Here are a few key online marketing terms to get you started:
Blog - Short for “web log,” a blog is a collection of online articles that can help drive sales. A blog also increases customer engagement and boosts your brand’s search ranking. Blogging is considered a form of content marketing. Content marketing: Content marketing drives sales by providing useful and engaging content. Examples include blogging, social media and email marketing.
CTA: CTA stands for Call to Action. Strong content always includes a call to action that tells customers what to do next (e.g., “Click here to grab my free ebook now.”) CTR: CTR stands for Click-Through Rate. Your click-through rate is the percentage of site visitors or email recipients who click your CTA.
Domain name: A domain name is the web address customers type into their browser to go to your site, like godaddy.com. Strong online marketing starts with a solid domain name. Make sure your domain name suits your brand, establishes your professionalism, and grabs people’s attention.
E-Commerce: E-Commerce means selling products and services online. Even the smallest businesses can set up a website with E-Commerce capabilities.
Keyword: Keywords are the terms people will most likely use to find your site. For example, if you’re a plumber in New York City, some top keywords would be "plumber", "plumbing", and "NYC". Effective online marketing hinges on optimizing your content for specific keywords. Search engines (e.g., Google, Bing, Yahoo) use these keywords to determine which websites to return in search results.
Local business listings: Consumers use sites like Yelp, Facebook and Google to search for specific business types. For your business to show up in those search results, you need to optimize your local business listings.
Opt-in: Opt-in marketing, also referred to as permission-based marketing, means only sending promotions to existing customers. Not only is this considered the best practice, there are laws prohibiting businesses from 'spamming' people with unwanted emails
Segmentation: This is the act of segmenting your customers and prospects into specific groups, such as, people who have purchased gift cards. By segmenting your recipients, you can run more targeted (and successful) email marketing campaigns.
SEO: SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which is exactly what it sounds like -- optimizing your site for search engines. SEO is vital to achieving high results on Google, Bing, Yahoo! and others. Search engines like these look for keywords and other SEO elements to return the most relevant sites.
SEM: SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing, which means paying a search engine (e.g., Google, Bing, Yahoo) to place ads for your business in specific search results.
Social media: Social media sites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) aren't just for individual people. By creating business profiles on social media, your brand can drive more business through engaging content, special offers, and useful information. Social media marketing includes free and paid opportunities.
