Integrating Internet Marketing Strategies

Internet Marketing, just hearing the phrase can be daunting. To some extent we all suffer from information overload and an endless array of options for every element of our lives. Internet Marketing is no different, at first glance Online Marketing contains options beyond imagination.

Without stretching too far you have the big four - Social Media Marketing (SMM), Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay Per Click ( PPC) and Email Marketing the one option without an acronym. Each of these options comes with potential learning curves and investment in human and financial resources. This is a lot to take in and implement. Just knowing where to start is often difficult to determine.

Each business has unique needs and circumstances, but all share having access to similar Internet Marketing strategies, tactics, tools and professionals, so in many ways it's a level playing field.

Only problem with a level playing field is, it isn't level. Right out of the gate some web site's have a substantial head start with on-line visibility. A 12 year old site with 28,000 back-links has the advantage of a strong domain which give these businesses a strong competitive advantage in all ares of their online marketing programs..

And here comes 57th Place

Now a new player in the game or one that has not had much interest in the company web site. The web site is 4 or 5 years old, 1800 back-links and minimal traffic. Now that's a fair bit of ground to have to make up to be competitive for similar keywords on Domain Trust/Authority. The hard truth of the matter is the competition appears to be out of reach on the web. What are you going to do?

Go on the offensive

Time to start fighting back and do some long term planning. You hope your business is going to be around in 5 or 10 years and be stronger and more profitable than ever before, so set in place a long term plan to develop a strong web presence. The short term is just as important, you want to see business benefits in the near future and therefore, short term plans also need to be developed and implemented.

Long Term: Establishing a long term link building strategy to bridge the gap in back-links must be prioritized. Link building on its own involves numerous sub tasks such as keyword research to leverage keywords in your Anchor text links, and integration into content used as link bait. The good news is the results of these tasks can be utilized in different elements of the program.

Not a lot can be done about the Domain Age issue. However, depending on your circumstances, investigate purchasing an older keyword rich domain name as an option.

The difference in link numbers is an issue requiring commitment to a long term project. The web site is behind now, but if nothing is done the situation will only worsen. With the biggest long term issue under control the short term attack needs to be developed.

Short Term:

A web site audit should be the first on the list to determine how well the current web site supports identified business goals, and what web site revisions are necessary to support the new marketing initiatives. The necessary revisions should be prioritized and a schedule for implementation developed.

By this stage things are starting to happen, Link building has started, and you've determined what needs to be supported by the web site. Options are evaluated, decisions are made, budgeting and scheduling begins.

Web site traffic and increased web visibility needs improvement. A 3 pronged Pay Per Click approach is considered and implemented. 3 different Pay Per Click objectives, each requiring a different approach.

• Brand Visibility and awareness is necessary, High level generic keywords will be researched and used to generate general web site traffic to build brand awareness.
• Increase revenue from the web site. The web site needs to fund its own programs. Keyword selection targeting Internet users who are ready to purchase sales and services.
• Keyword Research for future organic optimization. Pay per Click provides a good testing ground for determining the best keywords to use in Organic Search Optimization. Content development will be the foundations of the program therefore, a good understanding of relevant keywords is a must.

By this stage the beginnings of a Pay per Click program are on the horizon, again there will be options, prioritization and decisions. And the traffic begins to flow.

Each additional area of promotion is an additional load on human and financial resources. Plan ahead.

Mid Term

As you slowly work your way through all the new processes, we start to consider how Social Media fits into the mix.

Before getting too deep into Social Media, review how well managed the current programs are. Social Media is heavy on human resources. Social Media takes time and commitment and reasonable short term benefits are realistic. However, like link building Social Media has to be considered an ongoing project.

A Social Media Marketing program is approved. A couple of potential bloggers have been selected as company representatives. First task is to join the main Social Networks and get used to the environment, and listen to the conversations. As time progresses Twitter Accounts are added and a Facebook Pages to engage customers. A gradual introduction to Social Media should be considered for a company possibly already overloaded by current web site promotion activities.

Client databases must be leveraged to grow the value of current customers. Email Marketing and Facebook can be utilized to keep in touch offering the latest industry news and trends, E-coupons and special offers only for Fans and Email Subscribers.

The Last World

Well, that's a fair bit to accomplish isn't it. All those powerful opportunities to improve online visibility and you can be assured there are plenty more, and some of those may be even more relevant to your industry. Gets you thinking doesn't it.

It's all do-able, maybe not all at once regardless of the resources available. A much better approach is one step at a time, with a philosophy of constant improvement.

Questions? Please post your questions in the comments sections.