You have spent a long time planning your first big purchase after earning your bachelor’s degree. You have done your research and found the best bang for your buck. You are now finally ready to make this big purchase and are wondering what all the different service providers for online marketing can offer. Here is a short list of some of the popular services provided by online marketing.
Website Hosting
If you are planning to launch an online store or a blog, you will need a place to house these websites. This is where web hosting comes in. Web hosting is a service that provides you with a physical space on the Internet. When someone visits your web site, their Internet service provider (ISP) will connect them to your hosting service. The connection is made through a server, which is a sophisticated computer that stores and processes data. When you host your website on a server, you are able to use the server’s resources, such as its bandwidth (i.e., the amount of data that can be transferred) and its storage space (i.e., the amount of space that is available on the hard drive). When choosing a web host, make sure that they have an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate installed so that your website can display a secure connection. An SSL certificate gives you and your customers the sense that personal and financial information shared on your site is protected.
Domain Registering
When you register a domain name, you will tell the registrar which top-level domains (TLDs) you are allowed to use. For example,.com,.net, or.org are all TLDs that you can use for your domain name. The TLDs that you choose will determine the kind of content that you can include on your website. If you register a domain name that is only available for use in certain countries, you will prevent others from accessing your site. Typically, you will need to purchase a top-level domain name from a reputable registrar. Once you have purchased the domain name, you will have to confirm it by sending them an email.
Email Marketing
If you are looking to spread the word about your new store, you will need to consider email marketing. With email marketing, you can send emails to customers to promote your store. You can do this by simply purchasing email lists from reputable companies that sell email marketing services. You will receive a lot of unsubscribe options, but it is still considered a cheap and easy way to promote your store. Another way to do email marketing is to use a drip campaign. A drip campaign is a series of automated emails that are sent to people who have signed up for your email list. The advantage of a drip campaign is that you do not have to lift a finger to send the emails. The disadvantage is that you do not know how many people will actually open the emails you are sending and few email clients allow you to track click-through rates. Nevertheless, you can set up automated email campaigns through many services that offer email marketing as a free option. You should look for these services when you are planning to launch a new store. You can get started with zero cost using a tool like MailChimp.
Content Marketing
If you are looking to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry, you may want to consider content marketing. With content marketing, you are not just advertising your store; you are contributing valuable information to your readers. When you are doing content marketing, you will need to come up with articles, white papers, and guides that are of value to your target audience. You can use free tools like HubSpot to create and distribute valuable content to your target audience.
Pricing Strategies
If you are new to online marketing and are looking to make money online, you will need to consider your pricing strategies. There are a lot of different strategies that you can use to set your prices. One of the most popular methods is to follow the eBay guideline. The guideline is simple: If you think that your target audience will value the product you are selling, you can use aggressive pricing. For example, if you are selling luxury goods, you can charge thousands of dollars per item.
If you are looking for a low-cost and less-risk alternative, you can use discounted pricing. Although it is still considered relatively cheap to hire a marketing consultant, you can find cheaper and more effective ways to do the same things. For example, you can use a tool like Google Adwords to gain valuable marketing insights for free.
Whatever pricing strategy you choose, you will need to consider if it makes economic sense. If you are looking to create a sustainable business, you will need to decide if aggressive or discounted pricing is the best fit for your particular situation.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
If you are looking to grow your business organically, you will need to consider SEO (search engine optimization). SEO is the process of improving the ranking of a website or blog in organic search engine results. To do this, you will need to ensure that your website or blog is filled with relevant and high-quality content. You will also need to consider using white hat SEO techniques, which are known to improve a website’s or blog’s organic rankings. With white hat SEO, you do not deceive Google or any other search engine. Instead, you follow the rules set by Google and other search engines to optimize your website or blog for organic results.
Analytics
If you are looking for a way to track the marketing metrics and results that you and your team have worked hard to achieve, you will need to consider using analytics. Analytics provides you with information about the performance of your website or blog, enabling you to make informed decisions about its future.
The most popular analytics tools enable you to track the performance of your site or blog across different platforms, such as mobile phones and tablets. For example, if you run a blog on WordPress, you can use the platform’s built-in analytics to track the performance of your blog on your own site as well as on other platforms, such as Tumblr and Facebook.
Besides looking at the performance of your blog or website, you can use analytics to track the results of any marketing or sales efforts, including email marketing, content marketing, and social media marketing. With analytics, you will be able to see exactly which efforts are driving the most leads to your business. It is important to note that not all analytics tools are created equal. Some offer more features and integrate better with other services.
Mobile Marketing
If you are looking to attract more customers and drive sales from mobile phones and tablets, you will need to consider mobile marketing. Mobile marketing includes all of the marketing methods that you can use to reach customers on the go. These methods include SMS (short message service) messaging, MMS (multimedia messaging service) photos, and mobile websites. You can use free tools like MailChimp to create and send highly personalized text messages to your customers.
If you send a text message to a customer who is not yet a part of your email list, you will need to consider whether you should follow up with them. Depending on the industry and the product that you sell, you will need to decide if delivering personalization through text is the best option for you.
If you are looking to further establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry, you can take advantage of the fact that people are increasingly getting their news and information from their phones and tablets. By creating a mobile site, you can ensure that people can reach you on the go. You can also use your mobile site to provide additional details about your business, including pricing and a contact form.
Social Media Marketing
If you are looking to build a brand for yourself, you may want to consider using social media. With social media, you can leverage the fact that people can now share information and content easily through a variety of platforms and devices. You can use these platforms to establish yourself as an expert in your industry, provide details about your business, and grow your customer base. Some of the most popular social media platforms include Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
To get started, you will need to have a presence on at least one of these platforms. Once you have a presence, you can use the platform’s tools, such as Facebook’s advertising API, to target your audience and build a following.