As more and more businesses turn to online marketing partners in order to create a better brand and reel in the profits, many of them eventually get to the same question: which marketing strategy is the best?

And while we at Online Potential here that question quite a bit from our clients in Orlando and around Central Florida, it might not be the right question to ask.

Is there a “best” marketing strategy?

Everyone wants to be the best, do the best, and have the best of everything. ECommerce doesn’t escape this desire, rather it only intensifies the need to be better than the competition. And everyone wants to know what the best online marketing strategy is in order to increase profits.

There are a few different approaches that your business can take, but there are a lot of varying factors to consider before choosing your approach. Two of the most important factors that we take into consideration before forming a strategy are:

1. What is your goal? Goals are defined as the desired result to your online marketing campaign. Typical goals include increased website traffic, improved conversion rates and higher sales marks. Other goals, that are no less valuable in terms of effective marketing and business, might include longer page-viewing sessions, a more diverse audience or increasing the amount of new consumers. Whatever your company’s goal might be, we can discuss the results you’re looking for and then build a marketing plan that will reach those goals.
2. Who is your audience? Why kind of consumers do you want to focus on during your marketing campaign? A local audience may be your targeted consumer base, or perhaps you want a diversified group of website visitors to make a purchase from your website. Once you have an idea of the type of people who are more likely to purchase from your business, you can better shape your marketing strategy. Things to consider: who would use your product or service, how can your product/service be given as a gift, and how often do you foresee a consumer returning to purchase again?

Local Marketing

Reaching the local market might be more difficult than you realize. A lot of this strategy is based on the way search engines and business directories present and list your business and information. You need to keep in mind that while some consumers may be searching for your business on their home computer, they may also be in the car, halfway to your establishment. The most used techniques that our clients opt for in reaching local audiences are:

• Get listed on the top business directories. We offer two ways of ensuring your business is listed on all the right websites: Moz Integration and Yext. Both services are reliable and credible, and they both provide the opportunity to update and access your listings on their networks of directories. Yext has a revolutionary technology that allows instant updates to occur across the network of more than 50 industry leaders.
• Build a better user experience for those who access your website via handheld device. Mobile websites that are easier to navigate, without a lot of popups or teeny tiny text, can encourage site traffic while making your information more accessible to your mobile site visitors.
• Reach out to your local crowd. Through social media sites, blogs and email marketing campaigns, you can reach your neighborhood consumers and invite them to your store or website through advertisements, promotions, contests, in-store events and more. Let you local audience know you appreciate their business.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization marketing most frequently refers to the way content is written and presented in order to rank highly on organic search engine result pages. What’s an organic listing? When a user searches for a phrase, business or any other type of information, two types of links are presented. When you use Google, organic links appear on the left in a larger area of the screen. These websites have optimized their content to match keywords, phrasing, and even the intention behind the query in order to serve the consumer or answer the search question. Links that appear on the right section of the search engine results page are paid links. Businesses pay to have their website links presented when certain phrases or keywords are searched.

The purpose of SEO content is to have your company’s website appear on the list of organic links. In order to do that, your website needs to have well-written, informative content that users can understand and that will help educate them. Google ranks websites well based partially on the type of content found within. So, when you provide useful content to visitors, Google ranks you higher than sites that practice Black Hat SEO techniques, like repeating phrases and keywords without actually providing any information.

SEO is considered one of the most powerful online marketing tools because you can optimize any page with content. Social media profiles, blogs, online press releases, web pages, home pages, landing pages, email campaigns and even some advertisements can be optimized for keywords and phrases while providing useful information.

PPC Marketing

So, how do you get your company’s website to appear on the paid links listing? Through pay-per-click advertising. PPC marketing includes pay-per-click ads, sponsored links and purchased adverts.

With PPC, you pay a certain advertising fee every time someone clicks on your PPC link. The ideal situation is that only people who will end up converting or purchasing will click those links, thereby the advertising pays for itself. Often we see clients who spend a lot of money on Google advertising and AdWords needing to turn off advertising because they can’t pay for the amount of clicks they’re receiving. An improved marketing strategy is needed in those cases so that your links appear to only the people who are most likely to convert or buy. In order to create a better strategy, we take a look at your company’s goals and target audience, then build a list of keywords and phrases that will match your needs and outcomes.

What’s the bottom line?

Here it is: you should use all three types of online marketing to truly reach your company’s potential. Reach your local customers by providing them with the online resources they need for better user interactions. Find new customers by ranking well on organic search queries. And reel in the buyers and converters, those consumers who know exactly what they want and are ready to buy, through PPC advertising.

You’ll probably see results from your local and PPC marketing techniques first, but don’t be discouraged. SEO takes time, but it provides a big payoff in the end. And isn’t that what the bottom line is really about?