It has become quite a common question among webmasters across the globe, which digital marketing strategy is the best. The simple answer to this is that there is no single best digital marketing strategy for any market place. Each market place has its own unique characteristics, needs, desires, needs, demands, etc. Therefore, SEO and SMO are two different marketing strategies, which when implemented together can prove to be quite effective for any website.
Search Engine Optimization
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is basically a marketing technique where the websites are optimized to make them appear on the first page of the search engine result pages. So what we mean by SEO is the organic growth of a website’s popularity through the use of back links, keywords, content and taglines. All digital agencies (both local and global digital agencies) adopt this basic strategy for their clients. They also conduct advanced analytical and research on how best to advertise on the Internet so that they reach their target audience, customers, clients, etc.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is another basic digital marketing strategy, which when applied correctly can bring out the best in a website’s marketing campaign. SMM involves a well planned and executed social media strategy where the right content is created using the right keyword tags, tagging and the like to attract the right audience and to get the traffic to flow through the various social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, etc. This can result in an increase in customer base and also leads to increase in sales. Most of the local digital agencies practice SMM, because the results are quick, which translates to ROI (return on investments).
Blog Posts and Articles
Blog posts and articles are one of the most common forms of marketing a website and generating traffic. A digital marketing marketer should be adept at creating blogs and articles that will appeal to the target audience but also convey the right message about the company and its products or services. This is especially necessary for an online marketer with no offline presence to promote his/her products. While blogging can be used as a full-fledged campaign that can be expanded later using social media, it is important that the blogger employs the correct balance of blogging, distribution, and monetization to increase his/her website’s exposure and convert that into leads.
Content Marketing Strategy
Content marketing strategy refers to using SEO (search engine optimization) techniques to generate quality backlinks to the site. Search engines tend to look at a site’s number of inbound links and rank it accordingly. The key is in getting as many relevant sites linking back to the site as possible. Backlinks come from blogs, articles, press releases, video, audio, podcasts, etc., which the digital marketer implements through SEO. This not only increases traffic to the site, but also provides valuable backlink to the site from other relevant sites.
Social Media
Social media is a great tool for gaining brand awareness for the product or service being sold. However, its real power lies in driving quality traffic to the site. Social media works best when it is integrated into the overall digital marketing strategy as part of an all-inclusive plan. For instance, a digital marketer may use video streaming to disseminate information about a particular product. Video sharing websites like YouTube are an ideal place to put up short promotional videos as it allows a marketer to reach a lot of target audiences without having to spend too much on traditional advertising channels like television, radio, newspapers, magazines, etc.
Pay per click Advertising
Pay per click advertising is another effective digital marketing strategy which has the potential to boost sales. When implemented properly, pay per click can provide a boost in sales which may last for a long time. However, a digital marketing plan should first be developed which encompasses what type of ads will be most appealing to the prospects. Some people respond positively to banner ads, whereas others may react positively to pop-ups. It is important that the digital marketing strategy being implemented targets prospects according to their browsing habits before using any specific kind of pay per click ad format.
Digital Marketing Tactics
Digital marketing tactics like search engine optimization and article writing are also quite useful. A well-optimised website is one of the best ways to gain exposure for a business. Inbound links to a site increases its ranking in the search engines, which helps to drive quality traffic to the site. Article writing and social media promotion work hand in hand because good content is beneficial in gaining more prospects, while a well-optimized site can help attract visitors. It is important for a digital strategy to incorporate a mix of free digital marketing strategies to ensure that the digital strategy is effective.
