Digital marketing is how businesses use the internet to communicate with their audience and promote their products and services.<\/p>\n
With advanced audience targeting and data collection, it is a much more powerful approach to gaining new customers than traditional marketing. Plus, it continues to grow as technology expands.<\/p>\n
In this guide, I\u2019ll teach you how the different types of digital marketing work and how you can use them to build a successful marketing strategy.<\/p>\n
Digital marketing can be broadly broken into 9 main types. In particular, these are:<\/p>\n
People all over the world use the internet to answer their questions and find new items. The primary way they do this is through search engines.<\/p>\n
When someone types words into a search engine such as Google, they receive a list of web pages that match what they are looking for.<\/p>\n
SEO is how businesses get their website to show up in these results. It is one of the best types of digital marketing as it can bring a steady flow of visitors that are highly interested in your products or services.<\/p>\n
What is SEO?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Search engine optimization (SEO)<\/strong><\/a> is the process of structuring your website and content so that your pages rank at the top of the results for search terms that are relevant to your business.<\/p>\n
How SEO Works?<\/strong><\/p>\n
To understand how SEO works, you first need to know how Google and other search engines find and rank content<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n
On-page factors<\/strong><\/a> are the elements on your website and web pages that impact search rankings. Some important examples include:<\/p>\n
Off-page factors<\/strong><\/a> are the external factors that contribute to your page rankings. These factors mostly center around how authoritative your site is.<\/p>\n
SEO tool providers Ahrefs and Moz have created proprietary formulas that calculate the domain authority score<\/strong><\/a> for each website.<\/p>\n
With a better understanding of how to optimize your website\u2019s SEO, here is a quick overview of the steps needed to execute an SEO strategy<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n
Choose your target keywords<\/strong><\/p>\n
Create content optimized for those terms<\/strong><\/p>\n
Set up Google Search Console and monitor your performance <\/strong><\/p>\n
Resources to Learn More<\/span><\/p>\n
Getting to the top of the organic search rankings isn\u2019t the only way to market your business through a search engine.<\/p>\n
Search engines also allow companies to pay for ads that are shown on results pages.<\/p>\n
This type of digital marketing is known as search engine marketing<\/strong><\/a>. It accounts for a large portion of the digital marketing budgets for many organizations.<\/p>\n
Search engine marketing (SEM) is the process of using search engines to market your business.<\/p>\n
The difference between SEM and SEO<\/strong><\/a> is that SEM focuses on paid advertising.<\/p>\n
One of the most common forms of SEM is pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. With this advertising model, businesses bid against one another to have their ads show for different keywords.<\/p>\n
After someone clicks on an ad, the business pays the advertising platform (Google) for the visitor.<\/p>\n
When used properly, SEM campaigns can be a great way to build brand awareness and find new customers.<\/p>\n
How does SEM Works?<\/strong><\/p>\n
SEM marketing centers around PPC advertising campaigns. This type of advertising is based on an ad auction.<\/p>\n
Different businesses set bids for how much they are willing to pay for someone to click on their ad. They are only charged for the ad after someone clicks it.<\/p>\n
The ad auction happens in real-time every time someone searches a keyword. Google determines the ad auction winner by evaluating several factors including your maximum bid and the quality score for your ad.<\/p>\n
Building an SEM strategy starts along the same lines as an SEO campaign. You first need to know what keywords your target audience is using.<\/p>\n
Once you\u2019ve identified your keyword targets you can begin setting up your advertising account.<\/p>\n
A Google Ads account <\/strong><\/a>uses the following hierarchical structure:<\/p>\n
When you create a campaign, it is common to follow a top-down approach.<\/p>\n
Start with the campaign objective, budget, and bidding strategy. You can move on to segmenting different ad groups and choosing their respective keywords and creating the ads themselves.<\/p>\n
When your campaigns are up and running, you can track the performance of your ad campaigns directly within your Google Ads account. You can also connect your Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts to get more detailed data into your ads\u2019 performance.<\/p>\n
Resources to Learn More<\/span><\/p>\n
People across all demographics use various social media networks to connect with others and discover new products.<\/p>\n
Businesses can use the active engagement offered by social platforms to get in front of their target audience.<\/p>\n
What is Social Media Marketing?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Social media marketing is a form of digital marketing<\/strong><\/a> where businesses use social media platforms to engage with their audience and find new customers.<\/p>\n
SMM consists of both organic and paid methods.<\/p>\n
