Setting up a good online marketing strategy
Online marketing has many facets. There is no single method of achieving a higher position in the search results. There are many different methods to achieve this. Although you can easily access these different methods online, applying them is of course a completely different story. Moreover, one strategy will work better than another. Therefore, it is important to know which marketing activities will be successful for your company and how you should apply them. A search engine marketer has sufficient knowledge and experience to set up the right strategy and thus generate online growth.
Also realise that setting up the right online marketing strategy takes time. Not only does experience and knowledge play an important role in this, but it will also require the right approach. Sometimes mistakes are made. This is not a bad thing, because online marketing is very flexible. This allows you to easily adjust your approach until it has the desired effect. As an entrepreneur, you often have insufficient time for this. An online marketeer, however, knows exactly how to go about it, which saves you time and ensures that it is done in the right way.
Customer loyalty
Of course it is nice to attract new visitors and with that potential customers. However, don't forget the importance of existing customers. You need them to continue to grow your business. That is why these customers also need to remain enthusiastic about your services. You can do this by creating the right customer loyalty. Often, however, there is a lack of time and the right means to put this customer loyalty into action. An online marketeer knows exactly which means he can use to appeal to your existing customers. Think for example of e-mail marketing or video messages.
Social media marketing
A search engine marketer is not only employed to optimise the website, but also to address other facets of online marketing. For instance, they can also take on social media marketing. Think of maintaining Instagram and Facebook accounts. This often takes more time than you think and by doing so, you relinquish a large (and important) part of your online marketing.
It is expected that social media marketing will play a very important role in the world of digital marketing in 2022. It is therefore not surprising that it plays an important role in search engine marketing campaigns. In addition, more and more social media channels offer special opportunities for companies. When applied correctly, these enable consumers to discover the personal side of a company and enter into dialogue with it. This ultimately leads to better customer loyalty.
Measuring results
To measure is to know. This also applies to search engine marketing. After all, the success of online marketing is not fixed. You don't know in advance which marketing activities will be the most successful. Sometimes it takes a while before you know which activities are the most successful. Especially when you are active in a branch where the target group is very large. In that case, of course, you want to know whether the money you are investing is having the desired effect. That is why measuring the results is an important part of search engine marketing. You can do this yourself, for example with the help of Google Analytics, but you can also leave this to your search engine marketer. They often have handy tools to easily check the results. Based on that information, the strategy can be adjusted. This way, you work together towards the most effective online marketing strategy.
Help with search engine advertising
Besides SEO techniques, it is also possible to work on the SEA of your website. SEA stands for search engine advertising. In addition to ranking higher in the organic search results, you can also choose to be visible in the paid advertisements. Google has its own advertising option through Google ads, also known as Google AdWords. This is usually done by means of an advertisement in combination with the use of the right keywords. You pay for the keywords you want to be found on. For each click, you pay an agreed amount. Logically, you pay more to be found for keywords with a high search volume.
SEA is often something entrepreneurs take on themselves. After all, how difficult can it be to choose keywords and draw up an advertisement? If you think so, you are very wrong. When you don't handle Google Ads in the right way, it can cost you a lot of money. Think for example of using keywords that are too general. You will end up higher in the search results, but you will not be able to target the right audience and you will lose a lot of money as well.
A search engine marketer can carry out a good keyword analysis beforehand and use this to determine the best way to set up your advertisement. He will also try to keep the costs for you as low as possible.
Remember that SEA is not a long-term solution. That is why it is usually done in combination with SEO. SEA is a good way to get immediate high ranking in the search results, but for a lasting solution you will also have to work on the SEO of your site.
Reasons for choosing online marketing
The tasks of a search engine marketer are very broad. Not only does he have to have the right basic knowledge, but also an affinity with different branches. This way, he knows how to determine the right strategy for each company. It is often preferable to choose a search engine marketing agency. That way, you have access to many different search engine marketers. They reinforce each other. After all, no one can have knowledge of all things related to online marketing. Some focus mainly on social media marketing, others know how to improve the technical SEO of a website. By using different online marketers, you can create the most effective online marketing campaign.
