One of the most important parts of being a digital marketer, if not the most important, is use of data. We are lucky enough to live in a world where access to data is easy and instantaneous. For the modern digital marketer, it is also invaluable. In this blog, I will break down how to maximise the digital tools available at your disposal to ensure that your marketing campaigns work as effectively as possible.
What are digital tools?
Digital tools are the modern marketer’s bread and butter. They include any technology that can be used to improve your marketing, whether that be through creation, optimisation, or results. They are important for making marketing processes more secure, stable, consistent, and effective. There are thousands of different tools out there, and determining which ones are right for your and your business is a huge task where the answer might change constantly.
SEO
There are so many options available for maximising SEO to the point where it can be overwhelming. However, finding a good SEO tool is essential for any digital marketer. For base-level SEO, the Yoast plugin on the back end of WordPress is a great starting point. This is especially true for those who don’t specialise in SEO. Yoast gets updated every two weeks with Google’s latest algorithms, making it a reliable choice to start with. Paid plans offer further customisability and features.
But with two million installations, All In One SEO appears to take the prize for the best WordPress SEO plugin. It isn’t free, but it is personalised. It provides you with an actionable checklist so that you can ensure that you aren’t making any common errors.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics can seem like one of the most daunting tools to conquer. But once you have determined your pathways for using it effectively, it can be a fascinating rabbit hole of discovery. This isn’t to mention that the software is free, whilst also being one of the most in-depth metrics tools that exists. For the modern digital marketer, having a baseline understanding of Google Analytics is a business imperative.
Email Marketing
The good news is, options are plentiful. MailChimp is probably the most popular, with an easy to use interface and a very digestible breakdown of how your campaign performed. Mailchimp also allows for integration with a number of other SaaS businesses.
Moosend is another option, which allows you to optimise the customer journey through personalisation and segmentation. We also have Omnisend, which is easy to use and provides a number of automation features.
Automation Tools
Hootsuite, monday.com, Marketo – whatever your choice, automation tools make life exponentially easier for the digital marketer. Rather than recommending any one in particular, I have found that a marketer’s choice of automation tool oftentimes comes down to personal preference. For example, some are daunted by the thousands of options of integrations that monday.com provides. Setting them up can take some practice and technical expertise. However, doing so properly can reduce a marketer’s workload by a significant amount. Others prefer Marketo, as it essentially functions as a one stop-shop for all your automation needs, whether that be via email or something else. Ultimately, finding your automation tool of choice and leveraging it to its maximum is key to building a strong portfolio as a digital marketer.
Pursuing a Level 3 Digital Marketing Apprenticeship will introduce you to all of the above tools. More information on the apprenticeship can be found here, along with a directory of all the other types of marketing apprenticeships available.
For more on this topic, check out Hubspot’s post on the best marketing tools for digital marketers in 2023 here.
Staying informed about the latest technology evolutions in digital marketing has become a crucial aspect of success in today’s rapidly changing digital world. The digital marketing industry is continuously evolving, and businesses must keep up with the latest advancements in technology and digital tools in order to effectively reach and engage with customers. This requires a strong understanding of the wide range of activities that fall under digital marketing, including SEO, content creation, data analysis, and email marketing, and how the latest technologies and tools can be leveraged to achieve marketing goals.
Level 3 digital marketing apprenticeships, such as the one offered by Apprentice Now, provide a valuable opportunity for individuals to gain the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the digital marketing industry. From learning about the latest technology evolutions to developing a deep understanding of various digital marketing tools and techniques, these apprenticeships equip individuals with the skills they need to succeed in this ever-changing landscape. By staying informed about new technologies and how they can benefit their business, individuals can gain a competitive edge and position themselves for success in the digital marketing industry.
One of the most important benefits of staying informed about technology evolutions in digital marketing is that it can help you stay ahead of the competition. By being early adoptersof new technologies, you can give your business a competitive edge and stand out from the crowd. For example, by utilizingartificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies, you can personalize your marketing efforts, improving customer engagement and conversions.
Another advantage of staying informed about the latest technology evolutions in digital marketing is the ability to make more effective use of your marketing budget. By utilizing the most advanced tools and technologies, you can optimize your marketing efforts, streamlining processes and reducing the time and resources required to achieve your desired outcomes. This not only helps to reduce overall costs, but it also has the potential to improve your return on investment (ROI), providing greater value for your business.
