2009 Web Marketing Action Plan

I love all the 2009 predictions articles on the Web, especially the ones that try to predict what's going to happen with the Internet this year and what the next killer app or Web trend will be. No one knows for sure, some get closer than others and it can be fun to guess or read other people's educated guesses. But I prefer to take the conservative approach. Instead of trying to be one of the first people to try something new or someone who tries to utilize cutting-edge but mostly untested technologies or strategies to make a quick buck, I tend to keep doing what has made me successful so far. Of course I look for ways to improve what I am doing and I try to stay abreast of all the major trends in Web marketing such as website building best practices, search engine optimization, Google, Yahoo, email marketing, Web design or Web technology to name a few. But I am in this for the long haul.

Below is part of my 2009 Web marketing action plan. Most of the things I mention below will be as helpful for you to do for your online business as it will be for me. If you get a decent amount of traffic from the search engines and link referrals -- which is very typical -- or you want to begin to get significant traffic this way, want to build your business over time and you're committed, then here are some potentially useful ideas for an Internet marketing action plan. (And remember, this is just one approach & strategy, of course there are many others as well).

1. Buy another domain and build and publish a small website that is related in some way to my main money-making website.

I will write content for this site and pay someone to also write quality and original content for this site. The idea here is to build another online asset for myself. After a year or two, I could possibly sell this website for a profit. Or I could add links to it that point to my money-making website which will help its search engine rankings.

2. Hire another freelance Web writer.

This person will write great and original content for pages on my money-making website and the site's corresponding blog.

3. Add new site to a number of good directories

Once I get enough good content on the new site I'll add it to a number of quality directories. There are a handful of directories that are trusted by the search engines and will drive some traffic:

• Yahoo! Directory (make sure it's the directory and not the search engine)
• Business.com
• BOTW.org (this is Best of the Web)

I'll also make sure that my money-making website is in each of these directories

4. Go to at least one conference in my industry to make new connections.

This is something that works well. If you go to a conference and meet people who are in your industry but not a direct competitor, you can possibly benefit each other. You could trade links or market each other's products to their email list, just to name two ideas.

5. Be a guest writer for a blog in an industry related to mine.

This helps get my company name out, builds my email list and creates a back link to my site of choice.

6. Send out emails to my email lists.

If you're not building an email list in 2009 you're missing a great opportunity. Use Aweber or Constant Contact. It is very easy top implement and you don't need to be technical in any way to use these programs. I will construct and send out emails to each of my lists, but I will make sure that the content in the emails is something they will find valuable. In other words, the emails will not simply be advertisements of my products or services. Eventually, as an email list starts to get bigger, it can be an invaluable asset.

7. Add a blog to another money-making website of mine.

Adding a blog to your business site is a must if you haven't already done this. Blogs are great ways for you and your employees to communicate with potential and existing customers and the new content is usually loved by search engines, often showing up in searches.

 

Copyright 2011 Jason OConnor

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