When you're about to launch into a big marketing campaign, you're focused on the campaign itself: will it be successful, will it move your business forward, will it properly position you with your target audience. But if you haven't run through the steps necessary to get your website ready, your winning marketing campaign may not get you anywhere.
Before you flip the switch on your big marketing campaign, complete these six steps!
1 Start Early
It takes some time and commitment to make sure that your website is top notch and ready to go, especially if this is the first time you've launched a big marketing campaign. After all, driving viewers to your website isn't going to do you any good if your website isn't ready to receive them and intrigue them.
• Make sure that your marketing campaign schedule includes time for each of the below tasks.
2 Get Your SEO Ready To Go
When was the last time you looked at the trending views on your website? Are viewers clicking your links? Where are they coming from, what search terms are they using to get to your site? For example, if your website includes links selling Native American tribal art, you might get searchers who are asking "What is a totem?" Adding a short section about totems to answer that question might increase your views - or changing the keywords that are pulling in searchers who are looking for something else can improve your bounce rate. This is where SEO and content work together in the long term.
Knowing what gets customers from the web at large to your particular site will help you position your marketing in the right areas to attract more views.
• Regularly review the analytics on your website. What are the top 5 keywords that are bringing people in to your site? How can you better use them in your marketing?
3 Ensure That Your Website Is Functioning Properly
You should regularly go over your website with a fine tooth comb, looking for broken links, out of date language, and images that no longer function properly. You absolutely must do this before any big product or marketing launch. If customers get to your website and find that the website itself is non functional, any chance you had of converting them is gone.
• Make sure that your website is running quickly, that images load in a reasonable timeframe, and that all links are functional. Check from several different devices, not just your work desktop.
4 Make Sure Your Website Is Mobile Ready
It's 2016; there's no excuse for not having a website that is mobile responsive. More and more traffic is migrating off of desktops and onto tablets and smartphones. If you want to maximize your marketing, your website needs to seamlessly and easily adapt to the device that's accessing it.
• If you used Wordpress to create your website, get a responsive theme. If you did not use Wordpress, and you're not familiar with website design, consider hiring a freelancer to upgrade your website for you.
5 Automate Your Content And Social Media
Once your campaign launches, you're going to be busy. One important way to drive in traffic is to use your social media platform to your advantage, but getting online to post on every social media platform is time consuming. So let scheduled posts do the work for you and transform your website into content marketing machine.
From most blogs and content to social media, you can schedule posts to go out at a specific time. With many Wordpress themes you can even schedule your content to automatically post across your social media networks.
• Focus in on the most important posts for you to make every day of your campaign and get them ready ahead of time. Use automated schedulers so that you don't forget to post anything.
6 Collect This Campaign's Data To Make The Next One Even Better
One of the keys to long term business success is learning how to look forward, even as you're focusing on the now. As you go through your big marketing push, make sure to consider what you can do to make the next one flow more simply. Take notes on what worked and what didn't, and consider conducting a full analysis on the campaign once its first big push is over. Find out:
• Which locations drew in the most views?
• Which locations drew in the most conversions?
• Which keywords were most important?
• Which videos or posts were most shared?
Collecting this data now will make it easier to plan your next campaign, and make it even more effective!
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Before you flip the switch on your big marketing campaign, complete these six steps!
1 Start Early
It takes some time and commitment to make sure that your website is top notch and ready to go, especially if this is the first time you've launched a big marketing campaign. After all, driving viewers to your website isn't going to do you any good if your website isn't ready to receive them and intrigue them.
• Make sure that your marketing campaign schedule includes time for each of the below tasks.
2 Get Your SEO Ready To Go
When was the last time you looked at the trending views on your website? Are viewers clicking your links? Where are they coming from, what search terms are they using to get to your site? For example, if your website includes links selling Native American tribal art, you might get searchers who are asking "What is a totem?" Adding a short section about totems to answer that question might increase your views - or changing the keywords that are pulling in searchers who are looking for something else can improve your bounce rate. This is where SEO and content work together in the long term.
Knowing what gets customers from the web at large to your particular site will help you position your marketing in the right areas to attract more views.
• Regularly review the analytics on your website. What are the top 5 keywords that are bringing people in to your site? How can you better use them in your marketing?
3 Ensure That Your Website Is Functioning Properly
You should regularly go over your website with a fine tooth comb, looking for broken links, out of date language, and images that no longer function properly. You absolutely must do this before any big product or marketing launch. If customers get to your website and find that the website itself is non functional, any chance you had of converting them is gone.
• Make sure that your website is running quickly, that images load in a reasonable timeframe, and that all links are functional. Check from several different devices, not just your work desktop.
4 Make Sure Your Website Is Mobile Ready
It's 2016; there's no excuse for not having a website that is mobile responsive. More and more traffic is migrating off of desktops and onto tablets and smartphones. If you want to maximize your marketing, your website needs to seamlessly and easily adapt to the device that's accessing it.
• If you used Wordpress to create your website, get a responsive theme. If you did not use Wordpress, and you're not familiar with website design, consider hiring a freelancer to upgrade your website for you.
5 Automate Your Content And Social Media
Once your campaign launches, you're going to be busy. One important way to drive in traffic is to use your social media platform to your advantage, but getting online to post on every social media platform is time consuming. So let scheduled posts do the work for you and transform your website into content marketing machine.
From most blogs and content to social media, you can schedule posts to go out at a specific time. With many Wordpress themes you can even schedule your content to automatically post across your social media networks.
• Focus in on the most important posts for you to make every day of your campaign and get them ready ahead of time. Use automated schedulers so that you don't forget to post anything.
6 Collect This Campaign's Data To Make The Next One Even Better
One of the keys to long term business success is learning how to look forward, even as you're focusing on the now. As you go through your big marketing push, make sure to consider what you can do to make the next one flow more simply. Take notes on what worked and what didn't, and consider conducting a full analysis on the campaign once its first big push is over. Find out:
• Which locations drew in the most views?
• Which locations drew in the most conversions?
• Which keywords were most important?
• Which videos or posts were most shared?
Collecting this data now will make it easier to plan your next campaign, and make it even more effective!
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