WordPress is a great platform for flexibility and allows you to build almost any type of functionality that you need.
However, like most website platforms, it’s not a case of “build it and they will come!” You need to optimize your WordPress website so that people can find it, as well as put marketing strategies in place to promote it.
Fortunately, there are many proven strategies for digital marketing solutions on WordPress. Here are some of our preferred tips:
SEO solutions
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a must for every website. SEO covers “on page” and “off page” strategies that help your website rank better on search engines. In terms of a digital marketing solution, SEO is a long game. Your optimization and rankings tend to get better over time as your strategies are given a chance to work.
You could say this is a necessary, but more passive form of digital marketing because you’re not actively going out and directly marketing to people – you’re trying to get them to come to you.
SEO basics on WordPress include:
Using the right theme
Google prefers websites that are mobile-friendly – that’s just one aspect of choosing the right WP theme. Most should be mobile-responsive by now, but it’s important to note that doesn’t always mean “mobile-friendly.”
When you choose a theme, you should look for one that adapts website functionality so that it’s easy to use on a mobile screen. A theme that is simply mobile-responsive might just shrink down your website and require a load of scrolling on mobile. Or, it might be difficult to take actions like clicking and navigating.
Themes can also impact your site speed, which is another ranking factor for Google. If you choose a theme that has cumbersome coding, for example, it will slow you down. Look for great reviews (or ask a WP developer to check it out for you!)
Optimize your sitemap
Search engines look to your sitemap to index your pages and rank your website. While WordPress will automatically create a sitemap for you, that doesn’t mean it will be optimized for search engines. Ordinarily, search engines take months to crawl and index your site, meaning updates can go un-indexed for a long time.
What can you do about that? This is where plugins come to the rescue. Something like Google XML Sitemap Generator will keep track of your indexed pages and alert Google when you’ve updated your site.
Follow an SEO checklist
SEO can be a complex subject. There are somewhere around 200 ranking factors used by Google and some of them are very obscure, especially if SEO isn’t your field of expertise! Fortunately, there are plugins to help.
Various SEO plugins work slightly differently, but most aim to give you an easy way to check off tasks for SEO optimization. Neil Patel provides a great list of options here. Of those, Yoast is one that has been around a long time, is simple to set up and easy for people to use.
Inbound marketing solutions
Inbound marketing refers to any type of marketing that is designed to pull people in to check you out, rather than “push” advertising material at them. Some examples include using social media to post funny, engaging or useful posts, or content marketing, such as blogging.
In fact, WordPress sites are highly geared for successful blogging by design. The interface is deliberately user-friendly in terms of providing people with tools that they’ll be used to from basic word processing software.
Here are some ways to use WordPress for inbound marketing solutions:
Content calendars
One of the keys to successful content marketing is consistency, yet this is often something companies struggle with. They start out with the best of intentions but fizzle out when things get busy. A content calendar can help to keep you on-track AND ensure that you publish topics that help you to achieve your goals. Some of the better examples also show you who is assigned to what, and will send out reminders in advance of deadlines.
Some examples for WordPress include: Editorial Calendar, PublishPress and EditFlow.
A/B test your titles
A/B testing allows you to run one title or heading against another to see which gets better results. It’s a valuable part of optimizing your content marketing so that you can give your audience more of what engages them.
WordPress can help (of course!). Use a plugin such as Title Experiments to run A/B tests of your headlines. It’s simple to use: all you do is input alternative titles into the extra fields you will find on your blog post titles.
Enable comments
Comments on your blog posts are great. Not only do they encourage engagement (especially if you respond to them), but they help to boost your SEO! For those reasons, having comments turned on can be very helpful, but only if you plan on responding.
To avoid too much spam in the comments, using a good quality plugin can be helpful. Disqus is one where users have to login to leave a comment, which does make a difference. It also helps people to subscribe to your comments so they’re encouraged to have an ongoing conversation.
WP has tools to help you with almost all aspects of inbound marketing Click To TweetOutbound marketing solutions
Outbound marketing is the opposite of inbound – you’re “pushing” out marketing messages to people. Examples might include: email marketing, PPC advertising, content syndication and old-fashioned direct mail (to name just a few).
How can WordPress help?
Export leads to your CRM tool
CRM (customer relationship management) tools are centers for managing all the information you have on customers, from your email list, to records of campaigns they’ve been sent, to their purchase history. In short, a CRM is invaluable for marketing and sales management.
If you use your WordPress website as a channel for generating leads (growing your email list), then it’s important that your website “talks” to your CRM and that leads can automatically be exported. A plugin like HubSpot will convert your leads into CRM records for easy export.
Syndicate your blog posts
While you want to carefully avoid the wrath of Google over duplicate content, syndication to reputable sites can be helpful for your outbound marketing efforts. A syndication tool makes it much easier to push that content out across various sites, rather than having to manually set it up everywhere.
Broadcast is one such plugin that can help. In their own words, Broadcast is great for:
- Chain stores
- Content hubs
- Franchises
- News sites
- Schools
- Anything else with distributed content!
Analytics
Analytics is important for every type of digital marketing you do, not just outbound. You should regularly use your analytics to inform your marketing activities, to see what works and what doesn’t.
Some of the best plugins help you more easily make sense of analytics by presenting data in a simple format. Monster Insights is popular, as is Analytify.
Final thoughts
Your WordPress site has a large capacity for incorporating digital marketing solutions. Look for ways to boost SEO, inbound marketing and outbound marketing with the right set of tools and strategies.
One of the reasons we work with and enjoy using WordPress is the range of choices you have, from custom-coding to third-party plugins. You can take a look at our optimized checkout solution for WooCommerce checkouts here.