Researching the best Internet marketing strategies is a bit of a task. Why?
Because most Internet marketing companies don't want to share their strategies
with you! Instead they want to sell them. So scouring the Web usually leads to
lose ends and service puffery. So what are the best Internet marketing
strategies?
Well honestly, the question itself is flawed. Lets think about it. What works
best for one, doesn't necessarily mean it will work for another. So lets start
with the basics, shall we?
What exactly is your business model? Are you selling a product? A Service? Or
trying to promote an affiliate? If you're trying to promote a product or
service, generally speaking your strategy will be very similar. If you're an
affiliate, that is one that is promoting a product or service that you don't
own, the basic strategy is related in that you are still trying to promote
"widgets", however your web strategy will be fundamentally different. Lets
discuss products and services (part I). We'll discuss affiliate-marketing
strategies more in detail in part II of this writing.
Products and Services
If you're trying to promote a product or service, we must first look at its
stage in the product life circle. (I know, you didn't want to get the
marketing book out, but we are!). If you're offering is in the midst of the
introduction stage, the need has not been fully identified yet, even though one
may exist.
This is important because most Internet marketing experts will tell you to
start with "xyz" no matter what your offering is. Generally (PPC) or search
engine optimization (SEO) being the culprit. The reason is usually their general
effectiveness. Yes, search engine marketing is effective. No two ways about it.
However may not be best if no one knows that your product is in existence. If
this is the case, you might be better suited for some push strategies such as:
1. Press releases
2. Display ads (banner)
3. Articles
4. Podcasting
5. Traditional push vehicles such as radio or TV
If your product offering is in the growth or maturity stage, search engine
marketing can be highly effective. When considering search engine marketing,
here are some basic items you may want to evaluate when creating your strategy:
1. Budget
2. Regionality of market
3. Target audience
4. Core competencies
5. Website (functionality, ease of use, and conversion friendliness)
Budgeting
Without getting into great detail into each item, budget comes to mind for most.
On limited by budget, determining what to spend your money on can be a daunting
task. I recommend that even the most budget minded start with pay per click
advertising. My reasoning is that you can easily test the business model before
you devote massive financial resources to it. In addition, if your paid
advertising strategies soar, this can be a great guideline to base your search
engine optimization efforts on.
Regionality, Target Audience, and Competencies
Regardless of budget, your website should include a regional focus (if
applicable) and speak in a language that resembles your target audience. In
addition, content is best utilized if it describes your core competencies that
give your visitors a reason to buy from you.
The Website
Website functionality and ease of use are a good foundation to any successful
strategy. As a general rule of thumb, your website should be in keeping of your
competitors and direct the target audience to the action you would like them to
take. The KISS principle (i.e. keep it simple stupid) cannot be overstated
enough in the above items. Concentrate your efforts on benefits to the end user
and you will reap rewards of victory.
Search engine marketing nevertheless, does have limitations such as:
· Low regional search traffic resulting in slowed results
· Local targeting issues (which at the time of this writing is being best
served by Google)
· Keyword targeting issues
· Budget constraints
· Competitive saturation
Shortcomings Of Regional Traffic
Regionally based strategies may fall short due to low search volume followed by
targeting issues. Currently, Google paid advertising does offer some great local
targeting tools due to their unique ability to target end users via their IP
address. Yahoo! on the other hand, relies on local keyword filters that are
based on cities that you include in your service area.
Whether you decide Google or Yahoo! as your regional search partner, you will
likely find that some industries suffer from low traffic volume.
Keyword Targeting Issues
Keyword targeting issues arise when a keyword either has multiple meanings or
the market is sticky to a particular offering within the keyword scope. For
example, the keyword "marketing professionals" could imply a business
looking for one or an industry professional looking for a job.
In the case of keyword stickiness, the website owner can find the market
stubborn to buy its offering if its not tailored to the masses. For example the
keyword "pottery" could imply any price range. However, if 99% of the market
is looking for pottery priced from $1-2 and your selling exotic pottery for $500
a pop, you may find yourself paying too much for what the market doest want.
Budget Constraints and Competitive Saturation
Budget constraints are pretty self-explanatory and are usually tied to
competitive market saturation. An interesting fact about search engine marketing
is that keyword prices are typically tied to market ROI. In addition, industries
that are tough to compete in generally have a high ROI arbitrage model to blame.
You probably have run across a few of the Websites in question yourself, such
as the "Fill out xyz for 4 free quotes" or travel websites. Those companies
can afford the high keyword costs due to the fact that they are reselling the
same "xyz" to multiple vendors. This in effect makes it very difficult for
companies marketing exclusively to compete against the giants.
In Summary
The above only describes some basic guidelines for effective Web marketing
strategizing and is in no way intended to be the "law of the land." However,
what does come to light is that basic marketing strategies are the foundation
for triumph in almost any business model and cannot simply be "cookie cut"
from one grand Pooh-Bah of all online mediums. The best strategeer's will
continually employ new, measure results, and refine their strategies according
to what provides the greatest overall benefit. If your looking for the best
internet marketing strategy, scour the web no longer, because the best Internet
marketing strategy lies within your grasp. Now its up to you to sell them!
Christian Del Monte: creator of iBlogMarketing.com
Internet Marketing Blog and Director of Operations for TMA E-Marketing has a B.S. degree in Marketing from Minnesota State University, Mankato. In addition, Christian has over 10 years in personal sales experience and has directed the operations for TMA for the last 4 years.
He has directed and worked on Internet marketing projects for mid to large-scale clients including several fortune 500 companies. Christian continues to head up the operations for TMA as well as lead research and development on vertical search markets and business blogging.
