Running an online business is not an easy task, and if you are strapped for time because you are doing everything yourself, then it can be even more difficult. Not everyone can afford to hire virtual assistants and employees to manage the day-to-day operations, which is why a majority of online entrepreneurs wear several different hats.
There is only so much time in each day, making it very hard to completely cover all areas of marketing without a detailed time management plan. The fastest way to fail is by flying from the seat of your pants without any organization.
I see so many business owners that will focus on SEO while completely ignoring PPC, and then if their rankings fall they are scrambling to get caught up to speed on the latest pay-per-click and Facebook ads strategy.
There are several things you can do that all contribute to a successful overall marketing strategy, and to help you out, I have put together a list of 20 online marketing tips that you can do every month that each take less than 45 minutes of time to complete.
Not only does this allow you to create a much more comprehensive marketing effort, but it also leaves plenty of time to handle all of the other responsibilities related to operating your business.
Follow these 20 online marketing tips each and every month..
1. Check your links and domain metrics.
I know I poke fun of Moz’s Domain Authority, as it’s a third-party metric that isn’t tied to Google in any way but keeping track of it gives you an indication of whether or not your link building efforts are working.
DA that increases monthly is a good sign, and it’s always a good idea to routinely check your inbound links. You can find out who is linking to you and what content they like. Use this information when planning your outreach, as popular content is a much easier pitch.
2. Find new keyword ideas in Google Search Console.
Logging into Google’s Search Console on a regular basis is a good way to make sure there aren’t any major issues, like downtime or uncrawlable pages. One of the best resources in the dashboard is the list of keywords and search terms that caused your site to be displayed in the SERPs. Why? Because this is coming directly from the horse’s mouth. This isn’t some third-party piece of software that is guessing.
If Google is going to show you what is triggering your site to be shown, don’t you want to optimize those pages for the terms and pull in higher rankings to see more organic traffic?
3. Analyze your Google Analytics.
It is very important to properly set up your Google Analytics account to track all of your goals, whether it’s a form submit or direct purchase. When you set this up correctly you can see what traffic sources are producing the best results.
When you know without a doubt what is working, you can then funnel more of your advertising dollars to that avenue and really increase your results. Analyze as much data as possible that shows you exactly where your conversions are coming from.
4. Record a podcast episode.
Content marketing is evolving quickly, and the popular blog posts of the past are being replaced by more convenient formats, like video and podcasts. If you look at the top influencers in any niche, you will see they have podcasts.
Equipment can be purchased very inexpensively, and you can start small, putting out a simple 15 to 20-minute podcast monthly talking about any industry related topic you think your target audience will be interested in. You want to be found where your target audience’s attention can be found, and right now podcasts are very popular.
5. Comment on the top 5 blogs in your niche.
“Tommy, really?! Blog comments?!”
Before you mutter those words, let me explain. I’m not saying you should leave blog comments for link building purposes. You should do it for referral traffic. If you identify the 5 most popular blogs in your niche you should be able to find content that receives a lot of views.
They key is to provide a valuable reply in the comments section that gets people to stop and wonder who you are. Get clever and try to reference specific pieces of content in your comments, which will then send traffic to your website.
6. Optimize your conversion funnel.
It doesn’t matter if you are trying to convert visitors into consulting leads or have them buy a physical product on your website. All traffic follows a funnel path, and it’s best to always test and optimize different funnel paths.
Through testing, you might find that traffic that is sent to a webinar first will convert at a higher rate or that your e-commerce conversion rates are higher when you send the visitors to a registration page to sign up for a discount code. Never settle if you want to see improved results.
7. Schedule your social media posting for the month.
One of the biggest wastes of time is trying to post all of your social media content on the fly. If you have to stop what you are doing several times a day to find content, think of post content and then repeat this process across several platforms it will suck up your time.
Even if you just use the free Hootsuite plan you can sit down once a month and plan everything in advance. When you don’t have to worry about this is will free up a lot of time. This option allows you to have full control, rather than outsourcing, which a lot of small business owners like.
8. Repurpose popular blog content on LinkedIn and Medium.
LinkedIn has really stepped it up and is making an effort to create a more user-friendly community and a lot of business owners have taken notice. Content can really go viral there fast, especially if you are in some LinkedIn engagement pods. Medium is the same way.
So, I suggest that at least once a month you post on each, and you can re-publish popular content from your blog on these platforms. It literally takes a few minutes and you can see huge referral traffic spikes.
9. Reply to social media messages and DMs.
Just because you are scheduling your social media content for the month ahead of time that doesn’t mean you can set it and forget it. You are going to receive replies to your posts and messages, so you need to spend time replying to those messages.
If a potential customer has a question, answer them, and if someone is just leaving nice feedback, take the time to thank them. This type of engagement shows them that you care about them and can cause them to purchase down the road. When consumers see a company that replies on social media it instills more confidence.
10. Send guest post pitches.
Pitching is something that can be very time consuming, but no matter how short on time you are, you should at the very least take some time to send out some highly targeted pitches. If you are constantly posting new relevant content it makes this much easier.
