DIGITAL
DIGITAL
ATTRACTION
ATTRACTION
much like that of other search engines, is centered around the
language and economics of keywords.
IN ANY GOOGLE SEARCH, THE
ENGINE’S ALGORITHMS ARE DESIGNED
TO PAIR UP WHAT THE USER IS
SEARCHING FOR WITH A RIGHT
ANSWER AS EFFICIENTLY AS
POSSIBLE.
Search engines think and interpret information linearly like the
artificially intelligent machines that they are. You need to make
it easy for these machines to figure out what you’re good at and
why people should go to your website, which is achieved by
targeting keywords.
Let’s take this article for example (yes, the one you’re reading
right now) where I’ve leveraged the keyword phrase “marketing
strategy” with secondary keyword phrases “digital attraction”
and “digital marketing.” How do I prove to Google that I have
expertise on these topics and that my post deserves to be the
one in ten million selected for display on the first page when a
search for “marketing strategy” is initiated?
Google will first look to other pages of my website to see if the
primary keyword is something I talk about often on my website
(yes, it is). Next, they’ll check to see that I update my website
regularly. Whether that’s once a week or once a month, search
engines are looking for consistency. Finally, Google will look for
backlinks from other websites with expertise on marketing
strategy.
If I want this post to come up in the results for searches related
to marketing strategy, I need to think through the process like
a search engine. You’ll likely want to work with an expert to
devise this keyword strategy. Competition for search engine
rankings is fierce, especially now with so many companies
coming online for the first time.
Once your keyword strategy is in place, attract people to your
website in two ways. (I suggest utilizing both of them.)
The first method is pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. In other
words, buying ads. The benefit is that you can buy your way to
the top of the list, but the downside is that it costs money.
Often users will bypass these paid listings and go directly to the
organic results, so PPC is usually deemed less effective than
organic content marketing. Roughly 10 percent of users will
click on these ads.
The other method is content marketing for organic traffic,
which is also known as search engine optimization, or SEO.
Again, this article is being leveraged with the keyword phrase
“marketing strategy” in the hope that it will appear as a credible
source in search engine results for this keyword phrase.
What about that second bucket? Remember that, besides
Google, also in the center of the digital universe is social media
bucket. It’s true that no digital marketing campaign is complete
without social media. That’s because so many people use their
social media outlets throughout the day, every single day.
YouTube, owned by Google, is now the second largest search
engine in the world. (Pro tip: having a presence on both Google
and YouTube will boost your rankings.)
When you’re looking at social media, my approach is to look
first at precisely whom your customer is and, second, to truly
understand your customer and where they’re spending time on
social media. Are they more apt to subscribe to a YouTube
channel or to a podcast? Are you more likely to catch them on
Facebook or LinkedIn?
People like to consume content in three different ways: they
will either read it, watch it, or listen to it. All of these media
have advantages and disadvantages from a marketing
perspective.
Readable content includes social media posts, blog posts,
articles, magazines. If people want to read your content, that’s
great. Give it to them in the written form. Easy.
Some people choose to watch content. Videos achieve this well
because they engage two of the five senses instead of just one.
Shorter videos tend to be more effective because most users will
not invest a significant amount of time watching a video from
an unknown source. Pictures and infographics are another
great way to “watch” content.
On the listening piece, don’t discount the effectiveness of audio
content. You know, podcasts have actually been around for a
very long time, but they’ve just gotten popular in recent years
because people have realized they can listen to a podcast while
working out or driving. It’s very convenient to consume.
Personally, I love listening to audiobooks and podcasts.
There’s no one perfect answer for which of these, or which
combination of these, is going to be effective in your digital
marketing strategy. My suggestion is to first define your
customer and to nail down where they’re congregating online.
Then, pick your medium and stick with it for the long haul.
I’ve seen many clients soar to success because they stuck with
their marketing strategy long term. Don’t give up just because
you don’t see results right away. Customers will come. I’d be
happy to book a 10-minute consultation to tell you more.
Good luck!
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