Part 2 – Developing your online marketing strategy – email, SEO, and PPC
In the first part, we explored the growing trend of businesses embracing digital marketing.
We provided a summary of how to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for establishing your website and social media presence, taking into account what you can manage independently and where you may require assistance.
After completing that step, it's essential to pinpoint the most suitable digital marketing channels for your business to attract and keep customers.
In this article, we explore ways to enhance your skills in:
- Email marketing
- Search engine optimisation
- Pay-per-click advertising
To summarise, you can enhance your business's capabilities by:
Ready-made solutions. Numerous digital tools are user-friendly for individuals with minimal experience and often offer free trials.
Digital resources, webinars, and brief training programmes. When utilising a digital platform, the provider typically offers access to training resources. Business Gateway offers valuable resources, including informative content, engaging webinars, and personalised one-on-one advice.
Outsourcing: Even if you possess the necessary skills, time constraints may require you to seek assistance from freelancers or agencies.
Recruiting: For larger businesses, it may be beneficial to hire a dedicated individual to oversee your digital marketing and promotional efforts. It is essential to allocate a budget for acquiring advertising space and hiring specialists, as there are limited individuals possessing the comprehensive digital marketing skills required.
1. Email marketing
The primary reasons for utilising email to connect with your customers are:
Business dealings. These typically pertain to completing an order, such as order confirmation, updates on the order status, or notifications about delivery dispatch. They may also include requests for feedback and efforts to gauge customer satisfaction. Though these will be standardised templates, they will frequently include details tailored to the specific recipient.
Marketing. These strategies are designed to enhance the visibility of your business and offerings, foster customer loyalty, or drive sales.
Typically, they follow a standard format tailored for a specific group of customers (or all customers) and may encompass:
○ Updates
○ Circulars
○ Special promotional deals
○ Valuable and useful content
○ Invitations for events
While some digital marketers anticipated that the rise of social media would diminish the importance of email marketing, it has undeniably proven its enduring value!
When you have the necessary permission, you can engage directly with your customers and potential clients through their inboxes. In contrast, with social media, even if users follow your page, you depend on the platform's algorithm to show your posts to each individual.
However, like all things, it needs to be executed effectively for your enterprise to experience genuine advantages. If not, it may harm your business – either legally or in terms of reputation. Before you start, it's important to understand the skills and resources required.
Collecting and overseeing customer information and compliance with GDPR
It is essential to adhere to data protection regulations and refrain from sending unsolicited messages to customers. It is essential for all customers to provide their consent for the retention of their data for marketing purposes, and this process must be handled with utmost care. As a forward-thinking enterprise, it’s essential to ethically motivate customers to provide their consent for building your database. Consider offering incentives, such as discounts on their next purchase, to encourage sign-ups.
What you can accomplish on your own
If your business handles any personal data (which applies to most businesses), you must register with the Information Commissioner’s Office and pay an annual fee. It is essential to determine who within your organisation will serve as the designated Data Protection Officer. Initially, this is probably you as the founder of the enterprise. The ICO website offers a wealth of valuable information for small enterprises and provides in-depth insights into email marketing, referred to as electronic mail marketing. By exploring the resources available on this site, you can gather sufficient knowledge to kickstart your efforts. Additionally, subscribing to their newsletter will keep you informed about your responsibilities.
When you could require assistance
As your business expands, you might consider hiring someone to assist with marketing and other functions. It could be beneficial for this person to assume the responsibilities of the designated data protection officer to ensure that this important aspect receives the necessary focus. Additionally, there are other factors you should take into account:
Cybersecurity is a crucial aspect of your responsibilities, particularly in safeguarding customer data. It's essential to be prepared for any potential data breaches, including the requirement to report such incidents within 72 hours. The Scottish Business Resilience Centre offers valuable assistance with Cyber Essentials, self-certification, or conducting an independent audit of your cybersecurity measures.
As your business expands, it's essential to equip your team with training on GDPR compliance. You might consider sourcing a suitable generic course for your employees. If you seek assistance in customising training to fit your unique business needs, an independent consultancy could offer valuable support, including regular audits of your processes related to this matter.
Strategizing and creating content
What you can accomplish on your own
Many individuals will find it easy to create a straightforward list of transactional emails that customers anticipate. Begin by outlining each phase of your order process and fulfilment to determine what is required.
Consider creating a strategy for promotional emails to distribute—maybe one each week or every two weeks, tailored to the season. Try draughting the content for these emails and sharing them with friends or family to gauge their effectiveness.
When you could require assistance
Hiring a freelance resource can be beneficial if you want to experiment with sending various emails to different segments of your audience to enhance relevance and effectiveness. Customising content does require additional time and attention to detail, which can be challenging when managing multiple aspects of your business.
Creating and dispatching emails
What you can accomplish on your own
Anyone can draft a straightforward email and send it to clients, ensuring to blind copy (BCC) all recipients. Sending an email to all recipients or CC’ing everyone can lead to a data breach, as it exposes their email addresses to all other recipients. For certain businesses, this may be sufficient to manage their communication just once or twice a month.
