Marketing strategy for beginners!
There are some major aspects you need to take into consideration when you start a new business. Marketing is one of your top priorities, that means having a good strategy to start with can make the difference!
However, there are many tools, many ideas on the internet, and many people that have good intentions in helping beginners but sometimes they forget that as a beginner you may have no idea what an ad looks like!
In this article, we’ll cover some terminology and platforms where you should start off in your journey with your baby business.
SEO = Search Engine Optimisation
SEM = Search Engine Marketing
SMM = Social Media Marketing
First thing you should do is building a website for your business. You need to have a place where people can find you, and this website of yours will be later used when talking about all the concepts defined above.
Some quick tips when building your websites:
- Use Wordpress if you are a beginner and don’t have enough money to pay an actual developer
- Have a dedicated mobile website, don’t just go with the responsive version. If you want to learn more about this you can click here.
- Optimise it for your needs, don’t keep useless items that load in the back
- Work on your website speed tine with resources such as GTMetrix.
Now, let’s dive into each element we mentioned above.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
You have probably heard about Google Ranks. This is an algorithm Google uses to determine which website is worthy of the best places in google search results.
This algorithm is based on the demand of certain website or the number of visits it gets. Basically, if a website has visits, it means that people are interested in it. Therefore, Google will display it higher in search results.
But what happens if you are a new business and you don’t appear on the first page of results?
Here is where SEO is needed and there are some major concept you should do in order to get higher ranks.
First, you need some basic tools that show you how your website is going. Here are the must have:
- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console
- Webmasters Tools
Each one gives you relevant data about the time your users visit the site, how long they are staying on a certain page, how they get to your page, the demographics, keywords people write and led them to your website and many many more.
Before you even start optimising your website, you should definitely set up the platforms mentioned above. For more information on analytics, check out this link.
After you set up the tools, you should now concentrate all your attention to your website.
Considering you are using a WordPress website, you should include the YOAST Plugin. The basic version of Yoast is free and for a beginner is more than enough to learn how to use it. Believe us, you will want the premium version at some point.
After you’ve installed the plug-in you will notice a small bubble at the top of every post or page you have on your website. You need to to anything in your power to make that bubble green.
They give you everything you need, explanations and suggestions on how you can improve your SEO and the Readability of your post/page.
This is also called “on page SEO”. The main factor Yoast bases its capabilities is the keyword. Which is also one of the main aspects Google Ranks your page.
If your business is about selling vegetables, you will have keywords such as: vegetables, fresh vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. You will not have “construction tools”. It is as simple as that.
At the beginning you will find it a bit difficult, but on their website you also get recommendations and many examples so you can optimise perfectly.
Your Website
For a good Search engine optimisation you should consider having the following things:
- A landing page. Landing pages are loved by google because they load faster due to the limited content they provide and also help you decrease the bounce rate. The landing Page has the role of engaging the users in interaction. Therefore, they will spend more and more time on your website.
- Fast Loading Pages. Make sure you take into account the time it takes for pages to load. If you are not a developer, then speak to the one that sets up your website and make sure it loads fast enough. You can use Cloud flare to help you serve the information faster and the WP Rocket plugin to help you clear the cache and preload your website for a better performance.
- Engaging design. Make it modern and engaging but don’t overcrowd it with ads. Nobody likes that. IF you have problems with your mobile version, make sure you check out this link.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
This is a form of marketing that increase the visibility of your website, involving promotion, on search engine results.
There are many ways a user can get to your website but we’ll stick to the three major ones:
- Organic Search
- Paid
- Socials (We’ll speak about this in few minutes)
The Organic Search is basically when you rank on google high and you don’t pay for the users to see your page. You just have a great rank on google search results and you attract the visitors freely.
This is where you should put your attention into most. The entire idea is to have a great website and to help people find your business first without involving any type of costs.
Moreover, is your Organic Search is high, that means you have attracted only interested people that can always come back for more. You get this type of information in every tool we previously spoke about.
The Paid Results
Google Ads is the best tool you can use in you paid marketing campaigns. Speaking about all features Google Ads offers would take years! Therefore, because now it’s all about SEM, we’ll concentrate on one.
The Search Campaign. This is perfect for beginners because it is really easy to set up! What does this do? After you set up the campaign, and if you bid the highest (you pay more than your competitors per click) you can get the best ranking ever. You can actually be the first on the first page.
Make sure you check this website before everything else. You will see that when you set up your campaign, Google will require you to insert some keywords. Therefore if the user types “fresh vegetables” and you have inserted this keyword in your campaign, you website will show first, as an ad.
You should use the website for suggestions. Make sure you check the prices for each keyword and optimise for that!
Paid results can help your business a lot, but keep in mind that you can see the best results after a minimum of one month. There is no point in starting a campaign for two days. You will only lose money. Hence, set up the exact amount you want to spend, and make sure it is at least $150 per month.
Oh, did we mention that you should link your
Social Media Marketing (SMM)
Having social media accounts for your business is a must. Many people may never find your website before they find your social account.
There are some platform you should embrace. Most depend on your business, for example if you sell vegetables, you won’t go on Dribble, however if you a re a graphic designer you certainly want to use it!
The basics are:
Facebook – for professional matters. You can post there your services, you can create a store and display your goods and engage with users in Q&As! If you feel the need, you can also set up ads to reach a broader audience.
Keep in mind that boosting posts and creating ads on facebook are different things. For example, you should boost a post about your new release/product you have. And you should create ads when you have a big discount going on and you want more people to find out more about it.
Instagram – for “behind the scenes”. Instagram is mostly used to meet your customers and let them know who you are. You can share videos and pictures with you and your store and invite people to your business. Instagram is a little bit more friendly, make sure you play with it!
Twitter – the land of hashtags! Twitter is for business and hashtags are for reaching people. Use them wisely and test more options. It also gives you insights so you know exactly which posts better caught the eyes of your users.
You Tube – If you are a local business, maybe you tube is a little bit useless. However, if you offer international services then it is a good advertising platform. Don’t necessary display your product, but share your knowledge in cute, short animated videos. If you don’t have any problem with showing your face and you are a charismatic person, then you can also record yourself talking about your domain-related aspects.
This is it! Make sure you always check the analytics tools to see in which platform you should invest more and which one is not worth it. Always optimise in order to get the best results! What do you think? Is this article useful to you? Tell us in the comment section below!
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