Google Digital Garage: The Fundamentals of Digital Marketing summary

Google Digital Marketing

Take a business online

MODULE 1: The online opportunity

Things to consider
- Scope: Web – Mobile – Social
- Technology & Content
- Cost & Time (budget & schedule)

Review section, videos, online advertisements... opportunities are endless!

Set priorities: clear objectives
 Analytics: measure progress along the way
 Identify opportunities to reach these goals
 What works well and what can be tweaked

Building digital presence using different channels
 Local listings (Google My Business; https://www.google.co.uk/business/)
 Mobile apps (Reminders, loyalty programs)
 Social media
 E-mail
 Paid search
So: Don’t necessarily need to start with a website
State your claim online – but can be done anywhere.

MODULE 2: Your first steps in online success

Social & e-mail: engage with existing customers (e.g. feedback)

Search engine: show business in results using the right keywords (most relevant words to
your business)
 SEO: search engine optimisation, unpaid search results
 SEM: search engine marketing, paid add space
o Search engine advertisement: Auction system – bid on the keywords
o Display advertisements: appear everywhere online (e.g. next to a recipe)
 Google Keyword Planner: https://ads.google.com/intl/nl_NL/home/
 Bing Keyword research: https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/keyword-
research-628070b6

E-mail marketing: relevant information and offers to people who signed up/opted in
 Coupons
 Advertise event
 Promote sale items

Long term: Gear your digital plan towards the long haul

,  Setting realistic expectations
o Don’t expect too much too soon
o Takes time for search engines to find you
 Tracking your results
o Analytics
 Where are customers coming from = which marketing campaigns are
working
 What are customers doing on your website = Is your investment
working?
 Adapt to changes in technology and your industry
o New tools, technologies and tactics
o Combine basic concepts with new trends

A good plan will consider three things
1. Know your online goals & set realistic expectations
2. Use analytics to track and measure what you are doing & how it is working
3. Keep up to date and adapt to changes in technology and the industry you are
working in (stay flexible!)




MODULE 3: Build your web presence

Choosing your online presence
 Website
 Local listings (Google my Business, Bing; usually free)
 Review sites (Feedback & responses)
 Social media
 Mobile apps
What do you want your customers to do? -> Create a home that helps accomplish these
goals

How websites work
 Website = equal to physically renting the space to house in (e.g. have your bakery
 Server = you are not renting your space on the highstreet, but on a server
o Computer connected to the internet with software that allows it to
store/host pieces of your website (code, images, clips, etc.)

, o Called server because it “serves up” the content when requested
o You pay an ongoing hosting fee (“rent”)
o Every server has an IP address – chain of numbers
 Domain name = Web address
o How potential customer will find it (“sign above the door”)
o www.businessname.com = domain name
o Any device that searches for this address communicates with the server,
which sends the correct information to this device
 What happens when you type in this address?
o Browser figures out which server holds the content & heads over there to ask
for the right elements
o Server sends the images, scripts, files, etc.
o Browser puts everything together so that you see the nicely formatted
webpage
 A server hosts your site, and a domain name helps people to find it

Key website ingredients
 Name (domain name)
o Is it available? Search for domain Registrar & check
o Short, relevant and to the point (easy to remember)
o .com/.uk/.org/etc. if the one you want is available
 The website’s organisation
o Homepage = 1st page they see (“shop window”) – explain what you are all
about
o Navigation: explore the rest of the website (menu at top/side)
 Group content together in ways that make sense
 Use website templates / look at other websites
 About us/contact us/etc.
 Should appear on every part of your site
 Text, photos and other interactive elements
o Text and images as hyperlinks
o Forms, maps, shopping baskets

Websites and your business goals
 Website needs to meet your businesses’ needs and those of your customers
o Think like a customer and design accordingly, while not losing sight of your
own goals
 Examples
o Customers might be looking to contact you > Put phone number in a very
visible location, encourage to call, make contact page easy to find – allow
mobile customers to call in one click
o OR that you are qualified > put licenses in an easy to find place
 Content (words on the pages)
o Much more than just a sales pitch
o Avoid technical jargon and boasting

, o Emphasise that you can meet the needs of customers by solving a problem
they have – what can you do to help? > engaging & helpful
o Confident tone, but not intimidating
o Tell a story to help connect (e.g. testimonials/reviews)
o Customers may scan! Images, headlines & clear navigation

Make your website easy to use
 Providing simple & clear navigation
o Organisation of sections should make sense
o Search bar in same place on every page
o Logo should link back to homepage
 Creating a consistent lay-out
o Fonts, images and design elements
o Colour: not too bold – dark text over light background
o Don’t make people scroll down too far
o Headers & bullet lists
 Writing relevant and effective content
o Write for your audience
o No jargon if you don’t write for academics
o Call to action: help understand what to do next
 Call now/get directions/buy now

TIP: Study someone navigating your website, is it clear to them?

Website design do’s and don’ts
o Quick-loading pages
 Smaller images, ditch large, high-resolution files if they are only going
to appear as thumbnails
 Simplify your design, e.g., same background image on every page and
efficient code and script
o Mobile friendliness
 Build it that way from the start
 Responsive design: detects device being used and shows content
accordingly
 Google’s mobile friendly test tool
 Make sure your components respond to specific inputs (e.g., swiping
or tapping)
 Use widely recognised icons (e.g., phone for contact)
 Easy to give a ring
 Different browsers (safari, chrome) and platforms (windows/mac): do
test runs
 No need to download plug-ins
o General accessibility
 Not only for selling, but also for solving

MODULE 4: Plan your online business strategy