However, if email is crucial for your business, you'll find that managing your communications becomes significantly easier and your emails appear more professional when you utilise an email marketing tool like Campaign Monitor, MailChimp, or Sendinblue.
These tools enable every small enterprise to embark on email marketing and assist with the following:
Overseeing your database. Begin by uploading your current customer list, for example, from an Excel sheet into the tool or connecting it to another system that stores your customer data, like your eCommerce platform. Ensure that you have obtained customer permission before proceeding with this. From that moment, the tool will assist you in handling any unsubscribes or modifications in customer communication preferences.
Email design for Indian businesses. Numerous platforms offer user-friendly drag-and-drop features that allow you to create your emails effortlessly, even if you lack design experience or coding skills. Just like your website and social media, it's essential to have your own graphics and photography. Some helpful tips on this were discussed in Part 1.
Establishing email systems to enhance the customer experience. This is often referred to as ‘marketing automation’. For instance, picture a customer subscribing to receive emails from your business. It is best to promptly send a welcome email, followed by a tailored follow-up a few days later, depending on whether the recipient opened the welcome email. These tools enable you to create standard emails that are automatically dispatched at crucial points in the customer journey, providing a feeling of personalisation without requiring extensive manual effort.
When you could require assistance
As a small business owner, if email plays a crucial role in your operations, it's essential to invest time in mastering your email marketing tool. This way, you'll always be equipped to send emails yourself or modify any existing emails in your automated setup.
Professional guidance can be beneficial for:
Selecting the best email solution for your enterprise. Comparing and contrasting the various pricing packages can take a considerable amount of time to determine the most suitable option. Connecting with other small businesses, perhaps those you already support as a customer, can be incredibly beneficial to discover what tools and resources they utilise. If you're juggling multiple aspects of your business, hiring a freelancer who is well-versed in various tools can be beneficial. They can assist you in assessing the best options from a curated list, streamline the setup process for your selected tool, and provide training tailored to your specific needs. Certain tools can seamlessly connect with various aspects of your eCommerce operations and digital marketing strategies, allowing you to evaluate their potential value and whether the additional investment is justified.
Market segmentation and targeted outreach. To maximise the effectiveness of your email marketing, it's essential to segment your database and tailor your emails to ensure they are highly relevant. While it's certainly possible to handle this on your own, it can be quite time-consuming, and many business owners find it more efficient to delegate this task to others. Based on the extent of your email marketing efforts, you might consider hiring someone to oversee it on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly schedule.
Evaluation and enhancement. Having a one-on-one session with an expert freelancer can be beneficial in understanding how to effectively utilise your data. From that moment, you might find it beneficial to consistently assess your data and adjust your strategy accordingly. For many small businesses, it often boils down to time constraints – and typically, the data analysis aspect is one of the first areas to be overlooked when other parts of the business demand more attention! However, it is crucial, so ensure that you allocate the time or delegate the responsibility to someone else.
2. Search Engine Optimisation
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) involves configuring your website and content to enhance its visibility in organic (unpaid) search engine results, ensuring that your business appears prominently when potential customers look for the products or services you provide.
Based on your objectives and needs (like the scale of your website or the competitiveness of your keywords), SEO can range from minor enhancements of specific pages to a comprehensive, ongoing strategy involving extensive optimisation and content development.
If your website serves as a key transaction channel, then optimising for search engines could be crucial for your business. Achieving top rankings for relevant keywords can position your business right in front of potential customers actively searching for your products or services.
SEO is a long-term strategy that demands thorough research and a cohesive approach to achieve success. When researched and implemented effectively, SEO can serve as a vital channel for generating a continuous flow of high-quality, relevant traffic to your website. However, poorly implemented SEO can harm your rankings and negatively impact customer experience. Thus, it's crucial to grasp the necessary skills and resources required.
What you can accomplish on your own with SEO
Researching keywords
The initial phase of any SEO endeavour involves identifying the keywords essential for your ranking and assessing the significance of SEO for your enterprise.
If your website isn't a crucial platform for your business, or if you primarily attract customers through word of mouth, focusing on ranking for your business name might be sufficient. However, if you operate a larger or digital business, like an ecommerce store, you might need to optimise for a more intricate set of terms associated with your products or services.
This presents you with a challenge – determining the terms to target for ranking. Certain search terms will be significantly more competitive and challenging to rank for compared to others. Therefore, it's essential to ensure that any time and resources invested in achieving rankings are focused on the search terms that will bring the most advantages to your business.
Hence, it is essential to conduct keyword research to understand what your prospective customers are looking for and to assess the competitiveness of these terms.
Businesses can conduct their own keyword research using tools like the Google Ads Keyword Planner or the Ahrefs Keyword Generator.
