Thursday, December 13, 2007

Marketing Your Ideal Online Business

Copyright: Earl Williams
The NetMarketer

When you want to run your own ideal online business, you have many choices when it comes to how you want to market it. Common online marketing methods include pay-per-click advertising, creating a website, and publishing articles that others can use on their own sites.

These methods, when used correctly, may be all you need to create a profitable online business. While there are other methods you can use, these are the ones that will get you the most attention in the shortest amount of time. You can use all three of these methods or you can use one or two depending on the products you are trying to sell.

Pay-per-click advertising relies on search engines and keywords to be successful. If you have ever conducted a search online, you may have noticed the sponsored results at the top and on the side of the page. These results are paid ads. Search engines sell ad space based on the popularity of keywords. If you want to use this method of advertising your ideal online business, you will have to first research which keywords are most commonly used when looking for products and items you sell.

After creating a list of keywords, visit popular search engines to see how much it will cost to place an ad using keywords from your list. Keywords that are popular will cost more than those that don't. In order to be fair and give everyone an equal shot at having their website featured on the search engine result page, businesses bid on keywords and whoever has the highest bid wins a spot.

If you know your product will be popular once people have heard about it and visited your site, then this form of Internet marketing could be very profitable. But if you aren't sure about the product or you think it may be suited for a select group of people, then you should try another form of marketing until you can afford to use pay-per-click. For many people, using this method was never an option because they were able to develop a loyal customer base using less expensive methods.

For most online businesses, creating a website is crucial for success. Without a website, you cannot communicate with customers, sell products, or demonstrate why your product is needed. When building a website, keep in mind your customer base. What are their wants and needs? You should create content that is interesting and entertaining in order to establish trust. Once a customer has visited your site, they will know more about your product and are more likely to place an order.

Writing articles for databases, newsletters, and other online information sites is a great way to gain exposure without having to pay extra. When you write an article that pertains to the items found on your site, you can include your URL so people will know where to find you. Because article databases allow people to use this content on other websites, your URL will be published in various places. This is an inexpensive way to reach marketing groups that are interested in your products or starting an online business.

You may republish this article in its entirety, provided you leave the byline, author's note and website hyperlink intact.

About the Author: Earl Williams is a real entrepreneur who makes it easy for you to build your home-based business and earn a substantial income from home, learn how by Visiting: The Netmarketer