It’s easy to set up a website for your organization, but takes some planning to make sure your website is set up for marketing online. One of the most important facets of online marketing that must be considered when you first put up your company site, and before you even consider an internet marketing plan, is creating a virtual environment for your website that will thrive in the business of “internet marketing”. Many organizations make the mistake of focusing their time and energy on internet marketing without first setting the groundwork, or laying the foundation, for their websites to thrive in the online environment. Below are some tips you may find useful in making sure your website is “internet marketing ready”.

Re-Discovering Your Niche Market:

In clearing the path to your internet marketing strategies, your organization must have a website specifically developed for the purpose of giving information, advice, products, or services to a community of online visitors. Notice, I said “online visitors”. You are now developing your site to serve the online community, so be sure to include them in your niche market analysis. This is an important first step toward online success. Once you know who your target market is, internet marketing becomes substantially easier. You may need to re-evaluate your target market, or re-discover who they are. Your target market online can be different than your target market offline. Whereas, your current marketing strategies may be geared toward your local community and offline marketing endeavors, it is first important to realize the necessity of thinking of your online site visitors as your new market.

Keeping In Touch With Consumers:

You’ll first need to consider your target market, and develop your website with your market in mind. If you will be selling products or services, consider your e-commerce solutions, such as shopping carts or other 3rd party e-commerce vendors. Think about how your potential clients may contact you, whether by email or web form. Also keep in mind that you will want to keep in touch with your online visitors, giving them an opportunity to subscribe to a newsletter or mailing list. All of these things should be taken into consideration during the build of your website, so be sure to address these issues with your web developer.

Branding Your Company:

Purchase a first level domain name so that your site visitors know they are visiting a legitimately professional company. You don’t want to send your web visitors to a subdomain such as Bravenet, for example. Although there are many options for free hosting online, be aware that these free subdomains may cost your business in the long run, when visitors are chased away because of the various banner advertising and annoying popup windows. This is where branding is especially important. Brand your company image so that it stands out professionally head and shoulders above your competitors. Purchase your own domain name and professional hosting account, and always keep your email addresses under the domain name of your organization (rather than using free mail accounts such as Hotmail or Yahoo).

Once you have considered rediscovered your target niche market, determined how you will keep in touch with your site visitors, and re-branded your company for a professional image, you are well on your way to clearing the path for a successful internet marketing plan that will propel your organization to the next level!