Planning Your 2014 Small Business Web Marketing and Design Strategy (Part 1)

Another year has passed and you have a business to run. As the new year unfolds before you, a new batch of profit-hungry entrepreneurs will be competing against you in the vast sea that is the internet. This is why you have to act fast and plan a web marketing and design strategy for 2014, something that would ensure a high ranking in search engine results.

Marketing your business should be something that you should be prioritizing especially when there’s a good twelve months ahead of you. That’s 365 (and a quarter) days’ worth of opportunities to make new clients and double your last year’s profit. Most entrepreneurs start their year with this in mind. Finding and getting leads will always be the primary concern of small business owners, more so at the beginning of the year.

Other issues that most company owners consider is keeping current clients and building solid, lasting relationships with them, as well as looking out for competition. With 2013 full of Google updates and technological developments, business owners are bound to be busy making sure their websites are up-to-date with search engine algorithms and design trends. They need to be sure that they are utilizing the best marketing strategies for their websites.

These strategies come in many forms, from social media optimization, link building, email marketing, website development, and of course, search engine optimization (SEO). There are even a number of search marketing tools that were rolled out for the general public to use, making it easy and convenient for entrepreneurs to connect to their target market.

Although there is a wide understanding among business owners about the significance of creating a comprehensive search marketing campaign for 2014, majority of them are not doing anything yet. Separating yourself from the rest of the pack by investing on a great marketing strategy is the key to a higher return-on-investment.

The internet is an ever-changing environment and you have to always be on your toes if you want to stay ahead of the competition. Choosing not to do anything when there is a plethora of online resources available is just plain lazy. It’s so easy to get started but very hard to maintain the momentum once you get the ball rolling.

So What’s the Plan?

Here’s a short list of things you need to consider when planning your strategy for 2014. The focus should be on providing better customer experience and presenting your products and services in the best way possible.

Tip #1: Formulate a Realistic Forward-Looking Marketing Budget

Most business owners do not allot a single cent of their budget for marketing despite acknowledging the fact that they need more customers and retain existing ones. What you can do differently this year is to utilize the best marketing techniques available for your business without having to break your budget. Make strategic investments that would enable you to increase your chances of getting new customers and making your products or services get more visibility online.

Tip #2: Build A Simple & Effective Website

Most business owners tend to overlook the importance of having a simple yet effective website, prioritizing more complex designs that, in reality, do not really have that much of an impact compared to a simple functioning website that is straightforward and easy to navigate. A website is the focal point of any business internet strategy, as it is how potential clients can find and reach you.

Here are some pointers on creating your company website:

• Keep your contact information visible throughout your pages of your site
• Design a catchy, easy-to-use interface that visitors will appreciate
• Insert keywords (related to your products and services) in your content for higher rankings
• Regularly update your content with the latest developments about your products and accessories
• Check website analytics and learn the activities

Tip #3: Ensure Your Website Is Mobile-Optimized

This next tip is not something that many business owners have not grasped the importance yet. There are currently millions of mobile device users that perform daily web searches to look for business information or to know more about products and services.

Tip #4: Start Building Your Presence on Business Listings

There are plenty of reasons to invest on spreading your company name in the vast sea that is the world wide web. Claim your business listing on Google, Bing, YP.com, Yelp, SuperPages.com and other similar sites and you will see more clients visiting your website or calling your numbers. And make sure that you are putting in the right information or every single effort would be lost when the clients call a nonexistent number or a misspelled e-mail.

Check out more tips on the next part of this two-part blog. In the meantime, make sure you have started working on your 2014 small business web strategy. You’ll be seeing results as the year progresses so keep working at it and investing your time on marketing your company online.