So you would like to run an Online Business or already do but … 6
In my last blog, I talked about recognised ways of driving customers to you web site or sales pages. I touched on some obvious offline methods and introduced the importance of blogging as a key online way to get traffic to your sites.
But yesterday I omitted to mention how to start a blog. Visit http://wordpress.com/ where you can signup for a blogging site without cost. If you can use an email or word processing software package you will soon learn how to blog. Yes this will give you a basic blog but at least it is a start.
Another way to drive traffic to your site is by placing advertisements on specific sites. Here you have the possibility of paid or free advertising. If you are time poor it is best to used paid ads; if you are time rich and probably cash poor then you will place free ads. I will cover free ads tomorrow.
There are many sites where you can place paid ads on. Yahoo, MSN and Google immediately come to mind. There are many others but it is best left for you to discover these as you begin to really understand your specific online niche and what sites others in it are using. For today I will stay with Google since at least 2 out of every 3 online searches are undertaken using Google. So, if you make an effort to learn how to use Google, the others will be quite similar. Visit http://www.google.com/ and click on Advertising Programs. Once on the Advertising Programs page, read the instructions for setting up an account – you will need to give your credit card details. If you do setup an advertising campaign, ensure that you set your daily maximum spend to a level that you are comfortable with or you may face some unexpected large amounts on your credit card bill.
Typically, your advert has four lines. The first will (hopefully for you) contain the key word or phrase that someone has typed into their search. The second and third lines contain a few words and phrases that indicate what the site visitor will find on your page. The forth line gives the site address where you can be found – your URL. If the searcher clicks on either the first or fourth lines they will be taken to your page.
Now do a Google search using a word or phrase about something you would like to promote. Look at the sponsored (or paid) links on the top and right hand side of the page. This is where your advert will appear. While Google does offer help in finding useful key words or phrases (the important words or phrases that people will use to search on) you may be intimidated initially. On the page where you have just done a search, the adverts on pages 1 and 2 give good clues as to what works (at a price). The adverts are not copyright and are in the public domain so you may attempt some creative swiping. And do not forget to use your own URL! Of course the more popular a word or phrase is the more you will pay for it.
Follow the rest of the instructions that Google give to setup your account and place your advertisement. Soon you should expect to see some activity either through your list growing, sales or whatever you were offering visitors to your page. It is always a good idea to visit your account page at Google (or wherever you choose to go) and check your stats.
So you would like to run an Online Business or already do but … 7