The business world is abuzz with all things internet marketing, social media and e-commerce related. In a frenzy to capitalize on these emerging trends, many business owners feel pressured to jump in without a clear vision or understanding of what they want to achieve. This rush-to-market mentality falls under the “If you build it, they will come,” theory of business. And even when an aspiring entrepreneur builds a web presence, and attracts web traffic, they often don’t know how to convert it properly. The problem comes down to the basics… not having a comprehensive web strategy from the outset. This is more than a web site, or a blog or a page on Facebook. It’s more than social media or pay-per-click advertising. A web strategy requires a step back to look at the big picture, the end result, the bottom line expectations from your on line investment. Rather than chasing individual initiatives, it requires a well conceived, coordinated plan of action. This strategic web plan should include the following steps…

1. Define your mission and ideal customer

Start by defining your reason for being and your unique marketing position. From there, ask “Who would benefit from this product/service?” After all, what good does it do to launch a new business or service  if there is no target market? Yet a good number of well meaning businesses venture on line with no real idea of who they are attempting to attract. Are potential customers mainly male? Female? College educated? High income earners? Moms? Sports fans? Geeks? Locals? What is the common denominator that determines your core customer? Create a persona that epitomizes your perfect customer and formulate your web presence in a way that would appeal to this key demographic. Identify what the pain points are for these customers or target markets and how your business can fulfill these needs.

2. Analyze the data

The beauty of the internet is the rich data mining available at your fingertips. Through the use of Google’s keyword research tool, analytics and insights, you can quickly gather a substantial amount of customer research that will either confirm your business strategy or provide clues and insights that will help you to adapt and revise. In addition to researching potential customers, be sure to drill down on the competition to see how they are positioning themselves. Are your business offerings unique and differentiated, or common place and redundant?

3. Build your foundation

At this point you have a firm grasp of your company’s reason for being, your ideal customer and your unique marketing position. Now you can begin building the actual infrastructure of your web strategy. Beginning with your web site as the central hub, design each element of your web strategy to lead, guide, capture and retain new prospects. Utilizing the data from step two, build a keyword rich site that appeals to your core customer, providing him or her with exactly what they want in the order that they want it. At this “beta” stage, be sure to test your site, colors and navigation by getting consumer feedback via testing services.

4. Implement the plan

Once you have a fully functional web site, begin adding additional and complimentary functionality through the use of customized blogs, Facebook and Twitter pages, customer e-newsletters, press releases and article marketing. Treat each of these components as “feeders” to your main web portal. Make sure they have a consistent look and feel to match your brand message. Look to optimize each of them with the phrases and keyword from your research in step two.

5. Monitor and refine

Use Google analytics and other tracking tools to determine which of your marketing methods are most effective. Continue to test, tweak and revise to respond to customer demands. Heat mapping is one example of observing exactly how a potential customer interacts with your web site. Evaluate and adjust links and navigation accordingly. Play with new offerings, free downloads, white papers, and other lead capture tools. Build your data base of loyal followers and contact them on a regular basis.

By investing time upfront on your overall web strategy, you can ensure that potential customers will find you, buy your products and recommend your services to like-minded buyers. Rather than a hit-and-miss approach to web marketing, you will have a well conceived, well executed strategy that will pay dividends for years to come.