In the changing world of digital marketing, finding quick wins can really make a difference to your SEO efforts and your bottom line. We all have long-term plans and these remain essential but sometimes a quick change can make a massive difference. Here are our tips for budget-friendly quick wins that can give your digital marketing strategy an instant boost.
1. Write More Blogs
Ok, so this may not seem like a quick fix but it doesn’t take long to write a blog and creating regular, consistent content can make a huge difference. If you’ve ever wondered why your marketing efforts aren’t making a splash, it might be because your last blog post was published a year ago.
Keeping up with regular blogging is a great way to keep your content fresh and your audience interested. Plus, it’s fantastic for SEO, helping you rank better by consistently adding new and relevant content. Start by setting up a content calendar and planning your blog posts for the next few months. Even just a week of regular blogging can lead to noticeable boosts in engagement and traffic.
Some Interesting Facts:
- ROI: Brands that prioritise blogging see 13 times more ROI than those that don’t.
- Lead Generation: Companies with blogs produce an average of 67% more leads per month than those without. DemandMetric
- Preference for Articles: 70% of people prefer to learn about a company through articles rather than advertisements. DemandMetric
- Frequency: Bloggers who publish 2-6 times per week are 50% more likely to report strong results.
2. Get More Customer Reviews
If you have happy customers who’re willing to give you a good review, this is worth its weight in gold. If simply by asking you can gain a website, Facebook, Instagram, Google or any other review it’s worth the time it takes to ask!
Happy customers are a powerful recommendation for your brand, making the brand appear more trustworthy to prospective customers. Good reviews help you stand out from the crowd in search results and on social media.
By encouraging happy customers to share their experiences, you enhance your brand’s credibility, attract more attention, and increase your chances of converting leads into loyal customers—all without breaking the bank!
Some Interesting Facts:
- Consumer Research: 95% of consumers read online reviews before making a purchase decision.
- Willingness to Pay: 58% of consumers are willing to pay more for products from a brand with good reviews.
- Multiple Platforms: 77% of consumers use at least two review platforms when researching a business.
- Rating : 71% of consumers would not consider using a business with an average rating below three stars.
3. Gather User-Generated Content (UGC)
Gathering content from your customer or user-generated content (UGC) is a quick way to boost your brand’s digital marketing. Great content from your customers, such as social media posts, photos, and videos, are powerful recommendations and endorsements for your brand. This personalised type of content reinforces your brand’s credibility and increases its visibility in search results and social media feeds.
Examples of UGC in Action:
- Shout-Outs: Encourage customers to share their experiences with your product on social media and use a branded hashtag., A great example of this was the ice bucket challenge for ALS research. Participants were encouraged to film themselves having ice poured over them to raise awareness for the charity.
- Positive Reviews: Collect positive reviews and show them on your website. Many companies have a testimonial section and some have reviews under each product section.
- Customer Stories: Show user stories and testimonials on your blog or social media channels. For example, Airbnb shares stories from hosts and guests to build community trust and enhance its brand image.
Some Interesting Facts:
- Boost Conversions: Brands with user-generated content (UGC) on their websites see nearly 29% more conversions than those without.
- Influences Buying Decisions: UGC impacts 79% of people’s purchasing decisions.
- Trust Factor: Millennials trust UGC 50% more than content created directly by brands.
- Brand Strategy: Only 16% of brands have a dedicated strategy for managing user-generated content.
4. Offer a Freebie
Offering something for free is a fantastic way to quickly engage your audience and attract new leads. People love freebies, especially when they provide genuine value. Here’s how you can leverage this strategy effectively.
Create Valuable Resources: If you’re a B2B company, such as one specialising in GDPR compliance, offer a free eBook or whitepaper like “Essential GDPR Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them.” Data Protection Network uses free resources to showcase its expertise and attract potential clients.
Host a Free Webinar: Organise a free webinar on a relevant topic. For instance, a digital marketing agency could host a session on “The Latest Trends in Digital Marketing for 2024.” Search Engine Land effectively engages its audience through similar webinars.
Run a Competition: Everyone likes the chance to win and by running a competition you give people the chance to engage with your brand and find out more. You can often gather more customer details and make conversions, making your brand seem interesting and relevant.
Collaborate: Partnering with complementary businesses for joint giveaways can be a great way to boost exposure, for example, a fitness equipment store might team up with a local gym to offer a combined prize.
Some Interesting Facts:
- Customer Acquisition Through Contests: Contests are a powerful tool, with an average of over 34% of new customers acquired through them.
- High Engagement with Contest Emails: Emails promoting contests achieve an average open rate of 8.8%, which is 5.5% higher than typical email marketing campaigns.
