5 Internet Marketing Rules that are Often Overlooked

The rules to succeed in internet marketing are set out in dozens of textbooks. Hundreds of experts talk about them in thousands of publications and blogs. And all the same, analyzing real cases of promotion of companies, you are faced with a strange situation. Obvious rules that seem to lie on the surface are forgotten and unused. We will not go into the reasons why this happens. Instead, we will remind you of just a few of these - simple, but often forgotten modern rules of internet marketing.

Content:
1. Get a Google Business Profile
2. More attention to site and customer security
3. Improve local SEO
4. Application of voice search
5. First - organic search, then paid advertising
6. Conclusion

A very common omission that small and medium businesses make is not using the Google Business Profile. We’ll clarify right away that until 2022 this service was called Google My Business. With the help of Google Business Profile, a company can post information about itself without creating its own Internet resource. Google Business Profile features allow you to post and edit business data on Google Maps and in search results.

Creating and maintaining a Google Business Profile contributes to the solution of such tasks:

It would seem that a great way to promote a small business in the local market. But so far it has not received mass distribution. For example, according to Australian digital agency PWD, less than half of local entrepreneurs have used the service in recent years.

However, most businesses use Google Business Profile to communicate with customers: indicate contacts, work hours, post photos and videos of places, receive feedback from customers. And they don’t even think about using Google Business Profile to optimize the company’s ranking in search results. At the same time, the service offers options that, if used correctly, contribute to SEO optimization.

The need to publish a privacy policy on the website is caused, among other things, by the following factors:

An Internet marketer should draw the attention of business owners or managers to the need to publish an agreement in accordance with the requirements of the legislation of the countries in which the company operates.

Posting a privacy policy on a website isn't everything. An Internet marketer should make sure that it is understandable to customers. Treat the text of the privacy policy like a blog post. The text should be written in simple language, short sentences and paragraphs. It is also useful to add a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section.

Just in case, let me also remind you about the SSL certificate. The image of a closed padlock in front of the site address in the search bar is a confirmation that data is being exchanged between the server and the client computer. This symbol has already become mandatory for business-related sites. But even today, one of the internet marketing rules states that a site without an SSL certificate is immediately perceived as potentially dangerous for users. Which, of course, will quickly affect the ranking and the number of site visitors.

Local SEO is essential for small businesses operating regionally rather than nationally or globally. According to studies (in particular, statistics provided by ReviewTrackers) 35% of all search traffic is local. It is simply unacceptable to miss out on so many leads by neglecting local SEO.

Taking care of local SEO should be included in the golden rules of internet marketing.

Below is a list (of course, it is far from complete) of simple actions to improve the situation:

Voice search is very convenient. It is more comfortable for a person to voice a request aloud than to type text on a smartphone display. So they look for addresses of shops, build routes, find out the schedule of cinemas and restaurants. Almost a third (27%) of online users worldwide use mobile voice search. OC&C Strategy Consultants estimates that voice search and smart speaker purchases in the US and UK will exceed $40 billion this year.

In short, it's time to add voice search to your internet marketing service to capitalize on the growing number of people who use Alexa, Cortana, Siri and Google Assistant to search the web.

Yes, adapting a site for voice search will require effort. But the impact of voice search on consumer behavior is growing very fast. Internet marketers simply must be ready to use this tool. If you want to meet the expectations of your customers.

Don't be in a hurry to use paid advertising. It is not always effective. In no way am I discouraging readers from using such a tool. It all depends on the specific situation. But most experts recommend focusing on organic search first. Yes, the effect of efforts to improve organic search results will not appear immediately. But you should be encouraged that 70% of users prefer to get acquainted with companies, their products or services, through publications on the site, rather than advertising. And Google itself, in one of its economic impact reports, stated that organic search is 5 times more valuable than Google Ads.

And, in conclusion, one more nuance. It often fades into the background when an internet marketer, creative agency or internet marketing agency seeks to find and apply all the fashion trends. Don't just focus on SEO though. After all, what is the meaning of internet marketing? It is the art of providing the client with a unique and meaningful experience. An experience that motivates the client to take action.

We remind you that with the help of our online connector ApiX-Drive, you can implement automation yourself, without programming and special skills. Check out the step-by-step instructions for setting up integrations: