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10 TIPS AND TRICKSFOR USING THE INTERNET TO BE MORE SUCCESSFUL

1&1 ECOMMERCE

Copyright © 1&1 Internet Inc. 2016 1and1.com

ATTRACTING & RETAINING

CUSTOMERS ONLINE

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On the Internet, it’s easy for anyone to obtain information about a company. An increasing num-ber of customers are going online to search for products and services, or to take a quick glance at a store’s hours of operation. Getting in contact with customers and partners online is becoming increasingly important across all industries. Small to medium-sized companies can easily and inexpensively extend their range of operation with their presence on the Internet.

Do you have an online presence? And are your customers actually finding you? This document will show you how to increase the long-term success of your company with the help of the Internet with 10 practical tips.

Silvio Schimke1&1 Online Marketing Expert

WELCOME!

Try it out and put to good use the opportunities that the Internet has to offer!

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EVERYTHING AT A GLANCE!

Tip 1: Register your Company with Google Places to appear on Google Maps for local search requests ..............................................4

Tip 2: Register your Company with Online Directories so that your customers can find you via www.yellowpages.com etc. .....................5

Tip 3: Publish Your Own Website and be present online ..........................................................................................6

Tip 4: Optimize Your Website for Search Engines so that your customers can find you via Google and other search engines ............7

Tip 5: Send Newsletters to keep people informed about news and to retain/attract customers ...................8

Tip 6: Set Up Your Company‘s Facebook Page and be present on the social media giant .............................................................9

Tip 7: Check Out Your Customers‘ Feedback on the Internet because ratings and recommendations have an impact on your customers ..........10

Tip 8: Display Ads on Google to appear prominently in Google search results .................................................11

Tip 9: Sell Your Products Online to attract new customers and increase your sales ...............................................12

Tip 10: Analyze the Number of Visitors to find out how successful your Internet presence is ...........................................13

4 Tip 1: Register your Company with Google Places

Tip 1: Register your Company with Google Places

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Looking for the nearest bakery, restaurant or hairdresser, many people now take advantage of the Google search, e.g. by using their smartphone when on the move. In the search results, the locations of the relevant companies in the neighborhood then appear at the very top on a small map.

To get your company to appear on this map in regional search requests, you have to register with Google Places. Registration is free and easy:

1. If you don‘t have a Google account yet, create one for free: https://accounts.google.com/SignUp

2. Log in to Google Places with your Google account login data: https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin

3. Set up your Google Places entry.

For security reasons, you have to confirm your Google Places entry after setting it up. This can be done by phone, for example.

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Tip 2: Register your Company with Online Directories 5

Tip 2: Register your Company with Online Directories

RECOMMENDATIONAdd as much data as possible to your company profile to make it easier to find you.For example, enter: Your hours of operation, because this is typically the most requested business

information!

Images of your company, your products or your team. A good image is worth a thousand words.

Your website address. This will make your website known to your new customers. In addition, it will be more easily found by search engines such as Google.

In addition to Google Places, register your company‘s contact details on other important online directories, e.g. www.yellowpages.com.

Why is registering with online directories im-portant?

Customers use online directories to find companies, services or products in their area by using the Internet.

And since online directories receive approximately 10 million visits per month, you can reach many potential customers with just one entry.

Are you using 1&1 List Local? Set up your company data with 1&1 ListLocal. We take care of the rest and register you with all important online directories!

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6 Tip 3: Publish Your Own Website

Tip 3: Publish Your Own Website

NOTEThere are many cost-effective website builders that allow even beginners to create great websites without much effort. Further information is available online at www.1and1.com.

Customers are not only searching for contact details or hours of operation online, but also for information on products, news or directions to your business.

Don’t miss the chance to provide this kind of information on your own website. Please consi-der the following to make sure that your customers become repeat visitors to your website:

Content: Provide interesting content for your customers. Keep it unique - don‘t copy content from other websites. Update your content regularly, so that it‘s interesting to return to your website on a regular basis.

Design: Place great value on the design of your website. After all, there‘s no second first chance for the first impression! It‘s important that the design fits well with your company and invites the visitor to click through your website.

Internet address: Publish your website under your own Internet address (URL or do- main). Your Internet address should be expressive and easy to remember, so that visitors can memorize it and enter it correctly in the browser at any time.

Make your website known: Inform your customers about your new website, e.g. by adding it to business cards or other marketing documents.

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Tip 4: Optimize Your Website for Search Engines 7

Tip 4: Optimize Your Website for Search Engines

RECOMMENDATIONYou will find lots of information about search engine optimization in the document Google Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide (PDF).

Once you have your own website, you certainly want to have lots of visitors. However, with so many websites on the Internet, it’s tricky to stand out from the crowd!