- Instagram’s Popularity for Giveaways: Instagram leads as the top platform for hosting giveaways, with the hashtags “giveaway” and “giveaways” featuring in over 53 million posts.
- Rapid Growth Through Contests: Accounts that run contests see their growth accelerate by over 70%.
5. Optimise Page Titles and Descriptions
Optimising page titles and meta descriptions is a massive step to improving your SEO and getting more clicks from searches. Getting these elements right not only helps search engines understand what your page is about but also plays a significant role in convincing users to visit your site.
Page Title: The meta title title is a key SEO element that should be unique and include relevant keywords. For instance, if you run a bakery, instead of a generic title like “Our Products,” use “Delicious Artisan Breads in [Your Area] | [Your Bakery Name].” This not only features the keyword “artisan bread” but also makes the page more appealing, helping search engines and users understand and click through to your site.
Meta Descriptions: A meta description is a summary that appears below the title in search results. Though it doesn’t impact rankings directly, it can affect click-through rates. It should include relevant keywords and a call to action. For your bakery’s bread page, a good meta description might be: “Explore our freshly baked artisan bread at [Your Bakery Name]. From sourdough to rye, we’ve got the perfect loaf for every taste.” This helps users know what to expect and encourages clicks.
Best Practices for Optimisation:
Include Relevant Keywords: Use terms related to the page’s content, such as “artisan bread” or “local bakery.”
Keep It Concise: Titles should be around 50-60 characters but also don’t overthink it, just make sure they’re descriptive and not overly long.
Make It Compelling: Use action words and highlight what makes your page unique to encourage clicks.
Reflect the Page Content: Ensure titles and descriptions accurately describe the page’s content to avoid misleading users.
Avoid Duplication: Each page should have a unique title and meta description to avoid confusion and improve SEO.
6. Fix Broken links
Broken links can severely impact user experience and SEO. Use tools like Screaming Frog or Google Search Console to scan your website for any broken links. These tools will identify URLs that lead to 404 errors or other issues.
For example, if your blog post links to an external site that has since been removed, it’s crucial to address this. Update the broken link with a new, relevant resource or, if no suitable replacement is available, remove the link entirely. This will help maintain a smooth browsing experience and prevent users from encountering dead ends.
Additionally, regularly checking and fixing broken links helps ensure that search engines can crawl your site effectively, potentially improving your site’s SEO performance.
Some Interesting Facts:
- 66% of websites have at least one broken link, which can frustrate users and hurt SEO efforts.
- 95.2% of websites experience 3XX redirect issues, potentially confusing both search engines and visitors.
- On average, 2.4% of pages on a website have 404 errors, negatively impacting the user experience and potentially harming SEO.
7. Add Alt Text to Images
Alt text describes the picture for those who are visually impaired using a screen reader. It also helps search engines interpret the image, which improves visibility in image searches.
Example: For an e-commerce site selling custom t-shirts, use descriptive alt text like “Custom printed t-shirt with a vintage design featuring a classic car” instead of a generic “t-shirt.” This practice not only aids in indexing your images but also enhances user engagement by making your products more discoverable through image searches.
Incorporating detailed alt text can significantly boost your site’s accessibility, improve its SEO performance, and attract more traffic by making your images more discoverable.
Additional Tips:
- Be Specific: Describe the image in detail and relate it to the page content.
- Use Keywords Wisely: Incorporate relevant keywords naturally, avoiding keyword stuffing.
- Keep It Concise: Aim for clear, informative descriptions under 125 characters.
Some Interesting Facts:
- 12 million internet users have a visual impairment or low vision.
- Missing alt text contributes to 61% of all homepage accessibility errors.
- 83% of people with accessibility needs prefer shopping on sites with high accessibility standards, even if prices are higher.
- 97.4% of home pages contain accessibility errors.
8. Optimise for Mobile:
Nowadays the majority of scrolling and e-shopping is done on a mobile, so optimising your website for mobile devices is essential. Customers access sites through smartphones, watches and tablets so a mobile-friendly design ensures that your website is easily navigable and provides a smooth user experience across different screen sizes.
When the user experience is better this leads to higher engagement and satisfaction and Google shows mobile-friendly sites higher in its ranking so if yours isn’t mobile-friendly yet this can be a great quick win!
Some Interesting Facts:
- 84% Prefer Mobile Sites: Over 84% of users prefer mobile-optimised websites.
- 50% Reject Poor Mobile Design: More than half of users avoid sites with bad mobile design.
- 55.4% Shop on Mobile: Over 55% of internet users make purchases via mobile devices.
- 59% Prioritise Mobile Shopping: About 59% of shoppers value mobile shopping features when choosing retailers.
The above can help you gain some ‘quick wins’ but these only work if you take action. If this is something you would like help with please get in touch with us today.