After setting up a website, the next thing you want is for it to get as much traffic as possible. This is never an easy thing to do. There are so many similar websites out there that you will be competing against. It is up to you to find the solutions that work best for you.
Marketers try a myriad of strategies to boost their rankings on search engines. Some go to the extent of using black-hat strategies. You don’t have to turn to such strategies. The key to succeeding is to know what you need to do to boost your performance. This post looks at a few important things you need to know about Internet marketing if you want to excel.
Videos are the rising stars
When it comes to digital marketing, keeping up with the trends is important. This is the only way you will be able to know what works and what doesn’t. Videos are today the rising star in online marketing. A study conducted in November of 2015 found that Facebook receives approximately 8 billion video views every day. This shows how much Internet users love watching videos. There are several other studies that have shown how people love videos over other content.
A good way to maximize your reach and increase visibility is to create animated explainer videos. This explains your business ideas better than text and images. Don’t be left behind. The 2016 Social Media Marketing Industry Report found that 6 out of 10 marketers use videos to market their brand. There are videos of all kinds starting from those that helps solve problems to those that teach viewers how to do something. Interviews with industry experts are also used in video marketing.
So long as a video tells something about your brand and it is of good quality, you can implement it in your Internet marketing plan. Don’t forget to a create YouTube channel for free exposure of your video content. You can also add the video on your website and on your social media profile. Make sure there is a link that points back to your primary website. Quality links will help with SEO.
Content marketing is inevitable
Just because videos are the new rising stars does not mean you ignore content all together. People still love to read and there is a good number of people who prefer text over videos. However, in addition to creating high quality content, you need to change things a little bit if you want to succeed.
Once you have created your content, it is important that you share it on social media. Make sure you include images to go with the content. By doing this, you will encourage people to share your content on social media thereby giving it more exposure. This will also help you get quality inbound links, which are essential for SEO.
Social media is the key to a higher ranking
If you have been keen on social media marketing, you may have learnt that a great number of your target audience is on social media. It is your duty to reach out to them. The great thing about social media is that it encourages social shares and helps you create a more personal relationship with your audience. Social media marketing will also help you create quality links that boost your search engine optimization efforts.
All in all, when using social media for Internet marketing in Houston, it is important for you to understand that regardless of the number of fans you have, you will still need to pay for visibility. Paying for the Facebook ads will give you better visibility than simply posting your content on your page. This is because with time, the content you post on the timeline will be pushed down by other posts and your target audience may not even see it.
Your website has to be mobile-friendly
It was in 2015 that Google announced that mobile traffic overtook desktop traffic in over 10 different countries. This was also the year Google released ‘Mobilegeddon’, the new algorithm update that phases out websites that are not optimized for mobile. The best thing is that you don’t have to run two versions of your website to cater for mobile and desktop users. All you need is a responsive web design.
More and more people are using mobile phones to access the Internet. Not making your content accessible to them will not only cripple your SEO efforts but also lead to lost sales. This happens when all the page elements don’t load properly. You may have the product your visitor needs but if that visitor cannot order it using his smart-wearable, you will lose sales.
Local search will boost your success
If you really want to succeed with online marketing, you have to invest more on local search. The best thing about using local SEO is that you get to reduce the competition since you only focus on the people who might be interested in your products and ones you can serve. In addition to that, in its rankings, Google favors websites that have been optimized for local search.
Local search engine optimization is not hard. You start by claiming a business location on the local search directories. You then need to ensure that your business name, address and your phone number (NAP) information is listed on the Google My Business Listing and other directories. The details have to be the same on all directories. This means you cannot use ‘Street’ in one directory and ‘St’ in another. If the NAP is not the same, search engines will not be able to recognize the detail as those of the same company.
Success in Internet marketing is all about keeping up with the trends. If you lag behind in your marketing strategies, chances are you will end up lagging behind in the sale’s front. Keep learning about the trends being used and implement the most promising strategies available to you. You should also not be afraid of using paid ads.
Guest article written by: Jeff Bullocks is an experienced Internet marketer with over 10 years of experience. He offers personalized services in Internet marketing in Houston. You can connect with him on LinkedIn. Visit her blog here for more information.