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Effective logo optimization can enhance a brand’s online search engine visibility

For many individuals, search engine optimization (SEO) consists merely of choosing keywords and producing pertinent content. Due to this, they give lower weightage to other vital factors. But SEO is more than just using keywords and content. Several different elements can affect brand visibility on the search engine results page (SERP).
One of these elements is logo optimization. Knowing that your corporate logo can significantly improve your brand’s online visibility is crucial. Google has a major global search market share, standing at 84.69%. This indicates how boosting search visibility on Google through optimized logos can be a game-changer for SMEs.

Google leading the overall online search market (Source: Statista)

A company’s logo is a critical component. The world of a corporate logo is diverse, ranging from Nike’s swoosh design to Twitter’s blue bird. This variability can make it challenging to adhere to the image search optimization requirements for brand logos.
Greater online visibility of logos can enable your customers to distinguish your company by simply glancing at the logo. An effective yet simple optimized logo can help you greatly in increasing your brand awareness.

How To Enhance Brand Visibility Through Logo Optimization?

Brands must ensure they are easily visible online by following modern SEO best practices and becoming familiar with how different search engines rank digital brands according to their logos.

The following measures can help optimize logos to boost visibility on popular search engines:

1. Conducting an SEO Audit

Optimizing your logo is crucial for improving the overall SEO rankings of brand websites. Brands must thoroughly assess their websites according to the SEO requirements and check whether their logos adhere to them. Google Optimize is an effective tool for conducting an SEO audit, which also includes an optimization check of business logos.

An SEO audit can help determine the current optimization level of your brand logo and identify areas that can be further optimized to boost search visibility. Doing it periodically will help you identify the areas of your website that still require work to rank higher in search results on Google and other engines.

The following stats depict the different SEO factors that impact a website’s performance.

Different SEO factors that affect website ranking (Source: Statista)

The stats indicate that on-page elements have the strongest impact on website rankings. Since a logo is one of the crucial on-page elements, it should be optimized for enhanced visibility.
It is equally important to ensure that your logo complies with specific requirements before commencing an SEO audit. You must also consider the following questions:

• Is there a genuine need to use logo optimization techniques?
• How will my brand logo change once it is optimized for search visibility? Will it impact the brand values which the logo has to exhibit?
• Will my blog be recognizable in the same manner the way online users recognized it before its optimization?

Companies spend a tremendous amount of money on optimizing their logo as per best SEO practices. Significant sums of money are spent on revamping and connecting logos. However, they often miss the trick by not conducting regular SEO audits to ensure their logo (and other SEO essentials) are optimized for enhanced online visibility.

It’s crucial that your optimized logo embodies the principles of your business while also including the components that any logo should have. It should also help form your brand identity, as an investment in your logo can be crucial for maximizing your online reach.

2. Image File Type Must Be SEO Friendly

You can also optimize your logo by ensuring that the logo image file complies with SEO best practices. Your website usability will be affected if your logo’s image file size is too large. This can irritate and even offend the users, resulting in an increased bounce rate which can have a negative impact on your business.

You should start with a vector-based picture format for your logo’s original file. It’s a common practice to employ compressed image formats to economize on storage and transfer time. There is a wide variety of file formats now in use. AI, EPS, PDF, SVG, PNG, and JPG are the most frequently used file types for logos.

In most cases, the ideal logo size for use on the web is below 200 kilobytes (KB). Larger file sizes take longer to load and are harder on websites. The smaller the logo file size, the better it becomes for loading quickly in SERPs.

It is worth noting that 72% of search engine users browse through images before making purchases. This makes it essential to optimize your logo image as per the best practices, and reducing the file size can be a vital step towards matching user searches.

3. File Schema Should Be Wisely Selected

For those who don’t know, microdata comes in the form of schema markup. When added to a site, it generates a description that later displays in search results. Leading search engines Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Yandex joined to find Schema.org. The fact that such major players worked together to produce it shows how significant a notion of schema markup is.

It would help to remember the schema markup when creating your logo. Let’s suppose a website features your logo. This is visible to the search engine, which interprets it as an image. The search engine will be informed that the logo is not just a meaningless image if the proper schema markup is used to surround it.

Using schema markup, you can distinguish your logo from the other images on your website. When someone searches for images that resemble your brand logo, the search engine will pick the logo and show it in the top SERPs.

4. Importance Of ALT Attribute

The ALT tag is among the most crucial ways to connect text to an image if users search logos by image. Search engines are constantly improving, so they can now comprehend a page’s content much better. Nevertheless, the ALT attribute feature is still producing top-notch results by giving the right cues to the crawlers.

The ALT property aids in a better understanding of an image. It provides access to keywords that the algorithms have not yet shown. This elevates the search engine ranking and boosts your brand’s online visibility.

These are some obscure facts about the ALT property for a logo. Even though the actual corporate name is far better than having no details on your logo, the likelihood of having your logo appear in SERPs increases when you include the distinctive brand name in the ALT element. It provides a little bit of information that is sufficient enough for search engine crawlers to match the search results with your brand logo.

Images that serve a purpose other than aesthetics should include an alt attribute. It is important to ensure that the image’s description is helpful. For instance, if the image is a company logo, the alt text should reflect the name of the business. The word “logo” is neither required nor helpful in the alternative text, as shown in the example below.

Alt Attribute: NIKE’s trademark symbol

The keywords pertinent to your business are ideal for inclusion in the ALT text. The more specific the keywords you use, the better will be your logo’s rating on SERPs. The information on the different parameters used by search engines for matching keywords can be seen in the bar chart below.

Different factors used by search engines for matching keywords (Source: Statista)

The bar chart shows that Domain Authority (DA) has the greatest say when it comes to the matching of keywords by search engines. So it is crucial to focus on projecting an optimized logo that complements the SEO best practices described above.

An optimized logo can connect your brand values with users. This is why it’s important to incorporate your optimized logo into your SEO strategies and keep your online visibility as well as credibility intact.

5. The Name of the File Must Be As Per SEO Best Practices

A website designer would publish your logo under “logo.png/jpg.” An SEO expert will ensure that the logo’s file name contains a keyword for better logo optimization. Experts say it is crucial to do so to educate search engines about the substance of the image. The file name associates the logo with the business, highlighting the brand’s connection with the optimized logo. An example of a logo file name for Starbucks can be ‘Starbucks.png’ or ‘Starbucks Coffee.png’.

6. Title And Link Attribute

The logo must be linked to the website’s home page for optimization to yield the intended results. Creating a canonical link to the website is the best way to form this linkage. Enhanced logo branding can result from the introduction of a title attribute. It may also be supplied in the IMG tag. Ensure the title and ALT content are the same to create an effectively optimized logo.

Users typically click the logo to access the homepage; these elements serve as a sizable “home” link icon. As a result, you have the incentive to include the logo on each website page, making it a key component of the overall layout.

While building valuable links, you must ensure the company logo is visible from every angle. A logo may occasionally suffice if your organization is highly known to your target market. The logo thus turns into a valuable marketing tool.

In A Nutshell

Even though leveraging different logo design trends can be an optimization in itself, a logo’s image optimization for SEO can create a massive difference in connecting with current and potential users, maximizing brand reach and awareness, and maintaining a competitive edge in the business industry.

