3 Online Marketing Myths That Even Chuck Norris Can't Kill

Ready for some quick trivia?

Truthful or Fake? You get arthritis from cracking your knuckles.

True or False? If you're in space, you can run into the Slap-up Wall of China.

True or False? You can kill someone if you lot throw a money from the top of the Empire Country Edifice and information technology hits someone'southward head on the ground.

Of class, the answers are all false, false, and yes, faux. These are all myths.

Why do myths exist? Co-ordinate to research done by Academy of Michigan social psychologist Norbert Schwarz:

"The conventional response to myths and urban legends is to counter bad data with accurate data. But the new psychological studies show that denials and clarifications, for all their intuitive appeal, tin can paradoxically contribute to the resiliency of pop myths…tin can bias information technology into thinking that false information is truthful. Clever manipulators tin have advantage of this tendency."

Now, if you lot've ever tried marketing anything online, I'm sure you've come up across some internet marketing myths that seem to never die. Though I can't prove it scientifically, I bet certain people in sure companies want new players to continue believing in these myths. And hither I'd like to squash some of these online marketing myths completely:

Myth 1: More Traffic = More Money

Makes sense right? The more eye balls you have, the greater the chance of yous selling some stuff. Wrong again.

In fact, every time I hear that, I feel exactly similar this:

If that were the case, how come up Yahoo, which recently overtook Google for unique U.S. visitor traffic, makes a fraction of what Google makes? Information technology'due south because not all traffic is created equal.

Let me ask you a commonsense question:

If you sell lemonade, would you lot stand up in the middle of the street every 24-hour interval screaming, "Lemonade!!!" at every person who walked by? Or would you rather await for the summer and stand in front of a construction zone on a scorching-hot day?

Sure you lot probably could make coin using a shotgun approach, just I would fence that you would brand more than profits in less time if you target correctly. In other words, if you tin target people'southward intent to purchase, you can brand a killing. (And that is why search engines make the big bucks because they tin tell when you're ready to purchase.)

In fact, 1 of my web log posts in one case ranked actually loftier for some ridiculous keyword that brought in high volume, but low quality, traffic. The traffic non only did not monetize finer, but it really hurt my web log considering it was temporarily blocked by corporate firewalls since the firewall software labeled my site a "threat" under their corporate policy.

And then what's the use in trying to get every bit much traffic equally possible?

There isn't.

What you need is targeted traffic that needs what you accept. Doesn't that make sense? If you open a store, you would rather take people come in and buy something than just have window shoppers. Aforementioned logic applies hither.

Myth 2: You Can "Game" the Search Engines (and Social Networks)

Now, earlier I get into this, did you know Google employs thousands of people with PhDs in computer science, linguistics, applied math, physics, algorithms, etc.?

What are the odds that an average person tin crush an army of computer nerds whose job is to keep their $250 billion search engine results "authentic?"

If an SEO visitor tells you that you can "SEO your way to the top," ask them this question: How come they don't rank #one when y'all search for "SEO company?" Why did they use advert, cold email, or however else they got to you to start the conversation?

Makes sense, right? If they don't consume their own dog food, why exercise they expect you to consume information technology?

If someone offers you some crazy link-building service, or software that promises to brand you lot rank #1 and make you billions of dollars, enquire them for:

• A reference. I uncertainty they fifty-fifty have a referral from one visitor that yous tin can recognize.
• A phone number. I doubt they even take ane. If they do, information technology's probably some vocalization IP number that gets picked upwards in some boiler room in some state you can't even pronounce.
• "Dog food." That is, what keywords do they personally rank for.

The bottom line is, if it looks similar a duck, smells like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks similar a duck, aye…information technology'due south probably a scam or at best a zero-value proposition.

And then, what'southward the right style? At that place's no magic. It's common sense.

Just call back this way: How did our parents and grandparents get the word out virtually their business, product, or service? Yes, they got up a tree and yelled, they made nice fliers and brochures, and got good ol' give-and-take-of-mouth recommendations. Information technology's no different in the online world: exist social, create awesome media, share, be nice, and yep, try to get people to refer yous (i.e. give y'all a link back).

Myth 3: Build It and They Will Come

I see newbie internet entrepreneurs everyday—e-commerce people, software-as-service people, digital products people…all kinds of people. They remember simply because you have a "buy at present" button, and you turn on advertising, then—voilà! Profit!

Miscalculated motility.

There are now hundreds of millions of websites, all asking for your attention, and your wallet. Do you really call back that just because you lot have a brand new website that's nice and shiny and has lovely content, that people are going to trust you?

Now, this is where common sense comes into play once over again.

Remember when you were single (or if you are single and dating now, I guess you're going through this) and y'all went on dates?

At present, if you're a guy, what are the odds that you lot're going to have that girl abode on the first night? Or if you're a daughter, what are the odds that your Prince Mannerly is going to get on his knees and propose to you that dark? Unless you're Rico Suave or Kim Kardashian, your chances are probably in the sub-i% range.

Now, I'1000 not saying that it's a bad probability, but the odds are much amend if you lot "nurture" your atomic number 82 to a indicate where they experience comfortable with you lot and get-go opening up to you. You know, that "crazy" thing you acquire in social life chosen edifice rapport and establishing trust.

Judge what? Information technology'southward the aforementioned in online earth. In other words, the odds of you converting a complete stranger to some commercial transaction on the offset effort are going to exist adequately low.

So what exercise you exercise?

Teach, explain example studies, tell stories, and show examples. All the helpful stuff that people actually practice like.

Practise what yous'd do in the offline world: communicate, show, share, and yes, listen. This ways you accept to create media like newsletters and web log posts. In other words, teach people why their problems exist and how yous tin solve them, and yous volition never need to "sell" again.

With each and every "marketing" step you take with them, you're making them feel more than comfy nigh buying your stuff. Recall: no one wants to be "sold." And everyone wants to feel special.

Takeaway

1. Don't "collect" traffic. Focus on who y'all can serve and target them.
2. Don't "SEO". Focus on creating content people find useful.
3. Don't try to "convert users." Focus on creating value, edifice rapport, and developing their trust.

Call back, "traffic" is another way of saying "the person at the other cease of the internet."

ousleyqueent.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.lifehack.org/articles/work/3-online-marketing-myths-that-even-chuck-norris-cant-kill.html

Share this post