In addition, staying informed about new technologies also allows you to be more innovative in your marketing approach. You can explore new and creative ways to reach your target audience and engage with them, using the latest tools and technologies to enhance your marketing strategies. This not only sets you apart from your competitors, but it also helps you stay ahead of consumer trends and keep your business at the forefront of the industry.
Also, another reason why it is important to stay informed about the latest technology evolutions in digital marketing is to be able to adapt to changes in consumer behaviour. Technology and the way people interact with it is always changing, and it’s essential to keep up with these changes in order to effectively reach and engage with customers. For example, the rise of voice search and the increasing use of mobile devices has dramatically changed the way people search for information and make purchasing decisions. By staying informed about these changes, digital marketing professionals can adapt their strategies to ensure that their clients’ products and services are being marketed in the most effective way possible. Additionally, staying informed about the latest technology evolutions allows digital marketing professionals to stay ahead of the curve and be proactive in their approach, rather than simply reacting to changes as they occur.
In conclusion, staying informed about the latest technology evolutions is an essential skill for digital marketing professionals. By participating in a Level 3 digital marketing apprenticeship, you can gain a strong understanding of the digital marketing industry and the tools and technologies necessary to succeed in your role. Whether you are just starting out in your career or looking to take your skills to the next level, staying informed about the latest technology evolutions is a critical aspect of success in the digital marketing industry.
For more information about Level 3 Digital Marketing Apprenticeships or progression to higher levels, visit our top tips on our other blogs.
As a digital marketer, your primary role is to define, design, build and implement digital campaigns across online and social media platforms. Creating and tracking campaigns require essential digital tools such as content creation software, design tools and analytic trackers.
This guide will outline the vital tools you need to use, as well as our top recommendations for the best software out there to level up your marketing – let’s begin!
Canva is an Australian graphic design platform, used to
create social media graphics, presentations, posters, documents and other
visual content. It also allows users to upload templates for other marketers to
use.
This is one of my favourite design tools, as it is user-friendly and produces professional content without the cost of a top-end graphic designer. This is great for businesses with a small budget, who prefer to do in-house design rather than out-sourcing.
Canva allows you to collaborate with your team on the same platform, giving you the option to share directly with team members or set permissions on who can edit the content.
The tool is free to use with some features being restricted to a premium plan. This includes but is not limited to:
Removing the background of images
Resizing
Full access to photos, elements and fonts
Canva Pro is £99.99 a year and is limited to one
person. Canva for Teams is £129.90 a year 2+ people.
2. Mailchimp
If you’re one of the 8/10 marketers who use email marketing, Mailchimp is for you!
Mailchimp is a marketing automation platform which is designed for businesses using email to reach their target audience. It’s an all-in-one tool, allowing you to manage mailing lists and create email templates. Being a web-based application means you don’t need to download and install any software to your devices, and instead can use it on any web browser.
If you’re not clued up on everything coding, Mailchimp
offers a range of readymade templates to use in your email campaigns. You can
change colours, fonts and structure without needing to know HTML, CSS, or
JavaScript. This is the perfect fix if your company is without an in-house web designer.
Mailchimp is free to use, with certain features being
restricted to those who pay for the premium plan.
If you’re familiar with WordPress, you will be familiar with Yoast.
Yoast is an SEO plugin, designed to help businesses optimize their websites for search engines. The plugin makes it easy to write titles and description tags inside of website pages. It also shows you a ‘Snippet Preview’ of how the page will look on Google’s search results page.
SEO is all about keyword research and Yoast allows you to set a ‘focus keyphrase’ to analyse the web content on a page. It determines how your content scores on different factors. For example, the length of text, using internal links etc. It then organises these scores using the traffic light system, with helpful tips to improve your rankings.
Yoast is free to use with certain features being locked
for Yoast SEO Premium members at £99 a year.
HubSpot has several marketing tools at hand, with everything you need in one place.
HubSpot offers a full stack of software, including a CRM, Marketing Hub, Sales Hub and a Service Hub. Coined as an ‘all-in-one marketing software’, it provides tools that can help your company with blogging, SEO, social media, email, landing pages and web analytics.
