Author: Vicky Drew

When is the right time for a website redesign?

Posted on by Vicky Drew

Is just having a website for your business enough? Frankly, it’s not – a website, regardless of whether it promotes a hair salon, department store, or law firm needs to be fit for its purpose. Spoiler alert! Its purpose is not merely to exist and sit on your brand domain. In this article, I discuss good websites, bad websites, and explain the key warning signs that signal it’s time for a website redesign. Continue reading to find out if your current website is really good enough for your business…

What is the purpose of website? 

A website is an attractive online showroom where you can promote everything a prospective customer needs to know about what your business does and why, it’s open 24/7 without any extra staff or expensive overhead costs.

The purpose of a website varies between businesses as each exists to support your overall business goals. For example, if your business provides conveyancing services to property buyers then your website’s purpose will be to:

– Educate users on your expertise
– Engage users with your brand and its services
– Provide personal quotes
– Generate quality enquiries

Once built, a well-designed website can do all of the above and more for your business whilst you and your team are busy working “in” your business doing what you do best. A good website requires a reasonable level of investment but it will last for many years and grow and evolve as your business does.

Does every business need a website?

Having an online presence is continuing to become increasingly important to businesses of any size and in any sector. An online presence could be a social media account, a blog or a website and each can serve its business well. However, only a website offers a business full control and customisation over its look and feel, functionality and even discoverability amongst target audience segments.

Why is a website important for every business?

Consider this question:

“What do you think a potential client will do when they hear about your business?”

It’s likely that they will research your business online and their first port of call may be to Google your brand name. Every time this happens you need your business to display its website in Google’s organic listings. If you’re not there how can your potential customers learn more about what you do? Having a professional-looking website that’s easy to find can provide instant credibility to your business and will invite prospective clients to book, shop, or enquire.

Is a social media presence enough for my business?

Social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Tik Tok are a great way for small businesses to get started online, they are free and easy-to-use but they also have some major drawbacks. If they go down, stop offering their services, or make a significant technology change  then every account including yours will be vulnerable and may suffer a negative impact.

Many brands have built loyal followings of customers on Instagram but in 2013 when the platform allowed advertising for the first time it also changed its algorithm to favour ads in news feeds. As a result of this technology change many brands struggled to reach and engage their followers and their visibility and influence dwindled. In this situation, a business has to pivot its strategy to satisfy the new goal posts set by the social media platform and not everybody will do it successfully.

Unlike your social media accounts, your website is completely under your control.

What are the key benefits of a good website?

There are numerous benefits of having a good website for your business and its customers, and in time it can become a valuable commercial asset too. Below are 10 key benefits that a “fit-for-purpose” website can bring to your business:

1. Create a “wow” first impression with every visitor or prospective client.
2. Educate and engage prospective clients with your brand and its products or services.
3. Establish credibility and build trust with prospective clients.
4. Easy to find on search engines.
5. High discoverability amongst target audiences searching online for your brand, its products and services, and areas of expertise.
6. Deliver a consistent, positive brand experience for every user.
7. Grow your brand reach and visibility in your target geographic areas; local, national, and worldwide.
8. A unique and attractive brand showroom that’s easy to explore and open 24/7.
9. Save money and time with low ongoing maintenance resource and fees.
10. A stylish, professional edge versus your competitors.

What are the risks of a bad website?

A bad website, either looks dated or ugly, is difficult to use, and is not discoverable on search engines. This kind of website will give a poor first impression and user experience to every visitor. When those visitors are your prospective clients it’s unlikely that they will want to know more about your business and trust that you are professional and capable. In short, a bad website will turn off quality clients and help you miss business opportunities rather than drive them.

How to fix a bad website

A bad website is often unsalvageable and a full custom rebuild is required. However, before you take it offline I recommend consulting with a Digital Marketing Consultant who can share a practical and unbiased opinion. Sometimes all a website needs is a Digital Audit to highlight problem areas and share practical solutions, this can be a cost-effective way to revive a tired website if you still have a good relationship with your Website Developer and they can make any necessary tweaks for you.

NB. It is very rare for a website developer to edit or a amend a website that they did not build themselves, this is not a sales tactic its just common sense as there is a major risk of breaking another developer’s code and causing irreparable damage.

11 warning signs that you need a website redesign

How do you know if your website isn’t good enough to impress your target clients? If you’re new to digital marketing and website design it’s not always obvious that you have a bad website. You may have a feeling that your website isn’t very good so to help you clarify here are 11 warning signs that you need a website redesign:

1. It doesn’t represent your current brand proposition and its presenting old content or missing key information.
2. You’re embarrassed to show it to people, especially prospective clients.
3. It gets zero or very little organic traffic which means its not discoverable or easy to find on search engines.
4. The pages take ages to load and by ages we mean more than few seconds!
5. It’s not generating quality leads regularly, if at all.
6. Users (and you!) struggle to find important information easily.
7. There is far too much text and even you get bored trying to read it all.
8. Your content does not clearly guide users through your website to learn more and enquire.
9. It looks a mess on mobile and deters anybody with a smartphone.
10. You can’t update content or add new features easily or cost-effectively.
11. Your competitors websites are better and you’re full of envy!

If you recognise even one of the above warning signs its time to invest in a website redesign.

Invest in a custom WordPress website

Your website is your most important digital destination and it should be as unique as your brand. At Hi Digital, our expert developers build custom WordPress websites that are dynamic, high-performing, and attractive. We believe websites have the power to differentiate brands – they should be fully customisable, easy to manage and create a ‘WOW’ first impression with every visitor.

We only build custom websites and never use templates. Why? We want your website to last for many years and evolve as your business does.

At the heart of a fantastic website, is a thoughtful website design that looks great and delivers an intuitive user experience. Our bespoke website design service is designed for small businesses who want a website they can’t wait to show off to their customers and competitors! Your talented designer and digital marketing strategist will collaborate with you to design your perfect website, get in touch and schedule your free 1-2-1 consultant with our team now.

How to repurpose content

Posted on by Vicky Drew

Do you ever feel struck by writer’s block when it comes to creating new content such as blogs or social media posts for your brand? You’re not alone. Marketers and brand owners are constantly striving to create fresh, unique content, and some days it feels like a struggle. If your brand has been online a couple of years, it’s time to think about how to repurpose content. For example, you can take an existing piece of content, such as a blog, and transform it into a valuable new creative asset to help you attract a wider target audience!

In this article, I outline the basics and benefits of content repurposing, and explain how you can repurpose existing content to reach wider audiences and grow your business.

What is content repurposing? 

“Content repurposing involves reworking existing content and presenting it in a new format to expand its reach, lifespan, and purpose.”

When you repurpose old content you are breathing new life into it and making it work hard (again) for your brand. Good online content is created with a purpose and adds value to those consuming it. However, with time some content can feel tired, lose visibility, and receive few hits. When this happens, it’s time to bring the content back to life and get audiences engaging with it again!

For example, content repurposing is updating an old blog post with new, relevant data, trends, and thought leadership quotes and sharing it across social media platforms.

What content repurposing is not!

Content repurposing should be not be viewed as a cheat or a lazy way to approach content marketing. Newness is great when it comes to content and as website owners we should regularly add new content and share new social content. However, existing quality content deserves to be seen and when visibility starts to dip its time to recycle and reinvent it for your target audiences and the current moment.

The 4 key content types in digital marketing

When it comes to content for your website or social media channels there’s a vast assortment of content types to choose from and the type you choose will depend on its purpose. For example, video is a great option when you want to entertain an audience. When it comes to content repurposing, digital content can be categorised into four key categories, these are:

1. Text Content: Heavily text-based content is what the internet is built on and it’s great for educating audiences. Blogs are valuable text content asset and they can be repurposed in many ways from videos to social media slideshares.

2. Video content: Videos are fast-coming a valuable creative assets for brands and are an engaging and popular medium for audiences. Popular videos can be turned into blog posts and even podcast episodes.

3. Audio content: Podcasting is new to many business owners and is the main form of audio content brands used to connect with their customers. Brands can also take audio clips from their video content to share on social media or embed into a blog post.