How SMM works?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Targeting for social media campaigns focuses more on audience characteristics rather than keywords. You can define your target audience<\/strong><\/a> by a variety of criteria including age, gender, location, and interests, among others.<\/p>\n
Resources to Learn More<\/span><\/p>\n
Content marketing is the jack-knife of digital marketing. Most other forms of digital marketing whether it is SEO, social media, or email will involve some use of content.<\/p>\n
Content is how you provide value to your audience. You can use it to strengthen the connection with prospects and stand out from the competition.<\/p>\n
What is Content Marketing?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Content marketing is a type of digital marketing where a business creates valuable content and distributes it to its target audience to build a connection and move prospects through its sales funnel.<\/p>\n
Content can come in a wide range of forms including blog posts, listicles<\/strong><\/a>, videos, social media posts, downloadable resources, and more.<\/p>\n
Content marketing is an important component of any digital marketing strategy<\/strong><\/a> because traditional forms of advertising are less effective with some people.<\/p>\n
How Content Marketing Works?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Resources to Learn More<\/span><\/p>\n
Email marketing is one of the oldest types of digital marketing. With its many benefits, it is still commonplace among businesses today.<\/p>\n
What is Email Marketing?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Email marketing is a type of digital marketing where businesses engage with their audience through email.<\/p>\n
Customers sign up for a business\u2019 email list, giving the company permission to contact them via email.<\/p>\n
Businesses can then send various types of email messages including promotional offers, educational material, or just general updates.<\/p>\n
How Email Marketing Works?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Email marketing begins and ends with your list of email subscribers. You need a list of people to market to before you can begin your campaigns.<\/p>\n
The best way to grow your email list<\/strong><\/a> is to place sign-up forms across your website. You can embed these forms in your pages, add them to your sidebar, or display them in a popup.<\/p>\n
A common practice businesses use to increase the rate at which people opt-in to their email list is to create lead magnets<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n
One of the best parts of email marketing is the ability to set up automated campaigns.<\/p>\n
This is a highly effective way to move people through your digital marketing sales funnel<\/strong><\/a> as you can send them content related to each stage of their buying journey.<\/p>\n
Here are some common examples of automated email campaigns:<\/p>\n
Another major advantage to email marketing is the level of control you have over your list.<\/p>\n
Most email marketing software lets you group different types of subscribers into segments.<\/p>\n
These segments can be based on any criteria that you specify. For example, you could create a segment for people in a specific geographic area. Or you could create a segment for people that have engaged with your business a certain number of times.<\/p>\n
This lets you send personalized messages that often result in higher conversions.<\/p>\n
Resources to Learn More<\/span><\/p>\n
One of the best ways to market your business is to have other people do it for you. This is the focus of affiliate marketing.<\/p>\n
By creating an affiliate program, businesses can leverage the effort of others to reach new audiences and grow their customer base.<\/p>\n
What is Affiliate Marketing?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Affiliate marketing<\/strong><\/a> is a type of digital marketing where third parties promote another business\u2019 products in exchange for a portion of any sales revenue that they bring to the business.<\/p>\n
How Affiliate Marketing Works?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Businesses must also create an interface for affiliates to view and manage their accounts.<\/p>\n
Most of today\u2019s internet traffic comes from mobile devices. Because of this, businesses have needed to adapt their digital marketing practices to prioritize mobile users.<\/p>\n
Mobile marketing is one of the ways companies can optimize their marketing efforts for audience members on mobile devices.<\/p>\n
What is Mobile Marketing?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Mobile marketing is a digital marketing strategy designed to target users on mobile devices.<\/p>\n
It can involve a variety of communication methods including SMS messages, push notifications, in-app advertisements, and more.<\/p>\n
It can also involve more traditional forms of digital marketing such as search ads, display ads, and social media ads.<\/p>\n
How Mobile Marketing Works?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Mobile marketing is a rather dynamic digital marketing discipline. How it works varies greatly depending on how the business uses it.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s examine some of the common ways businesses implement mobile marketing:<\/p>\n
Location-based marketing<\/strong><\/p>\n
Businesses can show mobile ads to users that are within a certain geographic area by using the Google Ads local ad extension.<\/p>\n