Media outlets and journalists are more likely to give your request consideration if it involves a timely current topic, rather than just some generic content. If you consistently do this it also helps you build meaningful relationships with editors and writers, which just helps you down the line. (Or you can always hire some professionals to take care of it for you ;D )
11. Internally link your website content.
Internal linking is something that the majority of business owners don’t even pay attention to. It is helpful for a number of reasons:
- It allows you to pass juice from strong internal pages to other relevant pages that you want to push up in the SERPs
- It helps you funnel traffic from your content to pages that contain a call-to-action to convert your traffic into leads or sales
If you stay up on this and optimize your previous months content once a month you will never fall behind. Little things like this can help you monetize a much higher percent of your traffic, both paid and organic.
12. Follow a dozen niche influencers on social media.
Building relationships with influencers in your niche is helpful, but guess what? There are dozens of other business owners just like you that want to establish these relationships. One of the easiest ways to get your foot in the door is to connect with someone on social media.
Identify a dozen to follow every month and start to like their content, comment on it and share it with your audience. After a few months of this there is a chance your name will ring a bell when you reach out to formally introduce yourself. Remember, this takes time, as authenticity is key.
13. Schedule your content publishing calendar.
Publishing blog content on a regular basis is important for keeping site visitors engaged and also for giving Google the impression that your website is a source of information that is constantly updated.
It doesn’t matter if you are posting daily, twice a week or monthly – you need to stay organized to maintain a consistent schedule. There are plenty of free plugins and addons for all CMS programs that you can use to pre-load and schedule your posts. It’s much easier to have content planned for several weeks out. This way, if something comes up you don’t skip a beat.
14. Analyze the link profiles of the websites outranking you for your main keywords.
Just like you, your competition is constantly working on their SEO, and link building is undoubtedly part of their strategy. If you are constantly analyzing the link profiles of your competition you can stay close to them and work to surpass them in the SERPs.
You will often times find new link opportunities by seeing where they are securing links from and then duplicate their efforts, while also adding more to the fire, which is how you can pass them in the results.
15. Follow-up on new influencer relationships.
Once you do make a connection with an influencer in your niche it’s important to spend time maintaining that relationship. If you make a connection and get something from them and just abandon the relationship you will never be able to revisit that relationship in the future.
Don’t think one-night stands. Think marriage.
Even if it’s just a simple personal email once a month asking them how they are, what’s new and if there is anything you can do for them – this is what keeps those relationships strong.
16. Research content topics for the next month.
Did you know that 99% of the content out there is just re-written? Think about it for a moment. There are only so many possible topics to talk about in a given industry. It would be impossible to write about topics that have never been covered or discussed before.
The most popular blogs in any industry are the ones that take the same information that everyone else has and presents it in a better format. Something as simple as writing a piece in a simpler tone or with a bit more personality can be the difference between a post going viral or just collecting dust.
Take time to look at popular blogs in your niche and see what topics are performing the best. Add those to your topic list and find ways to re-write them to be better for your audience.
17. Create images for social media posts.
Social media posts that contain images will perform 100 times better than just a text-based post. You don’t have to have Photoshop skills though. Canva is a tool that anyone can use for free to create images.
The best part is that they already have templates for all popular social media formats, so they will always be sized perfectly. While you are scheduling your social media posts have Canva opened and create visual images that enhance your posts.
18. E-commerce companies: send a dozen samples to large media outlets or influencers.
If you are selling products online, take time every month to send out free samples to influencers and media outlets. The cost is minimal, and the results can be priceless in terms of branding, links earned and referral traffic.
All it takes is one influencer to post about what they just received, and it can mean hundreds of new orders. Some months you might strike out, but all it takes is one successful placement to make it a very lucrative strategy.
19. Audit your business directory listings.
One of the biggest contributors to a local business falling in the SERPs (especially the local maps) is inconsistent and inaccurate NAP (name, address and phone number) data being published.
There are always new local directories, especially in larger cities, and if Google notices inconsistencies they assume something is not right. Did the business move? Are they closed? Their goal is to provide the most accurate information to their users, so it’s important that you spend time auditing your most powerful listings to ensure they are always correct.
There is software from Moz and Yext that makes this very easy and will only take a few minutes of your time.
20. Create a vlog episode.
Just like podcasts, vlogs are another content format that is very popular right now. Customers like an inside look at a business and the people behind it. You don’t have to make a big production in order to see big results.
You can even film it on your iPhone and edit it using free software. If you create come cool video content throughout the month you can edit it all together fairly quickly. It will work better for some than others, but it’s definitely something to consider. It also gives you something different to share on social media and post on your blog. Don’t worry if it looks raw, because that makes it more authentic and it doesn’t feel like a commercial or advertisement. This is admittedly something I’m still working towards myself, a little camera shy if I’m honest.
Conclusion
You can see sizeable gains in your marketing efforts simply by doing things that result in moving the needle, which is what everything I have outlined above does. All these little things add up to big gains and improvements.
When you consistently do all of this, you see more traffic, more sales, and more revenue. It all comes down to time management. There is no reason you shouldn’t be able to tackle one of these items every 1 to 2 days every month. Consistency will help you make significant gains over time.
What do you think? Are you doing to devote some time to the items outlined above? Let me know in the comments below.