4. Social media content: Social media platforms host many content types from short-format videos to beautiful images. Repurposing existing content from another channel for your social media community is highly recommended. For example, share a customer testimonial from your website or Google in a short-format video.

When its comes to repurposing content consider the key format types and which type your audience is most likely to connect or engage with, next and where.

3 benefits of repurposing content

You may be wondering why should I repurpose my existing content when I can just make some fresh, new content. In short, an effective digital marketing strategy includes quality new and existing content so its not recommended to replace one with the other and vice versa. Here are the key benefits you can expect from repurposing your brand’s content:

1. Save yourself or your digital marketer time: starting with a quality content source means you’re already a good part of the way there to creating a new video, infographic, or blog post to redistribute to your target audiences.

2. Give your website’s SEO a boost: as long as you’re publishing valuable and quality resources, search engines will generally recognise that you have multiple resources focused around similar targeted keywords and may reward you for it with increased SERPs (search engine ranking positions) and more visibility.

3. Increase your reach: reshaping a blog post to share on Linked In or in an email newsletter gives you at least three types of content in one that you share on three different channels helping you to reach to a wider audience.

How to identify old content to repurpose

Older blog posts are often the most obvious pieces of content that need repurposing into more compelling and valuable content assets. For example, they may have been high on your most viewed pages report 12 months ago but recently traffic has dropped, or traffic may have always been poor but you know it’s a popular topic so it should be working harder for you.

Tip! As a website owner, you don’t want content just sitting on your website doing nothing, identify those pages and breathe new life in to them!

How to repurpose text-based content

The chances are high that you have plenty of existing text-based content such as blog posts that are currently just sitting on your website receiving limited views and attention from your target customer segments. Once you’ve published a blog post there is so much more than you do with it, and this includes that post you published two years ago. Here are some creative ways to breathe new life into your text-based content:

– Update the text with new thought leadership quotes and data.
– Share it on social media and utilise popular formats such as carousels. For example, create a slide for every key section of your blog post and engage your social community with the story.
– Create a YouTube video of specific how-to sections or guides within your blog posts, many people prefer to learn from video. Turn your blog post, or sections of, into a script and film yourself explaining how to follow your advice.
– Design an infographic for data-heavy blog posts and then share them on your social media channels.
– Share it with your new email subscribers.

How to repurpose video content

If you’ve invested time and money in filming videos you must do so much more than just hit the publish button on your website or YouTube. A video asset can be repurposed into many more creative assets for your brand, these include:

– Text-based content such as blog posts: if you’ve produced an educational or “how to” videos that follows a logical structure then its transcript won’t need much editing to become a quality longer form blog post. There are handy tools available that use AI to automatically transcribe your video for you so this really is a quick win as the bulk of your text already exists.
– Short-form videos or snippets: Look for key moments it your videos where you’re saying something valuable or impactful and clip it, these video snippets are perfect for sharing on your favourite social media channels.
– Podcast episodes: for every video you can extract its audio file and upload it on a variety of podcast platforms, from here once its optimized for their platform search it can start to reach new audiences.

How to repurpose audio content

The main type of audio content from brands online are podcasts, they are a great way for brands to connect on a personal level with their target audiences. Medium to large sized business are more likely to be producing brand podcasts, however, many small business owners and consultants are invited as podcast guests to chat and share their industry expertise. With small business owners in mind, here are a few ways to repurpose podcast episodes:

– Film a podcast for social media: take that personal connection with the audience even further and film your episode. Video snippets can shared on social media as teasers for an upcoming episode or an ‘available now’ messages, and the full episode can be uploaded to YouTube.
– Capture audiograms: An audiogram is essentially a visual that shows the voice wave and if you’re camera share this is a great piece of content to share on social media. Short snippets of when you’re saying something valuable are effective at guiding audiences to the full episode.
– Embed in a blog post: just like video, podcasts can be embedded straight into a blog post. Describe the episode and add further value to your readers. Podcasts can also be transcribed but may require additional editing due to their conversational tone.

Elevate your digital presence and get better results

Hi Digital are a boutique digital marketing agency dedicated to growing small businesses with effective digital marketing strategies and custom websites – no corporate brands allowed! Whether you’d like to refresh your content marketing strategy or are ready to launch an exciting new brand, we’d love to support your brand’s growth. Please get in touch with us to book a free consultation with our expert team.

A Beginner’s Guide to B2B Digital Marketing

Posted on by Vicky Drew

The type of digital marketing activity your business undertakes is dependent on the customers you are want to sell your products and services to. If those target customers are other companies rather than individuals then you need a B2B (business-to-business) digital marketing strategy. As a B2B company your marketing goals are to reach the right companies, with the right messaging, at the right time to instill confidence in your offering, generate enquiries, drive sales, and more! However, there are many B2B digital marketing tactics at your disposal and it can be confusing to know where to start…

In this article, I explain everything a small business owner needs to know about B2B digital marketing. Continue reading to learn about the key benefits of B2B digital marketing, the main types of B2B clients, and the effective B2B digital marketing tactics that will help boost your brand’s performance online.

What is B2B Digital Marketing?

“B2B digital marketing refers to any online marketing strategy or tactic intended to promote your business to another business.”

If want to sell your products or services to other businesses then you will need a B2B digital marketing strategy. Just like individuals (consumers), your B2B clients aka their employees are frequently online and you can target these company decision makers with carefully planned B2B digital marketing messages and tactics. For example, your business website should be easily discoverable at the top of organic listings on search engines such as Google whenever a prospective B2B client is searching for your products and services.

With a strong online presence that specifically caters to and attracts your target B2B clients you can fuel commercial growth and stand out from your competition!

The difference between B2B and B2C marketing

In the B2C (business-to-consumer) space individuals make purchases for themselves, whereas in the B2B space it’s individuals or groups of who are making purchases for their company or employer. This often means that:

– There may be multiple stakeholders (decision makers) to convince with your marketing and sales efforts.
– The decision making process is longer as it involves more stakeholders and/or complex details.
– Purchase decisions are heavily influenced by motivators such as logic and finance, in contrast B2C purchases can often be impulsive and based on a want rather than a need.

Understanding B2B clients

The variety and volume of the types of B2B businesses is huge! However, when a business purchasers a product or service from another business they usually need it to:

– Complete their own products and services (E.g. a florist will purchase flowers from a wholesaler to create bouquets)
– Improve or maintain their business operations (E.g. a florist may use Canva to create their social media graphics and videos)

The four types of B2B clients

Understanding the motivations of your target B2B clients and the problem that you can fix for them will underpin your B2B digital marketing strategy. Below are the four main types of B2B clients:

1. Producers: A producer requires other products or services to complete their own offerings and are often manufacturers or service providers. Examples include restaurants, clothing designers, dentists, aestheticians, car manufacturers, florists etc. Each of these businesses have to buy certain products or services to produce the products or services they offer. Even a law firm requires laptops and mobile phones for its employees to communicate with and advise its clients.

2. Resellers: A reseller purchases another companies products or services to resell without making any changes to them. The main examples are retailers, wholesalers, and brokers, and they typically have a lot of buying power within their industry. For example, a supermarket may buy milk from a farmer at a low rate due to the volume they purchase regularly.

3. Institution: An institution is typically a non-profit organization that purchases products or services in large quantities. They typically seek the best price as they need to keep costs to a minimum and greatly value a transparent supply chain.

4. Government: Local and national governments also purchase products and services from other businesses. For example, they may appoint contractors to complete a road resurfacing or office cleaning project. Service needs are often agreed with long-term contracts and products are purchased on a one-time or ongoing basis. Multiple procurement policies are in place at a department level so any marketing activity needs to be carefully planned with this in mind.

Which category do your target B2B clients fall into? Do have more than one “type” of B2B client? For higher engagement with your messaging ensure that you always tailor it to each target audience.

6 key benefits of B2B digital marketing

B2B digital marketing is an effective and proven way to improves a brand’s visibility online and support commercial growth, the greatest benefits include:

1. Measurable results: there are multiple software and tools available to monitor every piece of digital activity so that you always know how well your campaigns are performing, or not.

