The 10 Disciplines of Digital Marketing (Part 2)

Website Development and Management

Many of these disciplines cross pollinate each other. With that being said, website development and management has a lot to do with search engine optimization. SEO branches into two categories consisting of off-page and on-page optimization. As you may have guessed, your website should address the on-page aspect of SEO.

A lot of people dive into SEO because of the benefits of getting found more often and increasing sales. Let’s think about that for a second. Getting found has A LOT to do with appealing to the engines; however, increasing sales has A LOT to do with humans. This is an interesting dilemma, wouldn’t you say? Your website MUST appeal to humans in order to make a sale. You can do all of the SEO you want, but at the end of the day, humans are buying whatever it is you’re selling.

I read a book in college (unbelievable, right?) that really made me think about website usability and the end user. Coincidentally, the book was called Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug. I highly suggest reading this short manual on making your website appealing to humans. There’s a lot to be said about website development and management, and it’s an important topic if you’re trying to cultivate a lead or make a sale online.

Content Generation 

The content of your website and keywords relating to your business have a big influence on ranking higher on search engine results pages. Your website should have a blog, videos, downloadable case studies, and ever-changing content, giving search engines a reason to frequently index the pages of your website. Remember, content is the currency of the Internet.

Content is one of the most important factors in search engine optimization. In fact, over 15% of Google’s ranking algorithms are dedicated to on-page keyword usage. We’ve already written several articles on the subject of why content-driven sites win in SEO and how you can get great content for your website.

Search Advertising

If you remember Monday’s post, you know that SEO can improve your chance of getting found and making a sale online. But, what if you want to get on the first page within the next week or so? Answer: search advertising. It’s a great idea to run pay-per-click campaigns on Google and Bing while you’re working on the SEO for your website. Here’s an example of why it’s important to advertise while you’re invested in SEO:

As you can see, I’m using the same search example from Monday’s post. The first paid listing is STLLawHelp.com, a position that’s challenging yet attainable. I went ahead and looked through the organic results and didn’t see one placement for the website. Now, maybe STLLawHelp.com is working on their SEO - which is great - while they’re benefiting from the first listing in paid results. A good idea, eh?

Paid search offers better targeting, real-time analytics, and the ability to change under-performing ads on the fly. Seventy-seven percent of North American households are using the Internet, which means that there is 228.1 million people online in North America. I would highly consider search if you’re looking to get in front of your customer in quick fashion.