Seattle Internet Marketing

In 2010, ten years after the Y2K scare and long since the dust has settled from the dot com boom and bust, business owners are beginning to realize the importance of their online presence, no matter what kind of businesses they run. For many business owners, it is literally the first time that they have ever even logged on to the 'net. Regardless if you run an online (click and mortar) or an offline (brick and mortar) business, the very first step you need to take to capitalize on internet marketing is to get your business a website. By ignoring your internet presence now, your business will not reach all of your potential customers in the future -- and the divide will get worse!

Business websites can range anywhere from $300 to $1000's of dollars depending on complexity.

Today, businesses no longer rely on print media advertising. Though these traditional mediums of advertising can still help to some extent, a very large part of your target market is not waiting for you to contact them, but in fact they are searching for your product(s) and/or service(s) online, everday. I have worked closely with hundreds of businesses in the Pacific Northwest, Arizona, and California and have found consistent results in every industry: their revenues have increased by a magnitude that far surpasses their internet marketing investments.

If you already have a website, but aren't generating high quality leads on a weekly basis, there is still hope. Simply having a website, even with all the bells and whistles, will not guarantee that anyone will see (or buy from) your website! Even if your website is converting for you, there are likely many other ways that you can increase its business through online efforts. One of the most popular methods to get traffic to your website is Search Engine Optimization.

In it's most simplest terms, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the pseudo-science of maximizing a website's online visibility as seen by the major Search Engines (SEs). SEO includes optimizing your website's code and content, file structures, and other ranking factors that you can control from your website's server. These are known as the internal ranking factors, or internal SEO. External SEO is all of the activities -- namely articles, social networks, and directories -- that create backlinks (a clickable link that takes the visitor to your website). [I am a Seattle SEO consultant who is more than happy to assist you with your SEO needs!]

Why Internet Marketing is Important for All Businesses in 2010 and Beyond

These days, when people in the US search for professionals or service providers, the first thing that they do is look them up online. Very few people look at the classified ads in their local newspapers, watch television, or sift through mountains of junk mail to get the information that they seek. I think that the last time I saw my phone book was when I ripped out my "fancy fire starter". Why would we use all of these old advertising mediums when we have abundant access to high speed and laptops, smart phones, and iPads, all of which provide accurate and relevant results.

With the internet, all sorts of information are within reach near instantaneously. When we search for a certain service provider, say a plumber, most people will search for their city and "plumber". They will not search for a specific company name, rather by what they need! Many business owners must overcome the notion that they can be found on the internet because they Google'd their business name. In reality, people search for what they need, and if they don't know who to call, there is a good chance they will find their plumber from the first page of Google.

With our booming tech infrastructure, social media networks, and a growing environmental conscious, more and more people will search for information online than offline. This is regardless whether they are looking for a restaurant, or they are looking for a newly launched eBook. Those who do not have a website or web presence will never have a chance to gain a customer who chooses to search information through the internet.

People love to surf the web since the information presented to them varies in format. In most cases of course, they are in text, but they can also see pictures, and even videos of the things they are searching for. Through the internet, people will be able to obtain more information than they have set out to search for, both good and bad. Bad reviews left on the internet about your company could cost you many new customers. This is why it is also essential for savvy business owners to be aware of their online reputation, and even consider online reputation management services.

With Seattle internet marketing, most businesses are able to reach a great deal more of people then in the city of Seattle or whom the business would describe as their "core customer".It isn't uncommon for the people in the suburbs and smaller towns that surround major metropolises to search for the closest major city.

Using my hometown of Seattle as an example, there is give or take 615,000 people in the city and let's pretend you are a plumber. Assuming that you could get the best rate from a direct mail vendor at 5 cents per print piece including delivery, you would be looking at the modest sum of $30,750 to deliver a black and white postcard to everyone in the city. With a generous 1% response rate, you are looking at 6,150 response, with maybe half of them converting. In actuality, the response would be much less due to the nature of the business, but will keep it simple. Keep in mind, that was for one distribution for over $30,000, which will have to be re-sent in order to "feed the sales engine" -- $360,000 per year in this scenario.

Given the same scenario, every month in Seattle there are over 8,000 searches on Google relating to Seattle plumbers. A company with the #1 ranking for these search terms could expect up to 4,000 hits per month on Google alone. Here's the best part: the customer is searching for you, eliminating all inefficiencies in the sales process and providing you with a warm, if not hot, lead that is likely to convert into a customer. And the cost... anywhere from $1,500 to $20,000 per year -- depending on how established your website is!

These are just some examples of using the internet to your advantage. If you are in need of Seattle Internet Marketing, or anywhere, please do not hesitate to get in touch!