The end goal of online marketing is getting visitors to your website and turn them into customers. The most converting traffic is organic, via search engines.

But what does it take to get a top-ranked website on Google?

The ranking is based on a complicated algorithm that is constantly changing and updating, with more than 200 factors used to evaluate websites.

Getting to the top of a search page takes time and special optimization techniques known as SEO.

Search engine optimization is a bit like feng shui; everybody has a basic idea of how to do it, but very few people have in-depth knowledge about.

Without considering SEO, there is a few things you should take into consideration when working on your online marketing.

 

A Small Fish in a Large Ocean

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To be frank, if you’re thinking of making a big splash in online marketing today, that ship has probably sailed.

There are so many websites promoting so many products that unless you can come up with a unique product or a small niche area of expertise, the small business entrepreneur can’t possibly hope to compete with the mammoth whales in the ocean of online marketing.

And it will take years for your site to work its way up the search engine ladder.

But if you target long-tail keywords, there is still plenty of opportunities to build a successful online business.

 

Build a Better Mousetrap

“Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.”

So said Ralph Waldo Emerson in the late 1800s and it still rings true today.

The phrase has turned into a metaphor about the power of innovation that so many people have used it to get inspiration.

The way to succeed in online marketing is to offer something no one else can.

For the entrepreneur with a small fortune, this means seeking out inventors with new ideas for innovative new products and bringing them to market.

For the online marketer with no real collateral but wit and a bit of writing talent, it means offering up something less tangible; a sense of community.

You can also look it under another point of view, delivering really high quality content is something that takes a lot of efforts (and investment of money and time).

 

Create a Community

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With millions of places to go online to purchase a product, why should a potential customer come to yours?  Because they feel a sense of community, that’s why. Also because they trust you.

Through social networking, reaching out to friends and family, and to their friends and family, you can develop a loyal following that will purchase products from your site because they want to support you in your endeavors.

Add some well written content, refresh it on a regular basis and they will come back willingly, time and again.

Eventually you might even end up with a popular site, with thousands of visitors that don’t even know you, but come to read your witticisms, trade comments and ideas and hopefully purchase some of the unusual products you have made available to them there.

This is what it takes to become a successful online marketer.

There are no gimmicks, no free lunches, just talent, hard work, good friends and a bit of luck.

 

Start with a Website

If you’re a rich whale, you can afford to hire a professional website developer, SEO consultant, and marketing experts to start up your site.  Then again, with that kind of money, you’re probably better off just putting it into some sort of investment fund.

For those of us starting up on a shoestring, you must be your own webmaster, SEO specialist and marketing analyst.

Starting your own small business can be both exciting and exhausting all at the same time.  There are business plans to write, finances to handle, and licenses to register.  With so many start-up expenses to prioritize, many new small business owners often put off establishing their brand online, citing budgetary concerns or a lack of technological prowess.

Thanks to the same modern technology that intimidates many non-technical business owners, having a quality website no longer requires as much money or technical skill as it once did.

Whether you’ve been in business for 10 years or you’ve just opened your doors, you really CAN afford to get your own website.  Yes, YOU have what it takes.  There are very affordable website builder tools available now that make it easy to do without sacrificing the look and feel or quality of the site.  If you’re able to type an email or post a status update on Facebook, you have all the skill you need to make your own modern, stylish website.

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There’s really no need to put it off any longer.  Sure, it would be great to hire a professional designer if you have the budget.  It would be great to build your own site from scratch if you happen to have the coding skills, too, but do-it-yourself websites are a great alternative if you don’t.  These simple tools are already helping small business owners all around the world get online in a quick, affordable, and meaningful way.  So why not make your own website too?

Fortunately, WordPress makes it easy to start up a website with very little investment.  Using novice-friendly Premium WordPress themes you can create a customized, highly functional, professional looking web page without having to pay a professional developer.

WordPress also offers basic SEO information and advice on their site for the novice marketer.

As for the marketing experts, that’s the community piece.

The best market niche is a hobby or interest that you enjoy, expertise and enthusiasm that you can leverage to appeal to like-minded individuals, whom you can bring into your community to share the fun – and hopefully, buy your products!

 

What is your business about?

What’s your passion?

Please share your point of views by leaving a comment below, thanks!