Over the past 10 years running my own marketing business online I've evaluated dozens of Internet Marketing Tools and I'm about to share with you the 5 most important Online Marketing Tools for the small businessman.. Implement all 5 of these marketing tools, combined with a solid business plan and they will take your small business to the pinnacle of online success.

If you are familiar with the old adage that you don't have to outrun the grizzly bear you just have to outrun the slowest runner then these are probably not for you. Just getting by online is not what these tools are about. Anyone can just get by! With these Internet Marketing Tools you can get ahead of your competition - way ahead!

The Top 5 Essential Internet Marketing Tools for Small Business Success

WordPress.

Having a great looking professional web presence that is simple and easy for a non-technical person to maintain is essential. Not only is WordPress free, but it's extremely easy to use. Anyone can learn in a few minutes how to add articles and information to a WordPress based Website. Don't get caught up in thinking that WordPress is just "blogging" software… it's much more powerful than just a blog platform. WordPress is a full blown CMS (Content Management System) for the small business operator. There is no other single piece of software that can catapult your online business plan higher and faster than WordPress. With a properly designed WordPress Template, a few plug-ins (Software add-ons to increase the functionality of your site), and careful keyword selection you can out compete your competition.

Keyword Research Pro.

If you want to increase your market share online you need to understand exactly how people are finding businesses like yours. You could sit down with a pen and paper and start brainstorming ideas about the words people use to search for your offer, and this is a great place to start, but you'll fall way short. There is simply no way to guess all the different combinations of phrases that a person might use to find what they are looking for online. Take a person searching for a new home as an example. They might type in Boston Real Estate, Boston Homes for Sale, Real Estate, and House in Boston. You need to know exactly which terms people are using in your area for your business so that you can focus in on exactly what people want. Keywords allow you to not only know what words are used to find your product, service, or offer but give you keen insights as to the behaviors behind those searches. A person who types in Boston Realtor Referrals is a much better opportunity for a Realtor than one who types in

Boston Real Estate. Clearly you know form the former term they do not yet have a Realtor. And if you are a Realtor imagine how valuable that would be to know in advance! Keyword Research Pro is the tool I recommend for digging in and pulling the information you need from the millions of possible keywords.

Google Maps/Local Search

Google offers a service through their business center called "Google Places". With Google places small business owners can get their businesses to show up on Google Maps when a local search is made with search terms relevant to their business. This can be an extremely valuable tool as Google Maps and the accompanying search results are displayed right at the top of the search page!

Google Adwords

Google Adwords is a program that allows you to "Bid" for keyword phrases and placement results. If you do a search on Google and look at the top and right of the page you'll see advertisements. The Google Adwords program is how you get your business to display in these advertisements. If you do this correctly and target your business to local search you can acquire customers for a very low cost… do it wrong and you can throw away your entire advertising budget for nothing. This is the quickest way to get your new web offer in front of customers. Some small business owners are so effective with Adwords that they do not even bother to worry about organic search placement. However you should develop campaigns for both methods.

AWeber Email Marketing Software

Acquiring and communicating effectively with customers online is a huge advantage over your competitors. When you create an offer that requires a potential customer to give you their contact information you can come back and market to them over and over again! Think about how powerful repeat marketing can be for your business. This is especially powerful for businesses that sell products and services that have a "shelf life". An example would be the carpet cleaning business where people need to periodically have their carpets cleaned. Get a person to subscribe to your newsletter and keep them hooked on your offer. Targeted opt-in Email marketing is the single most cost effective way to keep in touch and keep customers for life.

Article Summary

Discover the Top 5 essential online marketing tools you can use to rapidly grow your online presence. Effectively implementing these 5 simple marketing tools with your own business plan can result in an explosion of new customers. You are familiar with the phrase it's not what you know but who you know? Well in the online world it really is what you know that matters. Who you know helps… but what you know is a strategy that can work for everyone! So take a few minutes out of your busy schedule and learn how these 5 simple and highly effective online marketing tools can explode the growth of your business.