The #1 Internet marketing tip I can offer the small business owner trying to successfully build their web presence boils down to just one word:
Content.
If you do nothing else but put out a regular stream of relevant and authoritative content you will put yourself heads and tails above most, if not all, of your competition.
The content can be . . .
- blog posts
- articles
- videos
- audio podcasts
- blog comments
- message board posts
- widgets
- mashups
- software
or ideally some combination of the above.
I see many small business owners grappling with how to best market their businesses online.
Some of this is due to confusion that results from getting conflicting advice from Internet marketing professionals who have their own biases (ie. the SEO consultant tells you the key is SEO, the social media consultant will say you need social media, etc.).
Some is due to listening to fellow business owners who don’t understand the first thing about online marketing.
And some is caused by chasing the latest secret can’t miss strategy from some Internet marketing “guru” instead of developing and following a set strategy.
Stop. Take a deep breath. Relax.
I’m going to simplify things for you.
It all boils down to content.
You are an expert at what you do. You have a unique perspective on your marketplace. You know your product/service and customers better than anyone.
If you focus on sharing that expertise and creating original, authoritative, relevant content for your customers and prospects, you’ve won most of the online marketing battle.
I’m not saying things like SEO, PPC, social networking, etc. aren’t important. Using them strategically can definitely help increase the odds of people finding the content you publish online.
However, these techniques are not a substitute for quality content. While they may be able to generate a quick spike in traffic, it will be short-lived and won’t help you in creating a sustainable, profitable business.
So my advice is this . . .
Before spending thousands per month on SEO efforts, before of spending hours a day on social networking, before driving yourself insane chasing the latest “can’t miss” Internet marketing strategy . . . focus on putting together a content development and production strategy.
Get that in place first and then move on to working on the other stuff (or hiring someone to help you do it).
Regularly publish valuable, authoritative, relevant, and original content. This will do more for your Internet marketing success than any other tip I can offer.
Related posts:
- Warning for Entrepreneurs: Save Yourself and Your Business Before It’s Too Late!
- The Most Underutilized, Yet Most Important, Social Media Strategy
- Internet Marketing vs. marketing on the internet
- The Single Biggest Challenge You Have To Overcome When Marketing Online
- The Real Secret To Making Money With Information Products
{ 1 trackback }
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes your this para is good too
Some of this is due to confusion that results from getting conflicting advice from Internet marketing professionals who have their own biases (ie. the SEO consultant tells you the key is SEO, the social media consultant will say you need social media, etc.
Thanks for a good post
Thanks for the great blog. SEO contributes a lot in promoting your niche, but you can really save money from being knowledgeable enough in doing Online Marketing.
I agree completely that Quality Content is the key, the only downside to it is it’s time consuming and to some internet marketers, they get lazy to write / create a quality content for their website.
anyaways thanks for the article.
it gave me an idea about what to write next.