Online Marketing & SEO
Your website is up and running - it looks great, the content is first class and now all you need to do is wait for the customers to come rolling in - yes? ...We’re afraid not. Having a corporate presence online isn’t just about having a website anymore - it’s about having an Online Strategy and a key part of this is Online Marketing.
In a very short space of time, proactive online marketing has become an absolute necessity for any organisation taking their Online Strategy seriously. Done well, it will increase target-market traffic to your website, enhance your organisation’s presence online and have a direct impact upon sales.
There is no getting away from the fact that online marketing is multi-faceted, fast moving and, to be really effective, requires a level of commitment from you. At Digital Forest, we have a wealth of technical and strategic marketing expertise which can be drawn upon to help develop tailor-made online campaigns for your organisation, but if you just don’t have the time or resources to sustain a strategy in-house, Digital Forest can maintain your online presence on an ongoing basis. We also provide consultancy services to designers and other digital consultancies as an outsourced service.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)?
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the practice of improving a website's visibility in search engines by optimising its Structure, pages, content and HTML to improve relevance relating to specific keywords and phrases making it more accessible for search engines. In short, this is a case of trying to predict what keywords or phrases people are typing into search engines to reach your website and ensuring that these keywords are used effectively throughout your website. That’s the theory. The art is making this happen without compromising the design, readability or the quality of your content and site code.
Digital Forest has a wealth of expertise in the art of SEO and we offer a range of services to help you establish and maintain an SEO strategy. We also provide Training and Consultancy for customers wishing to develop thier internal SEO capabilities.
Pay Per Click Management
Pay per Click (PPC) is a form of online advertising which uses specific keyword phrases to generate targeted traffic to your website - one of these most well known models is Google AdWords. When you perform any online search, you’ve probably seen highlighted, ‘sponsored link adverts’ at top of the search results list and also down the right-hand side.
These adverts are paid for using a Cost per Click (CPC) bid model. In a crowded market, many organisations want their sponsored link to be shown first when certain keywords or phrases are used to perform a search and so bid prices are specified.
The art of an effective Pay per Click strategyis to determine the most effective keyword phrases that generate business for your organisation and then to use these to set up a Google AdWords campaign. Once a Pay per Click advertising campaign is up and running, it is essential that results are monitored and adverts are tweaked in order to maximise your conversion rates and ultimately reduce the amount that you have to bid for keyword phrases.
Your bid price for required keyword phrases, together with the position of your advert, are determined by a complex algorithm. We can’t attempt to explain this here, but we can guide you through the complexities of this system, helping you to achieve the best results and the best possible value from your Pay per Click budget.
Email Marketing
We’re all used to receiving unsolicited, incredibly annoying marketing emails from organisations - some dubious, some not. Whilst Email Marketing can have negative connotations, there is a world of difference between sending ‘spam’ to unknown recipients and sending advertising emails to known (i.e. registered) site users with fresh, targeted, engaging content.
Done well, Email Marketing can still be a great, low cost way of encouraging repeat business and strengthening relationships with existing customers and also generating interest from potential customers. If required, we’re more than happy to provide consultancy services to help you design, code and manage Email Marketing campaigns in-house, or to complete mailings on your behalf.
Social Media Marketing
We think it’s fair to say that use of social media has exploded in recent years! Now - without question - leveraging the potential of social networks (for example, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram and Pinterest) is a crucial element of any serious online strategy. The sheer scale of social networks means that you have an unlimited audience to target. By making regular posts/contributions with personality and engaging content (as opposed to bombarding sites with blatant sales messages), you can raise your organisation’s profile, keep in touch with existing customers and spread the word to people who may never even have heard about your brand before. In turn, this increases traffic to your website and, ultimately, increases your customer base.
As with most Digital Marketing practices, effective Social Media Marketing requires time and effort but the potential benefits are huge. If you need help to get started or ongoing assistance, Digital Forest can help you to develop your own, tailored Social Media Marketing campaigns.