47 Internet Marketing Tips for Businesses in the Philippines

Internet marketing in the Philippines is continuously booming. With more and more people spending time online, an increasing number of businesses in the country are already utilizing the Internet to promote their brands and products to targeted online market or audience. However, there are still Filipino business owners and entrepreneurs who are tied with the traditional or conventional ways of marketing. Although traditional marketing strategies could still work effectively, we have to admit that ignoring the innovative ways of online marketing could make our competitors leave us behind. Besides, marketing and advertising online is more efficient and cost-effective than doing it offline. Thus, if you don’t want to bite the dust, here are 47 Internet marketing tips for businesses in the Philippines which you can consider for trying.

1. Buy a domain name for your own business blog or website. Make sure that the name is directly related to your company name, brand name, or the name of your product or service. If dotcom is not already available, you may consider buying the domain extensions of the Philippines, which include “.ph” and “.com.ph”.

2. Find a web hosting that is reliable and affordable.

3. Use WordPress as your blogging software for your self-hosted blog so that you will have a full control of it and enjoy its almost unlimited capabilities, such as flexibility, power, convenience in upgrading, and easy implementation of SEO and other Internet marketing ideas, not to mention WordPress is free. You may read here “why you should use WordPress” for you small business blog or website.

4. Use a premium, professional, light, and mobile-ready theme or design for your blog.

5. Install useful plugins to power up your SEO potentials, like Google XML Sitemap and All-in-one SEO Pack.

6. Make your Permalinks search engine friendly. Here’s how to use permalinks on WordPress.

7. Make a research for your targeted keyword, including your competition. You can simply use Google’s search engine and its suggested search terms.

8. Brainstorm for and use the right Meta tags (title, keywords and description) on your blog’s homepage. Use geo-targeting. If your target market is the Philippines or a specific region in the country, you can specifically mention it on your title, keywords and description.

9. Create a complete, interesting, and truthful about page to earn trust and confidence from your blog’s visitors.

10. Create and write blog posts that are useful, unique, interesting, and targeted to your intended audience or readers. Again, don’t forget geo-targeting or location-based marketing.

11. Just like your homepage, use the right Meta tags (title, keywords and description) on each of your blog post and pages.

12. Use Google and Bing webmaster tools to check and analyze your site for making better SEO decisions. Decide if you need to set geographic target (example targeting Philippines instead of the global audience) for your site in Google Webmaster Tools. Read Google’s page about geotargeting here.

13. Link your Google profile to the content or post you create on your blog to claim yourself or your writer as the rightful author. Learn how by reading to this guide from Google.

14. Visit other blogs and interact with the bloggers by leaving valuable comments. Use your human name or nick name when commenting. Don’t forget to fill in your blog’s URL for link building. You may also signup with Gravatar.com so that your photo would always appear every time you make a comment – it would boost trust from the blog owners.

15. Interact with your blog’s own commentators and reply on their comments as possible as you can.

16. Join online forums that are relevant to your niche or where your target audience hangs out. Share ideas and be helpful. If the forum allows signature, put your blog in your signature for link building.

17. Have an RSS or newsletter subscription on your blog to encourage visitors to subscribe their email to your updates. You can later use the email list for email marketing.

18. Place social media buttons and plugins on each of your blog post to encourage your visitors or readers to share your content in the social media for popularity or virality.

19. Create a Facebook page for your business. Link to your blog or website and always post important updates about your business. Interact with your likers or followers.

20. Invite your personal friends on Facebook to like your page. Invite your close friends to invite their friends to like your Facebook business page.

21. Analyze your Facebook page’s insights to determine the demographics of your followers. This will help you come up with better decisions on social media marketing.

22. Put on your personal Facebook profile or timeline that you work (e.g., CEO, general manager or owner) at your business.

23. Join Facebook groups where your target audience hangs out. Promote your business or brand to them. However, follow the group’s rules and always offer help. You can also create your own group and be the admin.

24. Create an official Twitter profile for your business. Tweet the important updates about your business or blog. Interact with your followers to increase your followers.

25. Create a Google+ page for your business and promote your business or posts to your circles.

26. Create a professional profile on Linkedin and link your blog or business.

27. Use Pinterest.com for promoting your products through beautiful images.

28. Create a Youtube account and a channel for your business. Create viral videos about your brand.

29. Promote your business or product on Philippine classified ads just like Sulit.com.ph and AyosDito.ph.

30. Add your business listing on Philippine online business directories, like Businessdirectory.ph and the like.

31. Claim your business venue on FourSquare.com.

32. Add your business location at Google Places.

33. Try guest posting on blogs that have readers who could be your potential customers.

34. Invite bloggers on the official launch of your new product.

35. Run online contests through your blog or social media pages.

36. Consider buying Google AdWords.

37. Consider buying Facebook ads.

38. Try banner advertising on blogs which are related to your niche if it would warrant higher return or sales and profit conversion.

39. Join blogging or Internet marketing summits or events, and then make more friends, who are bloggers and Internet marketers.

40. Be a public speaker and encourage your audience to visit your site or try your product. Be sure to deliver a life-changing speech.

41. Host webinars to educate your audience while promoting your business.

42. Create an educational eBook related to your business and offer it for free download to users who will subscribe their emails to boost your email marketing campaign.

43. Consider affiliate marketing or giving commission (share of income) for every lead or successful sale originating from your affiliate members, who can be bloggers and online publishers.

44. Make your search engine optimization (SEO) experiments deeper. Check out this SEO technique.

45. Consider hiring a SEO specialist or a social media expert to help you on achieving your Internet marketing goals.

46. Help yourself in learning and increasing your knowledge and skills in online marketing by following and reading the best blogs on SEO, social media marketing, blogging, and online marketing in general.

47. Maintain good reputation and quality on your business, brand and products to ensure that people offline or online would spread a good word of mouth about your business.

There are still other effective online marketing strategies and tactics we could learn and implement to boost our business success. The key is to never stop learning and experimenting new things.