Four Things You Can Start This Week to Optimize Your Digital Marketing

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Four Things You Can Start This Week to Optimize Your Digital Marketing

Mark Smiciklas

Whether you have a new or established business, chances are you have a nagging feeling that marketing your services online is something you should do more—and spend more time and money.

Well, the good news is that with some easy resources and tools now available at your fingertips, you can dig into a few or all of these marketing recommendations and cross them off your list— this week!

1. Check Your Website.

To start, if you don’t have one already, you need one. Today’s customers aren’t going to overlook the lack of a business website and they will have a hard time finding you if you don’t have one. Ask for web-developer recommendations from other businesses whose sites you admire. You may opt for a simple site to control the costs.

If you already have a website, now is a great time to revisit it with fresh eyes. Is it a good representation of your business today? Is the information correct and complete? Make a list of all the updates you need and do them all at once. If needed, involve your original website developer to make the changes.

2. Search for Your Business Online.

When you search for your business services and location in Google as if you were a potential customer, what comes up? As you look down the list, first you will see several ads. They appear in priority because they were paid. You can run ads, too, if you have a monthly budget for advertising; that can be quite economical depending how competitive the keywords related to your services are.

After the ads, the listings that appear first in the search are the ones whose websites are the most optimized for the terms you are searching. To optimize your website, decide what search terms are most important to your business, for example, Notary and your town. You can work with your website developer or digital marketer to increase your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for those terms.

Ideally, you want your website to appear on the first page of any Google search. That’s because, according to multiple studies, only an average of 25 to 35 per cent of users go to the second page of Google search results.

3. Check Your Google Business Profile and Reviews.

You know those business listings that appear in Google maps? You can create yours free, or “verify” one that already exists for your business location. Customize yours with photos and logo and include essential details such as opening hours, address, services, and contact information.

Customers can also leave reviews for your business; that “social proof” is essential reading for potential new customers. More than 50 per cent of people searching online look at reviews before deciding. Make a habit of asking for reviews from your happy customers and replying to positive and negative reviews via your Google business profile.

4. Choose Your Social Media Sites and Ads.

If you’re short on time and marketing resources, our recommendation is always to pick 1 or 2 social-media platforms where most of your potential customers are and communicate on the platforms clearly and consistently. A small business doesn’t need to be a superstar on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, AND Facebook. For your consumer group, perhaps Facebook and Instagram make the most sense for your target market.

Set a schedule you can keep up over the long term, as even posting an update once a week is fine. Develop content categories that make the most sense for your business and alternate sharing updates using those themes.