29 Digital Marketing Tips for 2019

Are you wondering what digital marketing tips and tricks are working in 2019? Here’s the short list of my top 29 digital marketing tips and feel free to skim down to get more information about the tip you’re most interested in!

Digital Marketing Tips 2019: Google My Business

• Claim your Google My Business profile – Did you know that if you have a business you can claim a free profile on Google that displays your business name, hours, website, photos and more? It’s called Google My Business (GMB). Your GMB profile is one of the most important pieces of digital real estate that you can own. Your profile is the one-stop-shop for potential customers about your business and you’re in control of the information that’s shared. To claim your profile, just go over to https://www.google.com/business/ and enter some basic information about your business. Next, you’ll get a postcard mailed to you with a verification code. Once you enter the code, your business will be verified, and you can start adding photos, posts, hours, questions and answers, and customers can start leaving you reviews. Now, when someone searches for your business, you’ll have a large profile on the right hand side of Google.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Did you know that if you have a business you can claim a free profile on Google that displays your business name, hours, website, photos and more? It’s called Google My Business (GMB). @iankeir1 #seo #gmb” quote=”Did you know that if you have a business you can claim a free profile on Google that displays your business name, hours, website, photos and more? It’s called Google My Business (GMB). @iankeir1 #seo #gmb”]

• Use posts in Google My Business – All Google My Business profiles now have the ability to share posts. Posts are announcements or promotions that live on your Google My Business profile (and show up in search results). The catch is that they expire in 7 days. The trick is to use them strategically. Is there an event that is going on in your city, and can you offer a special promotion? Create a post to advertise it.

Example of a Google My Business post.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Google My Business Posts are announcements or promotions that live on your Google My Business profile (and show up in search results). @iankeir1 #seo #gmb” quote=”Google My Business Posts are announcements or promotions that live on your Google My Business profile (and show up in search results). @iankeir1 #seo #gmb”]

• Ask questions in your Google My Business profile (and answer them) – Did you know that your Google My Business profile contains a question and answers section? This section of your profile is not just for potential customers to ask you questions. You can ask questions, even though you own the business. Like using Posts, you want to have a strategy for what you’re posting. Think about the most common questions you get asked, ask them on the profile, and provide answers. This way, you get to control the conversation and show that you’re providing value to potential visitors.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Think about the most common questions you get asked, ask them on your Google My Business profile, and provide answers. This way, you get to control the conversation and show that you’re providing value to potential visitors. @iankeir1 #seo #gmb” quote=”Think about the most common questions you get asked, ask them on your Google My Business profile, and provide answers. This way, you get to control the conversation and show that you’re providing value to potential visitors. @iankeir1 #seo #gmb”]

• Don’t underestimate the power of reviews – Reviews are one of the most critical components of your online presence. Think about the last time you used a service. I’m sure you looked up the business online and saw what other people were saying. The same will be true for your customers. Ask your customers to leave you a review on Google (and Facebook). Additionally, take time to respond to every review, whether it’s positive or negative. If it’s a positive review, thank the reviewer and show that you’re grateful. If it’s a negative review, address the concern (not in an accusatory or hostile manner) and take it offline. Give the reviewer your email address to continue the conversation offline.

An example of how reviews are displayed on a Google My Business profile.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”The way you handle negative reviews has little to do with that particular negative reviewer, and everything with potential customers seeing how you handle a problem. @iankeir1 #seo #gmb” quote=”The way you handle negative reviews has little to do with that particular negative reviewer, and everything with potential customers seeing how you handle a problem. @iankeir1 #seo #gmb”].

