Digital marketing has evolved to the point where an immense array of specialists consult with brands to develop effective strategies or implement programs. If you’re new to digital marketing, or lack experience or resources, you should consider engaging an experienced and versatile digital marketing consultant.

Definitely. Though companies in many business categories continue to approach digital marketing with skepticism, avoiding digital marketing denies your business access to the media the majority of consumers turn to first and at all hours of the day.

Blowing their own horn. Yes, of course, the primary goal of marketing is to create leads. However, in the age of digital media a brand-centric, salesy approach deflects interest in your company. Make your marketing customer-centric.

Second biggest mistake: Far too often, digital marketers start and stop. You need to contribute a steady flow of content to the channels you use.

Websites that go for long periods with no updates and new content are unlikely to perform well or support any useful digital marketing objectives. Though a static website technically qualifies as a website it’s bound to be more than a digital brochure that produces little or no leads.

Email, social media, search and other elements of your digital marketing mix will depend on delivering useful content. Though video outlets, podcasts, and media galleries present other options, a blog is by far the most used tactic for distributing marketing content on a channel over which you have complete control.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of using onsite and offsite tactics to help get content presented by a search engine. Done well, the practice increases the quantity and quality of your traffic.

The majority of web traffic is generated by search and those that come by way of search have a greater degree of commercial intent than most other channels.

Local SEO is the process of optimizing your online properties to generate traffic from location-based searches. It helps businesses promote products and services to local customers when they need them. 

Keywords are the words and phrases searchers use—usually with search engines—to find relevant pages, images, videos, or any kind of information when looking for answers, knowledge, products, or services. SEO professionals consider keywords and the topics they suggest when optimizing content for search.

This question is the source of endless speculation and debate because search engine companies such as Google will not answer it. Experts generally agree rankings are based on relevance and authority, but the factors that determine them are many—and inconsistent. The best way to achieve a high search engine ranking is to create one of the most thorough web pages possible for a specific keyword or topic.

PPC stands for pay-per-click. Essentially, it’s a way of buying web traffic. Advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. Search engine advertising is the most popular form of PPC, however numerous channels including Facebook now offer PPC ad models.

Marketing automation is software that manages marketing processes and campaigns across multiple channels. It streamlines lead generation, segmentation, lead nurturing, lead scoring, measurement processes and more.

An effective marketing automation tool helps identify your audience, create the right content, and automatically trigger actions based on customer behavior.