We have given you a head start to initiate full-fledged logo optimization for your brand. Let’s connect with more users and share your brand!

As any marketing whizz will be able to tell you, the best way to grow your audience is to advertise your services on as many channels as possible. Moreover, with ad prices constantly increasing, many businesses are using owned channels for marketing themselves.

This is where text marketing comes in. It is relatively new on the marketing scene, but it’s already proving popular.

However, that begs the question: which is better for marketing—SMS or MMS services? Many prefer the MMS format since it allows a greater degree of personalization. In this article, we will tackle the subject of MMS marketing in more detail, explaining what it is, how it should be employed, and its benefits.

What Is MMS Marketing?

MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) marketing is a type of text-based mobile marketing that allows marketers to attach images, videos, and audio clips to their messages. Marketers can make their texts more appealing and engaging by interspersing them with fun emojis, attention-grabbing GIFs, and colorful graphics.

Even though it is only recently beginning to see wider use, MMS has already proven itself to be a powerful marketing tool. Most people respond more strongly to visuals than to text. MMS messages usually leave a longer-lasting impression than SMS texts. This leads to higher conversion rates.

What Is the Difference Between MMS and SMS Marketing?

We’ve explained what MMS marketing is. But what is SMS marketing? And in what ways does it differ from MMS?

Unlike MMS messages, rich media cannot be included in SMS (Short Message Service) messages. SMS messages can only include plain text, making SMS marketing far less eye-catching and memorable than the MMS equivalent.

This is the main difference between MMS and SMS messages, but it is not the only one. The other big difference between these two forms of texting is that SMS messages are limited to just 160 characters, including spaces. The character limit on MMS messages is ten times as much. What’s more, MMS messages can carry as much as 3.75 GB of data depending on the carrier you use.

What Are the Advantages of MMS Marketing?

MMS may be more expensive than SMS, but the sheer number of benefits you can enjoy using it make this investment more than worth it.

To learn all about the pros of MMS marketing, read on and see how this advertising method can help boost audience engagement.

Create Engaging and Shareable Texts

Where SMS texts are dull and dry, MMS messages have the potential to be far more engaging. You can use GIFs, images, videos, and more to give your texts a real sense of personality, helping to convey something about your brand.

Not only will your multimedia messages grab the recipient’s attention and attract them to your company, but they also have the potential to be shared with even more people. Customers are unlikely to share a plain old text with their friends—but if you embellish your message with an amusing GIF or an enticing picture of a new product, they might pass it on.

To further establish your brand, you could acquire a new vanity number for your business—a number where the final seven digits spell out a word. This will make your phone number far more memorable to your customers. Instead of struggling to remember your number, they’ll be able to recognize it at a glance.

Cost-Effective Marketing

MMS messaging may cost slightly more than SMS, but it is still much more affordable and effective than other marketing strategies used by online brands today. With the press of a button, you can reach out to a vast audience, all for just a few cents at a time.

Not only does MMS marketing cost less, but it also takes less of a toll on the environment. The cost to our planet is too often overlooked; sending MMS messages means you can forego the need for printed posters or pamphlets.

Reach Customers Instantly

When using MMS, you can reach customers instantly, no matter where they are. Some devices don’t even need mobile data to allow their users to receive MMS messages.

An MMS message usually takes between 3-5 seconds to reach its recipient. You can immediately reach customers even when they’re out and about. You don’t have to rely on them coming across an ad on their social media feed or checking their email inbox for your latest newsletter. Instead, you can get their attention immediately, whenever you like.

Personalize Your Text Messages

One of the best things about MMS marketing is the potential for personalization. Receiving a message on your mobile phone is already quite personal. How much more so when attached to that message is a picture of products you’ve been interested in?

Personalizing your marketing messages to your audience shows them that you really care about them. This can help foster a sense of brand loyalty and make your customers more likely to return to your business.

Higher Character Limit

When compared to SMS messages, MMS texts have a larger character limit. This means you can fit more information into your marketing messages. Generally speaking, it’s still a good idea to keep your messages relatively short—that way, it’s easier to hold your audience’s attention. However, if you’re promoting the release of a new product and want to give some information about it, an MMS text will allow you to do so.

Best Practices for MMS Marketing

So, we’ve established that MMS texts are an excellent tool for marketers. But how can you make sure that you utilize MMS marketing properly? What practices should you implement to ensure you’re making the most of this fantastic tool?

That’s precisely the topic we’re going to cover here! Read on to find out our top five best practices for MMS marketing.

Get Your Audience’s Permission

The most important thing to remember when it comes to MMS marketing is that you must have informed consent from a customer to send them promotional material. This regulation, put in place by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, applies to MMS and SMS marketing.

Not only is consent a legal requirement, but obtaining permission from your customers first will also make them more inclined to trust you. Unsolicited messages are rarely welcome and are likely to cause outrage and upset. On the other hand, when people willingly sign up for marketing material, you’re likely to have a higher engagement rate with them.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with providing some incentive to encourage people to sign up for your promotional material. Discount codes, first access to new products, and exclusive content are just some exciting incentives you can offer your customers.

Create Clear Designs

Another critical best practice is to create clear, attractive designs. Here are a few things you should keep in mind to ensure that your texts are not only striking and attractive but are also accessible to your audience:

• Use large, clear text in your graphics. If someone has to squint at your design to make out what it says, then you’ve not done a satisfactory job! Using a bold font will ensure that your message is easily legible, even to those who struggle with their eyesight.
• Consider designs that are friendly to color blindness. When choosing the color palette for your marketing material, consider accessibility and branding. Try to stick to colors that are clear for people with color blindness. Also, avoid bad color combinations, such as yellow text on a white background.
• Don’t clutter your texts. Remember, the goal is to make your messages engaging, not overwhelming. While putting together your design, keep in mind the fact that phone screens are usually relatively small. You don’t want to cram too much into one text.

Optimize Your MMS

Optimizing your MMS messages is an essential step in MMS marketing. Some of the people in your audience may not use smartphones or cannot access mobile data. To accommodate these people, you should resize and optimize your MMS messages before hitting send.

Not only will resizing your MMS make it easier for customers to download and view your files, but it also means you won’t have to send as much data. This, in turn, keeps you within the data limits of your plan, helping you save money.

Send Your Texts at the Right Time

As mentioned above, with MMS marketing, you can send out promotional material to your audience whenever you like. While this is true, your marketing will only be effective if you send your material out at the optimal time.

Figuring out the best time to message your customers can take a little bit of trial and error. Generally speaking, the weekend is an excellent time to send out promotional material since people are more relaxed at this time. But we advise experimenting with different days and times to see what works for you.

Remember, to make the most out of any marketing campaign, you must come up with a solid marketing strategy. You will likely see results in time if you consistently apply this strategy.

Keep Your Messages Relevant

Finally, when drafting MMS messages, be sure to keep them relevant to the needs of your audience. This means sticking to subjects related to your company and your goods and services.

One thing to keep in mind is that you aren’t limited to sending promotional material only. To mix things up, you might send helpful tips about your industry. This type of high-quality content clearly demonstrates the value of remaining subscribed to your marketing material. It also keeps your messages from feeling monotonous and “spammy.”

When writing up your MMS messages, be sure to include important buzzwords. These words help draw in the reader and quickly capture your audience’s attention. You might also consider including a call-to-action in your messages to encourage your customers to engage directly with your texts.

