If you are reading this post, maybe because of the post’s title… let me guess, you are starting to believe that the internet is not an effective way of promoting your products or services because you have not received much traffic, have received but a negligible number of inquiries and worst of all.. you hardly have had any sales through your website.
You are ready to kick the can… cancel that hosting account that you are paying a crap load of money for because of the huge bandwidth allocations that hardly get used because of your non existent traffic; and just about ready to choke the web developer that you paid a crap load of money to for your website.
Well, let me see, I hope I can help you.
In the past couple of weeks I have been really very busy, doing short talks and speaking at small gatherings and forums which have something to do with the web, the internet, and how to maximize on the potential of a website.
Yes, in case you don’t realize that, I make a living off the internet, in fact I am an internet marketer. But for those who don’t know me, I have only recently been involved in internet marketing, but have been in marketing for a brief 15 years or so; realizing the potential of the internet made me diversify into the web in order to leverage on this technology and put it to use in business and communication processes that aid in successful marketing.
My little talks were with business people who either had businesses with no websites, had businesses but wanted a website to either promote or sell their products or services or had no existing business and wanted to get started with a business online.
Here are a few common misconceptions people have; little things which have a huge impact on sales, things that actually do prevent you from growing your business. Let’s call these misconceptions “myths”, as this is shorter; for lack of other better reasons. Again, these myths or misconceptions are current beliefs of business people about websites, the internet and business online. These are what have come out during my seminars.
Myth 1
So you have a business, a brick and mortar enterprise that you would like to promote online, and even take orders. Great Idea. All you have to do is get a website and thats it.
Wrong! Almost everyone I have spoken to, believes that it is enough to simply build a website, and thats it.. you can then wait around for inquiries and sales to come flowing from the net.
The fact is, building a website is not enough. If you stop there… you are never going to get inquiries or sales. If you are sending people to your website by simply advertising your website address on other mediums such as print, radio or TV ads then you are actually just getting less than 10% of the potential number of people you could have had and paying a huge fortune too. The fact is, there is a way to get a stream of traffic without even advertising your website and that is through constant Search Engine Optimization, and unending process of improving and optimizing your site to gain visitors.
Point to Remember. You just don’t build a website and expect it to be found, expect traffic, expect inquiries and sales. You need to constantly optimize and promote it.
Myth 2
Search engines will find my website, and I will be listed for search phrases that are related to my site’s content or to my products and services.
Wrong!
Well, ok maybe you are right, it could be possible for you to get listed on search engines… in like forty years or so… exaggeration to prove a point and the point being, “you won’t get your website listed if you do not do what you need to do to get listed”. Again another reason why optimization of your site is important.
What is search engine optimization (SEO)? The process or series of actions that an SEO specialist undertakes with the goal of getting found on search engine results pages when searches are performed using keywords or key phrases that are relevant to your product or business or content on your website.
Let me give you an example. Let’s say you are a flight school, or a school that trains pilots, and have a website where you take inquiries and enrollees… I would expect that if your site is properly optimized and properly built, whenever a person searches for the words “flight school” on a search engine like Google or Yahoo, your website SHOULD be among the search results.
If you are not among the search results for relevant keywords, that are associated with your product or business, then its no surprise that you are not getting any business.
Search engines are virtual yellow pages; yes yellow pages as in the yellow pages on the phone book. In the absence of advertising a consumer looking for a product or service checks the yellow pages and looks for listings under categories. Search engines work similarly, in the absence of advertising, if a consumer was looking for dog food, the consumer goes to a search engine and types the words “dog food”, and voila… you have a set of search results.
The top 10 search results, or the top 10 sites that come up with a search, are usually the most profitable because they are the ones that get the traffic, these are the websites that get visited by the searchers.
Point to Remember. Optimize your site in order to get ranked well in search engines for keywords or phrases that are related to your business. If you are not found on the search engines, then you are not in business at all; and would surely be out of business sooner than you think.
Myth 3
All you need to have website built is a web designer.
Wrong! Website construction is a team effort, much like constructing a house where you would require the services of varying personnel contributing their expertise to the project.
In most cases the people involved are web designer, an SEO specialist and maybe a programmer if your site requires back end management that involves process such as payment facilities, inventory, accounting, etc.
Like a traditional business, your website project undergoes phases of study and development to ensure its success. It goes through study, planning, execution, and constant evaluation and improvement.
Myth 4
Websites are expensive.
Wrong! Depending on who you know, and where to find qualified people for job, having a great website built is not that expensive. Of course cost is relative to the amount and scope of work that goes into it, plus the number of people who contribute to the project. A mansion of course costs much more than a flat or a bungalow.
Point to Remember. Get different quotes from different people, check their portfolios and compare prices. Look for good reviews or positive testimonials from other people.
Today, unlike several years back; putting up a website is generally easier and cheaper.
If in the future I come across more myths or misconceptions that need correcting, they would certainly be posted here, so do check back again. If you would like to know more or arrange for a brief talk or seminar, you can send me a message at admin@roysencio.com.
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July 28th, 2007 at 8:45 am
bai,
good luck on this! cheers!
July 31st, 2007 at 5:23 am
I have known Roy to be one of (if not the only) the foremost Marketing GURUs of Cebu. He’s got something new here, and I’m not just about to be caught lying down while the financial floodgates open. Exciting prospects. Roy is the man!