2. Strong ROI: especially versus other traditional marketing tactics. Digital marketing is easily measured so it’s easier to ensure that you don’t waste budget and resources on tactics that don’t work for your business, instead you can invest more in those areas that do!

3. Increased website traffic: quality website traffic is a key component of most effective B2B digital marketing strategies as it delivers quality conversions such as sales or leads.

4. Increased brand awareness and visibility: a good B2B digital marketing strategy will get your brand and its key messages on the screens of your target B2B clients via multiple channels and tactics.

5. Increased quality enquiries or sales: messaging that is tailored to each of your B2B target clients is more likely to drive quality enquiries or sales – this can also save time and cost within your business as less resource is needed to process them.

6. Highly targeted advertising. Traditional marketing often targets a broad audiences i.e. readers of or viewers of. In contrast, digital marketing offers very precise targeting opportunities to advertisers. Businesses can target users via their demographics, job title, employer and online activity (i.e. interests, previous website visits).

The most important B2B digital marketing channels

The following digital marketing channels are often used to target new B2B clients and/or maximise value from or retain existing clients:

– Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising on search engines such as Google
– Email marketing
– Social media marketing, both organic and paid advertising.
– Content marketing
– Search engine optimisation (SEO) of a brand’s website

As a small business it is not necessary to publish campaigns across all of the above channels, particularly in your early months when budgets and cashflow is tight. Throughout your business lifecycle it is important to focus on those channels where your target B2B clients are most likely to be and which are most likely to deliver your digital marketing goals.

5 B2B digital marketing tactics for small businesses

As a small business you may have a limited understanding of digital marketing despite hearing numerous buzzwords or reading generic advice about what every business should be doing yo promote themselves online. Below are 5 digital marketing tactics that our clients at Hi Digital often see the most reward from:

1. Google Business profile. If you want to attract B2B clients who are local to your business then a Google Business profile is essential and good news – they are free to create! Create yours now and don’t forget to gain reviews from your existing clients to prove how good you are at what you do.

2. Stylish and “fit-for-purpose” website. Every small business should have a website that creates a positive first impression with their prospective B2B clients. A good website will also educate users, capture organic SEO traffic, convert traffic into leads and/or sales and more. If you’re embarrassed by your website, it’s time to upgrade to a new one!

3. On-site SEO. The only way to get your brand discoverable in the organic listings on search engines is to accurately describe every page of your website. Ensure that you add keyword focused meta data to every webpage.

4. Google Adwords. Your target B2B clients are actively searching for your produces and services on Google, so why not advertise your brand to them and invite them to your website to learn more? PPC ads are a quick way to grow quality traffic to your website and generate leads or sales.

5. Linked In content. Publishing compelling content on a regular schedule from both your company and personal profile will increase your visibility amongst your network and help you stand out from your competition.

Improve your B2B digital marketing strategy

For a small business, digital marketing can be a fantastic and cost-effective way to help reach your commercial and marketing goals. Whether you want to generate more quality leads or revamp your brand image, we’d love to support your brand’s growth! Hi Digital are a boutique digital marketing agency dedicated to growing small businesses with effective digital marketing strategies and custom websites – no big corporate brands allowed! Please get in touch with us to book a free consultation with our expert team.

5 digital marketing trends in 2023 for small businesses

Posted on by Vicky Drew

The outlook for small UK businesses in 2023 is uncertain, there is a cost of living crisis, inflation is at an all-time high, and we’re in a recession. As a result, confidence in spending is low! Consumers and businesses are becoming more discerning about where and when they spend and savvy small business owners are factoring this behaviour into their annual digital marketing plans. From raising your Linked In profile to creating educational video content, the key digital marketing trends of 2023 are centred around engagement and meaningful experiences.

Continue reading to discover the 5 digital marketing trends of 2023 every small business owner should be aware of alongside ideas to help you take advantage of them.

Key learnings from 2022

2022 was a make-or-break year for many businesses; some marketplaces failed to fully recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, costs kept on rising, and some brands simply tried to pivot too late. If you’re reading this it’s likely that your business survived, maybe even thrived, so well done to you!

In the world of digital marketing Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now integrated into almost all digital marketing channels, it determines the content you see on social media, Google search results, and even decides which ads are displayed to you. Today, connecting consumers to the right products and messages and providing a great users experiences sits firmly at the heart of all digital marketing, from the content you post on social media platforms to that on each of your webpages.

The key question for brands and businesses is “how can you make your online content more engaging in 2023?”

5 digital marketing trends in 2023 for small businesses

In a dynamic setting such as digital marketing it’s important to keep up with the current trends, particularly those which have been gaining momentum for the past couple of years or more as they are likely to be here to stay. As business owners we are often told which types of digital marketing you should be doing and there’s often a long list to get involved in which includes a few irrelevant and expensive ideas. Below are the key digital marketing trends in 2023 which @Hi Digital recommend small business owners should invest in and take advantage of:

1. Linked In dominates for B2B

Linked In continues to be the number one B2B social media channel and all business owners should be using this platform for growth, especially if you offer B2B products and services.  2023 is the year to take a more strategic approach to your Linked In content for both your personal and business profile, posting sporadically or simply sharing posts from your company page will not gain exposure in the algorithms or engage your target audiences.

Instead of constantly sharing content from your own business you can elevate your personal profile by curating relevant content for your audiences. We recommend regularly sharing your thoughts on existing interesting content. Types of useful content you could share with your Linked In connections include industry news, third-party research, pod casts, press releases, and interviews in video or article format.

2. Reputation is everything!

Word-of-mouth is one of the oldest and powerful forms of marketing and it’s one of our top digital marketing trends for 2023, in particular small businesses need to recognize the importance of Google reviews. When a prospective customer looks up your business on Google one of the first pieces of content they’ll see is your Google Business profile with its reviews and average rating. Obviously, you want them to see a high rating and to be able to read glowing reviews from your customers as this will build trust and confidence in what you do.

This year prioritise acquiring Google reviews from your existing customers, they will boost your presence on Google and provide testimonials for you to share on your website and social media channels.

3. Focus on a solid digital foundation for growth

At the core of every digital marketing plan is a great website, this is your solid foundation from where you can increase your discoverability online and grow your business. A website that is fit-for-purpose provides a great user experience, captures organic search traffic, and drive quality enquiries or sales. If you’re website is underperforming or you’re embarrassed to show it to your prospective clients investing in a new website is a wise investment in 2023 as you’re likely missing out on incremental revenue whilst your competitors thrive.

At Hi Digital we specialise in stylish custom website design that look fantastic and deliver an intuitive user experience. Our website design and development services are designed for small businesses, and we create websites that are as unique as your brand, team, and services! If you need a better website, please browse our portfolio, read what our clients say about them, and learn more about website design and website development service.

4. Short-form videos are dominating social media feeds

In 2021, we saw Tik-Tok’s popularity grow so that it became the number 1 domain and Instagram launched a new short-form video format called Reels. In 2022, short-form video content has been dominating social media news feeds and gaining the most attention from users! Hubspot reported that one third of marketers are now using short-form videos whilst 23% intend to try it for the first time in 2023.

To stay relevant and increase their discoverability, small businesses need to get involved in short-form videos so that they appear where their customers are on each social media platform. So if your target customers are on Instagram and/or Tik Tok start watching now to see what works well and then begin experimenting with short-video for your business. In 2023, we can expect to be able to schedule short-form videos in our social media management tools so there really is no excuse not to.

5. Audiences love explainer videos

According to research by Wyzowl 86 per cent of businesses are using video as a marketing tool, the most popular purpose of video content is explainer videos, and they are most used on the social media channels of YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Video marketing is not a new trend and will continue gaining in popularity beyond 2023! As consumers we prefer to watch a video to learn about a product or service and from a business perspective, videos are becoming easier to create – all you need is a creative mindset and a smartphone!

