The first functional prototype of the Internet came about in the late 1960s and was used mostly by government agencies to share research information and communicate over a single network. It has been over five decades, and the Internet has grown tremendously since then. Across the globe, more than 5 billion people use the Internet, and the number of users grows every year.
We have upwards of a billion websites at our disposal, and more than half of them are service websites or product websites. The competition among them is beyond imagination! But digital marketing is the honeydew.
Digital Marketing is an umbrella term for various strategies such as Email Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing and so on. As internet users and websites have been continually increasing, applying the same digital marketing strategies for every project will not help you to stand out from the crowd. We cannot follow the same strategies for different business niches.
But now the question is: which digital marketing strategy is more effective? So, here is a basic guide on how to choose a digital marketing strategy according to your business. Let’s go through all the alternatives.
Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization is a practice to increase organic traffic on the website through search engine results. It contains two processes: On-page Optimization and Off-page Optimization.
1. On-page Optimization:
It includes all the measures which are directly implemented on the website to improve ranking on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERP), such as deploying sitemaps, robots, meta tags, and improving content quality.
2. Off-Page Optimization:
Unlike on-page optimization, off-page optimization is when the methods are implemented outside the website. Such as link building and improving brand awareness by promotion.
Effective for which niche:
SEO can be and ideally should be implemented for every website on the internet, especially on-page optimization. Google has several ranking factors and a certain set of guidelines that need to be followed to achieve maximum optimization .
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Product Website:
On-page optimization is very effective for such websites. But to leverage it to its full potential, we must build quality links by implementing appropriate link building startegies. Link building is one of the biggest factors for rankings.
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Service Website:
On-page and off-page both the strategies work well. Also, we need to include excellent content on the website.
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Blog Website:
On-page and off-page both the strategies can be implemented.
3. Local Search Engine Optimization
Local SEO is an effective way to promote your business online in the local market. Businesses can promote their products and services locally through various methods by leveraging Local SEO Marketing.
Here are the strategies that will help you to improve your website visibility:
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Optimize your website with local keywords:
Find high search volume local keywords and optimize your website. Update meta tags, content, etc.
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Google’s My Business Listing:
To target local audiences, one must create a business profile on Google’s My Business Listing. It contains opening times, review rating, and even photos. When someone searches for services in the Google Search Engine Result Page (SERP), the business listing shows local businesses first.
When we search “pizza shop near me,” the first 3 results are business listings. Sometimes it is called a “3-Pack.” And if you want to see more options, you can click on “More Places.” But if you want local traffic through your business listing, then your store should show up within the first 3 listings. And for this, you must optimize your business listing.
Here is how to optimize it:
- Choose relevant and specific categories.
- Upload high-quality business images.
- Make sure your business information is similar across the web.
- Use a local number.
- Add a description of your business and add relevant keywords.
- Add social media posts.
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Citations:
Citations are directories that show business information (Name, Address, Phone Number, Website URL, Logo, Business Photos) on the Internet. They are imperative for SEO when you are trying to increase local traffic.
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Use Local Service Schema:
Applying Local Service Schema on every website page will help Google understand about the business location and how you are relevant to the people who are searching for the service locally. It will also help you to appear in the Google Local Pack.
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Effective for which niche:
Local SEO is effective for location-based services whether it is product, service, or article sites.
Search Engine Marketing
It is a practice of marketing using paid advertising. This is often known as pay-per-click. Google AdWords allows you to choose between nine different types of ad campaigns according to your business niche such as text ads, responsive display ads, product ads, etc. You may test the different types of ad campaigns to determine which format generates the most profitable ROI,
1. Search Network:
Search Network can be defined as a group of search-related websites where your ads and free product listings can appear next to search results on other relevant sites. When you advertise on the Search Network, your ad would be visible in searches next to Maps, Images, Shopping websites, etc. Basically, they are the text ads that show up on the search engine result page based on targeted keywords.
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Service Website:
Text ads are effective in the promotion of services.
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Product:
Text ads are not beneficial for the promotion of products.
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Article/Blog:
Text ads are effective for blogs and article sites.
2. Display Network:
The Display Network allows you to find the right audience through its strategic targeting options that broadcast your messages to potential customers at the right place and time. Such ad campaigns are generally used for awareness, influence, remarketing, or action through images displayed on partner websites.
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Service Website:
Display ads are not effective for service websites.
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Product:
It is beneficial for eCommerce or product-based websites. Because image better demonstrates products that can also influence people to buy it. Also, it has been seen that remarketing for eCommerce websites helps to increase conversion rate.
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Article/Blog:
It is not effective for blog and article websites.
3. Shopping Ads:
Shopping campaigns are used to promote products to sales and get targeted audiences on the website. These ads also show on the search engine result page but with the product image, title, and price. Let’s see where we can use it. Shopping ads are only beneficial for eCommerce. Neither for service websites nor for article/blog websites.
4. Video Ads:
Advertise on YouTube with video campaigns. There are two types of ad formats: Option to skip the ad after 5 seconds or six-second buffer between the videos.
It is effective for the product and services websites. Not for article/blog websites.
5. App Campaign:
Campaign for App across search, display, and video network. This is the best way to advertise apps.
Content Marketing
Content Marketing is a strategy that focuses on creating and distributing insightful and relevant content to attract targeted audiences and retrieve old ones. 70% of internet users are searching for some advice, tips, or solutions to their problems. That means if we can provide the best possible answer to visitors’ queries then there is a 50% higher chance that we can convert the leads into customers.
Here are five simple steps to implement Content Marketing:
- Identifying an audience persona. (Background, demographics, etc.)
- Identifying problems and brainstorming for content ideas.
- Find out which type of content is better for your audience such as how-to blogs, case studies, white papers, e-books, press releases and so on.
- Find relevant platforms to post the content.
- Post blogs on your site with content cluster strategy. (Internal Link)
Content marketing is beneficial for every kind of website. It is the best source to drive organic traffic.
Email Marketing
Email Marketing is generally used to promote products or direct traffic to your website through emails. It has the highest conversion rate of all the marketing strategies. It is a great way to build relationships with new customers and keep existing customers informed about new products and offer discounts while also being cost-effective.
Steps for Email Marketing:
- Finalize email marketing providers such as MailChimp, Constant Contact, AWeber.
- Make a database of Opt-In Email ID. We must make sure that the email IDs that we are going to upload should be an opt-in email ID to reduce the bounce and unsubscribe rate.
- Upload Email ID in the email marketing portal.
- Design Email Marketing template and create a campaign.
- Finalize the time to shoot the campaign.
Effective for which niche:
Email Marketing is effective for all products, services, and articles and blog sites.
Social Media Marketing
Social Media Marketing strategy can be leveraged to interact with targeted audiences through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Also, marketing through social media is economical and helps businesses reach their target audiences easily and boost sales. However, it is important to identify which social media platform is suitable for your business because every platform has a different kind of audience.
Here are some benefits of social media marketing:
- Creates brand awareness
- Develops brand trust
- Depict brand stories
- Creates a channel to interact with the audience
Conclusion
When you want to promote your brand and connect with potential customers, you have a number of different options that can open up opportunities to grow any kind of business on the internet. However, it is imperative to identify which option would work best for your business niche. Once the ideal digital marketing strategy is locked in, you can simply follow the implementation guidelines and then sit back and watch your business grow!
