Download Online Marketing eBook

Online Marketing eBook
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Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................... 3
Why build an online presence? ..................................................................................................................... 3
The building blocks of an online presence .................................................................................................... 6
Regional success stories ............................................................................................................................ 10
Tips and techniques for building your online presence ............................................................................... 11
The legal environment in Qatar ................................................................................................................... 17
Choosing a partner ...................................................................................................................................... 18
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Introduction
This eBook has been designed to give you a solid base of knowledge and understanding of everything
that you need to know in order to embark on a successful web marketing strategy. This eBook includes
best practices and definitions as well as tips and tricks to help you navigate this channel of marketing
your business.
To get started online; you first need a domain name. A domain name is like the
online address of your business; it is how your customers can find you when they
are looking online.
To get started and register a domain name go to: www.domains.qa/en.
Why build an online presence?
Building an online presence is a great way to increase the reach and exposure of your business quickly
and with a reasonable cost. The following are some of the major reasons why you should look at building
and marketing your business online.
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
Reduce costs, in terms of staffing costs,
premises, disintermediation, and
financial management

Easily track how your web marketing
campaign is performing, and make rapid
changes as a result

Target customer groups with specific
characteristics

Make use of a large variety of online
marketing tools, such as email, audio,
video, and social media

Instantly convert curious customers to
buyers

Collect data about your customers as
they transact on your site

Better understand your competitors’
online strategies
Reduce costs
One of the major benefits of setting up or moving a business online is the cost advantages of doing so. A
firm can reduce a number of cost elements including:

Staffing costs: Fewer employees are needed online than in traditional businesses thus reducing
costs; this is particularly true if you are “selling” online.

Premises: There is no need for a retail outlet; just a centralized office and possibly warehouse
space, saving on potential retail costs.

Disintermediation: The distribution chain can be shorter online as the consumer has the
opportunity to buy directly from the manufacturer (e.g. Dell). As one (or many) of the
intermediaries is cut out of this process, the cost of distribution is reduced.

Financial management: As consumers are typically expected to pay for the product before it is
dispatched, it improves the cash flow for the company, enabling the business to pay their
suppliers and other costs on time.
Rapidly make changes
When placing advertisements in traditional media including magazines, newspapers or on television, you
are limited in what you can change once the media have been printed and distributed.
Online marketing allows you to monitor and track how your advertisements and marketing campaigns are
performing, and to quickly and easily change your content and positioning in response.
Track real-time results
You can use online tools to determine how your web marketing campaign is performing. There are a
great number of free online tools that allow you to track, measure and monitor your online effectiveness.
The most well-known and comprehensive of which is Google Analytics. Through Google Analytics, you
can track all of your online marketing activities and test different versions of your content through the
Google Analytics portal.
Target specific demographics
There are a vast number of online platforms on which to build your presence and market your services.
These include websites and applications which appeal to specific demographics such as gender, age and
even location. You can even target specific education levels and occupations on some of the platforms.
Whilst this is possible with traditional marketing, it is not as easy.
Access to a large variety of online marketing tools
There are many options when marketing online. You can use audio, video, blogging, email, social media
and ongoing newsletters. The equivalent for traditional marketing would be to select several media outlets
to cover your bases, which would increase your costs significantly.
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Instant conversion of curious customers
When you market your product online, you have the ability to convert a potential customer to a sale
instantaneously. This is not the case when evaluating marketing options in traditional media such as
magazine ads, newspapers or television.
Collect data about your customers
Every time a customer transacts with the company online, that transaction is captured. The firm can use
this data in a number of ways. Firstly information can be analyzed to find out the most popular products or
services sold. Secondly, the data can be used to assist in segmenting your customers, profiling them and
sending customers promotional material based on past buying habits.
Conduct competitor analysis
The internet allows businesses to analyze competitor online strategies. A firm can keep abreast of new
products that are released, react to price changes, or use the internet to discover secondary data on their
competitors. The internet allows you to react quickly to a change in your competitor’s strategy, and try to
provide a service that allows you to match or beat your competitors. (Keep in mind that others can also
use this tactic on your business).
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The building blocks of an online presence
There are many elements that you need to consider when building your online presence. This includes
the design of your website through to how you make that website visible to your potential online
customers.
Designing your website
There are two facets to website design: the “front end” and the “back end”. The “front end” determines the
user experience. It needs to be:




