Online marketing was a hot topic that caused agri-marketers to gather in Omaha, Nebraska. The Cornhusker Chapter NAMA group stepped out of agriculture to learn how an online retail company, Hayneedle, approaches marketing.

Kim Sindelar, HR Generalist at Hayneedle, led a tour through the Hayneedle offices explaining the history of the company. Then the group met with Jeremy Podliska, Marketing Director, and Steve Seim, Senior Marketing Manager, both of Hayneedle, to learn about the company’s marketing initiatives.

Hayneedle is listed at No. 85 on the Internet Retailer’s Top 500 Guide and was named a fastest-growing online retailer in Inc. and Internet Retailer magazines. The company depends on search engines – organic searches and paid listings – to drive customers to its hyper-optimized shopping sites.

The marketing experts at Hayneedle leverage Google to increase traffic to their site. Podliska recommends that agri-marketers focus on deploying the right architecture when it comes to URLs, building a Google + social media channel, and utilizing Google Author Rank. Outside of relying on Google, companies should continue to build brand awareness, develop relevant content and increase link building efforts.

When it comes to paid listing advertising, Hayneedle bids on more than one million ad words a day. Seim encouraged the group by saying, “Algorithms continue to change, allowing smaller businesses the opportunity to rank higher in search engine results. A good starting point for building effective Ad Word campaigns is to explore Google Trends to see the volume of searches on specific terms relevant to your business.” Once you choose Ad Words for your business, ongoing testing and tracking are key elements to successful campaigns. He added that it is important to understand your return on investment when it comes to online marketing by comparing gross margin to advertising dollars spent. These metrics help determine if you are spending effectively.