How to fix 8 common online marketing mistakes

Whether you’re a dentist promoting your clinic, a lawyer promoting legal services, or a businessperson with an online clothing store, you can take advantage of online marketing to gain more customers and increase your sales.

However, it’s not as easy as it may seem and many are committing mistakes without even realizing it.

Here are some ways on how to fix some of the most common online marketing mistakes to help you create effective strategies and change existing ones as necessary. You’ll have a more successful website, which also reflects the success of your business.

 

1. Zero Online Marketing Budget

An online business requires enough investment. Investing on Twitter or Facebook ads can help increase your site traffic or customers visiting your physical location.

Here are some tips to earn money online to help monetize your site or online business:

• Find marketing jobs on Gumtree if you have the knowledge and skills in specific online marketing niche

• Sell your old stuff on eBay to earn extra money

• Write and sell an e-book

 

2. Not Engaging With Online Audience

You’re probably wondering why you’re not getting the desired results despite having a good number of followers. One of the most common online marketing mistakes is not engaging with your audience.

Customer engagement is crucial because if they feel that you’re site is getting dull or not interactive, lost of interest and frustration may arise. Online visitors easily leave your web page, or your previous customers won’t come back to make another purchase.

Fix this issue by:

• Responding to every question

• Checking every comment and responding positively and professionally

• Encourage visitors to leave a comment (e.g., clickable call to action or CTA buttons or links)

• Encourage customers to repost or share your content

• Know how to approach your audience through professional online marketing training (e.g., industry profile on marketing)

 

3. Unrealistic Expectations

Website marketing plans are set without clear goals, and worst, unrealistic expectations. You can’t expect that online initiatives will produce immediate results. Don’t overestimate user engagement.

In online marketing, don’t expect overnight success. To be successful in online marketing, it takes time, patience, in-depth knowledge and skills, as well as the proper attitude to avoid frustration. Setting SMART goals will give you more objective and a clear view of your pathway to success.

 

4. SEO Shady Practices

Many SEO agencies claim to put you on top of Google. Of course, who wouldn’t want it? “Black hat” SEO methods promise instant results. However, you’ll only reap a short-term gain. It’s like playing with fire though because these companies employ tricking methods to put your site in a better position in search engine.

The only solution is only to use “White Hat” SEO techniques. It may take time, but it produces positive and long-term results. You’ll also avoid being punished by Google.

 

5. Marketing to Anyone

As much as you like to bring more visitors to your site, you need to have a clear target audience. Ensure that your visitors will become leads and customers.

Your online marketing efforts (e.g., blogs, viral videos or vblogs, infographics, photos) should focus on your niche and not to demographic parameters. To make sure you gain the “right” customers, target your online marketing efforts based on High-Value Customers.

6. Not Using the Right Tools

There’s a sheer amount of data to update and process on a daily basis, most especially if you’re into e-commerce. Automate your online marketing efforts by engaging with the right tools and specialists to handle your:

• Social media marketing (e.g., FB and Twitter Ads)

• Email marketing (e.g., hiring an expert marketing specialist)

• Pay-per-click or PPC Ads

• SEO web contents to increase your ranking

• Podcast online presence

 

7. Relying Solely on Social Media or Paid Advertising

While PPC and social media ads provide the quickest way to increase your followers and site traffic, these strategies are expensive and usually don’t provide long-term benefits.

Here’s the solution:

• Invest in the right combination of online marketing strategies.

• You can mix offline (e.g., newspaper ads, trade fair) and online marketing strategies (e.g., PPC, Internet marketing) to achieve short-term and long-term goals.

 

8. Not Doing a Returns Analysis

Measuring your online marketing results is essential. Control your expenses and check progress by also ensuring that your marketing efforts are paid off.

Here are some tips:

• Check your site performance (e.g., Google Analytics)

• Hire a specialist to analyze your online business status

 

 

Conclusion

Online marketing has skyrocketed these past few years, and its popularity continues to expand across all industries. You should have a niche to start with, so you’ll be able to implement effective strategies to achieve your objectives.

Don’t rely on just one marketing strategy, most especially if you’ll only gain a short-term result and the cost is expensive. Aim for long-term benefits like producing high-quality web content to help customers. By doing so, you create loyal and high-value customers.

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from TheMarketingblog http://www.themarketingblog.co.uk/2019/01/how-to-fix-8-common-online-marketing-mistakes/