EeZee Web Blog

As people start to wind down for Christmas holidays in 2010 I am looking at what is going on in our business.  Surprisingly nothing has slowed down and does not look to be slowing down either.  Last week we launched our largest project with a long standing partner of ours and we have many more on the way.  So how do you make money while on holidays?

Simple, have an online presence, be it a website, blog, online store, Facebook to name a few.  We forget, people do not stop looking for products, solutions and all sorts of things everyday.  They may be off work but they are all looking and searching.  Over this Christmas in 2010 people will be renovating, doing up their kitchens, doing the gardening, painting and even searching for great holidays.

So it means that being found is the key.  Speaking to one of our clients last week, The Complete Kids Party they told us that sales were going very well.  They wanted a rest over Christmas!  But guess what, their online store does not close for Christmas.  Kids have birthdays every day so they will continue to make money while traditional stores close for the holidays and loose business.

If you want to be found and make money while everyone is on holidays then contact EeZee Web now.

Why use online marketing?

Thanks to work, I meet a lot of small to medium business owners and am often surprised at how they forget to market their Website online. I often hear comments like "people will find me on Google" or "I am not spending anymore money. I've spent it all on my Website". When I ask, "... if you have a store front and no one knew where to find it, how would they visit your store and become a customer?", the answer is usually, "I don't know"!  Just like in the real world, no customers through your Website's 'front door' means no sales. 

The first thing to do is use your online budget more effectively by saving on Website design. Use existing, highly customisable templates and tools. You really do not need to go out and spend tens of thousands of dollars to design a Website from scratch!  The money you save by doing this, you can use to promote your Website with online marketing.

Three ways to use online marketing to get more people to your Website

1. List your business in Google's free Local Business Center. (http://www.google.com/local/add). This will ensure that your company shows up on search results when somebody does a search in your area, for the kind of business/services you offer.   Example: mobile beauty sydney will show search results for all mobile beauty service companies in Sydney.
2. Add your business to local business directories. Many offer free listing services! (http://www.truelocal.com.au/, http://www.localbusinessguide.com.au/, http://www.livepages.com.au/, http://www.searchmysuburb.com.au).
3. Market your business using Google AdWords. This works on the pay-per-click principle. You only pay when somebody clicks on your ad in Google's search results, to come to one of your Website pages. Click costs start as low as 11c per click!

Google AdWords is a great way to begin and if you're strategic about it, your Website can be displayed at the top of the search engine results page for your targeted keywords. The 'trick' is to use the right keywords... the ones your target customer is using to search on Google. This is a science in itself, so I am not surprised when I hear clients say how they had a go and ended up spending thousands of dollars and getting few or no results. An experienced search engine specialist can help you get qualified visitors and buyers (not window shoppers using up your online marketing budget) on to your Website via Google AdWords.

Finally here is how to check if you're on Google? Type in "site:www.yoursitenamehere.com.au" in the Google search bar.  If you see results of your pages then it has been seen by Google.