Your Digital Marketing Success is dependent on many elements and those features also have many points of success within them. Let’s explore the factors you need to pay attention to in order to be successful with online marketing..
1) Search Engine Optimization. This is not one item but the culmination of many factors. In fact Google has an algorithm that identifies a quality score for each of your website pages and whether they are a good match for a search keyword. How your website performs is key to helping you maximize how your website is featured in search results. Your web designer should include SEO tools and a directory on the back end of your website to help bots connect your content quickly and optimize it for your primary keyword terms. Back links and referral websites can also help Google optimize your website, including links from blogs, social media sites, news sites and more.
2) Search Engine Marketing. Using the SEO tools mentioned above is part of the Search Engine Marketing job. The other part is paid marketing using PPC (Paid Per Click) purchases from Google, Yahoo, Bing, Facebook and other paid platforms. Display ads also can play a role as keywords are part of the description that goes with the images. Keyword ads are based on a word or term that you want associated with your company or products, but you would have to have those terms in your website as well, or the cost would be prohibitive.
3) Social Media Marketing. Posting from a social media page should often refer back to your website in order to improve your site’s optimization. In addition, social media is not a platform you own, but every time you bring traffic to your website, you are improving its visitor results and increasing the website value. Remember to maximize mentions and details about your products and services and get folks to your best overview pages with links to the different products and services you offer. Use Social Media paid advertising to bring more people to your website. Do not send them to the About Us page unless it is a clear concise overview with easy navigation to where you want visitors to go.
4) Email Marketing. Email marketing (not one to one like Gmail but template based one to many tools like Constant Contact) is one of the strongest referral websites you can use because it allows you to direct more traffic directly to pages of your website and you are in control of seeing where your visitors go from the newsletter to the website pages. Good email marketing tools allow you to see who visits what link on your email campaigns. You can learn which content relates to which person on your marketing list which identifies the most interested parties for your sales team or which are your most active donors or sponsors. In addition, it ensures that you can keep in touch with and follow-up with your contacts to stay top-of-mind.
5) Referral Marketing. Your monthly newsletter or Email follow-ups should include links back to your different website pages to help your list learn more about your company or organization over time. In addition, updating any online lists or list servers like Google My Business, Yelp, Foursquare and other Review or listing sites will increase the amount of traffic and improve your reputation over time. Part of your marketing budget should be dedicated to improving your online testimonials and referrals because most buyers research the reputation of the companies they work with as well as their products. You want to accumulate good reviews before the day you receive any negatives. Customers do not expect perfect reputations but they do expect a 4 or 5 rating. More good reviews protect you.
6) Content Marketing. Content marketing is providing content on your website, blogs, social media pages and listing sites. That content should be keyword rich and in demand by the fans you have online and parties interested in your product or service. Content does not have to be written, images are relatable as well. The key is to tie that content to your company and keep the focus on your benefits and services. Sweepstakes, downloadable PDF’s, Guides and Tips are also great tools to show off your knowledge and bring more viewers to your website.
7) Click Thru Rate. When you check your analytics on your website as well as your email marketing and paid ad statistics, it is key that you monitor your click thru rate. It will indicate whether or not the content of those pages or ads are motivating viewers to take an action. If not, you need to rethink your call-to-action or whatever link you are trying to get them to go to. Look for the content links that are getting the most attention in your past efforts and stick with the winning formula. If you are not getting any traction, contact a marketing company like ours to help you find the formula that gets you more viewers in your target market.
A clear plan helps you get more done with your marketing efforts and create a media mix that marries traditional and digital media tools. Reach your target market more effectively and generate the required number of exposures to elicit sales and results. If you need help brainstorming to create your own reopen and marketing plans, contact us by email, or call us at 310-791-6300.
Liz Harsch is the owner of Tailor-Made Advertising in Torrance, CA. Her firm provides marketing, training and consulting to identify marketing and media alternatives for business owners. As an experienced Marketing Director, Media Planner, Liz has trained small business owners for Constant Contact, SCORE, SBDC, SBA, Cities and MWD and County outreach partners, APICS plus many Chambers of Commerce for over 20 years. She can be reached at her Torrance, CA office at 310-791-6300 or by email at liz@adteamla.com. You can also see her upcoming training workshops calendar at http://bit.ly/workshopscal .
