How Digital Marketing Professionals Help Businesses Grow

When people are looking for products and services today, they usually turn to the internet for help. Since the internet was first created, it has permeated nearly every fabric of our society. Most people cannot go even a single day without using the internet in some way, shape, or form. This has even changed the way most businesses approach the world of advertising. While basic marketing tools, such as direct mail, still have some place in a marketing campaign, digital marketing has become the cornerstone of most businesses today.

Because nearly everyone heads to a search engine to find the products and services they need, all businesses need to think about their identity online. That way, when someone is looking for a service they provide, their name will pop up. This is where strong digital marketing is essential. With a comprehensive digital marketing campaign, businesses can locate leads, nurture them until they convert, and grow their business as a whole.

What Is Digital Marketing?

First, it is important to take a closer look at what exactly is meant by digital marketing. When people talk about digital marketing, they are talking about an advertising format used to connect with current and potential customers and consumers in the virtual world. With digital marketing, companies will share information about the products and services they provide, trying to show other consumers and potential business partners how their services will meet their needs. Indeed, many of the basic offline marketing principles are still used in digital marketing; however, how they are applied is a bit different.

For example, in digital marketing, consumers tend to find businesses instead of the other way around. When businesses use radio spots and TV commercials, they are reaching out to potential consumers instead. This is a significant difference.

With countless people turning to the internet to find specific products or services, all companies have to think about how they will use strong digital marketing to reach their target market. This includes paid search campaigns, search engine optimization (SEO), email campaigns, eCommerce revenue streams, and other types of online tools.

With the economy being more effective today than it ever has been in the past, companies have to think about how they will use these tools to craft an online identity that positions their name as an authority in the field. Digital marketing is a tool that is going to help them do that. Furthermore, online marketing can be comprehensively combined with offline marketing, creating a complementary advertising campaign that will generate the best results possible for the company. Next, everyone needs to understand the importance of digital marketing.

In this manner, to effectively compete in the hypercompetitive global economy that exists today, all businesses need to leverage these tools to craft a strong online presence that positions their company as an authority in the industry. This is where digital marketing is helpful. By employing the right strategies, businesses will be able to speak to their target market positively. Furthermore, when digital marketing is combined with offline marketing, a hybrid, crossover approach will lead to positive results that can effectively grow a business. With this in mind, it is essential to take a closer look at exactly why digital marketing is important.

Why Is Digital Marketing Important?

For businesses trying to grow in the modern era, digital marketing is one of the ideal tools. There are several reasons why digital marketing is so important. First, nearly everyone uses the internet. Therefore, digital marketing lets companies reach out to many potential consumers with a single click. A single ad on a social media platform has the potential to reach millions of people if it is appropriately positioned. With hundreds of millions of people using platforms such as Pinterest, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, digital marketing can be used to reach all of these users, driving tremendous revenue growth. Furthermore, when this is combined with the cost-effective nature of social media marketing, it is easy to see why this tool is so powerful. It is free for most users to create a profile on these pages, including businesses.

Next, digital marketing also provides an unprecedented level of freedom when it comes to marketing. Unlike radio spots and TV ads, where the media company is in control, most businesses have total freedom regarding where and how they want to design their ads on the internet. Even for a paid search (PPC) campaign, companies only pay for the ad when someone clicks on it. This type of freedom is critical.

Lastly, it is easy for companies to track the performance of their digital marketing campaigns. Because everything from clicks to dwell time and even page views are followed, it is easy for companies to figure out how well their digital marketing is working. If something is working well, then businesses can do more of it. If something is falling a bit short, then the business can change or alter it quickly. In this manner, companies can easily calculate the ROI of a digital marketing campaign, allowing them to optimize it to meet their users’ needs.

The Puzzle Pieces of Digital Marketing

When it comes to an effective advertising campaign in the modern world, everyone understands how all digital marketing pieces synergistically work with each other. A few of the essential parts of running an effective online marketing campaign are:

Search Engine Optimization

Without a doubt, search engine optimization is at the core of every digital marketing campaign. Usually shortened to SEO, the goal of this puzzle piece is to assist organizations, individuals, and businesses in generating a robust online presence in the eyes of search engines.

