7 Deadly Sins of Online Marketing

The digital landscapes are in a constant state of change and expansion and this fact alone makes the digital world very different compared to the traditional one. Hence, it would make sense, logically, that the marketing techniques employed by you to attract customers in the digital space should be different than the marketing strategies you used offline.

You might think that your digital marketing strategy is effectively producing a good return on investment. What if you are mistaken and your money is not being used to its full potential? It’s easy for digital marketers to get caught up in trends and create new campaigns without thinking about who their audience is and what their goals are.

In this blog post, our online digital marketing certificate program instructors share with you 7 of the deadliest mistakes that should be avoided in 2021. Avoiding these errors will help you stay ahead of your competition, make more of an impact on your customers, and achieve your desired results sooner.

1. Unclear Goals

Having undefined goals is going to do you no favours. It will only ensure that you remain unfocused and occupied by too many irrelevant tasks. Clear goals start with determining the purpose of your digital marketing campaign. Is it to drive traffic to your website? Is it to increase leads and sales? Is it to build brand awareness? Or is it to rank organically on major search engines? Your team has to be aware of the main goal so that they can create the correct action plan.

When beginning a campaign make sure that you set SMART goals. SMART is an acronym that stands for:

Source: wordstream.com

2. Unclear Action Plan

An action plan is only effective if it is organized, easy to follow, and is aligned with your goals. Avoid implementing multiple strategies at once. Opt to focus only on 2-3 digital strategies at a time. Create a documented strategy with the help of a small marketing team or leverage the expertise of an online marketing agency. If you want to learn more about creating a digital marketing plan, consider obtaining a digital marketing certificate.

3. Not Promoting/Advertising Your Website

A website for your company or brand has become a real necessity in 2021, even if most of your business transactions take place offline. But with over 1.19 billion websites on the World Wide Web (as of January, 2021), it is nearly impossible for consumers to stumble upon your website organically. To drive traffic to your website and make it profitable, you will need to invest in its promotion. And this means jumpstarting SEO, SEM, social media marketing, and high-quality content marketing campaigns.

4. Not Ensuring the Contents of the Website is Up to Date

An outdated website is almost worse than having no website at all. By choosing not to update your website, you are not just compromising on its security and putting off bugs that need to be fixed. You are telling both your existing and potential customers that you are not paying attention to the look of your business. It may also give them the impression that you are going out of business.

As a webmaster, it is your responsibility to make sure that your website and its content are of high quality and UP TO DATE. That means your contact information is accurate. The product/service information matches what you sell. The website looks and feels like it was created in the 2021 era. All links are working.

5. Duplicate Content

Google’s fury algorithms are on the hunt for websites that provide its users with a poor user experience. One of its biggest targets is websites with duplicate content. Duplicate content can be classified as a significant amount of content that matches other content on the same website or on other sites on the World Wide Web. Many times, it is just a small instance of copy and pasting. Other times it is an example of a cowardly attempt to sway search engine rankings.

Purchase some credits from Copyscape.com . Check for duplicate content for each of your web pages at least once a month. To remedy the issue, add new content and ensure that each page’s content is unique by 70-80%.

Source: SEMrush

6. Ignoring the Competition

The increasing focus on unique content creation does not exclude spying on your competitors. In fact, it is widely encouraged to go through your competitors’ websites, blogs, and social media accounts to see what they are doing. Keep your eyes open. In the business and digital marketing worlds, we call it a SWOT analysis. You need to keep your customers informed about how different and better you are from your competitors.

7. Using “Black Hat” Marketing Techniques

This seems like an obvious tip/mistake. However, you would be surprised by how many businesses still employ black hat tactics. Many business owners and executives still desire a speedy solution to increase website traffic and search engine rankings. Those business owners and execs will not succeed if they engage in any type of black hat practices, such as keyword stuffing and low-quality backlinking. This is a critical and costly digital marketing blunder.

You should always use ethical methods. White Hat “safe” marketing strategies require more work and time. However, they deliver better results in the long term. Use these techniques to develop a good reputation for your brand and with your audience.

It is easy for you to make mistakes in digital marketing. You can easily fix these common mistakes outlined by our digital marketing certificate course instructors and learn how to prevent them when you’re developing and/or monitoring your marketing campaigns.

If you need assistance with brand strategy and digital marketing, we encourage you to enroll in one of our digital marketing certificate courses. Our Facebook and Instagram Marketing Crash Course is currently offered for free.

About DMAC and its Digital Marketing Certificate Program

yourDMAC.com is a great place to learn how to create and implement engaging and successful digital marketing campaigns. Receive your digital marketing certificate online in Canada for one of our online courses. Here you can learn and have a more hands-on experience.

We also offer corporate training for businesses looking to offer their employees a digital marketing certificate in Toronto. We customize all our corporate training sessions, and we show your company how to create strategies and techniques to manage their social media marketing campaigns internally.