Could your service, or elements of, be explained well in a video? We thought so! Adding video into your digital marketing activity across your website and social media channels will add personality to your content and could boost your engagement levels with your prospective customers.

“Watch, test, and learn”

Reading about the latest digital marketing trends and knowing where or how to start can feel daunting. Whether you’re new to digital marketing or a couple of years experience, our advice when it comes to mapping out your ideas for the year ahead is to:

– Watch your competitors, peers and customers to understand what they do well and what they like. This extra insight should inspire you to get involved.

– Test new ideas regularly to find that golden content format, popular new service, or amazing client.

– Learn from your results – the best thing about digital marketing is the instant feedback you get from your analytics so you always know what does well and what doesn’t!

Does your business need a Digital Audit?

If your business has been online for over a year your entire digital presence, from your website to your social media channels, is due a critical review. Let our digital marketing experts conduct a bespoke Digital Audit of your business , this comprehensive review will clearly explain how to make it more effective at finding and engaging your target customers to maximise your potential for growth in 2023.

Get digital marketing advice tailored to your small business

Hi Digital are a boutique digital marketing agency dedicated to growing small businesses with effective digital marketing services, and we’d love to help you reach your business goals. Whether you require a digital audit to get your current online presence in optimum digital shape or you’d like ongoing strategic digital marketing support – let’s talk about it! Please get in touch with us to book a free consultation with our expert team.

5 digital marketing trends in 2022 for small businesses

Posted on by Vicky Drew

It’s no secret that the digital landscape evolves quickly, new digital marketing platforms and features emerge full of opportunity yet some are merely fads despite their convincing hype. This year is set to be another exciting and innovative year for digital marketing, some key trends from 2021 are set continue at pace (e.g. video marketing) and small businesses should focus on these digital marketing trends in 2022. Start your 2022 strong, forget the marketing fads and think long-term when choosing where to invest your time and digital marketing budget!

In this article, we discuss which digital marketing trends of 2022 are the most relevant to small businesses and share ideas to help you take advantage of them in your marketing strategy.

Key digital marketing trend from 2021

2021 was a turbulent year for many small businesses as many marketplaces remained unpredictable following on from 2020 and nationwide lockdowns were in place for months. However, many savvy brands moved online or increased investment in their digital presence (63% of marketers increased their marketing budget in 2021) and most grew their business as a result. Optimising or introducing a digital channel is a cost-effective way to increase revenue and profit as businesses can access a large new audience of prospective customers.

The most popular marketing channels in B2B

Hubspot reported that social media is the top used digital marketing channel by B2B brands, most likely because of Linked In where networking with likeminded businesspeople takes place at scale. B2B marketers often focus on SEO too and work to ensure their website is ranking for the popular search phrases used by its target customers, publishing quality blog content is an effective way to boost a websites SERPs (search engine ranking positions).

The most popular marketing channels in B2C

Similar to B2B, B2C brands also invest the most in social media as they persistently strive to stand out from the competition and engage with their target customers, however depending on their product, service, and target audience the platform they focus on differs. Tik Tok grew to have over 1 billion active users in 2021 and became an exciting video based channel where marketers could try to capture the attention of Gen Z and young millennials.

Email is the second most popular channel amongst digital marketers in B2C with personalisation and automation continuing to bring more efficient sales opportunities. Website SEO and blogging are also a key priority as they aid discoverability on search engines where potential customers are actively searching for specific consumer brands and services.

At the core of most effective digital marketing strategies is a compelling content strategy and a great distribution strategy must surround this to deliver meaningful results such as sales. Business owners in both B2B and B2C channel will continue to invest in great content for 2022.

5 digital marketing trends in 2022 for small businesses

2022 female small business owner

In a dynamic setting such as digital marketing it’s important not to fall behind the competition, your goal should be to stay on the curve or even get ahead of it! If you’re bombarded with messages or advice on which types of digital marketing you should be doing it can feel confusing and overwhelming. But to be honest you could probably be doing more or working more efficiently to drive better results. Below are the top digital marketing trends in 2022 we recommend small business owners should invest in and take advantage of:

1. Word-of-mouth

Word-of-mouth is one the most effective forms of marketing and thanks to the popularity of social media influencers it’s a powerful digital marketing tool for all small businesses and brands. Influencer marketing is all about getting the right people talking about your brand! Despite receiving criticism over authenticity and advertising transparency, influencer marketing was valued at $13.8billion in 2021 (double its value in 2019) and will continue to grow. Successful influencer marketing campaigns can help a business to:

– gain credibility
– build trust
– raise brand awareness
– reach target customers
– increase sales or enquiries

Tip! Look for influencers in your niche to collaborate with who have an engaged following which matches your target audience, ask to see example case studies before agreeing to a deal.

2. User experience and SEO

A website with great user-experience and on site-SEO is a winning formula for increasing SERPs and getting more organic traffic (prospective customers) to your website. These two digital marketing tools work in harmony to help businesses boost their presence online! In 2022 all businesses should ensure their website provides an intuitive and engaging experience so that they don’t miss out on opportunities to drive more leads or sales.

Tip! Critique your website from your target customer’s perspective. Can they find what they want to know easily? Is the content you present relevant to them?

3. Mobile first digital marketing

Google has indexed webpages mobile-first since 2020 so every page on your website should now be optimised to provide a great user-experience on mobile devices. Ecommerce brands should take note – up to 79% of smartphone users completed a purchase on their mobile device in 2021. First impressions are everything online, if a user doesn’t like what they see they can easily hit the back button or the X at the top right of their screen. Your goal is to ensure they like what they see and want to click or tap to learn more on a laptop, smartphone, and tablet!

Tip! Check the bounce rate of your website on mobile devices, if its higher than on desktop its time to optimise your mobile webpage layout, functionality, and content.

4. Short video

In 2021, we saw Tik-Tok’s popularity grow so that it became the number 1 domain, Instagram launched Reels and YouTube launched Shorts – they all utilise short videos and their huge popularity is set to grow even further. If your product or service is best explained (or shown) in a video then it’s time to invest in video marketing, it’s one of the digital marketing tools that is great for users and businesses. Video and now short videos are here to stay, from educational content on your website to creative storytelling on your social media channels, video can add a fresh and engaging dimension to your digital marketing content.

Tip! Experimenting on social media with short, punchy video content is a great way to hone your video skills before investing in longer form marketing videos.

5. Linked In

Linked In is another social media platform whose popularity is consistently on the rise, in 2021 they reported 722 million active users and recently launched new features such as polls, stories and live stream video. If you’re a B2B service or product provider, it’s time to start building your personal and business profile on Linked In with some fantastic content to get on your target client’s newsfeed.

“Test and learn” to grow your business

When devising your 2022 digital marketing strategy it’s essential to begin with a good set of foundations, consider which areas perform well now and are most likely to in the future. A well-structured marketing plan features a mix of core marketing activities and new initiatives, this approach helps your brand to evolve and uncover new opportunities for growth. Allocating a “test and learn” budget is an effective way to ensure you don’t sit too still and fall behind your competition when marketing your brand online.

Does your brand need a digital audit?

When was the last time you critically reviewed your website or entire digital presence? If it’s been over a year then now is a great to time to conduct a digital audit! Let our digital marketing experts conduct a comprehensive review of your entire digital presence and explain how to make it more effective and finding and engaging your target customers! Find out more about our bespoke digital audit service.

Get expert digital marketing advice

Hi Digital are a boutique digital marketing agency dedicated to growing small businesses with effective digital strategies, and we’d love to help you reach your business goals. Whether you require a digital audit to get your current online presence in optimum digital shape or you’d like ongoing strategic digital marketing support – let’s talk about it! Please get in touch with us to book a free consultation with our expert team.

Digital marketing ideas for small businesses that really work

Posted on by Vicky Drew

Do you have a digital marketing strategy in place? Are you actively testing new digital marketing ideas for small business to generate more sales or leads? If you answer no then you’re already behind your competitors and missing out on opportunities to grow your revenue and profit. At Hi Digital, we want more small businesses to succeed and enjoy an effective presence online!

