Your questions, our answers

• I’m new to online marketing. What terms do I need to learn?

  Here are a few key online marketing terms to get you started:

  Blog: Short for “web log,” a blog is a collection of online articles that can help drive sales, increase customer engagement and boost your brand’s SEO power. Blogging is considered a form of content marketing.

  Content marketing: Content marketing drives sales by providing useful, engaging content to your followers and customers. Examples include blogging and email marketing.

  CTA: CTA stands for Call to Action. Strong marketing content always includes a call to action that tells customers what to do next (e.g., “Click here to grab my free ebook now.”)

  CTR: CTR stands for Click-Through Rate. Your click-through rate is the percentage of site visitors or email recipients who click your CTA.

  Domain name: A domain name is the web address customers type into their browser to go to your site, like GoDaddy.com. Strong online marketing starts with a solid domain name. Make sure your domain name suits your brand, establishes your professionalism, and grabs people’s attention.

  eCommerce: eCommerce means selling products and services online. Even the smallest businesses can set up a website with eCommerce capabilities.

  Keyword: Keywords are the terms people will most likely use to find your site. For example, if you’re a plumber in New York City, some top keywords would be “plumber,” “plumbing” and “NYC.” Effective online marketing hinges on optimizing your content for specific keywords. Search engines (e.g., Google, Bing, Yahoo) use these keywords to determine which websites to return in search results.

  Local business listings: Consumers use sites like Yelp, Facebook and Google to search for specific categories in their local area, like “Pizza” or “Nail salons.” For your business to show up in those search results, you need to optimize your local business listings.

  Opt-in: Opt-in marketing, also referred to as permission-based marketing, means only sending promotions to existing customers and prospects who have given you permission to contact them. Not only is this considered the best practice, there are laws prohibiting businesses from ‘spamming’ people with unwanted emails

  Segmentation: This is the act of segmenting your customers and prospects into specific groups, such as, people who have purchased gift cards. By segmenting your recipients, you can run more targeted (and successful) email marketing campaigns.

  SEO: SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which is exactly what it sounds like -- optimizing your site for search engines. SEO is vital to achieving high results on Google, Bing, Yahoo! and others. Search engines like these look for keywords and other SEO elements to return the most relevant sites.

  SEM: SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing, which means paying a search engine (e.g., Google, Bing, Yahoo) to place ads for your business in specific search results.

  Social media: Social media sites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) aren’t just for individual people. By creating business profiles on social media, your brand can drive more business through engaging content, special offers, and useful information. Social media marketing includes free and paid opportunities.

• What are the best online marketing strategies to sell more products online?

  To drive more sales to your online store, consider investing in search engine optimization (SEO), email marketing and social media marketing. The good news: these online marketing strategies are incredibly affordable and have a great return on investment.

• I’m not marketing online at all yet. What’s the #1 step I should take?

  Your online marketing strategy hinges on having a strong online presence. If you don’t have a website yet, that’s your first move. Secure a great domain name and decide whether you’re a DIY website builder or prefer to hire someone to build your site. Once you have a strong online presence, you’ll be ready to add some online marketing tools to drive more traffic and business.

• How much time do I need to commit to online marketing?

  The key to success in online marketing is to set goals, be consistent and measure your progress. If you’re willing to spend an hour a week on marketing your business, we think you’ll like the results.

• Why should I choose GoDaddy for my online marketing solutions?

  Our online marketing products are easy to use, affordable for any budget and give you all the tools you need in one place — one account, one login. And as always, we offer 24/7 support in case you have questions as your business grows.