• FAQs

          Search engine optimization (SEO) helps businesses drive visits to their website through organic search traffic. Given that the top organic search results receive a third of the clicks, a decline in ranking could be detrimental for your business. Implementing SEO best practices on your website will help to ensure that your web content is seen by as many potential customers as possible. The more visitors you have, the better your chances are of converting those visits into sales!

          Local search engine optimization (SEO) helps local businesses gain visibility by optimizing their local business listings for local search. A business that leverages local SEO will include its address, phone number, local opening times, and exact location in the form of a local citation. The goal is to rank for local searches which are usually performed by people in a specific geographical region looking for a business near them.

          We typically see results within the first 30 to 60 days, but when it comes to SEO, there are many factors at play. It's important to remember that SEO is a long-term strategy and results may not come as fast at you wish.


        • FAQs

          Digital advertising uses the internet to send advertisements to customers who are online through different websites and social media platforms like Google, Bing, LinkedIn and Facebook.

          The price for Google Ads management depends on the monthly ad spend. For accounts with $1,000 in monthly ad spend, the price is $550/month. Between $1,000 and $5,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $950/month. For $5,000 to $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $2,000/month. For more than $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $4,500/month.

          The price for Social Media Ads management depends on the monthly ad spend. For accounts with $1,000 in monthly ad spend, the price is $550/month. Between $1,000 and $5,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $950/month. For $5,000 to $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $2,000/month. For more than $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $4,500/month.


        • FAQs

          This depends on the complexity and size of a redesign and if eCommerce is needed. On average, it takes around 14-18 weeks from the web design intensive stage to launch.

          If your website experiences the following issues: it’s not responsive on all devices, has a slow loading speed, the design appears old and tired, users don’t spend long on the site, sales are stagnant, or your business is going through a rebranding - your website needs a redesign to boost your brand awareness and sales.

          Sometimes there’s no need to rebuild a website. Minor edits, refreshing page content and images, or restructuring page layout for SEO best practices can boost traffic and sales.


        • FAQs

          Semantic search launched in 2013 with the release of Google's Hummingbird update. Since then, Google's search engine has become more complex. The integration of machine learning, with RankBrain, and NLP, with BERT, has enabled the search engine to better understand the context of a query and deliver more personalized and targeted results. Semantic SEO is the process of creating machine-readable content using structured data and linked open data to help search engines better understand your content.

          On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing individual web pages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. On-page SEO refers to both the content and HTML source code of a page that can be optimized, as opposed to off-page SEO which refers to links and other external signals. From meta tags to page content, website structure, and HTML, on-page optimization services are focused on making your website more visible to search engines.

          Structured data refers to any organized data that conforms to a certain format, such as information in a relational database. When information is highly structured and predictable, search engines can more easily organize and display it in creative ways. Structured data involves using a piece of code that is laid out in a specific format easily understood by search engines. The search engines read the code and use it to display search results in a more dynamic way.


        • FAQs

          An SEO agency has experts in different areas of search engine optimization that may be out of the realm of your marketing team's abilities. SEO can be very complex and time-consuming. Furthermore, as search engine algorithms change it can be difficult to stay current on the latest ranking factors and strategies for improving online visibility. You will likely see a greater return on investment and better results from using a professional SEO agency than you would from tackling this on your own.

          As a digital marketing agency, SMA Marketing provides products and services in four areas: SEO, Local SEO, Digital Advertising, and Web Design

          We focus on building authentic, long-lasting relationships with our clients. We’re goal oriented and results driven and believe in doing good and making a difference in the world.

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Don’t Ignore Email Marketing

Have you ever scrolled through your inbox and had an emotional reaction while reading an email subject line? This happened to me the other day. The email subject said, “Want to know why your 6-month-old puppy stopped listening?”

Why did this simple question evoke an emotional reaction? Because just a few days earlier, our 6-month-old puppy had stopped listening to our training commands. I was so grateful for the timing of the information from our veterinarian. And the best part is the tips included actually worked!

This simple email marketing campaign is a perfect example of how sending helpful information to a segmented email list has the potential to increase trust with your target audience. Email marketing continues to be an incredibly effective way to gain and build trust with your ideal buyer throughout their buyer’s journey.

Great Email Campaigns Work

Whether your goal is to increase customer loyalty or move a group deeper into its buyer’s journey, sending emails is an excellent opportunity to add value to your overall digital marketing strategy.

It’s important to realize that thoughtful email campaigns do take time to put together. However, your time is well worth the effort because people who sign up for your email list have previously indicated they want to hear from you! Additionally, once you build an email segment out, your email service provider will take over with automation, allowing you to serve your target audience while you focus on other aspects of your business.