In this article, we’re sharing our recommended digital marketing ideas for small business to give your digital marketing activity a boost and get your brand heading in the right direction online.

What is digital marketing?

“Digital marketing refers to advertising delivered through digital channels such as search engines, websites, social media, email, and mobile apps.”

Digital marketing is an all-encompassing term for any activity a brand does online to communicate with or advertise to it’s target customers. Today, there are many channels for brands to choose from and knowing which is right for your small business, industry, and target audience can feel overwhelming. However, a little common sense goes a long way when it comes to creating an effective small business marketing strategy. For example, investing stylish and intuitive website to act as your main digital destination is often the best way to launch and grow any brand online.

The key benefits of digital marketing
The Internet penetration rate in the UK is at 92% which means that almost all of our population ( or 62 million people) have access to the Internet so we can safely assume that the target audiences of most brands are online and therefore they can be targeted with an effective digital marketing strategy. Even as a small business owner with a small to modest digital marketing budget you can achieve tangible results through effective digital marketing, digital marketing can help you to:

– Increase brand awareness amongst your target audiences, including those local to your business
– Enable prospective customers to discover or find your brand online easily
– Showcase your brand in a unique and compelling way
– Drive incremental sales or enquiries
– Focus media budget on attracting target customers and clients
– Analyse and optimise your ROI and KPIs with as much data as you can handle
– Build a loyal customer base and online community

Don’t neglect your online presence
Your brand’s prospective customers are highly likely to look for your brand online as part of their purchase journey whether they first discover it online or not. For example, when a friend or colleague recommends a company, service, or product your first instinct is often to Google it so that you can check out their website, Instagram page, Trustpilot reviews etc. You’d be mistaken to assume that your target customers are not going to be doing the same when they see, hear, or learn about your brand for the first time!

Key question: are you proud to show prospective customers your brand’s online presence?

Your website is the key digital destination for your small business, its role is to create a “wow” first impression amongst your target audiences and should provide an intuitive user experience on every device including smartphones. Likewise, if you want to engage your target audience on Instagram, your page should be packed full of compelling content that accurately and attractively portrays your brand. Be honest with yourself, if your online presence is in need of a revamp its time to be proactive and consider booking a digital audit with a digital marketing consultant who specialises in helping small businesses succeed online.

5 effective digital marketing ideas for small businesses
An effective digital marketing strategy doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive, the trick is to focus on the areas of digital marketing that are relevant to your small business and its target audiences! Finding success and the results you want from marketing your business online involves a lot of “test and learn” but once you find your winning formulas you can ramp them up at scale, quickly. Below are our top small business digital marketing ideas which you can try now to give your brand’s online presence a jump start:

1. Optimise your website
A great website is fit-for-purpose to:

– Create a WOW first impression: do you want your target customer to visit your website? Put yourself in their shoes, can they understand what you do and how well you do it in a few seconds? Can they make a purchase or send an enquiry easily in a few clicks? If you answer no your website structure and content needs improving, its time to consider a Digital Audit to optimise your website.
– Enable prospective customers to find you: your target audiences are searching for your brand, your products and services, or your expertise on search engines such as Google. If your on-site SEO is not targeting the key search phrases they are actively using then your website is missing out on quality traffic plus valuable sales or enquiries. You need to consider investing in a bespoke SEO strategy for your small business.

local digital marketing tips yorkshire

2. Increase your visibility amongst your local target audiences
A great digital marketing tip for small business owners is to focus on your local digital marketing first, you can expect to see great results quickly especially if you’re a service-based business or you have a physical store from which you sell products. To get started with your brand’s local digital marketing create a Google my Business profile, this is a fantastic free digital marketing tool that will literally put your business on your local map making it easy for nearby prospective customers to find you. Your goal is to get within the top 3 businesses on your local map so that your brand is on page 1 of Google.

Tip! A relevant search phrase to target is your product or service plus the town or area you live in. Let Google know what you do by filling out all the info on your business profile and try to include your target phrase.

3. Build a 5-star reputation
Another benefit of a Google my Business profile is that your brand can collect reviews from its customers. Obviously, you want these to be glowing 5-star reviews so always ensure you deliver that quality service that you want to be know for. Once you have your first review gold stars will appear beneath your business name and these will change will every new review to reflect your overall ranking. Receiving popular reviews frequently will boost your position on the local map as Google rewards active businesses with more exposure.

Tip! Always encourage your customers or clients to write a Google review for your business as they will eventually help you win new ones.

4. Boost conversions with social proofing
Glowing customer reviews and testimonials should be used throughout your digital marketing strategy to attract, engage, and convert new customers. For example, when prospective customers are considering purchasing from your brand a testimonial or few from happy customers is likely to persuade them to proceed as it gives them confidence in what you do. Don’t be shy, it’s time to showcase what your customers and clients are saying about your small business! You can feature testimonials on your website, social media posts, Google Ads, emails and more.

5. Introduce a refer-a-friend incentive
Word of mouth is one of the oldest and most effective ways to grow a business, however, it can be a slow burn and sometimes small business owners are in a hurry to reach their commercial goals. Giving your customers, or a segment of your most loyal customers, an incentive to recommend your brand to friends and family is a great way to give your sales or lead gen a boost.

If you’re an ecommerce brand, you can create a promotion where both the friend and your existing customer receive a reward aka special offer. As your customers are doing you a big favour and helping you to win a new customer you should be generous with your discount. This digital marketing idea also works well for service-based businesses who provide ongoing support or one-off projects. For example, a law firm could offer its clients a gift card at a relevant brand when they successfully refer a paying client.

Tip! Always benchmark your KPIs (i.e. traffic, followers, orders etc.) before and after implementing each idea to monitor its impact within your business.

Get expert digital marketing advice
Hi Digital are a boutique digital marketing agency dedicated to growing small businesses with effective digital strategies, and we’d love to help you reach your business goals. Whether you require a digital audit to get your current online presence in optimum digital shape or you’d like ongoing strategic digital marketing support – let’s talk about it! Please get in touch with us to book a free consultation with our expert team.

How to use Instagram for small businesses

Posted on by Vicky Drew

Many small businesses are promoting their brand on Instagram, it’s a great platform for showcasing creativity and growing your business. So, if you know that your target customers are active on Instagram it’s time to learn how to use Instagram for small businesses and reap the rewards. When Instagram marketing is done well, small business owners can increase brand awareness amongst their target audiences, engage prospective customers, drive incremental sales or enquiries and more! In this article, we discuss how to use Instagram to engage your prospective customers and get better results from your social media marketing efforts.

Is Instagram marketing right for your small business?
Instagram is not the magical marketing solution for every brand – that would be too simple and convenient! When deciding if your small business should invest time and resources into Instagram, the main question you need to ask yourself is “are my target audiences or customers actively using Instagram?”

In the UK Instagram has over 28 million users and 25 to 34 years make up the biggest proportion of users at almost 32%. The bulk (74%) of its users are aged 18-44 years old so if your target customers sit within this age range then Instagram could present a great marketing opportunity, whereas if you’re targeting the over 55s or younger teenagers you should focus your social media efforts on a different platform.

Understand the interests of your target audiences
If you’ve answered yes to the above question, your next step is to consider if your target customers are interested in the content available on Instagram and if so, make a list of their possible interests that are relevant to your products or services. For example, Instagram is full of #food related content so if you have a #cooking related brand its perfect for you, whereas if you’re looking to acquire clients for a specialist legal service you may struggle to find and engage with your target clients.

Tip! Create an avatar of at least one of your target customers, in addition to their demographics include their key interests, wants, needs and key challenges or problems. Every piece of content you create on social media should be designed to engage your one or more of your target customers.

Instagram is great for visual storytelling
Sharing quality images and video content is at the core of every small business Instagram marketing plan or strategy. Can you create visually compelling content for your small business? This is a hypothetical question; you don’t literally need to do this yourself – a small business digital marketing agency is a great resource to help you create standout social media content for your brand. Let’s try this from another angle; are your competitors performing well on Instagram? do you want your brand to do it better? If your answer is yes, it’s time to utilise Instagram marketing for your small business.

