Streamlined and Modernized Internet Marketing Strategy

by John Walt Childers, IPC-CID

If you have a web site or are planning one, you have started a game. You might as well play it to win. I didn't know how to do this until I finally decided to find an opinion leader and follow his advice. I have recently picked the Ahrefs gurus for my opinion leaders in this area. I have found that that was a very good choice.

To get a business venture promoted online can require very little capital investment at the outset, providing that a persistent and knowledgeable approach to internet marketing is followed and a good percentage of revenues are reinvested to improve market penetration and service. How much money is invested depends a lot on the extent to which you hire the aid of others versus how much you do yourself.

If you have plenty of capital to invest, you can play a bigger game faster. The following internet marketing strategy scales very nicely: It is a springboard that works equally well for the lone-wolf entrepreneur as for the corporate venturer, providing it is followed in sequence. The danger of deep pockets is that you can waste an awlful lot of cash in a hurry if you throw it in the wrong direction. The do-it-yourself pay-as-you-go entrerpreneur can afford to make a few mistakes, as long as he doesn't abandon his current income producing installation to do so. The corporate venturer needs to see his success take form without a lot of trips up blind alleys.

Let's start by assuming you are in business, or going into business, to make money. Along with other higher purposes, of course. If you are interested in publishing a web site only for the common good, you could insert the word "goodwill" for "money" in that statement. Fine. You will still want to use an internet marketing strategy that will get people who are looking for what you have to come to your web site in droves. Web site promotion, while very inexpensive at the outset, will cost some money. But you might also be surprised at how far goodwill will take you in web site marketing.

T he following are the major steps you can use in an Internet marketing strategy for a start-up business (and these can be applied with little modification to an existing online business):

Step 1. Basic grass-roots marketing.

This step is independent of "web site marketing."

Find out who you are and what business you are in. What do you produce?

This first step is prior to any web site optimization and promotion. This may take awhile and you won't find the answers at this internet strategy page, because the answers are in you and the people you talk to. Perhaps we can help here in the area of which questions to ask.

Again, what do you produce? You may not have decided this yet, in which case it is time for some self reflection. Ask yourself what you would be really excited to produce. The gurus of successful business startup often emphasize the importance of choosing your product intelligently and emotionally. Starting a business is difficult and risky. Why attempt it in order to make products that you are not passionate about producing? Choose well and your chances of success go way up.

Step 2. Survey Your Publics.

Now that you have answered questions about yourself and your business, ask these same questions about your prospective customers or clients, which we will refer to as your public or publics. The plural "publics" implies that there will be more than one category of people who are future customers. You can cycle through these two viewpoints as often as needed: What your prospects want and what you would be passionate about producing.

Survey more publics as necessary and write up what you find. Survey people via direct communication or social media. Talk to those people who could become your customers or clients and couple this with some soul searching of yourself. You'll be asking people what it is they need and want which you yourself could be passionate about producing.

If you really want to produce certain products and you are not finding a lot of reach for those products in the publics you are surveying, you have two options: Change your product or change your publics. If you change your product, let it be something you would remain excited about creating. If you want to stay with your original product, then find people who would need and want it?

If you need help with surveying people, you could try On Target Research or Trend Creators

From your research you will find out who your publics are. These publics will become the people you promote to and ultimately sell to. Example: If you sell janitorial products, you are likely to find that one of your publics is janitors, and perhaps that another public would not be purchasing agents. You might find that the janitors decide what cleaning agents to use and get the purchasing agents to buy them.

All that done, you now have raw data from which you can begin your marketing strategy.

If you want to just jump into internet marketing and skip all the preliminary research, then you are going to wind up wasting a lot of time, effort and money.

Understanding Customer Needs Through Surveys

To create products and services that truly resonate with your audience, it's crucial to gather insights directly from potential customers. Here are two effective approaches:

Professional Survey Services

If you're looking for a structured and data-driven approach, SurveyMonkey (now part of Momentive) is a reliable choice. It offers advanced analytics, survey customization, and integrations with CRM and email marketing tools.

• Cost: Free basic plan; paid plans start at around $25/month.
• Benefits: Pre-built templates, AI-powered insights, and audience targeting.

Visit SurveyMonkey

Low-Cost DIY Surveying

For a more budget-friendly approach, you can conduct informal surveys through Google Forms, Typeform, or even social media polls.

• Google Forms: Free and integrates with Google Sheets for data analysis.
• Typeform: Free for basic forms, paid plans start at $25/month for advanced features.
• Social Media Polls: Free and great for quick feedback on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

These options allow you to engage your audience directly while keeping costs low.

Survey & Analytics Software

If you need deeper insights, consider tools like Google Analytics 4 and Hotjar to analyze user behavior and optimize your offerings.

• Google Analytics: Free for most businesses, helps track customer interactions.
• Hotjar: Provides heatmaps, session recordings, and feedback polls; free for small sites.

Using these tools, you can refine your products and marketing strategies based on real user data.

