What Really Works in Internet Marketing?
Internet marketing is a wide topic which means that the question "what really works in internet marketing" is a very broad one.
That said, some things have worked near enough since the internet was born whereas other things are more of a flash in the pan, working once for a handful of people and then nothing since.
Choosing what to focus on is one of the many critical factors for success in internet marketing.
There's a chance that you won't like the first answer I'm going to give: persistence.
The biggest problem with most would-be internet marketers is that they don't give things a chance to take hold before they rush off and start chasing the next pot of gold at the end of the next rainbow.
My advice to anyone who asks me is to pick an area of internet marketing and then spend enough time to get good at it! Because I think that you should be as close as possible to being in control of your own destiny, I'd suggest that you start with buying your a domain name and hosting it somewhere.
Preferably choosing a separate company for each of those options rather than going with the default of buying your hosting when your domain name company suggests it as an upgrade option.
Once you've got a domain name and it's hosted somewhere, install WordPress.
Maybe choose a theme as well but that's secondary and something you can change at a later date once you start getting real visitors.
Then put some content on the domain - at least three pages of content, each upwards of 400 words.
That's the starter for almost any internet marketing method.
The sooner you purchase a domain, the sooner it can start to "age" in the eyes of Google.
You might be able to short cut that by buying a domain that's previously been used but you need to be careful that it wasn't used for nefarious purposes by a previous owner, otherwise you could be facing an uphill struggle.
Run a quick check at the WayBackMachine to see what your chosen domain has been used for in the past.
Once you've got your domain and some content on it, you can start some "real" internet marketing, What really works here? Essentially, you need to give Google what they've always stated they want since they first started.
The best possible content for whatever search terms you're targeting.
Content is best delivered in the form of words on a web page.
You can support it with images and videos - that helps quite a bit - but it's still the words that count for the most.
The content should be spread out: some should be on your own site.
After that, where you spread new content is pretty much up to you.
Just remember that any extra new content will ultimately be pointing back to your own site which, in turn, will gradually boost the confidence that Google has to place it better in the search results.
Consider placing this extra content in some or all of the following forms:
The big secret that no-one wants to tell you about all this is that you need to do it regularly.
If you do a short burst and then stop, it's highly unlikely anything will happen.
Consistency pays off.
Even if at first it seems that nothing is happening, the internet is a bit like an iceberg and there is a lot happening below the surface that takes time to take effect.
That said, some things have worked near enough since the internet was born whereas other things are more of a flash in the pan, working once for a handful of people and then nothing since.
Choosing what to focus on is one of the many critical factors for success in internet marketing.
There's a chance that you won't like the first answer I'm going to give: persistence.
The biggest problem with most would-be internet marketers is that they don't give things a chance to take hold before they rush off and start chasing the next pot of gold at the end of the next rainbow.
My advice to anyone who asks me is to pick an area of internet marketing and then spend enough time to get good at it! Because I think that you should be as close as possible to being in control of your own destiny, I'd suggest that you start with buying your a domain name and hosting it somewhere.
Preferably choosing a separate company for each of those options rather than going with the default of buying your hosting when your domain name company suggests it as an upgrade option.
Once you've got a domain name and it's hosted somewhere, install WordPress.
Maybe choose a theme as well but that's secondary and something you can change at a later date once you start getting real visitors.
Then put some content on the domain - at least three pages of content, each upwards of 400 words.
That's the starter for almost any internet marketing method.
The sooner you purchase a domain, the sooner it can start to "age" in the eyes of Google.
You might be able to short cut that by buying a domain that's previously been used but you need to be careful that it wasn't used for nefarious purposes by a previous owner, otherwise you could be facing an uphill struggle.
Run a quick check at the WayBackMachine to see what your chosen domain has been used for in the past.
Once you've got your domain and some content on it, you can start some "real" internet marketing, What really works here? Essentially, you need to give Google what they've always stated they want since they first started.
The best possible content for whatever search terms you're targeting.
Content is best delivered in the form of words on a web page.
You can support it with images and videos - that helps quite a bit - but it's still the words that count for the most.
The content should be spread out: some should be on your own site.
After that, where you spread new content is pretty much up to you.
Just remember that any extra new content will ultimately be pointing back to your own site which, in turn, will gradually boost the confidence that Google has to place it better in the search results.
Consider placing this extra content in some or all of the following forms:
- Articles like this one - these often get syndicated elsewhere
- Videos on YouTube - again, these can get shared on other sites
- Documents on document sharing sites
- Helpful posts on forums
- Tweets
- Posts on your Facebook page
- Images pinned to your board on Pinterest
- Guest posts on relevant sites
- Links from LinkedIn if they're appropriate
The big secret that no-one wants to tell you about all this is that you need to do it regularly.
If you do a short burst and then stop, it's highly unlikely anything will happen.
Consistency pays off.
Even if at first it seems that nothing is happening, the internet is a bit like an iceberg and there is a lot happening below the surface that takes time to take effect.
