1. Organic SEO<\/h3>\n
Organic traffic<\/strong><\/a> is a term that describes visitors who come to your site from the organic search results. This kind of traffic can be very valuable for your business.<\/p>\n Once your website is ranking on search engines, you\u2019re essentially getting \u201cfree\u201d traffic since you don\u2019t have to pay for your website to stay visible. Compare this to Search Engine Marketing (SEM<\/strong><\/a>), which you\u2019ll learn about below, where you have to continuously pay for your website to show up.<\/p>\n Search engine optimization is the process of making your website and the content you produce to rank higher in the search engines. The higher you rank in the search results, the more likely people are to click over to your website.<\/p>\n But, ranking for any kind of keyword isn\u2019t important, your goal should be to rank for the right keywords.<\/p>\n These are the search terms<\/strong><\/a> your potential customers are typing into Google to learn more about your brand and business.<\/p>\n Like a lot of other online digital channels, the \u201crules\u201d to the game change regularly. What worked in SEO even a few years ago will no longer work today and can end up hurting your site.<\/p>\n However, there are a few key fundamentals that stay pretty consistent over the years:<\/p>\n As you dive into organic SEO here are a few important elements to keep in mind:<\/p>\n Optimize your content.<\/strong> Keywords are one of the most important aspects of SEO. You\u2019ll need to know how to research the best keywords<\/strong><\/a> for your site and optimize your site around those keywords.<\/p>\n Create fresh, high-quality content.<\/strong> The content you create needs to be of high-quality and relevant to your visitors. You also need to publish content frequently\/update older content so it\u2019s always providing value to your visitors.<\/p>\n Go mobile-first.<\/strong> Mobile optimization ensures your site and content are optimized for the mobile web, which is where more and more users are spending their time. Plus, Google predominantly indexes the mobile version of your site first.<\/p>\n Resources to Learn More About SEO<\/span><\/p>\n Social media advertising gives you a way to run paid ads on social media. You can achieve a variety of goals including growing your social media accounts, selling more products, and of course sending more traffic back to your website.<\/p>\n One big reason to include social media paid advertising into your overall digital marketing strategy<\/strong><\/a> is that organic reach (number of people that see your social media posts without paying for ads), has fallen dramatically in the last few years. It\u2019s near impossible to get the same reach you would from a paid campaign. It\u2019s pay to play.<\/p>\n For example, if you\u2019re trying to get a larger audience for your blog posts, you can use Facebook ads and narrow down your exact audience. Plus, this type of advertising is pay-per-click and the costs can still be pretty low.<\/p>\n When it comes to social media advertising Facebook is king. It not only boasts a massive user base, but you\u2019ll find very advanced targeting tools, along with a variety of ad types to suit your goals.<\/p>\n There are a few different types of ads you can run depending on what you want to achieve:<\/p>\n There are a handful of other ad types as well, but those will be the most useful if your goal is to send traffic to your website, sell products, or capture email subscribers<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a brief overview of how to run Facebook ads<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n Paid search traffic is the process of getting traffic from search engines by running paid ads. You\u2019ll also hear this referred to as Pay-Per-Click (PPC) or paid search.<\/p>\n With paid search ads the advertiser (you) will pay every time someone clicks on your search ad and visits your site or landing page.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll notice the paid search results on top of the standard organic search results. Instead of trying to rank high in the search engines, you buy top placement.<\/p>\n Here are a few advantages to paid search traffic over other models:<\/p>\n If you want to start getting into paid search traffic there are two big networks where you\u2019ll focus all of your efforts:<\/p>\n Google Ads<\/strong><\/p>\n Google Ads is owned by Google and lets you display ads in the Google search results, on YouTube, or across the network of sites that participate in Google AdSense<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a quick overview of how Google Ads works<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n Bing Ads<\/strong><\/p>\n Bing Ads is the ad network operated by the search engine, Bing. It doesn\u2019t have as wide a reach as Google, but it still makes up 7 percent of the global search engine market<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n The process for running Bing ads will be very similar to the process of creating Google ads above.<\/p>\n The good news about Bing is it\u2019s not as competitive, so you\u2019ll end up paying less for clicks overall. If you\u2019re wary about wasting your budget on paid ads, this could be a good place to start.