|
If you don't maintain a key presence on the
Internet, whether your business is online or offline, your competition
will devour you. Because the marketplace has become hypercompetitive
and supersophisticated, access to information as vast and as fast as
the worldwide web is all the more reason to market your company in
cyberspace let alone to put your company in it.
Unlike phone numbers (or directories that list them in alphabetical
order), web site URLs are found mainly through keywords (search
engines), links, offline marketing, and referrals. In other words,
they are found through third parties. Searching for your site will
therefore be much more efficient if your company or product is
positioned well -- in the mind.
Since the Internet is exploding in population and fast becoming a
medium of equal stature to the TV and radio, a company not present on
the web can no longer be considered as just plain old-fashioned. It
will become easy prey to its competition and, more significant, to the
negative perception of the marketplace that the product or service is
also not up to par.
It's Not the Size That Counts
One of the biggest advantages of
the web is the fact that the small company can look as good and be as
effective as the larger ones. Current trends indicate that the demand
for personalized services will continue to grow. Online businesses are
not only more versatile but can also personalize their offers. Since a
small business has the ability to closely tailor its products and
services to specific needs, it is safe to conclude that the future of
the Internet lies in personalized services supplied by small companies
and individuals.
However, while they lack advertising budgets similar to those from the
big guns, smaller-sized entrepreneurs can still obtain huge amounts of
traffic through more economical means of promotion. These are not
restricted to banners and search engines either. They comprise of many
processes that should be included in one's portfolio of online
marketing efforts.
There are emails, signature files, specialized directories,
topic-specific indices, Intranets, strategic marketing alliances,
links on non-competing web sites, buttons, discussion groups,
classified ad sites (both free and paid), "opt-in" mailing lists,
reciprocal links, newsgroups, online conferences, Internet chats,
community-based sites, and specialized online discussion forums -- all
of which can help market a company effectively online.
Think Link
Look at it this way: The
greatest rule in marketing often taught in the academic world is
"location, location, location." Online, that rule applies even more.
In other words, your site must be located in as many places as
possible, in front of as many eyeballs as possible and be as easily
accessible as possible. Thus, the goal is to get others to link to
you. How do you do that? To cover techniques within the scope of this
article would be impossible. But let me share one of them with you
that has been tremendously successful for me.
A great technique for generating
traffic is to offer freebies. If your site offers free information,
such as articles, reports, ezines, books, software, and so on, or a
special incentive of some kind on a product or service you sell, use
the "tradeoff" technique and ask for a link to your site in return. If
you offer something of value, not only will people feel the need to
reciprocate but also merely asking helps to elevate that value in the
mind of the prospect.
In addition to freebies and special offers, you can also provide tools
as a great way to get linkedCalled "interactive" traffic generators,
some examples of tools include games, quizzes, surveys, polls, form
mailers, referral functions, videos, search functions, directories,
contests, article archives, and greeting cards. There are also
reminder services (like
http://www.constantcontact.com), message boards (http://www.insidetheweb.com),
and chat rooms (http://www.talkcity.com
and
http://www.beseen.com).
Other interactive traffic generators are often called "traffic
plug-ins" since they help visitors to experience your site rather than
just view it. But server-side plug-ins in particular are better since
there is no need for a program to enable that experience. In other
words, these plug-ins actually work on the site itself and not on the
visitor's computer that may not have the needed software in the first
place -- which is why I have a penchant for CGI or ASP instead of
Java.
If you want to add more interactivity to your site, there are many
scripts available that you can use -- and many of them are free. Some
sites include:
-
http://www.scriptsearch.com,
-
http://cgi-resources.com,
-
http://www.webmaster-resources.com,
-
http://newmillennium.net,
-
http://www.webmasteruniverse.com/,
-
http://solutionscripts.com,
-
http://www.freecode.com,
-
http://www.freewareweb.com,
-
http://www.webaddesign.com/scripts/,
-
http://www.lakeweb.com/scripts/begin.html,
-
http://www.utoronto.ca/webdocs/CGI/cgi1.html,
-
http://www.webthing.com/tutorials/cgifaq.html,
-
http://www.perl.org/CPAN/doc/FAQs/cgi/idiots-guide.html,
-
http://www.boutell.com/faq/cgiprob.htm,
-
http://www.extropia.com,
-
http://www.speakeasy.org/~cgires/cgi-tips.html,
-
http://worldwidemart.com/scripts/faq,
-
http://www.free-cgi.com/freecgi/,
- And
http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts.
For JavaScript lovers, there are also:
Overlooked Traffic Generation Tools
But one of the simplest interactive traffic
generators that is often overlooked is the process of delivering pages
of consistently updated information -- in short, fresh content. It can
be as simple as changing the content of your site to reflect current
events and issues, continually adding new articles and special
reports, or posting past newsletter issues in a special archive.
The element of scarcity is also a great way to generate an abundance
of visitors, such as by offering time-sensitive or password-protected
information. In the case of the latter, people who wish to view
"secret" information will have to apply for it. For example, if you
offer a free report of some kind, don't make it accessible directly to
visitors. Have a form on your site that visitors need to fill out in
order to gain access or use an auto-responder to deliver it.
Beyond content, offline traffic generation is just as important. And
the first rule in doing so effectively is to specialize. The most
common mistake newcomers to any field of business make is to think
that by expanding their portfolio they will secure more business, and
nothing can be further from the truth. Specializing and narrowing
one's focus as much as possible will paradoxically broaden the
likelihood of your site getting more hits let alone business.
Specialization is in itself a fundamental
marketing process. It's amazingly effective in creating top-of-mind
awareness among a very specific target market because you will indeed
find more with less. For instance, an accountant specializing in car
dealerships will get more traffic than a general accountant will. An
online clothing store specializing in babies and mothers-to-be will
get more business than a typical clothing store will. A photographer
specializing in weddings will get more hits than a regular
photographer will.
And the list goes on and on.
Specialization is often referred as niche marketing. As more and more
businesses get started (and populate cyberspace), the less time,
energy, and money people will have to spend in making choices for
those with whom they will choose to do business. Therefore, have your
website focused on a niche, a specific theme, or a particular concept.
Think of a laser, which is basically a beam of highly concentrated
light. You want to focus like a laser on a specific niche and in so
doing burn your site into your visitors' minds.
Nevertheless, the bottom-line is that, while you can and should use
them, never rely on search engines and banners alone for generating
traffic. If you do, your competition will always be a step ahead of
you. Be different, not only in what you offer but in how you generate
traffic.
|
