Reach a National or Global Audience by Dominating the Internet
The Internet is an ideal medium for quickly and affordably reaching a national or international target audience – and positioning your company as the dominant leader in your industry. Imagine how powerful it would be if every time your prospects search for the types of products or services your company offers, your business appears. For instance, your organization specializes in technology services for the health care industry. What if your company profile was prominently featured on all of the major Internet search engines and all of the relevant online technology and health care portals, directories, blogs and networking Web sites? Basically, all online paths would lead qualified prospects to your door. This isn’t fantasy, this is Internet marketing strategy.
Only on the Internet can all companies be equal. Unlike print advertising or tradeshows, where the companies that spend the most money get the most attention, the Internet is an equal opportunity platform for exposure. Whether your company is a start-up or a multi-national corporation, with the right mix of know-how, time and investment, you can dominate the Internet.
Not convinced the Internet is the place to focus your marketing efforts and dollars? Consider this: in 2007 6.5 billion people surfed the Web to research and purchase products and services, according to the Internet World Stats. Still not sure the power of the Internet can help your business? An Enquiro Search Solutions survey showed that nearly 54% of consumers start their product research on search engines like Google or Yahoo! The study also found that two out of every three business purchasers use search engines to facilitate their procurement process.
Other popular Internet resources used to research products and services include independent review sites, industry portals, blogs, online directories, online magazines and e-commerce sites.
If you want to leverage the power, reach and influence of the Internet, here are five areas to focus your online marketing strategy and budget:
- Search engine optimization (SEO): SEO is an effective way to build awareness, establish credibility and generate a high (and measurable) return on your marketing investment. In fact, a recent Google report showed that 85% percent of all click-throughs to corporate Web sites originated from organic searches. In this case, “organic” is defined as unpaid links to your Web site from search engine results. That’s right, free! This occurs when a search engine user’s keywords are matched with identical words and phrases on your Web site. SEO drives targeted traffic and qualified leads to your Web site by prominently displaying relevant information about your company at exactly the moment and place prospects are searching. There are many ways to improve your Web site’s organic performance, but make sure your tactics are allowed by the major search engines. Otherwise, you risk being blackballed by Google and Yahoo!
- Search engine advertising and marketing (SEM): Unlike SEO which is free, for a nominal fee SEM programs such as Google AdWords introduce highly targeted advertisements to online browsers precisely at the moment they are searching for products, services or companies. These “pay-perclick” (PPC) search engine programs establish a highly visible, affordable and relevant presence on the Internet. Plus, they allow you to create fluid ad campaigns with tightly controlled geographic markets, run times and budgets. Most importantly, each ad drives qualified leads directly to your Web site. The metrics provided by these programs are quite robust and allow you not only to assess market trends at a macro level (through keyword impression totals) but also measure brand awareness and market demand for your company’s products and services (via click-throughs). At this time, Google is the clear leader in the global search market, as it is preferred by nearly 89% of high-income Web browsers, according to Enquire Search Solutions.
- Online directories: Because most business professionals use the Internet as their primary research tool for finding products, services and vendor-partners, you should make your company easy to find by registering it in appropriate online industry directories. Many industry-specific portals and trade association Web sites offer free listings with reciprocal links back to your Web site. This link-in strategy not only increases your overall brand awareness, but it also will expand your online presence, thus positively impacting your Web site’s SEO. And if a free directory listing proves to drive qualified, organic traffic to your Web site that converts into revenue (a true measure of ROI), you should consider upgrading your subscription to a higher-profile paid advertisement to generate even greater visibility.
- Online magazines and industry publication Web sites: Unlike the difficulty of tracking the return on print advertising, online advertising allows you to track, quantify and qualify each impression (number of times your online ad is displayed). Many trade magazines publish e-newsletters and host robust Web sites—both of which feature advertisements, contributed articles, company news and case studies. Electronic advertising gives interested viewers an immediate way to respond to your promotions through a call to action—such as a link to a landing page (or squeeze page) on your Web site or an e-mail address.
- Online networking sites: Professional networking Web sites such as LinkedIn or ZoomInfo are quickly emerging as effective, high-impact avenues for lead generation and broad-level market awareness. LinkedIn has networked 20 million professionals and 150 industries worldwide. Many businesses regularly use these types of sites to find vendor-partners, consultants and employees. By creating profiles for your executives, you can significantly increase awareness and establish credibility for your company as well as your leaders. Listings on these networking sites also boost your SEO rankings by driving targeted traffic to your Web site. Once you’ve created profiles for your leadership team, encourage them to use this tool to expand their sphere of influence by connecting with peers, co-workers, partners, vendors and customers – and thus, their respective networks of contacts. You web site analytics software should show you the number of referrals (click-throughs) these profiles provided.
Taking your company national or global is no longer a logistical and financial challenge. By using many accessible and free Internet tools, your business can reach a worldwide audience base, establish instant credibility and generate qualified leads. There is a small window of opportunity right now. Most large corporations (your biggest competitors) do not fully understand the power, reach and influence of the Web. Capitalize on this chance to position your company as the leader in your industry by dominating the Internet. Learn more about Synergy’s custom web development and design services.
About the Author:
Amy Zucker is president and founder of Synergy Marketing Group. A marketing, branding and public relations veteran with 15 years of industry expertise, she started the company in 2002 to exclusively serve the business-to-business community. Today Synergy is one of the top 20 Indianapolis marketing agencies with an impressive roster of both B2B and B2C clients. The firm offers its clients expertise in building memorable brands, generating awareness in the global marketplace, establishing credibility, creating demand and quantifying marketing investments. In 2007 Synergy became a certified Woman-owned Business Enterprise (WBE) to bring added value to clients and vendor partners who want to meet corporate supplier diversity program goals and qualify for new business opportunities in government and regulated industries. Amy can be reached at 317.205.9690 ext. 223 or at [email protected] To learn more about Synergy Marketing Group, please visit www.synergy-mg.com.