So You Don’t Know Anything About Online Marketing And Your Site Has No Traffic. What To Do?

Show Notes

The title says it all. Today’s conversation starts with a question posted to a Facebook group by someone who said…. to paraphrase… “I’m taking over as internet manager for my company and I know nothing about websites, design, etc. Where do I start?”

Wow! Nothing like getting thrown into the deep end of the pool. So on this episode we throw out a lifeboat and talk about exactly that – where to start.

What’s An “Internet Manager”, Anyway?

Before we even get to the beginning we have to start before the beginning, with what the heck this job title means. It can be interpreted in an IT sense (as in: running the website, making sure it’s functional, dealing with the hosting) or in a marketing sense.

So before anyone can get started doing this job, start by finding out what the job responsibilities are.

Ok, It’s All About Marketing.

Chances are in this context it’s about marketing. Where do we start now?

Well, here’s where not to start: with your website. Or with your social networks. Or with pay per click ads. Or with SEO.

The place to start is to identify your goals because you can’t really see results if you don’t know what results you want to see. Nor can you build a website, create a Facebook or Pinterest account, write an ad or do much of anything if you don’t know why.

Don’t Confuse Metrics With Results!

“I want more website traffic!”

We hear that a lot. But do you really? What’s the point of website traffic if all that traffic doesn’t make you money?

“I want to be on the first page of Google!”

We hear that one a lot, too. But what good is being number one if you’re not generating leads or making sales?

You may see where this is going but it’s too important to leave to chance: the only numbers that matter are the dollar signs. Traffic numbers, Facebook fans, email subscribers… these things only matter insofar as they are bringing home the bacon.

Great, Gimme Some Leads!

Hold your horses… it’s not that simple.

There are short term plays and long term plays. And which you’ll tackle goes back to goals. If you need a quick, short term fix then running some strategically planned advertising can bring in traffic so you’ll have a number to throw at the boss and hopefully a few sales, to boot.

Be careful with your advertising though, and make the most out of it. Always be A/B testing. That means running multiple ads simultaneously, two, three four… more is good but there is such a thing as too many.

And when you test, always test ONE thing at a time. If your ad has an image and a headline and a description, don’t change it all up. Keep the images the same, keep the descriptions the same and just change the headline. Then let a few headlines compete with each other to see which one gets you the most cha-ching. Learn from that and do it again.

Then for the long term, think content, think credibility, think branding, messaging, consistency… think building your presence online, everywhere, so you can be in front of people where and when they need you.

Remember Your Customers.

In all this talk about goals and websites and testing, let’s not lose sight of the most important piece of this puzzle: your customers!

It’s not about what you want to sell but what your customers need you to sell. It’s about overcoming their fears and objections. It’s about solving problems they didn’t even know they had.

Once you know your goals, get to know your customers so you can figure out how to reach them – and your goals.

Is It Time To Hire Someone Yet?

If all this sounds a little overwhelming, you may decide to hire someone to do it for you. But wait!

If you haven’t at least considered the “where you are” and “where you’re going” part, if you don’t know your customers (or worse, if you think you know your customers) then hiring someone to build your website or set up your Facebook page or run some ads is a waste of money.

If you’re going to hire anyone, make it a marketing consultant who will spend time asking the questions you didn’t even know to ask.

Yes, CL Is Still Racist.

What would an episode be without at least one reference to #clisracist? In this case it comes in the form of toasted marshmallows.

And Ralph Has Tamed The ‘Fro.

As we mention on the podcast, we took a week-long hiatus with no podcasts and no articles. And one of the reasons for our unplanned break was because Ralph had a hair emergency that required a quick trip to the barber’s chair. Fortunately, we’re back in the saddle and his Dominican ‘Fro is back under control.

Plus Free Useful Stuff.

If you’re not familiar with our Marketing Game Changer Kit, check it out now. It’s free downloadable stuff that will help with your marketing. One of the resources includes a marketing planning outline that will ask some of the questions you need to answer before doing anything else.

Finally, Save The Date And Beware The Apocalypse. We’re Going To Cross The Streams.

On May 18^th, the Web.Search.Social podcast and the Superheroes of Marketing podcast are hosting a crossover episode where one of our hosts will be on their show and one of their hosts will be on ours.

We’re not really sure how the universe is going to hold up, but since it worked pretty well for the Ghostbusters, we’ll take our chances.

Enjoy the show and if you have any comments or questions about “where to start”, throw them at us. And remember to download the Marketing Game Changer Kit.

Links & Resources

Shout outs to some awesome people with much gratitude for sharing our content!

• Lindsey Anderson of Lindsey’s Web
  • Follow her on Twitter @lindseysweb
• Mia Voss of The Mia Connect
  • Follow her on Twitter @TheMiaConnect
• Dorien Morin of More In Media
  • Follow her on Twitter @MoreInMedia
• Kaarina Dillabough, thinker, doer, creator
  • Follow her on Twitter @KDillabough
• Sophia Lemon of Sophia Lemon Photography for Ridiculously Happy People
  • Follow her on Twitter @sophialemon
• Christine Wong a marketing student in Vancouver
  • Follow her on Twitter @christywonX

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