Web Marketing

How to Build a Digital Marketing Strategy

4 December 2023 Maxence Pezzetta
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Web marketing is a vast and ever-evolving field, and it has become a necessity for any online business to acquire the visibility they need for success. In this guide, the experts at our web agency explore the key steps to building an effective digital marketing strategy.

Whether you’re a beginner looking to launch your first campaign or an experienced professional looking to refine your methods, this guide will provide you with a clear framework and action points for growing your online presence.

Table of content

1. Who can create a digital marketing strategy?

A variety of different players are in a position to create a solid digital marketing strategy, from small businesses to large corporations. According to a study by Smart Insights, 45% of companies do not have a clearly defined digital strategy, even if they have a variety of digital marketing activities in place.

This highlights the opportunity for SMBs to differentiate themselves by developing a targeted digital strategy. Small businesses in particular are known to be flexible and close to their customers, and are therefore well-positioned to develop effective and customized strategies.

2. Elements of an effective digital marketing strategy

Since web marketing is primarily internet-oriented, your company's website serves as your main marketing channel. Below are the elements that make up an effective web marketing strategy:

  •  SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Website optimization will improve ranking in search results.
  •  SEA (Search Engine Advertising): Paid advertisements on search engines will increase the visibility of the website.
  • Content marketing: Creating and sharing relevant and useful content on your website will attract and engage your target audience.
  • Web analytics: Use tools like Google Analytics to understand visitor behavior and continually optimize your site.
  • Email marketing (email marketing): Send personalized emails to promote products or services and engage customers.
  • Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): Adopt techniques to improve the rate at which you convert visitors to customers on your website.

3. The 7 Steps to Creating an Effective Digital Marketing Strategy

Here are our recommendations for establishing a coherent and effective web marketing strategy. These 7 steps will help you to increase traffic to your website.

3.1. Start by defining your target audience

Target audience analysis is the pillar of an effective web marketing strategy. It involves developing a thorough understanding of your prospects' demographics, online behaviors, and preferences.

Using data analysis and survey tools, such as Survey Monkey, you can identify consumer trends and needs. Based on your analysis, you can create buyer personas, which are detailed profiles of ideal customers. These profiles will help you personalize and refine your marketing approach so you can create a stronger connection with your target audience.

3.2. Define the goals of your web marketing campaign

This step is one of the key factors in the success of any web marketing strategy. In addition to preventing you from spreading yourself too thin, it will provide you with an overview of the actions and deadlines that are critical to achieving your goals.

Although setting up a web marketing campaign takes time, strategic planning will save you valuable resources. You’ll benefit from having anticipated every action and be able to put them in place in a logical, organized manner.

For effective digital marketing, you cannot define a list of actions, then launch them according to their cost or priority (often harmful in the medium/long term). No one launches an open house in their physical store until they are sure that everything is ready to receive visitors. It's exactly the same for a website.

3.3. Create your content marketing strategy

Content marketing  involves creating and delivering content that is relevant as well as useful, so you can attract, engage, and retain a target audience. A content marketing strategy aims to build trust with potential and current customers be offering quality content that meets their needs and reflects their interests. 

Using content in web marketing is beneficial, as it helps improve search engine optimization (SEO), increase user engagement, and build brand authority and credibility. By offering value without taking a direct promotional approach, content creation helps build a loyal and engaged customer base. The most important elements to consider when devising an effective content strategy are:

  1. Storytelling: Use captivating stories to create an emotional connection with the audience.
  2. Interactive content: Integrate quizzes, polls, or interactive infographics to increase engagement.
  3. Quality content: Provide useful, accurate, and value-added information. Tailor content to the specific interests and needs of your audience.
  4. Visual content: Use images, infographics, and videos to grab users’ attention and improve understanding.
  5. Web writing: Create informative or educational text content in the form of blog posts, case studies, white papers, etc.
  6. Email marketing: Send regular newsletters via email. These may contain information about new products, helpful tips, company updates, or special offers.
  7. Podcasts: Create audio content on a variety of topics.
  8. Webinars: Put together and share webinars or educational presentations.

3.4 Establish an SEO strategy

Establishing an SEO strategy involves several key steps.

First, you’ll need to work on your on-site SEO. Start by doing thorough keyword research to understand what your target audience is searching for online. Then optimize your website by strategically integrating these keywords, while maintaining the quality and relevance of your content. It’s also important to improve the structure of your website by optimizing title tags and meta descriptions, and putting in place smooth and intuitive on-site navigation for optimal user experience.

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Don't forget to optimize your off-site SEO strategy as well. The latter focuses on techniques beyond your website to improve your site rank in search engines. Backlinks, or links from other sites pointing to yours, are key to off-site strategy. They increase your site's credibility and domain authority in the eyes of search engines, and play a key role in improving SEO.

