As a Surrey-based digital agency specialising in web design, SEO strategies, social media management, online marketing and more, Thunderbolt Digital are experts when it comes to increasing traffic to your site and boosting your brand’s visibility online. A problem that seems to befall many SMEs unfamiliar with the digital side of things is that of SEO (search engine optimisation) versus social media marketing, and which to focus on to increase sales. Your SEO Surrey team say: why not both? Both SEO and social media marketing offer benefits to your business, and neglecting one in favour of the other can have disastrous consequences.
It pays to keep in mind your audience at all times; this is something that the SEO Surrey Thunderbolt Digital team live by! Remember that SEO is targeting people who are actively searching for your product or service online, whereas social media marketing is targeting potential customers in their ‘downtime’. It’s important to remember that both of these groups are essential to your business; good SEO allows you to be found by customers ready and willing to pay for your product or service, and effective management of social media channels ensures that brand loyalty is built between your business and potential customers, which can lead to future and repeat custom, as well as positive reviews via word of mouth (a form of exposure and advertisement that you simply cannot pay for!).
It also must be remembered that SEO and social media can feed into one another in different ways! Proper use of legitimate SEO techniques will ensure that your site appears higher in search rankings, and users searching for your particular product or service may click on links on your site that directs them to your various social media platforms, allowing potential customers to view your social media marketing as well, which in turn may end up affecting their decision whether or not to grace you with their custom! In an effort to avoid this you may be tempted to not link any social media to your site at all, but that in itself is a bad move too – some users may make up their mind about your brand based on your lack of social media activity instead (linking social media to your business web page is an absolute must, trust us on this!). There is also some evidence that social media engagement, such as likes and shares, directly correlates with organic search rankings, never mind the fact that effective social media marketing can lead to direct traffic to your website, which really highlights the importance of a ‘two-pronged approach’ when it comes to your online strategy!