There are thousands of web sites, books, CD-ROM's, cassette tapes and various other forms of communication devoted to the topic of Internet marketing. The majority of these sites profess to offer "secret strategies" and "killer tactics" which promise to increase your chances of having success on the Internet. Of course you must fork over your hard earned cash for these wonderful pearls of wisdom. (Many of which turn out to be nothing more than pyramid schemes and other scams)

Let me repeat myself, I said, "There are no secrets to successfully Internet marketing"

Successful marketing, whether its online or off, requires careful planning and a lot of hard work. And no amount of marketing will ever meet with success if the product being marketed is a bad one. For details visit to :www.podcasting-made-easy.comThis is especially true of web sites, which carry the remarkable distinction of the almighty back button. I know this from first hand experience with companies that have spent ridiculous amounts of money to market web sites which were basically unusable.

Now that your dreams of sailing around the ocean sipping margaritas, while an Internet cash machine deposits six figure sums into your bank are thoroughly dashed, lets explore some of the common issues associated with true Internet marketing success as well as a few of the many misconceptions.

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Planning:

Develop a marketing strategy for your web site.

Are you selling merchandise online? Are you advertising a service? Who are your customers? You must determine exactly what it is that you want your website to accomplish. Example: If your web site is focused on making it easier for potential customers to learn about your services, focus your attention on offering as much information about your services as possible. For more information visit to :www.tube-traffic.comPrice comparisons of your competition, directions to your business location, contact information, testimonials, etc.,are a good place to start. Plan your web site around a central goal.

Analysis:

So your web site is up and running, you have developed a marketing strategy and people are interested in your product. Now its time to figure our what is working and what isn't. This aspect of marketing your web site can be one of the most difficult to understand. This goes well beyond simply counting the number of visitors to your site. It requires analyzing the habits of those who travel to your site. Determining what features of your site compel visitors to purchase your products, what features turn visitors away. It is important to analyze every single feature of your web site, from the sales copy to the navigation. You must understand how every feature of your web site supports or detracts from your marketing success.

Hopefully by now you realize that Internet marketing requires more than just an out-of-the-box solution. There is no magical formula to marketing online, and those who say otherwise should be scrutinized. The incredible variety of businesses online require individual marketing strategies and plans. A real estate web site should not be marketed the same way as one selling comic books. Any salesman would have a difficult time selling denture glue to a teen-ager, it just doesn't fit. And neither do one size fits all marketing plans. Target markets have to be considered. Planning, strategy and analysis must be carried out in order to achieve any kind of lasting success.

Make your web site usable and you will gain success!

Now, if you would like to send me a check for $30 for this "killer strategy" please feel free to do so. Otherwise, take this bit of information and file it in the "critically important" category. By usable, I'm talking about such web site considerations as working links, fast loading pages, limited use of images,animations and other "fluff" that will make most users hit the back button faster than you can blink a virtual eye