But why exactly should you choose online marketing? Does it really make sense to spend extra marketing budget on it? Below are a few important reasons for choosing online marketing:
The reach of the Internet is greater than ever
Decades ago, we could not have imagined that the Internet would become so big. Nowadays, almost everyone is online. Even the older generation can get by in the digital world. That offers many opportunities. But it also has disadvantages. Because everyone is online, consumers are able to access a lot of information in no time at all. This makes it more difficult for companies to retain customers. Especially since there is a lot of competition online. At the same time, a website is a necessity.
Almost 90 per cent of the Dutch use the Internet when searching for products and services. When a company is not visible online, this also means that a large part of the target group is not reached.
Everything is measurable
A big disadvantage of many forms of offline marketing is that it is often difficult to measure. Sometimes, after using offline marketing, you will see an increase in the number of visitors within the company, but you cannot say for sure whether this is due to the campaign. Sometimes it is just a coincidence. In that case, you might invest more money in the same campaign, while it has far less effect. That is a waste of money!
Fortunately, this is not the case with online marketing. Everything can be measured. When you have applied a new strategy, you can often already see after a few weeks whether it has had the desired success. Moreover, everything is very flexible. If a certain form of marketing has not been successful, you can always adjust it. This way, you never spend unnecessary money and you know for sure whether you have chosen the right path. A search engine marketer has the right tools and experience to read these results and tell you what effect each euro has had.
Long-term results
Are you spending part of your marketing budget to publish an advertisement in a magazine or newspaper? Then this can certainly be effective in the short term. However, bear in mind that these advertisements are often seen only once. It sinks back into oblivion as soon as a new newspaper comes out. A shame, because it means you only profit from better visibility for a short time.
With offline marketing, this is different. Especially when you choose SEO. That way, you improve your website and natural link profile to end up higher in the non-paid search results of Google. When this is done in the right way, it ultimately delivers long-lasting results. After all, if you have written a blog, it will always remain visible. If it is about a relative subject, it will also remain visible in the search results for a very long time. That way, you will benefit from that one article for years to come. Provided, of course, that it is not removed or the website is taken down.
Admittedly, investing in online marketing does take more time. It often takes longer before you can actually see results. However, once you get started and see results, you will benefit for many years. You need to be in it for the long haul, but you will get a lot more out of it in the end.
Improve communication with the customer
The customer is king for every company. Without customers, your company simply cannot function. That is why it is important that communication with the customer is optimal. This way, you not only ensure that you can bind visitors to you, but also make sure that they come back more often. The fact remains that potential customers need several contact moments before they take action. Studies show that this often involves 5 to 8 contact moments. It is up to you to share the right information and speed up the process of purchase. This is also called a marketing or sales funnel. With the help of a search engine marketer, you know how to set up this funnel and how to improve communication with the customer.
It is also a fact of life nowadays that customers no longer passively look at advertisements, but really go and do their own research. They want to find out why your company is the best choice. In addition, they also research the competitors. It is up to you to offer something extra. This often takes the form of the right communication. Enter into dialogue with visitors, listen to feedback and adapt products and services to the needs of the customer. In this way, you can improve your business and attract more customers.
Communication with the customer is not only good for customer loyalty, but it also helps you to better understand the target group and to move your business forward. This is how you stimulate online growth. This can be done in different ways. For instance, by using e-mail marketing or social media marketing.
You can better target your audience
It is not always easy to target your audience. In many cases, marketing activities address far too large a target group. When you place an article in a local newspaper, many people will read it who have no affinity with your company. A shame, because you will reach far fewer people than if you would only address the people who belong to your target group.
However, thanks to online marketing forms it is possible to reach your target group in a completely unique way. A good example is the use of influencer marketing. Influencers are people on social media with a large following. They have often spent years developing a relationship of trust with their followers. As a result, they are able to present specific products and services in a much more accessible way. Moreover, there are influencers for virtually every industry. Do you sell children's clothes, for example? Then engage a so-called mommy-influencer who shows your products. Chances are that she also has a support base full of young mothers. They have extra use for your products, making such a campaign much more successful. The perfect way to reach a large part of your target group.