Experience the Benefits of MMS Marketing Yourself

In this article, we’ve taken an in-depth look at MMS marketing. As we’ve shown, the many benefits of MMS messaging are not to be scoffed at. Within seconds, you can send carefully-crafted promos straight to the hands of your customers, ensuring that you can stay at the forefront of their minds and keep their interest.

When employed correctly, this promotional tool can boost your customer engagement levels, leading to higher conversion rates and boosting your revenue. Not only that, but when used in accordance with these best practices, MMS marketing can even help you to build a trusting, loyal relationship with your audience.

The best way to understand the benefits of MMS marketing is to try it out for yourself. So, why not give it a shot today? We’re sure that you will begin to notice the benefits in no time at all.

“As soon as I accessed their website, the first thing that caught my attention was the logo right at the top of the homepage. A striking design with a subtle combination of colors, words, simplicity, and intensity. Even though it has been years since I saw that logo, the special thing is that I still remember it and the products the brand provides. I believe this will be one of the most important logo features in the years to come.”    

These precious words from one of the loyal customers of PNC Logos indicate that logo design trends for upcoming years will encompass a unique combination of several different features.

The excitement of the new year is one of the best parts of the holiday season. As digital enthusiasts, one of our favorite activities is keeping tabs on the logo design trends that are likely to be most prominent next year.

Keeping up with the yearly shifts in logo design can be challenging. You need to be aware of the most recent ones and other graphic design trends so that you can draw inspiration from them and use some of their components in designing a logo for your digital brand.

Let’s talk about some of the most important logo design trends that you need to keep an eye on in 2023:

1. The Simpler Minimalist Designs

The design principle of “less is more” will prevail in logo design in 2023. If your brand can be understood at a glance, it can be a powerful tool in attracting new customers. Customers may not always be interested in deciphering the hidden meanings behind a brand’s communications. One way to achieve this minimalist design is by taking advantage of platforms such as Freepik, which offers a vast library of easy-to-use templates and artwork, allowing businesses to create visually appealing designs quickly and easily.

Companies like Apple, Nike, and Uber have basic logo designs that convey a lot about the products and services they offer. Such logos can serve as inspiration for creating symbols with minimalist designs that effectively communicate your brand values.

Minimalist logo designs of renowned brands (Source: Tailor Brands)

2. The 3D-Gradient Design

A gradient design, in its most basic form, is a design element that emphasizes on the contrast of colors and creates an unexpected visual effect by blending colors.

Gradients offer an extra flair to your design, enhancing the other elements of your business logo. The added dimensions make the objects stand out by adding depth to the overall design. These logos are a sure-shot way to communicate an emotion or idea that perfectly represents your company’s values. Moreover, as the designers are free to play around with shades and build quick logo designs with gradients, the spectrum of possible color combinations and tonalities is practically endless.

Designers are increasingly using color gradients to showcase the brand’s originality and make a strong impression on customers.

The use of gradients in the logos of Sony Ericsson and Superman has garnered a lot of attention. This shows that gradients with colors attract attention in print and digital formats, standing out in any setting.

Superman and Sony Ericsson’s brilliant 3D-gradient design logos (Source: Pixellogo)

Therefore, it makes sense that this fad will gain steam in the next year. Colors and gradients can be used by businesses in the retail, software, and cloud computing sectors to convey the value they provide to customers. It’s smart to also bring interest to the brand’s message through unique, colorful logos.

3. Layered Geometric Patterns

Logos that consist of multiple layers will grow in popularity in 2023. Classic logos are getting modern updates as designers experiment with geometric shapes and fonts.

Keep an eye out for new geometric patterns in logo design in 2023. Brand recognition can be improved by including a symbol, initials, or brand name with it. Combining angular shapes with more delicate ones, like lines or stripes, can make even the most intricate geometric shapes, like a hexagon, more visually appealing.

Some examples of this are the Google Drive, Layerneer, and the HSBC logo. The use of strong geometric forms and patterns has been used to depict a sense of dependability and trustworthiness

Logos of Google Drive and Layerneer depict a perfectly layered geometric design (Source: Designerly)

This trend is growing in popularity and will continue to do so in the years to come. Use the shapes in unique ways with text, or combine them with white space or symbols for a memorable brand logo. Any business, whether belonging to the IT industry, the financial sector, the sports world, or the medical field, can benefit from using geometric forms in their logos to convey a meaningful tale or message.

4. The’ Blurred’ Logo Design

In 2023, designers will put less emphasis on legibility as they play with blur effects to highlight motion and fluidity.

You can blur only the letters’ borders, leaving the word’s main body legible. Alternatively, you can provide the reader with a complete picture of your brand recognition by including a published form of the brand name alongside the blurred logo.

Adding motion to your blurred logo is a great idea, and the blur effect will make it more memorable and captivating. People may remember the logo due to the vanishing effect. Parts of the company name, including forms, icons, lines, and text, can be blurred to create a unique logo.

A captivating blurred logo (Source: Dezeen Awards)

With this ‘blurring’ effect, even a small business can leave a long-lasting impression on the viewers. It can make your logo stand out and attract new customers.

In 2023, marketers may use a vanishing effect on their images or symbols to attract consumers’ attention. Logos related to fields like technology, computers, gaming, and entertainment can also benefit from the use of disappearing text or objects to enhance their visual appeal.

5. Retro Imagery in Logos is Here To Stay

Although simple and sleek logos are predicted to be popular, you should also consider using vintage-inspired designs or illustrations for your brand. It’s realistically possible that these won’t change much over the next few years. Many companies leverage retro imaging in their logo designs to impart a positive impression on their potential customers and evoke emotions of fondness and familiarity. Brands in the hospitality business, the building trade, agriculture, and manufacturing can all benefit from using retro and antique imagery

Vintage retro logo designs (Source: 99designs)

Since these logos can develop a memorable bond with customers, the trend will most likely continue. Logos with throwback designs can help get customers’ attention online. The layout might be one that people can easily remember and use again in the future.

6.  Twisted Typography Designs

Twisted typography is yet another style that will probably be standard next year. Word markings and letter marks featuring objects, lines, or waves will be prevalent in logos of many different digital brands.

Brands in the fields of beauty, media, and tech are increasingly opting for designs centered on typography as a means of conveying their core beliefs to consumers. These logos are also useful in the early stages of building brand identity and awareness.

People are more likely to memorize the brand name when using unique fonts. The word marking or initials may be remembered for longer if they are rendered in a monochromatic or two-color palette. It’s a style that might rule the field of graphic design for a long time.

Coca Cola is one of the finest examples of twisted typographic logo design (Source: Creative Bloq)

There are two distinct types of typographic logos, one in which the typography dominates the visual elements and gives the logo an emblematic form, and another in which the text is embedded within the visual elements.

These logos are great examples of how text and visuals complement one another. Unlike other logos, where titles can be written independently of an image, this type of design relies heavily on the accompanying text.

7.  B&W Logo Designs

Black and white (or B&W) is the most effective color combination for attracting viewers’ attention to logo designs. There’s no sign that these hues will ever go out of fashion together. While 2022’s design trends have enthusiastically embraced complementary color schemes, the timeless beauty of black and white hasn’t been forgotten yet.