• Run a Google Adwords Express campaign – If you are a small marketing team of one, and are handling many different tasks, and Adwords Express campaign may be the right fit for you. Unlike the full Adwords, Adwords Express focuses on getting the smallest amount of information about your business (in the form of a description and a short ad) and then Google optimizes the results for you and will show your ad based on your goals (website visits, mailing list signups, buying something on your site, etc.). There is less functionality and less customization than Adwords, but if you are the only person doing marketing, this might be just the trick.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”If you are a small marketing team of one, and are handling many different tasks, and Adwords Express campaign may be the right fit for you. @iankeir1 @smallbusiness #advertising” quote=”If you are a small marketing team of one, and are handling many different tasks, and Adwords Express campaign may be the right fit for you. @iankeir1 @smallbusiness #advertising”]

Digital Marketing Tips 2019: Website

• Rewrite title and meta descriptions to improve CTR (click-through-rate) – The title and meta description are one of the two most important components of your website. The title and meta description are the first thing a potential visitor will see when visiting your website from an organic search. While the meta description isn’t a ranking factor in the search engine’s algorithm, the title is, so treat it accordingly. Don’t stuff either with keywords, but use your keywords strategically. Include your branding in your title, and in the meta description, make sure that the copy is enticing and encourages potential visitors to click through. Think about what makes you click on a result in organic search and apply those same lessons to your own copy. If you’re using WordPress, it’s really easy to edit these by using either the Yoast SEO plugin or the All in One SEO plugin. If you’re on Wix or Squarespace, you’ll easily see the option to edit these as you’re creating the page.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”The title and meta description are one of the two most important components of your website. Think about what makes you click on a result in organic search and apply those same lessons to your own copy. @iankeir1 #seo #website #smallbusiness” quote=”The title and meta description are one of the two most important components of your website. Think about what makes you click on a result in organic search and apply those same lessons to your own copy. @iankeir1 #seo #website #smallbusiness”]

• Add schema to your website – Schema is one of the most important pieces of code you can have on your website. Schema is additional code that is placed on your website for the search engines to communicate details about your website. The code is formatted into JSON-LD, and fires when the page loads. In general, the search engines can only understand so much about the content on a webpage, so schema is used to fill in the gap. There is schema markup for just about anything from local business, to organization, to blog, to article, to event, to job listing, and more. If you feel like hand-coding your schema markup, you can do so, use the Google Structured Data Testing Tool to validate, and fire the code through Google Tag Manager. If, however, you do not need extreme customization, using a schema plugin (like WP SEO Schema) is really helpful for doing the heavy lifting from a code perspective, and all you have to do is go in and fill in the form fields.

A code snippet of schema markup using JSON-LD.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Schema is one of the most important pieces of code you can have on your website. Schema is additional code that is placed on your website for the search engines to communicate details about your website. @iankeir1 #seo #schema” quote=”Schema is one of the most important pieces of code you can have on your website. Schema is additional code that is placed on your website for the search engines to communicate details about your website. @iankeir1 #seo #schema”]

• Give each page a keyword focus – Each page on your website should be geared to a particular topic. This topic is what forms your keyword. Think about what someone would search to find your page. This is another good way to approach your focus keyword. Once you have that focus keyword decided, do some basic keyword research. Look up your keyword/keyword phrase (check out the article keyword research and analysis for SEO for more information) in the search engines and evaluate the other content that’s showing up. You want to make your content better than what is already out there, so keep that in mind. You can also use a tool like Ubersuggest to get the search volume and related terms for your keyword phrase. Once you know what keyword/keyword phrase matches to what page on your site, go back and optimize each page for that particular keyword.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Each page on your website should be geared to a particular topic. This topic is what forms your keyword. @iankeir1 #seo #keywordresearch” quote=”Each page on your website should be geared to a particular topic. This topic is what forms your keyword. @iankeir1 #seo #keywordresearch”]

• Make sure each page has a CTA (call to action) – Each page on your site should lead your visitors to take some sort of action. Maybe the action is to read another page or article? Or, maybe the action is to get in touch with you and fill out a contact form? Or, maybe the action is to buy one of your products online? Whatever the action is, take the guess work out of next steps for your visitors and provide a clear path through your website to the next piece of content or action for them to take.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Each page on your site should lead your visitors to take some sort of action. Whatever the action is take the guess work out and provide a clear path through your website. @iankeir1 #seo #cro” quote=”Each page on your site should lead your visitors to take some sort of action. Whatever the action is take the guess work out and provide a clear path through your website. @iankeir1 #seo #cro”]

