Fundamental Tools All Internet Marketers Must Have

As your studies will reveal, there are some basic tools that will become essential

components in the efforts of any successful Internet marketing plan. Laying this solid

foundation means you do not necessarily have to reinvent the wheel with each new

campaign, although you should always be prepared to tweak things a bit to fit the

needs of the product or service that you want to market.

Here are some things to put in place in order to do a great job with your marketing

plans.

First, you need to get a web site. Period. No discussions or prevarication allowed. The

simple fact of the matter is that people trust entities that they perceive as being "real"

businesses. You may be creating your marketing empire from the garage or a spare

bedroom, but if you have a real web site that people can visit, bookmark, and share

with their friends and family, you will have the look and feel of an established

business.

Freelance writers are an excellent example of this sort of thing. While some well

paying markets are always looking for new writers, they tend to gravitate toward

writers that have a web site, complete with writing samples, contact information, and

content that indicates that a true business is working there, not just a sideline or a

hobby.

The same is true with marketing. Sure, you can post ads all over the place, but if

there is nothing that builds up confidence in the permanency of your business, all

those efforts will yield little or no return.

The good news is that web sites are relatively inexpensive these days, and many

vendors will even have online tools that will help you create a nice looking site. They

supply the outlines, color schemes, and the basic layout. You supply the content and

the images and graphics. It is possible to have your web site up and running over a

weekend, making it possible to you to use this as a basic part of your marketing plan.

One of the first issues to address in creating a web site is your domain name. One of

the most common mistakes people make is try to be quirky or cute with the name.

Forget quirky and cute, unless you can combine those qualities with a domain name

that is short and easy to remember. Keep in mind that the longer your domain name

happens to be, the harder it will be for people to remember it.

Sure, they can always bookmark your domain name in their Favorites, but what good

does that do when they are casually talking with a friend about your site? Whether

we like to admit it or not, the golden time for word of mouth to occur is during that

personal encounter. If the domain name can be rattled off with ease, chances are

much better that a new prospect will be directed to your site.

The simple fact is that many people may promise to send a link to someone later, but it

gets lost in the shuffle of daily life. Make things easier for you and for people

interested in your site. Employ the old Toastmasters counsel of KISS (keep it simple

stupid). Life will be better for everyone involved.

Next, give the structure of your domain name a great deal of consideration. Are there

ways to incorporate keywords in the domain name that will be easy to remember? For

example, if you plan on creating a web site that is devoted to the marketing of your

own line of greeting cards, try to work in "greeting" or "cards" into the domain name.

Keep in mind that the name of your company may or may not be the best choice for

the domain name.

While we all like to see our names pop up when we look around the Internet, your

focus is on the products you have to market, not on the wonderful name you have

chosen for your business. If it seems that creating an easy to remember domain name

that calls to attention to your products and services will mean forgoing the use of

your company name in the URL, then bite the bullet and go ahead. Keep in mind you

can put your company name in all sorts of places on the actual web site.

This helps accomplish two things. First, visitors will associate the URL with the types of

products you are marketing. This is always a plus, as it makes it much easier for the

consumer to remember and pass on your information to other people.

Second, it helps to make it much easier for your target audience to find your web site

during engine searches. The more pointed and focused your domain name happens to

be, the more effective this particular marketing tool will become in your quest for

success.