There is no “one-size-fits all” prescription for a brands online marketing strategy. So many important variables play a role in determining the overall approach, including budget, relevant industry, marketing goals, and so on. However, while the online advertising goals might be client-specific, there are some fundamental tools everyone in the online marketing industry should be using to get results. These tools include:
Google Analytics
There is no software out there better than Google Analytics for understanding traffic to a site. It is free, easy-to-set up, and full of exciting metrics about site performance (including time-on-page, pages/session, bounce rate, active users, and more). SEO analysts love Analytics because it allows them to test the impact of little changes made to one page on a site. For example, let’s say you change the keyword density on a product page. You can monitor traffic to the specific page over time to see if the change of focus brings in more traffic.
This only tips the ice berg of what you can do with Analytics. From content experiments to isolating ‘404 error’ pages on a site, it really is the go-to program for search engine optimization traffic research and reporting. But it is useful for digital marketers of all shapes and sizes interested in assessing the effectiveness of an online marketing strategy.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is one of the most popular and effective email marketing platforms. With tons of interesting templates available and an easy-to-use interface, there is a reason why it has over 12 million customers. A free service is offered to those with under 2,000 subscribers, there is no doubt it represents an affordable and effective way to build and sustain a customer base.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite makes it easy to interpret social media trends, which in 2018 has become an indispensable part of an online marketing strategy. It is a cloud-based content management system that allows marketers to:
- Schedule posts to multiple social media platforms from a central source
- Isolate influencers and follow up with their content
- Track engagement metrics on social posts to help build a network of qualified leads
- Analyze performance of posts across Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and more
Given the importance of influencer marketing and the increasing important of segmented social media marketing strategy, Hootsuite is another indispensable tool for online advertising and brand building.
BuzzSumo
Creating an impactful keyword list means finding topics in your niche that the most people are interested in, and writing about them. BuzzSumo does all this research for you by ranking the highest performing content on a given topic. It is ideal for honing in on blog topics and understanding your target market — two fundamental components of search engine optimization and content marketing.
Conclusion
These tools will be instrumental in driving metrics that matter most to the success of a brand. They will help isolate key metrics for each platform, whether it’s email, organic search, or social media. Most importantly, these tools will synchronize all your online marketing goals into a complete package. From the perspective of search engine optimization, a synchronized marketing approach based on important keywords is key to generating traffic over a sustained period. And that’s the prime objective of an organic search strategy.
All you need is time (4-6 months) and patience and you can get that new business through digital marketing efforts. If you need results quicker, a website refresh and pay per click (PPC) program may be better suited to your needs. Contact me. We can discuss strategy on the phone or get a coffee
Rob Dunford is a Marketing Consulting in the Great Toronto Area with over 20 years experience in building and implementing marketing plans for small business.