So, it’s that time again! 2010 is gone, and as we welcome 2011, it’s also time to reflect on last year’s plans, tactics, and actions. It’s time to draw conclusions, rethink our plans, and set new online marketing goals to accomplish this year. The holiday’s craziness is long gone, and quiet times are ahead – a great opportunity to reflect, understand, and take steps towards a better year of web marketing!
Here are my top 8 resolutions for web marketing success in 2011:
- I will define clear business goals.
What is my business? Why am I in business? What is my online identity? Who is my audience? Why will they want to get involved with me? Do I offer quality, value, a unique product or service?
Put yourself aside, and act like you are one of your customers. Be true. Write down your questions and answers. You may find out things you never thought about. For example, do you price your products higher than your competitors? What is the reason behind that? People want value. If you are pricier than your competitor, there has to be a good reason for it (maybe you offer free shipping and they charge big $ for it). If you offer quality and value and you are competitive, you should swim well in the online ocean. - I will expand my online marketing efforts this year.
Try different channels of online marketing. Use social media and affiliates if possible. Get educated about your options and how they can benefit your business. Divide your budgets accordingly to cover all aspects of online marketing. Allow a sufficient amount of time to manage all your efforts. If time is a problem, outsource! Don’t waste your money, and don’t attempt to do everything yourself if you are not a professional online marketer. Mistakes can cost you big money! - I will invest in design.
Every site needs a facelift every once in a while. In a fast-evolving online world, we need to adapt. Remove outdated images, replace irrelevant content, and watch your competition closely. Change colors, test different layouts and designs, and measure success. Oh, and get rid of that holiday theme already! - I will create more landing pages.
Effective landing pages are crucial to your online business. They can keep an interested customer on your site or cause a dissatisfied one to bounce out.
Create specific pages packed with relevant keywords. Use landing pages for SEO and PPC both. The more the better! - I will measure my efforts.
It’s not uncommon to see web marketers fail to properly measure the success of their efforts. As a rule of thumb, don’t ever do something without being able to track it and see results! Use Google Analytics – it’s free! Make sure to properly install Google Analytics on every page of your site for complete tracking. Use tools like Quantcast to measure demographics, and monitor your data closely. It will help with important business and marketing decisions. - I will get more engaged in social media.
There is so much more to social media than getting a Facebook fan page up with 16 fans (half of them your friends, and the other half family members you begged to “like” you). If you want real fans, offer engagement, content, and interest. The most successful fan pages boast wall interactions of members. Offer exclusive coupons to fans only, do a contest with an appealing prize, be creative! - I will communicate with my marketing providers.
As a web marketing professional, I want you to talk to me! Online marketers and business owners need to communicate in order to ensure their goals are met.
Whether you outsource your web marketing or have an in-house marketer, talk to your team! Give feedback, communicate, be an active player – please! - I will blog more.
You know how important it is to blog. Fresh content, current topics, more interest, and more site visitors – the advantages are clear. But you start with two posts a week, suddenly it drops to one a week and a month later … oops I forgot to blog!
Do yourself a favor this year: blog on a weekly basis! It will do wonders to your SEO and will attract free traffic.
2010 was a great year for online marketing. In 2011, we should all dedicate more time and effort toward our online marketing goals. That effort really does pay off at the end. Wishing all you business owners and web marketers a successful & fruitful year!