An online business strategy can boost your chances of digital success, helping you to define clear

goals and focus your online activity. In this lesson, we'll explore:

 how an online business can benefit from a business strategy

 best practices when creating a business strategy
 Examples of common goals and popular strategies to achieve them.

Example: Sam will find it easier to put together his online strategy once he’s figured out the company's
goals, written a mission statement and identified the company's USP (Unique Service Proposition).

When taking a business online, understanding how customers browse on the web is an important
factor in ensuring your online efforts are rewarded. In this lesson, we will explore:

 customer behaviors online, and how these overlap with offline behaviors
 the "See, Think, Do, Care" framework, and how to use this to help understand the online
customer journey
 how to group your audiences using audience segmentation.

Example: Although Omar has a successful market stall, his goal is to develop his online business- so
focusing only on his offline marketing skills wouldn't help.

Selling at a cheaper price on the website could be a risky decision so early on. While some retailers do
engage in this practice, others price match. Given that e-commerce is new to Omar, it would be less
risky to keep the online and offline pricing the same to start.

Identifying all audiences will allow him to decide when he should engage with them, and what he should
talk about - helping to increase his chance of success online.

Lastly, while paid online advertising might be an effective channel, Omar should consider all possible
options and see which fits his business needs best.

Create the best possible online experience for customers by understanding how to make the most
of the moments when they interact with a brand. In this lesson, we'll explore:

 what customer touchpoints are

 how to map common online customer journeys
 how to identify customer touchpoints that generate business goals.

Example: The customers have been experiencing difficulty in navigating the website, so Holly and her
team should look at how they can improve the website's design and page layout.

Customers also found contact information difficult to locate. Holly can make this information easier to
find by creating a clear 'Contact Us' page, and by including contact details in the footer of every page.
She can also include it in her email marketing campaigns, which will allow customers to contact the
business without having to visit the website.
Understanding the competition is a key component of your online strategy, enabling you to
position a business correctly in the marketplace. In this lesson, we'll explore:

 how to identify what makes a business stand out in a busy marketplace

 why Unique Selling Points (USPs) are important and how to construct them
 online tools available to help you research the competition.

Example: Ensuring Bobbi’s company has a strong USP could help it attract new customers
online. Being unique is an effective way to stand out in an already crowded marketplace.

Bobbi could also look at what her competitors are doing to find out what's working well for
them, and what isn’t. This would provide her with a broader market view, and would highlight
potential opportunities which she could use to formulate a strategy for her own company's
growth.

By conducting a SWOT analysis, she can identify opportunities that will allow the business to
grow - as well as highlight weaknesses she could resolve.

When marketing your business online, it's important to use the data and metrics available to
evaluate how your online activities are performing. In this lesson, we'll explore:

 why setting goals and KPIs is so important to online businesses

 how to construct a KPI using the SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and
time bound) framework
 how to analyze data gathered to help improve online marketing efforts.

If you want to make sure your website turns up in more search engine results, stay tuned for this
video, which includes:

 how search engines understand what's on a web page

 which parts of a web page help search engines do this
 how to make your web pages more visible to search engines.

Example: Using accurate labels for images helps search engines to pick them up when people
make relevant searches. Using generic file names, like image3.jpg, can be counterproductive as
they’re unlikely to appear in a specific search. In the same way, using accurate page titles can
also help websites appear in relevant search results. Lastly, using the kinds of keywords that
interested people might be searching for – such as ‘fair trade’ or ‘cappuccino’ – will mean that
Seth’s website is more likely to be displayed in their search results.

When a person types in a word or phrase on a search engine, a list of results appears with links to
web pages and other content related to the search. This video covers the content found in the
organic results. You'll learn:

 what organic results are

 what search engine optimization (SEO) is
  how good website content affects the organic search results.

Example: The organic search results are the main list of results the search engine displays. They are
usually the main focus on the results page. There’s no cost for businesses to appear in the organic
results.

When a person types in a word or phrase on a search engine, a list of results appears with links to
web pages and other content related to the search. This results page is organised into different
sections; this video covers the adverts. You'll learn:

 a bit about advertising on search engines

 why advertising on search engines is so effective
 how advertisers compete for an opportunity to show ads on the search results page.

Example: Paid search ad results are targeted at people who are already looking for a particular
kind of product or service. This means Seth’s marketing will be seen by people who are already
very likely to make a visit to his shop. Although they contain the same content as organic search
results, paid ad results have a different position on the page. In addition, it’s usually made clear
to people that these are adverts or paid results, so users are aware they are clicking on an ad, and
there’s no trickery involved. A great benefit for Seth is that he’s only charged if users click on
the ad, not by how many times it appears in the search results.

