Internet Marketing Has Rules? Who Knew…
Not only does internet marketing have rules, how many it has depends entirely on who you ask. For now we’re going to focus on four of the rules that we consider to be some of the most important rules of internet marketing. These rules are important because they are so simple and true that they can help just about anyone get on the right path and moving in the direction of internet marketing success.
Video: Internet Marketing Commandments
While this video is a bit longer than those we usually include in our posts it has some great tips for getting started in internet marketing from the ground up. If you are already well versed in the ins and outs of IM there still might be something that you can take away from this video!
Rule #1: Content is Where it All Begins
Because everything in internet marketing begins with content, it makes sense that the first rule we share reflects that. Content is vital to internet marketing, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
The content that you use as a part of your internet marketing strategy is the best weapon in your arsenal. When used correctly, high-quality content can get people talking about you, draw traffic to your website, and people may even start link to your content, all without you have to pay for any of these things to happen! While content is something you will need to invest in as a business it is also one of the most affordable SEO tools any business can take advantage of. Content is very powerful and has the potential to provide a lot of benefits for your business!
Rule #2: Don’t Be Afraid to Do Things Differently
Many internet marketers fall into the trap of not diversifying their efforts. They are afraid that if they don’t do the exact same thing as everyone else that they will not be nearly as successful. This is a misunderstanding of enormous proportions; while there is nothing wrong with wanting to emulate the success of others, the same technique rarely works the same way for two different businesses so following someone else’s plan to the letter is not likely to produce the results you want. If you take a closer look at other businesses that you believe are successful you will discover that they do note limit themselves to one or two internet marketing methods, and that they have taken what they know and used it in new and slightly different ways to set themselves apart from other businesses.
If you want to try to do things differently, why not combine some of the more popular types of internet marketing?
A good standby is traditional PPC (Pay Per Click) and CPM (Cost Per Impression) advertising; both of these are fairly low-maintenance and while you can’t set them up and just forget about them, they require a lot less active participation and monitoring than other methods do. If you have a little more time to devote to internet marketing, creating and sharing written, audio, or visual content is a great way to provide your visitors with something useful and help increase awareness of your brand all at the same time. Newer methods are adapting to the current climate of the internet and include using social media, and focusing more on organic search engine optimization.
Rule #3: Never Give Up
Internet marketing success does not come overnight; at least the kind of success that lasts beyond the weekend is not something that happens right away.
If at first you do not succeed, don’t give up! Analyze your data and find out where you might have gone wrong. If something cause your first try to fail, is it something that you can move beyond, or will you have to change your strategy before you try again? If you do try a second (or a third) time and something does not work out, move on to a new idea! Never stop trying new things and working towards the goals you have set out for your business. Internet marketing is just one of many tools that you can use to help make your business a success.
Rule #4: Never Stop Learning
Because the internet is always changing, new ideas and ways to market online are popping up every day. Techniques that were effective as little as 18 months ago might not be viable options any longer! That being said, a solid foundation in the basics never hurt anyone and could actually enhance your ability to learn and try newer techniques as they come along.
The internet is full of blogs, forums, and other resources for internet marketers to come together and share their knowledge with one another! So spend a little time each day (or each week at least) catching up on the latest industry news and learn what is working for marketers today. You can also learn which techniques are no longer effective and how to move on from them; in the case of the low-quality content and spammy link issues that were targeted by Google’s Panda and Penguin updates there have been dozens upon dozens of posts from industry experts explaining the whys and hows of these updates and ways that people can try to recover from them.
There are always new things to learn!
Infographic: 5 steps to online marketing success
Click for a larger version!
Comments:
If you could add one rule to this list, what would it be?
