So, ready to learn (or be reminded of) a secret Internet marketing tip? Ready to increase the amount of targeted traffic to your website? Ready to increase your conversion rates and your sales? Ok! So, let me tell you about this great online marketing tip.

Let me set the stage…

1) On average, the first time someone goes to the Internet to look for something (be it a service or a product), what they are looking for is information. In other words, they begin the process of gathering information about that service or product. That’s the beauty of the Internet. The information is all right there at your fingertips.

2) Part of this first step is to read reviews, testimonials, etc. about that product or service. Basically, learning about it’s reputation. After all, that’s how trust is created online.

3) The next step the Internet searcher then takes is to look through the top 2 or 3 websites that he kept finding in his research. Let’s say he searched 10 different sources. And in those 10 different sources he kept seeing the same 2 websites mentioned with positive comments. With that kind of reputation, he’s going to go to those websites and research further. More than likely, his purchase will be from one of those 2 websites.

What’s The Secret Internet Marketing Tip?

Setting your website up to gather that online reputation.

Here’s how you can do it.

1) Testimonials on your website – this is actually one of the least effective methods because it’s perceived as being controlled by you. Of course, every business owner will only put positive testimonials on their website! But, it doesn’t hurt to have them on there, either. And it’s easy enough to get positive testimonials from your clients to put on the website.

2) Blogs – when you write an article and post it on your blog – others have the opportunity to comment on that post. Those comments, and your responses help to build your reputation. Viewers will see how you respond to questions, statements, criticism, etc.

3) Google Map Reviews – when you’re listed on Google Maps, viewers can write a review about you, your product, your service. It’s free, and I would encourage you to ask your clients to write those reviews!

4) Social Media – use the groups at social media programs like Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. Connect with your clients via those programs and they can provide you with recommendations, reviews, etc.

By creating a space on your website for testimonials and reviews from your clients, AND creating other spots online for viewers to find information ABOUT you, your product, your service, you begin to build that very valuable online reputation.

Secret Internet marketing tip? Not really a secret, just an underused method! So, give it a try! You’ll like it!

The free Internet marketing tips are based on my own Internet marketing of my websites. As an SEO webmaster at Eckweb Designs, Inc, it’s natural that I would own and operate several websites and of course, I experiment all the Internet marketing and SEO techniques on my own websites before I attempt them on my clients’ dime!

So, without further ado, here are some marketing tips to help you with your online marketing campaigns…

1) Articles – although pay per click (PPC) and for pay directories (like Yellow Pages) help bring in traffic, once I stop paying the fees, these services stop. So, for effective, long term Internet marketing awareness, I have found that the combination of SEO (search engine optimization) and article marketing have given me the best ROI. If you can’t or don’t have the time to write articles for your own business, hire someone to do it for you. Believe me, the investment will pay off in the long run. But you must understand, it’s not a one shot deal, or even a short term deal. Writing is constant. You don’t write 5 articles and then call it quits. It takes many articles, continuously being written. After all, even print journalists spend years writing before they’re recognized.

To give you an example, I’ve been writing daily for about 4 months now and I’m just beginning to see the ROI!

Write your articles and submit them to free article submission sites (there are hundreds),

2) Social Media – your name, your company needs a following. Every brand does. So, create that following by joining and participating in social media programs. I’m talking about Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Knolstuff, etc. Submit your articles to these places, engage in conversations with others, find others in your niche or in your target audience. The #1 rule I can tell you about social media programs is do not become a salesman. Do not join these programs with the intention of just selling. You won’t gain ground. The point of these programs is to showcase your expertise. Let others know who and what you are and why your product/service is valuable for them.

You know, these social media programs are SO much like business networking groups. I remember years ago when I attended these types of groups at chamber of commerce meetings, BNI, women’s business groups, etc. it was easy to notice that the business folks who came to the meetings and immediately began selling, pitching their business, they never lasted long. Why? Because they didn’t sell. Why didn’t they sell? Because they didn’t give anyone a chance to learn who they were. They didn’t give others the opportunity to build trust in them. My goal at these meetings was to educate. Not many people know about SEO and the ones who do, know very little or have been given falsehoods about it. So, my goal was to educate everyone I met about what I did. If they so chose to purchase my services, great. If not, that was great also. I never went to a meeting with the intention of coming out with a sale. And you know what? It’s been 4-5 years since I’ve gone to any of these meetings (yes, business is doing well) but I still get calls and emails from people I met all those years ago looking for SEO work.

The online social media programs are the same, except you can do it in your pajamas. The purpose and intent of the social media programs is for you to showcase yourself, your business. Who are you? What do you do? Why do you do it better than others? How can you help? etc.

Four months ago I began submitting my articles to Ladies Who Launch, a social media program. Today, I checked my website statistics and guess what? The #1 website (other than search engines) that refers clients to me is Ladies Who Launch and better than that, the conversion rate (the percentage of visitors who come from that website and then contact me) is 12%. That’s a very good ROI! The proof is in the pudding.

3) SEO – I just can’t say enough about the importance of getting your website optimized for the search engines. And no, I don’t mean just tweaking the meta tags. I mean really optimized. Some websites have to be taken apart, literally and rebuilt so that their structure is easy for the engines to read. Keyword research needs to be conducted, page optimization needs to be implemented. That means placing those important keyword phrases in all the right places. Making sure that the pages link to each other the way they’re supposed to, ensuring the site has a 301 re-direct, there’s a robots.txt file, there’s a sitemap.xml, and so much more!

As the website owner you don’t have to know all the details of SEO (you bring the car to the mechanic because he’s the expert, not you). BUT, you do need to know enough to know if you’re getting your money’s worth. So make sure that your SEO firm keeps up with the latest trends, that they’re investing their time in your business (and not just theirs) and always, always look at your ROI. The average ROI is 1% – 3%. If you fall within that range your site is doing well. If you are above that range, your SEO firm deserves a bonus. If you fall below that range, something needs to be changed. I’ll leave it up to you to decide what to change.

So, I do hope these free Internet marketing tips will help your website gain ground in the extremely competitive world of the Internet. The returns are absolutely worth the effort so don’t be shy, plunge in!

If you have any questions about these Internet marketing tips or SEO services, please feel free to contact us at Eckweb Designs, Inc.