9 Tips: Internet Marketing For Local Small Business

July 13th, 2009

marketingThe DIYers out there want to know how to market their local business online. I’ve put together this list of 9 secrets I’ve learned as a freelance web and graphic designer so that anyone can get started with internet marketing.

The internet is an all-you-can-eat buffet lover’s dream come true, and there’s tons of new types of food everyday. Make sure you put your “food” on the buffet so that customers will find you. Here are 9 tips that will help you compete. It takes time and patience, there’s no quick fix to online marketing. If someone claims otherwise, be wary. When looking for web design services, be sure to consider these details.

1. Know Your Keywords

You probably already have a good idea of how people commonly categorize your business but do you know how they search? Do you know how much competition there is for your keyword on a local, regional, or national level? It’s important to do some research on the subject. Google provides two useful tools to help you get the information you need.

Google AdWords

Google Adwords: Keyword Tool can be used to get new keyword ideas. If you have a website already, let Google do the work for you, select “Website Content”. Otherwise, start with a few of the “Descriptive words or phrases” that people commonly use to categorize your business, product, or service.

Google Insights for Search

Now that you know all the different terms people use to search for businesses like yours, find out what kind of interest there is on a local level. Do a search in the select areas you want to target, it will help you hone in on your target audience.

2. Deliver Fresh Content

I should take my own advice! Content is king in the internet world, information sharing is what the world wide web is all about. If you website isn’t delivering fresh content then there isn’t much of a reason for your customers to come back and engage with your business, product, or service.

This is a tricky task, they want to know:

  • What’s in it for them?
  • What do they get out of it?
  • How can they benefit?

In other words, they don’t want to hear about you and your product unless it’s going to help them somehow. So help them, and make sure the content is original. They don’t want to read the same thing they read yesterday. Try to come up with a creative way to help the customer while promoting your product.

Twitter, Facebook, MySpace

An excellent way to help people engage directly with you and your product, business, or service is to take advantage of the social networking phenomena. The goal is to figure out how to get people to share your information for you.

3. Use META Tags

Title

This is your chance to make an impression on someone. Give them a brief glimpse of what they’ll get from visiting your web page.

Description

Define who the webpage is intended for. Be creative and be specific. Be brief, but not too brief. You want to captivate your target market in 160 words or less.

Keywords

This META tag is important but not in the way you would expect. Search engines do not use keywords the same way that they used to. My advise is to limit your keywords in a META tag to only the information that’s contained with in the page. For example, if it’s a page about your store hours and how to find you, use “Store Hours” and “Directions”. That’s it. Don’t stuff it full of useless information, it won’t help. In fact, it will hurt your internet marketing strategy.

How to use META Tags in HTML

4. Valid XHTML and CSS

You don’t have to be a web expert to understand these two acronyms. What you need to know is that your web expert must know what they mean, how they help you, and how to use them.

  • XHTML is the content/information of your web page.
  • CSS is the visual elements (colors, layout, style, etc.) of your web page.

Combine them together based on current standards from WC3 Consortium and you will have a web page or website that is browser compatible, mobile content friendly, accessible to people with disabilities, and friendly to search engines.

5. Pretty Page URLs

This is an easy one. Do you know what “mysite.com/end/56/new%85.html” means? If you do then you have one up on me. Make sure your URLs are pretty! Use the dash (-) in your page titles and folders. You should be able to get the general gist of what you will find at this web address just by reading it. It’s important to think of your keywords when creating page titles.

Example: “mysite.com/news-at-11/story/alligator-eats-cat.html”

6. Google Is Gold

Ranked #1

There are 31 Billion searches on Google every month. In 2006, it was 2.7 Billion. When Google tells me to sneeze, I ask, “how hard?” They are the global leader on the internet right now and are holding strong. Google is the #1 visited site in the United States, according to Alexia.

Search Engine Optimization

Make your site Google Friendly! Read Google’s Search Engine Optimization Guide (pdf). If you focus on making Google happy, the other two (Yahoo and MSN) will follow, not to mention the rest of the search engine websites.

More resources for Google-Friendly Sites

7. Use Google Analytics

Track how people are using your website. Google (yes, Google again) provides Google Analytics so that you can see who goes to your website, what pages they visit, how often they visit, how long they were on your site, and loads more of information. When you’ve put so much into making it work, it’s important to track the results and figure out how to improve. The goal is sustainability and longevity of your content.

8. Say No To Flash

Search engines currently can’t read the standard flash website. Local small business owners should avoid this option. This means a flash website will be pretty but difficult to find from a search engine, which most people use to find something. If someone offers you a flash website, be wary. Some flash designers do know how to design for the web and search engines with flash, but it’s a rarity. I, personally, do flash only when it’s necessary and It usually will not contain relevant content. There are alternatives like JavaScript, PHP, and JQuery. Your web designer should know about these things. The difference is like a doctor telling you that you have a tumor when it’s really just a common headache. “IT’S NOT A TOOMA!”

9. Facebook Friendly

Both of my grandmothers are now on Facebook. Why is that significant? Well, you can share your website and individuals pages as easily as copying and pasting a link. Put the power of social networking (and my grandma’s tech savvyness) to work for you and your business by making your pages look good when it’s shared on facebook.

Here is a quick resource for getting your page “Facebook Friendly”. Click the link that says, “How do I make sure the Share Preview works?”

Bonus Points:

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