Marketing has always been an integral part of any company’s business operations. It is often classified as promotion and advertising, but there is more to marketing than those two mentioned. Marketing is basically the entire analysis of the market (customer base) and how the market reacts to various internal (employees, products and services, and management) and external factors (competitors, government policies, environmental issues, technology, and demographics).
Search Engine Optimization (SEO), meanwhile, has been very popular and has been widely used in the web marketing efforts of companies. Individuals and companies use SEO to increase their visibility among their niche market as well as potential clients. SEO started to gain ground in the early 1990s on search engine websites like Yahoo!, WebCrawler, AltaVista, and Ask Jeeves. These websites were some of the most used search engines back in the day and they paved way for tech giant Google to take over in the mid-2000s.
SEO has evolved in ways that tech companies are no longer the only ones who use them. SEO is now readily available to anyone at very affordable prices and serves the same function as the SEO tools used by Google. As you can see, marketing and SEO go hand in hand. Their importance cannot be measured and they help achieve a company’s long-term goals.
With that being said, a design also plays an important role in the effectiveness of marketing and SEO. Here are some reasons why:
Visual appeal = more clicks and searches
No one wants to look at bland designs since these can spell disaster for the company that uses them. Companies need to be very careful about the designs they use. Aside from using the appropriate images and text, the designs should immediately attract the attention of customers and passersby.
In this case, marketing and SEO only play half the part. The design has a much larger role in attracting customers. Once customers or potential clients click on your website or online portfolio, the first thing they will notice is not the product or service you are selling, but the aesthetic of your online portfolio. The more creative and the more dynamic your portfolio is, the higher the chances it can translate to more clicks and searches by your customers. Why waste the money you spent on marketing and SEO just for your website to have a bland design? Get creative and let users immerse themselves in your beautifully designed portfolio.
More clicks = more income
Technology has made it easier these days for companies to reach out to their market. SEO is one tool which allows that to happen. Through the use of clicks and searches which made Yahoo! one of the most iconic companies at the dawn of the new millennium, SEO is now one of the tools that companies cannot live without. In fact, one of SEO’s most basic and important functions is to increase a company’s visibility through the use of more clicks and searches.
Numerous companies have made sizable earnings mainly through the use of SEO. Even if the content is not of high quality, SEO still helps companies rank highly in search engines so potential customers can find them easily.
More income = sustainability
Income equates to sustainability. This is a proven fact for all businesses. In this case, what starts with visually appealing designs end with income and eventually sustainability for the company. Income keeps operations running, personnel employed, and raw materials replenished. This cycle can only continue if companies earn profits.
As previously mentioned, designs should immediately attract the attention of customers and potential customers. They should be prioritized above anything else. Marketing and SEO can only be used to assist the designs, not become the primary tool for income and sustainability.
Here are some marketing strategy examples you can use and pair with SEO to magnify the effectiveness of your designs:
Inbound and outbound marketing
Inbound marketing is more focused on allowing customers to pursue your product while outbound marketing functions the other way around as you will be pursuing customers. SEO is a form of inbound marketing that can create brand awareness using Google AdWords and social media marketing. Outbound marketing, meanwhile, involves cold calling, direct selling, and direct mail campaigns.
Social media marketing
Social media marketing is a form of inbound marketing, but it also functions as an independent marketing strategy. Social media is one of the go-to marketing tools used by all companies these days due to its accessibility and affordability. Anyone can use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and it will not even cost a company a single cent to reach out to customers this way.
Email newsletters and email marketing
Email newsletters and email marketing are also highly utilized by companies. Once users subscribe to company newsletters, they will now be regularly sent email marketing campaigns regarding future promotions and discounts. Even individuals who have not subscribed still receive newsletters and other email marketing campaigns. It is a great way to send your message across to customers as well as raise brand awareness.
Outlined above are all the ways that design plays an important role in influencing the success of marketing and SEO campaigns. We hope you learned some useful insights that you can apply to your business. Best of luck!