Step 3. Keyword research. Modernizing Your Internet Marketing Strategy: Why Ahrefs.com is the Best Tool for Keyword Research

(Ahrefs is pronounced "H-refs")

Keywords are the search phrases people use when using a search engine to find something. Research has shown that when people are using the Internet to search for something specific, they use search engines like Google. Thus, if people are looking for products you produce and find your web site, these people are qualified prospects . For this reason, good representation in search engines and directories is much more important than direct advertising, such as banner ads, magazine ads and radio.

a. Find out what keywords your public is using

People search using phrases and the moment a phrase is entered in a search engine, it becomes a "keyword." People use keywords to establish contact through search engines with organizations or businesses like yours. If you have done surveys in step 1, you probably already have the preliminary answers. If not, do those surveys or hire someone to do them. Omitting the surveys will cost you time, money and effort on ineffective web site marketing.

b. Find out which of those keywords are actually used in large numbers and have little competition.

Such keywords can be used in web pages and gain high ranking among search engines. What this means is, you test phrases from your marketing surveys used by people actually searching the internet. You also find synonymous phrases. You select out the phrases that are used frequently, but for which there are relatively few web sites with matching content phrased in just that way.

These are the keywords that 1) will easily gain high ranking in search engines because there is little competition for them, 2) have been shown by statistics to have a high number of people searching on them and 3) are also known to be used by people searching for what you produce, because those very people told you so in your surveys.

How would you find out items 1 and 2 above? Does that seem difficult? It sure does to me! At least, it would if I didn't know about a resource that is so cost-effective it could be called an unfair advantage. What is this resource? In a word: "Ahrefs."

In today’s digital marketing landscape, effective keyword research is essential for driving organic traffic to your website. Previously, tools like Wordtracker were widely used to analyze search trends and optimize content strategies. However, advancements in search engine algorithms and data analytics have made "Ahrefs" the superior choice for keyword research, competitive analysis, and SEO optimization.

Why Choose Ahrefs Over Wordtracker?

• Comprehensive Database: Ahrefs has one of the largest keyword databases, continuously updated with fresh data.
• Accurate Search Volume Data: Ahrefs provides reliable search volume estimates and keyword difficulty metrics.
• Competitor Analysis: Analyze competitors’ backlinks, top-performing pages, and keyword strategies.
• Content Explorer & Site Audit: Gain deep insights into content performance and on-site SEO issues.
• Real-Time Rank Tracking: Monitor your website’s rankings over time and adjust strategy as needed.

Getting Started with Ahrefs.com

• Sign Up for an Account: Ahrefs offers a 7-day trial for a low fee.
• Use the Site Explorer Tool: Analyze backlinks, organic search traffic, and top-performing pages.
• Keyword Explorer: Discover high-value keywords using search volume and keyword difficulty.
• Content Explorer: Find trending topics and analyze high-performing content.
• Run a Site Audit: Identify SEO issues and get actionable recommendations.
• Track Your Progress: Monitor keyword rankings over time.

Step 4. Choose a Brandable, SEO-Friendly Domain Name

While it can be helpful to include a keyword in your domain name, it is no longer the primary factor for ranking well in search engines. Instead, focus on a domain name that is brandable, easy to remember, and aligns with your business identity.

This would be a great time to take a step back and read David Brier's book Brand Intervention.

Here are some tips for selecting the best domain name:

• Keep it short and simple: Avoid long or complicated domain names that are hard to spell.
• Prioritize branding over keywords: A name that stands out is better than one stuffed with keywords.
• Check for availability: Use domain registrars like Namecheap or Google Domains to find a great domain.
• Consider alternative extensions: If your desired `.com` is taken, explore `.co`, `.io`, or other relevant TLDs.

Once you’ve found the perfect domain name, register it here and start building your online presence.

Step 5 - Modernized Content Beyond Keyword Research

Content Marketing & Optimization

Create high-quality, engaging, and evergreen content that aligns with search intent. Evergreen content means search-optimized web pages that remain relevant and useful over time, continually attracting traffic without becoming outdated. It includes topics like how-to guides, product reviews, industry tips, advice and FAQs that can continuously attract and engage audiences. Evergreen pines and firs stay green all year round, thus the metaphor. Another example (forgive my shameless boast): my glossary.

Step 6. Design, develop and publish a web site to promote and sell your commercial products or to give away your goodwill products.

You may need to hire someone to help, or perhaps you will do the web design yourself. A lot depends on who you are (Step 1). Even if you hire someone to design your web site, you will need to provide the content--What you want to say about who you are, what you do and what you produce.

a)This will include "success stories," or testimonials, from those who have used your products.

b) It can also include a "shopping cart" and a means of making purchases over the Internet, such as VISA or MASTERCARD . This one factor, taking credit card purchases, could be the most costly of your up-front investments.

To save money in the early going, you could set up an Internet payment arrangement with PayPal .

Finally, you can also take checks or bank drafts. However, the faster the payment is conducted, followed by rapid shipment, the better.