The American Broadcasting Company (ABC), the automotive giant Lexus, and the shoe brand DC all have striking combination of black and white colors.

Unique B&W logo designs of famous brands (Source: Fabrik Brands)

This pairing of B&W echoes the understated elegance of a logo. While designers always produce a black-and-white version of a logo alongside the final color version, it’s not uncommon for the monochrome logo to convey the brand’s identity more effectively.

Parting Thoughts

From simple minimalist designs to twisted geometrical shapes and blurred logos, 2023 holds plenty in store for businesses looking forward to revamping their brand logos in the following year. It may be challenging to decide on a professional logo design for your business due to the various types of designs trending in the digital world. So embark on your logo-designing journey today to represent your business in a unique and timeless manner!

One of the most interesting facts about digital services is that Gen Z, which utilizes the web extensively today, was not even born when online services became accessible to the public about three decades ago. The same generation is now using the Internet to sell their products and services. However, setting up an online business thirty years ago was way different than it is today. Do you know why?
Back in the early 1990s, only the privileged could set up an online business because the starting costs were high and external funding was limited unless a fortunate individual was a part of a family-owned business. Today, individuals can start and scale businesses online with a limited budget, irrespective of their level of business expertise and background.

Starting an online business has become way easier than before (Source: Pixabay)

An online presence for small businesses is crucial in today’s competitive business environment. Check out why having a digital presence has become vital for small businesses.

The fact that 64% of SMEs operate through their business websites and 19% of small business owners believe that a website would boost their business growth by 25% within the next three years says a lot about how important it has become to start an online business.

The best thing about starting an online business is that it has become a simple, step-wise method, with each step serving as a building block of your online business. Let’s get your venture up and running with the following steps:

1. Own Your Business Idea  

The first step is to think about a business idea and test it with the following questions:

• Is the business idea providing solution(s) to problems faced by your customers?
• What kind of business have you thought about? Is it a product or a service?
• Who will be your customers?
• Which market will you target?
• Are there any established competitors for your product offering? Who are they?

There are a variety of correct responses that can fill up the question area above, but it is essential to keep in mind the ‘Why’ of your business. Remember that it takes more than just a good idea to develop something truly remarkable. According to data from the McKinsey Global Institute, for every 7 product ideas, only 1.5 launch, and only 1 succeeds. This explains why effective brainstorming is so critical.

Do You Know?

2. Assess the Market for Your Business Idea

Now that you have found a fine business idea, it is time to identify the unmet needs, product or service niche, and select your target market. You can check out websites that may already provide the products or services you plan to sell online. Remember that these websites are your to-be competitors, and you can evaluate how your product or service will meet customer needs and provide value in a much better way. You can also read customer opinions and feedback on online forums.

Finding the niche of your business idea is also a crucial part of setting up your business online. Demand for niche products is growing, and small business owners will have to use innovation to stand out from other businesses of the same niche.

It’s easy to get lost in the world of brands and forget about the practicality of having a single, straightforward answer to a common problem when there are so many products and services of the same niche that claim to be innovative and ahead of the curve.

Your business idea should be unique to stand out from the ordinary (Source: GIPHY)

Many new businesses launch with the goal of finding a market once they’ve developed a marketable product. For example, for a home exercise equipment product, the target market would be individuals who are interested in staying fit and healthy. Some specific characteristics of this target market would include: age, gender, income, and geographic location.

For an online business, it is crucial to check and analyze the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) for your product or service. This will help you to assess the online competition in advance and prepare accordingly.

Another important part of market research is to keep track of the keywords related to your product or service that are searched frequently online. You can use these niche-related keywords to improve the ranking of your product pages on the SERPs. Google Trends and Google Keyword Planner are free tools that you can use to find out high-ranked keywords, while Ahrefs and Semrush are excellent paid options.

Do You Know?

3. Check the Legal Requirements to Launch Your Business Online

In order to meet the needs of your customers, it will be helpful to have a firm grasp on the numerous regulations under which you’ll be expected to operate. It is necessary to obtain a business license if you plan to conduct business online. It is equally important to check state regulations before launching an online business in a particular state of a country.

Moreover, sales tax regulations also vary with the state where you are launching your digital brand. Without a valid seller’s permit in each jurisdiction where sales tax collection is required, you would not be able to conduct business online. A tax identification number will be required for all businesses. In order to file federal taxes, businesses need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). An EIN can be requested totally free of charge using the IRS’s website, regular mail, fax, or phone.

To be legally recognized as a company in the vast majority of states, you must make sure to come up with a catchy name for your company and register it with the state secretary’s office. Moreover, a specific domain name is required to start an online store for your new company. A domain name is a specific address for a website, and it is what customers will use to locate your company online.

Having a distinct trademark for your online business is just as crucial as selecting a special domain name. You should check the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database as you choose a company name and a domain name to make sure it is available.

Companies must have clearly articulated return and refund policies in order to comply with federal and state consumer protection regulations. While stores are not compelled to allow returns or provide refunds, they are required by some states to disclose their return and refund policies to customers.

4. Choose the Best Business Structure for Your Online Brand

Explore your options for forming a company before launching your internet venture. Your online business structure can be a partnership, sole proprietorship, Limited Liability Company (LLC), corporation, or an S-Corp.

Each business structure is suitable and essential for specific types and categories of businesses. A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is the most popular type and suits various business sizes. Many growing businesses and companies seek help from LLC formation services to manage tax burdens and ensure financial safety.

You can research more about these business structures online and decide which business structure best suits your business idea.

5. Work On A Reliable Product Sourcing and Business Funding Strategy

Product sourcing strategy is perhaps one of the most critical steps when initiating an online business. It is important to remember that you are selling a product or a service because:

i. You are a product manufacturer or a service provider yourself
ii. You are planning to dropship products of other businesses
iii. You are working with retailers to sell their products online

While it’s essential to keep your business funding sources flexible (i.e., crowdfunding and business grants), business loans and other conventional options are still great options. But if you want to find the best banks for business loans, you’ll need to do some research. Additionally, utilizing some of the best accounting apps can streamline your financial tracking and help present a clearer picture of your business’s financial health.

Do You Know?

6. Launch Your Business Website

With your business idea and structure finalized, market research completed, and product sourcing and business funding sorted out, it is now time to finally set up your website. One critical consideration in setting up a business website is to keep it simple and user-friendly. You only have a few seconds to grab the attention of a new visitor to your site. It’s crucial that the site’s navigation is user-friendly and easy-to-use.

A key building block of any website is its content. For your website to have solid content, you need to have persuasive copies for your home page and product pages. Always keep the reader (i.e., your potential customer) in mind when writing copies, and assist them in discovering “What’s in it for me?” by writing from their perspective.

Perhaps the most important page of any business website is its Contact Page. This is the page that will allow your customers to get in touch with you. The Contact Page must be easy to spot: usually on the top right or top left of every page of your business website. Ideally, the contact details you should include are the phone numbers for local and international customers, a corporate email address, and a complete address, along with the location on Google Maps.

The Contact Page of a business website should also have links to its social media accounts. These links can be in the form of hyperlinks or social media icons. You can also place these icons on the homepage of your business website.

Do You Know?

Short contact forms and live chats have become popular with customers, allowing them to connect with business representatives instantly.

It is essential to know that website visitors typically make their purchases in stages. Initially, visitors are not potential buyers. Everything from the customer’s initial visit to your site to the completion of the sale depends on how your website is set up.

