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The internet marketing business has flourished rapidly in
recent years due to the increased
volume of online shopping.
Therefore, many internet based
businesses have begun to mushroom,
most of them owned by novices
who are eager to grab a slice
of the lucrative internet
marketing business. With its
24-hour operability, international
presence and low start up
costs, an internet business
seems to be the key for exponential
business growth. However,
with stiff competition over
the internet, many business
owners do not have the capability
and knowledge to make their
site sell. Even if a site
is beautifully designed complete
with inventory listings and
shopping cart facilities,
it would be a total failure
if the site is unable to generate
adequate internet traffic.
This is where the services
of an internet marketing consultant
come in. The business of an
Internet marketing consultant
would be to help clients increase
web traffic to their internet
sites. This can be done in
a variety of ways such as
through search engine optimization,
pay per click advertising
or affiliate marketing. Although
many website owners may be
familiar with these concepts,
they may lack the time and
expertise to do it the correct
way. An internet marketing
consultant would be able to
apply the appropriate strategies
for websites to create the
needed traffic and increase
sales in the process. Start
Up Costs and Financing Sources:
The core of an internet marketing
consulting business is highly
dependent on the skills and
efforts of the business owner.
In fact, as the business is
service based, the start-up
costs are relatively low as
no inventories are required.
However, the business owner
will need to obtain education,
skills and expertise in the
area of internet marketing
before he can start the business.
This can be obtained from
self-study in the area of
internet marketing, attending
a seminar or a course on this
area or by working for a mentor
who is an expert. Thus, the
start-up costs for this business
would primarily be for the
cost of education which may
vary from $500 to $10,000
depending on the type of education
received. A marketing website
would be essential to your
services as an internet consultant.
This would probably cost you
another $1000 - $2000 for
website development and server
space maintenance and support.
In order to obtain financing,
a business plan should be
drafted to indicate the growth
potential of the business
including a sound marketing
plan. With this, the plan
can be used to obtain funding
for the business either from
commercial lenders or venture
capitalists. Pricing Guidelines
for Service: The pricing for
internet marketing consulting
can vary greatly depending
on the source of internet
traffic, advertising efforts
required as well as the keywords
of the site that would need
to be optimized. This is due
to the fact that some more
common keywords may require
more work from the internet
marketing consultant in order
to produce the expected results.
Advertising such as pay per
click can also vary depending
on the maximum number of clicks
that the site owner has preset.
Other areas of concern are
the current marketing strategies
that the site owner is already
implementing, in which an
analysis needs to be done
by the internet business consultant
to determine what is working
and what isn't. Some internet
business consultants charge
their clients based on the
additional sales generated
by their strategies. They
may charge based on a percentage
of increased sales from the
site over a period of time,
which is a more justified
method of charging the client.
As a rule of thumb, internet
marketing consultants can
start their charges from $80
an hour just for consulting
services alone. © Copyright
Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.
Randy has dozens of home based
business articles at Businesses
You can Operate from your
Home such as Starting a Medical
Billing Home Business. |