The ‘holy grail’ of inbound marketing, HubSpot’s tools can help you to grow your traffic, convert leads and prove ROI for your inbound marketing campaigns. With everything in one place, it couldn’t be more ideal for a digital marketer.
HubSpot offers a ‘free tools’ package, as well as other
premium packages to unlock more features – starting at £38/month.
Final Thoughts
Marketing doesn’t have to be overwhelming, and with the right digital marketing tools, you can create a marketing strategy with ease. Incorporating social media marketing, search engine optimization, email marketing and consistent content gives your business the best chance to succeed and grow.
Digital tools are always changing, so be sure to keep up with trends and have an updated list of tools at your fingertips.
Is there something we missed? Do you have a great tool that you want to recommend?
Help us keep this list updated by leaving a comment with your favourite digital tools. For more information on digital careers, check out our blog.
Everyday billions of people use Google to search for a wide
range of information, do you use Google to search?
Google my business is among one of the tools that helps
bring your business to a new audience’s attention. It is a free tool that lets
you manage how your business appears on google search and maps. Google my
business is easy to use, is free advertising and can increase traffic and
sales. Google my business is highly beneficial
for small businesses to help them grow and succeed in the online world. Many small businesses take on digital
marketing apprentices.
Utilising Google my business during your digital marketing
apprenticeship, claiming your business page and or updating it would be beneficial
to your marketing plan.
Steps to using Google my Business
Research your business on Google both on your
phone and desktop, to see where your business rates in search and maps
Create an account and claim your business – you
will need a google account for this, if your business already has a google my
business page you need to ensure you claim your business
Verify your account
Optimise your listing
Optimising your business by adding your business address, choosing your business category – what areas do you serve? Do you offer delivery? Adding your business phone number or website. Then finally verifying your business, there are several ways to verify your business. Add as much information as you can to fully optimise your Google my business listing.
The benefits for using Google my Business
Mange the information that google users find when they search for your business and the products/services offered
Opening times – can be updated, are you open on Bank Holidays? This information is easy to change to keep your customer always updated
Call to action – telephone number, website link
Google maps – local customers, location details
Interact with customers – posting regular updates, responding to direct messages and responding to reviews
Adding product listings, linking to the product pages on your own website
Free – links to other google products
Free link to website
Google my business is a continuous ongoing process by updating your Google my business page with new offers, products and promotions.
Images
Utilising images, according to google businesses with photos
see 35% more clicks to their website and 42% higher requests for driving
directions in google maps. Ensure you have a cover photo that appeals to your
audience that tells your business story. Your profile photo should be your
business logo or shop front, as this is used when you post updates, respond to
reviews and add new photos or videos.
You can also add videos, which will add variety to your profile. Stand
out from the crowd, create videos of new products, previews of services you
offer or a look around your shop, and remember Google my business is free.
Reviews
The power of google my business reviews, once you have reviews you must responds to both positive and negative reviews. Responding to negative reviews will show that you are quick to resolve and problems. Responding to positive reviews will show that you appreciate the time the customer has taken to leave a review of the experience with your business. Reviews will help to improve local SEO, increase sales and create that brand trust.
Conclusion
As a digital marketing apprentice especially in a small business using Google my business as a free marketing tool in your marketing plan will enable you to increase traffic and manage how you appear on google search and maps.
You can find out more about and view regular updates about apprenticeships by following our Twitter and LinkedIn pages. Also view our latest blogs to find out more detailed information regarding tools to use and a range of apprenticeship options.
You may find that you have just finished high school and you are currently looking for another route as you are not going to university. You have landed at the right page as this Digital Marketing Degree Apprenticeship consists of working across various digital channels in order to execute digital marketing strategies. This may be challenging but if you have a plan it be executed efficiently. If you want to have a kick-start in your digital marketing profession and start an apprenticeship now, this is the best place to be, therefore please read along for exciting progression opportunities that we have available for you when completing our level 4 Digital Marketing Degree Apprenticeship
What is Digital Marketing and how do I progress to Level 6?
