For any small business, effective marketing can be one of the most crucial elements for success, especially if your business is just starting out. In the modern age, the vast majority of all small business marketing efforts involve digital marketing, and efficient SEO is one of the more critical aspects of any effective digital marketing plan.
Best Digital Marketing Advice for Startups (2017)
Any entrepreneur can take steps to improve the SEO of the company, regardless of his or her marketing budget or level of expertise, and this has essentially leveled the playing field for small businesses to compete on a global scale.
Unfortunately, not everyone is familiar with basic SEO, and many small business owners are missing out on golden opportunities to easily reach a wider audience.
Most entrepreneurs have had their hands full from day one of opening a business and have not had the time or motivation to learn the simple strategies that can garner increased search results, but a decent web presence is now necessary for any business, no matter the industry or field.
Basic SEO
To those who are unfamiliar with the modern marketing world, it can seem like a complex realm of strange terms and complicated acronyms. Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the more complicated-sounding of all, but the basic principle behind it is relatively simple.
SEO deals with how well your website will rank when someone searches for a relevant term. If you own a plumbing business in New Jersey and your site is sufficiently optimized, it will show up as one of the first results when someone Googles “New Jersey plumber” or some other similar search keyword.
While full optimization will require some technical expertise, you can take some simple steps to improve it immediately.
1) Clearly Define Your Goals
To succeed in anything, you must know what you are shooting for, and marketing is no different. Before you can create an effective digital marketing strategy, you must lay out your goals and try to be as specific as possible. These goals should answer a few key questions including:
- Who should your website reach (target audience)?
- What do you hope to achieve with proper optimization(i.e., increased sales, new leads, improved brand recognition, etc.)?
- What metrics will determine success?
- How often should you measure and analyze these metrics?
- What is your budget for SEO and every other element of digital marketing?
2) Make it a Group Effort
Some small businesses assign all marketing strategies and tasks to one person, but it is usually better if it is a group effort. You probably have people on your staff right now who could make meaningful contributions to your marketing efforts with expertise in social media, blogging, video production or other elements. A website’s SEO is essentially determined by how relevant and appealing it is to consumers, and all of these elements can enhance that.
Let everyone contribute with their ideas and expertise and combine them into one overall strategy. Part of your marketing plan should involve clearly defined roles for each individual. One person could handle website design, one could write and edit the blog, one could manage social media accounts, and so on.
3) Be Willing to Learn From Any Source
Chances are that some of your most effective marketing techniques will come from outside sources. Pay attention to your competitors, partners, colleagues and anyone else in your field and learn which strategies are most effective for them. Be ready and willing to borrow, adapt and build from any idea which you believe could effectively benefit your business. One simple way to do this:
- Google relevant terms in your industry
- See which companies appear first and study these sites
- Emulate elements of these sites that you can incorporate into your own.
You may also find it necessary to hire outside help for certain elements of your marketing plan, including SEO. Sites such as this one could help you design and manage an effective website; email marketers can create and maintain email campaigns; YouTube experts could help you produce entertaining marketing videos; and countless other companies will be available for any area of digital marketing in which you need help. 🙂
