For the less tech-savvy among us, attempting to build a digital marketing strategy can feel akin to facing a Love craftian nightmare. This fear of the unknown has led many a business-driven individual to collapse under the times, unable to fully utilise the tools that are now so readily at our disposal. However, while the burden of choice that endless options provide can appear insurmountable at first, all is not lost for those willing to put in the research needed.

With this in mind, our task today is not to offer your company a flawless road to success. Each business is unique and, in turn, will benefit from digital services in ways that may even differ from their competitors. If this is what you’re looking for, your best option is to collaborate with an experienced digital marketing expert, working out a definitive checklist that will allow you to target your specific goals. We are simply hoping to give you some insight into the possibilities available to you when beginning this process, breaking down the core components of a successful digital strategy.

Search Engine Optimisation

It’s nearly impossible to work through online platforms in 2017 without coming across SEO in some form, however many are still unfamiliar with the process. Search Engine Optimisation, as the name suggests, involves making your website as easily understood by search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo! as possible, the desired effect of which being a boost in rankings for specified keywords.

Desirable Outcomes

For the purposes of this article, I’ll be using Google as my primary example.

As these engines inherently work off a listicle system, with rankings based off what Google’s algorithm deems most relevant to any user’s given search, there are resounding benefits for those that can reach those peak ten positions on page 1. This becomes increasingly apparent once you begin looking at audience behaviours, with at least ¾ of all search traffic never making it past those top ten results.

How is it Done?

The process of why and how this works is slightly more difficult to describe than simply what it is, in no small part due to Google’s secrecy surrounding what its algorithm prioritises when determining priority of listings. With that in mind, there are some core areas of SEO that are common among most agencies.

These Include:

  • Link Building – Utilising other websites to create links to your own, thereby making your service appear more relevant and authentic to search engines.
  • Website Optimisation – Ensuring that your pages can be seen as relevant from the perspective of a search engine through strategic content and streamlining of website processes.
  • Directory Listing – Similar to link building, this involves adding links to your site from various directory sites.

While these certainly aren’t all of the elements that go into building a successful SEO campaign, they are an excellent starting point for those hoping to familiarise themselves with the process.

PPC

Have you ever looked through search engine listings, and noticed that there are certain sites that are constantly at the top of page 1? A lot of factors can be considered for why that’s the case, but coincidence is certainly not one of them.

Pay-Per-Click is a relatively simple idea, but one that comes with quite complex implications. In simple terms, PPC is an area of Google AdWords that allows users to bid for priority listing for targeted phrases. When you hear the word “bid”, it likely brings to mind the assumption that you would be vying for a set price and amount of time, which is not at all how Google AdWords operates.

How Does it Work?

With PPC, websites pay based on how many people click through from these prioritised links. This is a system that offers fair, reasonable ROI, as each addition to your PPC pricetag is one more potential customer that has been directed to your page. This also necessitates a significant cost-benefit analysis, as you need to factor in how much you will theoretically earn from each potential conversion.

Now comes the boring part

Let’s say you have a product that earns you $40 each conversion, and a PPC campaign that costs you 88 cents each time someone clicks through to your page. If a thousand people find themselves clicking through to your site, with a cost per click of 88 cents, you have spent $880. With this in mind, if each one of those individuals decided to purchase your product, you would be sitting on a small fortune, but that’s rarely the case.

You have to assume that only a small percentage of your newly found customers will actually end up handing over their hard-earned currency, a factor that will play an important part in designing a winning strategy.

Digital pathways can be difficult to traverse, but with the right understanding and assistance, there is always a way for you to take centre stage and reap the marketing benefits of online platforms.