• Make sure you’re listed in local/niche directories – While mass directory submission is a thing of the SEO past, niche and local directories are still relevant in 2019. As you start to ask what directories should I make sure to be included in, one of the questions to ask yourself is where would you go to learn about businesses in your area? Are there special trade organizations, chambers of commerce, tourism, economic development, or other review sites? Those are the type of websites you’ll want to make sure to be included in. For the complete list of applicable local directories for your industry, consult this exhaustive local directories post from Brightlocal.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”While mass directory submission is a thing of the SEO past, niche and local directories are still relevant in 2019. @iankeir1 #seo #linkbuilding” quote=”While mass directory submission is a thing of the SEO past, niche and local directories are still relevant in 2019. @iankeir1 #seo #linkbuilding”]

• Utilize images in your posts – Images are a great way to make your content more engaging. If you’re still using walls of text, no one is going to read what you wrote. Instead, mix in related images that support or illustrate the point you’re trying to make. Infographics, in particular, are really useful because it gives the reader an overview of the topic and a reason to share your content.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Images are a great way to make your content more engaging. If you’re still using walls of text, no one is going to read what you wrote. @iankeir1 #seo #imageoptimization” quote=”Images are a great way to make your content more engaging. If you’re still using walls of text, no one is going to read what you wrote. @iankeir1 #seo #imageoptimization”]

• Check your analytics (both for your website and social media) to identify top performing content – Are you wondering what’s working and what isn’t on your website? By identifying top performing content on your website, you’ll know what your audience likes and enjoys and you can create more content like that. To do this, check your Google Analytics account under Behavior -> Site Content -> All Pages and see what pages are getting the most visits, what sources that traffic is coming from, how long they’re staying on the page, and whether they’re filling out any forms or completing a conversion.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Are you wondering what’s working and what isn’t on your website? By identifying top performing content on your website, you’ll know what your audience likes and enjoys and you can create more content like that. @iankeir1 #seo #analytics #content” quote=”Are you wondering what’s working and what isn’t on your website? By identifying top performing content on your website, you’ll know what your audience likes and enjoys and you can create more content like that. @iankeir1 #seo #analytics #content”]

• Make sure your name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent across all sites – Having your business name, address, and phone number the same across all directories, local listings, and other web properties is one of the most important things you can do for your web presence. The consistency of this information will often affect your local rankings and could mean the difference between you and a competitor when it comes to ranking for a particular local keyword. To check this information, you can use a listings service like Brightlocal or Whitespark. Once you know what listings are incorrect, you can contact them to get the information updated.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Having your business name, address, and phone number the same across all directories, local listings, and other web properties is one of the most important things you can do for your web presence. @iankeir1 #seo #nap #localseo” quote=”Having your business name, address, and phone number the same across all directories, local listings, and other web properties is one of the most important things you can do for your web presence. @iankeir1 #seo #nap #localseo”]

• Collect email addresses with engaging downloads and offers – Once you attract visitors to your website, you want to ensure that you’ll be able to get in touch with them again, and if they didn’t buy your service or product, that you can sell it to them at a later time. The easiest way to do this is to create a newsletter (and ask for people to subscribe to it) or to offer them a download or some other offer in exchange for their name and email address. The goal here is you want to make someone an offer that they can’t refuse. The value of what you are going to give them should outweigh any hesitation they have about giving you their information.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”When you collect email addresses you want to make someone an offer that they can’t refuse. The value of what you are going to give them should outweigh any hesitation they have about giving you their information. @iankeir1 #cro #leadgen” quote=”When you collect email addresses you want to make someone an offer that they can’t refuse. The value of what you are going to give them should outweigh any hesitation they have about giving you their information. @iankeir1 #cro #leadgen”]

• Make sure your website is secure (HTTPS) – Google is pushing more and more sites to become secure and move from the old standard of HTTP to HTTPS. This means that your site will be more secure and visitors information is less likely to be compromised. Google is also pushing down sites that are not secure, so if visitor security isn’t enough to make the switch, a small ranking boost might. It’s relatively easy to do, and if you contact your hosting company they can usually walk you through the process.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Google is pushing more and more sites to become secure and move from the old standard of HTTP to HTTPS. @iankeir1 #seo #security” quote=”Google is pushing more and more sites to become secure and move from the old standard of HTTP to HTTPS. @iankeir1 #seo #security”]

