Retargeter

How to Optimize Your Digital Marketing Strategy

For growing companies beginning to expand their marketing programs, the myriad of online options can be overwhelming. It’s often hard to know where to begin, where to invest, and where to pull back.

Recently, ReTargeter participated in an online roundtable with PPC Associates on how companies in a period of digital marketing expansion can scale their efforts effectively. The panel touched on paid search, retargeting, measurement and multichannel optimization and attribution strategies.

In light of that conversation, here are a few strategies for companies with expanding digital marketing programs to focus their energy. Every business is different, and some strategies will work well for one company and perform poorly for another. With that said, here are some strategies that most marketers should invest in right out of the gate.

Paid Channels: PPC and Retargeting

Paid search is one of the most effective direct response tools available to Internet marketers, as it lets you get in front of people while their intent is at its highest, and you know your product or service is relevant to them. Depending on your product or service, you may be able to see increased traffic and conversions almost immediately. Another bonus is that you can get started with an AdWords campaign very quickly, and you can launch with a relatively low budget and still see some results.

Retargeting is the practice of serving online display ads to users who have previously engaged with your brand online. Only a small fraction of site visitors will ever convert on their first visit to a site; the overwhelming majority will bounce. Retargeting gives you the opportunity to get back in front of those visitors, ultimately driving the conversion.

Retargeting is not a good option in the instance where you do not yet have sufficient site traffic. If you still need to focus on getting people to your site, it may make sense to shelve retargeting until you reach critical mass.

SEO

If you’re beginning to build a long-term marketing strategy, it’?s time to start focusing on SEO. A strong SEO strategy helps your company gain visibility, and is one of the best ways to drive relevant initial traffic. Additionally, with SEO there is no additional cost associated with each new site visitor. A fixed investment can lead to limitless increases in traffic. If you’re just getting started, Google has an excellent resource on SEO for beginners. Beyond this level, SEOMoz is the best resource out there for budding SEOs.

SEO is one strategy that?’s never completed. You should always be working to optimize your site and make updates to ensure you are boosting performance. SEO is a form of marketing that all companies should be focusing on. There are even law firm marketing services that realise the importance of SEO in gaining clients for their business.

Content

Creating relevant online content is one of the best ways you can establish your brand’s identity, drive people to your site, nurture leads and educate your customers. A solid content strategy can enrich every other aspect of your marketing from email to social media and is one of the most powerful ways to improve your SEO. Content provides something valuable to share with fans and followers on social media and something to include in marketing emails that can actually add value. Two great resources for establishing a strong content strategy are CopyBlogger and the Content Marketing Institute.

Building a robust content strategy is no small feat and requires a significant portion of marketing hours, if not a dedicated hire. You should expect a few months before your content strategy ramps up and you can begin to see results.

A Note on Multichannel Marketing

In marketing, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Marketing across various channels will improve the performance of each channel, as well as solidify brand awareness and recall.

Experiment with different strategies and rely on the data to determine which of them works best for you. Just be sure to gather enough data to decide on what’s working and what isn’t.