Years ago, the foundation of any marketing and advertising campaign included putting up billboards and buying radio and TV placement ads. However, today is the era of the PC and mobile phones. With millions of people with access to an infinite amount of information online, the face of marketing has changed drastically, and entrepreneurs today have to keep up with the trends at all times. The marketing budget now, regardless of its size, is largely focused on online actions – social networks, searches, e-mail and mobile.

If you’re a small business owner and you’re looking for innovative and simple ways to market your product or service, you should also consider investing in online marketing as well. Digital marketing is ever-changing and you have to keep track of it in order to improve your strategy when need be. How much you invest in digital marketing greatly depends on the nature of your company, its objectives and your budget.

Internet marketing and SEO

Internet marketing is any action you take to advertise your business online, whether it be social media, link building, or SEO. It can take many forms, and of course, the end goal is to attract more customers, build a community around your brand and increase revenue. One thing that you should always keep in mind when it comes to digital marketing – if done properly, it can turn into a major return of investment.

SEO, or search engine optimization is one of the most important aspects of digital marketing. The main objective is to have your website reach the top of the list when it comes to organic searches in search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, and others. If you’re wondering how that can benefit your business, have in mind that as much as 33% of all clicks go to the number 1 result on Google. This means that if you have competitors in the same business, you will get a better chance to convert visitors into customers as they will more likely visit your website first.

How can SEO help my business?

SEO can increase your search rankings and make you more visible. By getting a lot more traffic, you will have a better chance to attract customers. As long as you are focusing on optimal user experience while performing methodic SEO strategies, you will be rewarded with higher positioning and organic traffic. According to one SEO Company in Brisbane, the cost of SEO campaigns depends on many variables, including the type of your business, competition, website condition and performance.

When combined with other marketing strategies such as social media and branding, SEO can reinforce your business. SEO plays a key role in research and buying cycles. It’s like a prospect magnet, attracting potential buyers to your website through critical and relevant keywords and phrases ranked high in search engines where searchers are already looking for information about them.

Budget allocation

In order to get a clear grasp on what you should do with your digital marketing campaign, you need to take a look at the numbers, too. Research showed that the forefront of all digital marketing spending this year are social, mobile and email – with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as the primary focus. The next channel projected to drive digital marketing spend is mobile marketing, followed by email. According to Forrester research, search will remain the largest share of the digital mix in the following years, but social media investment will grow faster than any other digital marketing channel.

To allocate your budget accordingly, you have to tackle the important questions regarding your business and keep in mind that digital marketing budgets are on the rise. When making decisions for your business, consider these facts:

• - Marketing budgets are increasing with each year.
• - Marketing is shifting from traditional advertising channels to digital channels.
• - Social, mobile, email and search marketing should be the core of your digital marketing budget.
• - Total marketing budgets are between 4 percent and 12 percent of total revenue.
• - Smaller companies spend more on marketing as a percentage of their total revenue.

Good luck!