The Key to Successful Web Marketing: Take it One Step at a Time

7/31/2018

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The importance businesses place on web marketing is growing daily; according to marketing giant Hubspot, 61 percent of marketers say that improving SEO and growing their organic presence is their top inbound marketing priority.

With complicated, multi-pronged initiatives across your website, local listings and social media, it’s easy for busy small business owners looking to grow their web marketing strategy to feel completely overwhelmed. The key? Just take it one step at a time.

Here are a few ways you can overcome the obstacles of limited time and resources to bring this big job down to size.

Website

If improving your search engine rankings is a priority for you, you’re right on. A study by online ad resource WordStream shows that 72 percent of consumers who did a local web search visited a store within five miles, a clear indication that small businesses should have a robust web presence.
Because 78 percent of local-mobile searches result in offline purchases, it’s essential to ensure your site is up to scratch. Quality content such as case studies, customer profiles, optimized images with relevant image titles and alt-tags, videos and infographics are all viewed favorably by Google and can improve your search ranking.

Local Listings

All your listings on major sites (Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Angie’s List, etc.) and local directories should be up-to-date with accurate and consistent phone numbers, hours of operation, email addresses, URLs and any other relevant contact information.
Claim your listing on Google My Business, as it helps with organic search, specifically increasing visibility through Google Maps and Google+.  And be sure that all of your entries are stylistically identical, meaning that if your address is 123 Main Street, it’s written like this in every instance, rather than 123 Main St. in some spots. Search engines recognize consistency.

Social Media

Social Media Examiner’s 2016 Social Media Marketing Industry Report showcases a direct relationship between how long marketers have been using social media and their weekly time commitment.

From this study, we can glean that habits form over time on social media as people increasingly see its value. Of those with less than one year’s experience, 54 percent spend five or fewer hours per week. Of those who have been active for two years or longer, 64 percent spend six hours or more a week on social media activities.

What can we learn from this? It takes time to build a following on one or multiple channels, so start small. According to the Content Marketing Institute, B2B marketers rated LinkedIn as most effective, while B2C marketers prefer Facebook. Pick your channel of choice and start by investing an hour a day posting. Have some fun with it . . . and measure the results.

Need a hand updating your website or online strategy? We can help!

Joe is passionate about helping SMBs. He’s spent the last 30+ years building the American Speedy Printing Marketing • Print • Mail brand – and sharing best practices and marketing trends with his customers. Through research, in-person visits and this blog, he hopes to engage with and empower local business owners and marketing professionals.