Digital Marketing is marketing that is implemented through the use of digital channels such as Website Optimisation, Search Engine Optimisation, Social Media, Instgaram Ads, Email Marketing, and much more. This is compared to traditional marketing such as billboards/television marketing therefore, it is vital that we maximise the digital tools that are available in the industry to excel the growth of businesses presence and show the advocacy of a brand.
If the above seems interesting to you, we have progression opportunities as well so you can earn a degree equivalent qualification whilst working as a full-time digital marketing apprentice for your marketing career. The below theory knowledge is essential for you to progress as it shows in your job role you are able to apply theoretical knowledge to real-life digital problems.
To progress you will be working along-side be taught the following modules:
Marketing Concepts & Theories
Market Research
Budget Management
Business Understanding & Commercial Awareness
Marketing Campaigns
Products & Channels
What Skills and knowledge do I require to succeed in a Level 4 Digital Marketing Apprenticeship
Skills Required
Create content for online channels that include CTA (Call To Action)
Lead on digital marketing projects.
Apply marketing mix knowledge to meet customer demands.
Previous Knowledge Required to excel
Multichannel marketing and working with agencies/clients to localise and make changes to content e.g. banners
Content Management System knowledge and the importance of content meta descriptions e.g. SEO, Page descriptions, and site structure + knowing the trends to make a better user journey when purchasing productss.
Job Entry Requirements
Level 2 in Maths & English
Between 4-9 GCSE’s Gradesd between (C-A*)
Previous Marketing/Sale Experience
This is a UK Apprenticeship therefore, you must be living in the UK.
Job Details
You will earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Digital Marketing
Course Duration: 3 Years
Earn 24,000 a year
Expectations we require for you when completing your Digital Marketing Degree Apprenticeship
We require you to hire a serious candidate that would like to go beyond the normal job role expectations and show off their passion in this field. Further to this, you must be professional in your job profession through data privacy of the company and pay high attention to deadlines when work is due.
Conclusion
If you are interested for this apprenticeship and would like to continue for 3 years for a long term progression, please click this link here and one of our team members will get back to you
If you still need time to think, have a read of what employers are currently looking for in a candidate here
The term “Digital Tool” in your apprenticeship will refer to any software program, online resource, or website which helps you in your role as a Digital Marketer. For a quick guide on the types of digital tools and how they can benefit your Digital Marketing Apprenticeship, read on!
What is a digital tool?
These are tools that you use for:
Content creation,
Content scheduling,
Sending email content,
Web metrics, analysis, and reporting,
Communication,
and more.
Digital tools for content creation:
Content creation spans across text posts, such as status updates and blogs, graphic and infographic content, animated graphic video content, filmed video content, pdf content, email content – essentially any kind of visual that you see online.
Canva is an online digital tool for making graphics and videos. They have both a free and paid plan available. Canva has a huge library of templates, icons, animations, royalty-free images and music that you can use for your business. It’s a must-have for any digital marketer looking to create infographics, videos, or dynamic presentations with a bit of extra eye-catching content.
Herefish and MailChimp are both digital tools for creating templates for email marketing newsletters. They both have a library of pre-existing templates, and the option to create your own from scratch, adding in your company branding.
Adobe Creative Cloud is a library of content creation programmes. There are many different ones available, but here were we’ll discuss;
Photoshop
Photoshop is used to create original images, or edit existing images and photos. You can remove distracting objects from a photo, adjust the colours of an image, or create GIF content. Content created in Photoshop has the option to be high resolution, so it is a great programme for logo and asset creation.
Premiere Pro
Premiere Pro is a video editing software. You can cut and move around clips, adjust the speed, audio and colour levels, and layer videos, music and images on top of one another. Premiere can export GIFs, .mov, .mp4, .mp3 and more.
Audition
Audition is an audio editing software. You can import your video content and remove any background noise, amplify the voice of someone speaking, add ambient background noise, and more. Audition is great for anyone looking to clean up audio if you’ve filmed content without a mic – or to polish and perfect audio that already used a mic.
Digital tools for content scheduling:
Content scheduling allows you to plan a date and time for a post on a social media channel. By creating and scheduling content in advance, you can work on other tasks and know that every post is going out as planned.
With Sprout Social, you can connect multiple accounts to schedule content. You’re given a calendar, which shows all your upcoming posts. You can set posts to go out on specific platforms, at specific dates and times. For certain channels, you can set thumbnail images too. Currently, you can schedule images and videos, but not documents or Instagram carousels.
