These days, savvy business owners and online marketers know that having a new website isn’t enough; you also need a plan to attract traffic and turn visitors into buyers. That’s because the major search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing are more crowded with competitors than ever. You can’t simply rely on the hope that potential buyers will find your website and like it.
That’s where your online marketing plan comes in. To make you successful, yours should be more than just a list of ideas and incorporate everything you need to hit the ground running quickly.
What matters most, however, isn’t the specific actions, but the structure of your online marketing plan itself. As you put yours together – or get the help of an experienced Internet marketing team – consider the five most important elements:
1. That it’s tailored to your company. No two businesses are the same, and so no two online marketing plans should be, either. It’s important that yours takes advantage of your competitive strengths, rather than copying ideas from someone else’s.
2. That it’s expandable. Not enough business owners and online marketers plan for success. Make sure that the process you have for bringing new customers in can be scaled up if you find that it’s more successful than you had envisioned, or pulled back if you need to make some changes.
3. That you are able to track your return on investment. Are you doing well or poorly with your current online marketing plan? Regardless of your answer, do you have the numbers to back it up? Finding the path from visitors to your website to an improvement in your bottom line is the first step towards making smarter online marketing investments going forward.
4. That there are clear responsibilities. Whether your online marketing plan is enormous and comprehensive, or comes down to a couple of key activities, you should know which member of your staff or web design team is responsible for making it happen and following through. When no one is sure what part of an online marketing plan they are tasked with, things generally don’t get done.
5. That it’s flexible. Everything changes, especially on the Internet where the changes come frequently and at light speed. With that in mind, it’s important that your online marketing plan be flexible enough that you can shift strategies and tactics when you need to. It’s always a good idea to keep going with something that’s working, but you don’t want to be afraid to try new ideas and see what’s profitable, either.