I sometimes think of online marketing as a kind of dieting for business owners.
There are a lot of parallels between the two. In the world of weight loss, people crave instant solutions (like low-fat frozen yogurt and exotic menus) that don’t require them to give up their favorite foods. In the world of online marketing, clients want top search engine positions, increasing sales, and huge social media numbers without spending any cash.
Luckily, it’s easier to grow your business over the internet than it is to shed those extra few pounds you picked up during the holidays. The trick is to put your time and effort towards the techniques that offer the biggest payoff with the lowest investment. Here are three strategies that require you to spend next to nothing while giving you big payoffs again and again…
#1 Local Search Engine Optimization
Nobody uses the Yellow Pages anymore. They don’t have to – all the information they need about local businesses is available from a smart phone or tablet. If they are turning to Google and finding your competitors, then you’re missing out on an easy chance to get more buyers.
Local SEO is all about adding a few geographic keywords to your website so Google can understand where you are located, and push buyers from the neighborhood in the right direction. Best of all, it costs next to nothing and tends to yield quick and reliable online marketing results.
#2 Email Marketing
I’m always surprised to see how few businesses there are out there that are using email newsletters profitably. Granted, it’s gotten harder to reach customers this way, since most don’t have as much time as they used to for email messages. But on the other hand, email is instant and inexpensive to the point of being nearly free.
If you are doing is much as you could be to build up your email list and engage your subscribers, it’s time to take your newsletter campaigns to the next level. Every message you send gives you a chance to get in front of buyers that will, so don’t squander this ultra-valuable online marketing channel.
#3 Online Reputation Management
When customers say good things about you over the internet, other potential customers can see it. Having positive reviews on Google, Yelp, and Facebook is the digital age equivalent of having word-of-mouth advertising that never goes away.
In most cases, it won’t cost you anything to get positive reviews from your best customers, and you can use an online reputation management service to spread them around for a few dollars a month. Given that the right reviews can boost the results you get from all of your online marketing campaigns, why not take advantage?
If you haven’t been taking advantage of these three low-cost online marketing strategies, you really have no idea what you’ve been missing out on. Contact the Biondo Creative web design team in Bucks County, Pennsylvania today so we can help you find more customers through your website.