Easy to navigate
Easy to understand
Get the point across quickly
Be search engine friendly
The “back end” of the site is what the browsers and the search engines look at when they read your site,
and should follow the rules below:



Adhere to World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) guidelines (www.w3.org)
Be “code light” (have a good text to code ratio)
Include the appropriate “meta data” (detailed data about a product, including price, dimensions
and stock availability)
Generally, website audiences do not like to read and are easily distracted. Your website design needs to
communicate as quickly as possible why your product can fulfill their need, and with the minimum of
distractions.
Figure 1: Examples of web site structure and navigation styles
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Making your website easy to find
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an approach for making sure that your website appears at or near
the top of results returned by search engines, such as Google or Yahoo. SEO is considered by many to
be the most important and cost effective method of driving traffic to your website. As a good practice,
every online marketing activity should include at least an element of SEO in its design.
The underlying principle of SEO is that you need to understand what your target audience is looking for
and what words they are using to describe the solution to their problem.
SEO can be broken down into “onsite”, “offsite” and “server-side” SEO:



“Onsite” refers to everything that happens on your website such as content, title tags and
headings.
“Offsite” refers to how links are built which then point back to your site from external website
properties; this is arguably the most difficult aspect of SEO.
“Server-side” refers to the neighborhood that your IP address is in. Should there be sites with
questionable content hosted on the same server as your site, you may be penalized by search
engines.
Figure 2: Search Engine Optimization and Pay-Per-Click in practice
Advertising on other websites
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) marketing is where you can pay website owners to show your adverts, and pay on
the basis of the number of times that potential customers click on that link to connect to your website.
This approach is another way to drive traffic to your site, even when your SEO efforts are lagging behind.
The nuances of Pay-Per-Click as well as the platforms on which you can purchase advertising are all
important to understand; not every PPC advertising platform and portal is right for your organization.
Online tools are available to help you to research and understand the value propositions and the
communities where your advertising is going to be seen. Google’s search network of display advertising
and AdWords provide useful advertising data and are excellent tools for those starting to experiment with
PPC marketing.
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Drawing attention to your advertisements
Online advertising is becoming more difficult as online users are being bombarded with advertising and
content from every angle. Much the same way as TV advertising fades into the background when you are
watching your favorite show; the same can happen for online advertising.
“Rich media ads” are one way to make your advertisements stand apart from the others. Examples of rich
media ads are where the user hovers over the banner and it expands to take up more of the page, or a
video starts to play once clicked.
Rich media ads should be used wisely. If they are done incorrectly they can be irritating and damage your
efforts (and brand) in the eyes of your target customers. It is also very important to remember to tailor the
design and content of the adverts to the demographic of the users who are on the website.
Using social media for marketing purposes
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Did you know:
42% of Facebook
users in Qatar are
between the ages 25
and 34
What you can do?
Set up free corporate
accounts on social
media platforms
What are some of the best practices you need to
keep in mind?
Engage with your followers. If someone
comments on some content you have posted,
acknowledge that they have, by interacting
with them
Do not be afraid to ask the community what
they want. Tailored content is great content.
Great content is shareable content. Shareable
content gets you known
Did you know:
650,000 of users in
Qatar are on
Facebook
Tailor your ads to specific demographics and
people with interests that relate to your
industry
Did you know:
92% of SMEs in
Qatar are using
social media
Did you know:
61% of users surveyed
in MENA spend more
than 2 hours per day on
social networking sites
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Create new content and update old content
regularly to increase visits and interest
Develop mobile
applications to reach
customers on the go
Host a blog so that you can engage in
discussion with your customers and other
online users
Figure 3: Reaching your customers through social media
Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and MySpace is increasingly being used as
a channel both to advertise products and services, but also to monitor and influence comments on
particular brands made by members of the public or specific communities.
Many businesses are struggling to define where “social media” should be owned within their organization.
Many argue that it is a marketing channel as it allows you to reach potential customers and effect
changes in their decision making process. Others argue that it is the domain of customer service as you
have the interaction of current clients speaking about their good and bad experiences with your brand.
In truth, it is neither of these as well as both of these. Social Media is a channel of communication that
can be leveraged in any department within your business. Social media is dynamic and flexible enough to
make a positive difference anywhere it is implemented successfully.
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Many organizations choose social media platforms as their number one go to market channel as there is
a captive audience there already; not to mention the growing trend of individuals who spend more time on
social networks than on any other web platform.
In addition to this, there is a very fast go-to-market cycle as the platforms do not need to be built or
designed; they merely need some branding (icons and logos) as well as content. This means that
companies can be connecting and communicating with their target market extremely quickly.
Targeting mobile applications
Mobile marketing is already a significant part of marketing, and it is only going to get even more popular.
With the iPad and other tablets engulfing the market, application (or “app”) marketing is defining how and
where companies position themselves online.
The use of mobile in your marketing strategy can be as basic as having a mobile site. This should ensure
that those viewing your site on their mobile devices are given an experience that is right for the device on
which they are browsing.
Alternatively, mobile marketing can become the primary channel through which users interact and engage
with your products and services. A number of location-based applications (such as FourSquare,
Shopkick, Geomium, Skout, Imahima and Facebook Places) have done exactly that, targeting users who
interact with the brand from their mobile phones.
Using blogs
In essence, blogs are small websites that allow for interaction and sharing of comments with other online
users or community members. Blogs are conversation starters and a great place to generate and share
thought leadership.
Features of blogs are that they are:







