Small online retailers are joining the online marketing ranks

Many small to mid-sized online retailers are joining the movement toward search engine and site marketing, according to Bob LaGarde, CEO and founder of LaGarde Inc., a provider of shopping cart and e-commerce platforms.

While larger retailers have been quick to shell out dollars for clicks, search engine optimization plans, e-mail marketing and other forms of online advertising, many smaller players have been content to serve customers who come to them, LaGarde says. “There is a large segment of small to mid-sized retailers that were content to put up web stores and maybe take out a couple of ads. Many of them saw their web sites as a way to better serve their traditional brick-and-mortar customers and they did not look at what they could do to expand their market base,” LaGarde says.

But that has changed a lot in the past year, says LaGarde whose firm offers a turnkey e-commerce marketing service for small to mid-size companies. The service analyses the retailer’s product offerings and develops search optimization strategies that look at how the retailer can better position its product listing to move up in search engine sites and how they can market themselves better. He says many smaller retailers who had not developed any marketing strategies are even beginning to pay for clicks for at least a limited time to get more notice in the online arena.

“If you look at the number of companies that search companies say they list, it is a small fraction of the number of online retailers in the market,” he says. “There are a whole lot of companies that are just starting to look at how they can use their web site to pick up new business and even expand their geographic presence rather than just serve existing customers.”