We all want to see our businesses thrive, but growth doesn’t just happen overnight. It takes strategy, effort and knowing which marketing tactics will actually move the needle when it comes to sales. Here are three powerful digital marketing techniques I’ve seen work wonders for clients time and time again.
Design Your Website for Search Engines
Whether people find your business online through search engines like Google or by clicking on ads, your website needs to be optimized for search if you want to capture that initial traffic. Take the time to carefully craft your page titles, meta descriptions and heading tags so that they are concise, compelling and contain your important target keywords.
Google and other search engines use these on-page elements to understand what your pages are about at a glance, so make them count. I also highly recommend getting someone with SEO expertise to audit your site and offer recommendations on how to improve things like internal linking, alt text on images and more. A little SEO work can go a long way in helping search engines—and potential customers—find you.
Run Targeted Facebook and Google Ads
Pay-per-click ads on platforms like Facebook, Google and Instagram offer a powerful way to get in front of exactly who you want based on location, demographics, interests and other factors. With some testing, you can hone in on ultra-targeted ad audiences most likely to be interested in your products or services.
The key is starting small with tight budgets until you find winning ad creatives and targeting. Once you’ve got some high-converting ads, you can gradually increase your budget to scale up leads and sales. Just be sure to continuously monitor performance and pause anything not pulling its weight. With the right targeting and messaging, paid social ads can deliver a strong and steady stream of new customers.
Use the Power of Email Marketing
Nothing beats email for regularly staying top of mind with existing customers and nurturing prospects down the funnel. The key is having an email list worth marketing to. I recommend offering a lead magnet like a free guide or checklist in exchange for names and emails. Then focus your email campaigns on delivering value, whether that’s through helpful tips, exclusive discounts, behind-the-scenes stories or other engaging content tailored to your audience.
People expect a few marketing emails per week at most these days, so don’t over-deliver. But do automate things like welcome series, abandoned cart reminders and birthday messages to provide an excellent ongoing customer experience. You can also segment your list based on past purchases or website behavior to send targeted follow-ups and offers. Done right, email is a powerful sales driver that keeps working for you around the clock. Your can create or buy email list.
There you have it—three digital marketing techniques that are highly effective and within reach of most solopreneurs and small businesses. Focus on search engine optimization, pay-per-click ads and email marketing, and you’ll be well on your way to boosting leads, sales and overall business growth. As always, be sure to test, measure and refine your strategies over time based on what’s actually working best for your unique brand and audience.