1) Select the right domain name- Research using Google AdWords and identify a niche market from the broad market to sell your products (the niche market should have at least 50,000 searches monthly to ensure that is sufficient interest for your products). You should focus on the niche market rather than targeting at the broad market. It is easier to be a leader in a niche market compared to dominate the entire market. Next, include the keyword with the highest search frequency for the identified niche market into your domain name. You may want to create 2 domain names for your online business- (i) one that matches the search terms of your target audience for leads generation and (ii) another domain name with your business name for branding purpose. You can always link your leads generating domain to your main business domain. This will help to guide your viewers to your main website and generate sales for your online business.
2) Ensure quick loading time – Search engines give page ranking priority to faster loading websites. Thus, a quick loading website has a higher likelihood of being ranked in the first few search pages. Furthermore, lagging websites will reduce visitors’ interest and they will choose to leave even before your website has finished loading. Thus, it is important to choose a hosting provider that provides quick loading speed and avoid uploading too many pictures on your home page.
3) Useful content – Provide valued and useful information to your targeted viewers. Throughout your articles, you should include high frequency keywords that are used by your target viewers. This is to ensure that these keywords will be captured by search engines and will increase your website ranking when these search terms are being entered by your target audience.
4) Increase external links – Search engine will give you a good page ranking if you have many unique viewers (differentiated by unique IP address) visiting your website. Thus, it is beneficial to get external links from other websites to boost your link popularity. You can exchanging links with complimentary websites (note: not advisable to approach your direct competitors as they are more likely to see you as a threat rather than an assistance to their business). It is also likely that your viewers will link to your website if they find your content relevant and value-adding.
5) Increase website popularity – Page ranking determines your popularity index that calculates how many external links you have. A website with many external links will have a high page ranking. You can search for complimentary websites with high ranking and email to them to request for a link back to your website. It is extremely useful to be affirmed by these ‘big players’ and will help you in getting backlinks from other websites.
6) Social networking- Social networks are superb marketing tools due to its global reach and instant uploading of information. You can create a new networking account to promote your online business and serves as a gathering point for your customers to share their testimonials and give their feedback regarding your products. It is a good platform to engage customers at a personal level to build up relationship and trust. You can also utilise the platform to provide useful information and up-to-date promotions for your new products.
7) Advertising on newsletter, magazines and flyers – Look out for newsletters, magazines and flyers whose readers are actually your target market. Write to these publishers and offer to submit your articles to be published for free. Avoid direct selling of your products in these articles. Instead, provide valuable information that your readers are looking for and leave your website link at the end of the article. If your content provides the solutions to the problems that they are looking for, it is highly likely that they will visit your website in search of the products and services that you are providing. These publications can be a very useful form of free advertising for your online business.