A person using video editing software, which is a type of Digital Tool.
Sending email content:
Every email that you receive from a clothing brand, service, or company is classed as email content (or email marketing). This type of content plays an important role in lead generation and can also be used as a method of linking back to your website and social media.
In Herefish and Mailchimp, you can create lists of contacts to receive your content, and put together tailored automations to reach these lists. By using these programmes, bulk email campaigns are sent out without having to manually type out each individual address. If you’ve got content you want to go out to people in a specific postcode, make a list for your contacts in… Derby for example, set up the automation, and hit send! Your contacts will then receive it instantly.
Digital tools for web metrics, analysis and reporting:
Web metrics are classed as a specialist area, and will be important in your apprenticeship when showing that you can monitor your social media accounts, pull through data, and interpret it to form short and long term marketing plans.
This digital tool is only available through the mobile app. Instagram Insights will give you the ability to see your audience demographics, such as age and location. You can also view metrics for feed posts and story posts, narrowing these down to engagement, reach, shares, and profile visits.
One feature that sets Instagram Insights apart is the ability to see which days, and time of day your audience is most active. With this, you can develop a content scheduling plan tailored to your business and audience, posting when they are most active and likely to see it.
Sprout Social is a one-stop location for all your social platform metrics. You can compare content across channels or view content from one specific platform. Sprout has a Reports feature, where data is automatically pulled through and formed into charts and graphs. This saves you time inputting data to create your own infographics for presentations. Sprout also automatically compares stats from month-on-month, giving you a percentage for each metric so that you can see where stats have reduced or increased.
After sending out email content, you’ll need to monitor how it performs. Herefish and MailChimp track data from those who receive your content. They can tell you who received the email, who unsubscribed or opted out, and who clicked a link. They can sometimes also tell you which company the contact works for, and what industry they’re in. This is crucial information to know whether your content is reaching the right audience.
Communication
How do you speak with team members, other internal staff, or external companies? For every email or direct message you send, a digital tool is keeping you connected.
Outlook is an email application. You can use it to send and receive emails, schedule meetings or confirm attendance. You can also set out-of-office automatic replies, and make rules to re-direct emails you receive.
After the last few years of lockdown and working from home, you’re likely familiar with at least one of these digital tools. They can be used for online meetings, helping you to communicate from afar. They allow you to share your screen and lead presentations, so this can come in handy for any client proposals you make.
Conclusion
There are many digital tools that can be used in your digital marketing apprenticeship. They can make completing tasks much easier, whilst also showing that you have a great understanding of your role as a digital marketer. These digital tools are often part of our everyday lives, without us even realising.
If you’re wondering how to become a self made digital marketing expert, here is the perfect place to start. Read on to find out the best tips and tricks to start a successful digital marketing career.
What is digital marketing?
Digital marketing is how you connect your brand with your customers, normally over the internet.
As more and more of our life becomes digitalised, digital marketing has taken over and there is a large demand for digital marketing everywhere. It is a great time to pick up the skill and take advantage of what digital marketing can do for your brand, or to start a career in digital marketing.
So, now you know what digital marketing is, you may be wondering how exactly to do it. Well, there are lots of new and exciting ways to get your brand out there, but let’s start with the basics.
Read on to find out how to become a self made digital marketing expert.
Types of Digital Marketing
There are many different forms and channels in digital marketing. however it mainly refers to:
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
Content Marketing
Email Marketing
Social Media Marketing
These are the main channels a digital marketer will use to reach their goals. A self made digital marketing expert will have to master all of these areas and more to understand how to grow their brand.
All of these channels have their own individual uses and you will need to learn the proper industry standards and best practices for them.
Getting digital marketing right
The most important part in getting digital marketing right is setting clear and realistic goals. You should start any digital marketing campaign in this way. You may want to get some new leads, or more sales on your website, or you may even just want to generate some brand awareness.
Whatever it is, you should keep a record of your targets and measure your success against them.
How to improve Search Engine Optimisation
Here are five quick ways you can improve your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation):
Publish relevant, useful content
Update your website frequently
Optimise metadata
Build up your backlinks
Use alt tags on your images
Search engine optimisation is an often overlooked part of growing your brand, however it should not be disregarded. The initial investment of creating content may be high, but it is certainly worth it.
