Every year, millions of dollars and a lot of manpower is dedicated to figuring out the newest and best marketing and advertising strategies and campaigns. Recent data shows that now, in the 2010s, many businesses benefit most from taking a hybrid approach. That is, businesses large and small should make good use of physical signs, posters, flyers, and other paper means of advertising. This proven to be highly effective. But the Internet is a marketing tool like never before, and this is where marketing online comes in. When a company starts marketing online, it will hire PPC services, digital marketing agencies, SEO services and firms, and more. When marketing online, a company can spread its message across the entire United States, much further than a sign or poster can share a message. So, what are some of the most standard marketing online strategies to try today?

SEO Work

For those not aware, SEO stands for “search engine optimization,” and this form of marketing online is quite relevant. After all, the Internet is a famously vast place with an incredible wealth of content that grows every minute. Millions of websites are out there, so a company can make itself easier to find via search engines. Ever since the late 1990s or so, Internet users have used search engines to type in brand names, phrases, product types, and more to find information that they want. This can be done to find products and services for sale in the area, find news, entertainment, and more. Businesses, meanwhile, need a strong search engine presence so that human Internet users can more easily find their website and learn about them.

SEO handles this dirty work. A website’s contents will determine its SEO value and search engine presence, and employees at SEO firms may create content that is dense in relevant keywords and phrases. Doing this means a search engine will place higher priority on that website, and websites often update themselves to stay fresh and current. Keywords in articles, photo cations, and video titles can get this work done, and the same is linking work. Websites often have clickable links that send the user to other pages on that website, or to other, related websites entirely. A website that has many links going to and from reliable, trustworthy websites may get a boost in SEO value, so many SEO firms work hard to maximize link usage. And as mentioned earlier, SEO value also comes from staying current, since neglected or abandoned websites may be deemed irrelevant or obsolete by a search engine.

Website Design

While SEO work will draw customers to a website, good web design is what will impress the customers and encourage them to stay on that site and make a purchase. This requires some technical skill, and web designers will create a website that is easy and intuitive to navigate, attractive to look at (graphic designers handle that), and glitch-free. A website may have its own mini search engine, a catalog, articles, videos, and photos, but everything must be in good working order. Surveys show that website guests tend to be impatient, and if content takes too long to load (such as 10 seconds or more), the guests will simply leave. Good website design also means that an internal search engine, clickable links, and tabs on the site make navigation easy so the guest can find anything that they need. A confusing layout may frustrate a guest and prompt them to leave the whole site.

Using Social Media

Social media got its start in the mid to late 2000s and it exploded in popularity in the 2010s. Now, platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube aren’t just for fun; businesses can use them as auxiliary websites of a sort. Many digital marketing firms offer social media experts who can create and run a business’s account on these platforms, and act on the company’s behalf while adhering to that company’s voice and policies. This makes it very easy and cheap for a company to share news, deals and discounts, photos of new products, and even polls. Such platforms are also a great way for the company to answer customer questions. Many surveyed customers report being happy and impressed when a company promptly answers their questions on social media.