If you’re looking to get started on your own marketing mission, then you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about online marketing, including the basics, why it’s important, and how to get started.
Why Online Marketing?
To start, it’s important to understand why online marketing is so important today. According to HubSpot Blogs’ research, 84% of consumers search online first before buying the product they’re looking for, and 69% of consumers have watched or heard about products or services through digital means first.
Further, research conducted by HubSpot reveals that consumers are two-thirds of the way through their purchase cycle when they first encounter the product or service online, versus one-third when they see or experience the product or service offline. It’s clear that the internet has utterly changed the way we discover, research, and purchase products and services.
What Is Online Marketing?
Put simply, online marketing is the practice of promoting brands and products online through digital means – such as SEO, social media, and paid advertising.
It’s a form of marketing that became popular in the 2000s and has only continued to grow in importance and influence since then. While traditional marketing methods focused on attracting customers to a store, online marketing allows brands and products to be discovered and purchased anywhere and at any time.
That said, it’s also important to understand that not all forms of online marketing are created equal. As with any form of marketing or advertising, there are plenty of tricks and techniques that experienced marketers use to be effective.
What Is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
SEO, short for “search engine optimization,” is the practice of improving the ranking of a website or web page in search engines for specific keywords or phrases. When potential customers search for your product or service using search engines like Google or Bing, they’ll see the results of your SEO efforts prominently displayed alongside organic (non-paid) search results.
The better your SEO, the higher your website will appear in search engine results for relevant keywords. In reality, it’s a combination of on-site SEO and off-site SEO that creates a “search engine friendly” experience for users.
Keywords & Phrases
When you’re optimizing your website or web page for search engines, the first thing to consider is keywords and phrases. Keywords are words or phrases that you want to be found for when potential customers search for your product or service. Phrases are keywords or combinations of keywords that you want to be found for. For example, if you sell party supplies, your keywords might be “birthday party supplies” or “wedding party supplies.”
You can have multiple keywords and phrases in your SEO strategy – like “birthday party supplies” and “wedding party supplies” – to ensure that your site is found for as many searches as possible. Your chosen keywords and phrases should appear in your headline, articles, and even your URL (when applicable).
How Do I Start An Online Marketing Campaign?
As mentioned above, online marketing is very easy to get started with. All you need is a reliable internet connection, a computer or mobile device, and a little bit of talent. To be more specific, you’ll need to have a basic understanding of SEO and how to use free tools like Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush to get started with your campaign. Alternatively, you can hire an SEO company to help you get up and running.
The Basics Of SEO
At this point, you might be wondering how exactly does SEO work? Essentially, SEO is a combination of on-site SEO and off-site SEO. On-site SEO focuses on making a website easier to be found for specific keywords and phrases when a potential customer types those words into the search bar of their browser. Off-site SEO, on the other hand, promotes a brand or product beyond its immediate website. In other words, your off-site SEO will help establish your brand and get your product or service mentioned as much as possible in blogs, forums, and other online spaces.
To get started with your on-site SEO, simply make sure that your website conforms to basic SEO best practices. These include making sure that your HTML tags are correct, that your website is mobile-friendly, and that your content is easily searchable. When you’re done, submit your website to search engines for review.
Why Should I Care What Search Engines Think Of My Website?
Once you’ve optimized your website, it’s important to care what search engines think of your work. When a potential customer types in keywords or phrases into the search bar of their browser, they’ll see the results of your on-site SEO efforts prominently displayed alongside organic (non-paid) search results.
Thoughts on your website’s content, architecture, and usability (especially from your end user’s point of view) are all factors that contribute to a website’s “user experience” and eventually, its search engine rankings. In other words, the better your user experience, the higher your rankings – which means more potential customers for you!
How Do I Measure My SEO Campaign’s Success?
Once you’ve started your SEO campaign, how do you know if it’s been successful? One way is to use tools like Google Analytics to track the keywords and phrases that your potential customers are using to find you online. Another is to use free tools like Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush to find keywords and monitor your website’s search rankings.
For example, let’s say that you’re selling kids’ clothes and you want to optimize your website for the keyword or phrase “buy children’s clothing.” Using Google Keyword Planner, you can type that keyword or phrase into the search bar, and it will give you suggestions for content to optimize. You can then choose the ones you like the most and start creating content based on those topics. Once you’ve done that, you can go back and check your search rankings.
As for how to get started with SEO, we mentioned a couple of tools above that can get you up and running. One of the simplest and most effective ways to find the keywords and phrases that people are using to find your product or service is to use free tools like Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush.
Where Do I Go From Here?
With these basics out of the way, you’re now ready to delve deeper into online marketing and begin applying this newfound knowledge.