Ten Key Steps to Successfully Marketing Your Business Online

More and more small businesses find it essential to market their products and services online. Customers are increasingly turning to the Web to research companies, compare product features and prices, and to purchase online. A company that does not take advantage of the Web and email to market their

It has never been easier or more cost-effective to market online. There are numerous Web sites, consultants, software packages, and other tools to help you implement a successful online presence.

Here are 10 key steps to successfully market your business online:

1. Obtain a Good Domain Name. Before you establish a Web site for your business, you need a domain name. A domain name is the internet address that allows computer users to find your Web site, such as www.Microsoft.com or www.BananaRepublic.com. Good domain names are difficult to obtain, as millions have already been purchased over the years. The most common domain names end in ".com" or ".net" and are the most desirable.

It's easy to check whether a domain name is available. For example, Yahoo.com has a domain name service check and you can do a check in under a minute. The cost on Yahoo to purchase a domain name is under $10.

A few key tips on domain names:

• Make sure that the domain name hasn't been trademarked by someone else (check www.uspto.gov)
• Make sure it's easy to spell
• Pick a name that is easy to remember. Simple and descriptive is better — you don't have to come up with something as catchy as "Google" — as non-descriptive names require more branding effort.

2. Build a Professional Looking Web Site. Your Web site is a reflection of your business. People who come to your Web site will be impressed or turned off by the level of professionalism of your site. There are several approaches to building a Web site.

• First, there are plenty of sites, including Yahoo, that will give you Web site templates either for free or very cheaply.
• Second, there are professional site building consultants who will custom-build a site for you. But see our Checklist of Issues for Web Site Development Contracts to see what you need to do to negotiate a contract with such a consultant.
• Third, there are multiple software packages available to help you build your own site.

3. Make Your Web Site Easy to Navigate. Don't get caught up in trying to come up with dazzling flash and color for your site. The key to a good site is to make sure that the viewers can easily find what they want. Your product should be simply and clearly displayed, and purchase should be easy. This means a clear navigation bar and a good "search" box. Review some of your favorite sites as well as competitors’ sites. That can help you plan how your site should be designed.

4. Build up Your E-mail List. Email marketing is one of the best and cheapest ways to sell online. It's a great way to communicate with customers and prospective customers. So it is very valuable to collect email addresses from visitors to your Web site. Offer them something worthwhile for their email address — such as a discount or a free newsletter.

Make it easy to get someone's e-mail address, but also be sure that you have set forth a Privacy Policy on your site describing how you will use any personal information. And be sure that you are up-to-date on the laws affecting e-mail marketing, such as the CAN-SPAM Act. Be sure to read How Can I Make My E-Mail Newsletters CAN-SPAM Compliant?

5. Send Periodic Email Newsletters. Email newsletters can prove to be effective communication tools for existing customers, prospective customers, and other key audiences. Here are 5 hallmarks of effective email newsletter programs:

• Keep it reasonably short. Nobody wants to read lengthy e-mails.
• Make it well designed and visually interesting. Include photos and graphics. Provide multiple links back to your Web site.
• Be professional; avoid typos, a sloppy look, and broken links.
• Include an easy way for the viewer to contact you and to unsubscribe from your e-mail list.
• Constantly test and track the progress and effectiveness of your newsletters.

E-mail newsletter programs can be established through companies that provide turn-key solutions, such as Constant Contact.

6. Buy Banner Ads. You can enhance visibility and traffic to your site by buying banner ads. The keys to effective banner ad campaigns are:

• Make the ad visually interesting with links to a particular offer or "landing" page on your site.
• Place the ads on sites relevant to your business.
• Constantly monitor and test the efficacy of the ads. Measure click-throughs from the ad to your site and resulting sales and return on investment ("ROI").

7. Optimize Your Site for Search Engines. Hundreds of millions of searches a day are performed on the Web through Google, Yahoo, and other search engines. The search engines "spider" billions of Web pages. There is a fast-growing tool called "search engine optimization" that refers to efforts to raise your Web site’s ranking in search results. For a good introduction to this topic, read What Is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

8. Buy Keyword Ads on Search Engines. Many businesses find that key word advertising on search engines is quite beneficial. Here's how it works: If you sell computer books from your Web site, you might buy a small ad or listing on Google that pops up when someone types in the search box a term that you designate, such as "computer books" or "PC books". If the searcher sees your paid ad and clicks on it, he is transported to your Web site and you pay on a cost per click, or "CPC," basis to Google, such as 30¢ a click. The goal is to bring qualified prospective customers to your site.

To garner the most success from key word ad buying programs:

• Purchase the most relevant key words.
• Write ads that will compel qualified buyers to click on the ad.
• The ad should lead to a page on you site that sets forth the precise product or service related to the keyword. Sending a viewer to your home page is generally not as effective as sending them to a specific product page.
• Constantly review the amount you pay per click and the conversion of that click into buyers.
• Test different ad copy and different landing pages to determine what works best for your site.

9. Make it Easy to Buy. If you sell products from your site, you will need a shopping cart system and a credit card authorization process. Many companies provide such systems off the shelf, such as Yahoo! Small Business. The key here is to make sure that the shopping process is fast and efficient. Many Web sites whose checkout process was too cumbersome lost potential buyers who became frustrated with the amount of time and effort involved.

10. Provide Great Customer Service. A satisfied customer will return to your site. So go out of your way to offer great customer support and service. To those customers who are not happy with their experience, try to turn them around with an a discount, a free product, or some other benefit.

Richard Harroch is the author of The Small Business Kit for Dummies and other books and publications dealing with startup and emerging companies. He is also a corporate lawyer in San Francisco. E-mail him at rharroch@orrick.com.