The secret to growing your business online (and off) is to develop a web marketing strategy that’s as solid as concrete. Warning. There’s more to it than performing a few actions here and there in hopes of being first on Google and doubling your turnover in a few days. Essentially, you need to take the time to think about a coherent and effective digital marketing strategy. Between SEM, SEO, PPC, UX, social media and online advertising, there are countless techniques designed to build recognition online and grow your customer base. But what specifically is a web marketing strategy? Why is it so important today?
Definition and goals
A web marketing strategy is the implementation of a set of strategic actions online which aims to convert leads into loyal customers or even true ambassadors of your business.
The three main goals of a web marketing strategy are essentially to attract users to your website, to convert this traffic into customers and finally to retain customers. The defining aspect of a digital marketing strategy is that it doesn’t stay fixed. That is to say that it constantly adapts to the goals, the results you obtain and changes in your market. A strategy established last year won’t necessarily have the same results this year: new competitors might enter the market or the results might not be what you expected. It therefore becomes necessary to adapt your strategy if you want to guarantee its long-term performance.
The 6 basic components of a web marketing strategy
User experience
Any web marketing strategy must begin with the design of an aesthetic, intuitive and effective website that converts visitors. To do this, the user must always be the center of attention. Essentially, user experience (UX) often makes all the difference in a website generating conversions. A user will be more inclined to become your customer if your website experience is pleasant, fluid and uncomplicated.
Our advice: Remember to build your hierarchical site structure, organize your content and place action buttons (purchase, registration, download, contact ...) in strategic locations. Design is also part of the criteria you should consider to improve user experience: take inspiration from web design trends to make sure you have a website in line with the times. Finally, don’t forget to consider the people you are targeting when laying out your presentation and writing.
In case you use an agency for your website design, it should be able to support you in each of these steps. Don’t hesitate to ask for a portfolio of websites they designed.
Natural referencing
Once your website is well-designed, the next step in a digital marketing strategy is to make yourself known, attracting users to your site. This is where SEO, also called organic search referencing, comes into play. This involves optimizing your positioning in Google’s search results so that users find a website more easily and quickly. The goal of course is to reach the first position in results (green box on the image below) to increase the chances that users click on your link rather than another company’s.
The concept of SEO is relatively complex since it combines several complementary techniques that together help to improve a site’s positioning in search results. Among these methods are keyword research, link building, local SEO or content creation.
Our advice: Choose your keywords strategically by researching the competition and, as an example, their search volume. Develop an external link building strategy and focus on quality rather than quantity. Think about local SEO if your range of doing business falls within a specific geographical area. For example, at My Little Big Web, we optimize our local SEO because our business mainly extends to Montreal and its surroundings.
Paid search
Another fundamental component of a web marketing strategy is paid search advertising. This concept refers to the sponsored ads that are above organic search results on Google (red box in the image below). They are created and managed on the Google AdWords platform. These types of ads are very useful for acquiring traffic since they allow you to precisely target users, choose specific keywords, define a geographic area and control the cost per click. The qualified traffic generated by paid search makes this concept an essential component of an effective web marketing strategy. Finally, one of the great benefits of these sponsored ads is being at the top of search results overnight. This is generally very appealing for companies that have just launched their site or want to promote a product or service for a specific period of time.
Advertising on social networks
Another possibility to bring in more website traffic is advertising on social networks. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube have created interfaces that allow business accounts to advertise on their networks. These ads have the advantage of being highly customizable. Audiences can be targeted very precisely or alternatively more broadly, there are numerous advertising formats, the goals of each format are unique, platform usability and performance monitoring are very simple ... Facebook has the most popular ads given the number of users on the social network. However, depending on the goals you set and your strategy, it may be worth considering other social networks as well.
Our advice: Choose the social network(s) you want to advertise on based on your goals, budget, and advertising type. For example, if your goal is to increase your visibility, Facebook advertising is a good way to reach as many people as possible. On the other hand, if your communication strategy is focused on visuals, Instagram ads might be more appropriate.
Content marketing
Content marketing is one of the top SEO priorities of the year according to a study conducted by Webrankinfo. As you might have noticed, all companies on the internet are starting blogs and with good reason. To be frank, several good reasons.
Content creation first and foremost allows you to improve your SEO and increase your online presence which helps bring in more traffic. This type of marketing also helps build customer loyalty by providing information that answers questions on a specific topic. This gives the user an incentive to return to your website and think of you when a need for your products or services arises.
Our advice: When it comes to content marketing, it's important to stay in the thematic area of your market and not deviate. It goes without saying that SEO content optimization is important so that users can easily find your content. This includes finding a relevant keyword, coming up with an attractive title and meta-description, and optimizing the web page’s URL.
Community management on social networks
No web marketing strategy is complete without community management on social networks. You may not be aware but nearly 3 in 4 adults use social networks every day. It would be a shame not to take advantage of this opportunity to make yourself known. Social networks have become the benchmark space of interaction between consumers and brands. A company’s brand image and reputation are largely built on these platforms. Social networks not only allow you to gain recognition, but good management generates conversions and increases customer loyalty through a sense of belonging to a special community. More specifically, managing a social network community is about sharing relevant and engaging content with your subscribers and, in turn, engaging with their content to encourage long-term relationships.
Our advice: The key to effective social networking is planning! Create publication schedules to ensure that you have a constant stream of content.
Let's be clear. A web marketing strategy requires time and thought to be developed and rolled out properly. What's more, results aren’t instantaneous. You need patience and perseverance to achieve your goals. But! Yes, there is always a "but". We can assure you that a well-designed and solid digital marketing strategy can literally double your annual growth. The return on investment is truly worth the time, energy and money spent.
However, if you have any questions or need any advice on how to develop your web marketing strategy, don’t hesitate to call us or swing by our office for a coffee. We will be happy to discuss with you.