Sunday, April 27, 2008

Internet Marketing Tools - Assisting Small Business Owners

These days it seems that everyone claims to be some sort of Internet expert. I have quite a few years of experience and have been lucky enough to work with and be mentored by some pretty talented folks. However, I am always learning more and I try to stay abreast of as much as I can with regard to Internet search and search marketing in general. With my own busy schedule I know how hard it is for me, based on that, I know it must be even harder for small and mid-sized business owners who are at a loss for information I may be privy to, just simply because they are caught up in everyday life of managing their business while I am immersed in finding the next best solution as an Internet Marketing Executive. I am always looking to help business owners with their Internet strategies, so I thought it would be fitting to offer some easy to use tools that will assist business owners as they try to wrap their heads around the idea of marketing their website online with little or no help.

Check for Rankings:

SEO Digger -Just plug in your URL and see what turns up.

Google Webmaster Tools - Gain insight into rankings, keywords, indexed pages (how many pages of your site are in the search engine database) and much more.

Research Keywords:

WordTracker’s Free Keyword Tool

Google Free Keyword Tool

Keyword Spy -Check out information related to your competitors and find out what keywords are important to them.

Sitemaps

XML Sitemap Generator - When you create an XML Sitemap,this file resides in the root directory of your website. It helps to inform the search engines of the pages within your website. This tool can also assist you with creating an HTML sitemap which should reside on your website as a content page, it serves as a table of contents for your visitors and search engines as well.

Links are the backbone of the web

Free Backlink Checker -This tool will not only tell you how many web pages link back to you, but it also shows you the detail so you can visit the page. You can also use this tool to research links for your competitors.

Xenu’s Broken Link Checker - This requires you to download the software, but provides a very easy to read report.

Bad Neighborhood Links - Looks for sites you are linking to and find sites that are linking to you. Remember that you can never control who links to you but you can make sure you are aware of who you link to.

These are just a few helpful tools to start you on your way. Ensuring your website is visible online can ultimately be the turning point for the success, or lack of success, for your online business. Be sure you have educated yourself thoroughly regarding what it takes to gain more exposure online. If you decide that it is too overwhelming and you would rather talk with someone who has the experience to assist you, research and find the right person who understands your individual needs as it relates to your business’ Internet marketing strategies.

Good Luck!


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Great Post. I use many of the same tools for web projects I work on. It seems that no one wants to do any keyword research or planning before launching a website, they just want to optimize after everything is set up. If webmasters knew about these tools, they would be able to make much better keyword decisions!