Since its inception, digital marketing has never stopped evolving and expanding.
Juggling your SEO, paid advertising, and content strategies all while maintaining an up-to-date, functioning website may seem like a daunting task but hopefully, we can help clear things up.
Here are the top five digital marketing mistakes and why you should avoid them.
Neglecting SEO
Whether you’ve been in the industry for years, or if you’ve just been on the internet for a while, you’ve probably heard someone say that SEO (search engine optimization) is dead.
More often than not, the person saying this has a skewed perception of SEO and expects it to provide immediate value, rather than long-term benefits. The truth is, ignoring your SEO and focusing solely on paid advertising is a dangerous game for any company with a digital presence. Because as soon as the ads stop showing, there goes all of your search presence. It’ll take patience, but building up your organic presence on search engines will help create a steady flow of traffic to your website for years to come.
SEO tactics may have changed quite a bit over the years, but that does not mean it’s dead. From our experience, SEO doesn’t just happen. You need a successful plan that stems from a responsive web design and technical know-how.
Optimizing for algorithms, not customers
Now wait a minute, didn’t the last point say that it’s in your best interest to optimize your site for the algorithms?
While that may be true, it’s important to remember the phrase “too much of a good thing is a bad thing”. By focusing solely on what the algorithms like, you may accidentally make your website unbearable for actual humans. Keyword stuffing, repeating content, and heavy linking can cause your page to look like a jumbled pile of grammatical errors. Not only does this look bad to your potential customers, but this kind of “over-optimization” can also eventually lead to algorithms ignoring your website.
To reach the happy medium between algorithm and human preferences, it’s best to write your content how you’d like to see it first, then go back through and identify areas that could support optimizations. If it reads well to you, odds are it’ll read well for your customers, too.
Ignoring social media
While we’re well past the era of claiming social media is simply a fad, some business owners still don’t seem to understand how impactful social media can be when used properly.
Maintaining an active social media presence shows potential customers that you engage with your community and that your business is still active.
If a social media user discovers your business’ page only to see that your last update was in 2016, they may be right to assume you’ve gone out of business.
With a strong social media marketing strategy and modern marketing tools, it’s easier than ever to ensure that all of your pages stay up to date. We believe that a great social strategy doesn't happen overnight. It takes strategic planning, consistency, and providing content that educates and engages your audience.
Not setting a clear strategy
One of the most important steps you can take during the planning process is creating a marketing roadmap.
Yes, it’ll change as you go through the trials and tribulations that come with digital marketing, but it’s crucial to have an idea of the progress you’d like to see and how you’d like to make it happen. Diving headfirst into digital marketing without a strategy is an easy way to overwhelm yourself and lose track of essential aspects.
Setting up a cohesive digital strategy can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be frustrating.
Poor website design
Let’s say you’ve optimized every other aspect of your digital marketing strategy.
Your website is optimized for your target keywords, your ads have been placed with surgical precision, and your social media accounts are active and engaging. Your website starts to see traffic, but none of it converts or even sticks around for longer than 5 minutes.
What gives?
No matter how great the rest of your strategy may be if your website doesn’t provide a great user experience, you’re stopping a mile short of the finish line. Your website is the digital equivalent of a brick and mortar storefront. It represents the quality of your services and your business. In today’s competitive digital world, having a unique and user-friendly web design is essential for standing out amongst your competitors. The effort you put into your website design reflects positively on the effort you put into your services and could be the deciding factor between you and your competitors.
Keeping up with the latest design trends and website standards may seem like a herculean task, but is one of the most significant decisions you could make for your business.
While these are some of the most common digital marketing mistakes to avoid, it’s important to note that as this field is ever-changing, there will always be new challenges popping up and new best practices to follow.
If these guidelines feel overwhelming, e9digital is here to help. Contact our team today and we’ll walk you through our strategic process.