As an online business owner, you will have to decide which payment modes to incorporate on your checkout page and how you will receive your business payouts. In addition to payment methods, it is also important to consider providing customer support during live streaming events using chat for live streaming, which can increase engagement and satisfaction with your brand. PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay are some of the most common payment methods in addition to credit card payments.

7. Promote Your Online Business

After setting up your online business, you must inform your targeted customers about your business offerings. This is where the final step of marketing comes into play. There are various types of marketing methods out there. However, some of these methods are more effective than others.

Some of the available online marketing options for small businesses (Source: Pixabay)

When talking about marketing, social media has become the most powerful advertising tool for online businesses. Instagram, Facebook, Google, YouTube, TikTok, and many other social media platforms have become popular marketing hubs for businesses. Since 69% of Americans have their social media accounts on Facebook, this social media platform has been identified as the major marketing channel for small businesses.

Paid marketing has also emerged as a popular marketing strategy for businesses. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and Influencer Marketing are effective paid marketing channels today.

Do You Know?

In contrast with paid marketing techniques, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a technique used to increase a website’s visibility in search engines via free, organic search results. Another popular marketing method used by advertisers is content marketing. It is worth knowing that more than 80% of marketers use content for marketing their products, and 70% of marketers have invested heavily in content marketing. Blogging is one of the most common forms of content writing, as nearly half of the online businesses leverage blogging in their content marketing strategies.

That’s A Wrap

From a unique business idea in your mind to realizing that idea in the form of a product on the screens of billions of web users, this 7-step method has covered everything for you. Each step will serve as a building block for your online business. The only thing left for you is to begin setting up your online business with the first step and make your dream come true!

Small businesses have become the backbone of the global economy in 2022, as according to globalnaps around 400 million Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) represent around half of the worldwide employment and 90% of business firms. Amazingly, most of the SMEs survived the economic devastations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Do you know how?

According to a comprehensive research conducted by Salesforce, more than 70% of SMEs reported substantial growth in their online businesses, and 71% of those small businesses revealed that their investment in creating an online business presence was one of the crucial reasons for their survival during the pandemic.

An interesting insight obtained from the data provided by the Top Design Firms concluded that 28% of the 30 million SMEs in the United States (i.e., more than 8 million SMEs) do not even have their business websites. Perhaps the most crucial statistic for these small businesses is that the number of online customers is increasing every year, with the figures rising from 1.32 billion in 2014 to a whopping 2.14 billion in 2021.

Rising number of online customers worldwide (Source: Statista)

It is fair to say that regardless of the nature of products or services they offer, SMEs that have no online presence at all may not be able to connect with billions of online customers. However, digital presence is not only about reaching a wide customer base.

Let’s have an insight into the reasons why an online presence is crucial for small businesses and what SMEs are missing out on by not taking their business online:

1. SMEs have reaped Substantial Profits by Going Online

Even though the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the profitability and growth of SMEs cannot be overlooked, the pandemic forced many companies to shift their businesses online, and this proved to be a turning point for them.

A family-owned jewelry business in Indiana, Moriarty’s Gem Art, suffered a major setback when the COVID-19 pandemic forced its retail store to shut down. The company went through crisis until it went online and began live streams that were advertised through the company’s website.

The results of this online transformation from Moriarty’s Gem Art were remarkable. The online audience count surpassed 1000 during the live streams, and the firm made $12,000 in its July 2020 show alone. Another live stream during the pandemic days enabled the company to reap a whopping $20,000 from the sale of a single gemstone alone.

Moriarty’s Gem Art website traffic rise after the COVID-19 outbreak (Source: PipeCandy)

Moriarty’s Gem Art’s total revenue generated from sales through the website in 2021 and 2022 is estimated to be between $1 million to $5 million. The number of monthly orders placed on the company’s website is between 500 and 1000.

Another valuable benefit of online business is that you can conduct seamless business operations, regardless of whether there is an outbreak or a pandemic.

Netflix, which originated as an SME in the video rental industry in 1997, was way behind Blockbuster, the leader of this industry. In 1999, Netflix took its rental platform online and struck an online streaming deal with Starz in 2008 to take movies to the comfort of their customers’ homes. On the contrary, Blockbuster reinstated its unpopular late fee policy and didn’t provide online video streaming services to its customers.

Netflix’s rise after taking their video rental business online (Source: Drift)

In 2010, Netflix was worth $24 million, while Blockbuster incurred a colossal loss of $1 billion and filed for bankruptcy in the same year. The digital presence of SMEs in the shape of a website has not only helped them survive and reaped massive profits but has also enabled them to gain a competitive edge over their rivals.

2. Online Presence is Crucial for Brand Awareness & Growth

A digital presence plays a phenomenal role in enhancing the brand awareness and growth of small businesses. This is particularly true for emerging SMEs that are employing E-commerce as their medium of business operations. SMEs can use E-commerce to connect with customers living in those regions where the business is not operating physically.

Bavarian Clockworks, a family-owned cuckoo clocks venture in Florida, represents a perfect case of how E-commerce enables SMEs to increase their brand awareness. The venture was launched in 2015 on BigCommerce, a renowned E-commerce platform for SMEs, after thorough market research conducted by its founder Robert Ellis. The shift to BigCommerce reaped ample profits for Bavarian Clockworks, as the company recorded an increase in revenue from $483,171 to $ 1,448,318.

In addition to e-commerce, chat for live streaming has also become an effective tool for small businesses to engage with their audience and promote their products or services. By incorporating live streaming into their digital marketing strategy, businesses can provide real-time updates, answer questions, and showcase their products, allowing them to build a stronger connection with their customers.

Another U.S based SME in Texas, Beardbrand, transformed its beard-care business from humble proceedings on YouTube in 2012 to prosperous E-commerce business. Beardbrand now makes handsome earnings, reaping million-dollar figures in revenue every month.

3. Online Presence Brings Priceless Advantages to SMEs that are Unavailable to Offline Customers

One of the best things about online presence for SMEs is that it brings them unmatched benefits when compared with those small businesses that are not operating online. SMEs can operate their business dealings 24/7, even outside of business hours. In-person businesses suffered the most when their business operations shut down after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The North Carolina-based yoga outfit, Feel Better Yoga, was forced to shift its business online shortly after the COVID-19 restrictions were enforced. The company was able to continue its business operations online, hosting 35 virtual classes weekly. This enabled the business to continue its operations despite the closure of its business location in Burlington and earn thousands of dollars in revenue.

SMEs that are only conducting their business operations on site may face business disruptions or complete shutdown due to natural disasters or many other factors. This can result in a permanent loss of their tangible records and data. One added advantage online businesses have is that they can store their valuable business data online and recover it easily if their tangible records are lost.

Another crucial advantage of digital presence is the savings SMEs can make by eluding the costs of utilities, rent, and other expenses required to maintain business operations on site.

4. Digital Presence Enables Small Businesses to Monitor Customer Preferences and Sales

Digital presence allows small business owners to monitor and track customers and sales effectively. It allows SMEs to understand and analyze customer behavior; and then strategize their online marketing accordingly.

There are many free online tools to monitor website traffic. One of the most popular online tools is Google Analytics, which can show how users found your website, the time they spent on your website, and the pages they visited, what actions they took on your website, among many more.

