Online Marketing Reports: What They Can Do for You

An online marketing report is an authoritative publication that presents the results of a careful analysis of online marketing activity. A digital marketing audit is the technical term used by marketing research specialists for these types of reports.

The need for such a report arises in case your company is considering a major investment in digital marketing, such as running paid ads on social media or establishing a digital marketing department. In such a case, an independent digital marketing advisor can help your company make informed decisions by providing a transparent, one-stop-shop for all relevant information.

Why Should You Have An Online Marketing Report?

An online marketing report can tell you a lot about how your website is doing, which content is performing well and which part of the campaign may require improvement. In short, an online marketing report will provide you with a detailed analysis of your digital marketing activity and put everything in relative terms so you can continue improving your efforts.

How does the analysis take place? The audit team will research and analyze all of your online marketing activity, including SEO, PPC, social media, email marketing, and more. They will then present the findings in an easy-to-follow, consumable format that makes it simple to pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses.

The Importance Of Compiling Different Data Points

One of the most useful things about an online marketing report is that it gives you a comprehensive view of your entire digital marketing strategy. By looking at all the data presented in the report, you can easily see the interplay between your digital marketing activities and the results they have produced. This is in contrast to looking at just one or two data points, which may give you a skewed perspective.

Additionally, by analyzing different data points for different platforms (e.g., SEO for web pages, social media for blog posts, and so on), you can determine the platforms that are most effective for your type of product or service. If you operate a luxury goods company, for example, you may find that people are more likely to visit your website if you post on social media about your goods rather than if you focused on SEO for your product pages (the latter being more effective for non-luxury companies).

Who Should Be In Charge Of Preparing The Report?

The ideal person for preparing an online marketing report is an expert who has extensive experience in research and analysis, as well as the ability to communicate complex ideas in a simple manner. A background in digital marketing is also a plus, as you will be working with analytics and other digital marketing data to produce a comprehensive report that can form the backbone of your company’s digital marketing strategy.

Depending on the size of your company, you may decide that a freelance researcher is the best fit for this task. However, if you are looking to bring in more expertise or have a team of people working on specific projects, then an in-house team of analysts may be the better option. In any case, make sure that the person in charge of preparing the report has the authority to make decisions in the company.

What Are The Key Takeaways?

An online marketing report will cover a wide array of topics, including the following:

  • Overall analysis of the different digital marketing platforms, including SEO, PPC, and social media.
  • The amount of traffic each platform generates for your site.
  • The performance of each platform, including your cost-per-click (CPC) rates and conversion statistics.
  • The competitive analysis of your industry.
  • The content that works well on each platform and the types of articles and keywords that you should focus on.
  • The most profitable platforms for your industry.
  • The weak and the strong areas of your website as far as SEO is concerned, with recommendations on how to fix these issues.
  • The most profitable platforms for your industry, with recommendations on how to grow your sales and leads.
  • The areas where you can improve the most in terms of your online marketing strategy.
  • Recommendations for paid advertising, content marketing, inbound marketing and email marketing.

How To Get Started?

To get started, simply review the report’s table of contents and familiarize yourself with the main points. An easy way to understand the essentials is to read the Executive Summary of the report. Also, by reading about the different types of reports available, you can decide which one is most suitable for your needs.

Once you have a better understanding of what the report contains, you can move on to the sections that interest you the most. Begin at the beginning if you want to learn more about SEO, or move to the middle if you are interested in PPC. Look for key terms and phrases that you can implement into your content marketing strategy, and so on.

Final Takeaway

An online marketing report allows you to gain a better understanding of how your website is performing and determine which parts of your strategy need to be changed. Such a report should not be viewed as a one-time occurrence, but rather a resource that you can refer back to as needed.