3.5. Create an online advertising strategy

Online advertising is a component of any digital marketing strategy. It is effective because it allows you to specifically target a relevant audience and extend your brand's reach. To put an online advertising strategy in place, you’ll need to choose the ad platforms that will get you the best results, such as Google Ads (search ads) or display ads.

When you personalize your advertising messages, you can connect with your target audience even more effectively. Tracking and analyzing the return on investment (ROI) of your advertising campaigns is imperative to measure their effectiveness. This monitoring allows you to continually adjust and optimize your advertising strategies, so you can confirm that every dollar spent contributes to the overall success of your online marketing strategy.

4.6. Optimize your website's conversion rate

To make your web marketing strategy even ore successful, you can also develop a CRO strategy. Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the process of improving the ability of your website to convert visitors into customers or prospects.

CRO techniques include analyzing user behavior, improving user experience (UX), conducting A/B tests to compare different versions of a page, and adjusting elements such as calls-to-action  (CTAs), layout, and web content. The goal is to make the user journey as intuitive and compelling as possible to increase the chances of conversion.

4.7. Finally, analyze the performance of your campaign

Although this is the last step, remember that analyzing results is very important. At My Little Big Web, we regularly send performance reports to our clients so they can track the progress of their web marketing campaigns.

Analytical data makes it possible to identify which actions achieve the objectives we outlined in our planning, and which elements of our strategy need to be optimized. Keep in mind that it is possible to analyze almost everything on a website (number of visitors, acquisition channels, average time spent on the site, pages visited, etc.).

Tools such as SEMrush or Ahrefs will help you analyze SEO and keyword performance and provide valuable data to help you optimize your digital marketing campaigns and maintain a competitive edge.

4. How much does a digital marketing strategy cost?

The cost of a web marketing strategy can vary due to multiple factors, making this a complex question to answer. The scale of your business and the scope of the campaign play a major role. For example, a small local business will have different needs and budget than a large multinational. In addition, costs vary depending on which channels and methods you use: social media, SEO, email marketing, paid advertising, etc.

Different web marketing channels have unique factors that influence their cost. You’ll also need to consider the fees for managing your strategy, including the cost of using specific marketing tools, and any expenses related to using external consultants or agencies.

4.1 SEO and content creation

In SEO, costs can vary widely depending on how tough the competition is for your targeted keywords, and the complexity of on-page and off-page optimization for your site. The cost of writing quality content can also be a significant part of the budget, especially if you want specialized or SEO-friendly content.

Creating and maintaining a blog, producing videos or infographics, and developing interactive content are all elements that will impacts your budget.

4.2 Paid advertising and measuring ROI

The costs of paid advertising, such as Google Ads campaigns or social media ads, are typically based on cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM). These campaigns can quickly become expensive, but they're also often very effective at achieving specific conversion goals.

A tracking and analysis system should be put in place to measure the return on investment (ROI) of your campaigns, so you can adjust your spending as needed and optimize budget allocation. Ultimately, while the upfront costs may seem high, a well-planned and executed web marketing strategy can provide a significant return on investment.

Note: Be wary of agencies or "experts" who guarantee exceptional results at a lower cost. You need to be able to trust your agency to offer relevant advice and guidance throughout the process.

We can help you create an effective digital marketing strategy for your business

The implementation of a web marketing strategy requires a lot of organization. There are specific questions that must be asked in order to be able to define the goals, budget and time required for successful digital marketing.

If you think the budget set by your agency or marketing manager is too high, ask them to explain in detail what the value of each action is, and what costs they involve. You’ll be able to assess the importance of each step and accurately calculate your return on investment.

My Little Big Web brings together web marketing experts who can advise and support you while putting together and implementing your digital marketing strategy. You can contact us at 514 572 7758 or via our contact form to speak with a professional web marketer who will answer all your questions.

Digital Marketing Strategy FAQ

1. What is a digital marketing strategy?

A digital marketing strategy is a detailed plan focused on attracting a target audience to a website to effectively promote a product or service online. This involves defining specific web marketing tactics and using different online marketing channels to achieve set goals.

2. What are the benefits of a well-constructed digital marketing strategy?

A good digital marketing strategy can help increase online visibility, attract a qualified audience, build brand awareness, and increase conversions. In addition, a well-thought-out digital strategy can help position a company as a major player in its industry.

3. How do you do digital marketing?

To do digital marketing, start by defining your target audience and goals. Next, create an SEO-optimized website and develop quality content to attract and engage your audience. Use email marketing to communicate directly with your customers. Finally, analyze your performance regularly using web analytics tools so you can adjust and improve your digital marketing strategy.

Maxence Pezzetta
Cofondateur et Spécialiste Web Marketing et acquisition de clients Diplômé d’une double Maîtrise en Marketing et Communication, Max cumule plus de 10 ans d’expérience en Marketing digital. Ancien employé de Microsoft, sa mission est de « mettre le Web à la portée de tous » pour aider les entreprises à améliorer leur présence en ligne.
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