Internet Marketing Consultant

Helping Online Businesses be Successful!

Learn How to Become an Internet Marketing Consultant. Online businesses have flourished rapidly in recent years due to the increased volume of online shopping. Therefore, many internet based businesses have begun to mushroom, most of them owned by novices who are eager to grab a slice of the lucrative market on the net. With its 24-hour operability, international presence and low start up costs, an internet business seems to be the key for exponential business growth.

However, with stiff competition over the internet, many business owners do not have the capability and knowledge to make their site sell. Even if a site is beautifully designed complete with inventory listings and shopping cart facilities, it would be a total failure if the site is unable to generate adequate internet traffic.

This is where the services of an Internet Marketing Consultant come in. The business of an Internet Marketing Consultant would be to help clients increase web traffic to their internet sites. This can be done in a variety of ways such as through search engine optimization, pay per click advertising or affiliate marketing. Although many website owners may be familiar with these concepts, they may lack the time and expertise to do it the correct way. An Internet Marketing Consultant would be able to apply the appropriate strategies for websites to create the needed traffic and increase sales in the process.

The core of an Internet Marketing Consulting business is highly dependent on the skills and efforts of the business owner. In fact, as the business is service based, the start-up costs are relatively low as no inventories are required. However, the business owner will need to obtain education, skills and expertise in the area of internet marketing before he can start the business. This can be obtained from self-study, attending a seminar, taking classes, or by working for a mentor who is an expert.

Start Up Costs and Financing Sources

The start-up costs would primarily be for the cost of education which may vary from $500 to $10,000 depending on the type of education received. A marketing website would be essential to your services as an internet consultant. Not only for the exposure, but also to prove to your customers that you can do what you say.

A website can be put together for less than a dollar with a service such as Sitebuildit. Or you could spend from $1,000 to $20,000 for a professional to build your site for you.

In order to obtain financing, a business plan should be drafted to indicate the growth potential of the business including a sound marketing plan. With this, the plan can be used to obtain funding for the business either from commercial lenders, small business administration, or venture capitalists.

Pricing Guidelines for Services

The pricing for consulting can vary greatly depending on the source of internet traffic, advertising efforts required as well as the keywords of the site that would need to be optimized. This is due to the fact that some more common keywords may require more work from the Internet Marketing Consultant in order to produce the expected results.

Advertising such as pay per click can also vary depending on the maximum number of clicks that the site owner has preset. Other areas of concern are the current marketing strategies that the site owner is already implementing, in which an analysis needs to be done by the Internet Marketing Consultant to determine what is working and what isn't.

Some Internet Marketing Consultants charge their clients based on the additional sales generated by their strategies. They may charge based on a percentage of increased sales from the site over a period of time, which is a more justified method of charging the client.

As a rule of thumb, Internet Marketing Consultants can start their charges from $80 an hour just for consulting services alone.

Advertising and Marketing

One of the benefits of being an internet marketing consultant would be the fact that you will be able to apply your internet marketing skills to your own website. Since internet business owners are already online, they will most likely seek clients through search engines if they require the services of an Internet Marketing Consultant.

Of course, search engine optimization is only one of the ways you can market your services. Just like your clients, you can also utilize pay per click advertising strategies to promote your consulting business. You should also use reciprocal linking strategies and other incoming link strategies to help you obtain a high search engine ranking for your website. Other online advertising strategies are getting listed in directiories in your field, or starting a blog.

Essential Equipment

As an internet consultant, your only needs will be one or two personal computers to start with, together with word processing and high speed internet access.

Training, Experience & Skills Needed

This is a knowledge and skilled-based business. So it is essential for a consultant to constantly keep up to date on the latest internet marketing strategies. One of the best ways to obtain knowledge while in business is to attend internet marketing seminars. Training and seminar fees will run around $5,000 to $10,000 a year. Another way to keep abreast of the latest knowledge is to subscribe to newsletters and join forums covering internet marketing.

Income potential

Consultants also can conduct training and seminars on top of their standard consulting services and this becomes an avenue for additional income. On average a self-employed Internet Marketing Consultant may stand to earn between $40,000 and $100,000 per annum.

Target market

The target market for this business is huge, and is highly dependent on the number of websites on the internet. Anyone who needs to boost sales via a website will require the services of an Internet Marketing Consultant.

Success tips

Provide the best service that your customer can get, and they will never forget you. In fact, they will recommend their friends to you.