<\/p>\n Paid search can be tough, especially if you\u2019re a beginner, so spend extensive time on these two areas:<\/p>\n Find Less Competitive, Relevant Keywords<\/strong><\/p>\n The keywords you choose are incredibly important. These keywords should be relevant to your business and the products and services you offer. You\u2019ll need to use keyword research tools to find long-tail keywords<\/strong><\/a> that are relevant to your business, while not being too competitive.<\/p>\n Go Deep With Audience Targeting<\/strong><\/p>\n The second way to ensure you\u2019re getting the most value from the ad dollars you spend is to get very deep with your targeting. If you\u2019re operating in a local area you can start there, but make sure you go deep with your exact customer.<\/p>\n How many blog posts have you read today? How about this week?<\/p>\n Content is the driving force of the internet, and you can harness it for your small business. All businesses have buyers at different levels of the customer awareness journey.<\/p>\n Content marketing<\/strong><\/a> does address buyers at every level, but a big focus is on the initial awareness phase. At this point, potential customers are aware they have a problem or need you can fulfill but aren\u2019t quite ready to pull the trigger on a solution.<\/p>\n Content marketing does a great job of educating potential prospects and helping them solve problems, which naturally leads them to the natural solution your products and services provide.<\/p>\n When you do content marketing the right way it also makes your visitors more receptive to the sale. Instead of overwhelming them with constant selling, you\u2019re educating and helping until they\u2019re ready.<\/p>\n The website content <\/strong><\/a>you create can take many forms, including:<\/p>\n However, three forms of content are more effective than most:<\/p>\n Pillar Content<\/strong><\/p>\n Pillar content<\/strong><\/a> seeks to be the absolute best piece of content across the entire internet, for your chosen topic. It provides your visitors with everything they need to know about that topic.<\/p>\n Your pillar content can either be a single page (like a long in-depth blog post) or be a cluster of topics almost like a massive category page.<\/p>\n Whatever route you choose you\u2019ll need to satisfy the following:<\/p>\n Pillar pages are important because they provide both users and the search engines with what they\u2019re looking for. It makes users happy since it contains all the information they need in one place and this makes the search engines happy because it creates a great experience for their users.<\/p>\n Original Research<\/strong><\/p>\n One great way to create content that deserves to get shared and linked to is to uncover original research. That way when people are writing about a topic and need a source, they\u2019ll end up linking to you\u2013the original source.<\/p>\n For example, Nielsen continuously releases original reports<\/strong><\/a> and data. They bring in consumer surveys across a wide range of verticals. Couple this with compelling graphics and you have an article people can\u2019t help but reference.<\/p>\n Here are a few methods to create original research, even if your audience is small:<\/p>\n Case Studies<\/strong><\/p>\n Case studies are valuable pieces of content. They\u2019re used to demonstrate social proof to your audience that what you offer generates results. With case studies, you\u2019ll find titles like, \u201cHow John S. Gained 10,000 Email Subscribers in 1 Week Following Our Methods\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n Case studies are very powerful sales tools. They help your visitors put themselves in the shoes of your success story. There\u2019s a reason that Shopify has an entire section of their website dedicated to customer success stories.<\/p>\n Here are some tips for creating a great case study:<\/p>\n Write About a Relatable Past Customer – <\/strong>The focus of your case study should be on a past customer that your readers can deeply relate to.<\/p>\n If a reader comes across a very specific case study about someone who\u2019s experiencing their same problem or wants to achieve the same result, you can bet they\u2019re going to devour every word.<\/p>\n Tell the Entire Story – <\/strong>The more details you can include where your customer began, and where they ended up, the better. A great case study will tell a story from point A to point B, your reader should be able to visualize the entire journey.<\/p>\n Include Real Numbers – <\/strong>Whenever you can try to include data or specific numbers. This helps your readers better visualize the path your customer took from working with you. This is why before\/after pictures are so popular in the fitness space\u2013they work.<\/p>\n Make the End Result Specific (Tie it to Your Products and Services) – <\/strong>Make sure you get very specific with the result you were able to deliver for your client. This is where you can tie it into your products and services.<\/p>\n Make sure to spell out the exact products and services they used to achieve the desired result.