Have you thought about your Online Marketing plans for next year?
Did you create a New Years Resolution List for your website?
Now is the time to do some housecleaning of your search marketing and optimization activities from 2008 and plan ahead for success in 2009.
Here are some suggestions to ensure a great New Year:
Website Optimization – Onsite SEO, Address Technical Issues
Focus first on the larger obstacles blocking your site’s success within the Natural Search results. It makes little sense to worry about keyword targeting, SEO copywriting and webpage meta tags if a larger, underlying issue exists. If the search engine spiders are having difficulty crawling your site, you need to understand why and fix it, if possible. Problems can often lie within the CMS or Ecommerce platforms on the site. Other times it is based on how the site was developed or coded – Flash, Java, Ajax, etc.Off-Site SEO Tactics – To Support Website Optimization in #1
For many websites, the basic optimization work to the site has already been accomplished. Now it is time for fine-tuning on the site and looking for off-site tactics to further increase your visibility. These tactics may not necessarily help your website rank better, but they will allow you further presence and listings on important key phrases. These can include: Link Building, Press Releases, Blogs, Directory Submissions and Social Media. (see more in #4)ANALYTICS – Have a program in place…and use it!
Given the large variety of analytics platforms available, including Google Analytics at no cost, it is incredible how many companies still lack the data they need to analyze their online marketing efforts and site usability. However, simply having a program is not enough! Invest time and resources toward learning how to use your program to its fullest. Maximize the data for complete website performance statistics and measurement.Social Media Marketing & Optimization
Now is the time to engage in Social Media if you haven’t started already. Every business can benefit from this channel, but it is important to craft a strategy before getting started. Determine what benefits you hope to achieve and some realistic goals from these efforts. This will help roll out an effective plan for your company, by identifying the right channels to participate within and the marketing message/tone to use with each.
These are some of the more important areas to focus on, but certainly not an exhaustive list. Keep a laser-like focus on your marketing plans in 2009 and strive for maximum ROI. Use programs, resources and tools available to further your industry knowledge and expertise, including those found at the MoreVisibility Knowledge Center.
So, what will you be working on in 2009?
