Breaking Down the Basics of Digital Marketing for Local Businesses

When it comes to boosting your local business's online presence, digital marketing is an essential tool. Regardless of the size or industry of your business, there are a few key steps you can take to create a successful digital marketing strategy.

In constructing your digital marketing plan, remember the following principles:

Your campaign elements should be low-risk, which means they are affordable and likely to succeed. This might involve creating a website or launching an SEO or PPC campaign.

The elements of your campaign should be scalable - they grow as your business grows.

You should be able to discontinue any aspect of your campaign without difficulty, thereby avoiding long-term commitments that aren't yielding results.

It's important to be able to monitor the progress and effectiveness of your campaign components, enabling you to calculate return on investment (ROI).

In essence, your digital marketing plan should strive for affordability, scalability, monitorability and flexibility. A well-structured marketing plan is instrumental in ensuring that your business thrives in its second year and beyond.

Constructing a low-risk yet high ROI digital marketing plan

You need a user-friendly website that effectively represents your business. This might require revamping an existing website or building one from scratch. Take time to compare different design agencies based on their portfolios, client feedback and pricing structures. High prices don't necessarily equate to high quality. For instance, a simple 20-page website shouldn't cost more than $3,000. It's crucial that you have faith in your chosen design company - after all, they play a fundamental role in your overall digital marketing strategy.

Having chosen a design company, it's time to find an SEO agency. Many businesses delay this step until their website is complete, but this can be detrimental. An experienced SEO agency will ensure that your new website is designed with optimal search engine performance in mind. Be wary of website design agencies that claim to be SEO experts; seek out those who specialise exclusively in SEO services.

When selecting an SEO company, take care not to rush the decision-making process. Only a fraction of SEO professionals have the expertise needed to deliver results - choose wisely! Don't just settle for a sales pitch; make sure they can demonstrate their technical proficiency and proven track record. A well-executed SEO strategy not only forms the bedrock of your digital marketing campaign but also offers potentially high ROI.

Besides SEO, you should consider setting up a PPC (Pay Per Click) campaign, preferably using Google AdWords. This can drive immediate business and allow you to manage growth whilst your SEO efforts are still gaining momentum.

Combining effective SEO and PPC strategies forms the backbone of your digital marketing plan. When executed well, these two components set your business on course for success.

Exploring further digital marketing options

Once you've mastered search (organic and PPC), there are other digital marketing alternatives to explore including content marketing (blogging), social media management, retargeting and banner advertising (display ads). All these channels offer potential opportunities for revenue generation.

Content Marketing: Regularly updating your blog with quality content increases the likelihood of prospective customers finding your website whilst also establishing you as an authority in your industry.

Social Media: Despite the hype around social media marketing, not all businesses will benefit from it equally. It's important to maintain activity on your social media accounts with at least two posts per month.

Retargeting: Ideal for complex sales cycles, retargeting works best for larger, well-established companies. Smaller or newer businesses are better off focusing on PPC campaigns with higher ROIs.

Display Advertising: Unless you're a big company with a strong brand, banner ads usually yield poor results. If you're interested in display advertising, consider Google AdWords where you pay per click rather than per month and make sure you can track and measure the success of your campaign.

All these components together form a comprehensive digital marketing strategy. While there are always new technologies to explore, it's best to stick to tried-and-tested methods at first before branching out into uncharted territories.

If your business is yet to embark on its digital marketing journey, SharpNet Solutions is here to help guide the way.