Profitable Online Marketing
Content Marketing and SEO-
First things first, content is still king. If your content is poorly written and does not utilize Googles best practices for content optimization it will be difficult to hold readers attention, discourage sharing and optimization of the website for search results will be difficult.
Before you start writing
Start with research so you know what keywords you need to optimize for in order to be successful online. This will require some time, tools and an understanding of what it all means. If you are not trained in Search Engine Optimization hiring a professional could save you time and money. It will also make your marketing efforts more profitable.
Why Research?
With research you should have a good idea of what our competitors are doing and what keywords you could develop a competitive advantage for. When you write your content keep your content interesting, introduce images or videos to help hold the readers attention and encourage sharing. Follow Googles best practices for content writing and SEO of your website targeting those researched keywords. If you don’t have the time or skills to write interesting, well optimized content, it would benefit your company to hire a professional. Remember that the content you write could remain on your website for years so it is important to have it written correctly.
Paid Ads
Don’t shy away from paid ads. Paid ads in the correct medium for your industry can bring quick sustained income. It is important you do good research to determine where to advertise online and also to determine what keywords will give you the best results and a positive return on your investment (ROI). This research is different from SEO research because you will have different competitive factors to consider. Keywords that are difficult to get using SEO may be easier to get with ads. Some keywords might be too costly to bid on to be profitable while other keywords that may seem less desirable could be more profitable.
Paid Ads Return on Investment (ROI)
When looking at the ROI for paid ads there are two ways companies look that it. You can look at the first sales cycle and measure that against the cost of the ads to see if you are generating a profit. The Second takes into account customers that return for more purchases. When you consider the lifetime value of a client you may find that spending more on marketing makes sense.
Life-time value of a client
For example, let’s say you sell printers and the average printer produces $200 in profit. Let’s say you also sell ink for those printers and you know that 70% of printer buyers will purchase ink from you. The profit for the ink adds $150 to the bottom line each year per client. If clients order ink from your company for an average of 5 years what would the lifetime value of the client be?
Profit on the printer 200.00
Profit on ink 150 x 5 = 750.00 x .70 (percent of people that buy ink) = 525.00
=Total profit per buyer would average 725.00
If you only count the initial sale and profit of $200 it would seem ridiculous to spend $200 or more on marketing, but when you consider the total profit of 750.00 you might we willing to invest $200 or more to get that ROI.
Social Media Marketing
For some business categories social media is the key to success. For other businesses social media might be far less beneficial. The key to successful social media marketing is knowing your where you can find your customers and understanding the amount of effort that is needed to be beneficial.
- How much work do I need to do to be beneficial
- You need know know how to attract likes and followers
- You should understand how to grow back links
- Be creative. People are more likely to engage if you create more intrigue
- If done correctly images and video can be your most beneficial posts
Spend some time and money on research
Initially research can tell you if there is an opportunity for success in social media for your company. After that monitoring, tracking and analysis can help to insure your campaign remains profitable.
Companies that skip this step never learn what works best and what is a waist of money. Start taking the necessary steps you optimize your marketing efforts and over time you will be well ahead of your competition.
Does your Advertising Budget Make Sense?
Set no artificial limits on your budget on Advertising
Most businesses have an ad budget limit in mind that they won’t go over. Therefore many businesses miss out on some of the most profitable marketing dollars that can be spent.
Reasons to have an advertising budget
- Cannot handle more business without some additional capitol expenditures that the company is not prepared to do
- Risk factors may limit a companies confidence in the advertising
- The advertising budget is controlled by upper management
- Sometimes the funds are simply not available
Reasons for not limiting your marketing budget:
- If every marketing dollar spent is paying you back a profit why would you put a limit on your spending?
- Marketing does more than generate sales. Consistent marketing develops your brand and targets sales at the same time.
- There are fixed and variable costs in every business. As you get past your marketing fixed costs your efforts can become more profitable.
- The life-time value of a client and their referrals should be considered
Knowledge reduces risks and improves profit
Each of the bullet points above require proof that the marketing budget is providing an acceptable ROI to the overall company objectives. Sales tracking and lead tracking along with web analytics tools you can:
- Reduce the risks associated with marketing
- Give upper management the confidence to spend more
- help to point your advertising budget to more profitable campaigns
Knowledge also tells you when more budget does not equal more profit. In the charts below you can see there is much to consider before declaring a campaign profitable or not profitable.
Knowledge is Power
Understanding the ROI of your marketing campaign can make the difference between success and failure. Set aside funds to track your campaigns and as accurately as possible understand your ROI for each marketing effort. As you find the most profitable campaigns invest all you can until you reach the point of diminishing returns. Then test other marketing methods for another lead resource.
If you would like to know more about WSI and how we can help make your marketing plan more successful contact us today!
The initial 15 minute consultation is free,
so what are you waiting for?
828-989-4831
or toll free at 866-751-7083
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