If you’re looking for an easy way to make money from home, you’ve probably considered exploring the lucrative world of online marketing. But what exactly is online marketing? What are the most effective strategies for making money online? How can you get started and what should you expect from the industry?
To help you figure out if online marketing is right for you, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide to help you develop a solid foundation in the field.
Why Online Marketing?
The growth of the Internet has made it easy for businesses of all sizes to grow their presence online. Thanks to platforms like Google, Facebook, and Twitter, consumers can now find your business just about anywhere they look.
With mobile applications like Google Maps, consumers can now access your business from almost anywhere. Even places that were previously unconnected to the internet can now have access to maps, photos, and local searches.
And thanks to email marketing, you can stay in touch with your customers whenever they want, whether they’re on your website or mobile app or in the middle of a busy day.
So if you’re looking to launch a business, the first place you should probably be looking is the digital world.
What Is Online Marketing?
Put yourself in the shoes of a prospective customer for a moment. If you’re looking for a mobile phone or tablet charger, you probably want to find one that’s reliable and has sufficient battery life, but you don’t want to break the bank. What do you do? You search for “mobile phone charger” on Google, and you get a variety of results, some of which are cheaper than others.
Now, say you want to do some further research before buying the item. You click on one of the links, and before you know it, you’re on a website filled with all sorts of products you could buy, including mobile phone chargers.
This is online marketing. When a consumer types a keyword or phrase into the search bar of a browser, they’re presented with a variety of ads, many of which are sponsored. If you have a Google account, you can see these ads on the Google search results page. If you don’t, you’ll have to click on a link to access the page.
What Is Online Marketing & SEO?
Though search engine optimization (SEO) can be quite the technical feat, it doesn’t have to be. Simply put, SEO is the process of getting higher-ranked listings on search engines like Google for a chosen keyword or phrase. To achieve this, you need to effectively use a combination of on-page and off-page SEO tactics. On-page SEO tactics include things like using keywords throughout your copy, structuring your website in a logical way, and adding relevant and valuable content to your site. Off-page SEO tactics include things like building backlinks (inbound links) to your site, getting guest posts published on high-quality sites, and getting your content recommended on social media.
Both on- and off-page SEO tactics can be very effective if used appropriately. However, the most effective SEO campaigns tend to focus on building links to quality sites with relevant content. When a consumer types in a keyword or phrase into the search bar of a browser, the search engine looks at a variety of factors to determine the order in which results should be displayed. Among these are the authority of the website being sought, freshness, and relevance of the content, keyword or phrase being searched for.
You can use SEO to effectively target a niche audience on social media channels like Twitter. For example, if you’re a pet store seeking customers in the Tri-State area, you could target users on Twitter who are interested in buying pets or dog clothing by using the #dogstore, #petstore, or #fashionista keyword or phrase. The advantage of using SEO to target a niche audience on social media is that you’re not beating the mainstream with your offerings, but you’re still reaching your target audience.
How To Get Started With Online Marketing?
If you’re new to online marketing or simply looking to get started with a solid foundation, here are a few tips to help you navigate the digital territory.
1. Define Your Niche
Niche marketing is a form of online marketing that involves targeting a specific audience using very specific keywords and phrases. An effective niche marketer will identify the topics that are relevant to their target audience and create content around those topics, using SEO and content marketing to gain popularity and recognition in their chosen niche. When a potential customer types in a keyword or phrase into the search bar of a browser, they’re presented with a variety of ads, many of which are sponsored. If you have a Google account, you can see these ads on the Google search results page. If you don’t, you’ll have to click on a link to access the page.
If you define your niche and find a profitable niche market, you’ll be able to build your empire. But finding a profitable niche can be quite the feat. You’ll have to look for a niche that’s not yet saturated and can be effective in attracting customers with your premium product or service. Once you have a handful of customers, you can move into a more established niche and start reaping the benefits. Finding the right niche is one of the most important things you need to do if you want to succeed as a small business owner or online marketer.
2. Identify Your Target Audience
The next step to becoming a successful online marketer is identifying your target audience and creating marketing content that they’ll value and benefit from. Start by simply brainstorming a list of everything you could potentially offer to a customer. This can be quite the resource if you’re looking to create a business that focuses on a certain topic. For example, if you’re an apparel or accessory brand, you could develop a list of product categories that your target audience might find valuable. This could include fitness gear, ski gear, sportswear, etc.
Once you have a complete list of potential products, you can create buyer personas (fictional characters created to represent your target audience) who are actively bought by a specific group of people. This will help you identify the key features (what sets this product apart from other similar products) that will make your target audience choose your product or service over another option. A buyer persona might look like this:
- Jane Smith
- 32 years old
- Lives in New York City
- Has a lifestyle blog focused on fashion
- Visits your website to research luxury accessories
Once you’ve created buyer personas, it’s time to move on to the next step.
3. Create Keyword and Phrase lists
Every business, blog, and social media account has keywords and phrases that are relevant to their niche. These are the words and phrases that potential customers are using to find your content when they’re engaged with the website or social media channel. For example, if you’re a pet store, the words and phrases that your potential customers are probably using when they’re researching pets or dog clothing are “pet store”, “dog clothing”, “pets clothing”, and “vet clinic” (if they’re looking for a specific brand).
Use keywords and phrases that reflect the content of your website. If you’re writing a blog about fashion, the keywords and phrases you should use are “fashion”, “style”, “designer”, and “luxury” (to name a few).
Finding the right keywords and phrases is essential if you want to become a successful online marketer. There are many tools and apps that can help you find the right keywords and phrases, including Free Keyword Finder and Google Keyword Planner.