Flexible
Easily updated
Allow frequent updates
Customized to match your website
Optimized with your keywords
Designed to accept and encourage freeform writing
Differentiating, because many other businesses are not blogging yet
While a website gives your corporate business view on the services you offer to the market, a blog gives
your view on how the industry is behaving and what changes and developments there are from your point
of view.
Understanding how users interact with your website
Online analytics tools allow you to extract reports on data about how your visitors are using your site, as
well as how they are finding your site. This data can give important insights into how effectively your site
is working, and highlight which areas of your site are working well or require further development.
For instance, if your analytics shows that your products page has a high exit rate and a low conversion
rate, you may conclude that the page needs to include more prompts for users to take some action, a
simpler design or more attractive and enticing copy.
Free analytics programs like Google Analytics or Yahoo! Web Analytics can be installed on your website
to generate basic reports.
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Regional success stories
There are numerous success stories in Qatar and across the region of small and medium sized
businesses which have successfully developed their online presence and grown their businesses. We
have outlined below a few selected examples.
Figure 4: Success stories in Qatar and across the region
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Tips and techniques for building your online presence
Attracting people to your site: Web site design essentials
Your success in drawing users and potential customers to your site will be determined by the style,
relevance and accuracy of your content, together with the look and feel of the design. Below are some
key features to keep in mind.

Get the basics right; keep content short, relevant and to the point.

Good spelling and grammar are a must; steer away from too much jargon.

Try to think like your audience and talk with them, not at them. Speak to them in a tone and
personality that is relevant to them.

Have an opinion; just be sure you have your facts straight.

Ask others for their opinions. Everyone wants to be heard, especially by a brand they like. This is
true engagement and conversation.

Show your personality. People want to know they are speaking to a person, not just a faceless
and non-human brand. Brands without personality are not easily approachable.

Engage with your followers. If someone comments on some content you have posted,
acknowledge that they have by interacting with them.

Use great images and rich media content (such as videos and dynamic graphics) where relevant.
These are easy to consume and are much more engaging. Remember, a picture says a thousand
words.

Always be aware of copyright laws, and credit images to their original source. Always give credit
where credit is due; never copy someone else’s update. Try to always share original content.

Do not be afraid to ask the community what they want. Tailored content is great content. Great
content is shareable content. Shareable content gets you known.

