Search engine marketing (or SEM) is the standard for online marketing these days. With all the ways people can reach us online such as other websites, social media, mobile and more, more and more people are turning to the web to search online. People are visit stores to test out products, returning to the internet to compare prices and then completing their purchases in-store, online or via a call center.

According to Forrester Research, in 2009 over $155 billion worth of consumer goods was purchased online in the U.S. many of those goods were influenced by online research. In fact, Forrester estimates that $917 billion worth of retail sales last year were “web-influenced,” with online and web-influenced offline sales combined accounting for 42% of total retail sales. Forester also estimates that the percentage will grow to 53% by 2014, when the web will influence $1.4 billion worth of in-store sales.

Here are also some key findings of a joint Yahoo!-comScore Search Marketing and Display Advertising study  of 175,000 consumers in the comScore panel:

In-store sales start online: up to 89% of consumers pre-shop online before making a purchase in the store. (This behavior is called ROBO: Research Online, Buy Offline.)

Online advertising drives six times as much in-store sales as online sales.

Each $1 spent on online advertising drives $20 in combined in-store and online revenue.

Combining search marketing and display advertising brings a higher return than using either one by itself.

What does all this mean? If your site is not ecommerce enabled and does not have a well-implemented online strategy you could be spending more both in order taking costs and customer support after the sale has been made. And with a well-implemented ecommerce siteyYou could experience larger purchases per transaction. Through automation, you can sell the ‘back-end” on the front end by suggesting additional items at the time the purchase is made. You can offer your customer more information, such as order tracking. A customer can shop from the comfort of her or his home, in her bunny slippers or his boxer shorts. You can give the customer a larger variety of offerings. No need to send a great big catalog through the mail anymore. When you run out of an item, you simply remove it from the website. Makes shopping so much easier.

But first you have to get them there! No matter what function your site performs, whether it be to display your online brochure or ecommerce site, to get people to visit, you still need to market your site. It’s easy to create a new ecommerce site, getting people to visit your site is another matter entirely.

Getting traffic to return to your web site a second time is equally challenging. Provide a product or service the customer needs, and they may be back and they may even refer others.

What makes you different from the competition? First you have to know what the competition is offering. If they are online (and it is almost a certainty they are) see what they are doing. Look for strengths and weaknesses in the site’s message, design and links. Find out who else is online. How do others fit into your target market? When I advise clients on their web strategy, one of the first questions I ask is for a list of 3 or 4 competitors, their sites and a list of what makes my client different than their competitors. If they have no real “geographic” competitors I ask for their top industry leaders websites. We then do a competitive analysis to determine how my client can position themselves to gain more market share.

When creating or making improvements to your site, here are a few things I also suggest to clients to keep in mind:

Design a user-friendly site. Make it informative and easy in which to move around, so they will want to come back. Use light backgrounds with dark text for easy reading. It is also better to have less information on a page than pages full of text that will lose the reader’s interest. Have an eye-catching site that entertains and informs.

Keep graphics simple. Over-use of graphics and flash graphics take longer to download. Today, you have 5-10 seconds to grab your visitor’s attention. If loading your site takes longer than that, chances are good that they will quickly exit.

Keep your URL (web site address/domain name) – simple. It is the main way people locate you on the Web. While many of the good dot.com’s are taken, dot.net’s are a viable alternative. Soon, they too will be gone. If you have not already done so, get your domain name immediately (link to wecaidomains). Make it memorable, something people might type in the subject line in a search engine looking for what you have to offer. Hard to spell words make it more difficult for visitors to find you.

Let’s assume you have built a great Web site. It is filled with great content, well organized, easy to navigate, and encourages customer interaction. But you need visitors. The following online marketing ideas will help you sell your products or services, offer better customer service, help you build your company identity and establish brand awareness in the marketplace. In fact, if you are relentless in your pursuit of marketing on the web, you’ll be hard to beat. By the way, this is just a short list. There are literally hundreds of strategies to get visitors, these are 3 tried and true strategies that will get you started and “bring the world to your door.”

Number One: Lead with your benefits. As with any copyrighting, headlines can make or break your success. Clearly state the benefits your site has to offer in your headline. Use power words, words that appeal to your visitors’ emotions. It should describe how you will solve a problem, relieve pain, improve your visitors lives, educate them, give them something for FREE, save them time, and so on.

Number Two: Capture visitors. Add a form to your site so visitors can “register” – leave their name and email address. Tell them you want to use the information to send them periodic email message announcing special offers, and new products and services. It is important that you also make it easy for people to remove themselves (unsubscribe) from your list. Never send anything to this group unless you have something valuable to offer or say. Keep the emails short and succinct. Add links to your message that direct people back to your site for more information. Save time by automating this process with autoresponders.

Number Three: Write an Ezine This is an instant customer database builder especially if you offer it for FREE and it has a perceived value to your visitors. Ezines allow you to build a relationship with your customers and prospects. It should be short, interesting and filled with valuable information. Over the past 10 years I have created five ezines. They are Self-Marketing News, Creating A Legacy, Ramblin’ Rose, Petals N Cents, and WECommerce News. Between the five ezines, we have a total subscriber base of nearly 30,000 opt-in prospects and customers from all over the world. While I don’t write in them as frequently as I should when I do they are still one of the best “closing agents” in my marketing kit. In addition to the great marketing potential ezines offer, they help you develop a positive reputation and keep your name in the minds of your customers.

Note: Many companies have dropped their ezine production in exchange for adding a blog. I think both are important and necessary. My friend Randy Gage (The Prosperity Expert) says “when everyone is zigging, zag.” So I suggest if others in your industry are not writing an Ezine, that is one way to stand out and differentiate your company.  Write an Ezine.

Other strategies are blog writing (on yours and others in your target market), and of course the vast world of social media such as videos, podcasting, and participating social networking sites. These strategies will be discussed in future articles. As the World Wide Web continues to grow and evolve, more and more companies and individuals are turning to the Internet to serve their needs. Make sure the world knows to turn to you.

Portions of this article were excerpted from The PMS Principles – Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business

For more information on establishing an ecommerce presence check out the Women in Ecommerce™ at www.WECAI.org. Hundreds of valuable resources and Silver Membership is FREE.

For a free phone consultation with Heidi about your website strategy, email her at heidi (at) speaking with spirit with your name and website (or blog) url.