part 7 > Web site marketing: getting your site out there

Marketing your eCommerce web site

Web site marketing can encompass a range of strategies. You may engage in online or search engine marketing, invest in print or radio advertising, even splash your web address onto the side of a delivery truck. As with any type of marketing, web site marketing requires planning, creativity and commitment. Whichever web site marketing option you choose, it's important to get your site out in front of customers.

Are you worried about low traffic and sparse sales? Contact us for professional web site marketing ideas and implementation.

Web site marketing 101: do it "Free"

As you plan the unveiling of your web site, or work to increase exposure to your target audience, keep an eye on the low-hanging fruit. Here are a couple of ideas for everyday web site marketing:

• Put your web address on your business cards, brochures, pocket folders, CD labels, letterheads... let no white space go unused.
• Add your web address to the "signature" at the bottom of your e-mails to friends, family, customers, colleagues. Let them do subtle web site marketing for you, every time they forward one of your e-mails to someone else.
• Include your web address in your communications with other site owners. Email a glowing testimonial to a site you've enjoyed with a link to your web site. Post a comment to a relevant forum or blog and track it back to your web site. Or contribute helpful tips or articles to another site in exchange for links to yours.
• When you ship orders to customers, include your web address on invoices, statements, catalogs and anything included in the shipment. Web site marketing is in large part about repetition.

Web site marketing on the Internet

Think of web site marketing as an investment in the success of your business. If you're ready for the next step, investing in Internet marketing can drive qualified visitors to your site. The key point to remember here is "qualified visitors". Would you rather have ten visitors and five sales, or a hundred visitors and no sales? When you market your web site on the Internet it's important to keep your target audience in the bull's-eye.

There are lots of options for web site marketing on the Internet, so you'll have to research the best choices for your business. Some areas to explore include:

• Paid advertising. You can buy ad space on another site, pay for a listing in a search engine or directory or engage in a pay-per-click program.
• Search engine optimization. This is a whole topic unto itself, but in a nutshell, search engine optimization is a web site marketing strategy that consistently improves your site (code, content, features and functionality) in order to get it listed well up in search engine rankings.
• Link Building. This is a web site marketing strategy that aims to gain incoming links to your web site from other relevant sites. Stick with trusted sites and steer clear of "link farms" that indiscriminately link to your site while you in turn link to dozens of unknowns.
• Participating in a blog. Better yet, maintain your own. You can incorporate a blog seamlessly into your web site and keep visitors coming back by offering interesting news, industry tidbits, helpful tips or any relevant information. Blogs offer a great opportunity for web site marketing because other blogs will reference yours if you offer good content, and visitors will find value in your site.

Planning, building and marketing a good eCommerce web site can be challenging, but the reward will be a site that draws visitors, turns them into customers and keeps them coming back for more. Make your eCommerce site an integral part of the success of your business by following a process that builds a solid foundation and a functional system and then uses sound web site marketing strategies to bring in and keep the customers your business deserves.

Are you ready for success? Contact us to find out how we can help plan, develop and market your eCommerce web site.