Gone are the days when a website was just an extension – an “online brochure” – of your traditional marketing campaign. Instead, websites are now complex as they must engage and be interactive to get the attention of followers. Thanks to this evolution, it is now the job of an online marketing agency to provide an all-in-one turnkey solution for owners that want to build a successful website with an engaging online campaign.
Now that’s all very good, but what exactly is an “all-in-one turnkey solution”? Well, in this modern online world of ours where everyone is competing to be the best at what they do – and to get to the number 1 spot in Google – the work of an online marketing agency now encompasses website development, content management, mobile website development, online marketing, and more.
Website Development
An online marketing agency must provide state of the art web designers in order to stay competitive using today’s rapidly evolving technology. They must be experienced professionals who know how to design an attractive site that has an inviting curiosity and keeps people interested. Therefore, the designer must understand online behavior and attention span.
Responsive Design
One of the necessary steps required for a modern online experience is responsive web design. A site needs to have the flexibility of adapting to the user’s web browser and be optimized for viewing on smartphones and other mobile devices such as tablets and phablets.
eCommerce
In order for the site to make money it also needs an ecommerce solution. Several factors must be addressed for the online marketing agency to provide the appropriate ecommerce solution. Some of these factors depend on how transactions will be made and whether the business is local, national or international. There’s a big difference between an expensive enterprise solution for a medium to big company and a simple low cost ecommerce solution for a small business.
Content Management
An online marketing agency can set up the infrastructure for content creation using a content management system – or CMS for short – which allows for collaboration among a community of contributions. The administrator will control who has access to the system through a user-friendly dashboard. Uploading fresh content when you want can also be set up for simple use. Additionally, the agency employs content writers for you if you do not have the time to write comprehensive articles or blogs.
Blogging
Blogs are important because they get high rankings in search engines if they are well written. That’s why it’s important to have experienced professionals such as an online marketing agency write blogs that attract online followers. Blogs are most appealing when they are both personable and informative. Effective blogging is the key to thought leadership and gaining a loyal following that shares your blogs through social media.
Mobile Website Development
Optimizing your website for mobile use is becoming increasingly important since mobile use is skyrocketing while desktop use is declining. An online marketing agency should be up to date on how to design mobile websites so that the user experience is simplified, fast and seamless. The designer must avoid cumbersome technology such as Flash, Java and pop-up windows, which all work against efficiency on mobile devices. The user wll need the option to visit the regular site as well as the mobile site.
Mobile Apps
An online marketing agency employs tech programmers on several levels, particularly those who design apps for mobile users. Apps have become the hits of the tech world in recent years because they serve as simple gateways to software. The complexity of apps is that they must be designed for specific or various operating systems such as iOS, Android, Blackberry, and Windows.
Online Marketing
The driving force of online marketing is search engine optimization – most commonly referred to as SEO – which is the key to search engines connecting content with users. High quality content is essential to get high search rankings.
Social Media Marketing
The online marketing agency must also know how to engage with followers through social media and email marketing. Finally, the agency must understand how to produce quality videos that can be shared through social media. Using these tools, the online marketing agency works to build an online following.
What’s your opinion of what an online marketing agency does? Do you agree with the points mentioned above or are there other elements that an online marketing agency should be responsible for?
Please let us know your thoughts by leaving comments below!
