Successful online marketing should be all about increasing sales and profitability. If it’s done well, there’s no reason why you can’t achieve these aims.
Unfortunately, some businesses seem to run into problems. There are some common mistakes that you should be looking to avoid if you’re going to run an online marketing campaign. Here are the top 10 mistakes:
1. Writing content for search engines
It’s amazing how many website owners create content that is aimed at the search engines. Laced with keywords, this content is often almost impossible for website visitors to read. Forget about writing for search engines. Concentrate on your target audience. Write for real people.
2. Confusing link building with spamming
Link building is important for the success of any site. If you want to rise up the search engine rankings then you’ll need to get your site noticed. But remember that link building is about quality, rather than quantity. Spamming won’t do much for your reputation and you may find that your website is actually penalized by the search engines as a result.
3. Losing control of costs
How much is your online marketing campaign costing? What are you getting in return? If you don’t have the answers to these basic questions then you’re in danger of letting the costs run wild. Monitoring will be the key to running the campaign successfully.
4. Ignoring accessibility
You may have a great website. You may have done a great job of attracting visitors to it. But if your site is not fully accessible then you may lose up to 15% of those visitors before they even get beyond your home page. That’s a disaster. Deal with accessibility issues at the outset.
5. Forgetting about repeat visitors
When someone visits your site for the first time, they will know very little about what you have to offer. By the time that they return on a second or third visit, they will already be inclined to buy your products and services more easily. Take advantage of this situation. Encourage visitors to return to your site. Ensure that it’s easy to bookmark and that they have a reason to return.
6. Poor email marketing
You are collecting the email addresses of visitors to your site, aren’t you? If not, you really should be. This is a great, cheap way to get in touch with people who are interested in what you have to offer. It’s also a great way of encouraging those repeat visits.
7. Forgetting about offline opportunities
Have your online marketing efforts created some leads that may help you to expand the business offline? Don’t forget about these opportunities. These may offer the best possible chances for your business to grow.
8. Attracting visitors who don’t buy
There’s absolutely no point in getting visitors to your site if they aren’t going to buy from you. Don’t waste your time attracting 10,000 visitors with no interest in buying your product or service. Your time would be better spent concentrating on a single visitor who is going to make a purchase.
9. Reading, reading and more reading
You need to read about online marketing techniques. But the reading phase won’t make you any money. You’ll only start earning once you put your plans into action. So make sure that you’re not spending endless hours reading. You need to be doing instead.
10. Forgetting about your best resource
What’s your best resource? You shouldn’t even need to think about the answer to this. Your best resource is you! Concentrate on your strengths. Build on your knowledge and experience. By doing so, you’ll put yourself in the best possible position to succeed.
Image Credits: Two Horse Town.
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