How to use Instagram for small businesses
The reason social media platforms like Instagram are so insanely popular is because they are easy to use which is great news for small business owners who are hesitant to learn a new marketing tool. Once you’ve got the hang of creating, publishing, and networking Instagram may become your favourite marketing platform. Below we explain how to use Instagram for small businesses in five easy steps so that you can make the most of your brand’s social media presence.

1. Fill out your profile strategically
Every brand has a story but there is limited space for it all on your Instagram profile so its time to get creative. Using words, hashtags and emojis you can bring your brand to life in a lighthearted manner that will appeal to your target audiences and standout from the crowd. Don’t forget to include essential information like your location, contact info and website url.

Tip! Create a social avatar or condensed version of your logo that fits neatly into a circle to use as your Instagram profile pic. Users will see this every time they see your brand on Instagram so make sure its eligible, engaging and on-brand.

2. Prepare a schedule of a variety of great content
A variety of content is key to small business success on Instagram, pushing the same messages a day in day out can get boring very quickly and interest may tail off. The number of ideas you have may be overwhelming so try grouping them into themes and then plot them in a calendar for the week ahead. Prepare your images, captions, and hashtags ahead of time and set aside time for the scheduling of your posts, you can do this using the Facebook Creator Studio or a third party tool like Later.com.

Tip! As long as your content fits your brand story and will appeal to your target customers don’t be afraid to try new ideas. Great content ideas include behind-the-scenes, inspirational quotes, employee selfies, blog post images, product showcases, product sneak peaks, customer reviews etc.

3. Post high-quality images and videos
When ulitising Instagram for small businesses always post high-quality photographs and videos and avoid sharing any content that is grainy, dark, or blurry. As a small business your brand needs to look professional so that it can holds its own in a competitive market which may include global brands with huge marketing budgets. The good news is that you don’t need to be a professional photographer to create shareworthy content for your Instagram account – the high-tech camera on a smartphone is all you need.

small business instagram tips flowers

Tip! Try to capture photos and videos in natural daylight as it’s the most flattering, early dusk is a great time to shoot due to the softness of the light. To find your perfect shot move your phone and body to capture content from different angles and tweak your photos in a photo editing app to make them even more appealing.

4. Actively network on Instagram every day
A daily task may sound daunting but to impress the Instagram algorithms your business profile needs to network regularly and consistently with other accounts. Pushing out great content without networking means your content won’t get the exposure it needs and deserves; all social media platforms reward their most active users with higher exposure and Instagram is no different. To actively network you need to join conversations and engage with the content of other Instagram users.

Tip! The rule of five is a great starting point; like five posts, comment on five posts, reply or react to five stories and follow five accounts. This should take you less than 15 minutes, in addition to raising your brand’s visibility you’ll also discover interesting profiles and inspiration for future content.

5. Test, learn & optimise
What does success look like for your small business on Instagram? What do you want to achieve and why? Success on social media is not just about the number of followers, the key metric to monitor is engagement. For example, how many likes or comments are your posts receiving? How many followers react to your stories? How much website traffic does Instagram drive?

Tip! Benchmark where you are now and set 2-3 goals for your Instagram marketing that you’d like to achieve in the next 3-6 months. Monitor your progress at least monthly and look for patterns in engagement i.e.. which posts perform the best or worst? Always listen to your community when they love something – tweak and repeat.

Book your free digital marketing consultation
Digital marketing could be your best ally to steer you towards your business goals and we’d love to be a part of your brand’s growth. Hi Digital are a boutique digital marketing agency dedicated to growing small businesses with effective digital strategies. We’d love to help you reach your business goals and be a part of your brand’s growth, discover our full range of digital marketing services and please get in touch to book your free consultation with our experts.

10 key benefits of a website for small businesses

Posted on by Vicky Drew

Many small business owners choose to focus solely on social media particularly for their launch, from a financial perspective its a cheap, low-risk solution and setting up a social media profile is easy. However, once you’ve built your community of fans where are you going to send them to so they can shop, enquire, or subscribe? How will prospective customers find you on Google when they are searching for your brands, products, or services? In this article, we explain the key benefits of a website for small businesses and the importance of having a unique digital destination to showcase your brand and drive commercial growth.

Think bigger than social media for better results
As a digital marketing agency dedicated to supporting small businesses, we get many enquiries from business owners wanting support with their social media presence and we always explain the value of a holistic approach to a digital marketing strategy. Social media is great for carving an identity for your brand and slowly building a community of followers to convert into active customers, however, a great website can become your brand’s unique online digital destination and help your small business to grow sales or enquiries quickly and efficiently.

Prioritise your brand’s online discoverability
As a small business owner in your start up months, or first 3 years, your priority should be to ensure your brand is discoverable to your target audience when they are actively looking for you and your products or services online. Why? These users are likely to convert into paying customers. For example, it’s incredibly likely that your target customer is Googling the types of services or products you offer right now – these customers want to know about your brand and visit your website. This is the number one reason why a small business needs a website, if you don’t have a website you will miss out on this opportunity for growth.

Do you understand your local customers online behaviour?
One of the main benefits of a website for small businesses is that it can provide you with access to your local target customers. With this is mind it’s important to understand how customers find, choose, trust, and understand business offerings in their local area. The below stats highlight the importance of ensuring that your website is optimised to be discoverable amongst local prospective clients:

– 46% of all Google searches on Google are local,
– 34% of consumers search the internet every day to find a local business,
– 97% of people learn more about a local company online than anywhere else.

The best place for a small business to grow their presence online is locally, whether that’s your city or county, and if you’re an ecommerce brand you can focus nationwide. Service-led businesses should focus on their immediate local geographic area first and before you invest in a website for your small business you can create a free Google My Business profile and get your brand listed on the local Google map.

Tip! As soon as you publish your website live ensure you link your GMB profile to it as this is a valuable backlink to boost your website’s SEO.

Common excuses for not having a website
It’s no secret that running a small business is a demanding job; entrepreneurs wear multiple hats from HR to Marketing, cashflow is often tight, and there is often not much time available for growing and developing the business to reach its all-important goals. Good websites are great for business growth whether that’s converting sales or generating quality leads and business owners should not be put off by the initial investment.

Once your brand’s website has been built it will last you for at least a few years with very little ongoing maintenance required, and if you find the right digital marketing agency to create your custom website, they will fully manage the entire process for you and exceed your expectations with a website you can’t wait to show off.

Small business website service

10 benefits of a website for small businesses
If you’re a new brand then raising awareness should be top of your list of business goals, or perhaps you want to showcase expertise in your specific field of business? Having a website that drives quality leads or generates ‘X’ number of sales per month are also popular goals amongst our clients. Whatever your commercial goals a good website can help you achieve them, below are 10 key benefits of a website for small businesses:

1. Establish your business’s credibility: having a well-designed website that looks great on every device gives the impression that you are professional and ready to do business with your target customers. If you don’t have a website, digital-savvy customers are likely to go elsewhere in just a few clicks!

2. Create a bold brand identity: a custom website can be as unique as your brand and provides a platform for you to bring your brand story to life in a visually compelling and intuitive way. From stylish animations and beautiful photography, to buttons and headlines that POP – every element of your website content should align to and elevate your brand’s look and feel.

3. Showcase your products or services: your website is your online shop window whether you’re a service-based or ecommerce business, utilise it to guide potential customers to browse your portfolio and ensure they can purchase or enquire easily.

4. Build your reputation with reviews and testimonials: including customer testimonials on your website is a great way to impress potential customers, build trust and boost conversions. According to Trustpilot, 88% of consumers factor in online reviews to their purchase journey so always factor in social proof content within your website design.

5. Help prospective customers seeking your products or services to find you: search engine marketing and SEO is what makes your website discoverable online amongst users who are actively searching (or Googling) online your brand, products, services etc. It’s essential to optimise your website with on-site SEO so that each page on your website can capture traffic and rank on search engines for a specific target keyword or two.

