I was just recently listening to a Coffee Talk podcast in which they talked openly about ways to generate more traffic for your online business, as well as obtaining a loyal customer base. And, I was intrigued enough by what I heard, that I thought I would share some of the information with you.
If you are unfamiliar with Coffee Talk with James Martell, it’s one of his shows that often features guests who share valuable tips and information regarding online businesses. James has paved the way for many online entrepreneurs for the past decade. He started back in 1999, and has enjoyed a very successful enterprise since.
In this particular podcast, Rusty Wood was the guest, someone who has been very successful in affiliate marketing and online sales in the office supply industry. So, with their combined experience and wisdom, there were some great tips for anyone just starting out, or looking to give their business a boost.
Read on to learn a little about what I heard…
Tip 1 – Website Development 101
James and Rusty both emphasized the importance of having a good website that is both high quality and functional. Obviously, if you are hoping to do any business online, a website is in order. But, some people make the mistake of either going too generic, or paying out thousands of dollars for website development and maintenance.
With WordPress, you can create a fully functional and high quality site, without having to pay a developer anything…because you can build it yourself. It’s a program that is incredibly easy to use, and has tens of thousands of plugins and themes to make your website top notch.
It’s also easy to maintain once you have it up and running, without having to worry about coding and backdoor entries. It’s simple to use, and is free.
Now, you just need to put the right information on the site and make it valuable to your customers.
Tip 2 – What is Valuable Website Content?
The first thing you need to make sure of is that it’s an easy to use and read layout. But again, WordPress makes that easy for you.
Next, create relative content that is informative and valuable to the customers you are trying to reach. In other words, if your business is check design and ordering, then you want to reach those who are looking to order personal checks by mail or online, right? So, create content to address that niche, with rich keywords and phrasing that people are searching.
For example, some of those phrases might be similar to the following:
- How to order checks
- Inexpensive checks online
- Ordering personal checks
Now, this is just an example. You would have to do a little research to know what words people are seeking, and use them accordingly. But, this applies to any online content, no matter your niche.
Additional pages you will want are the ‘Home Page’, ‘Contact Information Page’, ‘About Us Page’, content pages that are refreshed and updated frequently, and relative photos and video. Make all of this as enticing as possible, to reel people in.
If you aren’t good at writing, or don’t have the time or desire to keep your content current, work with freelancers at companies such as eLance. Even though their services are not free, you can save on payroll expenses when working with independent contractors.
Tip 3 – Affiliate Marketing can see Unexpected Growth
One of the most interesting things I heard from James and Rusty was when they were talking about affiliate marketing…and Amazon was mentioned. I never put it together before, but Amazon is the original Affiliate Marketer…and a mega one at that.
Next time you visit their site, take a look at how many companies they have listed as sellers of a certain product. That’s because they are not holding all those products on site and selling them directly. They are linking you to the seller, and making a commission from each sale. Nice system, right?
Well, you can do the same thing…and it doesn’t matter how small your business is…you can compete with the giant. To start, if a customer is looking for something you don’t carry, find a way to get it for them…make them happy, they will stay with you. However, if they can’t get it with you, they could easily move to someone who can get anything for them, like Amazon.
By utilizing affiliates, you can also earn commission on sales that you direct their way through links on your site. Of course, affiliates will be more interested in working with you, if your site has a good amount of traffic and has a high ranking in Google.
Tip 4 – Internet Marketing is the New Era of Advertising
Gone are the days of traditional advertising, or it should be at least. Print advertising such as newspapers and the Yellow Pages are not only outrageously over-priced, but they are basically useless these days.
Most people are searching the Internet now for finding businesses, and information on them as well. Here are a few ideas that work well instead…and are free:
- Google+ Local – a free place to list your company on the Internet and allows for you to create a full and appealing profile for your company, including photos and video
- Facebook and Twitter – create a page to promote your business that you can share with others, who in turn share it with even more people
- Pinterest – a great place to post photos of products and information, where people can click on a provided link to lead them directly to your site
James and Rusty talked about a chiropractor they know who has successfully used the above methods, with great success. In fact, Dr. Jeri Anderson says it’s the only method she uses now and sees at least 4 new patients a week.
Tip 5 – Google Ranking is Key
The higher your ranking is in Google, the more traffic you will get in return. Google likes to reward high quality content by giving them a decent ranking within their search engine.
So, make sure your content is relative, informative and of high quality. This includes placement of keywords and phrases that you use to draw people in. Make sure they make sense. The same is true for images you use on your site, including the keywords you place in the tag used for each photo.
In Closing
I hope that I have given you some new information, or at least sparked some interest on information you have heard before now.
Sophie Evans is a freelance writer working out of her home in Balboa Beach, California. She often writes on her own experiences, information she reads or hears online, and sometimes both. For instance, when visiting www.buychecksbymail.com, she decided to write a series on building an online business. When Sophie is not working, she enjoys her favorite latte from Starbucks, Disneyland, and spending time with her husband Rick, and their two children.