Building an effective online presence these days has moved beyond the realm of the occasional event and into the daily routine of the marketing department. It doesn’t matter if it’s just you, as opposed to the traditional definition of department, online marketing must become a habit that’s practiced daily.

It’s import therefor to focus on the highest payoff activities to maximize the return on time spent.

Below are what I believe are the most important online marketing tactics for any small business. Focus on these actions before trying the chase this week’s new, new thing.

1. Research and revisit a catalog of keyword topics

Your entire content strategy should be informed by a catalog of themes and topics you visit and revisit in a predictable manner. You must commit to researching a core set of keyword phrases and topics and building an editorial calendar that helps you stay focused on your core “chapters” of content.

2. Produce content people will share

Once you’ve developed a plan for the topics you intend to cover on a frequent basis, you must learn how to produce content that people want to share. This, of course, differs for every industry, but there are proven techniques that can help start the sharing engine.

The most important element is value. Value is generally found in showing people how to do something they want to do, where to find resources that can make their life easier and providing insight into an industry challenge or trend. It’s no secret that list posts, such as this one, draw more attention and shares. Also, consider using video, audio and striking images as part of the content mix.

3. Use social networks to enhance email and attract links

Turn to social networks as a way to create awareness for your content and network for links. Share other people’s content as a way to increase value and attract links. Amplify your best content as a way to build your email list.

To me this is the immediate payoff for social network participation. It’s not about thinking of clever things to say, it’s about creating pathways to sharing that goes back and forth. Social media will always pay if you view it in this light.

4. Claim vast amounts of real estate

Go out there and build your Google+, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles, even if you have no time or plan to build large followings. Create YouTube, Slideshare and Picassa profiles. Claim and enhance your Google+Local, Yahoo and Bing Local profiles.

This free real estate will help you start to build depth to your presence, attract a few links and populate search results for your company name as you work to build a library of content and links from other sources.

5. Drive leads to landing pages

You must embrace the use of landing pages for all of you advertising, email marketing and social outreach. House your free content and promotional offers on highly optimized landing pages and use these pages to capture targeted leads and start the education and conversion process over and over.

6. Split test as much as you can

Testing is often an after thought and that’s a shame. Businesses that get in the habit of testing everything, right from the beginning, have such a competitive advantage over those that leave everything to chance.

Little tweaks to images, headlines and call to action buttons can create massive swings in conversion, but only if you test one against another to see the results of a change.

When you start to spend money on driving people to landing pages this is the make it or break it tactic that winners employ.

7. Use funnels to measure and drive conversion

I am a very big advocate of moving prospects along a series of commitments or steps on a path to educating, building trust and ultimately getting a sale.

Online this is accomplished by combining landing pages, offers, email marketing and follow-up to build on each stage.

Google Analytics allows you to build funnels that match your paths and score and analyze each phase of the funnel so that you can understand not only the impact of each element, but your entire conversion system.

Yes, I know, there’s more to do than you can possibly get done, so focus on the highest payoff tactics and what you do get done with produce greater results.