Boost Your Digital Marketing Game with 23 Advanced Strategies
Staying ahead of the game is crucial in the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape. Traditional methods alone won’t cut it anymore. The constant algorithm updates from platforms like Facebook and Google have made marketing more challenging than ever before. Even if you’re willing to invest heavily in these platforms, success isn’t guaranteed. It’s time to get creative and think outside the box in this ultra-competitive environment.
Hack #1: Video Remarketing
Video remarketing is one of the most effective marketing tactics I’ve ever utilized. The idea is simple yet powerful – target individuals who have visited your checkout page but didn’t convert. Show them a video that provides a glimpse of what it’s like to be your customer. These videos can be promoted on platforms like Facebook and YouTube.
The results are impressive. Typically, for every dollar spent, I’ve seen returns ranging from 17 to 20 times the ad spend. Whether you’re in the B2B or B2C space, this tactic can work wonders. Just remember to keep your videos under 5 minutes in length for optimal engagement.
Hack #2: Do the Opposite
Remarketing campaigns often fail because they lead users back to the same page where they initially didn’t convert. Instead of repeating this mistake, try a different approach. When remarketing, direct users to a page with an opposing pitch. For instance, if your initial sales pitch was logic-driven, experiment with a landing page that appeals to emotions rather than logic.
The reasoning behind this is simple – if someone didn’t purchase from you the first time, there’s a reason for it. You need to present them with something different to convince them to convert.
Hack #3: 2-Step Checkouts Beat One Step
It may seem counterintuitive, but from my experience, 2-step checkouts tend to outperform 1-step checkouts. Whether you’re running an e-commerce or B2B lead generation site, dividing the checkout process into two steps can result in a 9 to 11% lift in conversions.
The psychology behind this is that once a user has provided their name and email, they are more likely to complete the registration process since they’ve already initiated it. You can also follow up with those who abandon the process via email, potentially recovering some of those conversions.
Hack #4: Don’t Forget Sidebar Links
A simple yet effective hack to boost your rankings is to include links to your cornerstone content within the sidebar of every page on your blog. These links don’t need to be rich in anchor text; they serve to provide more authority to your cornerstone content.
Over time, this strategy can lead to your pages ranking prominently on Google for competitive terms. This is how I’ve achieved top rankings for terms like “Google AdWords.”
Hack #5: Blend in Keywords from Google Suggest
If you’re already ranking for popular terms, take advantage of them by entering them into tools like Ubersuggest. This will generate a list of long-tail phrases related to the main keyword. Incorporate these long-tail keywords into the same page that ranks for the main head phrase.
This strategy can significantly increase traffic to your most popular pages within 30 to 60 days. However, ensuring that your content remains relevant to the long-tail phrases and avoids keyword stuffing is crucial.
Hack #6: Don’t Stop with Email
While email marketing is a common practice, combining it with push notifications and chatbots can double your traffic from email alone. Push and chatbot notifications tend to generate higher click-through rates than email but also receive more unsubscribes.
When sending out an email, make sure to simultaneously send the same message to your push notification and chatbot list for maximum reach and engagement.
Hack #7: Boost Brand Queries for Faster Rankings
Increasing the number of people searching for your brand name on Google and clicking on your site can significantly expedite your rankings, not just for brand-related terms but all keywords. To boost brand queries, consider implementing PR stunts or hiring a PR agency to perform them.
You can monitor the effectiveness of these efforts by checking your brand’s popularity on Google Trends. This strategy has helped me rank on page 1 for competitive terms like “online marketing” in just a few months.
Hack #8: YouTube Success in the First 24 Hours
YouTube operates differently from traditional SEO. To succeed on YouTube, your video needs to perform well within the first 24 hours of its release. This means that you must focus on driving traffic to your video during this crucial window.
Promote your video to your email list, push notification list, and messenger bot list to ensure a successful start. The initial performance of your video will determine its long-term success on the platform.
Hack #9: Harness the Power of Facebook Comments
Facebook’s algorithm heavily values comments. The more comments your content generates, the more views your videos will receive, and the wider the reach of your status updates and posts. Encourage comments by asking simple questions in your content.
For example, in a video, you might ask, “Do you use voice search? If you do, leave a comment with ‘yes,’ and if you don’t, leave a comment with ‘no.'” This simple engagement tactic can lead to 2 to 3 times more reach on Facebook.
Hack #10: Boost Click-Through Rates with Year in Title Tags
If a significant portion of your traffic comes from your blog, consider adding the current year to your title tags. This signals to users that your content is up-to-date and relevant, often resulting in higher click-through rates (CTR).
