Business isn’t as strong as you’d hoped it would be. You thought that by dipping your toes in the strange waters of Internet marketing that you’d be guaranteed sales boosts and success.
After all, you’ve read article upon article about the importance of Internet marketing and a strong online presence. Why hasn’t all of that made an adequate return?
Internet marketing isn’t a magic wand. At least, it isn’t if it’s in the hands of someone who isn’t a wizard. (If you follow Harry Potter mythology, anyway.)
No matter how much money you throw at Internet marketing, it’s not going to work if there are fundamental problems with its execution. So why hasn’t your marketing been bringing in stacks of customers and cash?
Here are some possible problems you may be experiencing. Just one of them is enough to drill a hole in your Internet marketing boat!
You’re working with a poor marketing company
Not every Internet marketing company out there is an angel. As you surely know, there are companies out there in every field who simply aren’t cut out to do the job they’re trying to do.
Some take shortcuts that produce short-term results but end up causing long-term problems. Some have terrible customer service, not responding promptly enough to enquiries or requests.
The same goes for companies who provide Internet marketing! In this realm, you may find yourself with a company who are working harder to please you than they are the customers they’re supposed to be attaining.
It may not sound like there’s a difference, but there is. Ensure that you get familiar with previous client feedback before signing up with a company.
You’re overestimating the power of marketing
I very much doubt that you’ve always loved the marketing of other companies. Think about your everyday behaviour. How many adverts do you simply ignore, online or off?
Not everyone who sees your Internet adverts is going to have a positive response. Most won’t even click on it.
Some may even have a negative reaction, cynically condemning your company’s in-their-face advertising.
The fact is that the traditional advertising methods haven’t translated quite as well to the Internet as people think.
Ads before YouTube videos can be effective, but banners and pop-ups? Not so much.
Most Internet users hate those things. While you may see some increase in customer numbers, don’t expect a miraculous flood of them.
You’re not using SEO or social media
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the friendlier, subtler cousin of traditional marketing methods. After all, Google is the most visited website on the planet. (If you can refer to what’s on the Internet as “on the planet”.)
Most people find what they’re looking for by using keywords in online searches and just happening upon the right website. Without SEO, you’re not going to be appearing on search sites as prominently as you may wish. If you think SEO doesn’t apply to you, or that you were just going to end up on Google search results just because you’re online, then you’re wrong.
Many people believe that SEO and social media marketing are basically the same thing. A few years ago, that may have approached the truth (but it was still mostly inaccurate).
Today, the two are completely different. There are so many social media platforms these days that that particular marketing river had to split into unique, singular lakes. Facebook allows long messages and personal interaction.
Twitter keeps it short and snappy. Instagram communicates through images. All of these platforms require different approaches. Understandably, some business owners don’t think social media marketing would help them very much. But dentists, plumbers, lawyers and even businesses without a website have seen sales soar using social media.
Your SEO isn’t strong enough
Ah, so you did invest in SEO! Very smart move. Or was it? Again, we return to the whole “poor service” issues a few paragraphs up.
There are some SEO outsource companies that simply don’t do the task properly. And if you’re doing your own SEO, then… yeah, you may have to face up to the fact that you may not be doing it correctly.
Are you sure you’re using the right keywords? You’d be surprised how many businesses use keywords that have very little to do with their company or product. It’s got to be something that is a perfect mix of generic and specific.
Something a user may type into a search engine if they had no idea your company existed but wanted something that your company provides. And it’s got to link to your website, not your competitors. There’s also black hat SEO to worry about. You’re not engaging in black hat SEO tactics, are you? Whatever you suspect the problem may be, it’s best to be certain via this SEO audit checklist for 2016.
Your marketing isn’t the problem – your business is
Here’s a real stinger. What if the problem isn’t with your marketing at all? If you’re using a good marketing company, or have the right tools internally, you should be able to check the relevant data.
Are you able to see how many people visited your website since you started that marketing campaign? If so, how many of those visits turned into sales? If you’re getting the visitors but not the sales, then the problem may be with your product or service.
I can’t guarantee that the problem is with your company. Unfortunately, Google has a tendency to misdirect searchers. If you’ve been putting enough money in their pockets, Google may have sent someone to your website when the user was looking for something else.
You may want to review who you’re working with if this is the case, but it’s hard to tell if that is indeed the case. So you may want to assess your own webpage.
Is your page user-friendly?
Is it confusing?
Would a user look at it and know instantly what it is you do?
Are your prices too high?
There are a lot of user-experience and pricing questions you should ask yourself in this situation. Consider having a UX designer assess your website to ensure its efficacy.
hey Erik, you figured out correctly man, this is a common case and this happened to me too, and many people donno how to overcome these type of situations, and to be frank many will quit from this stage itself after getting tired and for those people your words will give boost up,
Love it! ” Your marketing isn’t the problem – your business is” Lol…Sometimes the truth hurts! Thanks for shooting straight
I agree! When it comes to internet marketing it has to be understood that it involves the strong presence of your website online, You must be updated with the latest trend and techniques. In Australia, The key to succeeding online is simple; everything you do online has to revolve around your SEO/Marketing Strategy. You may love the look of your website; you may love the images or the words you have used. You need to find someone who understands how to optimise your system without resorting to Black Hat SEO practices.
I like the stuff you have pointed out in this post. I might have to improve my keyword research and put more focus on social media. It’s going to be a long night of research and such. Thanks for pointing them out here. Worth the time in reading.
The one part that sticks out to me the most is “your marketing is the problem your business is”. A lot of people get into a business thinking it is going to be super profitable only to realize (when it’s too late) that there were many other costs that they failed to calculate. So, I think that piece of info is super important.
Truth hurts, lol. Well said Erik.
Great advice and great tips!
I really appreciate your thought, I do agree that it is mandatory to comment at blogs that are relevant rather than irrelevant as their are chances of spam. To avoid such thing commenting correct information at correct place is great.
I have always felt that some businesses shouldn’t even be in business! No matter what type of marketing you do… I feel that some companies are set up to fail from the start. Thank you for sharing.