Digital Marketing Tactics that No Longer Apply in 2016

January 11, 2016 by Christine

In the ever-changing digital world, keeping up with the most current marketing strategy can be tricky, but it’s absolutely necessary. Here, we outline digital marketing tactics that are on their way out in 2016.

While building our business, we used many tools available from the software industry. Tools such as SalesForce, ACT!, Jeffrey Gitomer’s Ace of Sales, Excel spreadsheets and enough other items I could name – that right now are making me ill thinking about. We are business minds first. We found Infusionsoft as our solution to our problem. We have become Infusionsoft experts, by building our business with this amazing tool, our certifications only reinforce it. Infusionsoft is a type of sales and marketing software that helps owners of small businesses to track their leads and stay organized. We work with you to help you develop the best plan with your business and help you get set up with these services, optimize them to fit your needs and give you any other assistance you need to get started. You can either have us help you implement your Infusionsoft strategy or let us take the keys and do it for you.

1. Static websites. The internet is a constantly evolving being, which means your website should be, too. Almighty Google pays attention to your site’s traffic — when a consumer bounces from your site and quickly returns to search results, this indicates to Google that your page does not provide content entirely relevant to the inquiry. Commit to consistently updating the content of your site with timely, pertinent information. Additionally, you should go a step further. Make landing pages by search topic. Google does not like their customers to have to navigate your menu system. What your prospect searches for, is where they should land.

2. Poor quality back-links. Years ago, Google determined that the easiest way to judge the value of a website was by the number of other websites with links to it. This created a system where the more back links a site had, the higher it ranked in Google results. The flaw in this, known as “black hat” marketing, was when businesses and agencies began back linking to fake sites with irrelevant, poor-quality content. Google has since updated their technique and now drops sites with spammy back links in their rankings. We like to evaluate the quality of a link by its Moz ranking.

3. Focus on keywords. Echoing the issue illustrated above, keyword stuffing was once a quick and easy way to arrive at the top of a search query. However, Google once again became wise to this tactic, and now scans your site for meaning, rather than a specific keyword phrase. Repeating the same keyword is now far less important than creating useful, quality content for your consumer. For example, phrases like “auto repair,” “vehicle repair service,” and “car repair shop,” place your site in the same category, where Google is concerned. This tactic was not only out in 2015, it was out in 2010.

4. Failing to utilize social media for more than promotion. One of the key benefits of social media is its ability to provide a one-on-one customer service experience. Because the internet never sleeps, consumers also expect social media customer support to be available at, essentially, all hours. Illustrate that your business has a reliable social media customer support system by responding quickly to customer inquiries and engaging them on social platforms. Furthermore, understand that the primary purpose of your social page is to create a community, to serve those in need (remember your inbound call center – have them man your Facebook page).

5. Having a non-mobile site. Here’s the hard truth: sites without a mobile-optimized version now rank lower in Google rankings. What the search engine knows is that most consumers will get their content through a mobile device in 2016. To keep your visibility on the web, check out your site on a mobile device. Google has also created a simple test that tells you whether your site is mobile-friendly or not (https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/).
6. Thinking email is the only way to connect.  Email is not the only way to present your solution to your prospective customer. Remarketing and retargeting campaigns, tied to social media pixels, custom audiences and Twitter cards are very effective. Direct marketing via SMS text message is also worth migrating to.

It’s now officially 2016, which means it’s time to say goodbye to the digital marketing tactics of yesteryear. Contact us at Viral Solutions for assistance!

Copyright 2015 Viral Solutions LLC

by Thomas von Ahn | Chief Elephant Slayer

We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again.

Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner, an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant, a Google Partner – Certified in AdWords and a Mobit Certified Partner.

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