Finding yourself lost in a sea of how-to-guides and reference blogs? Forge Apollo is here to help simplify the process with the top 21 terms every marketer needs to know along with tips to help you achieve your goals:
Email Marketing
2020 was a big year for email marketing with marketers seeing email marketing ROIs of $36 for every $1 spent (Litmus’ State of Email Report). How was this achieved? Emails are now more personalized, automated, and segmented helping to create a genuine connection with the subscriber.
Open Rate
The open rate represents the number of people who open an email versus the number of emails sent. While target open rates vary from industry to industry, Campaign Monitor lists 15%-25% as a base average.
Click-Through-Rate
This analytic measures the number of links clinked versus the number of emails viewed. HubSpot recommends aiming for an average CTR of 7.8%.
Buyer Persona
A buyer persona is a detailed description of one of your ideal buyers. It includes demographic details like age and salary and their spending habits, personal interests, and roadblocks.
Segmentation
To properly communicate with different buyer personas, you’ll need to identify their key differences and segment them. Email blasts are no longer practical tools for conversion. Customers expect a personalized experience that caters to their individual needs, and segmentation is a great way to do so.
A/B Testing
A/B testing allows marketers to experiment with different aspects of a message, image, or call-to-action. Here’s how:
- Choose one aspect of your email to change and send each version out.
- Document KPIs (key performance indicators) like open and click rates to determine the best performing version.
- Be sure to retest the winning variant before incorporating it into your overall strategy.
Soft Bounce Rate and Hard Bounces
A bounce rate is a valuable indicator of list health because it measures email deliverability. Temporary deliverability issues cause soft bounce rates. Keep an eye on this number, as it can change if the domain consistently bounces the email. On the other hand, hard bounces mean the email will never reach the inbox for one reason or another. Remove hard bounces to protect your domain score, open rate, and click rate.
Black List
If your IP address gets blocked or blacklisted, your emails will not be delivered. It is one list you don’t want to get on. Be sure to monitor your spam rates and make sure your subscribers actually want to hear from you.
Engagement Time
Are your subscribers reading your emails? Find out by analyzing your engagement time metrics. For example, HubSpot measures the engagement rates in terms of read, skimmed, and glanced. If most emails are only getting glanced out, take another look at your copy and make sure it’s valuable and engaging.
Search Engine Marketing
Getting a high-ranking website spot is a difficult task to achieve and requires a flexible approach due to the ever-changing SEO algorithms. For the most recent changes visit Google Search.
Featured Snippets
Many are aware of SEO position #1. Still, not everyone knows about featured snippets or position #0. Google automatically populates the best text that quickly answers the query.
Backlinks
Backlinks are hyperlinks to a reference page. Getting backlinked increases your odds of being seen and boosts your website’s credibility.
Site Mapping
To create a site map, you’ll need to put together a list of URLs. This list will help crawlers find your content. Google offers several templates, including XML, RSS, and Text. These will guide you through the process. Access this how-to here.
Page Speed Score
Page speed is now a central feature of Google’s SEO ranking updates. So how fast should your website be? SemRush suggests a minimum speed of 1 to 2 second load time for maximum customer satisfaction.
Pay-Per-Click
PPC ads allow marketers to bid on specific keywords. Upon winning, their ad will appear above the organically high-ranking pages. It is a simple, cost-effective way to generate leads, traffic, and brand recognition. Because PPC ads appear above high-ranking organic pages, they are a valuable tool that should not be ignored.
Local Search
Small and big businesses alike can benefit from ranking in local search. To do so, you’ll need to claim your website on Google Business and place all relevant information and pictures in your profile. Then encourage customers to leave Google reviews, use geo-targeting to drive lead generation, and get involved with your community and social media.
Copywriting and Content Writing
Copywriting and content writing is the lifeblood of your business. It allows you to communicate with your audience, rank on search engines, gather feedback, gather leads, and increase sales.
Call to Action (CTA)
A call to action is a mixture of copy and imagery that directly invites the viewer to interact with the website.
Keywords
A keyword is simply the search term a user inputs. To use keywords effectively, take the time to do market research. Find which keywords your potential customers are using and consider the popularity or cost of the keyword. New brands should have a healthy mix of competitive and niche keywords. Examples of keywords include “digital marketing,” “blue shirts,” and “best vacation spots.”
Long-Term Keywords
A long-term keyword is a longer, more detailed term that appeals to people closer to purchasing. Some examples include “digital marketing firm for SEO management,” “medium blue shirt for men,” and “best vacation spots on the West Coast.”
Pillar Strategy
This is a content strategy that details the best way to internally link areas of the website together to help improve ranking. It consists of three segments: Pillar content, cluster content, and hyperlinks. The pillar page contains a broad overview of the keywords you are hoping to rank for. The cluster content addresses long-term keyword searches that bring traffic towards the page and builds brand authority. Finally, use hyperlinks to link the cluster content back to the pillar page.
Evergreen Content
Evergreen content is designed to appeal to everyone in the funnel, from awareness to decision. Write evergreen content to remain relevant for long periods. Some great evergreen content includes comprehensive how-tos, webinars, product demonstration videos, and infographics.
Accessibility
When creating content, whether that be video, website, or picture-based, it is vital to be as inclusive as possible by incorporating W3.org’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Some of these guidelines include closed-captioning, spoken audio, using color and contrast properly, and avoiding the use of strobing lights (3 or more flashes of light in a second). Be sure to visit the guideline to learn more.
Anchor Text
Anchor texts are helpful in long-form content that contains many sections. Placing internal links to each unit at the start of the post allows the reader to skip to the areas that most interest them, encouraging them to interact with the post. We’re using them right now!
Improve Your Marketing Techniques
We won’t only create your content, we’ll put together a winning strategy that helps partners create a holistic customer journey and meet the audience wherever they may be to drive optimal sales. Our expert strategies include email marketing, SEO, and content marketing. To learn more, reach out today. You’ll walk away understanding the power of a comprehensive brand experience and how to leverage it for your business.
