7 All-Too-Common Internet Marketing Blunders Small Businesses Make

Are you getting the results you expected – or hoped for – from your online marketing plan?

If you aren't, then it might be because you're making one of these seven surprisingly common blunders:

1. Using social media marketing as a purely social exercise.
   There's nothing wrong with staying in touch with your friends and family, and even sharing a few jokes and photos, when you're on Facebook and Twitter. To make the most of your business accounts, though, it's important that you stay professional and share your marketing messages once in a while.
2. Sending too many e-mail messages to customers. Your buyers are just as busy as you are – only send an e-mail when you have something important to say. Keep marketing messages limited to once a month or so, and pay attention to the number of subscribers that you're gaining or losing.
3. Relying on discounts and sales every month.
   Obviously, offering sales and discounts is a great way to increase revenue in the short term. Do it too often, though, and people will stop paying your regular prices because they know they can just wait for the next special. Rather, we recommend offering a bonus, whicih maintains your service/product value while still providing an incentive. You might be surprised to know how positive the impression is on your customers.
4. Focusing SEO and PPC on 'one' keyword or phrase.
   Not only do keywords change all the time (as customers discover new brands or ways of thinking about what they want), but the most profitable phrases aren't always the ones that get the most traffic. For that reason, you should be working with a variety of keyword targets for search engine optimization and online advertising. At Kayak, we analyze current Google scores to identify opportunities (see image).
5. Not working hard enough on landing pages.
   Of course, it doesn't really matter how strong your search campaign is if visitors to your website aren't impressed. Don't focus on traffic only – make sure your landing pages are getting the highest possible value from every visitor.
6. Ignoring mobile web users.
   Mobile web users will soon outnumber "traditional" desktop and laptop customers. Make sure you have a mobile-friendly site that lets them do everything they need to, or they'll find a competitor who is keeping up with the times. But don't stop there, iOS icons, meta-viewport tags and more make for an enriched visitor experience.
7. Letting their business website get stale.
   Your business website isn't a brochure that you can print and hand out to customers without much thought. You should be constantly adding new material, content, ideas, and updates. A stale business website is a sure sign of a stale (and underperforming) Internet marketing plan.

Need a business web design team who can help you put your Internet marketing plan back on track? If so, let's talk.

Don't forget to follow Mark (@MarkAtKayak) and Randy (@Kayak360) on Twitter and connect with Randy in Google+.

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