Be genuine; do not try to be something you are not. If people meet you and you are not like your
online persona, it will do more damage than good.
Making your website easy to find: Search Engine Optimization essentials
Search engines such as Google determine which results to show in which sequence according to a set of
rules. These look for key words that relate to the user’s search, as well as updates to content, links from
other sources and the amount of activity on your site. You can influence the position of your site in search
engine results through the design and maintenance of your site.
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
Keywords in title tags: Title tags are those words that appear in the title bar of web browsers
and generally show up in search engine results pages. Title tags are coded into your site and
should contain the most important keywords relevant to your prospects for each page.

Keywords in URLs: Ideally, your URL (or domain name) will contain primary keywords.

Header tags: These are included in your main content, separating thoughts and/or paragraphs
with keyword-rich subheads.

Fresh content: Creating new content and updating old content regularly boosts authority and
news ranking.

Authority: Build authority for your site through participation in social media, providing
commentary and links to other authoritative sources in your space and building quality inbound
links.

Quality user experience: Google rewards sites that are well designed, easy to navigate, load
quickly and keep visitors engaged (low bounce rates).
Making the right first impression: Landing page optimization
The landing page is the first page that a user sees when arriving at a site. This may also be your home
page.
First impressions are everything online and so ensuring that you are making a good one is critical.
Landing page optimization is the process of ensuring that the page on which your prospects are landing is
completely optimized to ensure a good chance of converting a potential customer to a sale.
The RACE (Reach, Act, Convert, Engage) Digital Marketing Improvement Framework, developed by
smartinsights.com proposes 12 steps to ensure you are covering your landing page optimization bases:
1. Deliver on relevance
Ensure that your visitors can see why they have landed on the page. Make sure that there are very
clear with definite cues which reinforce why their search has led them to that specific page.
2. Integrate with the referral source
What was your visitor looking at that led them to your landing page? Further deliver on relevance by
making sure that there is a relationship between what they read to get to your page, and what is on
your page.
3. Provide enough detail to support a decision
There should be enough detail on the page to lead to an action from your visitor. Do not send them to
another page or leave them wanting for information to make a decision about whether it is worth their
time to remain on your site. Give them enough information to lead them to the result you intended.
4. Start the user on their journey
The next step for the visitor should be very clear. The number of clicks should be minimized as far as
possible. Research has shown that every additional click can drop your rate of converting browsers to
customers by 10% per click.
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5. Ensure that your page is the right length
As a general rule, a page with over 500 words on it will overwhelm the customer and make them
more likely to leave the page. Balance this with the need to provide enough detail, as discussed
above.
6. Make sure the graphics resonate
Make sure that the images you use on a page are high quality, and relevant. For instance if you are
selling a car, do not have an image of a boat. The user will be confused and will probably move to
another site.
7. Consider removing the menu
Some argue that including a menu on a page can lead the visitor to get lost by following other
possible avenues, and so not complete your intended goal. Others point out that the visitor might not
trust a simple one-page without any additional content behind it. Try testing and refining your
approach according to what suits your customers.
8. Fit your design to your user’s screen
A liquid design, sometimes called a flow design, is one that expands depending on the resolution of
the screen. This allows you to use as much of the available space as possible, while not overloading
the content.
9. Apply the lessons from search marketing
In other words, consider how the visitor got to you in the first place and what they might have
searched to get there: for instance a brand name, a campaign line or a product.
10. Remember non-responders
Sometimes a visitor does not wish to fill in a form immediately. Provide a number, an email address
or a live online chat function so that they can communicate with you when they are ready and in a
way which is convenient and comfortable to them.
11. Try, measure, tweak
There is always a better conversion possibility. Keep measuring what happens when you make
changes and learn from the mistakes and successes to make the next attempt even better.
12. Consider longevity
Landing pages are often used for short campaigns but can also be used as a longer term strategy.
Whichever of these happen to be true, always remember to check the links and the information
regularly to make sure they are up-to-date and accurate.
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Creating a connection with your customers: Lead generation techniques and “Call-to-Action”
Lead generation is where you learn enough about your customer to be able to make a follow-up contact
to further understand their needs. The follow-up contact will typically be made directly by your sales staff
or consultants.
A “call-to-action” is a prompt for the customer to actively engage with your or your products or services.
This is typically a compelling statement or offer, with a button which the user has to click to access a
registration form or further information.
Lead generation is critical for businesses that do not have a product to sell (especially online), or for
business for which the sale is very complex or specialized. In these cases, completing the sale will
typically require engagement with sales staff or consultants. For businesses like these, lead generation is
important to ensure that the specialized sales staff or consultants have a constant flow of leads on which
to follow-up.
Successful online lead generation relies on the fact that you understand exactly what your potential
customer needs so that you can immediately answer that need.
There are some key techniques that can be used to improve online lead-generation:

