Ok, so you are starting up a new business. There is a good chance that your business model is solely dependent on your online presence. Here are a couple of things you should consider before starting your new small business. There are tons of common mistakes new business make when starting their online business. 
Before you set the building blocks in place you need to make sure you have the proper budget that is going to support your ideas. Online marketing isn’t as quick as it used to be and there are common misperceptions that you should be aware of. Here are a couple of online marketing tips that most SMB’s (small to medium size) businesses do that put them into a financial burden. With so many online marketing solutions to choose from it is tough to distinguish what strategies they should incorporate into their online marketing campaigns.
6 Online Marketing tips for Small To Medium Size Business
- Creating a Cheap Website
Whether you are creating an online store or simply need a website to supplement your business, the first and thing you should do is not go cheap on a website. A cheap website is harder to rank, doesn’t convert as good, and you end up reinvesting into 2 or 3 websites vs. just doing it right the first time. - Hire a Web Design Company with no SEO experience
Building a website and structuring a sales funnel that is SEO friendly is all equally important. Your site structure is very important to ranking it’s not just about the aesthetics. When building out a website make sure it is SEO friendly and is built with keywords in mind. Always keep the interests and expectations of your target audience in mind and point traffic in the right direction. - Not knowing your objectives
Online marketing isn’t the only marketing solution you should integrate. Online marketing takes time, especially SEO. So building a website and just waiting is going to put you out of business. You need a concrete business model. Compliment your SEO strategy with Print Marketing, Pay per Click and Social Media. Not every entrepreneur adopts an aggressive promotion strategy. You should be integrating your print solution with your online marketing solution. Logos, promotions, and offers should be consistent. - Ignoring Mobile Integration
If you don’t invest into a good website, you won’t get a mobile version which means you are missing out on a ton of traffic. Not to mention your load time on the mobile device will be slower which will hurt your rankings. If you have a broad and scattered audience, you should design a responsive web design with fluid design structure, compatible on different devices. - Choosing the Wrong Platform to Market Your Business
If you are on the web, there are plenty of ways with which you can promote your business. From SEO, PPC, SMO, classified ads, sponsored ads; to video marketing…the list is endless. You have to understand your market to determine what the best route for your business is. There are too many solutions for SMB’s to invest in unwisely. - Bragging about Yourself To Much
Small to medium size companies’ focus too much on themselves vs. the end user. You are just starting up with your business; you should come up with attractive offers, discounts, schemes and innovative ways to pull the prospects towards your brand. The more clients you service them more potential word of mouth business you will generate. Your marketing strategy successful when you are able to turn eyes towards you and you entice them to become your customers.
To many companies start a company thinking that a $200-$500 advertising budget is going to be the next million dollar idea. The truth is that your business model should be created as a value offered service and build your marketing budget as your budget can support it. To many small to medium size companies start a company and waste money on marketing services that they can’t afford into marketing.