Building your online presence for your business is a really important step in your marketing plan. In this article, I will walk you through building your online marketing presence in seven steps.
1. Content
Nowadays, when people want to search for any kind of product or service they head straight to Google. What this means for your business is that you need to understand the topics and keywords they are searching for. So, do your keyword research and build a keyword/topic plan for your business. I suggest signing up to Google Alerts, searching through Buzzsumo and Quora for topic inspiration. Then build your content plan based on your research.
2. Search Engine Optimsation
Organic SEO helps your business to get found in Google search results. Putting content directly where your potential customers are searching for it will increase the chances of your business being found online. These five elements will help you improve your organic SEO results:
- Content – commit to producing regular quality content for your business.
- Keywords – do your keyword and topic research, and write about these topics.
- Links – build the number of inbound links to your website, by guest blogging.
- Social – share all of your content on social media
- Google My Business – claim this free real estate, and set up your GMB page.
3. Email marketing
Your aim here is to build an email list of engaged subscribers who want to hear from you. So how do you gather email addresses? You may send out a weekly newsletter sharing a tip. Or you may have an eBook or a checklist available to download on your website. The aim of email marketing is to educate and add value.
4. Social-media marketing
Get to know your audience, know which social channels they use, and engage your audience by providing educational content, that adds value. Social media should be used to build brand awareness, build a community, distribute your content, and lead generation and customer service.
Before you post on social media ask yourself is this information going to benefit my customers. Plan your weekly social media content and post a mixture of your own content, curated content, tools, videos and behind the scenes, as people love to get to know your brand.
5. Online advertising
Before you jump into Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads or Google Adwords ensure you have planned your message, your landing pages and spend per day. I’d recommend using a specialist to create and manage your ads, to ensure you are getting the best return on investment.
Test a dollar at a time to check effectiveness.
6. Mobile
Mobile site optimisation should be high on your list of priorities as nearly 70 per cent of all searches are performed via mobile now.
Make sure your website is fast to download, the content on your website is easy to digest with subheadings, and small blocks of copy. And your content should feature local content, and keywords based on your business location.
7. Analytics
There are two key tools I recommend using:
- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console
Both will give you a wealth of information about your website visitors, and what content they are clicking on and reading. I’d recommend setting up some goals to track in Google, what it is exactly you are wanting them to do on your website e.g. submit an enquiry form.
If you start by working through these seven steps for the online marketing of your business, you will be well on your way to building your online presence.
Vanessa Geraghty, Founder and Principal Marketing Consultant, Vivacity Marketing
