One of my top tips for anyone starting out online or setting up a business is to put together a sound marketing strategy plan. But before you do this, I want to let you in on one of THE most important internet marketing strategies you will ever learn.
Keyword Research - Keyword Research is the most important foundation of any business in today's markets. be it an online business or an offline business, your internet marketing strategies are going to prove to be the lifeblood of your research and planning when setting up.
A solid approach keyword research will show you in an instant whether there is a market out there for your product or service, and will determine the profitability of your future marketing campaigns.
Sounds like a strong statement doesn't it?
I'm sorry to say, but it's true. For those of you who put little to no thought into, OR who don't understand the high significance of keywords, in their internet marketing strategy, the keyword research you do before getting one single web page up will have a tremendous impact on how well you market to your target audience.
If you're an offline business (purely shopfront) you will need to consider implementing keyword research into your marketing strategy before you start, as most consumers now search online for their product or service before purchase or physical visits to businesses.
Keyword Research - Keyword Research is the most important foundation of any business in today's markets. be it an online business or an offline business, your internet marketing strategies are going to prove to be the lifeblood of your research and planning when setting up.
A solid approach keyword research will show you in an instant whether there is a market out there for your product or service, and will determine the profitability of your future marketing campaigns.
Sounds like a strong statement doesn't it?
I'm sorry to say, but it's true. For those of you who put little to no thought into, OR who don't understand the high significance of keywords, in their internet marketing strategy, the keyword research you do before getting one single web page up will have a tremendous impact on how well you market to your target audience.
If you're an offline business (purely shopfront) you will need to consider implementing keyword research into your marketing strategy before you start, as most consumers now search online for their product or service before purchase or physical visits to businesses.
No pressure.
So - you're probably wondering "why is this keyword research so darned important to my internet marketing Strategies?"
Imagine for one moment that you own a Web Design Company and you've been invited to speak at an event.
You turn up, ultra prepared, notes in hand to deliver the presentation of your life.
You step out in front of the 200 or so attendees, everything goes to plan, and you speak ever so compellingly for about 25 minutes.
When you are finished, the crowd claps nicely...almost out of obligation. Everyone leaves their seat immediately, and heads to the hotel bar, leaving you standing their, no questions to answer, no-one to follow up, no exciting after speech buzz to attend to.
You're knocked sideways. It was your best presentations to date! You were compelling, but not too sales-y. You presented the problems with no pitch, and you managed to outline the available solutions, before unveiling your perfect product to fit the bill.
So, what happened?
The people you were presenting to weren't expecting you...they were waiting on someone else who was going to present about business network marketing. They don't even understand and weren't interested in your area of expertise and had little or no interest in your product.
Put simply.....this wasn't YOUR audience. This was not your target market.
You had everything prepared...you had perfectly prepared, presented and led right to the obvious solution...your product. But you were in front of the wrong people.
But how does this relate to keyword research as part of my internet marketing strategy?
People who visit your site are a direct relation to the keywords you are optimizing for. If you only tell search engines about your company name, how will people looking for your services find you?
For example - Say you're a trendy hairdressers called 'Zap Cuts' and you build your website stuffed with Zap Cuts specials and Zap Cuts Pricelist etc, you're not directing it towards your consumer. Your target market are not looking for 'Zap Cuts' They are looking for "Hairdressers."
By setting out Keyword research as the most important part of your internet marketing strategy, you will determine what phrases people are searching for that have the problem for your solution. They are searching for "perfect pick up lines" or "golf swing techniques" not "The Potty Putter." They don't even know you company even exists!
And, unless you do effective keyword research and optimize your site for it, they never will.
So, how do you go about finding the right keywords to research? Put yourself in your customers shoes. If you were someone out there with the problem your product solves, what would you be searching for?
"How to perfect my golf swing"
"Free Dog Training Guide"
"Best Art Museums"
"Traditional kids toyshops"
These keywords are the search terms your customers are using to find YOUR BUSINESS. These are the terms you need to incorporate in your Internet Marketing plan.
Of course, keyword research doesn't end there. There are many internet marketing courses and marketing skills you can use in conjunction with KW research that will compliment your findings and enhance your ability to translate the necessary action you need to take to optimize your website and online marketing campaigns.