• Check your mobile website compatibility –  Making sure your website is compatible on a mobile device is one of the most important things you can do. According to Statistia, 52.2% of all internet traffic in 2018 was from mobile devices. That’s over half of all traffic around the world! Every day, more people are using a phone (or sometimes a tablet) to access the worldwide web. If you’re site doesn’t look good and most importantly doesn’t function well on a mobile device your visitors will leave and go to your competitors. To check your mobile compatibility, first start by loading your site on your own mobile device. How does it look? Is there anything that needs to be improved? Once you’ve done that, head over to Google’s Mobile Friendly Testing Tool. The tool will let you know if you have any issues with your website and will give you some suggestions of what you need to fix if your site sin’t mobile-friendly.

The homepage of the Google Mobile Friendly Testing Tool

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Every day, more people are using a phone to access the worldwide web. If you’re site doesn’t look good and most importantly doesn’t function well on a mobile device your visitors will leave and go to your competitors. @iankeir1 #seo #mobile” quote=”Every day, more people are using a phone to access the worldwide web. If you’re site doesn’t look good and most importantly doesn’t function well on a mobile device your visitors will leave and go to your competitors. @iankeir1 #seo #mobile”]

• Add live chat to your site – According to INC, over 44% of customers said that the ability to have a live chat during their buying experience was extremely important. Adding live chat is one of the easiest things you can do. After signing up with a particular service (I really like Gist (formerly known as Convertfox), but there’s also Intercom or Zendesk), it’s usually a plugin or a line of Javascript that needs to be installed on your site, and then the rest is handled/configured through the widget. Additionally, while all of the above have advanced filters, tagging ability, scripts, etc. that can be used to better serve your customers, at least set up the actual live chat functionality so you can respond to a customer when they’re on your website. The other settings are helpful but not essential.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”According to @INC, over 44% of customers said that the ability to have a live chat during their buying experience was extremely important. It’s easy to add live chat to your website. @iankeir1 #customerservice” quote=”According to @INC, over 44% of customers said that the ability to have a live chat during their buying experience was extremely important. It’s easy to add live chat to your website. @iankeir1 #customerservice”]

• Reach out to relevant and related websites with content and ask for a link – Outreach is one of the most often discussed, but under-utilized aspect of digital marketing. The goal is to identify useful and relevant content that’s on your site and identify who would benefit from linking to your content. Let’s use an example: Say you are a plumber and you have a blog post on your website about how to unclog a toilet. When you start to think about outreach for that post, you want to target people who would benefit from reading your post. Maybe you would reach out to an apartment rental company for them to link to it from a tenant page (for their tenants who might have a clogged toilet).

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Outreach is one of the most often discussed, but under-utilized aspect of digital marketing. The goal is to identify useful and relevant content that’s on your site and identify who would benefit from linking to your content. @iankeir1 #seo #linkbuilding” quote=”Outreach is one of the most often discussed, but under-utilized aspect of digital marketing. The goal is to identify useful and relevant content that’s on your site and identify who would benefit from linking to your content. @iankeir1 #seo #linkbuilding”]

• Add a blog to your website – After you have created your about page, services/product pages, and a contact page, a blog is one of the next most important components of your website. A blog is where you can create related content about your business. The goal for this content is to create content that people will be searching for about their problem or question, BEFORE they are aware of your business. These pieces don’t have to be long, but they should answer the question or explain the topic and don’t take shortcuts. Add in images, infographics, videos, and other engaging content to make your blog stand out. Longer pieces do tend to perform better, but don’t let that keep you from writing.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”A blog is where you can create related content about your business. The goal for this content is to create content that people will be searching for about their problem or question, BEFORE they are aware of your business. @iankeir1 #contentmarketing” quote=”A blog is where you can create related content about your business. The goal for this content is to create content that people will be searching for about their problem or question, BEFORE they are aware of your business. @iankeir1 #contentmarketing”]

