Digital Marketing: What We Wish You Knew

We recently asked our staff, “What do you wish business owners knew about running their website?” We’ve compiled the answers in a handy blog post below. Check out our tips and see if there is room for improvement on your business’ website.

From our digital marketing strategists:

• “Set your expectations accordingly. If your competitors have been actively promoting their website for a long time and you are just beginning your marketing endeavor, it’s highly unlikely that you will be generating organic leads a week after beginning your campaign.” – Wayne

• “Know your business objectives and make sure your website addresses them. For example, if you want customers to call you, make sure your phone number is clickable and prominently displayed in the top portion of the page (above the fold).” – Jenna

• “Make sure you are the owner of all your digital marketing channels, including: your website, Facebook, Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business), LinkedIn, and Google Ads and Analytics accounts. If someone else set these up, make sure they transfer the ownership to you.” – Tasha

• “Make your business appear more legitimate online by having an about us page, a location page with an address, employee bios, and real (not stock) photos of your business.” – Jenna

• “A friend may recommend you but people will check you out online to ensure you fit their needs – make sure you have references and show your knowledge and expertise.” – Kim

• “Make sure your business name, address and phone number are consistent throughout your website as well as other locations they might appear online (Google Business Profile listings, online directories etc.).” – Wayne

• “Monitor your website – set it as your home page so you can see if any problems, like service outages, arise.” – Kim

• “Test your website on a variety of screen sizes. Use a tablet, cell-phone and different computer monitors to ensure your content looks good regardless of the user’s device.” – Kim

Learn More about how Ontario SEO can help with your Digital Marketing Strategy

From the Analytics Corner:

• “Use the free analytics tools available, like Google Analytics, to measure how well your website is attracting visitors.” – Jenna

• “Have a solid digital strategy in place with measurable goals. Without one, you may be experimenting with a bunch of conflicting tactics.” – Wayne

• “There are more important things than users & sessions.” – Jenna

From the Web-Development Corner:

• “Invest in a reliable web-hosting service” – Anastasia

• “Test (and test again) before you launch a new website” – Pat

• “Check for broken links! Especially when you post a new webpage.” – Tasha

• “Watch those image sizes. Nothing slows down a website like big images, not to mention they eat up data quickly on mobile devices. Compress, compress, compress. “ – Pat

• “A strong password will prevent your website from being hacked. Using passwords like Admin123 or pa33word will not keep your site secure.  Make sure you have access to your domain, website and the hosting (CPanel / FTP) so that you can access it when you need it.” – Kim

Need some help with web development? Contact Us

From the AdWords Girls:

• “Beware of AdWords Express & Google Builds. Google makes these accounts easy to set up, and easy to throw away your money. Profitable AdWords accounts take time & effort to manage.” – Jenna

• “Integrate your newsletter sign-up into your website and start building out your email list so you can remarket to those potential customers in the future.” – Anastasia

• “High click-through-rates and views don’t automatically mean your ad campaign is successful. Make sure your AdWords accounts are setup to track conversions, not clicks.” – Jenna

Need some help? Learn about our AdWords Management packages

From our Content Manager:

• “If writing is not your thing, don’t let that blog sit idle, outsource the work. A website with interesting and informative content will attract potential customers to your business.” – Tasha

• “Is your writing engaging your audience? Use a language and tone your ideal clients will understand and respond to.” – Kim

• “If you are active on social media, don’t be afraid to share. Add social links to your website and share your new digital content.” – Tasha

• “Is your content helping you? Consider why you are writing the blog – will it demonstrate your expertise? Will it compel people to use you as a resource or contact you? -Kim

Ready to outsource that writing? Learn more about SEO-Optimized Website Content Creation

Why listen to us? We’re an online marketing agency located in London’s Old East Village. We find search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) solutions for our clients that get them noticed on the web! Meet our digital marketing team.