For example, a title like “The Complete List of SEO Tools (Updated in 2018)” is more likely to attract clicks than “The Complete List of SEO Tools.” Incorporating the year in your title tags can be a powerful strategy to outperform competitors.
Hack #11: Avoid Dates in URLs
Many bloggers and site owners include dates in their URLs, hoping to attract news site crawlers. However, I’ve found that removing dates from URLs can substantially increase search traffic.
In my case, search traffic increased by a remarkable 58% after making this change. To implement this hack successfully, use 301 redirects and update all internal links to the new URL structure.
Hack #12: Subdirectories Over Subdomains
While subdomains are common, Google tends to favor subdirectories by passing more SEO value to them. Switching from blog.example.com to example.com/blog or a similar subdirectory structure can result in an immediate 11% boost in search traffic.
However, keep in mind that this transition may not yield overnight results, but you should see improvements within a week. Additionally, update your internal links and implement 301 redirects from the old URLs to the new ones.
Hack #13: Hreflang for International SEO
When expanding your website into multiple languages, the URL structure matters. For example, using br.yourdomain.com is more effective than yourdomain.com/br for targeting Portuguese-speaking audiences in Brazil.
Implementing this strategy correctly can lead to significant increases in international search traffic. Monitor the results to ensure its effectiveness within three months.
Hack #14: Start with the Link Intersect
Building quality backlinks remains crucial for SEO. To identify link-building opportunities, use the Link Intersect feature by Ahrefs. This tool reveals websites linking to your competitors but not to your site.
If a website is linking to multiple competitors, there’s a good chance they are willing to link to you as well. This tactic simplifies the process of finding potential link partners and can boost your site’s authority.
Hack #15: Personal Branding Over Corporate Branding
Personal brands tend to resonate more with audiences than corporate brands. If you want to increase followers on your social profiles and rapidly grow your traffic, consider building your online presence around a personal brand.
However, remember that personal brands can be more challenging to scale into multi-billion dollar companies compared to corporate brands.
Hack #16: Use Exit Popups for Podcast Growth
To attract more listeners to your podcast, implement exit popups on your mobile site. Tailor these popups based on the user’s device – send iPhone users to the iTunes Store and Android users to the relevant store.
Delay showing the exit popup for at least 30 seconds to avoid irritating visitors. This tactic can significantly boost your podcast’s audience.
Hack #17: Leverage Video on LinkedIn
For maximum attention on LinkedIn, prioritize video content over text-based posts. Videos on LinkedIn typically generate 2 to 3 times more engagement than text-based content.
By uploading videos regularly, you can increase your traffic from LinkedIn and other social networks by identifying and addressing content gaps.
Hack #18: Journeys and Courses for Lead Generation
When aiming to generate email subscribers, offering 30-day courses or journeys can be more effective than traditional ebooks. For instance, titles like “30-Day Free Course: Double Your Traffic in 30 Days” or “Follow My Journey to $100,000, I Am Learning a Lot and So Will You” can attract more subscribers.
Hack #19: Buy Sites for Targeted Traffic
If specific pay-per-click keywords perform exceptionally well, consider buying a website that already ranks for those keywords. This approach provides you with immediate access to traffic that converts.
While paid traffic allows for more control over landing pages and optimization, acquiring sites with your target audience can be a valuable long-term investment.
Hack #20: Use Quizzes for Lead Generation
Consider using quizzes to collect leads instead of relying solely on lead forms. Quizzes are often more engaging and can significantly increase your lead count. Tools like Lead Quizzes can simplify the process of creating lead-generation quizzes.
Hack #21: Develop Tools for Traffic
Investing in tools can pay off in the long run. While there’s an upfront cost, tools like the SEO Analyzer and Ubersuggest can bring in substantial monthly traffic. Tools are typically easier to maintain and offer excellent returns on investment in terms of visitors generated.
Hack #22: Paid Traffic to Content First
Think of marketing as a gradual relationship-building process. Sending cold traffic directly to a high-ticket product or service often yields poor results. Instead, send paid traffic to educational content, such as blog posts, and then use retargeting to guide visitors to your products or services.
In the long run, this approach is more cost-effective for products priced above $500 and can lead to better results compared to paid ads directly to landing pages.
Hack #23: Facebook Info and Ads
If you’re struggling with Facebook Ads, consider exploring your competitors’ strategies. Visit your competitor’s Facebook fan page, click on “Info and Ads” in the left navigation bar, and gain insights into their advertising campaigns. This can help you uncover successful ad campaigns in your niche and inform your own strategies.
Incorporating these advanced digital marketing strategies into your arsenal can give you a significant edge in the ever-competitive online landscape. Experiment, track your results, and continually refine your approach to stay ahead of the curve in digital marketing.
