With so many website marketing options open to a small business, it is important to hone in on those that will offer the maximum return, without breaking the budget. Before a business gets stuck in to implementing its online marketing strategy, it should think carefully about what strategies to use. As each business is different, what works for one firm may not be the same for another, so understanding your business is key. Here are some of the top online marketing mistakes to avoid.

Shunning Social Media

Even if you consider yourself a professional brand, do not dismiss social media as something just for bored teenagers, otherwise you could be missing out on a potentially huge audience. According to The Telegraph, Facebook, for instance, remains the largest online community. Some 82% of the world’s population have a Facebook account, and almost half of these people use it regularly. Consider using social media to raise awareness of your brand and gain new audiences. Even better, social media is free to use!

Focusing on One Strategy

Avoid focusing your efforts on just one marketing approach, as you could be restricting your potential audience reach. Instead, concentrate your website marketing on a number of strategies, both free and paid, that are most likely to achieve the best results and target the people you want to reach.

A Static Website

A website that never changes or features new content will not attract audiences, no matter how great it looks. Avoid your website looking like an online brochure by thinking of ways to regularly add to it, such as including a blog. According to Forbes Magazine in today’s social media-driven world, where engagement with your customers is expected online, blogs are essential to marketing your business. If you don’t have a blog, you could be missing out on opportunities to engage your prospects and increase traffic to your site.

Giving Design a Low Priority

A well-designed website reflects your brand and business, so unless you have the appropriate know-how, do not design your own website, in an effort just to save some cash. Although there are many templates on the internet that are easy to follow to design websites, if you want to project a professional image, the end result could look amateurish. Having your website designed by experts, such as fullworks.net, who offer web design in Woking and elsewhere, is the single most important investment you should make for your business.

Stealing Ideas

If you lack time, resources or the cash to come up with innovative ideas for your website, it might seem an easy option to pinch ones you like from other websites. While it is a good idea to view other websites and content to gain inspiration, you should never directly copy from them. Try to put a new slant or twist on ideas you like to create something unique. Search engines will penalise you for copying, which could see you fall down search rankings, while your audience will not perceive you as an innovative-thinking company.