Everyone knows that the economy is bad and that it doesn’t look like a quick rebound is likely anytime soon. We read and hear almost daily about major layoffs, and companies reporting staggering quarterly losses.

At the same time it seems that the Federal government is more interested in helping large companies when it’s small businesses that employ the largest number of people in the U.S. At times running a business today seems more like an episode of “Survivor” than “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.”

So, what can we do during a recession to grow our business?

First, traditional ways of marketing simply don’t work today like they have in the past. For example, advertising in newspapers, on radio and in phone directories has dropped to historic lows. At the same time, online advertising is growing rapidly.

Second, statistics show that the best investment for your marketing and advertising dollars is Internet marketing. Your website offers the most promising way to connect with prospects and gain new customers. In addition, a website can provide ongoing support for existing customers as well. Internet marketing through your website offers your business maximum exposure.

Internet marketing is:

• Cost effective
• Targeted
• Measureable
• Adds value

Here are some of the best Internet marketing tools you may want to consider for your business:

• SEO (including pay per click) - By optimizing the content on your website, you can rank higher with all search engines making it easier for prospective customers to find you.
• Website advertising – By placing and selling ads on your website, you can generate revenue using only your traffic as collateral.
• Affiliate marketing – You can extend the reach of your website by affiliating with other websites. This is a great way to increase traffic and improve your overall search engine ranking
• Email marketing – This allows you to send personalized, targeted email messages to prospects and existing customers easily with very little expense.
• Publishing - By either writing articles on some area of your expertise or by adding articles that others have written to your website, you can enhance your overall content and increase your overall search engine ranking.
• Blogs – Blogs are a great way to stay connected with customers while passing along helpful information on trends and events in your industry.
• Weather – Weather is by far one of the most sought after resources on the Internet. By adding an interactive weather component to your website,
  (e.g. www.mytiwi.com) you’ll give visitors a reason to return to your site regularly.

You may not have the budget or time to accomplish all of these ideas immediately, so begin by doing something. If you would like additional information on Internet marketing for your business, give me a call and we can discuss your specific needs.

Tim Anderson
President
Webaloo
651-351-1041

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 4th, 2009 at 1:09 pm and is filed under Webaloo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.