23 Ways To Market Your Business Online

By Felicity Walker

As a business owner, particularly as the owner of a smaller, local business, it’s very easy to think that all that online nonsense really has nothing to do with you.
But the reality is that in the last 10 years or so, the internet has gone from being something of a techie fad to an indispensable part of most people’s lives. Do you want to know something? Search online. Do you want to find a local business? Search online.
Add the explosive growth of Smartphones like the iPhone and Androids, and now people don’t even need to be in front of their computer to search for information – they can be anywhere. The trend of searching online for information is only going to grow more rapidly.
What all of this means for local business is that if you’re not visible to both your existing and potential customers in the places they’re searching for information about you, you’re in big trouble. They’re going to find your competition online instead. And you’ll get left behind.
In this book, we're going to look at some important things you need to be aware of when marketing on the web. As well, we’ll check out some of the ways to reach new customers, plus get your existing customers to spend more money with you - and do it more often!
Learn about :
- your website and how to leverage off it
- what social media is and why you need to be part of it
- how to get your website noticed
plus ideas for getting free advertising online, communicating better with existing customers and lots of more of great ideas for marketing your business.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Felicity Walker
• Release date: Jul 21, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466015920

Felicity Walker

When Felicity Walker first started quilting, she had no idea that she would write a book, Quilts for Beginners, that has helped thousands of new quilters start quilting and love it. Her books share the quilting secrets and shortcuts she has learned in nearly 20 years as a quilter. Even after making hundreds of quilts, she still remembers how it feels to be a beginning quilter. She is always looking for and writing about simpler and faster ways to quilt. Her first book, Quilts for Beginners, is a guide for new quilters looking to make their first quilts. Her latest book, Rag Quilting for Beginners, introduces the fun and addictive art of rag quilting. Felicity is currently working on her third quilting book. She also contributes to the quilting blog Quilter's Diary.

Book preview

23 Ways to Market Your Business Online

By Felicity Walker

Published by Felicity Walker at Smashwords

Copyright 2011 Felicity Walker

This book is available in print at most online retailers

Smashword Edition, Licence Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication

To my two amazing children, Bjorn and Miranda. Life just wouldn’t be the same without them!

Thanks also to all the internet gurus who share their knowledge in all sorts of ways – I’ve learnt so much from all of you.

Introduction

As a business owner, particularly as the owner of a smaller, local business, it’s very easy to think that all that online nonsense really has nothing to do with you.

But the reality is that in the last 10 years or so, the internet has gone from being something of a techie fad to an indispensable part of most people’s lives. Do you want to know something? Search online. Do you want to find a local business? Search online.

Add the explosive growth of Smartphones like the iPhone and Androids, and now people don’t even need to be in front of their computer to search for information – they can be anywhere. The trend of searching online for information is only going to grow more rapidly.

What all of this means for local business is that if you’re not visible to both your existing and potential customers in the places they’re searching for information about you, you’re in big trouble. They’re going to find your competition online instead. And you’ll get left behind.

In this book, we're going to look at some important things you need to be aware of when marketing on the web. As well, we’ll check out some of the ways to reach new customers, as well as get your existing customers to spend more money with you - and do it more often!

Chapter 1 - Why Internet Marketing?

Recent Google statistics show that 20 percent of all searches are related to location. In April 2011, comScore shows that Google served up 10.7 billion searches. It’s easy enough to work out that around 2.14 billion searches were related to location. In other words, people searching for local information.

The trend to searching online is growing steadily. Going back two years, to April 2008, Google served up 6.5 billion searches. So that means around 1.3 billion local searches.

It’s easy to see that each year, more and more people are searching online to find local information and businesses. And that includes local businesses like yours.

This move to online searching has inevitably sparked a rapid demise in the popularity of the Yellow Pages. In the past, the Yellow Pages was always the first place people looked when they wanted to find a local business. So if you weren’t in the Yellow Pages, your potential customers couldn’t find you.

Nowadays, it’s more likely that a potential customer’s Yellow Pages is in pristine condition, never having been touched. Unless it’s being used to prop open a door…

One of the big reasons for this transition is that customers can find more on the internet than just a business name, address and phone number. They can also find reviews from previous customers, information about other competing businesses and a whole lot more.

In some ways, though, the Yellow Pages scenario of the past still holds true today. Except now, it’s not a case of being in the Yellow Pages or your potential customers won’t find you, but that you need to be highly visible online.

The Yellow Pages Dilemma

Of course the companies providing resources like the Yellow Pages saw the trends, and took steps to ensure their continued survival. They established online versions of their directories.

While it sounds like a good idea in theory, the reality is that the directories may be online, but they’re still basically