Pay Per Click is just that – you pay advertisers per click you get on an ad. This is most often done through Google.
This is how you set up a PPC campaign in five steps:
Set your goals
Choose an advertiser
Select the keywords you want to bid on
Set up your budgets
Write your advert and create a landing page for it to link to
PPC is a much faster way of seeing your return on investment (ROI), however it can be costly. Just remember to keep your budgets small at first, until you have an idea of what works for you.
Content marketing for beginners
Content marketing is all about finding out what makes your target audience ticks, and using that to attract them to your brand. This may include articles, videos, podcasts, and other media.
Content marketing is not to be confused with SEO. SEO is the process of optimising your web pages to rank higher in the search engines, whereas content marketing is used to reach more people to connect with your brand with the use of content.
As you can see, SEO is more technical, while content marketing is more creative.
Email marketing has been around since the start of the internet, and is still a very effective way of reaching the right audience. Here are some tips for always creating an successful marketing campaigns:
Build your mailing list
Set your goals
Send different email types for different purposes
Segment your audience
Monitor your analytics
Make your opt-in attractive
Always follow up
Create original subject lines
An important thing to be aware of is that sometimes less is more with email marketing. It may be tempting to always send everything to your whole subscriber list, but this will quickly begin to feel spammy and won’t generate the leads you’re looking for.
Instead, personalise and tailor your content for different audience segments and it will be much better received.
Now it is time to launch your first social media campaign. Follow these simple steps to never fall short again.
Research your competition
Decide on your strategy and change it if you need to
Use different types of content within a campaign
Use a mix of promotional and informative content
Find out what’s trending
Make your content stand out
Create a social media schedule
Social media is a great tool to use as a digital marketer. You have the option to set up either paid or organic campaigns, suited to any budget. But which platform should you choose?
It is also important to use the right platform. Research by Statistica shows that the most popular social media platforms in 2021 were:
Most used social media platform (millions)
Facebook – 2,895
YouTube – 2,291
WhatsApp – 2,000
Instagram – 1,393
Facebook Messenger – 1,300
Weixin / WeChat – 1,251
TikTok – 1,000
Douyin – 600
QQ – 591
Sina Weibo – 566
Telegram – 550
Snapchat – 538
Kuaishou – 506
Pinterest – 454
Twitter – 436
Reddit – 430
Quora – 300
Must have digital marketing tools
Some must-have digital marketing tools include:
Keyword research tool – SEMrush
SEO dashboard – yourSEOmarketingreport
Website analytics – Google analytics
Email marketing tool – Campaign monitor
Social media scheduling tool – Loomly
Photo editing tools – Canva or photoshop
Website tool – WordPress
Google data studio
These will help make your life much easier by automating certain tasks, tracking metrics or assist with content creation.
Is digital marketing a good career?
Digital Marketing a great career for anyone who is both creative and analytical.
You’ll have a lot of variation in your job. From creating social media campaigns, to PPC and display advertising, to SEO and the daily running of a website. You’ll never be bored in digital marketing.
It is important to note that you will need good english and maths skills, as the job involves a lot of analysing data and writing content. So, as long as that sounds something you’ll enjoy, digital marketing is definitely for you!
How much money does a digital marketer make?
The salary for an entry-level digital marketer, like a digital marketing assistant can range from £18,000 to £22,000.
Once you are more experienced in digital marketing, you could be earning p to £30,000 a year.
In a more senior management role, you could get up to £40,000 and more.
Level 3 digital marketing apprenticeships
The best way to start a career in digital marketing is to take a digital marketing apprenticeship. This way, you’ll be able to earn and learn, while gaining experience in digital marketing. But what does this mean?
If you take a digital marketing apprenticeship, you won’t have to pay a penny towards your learning costs, as this is covered by the apprenticeship levy. You also will get paid for full-time work while getting extra paid time to work towards your apprenticeship.
Another great thing about a digital marketing apprenticeship is that you’ll get the chance to gain valuable insight, knowledge and experience while you learn. You’ll even get a recognised qualification after you finish!
