely to share your tweets on Twitter or are they more likely to like the posts on Facebook? How many people leave your site through links on social media? How many click via the links included in your emails? The numbers can change almost everyday and it's crucial to keep track of how your fans' habits of viewing change.