Google Analytics overview of website traffic for a month (Source: Freepik)

Live Traffic Feed is another handy tool that can perform real-time tracking of visitors surfing a website, the pages they view, and their location. Clicky is also a free web analytic tool for websites. It does not only monitor the web analytics constantly but also updates the metrics immediately, enabling SMEs to get a live picture of user traffic on their business websites.

The California-based party clothing outfit, iHeartRaves, boosted its web marketing by monitoring the user traffic on its website. It not only enabled the firm to monitor customer preferences, behavior and understand their needs, but it also allowed iHeartRaves to make strategic decisions related to customer personalization. The company makes $25M-$50M in revenue every year.

And you don’t even need iHeartRaves level of resources to get the most out of personalization. Tools like Intellimize offer up an AI website optimization solution that personalizes unique experiences for every visitor. All the tool needs is contextual and behavioral data to serve visitors’ web pages that have the highest probability of converting.

5. Reconnecting with Existing Customers and Attracting a Wider Consumer Base

The COVID-19 pandemic has instigated a major shift in the shopping behavior and preferences of customers. Online shopping has become the latest trend, and it is here to stay. Customers are now looking for household products, daily essentials, medicines, and personal care products online. Growth in online purchases has also spiked in several other product categories.

Growth in use of online shopping before and after COVID-19 in different product categories (Source: McKinsey & Company)

The growth in online purchases has enabled SMEs to reconnect with their existing customers and extend their customer reach to untapped regions and customer base.

6. Adapting To the Evolving World

The world is evolving rapidly due to technological developments and the different demands of customers. It is crucial for SMEs to adapt to the changing market dynamics quickly and effectively. Having a digital presence allows SMEs to easily adapt to the changes.

Sears, an American department store failed to adapt to the changing market trend, which was shifting away from the ‘general store model’ and going online. Sears eventually failed to compete against Walmart and other smaller boutiques that went online.

The Michigan-based firm, Borders Group, began its bookstore operations in 1971. It didn’t take long for the company to become a successful book brand in the market. However, Borders failed to understand the evolving market fuelled by technology and the rise of the Internet. The company never took its business online, unlike its biggest rivals, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Borders Group declared bankruptcy in 2011, with the closure of its 399 bookstores and the lay-off of thousands of employees.

Hummer, a renowned manufacturer of military and civilian vehicles in Michigan, also made a similar mistake. The company failed to recognize that its customers were becoming more environmentally conscious in their vehicle purchases. Since Hummer’s vehicles consumed a lot of fuel, its sales went down drastically as customers opted for ‘gas sippers’ vehicles of their competitors due to their low fuel consumption and emissions. In 2009, the business was finally shut down. Online presence could have allowed Hummer to monitor the buying trends of customers and adapt to the evolving trends accordingly.

7. ‘Popping Up’ on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)

An increasing number of people have started to use digital search engines, especially after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Online search engines have become effective tools on the Internet, and billions of customers are using Google, Bing, and other search engine platforms to find the products they need. In 2019, 29% of the global web traffic was driven by search engine platforms.

Share of global web traffic in 2019 (Source: Statista)

An online presence allows SMEs to appear in search engine results pages (SERPs) in the form of corporate websites and social media pages, enabling customers to access them with just a single click. A website also allows SMEs to showcase their products and services. Once customers start accessing your business website from SERPs, your website serves as a ‘24/7 salesperson’ for your business.

Appearing in search engine results can give your brand more credibility. A website can ensure this by allowing customers to post reviews and feedback about the company’s products or services. In this way, prospective customers can stay assured that the content on the website is reliable.

Most customers use Google to search for services and products. This is evident from the dominance of Google in the search engine market share for at least the last 12 years. Google dominates 83% of the market share as of June 2022.

Google’s dominance in the search engine market share from 2010-2022 (Source: Statista)

Interestingly, search, and navigation is the most critical factor in the online shopping experience because of the accompanying ease of finding services and products, followed by product reviews and ratings.

Search, and navigation is the most important feature of online shopping experience (Source: Statista)

In today’s busy world, people have hectic schedules, and they find it difficult to take out time to visit business outlets for purchasing products, especially during business hours. Customers prefer convenience and comfort, which is why online presence for businesses has become essential. The customers can access the products and services they need from the comfort of their homes.

In A Nutshell

We are witnessing the peak of a digital business world in which market competition is becoming more intense with every passing day. The survival of SMEs in today’s competitive business environment strongly depends on them shifting their business operations online. From monitoring customer traffic to reaching a wider consumer base, we have uncovered the crucial benefits of having an online business presence. Best of luck to thousands of SMEs out there!

Facebook has recently taken action against advertisers who have failed to adhere to their advertising policies when using the platform. As a result, there has been a spike in ad rejections as well as page restrictions, leaving many advertisers annoyed and uncertain of what to do next.

Facebook notifies you via email and also on the social media platform if your page is restricted for advertising. To learn more about the restrictions applied to your Facebook page or business manager account, you can go to Account quality and check the page’s status.

Having your Facebook page restricted usually disallows you from creating any ad. Questions like these will immediately pop into your head: What caused Facebook to restrict my advertising page? How long will it take for the Facebook page restrictions to be lifted? Can I expect to be able to run ads again at some point?

Many concerned advertisers post reactions such as the one below to know more about why their account was blocked or why the ad was restricted.

These are all valid concerns, and based on the Facebook support team’s reputation, it may take some time before you receive a response.

The struggles associated with Facebook Page Rejections and Restrictions

Advertisers have been posting regularly about their Facebook pages getting restricted and facing many ad rejections. A common reason behind their frustration is that they are not informed of exactly why Facebook restricted their advertising rights. Facebook usually replies with a brief and automated response that the advertiser does not comply with its advertising policies.

Another annoying thing noted by advertisers is that Facebook is also giving mixed reasons every other day for restricting Facebook pages with no certain information. Advertising access may be restricted depending on the nature and severity of the ad infringement.

Possible Reasons for Facebook Ad Rejections and Restrictions

Facebook’s ad review system uses automated reviews to assess advertisements for compliance with Facebook’s advertising regulations. The Facebook AI reviews ads and helps enhance the platform’s automated systems in some situations. Facebook’s AI also examines the final destination of a user’s click on an ad, such as a landing page, a lead ad form, or an instant form on Messenger.

Facebook’s success hinges on its users and marketers being able to connect in honest ways. Implementing Facebook’s advertising regulations, community standards, and other policies and terms is critical. Any attempt to avoid this regulation by dodging or tricking Facebook’s review systems is forbidden as it endangers genuine and valuable connections.

Ads that attempt to hide words or phrases by clouding them with Unicode characters; and restricting Facebook’s access to an ad’s location page are also some of the causes of page restrictions or rejections. Ads that attempt to create new advertising accounts after the current ones have been disabled for not adhering to Facebook’s policies are also considered to circumvent Facebook’s evaluation process and other regulatory systems. When Facebook detects such conduct, advertising access may be blocked.

Restrictions on ad placement may also be imposed when Facebook discovers fraudulent activity. This can include caps on ad expenditure, restrictions on access to specific advertising tools, or a complete restriction on advertising on Facebook’s products.

