Internet Marketing can really encompass several different concepts or terms – online marketing, search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), website marketing, to name a few. Whichever terms you’ve heard before is not too important; the important take-away is that you need to promote your business online, grow traffic to your website, create an awareness and brand your business online, improve your search engine result rankings and make the Las Vegas community aware that your company even exists.

Many companies and businesses in Las Vegas make the mistake of launching a website and thinking that drones of visitors will magically arrive each day. Not true. Just like a business card that sits in your pocket if you don’t hand it out to people, most of the time a website can sit out on the internet and if you don’t market that web site, people may not even know you or your business exists.

Here are some ways you or a professional internet marketing company can help market your business online:

• Launch a Website – if you don’t already have a web site you are WAY behind the curve.  Get one up right away.
• Search Engine Optimization – research keywords and key phrases that people would find your website during a search on a search engine and put those words and phrases into the copy on your website, make those same words links between your website pages and place those same words into your website’s site map.
• Online PR – There are many opportunities for online PR and Press Releases. For more information see my article on Press Releases for Your Las Vegas Business.
• Google’s Free Online Marketing Tools – here’s a list from wikipedia.org. Very helpful and mostly free.
• Pay-Per-Click Campaign – ever wonder what those Sponsored Listings are when you search on google, yahoo, msn or aol? That’s right, they pay. You can set up your own campaign, choose they keywords, set your monthly budget and start coming up right along side your competitors by setting a pay-per-click campaign.
• Email Marketing – Use a company like Constant Contact to set up an email marketing campaign. You can upload your list of contacts, choose a template and write your email newsletter, it’s easy and fun.
• Launch a Blog – Do you have a lot to say about your particular area of expertise or industry (like I do, hee)? Then launch a blog and tell visitors what you’re thinking and let them find out who you are and what your business specializes in.
• Banner Advertising – Consider buying space on a targeted web site that promotes your products and services. Set up a special landing page so you can track the results

So you have come to the point in starting or running your business where you now need the help of a Marketing Consultant in Las Vegas.  How do you find one, what should you look for, how would they know about my particular business or company?

First off, a Marketing Consultant who is properly qualified can manage any type of client’s marketing needs. From law firms, to medical establishments, small companies and large, gaming and casinos, and construction clients. A Marketing Consultant is an expert in the core principals of marketing, and no matter what type of company you are running, marketing principles don’t change.  A Marketing Consultant will work with you to understand you and your business and will research your particular market before writing a strategy or program for you to follow.

Here are some things to look for, ask or consider when hiring a Marketing Consultant:

• If you’re searching for a Marketing Consultant on the web, make sure you look at their website. How they market themselves is a reflection on how professionally they will market your business.  Do they have a professionally designed and well written web site? Is it up-to-date?
• Are they local? It helps to work with someone in Las Vegas who you meet face-to-face when needed.
• Do you know their background or have their resume?  Ask for it if you cannot find it online, past experience is important.
• Can they work with your budget? Marketing can be expensive – websites, advertising, and pr can add up quickly.  Have a realistic budget in mind when interviewing a Marketing Consultant (so many people want to market their website for example, with a $200 budget, which just doesn’t do very much).
• Have some due diligence collected for a Marketing Consultant’s review. Have your notes put together in a short Word document which describes your company, your strengths, your competition, any marketing you have planned already for the future or anything done in the past, why it worked or didn’t