Fundamental onsite SEO
After identifying your keywords, the following step is to enhance your website. If the terms you aim to rank for are not very competitive, you might be able to secure some rankings by implementing fundamental onsite optimisation of essential SEO components. This may involve developing informative content pages focused on your primary keywords and incorporating your main keyword into your Page Title Tag, meta description, and H1 tag, among other elements. The key point to keep in mind is to express yourself naturally and steer clear of using the same keywords repeatedly. Explore additional information about SEO through the links provided below:
Attracting new clients
Steps to conduct an SEO audit for your website
When you could require assistance with SEO
If you operate a substantial content platform or an e-commerce store featuring numerous products, it's likely that you need to achieve rankings for some highly competitive keywords, as search engine optimisation and the traffic it generates could be vital for your business success.
To secure strong rankings in competitive markets, it requires significant expertise and meticulous planning. An extensive SEO campaign will probably require the following elements:
Continuous development of premium content
Content audits, strategies, and continuous improvement
Key technical SEO components include mobile-friendly design, proper HTML structure, canonical tags for duplicate content, and 301 redirects, among others.
Strategy for inbound linking (encompassing collaborations, digital public relations, and more).
Poorly executed SEO can lead to various challenges for your website, such as wasting valuable time and resources, diminishing user experience, decreased sales, and the risk of being removed from Google listings. Hence, it is crucial for anyone handling SEO on your website to comprehend the functioning of search engines and to optimise your content and technical aspects appropriately.
For small enterprises, it is improbable that there will be a strong justification to hire someone solely for this purpose (unless it falls under a broader digital marketing position). Consequently, for many, it might be more advantageous to engage agencies or freelancers for expert SEO services. They can assist you in getting started, provide training for you or your team on daily maintenance, and then conduct reviews every three or six months.
3. Pay-Per-Click
Pay Per Click (PPC) – also known as paid search – is a form of online advertising that allows you to invest in appearing in search engine results for relevant keywords. Google Ads is the most widely utilised platform for PPC campaigns.
For online businesses that offer products or services, PPC can be a powerful method to attract the right audience to your website. PPC can be an excellent option for your business if you aim to generate traffic swiftly, wish to show up in search results as your SEO rankings develop, or if you prefer to focus on a specific geographic region.
However, PPC might not be suitable for your business if your product or service is a completely new concept that lacks existing search volume (as you cannot appear in search results when there are no searches) or if your website is not a primary platform for your business.
PPC can be a highly effective channel for your business when it is appropriately set up and managed. However, a poorly executed PPC campaign can lead to significant time and financial losses. Hence, it is crucial to identify the skills required for a successful PPC campaign.
When it comes to PPC, there are several crucial aspects that require effective management:
Setting up accounts and defining target audiences. In PPC, it is crucial to begin with thorough research and choose the most relevant keywords for bidding. Additionally, structuring your account in a logical manner, targeting the right audience and geographic locations, implementing the correct bidding strategy, establishing suitable budgets, and utilising the right tools are essential steps.
Crafting compelling ad copy and optimising landing page conversions. It is essential to develop engaging advertisements that encourage users to click through, and to ensure these ads are directed to well-organised landing pages featuring clear calls to action.
Data analysis for growth. The foundation of successful PPC lies in data, and PPC provides an abundance of valuable insights, especially when integrated with other analytical tools such as Google Analytics. This encompasses the number of clicks on keywords, user behaviour on the site, conversion rates, cost per sale, and more. Leveraging this data to enhance return on ad spend is crucial for a thriving PPC campaign.
What you can achieve on your own with PPC
You can manage your PPC campaigns on your own, especially if you have a specialised product and intend to execute a focused, small-scale campaign. It is essential to thoroughly understand the platform and the techniques before getting started. The most effective approach would be to engage in personalised 1-2-1 training that aligns with your specific needs. However, if that isn’t feasible, there is a vast array of resources available online, including Google Skillshop.
If you want to know more about PPC to be sure that this will be a suitable channel for your business, Business Gateway has more information about this and other digital channels to help you find new customers.
When you could require assistance with PPC
If PPC is an essential channel for your business or if it will represent a significant portion of your budget, you will probably require assistance from a specialised agency or a skilled employee dedicated to managing it on a daily basis. PPC involves continuous investment in acquiring ‘clicks’, and if a campaign is not managed effectively, it can lead to significantly greater wastage compared to email marketing and SEO.
To achieve results, enhance ROI, and reduce unnecessary expenditure, it is essential to possess a deep understanding and dedicate time to:
Gain insights into the functioning of the channel and advertising platform.
Investigate and select the appropriate keywords
Establish your account accurately
Determine your targeting based on location, time, day of the week, and messaging.
Implement a test-and-learn strategy by conducting A/B testing to evaluate the effectiveness of various advertisements and landing pages.
Keep your account in top shape by consistently reviewing your data and making necessary adjustments such as updating your ad copy or landing pages, incorporating new keywords, and modifying your bids.
As a result, many business owners frequently choose to outsource this aspect of marketing.
Get assistance from DigitalBoost to achieve all your goals!
For additional guidance and assistance on every facet of your digital marketing, processes, and platforms, explore our DigitalBoost programme. Providing complimentary one-on-one consultancy, online resources, training, and webinars to assist businesses in India in enhancing their digital skills.