SEO, or search engine optimization is one of the most popular Internet marketing strategies out there. Why? Because it works.

SEO is the process of improving your website so that you rank highly for your target keywords. SEO itself is a collection of smaller strategies that work together to drive results. Let’s take a look at a few.

1. Content creation: One of the most important parts of an SEO campaign, if not the most important, is content creation. Content itself is what ranks in search pages, and without high-quality page content, you won’t rank at all.

   The best content targets your industry’s most important keywords so that you can rank highly for that term – however, it won’t be easy if it’s a short, general keyword that is popular in your specific industry.

   That’s because it’s likely that everyone else in your industry is also trying to target that keyword, which makes it harder for you to win over a top spot.

   That being said, the keywords that are the easiest to target are long-tail keywords, which are far more detailed, and read as more of a phrase than a single keyword.

   For example, if your business sells running shoes, it will be extremely difficult to rank for just “running shoes.” Instead, it’ll be much easier to rank for a keyword like “size 7 black Nike running shoes in D.C.,” because far less people target that specific of a keyword.

2. User friendliness: Another SEO tactic to help your pages rank is the user friendliness of your site.

   This means that your website should be responsive on all devices, no matter the screen size, the buttons should be easy to press, and forms should be easy to fill out.

   This also means that you have great navigation on your website that helps people find exactly what they’re looking for, and you provide multimedia on your pages so that users don’t get bored with long walls of text.

3. Internal linking: In order to keep users on your site for longer, ensuring that your pages have links to other pages on your site is crucial. This is called internal linking.

   This allows users to bounce around your site with the use of hyperlinks, and it also helps Google to find new pages on your site when you link to one from an old page.

PPC advertising is another great Internet marketing strategy for your D.C. company.

If you’re looking to see immediate results, PPC is the strategy for you — and there are many other benefits as well.

Unlike SEO, PPC works almost immediately. Here’s how it works.

1. Choose a keyword that you want to target with your ad
2. Decide how much you’re willing to pay every time someone clicks your ad (you only pay for an ad when it’s clicked, not for ad space)
3. Bid on your keyword with your selected value
4. If you win the bid, your ad will appear on search engine results pages when your target keyword is in the search query

PPC is extremely cost-effective since you essentially choose how much you pay for each keyword, and you don’t ever pay for ad space — you only pay when your ad is clicked.

These ads send users to your site when they click on your ad, which increases website traffic. Since PPC ads take users to a landing page, they also make it extremely easy to make a purchase on the spot.

A landing page shows the product that was on the ad, along with a form for more information, or the option to purchase the product.

A Social media is one of the fastest growing channels within Internet marketing. It allows you to interact with your followers, provide a level of customer service, tease new products, and keep users up-to-date with changes within your company.

You can use many different social media platforms to advertise your D.C. company including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

Each of these platforms allows you to post pictures, videos, links, and content that can be easily shared.

Email marketing is an Internet marketing strategy with an extremely high ROI — $44 profit for every $1 you spend to be exact.

Email marketing allows you to meet target customers where they’re already looking — in their inbox.

You can segment emails to reach customers in different time zones at different times, personalize subject lines, and more.

You can also link to blog posts on your site to direct recipients to your website, keep your audience updated with new employees, provide coupons, and more.

The opportunities are endless with email marketing!