Finding Professional and Cost-Effective Website Designers

Choosing the right website designer is crucial for creating a high-quality, user-friendly, and SEO-optimized website. Here are ten professional yet cost-effective web design services that can help you build or upgrade your online presence:

• Fiverr – A marketplace with freelancers offering web design services at competitive rates.
• Upwork – A freelance platform where you can find skilled website designers at different price points.
• Toptal – Offers high-quality, pre-vetted website designers for custom projects.
• 99designs – A creative platform where designers compete to create the best design for your project.
• DesignCrowd – Provides custom web design contests where multiple designers submit concepts.
• Wix Marketplace – Connects you with professional designers specializing in Wix-based websites.
• Shopify Experts – Ideal for businesses looking for a Shopify-specific web designer.
• Webflow – A community of skilled Webflow designers for visually stunning websites.
• Squarespace – A resource for finding experienced designers to work on Squarespace sites.
• Freelancer – A global platform for hiring website designers with flexible pricing.

Whether you need a simple website or a full-scale eCommerce platform, these services provide affordable and professional solutions tailored to your needs.

Backlink Building & Authority Growth

• Use Ahrefs’ backlink analysis to find strong linking opportunities.
• Engage in ethical link-building strategies.
• Audit backlinks to remove harmful links.

Technical SEO & User Experience

Use Ahrefs’ Site Audit tool to detect site health issues, improve page speed, and enhance mobile usability.

Implement schema markup to improve search engine visibility with rich snippets like star ratings and product pricing. Schema markup, also known as structured data, is a way to add HTML tags to a website to help search engines understand the content of a page. This can improve search visibility and help search engines create rich results.

Mobile Responsiveness & Liquid Layout

Ensure your website is mobile responsive to provide a seamless experience across all devices, including mobile, tablet, and desktop. The most effective way to achieve this is by implementing a liquid layout, which allows a single set of pages to dynamically adapt to different screen sizes.

Social Media & Brand Awareness

Share valuable content across social platforms, monitor audience insights, and evaluate content engagement using Ahrefs' social metrics.

Analytics & Performance Monitoring

Track key metrics using Ahrefs and Google Analytics to measure SEO effectiveness. Set measurable goals and refine strategies based on performance data.

By integrating these strategies, you can maximize visibility, improve rankings, and drive sustainable growth. Ahrefs provides the tools needed for a data-driven strategy, ensuring long-term success in digital marketing.

Go to Ahrefs now. Read their literature and try out their demo.

c) Enhance the content of the web site with articles on a subject appropriate to your goals and your public's purposes, needs and wants.

This can lead to a newsletter emailed to anyone who is interested.

You and your partners probably have much knowledge which could be shared in this manner, or may know of articles which could be reprinted.

Step 7. Contact other web site owners who have an interest in promoting your goals and purposes and then have them add a link to your website.

Building Quality Backlinks the Right Way

Instead of simple link exchanges, consider these effective and Google-approved link-building strategies:

• Guest Posting: Write high-value content for authoritative websites in your industry to earn backlinks.
• Linkable Assets: Create unique content, such as research studies, tools, or infographics, that others want to reference.
• Networking with Industry Leaders: Engage with bloggers, influencers, and journalists to earn natural backlinks.
• Resource Pages: Submit your site to relevant industry resource pages that list useful tools and references.

If you want to build valuable connections, you can still provide useful links on a resource page like Electronics Project Design and Development Links, but only include links that are highly relevant and valuable to your audience.

It is best to have non-reciprocal links pointing to your website. How to do that? Seek out your friends who have websites, call them on the telephone, and ask them. Beyond that, set up pages of content in a few key locations outside your website:

• A blogon Medium.com or on your own website – Establish authority by posting high-quality articles.
• Google My Business (for local businesses) – Boost your visibility for location-based searches.
• Guest posts on niche-relevant blogs – Secure backlinks from well-established industry websites.

Search engines rank websites higher if they have more quality sites linking to them. Consider collaborating with industry partners to build high-value backlinks that drive relevant traffic to your site.

If your budget allows, consider launching an affiliate or referral partner program as outlined in Step 11. These programs incentivize partners to drive traffic to your site, helping increase both direct sales and SEO benefits.

Achieving high rankings in search engines requires ongoing strategy, optimization, and adaptation to algorithm updates. Regular content updates, technical SEO improvements, and strategic link-building all contribute to sustained visibility.

Step 8. Review Search Engine Positioning and Revise Pages Periodically

Step 9. As Revenues Permit, Establish a Referral System

A referral system increases website traffic and conversions by rewarding partners or customers who refer new visitors. Investing in referral tracking software automates commission tracking and helps scale your outreach.

Step 10. Expand the Scope of Your Marketing

As your website gains traction and sales increase, consider reinvesting in broader marketing strategies. You can explore:

• Advertising in industry-specific business publications.
• Launching pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns to drive targeted traffic.
• Expanding social media engagement and influencer collaborations.

Step 11. Continue Enhancing Your Website, Newsletter, Articles and Blog

Keep your website fresh by regularly publishing new articles, success stories, and industry insights. This not only boosts SEO but also establishes credibility and authority in your niche.

Good luck in your endeavors!