Building an understanding of how users are interacting with your site, and what prompts a
successful lead (data analytics)

Designing your landing page to immediately make a connection with your customer

Allowing your customers to contact you through a variety of channels (online chat windows;
requesting call-backs)

Plan and deliver communications directly to your prospective customers, including emails
triggered by certain events or user behaviors

Providing eNewsletters to educate prospects about your brand and deliver relevant offers to
encourage conversion
Including a compelling “call-to-action” will increase the success of converting browsing users to leads. A
“call-to-action” should have at least one of the following characteristics:
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
Be visually impactful

Provide valuable “content”

Call for urgent action

Tell users what they get
Figure 5: Examples of “Call-to-Action”
Delivering your message: Content marketing
Content is critical to your online marketing success. Without content there is nothing for search engines to
index, no compelling reason for visitors to spend time on your site and nothing there to impress.
The RACE framework highlights the importance of content as follows:
1. Shareable content drives awareness
If the content on your site is exciting, interesting and compelling enough to warrant sharing, then this
is a powerful way to build your name. People love to share, and the more they share your content, the
more your brand name will spread.
2. Content drives search engine optimization (SEO)
The way in which your content is written is critically important. There is a definite balance required
between writing content which is "poetic”, and content from which allows search engines to identify
the specific keywords they need in order to index your site. The better this balance is struck, the
better your site will index, rank and ultimately convert visitors to customers.
3. Content drives purchases
The content on your site is the online equivalent of a sales person convincing visitors that they must
have the product that you are selling.
4. Syndicate content
In addition to sharing across your own social networks, content can be shared and syndicated across
“article sites” or databases. These are online locations which allow users to search for articles on
specific topics. The author allows and encourages people to use their content as long as they keep
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the author’s name and link in the article. Having your content featured on article sites helps spread
your online presence even further. The more you can get your content out there, the more people will
be pushed back to your site, giving you the chance to convert them.
5. Allow user generated content
Buyer decision-making has changed. User generated content in the form of reviews and blogs has
changed the way in which we look for information on whether or not to make a purchase. The more
we can tap into this available content and have it displayed on our site, the better.
6. Content on multiple platforms
This is more about your site design, as opposed to the content on it; but the more platforms that your
site works on, the better for you. With mobile content consumption taking off at a rapid pace, you
should at least consider publishing your content on a mobile platform.
As noted previously, the use of mobile in your marketing strategy can be as basic as having a mobile
site, or can become the primary channel through which users interact and engage with your products
and services. Either way, any content you provide over a mobile platform should ensure that those
viewing your site on their mobile devices are given an experience that is right for the device on which
they are browsing.
eNewsletters and promotional emails
Never underestimate the power of a beautifully written and
designed email newsletter.
With social media so popular, many companies are
neglecting their newsletter and email communication.
These communications should be used to push your
subscribers to either your social media platforms, or to
your websites.
When subscribers are pushed to your website, they should
land on pages that have been specifically designed with
the newsletter in mind.
Email marketing is still a major cornerstone of B2B
marketing and should be given particular attention when
you are designing your campaigns.
Figure 6: An example eNewsletter
Customer service and support
Customers expect support to be provided online, rather than needing to call a support helpline.
Be sure that your website is able to assist with customer queries and support. In addition to a FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions) page, consider offering live chat support, a ticket logging system or a forum
where users can see what other questions and solutions have already been asked by others.
Customers are also using social media networks to look for support; ensure that you are ready to engage
with your audience here.
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The legal environment in Qatar
There are already a number of laws and initiatives in place in Qatar intended to reassure you that your
interests are being represented.
1- There are updates currently being incorporated to the Intellectual Property law to ensure your