Facebook prohibits using fake accounts, artificially increasing the content’s popularity, and other behaviors deemed to be evading the evaluation process and other compliance systems because these actions undermine the platform’s goal of fostering trusting relationships between people and businesses.

What Can Be Done?

There are many approaches that can be adopted by advertisers while they are waiting for a response from Facebook for their ad restrictions. So without further ado, let’s look at some of these so that businesses can continue with their marketing efforts without any undue delays.

1. Check the Advertisements to Ensure Adherence to Facebook Advertising Policies

Advertisers should check whether their advertisements comply with the Advertising Policies of Facebook. It may be possible that changes were made to these policies shortly before you posted your ad, and it failed to fulfill one or more of the policy requirements. It is essential to stay updated on Facebook’s advertising policies before posting ads in the future.

2. Creating A Fresh New Page on Facebook

Another important step advertisers can take is to create a new advertisement page on Facebook. However, they must first unlink Instagram from their old restricted page. Once a new Facebook page is in place, connect your Instagram back to the new page and try to ‘warm up’ the Facebook page by posting regularly and running small-budgeted engagement campaigns. Once that is completed, you can start posting ads.

3. Keep other Advertising Options Open

As the old saying goes, ‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket,’ advertisers should not rely solely on Facebook ads. This has become even more important, keeping in mind the recent Facebook ad issues faced by many advertisers. Advertisers must shift their ad spending away from Facebook and engage in paid marketing campaigns on Google, such as PPC. They can also market their products and services on LinkedIn, TikTok, and Snapchat.

Parting thoughts

As more advertising-page-restriction cases surface on Facebook, advertisers should not waste their valuable time if they are unsure when the restrictions on their Facebook pages will be lifted. The three tips discussed above can help keep your marketing campaigns running without disruption. Best of luck!

In today’s tech-savvy world, the mission to grow your business online tops the list. According to MarkinBLog, There are more than 26 million eCommerce sites worldwide, and the number is rising day by day. So, even if you are a small or a medium-sized business, you should look for ways to evolve with the trends and stand out.

Many businesses do not even have physical offices. In other words, they are dependent on Internet’s mercy. The Internet, however, has provided a great platform to ease business operations. It provides equal opportunity to a novice as it does to a multi-million-dollar company’s CEO. Therefore, the rules for online success are the same for everyone.

So, let’s look at the ways that will help you grow your business online so that you catch pace and make a mark in the industry.

The powerful ways to grow your business online in 2022

The following ways are a sure-shot route to the success of your business online. So without further ado, let’s dig in.

1. Structure your website well

If you do business online, website maintenance and optimization should be your top priority. Create a website that is easy to navigate. Everything should be aligned and integrated, from menu sections to contact details, so the users don’t get baffled.

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the key to creating your online presence. If you integrate necessary keywords and streamline your website for crawlers to introspect your website, you can gain the upper hand in the search engine rankings of Google and Bing. Meta descriptions, title tags, and image alt text are some of the other areas in which target keywords can be integrated.

2. Stay active on social media

Social media was introduced to bridge the boundaries and bring the global community together. But today, social media is the hub of all businesses. Brands, big or small, must maintain an active social media presence so that more people can know about them.

The best part about all these platforms is that you can grow your brand without spending too much. So, create your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages to stay active and reach a wider array of audiences.

3. Protect your connection

According to Web ARX security, 300,000 malware pieces are created daily. This shows that Internet has its security concerns. You become a prime target for hackers once they know that you gain new user data actively through your website. That is when they sit between you and your customers to see what data is getting transferred.

With an unsecured HTTP connection, it is impossible to protect your communication. That is why you need to add an ‘S’ to HTTP. HTTPS or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure states that your connection is protected by an SSL or Secure Sockets Layer certificate encrypting the data transferred between your website and the user’s browser. With an SSL encrypted website, even if a hacker tries to compromise your website, they cannot read or see what is getting transferred. SSL comes in different types depending on the magnitude of your website. For example, if you have a single domain to secure, then a single-domain SSL would be enough to protect it. But, if you have multiple domains attached, you need a low-priced multi-domain SSL. For this purpose, you can go for SSL certificates like DigiCert Multi-Domain SSL, Sectigo multi-domain SSL protection, etc.

4. Get reviews and ratings

People are more persuaded to buy from you if they hear someone genuinely praising you. And that is where testimonials come in. Today, platforms like Google and Facebook allow customers to rate you. Apart from utilizing them, you can also go for video testimonials and feature them on your website. Good reviews and ratings will also help you gain better rankings as Google recognizes the traction your business is generating.

5. Know your target market

If a business knows whom it should target, they have a very high chance of success. Moving with a planned approach, they won’t be spending their monetary resources and time on spreading their campaign thin across all social media channels. For example, if a business deals in beauty products, Instagram and TikTok can be two of their most viable marketing platform options. On the other hand, if a business caters to middle-aged people, Facebook and email marketing are two of the best mediums.  The knowledge of social media marketing is a must to target your audience effectively and grow your business online.

6. Attend to the Price-Profit ratio

Prices have a deep impact on customers’ buying behavior. If an article is too costly, customers will refrain from buying it. On the other hand, if it is too less, you will bear the brunt of lesser margins and overall profit. That is why you must ascertain the price-profit ratio after considering factors like competitor’s price, market demand, production cost, cost of technology, and taxes. Every company wants to be profitable, but it is best not to go berserk. If you calculate your prices with a practical and rational approach, your company and your customers will be happy.

7. Maintain high standards for customer service

Your relationship with your customer enters its 2nd phase when they complete the purchase. The possibility of them repeatedly buying from you is high only when you provide optimum customer service. In the case of heavy-duty articles, you must integrate a crew of technicians who can provide instant on-site service. Also, have a flexible policy when it comes to returns and replacements. Since your priority is customer satisfaction, you should happily return the item and replace it if necessary.

Bonus Tip

You can grow your business online by integrating these seven tips, but how do you sustain your spot in the market for long? That is where business growth measurement comes in. Tools like Google Analytics can help you determine who your competitors are and where you currently stand in the rankings. So, apart from integrating these tips, you must also conduct research and analysis to monitor your progress. Most top-level websites have an in-house department where experts ensure that the graph of the company’s growth does not go down. So you too can take the help of specialists to take your business to greater heights of success.

Final Thoughts

Online business growth is directly linked to your approach towards the ongoing trends; If you are versatile enough to adapt to changes, nothing is tough for you, and walking on the journey to grow your business online becomes easier. So, follow the above tips and get set to enjoy the benefits that tag along. The time is near when your business will touch the sky.

Running a business of any size requires you to be familiar with what’s happening in the digital landscape. To stay ahead, you need to know the latest digital marketing trends and what you can do to incorporate these into your business to make it more successful.

Imagine having a website that doesn’t load in milliseconds or offering a browser-based service that doesn’t respond well. To avoid such situations, read a little about the current trends to stay ahead of the competition.

Introducing WEB 3.0

The 3rd generation of the World Wide Web is coming, and you should be a part of it. We strongly recommend embracing the trends that are building Web 3.0 because these will be the foundations of how the Internet works in the future. If you sign up for a Web3 bootcamp that teaches you the fundamentals of Web3 coding languages like Solidity, you can get a head start. 

