I think we can all agree that the first half of 2020 was completely unexpected; and with social distancing practices set in place people are spending more time than ever searching for goods and services online. This makes SEO (search engine optimization) more important than ever; if your company hasn’t been investing in digital marketing you can at least get started on the right path by following our step-by-step guides on these 5 key marketing trends for 2020.
According to BigCommerce, “E-commerce success is more than having a beautiful website — you need a healthy amount of traffic to your online store. In a recent Statista survey, direct to site, e-mail, and SEO were found to be leading traffic drivers. 22% of global retail sales will be thanks to e-commerce by 2023. To give context to this growth, 14.1% of global retail sales were e-commerce purchases in 2019.” We understand metals and manufacturing is not your typical retail transaction; however, getting people looking for your services to fill out a request quote form is just as beneficial.
Prior to working with any company, sales through their website are never near the 10% mark and when implementing a long-term result proven strategy, we have seen this number increase to nearly 30% of new business acquisitions (here’s a case study to check out the numbers for yourself). This higher than overall business average is from what we refer to as the low-hanging fruit affect; most machine shops do not keep up with modern marketing efforts. This has resulted in businesses that do grabbing a large share of the pie due to lack of competition in one’s geographical area. We put together a list of 5 steps, their importance, and a step-by-step guide on how you can begin to reap the benefits of correct digital marketing.
Our list below is broken down into two major categories, technical adjustments and content adjustments, so let’s dive into it.
Technical Adjustments
Securing Your Website (HTTPS / SSL)
Why Important
Search engines such as Google recognize this as your website being secure, this can be seen as a closed lock symbol when using browsers such as Chrome. Having a website that is not secure will discourage search engines from showing you in the SERPs (search engine results page), due to not protecting visitors while spending time on your website.
How To Do It
This is probably the simplest fix on the list and can be down by contacting you visiting your hosting provider and searching, “SSL Certificates.” Annually this should cost no more than $100, and if you are having any issues figuring this out feel free to reach out and we are more than happy to walk you through the process at no charge.
Internal Linking & Conversion Rate Optimization
Why Important
As of October 2020, search engines gauge page importance by the amount of links directed to them. Links from other websites (social media profiles count) are the most valuable; however, you can guide search engines to your most important pages, by adding links to them throughout your website. An example of this can be a particular blog article contains a link guiding the reader to your contact form.
Content Adjustments
Merging Content
Why Important
Content still remains king in digital marketing, but as algorithms continue to improve search engines are getting better at delivering the best content possible to answer the searchers questions. Due to this, we suggest combining some of your shorter posts as long as they are relative to each other.
According to SerpIQ, the top result provided by search engines has on average 2,416 words. Rich content such as this is likely to attract backlinks as well, in turn, leading to benefits that compound on each other.
How To Do it
If you decided to go this route, we suggest using redirects from the original posts to the new combined post. This can be somewhat confusing, so if you come across any issues feel free to reach out for some advice. If you are determined to tackle this yourself and use WordPress, check out the video below from WP Beginner’s Guide:
Convert Written Content to Video Content
Why Important
As previously stated, content is king, so getting the most out of the content you have already invested resources in is both efficient adds to the compounding SEO effect mentioned earlier. Secondly, short videos grab and hold attention, simple as that.
How To Do It
When turning content into video the two websites Fiverr and UpWork are both filled with individuals that specialize in this. After trying them both we have found that Fiverr is typically the cheapest option, but UpWork delivers better quality work. Both require turning content pieces into scripts and charge based on the amount of words.
Video Example Blog Post – Local SEO Overview Video
Written Example Blog Post – Reasons & Strategies For Local SEO
Influencers
Why Important
This may be new for many of you, so we are going to begin by breaking this concept down.
What is an influencer?
Influencers increase brand awareness or conversions among a specific target audience. An author at Modern Machine Shop is a good example.
How can these individuals be utilized in manufacturing?
Once an you have selected an influencer, we suggest providing them with some examples of work that you are proud of, and let them review the craftsmanship.
We at KriXis Consulting are driven by the numbers and BigCommerce states, 89% of those that invest in influencer marketing say ROI is comparable or greater than other marketing channels in 2019. The trend is projected to continue as 86% of surveyed business began setting aside a influencer marketing budget for 2020 according to Digital Marketing Institute.
Conclusion
This has been a year unlike any other, and by implementing some or all of these steps your business will finish the year out strong from a marketing standpoint. The five points addressed is just a baseline, and we at KriXis Consulting encourage you to click the button below for a complimentary overview and proposal customized to your business needs.
Works Cited
