If you only focus on the graphics design of your web site and nothing else, you may have a beautiful web site that is hard to be found. If you only focus on search engine optimization and nothing else, your web site may be friendlier to the web robots at Google than it is to your web site visitors, which can hurt your conversion rate. If you only focus on social media and nothing else, you may not get the return on investment you are looking for.
Web design, SEO, and social media are 3 important components of a successful Internet marketing strategy. If you want visitors to find you, you need outstanding SEO. If you want them to contact you or purchase from your site, you need great web design. If you want to create a lot of word-of-mouth recognition or implement a viral marketing campaign, social media can be an excellent tool for you.
As a business owner, you should know that there is no one-size-fit-all online marketing strategy. There may be a lot of buzz on social media, but it may or may not be right for your business. This is why we always start by reviewing your business goals. When clients ask us: “How much should I spend on SEO? Should I create a Facebook page for my business? Do I need to redesign my web site? Is pay per click right for me? Should I start a blog?” Our answer is it only makes sense if it relates to your business goals.
What are your business goals? What is currently working and not working for you?
How are you attracting new customers? How much are you spending on each of these avenues? What percentage of your new customers comes from each of these avenues?
How are you retaining your existing customers? What methods are you employing to encourage repeat purchases?
What is the primary goal of your web site? To attract new customers? To service existing customers? To test a new market segment?
What are you currently doing with your online marketing? How does this fit within your marketing strategy? How does your marketing strategy fit with your overall business goal? And how does your business goal fit with your lifestyle goal?
Only by taking a look at the big picture can we help you answer questions such as how much you should spend on SEO or whether you should do social media. A marketing strategy that works wonders for someone else may or may not be right for your business or your lifestyle. This is the reason we have 2 departments: the technical people who are experts at SEO, social media, and web design, and the business consultants who can help you review and design the marketing strategy that is right for you. Many of our business consultants are business owners themselves and have tested various marketing strategies in their own businesses, so they speak from experience rather than a memorized sales pitch.
More importantly than knowing the relative importance of web design, SEO, and social media is having a coherent marketing strategy that fits your business objectives and lifestyle goals. Only then can you confidently achieve the return on investment you are looking for.