Nowadays, we have Web 2.0 based on cloud computing, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. All the data storage is centralized, and we rely on said centralization to access the necessary files. There are many benefits of Web 3.0, and we’re going to go through a few, including other digital marketing trends.

Cloud Technologies

The current Web relies heavily on cloud computing, but it’s still a centralized structure, as databases and information transactions can be traced. If you’re a successful business owner, cloud technologies are a must for your services.

It doesn’t matter if you’re running a restaurant or a consultation agency dealing with finance. You need to have a website that’s based on the cloud to avoid downtime and make subscriptions, sign-ups, payments, and other services easier for your clients.

AI and Machine Learning

As businesses have access to an enormous amount of data, we need to consider what we can do with it. We can use machine learning platforms to gather data and analyze it to find a solution to any issue.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are a combination that can provide you with the insights needed to stay ahead of your competition. Here are some benefits of AI that can yield profits and increase your customers’ loyalty:

• Improved organization
  Artificial intelligence can help keep up with organizational issues, such as overlapping meetings, project management, resource allocation, budgeting, etc.
• Error reduction
  Integrating AI and machine learning into the data structures helps to identify and rectify almost any kind of mistake, which greatly facilitates the process.
• Customer experience
  Finally, it all comes down to flawless customer experiences because that’s what’s important. If the business is running smoothly, the customer will probably be satisfied. Furthermore, AI technologies play a crucial role in customer journey orchestration, enabling a business to deliver a seamless and personalized customer experience across multiple channels.

Blockchain, NFTs, and the Metaverse

Get onto the blockchain technology expedition. If you’re into finance, the best thing to do is to offer a blockchain technology-based system to your clients. Their transactions become more discreet, and they are more satisfied.

Even if you’re not into any kind of business, investing in a bit of crypto can come a long way. Another thing to look into is NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). Similar to cryptocurrencies, NFTs are assets, but they’re not fungible.

Each NFT is unique and one of a kind, and represents a digital piece of art such as a video, a music file, an image, etc. Luckily, you can create your NFT design using NFT creation software. These amazing technologies are building up to the Metaverse.

Metaverse involves virtual and augmented reality and combines features of the digital and physical worlds. If you can help your business become a part of it by building a virtual shop or similar, you’re already ahead.

Incorporating the Latest Digital Marketing Trends

There are three types of digital marketing trends you should focus on in 2022:

1.   Social Media Marketing Trends

Social media marketing should be an integral part of every business’s marketing strategy. Especially now that TikTok is on the rise, overlooking it as well as other dominating networks such as Facebook and Instagram is not an option. Consider these trends to increase your social media engagement:

• Short-form videos
  Instead of using long explainer videos on your social media profiles, try short videos that contain key points. They are more likely to help you get new customers and clients.
• Infographics
  The best thing to do is post infographics that contain bits of information on the product or service that you offer. Think about your experiences. It’s much easier to read all the info at once instead of searching for the specs.
• Influencers
  There are many popular people that influence social media communities. Use influencers to your advantage and get the best possible results on your social media profiles.
• Paid ads
  Advertising is still a superb way to go, but try not to be too forceful with your ads. Show the customers that they need your product or service and try to make it an experience for them.

2.   Visual Marketing Trends

Apart from the suggested infographics and the short-form videos you can post on your social media profiles, there are other visual marketing trends you should look into. For example, think about your logo.

Logo designing is not that expensive, and it makes your brand stand out. Having a memorable logo will help you stay ahead of the competition. You can also hire a web designer to give your website the best possible look and functionality.

3.   SEO Trends

Some other digital marketing tips that should never be overlooked include SEO. At this point in time, search engine algorithms do not solely rely on keywords but instead on relevance to your search query. This relevance is based on:

• Search location
  If you’re searching for a specific keyword across the continent, it’s unlikely that your results are going to be from a country miles away. So, be location-specific in your content.
• Keywords
  Still, these contribute to relevance, as people type a word into the search bar to start the search. So, if a page contains your keyword, it’s likely to appear on the search results page.
• Content
  Finally, SEO professionals put a word on our webpage multiple times and think it is more relevant than the other pages containing the word. Remember, you need to integrate content that’s also quite relevant to the keyword.

Digital Video Formats for Efficient Data Storage

Finally, before posting videos on your business website, you need to consider which format is best for different videos, including how-to videos, informational videos, training videos, etc. Remember, storage is not infinite, so we need to focus on those formats that are storage-efficient.

By far, the best video format you can use is the MP4 format, as it’s supported by most browser apps and is space-saving. Plus, converting to another format like DVD to MP4 format will not affect the quality that much.

Conclusion

Make a smooth transition of your business to WEB 3.0. Incorporate as many trending technologies as you can, no matter which type of business you’re running. If you’re an individual, learn a bit about these because they can mean a lot in the future.

Once you hop onto the latest digital marketing trends journey, there is no stopping you from touching the pinnacle of success.

Terms like direct traffic, paid traffic, and organic traffic can be confusing if you’re only just taking your beginning steps into the world of digital marketing. This article will give you a quick overview regarding organic traffic, why it is important, and how you can increase it with ease. Without further ado, let’s get to it. 

Understanding Organic Traffic

The term organic traffic describes visitors to a website from organic search results rather than paid ads. When users enter queries on search engines like Google or Bing, they get a set of results, including top organic pages and ads. Users that click on organic results to visit a website are recorded as organic search traffic by analytics tools. 

Organic vs. Paid Traffic 

The primary difference between organic and paid traffic is that organic traffic is completely free while paid traffic incurs costs. To get traffic from search engines, you have two options: use SEO to rank your website high in search results without paying for it or place paid ads on top of organic results using Google Ads. 

SEO allows you to get traffic for free at any given time, but it takes some time to work and produce measurable results. On the flip side, pay-per-click (PPC) ads get you quick results, but you will end up paying for each click and visit to your website. 

PPC ads only last until your budget runs out. By contrast, organic results will continue driving traffic to your pages as long as you’re able to maintain good rankings on Google. This makes SEO a much more sustainable model for pulling recurring organic traffic to your target pages. 

Importance of Organic Traffic 

Organic traffic is important for any website. In fact, it is much more impactful in the long run than paid traffic. Even traffic from social media platforms like Facebook pales in comparison to organic traffic. The reason why organic traffic is important has to do with the fact that it is targeted. 

Users entering a query in search engines have a specific concern. If you provide them an answer or solution to the said concern, the chances of you gaining a new follower, email subscriber, or customer will be greater. Moreover, organic traffic is essential for increasing website trust, which has numerous other benefits. 

Users blindly trust websites that rank highly on search engines, increasing your chances of success of converting visitors, even more so than visitors coming from social media platforms or other mediums.  

Increasing Organic Traffic 

The best ways to increase organic traffic to your website involve following effective SEO practices, such as:

1. Only produce content that is of interest to your target audience. 
2. Use search terms/keywords throughout your content. 
3. Get links from reliable websites. 
4. Ensure your website is easy to use. 

These are only the bare essentials of an SEO-friendly website. The optimization actions and strategies necessary for boosting your website high on Google are seldom pulled off so easily. It’s an ongoing process that demands continuous experimentation, performance monitoring, and the marriage of data-driven optimization and creativity. 

You save money, but you expend more time and energy to secure a strong organic position for your website with SEO. And the best part? It truly pays off in the long run by making organic traffic the primary source of visitors to your site.