4 Online Marketing Techniques To Drive More Traffic

The online marketing game has changed over the years. What was once a distinct art form has now evolved into something almost unrecognizable.

In order to successfully develop and execute a sound online marketing campaign, it is essential that all business owners and marketers understand the four main techniques that drive traffic into their site: SEO, SEM, Social Media Marketing, and Content Marketing. These are four powerful and often coexisting ways to get online visitors to your website.

The following post will provide a brief overview of each technique as well as tips for implementation and success.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to your website by increasing your ranking on search engine result pages (SERP). The term SEO is used synonymously with Search Engine Marketing (SEM). SEO usually refers to the organic approach to marketing, where you improve your ranking through on-site improvements. SEM, however, typically refers to paid advertisements. Therefore, SEO and SEM are not mutually exclusive terms.

To improve your organic search results, you must first know how sites are ranked. Google uses its own secret formulas to rank websites in search results. These formulas may change over time, but the fundamentals of how they work are easy to understand.

The following are the two methods by which Google ranks web pages.

1. Popularity – A page's ranking on Google depends on the number of links from other sites pointing to it (in addition to its own). One way that search engines gauge popularity is by "clicking-through." This means the fact that a site has an active user base (i.e., people who visit it) and who actually click through to your website often is another important factor in determining a site's SERP placement.

2. Authority – The second method is based on the perceived authority of a site or page. This is typically measured by the number of other websites linking to a particular page or site. Authority is most often referred to as PageRank, a proprietary algorithm created by Google for ranking pages in search results.

Google's formula for calculating PageRank (and thus authority) involves using a complex formula consisting of several pieces of data ranging from age and position in an application's hierarchy (or folder), size of the file, its on-page text structure, and how well it helps your user find what they are looking for. This formula greatly differs from industry standards used by other search engines such as Yahoo! and Bing, which use factors such as volume of back links or the number of inbound links.

Other companies that use such standards include HubSpot and SEOmoz.

Keyword research is the place to start when optimizing your website for search engines. There are many tools available to help you do this effectively. One of the most commonly used is Google Keyword Planner Tool. This free tool will help you with a number of tasks, including finding new and related keywords, identifying potential competitors, estimating your own site's search volume for a given keyword, and gathering data on local businesses. Keyword research involves the process of examining how people search for products and services online so that you can optimize your site to appear in these searches more often and increase your chances of being visited by those who want what you offer.

One way to do keyword research is by using Google's Keyword Planner Tool. This free tool provides very useful information about potential keywords by showing how many searches are each month, the average cost per click, and related keywords. You should use this keyword tool in conjunction with others and it shouldn't be the only source you use.

Searching for the right words is half the battle; it's just as important to select the right words, as well. Google offers a number of resources that can help you find what words are used most often by your target market. These tools will allow you to refine your keyword research until you find those that produce results and provide conversions.

SEM

Search engine marketing (SEM) is also known as pay-per-click (PPC) marketing and, in the past, has been regarded as a paid advertisement in search results. PPC has become an integral part of online marketing, though, and many programs have emerged which provide invaluable help to those who are serious about finding customers for their products and services.

The basic idea behind SEM is that when someone does a search on Google or some other search engine, the keyword they enter will automatically be passed to one or more companies that are paying for this service. The aim here is to get those individuals to click on your ads and buy your products or services. The more people you attract with this method, the more you make.

Many firms use a mix of both advertising and SEO measures to increase their online presence, so that an improved search engine ranking can offer better search engine traffic in turn. This is a great way of keeping focused on what really matters to your company.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is another powerful way of driving targeted visitors into your website. For many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), this is the way to go. Social media marketing works by engaging in conversation with potential customers and encouraging them to share your content from your website via Twitter, Facebook, or other popular services.

There are a number of ways that you can use social media to drive traffic into your website, but they all fall under two main categories: paid advertising and organic promotion. Organic promotion is when you engage in a conversation with people who have already been interested in what you offer. The goal here is to make friends with these customers or prospects and encourage them to pass on the subsequent message.

Paid advertising is more of a quick fix, and it involves paying for an advertisement or link to appear in someone's newsfeed. This is not only one of the fastest ways to increase traffic to your website, but it can also be more effective. By targeting specific individuals with this method, you are providing the prospect with a reason to believe that what you have to say is worth passing on. It does not matter if they end up buying from you or not, but the fact that they have shared your content shows that you have succeeded as a marketer. Your aim should be to establish yourself as an expert in your field and build trust and rapport with your customers by being engaging and providing them useful content.

Conclusion

There is nothing necessarily wrong with spending a little money on SEO. In fact, most sites will be better off doing it. There are some companies out there that do not pay for this service and then regret the results they received. It is also important to remember that good content is important, but people are more likely to share something they like if you have established yourself as an expert in the field.

Author Bio: Christopher Mixon has been in the digital marketing business for more than 20 years and has helped many multiple Internet and mobile businesses grow through his work with paid advertising, social media marketing, SEO services and PPC marketing strategies. He has provided online business training services and consulting in North America since 2007.