6. Drive incremental enquiries or sales: the main purpose of a business website is either to drive sales, enquiries, or both. To ensure it can deliver these goals, every piece of content on your website should be fit-for-purpose to guide users into action and drive them further down your sales funnel.

7. Become an information resource: if your business operates in a niche industry or is a service provider, a website is a great place to demonstrate your expertise and build authority in your field. For example, add a blog to your website and update it regularly with well-written informative content which discusses common problems and topics that your potential clients are searching for on Google. An effective content marketing and blog strategy can improve your websites SEO value and your brand’s online discoverability.

8. Build a mailing list: email marketing is an effective tool for generating leads or orders from prospective customers and driving repeat business from existing customers. You can build your email list (database) by adding a form to your website to collect information from users who want to subscribe at various points in their user journey on your website, for example, at the checkout before or after the purchase. Consider a small business friendly platform such as MailChimp for your email marketing needs.

9. Collect data to drive growth: every website should be set up to accurate track every piece of activity that happens on it, this data will provide you with valuable insights to help you drive your business into its next phase of growth. Google Analytics is free and can track plenty of useful information for small businesses. For example:

– do you get more leads on Sundays? Consider increasing your digital marketing spend on Sundays to maximise this opportunity for more leads.
– does your homepage have a high bounce rate? It’s time to test new, engaging content.
– are you getting traffic from Australia? Perhaps you should introduce international delivery.

10. Get quicker referrals: should your brand or business name come up in a conversation between a current client and a friend of theirs, the first thing that friend is likely to do is Google your business or search for it online. If you have a fit-for-purpose website they are highly likely to find you instantly, take a look at what you do and either get in touch to discuss their needs or place an order with you.

It’s time to create a custom website for your small business
Your website is the most important digital destination for your small business. Your customers will likely discover your brand for the first time on your website so it must create a ‘wow’ first impression and guide users into action such as learn more, send an enquiry or make a purchase. As a small business owner one of the best cost-effective investments, you can make is in a custom website that it unique to your brand and fit-for-purpose to deliver your commercial goals.

A well designed and custom-built website on a platform such as WordPress boasts many benefits:

– It will last you many years as it will be unique to your brand’s look and feel
– They are very easy to maintain and keep updated yourself so no expensive monthly fees
– You can add new features and functionality easily as you’re not restricted by a template.

Learn more about Hi Digital’s custom website design service and do get in touch to discuss ideas with us.

Grow your small business’s digital presence
Digital marketing can steer your small business towards its goals, and we’d love to be a part of your brand’s growth. Hi Digital are a boutique digital marketing agency dedicated to growing small businesses with effective digital strategies. We’d love to help you reach your business goals and be a part of your brand’s growth. Please email us info@hidigital.co.uk or please get in touch with using the form below to book a free consultation with us.

Alternatively, find out more about what we do or discover free digital marketing tips on our blog.

How to increase organic search traffic to your website

Posted on by Vicky Drew

Getting their website listed on page 1 or position 1 of Google’s organic listings is a common goal for many website and small business owners. Understanding how to increase organic search traffic to your website is the first step in achieving this goal. However, the truth is that increasing your SERPs (Search Engine Ranking Position) takes time, sometimes years, and there is no quick win but the higher you rank the more rewards your business will reap.

Don’t be phased by the effort and time needed and don’t give up! In this article, we’re sharing our top 7 tips to increase organic search traffic to your website and give your SEO strategy a kickstart so you can earn your place on Google amongst the competition.

What is organic search traffic?
“All visitors to your website coming from a search engine, such as Google or Bing, excluding paid ads.”

A quick Google search on any topic will deliver pages of results for users to scroll through and find the content or webpage they are looking for. Depending on the search phrase there may be paid ads at the top of the Google page and below these will be the organic search results, when a user clicks on the latter to visit a website that is organic search traffic. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the type of digital marketing which is focused on increasing a website’s organic search traffic by getting each webpage listed higher in the organic search results.

How to measure organic search traffic
It’s easy to measure your website’s organic search traffic thanks to website analytics tools such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console, both are free and user friendly. Now is a great time to create an analytics account as you can benchmark your performance now and monitor improvements after you’ve implemented our tips to increase organic search traffic for your website!

The main types of website traffic
A healthy or strong performing website will receive traffic from several sources, these volumes may fluctuate over time as your digital marketing activity shifts. For example, when you run a campaign on Google Adwords “paid search” traffic may deliver your highest volume of visitors. Below are the typical types of traffic to websites:

– Direct: All traffic when the user types the company url into their browser and all traffic where the referrer or source is unknown.
– Organic search: Traffic from search engines that is not paid for.
– Paid search: Traffic from any ad on search engines via Google AdWords or another platform.
– Referral: Traffic via another website that is not a search engine.
– Social: Traffic from a social media platform such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linked In etc.
– Email: Traffic from correctly tagged email campaigns.
– Other: Any traffic that cannot fit into one of the above sources or has not been correctly tagged.

The importance of organic search traffic
Organic search traffic helps users who do not know your brand name discover your website on search engines when they are actively searching for your products and services – the size of the opportunity here for brands is huge! For example, if you are a property law firm there are a lot more potential clients searching for “conveyancing solicitor” than there are for your firms name – and your competitors could well be capturing this users instead of you.

Small businesses and emerging brands who have correctly implemented on-site SEO and have an ongoing SEO strategy will find that organic search traffic is their biggest source of targeted traffic which consistently drives them leads or generates sales.

how to increase organic search traffic

7 tips to get more organic traffic to your website
Getting ahead of major brand in terms of SERPs is tough and to be honest a bit unlikely if you’re competing on a hyper competitive search terms such as “womens dresses” or “swimwear”. The good news is Google is HUGE and there is a place and opportunity for every webpage whether you are targeting niche longer tail keywords or generic search terms. The trick is knowing where to focus and how to do it! To get you started, we’ve compiled our top 10 tips to help increase organic search traffic to your website:

1. Improve user experience across your site
Google favours websites that offer a user-friendly experience and provide users with the content or answers they were looking for. When a user clicks through to your website they need to stay there and browse your website, if they click straight back to Google this may flag to Google they had a poor experience. If your website has a high bounce rate it may struggle to rank well on Google, to lower your bounce rate always ensure you add quality content that is optimized for the web and designed to engage your target audience.

2. Speed up your website
A slow website not only frustrates users it may also fails to impress Google’s bots, the lower the site speed, the lower the SERP – especially if your competitors have a faster site. One of the best ways to reduce site speed is to reduce the file of size of any images just be careful you don’t reduce their quality and create a poor user experience. There are many free site speed checking tools to choose from, why not Google them and see you ranks first?

3. Conduct keyword research
If you know what your target customers are looking for, in their own words, you can create content to answer their questions and engage them with your brand. Be creative when selecting which keywords to target and consider less competitive keywords as you’re most likely to be able to rank higher for these and get more organic search traffic than ranking lower for a hyper competitive keyword

There are many keyword research tools for you to choose from and begin compiling a list of keywords or search phrases to target. We recommend Answer the Public, Moz and AHREFs.

4. Optimise your meta data
You must literally spell it out to Google what each of your webpages are about so that it will show your web pages to users Googling topics you talk about. On your website Google reads page title, meta description, image ALT text, URL and more. Make sure you include relevant keywords and search phrases to help search engines find you and increase your organic search traffic.

Tip! Choose one target keyword to per webpage and include it in your meta data.

5. Get backlinks from business directories
Listing your website in business directories that have a great reputation with Google, such as Yell or Yelp, can improve your website’s reputation and increase SERPs for local keyword searches. They also make your brand discoverable to users searching for your product or services in their local area in these directories too.

6. Create local landing pages
When users local to your business need a product or service they often go straight to Google to find what they need. For example, they may search for “new build conveyancer in Leeds” or “best nail salon in York”. If you add a quality page of content to your website that specifically targets this keyword or search phrase the chances are it will rank highly on Google – more so than your homepage could.

7. Share great quality blog content
Blogs are an effecting way to increase organic search traffic by writing about topics your targets customers are Googling, once you have the prospective customer on your website you can guide them through to your websites more commercial pages where they can send an enquiry or make a purchase. For more about content marketing and blogging that improves SEO read our expert tips.