trademark, patent, copyrights, and brand are protected not only offline, but also online.
2- The Cybercrime law, which is the enforcing legislation, has been submitted and is currently
awaiting approval and enactment. The law provides details on penalties, offenders, and types and
procedures of cybercrimes.
3- There are several entities within Qatar that deal with bestowing security and confidentiality across
the cyber space. These entities work together to ensure a safe and secure digital space.
a. Q-CERT: The Qatar Computer Emergency Response Team, proactively seeks to identify
major threats to the digital space and resolve them before they cause harm to a persons
or companies. The response team also promptly reacts in cases where cyber-attacks
have actually occurred in any of the critical sectors. The response team is always ready
to receive incident logs from everyone in Qatar, when they encounter a cyber-mischief
act.
b. Ministry of Interior Cyber Crime Center: The cybercrime center enforces the laws and
regulations set forth by the government against offenders who use sophisticated
electronic methods to carry out criminal activities. The center is equipped with latest
technologies to detect cybercrimes and prevent them.
Find out more on the legal environment in Qatar online as you navigate through the stages of the SME
Toolkit which can be found on the ictQATAR website.
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Choosing a partner
For your online marketing activities to be successful, a lot depends on the agency that you work with to
build and promote your website. This section highlights some key considerations when choosing your
web presence provider.
Remember that there are some agencies that focus only on website design, whilst others focus on
website promotion. It is important to make sure that the agency you choose can fulfill as many of your
needs and criteria as possible.
Ensure it is the core focus of their business. Be wary of marketing and PR firms and independent
consultants who offer online marketing and SEO services as an add-on to their core services; you will
need to examine their services and credentials closely.
Evaluate their ability to support you. Will you talk with a real person who has the expertise to guide
your online marketing to success, or will it be a “self-service” or automated approach? Will they consult
with you and adjust the approach as your business evolves and grows? Do they have different levels of
support depending on the growth and speed of delivery your business requires?
Ask about their methods and technology. Online marketing is increasingly complex and nearly
impossible to manage effectively without advanced software tools. If the agency is still focused on running
reports and analysis manually, explore further how they will support you as your needs grow.
Ask for multiple referrals in your industry and other adjacent industries. Developing a
knowledgebase within a particular industry enables a partner to maximize results based on the data and
shared learnings of your market. Ultimately, this results in more qualified leads for less cost. However, be
cautious if they have only worked in one industry as their approach for knowledge sharing might be
limited.
Do they provide meaningful and concise reporting? One of the greatest benefits of online marketing
versus traditional media is the measurable tracking of data. For instance, check your partner can provide
insight into the correct success rates, conversions, cost per click or other data that may be critical to the
success or failure of your campaign.
Evaluate and verify their technical credentials in online media. What accreditations and true
partnerships does your provider have? Are their teams fully certified by the major search engines, ad
networks and so on, or is it one person with a long expired Google test result?
Assess the breadth of service provided. Does the partner have a range of online marketing
experience; or have they only specialized in PPC marketing or SEO? If the provider has a narrow focus,
then the results that they are going to deliver will be equally narrow.
Look for cultural fit. One of the extremely important criteria for choosing a partner is how well they fit
with your culture and business ethics. Cultural fit is frequently ignored in favor of lower costs and the
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promise of results; but if you cannot establish a relationship with your service provider then the results will
suffer.
Evaluate potential partners on the results you want to achieve. Online marketing companies may say
that they focus on the online success of their clients rather than their own. However, it is a good idea to
test how well their website ranks in search results; this would indicate that they have the ability to achieve
the same results for you.
Understand pricing structure and payment terms. Make sure that you are comfortable with how and
when your partner will charge you. Ask them how the money that you are spending with them is going to
be allocated, and if they can show you a break-down of costs. Also, check that there is recourse for nonperformance on their side.
For a detailed step by step process of how to select a partner; please view the “Choosing a Partner”
section of the eCommerce eBook which will help guide you through the process.
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