How Effective is Email Marketing?

According to a study from Custora E-Commerce Pulse in 2022,

  • E-mail accounted for 19.8% of all transactions for e-commerce sites
  • Paid search accounted for 19.9% of transactions
  • Organic traffic was responsible for 21.8%

This shows us that an excellent email marketing strategy has the potential to add just as much value to an overall content marketing strategy as other marketing channels.

Designing an Effective Email Marketing Campaign

Effective marketing emails allow companies to speak directly to customers and potential customers with information relevant to them based on their current needs. This may seem complex, but there are a few steps you can take to ensure your email newsletter adds value.

Step 1: Clearly Define Your Buyer Personas

Step 2: Outline the Stages of Each Persona’s Buyer’s Journey

Step 3: Develop Email Content for Each Stage

Step 4: Create Opportunities for People to Sign Up for Your Emails

Let’s look more in-depth at each of these steps.

Clearly Define Your Buyer Personas

Your buyer persona is essentially a snapshot of the person best helped by your products and services. By writing directly to the people most likely to buy your products and services, you increase trust and remind your audience you are an industry expert! When your email list develops from people visiting your website, you’re more likely to see interest when sending promotional emails.

Outline the Stages of Each Persona’s Buyer’s Journey

The stages of a buyer’s journey are:

  • Awareness
  • Consideration
  • Decision
  • Customer Retention
  • Advocate

Each series of emails should include unique content designed to move your target audience from learning more about you and your products and services (awareness) to the point where they forward your email to friends wanting to ensure those in their circles of influence know about how you add value to their lives (advocate).

Develop Email Content for Each Stage

The types of emails included in each series should include helpful and timely information for the recipient. In the initial example I noted, our veterinarian has developed content for each month of a puppy’s first year. The only reason I open these emails is that each month, they offer insights into what we’re experiencing or what we may soon encounter with our pup.

I have no idea how deep the segmentation our veterinarian set up goes. But as a dog owner, I can guarantee that an email about what to expect with a six-month-old kitten or horse would evoke a very different response.

The same is true when writing to an audience before a product purchase vs. after someone has converted to a customer.

Create Opportunities for People to Sign Up for Your Emails

Finally, create a call-to-action with a signup form that easily allows your target audience to opt-in to emails. This shouldn’t require coding. In fact, most email marketing services have simple ways to set up and connect forms to your website.

Delegate what you can to remain focused on your business. Ask the experts to configure your forms if you delegate email marketing to a digital marketing agency.

What is the Value of an Email Address?

Privy reports that the average sales from a captured email address is $33.

An Only Influencers Case Study revealed that customer emails averaged $625 in sales vs. $113 spent by customers who did not receive emails.

Drip reports that it’s possible to have a $44 email return for every dollar you invest in an email campaign.

You can determine your company’s email return on investment with this helpful calculator from emailmarketingroi.com.

Measuring Email Analytics

To accurately measure your email ROI you’ll need a clear idea of a few measurable analytics.

Click-Through-Rate: CTR is measured by tracking the number of people who receive an email divided by the number who click a link embedded in the email.

Subscribers: The number of people who sign up to receive your email campaign.

Unsubscribe Rate: An unsubscribe rate measures how many users have chosen to opt out of a mailing list after receiving an email campaign.

Email Conversion Rate: The email conversion rate is calculated by dividing the number of people who took the desired action by the total emails sent, then multiplying the result by 100 to express it as a percentage.

Most email marketing platforms will measure these analytics for you, especially if you use a paid service.

Why Email is Still A Powerful Marketing Tool

FAQs About Email Marketing

What should I include in my email marketing campaign?

Think about the content that will delight your audience and earn their trust. Your goal is to include helpful information that is personally relevant to the email recipient. If a blog post will answer a question included in the newsletter, go ahead and link the post. If you’re having a sale, make sure to include a coupon code specific to email recipients.

What is the best email service provider?

When selecting an ESP for your business needs, there are several questions to consider. What is your budget? If it’s very limited, look for free email marketing tools that will grow with you. Consider what kind of emails you plan to send and how often. Knowing the answers to these questions will help narrow down your options and ensure you select the best ESP for your business needs.

Which email template is the best?

The best template is the one your audience will quickly identify with your company. Choose a template with white space and customize it to match your company branding.

If you’re looking to add or improve how your company uses email marketing, a digital marketing expert can help! The SMA Marketing team has years of experience developing personalized email marketing campaigns for clients. Contact us to learn more.

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