Digital Marketing Tips 2019: Content

• Create a video explaining your service or product – According to OptinMonster, 79% of consumers prefer to watch a video about a product versus reading about it. It doesn’t have to be difficult to do this. You can utilize Adobe Spark, Clipman, or Rocketium to create your video. You don’t need to make it complicated, and you can even use a cell phone camera to describe your product or service in your own words. The point of explainer videos should always be to provide another method for a customer to learn about you and your product. Don’t let flashy stuff get in the way of conveying that message.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”The point of explainer videos should always be to provide another method for a customer to learn about you and your product. Don’t let flashy stuff get in the way of conveying that message.  @iankeir1 #contentmarketing #video” quote=”The point of explainer videos should always be to provide another method for a customer to learn about you and your product. Don’t let flashy stuff get in the way of conveying that message.  @iankeir1 #contentmarketing #video”]

• Do round up posts to get in front of new audiences –  Are you out of ideas and stressed about creating content? Are you looking for ways to create new content? This is where round up posts come into play. All that’s required is to pick a topic and solicit feedback from other experts in the field (and then include their quote and a headshot). Another way to do this is to do a round up of content that has been previously published. You can provide a portion of the already published content and provide your own commentary. It’s a good way to vary the types of blog posts you’re creating on your website. This list of blog post ideas is one of the most exhaustive I’ve found, and if you need ideas definitely consult this link.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Are you out of ideas and stressed about creating new content? Do round up posts to get in front of new audiences. @iankeir1 #contentmarketing” quote=”Are you out of ideas and stressed about creating new content? Do round up posts to get in front of new audiences. @iankeir1 #contentmarketing”]

• Localize your content – This one might sound scary but makes a lot of sense and is easy than you may think. All this means is make sure in the content you are creating, you’re speaking to your area. People like to buy from others who they have a common or shared experience with. Additionally, if you are a local locksmith, you aren’t going to create a blog post about top home security companies in the United States? NO! Instead, you are going to do a post on top home security companies in your local area. That’s the type of content that one of your customers would be looking for online.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Create content that’s local and specific to your audience, rather than making it too broad and general @iankeir1 #contentmarketing” quote=”Create content that’s local and specific to your audience, rather than making it too broad and general @iankeir1 #contentmarketing”]

• Remember to tell stories – Your audience is looking to be entertained and to distinguish you and what you’re saying from the myriad of messages they are getting every minute. How do you distinguish yourself? With a story. A story helps you audience remember you and what you said.

Stories are what make your product and your company stand out.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Your audience is looking to be entertained and to distinguish you and what you’re saying from the myriad of messages they are getting every minute. @iankeir1 #storytelling #marketing #digitalmarketing” quote=”Your audience is looking to be entertained and to distinguish you and what you’re saying from the myriad of messages they are getting every minute. @iankeir1 #storytelling #marketing #digitalmarketing”]

• Develop your content marketing strategy – A content marketing strategy is in it’s simplest form “what will go where and when”. There are spreadsheets and documents that will make this easier to keep track of, but at the end of the day be purposeful about the content you’re creating, why you’re creating it, and where it’s going. Your content marketing strategy should be aimed at the the top of the funnel (problem awareness), the middle of the funnel (brand awareness), and the bottom of the funnel (problem and brand awareness). Additionally, add different types of content to your mix. Don’t just use one. The goal is you’re trying to engage people using different mediums who are at different points in their buying journey.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”A content marketing strategy is in it’s simplest form ‘what will go where and when’. @iankeir1 #contentmarketing #marketing” quote=”A content marketing strategy is in it’s simplest form ‘what will go where and when’. @iankeir1 #contentmarketing #marketing”]