First, think about how someone might go about looking for a pet store in the local area. They are probably going to type in “best pet store near me.” When they enter this search term, pet stores in the local area want to land at the top of the list. The vast majority of users are going to click on something on the first page. They are rarely going to click to the second page. Instead, they will simply change their search term. Therefore, it is critical to think about the Google algorithm and make sure the company ranks toward this page’s top.

This is the goal of SEO. The purpose of SEO is to make sure that the website lands at the top of the page for key search terms and phrases. A few of the critical parts of running a strong SEO strategy are:

• Think about the backlinks that lead back to the website and try to make sure that these are coming from pages that are seen as authorities in the field.
• Try to collect as many positive reviews as possible both on the website and on other third-party sites as well, such as Google My Business (GMB).
• Display a menu that makes it easier for people to navigate throughout the various subpages of the website.
• Continuously target the right keywords for the industry, including long-tail and local phrases, and display them on the site in an appropriate manner.
• Ensure that high-quality content is being added to the website regularly.
• Use images and videos that are going to add quality to the website and make sure that they are tagged appropriately.

These are just a few of the key factors that will play a role in how effective a digital marketing campaign is working for the company. Simultaneously, everyone must think about SEO as a journey instead of a destination. Valuable SEO algorithms will change regularly as the field evolves, so everyone needs to make sure that they can keep up.

One of the niche areas of SEO that is growing quickly is called local SEO. If someone is looking for something close to their IP address, then Google will look for results near that specific address. A few of the ways that the search engine will know to look at local searches based on the IP address of the user include:

• Any search term that contains a zip code
• All search entries that include the words “near me”
• Individuals who include searches with the names of states, towns, or cities

When this takes place, Google will look at the user’s IP address and use it to pull up information related to the search in the local area. Of course, Google is going to order these results based on their relevance. For example, Google will look for results that have positive reviews, complete Google My Business profiles, and strong location pages.

The top results are even going to land in something that is called the Google 3-Pack. This coveted spot will include featured reviews, a Google Map pin, and even an image of the business itself. Therefore, any and all companies that would like to find a way to compete effectively with some of the largest corporations have to make sure they are using local SEO to their advantage.

Search Engine Marketing

Another key tool employed by a digital marketing agency is called search engine marketing (SEM). While SEM and SEO are closely related and might provide a similar digital marketing salary, SEM is going to focus on how to apply the nuts and bolts of SEO itself. Many digital marketing jobs are going to surround trying to find ways to employ SEO and SEM together. After all, both of these play a vital role in a comprehensive digital marketing strategy.

For those who are looking to put these digital marketing best practices to use, they need to figure out how to hit a moving target that is the search engine algorithm. Those who have a digital marketing certificate or have completed a digital marketing course in SEM will know that it can be hard to predict the changes in these algorithms.

At the same time, those who have completed a digital marketing online course in SEM will understand that another part of their job is to predict shoppers’ online behaviors, figuring out how to get the company’s name in front of the right target market. Those who attend a digital marketing bootcamp might learn that many shoppers are starting to use their phones to look for products and services more often than an actual computer. Therefore, when looking at digital marketing best practices, it is important to think about how voice searches will change how people look for products and services. As one of the most important digital marketing tools, a digital marketing specialist in SEM might think about positioning a company’s online presence to accommodate the rise in the prevalence of voice searches.

Content Marketing

Another tool that a digital marketing expert might employ is called content marketing. While SEO and SEM are much more technical parts of digital marketing education, content marketing is more organic. This means that content marketing is built more for people than for search engines. With this in mind, it is crucial for everyone interested in a digital marketing degree to think about how they can create eye-grabbing content that will catch the attention of users and provide them with important information.

Someone working in digital marketing entry-level jobs with a digital marketing entry-level salary might be responsible for crafting blog posts and articles as part of content marketing. At the same time, digital marketing online classes will also cover other forms of content marketing, such as videos, images, podcasts, and more. Those who are earning a digital marketing manager salary will be responsible for getting all of these various pieces to work hand in hand.