When it comes to your website, the more information you have, the better. In this video you'll
learn:

 what Search Console is, and how it can help

 some of its useful features
 how to set it up.

Example: Google Search Console can help Seth to figure out if the keywords he’s using on his
website are helping it appear in the search results for the kinds of searches his customers are
making. It can also show him whether appearing in these results is translating into visits to his
website from potential customers. Google Search Console can recommend better page titles, but
it can’t recommend more effective content for Seth to use, or show him the type of people who
usually search for businesses like his. Google Search Console presents information for Seth to
review, and in some cases like mobile usability will give specific recommendations on how to fix
issues.

Understanding how search engines work can help your business improve its online presence.
This video explains:

 what search engine optimisation is

 how search engines understand your website
 what they value most.

In this step-by-step process to create an SEO plan for your website, you'll learn how to:
  develop
 prioritise
 adjust the plan to best suit your goals.

Example: There are four steps to creating an SEO plan. First, Eric should do some keyword
research and consider related topics. That way he’ll know what people are searching for. Next,
he should see where he appears in the search results for those keywords. If there are gaps where
keywords aren’t bringing traffic to his site, Eric should plan ways to fix these gaps and improve
SEO performance.

This video explains the SEO process and the steps you need to take in order to optimise your
website, including:

 Discovering what words or phrases people use to search for your products or services
 Improving the content on your site.

Example: SEO work is never finished – search engines evolve and so do trends. That means you
should refine your keywords over time and don’t assume that if something works you can keep
doing the same thing forever. Instead, keep up with how search engines work and how they’re
changing. Get inspiration from other websites and don’t forget to get feedback from your
customers. Remember, no agency can grant you top organic search positions. If someone does
offer you this then it’s probably a scam.

Choosing keywords is the cornerstone of successful search engine optimization. In this video,
we'll discuss:

 why you need to do keyword research

 the difference between short tail and long tail keywords
 what to consider when selecting keywords

The long tail of SEO means longer keyword phrases that are very specific to whatever you’re
selling. These have a low search volume, which means there’s less competition, so it’s more
likely to be relevant to a user’s queries.

Setting realistic goals for organic traffic and assessing them with measurements that matter will
help you strengthen your SEO strategy. In this video, you'll learn:

 how to define success

 how to select measurements that matter
 what tools can help.

Analytics tools are a great way to get information about how content is performing, who visits
the site and turns into a customer, and what content they interact with. It will give Eric most of
this information, but won’t tell him whether customers enjoy the fruit and veg they buy from his
store.
Get started in search engine optimisation by improving the pages on your website. This video
explains the elements that you can tweak to make your website easier for search engines to
understand. We'll cover:

 title and description meta tags

 heading elements
 page copy.

The title and meta description are used by the search engine to generate the actual search result,
so they’d appear in the search results page. In this case, Eric should use the phrase ‘fruit and
vegetables’ in both his title and his meta data description. A good title shows the company name
and highlights what the page would be about, like ‘Blake’s Produce: Fresh Fruit and Vegetables’.
A good meta description is two short sentences that just summarize the page.

You can improve your search visibility across the web by thinking about off-site optimization;
that is, using what happens on other websites to promote yours. This video will show you some
ways to start, including:

 encouraging links to your website

 engaging with your audience through good content
 promoting your site with social media.

Example: Eric needs to work hard to get backlinks – that means links to his site from other
websites. To do that he needs to produce quality content, such as writing recipes. He can also
encourage people to write about his business. Social media is a great way to improve his
visibility, but search engines don’t recognize the number of likes or followers an account has, so
this won’t help the search rankings. Eric should avoid creating artificial links to his website.

Different countries require different marketing tactics, and international search engine
optimisation is no different. In this lesson, you'll learn about changes to make when your website
crosses international borders, including:

 language
 localisation
 country targeting.

Example: Search engine best practice is to create individual pages for each language that you
wish to support on your website. Doing this will help ensure that Eric's website is correctly
indexed by search engines. He should also avoid different languages on the same page as the
search engine won’t be able to decide what language the content is in. Using an automated
translator is sometimes seen as spam, so he should avoid that too.

 Language annotations are useful as they help the search engines serve up the correct
content to the correct user in a particular country.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) can open up a world of opportunities when it comes to
promoting your service or product. By specifically targeting people interested in your website,
you can use online advertising to directly connect with future customers. Learn how an SEM
auction works and which elements are important to master so you can create ads that stand out
from the crowd.