Level 6 digital marketing apprenticeships
After completing a level 3 digital marketing apprenticeship, you’ll be able to progress onto a level 6 digital marketing apprenticeship, which is actually a degree course. So, you’ll be able to gain a university-level qualification without any student debt.
After completing a level 6 digital marketing apprenticeship, the world will be your oyster, giving you unlimited opportunities for career progression – you will truly be a self made digital marketing expert.
I’m guessing not everyone has thought to themselves “How can I create
the perfect meta description?” Well, if you have it’s your lucky day as in this
blog piece, we explore the key components to make a great meta description and
what NOT to do!
Meta descriptions or meta tags can play a vital role in getting your website to rank high on Google or creating an engaging first piece of content that a potential customer might read to want them to click onto your website.
For those who don’t know what a meta description is, or are just learning about them, it is an HTML element that describes and summarizes the contents of your page for the benefit of users and search engines.
So, let’s dive right in and see what makes the perfect meta description…
1. Always create a unique meta description for each page on your website
It might seem quite simple however some people DON’T do this. It can be an easy way to just use the same meta description for a similar webpage, but it just doesn’t work the way you think it would.
It is preferred by many search engines to have unique meta descriptions that are relevant to your webpage. It also gives you an opportunity to specifically explain your webpage in a different way to others.
2. Don’t exceed the character limit
Exceeding the character limit could have a negative effect on someone clicking on your webpage. You have a character limit of 50-160 before the rest of the content is cut off. To create a catching and engaging meta description that the user will be able to see all. Nothing puts you off more when a website has the starting point of their website introduction cut in half as you can already tell they haven’t thought about this.
It will be the same with other platforms, but Yoast is a good extension used in Word Press that will automatically turn green or red depending on the length of content and whether you need to cut it down.
3. Input keywords into your meta description
Inputting keywords in your meta description could instantly give you an
advantage for search engine optimization (SEO) as the search engine highlights
these keywords are ranking high as search terms and can be highlighted in your
meta description leading to catch the attention of a user.
SEMrush is a great tool to use when finding the best keywords that are relevant to your topic. They can be included in your meta description and even use in your page content.
4. ALWAYS make it engaging and interesting
This is the step that requires creative thinking. It’s the most important step when creating a meta description as it’s key in engaging the users. As it’s the first bit of information that they would read from your brand before clicking on your website, so it needs to stand out against the rest. Keep it short and snappy that will engage the user to want to click on your website first.
Conclusion:
Meta descriptions are sometimes forgotten about however it could be the reason people are clicking on your website against others and why your website is ranking first on a search engine. Hopefully, this blog post can act as a guide and help you when writing your own meta description if you’re just starting out in digital marketing or even refresh your brain!
If you’d like to share your creations or tag us in your posts follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Flickr.
To find other helpful blog pieces, click here for other digital information.
Have you ever wanted to see all your essential data in one place? Google Data Studio is that place.
As a digital marketer or any professional working with Google Analytics, understanding Google Data Studio is a brilliant way to propel your ability to analyse data.
Doing so will allow you to adapt faster to subtle changes in your ad campaigns so long as they’re connected to your Google Data Studio dashboard.
Data Studio is about communicating and sharing information across a business. Not only does information become more presentable, but also easier to understand since all salient data is put in one place.
Understanding Data Studio is essential yet many industry professionals are afraid at first due to how daunting it seems. This is a beginners guide to Google Data Studio, briefly walking you through the essential tools to create a simple yet effective dashboard in which you can set your foundation of understanding.
Step 1: Connect Your Google Data Studio Account
The first step is to connect your Google Analytics to your Data Studio account. This will import all the data from Analytics into Google Data Studio which you can then use to create a visually pleasant charts and tables.
To add more data, click on the ‘add data’ icon and this will allow you to import data from a vast range of sources, but some of the simplest and most powerful are:
Google Ads
Google Surveys
YouTube Analytics
Of course, you can import data from a range of different platforms such as YouTube and Facebook. As a result, you can track patterns in data across completely different platforms with ease and communicate them to your team.
However, adding data from multiple sources will require your knowledge of filters. This is used to separate data sources.
