5 Mistakes to Avoid in Internet Marketing
Although many people write about it, there is no definitive or foolproof way to go about internet marketing. A true instructional manual does not exist in the sense that you can follow it step by step. What is certain is that most people go about the process in different ways, and many make costly mistakes in the process.
Here are 5 common mistakes in internet marketing to avoid.
1. Never Adjusting a Marketing Plan
This might sound like the ideal thing to do, at first, but one thing that has been proven repeatedly is that the market is always changing. Many of these changes are conceptual, but they affect the purchasing habits of buyers. Some very important changes are often ignored, at great expense to the companies who neglect to realize their importance.
Kodak was the industry leader in photography in the early days of digital media. As a matter of fact, they were at the forefront of testing and inventing the digital camera, but they chose to stay with film. As a result, they are facing bankruptcy today.
Things change rapidly on the internet, and although it is not necessary to instigate change, it is very necessary to follow it.
2. Failure to Build A Valuable Client List
The way you build a client list is by collecting email addresses. Buying mailing lists and sending out mass mail to customers is not the way to build a client list. The more targeted your client list is, the more valuable your list will be to your company.
There are tactful ways to getting targeted email addresses; just don’t press the issue. One way is offering free incentives for consumers registering their email address like exclusive sale updates and coupons. Second, if your company has an e-commerce website, your company should require an email address during check out to send a confirmation email.
3. Ignoring What Competitors are Doing
Just like mistake #1, failure to pay attention to what others do to attract and maintain clients can be the kiss of death for a business. There’s an old saying that holds merit; “keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.” Not that you should view your competitors as enemies, but they are your competition and it is wise to monitor what they are doing.
There is nothing wrong with checking into the companies competing for your keyword phrases and getting ideas from them. If you are ranking high in the search engines, rest assured they are watching you and getting ideas as well.
4. Avoiding the Social Network
It should be no secret that the social network is an area that is producing a major amount of traffic to services and products. FaceBook and Twitter, among others, are excellent platforms for marketing and probably all of your competitors are using them.
With the internet at the touch of a cell phone, people expect to find what they want while they are on the go. This is one reason why tweets have proven to be such a great tool. A few short words don’t take a lot of time, yet they have great marketing potential.
5. Failure to Monitor Your Website Statistics
Do you pay attention to how many people visit your website? Do you know where they come from to get there? The answer to these questions is very simple to obtain. Google Analytics doesn’t cost anything and only takes minutes to install.
You can’t afford not to take note of things such as what pages surfers visit, how long they stay on them, and what keywords they are using to arrive there. You want to design your site so it has a very low bounce rate, but you won’t know how you are doing without checking your stats on a regular basis.
While there are many different aspects involved in running a successful internet marketing business, these 5 basic areas should be addressed on a regular basis. Many times it isn’t what you do, but what you don’t do that dictates the success or failure of a business.
Category: Marketing
