Most small business owners know that advertising these days is largely done on the internet and that more and more marketing efforts need to be done online. What a lot of small business owners don’t know is how it works or where to begin doing it. This is okay if you’re outsourcing your internet marketing, but there are a few things you need to know about in any case. Here are a few answers to questions you might have but have been to embarrassed to ask this late in the game.
1. What is local SEO?
This is probably one of the most common embarrassing questions about internet marketing out there: What is local SEO? If you’re already familiar with SEO in general, the answer is pretty simple. Search engine optimization strategies work to help your website rank higher in the search engine results page, right? This is a little different for local search, which is geographically constrained. When people are searching for a service or product in their area, this is where local SEO comes in and without it, they may not find your business.
2. Do I really need social media?
The short answer here is yes, you do really need social media. There are a number of benefits of social media marketing, so it’s essential these days to get on the bandwagon. There is a Goldilocks zone with social media though — you need to have a couple of social media platforms, but not too many. Find a couple that suit your message and your audience and stick to those. Make sure that you update often and with quality content to get a good following and for quality engagement.
3. Is email marketing really relevant?
Strategies of email marketing might seem to be a thing of the past, but email is actually a really great and inexpensive way to reach your customers. Email is still one of the top internet activities — right up there with search — so it’s not like people aren’t checking their emails anymore. Additionally, emails are a super easy way to offer coupons and deals as well as offer calls to action like signing up for a newsletter or subscribe to a blog.
Is there anything you’ve been too embarrassed to ask about internet marketing? Feel free to ask us in the comments section below.
