If you find that your business’ Internet marketing efforts are simply not succeeding, it may be that you are guilty of some common errors when it comes to Internet marketing. It may also be that you are simply not utilising your full marketing potential. Be that as it may, we are here today to help you if we can, so that you may not make the follow common Internet marketing mistakes. Unfortunately, many businesses do not utilise marketing correctly, especially in the South African context, where Internet marketing has not taken off to the extent that it has elsewhere.
Common Internet marketing mistakes
What you should not be doing’, by Ipcoweb:
- The Overuse of Images: As the old adage goes: ‘A picture speaks a thousand words’. No, in Internet marketing it unfortunately does not. Pictures can add a certain element to your website, but your main focus should be on text in your Internet marketing strategy. Why so? Many, many businesses make extensive use of images and images coding on their websites, as a way to grab customers’ attention. This is bad for business in two ways. First of all, once you have the potential client’s attention, what then? If your information or marketing message is lacking, the potential client will simply move on. A fair number of business wrongly treat Internet marketing as a sort of virtual billboard. This is an ineffectual way of marketing on a medium such as the Internet, because most individuals use the Internet to find information. While a limited number of images may enhance the look and feel of your website, the keyword is ‘limited’, as potential clients are not visiting your website to browse an array of interesting images. They want to know what you are offering them and why they should consider your business, and they want to know it now. Secondly, the overuse of images and underuse of text, means that it will be that much harder for search engines to find you. Google looks for keywords, it cannot ‘see’ images.
- A Lack of Interactivity: When it comes to Internet marketing, too many businesses disregard the marketing potential of having an interactive webpage. Many businesses talk ‘at’ their customers, instead of to them. The Internet is not like any other mass medium – it is first and foremost an interactive medium, customers should be able to provide immediate feedback and to relate to companies. Interactivity need not be games or quizzes, but it also cannot solely be focussed on using language to draw customers in. In Internet marketing, interactivity is about striking the fine balance between engaging with potential clients and providing them with information.
- A Lack of User Friendliness: Lastly, websites should be user friendly. A complicated interface may look spectacular, but at the end of the day not every potential client will be particularly tech-savvy. A simple, yet effective website is the best way to go for effective Internet marketing. Also, your webpage and hypertext should be formatted in the correct format, otherwise you may find it being ignored by Google in searches. For more about this, please do ask us.
So, how does one avoid the above-mentioned traps, but also utilise one’s full marketing potential? One can start by contacting us – here at Ipcoweb – today!
