Andrew Whitehair, Managing Director at RAZSOR explains the terminology a digital marketer needs.
It is difficult to imagine day-to-day life without the Internet. It has changed the way we live our lives, from shopping online and getting items delivered to our door, to checking Facebook for birthday reminders, events and photos. On top of this, it has also revolutionised the way we do business – the work place in now more fast-paced than ever due to the immediacy of online communication and the information we have at our fingertips.
The digital sector is now a booming part of the UK’s economy, and for those of us who work as digital marketers, the terminology that has grown up with the Internet comes as second nature. However, to refer to the ‘digital sector’, is now becoming dated. Digital marketing is now no longer niche and any company in any sector looking to remain competitive should build and maintain an online presence.
The days of consumers simply browsing the classifieds section in their local papers has gone. The Internet is now the first port of call for most people when researching, reviewing or purchasing an item, which means that our car dealer customers looking to sell new or used cars must not only be online, but have a strong online brand presence.
The digital economy is now highly complex, and its difficult knowing where to start when building a presence online. Below are some pointers from RAZSOR which will help to explain digital terminology, allowing you to begin building a successful brand online.
1. SEO:
To drive customers to your brand’s website, ‘Search Engine Optimisation’, or SEO, is vital. SEO is a process of improving visibility of a website in search engines, such as Google or Bing, via natural or unpaid search results. SEO considers what terms people search for and optimises a website and its content to increase its relevance to the keywords that individuals are searching on most frequently.
2. Keywords
A great way to boost SEO rankings is to closely match words on your website which mirror those a potential customer will use when searching for a product or service online. These words are known as ‘keywords’. Relevant keywords should be included in the title of your website as well as in your description tag as these are the first places the search engine will scan before ranking sites on its search pages.
3. PPC
Pay per click (PPC) is a method of paying for responses from search engines or social networks, where advertisers pay publishers for each click an advert receives. PPC is intended to drive traffic to your website via ‘click-throughs’ – by placing a hyperlink on a word or image of relevance.
4. User journey
Providing the consumer with an easy path to all the content you want them to see on your website is imperative for increasing conversion.
• Provide the most relevant information to consumers on each and every web page – unless a customer can find what they want quickly and easily they will go elsewhere.
• Provide clear signposting to consumers, so they know what the next steps are when they see an item which is of interest to them. To increase the likelihood of creating leads and sales, both contact forms and points of purchase should be easy to find.
5. Social media
Social media is an online platform that allows two-way communication online. Currently, the two most prevalent platforms are Facebook and Twitter.
Facebook:
• Brands can connect visitors’ Facebook profiles to their company sites, allowing them to seamlessly share and engage with website content.
• Companies can also engage in conversations with Facebook followers, providing an opportunity to develop relationships with followers or ‘fans’ so that they can become advocates for the business.
Twitter:
Twitter, a micro-blogging site, allows users to broadcast their (short) messages and interact with a wide audience.
• Being a part of Twitter allows businesses to listen in and participate in the public conversations customers are having, either about them or about the wider industry.
• With high direct referral rates to blogs, news sites, and company websites, it is important to not only have a presence, but to actively engage with the community.
By Andrew Whitehair
Managing Director
RAZSOR
http://www.razsor.com/
