| If you are just now developing your small business | | | | specialty sub-niches. This is really pretty simple and |
| Internet marketing plan, there are a few things that you | | | | need not be overwhelming at all. |
| should do to gain some rudimentary experience and | | | | Another interesting thing that you can glean from this |
| understanding of the Internet market. | | | | exercise is a feel for how competitive a market exists |
| Many a vary sharp businessperson has been so | | | | online for your company's products and services. As |
| intimidated by the thought of marketing on the Internet | | | | you look at the search results that appear on your |
| that they fail to take advantage of one of the world's | | | | various searches, observe the number of |
| best and least expensive marketing platform. We | | | | Pay-Per-Click ads that appear on the rightmost column |
| hope to simplify things greatly and overcome some of | | | | of the search results page. These little, 4 line text ads |
| this natural resistance! | | | | were placed there by companies in your niche who |
| Almost everybody these days is familiar with | | | | are advertising for business using the Pay-Per-Click |
| performing a simple search on Google, Yahoo or Bing. | | | | advertising program provided by the search engine |
| It has pretty much become a tool that everybody uses | | | | company (Google, Yahoo, or Bing, for example). In |
| to find information on any kind of topic. So, this is | | | | such a program, you too can have your ad appear |
| perhaps a good place to start. | | | | whenever a specific term, or "Keyword" is searched |
| Go to Google and enter a term describing the industry | | | | upon. Whenever a person clicks on that ad, two things |
| of your small business. When you get the results page, | | | | happen. The site visitor is sent directly to your website |
| take a look at the top of the search results to see just | | | | and you are charged a small fee (usually 25 cents to 1 |
| how many search results there are for your term. The | | | | dollar). |
| more results, the bigger your industry and if there are | | | | While this may be an interesting marketing approach |
| only a few thousand results, yours is not a very | | | | for you, keep that in your mind for later use when you |
| competitive niche. After you do this a bit, you will find | | | | are more familiar with the process. (If you embark on |
| that, the more narrowly you can define your business, | | | | this too early and without sufficient background, it can |
| the fewer the search results. | | | | be very expensive and ineffective.) For now, simply |
| For example, if you are in the furniture business and | | | | note how many ads appear on the right column for |
| you simply search on "furniture", you will see more than | | | | each of your searches. If there are only one or two |
| 190 million results. However, when I search on "baby | | | | ads there, your market has not yet matured on the |
| furniture", only about 40 million results are found. If my | | | | Internet, but if there are hundreds of advertisers, you |
| business specializes in baby crib mattresses and I | | | | can bet that lots of people are making money using |
| search on that term, I will find only about 1 million results! | | | | this approach in your market. It will simply give you a |
| You can see how quickly we were able to zero in on | | | | little more knowledge about your market. |
| a specific sub-niche. That is what you will have to do in | | | | Like all avenues of market research, keep good notes |
| order to compete favorably on the Internet. | | | | of what you find in your searches. You can certainly |
| Your small business Internet marketing plan, then must | | | | glean tremendous knowledge about your market that |
| define the various niches and sub-niches in which you | | | | will help you once you develop your small business |
| will compete and must develop a strategy for winning | | | | Internet marketing plan. |
| business and attracting customers in each of your | | | | |