<\/p>\n No matter what type of content you choose to create, content marketing can help you achieve a variety of different goals:<\/p>\n Resources to Learn More About Content Marketing<\/span><\/p>\n Every year it seems that across the internet, people are claiming, \u201cemail marketing is dead\u201d. Maybe you\u2019ve even seen these articles yourself.<\/p>\n Even though this seems to arise nearly every year, it couldn\u2019t be farther from the truth. Email is not dead, it\u2019s thriving more than ever. In fact, with email marketing, you can expect to earn $42 for every dollar you spend<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n A lot of people won\u2019t have a Facebook, or Instagram account, but nearly everyone in the world has an email address. This widespread usage is part of the reason email remains one of the most effective digital channels.<\/p>\n The main goal of email marketing<\/strong><\/a> is to develop deep relationships with your existing and potential customers.<\/p>\n Some of the most common reasons to send emails to your subscribers include:<\/p>\n Overall, your goal is to build rapport and stay at the front of your customer’s or potential customer’s minds.<\/p>\n Best of all, getting started with email marketing doesn\u2019t have to be difficult. Here\u2019s a simple process you can follow:<\/p>\n Resources to Learn More About Email Marketing<\/span><\/p>\n Did you know that 92% of online consumers<\/strong><\/a> look at a product review before they make a purchase? Before consumers or even visitors decide to trust you, they\u2019ll look towards what other people are saying.<\/p>\n People want proof from unbiased 3rd parties, past customers, and their peers, not the person who\u2019s selling the product or service.<\/p>\n Here are some of the best ways you can implement social proof, build your brand, and increase your trustworthiness.<\/p>\n Online Reviews – <\/strong>One of the most important aspects of social proof for small business owners is online reviews. Before people will decide to visit your website or come by your business they\u2019ll see what past customers have had to say.<\/p>\n One great way you can display reviews is by featuring customer testimonials. Just look at how Amazon highlights and places such a big focus on past customer reviews. Reviews drive sales.<\/p>\n You can display customer testimonials in a wide range of different formats. You can integrate them into your product and service sales pages, have a separate testimonials page on your site, or even feature them on your sidebar, so they\u2019re always present to your visitors.<\/p>\n Of course, if you have a local business make sure you optimize both your Yelp and Google My Business profiles and encourage your customers to leave reviews.<\/p>\n Social Media Following – <\/strong>An entire industry has been built on the back of influencer marketing. And just how did these people become influencers? From having big social media followers<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Now, the number of followers isn\u2019t the most important metric, you also want engagement, but having a large social media following can say a lot about your authority and influence in your space.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re already active on social media and have a large following, then showcase this wherever you can.<\/p>\n You can even highlight this on your website. For example, on your about page, you could have a phrase like, \u201cWith over 1.2 million Instagram followers, 25,000 email subscribers\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n A lot of people may visit your website, never to return, unless you have a way to bring them back.<\/p>\n This is where retargeting<\/strong><\/a> comes into play. When you run a retargeting campaign you\u2019re reminding past website visitors to come back to your website to complete a purchase.<\/p>\n Once visitors visit a specific page on your website or don\u2019t complete a purchase, you can show them ads on different platforms, encouraging them to come back.<\/p>\n But, it\u2019s not just encouraging users to come back and complete a purchase, there are a lot of other uses as well.<\/p>\n Here are a few great times to run a retargeting campaign:<\/p>\n Here are some of the most popular advertising networks for running retargeting ads:<\/p>\n Facebook Ads – <\/strong>With Facebook retargeting ads<\/strong><\/a> your ads are going to be shown across Facebook. It follows a similar concept.<\/p>\n A person visits a certain page, or takes a certain action on your site, they\u2019re tagged with a pixel (a piece of code), then when they\u2019re browsing through Facebook, they\u2019ll see your ads in their news feed.<\/p>\n You can set up retargeting on Facebook in the following ways:<\/p>\n\n
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2. Paid Social Media Traffic<\/h3>\n
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3. Paid Search Traffic (SEM)<\/h3>\n
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4. Content Marketing<\/h3>\n
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5. Email Marketing<\/h3>\n
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6. Social Proof Marketing<\/h3>\n
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7. Retargeting<\/h3>\n
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