Traditional advertising broadcasts a message to the world at large. But search engine marketing
targets a very specific group of people – those actively looking for your products and services. In
this video, you'll learn:

 what SEM is
 how it works
 why it works so well.

When a search engine returns results, some of them are paid advertisements and some of them
are ‘organic’ results. The organic results are shown in the main list on the page. The paid
advertisements are the ones that appear at the top and/or right side of the page. These are where
Michelle’s results will appear if she decides to pay for an ad.

When advertisers compete to show ads on the same search results page, search engines use an
auction to determine which ads appear and in what order. But there’s more to consider than just
the price. In this video, we’ll talk through:

 how an SEM auction works

 factors that influence the outcome
 a detailed example.

Example: When you’re advertising on a search engine, the ‘quality’ of your advert heading is
all-important. It needs to be very aligned to the keywords you’re targeting. Here ‘Cardiff
wedding photographer – 25% discount’ is most aligned with the target keywords, so it will have
the best quality rating.

When you’re starting a new search engine marketing (SEM) campaign, it’s important to
understand what makes a keyword “good”. In this video, you’ll learn which factors to consider
before bidding on keywords, including:

 relevance
 traffic
 competition

Example: Michelle needs to think about relevance, traffic and competition when she’s choosing
keywords. ‘Cardiff weddings’ isn’t relevant enough as it could refer to any part of the wedding
process. ‘Wedding photography business based in Cardiff’’ is too specific and also quite long to
type, so it’s unlikely it would get a lot of traffic. 'Wedding photography Cardiff' are a good
balance, though Michelle would still need to monitor them to see how they perform
Take a look at any search engine results page. It’s full of text! How do you make your business’s
adverts jump out in this jumble of words? In this video, you’ll learn how to:

 attract more traffic with adverts that catch the searcher’s eye
 write headlines that make a connection
 write a clear, compelling call to action.

Example: Ads need to stand out from the crowd. The best option works because the headline is
similar to what the customer would be searching for, the 25% off discount grabs people’s
attention, and there’s a clear and compelling call to action.

The world of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is full of opportunities, but to benefit you’ll first
need to master research tools and keyword selection. From there, you can improve and optimise
your search campaigns to ensure you get maximum value for what you spend.

To succeed as an advertiser, you need to create adverts that help searchers find what they’re
looking for – and when you do, search engines may reward you. In this video, you’ll learn:

 how SEM campaigns are structured

 how to use that structure to achieve relevance
 the benefits you’ll get by focusing on relevance

Example: Grouping keywords and ads this way means that Anna can show ads that are relevant
to what customers are searching for. If someone searches for ‘candid wedding photos’ they see
the ad specifically for her wedding photography services. Anna can run different campaigns for
these ads and keep track of them separately.

Search engines, like Google and Bing, offer tools that take the guesswork out of choosing the
right keywords, and can help potential customers find you online. We'll talk about:

 research tools
 related searches
 negative keywords.

Example: Anna can choose these ‘negative keywords’ to avoid people seeing her ad when they
search using those keywords. For example, if someone were to search for ‘Watercolour family
portrait’ Anna wouldn’t want her ad to appear as her portraits are photographs. Similarly, if
someone were to search for ‘Buy landscape photo’ Anna’s portraits wouldn’t be relevant either.
Identifying negative keywords means when people see Anna’s ad it’s because it’s relevant to
what they are looking for.

Search engine marketing (SEM) is great for letting you choose specific searches to trigger your
ads. But search engines often show your ads for keywords that are slightly different from the
ones you’re targeting. The solution: keyword match types. This video explains:

 what match types are and why they’re useful

  the different kinds of match types
 how to control which searches may trigger ads.

Refining keywords by changing them from ‘broad match’ to ‘phrase match’ and ‘exact match’
means that Anna will probably notice a decrease in traffic, but the quality of the traffic she gets
will increase. That’s because when her ad appears to a customer, it’s likely to be relevant to what
the customer is looking for. ‘Photography, portraits’ is a broad match and also a plural, so may
have nothing to do with Anna’s business. It could also be someone looking for tips on how to set
up their own camera for a portrait, for example. If they click on Anna’s ad, it costs Anna if her
ad is in the paid ads. By narrowing keywords to exact matches like ‘Film themed portrait
photography, low cost’ Anna is more likely to get traffic for her more niche business, and
therefore paying customers.

One of the best ways to measure how well your search engine marketing is working is by
tracking conversions, or actions you’d like website visitors to take. In this video, we’ll cover:

 what conversions are

 how to choose the ones you want to measure
 what tools you can use to track them.