Step 2: Create a Scorecard In Data Studio
If you want to see all of your KPIs in one place, you can insert something called a ‘scorecard’ which will display a certain figure. For example, a scorecard could show the ROI for a Google Ad campaign over the last week. Or it could show the total product revenue of your Google Ad’s account.
You can see a percentage change icon through selecting ‘comparison date range’ so you could select this week’s ROI compared to last week’s for example.
Step 3: Create Charts And Tables
Creating a chart or a table requires you to understand the relationship between a dimension and a metric.
A dimension is an attribute that you would like to track (for example the day, age or name of a campaign). A metric is a quantifiable piece of data that can be measured (for example the time, views or spend of the campaign).
Google Data Studio allows you to combine certain dimensions and metrics to create all sort of visual representations from line graphs to pie charts. Be aware that the types of dimensions and metrics available to you, depends on your data source. For example, Google Analytics may not track how much revenue you gain from your e-commerce sales, and so neither with Data Studio.
To create a chart or table click on the ‘add a chart’ icon which will pull up a series of graphical formats:
Tables
Scorecards
Time Series
A range of Charts
Google Maps
Conclusion
Once you have understood how to import data and combine dimensions and metrics of this data, Google Data Studio will be a breeze. Hopefully, this post will act as a basic foundation and enable you to experiment further with different charts and tables. Feel free to share your results with us at Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Google Data Studio is Google’s answer for creating bespoke, tailored and visually engaging reports for any digital marketer out there. Digital marketing tools allow you to create reports from activity across a range of digital marketing channels, including Paid Social, Paid Search and Organic reports in a simplistic but unique way. If you are working towards a Level 3 Digital Marketer Apprenticeship, this may be useful for you. Showing you can use digital tools effectively and with ease is an important competency to meet. Read on to find out my top tips for using Google Data Studio to enhance your reporting methods…
Tip 1 – Know your metrics
When creating any report, the first question you
should ask yourself is what the most important metrics are I should be looking at.
From ROAS to revenue, clicks to CPCs, traffic to sessions, every businesses’
digital marketing needs will be slightly different. If your client is an
ecommerce business, perhaps focusing on ROAS, cost and revenue are the most
useful metrics to include in your Google Data Studio report. Alternatively, you
might be working on an Organic client therefore rankings by day or week-on-week
traffic fluctuations are most valuable to you so these metrics will be included
in your marketing report. Establish what your report needs to reflect, depending
on the business goals, and then get ready to get stuck in creating the report!
Top Tip 2 – Use a Template
Google Data Studio can be a scary place if it’s your first-timer using digital marketing tools. If your digital marketer apprenticeship requires you to create a report however, this tool is quick to find your way around. You can find lots of available templates when you click to create a new report. Using a template allows you to customise the metrics you see, change font styles and colours and makes the whole process stress-free – saving you time and wasted energy!
Top Tip 3 – Decide How to Present your Data
The way you present your data is key. Google Data Studio
is great for digital marketers wanting to create varied visual reports. The
tool offers
Time series
Bar chart
Pie chart
Tables
Scorecards
as some of the ways to show your data. Perhaps you
need to show revenue by day so using a bar chart, set by day, could be the best
presentation of your data. Or you may simply require a ‘scorecard’, which can help
you track budgets throughout the month so you can keep on top of your monthly
digital media spends. Whatever the need, GDS can aid you in effective
reporting.
Top Tip 4 – Sharing your report
If you’re a Digital Marketer working in an agency environment
or perhaps you need to share your report with another team member, GDS allows
you to control and specify accessibility and permissions when you share a
report. Navigate to the top right of your Google Data Studio report and click ‘share’.
From here add in the email addresses and your report will reach them in a
matter of minutes!
Conclusion
To round up, there are lots of tips and tricks you
will find on reporting hacks but using GDS as a starting point is a great way to
create simple yet useful reports for your business or client. As a Level 3
Digital Marketer, this may be one of the tools that can help you secure hitting
the important competency that shows off your skills and abilities when using
digital tools. From Databox to DashThis, the tools are endless. But starting
off simply and easily isn’t with Google’s free reporting tool.
For some more detailed training on Google Data Studio, you can try the Introduction course to brush on your skills. Or if you’d like to learn more about how to become a Level 3 Digital Marketer check out our post to learn more whether you’re a learner or looking to hire digital marketers for your business.
