There are many issues to consider when building an effective digital marketing strategy for your company. Using an approach that will help your organization “get found” on the internet is often a high priority for many organizations. However, the more one reads up on the topic of how to do this effectively, the more overwhelming it can seem.
To help marketing professionals and management get started in the right direction, we have developed a short list of foundational items that every digital marketing strategy that is focused on “getting found” should include.
- Keyword Targeting – Identifying the search terms that your customers and prospects will use to find your company is critical. Actually, this is the first step in targeting your website even before content. The reason why is that you need to understand what search terms will be used before you can craft content that caters to it. The best place to find good keyword terms is in your analytics program. There you will be able to see a list of the top performing keywords that are already attracting traffic. In addition, be careful to consider what services, events or programs offered by the company that you want to draw attention to. Then use a keyword research tool like the one offered in Google AdWords to develop new combinations. The more options the better as it will give you a chance to see what variations are most effective. Remember keyword targeting is about having a variety of terms at your disposal. Over time consider experimenting with terms to see what is most effective at accomplishing your goals
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Good keyword targeting can only take you so far. You need to ensure your website adheres to best practices to ensure that it can be found. Now most think of keywords as SEO, but there is a lot more to it than that. There are other elements to consider including pdf optimization, cross linking of content, meta tag optimization and structural concerns like if a sitemap is used and how your robots.txt file is structured. While most companies make an initial investment in SEO to get the site up to speed, it’s important to remember that as a site grows and new content is added that detailed SEO attention needs to follow. If there are issues with the site optimization then it can diminish the impact of the other elements in your strategy. Confused by this? Talk to your web developer or SEO specialist and get professional assistance.
- Social Promotion & Integration – By now most companies have social media accounts whether it’s Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Google Plus. Quite often though companies don’t seem to have a strategy for how they are leveraging specific platforms to promote their company. This is evident by the fact that many share the same type of information across all platforms. Consider how to use each platform to engage your target audience in a meaningful way. For example, the way to use LinkedIn to reach customers is completely different from Facebook or even Twitter. Pick the right platform for the right audience and your social promotion efforts will be a success. Again, don’t be afraid to experiment here. The results come over time, so remember to be patient.
How your strategy evolves is dependent on a number of factors. You will always be adjusting based on results and the ever-changing rules of search. However, if you keep focused on these foundational items you are sure to experience positive results and strong ROI from your efforts. If your company has already started on these areas then taking a second look may help to mix things up and produce positive changes.