More than 85% of all Internet users use search engines to find content. Make your website „Google-friendly“ via search engine optimization (SEO). This will improve your long-term position in search results and increase the number of your visitors that turn into potential customers.

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8 Tip 5: Send Newsletters

Tip 5: Send Newsletters

NOTEMany 1&1 hosting packages already include the 1&1 E-Mail Marketing Ma-nager. Take a look in your 1&1 Control Panel!

Newsletters are a cost-effective tool to reach a large group of recipients and to increase sales. Inform your customers about news such as editorial contributions, coupons or exclusive offers.

For a successful newsletter campaign, please note the following:

Delivery: Send newsletters regularly, e.g. monthly to stick in your recipients‘ memory. However, make sure you’re only sending newsletters if you can provide intersting con- tent.

Choose a time for sending your newsletter when most of your recipients are online. If you send your newsletters at night, they will have to compete with other e-mails in the recipi-ents‘ inbox the next day.

Subject: Choose a concise, meaningful subject for your newsletter. Many recipients decide from reading the subject whether to open a newsletter or not.

Personalization: Address your customers personally. Studies have shown that recipients pay much more attention to newsletters that contain their name.

Recipients: Send your newsletters only to recipients who have expressly subscribed to them (e.g. via signup form on your website). Spam clogs mailboxes and frustrates recipients.

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Tip 6: Set Up Your Company‘s Facebook Page 9

Tip 6: Set Up Your Company‘s Facebook Page

RECOMMENDATIONMore information is available at https://www.facebook.com/business/overview. You can also set up your company Facebook page there.

Over a billion people use Facebook to network. This makes Facebook not only interesting for private use, but also for companies. Depending on the industry, a company‘s own page on Facebook can make a big difference:

When setting up your company page, you can specify certain factors such as your location. By doing so, you increase the chances of being found by people that are very likely to become your customers.

You can quickly update your company Facebook page and, therefore, inform many people in a timely and inexpensive manner.

With your Facebook page, you establish online contact with your customers. Your custom- ers can read your posts, share them with others and rate them by clicking the “Like” button. To achieve successful online contact, it’s important to take the time to read and answer your customers‘ comments.

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Tip 7: Check Out Your Customers‘ Feedback on the Internet

Many customers rely on ratings and experiences of other customers before they buy products or use services. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important for small and medium-sized companies to pay attention and to react to their customers‘ feedback on the Internet:

Check regularly to see how your company is rated in rating portals such as www.yelp.com.

React to ratings openly and constructively, so that your customers know that they‘re being taken seriously. You can thank those with good ratings. An explanatory apology can help in case of bad ratings.

Actively gather customer feedback. Ask satisfied customers for ratings.

Publish positive customer feedback on your website.

Tip 8: Display Ads on Google 11

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Tip 8: Display Ads on Google

Even with extensive search engine optimization, it’s a challenge to appear at the top of the search results on Google and other serach engines. There is however, another, faster way: search engine marketing (SEM).

Search engine marketing means displaying ads (AdWords) on Google.

These are displayed when users search for a relevant keyword for your company. This makes sure that your ads reach exactly the people who are interested in them.

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Tip 9: Sell Your Products Online

Just one click to quickly order a new t-shirt and to have it conveniently delivered to your home – online shopping is a trend that’s here to stay. According to recent studies, nine out of ten Internet users shop online. 40 percent of them even on a regular basis, which means more than ten times within one year.

Online store system: Gather first experiences by selling online on known shopping portals such as eBay or Amazon. Here, you can reach an already large customer base without needing your own shop system. Later, you can also provide your own online store to be more flexible and expand your online sales.

Product description: Describe your products completely, specify e.g. size, color and weight. Remember that your online store customers cannot touch and check the item as they would in a normal store prior to purchase.

Payment methods: Provide multiple payment methods such as purchase on account, by credit card or through PayPal. In this way, you prevent customers from canceling their purchase because they cannot use their preferred payment method.

Shipping costs: Keep your shipping costs as low and transparent as possible. Many online customers cancel their purchase if shipping rates are too high.

Check whether it is possible to sell your products online and start an online business, if possible!

Tip 10: Analyze the Number of Visitors 13

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Tip 10: Analyze the Number of Visitors

Use an analysis tool to find out more about the visitors to your website:

How many users visit your website?

Do users visit your website more than once?

Which countries do your visitors come from?

Where do your visitors come from (i.e. which websites, social networks, search engines, ads, newsletters)?

Which devices and browsers do visitors use to look at your website?

What content do visitors look at?

How long do visitors stay on your website?

How often and when do visits result in a purchase?

With this analysis, you can see how successful your website is and how you can optimize your Internet presence.

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14 Tip 10: Analyze the Number of Visitors

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