Data Driven Marketing
In today’s world, everyone lives online. There is simply no way around it. 4.6 billion people have an internet presence, and 87% of those people read online reviews when they stumble upon a local business. That is why it is crucial for small businesses to have a strong online presence in order to ensure growth. Cohesivity across platforms is what paves the way for small businesses to be found online. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) may seem daunting; indeed, the term makes it seem a lot more complicated than it is. Still, SEO is the driving force behind growing an online presence.
SEO is what connects businesses’ websites and social media platforms to a Google search. The best way to explain it: it’s what makes a restaurant pop up first when you search “places to eat near me”. Your SEO is what connects your business to these searches. It is powered by specific keywords and phrases that are related to your business.
When developing an online presence, it is essential to use keywords consistently across platforms. Google, “crawl” engines and social media platforms identify keywords in order to rank your business among competitors. The idea is simple: the more relevant and repetitive keywords you connect to your business, the easier it is for a consumer to find you.
What words consumers search to reach your site are gathered via analytics. As these search statistics compile, it makes it easier for you to incorporate the most relevant keywords into your site. As you hone your keywords, your website will naturally climb the ranks in the search engine results increasing traffic. Understanding and tracking this data to boost SEO is essential for small businesses because it allows you to be more accessible to the masses.
As for social media, following the engagement statistics on posts is important to understanding what posts are reaching the largest number of people, and how the right hashtags can increase growth. Seeing this data allows businesses to focus posts and information towards their audience in order to increase their engagement. Hashtags may seem excessive, but they are necessary in order to link SEO and Google searches to social media. Hashtags allow people to find your business without having to know your account handle. They can simply search for an idea or product and be connected to your page.
As a small business, Waxwing understands the importance of online data in order to drive growth. While no one can deny the necessity of an online presence for small businesses, it is equally as important to track your online data. These insights allow businesses to see data that reviews alone cannot generate. Knowing what posts are generating engagement, and what searches are generating clicks, allows a business to increase reach. Effective SEO pushes businesses to come up first in a search, and we all know the first link on Google gets the most clicks. More clicks means more business.