For example, if you have a restaurant and are targeting keywords such as \u201clocal restaurant\u201d, you can use the extension to show your restaurant\u2019s location on a map beneath the ad for nearby people who are searching on a mobile device.<\/p>\n
SMS marketing<\/strong><\/p>\n
SMS marketing works similarly to email marketing in that you need to get someone to subscribe to your marketing list by providing their phone number<\/p>\n
Once someone is on your list, you can send them all sorts of promotional messaging. SMS campaigns get great engagement.<\/p>\n
This is largely to do with notifications from text messages being more visible than those from email.<\/p>\n
In-game and in-app advertisements<\/strong><\/p>\n
Businesses can partner with game creators and app developers to promote their products within applications.<\/p>\n
These ads can appear as pop-ups, banners, full-screen images, or even embedded into the content itself.<\/p>\n
Videos are highly engaging and a great way to market your business.<\/p>\n
You can add them to your website, offer them as a free resource on YouTube, or use them to bring more life to your advertisements.<\/p>\n
What is Video Marketing?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Video marketing is the practice of using videos to promote your products or services to your audience. Videos can serve several use cases including advertisements, educating potential customers, or increasing brand engagement.<\/p>\n
Here are some of the types of videos you can make:<\/p>\n
Video ads<\/strong> – You can create quick short-form videos showcasing your products or services. You can then display these videos in campaigns across Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube.<\/p>\n
Educational and how-to videos<\/strong> – You can create videos that provide your audience some useful knowledge on a subject that is valuable to them. You can display these videos on your website or on a free platform like YouTube.<\/p>\n
Demo and tutorial videos<\/strong> – You can make videos explaining how to use your products or services. This can include simple explainer videos<\/strong><\/a> that you list on a feature or product page or a step-by-step tutorial on a specific topic for current customers.<\/p>\n
How Video Marketing Works?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Like any other type of digital marketing, video marketing begins with a strategy.<\/p>\n
You also want to clarify your target audience before you begin creating your videos.<\/p>\n
This will give you insights into how to design videos that are engaging and meaningful.<\/p>\n
After you define your audience, you can begin making your videos. How long this process takes depends on the type of video you are making. If you only need a short-form video, the recording process won\u2019t take too long.<\/p>\n
The same applies to tutorial videos. You can have someone knowledgeable about your business walk through an explainer in one sitting.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll also need to consider the budget for your videos. Different types of videos and features incur different costs so it\u2019s important to plan for what you can afford.<\/p>\n
Once you\u2019ve created your videos you can distribute them through the appropriate channels. You want to closely monitor the engagement of your videos to see if your audience enjoys them.<\/p>\n
Companies have long used celebrities and popular figures to market their products. As social media has blossomed, it has given rise to another type of endorsement\u2014 influencer marketing.<\/p>\n
What is Influencer Marketing?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Influencer marketing is a type of digital marketing where companies can promote their products or services through endorsements or recommendations from popular figures known as influencers.<\/p>\n
An influencer does not need to be a celebrity, but simply a person with some authority in a niche and the ability to influence others\u2019 decisions.<\/p>\n
Because they often have massive social followings, an influencer can get their promotions in front of large numbers of people.<\/p>\n
Many people look up to influencers and will be quick to purchase an item after seeing someone they admire connected to it.<\/p>\n
How Influencer Marketing Works?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Influencer marketing begins with finding influencers to promote your business.<\/p>\n
There are several different approaches you can take. You can start with a social media platform you want to grow your presence on and start searching for relevant influencers with a strong following.<\/p>\n
If you want to begin by establishing yourself in your niche, you can start by searching for industry authorities regardless of what their primary platform is.<\/p>\n
There are also many influencer programs that essentially serve as a middleman between businesses and influencers. You can connect with one of these services to find relevant influencers in your niche.<\/p>\n
Once you find influencers worth working with, there are various approaches you can take to how you structure your partnership.<\/p>\n
You can choose to pay the influencer a flat retainer upfront, pay them per post\/promotion, or pay them based on the results that they bring.<\/p>\n
The influencer will promote your products to their following and you should see a good amount of highly engaged web traffic as a result.<\/p>\n
Similar to affiliate marketing it is important to have tracking links. This will let you attribute any sales and conversions to your influencer campaign so that you can be clear on the results it is generating.<\/p>\n