Many businesses have shifted to digital marketing channels to gain greater reach to customers and increase brand awareness, but not all can afford a dedicated marketing team.
In fact, 61% of marketers in the United States claim to spend less than 10% of their time on digital marketing, while 29% say it’s between 11% and 20%, and 10% are spending more than 20% of their time on the subject.
Why Online Marketing Is Important
Traditional marketing methods have been proven to increase revenue and decrease spending for businesses. However, with consumer attention constantly shifting to the digital sphere, traditional marketing channels are becoming less effective.
In 2022, 68% of American consumers are expected to use online platforms to discover products and 72% want to use social media to learn about new products and services.
This digital transformation has created a new type of consumer, the ‘online marketer’, whose behaviors and preferences change how businesses interact with customers.
Key Online Marketing Indicators
What is an online marketing partner in Scandinavia? An online marketing partner in Scandinavia is a business that provides marketing services for clients in the region. The services they provide include analytics, strategy, and planning for digital marketing campaigns, such as website design, content creation, social media, and email marketing.
An organization that provides these services mostly works with brands and businesses that have websites and/or social media profiles, but can work with offline brands and businesses as well.
Based on a customer assessment, the following are key online marketing indicators that can help you understand the strength of your digital marketing strategy and measure its effectiveness.
1. Website traffic
Website traffic measures the total visits to a website, including both direct and indirect traffic. The advantage of measuring traffic this way is that you don’t have to rely on a third party, such as Google Analytics, to produce reliable data. You can monitor traffic directly within your control panel (if you use Google Adsense), or via a dedicated analytics tool such as Piwik.
Each time someone visits a website, several marketing events occur, including the immediate engagement of the user in the form of an ‘action’ (such as landing on an eCommerce store, searching for a product, completing a purchase, or subscribing to a newsletter), and the longer-term impact in the form of an ‘earmark’, such as an email address, a mailing list, or a purchase history.
Measuring traffic is a fundamental activity for any business, but especially for those that want to improve their strategy. You can use website traffic to determine the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns and identify areas for growth.
2. Conversion rate
The term ‘conversion rate’ refers to the number of people who perform an ‘action’ (such as making a purchase or downloading a file) after interacting with your digital marketing. In other words, the conversion rate measures the effectiveness of your strategy.
You can calculate the conversion rate of an individual web page, a landing page, or even an entire website. The higher the conversion rate, the more effective your strategy is. To find the conversion rate of a specific page or element of a website, use a tool such as Google Analytics or a dedicated conversion rate tool, such as Hotjar.
3. Cost per acquisition (CPA)
CPA stands for ‘Cost per acquisition’, which refers to the total cost of a conversion (such as the cost of an email campaign), divided by the resulting number of acquisitions (such as the number of people who opened the email). This metric is similar to the cost-per-acquisition (CPA) metric in digital advertising, but it focuses on the total cost of acquiring a new customer instead of the cost per ad.
You can use CPA to analyze the effectiveness of various marketing tactics, such as newsletters, website ads, and social media posts. In addition, you can use this metric to compare the performance of different businesses. For example, if you run a blog and your CPA is $10 per acquisition, but your competitor’s CPA is only $5 per acquisition, you know they are more efficient at gaining new customers.
4. Channels
‘Channels’ are the different platforms that you can use to reach your customers, such as social media channels (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) and email marketing lists.
People use different channels for different purposes. For example, millennials prefer to use social media to discover products and services, while baby boomers prefer to receive emails from brands.
You can use channels to segment your audience and identify the specific groups of people that will benefit the most from your product or service. In 2022, 69% of American consumers will use multiple channels to discover products and services, while 48% will use one channel, and only 7% will use no channel at all.
5. Frequency of interactions
Frequency of interactions measures the total number of interactions with a product or service, as indicated by the number of mouse clicks, page views, video and audio plays, and any other action that can be measured. The advantage of this metric is that you can see how frequently your audience interacts with your content, whether that’s in a blog post, an infographic, a podcast, or a video.
The more frequently your audience interacts with your content, the more likely they are to feel compelled to interact with your product or service. For example, if you run a blog about fashion and style, but you only post infrequently, your audience might not feel the need to click on your blog post to read about your latest fashion trends. However, if you post regularly and include interactive elements, such as videos or infographics that they can click to learn more, your audience is more likely to feel engaged with your content.
How to Find the Right Online Marketing Partner
To find the right online marketing partner, you need to consider several factors, including skills, strategy, and pricing.
First, you need to find a vendor that possesses the skills necessary to execute your strategy. While there are many platforms and tools that you can use to execute your plan, you need someone that can help you make sense of it all.
For example, you might want a company that specializes in SEO (search engine optimization), knows how to drive traffic to your site, and can devise strategies to increase your conversion rate. They can help you determine which platforms and tactics are the most effective for your business, and can advise you on the pricing structures that work best for your budget.
Second, you need to consider whether you want a full-service online marketing partner or a strategic digital marketing agency. A full-service online marketing partner provides everything needed to launch and maintain a successful digital marketing campaign. However, a strategic digital marketing agency might only provide the services that you need, such as building a social media strategy or analyzing traffic.
If you’re looking for someone to help you find the right price, you might want to consider asking them about their proposal pricing and per-project fees. A proposal should be detailed and should include all the pricing information you need, as well as a detailed explanation of what each part of the plan includes. Be sure to read through the proposal carefully before making a decision.
Key Differentiators of a Successful Digital Marketing Strategy
In addition to considering skills and pricing, you should also pay close attention to the key differentiators of a successful digital marketing strategy. These are the qualities, traits, or methods that set a business apart from competitors and make them unique.
To be effective, a digital marketing strategy needs to possess several key differentiators, but not all businesses will have the opportunity to excel thanks to the unique qualities they possess. If you want your business to stand out above the rest, you need to find ways to differentiate yourself, such as by using unique hashtags on social media, providing excellent customer service, or offering a special discount for students or families.
Creating a Digital Marketing Strategy for Your Business
Now that you know what types of services you need, it’s time to put the strategy into motion. If you’re looking for a one-stop-shop for all your digital marketing needs, you can use a template such as the one below, which can be downloaded for free from the Google Digital Marketing Strategy Guide.