According to the ISP Interland's Summer 2005 Small and Medium-sized Business Barometer, SMB's are getting a return from their
Internet Marketing Strategy - company websites are providing valuable leads and sales. 57 percent of business leaders surveyed said they generate monthly revenue through online purchases or offline purchases that were influenced by their website.
78 percent report their business is healthier - has a competitive advantage or stronger economic footing - because they have a website, and 76 percent say their website generates leads for their business.
Surprisingly, only 54 percent are using search engine optimization. In the last five years search engines have become an essential tool for purchasers. Other studies show that more than two thirds of all sales - whether online or offline - are now researched online first. And this includes business to business purchases.
Instead of companies looking for a target audience, consumers are online looking for the best place to make the purchase. And if your website is not found in those searches, you're not even in the game.
Search engine visibility is only one part of an effective Internet Marketing Strategy, but it is the vital first step. If you don't get found, the rest can't work.
A good internet marketing strategy has two sides -
search engine visibility on your most effective keywords and a usable website that converts your visitors to leads. Online PR tools can play a major role in producing the broad visibility you need.
"The rapid growth of the news engines and
business blogs has created online PR opportunities that can raise search engine visibility dramatically," said Sally Falkow, President of Expansion Plus Inc., an Internet marketing and PR firm in Los Angeles. "With the right strategy you can get your message out directly to the consumers who are reading their news online."
When asked to define the role of marketing in their company, 49 percent of the small-business leaders surveyed said it was used to generate sales, while 38 percent said to build credibility or brand awareness.
Search engine visibility is strongly linked to brand awareness and credibility.
Optimizing your press releases and making them into news articles gives you excellent visibility, says Falkow. And now that Yahoo News, which has the largest online news audience, is indexing blogs with their news content, savvy business owners can create an industry news blog that will consistently get visibility and build credibility.
"Industry Newsmastering with a business blog could be the next big online marketing opportunity," predicts Falkow. This survey shows that 19 percent of SMB's have already incorporated a blog into their Internet marketing strategy.
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Sally Falkow is President of Expansion Plus, an Internet marketing and PR firm based in Los Angeles, CA. She is the author of
WebSense: website marketing strategies for entrepreneurs and the co-developer of PRESSfeed, an
RSS marketing system.