If you have a physical storefront, you'll need to harness local online marketing in order to reach
customers. Ensure you're visible to people close to your store by creating a listing in local
directories, engaging in mobile marketing and building a local search presence.

The Internet connects businesses and customers worldwide. But if you’re a local business, you’ll
want to reach people nearby. Let’s learn a bit about:

 what local means in digital

 how your business can build a local search presence
 and a perfect pair: local marketing and mobiles.

Example: The better way to attract tourists would be for Jim to tailor his website for local
search. These days people are used to using their phones when they’re out and about to get
information quickly. That’s why it’s so important to create a local online presence for your
business.

One of the best ways to connect with customers online is to get listed in local directories. In this
lesson we'll show you:

 where to start
 how to list your business
 how to manage your local profiles

At a minimum, Jim needs to include a business name, address, and telephone number for a
listing in a local directory.
He can also add other optional information such as opening hours and photos of his products,
depending on the listing site he’s using.

Thanks to search engines, local directories and social networks, reaching customers who are
physically close to a store is a relatively easy task. Learn some ways to take advantage of that
unique opportunity to attract new customers, by mastering local advertising, mobile marketing
and more.

Local advertising is a great, affordable (sometimes even free) way to connect with customers
who are close at hand. In this lesson we’ll talk about:

 why local advertising is important

 where you can advertise online to local customers
 some special features of “local” ads.

Example: Esmeralda can target local customers in a number of different ways. She can set up
her ad campaigns to only bid if the customer doing the search is within 10 miles of her shop. She
can also set it to only bid during the hours that she’s open. With local ads, Esmeralda can tailor
her messages to people who are close to her shop. These are all ways that she can make her
searches more specific to locals.

Take advantage of the ways that mobile and local complement each other to connect with
customers closest to you. In this lesson we'll explore:

 the importance of being found in local search results

 making the most of mobile features, like GPS and applications (apps)
 using paid advertising to reach a local audience on the go.

Example: GPS is a great feature that Esmeralda can take advantage of. Depending on the
capabilities of the app she uses, Esmeralda can send sales alerts when customers are near the
shop or simply use maps to navigate them to it. The app can also help Esmeralda to remind
people of events in her shop, send personalised coupons or let customers schedule appointments,
but all this can work without GPS technology.

If you want to increase the chance of local customers finding your business, you need to know a
bit about:

 including key information on your website

 how search engines choose local results
 the importance of mobile.

Example: For Esmeralda’s content to be geared to local searches, it needs to focus on relevant
content that identifies her shop’s location. Although the post about famous cyclists would be
interesting, it doesn’t have a local angle. However, the post about popular bike trails in the area
does, so it would draw local interest. This would make it more likely for search engines to pick
up Esmeralda’s website. Once search engines recognise the relevance of these posts to local
searchers, her shop will be more likely to appear in local results.

Social media is everywhere, and people engage with it every day. Learn what it is and how you
can take advantage of these networks by:

 understanding why you need to be there

 joining the right social media sites
 growing your presence and engaging with your networks.

Social media is all about connecting with your customers; starting a conversation with people
can help customers get to know you and your company. Posting regularly keeps the conversation
going, although make sure you don’t overload your followers with posts. Naming and shaming
competitors and deleting all negative posts could reflect badly on you and put followers off. The
same could be said of commenting too much on followers’ personal posts.

New social media sites pop up constantly. Here’s an overview of what’s out there and how to
figure out which ones might be important to you. We’ll go over:

 different types of networks

 understanding their contexts
 the best ways to get involved.

Example: Social media analytics can help businesses gain knowledge about how customers
interact with their products and services and how they have accessed them. The knowledge
gained through these tools can help Lily find out what she is doing right and which campaigns
are the most effective at driving traffic to the shop’s website. She will also be able to pinpoint
what isn’t working, and use this information to continually refine and improve her social media
strategy.

Social media can be a powerful tool, but it’s also been known to cause some issues for
businesses. We’ll show you what not to do, like:

 bore people to tears

 put your posts on autopilot
 spread yourself too thin.

Example: The big benefit of social media is being able to talk directly to customers and engage
with them in a timely and appropriate way. Lily now has the opportunity to resolve this
customer complaint by offering an apology or to replace the zip for free, thus showing her
customers how important they are to her business.

Web browsing on-the-go is very much a part of everyday life - which is why a mobile presence
is important for businesses to embrace. Learn about mobile SEO. The differences between
mobile sites and mobile apps, and which type of mobile marketing is right for your goals.
021-32740066
021-32710008
0333-2753454
idmpakistan