The Covid-19 pandemic affected many aspects of our lives; it even changed the way we do business. One area that was significantly affected is marketing and sales. The industry shifted to digital channels such as social media, email marketing, and webinars as well as analytics and measurement became a top priority. Many businesses and organizations were blindsided by the pandemic and did not establish a digital presence, marketing plan, or analytics setup before it struck. The demand for digital marketers skilled in building, growing, and implementing marketing strategies was unprecedented.
Although the industry is still struggling to regain its footing, the demand for digital marketing still remains high. In fact, GAP Data predicts that the digital marketing market will grow from $8.9 billion in 2020 to $12.9 billion by 2025.
This increased demand and changing environment inspired me to start a business specializing in online marketing and SEO for small businesses. I wanted to create a home for digital marketers who want to specialize in helping small businesses and non-profits establish and grow their digital presence.
I started a company named Insight Online Marketing and based in St. Louis, MO. My background is in healthcare and pharmaceutical marketing, and I have spent the majority of my career managing marketing and sales strategies for various companies.
I chose to specialize in online marketing because it is a constantly evolving field and there is a lot of opportunity for growth. Also, many small businesses and startups don’t have the money or resources to spend on traditional marketing (such as radio ads, magazine spreads, etc.). These businesses are looking to grow quickly and establish themselves as an authority in their industry. The ability to grow quickly and effectively using digital marketing is what ultimately attracted me to this field. Additionally, having worked in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry, I was already familiar with the product and had an idea of what consumers were searching for. This made the task of attracting customers and converting them into paying subscribers much easier.
The Opportunity To Serve Small Businesses
Over the past several years, I have worked with numerous businesses across different industries. Everyone from small mom-and-pop stores to renowned brands such as Louis Vuitton. I have found that many small businesses are under the impression that marketing and sales is just as it was years ago – relying heavily on traditional methods and spending large swaths of money without a clear strategy. As a digital marketer, I have the unique opportunity to help these businesses develop a digital marketing strategy and execute it effectively.
With the right strategy, tools, and expertise, I can help your business generate more leads and drive more sales online. Below, I will provide you with an overview of how I can help your business establish a digital presence, grow your online audience, and increase your sales using digital marketing.
Why SEO?
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of getting your website ranked highly in search results for relevant keywords. This is typically done by using various techniques to make your site appear more attractive to search engines such as Google and Bing. One of the major benefits of SEO is that it’s free and requires very little effort on your part. If you are looking to increase productivity and reduce operating costs, SEO is the clear choice.
SEO can help your business gain significant traction and be found by prospective customers who are searching for your products or services. A high-ranking site will often appear at the top of a potential customer’s search results – meaning that they are more likely to click on your site if it appears.
Additionally, SEO helps your business gain credibility and be seen as an expert in your industry. When customers see your business name and website in the results of a search engine query, they will assume that you are an expert in the field and will be more likely to trust your recommendations.
What Makes My Business Different?
My business is different because I am a digital marketer who focuses on small businesses and non-profits. The majority of my work over the past several years has been focusing on SEO and increasing online visibility for small businesses. Many of these businesses are looking to carve out a niche for themselves in a crowded market and are focused on generating web traffic and leads to grow their business. This is where you come in. By establishing and executing a solid SEO strategy, you can help your small business gain the maximum amount of exposure and credibility online.
Additionally, your small business will be able to take advantage of all the other various platforms and marketing channels available online. From social media to email marketing, your digital marketer will be able to help your business establish a robust online presence that accurately reflects your brand and promotes your products and services.
How Do I Work?
SEO is a process that requires a lot of research and analysis. In order to establish a digital marketing strategy that will effectively increase your web traffic and sales, you must first identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will help you track the success of your strategy. The three major KPIs that you should track are:
- Online traffic coming to your site
- Conversions – meaning the number of people who have clicked a link to learn more about your product or service and become a lead
- Clicks – a measure of how effective your SEO strategy is in driving traffic to your site
Once you have identified the KPIs that will help you track the success of your strategy, your next step is to set the metric goals for each. For example, you may decide to track the number of views per day and measure your success by comparing this to your baseline data.
Once you have set your metric goals, it’s time to lay out a plan to achieve them. To do this, you will need to establish specific benchmarks and set a timeline for reaching them. For example, you may decide that you want to see an increase of 10% in daily views by next month – but you haven’t set a benchmark for what precisely that means yet.
To address this, you will need to sit down with your project team and establish milestones, along with a plan to achieve them. Establishing a benchmark for your SEO strategy and setting specific milestones for reaching them is an important step in the right direction.
Building A Marketing Plan
Having a plan is essential; without one, it’s difficult to know where you’re heading. Therefore, it’s important to build a marketing plan for your SEO strategy. This plan will include everything from the objectives and metrics you’ll use to track your progress to the projected budget for the next six months.
In addition to a marketing plan, you’ll also need to create key performance indicators (KPIs) to track your progress and ensure you are heading in the right direction. The KPIs you choose should be measurable and, ideally, have a clear link to the key performance indicators you will use to evaluate your marketing plan and strategy.
To establish a digital marketing strategy that will effectively grow your web traffic and sales, you must first determine the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will help you track the success of your strategy. The three major KPIs that you should track are:
- Online traffic coming to your site
- Conversions – meaning the number of people who have clicked a link to learn more about your product or service and become a lead
- Clicks – a measure of how effective your SEO strategy is in driving traffic to your site
Once you have established these three major KPIs, it’s time to set the metric goals for each. For example, you may decide to track the number of views per day and measure your success by comparing this to your baseline data.
To determine the best tactics and strategy for increasing your web traffic and sales, you will need to consider several factors. First, find out what your competitors are doing and use that to guide your strategy. Second, investigate what is working well for other businesses in your industry and take that into consideration. Last, but not least, use the metrics from this report to determine your next move.