When it comes to digital marketing programs, it is essential to use content marketing to figure out the right target market and reach them in a raw, transparent way. While it might be a bit more challenging to track a content marketing campaign’s results, this is still a critical part of many digital marketing classes and digital marketing campaigns. The reality is that this tool plays a significant role in uncovering more leads for a company.

Social Media Marketing

Another key tool in the world of digital marketing is social media marketing. Many people who take a digital marketing online course will learn that countless people access social media regularly. As a result, this is one of the easiest ways to reach potential consumers. With innovative social media platforms being routinely launched, businesses must keep up.

Because it doesn’t cost any money to create a profile on most social media platforms, companies need to think about which platforms will work best for them. Different demographics use different platforms. For example, younger people tend to use TikTok and Snapchat. Instagram is more female-heavy; however, this is changing. Facebook tends to have much broader demographics; however, it is also possible to filter results. LinkedIn is reserved for professionals. All of this information has to be considered for those looking to join social media with digital marketing best practices.

Conversion Rate Optimization

When it comes to digital marketing, it is important to think about the role of conversion rate optimization. When looking at digital marketing training goals, the goal is always to try to make more money for the company; however, how are people going to get there? Countless conversions have to happen along the way for a digital marketing campaign to be successful.

The formula for a conversion rate is the number of people who complete the desired task divided by the number of people who view the digital marketing vehicle. For example, if ten people see a PPC ad and one person clicks on it, the conversion rate is ten percent.

At the same time, it is vital to figure out which conversion rates are good and which conversion rates are poor. The definition of a “good” conversion rate is going to vary depending on the desired action. This could include clicking on a link, subscribing to something, following the social media profile, or buying something. Digital marketing professionals will play a significant role in optimizing conversion rates for various digital marketing vehicles.

Email Marketing

Indeed, email is not a new digital marketing technique; however, given that most people receive their emails on their mobile devices, this is a great way to reach potential customers. Email marketing is essential both in the B2B and B2C world.

It is possible to use emails to share information about products and services, direct consumers to specific landing pages, and run drip campaigns. This is a cost-effective advertising tool that businesses can use to reach millions of consumers with a single click. Therefore, all companies need to make sure they make the most out of their email marketing campaigns. Even generating more subscribers can be a crucial advertising tool.

PPC Marketing

When looking at options for paid searches, they tend to work well with SEO. Paid search options cost money, including pay-per-click advertising campaigns (PPC) but deliver fast results because the ads are immediately placed in front of the target market. On the other hand, SEO is built more organically (not using sponsored links) but takes a longer time to deliver results.

When digital marketing professionals use Google to run a PPC campaign, they are placing “sponsored” links at the top of the page. While these sponsored links will be labeled as ads, they tend to show up above the first search result. Therefore, people can’t ignore them. At the same time, businesses do not get charged for them unless someone clicks on the ad. In this manner, PPC marketing is one of the most effective marketing tools.

While PPC marketing does require businesses to pay some money upfront, this can lead to a sale if the link goes to the correct landing page. As a result, when digital marketing campaigns run PPC campaigns, they need to think about not only how many people are clicking on the ad but how many people are converting when they reach the landing page. In this manner, PPC and conversion rate optimization work together.

Affiliate Marketing

Finally, those who complete a digital marketing online certificate or a digital marketing online degree might learn about affiliate marketing. There is a growing segment of the population called influencers. These are people with large social media followings. Therefore, one of the top ways to get the products and services in front of people is to ask these influencers to promote them. This is one type of affiliate marketing.

When businesses provide influencers with these products and services and ask them to promote them, the influencer, or affiliate, will earn a commission on every product or service sold. For example, if a company requests an affiliate to promote a new type of beauty product, they might earn a 10 percent commission on every unit the campaign sells.

Because these affiliates can heavily influence their followers, these types of campaigns can be incredibly effective. All businesses need to think about how they can use affiliate marketing to drive their sales numbers.

Digital marketing is here to stay and as long as the internet continues to grow and businesses move more virtual, there will be a need for well-educated digital marketers.