When most people start a home based business online their biggest challenge seems to be marketing their website or product on the web. Internet marketing can be a daunting task for anyone who is new to the world of e-commerce and can be one of the biggest impediments to success for any newbie on the Internet. Before approaching the strategic aspect of marketing online it’s best to first make sure you understand exactly what Internet marketing is.
Simply put Internet marketing, also referred to as web-marketing, online-marketing, or e-Marketing, is the marketing of products or services on the Internet. This type of marketing uses various online advertisements to drive traffic to your website. Internet marketing is a growing business mainly because more and more people are creating home businesses on the web every day.
Before taking pen to paper or finger to key board to create your Internet marketing strategy it may help to know which approaches to avoid or what not to do. This article will examine five of the most common mistakes made by home business owners, who are just starting out, when trying to market their product or website online.
1. One of the biggest blunders made by newbies or even made by more experienced marketers is not targeting their traffic or website visitors. Inviting anyone and everyone to visit your home page will not make you a living or even a decent part time income on the web. Your traffic must be targeted or directed to your over all website theme or product you’re promoting.
Having people who are interested in buying a new car visit your Internet marketing home business page and sign up for your ezine and join your list will only frustrate both you and your guest because neither you nor your visitor’s needs can be satisfied.
Several ways to target your potential customers include using article marketing to establish back links on appropriate websites, using key words on your home page in your content to attract the appropriate guests and by using strategically placed banner advertisements on suitable sites around the Internet. Targeted traffic will make every visitor and list member a potential customer and will make your Internet marketing task much easier.
2. Another major impediment to Internet marketing success is procrastination. You’ve taken the time and made the effort to create your home business webesite, you’ve tweaked it, changed your backgrounds and themes until they are just right but for whatever reason you still haven’t begun the task of advertising your business and product or services online. Unfortunately the Internet isn’t like “The Field of Dreams”, if you build it you have to advertise it before they will come.
Sit down and think about the different strategies you can employ and choose one you think you will enjoy and just do it. When you believe you have this approach mastered then think about choosing another technique. Concentrate on only one at a time until you have several Internet marketing strategies in place and before you know it you will see your website visitor’s increase exponentially.
3. If you want to know which Internet marketing strategies are working best you have to track your results. Many marketers institute their strategic plan and perform the same chores day after day without checking to see which techniques are working and which ones aren’t producing results.
You must track your statistics and examine your marketing results on a regular basis or you may continue to spend money on a failing advertising plan which is producing little or no targeted traffic which will eventually result in financial disaster for your home enterprise.
4. There’s one important point I can’t stress enough which comes from personal experience. If you’ve decided on Internet or affiliate marketing as a home based business find one program and stick with it. Don’t jump from opportunity to opportunity and buy every Internet marketing product you find in your inbox.
Every Internet marketer claims to have the perfect solution for making a fortune online and if you try them all you’ll be broke in no time and you will still be in the same position as when you started. Find something you believe in and you enjoy and work hard and eventually you will see the fruits of your labor.
5. One final faux paux continually being made by Internet marketers is being inconsistent in their marketing approach. The search engines love consistency and in order to drive a continuous flow of targeted traffic to your home page you must be consistent with your marketing efforts.
If you work on your plan for 5 days one week and then one day the following week and then 3 days the next week the search engines will soon tire of your approach, as will your visitors, and pretty soon your traffic will dry up and your business will fail. Try to work for the same amount of time each week and continually add fresh content to your website and the traffic will continue to flow.
By avoiding each of these mistakes when you’re drawing up your Internet marketing strategy for your home business you will save yourself and your enterprise a lot of time and money and frustration and you will achieve your financial goals online more quickly and easily.