One of the biggest complaints we hear from our clients is that it’s hard to see (or prove) the value of digital marketing strategy. It uses up a lot of time and resources, and significant budget if you’re a small business testing your first ad campaigns. Isn’t having a user-friendly website with your story and offerings enough? Do you really need to invest in digital marketing? That would be a big “yes”! Here are 12 great reasons why; The ROI of SEO There are two kinds of SEO that should get regular attention: technical SEO (relating to your website as a whole) and on-page SEO (relating to individual content). If you stay on top of optimisation, here are the benefits you can expect: 1. Improved position in search results - you are more visible to people searching on Google 2. Increased traffic - people find you easier and quicker 3. Better user experience - checking in regularly on how your site is performing The ROI of Content Marketing Content Marketing encompasses blogging, videos, podcasts, pins, it's about finding what fits your audience 4. Keyword optimization - creating content using your relevant keywords - increases SEO ranking 5. Link building - content designed to get great links to / from your site - again increasing SEO ranking 6. Lead generation - getting people to connect with you / sign up as they REALLY want your content 7. Feed your other marketing channels - Content feeds social media, blogs, videos and can be re-used saving time The ROI of Social Media If a business can’t or won’t invest in digital marketing strategy, it’s often social media that takes the hit. It’s not a part of your website, it’s challenging to keep up, and it seems like the least important part of the puzzle. The thing is, social media and SEO are BFFs – Having social profiles with likes and follows doesn’t impact your domain authority or position in search results, but there are aspects of SEO that social media can affect: 8. Promotions - share sales, offers, discount codes, competitions 9. Brand awareness - having active social media and hashtags means an easy way to find out about your business 10. Social search - People do research way beyond google before making a commitment 11. Reviews - reviews are huge for SEO and affect your Google ranking enormously 12. Customer engagement - insights, better targeting, better sales, address negative & positive feedback instantly Follow these twelve steps, and you’ll be off to a good start in digital marketing for the rest of the year. Expect these to stay relatively the same well into 2020 as well. Don’t be afraid to work with digital marketing consultants (especially in SEO) so you don’t make mistakes after weeks or months of hard work.