14 August 2012

SEO Search Engine Optimisation

So, what does a full service Digital Marketing Agency actually provide?

A professional digital agency will be able to confidently assess a website on its design, functionality, search engine visibility and reputation, taking all of these factors into account before structuring a comprehensive plan and putting forward any considerations to the client for confirmation.

Consultation

An initial consultation date is set with a sufficient amount of time allocated; this part of the process is most important. The client can convey all ideas and needs effectively to the agency team in a comfortable and relaxed face to face meeting. Relationships will also be created which is beneficial to both parties.

Research

Research is then carried out with regards to competitor’s actions and designs. The agency will analyse other relevant sites within the specific industry to gain an understanding of what can be used and improved upon. Company message along with portrayal is taken into account; a fun children’s site will have a bright, colourful display with images of building blocks for instance…an industrial manufacturer’s site will involve creating a sleek, professional display with concise information.

Design and Development

A front and back-end design or re-design now takes place; shaped to suit brand style, website usability and purpose. Technical development follows and is a time heavy process. Each step of this process is followed with input from the client and regular feedback.

Marketing

After the design/development is complete, an authoritative presence on the web is created or built upon through various means of online marketing - link building, social media, blogging and networking to name a few - an agency will manage these campaigns to fulfil the ultimate goal of a high ranking position in Google and Bing. But before these campaigns begin, a solid foundation must be built. There are so many sites on the web which are very badly designed for SEO, containing duplicate content, error pages, broken links and complicated structures. Missing Meta descriptions or title tags are also all too common.  A good agency will scour the site from page 1 to page 1000 ensuring everything is search engine friendly and visible to search engines

SEO & PPC

A fully optimised, sleek and freshly designed website now needs one more thing - custom! Alongside the benefits of SEO, PPC (Pay Per Click) can potentially assist with high exposure and immediate ROI. Agencies can launch and control a PPC campaign with bids for desired keywords, achieving positions on the sponsored listings section in Google.

A full ecommerce infrastructure is what is needed for any online store. Due to the technical nature and privacy matters involved with the integration of these platforms, it is imperative that the agency is trusted.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is an additional service for producing sales and reaching a wider audience, while also keeping current customers in the loop. Full scale, uniquely designed HTML email campaigns can be launched and monitored through software which also relays analytical information, providing a useful source of data where customer actions, clicks and conversions are recorded. Lead nurture and follow up are crucial for new custom maintaining existing loyalty and satisfaction. Emails should not be spammy or sent too frequently – a good agency will recognise this and carry forward a healthy email marketing campaign which provides depth of information and relevancy to consumers.

By Sam Hurley