Digital Marketing Tips 2019: Social Media

• Be active on social media (where your clients are located) – This one is pretty simple, but most people don’t do it. Be SOCIAL! Regularly post content on social media. The frequency matters depending on the channel, your niche, your audience, and your ability to churn out content. Whatever you can do for social media content, do it well and never sacrifice quantity for quality. Find topics that your audience will engage with and post more content that has a higher engagement. Second, you don’t have to be active on every single social media platform. This is not only unreasonable, but if you’re looking for a way to make sure you never do anything on social media, be active on every single one. But seriously, find a couple that are relevant to your business or industry and focus your efforts there. You can scale over time as you develop a rhythm. However, you should always claim your social media profiles. This way, if you ever want to, you can start using one and a competitor won’t be squatting on it.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Whatever you can do for social media content, do it well and never sacrifice quantity for quality. @iankeir1 #smm #marketing” quote=”Whatever you can do for social media content, do it well and never sacrifice quantity for quality. @iankeir1 #smm #marketing”]

• Recycle content from your website on social media – Do you have a difficult time trying to come up with ideas of what to post to social media? Rather than continually having to develop original content (or sharing someone else’s content) you can also add in content from your website. Share your About Us story, a product/service, or your most recent blog. If you’re looking for a service to help you, consider Missinglettr. It automates posting to social media for you! The possibilities are only limited by what’s on your website. You spent all this time to develop a piece of content for your website, so make sure that it continues to live on after it’s originally published.

Missinglettr is really helpful for syndicating content from your website on social media.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Do you have a difficult time trying to come up with ideas of what to post to social media? Recycle content from your website on social media. @iankeir1 #smm #website” quote=”Do you have a difficult time trying to come up with ideas of what to post to social media? Recycle content from your website on social media. @iankeir1 #smm #website”]

• Create a social media calendar – How are your currently planning your social media? If you answered that I have no plan, than you need to be using a social media calendar. A social media calendar gives you a schedule of what content you’ll be posting when. By doing this exercise, you can identify gaps in posting, too much posting on a single day or days, spread out the types of content your posting, vary posting styles, and more.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”A social media calendar gives you a schedule of what content you’ll be posting when. @iankeir1 #marketing #smm” quote=”A social media calendar gives you a schedule of what content you’ll be posting when. @iankeir1 #marketing #smm”]

• Start a TwitterChat – Have you ever heard of a Twitter Chat? Twitter Chats are a great opportunity for you to own the space in talking about your industry. A Twitter Chat consists of a pre-scheduled topic that will be discussed with any interested parties on Twitter at a pre-determined time. Anyone who’s interested will be on Twitter at that particular time, and can find your Twitter Chat by looking for a specific hashtag. Here’s an example of a Twitter Chat: if you were a bakery and coffee shop maybe you would start a Twitter Chat about books. You could name the chat “Things to Read While Drinking Coffee” and the hashtag, for example, could be #bookswithcoffeechat. Each week, you could pick a different genre and have different people in the community host it by coming up with topics or discussion points. Then, anyone who’s participating would use the Twitter Chat hashtag, and would respond with a reference to the question that they’re answering.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Twitter Chats are a great opportunity for you to own the space in talking about your industry. A Twitter Chat consists of a pre-scheduled topic that will be discussed with any interested parties on Twitter at a pre-determined time. @iankeir1 #smm” quote=”Twitter Chats are a great opportunity for you to own the space in talking about your industry. A Twitter Chat consists of a pre-scheduled topic that will be discussed with any interested parties on Twitter at a pre-determined time. @iankeir1 #smm”]

• Utilize live video to build your brand – What people are craving more than ever in our world is authenticity. we want to know who is behind the content that we are reading. So much so that in a recent Forbes study, over 87% of viewers crave behind the scenes content. They want to know what they don’t know. This is where live video comes in. It gives you another channel to connect with your audience and puts your content into a different form. People learn in many different ways, tactile, auditory, visual, etc. so by formatting your content into different mediums you can increase your potential reach.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”What people are craving more than ever in our world is authenticity. we want to know who is behind the content that we are reading. @iankeir1 #video #marketing” quote=”What people are craving more than ever in our world is authenticity. we want to know who is behind the content that we are reading. @iankeir1 #video #marketing”]

So, what tips do you think I missed and should have been included on this list? Let me know in the comments below!

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