6 Main Objectives of Internet Marketing
If you’re one of the many marketers or business owners who don’t have clear-cut objectives for their online efforts, you’re probably struggling to evaluate your success.
This page contains advice from our team on the marketing goals and adjectives to set for yourself, starting with the video below.
Here are some common Internet marketing objectives that may fit your company’s goals:
Objective #1: Increase revenue
The primary goal of any marketing strategy is ultimately to increase revenue, and Internet marketing is no exception. Thankfully, the Internet provides plenty of opportunities for every business to improve their bottom line.
By combining search engine optimization, or SEO, with pay-per-click ads, or PPC, your company can improve the chances that potential customers find you online. And with strategies like content marketing and social media marketing, you can position yourself as an expert in your field who also cares about your clients.
For more information on how Internet marketing can increase sales and generate revenue, check out this article.
Objective #2: Build a brand
Internet marketing objectives often include building a brand. This means not only establishing your logo and company name in the minds of consumers, but also what your company stands for.
Well-known brands are typically trusted more by customers, especially when paired with positive associations. The Internet is a great tool for building that trust, because it has a wide reach and allows you to directly connect with individuals.
Social media is particularly useful when building a brand, because it allows companies to create and post with a more personal feel. Organizations have discovered that this kind of brand-building can be fostered by the use of social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. In addition to organic posts on these sites, companies can build brand recognition by paying for advertisements and placements. This takes patience on the part of the organizational leaders, because trust and loyalty are developed over many months, and sometimes years. The key is to stay focused on the results.
Objective #3: Improve local SEO
Many small businesses, as well as companies focused on increasing sales in a specific geographic region, focus much of their marketing efforts on improving their local SEO. This means optimizing various elements on their sites in order to attract local customers who are looking for the services they provide.
Although the number of searches that include both your industry and your town or city is undoubtedly lower than those that just specify a product or business type, those searches tend to generate much more qualified traffic. If a user is already looking for businesses where you are, chances are high that they’ll be willing to come to your physical location.
Learn why WebFX is the best SEO company for the job.
Objective #4: Increase qualified traffic
Every business owner wants to see numbers rise in terms of visitors to their site and landing pages. However, those numbers are meaningless if they aren’t the right kinds of traffic.
Not every visitor to your site is going to make a purchase. That’s just the way of the Internet, and should be accepted. However, if none of your site visitors make purchases (or contact you), you are likely attracting “unqualified” traffic, or visitors who have no intent of becoming a customer.
By targeting your marketing to specific personas and aiming to attract specific, qualified people, you can increase the ROI of your marketing efforts—as well as your bottom line.
Objective #5: Manage online reputation
In an age when anyone with a computer or smartphone can post their opinions about companies, products, and services for the whole world to see, it’s important for businesses to maintain a solid online reputation. This means monitoring your company’s name, maintaining social profiles, and responding to bad reviews accordingly.
One bad review doesn’t mean that your company’s reputation is shot, but one bad reaction to a bad review might. The way you publicly respond to customer complaints will show them (and all other current and potential customers) how much you care about their opinions. But as intimidating as that may sound, all it takes is a bit of respect and concern for your customer base.
For some companies who’ve already made errors in this department, their objective is simply to remove any negative associations with their company and show customers that they’ve seen the errors of their ways. Though the improvements won’t happen overnight, and bad online PR can be difficult to get rid of, the Internet is a solid tool for repairing damaged reputations.
Objective #6: Become an influencer in your field
Every industry has a few well-known individuals or companies that others look to as thought leaders. They stay at the forefront of new technologies and ideas, and are often the first to share new information.
Unfortunately, every industry only has a particular amount of room at the top. The people who become experts and influencers are those who strategically position themselves to give out great advice and information, often without much obvious monetary gain.
For instance, an influential company might write and share blog posts and articles on a regular basis. Their CEO and other top employees might keep their LinkedIn and other social profiles up to date and share them as well. The company might offer free webinars on up-and-coming industry news. All of these efforts combined can position them as an expert not only in the eyes of other industry professionals, but also in the eyes of potential clients.
Is it possible to achieve all of these objectives?
The possibilities with Internet marketing are plenty, and it’s entirely possible to achieve all of these objectives. That being said, without a dedicated Internet marketing team, it can be difficult.
If you’d like some assistance with creating a strategy, or with adjusting your existing one, feel free to contact us. Our talented team of Internet marketers is more than happy to help you achieve all of your online goals or objectives and key results (OKRs).