Digital marketing and SEO expertise
If your business goals are to increase traffic to your website or improve your brand’s presence online, then an accomplished digital marketing agency can be a valuable extension to your brand’s core team. Effective SEO strategies take creativity and skill, they are not learnt in a morning’s training session and digital marketing channels do not work in silos. Outsourcing your digital marketing needs to an expert with a solid reputation is a cost and resource effective solution to help you to achieve the results you want efficiently, and long term.

Ready to grow your brand’s digital presence?
It’s time to explore how digital marketing can help your startup brand or small business. Hi Digital are a boutique digital marketing agency dedicated to growing small businesses with effective digital strategies. We’d love to help you reach your business goals and be a part of your brand’s growth. Please email us info@hidigital.co.uk or please get in touch with using the form below to book a free consultation with us.

Alternatively, find out more about what we do or discover free digital marketing tips on our blog.

An introduction to small business digital marketing strategy

Posted on by Vicky Drew

Today, having a small business digital marketing strategy is one of the most affordable and effective ways to grow and achieve commercial success. Why? Your potential customers and clients are highly likely be online looking for your products and services or, they are online and can easily be targeted with compelling messages that will make them want your products or services.

If your small business does not have an active presence online, you are missing out on a huge pool of opportunity as your brand is not discoverable online. Whether you’re a specialist law firm, organic candle maker or video production agency, you can grow your brand with a bespoke small digital marketing strategy that supports your overall business strategy. A digital marketing strategy doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive, the trick is to focus on the areas of digital marketing that are relevant to your small business!

Big brand vs small business strategies
Is there is a difference between a small business digital marketing strategy and that of a global brands? Absolutely, and it’s not just a difference in budget and the number of people involved. Effective digital marketing strategies are tailored to a brand’s goals and they plan the detail for the activities to reach said goals, no two brands are the same and therefore no two strategies are the same – regardless of the business or budget size.

Define your digital marketing goals
If you’re a new brand then raising awareness will be top of your list of goals, or perhaps you want to showcase expertise in your specific field of business? Having a website that drives quality leads or generates X number of sales per month are also popular goals amongst our clients.  The first step in devising your small business marketing strategy is to define three business goals that you want to achieve within the next 12 months. Start by writing down all goals that pop into your head and refine until you get to three that mean the most to you and the success of your business.

Then, why not think further ahead and list another three goals that you’d love to smash within three years! Being clear on your priorities short and long term from the outset enables your digital marketing consultant to understand the full scope of your aspirations. Going forward each goal will act as a benchmark to measure performance against and keep your strategy on the right path.

Set a marketing budget
Every small business should have an allocated budget to cover all areas of digital marketing such as website design and development, paid advertising, SEO, social media etc. Typically, there are two budgets; one to get your brand’s digital presence to where it needs to be and one for the promotion and growth of your brand online.

A digital marketing agency or consultant who specialise in supporting small businesses and startups are most likely to have rates that are affordable to you. However, that does not mean they will be cheap – especially if they are accomplished in delivering digital marketing strategies that deliver strong results. Always gather proposals from a couple of potential partners and check their reputation before deciding on your small business digital marketing agency.

introduction small business digital marketing strategy

4 key areas of digital marketing for small businesses
The world of digital marketing is complex and evolving constantly so it can be overwhelming to know where to start. However, as a small business owner you don’t really need to focus on AR, AI or voice interaction technology just yet – your priority should be to create solid digital foundation for your brand. Here are the key areas of digital marketing to get right first and then as your business grows so can your digital marketing activity.

Custom websites
Your website is the most important digital destination for your small business. Your customers will likely discover your brand for the first time on your website so it must create a ‘wow’ first impression and guide users into action such as learn more, send an enquiry or make a purchase. As a small business owner one of the best investments you can make is in a custom website that is unique to your brand and fit-for-purpose to deliver your commercial goals.

A well designed and custom-built website on a platform such as WordPress boasts many benefits:

-It will last you many years as it will be unique to your brand’s look and feel
-They are very easy to maintain and keep updated yourself so no expensive monthly fees
-You can add new features and functionality easily as you’re not restricted by a template

Search engine marketing and SEO
In short, search engine marketing and SEO is what makes your website and your brand discoverable online amongst users who are searching (or Googling) your brand, product and services, areas of expertise etc. It’s essential that the content on each page on your website is optimised to capture traffic and rank on a search engine for a specific target keyword or two. For example, if your business is an organic candle company make sure that the meta data for your homepage explains this to Google. This is just one element of on-site SEO, if you’d like to ensure that your website is discoverable amongst users actively seeking your brand please discuss your needs with a small business digital marketing agency like Hi Digital.

Another key area of search engine marketing is PPC (pay-per-click) advertising on Google Adwords, if you execute this well your brand can serve compelling ads to your target customers at the top of the search engine results amongst your competitors.

Local digital marketing
Before you start to embark on world domination or creating a nationwide digital presence we recommend focusing on your local geographical area first, especially if you are a service-led business. One of the best ways to kickstart your small business’s local digital marketing is with a Google My Business profile, these are free and you can sign up here. With this profile in place you will literally get your business on the local Google map and create a valuable backlink to your website.

Social media marketing
Social media channels provide small businesses with a cost-effective platform to raise awareness of their brand and engage with their target customers. The most popular platforms are Twitter, Linked In, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and Snapchat. However, as a small business owner you do not need to be on all of them – we recommend that you focus on the two channels where your target customers are most likely to be active. Once you’ve decided on your priority social media channels it’s time to get creative with your content, post with consistent frequency and utilise the unique features of that channel to your advantage.

Where should small business owners focus first?
Once you’ve created a fantastic website your digital marketing strategy will determine which digital marketing channels are likely to achieve the best results. Trying to cover all areas and channels of digital marketing is never advised, not even for the biggest brands. It is better to focus on one or two areas and execute them well rather than to poorly execute a little bit of everything, the latter approach is highly unlikely to deliver any meaningful results.

Knowing where to focus your small business digital marketing strategy is easy if you know the answer this question: “where are my target customers most likely to be online?”.  For example, are they likely to be researching what you do and Googling? Are they on Instagram absorbing content about a particular subject? Do they use Facebook a lot to keep in touch with friends and family? If you don’t know where your customers are likely to be online, then you don’t have a good enough understanding of your target customer. In this case we recommend you take some time to get to know your target customers better and create a customer avatar for at least two of your target customers.

Is it time for a digital marketing audit?
If you’ve got a website and have a presence on social media but you’re not seeing the results you want, then now is a good time to conduct a digital marketing audit. Let us conduct a comprehensive review of your entire digital presence. We identify quick wins and strategic opportunities to get your branding, website and marketing channels in great digital shape to attract more customers.

Unfortunately, if you want to achieve tangible results you can’t start marketing or advertising your small business online until you get the basics right first. You need to ensure you are saying the right thing, portraying the right image, enabling potential customers to find you online and most importantly your potential customers need to understand what you can do for them and what you want them to do.

The role of a digital marketing agency
If your business goals are to increase traffic to your website or improve your brand’s presence online, then a digital marketing agency or consultant can be a valuable extension to your core team. Effective digital marketing strategies take creativity and skill, they are not learnt in a morning’s training session and digital marketing channels do not work in silos. Outsourcing your digital marketing needs to an expert with a solid reputation is a cost and resource effective solution to help you to achieve the results you want efficiently, and long term. Read our top tips to find the right digital marketing agency for your small business.

You need an effective digital marketing strategy
Digital marketing could be your best ally to steer you towards your business goals and we’d love to be a part of your brand’s growth. Hi Digital are a boutique digital marketing agency dedicated to growing small businesses with effective digital strategies. We’d love to help you reach your business goals and be a part of your brand’s growth. Please email us info@hidigital.co.uk or please get in touch with using the form below to book a free consultation with us.

Alternatively, find out more about what we do or discover free digital marketing tips on our blog.

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