If it isn’t clear to the SMB’s (small and medium business) of the world by now then it needs to be said again. There is nothing, repeat nothing, that relates to Internet marketing that is a “set it and forget it” practice. In fact, with the confluence of social media, search and everything else that is online happening at such a rapid rate it is less so. Remember the old Yellow Pages? That’s a “set it and forget it” proposition for the most part and unless you are in a dire emergency and can’t get to your computer before you find your Yellow Pages book (would like to see some stats on that one) you can see where that mentality gets you.

So what can be done on a daily basis by your average SMB (which most dealers and resellers are, so brands and manufacturers please take note) to at least stay informed about this increasingly important part of any business? Here’s a list, that while far from exhaustive, can give you some ideas.

• Check your paid search campaigns daily – Many SMB’s either turn their paid search efforts over to a third party or they set up some basic campaigns then just let Google charge their credit card. Bad mistake. There can be daily (and more frequently of course) changes in these campaigns that should be made in order to optimize the advertising spend. Checking in on it once a week is not recommended.

• Be on the prowl for content – How are you making your web presence more alive? Have you not updated your site in months or even years? If that’s the case your organic rankings will suffer for sure but so will your paid conversions. What if you run the perfect paid search campaign with exquisite landing pages and spot on calls to action then the visitor lands on a stale and out of date web site? You lose. Be thinking about your web site every day.

• Consider some social media – At a bare minimum you should consider a Facebook fan page for your business. Why? Because people (read: your customers) are getting used to it and will start to expect it. You can update something like this very easily with customer stories, specials and anything else that someone should know about your business.

• Look for good partners – Look for some help if you need it. Do you need to do this daily? Well, maybe not but you need to do a lot of research before going with one of the self-proclaimed experts in search marketing. Be careful out there.

• Conduct research with customers – Ask your customers what words they would use to search for your business. Pick their brain to learn about what THEY see rather than what you see. The less myopic your business thinking is the closer to your actual customer your efforts will be.

Like I said, this is not exhaustive but these elements are important if you would like to see success with your online efforts.

Good luck!

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